#the jokes were like very super specific and not really widely relatable so

[cherryjoong]

mood; part something or other

[goddess-pan]

Tailor!Reader in Dream SMP

Dsmp x reader prompt; Tailor!Reader in Dream SMP. Credit would be appreciated so more people can find this and make their own things based on it.

Can fully be read as platonic. GN!reader with they/them pronounce as a placeholder so anyone can adapt it however they want. Both general and character specific parts included.

Characters who have a lot written for/about; Eret, Ranboo, Foolish, Tommy, Technoblade, Philza and Michael. Mentioned; Tubbo, Sam Nook, Purpled and Foolish Jr.

This ended up being super long so I’m putting it under the cut in order not to clutter people’s pages. My personal favourite part is Phil’s and Techno’s part. These could be read as headcanons but are still available as a prompt(s) to use for anyone.

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The reader joining after the doomsday as a time frame in my mind.

The reader helping people patch up their current clothes since most of it got pretty banged up during the doomsday, and it's not like they can just go get a new outfit since quite a few people had just lost all their belongings and only had the clothes on their back. So at first prioritizing helping patch up the current clothing people were wearing and then moving on to making some simple fast to make and easy on the resources clothes for people. Just like basic shirts and shorts/pants, nothing fancy. Then when everyone has at least a couple of different clothes to change to and from starting their own business to sell people more if they wanted. However waving payment if they brought them the materials and what they wanted wasn't overly complicated.

People at first thinking they are just some chump who knows basic sewing or something. A very kind chump, but still a chump. So imagine their surprise when one day they are just walking by the reader's now established tailors and they see these absolutely stunning designs displayed at the windows. 

Just like their reactions seeing these beautiful designs they can't help but stare at. I'd imagine some of them just doing a double take when they walk by, someone pressing their face up to the glass trying to see it closer, the braver ones going inside and talking to the reader about their designs and the more anxious and/or shy ones only going inside when the reader isn't there to look at designs closer. 

And the reasons they like/are amazed by the designs vary also ! Some just have monkey brain that goes "Pretty. WANT", some who just love the colour and art of the pieces, some who imagine how epic this design or others would look on them, some who love the fashion aspect of it and of course the very small portion who actually know anything about tailoring/sewing and the amount of work that goes into making something intricate.

Some specific character/group interactions I thought of;

Making warm well insulated clothes for people moving to Snowchester so they don't freeze. +A warm cape for Ranboo for the same reason.

Eret being one of the firsts (if not the first) to get himself a fully tailored and customized outfit. Them also being the first and very possibly only person to get a dress or a skirt since most of the other people on the server prefer to wear pants (excluding maid dresses which people might get as joke). The reader crying in joy for getting to design something different for once. And hey if the reader ends up making a few extra ones that she didn't order, but decided to give her anyway it was all just some extra ones they had lying around, never mind the fact that the dresses/skirts are perfectly tailored for Eret and are her style. Just a coincidence, nothing suspicious there. Eret also models for the reader and once he even convinced them to hold a fashion show to showcase some of their work to the whole server. Of course he was the main model presenting the outfits.

At start of the reader beginning to display their designs at their shop Ranboo sees a really cool looking suit on display and his brain just goes "Want." He probably wouldn't be able to buy anything pre-made and be comfortable in it due to his physique. And him having just moved into the arctic and only starting to get settled in, he doesn't have comfortable enough funds for him to get something as expensive as a custom tailored suit AND have enough for any possible rent that he might be required to pay. 

Eventually when he gets richer he starts considering getting one but the anxious side of him always ends up winning and he doesn't. However once he finally gets the courage to go commission the suit for himself he doesn't regret it at all. The reader did their best to not overwhelm him and to make it the best possible experience. Just imagining the absolute joy he would feel for having a properly fitting suit that's made just for him, not too short sleeves nor too wide torso and shoulders, just perfect. If he ends up ordering a couple more suits that's between him and the reader. He actually ends up probably being their most frequent and reliable customer.

And we should all know why that is, but let me clarify just in case; Michael.

The reader basically becoming Michael's personal stylist (/hj) . Not only does Ranboo buy a god awful amount of clothes for Michael, the reader also makes some free ones for him. The free ones are things the reader felt like designing since they absolutely adore Michael and the ones Ranboo pays for are commissioned by him. Michael absolutely has the biggest wardrobe in the whole server. The reader learning how to make plushies so Michael could have some more toys, this learning experience including learning to crochet and knit to see what he like best.

Using their newly acquired plush making skills, the reader starts their quest to make some plushies for others after seeing people stare at the plushies wistfully either while they were working on them or seeing Michael with the plushies. People who got them include the minors, their close friends and basically anyone they thought might benefit from them. Some of the ones they made (that I could think of);

Of course a bee for Tubbo, but also throwing in a little ram one as well

Ranboo gets a grass block plush/pillow

Tommy gets a cobblestone block plush and a cow plush. He also later receives a Sam Nook plush while he's working on the hotel

Purpled getting two different sized ufos, one to hold and the other more of a big pillow

Eret definitely gets a flamingo plush

Foolish gets a totem and a gold block plushies

Phil gets crow plush as well these tiny fake coin and gem plushies (the latter causes problems for him which I'll expand upon later)

Techno gets a pig one as well as polar bear one

Back to the individual/group part

The reader just chilling w/ Foolish as a fellow artists. Them talking about both their arts and catching up every time the reader comes to deliver something to Snowchester when Foolish is building the mansion. Just two pretty peaceful artists talking about their passions. I’d imagine Foolish and the reader could relate to each other and their place in the server due to their similar hobbies/jobs as well as their similar time of joining the server. Foolish's first commission from them being an intricate blanket for Foolish Jr so he could have a more comfortable resting place. He may or may not end up receiving that and several other (though less intricate) blankets as well as a tiny shark plush to give to Foolish Jr. Later on when the reader gets better at either knitting or crocheting they end up making a tiny shark jumper with a hood for Foolish Jr as well. Foolish would definitely cry when he sees his tiny shark baby. Any commissions of clothes for himself tend to always take some time due to sheer amount of work needing to be done due to his size so he always makes sure the reader doesn’t already have a lot on their plate and that they know he’s fine with waiting if they need to take a break from it.

Then there's Tommy, who they sometimes teach more about sewing since he already knows some basics. Him probably being the first person aside from Michael they make a plush for, due to him demanding one once he saw the reader making them. Then proceeding to get three plushies in rapid succession. The first being the cobblestone, the second being the cow and the third one being the Sam Nook one. He ends up losing one of them during the prison fiasco and when the reader asks if he'd like a new one they only get the answer of "Don't want to think about what happened and the same one might make me do that". He then promptly receives new clothing (so he isn't wearing the same ones he was wearing in prison) and some extra blankets (for comfort) from the reader. 

After Tommy meeting Michael does he use him to scam the reader to make them matching outfits for free? Yes, yes he does. Does it work? Yes, yes it does. Are they bothered by it? Not really, they look adorable in their matching outfits.

The reader being the source for Sam Nook's construction gear/clothes or at least the original patterns for them.

And then there's the arctic boys (minus Ranboo, who will still get mentioned) who are an interesting bunch clothing wise. The first one to commission the reader out of them would be Phil who got the original warm cape for Ranboo but also at the same time commissioned one for himself that would include slits for his wings. Eventually getting to design clothing for him which is always an exciting challenge with his wings. And when Phil finally manages to convince Techno to get something made for himself as well, Techno almost immediately gets addicted to having high quality clothing when they finish their first piece for him. The fun the reader has designing clothes for these boys is immeasurable with their different styles and needs in the clothing. Aside from clothing Techno also commissions them for a pet bed for Steve. 

When the boys got their plushies it was adorable but also a very chaotic. Techno giving his pig one to Steve so he wouldn't miss him when he was away from home, but also bringing the polar bear one with him when he couldn't or wasn't allowed to bring Steve with him but still needed comfort. While on Phil's side of things; he was showing his crows the crow plushie joking about he'll replace them if they aren't careful however he made the mistake of showing them the tiny coin and gem plushies as well. I want you to imagine hundreds of crows descending upon this poor fool of a man in the background while the reader is walking away hoping they like their plushies. 

The war that ensued the couple following days amongst the crows starts to cool down but the bickering doesn't, every waking moment Phil can feel eyes on him and one or more of the crows coming to complain about the others having had the shiny plushies for too long. He quickly caves under the pressure and commissions more of the tiny shiny treasure plushies. And by more I mean a lot more. 

When he finally has enough of the things he goes around distributing them to the crows. Finally a moment of peace, but he still feels like something is staring at him occasionally. Deciding to ignore it since it's finally quiet he goes to makes himself a cup of tea and while waiting for the water to boil he fishes out the few shiny plushies he had saved for himself. The second he does he feels eyes burning into him and now that it's quiet he hears it, quiet muffled snuffles and snorts of discontent. Then he sees what ‘it’ is, it's Techno behind the window looking at the shinies in his hand with such intensity Phil fears for his life (/hj). Phil just sighs deeply before walking over to the window and opening it. For a second Techno looks like a deer in headlights before returning to intensely staring at the shinies in Phil's hand before Phil just dumps the shiny plushies into Techno's hand and closes the window. Happy piglin noises can be heard outside while Phil debates the pros (getting to have shinies himself) and cons (the embarrassment of having to commission even more of the shiny plushies than he already has) of getting new ones from the reader. And in all this the reader has no idea the amount of chaos they inadvertently caused.

And finally; Techno commissioning robes/cloaks for whole the Syndicate to wear in their meetings, because he’s dramatic like that. But since he’s a thoughtful guy, he wants them all to fit the members well and not be uncomfortable to wear so he gets everyone’s measurements. Once he has them all he goes to the reader with the order for the robes, he has all the measurements written down under just Person 1, Person 2 etc. to keep their anonymity and when asked what the robes are for he just tells the reader it’s a book club. When he gets them all and the reader asks no further questions he thinks he’s gotten away with getting some cool robes for the Syndicate with their secrets safe. Little does he know the reader actually now knows all the members in the Syndicate since they can just reference the gotten measurements with everyone’s measurements written down from previous work done by them. Whether the reader thinks it’s some weird cult they all are a part of or just an actual book club people are too embarrassed to admit they are in, is up to interpretation. 

[transdemigod]

Cutting Yourself Off from the Entities: A Comprehensive Guide

I am once again overanalyzing the Magnus Archives for fun. This topic is super interesting to me, and I haven’t seen it explored as much as other theories, so here we go.

So, you’ve pledged yourself to one of the Dread Powers, but decided that you’ve had enough of terrorizing others. Not to worry, there is a way out. Melanie King did it and lived all the way to the end of the series!

Here is the summary, though I’m sure a full explanation will be more satisfying:

To escape the Buried, lose yourself to the emptiness. To escape the Corruption, kill what loves you. To escape the Dark, give yourself to the sunlight. To escape the Desolation, choose kindness. To escape the End, cut yourself off from dreams. To escape the Eye, blind yourself. To escape the Flesh, give up control of your body. To escape the Hunt, tear out your teeth and claws. To escape the Lonely, bind yourself to others. To escape the Slaughter, remove your emotions. To escape the Spiral, destroy your voice. To escape the Stranger, make yourself known. To escape the Vast, trap yourself in a small place. To escape the Web, give up your autonomy.

The rest is under the cut. Let me know if you have any ideas that you think I missed, I would love to discuss theories.

We know for sure that the way to escape the Eye is to gouge your own eyes out. The other entities have less information, but we get a few clues here and there. In the season 4 Q&A, Jonny and Alex joke about leaving the service of the Stranger by running naked through the streets. They also mention that the Desolation can be left by an act of true altruism. With these details, as well as other details in the rest of the canon, we can make a list of criteria that must be satisfied for an act that will cut someone off from each of the 14 Entities.

Firstly, it isn’t enough to just stop feeding your god. Daisy and Jon both tried to abstain and ended up wasting away, and it is implied that they would have died if they had continued. Dying is certainly one possible way to escape the service of a Fear, but we’re going for living out the rest of your natural life here.

Secondly, there has to be some sacrifice made that relates to the specific power. This is where the Desolation’s explanation kind of falls apart; doing one good act doesn’t stop you from just continuing to be destructive, so the act must also include giving up the thing that ties you to your Entity. In the Stranger’s case, one could argue that exposing yourself does count as giving up your anonymity, and there are several Stranger avatars that seem to thrive on being unknown. My theory is that each Entity has a draw of some kind, a power that it gives its followers, which you would have to completely give up if you are to leave it for good. Jon mentioned that the blinding has to be permanent, so I’m assuming this applies to the others as well. Basically, the avatar who wishes to leave must give up something that one who does not wish to leave would never want to.

Third, the change can be physical or symbolic. Obviously blinding yourself is a very physical change, while committing acts of altruism or making yourself known are less so. Some of the Entities will have pretty clear parts of the body that connect you to the power, others will need a bit more of an explanation. In special cases where a person gets their power from an artifact or a Leitner, destroying the thing would probably be enough to cut them off from that power. And of course, if you are as lucky as Georgie Barker and manage to completely get rid of your fear, that would probably be enough to cut you off from them as well.

So, here are my explanations for what you would have to do to cut yourself off from each of the 14. I’m basing it on examples we get in the series, the few rules I have decided to set, and what would seem thematically or symbolically appropriate. Realistically, each individual would have their own personal journey and each avatar is different, but it’s more fun this way.

The Buried- The draw of the Buried is a little difficult to narrow down, we’ve heard about restfulness, the comfort of enclosed spaces, the desire to be a part of the earth, etc. The thing Buried avatars seem to dislike the most is wide open spaces, though I don’t know how that would translate to something you can change about yourself. How would a person cut themselves off from the earth? You could move to a place that is very open, but you could also just leave. I’m not sure if there is a way a person could give up the concept of space, so I’m probably going to have this same problem when I get to the Vast. Probably the only thing you could give up that makes sense is the type of space the Buried is tied to, so you’d have to keep away from enclosed spaces. However you’re supposed to do that, I have no idea. This one is just going to have to be a less satisfying answer, unless I find another idea later.

To escape the Buried, lose yourself to the emptiness.

