#i think I'm still quite early in act 2 but i'm not so sure

[rednite-dork]

I didn't think I could be friendzoned 💀 (bg3 spoilers)

I just shared a stargazing scene w Gale and he friendzoned me 💀

I thought we had something together 😭

[wangxianficfinder]

In the mood for...

Aug 31st

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1. Just wondering if there is a fic out there where jwy wakes up during the core transfer to realise what is going on and refuses the surgery?

There are quite a few No Core Transfer fics but has anyone read or written something like this? Would love for Jwy to know how much he is loved without wwx ripping himself apart for it

Please and thank you 💝💝💝 @theladypeartree

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2. Hello, thank you for this opportunity! Does anyone know of any fics where the characters look or act unusually young for their age due to cultivation/golden core strength? Like, they are treated as children longer because they have an overall longer life expectancy? Or fics which explore how cultivation affects the life expectancies of cultivators in general? Thank you so much!

🔒the inconstancy of moths by spookykingdomstarlight (T, 9k, WangXian, Canon Divergence, Reincarnation, Moth Spirit WWX, Character Death, Angst with a Happy Ending, Pining)

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3. the world needs more canon compliant/divergent sub/bottom lwj. please provide with your favorites, thank you 🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻

A Narrow Bridge by FrameofMind, Jo Lasalle (Jo_Lasalle) (E, 700k, WangXian, Time Travel Fix-It, Canon Divergence, Slow Burn, Getting Together, First Time, Pining while fucking, Burial Mounds Settlement Days, Angst with a Happy Ending, CQL Verse, almost everybody lives/almost nobody dies, epistolary-ish, canon-ish side pairings, radishes) I can't recall for sure as it's been a while since I read it, but I think this fic has LWJ bottoming

🔒Blessed is The New Moon by Anonymous (E, 9k, WangXian, Bad Sex, Good Sex, Angst with a Happy Ending, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Romance, Porn with Feelings) Nie Huaisang gifts the boys some lube as a joke which leads to a revelation. A fair amount of angst for the premise but HEA.

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4. Currently desperately craving some really really long wangxian! Over 100k please, canon dynamics preferred, and the bit that's hardest to filter for: no extensive positive inclusion of Jiang Cheng. I'm more open to cr!era stuff with him as a secondary character but adult JC particularly I would like mostly off-screen. @strinak

Just go forward like you mean it by tawaen (M, 101k, WangXian, WWX & WN &WQ, WWX & JYL, NHS & WWX, Canon Divergence, WWx does not attend the Wen indoctrination, WWX saves Lotus Pier, Inventor WWX, No Golden Core Transfer, Sect Leader JYL, JC Has No Golden Core, Bad Parents JFM & YZY, Not JC Friendly, but he gets a happier ending than canon so don’t look here for bashing)

Dispersing Clouds by dreamingofcake (E, 283k, WangXian, Canon Divergence, Genius WWX, Inventor WWX, Not Jiang Family Friendly, Abusive YZY, Canonical Child Abuse, Hurt/Comfort, Slow Burn, Eventual Sex, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm (Background Character), Background Character Deaths, child deaths, Canon JC, Good Uncle LQR, Accidental Baby Acquisition, Cultivation Sect Politics, Homophobia, Heteronormativity, Feelings Realization, WWX is Not Oblivious)

🧡 Stunted, Starving Juvenility by TomatenMark (E, 859k, WangXian, WIP, Fix-it of sorts, Talisman master WWX, Not JFM Friendly, Study Arc, Getting together, Fluff and Angst, Engagement) Not sure if this one hits the 'no positive JC portrayal' criteria. He's in the early chapters as it starts during CRSA & he does get whacked with a clue-by-four a couple of times so he's sliiiightly less entitled, but he's still a cranky jerk & after the guest disciples leave he barely appears (I also haven't read the last 3 chapters, set during SSC, so no idea on his portrayal in those)

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5. hello! for the next ITMF, fics where WWX adopts XY and shows him what kindness is? Kind of like those YillingWei AUs where XY becomes WWX's disciple (please rec some lesser known ones if you know of any, I feel like I've read all of the popular ones already), thank you!!

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6. I'm in a mood for some good Apocalypse AUs. I like happy endings but since it's apocalypses it might not be feasible so perhaps no brutal endings, if you know what I mean? Like make me cry my eyes out but not from despair/unhopefulness? Also please no Non-Con/Rape, at least not with main pair and not explicit 🙏

The Edge of Night by Hobbsy3 (M, 277k, WangXian, XuanLi, Modern AU, Zombie Apocalypse, Yúnmèng Siblings Dynamics, Accidental Baby Acquisition During a Zombie Apocalypse, Junior Quartet, (except they’re all babies), Angst with a Happy Ending, Minor Character Death, Hurt/Comfort, Blood and Gore, Ensemble Cast, Worst Zombie Fighting Team Ever, Found Family) Amazing Zombie AU

Darkness Before the Dawn by Selenay (E, 64k, wangxian, Zombie Apocalypse, Modern With Magic, Necromancer WWX, Reunions, toddler A-Yuan, There Was Only One Bed, There are zombies but not graphically horrific zombies, Angst with a Happy Ending, Find a home in the middle of an apocalpyse)

when the sun goes out by travelingneuritis (E, 176k, WangXian, Modern Cultivation, tech cultivation, Necromancy, Angst with a Happy Ending, insecurity around adoption, Dad!WWX, dad!lwj, Grief/Mourning, Mistaken Identity, Mood Whiplash, Body Swap, sex tears!, Falling In Love, Consensual Somnophilia, apocalypse (localized), Smut, unrealistic sexual stamina, Flashbacks, Time Skips, Illustrations) this fic jumps around in time so only part of it is During the Apocalypse, but highly recommend this fic

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7. Wangxian fluff. Pls😭😭😭just them married fluff.😭😭😭���km traumatized. Pls. Just loads of happiness @honestlyewww

A Lifetime of It (Please, and Thank You) by misscam (M, 5k, WangXian, Wedding, a mix of series and novel, Humor, Fluff, Angst, some naughtiness, Switching)

coop d'état by wolfsan11 (G, 4k, WangXian, Fluff and Humor, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Established Relationship, Post-Canon, Chickens, WWX-centric, Post-Canon Modao Zushi Novel, Married WangXian, therapy chickens)

Dear Hanguang-Jun by cavaleira (M, 8k, WangXian, background ZhuiLing, Fluff, Established Relationship, Humor, Post-Canon)

Where the Lonely Ones Go by CSHfic, VSfic (T, 23k, WangXian, Accidental Baby Acquisition, Case Fic, Night Hunts, Fluff, Established Relationship, Mystery, Married Life, Domestic Fluff, Haunting, Kid Fic, Post-Canon, gratuitous use of empathy)

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8. Thank you for this amazing blog!! I am actually ITMF fics where LWJ initially misunderstands WWX and is pretty rude/cruel/hurtful to him which contributes to WWX whump(essentially him being super hurt yet still trying to act as if everything is okay or so). I have read a couple of fics with this trope but I don’t know how to find more so it would really great if you could recommend some fics along these lines. Thank you!!!

Couldn't Scream Couldn't Shout by mermorgie (T, 42k, WangXian, LXC & WWX, LXC & LWJ, LQR & WWX, JZX & WWX, WWX & NHS, LWJ & NHS, WIP, Not for JC stans, Muteness, Sign Language, references to selective mutism, Homophobic JC, canon JC characteristics, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Anxiety Attacks, Pining, LWJ is a Panicked Gay, Supportive Sibling LXC, JZX Tries, LQR Tries, Protective JZX, Scheming NHS, Bisexual JZX, LWJ is Bad at Communicating, WWX Has ADHD, Autistic LWJ, WWX Has a Fear of Dogs, Jiang Family Bashing)

🔒 Warming up (to him) by barisan (T, 9k, LQR & WWX, WangXian, Hypothermia, Cloud Recesses Study Arc, Temporary Character Death, Medical Inaccuracies, YZY Abuses WWX, JFM Bashing, pre-wangxian, Good Uncle LQR, Angst with a Happy Ending, Hurt/Comfort)

Concord by Deastar (T, 41k, WangXian, Arranged Marriage, Gusu Lan Sect Rules, Depression, Canon Divergence, Angst with a Happy Ending)

the earthquake in the room by phnelt (E, 39k, WangXian, College/University, Modern: No Powers, Canada, Getting Together, Mentions of lwj/others, background NieLan, background QingMian, inter-faculty romance, strangers to lovers to frenemies to lovers, mostly book characterisation, Background XuanLi)

For you by 10thNoNamePerson (T, 16k, WangXian, Cloud Recesses Study Arc, Cloud Recesses Shenanigans, Canon Divergence, No War AU, Teen Wangxian, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Jealous WWX, Soft WangXian, No Sunshot Campaign) they both misunderstand each other but it's lowk Lan Wangji’s fault 😭

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9. Hi! I’m itmf fics where it’s assumed that lan yuan is wei wuxian or lan wangji’s child or both. Thanks

Wei Wuxian, God of Fertility by tired (T, 19k, WangXian, Family Feels, Crack Treated Seriously, Crack, the juniors get REAL drunk, Gossip, POV Multiple, surprisingly not an mpreg fic, Kissing, Self-Esteem Issues, Discussion of Porn and Sex, Post-Canon, SOFT SOFT SOFT, married wangxian, Fluff and Humor, PSA: touching forehead ribbons gets you pregnant)

Lan Yuan's War by BurningTea (G, 196k, LSZ & LWJ, LWJ & LXC, WangXian, LWJ & WQ, WIP, Time Travel, Dad LWJ, Sunshot Campaign, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Eventual Happy Ending, Rumours, Lots of rumours about LWJ, several people worry about LWJ, CQL Verse, Mental Health Issues, LWJ is very much not okay, Time travel has consequences, Sick LWJ) if the requester doesn't mind WIPs.

sing to the clouds in summer by stiltonbasket (G, 28k, JC & WWX, JC & JL, wangxian, JL & LSZ & LJY & OYZZ, 13k words of JC figuring out that LSZ is his nephew, ft. LXC and NHS the overprotective uncles, and LWJ giving JC death glares, Family Secrets, Reconciliation, Sad JC, Uncle-Nephew Relationship, Eventual Happy Ending, [Podfic] sing to the clouds in summer by read_by_Sophie (Sophie))

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10. Hello! I just finished reading "The Blame Game" and am itmf for any wangxian fics where someone who isn't Lan Zhan or Wei Wuxian time travels and fixes canon. Thank you!

Time, Time, Time by skeletonofaplant (G, 44k, wangxian, JYL/JZX, LSZ & WWX, JYL & JL & JZX, LJY & LSZ, Time Travel Fix-It, Burial Mounds Settlement Days, Identity Porn, Identity Reveal, Angst, Fluff, Junior Quartet Dynamics, Time Travelling Junior Ensemble, Junior Ensemble Shenanigans, Humor) The Juniors time travel (though it ends with the fixing canon merely implied as something that will happen)

Resilience. by Vrishchika (T, 7k, wangxian, time travel, not JC friendly, golden core transfer fix-it) JC time travels in this one, though it's less about him fixing things & more trying to make things how he thinks they should've gone & failing

💖 With Surgical Precision by metisket (T, 20k, WQ & WN, WQ & WWX, WangXian, Time Travel, Families of Choice, sibling bonding through murder) WQ time travel

Back To The River (So Learn To Swim) by kalany (M, 83k, CSSR/JFM/WCZ/YZY, JYL/JZX, WangXian, Fix-it fic, self-reincarnation, going back to try again, autotransmigration, time travel adjacent, Pregnancy, access to appropriate obstetrics care, Childbirth, lots of childbirth, there are so many children, Unplanned Pregnancy, but they are very much wanted, but it's discussed to make sure, Polyamory, Polygamy, survival sex, unwanted pregnancy ending in termination, abortion as victory, this fic has an agenda and it is access to reproductive health care, on-page death of a child, Murder of a Child, But he deserves it, it's XY if that matters, WRH doing WRH things, JGS doing JGS things, calling JGS a rapist, which he is and we're going to use that word in this fic, non-explicit discussion of sexual assault, Sexual Coercion, brief glimpse of sexual assault, Canon-Typical Violence, Canon-Typical Sexism, most of the people in this fic are coded non-neurotypical, asexual JC, bisexual JFM, bisexual YZY, Bisexual CSSR, bisexual WCZ, falling in love when you don't expect it, does it count as found family when it's your husband​, Sect Heir JYL) is YZY time travel where she fixes everything (or most things) featuring sect heir JYL and eventual YZY/JFM/CSR/WCZ polycule

Never Again by Hauntcats (T, 67k, WWX & WN & WQ, JC & WWX, wangxian, graphic depictions of violence, major character death, Canon Divergence, Angst, Golden Core Transfer Fix-It, Time Travel Fix-It, Not JC Friendly, Dark, BAMF WWX, mentions of abuse, Not Everyone Dies au, XY doesn’t have a happy ending) Another WQ time travel one

Lessons relearned by Iamnotawriter (T, 44k, WangXian, LQR & WWX, Not Madam Yu Friendly, Time Travel Fix-It, Angst with a Happy Ending, Canon-Typical Violence, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Inventor WWX, It Gets Worse Before It Gets Better, No Golden Core Transfer, YZY Bashing) LQR time travel

And They Lived Happily Ever After… by Morgana_avalon (G, 51k, WangXian, Zhuiling, Time Travel Fix-It, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Canon Universe, Canon Related, set before the ambush happens at Qiongqi Path, Canon Divergence, Bunnies, Good brother JC, Good JZX, CQL Verse)

Lynchpin by ShanaStoryteller (Not Rated, 103k, WangXian, JC & WWX, Time Travel, Fix-It)

❤️ nevermore, nevermore by agloeian (T, 120k, lan sizhui & everyone, wangxian, canon divergence, time travel fix-it, hurt/comfort, fluff, angst w/ happy ending)

Sail Away Sweet Sister by sami (M, 73k, WangXian, YZY/CSSR/MDM Lan, MingLi, Time Travel, EXTREME Canon Divergence, Wide Focus Narrative, Some People Live/Not Everyone Dies, Most Named/Canon Characters Live, Childhood Friends to Lovers, Families of Choice, Parenthood, this work contains a major tonal shift, Fluff, Angst, Underage Sex, not particularly explicit, but not at all ambiguous, PTSD, Only a tiny bit, Unforeseeable consequences, The butterfly effect, Slightly Dark JYL, Asexual Characters, but that’s not really the focus, Canon-Typical Violence)

🔒💖 The blame game by apathyinreverie (T, 13k, wangxian, LXC & LWJ, LSZ & WWX, WWX & WQ, LXC & WWX, canon divergence, time travel fix-it, possessive LWJ, oblivious WWX, fluff, siblings, romance, golden core reveal, golden core fix-it)

Moments of Revelation by meyari (T, 133k, ChengSang, WangXian, XiYao, Canon Divergence, Temporary Character Death, Time Travel Fix-It, Self-Sacrifice, Torture, Chronic Pain, Chronic anxiety, Grief/Mourning, PTSD, Chronic Mental Health Issues, Families of Choice, Original Supporting characters, Unreliable Narrator(s), Demonic Possession) Jiang Cheng goes back to when he lost his core and fixes everything. The author Meyari also has various other character time travel fixes in other fics, Meng Yao and Su She and I think others, but those are even more divergent

Back in time by Liebing23 (T, 32k, WangXian, Time Travel, Alternate Timelines, Fix-It of Sorts, Angst, Family Feels, Good Kid LSZ, LSZ Needs a Hug, Sad JL, JL Needs a Hug) the juniors time travel and fix some stuff!

