#me: uwu true romance

[lesbianjodie]

The "are you winning son" but it's Conan to Jodie

It took me so long to answer this bc I love seeing galaxy brained things in my inbox and this is just. Perfection.

[sirenium]

I hate being loveless. Send post.

[fbfh]

Jacob Black x mate/imprint!reader first rut hcs

wc: 1.9k

genre: smut, tooth rotting fluff, werewolf heat/monsterfucking ig

pairing: Jacob x imprint!reader (afab, no pronouns)

warnings: general werewolfy stuff, awkward heat/rut talks, BIGASS breeding king, Jake can smell when you're ovulating, Jake is posessive and clingy and adorable and hot, knots, oral (reader recieving), face down ass up position, biting and hickeys, scenting, a ton of creampies, cum plugging, growling/primal kink??, aftercare

summary: Jacob is the best boyfriend you've ever had, so when he tells you there's a little problem he's going to need help with soon, you're more than happy to help him out with it

a/n: starting to write my first actual original book today and I am so stoaked!!!!!! wish me luck uwu I think yall are really really gonna like it and I'm super excited ksflkjslkjs

also I'm adding people who asked to be tagged for a/b/o and omegaverse content bc it's in the same ballpark imo

tags @yesv01 @magcon7280 @yelenabel0vaswife @lizziebitch33  @sunshineangel-reads @inthehoneymoonwithconnorrk800 @demirunner @almostjollypizza @fictionalcomfortss @thatawkwardlittlefangirl @urmum-xoxo @raajali3 @Ronnasey @lubsana @demirunner @legramilis  @girlfriendwhoseawitch

As with all nsfw works all characters are aged up to 18+

That being said, let’s get into it 

Bc oh BOY is this one a doozy

You and Jake fell in love at first sight

You met by chance

He helped you when you had car trouble and the chemistry was instant and the rest was history

What actually happened is that Jake could smell you from like a full mile away

He was so drawn to you

Then he could smell you starting to panic, and he knew he had to make sure you were okay

So he appeared out of nowhere in his human form right when you needed him most

You were so relieved that someone was there to help you, especially someone so good with cars

And especially especially someone so hot and friendly and charismatic and attentive

From jump street, Jake obviously liked you a lot

So you couldn’t turn down his offers to get coffee and lunch and show you around town

He was relieved you didn’t turn him down either, because what you saw as Jake flirting with you was actually him imprinting on you

You’re not a wolf

You’re not aware of the supernatural world at all, as far as he knows

So he’s basically just been spending as much time as he possibly can with you

Imprint bonds are strong as fuck 

So for both physiological and psychological AND emotional reasons

He needs to spend as much time with you as possible 

And you want to spend time with him too

Not to the wolf extent

But still

There’s only one problem

You’ve been together for three amazing whirlwind weeks

And you already feel like you’ve known each other for your whole lives

He can tell that even though you’re not a wolf, you can feel the bond between you too

You might not know what it is, but you know that it’s there

Everything is happening so fast, but it doesn’t give you a bad gut feeling

Or any red flags

Like anywhere

You’re starting to wonder if maybe this is the true love fairytale romance you had always hoped for

That maybe soulmates are real

And you found yours

And Jacob feels  the exact same way

He’s given it a lot of thought, and he really believes that even if he hadn’t imprinted he would still like you more than he’s liked anyone before

He could go on for days about how amazing you are, and he’s determined not to let anything come between you

Not to let anything sabotage this beautiful love, this bond between you

But the only problem is that the full moon is getting closer and closer

And it’s the first full moon since he imprinted on you

Not all imprints are romantic in nature, but this one definitely is

Which means now since he has a mate, he’s going to start getting his rut

And he has to spend it with you, which means he has to explain it to you

Which means it’s finally time for the most awkward conversation of his life

He’s not scared to tell you he’s a werewolf

But he is scared to tell you that you’re starting to smell so good he gets hard when you’re not even in the room

That his feral wolf brain is taking over, and all he’s been able to think about for the last 48 hours is filling you up

Stuffing you full of his seed and knotting you nice and tight to keep it all in place while he gets you irrefutably pregnant, all nice and full and round with a big litter of pups

And it’s getting worse 

His thoughts are straying more and he knows he’s running out of time to explain that he’s either going to need to be chained to a tree or inside of you for anywhere from 24 to 96 hours

And since it’s his first rut since finding you, it’s almost definitely going to be longer, closer to four days than not

He’s over at your place like he has been for the last week or so, and he decides to talk to you about it when 

He thinks he can handle this

He totally thinks he can handle this

Then you step out of the shower, and you smell all sweet and fresh and extra you 

He sighs wistfully, realizing how much harder this is going to be 

“C’mere for a sec, I want to talk to you…” 

He trails off, pulling you onto his lap

He can sense that you’re worried, that you want to make sure he’s okay

And it makes him blush

He giggles, burying his face in your neck for a moment

You’re worried about him

Eventually he bites the bullet and confesses everything

You actually take it surprisingly well

He can tell you don’t fully believe him yet, but you don’t seem freaked out

“There is… one other thing…” 

He manages to get through the mates and heats and ruts talk without dying of embarrassment 

But he does start to get distracted part of the way through

Like really distracted

He snaps out of it for a few moments when he trails off after part of an explanation, and you chuckle, resting your hand on his cheek

“Even if you weren’t a werewolf, I would still be down to spend all weekend together.” 

His stomach flips as he realizes what you’re saying

“So-”

“I’d be happy to help you through your heat or rut or whatever it’s called.” 

His stomach flips when you say that

He genuinely didn't think he could get more attracted to you, then you say that

And then, something else happens

“I’m so glad!” he smiles, beginning to ramble again, “and if you want to stop, or if I’m too rough, or if it’s too much, just tell me to, uh…” 

You’re already agreeing, and promise you will as he tries to regain his train of thought

His eyes get kind of distracted, and he leans closer to you, sniffing

He buries his face in your neck and takes a few big, deep breaths

It makes you giggle until he pulls away and looks at you more intensely than he ever has 

His pupils are dilated and he’s laser focused on you

“Are you ovulating?” 

You check your cycle tracking app and yeah

Yeah you’re supposed to be ovulating today

He sniffs you again, shoving his face into your neck

His grip on your waist gets tighter and you can feel him getting hard below you

Your eyes widen when it just keeps growing and growing

He pants against your neck, breathing in your scent and starting to grind against you, moving your hips against his

You lose yourself for a moment before remembering what he asked you a moment ago

“Wait- how did you know that?” 

“Could smell it,” he mutters into your skin, rocking your hips harder against his and growling into your ear

“I… I think it’s starting, I need- I need to… I need to get you out of these clothes.” 

He picks you up and tears your pajamas off in a blur

He carries you into your bedroom, laying you face down on your soft duvet

His breath is heavy he manhandles you into a more comfortable position, and you can hear him tearing his clothes off behind you just as quick

His big hands grab your hips, finally pulling down your panties

They stick to your soaked cunt, and send a fresh wave of your pheromones swirling intoxicatingly through the air around him

You hear him let out a shuddering sigh, then suddenly feel warm breath against your soft folds

You let out a noise as he licks you, nuzzling into your cunt, before pulling back and spitting on it

He pokes and prods you with his tongue, working it further inside you as his fingers come up to play with your clit

Werewolf saliva has healing properties and can increase elasticity during heats and ruts, so it’s a pretty common practice

His hands and mouth feel so good, you’re not complaining

He makes you cum twice on his tongue before deciding you’re stretched out enough to take him

You feel him move behind you and grab your hips, pulling them back to meet his

This energy (it’s the horny wojak thinking about getting railed meme)

His breathing is heavy as he pushes in slowly

“Tell me if it’s too much. Promise you’ll tell me angel, okay?” 

You nod and manage to choke out that you will

Once you do that, it’s game over

The last amounts of self restraint Jacob possessed fade away as he completely loses himself in you

He starts thrusting into you at a brutal pace

He manhandles you, moving your body and positioning you closer to him

The next two or three days are going to be a hazy blur of cum and love bites and feeling the bulge of his knot and cock in your stomach

That’s all you’ll really be able to remember in your fucked out state

When he goes into heat, he’s already gonna be really fucking feral and primal

But when he goes into heat with you for the first time????

Oh my fucking god

It really is a good think werewolf spit can stretch you out, bc there’s no way you’d be able to take his cock, much less his knot otherwise

He grabs onto you so tight and possessive, completely pinning you down with his body weight

You could not wiggle out of his grip if you tried

He makes you cum two or three times in the first few minutes, so you know this is going to be a long, overstimulating night

But GOD everything he does feels so overwhelmingly good

He bites your neck, licking and rubbing against you to scent you even more aggressively

So expect to be covered in hickeys and love bites too

Oh my god the noises this man makes?????? 

Jesus fucking christ

Moaning, panting, growling right in your ear

You can’t get enough

Because you’re extra stretchy from his prep, the stretch of his knot filling you up more than you could imagine feels so incredible

He’s probably going to knot you at least twice before you’re both ready to pass out

Once you’re a quivering fucked out mess that’s literally dripping cum out of you, he’ll pull out very reluctantly 

Then you hear a drawer open, and he grabs something

He pushes a toy inside you to keep as much of his cum in there as possible while he goes to get you guys water and snacks

Once he’s back he’ll absolutely feed you

He’s overwhelmed with instincts to take care of you, so of course he’s going to feed you

One thing about Jacob is he will keep you fed and bred 

And you really can’t complain

He’s so loving and attentive and speaks to you so sweetly, peppering kisses across your face and telling you how good you’re doing

After that he’ll take the toy out and slide himself back in 

Then pull you into his warm chest for the coziest heaviest most sticky restful nap you’ve ever taken in your entire life

Once you’re both up later, expect to do the whole thing over again

And again, and again

Cause that’s pretty much all you’ll be doing for the next three days

And you can promise this is not the last rut you’ll help him out with

[sapphire-weapon]

When Capcom sat down to write RE4make and Separate Ways, they had to have a moment of reckoning when it came to Ada's character:

Do they continue to write out her romance with Leon, or

Do they commit to her role as an ambiguous third party agent keeping her fingers in all of the pies?

They chose the latter. They chose the latter because it was more important, narratively. And they couldn't have both, because having both doesn't make any fucking sense and never has made any fucking sense.

Ada is a selfish character, at her core. To have her constantly be soft for Leon undermines that selfishness and makes her other actions not make any sense; if she cared that much about him, why would she continuously serve the bad guys that make his life a living hell? And the reverse is also true. Why would she care so much about Leon if all he does is get in her way and act as a distraction for her?

So anyone who complains that RE4make's Separate Ways didn't show Ada caring enough about Leon -- that was the point. They solidified her identity as a character by doing that.

The writers of the Remake series made a conscious decision to make Leon and Ada's interactions/relationship in RE2make serve an actual function/purpose for their characters instead of "uwu they're in love."

For Leon -- Ada taught him that the people opposed to him aren't always bad guys. She taught him the true lesson of "the road to Hell is paved with good intentions." He learned to trust that little voice in the back of his head that tells him "something's not right here." She also taught him that there's a way to do the right thing without following the rules -- and, sometimes, by breaking them entirely.