The Corruption- Most people who get into the Corruption get filled with bugs, and we know from Jane that it is appealing because you have a sense of belonging and purpose. The Corruption focuses a lot on toxic love, and I think communities specifically because the things we think of as infections are multitudinous: insect hives, bacteria, fungal colonies, etc. Even in the case of that one guy with the beetle wife, it was implied that there would soon be many more beetles. So, I think to stop being fed by the Corruption, you have to get rid of the infection in whatever form it takes. The one woman in the statement about the cult ended up leaving, but she wasn’t a full avatar, so I think that would require a bit more drastic action. If Jane had wanted to leave, she would probably have had to kill every worm inside of her. Knowing what we know about her, she would never want to do that, but she also had no regrets about becoming the Hive. Someone like John Amherst would have to get rid of all the diseases inside of him, so it might be as simple as a hospital visit and getting pumped full of antibiotics. If you got hollowed out by bugs, you might have to fill in the space somehow to be able to move, but I’m sure you could find a way. Maybe some help from the Flesh? It does seems to be in opposition to the Corruption in many ways, so that would work thematically.

To escape the Corruption, kill what loves you.

The Dark- Another abstract one. What’s the opposite of blinding yourself? The Dark, aside from the literal definition, includes things like weird science and unknowable things that lurk in the dark. Seeking knowledge would be a good opposite to darkness, but that’s not making a sacrifice or a permanent change. It’s not very clear what avatars of the Dark would hate to lose. Manuela Dominguez describes hating the light, how traditional divinity and knowledge are unnatural as opposed to the dark state of the world. This might be another location based one. Apparently, the sunniest places in the world are in northern Africa and the southwest parts of America, so moving there might do it. There isn’t an easy permanent change to make, but committing yourself to being in the sunlight as much as possible would probably work. Change your sleep schedule, move somewhere sunny, just avoid the dark in general. Maybe even start worshipping the sun; that would be in opposition to the cult following the Dark has.

To escape the Dark, give yourself to the sunlight.

The Desolation- We know it’s an act of altruism. I think it might need some adjusting, though, to make it more of a sacrifice by the person who serves the Desolation. This fear is all about sacrifice and loss, so it’s a bit tricky to think of something a Desolation avatar could give up when they’ve already committed to giving up everything. Well, everything except themselves. Many avatars, like Jude Perry, have shown themselves to be selfish, but I don’t think even they would be opposed to going out in a blaze of glory. No, the hardest thing for them would be to settle down and live a prosperous life. This one probably would have to be continuous effort instead of one grand sacrifice. It doesn’t fit with the others, but it does fit the theme of the Desolation. Yeah, I’ve just gone in a big circle. Altruism does make the most sense. Just make sure that selfless gesture counts. It’s not a real choice if you don’t mean it. I guess that would be really difficult if you’re used to burning everything around you, so maybe it’s more of a sacrifice than I thought.

To escape the Desolation, choose kindness.

The End- We actually already have a canon answer for this one: lobotomize yourself. Adelard Dekker found an End avatar that was killing people with carbon monoxide through their dreams, and he stopped him by cutting through his pre-frontal cortex- the part of the brain that lets you dream. It’s implied that this didn’t completely work, but I think the reason for that is that the avatar was not the one to make the choice. It’s emphasized again and again that serving the fears is all about personal choice, so it makes sense that any attempt to cut someone off wouldn’t take if the person hasn’t decided to give up their connection. The End is associated with dreams in most appearances, so I believe that a person who chooses not to dream would no longer be bound to it. Oliver Banks could see those whose deaths were coming in his dreams, which directly led to him becoming an avatar, so if he had decided to stop dreaming, that would be it. This procedure might be a bit difficult, I can’t imagine performing your own lobotomy would go very well, but I’m sure getting someone else to do it would count if you were the one to make the decision. Of course, Terminus would still have you in the end, but that will happen no matter what you do.

To escape the End, cut yourself off from dreams.

The Eye- This one is already answered. The draw of the Eye is the power to watch, so you have to give that ability up. Simple, straightforward, and definitely fits the theme.

To escape the Eye, blind yourself.

The Flesh- Oh boy, this is a weird one. We have dysphoria, consumption, body horror, I can’t say this one sounds very appealing. But it must be, or else it wouldn’t have people serving it. A lot of the draw to serve the fears could be interpreted as dishing out what you can’t take. You don’t have to be afraid of being watched if you do the watching, you don’t have to fear harm if you harm them first. Maybe the appeal of Flesh is making others share that fear that you are nothing but meat. I don’t think it’s really possible for people to give up their corporeal form, unless it’s metaphorical but I have no idea what that could mean. I think those who serve the Flesh thrive on being “more” than others. More body parts, more mass in general. You could go on a diet or become a vegetarian, which I think the writers may have joked about once? I want a more concrete solution, though. Diets are easy to break. You can’t fully give up food without dying, so I guess you could give up the control of food. Giving up your sense of taste would be interesting, but I’m going to keep it more general. No easy answer for this one either.

To escape the Flesh, give up control of your body.

The Hunt- People are drawn to the Hunt by that deep, primal desire to chase and attack. Humans have both predator and prey instincts inside of us, so you would have to completely leave the predator behind to escape the Hunt. I think a good way to do this would be the get rid of your teeth, or nails, whichever you use to cause harm. Daisy was able to temporarily leave behind her power in the Buried, but as soon as she got out, she started starving. I think this is a good argument that you could partially cut off your power by using a power that opposes it in some way, but you would have to give up a part of yourself to make it stick. As soon as she had the freedom and ability to hunt again, that was when the urge came back, and she eventually succumbed to it. Getting rid of the parts of your body that do harm wouldn’t completely stop you if you were dedicated enough, but it’s the choice to do so that matters. This one is a bit more of a symbolic choice, and you could probably do something else to your body that would prevent it from hunting, but I am going with the cooler option.

To escape the Hunt, tear out your teeth and claws.

The Lonely- Probably all you have to do to escape the Lonely is just…be around other people. I’m sure this is easier said than done, but there are lots of ways to commit to other humans. Get married, join a club, make a blood pact and permanently bind yourself to another human. The possibilities are endless! This one, I think more than the others, would require a bit more of a continued effort. I know that the whole point is to make one drastic, permanent change, but the Lonely feels like something that’s easy to relapse into. Maybe it’s the depression metaphor, I don’t know, but I don’t think this one has as easy a solution as the others. It’s hard work forcing yourself to stay connected to others, and it’s something most people in real life struggle with. Giving up any of these powers is a difficult choice, which is the whole point. Life is hard, and we have to make tough decisions. Anyway, I’m okay letting this one be a bit more abstract.

To escape the Lonely, bind yourself to others.

The Slaughter- This one is very similar to the Hunt in terms of actions, so I think the solution might be similar as well. Destroying your weapon would fit well, but it is just way too easy to pick up something else and continue hacking and slashing away. To give up violence entirely, you might have to destroy a significant part of your body. For the Slaughter, I think we should go with a less physical act. The opposite of violence is healing, so maybe become a doctor? You would have to really commit to helping others instead of hurting them, and that is too easy to go back on. I think the sacrifice made here would have to be emotion. Anger and the desire to hurt would go away if you couldn’t feel anymore. I don’t know how you would do this, except through drugs, but that isn’t permanent. There is probably a part of the brain you could destroy that causes emotion. It’s not the same as the prefrontal cortex, which we destroyed back in the End section, so at least it’s not the same solution twice. Honestly, the drugs could work if you did them long term, it’s about the choice anyway. However you do it:

To escape the Slaughter, remove your emotions.

The Spiral- The draw of the Spiral is the power to lie and deceive. There are many ways to do this, and there are probably just as many ways to stop yourself from doing it. However, there is one way that I think fits very well and is absolutely a permanent change: destroy your voice. This is actually the first one I thought of because even though it’s not technically the only way to stop yourself from lying, it fits very well thematically. Michael as the Distortion calls itself the Throat of Delusion Incarnate, so what better way to break yourself off from the same power then by tearing out your throat? It’s not perfect, but I like it so much that I’m going to pick it. I don’t know how one would go about destroying one’s voice, except with very careful surgery. Or screaming for a very long time.

To escape the Spiral, destroy your voice.

The Stranger- We got our answer to this one in the Q&A. Run naked through the streets, and make sure to engage with everyone who talks to you so that you can’t hide. Utterly terrifying. It makes perfect sense though; we heard from the Not!Them that beings of the Stranger hate losing their anonymity. Whether by switching skins, tricking the mind, or looking so generic that no one can remember your face, being known is antithetical to the Stranger. There are probably other ways to go about losing your anonymity then running around naked. You could get up on a stage somewhere and pour your heart out, or publish an autobiography. Basically anything the Eye would like. As long as you are putting yourself out there in a way that you can’t take back, you should be able to successfully cut yourself off from that uncanny fear.

To escape the Stranger, make yourself known.

The Vast- This one might actually be easier than the Buried, because it’s not purely spatial. It includes things like longevity, our insignificance in the face of a massive universe, and large scary things in general. A Vast avatar would hate to be enclosed, but they would also hate to be made responsible. They enjoy making others afraid of their insignificance, but what if they were important to the universe? What if the world was actually very small, and they fit neatly into it instead of being lost? There’s a lot of different ways to go here, so narrowing down one sacrifice might not be the best answer. I can’t really think of any one action that makes a person feel as though the world is small and trapping them. Giving themselves to the Buried would, probably. A direct contrast is the easiest answer.

To escape the Vast, trap yourself in a small place.

The Web- Avatars of the Web are manipulators, through and through. There are so many ways to manipulate a person that no one action could prevent you from doing that, so this one would likely vary a lot between individuals. That movie director who had people puppet him in his own house comes to mind, I think giving up your freedom like that is a good way to do it. Being paralyzed wouldn’t stop you if you used your voice to control others, and giving up both would suck, but if that’s what you need to do, then I guess it’s your choice to make. Maybe all you would need to do is let someone else tell you what to do, and fully trust them. That would be difficult, coming from the Web where everything is tied together and you know how easy it is to manipulate you.

To escape the Web, give up your autonomy.

[emmadoodle]

The Rent Paid in Feathers

Summery: Ranboo paid his ‘rent’ for staying with Techno with lots of different items. It wasn’t until Techno noticed an increase of feathers that he was being given that Ranboo was secretly trying to tell him something. Warning: This is a tickle fic! Lee!Ranboo supremacy lmao 

Techno found out very quickly that Ranboo’s love language was definitely gift giving. Ever since he had given him the axe as, it quickly became a daily routine for the two. By the time the sun began to set in the sky, Ranboo would stop by Techno’s home to drop him off a very mundane item as a small gift, him playing it off by saying he was ‘paying rent’ for Techno letting him stay in the area. 

Techno was soon able to figure out that the type of gift given that day was directly related to how Ranboo was feeling, and usually Techno would react accordingly. On days where he was given little grass blocks, Ranboo was feeling happy. Techno was given coal or wood on days where Ranboo was feeling rather down or anxious. Usually after receiving these Techno would try to check up on him, just to make sure he was okay. Ranboo would appreciate the company. And on days where Ranboo gave him useful things like diamonds or weapons, Ranboo was feeling extra grateful. 

There were many different examples of these, and because of this Techno became incredibly good at reading the kid. He wasn’t actually sure if Ranboo even knew how obvious he was technically being with his emotions, but Techno wasn’t going to complain, especially since Ranboo wasn’t really one to open up to him often.

Even though Techno could make an entire list of what every single gift meant, there was one item Ranboo would often give him that he just couldn’t place: A single feather. 

At first he wondered if it was another item relating to happiness, but the way Ranboo would act during the exchange wasn’t exactly what Techno would describe as ‘cheerful’. He would be avoiding eye contact and was slightly fidgety, a slight red blush was sometimes seen dusting his cheeks as well. For a while, Techno placed it under the emotion of bashfulness; perhaps Ranboo was just embarrassed to be giving a gift that day, or so grateful to be under Techno’s care he almost felt bad. However, that idea was dropped after he started noticing a slight disappointment in Ranboo’s eyes at Techno’s reaction, or lack thereof to the feathery gift. It wasn’t super noticeable, but Techno began to pick up on it after around the fifth time that item had been given to him.

Techno chose to ignore it at first, seeing it as another strange quirk of this little enderman hybrid he lives with. Perhaps maybe he had been killing a bunch of chickens lately. It wasn’t until one week where he began receiving feathers every day he was desperate for an answer. On a specific cloudy evening when Ranboo stopped by once again as always, Techno finally decided to ask about it. A soft knock on his door right on schedule summoned Techno from his crafting room, ready for the confrontation. 

He opened the door wide with a creak, greeting the hybrid, “Evening Ranboo what brings you here?” Techno asked, already knowing the answer of course. Ranboo nodded in response, not really answering as he held out his gloved hands, a small white chicken feather. He bowed slightly, clearly offering it as he does many of his other gifts, almost as if it’s the most important item on the server. Techno gladly took it, placing it into his inventory with the rest of the many feathers he had received last night. 

Ranboo fidgented awkwardly for a few seconds, beginning to blush again right on que. Techno had all of this down pat almost as if it were a specific plan. Ranboo turned dejectedly, ready to head back to his small home but Techno placed a gentle hand on his shoulder to stop him. “Hey kid, what am I to do with all these feathers I have now,” Techno asked, phrasing the question as a lighthearted joke, but still straight forward enough for Ranboo to potentially answer. 

He turned back around, looking even more flustered and embarrassed. He fidgeted with his hands as he stuttered out a reply. “Oh- I, uh, I just, it’s my.. rent” He finally managed out. Techno however was now even more curious than before. He raised an eyebrow.

“I don’t know. It seems like it’s a bit more than rent to you, am I right?” He crossed his arms as he stared the enderman down. In response, Ranboo seemed to grow a bit redder, completely avoiding all eye contact at this point. “Jeez kid are you planning on confessing your love to me or something?” Techno joked, trying to lighten the mood a bit as he noticed Ranboo getting more and more nervous. 

Ranboo quickly shook his head, “No no no! It- It’s not that!” He said quickly. He cleared his throat, taking a deep breath before continuing, “but I mean… I guess it- it kind of has a, um, a little bit of a meaning? I- I suppose…” he said quietly, slowly trailing off, confirming Techno’s suspicions about it having some sort of purpose. 

Now they were getting somewhere. Techno smiled softly, “Well, mind telling me what it means? I’m sure I may even appreciate the item more once I understand.” He said, hoping he’d elaborate. 

“It… it means um, just… I uh, I want-” Ranboo groaned in embarrassment and put his face in his hands, “I can’t-” He said, shaking his head. 