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11. hi! I love this blog, I've found so many great fics and hidden gems just from scrolling through past ITMF posts! For the next ITMF, are there any fics similar to a paper friend by soft_wanning? just any fics where wwx is lost as a paperman and lwj helps him find his way back to lotus pier and that's how they meet

stray cat strut by ScarlettStorm (E, 54k, WangXian, No War AU, the world's least mysterious casefic, Comedy, Shenanigans, Slow Burn, a disgusting amount of magically necessary forehead smooches, switch rights) Wwx is cat, not paper man, but I found the vibes to be very similar and suuuper cute

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12.

Hi, I’m in the Mood for a Fic in which abusers get severe consequences or the system/traditions are challenged (with great success). If possible, some of the following scenarios:

Wei Wuxian has enough of getting whipped for no valid reason and starts standing up for himself (not just verbally, and especially NOT just talking back while still accepting punishment) but by attacking back or some other form of brutal revenge. 

a modern AU where jiang yanli and/or jiang cheng cut off contact with their parents for their treatment, anything where they put themselves and their brother above their abusive parents

Lan Zhan does not accept his punishment and kills(or at least successfully fights off) any elder that attempts to whip him. 

Lan Zhan or Lan Xichen destroys the wall of rules and makes the sect more friendly for all

someone invents democracy and various sect leaders are voted out - can be crack or serious

anyone going against “that’s how it’s always been” / “that’s how it’s supposed to be” and winning against all opposition, I’m ok with the character being OOC/more powerful than makes sense, 

basically anything where bad people are punished for being bad even if it doesn’t make sense because of their social standing

I will be grateful for any recs, thank you :) @hushtalks

The Wrong Man by Remma3760 (Not Rated, 125k, WangXian, Sect Leader LWJ, Evil JGS, Canon Divergence, Golden Core Reveal) LWJ becomes sect leader & uses his new power to reform the sect's rules & approach to discipline, & the plot is basically The Bad Characters Get Punished

Work of Heart by Witch_Nova221 (T, 17k, WangXian, Romance, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, soft romance, Artist WWX, Musician LWJ, College/University, Modern, Roommates, Friends to Lovers, Family Drama, Emotional Manipulation, Financial Issues, Bad Parent YZY) The Jiangs lose business deals because of their abuse of Wei Wuxian

🔒 Step by step by apathyinreverie (T, 12k, WangXian, Modern AU, JFM and YZY Bashing, not particularly Jiang family friendly, Guilt, Fluff, past angst, Flashbacks, Protective LWJ, Soft WWX, adorable a-yuan, Friendship, Family, Getting Together, Established Relationship, Hurt/Comfort, Domestic Fluff) The Jiangs lose business deals because of their abuse of Wei Wuxian

Meet you at a different place by tawaen (M, 57k, WQ & WN, WN & MXY & WQ, WQ & WWX & WN, Eventual WangXian, Ghost General WN, Ghost WQ, Canon Divergence, WQ comes back to haunt the cultivation world, Bad idea to kill the one person who didn’t kill anyone, Cultivation World Critical, Not JC Friendly, Wen Remnants Deserve Better, Sīsī Deserves Better, MXY Deserves Better, POV WQ) Wen Qing's ghost gets revenge against those that wronged her family & Wei Wuxian

A Life Without Regrets by naqaashi (M, 146k, WangXian, JFM & WWX, JC & WWX, WRH & WWX, LXC & LWJ, LQR & LWJ, LWJ & NHS, Canon Divergence, Time Travel Fix-It, Angst and Humor, Angst with a Happy Ending, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Crack Treated Seriously, musical cultivation, Slow Burn, Pining, Rogue Cultivator WWX, Murder Husbands, PTSD, BAMF WWX, Demonic Cultivation, POV WWX, Cultivation Sect Politics, Worldbuilding, No Yīn Iron, Genius WWX, Inventor WWX, Artist WWX, Musician WWX, Night Hunts, Fate & Destiny, Bad Parent JFM & YZY, Golden Core, Cultivation Theory, Sentient Burial Mounds, Father-Son Relationship, Dysfunctional Family, Grief/Mourning, Parent-Child Relationship, Angry WWX, Pining WWX, WWX is Not Okay, No Golden Core Transfer, BAMF LWJ, Pining LWJ, POV LWJ, Angry LWJ, One-Braincell Wangxian, Love Confessions, Idiots in Love, WIP) is a time travel fic where Lan Wangji destroys the wall of disciplines and he & Wei Wuxian change the world for the better.

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13. Hello! I was wondering if you have any good recs with protective/overprotective Lan Zhan who will be dammed if he lets anything happen to Wei Ying ever again?

Also I just wanted to say you’re incredible and I genuinely appreciate all the work you do for us poor Wangxian fans!

🔒 Revenge is a Side Dish Best Served With Tea by merakily (G, 7k, WangXian, Post-Canon, Canon Compliant, Protective LWJ, Petty LWJ, Fluff and Humor)

💖 Nice work if you can get it by deliciousblizzardshark (M, 11k, wangxian, protective LWJ, genius LWJ, post-canon, fluff & humor, getting together, chief cultivator LWJ)

I Have Arranged to Tie You to Me by xxxMiaHikarixxx (G, 82k, WIP, WangXian, Lan protective team, Time Travel, Past, LWJ oriented, Arranged Marriage, Boys In Love, Soulmates, Fix-It, Jiang siblings, not jiang parents friendly, Soft LWJ, Protective LWJ, Genius WWX)

🔒 As good as by apathyinreverie (T, 6k, WangXian, LQR & WWX, Fix-It, Canon Divergence, not a good uncle LQR story, but also not not?, Golden Core Reveal, Kind Of, Golden Core Fix-It, Also kind of, Addiction, Manipulation, not between wangxian, just...War politics, Sunshot Campaign, Not As Dark As The Tags Make It Sound, Possessive LWJ, Protective LWJ, Tired WWX, Genius WWX, Dual Cultivation, LQR is too old for teenage drama, Developing Relationship)

my rivers tilt towards you by perfectlyrose (T, 26k, WangXian, Canon, Canon Divergence, Slow Burn, Mutual Pining, Fairy Tale Elements, dragonji, mentions of, Madam Yu’s A+ Parenting, First Meetings, Romance, Strangers to Friends to Lovers, Hurt/Comfort)

🔒 Heart of hearts series by apathyinreverie (M, 40k, WangXian, Dark LWJ(Ish), Amnesia, WWX gets to be Not Okay after the BM, Hurt WWX, Recovery, Caring, Protective LWJ, Possessive LWJ, some definite manipulation but not everything is as it seems, not nearly as dark as the tags make it sound, Canon Divergence, Golden Core Reveal, Golden Core Transfer Fix-It Kind Of, Domestic WangXian, Fluff, WWX Goes to Gusu, Possessive WWX, WWX happily atticwifing away, Sunshot Campaign, BAMF WWX, BAMF LWJ, ridiculously self-indulgent, Not Cultivation World Friendly)

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14, Hi! I read "By the emperor's decree - sweetlolixo" and am itmf fics where people have the mindset "wangji is a serious child, always has been" "Lan wangji doesn't smile or have fun" and all variations where most everyone even Lan zhan's family are sorta intimidated and kept at arm's length by his blank face and then they see him with Wei Wuxian and get the surprise of their lifetime cuz then he's smiling, joking, not punishing for rule breaking seriously, being just as shameless and working to fluster Wei wuxian more as well as proud to show off all the marks he leaves on his husband. It could be any AU!

By Heart by Meseem (T, 28k, WangXian, Time Travel Fix-It, Amnesia, Memory Loss, Canon Divergence, Somebody Lives/Not Everyone Dies, Angst with a Happy Ending, amnesiac time-traveler lwj, POV LWJ) iirc in one chapter Lan Xichen is surprised by Lan Wangji admitting that he likes Wei Wuxian, and overall a bunch of people get surprised by how much he let's him get away with

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15. Itmf a fic where wwx is abandoned after the battle of nightless city against wen ruohan, causing major canon divergence. Maybe the public turns against him, maybe his death is faked (by himself or others - he did pass out in public and was vulnerable to others for a time), maybe someone tries to 'remove a potential threat before he can become one' after that display of power, maybe he runs away, or is lost on the battlefield w/ disfiguring wounds and amnesia, etc. tldrwarwonbutwwxnogohomewothers

🔒this house is loved by ribena (T, 15k, WangXian, Canon Divergence, WWX lives, Memory Loss, Cottagecore, Developing Relationship, slight angst, introspective and a little rambly, Happy Ending, Feelings)

❤️ The Third Young Master of the Qishan Wen by KouriArashi (T, 139k, wangxian, xiyao, chengqing, romance, angst w/ happy ending, hurt/comfort, politics, revenge, families of choice, pining) This fic is already very canon-divergent (it's an AU where wwx is adopted by the Dafan Wen) but it has pretty much the plot point requested

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16. Hello

I'm in the mood for a WangXian fic that's set in the genre of Dark Academia. I've been reading Grimoire by WithLoweredVoices recently, and really enjoyed it. Do you know of any similar fics? @shenmiao98

Marks of weakness, marks of woe by Song_of_Storms (E, 48k, WangXian, WIP, College/University, Modern with Magic, Dark Academia, Rivals to Lovers, Dark LWJ, Slow Burn, Eventual Smut, Murder Mystery, Minor Character Death, Familiars, Fencing, Nonbinary NHS, Poison, Aftermath of Poisoning, Tagged Explicit For Later Chapters, LWJ's canonical inability to distinguish between immediate hatred and immediate attraction, furthering the LWJ/JZX/MM friendship agenda, Heavy Angst, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Intrusive Thoughts) If the requester of 16 doesn't mind a WIP

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17. I read fic Turn Left by kianspo, where Lan Zhan was kidnapped from Gusu sect and grew up outside of it (on the streets and then with Xiao Xingchen on Baoshan Sanren mountain). I’m in the Mood for a Fic with similar topic, where Lan Zhan grew up outside of Gusu Lan, be it in different sect or as rogue cultivator (without Gusu Lan sect rules). I would like to find more fics with this particular trope (not modern au). The plot after it (family reunion, wangxian) doesn't matter as much. Thank you.

no step had trodden black by Stratisphyre (T, 32k, wangxian, LQR & WWX, JYL/JZX, canon divergence, madam lan lives, past rape, golden core reveal, hurt/Comfort, referenced to attempted suicide & suicidal thoughts, canon-typical violence) Lan Wangji grew up as a rogue cultivator with his mom

The Dreams of Youth by sami (E, 86k, wangxian, time travel, fix-it, family, not lan sect friendly, canon typical violence & gore, childhood friends to lovers, hurt/comfort, mothers who live, some people live/not everyone dies) If the requester doesn't mind a time travel story, four-year-old Lan Wangji leaves the Lan sect with his mother

Xiao XingChen's travelling sect Series by The Silverfish (ZephyrAndTheSilverfish) (T, 43k, WangXian, SongXiao, Time Travel, Children, rogue cultivators, Not Canon Compliant, Hurt/Comfort, small town, Murder Mystery, Parental XXC, Cultivation Conference, Bad Parenting, World Travel, Monsters, Bugs & Insects, Sailors, Sea Monsters, Pirate Treasure, Ocean, Flirting, Bad Flirting) Another time-travel one, in which LWJ is raise (well "raised", he has adult memories and maturity) by Xiao Xingchen

Sail Away Sweet Sister by sami (M, 73k, WangXian, YZY/CSSR/MDM Lan, MingLi, Time Travel, EXTREME Canon Divergence, Wide Focus Narrative, Some People Live/Not Everyone Dies, Most Named/Canon Characters Live, Childhood Friends to Lovers, Families of Choice, Parenthood, this work contains a major tonal shift, Fluff, Angst, Underage Sex, not particularly explicit, but not at all ambiguous, PTSD, Only a tiny bit, Unforeseeable consequences, The butterfly effect, Slightly Dark JYL, Asexual Characters, but that’s not really the focus, Canon-Typical Violence) (link in #10) Also Sami's got another time-travel one where LWJ grows up in the Jiang Sect (ljw is not the time-traveler in this one)

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If you didn’t get an answer to your ask here, don’t forget to make use of @mdzs-kinkmeme and MDZS KINK MEME on Dreamwidth. Authors actually do use them for ideas. You may get what you order!***Your prompt doesn’t have to be kink! Fluff, crack, whatever - it’s all good!***

[rizzanon]

childhood friend! Shinichiro Sano

part 1 | part 2 (here)

childhood friend! Shinichiro who matures quite significantly by the end of highschool, no longer asking out girls at school anymore much to your surprise

"Woah, look at you."

"Hm??"

"It's been months since you last asked out some random girl. What happened to the women obsessed Shinichiro I know?"

"Shut up, it was just a phase. Besides, you made me open my eyes in a way."

"How so?"

"I guess... I'm just waiting to ask the right person out now."

childhood friend! Shinichiro who invites you to witness the disbandment of the first generation of Black Dragons, despite you not being associated with his gang at all

"Why do you even want me to go? The people I know are only just going to be Takeomi, Waka and Benkei."

"Because I want you to be there. Is there any better reason other than that?"

"I suppose not..."

"And maybe it's also the fact that I need someone to watch over Manjiro haha..."

"I knew it."

childhood friend! Shinichiro who gets upset frustrated when you chose to ride with Takeomi instead of him on the day of the final gathering (he couldn't complain about it to you though, you made a fair point)

"Hey come on! Why are you going to ride with him? Takeomi's a worse rider than me y'know."

T- "Fuck off Shin. You don't worry about me stealing your girl from ya'."

"But you are a reckless rider-"

"Come on Shin, you can't expect me, you and Manjiro to be able to sit in one bike, can you? One of us is surely gonna fall off. I'll be fine with Take-chan, okay?"

"Fine..." (He was not fine with it)

childhood friend! Shinichiro who you make fun of when he comes over to you after the disbandment of the first generation of Black Dragons bawling his eyes out (you were prepared for this outcome)

"Glad to know you're still the same crybaby Shin I know."

M- "Haha! I'm gonna tell Emma you're such a crybaby."

