#i had a specific character in mind here and my followers probably know exactly who it was lmbo | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

taylor-titmouse · 2 months

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hey i want to talk about how you should be promoting your work as an erotic author/illustrator

i'm writing this up because the marketing aspect of my work as an erotic author/illustrator is a science to me, and also because i'm the guy who gets unreasonably annoyed when i see other creators not properly advertising their work. you presumably want to make money off your work. this post will be written under the assumption you want to make money off your work but are doing a bad job at it. it will be very confrontational. if you read this and feel attacked you're right and i am attacking you.

this is geared toward selling erotic comics/writing/books/art as products. i will probably write more than one post about this subject so if i didn't touch on something you want to know more about, comment/send me an ask and i'll keep it in mind for the next one.

i will start with my first and least specific but most important point:

DON'T GET FUCKING CUTE

hi are you paying attention. i'm gripping you by the sides of your face. do not get fucking cute with what you are trying to sell. you are not a big enough property to get cute, nobody LIKES it when big properties get cute, and you are selling porn. you have to own this. you have to be up front about this. don't be tongue in cheek, don't be all teehee i wonder what this could be~, don't be secretive. you are selling a product. you have to fucking act like it. you are an adult selling pornography to other adults. i am GRIPPING your HEAD you NEED to understand this.

and to be clear when i say 'cute' i mean coy. i don't mean cutesy, as in the aesthetic. you can be as hello kitty pastel ten emojis a post uwu as you like when you're building your audience and generating hype. but when you start trying to sell, don't be vague, don't be sarcastic, don't mislabel your work as a joke and assume everyone is on it. because they're not.

you must always assume 75% of the people seeing the thing you are advertising have no fucking idea who you are. and that includes a huge chunk of the people who already follow you. they do not know who you are or what you've been working on for two months or why they should care about it. they just got here. somebody just reposted it. they are seeing it for the first time. most people are only looking at social media for a tiny chunk of their day. they are not keeping up with you. you cannot get cute about what you are trying to sell because nobody knows what it is until you tell them.

okay are you still with me. we are going to talk about clarity now.

YOU GOTTA TELL ME WHAT IT IS

good lord the amount of times i have gone to buy somebody's comic or book and had no idea what's actually in it or what it's about. who are the characters? why should i care about them? what do they do in it? what is the premise of this thing you want me to spend $5 on? why would you not tell me? i'm shaking you again. please i have to know what i'm buying i only have so much money to spend on porn.

porn, arguably more than any other genre, relies on knowing exactly what is in it. you do not want to surprise your readers with a kink they were unaware of! and on the flip side, you do not want to miss out on your target audience! if your book contains a hot spider babe laying eggs in an elf, you have to say so. not just so people who don't want to read about eggs know it isn't for them, but so the people who are egg crazy can see that and go "oh fuck YES i love EGGS here is my $5 and an extra $2 tip for catering to me specifically". a contents/features list is as much an advertisement as it is a warning!

as for re: who the characters are and why should i care, i'm sorry but you need to learn how to write sales copy. you have to write blurbs. you have to get good at the shit that goes on the back of a book. we all hate it but we have to do it. i want to know who the characters are and what the context is. i, personally, am not interested in contemporary stories as much as fantasy and historical. please tell me what genre this porn exists in so i know if it aesthetically appeals to me. pull some books off your shelves and see how they do it. hell man go look at mine.

while you're there, note that every single book of mine has a sample of what's in it. this feels like such a no-brainer to me but again! the amount of times i have gone to buy somebody's work and they don't show me what their work looks like! you gotta give me the first page or two! just enough that i know if i like the way your writing sounds, or the way you draw your comics! i don't know you! i am not going to trust that you're good at what you do just based on a cover. the cover is to get me to this step, it is not the only step. you have to show me that you're worth spending my money on!

to put it less cynically, you want to catch my interest. you want me to go 'oh i want to see more of this', you want me to go 'ahh i want to know where this goes!' you need to get me invested and craving more. earn my $5!!!

YOU HAVE TO MAKE IT EASY TO GIVE YOU MONEY

hey go look at your bio right now. go look at your pinned post. do you have a link to your patreon there? do you have a link to your itchio/gumroad/whatever? do i have to click more than once to get to the places you want me to go to give you money? why? why are you making me click twice? have we learned nothing from every website making you click an extra time when they make some stupid UI update and how much it pisses us off? i have already given up, i have forgotten you, i am not giving you my $5 today. put your links in the easiest places to get to them.

god literally as i was writing this post i went to go find somebody's itchio to see how they described their work and it was not anywhere on their profile. grabbing you and shaking you PUT THE LINK WHERE I CAN FIND IT. don't make it hard! make it easy! i am a dickhead sitting on the toilet scrolling, saw your post, and was interested enough to read further. but you made me go to your bio to find your linktree and oops i have already gone back to my timeline to look at the boobies in the next post. stop wasting precious bio space on DNIs and put your fuckin links there!!!

this is more for the twitter people, but: just put the link in the damn post. just say the word commission. just say it's for patreon. "wuh wuh the algorithm" it is not the damn algorithm it's that everybody hates advertising and nobody wants to retweet ads. putting slashes in the words doesn't do anything and you look like a fool. i have posted so much art that says it's 'a commission for ___" and it did exactly as good as any other art despite having the word commission in it. and by doing the slashes you just made it impossible for anybody to search your account for your commission information (which should be at the VERY LEAST in a post under your pinned tweet if you're not actively posting about them being open).

okay that went on a tangent i'm going to back to the point of putting the link in the tweet. put it in the first post. not in the first reply. don't tell them to go to your bio. put it in the post people are actually going to share. it's fine to put more information in the thread but people are only ever going to share the first post. so put the link there. you have to make it easy. putting links in tweets can hurt you algorithmically, even in the replies. so you're better off having it in the post that actually gets seen and shared. i don't want to open the tweet and scroll to get to your sales page where i ASSUME you will have put all the information anyway. put it in the tweet that just got retweeted by itself onto my dash!

also you have to share it a ton of times. i repost my shit every few hours when i'm trying to push a new product. as i said before people are not 24/7 looking at their timelines. they missed it the first time. they missed it the second time. they didn't get paid yet that week but they were after the eighth time and you reminded them again so they finally bought it. that i will still get sales every time i repost a book ad weeks after release says there are always people who missed it, or who only just showed up.

abandon your pride and shill. shills pay their bills. anyone who gets annoyed about it isn't giving you money in the first place. don't worry about looking like a sell out. don't apologize for plugging your own work. post about it often, post about it in different ways. post about it. post about it. you are not going to make money if people don't know you have something to sell them. if you want to make a career out of it, you need to act like it.

I DON'T HAVE A FOURTH POINT

kisses your forehead. i'm sorry for yelling at you. i've been making and publishing and selling adult art for the past two-three years and have got myself to the point where it pays my rent, and i got there by paying attention to what does and does not work.

please do your best to make money. i want you to make money.

as i said above i plan to write more posts on this subject, such as cover design, how to actually write sales copy, and best practices with running a patreon, but if there's things you would want to hear more about leave a comment or send an ask! i will probably be less aggressive on future topics. these are just things that have grinded my gears for a grip.

#tt talks writing #tt talks drawing

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artemis32 · 1 year

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also the first person to come to mind when you said someone stubborn enough to ignore aizawa’s glare was bakugo, I feel like that would stress aizawa out so bad

platonic yandere aizawa shouta iii

Fun fact my top three favourite characters (in no specific order) in bnha are Aizawa, Bakugo and Shigaraki, so this is perfect

Also I finished this before any of the other subjugation drabbles as requested, but I'm clearing out my drafts, so hopefully I'll be able to post a few more this week

platonic aizawa masterlist

bnha masterlist

Class 1a was up to something. Aizawa knew they were.

They weren’t good at being sneaky, and for the past two weeks, they’d been behaving strangely.

Ever since the class had seen you, he’d been slightly on edge, waiting for something to go wrong. And he knew that it would sooner or later.

Class 1a were disruptive and oftentimes insubordinate. They couldn’t follow the rules and they got into trouble more often than Aizawa could keep count of.

They were troublemakers.

Aizawa knew that.

Which is why he was so suspicious of them.

They had been perfectly behaved in lessons, quiet and diligent, completing every assignment he’d given to them. They hadn’t spoken out of turn or argued once within the past two weeks. Most suspiciously though, must have been the fact that they hadn’t once brought up the question of who you were again.

It made him uneasy.

It made him annoyed.

But instead of addressing the matter as he probably should have, he kept quiet, curious to see what exactly they were up to.

He found out by the end of that week.

****

“Okay sweetheart, I’m leaving now. Are you sure you don’t want to come with me? You’re more than welcome to, it won’t be long.”

You huff out a laugh. Aizawa was running errands and had been repeatedly questioning whether you wanted to come with him. You were sure he was trying to guilt trip you into joining him.

It might have worked.

It was working.

But you were a model student, as so, your homework and assignments had to come first - much to your father’s displeasure.

The only respite was that you’d be staying safely within the walls of UA, specifically in the apartment, which made your father feel much better about leaving you by yourself.

Sometimes you think he forgets that you’re a teenager – old enough to be home alone for a few hours.

“Yes, I’m sure dad. I’ll call you or Mr Yamada if there’s an emergency. I’ll see you later.”

He huffs, accepting that you wouldn’t change your mind.

The hug he draws you into is crushing and he presses your face into his chest. You feel his chest rumble as he lets out a laugh.

“Don’t let Hizashi hear you call him that, you know how much he hates it.”

You scowl slightly. The eclectic blond often insisted that you call him by his first name, or the ever-endearing title of 'Uncle Zashi', making a habit of reminding you every time you happened to accidentally ‘forget’. You enjoyed his company, but his persistent attitude grated on your nerves sometimes.

“Don’t you dare tell him.”

Aizawa laughs again before reminding you to stay safe and call him in the case of an emergency.

You bid him one last farewell before shutting and locking the door. Paranoia seemed to be one of your father’s defining traits when it came to you.

Fifteen minutes later, you’re set up in the living room, surrounded by snacks, stationary, and papers scattered over the floor and coffee table.

****

Three hours later, you decide to call it quits for the day, packing up your belongings and returning to the living room to flop down on to the couch.

You’d been laying on the couch, watching a rerun of some old movie your father enjoyed, when there was a knock at the door.

Thinking nothing of it, you haul yourself up and make your way to the door.

It could have been anyone - Midnight or Present Mic, here to keep you company or watch over you at your father’s request, or it could have been another teacher, here to drop off paperwork for your father. Perhaps it was your father himself, having forgotten his keys.

Living amongst a group of heroes and heroes-in-training makes you comfortable, and you don’t bother checking who is at the door before flinging it wide open.

Two boys and a girl, all around your own age stand before you. One of the boys and the girl look surprised, eyebrows rising, creasing their foreheads. The second boy remains impassive, his dual-coloured eyes trailing over you, head to toe.

“Can I help you?”

They continue to stare at you for a moment before the pink-skinned girl harshly elbows the blond boy next to her.

He exclaims in pain before clearing his throat and smiling widely.

“Hi there. I was wondering if Aizawa sensei is home?”

If your father had passed one trait on to you, it had to be his suspicious nature. You straighten slightly, nudging the door closed a few centimeters.

“Aizawa sensei is out running a few errands. He should be back soon - would you like to leave a message?”

The boy with the dual-coloured eyes leans forward slightly, his upper body now crossing over the threshold into your apartment.

“May we come in?”

Though he poses it as a question, he doesn’t wait for an answer, already pushing past you and into the hallway behind you.

Your protests fall on deaf ears, and the boy and girl still in the doorway seem to panic alongside you, scrambling in after him.

“Todoroki, you can’t just barge in like that!”

The dual-haired boy - Todoroki - ignores them and chooses to look around the apartment instead, taking in his surroundings with an air of disinterest.

“I have a question. Answer truthfully and we’ll leave.”

His two friends, still panickedly trying to urge him out of your house, still as he speaks. They stare at one another, then at Todoroki, before nodding and looking at you.

By now, you’re anxious and wary, eager to get them out. You take a deep, calming breath.

Doing as they say seems to be the best decision. You didn’t want to stir up trouble, and you definitely didn’t want your father or another teacher stumbling upon the scene.

“Fine, one question and then you’re gone.”

You cross your arms and press your mouth into a hard line, attempting to cover up your anxieties with an air of anger.

The three agree to your terms, Todoroki humming lightly before speaking.

“Is Mr Aizawa your father?”

It’s a loaded question, one you aren’t sure you want to answer.

While you and your father hadn’t tried to cover up the fact that you were his daughter, you also hadn’t gone out of your way to announce it. The fact that the three standing before you were so curious that they went as far as to basically break into your house to get an answer made you concerned.

Their eagerness made you believe that it would be best to lie. Then again, what would you tell them - being honest may be the only way to get them to leave without a fuss.

You nod slowly, hesitantly.

“Yes, he is.”

While the boy and girl let out noises of disbelief, Todoroki doesn’t seem to be surprised.

“See guys, told you.”

The blonde boy splutters for a moment, shoulders slumped in defeat.

“Is that all?” You ask apprehensively, still tense and nervous.

An unspoken question lingers in the air.

Will you leave now?

Todoroki nods, thanking you before calling for his two companions.

At the door, he pauses, turning to you one last time.

“Can I ask that you keep this visit a secret, just for a while. Don’t tell Aizawa sensei that we were here. Please.”

His demeanour is serious, though it seems like more of a demand than a request.

You’re already nodding in agreement.

“Yeah, sure.”

Regardless of whether he asked you or not, you wouldn’t have told your father of their visit. The last thing you needed was for his paranoia to be proven correct.

What he didn’t know wouldn’t hurt him, and he definitely didn’t need to know that three students - three of his students - had been to his home to see you while he was away. Worse, that they knew you were his daughter.

If he found out, you’d never hear the end of it. In fact, you were slightly afraid he may never let you leave the house again.

No, you definitely would not be telling him about their visit.

By the time your father returns home hours later, you’ve scrubbed the memory of the three students from your mind, and he seems none the wiser.

The two of you have dinner and talk for a bit before going to bed.

You make no mention of the day’s events, and he doesn’t ask.

****

For the first time in what could have been years, you were in trouble. Big trouble.

From the moment you entered the apartment, it had seemed eerily still, too quiet to be natural.

When you first entered the living room, you saw your father sitting with his back towards you, posture straight and still. He didn’t turn to greet you and you feel a growing sense of unease when he tells you to sit down.

“How was your day?”

You’ve known your father long enough to recognize his tone, to know that he’s not asking because he’s actually interested.

Right now, your father, the ever stoic Shouta Aizawa, was furious.

“Answer me.”

“It was fine, classes were good.”

“Hmm. How about yesterday? What did you do yesterday?”

You’re wringing your hands now, fingers gripping at each other in a feeble attempt to mask how obviously your hands are shaking.

“Y-Yesterday was good, same as today, classes and whatnot...”

You trail off awkwardly, unsure of what exactly he wants to hear. You don’t ask though, some sense of self preservation telling you to keep your mouth shut.

“And the past weekend? How was your day on Saturday. You had some time alone, what exactly did you get up to then?”

Staring down at the floor, you clear your throat and try to think of an excuse.

“Ah, well, I got a few assignments done and made dinner.”

His hand on your shoulder almost makes you jump.

“Sweetheart, look at me.”

You don’t want to.

You don’t want to look at him, you don’t want to see his anger or disappointment or whatever other negative emotion lays there at the moment.

But his grip tightens slightly on your shoulder, not enough to hurt, just enough to grab your attention. So you close your eyes and take a deep breath before looking up and meeting your father’s gaze.

He’s angry. Angry and disappointed and everything that you feared he would be. But most of all he looks concerned, worry pinching at the juncture between his eyebrows and at the corners of his mouth.

“What happened while I was out?”

You weren’t often emotional, and you definitely didn’t cry. Crying was pointless, it didn’t change anything.

But you had to bite your bottom lip and press your nails into your palms to stop yourself from bursting into tears in that moment.

It rarely happened that you kept anything from your father. You told him everything, no matter how big or small.

Truthfully, keeping a secret this big for as long as you had had been weighing you down. You felt guilty. Granted, you weren’t exactly lying to him, but it pained you to hide something like this from your father.

