#idk if I blame this on the early time the fact that I was extremely sleep deprived or just in the fact that i was and am stupid

[deityofhearts]

sometimes I think about that time in high school when I was really sleep deprived and in the car with my mom at like between 6 and 7am and saw what I thought was the reflection of the moon (you know how sometimes you just see it during the day?) and was like “woawwwww the moon is so bright and visible right now” and my mom looked at me and went “Celeste, that’s the sun.” top ten most disappointing moments

[nanaminsmoon]

literally perfect again 10/10!! i agree the girls do need a part 2 that’s jus what they saying idk

-🪩

sooo~~this is longer than i wanted it to be and it's really eren focused but here she is😁

pt.1

cw: ony x eren x black fem!reader, perv!eren, face+throat fucking, unprotected sex (stay safe guys), spit kink, ony calls reader; 'ma', 'my sweet girl', and he also calls eren 'good boy', ony calls himself 'daddy' eren is literally OBSESSED with them cheeks, yeah this just a mess.

cw: 3358

”bruh you know i didn’t mean it like that”, was a simple apology for many complicated actions. to ony’s mind, it was understood as an apology for the comment eren had made at ymir’s house. but eren knew better. to him, it was an apology for the late nights and early mornings he had spent fucking into his hand, playing back the videos ony had sent him of your back arched as you cried out his name into the couch beneath you. or the ones of you sat on ony’s face, riding it like you did his dick not too long before. every single one of them had been sketched out lightly, in the centre of eren’s pupils, then redrawn in permanent ink in the back of his mind. for days now, his four walls had been subjected to their owner’s moans bouncing off them, filling his living space to the brim, only to leak out of his open windows. he told himself he’d stop, but by the time his brain had gotten a proper reign on his sense, his hand was covered by his first load, and his phone screen had taken the brunt of his second. there was one particular close up of your cheeks from the back that made eren lose it; it drove him to such extreme immersion that his brain made him believe that you were really in front of him. and by the time he could properly discern that you weren’t, his phone screen was covered. yet, he could still see the banner sliding down it to notify him that ony had sent him another message. he had expected to be cussed out, but what he got was worse: ”come to our place tomorrow. 5pm.”.

eren didn’t even have to knock on the door, as it was left slightly ajar. the key still being in the lock told him that you guys couldn’t even wait to get inside before you started doing whatever had distracted you. not that he could blame ony; if you were his, he’d never be able to take his hands off you either. hiding that fact was easy when there were other people around, but doing so when it was just the three of you would be difficult. so eren’s hand just lingered over the door handle, contemplating just turning around and walking away. but, amidst the anxious thoughts, eren could hear skin slapping and guttural moans. maybe ony hadn’t anticipated him being so on time, maybe you guys had lost track of time. or maybe, just maybe, this was all part of ony’s plan to get back at him. eren thought this whole thing started, and ended, with his one sly comment. unbeknownst to the fact that, since that night, ony had caught on to the way eren looked at you differently; his eyes lingered longer on exposed skin, he reacted more at subtle touches, and he was a lot quieter around you. that amused him more than anything, so he proposed something to you. and you had agreed.

twisted thoughts of your body covered in sweat, and lustful bruising, became life unravelling realities, when eren opened the door and was greeted by the back of ony’s head. the front of it, directly facing your bouncing tits. neither of you had noticed him walking in until he closed the door. something only ony reacted to, turning his head to smirk at the man stood at the front of your home. if those videos had piqued eren’s interest, ony wanted it to plummet. and he was about to do that by finally satiating eren’s curiosity.

”sit.”, ony nodded towards the dining table chair he had placed in front of the couch. separation from your naked body bouncing on your boyfriend’s dick, and eren’s flustered eyes came in the form of a coffee table and wavering self-control. once sat, eren tried to distract himself with thoughts of anything that wasn’t whatever was happening in front of him, and all ony could do was scoff at him.

”we’re over here”, ony muttered lowly, and the journey eren’s head took to turn from the ceiling to the scene in front of him was a slow one. its destination being one that wasn’t favoured, but once reached, he couldn’t help the way his emeralds flickered to the glistening white substance sat comfortably at the place where you and ony connected. subconsciously, the tip of eren’s tongue slid across his bottom lip before it went back into his mouth, his lip accompanying it. he had known better than to wear grey joggers, because even the sight of you made his dick twitch now. so he hoped that the decision to wear black ones instead would aid him in hiding his dick pulsating in his boxers. a thumb masquerading itself as just a means of ridding his thigh of an incessant itch, slid across his tip gently, sending a volt of electricity down eren’s spine as a result. all efforts to hide his arousal went down the drain as soon as ony’s mouth opened again.

”you think i invited you here to watch me fuck my girl?”, the lecherous veil over eren’s eyes lifted suddenly, his body shifting to sit up properly again, ”you said you was down, so come get her”, ony poked, and eren’s adam’s apple bobbed very slowly.

”the fuck are you talking about?”, he spoke out quietly, but he was still audible to ony’s ears. even over the sound of your ass cheeks clapping on his thighs.

”you said you was down for a threesome, didn’t you?”, ony stilled you to raise an eyebrow at eren, and eren just sunk back into his chair.

”i was kidding…”,

”and?”, ony’s head tilted in provocation. beams of the setting sun snuck through the gaps in your curtains to illuminate the coat of sweat covering your body, and the beads slowly forming on eren’s forehead. it was as if thinking of a response was causing him physical strain that only worsened when your hips began moving again,

”look at her, jaeger”, ony pouted at eren, his hand weaving through your jet black bundles to pull you back, place kisses on the top of your neck, and turn your face ever so slightly to face eren, ”she’s such a needy girl, and i can’t take care of her all by myself”, the pout on ony’s face would soon leave, its place taken by something more sinister.

eren’s internal conflict was visible on his face, and ony knew that all he had to do was play on the fantasies bred by those videos he had sent him. as boisterous and blithe as eren presented himself, ony knew the brunette before him was not used to someone like you. jokes about fucking you were made because eren knew that’s all they’d ever be; it was easy to make light of something that could never be within arms length of him. should he ever come in contact with someone like you, your jaw would unhinge, clamp around him, and leave him a hollow shell of what he once was. if not courage, ony wanted to at least test his friend’s resolve. and his hypothesis was that it was fairly weak.

”n-nah. i can’t”, eren stuttered, going to stand up before ony placed an ear-splitting smack on your ass, and your mouth produced coherent language for the first time since eren got there.

”’ren, p-please”, you whined out, neck starting to ache at the angle ony had your hair pulled back.

”don’t make her beg, eren”, ony’s pout was back as he taunted his friend, ”she just wants you, jaeger. give her what she wants”, ony’s words seemed to be a double-edged sword. but yours were so saccharine; escorted out of your mouth by the spit pooling at the corners of your lips. your plump, glossed lips that he knew would taste sweeter than his dreams would ever allow him to conceive. eren didn’t know what ony was planning, but he did know that if you were involved, then he would be as well. so he sat back down, hands rested on his thighs, as his legs sat spread.

for a few minutes, all he did was watch; his eyes transfixed on how well you took your boyfriend. from what eren had observed, ony would have to pause every once in a while and mumble something about how tight you were. hatching thoughts in eren’s mind about stretching you out on the very couch he had seen your face pressed into, as ony fucked the air out of you. he daydreamed of your walls hugging him until he came on your back and ass cheeks, instead of his phone screen. he didn’t even realise, but the thumb that had rubbed his tip had been substituted for his palm—rubbing circles on his dick, as his hips would buck up into it every now and again.

”how it look from back there, eren?”, ony smirked, and eren couldn’t think of a single thing to say. ony’s hands would grab and knead at your ass cheeks, spreading them to show eren just how well you took him. the image alone made eren’s central nervous system break down, causing his head to fall back to lean onto the back of the dining chair.

”shit, i’m cumminggg”, you mewled, and eren’s hands pressed harsher into his throbbing dick.

”it’s okay, ma, daddy’s got you”, ony kissed your forehead; the gentle affection was reserved for above his neck because, below that, he was fucking up into you ruthlessly. and you came around ony’s length, moaning his name as your forehead fell to his chest. this man had been fucking you for at least an hour now, and he had already finished inside you once, but he just wouldn’t stop.

”but you still have some energy for our guest don’t you?”, ony looked to you, and you just nodded weakly. to which he replied with a peck to your lips, before two of his fingers opened your mouth and rested on your tongue.

”come help my sweet girl, eren. her mouth is lonely.”, were the words that led to where you were now; on your knees on the couch with ony’s hands bruising your hips with his harsh grip, and eren’s tip inching deeper into your throat. his shirt was folded, and tightly between his teeth, as you sucked the soul out of this man. the way the wetness and warmth of your mouth enclosed around him, mixed with the palming he had been doing earlier, made it very hard for eren to keep himself together. the very second your lips had wrapped around his tip, he was ready to nut. but the view beneath him was not one to be taken in in passing. you were looking up at him so innocently, even though your mouth was far from that. he could only imagine what your pussy felt like, especially when ony would make snide comments like,

”i wish you could see what i’m seein’ right now”, closed off with a smug chuckle, just to get under eren’s skin. because he would never get to fuck you—as petty as ony was, he had a line, and that line was anything below your mouth. he had made it explicitly clear that eren was not to touch anything that wasn’t on your face. meaning he had free access to your mouth.