“Hey, whoa, it’s okay. Don’t hurt yourself,” Techno gave him a concerned look as he now led him inside out of the cold. He took him to his bed, motioning for him to sit. Ranboo had finally let his arms drop from his head, but his face was still very much red. “You know you don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to,” Techno reassured, but Ranboo only shook his head again. 

“It just means, um, c-can uh, can you please…” His voice was now in a complete hushed whisper, Techno leaned in a little to hear, “t- tickle me…?”

Techno thought he would explode out of relief and because of just how cute this was. After all of that the kid just wanted someone to tickle him. The feather was starting to make sense, and all of his other mannerisms were beginning to click into place. Techno was just relishing how adorable this was; he had forgotten to say something. 

“Um- I’m sorry about this. I think I should probably get home soon,” Ranboo mumbled, beginning to stand before Techno grabbed his arm.

“Aww no don’t go. Of course I’ll tickle you,” Techno exclaimed, causing Ranboo to squeak slightly at the sudden and nonchalant use of the word. He was still avoiding eye contact, but was no longer trying to leave. 

“Really?” he asked, his voice way higher now than it normally was. He slowly sat back down.

“Of course!” He reassured, ruffling Ranboo’s hair a bit, “You always could have just asked ya know. You’ve been bringing me lots of feathers lately. I wish I would have known, I could have done this sooner.” Even though Techno wasn’t really meaning to, Ranboo was absolutely dying because of how flustered he was getting. Just talking about it was causing butterflies to fly through his entire body.

“Sorry,” he apologised without meaning to. It was the only thing he could really think of to say. However Techno tsked, pushing him down so he was pinning him down onto the bed. Ranboo yelped, pulling on his arms, not necessarily to get away but to hide his face instead. 

“Don’t go apologising, you did nothing wrong,” Techno insisted, moving Ranboos arms so he was holding both wrists with one hand, then he used his other hand to lightly poke around his stomach to test his reactions. Ranboo let out tiny giggles through his nose, now trying to hide his face in his shoulder, “And stop trying to hide your face as well!” Techno tasered his side suddenly, causing Ranboo to jump and move his face away from his arms, finally letting his giggles flow out of his mouth freely. “There we go,” he let go of Ranboo’s arms to use both his hands on both of his sides, squeezing them rapidly. “Now don’t cover your face anymore okay?” he shyly nods, now just letting his arms rest next to his head.

Ranboo tried several times to think of something to say, but the only thing he could get out were tiny purrs and enderman noises. Techno cooed, prodding in different areas all over his sides to elicit different reactions. Ranboo tried his best to keep from squirming, everytime his hands began to move to his face he’d force them back down, just as Techno had asked.

“So,” Techno began, slowing his hands down a tiny bit but keeping them resting on Ranboo’s sides, tapping them thoughtfully, “Where is your favorite place to be tickled?” He asked, almost making Ranboo want to cover his face again. 

“Ihihhi- Ihi don’t knohow. Ihi’ve never been ti- tihihickled this long.” Ranboo still struggled even saying the word, but somehow he managed to get it out. It really was true that he had never been tickled this long however. He was often rarely even touched either, going a long time being touch starved and alone, done mostly because of his enderman background. 

“Okay well let’s do this then,” Techno began to squeeze his sides again, causing Ranboo to cackle for a second as it was unexpected, before falling back into the soft giggles he before, “Why don’t I just tickle you everywhere, and you can rate each one. Then you can choose your favorite at the end for next time.”

“Wahait, nehehext tihihime?!” Ranboo exclaimed through this laughter. He hadn’t really expected to get as far as this in the first place, so he hadn’t even imagined there ever being a ‘next time’.

“Of course. You’ve been giving me feathers pretty occasionally all month. I can’t imagine this’ll be the last time.” Techno was right, Ranboo couldn't even deny it. So instead he just continued to laugh as his vibrating fingers continued to ignite all of the nerves in Ranboo’s sides. He suddenly yelped and his giggles went up an octave however when Techno suddenly moved to his stomach, starting by tracing his nails all over the top of Ranboo’s shirt. “How about this spot?” Techno asked, pretty excited about the change in reaction even though he didn’t show it.

“Ihihihit feels nihihihice,” he answered between tiny croaks and enderman noises. Unconsciously though he sucked in his tummy, slightly twisting slightly from side to side.

“Okay well how about this then?” Techno suddenly sped up, squeezing all over his tummy. Ranboo didn’t answer, only laughing harder, actually arching his back and pushing his stomach more into his fingers. “I’ll take that as a yes,” Techno giggled slightly. He’d never met anyone who actually liked this, so the sight was truly endearing. After a couple minutes in that spot he finally let up, Ranboo holding in a whine as he did so. 

“Hmmm, where should I go next?” Techno thought out loud, giving Ranboo plenty of time to catch his breath. His hair was now a bit messed up, which looked a bit strange on the usually well dressed teen, but Techno didn’t mind, and neither did Ranboo either. “Ooh I know,” Techno lightly tweaked one of his bottom ribs, this immediately causing a strain of giggles to flow from his lips. 

Without missing a beat Techno began to spider his finger up and down the teen’s ribs, and in turn he began to cackle, his uncharacteristic high pitched laughter filling up the room like music. Never once did he ask for Techno to stop, so he never did, his fingers reaching all the way up right underneath Ranboo’s underarms, before coming back down. 

“You know,” Techno began, speaking over Ranboo’s boisterous laughter, “I’ve always wondered if endermen have the same number of ribs as humans. Haven’t you Ranboo?”

“Nohohohohohoho?” Ranboo answered honestly. The thought genuinely had never crossed his mind. 

“Well let’s still find out,” Techno said cheerfully, latching his hands onto Ranboo’s bottom two ribs. Even though he hadn’t really started yet, Ranboo still let out anticipatory giggles as his hands just rested there. Suddenly Techno began to dig in, drilling into every single rib and in between, taking his time on each one. “Ooone… twooooo… threeee…” He began to count, starting on Ranboo’s right side. His laughter got louder and louder the higher up he got, which was something Techno kept his eye on for later. 

“YOHOhohou’re tihihickling mehehe!” Ranboo managed out, for some reason actually expecting Techno to just count his ribs normally. 

“Oh, am I? Whoops,” Techno replied, not slowing down in the slightest. Once he made it all the way to the top of his right side, he started again at the bottom for his left. Just like before, his laughter continued to grow the higher he got. “Aaaand twenty-four! Looks like you’ve got the same amount as humans Ranboo, now we know.” As a prize for making it all the way to twenty for, Techno drilled both his thumbs into both of Ranboo’s top ribs. He shrieked suddenly in surprise before he began cackling out loud belly laughs. While he didn’t arch his back, he tensed up, lifting himself slightly with his arms pressed into the mattress. 

When Techno finally stopped, Ranboo was very much out of breath. As he worked on catching it, Techno lightly traced his fingers along his neck, causing Ranboo to go a bit more limp, leaning into the touch, giggling slightly. Techno cooed very quietly. “Ya know there are many other places I’d like to try, but I think I may need to stop soon. You aren’t very used to this anyway,” he commented, which Ranboo actually did whine slightly at this time. But, he knew Techno was right, he could feel himself reaching his limit, and it was getting harder to catch his breath. Maybe as time went on he would be able to go for longer.

Techno’s voice brought Ranboo out of his thoughts as the pig hybrid finally stopped ticking the kid’s neck. “So, go ahead and tell me, so far what is your favorite spot?” He asked, giving Ranboo a little smirk. Ranboo didn’t even need to think as he motioned down toward his stomach, “Um, my tummy,” he said sheepishly, still a little embarrassed. 

“Oh, so here?” Techno slipped his hands under his shirt and began to both scritch around and squeeze all over his bare stomach. Ranboo very quickly fell into hysterics, bucking his hips and squealing. Without meaning to, his arms went to cover his face again but he caught himself, instead crossing his arms over his chest. 

“YEHEHEHES!” Ranboo laughed out happily. As his laughter became more and more breathy, Techno decided he needed to do just one more thing.

“Hey Ranboo, have you ever had a raspberry before?” He asked, lifting up his shirt slowly. 

“Ahahah- Ahah whahAHAHAHT?!” As Techno’s lips made contact with Ranboo’s navel, Ranboo thought for a second he would die. The vibrations covered his entire stomach, and it tickled more than anything he had experienced before. Techno had planned on giving several, but Ranboo’s laughter went silent before he had even finished one. As Techno came back up, Ranboo’s entire face was red from laughter, but you could tell the smile on his face was genuine. Once his breath was finally back, he began to speak again.

“Thahahat was amahahazing,” He said, closing his eyes and melting into the bed. Techno gently adjusted him, pulling the blankets up over him. 

Ranboo slept at Techno’s house that night; he gave several apologies the next morning which Techno simply brushed aside. The tradition of gift giving never did go away after that. But since then, anytime Ranboo brought Techno a feather, he gratefully invited the kid inside, the sounds of his laughter filling up the evening sky. 

[lucemferto]

I'm torn between "I'm glad Techno's voices are not portrayed as the cause of any of his violence, with him having his own reasons in practically every instance he commits it, thus avoiding dangerous tropes" and "Techno's voices really have no purpose at this point they're just a character tidbit but he's never shown having any actual struggles related to his voices despite citing it as the reason he finds it hard not to be violent which feels like it should be a big part of his character."

Yeah, it very transparently is just a way to fully realize chat as part of the world and not a weird meta-holdover from the Dream SMP’s roots as a Let’s Play.

Which, you know, I’m not sure how necessary that was from a writing perspective – chats were widely acknowledged even during serious scenes and (light) metagaming was always part of the SMP – but from a viewer perspective it’s just harmless fun. And to give credit where credit’s due, he was the first one (to my knowledge) to come up with this way of representing chat, which other like Philza have followed since.

Honestly, I’m unsure if we’re supposed to see “The Voices” as anything more than that.

Now, to be fair, in my Techno-marathon I’ve yet to reach the part where he canonized the voices, so I can’t speak on the specifics with 100% accuracy, but from the clips I looked up, it always appeared to me to be more of a meta-joke rather than an attempt to set up a conflict or a storyline.

And good on Technoblade, because making the Voices his “antagonist” would probably not be a good look and bad trope when it comes to representing mental illness.

From a storytelling-perspective there are some interesting avenues he could have taken to make the Voices an actual meaningful conflict for him – it’s not very often that a streamer would be willing to directly antagonize his chat for storytelling purposes (and, you know, it could have started off with Techno trying to supress the voices and blaming them for everything bad he’s ever done and the resolution he comes to after his character development throughout his arc is that the voices are part of him and he shouldn’t hide who he is and face his personal flaws head-on instead of looking for excuses – you know, classic stuff).

But, again, he’d have to be super careful with that which was understandably probably more of a risk than he was willing to take.

[vagrantblvrd]

Related to the post where Luke is ¯\_(ツ)_/¯  about crime that AU where Luke is just all about crime.

Plot reasons with him running into Han and Chewie on Tatooine and falling in with them with the smuggling and whatnot. Ran into all kinds where he learned to properly criminal, you know?

Helped a lot he almost had a sixth sense about things sometimes, saved him and his friends from getting caught or worse, but it also gives him a certain reputation in certain circles too.

Also? Bounties. A lot of them and all over the place and he and Han and Chewie may not have a thing about who’s got the biggest bounty on them at any given time. (Loser buys drinks next time they stop in somewhere with a bar or cantina.)

There are run-ins with bounty hunters sprinkled in there, and if Luke’s honest with himself his favorite has to be this Mandalorian he keeps bumping into?

Serious type, real professional.

But.

After a few run-ins Luke thinks he’s wearing the guy down? Swears he cracked a joke once, dragging Luke to some local law enforcement for something or other. Luke not overly bothered because Han would be looking for him and anyway, the bounty puck the Mandalorian tracked him down for this time was small-time stuff, nothing to worry about.

He flirts outrageously with the Mandalorian whenever the guy actually catches up to him. Started as a way to get under his skin, maybe throw him off-balance enough he could get away, but the guy’s too good to fall for it. (Doesn’t mean Luke stops, goodness no, but once it’s clear the Mandalorian’s not going to bite it’s just. A really weird game they play? Hell if Luke knows, but the Mandalorian hasn’t put him in carbonite yet, so he must not be that mad about it.

(Han thinks it’s weird as hell the way Luke antagonizes the Mandalorian, keeps telling him he’s going to go too far one day and carbonite will be the good end for him, but Luke doesn’t thin that’s true, so...)

Anyway, anyway.

For all that Luke’s become a pretty good criminal type - leans towards thievery, stuff that requires a but more finesse than Han or Chewie favor. Which works out incredibly well for them while doing crime. Everyone’s distracted by whatever Han and Chewie are doing and fail to clock the farm boy as any kind of threat, which never goes well for the them, so.

Anyway, while Luke’s off adventuring and whatnot with Han and Chewie he send money home to Aunt Beru and Uncle Owen on a regular basis. The farm didn’t make much at the best of times, and that’s part of the reason Luke left n the first place. (One less mouth to feed, one less dumb kid to look after.)

They go to Tatooine every once in a while too, Han picking up jobs and other things, but some of it’s to do with Luke’s home and the only family he’s ever known, but to hear Han tell it they go there for work. (Really.)

So on one of their trips to Tatooine Luke goes to visit his aunt and uncle and there are a pair of droids on the farm. Uncle Owen putting Luke to work getting them cleaned up an all that after a tense moment when he sees Luke. He and Beru know Luke’s getting up to trouble, know he’s a criminal now, but he’s still the kid they raised and anyway, might be better that than and up like his father, so.

Luke gets put to work with Artoo and C-3PO, and they still go missing the next day with him chasing after and the meeting with Old Ben. Leia’s message and everything else, including finding aunt Beru and uncle Owen after the Imperials have been through.

All that happens like before, but this time they don’t have to go looking for a ship to hire because Han and Chewie and Luke is so damned relieved to see them after everything. (Han was getting worried too, about to go looking for him when Luke found him first, trailing some weird old hermit behind him.

The training and whatnot on the way to Alderaan, and Luke’s not the same wide-eyed farm boy this time around, but he’s got a feeling they can’t just not go looking for the princess from the message, and Han -

He cannot believe he’s going along with this, but it’s not like he can let Luke go on ahead without him, and anyway, anyway.

Everything else more or less goes the same way, but along with the whole Jedi thing Luke has going on he’s also a pretty damn good thief, picked up some other criminal-type skills along the way.

Has his own little network of contacts and friends all across the galaxy, and most of Han’s and Chewie’s have a soft spot for their third partner in crime and yes.

