#to be clear it's because of how many names and pronouns one of my characters have

[pickle-the-lad]

I need to get beta readers because I'm just ruining my mom's brain with my first two chapters and prologue lmao 🤣

#mogai community #lgbtq community #transgender #queer writers #story writing #writing #writeblr #writblr #to be clear it's because of how many names and pronouns one of my characters have #she's not going to survive meeting the queen with this character around

[keerysfreckles]

Okay hi I don’t know if I’m doing this right and this is how you rqs something, I saw your cry for help for a luke Castellan fic,

could I pls request something like a daughter of Poseidon reader and her and Luke have been friends for years but haven’t never really seen each other as more than that until some guy starts to hit on her and Luke gets jealous asf and then the Luke starts a fight with him because he said something nasty about reader, and rewarded gets pissed off that Luke’s fighting and it’s super angsty and jealous and they fight and make up and realise their feelings and maybe a kiss?????

Hope that wasn’t too long xx

someone gets hurt — luke castellan

pairing: luke castellan x poseideon fem!reader

warnings: use of y/n and she/her pronouns, a couple swear words, character sexualizing reader

a/n: GETTING THE HOO BOOKS TOMORROW!!!!!!!!

masterlist !

꒰ა ☆ ໒꒱

"again!"

the sound of swords clanging against each other echoed in the empty field and through the forest.

"luke, how many more times do we have to do this?" y/n was out of breath. her right hand was red from gripping her sword too hard for the past hour, her hair has been tied back by now, and sweat coated her cheeks and arms.

"no offence, but your dad is into water, not swords," luke responds.

"what? you're saying i'm not the best swordsman in camp?"

luke chuckles, "obviously, because i'm here."

y/n only laughs at his response.

"swordswoman."

"what?" y/n's more than confused.

"you wouldn't be the best sowrdsman at camp. swordswoman would be the correct term."

instead of responding y/n shoves her sword inbetween luke's wrist and hip, skillfully pushing her own sword to make his fall to the ground.

"yeah, yeah, miss one time champ. go get some water," luke laughs.

"you know, after being your friend for so many years," y/n starts, but takes another sip of water as luke walks over to the bench she's sitting on. she continues, "you would think i'd learn your fighting patterns, and actually beat you for once."

"that's the thing y/n. my fighting strategies always change. once you find them out, they'll just change again," luke replies.

"you ready to go again?" luke asks for a few minutes, letting the girl have time to rest.

y/n nods, and gratefully takes luke's hand to help her up off the bench. she walks over to the dirt area with a slight limp. luke had cut her leg earlier, on accident of course, and y/n insisted she was fine. after pouring half her water bottle on it, there was nothing more than a light scar. however it still hurt.

"wow! with a limp like that, you'd think i was with her all night!"

corey andrews stepped into the clearing of the woods, with his ares brothers right beside him. ever since he got to camp a year ago he'd been harassing y/n. he always found a way to call her out in front of others. and it made y/n's blood boil.

she was about to walk over to the idiotic camper and punch him, but luke grabbed her wrist.

"leave it," his voice was soft, yet firm.

y/n gives in, and goes back to sword fighting with luke. the pair ignore corey and his friends.

corey on the other hand dislikes the silence. he walks over to y/n's side, and pokes her in the sides. it causes her to let out a small shriek and drop her sword.

"what the hell is wrong with you?" she turns and scolds corey, punching him in the shoulder.

"dude, you never mess with someone while they have a sword in their hands," luke picks up y/n's sword for her.

"oh that was nothing. we're just playing, right babe?"

y/n's stomach drops at the name coming out of corey's mouth.

"what's your problem andrews?" luke gently pushes y/n behind him. a motion the girl would soon be thankful for.

"my problem is that absolute babe, with that kinda body isn't in my bed right now," corey gestures to y/n. she's fully behind luke, holding onto his arm. was it out of comfort? or in order to keep luke from lashing out? y/n didn't know, but luke didn't mind her touch.

"she's busy," luke answers for her, feeling her grip tighten, "we're busy. so if you could leave, that'd be great."

luke needed corey to get out of his sight before he punched him. he couldn't stand what the ares boy was saying about his best friend.

"not before i get a piece of her," corey snickers and lunges to try and get to y/n from behind luke.

"corey!" luke scolds, throwing his arms out to block corey.

"don't touch me!" y/n yells in fear, now holding luke's shirt tighter than ever.

finally one of corey's friends speaks up, "corey, come on, they both asked you to leave her alone."

the other friend can't help but agree.

"y/n, go find chiron and tell him about corey," luke whispers. with a nod, y/n's running in the direction of the big house. anything to get away from corey.

before the harasser can get a gain on y/n, luke's grabbing him by the shirt. he lets go, but only to punch him square in the face.

blood instantly seeps out of his nose, and luke swore he saw fire gleaming in corey's eyes.

"why are you so protective of her? what? you sleeping with her or something?"

luke's expression doesn't change.

"if you say one more thing about her, i swear i'll punch you into the ground."

no words were spoken, making luke release his grip on corey's shirt. corey however takes the opportunity to shove his head into luke's knocking him back a few steps.

corey gets a few punches in before luke regains his balance. a few more punches land on luke's arms, before he shoves corey back, and punches him one last time before the asshole is laying on the ground.

luke's breathing heavily and corey's catching his breath on the groun as chiron speaks up.

he walks fully out of the woods now, with y/n climbing off his back. as soon as she told him what happened, he directed her to get in his back as he ran towards the arena.

y/n ran to luke as chiron started scolding corey and his two brothers, mostly corey though.

y/n holds luke's face in her hands, running her thumbs over the fresh red patches on his cheeks.

"are you okay?" there's nothing but concern filling her voice.

luke dryly chuckles, "you should see the other guy."

y/n leans up and wraps her arms around luke's neck to fully pull him into a hug. in seconds his own arms wrap around her waist.

as they pull away, luke watches chiron walk off with the three ares brothers.

"are you okay?" luke finally asks y/n.

she nods, "yeah, it's uh, nothing he hasn't said before. he's just never lunged at me before."

luke leans over to kiss y/n's forehead, before talking back to their swords. he was going to put them away, with the other dull fighting swords, but y/n's voice stops his movements.

"thank you," luke turns to the girl, "you've saved me a lot from corey, and i've never really told you thank you."

"what are friends for?"

luke's words hurt y/n, not on purpose. y/n can't help but see luke differently recently. she wasn't sure if he grew into his looks, or maybe it was just her hormones messing with her, but she started falling for luke castellan.

"you okay?" luke walks back over to the girl.

she only nods, "yeah, yes i'm okay."

luke notices the shake in her voice and her emotions changing from one to another.

"are you sure?" luke's hands rubs up and down her shoulders.

y/n only nods again, but after a moment her eyes drift down to his lips subconsciously.

luke noticed.

the boy smirks slightly, making y/n confused.

"you look like you want to kiss me."

y/n's cheeks change to the brightest shade of red, and she immediately starts shaking her head.

"no! no, no that's ridiculous," she denies

"what if i said i want to kiss you too?"

y/n's breath catches in her throat. she must've heard luke wrong.

her thought was disproved when luke leaned in slightly. he stopped, wanting to make sure y/n wanted this just as much as he did. the girl simply pulls luke to her by his neck. a small groan emits his lips once they connect with hers.

the kiss was full of force, and pent up emotions. they could both tell, and they knew how long they needed this kiss to happen.

"you guys done sucking face?"

luke and y/n break apart at clarisse's voice.

"we need the arena to practice," she states, motioning to a few of the ares sisters behind her.

"yeah uh," luke coughs, "we'll go."

and with that, he pulls a very giddy y/n out of the arena and toward the direction of his cabin.

#shelbi writes #keerysfreckles #luke castellan #luke castellan x reader #luke castellan pjo #luke castellan x y/n #luke castellan x you #luke castellan x fem reader #luke castellan x fem!reader #luke castellan x poseidon!reader #luke castellan x poseidon reader #percy jackson #percy jackson and the olympians #pjo #pjo tv show #pjo show #pjo tv #pjo series

[zombie-eats-world]

Crocodad Theory: The not-so-Crack-pot Theory.

Making this post in order to replace my old Crocodad thesis since I think I can do better now. Plus I was still using the old theory name then and I dislike seeing it pinned on my tumblr now. You can find that older post HERE if you desire to!

Crocodad theory, chances are you have heard about this theory if you are even slightly invested in the One Piece fandom. But despite its infamy, and outside its stanch believers like myself, it's mostly considered a crack theory and used for a laugh.

Now let's be clear, Crocodad theory is not a crack theory. A crack or crack-pot theory is more of a headcanon built on vibes, it's a fun idea made up out of thin air and isn't really serious. If the Crocodad theory was a crack theory it would have evaporated into the nether by now. It's over a decade old, after all, and yet it persists to this day! That is because the Crocodad theory has real evidence from the canon, the One Piece offshoots, and maybe even Oda himself.

If you weren't aware of the Crocodad theory, sometimes lovingly called Dadodile, let me summarize it very succinctly. The theory is that Crocodile is a transgender man and gave birth to Luffy. Crocodile is Luffy's other father and his birthing parent. If you think that sounds ridiculous or even hilarious, let me walk you through it because I assure you- that is intentional.

Let us begin where the theory began... Impel Down.

The possibility for this theory was born in 2009 with these panels:

The simple fact that Ivankov exists and that he knows Crocodile, from "when he was just starting out" mind you, makes this not only possible but probable.

What other "secret" could Ivakov be speaking of here? It's definitely not his weakness to water, that would just be bad storytelling. It could be that Crocodile is the child of Rocks which is possible considering we now know Ivankov was at the Gods Valley incident. But if I could speak as a writer for a moment, it would really be a waste for an author to introduce a character that can change genders and then bring back one of the first big villains like Crocodile, AND THEN connect the two with the mention of weakness but not make that secret that Crocodile had once been a woman. Or even at least a part of the reason.

But if that reasoning falls through for you, here is some in-canon evidence for the idea that Crocodile is transgender:

First of all, the agents' code names are so gendered: Every single digit agent is Mr with a Mrs, or Ms partner.

Crocodile’s name. His moniker is different from almost every other powerful pirate the story introduces to us. He isn’t just Desert King Crocodile, he is Desert King Sir Crocodile. Again it is oddly pronoun-centered. As if he is trying to remind people that he’s a guy.

The introduction of Bon Clay. Bon Clay is our first canon queer character in One Piece. He makes mention of being a girl many times and feels like a joke character when we first meet him. But as we know in One Piece, a pirate crew is a reflection of the Captain. Crocodile isn’t prejudiced to queer people like Bon Clay alludes to others being a few times. Crocodile even allowed Bon Clay to be both the male and female of his team!

Next up was the reveal of Baby Crocodile and how it’s deliberating ambiguous what gender Crocodile is. In every other Warlord's childhood look reveal, their gender is obvious, so why was Crocodile left out of that?

Then of course we have Gold Roger's execution, and how almost everyone got a reaction panel. But not Crocodile. No, we only see the back of his head. Oda has shown that he loves to get every single character's reaction to major events, sometimes to a fault. So why is he trying so hard to hide Crocodile from us? It just isn’t Oda’s style to leave someone out unless there is some kind of secret he wants to build up too. Now be sure to keep this in mind for later.

Last but certainly not least is just how much of an absolute troll Oda is. This will not be the last time I bring this up, Oda is a HUGE troll. He loves to play to his favorite fan theories and he decides most everything on how funny it is. And wouldn't it be funny if the first antagonist in the Grandline was secretly the birth parent of Luffy?

I mean just look at this! Oda, you absolute troll.

Bottom line: Trans Crocodile is more likely than not.

But this is where a lot of people decide the rest of this theory is crack, they take Trans!Crocodile and leave Crocodad out for reasons I honestly can't understand. Despite that, Cracodad has just as much if not more evidence than the Transgender part of this theory.

Before I begin I would like everyone reading to keep a few things in mind. All throughout the Impel down arc and the journey to Marineford, and even the first few chapters into Marineford, Crocodile could not have given a shit about Luffy, Ace, or the war at all. He did not care who won the war or if everyone involved died. He came to the battlefield for the sole purpose of killing Whitebeard. PERIOD. He was never once shown reacting with any concern when Luffy began facing down anyone strong. Not even Magellan. Crocodile had been around Luffy, seeing him do inspiring things for a massive amount of chapters by the time we get to Marineford, and yet Crocodile literally didn't care if Luffy lived or died, he just wanted to fight Whitebeard.

With that clear let's move on to what happened after Luffy's father was revealed to the world in Marineford. This moment is where the most obvious evidence first came about:

When Sengoku announces Luffy's father to the world we get many reaction shots, but once again Crocodile is conveniently missing from the lineup. He even disappears for a whole chapter! The young man who took down his decade-long plan to take over Alabasta just got announced to be the most wanted man in the world son, and we get no reaction from Crocodile... its suspicious.

Crocodile stopped Ace’s execution: Now Crocodile explains this by saying he ‘didn’t want to let Sengoku have the pleasure of victory’ but seriously? What kind of petty ass BS reasoning is that?! Crocodile has dreams and ambitions, and yet he gives up trying to be the one to take down Whitebeard to randomly save someone he canonly mocks in Impel Down? Someone he doesn’t care about. Some people will tell you it’s because Luffy inspired him like Luffy does many others, but what exactly is Luffy doing in Marineford that he didn’t in Impel Down or even Alabasta? Nothing. That means Crocodile has an entire about-face for no believable reason while completely off-screen. Which we've already said isn't Oda's style.

Daz and Crocodile face Mihawk to help Luffy: When Daz blocks Mihawk’s strike, Luffy questions it. Daz answers: It’s an order from above! That means Crocodile ordered Daz to specifically protect Luffy. Again, why? What reason did he have to do that? If this was some latent Crocodile has been inspired™️ moment, why wouldn’t Oda show it? Oda loves to hype up those moments, and loves to detail it all to the smallest piece. But Crocodile just randomly decided to have his main man Daz look out for this person that he COULDN’T HAVE GIVEN A CRAP ABOUT JUST TEN EPISODES BEFORE does not fit within the story. Then, right after Daz blocks Mihawk, Crocodile appears out of the woodwork to block another attack.

When Mihawk questions why he’d protect Luffy, Crocodile’s only response is “I’m not in the best mood now, Mihawk, you better watch yourself.” It’s interesting that he has no reason, none, he just comments that he’s in a shit mood. Maybe because he just found out he once stabbed his own child in the gut and left him to die?!

Crocodile vs Akainu: The brother killing Lava Man™️ is probably the most dangerous person in the war. He has no mercy, no morals, no restraint. So the fact that as Luffy is lying comatose and weak, with Jimbe slumped over him, Akainu about to deliver the final blow, Crocodile coming out of nowhere once again is so telling.

The fact is: Crocodile went above and beyond to save Luffy. That final stand against Akainu is so powerful. Crocodile doesn’t just save Luffy, he rushes to Luffy's aid, slicing through Akainu and reassembles to stand protectively between them. He did not need to do this at all. Oda didn’t need to have him do this either!

There were plenty of other characters that could have essentially done the same exact thing, but Oda chose to have Crocodile, someone who shouldn’t have been on Luffy’s side at all, save his life in the final moment.

Lastly, without a word, Crocodile uses Sables to get Luffy to Law’s ship. He risked his life, faced down the one person who could kill him without a second thought, and sweeps Luffy away to safety without any stated reason at all. In fact, everything he says is deliberately vague. Crocodile doesn’t believe in loyalty, he dumps people if they are weak (see; Alabasta Crocodile vs Luffy desert fight) so his line of “you gotta protect the one you wanna protect! Don’t let them have their way!” Feels so out of character. Crocodile has to have a reason for this odd behavior. And no, it doesn’t end there! In the defense of Luffy, Crocodile has an awesome and powerful moment where he stands in unity with all the Whitebeard commanders. HIS ENEMIES. Crocodile stands in unity with the people, he himself stated he hated more than anything, for Luffy!

These are the moments that alerted people to what would soon be called the Crocomom theory, now called Crocodad. But just because it began there doesn't mean there wasn't foreshadowing from before Marineford.

Let's go over all of that now:

First to talk about is once again Crocodile's crew. Miss Father's Day debuted in episode 124 of the anime and chapter 205 of the manga. She has a green amphibian theme to her, which is interesting because she is a woman with the moniker Father's Day while also having a theme of an animal that is famous for being able to change its gender. Her debut episode even has her introduced along with the reveal that Luffy's using his blood to fight Crocodile.

The next point is something Oda has never explained. Crocodile has strange relationships with children. From hiring a sixteen-year-old Miss Goldenweek, leaving her out of the Mr. 3 assassination order, and her history of actually sinking Crocodile's ships before getting hired, all the way to how Crocodile lectured Luffy in their fight. It just had the cadence of a parent. Not even Luffy's parent, just a parent. He lectures like someone who has experience with children.

Next, Luffy does not look like Dragon. That is a direct quote from Luffy in the manga. But you know who he does look like?

That's right! Luffy looks a lot like Crocodile. If you need more convincing on this, there is a great post by Dashevacotton that puts together many of the best canon pictures of Luffy dressed up like Crocodile. That post is here!

Crocodile and Luffy are incredibly similar. Not just in looks, but in personality, and in their general life.