”you can be rough with her, she can take it”, ony had said, but eren just didn’t have it in him to recklessly fuck a face as pretty as yours. you could tell he was hesitant, because his hand had just been sat on the side of your face the whole time. its only movements being his thumb stroking your cheek softly. so you picked up his other hand and put it on the other side of his face. now he was cupping it, and you looked up at him, bottom lip puckered out slightly to say;

”p-please ‘ren”, you cooed, ”please f-fuck my throat”, and those words sealed your fate.

because the next time eren would enter your mouth, he wouldn’t be as gentle as he once was. he would barely give you a chance to adjust to what was happening before he was fucking into your throat; one hand on either side of your face, as ideas of what your pussy would feel like instead ran rampant in his mind. from that moment onwards, there was no one in that room but you—and even you were disappearing as his sole focus rested on your mouth and throat.

”i see why ony don’t let nobody near you now”, he grunted out, and ony just smirked at him, ”i wouldn’t wanna fucking share you with nobody neither”, he muttered. so lost in you, he didn’t know what he was saying. but his words worked wonders on you, making you wetter than you already were and aiding ony. his thrusts became rougher because of how wet you were, and they both developed a rhythm; ony’s thrusts would push you to take more of eren in your throat. and eren’s delirium would travel to his hips, making him push himself into you harder, bouncing you back onto ony’s hip bone. the back and forth tightened the coil in your stomach until one more meeting of ony’s tip and your cervix made that pleasure spring out into every limb in your body. tears from your overwhelming orgasm, and eren harshly abusing your throat, fell profusely. only ever having been with one man at one time, the sensations pinballing you in every direction made your body numb. the only thing you could do being trying to voice how good you felt. but your moans were muffled by eren’s dick in your throat. but their vibrations sent his senses into overdrive.

so in the heat of the moment, he reached a hand over to grab at the ass cheeks he’d been fantasising about for days. but ony’s hand beat him to it, smacking the brunette’s hand away. it was only then that eren was catapulted back into reality,

”the fuck you think you doin’?”, ony’s words were short, but they were intimidating enough for eren to murmur out a ‘sorry’. and once that earth shattering nut settled and you regained your bearings, you pulled eren out of your mouth, and tapped his tip on your tongue. that’s when he felt a weird feeling in his chest. and that feeling would roll down to his stomach, doubling in on itself as it did so, until he felt like he was making a mistake by looking that deep into your eyes. incandescent and doe-like, they twinkled up at him as you opened your mouth, only to stick your tongue out. it took eren a second to connect the dots, but once he did, he shook his head at you.

”why~?”, you whined, and he just shot a look at the man behind you to which you replied, ”it’s fine, ony said to give me what i want. and this is what i want”, eren wasn’t about to argue with you, especially not on something he wanted so bad. so his hand would grab your face, before a string of spit hung down to your tongue. he wouldn’t even have to tell you to swallow it, you just did it on your own accord, and he felt some of the nut that had been so desperately trying to hold back, leak out a little bit. he felt his release edging closer at the sight of fluid dripping down your chin. just knowing that it was a culmination of his precum, your spit, as well as his own, made his dick pulsate. hands would, once again, find themselves rested on either side of your face, as his hips began fucking it again. but faster than last time.

if he could have it his way, eren would just fuck your face for a few more minutes, before having to trouble his mind with where the fuck he was meant to nut. because ony obviously wouldn’t allow it to be on your face, so where would it go?? but, those troubles came quicker than he’d hoped and, unaware of his stress, your hands moved to stroke his dick as your mouth focused on his sensitive tip. eren’s hips only hastened, his loud moans and whines only meaning one thing,

”fffuck, i’m gonna cum”, he groaned out.

”not in her mouth you’re not”, ony scolded, his eyebrows scrunched as his own nut was within arms reach. and eren just looked to him with extreme confusion on his face.

”thennnghh where, ony?”, he whined out, looking down at your lips still latched onto his throbbing tip.

”be a good boy and get a tissue or somethin’.”, his eyes locked with his friend’s was not how eren imagined this ending. so, as pissed as he was with ony’s self-satisfied suggestion, he had to listen to him and pull himself out of you before snatching a few tissues from the tissue box on your coffee table. with your mouth wrapped around him, his release would’ve been imminent, but now using his hands wouldn’t be enough for him. that was until, a gentle hand grabbed at his wrist, putting two of his fingers inside your mouth and sucking on them the same way you had been sucking his dick a few moments away. all while maintaining eye contact. knowing what that felt like around his dick, was enough for eren to nut into the tissues, abs tensing as he hunched over slightly.

”shit, y/n.”, was all he said before taking a few deep breaths. he’d sit on his heels for a few moments before standing up to clean himself off, and get rid of the tissues.

when he came back, more tissues in hand and cleaning himself off, he was greeted by the scene of ony just nutting all over your ass cheeks and back. eren had to bite his lip to stop him from moaning out at the face you made looking over your shoulder; coquettish eyelashes fluttering as you looked at the man behind you. his hands hadn’t stopped moving, but they were no longer cleaning. and he didn’t even notice the change until that familiar feeling in his dick returned. and luckily his reflexes were fast enough, otherwise he would’ve just nutted all over the floor. his whole body leant on one of your loveseats, as his teeth stamped a red line underneath his bottom lip.

”fuck”, eren spoke under his breath, his head finally rose to lean back on his shoulders.

”the fuck are you still doin’ here?”, ony grumbled out and, with the little strength you had left, you slapped him lightly.

”be nice”, you chided gently, and ony scoffed, grabbing some tissues from the box to wipe up the nut on your back.

”i just let him face fuck my girlfriend, how much nicer can i get?”, ony then got up to put the shirt he had discarded on your body, before putting his boxers on, and walking over to eren.

”imma run her a bath and, when i come back, you better be gone”, ony began walking to the bathroom, only taking ten steps away from his friend before pausing, and turning around, ”and eren?”,

”hm?”,

”you tell anyone about this and i really will kill you”,

© Rights owned by nanaminsmooninc. Do not repost without permission.

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

Idk I think it makes sense that dream Vil doesn't appear "older" in dream, like maybe he's not able to choose to picture himself as older/doesn't necessarily want to (which I mean, after going through all that in Ch. 6, I wouldn't blame him).

Another idea maybe he perceives himself as older while in-dream and it's just the audience who doesn't see him that way because it isn't presented externally.

But regardless, the point is that Vil isn't presented as older while in dream is likely due to a number of variables that aren't necessarily in his control. Personally, I feel that the fact that he presents himself as what appears to be the same age actually demonstrates a change in his outlook regarding his future after going through the events of Book 6 but that's another story for another time

[Referencing this post!}

Oooh, possibly??? I don't even think the aging thing has to be as extreme as what happened in book 6; even a middle aged Vil would have been acceptable to show that us that he isn't afraid of his beauty fading with time. I also feel that it is well within the devs' abilities to provide a middle-aged Vil (since they provided the very old Vil), though I do also think it's possible that Vil is older but it isn't reflected in his physical looks (possibly 20s to early 30s, when your appearance does not change much).

Pinpointing intention is a big mess 😅 since technically Malleus is casting the spell... but the spell can run on its own... but the spell has to pull from a dreamer's experiences and memories to craft the dream... Real clusterfuck 💦

But yeah, I think there's definitely a point to be made about the limitations of what the dream can do. I realized just now that the dreams we've been in so far cover only past and present, never really the future. If a mage cannot imagine something, it's harder for them to cast a spell--so rather than Malleus not having "developed" the magic yet, it's more realistic to say that even for a mage as powerful as Malleus, he's limited to doing only to what he can imagine (or maybe wants to imagine?). Because of this, he cannot exactly counter that which he does not understand (ie technology like how Ortho transferred his consciousness), nor the futures he does not wish to consider. Turns out his worst enemy is his own inability to accept change 💀 and because of that, it feels like many of the dreams his magic spins lack any real depth; they focus so much on immediate and extremely convenient gratification.

[transraptortrainer]

I'll speak to specifically the trauma of them losing Brooklynn to a dinosaur !!

Kenji obviously became extremely avoidant which I think was perpetuated by a lot of trauma he experienced just dealing with the dad stuff. It's not easy for him to talk about his feelings or address them directly, and I think he knew he'd be hurtful to Darius - someone he really cares about - if he saw him again after Brooklynn's funeral, which is why he dropped contact with him and the others. He didn't want to hurt his brother but he needed space and a lot of time to heal from what had happened. That being said I don't think he would've ever broken that silence if it wasn't for Darius showing up on his door.

Darius isolated, and as he's always done, he blamed himself. Darius has suffered from survivor's guilt even since his father passed. It's never been easy for him to move on or forgive himself. But he also became a bit obsessive, and knowing that there was originally this plot for Darius to just hate dinosaurs because of the event was passed around in early screenings of season 1 is soo much but it really indicates how much Brooklynn's death meant to him. He couldn't view dinosaurs through the same passionate lense he always did. I think that is extremely representative of his feelings.

Similarly to Darius, Ben also became obsessive in a different kind of way...? Idk if anyone's noticed that his anxiety has kinda evolved into a what appears to me as a kind of paranoia disorder , which. Same queen I get it. He even went as far as to consider his friend Sammy may have been involved! He admits he had to rule out all possibilities which I can only imagine made him feel incredibly guilty. I think he also had to detach, probably mostly because the event caused a split in his friend group. He's become extremely self-reliant but his disorders are manifesting in fun and interesting new ways LOL.

