#it was definitely an... interesting choice to keep going back and forth but

[volunruud]

okay that was literally the worst episode ive ever seen.

[thehandmaidenofcreativity]

Sneaking Around With SKZ ✧ Part II

Rating: Explicit/18+

WC: 4.7k

Comments: This a continuation of this anon requested fic. This time around, the reader plays a few games with our favorite hyungs. While Seungmin and Hyunjin make a brief appearance, MinChan are the focus of this part. I know it's been a while since the first installment. I've been struggling a bit with blocks/motivation, but hopefully part 3 won't be too far behind this one.

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As you near the house your family is staying at during your time in Korea, you pull Seungmin to a stop. “I don’t want my parents to see you.” 

He shoots you a cocky smile. “Don’t want them to see you with an idol? Think they’d try to keep you away from us?”

“Worse,” you roll your eyes. “They’d be too excited and try to make you come in to talk to them, try to make sure you’ll wanna take me out again.”

His laugh is cute. A couple staccato ha’s that might seem fake if he weren’t so clearly amused. “Well, we can’t have them thinking I might be interested in you. Better to sneak around and make things difficult.”

You giggle and push at his shoulder. He’s so easy to be around. After making plans to meet up back at the dorm in the morning, he drops a kiss on your cheek and heads back the way he came. It’s late, but luck is not on your side when you make your way inside. You mom catches you just as you hit the top of the stairs. She asks if you made a good connection, and you have a moment of panic before you realize you’d told her you were meeting with a potential new friend. After letting her know you made plans for the next day as well, you head to your bedroom.

Once you look in the mirror, you realize you were luckier than you thought. You have two hickeys - one on the side of your neck, the other just barely sticking out from beneath the collar of your shirt. If you’d run into mom downstairs, she definitely would’ve noticed. You make a mental note to ask the guys to keep any hickeys below your neckline. 

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When 10:30 rolls around the next morning, you’re almost ready. Before your shower, you counted at least four other hickeys on your thighs, chest, and shoulder. You’re a little surprised at how happy you are to see proof of your night with not just one, but two extremely hot guys. Idols. Idols who are actually super nice and chill? You definitely never would’ve guessed that this is how your summer in SK was going to go. 

Once you’re sure all incriminating marks are hidden with makeup, you head downstairs. After fielding a few more questions about getting set up with a member of Stray Kids from your dad - so weird - you’re off to meet up with your “new friend.”

You expect to find Seungmin waiting for you again, but as you turn onto their block, you see Minho waiting out on the sidewalk. You don’t hesitate to approach him, but you’d be lying if you said he didn’t make you more nervous than the others. He’s so hot, but also a little intense. With this new arrangement in mind, and considering your first encounter was a threesome, you can’t help but wonder what he might have in mind for you. 

After a quick greeting, he takes your hand. “I thought you might like to see the other dorm.” 

He doesn’t give you much of a choice, leading you into the building. “Oh, are you all hanging out over there today?”

He shoots you a mischievous smirk, but doesn’t answer. Once you get inside, your question is answered. Hyunjin seems to be passed out, sprawled across the couch, with his head in Seungmin’s lap. The latter is absently running one hand through his hair while scrolling through his phone. Seungmin glances up and meets your eyes, one corner of his mouth curling up. You wonder again at the nature of their relationship - friends that have fun together or something more? Seungmin’s grip tightens in Hyunjin’s hair, wiggling his head back and forth a little bit. He leans down a little and whisper-sings, “Jinnie, it’s time to get up.” 

Hyunjin lets out a little groan and stretches a bit before rolling to face you with a sleepy grin. “Morning. How are you feeling after last night?”

“Good, thanks,” you blush a little at the thought of their hands and mouths on you again. You walk over as he sits up, and when you reach them, he pulls you into his lap, nuzzling his face into the crook of your neck. “So what are our plans for today?”

“Oh, Jinnie and I need to head out soon, actually. It’s just you and Minho for a bit.” You get a chill as Seungmin runs a knuckle down your arm. “Hope you won’t miss us too much.”

You glance over at Minho in the kitchen, wondering again what plans he has for you today. Would it feel more or less awkward if he wants to jump right to sex? And why bother even bringing you over here if they’re going to leave? “Can’t say I won’t miss you, but I’m sure I’ll have my hands full with your hyung over there.”

Hyunjin gives you a slight squeeze and a soft kiss on the back of your shoulder. “Minnie, do we have to leave right away? It’s gonna be way more fun here.”

“Hmm, I mean we could hang out for a while longer.” Seungmin’s arm slides behind you, his hand landing on the nape of Hyunjin’s neck. “When you’re late to your schedule, would you rather tell JYP that it’s because you were fucking his niece or me?”

It’s like you can feel Hyunjin’s entire body pout at that. Minho plops on the couch just in time to hear the question, and all three of you are laughing as Hyunjin lets out a whine. Minho pats Hyunjin’s arm and tries to stop smiling. “Don’t worry Flour Boy, I’m sure you’ll have another opportunity to take your time with our girl, right?”

He winks at you with that, and you feel a blush rising on your cheeks at the ‘our girl.’ When you stop to think about it, this is all moving super fast, but you also only have a couple weeks with them. After agreeing to this friends-with-benefits situation, it only makes sense to take advantage as quickly and often as possible. Before you can respond, you’re tipping off of Hyunjin, face first into Minho as Hyunjin starts to stand and drops you in his lap. 

“I know, I know.” Hyunjin is still pouting as he leans down to press a kiss to your cheek. “Let’s go before I decide I don’t care about being late.”

Seungmin stands and whispers something in Hyunjin’s ear that puts a smile back on his face. He drops a kiss on your head and pats Minho’s, who immediately snaps his teeth at him. “You guys have a good time. Maybe if you’re still around later, we’ll hang out.”

With that, they’re out the door and you’re left straddling Minho, unsure of if you should climb off, start talking, or try kissing him. He makes the decision for you, though, perhaps sensing your uncertainty. He shifts you off his lap and onto the couch next to him. Still close, but less intimate for sure. “You seem very comfortable with them. So you had a good time?”

“Yeah,” you nod a bit shyly, wishing your boldness from last night would return. “They were great. Very attentive. They’re very in tune with each other.”

Minho chuckles at that. “We’re all pretty in tune, but those two can be on another level sometime. Are you still feeling alright with this arrangement? If you don’t want to, you don’t have to be with anyone besides them. We don’t want you to feel pressured.”

Despite your uneasiness, you’re very quick, and maybe a touch too loud, in your response, simultaneously placing a hand on his very muscular thigh. “No! I mean. I want to hook up with them again, but I want to be with you, too. All of you. If you all still want me.” 

He gives you a cat-like grin, grabbing your hand and pulling you up off the couch. “Wanna see the rest of their dorm?”

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He leads you to Hyunjin’s room first, you’re surprised to see he has an easel set up with a half painted flowery scene. You’re again struck by the thought that these men are much different than you would’ve thought. Minho lightly grips the back of your neck as he leads you to Han then Changbin’s rooms next, though you don’t do more than peek inside. When you get to Chan’s room, he stands back and urges you to go in all the way like you did for Hyunjin’s. It’s neat, a little plain. 

You hear Minho close the door, and when you turn to face him, his lips crash onto yours; one hand tangles into your hair as he wraps his other arm around your waist to pull your body flush against his. You can’t help but gasp at the sudden contact, and he takes the opportunity to lick into your mouth. Before you can get your bearings, he’s pulling away, hands shifting to your hips and backing you up toward the bed. With that grin, you’re pretty sure he’s trying to keep you off balance on purpose. When the back of your knees hit the bed, he gives your shoulders a light shove.

“Minho!” You laugh as you land, trying and failing to grab and pull him down with you. He cackles. You sit up on your elbows and shoot him a pout. “Why do I feel like you’re a cat playing with its prey?”

His eyes narrow a bit. “Think of yourself as prey, huh?”

You hadn’t really meant it when you said it, but with how predatory he’s looking, you just might be. “What happens if I say yes?”

That cat-like grin is back as he lowers himself down, bringing his lips right up to your ear. You hear him take a breath, but rather than answering your question, you feel the pinch of his teeth on your earlobe. It sends a shiver down your spine as a soft ‘oh’ escapes your lips. Minho’s mouth trails little nips down your neck, ending with a bigger bite on the spot where your neck ends and shoulder begins. Your hands caress over his toned arms before you draw his face back up to yours. The kiss is less intense this time, but almost more overwhelming in the passion you feel. One of his arms sneaks under your back; you work with him to move your bodies back on the bed without breaking the kiss. 

Minho’s weight settles over you, one of his legs pressed between yours, and his hand comes around to pull your dress up over your hip. He drags his fingers up the inside of your thigh before tugging on the little bow on the waistband of your panties. He sucks your lower lip between his teeth before drawing back to look into your eyes. 

“Everything still okay?” His dark eyes bore into yours, so intoxicating you nearly forget that he asked you a question. 

Since he likes to answer questions with actions, you decide you can play that game as well. You roll to the side, easily pushing him off of you. He blinks up at you as you stand, just looking down at him for a moment. You take pleasure in knowing you’re confusing him for once. You take a step toward the door, glancing at him over your shoulder before pulling your dress over your head. You reach behind you for your bra next, unclasping it and letting it drop to the ground. You step to the door, grasp the door handle, and say, “cats like a chase, right?”

You hear him jump off the bed before you’ve fully gotten the door open. You scramble down the hallway, but Minho is on your heels almost immediately. You barely make it out of the hallway to the rooms when his arms wrap around your waist. You turn as the momentum takes you both to the ground, one of his hands coming up to cradle your head to ensure you don’t hit it as he slows your fall. You barely have time to laugh before his mouth is back on yours, hands roaming your body. He kneads at your breasts then tweaks one of your nipples. You moan into his mouth and feel the smile through his kiss. He kisses his way down to suck the other nipple into his mouth, allowing his hand to continue its journey down your body. When it slides into your panties and he plunges a finger into your core, you let out a low moan. 

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What neither of you realize is that just before the start of your game of cat and mouse, Chan had arrived home. He stands at the entryway to the kitchen, watching as Minho licks and nips at you. You startle when he speaks, but Minho just laughs. “I know I told you the guys would be gone, but I figured you’d stay in my room.”

You’re torn between the urge to cover yourself and to reposition so that he can have a better view. Minho makes that decision for you as well, sitting back on his feet with a smile and a shrug, effectively putting your near naked body on display. “It’s not my fault. She ran.”

Chan tilts his head to the side, gaze drifting from Minho to you and back. “Fair enough. Still, let’s move this party out of the common area.” 

Minho takes a hand up before Chan offers one to you as well. The second you’re on your feet, he leans down, continuing to pull you towards him, so that he can wrap his arm around your thighs and tip you over his shoulder. When he stands, you barely have time to admire the great ass in front of your face before a hand comes down hard and fast on your own. You let out a surprised squeak causing both men to laugh. Being manhandled like this turns you on all the more. Chan carries you back to his room and rather unceremoniously dumps you onto his bed. 

“So you like to play games then, huh?” Chan is generally extremely kind and, for lack of a better word, soft with you. That’s all gone now. He’s looking down at you with an intense hunger, like he’s ready to eat you whole. 

“What happens if I say yes?” You’re a little nervous and a lot excited to find out.

Chan cocks his head at you again in contemplation, his mouth hanging open a bit as he tongues at the teeth on the right side of his smile. Minho chimes in before he speaks, though. “She likes to do that, it seems - answer a question with a question.”

“Well, we can’t have that, now can we?” Chan makes eye contact with Minho across the bed as he takes a half step back from the bed. 

“Nope.” The look on Minho’s face screams mischief. “I think I know her answer, but it’s important to hear her scream, I mean say, yes.” 

Despite the faux Freudian slip and teasing tone, you realize that they do really want to get your clear consent before things go further. You wet your bottom lip before pulling it between your teeth, two pairs of eyes tracking the movement and Chan mimicking it. You have a sudden desire to bite his lip as well. You sit up and spread your legs invitingly. “Games can be fun, but I’d rather skip them if it means I’ll have your cocks in me sooner.”

Chan’s eyes widen just a touch, but Minho just laughs. Still, neither of them move toward you. Minho seems to be eyeing Chan, maybe waiting for him to make the first move, so you focus on him, too. You bat your eyes up at him while lazily running your fingers over your now soaked panties. “Unless that’s too much to ask of the big, bad wolf?”

You’re pretty sure the sound Chan makes in response is a literal growl. He’s on you in the next second, hands roughly pushing your legs wider before taking hold of your panties and ripping them off. He presses his body to yours as he captures your lips in a messy kiss; you whimper a little at the feeling of his hardness grinding against you. He pins your wrists up by your head and moves to bite and suck at your neck. 

“W-wait.” You manage between pants. If possible, Chan is out of your space faster than he’d gotten into it. The fire in his eyes is all but gone as he looks you over in concern. Minho is picking up your hand to inspect your wrist. “Sorry–”

“No, I’m sorry,” Chan interrupts. “Did I hurt you or–” 

“No, no!” It’s your turn to interrupt. You sit up and lightly touch at the spot you covered with makeup before leaving the house. “It’s nothing like that! You’re fine, perfect even. But yesterday I ended up with a couple visible hickies, and I wanna make sure that doesn’t happen again.”

Both men let out a sigh and a chuckle. Chan slumps a bit to the side, and Minho presses a kiss to your temple, muttering, “damn Seungjin.”