But also?

Once he joins the Rebellion they realize he has a very specific set of skills and talents that would make him a logical choice for more...delicate missions.

So, he does sekrit spy stuff while not flying about in his X-wing having pew-pew dogfights with Imperial TIE fighters or volunteering for missions to shut down a shield generator on a forest moon somewhere.

Weirdly/coincidentally enough, he runs into his - Han, really, he’s not Luke’s Mandalorian, you need to stop that. (Although really, Luke wouldn’t have any objections if he were Luke’s, but the whole criminal past/current rebel spy/fighter pilot/fledgling Jedi thing, so.)

They have their run-ins, although thankfully it’s usually when the Mandalorian is tracking someone else, seems a bemused at the way it keeps working out that way. Used to be that the times in the past he was looking for Luke he had to turn the galaxy upside down to find him.

Luke never tells the Mandalorian he’s gone straight, works for the Rebellion these days. Can’t risk it no matter how much he does like the guy.

Still flirts outrageously with him though, habit and a little bit of hopeful wishing and no time, way, to do anything about it even if the Mandalorian reciprocated because Rebellion and fighting a war and really, really, he wouldn’t want to do that to the Mandalorian anyeay.

Then Endor and the whole...everything that happened, talk about family drama.

Doesn’t really know what to do after that because he’s still processing, but the Empire’s not gone and he’s still a damn good spy/agent and anyway.

He does that, goes on sekrit spy missions and the whatnot for a while before he just...can’t anymore.

Jedi stuff, you know?

Goes searching for relics and whatever he can get his hands on, thinks about starting a school after a bit because people keep finding him.

Parents with Force-sensitive kids who are worried about them, street kids on whatever planet he’s on and the Force nudging them together, and just.

Someone needs to help them, and it’s also a bit of him needing them in return, and Leia just gives him this look, because she knows.

Promises to help him however he she can, and in the meantime Yavin 4, you know?

And that’s great, it’s amazing, but once he gets the ball rolling and help in the forms of other older Force-senstive people he can trust to watch and help train the younger students while he’s jetting about he, uh, goes jetting about.

Feels a call from someone in need or hears about a Jedi relic or place of importance and has to go check it out.

Also, though, also.

The New Republic and need for a thief of his specific skill set and sekrit missions once again.

One of which lands both him and the Mandalorian tracking him for an old - really old, really unflattering holor of his face - in a jall somewhere.

Dungeon?

Something, because Imperial remnant/local warlor hoping to curry favor with their masters and what a deal - a thief/spy/Jedi and the Mandalorian trying to catch him and so on.

Luke in a cell with binders on his wrists and the Mandalorian in a cell opposite also with binders on his wrist, although sans armor.

(They left him his helmet, though, small, cruel mercy that it is.)

So Luke, he bides his time.

Chats his fellow prisoner up much as the Mandalorian has ever let him, lets the little warlord rough him up thinking he’s intimidating Luke - which, ha. Luke’s dealt with worse, this pompous fool is nothing compared to Leia in the morning before being properly caffeinated.

Once he’s sure it’s safe to stage an escape - or he’s gotten all the information the little warlord is likely to monologue at him - Luke does the escape thing.

Slips out of the binders easy as you please and looks up at the ceiling of his cell/dungeon.

Repurposed to hold prisoners like him and the Mandalorian and not properly secured and all that. Yes, it’ll keep (most) people in, but getting out?

Well.

Convenient vents and ducts and Luke’s just small enough to squeeze through.

Located in the ceiling though, and too high up for most to get to on their own, but the Force is super handy for stuff like that and up he goes.

Mandalorian who’s stewing after the warlord’s last monologue-ing session because he’s got a kid now and that bastard threatened aid kid - watches Luke disappear.

Thinks that’s it then, isn’t it. Years and years of him chasing Luke down whenever he picks up a bounty on him and despite the almost friendly relationship that formed between them over the years, there’s no reason for Luke to stick his neck out for him, right?

Right.

So of course once Luke gets out of the vents and finds his way back to the cells/dungeon he lets the Mandalorian out.

Gives him this little smile, tired, hopelessly fond because yes, okay. The Mandalorian’s been chasing him on and off for years, but it was never personal, always just a job he was doing because professional?

But also, also, the times they helped one another out in the past even with no reason to do so, other than it being the right thing to do.

And truthfully, Luke’s been thinking of the Mandalorian as a friend for a long time now, likes him too much for anything else and even if none of that were true, he has a kid now. One that might be in danger and Luke can’t turn his back on either of them now, you know?

So he gets the Mandalorian out, and they take down the warlord and Luke -

His part of the mission’s over, was just supposed to gather intel and deal with the warlord if he could, sends word back to Leia and whoever sent him on the mission and then -

“I could help, if you’d like,” because of course he offers, and the Mandalorian is like -

“Why?”

And Luke, okay, Luke.

Just looks at the (his) Mandalorian like he can’t believe the guy even asked him that. (But kind of yeah, he expected that, and it just makes him even fonder of the dope.)

Mandalorian back in his armor and no longer wrong-footed and so very him Luke could laugh.

“I want to,” he says, because when it comes down to it, it really is just that simple.

And then off the two of them go to make sure the Mandalorian’s kid is safe and wow, what a shock to learn Grogu is one of Yoda’s species and also incredibly strong in the Force and -

“I’m supposed to take him to the Jedi,” the Mandalorian - Din - says, sounding heartbroken just saying those words, and Luke gets why that is once he thinks about it for a moment.

The old Jedi Order and their Thing about attachment and -

“Yeah, alright,” Luke says, because he’s worried about Din, curled over his sleeping son held in his arms and grieving his absence already because he thinks it’s the right thing to do. “How about we not do that for a moment, hm?”

Din looks at him because no, no, this non-neogtiable, this is for Grogu’s own good -

And Luke sighs, because much as he loves Ben and Yoda and his father, the previous Jedi Order have a lot to answer for, don’t they.

He tells Din that hey, so, surprise, Luke is actually kind of a big deal in terms of the Jedi world these days, you know?

Has this pieced together school on Yavin 4 with all these students, but more importantly? Their families are there too.

Lets that sink in, sits back and watches Din looking down at his sleeping kid - tiny green gremlin of a kid - and smiles the moment everything registers in Din’s head.

Apologizes for not telling Din before, but Thief and Rebel and Rebel Spy and just a lot going on and he never actually hid what he was from Din, just. Wasn’t ridiculously blatant about it - because the Empire killed the Jedi Order, and for all his skill, abilities, Luke is still very much a man, mortal as any other and just.

Yes.

Din is like. Will need more time to process, but Luke is a - the Jedi - and says he can train Grogu and that Din won’t have to give him up.

...Really, it sounds too good to be true, but Luke’s never lied to him when it counted, you know? Told awful, horrible lies he meant Din to see through, but never anything hurtful, harmful.

So he and Grogu go with Luke to Yavin 4 and Grogu gets along with Luke’s other students adnd enjoys it there.. Din’s a bit more out of place until some of the students see him training and ask if he can teach them too - and he looks at Luke, wary of overstepping, but Luke is delighted, okay, delighted.

And since Din doesn’t mind teaching the kids, welcomes it really, as a way to feel like he’s contributing to Luke’s school and generosity in allowing Din to stay.

Sparring sessions between him and Luke, because of course. And then other flirty things before they realize that wow, hey, they actually like one another an awful lot, and then smooches are had and Leia and Grogu laugh themselves sick because it took those idiots long enough you know?

But yes.

[enderspawn]

dream smp asagao au, aka the very specific high school au

also aka the post thats very self indulgent for me and maybe 3 other people.

in short: its a dsmp high school au based on the game asagao academy, where everyone is part of a gaming club and compete against one another in tournaments. more in depth info about the AU/Asagao itself, as well as more info about the plot and roles of the AU itself.

Asagao Academy Basics

So to start, let’s cover the basics: what is Asagao Academy. ….well, an old Youtuber dating sim game (which, despite unfortunately including some fairly questionable CCs, IS still really good and well written and I recommend it) But what is it for AU purposes?

Asagao Academy is a highly elite world-wide boarding school set in Japan for those who are either rich enough to afford it, or those skilled enough to get scholarships. Within the game, there are two main clubs: Normal Boots and Hidden Block. They’re both gaming clubs, and joining is seen as super exclusive since they’re ALSO the most popular people in the school.

The two clubs compete with each other in various tournament events with specific categories. For example: Satch (from NB) and Jimmy (from HB) both compete in the “Tech and Invention” category, where they have to create/invent something related to gaming and have it judged at the event like a science fair. Meanwhile, Jared (from NB) and Wallid (from HB) both compete in “Dance” aka DDR and the person with the highest score wins.

The other categories featured in game include: Puzzle games (like Bejeweled or Tetris), Video Game Trivia, Pinball, Retro Platformers, a three-person fighting game, and 100% completion speedruns. So tldr; the categories can be kind of fiddled with and be whatever you want them to be, because even the original ones are pretty wack.

Also, there’s no rules against competing in multiple categories— in fact, most of the HB members in game do! It’s more about balancing time and practicing for them alongside school and other activities.

The winner of the competition is the team/competitor(s) with the most total wins.

Another thing to note: despite competing as clubs, they’re all actually pretty good friends. It’s all lighthearted and fun in the end, hell the leader of the opposing club even helps the main character join the main club just because he wants a decent challenge.

Speaking of… the main character! Hana Mizuno! I don’t have any current plans to include her in this AU (a la new dating routes), but I wanted to mention her for a few reasons.

For the main reason: her hair. Even as soon as she shows up, Mai (her best friend and roommate, who can break the 4th wall) immediately calls her out for her hair for looking like a main character which as we learn… isn’t an exaggeration. She’s literally a born protagonist, thus being born with naturally pink hair and a tragic backstory. Not only that, but other people are also born protagonists with pink hair as well— she isn’t an exception.

About the AU -- Revolution Era

A few things to note: in this au, when I first drafted it I… wasn’t looking to include 20+ people. I cut a lot of characters, but instead working with the idea that they’re still THERE, they just… don’t compete? Either they aren’t in the club and are just friends with the members, or they’re members who just don’t compete professionally. It’s nothing personal against those CCs and tbh as times goes they may get added more, but for now they’re just in the BG vibin.

It covers a really basic retelling of s1 for most of the planned au. It starts with One Club: the Dream Team. Members include: Dream (sophomore), Sapnap (sophomore), George (junior), Wilbur (junior), Eret (junior), and Fundy (freshman).

For reasons, possibly just as a goof or spite towards their American counterparts, Wilbur declares independence from the Dream Team and makes his OWN gaming club: L’Manberg. He takes Eret (a close friend from his grade) and Fundy (the freshman he immediately adopted) with him, causing the two teams to be 3v3.

But Wilbur’s got a dastardly surprise up his sleeve: TOMMY, HIS YOUNGER BROTHER (bc I am nothing if not a dedicated crimebros stan), AND TUBBO. They’re both too young to actually attend Asagao yet, but theres no age rules in the actual competitions so its fair play. They’re Wilbur’s secret weapon. After all, a 5v3 where the team with the most wins wins the competition? That’s a massive advantage.

… we all know how this goes though don’t we. Wilbur’s day be so fine, then BOOM, Eret betrayal 😔

In this case Eret feels it’s a LITTLE unfair to blindside them like that, plus Dream promised to make him the Leader of the Dream Team and, yknow, that kind of stuff DOES look good on resumes, so…

TLDR; Eret rejoins the Dream Team crew, as well as informing them of Wilbur’s plan with including Tommy and Tubbo and becomes leader. They’re still letting Dream and Co. basically actually do the leading, they don’t care that much, the title is just nice. L’Manberg cusses her out and promises to hold a grudge, but it’s all in good fun. After all, they’re just teens goofing around and playing. The clubs are again 4v4.

Dream tells the L’Manberg club that they can separate, sure… under one condition. They have to win the competition. If they lose, they have to rejoin the Dream Team club.

L’Manberg accepts, but come competition day… they lose. Tommy outright challenges Dream post awards to a speedrun competition for L’Manberg instead. …which Dream professionally competes in, and Tommy DOESN’T.

He loses, but he puts up a good fight despite having little to no actual practice put in, so Dream “grants” L’Manberg their “Independence”. (In this au, instead of being like… weirdly obsessive over Tommy, it’s a lot more “he sees himself in Tommy and wants to support/mentor him” and a “friendly rivalry” kind of deal bc its a damn HIGH SCHOOL AU)

So L’Manberg can be it’s own club! …Next year, when Tommy and Tubbo actually attend, since Wilbur and Fundy aren’t allowed a two person club.

About the AU -- Election Era

SO time skip! Congrats, everything up to now has been BACKSTORY. It’s now the next school year, with two main clubs (I’ve tried to keep them fairly balanced, which is why not all CCs are featured, sorry!)

Dream Team club:

Dream - junior

George - senior

Sapnap - junior

Eret - senior

Punz - junior

BBH - senior

Awesamdude - junior

Ponk - junior

L’Manberg club:

Wilbur - senior

Tommy - freshman

Tubbo - freshman

Fundy - sophomore

Schlatt - senior

Quackity - junior

Niki - sophomore

Jack - sophomore

(Also fun fact! Their grades are loosely based on the CCs actual ages! …Except Fundy, who got Baby-fied to fit the “Wilbur’s Kid” joke, and Eret bc it fit better to be the same age as Wilbur I thought. Oops HEKANDNSN)

So, for whatever Reason (listen this was an au I made in like one night when plagued with brainrot, it’s not all figured out), L’Manberg holds an election. Maybe it’s related to Wilbur wanting L’Manberg to be meaningfully different from Dream Team, maybe it’s a joke, idk!

…. SOMEHOW, Schlatt wins. Which ticks off Wilbur a lot. It’s his damn club, and the whole point was to avoid Americans, tf?? The two start to feud a lot and it threatens to split the club entirely via ppl taking sides. Worse, it means people aren’t practicing for the competition.

All while this is happening, there’s a new intrigue building. Dream catches word of an infamous player in the area, someone known to win entire competitions against teams of people all by HIMSELF. A man with bright bubblegum pink hair called Technoblade. That’s right, literal universe-assigned protagonist Techno. If Dream could enlist him, there’s no doubt in hell they’d be able to beat L’Manberg.

L’Manberg hears of him too and works to try and enlist him as well, so he basically gets courted by both clubs trying to get him to play for them to mixed results. He’s pretty chill vibin by himself, so what’s in it for him? (….I don’t know, remember how this is a WIP au I worked on once?)