Sammy copes through keeping busy. Obviously. I wouldn't be surprised if this is somehow related to the fact her family decided to end contact with her. But btw can we talk about how much that must've been the straw that broke the camel's back? We know family is the most important thing in the world to Sammy. Not only did she lose her family, but her camp fam haven't been together in 6 months and it's broken her heart. But she keeps busy. She cooks, she cleans, she cares for bumpy. She tries to do anything but think about what's happened to her.

For yaz.. well she's the only one actively receiving therapy. So she's coping. I would bet she thought about quitting therapy and school to support Sammy after everything happened but Sammy refused to let this happen. Yaz is very pragmatic and probably fell into a mindset once or twice that something like this was only bound to happen eventually...Yasmina seemed maybe the least effected by the loss and I think that's probably entirely because she was actively speaking about the trauma and working through it with a support group on the island. Love you girl.....

[naavispider]

What do you think Spider’s relationship with the McCoskers was like (Nash, Mary, and the boys)? Spider is apparently so desperate for a family that even Quaritch is considered a better candidate for a father than Nash so I’m assuming from that and what we’ve seen in the comics that it’s very negative, possibly bordering on abuse and neglect.

Imma preface this by saying I've only read The High Ground volume 1, so I don't know any of the background info from vol 2 and 3 about the McCoskers, however, I think I know everything I want to about them 😌 (tw abuse)

I hate to say it, but I think they were pretty awful to him. Mary and Nash were his adoptive parents, they wee the people who were supposed to love him, care for him, treat him as their own... and yet we never, not once, heard Spider even mention them. He acts like they don't exist, and for all intents and purposes, they don't.

Something must have gone extremely wrong for Spider to feel so 'parentless' despite having the McCoskers. Hell, we even see Norm and Max take a more active role in parenting him than his supposed family. Because that's what an adoptive family is: a family. True and total, despite not being blood related.

Which makes the fact that it failed even more heart-wrenching. I think this is strong evidence that points towards abuse. Spider is clearly desperate for parental figures in his life, and obviously he's not getting it from Nash and Mary. To me what makes the most sense if that they were abusive in the way they emotionally treated Spider.

they never wanted him around

they only took him because there was literally no one else

when they fell pregnant with their own kids, a lot of the caregiving fell on other adults' shoulders

they always favoured the boys more than spider

they changed spider's room into a nursery for their first child, without a plan for where spider would sleep when it arrived

the scientists were able to find him a spare room in Hell's Gate a bit further away from where the McCoskers live - it used to be a store cupboard but with a bit of help from Norm spider makes it look okay

neglect and emotional abuse take their toll on spider over the years and he comes to see Nash especially as just a person who was supposed to love him, but doesn't

he never called them mom or dad

the other scientists see what is going on but what can they do? they can't take spider in themselves

when spider gets back from the forest after a long day spent with the Omatikaya, the McCoskers just ignore his return.

"You're late Spider. Should we even bother saving dinner for you?"

"Perhaps you should ask to stay the night with Kiri and Lo'ak?"

"You got hurt? Go to the med bay, they'll sort you out."

Eventually, he just stops letting them know he's back safe, and they start to go days without even seeing each other (age 7-8)

Nash in particular starts to resent spider - "what are you doing here boy, we've just put the kids to bed!"

no one tells spider to brush his hair, take showers, brush his teeth etc.

spider takes meals where he can get them - he always misses dinner with the McCoskers because they eat early before putting the boys to bed

it's how he started to eat with the Sullys

he sometimes pops in for lunch with the science guys - he knows what time they break and also that the McCoskers aren't there

spider is never interested in playing with the McCosker's other kids (idk in my headcanon he is the only human child on Pandora even though that goes against established canon) because he would always get the blame if they got hurt or upset

the favouritism was so real that he started avoiding the family altogether

the McCoskers were obviously fine with this

Overall, terrible, terrible treatment of a child who needed a family. Even if that family was just one person. The McCoskers were chosen because they were a young couple who wanted kids of their own (they saw spider as 'practice'), and who were deemed 'reliable' - not because they actually wanted him or were emotionally available. It was a collective failure on all of the humans at Hell's Gate, because they all failed to step in and change the situation when it became clear the adoption wasn't working. Multiple failures all around.

And so, when Spider meets Quaritch - an adult whose singular parental focus is on him... who is constantly checking on his wellbeing, who gets mad when Spider puts himself in harm's way... it becmes abundantly clear why Spider falls for Quaritch as a father figure.

[vstridb]

HSHQTASK059: FAREWELL !

when did you join ? what made you join ? what do you remember from the plotlines that were current at the time ? where were you in life when you joined and where are you now ?

i joined in early (?) 2017. i had a lucky blue smith fc but that lasted for a hot minute and i ghosted LMAO. then i reapplied with astrid and as a bernadotte, i had sooo much fun <3 i don't remember ANYTHING, i'm sorry i just don't. i think irenton was still in its slowburn era. i was still in high school, about to graduate. now i have a master's degree and i'm working, crazy stuff!!!!

which characters have you written over the years ?

astrid, uriah 1.0 and 2.0, vitaliya, verona, francisco / francois, arvid, a dudley o'shaughnessy fc ( for 1 sec before ghosting )... i think that's everyone ???

what is your favourite plotline that you've been part of ?

i had a lot of fun writing chimei. i think it was the height of hshq for me so it really sticks out to me. idk if the bernadottes as a whole count as a plotline ? i'm such a sucker for them. the NUMBER one plotline though would be the russian plots vitya was part of. i think it's a sign of a good plotline when a 60-year-old character's threads are interesting and have me logging in. i don't want to name every plot but i have to give a mention to italy's stuff. i picked up verona because there was a huge hole in the hshqverse since italy had no rep, and i figured i'd survive without any nephews and nieces but then you all came back and i was so overjoyed <3 verona's story became so much more fulfilling for me to write.

what about other people's plotlines ?

i know i was kinda involved but watching the basel thing evolve was super entertaining. i liked the whole thing from beginning to the end. as for smaller plots, i think the spanish fires fucking up first zhergi and the farnauld has to be my fave thing. it was so wild and i LOVED the fact that a 3 year-old-plotline still had an effect on current threads and in such a surprising way <3

who is your favourite character from the ones you've played ? why ? what made you love them ? what made them so fun to write ?

astrid.... of course it's astrid. she was my age so i mirrored a lot of problems from my own life and made them hers. obviously they were exaggerated problems and shit but through astrid i got to write about emotions that were current to me. it was therapeutic and fun. i've loved all of my characters a lot though. vitya was so special because she was a character like no other. i loved creating her backstory and i had so much fun working on her psyche. a former USSR with a modest background, now an extremely influential duchess ? i loveeed it. it was so different and writing her inner monologue was so satisfying.

if you could relive a plotline, which would it be ?

i think the beginning of chimei. there was something about it. it moved naturally. i really miss the time.

is there a plotline that you'd edit now if you could ?

i'd speed up ilstrid so that we would actually get to write them getting together. i'll take the blame for ilstrid never really taking off lmao sry about that evy. i also wanna say that ilstrid is one of my fave ships because it was so easy and not-at-all-stressful to develop. it may have not reached its end, we didn't get a satisfying ending but i think it was so much fun to portray that kind of a love story. i wasn't a fan of friends-to-lovers trope but ilstrid is still one of my fave ships <3

what's a plotline you wish you would have been able to finish before closing or just write more of ?

ilstrid akfndsjkgbsnjg but also i think i would have enjoyed writing verona as the grand duchess of austria too. i do regret never applying for an austrian. it was something that "i'll do later" and never did it. it was partly because i didn't have a plotline for an austrian and couldn't naturally come up with one :(

what is your favourite ooc memory ?

when we brought the zulus. i don't think anything topped it. we made some really fucking shady and weird online chatroom to figure out the zulus' backstory and it was so much fun. i hadn't been that excited for something in a long time!!! and i think i'll have to mention all of the late nights of chatting with people. it was a big part of the hshq experience. we were all actual friends and i loved joking around. and i'll say it here now because this is so embarrassing but honestly i've always felt so appreciated when people have used the term naomi'd. it felt like a nickname fkjsgnjkgn and i'm glad i never upset anyone with my pushiness skdgngj

where can others find you if they want to get in touch ?

i'll disappear, i'm sorry but i think it's inevitable. i've enjoyed the chats and like i said i've loved to joke around but i'm not a person who really does online relationships. hshq was an exception and it'll stay as one. if you guys ever start writing again, pls im me or @ me. if it's meant to be, i'll stumble upon the message at the right time <3

what else would you like to say ?