“Sorry I worried you.” You’re biting your lip again, though in embarrassment this time, eyes cast down. You feel the bed dip as Chan’s hand lands next to your hip. His thumb gently pulls down on your lower lip, and you meet his gaze. 

He presses a soft kiss to your lips and smiles. “You don’t need to apologize. We probably should’ve established some limits before I jumped in. Is there anything else we should be careful of?”

“No, I think we covered everything else yesterday. So…” You wrap your arms around Chan’s neck, pulling him in for another kiss. Before you can deepen it, you feel Minho’s hands on your shoulders, drawing you back. His fingers lock around your chin as he tilts your face up to his. You let your eyes close in anticipation, but blink them back open when all he does is laugh. 

Minho squints down at you. “Are you ready to get back to our game then?” At your nod, his hand slides down, giving your neck a light squeeze before resting against your chest and pushing you flat on your back. He turns back to Chan. “Do you still think you can win?”

“Win?” You scrutinize both of them. “How do you win this game?”

“Again with the questions.” Minho rolls his eyes at you before moving to slap Chan on the ass. “Let’s go old man, show me how it’s done.”

It’s Chan’s turn to roll his eyes now. Before you can say anything else, Chan is back on you. One hand is tangled in your hair as his tongue slips into your mouth. His other finds its way between your legs. He’s clearly pleased to find that despite the brief pause, you’re still ready for him. He drags his fingers through your folds, using your wetness to help the glide as he circles your clit. You sigh into his mouth as he pumps two fingers in while his thumb continues to work your clit. Soon he’s working his way from your lips to your collarbones, then down until he can take your nipple into his mouth. He sucks, flicking his tongue while he pulls and twists at the other. He nibbles lightly, eliciting an extended moan. He nips at your other breast before kissing his way down your body.

You whine when he removes his hand so he can resituate himself between your legs. The second his tongue touches you, you thread your fingers through his hair. On your first squeeze, he pulls his head back. His lips are glistening, his pupils so dilated that his eyes look black. His voice is like a growl again. “Minho. Help me out?”

You’re not sure what exactly to expect, but Minho seems to know what he meant. Suddenly he’s is sitting just behind you, pulling your hands up above your head. Once you’re restrained, Chan resumes licking and sucking, drawing more and more desperate sounds from you. You strain against Minho’s hold, but it only makes you hotter. With each lick, you find yourself winding tighter and tighter. When his fingers plunge back in and start curling against your sweet spot. You can’t help but grind your hips up against his mouth, chasing your high. You come with a soft cry, and Chan slows but doesn’t stop, helping you ride it out. 

Soon Chan pulls back, and Minho… laughs? You look up at him, confused. He’s grinning down at Chan, who glares back at him. He crawls up to kiss you. “How you feeling, love?”

You blush at the pet name. “I’m good but what–”

Before you can ask, Minho’s mouth is on you, his hand resting on your throat. He gives it another light squeeze then pulls back with a devilish grin. “My turn.”

“Give her a second to breathe,” Chan laughs. He runs his hands up your sides before Minho more or less shoves him out of his way. Seeing him between your legs, you realize he’d taken the opportunity to disrobe while you were distracted with Chan. You lick your lips when you see the bead of precum leaking from his pretty cock. You can’t wait for him to fill you up. He runs his hands over your thighs before gripping your hips tightly. 

“Channie,” Minho turns his eyes back to his friend as his hands continue their slow exploration of your body. “Don’t you think you’re overdressed?”

Chan narrows his eyes at him, but starts to strip. As the tank top reveals inch by inch of tanned, muscular body, Minho’s hands find your breasts. Your mouth drops open at the sight and sensation. A gasp escapes when his shorts drop to the ground in tandem with Minho’s tongue spearing into you. Chan is impressive enough that you nearly reach out and grab him, but Minho’s keeping his eyes on you. He tweaks your nipples again and licks up to suck your clit between his lips, drawing all your attention back to him. 

Minho expertly works you with his tongue; you lose track of Chan and time, getting lost in the sensations. You moan and reach for his head before remembering how that went over with Chan and reach up to hold onto the pillow over your head.

Chan laughs. “She’s learning.” He climbs in above you and takes your hands into his. Minho hums in agreement, sending a shiver up your spine. 

With the next flick of his tongue, your impulse to tug on Minho’s hair returns. Chan isn’t really restraining you the way Minho did, so you decide to test his limits. You grind up while pulling him closer, nearing your second orgasm of the day. You’re so close, and Minho must be able to tell. “Don’t st- ah... Don’t stop.”

He shocks you by shifting over and biting down softly, abruptly cutting off your impending climax. He lifts his head, pulling your hand away. He hits you with another sly smile. “Maybe she hasn’t learned well enough.”

“Minho.. Please?” You pout at him. “I was so close.”

Behind you, Chan sighs heavily. Your eyes drift up to him, but snap back to Minho when he cackles. “Told you I’d win.”

“You won?” You try to think about what was different between what had been happening with him compared to what you did with Chan. You’re still not even sure what the game was. “How?”

“You said his name.” Chan rolls his eyes. “Though I feel like that was winning by the letter and not the spirit of the game.”

“A win’s a win, Channie.” Minho’s smile is dazzling. His hands are back on your hips, squeezing rhythmically; the big cat’s kneading you. You giggle a little and his gaze turns predatory again. “Are you ready to be my prize?”

He doesn’t wait for a reply, utilizing his grip to start flipping you onto your stomach. You follow his movements easily, relishing the roughness as he tugs your hips up to bring you up on your knees. You expect him to thrust in immediately, but he just slaps your ass, hard. 

“As much as I like seeing you head down, ass up, you can’t forget about Channie.” Chan positions himself so that he’s kneeling in front of you. “Second place still gets a reward, too. Up on your hands.”

You can feel a blush rising as you scramble to obey him. When he spanks your other cheek, you can’t help but let out a small moan. Seeing that you enjoy the rougher treatment, Chan grips your chin a bit tighter than before. “Time to open up, baby.”

You give his cock an experimental lick and smile at his sharp intake of breath. You take his head into your mouth, but before you can decide how much of him to take in on your first pass, Minho slams into you from behind. The force of it makes you gasp and knocks you forward. Chan’s cock hits the back of your throat and you can’t help but gag. You do your best to recover as Minho pulls you back by your hips, still buried to the hilt and laughing. 

Chan pulls back and tips your head up so you can look at him, tears in your eyes. “Will this work for you?”

Instead of answering, you wiggle your hips and take as much of Chan into your mouth as you can reach, swirling your tongue along the underside of his dick. Like that, Minho is moving again, thrusting in an erratic pattern. Each time you think you can take control of the blowjob, he pulls you back or shoves you forward. You don’t remember the last time you gagged and coughed so much, but luckily Chan doesn’t seem bothered as he fists your hair in his hand, the other gripping the back of your neck. And Minho clearly enjoys causing and watching your struggle. 

You enjoy it more than you thought you would as well. You assumed it would be hard to focus on yourself with all the choking, but you love the way Minho has taken complete control of Chan’s pleasure as well as your own. He’s pounding into you and you feel yourself winding toward another orgasm. When he reaches around to rub your clit, Chan reaches to wrap his hands around your throat. 

He doesn’t squeeze much, but you know he can feel the bulge caused by deepthroating his impressive length. All the stimulation has you moaning as much as you can with your mouth full. The vibrations of it have Chan losing control a little bit, thrusting shallowly with a drawn out groan. Minho doesn’t let up and soon you’re overtaken, breaking apart under his touch. Chan pulls out, allowing you to drop your head and arch your back as the orgasm wracks you. The squeeze is too much for Minho; with a punishing grip on your hips, he’s back to thrusting with abandon before his hips stutter to a stop with a series of groans and ‘fuck’s. 

You nearly collapse onto the bed when he pulls out, but another strong pair of hands are there to keep you in position as Chan slides in with a sigh. You belatedly realize that he’s no longer in front of you and resolve to participate as much as you can despite feeling like you may be turning into jelly. You push back against him and he releases you with one hand long enough to slap your ass one more time. Rather than returning to your hip, his hand skates up your back to grab your shoulder. You let go and let him use you, pulling you back in time with his thrusts. 

You’re not sure you can come again when Minho slips his arm beneath you, once again working your clit. Your body tenses in record time, soaring toward your third climax of the night. You come with a cry, and Chan is growling along with you as he finishes. You fall to the mattress with him on top of you. You look up with tears in your eyes again, seeing the warm smile on Minho’s face as he caresses your cheek before wiping them away.

You’re struck with the thought that this is one of the best decisions you’ve ever made.

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To be continued...

[its-actually-minicika]

Hi, love your works so much! Can't wait for more updates 🥰🥰 I was wondering maybe you'd like the idea where book!Aemond and Velarion!(Strong?)Reader are in an arranged marriage. But Reader just knows what to say and how to act so that Aemond is wrapped around her finger (kinda thought of Margaery and Joffrey situation, she was such a talented schemer, worthy of winning the Throne 😭). I don't really know about the setting, like if it's before, during or after the Dance... just thought it'd be interesting to see this kind of plot with our beloved Prince 🤴🏼🐉

If you don't like it, just ignore me 🙈

Dragon Sickness (18+)

Pairing: bookcanon!Aemond x Strong!Niece!Reader

Warnings: No usage of (Y/N), Greens win AU, bookcanon Greens, the obvious Targaryen incest, mentions of major character deaths (we're entering spoiler grounds, but not really), blood, gore etc.

Word Count: 3.5K+

Author's Note: I fell in love with this idea the moment I saw it! I ended up altering the plot line for this one-shot a little bit - the reader will definitely grow into the Margaery architype, but today you shall see her as she was when she just learned how to make ends meet with her newfound life at Court.

I don't know if I should turn this into yet another series, but if you guys enjoyed this, let me know

Also, thank you so, so much for your kind words ♡ i'm hugging you to the moon and back!

PART 2 IS OUT NOW ♡♡♡

Who could ever blame you for your indiscreet acts? Alliances change when the world you know suddenly turns upside down.

She remembered how weak she was. How scared she had been.

How her eyes widened into two brown specs of uncertainty, how her mouth fell agape, as she mulled over Alicent’s words.

‘You shall marry Aemond within the next moon turns. For the good of the Realm.’

The Dowager Queen had openly admitted to being against the match – of course, the prospect of her perfect son, married off to a lowly bastard of Rhaenyra's (otherwise said, her last surviving child), didn’t specifically thrill her. Much less her demanding and scornful father.

Still, it couldn’t be helped. And if the Velaryon wanted to keep her head away from a spike, she had no other choice but to comply.

Although… she wasn’t a Velaryon now, was she? Aegon the Usurper made sure of that.

His final gift to her was to strip her of all her titles. She had been openly declared a bastard – before the masses, before the Court.

With a wide smile upon his burnt lips, the “King” had told her she’d be a Targaryen instead. Driftmark wouldn’t matter, her legacy wouldn’t matter. Aemond would inherit the seat with the Usurper’s blessing, as a homage brought to his able fighting and his shown bravery on the bloody battlefield.

Never mind that he’d never partaken in a fight; save for the one that killed her stepfather, Daemon, and sent her poor mother in a downward spiral. Aemond had chosen his adversaries wisely, and managed to go through the whole war without as much of a scratch upon his silver armour.

‘I shan’t marry your son. Not now, not ever.’ Her own voice rang out.

‘You will do exactly as demanded.’

‘I would rather die than bear the treacherous children of that monstrous beast.’

A monstrous beast. That is what Aemond was.

And that is what he shall remain. No matter how many gifts he brought to her. No matter how many hours of their days and days in their weeks and weeks in their months they spent promenading those ghastly gardens.

‘You will if you know your best interests. Your own head may hold no value to you, but a single swing of my son’s sword would be enough to bring forth the ruin of House Blackwood.’

At first, she’d been restless in her attempts to escape the Keep. Her every waking hour was spent shamelessly inside the Sept, where she prayed not for the safety of her brothers’ souls, but for revenge against the mutted Greens.

The slight breeze of the cathedral mended her flesh from the heat of summer. And no one dared to approach or talk to her. The quietness was a welcomed deed.

During the first night of their betrothal, her glossy eyes scanned Aemond’s face. His hands wantonly gripped at his thighs and a slight twitch of his mouth, accompanied by an elongated hum escaped his lips.

There was no other discernable expression. And when he led her to the chambers of her early girlhood, he merely bowed and kissed her hand.

She spent the first night of their betrothal scraping her knuckles so harshly, that they broke and cracked under the stimulation of the cold water.

Her thirst for vengeance ceased after the first two months. Her wedding date was approaching swiftly, and she found herself faced with the abhorrent truth. She had no allies. No more friends at Court. The girl had shut herself in her tiny room, losing her mind with the pain and grief that flooded her at night: the faces of her mother, her brothers, her father. The sound of their screams and their endless pleas for help.

Every night, without a fail, she woke up tormented by nightmares – her throat burning with absolving shrieks of fear, exacerbated breaths of air and flimsy nightdresses, damp throughout by breaks of sweat.

The first night she lashed out onto her bedding was the night she found out Aemond had moved his Quarters next to hers. He yanked the door open and stepped into the light of her candle – looking ravished, completely out of breath and startled. Started not for his own accord and safety, but for the state that his future wife had been in.

‘Shit, it’s alright, I’m here–’

The echo of his mellow voice deterred her to let out a blood-curdling scream, that would have rivalled even the one of the late Queen Rhaenyra, after Aegon the Usurper ceased her at Dragonstone, and reeled his dragon to eat her whole.

‘Get the fuck away from me! Get the fuck out of my room!’

