#and then i did in the most overly dramatic way possible | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

tameila · 1 year

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y’all wanna hear about my pikelan au where pike, keyleth, and vex own a bakery and, to celebrate their first big year, go on a girl’s trip to dalen’s closet or somewhere equally tropical. while hanging out at the resort’s lounge the first night, pike immediately strikes up a playful rapport with the lounge singer, scanlan. she spends every subsequent night staying up long after her friends have gone to sleep so that she can hang out with him after his sets. they get drinks and talk and walk along the moonlit beaches. probably go skinny dipping once or twice. it’s flirty. it’s playful. it’s very quickly something, but neither of them want to be the first to acknowledge it.

after all, what’s there to do?

swap numbers and socials and continue to play at something that can never really be anything when they’re oceans apart until it peters out and they’re both disappointed?

or, y’know...

it takes pike until the last day and numerous pep talks from her girls, but she gathers her courage and comes to scanlan with a proposition: one night, no regretting or lamenting, just enjoying that they even got this time together.

it’s magical, to say the least.

the next morning, scanlan wakes up alone, and he does his best to swallow his disappointment that she didn’t wake him to say goodbye. didn’t even leave a note. until, pike reappears in his room, still bare and beautiful, carrying a plate of toast and complaining about the lack of food in his apartment. she snuggles up in bed with him. she drapes her body all over his as if they’d done it for years. and scanlan knows he’s ruined. he’s fuckin’ gone for this woman. cupid’s arrow never felt more like a curse.

but, pike said no regrets and no laments, so he cobbles together a proper breakfast for her and enjoys the way she gleefully takes up space in his space and touches him as if he is and will always be hers. then, he delivers her to her friends at the airport and (painfully, regretfully, privately lamenting the whole damn time) lets her go.

pike is far more at peace with it.

or so she adamantly proclaims.

she humors her friend’s jokes about “her vacation boyfriend” and “tropical true love” and pretends that her new habit of daydreaming and wistful sighs as she stands behind the bakery counter is only a temporary side effect.

after all, what’s there to do?

they both agreed that it was better to have one perfect night than try to complicate it with logistics and expectations.

that was the right choice.

she made the right choice...right?

a couple months later, while in the bread aisle at the grocery store, who should she run into but scanlan fuckin’ shorthalt. her vacation boyfriend. her tropical true love. both of them reaching for the same loaf of bread. hands touching. gazes meeting.

her first reaction is anger. to jump to the conclusion that scanlan lied to her and led her on with some sob story about an estranged daughter so that she’d think he was a good guy and fall into bed with him.

it doesn’t help that, while staring at her, slack-jawed and wide-eyed, scanlan stutters out,”you said you were from westruun”.

when their arguing pulls a crowd, pike storms out of the store, and scanlan follows. with the initial shock gone, he explains that, not long after pike left, sybil got in contact with him and told him that -- fine, if he wants to be in kaylie’s life, he better come be in it and prove it. he’d thought about pike every day since that night. wanted to contact her as soon as he came to tal’dorei. but pike had told him that she was from westruun; she never told him that she lived in emon. so he figured that he would still be asking for long distance, still be putting too much pressure on something that pike had only wanted to be one night.

“i didn’t want one night!” pike snaps. “i thought that’s all we had! you made me believe that’s all we had!”

they stare at each other in tense, charged silence.

“can i take you out to dinner?” scanlan asks, breathlessly.

and, well, it’s a start.

[tldr; what if the pikelan slow burn but they already resolved the sexual tension so all that’s left are the messy, complicated feelings?]

#Critical Role #Pikelan #back at it again with my long-winded pikelan ideas #would you believe that this whole idea was inspired by that one text post #about that banana bread that the baker called 'better than sex'#until one day the name was changed to 'almost better than sex'#and op was like either the banana bread got worse or girlie got some good dick #and i saw that and went ''i can make this about pikelan''#and then i did in the most overly dramatic way possible #i also reblogged that post into my pikelan tag almost two years ago #in case you were wondering how long i've been sitting on this lil daydream material #at any given moment i am daydreaming up some windswept romcom pikelan idea #and that's all you need to know about me #pikelan au

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gay-dorito-dust · 1 month

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How high on the clingy/protective scale these boys are …

Dick: a solid 8.5/10.

A very clingy bean.

Dick would be attached to your hip 24/7 if he could but he couldn’t answer that makes him sad.

In the wise words of @obsessedwithromance on one of my recent posts; ‘if Dick was a dog, he’d be a husky.’

And he’d make a very vocal husky at that with how often he whines and whinges whenever you tried to move from his grasp, acting as though every attempt in removing yourself from his arms were an attack against his character. So he will take personal offence to you wanting to leave him out in the cold and desolate place that was your bedroom. 💀

‘Stop trying to get out of my arms.’ He moans, tightening his hold on you as he buried his head into your neck, locking legs with you for extra measure. ‘Dick, I love you but you’re being too clingy for me right now.’ You reply and had just noticed the error of your ways almost immediately and were about to explain yourself but it was already too late, for you had set Dick the human husky off.

‘Me? Clingy? I thought you liked it when I was clingy? Why the sudden change? What did I do wrong? Why don’t you love me?’ Dick began his tirade and you could only lay there and let him talk your ear off -and loudly might I add- about how you apparently didn’t love him enough, which was a bunch of bullshit, but dick was too in his feelings to listen to reason. You’ll have to kiss him to shut him up, there’s no other option.

So once he’s settled down, he’ll go back to cuddling against your back,smiling dopily while you could only congratulate for a job well done at defusing the situation form getting any worse. You love your dramatic human husky and you wouldn’t change anything for anyone.

Jason: 7.5/10 or a 8/10.

The only time you’re seeing this man be clingy as all hell if he’s in a particular mood and want your affection, which might as well be all the time with this man, or after a not so great nightmare.

He would wake up in a cold sweat and immediately look for you and hold you against his chest as though you were his personal teddy bear, only just until his breathing evens out and not so tense in the muscles. Until then he holds onto you tightly and familiarises himself with you in anyway that he could, whether that be counting your eyelashes, noting the different shades that make up your eyes and much more.

At least just enough to help him gain some sense of self and awareness that he was safe and sound from all harm.

Like Jaime, Jason would watch over you like a hawk as Red Hood without a shadow of a doubt, and Jason has his reasons to do so as he knows the type of people who litter the streets of Gotham at night like the back of his hand. He doesn’t want to subject you to that sort of life of constant fear of having to look over your shoulder in hopes that there wasn’t someone following you home.

For in his minds eye, he’s your sole protector and the one thing that stands between the scumbags of the street and you. Jason doesn’t take this position he’s given himself lightly, it’s unlike him to anyway, as your safety is his top priority and he’d do anything to obtain it; whether they way it’s obtained was morally questionable or not, he doesn’t care for as long as your safe, he’ll live to learn with having permanent blood on his hands.

Damian: 5/10 on a good day. 2/10 in general.

He’s not an overly clingy person. Protective? yes. Clingy? No. It’s just not in just nature and he can be very awkward going about it too.

Damian knows he doesn’t have to constantly survey you 24/7, he has more faith in you and your abilities then most. He knows that you won’t call upon him if at all when faced with a situation that you could easily resolve yourself.

However if you were to get hurt on his watch or otherwise, that’s when he gets slightly clingy and will attempt to be within any space with you possible. Damian shows care in a completely different way than most and will more or less act like a guard dog when it came to you.

This little dude will point his sword at anyone that comes into close contact with you while glaring at them, meanwhile you’re having to push the blade of his sword down and away from the poor victim, only for Damian to raise his sword back towards their throat once more.

‘Pack it in.’ You’d hiss.

‘No. You’re practically useless when hurt, so let me deal with this one.’ Damian said.

You purposely ignored the fact that he had just called you useless and instead pushed the blade of his sword down until it was pointing at the floor again. ‘He’s not even a threat, just a regular citizen. So you can stop it with the fear attics now.’ You told him in a hushed tone. Damian meets your eyes with a glare of his own. ‘How you can be certain he’s a harmless civilian? What if he’s a low life thug of an underground drug syndicate on the rise? You can’t allow yourself to trust every face you meet.’ He replies, not one to back down for anyone, not even you.

You sigh as you rubbed the sides of your head. ‘Well at least try not to cause more issue for your dad. I swear between you, Jason, Tim and Dick I don’t know who gives him the most grey hairs.’

Jaime: runner up for Dick’s crown with also a 8.5/10

He’s clingy in a sense that he fears of loosing you constantly.

Khaji-Da doesn’t make the situation any better as it only encourages Jaime’s Innate clinginess tenfold, and now Jaime can’t go a couple of minutes without offering to join you on wherever your going.

He just cares about you very deeply and wouldn’t know what to do with himself if he’d ever lost you despite having the ability to stop any harm from coming your way. So needless to say that you spend most of your time with him and his family is a severe understatement.

It’s not as though he doesn’t trust you, he wholeheartedly does, but that trust doesn’t extend to potential outside threats. Hell, he would even go as far as to watch over you as Blue Beatle, much to the behest of literally everyone that isn’t Khaji-Da because the scarab is just as clingy over you in a sense that you were Jaime’s mate and there for should be within close proximity to him at all times.