"Cut it out you two! This—sniffs—is a special moment...!"

"You're lucky I brought tissues to wipe your tears away."

"I can't believe you know me that well."

childhood friend! Shinichiro who gets used to you coming over to the Sano household unnanounced whenever you pleased, not that anyone minded, since they all loved your presence

"Emma, be a dear and wake up Shin? Smack him if you have to."

E- "Okay!!"

"Woah, woah, there's no need to smack any—yawn—one. And why are you here?"

"Emma wanted me to teach her a new recipe to make for breakfast. So here I am!"

"And you decided to come over this early??"

"It's 7am Shin. Besides, don't act like you don't like seeing my pretty face the first thing in the morning~"

"Shut up." (Spoiler, he does)

childhood friend! Shinichiro whom you never grow apart from even after highschool, and you both started going on different paths, him opening up a motor bike shop while you started going to college and applied for a part time job as a cashier near the vicinity

"Wait, the shop you're working at is the one down the street, right? Just a few blocks away from my shop?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Great, looks like I can go say hi to you whenever I want."

"Don't you dare do something stupid to get me fired, Shin."

"No promises, ma'am."

childhood friend! Shinichiro who after miserably failing 5 times asks you for your help to bake a cake for Emma's birthday

"And what is this supposed to be?"

"Clearly, it's supposed to be Ariel, y'know, the princess mermaid??"

"That's your best attempt at making an ariel themed cake?? Now I know why you were begging for me to come over when you called me."

"I blame it on Manjiro for ruining the frosting."

M- "Hey! It was you who ruined it."

"So not true."

"I think the both of you should just shut up and help clean up this mess first."

childhood friend! Shinichiro who's gotten used to his siblings asking him where you were whenever you weren't seen with him and getting teased about it

E- "Neh, Shin-nii, where's [name]?"

"Probably stuck in another class, why do you ask?"

E- "I miss her."

M- "Idiot, we already saw her this morning."

E- "Hey! Don't act like you don't want her to come and play with us too!"

"Seriously you two, sometimes I wonder if I'm your older sibling at this point, with how much you ask for her."

M- "Shinchiro, we all know you love her as much as we do, maybe even more~"

"Shut your mouth Manjiro 💢"

childhood friend! Shinichiro who always shows up to your workplace when your shift is almost going to be over, always claiming that he was hungry and wanted to buy something, when in reality, he's there to send you home

"So..."

"And what the hell could you possibly want from this humble store, Shin?"

"Woah, woah! Can't a customer walk around the store to see what they want to get?"

"The last time you were here you knocked down a stack of cans on display, the manager almost reduced my paycheck because of that."

"In my defence, I didn't see the stack of cans."

"Suree you didn't."

"Hey, come on now! You know I wouldn't do anything to jeopardize your job.. on purpose at least...."

"Seriously?"

"Seriously. Now, would you be so kind to get me a pack of cigarettes, y'know, for a very dear friend of yours?"

"The only think you'll be getting from me is a pack of gum, rotten breath."

"Rude... now come on, when does this shift of yours end anyways? Let's get dinner on the way back."

childhood friend! Shinichiro who becomes your gossip and vent buddy whenever he sends you home after your shift, with him hanging onto every word you say, and hating on whoever you hate even if he doesn't know who the hell they are

"Argh, goddamnit, won't she just give me a break already?"

"Who? Wait—no, let me guess. Is it that girl from your econs class? What's her name again? Ka—Ka something..."

"Kazumi. Wow, didn't think you'd actually remember, well somewhat remember at least."

"With how much you complain about her, who wouldn't? But let me guess what she did to aggravate you this time."

"Go on. No guarantee that there'll be a prize for that though."

"She ditched a group project discussion again? Or she claims she's too busy to complete her part of the project when in reality she's going on parties and all that?"

"Mix of both actually, so congrats! No prize for you though."

"Aww. And here I thought you'll reward me for being a good friend."

"Argh, I should ask Takeomi or Benkei to intimidate her into actually taking this group project seriously or something..."

"Why ask them when you have your number one ride or die partner next to you to do so?"

"What'll you do? Intimidate her with the 20 rejections you've gotten? Pfft, she might even make that 20 become 21 before you intimidate her."

"I thought we swore to never talk about that ever again 💢"

childhood friend! Shinichiro who's grateful to you for bringing him his lunch to his shop whenever he leaves it at home and enjoys groans whenever you nag to him about the importance of not skipping any meals

"Guess some things will never change, huh?"

"Huh? Oh, is that my lunch?"

"No, no, it's my supper."

"Ha. Ha. Very funny [name]."

"I deserve more credit for making sure you don't skip your meals."

"Is that so? Would you like me to get on my knees and thank you? I can certainly do that."

"You and your cheesy lines... when will you learn to remember to bring your own lunch to work? You're pulling off the same shit you did back when we were in highschool."

"Maybe I just like your meals better than mine..."

"...??!... That... That still isn't an excuse for you to not bring along something to eat, dumbass. What would you do if I decide not to check in on you, hm?"

"Probably starve to dea-"

-smacks his head-

"Oww??? Alright, alright, sorry I guess, 'mom'. I won't purposely skip my meals ever again..."

"Good... next time, just... ask if you want me to cook extra for you."

childhood friend! Shinichiro who notes how you start to stand one arm's length away from him whenever you're with him, and when he asks you about it, becomes visibly distraught to hear you say he reeks of cigarette smoke

"Hey... why're you standing so far away from me? Don't tell me you came over to my shop just to see me work from a distance now.."

"You just stink, that's all."

"What??!? I definitely don't stink. I took a shower this morning, and I'm not covered in grease or anything..!!"

"It's that smokey smell that's always lingering around you. Y'know, because you like to smoke every now and then.."

"Huhh?!? What're you saying!!"

"Don't tell me you don't reek of cigarettes Shin. It's blatantly obvious, I can probably even smell you from a mile away like this."

"WHAT?!? WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME THIS EARLIER???"

"Because I didn't want you to make you self-conscious, stupid! Besides, it's not like I can force you to stop smoking or anything.."

childhood friend! Shinichiro who slowly stops smoking as much as he used to, especially around you so that you wouldn't be disturbed by his smell and stay close to him

"Huh?"

"What is it?"

"Eh... it's nothing important."

"Oh come on, you clearly have something to say. Cat got your tongue or something? Taken aback by my good looks?"

"Yeah, sure, whatever you say. You just... smell different, that's all."

"Is smell all you care about? What are you, a dog?"

"Fuck you."

"Yes please."

"Wha-?!?!"

"I'm joking." (He wasn't really)

"And I probably smell good because I put on this new cologne I got."

"Pfft, to mask off the fact that you're a smoke addict?"

"Hey! Might I inform you that I haven't picked up a cigarette for the past two weeks now."

"Really? Wow, I'm surprised. What made you stop?"

"You. Well, more precisely, you avoiding to get close to me because I stink."

"...?!?" (You were speechless and flustered)

childhood friend! Shinichiro who gets jealous upset when his friends flirt with you right in front of his face, not knowing that they're doing this to get him riled up enough and grow balls to finally confess to you

T: "Say, [name], you got a boyfriend or anything?"

"..?!?! Wha- Why're you asking her that-"

T: "What? Can't a man be curious? Besides, no boyfriend would be pleased if their girlfriend is hanging out with her 'guy' friend and his siblings 24/7."

"Very funny Take-chan. If that's your logic, then I believe you already have your answer."

B: "That's suprising. I was sure a pretty girl like you would have many guys chasing for you."

"...! I'm flattered, Keizo-kun. But I doubt that's the case, haha."

"Oi, you guys, stop bugging her like this..."

T: "Ya'know, I'm pretty sure most girls like strong guys, right? Shin's pretty weak to stay by your side."

"Oi-"

T: "But, he makes it up with his charm and caring side, so I guess you have it good [name]."

W: "Well, that's Shin-chan for ya, so you don't have to worry about him not treating you right, [name]. But if he doesn't, you cant count on us to beat him up for you."

"I.... wow, okay...?"

"?!? Oi, you guys!!? Now you're scaring me!!"

childhood friend! Shinichiro who confronts you one day, telling you all about how his friends and family keep on teasing him about how you and him should date and how he also really liked the idea of that

"Hahaha! Really? Manjiro did that?? I can't believe I missed that!"

"It's painful y'know! Can't believe he's only 12 years old and pulling off roundhouse kicks like that. And to my face too!"

"Well, what'd you do this time?"

"Wha-?!? I can't believe you're so quick to take his side. Both you and Emma."

"What can I say? Both him and Emma are my favourite Sanos after all."

"Gasp After all these years, you're choosing them over me?!? I'm disappointed, [name]. I thought you knew better 😔"

"Cry about it then."

"Mean..."

"But he must have a reason for doing that to you though, right?"

"I mean... it's kind of stupid, really."

"Oh? Do tell whatever the reason for the 'invincible Mikey' to roundhouse kick you. And for Emma to take his side on the matter."

"Ah... they're just mad that I apparently haven't made you my girlfriend yet."

"Huh??"

"I know, stupid, isn't it? They both have been bugging me about this for years now, claiming that they 'want you to be their actual sister'. What's worse is that gramps has the same sentiment as them too."

"Seriously? Sano-sensei as well?"

"Yup. He says he doesn't mind having you as his "granddaughter-in-law" and that you're the only person I ever truly listen to. Bullshit by the way."

"Is it it really though?"

"That's not the point. Hell, even the guys are teasing me for not making it official with you yet. Bugging me about it whenever we hangout, saying that if I don't act soon, they'll steal you away from me."

"I-.... wow... I guess that explains what happened the last time we hung out."

"Yeah, sorry if their words bothered you."

"No, no it's fine. But I'm just wondering... what do you think about all this?"

"Huh?"

"Like.... with everyone bugging you, and well me about this, what are your thoughts on us dating?"

"...?!?... I guess.... I don't mind that..."

"Really? I'm glad then."

"Huh? What do you mean."

"I guess I don't mind us dating as well."

".....Wait..., so are you saying I can be your boyfriend?!?! Really?!?"

"Yes! I'm saying you can be my boyfriend, and I can be your girlfriend, idiot."

"I'm actually so happy right now I could literally kiss you."

"Then do it, Shin. Who's gonna stop you?"

a/n: i love him so much oml, thinking about writing longer fics about some of these scenarios

m.list

[scyllas-revenge]

Just read your “leap of faith” fic for Legolas and I have say I absolutely adore your writing style! Would it be possible for you to do a drabble or some rough ideas on what he would act like in the morning after waking up?

Thank you so much!! Honestly, that wasn't a fic I really planned to write more of, but your ask got my extremely rusty brain back to writing, so thank you! I'm not sure I succeeded at the style I was going for here, but it was fun to give it a try. I hope you like it!

(and @heilith I remember you requested to be tagged in my next Legolas content, so here you go!)

Leap of Faith, Part 2

aka even more Only One Bed shenanigans

Legolas/reader (gender-neutral)

Word count: 1100

Rating: G

Read part 1 here!

Legolas wakes to the sound of his name, but does not hurry to open his eyes. Your voice is a thing of beauty, as it always is, and he sighs a soft smile at the sound, willing the outside world away.

Soon his name is on your lips again, a bit more insistently this time. He shakes his head faintly. Not yet. Mortal sleep is a new experience for him, and he would indulge in it a few moments more. 

Now your hand presses against his shoulder. Regretfully, Legolas allows himself to be jostled into real wakefulness at last, where he finds you lying beside him, soft morning light streaming in through the inn’s faded curtains.

Your body is still curled toward him under the blankets. 

Concern pinches at your brow as you study him. You have never seen him sleep with his eyes closed—is he unwell? But then, perhaps elves never feel unwell. The wry laugh in your words does not fully disguise the sudden pain behind your eyes—perhaps you are reminded, as he so often is, of the immeasurable gulf between you, mortal and immortal, human and elf.

But you were never one to dwell overmuch on such heavy matters—you rest a hand against his forehead, half-teasing, as though to check for fever. Burning up, you inform him, your solemn pronouncement betrayed by the grin playing on your lips. Alas, he is quite unwell indeed! You fear his days are numbered. He had best get his affairs in order.

Legolas does not return your laugh. He will feel unwell in truth, he knows, the moment he must rise from this bed and carry on his journey with you, pretending he did not hear you whisper his name in your sleep, pretending he did not succumb to mortal dreams by your side. But he must give you an answer, and such a confession will not do. 

He was curious, he admits at last. It is no lie—not even a half-truth, for he is burning with curiosity, has burned ever since he met you. It is a weak answer, but it seems to satisfy you, and you smile at him more earnestly. 

Your hand still rests on his forehead, as though you’d quite forgotten to remove it. 

Have you shifted nearer to him? He does not think so. Yet the distance between you now seems unbearably small, intimate, your legs half-entwined under the blankets, his hair touching yours on your pillow. Nearly a lover’s embrace.

It is improper, Legolas thinks to himself, the instinct to scramble back rising in his throat. His curiosity has always warred with nervousness around you, the desire to at once surge forward and retreat often keeping him at a standstill entirely. But you speak again, and his eyes are drawn to the movement of your lips, so hypnotizing that you are forced to repeat yourself twice before he understands. 

Has his curiosity been satisfied, then? Now that he has had a taste of mortal sleep? Your eyes crinkle with laughter, the sound dancing soft and intimate between you. Mortal sleep is quite dull, after all, and you fear he must be disappointed. You shake your head ruefully, your hand leaving his forehead only to brush, agonizingly, against his cheek as you draw away—

“No.” Legolas's hand grasps your retreating wrist before you are aware of it.

His voice is still soft, the half-hushed restraint of early morning that you, like all mortals, seem to favor, but you cannot fail to sense the change in it, a flame igniting the word, low and rasping and hungry.

You lay frozen for a moment, your lungs scarcely drawing breath. But an answering flame sparks behind your eyes, and you raise your brow at him. “No...you are not disappointed? Or no, you are not satisfied?”

Softly you return your hand to Legolas’s face, your fingers trailing tentatively over his cheekbone, his jaw, the shell of his ear, shaped so unlike your own. His heart soars at your touch, and he laughs softly for sheer joy. “How could you disappoint me?" His hand falls to your waist, drawing you nearer. "In the waking world and in sleep, there is delight to me in all you do.”

“I am glad.” Heat blooms on your cheeks, but your fingers continue to play over his face, his neck, his hair, and your smile now is a thing of fire. You lean in closer than ever, and he wishes it might burn him. “And how could I satisfy you?”

Oh, there can be no doubt, now, that you feel as he does. The little bedroom seems suddenly to be made of gold, the morning sun sinking into his skin as though this is the first sunrise ever to grace Middle-Earth, the world born anew before him. Yet for all his elation Legolas knows not how to answer—he wants too much, far more than he can ask of you, and he fears his curiosity will never be satisfied.