Her sobs pierced into the man’s heart, but his hurt expression was masked quickly with one most bitter and taciturn. He clenched his fists ruefully by his side, and spat out an apology in a low and dangerous tone.

‘As you wish.’

And how dearly he loved those words:

‘As you wish.’

'As you desire.’

Even though nothing had been, or ever will be, as she achingly wished them to.

“You could at least attempt to look happy.” His chastising tone rained upon her, as his Lady remained hammered in her seat. Maids flocked to her like lost chickens to their cock, arranging her hair and picking out dresses fit for their engagement parade.

Her face contorted into the mirror, and a faint sigh beleft her lips. Carefully she turned around, reflecting his stance with a subtle arch to her shapely brow.

“It’s bad luck to see your bride before the wedding ceremony.”

“An old wives' tale. And one that applies only on the day itself.”

“Perhaps we should encourage tradition more. Make it so we don’t cross paths at all til then.”

Just as fast as it came, the feral look dissolved over his tired face. Aemond heaved out a heavy exhale and merely settled to growl at her maids.

“Leave us. Now.”

A discontented look painted over her fair features. His niece opened her mouth in protest, to try and stop the fleeing girls from truly making their escape.

“I must remind my Prince that the engagement assembly will be held in less than an hour. I believe I should like them to stay.”

The gathered women exchanged lost and protruding glances, until the former King Regent spoke again.

“They will leave us at once.”

“They’ll do no such a thing. They must make haste to get me ready. We wouldn’t want to upset your mother.”

“I’m more than capable of lacing up a loose bodice.”

The tight expression on her face deserted her features with the leave of his smug retort. She swallowed thickly in enraged abandon, and silently beseeched her ladies not to leave her all alone.

Still ravishing her with his bold stare, Aemond stepped another foot into the cosy confinements of her tidy prison. “If I’m to turn around now and find any of you standing before me, I’ll arrange that you’re all flogged and defiled beyond the utter of salvation.”

Brisk footsteps swallowed the room, echoing wildly through the narrow dark hallways. The former Velaryon shook her head in disarray, and graced her soon-to-be-husband with a tight smile and a nod.

“Congratulations.” She uttered humorously, “I should enjoy looking like a fool tonight much more than being proper by your side.”

As if drowned below a trace, Aemond took another step in the direction of the frowning Princess. His face remained impenetrable, but as he opened his mouth to speak, his voice ran meek, unsure and hoarse.

“Turn around.” He commanded her gently, whilst grabbing a deep green garment from the cluttery made on her bed. Despite her lack of desire to abide by his request, the woman turned her back to him and muttered slowly, though much softer than intended.

“I don’t like that one. It’ll make the skirts look out of place.”

“Which one do you want, then?” His whisper had made her draw in a sharp gasp; the warmth of his breath fell soothingly over the nape of her neck, caressing her delicate skin in a way she hadn’t known was possible.

“The red one with black lacings.”

His hand came to spin her back around, and their noses nearly touched together. A smile tugged at the ends of his upturned lips, but the look inside his eye remained frigid and unforgiving.

“Your petticoat won’t be those colours.”

A conceited scowl graced her face. She reached her hand behind him and skillfully snatched one of a different design. “Fine. I want to wear this one, then.”

The obnoxious blue and silver danced across her paling skin. And if Aemond weren’t so dazed by their proximity and lack of air, he might have laughed at her feeble attempts of vexing him.

“Those are Velaryon hues.”

“Perfect. I shall honour my house well.”

“You are not a Velaryon to grace them with such a feat.”

“No, you are absolutely right. Your brother did name me a Targaryen.”

Their faces were so close to each other, that their moving lips were almost touching.

“Yet I can’t wear black and red either.” A prompted look disarmed the Prince, “It is all very confusing.”

His lone orb descended to her puffing bosom, but Aemond soon directed himself upon a more elusive image. His fingers twitched with the need to grab a hold of her – to pull away those last pieces of cloth that shielded her away from view.

“You know full well why I can’t allow that.” He hummed in unmoving disapproval, “As much as I enjoy your voice and the raptures of your closeness, I must say this conversation bores me.”

“I should be able to wear what I want.” Came her prompt and swift reply, “But of course, Your Grace, forgive me. ‘Tis not for men to pounder on laces and brims.” Her palms took to rest upon his bulging chest, and the girl nearly removed them at once, as the thrumming of his heart enterlaced with her slim fingers. Still, she furrowed her brows in a most perplexed of mockeries, and insatiably drove on, “Indeed resilient men such as yourself occupy their time much better.”

The callouses of his hands fell heavily upon her cheeks.

“Fucking their ways through brothels, getting their pricks wet, and fantasising about wars.”

The harshness of his next tug nearly broke her brave facade – her eyes widened in mistrust, and a slight recoil braced over her straightened back. Her small fingers clasped over his shaking wrist, which held onto her face with a gentleness untoward; one completely mismatching with the predatory glimmer in his eye.

The man he was, and the man he was trying to be would surely never mend to one.

A Kinslayer. A monster. A divergent freak.

Nothing more, and nothing less.

His thumb played absent-mindedly at her lower lip, and the young Princess tried her damnest not to bite him. “Did I strike a nerve with that one?”

“You are as imprudent as you are beautiful. A family trait, I assume.”

“You have my gratitude for the flattering commentary. I’m very proud of my heritage.”

His lilac orb bore into her, and the man let out a reserved laugh, “Your bastard brothers were ample proud. Look where that brought them.” The rough end of his hand gripped her own painfully, before she could make for a swing at his handsome face. “Lost in the seas, rotting at the bottom of an ocean, nestling inside Sunfyre’s belly.”

While her hands were clasped together, her mouth wasn’t sown shut. With a single and effective move, she spat harshly in his face, eliciting a groan from her broader perpetrator.

Though his nostrils flared up in disdain, the man graced her with a calculated smirk. “Did I strike a nerve with that one?” He mocked her with feigned interest.

“Fuck you,” She hissed out slowly, “Don’t you dare talk of my family – my brothers were ten times the man you are.”

“Oh, but I have every right to talk about your family. Given that I will be yours quite soon.” Once more he forced her to turn around, and kneeled over to her spasming form, to begin dressing her up; in nought else, of course, but the mundane silks of his choosing.

"Doesn't the prospect thrill you? To become my lady-wife, to finally bear a true Targaryen inside your royal womb?"

So hopeless and defeated she felt, that the youth jerked herself relentlessly, while repeating him the same plethora of words. “You cannot force me to be your whore. You cannot force me to wear this. I will not bear your Hightower green.”

Aemond could feel his patience running thin – and when her foot came into contact with his setting knee, the man let out a ferocious growl, and promptly trapped the girl in his arms, with the aid of a nearby wall.

“So you want to be difficult? You don’t want to wear this? Hmm? Well, who am I not to abide my Lady’s burning wishes?”

The sharpness of his dagger came into quick contact with the milky skin of her thighs. And she might have almost screamed, if Aemond didn’t immediately pull himself away. His hard chest grazed hers for but a moment, as the Prince cast his attention to her moving shadow.

“If you wish not to attend our engagement parade wearing the clothes I’ve chosen for you,” He muttered against her face, a scorned look adorning his own, “Then you won’t be wearing anything at all.”

She huffed out a dispensing pant and pursed her lips into a tight line.

She remained rigid and poised, until a spark of amusement swirled into her eyes.

The first crack was that of a lax smile. The next, a tremor to her lips. The calm before the storm approached, until all rattled down with a mirthed laugh cascading from her reddened lips.

“Do you mean to frighten me with this promise?” She asked through the arch of an uncertain brow, “As if every man in this cursed Keep won’t get to watch me whore myself out to you anyway, when our wedding night will come?”

His face suddenly hardened at the notion of their reality – as if he didn’t give much thought to the bedding ceremony. To his Lady being watched by a thousand other eyes but his.

Aemond suddenly darkened, and his fist came into contact with a near spot on the wall, so awfully close to her frightened, paling face.

She watched with wide eyes how his stare contorted from one of realisation to one of fury. He stiffly peeled his body away from hers, and strained himself to leave her be. The jealous and possessive knots that churned painfully inside his stomach burned his skin upon the surface, and constricted the air he brashly took in.

He nodded to her in a spry and calloused manner, and brought his hand out to touch her cheek. His knuckles had begun to bleed, busted by the force of impact that his fist had faced for him. Behind his eye danced a look of seldom shame – he gnawed harshly at his bottom lip, and pondered, for a while, on apologising to his niece; for his lack of princely conduct, for his show of impropriety – for his inability to keep himself at bay.

Still his thoughts failed to merge to words, and so the man ran his eye one final time over her defensive pose, and merely left her standing there.

As if turned into a statue, the girl barely registered the lethargic closing of the door, the hurried and heavy footsteps that travelled further and further away from her quaint and cluttered space, and the animated curse that slipped past her uncle's throat.

Did he just dare to leave her there, with her petticoat half up her legs, in nought else but a flimsy nightdress?

At first she thought that his avoidance was a blessing in disguise.

For after clashing wits with Aemond, and after his swift hurried departure, the man had barely graced her with another word.

His hand held onto hers for the whole duration of the procession. He wordlessly forced her to dance two dances, and led her to her Quarters as soon as she mentioned that she was tired.

But his palms didn’t linger on the shape of her narrow waist – his lips barely grazed her knuckles, and Aemond turned with lest a word to add after their fake sympathies were exchanged.

Had he gotten bored of her? Realised what a terrible match they made, and begged his mother on his hands and knees to break off their ill engagement?

For the first time in a while, a new notion of fear engulfed her.

The Greens couldn’t kill her. Of that, she was almost certain. It wouldn't be a wise move, and it would anger the North beyond the power of salvation. The war had had its say on every army that fought into it, yet the Crownlands were especially weak.

But if Aemond were to sever their solidary alliance, then her future would be most uncertain.

Otto Hightower would make her join with an old and withered Lord, no doubt – one with more than enough sons to further on his pesky line. One who couldn’t even get it up to her, who’d never procreate and mend their blood, who’d make sure Rhaenyra’s line would end with her.

Or perhaps she’d be sent to join the Faith – become a Septa or a Silent Sister, among the infamous Maris Baratheons of the Realm. Yet another girl who wouldn’t keep her tongue when asked.

And history might remember them as ‘the women who couldn’t be tamed’, but their lives would be thrown to ruin. Their existence would remain a sham.

No, she had whispered to herself, as she writhed into the soft bedding. If she still thirsted for revenge, she would have to marry Aemond. Keep him interested and relaxed – yearning for her voice and company.

… And if she had to whore herself to him to do it, she would obediently assume her role.

“I beg your pardon?” Aegon asked through another gulp of bitter wine, “Gods be good – I believe that now I’ve heard it all.”

Aemond paced about his brother’s room, with his hands clasped behind his back, and his face set into a deep grimace. He hummed in admission to his brother’s words, and glanced his way with the instance of a hooded eye.

“There is to be no bedding ceremony.” He repeated himself with ease, “I frightened her enough already. The girl will be plenty uncomfortable without the aid of chafing eyes.”

His brother smiled and raised his brows in nothing else but blinding wonder. A small shake of his head indicated his perplexion, and a sharp inhale his drawn decision.

“Mother insisted upon it. You know that well.” The man steadied himself in his chair as he spoke, whilst letting out a small grunt at the contact that the wood made upon his burnt remnants of skin. “I don’t see any reason to annul it. Especially now, an eve before.”

Another sip of the stinging liquor interrupted his smooth and ready trail of thought. The Targaryen brushed off Aemond’s concerns, and gleefully bided his teasing.

“It’ll do the two of you good – you’ll get to see she’s as pure as a bastard girl can be; and she’ll have no deniability that any of her future heirs are yours.” He pointed his weary digit in the direction of his stiffened form and swallowed down a hefty laugh. “Not to mention that Lord Redwyne and Tarly already placed bets on the state of her maidenhead. Would be a shame to disappoint them both, don't you think?"

“What mother thinks is of no consequence. And the amusement of the Realm matters not to me. There will be no bedding ceremony.”

“Nonsense, Aemond. It is our duty to upkeep the Realm – and to entertain its inhabitants if need be.”

When his reckless teasing was met with glacial silence, Aegon sighed as he briskly leaned forward. He watched his sibling with an indiscernible expression across his scorched veneer, and yawned greatly at his indisposed behaviour.

“Of course, we’re here to talk it out. But after so much time spent in your company, I fail to see the necessity for such a thing.” A sly smirk danced across his puffy lips, “Are you concerned that she won’t bleed? Or that you’ll be too cunt-struck by her to last enough to make a statement?”

Aemond’s fists descended upon the polished wood of Aegon’d desk. He thrashed his brother with a defiant glare, and hissed through his gritted teeth, and tight-set jaw.

“There will be no bedding ceremony for my niece and I. Tell that to every Lord that wishes to glance upon my wife – if they do so much as to cast their eyes on her, they’ll be fucking their own wives with a wooden cock.”

Amusement laced with grave concern – the finality of Aemond's words ought to have vexed him, irk the King in his sibling's weighty insolence. Instead Aegon nodded, pushing back the feeling of dread that settled deep within his bones. His head jerked towards his closed oak door, signalling to his brother that his visit had been overstated. “What sort of brother would I be, to not grant you with this simple whim?”

The younger Targaryen mirrored his stance, and turned abruptly on his heel after a low grunt of gratitude.

His hand reached for the golden handle, but Aegon's words deterred him to a halt.

