#especially in this plot where the gods are afraid and reaching for anything

[12pt-times-new-roman]

I am chewing on the description of the Matron of Ravens being "panicked... and maybe a touch cowardly." hell yeah, give me tender, bleeding flesh on the god that used to be human. give me humanity underlying the monstrosity of the divine. for the god whose whole deal is hiding her face and name behind her mask, let that facade slip in the way she's so afraid of because now, something else scares her more.

[midnight--sadness]

(yr anon!)

the stuff u said about inho elevating gihun to a god was sooo good ugh u best believe gihun’s making him a devoted follower

THE ARES APHRODITE COMPARISON TOO UGGAG UR BRAIN!! and yet again the parallel to sangwoo!!! now you got me hoping we get some hands reaching for each other/hand holding in season 3 im rooting for their happy ending im sure this will age well

OH i saw ur ethel cain rec!! ur so right it fits them so well!! esp the little bit in ur screenshot? god these two are gonna kill me, the way i want them to hold each other like the other would break if they squeezed too hard and the way i also want them eat each other alive

mm todays music recs!

for inhun

• ‘you send me’ sam cooke

• ‘unforgettable’ nat king cole

• ‘ill be seeing you’ billie holiday

i think inho is fond of romantic oldies like this + he wants that fly me to the moon moment sooo bad

for inho

• ‘tipsy’ chloe x halle

(hes so normal)

(rip the homie jungbae)

for sangwoo

• ‘mood’ by sir ft zacari

do anything for the cash + the gunshots + give me space let me breathe (him pushing gihun away during their games) need an edit of him to this so bad

for sangihun

• ‘chove chuva’ jorge ben jor

• ‘funny honey’ (chicago)

ok walk with me i hope u see the vision, ignoring the context, this is sooo post season 1 confession sangihun ghost au to me

after sangwoo’s death, all the anger between them dissipates (the way it’d never would if sangwoo was alive) and results in sangwoo being sooo nice to gihun (who unfortunately cannot hear him and is hoping sangwoo is somewhere nicer than here) like he’s soo tender and sweet.

constantly attempts to leave little kisses on gihuns hands, face, etc (took him a while to get to this point but hes so desperate to touch and comfort gihun, his prides out the window, he knows hes pathetic) hes constantly chatting to gihun (who again CANNOT hear him and is spending everyday quietly stewing and plotting) hes out here asking gihun what he wants to eat and tsking about the house being dirty etc

partly because being a ghost prob makes someone sentimental and eager to talk to people they’d be distant with in life,

partially because i think, at the beginning, maybe theres a moment where gihuns grieving and in denial and so he pretends sangwoo is with him like they survived together and sangwoos concerned, especially when its MONTHS of this and gihuns not really living or taking care of himself but part of him so happy to have his hyung’s attention… theyre both pretending the games didnt absolutely shred them apart

one day, gihun has a moment where he drags finally himself out of this denial stage, says his goodbye to sangwoo and gets ready to leave to america etc

sangwoos relieved mostly, heartbroken partially but overall understanding of course, and happy for his hyung. hes thinking about leaving too cuz as long as gihuns happy the worlds ok, this new chapter of life will be kinder to him than the last one

and then. gihun doesnt get on the plane, he spirals trying to find a way to stop the games etc and of course sangwoo is pleading to nobody about how this is very stupid and how gihuns gonna get himself killed, who does he think he is going up against a giant criminal death game organization like NO ONE WOULD DO THAT?

no one would do that… and suddenly his chest is full of honey and pride and hes fawning over gihun so bad, like dont get him wrong hes still worried and afraid but also hes feeling proud and loved cuz for the first time in months gihuns speaking to him, about him, gihuns offering him justice and promises to deliver no matter what. (i will destroy what took you from me, at the cost of my sanity and wellness i will avenge you)

and sangwoo… it makes him sick thinking about it but also so so proud of his strong, brave hyung, hes allowing himself to be impressed with gihuns audacity (for once) (if he was alive this would be a different story, hes not entertaining this shit, but as a ghost he’s not thinking clearly and cant help preening about how special and nice his hyung is, its like they’re kids again and hes just happy to be apart of the team, side by side with someone dear to him)

maybe sangwoo lets himself be very indulgent and unembarrassed cuz he’s mentally broken up about EVERYTHING (and also hes really the only one around who cares if hes being embarrassing hes dead anyway)

to me the lyrics are a perfect mix of sweet gooeyness and teasing on sangwoo’s part, hes watching gihun prep n fuss, and gihuns sooo not qualified for this but hes TRYING, logically he knows this is gonna be a mess but also hes getting wrapped up in gihun’s delusions too

torn between imagining Amos’s part as either gihun’s reaction to the youngil/inho reveal (with the roxie parts being replaced by inho, sangwoo’s ghost is very offended this) orrrr inho crashing out cuz gihun’s got sangwoo in his head still idkkk im thinkinnn it doesnt fit too perfectly either way im not stressin im here for sangwoo serenading his hubby

(in a perfect world sangwoo is gooey about gihun the way gihun is gooey about him, crazy it takes him dying for it)

for the trio ™️

• ‘el único’ by ca7riel & paco amoroso (specifically the tiny desk version cuz the way they sing “WE’VE BEEN FUCKING THE SAME GIRLLL” scratches an itch in my brain) makes me picture a no games au sangwoo and inho are coworkers and realize they both have a friends with benefits situation w/ gihun (they werent even aware the other knew gihun!)

(then they crash out together cuz they figure that means hes got a whole roster of men hes hiding from them and now they’re teaming up to cockblock everyone else whos a little too close for comfort, vague on if theyre right or not, this has been said before im still waiting for someone to write it 🫶 im greedy tho i also want them to not only defeat gihuns 7 evil sidehoes but also have to win the affection of the horde of kids who claim him as their father figure, and the gaggle of women who claim theyre his best friends ever, these guys gotta WORK for it im talking 100,00 words of them being humiliated at several work events and parties, dragged through different shopping centers, parks etc, squeezed financially, mugged, i mean this shit goes on and on before theyre deemed Good ‘Nough by jungbae after gihun mentions how happy they make him and suddenly everyone is cool about too lol

by the time its all over theyre not even trying to fight each other anymore, they just work out a timeshare schedule and trade the hubby back and forth.)

thats it for now! bonus rec cuz i know u like daeho/gihun i think it’d make u laugh to picture them while listening to ‘damn thats my mama!’ by joshua crawford ^_^

have a nice one, thanks again for lettin me yap i appreciate it!

ahh i'm glad you liked my recs and my insane rambles abt these idiot men 😩🥹🙏

inho definitely loves the oldies!! in fact, vera lynn's "we'll meet again" was playing in his head when he had that convo with gihun in the limo!

OH MY GOD THAT SANGIHUN GHOST SANGWOO AU IS SOO GOOOD!! 😭😩

sangwoo only being his true self when he is dead because he no one has any expectations of him, he can be who he wants to be - a patethic, yearning fool for his hyung 💖

AND OH MY GOD THE INHUN/SANGIHUN AU WHERE THEY SHARE GIHUN 💖💖💖💖💖 10/10, i need them to grovel on the floor and prove that they love gihun and are worthy of being with him 😭😭😭 need saebyeok to pickpocket them 950327 times and steal their money

thank u for the daehun gift 😩🙏 they are my sweet rarepair

you are very welcome!! everyone can yap as much as they want here!!! 🫶😌

[iaka-linksar]

[Otome game] OverRequiemZ - Ramblings

This isn't really a review, but more of a jumble of my impressions and thoughts over what I played of OverRequiemZ. This will be full of spoilers, so don't read ahead if you don't want to be spoiled about the game.

As usual, I'm not a completionist, so I didn't bother playing all the routes (especially since the ones I played were mostly pretty mid). Thus, I'll only talk about (and judge (¬ ¬ ) ) what I played.

Kaize Fact ✅ Dark ✅

Claude Fact ❌ Dark ❌

Molly Fact ❌ Dark ✅

Noil Fact ❌ Dark  ± ✅

Dorothy Fact ❌ Dark ❌

First Kaize... Where do I even start lol. I won't say I'm disappointed since I wasn't really expecting anything, but... His route still leaves a sour taste in my mouth.

Imo he was the most good-looking member of the cast by far (why aren't there more black-haired lis out there (≖︵≖) ). It was also my first encounter with his seiyuu Azakami Youhei (and I was so charmed by his voice that I'm now hesitating to buy Money Parasite just for him (*/_＼) ). Needless to say the voice acting was the best part of the route.

I played Kaize's fact route first, and it was just dumb reveals after dumb reveals + the plot desperately trying to make me cry about Kaize by showing 534682 randomass pnj charas calling him a monster.

Overall, Kaize was so emo. So so so emo. God I thought I would never reach the end of his fact route because of how utterly indifferent I felt towards his misery.

Usually, I don't like emo boys. (This might come across as surprising (?) given the way I write Dazai in my fanfics, but I don't consider the way I write Dazai to be emo. Or at least, it isn't meant to be an emo that very badly wants the reader to cry and pity the character.) What I usually dislike about emo characters is that most of the time, they're written as this super sad and pitiful chara who didn't deserve what happened to him and is completely defined by the fact he is A POOR BOY. Sigh.

And here, once again, the writing didn't do Kaize any favor. Like no, it's not because I ran into 17 random villagers, soldiers and children calling him a monster that I will feel sorry for him. It doesn't work like that. By the way, the number of times the word "monster" is used in this game is ridiculous. If you don't know the word 化け物, trust me, you will learn it with this game.

And the brother plot... I have no words to describe how much I despised the brother plot. "So hello, I'm the villain of the route. And I'm actually Kaize's dead brother, whom I cared very much about (despite everyone fearing him because of his black hair — and do I even go on about how stupid this whole black hair fear ordeal is, because hair dying techniques already existed in antiquity mind y— ), but since my hate for everything and everyone is so deep, I'm going to tell him I was afraid of him all this time and call him a monster. But in the end, I'll go back to my kind self and tell him I actually loved him because he is my little brother uwu" (눈_눈) No. Just no.

At some point, he was calling Kaize a demon when he had demon wings himself. WHAT IS YOUR PROBLEM (ノ°益°)ノ (And I know the whole point of this was to point at how ironic the situation was, but the way it was written just made the whole scene ridiculous.) Anyway, I'm barely scraching the surface of how badly written this character is because I could produce 10 other paragraphs about him, so I'll just stop here to keep this post from being a total rant lol.

Let's talk about things I liked instead. In Kaize's fact route, there were a total of 2 scenes I liked. The one where Yuhiru asks Kaize what he wants, and he answers he wanted to be loved by his mother, admired by his father, and appreciated by his brother. This was probably the only time when Kaize very simply said he just wanted to be loved without talking about all this monster bullshit.

The second one was the moment when Kaize said he didn't want to kill the demon who led his father to death because he wanted to avenge his father. It was because he wanted the recognition of his people, and the admiration of his father. Like omg, some character development, can you expand on that please. Don't let this be a random line thrown in the final battle for no reason, please don't brush it off, pl— It doesn't work well when I beg a game to be good.

So basically, I felt nothing while playing this route, and the plot trying to make me sob about poor little lonely Kaize made everything worse.

After dragging myself through Kaize's fact route, I went into his dark route with 0 expectation apart from good voice acting.

I have to admit it started well (at least, as well as it can do with an overall one-dimensional chara). I liked how Kaize started getting dependent on Yuhiru. Too bad Yuhiru didn't grow dependent on him as well. Instead, we got the standard yandere development. Which wasn't too bad I guess. I even liked the overall idea of the route (being Kaize doing everything he could to have Yuhiru by his side, but Yuhiru just staying because she's afraid of him, and in the end, Kaize was still this lonely being despite having Yuhiru next to him).

The "dream" end wasn't bad either. I guess I just like codependency plot better than yandere plot. I would've been really happy if that route had gone down the codependency path, but that's how it is.

Overall, my only real complaint about the dark route is that the game doesn't do great when trying to make you care about its characters, so I didn't feel anything while reading it.

Soooo about Molly's dark route. I actually enjoyed it for the most part. The quest chapters were fine — even though it failed (like every other ones) to make me attached to the character. I even really enjoyed the beginning of the dark route when they grew codependent on each other. That part with her fainting regularly was really well done, and I was actually surprised when I learned the truth.

I thought Yuhiru learning about her own trauma, then forgetting about it again, would've been a great spot to end the route, but of course they had to go further and make Molly even more yandere. Also, for some reason, when Yuhiru becomes aware of her own trauma, she doesn't get more traumatized but instead actually recovers some lucidity??? That was weird.

I won't talk very long about all the stuff going on with the eyeballs, because that ended up being quite ridiculous. You know, when you read that very very trashy idea that's just too trashy and gore to be taken seriously. (I mean, okay, there are probably very weird people out there who would decorate their room with eyeballs in bottles, but would there be that many that a freaking eyeballs traffic is born?) Well, whatever, that's probably just the game trying to be edgy and dark.

Onto Noil, now. I don't have a lot of things to say about him. His quest chapters were boring and dull. At this point, I was too bored to even pretend to care and took forever to get to his dark route. Also, I can't take a guy named Yuujin seriously. Like really, Yuujin? Like 友人? And he's his best friend? I sure didn't see this coming.

After I played dark 6, I got even more bored (especially since Otomate spoiled their own plot twist with a promo cg (○ ｀ｰ´)○☆)ﾟoﾟ)/ ) then, I fell sick and was dead beat for a week. Then... I didn't have the energy to pick the game back, so I just left Noil there lfskdfjsdk

Poor Noil, he probably didn't deserve that, but I honestly couldn't bring myself to care about anything in his route.

Imo, OverRequiemz is a very mid game. There is yandere and trash content, but it sure would've been better if I cared about the characters.

It had potential tho. I really liked the choice concept, with choices that don't matter, choices who give you a voice line in the menu, and only two choices that decide the path you get on. Unfortunately, the choices that were supposedly important didn't feel that meaningful. I thought I'd get a choice that would be difficult to make, that would make room for character development. Instead, I just got standard otome choices.

The soundtrack was pretty mid as well. The bgms sound pretty, but I don't feel any emotions from them. There were 2 soundtracks that I really liked tho.

廃墟の深層 was great, especially when used when that interdimensional crack opened and red snow fell. The atmosphere was very ethereal and mystic.

タイトル was a great menu music. Very soft and gentle.

On the bgm topic tho, that fucking 悲しみと許し violin music can go to hell. Aweful.