Smiling all the wider for his silence, you take pity on him, tapping a playful finger against his chest as though in thought. “Perhaps I might tell you what I dreamed of last night. Will that do?” 

Your touch burns over his collarbone, his neck, his jaw, until your thumb sweeps softly over his lower lip. He swallows hard. He sees your sleeping face again, branded into his memory, your lashes fluttering, lips parting as you murmur his name. No, he thinks. It is not enough. “Perhaps you might show me instead.”

There is a heat beyond fire in your smile now, a heat to rival the rising sun. You know as well as he that this alone will not satisfy either of you, that this will begin something new and terrifying, a leap of faith far greater than the one he had taken last night in lying down beside you and closing his eyes. Yet he does not mean to retreat, and nor, it seems, do you. 

“Hmm. It will do, for a start.” 

Legolas is still chuckling fondly at your answer when you press his name against his lips, tangling your fingers in his hair. As you pull his body flush against yours, sighing as he parts your lips to taste the joy and trust and desire on your tongue, his fears and doubts vanish like summer fog, for he knows you have faith in each other utterly. 

He knows that when you take this leap together, you will fly.

[starringthesturniolos]

bite me(part 5) matt sturniolo

part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4, part 5

summary: matt hates your guts but all of that changes when he wakes up and finds out your his mate.

contains: vampire!matt x reader, highschool au! (18 years old), dark themes, death, smut (not in this part)

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

matts pov.

"okay, you guys should feel different any minute now" Madi says before giving me a look. a look that says what I am doing is stupid. judging by the sadness that's roaming in my chest, I'm guessing y/n thinks its stupid too. why does she care, its not like she likes me, I think to myself. but even as I think it, I can't help but cringe at the loss of emotions I would have from getting rid of the bond. sure, it was annoying sometimes, but hell, Iife gets a little boring when you've been living for so long. its easy to go numb and become desensitized, and that's what made y/n an anomaly. even before the mating bond, she made me feel things. even things I didn't want to feel like annoyance and anger.

I look over at her and I can't help but stare. she's so pretty, I think even as the bond fades into a dull nothing.

"quite staring, your freaking me out" she says looking at me. I can see the tears in her eyes, and ,even though the bonds gone, I know she wishes there weren't any. I knew her and I knew that she didn't like to feel like others had power to make her sad or upset. she never wanted to lose control. I can't help but note how much I know about her. more than I thought I knew.

I look away and grab her arm and sigh at the fact that there are no tingles or heat that flash through me this time. "I'll take you home, it's been a long night." and so from there we head back to the car. shit, I almost forgot about chris. I open my phone to call him, but I see a text notification from him instead. "I'm going to stay, the spell could take all night for me" it says. I can't help but wonder how someone can take away the pain of losing a mate, but shrug it off. if I knew I'd be a magic user, not a vampire. and I wouldn't be standing here awkwardly with a girl I hated two days ago. a girl I wish I could comfort, but don't know how too. we climb in the van and I turn on the car. the hiss of the ac and the quiet hum of the radio are the only sounds in the car. she opens her mouth and closes it again. "what? what is it?" i sigh because the tension is killing me.

"if the bond is gone then why am I still sad?" she says quietly. I note the fact that this is the most vulnerable I've ever seen her. she's always had a strong front, and always had something smart to say. but now in the quiet that is my van, I feel like I see her, the real her.

"I don't know why." I say honestly, but cringe at the monotone way I say it. like I didn't care to know why she was upset, and right then I knew her walls were going to come back up before they even do. she shrugs and wipes her face once. "can I play music then, I don't like moping around." she sighs, grounding herself again. "I know you don't" I say softly "and yes you can, as long as you don't have shit music taste" I smirk at the end. teasing her is so much easier and more natural then whatever we've been doing the past 15 minutes. "Oh it's amazing, you're gonna wanna add my songs to your playlist when I'm done. " she takes the mood change and runs with it. she even laughs and I don't even try to stop myself from admiring her smile.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I pull into her house and all the lights are on and there are clanging noises coming from the inside of her home. its damn near 5 am and no one should be up that early on a Sunday morning. we were just having a good time, surprisingly, listening to music with each other. we both like the same kind of music and even though I acted like I hated her singing I didn't mind. but she wasn't singing now, she actually looked really scared.

"my dads home" she whispers and looks at me with wide glossy eyes. worry flutters in my chest at the sight of her being afraid. this guy must be bad news. "he rarely ever comes home" she says in the same quiet tone her eyes widening even further before she turns to me. "I thought Madi said she put a protection spell on me." she runs her hands through her hair and her breathing is picking up. if she keeps this up, she's going to have a panic attack.

" she did, okay, so you have nothing to worry about!" the words sound all wrong coming out of my mouth. I meant for them to come out comforting but instead they sound a bit like I just want her to shut up and get out of my car. why do I always have to sound so mean.

her breathing picks up more and she's crying now. "you don't know what he's like, matt! you've never met the guy. he doesn't want anything to do with me! and when he comes home, he's always drunk" she pauses and closes her eyes gasping for breath. "and he's mean!" she sobs. before I can stop myself I grab her face and guide her gaze away from the house to me. if she hadn't told me this, I would have never known she'd been hurt this way. I couldn't help but wonder how many times she came home to find a nightmare in her house.

"you don't have to be with that guy" I say slowly and nod my head before continuing

"just stay with me" I whisper.

@bbernard-03

@sturnthepot

@hoeformatt

@sturtriple16

@faygo-frog

@sturniol0s

@katie-tibo

@cindylcuwho

[vashtijoy]

why everybody is wrong about the unlock date for akechi's rank 6 (and why it matters)

So It Is Known that Akechi's rank 6 unlocks on 9/3, right? That's the first day he'll show up in Leblanc to go to the bathhouse and tell you about his sad backstory (again). That is his unlock date. R...ight?

Game says no.

This is the function that (usually) tests Akechi's rank 6 time lock, SUB_COOP_TIME_[L]OCK6(). What does it do? It sets a bit, 0x1 831, if we fail the check. Which we will unfailingly do on every single day within a specified date range. And what is that range?

That range is between 4/1 and 8/28.

Read that again. Not 9/2, the day before 9/3. 8/28.

The same 8/28 we all know and love for, uh, some reasons:

That's right. The reason Akechi's confidant is locked until 9/3, the reason he has not one but two "let me tell you about my backstory" events inside of a week, is that one triggers the other.

Akechi shows up at Leblanc on 8/28. He finds a listening ear, and a shoulder to cry on—because, remember, we're smack in the middle of Akechi Hate Month:

This kid, who is so desperate for attention and approval that he's become a mass-murderer over it, is now in the middle of a public hate storm. And on 8/28, you listen to him. You make him welcome. You accept him for who he is—at least, for a little part of who he is.

And so he comes back less than a week later. On 9/3.

if he unlocks on 8/29, why 9/3?

Akechi's availability is often quite limited. Between 8/28 and 9/3, he's only available on one day, 8/30—though if you're already at rank 5, you can't do anything with him then.

Why doesn't he come to Leblanc on 8/30?

The Leblanc field (areas in P5 are technically known as fields) calls a very long, very unedifying function called NPC_FLAG_SELECTOR(), to see which NPCs it should load when. In short? It does this by testing the day of the week.

GET_DAYOFWEEK() returns a number between 0 (Sunday) and 6 (Saturday). So, because Akechi will only come to Leblanc if GET_DAYOFWEEK() returns 6, Akechi will only ever come to Leblanc on Saturdays.

And the first Saturday after 8/29? It is, of course, 9/3.

why does this matter?

Does this change anything? In practical terms, no. Akechi is still always going to be inaccessible for rank 6 until 9/3. But does it confirm anything about him? Well, yeah.

Akechi's rank 7 unlock really is on 11/2, the morning he tells you "I was working last night, so I'm tired today"—that time lock terminates on 11/1. His skill checks (Knowledge and Charm) are all exactly what you think. He even has a hidden lock for rank 8 (still called a time lock by the code) which verifies that he's currently a team member and won't let you proceed otherwise; that, too, acts exactly as you'd expect.

It's rank 6 which turns out to have this secret, to truly be as closely connected to 8/28 as it always appeared. Akechi comes to Leblanc in his hour of need, and he finds something—and then, the next day, he wants more.

And so he comes back—the very next evening he can get away to spend time in Yongen-jaya.

(Incidentally, I'm pretty sure Akechi lives in Kichijoji, and this kind of backs that up. It's the sort of super-trendy place he'd make a show of liking, and in fairness, he clearly does like it. He can only come to Yongen on Saturday nights because it's a lot of travel, close to an hour each way in the early evenings. But Kichijoji? He can hang out there far more often—because it's right on his doorstep.)

revision history

Click here for the latest version.

v1.0 (2023/12/26)—first posted.

[unforgettwble-sumii]

GO TO SLEEP, AMOR ୧ ‧₊˚ 🍮 ⋅☆

(Wednesday x Fem!reader)

> It's 11 a.m and you're still on your phone reading a fanfic about your favorite fictional character. (For the sake of the oneshot let's say that said fictional character was Draco Malfoy.)

⚪ Your roommate Yoko went to have a sleep over at Enid's and Wednesday's dorm, So it was the perfect opportunity for Wednesday to stay over at your dorm.

🟠 It's been hours and you still haven't went to bed so, she tries her best to convince you to go to bed without attempting any murders.

—–·—–·—–·—–·–—·–—·–—·–—·–—·–—·–—·–—

"For the last time, Amor. Go. To. Sleep." Wednesday said glaring at you. What was so important that was on your phone? Why did you keep on giggling?

"Waitttt Wennnn, I'm almost done reading this!! 20 minutes moreeeeee" you say whining, you quickly glanced at her then back to your phone.

At this point, Wednesday was about to loose it. You said that about 2 hours ago. It's a miracle that she hasn't dragged you to your bed.

Wednesday sighed. "What are you even doing?"

She got up from your bed and moved towards the baby pink couch you had in your dorm room that you were sitting on.

You were sitting with your legs crossed and was hugging the adorable giant bat plushie Wednesday got you from the carnival awhile back when you were sick.

Wednesday sat beside you, observing you like a hawk. Wednesday wondered how the hell she managed to get with you.

'Eres perfecta' she mumbled, cheeks lightly coated with blush, not too visible for you to see. Her lips curled up into a very small yet loving smile.

She snapped out of her thoughts and glanced at your phone.

"what are you doing?" she asked looking back at your face.

You giggled and moved your phone so it was much closer to Wednesday's face.

"I'm reading a fanfic!!!!" You exclaimed, a big smile plastered on your face.

'Fanfic?' Wednesday questioned herself. She glared at you in confusion.

You noticed the expression she made, you giggled at it. She was really adorable.

"Enlighten me." She said, one eyebrow raised. You went on explaining it to her, it took her quite some time to understand.

"Why would you wanna read these so called 'fanfics' when you can read books." She tilted her head as she said that.

"well...I don't know, plussss they also have some great stories hereee" you say batting your eyes at her.

"they corrupt the minds of young and adult girls and romanticize the cruel world. I think it's pathetic." She says glaring at you.

"hey! That's not true!" You say crossing your arms infront of your chest.

"You're acting like a big baby." She says

You laughed at her reply and hugged the plushy infront of you closer.

"We should go to bed now, Cara mia." She says sighing.

"but-" you say pouting. "No buts. It's 12 am and we have to go to class early tomorrow." She says with a stern expression.

"fine..." Your lips formed a small pout. You stood up from the couch, making your way to your bed. Wednesday following right behind you.

You laid down sighing, making sure to leave space for your love.

Wednesday laid down beside you and pulled you closer. Her action surprised you but, nevertheless you melted in her touch.

You gave her a smile and hugged her even closer than before "I love you...wen."

She gave you a peck on the cheek as a way of her saying 'i love you more.'

"Sleep well, my love." She says with a small smile.

And with that you both started to doze off

a/n:

I just had a random strike of motivation and decided to make this (hence the reason why it's short) however it is rushed so I deeply apologize if it isn't that good.

Oh and I didn't proofread it so I apologize for any errors, as again, I made this in a rush.

That is all thankyouu, luv u all!! ♡︎

</3 xoxo - unforgettwble-sumii

/ᐠ. ᴗ.ᐟ\ 💐

©unforgettwble-sumii's work. Pls do not repost, steal modify, or translate.

[voldkat]

iterator headcanon masterpost !

i have been cultivating my own little special iterator interpretation while designing them , and i've never quite told anyone about all my headcanons , so i'm making this post :D

i may come back to this to add onto it if i think of more stuff / refine the headcanons i'm unsure of , so check back at this post sometime if you want :)

iterators are divided into three loosely defined generations ;

generation one , the very beginnings of iterator technology

gen 1 iterators are few and far between , with the ancients only starting to dabble into this kind of technology . they're characterized by simpler puppets and usually older superstructure tech .

gen 1 iterators are also separated into 2 vague sub-categories — early gen 1 , and late gen 1 . early gen 1 iterators are the very first proper iterators to have been built , sporting various flaws and design oversights that were later fixed in late gen 1 iterators . the two don't have many differences other than this .

most , if not all group seniors are gen 1 iterators . looks to the moon is early gen 1 , and sliver of straw is late gen 1 .

generation two , during the mass production era

gen 2 iterators are the most common type of iterator , around the time the ancients grew confident in their iterator models and began to experiment . they have the most in-generation variation , a lot of them built with specific modifications and more complex designs .

most gen 2 iterators were built with a secondary purpose in mind , one to improve the ancients' quality of life in some way . things like mathematics , bioengineering , medical help , and sometimes even art . though they still have the main purpose of solving the great problem , some gen 2 iterators chose to instead focus on their secondary purpose more .

no significant harassment , seven red suns , and chasing wind are gen 2 . no significant harassment is a scientific calculator with a built-in graphing tool . i haven't thought of secondary purposes for the other two yet .

generation three , the moments before global ascension

gen 3 iterators are less common than gen 2 iterators , but still outnumber gen 1 iterators . they are incredibly streamlined from thousands of cycles of innovation , but their puppet designs remain relatively simple .

the ancients returned from their burst of creativity to once again make iterators for the sake of iterating alone . at this point , they were getting impatient from the lack of a solution . gen 3 iterators were built with the sole purpose of trying to crack the great problem , with little thought put into anything else .

five pebbles and unparalleled innocence are gen 3 .

iterators have one main color which acts as that iterator's ID . the color is always present on various parts of the iterator , such as their overseers and inspectors , their puppet's eyes , as well as the decor on their puppet's earpieces and antennae . this color is used in broadcast transcripts as well , and most puppets also feature this color in other aspects of their design .

there are more iterators out there than distinct identification colors , so some iterators are bound to end up with very similar colors . extra care is taken to make sure no iterators with similar color IDs have the same name acronym , for the sake of being able to tell apart between them . iterators with similar color IDs are also usually placed far apart , for the convenience of having a unique color for every iterator in a local group .

these IDs are usually stored in hex codes , and are often vibrant and / or colorful . iterators with white , black , or gray IDs are incredibly rare , and gray IDs especially are discouraged . i'm still tweaking around the colors for a lot of my iterator designs , but i can tell you the color IDs of the ones that do have solid designs ;

no significant harassment — #A0FC94

seven red suns — #E11F11

dark tides ( oc ) — #7B506B

red haze ( oc ) — #C68E9B

basically , my interpretation of this room in metropolis ;

despite the distance , the communities living atop iterators are just as connected as the iterators themselves . trade routes are established between cities , communication towers are used to let citizens talk to each other , and their cultures are somewhat intertwined . but , most importantly , a city can communicate to other iterators just as well as it can communicate with their home iterator .

you see those networks of dots and lines on the screens ? those are maps of all the scattered iterators . select one of these nodes — which , in my interpretation , are colored based on the corresponding iterator's color ID — and you will send a communication request for that iterator to respond to . the iterator can choose to accept the request or to block it if they're busy , but a select few special ancients are able to force a transmission in case of emergencies .

there are other faster methods for ancients to contact foreign iterators that don't require directly interfacing with them via a screen , so these screens aren't used very frequently . these screens can be used to contact the home iterator too , who is always highlighted with a simple 'you are here' mark .

multiple different cities can connect to the same iterator at the same time . likewise , multiple different iterators can connect to the same city at the same time . both of these allow for mass transmissions or group meetings for both ancients and iterators .

more to be added !