And so you cracked.

A few hot tears rolled down your cheeks as you sniffled, wiping at your nose with the sleeve of your jacket.

“Three of your students came to the apartment. They asked to see you but I said you were out.”

Aizawa’s grip on your shoulder had lessened, his arm wrapping around you, shifting you closer to him.

“Is that all?”

You debated lying to him, only for a moment. It technically wouldn’t be lying, you just wouldn’t be telling the whole truth.

The idea deflated quickly once his hand came up to brush away a few tears, his thumb gently rubbing at the soft skin under your eye.

“T-They just asked if I’m your daughter or not, they left after that.”

He hums again, staring at you for a few seconds longer. It feels as if he’s pining you in place, pressuring you into talking. Evidently, you have nothing else to say.

“Can you tell me what they looked like sweetie?”

****

You imagined that this is how criminals felt.

Under any other circumstances, it might have been funny.

Before you, lined up in somewhat of an identity parade, were a the three students from your father’s class, along with a few other guilty-looking students.

Three girls, five boys, all standing pin straight, facing forward.

In the room next door stood the rest of the class, the remaining twelve students standing in silence.

Your father’s fury, evidently, had not been aimed at you.

Well, not fully.

He was admittedly quite upset with you for not being truthful with him, but his anger was mainly aimed at his students for interfering with his personal life. With his family.

“Sweetheart, I’ve seen how high strung you’ve been over the past few days. I was concerned, but I didn’t want to overwhelm you so I gave you some space. But today one of my students let something slip and I put together the fact that they must have had something to do with the way you’ve been acting recently.”

You didn’t want to outwardly expose the three students who had come to see you that day, but your father had threatened to punish the entire class, so you’d caved and described them as best you could.

So here they stood, not once making eye contact with you.

"Go on," your father said, staring them down with a harsh glare, one like you'd never seen before. You knew your father could be strict with his students, but this was something else.

They all bowed forward at the hip, staring straight at the ground as they spoke in sync.

"We're sorry."

You stand in stunned silence for a few short moments, before shaking your head.

"Oh, um, it's fine. Thank you for the apology. And I'm sorry too."

The blond-haired student from before tries to raise his head, a wide smile on his face before your father's hand meets his neck, holding his head down.

"Did I say you could look up?"

"Sorry sensei."

Aizawa hums, glancing at you.

"Sweetheart, you can leave now. I'll see you later."

As much as you'd like to argue, you don't. Instead, you nod and bow to the eight students before you, bidding them goodbye before making for the door.

****

Aizawa couldn't find you.

He'd stayed behind to have a little chat with a few of his students, intent on returning home to you afterwards, but now, fifteen minutes later, you were gone.

You weren't in the 1A dorms and you weren't at home.

There was nowhere else that you could be, so where had you gone?

He begrudgingly made his way back to the dorms, resigning himself to spending his afternoon with the troublesome students of class 1A.

Only, he didn't have to go very far to find you.

Not with the small crowd of students trying, and failing to hide in the bushes next to the dorms.

He sighs heavily, walking up behind them silently.

Crouching down, he whispers, "What are you looking at?"

The yelps Denki and Sero let out are both panicked and silent, though they quickly scramble back to where they were, shushing Aizawa with flapping hands.

He quirks an eyebrow. Whatever they were spying on had to be interesting if they were brave enough to shush him.

Aizawa shrugs and cranes his neck to see what has them and their friends so intruiged, and-

Absolutely not.

There, sat on a bench in the hidden garden next to 1A's dorm room, was Bakugo Katsuki.

Accompanied by you, his daughter.

And unless his eyes deceived him - was he blushing?

Having seen enough, Aizawa stands and pushes between the students clustered behind the bushes.

He calls your name, and you look up with a start, eyes wide and dazed, your cheeks strangely flushed.

"Dad?"

You and Bakugo both jump up, and you head towards Aizawa while Bakugo slips away.

"What are you doing here? I thought you were going straight home? And why were you with Bakugo?"

You laugh awkwardly, deflecting his questions as you grab his arm and head towards your own apartment, away from the 1A dorms.

"Sorry dad, I got a bit caught up. Hey, how'd the interrogation go?"

You were trying to distract him. Aizawa knew that.

But your father was nothing if not willing, so he let you get away with it, making a mental note to look into what you were doing with Bakugo Katsuki of all people later.

****

Of all the students in your father's class, Bakugo was the one he thought would stay away from you. Far away.

Unfortunately, nothing seemed to be going his way lately, and Aizawa was infuriated to learn that Bakugo had taken a liking to you.

While he may have his own strong suits, he was definitely not the type of person your father would want you to end up with. Honestly, if he had it his way, you would remain happily single and by his side until both of you died.

But those plans were put on the back burner for now.

He learnt, from a collection of camera feeds and fearful student reports, that you had indeed been on your way back home after your father's intervention, but you'd gotten caught up exploring the grounds around the dorm area.

No one could fault you for that - it was Aizawa's fault really, he never let you out on your own, especially not to explore.

It was something he'd have to work on at a later date.

While on your little adventure, you'd run into a feisty blond.

Bakugo had been tasked with clearing away the autumn leaves around the 1A dorms, a minor punishment for some or other misdemeanour, and he'd caught your attention.

That wasn't unusual - you were curious when you wanted to be. It was a trait that your father both loved and loathed.

What was unusual was that Bakugo had played along.

Aizawa knew that Bakugo knew you were his daughter. That meant that he knew not to snap at you or treat you with his usual brutish attitude as he did with his classmates.

He knew that, but he couldn't understand why Bakugo had taken such a liking to you. Aizawa knew you were perfect, but he also knew that he was biased when it came to his opinion of you.

Well, he thought, I'll just have to ask him myself.

****

For the first time in all his years as a teacher, Shouta Aizawa was stunned to the point of silence.

He never imagined the conversation would take a turn like this.

"Sensei?"

He shakes his head, trying to rid himself of the heavy fog over his mind as he throws the quizzical blond a hard look.

"No."

"No?"

He'd never felt any genuine anger or violence towards any of his students, but this-

"Well sensei, we met a while ago. She- I knew she was your daughter, so I tried to keep my distance but, well..."

"I'm sure you understand what I mean."

"We've known each other for a while. "

"If you'll allow it-"

The conversation replayed in his head as a series of broken sentences and snapshots.

He felt off-kilter, unsure of himself in the worst way possible.

The only thing he knew was that, at this moment, someone was threatening to come between you and him - threatening to take you away from him, to steal you from him.

"No," he said sharply, "Stay away from my daughter."

It was Bakugo's turn to look shocked, though he was faster to calm himself than Aizawa was.

"Sensei, is this to keep her safe, or because you don't want to share her?"

It's a strangely phrased question, one that would puzzle anyone. Anyone but Aizawa.

He understood exactly what the hotheaded child in front of him meant by the word 'share'.

It spelt trouble in more ways than one.

"No. You asked and that's my answer. Now go back to your dorm," he says, waving him out without another word.

Bakugo nods and leaves without further argument, not once looking back.

Aizawa slumped back in his seat.

Bakugo knew what you meant to his teacher, beyond what most people thought they knew - he understood the lengths he'd go to to keep you safe and happy. The fact that he'd left without a fight proved as much.

More concerning than that though, had to be the fact that Bakugo was the same as him. He had the same unsettling urge to be with you, to be the only source of your attention.

Aizawa had seen it in his eyes, but heard it moreso in his words.

Share.

No, he wouldn't share you. Not with anyone.

#yandere #dark content #female reader #platonic #bnha #mha #aizawa shota #platonic yandere #father aizawa #platonic yandere aizawa x reader #yandere aizawa shota #platonic aizawa x reader #yandere bakugo x reader #yandere bakugo katsuki x reader #yandere bakugou #yandere bakugo katsuki

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theresattrpgforthat · 9 months

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Hello! I’ve been following you for a bit now, and all of your recommendations have been super cool and interesting! If you don’t mind me asking, do you have any recommendations for really long indie ttrpgs? One that could match the length of dnd or CoD books, I mean. The specifics don’t matter as much, I just really like sinking my teeth into long game books like that.

THEME: Long Indie Games

Hello friend! Fear not, I have a multitude of long indie games to recommend for you!

Chuubo’s Marvelous Wish-Granting Engine, by Jenna Moran.

Length: 578 pages.

The Chuubo’s Marvelous Wish-Granting Engine RPG is the diceless RPG from Jenna Katerin Moran, author of the well-regarded Nobilis and an important contributor to Eos’ Weapons of the Gods and White Wolf’s Exalted RPG.

Chuubo’s is a special beast. I personally don’t know how one actually plays this game, but the book itself is fascinating to read. It has recognizable parts such as character skills, Health Levels, and XP, but I think I’d want to sit down with a physical copy to be able to properly read it and get a handle on how you play through a story. If you enjoy a challenge, or even just something enchanting and evocative, I’d recommend Chuubo’s.

Part-Time Gods, by Third Eye Games.

Length: 318 pages.

The gods of today are shadows of what the old gods possessed. Their power has been heavily diminished, and many choose to live a regular, mortal life, revealing themselves as gods only when absolutely necessary. The reason for this is twofold. First, fate doesn’t like it when the gods share their secrets with a mortal. Unless they are the god’s worshipper, terrible events and horrific accidents have a way of happening to the people closest to the god. Secondly, divine works attract creatures and monsters called Outsiders, created by the Source (after its capture) to destroy any god they encounter.

This is a game that’s on my TBR shelf - and it might stay there for a while, because this is another pretty lengthy book. I am very grateful for the index at the back of this book, because I think this would be pretty difficult to navigate. Part-Time Gods is set in the modern-day, but the premise behind your god-hood is very unique, so one of the first chapters is dedicated to telling you what exactly it means to be a part-time god, part-time taxpayer. The book also contains small pieces of prose set in the world, meant to give you a flavour of the genre and tone intended by the designer. I’m really interested in the concepts expressed in this game, and I hope I have enough brain space to read it in the future!

We Are All Mad Here, by Shanna Germain.

Length: 226 pages.

Jack climbing the beanstalk. The little mermaid finding her voice. Alice struggling with the madness of a place unruled by the laws of reality. The queen. The child. The woodsman. The knight. When you think about fairy tales, who do you become? Where does your imagination take you?

We Are All Mad Here is a tabletop game about fairytales and mental health, providing you with new options for the Cypher System while also creating a setting about visitors to a magical land called the Heartwood. In the fiction, only those who have had some kind of struggle that affects their mental health are able to travel to this magical land. Germain intends this to be a way to tell a narrative about mental health using allegory and metaphor. The Cypher system itself is pretty complex, and you probably won’t be able to play a game of We Are All Mad Here without the core rulebook, so it might be worth it to take a gander at the Cypher System Rulebook while you’re at it.

Coyote & Crow, by Connor Alexander.

Length: 484 pages.

More than 700 years ago, a massive disaster changed the course of history. The world was plunged into centuries of darkness, but the event also introduced the Adanadi — the Gift — a strange mark that appeared on all life. This mark would have an enduring impact on humanity. Centuries later, the Earth is healing. New, advanced nations have risen. Ancient legends stir.

Coyote & Crow is a pretty extensive and unique game, using pools of d12s pulled from your stats, as well as narrative beats such as character motivation, Gifts and Burdens to help give your character a personality. Because it introduces an alternate history and a drastically different future, the core book as a decent amount of lore to acquaint you with the city of Cahokia and the world that surrounds it.

This game has quite a bit of support out there, with adventures such as Stolen Heart, Laughter Lost & Found, and The Case of the Great Underwater Panther.

Impulse Drive, by Adrian Thoen.

Length: 242 pages.

Play a crew of misfits and scoundrels living a life of danger and adventure as they explore space and try to make their ship a home in a technicolor sea of stars. Fight dangerous organizations, investigate unnerving mysteries, and find trouble in a game that rewards you when your characters face their shortcomings. Grow your characters and ship with new gear and abilities as you discover and create the universe together, as a group.

For a PbtA game, Impulse Drive feels pretty substantial. It provides a quick primer on Powered by the Apocalypse games, and includes advice for the players as well as the GM. This might be because the game includes a lot of details about gear and vehicles, as this is a space game that cares what your party has on hand and what their ship can do. There’s also advice on changing the game, extra moves, and a roll table for mutations! If you’re looking to see how to play out a space adventure in a more narrative-focused system, you might want to check out this game!

The Shrike, by Alice the Candle.

Length: 162 pages.

The Shrike is a game about fantastical voyages aboard a skyship. It's inspired by Avery Alder's The Quiet Year, John Harper's Lady Blackbird, Italo Calvino, Ursula K. Le Guin, and utopian and dystopian fiction. It features four complete adventures (two multiplayer, two for solo play).

This indie game is on the short side of this list, but it’s definitely long by indie standards. The author has provided 4 different adventures that you can read through, which will likely spark your imagination along the way. Interestingly, the voyages are placed in the first half of the book, while the information about Solo, Co-operative. and Guided Play embody the second half of the book. I’m not sure how I feel about this layout choice, but if you’re mostly looking for a book that you can read, flipping through the voyages might be more interesting to you than the rules of play.

Games I’ve Recommended in the Past

Lancer, by Massif Press. 431 pages.

The Wildsea, by Felix Isaacs. 364 pages.

Exceptionals, by Sahoni. 253 pages.

Gubat Banwa, by makpatatag. 399 pages.

Monster Care Squad, by Sandy Pug Games. 176 pages.

#tabletop games #indie ttrpgs #dnd #asks #game recommendations #long games

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nightgoodomens · 2 months

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A lot of asks under the cut:

I think we figured out that this fandom can’t take criticism of anything, they had a meltdown when people called out a fictional character for being an ass, so I can imagine with them being unable to comprehend that some people do not like their queen.

I don’t understand why the concept of some people not liking other people is so horrifying and impossible to understand.

They’re all public figures, people base their opinions on what they see, some people will be indifferent, some won’t like them, some will like them, some will love them, some will hate them.

Looking for all the excuses right out of the ass why someone would hate them and it’s definitely not the idol’s fault… it is just… it ain’t that deep.

It’s fucking embarrassing honestly.

You will need to be a bit more specific regarding which issues 😅

I don’t know what she was thinking or what MS was thinking and I’m pretty happy that their situation isn’t my problem and I don’t need to go too much into it 😂 What they’re showing the public is painful to watch. We will never know what exactly was going on there but what we see/know isn’t pretty.

She shouldn’t be in the limelight because she hasn’t accomplished anything to deserve it. She isn’t in one anyway, the only people who know about her are people interested in Michael enough to care who he has kids with and find out her name AND then actually care to follow her.

I love that you said “wives” because their fans keep on making AL a wife but MS had her pop two kids out but didn’t pop the question himself.

Throw in a few “ewww” “disgusting” “depraved” “sickos” “sexist” and you’re nearly there 😂

Oh yeah - if this was about a man and a woman and they’d do 5% of what MS/DT do then you’d have articles written about it and everyone talking about it. It’s only automatically a joke because they’re two dudes.

Imagine if a man said “she’s easy to fall in love with” “I love her” “she’s my lover” stared at her lovingly constantly, called her “his partner”, and his other partner would call them “boyfriend/girlfriend”, media would be all over it and nobody would be screaming “disgusting” or a joke.

The biggest irony is that this fandom is supposed to be open minded 😂

She got pregnant at a young age by a stranger and ever since has been living in a bubble where she’s worshipped for existing by her man’s fandom who’s ensuring her she doesn’t need to do anything to be called a queen. The only jobs she scored were sorted out by him. I’m not surprised she’s still a muppet who’s learned nothing and doesn’t want to leave the fantasy bubble tbf.

She’s been obsessively copying GT to the point where I think GT has been smoothly taking the piss out of her partly for it. From “soooo linked” to “throw her a hashtag and see if it sticks” to “oh you have Getty image, here’s a cute selfie my hubby took with your man when he was happy”. Song choices have been funny too.

This fandom went downhill really quick. I scroll my dash maybe once a day and hope to see a few nice arts, scrolling through words. Art gives me the ick sometimes too unfortunately. Every time I read something I don’t even know wtf people are talking about anymore. It has nothing to do with the show.