It’s endearing but I think it’s about time you told Kahji-Da to cool it on the whole threatening people you talked to with plans to eliminate them…

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lightbluetown · 6 months

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i saw some people say ed and zheng are master strategists while stede is just some guy with ridiculous luck, but i think that's unfair. sure stede's ideas are insane, but they fit the looney tunes ass universe of ofmd perfectly. they're mostly well-thought-out, well-executed and they showcase stede's strengths and growth! so allow me to talk about them:

1- ghost of the forest - 1x02

a fuckery™ before stede even knows what a fuckery™ is! this is amateurish and stupid in every way. he's not even threatening izzy with a real dagger-- that's a letter opener. does izzy actually believe that stede has a huge crew hiding behind the bushes? doubt it! but this weird little act is enough to establish stede as a (ridiculous) pirate figure to the legendary izzy hands and to accomplish his goal of taking a hostage back

2- lighthouse - 1x04

imagine coming up with the exact same idea at the exact same time as the most brilliant tactician of the seven seas! we don't know who came up with which parts of the plan (honestly it was probably mostly ed) but this is still bloody impressive

3- stark revelations - 1x05

stede's first big success! he uses his knowledge of the aristocratic world to get a shipful of rich assholes to destroy each other, but he's also showcasing what sets him apart from them: this plan only comes to fruition because stede talks to frenchie, olu and abshir as equals. as people he can learn from, as sources of inspiration

4- duel with izzy - 1x06

this one was absolutely unhinged, but its success was far from dumb luck. only stede could think of using a brazillian cherry wood mast and ed's weird stabbing lesson to win a duel, and that's what makes this plan so undeniably stede and brilliant

5- faking his death - 1x10

i love that he just had to "die" in the most dramatic way possible. a heroic fight (tiger), a realistic accident (carriage) and the most cartoony death in the book (piano)... not only is his triple-death able to convince everyone in barbados that he's dead for good, it also allows him to have closure with his family. it's filled with stede's ridiculous unique flair, but it's designed to be a fuckery™ through and through. ed would be SO proud

6- stealing jackie's indigo dye - 2x01

quick little stealth mission. did ricky manipulate stede into trying this out? sure. did ricky also ruin it? absolutely. but it was working until then! the swede isn't part of stede's crew at this point, but his respect for stede is what gets him to cooperate and risk his relationship with his beautiful wife. also, it's thanks to his love for fine things that stede immediately recognizes the value of "blue dirt"

7- prison break - 2x03

in my eyes no scene depicts stede's growth better than this one. knocking zheng's entire crew out with tea is the most stede thing out there, and this plan uses the cherry wood mast as well! this plan relies on stede's (unrealistic) tea knowledge, overly-fancy ship and ability to coordinate his crew. what makes it breathtaking is that he secretly sets this plan into motion while actively mourning the "death" of the love of his life. he's putting his life on the line to rescue ed's "killers" because he's emotionally mature enough to look at things from their perspective and forgive them

8- inciting a mutiny - 2x06

yet another brilliant plan that could only be executed by stede. this entire episode revolves around his idea of "turning poison into positivity" and here he, well, fights poison with positivity. stede captains his pirates with respect and care (best he can) which just so happens to be the opposite of ned. he exploits this and gently gets ned's crew to turn on him. he singlehandedly saves himself and his entire crew from a notorious pirate! oh he also literally invents walking the plank right after this

9- "it's only suicide if we die" - 2x08

okay, yes, this one didn't go that well (sorry iz). but it's not like ed, zheng or anyone else had any other ideas! stede's weird suicide mission, for the most part, worked. they needed to get through british soldiers to reach their ship and they did exactly that. if only they'd remembered to check if ricky had his gun... oh well, you live and you learn

sure, ed and zheng are legends and stede is a silly newbie with wild luck. but he's also quick-witted, creative, confident and brave! he's a damn good captain and he deserves to be recognized as a good strategist!

#ofmd #our flag means death #stede bonnet #ofmd meta #i love my boy so much i will not let anyone disrespect him thank u #🏴‍☠️

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absolutely-esme · 4 months

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Monster!Tim Coraline au part 3

I had more thoughts on the au from here and here.

First off, It's called Hungry Monster Tim au unless and until I come up with a better name.

That's the tag that will help you find related content. I titled the post the way I did so that people who found the au before it had a name could recognize it. I'm hoping this will minimize confusion.

...

Now, I figure I'll talk a bit about how others view Tim.

The most of the earlier additions to the Batfam have mostly interacted with Tim in Emotional Support Tim mode.

Emotional Support Tim is pleasant and comforting. He is not overly exuberant and joyful in a way that would grate on fresh grief. He is also not joyless in a way that might make a hero feel obligated to worry about him. He is gentle and competent. His patience seems nearly endless. He can tolerate both being coddled and being leaned on. He can tolerate both being clung to and pushed away. He can tolerate switching back and forth at unpredictable intervals.

Tim approached Nightwing in his standard state of "tired, low on patience, and possibly about to do something stupid," once before Tim realized he was also grief-stricken and in no fit state to get Batman under control. He might have an inkling that Emotional Support Tim is an act, or he might just think Tim was having a bad day.

Bruce thinks Emotional Support Tim is what Tim is actually like. By the time Bruce was functional enough to not need so much managing, he'd gotten attached enough to the facade for Tim to have concerns about dropping it.

Alfred can tell that Tim is putting on a facade. He can tell that the role Tim has taken on is wearing on him. He doesn't like it. He feels guilty for allowing it to continue. He can't bring himself to put a stop to it when it's keeping his adoptive son alive.

Barbara initially meets Emotional Support Tim, immediately clocks the act, and pulls him aside to make sure there isn't something sinister afoot. Babs has reservations about every aspect of Tim's involvement, but agrees that something had to be done about Bruce. She lets him carry on for now, but she's ready to pull the plug if it seems like it's getting too much for him. She insists that Tim drop the act when it's just the two of them.

Babs doesn't know about the supernatural stuff specifically, but she knows there's more going on with Tim than what she knows about. She may learn that he has some hereditary health stuff that requires him to be extra careful about his food intake. She makes a point to not be weird about it because people being weird about her wheelchair annoys the crap out of her.

I like to imagine that Babs and Tim have a certain amount of solidarity over being the sensible ones who keep all these unhinged, dramatic bitches in line. They also have solidarity over ignoring the fact that they are just as dramatic and unhinged as the rest of the Bats.

Steph meets Tim in Regular Tim mode because Bruce isn't with him. Instead of trying to discourage Spoiler, he introduces her to Babs. Steph knows Tim as a tired smartass who kind of always seems like he's a bit hangry and trying not to take it out on anyone, but apparently he's just like that.

They don't date, but do become friends. Part of this is because grouchy, eternally hungry, constantly done-with-this-shit Tim isn't attractive to Steph but is kind of hilarious. Part of it is because Babs points out that there is no possible timeline where the kind of power imbalance from only one member of a couple knowing the other's secret identity doesn't turn toxic.

When Steph eventually encounters Emotional Support Tim, it creeps her out. She uses the term "pod person" when asking what the heck that was.

Steph's disastrous stint as Robin doesn't happen because she's already got her own thing going. She already has a mentor and appropriate protective gear. Babs and Steph actually get along better because they start their mentorship as Oracle and Spoiler without any of the complicated emotions of taking up a mantle.

I like Steph as Spoiler the best because it always seemed a little messed up to shove someone who already had their own original Identity into two legacy mantles. Let her do her own thing. She doesn't need to be a successor to Babs or Dick when she's already the OG Steph. Instead of giving her the Robin gear or the Batgirl gear, get her some upgraded, Bat-quality Spoiler gear.

Steph doesn't start a gang war or fake her death in this timeline, because the circumstances that caused it do not exist here.

Jason initially encounters Tim in Feral Cryptid mode, then writes that off as a fever dream after waking up to Emotional Support Tim. Once free of the Lazarus parasite, Jason makes it his mission to be a good big brother to Tim. Tim seemed a little stand-offish at first, but warmed up to him. (As soon as Tim realized that food was part of Jason's love language, he rearranged his meal plan to let Jason feed him without triggering supernatural problems with his metabolism.)

Jason eventually manages to earn Tim's trust enough to meet and get to know Regular Tim. Jason is both honored and concerned. Putting on such an extensive facade for the comfort of others has got to be exhausting, and Tim seems so worn down underneath it. Well, he doesn't have to do it for Jason anymore. Jason will happily hang out with and support any version of Tim.

When Damian shows up, he mostly sees Emotional Support Tim. Then he starts trying to kill him. Eventually, Tim's patience with the pint-sized murderer wears thin (possibly due to Damian hitting a PTSD trigger), and Tim goes Feral Cryptid mode. This freaks Damian out. There is no video evidence (which the rest of the Bats assume to be because Damian tampered with the security system in an attempt to get away with murder).

It doesn't happen again.

Tim doesn't bust out his powers or cryptid form against Damian again, but now that he's seen it, Damian sometimes sees traces of Feral Cryptid Tim lurking below the surface. Various little things he'd ignored that hadn't seemed significant on their own now seem to stem from the nature of what lurks inside the human skin.

Damian stops the murder attempts early. It's not because of ethics (which will take time to learn). It’s because he has no idea how to kill whatever sort of unearthly thing Tim is, and he recognizes how unwise it would be to continue attacking something he cannot kill. For now, Tim seems content to leave him be whenever he's not directly under assault. Damian doesn't want to risk becoming enough of a pest to be worth the effort of swatting.

...

I also had thoughts about Tim's post-Robin period.