These two have so much in common. From having a way with animals, to the amount of unadulterated loyalty they've inspired in their crews, all the way to the cadence of their speech.

Crocodile and Luffy even have a similarly goofy reaction to seeing the underground passage to the Alabasta Poneglyph.

Episode 123, episode time 13:16 Crocodile spots the entrance and laughs, "Ha, now I see secret stairs." Also in episode 123, episode time 20:47 Luffy looks around and spots the secret stairs. "That hole... it looks gator-ish."

Even what we know of Crocodile's backstory is that he had a rapid rise to fame just like Luffy by being a rookie who came in and beat down non-canon characters like Douglas Bullet to the shock of the world.

Next, let's bring up an earlier point: Oda-sensei is a mega troll.

This isn't exactly new information, Oda once deflected to bringing up a dick fight instead of answering if Zoro or Sanji was stronger. He is a Troll. He loves wordplay, and he likes to hint hint nudge nudge us all day long. Just look at Oda having Sanji call himself a prince in Alabasta as a joke, only to realize years later that he actually was a prince.

It's because of Oda's tendency to play around and make knowing jokes we've gotten some pretty compelling evidence for the Crocodad theory.

First would be the wordplay!

-Crocodile is closely linked to a Bananawani-> Monkeys like Banana -> Monkey D. Dragon is a reptilian Monkey attracted to Banana reptile. Fight me - A 'crocodile smile' is a term most often used to mean a fake or ingenuine smile. Crocodile's scar has been liked to look like a 'crocodile smile', which would mean Crocodile is the only character that always has a smile on his face. What a fun bit of wordplay to foreshadow the birth parent of Joyboy!

Then there is this SBS alongside the One Piece School spin-off manga by Sohei Koj.

What a great way to get out of revealing Luffy's parentage without actually revealing it!

And of course, we have the One Piece Mafia Theatre episode of the anime.

Oda would certainly make this canon just because of his troll tendencies. This is a hilarious theory because the story supports it yet only a fringe group believes in it. It's hilarious and therefore it's probably true.

Lastly, the symbolism makes this theory truly great.

I've already mentioned how Crocodile's scar being a 'crocodile smile' and thus giving him a permanent smile on his face would make him the most meaningful candidate for Luffy's birth parent. Joyboy, our Sun God Nika, was born from a man with a permanent fake smile; who is also named after an animal with the world's biggest smile.

It's just such a perfect setup, it makes my writer's heart swell.

Since Oda has stated a mother in One Piece would stop the adventure, it would fit that the first major villain in the Grandline to try and stop Luffy's adventure ended up being the man who gave birth to Luffy.

If we are going to speak of symbolism, I'd be remiss not to mention what a crocodile spiritually symbolizes. I really don't think I need to explain why adaptability, creation, ambiguity, and duality mean so much to this theory.

This theory could die or be confirmed any day now that we've entered a God's Valley flashback. I will love it either way but truly, honestly, I believe this. I hope I convinced a few of you to. If you are interested in the succinct list of Crocodad evidence that post is Here!

So in conclusion...

Crocodad is canon!

#one piece fandom #one piece #sir crocodile #anime #dadodile #monkey d luffy #fan theory #until the oda plops luffys mom in front of me i will believe this theory #theories #there is literally no other explanation for marineford without dadodile #luffy literally looks like crocodile #not a crack theory #long reads #long post

[the-modern-typewriter]

Hi, I really love your writing. It’s actually incredible how you can write people of the same pronoun and still make it easy to discern the two characters. I was wondering if you have any tips on how to do that without using phrases like “the short one” or anything like that.

1. Use the character's names

I often use 'the protagonist ', 'the antagonist', 'the hero', 'the villain' on tumblr. However, functionally, I use these like names and/or titles.

Using a character name allows you to periodically clarify who is talking or doing something when the reader would otherwise get confused. I know some people take this a step further by actually using 'Hero' 'Villain' as names more literally/directly, but I don't personally like doing that. It jars my brain.

I think 'the hero' etc works as an indicator where 'the short one' doesn't because it's neutral/not providing new info. Traditionally, we often only use physical descriptors when we don't know who a character is, so it creates distance/can jar when used in the middle of a scene. If you are in first person or limited third, there's just not necessarily a reason why your narrator would think of the other character in that way, which is another reason it can feel odd.

Basically, it's a bit like how we don't notice 'said', but would really notice if someone was uttering/shouting/mumbling in every dialogue tag.

2. Use proper paragraphing.

New character doing something, new line. New person talking, new line. New idea/point, new line. Shift in time or setting, new line.

3. Don't be afraid of easy beats

What are easy beats, you say? They are the moments of action or thinking in between dialogue. Body language. Whatever. Even if you don't use 'he/they/she said', because that can get repetitive. They are a way of providing context and variety to your writing, that can often do double work making it clear who is doing or saying something.

Example:

''So this is dialogue," they said.

"Right."

"And you didn't need to say you were talking next, because it was obviously someone else because it was on the next line. And now it's obviously me again. Hi!"

"All well and good until we've been chatting like this forever."

"Well." They stretched out, lazily. "That's what the easy beat that just happened was for. Did you catch me stretching in the middle?"

"But now I'd need a name or some kind of indicator," Character B replied. "Or it feels odd. Too many theys"

"It's all about balance, my friend. The instinct comes with practice."

Character B wrinkled their nose. "But what if I want to talk for a really long time?"

"Well," they said. "Then you can often start with a pronoun use or a character name to establish. Then you make your next point. Try and keep it relatively easy to follow. After that, try to have some kind of easy beat or action happen so the whole thing isn't talking heads." Character A rose towering to their feet, waggling their fingers in another hello. "And, if we're lucky, we never need to say 'the short one said' again, because we can flow our descriptions more naturally into the action.' Now." They sauntered closer, stopping in front of Character A with the worst smirk that B had ever seen. "Shall we ask the audience which of us is taller?"

#writing talk #writing advice #writing tips

[thefrogdalorian]

The Best of Both Worlds

Din Djarin x Female Reader Modern!AU

Summary: When a new Star Wars TV show called The Mandalorian premiered, you found yourself completely enamoured with the titular character. Enjoyment of watching the lone bounty hunter travel through the galaxy quickly turned to obsession. There was just something about the show that captured your imagination. Now, you spend much of your free time — when you're not working a fast-paced, minimum wage and incredibly stressful job at a prestigious London Museum— speaking to your online friends about your love for the show. There's just one thing... Despite how much you love The Mandalorian, no one knows the identity of the man behind the helmet... either in the show, or in real life. You only know him as Mando. No one has ever seen his face, no one knows his name.  Even after the countless hours of speculation from fans online, which even you have occasionally participated in, no one is any the wiser to the identity of the mysterious man who wears the shiny armour.  Surely, given the depth of your love for the show, you'd recognise if the man who you spend so much time obsessing over online was to ever cross paths with you. Right?

Content Warnings: Reader is AFAB, uses she/her pronouns and in her mid 20s. Age gap between her and Din is noted but not really central to the story. Grogu is human, hints of past trauma/child abuse before Din adopted him are mentioned but not described in detail. Some mature scenes later on in the fic but not explicit smut... because I just cannot write x reader smut! Author's Note: SO very excited to finally share this fic! Thank you to the lovely @suresnips for being my beta. I really appreciate you ♡ This baby was originally my NaNoWriMo 2023 project and was inspired by this post from @toxic-seduction that I saw one evening and couldn't stop thinking about! POVs will alternate chapter to chapter from Din to reader. It was fun to write that way! Set in London for a few reasons: partly because I love the movie Notting Hill and it has some of those vibes (if you squint), also, the village where Din lives is based on Elstree Studios just outside London, where the OT was filmed and ultimately because NO WAY was I writing a modern!AU set in the states, it would've been painfully obvious a Brit wrote it. While there are lots of references to places in London, I don't live there so it might not be truly accurate (Londoners don't come for me). Also, to be political for a sec, reader works at the British Museum and I hate that institution. This was actually the line of work I was interested in when I was at Uni but for many different reasons I did not pursue it. However, it works for the plot of this story and as you'll see, she doesn't exactly love it either and goes on a few rants. Just wanted to make that clear that her job there is not an endorsement of it or anything. I can't stand them or their historical apologist bs and I wish we would give back all the things we stole (including the Parthenon Marbles)! Finally, it was incredibly important to me that the actor behind Mando in this fic clearly be the fictional character of Din Djarin rather than the real person Pedro Pascal, because rpf is not my jam! I hope I did that pretty well but just wanted to warn that if you're expecting me to use Din as some kind of way to write a Pedro fic, this won't be for you! Okay, I'll shut up now! This fic is fully written, just needs editing so hopefully I'll get a couple of chapters up each week, but life happens. I'm very proud of this one and I really hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it! Also if you would like to be added to my taglist for this fic, please let me know! Happy reading ♡

❁ My Masterlist ❁ Read on AO3 ❁

Why Does It Always Rain On Me? [Reader POV]: After a dreadful day which saw you drenched by a rainstorm after leaving a hectic day at work, you reflect on your love for Mando and upcoming excitement for the sci-fi convention you will soon be attending with your internet best friend.

He Is My Only Priority [Din's Pov]: The character of The Mandalorian is known and loved by millions. But there is another, much softer side to the man who portrays him that Din Djarin is determined to keep hidden from the world, despite the challenges that presents for him and his beloved son, Grogu.

This Is Why (I Don't Leave The House) [Reader's POV]: Your internet bestie arrives in preparation for the Star Wars convention you will attend together. Everything is set for the greatest weekend of your life! Until you arrive at the con and find yourself overwhelmed by all the crowds and noise. At least you have numerous incredibly realistic Mando cosplays to distract you from how stressed you feel, and there's one in particular which is uncannily accurate...

Curiosity Killed The Cat [Din's POV]: Despite his reservations and against his better instincts, Din heads to a Star Wars convention that he was invited to. Although he fears that his cover will be blown, curiosity gets the best of Din and he can't resist attending a panel. But Din doesn't exactly find the answers he was looking for. Instead, he finds something far more precious. Something that he would never have expected...

He's So Tall (And Handsome As Hell) [Reader's POV]: Being back in the real world and returning to work after an incredible weekend at the convention where you had so many fun experiences is taking its toll on you. The thought of collapsing on your couch in front of The Mandalorian is the only thing keeping you going. However, the universe has other plans for you. News of an out-of-hours tour for a private client that you are asked to lead almost sends you over the edge, but when you finally meet the man, he is the opposite of what you were expecting. Weirdly, he seems familiar...

With A Little Help From My Friends [Din's POV]: Din returns to the set of The Mandalorian to begin filming a new season. Despite his experience and capability, he finds that he struggles to focus as his thoughts remain firmly fixed on a certain someone...

You're The Sunflower [Reader's POV]: Despite feeling certain that you'll never see the ridiculously handsome man you gave a tour of the museum to, a special delivery is about to change everything...

Your Face Hung Up High In The Gallery [Din's POV]: After a difficult few days of filming The Mandalorian, Din is excited to spend time with you as he finally takes you on your first proper date...

Have I Known You Twenty Seconds or Twenty Years? - (Reader's POV):  Despite a messy evening which led to you waking up in an opulent hotel which you have no memory of falling asleep in, memories of kind brown eyes and breathless kisses soon come flooding back to soothe your soul. Your relationship deepens as the two of you spending time together whenever your busy schedules allow. But one night, a turn of events causes you - despite Din's reassurances - to wonder if everything you have been working so hard to build together has just come crashing down around you...

There's A War Inside Of Me - [Din's POV]: The realities of the secret he is keeping from you begin to weigh heavily on Din's mind and he seeks advice from a certain curly haired co-star on what his next move should be. Things don't go exactly according to plan, not least because of the typically awful English weather...

It Could Be Love, We Could Be The Way Forward - [Reader's POV]: With your respective busy jobs keeping you and Din apart, a mystery date after a hectic day at work is exactly what you needed.

The Calm - [Din's POV]: When filming overruns and conspires to keep Din from the fun weekend he planned for you, he agonises over his decision. Fortunately, he manages to salvage the weekend, even after a calamity involving a rowboat...

The Storm - [Reader's POV]: The happiness you feel in response to a question Din posed to you is somewhat clouded by lingering doubts. Yet your affection for each other helps you to push those emotions down, until a weekend spent at his cottage changes everything...

P.S. - I tried to be inclusive for all body types and skin tones in this fic, but if I missed something, I do apologise. If you do spot something that takes you out of the fic, I am more than happy for constructive criticism as I wouldn't want anyone to be excluded on those grounds. I am always trying to do better and would love to know where I went wrong so I can improve and be more aware of these things going forward, so I would appreciate it if you could let me know if you do spot anything. Thank you so much! ♡

#my fics #tbobw #din djarin fic #din djarin x reader #din djarin x you #the mandalorian x reader #mando x reader #din djarin #pedro pascal characters #the mandalorian fanfiction #pedro pascal fanfiction #pedro pascal #pedro boys

[dominos-palast]

Lessons on flirting

Fandom: XMen

Pairing:   Kurt Wagner x fem!reader

Characters mentioned: Scott Summers, Jean Grey, Peter Maximoff

Used Pronouns: (she/her)

Warnings: none

Request: yes

Part: 1/3

A/N: I made an exception and did a fem!reader one since it was requested like that. I will eventually upload a gn!reader version

P.S.: I decided to split the request into 3 because I wanted to post something since it’s taking longer than promised :’)

Summary: Kurt has a crush on one of the best fighters in the institute, but doesn’t know how to approach the situation. Thank goodness that Peter and his friends are there to support him.

Word Count: 1k

“I did not get my ass whooped.” Scott walked between Jean and Kurt, trying to defend himself from Jean’s accusations.

“Of course not. How could you ever? We all know how strong the great Scott Summers is.” Scott would have felt flattered by such a response if it weren’t for the sarcasm behind her words.

“Yeah, yeah. Keep making fun of me. As if you had done it better,” he said eyeing the ice pack Jean pressed to her shoulder, only gaining a slight strong nudge on his bruised arm.

Kurt couldn’t help but snicker at their bickering. They had been on it since their last class. The topic had been self-defence. The catch: The use of powers was strictly prohibited. This type of class had become more frequent since the rumours of a new power suppressant circulating in the black market started. The professor wanted all students to be able to defend themselves, with and without powers.

“You sure can laugh,” Scott glanced at Kurt. “We aren’t allowed to use our powers, but you still can use your tail to fight.”

Kurt smiled proudly and swung his tail from side to side, mocking him even further.

“These classes are stupid. I have literal lasers for eyes. I can fry anyone even miles away from me. Why should I train in close combat if no one can get close to me anyway?” Scott let himself fall on the couch, resting his feet on the table in front of him. Jean already knew it was his frustration talking. They all had been lectured enough to understand why such classes were necessary.

Jean followed Scott’s lead and made herself comfortable beside him. Kurt leaned against the armrest of the couch.

“He indeed has an advantage, but I wasn’t expecting him to be that good.” She directed her eyes toward Kurt “You put up a pretty good fight against her, considering she is top of the class,” said Jean approvingly.

Kurt’s eyes suddenly lit up, and he turned toward them.

It was clear to him who she was talking about.

You hadn’t been in the institute for long but you managed to make a name for yourself right away. You hadn’t lost a spar in the self-defence class until now, making you one of the strongest fighters in the class.

“But how come she’s so strong? Does she have enhanced strength or something?” asked Scott raising an eyebrow.

“No. Her power is to transform drawings into solid objects,” Kurt responded.

Jean nodded and added, “I saw one of the spars she had with an older student. She pulled out a literal sword from the tattoo on her arm and beat his ass right in front of everyone. But do you know why she really is so strong?” Scott looked up at Jean’s questions with expectancy. “It’s because she is not a couch potato. Unlike you, Scott”

Scott threw a pillow at her, which she quickly stopped with her telekinetic powers.

The conversation went on with more complaints and remarks about the self-defence classes.

Kurt's mind drifted away, thinking of today’s class. More specifically the spar you had with him.

The first time he met you was in the self-defence class where he has been witness to your many wins. He has seen how graciously you can move and how powerful every single punch of yours is.

His admiration for you grew further and further from that day on. Not only because of your abilities but also because you remained humble and kind instead of letting your accomplishments get to your head. You were someone Kurt looked up to because you didn’t simply knock your opponent down. You gave hints and advice on what the correct stance is, how to throw a proper punch and so on. After every spar, you helped your opponent up and cheered them up like a football team’s coach would do. And you did exactly the same thing with Kurt after sparring with him.

He had lasted longer than the majority of the students you had gone against, but you still managed to make him eat dust. He lay on the ground as you approached to lend a hand. Kurt noticed your hand and was about to accept your help, but then hesitated. He was sure you would feel uncomfortable, considering Kurt’s unusual handshape. But to his surprise, you grabbed his hand and pulled him onto his feet. He felt his cheek burn when he noticed the short distance you had between each other, but you kept your grip on his hand. The words you said stuck to Kurt like glue: “That was amazing. Just as expected. We have to repeat this sometime soon”. That along with your beautiful, bright smile made his heart beat unusually fast.

“Earth to lover boy, are you listening?”

Kurt turned his head toward Scott and Jean. Both were staring at him with sneaky smiles on their faces.