For Ada -- Leon taught her that being independent doesn't mean self-isolating -- because just looking out for herself and no one else actually resulted in her just keeping her head down and not asking questions, which screwed her over big time in the end. Leon didn't teach her love or compassion or empathy; he showed her that she was actually being just as naive as he was, just on the other side of the fight.

Basically, they both taught each other: QUESTION EVERYTHING. Because that was the one thing that neither of them did in RE2make until it was way, way too late.

And so, in RE4make/Separate Ways, Ada spends far less time and emotional energy worrying about Leon because she's actually taking the lesson he taught her to heart and she's questioning the people and circumstances around her in order to protect herself. That was the point of her early voiceover about how Raccoon City changed her perspective and made her start asking where her efforts were going and why she was doing what she was sent to do.

She doesn't ask questions for moral reasons. She asks them for selfish ones. Because Ada is an inherently selfish character.

On the boat, Leon asks Ada: "Are you just trying to use me again?" and Separate Ways answers and repeats over and over and over again: YES. The only reason she helps Leon in the village and at Mendez's house is so that he can continue being useful for her. Because Leon didn't teach her to care about people; Leon only taught her how to better take care of herself -- the same way she did for him.

This is a really damning exchange of words:

So, yes -- Ada is using Leon in RE4make. Yes, she only helps him because it benefits her. No, she genuinely doesn't care whether he lives or dies. Yes, she meant it when she told Leon to leave Ashley for dead, and yes, her sole reason for doing it was to get Ashley out of the way because Ada found Leon's new demeanor hot and she wanted to fuck him. No, she had no intention of taking Ashley with them on the chopper at the end -- because yes, her invitation to Leon was a bookend to her earlier offer for Leon to leave Ashley and go fuck her (Ada) instead.

And that's why Leon tells her to go fuck herself and shakes his head in utter disbelief when she asks if he's coming with her.

Because Ada is a selfish character.

I don't say this to hate on the character or even express dislike for her. This doesn't make her a bad character -- in fact, the opposite is true. It makes her consistent, which makes her a better written character overall from what/who she was in OG.

It also doesn't make her evil or a bad guy. Ada Wong is the most Chaotic Neutral character in the entire RE series -- even moreso than Billy Coen or Jake Muller ever were. She's in it for herself, and that particular approach is neither inherently morally good nor evil.

But Aeon is dead canonically in the Remake-verse. It was sacrificed in the name of bringing consistency and logic to both characters.

And that was the true point of the boat scene.

Neither of them have changed who they are at their most fundamental level. Leon is still the selfless hero, and Ada is still the selfish spy. Their relationship in RE2make served as a strengthening of those core traits -- not an erosion of them. Leon can better protect and save Ashley because of the lessons that Ada taught him, and Ada can successfully outmaneuver Wesker because of the lessons that Leon taught her.

But that doesn't change who she is. It doesn't change who either of them are. In fact, it only served to create a more authentic version of them both. Leon is more zealous in his heroism, and Ada is more committed to her own self-preservation and naked about her selfish intentions.

The only people in RE4make who changed who they were were Luis and Krauser. Luis for the better, and Krauser for the worse. And they both paid for it with their lives.

[allastoredeer]

manlyman al/uwu lucifer, buff al/skinny lucifer, lucifer in a drag with al dressed in a suit - all the same crap, it's also very noticeable how much of luci in dress with al in a suit there is and how little the other way around or when they both in dresses and also luci in dress? 10000+ likes, while rare alastor in dress? well, barely 1000 or 2000. Same with any reverse of usual fandom versions of them. Very telling if you ask me. Blond, short, goofy, did a sad face few times? Of course it's the one who's we gonna make a girly girl here and there's can be only one in our mlm ship 🙄 People want fanon charlastor but without charlie in it because she's actually a female

Damn, you came in swinging.

But, like...I see no lies here. It is kind of funny that people put Lucifer in dresses more than Alastor when Alastor literally wore a nun outfit in the show. It's such a shame too because with Al's long legs and slim waist, DAMN he'd look so good in dresses.

It is very telling that in every fandom space, with at least one pairing - usually a very popular one - one of two becomes a girly girl and the other a darker, menacing, and more intimidating manly man. There's nothing wrong with feminine male characters, nor them being in mlm relationship, but when it happens to every. Single. Ship. where the characters are stripped down to basic archetypes.... ಠ_ಠ

It really is funny, because going by what we've seen in the show, Alastor is so much more of a girly pop than Lucifer is. Him and all his little wrist flicks and sassy remarks.

I mean

Look at this guy

Look at him

LOOK AT HIM

LOOOOOOK AT HIMMMMMMMM

How can people see this man as a super serious big bad muscle daddy? I don't understand. He's so unserious. So full of whimsy. He's a clowning troll. And I'm telling you, look at that thin waist and those long legs. He'd look amazing in a dress.

This actually reminds me of a previous ask I got a while back. The topic was centered around some fans saying that Alastor would never bottom and the over all characterizations of him and Lucifer, and this line here sums it up perfectly:

"shows such a patriarchal-ly drenched heterosexual view of sex, that they then apply to a MLM ship that drives me INSANE."

Particularly, the drenched in a patriarchally heterosexual view. Having one man in a mlm relationship be more feminine than the other is totally okay, there is nothing wrong with that, and there are a lot gay relationships like that.

But the way a lot of radioapple is depicted feels weirdly heterosexual, and it's because of the behaviors and archetypes that get assigned to them. Lucifer becomes this teeny tiny, wide-eyed, awkward little waif and Alastor this big dark possessive boyfriend who's always looming over his shoulder and glaring at anyone who looks at Lucifer. It reads like every other cringy straight romance I've read. Add in the trope of Alastor drinking Lucifer's blood and it's basically "Twilight" set in Hell.

Okay, not to derail, but there was this one AU that I was obsessed with. It's a Hades/Peresphone AU for radioapple, and it sounded amazing, but there were so many depictions of Alastor as Hades and Lucifer as Persephone and I was just...

I was flabbergasted.

You have Lucifer, the king of Hell, the DEVIL himself, be the goddess of spring instead of the Lord of the Underworld. I'm....whut?!!?!?! Alastor is literally a deer, he would be perfect to play Persephone. That guy would be hunting down all the people poaching and harming his domain and making them suffer, and I can totally see Niffty as a psycho little nymph that tags along on his "hunting trips."

I've seen one or two au's where Alastor is Persephone and Lucifer is Hades, and they are glorious, but every time I see the opposite I feel like I'm taking psychic damage. A year of my life gets taken away. I fear I'll be on my death bed soon.

Also this line "People want fanon charlastor but without charlie in it because she's actually a female" it's so true to fandom it hurts, but it's so fucking funny, I'm wheezing

You ate with this ask 🤌

[badaziraphaletakes]

It's me again (:P) I've stayed at your main and contemplated your blog description. Calling out misogyny, abelism, victim-blaming. So I want to add

Crowley's got some bad takes too covered as jokes or protections when you think about it. He is protected by his fans in blorobofiacted way. "He is too uwu and being manipulated by scary disgusting Aziraphale"

Jesus freaking Christ. He is an adult (in a celestial - way I mean he has the mentality of an adult), don't act like he is manipulated or can't see Azz's "true colours" for the sake of explaining why he stays with Aziraphale. You are not doing him a favour. Aziraphale is his comfort and home. Crowley is capable of thinking for himself I swear.

Also calling him a whore/slut only because he is dressing fashionable. We are ignoring it because it is "a compliment"? For whom?

They are screaming how their romance is toxic for their pure baby blorbo and one not deserving of another. Two guys (in NB way) having their own traumas with communication issues. Two guys and for them one of them is "evil" with their trauma and the other one "better" thanks to their trauma. Two guys who cling to each other for comfort and safety. Amazing Crowley and Azzi takes, I want to implode.

Thank you for coming to my TED talk :)

Absolute 10/10! Thank you so much for writing in!

[all-pacas]

Don't leave us in suspense! Drop the baldirs gate takes!

the one literally on my mind right now:

there is not a single good astarion/halsin story out there. like prove me wrong i guess, i haven't looked at all of them, but every single one i dip my toes into goes:

uwu poor baby astarion so sad

uwu halsin takes care of him and teaches him consent

uwu halsin is very paternalistic and teaches astarion how to sex

uwu he Big

and it drives me bonkers. like fandom has the habit of infantilizing astarion anyway, making him out to be a poor sad victim. like other people have pointed out the hilarious "man whose personal journey is gaining agency -> let's take away his agency" fanfic pipeline already, but for real!

rambling about how emotionally stunted astarion is under the cut:

he doesn't like to talk about his trauma, but he's also clear that it is trauma. he isn't in denial. he knows he's fucked up. and yes, when it comes to sex it's a bit more of a gray area, but he's a willing participant. he has a bunch of horny comments. he very much wants to hook up with someone at the goblin party, and WILL fuck lae'zel if tav doesn't romance either first. he tends to not enjoy sex as much as he THINKS he will and disassociates and knows his feelings are all fucked up around it, but he is NOT naive or in denial. he actually seems pretty self aware about it! he knows he forces himself through seductions, he knows he uses sex as a tool, he doesn't like either thing but he's been doing it for a long time. he's not naive.

he's also just. not. vulnerable? in general? like the man whines and complains, but he's one of the least emotional people in camp, in that he HATES expressing his real feelings. he doesn't talk about feelings. shadowheart, by way of contrast, is standoffish and doesn't open up easily, but IS able to pretty plainly state when she likes and trusts you. astarion? he has no idea. he will say this. he doesn't admit to liking anyone or anything, and yes, trauma, etc., etc., but he's also just kind of emotionally closed off. in general. anything that isn't superficial is shut down.

astarion actually goes pretty far out of his way to NOT be uwu vulnerable. he HATES being pitied and looked down on, or being perceived as such. CONSISTENTLY. he hates it when you tell him you'll protect him. he doesn't like being seen as weak. my favorite example: he doesn't actually approve of you offering to be his personal juice box after the first bite: he does approve of you agreeing with HIS plan to eat bandits. he doesn't like charity; he likes agency. he'll still take advantage, because he'll take what he can get, but it's REALLY telling he consistently prefers the answer that gives him agency (eating bandits) over the easier solution that doesn't (being fed at tav's discretion). with durge it's even more obvious. he says repeatedly: he wants to be in this TOGETHER. he wants them to rely on HIM. he very, very, very much does not want to be a kept toy.

i think there's also some ambiguity about him calling off sex in his romance. he's VERY clear that he enjoyed sex with tav and sees them as very attractive; it's just that (as he also says) he doesn't know how to have a relationship that isn't framed around sex as a tool and payment. that's re-enforced by his stated vulnerabilities once tav stops sleeping with him: he sees sex as his primary purpose/his looks as his only selling point, and he worries about tav hooking up with the drow twins (slightly) or halsin (more so) as a result. and yes, he has lots of other trauma and issues to unpack on top of it: but from the outset, he's pretty clear that he wants to figure out how to have feelings and a relationship in a non-sexual context. the other stuff exists TOO. many things can be true. it's just that he states, his stated reason for withdrawing, is wanting to sort out his feelings for TAV, not sort out his sexual trauma. again, both are true. but also: BOTH are true. he's not just a sad traumatized boy, he's also and equally trying to learn how to Relationship in a different way than he's used to.

so going back to halsin, who i'm not trying to demonize. all these FANFICS, man. halsin teaching astarion about uwu consent and taking care of him in a strong and paternal way. that's like. the last thing in the universe astarion would want. he'd go full cat exposed to water. and i'm not saying the ship can't happen or whatever, but it's such a common thread in the fanfics it drives me bonkers.

