#and you know what? maybe it will be the solution. it's not a plausible one now but it could be the solution anyway

[spaceradars]

why do i feel so weird lately oh my god.

[cheriden]

「 my "i love you" 」 | pt. 2 。。。

He maneuvers to block your path, grip on your arms bordering painful. “I love you–”

“You’re drunk.” You hiss, nails digging into his shoulders as you drag him to the front door. “You don’t even want to hear what I have to say?” Huffing, you gather his things together and shove them to his chest.

── synopsis 。Your best friend with benefits seeks clarity on your relationship

pairing 。switch!top choi beomgyu x f! reader

.ᐟ genre 。angst, smut, fluff

.ᐟ tags 。fwb to lovers, unprotected sex, oral (m receiving), overstimulation, arguing, pet names, frotting, a lot of kissing, breeding, idk what else

.ᐟ status & word count 。two-parts | 3.54k

part 1 | part 2

.ᐟ warnings/notes 。not proofread, sorry this took so long. enjoy!

Droplets fall rapidly against your windowsill, thunder clapping when the lightning’s glow hits Beomgyu’s face—highly alluring as his muddy puppy eyes drown in yours so intensely, so vast.

It makes you feel like absolute shit.

Your stomach bubbles over as you wrap your hands around his, retracting them from its hold on your face. It’s heavier without it. He looks at you in concern, confused at your end goal.

He’s patient, oh so patient. It almost makes you seethe with anger at how much he still doesn’t understand. Giving up with a sigh, you look away from him. “Is that any better?”

Beomgyu observes you with knitted brows, trying to come up with a solution and an answer as if it were a math equation. “I don’t,” cutting himself off, he blinks frantically, looking for the right thing to say. “Why are we even here then? You wanted it in the first place!”

You don’t have an answer. The only plausible one would be to tell him that it’s because you love him, how much pain it brings you to continue going on like this with someone who doesn’t feel the same, how sad it leaves you when he walks out the door.

You swear as you pick up and put on the pile of clothes strewn on the floor, frustrated at all of the sudden rush of emotions that make you answer in blunt, meaningless venom. “I was bored and horny months ago. Now I don’t want any of this.” The brunette’s face is laced with hurt, chest huffing and nostrils flaring. “I’m not your personal vibrator. You can’t just boss me around or order me whenever you need me.” Hands reaching to massage your temples, you hiss, “I never asked you to be any of that! You—”

“I’m just a glorified dildo to you. That’s all you ever call me for anyway.” Scoffing, you storm off into the bathroom, washing yourself off the filth on your hands, on your arms. “I’m just a pocket pussy to you!” You scream back, “Don’t think you’re on the losing end here.”

“How lucky of me,” He fires back, stomping into the foyer. “You’re such an asshole. Don’t even text me.” He hurriedly ties his laces, more or less falling over himself as he takes his anger out on the doorknob. “I wasn’t planning to, prick!.” He shoves a middle finger up into your face, one last gesture before he’s slamming the door, sound echoing through the hollow apartment.

The weather doesn’t cease, quite the opposite. Precipitate thuds and crashes heavily, thunder roaring as the lightning halfway blinds you from how close it is. On the ground is Beomgyu’s brown automatic umbrella, still wet from earlier. You palm its button, taking a long breath, unlocking your door.

Looking around, almost everything is shrouded in rain and fog. You hold tightly onto the umbrella, wind howling prior to it nearly knocking you back along with it. You don’t see him, don’t know which direction he went.

You curse at yourself for not knowing, you curse at Beomgyu for leaving. You beat yourself up for being too big of a pussy to actually say something, anything helpful to him.

The umbrella finds itself useless, tears streaming down your face. With drenched clothes and wet slippers, you trudge back into your apartment and overthink yourself to sleep on the couch.

You’re pathetic. Really pathetic. But maybe it’s just the flu making you extra emotional. Sobbing into your blankets, it doubles as a makeshift tissue box—burrowing your red, inflamed nose against it. It’s gross, and you should really go to bed, but your friends said they’d swing by to drop something off at your place; something to make you feel better.

As you answer the door, you take in the irony— the latter phrase couldn’t be more wrong. He’s here, a few inches away from your grasp, but he’s here. He’s drunk and blinking very hard in hopes that he can gain balance, but he’s here.

Beomgyu raises the bag of warm food in a translucent plastic bag, waving it in front of your face. Not really sure what to say anymore, you move away from the door to let him in. He rambles about the empty cupboards and kitchen counters—setting down the insulated tupperwares he brought. A fog of vapor releases into the air when he opens one of them. It’s tempting, and you’re really sick and really tired, not to mention hungry. Regardless, you stand your ground; if staring at him waiting for him to explain counts. He apologizes, says he’s been busy; though you already knew that. He knows you know, knows he’s just filling awkward space. The both of you just wait for each other to say something. A tired drunk versus a tired sick person who’s sort of drunk on cough syrup. “Your umbrella is by the doorframe.” The look on his face says he’s unsure what to make of that. Were you just stating a fact? Did you think it’s what he came for? Or did you want him to leave so badly? His breathing is shaky, anxiety catching up to him as he busies himself with the take-out. “I can buy another one any day,” He lies through his teeth. You know, because he’s treasured it and it’s brown bear print since the day you met. “I heard the others say you were sick, and I came.”

“You stopped your drinking session to come visit me?” It’s earnest curiosity, mixed with a hint of attitude. “I stopped by to check on you, I was worried about you–us.” An eyebrow raises as you watch the other shift stiffly in his seat. “Us?” His gaze backs down, palming the back of his neck. “Yeah, us. We left things on a weird note last time.” Head spinning, you slouch into one of the chairs. “Beoms,” He lights up at the acknowledgement, deflating once he sees the concerned look on your face. “I’m really tired, I think you should leave. I’ll pay you back for the food some other time.”

Without warning, he springs across the table, clutching your face and pressing down hard on your lips. His teeth gnash against your unmoving ones, frantic to get you moving. When you do, it’s a shove to his shoulders, causing him to stumble backwards. “Beomgyu, what the fuck?” The brunette winces at your tone, panicking when you get up to back away from him. “I’m sorry! I just wanted to talk to you.”

“Yeah and eating my face off is part of the plan?” You retort, shaking off the wrist that holds you in place. “I know I’m sorry!” He maneuvers to block your path, grip on your arms bordering painful. “I love you–”

“You’re drunk.” You hiss, nails digging into his shoulders as you drag him to the front door. “You don’t even want to hear what I have to say?” Huffing, you gather his things together and shove them to his chest.

You want to be mad. You want to curse him out for everything he’s unknowingly put you through, but when you see his face, so remorseful and full of hurt and you remember how it’s not even his fault. “Get your shit together. Call me when you're sober and I’m not on cough syrup; so we can both think clearly.” Eager is an understatement, immediately nodding as he drops all his things to drape his arms around you. He hugs as if he’s afraid of how you’d look at him when you part, as if separating from you would be so wrong it was almost inhuman. Still, he detaches himself. “Okay.”

You think you’ve been standing outside his apartment complex for about twenty minutes. Anxiety eats away at your stomach acid, tapping your foot on the ground as you stare at Beomgyu’s last message.

It’s the right place, same structure on maps and easy to find, though maybe you’re trying to come up with a reason not to push through with this. You didn’t even know he transferred buildings, taken by surprise at the random notification that pinged your phone at three in the morning. After viewing it, the confrontation with him plagued your mind, scenarios running wildly in your head as you overthink every possible outcome.

A shy smile graces Beomgyu’s face when he lets you in, easing the apprehension a little. The area is cluttered with all types of trinkets and memorabilia from him and his roommates, though you can see how his stands out to you the most. There’s a cute wall full of photo strips from all of his friends, though none containing you had caught your eye. The unease makes its way back to you, gulping down as he guides you across the studio, passing the living area and miscellaneous doors. “I’ll get you something to drink. You can just sit on the bed–or on the floor, or–it doesn’t really matter.” With that he leaves, and you’re greeted by a plethora of mixed ornaments: A few instruments lazily strewn against the walls and racks, study desk devoid of any actual study material—replaced by a new curved flatscreen for his desktop, posters for different genres of music and fiction neatly arranged on one wall.

You stop to inspect the cork board behind the monitor; a few photos of the two of you taped and pinned along with random receipts and to-do lists. Your heart sinks a little, recalling the abrupt confession from nearly a week ago. You know what he said, but it’s best not to get your hopes up, you’re his closest friend after all. Beomgyu kicks the door open with mild force, startling you. He huffs out a chuckle, “I don’t actually have anything, so I just got us water.” With a nod, you flump onto the edge of the bed, twiddling your thumbs. For a while, the two of you just sit there, staring at each other. Your eyes bare into his, cheeks flaring up as collateral as he blurts out, “I meant it. Everything I said the other night.” You set the glass slowly onto the nightstand, shifting up the bed. The brunette mimics your actions, making sure you don’t run away or divert away from him. “I think you’re confused, Gyu.” His lids shut in frustration, gnawing back a portion of his cheeks. “No you don’t–” You cut him off, rambling. “It’s my fault, ever since I asked you to sleep with me we’ve been blurring the lines a bit too far.”

He charges at you, palm clasped over your face. “You’re not listening to me.” Through muffled protests, you exclaim, “But–” Another hand pushes you against the headboard, “You never listen to me. All you do is make assumptions about how I feel and how it’s affecting me when you don’t even let me speak for myself. I told you I love you and you shut me up, like you’re telling me how I feel.” The weight of his body nearly crushes you, eyes sealed as you feel the comforting pressure numbing your nerves. “I know how I fucking feel. I’ve never been so sure of anything—ever. So no, I’m not going to let you bitch about how things should be going between us without my decision.” He bites down on the plump of his lips, trying to find the words to say. “You don’t give a shit about me, and I let it slide because I’m so desperate for anything you do. I run miles the minute you text me to come over, or did you not even know I moved?” Shying away in guilt has him laughing madly, tugging the ends of his own hair. “See? You only think about yourself like the selfish prick you are. Everything is always about you.”

His laughter dies down, liquid drops cascading onto your shirt. “Do I really mean that little to you? What else do you want from me?” Your words are lost in between the silence and the steady sniffling, gazing up slowly to meet his own. What else can you say? What do you want? How blind could you have been to ignore Beomgyu, your best friend over everything else?

So you don’t say anything.

You lean forward, prolonged eye contact undisturbed as your breath fans his lips. It’s agonizing, how slow you both are—if any of you are moving at all. His lips brush against yours, sighing into you—it’s as sweet as nectarine. He takes you in like he’s never eaten anything better, yet restraining himself from hasty gestures, savoring every turn of your tongue and groove of your mouth. Your body slants against his, shifting upwards as he wraps your legs around his, hands on the meat of your thighs. His body stutters, reluctantly pulling away. “Let’s… We should stop now. Before one of us gets hurt.”

Your face softens, taking his hands in yours and peppering his fingers with delicate pecks. “I would never dream of hurting you, baby.” He melts onto your shoulders, burying himself in your collarbone. “I don’t want things to stay as they are.” He comments as you kiss the side of his head, stroking his hair as your other hand thumbs over his knuckles. “I don’t want things to stay as they are either.”

He jumps up at the revelation, breathing unrhythmically. “And if it ruins our friendship?” You kiss the knot off the brows on his forehead, planting them on spots of visible tension strewn across his face. “Then we’d still be lovers, no?” Your words have Beomgyu in a trance, and he thinks he’s lucid dreaming. “Lovers?” You hum in agreement, tucking the stray strands of brown behind his ear. “Do you not want that?”

“Of course!” He blurts, clearing his throat in embarrassment. “I mean, of course I do. With you. Only you.”

“Only me?” You tease, but he takes it at face value, pleading. “Only you. Forever.”

“That’s cheesy.” He scoffs, pushing you down on his bed. “Shut up, you want me.”