Overall, OverRequiemZ felt like a checklist game with no soul:

Chapter 1 : slice of life stuff ✓

Chapter 2 : slice of life stuff with some reveals about li's traumatic past with sad violin music ✓

Chapter 3 : slice of life stuff with a romantic scene ✓

Chapter 4 : more reveals about li's traumatic past with even more sad violin music ✓

Chapter 5 : action scene with a randomass choice at the end ✓

Chapter 6-9 fact : dumb reveals with even moooooore sad violin music ✓

Chapter 10 fact : final battle with cool battle cg ✓

Chapter 6-8 dark : mc and li growing kind of codependent on each other ✓

Chapter 9-10 dark : li getting yandere af because of mc suddenly isn't so dependent on him anymore for ??? reason ✓

If I had to summarize my opinion on OverRequiemZ, it would be "I DON'T CARE." Or, as we say in French:

[merlinfromberlin]

Hi :D

You have no idea how excited I was when I got the ALLOR chapter 5 update email and by god it did not disappoint

anyway, I was just wondering whether Bumblebee has a sparkbond with Optimus? because you mention Bumblebee's bond with Ratchet but not Optimus?

Hi ^^

That's great to hear! I was incredibly excited to finally be working on it again. :D Very happy to hear that you liked it. :D

No, in ALLOR specifically Bee does not have a sparkbond with Optimus or his other caregivers, but only with Ratchet. I'll explain why, but put it below a cut because, technically, it'll be adressed/talked about later in the story and, thus, is spoilers even though it's not that relevant to the plot.

When Bee first emerged from the Well of Allsparks, he was not taken in by Optimus & Co. immediately. Instead, he was first raised by and bonded to a small group of mecha (I think maybe from Praxus? Can't check because I don't have my notes with me; ultimately it's not that important where exactly they lived) that perished in a Decepticon attack while Bee survived.

As Bee was still very young at that point, his spark was not stable on its own (like not AT ALL) and, when Autobot Search and Rescue Teams arrived, he was basically fluxing really badly. His spark was on the brink of teetering out and, in its panic, reaching out for ANY adult Cybertronian around in a really desperate attempt to stabilise itself. It just kinda happened to be Ratchet who first came close enough for Bee to latch onto. Which was also very lucky because Ratchet had the knowledge to stabilise him.

I imagine that it was kinda awkward when Ratchet kinda randomly brought Bee home from the rescue mission after that. Especially because he not only bonded to that sparkling, but also got attached to him really fast. Just: "Hey. I found this sparkling and I have only had him for half a cycle, but if anything happened to him, I would first kill everyone in this room and then myself"-typa energy.

At first, they (as in the Prime polycule composed of Optimus, Ironhide, Elita and Ratchet) planned to acclimate him to someone else and send him to neutral territory. But, then everyone else also got attached to Bee, too, and so, they ultimately decided to keep raising him. (It probably also helped their decision that, at that point, it became obvious that not even neutral territories where safe from being attacked by Cons.)

Bee has not (yet) formed sparkbonds with his other caregivers for several reasons. However, the main one being that his spark simply was not stable enough to do so for a very long time. Even though he was found and rescued by Ratchet, Bee's spark was ultimately still without the necessary support from adult sparks for a kinda long period of time. As in: it's a miracle he even survived that long on his own kinda amount of time. And that took a toll on his spark, making him prone to fluxes and growing pains and always a little delayed in growth and just, generally, unstable.

Eventually, that would smooth over and settle, but before that happened, they were afraid that introducing more sparkbonds before Bee's spark had settled would upset what precarious balance Bee's spark had found with Ratchet and harm him more than help him.

And then, by the time they were sure that Bee's spark had set, the War had escalated even further and it was hard to arrange the cerenomy. There was always someone that was sent onto a mission somewhere and even if they had time together, it was always short-lived. Then, at some point, there was also Tyger Pax and after that Bee's spark was, once again, not stable enough for bonding. As it turns out, being tortured almost to death is not very conductive for your health.

Then, they left Cybertron with the Ark and by the time a bonding ceremony would have been viable again, they had to evacuate the Ark and Ratchet, Optimus and Bee were separated from Ironhide and Elita (and Roddy who was also raised by the Prime polycule, but is older than Bee and was officially taken in by them shortly before the start of the War).

And now that OP, Ratchet and Bee are stuck on Earth without the other three, they might have the opportunity and ability to perform a bonding ceremony with only the three of them, but... they kinda don't want to. Like, it's a whole family thing - all of them or no one. It would just feel wrong to do it without the others. And, just because they are not bonded, does not mean that they are less of a real family. They have, after all, been a family for a very long time now. So, they are waiting for when they get all back together to perform the bonding ceremony.

Optimus, Ironhide and Elita absolutely do act just as much as Bee's parents as Ratchet does, though. They are just not bonded.

I'm sorry that it's so complicated. ^^" Honestly, I am not even sure when or why I made it this complicated. It's not that relevant to the plot.

I think that maybe it was in response to plotting out another story (Champions Aren't Born) and realising that I was going to have to focus more on Bee and Optimus' relationship there than I first anticipated (not a bad thing, I'm really excited for that, too; just different from what I first wanted to do with that story), so I wanted this one to put Bee and Ratchet in the foreground.

TLDR: Basically, Optimus, Elita-1, Ironhide and Ratchet raised/are raising Bee (and Hot Rod, for that matter except they actually took him in before the War) as a group effort even though Ratchet is the only one who has a sparkling bond to him. They do plan on remidying that, but only once they all get back together.

[readercognito]

A Nearly Sleepless Night

Modern!Sherlock x Reader

(yes, it's got a truth potion plot point.)

(Y/n)’s peaceful slumber was rudely interrupted by the telltale ringing of her cell. Blindly reaching to the charging device she barely managed to get a look at the caller ID before she groggily slapped it against her ear. 

“What on earth are doing calling me at-” I lift up the phone, eyes tearing up due to how bright my screen was. “-2 A.M. John?” I mumbled into the receiver.

“It’s Sherlock, he needs you.” Johns voice crackled over the line, a worried twinge entering his voice at the last two syllables.

But I was too fogged with sleep to notice “Unless he’s dying, he doesn’t need me.”

“I’m really sorry to wake you up (Y/n). But he won't. Stop. TALKING. I'm at my wit's end! He was out on some mad errand and now he's at my home and divulging anything that's come across his mind!" Said John.

"Oh, dear." I said the claws of sleep slowly loosening it's grasp on me. "Tell me poor Mary wasn't anywhere near him…"

"No, thank God. She's asleep, but he's getting louder, and in all honesty I don't know how long this will last." John that thread of worry turning into a full blown tapestry.

I sighed, knowing just what I was going to sacrifice. Just what my dear old friend was alluding to. But I had to give a good night's rest one last try.

"John, do you love me?" I asked pitifully.

"Not that much I'm afraid." Said John, an air of relief in his teasing tone.

I huffed "Fine. Bring the twat over! You owe me a great deal for this."

And just like that, my night was sleepless.

John brought over Sherlock in less than ten minutes after the call. He was unceremoniously shoved into my home without another word, John left. That is where the fun began.

“Sit down on the couch Sherlock so I can look you over”, I commanded.

And like a puppet on strings he rather oddly walked over to my couch and sat down. I shook it off as soreness from a beating he surely had gotten.

His button up and jeans were wrinkled and dirty. Any semblance of his usual leather jacket was nowhere to be seen. He had a split lip, and what looked like a developing shiner. His hair was ruffled and looked a little burnt. All in all he looked like hell. But what really startled me is what came out of his mouth next.

"You look very pretty when you're concerned. About me that is." He blurted.

To be perfectly honest he looked as surprised as I felt. Afterwards he rather promptly (and childishly) slapped his hand over his mouth. A series of muffled mumbles following.

"Aside from that Sherlock, what on earth happened to you? I thought you weren't taking that case with the mob ties." I said, a little disappointed he went against my back for this.

"I lied, I didn't want you getting involved. I can’t stand seeing you-” And back went the hand, a slight blush painting his pale freckled face.

I was getting a little upset by all the mystery right about now. “Shirley if you don’t explain yourself I will tie your hands together behind you! Now stop muffling yourself, and speak to me clearly!”

Then Sherlock did something I really wasn't expecting…

He did exactly as I said.

Sherlock's hand shot from his mouth as if burnt by a hot coal. 

“I can’t stand it when you get hurt. Especially when it’s because of a case I’m on.” He blurted the faint pink of his cheeks starting to redden.

I was shocked to say the very least. Only able to mumble a faint “what?” In my own shock, failing to notice Sherlock desperately trying to cover his mouth. His hand only hovering in front of his mouth. Honestly with the way he treated me most of the time. Well lets just say near constant aloofness, and dismissal of one's general opinions and ideas isn’t really grounds for growing affection. But then again, more recently he’s had moments of a strange gentleness and being unusually thoughtful.

Just last week he had fixed my beloved locket when it broke. It was honestly the most thoughtful thing I had ever seen him do. Which got me thinking thoroughly of our time together, and how protective he’s gotten over the last four months. Getting less and less forthcoming with his exploits, trying to keep me out of entire cases on occasion! Which honestly is more infuriating than anything else, he did hire me to write about his exploits after all. (Since he wasn’t really fond of the paper constantly getting details wrong.) 

I looked at Sherlock, he was unusually quiet and rather fidgety. He sent an nervous glance, and though he was trying to hide it he looked very tense. But strangely still on the exact spot of the couch that he sat on when I asked him to sit on my couch.

Sherlock being the sort of person he is, usually paces or shifts from chair to chair, often room to room. Usually by this point in the conversation we would be in the kitchen or even my bathroom by this point. But here he was still as a statue, on my couch. 

“Sherlock, please don't keep secrets from me. You look like you’ve been through the ringer, and you’re acting weird... Well, weirder than usual.” I said sitting next to him. 

Sherlock winced, then spouted.

“It wasn’t just tied to the mob. It was a trap, I was so stupid! How did I not see something so obvious!” Sherlock puts his head in his hands. Looking defeated and frustrated.

I put my hand on his shoulder, in an effort to comfort him. I knew he hated feeling outdone, or worse out thought…

"Why don't you tell me what happened?" I asked softly.

It turns out that the “missing” man wasn't missing at all. He was a murder victim of The Vipers, a new and ruthless gang. The police had been trying to find the gang’s hideout but everytime they got close the Vipers moved and the police had to start from square one. Sherlock had been asked to be brought in, but refused because the case didn’t sound “exciting enough”. He thought that the mysterious murder he took up was related to the Vipers. He got more interested and even found the Vipers Current hideout. Unfortunately, that was exactly what the Vipers had wanted. After a heated scuffle, he was knocked out, and when he had come too there was the Viper leader. Gage Boyd, spent ten years in the clink for the murders of three fifteen year-old girls, though the police (and Sherlock, who had actually put him behind bars) believed there were more. 

Gage bragged about the supposed "obedience serum" saying that he would make Sherlock tell all that he knew. Which Sherlock being himself, meant an awful lot.

"Is Steven safe?" I asked, worried for our mutual friend.

"Yes, his cover is intact. I was able to make my escape before any truly important information was wrestled from me. But it seems that their 'serum' has quite a long lasting effect…" said Sherlock, his hands fidgeting with the remnants of this shirt.

"Oh, so what you said…" I trailed off.

"Yes, it was due to the serum." He said. Refusing to look me in the eye.

"Sherlock, what were you saying before about me going on cases?" I asked, sitting next to him.

The redness in his cheeks returned full force and fidgeting but seemingly unable to move from his spot on the couch. 

"W-well with what ha-happened with the last case we were on I-" He stopped for a moment, seeming to reminisce…

Ah yes the last case I was on… let's just say some nasty men got a little too close to me for comfort.

"I don't want to have you in that situation ever again. I-I don't know what I'd do with myself if you really got hurt. I lo- I love you too much for that…" he said pulling at his shirt collar, as if trying to hide the furious blush creeping down his neck.

I'm not going to lie, I was shocked. Not in a bad way mind you, because I had been harboring feelings for the scruffy detective for the last two months.

"You might not believe me Sherlock," I said then grabbed his hand, shocking him out of his crimson stupor. "But I might just love you too…"

Sherlock turned to me, a soft smile adorning his face. I nearly recoiled, this was an expression I haven’t ever seen my shrewd detective wear. But honestly it was something I could get used to. 

I then remembered what time it was, and my first "order".

"Oh Sherlock I'm so sorry! You can move however you like now… and you don't have to tell me anything you don't want to. I'm so sorry for forcing any of this on you..."

Sherlock stood slowly, as if getting used to having legs all over again. After getting used to gravity again, he turned and fixed me with the softest look I had ever seen from him.

"It's… alright. I don't blame you for any of it, you didn't-couldn't have possibly known of my condition. In all honesty, I had thought the toxin would have worn off by now…" he said that defeated tone creeping in towards the end.

"Now Sher-" I was about to say 'now Sherlock don't worry about that' but to avoid ordering him around. I said "Whatever happens we'll get through this."

And so ends a nearly sleepless night.

[dayxero]

Alright.... I gotta get this off my chest here because I've been pondering this for a while. A small fraction of a MUCH greater rant but... fucking hell am I addicted to @aychama's art. Like on a oddly surreal level. I absolutely adore the portrayal of these two together and the tension and atmosphere always gets me more giddy than a japanese school girl!

However... this comes with one major issue I personally have and know its 100% opinionated and biased. Ain't trying to hurt anyone's feelings but if anyone wants to disagree with or block me if you follow this stupid, idiotic tirade of mine, feel free. I understand and take full responsibility for what I'm about to say...

Ok here goes; aychama has done such an amazing job selling me on the fact that these two are damaged souls, seeking love, understanding and connection, that I get the feeling once The Betrayal occurs, I won't be satisfied in the slightest. It goes back to how in all honesty, I am annoyed with how the majority of the fanbase collective agrees that Narinder is a liar and is morally, evil, despite every aspect of the game subtly going out of its way to prove the opposite and its in fact just the Bishops and later, the Lamb "Player" who are the ones who are evil, and Narinder is a victim of his own hubris. This is one of the reasons why I aggravated towards aychama's portrayal of Narinder so much because he's almost 1-to-1 lined with his representation in the game. He has his own goals and mostly keeps to himself. He's searching for a way to bypass Death to grant not just himself, but everyone he knows true immortality and he hasn't told a single lie to Lambert or anyone he's spoken to.

Aychama's Narinder has yet to preform any acts worthy of being called evil and beyond the spouted opinions of those who envy the Kings, Narinder hasn't done anything wrong. In fact, he seems to be extremely lonely and focused, knowing he's walking a path many will not accept, but is choosing to do so for a reason beyond just a desire to subjugate others for personal pleasure. This lines up perfectly with the game, and especially the DLC where Shamura admits he led the Bishops to attack and bind Narinder, because he was afraid if Narinder granted mortals immortality, mortals would feel no need to rely on their Gods and thus, they would lose power and control. They feared that Narinder was going to take those who prayed to him, and eliminate their greatest fears, thus setting them free from Cosmic Law.

That doesn't sound like Narinder was ever evil to begin with and again, its why if Lambert does betray Narinder, I don't think I'll be satisfied, given how their relationship is developing. I know both are currently wearing masks to hide their true goals, disguising their intentions yet are still desperately reaching out for the other and knowing Narinder isn't, or hasn't been shown to be evil, means that despite Lamb supposedly being the protagonist and "hero", would be committing an evil act be it of corruption of power, or for the sake of their own pride and therefore, makes it hard for me to even begin to root for their success. They would be actively killing or enslaving the only person who ever treated them like a person of equal merit, who took time to see them for who they are, and didn't use their vulnerability against them, for wholly selfish reasons that wouldn't gel well with my brain.