“But be careful with that one, Aemond. She’s brash and wholly unpredictable. Make sure the blood that stains your sheets come morning isn’t somehow your very own.”

Perma Tag List: @welcometothelioncage @kravitzwhore ♡

[arenabreadandbiscuits]

Naughty Hisoka Scenarios

Bro is a menace for real.

Upon first seeing you he feels something that manages to attract him and like a moth to a flame or a shark to blood... He invests his time in you for being interesting.

Him chasing you is like a game of cat and mouse especially because at first he does manage to keep a bit of his distance.

As you get closer though, having missions together, killing together, and so on so forth you finally catch on to his intent.

You give him a chance and the first time he has his way with you he spends damn near HOURS between your thighs, listening and humming as you'd jolt and cry

Has a thing for overstimulation, kissing, biting and sucking at your skin in the cruelest form of foreplay. He will definitely play with you like a predator tends to play with its food.

The way you whine and buck against his mouth makes him shiver and blush, eyes rolling back as you take hold of his hair.

Pull it, yank it, run your nails over his scalp.. really any form of 'affection' is enough to make his bite his lip and make his cock jump with excitement.

Does that thing at times where guys fuck you and then pulls out to rub the head of their cock over your twitching, throbbing entrance and he loves watching your eyes roll at it.

Loves listening to your noises when he touches you, you simply are just too cute.

He's a biter, though he may lick and suck and nibble on your skin as well and he does it carefully at first before it turns into him seeming like he actually wants to eat you whole

Don't tease him, bro definitely wants the smoke..

Honestly gets excited quickly and he can go for multiple rounds.

Interestingly enough he doesn't actually seem to go after anyone while he's with you, once he has his eyes set of someone he's usually set like that. He isn't one to jump from partner to partner if he actually wants someone

Rather dominant in bed but versatile, he will be rather excited if you manage to be the dominant one though. Pin him to the wall or grab his chin when he's talking too much and you'll have shivers rushing up and down his spine in no time.

Bro is literally feral, even if he's acting right and not downright jumping your bones it's always a thought that comes to mind whether he wants you immediately and wants to tease and take his time.

Loves physical affection from his partner(s), he'll even admit it if you ask him about it

"duh I love it, who wouldn't love being able to touch you all the time?" He says with chuckle while you flush and huff.

He knows just how to get under your skin and he learns quickly.

Are you ticklish? Do you get shy easily? Do you stare at him when you think he's not aware? Your fucked. Bro will come to the conclusion, might as well take it like a good boy/girl/pet.

He's fucking huge, his cock it literally no joke so don't hurt yourself Reader, take it slowly~

Has his moments where he just loves looking down at you while he touches and caresses your skin and when you eventually chuckle and ask him what he's doing hell simply hum innocently though you can literally feel his hardness resting in your back.

Honestly he's quite loyal. He doesn't like wasting his time so him choosing you is definitely a choice he made all on his own. It also means a lot because Hisoka can be rather bored with many people.

Knows how to use that mouth of his so don't think he won't use it. He'll eat you out as a punishment without hesitation.

Likes to spank your ass every time he's taking you from the back because he just can't help himself especially when it's shaking on his cock like that...

All in all, bro is definitely on demon time.

Idk 😶 just some thoughts I have on bro.

[cupcakeslushie]

Do you have any tips on for people starting a comic and wanting to post to tumblr? Like pacing ect. Or well any experience you’ve had with your comics? Love your content as well ❤️

If it’s simply for fun, and you’re just trying to gain experience, my biggest advice would be to just START. Don’t worry about it looking perfect. Don’t worry about comparing it to other’s comics. Just try something, and if you find it’s not working, you can always change things up. I have gone through several styles and page layouts since starting. Do I wish those first pages of EW looked just like what I’m doing now? Yes, but if I’d waited around for perfection I would have never started. And I wouldn’t have had nearly as much fun creating it! If people like it, that’s great, but your art is for you. If you’re growing and learning and having fun, then you’ve accomplished something!

Now for some less preachy advice 😂…

—If your comic is gonna be hosted on Tumblr specifically, I would say, make sure you keep the 10 image limit in the back of your mind when you’re pacing things. That can definitely cause some headaches down the line. If you don’t plan ahead, and end up hitting it, you’ll have a sudden cut in your flow. This last update I knew it was gonna be long, so while I did plan, but I could’ve planned better.

—Variety is key!!!!!

Composition changes keep your viewers from getting bored. Sometimes I’ll find myself falling back into the bad habit of just doing the simple back and forth with two characters talking straight on, but changing the camera angle, making establishing shots when you change locations, and over the shoulder shots, etc etc…All these will make for a more interesting viewing. You may think a character needs to be in every single panel to make it interesting, but if you have a lot of dialogue, a simple plain shot—either in top of a solid background, or just over something boring, like a glance at the set, etc—this will let people focus on the words rather than splitting their focus.

Variety applies to shading as well—whether you’re using color or black/white. Variety in values are SO important for comics. You’re shoving a ton of information in a limited space, so try to keep your values different for items that are close together….it can make things very confusing and turn your line work into indistinguishable blobs if you shade without this in mind.

(Using this panel as an example….)

The top two panels have a variety of darker values and a halftone background—so the next two with Venus, I kept rather simple. I could’ve colored the buildings behind her, but then, she might’ve gotten lost amidst all the grey. There’s not really any trick or solid rule to this, but once you develop your creative eye, you’ll make these choices without even thinking about it.

A few links to helpful tools (they’re all procreate centered I’m afraid 😅)

Outline brush — a free tutorial for Procreate users. This brush kinda mimics the CPS feature that lets you create panels with a nice black outline. I used this brush very often, and it really gives your panels a professional look. Fair warning, it can be glitchy, but it’s free…

Manero Comic Bubbles and sfx — These brushes are not free, so I would recommend maybe getting in your groove before you try them out. They’re by no means necessary, but I’ve just started using them, and they save me so much time. There’s a HUGE selection of shapes, and they go on with a solid white background, so you don’t have to worry about coloring around your dialogue balloons.

[commander-rahrah]

I'm excited to read it too! I'm glad you find it interesting! Don't worry about your post because long! Your thoughts are so interesting!

I agree that Astarion would have to come to terms with Reader/Tav's boundaries too since it works both ways! I definitely feel that Astarion would be too lost in drinking from the blood of a sentient creature to notice the signs.

He would feel ashamed when he's aware of their fear yet they still chose to offer despite that might made him feel like he manipulated them like Cazador did to him 😭

What his excuses are if they try to offer in the early days makes sense! He would be too ashamed & terrified to have such a vulnerable conversation with them yet 😞

He would feel safe enough to bring up their fear after he confessed about everything. He would make it clear to them he doesn't want them to suffer by making them do something they don't want to like he did especially after how much they have helped him & how important they are to him 😭

He would respect their decision if they said it's too much for them. He would support everyone's personal choices & autonomies even though the concept is still new to him 😤

He would need an explanation if they insist on feeding him regardless of their fear. They would explain that not only do they trust him, they love him more than they fear it 🥹

He would only accept if they establish some ground rules 👍 like he did when it comes to physical intimacy & sex which is healthy for both of them!

I know it's unrelated but thank you for adding this because you described me pretty well 🤣 I would definitely react to even the smallest of cuts so Astarion quickly but gently sucking it & giving a small kiss on it would be a fantastic distraction 😳

You're welcome! Thank YOU for entertaining me & sharing your thoughts! I'm glad you enjoy putting Astarion and Tav/Reader in all these different scenarios too 🤍

Here's my idea that I would love to hear your opinion! Just to let you know this is quite self-indulgent XD How would Astarion react to GN! Reader/Tav actually had suspicions that he's using them but still chose to believe that he's not. So when he confessed he manipulated them, they're even not angry at him.

They're sad for how much & how long he has suffered to be the way he is now, but they're also genuinely hurt that he did take advantage of their trust in him. They don't blame him but they admit it still hurts and wants some time alone to process it.

After leaving them be, they would go to him when they're ready to talk to him. They would tell him how grateful they are that he chose to come clean with them despite knowing how it would be easier for him to keep quiet for it, and thanked him for trusting them enough to be honest with them.

What do you think of it? I'm curious :3

Hi Anon! Sorry for the super late response, I let this one stew for a little while in my brain and the other night I had this dialogue idea and couldn’t resist writing a little scene about it tonight! I hope you enjoy ❤️

I envisioned this scene happens half way through his confession, and then imagined the rest of the conversation about intimacy and boundaries would happen afterwards! It’s about 1100 words, and canonical Astarion backstory warnings apply — trauma, dark thoughts, etc.

.·:¨༺ ༻¨:·..·:¨༺ ༻¨:·..·:¨༺ ༻¨:·..·:¨༺ ༻¨:·..·:¨༺ ༻¨

“I just — I feel awful." Astarion’s throat worked silently, his eyes glancing down to his boots. "Look, I had a plan. A nice, simple plan — seduce you, sleep with you, manipulate your feelings so you’d never turn on me. It was easy — instinctive. Habits from two hundred years of charming people kicked in." He finally looked up at your face, studying intensely for your reaction. 

“I—oh,” You pulled your hand away from him as uncertainty flooded your features. He saw your eyes dart back and forth, but they weren’t studying him. No, you were lost in thought. “Oh.”

Astarion licked his lips, his hands ringing together in front of him nervously. “You have every right to be angry.”

“I’m not angry. I thought we… I don’t know what I thought.”

The rest of what he had planned to say vanished out of his mind. Instead it started to betray him, a cruel voice whispering about how he knew you would react like this. Did he really think it would go well?

His pink mouth hung open as he scrambled for what to say, trying to think of how to make this better. But he’d done enough already, hadn’t he?

You crossed your arms over your body, your cheeks flushing deeply. “I feel a bit like a fool. None of it was real, the whole time?”

“Not the whole time,” He confessed as soft, vulnerable moments with you flashed in his mind. The very moments that made him start to drop the act. “It hasn’t been as of late, but before… in the beginning, up until recently, yes.”

His red eyes followed your throat as it bobbed up and down before flicking back up to your face. Your eyebrows were furrowed, your mouth a sad pout.

“Tell me what you’re thinking.” Astarion whispered, not daring to move forward.

“I’m thinking… I need a moment.” You admitted, already looking behind you and away from him.

His heart sank, but he nodded. “I— okay. Of course.”

And then you were off, your head down as you stalked away from the edge of the beach and back to the warm glow of camp.

He stood there stunned for a moment, before turning around to stare at the dark, choppy waters in front of him. Hundreds of scenarios began to dance in his mind — what if you went back to the camp to tell the others? Would he be met by pointed blades and blazing spells? He imagined being kicked out, staked, cursed, roasted alive with fireballs. Hand delivered to Cazador as extra punishment for his sins. Anything his twisted broken mind could come up with played like a messed up vision.

Astarion didn’t even try to stop the repetitive dark thoughts. It was what he deserved.

Eventually, the vampire slinked back into the camp some time later — once the sky was inky black and the moon was the only light to illuminate the way back to his tent.

“Hi.”

The sound caused his ears and shoulders to perk up instantly. You were sat in the grass and dirt outside of his tent, your arms wrapped around your knees and pulled to your chest.

“Hi.” Gods, he sounded breathless. But he couldn’t see any weapons or angry barbarians or wizards nearby. That was a good sign, right?

“I wasn’t sure when you’d come back.”

He cocked a brow, “I figured you wouldn’t want to see me again.”

A sigh escaped your lips, “Astarion, don’t be dramatic. I asked for time to think — not for you to leave.”

He blinked at your sharp tone, but nodded his head in slight defeat. “You’re right. And you waited for me because—?”

You brushed off your clothes as you stood up to his height, “I would like to finish that conversation, if you’re ready.”

Well, there was no denying the inevitable.

He nodded his head solemnly, stepping forward to open the flap of his tent and inviting you in with a wave of his hand.

The privacy his tent offered was slight, but this late in the night he knew most of his companions would be fast asleep. Quickly lighting a lantern, he joined you on the fabric floor.

His half-dead heart was thundering, the thrumming sound echoing in his pointed ears that he almost missed your quiet voice.

“I understand.”

“What?” His brows furrowed, looking at you with confusion.

“The stories you’ve told me… your scars… I understand why you did it, why you felt the need to do it.” You explained, your voice and eyes tender as you looked at him in the low light. “But you manipulated me, Astarion. You took advantage of me, toyed with me and my emotions to get what you needed. That hurts.”

Astarion’s stomach twisted into a hard knot, “I know.”

“But you also didn’t need to tell me any of this. You could have kept pretending, kept up the charade until we faced Cazador… But you didn’t. Why?”

Now it felt like his stomach was crawling up his torso and into his throat. Gods, what was this feeling? Why did you do this to him. “That’s what I was trying to tell you before. I failed with my plan. It felt apart the moment I realized… that I had fallen for you.” He admitted, but his fluttering heart made more words stumble out of his mouth. “And I know you probably don’t believe me, why would you after everything I just told you. Trust me, nobody feels more stupid about it than I do.”

You cut off his rambling, “I don’t think it’s stupid. I think that’s probably the most honest you’ve been with me since I’ve met you,” You said earnestly. “It would have been a lot easier for you to keep on pretending, wouldn’t it? Pretend I’m just another mark, another means to an end to get through the day.”

“I don’t want easy… I don’t want to just get through the day. Not anymore.” Astarion whispered across the small tent, staring intently at you.

You cocked your head slightly in question, “And what do you want?”

“I want this, I want us — to be real. You deserve something real.”

“So do you, Astarion. You deserve something real.”