“Entschuldigung?”, asked Kurt clearly confused.

Jean and Scott exchanged glances in amusement.

“You’ve been smiling like an idiot since we mentioned her”, Jean said raising her eyebrows.

Kurt felt his cheeks grow hotter. “Oh, I was thinking of- you know, class- I mean-”

“Dude, it’s so clear you have a crush on her. You drool every time she is near,” Scott said rolling his eyes.

“It’s not like-”

“You have a crush on her” Kurt yelped at the sudden presence behind him, teleporting onto the spot between Jean and Scott on the couch on reflex. “Like, totally obvious” Quicksilver took a long sip from his apple juice, only to look disgusted at it. “What’s the expiration date on this?”

“I didn’t- I didn’t realise.” Kurt looked worryingly at Peter. “Do you think she noticed? Oh no, what if I weirded her out?”

“Well, only one way to find out.”

Everyone stared at Peter expectantly as he sipped his juice with risen eyebrows.

------- Part 1/3 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

#Xmen #xmen x reader #xmen x fem!reader #Kurt Wagner x reader #Kurt Wagner x fem!reader #Kurt Wagner #Xmen Kurt Wagner #x reader #x fem!reader #x f!reader #Kurt Wagner f!reader #Kurt Wagner x f!reader #xmen x f!reader #x cool!reader #requested #Nightcrawler #nightcrawler x reader #nightcrawler x fem!reader #nightcrawler xmen #nightcrawler x f!reader #nightcrawler xmen x fem!reader

[midnightcinderella]

My favs when their s/o gets love potioned

Inspired by this post! In case the link is broken, I’ve reblogged it so it’ll be right below this post on my blog!

3/18/23: Did some editing, added some things to hopefully flesh things out a bit and make it easier to understand

Characters (word count): Trey (800), Leona (700), Silver (600)

Summary: Basically a love potion explodes in your face during class and the first person you lay eyes on after that is not your boyfriend, though that’s of no concern to the potion. Neither he nor the new object of your affections is too jazzed about it

Notes: no gendered pronouns for reader, some jealousy based fluff

Trey Clover

Of course. Of course it had to be someone from his own dorm you saw after the potion incident

Originally he’d been planning to keep an eye on you anyway, but now it seemed he didn’t have a choice. You kept a vice grip on Cater’s arm, preventing him from fleeing the Heartslabyul kitchen

“Are you hungry, honey? I know you don’t like sweets so how about I make us some sandwiches?”

Rip his heart out, why don’t you?

He just barely suppressed the grief from showing on his face upon hearing the pet name meant for him used on Cater

When Trey turned to meet Cater’s gaze, all he could do was shoot him a sheepish grin, wiggling his arm in your grip in hopes that Trey would see that he was being held captive

Whether it was because you noticed that he wanted to be let go or because you needed both hands to make sandwiches was unknown to either of them, but you let Cater go anyway

Cater moved to leave but you called him back, saying you were almost done

At Cater’s excuse that he was busy and had plans, you replied that you chose that time to hang out with him because you knew he would be free

The boys were unsure whether they were impressed with your planning or concerned that you managed to learn Cater’s schedule in such a short time

Sandwiches made and grin on your face, you dragged Cater to eat outside with you in the warm sunshine, leaving your poor boyfriend behind to quietly bake for the dorm’s next tea party :(

His phone dinged while he was busy waiting for the pastries to bake and feeling sorry for himself. It was a Magicam notification

You’d just posted two pictures captioned “#TogetherForever”

The first was a tasteful shot of the sandwiches you’d made and the second was a selfie of you and Cater, pressed cheek to cheek with matching grins on your faces

Trey sighed. Cater never could resist a good photo op

In the garden, you were scrolling through your phone. “Look, Cater! We’ve already got so many comments!”

“You posted it?” he asked in disbelief. Trey was going to kill him. Or worse, mess with his meals

“Yeah!” you laughed, not noticing the disparity between your moods as you read through the comments

They were all confused. When had you and Trey broken up, they asked.

What?

As you stared at the comments, wondering why they all mentioned Trey, the fog blocking a part of your brain began to clear

You were dating Trey, not Cater

You called Cater honey. Right in front of Trey

Oh shit

Without a word, you jumped to your feet and rushed toward the kitchen where you hoped your beloved still was

You only made it a few steps, however, before turning on your heel and coming back to snag your uneaten sandwich

You’d just finished the last bite when you reached the kitchen and sighed in relief when you saw that Trey was still there

He was scrolling through his phone, only noticing you when you got close

Given no time to process what was happening, Trey let out a grunt as you barrelled into him, squishing his arms to his sides as you hugged him tight

“Trey! Honey, I’m so sorry!” You were hiding your face in his shoulder, unable to see his face as you babbled one apology after another

In the middle of you swearing up and down that whatever you did with Cater wasn’t real, he wiggled one arm out of your grasp and held up a hand to stop you

Your blood ran cold at the feeling of him breaking away from you and you were almost afraid to look at him

Trey called your name softly and you finally met his eyes, terrified of what you might find. What if he was really upset?

Though you found no anger in his expression, you were still uneasy, not knowing what he was feeling

“I get a get out of jail free card for this,” was all he said. You nodded readily, pursing your lips. “Then all is forgiven.”

You planted a sloppy kiss on his cheek and held him tighter, wailing about how you’d never leave his side again

He didn’t even need to ask you to take down the pictures you took with Cater; you did it as soon as you let him go

The very next day, you posted a picture of a honey cake captioned, “With all my love to my sweet baker <3″

The comments were once again flooded with confused people, wondering if you’d thought the previous day was April Fool’s day or something

Leona Kingscholar

How weird that you were seeing Leona everywhere today, you thought

Unable to take your attention off of Jack for more than a moment, you didn’t notice that it was no coincidence

You also didn’t notice how Leona’s jaw clenched or how his tongue clicked whenever you had any interaction with Jack

What you did notice, however, was the way Jack would glance nervously behind you every so often

You’d turned to look once or twice but never saw anyone looking to do either of you harm. It was just Leona and neither of you had done anything to piss him off

“Come to the Mystery Shop with me, Jackie!” you said, pulling him along by the hand. You started off in the opposite direction of where Leona was leaning against a wall

“Wha- Can’t you shop on your own?” he asked. He glanced behind him to see Leona standing up straight once again to follow

“I could, but I really want you to come with me,” you said. “No one will mess with me if you’re there.”

“Do people mess with you often?” he asked. You nodded, not looking back

“Yeah. Some of them try to prank me, others try to flirt. It’s a headache every time.”

Jack hadn’t known about this. When he looked to Leona, it seemed the lion beastman was in the same boat

Jack had never been the best at identifying emotions, even less so when it came to inexpressive people, but Leona wore the most unreadable expression he’d seen yet

Finally, after a moment of Jack wondering if he should block or dodge, Leona nodded his chin forward, telling him to go with you

With Leona’s blessing, Jack kept your pace all the way to the shop

As you browsed the shelves, a voice in your head nagged at you that something was wrong

It wouldn’t stop and became unbearable to the point that you put the can of tuna back in its place and looked around you in all directions to prove to the voice that you were fine, there was no one in sight but you and Jack

See? You were perfectly safe. But still the voice wouldn’t shut up

It was relentless, screaming at you that you were in an unnatural situation, that you didn’t belong here. You couldn’t even focus on reading the product labels anymore

Instead you told Jack that you could shop another time and that you wanted to hang out by Savanaclaw’s pool for a bit

Which is how Jack found himself lying right beside the pool with you cuddling up to him

The sound of the water gently lapping at the edge of the pool was his only solace as he watched Leona pretend to nap nearby on a lounge chair

You laid you head on Jack’s arm, accepting that you would just have to be content with what you were given

You tapped your finger gently on his vest, right where you’d originally wanted to rest your head

He’d denied you when you asked and you gave him your best puppy dog eyes, hoping to change his mind

Unfortunately for Jack, he couldn’t tell the difference between puppy dog eyes and the look of someone about to cry

Worried that you were going to start the waterworks at any time, he offered you his arm instead

You stopped your tapping and laid your hand flat on his chest

“Jackie,” you said softly. He turned to look at you gazing at him sweetly as you laughed. “Your heart is beating so fast.”

A moment later, your world turned on its axis as a pair of arms hooked under you and hauled you into the air

Spluttering in surprise, you looked to Jack just in time to see Leona plant his boot on his hip

With no deliberation, he pushed Jack right into the pool

“Leo! What do you think you’re doing?!” And suddenly you stopped. Why had you called him Leo? And why wasn’t he annoyed by the new nickname?

One by one, the memories returned to you. Leo wasn’t a new nickname. You’d been calling him that since you started dating

“Leo,” you said again, this time looking at him as if you’d met him for the first time in years

“Welcome back, bunny,” he said, and you could feel his voice rumble through his chest. “We’ve got some naps to catch up on.”

Silver

This wasn’t funny. This wasn’t funny At All

Of all the people you could have seen after the potion exploded in your face, it had to be his father?

Well, he supposed it could have been worse. If it had to be any other Diasomnia student, he guessed he was glad it was Lilia

If it had been Sebek, he’d fear that his brusque mannerisms might hurt your feelings

And if it had been Malleus.... Sebek would be even more likely to hurt your feelings, he thought

Still, he couldn’t say it was pleasant watching his love fawn over his father the way you were doing

He was able to convince Malleus to spend more time with Lilia today so that he could keep an eye on you, much to Sebek’s outrage

“Silver! How dare you try to order our lord around just to selfishly spend time with your partner!”

Malleus only laughed and told Sebek to settle down, that Silver was only worried about you since you were affected by a potion

Though, if he were to be even more honest, he’d admit that was worried about you as well. Humans weren’t so hardy as fae and he wasn’t sure what exactly was in the potion

So now the three of them sat in the lounge watching as you giggled at all the attention Lilia was showering upon you, each with different feelings on the situation: annoyance, amusement, and disgust

Lilia chuckled, gently patting your head as you twirled the flower he’d given you between your fingers

It was plucked from one of the vases in the lounge, but it was the thought that counted, right?

You couldn’t seem to see that the affection he was giving you was the same that he’d given Silver when he was a young boy

Or perhaps you didn’t want to see it, just pleased to have him smiling at you and giving you gifts

Still, all daydreams must come to an end. Yours did when, with a lighthearted laugh, Lilia told you that you reminded him of a little boy he used to take care of

Little? You were here thinking he was flirting back while he saw it as babysitting?

Ouch

Suddenly feeling very embarrassed, you put the flower into the nearest vase and gave Lilia a flimsy excuse about homework as you readied to leave

Happening to catch Silver’s gaze on your way out, you made your way over to him, ready to tell him what had just happened

“You don’t see me as a little kid, right? You take me seriously?”

Silver, patient as he’d always been, assured you that you were not childlike (at least not to the point that anyone would treat you like a child) and that everyone took you and your feelings seriously

“He was just teasing you,” he said, smoothing down your hair

Just as you were about to ask once again if he was sure, you raised your head to see him smiling at you

This smile was one reserved for you and you alone

But how did you know that?

And why was your first thought when you saw him to go to him for comfort? How had you known he would comfort you?

And why was he doing it so gently?

Without you even knowing that your expression had changed, Silver patted your head again

“It’s ok,” he said, and you knew he wasn’t just talking about the way Lilia teased you

He’d watched over you

He’d comforted you when you got upset over something silly

He’d forgiven you before you could even apologize

“Silver,” you said, lip wobbling

Rather than say anything else, he simply pulled you into his arms, his muscles relaxing at having you right where you belonged

You nuzzled into his shoulder and if he felt the tears soaking into his jacket, he didn’t mention them

#twisted wonderland #twisted wonderland x reader #twst #twst x reader #leona kingscholar #leona kingscholar x reader #trey clover #trey clover x reader #twisted wonderland silver #twst silver #twisted wonderland silver x reader #twst silver x reader #twisted wonderland fluff #twst fluff #leona kingschlar fluff #trey clover fluff #twst silver fluff #twisted wonderland silver fluff #missy writes #fluff

[jacebeleren]

It bothers me so much that the only transfem rep in mtg cards is this like. Soldier military woman, like 'ooh look at this guy's we made a trans woman who's a part of a war machine' fantastic thank you magic very original

=========

Okay.

First of all, there is no "our" interpretation of the text. My thoughts are my own, and your thoughts are your own. Some of our thoughts might align, but I will not allow you to speak for me.

Second, I am sorry you feel so disappointed in the current state of transgender representation in Magic. I understand your concerns and I think they're valid concerns.

Third, your concerns being valid does not mean I agree with what you have to say, though. Don't come into my inbox complaining unless you're ready for me to honestly respond. Respectfully, your approach to these concerns makes it clear to me that you don't actually understand what you're talking about.

It's apparent that you follow me or have at least seen many of my posts. You appear to respect my opinions / analysis (at least regarding Jace and Tezzeret). So listen to me when I say this:

What constitutes 'good' representation is context-dependent, and it's not something you alone get to decide.

Yes, Alesha is a "soldier military woman", as you said. I understand that you have this complaint because you believe this makes Alesha an example of the stereotype that trans women are violent. But context matters. What you're failing to consider is the fact that she comes from the Mardu Horde, a faction on Tarkir inspired by the Mongol hordes of real-world history. In this context, Alesha isn't presented as violent because she's a trans woman. She's violent because she literally comes from a warrior clan based on one of the greatest military forces in human history. And honestly, with Magic being a combat-centric game, she's not any more violent than any non-Mardu Legends, either.

Do you seriously think a story about a trans woman fighting to proudly declare her trans identity in her culture and later becoming the accomplished and well-respected leader of her clan is bad representation? Does the fact that she's a warrior really outweigh the rest of the lovingly crafted trans narrative they created for her, to you?

It's fine if you feel that way. You don't have to like Alesha or her story. But just because something wasn't made for your taste doesn't mean it's bad writing / bad representation.

Anyway, I highly recommend you read Alesha's story, "The Truth of Names", since it seems like you haven't read it yet. It's a fantastic story-- the most beloved short story in all of Magic, actually. It was the most-read article on the entire Magic website for like 5 years, according to WOTC.

And if you're interested in learning more about transfem characters in Magic who aren't Alesha, I recommend you read about Xantcha, who first appears in the novel "Planeswalker".

Next, I need to make things clear about Ashiok.

Ashiok was never intended to be nonbinary representation. Ashiok was created to be a mysterious, unknowable villain. What makes Ashiok special is that we are not mean to know anything about Ashiok. We do not know Ashiok's species or plane of origin, for example. Another part of that element of mystery is not knowing Ashiok's gender, or how Ashiok identifies. Ashiok's original style guide from Theros explicitly instructs people to not use any pronouns for Ashiok at all (which I still follow because old habits are hard to break.) Official Magic sources did not begin to use they/them pronouns for Ashiok until 2022, in the story "A Garden of Flesh" (another excellent story, BTW.) And they only started using they/them for Ashiok because it is really hard to write a story where the character is mentioned that many times without pronouns.

All this to say: Ashiok as intentional nonbinary representation is certainly not the narrative WOTC is pushing.

Yes, there are many fans of Ashiok who interpret Ashiok as nonbinary, but those are their thoughts and you need not concern yourself with that, if it bothers you so.

As for Niko, it's weird that you say they're "non-existent" in Magic story when 2 of the 5 side stories ("Know Which Way the Wind is Blowing" and "Aim Through the Target") in their debut set Kaldheim were entirely focused on Niko. They're also a starring main character in 15 of the 25 issues of the BOOM! Studios Magic comics.

I'm glad you like my analysis of Jace and Tezzeret as transgender characters. Thank you for that, genuinely. But I want you to understand that the reason I have these interpretations is because I love Magic Story. And more importantly, I actually read it. I love Magic Story, and I have so much respect for the Magic Narrative team and the work they do.

What most people don't understand is that the Magic Narrative Team is in fact very careful and very loving in their approach to queer representation. You may not know this about me, but I'm friends with A LOT of people who formerly or currently work on Magic / Magic Story. Knowing these people personally, I know for a fact that the Magic creative Team does not create queer characters for "diversity points". They're not just checking boxes. The Magic creative team creates queer characters because the Magic creative team is full of queer people and allies who want to tell stories that reflect their own + fans' experiences. And they have to constantly fight to include more / better queer representation in Magic. They want good queer representation in Magic just as much as we do.

Am I going to defend everything they do? No! Are they perfect? No! They are just people. They make mistakes and they have blind spots. For example, in my essay about my analysis of Jace as a trans man, I explain that the reason my interpretation means so much to me is because there is currently zero meaningful representation for trans men in Magic canon. There are zero transgender male characters in Magic canon who have names. That's a HUGE blind spot considering the number of canon trans characters! That's something that disappoints and upsets me.

I'm not afraid to criticize Magic Story, and I do so very often. But I am critical of Magic story because I love it. My criticism does not equal hatred or unhappiness.

Sorry to hear that their efforts at including better trans representation in Magic would piss you off. I'm sorry that you've given up.

Lastly, I think Liliana is cis, but that's just my headcanon.

#mtg #gwunky #long post

[abigail-pent]

The Angel: what the fuck, basically

just like a collection of known things about the Angel:

actual (nick)name Aim, title is The Messenger; this is obviously a joke about AIM

"I'm the Messenger. We are the Message . . . the message has two parts left, and you are looking at one of those parts. The name for this part of the message was 'Aim' when the message was passed to us through my forebear Emma Sen. The message is too simple for human beings like us to understand."