oh dear ! i have so much to say but not enough words to express my feelings ! seven years is a long time to be part of something and i never expected to remain here for such a long time. i've been allowed to write and plot and create complex and inspiring plotlines with you, and i think it's been exceptional. hshq was something else among rpgs. anyone who has been part of this, has to agree. i think it says a lot that even though the dash died, on the very day of closing, six or so members did the final task. and i have a feeling we'll see many 058 and 059 tasks this week. i've laughed a lot with you, i've stayed up until the little hours just to be part of the experience, i've cried at your writing... i think honesty hours will be the epitome of joy for me. they always made me laugh and the energy was unbeatable. hshq has given me so much joy and has taught me a lot ! about people, about writing, about the english language and photoshop !!! you guys have no fucking idea how grateful i am of this experience and i wish i could relive it --- and that's a really good sign. sometimes we are glad to reach the ending but i don't think that applies here. this spring will feel different and this week will feel horrible. i have to admit, i'm not exactly ready for this and it feels so silly because it was 'just rp' aksfdbjdsgs thank you everyone for these years, the late nights and the amazing experience <3

[fallindomino]

i’ll always think abt s1 sibuna bc of how and why each member ended up joining like

first is nina, and yeah technically sibuna doesn’t exist until amber but i’ll get there. nina shows up to anubis house and feels extremely unwelcome, due to patricia and the tension in the house caused by patricia blaming her for joy’s disappearance. nina feels so unwelcome she starts going to school early, which is how she meets sarah on the bench outside of anubis house. this leads to her taking sarah back to the old folks’ home where she gets the locket and is instructed by sarah to find and protect the treasure.

fabian is a bit different cause you could argue that he gets involved in sibuna and the mystery cause he likes nina but i think there’s more to it as well. at the beginning of s1 we’re shown that fabian’s best friends are joy and patricia. joy has suddenly left and patricia is obsessed with being rude to nina and figuring out joy’s disappearance, so fabian is probably feeling pretty alone at that point too. combined with the obvious connections to egypt that the mystery had and he was sold.

amber is the most fascinating to me bc she on the surface she seems like the least likely to get involved but in the chain of events it makes perfect sense. mick and mara have started to hang out a lot due to mara tutoring him and amber is getting jealous and upset that mick is spending less time with her. to me it seemed like amber was worried that mick was gonna leave her for mara and she wasn’t going to have anyone. she wasn’t previously shown to be super close to anyone at anubis house besides him, so in her mind, she needed friends and fast. when she overhears nina trying to solve the second clue, she then leans over the stall to snap a pic and basically blackmail nina into telling her what’s going on lol. pretty soon after that she comes up with the sibuna name and iconic hand gesture and bam new solid friend group.

patricia had been feeling alone for basically the entire time since joy left, so she gravitated to the first person who it seemed would give her real answers, rufus. when she convinces nina to come with her to meet rufus about her locket, and they see him being taken away by victor, patricia no longer has anyone to help her. combined with the fact that witnessing this event together cleared some of the tension between patricia and nina and it was the perfect time for patricia to join sibuna.

tbh looking back on s1, alfie becoming part of sibuna seemed like more of a foregone conclusion considering how many times he became collateral damage to their shenanigans, poor dude. between getting in trouble after fabian broke the clock, to getting trapped in the cellar, to getting poisoned by them, he really had it rough lol. besides that, all throughout s1 his best friend is jerome. except jerome doesn’t always act like a good friend to alfie. constantly sabotaging his efforts to woo amber, making him pay for his help, and ditching alfie the second it looked like he had a chance with mara, by the student council arc alfie is feeling pretty abandoned by jerome. the scene where he thinks ms andrews is a snake alien and tackles her to the ground is both hilarious and relevant because it leads to the rest of sibuna deciding they truly can’t leave him in the dark anymore, and he becomes one of them.

like their bond is so strong not only because amber forced them to burn objects of value to them in a fire barrel behind the school (lol i just rlly wanted to mention that, like girl was committed) or because they were the only ones who knew about the mystery, but because they all needed each other. when each of them was at their lowest and most alone, they found a group of people like them who would stick by them and idk i just think that’s cool and wanted to rant abt it shdjdjdj

[quandaryqueen]

Idk if you've written this before but may I please have some jealous riddlers 💕 thank you

Jealous? Me?

Edward Nygma X Reader

I love the way you think, anon 👀

Also, I didn't expect to go in a slightly angsty route, but hey, here it is.

💚 Arkhamverse

He likes to think he never gets jealous, why would he? It's not as if one can reach his level, match the likeness of his calibre, why, he'd laugh at the faces who think they will ever have the intention of making him feel inferior by trying their chances with you. Like I said, that's what he likes to think.

It's not that he's crazy possessive, but he is crazy possessive. Not in the objectifying way, no, he respects you to even consider you as a mere pawn, disposable whatever— you're his equal! And those who try to take his equal will be batman bait!

It's easy to spot when he's jealous. For one, he doesn't get jealous when you show clear signs of being uninterested, dismissive even, he knows not to feel shitty about himself. But when it's those he knows are better than him, as much as he denies it because he believes he's the best of the best, oh gosh he will seethe.

Those who seems to be less than he is in terms of being problematic, less bratty and irritating, extremely emotional with no proper way of releasing it without destroying a whole room and cursing your existence... Those who would most likely take care of you then you take care of them.

💚 Gotham

He will boil in silence, simmer for about a minute and be distant, then spill over, tears and all. He's angry with himself that he can't be a man who will take care of you and try as he may, he will never aspire to the level he wants.

And in his despair and inability to reflect about himself, he turns against you. He blames you for cheating on him, just as the others were doing to him. And it will take a lot to convince him otherwise.

Petty and passive aggressive.

The "Why don't you spend more time with N, clearly you like them better" type of jealous.

At this point, which of the Riddler iterations do not have self-esteem issues?

At first he'd be angry at you, then the third person, then he'd pander about why you'd rather 'hang out' with the other person, realise he might be the problem. Was he too clingy? Is it the fact he tends to be overwhelming? Then he'd start feeling sorry for himself and lock himself in a room where he might cry himself to sleep, spiral into a self-loathing bender until someone pries him out of it.

Come along to reassure him that no one will replace him and that you forgive him for snapping at you, even then the damage is done. Self-loathing, to a degree, is harmful to one's self but it's the way they handle it. He hates himself, that he wants to change himself as well instead of just wallowing in it, especially if you were there to reassure him. You don't deserve this version of him, he knows, and so he thrives to change.

He'd become more understanding of you and perhaps less jealous. There's still a tinge of it sometimes, but it's not as worse and he's working on it.

💚 Batman Unburied

Here's the fun thing— he doesn't.

First of all, it takes long for him to get into a relationship with you and the whole thing was a matter of 'Will they or won't they' due to trust issues. Because in the rogue circles, one cannot be trusted wholly. You never knew when you swore oaths to watch each others back, only for them to have a knife against. So you best be prepared to bring your gun to this knife fight.

Anyways, it took long for him to feel comfortable of the concept of commitment and comfort... At the early stages of the relationship, with zero labels, he was worried you were disloyal... Not in the "What if they're cheating on me" kind of disloyal, but "What if they're a spy sent by whoever rogue I double-crossed that is catered to my type and is planning to enact revenge on me" kind of disloyal. He's had way too many types of those relationship... Not specifically as stated above, but let's just say he's been betrayed.

But when he's tested the waters, he was happy to simply stay in it, not wanting to leave. It was the best goddamn thing and he's going to cherish it forever.

He wouldn't settle in a relationship if he has doubts about the relationship, even the littlest tinge of jealousy. When he is in a relationship with you, he knows you well, and he doesn't have to worry about anything at all.

Come on, who would be dumb and desperate to settle for those who make them question the validity of a relationship when you witness your other half interacting with another? Not him.

[compassionatereminders]

Hey, Kat! Sorry for the essay. I'm feeling very dumb and disillusioned after a friendship went poorly. We started chatting on here and talked frequently (like a lot a lot, way more than I usually can keep up correspondence with people), so we bonded super quickly. like, daily chats for a couple of months, unheard of for me outside of my best friend for 15+ years in the early years of our friendship. But I got overwhelmed with offline stuff for a couple of weeks and got flaky and ghosty with talking. They were hurt so they blocked me and I clearly owed them an apology, so I made it. We went back and forth a little and I explained (not for the first time) that I'm bad at responding and also explained that I need time to write serious messages because I am precise about word choice and need to sort my feelings out properly beforehand. I wanted to do better for them but I was honest about the fact that timely replies are something I've struggled to do with everyone in my life for most of my life, so it wasn't going to get better in a week or just a month. But I told them they aren't obligated to stay in a friendship like that and just wait for it to get better; I wanted to respect their social needs and I acknowledge that expecting timely communication is extremely valid and normal. I wasn't in the right! The stuff they were sending me was just... a lot to parse through, both emotionally and verbally, especially because there's so much offline shit happening for me right now and they brought up feelings I had no idea they had for me. But when I took longer than a day to respond, they told me I disgusted them and then ranted about all the horrible things they hope happen in my life from here on out. Basically tried to turn the most personal, hopeful things I'd expressed to them into, idk, barbs that I guess they thought would hurt me and make me feel like a monster of a person or hopeless. Luckily that type of shit just doesn't make me feel that way and the fact that they thought it would makes it clear to me that this person thought they knew me way better than they actually did. Now I worry that I'm too open to others. Vulnerability has been a saving grace for me psychologically and I am just... so, so open to talk about damn near anything. Not as an active practice, I just am! I think sometimes people misinterpret this as a deeper connection with me than it is, though. When people open up back on stuff that I'm already very comfortable being vulnerable about, it's possible it means more to them? But like, what does that mean? Do I share less of myself? I don't want to! Being open about life and hardship has directly improved my happiness!