Your name escaped his lips as a choked sob as overwhelming wave of emotion settled over him. “I don’t even know what real looks like. How do I give that to you if I—?”

“Do you trust me?”

The vampire nodded through his tears, “Yes.”

“I trust you,” You said softly.

“After everything I’ve done?” He croaked, waving his hands dramatically, “You’d trust a monster—“

You grabbed onto his extended fingers gently, squeezing them. “Yes, even then.”

He looked down at your hands touching, before intertwining his pale fingers with yours carefully. “Maybe you are a fool.”

You let out a breathless laugh, the sound waking up something in him he’d long thought dead. “Maybe, I am. But you fell for me, so what does that make you?”

Astarion’s mouth twitched up until it matched your smile, “The luckiest vampire alive.”

[recurring-polynya]

Who wants a post about 🎶spirit phones??🎶

lol, j/k who doesn't want a post about spirit phones?

So, me and my kid have just hit the Advance Team filler, specifically #128, the first of the episodes about the Whistle Hollow, and it gave us some really good looks at everyone's spirit phone, starting with Matsumoto's fantastically be-dazzled, magenta model. It looks a lot like a Motorola Razr or a Nokia 6133. I'm gonna assume she managed to get it in a premium color and then decorated it herself.

Next, we see Hitsugaya's, which is not quite the same model, because Matsumoto's has the square external display, and his doesn't. Are they different model years, or does he have some sort of fancy captain model?

I also think it's interesting that his display features an actual map (left), instead of this absolutely incomprehensible crap Rukia's phone gave her back during the Quincy Archer Hates You! Hollow Bait debacle (right).

Here's the real reason I made this post because what the Hell is that, Yumichika??? There were lots of slider phones available at the time, but you didn't usually hold them vertically like that. Is it a T-Mobile Sidekick? (I had a friend who had one of these and it was so extra)

As far as I can tell, Ikkaku does not have a phone, Yumichika handles the telephony in the relationship.

Renji is not in this filler episode for some reason, but we see his phone a few episodes later, in 136. It's pretty hard to see here, but there are some better shots of it back in the Bount Arc, and I think it's pretty clearly the same phone.

It looks pretty similar to Matsumoto's, but his has a light just below the external display that blinks and beeps to indicate Hollow activity. Also, it's lavender.

Rukia has already left for Soul Society at this point, but we got a good look at her phone in the Bount Arc, which appears to be the same one she had in the Agent of the Shinigami Arc, down to the Chappy charm on it.

It looks very similar to Renji's, including the blinky Hollow light. Hers seems to have a grid of dots below the light. I think Renji's may actually have that, too, but the animators were too busy lovingly drawing his tits and pretty braid to worry about air flow to his spirit phone battery. (I support your life choices, nameless Pierrot animator!)

Here's the interface to Rukia's phone, which is significantly different from Hitsugaya's.

Normally, I would accuse Hitsugaya of having some older or cheaper model of spirit phone, but his actually looks significantly nicer than everyone else's (except Yumichika). It definitely looks like Rukia and Renji have the same model (I keep going back and forth over whether or not they are the same color. Rukia's def reads as grey to me and Renji's looks more lavender to me but idk. Maybe it's a trick of the lighting). Matsumoto has a similar, but not identical model. I feel like my takeaway from this is that shinigami have to buy their own phones-- Matsumoto splurged a little on color, Yumichika splurged a lot on rizz, and Rukia and Renji appear to be at the mercy of Byakuya's family plan. I feel like Hitsugaya didn't even have a phone before this and bought one expressly for this mission, which is why his is nicer than it would otherwise be.

[harmonysanreads]

A shower thought I have because of the current sumeru event and the hexagon polycule (I haven't started playing it yet) :

All the participants trying 90000% harder not only to win, but also to impress you while Layla and Faruzan are just

"🧍‍♀️🧍‍♀️pls don't hurt us"

Wanderer also ofc wants to impress and win but his ego took a heavy blow after being listed in as "Hat Guy"

Alhaitham can't really participate but that won't stop him from making snarky remarks over them ( *cough cough* Kaveh and Cyno * cough cough*)

I was waiting for this event like a kid for their favorite cartoon show to air no kidding and it DID NOT disappoint<33 (I want either Kaveh or Layla to win so bad ☹️) And by the laws, brainrot is unavoidable :)

spoilers under the cut! [ au masterlist ]

I was thinking about Reader being chosen as one of the Commentators for extra spice actually— imagine how much harder the boys work to get your approval, this is the moment they get to show off, after all. No one can question it, you have abundant knowledge and capability from your travels, are eloquent with words, well acquainted with every contestant and can generally keep everything in euphony ; Nahida didn't even find any room for a contrary opinion as Alhaitham and Hat Guy brought these points forth (separately) so matter of factly. Having you there will just make this even a little (no, a lot) bearable for them, is all.

Faruzan is amused to a degree, ho, youngsters these can be so passionate! Though there slowly forms a concern for your future as she realizes that their efforts aren't just simple courting tactics. Layla's just... scared. She may or may not have accidentally looked through your constellation and it may or may not have traumatized her a little.

The fact that Kaveh wants to buy a place for himself with the prize money?? *chefs kiss* The architect has come to the realization that he needs to iron his backbone if he's to court you officially, he needs to show you that he can achieve way more than that insufferable cabbage (soon to not be) roommate of his. And when Kaveh is serious about something, you better know you're not going to have it easy anymore.

Tighnari is such a showoff in the first round, creating that butterfly show not only to catch potential students but to impress you knowing you have an affinity for pretty things. He didn't entirely lose in the second round either, as you rushed to take care of him, he savored all that attention more than the water he passed out without :/

Cyno is, well, ... Cyno. Don't get him wrong, he most definitely wants your praises and he does get them in the second round. On a side note, based on the Biryani factor joke he made I have a new headcannon that Cyno regularly tells you food puns — now whether you enjoy them is purely up to you :)

Though, things with him really get interesting in the final round as Wanderer takes him head on (or I'm assuming something similar since it's not out yet). Even the densest person can tell they're ready to tear each other limb from limb here, but honestly, who has the guts to stop these two? Not like you aren't mildly entertained by their duel either.

You're surprised when you heard that Wanderer was taking part, you recovered quickly though ; squeezing him affectionately like you usually do and even jokingly adding what else he was doing behind your back (not missing the way he tensed up). Whatever his true motives are, it's apparent he's determined to prove something to you. He's trying to better himself, alright. But old habits die hard, how can these mortals even compare to him? If he can (and he will) establish the fact that he's obviously the superior choice —to you only, of course as he doesn't give a crap about what others think— then taking that dent to his pride will be worth it.

Alhaitham is the saltiest version of himself throughout the whole event (Nilou's sweating bullets throughout the whole time). Most of the actual commentary is done by you and Nilou as he just occasionally quips in to add a snarky remark or to do announcements. Doesn't waste a breath fleeing from the venue when a round ends and even whisks you along with him. At one point though, he asks who you support the utmost among the participants (no, ‘everyone’ isn't an acceptable answer), purposefully when they're gathered together. You aren't dumb, you know that despite the tone in which he delivered it, this is the pinnacle of this competition for everyone. If he was just fanning the flames before, he's poured out an entire barrel of gasoline in it now.

Oh, we cannot forget the Traveller and Paimon who are actually doing their job just...deadpanning by the sidelines as everything unfolds :>

(also, you're going on a date with dehya and candace sooner or later, no questions asked.)

[x-bluefire-heart-x]

Not What Was Expected

Next chapter for this little cute story. I know Rafael might seem a little out of character for this but I would argue that we haven't seen how he would treat someone he was interested in who also showed that interested back so....

Warnings: None. Just once again my attempt at flirtation. Hints towards something spicer.

Masterlist

Prompt List

One , Two , Four , Five , Six , Seven , Eight, Nine , Ten

You were standing at the meeting point in the park waiting for Rafael, one of your light scarves wrapped around your neck to help keep you warm. The weather still hadn’t completely turned but the sun was hidden behind some clouds, and a small breeze was rustling through the trees, bringing with it the promised chill that makes itself known during the night. You had chosen comfort for the day but you had still strived to style your choices. You picked a pair of leggings that hugged your legs rather nicely, and you had paired it with a simple shirt that was slightly oversized with the front tucked in and the back hanging loosely. Over the top you wore a light coat that cinched a little around your waist before flaring slightly. Topped off with a pair of black joggers and your scarf you thought you looked rather cute. You had braided your hair to stop it from blowing in the breeze not wanting it to impede your view of Rafael.

You glanced down at your phone checking the time, it was 12:10, Rafael had messaged letting you know that he was going to be a little late. It was a quick message, and none had come since but you weren’t concerned, knowing the work he did and that even though it was the weekend Rafael would still be busy. You rocked back and forth a little on your heels as you admired the gorgeous view of the trees and the colour their leaves were changing to. It was stunning.

“I am so sorry,” a voice huffed behind you. You turned to see Rafael, his cheeks flushed red as he took deep breaths.

“Rafael,” you smiled. “It’s fine, you aren’t that late and besides you let me know that it was a possibility. Though I must say I am rather…pleased that you were willing to run here.”

Rafael took one last breath as it started to normalise, a chuckle interrupting it at the coy way you spoke. He ran his eyes over your form, taking in your slightly red nose and the few strands of hair that were falling out of your braid. He had hoped that he hadn’t underdressed with his workout gear on with a scarf, although it was going to only be a walk he wanted to be comfortable for it and he was glad to see that you had done the same. Of course he thought you pulled it off better than he did but he maybe becoming a little biased when it came to you. He still found your red nose adorable.

“Well, you are definitely worth running to, Miss Librarian,” he grinned, enjoying the way your cheeks flushed red. He had noticed last night that you did so rather easily, along with how your eyes would skirt away from his when you got shy. “And you look lovely today.”

“Thank you,” you said softly reaching up to brush away a stray strand from your face. “Um, this is my favourite walk in the park.”

“I can see why, it is rather beautiful,” Rafael nodded at the trees as the two of you set off down the path. You both walked close together, shoulders brushing every now and then.

“One of the reasons I love this weather. Spring has beautiful colours of course but there is something about the colours in autumn,” you agreed. “Plus I enjoy being cozy, and that is difficult to do in summer with the heat.”

“Cozy?” Rafael asked.

“Yes, you know bundled up with a blanket, a good book and a cup of tea or a glass of wine, while it’s raining outside,” you nodded. “Wearing thick scarves and coats, drinking hot chocolate after a relaxing walk. Cozy.”

“That does sound rather nice I’ll admit,” Rafael agreed as his hand brushed yours again. He was tempted to take hold of it but didn’t know if you would accept that just yet.

“Hm,” you hummed a little glancing down at his hand that was very close to yours, the backs brushing when your shoulders did. You worried your bottom lip as you looked up at his profile. His strong nose and jawline catching your attention, he was breath taking. You reached your hand out a little, letting your fingers brush against his to test the waters before taking hold of his hand. “Is this okay?”

“One little change I think,” Rafael whispered as he changed the grip you had made intertwining your fingers. “Much better.”

A slight breeze carried a few leaves to float down around the two of you as you walked across the little bridge. It had been silent for a few moments but like at the restaurant not an awkward one. It was comfortable, as you lightly swung your joint hands between you. Rafael found the action adorable his eyes taking the chance to trace over your face as you watched the leaves flutter down onto the water.

“Were you in the office this morning?” you asked curious.

“Yes unfortunately,” Rafael grumbled. “Apparently the detectives got busy last night, I had yet more warrants to get for them as well as trial prep for a previous case.”

“Very busy morning for you,” you said. “I do hope that this doesn’t put you behind on anything.” You didn’t want to cause Rafael any stress in regards to how much work he had to do.

“Not at all, in fact it is a welcome reason to leave my office,” Rafael waved away your concern. “Besides, Liv has been rather good at keeping things off my desk unless necessary.”

“Oh?” you were a little confused. “How so?”

“Normally, my night would have been interrupted by what the detectives did last night but Liv knew I was at dinner with you and made sure we weren’t disturbed,” Rafael smiled.

“That was rather kind of her,” you said. “Please tell her thanks from me? I’m rather grateful that our night wasn’t interrupted.”

“I will pass that on,” Rafael nodded. “Of course she will be smug about it all.”

“You know from what you have told me about Liv, I already like her,” you grinned.

“Yes, I am rather dreading when the two of you meet,” Rafael sighed. “She teases me relentlessly and you have already shown you seem inclined to do that as well.”

“Mr Lawyer, when I meet her?” you asked, Rafael realised how he phrased that comment. He debated correcting himself but he had never been one to do so, especially when he meant something.

“Yes when,” he said again. “If of course you want to, eventually.”

“Well, I would love that,” you said. “I’ve already said I like her, and besides I can’t wait to hear what stories she has about you.”

“I am already regretting this,” Rafael groaned hanging his head as you laughed at his response.

“Too late to take it back now, I’m afraid,” you tapped him on the arm. He grabbed hold of those fingers in a teasing grip, the two of you had stopped walking standing to the edge of the path, hands still intwined. He lifted the fingers he had grabbed teasingly up to his mouth and pressing his lips to them softly, your mouth parted in a small ‘o’ shape, cheeks turning a red to match your nose.

“I must admit to once again being wrong,” Rafael stated, eyes roving over your face. “This weather is rather good for a nice walk through the park.”

“Oh? What made you change your mind?” you asked, a little confused by the change in topic but your mind was still reeling from the kiss he placed on the tips of your fingers. “You said you preferred the summer?”