“I do. Only you.” To that he grins, giggly and innocent as if he wasn’t grinding his knee into your cunt. “I wanna taste you.” You hoist his chin up, stopping him from going down on you. “Baby,” You coo, “you’re so cute. But I think I owe you head today.” Lips parting, he wastes no time ridding himself of his sweats. “And for the last million times.” He retorts in a half joke. “I know, I’m so sorry.” Pouting for sympathy, you rub your cheek against his underwear. “I’ll make sure to make up for all of it.” He stifles a moan, hips moving at nothing. “My needy prince.” Disregarding your teasing, he focuses on the movements of your fingers, skilled and articulated as they work his cock. “That’s gonna take forever.” He replies, earning a shrug from you. “We have the time.”

You trace the shape of its head, licking and kissing it until you stop at his balls, repeating over and over again until he tells you to stop. With a deep breath, you take as much of him as you can, hitting the back of your throat as he screams. All the sounds you’re making go straight to his dick, Forearms covering his eyes. You reach to swat them away, forcing his eyes on you—you do the same. He whimpers when you hump the mattress below him, slick staining the sheets. His hands intertwine with yours, staring straight at the sight as he bucks into your mouth.

“‘M sorry, so weak.” He’s gasping for air, palms flat on the back of your head, shoving you down his length. “Can’t control it–need your mouth.” Your cunt throbs with every grunt he makes, nose hitting his skin. His noises get louder, pitch raising. “No–stop—” But you don’t listen, hands on his ass while he pushes your face off him. He wants to see you, see you blissed-out painted in his seed when he comes. You don’t let him, swallowing around his dick as you take every pump of cum that flows into your mouth. He falls over your shoulder gasping, grabbing your head to meet his with a kiss. “You’re so mean, I thought today was about me?” You hum, crawling back up the headboard and discarding the rest of your clothing. “So you didn’t like it? ‘Cause I can—”

He cuts you off immediately, shaking his head fervently. “No! I just wanna see your face.”

“Aw, did my baby miss me that much?” You coo, “It was only a week.” With a huff, he lines his member and rubs it against your wet pussy. “A week too long.” Laughing, you caress his cheek, fingers kissed by him. “We’ll do it as much and as long as you like.” He ruts harder against you, moans filling up the room. “You’ll be the death of me.”

You snarl, impatient. “Stop talking and fuck me already.”

He only slides the tip in you, smirk growing as he watches you writhe for friction.

Beomgyu watches the crease in your brows, the quiver of your lips, the restlessness of your arms. He kisses every feature of you he can, filing the memories away. “I love you.”

You're barely able to mumble it back as he bottoms out, a resounding thud sounding from the base of his dick and onto your ass. “God, you feel so fucking good.” He rolls his hips slow and deep, eyes trained on you—watching your mouth fall open and close. You don’t make any noise, but he’s here to change that. Pressing down on your stomach, he feels the outline of his cock as it moves in and out, the bulge so visible you shut your eyes closed in embarrassment. You gasp when he bends down to kiss you again, hold on your chin steady as he directs it to the view that connects the two of you. After a few seconds, he pulls your face to meet his. “You’re gonna watch me. And I wanna hear all the pretty sounds you make.” Without warning, he pummels into you, your back arching off the sheets and drool pours from your mouth when he hooks his thumb into it. “B–Beomgyu—”

“Mine…All mine now—gonna ruin you for anyone else.” You whine and thrash underneath him, fingernails digging into his arms as he plays with the nub of your clit. “Nobody else’s, only yours.” He chuckles, “That’s right, love. Where do you want it?” You can barely string words together, fucked out beyond belief as his thrusts get harder, loosing rhythm. “Inside!” His cock pulses at your words, slowing down to stop himself from coming.

“You want it inside? Want me to breed you full of cum?” He says in a low voice, hands roaming your body while licking at your tits.

You’re so animated, every part of your body moving against his for relief, holding back a moan when your hole clenched around him. “Filthy… But you’re my baby, and I love you so, so much. Of course I’ll give you what you want.” He picks up the pace, hips pounding into you relentlessly—the sound of skin slapping mixed with the smell of sex is as suffocating as it is intoxicating.

You’re loud and screaming a slurry of words you aren’t even sure make sense, cock-drunk as he fucks you through your first orgasm. It’s not long before a second one barrels through you, walls clenching tighter as he spills his own seed inside, milky white and full as he makes you ride out both your highs.

Your cum mixes as it pools around your ass and the base of his dick. He litters your face and body with kisses, stopping at your lips to devour it hungrily. It’s all drool, hot gasps of air shared when you disconnect with a line of spit.

He doesn’t pull out, staring at the sight for a few seconds before carefully settling at the space next to you, making sure not a single drop leaks out.

“Just to be clear, we’re dating now right?” “Yes, you idiot. Did you not hear anything I said? Did you ignore the part where I agreed to you breeding me?” His face flushes, hiding himself between the junction of your neck and shoulder. “Just making sure.” Beomgyu snakes his arm on top of your waist, draping a leg onto it and sighing, content.

“….So nobody else, right?” You groan, turning your head to face him. It’s hard, and you wince at the position change when his dick prods around inside you, cum leaking onto the sheets. “Nobody else.” You reply, resting your head back against his chest. “Only you.”

We hit 300 (what would've been 500+) notes on part 1 !!

thank you for reading! feedback, reblogs, and tags for support towards the algorithm appreciated♡

[sunderwight]

contemplating an SVSSS fic where Airplane transmigrates into Tianlang Jun instead of Shang Qinghua.

he wakes up before Tianlang Jun was about to walk into the HH Palace Master's plot, but too late to really do much about Su Xiyan's situation or the frame job. of course, being Airplane, he doesn't go face down the sects and get sealed under a mountain. but he also doesn't know what to do about the whole situation with Luo Binghe.

he was too vague in his outline and especially in his actual story. finding Xiyan or possibly some random washer woman who lives along the Luo river is a needle in a haystack situation, and he didn't ask for any of this to happen to him, so he just ends up leaving it alone. Tianlang Jun goes back to the demon realms with his confused (but relieved) nephew, and works on consolidating his power there and on thwarting the attempted incursions of Huan Hua Palace.

HHP has egg on their face because they riled up the other sects and got them into this alliance/ambush plot and then the heavenly demon they were supposed to fight didn't even show up. hasn't even been seen in the human world since. while HHP tries to spin it as them being so strong and formidable that they scared him off, the other sects feel like they're just blowing hot air and trying to take credit for something that never even happened. was that head disciple of theirs even involved with a demon at all? suspicious how she just disappeared, too. maybe it's a cover-up. no one's particularly impressed or convinced after the fact that HHP's claims are on the level.

which at least means that there's no concerted effort to wage a war or anything. Tianlang Jun meets a young Mobei Jun and Airplane decides to expend a lot of time and energy in helping the young prince consolidate his own power, so that's a whole thing. there's no system so Airplane's not obliged to preserve the plot, but he still knows it's out there and he's gotta skirt the line between giving MBJ absolute power on a silver platter and not setting MBJ up to be killed by the protagonist one day.

there are benefits and problems to TLJ mostly leaving Luo Binghe's whole journey untouched. on the one hand, he anticipates that everything around Luo Binghe will continue just like in the novel, so that's easy to predict. but on the other hand, that means he's in for some trouble when the blackened protagonist emerges all super-powered and unbeatable from the abyss and starts taking revenge on everyone who wronged him (a category which potentially includes the deadbeat dad who abandoned him for years).

so as the time of the immortal alliance conference approaches, Tianlang Jun starts to think that he needs to get ahead of this.

the most logical solution is to prevent Luo Binghe becoming quite as OP of a protagonist as he'd been the first time. since TLJ is plenty powerful himself (one of the things Airplane enjoys! as well as being very rich!) LBH really does need every edge he could possibly get to be a threat to him. so, why let him gain those edges?

this leads to TLJ's brilliant plan: just don't let Luo Binghe get thrown into the Endless Abyss! no blackening, no all-powerful weapon, no gauntlet of monsters to hone his skills, just a run-of-the-mill heavenly demon hybrid who could never in a million years take his old man in a fight!

TLJ decides he can two-birds-with-one-stone this situation by capturing Shen Qingqiu. then, one day if LBH does still make it to his doorstep, he can present him with his hated scum villain as a peace offering. like well son I know I abandoned you to suffer on your own, but plausibly I didn't even know you existed, so here, have your abuser to dismember in cathartic violence as you please! become a filial son and this old man will help fund whatever massive harems you want to build!

genius!

so, shortly before the immortal alliance conference is set to take place, TLJ goes and steals himself a peak lord.

Shen Qingqiu is... kind of different from what he expected? but oh well, it's been years since he wrote the novel and lots of characters have turned out somewhat different in person from how they were on the page, and the guy was always a mess of contradictions anyway. TLJ hands him over to his servants with strict instructions to keep him locked up, but not to harm or kill him (revenge is reserved for the protagonist, after all!)

Zhuzhi Lang, who witnessed the last debacle where his uncle took a sudden keen interest in a cold but beautiful human cultivator, makes entirely the wrong assumption (as do a lot of the palace staff) and figures that TLJ has just become more pragmatic about pursuing his lovers. Shen Qingqiu is given appropriate chambers (and restrictions) and word soon spreads that the Demon Emperor has captured a human cultivator to serve as his concubine.

so, this version of SQQ has actually been Shen Yuan since Luo Binghe joined the sect (and also doesn't have a system and thus had zero plans of throwing LBH into the abyss), and he is desperately trying to figure out what kind of changes he has unwittingly invoked here that Luo Binghe's father should be still alive, and free, and also kidnapping him to be his goddamn concubine?! that has to be a misunderstanding, right?!

Mobei Jun is mad. and jealous. and mad. but a concubine isn't an empress, so that job posting is still available, right? it better be, he has been waiting more than a decade for the official proposal!

TLJ meanwhile decides he's going to go secretly watch the immortal alliance conference just to make sure that the universe doesn't contrive to drop LBH into the abyss anyway, but weirdly enough, Luo Binghe isn't even there. listening to rumors, he gathers that uh... some stuff has changed? like Luo Binghe is head disciple of Qing Jing Peak? and apparently went crazy when Shen Qingqiu disappeared? except that some people think they might have eloped???

maybe he shouldn't get his rumors from Xian Shu disciples, those girls remind him of rpf conspiracy theory shippers from his old life. they're probably just way off base! hahaha... ha...?

well at least TLJ did a pretty good job of covering his tracks, so there's no reason for anyone to suspect that he captured Shen Qingqiu. or there shouldn't be, until he goes back home to find that every single demon seems to believe that Shen Qingqiu has been taken by him to be his lover. where did anyone even get that idea?! TLJ has been dutifully pining in his unrequited and inappropriate love for the young Mobei Jun for years now! whenever anyone asks he insists he's still mourning Su Xiyan! it's been a whole thing!

but oh shit, truth aside, there's no way those kinds of rumors have remained strictly contained to demon ears. both demons and cultivators have their spies after all, and even if they didn't, news moves along the borders.

sure enough, TLJ barely has time to try and dismantle this misunderstanding before a young Luo Binghe arrives on his doorstep, along with Yue Qingyuan and the very-much-still-alive lord of Bai Zhan peak, for some reason, all of them extremely pissed off at him!

[achilles-rage]

SFW Alphabet

evan buckley x plus size!reader

A/N: i'm so sorry his took a while to write, i got really into bridgeton and binged the whole thing so my mind was on that. also, i felt like lady whistledown while finishing this LOL. anyway, enjoy<3

A = Affection (How affectionate are they? How do they show affection?)

He likes some PDA, but will tone it down most of the time, opting to have his arm around you or steal quick kisses when attention isn't on you. At home, however, he is ON YOU, as touch is the easiest way for him to show affection. He wants to have you as close to him as possible, with his hands all over you. I think words of affirmation are also important for him to receive, so he loves hearing you tell him how much you love and appreciate him.