I'm just lost. I feel very dumb because I almost met this person offline before this happened and now I'm wondering how safe they even would be to know in that capacity. I'm at a point in my life where I'm prioritizing finding and building a found family, something I'm fucking good at, but now I'm worried that like... I can't navigate the current social landscape? Like, I'm not equipped to? I just don't get what I could have done differently in introducing myself or expressing myself so they didn't end up with impossible expectations from me. I don't blame myself (AT ALL) for being lashed out against and the two of us already talked it out (I am no longer their friend), but this isn't the first time I've opened up with someone just for them to get weird and aggro like this over something disproportionate. We talked personal lives and beliefs and aspirations, yes, but I didn't tell this person anything I wouldn't also feel comfortable saying on a live or to a new friend--which is what they were. I feel misunderstood in a way that actually bothers me for the first time in so long and kinda feel like giving up.... but the extrovert in me is dying for a wide social group.

Your "friend" sounds really mean, manipulative and emotionally immature and I'm sorry you had to deal with that kind of behavior. But the solution isn't to stop being vulnerable. Maybe you gotta test people a little by disagreeing with them on something minor or establishing a boundary to test that they're decent beyond the initial charm before you open up completely, but keep trying to connect. There are still plenty of good people in this world!

[darrowsrising]

Hello, don't you think that Pax's personality is a little off. He isn't even acting mature, he is acting like a robot. He is a child, he should feel emotions and show them. In first book we saw this, I adored him but now he is acting like a blue and supressing his boyish side is not what I'd like to see in a child character. I was reading the part where virginia and pax were having a talk in Light Bringer and these were my thoughts all along.

Hello,

No, because it is purpuseful. And it was expected, but the fandom ignored it. Also, I wouldn't say his entire convo with Virginia is like that, the end of it was extremely emotional.

But basically, Pax is training to be a hunter pilot, which requires even more cold blood than your usual Blue. Of course he will reflect some of his daddy's coldness.

The reason why he took to it so fast is more than presumed genetics, it's the fact that he was blamed for Ephraim's death. He is now trying to do something himself, but this is how fucked up it is.

Idk how this fandom wants Pax to remain a child and thinks that Volga's behaviour and everyone's enabling of that behaviour wasn'tgoing to affect him somehow. I get that she was grieving, but it's not okay to let her lash out and pile on some animosity - he is a child, he will interpret it as his fault rather than just a grieving person lashing out.

Pax' childhood may have ended too early, but he shouldn't be a hunter pilot till at least 16. He could help Virginia with a crown, as he is stellar at leading Armadas. And Darrow is the only person capable of convincing him, because the boy speaking to his Sovereign is bound to win the argument. Darrow doesn't care about it making sense, he didn't die out of child labour for his child to become a child soldier.

And Virginia came to understand Pax cannot just stay hidden and wait it out and there is time until he graduates, so the school is safe for him for now. It also give him an occupation, so he doesn't She will surely have Darrpw handle it before it's too late.

He will still be involved and help the cause, but not like this. Even Rhonna went through it at the proper age and got involved in direct combat under certain circumstances. Direct combat is not for Pax yet, but I suspect he'll get in a few kills before forced retirement by the order of Daddy Reaper. Leading Armadas is more needed than another soldier, so he shouldn't be mad.

But yeah, Pax' behaviour is not a disappointment at all, it's to be expected. I think your expectations of him are not fair considering what the kid has been through, because his behaviour makes sense. You may not like to see it, though, which is understandable.

Plenty more disappointing things in Light Bringer than just this, it's the least of problems, honestly. Guess progress is a slow process and I went and lost all my patience in Dark Age. Don't ever let me run planets, I guess.

[tealeafconnoisseur]

Vent ahead.

I have this anthology....or metaphor.....idk can't tell apart which is which. Anyway. Here it goes.

DISCLAIMER: This is mainly talking about mental struggles

Assuming we go through our life on going upwards

Like to progress we have to go up.

And well. Neurotypical people I would say either have steady upward slopes or stairs. Some more steep than others.

Either way they have a mostly steady way up. Of course it's going to get exhausting. They need to rest every now and then to keep going. Which they can do with no issue most of the time.

And for some there will be obstacles. Obstacles they might not be able to get over without the proper equipment. (Outside help). Others might get pushed down a couple of steps or fall. They can still get up and go again. And probably go even further the next try.

Neurodivergent folk on the other hand have to climb up a cliff. Rocky, uncharted and usually without any equipment. Some can do it better than others. Some have equipment and support.

Regardless you can't just rest. And eventually your body is gonna give out and fall. And you're gonna fall hard when you don't have anything to catch you...

Even with something to catch you, you will have to ascend the distance you've fallen, again. You will have to remake the progress you've lost. And that is extremely exhausting and frustrating. Because you may try over and over and over again but you just can't get past that one point you keep failing at.

And there's never really a peaceful and easy moment because you constantly have to hang on to that wall for dear life.

Even within the neurodivergent community it differs vastly. Because some have gotten their equipment very early on. Because it was recognized that they need it.

But then there's also the ones who were really talented climbers in the beginning. And maybe the beginning was easy for them. But they keep going up up up up, they can't ever rest, they can't just fix their rope and hang on for a bit to let their body and mind rest. They are hanging on for dear life and but hardly anyone can recognize that.

And for the neurodivergent people, there are obstacles too. You might get your equipment taken away, because you've done so well, surely you don't need it anymore. People might try to get in your way and obstruct your path, wanting to insert themselves into your journey. Under the ruse, they want to help. And maybe they do stretch our their hands. But they fumble and can't hold on to you or inadvertently push you, which they blame you for, because "you didn't hold on tight enough."

But with all the negativity, there are people who genuinely want to help you and don't fail. Even if it's something as small as offering their hands for you to step on or using their own resources to craft equipment that can support you. Even if it's just for a little bit. Every little bit helps, though that doesn't change the fact that most of us will need professional help.

Especially when we're already bruised and battered from previous falls.

[shamera]

NaNo day 23-25

I LIVE back with hunter au

so the first part felt fun but then I had a really hard time writing and got distracted by rl left and right so if it feels choppy... it is. that's what editing is for, right? that is if i keep most of this, hurhur.

I had an idea for this, I swear I did, but I kept meandering. Finally coming up to the end, though. of the part? of the story? idk, but we're finally coming to the part I imagined when I first started this, even if that image was nebulous in my head.

also scene not complete but my brain is done tonight

One thing that always irritated Fang Duobing about Li Lianhua was just how easy it was to trust the man. No matter how many times Fang Duobing watched him lie or cheat or weasel his way out of things, when it came down to it, Fang Duobing instinctively trusted Li Lianhua. 

At first he blamed it on his own inexperience with the world. Growing up ill, he had mostly been homeschooled until he recovered enough to be thrown into an exclusive and extremely rich private school where other children of diplomats and royalty attended, yet Fang Duobing never quite… connected the other children. He was different and intense and he didn’t share the same life goals as them. 

Unlike his schoolmates, he hadn’t wanted to inherit companies or marry up or maintain rich connections. Instead, he wanted to be a Hunter, someone who needlessly endanger their lives for little gain. Fang Duobing wanted to fight, wanted to get in the middle of things and get his hands dirty saving others. His frustration grew over the years as he found no one to share or understand his dream, and the last straw had been when his parents arranged his marriage to Princess Qiaoling. 

He was meant to inherit his mother’s company and his father’s name, marry the Princess and live a soft, sheltered life where his children would be even more powerful and the Fang and He lineage would be secured, and even more, of royal blood. 

When Fang Duobing first ran away from home, he made mistake after mistake that had his aunt hunting closely after him. He learned to pull out his sim card from his phone, learned to dress differently and cover his face in big cities due to surveillance at every corner, and circumnavigate paper money rather than rely entirely on paying via his phone. 

(Although he continued to make that last mistake again and again whenever he needed food or money, instead learning how to run faster than his aunt could catch him.)

With his inexperience with people, it just made sense that he kept getting tricked by Li Lianhua. 

Or, it would make sense if Fang Duobing ever learned from his mistake. 

Yet he didn’t know why, but when Li Lianhua snuck a look at him, Fang Duobing would understand exactly what he meant by the look. They communicated seamlessly in a manner that he wouldn’t notice until much later, when Fang Duobing could review the day and be breathless at how easily they navigated around each other. 

It must be, Fang Duobing determined early on, the storybook friendships. That’s how people felt about best friends, right? It was the type of connection seen on tv dramas, and the type of connection that Hunters would develop after years of fighting alongside each other. 

That would make sense except for the fact that Li Lianhua very obviously didn’t fight. 

He complained about long walks and lost his breath on stairs, and Fang Duobing was always the one doing the heavy lifting and fixing around Lotus Tower. He would have complained about it more if not for the fact that Li Lianhua really did get very sick from time to time, with no prior warning. 

And when he got sick, he would spend days in bed in a state that worried Fang Duobing tremendously. He couldn’t understand how the man survived to this point at all without someone to take care of him. 

After being caught by his aunt the first time (because! Li Lianhua! Snitched! On him!), Fang Duobing spent months back home seething over the betrayal, constantly trailed by maids, servants, and bodyguards paid to not let him out of their sights. He spent the time spamming Baichuan Court with requests and shoved his application and resume in their faces the entire time, only to be rejected time and again. 