“Oh I still do,” Rafael nodded. “But how can I completely disagree when you look ravishing in this weather, it truly suits you.”

“You…I…” you stuttered unable to process a response. You had not been expecting that.

Rafael watched with a slightly guarded look, he was hoping that that hadn’t been too much. Rafael was not the kind of man who half hearted things, he always put his all into his cases and his personal life got the same treatment. He wanted to start things off right, he wanted to be honest especially in regards to how he felt and thought about you. He had always been that way, it sometimes worked for the best but other times it had backfired. If it was going to do that with you, he wanted it to backfire before he got too deep, before the budding feeling of attraction grew, which it was slowly doing every minute.

“I hope that wasn’t too much,” he whispered voice a little vulnerable. “I-”

“No it wasn’t!” you interrupted almost shouting. “I mean, I didn’t expect it. But it wasn’t too much, I’ve always rather liked the idea of someone who doesn’t shy away from expressing themselves and their thoughts.”

“Good, good,” Rafael smiled, he started to walk again lightly tugging on your joint hands. “Shall we continue?”

“Yes,” you nodded, your face still incredibly red as you walked beside him.

You caught him glancing at you a few times, his jaw a little tense as if he was clenching it. You squeezed his hand, offering him a sweet little smile hoping to put him at ease. At first you hadn’t been sure how to react to what he had said, people had commented on how pretty you are or beautiful but never had they said you looked ravishing, especially dressed in work out gear with your nose very red from the cold. But once what he said had actually sunk in, well, you became incredibly shy. It wasn’t a common occurrence but this man, this bloody man seemed to bring it out a lot. With his smiles and serious eyes when he says things, that coming from others would be said teasingly or even mockingly but him, him they were said with such a serious tone and the look in his eyes when he said them, you couldn’t take them any other way. And that intensity made you shy.

“How was your morning?” Rafael asked, hoping to bring you back out of the shell you seemed to disappear into. He thought it was endearing, how you could become shy from things he would say or do.

“It was good, didn’t do much honestly,” you started. “I finished the latest book I was on and picked the next one out of my jar.”

“Your jar?” Rafael asked, curiosity peaked.

“Oh yes, I have a lot of books, both physical and on kindle as I love buying books as much as I love reading them,” you explained. “And so it’s sometimes a little tricky to pick which book to read next so, I have two jars, one full the names of the unread physical books I own and one for my kindle, since I read that at work or if I decide to commute instead of drive.”

“That is a genius idea,” Rafael said. “What book did you just finish? Was it a physical one or one on your kindle?”

“It was a physical one, it was the last book in a series, the Ember Quartet by Sabaa Tahir, a rather good one actually,” you said, voice getting excited. “There was a few things I didn’t see coming and I was very happy with the ending.  It was rather poetic in a way I suppose. It has a roman inspired world, with a fascinating magic system and some really good character development!”

You gestured with your hands as you talked, the one still linked with Rafael’s hand bringing his with it. Rafael continued watching as you gushed about the book series, managing to talk about it without giving away any spoilers but still painting the world quite vividly. That light that he saw in your eyes last night when you discussed the importance of reading was back, and he never wanted it to leave. He loved listening to people talk about things they loved, they would always get so animated and he was a little chuffed that you hadn’t let go of his hand. He was content to have his hand moved about in yours as you gestured.

“And it is best not to get attached to any of the characters,” you finished, looking over at Rafael. The look on his face was similar to the one he had last night when you had stopped yourself from rambling. It was soft. Gentle. And almost adoring. He had a small smile on his face.

“That series does sound very good,” Rafael smiled. “I’m a little curious now, do you know if there is an audible version of it?”

“Oh, um, I’m not sure but I can definitely find out for you,” you grinned.

“Thank you,” Rafael’s smile changed to a cheeky one. “Though I wouldn’t say no to you reading it too me.”

“Oh, you don’t want that,” you laughed. “I’d stop all the time to gush about something or another.”

“Commentary as well? Even better!” Rafael cheered, bringing your joint hands up to his lips to place a kiss on the back of it without a second thought. You were thinking that you would need to get use to the easy affection.

“I suppose I could be convinced then,” you teased. “With some…how do you fancy lawyers say it? Conditions and consideration? Is it?”

“Consideration?” he asked, eyebrow raised.

“Yes, I do believe that is something that comes up in contracts isn’t it?” you replied, for a moment unsure that you had remembered correctly. “I do something, for something in return? Like I buy something for money? Or am I wrong?”

“No, not all,” Rafael smiled. “So, tell me, what conditions?”

“I pay for the drinks we’ll be getting in a moment,” you nodded towards the little coffee stand as the two of you came to stop just before it. “And, if you truly want me to read them to you…you’ll come to my apartment for it?”

“I can agree with those two conditions but so far I am only seeing benefits for me,” Rafael nodded.

“Oh don’t worry I was getting there,” you grinned. “You said that your mum made sure you could cook. Before I read, you cook me dinner?”

“Each time?” Rafael asked for confirmation.

“Of course, each time,” you agreed.

“A standing date then,” Rafael finalised. “Shall we try and do it every week?”

“Agreed, Mr Barba,” you hesitated for a split second before deciding it was your time to try and fluster Rafael. You leaned close, shifting your gaze from his right eye, to his left and back again before you lightly pressed your lips to his cheek. As you leaned back you noticed a slight red tinge to his cheeks. Inside you did a little dance happy that for once it appeared he didn’t know what to say. “What’s this Mr Lawyer? Have I finally made you lost for words?”

You unlinked you hand from his to put your arms around his shoulders, moving even closer to him, almost touching him entirely. You bit your lip, a little nervous that you had maybe stepped over a line until his hands found their home on your hips and you saw his eyes darken a little as they flicked down your lips before back up to yours.

“Only momentarily, chica,” Rafael hummed. “Would it be alright if I kissed you? I have been thinking about it since we met.”

“Well, this is the second date,” you jokingly pondered. “And you have been the utmost gentleman…minus some teasing here and there…yes, I do believe you may kiss me.”

“Cheeky,” Rafael tsked.

He tugged you fully against him grinning at your soft exhale at the movement. Your arms linked behind his head as he lowered his lips to yours. You weren’t one to really believe in that sparks with the first kiss trope that your read in your romance books, though you liked to think it was possible. And feeling Rafael gently press his lips against yours again and again before increasing the pressure moving them against yours, you almost believed it. The two of you broke apart, keeping in mind that you were in a public place, Rafael lightly kissed your nose before taking a step back but not letting you go.

“I’ll take all the cheek for kisses like that,” he smirked, watching as you nibbled on your lip, swiping your tongue over your lips. “Keep doing that and I’ll be tempted to kiss you again.”

“An error to tell me that,” you laughed. “I’ll know how to get more kisses from you in the future.”

“Maybe that was my plan all along,” Rafael pointed out.

“Whatever you say,” you laughed removing your arms from around his neck and taking his hand again. “Shall we get a warm drink?” you tugged him towards the stand.

“Hmm, I’d rather more kisses but I will take the drink,” Rafael grumbled letting you pull him along grinning when you turned around to wink at him.

“Trust me to order again?” you asked just before you got to the front.

“I believe so,” Rafael nodded, he privately thought that he may start to trust you with anything.

“Could I get two large hot chocolates please, with some mint?” you asked the vendor.

“Right away, love,” he smiled. “Glad I didn’t start making it with hazelnut this time.”

“Well, it’s not often you have mint,” you cheeked, handing over some money for the drinks. Rafael waited bedside you, enjoying learning something about you, you turned to him with a smile. “Trust me, you’re going to love this.”

“Hm, I think so,” Rafael answered so softly. You sent him a quizzical look, not quite understanding why he responded in such a way but before you could ask the vendor was handing over your two drinks. You both got out of the way of the people behind you, you took a sip enjoying the minty chocolate warming you up. You watched Rafael take a sip, bouncing a little waiting for his response.

“You definitely weren’t lying chica,” Rafael licked his lips savouring the taste. “I take it you are regular here?”

“Oh yes, whenever I go for my walks I tend to come here for a hot drink before I continue on,” you said. “There are some chairs just over there, if the weather is nice I will stay for a little while and read.”

“I hope you don’t mind if we continue walking while we drink?” Rafael asked.

“Not a bit,” you smiled holding out your hand wiggling your fingers. “But only if we hold hands.”

“Twist my arm,” Rafael muttered lacing his fingers with yours again as the two of you continued your walk. You grinned leading the way to the loop that led back to where you had started. The rest of the walk flew by in easy conversation just like the night before. The both of you wanted to drag the date on but Rafael admitted that he should get back to work, at least for a little while longer and you knew that you had to get some more things done before you started work tomorrow.

“So,” you started. “This was…fantastic.”

“I’m inclined to agree,” Rafael said his hand reaching up to cup your cheek. “Full disclosure, I may be a bit busy in the next coming week the current case seems to be picking up and I start a trial in three days. But I would like to see you, even briefly when we can arrange it.”

“I would as well,” you nodded leaning a little into his hand, moving just enough to place a kiss on his palm. “I’m more than happy to work around your schedule, as mine is pretty standard not often that I am needed outside my shifts. Plus my lunch hour can be whenever, for the most part.”

“Perhaps we could meet for coffee and/or lunch in a few days?” Rafael asked, taking a step closer.

“Sounds good,” you agreed eyes shifting between his and his lips, wanting to try out the triangle trick. You grinned a little at the response it seemed to elicit from the man as he leaned down to hover over your lips.

“Teasing woman,” he growled lowly just before he pressed his lips to yours again this time he pulled away quicker but not before gently biting at your lower lip. You struggled to hold in the whine at that, following after him a little. “Good thing I rather like that.”

“Good…” you whispered, voice a little breathy before you tried to focus. “Lunch? A few days?” Rafael smirked gently at your short questions, he had heard the start of the whine before you stopped it when he pulled away from your lips and it created a need, a want to hear what noises you would make for him. He forced that heat down, he wanted to go slow with you to build up the desire and tension between the two of you.

“We’ll aim for two days from now. I’ll message you a time and place, once I know for certain,” Rafael answered voice equally soft.

“I can’t wait,” you grinned. “But don’t worry if work gets busy…I could always drop by with some take out. If you want of course.”

“You’d be willing to do that if I have to cancel?” Rafael asked. The few times he had dated in the past none of them had offered to alter the plans to fit into the hectic work hours of his job. And the times he had suggested it some of them did it, though they weren’t necessarily with how many times they had to do it. The rest would refuse, claiming it wasn’t a true date.

“Of course, I enjoy spending time with you and I would like to whenever and however possible,” you nodded, darting in to kiss his cheek again. “So long as it doesn’t interfere with your work.”

“If I can’t make the lunch date I would love for you to drop by the office,” Rafael took your hand to place a kiss on your knuckles. “Message me when you get home?”

“Hmm, sure,” you said face soft and open as you squeezed his hand before letting it go. “I’ll see you in two days, Rafael.”

Rafael was still smiling after you parted ways, the two of you both looked back once or twice until you were out of sight. He was already excited for lunch, and a little part of him wanted it to be at his office so you could see him in his element. If he worked in a different area he would eventually invite you to watch him in court but there was no way he would ever want you to watch one of his trials. He wouldn’t lie about the fact that he is a proud man, and definitely a little arrogant in his regards to his work and the thought of being able to show that off to you, well, it pleased some buried part of himself. He was busy planning what suit he would wear that day wanting to impress you with it. He returned to the office, hoping that if he got a lot done today nothing would interfere with the lunch plans.

The two of you both thought that the next two days couldn’t go quick enough.

[dgrailwar]

FINALE - In the Sunlight

The Mother of Monsters, the vessel of the Holy Grail, shimmered with a truly radiant light as you made your choices, your inputs for her wish known.

' …You've made your choices, so this is goodbye. For certain this time, as their souls must fill the Grail in order for it to function properly. '

True to the goddess' word, the Servants began to disappear one by one.

The Alter-Ego was the first to begin to vanish, scoffing quietly.

"What? You want some long sniveling goodbye? As if. Sometimes it's just best to let the curtain fall. No encores this time, sadly."

However... her haughty expression lightened, even if it was slight to others, the look in her eyes was rare- her heart laid bare, if only briefly.

"…That being said, you weren't half bad. If we meet again, I wouldn't mind having you as managers again. Please... Be well, Masters."

She bowed deeply, especially gracefully despite her injuries. Her body faded away into twinkling mist, disappearing as elegantly as she had appeared.

The MoonCancer seemed to be vanishing next, as she seemed to pet her mouse familiar for comfort.

"Oh, man. She left all cool, and I can barely keep myself together. God… goodbyes are the worst. What do I even say? I mean, once upon a time, a real tactless guy gave me some advice, so maybe I can just pass it on. So…"

"…Live on, Masters. Even if you don't think you're anyone special… there's definitely someone out there that needs you."

"Take care, okay? I hope fortune rains down on you and you have the brightest futures ever… and I'm saying that as me, not as Lord Ganesha!"

She waved two of her four arms as she vanished, as the other set took off her glasses and wiped at her eyes as she tried not to cry too hard as she left.

The Gunner let out a long, low whistle.

"…So, you decided I'd be reborn, huh? You're really stacking on the pressure, luckily that's where I thrive!"

"But even with me 'coming back'... I'd still consider this goodbye. With an operation like this, I'll be busy trying to set up all the pieces, so it's not like we'd run into each other on the street until I had everything in order."

"So… sayonara. Let's work together to make this uninteresting world interesting, okay?"