B = Best friend (What would they be like as a best friend? How would the friendship start?)

He can become friends with anyone at any time. He is a yapper. And with all his random facts in the back of his brain I think he can find common ground with just about anyone. If on the odd chance he doesn't, he's more than happy to listen and learn. As a friend, there is nothing he wouldn't do to keep you safe and happy. He would make sure to check in all the time and would be happy to do favours, anytime you need. I think in a best friend he needs someone to have serious conversations with, but also have fun with. He loves to have a friend he can truly open up to about his childhood or anything he's feeling, and of course will listen to you in return.

C = Cuddles (Do they like to cuddle? How would they cuddle?)

CUDDLER ALERT!!! BIG MAN BABY ALERT!!!!! He loves physical touch, so cuddling is one of his favourite ways of showing affection. He would cuddle with you in any place and any position but there's something about being little spoon that hits so hard, especially after a long day at work. He also loves laying on his back with your head on his chest and vice versa so he can lay on your tits<3

D = Domestic (Do they want to settle down? How are they at cooking and cleaning?)

This man owns a fucking APRON!! He is in his element in a domestic little scenario. He wants nothing more than to start a loving family and create a safe place with his partner. He definitely likes cooking more than cleaning, but he's fair, and will divide cooking and household chores pretty evenly.

E = Ending (If they had to break up with their partner, how would they do it?)

He's been to therapy, and we've all seen how his other relationships have ended. He now knows the importance of communication, so I think there would be a lead up to a break up. He wants nothing more than to work it out with you, trying to talk out the issues, but if there was no plausible solution, he would sit you down and have an honest, but respectful conversation about it.

F = Fiance(e) (How do they feel about commitment? How quick would they want to get married?)

He wants to be married so bad!!! He can't wait to find the right person to settle down with. He loves seeing all the happy couples he works with, and he can't wait to add someone to the 118 fam. I think the timeline could go two ways, he's pretty impulsive, so I could definitely see him proposing within a year of dating (if everything is going exceptionally smoothly). The other way it could go is him waiting like, a weirdly long time. He's a bit nervous about you saying no, so he holds off (even though he imagines you with a ring on your finger very often), but one day just kinda blurts it out. Maybe you're laying in bed, talking and giggling and he's just filled with an uncontrollable joy, and he just has to speak his mind. After he says it he kinda freezes, looking at you nervously before you of course say yes and he's basically jumping for joy, hugging you and kissing all over your face and pulling the ring out of his closet that he bought but was too nervous to present to you in the traditional way lol.

G = Gentle (How gentle are they, both physically and emotionally?)

He's pretty gentle overall, both physically and emotionally. He's seen how he who shall not be named has affected Maddie and would never do anything to make someone afraid of him in that way (either a partner or a friend). He loves giving you soft touches, loving how you shiver as his fingers trail down your arms, your chest, your soft stomach, your plush thighs. He's also a man who has been to therapy, so he might be a little impulsive, but he has a lot of emotional intelligence, and always tries to ground himself and be as gentle as possible in any situation when it comes to people he cares about.

H = Hugs (Do they like hugs? How often do they do it? What are their hugs like?)

King of hugs, truly. He LOVES them. It's a nice way for him to show how much he cares, and how much he loves you, so expect them often. If you're not one for physical touch, he understands, but sometimes he just can't help himself. Sometimes he needs a good hug to calm him down, or during the odd time that he has no words, he tries to put all his emotions into a hug. He's a bear hugger, he loves feeling your arms around him, your chest and soft belly pressing against him. He wraps his arms around your shoulders, pulling you in as close as you can possibly get, resting his cheek on the top of your head. When he's really happy, his arms are going around your waist, lifting you up off the ground as you protest, fighting out a "put me down" through giggles, but still hugging him back. He will hear none of your protests, of course. Have you seen his arms? He works out. "Of course I can lift you, pretty girl"

I = I love you (How fast do they say the L-word?)

I think he waits a while to say it. He's been in his fair share of relationships and is a little weary of people leaving, so I think saying I love you could be something that he's a little hesitant to say early. Once he does, however, it's coming out of his mouth about 30 more times before the day ends. Before he says it, there's plenty of other ways he says it without actually saying the words. "Text me when you get home." "Did you eat today?" "Here, let me help you with that." That sort of thing. To him, words of affirmation are important, he likes to hear how things are going, so him saying I love you is just his way of ensuring that he's in it all the way.

J = Jealousy (How jealous do they get? What do they do when they’re jealous?)

Ok, I know what you're going to say, "but what about 7x04???" I know, but I think those were slightly different circumstances. I think before he gets into a relationship, and he knows that you only want him, he can get very jealous. If he sees someone getting a little too close to you, it takes everything in him not to physically get in between you and the person you're talking to (even though he sometimes will discreetly, brushing it off as him wanting to tell you something or show you something). He's scared that you'll choose someone else instead and leave him. He'll hang out with you more, asking more and more about this new person in your life, making sure that they don't have a better chance to get with you than he does.

If you are dating, however, I think he really tones it down on the jealousy. Instead of worrying about other people, he shows you how much he cares about you. If he really feels jealous, I think he may bring it up to you, as he's learned the importance of communication, and will try to come up with a fair way to solve this problem. He doesn't expect you to not talk to this person anymore, he more just needs to hear that you want him, not the other person, and that you are happy in your relationship.

K = Kisses (What are their kisses like? Where do they like to kiss you? Where do they like to be kissed?)

I could actually write 100,000 words about this I think, but I'll keep it short(ish). This man THRIVES on kisses, if you think he loves hugging, good lord you're in for it. He puts so much emotion into his kisses, if it's not just a peck, and you're not expecting it, it'll leave your head spinning. He'll give you quick pecks all the time, but sometimes he can't help but wrap his arms around you and give you a long passionate kiss. Once he pulls away he'll kiss your face all over, loving how you laugh softly. He also loves giving you kisses on the top of your head when he hugs you, just letting you know that he's there and he loves you. His favourite, however, are neck and jaw kisses, both giving and receiving. He loves how you tilt your head back, sighing softly as he kisses you, melting against his touch. He also loves feeling your lips on him, squeezing your waist tighter as you kiss him, feeling so loved and cared for in that moment. Be warned though, if you kiss that man's jaw, he has no choice but to jump on you.

L = Little ones (How are they around children?)

Dear god he loves kids so much, we've all seen how he is with Jee, the baby from episode one, and that little girl stuck in the claw machine. He's full of energy anyway, so he loves running around with them, colouring with them, watching their silly little shows and singing with them. I also believe this man is a girl dad, and you WILL catch him wearing a tutu and a little princess crown on his head, looking comically large with a little teacup in his hand (with freshly painted bright pink nails, his pinky out, obviously) and sitting uncomfortably at his daughters teeny little table.

M = Morning (How are mornings spent with them?)

If neither of you work, you take the opportunity to spend some extra time in bed, slowly waking up together as Buck has practically wrapped himself around you. When you finally drag yourselves out of bed, you go downstairs to make some coffee. If you're feeling fancy you'll make some waffles with strawberries and blueberries, but most of the time it's eggs or frozen waffles lol. You spend the morning quietly, just enjoying each other's company before getting on with your day, using it as a time of relaxing and being close to each other.

On days where one or both of you works, you'll still stay in bed for a few minutes, happily pressed against each other before you finally have to get ready for the day. You'll mostly spend your time separately as you get ready, whoever has more time that morning will brew the coffee and bring up that and something quick for breakfast to the other, with a soft kiss as a thank you. While you spend your mornings doing your own things to get ready, they're still full of touching and kissing as either of you pass each other, still wanting to spend some time together before you leave for the day.

N = Night (How are nights spent with them?)

Buck loves cooking, so on nights where you both are home he'll cook a nice meal for you, sometimes letting you help. After dinner you'll both get into your comfy clothes, ready to spend the night winding down. We all know Buck loves learning new things, and has an unending amount of fun facts up his sleeve, so he loves to curl up on the couch with you and watch shows about his current hyper fixation.

O = Open (When would they start revealing things about themselves? Do they say everything all at once or wait a while to reveal things slowly?)

I think he'll reveal things slowly to you. He's not necessarily hiding it, he just brings it up as it comes up naturally in conversation. I think he also tends to reveal the more traumatic things about himself randomly, leaving you looking at him with your jaw dropped, unsure of what to say. He looks at you sheepishly, shrugging softly as you regain your composure, pulling him in for a hug/kiss before you let him explain, if he wishes to.

P = Patience (How easily angered are they?)

I think with you he has a lot of patience, but it also depends on what exactly it's about. If it's about your wellbeing he would definitely get upset quickly if you were brushing off your wellbeing in favour of work/other people/etc, but I think a lot of the time he tries not to get too worked up. Communication is very important to him, so rather than getting upset over small things, he chooses to have an in depth conversation about anything you may disagree about.

Q = Quizzes (How much would they remember about you? Do they remember every little detail you mention in passing, or do they kind of forget everything?)

He remembers a lot about you. It's like memorizing the silly topics he researches. He wants to know everything there is to know about you. He remembers a lot of little things, like your favourite flowers, or how you hate when people chew with their mouth open. He also knows you though, so a lot of the time, if he can't really remember something, he knows you well enough to take a guess and be mostly right. Your favourite snack slips his mind when he's getting groceries? He knows if you usually reach for sweet or salty, and he knows generally what you like, so if he had to guess, it would be one of your favourite snacks, at least.

R = Remember (What is their favorite moment in your relationship?)

His favourite memory is the first time you spent the night at his place. When you woke up in his arms you looked so happy, eyes still full of sleep and hair a bit of a mess, but he thought you looked so pretty. You stayed in bed for a while, content in just being close to each other, exchanging soft kisses and giggles, before you got up. He wanted to show off his cooking skills, so he made your favourite breakfast, and you looked so happy at his kitchen table, like you belonged. He also noticed how you were a little bit surprised by his actions, not used to this treatment from other men from your past, and he vowed that he was gonna treat you so well that you would forget all about the way you've been treated by your exes.

S = Security (How protective are they? How would they protect you? How would they like to be protected?)

He is extremely protective of everyone in his life. If he had to choose to put himself into a dangerous situation versus you, he would choose himself in a heartbeat. I think in situations that are less life or death, he'd still be very protective, not wanting anything to happen to you. I don't think he'd be protective in an overbearing way, but he would want to make sure that you weren't in any kind of danger that he could've prevented.

T = Try (How much effort would they put into dates, anniversaries, gifts, everyday tasks?)

He puts in SO MUCH EFFORT!!! I don't think he puts in a ton of effort for every single date, sometimes just opting for a nice night in or something more lowkey, but if he wants to, he will do anything to make you feel special. I think he puts in a lot of effort into most aspects of a relationship: gift giving, communication, etc.

U = Ugly (What would be some bad habits of theirs?)

Sometimes, when he's trying to get one of Bobby's recipes right, and he's feeling a little frustrated about it, he'll flop down on the couch instead of cleaning up the kitchen. You walk into the house, eyes falling on the dishes and food all over the counters, looking over at Buck, who smiles innocently. He comes over to you, wrapping his arms around you as he kisses you softly, which works in trying to get your mind off of it. He knows the disastrous kitchen drives you crazy, and he will get to it eventually, but sometimes he doesn't wanna get to it right away.

V = Vanity (How concerned are they with their looks?)

He puts in a fair amount of effort. He clearly works out, and enjoys being in as good a shape as he can be, but he also takes the time to look put together when he's in public. At home he cares less about looking perfect, but he still cares.

W = Whole (Would they feel incomplete without you?)

This man YEARNS for a partner that he can experience life with. I think when he meets the right person he will definitely feel like a weight is lifted off his shoulders, realizing how good sharing a life with you is. While he does think it's important for you two to have lives outside of the relationship (your own friends and hobbies), he loves to have someone to come home to at the end of the day and know that he has someone rooting for him and vice versa. While he doesn’t necessarily feel incomplete without a relationship, he definitely thinks you bring out a side of him that he likes.