When Tim goes on his quest to retrieve Bruce from the time stream, he doesn't take the Red Robin suit. He's going to be outside of the Bats' scrutiny, so he gears up with a suit and equipment he'd secretly made with his supernatural nature in mind. It's got Bat-standard armor and padding, but modified to accommodate a bit of form shifting without compromising protection. It's got a patchwork thing going on.

Tim sewed it himself, which allows him to manipulate it. It's also got buttons sewn in strategic locations to eliminate blindspots. (Taking down the beldam gave him the ability to control things he made and see through buttons he sewed).

His utility pouches are full of both Bat-standard equipment and things relevant to Tim's abilities. Also, he makes his pockets bigger on the inside, so he can carry a lot.

Tim isn't around the other Bats, so he's not being Emotional Support Tim. He's not using the minor illusion powers he got from the beldam to make himself look pleasant. He only makes the effort to be comforting when dealing with victims. He's just being the semi-feral scrungly dude he is.

...

Tim keeps in touch with Jason, Babs, and Steph while he's off on his quest to find Bruce. He occasionally pitches in with stuff that can be done from a distance.

Tim didn't say that Bruce was still alive before he had evidence. It's not because this version managed to predict that they wouldn't believe him, but rather because he thought he might have to do some supernatural stuff to get him back and didn't want witnesses. He just told the other Bats he needed to investigate something and would tell them more once he had figured out enough to know what to tell them.

This means that the other heroes don't think he's crazy, and Tim can use hero resources for his investigation.

I haven't decided yet if Tim will interact with the League of Assassins at all. On the one hand, I think this Tim might not need to work with them. On the other hand, Hungry Monster Tim terrorizing the League of Assassins and fighting the Lazarus Pit would be funny. Maybe Ras doesn't try to recruit him. Maybe Tim just shows up, fights the Lazarus Pit, and leaves without explaining anything to anyone.

Either way, I think that Tim is pretty much done with keeping up the Emotional Support Tim facade by the time he comes home after saving Bruce. It's been long enough to justify the change.

Babs, Jason, and Steph are happy for Tim because they can see how much better he's doing without the added strain of keeping up the act. They are also glad that he feels comfortable enough to just be himself.

Bruce and Dick are more in the horrified/concerned neighborhood because, from their perspective, Tim started off gentle-natured and glowing with health, got fired from Robin, disappeared for a while, and came back gaunt and world-weary.

...

I'm thinking about whether or not Tim should tell Babs, Jason, and Steph about the supernatural stuff he's got going on.

It would have come out at some point. If he tries to keep it secret forever, you can bet some kind of dramatic, high-stakes threat would force the reveal. That's just how the Bats' lives are.

What I am debating with myself is whether or not to have Tim choose to share a secret he's been keeping for as long as he can remember for fear of the danger discovery might bring with the people he trusts most without something forcing his hand.

If he does, I think he would tell Jason first. Jason has seen that side of him, and Tim allowed him to think it was a nightmare. Tim wouldn't want to risk Jason hearing about it from someone else. Tim would probably be scared. He doesn't know if Jason will still like him once he knows that Tim really is the Monster from his nightmare. He doesn't know if Jason will forgive him for lying about it.

I think this would happen after Tim comes back to Gotham after saving Bruce.

#Hungry Monster Tim au #dc #batman #batfamily #cryptid tim drake #feral tim drake #Eldritch au

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aesthetic-bbyg · 4 months

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might I request 🫣

an Usopp x ditsy y/n where the reader is.. 𝑎ℎ𝑒𝑚, busty, to say the least, and always clings to him (sort of like how Nami does), albeit unaware that the behavior seems to always fluster him

And maybe they end up paired together when everyone splits up to fight someone or whatever, and Uso pulls them aside to hide, obviously, but in a bit of tight spot?

you can edit this however you like, thank you for reading!!

A DAMSAL IN DISTRESS - USOPP

usopp x ditzy,fem!reader

IN WHICH you can’t help but cling onto Usopp, he’s just so cute.

nattie speaks!: AHHHHH I’m so sorry for the wait, I felt so bad that this took way longer then expected so some parts were a bit rushed and a bit shitty🫣🫣. Also, I gave the reader this power, basically like a banshee, she screams and it’s a weapon. It’s only included in a small portion bc I wanted to stay close to what the anon requested!!

USOPP WASNT SURE IF HIS BAD habit of lying constantly was currently a blessing or a curse. You took interest in him after he’d rambled on about escaping the large beast of the sea, the Kraken. Since then you’ve been—he didn’t want to be rude and say obsessive, so..clingy. He’d somehow managed to capture you’re attention with his false stories. You nodded dumbly with big eyes as he dramatized yet another tale, waving his hands around like a maniac while you just giggled.

“Uh-huh, what after?” You leaned closer across the table curiously, your cheek falling to rest on the palm of your hand.

“Then, I took my sword and I sliced his ass from head to toe.” Usopp smirked triumphantly, sucking in a deep breath and releasing as he fell back against the chair. “And that’s the story of how I defeated the monster of the Blue Lagoon.”

“No way!” You gasped, eyes wide with such content, completely unaware of how close your tits were to spilling out of your top. Truth be told, Usopp had dragged out the story as long as possible to see the moment a nipple peaked out. He swallowed before he chuckled, eyes flickering between your bright smile and bouncing breast. “You’re so brave, Uso.” You stood from your seat, walking over to give him a peck on the cheek. “How ‘bout I go get food for my brave Captain, hmm?”

Usopp never nodded his head so quick, both out of being very hungry and because he needed a breather. You had made him so ridiculously flustered, he nearly forgotten to take in air with how close you were. The moment you footsteps faded to enter the kitchen he let out a large sigh. His senses struggling to regulate, all he could think about was you. The sticky gloss that clung to his skin, the sweet scent you left behind, the echo of your giggles in his mind.

He needed to get a grip before he literally exploded. The next few days to Arlong Park would be hell if he couldn’t learn to control himself when around you. But he just couldn’t figure out how it was possible to do that when you pranced around in such low cut shirts and tight bottoms. He didn’t have much time to think about it before you were back, holding two servings of food. You placed it on the large crate that laid between the two of you.

“What did Sanji make?” Usopp questioned, mustering up to the most normal smile he could give.

“Some sort of pasta, dunno, wasn’t really attention.” You shrugged casually, handing him a shimmering silver fork. The two of you fell into a comfortable silence, you went unaware of the stolen glances Usopp took of you. He paid far too much attention to your features, especially your most prominent one..but he wouldn’t ever admit that.

You were close to opening your mouth and breaking the silence before Zoro came up, plopping a whiny Buggy between your plates.

“Usopps turn, I’m done.” The swordsman muttered annoyingly, walking away without another word.

“Hey—what!” Usopp shouted back to Zoro, his calls being ignored as the the blue-haired clown chuckled.

“Hiya, pal, nice to see you!” The clown exclaimed with an overly happy tone. “Tell me, have, have you boned pretty babe over here or wh—“

Usopp clamped his hand over the clown mouth, embarrassingly looking over at you, your eyes held an innocent confusion as you stood. “I’ll go ahead and take these to the kitchen, be back!”

Usopp nodded with a smile, waiting for you to be out of ear shot before uncovering Buggy’s mouth. “I’ll take that as a no.”

“Shut up.” Usopp mumbled with a flushed face, hiding it by fiddling with his slingshot.

“Oh, c’mon, she’s totally into you and it super fuckin’ obvious in case you couldn’t already see.” The clown commented, “And, hey, I’m not one to give relationship in advice here but you should bone her—“

“Can you stop saying that.” The man snapped quietly as he noticed you approaching. You didn’t sit down, instead placed a soft hand on his shoulder.

“It’s getting dark, Uso, ya wanna head in?” You asked softly, eyes glowing curiously in the moonlight. You shared a space with Nami, but ever since she left you’d didn’t liked sleeping in that empty bed. Instead, you slept next to Usopp every night.

It came as a surprise at first. The midnight sky had caused a dark hue to blanket over the ship. The moon hidden behind indigo clouds, only a few strings of light guided you down to the boy’s chambers. You’d pushed Usopps door open, thankful that it didn’t creak loudly, and slowly entered. You footsteps patting against the hardwood floor, hands out in front of you to navigate the darkness until you felt a soft cushion. You peeled back the blanket and climbed in, without a care in the world except for finding some warmth.

Usopp had felt the bed shift, covers shuffling without him moving which is what caused him to fully awake. He panicked at first, not moving an inch as the person beside him got comfortable. It was until he felt you soft hands caress up his bicep, bare legs entangling with his own, then a sweet sigh that tickled his neck. After a few moments he heard nothing, just your deep breaths as he laid there, completely clueless on what to do. Should he hold you? But that would wake you again wouldn’t it? He chose to go to sleep and see what the next morning held.

And if Usopp wasn’t flustered enough already the next day he was practically dead. Your position had switched in the middle of the night, and so did his. Ass against his hips, his arm draped over your waist, and you back against his firm chest. He wasn’t sure how you two needed in this position but every morning now was like this.

Usopp determined that the best way to continue this routine was if Buggy’s head was shoved into a empty barrel and left there for the night.

“You better bone her if your leaving here—“ The clown angrily shouted before his voice was muffled by the lid sliding over the open top. Usopp let out a sigh, walking over to the sleeping quarters below deck where you’d already gone to get changed for bed.

Your head quirked up at the sound of his approaching footsteps, smiling softly at the sight of him. “We’re nearly there, Uso. It’s best that you get some sleep for the rest of the journey.”