[come-down-that-tree]

Prologue Previous

Come Down That Tree! (An aftermare story)

Epilogue

Deep inside a forest, if you follow a thin river south for a while, you may fall on rocks positioned in special ways, creating zones for different uses.

If you walk through bushes and trees, following a path that was paved by feet over years of walking on the dirt, you may find a circular clearing with a young tree bearing peculiar fruits, a strawberry plant with a barrier surrounding it and one old wooden house.

And there, you may encounter a family of four, happily living their day isolated from most of the world.

Not that they did not engage with people once in a while.

In fact they often exchanged goods and services with traveling merchants that had the habit of setting up their camp just outside that particular forest.

They came carrying foreign objects and exotic food and stories that sounded like made up legends that animated talks around the fire during long nights of rest before they all scattered again to do their job.

“Did you hear about the village in the east, the one just 4 days away if you walk fast?” one would whisper over shared drinks and salted meat.

“That one? Someone told me an ancient evil burned their joy away and stole their knowledge for the faes. No business to have there, they’re barelly capable of living without someone holding their hand.” would answer another.

“I heard it was a punishment for chasing out the queen of the fireflies, she was noisy and they threw her out!” would add a third.

“So many people left the place, it made room for ghosts and if you stand under the moonlight you may have the honor of watching their monarchs dancing together around a fountain made of stone so white you can go blind from just watching it,” would exclaim the last one.

And then they would turn their heads to their guests, the two of them, sometimes one, never the three at the same time, and ask “you, who live not so far away, do you know which is true?”

One would answer a different one each time.

The second would smile politely and divert the conversation.

The last one would argue they all were wrong and tell a tale that was so preposterous that the travelers would all laugh so hard, some would always fall from their seats from the sheer absurdity.

And after, they would part ways, without ceremony, confident they would see the residents again, next time they roamed in the region.

And the family would go back home, sort their newly acquired supplies and go to sleep.

During the day, shouts and laughter sometimes tore apart the tranquility of the wood, disturbing the wild life who despite the ruckus stayed close.

One particular shout could be heard at any hour. Be it day, be it night. It seemed that it was used at least once a day and bore no real effectiveness on the matter it addressed.

Open your ear and you might hear it.

Here it is.

“VIVID! COME DOWN THAT TREE!”

The true end-

@dragon-tamer-1 @shinechermont <3

mmmmm Here it is... CDTT ends here...

I, uh, dunno how to feel about it XDc

I posted the prologue the 3rd of june 2021, 3 years ago.

But if we go by when I first wrote the whole plot (and posted it, there was no surprise for who was around and read it at the time XDc), it was in february of this same year I went down the rabbit hole (with some great company ;3).

And if we talk about the day I got interested by the ship? The 31st of january 2021 because of one ask from Cyan anon (everybody claps for Cyan without this fic would not have existed). I was not even supposed to be online XDc I was on a study hiatus but I kinda broke it down to talk about the rarepair pfffft uwu

My reason I latched that hard on the ship? I feel like it's a chill one and I liked that. They're quiet and just vibing for me.

I'm not much of a ship person in fact, contrary to some of my online friends (simps all of you), a story only focusing on romance tend to bore me so writing a shipfic? A challenge.

I also never finished a longfic before. Be it original of fanfic.

Only one-shots or short stuff (3-4 chaps) have been ended somewhat properly.

The doc containing CDTT is 112 pages long, removing the summary and other worldbuilding stuff would only shrink it down to like 110.

I think that's pretty big.

Not huge, I've seen far longer.

But big.

I would not have managed that without you all' comments and tags pushing me forward.

So, truly, thank you for reading :D

(special thanks to AC and Drag')

Goodbye (for now)

[mikuni14]

The Sign - Ep 8

We all see you Tharn, how you are eager to be petted and kissed, like Namami! For a second, but still, because, like a true cat, you stopped it for reasons known only by you 😭 100% cat behavior 😆

...............

I have mixed feelings after this episode 👻 On the one hand, it was very interesting, we learned a lot of new things, most of my wild theories turned out to be true, there were a lot of funny scenes that made me laugh out loud. But this episode left me feeling very unsatisfied. For so many reasons:

Phaya looks terrified after waking up from a nightmare. And after a short conversation they both just go to sleep like…..roommates lol Tharn should have hugged Phaya and comforted him, I would give my right kidney for Phaya cuddling up to Tharn like Tharn was cuddling to him before. This scene begs for Tharn to comfort Phaya!

Phaya and Tharn spent a 💞🔥 night, confessed their feelings to each other, and Tharn even said that he made an important decision for himself and Phaya. And their morning after after all this was… nice. That's all. Phaya, Tharn and we deserve better!

Scenes from their past lives. Hmm. First of all, I find it strange to insist on calling Wansarat a girl when the series shows Tharn as a man. I know they didn't want to show Phaya (Billy)'s romance with Wansarat (Freen) so as not to damage BillyBabe's Brand Couple™ image, but there is a very simple solution to this problem: they could have hired another actor to play Garuda and Freen to play Wansarat! And it would even make sense, because at one point Phaya himself says what does it have to do with him, since he already loves someone and it's Tharn - a guy, while watching himself and… Tharn on a fantasy TV with us 🤷‍♀️🤷‍♀️🤷‍♀️ Maybe it's just me, but I don't see any great love between Garuda and Wansarat, certainly not like between Phaya and Tharn. Like, they met, bam! they're a couple now, then in a very soap opera-ish (which makes it a bit comical) style, they both die. Unfortunately, in my opinion, this story lacked depth, emotions of these characters, their feelings. The most emotional scene was Chalathon's horror when he killed Wansarat. I just... I just don't believe in their love being powerful enough to want them to be together again, to create new reincarnations 🤷‍♀️

Ok, enough with tis negativity :) What I liked about it:

There was no awkwardness between them in their mornig after scene, they are both adults, they are both smitten, Tharn tries hard to hide how mushy he feels and I love his sparkling eyes and hidden smiles. 🥰 I like that Phaya immediately suggests moving in together, it's very much in his character. (It's a shame that there is no conversation about their relationship status, I think Phaya is the type of guy who immediately wants the rest of the world to know that Tharn is with him)

I love the abbot, how uncompromising and badass he is, how he has no qualms about fucking up the deity he serves, talking back to him, reprimanding him and how he uses his superpowers. He's super cool.

The training scene was great:

Khem is fun and a little shit in combat, but very skillful

Thongthai ending the fight and winning it with one, well thought, well placed, killer sentence 💀😎

Khem who puts being Thongthai's boyfriend above everything else, including his pride, him winning the fight, everything. The scene where he beats himself with Tongthai's hands: 10/10

teasing Tharn but again in such a nice, friendly way 😊

astounding detective work in figuring out where Tharn spent the night

Phaya coming to Tharn's rescue and stopping any situation that might cause Tharn discomfort 🤩

Phaya kicking Khem's ass and CALLING THONGTHAI TO HELP HIM AND THONGTHAI WITHOUT HESITATION JOINING IN KICKING KHEM'S ASS 😆😆😆 it was SO FUNNY

Yai telling Phaya to take care of his baby brother and Tharn smiling shyly and sweetly and not protesting at all! 🥺 ok, just kill me now, too much uwu 🥺

The scene of Tharn and Phaya by the river, how Tharn takes care of Phaya, them holding hands, Yai feeling happy for them and the scene of him making a heart gesture with a random guy 😆 I also really liked Phaya's panicked look when he doesn't see Tharn. The strange thing is that Tharn, who pulls Phaya away from the water, promises to take care of him, is stressed by the whole situation, when later doesn't see Phaya for a long time does… nothing. He's not even aware that Phaya's gone! Well, it's not the first time that Tharn is a victim of the plot and what currently suits the scriptwriters, and it probably won't be the last 😑

I liked Phaya saying: cool story bro, this cgi is nice and shit, but what does it have to do with me, as I already have a sweet boo back home, who is a whole ass DUDE (I know, I checked thoroughly last night) and also my whole world 😤 I love him for that 👌 I really wanted to make it clear that Phaya fell in love with THARN, not someone else's reincarnation, even if that's technically the case.

I liked Tharn's fight with that masked guy.

And I liked Tharn in white shorts and Phaya's oversized clothes. Phaya also served some sexy looks in this episode 👌

Absolutely perfect, heartbreaking scene of Tharn's anguish. I love Babe's voice in the scenes of his despair, his voice cracked just as much when they were pulling Phaya out of the water during their training, as it does now. It's... wow...

And finally, the question… what exactly are Phaya and Tharn paying for, what was the abbot talking about, what is their karma, what did they do wrong to keep paying for it? Because this story shows that they are both victims of OTHER PEOPLE, and that karma should be a bitch only towards Chalathorn?! Am I missing something?

(Phaya must have pleased and served Tharn well, since he did not wake up either when Phaya was being strangled and he tossed around in bed, or when he got up first in the morning 🤭🤭)

[booksandpaperss]

kind of obsessed with the fact you've slowly gotten more blatant with heartstopper hate lmfao😭 it's like. fine to me it's cute but NOTHING SERIOUS IS EVER GOING ON so I gotta be in a really specific mood for it I still haven't watched s2. definitely couldn't be a fixation. and everyone fucking loves it it's the best thing since sliced bread and I'm like. why tho. and then any critique of it is sorta dumbed down to "oh you just don't like how sweet it is but teenagers deserve sweet romance" like ok but why's it gotta be boring though. and too healthy like beyond normal levels of healthy. like this is missing even the usual human levels of miscommunication. and it gets resolved too easy. sorry this was supposed to cut off 4 sentences ago I'm realizing now in your inbox that I apparently have beef with heartstopper

LKSSJJSJS LISTEN listen. I don’t even hate it. truly. I even genuinely enjoyed myself during the nick and Charlie parts bc that’s the part that thought is actually put into. I just hate how much everyone loves it so blindly

honestly my biggest beef with it is that it’s marketed and treated as the most genuine and diverse groundbreaking queer storyline there is when that’s literally so far from true and it really really shows ppls true colors when they think this bc the sapphics and POC are literal props it’s actually absurd for a show that’s supposed to be a safe space for queer ppl

and god do I hate that part of the reason it’s so popular is bc it portrays these queer teenagers as never having a single, physical thought in their entire life. there was this whole plot centered around one single hickey that Charlie had??? and something abt the physical attraction portion of it all, which they did try to show btw, felt disingenuous to me. and I know that’s why it’s so palatable to a mainstream audience and it pisses me off and again it just doesn’t feel genuine. which is ironically one of the main arguments against heartstopper criticism: “it’s not cringe it’s just earnest” when yeah maybe it’s Trying to be earnest but when u look at it from more than a surface level lens it’s not rlly succeeding

and I know the aroace storyline in season 2 with Isaac resonated with a lot of people and I think that’s wonderful, and I actually do think that was something that was done well, but how can you have a storyline around asexuality when you don’t show the contrast in how it is being an allosexual queer person. there was a whole lot of romantic attraction going on but even more tip toeing around the sexual attraction aspect. and I don’t expect it to be like sex education for example in terms of the focus on sex obv , but the lack of acknowledgment of that aspect of the queer experience paired with how much the uwu wholesomeness of it all is played up rlly rubs me the wrong way. once again: it feels dishonest