[fiamat12]

LUKOLA STATUS: THEORIES

I agree with much of the theory linked above and don't think any of it is far-fetched since celebrity reputations are critical, esp. admist promo for a big-time TV show. A few things I'd like to add, w/ a bit of a different take:

1) N might've been dating someone, too, when L was dating A. (Maybe E, casually? For those of you who don't buy E, it could've been anyone w/how private N is). I also don't think L ever let it get serious w/A (although monogamous), knowing he'd reunite w/N for the WT, because even in the early days (Jan. & Feb.) you could see he was still down bad for N. I do think L was unsure, however, of where they stood since N was likely the one who asked to separate (& maybe was seeing someone else) and needed to know he still had a chance - although if he didn't (but why wouldn't he - they're soulmates), I don't think he & A would've lasted. I also think he distanced himself from A as early as after their March LA trip...

2) I don't necessarily see A as a villain out to ruin a rel. btwn L & N. Idk that, at first, A realized what she was up against; if the theory is correct, L & N were separated, so A hadn't seen them interact, nor had S3 been released w/their obvious chemistry on display. She'd watched fan edits of S1-2 & literally said F' it, but that was nothing compared to what was unleashed btwn L & N in S3 (both onscreen & off) that she hadn't seen. I'm quite certain L didn't divulge to A when he & N rekindled bts so I can see A being confused & desperate to hold on. I'm not sure that A threatened L but, rather, perhaps was loose lipped or took it upon herself to post her & L on sm, at which point L had to reign her in lest rumors abound. (Side note: I'm conflicted abt the Instyle stunt & if Luke participated in coordinating it 🤔)

3) I agree that L & N always had a plan to come back together (ahem, the claddagh promise ring), but perhaps it took longer than expected w/the negative media storm after papgate (which I do believe was unplanned) and L's entire friend group acting unhinged. I also agree that L has had an arrangement to help A by appearing w/her publicly for a bit, before breaking it off and this - a) protects N from being brandished a homewrecker and - b) distracts from his rel. w/N for their own privacy. I'm not sure he would tell A of his intent, but seeing as she could infer much of it, an NDA had to have been signed at some point.

4) I'm unsure how much L & N have been in touch since papgate. I think the narrative they're playing out is that L was dating A, realized it was a mistake, broke up/is breaking up w/her and upon S4 filming or so, will start a reunite w/N. I think N began a soft launch w/her love song posts, but had to take a step back when L received negative backlash (again!) about his HBS after his stylist's post. And I think N's appearances w/JD are to take the heat off of L. Do I think L & N have been seeing each other more than they let on? Yes... maybe even prior to the love songs, as I believe the public narrative is different than what's going on bts. And that's ok. It's their relationship, and they will come out if & when they choose 😊

What are your thoughts??? Theories???

ALSO, always possible: I could be totally wrong, and both L & N could be dating completely different people or no one. But I still believe they are soulmates & endgame 👫

[welovetesvkaidan]

OPINIONS ON KAIDAN EE/IF???

My honest reaction:

in all seriousness, if you wanna hear me yap about it, more under the cut

warning like, genuinely a ginormous yap, like a HUMUNGOUS, sleep-deprived yap,,, im cursed to be obsessed with skyrim + modded followers instead of touching grass

I think a lot of this is probably gonna be the same thing other people have said, so im sorry

if you feel i'm gonna be bringing up redundant points and get mad at me😓dont read

I haven't experienced and thus won't talk about the versions of EE and IF that are now separate mods from each other. I don't know anything about that.

if they're better now yayyy but this is about pre-separation

I should preface this with the fact that I've played through Skyrim 3 times with different stages of Kaidan EE/IF:

The initial Dawnguard + fixes/miscs mod

Kaidan EE/IF versions before extensive faction/NPC dialogue for Kaidan

EE/IF w/ NPC Dialogue (AKA Fratpack)

I was also part of the two different discords that were purged and created during these intervals. i don't even know if there is a discord currently?

anyway, that is to say that I have experienced the mod and it's behind-the-scenes progress, extensively so I have a pretty good idea of what I liked and didn't like

That being said, I will introduce probably my biggest problems with it: Tonal whiplash

Okay, well the most common complaint is ofc that a lot of the writing is out of character - and I agree. But it's not just ooc on paper, it's his voice too. I swear, it is very jarring hearing hushed, mild og Kaidan 2 voicelines, and then being deafened by EE Kaidan SCREAMING in my ear ALL.THE.TIME. (like... why are you yelling at me rn jeez)

Seriously. I'm not sure why they didn't just re-record everything from the original mod instead of adding more and more contradicting lines on top of the originals. It definitely could have been a standalone mod, and sometimes it almost feels like it is - because he is just so different.

My most infamous moment in my last playthrough with him happened after we defeated the dragon at Kynesgrove. His og Kaidan 2 dialogue played first, in it he shows interest and is cordial about Delphine ("I wouldn't mind prodding her mind" or whatver dialogue), THEN immediately after his Kaidan EE/IF dialogue will play, in which he walks up to Delphine and STARTS YELLING AT HER AND INSULTING HER - like they argue for quite a bit wtf. And it's like, listen, I have my thoughts about Delphine, but whether or not it was okay to yell at her isn't the problem. It would be fine - IF he hadn't just calmly told me he thought she was okay.

It is sooo confusing how he contradicts himself :(

I mean, yeah, fragments of who he is are still there, I can tell it's Kaidan, but he's warped to fit a different character. Like a con-artist Kaidan.

Anyway, besides the contradictions, it also feels out of character because of his established backstory.

Let's go over it: He's an orphan, lost his only connection to his family(his guardian) to drugs, fell into substances himself, joined a violent cult, had to escape said cult, came clean from his addictions, has been traveling Tamriel bounty-hunting, got brutally attacked by the Thalmor, rescued by mere chance. Do you honestly mean to tell me this man would be yelling, pissing, drinking, lewding, and joking his ass off?? After all that???? NO - or maybe not these levels of extreme. (maybe some other dude might, but Kaidan's characterization insists he is a brooding, keeps-to-himself man, even though he never acts like it anymore)

That man should be tired, and he did feel like he was tired in the original. He was more brooding then than he is now, usually silent, but could still have an edge of comedy/wittiness, he was smart, he had been through a lot!

In that regard, EE/IF Kaidan felt like... we are experiencing Kaidan 10 years in the past - like a Kaidan in his early 20s when he was still a drunkard low-key terrible person. He is just so energetic, always yapping - GOD he talks a lot now. ugh but most of the time it wasn't about anything, it was either inside-jokes, meta jokes, and only occasionally did we get things that added to the experience.

For example, I think most of us who have played Kaidan 2 remember at least one specific line he has said while exploring. What comes to mind for me is either "Can you smell the magicka in the air too? Smells like a rainless thunderstorm." or "Watch for the mammoth with the carvings on their tusks, that's how the giants mark their herd." Alright, both pretty nice small talk for characterization (he IS smart) and worldbuilding.

Tbh i can't really remember any iconic lines from the additions of EE/IF Kaidan... the only two lines that stood out for me were: the "elevenses" line from the clip above (started bumping into him every time he was about to say this so he would stfu... total tonal dissonance), and one he said while I looted Lucky Lorenz ("poor sod wasn't as lucky as his namesake would have you believe!") kai HOW do you know this man, and his nickname, who told you that??? (idc about it that much but its like the only other added line i remember)

I thought that maybe his ooc-iness might have been caused due to the collaborative approach of the mod, I think the mod authors created their own perfect Kaidan - and that's good for them! It takes a shit ton of work (Ik cuz i was there!!) But I think the original essence was lost with each addition. It might have been lack of direction for the voice acting too, a lot of the lines might have hit better if they weren't borderline screamed.

Okay, at some point while playing I got so tired of his constant himbo chit-chatter that I tried tuning him out and bringing other npcs from vanilla skyrim as followers. Problem: even without kaidan on your party, everything starts being about kaidan. Because the extension made it so that Kaidan either has history with/character interactions and development with different NPCs from the base game.

The main poor sods that traveled with me:

Erik the Slayer: Apparently was Kaidan's childhood friend, got inspired by Kaidan to become an adventurer. Least egregious in my opinion, they say sweet things to each other. I swear, Kaidan yells more at me than he ever did at Erik.

The Companions: dumb, dumber, and dumbest basically.. This part of EE/IF was also known as "The Fratpack" and y e a h they pretty much had Vilkas, Kaidan, and Farkas acting like immature frat boys all the time. Just,, absulutely taking away all the maturity out of these GROWN ASS MEN. im sorry, i guess i dont get the appeal. I liked it when they didn't behave like teens (Aela im so sorry, you deserved better than being part of this)

Lydia: All she does is simp for him, ALL.THE.TIME. You think she's about to have a meaningful thing to say? nope, she's checking out Kaidan's ass. Think she'll have a deep convo with another npc about one another? nope! she wants them to tell her all about Kaidan. Both the Companions and Erik will either talk down to her or have to deal with her thirst for Kaidan. i had to start leaving her home.

They also suffered from the same tonal whiplash as Kaidan, unfortunately

additionally, the mod added an "early flirt switch" - you could basically toggle Kaidan to start showing romantic affection for the Dragonborn before the amulet of mara., the interactions were good on paper, but everytime he stammered and stumbled over his words it was written in such an unnatural way... pls people don't talk like fanfics lol !!!

I did like that he gave me flowers, my inventory got full of them - but then he noticed how many flowers I had in my inventory and judged me for "picking everything i see" ugh dude you gave them to me, but also even if you hadnt... mind your business lol

Another addition was a feature that basically made it so NPCs could potentially throw flirtatious comments at Kaidan and the Dragonborn (Bishop flashbacks😨)

You can't do anything to defend Kaidan from those comments, but he WILL take it upon himself to defend your honor infront of any men, women, jarls, or criminals that even so much as find you attractive (THIS INCLUDES FARKAS AND VILKAS BTW :( ) by being rude, forthcoming, AND violent. so yea, you can guess the target audience

speaking of which, he definitely comes on too strong on you once you start the romance, and it left a bad taste in my mouth. I specifically picked the "go slow" option for the romance, and the next day or two it was him constantly complaining about having to go slow under his breath, how he wanted to do anything but slow rn... and like just, wow. :/ yikeees lmao

Maybe this is the result of "i can fix him" romance ideals? im sorry but I liked him when he was down to earth

Bonus? He comes with a campsite now, which has to be magic because its ginormous and he somehow lugs it around despite it also coming with a whole ass furnace (fine fine i'll hold my disbelief)

anyway I do like it, its basically a player house you can take anywhere (so long as kai is with you ig) also you can have a cat in there

I like that there is an MCM, I like that the MCM lets you get through the quest stages in case you get stuck

I like that he can guide you places, usually he gets stuck in a tree or rock but its the thought that counts

I think if the mod had continued in the vein as its original iteration when it was just audio/bug fixes and included these qol features it would have been better than it is now.

But it seems maybe i'm just not the target audience, and as a young woman I'm really confused as who the target audience is 😓

okay im srry rant over

if anyone else wants me to yap about other kaidan skyrim things also ask or join in cuz i like yapping about skyrim and kaidan to people!!!

[itsdeniini]

┏━━━━━━━━━━━◥◣◆◢◤━━━━━━━━━━┓

SUNGHOON'S TWIN FLAME - A TAROT READING

┗━━━━━━━━━━━◢◤◆◥◣━━━━━━━━━━┛

🫧‧₊˚⋅ n ¤ t ə ⋆ : : i am a self-taught tarot reader, and the interpretations i provide are personal. if anyone would like to share their own insights, i would be more than happy to hear them! please be kind <3

★2: in this reading, I will be talking about a person from the future and how their relationship will progress at the moment when they are already know each other; that's the twin flame that he's yet to meet. 👾

GENERAL READING ︻╦╤─

The Sun, The Emperor, The Star, Queen of Wands, 8 of Pentacles, The Chariot, The Tower, The High Priestess

There's an unmistakably regal air to this person. Yes, that's the first thing that came to mind, because she's literally exuding the vibes of a royalty. A 𖤓 Leo perhaps? She's carrying herself as a noble with dignity, and it's not only this but also the fact that she's conceited. Leos have a reputation for being conceited, but let's think AGAIN 🤓☝️ Leos do feel important, but it's usually because they want to change the world in some way to make it a better place. In our case, our twin flame is motivated by affection for people and often has big dreams and plans to make people happy. She is hard-working. After all, she is attracted to the good things in life and knows she has to work to get them, something she is doing at the moment. She most surely works in entertainment, just as Sunghoon, but in a different direction. She's quite emotive, so I bet she's an actress or a presenter.

But one thing about her is that she was not always a go-getter typa girl. In those past ~2-3 years she was in a languid mood that put her career under some sort of limitation. She used to sleep in, laze around, and luxuriate for long periods of time. However, this year she seems to have pulled herself together and gotten to work, and she's doing it with new determination and intensity. She's still early in her career, so I can suppose she's 20–23 years old. She tends to blow up and create herself a new image, and the fact that she's versatile enough to do that will help her thrive. Now (before too, I think) she is staring in something thriller-like with a lot of action, and she likes this genre so much. I got reminded of Sunghoon's acting in the UNTOLD Concept Cinema and his gun scene, and with that, I mean that she's having similar roles where she's the mean girl that has bad blood with the antagonist. And she fits in SO GOOD, her acting agenda is 🤌... Investigation drama? Yes. Something post-apocalyptic? Yes. Detective? Mhm! She also has experience playing in romance/teen romance movies/television series, so again, she must be extremely driven to stare in as many movies this year and get that bag in.