He winked, turning away as he began to walk off towards the Mother of Monsters, his form dissipating into twinkling light.

The Count, in a rare state, seemed a bit pensive.

"This is goodbye. It has been a strange journey, but a pleasant one nonetheless. I've said all the words I need to say."

"Or… perhaps not. No, two more rest on my tongue, and as you've called me forth, so you must know them well! So, hold these words in your heart, for the rest of your days, especially as you face this uncertain future!"

"Wait… and hope!"

With a grin as ghastly as night, yet somehow as bright as the rising sun, the Count threw his arms outward with an echoing laugh as his form disappeared.

The last one to go was the Voyager. The core. The hope that you all had chosen.

He sniffled, wiping at his tears.

Then, he smiled.

His voice was soft, and his words were brief, like the gentle twinkle of wind-chimes.

"…Bye-bye. And thank you."

He drifted up towards Echidna, waving his hands as his form vanished.

And only you remained, as the world built by this Grail began to crumble. You felt yourself pulled into darkness… and then, like awakening from a dream, drifting closer and closer into light.

The Mother of Monsters, Echidna, had slowly regenerated over the period of millennia after being nearly slaughtered back in the Age of Gods. Her wrath had been terrifying, only stymied by the sudden, miraculous appearance of the Voyager, and truly quenched by the actions of a few recklessly kindhearted magi.

Her movements were heavy and sluggish, as she pulled herself out the cavern that she had rested in for what felt like eternity, heading towards towards the sun, wincing a bit as the light of the sun hit her face. The sound of movement echoed behind her, as creatures began to pour out of the cave that she had resided in, monsters finding themselves on the surface.

Growls and hisses, the stamping of tails and feet, the flapping of tentacles and wings, all of them confused and elated at the prospect of life- at the prospect of being alive and living in the light.

The last to pull themselves out into the light were the goddesses, who looked upon their kin dancing under the light with joy.

' …The sun is so warm... it's been so long... '

"Is it everything you wished for?"

' ...Even more. '

[cognitosclowns]

Genuinely thinking about getting tag teamed by Myc and Andre. Or Myc laying one of their tentacles on readers head, and reader just grabs it and starts playing with it, completely unaware that it’s actually an erroneous zone. They’re just messing with it and Myc is going through a very interesting time.

EEEHEHEHE >:) <3333 ok this is an old ask but the idea of getting Tag Teamed by Myc and Andre is WRACKING my brain rn. so. IM GONNA RUN W/ THAT <3333 TYSM TYSM TYSM-

NSFT!!! minors go away!! Possible tw for Drugs (Myc and his Weird Psychoactive Gunk)

GRGRKGKRKG,,,, options,,, choices,, hgrnurngunrnrugnrungung p e n i s

oh so they’re gonna corrupt you

THEY’RE GONNA CORRUPT YOU SO BAD!!!! WORSE THAN YOU EVER COULD HAVE POSSIBLY IMAGINED!!!

I feel like getting tag-teamed by them is almost inevitable if you’re getting w/ one of them. They’re sort of a package deal. Bare minimum, it’ll be suggested over coffee once or twice

it usually starts out as,, just one of them??

individually they are such GRABBY BASTARD SMDSND + they’re literally ready to fuck,, whenever.

this does mean that if one of them catches you two fucking, the other one will ABSOLUTELY JOIN IN <333 COME ON

HM LETS SEE

Handcuffs aren't necessary when one of your fuck buddies has 6 arms <3

TRULY IF YOU WANNA BE PINNED, MYC WILL HAVE NO TROUBLE. 

It’s easy for most people to forget, but his tentacles are strong. Rope strong. He could keep you pinned in any manner of positions for a senselessly long time without breaking a sweat.

You need your legs up, so that Andre can get that One Specific Angle that turns your brain into jelly? ‘Don’t worry babe, I’ve got ya covered’

OR EVEN. LIKE.

Two tentacles for the arms, two for the legs, two for any assorted holes that Andre may be incapable of filling <3 or even just if,, he wants to get you extra squirmy. You can take two, right?

It’s also super efficient bc. Yeah Andre fucks kinda sloppy, and has a tendency to accidentally move y’all around with his thrusting. (mm. you’ve accidentally bumped your skull on the headboard a few times MNSDMS)

SO!! It’s nice to have Myc there to,, keep you two stuck in place <3 

ALSO TANGENT BUT. Two things I feel like Myc would love is :

Stuffing one of his tentacles in there w/ his dick, along with some comment about how ‘maybe if his dick wasn’t so scrawny, I wouldn’t have to ;)’

Wrapping a tentacle or two around Andre’s hips, and fucking you for him. This is especially good when Andre starts losing energy <3 Myc can easy hold his wiry ass up, so he basically just uses him as a Very Loud, Giggling Dildo <333

ALSO THESE BOYS ARE INCAPABLE OF SHUTTING UP

Each individually is extremely vocal + chatty during sex. Both of them combined is torment (affectionate)

They’re absolutely shameless. Any comments that come to the surface will be said. 

Also don’t be surprised if they pull some ''Good-Cop-Bad-Cop'' shit, with one of them degrading you and the other praising you.

Laying against Andre's body, feeling his hands dig into your thighs to keep you still, while Myc tests the limit of just how stretchy human holes are?? Your poor cock-addled brain is gonna be absolutely flooded with their rambling.

It's all very 'Je-sus, aren't you an overachiever. Three deep and you're still lookin' for more, huh?'

'aww hehe, look at how well they’re doing!

'Aw, you're always spoiling em! If they can get a fourth one in, then maybe we can start talkin' about 'good' '

etc, etc, ad nauseum, carpet diem, you get the drill. They're little bastards who like the sound of their own voices MSNDMSNDMSN

OH AND ANDRE WILL,, 1000% JUST SIT BACK AND ENJOY THE VIEW  WHILE MYC HAS HIS FUN SMNSMDN

There’s something very stimulating to just,, having an outside view of the action. You and Myc being completely undone, while he’s able to be,, a Calm and Collected Outside Observer is EXTREMELY RARE FOR ANDRE SMNSMD

It’s definitely not an Always thing, just an Occasional thing.

Getting different angles?? talking back-and-forth w/ Myc, while his tentacles fuck you open like he’s drilling for oil? Absolute perfection.

He’s not always gonna be a Pair Of Needy Eyes In The Corner Of The Room, though, he does sometimes like getting closer to the action!!

LIKE I can totally see him sitting on the bed beside y’all while Myc has his fun. Just,, lazily kissing your cheek every once and a while, loosely jacking himself off. Maybe a bit of wisecracking <33 

granted, you don’t remember much of it bc. After the third tentacle your brain kinda goes a little squirmy, but the thought is sweet nonetheless <3

ADDITIONAL MISC STUFF??

Myc being into bukkake + Andre being a little freak (adoring) means that you will be coated in fluids of several origins. The bath afterwards is magical tho so it's worth it

OHO getting railed (anally) by Myc feels a bit like a Very Horny Colonoscopy. If you ask, those puppies will go deep. like,, deep deep. Like 'oh my god, it feels like you're in my throat' deep.

and,, yeah usually that wouldn't be all that pleasant, but the Delightful, Stimulating Properties that his tentacle goo evokes turns the experience Transcendental.

Your entire torso feels kinda,, tingly and sensitive and full?? every time he shifts, it feels like he’s hitting alllll the spots you need at once. He says its something about the psychoactive properties, but you’re too fucked out to really care <3

he’s also super gentle - even if his tendrils are super slick and blunt, he doesn’t want to accidentally hurt you. He’s a jerk, sure, but he’s not an asshole.

[and,, yeah those are definitely the times Andre takes a bit more of a back-seat role. Lots of praise n' giggling. He just lays back and runs his hands along your body, maybe even against your stomach-intestine area to enjoy the way Mycs tendrils make your stomach bulge]

Was possessed by the spirit of Tentacle Porn (tm) SMDNSMDN I COULD GO ON ABOUT THESE TWO FOR CENTURIES, BUT I'LL LEAVE THIS HERE <333 MWAH THIS WAS SO FUN, THANK YOU SO DEARLY!!!

[kanmom51]

JK-Tae and JK-JM - The two lives and the differences between them

I will start by saying this is not a competition.

Nah-ah.

Also, let’s keep this clear from the get go:

JK and Tae are close friends.  10 years’ worth of growing up together, living together, working together, playing together friends.

But here are the magic words:  growing up. 

And when you grow up you change, your likes and dislikes they change, your interests they change.  You can suddenly find yourself not sharing those same common grounds you did as kids, teenagers or even young adults.  And that, at times changes friendships or even ends them, the latter not being the case with JK and Tae.

But in life there are different kinds of friendships, different levels of friendships.

JK, JM and Tae.

All three of these young men are close friends for years now.

I repeat - all three of them.

And add Hobi into the mix, all four definitely spend time together, by choice, not work related (Hobi told us that in the Las Vegas live).  Probably less now (all four) because of JM being super busy, while the younger two (JK and Tae) are obviously taking much needed time to wind down at the moment.

These guys are all in touch, all the members, that is, including Jin (who sends them messages once in a while too). They talk constantly on their group chat. We knew that before from comments members made in the past and we know it now too from Tae, RM and JK's interactions in the lives.

What I’ll be trying to convey in my post is the different reactions JK has to either of the two joining, the way he interacts with each of them, and his behaviour while doing so. Watching the three lives (including the IG live) the differences are quite obvious, as obvious as the difference between how you would interact with a good friend as opposed to interacting with your partner, someone you are intimate with, someone you are in a long term relationship with.

It's all about the:

RIB

Reaction - Interaction - Behaviour.

Reaction

First reaction with JM -

First reaction when JK sees JM has commented on his live is excitement. He's all smiley, giddy.

JK's first reaction with Tae:

Hold on for a minute I’m talking about something important here. 

And then, when he's done answering the fan, he follows with:

Tae's here? Why are you here?

Ahm... ok then...

Interaction - Behaviour

Next let's look at the interaction and behaviour, cause I do think the two kind of intertwine, don't they?

With JM:

“Jiminie hyung is here, right? No? Right? He's here?” 

JK was super excited when JM showed up in his comments and he wanted him to stay.  Well, that is, what he really wanted was for JM to come join him at his place, lol.

And again

And when it was clear that JM couldn’t come over and had to go back to work JK turned on his assertive caretaker button telling him to stay healthy.

With Tae:

The low key bickering...JK did or did not tell Tae he was going to sleep before doing the live...

And then, the back and forth about doing the joint live:

 JK asks Tae laughingly if he can handle the consequences of doing the live (as they were not supposed to be doing lives on IG), to which Tae answers he’ll take the responsibility.

I'm gonna go on a limb here and say that Tae was the one wanting to do the live on IG, JK not so much wanting it, but agreeing to it kind of reluctantly...  JK wasn’t forced into it, and I really don’t think he was bugged by Tae.  It’s not something he really wanted to do either though, and it felt like he really wanted Tae to give up on the idea, lol.

Then we have the live, more JK and Tae interaction, both on screen.

It wasn't jelling. Yes, the connection wasn't great, but even when it got better...ahm...

In the live: We have talk about the option to do the joint live – quite a bit of talk about that and the possibility of adding the option to Weverse; We have talk about Bam – Tae saying how big he's become, JK saying he's just as big;  We have talk about the comments, a lot about them being flags; We have talk about the conversation JK had in his live with a fan about getting tattoos and the 7 tattoo – what Tae told his parents about it; We have them keep going back to a common joke (the rice joke?);

Side note:  the way Tae talked about Bam it’s obvious he hasn’t seen him in quite a while.  Fact.  Why that is, we don’t know.  Could be them not meeting up at JK’s, could be Bam being away at family/training school.  But it’s clear it’s been a long time since he’s seen him.

At some point JK brings Bam over (this is a second time Bam is in the live), uses him as a buffer, or maybe a conversation starter/ice breaker. JK was going to town with Bam.  

Tae was trying to get Bam to go to his place/house/crate, it didn't work, Bam ignoring him (, and JK just continuing to mess around with Bam.

With no convo Tae turns to playing with filters, and then I guess just gave up cause JK wasn't in the game. At the end Tae saying he’s sleepy, for JK to go back to his Weverse live and off we go, end of IG live, JK saying goodbye waiting for Tae to disconnect.  He does say goodbye but that’s it.  No other niceties.

In the 13 minutes we had a lot of searching for comments, drinking, getting up doing stuff, playing with Bam – doing the distractions, cause again, the conversation wasn’t flowing.

Now, I will give a little credit to the bad connection, but nah, even if you take that into consideration, I think you need to be deaf and blind to continue to think there is anything more than mateship between those two men.

JM wasn't even physically there in JK’s live (not in person and not on screen) and the sparks were flying crazy, can you even imagine if we had them both on live like that?

A few things extra I noticed in the IG live:

First is Tae’s reaction after asking if JK doesn’t have anything to do the next day and JK saying “well, Bam has a medical checkup”.  It was so sus. It was his usual “aha, yep, I’m obviously not buying that or know something otherwise you’re not saying out loud” kind of face…

Now the translation could be a little inaccurate, but Tae’s non verbal reaction is hard to miss.

JK changes the subject, but this reaction, the snicker and giggle that follow, I attribute to JK's previous answer...

And damn, I'd say those facial expressions, the eyebrow wiggles, multiple times, that's Tae knowing something we don't and probably shouldn't either...

He was clearly amused, and I myself am dying of curiosity to know why…

Being the live was on a Friday night, maybe a certain band member name starting with Ji and ending with min was supposed to have the Saturday off…

If you look real hard you can also detect somewhat of a smirk on JK’s face too. 

