#part 1 of at least two

[nobodysdaydreams]

There's a lot I want to see in Wicked Part 2, but here's a brief overview of some magical moments that I think would make the already amazing musical even better on the big screen 😍:

Toto biting the Wizard

Dorothy calling the Wizard out as not only a fraud and con man, but a heartless monster who killed his own child

The Wizard on the ground sobbing, completely broken after finding out who Elphaba was and what he did to her.

Not a single character that knows Elphaba is alive correcting him when he calls himself a murderer, mourns her death, and laments his actions.

Dorothy forgetting about the slippers and grand theft autoing the Wizard's balloon leaving him stranded.

The Wizard mournfully living the rest of his wicked days in exile and banishment in the impassable desert doing penance for his many crimes.

Toto biting Morrible as she’s dragged away to prison

Toto biting the Wizard ✨again ✨for good measure ☺️

[locria-writes]

mc is just straight up not having a good time at all

[maalidoesart]

the gays win

[rey-129-fan]

Well, it's been a while since I've posted any fanfic... Let's change that.

Good news! I'm not dead! My brain did try to get me to do things that could unalive myself for a bit, and then I lost nearly an entire side of my family over the span of 3 years, but I'm still here and still kicking! And I have two new puppies who are adorable and so loving.

Now for this story, this is inspired by a few posts I saw on @theglamorousferal, mostly the one about Amity Parkers going to college in Gotham and buying a hotel (I'm making it a co-op student house, but I've never lived in one, so if something's unacceptably wrong, tell me, if not, artistic license), but also the one where our main Trio buy a building to set up shop there, and wind up adopted my Jason (I swear, I saw that post after I wrote the first chapter, but it just fit so well).

***

Honestly, Amity Park was weird long before the Fentons moved there- the original settlers named the nearby lake Eerie, and it wasn’t after the Great Lake.  It’s just that before the Fentons’ machine punched a hole through reality and created a permanent doorway to the land of spirits and ghosts, the weirdness was not as blatant.

Prior to that, Amity Parkers were some of the few that could move to Gotham without suffering a breakdown that was common for new arrivals.  Now there was a slight dip in newcomers for about a decade or two after the Bat made his debut and then the crazies that followed him, but then Amity Parkers got used to the spirits of the dead wandering around following the aforementioned punching through reality.

All this to say that Gotham Universities were a rather common destination for young Amity Park adults seeking higher education.

Now because of this, there were always apartments advertising themselves for people from the small town.  They, after all, tended to not have a breakdown after their fifth rogue attack and just pack up and leave halfway through their lease.  But it got very annoying having to sift through all the advertisements when looking for a place to stay- something Danny Fenton saw his older sister go through when she got in to Gotham City University.  The boy then shared what he was witnessing with his two best friends- Tucker Foley and Sam Manson.  Tucker offered to help filter out the spam, which Danny’s sister Jazz thanked him for but turned down.  Sam… Sam instead got thinking.

Sam had been to Gotham a few times in her life.  She had an idea of the areas closest to the schools and how much those should cost.  And looking at the letters Jazz was getting, the offers were a little too high for a regular college student to afford.  Sam was also familiar with how many hotels were not being used in Gotham- people building them in hopes tourists would come to stay while visiting the East Coast, tourists that could not be convinced to visit due to the high crime rate and the lack of activities or places of interest in the city itself.

She quickly went to work, looking in to these empty hotels.  She was rather upset by their numbers and put together a spreadsheet of them, with details like number of rooms, any amenities they may have, and nearby landmarks.  She then grabbed her two dorks and marched to Casper High’s Community Outreach director.

Now Sam’s presentation raised a few eyebrows, mostly because it was in a completely different state, but Sam shot back that because of the efforts to incorporate the town’s new ghostly residents and provide them with helpful ways to feed their obsessions- efforts led by the Fenton family- Amity Park had very few homeless, and those that were had a huge community safety net to help them get back on their feet.  Additionally, with how many people moved between the city and the town, helping the city could be argued to also be helping the town.

The Outreach Director just sighed and gave Same the green light to at least draft and send out a proposal to the powers that be in Gotham, saying that there wasn’t much that could be done before they got backing and approval.  Sam thanked them before leaving, Danny and Tucker trailing behind.