X = Xtra (A random headcanon for them.)

HEAR ME OUT!

This man LOVES to be pampered!!! If you ever wanna have a little spa night with him, he is agreeing so fast. He'll let you wash his hair while you take a shower, he'll sit there while you put a face mask on him, and then he'll lay there while you massage his back, and he'll of course return the favour. He eats up all the attention you give him, and he loves how refreshed he feels after your little spa night. He'll feel so relaxed and would have the best sleep of his life with you wrapped in his arms after.

Y = Yuck (What are some things they wouldn’t like, either in general or in a partner?)

I feel like he hates it when people are late. The odd time, fine. He can’t blame you if you lose track of time or run into traffic. But if someone is consistently late, he can’t help but get that feeling that it’s because they don’t wanna be there, or that they don’t care about him. In his words, he is always the one that watches others leave, and being late makes him feel a little bit like someone leaving him.

Z = Zzz (What is a sleep habits of theirs?)

We all know this man SNORES, which you were surprised about at first. How can this peaceful looking little guy be so goddamn loud?? It takes a while to get used to, but after a while, it becomes a little comforting. On nights that he's not sleeping beside you, it feels a little too quiet. He's also a big cuddle bug, he loves feeling you pressed up against him when he goes to sleep, knowing you're so close to him. If he woke up in the middle of the night and had somehow gotten out of his grip he'd be moving over beside you, draping an arm over your soft tummy before passing back out again.

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[m1d-45]

my love, my god

summary: the ‘tomorrow’ you’ve been putting off finally comes, but not how you expect it to

word count: 2.6k

-> warnings: spoilers for baizhu lore/story quest, you have several nosebleeds

-> gn reader (you/yours) and aether as the traveller

taglist (+those that asked for a pt 2): @samarill || @thenyxsky || @valeriele3 || @shizunxie || @boba-is-a-soup || @yuus3n || @esthelily || @turningfrogsgay || @cupandtea24 || @genshin-impacts-me || @chaoticfivesworld || @raaawwwr || @fleurdawn || @extremelytoastybread || @ambermondy || @loyal-to-dottore

<< first part || < masterlist >

living with aether was supposed to be easy.

you’d established a routine, your days simple. you spent your time in his library for plausible deniability, surprised at how expansive his library was. a lot of the books seemed like gifts, with little notes scrawled in the front covers. you honestly spent more of your time reading the notes than the book themselves, tracing over the handwriting.

barbara had given him a copy of a medical handbook, with notes in the margins from both of them for replacement herbs since the book was intended for use within mondstat. you didn’t try to memorize it, just skimming for a few details. some you knew, like wolfhooks or onikabuto helping to close wounds, but some was new. apparently, a diluted solution of cor lapis shavings in water could help heal broken bones, though it was noted that this shouldn’t be used in excess if the receiver didn’t have high enough elemental affinity.

a book of liyue’s local specialties, given from someone with exceptionally sloppy handwriting. there was a whole row dedicated solely to various recipe books, the one from liyue with a few extra pages tucked in.

aether liked to write in his books, you noticed, even the fiction ones. you had yet to encounter a single book that didn’t have at least one note in the margins, each in his sharp, quick writing.

‘cut lavender melon thinner than you think.’

‘who actually talks like this?’

‘when cooking for paimon, add slime concentrate to the broth.’

it was endearing. you saw so little of him in the game, most of the dialogue given by paimon. while you’d certainly gotten to know him in your time here… it was different, seeing his notes like this. it cemented the idea that you were really in your game, since what dream of yours would include the fact that ningguang had given him a journal of advice on how to deal with various poisons someone might try to use on him?

despite his expansive collection of books, he had very few historical records. the ones he did were well worn, filled with pages of notes as he tried to decipher the history of teyvat. it was sad to see, his writing becoming more desperate the further through the books you got.

‘ask zhongli for clarification.’

‘kokomi doesn’t recognize the name ‘istaroth.’ ask miko?’

‘dahri = khaenri’ah?’

‘ask zh ask dainslef. where would i even find him?’

‘even if i knew everything, would it make sense?‘

tears pricked at your eyes, and you closed the book in your hands before you smudged the writing. you wiped at your eyes, sniffling as you put it back on the shelf. it was hard not to feel bad, but even if you told him everything you knew about teyvat, would he believe you? would he still be as kind to you as he was? he was your one real anchor here, what with the world in chaos after you stopped playing… you couldn’t even point him in the right direction, since even that would raise suspicion.

maybe that was enough reading for today.

you wiped at your nose, walking for the exit to the library. when you reached for the handle, however, you spotted a smear of glittering blue across the side of your hand.

it took another drop of blood hitting the wooden floor before you realized what was happening, quickly plugging your nose and rushing to the bathroom. you took care to wipe up the drop that landed on the floor, both so it wouldn’t stain and so that nobody saw it.

you weren’t trying to die today. and even if, somehow, aether was fine with your constant lying to him, you didn’t want to ruin what you had.

not today, thank you.

despite it being where you’d first ‘landed,’ you had never been to mondstat. ever since your run in with zhongli, it was the nation you were avoiding going with him most, second only to maybe sumeru. venti, kaeya, and diluc, three of the most perceptive people in game, all in one place… it was a recipe for disaster.

unfortunately, aether was an excellent cook.

he’d decided to take his commissions from mondstat today, and only one required combat. plus, he wanted you to see the city.. and you couldn’t exactly say no to him without reason.

the first was helping wyatt find his key in dadaupa gorge. you’re not sure why he was drinking out there, but you’re not gonna ask too many questions. the gorge was beautiful in person, cranes nearly everywhere you turned… though that might just be because you were there. the wildlife had been getting more daring lately.

the second was delivering connor some mist flower corollas, carefully moved from aether’s inventory to a thick, special made bag. you got a strange look or two from the maids, but within a few minutes aether was teleporting you to the city, tunner‘s prescription in hand. mondstat was much more lively than in the game, though you supposed that was for convenience. having hundreds of npcs roaming the city, each holding their own conversations, would likely hit performance.

paimon told you all about the city, though all of it was things you already know. there’s the adventurer’s guild, there’s bennett—you both waved—and there’s ellin! that’s the statue of barbatos, boasting a height of…

paimon scratched at her head, looking up at the statue. “how tall is the statue?”

aether shrugged, holding one hand to block the sun as he tried to guess. “nobody ever said. do you think one of the sisters would know?”

“hm, paimon thinks our best bet is venti! he sits up there all the time, doesnt he?”

you looked over the statue, taking in all the details not present on it’s in-game model. even from ground level you swear you could see individual feathers carved into the rock. “you said he flies, right? i think we should ask the knights, they-” copper landed on your tongue, and you put a finger to your top lip. it came away blue.

shit.

you covered your nose quickly, the other two thankfully getting the message without you needing to talk. a napkin was pressed to your hand, and you were careful not to let any of the blue show as you switched your hand over it.

two nosebleeds with barely two weeks between them. were you sick? were the foreign bacteria finally showing face? you didn’t feel sick—if anything you’d been feeling much better physically, since coming to teyvat—but what if you were? what if it was some illness that only targeted outlanders- no, aether would have told you about that, he was too kind not to. but then why…?

you were sat in one of the pews of the cathedral, paimon sitting by your side. your eyes tracked aether to one of the nuns, but were quickly distracted by the beautiful stained glass set in the windows. shades of blue and green decorated the walls, coloring the inside of the cathedral. you couldn’t quite make out the scenes depicted, but it gave the room so much more *life* than its model. it was lived in, not just another location on a map.

“my my, traveller, you look different than i remember.”

you’re given little warning before kaeya speaks, his steps having not made a single sound. both you and paimon turned, her hands lifting in a wave while yours tightened around your stained napkins.

“hey kaeya! what are you doing at the cathedral? paimon doesn’t remember there being a service today…”

“just going for a walk.” his eyes shift to you, and you look away, in the direction aether left. the nun was back, but he was nowhere to be found. he wouldn’t leave to the winery already, would he? “who’s this?”

“a friend.”

a hand sets on your shoulder, and you jump. was it some unspoken rule not to let your steps be heard in a cathedral, or did it come with the territory?

aether passes you a small vial of a clear blue liquid, moving to stand between you and kaeya. “i talked to barbara about your nosebleed, this should stop it. a small sip will do.”

you don’t ask why he did that, instead just doing as he said. kaeya gave you an odd look but you were quick to follow paimon out of the cathedral, leaving them to it. soon enough aether joined you, and you all went back to the teapot for lunch.

it was a fluke. it had to be.

it wasn’t.

you were sitting at a table at wanmin, listening to xingqiu talk about his latest idea for a novel. paimon had helped you order, picking you out a minty drink that was as refreshing as it was delicious. you took a sip, sharing a look with aether over the rim right as a drop slid down your top lip. thankfully, the blue streak was explained by the tint of the drink, though chongyun did give you a few more odd glances than you preferred.

running into the arataki gang in inazuma city, itto excitedly showing you and aether the new beetles he found earlier. he stuck by your side, holding your hand in his as they switched to talking about tcg. they patted their pockets, searching for the cards they’d won today. a cough into your elbow was all it took for blue to mark the inside of your sleeve, and shinobu was quick to pass you a napkin coated with onikabuto dust. it felt funny against your fingers, but apparently the gang used them to patch wounds all the time when a friendly wrestle went too far.

the more people were around, the worse they were. your nose was near constantly itchy, like the world was channeling every irritant in a mile radius right into your face. any minor bump would cause at least a drop to spill down your lip, leaving you overcautious and aether forever worried. the bottle barbara gave you ran out quick, and though she ended up giving you the recipe, it was clear that something more serious was going on.

you laid on the couch, pinching a napkin around your nose while you waited for aether to finish your medicine. he’d gone outside to get the rest of the ingredients with paimon, leaving you to your thoughts.

you hated teyvat for doing this to you. you’d bet good mora that simply showing him the color of the stains on your napkins would solve whatever phantom illness ailed you, but you didn’t want to. you were happy with the life you had! you didn’t need a shining palace or the worship of the world, you just needed aether. him and paimon and your teapot, with the small herbs growing in the windowsill and crystalflies fluttering outside. why was the world so determined to get you to spill your secret? it wasn’t like he’d hate you for keeping it—at most he’d be surprised, or maybe even a bit apologetic himself.

it was stupid. shouldn’t you be the one to decide whether this was shared or not?

you sighed, the sound of the door pushing that train of thought aside. aether tapped your shoulder and you sat up, accepting the medicine thankfully.

“sorry about the delay, baizhu was dealing with another patient.”

“you went to the pharmacy?” you hand him back the bottle, looking away as you wipe off your nose.

“yep! when we got there he was mixing up a nasty smelling poultice for some other lady—paimon swears she can still smell it, even after all this time!”

“really?” you look up, satisfied you got it all off, but freeze. aether is standing beside you, and paimon’s sitting on the arm of the couch, but behind them is baizhu, changsheng loosely coiled around his shoulders.

oh no.

“one of the ingredients in barbara’s medicine is qingxin,” aether explains, “i only had so many, so i started buying them from the pharmacy. he got curious and asked about you… i hope you don’t mind?”

you barely hear him, focused on the lift of changsheng’s head as she whispers something into baizhu’s ear. he looks surprised, mostly, but also confused, and you know exactly why.

after all if he can sense god remains, he can surely sense the god.

“is there a problem, doctor?” you ask, and wait until both aether and paimon turned to him to raise a finger to your lips.

keep quiet. don’t tell him. i don’t want to lose this yet.

he looks between you and aether, clearly conflicted.

please.

after a moment, he sighs, shaking his head as he adjusts his glasses. “nothing is wrong, my apologies. changsheng, if you will..”

he begins to search through his inventory while changsheng slithers past paimon, curling around your wrist. baizhu takes out a notepad, pulling over a chair.