Ehmm... we also have what seemed perhaps to be JK's brother taking Bam to the Vet? Or at least spending time with him, maybe without JK?

It could have absolutely nothing to do with Jimin, but one thing I can tell you is that there was absolutely nothing innocent behind that eyebrow wiggle of Tae’s, nor the smirk, nor the giggle.

Second was when JK during the IG live mentioned there is option to have up to 4 people doing the live at once:

Yep.  Talking out of experience I guess Tae. You know it.

Third, JK keeps asking Tae “aren’t you going to sleep?” or “when are you going to sleep?” 

Hinting much?

🤕

Me clarifying myself once again:

I am certainly not saying JK and Tae are not good friends, close friends.  

But like I said, in life there are different kinds of friendships, levels of friendships, levels of intimacy that grow beyond friendship.

These two they have history, they have several common interests, but perhaps they limited now days. There is nothing wrong with that, people grow up they move in different directions. The two still love to game together, we know that, and probably/maybe spend time doing other activities. They are mates. But there are no sparks, no intimacy there. These are not two men in a long term love relationship. Spin it any way you want, they just aren't.

To sum it up:

There are clear differences between the two interactions.

Also, I can't find a way to convey in words the difference in JK's voice, the intonation of his speech. You have to watch them both to understand how different he was in each of those instances.

with JM:

JM’s here?  Where is he?  Stop everything, I need to see if JM left a comment.  Then, JM, please come and eat some chicken with me - come over - I'm waiting for you very impatiently...are you still there? please still be there... come join me...

Also with JM:

Ear to ear smile, and going into full caretaker mode, dropping the honorific to tell JM to look after himself (knowing just how much JM pushes himself when working).

JM's name being mentioned by JK 12 times within 7 minutes.

With Tae:

Wait a minute I can't pay attention to you yet, I have something more important to do;  Then – nonchalantly asking: why are you here? (ouch);  Ok, I’ll do the live you wanted, just as long as nothing big happens; 

Also with Tae:

I’m going to get alcohol; Here’s Bam; Let’s talk about the live options on IG and how we should make them for Weverse too; When are you going to bed? Aren't you going to bed already?

I wonder, do you spot the difference?

Also, go watch them!!!

[acosmicdisappointment]

the burn book.

𝐌𝐈𝐑𝐄𝐘𝐀 𝐋𝐔𝐍𝐀 𝐃𝐎𝐌𝐈𝐍𝐆𝐔𝐄𝐙-𝐇𝐄𝐑𝐑𝐄𝐑𝐀, 𝐖𝐄𝐋𝐂𝐎𝐌𝐄 𝐓𝐎 𝐘𝐎𝐔𝐑 𝐏𝐀𝐆𝐄

𝐥𝐞𝐟𝐭.

during the ask meme week, i had the opportunity to answer if enzo was a sentimental person and he is. he collects the little things during the duration of the relationship/situationship or whatever ship he's in. this boy keeps mementos and yet can't even put a label on things? c'mon enzo be fr.

photobooth strip. i tried editing them together okay? not really a photoshop pro but whatever. as per link, luna is and i quote a 'photo taking bitch'. so in my head, during their time together they dragged him to a photobooth to take pictures. notice how he's smiling in the 2nd pic but gets progressively bored/distracted on the 3rd and 4th photo. at this point enzo's kinda getting tired of whatever he has with luna. he's definitely becoming uninterested and this was proof of it. flower. enzo did give luna flowers before (once? twice?). it was under the guise of a sweet gesture (definitely not because he was messing around with someone the day before) somehow this one fell from the bouquet which he found it on the car floor. because he's sick in the head, he decided to keep it. gum. enzo smokes but not a lot. he does it whenever he's stressed, angry or nervous. he wanted to kiss luna for the first time but he remembered he had just smoked so he decided to chew a piece of gum before doing so. this was way before he knew luna thought smoking is very attractive. well let's just say that was the first and last time enzo chewed gum before making out with luna. bandaid. enzo loves to get in to physical fights. he'd start it most of the time and obvious win every single time. he gets into more fights way back then than now. one night, he took luna out for a drive and lo and behold there's a cut on his face. luna gives him a bandaid (maybe a kiss too?) according to link, luna would keep bandaids just in case he hurt himself somehow. receipt. according to link, luna wanted enzo to like them so bad she'd eat whatever he wanted. there was a time where enzo was craving chinese and well luna being the kind person she is kept that in mind to bring back up later when they messaged him to go out. he thought she really loved his favorite food when she actually hated it though he found that out later on. polaroid. i'd like to think that this photo was taken in the beginning where things were 'happy'. it's them together in bed doing whatever cutesy things couples do. laughing and giggling and whatever. enzo liked the way luna smiled and well wanted to immortalize the moment. ticket. i think they watched a movie of luna's choice. enzo isn't a big horror guy but he'd sit through it with his arm around luna and his hand on her thigh the whole time. the fool in reverse. he knows about luna's interest in tarot so i think he got a reading somewhere and well that was one of the cards. how he got the card i don't know. i have no knowledge about tarot cards whatsoever so interpret that in anyway you want.

𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭.

sometimes when working out or driving, isn't enough, enzo writes as a way to let out his feelings. wrote how he and luna met up til the present day. he wrote over them in frustration. the red and black ink are him going back and forth about how he feels. one minute he's upset and wants to ruin luna and drew's relationship, then the next he's relapsing and wanting her to take him back.

𝐰𝐡𝐲 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐚 '𝐛𝐮𝐫𝐧 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤'?

for enzo, it started as a joke. like a book where he can look back on the people he's been with. like proof he's been with this girl and that girl. it was supposed to be a one time thing but he kind of liked it...

𝐰𝐡𝐲 𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐭 𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐚 '𝐛𝐮𝐫𝐧 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤'?

it started as an accident. one of the pages from his past got burnt when he was playing with his lighter. but there was something that kind of clicked in him as he watched the flames eat up the paper. when it was time to move on he'd burn part of the page as a metaphoric thing "burning bridges" or whatever. him burning luna's page is a sign that he's moving on. that he's over her...but is it really over now?

so there you have it, enzo's burn book. this has been on my mind ever since angel sent that 'freak note' pinterest photo and sam calling it a 'burn book' (shoutout to you two baddies for this!) i originally wanted to make several pages (who knows maybe i will and future wcs for enzo perhaps?) but let's be honest luna's page is the most important, am i right?

will there be a new page added to the burn book? well...we'll just have to wait and see now would we?

[rizariart]

Finally introducing Luci Nightingale!

She’s my actual mc oc, every other one I have specifically exists to stop her from getting with that person (again) and they only come into the picture after Luci successfully romances an interest other than Miranda.

Yes this includes Matty, however, this doesn’t mean Matty is loyal to Miranda. Matty, and the other ocs, are loyal to Luci, whether she remembers who and what they really are or not.

Oh and she’s 6’1 and definitely doesn’t end up looking at Miranda any kind of way…definitely not…

sidenote: her skintone looks different on both sides because of background choice & the fact that one is painted, the other isn’t. I got as close as I could.

More Luci info below the cut

✨Luci Lore/ Fun Facts✨

Her eyes are only blue when she remembers nothing of any past lives

She’s actually the lead guitarist/ singer of a band w/ Matty and the others. How and why the band comes into existence is a little different every time, but it existing is a fixed event sort of thing and will happen

Her middle name is Anastasia

Most people just call her Ana, however Miranda does just call her Luci

Her bold and outspoken habits that have resulted in her death one too many times follow her throughout her lives whether she wants them to or not, currently manifesting as her taking too many classes at once, still finding time to party, being in a band, and engaging in otherwise unsafe & honestly self-destructive behavior

Her favorite animals are ravens and black cats

Her favorite crime is ✨arson✨ with the second favorite being torture

She definitely teaches Eva how to pick locks once she’s old enough to learn how to be sneaky about it

Girlkisser fr (a surprise i know)

Guilty of stealing looks at Miranda when she’s not paying attention, finding her adorable when angry or generally upset

CORNELIUS SPOILER!!! SHE SPOILS THAT CROW SO MUCH!!!!! She loves him and definitely gives him stuff like eggs and almonds

If Miranda won’t go to bed she’ll either keep going back and forth until Miranda gives in, or she pouts and makes Miranda feel bad about it later (cuddle with your wife birb mom)

Hug fiend! But the hugs are great!

Has kissed Matty on a dare and left Matty speechless (not that Matty speaks much anyway but still)

[pebblysand]

[castles update]

hello 👋. i hope you're all doing well. i'm going away skiing for a week tomorrow and thought it would be a good time to check in and talk about how writing is going for a bit.

as some of you might know if you are regular readers of this blog/listeners of the podcast, i've been working on chapter 20 for about two months, now, and it's been.... difficult. i think it's karma coming back to bite me because chapter 19 was so easy but this one has been a lot of: write, delete, write, delete, look through my docs history, getting back stuff i've deleted, sticking them back on, writing again, deleting again, etc.

i think what i'm struggling with is the fact that writing family vibes and people having children is... not my forte 😅. first of all, because #fluff and particularly, #familyfluff is not my forte (lol) but also because as a member of the #childfreebychoice gang, it's required a lot of research, a lot of trial and error, a lot of going back and forth to figure out what i really wanted to say. castles is obviously a fic that doesn't just exist as rainbows and butterflies, and the difficulties of modern parenting offer plenty of opportunities to discuss systemic issues to do with women's rights, etc. (all the hugs and support to all the mothers out there!) but it's been hard to figure out what i wanted to write about, exactly, how to write it without just being like "babies are hard" and moving on, and basically, who i wanted mum!ginny and dad!harry to be.

i also think that as someone who does not have (and does not want children), i feel very illegitimate writing this, and thus paradoxically feel a sense of duty to do it right and perfectly, which is a doomed enterprise given that a) every experience of parenthood is unique and b) no one is perfect. i think it's been an interesting exercise, and it's one that is necessary in terms of where i want this story to go, but a very humbling one. i don't think i've struggled this much on any chapter in the past. add to that the extra technical challenge that i need to basically cover 13 years in two chapters, which is an outlining and pacing mindfuck ✨ and you've got a recipe for ... a lot of swearing and hair-pulling.

having said that, the good news is that i've made... progress. i have about 20k of stuff. very messy stuff that needs to be badly cut down and edited, but stuff nonetheless. i really wanted to get a first draft down before going on holidays but it's past 10pm, i have a podcast episode to edit before tomorrow night and i need to pack, eat, and sleep, so i'm throwing in the towel. it'll wait until i get back.

i think at this point in time, i have a publication date in mind (18th february), and i'd like to get 20 & 21 out at the same time. i kind of see them as a single unit, that "parenting" and "before hogwarts" stage, and i've also made a number of choices with 20 so far where i would like to write 21 before publication, just to see how they pan out. also, frankly, they're not the most interesting of chapter to me, so i kind of want to get them out and move on 😅. i think it's just going to be some of those chapters where i need to be okay with "good" rather than "great", which i always struggle with. there definitely has been some of those in the past (i hate chapters 9 & 12 with all my soul) and that's okay. we deal, haha.

so, anyway, that's sort of where i'm at. i really am so excited to write 22, 23 & 24, so i think that's what keeps me going.

i hope you guys have a lovely week ❤️

[danlous]

Yes, this is definitely just a personal theory I have from what we have seen so far, when/if they revisit things, we might learn more and my interpretation will be completely wrong, but for now, with what we know, this is kind of the only way I can come to terms with the changes regarding Armand (which is still difficult for me, since I am simply unable to accept any of the reasoning they have given when it comes to how Lestat was changed, but that's a different topic). And I agree with you, not being an active participant in his own life I think describes Armand very well. Which in turn makes it interesting when it comes to past DM if they go there, since that would be him doing something he actually wants to do and it also is intriguing when it comes to the future relationship between him and Louis (not even talking romantically, since I don't think the show will allow anything "not endgame" happen), because Louis' "bland beige pillow" commentary is, in that moment from Louis' pov accurate, but he does not know that it is a choice by Armand, and I would be interested to see how Louis sees him after learning that the Armand he knew is very different from who he actually is once he doesn't hold back anymore.

I recall Assad said he's interested to see what will happen now when Armand has nothing left and he wants to see him go full gremlin mode. Armand has always tried to built his identity and purpose and whole existence on something external and now he's been detached from everything and can't cling to anything anymore, and his old roles have lost their meaning so he needs to either build a new one or take off all the masks and reveal whatever is underneath. I think Armand is afraid of it too.

I keep going back and forth did something more than what we saw in 2.05 happen between Armand and Daniel in the past, but i think he'll definitely be going after him now. It fits the pattern of how Armand acts when faced with something that is cataclysmic to his identity; he joined the Children of Satan after they destroyed his family and old life, he became obsessed with Lestat and stayed in the theatre after Lestat caused the breakdown of the cult, he returned to Louis and made their relationship the center of his existence after Louis destroyed his coven and theater. Now from Armand's perspective Daniel has destroyed his relationship with Louis and his old life (even though Armand really did it himself) so it's not difficult to predict he'll become obsessed with Daniel.

Wrt Louis i think he has always known that Armand had a different side because Armand did show it sometimes and Louis could sense it even when he tried to hide it. That's what Louis was talking about when said 'there is it, the half-blank, half-apocalyptic look but what does it mean tonight' and is it the gremlin or the good nurse tonight'. Louis tried not to show it but i think there was always an undecurrent of fear in his feelings for Armand