I was actually talking about this with one of my mutuals the other day and they pointed out that it is very plain that alice olseman did not consult a single queer man in the writers room. and if someone can prove this wrong be my guest but I rlly don’t think the whole physical attraction component would have been done so badly had an actual queer man been on the team. feels kind of like back in summer 2022 when byler shippers would literally shun and harass anyone who even implied that Will’s feelings for Mike probably included physical attraction meanwhile Noah Schnapp himself was making jokes about it bc he’s an actual gay teenager.

not gonna even get into right now how Tara and darcy felt even more like props this season than in the last one and I didn’t even like watching their scenes bc the writing itself felt performative. that’s a whole other post.

and man, wouldn’t it have been so nice if there had actually been people of color in that writers room. On a purely surface level heartstopper has a very diverse cast but once again, peel away even one layer and you realize it’s a bunch of tokenism, which brings me full circle back to my original point: you can’t say it’s peak representation and diversity when it’s whitewashed as hell and doesn’t gaf abt sapphics despite literally being written by one. guess she chose her whiteness over her queerness even when writing a queer story which wowwww sooooo original.

okayyyy anyways did NOT mean to write a whole essay but u discovering ur own beef reminded me of mine lmaooo

all of this was to say that basically I’m not gonna pretend I didn’t enjoy myself during parts of the show, and I don’t wanna shame ppl for liking it that is not at all what I’m trying to do here, it has its own place in queer media and if a show like this came out in like 2010 it would be groundbreaking despite its issues (but again it’s literally 2023 do fucking better) , but I take issue with people treating it like something it’s not and with the amount of love it gets I feel like I have to be really loud about my criticism of it, especially bc usually the criticism of the show that gets any attention isn’t even slandering it for the right reasons and like. if ur gonna hate on something queer and popular do it right

oh and heartstopper writers? maybe try speaking with an actual teenager once in your life before writing their dialogue they do not fucking communicate that well

okay I’m done now finally 🫡

[yunacoeur]

the choices we make

our last dance: chapter iii

chapter synopsis: you, as the oldest royal child of your family, are up to take the throne. in your search for a partner to be consort, the royal family is throwing a party in your name for you to meet potential suitors.

look at me like i’m the only person in the room.

word count: 3.2k

a/n: i apologize this is kind of the filler chapter to get us to the climatic ending of the main story! so excited to show you chapter 4, but in the meantime: enjoy!

taglist: @en-ct @dimplewonie @cherriegyu @zerobaseonefics @haesunflower @shiningstar-byulxx @kpoprhia @harus-simp @taerrrrrae @zhanghaos-hairclips @big-uwu-stan @seok02 @kpop17 @quanrui-vamp @mins-fins @huipinkhair @beomibeom @wonluvrbot @gyuvinie08 @flwrinn @wigobkm @deadlycute-cutelydead @ladyestelleofthesea @aerzb1 if you’d like to be on the taglist please fill out this form!

you wake up the morning after, after having been right to assume you’d be restless. the whole night was spent thinking about all of them. you couldn’t eliminate a single one without some part of your brain begging you to reconsider. a small memory shard would be given to you every time you tried to eliminate them. a moment that made you like them.

and then you’d be back to square one.

gyuvin seemed younger, but he was charming in a youthful way. he still had all the stars in his eyes, while the others seemed to only have a few. he had beautiful dreams and ideas and you wonder if maybe, just maybe, you could run away with him. to a place where nobody knew either of you.

matthew was polite and kind and everything you expected in a partner. he’s practically perfect for you. he’s strong and saved you from so much embarrassment when you fell. he kind of felt like the hero you needed in life.

hao was someone who felt real. he felt genuine. you didn’t feel like royalty around him, you just felt like you were someone and he was someone and you were destined to fall in love. you could see it when you were deciding whether or not to dance with hanbin. he felt it too. he was comfort and protection and calm. maybe that’s what you need a little more of.

taerae, the hopeless romantic. god it felt like a typical romance straight out of a movie. what’s nice is that these kind of movies are predictable. there are no surprises, just a guy who falls helplessly in love with you by the end of the story. you could be the happy ending that romeo and juliet never got.

jiwoong is familiarity, and also unfamiliarity. he’s someone you’ve known for years, and also someone completely unknown to you entirely. and while you have spent this time not really knowing him, he has spent his time falling in love with you, to your surprise. he said he’s wanted to marry you all his life. maybe you could make his wish come true.

yujin is also familiarity, but in a different way. you could never marry that kid, but maybe you should consider the possibility of giving the position to him on paper so he could get the chance to rule like how he’s always dreamed of, and your real lover could be someone else behind the scenes. perhaps that is a good ending too, is it not? sacrificing everything so yujin gets a happy ending?

gunwook, the noble scholar, who gives meaning to the stars in the sky. he’s smart, effortlessly so, and he’s beautiful, adorable, sweet, etc. he could say there’s meaning in the most innocuous things and you would believe him. the sun is shining a little bit brighter today? it’s a sign that we’re meant to be together, shine together.

and ricky. a ghost of a presence. an orange rose hidden in the bouquet, waiting for you to search and rescue it. he’s a mystery, but as you think more about him, ask around more, you learn how sweet the people around him think he is. they compare him to a kitten. you’re not sure you see it.

—

the night is slowly coming to an end. you can feel it in the air.

you look for a place to rest your unconventional bouquet, finding an expensive vase resting on a podium in the center of the room. you assume it’ll do the job. you put them in the vase, adjusting them so each one stands out just a bit more. they look chaotic and mismatched together, but even still, they’re all reminders of the beautiful people you’ve met tonight. it would be a shame to hate them and their lack of uniformness.

your eyes search for suitors with flowers still in their suit pockets, a sign that you must still speak to them. one last suitor stands out to you. he’s tall and his hair is bleached blonde. he's wearing more modern styles of jewelry and makeup, he looks cool. trendy even. it means he doesn’t fit in super well with the rest of the crowd, but he also stands out. he is incredibly attractive and his modern look is not doing him any disservice. he’s quite beautiful. you make your way over to him, but as he sees you, he walks over to meet you in the middle.

he tells you his name, but you don’t quite hear him, “my name is ricky.”

“hi, ricky,” you say with a giggle. it’s weird that you feel so shy, but the way that he’s looking at you is making you question everything. his eyes are enchanting, but he’s a little more reserved than he seems from far away and he’s quieter than he seems as well. he hasn’t said anything this whole interaction besides his name.

that’s probably the only reason you can keep talking to him without getting flustered, “i saw you fall earlier. you were with another suitor, i believe? it was so shocking.”

“what do you mean?”

“well, so many people saw but you kinda fell into that guy’s arms so no one said anything,” he shrugs, “are you normally that clumsy?”

a part of you is screaming at yourself to recognize that he hasn’t addressed you respectfully this entire time and that he’s talking way too casually. the other is too charmed by him to really care about the disrespect.

“i-i guess so,” you murmur.

“you should be more careful,” he advises. you mumble out a shaky acknowledgment as he looks at his watch for the time.

“it’s getting late,” he comments, looking back up at you, “did you succeed tonight? did you find ‘the one’?”

a part of you wonders how he even knew of your worries about not finding ‘the one’. a part of you knows he could of overheard. it’s still shocking.

“i don’t know,” you say, and he shakes his head.

“no, i think you do,” he says in return. he’s serious, and the fact that he’s so self-assured makes you believe him just a bit.

you remember talking to a staff member earlier in the day, from a neighboring kingdom. they had sent a son of a powerful, wealthy duchess. they had called him something, an adoring nickname that didn’t make sense nor matter at the time, and now looking back on it you’re wondering how someone like this could be so adored and practically babied by the people around him.

but they definitely referred to him as the one with the blonde hair.

the nickname was something you could not remember, but you could never forget how highly they spoke of him, like he was the sweetest person they had ever met. like he was a teddy bear.

which was ironic because the guy in front of you doesn’t seem like that. maybe there’s more under the surface.

because he is definitely a softer guy than he’s letting on. he can hide it with his intimidating energy and mystery, but you can see it in his eyes, in the way he’s nervous fidgeting with his hands. he seems sweet under it all.

you try to talk to him more, but he almost seems to be rushing to run away, disappearing practically mid-conversation into the crowd. it’s disappointing, but you can finally seem to drag yourself out of the spell you seemed to be under while he was around.

and then it hits you, he never gave me a flower. as you realize it, you walk over to the vase in the center of the room where you had put the other flowers.

you find an orange rose hidden in the bouquet. there’s a note attached to it, taped to the thorny stem.

“remember me. ricky.”

the party has been over for a while now. not literally, you suppose, considering all the people still here. they won’t start to trickle out until you leave.

you retreat to the bar, hoping to find a certain comforting face once again. now that all the dancing has stopped, most of the guests are standing around, drinking, and chatting with their comrades. it may be hard to find the particular face you’re searching for.

and yet, right when you wanted him, he appears before you. it might just be magic.

“hello, stranger,” you say to him. your tone is much warmer and more fond than before. it has lost all sarcasm.

“didn’t i tell you not to call me that?” he replies as he turns to face you. it makes you smile knowing he recognized your voice, your teasing before he saw you. maybe he’d see the personality before the status, unlike so many people in your life, “are you doing alright?”

“yeah, why wouldn’t i?”

“i told you to come find me if you needed a break, so i had assumed-”

“don’t assume anything, dear stranger. i can’t only come to you during bad times. that is not love,” you say, reaching for his hand. he lets you take it and hold it in yours.

“my apologies, your highness,” he says with the most endearing smile.

“but unfortunately you were right,” you say, and he breathes out a laugh. it’s such inappropriate timing, but he can’t help it. you playfully glare at him and he rushes to defend himself.

“i’m sorry, i shouldn’t have laughed,” he says, “what’s wrong?”

you look away from him to gaze over the crowd, eyes wandering to your bouquet sitting gently in the center of the dancefloor. it stands out even more on its podium now that no one is dancing.

it’s an ominous thing. just sitting there peacefully, holding a representation of 8 different guys who offered to marry you, and also yujin, who you think forgot to give you the flower that was sitting in his pocket. you smile fondly at the thought.

out of all the possible thoughts to share with hao, you choose a very unspecific one, “i don’t feel right about any of this,” you say.

“what do you mean, your highness? the party?”

“this isn’t right, hao,” you whisper anxiously. even though he can tell you didn’t mean to say his name so casually, that it just slipped out without you noticing, he smiles. you’re already comfortable with him and that gives him peace, “i don’t feel good forcing people to perform and be the perfect candidate for my husband so i can find ‘the one’.”

“hey, don’t say that. you’re not forcing anyone,” he squeezes your hand to get your attention back on him. you seem distracted.

“i just- it all feels so wrong,” you say, and he heaves out a big sigh like he’s preparing to make a huge mistake.

he pulls you by your hand into him, his free arm wrapping around you as your head rests on his shoulder. he rests his head against yours, letting you relax and breathe before he says anything else.

“i’m sorry,” he whispers, “i’m sorry i keep doing things without asking you. i’m sorry i keep disrespecting you as the future monarch of this kingdom. and mostly i’m sorry that you feel like you’re the villain here.”

you’re not crying, because keeping in emotions is something you’ve been learning to do for years. god if you aren’t a little bit close.