Usopp nodded in agreement, removing his shirt like he always did before bed and climbing into the covers. You shouldn’t be so excited as you are each time you cuddle close to him. It shouldn’t be so rewarded to feel him so close to you as you drift to sleep. Usopp was suppose to be your fellow crew member and nothing more. Yet there was an undeniable feeling that made you cling to him. It made you giddy.

Unbeknownst to you, these feelings struck Usopp tenfold.

“LAND HO!” USOPP EXCLAIMED, ARM raising to point to a spec of land from afar. You lifted your head, squinting to see the bundled up islands from you spot. As you got closer it looked like nothing almost, and when the boat docked it was even worse. The small village looked abandoned, old homes falling apart and grey in color. Most of the plants around were dead, drained of their natural color. One home was even raised above the grown, ripped from the floor and left to rot mid air.

This is when things started to blur together. One moment, you watch in fear, clinging onto Usopps arms. He’s a brave warrior, you thought, surely he’d protect you against the strange atmosphere that this place brought. But the next you were sprinting into the woods, just behind Usopp as a fish man with strangely large lips chased after you.

It was a fight you had no idea on how to win. They were fishman, some of the strongest beings of the world, and here you were running away from one. Even worse, the fish with the huge lips was able to spit out fire with just a sip of his hard drink. There was more than enough evidence to prove that you were screwed.

The boy in front of you turned around, quickly tugging your arm and pulling close, ducked down, rolling to hide behind a fallen tree. You fell atop of Usopp, panting heavily as fishman’s spits barley flew over your head. All went quiet, weirdly quiet but you didn’t dare even blink loudly.

“Hey.” Usopp whispered as you lifted your head from his chest. “Ya think you can scream for me, pretty girl?” You swallowed thickly, nodding, the pure terror of the approaching footsteps muting your voice. “Then wait for my signal, ‘kay.”

Usopp shuffled from under, making it more comfortable for the both, well, mostly you. Being within such a close proximity of your soft skin made him nervous, no amount of comfort was able to calm his nerves. But he ignored the squeezable skin that pressed against his chest, ignored that your core that was hovering just above his dick, ignored the grip on his bicep. He looked at you, waiting for the right moment to give you the sign so the fishman went down once and for all.

You were terrified, that was for sure, but you mustered up some courage to pull the plan off. You felt a tap on your hand, causing to rise up and stare directly at the fishman. But before he could open fire you let out a ear piercing shriek. A wail so loud it launched the fish man backwards. Far enough so he was too distracted in getting up and gaining back his senses to realize that Usopp was sneaking in.

You watched, wide eyed as the fishman sat up, bottle still tightly in his clutch. Usopp loaded in his new invention into his slingshot and directly hit the alcohol. A loud explosion followed, smoke clearing to reveal a motionless fishman.

You laughed in a relief, standing up and slowly approaching the scene.

Usopp shouts in excitement, proudly chuckling at the sight of the smoking body laid motionless on the ground. “Yeah! Take that! The Great Captain Usopp fells yet another notorious villain!” He swallows back his heavy breaths, glancing around. “And..no one’s around to see it.”

“I saw it, Uso!” You squealed, wrapping your arms around him with a giggle. The sheer force of your excitement gave you enough strength to drag him down into your chest. His whole face making contact with your tits while you rambled in content. “Just as brave as you tell in your stories! Gosh, I can’t wait tell everyone how you saved me.” You pull his head up, planting kisses along his cheeks.

The boy puffed his chest out pridefully, smirking despite the blush that littered his cheeks. “What can I say, a great Captain like me never fails to save a damsel in distress.” He hooked an arm around your waist, gazing down at you.

“A reward is much needed after this.” You Pat his chest, smiling softly with such a innocent yet antagonizing look. Without another word, you’d pulled away, waking back in the direction Arlong park.

Usopp stared at your fading figure with furrowed brows. “A reward?”

OMG THIS TOOK WAY TO LONG BUT I WAS LITERALLY GOING BACK ND FORTH W THIS FIC BC I FELT LIKE IT WAS SOO BAD. But I need to release smth so this is it!! I really hoped this lived up to the request, ik i added some of my own elements but ignore that🫣

(sucks dick coquettely)

#one piece #one piece live action #one piece show #straw hats #usopp x reader #usopp #jacob romero gibson #Jacob Romero #agent 00 lookin ahh #but he’s so fiiiine #i’m actually losing it #I need him #he needs me #HIS BICEPS BRO #LIKE I WANT TO LICK THEM #UGHHH #send help #one piece imagine #captain usopp

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whereianonymouslypostfics · 8 months

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Feud

Pairing: Wanda Maximoff x reader

Word count: ~1k

Summary: Wanda betrays you.

A/N: Some domestic fluff

Warnings: Fluff

“I thought you loved me, Wanda.”

You’re scowling at your wife because this is honestly something you don’t think you’ll be able to get over easily. She’s never done something like this before, and you don’t know why she’s decided to betray you in quite possibly the worst way imaginable. You tighten your hold around the prickly piece in your hand as you throw a hard stare in your wife’s direction.

Wanda just smirks at you before her gaze follows yours with a satisfied hum.

“I like to win, detka. You know this.”

You tap the red checker on the table and consider chucking it across the room in a fit of rage, but you hold off. You’re a very sore loser, but you don’t need to prove that point tonight. Wanda is very aware of it.

“I’ll get you for this.”

Wanda just smiles smugly as she watches you move your piece to the top of the board to the only available place for you to play in order to keep her from winning. You stare at the three black pieces that you’re about to block, and then the other three right beside it that Wanda will be able to win with right after your next move. To be fair, you’d been talking about your day and not super attentive to the game in the beginning. You weren’t as good of a strategist as your wife anyway, and right from the start she’d planned out her moves to try and win this first game.

Sometimes when the two of you were stressed and too tired to go out or make dinner, you sat down and played a game together. First it started with cards when you taught Wanda how to play a few games you’d learned when you were a kid. Those were fun, but as these nights became more frequent, Wanda suggested branching out a little. The next day you had off from work, you took your wife, disguise and all, to a store to buy a few board games. Little did you know, you were encouraging your overly competitive nature by choosing your favorite games that you claimed to be ‘amazing’ at.

Much to your disappointment, Connect 4 had been one of the games you’d thought you were unbeatable at. You barely took comfort in the fact that Wanda was only bad a Mario kart as she beats you at this game for the third time in a row. You sigh as you finally drop your red piece through the slots to stack on top of Wanda’s three black checkers. You’ve lost again and you just lie back and sigh dramatically as you wait for Wanda to make the last move. You turn to your side to see where Boone’s lying on the couch, and you smile as you reach out to scratch his head.

“This is what I get, huh bud? I should have known that marrying a genius would mean losing all of the time.”

You miss Wanda roll her eyes as she quickly ends the game before moving around the coffee table between the two of you. You don’t notice her come sit beside you until Boone looks up from licking your hand. You turn toward your wife when she speaks up, and you can’t help but smile evilly.

“You’re so dramatic, detka.”

You strike before Wanda gets a chance to reach out for you, and she jumps in surprise before screaming as you grab her sides. She’s squirming and trying to escape as you tickle her mercilessly as payback. You’d found out that Wanda was ticklish during your first sleepover. You’d had a sitcom marathon one night when her work hadn’t finished until after 1 in the morning. You’d insisted that Wanda spend the night at your apartment. She’d slept better with you than she had in years, but when she woke up to you squeezing her waist she’d almost immediately started laughing. It was a secret that you kept for the most part. Pietro knew, so the entire family knew Wanda was ticklish, but you wouldn’t dare tell anyone else for fear of retaliation. You were also painfully ticklish and Wanda’s revenge to you outing her would be horrendous.

“N-no stop! Y/n!”

Boone just watches as you continue to assault Wanda’s sides until she’s flushed and breathless. You give your wife a break, and you just hold onto her so she can catch her breath. You smile at her before raising your eyebrow in question. The game has been forgotten for now because you’re focused on Wanda’s very true statement that you’re still going to argue against.

“Me, dramatic? That’s ridiculous. I am so reasonable.”

Wanda’s still panting but she opens up her mouth to argue when she feels your fingers flex where they rest on her sides. She decides not to try her luck because if you keep tickling her, she’s probably going to end up screaming loudly enough for Steve and Bucky to hear her down the street. Wanda just sighs before she puts her hands on yours and pulls them into her lap with a smile. You meet her lips with a hum before you’re pulling Wanda further so she’s practically in your lap.

“Fine, I guess you can be reasonable, Y/n.”

You smile victoriously at this before you release Wanda’s hands so you can hold her close. She goes to stop you thinking you’re going to start tickling her again, but you shake your head before kissing her cheek. You look behind Wanda, ignoring the game as your set your sights on the television.

“Thank you. Now let’s forget the game, love. Want to watch something?”

Masterlist

#wanda maximoff x reader #wanda maximoff x female reader #wanda maximoff fanfiction #wanda maximoff #wanda x reader #wanda x you #silver springs #silver springs drabble #mob au

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usernamerenn · 2 years

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I DON’T HATE YOU

pairing: haitani rindou x fem!reader

↳ in which you’re certain that the younger haitani brother hates you, but it’s actually the complete opposite

note: reblogs and comments are always appreciated

If there was one person in Tenjiku who scared you the most, it undoubtedly would have to be Haitani Rindou. While Izana and the other executives in his gang were apathetic toward you at best and overly flirtatious at worst, the younger Haitani made it known that he didn’t like you. Whenever you would visit Izana with some new information regarding the various gangs around Yokohama, Rindou would somehow always be there to greet you with a look of disdain.