The worst thing you can do to her is accuse miss twin flame of bad intentions. Displaying behavior that makes her think you don't appreciate her runs a close second! She might become mighty hurt and pouty when others (especially her lover, so take notes Sunghoon ✍️) don't see her for the noble intentions she has.

And something I wanted to point out! In my Could Sunghoon date a foreigner post, the anon mentioned that they see Sunghoon as a Korean guy with traditional views on life, and as I said, he's not that traditional, at least in comparison to THIS young lady who has fixed views and may also appear conservative. She'll hold on to situations and people for a very long time before giving up completely, while Sunghoon is more of a "Meh, I'm done with A, B, and C... with all of them!"

And just as I thought, she's both idealistic and perfectionist, just like Sunghoon! She has a very noble inner code that she answers to. Although she appears rather confident on the surface, she can also be humble. She is the first to blame herself when something goes wrong. Once again, it's her self-importance at work, and this characteristic works in unexpected ways. Instead of being the conceited, self-absorbed show-offs of reputation, she can be very self-aware, self-conscious, and, yes, even humble.

ᡕᠵ᠊ᡃ࡚ࠢ࠘ ⸝່ࠡࠣ᠊߯᠆ࠣ࠘ᡁࠣ࠘᠊᠊ࠢ࠘𐡏~♡ So that's what we have so far...

Positive traits: She is masterful, brave, and competitive; she likes authority; and she aspires toward an ideal. She likes to give advice. She is honest, frank, loyal, open, and sincere. Possible issues: pride, vanity, arrogance, presumption, and disdain for others.

And from the Sun we go to the Moon... ☾𖤓

The Fool, The Knight of Wands, The Wheel of Fortune, The Page of Swords, 8 of Wands, Temperance, 3 of Cups, 7 of Swords

Sunghoon's ☾ is in Aquarius, and since they're quite similar, I can presume that it's the same thing for her, but I'm more inclined towards her being a Sagittarius ☾. ☾ Sagittarians, just like ☾ Aquarians, need personal freedom and space. She is extraordinarily happy and easygoing, as long as she doesn't feel caged in or cooped up. Also, Sagittarians have a simultaneous need for activity. Meeting new people, going out in the world, or traveling are all important to their well-being. She loves open spaces and, in her house, a roomy and bright environment. Eh, this girlie 😭 She easily forgets appointments or veers from her schedules, a bit irresponsible, hehe~ However, it is hard to stay angry at her for that! She is just too cheerful and upbeat while working with the crew, and her optimism is catchy. So outdoorsy! At the very least, she has a great love for friendly competition. When she gets tough, she gets moving. She doesn't like to be caught up in routine for too long, and she needs frequent escapes. She's such a dreamer as well <3 There's a blind faith that is admirable; she believes that everything will ultimately work out. She is not much for making detailed plans; she prefers to wing it and deal with whatever comes her way when it comes. She's very adaptable and generally on the go.

ᡕᠵ᠊ᡃ࡚ࠢ࠘ ⸝່ࠡࠣ᠊߯᠆ࠣ࠘ᡁࠣ࠘᠊᠊ࠢ࠘𐡏~♡ So what do we have now...

Positive traits: May like to throw herself into the unknown and into adventure; she is agile, tough, and enthusiastic. Attracted to long trips or discovering the unknown, she has a need for escape or flight and room for spontaneity. Possible issues: May take great risks by throwing herself into the unknown. Audacious, bold, and rebellious. Unable to stay in one place, she was always ready to risk everything to achieve her goal.

PERSONAL STYLE ! >.<

1. Vibrant maxi dress with bold patterns, statement earrings, comfortable sandals.

2. Tailored bright-colored blazer, casual tee, distressed jeans, standout necklace.

3. Jumpsuit, bangles, stylish yet comfortable shoes.

[ 𖹭 approximative representation ↗ and face card ⁀➴ˎˊ˗ ]

[spaghettificationandpretzels]

The Hollow Men

Part 1, part 2

Part three of The Way the Stars Love the Heavens series.

Contains: Fluff, slow burn, unresolved feelings, angst, violence, blood, death, a cliffhanger. Not beta read, likely full of mistakes.

Follow #the way the stars love the heavens for updates

2.9K words

This is the way the world ends

You stood in the briefing room with all eyes on you, and Price had a smile a mile wide on his face. Your translations were front and centre, and your laptop, which someone must have collected from your office, was open on the table. Price nodded a greeting to everyone as they walked in, then gestured towards you. "The boys gave me the rundown but I want to hear it right from you."

You blinked, unsure of what he was talking about. "It's all in the files sir, I'm not quite sure what more I can offer." There was that look from Ghost again, the same one he gave you when you stopped yourself from telling them about the American theory.

Price nodded. "We all know how thorough your work is y/n, that's not the issue here. I want to hear what you think, not want you know."

You took a deep breath, there was no point in protesting again. "He's in his late thirties to early forties, from the south and highly educated, but it came late, my guess is in the military. He acts like he likes the person he's talking to but he doesn't and judging by the last few communications, he's planning something big." 

Price reached into his vest and pulled a memory card out. "So far, all your translations have been from text right?" You nodded, and he continued. "How long would it take you to translate a disguised voice?" 

He handed you the card and you understood what he was asking. "A few seconds, I wouldn't even need to do anything, there's software that will clean it." You placed the card into your laptop and started the programs, and a stillness fell over the room as it worked through the file. 

The speakers popped to life, and a voice came through them. "Yeah, yeah, I get you. But now that it's done, I'm not going to be his bitch boy anymore." 

"You were right, love." Ghost turned to the group, his eyes hard and filled with anger. "That's Graves." 

Soap had told you everything that went down in Las Alams, you knew this was serious. "Umm, I'm going to go, I'm probably just going to get in the way now." 

"You'll stay right where you are." The only time Ghost had been that curt with you was the first time you met, and it lasted a total of two hours. "Who do you think he's talking to?" 

You thought for a moment, going back over all his conversations in your head. "I think it's someone on the outside, someone he complains to. And I think the person he's referring to is now very dead or about to be." 

You were waiting for the blow up, for someone to finally crack and for the rage to pour free. After everything they went through, you could only imagine how they felt. 

"I need to contact Los Vaqueros and let them know that Las Almas might be in danger." You understood why Alejandro was so upset, after the dust settled with Hassan, the 141 returned to Las Almas to finally stamp out the cartel. Alejandro and Rudy only agreed to join now because they knew their home was safe. 

Price nodded. "Go, we'll send some axillary men. We don't want you and Rudy to go home just yet." He swallowed and turned back to you. "Is there anything else you can tell us? I don't care how small it is."

You took a deep breath, you weren't used to being this important. "I know he's planning something. At first, he seemed unsure of himself, like he was figuring everything out but after a while, that went away. It would take me hours to explain word choice and syntax and punctuation, it might be time you don't have."

"Then you better talk fast because we need to know whatever's in your brain." For the first time, you wished Ghost didn't have so much faith in you.

****

They never interrupted, but the questions came thick and fast, and the more they learned, the more complex the questions got. It felt like you were teaching them linguistics and psychology all at once. But the room got tenser the more you talked, and there was clearly something they were understanding that you weren't. By the time you were done, they all looked ready to kill.

"I'm going to take all of this to Laswell, you should be ready to roll out at a moment's notice." Price's tone was short, you had no idea what was going on, and he left in such a hurry that you knew something was wrong.

"Did I do something wrong? Please tell me I didn't neglect to tell you something important?" Your thoughts started to race, something very serious was going on.

Soap shook his head. "No doll, you didn't. You've been a big help, really." When he saw that his words brought you no comfort, he kept going. "You wouldn't have known the stuff you told us was important unless you had worked with Graves. Really, y/n, you're a lifesaver."

You breathed a sigh of relief and smiled. "Oh thank God, I was really starting to like this job."

The room let out a chuckle and everyone started to pile out, just as you crossed the threshold, Ghost turned to you and stopped you with a hand on your shoulder. "I'm posting men outside your office and dorm when we're not here and I don't want you taking your morning walk alone anymore." His tone left no room for argument.

"Am I in danger?" It was the last place you'd expect to be at risk, despite the circumstances, you had always felt safe on base.

He shook his head. "No, but I just want to make sure. Graves is a bad man and if he thinks you helping us will end him, he will do anything to stop that." You understood what he was saying, trust no one. "I'll assign them personally, you don't need to worry about that." 

You nodded. "Ok then. Thank you for listening to me today, it really means the world to me that you guys think what I have to say matters." 

You could see the smile in his eyes as he reached up to brush your cheek with the back of his hand. "We'll pick up that other conversation, love, I just gotta deal with this first." 

You truly hoped whatever they were doing wouldn't take long, you might explode if you had to wait any longer to tell him the truth about how you felt about him. "I'd like that." 

****

The base was a rush for hours before you saw Ghost again and when he knocked on your office door, he wasn't alone.

"Y/n, this is Denise Peters and Arin Moss. Moss will be on the day shift and Peters will be on the night shift. You do not leave their sight." It was a small base and you had talked to both of them before, they both seemed alright. Peters was a little too arrogant for your tastes, but none of that mattered, if Ghost trusted them, so did you.

You nodded. "Alright. Maybe it will be good to have an extra pair of hands."

He smiled, waved them away and closed the door before sitting on the corner of your desk. "I think we have something to talk about love?" He paused and reached up, pulling his mask free as he leaned in close. His umber eyes looked over your face, and you placed a hand on his cheek as he brought his hand up so he could stoke your face.

You were too caught up in the moment to utter the words, he already knew anyway, he made that much clear every time he looked at you. "We do."

You leaned in closer, resting your forehead on his as you brushed his nose with yours. Your lips touched in a barely there graze and his hand slid from your cheek to the back of your neck as he shifted to pull you closer. You were stuck between confessing and finally kissing him but it seemed Simon had made up his mind because your lips brushed again as he went to speak. "Y/n, love. I love.."

"Ghost wheels up in ten." You glared at the flung open door, Price was standing there stock still, staring at both of you, his eyes going back and forth as he figured out what to do.

Simon had pulled away from you and was pulling his mask back over his face when you lost it. "You have the worst fucking timing known to man, did you know that?"

He nodded and glanced at the floor. "It seems so." His face fell and he gave you an apologetic look. "There's no time to continue your conversation, I'm sorry."

He left and Ghost followed, his hand lingering in yours as he went. "I'll be back soon love."

You nodded. "Yeah, be safe." You daren't say the words, it felt like bad luck.

****

It had been three long days since they left, with only a few words over the radio since and to say you were over it was an understatement. Arin Moss was a jovial young man who could talk for hours, he made Simon being away easy. But Peters was only just tolerable, he kept his distance and spoke when spoken to, which got lonely after a while, no one wants to feel like their company is a chore. Despite everything, you understood why Simon assigned him to you, he picked up on every detail, and you never needed to tell him something twice.

Tonight was no different, you were in the small kitchen getting a snack while he stood against the wall eating an apple and you must have said two words to each other since he started his shift. "You seem busy tonight?"

You blinked away your shock and nodded. "Yeah, I'm working on an old stone tablet, I tend to get lost in the dusty stuff."

He let out a single laugh. "Why didn't you go into archaeology?" The sudden interest in you felt strange but there was no one else to talk to, the 141 section of the base was always quiet.

You snorted. "I have a PhD in it, I'm just better with languages." Had it been one of the guys who had asked, you would have given more detail but something told you Peters wasn't interested in an explanation.

"Wow. You're a smart women, I can see why Ghost likes you so much." That struck you as odd, he normally worked in another building and unlike most bases, there wasn't a lot of gossip going around. 

You took your grilled cheese out of the sandwich press and turned it off before offering him half, along with a question. "What makes you say that?" 

He flashed you a slight smile. "He's put two men on you to keep you safe, he wouldn't do that if he didn't care about you." 

You nodded. "I guess you're...." 

BANG BANG BANG 

"What the hell was that?" He looked around and handed you back the plate. "I don't know but I'm going to go see what it was. Stay here." 

He ran off and you went to sit down and eat but before you pulled out your chair, there was another bang, louder this time, then alarms started to go off. 

The base was under attack. 

The chuff chuff of a helicopter sounded overhead and your heart started to race, and the air was filled with the sound of gunshots. Another bang, this one had you getting up and to shut and lock the door, it sounded like a door close by had just been broken open. Then more shooting and men yelling, it was getting closer and closer. 

The guys had told you what to do if this ever happened, grab the closest weapon and use it on anyone you didn't recognise, so that's what you did. You went to the draw and, grabbed the longest knife you could find and waited. It didn't take long, the light flickered and you saw men rushing by in the door's small glass window before the lights went out and you were bathed in almost darkness that made it hard to see anything. 

You protested at first when the 141 wanted you to join them while they trained, you had to meet basic firearms and hand to hand proficiency to work on the base, you could look after yourself. But right now, crouched behind the door frame, ready to stab the first person through the door, you were grateful they had insisted. 

There was no call out as the footsteps got closer and you knew what was coming, the handle twisted and the door opened and you lunged. You topped your class in Biology, you didn't need anyone to tell you where to aim the knife. The feeling was strange as the knife went into his neck, hard and soft all at once. He made a strange sound and you shoved him away from you, the blade staying in your hand as he fell. 

Your eyes had adjusted to the dark by now and you looked down at the man, he was reaching for his gun but his hands were failing him and with one more beat of his heart, he was dead. The adrenaline racing through your veins made it hard to feel anything but the urge to run but you were aware of the wet metallic stickiness that was clinging to parts of you. 

There were more gunshots, the muzzle flashes lighting up the hallway as they went off. You went over to the body and grabbed what you could, his custom helmet and vest were out of the question but his crackling radio would at least help if more were coming, so would his gun. 

You had to get out of the kitchen and walking through the door wasn't an option, neither was waiting but you didn't have the chance to think because another round of gunshots went off and then there was another flash of movement in the hallway and the dead body in the room had stolen the element of surprise. 

You didn't get the chance to raise the gun before you were bodyslammed into the kitchen counter. "You struggle and I hurt you." You didn't listen and a swift kick to his groin had him going limp and doubling over. You thought fast and grabbed the sandwich press before swinging it down onto the unprotected back of his neck. 

You threw the appliance down on his back and took your only option and ran, but he had recovered and yanked your ankle hard, you managed to grab the edge of the table to soften your way down. He pulled himself towards you as you tried to pull yourself away but it was too late and he was pissed. "I told you I hurt.." 

BANG

Someone grabbed the back of your shirt as the body fell on top of you and pulled you up, it was Peters. He looked at the other body on the floor and gave you a nod. "Good fucking work." He listened to his cracking radio and looked around. "We need to go now."