Eventually, a teacher named Phil (who’s been the honorary sponsor of the L’Manberg club) gets pissed at Schlatt and Wilbur’s fighting and bans both from competing (aka this AUs version of them dying). Which fucking SUCKS for L’Manberg. They’re now going 6v8 with a wildcard player who’s undeclared on which side he’ll join, if at all.

… honestly, that’s as far as I got. Theoretically, Techno joins L’Manberg to reflect Pogtopia and they win. I never had plans to go into s2 due to its darker theme, but there are definitely changes that could (and might?) be made for the s1 plot just so it flows better.

I already had to shift Wil and Schkatt’s “deaths” to fit, unless I were to have them LITERALLY make a new club. Maybe Schlatt uses his power as Club President to make them work with Dream Team (to the point it basically merges the clubs). Sure, they might be guaranteed to win now but it removes the competition and fun as well as the spirit of OG L’Manberg. So then Wilbur rebels and makes his own club AGAIN, calling it Pogtopia with the intent to get L’Manberg back. Then Techno, intrigued with this group of like 2-3 ppl going against a team of like 13ish people, decides to join them. Idk! Alternative possible plot based more closely on s1 I guess!

I’m gonna add a list of characters in full with their age, their club, and what they compete in (if it’s already brainstormed, most ppl are unknown) below

Character List

dream (DT) - junior - speedrunning

george (DT) - senior - coding/tech and invention

sapnap (DT)- junior -

eret (DT) - senior -

wilbur (LM) - senior - rhythm game/guitar hero-esque

tommy (LM) - freshman - (possibly pick up speed running during election arc?)

tubbo (LM) - freshman - chess

fundy (LM) - sophomore - coding/tech and invention

schlatt (LM) - senior - he never actually declares what he plans to play and then gets banned anyway, aka no game kekw

quackity (LM)- junior - dance

niki (LM) - sophomore -

jack (LM) - sophomore-

punz (DT) - junior -

bbh (DT) - senior -

awesamdude (DT) - junior -

ponk (DT) - junior

technoblade (SOLO) - junior - multiple categories

FINAL BIT

here’s some scraps for ppl who know Asagao already as well as small bits I didn’t bother to write up any further

- Karl, much like Mai, is ALSO aware of the 4th wall and has time travel powers because of it.

- Purpled (undecided if he’s a solo player like Techno or has his own team he competes with that’s not a formal club) plays Literally Bedwars in competitions

- Callahan is the Dream Team club sponsor, Phil is L’Manberg’s club sponsor

- Karlnapity is real and canon bc I say so

- both for balance/laziness, every person only competes in one category. also bc it makes Techno that much more Protagonist-y that he does

- I made this AU in like February man idk I’m just vibin

- Fuck I never even included Ranboo huh

[jarofstyles]

Fan Club III

A/N: We are glad people are enjoying this story so far, it is a bit of a slow burn but I promise things will be moving along in the next part. This part shows some increased sexual tension 😈Harry does love when girls speak different languages 😉 - n + d

send feedback and requests here

masterlist

pairing: Harry Styles x Reader

warnings: none tbh, maybe angst?

word count: 4.2k

Y/N had gotten a little giddy feeling in her stomach again when Harry had asked her to go for a coffee date. Not at her shop, but somewhere where they could talk and also be seen together. Just a nice little coffee date prompted by Jeff. This would be their first time actually hanging out on their own, it made her nervous in a good way. She’d actually get to talk to him and get to know him if he wasn’t so damn closed off. Y/N knew he’d probably be asking more questions about her, but whatever made him more comfortable. 

She showed up to the address he had given her right on time, having spotted him sitting in the corner of the coffee shop with a book. Y/N made sure to ask him about that later. He looked really cute and comfortable, casual Harry. It made her smile. 

“Hey, you.” Y/N smiled widely, genuinely excited to see him.

Harry had been nervous. Harry made the decision to try and be nicer to Y/N. So far, she hadn’t bitten at any money grabbing or fame opportunities. And while that made him scared about what the real motive was? He felt that it could be safe to be on a casual friend basis with her. She couldn’t get too close though. Not when he still dreamed about grabbing her throat and forcing her to her knees so she could suck him. Yeah. He had tried to work on that until he realized that he had to just accept it and try not to think about it too much. Thankfully today she wore a cute outfit that didn’t have her tits out. He couldn’t speak properly when they were. He respected women— of course he did. But Y/N really, really got inside his head. 

“Hi.” He closed the book and stood up, knowing it would be polite to hug her. Not that he was excited about it. He wasn’t... nope.

Y/N wrapped her arms around him and was bold enough to kiss his cheek, thinking that was appropriate. “How are you? How’s your week been?” She asked genuinely curious about how he was doing since the dinner. Of course she couldn’t find out any specifics, Harry wouldn’t let her. She had grown accustomed to him shutting her out so she sort of just expected it now. She waited for him to answer before she went to order herself a coffee and a cheese and tomato panini for lunch because she was a tad bit hungry. Y/N refused to let him pay, giving him her example of a stern look. “You paid for dinner, let me.” She pouted, just wanting to be self sufficient. 

Once they had gotten all their food bits sorted and sat down, Y/N felt the giddiness kick in. He was just so fucking handsome. She had trouble wrapping her mind around it still. To the whole world he was the most desirable bachelor and he picked her. She felt her ego inflate a little at that idea of power.

“Well.. I’ve been recording. I’m excited about the new album.” Harry said shyly. He didn’t know if she would care about it or not but so far she hadn’t given him reason to think otherwise. She had asked about it before. However, it was weird. She again insisted on paying for her own food. Wasn’t taking handouts. And it made him feel a bit more comfortable with her. Y/N was just very genuine seeming and he was confused as to what he should be thinking and feeling all the time. His mind was still split, but letting himself talk to her. “Want people to like it, but I want to like it most of all. But how is the bakery? Harry prompted, taking a bite of his own lunch. “I know that you probably have to get up early.”

Y/N’s eyes lit up, “you have?” She asked even though he had just said so. She was screaming internally because she’s been waiting for him to just do something. All the fans had no idea where he was whenever he wasn’t touring, and now suddenly they were getting content because— it made sense now. “I think people will love whatever you do, and I’m not just saying that.” She said honestly, “you’re very good at catering to large audiences and well, people love that you just do what you do.” Y/N let herself open up as a fan a little bit, show him that she actually did care about his music. 

Y/N took a bite of her panini and nodded her head, finishing chewing before speaking. “Oh yeah... 3:30 every work day.” She chuckled, “gotta make sure everything’s prepped and ready. We are thinking of getting more staff, but it’s not in the budget yet so we are hustling.”

Harry was surprised she seemed to know anything about his work. It was a pleasant surprise though. Her compliment was sitting nice even if she was just acting about it. However it seemed pretty genuine if you’d asked him. He winced at her answer for the time she woke up, though. That was rough. 

“Christ. 3:30 is early.” He hissed. “Thought I was an early bird at 6:30, 7.” Obviously a joke, but also a seedling of truth. Harry was up very often with his sleep problems, usually only getting 3 hours at a time. It’s why he had naps. Sleeping all night long didn’t work well. “I think you’ll get there.” He encouraged. If only he could trust her enough to be like this in private. He was just so terrified of being hurt and led on again and again. The past trauma of Camille and Kendall weighed heavily on him and he knew not many others in the world would understand his heartache.

“It is super early. I hate it, but I’m committed to the quality of our baked goods. Might think of some better methods for preparing. Maybe get up at 5 instead. That would be much better.” Y/N chuckled, taking a sip of her coffee. “Thanks babe.” She responded without thinking, genuinely feeling like she could say that. They happened to be sitting in a corner which was probably something Jeff didn’t want, but if Harry felt more comfortable in a corner that’s fine. The place seemed relatively busy, not too much that they couldn’t talk, but not too little and there were people who didn’t notice. 

“But besides being a baker, I do enjoy music and movies and traveling. And you’ve done all three of those things, well, four I should say.” Y/N teased, hoping that the little bits of information that she knew didn’t seem too creepy. She didn’t want to give away just how big of a fan she was, but wanted to be relatable.

She knew? That impressed Harry too. So she did research. At least she wouldn’t be thrown in blind if people or fans asked her stuff one day. It is a little reassuring. 

“Yeah? That’s cool. Uh— I like those things too. Sometimes traveling is a lot though.” He admitted. “S’a lot when you’re super tired and have shows every night. But I mean, it’s nice. I get to see more places than I got to beforehand, it’s definitely far calmer.” Y/N seemed to understand, nodding at his words. “Where do you want to travel to?” This was going okay right? It wasn’t too personal. Just enough that it was okay if someone else heard it. He wasn’t disinterested. In fact he craved more answers from her but had to calm him the hell down. Y/N was the type that seemed to be an open book but he was sure that there was more to her than that. Things she was hiding.

For sure.

“I’m sure... but you travel for fun sometimes no?” Y/N said with a small hum, she knew he went to Jamaica for the album but also to relax. He went to Italy and to Japan. All places she loved dearly. Y/N of course would let him speak about the places he’s been himself. Maybe he would tell her something she didn’t already know.

“Greece. I’m a big history nerd and I geeked out when I went to Italy. But yeah, Greece, Egypt, and Japan.” Y/N told him, giving him a little insight on her interests. She thought it was going relatively well, still to small talk for her liking but they couldn’t really get deep over coffee could they? “I love going to Russia. My family is from there, so we go back to visit family friends every couple of years.” She told him, knowing he had never been and she had always wanted him to. “If you ever have the opportunity to go, I highly recommend it.”

Lord... if she could speak Russian Harry may cream his damn pants. He had a thing for different languages and accents. He wasn’t sure how it had started or when but he had a thing for them and they turned him on so of course she could probably speak another one. 

“That’s cool.’I’ve been to Japan a lot. S’my favorite place.” Harry loved London too, but Japan was just relaxing. No paparazzi up his ass. People far more respectful of him and his privacy. “I like Jamaica to. America can be cool. You’ll probably end up coming with me to America sooner or later. New York or LA. I prefer LA. New York is kind of chaotic and it can be really cold and bitter in the winters and it’s all concrete so the summers are brutal. But LA is cool. I have a place there.” He was giving her that little bit of information. 

“I agree, New York is a bit shit. Visited some friends there and it was just… not what I expected? London is perfect to me, I’m biased.” Y/N shrugged, pausing for a moment when he mentioned bringing her with him to America. She had to remind herself it was part of the contract. “That would be fun. I haven’t been back to America in a while.” Y/N said and took another bite of her sandwich. 

“Can you speak Russian?” Harry had to ask, he shouldn’t have even done it because if she said yes he was going to have to think about that every time he was jerking off— which was a lot lately.

Y/N was waiting for him to ask. She knew he had a thing for accents and different languages, she had a feeling he would thoroughly enjoy this bit of information and she would run with it. He had a massive fan base in Russia that had been neglected and she was excited that she’d get to represent for them too. 

“Да я говорю по—русски” Yes I speak Russian.Y/N answered fluently. “Ты наверно не думал, да?” You didn’t think, yes?

It took every bit of self control Harry had to not drag her into the bathroom and bend her over the sink. Make her speak it while he fucked her deep and had her come apart on him. That was one thing she could do to wreck him. His eyes darkened at the little smile at her sentence's end. She spoke it perfectly accented too. And Harry would be thinking all about that tonight. Half of him wanted to keep her on speed dial and have her talk as he got off. It was that much of a thing for him. 

“Oh.. that’s cool. I try and uh... I try to learn languages with every place I go to. Just a little.” He was annoyed in his head. She hadn’t even showed her tits and his cock was twitching in his pants and wanting out. Harry swore that he hadn’t jerked off this much in his whole life, but Y/N has gotten him to the point of no return.

Y/N could tell by the look in his eyes that he really liked it, smirking at him because she had found the one thing she could use against him anytime she wanted. He would never actually fuck her, but she could at least get him turned on. That was already a win in Y/N’s book. 

“That’s cute.” Y/N giggled, “I can teach you some Russian if you’d like?” She was asking more for herself. She desperately wanted him to try and speak it. For years she’d been wanting one direction to tour in Russia just so Harry could try and speak Russian. “And then, you can book a tour date in Russia and be prepared. Wow them with your skills.” She smiled, genuinely wanting him to say yes to it. There was always something really sexy about how good Harry was at accents and languages. He was a smart and talented man and she would do anything to have him balls deep in her. Too bad he wanted nothing to do with her when they were in private and he was only talking to her now because he had to.

“I would love to learn a little bit.” Harry admitted. “I like languages a lot. It’s always been intriguing to me.” He still couldn’t get over the damn woman sitting there and talking to him in Russian with the smirk on her face. Did she know it aroused him thoroughly? Because it absolutely did. More than anything. “We have been looking into tour dates for Russia, actually. It’s been difficult to plan out and timing is difficult but I’d really like to go.” He knew Y/N found it good that he did because she absolutely lit up at the confirmation that he was indeed trying for it. “I know that you’d be a good tutor. I like hearing you speak it.” Harry let that little thing slip when he hadn’t meant to but, oh well. She would know that he was into the way it sounded and maybe use it to her advantage. However... if it was whispered into his ear at the right setting, he’d lose his whole cool.

“Oh my god! That’s great wow.” Y/N smiled brightly, “okay, I’ll teach you something new every week.” She said, deciding they could work on it as their relationship progressed. Plus, Harry would actually want to talk to her if she spoke Russian to him. She found the loophole. Y/N blushed, the smirk returning to her face for a bread moment before she thought about what she wanted to teach him. “What would you like to learn how to say?” She asked curiously, “something that would come in handy on stage? Or just general conversation things?” This would be fun for the both of them and to anyone listening in, it was a casual chat between people that were dating. From the corner of her eyes Y/N could see a few people had noticed Harry was there, but they seemed to respect the fact that he was with her which was strange. They didn’t want to interrupt because it was clear they were on a date.

“Uh... basic, I think.” Harry gave her a quirked little smile. Y/N looked so excited about it too. He was honestly happy to learn but wanted to hear her talk more first. So he sat there and let her speak it to him while he got honest to god hard in his pants. His cock ached when she went over basic phrases with him and he thanked god above that he had his jacket, otherwise he would be giving the world a show. It was a weird thing to be aroused by and he knew it but... there was the way Y/N sounded saying Russian words and how she had her voice a bit huskier and spoke quiet when she did that would have him thinking about it at intimate hours. Would it be so bad to take her to his car and fuck her? Yes. Yes— that would be very bad, Harry's brain. He knew that. Still, he wanted to. Y/N was having fun giving him the phrases to repeat back, and she flushed a little when he gave them a shot.