She was back the next day with a draft of her proposal and a list of who to send it to.

***

Since returning from the dead in the eyes of the public, Jason Todd was often contacted by groups trying to use the Wayne fortune to fund their own personal projects.  They thought Jason would be the easiest to con- sorry, persuade- since he was a former street kid unlike the rest of his family.  Thus surely he would know just how much this new building with low income housing would help the people of Gotham- it even came with a pool and gym!

Yeah, he did know how much the people of Gotham needed housing, but $2K a month was not affordable when you’re barely making $30K a year!  Oh and the pool and gym were only available for those who could shell out an additional $2K a month.  Jason knows, he read the whole document carefully.

God, sometimes it was hard to tell who was worse, the psychos in Blackgate or real estate investors.  And sadly, he couldn’t just pop a bullet in their heads and be done with it because 1) it would raise too many questions and 2) it would make Bruce get all sad and mopey- again.  Jason just did not have the mental energy to put up with that on top of the rest of his life as a crimelord/vigilante/long-lost adoptive second son of a billionaire.

All this to say, he was not impressed when he first glanced over a proposal to convert the unused hotels around the city into housing units- especially since it was from someone that did not live in Gotham.

Manson?  Wasn’t there a family with that name that would attend some of Brucie’s galas?  Oh yeah, their family made its fortune off patenting the machine that wrapped toothpicks in plastic, as well as a couple others.  And they had a daughter around Repla- Tim’s age.  Hopefully this wasn’t her trying to be a kiss-ass like her parents.

Jason finished reading and sat back.  The proposal wasn’t too bad.  Converting hotels into apartment buildings would be easier than office buildings, and the suggestion to use ex-convicts that wanted to turn over a new leaf as building managers certainly wasn’t the worst.  Also creating a fund for those that couldn’t afford rent, as well as community kitchens and gardens were certain plusses, though would need to have the right people in charge to make sure they actually worked as planned, and to keep the Court of Owls from messing with it.

Overall, it was something Jason would consider, after some research and maybe talking with the rest of the Bats and Birds.  And if this was from the Manson kid, maybe get Dickie or one of the others to talk to her next time there was a gala in town.  Or talk to her himself, if the Pit wasn’t too loud.

…Dick was probably the better option to talk with her if it came down to it.

***

There's the first chapter. I'm going to go write the next one. When I have a good log of them, I'll then go and edit them and put them on AO3.

This has no title yet because I suck at naming. Feel free to comment with suggestions for a name, both for the fic/au and for the eventual hotel/co op. As well as any shinanegans and majors/colleges/universities for our liminal young adults.

Part 1/? Next >

[sysig]

Do not separate them /threatening (Patreon)

[thedawningofthehour]

Me banging out 1k+ words in like an hour: "oh we are SO fucking back."

Also me: 'proceeds not to write for a week straight'

[extra-terrestrial-3]

im begging someone to make a Malevolent animatic to Ptolemaea by Ethel Cain PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE

[tea-cat-arts]

Tbhx omegaverse headcanons part 2: featuring E-Soul arc characters (see part 1 for Nice arc + general rules this au is operating under)

Yang Cheng

Starts as a beta, transitions into being an alpha as his trust rank increases

Has a hard time understanding scents due to suffering from prolonged scent deprivation starting at a young age. He basically had no “safe scents” around him at the orphanage, so he never really had the opportunity to learn the nuances of scents. Most smells are kinda just “a lot” to him. His sense of smell dulled naturally as he fully developed into being a beta, and he was able pavlov himself into viewing certain perfumes and incense as “safe smells,” which helped ease some of his anxiety. 