When S3 comes out I will watch it and never check what anybody else thought about it. People ruined S2 for me and I’m not letting them do the same with S3.

Thank you for still reading this blog :)

Bruh I wish. I fucking wish. But suddenly it won’t apply when he goes all nepo on this show anyway. It’s gonna be spot the relative season.

You’d probably need to ask him this question 😅

They had one night stand, she got knocked up, he sold a lot of what he had and moved to Wales, she wanted to be big shit but the only jobs she scored were sorted out by him, she got pregnant again, she likes to take digs about him and his looks, he started looking miserable as hell with her, he paid her for a photoshoot and had GT do her promo, yet again it flopped, so now she’s suddenly feeding everyone how she totally luvs him (still slips a dig in because she can’t help herself) because heart grows fonder when shit doesn’t work out.

I don’t know why he’s with her. Maybe he’s actually deeply in love with her but decided to show the whole world that he is miserable with her for shits and giggles. Maybe they play up zero chemistry for cameras for some reason. Maybe he loves her so much he never speaks about her but perks up the second “DT” is mentioned and goes off about how much he loves him, how easy he’s to fall in love with, how good he looked in a kilt… Yeah that makes zero fucking sense, doesn’t it 😂

Responsibility I guess.

#NightGoodOmens talks PR #NightGoodOmens talks Michael and David

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static-scribe · 9 months

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A Night To Remember | Ticci Toby Oneshot

HI! I hope you enjoy this fic! This is my first time writing for Toby and my first fic post here! I'm sorry if this feels out of character in anyway, I'm still working on how I want to portray him!

In times like this, you have to think to yourself, “What the fuck did I do to get here?” And the answer to that question is relatively simple; it's not what you did to get here, it's what other people did to get you here. Specifically, it's what your creepy-ass roommate did to get you both here.

Where is here exactly though? Well to answer that lovely question, here is attempting to bury a body in the middle of the woods at 3:57 am. This was honestly not what you were expecting to be doing on your night off from work but you can’t go back now. Not when you had already killed your roommate. Oh did I forget to mention you had killed your roommate?

It wasn’t your fault at all, it really wasn’t. You couldn’t control the fact that you woke up to your roommate standing at the foot of your bed watching you sleep, knife in hand. Blame it on the tiredness but you just couldn’t control yourself when you saw that, and you admittedly let your anger get the best of you. You hadn’t even realized what you were doing until you had already choked the… well you wouldn’t say poor man out.

Every sign pointed to the fact that you might be crazy, but you weren’t crazy. At the least, you were way too calm about this situation. You seemed to be learning many new things about yourself tonight. Like the fact you were strong enough to choke someone out, or like the other fact you were way less guilty than you probably should've been. Maybe reevaluating yourself after all of this was over would be the best plan.

The sound of a branch snapping freezes you in place. You're like a deer in the headlights. You dart your eyes around trying to find the source of the sound but come up empty. Not knowing whether to run or not, you just stay there frozen. Someone had seen you and you're probably royally fucked. There was no way they wouldn’t tell the police. Your genius plan of hiding the body and reporting him missing in a couple of days was rapidly falling apart in front of you.

Footsteps could be heard to the right of you. Whipping your head in that direction you make eye contact with a guy who was a bit taller. Upon seeing your frightened face he grabbed his stomach and hunched over laughing. You were angered and slightly embarrassed by this and couldn’t help but yell out, “What’s so funny?” You tried to sound confident and calm but you kind of just sounded way more whiny than you wanted.

The man said nothing in response. Instead, he opted to laugh a bit more before gathering his composure. As his laughs died down you felt your face flush with embarrassment. What was this guy's problem? You wanted to give him a piece of your mind, but as soon as you went to speak you were cut off by him beginning to say something. “So this is your first time, huh?” He asked while walking closer to you. The stranger leaned down to get a closer look at your face. He was expecting an answer from you.

You took a large step back from him to create some distance. You wanted to yell at him, but all that came out was an exasperated, “What?” Who the fuck would phrase it like that? Apparently, this asshole does.

He said nothing in response to your shouting. You watched him carefully as he made his next moves. He approached the body laying on the ground, lightly tapping at it with his foot. His head turned towards the shovel that lay on the ground a short distance off. “Yeah, you’ve def-definitely never done this before.” He started with a twitch of his neck followed by a clicking sound. “You’re lucky I showed up to help you or you’d be fuckin’ screwed.” He laughed, elongating the last word slightly. This guy was really starting to get on your nerves.

He grabbed the shovel off the ground and put it between his backpack and his back. After making sure it was secure he turned back to look at you, “I’m Toby, by the way.” He stated before he reached down to grab the legs of your now former roommate. This was quite the turn of events. You hadn’t expected him to be enthusiastically helping you but he was, so you probably shouldn’t complain about it.

You approached the other side of your roommate’s body and grabbed him under the shoulders. Looking forward at Toby, who was staring back at you as if waiting for you to say something. You realized he was probably waiting for you to give him your name so you guys weren’t just nameless strangers. Without another thought you offer him your name to which he nods in approval.

With little word from each other, you head off in a direction carrying the body while Toby leads. You have little clue as to where you were going, but Toby seemed to know the forest pretty well.

It was painfully silent for a while. The only sounds being made were the crickets, your footsteps, and the occasional clicks and small words that came from Toby. You figured he probably had a tic disorder and that it would be rude to question it, so you didn’t.

Eventually, the silence became too much to bear and you had spent who knows how long racking your brain for something to say. You eventually settled on what was probably the most awkward thing for someone to say in a moment like this but that didn’t really matter. “So…” You started, catching Toby’s attention. “You do stuff like this often?”

Toby laughed a little but this time it was different. He wasn’t particularly laughing at you. Well, he kind of was, but he was more so laughing at what you said. You still felt a bit embarrassed at your last statement. God, why were you so awkward? “To an-” His speech was quickly interrupted by his head slamming to the left side followed by a click. He let out an angry huff before continuing, “To answer your question, I kinda have a knack for these kinds of things.” He chuckled as though he was deeply proud of himself.

The way he talked so casually about it freaked you out a bit. It wasn’t really normal to have such knowledge on hiding bodies nor was it normal to help someone you don’t know hide a body with such enthusiasm as he had. Like you were one to judge though when you were literally doing a piss-poor job of hiding a body. You were just going to dig a shallow hole, dump the body, and call it a night before he showed up. If anything, you should be thankful he showed up to help you and that he knew what he was doing.

“That’s pretty cool.” You told him rather awkwardly before the pair of you fell back into silence. You didn’t really know what to say, and he wasn’t talking to you much either. Toby seemed focused on getting to your destination, so you didn’t want to bother him, lest you accidentally piss him off by saying the wrong thing.

Eventually, the dense woods turned into a small-sized clearing. Toby let go of his half of the body and looked to you expectantly, you got the point and let go yourself. “Okay,” He started with a clap, almost seeming excited for what was to come. “Drag the body over there and start digging a hole,” Toby pointed towards the middle of the clearing, “and I will g-gather what we need to get rid of it!” You could tell from his tone that he was likely smiling at whatever he was thinking, but you couldn’t see due to the mask covering his mouth.

You didn’t argue with him though and did as you were told. You spent the next hour or more just digging while he zipped around grabbing sticks and branches then dropping them off beside you when he had a sizable bunch. You wished you had energy like his.

At some point, Toby had sat his backpack down beside you and taken his jacket off before tying it around his waist. Maybe all this moving around was making him hot. It was at this moment you decided to look at him and get a good feel for his appearance. He wore a black turtleneck under his jacket, yellow goggles over his eyes, a mask over his mouth, dark-colored jeans, and boots. You couldn’t tell what the features of his face looked like due to all the coverings and the darkness, but you could tell he was rather pale with dark brown hair that looked quite soft.

Honestly, you hadn’t even noticed that you had completely stopped shoveling to stare at him but he did and was staring right back at you. The both of you made eye contact and you moved your gaze to the ground with a flush on your face. You had to admit from what you had seen he did have a nice body and probably a nice face to match. To say you weren’t at least slightly attracted to him would be a lie but you also knew that nothing would likely come from hiding a body together. The two of you would probably go your separate ways and you’d never see him again. Besides, you did not know anything about this man other than the fact his name was Toby, and he had a lot of experience disposing of bodies.

When you looked back he had gone back to gathering stuff to, what you assumed, burn the body with. What other reason would he be gathering sticks for? Fetch? Of course, you guys were burning the body.

Toby jogged back with another pile of sticks and dropped them on the ground. He leaned over the hole you had dug that was around the same length as your roommate and nodded in approval. “Looks good,” He said giving you a thumbs up.

Toby threw the body into the hole with a bit of your help. “So, you start covering the body with sticks and shit, while I get to do the fun part.” He announced, turning his body towards you, waiting for your next move. You weren’t particularly happy that you had to do most of the work, but then again it was your kill and not his. His helping you out was more than worth some labor.

Making haste, you piled the sticks on top of your poor, poor roommate’s dead body. You probably didn’t go as fast as Toby had hoped you would because he would soon start helping you out. With the help, you guys were able to get the task done relatively quickly.

After you were done with the sticks you looked over at Toby, expecting him to give you new instructions or to just say anything. He was squatting on the ground digging through his overly full backpack, pulling random things out, and throwing them to the side. “I know it's fucking in here.” He hisses through his teeth, his anger barely contained. His tics seem to increase in frequency and severity the longer he searches which just makes him more irritated.

Toby seems to be getting more angry the longer he searches. “Um..” You’re looking around frantically when he whips his head around to look at you, obviously frustrated that you interrupted his almost hard-to-watch search in his backpack. “Are you okay?” You ask, your eyes settling on his piercing gaze through his goggles. You both just look at each other for a moment before his head violently jerks towards his shoulder.

“I-I’m fine.” He snaps, looking away from you and returning his attention to his half-full backpack. He lets out a frustrated groan into his hands. You watch his next moves carefully as he grabs the bag by the bottom and just dumps its contents on the ground. That's one way to solve his problem.

Toby seems to become more content when he finds what he was looking for, which happened to be a can of lighter fuel. It was rather large and hard to miss, but you weren’t going to comment on that wanting to avoid another bad reaction. His rapid breathing slows as he calms down which makes you feel less worried about him.

You approach him from the side and crouch down to help him put his stuff back into his bag. He nods his head at you but doesn’t say anything while you help him. To his right is a small pile of things that include lighter fuel and a couple boxes of matches.

As you were picking stuff up you caught sight of a camera. Maybe that could help ease into conversation with Toby who hadn’t said much of anything all night. You wanted to know more about him and what was on his mind but you understood his obvious distrust of you. “You take pictures?” You asked, looking over at him with a small smile on your face, almost encouraging him to talk.

Toby seemed to perk up some at your question and quickly looked over at you. He brought a hand to the back of his neck as he looked around awkwardly, his previous confidences seemingly buried at the mention of himself. “Yeah, sometimes… I mostly just take pictures of things I find interesting.” His tone was almost as awkward as his body language.

“That’s cool!” You smile at him, extending your hand to offer the camera. “What kind of things do you find interesting to photograph?” You ask. Toby takes the camera before standing, slinging the now full backpack over his shoulder, and offering you a hand up.

Taking his hand, Toby pulled you up onto your feet. “Anyways, I take pictures of stuff like nature, food…” He pauses while looking around, “And y’know…my victims.” He laughs at his words, clearly amused by the fact.

Toby only seemed to become more amused at your facial expression. You hadn’t even realized you were pulling a face until he started laughing more. “Really?” He asked, voice dripping with sarcasm. “What’s with the shocked face? It’s not like you haven’t killed someone before,” He said, gesturing toward the hole. Even you had to admit that he did have a point.

You didn’t know what to say back to him. You couldn’t argue in your defense because there was nothing to defend there, nor could you think of anything clever. So you fell back into an awkward silence of your creation. Good job on finding a conversation topic.

“I’ve been meaning to ask.” Toby said in a rather nonchalant manner “Who is this guy? Like why’d you kill him?” He asked, curiosity laced through his voice.

“He was my roommate, and he was always kind of a creep.” You said looking at Toby who just nodded, waiting for more information. “But I always thought he was harmless until he was standing over my bed with a knife.” You finished, hoping your answer satisfied him enough to move on.

Clearly, it didn’t because he began to ask you more questions, “Yeah, and then what happened?” You really didn’t want to go into this, but since he was helping dispose of him then you guessed you owed him some explanation.

“So I strangled him?” You said but it came out more like a question. As though you weren’t quite sure of your answer. It was still hard to wrap your head around the fact you had taken someone’s life.

Toby’s only response was to pull the mask covering his mouth down and spit onto the pile, “Fuckin’ pervert.” He mumbled, quickly returning his covering into place before you could see the other side of his face. From what you saw he was rather attractive, prompting you to wonder why he covered his face to begin with.

You couldn’t help but laugh a little at the gesture which caught Toby’s attention. “Yeah, I can be pretty funny sometimes,” He said with a slight laugh in his voice, as though he wasn’t taking what he said fully seriously. This just made you laugh more.

It was nice to laugh. It was the first time tonight you hadn’t felt completely stressed out about potentially getting caught. Having Toby helping you was quite the stress relief, and you felt as though a heavy weight was taken off your shoulders by his presence alone. You should probably thank him after all this was over. You wished there was some way to make it up to him for his help, but you guessed a thanks was really all you could do. It’s not like they made cards that said ‘Thanks for helping me bury a body!’

You were so lost in thought that you admittedly got startled when he placed a hand on your shoulder. In his other hand was the can of lighter fluid that was placed in front of you. “You wanna do the honors? I mean he is your kill, not mine so...” He shook the can a little after he spoke, wanting you to take it.

You reluctantly took it out of his hands and began to splash the flammable liquid onto the pile, slowly circling it to make sure you had as much of the body covered as possible. You had begun to feel slight excitement for what was about to happen. It wasn’t every day you made a bonfire out of some creep.

Taking your attention off your task, you look over at Toby who can barely stand still. He was picking at his fingers while bouncing slightly, unable to contain his excitement. Based on his behavior and the contents of his backpack, it would be safe to assume that he had a bit of a passion for fire. It was kind of cute, in a rather fucked up way.

Standing across from him on the other side of the body, you shook the final contents of the can out onto the body. Toby was still picking at his fingers when you cleared your throat. He then looked up at you. “Cans empty.” You said giving it a shake for emphasis.

“Fuck yeah!” He practically yelled, grabbing a box of matches off the ground and waving you over.

Taking your place beside him, he grabbed around 4 matches out of the box and prepared to strike them. “You ever smelt a burning body before?” He asked in a joking manner, looking down at you.

“Um... I can’t say that I have.” You stated, not really seeing the point of his question. Of course, you hadn’t smelt a burning body before. What normal person has?

He clicked his tongue at that, “Well, it ain’t pleasant, so just be prepared and try not to breathe through your nose.” He patted you on the head twice after saying that which made you stiffen up. That was a bit weird but okay.

In one quick movement, he struck the matches quickly and out burst a small flame. You watched carefully as Toby extended his arm and dropped the matches onto the pile.

With a loud ‘fwoosh’ a raging flame bloomed into life. You could feel the heat tickle at your cheeks even at the safe distance the pair of you stood from. For a burning body, it was almost beautiful.

You noticed shuffling out of the corner of your eye, looking to see what was going on. You saw Toby pulling his goggles down to hang loosely around his neck. Probably to get a view of the fire that wasn’t tinted as yellow as his lenses were.

Not being able to help but stare, you took note of his eyes. They were chestnut brown and the way the fire bounced off of them was mesmerizing. It was almost as though the fire provided life to his eyes and so did his excitement. He was rocking slightly back and forth as a way to, what you assumed, get his excess excitement out.

It wasn’t long before Toby noticed you staring at him and just like earlier began staring back at you. His eyes lit up in amusement and he raised his eyebrows slightly before speaking, a smirk ever-present in his voice. You may have just inflated his ego. “See something you like, sweetheart?” He said in a serious voice but burst out laughing a minute later, completely unable to handle the bullshit that just spewed from his mouth.

“You should have seen the look on your face,” He wheezed out between laughs. You, on the other hand, were profusely blushing from both being flustered and embarrassed. It couldn’t have been that funny, but he seemed to find a lot of things you did amusing enough to laugh at.