“aether, you’ve been coming to the pharmacy for qingxin for a little over 3 months. is that a good estimate for the length of time this has occurred?”

he glanced at you, and you nodded.

that was a lie, technically.. but it was for the greater good. baizhu would mark you some anomaly, recommend you just keep taking barbara’s medicine, and everything would be okay. you’d be fine. no stresses of godhood, no giving up your peaceful life in the realm within, nothing.

changsheng uncoils from your hand, climbing onto aether’s shoulders to get to baizhu. he doesn’t so much as blink, letting her wind back into place. what did she go to you for, then? “do any other symptoms come with them, such as nausea or headaches?”

“no, not really.”

“have you noticed anything strange about the blood? clots, maybe, or discoloration?”

you meet his pointed look, ignoring how your heart picks up. call it selfishness. “nothing.”

baizhu sighs. “are you certain? if you want this to go away, you need to be honest.”

at least you were right on one front. to get back the life you had, you’d need to give it up. while you knew neither aether or paimon would resent you—they’d dealt with gods disguising themselves before, surely they couldn’t hate you—their attitude toward you would certainly change.

your silence is clearly worrying, and you shake your head before anybody asks questions. “i’m certain, there’s nothing.”

he again looks conflicted, and paimon looks between the two of you, frowning. “uh, is paimon missing something…?”

“i’m sorry,” baizhu says finally, “but it’s for your own health.”

before you can protest, he reaches up towards changsheng. she shifts, revealing the napkin you used earlier hidden between her body and his, clearly marked with blue.

when did she-?

baizhu flicks out the napkin and paimon gasps. “i can tell they’re getting worse, and while i understand it’s your choice, i value your life more.”

aether turns to you, and you can’t read the expression on his face. “is that really yours?”

“…yeah. i put it together that teyvat wants me to tell someone, but i didn’t want to lose what we had.”

he smiles, holding out his hand. when you took it, he pulled you up off the couch and into a hug.

“you’ll never lose me,” he promised, “not even if you’re a god. not even if you’re my god.”

[tadpolesonalgae]

Chapter 2

A/N: Please defer to warning section in Chapter 1

-Chapter 3-

The night was precisely as dissatisfying as you had expected—solidifying your decision to finally make that jump. Go out into the world and try something different. You knew you still smelled of sex, despite having already washed twice, but you’d have to wait until you got home to have a proper scrub at your skin.

“What a surprise to see you here.”

Your eyes slide shut as you press your lips together, attempting to keep your smile at bay, but failing. You pivot on your feet, turning to see the High Lord stood a little way from you on the street. “Quite a coincidence, indeed. Especially considering you knew precisely when my shift would be ending.”

“I’m sure I have no idea what you’re attempting to suggest there,” he says, gliding forward, allowing the early morning sun to catch in his blue-black locks. His arm links with yours, smoothly sliding you against him. “Walk with me?”

Your nose crinkles a little as you wince. “I’m afraid you might have to deal with some unpleasant smells, Rhys.” Sure enough, his nostrils flare.

To his credit, he doesn’t gag. “I’ve smelled far worse, believe me.”

You snort, “good to know it’s not as awful as one of those killing fields.”

A laugh drags from his throat, “you clearly haven’t been around an Illyrian male after training.”

You give him an exaggerated gasp, “scandalous, Rhysand! Talking with a lady about muscled, sweaty males so early in the morning? Atrocious manners.”

Between your work and your house, Rhys engages you in pleasant conversation, ranging from the card game he sorely lost to Cass and Az at, to future planning regarding reparations for the city. A slight innuendo here and there for good measure, to keep your spirits up.

It’s only when a silence stretches between you that you realise he’s been steadily working you up to something, plying you with polite conversation in order to get you warmed up. Cunning High Lord.

“You seem rather fatigued, this morning,” he drawls, glancing at you sidelong. You give him a tight smile, “well, I had plenty of time to do my thinking.” He raises a brow in question. “Honestly, I hadn’t even realised one of them had finished until he was pulling out and dripping down my thighs. So, yes. Plenty of time to think.”

He seems to go a little rigid at your side, and you send him an apologetic look, “sorry. T.M.I.”

He shakes his head, “I’m simply appalled someone is capable of being that bad.” He gives you a boyish smile, “would you like me to take action on your behalf and banish the male from Velaris?” You choke on a laugh, “seems a little unfair to only crack down on him. Punish one, you have to punish them all.”

When he opens his mouth again, you beat him to it. “No, that is not a plausible solution. You would end up banishing a good portion of your city, Rhys.” He stiffens, but shakes his head, managing a smile, “appalling indeed.”

You’re finally in sight of your home, just a little longer and you can sink into a warm bath, grab a meal, and fall asleep. Maybe relieve the tension between your thighs before you go… The Shadowsinger had really worked you well. It’d been a while since you’d been so…ready.

“What are you thinking about?” The words drag from his throat, husky and deep. You realise your arousal is showing even through the layers of sex you’re still mostly cloaked in. You shoot him a look, lips curving up into your own little grin that has his blood boiling, “your brothers.”

You had expected him to laugh, or scoff, but instead he’s staring at you. “Both of them?” It’s your turn to be taken aback, eyes widening marginally. “It was a joke, Rhys,” you say incredulously, reaching for the handle as you step inside. “You coming in? Or do you have some High Lord things to do.”

“Are you one of those High Lord things?” He purrs, remembering himself. He can’t loose his head so easily, or he’ll slip up. You click your tongue in fake disgust, but leave the door open for him to follow inside.

It’s not until you’ve made it up the stairs and into your room you realise just how desperately in need of a bath you are. Your muscles are aching from being stretched this way and that, throat slightly sore but already on the mend. You dare a sniff at your shirt. “Holy Mother— I am. So sorry about that.”

He shrugs casually, “it’s no bother.”

Your stomach decides to rumble, and you’re reminded of how little you’ve eaten in the past night. Rhys’ lips quirk upward, “want me to play housewife?” You roll your eyes, but smile, heading for the washroom, only to find Rhys has already filled the tub with steaming water.

You pivot to him, glaring, “leave some things for me to do.”

He takes a damn long time as he runs his gaze down your body, then back up again. “You’re free to remove your clothes at any time.” You hiss at him, but he can see the mirth in your eyes—fully relaxed again after such a long night. Maybe he should pay those males a visit…

“And you’re free to entertain yourself while I clean myself off, as long as you keep your grubby hands off my lingerie.” You smile, sauntering into the washroom, the door snapping shut behind you, snicking closed.

You sigh, already hastily shucking off your clothes, allowing them to pool on the floorboards as you dip your fingers into the water, quietly moaning at the perfection. Your foot goes in first, then the other, until the water is hugging your calves. Then you’re lowering to a kneel, the water lapping between your thighs until it raises to your hips. And finally you settle back, the heat licking over your chest as you rest against the tub. You might weep from the soothing warmth.

You could honestly hug Rhys for the bath. It’s just what you need. You hope he knows just how much you care for him—for all of them. They’ve gone out of their way to make sure you’re happy; comfortable. You truly couldn’t wish for more. They’re perfect, in every way.

You don’t know how long it is before you feel the itch that needs to be scratched, heat thrumming between your legs, and you give in to that sweet tug of oblivion. You need to loose yourself, if only for a while. You waste no time with edging, or stimulating yourself, just straight between your thighs as you begin running through a mental list of fantasises.

Imagining you’re alone, and it’s the dead of night. A stranger hauling you away down an alley, shoving you against a wall, or down onto your knees, or just ripping off your clothes where you stand. He could make you touch yourself in front of him, work yourself to a climax while he watches steadily. Or he could wrap your legs around his hips and force you to take him like that, letting gravity do the work as he helps slam you down, hips bucking sharply—

It’s not enough. You need more. More more more more more more more more more moremoremoremoremoremore

You imagine Azriel holding your leash—

Wild arousal bursts through your skin with such force you pause, fingers halting. Breathing irregular as you softly pant. Tentatively, you reel back into the thought. Azriel chaining you up…or Rhys pinning you to his bed…or Cassian shoving you to your knees. Fire burns in the pit of your belly, arousal kicking your feet out from under you.

Maybe a few centuries ago, you would have shied from those thoughts, been ashamed to think of them in that way… But you’re older now, much more familiar with the depths of your mind.

So you indulge, and the images flow to you easily, practically swarming you in a frenzied dance as arousal rides your senses.

Cassian forcing you to bend over one of the tables in the House of Wind, shoving up your skirts as his hand fists in your hair, pushing you down so he can ease into you while you’re begging him to stop, squirming helplessly beneath his warrior’s hands.

Azriel overstimulating you with those shadows of his, allowing them to figure out what buttons to push while he watches you squirm on his floor, utterly naked. Occasionally touching himself to take the edge off, but never enough to tip him over it. He’d stare you down the entire time, the faintest trace of amusement in those hazel eyes of his.

Rhys making you climax over and over on his tongue, on his fingers, and just when you think he’ll let you go, he’d spread you out over his lap, slamming you down as his cock touches that sensitive spot inside of you, grinding his hips against you as he abuses it over and over until you’re shaking, sobbing, squirting. All the while holding you with that demanding touch of his. The touch of a High Lord.

Your back arches in the tub as your pleasure crushes into you, muscles spasming as you imagine what it would be like to have all three of them on you at once, as Cassian had suggested a mere day ago.

It takes a while before you’re able to move, so stunned from the intensity of your high that you’re unsure your legs will be able to hold you.

The only thing that breaks you from your haze is the sound of Rhysand cursing viciously from your bedroom, forcing you to reawaken from your lust induced stupor. “Rhys?” You call out. “Everything okay?” You reach for the edge of the tub, moving to get out to check on him.

When he replies, he sounds strained, as if forcing the lightness into his tone. “Your clothes are…pungent.” A laugh bursts from you as you relax back into the bath, “serves you right for rifling through them, Rhysand.” He sighs, the sound long-suffering.

“Here I was, preparing you a meal, tidying up your mess—like a good housewife. All you do is complain.” You laugh again, finally deciding to end your relaxation, reaching for your towel as you begin drying yourself. “My sincerest apologies, High Lord—or should I call you High Laundry Maid?”

When you return to your bedroom however, you’re smacked by the intense smell of sex, and you stumble, muttering to yourself. Rhys just gives you an I told you so smile, making you scowl. “Illyrian baby. It’s not even that bad once you get used to it.” He just quirks a brow.

A small smirk tips the edges of your mouth as you stare at him, “I think it’s actually quite nice.” He seems to stiffen a little at that comment, and you laugh, going for your closet to chuck some night clothes on over your now cleansed and dried skin.

“Gosh, I am so ready to sleep for a week,” you declare as you stretch your arms above your head, feeling how soft your muscles are after the bath. His eyes flick to yours, “you won’t be going back?” You shake your head in reply as you smoothly slip into a night robe, undoing your towel as the fabric covers you.

“Not after last night. I think that was the final straw,” you yawn, peeling back the covers as you slip beneath the sheets, tucking yourself in. Rhys’ brow narrows, “what happened.”

You smile sleepily at his protective tone, “hardly anything. That’s the problem. Same old, same old.” You sigh as you peer at him from your bed, “I need a change of pace. Something to set my blood boiling.” Your eyes flutter closed, and the curtains draw shut—thanks to the High Lord.

“Maybe I’ll slip between your legs while you sleep,” he drawls, watching as you slowly begin to nod off, “you look like you could use a little excitement.”

You make a low sound of desire in your throat that has a shiver running down his spine, cock stiffening between his legs. “Don’t tease me, Rhys.”

[beautifulterriblequeen]

hi and welcome, it's new theory time wunce agayne, with I, your host, BTQ, stitching things together that maybe fit perfectly or maybe have no business touching at all: you decide!