I'm not saying he owns “essence of E-Soul” musk, but-

As a beta, he smelled like petrichor. As an alpha, pine and sage got thrown in there too. His scent tends to have undertones of engine oil when he’s stressed 

Post becoming an alpha, his sense of smell got way stronger and the whole “smells are a lot” thing came back in full force

Bro is still adjusting

Alpha urges are new and he's not sure what's normal or not, so he tries to ignore them all together to avoid overstepping others boundaries. This doesn't really work, and his urges tend to build up and then show all at one. Like, he'll spend weeks pretending that their hero base is just an office space and he's totally cool with anyone entering and then snap, scent mark the whole place, throw his pack inside, and try and attack anyone else who enters. He'll avoid scenting his pack to avoid seeming too possessive and then when they ask him too (read: throw him in the nest and demand he scents them), he does a bit too much and gets them scent drunk. Constantly worried that his pack isn't eating enough and will push give them his food (to which they yell at him for not eating enough)

He's out here agonizing over how he's a “possessive, terrible person” for even considering biting Shang Chao and Xia Qing, and how “it'd be humiliating for them- They're independent omegas and the mark of an alpha (especially one like him) would only weigh them down.” Meanwhile, they both sitting on his lap and presenting their necks.

The territorialism and paranoia issues gets so much worse after the shooting attempt + increased security (meaning more non-pack members in his home). 

He suffers a feral episode after Mr. Rock is exposed. He throws his partners and Pomelo into the nest/ hero base, won't let them leave, and attacks anyone who tries to approach. Xia Qing and Shang Chao take turns distracting him while the other runs to the door to grab whatever groceries they ordered. All the pack members know that Yang Cheng isn't a threat to them, but he's not eating or sleeping and they're worried he's gonna pick a fight with someone and hurt himself. Og E Soul is eventually called in and calms him down

Xia Qing

Omega, but often gets mistaken for a beta because of her weaker scent and her general lack of obvious omega instincts (has a kinda bare bones nest, physical contact is kinda just whatever to her when it comes to most people, understands others scents but is fully capable of just ignoring them, alpha commands don’t really do anything to her)

Her softer scent makes it a bit harder for others to pick up on her emotions, but it's also really good for soothing others anxiety (since it's not overwhelming) 

Stressed enough from the combo of college, raising her brother, and trying to stop Yang Cheng from doing something stupid that she didn’t exactly have to take strong suppressants for her heats to stop

Smells like lavender, peppermint, and sage

While she doesn’t exactly make an effort to hide the fact that she’s an omega, it's not something she actively advertises. She doesn’t exactly fit the “omegas are submissive and agreeable” stereotype, so it's easier for her if people just don’t know she is one (helps her avoid both getting shit for “not being a proper omega” and attention from people who’d use scent intimidation to pressure her into being a proper omega). Honestly, if the trust system transitioned her into being a beta, she wouldn’t even be bothered

Her only potentially obvious omega traits are her mom friend instincts and tendency to throw people she’s close to into her nest (and if it weren’t for her scent being in the nest, even that could get mistaken for alpha territorialism) 

Shang Chao 

Omega with a high enough standing that people want him just for the status symbol. His family, unique effects of his scent, and generally agreeable personality make people see him as an almost perfect omega (the fact that he’s a male omega and therefore, infertile, is a drawback for some and a plus for others)

Smells like pine, peppermint, and honeysuckle 

His scent has a strong and immediate calming effect, and it makes most alphas around him kinda just instinctively want to please him. It’s great for doing business but it makes forming genuine friendships a little difficult. He’s on pleasant terms with most people, but he generally doesn’t know if that's because they genuinely like him or if its just cuz of hormones and status

The downside is that he can’t take any suppressants or it’ll lose it’s full affect

Appreciates Yang Cheng and Xia Qing’s lack of understanding and/or sensitivity to smell since it means he knows they like him for who he is

Because of all the scent marking, he kinda just assumed he, Yang Cheng, and Xia Qing were all dating. Straight up didn’t realize they never actually had a discussion about it until Xia Qing reminds him during Yang Cheng’s post shooting feral episode. 

Speaking of the shooting- he lives in this au cuz he didn't recognize the smell on the other side of the door and kept it closed 

Pomelo

Hasn’t presented yet (too young).

He kinda just smells like his sister’s lavender (and after moving into the hero base, pine and sage get thrown in the mix)

Fucking hates Uncle Rock's smell

Part of the 3-Soul’s family pack. They just kinda register him as their kid. 