Toby was quick to gather himself and catch his breath before slinging an arm around your shoulder with a sigh. You stiffened at the contact but said nothing. His behavior around you was getting way more casual than you expected seeing as you spent a large chunk of the night in awkward silences filled with mostly nonverbal cues.

You guess you didn’t mind the contact too much because you did nothing to break it. You were content with this in some odd way. Nothing about this was normal nor would it create a content feeling in any sane person. There was probably something deeply wrong with your psyche yet you couldn’t bring yourself to care about that much. You’d deal with that another day, but as of right now, you were having what was probably the weirdest, most thrilling experience of your life.

Toby cleared his throat and removed his arm from your shoulder, freeing you from the not-so-unwanted but also not really wanted contact. Your gaze met his and for a moment your heart fluttered.

“So, you enjoying the show?” He asked sounding almost nervous for your answer. You just nodded in response averting your eyes from his. You missed when he had his goggles on, and you couldn’t see his stupid eyes too well.

Toby took a knee, whipping his backpack off his shoulder before rifling through his bag and pulling out his camera. He zipped up the backpack and took a seat on the ground sitting criss-cross.

Toby looked up at you and patted the ground beside him as an invitation for you to sit down beside him. Making you wonder what he was up to, but without much question you sat down beside him. His body language read as nervous while he seemed to be mustering the courage to say something important. Quite different from his previously confident demeanor.

“Co-could I take a picture of us?” He asked, looking at you with almost pleading eyes as false confidence wavered throughout his voice. The thought made you kind of nervous, what if someone got ahold of his camera and turned it over to the police? You both would get in deep trouble which is something you didn’t want at all.

“I promise no one will see it!” Toby blurted out rather quickly as though he knew what you were thinking. He was picking at his fingers once more while his head jerked again. He was probably as nervous as you were from asking you such a question. “I just don’t want to forget tonight,” He sounded almost sad as he spoke which made your heart clench a little.

What did you have to lose? Other than your freedom by creating more evidence of your crime but then again there was still a chance you wouldn’t get away. There was a lot that needed to happen before you were truly free of your crimes so again, what did you really have to lose by taking one picture? The answer was nothing.

So with a soft sigh, you gave him your answer, “Fine, but only the one.” You said trying to be stern but a slight smile pulled at the corners of your lips. He seemed happy at your approval and started fidgeting with his camera, setting up to take the picture.

This whole situation was starting to feel quite funny to you. Here you were sitting on the ground with a serial killer, burning your roommate's dead body as the sun came up, and you were about to take a selfie with said serial killer so he can remember tonight. You let out a small chuckle at the thought which catches Toby’s attention briefly, but he looks away as quickly as he looked.

You’re ripped out of your thoughts by Toby wrapping his arm around your shoulder and pulling you closer so you’d fit inside the camera screen. He puts his fingers that were resting atop your shoulder into a peace sign and you flash a smile at the camera. With a click and a flash the picture is taken, and Toby is looking down at his camera happily.

“How’d it turn out?” You asked looking over at his camera but he hides it away from you. You shoot Toby a confused look but he just shrugs before stowing it away in his backpack.

“Don’t stress, you looked cute” He laughs a little trying to sound confident but you could see the tips of his ears and cheeks were tinged in a soft pink. It took you a moment to register what he had just said to you. Did he just call you cute? You couldn’t help but blush a little at his words.

“Don’t worry, I’ll show you next time.” Next time? You sure as hell didn’t plan for there to be a next time of you hiding a body, but seeing him again did sound nice.

Toby pushes himself up off the ground and adjusts his backpack properly onto his back. Once again he extends a hand towards you and you accept his offer for help. “What do you mean by ‘next time’? Are you expecting to hide another body?” You question him but he shrugs again.

“Y’know, next time we hang out.” He says as if it was a fact extending his hand out to you. In between his fingers was a small slip of paper with a number scrawled on it in messy but readable handwriting. It suited him.

“You didn’t think I’d just let you go off by yourself right?” His question was less of a question and more of a statement. He was just saying stuff he thought should be obvious to you. “Also, it doesn’t have to be hiding a body. We can do whatever you want.”

Your eyes darted across his face waiting for him to start laughing again like he was joking once more, but he didn’t laugh or show any sign of not being serious. “We like bonded and shit. You don’t just burn a body with someone and then never meet again.” He chuckled as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

You were stunned silent but he didn’t seem to care as he grabbed you by the wrist and started leading you in a direction, “Where are we going?” You asked, dragging slightly behind him.

Toby stopped moving and turned around to face you, letting go of your wrist, “I’m taking you home. The woods aren’t safe for people who don’t know their way around here.” He started, observing your face for a moment before continuing. “Plus it gives us more time to hang out.” He admitted.

There it was, the real reason. He was quite the character that you had grown to enjoy being around over the last couple of hours. Maybe hanging out with him again wouldn’t be so bad. Toby took your silence as a response of understanding and began walking in the same direction he was leading you.

The way home was filled with plenty of laughter and pleasant conversation between you and Toby. You never would have thought burning a body with someone would lead to such a strange yet genuine connection. The rational part of you screamed that becoming close to him would probably bring new, yet thrilling, situations that could put you in danger. You didn’t want to listen to the rational parts right now. You were more concerned with what your heart had to say. It ached for excitement, an excitement that only someone like Toby could bring.

With a smile on your face, you grabbed his hand, hoping he wouldn’t mind too much. He looked over at you and just shook his head before interlocking your fingers together.

#creepypasta #creepypasta headcanons #creepypasta fanfiction #creepypasta imagines #creepypasta x reader #ticci toby creepypasta #ticci toby x reader #ticci toby

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moongothic · 4 months

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Okay, here goes. What's your ultimate Crocodad timeline? You can go as wild or as believable as you want.

I mean I made this timeline chart/post/thing.

But if you meant it in a more "how do you think things actually went down" specific kinda way, uhhhhh. Great question, not sure I know how to answer. Like. The possibilities on what could've happened and how are nearly endless and all those options are so interesting to me. Even if there's ideas I feel like might be more likely than others, or I find myself more invested in some ideas, I can't fully like, dedicate myself to any specific idea for a plot point or a storybeat or anything, especially if there's nothing to suggest if anything even remotely similar could've happened.

Like, say for example, how did Crocodile and Dragon meet? There's literally infinite ways they could've met, to the point I'm not even really that interested in speculating on it, because more likely than not, any guess I make will probably be wrong. Like speculating about something like that feels almost pointless. Compare that to say, how did Luffy end up in Garp's care? While we know like nothing about what exactly happened, we do have any theoretical information (ex: Garp and Croc should not know about each other, meaning there must've been a third party to deliver the baby, and it's more than likely that was Dragon) that we can get to much more specific when speculating about what might've happened. Like there's still plenty of options, but the options are far fewer, which makes the speculation so much more interesting, for me at least

But at the same time, I don't want to get too fond of any idea in because Oda could still prove me wrong and debunk it and I'd be sad if I got like fond of a concept and I ended up being dead wrong lmao

Mind you, for me, a big part of the reason I'm invested in the theory to begin with IS the possibility of it being canon. Like yes Crocodad would and always will make for fun AU fanfics regardless of if it's canon or not. But I am here to more or less speculate about canon.

So between my brain treating Crocodad as this monstrous, gigantic flow chart, and me not wanting to get too attached to any potential path on the chart... Yeah I don't know what to tell you anon, I'm sorry

Like. Just as an example. On how my brain processes this shit.

(Sidenote, this chart is like under the assumption that Croc and Dragon had mutually agreed that their child would be put in the care of Dragon's father. And while that makes the most sense to me by a long shot, technically it's totally possible Luffy was taken away from Crocodile by force by Dragon or something else) (THERE'S SO MANY POTENTIAL THINGS THAT COULD'VE HAPPENED, AHHHHHHH)

Like here, I think the most likely canon scenarios would be the "Respectful Rejection" followed by "Too Stunned To Speak -> It's Bad" routes, though personally I might be most interested in the "It Was Really Bad" route because it'd be really fucked up and sad

So like. Yeah. I have no idea what my "ultimate Crocodad timeline" would be, there's too much room for speculation to the point anything specific would leave the room of Neutral Canon Speculation and just turn into a plain old fanfic, and I'm just here for theorizing

But hey if you wanted a fanfic, here's a TL:DR;

(You know I say this is a TL:DR; but this got so fucking long it almost broke this post. Like Tumblr would not let me save the draft or post it anymore because there's a 4k character limit to "blocks", I had to break this into chunks man)

If Crocodile was betrayed by his crew after losing to Whitebeard and had to kill them himself in self-defence;

Who the fuck knows, maybe by some twist of fate our wounded/dying, exhausted and traumatized Crocodile drifted in the sea and his ship ran into Dragon, the man rescuing Crocodile from the kindness of his heart or something IDK

If the dude had to kill his own crew immidiately after Whitebeard crushed his hopes and dreams, Crocodile must've been just absolutely shell shocked. Depressed and withdrawn, just out of it. So maybe Dragon being there could've been great for Croc's mental state. Maybe. Big maybe.

If Crocodile did turn out to be the Rev Army's Secret Sugar Daddy then perhaps this is how that relationship kind of started: Crocodile could've paid Dragon in cash money as thanks for saving his life, and then just kept the money coming since Dragon had an army to run and needed the funds

(Like we don't know why Crocodile joined the Shichibukai anyways, but if it was only ever for The Benefits of not having to deal with the Marines chasing his ass anymore and if he didn't give a rat's ass about the Government... Like yeah, why not fund the Revolutionary Army, give money to the people trying to directly take down the fuckers while right under their noses.) (Who knows maybe Croc does have his own reasons for hating the WG and had like a genuine reason beyond just being a petty king and/or having basic human decency in understanding why the WG was corrupt and needed to be overthrown)

Thus begins a secret comradery where Crocodile every now and then goes and drops off some money to Dragon to help fund the Army, nobody on either side of the war any wiser (except maybe Iva-chan, they're allowed to be in on the secret, as a treat). It's their secret that they keep for years

Time passes

Whoopsie poopsie Crocodile's prégónánté

The two realize that their kid is going to be in so much danger for a pletora of reasons and that neither can raise the baby. Dragon knows his father would keep their baby safe and they both agree to leaving the child to him (not a happy decision, it's just for the best, for everyone's sake)

Anyway Crocodile's gender dysphoria goes into turbo mode during pregnancy. Maybe he never really realized it was there and/or what it was, but boy howdy, it's there now and it's really really bad. Like, if it wasn't for the baby he might just kill himself (and god knows once the kid is out and taken away, there's not going to be anything to stop him from doing just that)

Crocodile must've gone into hiding during the latter half of his pregnancy to keep it a secret from the Government, and I could totally imagine him being hellbent on being completely isolated. He is a Shichibukai, everybody knows him, he can't risk having even some random doctor recognize him and find out about the baby. Besides, it's not like he can do much while hiding anyways, like he might as well read 150 medical books to ensure he can deliver his baby by himself

(Sidenote but the narrator in OP has called Fuusha Village Luffy's "birth place" (think the term he used was "umereta machi", lit. "town he was born in"), and if that's true, then. Croc should've been hiding in and/or near Fuusha Village in Goa Kingdom. Additional sidenote, there are wild crocodiles in Goa, which are the Sir's favorite food.)

To avoid suspicion and the risk of being found out, Dragon might've agreed to not go see Crocodile during this time, only agreeing to see his significant other after the child was born so he could then deliver the baby to Garp (after not just leaving the Marines but also starting a fucking revolutionary army, the dude probably didn't want his father to find out he had been dating a fucking WARLORD)

But surely he'd think Crocodile was insane if he thought he'd let Crocodile deliver the baby alone. Like no, somebody needs to be there by his side. Someone Dragon could trust, a fellow Revolutionary perhaps. Oh yeah, just send Ivankov, what could possibly go wrong

(Personal headcanon but since we don't know when Ivankov got their Fruit, I kind of want to imagine they ate it just a short time ago at this point and that they hadn't fully realized the potential of the Hormone Fruit yet. Like their genderfluid ass may not have understood the power they now held)

Iva-chan did not know Croc was prénánté, whether Dragon told Ivankov ahead of time why they were being sent to check on Croc is up or debate (if Iva-chan was aware of Croc being their Secret Sugar Daddy though then I'm sure they understood why Dragon wanted and was willing to help out Crocodile in this situation). Croc and/or Dragon probably lied through their teeth about the father of the child if Iva-chan ever asked about it, and whatever Iva-chan was told they clearly bought it since they never knew about Dragon having a kid.

When Iva gets there though they can see right away that something is fucking wrong with Crocodile, in ways even he can't understand. He is so uncomfortable 24/7 for seemingly no reason. So naturally Iva-chan pokes and prods at the dumbass until Croc has a break down and explains his weird feelings he can't even word properly and this is how Emporio Ivankov discovered transgenderism

What's that? You don't like what pregnancy has done to your body, doesn't feel like it's yours anymore? You feel love for your child but don't want to be its mother? Good news, you can be its father instead. Bad news, gotta wait until the baby is farted out. Aren't sure about it? No worries, there's time to think about it, and shit's 100% reversible anyways. Just hang in there for a little bit longer, you may feel god awful rn but that too shall pass

(Maybe this is how Iva-chan starts calling Crocodile "Crocoboy", just to get him to warm up to the idea that he could be(come) a man, get used to it etc)

Crocodile has an identity crisis of a lifetime. Like either he knew since he was a small child that something was fucky wucky, or he never realized it until now, either way, he must not have even been aware of the idea that he could trans his gender (which would make sense if Ivankov only recently got their Fruit just sayin'). So yeah. Enjoy that gender crisis, dumbass

Like he straight up just goes through the five stages of grief before he's like "god dammit if it'll make me feel less like I'll kill myself then it's worth a shot, don't care what Dragon ends up thinking"

At some point Croc must've contacted Dragon at least one final time just so they can agree on when and where they'll meet to hand over the baby once it's born (if Croc doesn't die at child birth. I mean they both know he'll be fine, Croc's survived worse. But if something did happen, Iva-chan will take care of the baby until Dragon arrives)

This is One Piece. Luffy was born at dawn.

Crocodile probably insists on getting the T literally immidiately after the baby is out. If he doesn't just pass out immidiately after giving birth. But like within 24 hours of giving birth. Iva-chan is probably like "Crocoboy you're exhausted, chill, your cooch needs to recover" and he's just like "why wait for it to recover when you're going to get rid of it, just do it"

(Iva-chan probably goes and gets Croc some emergency clothes and like bottles and baby food etc because god knows he's going to burst out of his old clothes and he ain't gonna have the tiddies to breastfeed that baby either)

Anyway he gets the rones and gets to enjoy gender euphoria for the first time in his life. Happy times, happy tears, a happy croc

Dude probably nearly shits himself when he tries to speak as he is now voiced by Ryuuzaburo Fucking Ootomo (even Iva-chan is like "HOLY SHIT your voice dropped") (like they probably agressively try to encourage Crocodile to speak more and let them hear that voice and Croc is like "ssssshhhhhhhhh stop yelling you'll wake up the baby!!")

Anyway he finally gets to fucking rest and relax and enjoy the sheer relief of not just being free of his dysphoria but also his baby boy being born and looking all healthy and happy. A happy dad

(If Crocodile was the first person Iva-chan helped transition, and under these circumstances specifically. I think seeing the guy and his sheer relief would give like Iva-chan a new mission in life. To help people like Croc)

(Ivankov: "It's like a great weight has been lifted off your chest... GET IT, 'CAUSE YOU DON'T HAVE TITS ANYMORE! HEEHAW!!" / 🐊: "If you wake up the baby I will skewer you")

Anyway if the Rev Army member stays with Crocodile for too long there's a risk of them getting found out and that'd be bad, so Iva-chan needs to GTFO (they have better things to do, like overthrow some governments and stuff). Also Crocodile needs to prepare because he can't have the Government wondering where the fuck he's been all these months much longer (god knows explaining his sudden manliness is going to be enough to deal with) and the kid needs to go into hiding. If Iva-chan asks where the child is going, Croc probably won't give a straight answer, just that there's a plan and he needs Ivankov to keep the baby a secret etc (perhaps that could be the blackmail Iva-chan brought up in Impel Down 🤔)

Crocodile gets to spend a little time with his baby boy (before and/or after Iva-chan leaves). Crocodiles (the animals) look after their babies for three months before they're on their own, so at most he stayed with his baby for three months, though I'd argue just 3 weeks, simply because that'd a painfully short amount of time that's just perfect for tragic storytelling

Perhaps that was the happiest time of Croc's life. No stupid Government to deal with, no pirates to fight, no villages to pillage. Just him and his beautiful baby boy. Not even the knowledge of knowing he'd have to say goodbye to his son forever would get in the way of his happiness at that moment.