Today he appeared to be particularly annoyed with you, as you had noticed him standing next to his brother before pointedly glaring at you the moment you stepped into his line of sight. Acknowledging the two of them with a polite, nervous smile, you did your best to ignore the pretty violet eyes that followed your every move as you hastily proceeded to your meeting with Tenjiku’s leader.

“You should just tell her, Rindou,” Ran amusedly whispered to his brother, causing the younger Haitani to dramatically blush before punching Ran in the arm for teasing him.

After speaking with Izana and securing your usual envelope of money, you were on your way to the front doors of the building when you were unexpectedly stopped by two Tenjiku members. You assumed that they were new, considering how most people were familiar with you and your role as Tenjiku’s trusted informant.

“Why the fuck is there a girl in our base?” the first one remarked incredulously.

“Are you a spy or something?” the second one questioned.

Approaching you with matching looks of suspicion, you had no time to even defend yourself as one of them made an attempt to grab your arm, only to freeze when he saw the hand that was painfully locked around his wrist.

“Don’t fucking touch her,” Rindou threatened, his voice sounding terrifying cold.

“She’s with us,” Ran explained with an unimpressed frown. And that simple statement was more than enough to shock the two delinquents into realizing their mistake, as they were soon apologizing to you before running away in a panic.

Watching them leave, you almost didn’t hear Rindou’s question as he quietly asked if you were okay. The expression on his face was one of apparent concern as he scanned your form for injuries, and you had almost believed for an instant that he genuinely cared about you. However, you quickly convinced yourself otherwise, concluding that he was only worried because of his boss’s possible reaction to you getting hurt.

“I’m fine,” you said with a halfhearted smile. “Sorry to be such a bother.”

“You’re not a bother,” he awkwardly reassured you, looking suddenly anxious as he avoided your gaze. “I-i-if you want, I-I could start accompanying you on your visits to meet with Izana?”

“Why?” you immediately retorted, feeling confused and honestly doubtful of Rindou’s uncharacteristically kind proposal to help you. What kind of game was he playing right now? “I thought you hated me?”

“W-what?! I-I don’t hate you! Where the hell did you hear that from?!” he panickingly responded, shooting his brother a flustered glance as the older Haitani broke out into loud, insufferable laughter.

“W-well, you’re always frowning and glaring at me,” you reluctantly clarified. “I-I assumed that it was because you hated me.”

“I-I-I didn’t mean to—t-that was just—fuck!”

Blinking in confusion, you could only stare as Rindou disheartedly stormed off in defeat, a clear and harsh blush painting his features as he hysterically screamed something about your stupid, pretty face and how he had no chance now. You didn’t really know what he had meant by those comments, but you were happy that he wasn’t directing his current anger toward you.

“Eighteen years old, and he can’t even properly talk to his own crush,” Ran melancholically mused. “He really is hopeless.”

With a conspiratorial wink sent in your direction, Ran playfully wished you goodbye before following after his brother, leaving you completely shocked and speechless in response to his confession. This entire time, you had been misunderstanding your relationship with Rindou? He didn’t actually hate you? He liked you? For the first time in your career as an informant, you didn’t know how to deal with this given information.

tokyo revengers taglist: @crown5 @blacksun-judar @chloee0x0 @zuuki @chiaki3nanami @shuujin @somemydayy @shizunxie

#haitani rindou #haitani rindou x reader #haitani rindou x you #haitani rindou reader insert #haitani rindou imagines #haitani rindou scenarios #tokyo revengers #tokyo revengers x reader #tokyo revengers x you #tokyo revengers reader insert #tokyo revengers imagines #tokyo revengers scenarios #tokrev #tokrev imagines #tokrev scenarios #tokrev x reader #tokrev x you #tokrev reader insert

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ravencincaide · 3 months

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A Hidden Skill

Summary: “ You? You are going to cut my hair Dazai?” you questioned him in disbelief. Dazai in turn pattered the back of the chair, a silent motion for you to sit down. “ Are you for real?” OR the time Dazai decides to attempt to cut your hair. The only question was if he did that as part of a reward or a punishment for your earlier actions…

Pairing: Fem! Reader x Dazai Osamu.

Inspired by Sweetober prompt 22: Washing hair

Warnings: Cursing, fluff and light sweetness,

“ Ah my sweet belladonna, my lovely darling. How cruel of you to so openly replace me with another. You’re twisting my heart right in my chest. Ahh; ahh; ahh how am I to ever get over this cruel–”

“ What the hell are you talking about?” you fixed Dazai with a questioning gaze as you tore your eyes away from your phone, and the social media that had kept you occupied. Instead of the wonderful world catered to your mood, you were forced to deal with your clingy partners theatrical antics.

Dazai’s hand was on his heart, body leaned against the edge of the couch on the other side of you while he faked the expression of being shot or in the very least in immense heartache. As you raised a questioning eyebrow at him, Dazai let a pained moan as if the very action of uttering his grievances brought him physical pain. And maybe it did; it was no secret that the great Osamu Dazai and vulnerability were not the best of friends. This was like his own version of torture, however you were not about to make it easier for him. The man had to grow up one day. “ Surely you cannot be this oblivious belladonna; the last hours you’ve been staring at that phone of yours. That donna has stolen your heart from me-”

“ It’s been fifteen minutes Dazai” You watched him sigh, as if you were completely missing his point before he dropped beside you on the couch. His eyes never left yours as he awkwardly readjusted his body in the small space, slanky legs halfway off the couch, his torso squeezed between you and the back of it. Then, as if determined to make himself as uncomfortable as possible, he twisted his body more and threw his arms around your waist. Head buried into your shoulder with an attention-seeking whine.

But the tightness of the arms around you gave you a brief hint at his insecurity. The ever growing concern of having you ripped away from him; willingly or unwillingly. The possible heartache if you were to replace him with someone else; someone that was not him.

Stable, safe.

In defeat you dropped one hand down and you grasped his long fingers in yours in a small act to reassure his demons. Instantly he shifted his hold so he could brush his thumb against the back of your wrist. The touch made shivers run up and down your skin. Another kiss on your shoulder and you knew he had you where he wanted you.

“ It’s not the girl” you answered his earlier question with a slight sigh as you picked up your phone and unlocked it, showing him the picture of the young and very attractive woman you had been staring at. The one that started this overly clingy dramatic reaction from your already clingy boyfriend.

“ Hmm belladonna?” he urged you on with another kiss, this one on the base of your neck. Clearly eager to hear what about this stunning creature had caught your entire attention.

“ It’s not the girl” you repeated slowly as you gripped his fingers a little tighter, while you picked your next words with utmost care. “ It’s her haircut. She has this gorgeous layered wolf cut over the entire length which is rounded at the end and its a little bit tinted and I don’t know. It’s so pretty but will it suit me? And–” you cut yourself off as Dazai raised his head off your shoulder and looked at you with the most mischievous grin you had seen in a long time. The grin that you knew meant he was up to something; the one that made your stomach do flip flops.

“ Well Bella there’s only one way to find out” he stated before he got off the couch with surprising speed and pulled you up with him. He grabbed a chair on his way as he dragged you both to the large bathroom before he motioned for you to sit down on said chair. At the same time he pulled out scissors, brushes and a towel from a stand. When you made no attempt to move closer, he fixed you with a wide smile as he motioned towards the chair once more “ Well my Bella?”

“ You? You are going to cut my hair Dazai?” you questioned him in disbelief. Dazai in turn pattered the back of the chair, a silent motion for you to sit down. “ Are you for real?”

“ I’ve done it plenty of times, my own hair included” Dazai reassured you. You raised your eyebrow at that as you finally surrendered and took a seat. It was only hair, and it would grow out in a year or so- right? Almost instantly Dazai leaned your head back and under the running faucet. A few moments later you felt his bare fingertips brush shampoo through your strands, then massage your skull. To say the touch was heavenly was an understatement.

“ hmmm you’ve done this before” you moan as he shifts his focus to the back of your neck. Slowly he massaged away the tension you did not know you carried. Your eyes rolled to the back of your skull, forgetting all about your previous hesitation. The sweet oblivion lasted until he washed out the shampoo and began to detangle your hair. His fingertips ever so often brushed against your skin sending goosebumps and shivers up and down your skin.

Playful tease.

“Dazai you do know you’ll be sleeping on the couch if you butch my hair?” your threatened. Instead of taking you seriously he chuckled and brushed his fingers more roughly through your damp strands. It was so obvious that he was not taking you seriously; but whether it was cocky confidence or blissful ignorance was another question entirely. “ I’m serious Dazai”

“ Don’t worry; if that happens we’ll just throw some orange into it and you and Chibi can match” His singsong voice made your eyes widen in realization before you spun around in the chair to face him.

“ Wait? You’re the reason Chuuya’s hair is a half-chopped mess?!”

“ Now, now Bella, you need to sit still. It was close that I clipped off too much” Dazai teased as he spun you back around. “ What do you say about this lengths?” Before you could answer he made the cut just below the line he had marked with the comb.

“ Dazai!

Author note: .. nothing to say but that it's only 8 prompts left before sweetober is finally over. Can't wait :)

#bsd dazai #dazai x reader #dazai x y/n #dazai fluff #sweetober #raven cincade's works #hair cutting

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sunflowersoncolumbiaroad · 5 months

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December 1st

Joel Miller x Reader

Joel comes downstairs on December 1st to find you already feeling festive... he really should expect it by now.