OG E Soul

Alpha

Respected as an old school, upstanding alpha back in the day, but the fact that he hasn’t taken a mate (to the public’s knowledge at least) left some people to question if he was actually a beta 

Smells like petrichor, redwood, and engine oil

Uncle Rock getting exposed was the last straw that makes him just quit MG 

He tries to email Yang Cheng just to set up a time to talk things over, but instead of reaching him, Xia Qing responds and asks him to help Yang Cheng get out of his feral episode

He may have basically had to hold Yang Cheng (who was too tired to really put up a good fight) down while Xia Qing and Shang Chao scented Yang Cheng till his brain was back

He also may have had to babysit Pomelo for a couple days while Xia Qing and Shang Chao finished calming Yang Cheng down

Becomes an unofficial pack member and mentor figure. He’s aware of the later part, but not the former part, and he is both confused and delighted that he keeps getting invited to family dinners. 

He and Yang Cheng aren’t a hero team, but they work together sometimes and Yang Cheng will kinda default to E-Soul’s command when they do. The Batman to Yang Cheng’s Nightwing if you will (idk, I don’t read DC comics).

Uncle Rock

Alpha, but disguises himself a beta

Gets exposed in this au but he's rich so he gets away with it. A lot of heroes leave his company afterwards 

I’ll probably elaborate on him later (like, after Dragon Boy and Ghostblade’s arcs if we get more info there)

[biasomnia]

Ignore me if I am getting stuff wrong but I’ve recently begun to think of Viktor’s journey throughout Arcane in the context of the classic gothic sci-fi novel Frankenstein (I specify novel due to not watching any of the movies). It’s fascinating how Viktor is both the creature (“Adam”) and, uhm, Victor Frankenstein himself.

~Essay below the cut for your scrolling ease~

Firstly, it’s clear in season 1 how Viktor = Victor. Both are bright eyed students yearning for knowledge and to make change with professors warning them to not get lost within the ideals to the post they lose their morals. Unlike Victor Frankenstein, Viktor sees the horrors of the Hexcore only after it as killed, yet like the tale of yore he has no strength to beat his creature alone. So Viktor asks Jayce for help.

Now, Jayce is our Frankenstein. Another bright eyed inventor, doomed to create. He brings the dead to life with an unexplained science. Yet unlike Victor, Jayce sees his resuscitated creature with awe at first when it awakens. All his theories are true. Yet it, Viktor, languishes. An unnatural life, an unnatural body, fused with his creature into something new. Like the creature, he flees, desperate to find out who he, who it is.

I would consider Viktor in act 2 of season 2 a continuation of him as the creature, if the creature was seen as a messenger of god. As the creature once said, “.. I ought to be thy Adam, but I am rather the fallen angel..” (Chapter 10). Viktor is if the creature were truly allowed to be Adam, to be the first of the new mankind. The next step of Evolution. One could argue he still represent Victor within his scientific pursuits, but I’d retort the creature has as much of a smart mind as his creator, willing to push himself.

Sadly for Viktor, Jayce has no awe left. He has fully embraced being Frankenstein, seeing his choice after the bombing as an inhumane mistake. Jayce declares his goal: to right his wrongs. Unlike both Viktor and Victor, Jayce has the strength to do so. He brings himself infront of his creature. Something made with his friend’s body, wearing his friend’s face, his friend’s memories recognizing Jayce and feeling safe. So Jayce must tighten his grip on the hammer kill it.

When act 3 begins, Viktor is now an amalgamation of both the creature and Frankenstein. He is something new and feared, something that wants and begs for its creator’s love and acknowledgement. He is someone exploring a new field, seeking praise as he delves into waters too deep for people to handle, not noticing the air leaving his lungs as he drowns in the knowledge around him. He creates many a creature, each a cherished doll.

I’d say that Jayce is also a similar amalgamation, something touched and formed by something, someone, higher than him. Someone else’s creature, a horrid reminder of everything that world lost nestled within his hands. He is still Frankenstein, as seen with “My partner died in this room.” (S2, Act III). I think there is more to be said on Jayce’s journey in the context of Frankenstein but it’s 1am and I could make a more official essay later. I felt it important to include this short paragraph, however, before we delve into our conclusion.