“this should have been a cute story. a love story. finding your perfect match and having a perfect, happy ending,” he taps his hand against your back as a soothing motion, “instead you’re here feeling like you’re the bad guy, like you forced everyone here. that must feel horrible.”

“it does,” you whisper back.

he chuckles, and you feel the vibrations from his chest. his rhythmic heartbeat comforts you.

“i’m sorry, your highness. if it’s any comfort, i can assure you that no one you’ve met tonight feels forced to be here.”

“how would you know?” you mumble against his shirt.

“because i’m standing here with you. i could not imagine being displeased with your company,” he smiles, you can’t see it but you can hear it in his voice, “i could not imagine disliking you. i couldn’t even begin to describe what that would be like.”

you raise your head to look at him. his eyes are so intense, but they’re beautiful, burning into your soul.

“thank you, stranger,” you whisper to him with a giggle, and he scoffs, letting you go but still holding your hand.

“you’re never gonna let that go, are you?”

“i don’t think so,” you smile, and he smiles back.

“are you thinking of calling it a night soon?” he asks.

“yes, i think so. i am tired. i will think it all over in the morning,” you say, thinking of the restless night you are about to have. all those pretty smiles and charming personas. it will definitely take some time to decide who you’re going to marry.

“then i suppose this is goodbye until i see you again,” he sighs, and it feels tragic. there’s this heavy feeling on your soul, “whether i see you again as my fiance or as an ally, please know that i will always be here to be your peace, should you ever need me.”

“thank you, hao,” you tell him, before suddenly, you remember something, “oh, my, i almost forgot!”

he looks shocked for just a moment, “what? what is it?”

you look back at him, apologetic for getting up to leave so suddenly, “i promised something.. to someone.”

of course, you see in his eyes that he’s not fond of what you’re implying. he looks subtly upset like he’s hiding it well. maybe your heart likes that he already wants you to himself.

you don’t have to do it. you could stay with hao and be comfortable. he seems to be the only real person here. he’s sweet and charming. he’s a perfect bachelor.

but you see hanbin from across the room. his darling charming smile and his cheek dimples stand out the most. he is exciting, breathtaking, and it would be a crime to not dance with him at the very least one last time ( hopefully this isn't the last).

“stay with me,” hao says, tightening his grip on your hand. you stare at your hand being held in his, desperately holding on, “stay. please.”

“i promised him,” you whisper, looking up at him. something is going on inside his head, an emotion you can’t exactly pinpoint. you give one last look to hanbin, who at very long last makes eye contact with you. his eyes shine impossibly brighter, like he’s found what he’s been looking for.

hao sighs, “then go,” he changes his mind suddenly, and you turn back to face him, “no, really. go. dance with him. it’s okay.” it’s confusing and heartwrenching to see hao let you go like that. you know he hates the words leaving his mouth.

you mouth a simple thank you to him before running off to fall into the arms of your final dance partner of the night.

you get to him easily. he’s still just as effortlessly beautiful up close as you remember. he immediately reaches for your hand to hold. he’s warmer than zhang hao is. he’s not as soft spoken. he’s brighter. his grip is less gentle. so many little differences.

“hanbin,” you smile, and he smiles back. he adores how softly you say his name. it’s only been hours, but he thinks he’s ready to fall in love. it feels too fast and too quick, but he’s been preparing for this moment his whole life. considering he has no chance for his own kingdom's throne, marrying you would be fulfilling his destiny.

plus, he likes the way you look at him. he likes how clumsy you dance, it’s kind of charming. he likes how humble you are despite your position. he likes a lot about you already.

“will you join me?” he asks, but when your face falls just slightly, he gets concerned. he’s faulting just a bit, his hand retracting slightly. he’s worried that you’re giving him this last dance as a final goodbye, “what is wrong, your highness?”

“you’re asking for the… last dance,” you mumble, and before he has a chance to even respond to that, you wipe the sadness from your face and take his hand, “very well, i suppose i will join you.”

he’s slightly stunned, but he follows. he feels out of place for wanting to correct you. you haven’t given him the opportunity, but he still feels like he must. for your feeling’s sake.

“your majesty, i had asked for your first dance as a formality. and i had asked for your last dance out of avarice for your time, but if i'm being honest,” he says, his grip on your waist as you sway together making the moment even more intimate. god, he’s so close to you, you can feel the breaths he exhales on your skin, “i think i’ll need more than just those two.”

“yeah?” that, in all your dazed glory, was all you were capable of responding with.

“i would ask for all of them if that didn’t feel just a bit too greedy, your highness,” he gives you a goofy smile and it just all stops. time freezes for just a second.

you let it all go for a moment, just enjoying your last moments of the night with him. he decides to relax and enjoy these moments as well, twirling you around and smiling so endeared when you giggle. he might just be in love already.

you’ve gotten a little bit more bold since the first dance with him, and now that it is the last one, he happily lets you lead him around in your clumsy rendition of the graceful dance he had led you in earlier. he is so much better of a dancer than you are, but he’s patient with you. you step on his toes at one point, and you hurriedly apologize, but it doesn’t even matter to him. his expensive shoes are replaceable; this moment with you is not.

people who look on simply see you and him, giggling and laughing at your silly dance, holding onto each other for fear you’ll fall, and they must wonder if all these other suitors thought they even stood a chance.

“i have a request,” you say to him, “could you promise me this is not our last dance?”

he smiles so endearingly, “your highness, no matter what your answer is in the coming days, should you ever lend out your hand, i will reach for it. i will always twirl you around and dance with you, and we will come right back to this moment,” he says. it gives you comfort for a brief second before the anxiety of the question of who to pick comes back to you.

hanbin?

with his perfect smile and dimples, are you going to choose to spend your mortal life ruling a kingdom with sung hanbin by your side?

“thank you,” you say, pulling his hand close to your lips to kiss the back of it.

he shakes his head adorably, pouting, “oh, your highness, that should be me. i should be thanking you for your consideration and time-”

“hanbin,” you stop him, “thank you. i should go now, but i thank you for everything.”

the feeling of the kiss on his hand still lingers after you’ve left him there.

[yonpote]

I'm relatively new to the phandom and have recently starting reading fanfics and it's so incredibly fascinating. Like, in my opinion more than anything else it's a reflection of the phandom itself at any given moment of time.

What were the popular tropes? How did people write them as individuals and their dynamic? What did people know? What didn't they know? What did the writers rightly or wrongly assume? How "ooc" do dnp feel from today's perspective? Which people are picked as "villains" or friends? (funfact about that: the first time I came across a "charlie" mention was very recently after that gamingmas collab with pj and charlie so i assumed they were referring to charlieissocoollike and was so offended on her behalf. took me a while until it clicked)

I've noticed that to be able really understand the fics and not get utterly confused, it's almost always vital to check the date the fics were uploaded and kind of put it into historical context, literary analysis style.

yeah i think fanfic in general will always end up reflecting more on the mindset of the person writing than of the people/characters it's based on. i think whats interesting is that in recent years, now that we have a bit more context with what's going on and perhaps fics being written by grown adults with new life experiences lol, the way people have written dnp has very much changed! i know im the bottomphil rant guy but actually in fic you see a lot more variety wrt positions as well as D/s roles in smut. (shout out to dombottom flatmates!phil) or for a less horny example, you'll see people write dnp in both modern au's and "canon compliant" fics as like, struggling students or living in shit apartments with shit jobs, with mental health problems that ARENT fixed with the power of true love lmao as well as just generally exploring neurodivergence and their dynamic beyond friendship and beyond romance.

honestly whenever i talk abt the tropey stereotypes of days past its not like its something that JUST happened with phan, the Aggressive Masc and the Soft UWU Femme goes as far back as people have been writing about romance. so i think all the relatively recent changes is like, fic writers growing up and having new experiences as well as generally improving at writing, general fandom culture changing as well as Phandom culture specifically changing, dnp changing quite a bit and opening up to their audience, prob other stuff im forgetting but YEAH its all really interesting stuff!

[donutsupremacy]

Courage

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Summary

"After completing their journey in Fontaine, the traveler and Paimon decided to return to Inazuma, only to see that the 'Test of Courage' event is being carried out once again. They decide to participate, but an unexpected friend arrives and request for them to sign up as his partner in the event."

Warnings/Spoilers

Written during 4.5

Spoilers for Akitsu Kimodameshi storyline and event (Vers 3.3)

Takes place AFTER the story quests in Fontaine

GN!Reader

Reader is traveller, but may be read while in the perspective of Lumine or Aether as the 'traveler', or yourself as the 'traveler'

Yes Paimon is here

Side characters mentioned

Violence and physical fights

Fluff (fighting doesn't count as angst right-)

Heizou my beloved uwu

Heizou simping for traveler

But I'm down horrendously bad and simp for him too

This is long, very very long

The plot is all over the place

Probably at least 30 inconsistencies in the plot

Not proof read

A/N: Happy birthday to the most handsome, coolest, smartest, most awesome, most stunning, most well-written, most perfect, most elegant, most funny, hottest, most fun, most superb, most cunning, most sexy, most caring, (insert the remaining 300+ compliments)— character of all time in Genshin Impact;

My beloved husband and the father of my children, Shikanoin Heizou <3

Also I think I misspelled 'Traveler' to 'Traveller' about 10 times

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Your romance starts here

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Inazuma City, the sound of usual cheerful chatter lost in the night sky as street lights brightened up the surrounding areas the traveler and their fairy-like companion traversed through, hearing familiar voices call out their names and send them friendly waves, a few welcoming them back to the land of Electro.

This was something they needed. Just a simple walk to help relieve them of the adrenaline experienced back in Fontaine.

From watching a man get crushed to death and clearing a magician's name, to uncovering the truth of the Primordial sea and unmasking Furina's true identity. Not to mention 'The prophecy' that brought in a catastrophe, nearly wiping out the citizens of Fontaine.

"It seems like we're just as popular as ever!" Paimon hummed, her little crown bobbing slightly as she floats by the traveler's side. "I think we've been popular ever since the end of the Vision Hunt Decree." The traveler chuckled, returning their waves and nodding their heads in acknowledgement.

"Do my eyes deceive me, or has a certain someone finally returned to the city just on time for the 'Test of Courage' again?" A familiar, feminine and silky voice purred close by— emerging from seemingly out of no where behind the traveler, their unmistakable appearance of pink fox ears and hair along with the white shrine maiden's outfit. "My... I knew you were a courageous one, or perhaps, it was just coincidence you returned right on time."

"Miko! Long time no see!" Paimon squeaked, the white haired fairy and the traveller greeting her with a wave. "Huh? The 'Test of Courage'?... Again? Wait— you're not planning anything suspicious again behind the scenes, are you!?" The fairy huffed, narrowing her eyes at the pink haired female.

Miko lets out a calm, yet, amused giggle, a hand over her sly grin that was knowingly full of teasings and mischief. "Jumping into conclusions now, are we?... I must admit, perhaps the last event may have caused some... unwanted mayhem, but it was quite enjoyable, no? Ease your worries, you two... That Yashiro rascal took charge of the event. So really, if anything out of the ordinary happened, it would be him pulling the strings behind it, not me... Pity. I would've loved adding in my own 'flair' to the event."

While Paimon was off asking questions after question that suspects Miko's part behind the event, the traveller looks off into the night sky, seeing the sea of stars out of reach.