Long-Winded, I know but it basically comes down to the idea that, unless aychama goes out of their way to make Narinder comically evil, or have Lambert corrupted so thoroughly that they become everything they hated about the Ruling Class, I can't see the betrayal actually happening. And even then, if and when it does, I get the feeling it won't hit hard because one or both would have to drift so far beyond their current characterizations that they would feel unrecognizable. Of course I can admit that I might be 100% wrong here. For all I know, aychama might pull some awesome plot twist outta their ass and just get me right in the feels or pull a bait-and-switch and go full AU with their own desired outcome or ending that they're holding onto. Either way...... this is probably my second favorite version of the NariLamb pairing because I love how raw, sensual and passionate it feels. I'm a sucker for two broken people desperately relying on each other and giving up everything to maintain that love and connection. I just hope that whatever ending they have planned, won't leave an empty feeling on the series because I'm drooling over this couple like a fat kid at a candy store and it never fails to leave me thirsty for more god damnit! lol

You guys know how it’s said that cats purr heals? Yea…

[lloydfrontera]

Spoilers for the end of the webnovel

God i still feel a little bitter on how it's never properly adressed how Javier told Lloyd he knew the situation of him not really being Lloyd bc like did he tell him??? When he came knocking on KSH's door did they chat for a while, hang out before coming back??? I need ANSWERRS like you cannot tell me Javier didn't want to gatekeep him a little, especially after knowing how Alicia feels for Lloyd

dude i know. i Know.

i understand why the author decided not to write it out, but that doesn't mean i have to like it lmao

it's just!!! i wanted to see it so bad!! this was what the entire novel was leading to, this was the cathartic moment we've been waiting for the whole time, this was the conversation that was pending from the very beginning,,, and they skipped it!!

it was a good scene but don't misunderstand me!

suho crying in his goshiwon, grieving the life and loved ones he left behind, completely devastated about going back to his horrible life only for javier to come knocking at his door, a teary smile on his face saying how much he'd missed him? dear god i think i'm having an aneurysm all over again where was i again-

oh yeah, great scene, i wouldn't actually change anything about it.

BUT WHY DIDN'T THE NEXT CHAPTER COVER THEIR CONVERSATION???

like??? hello?? this was the most important moment of the whole novel??? of the entire plot?? javier and lloyd/suho?? finally seeing each other face to face, no lies, no misunderstandings, just them together for the first time since they know each other??

and you decide to skip it?!?!?!

there were so many things they needed to talk about! about javier knowing who lloyd was for so long! about lloyd never telling javier the choice was between his or javier's life! about, i don't know, LLOYD DYING BECAUSE HE COULDN'T BEAR TO LIVE WITHOUT JAVIER? MAYBE???

y'know lloyd was a mess that entire conversation, just sobbing his heart out because he thought he'd never see any of them again, he'd lost all hope of being happy ever again, and then here's javier at this doorstep, telling him he'd missed him so much and that he was there to take him home, after probably annoying a whole ass dragon in order to cross universes just to get to him,,, like man, how do you even react to that beyond crying rivers of tears

and javier. Javier is just. staring. drinking in the sight of the person he swore to protect and failed and who died in front of his eyes and is now here, in front of him, crying yes but breathing and wonderfully alive. and he looks different, it's not the face he's used to, not the voice he's listened to as he fell asleep for years now, but it's lloyd, it's his lloyd and he's alive and javier would take him in any shape or form he could come in as long as he came back home with him.

it's like the mastodons incident but a thousand times worse and javier grabs lloyd's hand because he's afraid he'll vanish at any moment, that he'll look away and lloyd will be gone again, gone somewhere javier can't reach him once more.

and this time lloyd grabs back because he's afraid he's dreaming, that he finally cracked and his mind is playing tricks on him because it can't deal with the pain of having lost everything again. but javier's hand is solid and firm and real and it doesn't take away all the fear, but it does settle it a bit.

and they talk yes, there's so much to say, so many questions to ask and they're both trying to pretend they're not aching to grab the other and run back to the frontera estate, lloyd because he can't stand to be one second more in the place he spent so much time alone and hurt and tired and scared and javier because he doesn't trust this place that hurt his master so badly he can still see the open wounds even as lloyd pretended to be a whole another person and he just wants to take lloyd to a place javier knows and trusts and can keep him safe in (even though, a bitter part of his mind says, he hasn't done that great of a job to this point)

when they finally do leave, they can't do it quickly enough

but!! you're so right about javier wanting to gatekeep lloyd for a bit after getting him back, i can totally see him just,,, taking a bit longer than absolutely necessary to get them home, wanting to bask on lloyd's presense just a little bit longer, wanting to be alone with him just one more moment before sharing him with the rest of the world because he knows it's very unlikely they'll get another quiet moment just the two of them once everyone else knows lloyd is alive.

and lloyd lets him because he's both very nervous about finally talking to his parents with no pretenses nor lies between them (which,,, that conversation deserves its own post tbh) and because he also just wants to be with javier for a bit longer. marvel in the fact that they're both alive, that they're both ok, that neither of them has to die anymore. that things will maybe be alright now.

that maybe, just maybe, he can have his happy ending too.

it's maybe the happiest he's ever been in his entire life.

[meltwonu]

| 𝔲𝔫𝔱𝔦𝔩 𝔦 𝔪𝔢𝔱 𝔶𝔬𝔲 |     [Chapter 1] 

pairing; fratboy!wonwoo x reader

this chapter’s notes; fratboy!wonwoo, dom!wonwoo, dirty talk, masturbation, sex toys, mentions of sexting/sending photos/videos, baby this has hella plot lmao dkhf 🥴💕 WELCOME TO UNTIL I MET YOU!! THE MINI-SEQUEL TO CAFFEINE! A bit of a shorter chapter but I didn’t want to overload with too much everything in the first chapter, ykwim? 😎 Thank you so much for your patience with this sequel, I know there were a ton of people asking for a sequel for months after I said I would 💕😭😭 As always, inbox roundup tomorrow! And don’t forget, next chapter for UIMY goes up on Feb 26th! T|H ch 1 next Friday! 🥰💕 Enjoy ch 1, have a great weekend and I love you! 💕

chapters; 1 - x - x - x - x

“Mmh… Wonwoo…”

His hands roam all over your naked body; warmth spreading all over when he digs his blunt fingernails into the skin of your waist.

“Feels good, doesn’t it? Did you miss me, sweetheart?” His voice is soft, gentle, yet teasing; barely above a whisper as your back bows off of the bed to lean into his simple touches. “I missed you, sweetheart. Missed your ‘lil cunt too.”

A choked sob falls from your lips, followed quickly by rushed, hurried cries for Wonwoo to move faster.

“Don’t you want me to take my time? We haven’t seen each other in months.” 

There’s a smirk on his lips, eyes twinkling with mischief when you reply back with a shaky whine. “Don’t you want me to slide my cock into your pretty ‘lil pussy nice ‘n slow? Let you feel every inch of me filling you up, just like it’s the first time all over again.” He stares at you dreamily; fixated on the way your body chases his hands when he drags them down to your thighs. “Or would you prefer it if I fucked you hard and fast? Your cute body squirming and trembling from how good I give it to you and my cock slamming into your tight ‘lil cunt.”

Wonwoo’s fingertips spread your folds as he licks his lips; appreciating how wet you already were for him.

“Bet your toys don’t feel as good as the real thing, huh?”

You shake your head ‘no’ furiously, “N-no, god, no! Wonwoo, p-please!” The male grins down at you, pouting mockingly at your desperate, pleading eyes. 

The wetness between your legs is unbearable and the sobs are caught in your throat when Wonwoo leans over you, lips ghosting across your own.

“Okay. Just say--”

You’re shocked awake by your alarm clock; chest heaving in deep breaths as you sit up in your crumpled sheets. “Oh, fuck...” Groaning, your clammy palms reach for the ringing device as you shut it off and sigh.

The clock reads 10:02AM; tired eyes trying to blink away the sleep that threatens to take you back to the dreamland you much preferred. Although, dreaming about Wonwoo was becoming a little bit too common these last few days.

Sighing once more, you move to get out of bed; already finding your panties soaking wet and sticking to you like a second skin when you stand.

“Ugh... Damn it.”

You press the vibrator harder onto your clit; teeth chattering with the pleasure that pours over your body.

“Oh, god, please, p-please…”

Images of Wonwoo dance behind your eyelids; sultry smirks and teasing glances bringing you closer and closer to the edge of an orgasm.

If there was anything that the last few months without Wonwoo taught you, it was that you couldn’t afford to lose him - in more ways than one. And despite his lack of calls or even text messages, you held out in hopes he still felt the same way that you did despite the distance.

You sent him pictures and videos of yourself often; teasing images half naked, toys in hand, and videos crying out his name while you came. And while he took the time to reply to those with praise and adoration, he almost never sent anything back. 

When he did, it was always short, clipped replies of how exhausted he was and how he didn’t have much time.

“Ngh, h-harder…” Your toes curl against the bedsheet; phantom feelings of his cock fucking you hard and deep making you cry out in desperation to be filled by his cock.

Your phone rings on the nightstand next to you as you cum - vibrator pressed so hard against your clit that your back bows off of the sheets while your thighs shake uncontrollably. 

And for the first time in a long time, it’s an orgasm that feels like it’s worth something.

‘Gyu: hey did wonwoo text u?

‘Gyu: he’s back next monday he said

‘Gyu: idk abt classes tho, might be out of commission for a while bc jetlag

‘Gyu: thinking abt throwing him a party on friday after he comes back...

‘Gyu: u wanna plan with us orrrrr? U got a private party or sth 🥴😏

‘Gyu: lmk

You’re nervous. Shy, even.

After you’d come down from your orgasm and checked your phone, your mind momentarily went blank from shock and the first thing you’d done was text Wonwoo to ask if he was really coming back that soon.

‘Ah, yeah, I was just about to text you. Prof said we can go home early if we wanted since we finished up classes. I’ll see you sometime next week? Jetlag and stuff.’, was all he had said and in your excited state, the only thing you had responded with was an, ‘Okay, great!’, without asking when, where, or what time.

You figured you’d give him some time to readjust instead of bombarding him as soon as he got in. But each second that you knew Wonwoo was home, you found yourself itching to just be in his presence.

You just had to be a little more patient.

Wednesday morning comes and you find yourself skipping your morning class to go to the library.

For studying, you tell yourself.

The male at the receptionist table shoots you a small smile to which you awkwardly smile back before ducking into an empty aisle. All you knew was that it seemed like Wonwoo wasn’t here.

Maybe he’s still at the frat house, you wonder.

Sighing slightly under your breath, you decide that maybe getting some work done would actually help distract you from looking for the male.

You find an empty table, setting your things down before pulling out your phone. 

In all honesty, you weren’t even sure why you were being so shy and nervous about contacting Wonwoo, especially when you so unabashedly sent him nudes every few days when he was away. 

Although, with how things had been before he left and the prospect of actually dating once he came back from his semester abroad - the butterflies in your stomach had been nonstop with the different scenarios that played out in your head. You’d even gone so far as to plan what happened if Wonwoo had decided he didn’t want to make an attempt at dating you.

“Sweetheart?”

The grip you have on your phone only tightens as you whip your head around to find Wonwoo standing behind your chair and you swear your heart stops beating the same time your breath gets caught in your throat. “H-huh?”

He smiles gently down at you and you can’t help but wonder how long you were spaced out to not notice him there. 

“Is this a dream too?” You wonder aloud - Wonwoo chuckling in response as he moves to collect your things for you.

“Have you been dreaming about me that much, sweetheart?” You stutter and stumble over your words; embarrassment eating at you every second that Wonwoo has a knowing smile plastered on his lips.

“C’mon, let’s go get something to eat since we both know you’re not really here to study.”

The version of Wonwoo that sits across the cafe table is… different.

Not bad, just different.

His arms are much tanner and definitely more muscular and the glasses missing from his face lets you appreciate his eyes even more when they’re not hidden behind the thick frames. He had even opted to wear a sleeveless shirt; something that you weren’t used to when he usually was around campus in long sleeves and sweater vests.

Although, you can’t and won’t deny the way your body reacts to this Wonwoo.

“Hey, I’m talking to you and you’re just spacing out.” Muttering, he leans over the small cafe table until his face is only inches away from yours and the smirk on his lips already lets you know that you’ve been caught staring.

“Listen, I know I’ve been gone for three months but you’re lookin’ at me like you haven’t had a fix in all that time.” Your lips press into an embarrassed firm line, avoiding his stare as he raises a brow at you.

“Wait, you didn’t fuck anyone in the three months I was gone?”

“No… did you?” Your voice is barely above a whisper; a little afraid that his answer will be ‘yes’ when he takes a second longer to respond.

“Nah,” He settles back into his seat, “I told you, didn’t I? I was willing to try the whole… dating, relationship thing with you when I got back. Although, I’m somewhat surprised one of the others didn’t try to seduce you while I was gone.”

You laugh slightly, cheeks warm as Wonwoo teases. “I wouldn’t have given them the time of day anyway.”

Your entire body burns hot, palms clammy in your lap from how giddy you were to be with Wonwoo and it made your heart do backflips knowing that he’d still been willing to try with you.

“Ah, how was it abroad anyway? You… didn’t really say much over the past few months so I feel like I don’t know how you were. Just some messages about how tired you were...” He takes a sip of his coffee; unintentionally making you internally scream when his lips form a pout while he thinks.

“Honestly? Other than the days we were excavating ‘n stuff, it was pretty boring. Really hectic though, and a lot of documenting which meant a lot of paperwork. I swear, I closed my eyes and I saw the inside of my textbooks.” He chuckles lightly, eyes focused on the cup of coffee in front of him.

“I just want to say sorry for my lack of communication. I really didn’t expect to be so busy that I couldn’t even pick up a call.” There’s a genuine apologetic look on Wonwoo’s face when he looks back at you. “And the time difference was really rough too. I didn’t want to take it out on you over the phone if I was stressed about not sleeping or the workload. I know we can get a little rough when we ‘play’ but this wasn’t that and it wouldn’t have been fair.”

Oh.

“T-that’s okay, I understand!” Your heart does somersaults in your chest, “I--thank you for thinking about me too.”

The feelings you have bubbling up inside of you make you feel like you’re falling in love for the first time, all over again. “Um… Sorry I sent so many pictures ‘n stuff.”

Wonwoo laughs, this time throwing his head back slightly before he tries to hide his wide grin. “Oh, sweetheart. Don’t apologize.” Your eyes meet his and for a split second, you see the familiar dominating look in his eyes before he leans over the small cafe table again.