The two finally stand face to face once more, the lines are blurred on who is the creature and the creator, but that does not matter now. No matter which of the two they are, they want the other dead. So they fight and the lines blur further and further till the two have to look at eachother, at their human faces in the cosmic plane. The line is gone. Both Viktor and Jayce are the creators of Hextech, the new science that was a piece of ever tragedy. Both are creatures made by Hextech, unable to live without it. So like Victor and the creature, Jayce and Viktor realize they have no place left in the world. So they leave it, letting the world distort and contort their story as time passes by.

[pardonmydelays]

all jokes aside, our show is in sixteen days and i've never been more anxious about anything in my entire life

[ahopefulbromantic]

I just realized the most tragic thing - that I cannot gush about 31st October being Dziady / Forefathers' Eve because it's a Polish thing and none of my mutuals know what it is and no really good translation of the dramatic works exists to have them read it :(((

It's like a traditional Polish Halloween and nowadays it's mainly known from Adam Mickiewicz's (he's to Poland what Shakespeare is to England) 4-part drama centered around it. It follows a tortured poet (my blorbo, I love him) during the time Poland was partitioned and erased from the maps, its people oppressed but always fighting back. It is one of the most important and culturally significant Polish works ever created. And it's got, like so many themes, so many themes you guys. It's one of my favorite works ever one of my all-time dreams is to play Konrad, a protag from part 3.

So if anyone does know it or is interested in finding out more please please please message me or drop an ask I'd love to infodump!!!

[black-rose-writings]

If I had a nickel for everytime my laptop became useless in a critical part of my education, I'd have two nickels, which is not a lot but it's weird that it happened twice, and I HATE IT.

[drifting-starlight]

🍷 Niichi's Bunny Girl Dance Moves🍷

Please do not repost to other social media platforms. Thank you!

[carnivalls]

Killing myself a thousand times over. Do I want the setting of Good Intentions to be past based (fantasy greece meets the industrial revolution) or futuristic (fantasy greece meets itself after a stupidly ambiguous amount of years)

[thanatologie]

anon - do you think emmrich has a type?

i was going to make a breathing joke here but i realized that…might not be entirely accurate.  uh…uh, considering.

i do, actually, just from his own dialogue, and how he gravitates to strife if he's not romanced by rook.  especially the bits where he talks about how he's used work as an excuse not to do this or that, and how he thought he'd do this or that once upon a time like.  this man has let his fear basically completely run his life and dictate the direction its gone in, and only once he's pulled out of the necropolis on this grand adventure (that you can almost read as a last hurrah before he goes for lichdom) i think does he start to realize he's wasted so much of his life burying his head in the sand.

which is a long winded way to say that i think emmrich is, most of all, attracted to people with a sense of adventure.  someone who'll - whether they realize it or he realizes it or not - will pull him out of his security blanket and make him experience things for himself.  like think about how he talks about rook.  think about who strife is as a person.  these are people who seek out adventure, aware of it or not, and those are (that we see) his romance options.  even the orlesian art appraiser lived a life vastly different from his own and he's still fucking hung up on that.  so basically my point is while mw4mw is great on its own merits, it has the pitfall of emmrich backsliding back into habits from before and never peeking outside of the necropolis again, which is very sad for someone who's so passionate and curious, and i think generally, overall, it's the people that live a very different life from him are the ones that get their hooks in him deeper than any other.  the kind of people who'll drag him into trouble, in other words.

[softquietsteadylove]

[ice queen and tyrant king AU]

thena using Gil and his tattoos as a coloring book after she finds some skin safe markers. I feel like in this au thena would secretly really enjoy physical touch and she would really like when Gil holds her. I also feel like this is the first step for her becoming more vulnerable to Gil as a whole, kind of letting her guard down more that before ❤️ so can I request that this be part one and her admitting that she likes it when Gil holds her be part two?

lots of love! Your writing is truly amazing!

The Tyrant King never used to consider himself a heavy sleeper. A sleeper, sure, maybe even the occasional nap after watching the races and having a few beer. But he was never the type to have a nap just because.