Today's post inspo began several days ago when I started playing the Xadia game and discovered some cool lore that I just could not stop thinking about, so here, below the cut for all the spoiler reasons, is a screenshot of what you can find in the game, and what I would love for it to mean!

Topic: How Aaravos was tricked into that mirror prison

Context: We all wonder what happened to Luna Tenebris, how she died, where she went, all that good stuff. This isn't about answering those questions. This is about what she did before she died, and why. If she died at all (yeah that's always the question with Moon beings innit)

If you've played the game you'll know the context for this screenshot:

Ethari says, "Someone with the power to influence the Blood Moon itself used blood magic to become... something else."

and, well,

Luna seems to have disappeared during a Blood Moon. But she might not have died, despite what everyone thinks- she might have just become something else.

Why would she do this?

I'm guessing it wasn't for fun. Something desperate must've been happening. Luna disappeared 300 years ago, hmm, what in the world could've been happening at that moment...?

No, we all know.

You remember the Jailer. She's a human. No arcanum at all. She may be a dark mage, or she may just be a trickster magician. Either way, her whole deal is that she thinks outside the Cosmic Order box - she thinks in ways even Aaravos can't. And human ideas in times of desperation can break a lot of conventions and even taboos - just look at the things Viren, Claudia, and Callum have done when they had to.

So if the Jailer is thinking about dark creative solutions as the only way to trick a godlike Star Touch elf, maybe one of those ways was to get the Archdragon of the Moon to turn into something else, with magic that worked outside the laws of the Moon Arcanum.

We've all seen what Kim'dael can do - her Moonshadow powers and her forbidden magics are available to her at any time, not just during a full moon. Now imagine that ability for a blood magic archdragon.

Yeah.

Why the Queen of the Dragons, though?

I think they needed that much power to combat Aaravos. No one else could've done it with the confidence to succeed. And then there's the whole Moon theme of sacrifice, which all the Moonshadow elves keep demonstrating so determinedly. Surely their dragon queen has the same sentiment, deep down.

This still doesn't tell us what she did. But if she could use her massive illusion/deception powers at any time, they could trap Aaravos in any instant of their choosing instead of luring him to the predictable full moon. And seeing what sort of shenanigans are possible in the game when Moon creatures step outside their boundaries, well, there is certainly a lot of room for surprise there. In several directions. And they'd only have to surprise Aaravos once.

(side note: I can see now why Amaya says Moonshadow elves are the worst kind lmfaooo PLAY THE GAME IT'S SO FUN)

This whole theory feels very Moonshadow because even though I have this central nugget that feels plausible, I still wonder about so much more. For instance, what happened to Luna after this? Where is she now? Did she willingly die to keep from turning into a monster? Is she stuck in the spinning water that bears her name on the map? Is she alive somewhere still, lurking? Is she- NO SPOIL ME I JUST STARTED THE GAME. Idk if she's in there or not, shh.

Anyway. I haven't been able to stop thinking about this lore since I saw it in the game. And there's so much more than this even in the small bits I've played so far! If you're into the lore of The Dragon Prince, you'll wanna get this game!

But, serious lore enjoyer face. This one's extremely fun to think about.

[katarh-mest]

7th time loop vol 5 thoughts

Just finished volume 5 of 7th Time Loop. I don't want to wait until September for the next book! Can't believe I inhaled them all already....

Anyway, stuck some heavy spoilerific thoughts below a line here.

The reveal that the current Emperor has a massive bloodlust presence and he doesn't even try to hide it... He really is being built up to be a monster, no?

What I suspect is that in every timeline, he's been the instigator of the war, and even Arnold killing him has never been enough to stop it once the gears are in motion.

He's priming the rest of the world for a takeover - doing stuff like pouring poison into Dietrich's ears to create a failed coup attempt in that kingdom as a way to knock them out of the picture, weakening Domana by killing off their last remaining priestess (not caring that she's the cousin of his oldest son, since he views his own children as political tools.) The whole counterfeit coin business too.

Every plot has been a long con designed to provoke all the other nations into either being weakened, or into holding a massive grudge against Galkhein, all for the sake of creating a world war that can't he stopped, not even by his death, and leaving the mess for his son Arnold to clean up.

Canon vs Fanon stuff

There's a bunch of things floating around in fanfics that seemed plausible considering the series has supernatural elements, but I was slightly disappointed to find weren't in Vol 5. Maybe they'll be in volume 6????? (Spoil me in comments, go ahead.)

Arnold can take off Riche's clothes with his mind (now wouldn't that be amusing!)

Arnold has super healing powers inherited from his mom (TOTALLY believable) - this one pops up and seems to definitely be in volume 6th so I'm saying this one is probably canon, but I don't know 100% for sure

Arnold is stuck in his own time loop (I'm seriously leaning toward this, it's just his loops have been stuck as a personal hell where he can't stop his dad no matter what he does.)

Wacky things that absolutely are canon:

Arnold's eyes glow sometimes

Rishe and Arnold both have super senses. Love the way the anime depicted her picking out Count Lavinne in the crowd. They're practically Force sensitive.

Rishe is a quick study and has an eidetic memory. In modern day terms, we'd call her gifted. She doesn't forget names or faces that easily. That's it's own super power.

Rishe did study a lot of her interests as a kid, so if Arnold sent Oliver to do homework on her asking "wtf how is my future wife so amazing" the mundane answer was "she actually did do stuff like archery, horseback riding, sword training, etc., but the prince of Hermity told her to stop every one of those activities because she was better than he was."

Fan Theories I've seen

Arnold in a Loop: The reason I tend to agree with the fan hypothesis that Arnold is in his own time loop is because 1. He seemed to be under the impression that she was slightly afraid of him up until the last chapter of volume 5 (I mean, he did stab her in the chest last go round) and 2. He's way too brilliant for even a determined, workaholic 19 year old. Like Rishe, he acts like got an extra few lifetimes of learning under his belt.

He's also several steps ahead of Rishe at every turn. He already knows what's happening, and he seems genuinely delighted at how fast she catches on. And he grabs her suggestions with two hands and runs with them because they're good and valid and often present the solution to the problems he himself wasn't able to find, like a way to make Coyelles an equal partner instead of his first target for invasion.

Was her 5th loop really the first time that he encountered her? He made the gesture toward his heart that she interpreted as "Shoot me if you can" but what if in a prior loop, say the 2nd or 3rd, he saw a cute scholar in Coyelles and wanted to try to encounter her again in later loops but didn't again until the 5th? What he he's bumped into her in every life before, but she only developed her own hunter's sense in the 5th life so never realized it? What it he's been crushing on a girl for 30 years and only by chance in the 7th loop did she choose a different escape route and bump into him?

Dream Vision Arnold: Another fan theory I've seen is Arnold having dream visions of all the wars started in all of Rishe's lives in the future. And that, too, would jive with him having inherited the blood of the goddess and having majority and some notion of events that haven't come to pass yet. (And also why he insists on calling Rishe his wife even though they aren't married yet. Probably saw enough visions of her that the moment he saw her jump off the balcony, he went "oh. That's the girl from my dreams I'm gonna marry. okay. get her. GET HER NOW.")

My own pet theories:

Arnold's mother and the Crusade Church - Fan theories center around the idea of Arnold getting his super powers from his mother's side. (Although his dad is a monster too.) What if the Goddess picked Arnold as her champion of revenge against his dad and that's why he's stuck in a loop (and Rishe is the one getting dragged along with him cuz she's a soulmate?)

Opposing forces: Arnold's father works for another god/goddess (maybe a war god or something) and believes it is his mission in life to bring the world war about, and that's why Arnold feels like he has to stop him

Possible prophesies: The fact that Arnold's father committed straight up infanticide and eventually killed or had all his concubines killed makes me wonder if there was some sort of oracle that told him that his death would come at the hands of his own child with hair of a different color. (Arnold kills him anyway in the six loops so far.) This opens the door for RISHE (daughter in law) being the one to get to murder him in loop 7, which frees Arnold of the sin of patricide but has her committing regicide instead.... Not that she'd care, she's already killed plenty in all of her loops, especially the last two. But since Arnold seems to be getting ideas of involving the Crusade Church, maybe having her take on the role of the champion of the goddess might absolve her of that crime. Especially if the new Emperor Arnold Hein forgives her.

Rishe actually is one of the chosen of the goddess, and Arnold is the only one that knows.

Final Thoughts

Rishe so worried about the public kiss during the wedding ceremony that she hasn't stopped to think about what comes after is kind of amusing. Granted, she trusts Arnold not to hurt her and that he won't do anything she doesn't want him to. But still.

(Also, getting kissed senseless is a pretty nice birthday present.)

Even if it's his first loop or his seventh too, Arnold is absolutely besotted with her. He's a lovesick fool and he's trying so hard to keep it together in public.

SEPTEMBER CAN'T COME FAST ENOUGH!

[bonkquartz]

a hat in time au; what if the conductor fought dj grooves instead?

just a sketch for an animation meme i wanna make. gave grooves more stars on his jacket and also a little, idk what it's called but it's like, a stitch? on the open part of his jacket at the bottom (i don't know how to explain it but i thought it looked cool). his trousers have diamonds on the side.

conductor looks a bit more casual here, he is wearing a blazer tucked into his belt, loose tie, holding his hat in his hand. he's also wearing trousers that have two pockets like the ones in cargo pants. his trousers are tucked into his boots which have some belts on them. maybe he has the dead bird studio logo on the back of his blazer and on the chest pocket?

i hope these designs look cool, i think they look cool !!

extra sketch + my opinions on the intended boss in botb under the cut [long scroll]

extra:

little beady eyes poking out

ofc it's plausible that both characters could be the actual intended boss, and there's evidence for both, but i wanna explain my idea on things !!

at first i was conflicted because at the start it shows that the conductor has 3 time pieces while dj grooves has 2. this led me to think that the conductor has to be the winner because he has two to give for his levels and then one final one to give for his award ceremony, while dj grooves only has two to give for his levels. but i realised recently that the conductor actually gives away one of his time pieces before you even get to any of their levels, which would mean that both of them have 2 time pieces each for their levels, and my original theory is false !!! so now i am completely convinced that it is MR. GROOVES HIMSELF who is the intended villain (i know that there probably isn't an actual 'intended' boss, this is just headcanoning really and i'm completely fine with others thinking differently to my headcanon).

first off, it's a plot twist i personally love. he's such a kind and chill guy, how could he turn on us like this ?! i LOVE it. i think that all of those continuous losses really can take a toll on him, especially because he DID win once. it must've felt amazing, but it means the failure afterwords would be all that more upsetting. i believe all of this really affected him. i mean, how couldn't it? it seems obvious that it'd negatively impact anyone's mind. i feel like it festered inside of him, as a large mass of hatred and despair; he couldn't take it, what good is it being a filmmaker if you aren't even good at it? when he finally started considering the idea of quitting, the perfect solution fell into his lap - a girl approached him, speaking of mysterious hourglasses with time-shifting abilities, about how they're the optimal fix for problems such as theirs, speaking about the fame he could have - the power he could wield.

and then he had it. the annual bird movie award was right in his flippers. it was his, all his. but he didn't do it alone. he had produced a new star. was it because of her that he won? a familiar feeling of jealousy encapsulated him. she had to go.

but he failed, he failed to dispose of her, and there were so many witnesses to his failure.

his moon penguins, they were like a family to him, and they saw him like this. even the conductor was there, helping the girl. why? why did it turn out this way? all he wanted was to feel proud of himself, he wanted to feel like he deserved the admiration he got from his fellow moon penguins, he wanted to make them proud.