“I might’ve not had all the time to entertain you those times but I thought about you alllll the time. I missed everything about you.” His voice is barely above a whisper - careful to not let anyone else in the cafe hear the topic of conversation. “Which, by the way…You piqued my interest earlier with your question. You never really answered my question about having dreams about me.”

You shift in your seat as you avert your eyes from his; eyes flitting down his toned body instead as you mentally curse yourself.

“I… kinda? I m-mean… not normally but just--just these last few days. It’s almost been every night… I wake up and--and it’s just… I’m...” You trail off; somewhat shy to say the rest of what you were going to say even though you’re almost certain Wonwoo already knows.

“Odd. Me too. I kept dreaming about you, which is, honestly, kind of why I thought to come back earlier.”

“Oh?”

“Mm, we still had 2 weeks left, technically. A bit of a spillover since my professor wanted us to explore the city once finals were over. But I just wanted to come home.” He finishes with a chuckle - a soft look in his eyes.

You pout back at him, “You didn’t come home early just for ‘lil ‘ol me, did you?” You say it jokingly, but deep down you do wonder.

“Would that be so bad?” Grinning, Wonwoo sets a couple of bills down onto the table to cover the meals you both barely have touched.

“Like I said, I missed everything about you, sweetheart.”

Wonwoo walks you back to your place afterwards; laughing and joking with you as if he hadn’t been gone for the last 3 months. 

There’s a certain playfulness about him that makes your heart bloom and part of you wonders if he’s opening up to you more now that there’d been some time apart.

“Are you gonna be working at the library again? Or is that done forever now?” “Mm.. I mean, it’d be kind of weird if I stopped, don’t you think?”

The grin of his face is telling and you have to mentally stop yourself from letting your mind wander in the middle of the sidewalk. “Y-yeah... Studying in my apartment isn’t really the same, y’know…”

Laughing, Wonwoo takes the opportunity to swing an arm around your shoulder as he tucks you under his arm. “I was actually at the library earlier to ask about my position back. I start tomorrow.” Goosebumps rise on your skin and the close proximity is enough to make you whimper.

“I’m only taking two classes this semester to give myself a bit of a break so I’ll be in the library more often to fill up the time. You can always call me if you need to know where I am. I promise I’ll respond this time, sweetheart.”

Before you know it, the two of you are already standing outside of your complex as Wonwoo takes his arm off of you.

“Will I be seeing you tomorrow?” There’s a hopeful lilt to his voice that has you nodding feverishly in return.

“I have a morning class but I’ll come by in the afternoon? I can text you to let you know, just in case.” You offer back.

Wonwoo licks his lips, tilting his head before leaning down and kissing you on the forehead.

The soft gesture momentarily throws you off as you freeze but the smoldering look in Wonwoo’s eyes when he pulls away lets you know that he’s already scheming.

“I’ll see you tomorrow, sweetheart.”

[mangxakorado]

Some of the sources mentioned here:

Aeschines 3.41

But I will show you where they get this false assertion. First, however, I will tell the reason why the laws governing the proclamations in the theater were enacted. It frequently happened that at the performance of the tragedies in the city proclamations were made without authorization of the people, now that this or that man was crowned by his tribe, now that others were crowned by the men of their deme, while other men by the voice of the herald manumitted their household slaves, and made all Hellas their witness;

Bacchae 440-450

He remained still, making my work easy, and I in shame said: “Stranger, I do not lead you away willingly, but by order of Pentheus, who sent me.” And the Bacchae whom you shut up, whom you carried off and bound in the chains of the public prison, are set loose and gone, and are gamboling in the meadows, invoking Bromius as their god. Of their own accord, the chains were loosed from their feet and keys opened the doors without human hand. This man has come to Thebes full of many wonders. You must take care of the rest.

Pausanias 9.16.6

Near the Proetidian gate is built a theater, and quite close to the theater is a temple of Dionysus surnamed Deliverer. For when some Theban prisoners in the hands of Thracians had reached Haliartia on their march, they were delivered by the god, who gave up the sleeping Thracians to be put to death. One of the two images here the Thebans say is Semele. Once in each year, they say, they open the sanctuary on stated days.

Artemidorus 2.37

Dionysus signifies benefits for farmers who cultivate fruit trees and especially vines. He is also auspicious for innkeepers and for all kinds of Dionysiac performers. And he is good for those who find themselves in a difficult situation. For he signifies the cessation of misfortunes and release from them because of his name. He is called Dionysus (derived from διανύειν [to finish, bring to an end, accomplish]) because he brings everything to its conclusion. For those who are living a life of luxury and especially for children, he signifies disturbances, dangers, plots, and scandals because of the legend that is connected with him and because of the natural meaning of Dionysus. None the less he saves them and does not allow them to be destroyed. For those travelling on land and by sea, he signifies clearly and distinctly the attacks of robbers, wounds, and slaughters.

But the retinue of Dionysus, such as the Bacchi and the Bacchae, the Bassarae, the satyrs, the Pans, and all those whose names are similar, whether they are all together in a group or each by themselves, signify great disturbances, dangers, and scandals, with the exception of Silenus. For he alone is auspicious for everyone who is about to begin some business venture and for people who are afraid. Dancing in honor of Dionysus, waving a thyrsus, carrying trees in a procession, or doing anything else that is pleasing to the god is inauspicious for all but slaves. For most men, it foretells folly and harm because of the ecstasis of the mental processes and the frenzy, but for slaves, it is a symbol of freedom because of the indifferent attitude of the chance participants and because of the god's nickname and his pleasant behavior.

Tibullus 1.7.41 (Google translated because I couldn't find an English version)

He also moved the members to certain unknown ways;

Bacchus and the farmers have done a lot of work

He gave his breasts to be broken with sorrow;

Bacchus also brings rest to the afflicted mortals,

even though his legs were throbbing with a hard shackle.

At the Anthesteria, and the rural Dionysia, even slaves participated. We are told that for the duration of the City Dionysia prisoners were released from gaol, and that at the same festival the freeing of slaves was announced in the theatre (Aeschines 3.41). Dionysos releases from imprisonment (Bacchae 443–7, 498, 649; Pausanias 9.16.6), and in the dreams of slaves cult for Dionysos signifies freedom (Artemidorus 2.37). Even to chained slaves he brings rest (Tibullus 1.7.41–2). Plutarch (Moralia 613c) and Aelius Aristides (2.331 Keil) state that he releases from everything. At Eretria (308 BC) his cult was deployed to celebrate the liberation of the city, and at Athens (294 BC) the liberator Demetrius Poliorkētēs was associated with Dionysos. The association of the Italian agricultural god Liber with freedom (liber means ‘free’) favoured his identification with Dionysos, an identification that must have contributed to the popularity of this Graeco-Roman deity throughout the Roman empire.

— Gods and Heroes of the Ancient World: Dionysus by Richard Seaford

[danganronpasurvivoraskblog]

To Mod: Besides the obvious characters like Mikan,Chisa,Mukuro,Mahiru and Hajime being poorly written. We also have:

-Juzo who knew Junko was guilt but didn't want to say anything because he'd be outed by his best friend. Which was dumb because the world was at stake.

- Teruteru who canonically interacted with Seiko off screen who makes god-like medicine. But the writers have him requesting aphrodisiacs from her instead of a cure for his mother. Just so they can have that gross soup scene.

-Hiyoko spiking everyone's food, you'd figured she wouldn't do that because Mahiru would be affected by the drugged soup but nope. This scene caused people to hate Teruteru even more.

-Doing absolutely nothing with the rest of Chiaki's classmates.

-Hope's Peak expelling three innocent people because of Nagito commiting terrorism with explosives.

//I'll touch on each point individually here.

It's not like what happened with Juzo doesn't make complete sense. It's still dumb, but I understand why Juzo was so reluctant. He wasn't necessarily afraid that the world would judge him for being gay, more so he was afraid Munakata would reject him. Juzo dedicated his life to Munakata in a similar way that Mukuro and Kuripa do to Makoto in Survivor. If Munakata had any reason to ostracise Juzo, Juzo then has nothing to live for. Still though, it was incredibly selfish and didn't do Juzo himself any favors. It ultimately just highlights how incredibly selfish he is, and how he's the pinnacle of how low Ultimate's can sink. Especially given how much shit he gave Hajime and the reserve course earlier in the arc, and then ends up succumbing to his own weakness, just as Hajime did before him. It goes to show that Ultimate's and normal people aren't as different as Juzo and most of the Hope's Peak denizens seem to think. In that regard, it's subtly genius, but the way it's actually carried out is a bit messy.

Yeah, the whole thing with Teruteru is a massive plot hole. You have someone who is capable of curing any disease right next to you, someone who is driven by a strong will to help people, but your dick is somehow more important to you. Not only is it a drastic oversight, but it ultimately degrades Teruteru's character, and removes the one thing that makes him a redeemable and honest man. His love for his family in the main games is so genuine, he is willing to kill a person in order to go home and help them. And whether you like Teruteru or not, if you're close with your family, no doubt you can understand his position. I don't think it's a matter of on purposefully trying to make Teruteru seem worse and more perverted, because it seems to me more like a bit of an oversight; like they sort of forgot about that plot point. The way I cover it in Survivor is with Teruteru saying either he didn't want to bother Seiko, or his mother wasn't too bad at the time, but I'm just reaching; trying to fill a plot hole that the writers made.

I don't understand why people damn Teruteru for that scene, because that CLEARLY wasn't his fault. Besides, I'd like to point out that he was honest about the "doping" with his classmates, and actually ASKED them if they wanted the added flavor. He was disappointed when they said no, but he's NOT the one at fault there. This also brings up another thing that I thought was a bit problematic, but Hiyoko and Mahiru's relationship in DR3 is HORRIFICALLY unexplored. Based on all the info in DR2 and DR3, it's heavily implied that they were just as close in the real world as they were in the Killing Game, but in every scene of DR3 where Mahiru is struggling mentally, Hiyoko is NOWHERE. Hell, the same can be said about Mikan and Ibuki. It's an important plot point in DR2 that they were involved in the Twilight Syndrome Murder Case, but when it happens in DR3, not only do we not see the damn altercation, but they aren't involved in any way, shape or form. I get that it's because they wanted to put more of a focus on Mahiru and Sato, which is the most important thing, but to wayside Mahiru's already established friends is just poor writing. You'd think they'd be by her side throughout all of it, but no. "We couldn't think of what to do for them, so we'll just not include them and fuck off."

Which ties in pretty heavily to this point of yes, the DR2 characters are STUPIDLY underused. Every moment they have in this show is poorly handled in some way, with the exception of a few episodes. They were good in Episode 1 and 2 of Despair Arc, and were great in Hope Side when they come to the Future Foundation's rescue. Aside from that, they get very few moments, and hardly any of them are good. The only members of the DR2 cast who get any sort of attention throughout most of DR3 are Hajime, Chiaki, Nagito and Imposter. And yes, they ARE the trifecta, and Imposter does need more screentime and characterization, but it's not fair on the rest of the group, who I will reiterate, are easily the most enjoyable, in-depth and interesting cast of ALL the games. They deserve better than what they got.

As much as I hate to admit it, and I know how this sounds, what happened with Nagito's attack, unfortunately, made total and complete sense. It is NO SECRET to anyone who knows how deep DR lore runs that Hope's Peak's steering committee was the true evil. Everything that was wrong with Hope's Peak that allowed Junko to take advantage of the system and destroy the world can be traced directly back to them. They cover up crimes, make poor decisions if it means protecting their school's reputation, and if things start looking bleak, they pin all the blame on Jin and Tengan. Seiko, Ruruka and Izayoi's expulsion, unfortunately, makes total sense, and it's one of the few things in Danganronpa 3 that actually DOES. The Steering Committee knew that there was more to the story and that this might have been the result of an accident. They probably knew that none of the three had actually done anything wrong. The reason why they were expelled is that it was the EASIEST possible out for THEM. After all, considering the exams at Hope's Peak were a public ordeal, it wouldn't be too hard to get an investigator in to find out the truth of the matter, but doing that risks exposing the other dark secrets that the Steering Committee tried to cover up. It was all too easy to pin the blame on Ruruka, Seiko, and Izayoi, and remove them permanently, to prevent their secrets from being outed and to preserve their reputation. Their reputation as an esteemed school, and their own personal goals took priority over everything else, and they didn't care who it hurt, especially not the three victims. This is also the reason why Nagito was only suspended as opposed to expelled as well. The reason he got off lightly is purely because of his talent. Hope's Peak were serious about researching luck, and given Nagito's insane bullshit abilities, he wasn't someone they were about to let go easily. The other three were sacrifices they could make. Nagito was not. It's not fair, and it doesn't make sense, but that's the POINT. This scene was one of the few things in DR3 that actually seemed thought through to me.

-Mod

[yellowcabdriver]

love language

Pairing: Javier Peña x f!reader

Summary: Javier wants to love you the right way.

Genre: fluff, hurt/comfort

Warning: none

A/N: this was written in like 20 minutes before I went to sleep so sorry in advance for mistakes 🥲 Also, a kiss on a head for those who guesses Javier’s love language I tried to force in here 🥰🤣

“What form of love language do you prefer?”

You raised your head from the paperwork you had been filling out for what seems like an eternity.

“What?”

Elena shook some heavy-looking glossy magazine in her hand.

“There’s a test in here. Wanna find out?”

You went back to filing the report and shrugged your shoulders.

“How many love languages are there anyway?”

“Umm…” Elena quickly flipped through a few pages. “Five.”

Usually, you were not the one to indulge in magazines, especially not at work but… it had been a long day at the embassy. Very long. You spent the first part of the day typing out reports for Noonan, then you had to go to the archive and sew together some old documents in a badly lit backroom in the company of, you were sure of it, a ghost of someone who died in that backroom choking on an ungodly amount of dust. Your back was aching, high heels required by the dress code were straight up slaughtering your feet one step at a time. And also, you were bored out of your mind.

“Wow, okay.” You sighed and plopped down on a chair. “Sure, let’s see. I needed a break anyway.”

With a victorious shriek, Elena started reading out questions and marking the answers down on the pages with a pencil that desperately needed to be sharpened.

“Okay, you got…” her lips inaudibly moved as she was counting the results. “You got words of affirmation.”

“Oh, bullshit!” You threw your head back in sardonic laughter and stretched out your legs. “I don’t enjoy being complemented at all, I always get super uncomfortable!”

Elena shrugged her shoulders as she was erasing her pencil notes from the magazine.

“Maybe you do, somewhere deep down.”

“Nope, not a chance,” you snickered. “Your magazine is full of lies.”

“Hey!” Jokingly offended, Elena hugged the magazine to her chest. “It’s my only entertainment in this lifeless pile of paper!”

“What did you get then?” You asked, propping your cheek with your palm making you sound all muffled.

“Acts of service.”

“Well then, I’ll tell David to serve you up real nice.”

An enemy missile in the form of a crumpled piece of paper landed on your table.

“Oh screw you!”

“What’s the hustle?”