(Did he ever think about what to name the child? Maybe Dragon had wanted Crocodile to name their child and Crocodile was supposed to think of something while expecting, before the baby was born. Or maybe, knowing he would never see that child again (until the Government blows up) he could not bring himself to think of a name. It'd be Dragon's father who'd look after the baby anyways, Dragon should name him)

Dragon comes. Either exactly at the agreed upon time, or perhaps a day early (dude was too excited and wanted to be with his wife and child, together as a family, even if it was for a day). Whenever he arrives;

See the chart earlier in the post

However things go down, Dragon and Crocodile go their separate ways. Crocodile leaves the island immidiately.

Well. I certainly became absolutely deranged writing this.

HOPE YOU FOUND THAT ENTERTAINING

#Moon posting #OP Meta #Asks #Sir Crocodile #Crocodad #You gotta go down the post for a surprise :)#Look. I just like the idea that Ivankov helped deliver Luffy and has no fucking idea #They find out and have a fucking breakdown because THAT'S THE SWEET LITTLE BABY BOY THEY HELPED DELIVER. HE'S GROWN UP SO FAST

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doverstar · 3 months

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Hey Doverstar. Fellow Christian here. :) What do you think about The Chosen? They just started releasing Season 4 eps in theaters this February in the United States. I really love this show. What about you? If you do...I think that would be groovy! If not...well. That would also be groovy too. ✌

Hi there! Woah, it's in theaters, that's crazy! Back in my day it was barely stream-able and we had to be in a specific person's living room to get it on the TV, how far we've come by matchbox twenty- I'm glad you asked, this will be long-ish!

I used to attend the church that the creator of the show had been attending at the time when we lived in IL (his name is Dallas, I think we had dinner with him? don't remember). That was before The Chosen was a thing. He had great ideas about what Christian media could be, but The Chosen in particular went downhill fast for me. I think it's an excellent show, but I also think that when you're using historical, real people in the content, you have to be very careful. Especially when it's biblical figures in history. Then you have to be insanely careful, and Dallas is not being as careful as one would hope. Because you don't want people who know nothing about Jesus to watch that show and have that expectation in their minds when they go to read the Bible. Jesus probably didn't talk like that, may not have looked like that, and may not have even smiled like that during His ministry here. But I've literally spoken with people who say things like if Jesus doesn't smile like Jonathan Roumie when they get to Heaven, "what's the point". That's dangerous. (And theologically the show is not sound.) I get taking creative liberties in order to make a television show more engaging for a modern audience, but not with the Bible. I get trying to make it easier to understand and follow for people who are just not brought up in the church and don't know the language. But I've decided for me, personally, not to continue watching The Chosen. For one thing, I don't want those actors/actresses in my head when I'm reading the Bible, and for another, I don't want to start being in a "fandom" for a show that's supposed to be portraying the events in the Bible. I don't want to start treating the Bible like it's fiction, like Peter's my blorbo (as the kids say), like it's just entertainment. It's not. It's real. It's all real, and I know me, and I know I have a tendency to over-romanticize the media I consume. I'm not going near that show with a 39-and-a-half foot pole anymore. It would be too easy to start thinking the wrong way about what I believe based on the way the show makes me feel. That, and I think the show is disrespectful and wrong. Great idea, good execution, went off the rails. And yeah, The Chosen is so good at making you feel things! I saw that first Season. I loved that first Season! Little ideas like having the Jesus-character laugh in bed while knowing exactly what the family of the lame man he cured is waking up to, literally able to see them rejoicing miles away? That's beautiful. When the Jesus-character cries with the woman at the well, and he tells her from now on it will all be about the heart, not about works? And she says "You promise?" And he cries and smiles and promises and she's so happy? That's beautiful. I cried too. And my favorite was the line when Mary says that before she met Jesus, "I was one way. And now I am completely different. And the thing that happened in between was Him." That's perfect. That's so good. That's what it's like, in three sentences. Excellent. Well done. Oh, and the music swelling at the end of each episode? Fantastic. Emotions everywhere. But like I said, I don't trust it. I got through about four episodes of Season 2 before I was like, okay, that's enough. This isn't good for me. Does that make sense? I could go into the discrepancies and how they often treat Jesus in the show as though He wasn't fully man and fully God (He was), and how they often make it seem like you can believe He was or He wasn't and it's all fine, when it's not all fine. But that would take a while! In a nutshell: I'm glad the creators had the right heart to start out with, and I'm pleased to see it proven that Christians can make excellent media, but not if it's like this, and I don't think the show should continue. If it does, I think they need to get their heads on straight and be super clear about the Truth, otherwise there's no point. I won't be watching it. Doesn't make you evil if you watch it! This is just what I think. Since you asked. Glad to hear from you! <3

#asked #answered #ask doverstar #doverstar's thoughts #the chosen #the chosen tv series #christianity #jesus #jesus christ #faith #dashdotdashdotdashdot #christian #jonathan roumie #dallas jenkins #christian tumblr #bible

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krchar · 1 month

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Some thoughts on Himerish and Trial of the Oracle

Ok so it's weird that I hardly post anything and now I go with this, but these thoughts are for some reason so pressing to me these days! And this feels like the right space.

tldr: i love 4th arc, I like Himerish's development, but after rereading last week I have some surprising ambivalence about how his warrior identity goes with his previously implied nature - or at least to my view of the character - happy to know anyone's thoughts on that!

Firstly I want to state that I love the stories, and mostly the first 4 arcs! This is just a thought on one character development...

So I belong among the fans of 4th arc, definitely, and I think that most people who have some soft spot for Himerish/Oracle, started to feel so throughout this arc (although I know some did before it was cool!). I always loved that story, that he was confronted with such a downfall, the dramatic almost mythical story of regaining his identity is so awesome, i liked that he cooperated with the guardians as a person, that he realized he was too removed from the world after all the time...

Last week I got this sudden fanfic inspiration (it's cringe, but I struggle to be creative for years, so my 7 pages are a huge cheery win!) and so I reread the story... and it's so great, but I have some odd feelings about some parts..

I think it is mostly about him being a warrior.

So. The first notion that felt off was in the issues from his coming to earth to the fight of Phobos + Cedric, when I suddenly felt like what is his almost never leaving resting bitchface? There are some really nice mentor moments, but most of the time he seems strangely annoyed without specific reason. Now in the previous arcs, he was not very popular, for he was indeed a terrible pr*ck, intentionally in arc 3, possibly intentionally in the previous ones ( but i don't know that, his behaviour always seemed to be somehow explained or something, even if the reader didnt have to buy it..) but what i did like was his serenity and at times his appearance of a lightness of heart that calmed everyone.. (that is, in moments when he wasn't a pr*ck) suddenly here Himerish is a dynamic warrior, always angry fighting etc etc - like he was serene and wise only because he was an oracle and it was his function, and not that he was chosen to be an oracle, because he was such in his nature in the first place, which i would like much better.

But! In the flashback with Endarno, that is, to my mind, exactly what Endarno implies! H. is a fighter in a war here and E. saves his life saying he senses a great power in H. and that he should act on it - then in the following flashbacks it's like H. went and became a cool martial arts master... and it just feels sort of... why...

(note: i presume that the flashbacks went in this order, bc E. calls Himerish "young asha (tribe name)")

my problem may be that I am not as much into warrior trope, as Im into powerful spiritual being trope... and also im probably too much of a hippie

But the first flashback actually looks like there would be more beyond! Endarno literally goes against his own commander, as H. is from the enemy tribe and is a captive to be executed. And it is said that E. already had doubts, even though he was a great warrior, bc his boss was very cruel, but it is meeting Himerish that gives him the final motivation to stand against the meaningless bloodshed! Implying that H. has definitely a hippie vibe... and H. also gives this impression, bc he's so serene and passive when they aim to kill him (although that may be some basiliadian feature dunno..) but.. then he goes to be just a better fighter.. like don't they have any other kind of spiritual power in Basiliade than becoming a cool warrior??

I mean, I liked Orube-Luba flashbacks very much, where Luba was the wise warrior mentor and it was cool. But we don't get anything like that with Himerish, right? He's just shown to have been really cool at fighting. Yarr is just really crazy about him as his former master, as if he was truly a different kind of being, but there is no word then about him being also a spiritual mentor.. maybe it is just not shown, but then - why not?

when i saw the first flashback, i sort of thought it would have been better, if H. was actually a hippie in his heart - maybe even against the custom of Basiliade. He said E. helped him a lot - so couldn't it be that this young guy who fights like everyone else does, then realizes he could just stop doing that and work out his inner spirit and power that has the nature of peace and connection, instead of fighting? I really really doubt that the Kandrakar council would have gone like - this guy is cool with sword, let's make him oracle. He must have had some other power before and I'm kind of sorry that they didn't work with it somehow... I'm also not so much into his warrior attire hehe

Now to go a full circle, I associate this type of wisdom actually with his nice and light-hearted mode and not so much with angry fighter mode.. he was angry before when something bad happened to Kandrakar, but that was different, then when he couldnt admit his mistakes, that was foreshadowing of his downfall, but his fighting mode was just so strange to me.. what's with the sword, do some magic and restore the peace of Kandrakar after your return, bc the peace and stability and light powers are your nature and not just your politcal function..

then again i admit that while i didn't like much what they did to his character in the following arcs, i could understand his departure.. so the described reason seemed like all his change was to nothing, for he again just didnt listen to anyone despite his former promises, but i could see another reason in line with arc 4, and that is actually his change, he became too human (or whatever species he is) and maybe it was even difficult for him to return to the position - bc this is literally shown at the end of arc 4 when he's contemplating before being reinstated.. and i like that.. cause im kinda very much into spiritual beings becoming human tropes.. or like generally emotionally repressed people rediscovering life..

Well, I get that some people really like warrior trope, so no hate, fandom is a free space yeah! Anyway, these were my thoughts, Im impressed you scrolled this deep, thank you! Tell me your thoughts on this pls Im happy to find more people to discuss witch to an unhealthy level! As a bonus, my two favourite memes/fanarts about H.'s earthly clothes:

(source: https://tuherrus.tumblr.com/post/189587505767/oookay-heres-a-witch-art-dump-im-gonna)

(source: https://www.deviantart.com/rukietta89/art/Shopping-with-Orube-97101177)

EDIT: ok i posted this like half an hour ago, but i got a sudden feeling that i was not entirely fair, so i want to say that i also feel that his conective and calming spirit shows up in those really nice mentor moments towards the guardians, although that doesn't go really against my original interpretation/headcanon - he was a confused young boy with a talent, now he's a mature, more steady guy with a talent, regaining understanding of life in 4th arc, which, ideally, would make him even more sensitive and calming, and that would be cool

#W.I.T.C.H.#himerish #The Oracle #Trial of the Oracle #character study #character analysis #w.i.t.c.h. headcanons #headcanons #w.i.t.c.h. comics #w.i.t.c.h. himerish #Endarno

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invisible-storyteller · 2 months

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The dark spot

Boyd & Theo & Malia (~1300 words, gen) Written for @teenwolfrarepairevents March Character of the Month: Vernon Boyd

"You know, my sister loved M&Ms. She used to hide them from me like the greedy little rat that she was."

"I don't care."

Maybe Theo's anecdote wasn't specifically aimed at him, but it was a bit over the top for everyone to suddenly fall silent. He had stated what most of them had been thinking anyway, and Malia and Stiles sure seemed amused by his blunt remark. The two had questioned Theo's invitation to their regular pack nights as much as Boyd did, and it was about time that somebody had said something.

"I wasn't talking to you," Theo dismissed him with months' worth of practice, nothing but a cursory glance spared in Boyd's way. The chimera would have resumed his conversation with Liam (who was protectively cradling the bag of candy) had Boyd been able to ignore all the pent-up rage that was leaking abruptly through the years-old cracks.

"I don't care. We can all hear you talk about your sister like you have no respect for her memory," Boyd lashed out, tone cold and measured, "You don't have the right to mention her. You killed her."

There was a collective head turn towards Theo's way to gauge his reaction, and although the tension was foreboding in the room, the answer came sooner than Scott could interject.

"Excuse me, I haven't noticed you were the dumb one in the pack," Theo sneered with a fake, malicious smile, "If you haven't noticed, that's exactly why I do it, genius. It's called a reminder. I do it so I won't forget that I'm the reason why she's not sitting here, right now, with us."

It was an unexpected confession, hidden under layers of mockery, anger and condescension, and much like the others, Boyd couldn't formulate a response to that. Liam quickly changed the topic, but the distraction couldn't erase Theo's words from his mind, and the echo of his bitter honesty sat with Boyd for days.

***

Theo reasonably gave him the side eye when Boyd volunteered to stand guard with him. The rest of the pack was less than thrilled, too, but Boyd couldn't join their infiltration for fear of being recognized by the hunters who had previously kidnapped him, so in the wake of a brief deliberation, the pair was eventually left outside to warn of any arriving back-up.

"I know you just want to keep an eye on me," Theo turned to him as soon as the others were inside.

Boyd didn't reply but that was in itself a confirmation.

"Silent treatment, my sister was a master of it."

"How is it so easy for you?" Boyd asked, judgment and envy audible in his puzzlement.

"It's not," The chimera said flatly, and then tore his eyes away to scan their surroundings for any suspicious shadows or sounds.

The majority of the hunters were supposed to be at the cover-up peace negotiation with Scott, but you can never be too careful, especially when dealing with the brain-washed followers of a cult so well-established.

"My sister disappeared 8 years ago," Boyd admitted surly, his hands clenching into fists at his sides as he added: "It was my fault."

Theo stared at his side profile, stunned and calculating. He probably couldn't place Boyd's seemingly unbidden need to share something so personal with him of all people.

"We were ice skating when I lost sight of her."

"That's not the same," Theo barked, a tinge of irritation seeping into the harsh words.

"I know." Boyd didn't want to admit that the difference between them made him feel just a tad bit better about himself, but he had a hunch that Theo could read it on his face anyway. "But I'm the reason she isn't here today."

Theo wisely digested that information without a peep and only voiced his thoughts once his eyes were making another round over their vicinity.

"You were just a kid."

"So were you," Boyd pointed out, the similarity hard-hitting and not easy to swallow.

Theo didn't have a comeback to that, but thankfully, they soon saw the others approach with a dozen newly freed werecreatures in tow.

***

"What are you doing?! Boyd! BOYD!"

Malia's shout fell on deaf ears as he ran back into the crossfire where Theo had taken a bullet for him and was now lying against a tree, waiting to be found by a ragtag group of hunters. As soon as he had a hold of the chimera, Boyd tossed a grunting Theo over his shoulder and carried him to where Malia was still sitting in the car and screaming at them to hurry.

She hadn't taken off.

They drove straight to the animal clinic, and when Theo was properly knocked out by the pain that accompanied the healing process, Malia cornered him outside with one simple question.

"Why?"

Boyd shrugged, his reticent attitude not pacifying Malia in the slightest.

"We all could have died."

"We're pack," Boyd countered, but his statement lacked belief. He opted for a stronger argument then: the truth. "And I won't be responsible for the loss of another person, even if it's someone like Theo. I don't want that blood on my hand."

Malia's eyes glazed over in response as if she had temporarily drifted away from the present. They weren't as close as to discuss family history, but everyone was aware of Malia's story in their friend group and it didn't take much guessing to know which moment Malia was currently reliving in her head. Boyd perfectly understood the loneliness of guilt because despite having had his parents at his side, they didn't like talking about Alicia, and the beta wasn't keen on opening that particular wound for Derek.

And anyway, it wasn't like Boyd couldn't feel his parents' rightful rage whenever they remembered that they used to have two children instead of one.