Emma Sen is clearly a joke about MSN Messenger, though not so clear that I didn't need @mike-wachowski to point it out to me

This is the character with bestowed pronouns; there's a line in which Aim says it's their "immense privilege to be 'they'"

Is a big enough deal in BOE that they have their own bodyguard, and that someone who fired a gun in front of them would be court-martialed

"They are the one with the little arboreal dog who is elderly" (We Suffer, p. 294)

"The Angel is Blood of Eden" (We Suffer, p. 294)

Pash takes orders from The Angel directly (p. 325) and those orders supersede We Suffer's orders

Born on Lemuria, where trained as a vet

Has an implant with origins in the Nine Houses (p. 252)

Many of the chapters where the Angel shows up have House skulls, or other insignia, that don't seem to match anything in the chapter. The tree with the apple is clearly for BOE; but several Angel chapters start with a 7th house skull (#4, #15), a lily (#17), an 8th house skull (#18), or a 4th house skull (#26). In particular, the 8th house skull chapter is the one where Palamedes asks them if they have ever received an implant from the Nine Houses.

Currently I feel like I'm staring at all* the puzzle pieces but haven't put anything together yet. Putting all the pieces together as best I can, it seems like perhaps BOE's 'house with many rooms' is structured around protecting one human chain that connects back to the time of the Resurrection. (Hence why the Messenger is 'they'.) I would not be surprised to find that some links in this chain are connected to the 4th and 7th houses, and based on the 8th house skull on the implant chapter, I am suspicious that Mercy has met Aim and put this implant in for her. Though, given how protective BOE are of Aim, I am doubtful that this happened; because it feels extremely out of character for them to expose "the package" to the presence of a Lyctor. Certainly that exact circumstance basically occurs when they get in the firefight at Nona's school, and Pash says someone will be court-martialed about it.

*I am also suspicious that Noodle has more going on than meets the eye. I think some promotional material somewhere said he was maybe the most important dog in the universe; and I don't believe this is only because he's what keeps Nona alive when they're headed to the Ninth. I saw and lost track of a post that suggested Noodle is short for "Danger Noodle" and plays the role of the snake in a Genesis parallel; this seems plausible tbh. If the most salient feature of the Messenger is that "they are the one with the little arboreal dog who is elderly" then it seems to me like protecting/caring for Noodle is a central part of the job of Messenger. Does the implant... create a connection between Aim and Noodle?

#nona the ninth spoilers #ntn spoilers #nona spoilers #tlt spoilers #the locked tomb spoilers

[plague-of-insomnia]

Kuro First-Person Pronouns: Layla & Al

Unlike English, Japanese has many first-person pronouns ( “I”). These often will give you information about the type of person the character is. Are they very feminine or masculine? Polite or brusque? Young or old? Are they higher or lower in the social hierarchy? How close, psychologically, are they to the listener?

It’s not uncommon for one person to use different pronouns in different situations, and that is sometimes the case in the manga, depending on the character.

These ofc get lost in translation and are something I find very interesting. So this series will go through some of the Black Butler characters and show you which pronoun(s) they tend to use in Japanese and what that says about them as a character.

[More about Japanese pronouns]

•私•僕•俺•儂•自分•我•私•僕•俺•儂•自分•我•

Layla | Al : “レイラ” | オレ*

Used By: Young Girls/Children/Adults wanting to sound cute | Casual or Polite: Casual

Used by: Men | Casual or Polite: Casual

[*Also used by Bard and Doll]

I wasn’t going to do a post on Layla originally, since I can barely even use her real name and not call her merely Lolib*tch for attempting to kill my man, but someone mentioned her and “Al,” the other personality inside her, wondering about their pronouns. I got curious, since I couldn’t remember paying much attention to this ~2 years ago when Bard’s arc started.

Lolib*tch has two personalities inside her: Layla and Al.

Layla seems to be the dominant personality, and it’s possible the body is hers (his?). She’s unique as far as the characters I’ve reviewed for this series so far in that she does not use a personal pronoun at all, but instead consistently uses her own name (レイラ ) when she needs to refer to herself.

In other words, instead of saying, “I killed him,” she’d say, “Layla killed him.” In English, this comes off as annoying and arrogant, which is probably partly why the official translation just used “I,” for her, but it has a very different association in Japanese.

In Japanese, it’s common for very young children who haven’t learned to use personal pronouns to use their name instead. So a young kid might say, “Jake wants drink” in Japanese the same way in English a younger kid might say “Me want drink” or “Want drink” bc they’re still learning how to properly use personal pronouns, too.

Because of this association, though, some girls (especially) will copy this because they feel it makes them sound young and cute, like a little kid. It’s possible Yana wanted to tie into this idea with Layla, while also cleverly disguising that she’s actually only one of the personalities in that body. Because Layla as a loli in a manga wouldn’t come off as odd using such language.

However, once Al is introduced, not only does he get a different font, but his manner of speech is very different, including his pronoun. Like Bard (and Doll), Al consistently uses オレ (ore), a hypermasculine pronoun, and his speech aligns with this.

Al seems like a stark opposite to Layla; she’s small and cutesy, he’s much more brusque and masculine. It isn’t clear whose body it is, and whether or not it’s a male body or not. The collie class appear to be all male, so it’s possible Al is actually the body’s owner and Layla is the transplant; we have no way of knowing now.

Perhaps we will see what happens to them when they’re brought back to the reaper HQ.

•私•僕•俺•儂•自分•我•私•僕•俺•儂•自分•我•

This is part of a series. More to come!

Sebastian | Our Ciel | Bard | Mey Rin | Finny | Lau | Grelle | Undertaker | Real Ciel | Blavat | Doll | Agni | Soma | Snake | Layla & Al

•私•僕•俺•儂•自分•我•私•僕•俺•儂•自分•我•

[ X ]

#black butler #黒執事 #layla #kuro pronoun series #japanese language #first person pronouns #ore #オレ #おれ #俺 #masculine #childish #poi translation #first name as a pronoun #poi og

[millenialfanfictionaddiction]

Any Regrets?

Hoshiumi Korai x chubby! Female reader (she/her pronouns)

⚠️18+ CONTENT! MINORS DNI ⚠️

Warnings: self conscious reader, some diet culture, bullying, Slight angst, fingerings, handjobs, unprotected sex (reader is on birth control but still, don't be stupid), tons of fluff, pet names, just to be clear this is TIMESKIP (both Hoshiumi and reader are consenting adults)

Reader is chubby and has some identifying characters such as hair.

Word count: 5k-ish

AN: if you are one of my younger followers, close your eyes! Just me being a whore again and I promise there is more SFW content coming!

Being best friend with Korai Hoshiumi had it perks.  He always had your back and provided much needed entertainment in your life. He was always been supportive of you and urged you to follow your dreams. You did the exact same, encouraging him to fly higher and dream bigger. Your friendship started years ago, when you were 5 years old. You lived close and often aged together. You grew up, going to the same schools, always walking home together. Your families joked that one day you two would get married. It seemed like you two had been destined to be friends.

As you grew older, you both struggled with Body images. Where as Korai was short, you were a bit on the heavier side.  You were constantly belittled and made out of the butt of many jokes because of your extra weight. It wasn't something you could control and you constantly worked to change your appearance.

You tried any diets and all of them had failed, your parents told you that eventually you'd outgrow the weight. "Just wait until you hit puberty YN," your mother would say, "you'll lose all the baby fat." So you patiently waited, masking your expression and tears when others tore you down but not Korai. He would always tell you, "YN ignore them, they are just jealous of you."  You always smiled and nodded, not thinking anyone could or would ever be jealous of you, how could they be. You were far from perfect.  Korai often struggled with similar remarks about his height, except he never backed down from a fight and he always got the last word in. So when he started taking up Volleyball, you fully supported your best friend.  Before anyone else, you believed he would be an amazing volleyball player and athlete.  He constantly worked his ass off despite his short stature, often recruiting you to help him practice after school and on weekends 

As you both grew older, things between you never changed. You both attended Kamomedai High school, your bond as strong as ever.  You went into high school being excited, hoping things would change for the better and while you did become the manager for Kamomedai's volleyball team, the endless teasing about your weight didn't stop.

Puberty had come and gone, leaving you still with the extra weight you so desperately wished to lose.  While the boys on the Kamomedai Volleyball team adored you, you became the constant joke amongst many of the students.

"Honestly of everyone, they picked YN to manage their team."

"Seriously? Yn? She's like the most unathletic person at this school."

"And she's so big!  I mean seriously how does she even fit in the uniform." 

The teasing hurt alot, often resulting in you crying on the bathroom floor of the girls locker room.  And while Korai's popularity amongst your class grew, you found yourself spending less and less time with him.

Sure you saw him at practice but your time outside of school was limited.  It hurt seeing your best friend vanish in front of your very eyes, yet you couldn't help but be happy for him.  You always knew he was going to make it big, that's why it didn't surprise you when you found out he had been recruited to the Schweiden Adlers.  You had stayed in touch through social media, occasionally liking and/or commenting on each other's activities but your once intimate relationship was all but gone.  

Now, 4 years later, you had graduated college and were looking for a new job.  When you found the position for Adlers team manager in the paper, you figured it was worth a shot.  You didn't feel comfortable name dropping Korai as a reference but your skills as a high school manager as well as your degree more than solidified you as worthy of the position.  The first day you came into the gym, Hoshiumi looked at you, his eyes widening in realization.  The truth was that he had truly missed you all these years.  Things happened, schedules changed and school got in the way and your once amazing childhood friendship getting caught in the crossfire. 

However Korai had always felt something for you.  For a while, he had been conflicted about his feelings.  At first he thought it was just an innocent crush, but it developed into more as you both grew.  Seeing your pictures on social media and how you grew up to be an exceptional, kind and amazing person.  

He always thought you were beautiful and hated the way those jerks talked down to you about your weight.  He thought you were pure perfection, always so kind and willing to help anyone who needed it. His shock at your arrival turned into a smile as he ran over to you.

"YN? Holy shit what are you doing here?"- he said 

"I'm the new team manager," you responded, excitedly as you smiled and blushed

Korai felt butterflies fill his stomach at the thought of getting close to you once again. You looked more amazing than ever, your eyes were so big and bright, you're hair soft and perfect.

And you body in those leggings and adlers shirt... no- no he wasn't going to think about that.  Korai wanted to rekindle your friendship more than anything and he wouldn't let his stupid childhood crush get in the way or so at least he thought.  

It's always easier said than done especially when it comes to you and his team.  It started off small, little things like Romero putting his arm on your shoulders, giving you a massage.

Heiwajima teasing you and making you blush. Hirugami giving you hugs every day after practice. Ushijima pulling you to the court, holding you small hand in his large one. Kageyama putting his hands on your waist to steady you from falling. Everytime his teammates would touch you, he felt his blood boil. He would glare at his teammates who at this point, knew he had developed a crush. They often traded him in the locker room and smirked behind your back as they egged him on to just ask you out. Korai wanted to, he really did but he couldn't lose your friendship, not after he had just gotten you back. So he channeled his frustrations the only way he could, through spiking and slamming volleyballs into the ground.

"Whoa Ushijima junior, calm down," Heiwajima said, shaking out his arms after receiving Korai's spike, "you almost took my arms off with that spike dude!" 

Korai just scuffed and walked to the bench.  You saw the change in Korai, and decided to help because you had always cares for him, probably more than a best friend should.  

You're platonic love for him developed into a crush the summer before high school.  You had always admired Korai and his ability to overcome all obstacles, plus you loved how he never cared or commented on your body. He was always laughing at your jokes, asking for help with homework or just relaxing with you at the park. It was never about anything more than your friendship.

However, Korai's popularity in high school proved to you that you were no where near his level.

"He'd be downgrading," you'd often say to yourself, "there's no way someone as talented as Korai could even care for me." 

The thoughts broke you as you continued to go about your status as "Korai's friend".

"Hey!  Penny for your thoughts?"- You said, sitting down next to the winged spiker.  He smiled down, turning his head to see you smiling back.

"I'm so glad you're here YN," Korai said, putting his arm around you and pulling you into a side hug. 

After that, you and Korai started hanging out after practice and on weekends. You'd meet for coffee, watch movies and just be. You loved getting to know your old friend again.

"Here I brought your favorite," Korai said, handing you your favorite coffee 

"You remembered?"- You say, staring at him 

"Geez YN, give me some credit here!  It's only been like 4 years," he said as you laughed.  Your relationship grew more and more, becoming more than you had ever hoped.  

So when the Adler's and MSBY held a charity event, you were nervous to say the least. You had been allowed the bring a date but unfortunately your years of failed relationships had left you as a long term single.  You signed, looking at your dress for the evening, 

A gorgeous, form fitting sweetheart neckline gown with a slit up the side.The color brought out your gorgeous eyes and the heels gave you the confidence you needed.

You did you hair down and your makeup to suit the evening.  You looked absolutely stunning.  Despite this, you were still nervous. Not because of the way you looked or what you thought people might say, people always had something to say, it was inevitable. 

No you were worried about seeing Korai with his date.  While he never actually confirmed he was going with someone, you knew he would.  How could he not? He was a professional Athlete and soon to be Olympian, plus you knew how much the fan girls fawned over him. You saw it first hand at every game as they practically clung onto him. He didn't always look particularly thrilled but still, what man didn't like attention from gorgeous women?

You sighed as you resigned yourself to sitting alone at the bar while you watched the man you cared for fall for another women.  When you arrived, you were greeted at the door as someone took your coat and ushered you inside You stood at the doorway to the banquet hall, looking around as all eyes turned to look in your direction. You looked down, making your eay into the hall as you excused yourself past people who made 10 times your salary.

"Holy Shit- YN?!?"- Romero said, Sokolov and Heiwajima in toe, pushing through the crowd of elegance.

"Damn YN!  You look amazing!"- Sokolov gushed as you blushed at the guys. 

"Thanks guys, you look great as well!- you said smiling down. Looking up you saw Hirugami approaching, carrying a glass of amber liquid.

"Will you idiots knock it off!  There are rich people here- Holy fuck- YN?!?!"- Hirugami said loudly as you look down, trying to hide your embarrassment "you look fantastic!"  You smile at the guys as Romero grabed your hand and lead you to another group of men.  

"Just wait until those fuckers see you, I'm going to rub it in their stupid faces," Romero says, marching you up to four giant MSBY players.  "This is OUR manager YN.  Isn't she gorgeous?  Bet you guys wish you had a manager,"- Romero said as you smiled and waved, embarrassed by all the attention. 

"Hello YN, I'm Meian Shugo, the captain of MSBY," Meian said extending his hand.  You shake it, smiling back.  You were able to excuse yourself, making your way to the side of the room when you saw him.  Korai stood there in a dark navy suit talking to a gorgeous blonde.  

He laughed as you saw a beaming smile form on his face. The smile you loved, only it wasn't for you and it never would be. You turned around, trying to hide the tears that we threatening to spill. You grabbed a napkin from the bar and dabbed at the corner of your eye.

You knew this was going to happen so why did it hurt so much? Why did seeing your best friend with someone who made him so happy crush you? She was perfect for him, tall, blonde and absolutely stunning. You took a deep breath, trying hard to hold back tears as you turned back around to face him.  Only this time, Korai was looking at you, completely staring, mouth agape and eyes wide.

The blonde girl had left and his entire attention was fixated on you.  You smiled at him, waving a little as Korai continued to stare.  Suddenly, a ginger haired man walked up to him, slapping him on the shoulder, causing him to snap from his thoughts.  

Korai couldn't believe what he was seeing. Was that really you? You looked like an absolute angel, a literal gift from God standing just a feet away from him.  When he first spotted you, he had been talking with his Atsumu's Girlfriend.  Something had caught his eye and he looked over, seeing the most gorgeous sight ever.  His eyes fixated on your form, your dress, your glowing skin, your beautiful silky hair.  You were literally the most gorgeous thing he had ever seen.  

"Hey- Hey Hoshi!  What the heck are you staring at?" Hinata said smacking him, as Korai looked up at him shaking his head to clear his fogged brain.

"Huh-" Korai said, looking from you to Hinata and back. He had to go to you.

"Hey excuse me for a second," Korai said, making his way towards you.  You smiled as when you saw him approach.  

"Hey stranger, funny running into you here," you joked, trying to disquse the fact that you hadn't just been completely crushed at the sight of him with his girlfriend.

"YN- you look, you look amazing.  I mean you always look amazing but God, you're so beautiful," Korai said, looking at you.  The compliment made you blush and a bigger smile graced your face.  There was no doubt in Korai's mind, you were absolutely perfect and he couldn't keep acting like you weren't perfect for him.

"Hey- can we go outside and talk?" He said,   throwing his thumb over his shoulder and towards the door.

"Oh- I, i-uh I don't want to take you away from your date,"you said, head down as you fiddled with your handbag.

"Date? I didn't bring a date,"Korai said, confused at the sudden somberness in your voice.

"Oh I saw you talking to that blonde and I thought," you said, your eyes lowering and looking to the floor again.  Korai couldn't help but smile, jealously looked so cute on you.