“Okay so, if you want to say ‘hi my name is Harry’ you’d say ‘previet menya zahvoot Harry’” Y/N started, chuckling a bit at his amused face. “I think that one is pretty simple.” She was getting far too excited about this, she had been waiting to hear him speak Russian for years. “‘How are you’ is also easy it’s, ‘kak di—la’ and to say ‘I’m good’ you’d say, ‘oo menya f’suwa harasho’” Y/N smiled, knowing it was a lot to take in but she slowed it down for him and guided him through it. He was a really quick learner and it made her horny as well hell  just listening to him. 

The hot part about this was that she was correcting him and he was saying things and just giving her these looks. There was a tension building up that Y/N was positive other people could see. Y/N could truly spend all her time sitting here talking to Harry, too bad they’d have to go back to barely speaking. Y/N was hopeful that maybe he would be okay with talking to her now that they had hung out on their own and had a bit of their own fun? Maybe this would be the start of something new and exciting.

“This is hard. I love it though.” Russian was definitely harder than Italian or Spanish which Harry knew bits of. But it was hot. Watching her mouth round over the sounds and her talk quieter and giggle at his mispronunciations.. it was incredibly arousing and he knew that he had to stop. He may mess his damn pants. “Thank you.” He smiled at her, taking her smaller hand and holding it in his. He would tell himself that it was so people could see and take photos but he knew that deep down, he just wanted to hold her soft little hand. Feel how warm it was. “Hm. You’re very warm.” He commented. Where else was she warm? Harry bet there were tons of places that he could find that would be even warmer than this. “I can’t wait to impress the Russian crowd with ‘previet menya zahvoot Harry’” He teased. “Honestly though... helps me connect with them that much more. Some don’t speak much English. And it’s cool to be able to make them feel good.”

Y/N felt like she was on fire, genuinely building tension with Harry that she knew no one could deny. Not even Harry if he protested. There was something about her speaking a different language that just opened up a new avenue they hadn’t been down before. If they weren’t careful they’d never come back. 

“I think it’s really sweet. You definitely do make their lives when you try and connect with them. It’s a step farther than most.” She reminded him. Harry was really good to his fans and really did love them. It made her heart swell because she was technically one of them, but he didn’t really know that. She wished she could tell him but part of her thought he wouldn’t be cool with it as even Jeff hasn’t told him yet. Y/N moved her other hand to play with his rings, tracing over them slowly whilst they spoke. Maybe she was desperate for touch, but god did it feel nice to just hold his hand and have him look at her the way he was looking at her.

Harry had to stop— really, he knew that much. But he couldn’t. Not when Y/N really had him by the balls when she spoke like that. Her hand felt good and he couldn’t deny that physically? There were tons of things he should be doing, but he was thinking about laying her over the table and licking from between her thighs all the way up to her tits. That would be lovely. 

“I hate to cut this, love. I’ve got to go to the studio.” He said quietly. He really did hate to cut this. He wanted to talk more and listen to her and watch her eyes roll over him. Harry didn’t think Y/N was faking her attraction to him. “I’ll get to see you tomorrow morning at the bakery, yeah?” He squeezed over her hand reassuringly. If only he could truly trust her. It hasn’t been that long yet, though. He couldn’t do that. Harry needed to keep his guard up. This heavy flirting was okay right now but he couldn’t let it get that bad alone. He was going to be okay alone but when she aroused him he was going to have to back off.

Y/N frowned a bit when he said he had to go but understood. He was busy and well, she’d just go back home and relax the rest of the day. Maybe she would go online and see what people were saying? She’d been MIA on her fan account and people probably connected the dots by now.

“Alright, I’ll walk out with you.” She spoke, getting up and slipping on her jacket. London was quite chilly this time of year but not too cold. You could wear what you wanted as long as you have a bit of a jacket to wear just in case. Y/N led the way out of the coffee shop and he followed, she could sense eyes on her already. There weren’t any paps outside but there were a few fans that took pictures on their phones. “I’ll see you tomorrow then.” Y/N hummed as she turned to look at him, waiting for him to respond before going in for a hug as usual. Y/N was giddy after their little date today, she wasn’t sure how he felt about her. She was convinced today was genuine but for all she knows it could be a lie.

Harry hugged her back, kissing the top of her head for extra measure. Mainly because that deep part of him wanted his lips on her anywhere he could get and that was a safe spot. It made him feel so off because she fit right in his arms. Perfectly nestled there, her face in his chest, it was perfect for him. She would have to go up on her tiptoes to kiss him or he would have to bend down but he likes that. Harry felt weird going to leave. One last squeeze, he gave her a parting smile. 

“Course. Please put extra lemon bars in there for me, sweetheart.” 

Y/N hummed at the kiss on the forehead, pulling back with a wide smile. “Of course I can babe, have a good day. Can’t wait to hear all about it.” She spoke to him, desperately wanting to lean in and kiss him but she couldn’t. Not yet anyway. She made her way back to her flat, feeling really smiley and giddy. She took precaution to make sure people didn’t really notice her. Y/N was just thankful her building had multiple entrances. 

------

Online, fans were freaking the fuck out. A video a fan took was circulating as well as photos of them inside the cafe. 

‘Oh my god look at him. He NEVER does this. He’s holding her hand, and he’s looking so deeply at her I can’t—’

‘The way he’s holding her. My god I want to die.’

‘THE KISS ON THE FOREHEAD... PLEASE WHO IS THIS GIRL I WANT WHAT SHE HAS!!’

‘Wait.. who is this girl? She isn’t famous right?’

Y/N logged on to see all the photos and it made her gooey. Harry was looking at her with those loved up eyes and they just looked so happy together. These poor fans were lapping it all up. Y/N desperately wanted to comment, but she chose not to. She’d wait for Jeff’s directions. If the fans knew she had a fan account it would only cause them to look back and see the years worth of Harry obsessed tweets she had. Y/N wished she could share the feeling of hugging Harry with every single fan on her timeline. They deserved it.

Harry logged in to look too. They were taking a break at the studio and he was genuinely shocked at how he looked at her. He played the part well. Almost too well. She did too, to be fair. They both looked so loved up and happy and Harry's smile was devilish in the way that people probably could tell he was incredibly attracted to her. He could tell, anyways. But he hadn’t seen photos of himself like this before— never allowed himself to be open with someone. 

The pictures of their hug are what got him though. It looked natural. Very natural. Like it was meant to happen. If he had seen them on the street as an outsider he would probably coo internally. Holy fuck. He sat back on the couch and threw his hand over his eyes. What the hell was he going to do now? He needed to be nice to her, but he didn’t know how to do that and also not being her back to his place and fuck her for a good 3 days straight.

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

[part 4]

A/N: Harry’s character in this is a bit of a dog but... he means well? buckle up for the next part hehe 😈- n + d

let us know what you think!

masterlist

[mammoney-honey]

Summoning Circles: What to Offer the Brothers GN!MC

MC doesn’t need to set up anything to summon them since they have their pact but sometimes its just nice to add a bit of drama. It’s also a good way to get the brothers to accept Just Because gifts. So what would would MC lay out as an offering for their favorite demon in their pentagram?

Lucifer

Lucifer is hard to get gifts for because hes a man of few words and fewer guilty pleasures

MC does their best to keep an eye out for things he does like and finally sets things up when they feel that Luci needs a bit of a break

They mostly offer things that would make for a good date night but with one small exception: special gourmet dog treats 

He won’t admit it, he says Cerberus is just a well trained guard dog, but that big boy gets only the best and MC knows that Lucifer will appreciate the gesture

The rest is all about setting the mood so Lucifer couldn’t possibly say no to staying

The first thing to accomplish this is the finest bottle of hellfire aged wine, a special request put through to Diavolo for whatever he thought Lucifer would like most

And to accompany a good drink you need some good food as well. A charcuterie board supplied with recommendations from Barbatos and Luke. The little guy should be called a mouse rather than a dog with how much he loves cheese. It took a long time for him to stop talking about it

One of the things that MC looks most fondly on of their time with Lucifer was quiet nights in listening and dancing to new music. They didn’t always share the same tastes but they were always willing to give it a go

So MC would find a vinyl, the only thing Lucifer would listen to the purest that he is, of their most recent favorite song or band so that they could share it with him

The last thing offered is that which Lucifer would want above all else as his own, MC

They can think of nothing else that would gain Lucifer’s attention more than offering their full and complete self. His pride could never allow him to deny taking MC when they offer themselves so willingly

He appears in full demon form, he can’t think of who would be ballsy enough to try and summon him and he has to pull back on his full power once he sees its MC

“MC, my dearest love, the pageantry is appreciated but overall unneeded. All you ever have to do is call my name, all I wish is to hear my name on your lips. But now that I’m here lets make sure you are screaming it”

Mammon

He is another one who is hard to gift things to but for the opposite reason as Lucifer. He likes too many things, wants everything and so it makes it impossible to tell what would actually mean something to him

MC tries their best to lay out things that will show how much they love and appreciate their favorite demon

Money of course is the first thing that is set out but not just spare Grimm or human cash

No, MC will put gift cards out for Mammon’s favorite places or for a date that they can have together. It feels more personal that way and they hope it shows that they pay attention to the things he likes

Mammon has a wardrobe to rival Asmo’s but he insists that it all has to do with his job as a model. Gotta keep up appearances and all that yanno. Hes just a label whore though and everyone knows it

He also just melts at the idea that MC might be thinking of what he would look good in so if they put out a new outfit or accessory, even if its just new sunglasses or a belt, he just about explodes

He will scoff and say that hes not sure if human styles are really his thing but of course puts whatever it is on quickly

Next would be a very special edition of the TSL dvds, a directors cut that even Levi couldn’t get his hands on. He has watched it with MC so many times he could practically recite it but they were always borrowing from Levi so it was about time to start wearing out their own copy

The last two things are more personal, something that shows just how much MC thinks of and misses being with him

The first of that is MC’s favorite set of pictures they took with Mammon, a silly photo booth strip that captured their first kiss. MC had surprised him on the first snapshot and it showed a progression of him getting redder and redder before finally kissing them back

Lastly is a page from their diary, as intimate an offering as they can possibly give. Its from a day where the longing for Mammon was at its strongest and filled with sweet words of how much they miss their first man

Mammon is freaked out at first thinking he is being summoned by another witch and is confused to see MC before taking it all in

“H-hey you don’t have to go through all this. I mean of course The Great Mammon won’t say no to the the things he deserves but ... b-but you only ever need to say my name, there is no where I’d rather be than with you”

Levi

Levi has a bad habit of just buying whatever he wants but considering that he has so many fandom’s its not hard to find some piece or another he doesn’t have 

MC feels like his brothers don’t give much thought to his gifts though, just typing in a name they know and getting whatever they find. They want to give him something more personal and can’t just be bought and shipped in two days

MC starts to watch a lot of craft, cooking and cosplay YouTubers to try and put everything together themselves. It felt more genuine that way at least to them

MC tries to keep things diverse, hitting a couple of Levi’s favorites but mostly avoiding anything Ruri related since they are afraid of messing it up lmao

Instead they focus on the anime’s and games that they watched and played together. Almost like a collection of inside jokes that they are using to summon him

The first thing MC sets out is a prettily decorated plate of macrons, doing their best to replicate the colors and flavors described in the one bakery time management game they always played

MC also went through Levi’s super secret fanfiction accounts I will fight you he is totally a fic writer because he has so many self inserts and fix it fics  and wrote out comments for every single thing he had written. They printed them out not because they didn’t think he read them but to show that they were the ones that left them

Along with the comments MC also created art for Levi’s most beloved OC, creating cute enamel pins of them in chibi form with the cannon character he paired them with

 The last two things came as a sort of combo, a couples cosplay from the romance anime they had watched together. The protagonist had been a shut in otaku who had found his soulmate when they were reborn into his world and Levi had latched onto him immediately 

It had taken a lot of blood sweat and tears trying to get both of the outfits cannon perfect but damn it MC was not going to settle for anything less

At one point they forgot they were making it for Levi and just got caught up in the the drama that was finding the perfect buttons and trim color

Overall they were so proud of the sewing skills they just wanted to call on him the moment they were done so he could see but they got a hold of themselves so they could set up what they had planned

Levi was summoned into the circle still wearing his headset and fingers tapping at a controller that had been left behind

His demon side comes out at having been cost a serious match from the sounds of it but his anger turns to confusion at seeing MC and then into wide eyed amazement at all of the things in front of him

He started to gush about every single thing he saw before he realized that MC was there beaming at him 

“You went through all this trouble to prove that you aren’t a normie and yet you summon me this way?? J-just say my name like you’re supposed to! I kind of like hearing you say it anyway ...”

Satan

Satan surprisingly doesn’t like being the center of attention and thus doesn’t really like surprises or receiving gifts. He also doubts that anyone understands him enough to give him what he wants cocky ass that he is

The idea for the things to set out in his summoning circle came to MC when discussing love potions with Satan and Solomon one day. They were talking about how smell plays such a strong part and Satan let slip some of the things he might smell after MC listed some of theirs

So while MC doesn’t have much, well any, experience in magic or potions they do want to try to stir up those feelings those smells produce in Satan

The first thing he had said came as a surprise to no one, the smell of parchment and ink

MC used each of them as their own separate offering on the pentagram. They used a fancy new calligraphy quill dipped in green ink that matched his eyes to write a long love note for him

The ink was still wet on the parchment that they set down and left the quill and remaining ink as the second gift

The next thing he mentioned was another one MC expected: tea leaves

So MC just walked into their local tea shop and let their nose lead the way. Anything that caught their attention or made them want to keep smelling they bought, creating their own special blend just for Satan

It wasn’t necessarily something that Satan would say for himself but MC had started to burn different candles in their room when he would come to rant when he was angry, trying to find a scent that he could associate with being calm when they helped him work through the anger

Whatever candle seemed to work the best is the candle that MC sets out for him. Probably something woodsy, pine or balsam or even sandalwood. It brings back good memories for MC, kissing all those worries of his away and hopes it does the same

The last item is one that made MC blush when they heard Satan admit it, he had liked the scent of their shampoo

He hadn’t said that specifically but he had closed his eyes and described a scent that he couldnt place but that he adored and when MC was taking their shower that night it clicked 

It might have been a little lame, leaving a bottle of shampoo out for Satan but MC knew that when he realized what that scent he loved so much was that he would get the cutest blush

They weren’t disappointed when they summoned Satan. He hid his shock of being summoned this way well, taking his time to walk around the circle and examine each offering. He immediately knew where they had gotten the inspiration and teased them about being such a sap

He stopped when he got to the shampoo though, not sure how that fit into the equation until he smelled it. It dawned on him and there was that blush that he tried to hide by turning his face away

“You always did like to make things difficult on yourself didn’t you? I’m only ever a call away for you kitten. Now come here and let me really breath you in, you’re simply intoxicating to me and I can’t stay away.”