"You had a sister, too," Malia spoke after a short while.

"She disappeared."

The word had become a lifeline to him over the years - the faintest ember of hope. Disappeared.

"You're not like Theo," Malia told him then because she was clever enough to make the connection between fear and action. She also made another observation - one that Boyd had been expecting. "You're not like me, either."

"You didn't want your sister dead. Unlike him," Boyd emphasized, even though his words could never truly lift the weight off her heart. He knew that from experience.

"Doesn't make me any less guilty."

They both looked in the direction of the door where Scott's face appeared, informing them that Theo was fully healed and awake now (and probably checking on them), before slipping back inside.

"We need this pack," Boyd stated once it was just the two of them, and understood only in that moment the importance of forgiveness, "Otherwise, we have to survive on our own. And I'm not gonna be alone again."

***

Theo threw a pile of documents onto the table just as the others began to filter out of the loft.

"What is this?" Boyd asked, his voice steady even while his stomach clenched upon reading the name at the front.

"Stiles got us the police reports. It's a start."

"We're gonna find out what happened to your sister," Malia explained, and Boyd thought it strange to see her stand beside Theo without her claws at his neck, but then considered that maybe Malia didn't want to be alone either.

"We?"

"The three of us," Theo clarified with the subtlest uncertainty.

"She's probably dead."

"Look, Boyd. I know what it's like when you can't put her memory to rest," Malia confessed, arms defensively crossed in front of her chest but her eyes open and eager all the same. "So even if she is, wouldn't it be better to know for sure?"

Boyd looked at Theo, realized that the other boy was most likely doing this for his own peace of mind, and found that it didn't really matter. They all had this dark spot on the crumpled papers of their past, and maybe, with a bit of luck, they could turn a fresh page.

Together.

"Alright. Who's driving?"

#twrp character of the month #vernon boyd #malia tate #theo raeken #original: teen wolf fanfic #boyd & theo #malia & boyd

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inposterumcumgaudio · 7 months

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Promised I'd do Victoria Byng for @axxloe too so.

I don't have any specific thoughts about her in the way that I did General Byng and Reg Cutty because I feel she's actually pretty well explored in the game and mostly understood by the fandom. Nonetheless, here's a laundry list of Victoria miscellanea.

Though her strikebreaking activities are treated neutrally by the narrative as a necessary action, it does make her a tool. Which, if you're on the ball, you know this because her entire DLC is about realizing she's a fkn tool.

I don't think anyone questions that Verloc is a psychopath who takes delight in drowning people for fun, but again, the people telling us that he's a psychopath are Sally and General Byng. So if we are eyeing that notion suspiciously, it may then be possible that - at least from Verloc's perspective - he actually has a valid reason to hate Victoria as much as he seems to. What is it? There's nothing in the lore that specifically points to anything large enough to merit that. She does call him Tony and we know from other places he not only hates being called by his first name but insists upon his honorific being used... but you can't really tell Victoria Byng how to address you, can you?

Being called Tony would be annoying, but probably not enough to be delighted that the Joy supply saboteur turns out to be her. Moreso I think this points to something that a lot of people miss when being told about who has the power in Wellington Wells. Verloc is said to be a law unto himself on the Holm of Uskglass, but whatever power he holds only extends to that one island. He still has to answer to General Byng and Victoria. And they do put the screws to him about showing progress whether it's viable or not. Maybe to the detriment of Verloc's other interests.

While you can bet Verloc hates being called Tony and I implied in my stories that doing so was a deliberate subordination tactic on Victoria's part, I actually think Victoria only did it because she thought it made her more approachable and that it was the culture of Haworth Labs to be so familiar. She recalls Haworth as "never one for ceremony" and she calls him Harry in her quest notes, suggesting she probably called him that in person too. It would have been awkward to be so formal as to call Verloc by his title when his boss was fine being on a first name basis. Tony is obviously a step further than Anton would have been, but maybe that was supposed to be a nudge. That is, if Verloc had actually called her Vicky back, even spitefully, she wouldn't have minded. She calls herself Vicky in her own thoughts. (Interestingly, when she calls herself that it's spelled "Vicky" in the subtitles, but when she's imagining her mother calling her that, it's spelled "Vickie".)

While her father strives to be on top of the pyramid and to wield his power over his subordinates, Victoria goes to great lengths to make herself seem very Of the People. She lives in the Village rather than the Parade. She isn't exactly hiding from the rest of society the way a lot of the other notable characters in the game seem to be (Nick Lightbearer, Dr. Faraday, Dr. Verloc, Jack Worthing, General Byng to an extent). Indeed, she organizes public activities quite frequently. Victoria's motivation in all things is to appear as much a common Wellie as anyone else, fancy clothes and mansion notwithstanding. That Wellies in her DLC feel comfortable approaching her on the street to make idle conversation (even though she probably looks like hell) is something she's worked to imbue in them. Obviously this is informed greatly by her being visibly Other and her desire to negate that, but it's also part of what she's come to think of as her duty and her power in the town. The people of Wellington Wells do listen to and follow her (as they have since she was quite young) and she uses this - she believes - to their benefit. Indeed, she's more a post-war English ideal in that way than practically all the Actually English people in town. She's had her shoulder to the wheel the entire time.

One of the few personal items General Byng keeps in his safehouse is a drawing Victoria did as a child. He's quick to cut her loose when called out for having been looking out for himself, but it may not be as easy a decision as it seems to Victoria in that moment.

Indira had one too. And we see it right as Victoria realizes that she had to make a choice about how Victoria should feel about her moving forward. Parallels! And perpendiculars!

And lastly...

Christian Louboutin has only just been born the previous year (to say nothing of Wellington Wells' policy of isolation) and yet she's got the red bottom shoes. But if she had a favorite designer and the ability to shop them, it'd be Hermès all the way.

#victoria byng #we happy few #dr. anton verloc

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nothums-from-tj · 4 months

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What is your hc on boomercup? for me, I think they bonded over the fact that they are the odd ones out of their siblings. Brick and Butch are always together doing things Blossom and Bubbles doing things together, and Buttercup and Boomer are just left out, not that they want to do the things their siblings are doing I also hc that boomer moved out like when he was 15-16 so that just adds to how estranged his relationship with his brothers is whilst buttercup is going out all the time with her friends just so she doesn't have to see how close her sisters are and how estranged she is and I also hc that they both were the last to get together so their siblings mostly blossom and bubbles set up double dates just so they make buttercup and boomer be together

I’m literally so excited someone asked me abt them I’m like in tears. This is a super long post just to give you a heads up

Just rq I feel like with how oblivious the two are they’d be like “why are we literally being dragged on a date” and then ditch their siblings to hang out with each other, said siblings laughing at them when they finally get together like “that’s literally WHY WE INVITED YOU BOTH WE BASICALLY FORCED YOU ON A DATE WITH EACH OTHER” “oh”

Ok so a one-shot I actually had in mind basically touches upon exactly that also loosely inspired by “Pity Party” by Melanie Martinez (full idea beneath the cut), although my main work right now—the fic I have going (you can find it under the tbmg tag I have on this post and my pinned) is Boomer being impulsive to try to impress some girl in a class they all share by trying to be “good” and so asking for help, and given it’s the most-behaved Ruff and the least-behaved Puff and somewhere along the line they’re still classified as a villain and a hero respectively despite not being too different fundamentally and it’s mostly a character study in that aspect while still building their friendship before getting them together. I like to think that as crime lessens in the future the Ruffs mostly stop having contact with Mojo and low contact with HIM providing they’re mainly just tools to them unlike the Puffs to Professor, who he sees as his children and created them specifically to have children in his life. Boomer, in Buttercup’s opinion, is the most annoying since he’s as much of an instigator as she is. For the most part they lose contact with the other groups save for Boomer and sometimes Brick just trying to have a bit of fun by getting on their nerves and eventually only really focus on Buttercup since she’s the only one to still give them a reaction

That, and it’s nice to have someone that can actually match each other’s strength—they mostly get into fights when having a rough day, when they need to either beat the shit out of someone until they feel better or it means violence is still some kind of physical contact that says there’s some kind of care in it, good or bad

This is sort of what I’m alluding to at the start of said fic that I’ll try to delve into further into the next chapter or the one following. During the next chapter is when I have them actually chatting and getting to actually know one another aside from any insecurities to jab at to initiate a fight

I have another hc I’ll put in a rb here at a later date bc it deals with some heavier topics (EDIT: some are featured here)

Alright one-shot idea:

It’s the girls’ 15th birthday, a Saturday, and Buttercup has always been the first to pick on her sisters right and it seems that’s the only way she really knows how to make connections which is a little bit what @milksteaki touched upon in her (edited to use proper pronouns) hcs as far as how she “flirts” with Boomer (not quite the same, it’s close enough), and I doubt her sisters would ever fully understand that

Especially as they get older I have a feeling Blossom and Butters would argue a bit more given they’re probably the two who bear the most insecurities and they’re so alike in sometimes getting on what really makes people tick. Anyway they probably had one the night before bc Buttercup is sometimes just so intense they don’t really know how to take it the way her sisters do and it literally scares their friends, especially when BC’s friend group are boys who roughhouse or are able to match her competitive nature and they mention this to her sisters in private who then try to relay the message to Buttercup or they try to encourage their friends to tell her straight up bc she really doesn’t mean any harm. Either way, Buttercup either didn’t invite her friends for those reasons or was told to invite someone else and she doesn’t have anybody else, that or everyone was busy/had games/whatever else. Blossom asks Buttercup not to “scare the guests” and she, in a bout of teenage angst, takes it as “don’t show up”

After that she’s left alone in the room and her immediate thought is to contact Boomer to play basketball at a park or something—just the two of them, since all he was really doing was either trying to ignore Brick and Butch fight or, providing you’re the second person I’ve known of to hc Boomer moving out as a teenager, he’s doing absolutely nothing and is more than happy to hang out with someone

They chat during the game and sometimes after shots—not like it’s a real game anyway—and Buttercup mentions that she’s been “kicked out for the day” or that she fought with Blossom again, really anything to keep from sharing too many details and it works as Boomer continues to say that he’s so glad to not really be around his brothers like that anymore. While Boomer is never the one really involved with Brick and Butch’s spats, he feels left out and like no one pays attention to him in kind of the opposite of how Bubbles feels

It’s late afternoon when Blossom finds her after realizing Buttercup isn’t in the room sulking or looking for privacy but straight up left, and only then did she realize Buttercup probably had no intention of showing up and felt horrible—they’re a tight-knit group, even with the arguing they both miss their sister terribly and their birthday is never too fun without the third

Another argument starts out since Blossom’s concerned and Buttercup’s pissed and they eventually forget Boomer’s there for a minute—at least Buttercup, until:

“You said you didn’t want me there!”

“I never said that! All I wanted was for the guests to have a good time!”

“Forget them, Blossom—it’s our birthday! I should be able to enjoy the day, too!”

Boomer’s heart sinks as he’s looking between the two as they argue and his voice is softer than he ever expects: “It’s your birthday today?”

Her heart stops when she remembers about his presence and how she was actively avoiding that detail and she can’t even think about a response, Blossom’s as silent as she is, and he just looks hurt that he was never told and about everything that’s already been said, “Why didn’t you tell me it’s your birthday?”

“It’s no big deal, Boomer. If I cared enough, I would’ve said something.”

“I care. The least I could’ve done is, I don’t know, made you dinner or something.”

They discuss to talk about it later since the most important thing is that Blossom wants her there for cake and they’ve refused to even light the candles without her there. They make up, there’s probably some tears, and Boomer is then invited to every party (he also probably makes a little friendship bracelet or a favorite snack as a gift that he brings to her in the midst of the night)

#tbmg #tj shares #tj writes #kinda #💥🌼#boomercup #asks #buttercup x boomer #boomer x buttercup #long post #headcanons #ship headcanons

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lutawolf · 2 years

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Episode 11 Notes And Thoughts

These started out as a way for me to come back to a thought I had. Then they became something that others looked forward to. It became something we could discuss. This time the notes had a lot of help from the coconuts mafia @victooooorious @akitbeast @biochemjess @slangerogkatter thank you for all the support and help 💜💜💜 alright, get ready to go deep on VegasPete.

Let me start off by saying that you probably won't understand my notes unless you understand my theory. I believe that Vegas took note of Pete when Pete stood up to Khun and wouldn't tie up Macau. That's why he and his brother were more amused by Pete following them than upset. Somewhere between that time and the first dungeon torture scene in episode 7, Vegas was very interested in Pete. There was a lot to be seen in that episode to prove it too. So why the massive torture, like Vegas is pissed, if he cares for Pete. That is exactly why, here is the guy he has shown his true self to, who paid respects to his mom, who he wants to spend his next life with betraying him. He proves his loyalty is to the main family and it makes Vegas angry. Do you know the strength and endurance it takes to torture someone?? I do. It's a lot. You don't get this level of angry intensity unless you are invested.

So we start of the episode with a swinging good time. Seriously though, no hit is landed until Pete has tightened those muscles. Vegas is mad but he has no intention of killing him.

Vegas says "At first I was going to kill you but then I changed my mind" I would be inclined to believe this if all his actions didn't point differently.

"Because when you suffer, you become more interesting" he's letting Pete know he is aware of his secret.

Look at that stare that Pete is giving. He is every bit as angry and pissed as Vegas.

"No legacy is so rich as honesty" is a William Shakespeare quote. That can mean so many different interpretations. In the play it was a mock of maidenhood, and the desperate measures using it to gain prosperity. The growth that one learns from their legacy. Then learning to be honest and portray a truthful character is more powerful than any other trait existing.

"You are such a good pet of the main family"

So is Vegas calling him a pet in general or is he specifically saying the main family?

"Let me tell you something, only a fool thinks that honesty is real" Further proof we can't trust Vegas words so much as his actions.

I want you to notice that Pete yells for Vegas to kill him. He is angry and mad at Vegas but when Vegas' dad comes in and hurts Vegas. His eyes cut to him with malice.

Look at Vegas' face when his dad hands him the gun. He is not okay with this. Which is the complete fucking opposite to how he acted with Tawan and Porsche. He didn't necessarily want to do it, he gave a Dom apology to one and was planning a head shot with the other. Yet he wasn't broken up. He does not want to kill Pete though, not at all.

Above note how he looks Tawan in the eyes as he shoots him, then he turns and goes to shoot Porsche in the head. Never taking his eyes of. With Pete though, his head is lowered. He is going to initially shoot but he can't look at him while doing it. Why? Unless he is already attached to Pete in a way that is more than Tawan and Porsche.

But even head down. Vegas can't kill Pete. So Pete will have to come with him.

How does Vegas know so much about grandma? I mean, yeah the name is on the caller ID but does that guarantee a good relationship? The kind of relationship that Pete would lose his shit over? The kind of relationship where she will lie for Pete? How does Vegas know?

That broke Pete and if you think that didn't turn Vegas on, you're wrong. Vegas is so angry right now that he isn't seeing straight. You've guys have to understand that anger and Sadist are not a good combination. It's like the parent who spanks but hits a power trip and slides into abuse. It's why you shouldn't punish when angry.

Vegas calls Pete a pet again. A pet is beneath a slave. He even mocks him with "who is a good boy"

Kinn says "I love you" about Porsche to his family first!! I also adore that Khun is not surprised.

I also adore how Kinn waited on Khun and let Khun manipulate Korn. Haha

The lovely bunch of coconuts with Arm being at the lead.

"I love him" 🥥 ohhhahhhhh.. Then them losing their shit on behalf of Porsche. Love it!

I wanna live at the safe house!!!

Pet again but Pete is smart. He knows that no matter what Vegas dishes. He can't eat from this animal dish or he will be a pet.

The talk between Porsche and Chay. So sweet. He wants his approval of Kinn. So sweet.

"You think you can choose not to eat" and Pete "I'm not choosing, I'm just not eating" Why did this piss of Vegas? Because Pete is making it clear that he isn't and wouldn't choose any of this.

Hence he calls him a pet again and loses his shit. Vegas is purposely hitting muscle not fat which with a belt hurts like a mother fucker. We know Pete can take the pain but your also more likely to get welting and burns. Ass, thighs, and breasts can tolerate the belt much better.