The first event was quite memorable, it almost felt like yesterday— Walking with their friends in Chinju Forest, meeting those kids, Itto's shenanigans... Chizuru... and a certain someone's investigation.

'Perhaps I can spare some time to catch up with some of them...'

[Timeskip]

Standing in front of the beach, the traveler watches as the surface of the water slowly washes towards their feet, lapping against the sand beneath them, before sinking back further out into the sea. Their eyes traced along the clear blue shore, hearing the sound of waves splashing against stray rocks.

"Paimon remembers Chizuru here... all those memories seem so fresh, like it's only been a day since the last 'Test of Courage'..." Paimon murmured in a solemn tone, as though she had read her companion's mind.

"Yeah... I remember her too— and that wish..." The traveler trailed off, the sound of the yokai's voice echoing faintly in their mind, replaying her wish;

'I wish that every day of your journey ahead will be filled with joy like a festival.'

"Quite a lovely evening, isn't it?." Another familiar voice hummed, the sound of footsteps brushing beneath the sand gradually growing louder towards the traveler.

A pair of lime green eyes met theirs.

"Heizou! It's great to see you again, did you get a commission for an investigation?" Paimon chirped as she and the traveler approached the young detective, whose smile widened upon meeting the traveler's gaze.

"Not exactly... A little birdie told me that the 'Hero of Inazuma' had returned, roaming the streets of Inazuma City. No doubt that title belongs to you, my dear partner." Heizou chuckled as he crossed his arms, his burgundy hair lightly swaying in the wind along with the shore. "I take it you're both here for the 'Test of Courage' event again?"

"We heard about it. Since we're trying to unwind from our journey, we decided it wouldn't be any harm to participate in it again and have fun. After all, what's the worst that could happen? It's not like history will repeat itself." The traveller explained in a half-joking tone, elicting a huff of amusement from the detective.

"When news of that event was being spread around and that you had returned, my intuition told me you'd be somewhere quiet to think about the first event, somewhere also related to them. So I narrowed the place down to the beach— where we confronted and learned the truth about Chizuru's motives." Heizou murmured, shuffling to the traveller's side as the three of them stared out into the ocean.

For a moment, not a single word was exchanged, each of them quietly staring out into the sea— knowing that was the last of their Yokai friend, who now rests above the clouds in peace.

Eventually, the young detective, quietly coughed into his fist, his fingers toying with the collar of his shirt as his eyes met theirs. "...Say, unlike last time, I didn't get to enjoy the event fully, I even dragged you into my work— but now that you're here and I don't have a commission to fulfill... what say we become partners for the event since it starts tomorrow?" Heizou asked, the slight twinge of nervousness barely noticeable in his tone.

Heizou? Nervous? Certainly something rare.

"We are quite a team, after all." Heizou chuckled, the corner of his lips tugging up into a little grin.

The traveler's brows raised, their cheeks tinted a faint shade of pink, hidden underneath the moonlight.

"It's not a problem, we didn't mind helping you with your investigations." They hummed, a soft smile gracing their lips that made his heart skip a beat. It's just as beautiful as he last saw it. "...Though, I'd be honoured to be your partner for the event, Heizou."

Flashing you a toothy grin, Heizou's velvety laughter erupts from his throat. "I should be the one feeling honoured to have you accept my request. I've heard that the prize was a rare geode found deep within Seirai Island. It has a dark grey crust, but supposedly carries [colour] minerals inside."

"Though, i'm not particularly interested in the prize, i'll make sure to do my best so you'll win it— I'd like to see the inside of the geode, and I'd like to see it try to rival that pretty smile of yours." Heizou hummed, sending a wink as his facial features donned a sly smile.

"...Eh?" Paimon glanced back and forth between the traveler and the detective, raising a brow of confusion as she spots her companion's cheeks glow a bright colour, the dark lighting couldn't hide the obvious blush anymore as blood rushed to their face.

"I... uh... look forward... to participating in the event with you..." The traveller managed to stammer out as they avert their gaze, rubbing the back of their nape awkwardly.

"So will I, traveler... so will I..." Heizou quietly mumbled under his breath, facing the ocean but still had the traveler in his peripheral vision— eyes still trained on them as he felt his heart rapidly thumping against his chest at the thought of them. Perhaps he could finally tell them how much they caused his heart to race.

How much he desires to stare into their eyes all day.

How much he wonders how they would feel in his arms.

How much he craves to have their lips on his.

[Timeskip]

It was the day of the event— located deep within Chinju Forest just like before, participants and familiar faces were seen preparing themselves for the event.

"Traveler, there you are." Heizou chirped upon seeing the traveler nearby, chatting with a few friends.

"Heizou! You're right on time— the event's about to start pretty soon!" Paimon said as the traveler bid their other friends farewell and good luck, before shuffling over to Heizou's side, the dim lighting of the forest barely able to hide the suave detective's little grin.

A velvety chuckle slips past his lips. "Sorry about that, I was busy getting some last minute work done. But don't worry, I'm here now with you and that's all that matters." Heizou murmured as he locks eyes with them, a twinkle of excitement at the thought of spending time with them seen in his pupils.

Albeit not alone since they were with Paimon,

"I heard this event is a little different than the one from previous event, they changed the rules a little, no?" Heizou hummed. "There's only one round and you need to find all three items in one fell swoop... seems easy enough, but I wonder if they've upper their games with their scare tactics."

The corner if the detective's lips curved higher up. He knew the traveller was well-known for being fearless and courageous, dueling with Fatui Harbingers, battling against the Shogun, saving nations left and right. He doubts they would be scared by a few measly jumpscares.

But a part of him wished they did, just so they could feel safer as he held them in his arms.

It wasn't long before the shrine maiden had announced the beginning of the event, the traveler and detective catefully navigating through the thick shrubbery and dim lighting, Paimon hiding behind the traveler's back, lightly trembling as soft whimpers left her lips.

"Is... Is it just Paimon, or... does the forest seem more... scarier than last time?..." Paimon uttered out frightfully, her pupils shrinking whenever the softest sound was heard, from their shoes crunching against the grass underneath to the sound of running water flowing nearby.

"It's just the chilling atmosphere of the dark forest and the lack of light, there really isn't nothing more out of the ordinary, Paimon." The detective spoke as dried leaves crunched under his sandals. "Besides, you have the traveler with you here, I highly doubt there's nothing they can handle."

"You flatter me, Heizou." The traveler hummed.

The traveler, Paimon and Heizou roamed the woods, following wooden signs as they pointed to several different directions.

A few odd noises were heard left and right, sometimes voices of other participants speaking from afar, elicting a squeal of terror from the small fairy. In the corner of Heizou's eyes, he could see the traveler's movement jolt at each sound out of surprise, causing his lips to tug into an amused smile. Could they be any more endearing be?

If it weren't for Heizou's quick deductions and keen observation, they wouldn't have been able to found the first item wedged between some rocks. Though, unlike the given item on the list, the three were suprised to find a piece of jewelry stuck beneath the pile of rocks.

"Eh? Weren't we supposed to find a fan?" Paimon asked, her small fingers scratching her head as she looked at the paper in her hands; A fan, a piece of talisman, and the geode— meant to be the final hidden item that only one group could find, declaring them as the winner and sole owner of the geode. "That's a ring!"

The traveler's mouth opened to say something, but their eyes glazed over at the detective for his input. Upon noticing the way his brows furrowed and his eyes narrowing ever so slightly, olive eyes examining the condition of the jewelry with intense focus. They slowly closed their mouths, leaning in slightly to get a better look at the jewelry, thinking Heizou might have found something odd about it.

Heizou's breath hitches quietly, the way the traveler leans in closer, allowing him to feel the tiniest bit of heat radiating from their body and feel the friction between their skins touching that sent a jolt through his body. He could even see the slightest details on their faces.

He notes every facial features on instinct when it comes to memorising faces of criminals he was ordered to track down, but when it comes to the traveler, he feels like memorising every bit of their pretty face and burn the image into his mind permanently.

'Their skin is... so soft...'

No harm done, he was sure they'd be flattered to know they were the muse of his fantasies. One he had been constantly dreaming of, eager to see their gorgeous smile and hear about all their exciting adventures while they speak in voice that puts him into a trance.

"I... take it you've noticed something odd about this situation?" Heizou eventually asks, the traveler barely able to catch the slight shaky breath he let out.

The ring had an engraving of two letters, though neither of them weren't sure who it belongs to, Heizou couldn't help but noticed it was wedged quite tightly into the rocks and covered in small bits of dirt. It seemed like someone was trying to dig through here, but had accidentally lost their ring in the process.

"If your deductions were correct, we should have been led to the correct item... how odd— I don't see anything resembling a fan anywhere." The traveler hummed. "Could we have been led astray on purpose?"

The possibility of someone else sabotaging the event for their own selfish desires was not off the table at all.

"Are you sure we're on the right path, Heizou? I don't even see any more signs nearby other than the ones we were following!" Paimon huffs, floating around in search of anything.

"Actually, there's one right there." Heizou awnsers immediately as he approaches the river nearby, squatting down and picking up the sign that seemed so lazily discarded on the riverbank.

The traveler and their small companion joined his side, his deft fingers brushing against the wooden surface of the sign before turning it around to examine the back. How odd, it seemed like it was broken off of a surface. "See this small patch behind the sign? I think this... was broken off from there." Heizou points at the nearby tree, having a small piece of it's wooden surface torn off.

He gets up, walking over to the tree and perches the tree upon it's wooden surface, trying to adjust it until the sign fits on the tree. It fits perfectly. "Bingo— so this sign was originally pointing that way." Heizou hummed, jabbing his finger at... a nearby cliff.

The three glanced down at the cliff, noting how it was a long fall and would definitely result in a broken leg. "All the way down there!?" Paimon exclaimed in confusion, before she glares at Heizou with unamusement. "Heizou, did you take too many criminal cases at once that it used up all your brain cells!?"

A velvety chuckle erupts from his throat. "Paimon, not everyone would be so dumb as to leap off a cliff this high up and land with their feet or body." He squats down, pointing at a trail of markings on the side of the cliff. Small indents left on the soil, rocks seeming loose and even a several deep scratches left on the surface. "Someone... or some people have been scaling down the cliff."

"Though, they did a sloppy job— It seemed like someone landed pretty harshly at the bottom." The traveler pointed out, noticing a small pit in the sand at the bottom of the cliff.

The detective chuckles, patting their shoulder. "Good eye."

"Learned from the best." The traveler hummed with a cheeky smile, gesturing to the burgundy haired male, whose pale cheeks flushed a bright shade of red.

To think the traveler was even paying attention to his little techniques on observation, how charming!

Although, scaling down the cliff was no easy feat without proper equipment, the traveller had not much of a problem, having learned to climb even the highest mountains and the steepest hills with nothing but their bare hands. A couple scratches here and there, but it a part of their was a journey, and what's a journey without a few minor injuries?

Heizou, on the other hand, wasn't struggling as much either. For a detective, he was trained to climb rocky surfaces and travel through rough terrains in order to track down criminals or finding hideouts, physical strength may not be his expertise, but he sure knew how to put it to good use.

Paimon... just floats down slowly.