It took months of intense studying and online spoofing for Fang Duobing to find a time where he managed to sweet-talk his mother into allowing him to one of her company parties, lying through his teeth about a sudden interest in a corporate career, especially since he was now not a child but in his twenties. 

His escape the second time had been so narrow he heard his aunt’s angry screaming while he was still climbing down over the wall of the private retreat, rolling down through the bushes in his suit in glee at finally escaping from the excessive overprotectiveness of his family. 

Goodbye, arranged marriage and arranged life and having the names of his nonexistent kids already picked out! He was going to go off and make a name for himself with his own blood, sweat, and tears, and he was going to fulfil his dreams of being a Hunter and fighting monsters and saving people— 

And then, somehow, he ran into Li Lianhua again in the first town he escaped to via the first long-distance bus he could find that didn’t require his identification for a ticket. 

He would have left, he really would have. He would have just turned around and made his way to the next town without acknowledging him at all, except Li Lianhua had been pale like he was still recovering from a recent bout of illness, and there was a girl standing with him that Fang Duobing recognised from a previous case together, and what was she doing there as well?

Apparently in Fang Duobing’s absence, Su Xiaoyong had taken it upon herself to trail after Li Lianhua, and Fang Duobing was having none of it. It just wasn’t proper, and so what if that view was old fashioned! Her following them had been funny originally when Fang Duobing was there the first time, but it wasn’t funny now that he wasn’t there!

So he bullied his way back into his room at Lotus Tower (which was his and not Su Xiaoyong’s!), and back into travelling with Li Lianhua again on the promise that the man wouldn’t rat Fang Duobing out to his aunt again. 

It was not even three weeks after that Fang Duobing found Li Lianhua having pulled out that ancient laptop of his at the kitchen, frowning at the horrible internet connection from where they were parked. 

“Why do you need that?” Fang Duobing asked then, surprised. He leaned to peek at the screen. “Does that thing even work? It must have existed along with the dinosaurs. I’ll get you a new one.”

A second later, he changed his mind. 

“Are you emailing my mother?” Fang Duobing shrieked, a hand shaking at Li Lianhua’s shoulder. “Why?!”

For someone usually so sickly, Li Lianhua didn’t bat an eye at being shaken like that. “We have a rapport. She asked me about you, I thought it was only polite to respond. She wants to know if you’re still alive and standing.”

That wasn’t all of it, from what Fang Duobing could read on the screen. He Xiaohui included quips about her day and random cooking recipes, along with thanks for recommending the acupuncturist for her sore shoulder. She had jokes on the side. She used emojis in the messages. 

It wasn’t until the post-script that she asked about her son’s well-being. 

P.S., she wrote, is my darlingest Xiaobao still alive?

Then he saw Li Lianhua respond with ‘he's reading this right now ‘before Fang Duobing attempted to wrestle that laptop out of his hands, but not before the man managed to hit send. 

And that was how Fang Duobing learned he didn’t need to be as careful with his phone use and purchases, because his mother had known where he was all along and was only mad he didn’t tell her himself. 

(Although perhaps he had been a little too ambitious in thinking he could hide from his mother, the head of a company on innovative technology who happened to moonlight in R&D as well.)

“Now I’m glad you don’t have a phone,” Fang Duobing griped afterward. Despite his extensive badgering about getting Li Lianhua a phone (mostly so he could find the ever elusive man), Li Lianhua had remained steadfast in his adherence to living like an old man. Fang Duobing shuddered to think of his family on a WeChat group with Li Lianhua, who could be documenting Fang Duobing’s greatest failures on the daily. He thought of his own collections of photos and videos around Lotus Tower, mostly of Hulijing because she was the cutest dog in existence, but also of Li Lianhua cooking, or drinking tea, or tucked into a corner and reading, or— 

“I somehow remember a certain someone badgering me about needing a phone for everyday use,” Li Lianhua said, even as he shut down the laptop and packed it away once more. “From messaging to paying for things, to maps…”

“Eh!” Fang Duobing made panicked noises to stop the other man from continuing. “Who said that, huh? Not just me! It’s common sense— how do you survive the modern world without Alipay, anyway? No navigation, no contacts, no access to TaoBao…”

“I make do.” Li Lianhua replied with faux demureness. 

(Fang Duobing doesn’t manage to convince him to get a phone, although soon enough a brand new and high-spec tablet ends up in Lotus Tower just by coincidence, only to be thrown into the same compartment as the ancient laptop. After that, he stuck to purchasing newer kitchen appliances instead. At least the air fryer was a hit.)

Two days later, they exposed a supplier for illegal dungeon materials who attempted to drug them, only for Li Lianhua to take one look at the tea and smile sweetly before diverting attention and dumping the cup below his sleeve, barely needing to nudge Fang Duobing’s foot for him to do the same. 

After that they managed to come up with the same plan, executing it at the same time without saying a word about it to each other. They gave the same story to the police who showed up afterward as well, even in separate rooms and even without having corroborated beforehand. 

It was like having someone who knew exactly what was on his mind, and knowing exactly what was on his mind in return, even if Fang Duobing couldn’t quite comprehend his actions most of the time. The feeling was exhilarating enough that he couldn’t help but forgive Li Lianhua’s strange habits and awful lies. 

Because when and where it counted, Li Lianhua did live up to everything Fang Duobing hoped of him. 

He hid and he ran away and he lied endlessly, but Fang Duobing had always known the type of person Li Lianhua was, the same way they always knew each other’s decisions and actions. It was the connection of a lifetime— he met Li Lianhua and he just knew.

He knew. 

Staring at the view before him now, within the domain of the boss dungeon, Fang Duobing found he really didn’t know anything at all. 

With most of the tendrils of the monster cut off, it was like half the body disappeared after the sword swing (sword? What sword? Where did that sword come from?), unbalancing the large beast and bringing its heavy body crashing forward, the darkness it hide between the tendrils disappearing amidst the glow of the grass as it hit the ground, only for the shrieking noise to grow even louder, louder until Fang Duobing wasn’t sure if his ears would soon be bleeding. 

Li Lianhua (tired, sickly Li Lianhua who couldn’t even be bothered to carry his own groceries) wasted no time as he dashed forward into a sprint, the faint glow of the sword blending in with the surroundings as he darted around the falling monster to jump atop it, the movements so graceful Fang Duobing almost felt like time slowed for it as he lept, weightless, landing with just one foot on the hulk of the monster before he pushed off again before gravity could set in, spinning in an effortless movement to balance atop the crashing body and evade the renewed tendrils that came from the other side of the monsters as its form split once more, shorter now, yet no less deadly in its force. 

Fang Duobing was too far away to see clearly, the movements and the dust blurring the battle, but he knew that footwork. He knew the slash, that sidestep, that evasion. 

He’d been studying it since he was ten years old, attempting to find every video and snippet the internet had of the famous Sigu Sect founder, eyes wide with wonder and reverence. He read every article, replayed every clip of every fight with breathless marvel as teen prodigy Li Xiangyi climbed his way to the top of the world of Hunters. Every shaky phone footage from civilians who managed to catch seconds when Li Xiangyi was challenged by other Hunters, only for him to end the fight almost instantly, within only a few moves. 

The famed Whirling Steps of Xiangyi Swordplay, as light and easy as laughter. 

(But it couldn’t be!)

The tendrils were moving faster now, focusing on the ones with spikes down the side, readily destroying even the body of the monster in attempts to target Li Lianhua, who evaded the attacks easy as breathing, and turned to hack those tendrils off as well, the ground shaking with each and every heavy fall of monster parts, the flash of a blue sword cutting swiftly and deftly like a knife through butter. 

With the closest tendrils taken care of, Li Lianhua was pulled back into action atop the monster, amongst the splattered dark blood and gore, and the dug his sword in the body of the creature, nearly to the hilt as it thrashed and screamed, attempting to buck him off even as he clung onto the blade. 

The creature’s movement seem to turn against itself, though, as the blade sank to create a deeper and wider cut as it moved, until Li Lianhua pulled the sword out and then sank it in again in a different location, doing this several times in a row until he drew away to once again battle the remaining tendrils. 

Ten seconds, twenty seconds, and the creature that was the size of a house was getting hacked into pieces, and blood splattered carelessly over Li Lianhua’s pale clothes and skin, half hidden by the curtain of dark hair. 

It took less than a minute before all the tendrils were gone, and the body of the beast was merely twitching on the ground, cut nearly in half by the glowing blue blade, which remained free of blood despite its owner being half covered in it by now. 

And then the monster collapsed, the endless shrieking finally halted as it began falling apart like a pile of snakes to reveal the darkness it had been protecting inside, a gaping maw of abyss that grew and lifted, and Li Lianhua was standing right there—

“Look out!” Fang Duobing shouted out, immediately pushing himself onto his shaking feet as if he could make it over in time to add action to his warning. 

Li Lianhua pushed himself back from the expanding darkness, expression veiled underneath his hair, and for a moment Fang Duobing thought he might have looked back at him. 

And then all the glow in the dungeon went out, sending the world into a pitch black. 

— 

He didn’t pass out, and he didn’t merely lose sight of everything. 

Between one moment and the next, all the light was gone and even the world dropped out from under his feet, leaving only the sensation of falling without wind, of dropping forevermore in a vast and empty void, like crashing and sinking in the ocean as all his senses dulled along with his vision. 