Elena and you immediately straightened up at the voice of a visitor who, upon further inspection, turned out to be your boyfriend, Javier.

“It’s just me, not Noonan,” he raised his palms slowly walking to your table as you two relaxed into your previous positions. Javier sat down at the edge of your table next to your chair and leaned down to kiss you on the forehead, this was his way of saying hello.

“Are you ready to go home?” He asked. Boy, were you ever.

“Of course, I am. So tired,” you complained suppressing a yawn. Javier smiled, soothingly stroking your hand.

“Let’s just go home, they don’t even pay us any overtime anyway,” Elena muttered, shooting a resentful stare at the piles of documents in front of her.

“By the way,” Javier turned to look at Elena. “David is downstairs, I think you’re gonna catch up.”

These words were enough for Elena to throw away her magazine, which honour she was just defending by violating a Geneva Convention of friendship, and bolt out of office without further ado. You and Javier looked at each other in amusement and burst into laughter at the same time.

“We should also go.”

“Yep, let’s go home.”

Nominally, “home” was Javier’s apartment, it was closer to the office and was overall much nicer than your place. Driving down the familiar street—the next turn after that yellow house, you were thinking, is home—Javier put his hand on your lap and asked you:

“Why were you arguing with Elena? Did she do something to you?”

“Oh, she did, she Inflicted the pain of knowing the content of a beauty magazine,” you half-heartedly complained, enjoying the warmth of Javier’s large hand on your thigh. Javier grinned at your remark.

“That harsh, huh?”

“We were just bored and decided to take a dumb test from the magazine.”

Javier chuckled as he quickly glanced at you, his yellow aviators catching a glimpse of the setting sun.

“About what?”

“Something about love language.”

“And what about it?”

“Well, found out that my love language is apparently words of affirmation.”

The car slowly stopped in the driveway as you reached Javier’s apartment building.

“Really?” He smiled at you, kissing the back of your hand. You almost melted at the gesture of his casual affection.

“Yes, who would’ve thought, right?”

Javier laughed again, exiting the car and jogging to your side to open the door for you. You jumped down and placed a quick kiss to the corner of his mouth as a thank you.

“So it means you need to hear words of affirmation every day? Like your Cleo?” Javier asked, locking the car doors and turning slightly to look at you with a smile. You snorted. “Your Cleo” was a plant sitting comfortably on a windowsill of your office. She was a dying little thing until you saved her from being literally abused in the dark hallway of the embassy. Once you got her into a well-lit room and started watering her properly with actual water and not residue 3-in-1 coffee, Cleo turned into a stunning blooming beauty. You did talk to her, mostly paying her compliments—yes, weird, but you read somewhere that plants responded to positive affirmation. Javier, of course, didn’t believe any of that but for you, and he highlighted that specifically, he would greet Cleo every now and then when he entered your and Elena’s office.

“I am not like Cleo!” You huffed, making Javier smile as he hugged you by your waist and you two started walking towards his apartment. “But I believe everyone flourishes under kind words, don’t you think?”

Javier opened the door to his place and let you enter first.

“That’s a fair point, hermosa.”

The evening went by as it usually did: you two ate a dinner that Javier quickly put together—you maybe were a better cook but a slow one, for sure. Then you went to put Javier’s clothes into a washing machine, a dreadful loud thing that was tumbling around so hard you were afraid it would explode, while Javier washed the dishes. Finally, you two settled on the coach to watch some classic evening telenovelas because nothing relaxes a person more than an intricate plot of a tv show where somehow everyone ends up being everyone’s relative.

You were very engulfed in an episode—main character shot a man who turned out to be her biological father,—when Javier quietly asked:

“Am I saying enough compliments to you?”

“What?” You let out an involuntary laughter but as you turned to look at Javier, he didn’t seem to be joking.

“You said your preferred love language is words of affirmation and I’m… cariño, you know I’m not good with words,” Javier let out a bitter chuckle rubbing his temple—a nervous habit. “Am I showing you enough love?”

Oh.

Oh.

That you didn’t expect.

You turned the volume down and quickly climbed on Javi’s lap. He uncomfortably glanced up at the ceiling with a vulnerability you never saw him exude before. You could see something you would believe was more of your thing—an insecurity of being not enough.

“Javi, please, look at me,” you took his face in your hands and he immediately left a quick kiss on your palm, like a reflex.

God, that man was gonna be the death of you.

“Javi, my love, I never said anything about my preferences, it was just a dumb magazine. And besides, I don’t need to hear compliments, you know I can’t even take them well!” you said causing Javier knowingly to raise his eyebrows in agreement. Your left hand found its way to the back of his head and into his soft curls making Javier groan quietly.

“I love you so much and I love your ways of showing affection. I feel loved, if anything I feel adored.” You let your right index finger trace his aquiline nose and Javier closed his eyes at your tender touch. You began to press soft kisses all over his face.

“You love me so well, Javier Peña. You are so caring, so wonderful, so handsome, and sooooo sexy…” you exhaled as your kisses reached his jaw and you felt him smile. “I love you, Javi. So so much.”

Javier opened his eyes and pulled you in for a proper kiss.

“I love you, too, mi corazon,” his hands gently squeezing your thighs.

As this gesture pressed you closer, you felt the tightness in his jeans. Jokingly widening your eyes you glanced down, between your bodies, as Javier offered you a shy boyish grin.

“Ohh, but I see that someone else’s love language is definitely words of affirmation.”

Javier’s hands slid under your shirt and tightened around your waist as he began to leave open-mouthed kisses on your neck prompting you to let out a shamelessly loud moan.

“Oh yeah, I guess I forgot to mention that,” he softly said, nuzzling his nose into your neck. “I really love to hear your praise, mi amor.”

[sleepytime-muses]

The Rules

The Rules

Hello there! Welcome to my rules page! These rules are password protected so please keep an eye out for it! You can send me an ask or DM me the password so I know you’ve read them and want to interact. My main blog is @sleepytime-muses so asks/follows will come from here, but urls for other blogs will be specified.

Updated 4/17/2025

1. General roleplay etiquette applies. No god modding, no controlling my characters, etc. Literate roleplays are my go-to unless they are crack/joking with others and dash commentary. You are not obligated to match my length and vice versa, but do put some effort into the writing! I use icons as well that I make myself and format my lettering. If you want to write and find my formatting difficult to read, just let me know and I will happily use plain text. Also, if you are new to roleplaying/writing on Tumblr, I probably won’t write with you. I also prefer people who trim posts and make them better to read. Do not approach me for strictly 18+ roleplays. Do not ask me to write characters for you that aren’t on my muse list, unless so prompted or we’re close. Do not ask me to write your harem for you. Do not try to roleplay with me if you aren’t an RP blog. I understand if your main isn’t an rp blog. Do not approach me with the intent of just having me write pretty girls for you. If you don’t have any fandoms/media in common, that is a huge red flag and definitely makes me feel like you just want something out of me.

2. Plotting is important to me, but not absolutely necessary. I enjoy knowing where to push the plot towards for better and more efficient writing. However, I am very capable of spur of the moment interactions so feel free to do either. If we’re mutuals, always feel free to send in ask memes and such I’ve reblogged even if we haven’t interacted before.

3. With my muses coming from all types of moral backgrounds, please don’t take anything said as beliefs or morals of the mun (Me.) Sometimes bad guys say bad things, sometimes good guys say bad things. I write my characters the way I want to and feel is best, which takes canon and inserts personal headcanons into blank spaces and such. I write as true to character as I can, but if you don’t care for how I portray them, then that’s fine. Take your business elsewhere! I’m gonna be sitting here playing dolls with others in peace.

4. Activity can be spacey. I love to write but irl responsibilities take priority. As a wage slave and an artist, I dip often. But I almost always lurk so feel free to send messages/asks. I promise I see them, it's just getting around to them that’s the issue. I also have a very hard time reaching out first, so please don’t be afraid. If we’re mutuals, I’ll probably write with you! Just poke me and give me time to think things over.

5. Let me know if you’re interested! I’m usually not the type to message first because I hate to come off as pushy. So just let me know if you want to write! I also have Discord available for mutuals to write on, and it is my preferred platform. You are free to message me, ESPECIALLY if we are mutuals. Yes, YOU. The person reading this.

6. Original Characters and Crossovers can be hard for me to write with. Not impossible, just difficult. If I believe I can’t properly write with your character, I will let you know when you show interest. If you write a character from a franchise I’m not familiar with, I’m also less likely to write with you. I hate going in the dark when it comes to writing partners. A bio page is a great start for anything oc or non-canon related. Also, I have no issues with people who make self inserts, but I do not write with them at all. Please don’t approach me if your character is a self insert. And, as a personal pet peeve of mine, don’t come to me with a plot where my character should already know about yours! Those types are reserved for people who know me, know my character and the way I write it, and that I’ve established rapport with. If your only plot idea is ‘what if {my character} created {your character}!’ or ‘{your character} has existing lore with {my character} and we should work off of that’, it's incredibly frustrating to my own lore that I’ve built and would require me to put in so much more effort than just actually writing something where we’re on even ground.

7. Triggering content will be tagged, if you have specific triggers that are uncommon I will tag them for you with a tw [CONTENT]/ [CONTENT] tw tag. I try to pay attention to other people’s rules and general discomforts, so if I write something you don’t want to see, I’ll do my best to tag. I’m not perfect though, so let me know if I need to do something. If you have specific things you don’t want to see, feel free to look up ‘tag dump’ on my blog and hide the tags for specific stuff. Like NSFW or crack interactions.

8. I love shipping. Exploring relationships between characters is fun. Don’t force ships on me, and I won’t do it on you. If you have interest in shipping once chemistry has been established, please let me know! Anything NSFW will be taken to my nsfw blog or tagged appropriately. This includes adult cartoons or triggering characters that I want to keep off my main. I will not write anything NSFW with minors, all of my blogs are 18+ Blogs. I prefer to write with people who are 18+ already in any case. I am multi-ship so feel free to initiate with any character. Just respect my choices and I will respect yours! I’m also a crack ship enthusiast! If you see chemistry between our characters, I’d love to hear it.

9. All of my graphics have official or my own personal art used in them, and should not be taken or duplicated. If you like my style and want to mimic it, please ask first! I take pride in my graphics and my art, and have commissions open if you’d like something similar. Please, do not take what isn’t yours. I spend hours getting things perfect and I am very paranoid that someone will try and take what’s mine. If you see someone using my art or graphics, please let me know.

10. Don’t be weird. Yeah, this one sounds strange. I know. But after being on tumblr for so long, I’m sure every experienced roleplayer has encountered someone who was weird about things. Insistent messaging, people blatantly ignoring rules, or assuming you are best friends when you have barely interacted, that kind of thing. I love making friends with fellow muns and writers, it helps for better character chemistry. And it's nice to be excited when you meet someone new or have a really cool idea. However, sometimes it's not as easy for me to vibe with people as it should be. I’m awkward and have a hard time talking to people. Don’t take it personally. As long as we both have reasonable expectations for each other, then everything will be fine. But this vague rule is here for those vague circumstances. I usually just block people who have made me uncomfortable or violate my rules in some way because I don’t like being confrontational about it. Drama is dumb.

Blog Passwords

(You only have to send them to the blogs you wanna write with! If you want to write with a lot of them, just send something to my main and list the ones you want. ^^)

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ARCHIVED BLOG PASSWORDS

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Thank you for reading my rules! Remember to specify your muse if you’re multimuse. Discord is available to mutuals I’m comfy with, so don’t be afraid to ask. Sorry if this seems like a lot, but I just like the be thorough.

~Peachie

[bloody-bee-tea]

@srabaskerville

16) “Oh my god is that a dog?! Did you get us a dog???!!”

(Yes, Nie Mingjue is alive, no, I have no clue how that works, especially plot wise. I'm just here to give Mingcheng a happy end)

Nie Mingjue is always allowed to come to Lotus Pier, even unannounced, but he doesn’t make use of that privilege a lot. So when Jiang Cheng finds him waiting for him at his personal pier Jiang Cheng gets a little bit worried.

“What’s wrong? Are you okay?” Jiang Cheng immediately asks him, walking up to him and patting him down for any invisible injuries.

“I’m perfectly fine, my heart,” Nie Mingjue reassures him and catches his hands in his to kiss his fingertips.

“Don’t scare me like that, then,” Jiang Cheng snaps, mostly to cover up how hot his cheeks go.

“That wasn’t my intention,” Nie Mingjue says and kisses one of Jiang Cheng’s burning cheeks because of course he noticed. “I’m fine. I’m just here to see you. I’m allowed to, right?”

“Of course you are,” Jiang Cheng grumbles but he leans in for a proper kiss, too. “You just don’t do it often enough, so I got scared,” he then admits and Nie Mingjue sighs.

“I’m sorry, I will drop by unannounced more often then.”

It’s meant in a teasing way, but Jiang Cheng can’t help his very serious nod.

“See that you do.”

Jiang Cheng doesn’t want to admit that he misses Nie Mingjue whenever they can’t see each other—which is still way too often, even though Nie Huaisang is officially the Sect Leader now—and he wouldn’t mind it if Nie Mingjue came by more often.

Or stayed.

“I will,” Nie Mingjue promises him and then his expression goes sort of carefully guarded. “There’s actually a reason I’m here,” he then says and just like that Jiang Cheng is on guard again.

“What’s going on?” he demands to know, because only if he knows what the problem is can he help Nie Mingjue. “What do you need?”

“You,” Nie Mingjue immediately replies and Jiang Cheng goes hot in the face again.

“Stop that,” Jiang Cheng chastises him and lightly slaps his chest. “Be serious if you have something on your mind.”

“I do,” Nie Mingjue says and then scratches the back of his head. “I have a surprise for you.”

“Okay,” Jiang Cheng cautiously says and narrows his eyes at Nie Mingjue.

With how Nie Mingjue has started this whole topic, Jiang Cheng is wary of the surprise, he’s not going to lie. It doesn’t seem like it will be a surprise Jiang Cheng will be particularly happy about.

“What is it?” Jiang Cheng asks when Nie Mingjue doesn’t do something for a long moment and Nie Mingjue jerks.

“Okay, here we go,” Nie Mingjue mutters and then startles Jiang Cheng when he whistles.

Jiang Cheng frowns, but it’s not long before he hears paws on the pier and his heart is beating quicker when he turns around.

There’s a dog running towards them, full-speed, ears flopping, tail wagging and Jiang Cheng is afraid that it’s going to propel itself right off the pier.

“She can swim,” Nie Mingjue whispers to him and puts a hand to Jiang Cheng’s waist.

“Oh my god, is that a dog?! Did you get us a dog?!” Jiang Cheng breathes out and he’s already on his knees before Nie Mingjue can even answer him.

The dog seems to be a little sweetheart, because she immediately shoves her snout into Jiang Cheng’s face, her tail wagging excitedly the whole time.

“What’s her name?” Jiang Cheng wants to know as he pets her up and down and Nie Mingjue laughs.

“That honour goes to you, my heart,” he tells him and Jiang Cheng turns big eyes on him.