"Seems like they weren't an expert of covering their tracks either. Rookie mistake." Heizou pointed out, noticing several foot prints left on the sand, some messy and some barely visible— as though a group of people had scampered towards one direction in a hurry, leaving a mess in their wake

The trio wasted no time as they tracked the trail, seeming as though it was an endless path that winded further from Chinju Forest. Further away from the actual event area.

"Uhh... is it really a good idea to stray so far away from the forest? Paimon doesn't think the event would stretch out past beyond that cliff area!" Paimon exclaimed, worry and uncertainty evident in her voice, not wanting to get disqualified by a hoax or a decoy meant as a distraction.

"The event doesn't cover this area... however, it seems like we've got a new case here on our hands." Heizou murmured, continuing to follow the trail without a hint of hesitation or doubt in his voice.

The traveler smiled a little at his focused expression, determination to solve even the tiniest bit of mysteries was rather attractive, despite the lack of evidence, he sure knows how to make use of the smallest clues to it's fullest.

The way his brows furrowed, his nose slighty scrunching as he concentrates... even the two moles underneath his eyes moved with each twitch of his lips— Was Heizou ever this attractive when they first met? Or... did he just get more handsome over time?

"I know I'm pretty good-looking, but there's no need to stare." Heizou's voice rang out, forcing the traveller out of their little trance. He chuckles with a hint of a teasing tone, both of their cheeks tinted with faint shades of red. "You can gawk at me all you want later, as long as I get to do the same to you, but I'd appreciate it if you could focus on the task at hand."

"R-Right!" The traveler coughs awkwardly into their fist, hurrying along the trail and walking further than Heizou to avoid letting their flushed face be seen by the suave detective. Meanwhile, Paimon frantically tries to fly faster to catch up to her companion, while Heizou could only smirk a little in amusement.

'So cute...' Heizou muses in his mind.

Eventually, the trail winds up to a cave underneath Inazuma City and Tenshukaku.

"Now, Paimon's sure we're going the wrong way." Paimon deadpans, her hands on her hips as she gave Heizou and expectant look, waiting for either an excuse or a twist.

"My intuition is telling me otherwise." The detective hummed, stroking his chin as he looked around.

Nothing looked out of the ordinary; Ores were growing from the ground, Onikabutos were relaxing on rocks, vines clinging onto the cave walls. "...Let's head in deeper." The traveler suggested, nodding their head towards the pathway. Heizou immediately follows suit, sharing a smile with the traveler in agreement that they had likely sensed something was out of the ordinary.

"Hey! Stop leaving Paimon alone, you two!" The white haired fairy whined, quickly floating towards them.

Upon arriving at a small pocket within the cave, the three were suprised upon seeing a piece of dark grey rock settled on top of a boulder— the prized geode. However, much to their dismay; A thunder barrier was the final obstacle in their path seperating them from victory and claiming the final prize.

Though, it seems like Lady Luck was on their side as a Thunder Sakura Bough was close by, allowing the traveler to receive an Electrograna and enter the barrier. Upon placing the Electrograna into the Thunderstone, the barrier slowly dissipates, allowing entry for Heizou and Paimon.

The traveler gives Heizou another smile, but it falters upon seeing the look of uncertainty on his face. Before the traveler could speak and voice their concern for his hesitation, Heizou mutters out. "This... seems too easy... And why were one of the signs from the event's venue tampered with?"

Voices echoed from outside the cave, followed several footsteps rapidly approaching.

Flinching, the traveler immediately summons their sword as the three turned around, seeing a group of men appearing and blocking the exit. Judging by the attire and weapons in their hands along with the mask on their faces; They're treasure horders.

"Let me guess; You guys were those ore thieves from Seirai Island? The group reported for going around and stealing materials from mine shafts?" Heizou spoke, his voice stern and his glare sharp, every single one of their slightest movements under his scrutiny. "I've heard of you... so you're here to steal the geode, I suppose?"

"Smart kid... But don't act tough in front of your little [S/O]." The supposed leader scoffed, his height towering his grunts, his eyes narrowed with irritation. "We've been after that geode for months! Until you nosy officials stole it right under our noses!"

"Enough talking! Now that you broke down the barrier, hand it over or we're bashing the three of you heads in!" The leader hissed, his sledge hammer propped on his shoulder, muscles flexing with his anger.

"Well... I was hoping we could settle this with a negotiation... But I guess nothing can be accomplished against someone with such a temper." Heizou sighed in disappointment, his burgundy hair lightly swaying as he shook his head, before he cracked his knuckles. He flashes the traveler a grin. "Traveler, mind giving me hand?"

"Always." The traveler hummed, rolling their shoulders to prevent any stiffness in their body. "Paimon, take the geode and find Ayato. Heizou and I will take care of this."

Despite wanting to voice her protest, the little fairy squeaks in a panic as she narrowly dodges a bottle containing Electro, shattering against the wall behind Paimon as glass fragments flew past her. "Paimon, it's fine, we can handle this! Go, now!" The traveler urges, charging towards the bandits with Heizou.

Seeing the brief opening, Paimon reluctantly snatches the geode and swiftly flies out of the cave, leaving a trail of sparkls and symbols in her wake, exclaiming that she would be as quick as she could.

Despite being largely outnumbered, the traveler and Heizou didn't struggle. Sword, shovels and hammers clashed against one another, but the clear advantage from both the traveler's experience in battle and Heizou's strength while using his vision allowed them to take down most of the treasure horders.

A frustrated groan erupts from the leader when he noticed most of his grunts getting knocked out from the fight, his muscles clenching as rage burns in his eyes, throwing the sledgehammer towards the traveler while they were distracted evading arrows from a marksman. Heizou, in the middle of rubbing his cheek donning a small bruise after tanking a punch from a scout, notices the incoming attack.

Just in the nick of time, Heizou leaps into the air and manages to kick a large gust of wind towards the sledgehammer with his vision. He lands, gracefully, watching as the gust of wind not only drags the sledgehammer away, but also pulls in several treasure horders along with it and sending them slamming into the cave wall.

"Well, partner... you're getting rusty— leaving your back wide open for attacks?" Heizou teases, chuckling as he cracks his knuckles, giving a playful smile towards the traveler, who had the marksman pinned down.

"It's a good thing I have a trusty partner to cover for me." The traveler hummed with a cheeky look, their knee digging down into the unconscious bandit's back.

The detective's grin tugs into a smirk, his pale cheeks turning a faint red. "Can't afford anyone to ruin that pretty face with bruises and cuts." He winks, a chuckle erupting from his throat as he see their face growing equally red. Sure, they were in the middle of an all-out brawl, but an opportunity is an opportunity— he wouldn't miss the chance to see those adorable cheeks flush a gorgeous red.

Meanwhile, the bulky leader of the bandits, despite the initial fury he felt earlier— was replaced with the expression of panic.

Realizing his whole squad was laying unconscious on the cave floor, he slowly inched backwards. Sweat forms on his head as he cursed quietly, he was already outnumbered against the pegendary traveler and a powerful detective. "Gotta make a run for it." He turns on his heel, preparing to flee.

"Leaving so soon? I would be more than honoured if you had extended your stay." A familiar voice spoke. Out came Kamisato Ayato, a group of soldiers from the Shogun's Army standing right behind him, armed with their spears and armour. The bandit skids to a halt, raising his hands in defense.

"Traveler! Heizou!" Paimon's voice rang out as she swiftly flies over to her companion, floating around in search of any injuries on their bodies, worry evident on her face. "Oh... you're both alright... But don't even send Paimon out alone ever again!" She huffs.

"We'll take care of the rest from here on out." Ayato spoke. "Excellent work, you three. When I first heard the three of you would team up for the event, I had no doubt in my mind you would not only end up as the victors, but also help with an ongoing issue in Inazuma."

Paimon clicked her tongue in annoyance, stomping her leg in the air like a child. "Will someone please explain to Paimon what happened!? And why are we getting dragged into more shenanigans!?"

The blue haired man chuckled, waving his hand dismissively. "I take it the three of you had heard news about a group of ore thieves who had been invading mineshafts and stealing valuable and precious metal?"

"Well, they're well known to move their hideouts frequently after each sucessful heist. Therefore, the Tri-Commissioners have fashioned a sort of trap by using the Courage Event as a guise, to lure out the bandits with a special type of ore we had found." Ayato explained.

"In other words... This whole event was a ruse and a decoy to trap bandits." The traveler said, causing Ayato to nod in agreement.

The white haired fairy groaned, flying up at Ayato's face with a small pout on her features. "By using a public event as a bait that could get anyone hurt? Couldn't either of you commissioners thought of a better decoy!?"

Ayato holds his arms up in defense, letting out an amused chuckle, but held a sheepish look. "Well... it was rather convincing and effective, was it not?"

While Paimon kept blowing up at the face of the Yashiro commissioner, Heizou shuffles over to the traveler's side, lightly tugging on their arm and nodding his head towards the outside of the cave. He dons a playful smirk, and it was enough to convince the traveler to follow him.

Outside, the detective held the prized geode in his hand, waving it. "Well, I wasn't expecting a full-blown brawl to happen in this event, I was... more or less expecting a calmer and fun game with you. Still, in the end— I kept my promise."

The detective hands the ore over to the traveler, allowing them to crack it open using the back of their sword. It splits in half, exposing an array of [Colour] crystals lined within, shining under the sun.

"Man alive... I think it's pretty worth it." Heizou mumbles, his voice oddly quiet and sounding breathless.

"You think? I think it was absolutely worth it!" The traveler, voice laced with excitement, cradling the geode in their hands as each of the crystals sparkled in a hypnotic rhythm.

It wasn't until the traveler lifted their head, locking eyes with the detective, who's lips curved into a soft smile, cheeks dusted with a faint red colour. "I'm not talking about the crystals inside... I'm talking about you." Heizou spoke quietly, seeing the traveler like this never failed to take his breath away.

"It's worth it to see you smile." Heizou adds, leaning in closer to the traveler, drinking in the way the crystals and lights reflected in their eyes.

A blush spreads across the traveler's face, their eyes widening at the close proximity, wanting to lean away at first— before letting out a sigh of defeat as they didn't dare move away, not when the way Heizou smiled and his soft gaze on them was just as addicting to stare.

"...Darn, fell into another trap..." The traveler murmured, averting their eyes out of embarrassment, causing the detective to chuckle. Heizou's hand reached up to held their chin, preventing them from looking away.

Their lips twitched upwards, unable to resist smiling when their faces were in such close proximity between eachother.

"Hey... it's not a trap, I swear!" The detective cooed, a cheeky smile wasn't enough to convince the traveler. "...Well, maybe it is."

The traveler opened their mouth, wanting to retort with a joke— but was soon silenced as a pair of warm lips met theirs.

Soft, sweet, gentle.

It only lasted just a few seconds, yet, felt like a whole decade passed by.

Once Heizou's lips slowly parted from the traveler, a smirk appears on his handsome features seeing their dumbfounded and flustered expression, a part of him wishes to continue.

But maybe he can save them for later. Now wasn't the best place or time, he knew their little companion was probably frantically looking around for the two of them.

"Congratulations, you fell into my trap... You're not my partner anymore. You're my beloved [S/O] now!~" Heizou hummed, his voice laced with both mischief and endearment.

The traveler blinked, still dumbfounded as their brain was trying to process the lingering feeling of his lips on their's. Before their expression morphs into one of fondness and amusement. "...I think that's a nice trap to fall into."