He put his finger under your chin, lifting it and locking eyes with your big, beautiful ones. His golden orbs met yours as you saw the softness in them, the same softness you remember seeing form your childhood.

"Come on pretty," he said grabbing your hand as you nodded and followed him, his fingers lacing with yours as he moved his way towards the balcony. You didn't miss the smirks from the Adlers and the almost auditable eye roll that radiated for Korai.

Once outside you stood as Korai, turned, running his hand down his face, he laughed saying, "I'm seriously so bad at this. I never imagined I've ever do this, well ever get the chance to do this."

You looked at him, confused and also concerned.  "Are you ok Korai?" You said, always there for your best friend.

"Ok I'm just going to say it, it's always good to get things out there right?" He said looking at you.  You look at him, still confused and concerned.

"Korai-"

"YN I like you!  Well I more than like you actually. I'm pretty sure I'm in love with you. Actually I know I'm in love with you. I've been in love with you since we were kids," Korai spits out.  You stand there for a second, trying to digest everything, this has to be some sick joke. Someone had to have put him up to this.

"That's not funny Korai," you finally say, your silence after those words almost deafening.

"YN-" 

"You can't be in love with me Korai.  You just can't be. Look at me for God's sakes!  I-I've always been this disgusting girl and you've always been this gorgeous guy. It's like a horrible movie where the ugly girl lasts after the school's jock," you said, laughing eithout humor. Korai just stared at you, confused, "and the worse part is that I love you but I know, deep down you could never love someone like me"- you say, the tears forming in the corner of your eyes as walked over to the balcony and gazed over the lake that was on the property. Korai couldn't believe what he was hearing.  You honestly thought you weren't good enough for him?

You stood there, deflated as you tried hard not to cry, Korai approached you, his hands going to your cheeks as he pulled you to look at him.

"Look at me YN," he said sternly, staring you directly in the eyes, "you are the most gorgeous, amazing and wonderful person I've ever met. It was you who always believed in me, it was you who always stood up for me when people made fun of my height or my dreams.  If anything it's me who doesn't deserve you," Korai said, his eyes studying yours as your tears rolled down your cheeks, a small chuckle escaping your mouth.

"Korai, you really mean that?"

"Let me show you angel"

Suddenly his lips came crashing on yours as he pulled you closer, kissing you deeply. You melted into the kiss, you hands going to his back as you held him close. Your lips moved in sync as his hands shifted to your back and waist, you hands moved to cup the back of his head. It was the kiss to end all kisses.

When you separated, you eyes locked as his forehead rested against yours. "You've always been the one," you whisper as he smiles, kissing you again. His hand roaming your lower back, one hand sneaking to your ass as he pulled you closer. You could feel your body heating you as your hands laced into his hair, gently tugging as he kissed you harder. The doors opened causing you and pull back, and Korai to groan.

"Hey Hoshi- oh shit, did I interrupting something?"Kageyama said looking at you and Korai.

"No-" "Yes-" you both say, Korai looking unimpressed in Kageyama's direction. If looks could kill, Kageyama would be dead on the spot.

"Hirugami wants to know if you guys plan to come out tonight? We need a head count," Kageyama said as you pulled away a little.

You look to Korai and smile,"you should go with your team-"

"I'm out- maybe next time," Korai said looking into your eyes, a smile gracing your face.

After the party, Korai took you home.  You smiled the entire ride home, happy your affection was being returned. He pulled up to your apartment, turning off his car as you turned too look at him.

"Well this is it- hmph," you said, your lips crashing with Korai's again as he licked your lower lip, signaling for you to open for him. You did instantly, your body humming from the heated kiss, your panties growing wetter as you felt his hand slide up the slit of your dress.

"Do you want to come up for a bit?"- You asked when you separated and Korai nodded frantically, jumping out of the car and all put yanking you to your door.

Making your way into your apartment, Korai stopped and looked at you. "Do you want something to drink or anything- Korai, are you ok?" You say, watching him observe you. His eyes were darker than before, almost like he was about to go feral. You could feel his gaze burn into you, your pussy practically throbbing at his stare.

"I'm good. Just thinking how stupid I was to not ask you out back in high school," He said, coming close to you, his hands going to your waist as he trailed kisses from you cheek down to your neck. He sucked and licked, hitting your sensative spot as he pulled your body flush against his. His rock hard cock pressing firmly against your thigh.

"Korai," you said breathlessly, feeling like you were about to combust from all the heat. It had been so long since you have felt wanted, so long since you had been touched by a man and never had you been touched in the way the Korai was. His large hands moving all around your curves. You could feel his desire for you boiling over as he sucked and licked behind your ear causing you to moan out.

"Tell me what you want Angel.  I'll give you anything," he said, continuing to kiss your neck and collarbone. You could have sworn he kissed every centimeter, every single millimeter of exposed skin.

"I want you to fuck me," you moan into his ear as you feel him stop, his eyes coming up the meet yours. He was panting heavily. You could see the affect you were having on him was just as bad as the one he had on you.

His lustt blown gaze met yours as you stepped back, slowly unzipping your dress. You turned, shimmying it down your body a a you slowly pulled it past your full ass, exposing your matching lace bra and panty set. You kicked the dress to the side and slowly turned to face Korai.

He couldn't stop staring. Your body was absolutely perfection. Every curve perfect, every stretch mark lile God had placed it himself, every single dimple drove him to absolute madness. The way your breast hug and the bra perked them up, he wanted to absolutely devour you.

"Fuck- YN, God you look- you look- Fuck," he said as you walk over to him slowly, reaching for his jacket as you slowly undid the buttons. He swollen hard as you moved your hands over his white button up shirt, removing it as it fell to the floor. You felt up his chest as he watched you in wonder, you hands going to undo each and every button and pulling it free from the confines of his pants.

His body was chiseled, washboard abs and broad muscular shoulders. You felt every single inch of his bare skin, taking it it's warmth, basking in the moment that was all yours.

You push off his shirt, your hands tracing his features more as you move to kiss him again, this time gently bitting his lower lip. As they parted, your tongue moved in, massaging his with a vigor that you had never attempted before. Korai made you feel desired and your body was responding appropriately.

He took advantage of the situation, spinning you around and pushing flat against the wall, pulling one of your hands up over your head as he held onto your tight. Your chest heaved into his, feeling your nipples rub just right as they grazed across his smooth skin.

"Korai-" you moan, eyes shutting at the sensative touches. His other hand was roaming all over your body. He was memorizing every single part of you, bount and determined to become an expert in pleasing you.

"What do you need from me Angel?" Korai said tracing your panty line with his fingers, slowly tugging them away from your skin as you moaned up at him, his body overflowing with a carnal desire.

"Please- I want you to touch me?" you said as Korai slowly laced his hand down your panties, crawling incredibly to slow towards your heated center.

You feel your body heat more as his fingers move towards your clit. He tested the waters, slowly and gently moving his finger over your swollen clit.   You whimper at his touch, feeling Korai groan as you feel like cock harden against your upper leg. His finger moved down to your hole, wetting them with your essence as he pulled his finger back to your ckit, massaging more and observing you shatter in his arms.

His fingers moved toward your center again, this time curving inside you, making you jolt with pleasure as he let go of your hand, gravbing your head and pulling you in for a heated kiss.  You moaning breaks the kiss, his fingers moving at a steady pace as you feel your body approach its climax. This was going to be big and you could feel it.

"Korai- Korai fuck, I'm gonna," you scream as you feel your pussy squeeze his fingers, causing him to rest his head against your shoulder, breathing deep. Fireworks blasted behind your eyes as your pussy pulsed with pleasure, continued to throb as he worked you through your orgasm.

"That was so sexy YN- you almost made me cum in my pants," he said, causing you to chuckle as you struggled to regain your breath. You smirked at him as your hand snaked down to his belt as you undo it. He watched in wonder as you undid his belt and zipper, slowly realizing what was happening.

You yanked down his pants, causing his hard cock to come free, bobbing up and down as he struggled to level his breathing. He groaned at the release of this thick, heavy cock. He hadn't been this hard in so long.

"My turn," you whisper into his ear as you take his tip in your hand, the pre-cum helping to lubricate as you began to move it up and down his shaft. Your eyes watching every facial expression, counting every breath he took.

Korai moved his head back, exposing his neck to you. You bent forward, kissing and licking up the column of his neck, his structure jaw line growing slack with pleasure.

You latched onto his neck, sucking as he heaved. You knew he was getting close and your heart skipped a beat knowing it was you getting him there.

Suddenly he grabbed your hand, causing you to look at him with your big dreamy eyes. He was an absolute mess, ravaged with lust and desire.

"The is absolutely no way I'm cumming from a hand job when I have you standing right here" he said as you giggled a little. Korai winked at you before bending over and lifting you into his arms. Your clothed pussy lining up with his hard cock, just moments and one thin slice of fabric away from slipping inside you.

"Fuck- Korai!  Put me down!  I'll hurt you," you gasped as he adjusted, the pressure of his cock on your clit sending a shiver of lust through your body.

"Oh shut up and tell me where the bedroom is," he said as you laugh point down the hall towards your master bedroom. Almost running, he quickly made his way there, at the door and locking lips with you once again. Taking you to your bed, he laid you down on top of you, still kissing you with as much vigor as he could muster. He adjusted himself, standing up and removing his pants you you stared in wonder. His cock bouncing up and down as he removed each leg.

"Baby take your bra off, I'll get your panties," he said as you nod frantically, snapping from your haze.  Korai tool off your panties, groaning as a string of your release pulled from your wet pussy to your panties. He wanted to taste you so bad but that would have to wait. His cock needed inside of you and now.

"Fuck- you are absolutely the most gorgeous thing I've ever seen" he said, pulling your legs over his shoulder as he lined his cock up with your hole, slowly rubbing it up and down as you felt your release gather on his tip. "Fuck condom," he groaned as he began to stand up, heading for his pants.

You shake your head in protest, "I'm on birth control and I haven't had sex in over a year. Also I'm clean". It was rather embarrassing how quickly you shouted the words out, blushing a little at your own enthusiasm.

Korai smiled down at you and nodded "same" he said kissing you hard, his cock nudging slowly into your soaking wet pussy. He felt his cock slip past your folds and travel its was down. Everything felt so tight, so hot. His cmbody seized as he slowed his pace before. He knew if he kept going, he'd surly cum way too fast.

  "Fuck- so fucking tight," Korai gritted as he pushed in, his cock stretched you so good, filling you up as you moaned louder. His cock wasn't massive but it was thick, the stretch delicious and a little painful. You could feel yourself accept him more and more as he worked his way deeper into you, his balls finally hitting your ass as you both stayed still for a moment. His hips planted firmly against you as he ground into you a little, the sensation of his lower stomach hitting your clit and sending jolts of pleasure thought your body.

"I'm going to move now angel, I'll go slow," he said pulling back slowly, almost coming fully out before pushing back into you. The action causing you to moan louder as you felt your orgasm start to build. He felt so good, so incredibly amazing. His slowly picked up his rythym as he began to thrust faster and faster inside of you, your head rolling back as you moaned in ecstasy.

You moved your fingers down to your clit rubbing frantically as your body approached its peak. Korai watched, teeth gritting as he held out. Your pussy felt like home, so warm and inviting. Each thrust bringing him closer and closer to his end.

"Korai- Ko please go faster, I'm so close," yo scream as your back starts arching from the mattress, pleasure level going off the chart you you feel your climax hit.

"Fuck," Korai growled as his hips pistened, his cock reaching so deep as he felt your pussy began to tighten around him. He wasn't going to last much longer but he knew you were there.

You felt yourself thrown over the edge, head flying back as your back completely left the bed and you eyes closed, mouth opening. You were panting your releases as you felt every single squeeze of Korai's cock.

Korai groaned at the feeling of your pussy, his pussy. How he could fuck you every single day before practice and even after practice. He thought about fucking you the showers and over the benches, even in the middle of the volleyball court. He thought about how only he would know the feeling of you.

"Fuck YN- mine, mine, MINE!  ALL FUCKING MINE BABY!"- He growled, his possessiveness seeping out.

"All yours Ko- always been yours," you say, your orgams still pulsing. He gritted his teeth, his eyes shutting as you watched his orgams hit, his mouth opening and his body convulsing as he pushed his spurting cock as deep as he could.

"Holy shit- YN, that was so fucking amazing,"- He said collapsing and breathing  heavily on top of you. You could feel his cock soften, your combined fluids leaking out onto your bed.

You smiled, your breathing starting to match his as you come back down to earth.  Korai rolled off you, pulling you into his body as he held you close. 

"Any regrets?"- You say, half joking as you ran your fingers down his abs, feeling every line as you traced his body.

"Yeah- I regret not doing this sooner," he said as you looked up into his face, his hair matted with sweat and the biggest smile grazing his face.

"I love you YN"

"I love you too Korai"

#haikyuu!! #haikyu! #haikyū!! #haikyuu #hoshiumi kōrai #haikyuu hoshiumi #hq hoshiumi #schweiden adlers manager #hq adlers #timeskip! hoshiumi #adlers hoshiumi #hoshiumi x reader #hoshiumi x female reader #hoshiumi x fem! reader #hoshiumi x chubby! reader #hoshiumi kourai #hoshiumi smut #haikyu timeskip #tw: smut #tw: dieting

[tiannasfanfic]

Hit Points

Eddie Munson x Reader (Fluff)

[Masterlist] [Crossposted to AO3]

Summary: Eddie Munson loves it that you play in his campaigns. Even after playing in many of them, you can still really surprise him sometimes.

Rating: General Audiences

Author Note: Gender neutral reader, they/them pronouns. I took a break from smut writing to write something fluffy. ALL of my WIPS are up to scenes of heavy smut and gaaaaah.

CW: Nothing that I can think of. There's talk of D&D characters dying, but no details.

Word Count: 1,252

It was the end of a particularly brutal campaign.

Brutal for the players, that is. This one had been specially designed to be extra nightmarish.

Eddie Munson had been feeling kinda froggy while planning it. He had been feeling that way ever since the group had accused him of taking it easy on them last campaign. Which, admittedly, he had. It wasn’t on purpose though. He was only partially ashamed to admit that he half assed that one. He wasn’t fully ashamed because he had also been busy planning an anniversary weekend at the same time as he was planning the campaign. He’d never been with someone for a year before and had put a majority of his attention into that.

The anniversary weekend camping in the woods with you in his van was a rousing success.

The campaign, on the other hand, was not.

Rather than just admit it was his own fault, Eddie decided instead to crank the next one up to an eleven to teach you all a very important lesson.

Never gripe to the DM about his campaigns.

It was a suitable time to teach this lesson since these were new characters, they were low level, and this was a short campaign anyway.

The whole dungeon had been extremely difficult, making you all burn through most of your supplies, but it all came down to the final monster; a flying Eldritch monstrosity that your characters could barely touch. The table was filled with expressions of dismay and horror as the die rolled beautifully for Eddie, but no one else. Blows were dodged, spells were botched, and it didn’t take long before you all were on your last legs. It was going to take two rounds before the party was wiped and the game was over.

It was the top of the round and your turn. You sat there starting at the game mat with a thoughtful expression. You were silent, chewing on your bottom lip, and thinking carefully over your next move.

“Well, Princess?” Eddie finally asked after a few minutes, then tapped his wrist cuff like it was a watch. “Clock’s ticking.”

Eddie had met you not long after the incident in the Upside Down. While the town was still treating him like a pariah even after getting his name cleared, he never really expected that to change. At least he wasn’t wanted for murder, so he was just back to his regular old status of freak. But Eddie had to admit, now that he had more friends, it was a lot easier to deal with. He ended up spending a lot of time with his newfound crew after finally graduating, which now included hanging out at the video store where Steve and Robin worked. When you started working up there too, the two of you hit it off immediately. It didn’t take long before you were soon dating and soon after that were officially in a relationship.

When you showed an interest in playing D&D. Eddie started teaching you how to play, running one-person campaigns for you at home. While he loved doing this with you, he figured you’d lose interest before long like most people did. Contrary to that, you fell even more in love with the game than he was, if that were possible. His group took to you quickly since Eddie didn’t give them a choice in the matter, but they genuinely warmed up to you after a while.

“Give Y/N a damn minute, Eddie,” Erica said, rolling her eyes. “They’ve got one hit point left and they want to make this one count.”

You nodded in agreement with Erica but stayed quiet. Before Eddie could goad you further, you looked up at him.

“Can you describe the chamber we’re in again?” you asked. “And please be as detailed as possible.”

Eddie smirked, leaning his elbows on the table, and resting his chin in his hands as he gazed over at you.

“You’re not gonna escape me, Princess,” he said, batting his eyes at you.

“Wasn’t trying to,” you said seriously. “I just wanted to make sure we’re not missing anything important.”

He indulged your request, reading off the detailed description of the chamber you were all currently in. To access it, you all entered through a temple and fight down ten floors. The underground chamber was large enough that the monster could fly around in it comfortably. Near the beginning of this fight, one of the first botched spells had collapsed the doorway, sealed the chamber, and cut off escape. There was no other way out. The party had been very thorough in their search of the chamber before the monster found them. They hadn’t missed anything that could help.