“Really? How old is she? You didn’t give her a name? What have you been calling her? How long have you had her?” He’s rattling off the questions as they pop into his mind and he cannot believe that Nie Mingjue had her for longer than a week and didn’t bother to name her.

“She’s around one now, and I didn’t give her a name, because that’s your duty as her other parent. I’ve been calling her Sweetheart,” Nie Mingjue then admits with a sheepish smile and rubs the back of his neck.

Jiang Cheng snorts into Sweetheart’s fur before he intensifies his pets.

“Aw, you’re a real Sweetheart, huh? You’re the best girl there is, right, yes that’s right,” Jiang Cheng mutters to her, allowing her to slabber all over his face for now.

“Wait,” he then says and turns accusing eyes on Nie Mingjue. “Do you want to tell me you have had her for a whole year and you didn’t tell me?”

“Of course not!” Nie Mingjue gives back. “I wouldn’t do that! A traveller came by like one or two months ago and he left her in Qinghe without an explanation. She kept wandering around the Unclean Realm and so I took her in,” he explains. “I spent the last few weeks trying to train her a bit but I’m not good at it. I mean, I love dogs, but I never had one, so I don’t know how to go about this.”

“Oh, I see,” Jiang Cheng says and turns his attention back to Sweetheart. “Well you at least hear when Mingjue whistles for you, so you must be a bright girl, huh?” he whispers and Sweetheart blinks at him.

“She knows to keep at my side when I walk, too,” Nie Mingjue says. “But I didn’t get further than that. I think she wants to learn, so the fault here clearly lies with me,” he admits with a shrug and Jiang Cheng laughs.

“Of course the fault lies with you, she is perfect after all,” Jiang Cheng gives back without hesitation and laughs when he sees Nie Mingjue’s face.

“Fine, fine, I guess I should leave you two to it then,” Nie Mingjue huffs out and actually turns around.

Jiang Cheng is still laughing, but he reaches out and grabs the back of Nie Mingjue’s robes.

“Get back here, you big baby,” he says with a chuckle. “Besides, you can’t leave her here,” he then tacks on and turns his attention back to Sweetheart.

“What do you mean?” Nie Mingjue asks and he squats down next to them to pet Sweetheart as well. “I got her for you, of course she’s going to stay here.”

“Mingjue, stop it,” Jiang Cheng bites out and he moves away from both Sweetheart and Nie Mingjue.

It’s kind of unfair that they both look at him with an identically hurt face.

“You know I can’t keep her here,” Jiang Cheng presses out and he refuses to look at Sweetheart again. “It’s fine if she stays with you in the Unclean Realm but she can’t stay here.”

“And why is that?” Nie Mingjue demands to know, standing up and crossing his arms in front of his chest.

Sweetheart seems to notice that there’s some tension in the air, because she whines lowly and presses herself flat onto the pier.

“Look at her, you’re scaring her,” Jiang Cheng accuses Nie Mingjue who just raises his eyebrows at him.

“I am scaring her? I don’t think so,” he calmly gives back. “Now tell me why you can’t keep her here.”

“You damn well know why,” Jiang Cheng snaps out but he can’t quite meet Nie Mingjue’s eyes anymore.

“I seem to have forgotten,” Nie Mingjue gives back, and Jiang Cheng wants to strangle him. “Why don’t you remind me?”

“Why do you always do this?” Jiang Cheng hisses but Nie Mingjue calmly stares at him.

Jiang Cheng grits his teeth but Nie Mingjue can always out-stubborn him and he does it easily this time as well.

“Because if Wei Wuxian ever wants to come here—” Jiang Cheng says eventually but can’t bring himself to finish.

“And does he want to come here?” Nie Mingjue relentlessly asks and now Jiang Cheng feels like crying.

“How would I know, it’s not like he’s talking to me,” he gets out, and then Nie Mingjue is there, pulling him into his arms.

“I know, my heart, I know,” Nie Mingjue reassures him and presses a kiss to his head. “I think it’s time to maybe accept that he doesn’t want to come back.”

That only makes Jiang Cheng sob harder, but he can’t even deny that Nie Mingjue is right.

“It’s been two years since the temple,” Nie Mingjue whispers. “How often did he come by?”

“Once,” Jiang Cheng croaks out, and he doesn’t even have to think about it. He is keeping very close track, but there’s not much to count, if Jiang Cheng is being honest.

“And he only dropped by because Lan Wangji had official business here, and Wei Wuxian trusts neither of you with the other,” Nie Mingjue says and Jiang Cheng would snap at him for being this ruthless, but it’s the truth.

And it’s choking Jiang Cheng up to know that his brother doesn’t even want to come back home.

“My heart, it’s admirable that you are waiting for your brother like that, but it’s time that you think about yourself. It’s time that you allow yourself to be happy.”

“And Sweetheart is the way?” Jiang Cheng wants to know because it’s easier than addressing anything else Nie Mingjue just said.

Jiang Cheng knows he’s right—he knows—but whenever Jiang Cheng sees a dog at Lotus Pier there is that split second where he wants to step to the side, to shield Wei Wuxian from seeing it and it’s so, so hard to get over that habit, even after all these years.

And if he keeps a dog at Lotus Pier, Jiang Cheng would admit that he doesn’t want Wei Wuxian to come back. That he doesn’t expect Wei Wuxian to come back, and that hurts like hell, if he’s being honest.

“I thought it might be a start,” Nie Mingjue says with a shrug and pets Sweetheart’s head, making her perk up immediately.

Jiang Cheng can’t help the twitch of his mouth when he sees it and he has to admit that Nie Mingjue might be right.

But it’s hard to let go of the past and his promise.

“I don’t know if I can,” Jiang Cheng admits with a whisper, but his heart melts when Sweetheart whines again and presses close to his leg.

“Maybe it’s time to work on it,” Nie Mingjue tells him gently as he pulls Jiang Cheng close again. “Keep her here for a while. I’m her dad, too, though, so I might want to have her at the Unclean Realm every now and then as well.”

“Maybe I want to have you here more than Sweetheart,” Jiang Cheng mutters petulantly and he can feel how Nie Mingjue freezes against him.

They never really talked about that, and it was impossible when they were both Sect Leaders, but things are different now. Nie Huaisang has officially taken on that title now so that means Nie Mingjue has a lot more freedom.

Which means he could come to stay with Jiang Cheng more permanently if he really wanted to.

“Really?” Nie Mingjue whispers out and Jiang Cheng forces himself to nod.

They have been together for years now, so Jiang Cheng isn’t doubting Nie Mingjue’s love for him, but living together is still a step they haven’t taken together yet and it’s making him nervous to admit that he wants that.

“Why didn’t you say, my heart?” Nie Mingjue wants to know and Jiang Cheng shrugs.

“There was a lot going on,” he says, purposefully evading the question.

“There’s always a lot going on,” Nie Mingjue huffs out. “You’re lucky there’s nothing going on at the moment for now.”

“I know,” Jiang Cheng gives back, distracting himself with petting Sweetheart again. “She really is a sweetheart,” Jiang Cheng then says.

“Yes, she is. And she and her dad would really like to stay with her other dad,” Nie Mingjue says and Jiang Cheng freezes at his words.

“What?” he breathes out and Nie Mingjue puts a finger under his chin to raise his head.

“We would both be very happy to stay with you, here, if you would have us. But only if it’s both of us, you can’t separate her from both of us,” Nie Mingjue sternly says but Jiang Cheng can see the happiness in his eyes and it makes it easy to nod.

“Yes, please,” he gets out, too overwhelmed with happiness to say anything more but it seems like that isn’t necessary at all.

“Alright then, my heart,” Nie Mingjue gives back and pulls him in for a kiss. “Welcome us home then,” he whispers when they part and Jiang Cheng beams at him.

And then he turns towards Sweetheart.

“Welcome home, Sweetheart,” he says and ruffles her fur, pressing his lips together when Nie Mingjue huffs.

“I see how it is,” he mutters. “I bring him a dog and he instantly replaces me.”

Jiang Cheng laughs at that and turns back to Nie Mingjue.

“But you’re my soul, are you not? How could I ever replace you?” he asks and cups Nie Mingjue’s cheek in his hand.

“I should be asking you that,” Nie Mingjue grumbles but he also leans into Jiang Cheng’s hand.

“Welcome home, my soul,” Jiang Cheng says and pulls Nie Mingjue in for a soft kiss. “I am so happy to have you.”

“And Sweetheart,” Nie Mingjue mumbles against his lips.

“And Sweetheart,” Jiang Cheng agrees, though it will probably still take him some time before he can fully enjoy her presence at Lotus Pier.

But if he has Nie Mingjue by his side for that process, Jiang Cheng knows that it will turn out alright. After all, like this he has everything he could have ever wanted right here.

Dialogue Prompts

Link to my ko-fi on the sidebar!

[hamphobicbasil]

Could u elaborate about the dsmp story being bad? Not a rabid/brain dead fan, just genuinely curious and I enjoy reading people's rants lolol

oh you dont know the floodgates you just opened

a few things:

1. despite not liking the creators of the dsmp anymore, I don't actually hate most of them. [the ones that are particularly unsavory fall outside of this of course] so all that I'm saying i truly mean in a critical sense towards the story, its also just all purely my opinion as someone who enjoys fictional and fantasy stories and who like criticizing works to see what it does well and what it doesn't do well

2. for clarification I'm going to use the c![name] to indicate when I'm talking about the characters. Don't get me wrong, I think its annoying too but its the only way I'm gonna be able to write this thing without getting something across the wrong way yknow?

3. I stopped watching the streams after November 16th, [save for one Techno one but I closed out after a particularly bad story beat lol] and so all information coming afterward is all second hand from either me seeing people on twt talk abt it or people dming me. All i really know is up to dream's imprisonment and some stuff past that.

4. This is mostly aimed towards the "main" story, so stuff abt the badlands, eggpire, and whatnot are briefly mentioned.

anyways uh, i'll try to be brief but also include enough information to get why i feel the way i do on some stuff across

A. Performances Alright obviously these people are all streamers, so obviously they might not be the best actors, and hell no one is even asking that of them. However, when you're telling a story that's based on the audio with the visuals kinda coming to a second, it's gotta be pretty strong. I will say, some of the best actors in my opinion are Wilbur, Tommy, and Tubbo. I would include Ranboo but I never watched any of his story bits or story streams so I can't say much. Wilbur and Tommy are excellent in selling their character's emotions and feelings, when I watch the stream I don't feel like I'm watching an rp but an actual thought-out story yknow? And one of my favorite Tubbo examples was in the Hog Hunt video whenever Techno attacked him, he sounded genuinely afraid and I believed everything his character was feeling.

However, unfortunately, not everyone is gonna be that good. And I'm gonna say it; Dream and Techno have to be the worst out of the entire cast. I understand Techno's whole character is this monotoned badass, however, when really emotional moments hit I feel like he never lets that fall, and a lot of intense moments just ring hollow. And I'm sorry but Dream's attempts at being intimidating leave me laughing whenever I watch them. It feels like he watched that one scene from The Marriage with Adam Driver and Scarlett Johannson and said "Oh this is what good acting looks like! Just yelling." His whole "I don't give a FUCK about Spirit!" speech isn't as great as people keep making it out to be. And whenever he tries to act coy when being a villain it feels like a guy reading the script for the first time, a bit like he's trying too hard. I have more problems with his character but his portrayal certainly doesn't help.

Everyone else is fine, and I don't feel strongly either way about a lot of them.

B. The "Lore" Okay first off, I can't be the only one who thinks it's silly that people are calling the dsmp's story "lore" when it's not, it's the fucking story. Lore indicates backstory to either the world or the characters, which a lot of the streams don't really pertain to. This is a really petty section but god it's a weird pet peeve of mine.

Other than the misusage of "lore" vs "story", the actual lore and world-building of the world are so lackluster that new elements can be introduced whenever and it often feels cluttered or not well thought out at all. And here's the thing, I feel like if the writers sat down just for a few minutes to establish world rules and general history, a lot of this could be solved! but so much is made up on the spot that it starts to feel like they're grabbing at straws to keep people invested, trying to reach that next high and intense story beat without actually earning it.

C. The Egg / Eggpire This is a pretty minor note since I was only invested in the Egg storyline for a little bit, but god it's so underused that it's almost embarrassing. Bad has provided this super interesting antagonistic force that's infecting the SMP, can control people, and who one of our main character is immune to, and it's just never used or even talked about again? Now I understand if he wanted to keep it to a side storyline only, however, to introduce this borderline eldritch creature and force within the world and then never have it dealt with is so weird.

D. The Writing Oh boy this is. kinda a big one. Now I'm not gonna lie, it's pretty obvious I have a bias for the Wilbur writing over the current team [that consisting of Dream, Quackity, and Tommy mostly]. I don't this his writing is perfect by any means, the characters constantly bringing up traitors got obnoxious after a while, and writing Hamilton but in Minecraft really isn't the modern Shakespeare or anything. However, I think his exploration of characters and plot progression was a lot more thought out and well planned, like he actually had two brain cells behind the story yknow? The current team I think fails to be as emotional or even impactful, things happened too fast and my god was everything drowned in angst for so long.

Don't get me wrong, you gotta have your characters face hardships to make them reach their goal believable, but some of the shit they put the characters through just felt like too much. From c!Tubbo's constant comparison to c!Schlatt [who btw, fucking ordered his death and kept him from his friends in a nation he felt trapped in] and on a side note, i kinda really fucking dislike the "c!Schlatt dad!!" au's or the au's where c!Tubbo inherits some of Schlatt's features, it would be like c!Tommy getting a c!Dream mask after his exile, it's feels so weird yet people eat that shit up for some reason.

But god, did c!Tommy get the brunt of it all and in retrospect after his final death, it kinda feels really fucking gross. Now obviously, I'm not trusting any of these people to write decent mental health representation, but c!Tommy's PTSD and how it was explored was just degrading. [Specifically the scene in that one Techno stream where he saw the final control room from the first war, and had a flashback / panic attack where he started calling out for c!Dream. I understand this is an actual thing people with PTSD will experience, but it felt so fucking stereotypical it got on my nerves. I actually had to close out of the stream because it made me feel sick, fiction shouldn't leave you feeling that way.] And don't get me started on how they basically reused the formula from the previous arc. [Problem introduced -> Tensions rise as things start to fall apart -> Big confrontation -> Exile -> Return from Exile -> Blowing up L'Manberg, again.]

And speaking of characters-

E. Character Arcs, or the lack of them In my genuine opinion, some of these characters' arcs are so disappointing. Especially c!Tommy's. I'm not one to believe that he was a "selfish" character or anything, however, his goals were simply set on his discs and maybe c!Tubbo, he didn't have much outside that. However, L'Manberg gave him something to care about, he gave up his discs for it and he fought for it tooth and nail, I think it taught him to open up to others and trust more. It was a great character arc for him to have, seeing him still fight even after his first exile alongside c!Wilbur, to return safely to the nation that he and his found family had built.