You nodded. "If you can get me to my office I can get us out, there's an old service door behind the shelves."

He placed a hand on your shoulder and all but pushed you out the door. "I think I can but you stay behind me, and if I'm shooting at something, you shoot too."

It felt strange to accept that so readily, killing was easier than you thought it would be. You had made it halfway down the hall before it started away, it was hard to suppress the urge to duck as the shooting roared behind you, even more so when Peters shot a man who popped up out of a connecting hallway in your path.

There were bodies everywhere, both sides, and it struck you as strange that you were almost at your door with only one encounter. "What's going on?"

He didn't glance back. "What do you think. We're almost there."

You didn't relax when you reached your office, even as he cleared the room so you could go inside. You ran over to the shelving and he helped you push it aside. A few hard pushes on the door got it open and he pointed his gun down the tunnel as he looked both ways before waving you in.

There was even less light here, and Peters' flashlight and the one you had taken from the dead man only did so much. The door shutting didn't give you any relief, they had to have had the blueprints and it was only a matter of time before they came looking. For a moment, your thoughts drifted to Simon, you hoped he was on his way back here but deep down, you knew that communication would have been the first thing they took out.

Your mind raced to find something that told you who these men were but there was nothing, the dead man's uniform and the bodies around the hallways didn't have any patches on their vests, just grenades and magazines.

You paused in the hallway and looked at to the door as your blood ran cold. "What is it?"

You swallowed, you hoped your lie was convincing. "Nothing, I'm just worried about the guys."

The clicking of a holster told you he didn't buy it.

"What gave me away?"

Part 4

@chaos-4baby

[beautifulpersonpeach]

I know a lot of people feel in their early days, Jimin was kinda heavy-handed with his attention on Jungkook, but I think Jimin acted that way primarily for Jungkook's benefit. I mean it's clear Jimin has cared for Jungkook deeply since debut but I feel the way he displayed it, so loudly and sometimes almost obnoxiously, acted as a key stabilizing and assuring force for JK in an environment that could've easily overwhelmed him.

This is a fresh take on the whole dynamic. I’ve never thought of it from this perspective or never seen anyone else point it out. Is it a popular thought? I felt that Jimin was only playing the extremely manly flirty character that he was asked to play and it’s the popular theory too. Tho’ it wasn’t sitting well because this is the same guy who gave JHope his fan letters and questioned stereotypes and was ok with wearing a pink dress in AHL etc etc.

***

Yeah… I’m not sure I can call it a theory, not to talk of if it's popular. It’s just how I saw them at the time, and it still feels consistent with how I’ve seen their interactions and relationship progress.

Jimin had his role to play in the group just as they all did. That’s true. But I also think, with what we know of Jungkook’s personality and their environment, their relationship could be easily explained, considering.

I mean, let’s think about it. The idol industry is incredibly fast-paced, hectic beyond what anyone can imagine, Jungkook was still in school when they debuted and had to juggle their activities with his classes. We know that when Jimin was still in school, he’d wake up at 6:30 AM and then after school, practice till around 2:30 AM before going to bed. We know from jikook’s words that Jungkook was often with him for some of this time, sometimes even sleeping with him in the practice room. So, JK was putting in work too, perhaps not to the same levels Jimin did, but Jungkook was also younger than him. All the guys had big responsibilities already, and it’s clear from footage in their early days that all of them were all just trying to stay afloat mentally, physically, and otherwise.

In that sort of environment, at that period of Jungkook’s development, with his age and what I suspect to be possible neurodivergent traits, it would’ve been very easy for him to get swept away, in a sense. To become overwhelmed and 'detach', develop unhealthy coping habits and such. Jungkook is someone who by his own admission, needs a lot of love. All the members made sure to keep an eye on him, but Jimin seemed to take it upon himself to love Jungkook, loudly. To shower him with attention as though to remind him, "I see you", "I'm watching you", "I'm in your corner always and I'm here for you".

Jimin obviously loved and cared for Jungkook back then, and it was mutual, but the way he went about showing it was one of the biggest indications of his emotional intelligence, to me. He was mocked for how he appeared to be all over Jungkook, the members too would make fun of him, but I don't think he was stupidly, blindly 'in love'. At least not quite at that point. I think he showed remarkable awareness of his own emotions, Jungkook's needs, and the environment they were in. And Jimin used all of that to his advantage and to Jungkook's benefit because it served the purpose of emotionally assuring JK, while improving JK's profile within the group (people look more desirable when it seems other people desire them), further building his confidence.

It's remarkable to me that before they debuted when Jungkook got overwhelmed and said he wanted to quit BTS to become a company dancer, the person he went to with that worry was Jimin. Jimin who was the last trainee to join their agency - so, a relatively recent addition to the group. That, to me, shows one way their bond was already quite deep, even back then, a connection that I think Jimin was intentional on developing with Jungkook. When they had their infamous rainy day fight, when all the other members sort of tossed their hands in the air after letting loose on JK, it sticks out to me that the breaking point for Jungkook was Jimin telling him, "You know what, do whatever you like. I won't care for you anymore."

Jimin's presence in Jungkook's life can't be overstated. I think over time, as Jungkook grew up and matured, he recognized how integral Jimin was to him, began to better acknowledge Jimin's needs as well and their relationship became deeper, more reciprocal and balanced. And that's how we ended up with GCF in Tokyo, as an example. I also feel this 'dance' of recognizing each other's needs and loving each other in-line with their personal boundaries, is an ongoing process for them.

[danse--macabre]

jaheira/astarion headcanons:

he constantly flirts (which is par for the course for astarion), as early as the end of Act 2, but it is just so ineffective. so ineffective. your lies mean nothing pretty boy!

jaheira enjoys rebuffing this and coming up with creative ways to tell him his lines do nothing, lol.

he also constantly winds her up as well. will joke about her being a bare-foot hippie for simply being a druid. has called her 'the great jaheira' and 'the high harper' before ('and what does the high harper think?'), just to annoy. attention-seeking behaviour!

this is admittedly something jaheira will also do. loves to rib him for complaining about the damp, the wet, the cold, the mud, nature in general, walking too much, carrying too much, etc. will call him a soft little baby and an aged old man at the same time.

they are a bickering couple

the fact that astarion couldn't give a shit about nature while jaheira is literally a druid is a running joke and theme when it comes to dunking on each other tbh.

another related running theme: when they finally do hit it off, it's a running joke they never actually have sex in a bed. at camp, in a field, in the dirt, on the floor or against the wall in an abandoned building - but almost never in a bed. (real reason: I did not realise you could rent the elfsong out, sorry. but also astarion does complain about this of course.)

astarion LOVES to try and get jaheira to talk shit. she presents herself as somewhat above it, but jaheira is probably partial some gossip and I think a habit that does begin in the early stages is they will share a bottle of wine and they will start being old judgy queens together

'you're becoming a bad influence,' she'll say, wrinkling her nose, hitting him lightly on the shoulder. 'Was I not already?' She rolls her eyes, walks away. 'All the best things are, darling!' he'll call out, with a cackle, as she walks away.

when jaheira actually turns and gives astarion a genuine and sincere compliment... critical hit, maximum damage, hits the fucking bullseye.

other ways of critically hitting: any gentle caress to his face after a genuine compliment.

lots of genuine arguments as well about adventuring choices. I think one thing that does draw me is that yes, astarion does have people pleasing tendencies but he does tend to be quite vocal about his opinion. I'm fairly sure he and jaheira will clash often BEFORE he becomes super drawn into any kind of romance arc & I think in some ways that's fairly good for him.

astarion thinks the fact that she can turn into a panther and just tear into something is the hottest thing and quite frankly I think he was interested as soon as he saw her do this in the moonrise towers fight.

on jaheira's end... quite frankly if he wasn't a vampire and if they didn't have a job to do she would have just bedded him sooner, he's easy on the eyes and good fun, so why not? It does hit her in the middle of their flirting period that in another universe she wouldn't have hesitated.

when they do hook up jaheira tries to keep it a secret / on the down-low. this lasts about five days LOL.

it's not actually astarion's fault - he can be discreet and respects her wishes - it's just this camp is full of gossip mongers and lae'zel has bat ears. within five days everyone Knows.

at least one person (probably wyll, since he's fairly insightful) thought they'd been hooking up since they hit rivington.

jaheira doesn't realise astarion is slightly older than her until she tries calling him cub.

he laughs her off as a flatterer. she's confused, he tells her to just go on and guess his age. she thinks he's 120 years old.

'Add another century to that darling and you're almost there'. Cue jaheira being slightly stunned and astarion absolutely revelling in it.

I think she will still sometimes refer to him / treat him as if he is younger and he to her as if she is older though. It becomes a running inside joke.

biting: very much off the table when they do finally hook up.

(this does not stop astarion brushing his fangs against her skin to tease her when they hook up. 'Careful. No biting.' 'Oh, I wouldn't dare').

the fact that he is a vampire actually is one of jaheira's concerns and a small point of contention. jaheira has an interesting banter where she explains about a time she killed a spawn quite dramatically - while she's not a 'kill on sight' reckless moralist, she's got no great love for the creatures, and as much as she does come to enjoy the banter and the company, it's tinged with wariness in the first half of Act 3, because Jaheira is slow to trust and quick to suspect

the first bite happens well after cazador is dealt with. honestly I can see it happening on the eve of the final battle. because of jaheira's initial wariness, it becomes a real moment of intimacy and trust. she lets him drink from the arm, rather than the neck, just to maintain more control, has healing and resurrection scrolls prepared (she does not tell him this because she doesn't want to freak him out), etc. But he's able to stop when she asks. After it's over there is a very warm moment, after astarion gives her his sincere, genuine thanks, of her cradling his face and calling him a messy eater (lol)

speaking of Cazador, that's... honestly, it's a Lot given they're having a 'light & breezy' romance and they're still in the casual dalliance stages, have only just started hooking up if at all. jaheira ends up learning about some of the horrific trauma through seeing rather than Astarion telling and I think it'd be a bit mortifying if he weren't so singularly focussed on the goal.

I think Jaheira offers to share a bottle of wine with him the night after. I think he takes up her offer and it's a mix of talking about what happened in his own words (Astarion is actually fairly direct when it comes to talking about traumatic incidents) and also talking about something completely different when it gets too much.

Things definitely do ramp up in the final stretch / final few days before the Battle with the Elder Brain. Lots of post-battle shenanigans with some honest and quite raw moments? It's one of the most intense points of their fling (which increasingly feels NOT like a fling).

But I think Jaheira instinctively draws back after the final battle and tries to walk back some of the intensity and intimacy that developed due to 'it might be our last chance', due to some ingrained fears of intimacy and loss + trying to rationalise it as an impulsive, heat-of-the-moment thing + an expectation that Astarion would just move on anyway (false).

Astarion goes off to become a hero in the spawn ending. He does often return to the gate and they always arrange to meet for a drink. There's a lot of catching up, chatting shit, but also Jaheira increasingly turns to him for advice and to get his perspective on an issue. I think she trusts his viewpoint and when she can get in her head about not being able to save everything or everyone, or a hard choice she has to make, he'll often just go, somewhat bluntly, 'well you did the important thing, didn't you?' and put things in perspective. You killed the bad guy, you stopped the plot, you saved that woman's life. Trust yourself more. (He'll attempt to walk this back with a joke about how he's still a libertine scoundrel; Jaheira will laugh him off)

'You work too hard' is a common complaint of Astarion's. He's right. Jaheira always appreciates hearing it.

I think it's here we might also get touches of Astarion's 'I want to be close without having sex' we see in Act 2. I think there's at least on occasion where they initiate sex, he backs out, she's supportive and they end up cuddling.

Something Jaheira discovers way too late, following the events of the game: he's damned good at giving a massage. 'You didn't think to tell me this while we were sleeping in the dirt?' (Response is something like: 'Oh Jaheira, you wish you'd used me more for my body? My my.')

As said before, the 'I actually have sincere feelings for you' confession comes unexpectedly during the epilogue party, astarion impulsively ends up telling her. Jaheira... has to suddenly deal with the distance she put up like a wall coming crashing down because Astarion is impulsive and bad at holding things in

I think in an interesting mirror to Astarion's request to go slow with sex, Jaheira says she'll need to go slow with intimacy and romance. It's been a while (more than long enough), but she's not really had anything serious since her husband died.

I think as a compromise they maintain long distance for a bit, Astarion continues to adventure, but he'll visit with increasing frequency and for increasingly long periods. Jaheira will, after a while, insist he stay with her and not just in a tavern, and this gradually morphs into him spending months at a time in Baldur's Gate before a lead will pull him in another direction.

Which I think is good for them both. I think Astarion does well from a chance to just develop an identity for himself without being 'a partner' and grow on his own through adventuring. I think it also helps things develop at a pace Jaheira's comfortable with and means Jaheira can set some very concrete boundaries.

As things become serious and Astarion just drops the mask, they're very much 'fondly rib each other in public whenever one of them is even a displays affection, but deeply soft and sweet with each other in private'

Takes them a long while to say anything like 'I love you'.

Personally I can see them doing it after the other gets injured in battle. Berating them for being reckless and then telling them they love them, they're terrified, etc. Quite frankly I can see this happening to them both, but given Jaheira has lost a love before... more meaningful from her mouth.

Astarion is nothing like Khalid and Jaheira is very thankful for this. He's a different thing entirely, but it's not any kind of lesser love either.

[dlwritings]

Red Carpet Preparations | Drew Starkey

masterlist found here

pairing - Drew x reader word count - 2,453 warnings - swearing A/N - I'm so far up Drew Starkey's ass right now it's not even funny

summary - You decide to pregame the red carpet premiere of Outer Banks season 3, but go a little too hard. Luckily, Drew is ready to take care of you.

Fame was very new to you. In fact, you still hardly considered yourself famous. You joined the cast of Outer Banks in the second to last episode of season 2 and became a regular during season 3. But, since season 3 hadn’t premiered yet, you really hadn’t gotten that much screen time. Still, the internet did what the internet does best, and you blew up quite quickly. You weren’t as popular as the rest of the cast, but you were certainly getting there.

All of this was to say, you were very nervous for the red carpet premiere of season 3. When you went into acting, you were excited for everything except being in the public eye. You might’ve been one of the few people who went into the career not wanting to reap the benefits of fame. You just wanted to act. To stay behind the TV screen. But, being on a show like Outer Banks meant you were thrust into the spotlight, and if you wanted to stay on the show, you had to embrace it.

So before the premiere, you did the only thing you could think to do that might help you embrace it. You drank. A lot.

You made sure to get your hair and makeup done early enough that you’d have time to pregame alone before you had to leave. Now, you were in your hotel room, pacing around with a bottle of wine you had gotten sent to your room. With half the bottle and no food settling in your stomach, you were sufficiently intoxicated, but not enough. So, you kept drinking.