WHY did this turn into a fanfic??? but anyways, i wanted to give an insight into how i believe he felt during the whole thing, and i guess a fanfic was the best way to do that????????? but um, actual reasons that convince me:

- the hitbox is always dj grooves' - it's more interesting to me story-wise, personally - in hat kid's diary, she seems shocked by the betrayal and like someone else pointed out, i feel like she would have seen the conductor betraying her coming, so that wouldn't be shocking, but dj grooves being the boss would be shocking to her. after all, he's been so nice to her from the start!! - dj grooves is one of my favourite characters.... - he isn't majorly featured in any subsequent chapters - could show that he feels too guilty !! - in the concept game he was always going to be the villain - he gets his own storybook (i think it's in the dlcs?), the conductor doesn't. the main bosses all have their own storybooks i think.

probably more but i have to sleep away !!!

[armeniuslaurant]

Maybe it's my atheism jumping out or maybe it's everyone else's not atheism jumping out but whenever I see someone go "It's so stupid that Kristen and Ben still don't Believe after all of the unexplainable things they've witnessed!" I'm just 🙄

That's not how that works! Even David, who mostly believes, is still regularly and healthily skeptical! The skepticism works! Science works! Not once, in my viewing, has science *failed*. It doesn't answer every question, but that's the point. The show is literally about people assessing supernatural events to see if a supernatural solution, ie Catholicism, is warranted. The second any of the trio defaults to a supernatural explanation, they would lose all value. The Catholic church is, surprisingly, full of people who know the Catholic way to combat Evil.

But the Catholic Way hasn't defeated Evil. The exorcisms that seem to have work could still be plausibly explains as "the placebo effect" or some extreme form of therapy. The demons shown never do anything tangible that a human couldn't do. So what if Leland's therapist is Demonic Michael Cerveris? He just talks to him. Sister Andrea is seeing demons and smashing them to a pulp, and getting David to put mosquito netting around his bed because she say a parasitic demon feeding on him.

But Kristen's household is just as dysfunctional after the demon smashing as before it. David is still having demonic visitations at night even with the netting. The one "supernatural" thing other people detected about Andrea is she seemed to bless holy water to burn Leland, but then it turned out she had filled the flask with bleach.

And even if they bought into the supernatural fully, and the demons... why would they buy into the Catholic church? The church is still racist, and homophobic, and misogynistic, and *corrupt*. The existence of a supernatural Evil doesn't mean you should immediately look to Catholicism as the solution.

The one case where an angel supposedly possessed someone lead to vigilantism and apparent femicide. They didn't seem nearly as invested in dealing with that possession than a Satanic one.

[wuxiaphoenix]

Aerial Combat: Dragons Versus

Most urban fantasies don’t mess with a modern military, for multiple reasons. But if you’re a lone hero facing down the fiery maw of a dragon, you probably wish you had a fighter plane to even the odds.

Question is, would it?

This is not something we can give a straightforward answer to. It depends on first, what can your aircraft do, and second, what can the dragon do?

Let’s get the obvious out of the way. Fire-breathing dragon vs. the Hindenburg. Bad Idea.

If your dragon has any aerial skills at all, a lighter-than-air craft or blimp type is not what you want. Anything that flies at the mercy of the winds will be a sitting duck for a dragon that can actively fly even as fast as your average turkey. (Wild turkey, that is. Yes, they do fly.)

If it’s a flightless dragon, though, or someone else has gotten lucky and messed it up so it can’t take off, a dirigible might be an option. Depending on how heavily armored the dragon is, a few bombs or even a submachine gun fired from overhead might do the job, while still keeping you out of reach of claws, teeth, most breath weapons, and any poisonous blood.

Is it less Manly that taking the beast on head to head with sharpened steel? Dude, if you’re in a magical apocalypse trying to save as many people as you can, why do you care? You’re flying one of the most fragile craft ever built over a mythical monster. Bravery is a given.

So that’s grounded dragons. What about still-flying monsters?

Well. How armored are they, and how fast are they?

Most creatures that give even a nod to physics have to make a tradeoff between armor and speed. The heavier your armor, the more damage it stops, but the less fast and maneuverable you are. A dragon nimble enough to turn on a dime probably can’t take anti-aircraft fire without at least a flinch, and a SAM or Hellfire ought to ruin their whole day.

If these will punch through the dragon’s armor, then you have a plethora of modern aircraft that will do the job. The Apache, the A-10, fighter jets galore; don’t discount the option of slapping guns back on a Mustang, or other vintage aircraft. It doesn’t have to be lightning-fast. Just fast enough.

In fact, if your aircraft is too fast, you can run into problems. The optimal solution, the best option in any dogfight, is to down your target before he even knows you’re there. If you can’t one-shot it - you miss, or the armor’s too thick and you need to chew through it, or the first type of round isn’t enough and you need the special load - then you need more time on target. If you’re going Mach-plus, and the dragon’s only flying, say, 60 MPH....

I think you see the problem.

If you’re duking it out with a Night Fury, supersonic might be the way to go. Otherwise, your fighter plane might be moving too fast.

So maybe you need to look for something slower but more maneuverable. Something able to keep up with a smart and sneaky dragon going nap-of-the-earth to ruin your day. Aircraft experts can likely make better suggestions, but the Apache, Black Hawk, and Warthog all strike me as plausible options for dealing with a Smaug-type dragon.

What would I choose? Well, if it’s urban fantasy....

Airwolf.

[cobaltqueen]

hi!! i really like your PL au, i love gajeel/lucy brotps and im a luvia girlie (romantic or not), so wanted to maybe propose some solutions to some of the things you said you were struggling with.

if you want gray still on galuna island you could have him hear some kind of rumor about deliora being there and go investigate, or if you want to not have PL involved at all and keep it relatively the same (natsu runs off on the quest, gray and erza end up following along) they could sell the key or advertise giving it away somehow for lucy to end up getting it (or, if you don’t need her to have it prior to her joining the guild, they could just keep it for if they find a trusted celestial wizard) could have that lead into my idea for the loke arc.

even if lucy gives up on being a fairy tail wizard i doubt she’d give up on being a writer, and so maybe she could travel to magnolia occasionally for writing purposes and meet loke there? then they just keep accidentally meeting at places and he starts trusting her that way, even if it’s not enough to reveal the whole circumstances? then it sorta depends on how fast they join fairy tail afterwards, but lucy could plausibly join faster than juvia and gajeel which would allow her to be there for the loke arc?

i don’t know if these make sense in your head but i’d love to hear more about this au <3

Hi! First off, I'm really glad you like the AU! I too am a fan of the dynamics between Lucy and Gajeel, and Lucy and Juvia. They can be so good if given the chance!!

Gray ending up on Galuna island specifically cause he heard rumors about the Deliora thing is a great idea! I wanted team Natsu (-Lucy) to still be on the island and finish the official quest because i think it's just necessary for Grays character development. So maybe something like: Gray hears the rumors, sneaks out, Natsu notices and goes after him with Happy just cause, and then Ezra follows the three of them?

For the key I was thinking that, since in canon Ezra refuses to accept the money reward since they didn't actually destroy the moon, they might leave the key this time too? After all there's no Lucy there. And maybe the old village chief guy makes another quest to "vanquish the moon" or something cause he's stubborn and this is the one Gajeel, Lucy and Juvia take, or maybe it's the same one they just show up late... ( i want this AU to stay a bit silly, i think it's funnier that way).

I'll try to post the Galuna Island doodles i made a while ago later

In regards to Loke, that is actually a really cool idea! It would also make a lot of sense, Loke is canonically a flirt and he did flirt with Lucy before he freaked out about her being a celestial wizard so if lets say, Lucy is out looking for inspiration and Loke is on a job they could feasibly meet and interact!

Thank you very much for those ideas they are very appreciated, i do hope i can give the characters and their dynamics justice!

Talking about them, I was thinking what name to give the Gajeel/ Lucy/ Juvia team. I can see Gajeel potentionally wanting to name it Team Gajeel (as a way to parallel Team Natsu) but also I'm not sure if that would be his go-to and i definetly think the girls would shut that down haha

[disco-elysium-via-polls]

🎵 Disco Elysium, Pt 1

3. "I've got to agree -- your theory sounds the most plausible."

IDIOT DOOM SPIRAL - "Isn't it? All the pieces fit together perfectly. That's how I know it's right..."

"Anyway, to each his own. You want to hear any other stories?"

2. "I've already seen some weird shit on this case. A headless jockey in a tracksuit fits right in."

KIM KITSURAGI - "Hard to argue with that, I suppose."

IDIOT DOOM SPIRAL - "That's the reality situation for you. You think you got a handle on it, then *BLAM*! It throws some wild shit at you..." He takes a long swig, then smiles. "That's why it's critical to stay well hydrated."

3. "That's nothing. I've got an even *crazier* story."

IDIOT DOOM SPIRAL - "Yeah? Why don't you go eat shit, Tequila? There's no way you know a better one than that."

"What about the Col Do Ma Ma Daqua? It's a magical self-replicating sound!"

"The Gnome of Geroma dissolves its victims with acid."

"The Giant of Koko Nur is as big as a mountain."

"There's the Kind Green Ape. It's very kind… and green."

"Yeah, actually -- you're right. Nothing comes to mind."

IDIOT DOOM SPIRAL - "I have to admit, that's pretty high-concept. Still not as awesome as a headless rider in a FALN tracksuit, though."

4. "Okay. Whatever became of the Headless FALN Rider?" (Conclude.)

IDIOT DOOM SPIRAL - "No one knows. Some say he stalks Martinaise to this day, and can be seen near the canal when the clock strikes midnight." He makes a spooky gesture with his free hand.

KIM KITSURAGI - The lieutenant smirks. "He won't though, because it's just a stupid legend."

ROSEMARY - "Aye! I saw him one night when I were right shit faced!"

7. "Be seein' you." [Leave.]

KIM KITSURAGI - "Okay, let's step aside for a second, I have something I want to talk about."

Hold that thought, Kim.

HOMO-SEXUAL UNDERGROUND

BONUSES: Stopped obsessing about sexuality

SOLUTION:

Maybe you should *stop* obsessing about your own -- and other people's -- sexuality? Feels like it’s about time to do that. You’ve thought about this for *eight hours*?! Not only should you stop, you should tell Kim you've stopped obsessing about other people's sexuality too. I'm sure he'd appreciate it. Unless you already got him killed because you were obsessing about your sexuality. (There’s no way of telling from within your brain, but for your own sake: please say you didn’t.)

Ok, what is it?

KIM KITSURAGI - "I've been meaning to have a little chat with you about your sense of *style*."

"My *style*? What about it?"

KIM KITSURAGI - "It's, well, a little *eclectic*, don't you think? How would you even describe what you're wearing?"

CONCEPTUALIZATION [Medium: Success] - 'Eclectic' is for pop music with 'indigenous' percussion. *You're* a sartorial maverick.

[mental-about-you-too]

There are a lot of layers to The Kiss, but one is the connection to Crowley’s simplistic conception of what it means for humans to be In Love. He says, when scheming about getting Nina and Maggie together: “one fabulous kiss and we’re good” and “vavoom, sorted”. He’s imagining a romantic movie where a kiss is the be-all-end-all, the solution to all conflict, a magical mode of communication wherein two people automatically understand each other from now on, and a definitive signifier that Love has Happened.

This is how he imagines human love. I think he’s always considered his relationship with Aziraphale much more complex and precious than anything a couple of humans could do, what with their longevity disadvantage and limited understanding of the universe. I think he started falling for Aziraphale at “I gave it away!”, and never stopped; nor did he ever really try to resist that pull. I think he has recognized his feelings for Aziraphale for a long time, even if he hasn’t always acknowledged them outright—largely because he knew Aziraphale had some serious fear-based hang ups and would have been uncomfortable, and because their relationship has always been forbidden and dangerous to them both.

So then we come to that scene where Nina tells him “it certainly looks like that”. I don’t think the part of this interaction that rocks Crowley’s world is a sudden realization of his feelings—he knows he’s got feelings, to a degree that they sometimes get him into trouble—it’s the idea that those feelings could be translated into human terms. It’s that final remark: “other people’s love lives always seem so much more straightforward than our own”. He considers his situation so much more complicated than a human relationship, and in that moment he thinks…what if it isn’t. What if I’ve been rescuing him when he doesn’t strictly need it just for an excuse to be near him, indulging his pretenses of plausible deniability, getting all tangled up worrying about what heaven and hell will think, (and even now continuing to live in my damn car in the hope that he might invite me to move in in his own time), and it could all just be…vavoom, sorted? Could it be that simple?