Rating: General Warnings: no outbreak AU, Ellie and Sarah are the same age and Joel has them both, established relationship, fluff, reader loves Christmas, no use of y/n. 'baby' used as a petname. A healthy serving of playful sarcasm. Reader is gender neutral! Word count: 300-ish

I haven't written self insert fic since 2020 so uhm... yeah. I hope this doesnt suck! This is just a little drabble to get me back into the swing of things. First fic on this blog! Scary! I meant to post this on December 1st but life got in the way lol.

"What are you wearin'?" Joel asks as soon as he enters the kitchen. His voice is thick, having just woken up, and his hair is mussled.

"Good morning, honey." You say, smirking to yourself.

"Mornin', baby. What're you wearin'?"

"Pyjamas." You bite back a laugh when he crosses his arms, tilting his head slightly. Until you came around this action was reserved for Sarah and Ellie, and occasionally Tommy, but now you see it most days. It's fond annoyance with the way you're dancing around his question- he's never truly frustrated with you.

"On your head."

You give Joel an overly dramatic look of heartbroken sympathy, bringing a hand up to your chest.

"Oh, sweetheart, 38 years old and you've never seen a Santa hat? That's so sad!" The glare he gives you is as affectionate as the cheeky grin you return. Large hands come to rest on your sides, and Joel cocks an eyebrow.

"It's December 1st."

"I have access to a calendar, you know."

He flicks the pom-pom at the end of your hat. "'s too early for this."

"It's the weekend after Thanksgiving."

"It's Friday."

"Friday is at the end of the week." You protest.

"You're insufferable."

"You asked me to move in." You watch as he fights a smile at that.

"That I did." He kisses you with a softness you wouldn't believe possible if you hadn't been dating him for 3 years. "What world do you live in where the weekend after Thanksgiving is the start of Christmas?"

"Lucky for me, the one where I'm dating you." You respond with a grin.

"We ain't putting the tree up yet."

"Counterpoint: I already told the girls we'd do it tomorrow."

Joel sighs, dropping his head in defeat. You hand him a glass of orange juice and kiss his cheek. "You'll like it once it's up."

"I always do."

"You always do." And you know he does. He lets you put the tree up so early because he loves you. Because the way you smile when you're dancing around the living room with tinsel in hand, singing along to Christmas songs, is more than worth it.

Joel puts the orange juice down, glaring at it for good measure, and wraps both arms around you. He buries his face in the side of your neck, pressing a few soft kisses to your skin. "I love you, baby." He mumbles.

"Mm, I love you too."

#joel miller x reader #joel miller fanfiction #joel miller fic #joel miller fluff #joel miller x you #tlou fic #> writing

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exhausted-archivist · 9 months

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Concept Art Moments and Ideas: What I Wish Was Kept

Pretty sure we've all been there. Seen some of the concept art and thought how cool it was and how much you wish it had made it in the final game. These are some of mine, I won't go too much into why they're not in the game, the answer is usually either one of the following or a combination of: they needed to narrow the scope of the project, frostbite was a new engine they were struggling to make do what they needed, time, they didn't feel it had enough narrative weight or purpose, or it would make the world states branch out far too much.

I'm not really wanting to discuss whether or not I agree with cutting them either. I just really think these are neat concept, ones I've thought out how they would fold in, possible ways they could have played out, and some that personally I have worked into my fic just to fully explore the ideas.

Most of the images that don't have a source link came from either the art book or the BioWare Stories and Secrets From 25 Years of Game Development (B25) book.

Now lets start with the most common one:

[Source]

I'm know others have said this, but I really wish that it had been feasible for you to become Divine. Though, honestly this only would have really worked as decision at the end of the series. While personally in my canon world state I don't have anyone I would want to put in that role. I do have an OC who I did design for that and would have been nice to see it play out. Especially come Trespasser.

These are story boards from the art book of the prologue walk through Haven. The voice lines for this are still in the game files even though they're cut. Something I always wanted in the prologue was something to actually motivate me. There is no real sense of danger, and the walk through Haven hold no real weight. It's mostly telling and no showing, it feels hollow after your first play-through where you aren't curious and uncertain. It honestly would have been interesting to me if this was in there and if there were non-standard ending option outside of combat. Provoking the scared survivors to where they mob you, a timer on the mark instead of just the one check point. If it started draining your health the longer you took to get to the Breach. Things that could easily be removed if you decreased the difficulty level and wouldn't impact the game overly much.

[Left Dragon Age Art Book, Right World of Thedas vol. 2 p. 245]

To continue on with my desire for the steaks in Inquisition to be more intense, for you to actually feel some type of risk or hostility from the world. These two are more of an expansion on the attack on Haven. I wish Corypheus was given a more dramatic entrance than being seen on the hill with his Commander. That when he arrived to scoop you up, that it was more ominous and threatening. Something to illustrate as him having this overwhelming presence and force.

In Hushed Whispers had the concept art of King Alistair going with you and honestly, I feel like it is a missed opportunity. Not only would it make sense but there is a sort of thematic element with Alistair once again having to save Redcliffe from a mage. I think this also could have worked if he was king or warden. If he was a warden, it would have been a very nice way to tie in the Warden plot for Alistair and even Loghain. Would have really given the Inquisitor a reason to care about choosing between them or Hawke in the Fade.

[Source]

Matt Rhodes labeled this as Anders in the tags, and I am really intrigued by this prospect. We know by the end of DA2 if he's alive he doesn't have many friends with the displaced mages of Kirkwall after awhile. It would have been nice for him to come back in that Warden role they were considering for the cancelled Exalted March DLC. But what really makes me curious, is why he's out in what we might think is the Western Approach/Hissing Wastes and what happened to his missing right arm.

Alternatively, another scenario I would have liked to see with Anders comes from the B25 book. We see they explored the idea of Anders, as a Grey Warden in the cancelled Exalted March DLC. Honestly, I feel as if he would return regardless of if you killed him or not because we know that Justice can and has prevented fatal injuries from killing Anders before. This could have been an interesting thread to not only pull his story to an end in dai, but also introduce the Warden contact instead of the ones we had. Because he was on the run and the Wardens would offer a degree of protection so he would be unwillingly forced to return, couple that with him knowing of Corypheus - which would likely be the thing that forced the Wardens to keep him alive once they found his prison empty.

[Source]

This is Western Approach concept art, specifically this was suppose to be Adamant. Matt Rhodes describes that it was suppose to be a monastery, self-sustaining, and a place where they could cultivate their own food, weave their own fabrics. It would have been interesting to be able to see it like this, to see the game use this to not only explore how the Wardens survived out here but also how they recovered the fortress after it was wrecked in Asunder. It would have tied in nicely with exploring the fact that the reversal of Tranquility was found here, a fact known to everyone in game at this point (they just didn't know the Seekers hid it from the Chantry and mages). It would have been an excellent way to fold in Rhys, Evangeline, flesh out Cole's backstory and personal quest, and even show another side of the mages - the ones who didn't want to be involved in the war and fled to the Wardens.

Two Words: Giant. Scorpion.

Look how massive that is. I love mega fauna so much. I want something massive to be living in the Hissing Wastes and I want this to be fighting dragons. It would have been amazing. Look at the boards they put out.

[Source]

I want to believe this is for the Western Approach given the ground type and the smoke in the background. If this thing was guarding the sulfur fields by Griffon Keep? It would have been epic. Or even if we saw it fighting the Abyssal dragon. Honestly, I think more areas should have had a competing predator for the dragons to be fighting. It would have been cooler if they kept great bears (previously known as Dragon Bears) at their massive size to fight a dragon in the Emerald Graves too.

[Source]

That said, this scorpion concept gets even better when you see the concept art for smaller versions being Venatori mounts.

How do you not get stabbed bud? How do you domesticate/train this? What is the intelligence of this little critter? I can just picture a play on the scorpion and the frog happening here. This would have been really cool as mini-bosses or something of that nature. Particularly around the ruins, Venatori operations, or raids against the keeps.

Another piece from B25, we see new concept art of the Inquisitor leaving Skyhold with the Inquisition as Skyhold is destroyed in the background. We learned from David Gaider that at one point Skyhold was actually suppose to be attacked by Corypheus, but it ended up being cut due to time/scope. This is something I wish they kept, having your second base attack, you home at the point where you felt the strongest and potentially after a recent victory.

It would have reminded the player that Corypheus and his commander, Calpernia or Samson, were a real and active threat. Something missing from Inquisition honestly. It would have been interesting to see if we had to find a new base of operations or if we had to rebuild. When first settling in Skyhold everyone mentions being able to see the enemy coming, about not retreating from Skyhold. They really built up an expectation that at the very least a scare of an attack would happen.

There would have been a sort of poetic sense to Skyhold being leveled. Considering it is of Fereldan make, built on top of a leveled elven site. To have the site once again leveled, the history brought back to its foundations. It would have been a thematic foreshadowing to what Solas plans to do as well.

These are clearly just things I found interesting, things I feel would have really added to the game, and some others might not agree with. There are other things I wish they hadn't cut, but I didn't want to include anything that has been post-humorously mentioned by the devs because I wanted to focus more on the concept art aspect. A lot of decisions were shaped by circumstances we'll never really know the full scope of, and sometimes I wonder if they had gotten more than the 3-4 years they had for Inquisition and maybe on an engine that wasn't so fickle and worked better for the style of game how different it would have been.