Asmo

Asmo is never shy about when he doesn’t like gifts that people have given him but he has only ever cherished what MC has gotten him. Every small trinket and gift he has on full display in his room and he will wear something that MC got them when he misses them the most

He also will do it when he wants to bother his brothers and show off that MC simply lavished him in gifts (Mammon and Levi are the only ones who fall for it lmao)

So MC decides to offer Asmo things that will allow him to parade around their love for him, things to keep them close when MC isn’t there

The first thing that MC gets Asmo is new nail polish, a color that they agonized over finding because they wanted it to match his eyes perfectly

Asmo has a very organized planner, its how he keeps track of all the events he is invited to, when he has dates, who hes slept with, who hes going to sleep with and everything in between

MC commissions custom made stickers for him so he can decorate the pages of his planner even more. Specifically a whole sheet of cute stickers of them together he could use for when they planned date nights

The next thing was something for Asmo’s room which he was always changing and refreshing so it looked forever interesting for Devilgram pics

MC gets a large print of Asmo’s favorite picture of them together and puts it in a beautiful frame that perfectly matched his favorite decorating style. Perfect to show to the world that Asmo was their favorite demon and that they looked so good together

And so they can take even more pictures of themselves together MC buys a Polaroid camera for Asmo. His phone will always be his favorite thing to take pics on but this way they could have them printed instantly and it continues to let him be trendy

Lastly MC gets Asmo a necklace. A dainty rose gold chain that he can wear with practically everything and with a diamond accented heart shaped locket that could easily be tucked away if needed. It was an enchanted locket, thanks to the help of Solomon, and it warmed when MC was thinking of him

Its the first thing Asmo grabs and quickly puts on, showing it off for MC

“Oh MC you are simply the cutest thing I have ever seen~ I’m sorry I don’t have something to give you in return. I hope the fact that my heart beats only for you will make up for it, now come here I’ve been without kisses too long.”

Beel

Its SO hard not to just grab whatever is in the kitchen at the time and throw it in the summoning circle and call it a day for Beel

But he is more than just his hunger and MC is always striving to show him that they understand that 

It was harder than expected, just because asking anyone what Beel might want always got them food answers. They thought Belphie might be helpful but only got told “he probably just wants a nap ... its what I would want”

MC starts to think of all the most special moments they had with Beel, trying to think what about them made them so memorable and they knew for a fact that it wasn’t the food

The first thing they come up with is a banner that MC made to cheer him on at one of his games. It had gotten a little tattered and torn because it had rained that day but they just couldn’t let it go

Mostly because Beel after winning had ran up into the stands and kissed them for the first time. It wasn’t as if they hadn’t ever kissed but they had always been the one to make the first move but this time Beel had come to them. Of course in the biggest gesture possible

It was cheating a little bit offering a cookbook, it was still food related, but it felt better than putting in actual food 

This particular cookbook was special to MC too, they had spent several months trying to recreate one of the recipes from it down in the Devildom when MC didn’t have it. Even their D.D.D had been no help in finding the human world dish they were trying so hard to recreate

It had finally been Beel who had found someplace that sold the food they had been craving. He had even been able to bring it back completely untouched just so that they could have it all though he didn’t complain when they offered him several bites from their fork

MC pulls the next thing from their own shelves at home, a well read copy of Lord of the Flies. The spine cracked and little notes about their favorite parts scribbled in the margin

It was one of the human novels that Satan had and one of MCs favorites from school. Beel had caught them reading it and thought the title was ironic but the more he watched MC get engrossed in reading the more curious he got

He eventually asked MC to read it to him, he actually liked books even if most didn’t take him for the type it was just that he had a hard time actually reading himself. He always got distracted by food but audio books always worked well for him when he was working out, it turned out to be even better when MC read to him when he was eating

It was the best of both worlds for him and he found the story actually pretty funny, slightly worrying MC but they figured they couldn’t blame a demon for getting enjoyment out of a story like that. He did find their lack of food concerning though so at least there was that

One of the things that Beel often complained about when MC was living in the devildom was that when he went to go eat they weren’t always there. Sure Beel would ask them to tag along whenever possible but it didn’t always happen. He would call them from the kitchen at times and tell them that he missed them

MC was sure the other brothers would have something to say about it but knew that Beel would genuinely enjoy the next thing MC offered. Amagnet with his favorite picture of them. It was MC caught in a candid he took, mid bite in a dessert he had made them and his hand could just be seen wiping some whipped cream off MC’s cheek

It was a way that Beel could have MC with him at his favorite place every time

The last thing that MC laid out was something that was inspired by Beel. He had once given them a coupon for a free meal by him and they had thought it was just about the cutest thing ever

They made him a whole coupon book of favors ranging from cooking any meal he wanted to recording his workouts for him and of course lots of coupons for hugs and kisses

Beel isn’t used to being summoned at all so hes slightly disoriented when he finds himself suddenly in the human world. As soon as he sees MC though its nothing but smiles and he doesn’t even notice the gifts until after

“MC did you know I was thinking about you? Sometimes I just say your name and hope you will appear ... so if you ever think of me just say my name. I want to be here, even if its during dinner” 

Belphie

Belphie is not one to beat around the bush at all. He is a creature of habit and just wants more of the same things that he already has. Dont fix something if its not broke right?

So its fairly easy to fill his summoning circle with things that he loves, just adding to his ever growing collection of happy nap time things

That isn’t to say that MC just grabs whatever blanket or pillows they have laying around, they still want it to be special for him

So yes the first two things they offer to Belphie is a pillow and blanket, there was never going to be anything else but MC spent a long time putting their love into finding just the right ones for him ... and still couldn’t find what they wanted

MC used this as an excuse to create something themselves for their sleepy boy. They dived deep into youtube and pintrest and spent more money than they care to admit on materials until finally they made what they wanted

The first was a quilt large enough for three cause the twins like to make MC a sandwich in a cow print pattern that matched his pillow and demon form marks, lined with the softest fabric she could find that was the same purple as his eyes 

His pillow was another quilted design, this time of a cloudy night sky with a sleepy cow jumping over the moon. MC stitched his name in pretty gold thread on the back long with a sweet ‘I love you’

There was one last fluffy thing to give to him, this one MC knew he would probably scoff and tease them about but they couldn’t help it. They saw the angry looking cow plushie and just could not walk away 

They have actually been sleeping with it when they miss him most and even if he doesn’t like the plushie the fact they have slept with it so much will make him a bit fonder of it

Even though they were pretty sure that Belphie knew every star in the sky MC couldn’t help but get a book with stories about the constellations. He might already know them all but they thought that he might still enjoy hearing them read to him as he drifted to sleep

The last thing MC has to offer him is also star related. A star map of the day that they made their pact. It was the day that MC had fully forgiven everything that had happened before and their relationship had truly began

When Belphie was summoned he was half asleep but knew who it must be even in his sluggish state. He gave a big yawn and looked around at all the things around him 

“At least things are already set up for the perfect nap, including having you. MC next time just say my name alright? Its much more of a drag this way ... and I want to know when you are dreaming of me”

[scottspack]

SO YOU JUST FINISHED THE UNTAMED AND YOU WANT TO READ SOME FIC

Congratulations Jen @jlf23tumble on finishing The Untamed (tomorrow)! Now that you’re done with the show (tomorrow), you can finally dive into the wide and wonderful world of untamed fic!!! I’m ecstatic to be personally curating your reading experience! LET’S BEGIN!

I’ve started off with a list of 5 fics I think you should read in this specific order to 1. get some resolution from the end of the show and 2. get you acclimated to untamed fics! Then, I’ve listed a bunch of fics in different categories for your perusal to read at your leisure! This is an unbelievably long post holy shit brace yourself.

I’m like fairly certain that all of these follow the tv show canon BUT also its very typical for authors to combine many aspects of all of the different forms of canons to their liking. Therefore, I feel like I need to give a quick explanation of a couple things from the novel that show up frequently in fics that idk if you know already or not:

In the book, when Wei Wuxian is resurrected, he is brought back in Mo Xuanyu’s actual body and has his face and everything. Mo Xuanyu was pretty young when he died, I wanna say maybe 17 or 18??? and he was also short and pretty and flamboyantly gay. This is where the references to their crazy height difference come from, but again, I think I tried to include mostly fics that skew more heavily to the tv version where WWX keeps his same body and he and LWJ are more evenly matched physically.

Its novel canon that LWJ smells like sandalwood incense and has golden colored eyes. This is mentioned in like almost every single wangxian fic ive ever read, even if the author said they were strictly adhering to show canon lol

At the end of the novel wangxian run away together and elope! Obviously in the show that’s not how it goes down, but I think a couple of the fics I’ve recced might mention it in passing. (Oh also when they elope they make a pact to fuck “everyday,” a concept that might be mentioned as well.

Obviously, we have to kick it off with some fics that both reunite wangxian and give more resolution to the actual show. If you’re like me, it both took you a while to get all the way through the show AND took 100% of your brain power to remember all of the characters and plot lines. If that’s that case: these fics should be helpful in serving as a kind of emotional refresher for the show to wrap up some loose ends and to dive deeper into some of the things the show glosses over for one reason or another!

1. A Lot of Edges Called Perhaps by hansbekhart (Wangxian, E, 21k) 

The funny part is - and it is a little funny, even if Wei Wuxian has no one left to share the joke with - they never have. Not anything. He has never kissed any part of Lan Zhan besides his slim hands; never been even partially undressed with him anywhere besides a miserable, xuanwu-infested cave. It’s always been like this between them, this simmering need, this desperate understanding: a knowledge so deep that it lives somewhere in his bones, that if he wanted to have Lan Zhan he could have him, and if Lan Zhan wanted Wei Wuxian he could have that too. But they never have.

I found this fic on someone’s blog when they said that it was the definitive fic to read directly after finishing the series so i saved it, read it directly after finishing the series, and felt COMPLETE. Beautifully written, seamlessly fits with canon, and has a super fulfilling resolution. The perfect way to kick off reading untamed fic!

2. One Rogue Spark In My Direction by hansbekhart (Lan Wangji/Xiao Xingchen/Song Lan, E, 5k)

He’d thought, in Yueyang, that they’d seen something in each other, something familiar. That maybe they’d recognized something in him. But it’s been many years, and many things have happened since, and he’s guessed wrongly at other people’s hearts before. Lan Wangji looks back down at the table, at his steaming, bitter tea. He’ll beg if he has to.

In “A Lot Of Edges Called Perhaps” Wangji mentions that he has had sex before and this is the in-universe story of that time and WHEW BABY!!!! AHHHHHH!!! While this fic is like, almost pure smut, I think there is a ton of value to it in terms of emotional perspective on how fucked up LWJ was after WWX’s death. Also, it’s very hot.

3. Gathered Herbs & Sweet Grasses by hansbekhart (Laz Sizhui & Lan Wangji, G, 19k)

Later, when he’s older, it’s this that A-Yuan will remember most: the stretch of silence, the two of them both dirty and shaking with fever, as he looked at Brother Rich, and Brother Rich looked back at him.

This is a fic about Lan Wangji raising Sizhui from when he rescues Sizhui from the Burial Mounds until they bring WWX back to the Cloud Recesses after he’s resurrected. It made me cry about 18 times and I consider it fully canon in relation to the show. I think this gives a lot of emotional depth to the Wangji/Sizhui family relationship that is very important in most fics, so this acts as a good base since the show doesn’t really talk about it too much.

4. Your Name, Safe In Their Mouth by astrolesbian (Lan Sizhui & Wei Wuxian, G, 10k)

“You’ve got a fever,” Wei Wuxian says soothingly. “You just keep still as well as you can. We’ll have you fixed up soon.”

Lan Sizhui recognizes his tone—this is the voice that Wei Wuxian uses on hurt people and young children, a very calm and no-nonsense voice that has none of the mischief and cheer of the way he sounds the rest of the time. Lan Sizhui looks up and meets his eyes, and they are dark, stormy gray, muddled and concerned.

“I’m all right,” he croaks.

“Hush,” Wei Wuxian says, in a low croon, like someone quieting a baby. Then he blinks, and looks away, awkward. “I mean—you shouldn’t speak. You’re tired. Rest if you need to.”

or: lan sizhui gets sick on a night hunt. wei wuxian comforts him. they both have a lot of feelings about it.

The Wei Wuxian and Sizhui bonding fic that I so desperately desperately needed to read. Since we got the emotional depth to Wangji/Sizhui in the last fic, here’s some emotional resolution for Sizhui and his other dad!!!!!!!!!! Scratched the very particular itch of “but have they REALLY talked about what it means that they’re reunited after 16 years???”

5. climbing up that coastal shelf by Sour_Idealist (Jin Ling, Jiang Cheng, & Wei Wuxian, T, 15k)

Jin Ling had begun to suspect years ago that there were parts of his family history that had been crossed out; long streaks of black where Wei Wuxian had been. The truth is more like whole books being brought up from their hiding places again.

Or: Jin Ling tries to figure out what family means, now.

OKAY!!!! Last emotional resolution before I send you on your way to explore! This is the emotional resolution for the other half of WWX’s family. Featuring just a FUCK TON of family feels and a lot of TALKING that this fucked up family needs so damn bad. *chefs kiss* muy delicioso! ALSO i think this is a good introduction to a lot of the naming conventions that are used frequently in untamed fic that took me a while to pick up on!

WHEW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Now that you’ve gotten some post-show catharsis in the form of a few extremely well-written fics, it’s time for a full rec! I’ve divided it up into seven categories: long fics, smutty one-shots, 3zun (lan xichen/nie mingjue/meng yao) fics, fics about the juniors, family fun fics, some miscellaneous fics, and then some yizhan RPF! I wouldn’t have put any of these fics on here if I didn’t think they were worth reading, BUT! I did mark my particular favorites with asterisks to demark the crème de la crème of the bunch. SO! LET’S DIVE IN!