Notice that Pete actually showed his pain this time. That's not unusual at all and doesn't mean he isn't a masochist. Each masochist has certain pain they enjoy more and others that feel like pain. If you look at the previous pain given to Pete compared to this, you can spot the difference. Also keep in mind that Pete has had very little nourishment as well.

Vegas says "No fun" because Pete is actually hurting here.

Pete escapes and is immediately spotted by Vegas who makes a telling remark "so darn good, Head of the main family bodyguard" why does he repeat this if he doesn't take it personally. Are you starting to see it? He was personally hurt by Pete's loyalty to main family at the expense of him.

Did you notice that Vegas caught Pete, then him checking on him after stunning him.

Sweet Kinn and Porsche snuggle moment.

Mother in law!! 🤣🤣🤣☠️☠️☠️

Vages dad is a cunt.

Vegas is angry, upset, and tormented so where does he head? To Pete. Then watch his reaction. He loses his shit at Pete not being okay. This is not the reaction of a man who shot his slave point blank with no issues, or the one who liked Porsche but is willing to do what's necessary, and who likes his bodyguards but will use them as shields. All of those examples are people he has technically supposed to have known longer than Pete. Yet here he is freaking out. Calling him by name in this moment. Not pet and not main bodyguard but once again Pete.

Khun and Chay, this can't be good.

Pete comes to, to Vegas cleaning and caring for him. Look at how Vegas is looking at Pete. He has lost his anger. Everyone points to the scene after this one but this is the important scene. This is the scene that fixes what was broken.

Almost losing Pete has knocked the wind out of Vegas. He was blinded by anger but that shroud has now been removed.

But blink and you miss it, this is where Pete comes around too. He wasn't going to take that pill. Not because he is worried about poison but because he wants to die. Pete this entire time that he got caught, made peace with death and craves it. Why? I'm going to throw a theory at you, how would you feel if you betrayed someone you liked and they now hate you. Then Vegas puts the pill in his mouth and feeds it to Pete. Pete realizes that Vegas is no longer pissed. He reacts immediately. He reacts as a submissive, doesn't bite or anything else aggressive but swallows the pill and stares at Vegas. Watch from 40:40 and 40:41. The look shared between them says so much.

They share a look and then Vegas gently cradles Pete's head to give him water. At this point we see Pete staring at Vegas but this look is speculative.

Now comes the moment that everyone points to and says is meaningful. Look how sweet Pete is. Guys you gonna make me choke on vomit. Pete is not sweet, he is not sunshine, he doesn't see the best in everyone 🌈 Bitch please, Pete is a sadomastic killer who will torture you just like Vegas if you didn't pay a loan. He is not a good guy! This is not about finding redeeming qualities in one bad guy. This is about two bad guys finding redeeming qualities in each other.

Pete asks Vegas why he won't let him die and Vegas lies as usual. Oddly enough, Pete sees right through Vegas. He sees that Vegas is upset about something and what is it? Look at how Vegas looks at Pete in this moment. He knows that Pete can actually see him. He can read him. Pause at 42:56 and tell me that isn't a man looking at someone who means something to him.

Then Vegas starts actually speaking his truths. The value in this moment. Vegas recognizes that Pete can see him and therefore he might as well be honest.

Vegas knows so much about Pete but this proves that he has been seeing only what Pete shows. Oh, I think he sees more than that but this is his first time really realizing that Pete hasn't had it easy either. That Pete hides this part of himself and yet he chose to show it to Vegas.

Pete shares hos story and his wisdom. Vegas takes it in. He says nosy but Pete sees it for what it is and slightly smiles. Vegas didn't lie, or get angry, he made a very child like expression.

Vegas coming to Pete once again when upset. He stands there but immediately Pete gets up. There is no hesitant to get up and be there for Vegas. No hesitant to ask if he is okay. Once Vegas lost his anger, Pete changed too.

Look at Vegas' face at being asked if he is okay. He smiles. Pete asking if he is hurt, making sure he really isn't.

Here is manipulative Pete though. He knows he can not eat out of that pet bowl. He tells Vegas it's old, not fresh. So Vegas comes back with food he made. He is providing Pete food in a regular bowl with utensils. Sliding Pete straight past pet. Pete makes Vegas confirm that it is in fact for him. Then he freaks out about it being poisoned which we previously established, Pete isn't worried about. He doesn't fear death. But it pushes Vegas to try it and prove that it isn't poisoned. Which establishes Pete's importance. That he has importance enough to provide and care for in more ways than that of a slave. Pete maneuvered his submissive position. That smile Vegas gives, is him recognizing what Pete did.

We now know that Porsche got a mouth like a hoover vacuum. Mouth that can suck Kinn's balls through a hole and make him walk funny.

#kinnporsche luta question and answer #kinnporsche luta #vegaspete luta #vegaspete #luta opinions #luta #coconuts mafia

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strandedcrow · 10 months

Note

oh my god thank you so much. i'll probably have to watch the video a couple more times so the information sticks in my head but i finally understand a sense of when everything takes place and what exactly happened. i had no idea you play as a same single character through out almost all the games, never mind that it was the son of the guy killing everyone. can i ask why you think its william afton youre playing as in custom night?

yesss the dynamic between michael and william is genuinely one of my favorite protagonist vs antagonist dynamics in general, the games really do such a good job emphasizing the similarities and differences between the characters. in the games, michael has his father’s british accent, and is implied to look very similar to him (with michael stating that circus baby, possessed by his own little sister, mistook michael for william in sister location). but it also nails their complete opposite personalities so well to me, with their opposing responses to committing child murder (william deciding to murder more children while michael eventually attempts to free the souls of william’s victims following his own death). and one thing that’s not really a detail, but also not really overtly compared, is in william ending up as a corpse stuffed into a suit, while michael ends up as a corpse that had an endoskeleton stuffed into him, which isn’t necessarily some huge breakthrough in the existence of metaphors but i really love it lol

and now a cut off to spare the dash, william theorizing below :]

UCN itself doesn’t actually have a plot (aside from gags and easter eggs), but it does have a few voice lines (given by animatronics after they jumpscare you) that can be taken into account if you want to figure out who you’re playing as!

quick aside though, just because it’s interesting, one of these voicelines in UCN is also why susie being the first victim is essentially confirmed: (withered) chica, who we know to be possessed by her, has a voice line of “I was the first, I have seen everything.” (her voicelines also sound as if they’re coming through a spirit box which is a neat detail)

anyway the first, immediate assumption that can be made in determining who you are playing as in UCN is because the ghosts directly state that you, the player, have killed at least one of the children (the voicelines are listed below). this nails possibilities down right off the bat to you playing as either william or michael, as they are the only two characters in the games who have killed at least one child.

with that in mind, pretty much all theorizing in this game draws from a handful of voicelines which you may get upon being jumpscared by specific animatronics:

ones who say they are friends of “the one you should not have killed”:

Withered Chica: “I have seen him, the one you shouldn’t have killed.”

Jack-o-Chica: “Greetings from the fire, and friend of what you should not have killed.”

Withered Bonnie: “Time to face the consequences of your failure,” and “What is this new prison? Is it me trapped, or is it you? Perhaps, it’s us both.”

Mangle: “He’s here, and always watching, the one you shouldn’t have killed.”

“the one you should not have killed” speaking through multiple animatronics:

Happy Frog: “We’ve only just begun. I will never let you leave. I will never let you rest.”

Nedd Bear: “This is how it feels, and you get to experience it over, and over, and over again, forever. I will never let you leave.”

Orville Elephant: “He tried to release you. He tried to release us. But I’m not gonna let that happen.” “I will hold you here. I will keep you here. No matter how many times they burn us.”

the emilys and aftons:

charlie through the puppet: “I recognize you. But I am not afraid of you… not anymore,” and through nightmarionne “This time, death cannot save you.”

elizabeth through circus baby and the later design called scrap baby has lines as well, however they are more consistent with the animatronic's personality than her own, likely because in previous games elizabeth seemed to be mostly unaware that she wasn’t actually circus baby

due to evan having been killed by fredbear, I believe that nightmare fredbear’s line “We know who our friends are, and you are not one of them.” comes from evan, however that’s more of an assumption than anything. more concretely, due to evan being told in the end of fnaf 4 that he would be remade, generally theorized by william, i also believe that he delivers nightmare freddy’s line “I am remade, but not by you, by the one you should not have killed.” which i think is one of the most important lines in discerning between playing as william or michael. if you had been playing as michael, then the only character that could possibly be counted as “the one you should not have killed” would have been evan, as he was the only one killed by michael. however in a single line, nightmare freddy implies: he is evan (“I am remade”), he is addressing william, who said he would remake him (“But not by you”), and he is not “the one you should not have killed” (“by the one you should not have killed.”)

the most common theory on the identity of the “one you should not have killed” lies in one of the original five children, cassidy, who was present as golden freddy in the earlier games. this child is generally viewed as being the angriest (sans maybe charlie) at william, and the most aggressive. part of this draws from an easter egg in UCN: one “animatronic” you can enable when playing is called old man consequences, and through him you can get to a secret area. this area is a pixelated lake where old man consequences is fishing, and you, now playing as a pixelated golden freddy, can talk to him. When you do, he invites you to sit with him as there’s “nowhere else to go”, and says “Leave the demon to his demons. Rest your own soul. There is nothing else.” the implications here being that golden freddy is the one soul that refuses to move on to the point of having to meet old man consequences. and the only person that cassidy hates enough to torment for eternity would be william, who killed cassidy and many other children, not michael who killed one child that wasn’t even cassidy.

there is a bit of a flaw in the theory though lol, in that william afton, as springtrap, is an animatronic in this game. his only voice line is his “I always come back” quote (honestly extremely funny given his gameplay function is that he tries to attack exactly one time in the night and then. doesn’t come back). given how this game isn’t considered canon and so the stakes are lower in terms of trying to be Correct, i like to interpret springtrap’s presence as being either the presence of the animatronic itself or william’s past haunting him, ghost of christmas past style but with a lot more murderous intent involved. (also from a meta standpoint obviously springtrap is gonna be in the big finale epilogue game, especially since he was the only actual animatronic in fnaf 3)

all of this said, though, there’s an animatronic named Mr. Hippo, whose voicelines are. a bit lengthy. he goes on tangents for about three minutes, telling the player one of four rambling stories, but those stories include lines like “I said ‘Orville, I have a story.’ And he said to me ‘What’s the significance of the story?’ and I said to him, ‘Orville, not every story has to have significance, y'know? Sometimes, y'know, sometimes a story is just a story. You try to read into every little thing and find meaning in everything anyone says, you’ll drive yourself crazy.’” and “So you may be asking yourself, ‘How did I go from sitting by the falls drinking lemonade, to being wedged in the air duct? Not only with Orville, but with an entire assortment of fruity colored friends.’ Well there’s uh, there’s really no good answer to that, but perhaps I’ve met a demise of my own at some point, and this is my afterlife or my dream, whatever it might be, I honestly don’t know. Or maybe it doesn’t mean anything at all. Maybe it doesn’t mean anything at all.”

so yknow. take any theorizing of this game with a grain of salt lol

#ask #anon #this took way longer to type than it shouldve bc i was writing is and got mostly done before being like #'this is barely coherent to ME and im the one writing it .'#so i kinda had to start over #anyways . :]]]]] i’m having the time of my life btw

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dragooned-speaks · 2 months

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Interesting!

So how exactly do the hero and villain balances work?

I actually find it really fun that your story is similar to mine—mainly in just the hero and villain aspect anyways...so I wanna know more about what your twists with it were!

This is extremely late, I am so sorry. But, it’s here! I had to take the time to realize outside of the characters, there’s not much. I’ve got a long way to go before I feel ready to write it. :’) (Under read more) Side note: I’m hoping to simply write this on ao3, as Tumblr’s format isn’t exactly designed for multi-chapter stories, so after I get an account, and after I actually puzzle out a plot is when I’ll start writing. I’m always open to ideas, and I’ll make sure to credit you (if you give me something to credit, like you, or I’ll probably say something like ex: this is brought to you by the anon in this post).

There are spoilers here, but yeah! (For my story).

So, I’d say there’s more heroes than villains, but there’s more major villains and more minor heroes than anything, like six major heroes and thirteen major villains (all heroes and villains are being developed), but there’s like fifty minor heroes and twelve minor villains. This is approximate, but it’s the idea. It’s pretty balanced, and sometimes heroes win and sometimes villains lose. Vigilantes just try and save civilians. Some are told to be vigilantes by the Hero Foundation, to give them a good look, but some do it willingly. I’d say there’s more vigilantes than villains but less than heroes. Honestly, the two sides are mainly important in the beginning, as later, our vigilantes might just… leave the planet, if you catch my drift. Anyways, hope you don’t mind me using this ask to also talk about some world building! I’m basing this off a bit of Minecraft, mainly the End, Nether, and Overworld, which exist in Starania (the name of the planet). I probably will do a future word vomit on that and a few heroes who might star a future story- that has no title. Hybrids spawn instead of mobs (minus the light level stuff, they spawn in specific places, like avians in trees, and pandas in bamboo forests) although not as frequently. Startopia (the capital. I’m toootally super creative with my names (sarcasm)) is a high tech sci fi city that’s like New York… without stuff, if you get what I mean. So, yeah, sorry if it doesn’t answer your question, and feel free to ask many basically any future or follow up questions, and be sure to tell me if I didn’t answer something in your ask!

#have a good day #yeah #dragoon asks #dragoon speaks #also a message #hope you don’t mind #the other ask is being worked on #original idea #at least I hope #peace out

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thatfangirlofsb · 1 year

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A/N: This is my first time doing a y/n or reader (I think that's how it's called) pov, so sorry for the mistakes. Although I have never made one, I decided to start because I had an idea for a fanfic, but no grishaverse character worked to be the main character. So here comes my first y/n o reader writing.

I haven't put a specific gender to y/n, but I may have missed it at some point.

T/W: Grishaverse spoilers.

It will be set when Sturmhond reveals who he is.

Reign in the seas

"Lately I look more beautiful than ever and that's why you all want to put your hands on me?" He touched his cheek, where your fist had impacted with great strength; probably more than necessary. "Nice hook, where did you learn it?"

You wanted to give him another, but the opposite cheek was already swelling from the blow he received from the sun summoner. He would need to speak to tell you everything you wanted to know about his lie, and with a very swollen face he couldn't. So, in a good act, you decided to stop. When he'll be better you would hit him again, although you hoped you wouldn't be able to because you would be a long walk away from there living a good life.

"You fucking idiot! You fucking idiot prince! If I had known…"

"Wouldn't you have boarded my ship? And lost an asset as important as you? No thanks." He interrupted, now looking at you with a different face but maintaining that typical sideways smile.

He was right, if you had known you wouldn"t have gotten on that boat. Now you regretted so many things after knowing the truth, the first was having met him. You wouldn't have cared if that night the royal soldiers had seized you for a trial with a certain sentence of death, rather lifeless than on a Lantsov's ship.

"I had my right to know. I've taken your ship everywhere you and your family needed it." Fury was building in your voice, but your fists were still itching to show your anger at him in some other way rather than with words.

"Correction: to all the parts that the money has needed." He was right, you already knew how strange it was that he didn't follow the highest bidder. Although he hadn't done it with the sun summoner, it seemed like he was changing into something different. Why? You didn't want to have time to worry about it.

"Sturmhond... or your highness, what should I call you now?" You asked him with a clear sarcasm staining your tone of voice, however it seemed that he hadn't noticed or was simply ignoring it. "Honey or darling it's fine. The situation isn't that different either, I'm still the same guy that…"

Oh no. You didn't think you'd hear that come out of his mouth. You prefer to be thrown into the cold waters of Fjerda with a banner around your neck written in block letters 'I am grisha, squaller. Pleased to meet you'.

You turned to avoid his gaze and covered your ears as you began to hum the first thing that came to your mind.

Sure he could have done it better, but you didn't have the musical training of a prince. You couldn't recite poems or sing classical songs, but you knew how to hit hard; and he had verified it on his own skin. A lullaby, one of the few memories you had left of your family, took over your murmurs while you tried not to listen to him.