But now...well, Thena's office couch was becoming awfully familiar to him.

They'd had one of their 'meetings'. He had come over to her office, gotten dropped off, waited for her to finish with a real meeting. Then they were on each other. She was bossy, as always (hot). She grabbed him, kissed him, climbed on top of him like he was her property (yes ma'am).

They had worn each other out, heavily sated after the fact. But she had more work to do while he had cleared his schedule for the afternoon. He had done so specifically in hopes that he might squeeze in some more time with her afterward.

Which he wasn't supposed to do.

He was well aware Thena looked at their arrangement with the sterile, clinical eye of a business woman. She fit him into her day the way she would fit in an appointment for a massage. And he was supposed to view it the same way. A situationship at best, as the kids would say--a bootycall, as he considered it.

And maybe it would be easier to think of it that way if she weren't so perfect for him. His heart leapt at the thought of her calling or texting him. Even a business email thinly veiling an invitation to come over. He was excited for it; everyday held new potential for her to call upon him again. Maybe he should feel used, he thought at one time.

But every time they were together, he knew she felt it too. She didn't want to, that was for damn sure. His Ice Queen approached her own feelings the same way she approached an overly friendly business arrangement; ignore it, and hope it just leaves of its own accord.

But when they kissed, he knew she reciprocated genuinely. His hands on her felt just as good to her--just as natural. He could just...tell. And when they made love, he knew she felt everything he was feeling. It was too good, too mind blowing, too addictive to not be true.

If only he could get her to see it that way.

His Ice Queen was a guarded woman. He couldn't begrudge her that. She had her reasons for keeping herself closely protected. He knew she kept a tight circle of friends in the Poison Princess and the Lightning Thief, she might have even been on friendly terms with Ajak. But she wasn't a social creature. Letting him into her world was a risk.

The squeak of a highlighter burrowed into his ear and he whined in complaint. He could hear her light, purring laughter (the vixen). He attempted to turn onto his side and bury his face in her dress, but she kept him on his back, his head in her lap.

If she didn't want him to fall in love with her, she could have just sent him away. But instead she let him sleep on her office couch after wearing himself out. Sometimes she would even pick up his head and let it rest in her lap while she was working. Like now.

He cracked an eye open, still feigning some sleep as he stole a peek. She was looking at some documents, highlighting on occasion, and then the highlighter would drift away as she continued reading.

There was a tickle on his skin, and he realised the highlighter was dotting and dragging against his arm. He could have thought it was something she was doing absentmindedly, her hand doing one thing while her mind focused on another.

But she was working on specific areas. She would highlight a line and then her right hand would drag the highlighter down the lines of one of the dragons slithering up his arm. She would highlight another number and then she would dot its eyes in with neon green.

Maybe he would tell her not to if it wasn't kinda cute.

He didn't always get to see his Ice Queen unguarded. It was a good sign that she was relaxed enough to let him lounge with her like this at all. And to see her working, going over her numbers, in her element--he wouldn't change it for anything in the world.

Thena examined another line on the page. She squinted at it a little. Maybe it was because of what it said. Or maybe she would need glasses. The thought of an older Thena, glasses and more-silver-than-blonde hair entered his mind and only made him more smitten. Not that she wouldn't fucking kill him for thinking such things.

Another line of colour got added to his dragon tattoo. And he really couldn't bring himself to mind it. She could scribble all over him if it meant he got to stay, got to gaze up at her adoringly, maybe even got to convince her to have dinner with him?

"I know you're awake, Gilgamesh."

He sighed, giving up on his charade but not moving from his spot. "I thought I was doing a pretty good job."

She glanced away from her work sparingly. But she had a faintly amused smile on those amazing lips. "It was truly awful, I'm afraid. Your breathing changes so steeply when you're awake."

He pouted faintly, but so long as he was poised the way he was, he was able to look up at Thena. The lights flush with her office ceiling were set low, shining down on them with mercy. They caught in the diamonds on her ear cuff and her other earrings, and in the comb securing some of her hair out of her face.

She sparkled, his Ice Queen.

Thena set aside the papers and really smiled at him. "Sleep well?"