But then his second exile happened, and I feel like all of that was undone.

c!Tommy's exile genuinely pisses me off for so many reasons. It's not that characters can't have their low points after reaching a major change or feeling like they've "completed" their arcs or anything, but it's more of the fact that it seems like he's never going to heal that feels like a spit in the face, especially to people who might have had setbacks like that before. Progress isn't linear, sometimes things happen and you get knocked back down, it can take a while to get back up, but I don't think c!Tommy's character is ever going to be allowed to get back up. From c!Dream, who pretty much was a constant abuser in his life, killing him then reviving him, and his still fractured relationship with c!Tubbo, which by the way I have a had time believing they would still be friends after all that happened, it feels like he can never get a win and it's generally kinda a shit way to treat your characters who have been abused. Of course, not all abused characters are going to get happy endings, I'm not trying to dictate that they all should, but c!Tommy deserves one and the fact that it's so obscure feels shitty.

Side note: we still don't have a canon reason to give a shit abt the discs. Like I'm sorry but without some sorta connection to the MacGuffin why should we give a shit about him getting them other than "he wants them lol". Like hell, I would even accept the classic "they were the last gifts from his parents" or something, but we still don't have a reason.

c!Tubbo also lacks a fulfilling arc as well, from someone who started out as a yes man, he has progressed a bit into having his own interests first, but besides that sometimes his character makes me so. depressed. He's easily one of the most pushed around and hated characters within the story, all for being a kid who didn't know what to do and he's in the same vein as c!Tommy; these kids can't get a break. Also, his anti-violence beliefs morphing into the "lets kill c!Techno lol!" bit was so out of place and without proper build-up it was like. what. And now he's building nukes?? god c!Tubbo makes me so sad because he's kicked around constantly and never given a chance to grow.

Another small note, I also don't really enjoy c!Techno at all. Besides the previously stated reasons of lack of emotions when they're really needed, I find his character to be weirdly pretentious. He talks as if he's constantly been betrayed and hurt but I personally, don't see it? Like, I think one of the main examples was the Pogtopia vs. Manberg war, yknow he wanted to end the government but they just reinstated it after they won = c!Techno upset. But this doesn't make sense to me because why did he think otherwise? The entire time c!Tommy had talked about taking back their nation and starting again, so the fact that c!Techno suddenly thought there would be a sudden change is, to put it bluntly, kinda fucking stupid. I don't want to say that he "plays the victim" or anything because that feels a bit harsh, but his character feels so far up his own ass that I can't enjoy him.

I have a major grip with c!Dream as well, but that's getting it's own fucking section.

F. L'Manberg This is a quick note before we get into the, forgive me for this, endgame, of this entire rant, since the next two sections are tied together. But god, L'Manberg makes me upset because it feels like they gave up on it.

Don't get me wrong, I understand that it is supposed to be c!Wilbur's "unfinished symphony", the thing that destroyed a once charismatic and widely loved man, his attempt at power that utterly ruined him. But the fact that it just got blown up in the end after everything and left to rot felt like such a waste of time. From the first war, to Pogtopia, to even c!Tommy's exile, it all felt fucking worthless in the end, and the story is actively closer to how it was when it started now more than ever. I wished it was actually allowed to exist and continue to be a peaceful place in what is a chaotic world, but no it was just snuffed out because why dedicate to this concept of finding others you can band together with and feel safe. fuck that noise apparently?

G. The Villains Now villain-wise, I'm only talking about c!Dream [during the first war], c!Schlatt, and c!Wilbur. And believe it or not, this is actually mostly positive.

Now I'm not gonna lie, c!Dream as a staring antagonist wasn't bad actually, he posed a genuine and threatening opposition to L'Manberg, even if we didn't know his real intentions or motivations as to why he was against it. He's lucky in this sense because he didn't have to be good, he had to be passable. If anything, he felt more like an anti-hero than a tyrant or traditional villain, and my god do I wish he kept this theme going forward.

Now quick disclaimer, I don't like JSchlatt as much as the next guy, he's an adult man who should know better than to joke about some sensitive topics and act the way that he does. But the one thing I'll ever give him is that damn, was he a good actor for his character.

Now here's the thing, c!Schlatt wasn't particularly deep at all. He had no real motivations behind his exile of c!Wilbur and c!Tommy other than getting competition out of the way, had no reason to act the way that he did and yknow? that's fine. The reason why he worked was from his performance alone, he was actually intimidating. When he came onto the stream and was doing his typical bad guy stuff, it was actually intense to see what he would do. Whenever he would almost catch c!Tommy back in Manberg, whenever he would begin to pressure c!Tubbo, it put you on the edge of your seat and it felt like everything would change at the drop of a pen. He's a villain to be a villain, and this works out because he's just charismatic and well put together enough to make it interesting, even without the backstory or motives.

c!Wilbur however, is much more tragic, and the best villain of the story. He essentially was the "mentor turned evil" trope and it felt terrible watching him descend into madness, unable to trust barely anyone except for c!Techno and c!Tommy. Hell, in the end I think he still cared about them both, despite losing everything. Sure, he blew up L'Manberg, but there was still a smidge of the old c!Wilbur in there made everything he did feel melancholic. His death at the hands of his father after achieving his final wish was chilling, and something I still think about.

Until yknow, Ghostbur came back way too soon to let people feel his loss as a character within that world. And then he got revived, pretty much-undoing everything that moment meant for his character lol.

And then there's the worst one:

H. Dream. I'm going to be completely honest, c!Dream is one of the main reasons why I dislike the current dsmp stuff so much. Outside of his actions as a person, the way Dream decided to write his character as this overpowered madman of the dsmp really just. destroyed any intrigue that he could've had. Perhaps this is from my growing dislike towards him, manifesting into a bias towards his character, but god I cannot fathom why people try to insist he's interesting when he has as much depth as a fucking puddle.

And here's the thing, I'm not even entirely against c!Dream being a villain, hell I think he would've been great as an anti-hero if anything. Make him sympathetic but not through c!George to get your precious "DNF" points or anything, but show him actually caring about the people within the dsmp, including c!Tommy and c!Tubbo. This would make his rival status with them just a bit more complicated, sure they're enemies, however, he doesn't want to hurt or kill them, and there's still a level of friendship there that keeps them bonded when things get super bad. This could've been super interesting to see, the first villain of the story receiving a sorta redemption arc then descending into madness as he started to fixate on being a god. This is all how I feel personally, but god do I feel like it would've been better than his current character, and hell would've worked with how he was during the Pogtopia arc, before the war that is. I'm not trying to tell Dream how to write his own character, but there are so many other ways he could've done the madman seeking to become god rather then. whatever the hell we got.

Because instead, we got this power-mad asshole who does things... because he can? And that's one of my major issues: he tries to surround his character in mystery to make him "intriguing" but it's kinda like c!Techno, it comes off as pretentious. Not only that, but you cannot keep waving around this mystery of a backstory without ever actually revealing it. I know the story isn't over, but c!Dream is effectively at his lowest point, now would be the time to reveal his backstory. But no just keep it in the dark and keep everyone guessing, that's totally fun and not at all tiring and annoying. (sarcasm, if anyone needs it)

And back to his performance, he doesn't sell this aloof, cynical and strategic warrior that has perfected the blade or some shit, he comes off as some angry guy yelling on reddit. which i don't need to tell you, isn't intimidating. It feels like he's trying to have c!Schlatt's intimidation combined with c!Wilbur's depth, but instead he's like a little brother who's trying to hard to mimic his older brother and is kinda embarrassing himself.

but other then that i dont feel too strongly abt the dsmp lol

but seriously, these are the main complaints I have abt the story tbh, I could probably talk about more but I wont because man. this is probably gonna get me in trouble if any of the hyper-dsmp fans actually read it.

[morifinwes]

Lauraa I finished all the fics, apart from decay (currently reading that now) and I love it sm! Especially the lip gloss one lmao the whole thing was so hilarious to me XD but also like the concept of lwj wearing lipgloss is >>> -yibobibo

@yibobibo then i'm going to rec you some more!! the lip gloss one was !!!!! ajsksks yes!! lwj wearing lipgloss is just so!! good!!

modern

this one is the painful one i talked about:

visitations by var_abelasan (12K, wip, divorced wangxian, post divorce, most of this is angst, uhm lowkey don't but also do want wangxian to end up together, it's messy, the jiangs & lans are shitty, wwx was in prison (brief mentions of that but it's kind of a major plot point), mxy & xy are the little brothers he never wanted but wwx picked them up anyways)

"Wei Ying-" Lan Zhan says, stutters, "I'm sorry." 

And now Wei Wuxian sees it, the red rimming Lan Zhan's eyes, the rumpled edges of his blazer. There is an old, familiar urge for him to reach over, to hold Lan Zhan's hand and smooth his hair, to tell him that everything will be fine. 

"We're all a bit sorry about this, I think," he says instead, and finds that he means it. For Lan Xichen and Lan Wangji and everyone else in that Guanyin temple, the pain must be unbearably fresh, like skin just flayed open. But Wei Wuxian's chest had been cracked open a long time ago, his wounds licked and cauterized and sewn shut over five long years - Ever hurting, but a dull, constant ache, "It's really alright, Lan Zhan."

 

Five years after being accused of corporate espionage and losing everything, the Guanyin Scandal breaks open and Wei Wuxian finds a familiar face at his door.

please don't let me be misunderstood by sysrae (3K, partly deaf!wwx, lwj notices, nobody else does though, idk wwx is like made out of fucking steel or some shit)

Lan Wangji has known Wei Ying for a fortnight, the first time he sees him get hit by a car.

light by redkosmos (10K, blind!lwj, which causes angst, but they manage it, best friends to lovers, fluff, lwj being insecure and feeling like a burden, college au kind of? but it doesn't matter too much)

The realization slowly dawns on him.

He can never again see the brightness of Wei Ying's eyes, the way they crescent when he smiles, never again see the rich black of his hair, the mess of it in the early mornings, never again see the beautiful tan of his skin, the beauty of the scars and marks adorned on it, how he wears his clothes, how it hugs his frame beautifully, how he looks like he's adorably swimming in cloth when he wears Lan Zhan's, and-

(Lan Zhan loses his vision in a car accident and learns to cope with it.)

don't leave me by trippinonskies (19K, brief very brief mention of lwj cheating, he doesn't but wwx is afraid lwj is cheating on him or just wants to break up with him, (he doesn't), marriage proposal, lwj acting distant = wwx's insecurities show up, fluff, angst and comfort)

Lan Zhan! Where are you lost today?” Wei Wuxian finally asks, at the end of his patience.

Lan Zhan looks a little guilty as he looks at Wei Wuxian, “Sorry, just a lot of work to deal with.”

Lie.

If there is one thing Lan Zhan can’t do, it’s lying. Especially to Wei Wuxian. But he doesn’t question Lan Zhan. He just accepts the reply, too scared to know that he is right. Too scared to know the truth.

// or where Lan Zhan is too hung up in planning the perfect proposal and ends up accidently ignoring Wei Wuxian making the other think that he wants to break up //

want you closer by xiaobucephalus ((3K, HORSES, only in the background tho, but wwx is an equestrian vet, which is so fucking valid bro, the lans own horses, a sick bunny, lwj the bunny parent!, super cute, dark bay throughoutbred chenqing is honestly so valid)

“Thank you,” Lan Zhan said, breathing a sigh of relief.

“Don’t thank me, Lan Zhan,” Wei Ying laughed again, his voice warming the chill of fear that had settled in his chest. “I’ve been looking for an excuse to get into your hutch for a while anyway.”

safe in your thoughts by anonymous (20K, it's a cherry magic au???? (i haven't watched it, but you have i think?), horny lwj but only for wwx (always for wwx))

Wei Wuxian learns three very important things on the night of his twenty-seventh birthday.

One, that Lan Wangji is ridiculously funny, which Wei Wuxian had known before but what Wei Wuxain hadn’t expected was Lan Wangji to be funny at his brother’s expense.

Two, that Wei Wuxian had finally gone mad, absolutely mental at the ripe age of twenty seven because nothing else would explain the third thing he had learnt.

Third, and the most unbelievable of the lot, that Lan Wangji wants to fuck him.

iura by yoo_im_finally_writing (1K, only added bcs op is right and wwx would've the cutest german accent, it's more fun if you understand german so hit me up if you want translations for the german sentences)

Wei Ying calls in the middle of the night to talk about German law, and Lan Zhan tries very hard not to fall asleep. Or at least, not to let Wei Ying notice he's falling asleep. (As best friends do.)

breathe in the air, the last of its kind by wereworm / @neverdoingmuch (27K, getting together, jealous!lwj, but also kind of supportive, brief mention of cheating bcs of miscommunication, no actual cheating tho, college au, lwj pov)

Following Wei Ying’s line of sight, Lan Wangji can barely prevent a smile from crossing his lips when he sees the short row of rabbit statuettes placed at the front of the display. Silver, with bright gems for eyes, they look elegant yet lively and animated.

“A-Yuan would love one of those,” Wei Ying murmurs, almost as if to himself.

Lan Wangji frowns; the rabbits, while cute, don’t seem like a suitable gift for Wei Ying’s A-Yuan.

...

It’s only when he glances back at the rabbits and notices what has been placed on display behind them, that the pieces fall into place. They’re engagement rings, there’s no doubt about it. Lan Wangji feels his heart sink – Wei Ying isn’t just dating A-Yuan, he wants to propose to him.

Or: the five times Lan Wangji thinks that A-Yuan is Wei Ying’s boyfriend and the one time he learns the truth.

paint smears on sunny days by snowshadowao3 / @angstsexual (53K, getting together, art teacher!wwx, single parent!lwj, they're rich if i remember right, wwx & lwj are both good with kids!!!, this is so good actually, fluff)

To say that he runs to his car would be incorrect, as he is a Lan, and running is both undignified and unnecessary unless in immediate danger. Nor does he slam his key into the ignition, or aggressively swerve around the cars on the freeway, or have a mild panic attack at the fact he is picking A-Yuan up late from school for the first time ever.

He comes close, though.

By the time he arrives, it’s 4:35PM, and he has imagined about fifty different worse-case scenarios. The door is partly open when he gets to it, a messy label of 104B—Art Room scrawled with chalk on a placard next to the faded wood. As he opens it fully, he expects to see a wailing, terrified child, or perhaps a scene of utter misery and betrayal.

What he finds is his son, hands covered in paint, being sung to by a beautiful, dark-haired stranger.

“Ducks live in the pond, yellow ducks, happy ducks!”

Lan Wangji stops in his tracks.

(Or: Falling in love with your son’s art teacher, in five parts)

no bunny compares by gusucloudbunny (4K, god this is cute, fluff)

“Lan Zhan!” Wei Wuxian cornered his friend one week before his birthday. “If you could have anything in the world, what would it be?”

Lan Wangji furrowed his brow at Wei Wuxian, not exactly sure how to answer that question in a truthful manner that didn’t involve confessing his undying love for his best friend.