You would have kept doing it until your body fell to the ground from not eating and drinking, but the stupid boy behind you now had your hands removed from your ears and brushed them with something cold in the process.

Then he grabbed you by the shoulders, without letting go that object, and turned you on your own two feets. When you saw it, you wanted to die right there, you didn't think that after so many years everything was going to come to light.

"That...?"

"Darling, the acting is overkill now." He twirled the crown around his wrist with a small smile. At what moment of the landing he had you managed to find your belongings among the rubble? However that wasn't exactly yours, but as if it was. "I love listening to stories, but I know this one yet, since I'm such a good person, I'll let you tell it again."

"I don't have to tell anything." Better lifeless than open your mouth. When they murdered you, you'll only going to laugh; they had taken a long time to hunt you down, it seemed that a simple thief had managed to evade the highly prepared royal guard.

"Okay, that's okay. But is also okay to call the guards and…"

"Do it, I'm not afraid Sturmhond." Your voice sounded cold and calculated, during those years you had prepared yourself for the moment in which they discovered you. You knew it was going to be sooner or later, but you didn't expect it to be before you turned twenty. "Come on, call them and have them come for me. I'd rather die than see your lying face again."

"You've always liked this face to be the first thing you saw in the m..." You cut him off by slightly raising your hand, indicating with this movement that you didn't want to hear any more. He had kept quiet, but that smile he put on after the silence only indicated that the next thing he said was going to be worse. "What's wrong honey? Did you hit your head during the landing and you don't remember who I am anymore? Well, I remember very well that you told me last night that you were going to leave the ship after bringing the sun summoner to Ravka. I didn't know that the crown was going to be one of your incentives."

Memories of the night before walked over you.

[FB]

You were in his cabin, facing the table on which rested a map of Ravka. Your eyes carefully ran through it, beginning to calculate around what time you would arrive at your destination. You couldn't help but smile when he pointed with one finger at the coast where you were going to land, while his other hand began to caress your back over your blouse, releasing some of the tension you had accumulated at that time.

The last few nights you had hardly been able to fall asleep. Your mind wouldn't stop thinking about the decision you had made. You knew it would take you away from him, but you also knew that this kind of life was not for you. You would rather walk away than harm him.

"I'm going to settle in Ravka." His hand remained still on your back, letting you feel the heat of it over the fine fabric. "With the reward they'll give us for the sun summoner, maybe I'll open a shop."

You knew that this money would come from Ravka's crown, and even if your pride didn't allow it at first, you would make the decision later. What better than to see how the coffers of those damn kings are emptied while you start swimming in gold?

"Then I'll go with you." There were those butterflies in your stomach again, why were they still alive when you were already a couple?

"Sturmhond, you have completely lost your mind."

"For you? Since the first time I saw you." He said leaving a short kiss on your cheek, starting the caresses again but now only with his thumb. "Os Alta is a good trading place. It has..."

He began to talk about the city and its network of merchants, although you could only think of what he had answered you. At first you doubted, how was he going to leave his life as a privateer that he loved so much just for you? He was born for it, but you weren't and you knew that at any moment you would have to get away from the ship and from him.

You smiled, knowing they were empty promises. But it seemed that he understood your looks, because in a quick movement he squeezed you against his chest in a hug that you needed.

"Do you think I'm going to let you walk away from me so easily?" It was what he said before your lips met and there were no more words.

[FB]

"Call your fucking guards, now." Surprise crossed his face, not many people had dared to order him around like Sturmhond or Nikolai.

"I don't take orders from anyone."

"Oh yeah?" A playful smile appeared on your face, you were going to really enjoy your last moments of freedom attacking his pride. "Well, it wouldn't look like it Sturmhond, I still remember how you begged me..."

"Deadlock, let's stop for a few minutes." He said looking around, paying particular attention to the fabrics in the store where you were while his hand lightly ruffled his now blonde hair.

"If you don't want to play...don't cast the first card." You said with as much nonchalance as you could muster. Didn't he like that they used their tricks on him? Well, you were going to spend your last hours of life doing it.

"I still have a reserved card." His hand searched in his pocket until he took out a crumpled piece of paper that he handed to you. "If I call the guards, they'll have to look for him as the culprit as well."

You smoothed the sheet until the drawing became as clear as possible. It couldn't be, how had he managed to find out? You didn't have time to try to figure it out, now you had to fix everything.

"He's just a little boy."

"A child who was involved in stealing this." He lifted the crown that was still resting in his hand. "The law also considers him a thief."

"It wasn't his fault, it was all mine." Your tears were about to flow from your eyes. He had shown himself to you as someone fair, but his true actions were those of a prince. Those of the prince in front of you, talking about how they were going to execute your little brother as well, as if he was talking about the weather. "Take me and leave him alone. And please, use all the money I have saved so that he can live a good life. He wants to go to Ketterdam University, let him fulfill that dream."

"Is that a confession?"

The temptation to hit him again came to you. You were begging him for your brother's life and he was only concerned about a damn confession? How had he been able to change so much in such a short time? Was he the same guy who showed you his love with little things? Or the one who always swore you would be safe with him after telling him a lie when he asked about your story?

"It's whatever you want if you swear to protect it." Your voice was weak, although you tried to hide it with your challenging look fixed in his hazel eyes, very different from the green of the privateer. His promises were now worthless to you, but your only option was to trust. "And take care of him the same way I have. And never tell him that I have died."

"I see you very much alive now." He gently placed the queen's crown on your head, parting a few strands of your hair until they were behind your ears. Feeling the cold weight of the gold, your head began to fill with memories.

[FB]

Your parents, tired of only being able to offer you and your little brother an itinerant life and afraid that you will all be arrested after some of their thefts, decided to make one last big hit. You had traveled several kilometers to Os Alta, and you stayed in a seedy boardinghouse attached to the city walls.

The next day there was a big party at the palace, you didn't know why but you were sure that your parents would take advantage of it to make the big hit. You and your brother always helped them; but this time they expressly forbade you to go before them, leaving disguised among the crowd of people.

From their farewell and the way they looked at you before leaving, you came to the conclusion that it would be difficult to see them return alive. You weren't going to let them face that alone, ever.

So when a few minutes had passed, you left the room with your brother by the hand and followed the line that your parents had gotten into moments before.

You came to a big lavishly decorated palace, where people were crowding around waiting for the door to be opened. Your parents would have walked in, but you could only see people in overly fancy finery pass through the door. It would be impossible to do the same with the rags you wore.

But an idea crossed your mind. You saw a girl your age away from the crowd, because of the white clothes she was wearing she looked like a servant, so you approached her, leaving your brother near the entrance to watch if your parents came and, with a quick movement of your hands, you forced the air out of her lungs until she passed out. Checking that no one had seen you, you dragged her body behind some bushes. Taking one last look, you changed your clothes and left her there, apologizing in a whisper even though she couldn't hear you before stepping out and doing gestures to your brother.

"Why can't I have clothes like yours?"

"Misha..." His name left your lips with some sadness. You didn't know what you could find there, but you didn't want to scare him with that idea, so you chose to tell him a lie. "Mom and Dad asked us for help. So we're going to go in there and you're going to stick very close to me without talking, okay?"

He confirmed with his head while pressing his lips tightly, he was already putting part of the plan into practice. You pushed your way through the tumult and were let in almost without looking at your face. You knew that the servants were nothing to all those powerful people gathered there, so you took advantage of that to blend in among the people dressed just like you.

You never let go Misha's hand, and for several minutes you followed the actions of the other servants. But there came a moment in which some shouts broke through the noise of the simple talks that the nobles had. Soon, some guards released a man and a woman with their arms chained in front of the king; clearly distinguishable by sitting on his throne and wearing a crown bigger than his head.

"Moi tsar." The guard bowed slightly before continuing. "A heatrender and an otkazat'sya, they entered the throne room."

The man to the woman's right seemed to understand the doubtful face of the king, so he added more information to his partner's story.

"They broke in to steal. The heartrender killed the two guards guarding the door."

With a wave of the king's hand, the previous guard approached him and listened very carefully to what he was saying while all the guests watched the scene carefully.

Doubts about what was going to happen were soon resolved. With another wave of his hand the tsar dismissed the guard, who went to whisper to his companion and, each standing behind the two chained people, drew their swords from their scabbards and made two deep cuts on the prisoners' necks.

Gasps of surprise came from the cluster of guests who had come closer to view the scene, but were soon drawn away as they saw the guards part as the limp bodies fell backwards under their own weight.

No.

"Mom! Dad!"

Your little brother had also managed to recognize them, although he seemed unaware of all the glances that were directed towards you two.

"Grab them too." The king indicated calmly, as if he were not sending a sixteen-year-old and a child of only six to possible death, sitting back on his throne and taking care again of his drink.

You had little time to react, and in that small space you took your brother in your arms and ran down a corridor as fast as you could. You opened one of the many doors and entered the room, closing it behind you.

As you looked around trying to find a place to hide, you discovered that the room wasn't empty. A slightly scrawny boy was looking at the two of you with doubt and surprise. He was in front of a table full of tools, looking from the sketches to you without stopping. You stayed for a few seconds looking at each other, but as soon as he heard the footsteps outside, he seemed to understand everything.

He ran to your side and grabbed your arm, leading you towards a corner where several boxes were stacked. He tucked you between them and placing a finger on her lips he returned to the table.

Soon the door opened, and you managed to hear the remains of a conversation in which the boy denied having seen anyone and managed to get all those men who were chasing you out of there.

When he verified that there was no one else, he approached the boxes and took you out of them. He forcefully pulled you towards what seemed to be a simple wall, but when he touched an engraving on it, it opened.

A very dark hallway was ahead of you. You turned your head in fear towards that blond boy, but he had already walked away and had his back to you while he was looking for something. When you looked at the boxes that had you and your little brother hidden recently, you managed to see your father's bag. It was made of scraps of cloth, and it was the only place where he kept his few belongings. But something that gave off a special shine stood out, and on impulse you went to pick it up and left it inside the tunnel so that it couldn't be seen.

When the boy turned around, you and your brother were in the same place. When he reached your height, he placed a bag in your hand that had several coins guessing from the sound and pushed you into the tunnel before closing the only exit, looking at you one last time.

That was going to be the strangest robbery you had ever done in your life.

[FB]

"I'll tell you everything."

When he heard you say that, he walked to the chair in front of a desk and sat down, crossing one of his legs while he poured some brandy into a glass.

"I'm ready, darling."

His voice made you feel the same way you did before all that situation. For a moment you forgot what had happened, and you could only think about him and how he looked at you. If you could go back you would enjoy all your moments together much more without worrying about who you are, only your mind would occupy the perfect place to hide and not have to endure the recital of Tolya's poems about love and Tamar's looks and comments about you two.

But they were just that, memories.

"My father was a durast and my mother a heartrender. They always hid it so they would never be taken to the Little Palace, and they succeeded. But where they lived everyone knew who they were and were feared for it, so when my mother was pregnant with me they decided to escape from there." The words came out of your mouth without difficulty, as if you had lived it yourself and were not just a listener who loved to talk to her parents about her life before you. "They were always afraid that their powers would be discovered, so they never settled anywhere and lived mainly hidden in the forests. And that's where I was born, and then my little brother."

"How old is your brother?" You were grateful that he cut you off to ask that question, if you kept talking tirelessly you were going to collapse and you wouldn't be able to hold back your tears anymore.

"Now he will be nine. We are ten years apart." You took a breath before staring at him and picking up your story where you left it. "We lived on petty theft, we never had much stuff. But one day, when I was sixteen and my brother was six, they took us on a too long journey to Os Alta. One night they went to what they told us would be the last robbery, and I followed them together with Misha..."

"Misha?"

"My brother."

"Sure, please continue." His tone of voice had become more serious, and for a few seconds you missed that privateer with his characteristically humorous tone. But you couldn't go back to him anymore.

"I entered hidden as a servant. Everything was going well until two guards appeared with our parents and cut their throats in front of all the guests and your dear father, the king."

"About the latter I can show doubts."

You ignored his comment and continued talking, not giving much thought to what he had said.

"My brother saw it and called them. Then the king ordered us to be arrested. We managed to escape and went into a room." You grabbed the chair across from the other side of the desk and carefully sat down. Remembering everything was going to be more painful than you thought. "A boy of my age was there, and he helped us escape. And while he was looking for something, I found my father's duffel bag in the corner. I took it without knowing what was inside, I swear. Then he gave us a bag of money and he left us alone in his secret tunnel."

"My secret tunnel." He said emphasizing the first word, offering you a glass of brandy he had prepared.

"Your secret tunnel... Your secret tunnel!" You almost spat out the liquid that was already dripping down your throat. For all the saints, it can't be. That couldn't be happening, it was... "Impossible."

"Improbable." His lopsided smile reappeared, and your heart skipped a beat. Could he stop being so charismatic in such serious moments? "Right now my curiosity was eating me for know what had happened to that pretty girl who stole my heart."

"We didn't even speak to each other."

"Oh, the magic of love."

If you hadn't found yourself in that situation, your laughter would already be filling the air between the fabrics that made up the small room, although his curious look also made you contain yourself.

"Did you already know who I was when I went to your ship?"

"Let's not get ahead of the facts." Ugh, how you hated when he acted like that; even though you liked it too at the same time. "Please continue."

"We escaped to the coast by walking, trying to spend as little money as possible. One night, when my brother was sleeping, I decided to open my father's sack and I found the crown."

"Ravka's queen's crown, right?" Nikolai couldn't help but fix his gaze on your head, where that same jewel you were talking about still rested.

"I only needed to guess its value to know what my parents wanted to do with it. Gregori, my father, was a durast so he could separate the materials so it didn't look like a crown and sell them. When I was little they told me the dream they had; they wanted to open a repair shop that was also an apothecary. I put the dots together very quickly."

"Is that why your dream of settling down?" His voice sounded pained, as if a part of his body was being taken away by saying those words.

"Yes. But it's not only to fulfill their dream, but also to achieve mine." You rested the palms of your hands on your knees, they were sweaty due to the nervousness that had invaded you a while ago. "I know that I'm just a squaller, and that at least my mother was a heartrender, but I also want to open an apothecary like her."

"As a mere prince second in line but a very famous pirate at sea... I tell you it's possible."

"Privateer." You couldn't help anymore but laugh. His confusion with his title had broken through that little wall you'd built to not show any emotion. Damn Nikolai.

"I love it when you quote me." He smiled, reaching out his hand and taking yours in it, giving small caresses with his thumb as he had done the night before on your back. "But at least I managed to make you laugh."

"If Mal discovers that with me you allow yourself to be called a pirate..."

"I'm sure he'll understand, and if he doesn't I'll keep calling him 'the sun summoner's guest'." He released your hand and rested his gaze again on the crown. "Please continue."

"Sometimes we would stay in one place for a while taking advantage of the harvest season to earn some money. And we stayed like that for several months until we reached the coast, and luckily I heard your search for crew. What better than a grisha squaller to make the wind blow when the captain wants?"

"And you came to me..."

"Let's not get ahead of the story, Sturmhond." He laughed when he heard how you said the same thing as him and he looked at you with curiosity; wanted to know more. "When I was sure what I wanted... I had to do something horrible that I regret. I wasn't going to lead my brother into a life as a privateer with so many dangers, so I left him in an orphanage where I spent all the coins to him be accepted. I left there while he was asleep and then I met you."

"Oh, for all the saints." He quickly got up from his seat and ran to hug you tight. He didn't like to see how you were about to break after telling everything.

"I still have a lot of anger against you Sturmhond."

"But surely you can forgive me with a kiss."

"Forget it Sturmhond, I won't even touch you with a stick." You raised your hands to your head and grabbed the crown to return it to him; but he placed his hands on top of yours and left there. "What are you doing?"

"I've already made you rule the seas, so you deserve a crown. And in Ravka I can share with you the duchy of Udova, then you'll have to conform with just one of those."

From his bright eyes and that look, you knew he wasn't kidding, and however you weren't sure what to say, you blurted out the first thing that came to your mind.

"With those nice words you're going to get me to touch you with a stick."

"I would thank you all my life."

#grishaverse #shadow and bone #grisha #leigh bardugo #nikolai lantsov #nikolai x y/n #nikolai x reader #nikolai duology #rule of wolves #king of scars #x y/n #x reader

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