After considering the game mat for another minute, you started asked about the chamber structure itself. You asked about the walls, the ceiling, the structural columns, everything. You left no detail unexamined. At this point, Eddie noticed the other players were actually patient for once, quietly listening while looking back and forth between the two of you like they were at a tennis match. They knew you never got any special treatment or hints or advantages being the DMs partner. He was almost harder on you than the other players in hopes of avoiding that accusation from happening. But they also knew if anyone could figure out Eddie’s thought process and understand his mind, it was you.

There was another period of silence while you thought things over again. Eddie could see your eyes shift between the various figures and tokens on the mat.

“And this place is old,” you said thoughtfully, sounding like you were talking to yourself.

“You’ve never seen a place more ancient, Princess,” Eddie said, then smirked. “And aren’t likely to again.”

You nodded then raised your gaze to Eddie with a look of determination so fiery it made him get goosebumps.

“How many hit points do the columns have?” you asked.

Eddie blinked.

Everyone else blinked.

That was a question no one had been prepared for.

“Uh, come again?” Dustin asked.

“Think about it,” you said, addressing the party, looking at each player in turn as you spoke. “We’re not leaving this cavern. No matter what we do during this turn, we will not survive. But we can make sure that thing doesn’t either. We take out those columns, we bring this whole place down on top of it.”

“And seal all the horrors of the temple away from the world,” Gareth said, realizing what you were saying.

“No one will ever be lost to this place ever again!” exclaimed Mike.

The Dice Gods seemed to be impressed by everyone’s sudden burst of drive, and fortune started favoring you all. The columns were easily dispatched before the monster’s next turn and the temple was brought down, wiping out the party AND the monster in the process.

Despite the fact everyone died, spirits were high. Everyone stayed afterwards to help clean up Dustin’s basement, excitedly talking about the campaign and praising Eddie for yet another fun adventure. Even you gave him credit for it, even though he knew full well that it was all on you. Had he killed everyone off like he originally planned, everyone would be moping, would’ve left immediately and you two would be cleaning up alone. But, instead, you made them all feel like heroes.

That ended up being the night Eddie decided he was going to ask you to marry him.

#eddie munson x y/n #eddie munson fluff #eddie munson x you #eddie munson blurb #eddie munson x reader #eddie munson imagine #eddie munson #eddie munson fanfic #eddie x reader #eddie stranger things #stranger things #stranger things fanfiction

[potteresque-ire]

孤鴻號外野，翔鳥鳴北林。 徘徊將何見？憂思獨傷心。 — 魏晋·阮籍 《咏怀八十二首·其一》 The lone swan goose wails in the wilderness, The flying birds call in the northern forests. What’s there to see in the lingering? Worried thoughts and a solitary, wounded heart. — Ruan Ji (210-263 AD) “82 Songs of Dispositions, No. 1”

孤雁不飲啄，飛鳴聲念羣。 誰憐一片影，相失萬重雲？ — 唐·杜甫 《孤雁》 The lone swan goose doesn’t drink or eat, Flying, wailing its longing for its flock. Who would pity that piece of shadow, Lost in the million layers of clouds? — Du Fu (712-770AD) “The Lone Swan Goose”

Happy New Year everyone! 🎉🧧

Below the cut, I’m offering my interpretation of Like the Sunlight, based on the lyrics and Dd’s performance on NYE. Unlike other interpretations I’ve worked on, I’m keeping this one free from the influence of what I’ve found on the Chinese internet, whether they are interpretations from fellow fans, explanations from those involved in the production, or reviews by the media—for reasons I shall explain afterwards. 

This is strictly the product of my brain, my senses, based on the words, the stage art, the choreography.

As a warning of sorts, my interpretation isn’t one of positivity, or even, one of blissful happiness. It also isn’t candy-ish. However, I do believe this song, this performance is deeply personal for Dd, revealing, sharing a facet of him that with his fame, he can no longer say in words. And in doing so with music and movements, and on one of China’s biggest stages no less, he’s letting us see that side of him, and fulfilling what he sang in Nian:  為溫暖 也為尋常的人間 Stand up. For warmth, and for the ordinary humankind, stand up.

(Under the cut: Yes, this meta is also very, very long. :) )

For reference, I’m using the English lyrics translation by Xiaoman, and the official performance video posted by SMG. I'll denote the time of the lyrics (Xiaoman) video by the notation “LV 1:00″ for the 1st minute mark, and PV 1:00 for the same time mark in the performance (SMG) video. Sorry this is a little clumsy! I haven’t thought of a better way to do this.

To start, perhaps we can start with the simplest questions? As with any story, we’d like to figure out the time, the place, and the characters.

Time is the easiest—it’s provided in the first line of the lyrics (LV 0:20). There’s a slight mistranslation in the video; the line actually specifies two solar terms in the Chinese calendar—清明 Qingming, which falls on the 4th or 5th of April, and the one immediately after, 谷雨 Guyu, which falls on the 20th or 21st of the same month. Hence, this line of lyrics is better translated as: The Qingming winds are blowing, waiting for Guyu to sow the seeds. The time of when the conversation in the lyrics happens can therefore be estimated as around mid-April.

Is there a significance to this? Yes. The Chinese calendar divides the seasons differently from the Gregorian calendar, and Guyu is the last solar term associated with Spring. Spring is well on its way at the time of the song. It’s almost over.

Next, the place. This one is quite simple as well. It’s the wilderness, with wide open air where the the starry skies can be seen, with forests and its many trees, with mountains where beasts can roam.  

The characters. This one a little trickier ... far trickier. The lyrics never specified who they are—in fact, the narrator doesn’t even know the name of who he’s talking to.

Who is the narrator, by the way? There are three pronouns in the lyrics — “I” (我), “You” (你), and “It” (它). Can we identify them?

Let’s start with the “It”, because the syntax actually makes it quite clear what “It” is — it’s the Lonely Nights. While Lonely Nights is plural in English, it’s introduced more as a character in the lyrics. Hence, the use of “it” rather than “they”.

And what does this “It” do? How does it interact with the other two characters, “I”, the narrator, and “You”? The lyrics says, Lonely Nights drifts away like fallen leaves of Autumn, and renews itself, like new leaves budding in Spring, on the tree branches (LV 1:17). It has a cycle then, a routine—usual as, the narrator says, the world will go on (LV 1:29). The time of renewal, he says, decides when and the narrator, the “I”, and the unnamed “You”, will meet.

This means the narrator is familiar, comfortable with Lonely Nights. He’s someone who has accepted Lonely Nights as part of life, as the way things are, as like the seasons, which may appear to come and go but don’t really, truly leave.

Nights, of course, share the same cyclic character as the seasons. They leave at dawn, return in the evening. But the narrator is specific about the kind of nights he is referring to. 

They are lonely. Not only are his nights like clockwork. His loneliness is also like clockwork. 

What else do we know about the narrator? We know that he has been going on long journeys, journeys that are always restricted by time, that force him to hasten his pace (LV 0:08). The translation of 趕路 (literally, rushing the road) as “rush” is technically correct, but what “rush” doesn’t convey—no single English word can convey it, to my knowledge—is the implied nature of the journey. It’s long; it invites the image of the traveller hurrying day and night without rest, whose time and effort can afford to make the journey happen and not much else. Who sees, as the journey happens, the journey being his primary task.

Such journeys, expectedly, often serves important purposes. They are often related with something life-changing, or critical for survival. Swinging by the coffee shop before work isn’t 趕路, for example, even though the coffee-deprived person may be very rushed, and may feel they can’t live without the coffee.

The narrator has gone on such long, hastened or “rushed” journeys many times. He has done it while the “You” he was talking to have dreamt for a long time.

This still isn’t specific enough, isn’t it? Not for us to understand why the narrator’s perspective is the way it is; why he equates the Lonely Nights with seasons, talks in the language of nature and not of urban life, of civilisation. The Chinese word corresponding to the most … civilised word in the English translation, “campfire” (LV:58), is 篝火. “Camp” is associated with human activity; it sounds artificial. 篝火, nonetheless, doesn’t originally mean campfire. It’s a smaller fire, lantern-like, protected by a cover weaved from bamboo. Likewise, the light in the narrator’s palm (LV 1:56), the gift for “You”, is actually specified in the lyrics as 螢火—the light from fireflies. The narrator being a member of nature is further suggested by his not being afraid of the mountain beasts—he watches the starry skies with them (LV 0:29).

Do other places in the lyrics offer more clues to who, or rather, what he is? Is there another spot in the lyrics that refers to something journey-related, and dreams? If so, that would allow us to draw a parallel and perhaps, deduce the identity of the narrator and “You”.

There is. It can be found near the end of the song (LV 3:49): Like the green grass having a dream of falling snow; like the flying bird passing through layers and layers of dark clouds.

If we apply this parallel in description, the conclusion would be …

The narrator is a bird. 

Hence, his comfort around with the beasts, while, notably, also not being one of them. While the contemporary Chinese word for animals, 動物, includes birds and mammals, the lyrics’ word choice of 獸, translated as beasts, generally refers to the four-legged, big and fearsome creatures and excludes members of the avian family, which has its own word, 禽.

The narrator being a bird is implied by the dance choreography, the most obvious being at PV 2:59 where he flaps his wings:

What about the “You” the narrator is talking to then? Applying the same parallel, it would be the green grass, or something like the green grass—young (green), helpless in its inability to escape the seasons, the weather. It’s fearful. Anxious. Dreaming of and already dreading the winter snowfall in April. It’s vulnerable; depressed, some may say, prone to cry with the knowledge, the sadness that Spring will soon leave, not caring enough to stay (LV 4:16) to keep it warm.

But the “You” can’t be just the green grass. The early parts of the song make clear that this “You” not only doesn’t have a name, it shares certain qualities with the night. It’s found among the shadows of the trees under the starry skies (LV 0:29-0:47). It’s awake, if silent, in the night hours (LV 0:47). Dawn is the time the narrator asks for it to tell its name (LV 2:26), implying that the narrator is not expecting it to stay after sunrise.

More importantly, this “You” is who the narrator asks to wake up, like the sunlight. This critical line (LV 3:18) that leads to the climax of the song, that is the song’s namesake, is a suggestion, a plea. This may not be obvious in the English translation, because English doesn’t have an equivalent sentence building block in Chinese known as the sentence-final particle. Such particles—the 吧 (pronounced “ba”) after 像陽光那樣醒來 Wake up like the sunlight in this case—serve the important role of conveying the tone of the speaker. Punctuation marks were not introduced into standard Chinese texts until the early 20th century, and so, such particles are critical in communicating what the speaker actually means in written texts.

Here, the narrator is suggesting. He isn’t commanding. 吧 is softer, more polite than that. He’s asking. Hoping.

The suggestion, the plea for “You” to wake up like the sunlight also implies something important: the waking up hasn’t actually happened. That is only the wish of the narrator; the wish of the narrator that “You” will, one day, be like sunlight and be everywhere, on the crossroads, in the journeys, at sunrise, while dancing in the wind (LV 3:30). The “You”, therefore, has so far remained in the night. Echoing this interpretation, in Dd’s dance, at sunrise (PV 3:28) the “I”, the narrator’s movements turn frantic; he runs around and reaches, searches, grabs, until he finally collapses on the floor, curled up in a fetal position, despaired (PV 4:04):

He made a desperate attempt to hold on, and failed.

If the narrator is a bird—a lone bird—the lone bird is alone again. He has lost his companion for the night, his “You”. We know something more about the relationship between the narrator and “You” from this: the narrator doesn’t have the power to change the nocturnal nature of “You”; he doesn’t have the ability to transform “You”, overnight, into his company under the sun. All he can do is to bring “You” small morsels of light, in the form of small fires under bamboo covers, of lights from fireflies. The lyrics tell us what these two lights, both much dimmer, and weaker than sunlight, stand for: the stories the narrator can chat about, the small joys he has picked up during his (daytime) journey. 

The narrator and “You” are not soulmates. Not yet. Their separation at sunrise explains why the narrator doesn’t know certain things about “You”, such as “You”s name. That the narrator wishes for happiness for “You” (LV 3:57), no matter where one goes (the lyrics actually doesn’t specify who’s the one going)—the phrasing making this a well-wish—not only suggests that the narrator and “You” are parting ways, it also suggests the narrator doesn’t always have a clear knowledge of where “You” will be. 

But the narrator wants them to be soulmates. Exchange not only their heart 心, but their true heart 真心 (LV 1:14). Despite his unfamiliarity with certain parts of “You”, he also has insights about “You” that run deeper than names and locations; he knows “You” hasn’t made peace with the Lonely Nights like he has—it’s one of the reasons of “You”’s sadness, along with the passage of time, along with the carelessness of Spring (LV 4:07). He comforts “You”, tells “You” not to cry (LV 4:17). The tree branches where Lonely Nights renews itself, he says in the end, will not only be the time they shall meet again, but where beauty and goodness 美好 returns, along with Spring (LV 4:21).

This doesn’t sound like a happy story, does it? Moreover, some of you must be thinking, mumbling as well — Huh??? So Dd is singing a song about a bird and some … nighty grassy thing? What does that have to do with him? With anything?

Here’s when I refer to the poems at the start of the post. They are there, of course, for a reason.

You see, the lone bird — the lone migratory bird, in particular — has had a long history of symbolising uprooted people in Chinese literature. By uprooted, I mean the people have been separated from their homes, their home towns, and it doesn’t matter whether the separation is voluntary. Natural disasters like floods, man-made disasters like wars may have forced them to leave, or they have moved because better opportunities present themselves elsewhere.

Like the Sunshine is, I believe, about this lone bird, this displaced group of people.

True, the lyrics never specifies the kind of bird, but the narrator’s awareness of the seasons is the first, if faint clue of its migratory nature. The second, more significant clue is in the stage art — the existence of wide bodies of water and the creatures living in it, neither of which are found, or even implied, in the lyrics.  

This bird flies across, or above the waters (PV 3:49):

Still, you may ask, there are many migratory birds. Why have I picked poems about the lone swan goose? Why am I imagining it as the narrator of the lyrics? My reasoning is this: while two species of migratory birds have made frequent appearance in ancient Chinese poetry—the sparrows and swan geese—it’s often the latter that was alone. Poets of old tended to depict the sparrows as happy birds, with the sight of their migration signalling the arrival of Spring. As importantly, perhaps, they were usually portrayed as flying in pairs. The swan geese, on the other hand, were associated with the autumn migration, the impending winter and the less-than-happy sentiments from long journeys away from home. Their calls were described as wails. They were often portrayed as messengers carrying morsels of news, of deep yearning, from loved ones who were too far away. Swan geese naturally fly in flocks. They also mate for life. The lone swan goose therefore suggested separation and abandonment. Loss.

But but but ..., you may argue. Why can’t it be … single and available?

* Smiles *. As a culture that heralds collectivism, being alone is rarely, if ever, considered a choice in traditional Chinese thinking. In the old times, in particular, it was considered, assumed to be a less-than-ideal thing that had happened upon the individual. At best, it was some sort of misfortune; at worse, it was a bout of irresponsibility. Both poems about the lone swan goose that started this post are more than a thousand years old. Both are depressing.

This has something to do with what a home means in traditional Chinese culture.

In the Western world and in the 21st century, we associate flying away alone from our childhood homes as part of growing up. It has its challenges, but it’s also exciting. It’s about having an adventure and seeing the world. People don’t think of it as an act of abandoning one’s home, or one’s home abandoning them. The location of the physical home doesn’t matter as much as where those who love you, and those who you love back are.

Home is where the heart is. That’s the saying.

Meanwhile, home in traditional Chinese culture is more accurately described as where the bloodline is. It’s where your ancestors are buried, where you bow before row after row of memorial tablets on Qingming. Where the elders expect their descendants to not only take care of them, but shoulder the responsibilities of maintaining the house and the bloodline, and bring glory to them all.

To be away from home for any reason, even if it’s out of necessity, therefore evokes feelings of guilt, in addition to the sadness and loneliness of being a permanent stranger somewhere else. The longstanding belief that home is where one’s ancestors are means assimilation is next to impossible, both socially and emotionally. Others in the new place don’t think of the migrant as one of them. The migrant doesn’t think of themselves as one of them.

The traditional term for people who live away from their birthplace, their ancestral hometown, is 羈旅. Many of you may be familiar with 羈 — it’s the same character as in Wuji 無羈, and originally means a bridle. 旅 means to travel. Putting the characters together, 羈旅 is a bridled traveller. In ancient times, a bridled traveller could’ve lived in his new town for years—decades, even—and be still considered a guest in the town and his house, little more than a restraint that had kept him there. The consequence of such lifelong alienation was that the deathbed wish of many such migrants was to be taken back to their home towns for burial. 落葉歸根, they called it. The fallen leaf returning to its roots.

Fallen leaves are considered uprooted, rootless.

Fallen leaves appear in the lyrics of Like the Sunshine as well (LV 1:17), describing the passing of Lonely Nights.

In 2023, China has, inevitably, absorbed some of the Western perspectives about leaving home, the independence and self-reliance it nurtures, the freedom it brings. But the old thinking remains, stubborn and at constant war with the new. The Chinese word for freedom 自由 didn’t enter the Chinese lexicon until the 19th century, as an import from Japan. Chasing one’s dream, often the cause of leaving home, is also a contemporary concept—in old Chinese usage, to dream is not a particularly good thing. Ancient Chinese preferred something more tangible. More practical. 