Wei Wuxian is on a mission to get Lan Wangji the perfect gift for his birthday. What Wei Wuxian doesn't know is that the only thing Lan Wangji truly wants is him.

wei wuxian's week of realizing things by photojenny (12K, i have read this multiple times, i always forget what happens, idk why but my notes say it's good, the tags say drunkji makes an appearance and i'm always up for that)

"Lan Zhan, do you like Mianmian?" asked Wei Wuxian.

Lan Wangji blinked, and stared. It was not the first time Lan Wangji had questioned the perceptiveness of the boy he had a crush on. Wei Wuxian had been smart in the class they had taken together. Yet time and time again, Wei Wuxian had tested the old wisdom that there are no stupid questions.

---

Lan Wangji must figure out how to confess when Wei Wuxian is the most oblivious person he's ever met.

are you my wisdom tooth? because i'd like to take you out by yellowcarnations (1K, crack, fluff, lwj stop flirting with a stranger, even if he is your husband, drunkji but make it to max level)

Lan Zhan wakes up and he has no idea where he is.

There are bright lights and his jaw hurts, he doesn't who this man next to his bed is but oh he might be in love, maybe, probably, definitely.

–

based off that guy-forgets-who-his-wife-is-and-hits-on-her vid but its wangxian.

beep! goes his heart by wearing_tearing (3K, fluff, lwj is like "he, he likes me right? he likes me" and everyone is like "yes, yes he does")

“Wei Ying’s heart monitor,” Lan Wangji starts.

Wen Qing blinks at him. “Yes?”

“It beeps.”

“That’s… what they generally do, yes.”

“The beeps change,” Lan Wangji continues, “when others are around.”

*

Wei Ying’s heart only sings for Lan Wangji.

canon

obedient and bellicose by thunderwear (19K, lwj is cursed by the lan elders, they notice too late, fix-it fic kind of?, lqr being a good uncle and lxc is a good brother, wwx accidentally uses the curse but he doesn't know about it)

It took Lan Wangji a long time to realize he was cursed. Too long really, anyone else would have noticed so much sooner. The problem was, he liked following the rules.

Ella Enchanted AU that no one needed but I wanted.

hello my old heart, how have you been? by ravenditefairylights (10K, amnesia, fluff, wwx taking care of lwj, so much fluff and softness, angst too but not that much)

The issue is, Lan Wangji brings his thoughts back before they stray too far, that it is impossible for someone to be in his bed, unless Lan Wangji himself invited them. He has not. He would remember doing so, and besides, all his night clothes are still on and there is no headache to imply that he was inebriated last night. No, the situation is simple.

There is someone in Lan Wangji’s bed. It is impossible for anyone to be in Lan Wangji’s bed, and yet that doesn’t seem to have stopped the stranger.

or lan wangji wakes up, and wei ying is there. he doesn't understand how or why, and he can understand even less why his hallucination of wei ying is so insistent on bathing him, and braiding his hair, on holding him and fixing his clothes. why the hallucination of wei ying seems so happy to see him.

teach me the way by likeafox (58K, rogue cultivator!wwx, horny wangxian, lwj wants wwx to teach him how to be a good lover, ....wwx is a virgin, the porn is the plot, but there's less of it than i thought)

"I do not wish to leave my future spouse… dissatisfied with my intimate knowledge,” Lan Zhan says, very seriously. “I am hoping to find an instructor, to better prepare myself for such matters."

Wei Ying feels his mouth drop open. He's pretty sure the Second Jade of Lan just told him he's a virgin who wants to learn how to do sex good.

Rogue Cultivator Wei Wuxian is the stuff of local legends. Some of those legends are even true! The ones about his tremendous experience in bed, on the other hand, are not so true. Which becomes a problem when Lan Wangji, on the verge of an arranged marriage and worried he won’t know how to please his future spouse, enlists Wei Ying's help to teach him the art of love-making. Wei Ying's great at improvisation, though, and is pretty sure he's got this sex mentor thing under control. What could possibly go wrong

other aus

of god: my love unholy by tunnelodfawn (3K, tw blood / war, dark!lwj, god!wwx, kind of poetry)

Lan Zhan takes everything as a sign from his god. The blood staining his fingertips—a holy anointment. He sanctifies himself through blood. The strings of his guqin gleam red in the sun—a divine blessing. This is an instrument of destruction. A single note—a cry of power—and in this note the voice of his god unravels the earthly threads tethering man to earth.

The Yiling Patriarch blesses Lan Zhan with war. Wei Wuxian blesses Lan Zhan with agility. Wei Ying blesses Lan Zhan with love.

The base of the Yiling Patriarch’s shrine is the home of Lan Zhan’s knees. He worships. There is something of the blasphemous and the unholy in his prayers. He prays not for victory but for the sight of Wei Ying. Bless me with your presence, he begs.

Or, wherein, Lan Zhan bridges the gap between the mortal and the divine—the worshipper and the god—with blood.

the river and the sea by sasamelons / @sasamelons (7K, soulmate au, arranged marriage (wangxian with each other), they're both kind of dumb but i love it)

Lan Wangji gritted his teeth, wishing to just be left alone. "I am looking for my soulmate," he ground out.

"Oh."

It took Lan Wangji a few moments to realize that Wei Wuxian had stopped following him. When he looked back, the other boy seemed to be frozen to the spot, eyes wide and lips still parted. He quickly looked away when he saw Lan Wangji looking back. "I see. Well, have a good trip!"

--

At six years old, Lan Zhan met his soulmate on the streets of Yiling and promptly lost him again.

At sixteen years old, Lan Wangji met his betrothed and was determined not to like him.

[amerrierworld]

Lost

Ocean’s 8 fanfiction

request: can i request something angsty and fluffy for tammy x reader?☺️ feel free to involve the whole ocean's 8 gang (they all ofc ship reader & tammy)

Summary: you get lost during a mission that turns dangerous and Tammy desperately tries to find you.

Characters: Tammy x fem!reader

Word Count: 1,786

Warnings: I hope this is what you meant with angsty :D Angst! Fluff! A bit of a near-death experience... but SFW and happy ending.

You held your breath, hiding in a dark, hidden alcove of the English countryside mansion. The building was massive, and very creepy, especially at night.

Your heart thumped in your ears as you registered low, hushed and angry voices down the hall from you. 

There were many jewels secretly kept hidden inside this mansion, locked away from the public that your team had gotten intel on. It was the one night that there were very few security guards around the place, and you and Constance had slipped in quietly.

However, you weren’t alone. 

A group of local thugs had similar plans, apparently, and somehow you had both arrived at the same time. Or they had already stolen the jewels and were now hanging around. 

Normally you wouldn’t be bothered by extra obstacles in a mission, but a loud bang had startled both you and Constance until you felt like you might be sick.

They had guns, and clearly weren’t afraid to use them, since the security guard was shot dead right on the front steps.

Immediately, Debbie had yelled in your earpieces from their hidden van outside to get back to the group. No amount of jewels was worth your lives, and you were grateful for her leadership. But you had gotten separated from Constance, and your earpiece had no reception where you were due to the thick walls and maze of a house, so now you were hiding by yourself, terrified.

Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, you thought, breathing hard to calm your nerves. If they saw you and considered you a threat, one shot and you were done for. 

All you had was a knife, and you didn’t think that would do much against a gun from a distance.

“Did ya hear something?” one stranger’s voice said, piercing the silence.

“Nah, probably just some vermin. This place is super old. No one else knows what’s hidden here,” another replied.

They were right around the corner, carrying flashlights. If they  took one step closer, they’d see you, and you’d be fucked.

A loud crash from a window breaking made all of you jump.

“What th fuck was that?” one hissed.

“Maybe some stupid local kids thinking they’re being clever. C’mon, let’s scare them away.”

Your heart was in your throat as you listened to them hurry away from your hiding place, and you nearly sobbed with relief.

-

“Tammy, get back here!” Debbie hoarsely whispered. The blonde mom-of-two ignored her, reaching into the back to grab a black hoodie and gloves. “You’re being so stupid.”

Constance had arrived by the van, out of breath, ready to collapse, but you were no where in sight. As soon as she explained that Y/N got separated and she couldn’t find you in the dark, Tammy had sucked in a deep breath and prepped to go in herself. 

“I don’t care, Debbie,” Tammy replied, stubborn as ever, “she’s in there alone and I’m not gonna let her die because of some thugs.”

“If you go in there, you’re both going to die!” Lou shouted, the other girls shushing her immediately. 

“Look, I’ll try her earpiece again, but all we can do is sit here and wait, alright?”  Debbie said, “they have guns, Tammy! This isn’t a game anymore.”

“Then you should’ve thought of that before we got here, Deb!” Tammy retorted. “I need to get her myself, I won’t let her die in there.”

With that, and all the courage she could muster, she jumped out of the vehicle and ran off before anyone else could stop her.

The mansion was surrounded by trees and forestry stretching out in a large plot of land. Tammy could see the lights of the strangers flickering through the windows and sneaked around the other side of the house. 

“You’re an idiot, Tammy,” Debbie said into her earpiece. “But I got Y/N’s location. I just can’t get her earpiece to work. You’ll have to find her.”

“Where is she?”

“East wing, the other side of where you are now. I don’t know what floor, you’ll have to look for her yourself.”

“Fuck,” she muttered. Then, an idea. Her kids once got in trouble for breaking a neighbour’s window when playing catch. Just this time, their idiocy could help her out.

She picked up a large rock and found a window close to her. She’d have to hide immediately and get inside somehow, but this would give her time.

“Okay I’m gonna distract them, keep an eye on Y/N for me.”

“Wh-what? Tam, what are you-”

One long swing and the window shattered with a crash. The rock rolled  around inside the room where it landed, and Tammy dashed off in the other direction. 

“Fuck this fucking job,” Tammy muttered to herself as she squeezed through a different open window. Then, into her earpiece, “Debbie, I’m retiring after this okay? No more criminality for me.”

She tried to remember what Constance had said when she saw you the last time before you got separated. It was eerily quiet as she carefully walked through the hallways.

“You’re close, Tammy, she should be right around the corner,” Debbie piped up. Tammy’s heart was beating rapidly, “I think she’s frozen in fear.”

Tammy felt guilty at the thought, she should’ve gone in with you, damn it.

When she found you, you had pulled out the knife in fear, only seeing a dark figure approach her. From what Tammy could tell in the dark, you were pale beyond belief, your eyes blown wide.

“It’s me,” Tammy whispered. Your knees nearly buckled at the sight of her, and you fell into her arms as a sob almost escaped you, but you forced yourself to be quiet.

“Tammy,” you croaked, hugging her tightly. She pulled away, saw how fearful your expression was, and was overcome with emotion. She kissed you, hard on the mouth, wanting to feel all of you, real and alive.  

“We have to get out of here,” she whispered, “Debbie says fuck the jewels.”

You giggled softly and nodded, letting Tammy grip your hand and pull you along.

“I’ve got her,” she said, pressing the ear piece.

“Good, now get the fuck out of there before we have to drag your bodies out.”

You were almost back at where Tammy had climbed in through the window, before Tammy pressed you back against the wall, into the shadows, cursing mentally at the sound of footsteps.

“Did you open this window here?” one voice said.

“No, did you?”

“It’s an old house,” a third stranger’s voice said, “no doubt it was already open. Don’t be so paranoid.”

“Hey, I could swear I heard voices.”

“That’s because we’re in the dark, and you’re a wuss. I told you not to shoot that guy but you didn’t listen.”

“He could’ve shot us!”

Their bickering went on, and Tammy looked at you, your eyes wide and pleading and afraid.

“Deb,” she whispered, barely audible, breathing into the earpiece, “we need help.”

“On it. Here goes.”

Immediately, loud sirens started up from outside, and the thugs jumped in fear.

“Fuck! The fucking police, are you kidding?”

“Some local probably ratted us out after the gunshot, damn it!”

“Let’s get the fuck out of here.”

They practically flew themselves through the open window, breaking more glass. Tammy eyed them just around the corner, watching them run in the opposite direction of the blaring sirens.

“Come on and get back here, I can’t keep them on forever, otherwise real cops are coming to sniff this place out,” Debbie yelled into your ears. You grabbed Tammy’s hand, and ran.

As soon as your feet hit the grass outside, you ran like you’d never ran before, with Tammy close behind. 

The two of you almost missed the van, camouflaged as it was, if it weren't for Lou shoving open one of the doors, shouting over the sirens,

“Get in you sissies!”

You nearly cried with laughter and relief as she pulled the two of you inside, and the van sped away. Once you got on a real road again, Debbie turned off the sirens, and kept speeding up until you were sure the mansion was behind you.

You were in near hysterics, the relief of safety came flooding in and you collapsed in Tammy’s arms, her cheeks wet with tears.

Lou draped a blanket over your shoulders and the rest of the team scurried to the front of the van, trying to give you two as much privacy as possible.

“Alright?” Tammy asked you, and you nodded, despite the tears still spilling from your eyes. “God, Y/N, I’m glad you’re safe.”

“Me? When I saw you there in front of me, I was terrified that you were gonna get killed!” you exclaimed, voice rough from crying, “what did you think you were doing?”

“Saving you, you idiot,” she said, tightly holding your shoulders, “I couldn’t just sit there and do nothing!”

“Trust us, Y/N, we tried to make her sit and do nothing,” Lou piped up.

“Why didn’t you try harder?” you demanded, furious, “Tam, you could’ve died, and it would’ve been m-my fault,” you hiccuped with new sobs.

“You would’ve done the same for me,” Tammy retorted, eyes blazing. “Y/N, I love you. I couldn’t just sit and watch when I could do something about it.”

You shuddered, staring at her incredulously, your senses overwhelmed with fear, relief, love, worry. Instead of saying anything, you lunged forward and kissed her, hard like she’d kissed you, and Tammy sobbed into your mouth with relief.

The rest of the crew erupted into cheers and your face flushed red, burying your face in Tammy’s shoulder.

“Shut up you,” Tammy ordered them cheekily, “all that matters is we’re safe now. Fuck the jewels, right?”

“Right,” Debbie grinned.

“Wha- fuck the jewels? Really?” 

Constance stared at Debbie, mouth hanging open in sheer offence,  before tugging off her black beanie and turning it over. A handful of glittery diamonds and jewels tumbled out onto the floor. 

The group gaped at her, and she shrugged.

“I lost Y/N, and tried to find them, and then found this instead, before those thugs almost caught me. Don’t tell me ‘fuck the jewels’ when I nearly busted my ass getting these.”

“You’re a life saver,” you sighed, wrapping your arms around Tammy.

“Hey, I think it’s a win-win,” Constance put up her hands in defence, “we got our jewels, didn’t get caught, and Tammy got to save her damsel in distress.”

“Excuse me?” you said, flustered at the implication. Tammy grinned and kissed your cheek.

“All in all, a successful mission, I’d say,” Constance replied, crossing her arms and leaning back. 

Well, you couldn’t argue with that.