He grinned up at her. Her hand was resisting the urge to trail over him affectionately, hovering over him but not making contact. "Damn well. You sure you don't wanna join me, Princess?"

She puffed out a laugh. "Some of us have businesses to run."

"Hey, I do great business," he protested, just to see her lips upturned in amusement. "And my very capable underlings are running it as we speak."

"Hm," she sufficed to say, looking at her figures again.

Gil shimmied on top of her thigh. She frowned down at him for jostling her but he dragged his other arm out from the crack of the couch to lie over his front. His shirt was still deeply unbuttoned from their earlier activities, and he had rolled his sleeves up before dozing off. "You should get this one, too."

Thena actually looked a little sheepish, her earlier idle activity being caught and reflected upon. But seeing his eagerness, she sighed. She obliged him, positioning his other arm for herself. "I would have thought colour of this degree didn't suit you, Tyrant."

He didn't care if she wanted to use a pink highlighter and colour in every tattoo on his body. Okay, maybe he was getting carried away. But that was just the effect this woman had on him.

Thena started with dotting in the eyes of his other dragon to match, then adding some scales to it. "You could always return to your own office."

Some might have taken that as an open invitation to leave. But he knew his Ice Queen better than that. She was asking if he wanted to go home rather than let her scribble on him. Her day demanded more of her, and maybe the prize of the end of the day with her wasn't enough for him to stick around for two more hours.

But he was happy as a clam. In truth, she could have called him over in the morning and ignored him for the rest of the day. He could chill in her office, play around on his phone, whatever. It would still be preferable to moping around in his own office daydreaming about her.

"I'm happy here," he told her with the utmost honesty. Thena valued honesty; some might say that was why she was always so direct herself.

Her smile softened and he caught that shy twinkle in her eye; the part of her that always seemed a little embarrassed at being caught feeling happiness. What a sin for his poor Ice Queen.

"Are you?" he dared to ask, even knowing it could get him in trouble. She finished the layer of cloud she was working on before looking at him again. She raised a brow. "Happy?"

Her mask was flawless, but he could see a little Thena behind it, battling it out with the Ice Queen's shield. "Do not ask me such things, Tyrant."

Says the woman with his head in her lap, he couldn't help but think. But the longer he waited, the less Thena could resist. She coloured in another twist of fog before setting her papers aside. His eyes slid closed as she leaned down, craning her neck to kiss him.

This was what he was talking about; when they kissed, he knew she was the woman for him. Like they were made for each other. If he died on the job the very next day he'd come back for her. Maybe as a ghost, maybe he'd get reincarnated into some other shmuck's body. Maybe he'd come back as a cat, or a stray dog she would take pity on.

And he would love her just as much - probably even more - in that life, and in any he had with her.

Okay, he was definitely letting himself get carried away.

He rose slightly, trying to follow her lips with his. But she pushed him back to lie down. He pouted at her. "Come on, Ice. Do you have more meetings?"

She shook her head at him, but her fingers slipped into the opening of his shirt, tapping over his heart. "No."

So...they could go another round...?

"Let me finish this, at least," she chided him. This was why she was the diamond Queen, Gil lamented.

He resigned himself to it, lying back down and closing his eyes again. "Fine, but think of what you want for dinner, since I'm gonna be here."

"Hm."

Yes!--mission succeeded, she would let him stay for dinner. His Ice Queen thought herself so frosty and hard to reach. But he could feel how warm her touch was, lingering on his skin. Her hand was always dancing that line, sometimes allowing her the luxury of touching him, sometimes resisting that closeness. But the desire she had to be close to him assured him that this wasn't so one-sided a love.

"I'll have it delivered, I suppose, since your driver went back to Koreatown."

He tried not to seem like he was grinning. "Guess so."

She poked him in the cheek; he was definitely smiling too much. "So, I will have to drive you home too, is what you're saying."

He didn't mind being transparent for her. He liked offering her that as a gesture of good will. The more easily she could read him, the more she would allow him the same (maybe).

She gifted him with another kiss as a reward, even if she didn't see it that way. "Insufferable man."

And yet she was still here, suffering him all the time. Everyday, at this point. And the only thing he was suffering was love (too much?).