It was cold and numbing, like pressure along his skin yet there was nothing there. Like there was no air to breathe, but he might yet be crushed in this nothingness, by the nothingness. 

Fang Duobing knew his eyes were open, that he was reaching upward, yet he could not feel nor see his actions. Without sensation, he came the devastating realisation— 

This was within the monster. 

Distantly, he remembered a story about a man swallowed by a whale, and wondered if this fate could be compared to that. 

He wondered until he felt something grab the back of his collar, and drag him up. 

Up and up and up and this time there was a sense of direction, of place, and Fang Duobing gasped for breath and found that there was no air in this void of darkness, no existence outside of this grasp on his clothes pulling him along, and he— 

He breathed. 

Moreover, he choked and he coughed and he curled into a ball as gravity asserted itself on his limbs again and he felt like he weighed a thousand tonnes, pressed into the ground on shaking limbs that came away almost wet but not with a black substance like tar yet felt like it wasn’t there at all. Like black smoke if smoke were opaque at all times and clung the way tar did. 

“Good,” a shaking voice said next to him, and the pressure on his collar disappeared. “Good.”

The familiarity of the voice was enough to remind him of his situation, and Fang Duobing shot out an arm to grab at Li Lianhua’s wrist. “A-are… Are you okay?”

“Am I okay?” Li Lianhua’s tone was full of fond exasperation, even if Fang Duobing was still blinking dark spots from his vision, only to realise it really was that dark— at least, there was only the barest of light where they were, and he didn’t know where that luminescence came from. He could barely see Li Lianhua’s shape, and even that was difficult as the other man was also covered head to toe with the solidified darkness still dripping off him in clumps from his hair. “Fang Duobing, you’re the one who— didn’t I tell you not to open your eyes or move?”

“I counted,” Fang Duobing croaked out, although he didn’t claim to have done the complete count. His throat felt like it was on fire, yet each breath of air felt cleaner and fresher than the last. “But you—”

“Forget that part,” Li Lianhua said grimmly. “We have to get out now, before the dungeon collapses. Can you stand, or should I carry you?”

The words felt like a dream. Carry me? Fang Duobing was almost tempted to laugh. If anything, he expected it to be the other way around with the two of them in a dungeon, and yet— and yet. 

That wasn’t the case anymore, was it?

Fang Duobing had been prepared to charge forward into the unknown with no real weapon, determined to keep himself between Li Lianhua and danger because despite all their usual bickering and the trouble they got into regularly, Li Lianhua was often sickly and ill. He had a heart condition and a terrible immune system, and he was pale and often didn’t eat healthy enough or just enough in general, and despite the lies and the arguments and betrayals… Fang Duobing had always wanted Li Lianhua to be safe. 

Li Lianhua could keep a level head in any situation, but Fang Duobing was meant to be the one keeping both of them safe. 

Fat lot of good he did, and Li Lianhua— 

Li Lianhua— 

“No,” Fang Duobing insisted, the rasp in his voice giving way to a surge of anger. Grief. Betrayal. Of all the things, he never considered that Li Lianhua would lie about his own health, about who he was in general. Did he ever really know the other man? If they really had a connection, if they truly understood each other the way Fang Duobing always thought they did, then how did he miss this? 

How could Li Lianhua hide this? Lie about this? 

What a connection. What a similar mindset they had. With the monster now not an immediate threat, he couldn’t think of anything other than this. His entire being felt like his thoughts were resonating with this information. Was it truly a connection or had Li Lianhua lied about that as well? He lied about his identity, about his health, about little and big things, he’d lie about the colour of the sky right to Fang Duobing’s face if it amused him, wouldn’t he? 

He would say that’s just the person Li Lianhua was, but Fang Duobing truly didn’t know, did he?

He always did think that Li Lianhua’s features looked a lot like Li Xiangyi, although he was too embarrassed to bring it up after a patient pointed out the resemblance and Li Lianhua merely laughed at that, pointing out that he would have to work on the dosage of his remedies if that’s what they thought. 

But Li Lianhua’s features were both softer and sharper than Li Xiangyi’s, limbs thinner with even his stride stiffer and slower compared to Li Xiangyi’s confident movements. 

Fang Duobing would know. He’d studied Li Xiangyi enough, and stared after Li Lianhua enough. 

“No, tell me now.” Fang Duobing said, hand tightening around Li Lianhua’s wrist. “Tell me what actually happened. Tell me the truth.”

[likeabxrdinflight]

watched the new little mermaid movie through *ahem* somewhat dubious means

halle bailey killed it, she was perfect as ariel, 10/10 no notes. might be worth watching the movie for her performance alone ngl.

eric was...decent I guess. they made a few changes to his character and it's...I mean it's fine. it really doesn't make him a much stronger character than the original. they did give him a new solo song though and it's genuinely terrible. but they also added some nice scenes between ariel and eric that were admittedly cute, so...yeah. he's fine.

daveed diggs as sebastian felt extremely phoned in. never mind the uncanny valley cgi crab nonsense, the performance by diggs just. wasn't good. his lines are largely unchanged from the original movie, and I mean like, it is word for word in some places, but diggs is just worse all around. all the charisma and charm of sebastian was just sucked right out of it. and this is a shame because I know diggs is talented, he's way more talented than this, so I have to assume the problem was either the directing or the fact that he knew he was reading for a cgi crab. unclear. can't blame him either way tbh.

why was flounder even in this movie? he adds nothing except uncanny valley fish cgi. I mean it somehow they took what felt like an essential character from the first film and made him feel irrelevant I hate it.

speaking of hate who the fuck let awkwafina rap??? I've never much cared for her comedy, but she was especially unfunny as scuttle and frankly annoying most of the time. and then they added this awful rap number because god forbid lin manuel miranda not insert himself into every movie he touches.

triton was such a downgrade from the original. what a wooden, dull performance. and for such an essential character it could not be more disappointing to see. I felt nothing during the scenes between triton and ariel, which are some of the most intense and emotional in the original.

melissa mccarthy surprised me at how good she was as ursula, but I'm still upset they didn't cast a drag queen. what I did not like was that they had ursula make ariel forget that she was supposed to get eric to kiss her? which is smart on ursula's part but it really makes the movie a little weird because...what the fuck does ariel think the deal is then? like what is the goal for her exactly? it really takes away some of ariel's desperation and motivation and also weirdly de-sexualizes the film even further and I don't like it.

the lyric changes were minimal but also annoying because they were so unnecessary and so obviously trying to pander to modern sensibilities in a very...corporate, squeaky clean way. like ursula doesn't get her lines about men on land preferring silence and the "body language, ha!" gets cut. and it's just. a crime.

speaking of dumb changes meant to appease some imagined version of feminism, they changed vanessa and eric's wedding to just an engagement party and oh my god it was the worst tension killer. why would you do that. all urgency is sucked out of it like WHO CARES if it's just an engagement?? that's not binding???? stupid change.

also at the end they have ariel and eric run off to go explore together which. fine I guess. but again this felt like a change meant to appease the bad faith feminist critiques of the early 2010s. it's not like a terrible change but it just feels like it's meant to say "look she doesn't marry him right away!! #feminism" and it's. like. it's a fucking fairytale. also in the original the wedding is such a lovely ending with triton coming up to send her off and everything so idk. it's not offensive just kinda silly.

oh and they also added this bizarre plot point where the human characters like...know about merpeople and blame "the sea gods" for causing ship wrecks and hunt them for sport and it...it kind of weakens the point of triton's prejudice being just that, prejudice, by making it this weird "both sides are equally bigoted!!" thing and I have just never liked that approach. ariel's argument becomes "but not all humans are bad, just the ones that kill!" and it's........*sigh*. tiresome. this never gets properly addressed either, because there isn't time, and by the end everyone's just cool with each other like ariel and eric getting together just solved all the tension or something. extremely tiresome.

they did cut les poissons. this I am fine with.

overall it's...I mean it's very watchable. nothing horribly wrong with it. but it's just another shot for shot remake with a few changes here and there to address internet criticisms from ten years ago. somehow half the soul gets sucked right out of it with the move from animation to live action, the same with all of these films. halle bailey was phenomenal though and I do think she absolutely deserved this part and I hope her career flourishes from here.

overall I'd say it's on par with the aladdin remake. like. it's fine. some good moments, some good performances, but very mid. not as egregious as mulan or the lion king, I'd say it's also better than beauty and the beast, but not as good as cinderella.

[eighthdoctor]

Can you blame me for trying? ▼For both and ■♦for Jaina. And congratulations to you and mylordshesacactus on the wedding.

▼ - childhood headcanon

oh this is one we talk about a lot for Jaina. Jaina was a fucking nightmare toddler. Katherine won every marital argument for 10 years by reminding Daelin that she was the one who had to handle Jaina between the ages of 18 months and 6 years.

not that they weren't good parents or that they weren't extremely proud of their daughter, but temper tantrums are a different level of fun when they involve water elementals, you feel?

anyway Daelin was blithely assuming she was going to be a Tidesage (like yes? water elementals everywhere?? Kul Tiran to the core??? duh??) up until Katherine pointed out that the only thing worse than Jaina leaving Kul Tiras is Jaina unwillingly staying in Kul Tiras, and that if he wanted to have that fight, he could have that fight but it'd just be him. against a very upset 13 yr old.

so Jaina goes to Dalaran.