Now fast-forward to That Scene. Aziraphale thinks he has just told Crowley: “I can restore you to the status you deserve, and now everyone will recognize the goodness I’ve always seen in you.” But Crowley’s just heard, “we can be together, as long as you change into someone else.”

I could write a whole essay on everything that might have been said to make this conversation go differently (and on all the character insight revealed by the way it does go--as many people have already done), but at this point Crowley is absolutely hemorrhaging emotion, and he tries, but he’s failing to reason with Aziraphale or explain why this hurts so much, and he invokes the example of Gabriel and Beelzebub, and it doesn’t work, and they’re talking at cross purposes, and Aziraphale still doesn’t get it, and things are spiraling out of control, and Crowley thinks, desperately: maybe the human way will work.

The timing is completely wrong. The approach is completely wrong. He kisses Aziraphale, and it’s not romantic at all; it’s full of anger and hurt and desperate, desperate hope that this might somehow fix everything, like "in a Richard Curtis film". And Crowley can feel it not working, can feel Aziraphale tense and confused, and they’re not falling into each other’s arms in sudden understanding, but he keeps his grip, holds on tight, trying to insist that this should fix it. He gambled on a human fantasy as a panacea, and he hangs on so long because he knows he’s losing the bet.

I first saw the kiss scene before watching S2 (after the season had been out for several days though; I didn't know about the leak) (I deliberately went looking for spoilers to make sure it was gay enough before I committed—I was a Sherlock fan; don’t @ me), and my initial reaction was: how could Crowley be so cruel. To squander something so precious as their first kiss, and use it to convey hurt rather than love. To know Aziraphale is struggling with a choice, and to try to use how they feel about each other against him. But after watching the show properly, I no longer think it was manipulative (though Aziraphale may have taken it that way)— just misguided. Just inept, and desperate, and so, so ill-advised.

[hourglassfish]

Risottogate Extras

Thanks so much for taaags @eatandsleepwell when I read them I was like 😭 because there was stuff in there that I took out when I edited it down. So some replies which I hope is OK? I love all the different readings of this show and talking and thinking about it, and my mum doesn't like 'that shouting programme'.

I agree with you that it's implied that Carmy is the chef from the veal fat story. You can sort of see it when he’s like ‘one day he just hit it’, in his face*. The reason I feel like Sydney worked it out is because we see her frown, as though she is thinking while Carmy explains the specifications of the gelee, and then she explains how she got there, to both Marcus and Carm, which I feel like she wouldn’t do if she knew it as a lesson from him. I mean this could just be her remembering a story she’s heard, and finishing it off to give herself plausible deniability. However, I also think her having that technical knowledge is part of an ongoing rhythm, of her arriving and both Syd and Carmy thinking it will be mentee/mentor, but by the end of Brigade it's very clear that won’t be the dynamic.

I also agree that the decision to switch the kitchen to a brigade comes from Al-Anon. I feel like the decision to hand the labour of doing that to her (right now this minute), is sort of catalysed by her brilliance in that moment: because the previous day, when we cut from Al-Anon to the chaos of her and Richie yelling with Carm in the middle (😭) she feels like part of the problem, not an easy solution. 

how much fun do you think the set dresser had sneaking tomatoes into each and every scene?

I think the reviewer isn’t so harsh on The Beef! He describes it as shabby but also much loved, there is very little slamming. His depiction of it is so much milder than all the things that Carmy says about it throughout the season, though I know it’s different when an outsider says it. That being said, I think if that review had said ‘the sandwiches are the best they’ve ever been’ Carmy’s entire demeanour would have been different, I’m sorry! 😭 One of the things I really enjoy about unlikelyjapan’s recaps of S2 is that they point out when Carmy’s ego is hurt or when he’s feeling a lil emasculated, and while he is different, he is not a stranger to the type of masculinity we see from Richie, Jimmy and Michael.

I think the second season is really good about sort of opening up the city of Chicago as a place for eating and food excellence, but in the first season it’s all very insular and centred around the Beef and family homes as locations. Sydney and Marcus become the stand-ins for Chicago’s food scene as a whole. Cus Sydney left too, right, like CIA is in NYC? I think there’s another reading of the decision to give the risotto to a reviewer which is that it’s Syd pulling back the blinds and sort of dragging The Beef and Carmy into the light - to gos! Reviews! Let’s throw a gauntlet down and let it rip!

But there is also maybe some projection here from me: I left the city I grew up in for 8 years, to go to university then be in a city that was better for my artistic practice (and I was successful and built a company and won awards but it shot my mental health to shit, and destroyed my body too) and then I came home because of a family death at 26 - 

Just gonna stare into the void for a minute, brb

Damn, he's just like me for real

OK, trigger is over!!!

Anyway

😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭

When I came back there were obvs people doing what I had been doing, to a high level - and they hadn’t had all this family estrangement that I had. And it was complicated, you know? Not good, or bad, just complicated.

I be projecting on this man for real, much to think about!!!

Anyway!

See… Richie’s bitterness to me isn’t that weird! He says at the top of System that he’s been looking after Donna for the past six months, he was at the funeral when Carmy wasn’t, he’ll have been holding both Michael and the restaurant together while Carmy was away, and he explicitly says it's to the detriment of his own family situation. We see that happen in the show: he finally gets a job from Jimmy that means he can escape the Beef and do right by Eva and Tiff, and it goes to shit cus someone calls Michael when they needed to call Richie. It feels likely that the loss of the job, the divorce and his place at the Beef will have all been tied together, 8n his head at least. Michael’s love pushed Carmy away, but he depended on Richie day in, day out: both Carmy and Richie want what the other had. Richie envies Carmy’s being protected from the worst of Michael’s addiction. Carmy feels that he missed out on Michael’s honesty and intimacy. Richie does not have the biological/blood claim that Nat or Carmy have, but he was by Mikey’s side day to day. He is left with nothing but memories, many of them painful. He can stay close to this family he has built his life around,but only at their discretion. They can dispose of him (drop his ass) at any time, and as Tina brutally points out in Ceres, where is he gonna go? He is deeply fearful of this, understandably. The response, of course, is that no one asked him to stick by Michael’s side, or care for Donna. But love doesn't work like that.

Don't worry babes, when we communize care it won't have to be like this.

I find the feelings underpinning his behaviour deeply human: I find the behaviour itself vile, and I hate how easily Carmy and the script let him off for withholding the letter. It’s a total non-event. It’s one of very few moments in The Bear where even the first time round I was like ‘nah, that’s poor writing’. Carmy has a bigger response to him bitching about Claire!

I love shipping, and am a fan of romance goggles. Especially with this ship, because people are fucking weird about it. For me personally, the idea of a romance between these two… ah I wanna be into it, I do. When I ignore a bunch of things I kind of enjoy it. Almost.

Someone made that supercut of all their scenes together, and when I watched it, at the end I felt so, so sad. Cus I felt like I’d just spent 90 minutes watching some white dude exploit a really talented Black woman over and over again while she got sadder and sadder and then she threw up in an alleyway. Even whilst seeing moments that felt romantic. Obviously a supercut like that is not a fully accurate representation of their relationship or characters. But the feeling of dismay and unease won't shift.

In S2 especially, there are so many moments where she just looks really sad. I don’t think Carmy wants to compete with her, or with anyone, really, and I definitely don’t think she’s competing with him, she’s sincere when she tells Richie she’s got no ulterior motive: she wants to work, to find the work meaningful, get paid and live her life. But I think it’s hard to leave your training behind, and them man are trained to compete, it’s the only way you move up in the kitchen, and my reading of the risotto, and why it takes up so much SPACE, cus it’s bubbling away for 3 episodes, is that Carmy’s ego enters the chat, and is a part of the destruction that unfolds. 

Anyway, I am off to watch some horror films with Black women as protagonists so that the next time I want to represent myself staring into the void in horror I'm not left with Florence and Mia, much as I love them.

*to believe this i have to ignore that he credits the discovery to a sous and we know he was CDC at EMP. But he also talks about cubes on a dish where everything is a circle, so you know, we can suspend disbelief when we want

[terrainofheartfelt]

For the ship ask - Dan/Blair and prompt 22!

Dair + 22 …in a rush of adrenaline.

a lil remix of 4x15

“Oh, I don’t – I don’t really think it’s a game –”

Blair looks at Humphrey sharply. Because she knows that, but some things she has to keep saying. Because if she keeps saying them, then they’re still plausible, and she can still be waiting for someone else and not be free to…

No. No, she’s not going there. 

“Waldorf –” he tries to start again. 

She shushes him, holding up a hand, wondering if she just heard—

“Someone’s coming,” she whispers. “Come on.”  

She sets her hands on Humphrey’s shoulders and pushes him towards one set of curtains along the wall.

“Hurry up,” she hisses, rapping her knuckles on his back when she realizes one of the approaching voices is Chuck. 

Dan makes a long suffering face, but does as directed, and they manage to hide just in time. 

Well, hide barely. The alcove they’ve shut themselves into is barely big enough to hold the two of them. Blair tries to step back to create some space between her and Humphrey—because he is right there—but her bare back hits cold stone after two inches. 

She glances up at Dan, and sees he has no luck on his side either. 

Damn it. But it’s quieter now. Maybe it was a false alarm. Maybe Blair could be in the clear after all. 

“Five minutes, Raina.”

Blair freezes. Or maybe not. 

“I’m only here because I refuse to make this anyone else’s business.” 

Too late for that, Raina Thorpe. 

Dan takes a breath, opening his mouth like he’s about to say the same thing, and in a panic, Blair shoves her hand over the lower half of his face. Did he ever know when to shut up?

The movement causes the curtain to slip slightly, a gray sliver of light cutting into their hiding spot, illuminating Dan’s scowl at her necessary evasive maneuver. 

She narrows her eyes in challenge, calling his bluff, because second to her, he is probably the last person who wants to be caught eavesdropping on this conversation. 

“I’m not the one you need to apologize to. You went…” 

It suddenly occurs to Blair that she doesn’t want to eavesdrop at all. She closes her eyes, like it’s some solution for closing off her other senses. 

It helps, in an odd sort of way. Raina and Chuck’s voices dissolve into the background, beneath the roaring in her ears, adrenaline making her heart pump faster and louder. 

Her hand is still over Humphrey’s mouth—a preventative measure—and she can feel his pulse too, its furious pace on par with her own. 

His lips part under her palm, and her eyes fly open. They really are in very close quarters. 

That same sliver of light cuts across his face, reminding Blair of the reading she did on Michelangelo for Art History last week. Light and dark, in abrupt juxtaposition. But on Dan’s face there’s still color to be found. Like his eyes—the darkest part of his face—still have a softened, amber warmth to them. 

Her hand slips, showing the curve of his lips, warmer and pinker than stone, more complex than the black and white of marble. 

She’s kissing him before she realizes that’s what she’s doing. One second, her fingertips are on his lower lip. The next, it’s her tongue. And Dan kisses her back before she realizes it’s what she wants him to do, his mouth opening up under hers. Completely quiet but for the pounding in Blair’s chest. 

Dan presses her back against the wall, and the shock of the cold stone on her skin makes her break away. 

Dan gapes at her, chest heaving, mouth hanging open, frozen like he’s scared she’ll run away. 

He knows her well then, because she really wants to, even if it means barging in on Raina kicking Chuck’s heart into a ditch. But even more surprising, Blair finds she doesn’t want to run at all. 

Pulse still racing, she forces herself to take a breath, sets her hands on Dan’s chest, over his own thundering heart, and leans in.

Kiss prompts!