[staghunters]

Yellowjackets Girl Loser Standoff

Can't add polls to reblogs, but @mercedesrollinballer was talking of one to settle this matter. (@mistysnat started it all)

Yellowjackets! Alive, but failing at every instance. Who's doing it the worst? Your pick! Arguments for each are under the Read, but if you are sure of your losing dog, then vote here!

PROPAGANDA UNDER THE CUT

Taissa Turner

Teen Eats dirt and is not aware of her shadow-self to an embarassing degree. Sets up an expedition to get to civilization with only a bit of rations and a compass, and nearly gets her gf killed (they don't find help btw). Her rushed funeral for clown Jackie indirectly causes the cannibalism. "You ate her face, Tai" and she didn't even remember it.

Adult Hires a vague hitman to spy on her surviving teammates because what are social skills? Has a Gorgeous wife and stable home and then chooses politics. Leaves her wife in a coma and her son with his gran to hitchhike to her ex because yea her evil double said so and that is definitely legit. Claims to be a skeptic about rituals until she is in the clear and can participate on the safe side lol. Marries a rock?? Is not getting that re-election.

Shauna Shipman

Teen Thinks screwing her bestie's beard is what will solve things. Related: is pregnant while stuck in the woods. Related: did not raise the baby to hunt down Jeff like she said she would. Verbal communication? We bottle up our emotions and then write them down on paper for everyone to read. Did a silly voice while playing around as the vessel for hunter guy in the seance. EVERY SECOND OF HER IN THE SHED WITH POPSICLE JACKIE. Throws a fit over not being crowned cannibal queen.

Adult Totally living her dream life. Thinks a posh british accent is sexy in her furniture store roleplay. Got in a fender bender with some guy, cheated with him, then murdered him and hid his body. Still hallucinates her bestie hanging around. Can only seem to find some joy in her life through Violence (maybe skip the sex-therapist and go looking for one that deals with anger issues). Thought that she Had to murder a baby goat when nobody said a word about that. Got hunted lol.

Misty Quigley

Teen Unhinged from the start. No social skills. Has the hots for her gay coach. Destroys the flight recorder because "uwu then people will need me" and not think about the consequences. People ditch her for the most part after first-aid isn't needed anymore (happy now, Misty?). Throws psychedelics in the stew (banned from kitchen). Snitches on Jackie not taking part in the saying thanks, which sparks the fight with Shauna, which gets Jackie dead, despite Jackie being one of the few (maybe only?) people to be nice to her. Speaking of, gets a new bestie and has her falling off the shit cliff. Cannot read the room during a baby shower. Theater kid. Has no cast-appointed middle name, but the fic-appointed one is "fucking" Adult Works in elderly care so she can munchausen someone in case she need a mood boost. Forces herself in Natalie's life. Is on true-crime reddit. Her only friend is a parrot. Has a murder basement that she doesn't actually use for murder. Reads trashy romance novels. Overshares on a first date. Hangs out with a dude and lets him reduce her talents to a shrivel. Infiltrates a cult for shits and giggles. "Misty, you actually killed somebody" KILLS HER FRIEND. SHE ACCIDENTALLY KILLS HER FRIEND

[itookyoudown]

drop some of your raylan headcanons please 🤲🏻

hello yes thank you i would love to be insane about my raylan givens headcanons.

raylan is a deeply repressed late in life gay man. no offense to bi raylan lovers, i used to lean that way too but i headcanon him as very very gay these days. he's had sex with women and figured out how to enjoy it but that's just him liking the attention + the ego boost of being able to sexually satisfy women + working on his unresolved mommy issues AKA why he plays white hat cowboy for them + refusing to grapple with his internalized homophobia. but he cannot emotionally connect with women on a deep romantic level and that's why all his relationships wash out eventually.

he smoked cigarettes and weed as a teenager but quit both cold turkey after frances was diagnosed with lung cancer.

has a bit of a gambling problem. i spin this one directly off canon (winona points how he checked out of their relationship prior to their divorce but he was devoted to poker night with the boys). pool, poker, blackjack, cards. i think raylan loves it all. he's found more solace at a poker table than he's ever felt in a church.

he loves those cheesy historical bodice ripper romances. it was his first porn as a kid. he was sneaking them off frances' book shelf to read them under the covers while ignoring arlo's playboys.

raylan is not only a dom but he's a top too! yes me living that dom raylan truther life lol. nothing about this man reads as submissive to me. i used to headcanon him being switchy and vers but nah no longer. he could still go vers as a treat, i think, but it would be him making a special exception.

he has a breeding kink. i know he does, @sublightsleeper told me that so ofc it's true.

raylan really enjoys the beatles. another love handed down to him by his mama.

he isn't much of a cook or baker, but he DOES know how to do it. he just doesn't like it as a regular thing. he's more the type to grill on the holidays and he can whip the perfect sunday breakfast with all the fixings.

raylan is a night owl. he hates to wake up in the morning HATES it. man would sleep until noon every day if he could.

his love language is physical touch with a dash of acts of service.

raylan was a bully and an asshole as a teenager and college boy. no soft uwu younger years for him NOPE. he acted out and treated people horribly to feel better about himself. he didn't learn a little empathy until his senior year of university.

he's a FANTASTIC dancer.

raylan loves green apples.

honestly i've been thinking about this man for YEARS. i could go on and on but i'll stop here for now :)

[mermaidsirennikita]

ARC REVIEW: The Mistress Experience by Scarlett Peckham

4.5/5. Releases 6/25/2024.

vibes: courtesan-ing, sexually inexperienced hero, TRUE opposites attract, people with secret hearts that they don't want to unveil but oh no now they're in love

Heat Index: 7.5/10.

Thais Magdalene is a famous, coveted courtesan, known for spending no more than one night with each client. She enjoys her job, and she's great at it, yet she holds a secret desire to settle down with a man who loves her and have a family. To support a charity for women's rights, she auctions off 30 days in her bed. Shockingly, the buyer is Alistair Eden, a polite lord known for following all the rules. But Alistair has a secret: he's inexperienced in bed, and doesn't know how to please a woman--an issue he wants to correct before he marries to have an heir. As Thais and Alistair spend their month together, they both know it's meant to end forever as soon as time is up. Yet in one another, they find their true selves...

uGH I LOVED THIS. It's so good. So emotional, so funny, so hot, so different from your average historical romance. One thing I love about Scarlett Peckham is that she clearly loves and fully embraces historicals and their tropes, while also seeking to explore them in fun, original ways.

Here, she hits on several things you don't often see in the genre: a sex worker who really isn't traumatized by her profession; a hero who isn't a virgin but also really... doesn't know what to do in bed; and feminism that feels quite honest, and doesn't preclude the heroine longing for a somewhat traditional family life. There's a lot of hugging in this one, and I felt hugged by the book.

Also like. Hot.

Quick Takes:

--I knew I'd love Thais--I so enjoy a bawdy, sex-positive heroine who's secretly hiding a wounded heart--but Alistair was more of a question mark for me. I think I very much expected a Soft Boi uwu type hero, and while those can be done well... They often aren't.

To me, Scarlett did a great job of making Alistair vulnerable, caring, and sweet... while keeping his backbone and his flaws. Alistair is stuffy! He is a snob! He needs to get that stick out of his ass! And yes, he does make a grovel-worthy misstep at one point (and I did love the outcome).

The story would've been a lot less interesting if Scarlett had used "sexually inexperienced and genteel" to equal "has no flaws and is a little baby man". Because also? Alistair is pushing forty. This is a grown man, and I appreciated that the story treated him like a grown (hot) man.

--Another thing I appreciated was how the book handled sex positivity. It's extremely sex positive. However, there is never a sense that Alistair should fuck more people to make up for lost time (he's not a virgin, but he hasn't slept with many people and it's been a long time for him). As clear as it is that there's nothing wrong with Thais having a high body count, there's also nothing wrong with Alistair being the type of guy for whom intimacy is important during sex, and who really doesn't need to have sex with a lot of people, so much as he needs to have sex with the right person.

Going back to his age, I also liked the sense that it's like... never too late to learn how to be good in bed. And he does have to learn. But more on that later.

--I've found that a lot of feminist historical romances really focus on like... the heroine wanting "more" than a family. And I get that. There's a lot of books that have a more traditional route, you need to buck the system, you have to follow your heroine's path. I'm childfree. I don't think it's necessary for heroines to want a more conventional life. In both of the other books in this series, the heroines didn't really settle down into conventional family lives, and I enjoyed them.

However, I so liked that for Thais, both things could be true. She could have a life as a sex worker that, while certainly not without its bad points, wasn't really like... her primary issue, exactly? Like, it was and it wasn't, but you don't see these grand depictions of violence and trauma I think you often see in historicals centering sex worker heroines. Anyway, she does ENJOY her job.

At the same time, she could want to marry and have three or four kids. She's allowed to love babies and want, most of all, to be loved by her husband and raise her children. She can be a feminist and want those things. It made her feminism much more real to me, to be honest. Thais never felt like a heroine who was written to be Strong for the sake of being Strong. Her warm, gooey center is very clear to the reader from the front, and when Alistair begins to see through her front and recognize the real her... OH DUDE. READER. I COULD NOT.

--Because the book does have a lot of those moments, right? Moments where Alistair is falling in love with this woman, so hard, and sees what she's really scared of. Moments too, when Thais sees into Alistair's true vulnerabilities, his need to be perfect at all things holding him back from happiness (which... oof, real).

I'm not always down for super cuddly books, but these two are literally so cuddly. A through-line is them just like. Luxuriating in hugging one another. It's so lovely and intimate without sex.

That said, there is a lot of sex, and dude. It is GOOD.

The Sex:

So, the thing with Alistair is a thing I hardly ever see in romances AS AN EXPLICITLY CALLED OUT CONTINUOUS ISSUE. However, it's a thing that absolutely works for me as a reader. He just gets too excited, guys! And then went it Happens too soon, he's so bummed and angry with himself! It's a vicious cycle!

I actually really loved how this book dealt with the pressure some men (in fact, some of the legitimately decent men who care about their partners' pleasure, too) feel to be these amazing lovers. Especially in a romance hero, who is inherently supposed to be this amazing lover. Like, Alistair just wants to impress people and be good at everything, and he is naturally good at everything except for this one thing.

However, being kinda shitty in bed doesn't mean you have to STAY that way, and yay for a novel that shows that sex is something you learn! Listen, I'm down for the well-done virgin hero books wherein the guy is immediately amazing at it. Some of my favorite books feature that. But this is a refreshing change of pace.

The novel also gets into like... How sex is sometimes enjoyable without an orgasm, and how much orgasms can be connected to your mental presence? There's just some really interesting stuff done here regarding how Thais in particular experiences pleasure, and the difference between a Thais that lets go and a Thais that doesn't.

Getting into the brass tax: you get a good amount of p in v, handies, oral on both sides, different positions, the works. I kinda wish there had been some butt stuff, as I feel Alistair could've used a bit of that.... but Scarlett makes up for that by including One Thing You Don't Usually See in Romance. I think I've read one other book that DEFINITELY featured it, and it was a dark romance.

Anyway, I really loved this book and totally recommend it. A very sweet, very sexy, very romantic story about lovers coming to truly know each other, with a great "BABY I MISS YOU" moment on top of it.

Thanks to NetGalley and Avon for providing me with a copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own.