#dragon age #dragon age inquisition #dai #dragon age concept art #cw insect #cw scorpion #cw blood #wishlist of my heart #what could have been #long post #archi is yelling into the void

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elismor · 5 days

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These days, it seems to be fashionable to refuse to believe that AI has any possible use beyond "plagiarizing" (please look up the actual definition of that word?) fic, so I wanted to share a brief list of questions I have asked MS Copilot and Perplexity as a demonstration that the bots can actually be leveraged to HELP fic authors.

Generate a list of one to two word writing prompts about things soldiers experience while at war.

using the list above, iterate to add 12 prompts that touch on the lighter side of life in a military unit

What are some good names for a secret society?

using the list above, iterate to include fraternal organizations comprised of soldiers

Generate a list of possible titles for a story about brotherhood, loss, and the horrors of war

re-generate the list above with a tone of sadness or mourning

To be clear, I have not used any of the results wholesale. The titles query in particular produced a set of very cliche and overly dramatic possibilities, no matter how many times I refined the ask. The prompts were pretty decent and I cherry picked them to add to other lists of prompts I've gathered, then used AI to randomly shuffle the list, divide it into sections of 25, shuffle those 25 in each section, etc. This was done to make personal bingo cards and I'm pretty pleased with the results. In the case of the question about the secret society, the AI tendency toward the absurd actually worked in my favor, though I did not like any of the answers well enough to choose it.

AI can be incredibly useful when you are stuck on something.

what are six ways a man might escape from a burning building?

generate a list of four types of injury that would prevent a person from walking, but would not be fatal

how might a robot respond to being teased by humans in a sci-fi setting?

in layman's terms, explain the science behind the concept of hyperspace travel in sci-fi

Those are all ways of generating ideas that you can then chew on and adapt for your own use rather than sitting and staring at a blank page or blinking cursor. AI can help you brainstorm.

I haven't tried this yet, but I bet it could also help you figure out what the cliches in any given genre are so you can either lean in or run away from them. Something like "in Star Wars fan fiction, what are the most common ways Obi-Wan Kenobi and Commander Cody flirt with one another?" might produce a list of Codywan tropes that either sparks your imagination or makes you laugh hysterically.

There's a lot of worry that AI will replace artists and writers and, yeah, there are people who are using it to create things out of whole cloth. We're all entitled to our opinions on that (mine are deeply conflicting and still forming, tbh). But we shouldn't damn the tool because we perceive that people are abusing it. The tool can help you if you let it.

#Ai #let's talk about fic baby #some days i might welcome the arrival of our robot overlords #opinion piece

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annoyinglandmagazine · 11 months

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Caranthir the financial advisor from hell

The guards of Nargothrond glanced from side to side as if to ask each other ‘Is this allowed?’ They’d had three Feanorians staying with them for a while now but they were still unclear on the protocol for dealing with one of them just turning up at the gates. Nonetheless, they parted to let him through with little protest once their commanding officers gave them the go ahead.

He did not respond to their hesitance, to their great relief, none wished to be on the receiving end of that glare of his. He strode forward with a simple nod of acknowledgment to their general, his boots clicking evenly on the marble floor and somehow managing to echo through the corridor despite the background noise of a bustling city. Did all their nobility have some kind of powers when it came to being excessively dramatic? They’d thought their king was overly theatrical but the Feanorians all seemed to be as well, albeit in different ways.

He made his way straight through the corridors to the ongoing council meeting. This was concerning for numerous reasons, not the least of which being that everyone was fairly sure he had never been to Nargothrond before, so how could he possibly know their floor plan, let alone their schedule? Nevertheless, he flung open the doors and stood in the doorway, his glare at his cousin perhaps not as intense as his father’s but enough to terrify most into submission.

‘Moryo!’ Celegorm began to grin, the sight not even remotely reassuring to anyone. The two other sons of Feanor seemed way too at ease, but then who could ever claim to understand what was going on with that lot? Caranthir shot a far harsher yet somehow fond glare towards his brothers, ‘Tyelkormo. Atarinkë,’ he replied with little enthusiasm. ‘It’s been years, would it kill you to write, brother!’ Celegorm teased jovially. ‘I wasn’t aware you could read. Brother.’

A little snort broke the tense silence and the only grandson of Feanor beamed at his uncle through his amusement, ‘It’s good to see you uncle.’ Caranthir shot his nephew a quick smile and softened his tone, ‘A pleasure as always Tyelpe darling.’ He now brought his focus back to Finrod who was apprehensive as if he knew what was coming, the same as the Feanorians who were all giving each other conspiratorial glances. ‘Ingoldo. Findarato. My dear cousin.’

‘I have recently received your yen’s expenses report.’ ‘Holy shit,’ murmured Celegorm under his breath though still very much audibly, the grin on his face growing to troubling levels. ‘You have truly outdone yourself. Really.’ Finrod was turning gradually paler. ‘Why do you have access to documents from Nargothrond’s treasury?’

‘Because all our relatives have been delegating financial matters to me since I was forty. You didn’t think Fingon could actually draft a budget for his army himself did you? And Nelyo can’t barely do long division. They may say that something is for the king’s eyes only but what they really mean is it’s for Fingon to send my brother in between some graphic sketches and love letters and then for Nelyo to send to me once he’s exhausted his energy for calculations.’

‘And I have to wonder if you have a single person in your council capable of basic budgeting skills or if you simply regularly ignore expenditure plans to support your jewellery problem. I’m guessing the latter. So I have taken the liberty of drafting a comprehensive plan for all your financial dealings for the next yen and I expect you to follow it.’ He slammed a heavy tome onto the table, ‘I’m trusting Curufin to make sure you don’t deviate too far.’

‘Caranthir, it’s hardly like you’re living in some austere shack yourself!’ Caranthir shot a cold glare back, ‘Unlike you I manage my money. I am giving you the chance to do the same and I advise you take it.’ He stalked over to his family and accepted a kiss on the forehead from Celegorm before placing one on Curufin and Celebrimbor’s. ‘Three Cs for life!’ Celegorm called after him, still way too pleased to see his cousin get scolded. ‘That’s never going to catch on!’ Came the synchronised yells of Curufin and Caranthir.

#silmarillion #tolkien #caranthir #celegorm #curufin #celebrimbor #finrod #nargothrond #three cs

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moononmyfloor · 5 months

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My Year End C-drama Review (2023)

Last year, I did two Cdrama Wrapped posts for each half of the year. This year, I watched so much stuff right away I got arrogant and was about to do a January-February summary. And then life happened and handed me my entire ass, so here we are right back on the ground zero.

Well, not exactly. I watched lots of dramas I liked this year and would like to give nods to as many as possible, and before I start forgetting details I thought I better go ahead with the entrees that I'm sure of the answers.

My initial Cdrama reviews were inspired by anniedelavoye's this post 2 years ago, I've extrapolated a lot from there but some entrees remain same.

Part 2

1. First drama I finished in 2023

Hi Venus. Modern workplace romcom isn't my go-to-genre, least of all if the ML is a CEO. If not for the unusual-for-the-genre setup of initial few eps and the strong recommendations of my friends, I might not have pressed play at all. And I'm so glad I did because it turned out to be one of the most refreshing takes of the genre, it was funny, the pacing nor the dialogues were ever draggy, the characters were intelligent and pleasant, and down to earth. It never leaned to the tropes of helpless/badass FL or tsundere/beta ML extremes, there was no dramatic villain arcs, down to the supporting characters everyone were so reasonable and mature and simply had the nicest time ever together. Now I put it like that, it sounds boring but trust me, it wasn't. Do give it a try. Your time won't be wasted.

2. An actor who took my breath away

Jing Boran as Lan Jue/Peizhi from The League of Nobleman

I mean

Look at him. Instant KO.

I remember watching this scene (and every scene that followed after, especially when he had his hair down) and being in disbelief about how he's real. He's literally glowing out the screen! His performance as a model scholarly minister, the way he conducted his glance, his steps, his speech and temperament were nothing but enchanting and... look, I can write poetry about him for ages lol.

And then I watched every single work I could find of him and ended up even more in love, because his resume was nothing but diverse. A measured scholar, a bubbling-out-of-his-skin social butterfly, a ballerina in a tutu, a man pregnant with the cutest radish monster ever, there's nothing he cannot play. I'm definitely going to check out every single work of him that'll be coming out in the future as well. Even if the plot fails, his character will surely be interesting.

(Also, I was FINALLY lured into DMBJ fandom thanks to going down his profile as well, and now I'm here to stay🤭)

3. Most relatable character

Bai Moxi from Gone With the Rain

She was street-smart and sassy, but never foolhardy. She wasn't a damsel nor was overly clever. She had her moments of daydreaming, but she knew what was and wasn't reasonable. She had a high sense of self-worth, she also knew when to make herself scarce. Despite being the most outgoing and energetic personality in the room, she didn't make everything to be about herself. In fact, she couldn't have been happier to be a background supporting character of the story, quietly minding her own business in her corner. In summary, she just felt very real, and exactly like how I love my FLs. Every decision she took felt like what I'd also have done in her situation. (Btw I hope noone messages me about loving Moxi but hating her sister because I don't. I think her character also made a lot of sense based on her circumstances even though she was bit more difficult to love than Moxi.)