Sylvanas: Lireesa 100% ascribed to "what doesn't kill you is character development" and let them all run wild for their first century. aside from the fact that she was just busy, this is also very much "there is no better way to identify poison ivy than by falling into poison ivy once (1 time)". again, not neglect, just a lot of freedom very early so they could get the dumb mistakes out of the way.

■ -  Bedroom/house/living quarters headcanon

I was going to be depressing and ask "which one?" but no, because the answer is the same: There's a bed, there's a desk (in places where she also has an office, there is still a desk), the desk is covered with papers and books (organization scheme: she just roughly remembers where everything is), there's a bookcase (again, does not matter how many other rooms she has) which is overflowing, it's not that she's incapable of being organized, it's that she remembers where everything is anyway so why bother with organizing when she could instead be working through a new portal theory

♦ - quirks/hobbies headcanon

idk what I could put here that isn't just "she's a nerd who reads theoretical physics papers for fun".

[geronimomo-spd]

ok now that i finished my "absolotly canon because i can now put my love for him into cold canon facts that i observed"

its time for things i know about the Eighth doctor that i know because i headcanon them and so they are real TO ME 😭 (you are more then welcome to adot any of these of course, if anyone will want to)

- an old one that i still think is true: MY GUY IS A MUSICAL NERD, he absolotly listens to some bops as he is flying the tardis around, confusing Charley as he bops to Naughty (because he would LOVE Matilda come on) he defenetly listen to A LOT OF THEM in the beginning of his adventures, Everybody's talking about Jamie, beetlejuice and so on. (and this is also me projecting of course but like, what other doctor but him?? he would have dance paries all the time)

but serosly, the guy littiraly lives Matilda, listens once to Quiet and he is like "i have never heard something more relatable in my life", Charley adores Six and he honestly can't blame her, a fan of Everyone's talking about Jamie and beetlejuice for sure he is as well!

even before Charley gets into it, he will drop quotes and little melodies and Charley would have to be like ??? oh he is at it again (i will expand upon this headcanon because i have a lot to say about it hehe)

- has panic attacks!! i think he has a lot of problems with emotinal regulation post movie, recovering from fucking attempted body snatching, so i think in the first couple of episodes he would have a lot of trouble balancing his overexcitment and his more dark and almost emotinaless anger states so i think it makes sense that he would have a lot of issues with regulating from the fucking traumatic shit he is going through with Charley, i think in the beginning its more prominante and he gets a little better about it, ie btter with handeling them and hiding them, and i also think that Charley also gets hem which is why it makes sense they sort of have to help each other through it his shutdowns (which i also headcanon he has) go through a jouney is also fasinating to me, like, i headcanon him having trouble to being able to contain meltdown because fuck i am distressing everyone else fuck- so through time he ends up having extreme shutdowns instead, the kind that he just instently drops to the floor expressionless and just... stayes there for a while (i might a bunch of drabbles about it too fghfddfg) ALSO SCHERZO IS BASICALLY HIM REALISING A LOT OF HIS PENT UP EMOTIONS AND HE IS TRYING TO REPSESS WHAT HE IS FEELING BUT THEN HE HAS NOCHOISE AND JUST EXPLODES

- the reason he gets amnesiac a lot is because of the events of the movie, basically having the master try and dissconect his mind from his body so close to his regenaration basically makes his brain to be a lot more frail then other doctor's brains and it tends to slip away from him a lot because of this!!

- NON BINERY TO THE MAX, the dude might be genderfluid, i see people headcanoning 8 as genderfluid and i get it, as a genderfluid guy who loves to project on peopel who it loves, would usually make my fave genderfluid but he is also just so!!! genderfuck idk, defenetly expreses his gender in the most fluid way possible tough!! when someone asks him what his pronouns today are he is just like "hmmm i am quite happy today i think :)" and sometimes "i can't think today!!" or "hehehe hohoho i am sad, what is gender", defenetly uses they/them pronouns most of the time!!, he/they sometimes, the experiments go on!! (also i wrote down these headcanons before i saw some qoutes from the EDAs and JESUS OMG YES ITS SO NICE TO KNOW SOME FORM OF CANON RECOGNIZES THE GENDER ENERGY OF THIS VICTORIAN DANDY)

- some sort of physically disabled!! i personally headcanon all of the doctors to be physically disabled of some kind, but espeshelly 8! to have what is arguably concidered the most enthusiastic and energetic Doctor to be the one that needs a mobility aid makes my disabled heart so happy. its too early to tell when he discoves this, but to me he was BORN with aching legs and slight chronic pain, he just didn't notice it because ya know... the littiral medical wire that was stuck inside his chest... and of course other more urgent matter of potincial body stealing, he just thought it was pretty normal!! then through the Charley arc its slwly gets worse, at the end of the day he does concider a crutch or a cane because why not!

ok yes this is a basic list (and i can goall out about most othese ecae i love them so much)

(ALSO i do wanna add stuff from the EDAs is just the dylesixa will be a problem with reading those but im working on it 😤😤)

[bagofspoons]

POST SESSION 1 DLDND CHARACTER THOUGHTS

holy SHIT y’all the hiatus is over w a long ass session to start us off. i passed out so hard post session but now. i have things to say abt peoples characters and im going to say them. plus an added pronoun check for my own memory. this is a long post so ill pop it all under da cut. tldr at the end 2

IZZY | ALASTRELLE (they/he)

i LIKE THEM. i like them. i was very eyes emoji at their intro and im rly excited to see a druid. i have a feelin that theres a lot more 2 alastrelle than meets the eye but im not rly sure what. we got an insight check that he seems to know more than hes letting on... but like. idk. i have a feelin that theyre more like... they know stuff but not in a malicious way? mayb im bein 2 optimistic and alastrelle is just waiting 2 absolutely decimate every1. they DID heal ma’el tho so like... i think they do not want this. they seem kind. i want 2 know more.

CADILLAC | R-D 2.04 (pronouns unknown - seems to vary)

everybody is so mean 2 me image. r-d is rly. look. i love them but i also hate them. he’s so fuckin funny but also.... gestures broadly at the last hour of the session. she seems 2 b tha only character built 4 outright combat. at least from what weve seen. it seems like a lot of the others went 4 classes that cld offer support (from my limited knowledge of the classes themselves plus dnd) whereas cadillac built (literally) a beast. she seems really cool and had some rly amazing moments first session. designated antagonist im super interested to see how every1 is going 2 interact w the person who drew 1st blood!! also tha character we got the most backstory 4 session 1. kinda dont blame it for the murders but. i dont want any pcs to die T_T

NOX | DOCTOR (PALL’OR) REMAEDI (he/him, okay with they)

HE’S COOL... the outfit is very wizardly but we know hes a cleric. am i right when i look at the ref art and see that hes purple. he is purple. he also shotgunned an unmentioned vial (WHY DID NO 1 ASK ABOUT THAT AUAUEUEGEUGH) and the rice and meat. chuggin ig. seems like... cautious? mayb suspicious but remarkably chill. well. i say chill. again. gestures at the last hour or so of the session. LUV the weapon design. would luv 2 see it do some more damage (see “r-d is built for combat” above. terrifyink). i want 2 know more abt his eyepatch and stitches and general deal. do we think hes an unethical doctor guys. would he kill u for like. fun.

CERIN | EIWN (she/her)

pretty lady. fllushed emoji. i love her design a lot its rly cool. i assumed she was druid bc of it but idk if pep would have allowed class double ups? plus cerin is bein v secretive... possibly monk? eye dee kay im rly just guessin at this point. shes so funny 2 the bit w the shelter being her height and alastrelle tryin 2 fix it secretly was great. i dont have much 2 say abt her yet but i think she will turn out to b EXTREMELY interesting. i kno 4 a fact cerin will say smth and then the dash will explode w how much we love eiwn.

RIVER | MA’EL(VAR) (he/him)

IS HE NORMAL??? squints. i dunno... intro was. suspicious. i did like him tryin 2 explain stuff to r-d that was kinda funny. he seems to b like... relatively level headed? i struggled to get a read on his personality except like... suspicious of others but wants 2 cooperate. clearly doesnt want 2 b here el oh el. HE DID ALMOST DIE 2 TIMES WITH NO IDEA WHAT WAS HAPPENING EL EM AY OH. i wonder how hes gonna react to that.

PEP | MIYM (she/her, okay with they)

MIYM MY FUCKIN BELOVED. kenku AND a bard? plus card themed LDFKJ. alto WISHES he could. the resume made me laugh sm and she generally just seems so nice... i like that she’s immediately forming more positive relationships w tha others... probably intentional on pep’s part as a filler character for the pair offs. i was wondering why they were getting such an outright dmpc and was wondering if she was gonna get killed early... i was real newvous. its cool tho. i like her a lot. very glad miym explained the whole premise 2. thank u from da audience i was a little like WHAT THE HELL. but in a good way

TL;DR - I LIKE THEM ALL. i think theres a LOT of things we havent touched (obvs. it was 1 session) but a lot of seeds and references to things wer made i think. also it looks like we got a lot of elves lol. im generally just rly excited 2 see them play again and having consensual and established pvp will make things VERY interesting. i wonder what the symbols on the like... bracelets/necklaces are 4. and what happens when someone dies.... do they both go to zero/make death saves? i guess we will see....