You heard your phone buzz on your nightstand, so you stumbled over to pick it up, flopping on your stomach to read the message. Instantly, your heart fluttered when you saw it was from Drew.

You had become infatuated with Drew the moment you met him. To be honest, you had the same dramatic crush on him that most fans of the show did, so when you met him, you had to work hard to be a normal person around him. It must’ve worked, because you two became friends almost instantly. Were you still in love with him? Sure. Were you able to handle it? For the most part.

D: You wanna walk down to the car together?

Your eyes widened as you looked at the time. You needed to be on the carpet in 45 minutes. You responded as fast as you could, then stood up from your bed to move to your suitcase where your shoes were sitting. You plopped on the floor, doing your best to get the heels strapped properly around your ankle. As you fumbled with the buckle, you heard your hotel room door unlock. You looked up to see an amused looking Drew walk in, shutting the door behind him.

Right. You had given him your spare key, certain you would end up losing it if you kept it.

“Whatcha doing there, sweets?” he asked, kneeling on the ground beside you.

“Shoes,” you said, motioning to your heels dramatically. “Can’t go to the red carpet without shoes.”

“Hmm,” he hummed, “don’t think you can go to the red carpet regardless.”

“What?” you asked with furrowed eyebrows. “What does that mean?”

Drew laughed and fished his phone out of his pocket. He unlocked it and showed you the screen. You had to hold the phone yourself, feeling like his hand wasn’t steady enough for you to read the message clearly.

(It was. Everything was just blurry to you.)

Your response to Drew’s text had been barely coherent. Give me one secubd I gotta get my shirs in

“Shoes,” you emphasized once you were able to process the words on the screen. “I meant shoes. Duh.”

“Oh darlin’,” he said with a laugh and shake of his head, “you are not going to this premiere.”

“I have to go,” you said. “It’s my job.”

“I’ll tell your agent you got food poisoning,” he said, reaching for your phone, which was on the floor next to you. “And I’ll tell mine that I have to look after you.”

“You can’t do that,” you said, your voice coming out whiney, even to your own ears. Still, you pouted at him with your arms folded across your chest, which just made Drew chuckle again.

“I can do whatever I want,” he said. “And if I know you-” He shot you a pointed look. “-which I do, you will definitely need someone to look after you tonight.”

“I can look after myself,” you huffed.

“Can you?” he teased. “Could you pass a sobriety test right now?”

You nodded aggressively. “Definitely.”

With a wide grin on his face, Drew stood up and reached his hands out to pull you up. You did, oblivious to the way you stumbled as soon as you were on your feet. He released his hold on you and took a step back, pushing his suit jacket back so he could put his hands on his hips.

“Walk to me,” he said, nodding his head once. “Heel to toe.”

“This is ridiculous,” you said. Even though he hadn’t directed you to do so, you put your finger to your nose and attempted to walk towards him, making sure your heel touched your toe with each step. You only made it a step and a half before you tripped over your own feet. Drew could tell the tumble was coming, so he rushed over to you and let you fall into his arms. He laughed and cupped your face in his hand.

“Right,” he said. “That’s what I thought.”

Almost instantly, tears started to pool in your eyes, and Drew’s smile dropped. “No, no, don’t cry,” he cooed. “I’m only teasing.”

“I’m gonna get in trouble,” you whimpered. “And people are going to think we’re fucking.”

At that, he couldn’t help the laugh that passed his lips. “What are you talking about?” he asked.

You sniffed. “When two co-stars don’t go to a red carpet, everyone starts talking! I know because I’ve been fans of stuff and I’ve done that same thing! It’s just what people do!”

“Okay, okay, take a breath,” he said, trying to keep his amusement hidden as he wiped a tear from your cheek. He breathed with you as you inhaled deeply through your nose and let the air out dramatically through your mouth. “I’m gonna text your agent from your phone, okay? I promise you won’t get in trouble, and if you do, I’ll take the fall. I’ll tell them I trapped you in your room.” You giggled a little and gave him a small nod, which made him smile and kiss the top of your head. “Go sit down. I’ll get you some water.”

You nodded and stumbled back over to the bed, plopping down face first. You didn’t hear Drew’s chuckle as he shook his head and went to the mini fridge to get you a bottle of water. He set the bottle on the nightstand and worked to turn you around so you were on your back and sitting up a bit. “There she is,” he smiled, pushing some of your hair behind your face. “My pretty girl.” You smiled and reached out your hands for the water, which he gave you, keeping his hands near the bottle in case you dropped it or spilled it all over yourself. You managed to get most of it in your mouth, but a bit inevitably dribbled past the corners of your mouth, which made him smile again.

Drew was so in love with you, it was borderline painful. Selfishly, he was glad you had to bail on the carpet and he could make an excuse to stay with you. He much preferred hanging out with you, even in an inebriated state, than walking the red carpet. He loved time spent with you in any way he could get it.

And he knew, he just knew you felt the same, but he couldn’t get himself to do anything about it.

Because what if he was wrong? And then he had to act with you -play your love interest no less- knowing you rejected him. And he knew it was stupid, because all of your co-stars said you were crazy about him, but he couldn’t help the nerves. His last relationship had wounded him a bit, so he had a tendency to treat his heart more carefully.

But with you? It was hard not to throw all caution to the wind.

Drew took off his suit jacket, untucked his shirt, and kicked his shoes off before settling in more comfortably beside you. You looked up at him with a soft smile and put your hand on his cheek, quickly moving it to his hair. Suddenly, your smile widened and you started giggling as you pushed some of his hair away from his forehead. “What?” he asked with an equally amused grin.

“I don’t get how you do it.”

“Do what?”

“Your hair,” you said. “It’s so messy all the time, but you make it look so perfect. Your hair always looks perfect. No matter what you do with it.” You giggled again, this time covering your mouth with your hand. “Except season 1 Rafe.” You moved to sit on his lap, startling him a bit, but he put his hands tentatively on your waist. You continued laughing, attempting to part his hair, similarly to how his Outer Banks character had it done in season 1. 

“No?” he laughed. “You didn’t like the side part?”

You shook your head. “No. But I liked the little bangs in season 2. And of course the buzzcut.”

“Oh, of course?” he repeated, to which you nodded enthusiastically.

“It made you look tough,” you said. “And sexy.” Before he could respond, you added, “This hair makes you look-” You paused, trying to find the right words. “-grown.”

He laughed again. “You calling me old?”

(You were four years his junior and often teased him for it.)

You shook your head. “No. I’m just saying you look like a 29-year-old man. A hot 29-year-old man.” You smiled, your hands finding their way to his cheeks again, brushing your thumbs across his cheekbones. “My favorite 29-year-old man.” Drew couldn’t help but take your hands in his and bring your knuckles to his lips, kissing them gently. “My favorite man in general,” you said, your voice noticeably softer now. Drew looked at you, his eyes gentle, and smiled.

You had a way of saying the sweetest things and shattering his heart into a thousand pieces.

“Good thing you’re my favorite girl,” he said, releasing your hands to cup your cheek. When you smiled and leaned into his touch, he scoffed and shook his head. “God,” he whispered as his thumb stroked your cheek. “I’m so fucking in love with you.”

Your smile dropped, and Drew’s eyes widened. He hadn’t meant to say the words out loud. Why the fuck had he said those words out loud?

You, meanwhile, seemed to sober up instantly. Truth be told, you hadn’t been that drunk to begin with. Sure, your text was fucked and you couldn’t walk straight, but your mind was clear. Clear enough that you heard what he said, and you had no intention of letting it go.

“What?” you whispered, leaning back a bit to look at him more clearly. “What did you say?”

“Shit,” he muttered, rubbing a hand over his face. “(Y/N), I didn’t-”

“You love me?” you said, your voice cracking. “You, you, do you mean that?”

He laughed nervously, then lightly bit his lower lip before releasing it. “Depends on what’s going on in your head right now. Or if you’re even sober enough to remember this in the morning.”

You nodded. “I am. Or, I mean, I will.” You sighed, annoyed that your words weren’t coming out how you wanted them to. “Drew, I understand what you said. I’m just trying to process it.” You put your hands on your forehead, willing everything around you to stop spinning.

“Would it help if I said it again?”

At this point, all Drew could do was own it, and when you didn’t respond, he dove in.

“I love you,” he said. “I’ve loved you for-” He laughed. “-probably longer than I’d like to admit. I love your smile. I love your eyes. I love how much you care about your job. How much you care about other people. How much you care about me. I love that you can make me laugh, and I love that I can tell you about anything and know that you really care about what I’m saying. I love that, even when I don’t want to go to work, I’m so excited because I know I’ll see you, and on the days you’re not there, I just want to call you and fill you in on what happened when you were gone. So-” He sighed and shook his head, then looked at you again. “-yeah, I love you, (Y/N). I’m sorry if that’s-”

Before he could finish his sentence, you leaned forward, put your hands on his cheeks and kissed him. Drew was quick to wrap his arms around your waist and hold you close to him, and you could feel him smiling against your lips. He bit your lip lightly as he pulled away, smiling at the way your eyes stayed closed until he rubbed his thumb along your lower lip.

“So we’re good?” he said, watching your eyelids flutter open.

You giggled. “I love you too, Drew.”

His smile widened, and he started peppering kisses across your face until you laughed and grabbed his face to stop him. He smiled and tucked a piece of hair behind your ear. “Can I ask you a question?” he said suddenly. You shrugged and nodded. “Why did you drink so much tonight?” Your face dropped, and Drew felt guilty for having caused the sudden change in your demeanor. He rubbed his thumbs gently on your hips over the fabric of the fancy dress you were still wearing.

“Stuff like this makes me so anxious,” you said. “I just don’t like being in the spotlight like that.”

He nodded. “I understand. We’re all always a little tipsy on the carpet.”

You giggled. “Are you really?”

He nodded, a playfully serious expression on his face. “Oh yeah. I have to pull the drinks away from Rudy all the time.” You laughed and pushed his face lightly, and he was quick to grab your wrist and kiss your palm. “How’s the anxiety? You okay now?”

You smiled. “Yeah. I’m okay now.”

----- ----- ----- -----

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[kurisus]

Chapter 108-2 thoughts

This was the most "IT'S SO OVER" "WE'RE SO BACK" chapter ever. Spoilers under the cut.

I am a leetol bit disappointed that Bishamon didn't really get to do anything this arc. She was unconscious for a majority of it, then woke up, went looking for Kazuma, and found him without like, needing to shake some people up. It is sweet how they finally got to have a proper conversation though. Their lack of communication has been a frustrating blind spot for both of them this entire story, so I'm glad they were able to come to peace with it.

I do wonder if Kazuma told her about being named by Yato, or if he dodged that fact, but I'm going to assume since we didn't get a live Bishamon reaction that he did tell her and she understood his reasoning.

"You are the only one who can save yourself" is kind of a strange statement out of context since this whole manga has been about overcoming trials with the help of the people who love you. But in context, Bishamon was saying that praying to a higher power is meaningless and individuals are the only ones capable of miracles. Kind of an atheistic message from a manga where a majority of the characters are Literal deities, but as an allegory for the world, I kinda dig it. Don't believe in miracles, make them happen with your own two hands and the people who love you.

Okay now I need to talk about Yukine this chapter. I Need To. His love for Hiyori and Yato had me pounding my fist on the ground. HE HELD HIYORI'S HAND. HE CLUNG TO YATO WHEN HE STARTED DISAPPEARING. HE DOESN'T WANT HIS DAD TO GO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ADACHITOKA I AM JUST A GUY PLEASE HAVE MERCY ON MY FRAGILE HEART.

FATHER IS FINALLY DEAD SEND OUT THE CRABS. I'm glad his death was quiet and unceremonious, and not even Mizuchi was tempted by him.

It seems like the real Fujisaki was trying to say Father's name but couldn't quite recall it, so I'm thinking we'll get to hear it from Ebisu's mouth next chapter. Then again, we didn't get to hear Nana's real name either, so it may just stay as "ta" forever. Which is funny to think about as in like, "ta" for "bye." Bye bitch!

The pages of the trio + Nora all together and begging Hiyori to come back singlehandedly caused the most emotional damage. I know everyone else is freaking out about the Yatori CPR/kiss but I am just wishing the circumstances were more ideal for it. I will say it is pretty Kyoru of them to kiss while she's unconscious, though.

But, eh, her being alive was way more of a concern to me, so that was the reason I went ahead and read the official version early. I let out the BIGGEST sigh of relief when she woke up in the hospital.

Before I reflect more though, I wanted to say also I was pretty confused by Amaterasu's statement in the official translation, though fast-moon's helped clear it up. Hiyori didn't become a full shinki because she was named in the illusory dimension, and she was saved by the act of killing Father?

"You were carrying the ancient koto no ha with you as well" is the "you" referring to Father or Yato? Did Yato name Hiyori with the brush, or was she talking about Father having both on him?

Okay, so, reflections. Am I happy they temporary killed Hiyori? Still no. I would have preferred they damage her cord instead rather than way back when, when the wolves attacked her. Am I happy they brought her back? Obviously. It would be a bad ending if they left off on that, and I'm curious to see if/how much she'll remember in the final chapter.

Do I think Yato is dead? I sure hope not! This is also a death that would negate a whole lot of character development, and while I like the narrative parallel of her dying to save him so he dies to save her (esp considering how selfish he was at the start of the manga), I don't want Yukine to be left alone or with a baby Yato at the end of everything. I'm scared, because I think it's not off the table.

Am I happy with the ending? Remains to be seen, but while I have quibbles and hangups, it's not that much. It's not of the story-ruining variety for me, anymore. I kind of would have preferred a softer ending to the manga, for example. This entire story has had very high stakes for everyone involved, so they didn't need to up the ante with these constant main character death scares, imo. We were already quite deep in the shit. I also wish Hiyori had had more to do in the final arc before she saved the day by...dying.

But to say I didn't enjoy the journey of this arc would be a lie. It's been a long few years...almost 10 since I watched the anime, almost 9 since I read the manga, and mainly it'll be weird to say goodbye to this era of my life, and not have the monthly stress of chapters hanging over my head.

I was hoping Adachitoka would announce a new series, but it hasn't happened yet, and I'm not sure it will because they've been unable to commit to full chapters for a while now. Even before the hiatus in 2017, the chapters dropped from 45 pages to 40, and then we've been halfsies since 2018. Whatever caused Adachitoka to go on hiatus, it's been enough of an issue that they can't draw 45 pages on a monthly schedule anymore (and honestly, I don't blame them, as we all know mangaka schedules are brutal). Also, taking Alive into account, they've been drawing manga for 20 years. This might be their final story, or they might write another with an assistant. Either way, if they do something else, regardless of their role I'll definitely be checking it out!

So now that Hiyori has been undoomed from the narrative the wedding reread is back on. I'll be starting it soon here, all tagged with #Noragami reread and hopefully some of you will join me as well! Feel free to send me your thoughts on the chapter/the ending.