Most of all, she was played to a tee by Zhang Nan, the young actress was allowed to shine to her true potential in this role, as she used to be quite stereotyped in either bubbly or petty mean girl roles. The drama horribly fell apart in the latter quarter (I'd like to pretend it all ended before that Great Seperation Scene), but I'm going to remember her charaacter for a long time to come.

4. Most inspiring character

Li Lianhua from Mysterious Lotus Casebook

The tumblr tag for MLC is already filled with Grade A+ poetry, prose and analysis dedicated to him and I'm not capable of wording it any better than them. All I can say is he really touched a vulnerable corner of my heart, and gave it strength. He's just so very admirable and represents all I ever want to be, and his entire character design and all its metaphors and philosophy especially resonate with me as a Buddhist. Like Cheng Yi said at the end of MLC concert, "At the end of the day, if you have a lotus flower in your heart that you can call your own, that's what matters."

5. Best Couple of the Year

Lu Zhaoxi and Ye Shilan (Zeng Shunxi and Liang Jie) in Hi Venus, Zhao Jian and Yuan Zhongxin (Zhou Yutong and Zhang Xincheng) in Young Blood 2

Here are two couples who were each others' equal match in every big, small and miscellaneous ways possible. Where their roles in their partnership did not have anything to do with society-determined gender or power dynamics, not about conforming to them nor about beating them. Everything about their relationships simply had to do with what they meant to each other their admiration, respect and love towards the other person, from beginning to end. In Hi Venus, it was never uncomfortable to watch Shilan being Zhaoxi's subordinate, for he always treated her like any good superior should in any healthy professional relationship. In Young Blood 2, Zhongxin would fully trust Zhao Jian with everyone else's and his own life, not because his head was in wishful romantic clouds but because he was 100% confident in her capabilities and would never disrespect her with "girls should be protected, you stay back and let me take the sword for you" nonsense.

I may check out like 50 dramas per year and may never come by such Het pairing dynamics in some years, yknow? I do not hate on any other kind of dynamic (plus I'd have next to nothing to watch in that case lol) but, THIS... this is so rare -for me to not be icked out by not even a single second of a fictional het couple's screentime lol- hence the gushing! (Though I know I'm not doing the greatest job of phrasing what I feel😆).

Following that note, though not a couple, honorable mentions to Chufeng (Bi Wenjun) and Robin (Zhu Zhengting) from Silence of the Monster who took Sui Yi (Sun Yihan) into their home not because they thought it'd be chivalrous to help a girl, but because it's the nice thing to do as a fellow human. For continuing onto integrating her into their world with ease and enthusiasm not because any of them had feelings for her but because they simply found her a good friend to hang out with.

Suffice to say I DIG ANY relationship where gender does not come into play, like, at all (or barely, if you must).

6. Best harem of the year

Orchid and Lotus harems (from League of Nobleman and Mysterious Lotus Casebook)

(Only sharing the pics of Orchid Harem because it was from the earlier quarter of this year, whereas pics of Lotus Harem will be everywhere in the Cdrama scene for quite a while to come lol)

The support group of devout puppies, zhijis, friends-with-benefits and all sorts of other polycule postions, all centered around one precious babygirl enigma of a man is just my jam, and I love it when it happens because it brings forth the fandom's most unhinged high-art. 😌😌😌

(ALSO ME AND WHO WHEN!😭)

7. Best ensemble of the year

Young Blood 2, I Am Nobody

For me a perfect ensemble is where the supporting characters are just or almost nearly as engaging and thoroughly written as the main leads, you'd love every second spent on any character just as much as you love that of any other. The ultimate relaxing experience where your brain doesn't have to pick favorites and you don't have to speed watch or fast forward or be antsy about who's going to appear next because you know it's gonna be enjoyable no matter whom.

And this year, it's Young Blood 2- with its Class 7 members who were all so different but all so compelling and equally contributing to the plot, complimented by the Class 8 and the unnervingly captivating villains.

And I Am Nobody- with its extensive spread of young and old heroes/antiheroes alike, all with dramatic backstories and individual charisma that were not second to another.

8. Favorite posters/promos of the year

Mysterious Lotus Casebook, Young Blood 2, Sunshine By My Side

Really liked what MLC did with positioning the characters on various spots of the titular Lianhua Lou, the wind-sway choices for the wisps of hair and the skirts... idk the exact angles of it all were just right for each character and their vibes and appealed to me a lot.

The blending-into-painting style poster of Young Blood was so pretty too, plus these Suoyi raincoat posters.

The comic strip posters for Sunshine were also super cute, unique and perfect for the drama's themes.

9. Best opening credit sequence

Love You Seven Times

The drama itself was a hot mess but the opening sequence was entirely worthy of being a parallelish-universe story to Love Between Fairy and Devil without a debate. IF ONLY they put the same effort to the story itself.

10. Favorite Prop/Set designs

A League of Nobleman- Lan Jue's Tea Pavilion, Mysterious Lotus Casebook- Lotus House

I wish I could install a fixture in my home where me and my imaginary homies can chat over tea while being seductively separated by an active stream of freshwater, while my not so elegant period-style caravan is waiting outside in the yard for more cozily cramped get-together times. 🤧

11. Favorite lighting/color grading of the year

The Forbidden Flower, My Journey to You

The former, a kaleidoscopic explosion of colors, a celebration of fleeting life, youth, summer and nostalgia. It was a daring drama on so many fronts and nailed each of them as well, and the use of colors represented its bold soul perfectly.

The latter, a marvelous combination of mountains shrouded by mist, dark-toned wood pavilions and fur-lined robes, pale, dusty makeup with rosy lips and plump cheeks; all combined together on screen to bring a palpable ambience of a secluded glamorous hideout in a dystopian world and its ethereal residents. Seriously, how I especially loved to stare at the bride candidates in their white getups, it was like the light bounced off of the fabric to shine on their faces even more, and the skin and hair looked non-oily and baby soft. And it didn't feel over the top but convincing because the camerawork and editing conjured a believable image of an upcountry with dense and dewy forests, waterfalls and rivers, there's no sun, no heat no sweat, only cold air and pregnant humidity. OF COURSE you are going to look like THAT.

12. A drama that taught me new things

Hi Producer

The infuriating thing about Yu Zheng's show-off genre of costume dramas is that the story may be a hit-or-miss, the "historical facts" provided in them may need to be taken with a grain of salt, but they almost always provide me with great entry points to do my own research 🥲. Most niche facts that take me by surprise and things I'd never have thought to look up on my own are randomly sprinkled all over the place and I run around like a headless chicken trying to collect them all.

13. Most exhilarating drama/scene

Three-Body

That scene in ep 5. The entire buildup to it and the resolution. The phenomenal acting bringing forth the exact emotion and exact tension required. The moment you start to understand at least a sliver of why exactly all the characters are making this much of a fuss about what's happening to them.

I cannot spoil, not even a bit. You'd have to see for yourself.

I Am Nobody

(lol Three Body and I Am Nobody. I swear that was an unintentional coincidence!)

The great V-match between certain two characters, I can't elaborate. (See the thing about exhilarating scenes is that you have to see it for yourself what's the big deal is about lol.) I really liked how both their biggest vulnerabilities and yearnings were pulled out mercilessly in public, how they both fought themselves through each other before actualizing the philosophy of what it was all about. It was beautiful to watch visually as well.

14. A drama location I'd love to visit

Yunnan province

I've seen glimpses of the prosperous and both naturally and culturally diverse Yunnan province through Bite of China Documentaries and Dianxi Xiaoge's vlogs, the beautiful bucolic backdrop of Meet Yourself only heightened the wish to experience it all in person.

15. A drama that was a pleasant surprise

I Am Nobody

Perfect casting job, earnest effort from everyone involved to bring out the 2D to live action in the bestest way possible, it was like a dream come true to see a genre that was previously limited into written media like comics and fanfics (modern cultivation) as a drama even if it meant labelling all the cultivators as aliens lol

It had a lil bit of a flavor of western coming-of-age/"teen gets powers and goes on an adventure in search of their origins" stories, a bit of Japanese anime presenting style and the chaotic-gaggle-of-youth-and-veterans-with-different-extreme-powers genre vibe. And then they incorporated Chinese wuxia philosophy into it and made it their own thing. I hope to see more of this in future, and definitely a season 2!

16. An old drama I watched in 2023

Shaolin Wendao (2017)

This is one of the best period dramas I have ever seen, but I don't recommend it unless you have a strong tolerance for angst. Like, worse than Royal Nirvana and Heroes (2022) level of angst.

HOWEVER, unlike those two, Shaolin Wendao will leave you feeling rewarded for your suffering. This drama achieved a number of things that very few other have managed to do, especially for a story with such a heavy and dark premise.

The characters remained true to their selves from beginning to the end. They grew up in various ways, at the same time remained consistent. The story made sure to make all the characters aware of their individual faults and address them.

The characters were put through immense wringer but also provided viewer with the resolution they deserved. It was SO exhilarating at times, I cried. It felt like a detox, sometimes.

They prioritized telling a realistic story about the changing nature of humans. The ending was blissful but not in the idolized, wrapped-in-a-bow-tie way one would imagine. They wanted to tell a story about tribulations and letting go, and did exactly that.

It will ignite the pain but will also make sure to thoroughly quench it. So there's that.

Oh and also, respect to all the actors. All those characters were so layered and had some quite difficult scenes. I do not understand how Guo Xiaoting didn't get any good roles matching of her caliber for years after this. She was magnificent.