The dream in Like the Sunshine is an example. The dream isn’t a particularly good one—snow is a danger for the green grass.

Whereas, Confucius was already preaching filial piety, laying out its rules and rituals 2,500 years ago.

Government policies also reinforce the feelings, and “guest” status, of the modern bridled traveller. Chinese are attached to the provinces of their birth by their 户口 hukou, a household registration system that allows the government to control the flow of its population within the country, which is arguably necessary due to the vast disparity in resources from province to province, and between the villages and the big cities. When a Chinese moves somewhere else—to a big city like Beijing, for example—their hukou doesn’t move with them. Without a Beijing hukou, the migrants’ rights to buy a house, even a car, in the city are restricted. They are often overlooked by companies, which prefer to hire Beijing hukou holders, while the migrants already have little safety net should they fall into economic hardship, not being eligible for most of the local government assistance programmes. Children must go back to their hukou’s province for their college entrance exams, when top universities admit students with a Beijing hukou at a much, much higher rate — in 2011, Beijing University’s admission rate for Beijing hukou holders was almost 30 times that of Dd’s home province, Henan.

While a points system is in place for those who wish to apply for a Beijing hukou, the latter remains so difficult to get, so coveted that there is a black market for it—the price tag justified by the need to “make the right connections within the government”, i.e., to bribe. The current price isn’t something I’m privy to, but back in 2012, the state media reported that it was already at 500,000 RMB (72,480 USD).

It’s a sum of money the poor can't afford, not to say such a purchase is, of course, not exactly legal.

Yet, there are still so many modern bridled travellers in China that they have a collective descriptor: 漂族 The drifting race. 漂, meaning to drift and pronounced “piao”, also appeared in the lyrics, describing the fallen leaves that, in turn, describe the Lonely Nights (LV 1:17). Fallen leaves, as mentioned before, have been used to describe the rootless—and specifically, those approaching the end of their lives.

Drifters who have drifted to Beijing are known as 北漂 — 北, or North, is from 北京 Beijing, which literally means The Northern Capital. In 2021, this population amounted to more than 8 million people, or 38.5% of the city’s permanent residents.

This population also includes Dd and Gg. Dd and Gg may be stars, but at the end of the day, they are just another two youngsters who have left their homes for a big city to try their luck.

For Dd, in particular, Beijing isn’t even the first place he has drifted to. His first was not only another city, but another country—South Korea. Of his short 25 years on this planet, he has spent 14 of them as a bridled traveller, and many of these days he wasn’t even bridled, his home being a hotel room somewhere. Everywhere. Meanwhile, expectations remain that he should view his birthplace, the city of Luoyang in Henan, as his home. He has been repeatedly asked to perform in Luoyang / Henan’s dialect, even though he has, also repeatedly, said he isn’t fluent in it (two examples from CQL’s promotional period alone: Vid 1, 1:55; Vid 2, 5:47). His selection of Cola Chicken Wings as his favourite dish for Chinese New Year (Vid, 3:56), being a cute candy aside, also suggested a certain degree of detachment from his supposed home city. Most people would have named a dish from their home place without prompting.

Yet, strangely perhaps, Dd has also exhibited a strong affinity to Home, as a concept. When it matters, his connection to his ancestral home seems almost tighter than other’s. There are hints, too, that he’s meant to be living in a home-is-where-the-heart-is home, when, with his history, many may assume that he’s comfortable, if not more comfortable with being uprooted, being rootless.

Dd was there to help with the rescue effort for the floods in his ancestral home of Henan. He was there despite of the skepticism he must know he would get, and he did get it. Meanwhile, his years drifting in S. Korea, in Beijing haven’t appeared to have assuaged his fear of the dark, which may, perhaps, be as well understood as his need for companionship. Not the “let’s go party together” kind of companionship—Dd doesn’t have a reputation as being a party animal, not even in the most gossipy, most vile of YXH blogs—but the “let’s-be-together-when-it’s-dark-and-silent” kind of companionship, the kind that requires far more closeness … intimacy, if one will, and trust. As night falls, he appears to require the presence of another human being to feel safe, to fall sleep. On record, he had sought such presence by tactile confirmation, as his old team mate once pointed out (0:44), or by finding an imitation—the voice from a non-hostile, trusted source such as the CCTV Sports Channel (23:15).

I can’t help but feel: both of these are pale substitutes of what Dd can get from a home-is-where-the-heart-is home.

Some people don’t mind being alone. Some even enjoy being uprooted. Dd doesn’t seem to be one of them.

He isn’t the only one. There are many other young Chinese drifters who have elected to drift, but also wish for an ancestral home, a home-is-where-the-heart-is home, to return to at the end of the day. The hardship of the drifting race has been well documented. Many spend the night alone in the tinniest, cheapest apartments in their new city, exhausted from a day of “rushing”, depressed from missing their loved ones and anxious about their new environment, their new job, their being from a poor province that big cities tend to look down upon.

They worry. Many have promised their families back home that they will mail back money with their higher income in the city. After all, a good fraction of them only manage to secure employment in the big cities after their family—their parents, their grandparents—exhausted most of their savings to pay for their college education. They want to repay these elders who love them. They want to bring glory to their blood line. These expectations, both from others and from themselves, have never gone away.

They cry. At night, mostly, when nobody can see them, because they must put on a brave, mature face when the sun is up. With the guilt associated with leaving home, with the investment of time and money and effort required, the decision to leave is seldom made lightly, and many of them are set on making their journey a worthwhile one.

As one Beijing Drifter from Chongqing said: Even if I have to get on my knees, I’ll take this path to its end. (Vid,13:38)

If time and space are limited, how would I succinctly describe these drifters? How would I depict them with a simple piece of artwork? I’m no artist, and so, Google is my friend and perhaps, this is what I'll find and show:

(An off-angle shot of this in the performance is found at PV 4:28)

The hunched back, overladen with guilt and anxiety, and often, too, with the weight of expectations. The paper plane, representing their pursue for a better life. Flying high while being small, childlike and vulnerable.

The last three years of Zero COVID policy have not helped with the drifting race’s predicament. Chinese New Year is usually the time the drifters travel home to visit their family, but many didn’t for the last three years. Leaving the capital city, especially, had been heavily discouraged by the local government, for fear those who did would bring back the virus when they returned. Travelling also created a risk of being subjected to involuntary quarantine, or of being given a yellow or red COVID health code that would bar them from returning to the city, too often for long enough to jeopardise their employment.

These lone, migratory birds are, I believe, what Like the Sunlight is about, and who Like the Sunlight is for. The teary faces these drifters don’t allow to see the day, that stay awake and silent after night falls, is the “You” of the song — young (green), worried about their future and the challenges it will undoubtedly bring (winter snow), still not used to the lonely nights and wondering if anyone cares, realising that even the kindest souls can only do so much for them with their own obligations to keep, their own routines to follow (Spring).

The “You” doesn’t have a name because it’s actually a part of the lone migratory bird, the narrator. The “You” is both familiar and unfamiliar to the narrator because it harbors his deepest, most hidden if also the most unadorned and sincere feelings—feelings that must leave, return to the dark when the sun is up.

The Chinese work environment is very much survival-of-the-fittest. Competition is fierce. Work load is brutal. Youth and immaturity, sadness and fears have no place there. 

I imagine, Dd chose this song because he, too, has been one of these migratory birds, one who left home at an even earlier age than others, who flew even further away than others. At 25, he has already spent more than half of his life drifting, and this experience must have left a mark on him, he who was (is) so adversed to being in the dark and being alone. One may argue that Dd is so much luckier, that his job now pays so handsomely that the financial woes that plague most other drifters will never touch him again. That is true, but no compensation can alter the fact that his job is also among the most isolating. His every move is watched, his every associate placed on a scale and judged—is Dd too good for him, or not good enough? His hastened journey, his flight through the stormy clouds of c-ent is further darkened by the thick wall of hounding paparazzis and sasaeng fans.

As turtles, we believe his heart has found actually found a home. But we also know that he’s separated from that person for most of the year. We know, too, that because of the common practices in his line of work, because of cultural norms and government policies, he can’t turn himself from a lone migrating swan goose into half of a pair of happily migrating sparrows. He can’t even be seen in the same camera shot with his him. He may not have to worry about money, but he has to worry about the ever fickle, ever brutal public opinion. He may not be anxious about his next pay check, but his industry has been ailing, and many relies on him, directly or indirectly, for their pay check.

At some point, I imagine, there’s got to be a “You” in Dd too. A “You” that is his actual age, not the age of his maturity. A “You” that, after the night falls and all is still and quiet, frets about what will come and that, just like other humans, is prone to being brokenhearted when its trust is misplaced.

A “You” that still doesn’t want to be in the dark, to be alone.

And he must have talked to this “You”, comforted this “You” inside him. He must have done so in the lonely nights, which he has made peace with after so many years of travelling, the lonely nights that he now sees as benign—always returning, true, but isn’t it just like the seasons, with their falling, drifting leaves, followed by their constant renewal on the branches? He must have shown this “You” the morsels of joy he picked up during his day time journeys. A cool skateboard trick he mastered, maybe. A new dance move. A freshly delivered box of limited edition Lego. The company he kept when these things happened; the company that made these thing happen.

He must have wished his “You” happiness. He must have wished it to be like sunlight, to be something that can be out there in the open for all to see and is light and free enough to dance on the journeys with him after the sun rises, at the many crossroads he must pass. To me, what this performance practically shouts to the world is: Dd may be taciturn, but he’s expressive. There are things deep inside him that he wants people to know, to understand, if just so that others who feel the same can whisper “Me too”. He must have been disappointed before, despaired that that hasn’t happened, that his “You” has remained in the night, that this soft, gentle part of him has to be wrapped up and hidden from public eye and he must put on a brave, mature face when dawn breaks. But he’s making peace with that too. After all, the “You” that stays in the night keeps him company when there’s no one else. He recalls the small joys of his life for it, recounts the small joys of his life to it. He exchanges his true heart with it, acquaints himself with his deepest, most unadorned, natural feelings—feelings that he keeps from other humans, from civilisation.

Despite dreading winters, this “You” in him has helped him through the winters.

I would insist that Like the Sunlight is a positive song, in that it’s about acceptance and healing—not the outcome of healing, but the process of healing. At the same time, I also recognise that it isn’t a positive song the way positivity is conventionally defined in their country: that everyone is living a happy, inspirational life, that wounds are no more than plot points leading to a climatic preaching scene. I see open wounds in the dance performance. I see pain, and I appreciate it not because I enjoy seeing anyone hurting, but because unlike so much of their country’s entertainment, it doesn’t pretend that such wounds don’t exist, or that they can be healed and numbed by some stock phrases of encouragement, a few slogans, a chant of core socialist values.

To pretend such things is to make light of pain, to diminish the humanity that makes the pain.

Healing isn’t a game of mathematics, in which fortune in one area cancels out the misfortune in another. Just because one has an illustrious career, or even, an enviable romantic life, doesn’t mean they can’t be hurting somewhere still. Healing is slow. Healing is difficult. Healing is patching a wound, the deep hollowness within, with one firefly light after another. Healing is to have the wound ripped open again and again at the most unexpected, most inconvenient of times, and still believing, insisting that the wound will close one day.

Healing is learning to accept that the hollow is there. To make peace with it. To see it as part of oneself.

Healing is to wait, to be patient season after season.

These aren’t viewpoints that public figures in China can express freely, or at least, without great care. Recognition of the existence of real, open wounds, of the pain they inflict, may be misconstrued as dissatisfaction about the country’s way of life, and the powers that be that make their way of life the way it is. Public figures in entertainment, in particular, are far better off in 2023 being talked about as role models of the government-approved kind of positivity, their work as vehicles for warm fuzziness and slogan-y life lessons. Sunlight is everywhere, always. Sunlight is a reality, never just a wish. Embraces happen under the sun and with the sun, not in and with the darkness (PV 0:40). And such things are to be represented as observations, as what the audience sees, even though the lyrics doesn’t say it, the stage art doesn’t show it, the dance choreography doesn’t suggest it.

Chairman Mao was the Red Sun.

How far does this insistence of positivity go? The following is a digital banner photographed in a Chinese hospital a week ago. The bright red banner looks, and is, congratulatory. Something very happy has happened! What is it about?

This: Good News! On 2022 December 21st, Our ER department has served more than 2 million people (Source).

The surge in patient visits was due to the country’s 180-degree turn in its Zero COVID policy, and the associated surge in hospitalisations and yes, deaths. 

The next day, a crematorium’s notice wrote the following about the doubling of corpses it had processed over the course of a week: 受到了群眾的好評和領導的肯定 ... 確保年底前各項工作任務圓滿收官、爭創佳績. (The work) has been well received by the masses and affirmed by the leaders... (we shall) ensure all our year-end responsibilities will have a perfect curtain call, and strive for the best results.

This is how strong the country’s insistence on positivity is. Humans are behind the banner, the notice. Do they understand the less-than-happy, less-than-inspirational sentiments behind the ER visits, the deaths? Of course they do. But this is how much people are being pressured into saying happy, inspirational things these days. This is the length people are going to avoid saying things that are otherwise, at the intersection between 2022 and 2023.

And so, I shall say this again—the above interpretation is entirely my own, from my angsty fic writer’s brain, and have nothing to do with any interpretation, explanation or review available on the Chinese social media, which are all happily, inspirationally and most importantly, appropriately positive. It’s my being obstinate and ridiculous and delusional that makes me disagree with them, that makes me confess the following: 

I have doubts about the … honesty of certain things that have been said.

The explanation offered by the studio about the stage art, for example. The explanation says, the art depicts a fantasy, which culminated to the narrator finding his lost home and that union leads to a finale of golden light passing through the clouds, waking up millions of lives and souls. 

I have doubts because I have trouble matching it to what I saw. While the exact moment can’t be pinpointed due to the camerawork, the shade of red on Dd’s face suggested that the sun, the golden light, started shining at the PV 3:28 mark. At that moment, the creatures, the lives and souls remain on screen, thriving in the dark, in the nature. As the sun continues to rise, they are lost, transformed into (lifeless) objects from civilisation—things like furniture and laundry lines. Finally (PV 4:24), the lone man appears, united with his home in that he’s carrying it like a burden on his back. Not one life or soul appears after the man and the house did. Dd’s final interaction with the stage art is to walk towards the man, the uprooted house that just had a paper plane fly out of its window. 

The stage art thus presents a story that is almost opposite of the explanation given: the rising sun, in fact, drives away the creatures, the lives and souls and nature that accompanied the narrator before. The civilisation the narrator returns to has nothing but a home that is rootless—in contrast its being rooted at the beginning of the performance (PV 0:10)—and its paper plane carrying, one may presume, a fragile childlike dream.

Winter is turning the corner, the explanation says in its conclusion. Warmth has arrived, unexpected. The stage effect, meanwhile, is a wild dance of drifting, yellow autumn leaves. Winter may indeed be turning a corner, but it’s more likely to be doing what the green grass has been dreaming of, afraid of. It is lurking, waiting for the right moment to bring in the cold, the snow.

As such, the stage art goes well with the lyrics—assuming my interpretation isn’t too off the mark. As such, the stage art also, in my (obstinate, ridiculous, delusional) opinion, sets the explanation’s pants on fire.

The thing I can say about the explanation is … it’s positive; it’s a good thing to say on record. Even the flood isn’t real.

Another thing I can say is: to everyone reading this, please trust your senses. Please believe whatever the performance makes you feel is real. Don’t let anyone tell you, this is the proper interpretation. Don’t listen to anyone who says, this is how you’re supposed to think. Including me. Including this post. Even if a language barrier exists, music is universal. Art is universal. Movements are universal.

Okay, this is getting ridiculously long, which is hardly surprising 😊. One last thing. Some may be asking (assuming you haven’t all fallen asleep)—do I think there are candies in this performance?

Frankly, I don’t think there are any on the surface. Not in what was sung, or illustrated, or danced. However …

If you’re a lover / follower of LRLG like I do, you may remember the famous episode (#6, published 2020/12/25) that talked about Dd keeping Gg’s ring in his pocket while he sang. Another confession: the ring part was never my favourite from the episode. Instead, it was this tiny piece of conversation that few likely recall:

(Context: Dd had to make an overnight car trip to somewhere else after the show. Gg was staying. They just joked / wishful thought about Dd bringing Gg with him.) ❤️: You know what to do after you get on the car? 💚: Didn’t you say you’re leaving with me? ❤️: Turn on video conferencing. I’ll watch you sleep.

While fake rumours are officially fake, certain elements have made repeated appearances—such as, Gg and Dd often have their video conferencing on, even when they are doing their own things. They keep each other company that way. And this snippet from LRLG isn’t the only one that further specifies what happens at night—that when they are apart, Gg and Dd would have their video conferencing on when Dd goes to bed, and Gg turns it off after Dd falls asleep. This candy made a strong impression on me because I recalled how much Dd disliked the dark, and being alone, and I thought, how comforting it must be to him for that dislike to be acknowledged, to be taken seriously as a thing to be addressed. I’m an aroace; I can’t say I know much about romantic love. But something I do know about love—any kind of love—is this: it’s to give the other person what they need and not what I think they need; it’s to not question why they need it, to not brush the need off because it doesn’t apply to me, because I don’t understand it.

This three-line conversation was filled with love. Gg, offering what Dd needed matter-of-factly. Dd, being comfortable enough with the offer for him to keep the silliness going.

This offer had to have been made many times before. This offer had to have been received, and appreciated, many times before.

Imagine Dd on his journey after this conversation, him drifting off into slumber while clutching his cellphone, the latter dimly glowing in the dark vehicle as Gg watched him. Who can say that Gg wasn’t, at that moment and at every other moment like this, being the firefly light in Dd’s palm?

He must have made so many firefly lights for Dd. The firefly lights that Dd shows his “You” in lonely nights.

He must have been the fire under the woven bamboo. He in his long coat and oversized scarf, his eyes playful and twinkling like embers, his smile bright and warm and sweet like the fallen petals that mark the passage of time. He must be very good at fighting off winters—he who can’t make a proper snowball to save his life.

And when the lonely nights visit again, when Dd’s “You” is awake and silent and waiting to hear stories, Dd gets chatty.

We all know this, right? Dd always gets annoyingly, adorably chatty when this fire under the bamboo lights up. 💚💚💚

#pie metas

[inkyucu]

Theatrical Tragedy!!!

(Aka an informational post about an AU I'm currently obsessing over)

This is most likely going to be a somewhat long post, so sorry about that-

Important thing to know before continuing!!!

(Depending on who you are)

Before I say anything else, there is something I want to make clear, because I know that this can make some people uncomfortable. This AU is an AU that contains Sun x Moon. They are not siblings in this AU. There may be times where there is implied shipping of one of these two and another character, but keep in mind that they're not in a polyamorous relationship of any sort (They just do it to mess with people, they both do it, they know the other one does it, it does not bother either of them).

Please also keep in mind that some art posted of Sun and Moon may be considered suggestive (Nothing explicit - mostly because it makes me uncomfortable - but do keep this in mind if you do decide to keep up with the AU). I've been trying to get more comfortable with drawing different things with my art, and this AU just so happens to be a good means for me to try and get more used to drawing characters in a relationship.

Neither of these should end up being posted that often in the art that I do post, but I felt it was important to inform you of the potential of these showing up. I understand not everyone likes these things. If you don't like anything mentioned here, please don't say anything about it, and just ignore the AU. This also applies to anything else you might read or see about this AU. If you don't like it, ignore it.

Introduction.

(Finally)

Basically, in this AU, 'You' are a security worker in the Pizzaplex after the massive layoff of people. The security guards are the only ones that weren't fired, simply because they needed at least some people to do the things the robots couldn't do. Which unfortunately leaves you assigned to the daycare because of false reports of them being broken. ...And no one really trusts either of them. For the most part, you were basically just there to be a babysitter to a bratty animatronic that seems to hate you.

Moon, while rather annoying at times, doesn't have much of a problem with you. Sun seems to act like they hate you. Eclipse.... Eh, you'll find out.

'You'

Referred to Whyen - It's a nickname you've always had

Shorter than average

Unspecified age, but likely in their early twenties

Any pronouns

Refers to the robots as 'It' literally just to be rude

They act a bit of a jerk towards the animatronics, but in general they tend to just not interact with the animatronics, as they make them uncomfortable. They had a sibling who used to work in the now abandoned theater near the daycare. Wonder what happened to them....

Sun!

Goes by many names, and doesn't care what they're called

9'8 (Before and after sharing a body)

They were made after Eclipse, but no one knows how long they've been around

Mostly referred to as male, but goes my any pronouns - except for it, they see it as being dehumanizing

Pretty good with children, but absolutely hates all of the staff. Why? No one's quite sure, they just don't. They were the second AI to be made, and of the three currently known, Sun tends to be the most sensible and easiest to irritate one. One of the easiest ways to irritate them is intentionally doing something wrong, being disorganized, or just being a menace to society.

Moon!

Like Sun, they don't care what name people call them

9'8 (Before and after sharing a body)

They were made after Sun, but no one knows how long they've been around

Usually referred to as male, but goes by any pronouns - doesn't mind being called it

Also pretty decent with children. Doesn't really hate the staff, they just like to antagonize the staff by acting creepy or weird. Usually Moon just doesn't interact though. He tends to be the more silly and mischievous one of the three, and the least sensible of all of them. Moon was planned to be made at the same time as Sun, but they were technically made after Sun literally due to a lack of enough people to work on both of them at the same time.

Eclipse!

Mostly just referred to as Eclipse

9'11

The first to be made, they were made at least 15 years ago (specific date unknown)

You could call them literally anything and they would not care at all

Eclipse - when they were a part of the theater - was usually specifically kept away from the children due to the buggy mess they were. They were nice, but unpredictable. The most chaotic of the three, and yet oddly the calmest. After the theater got shut down, Eclipse was not put into the one body, and instead they were put in a storage room. Why? Probably because of the mess that their AI was.

That one dream guy

Unknown name

Unknown height

Unknown age

Unknown gender

Not much is known about it, other than that you seem to trust it when it appears in your dreams, it seemed to be human, and that it appeared to work at the Pizzaplex.

Eclipse is only taller due to their torso and abdomen needing to be farther spaced apart for their 6 arms (Yes, 6 arms)

Fun/Random Facts!

(This list may or may not extend over time)

Sun and Moon used to be in two separate bodies when they were in the theater! They were only put in one body to save power costs

Sun and Moon choose who is in control; it's not determined by lights

Eclipse broke very easily, and due to this, most of their existence they couldn't change their face expressions very much. To make up for this, they used small signs with different expressions!

Whyen's nickname may or may not be a reference to a certain 'Y/N' the dca Fandom is just a little fond of

Other things not really related to what the AU is about but are still important I think

(Man I'm so bad good at titles)

This AU is rather incomplete, and there has been at least one thing I've gone back and have changed. So chances are, it'll happen again. This could - and probably will - lead to some inconsistencies in the AU. If that happens? Just go by what I say in that very moment is what's canon.

Asks about the AU are welcome! This could be to any character, and you would not appear as Whyen in the story... Imagine yourself as like a child in the daycare or something asking them these questions. But no, through the asks, you would not be asking them through Whyen, if that makes sense.

You can also just send a question to me specifically if you have questions about the AU! I'd be welcome to answer any remaining questions you have after reading this!

This post most likely will be changed as the AU changes.

#apologies if any of this came off as rude #t.t.au #theatrical tragedy #theatrical tragedy au #theatrical tragedy y/n #theatrical tragedy Whyen #theatrical tragedy moon #theatrical tragedy sun #theatrical tragedy eclipse #fnaf sun #sun fnaf #moon fnaf #fnaf moon #eclipse fnaf #fnaf eclipse #fnaf sundrop #sundrop fnaf #sunrise fnaf #fnaf sunrise #fnaf moondrop #moondrop fnaf #moonrise fnaf #fnaf moonrise #fnaf au #dca au #dca fnaf #inkyucu #fnaf daycare au #daycare attendant fnaf #fnaf daycare attendant

[rata2ouillegame]

RATA2OUILLE: THE PERFECT DISH (Info Post + Download)

You’re probably wondering, “what the hell?” Honestly so am I, as not even I can fully process what I’ve done. Rata2ouille: The Perfect Dish (AKA Funny Ratgame) is a satirical, freeware indie platformer, social simulation, full length role-playing hybrid game. Following the events of Ratatouille for Wii and its sequel Ratatouille PSP, a new adventure unfolds after a series of events leads to the protagonist discovering a mysterious world known as the Food Network. Partnering up with an odd naked mole rat named Twinkles, the protagonist forms the Rodent Risers, braving the Food Network to find the mythical Perfect Ingredients and defeat the brutally evil rat Knox. Along the way, the player will have to develop Companion Syncs with both coworkers and customers, craft and obtain Persona to wield in combat, manage their restaurant, cook food that will assist them on their journey, and more.

itch.io page: Click Here

Google Drive: Download Link

Archive.org: Download Link

Please feel free to upload and share with your friends wherever you feel like if they have trouble with either of these links!!!

Unravel a grandiose conspiracy involving the amnesiac Twinkles, the evil rat Knox, the mysterious Food Network, the labyrinthine Hyperstream, fast food delivery apps, and an impending visit from the food critic Guy Fieri that could make-or-break your restaurant!

Fight intense battles with Shadows that you can also wield as Persona. Use them to best your enemies and rivals, like Ratatoing!

Form various Companion Syncs to deepen your bond with important figures in your life to unlock skills and gameplay perks!

Date various cute boyfriends! Only one girlfriend included.

Over 100 characters from various different media properties appear as customers in your restaurant, including... Sans Undertale, Peter Griffin, Yu Narukami, Kazuma Kiryu, Joseph Joestar, Bayonetta, and many, many, many more!

Customize your hero! Set pronouns and unlock over thirty unique costumes that appear both in cutscenes and gameplay!

Obtain all seven of the legendary Chaos Emeralds by succeeding in target breaking minigames hidden throughout the Food Network!

Difficulty adjustments and options, such as the “Skip Battles” pog item that can be equipped to skip all battles and focus purely on the story! Perfect for players that do not care for combat.

Create your own “My Food Network” where you can set your own favorite song to play, choose your color palette, create a food exhibit, and set posters that can be unlocked using points earned from in-game achievements!

Super cool players that 100% the game can view a Secret Ending that plays upon clearing the epilogue or talking to a certain friend in My Food Network...

This game is in no way, shape, or form an actual Disney, Pixar, or Atlus product. It is an independently developed satirical game. It is parody and no profit is being made from it.

Check out more down below for a little Q&A

Q: Is this really a full length Persona style RPG? A: Yes. I’m sorry, I don’t know why. It’s about 60 Hours long.

Q: How long did this take to make? A: About two and a half years, though I took many breaks from working on it due to being a full time college student (after some gap years) and having other projects I’ve been working on.

Q: Who made this? What kind of person makes this? Can you tell us about yourself because I need to know what’s wrong with you??? A: I’m very sorry to tell you that a very hot goth artsy nonbinary femboy made this game. I hope that makes the game more intimidatingly powerful.

Q: If this is a heavily Persona inspired game will it be re-released with a single new dungeon in a few years with a new marketable character tacked on? A: Buddy if enough people find this funny and enjoy playing it, you know it! That and if enough people would like to help me add full blown voice acting in a re-release, which would be one of my major focuses for an enhanced version.

Q: Why did you make this? A: I was really bored during the pandemic. Originally this was a small crude gag game I was making years and years and years ago that I scrapped, but I completely revamped it into something much more elaborate and surreal as a little distraction to keep me busy while quarantining. It sort-of functioned as a low stakes testing ground for less facetious games I plan on releasing in the near future. There’s also an underlying commentary on how obnoxious and outlandish unnecessary sequels to self-contained and subdued stories are, which can be seen in how ridiculously unhinged the game is with constantly recontextualizing various minute-details of the original movie and retconning things as if it was all deep foreshadowing.

Q: Why are you acting like Ratatouille is some kind of game series? A: In the past, in the really early beginnings of making this game, I had this whole elaborate ARG thing I would often joke about with friends where I would insist the movie was just a really bad faithless adaption of a video game series developed by Platinum Games and published by Atlus. There were jokes about the name “Remy” being a “dumb movie adaption thing” and that Ratatouille is in fact the proper name. The implication was that the “Disney movie adaption” was so bad it killed off the game series until this sequel came out well over a decade later due to “vocal fan support.” This eventually died down a bit, but some of the ironic ARG stuff has lingered. One part of the ARG was originally going to be that there were two people working on this game instead of one and that they’d have a messy public falling out on the game’s tumblr blog, but this was scrapped because it felt too explosive lol.

Q: What do you mean by this being a sequel to Ratatouille for Wii and Ratatouille PSP? Aren’t those the same game? A:  While the Ratatouille tie-in game on most consoles was just a movie adaption, the PSP version was one of those weird tie-in games that takes place after the movie. I never beat the game but the plot entails Chef Skinner stealing all the recipe cards from the new restaurant around the time of their grand opening, and Rem- Ratatouille having to retrieve them. This is recited as some sort of major, melodramatic event in Rata2ouille. Ratatouille PSP has a lot of scrapped side-characters from the movie appear (such as rats named Celine, Dodo, Twitchy all of whom were meant to appear in the movie and were in the official art book) in addition to very odd new characters such as Teen Rat, who is seemingly a Sonic the Hedgehog pastiche that challenges Remy to races. These game-exclusive characters are all treated as if they’re established characters from the movie that we should know and recognize so when I discovered they exist halfway through development, I retroactively added a bunch of them into this game and treated them exactly the same here. I did a lot of deep diving into the production of the movie and its tie-in material while making this game and referenced a lot of niche stuff -- in order to be as bizarre as possible, I also needed to be as “authentic” as possible.

#persona 5 #persona 6 #p5r #ratatouille #indie games #shitpost #oh my god its actually freaking done #im free #oh my god im free #tears of joy

[feathered-serpents]

Why does m!fenhawke pisses you so much? You really hate the fact that your pixel boyfriend like other men don't you? Your weirdo

Okay, so I'm gonna make it very clear that I am aware, given the nature of this ask, that you don't actually care about my reasoning behind my (yes present!) bitterness towards M!FenHawke, and just want to #own me with a tumblr ask. But I have needed an excuse to talk about this so, thanks for providing it, even if it is on the wrong blog (right blog -> @high-dragon-bait for future complaints)

I'm not pissed off by M!FenHawke (for the most part.) Fenris' bisexuality is incredibly important to me. In my own canon, I have him marry a man years after my Hawke dies (his name is Lucien he's a short king and I love him). I am pissed off by M!Hawke. Just in general. Full stop

And yes, it is petty!

The Dragon Age fandom has a serious misogyny problem. No one likes to admit it, but my GOD is it bad. And before anyone tries it, I am talking solely about the fanbase, that is, the treatment of real people in the fandom. This is not about NPCs, and this is not about F/F ships, though this problem hurts both of those factors, I am SOLELY talking about the treatment of female or perceived female fans by the fandom.

It's bad

Like. It's bad

And this is reflected in the prevalence of M!Hawke. Not. Deliberately. I'm not saying anyone who posts M!Hawke content is deliberately shitting on female fans, that's insane, I am saying that the prevalent assumption of male Hawke is a symptom of the larger problem.

Now that's a lot of word jumble that could still be misconstrued so let me clarify what I mean. How many times have you seen a text post where Hawke is universally referred to as "he?" How many times have you seen a post that calls Hawke "Garrett" not like that posters OC, but like the canon name of the character? How many times have you seen Hawke's "canon" gender assumed male despite this being a game with a customizable protagonist that does not have a canon gender?

More times than you've seen Hawke is universally referred to as "she" or called "Marian" in the same manner. I promise you. Those posts exist, but they PALE in numbers to the previous posts

You don't see this with the other protagonists, the Inquisitor or The Warden. At least not as much, you will sometimes see the Warden referred to with a gendered pronoun (he/she), but not with the same ubiquity as you see male Hawke.

And obviously, obviously, OBVIOUSLY, it is hard to tell whether this is being done with the intent of the ubiquitous assumption or is just done by someone talking about their own canon. I cannot say I have magic eye lasers that let me see the poster's intent. I don't. I can say that I've seen much much more content of male Hawke over female Hawke. I can say I've seen female Hawke brushed aside or ignored in favor of male Hawke. I can say that I was harassed back in 2014 and saw other users around that time harassed for DARING to romance Fenris with a female Hawke DESPITE Fenris being canonically bisexual (Because otherwise he would not have been allowed in Kirkwall without a $10 fee)

All of that... is rooted in misogyny. I'm sorry. It just is. With a healthy dose of biphobia on the side. You can be uncomfortable with that and argue it all you want. It does not change that fact.

And this is not only seen with Hawke. By god it is not only seen with Hawke. Another prevalent example of Dragon Age fandom misogyny is the treatment of Solasmancers and Cullenmancers. Both of these are characters mostly popular with female fans, for obvious reasons, and they are also characters with some of the most VITRIOLIC hate you will find in the fandom. Now, obviously this isn't automatically rooted in misogyny. Both of these characters have extremely prevalent flaws and not liking them is perfectly understandable. I don't really like Cullen myself. But a lot of the hate for these characters, and the people who like them, is very targeted towards the fact that those fans are probably going to be women.

You'll see people who hate Solas say that he's just a "teenage girl teacher crush fantasy" or people who hate Cullen attack his fans for being "30-year-old sad moms." Those sound like somewhat catch-all insults but they ARE attacking the female-ness of the fan at their core. And that is BAD

Female protagonists are the ones most often called "boring" (F!Lavellan, F!Cousland), they are the ones most often ignored (F!Hawke), they are the ones most often ridiculed with their female-ness at the core of that ridicule before anything else. It's everywhere, and no one talks about it

And before you try it again, no, I am not talking about queer fans who just don't like m/f pairings. They are not wrong for that. If you are a queer fan who simply prefers same-sex pairings that is your business, it is the moment you are attacking fans, usually female fans, for playing a game the way they enjoy that it becomes an issue.

Because despite what Twitter told me when I tried to have this discussion there, misogynistic harassment is still not okay even if queer people are doing it.

So. That's why I like to reblog more pictures of female Hawke

#dragon age #da2 #dai #dragon age inquisition #main tagging this because i don't fear death