EPIC TALES (LONG AND/OR IMMERSIVE)

My Age Has Never Made Me Wise by idrilka (Wangxian, E, 63k) ***

“We hear that His Excellency might be married by summer’s end,” the merchant’s wife says and Wei Wuxian freezes, his heart in his throat. “The Gusu Lan sect has been buying enough red silk and brocade that the merchants in Caiyi can’t satisfy the demand.”

He feels himself grow brittle inside, like a flick of a finger to his temple might make him shatter. His ears are ringing.

“Who’s the lucky bride?” he asks despite himself. His tongue sticks to the roof of his mouth.

Or: The story of a marriage.

I LOVE THIS FIC. YOU MUST PROMISE ME YOU’LL READ THIS FIC. The absolute best kind of slow burn and I think such an extremely accurate representation of the canon material. I’m always surprised by the authors in this fandom’s ability to write shit that is so concretely grounded in the universe. This could and should be a real companion novel. Amazing. I love it. (Also I know you said you’re not into fics that are long just to be long and I think this fic is the exact opposite of that, it’s long but for good reason and has such an insanely satisfying payoff that it’s completely worth dedicating a few hours to!)

The Year of Drought by idrilka (Wangxian, E, 24k)

Wei Ying could not be contained by the walls of the Cloud Recesses, alive again and overflowing with it, bursting like a dam in spring with the force of two lives unspent. And so he had to go. Lan Wangji understands that—he understood it when Wei Ying told him of his plans, looking at Lan Wangji above the rim of his cup with an apologetic smile, like craving freedom was something to apologize for.

Wei Ying would go, and Lan Wangji would see him off; this has always been the only way it could be.

Or: In the absence of Wei Wuxian, Lan Wangji waits.

The previous fic but from Wangji’s perspective. Absolutely required reading if you read the other one. Wangji baby.......i love you.....

further than the grave by idrilka (Wangxian, E, 32k)

There is something about grief that turns Lan Wangji numb. He cannot be certain if it is not some kind of defect inside him that makes him so. But just as he grieved his mother’s passing with dry eyes and a stone in his chest, so he grieves Wei Ying: quietly, frozen inside, without tears. Beyond the Jingshi window it might be spring, but Lan Wangji’s body and mind are still held within the winter’s grasp.

As the anniversary of his leaving seclusion approaches, Lan Wangji ponders the nature of grief and healing.

One last fic from the same verse as the previous two, this talks about Wangji post-WWX’s death and then them dealing with the past post-marriage. Its just as good and immersive and amazing as the previous two parts, but this is the only untamed fic that actually made me gasp out loud and if you read this and can guess what it was we will be best friends forever. (There are two other fics in this verse that are also good but these three in particular are god-tier in my eyes.)

Vagabond by xantissa (Wangxian, E, 66k)

Wei Wuxian comes back to Cloud Recesses after a year of wandering the world, hoping to start a relationship with Lan Zhan. He doesn’t expect to come into the middle of a case of sleeping sickness mysteriously killing people, nor does he expect what follows, putting everything he holds dear on the line once again.

OOOWEE CASE FIC! CASE FIC! This is truly the twisty turny intense and INTERESTING type of fic from this fandom that blows my mind. This could fully be a stand alone novel its that good and there’s that much to it. Another one that isn’t long just to be long, it has so much PLOT!!!!! REAL GOOD SHIT!

Seldom All They Seem by Fahye (Wangxian, E, 25k)

or, one hundred and thirty-three principles of the Gusu Lan, pertaining to the state of marriage

***

He bows to Wei Wuxian, sword in hand, sleeves falling properly. Wei Wuxian bows in return, and the sect leaders begin the opening courtesies, and for all of ten minutes Lan Wangji is under the impression that he is betrothed to a boy who is perfectly normal and acceptable apart from an unfortunate tendency to fidget with his clothes.

That impression does not last.

A canon-divergent fic exploring “what if Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian were betrothed from when they were young like Yanli and Jin Zixuan?” It’s extremely good and very compelling and also made me cry multiple times. (The confrontation in the rain doesn’t get any easier even if they’re betrothed!)

Half Cloak & Half Dagger by Fahye (Lan Xichen/Meng Yao, E, 13k)

Jin Guangyao lifts his head and smiles. "I'm considering a problem."

"Can I be of any assistance with it?"

He drops a kiss on Lan Xichen's chest. With the nail of one finger he lightly traces the characters for irony on Lan Xichen's side. "Not this one, er-ge."

A follow-up fic set in the “Seldom All They Seem” universe but focused on xiyao. Has hands down the best written characterization of meng yao in any fic ive read so far. I continuously come back to this fic just to read the absolutely genius way this author writes the Head Bitch In Control of the cultivation world.

The Absolutely True Story of the Yiling Patriarch: A Manifesto in Many Parts by aubreyli (Wangxian, T, 20k)

Wei Wuxian’s hand jolts, spilling a drop of wine onto the tabletop. “Love?” he croaks, then clears his throat and tries again. “Lan Zh— uh, Hanguang-jun, in love?”

“Have you not heard the story?” the other young woman asks, looking pitying. “You must, it is a truly heartrending tale of star-crossed romance and mutual pining — go to any storyhouse in town, everyone has been requesting a reading of this book.”

“There’s a book?” Wei Wuxian says blankly.

In which the junior disciples (namely, Lan Jingyi, Ouyang Zizhen, and a reluctant Lan Sizhui) turn to RPF in an attempt to rehabilitate Wei Wuxian's reputation so that he and Hanguang-jun can get together and get married and live happily ever after. It's... surprisingly effective.

I kept avoiding this fic, even though it was really high up on the list of most popular fics in the fandom, bc the premise sounded pretty goofy BUT I finally bit the bullet one day and AHHHHHHHH!!!!! Very very very cute and fun, made me smile like an idiot throughout the entire thing. Heartwarming and very well written!!!

never let me go by yiqie (Wangxian, E, 69k)

Wei Wuxian has certainly hoped so ardently in his two lifetimes, for so many different things, in so many different ways, that he could have summoned the demon to his front door with his bare hands. His eyes wander to Lan Zhan, settle on the back of his head, the blue-black curtain of his hair. Oh, how he has hoped.

Another extremely good and super immersive case fic. If you ever just want to sink really deep into an untamed fic, this is a great one for it.

hunters seeking solid ground by Attila (Wangxian, E, 24k)

“Hanguang-jun,” Wei Wuxian repeats. His heart clenches. He wants—but he’d really meant to have this nightmare stuff down before they met again, so he wouldn’t find himself relying on Lan Wangji’s nearness. He’s not supposed to go back yet. But he’s so tired, and his will crumbles. “Yeah,” he says. “All right. Take me back to Gusu with you.”

You want hurt/comfort? I gotcha hurt/comfort RIGHT HERE!

shadows in the sun rise by Yuu_chi (Wangxian, E, 25k) ***

“Wei Ying,” Lan Wangji says, voice slow and a pitch too quiet. A second later Wei Wuxian understands why. “I cannot hear.”

Or; Lan Wangji is cursed into internal isolation. Their ability to understand one another remains as unwavering as ever.

OH GOD OH GOD OH GOD. I have been thinking about this fic nonstop since I read it. It is…..fucking incredible. One of the best qualities of wangxian is that they’re so in tune with each other and able to work so cohesively with little communication and this fic is like “what if we take that and DIAL IT UP TO ELEVEN” and i was like AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!

I hope that you will come and meet me by feyburner (Wangxian, M, 28k) ***

The second time Lan Zhan said Wei Ying, come back, Wei Wuxian did.

okay so this is literally getting added to the fic rec one day before i send it to you because i just finished it and WHEW BABY!!!!! YES it is just another wangxian post-canon reunion get-together fic, BUT 1. i cant get enough of that specific brand of fic and 2. ITS SO GOOD. ITS. SO. GOOD. achingly tender and incredibly soft but also funny and sweet and very in-character! i love it!

THE BONE ZONE (WANGXIAN SMUT)

Sweet Night by corteae (Wangxian, E, 10k)

It was like coming back to life again, like being restitched into existence, cell by cell, nerve by nerve. From the surface of his skin to the marrow of his bones, everything new and purposeful. Like being pulled back from oblivion into an embrace of pure light. A feeling of absolute asylum.

That’s what it felt like, to realize Lan Wangji was in love with him.

An in-show au of “what if they just admitted they’re in love and fucked during episode 43?” Soft and romantic and hot!

the crucial point by dissembler (Wangxian, E, 7k) ***

Months after parting on the mountain, Lan Wangji makes up his mind, plots his course on a map, and has faith.

I LOVE THIS FIC! Very realistic and sweet wangxian reunion fic from wangji’s perspective. Has so many good little details and is very true to their characters. Good shit. Great.

Stainless by Fahye (Wangxian, E, 6k)

"I'm starting to feel," says Lan Xichen, "that this was a counterproductive suggestion."

Wei Wuxian looks down onto the pristine, tranquil cold springs of the Cloud Recesses. Sitting in the water, their bare shoulders rising like dumplings carefully spaced in a steaming-basket, are a large number of Lan disciples.

"They seem to be doing better," he says, encouragingly. "If they--oh, no, I see what you mean."

At the near bank, someone has pressed someone else against the rocks and is kissing them frantically.

What is getting into a new pairing if not an excuse to read sex pollen in new and exciting ways!

To Recklessly Confess by la_dissonance (Wangxian, E, 8k)

Lan Wangji has a fantasy. Wei Wuxian gets several clues.

The “what if they just fucked in episode 43” au but from a different angle.

all the depths of me, real by northofallmusic (Wangxian, E, 15k)

Wei Wuxian is dealing with a curse a little worse than he'd like to let on, and Lan Zhan is a little less than willing to let it slide.

Another “what if they just fucked in the show” fic, this time set when WWX has the curse on his leg and Wangji has to carry him back to the inn. 

Every Day, Learning More by phnelt (Wangxian, E, 6k)

The pink was high on Wei Wuxian’s cheeks. “I mean I haven’t been able to… that I can’t. Not without you.”

Lan Wangji stared. “In this body, the whole time you’ve had it -- you’ve never…”

Wei Wuxian kicked his heels into Lan Wangji’s back. “I just said that!”

I knew at least one of these was more book verse than show! WWX hasn’t been able to jerk off in his new body, LWJ helps him out :-)

the meaning of the ritual by newamsterdam (Wangxian, E, 8k)

“Lan Zhan… wants to bed me?”

The hand on his chest is shaking, slightly. “Mn.”

“Oh,” Wei Wuxian breaths out.

There’s something— something powerful, about that. Lan Wangji wants to bed him. Lan Wangji wants to sleep with him. Lan Wangji wants to touch him, and kiss him. The immovable, implacable Second Master of Lan, with a face and principles both carved from jade, wants him.

“Is this a fantasy of yours?” Wei Wuxian asks. “Forcing all the demonic energy out of me with your—”

Lan Wangji claps a hand over his mouth. “Silence, now.”

When the entire cultivation world turns against the Yiling Patriarch, Wei Wuxian makes a risky gamble— he'll agree to participate in an ancient ritual for cleansing the spirit, so that his character can no longer be called into question. The catch? He has no idea who his partner for the ritual will be.

This is also book-verse! As the tag says “Let Lan Wangji Fuck the Yiling Patriarch”!!!!!!!!!!!

Hurricane by gdgdbaby (Wangxian, E, 6k) ***

"Haven't you heard?" Nie Huaisang replied, clicking his tongue, though he was clearly pleased that he could be the one to break the news. He leaned in to announce with a dramatic flourish: "Lan Wangji just took emergency family leave this past weekend."

WANGXIAN AS SPIRK STAR TREK PON FAR AU!!!!!!!!!!!!! WEEWOO WEEWOO WEEWOO!!!!!!!! This was actually recced to ME by CHI and I have not stopped thinking about this fic for a full month. It’s like author gdgdbaby sat down one day and was like “Tumblr user Liv Scottspack deserves everything she wants in this life.” and then wrote this fic. Thank you author gdgdbaby, I love you.

WORLD’S WORST THROUPLE (3ZUN)

The body is a blade by rheawrites (3zun, E, 2k) ***

In which Lan Xichen is taken by surprise, Nie Mingjue takes what he can get, and Meng Yao gets what he wants.

This was the first 3zun fic I ever read and whew baby, got it in one! It’s actually a slight AU but it gets their characterization so right and is a very fun read. One of those fics I go back to frequently because it does so much with so few words.

shang tiantang by fuckwarlock (3zun, E, 4k)

They wanted so much, and with the way A-Yao gasps at the saber-calloused hand unfastening his belts, he does, too. The night air twirls with the scents of osmanthus and cinnamon and melon. Lan Xichen smiles, leans in, and ghosts his lips over the crook of A-Yao’s neck. What kind of brother would he be if he didn’t give A-Yao what he wanted? “I think it’s your turn to ascend, A-Yao.”

The Venerated Triad celebrates the Mid-Autumn Festival the best way they know how.

Truly the only way the venerated triad works is if meng yao gets Destroyed :-)

Favour and Fate by soulgusttheguardian (3zun, E, 8k)

There have been times in Meng Yao’s life when he couldn’t help but wonder how he came to be in his current situation. Found himself reflecting on the choices leading up to whatever misfortune had befallen him that day, and pondering why fate hated him so.

Granted, there had also been times when he couldn't help but wonder just what he had done to earn the favour necessary to be rewarded with certain things...

The current situation he found himself to be in, however, was definitely the latter.

More of the same! Truly I personally can never get enough of the 3zun dynamic in smut fics its just too goddamn motherfucking GOOD!!!!!!!!!!!!

the stars do not take sides by everyearning (3zun, E, 4k)

Mingjue isn’t sure he’s ever seen Xichen do anything other than treat the boy like a porcelain doll and it’s laughable to him, to think of Meng Yao as something breakable, instead of the sharp, deadly object he is.

Okay one last “Destroy Meng Yao” 3zun fic! Enjoy!

never as alive as we are right now by ThirtySixSaveFiles (3zun, E, 12k)

Three perspectives on three sworn brothers, at three different times in their relationship.

(Or, three times 3zun got it on and some of the feelings they had along the way.)

Wait actually I want to end the 3zun fics on this one because it has true Emotional Resolution at the end and I think they deserve a little healing.

BABY BOYS. BABIES. (THE JUNIORS)

A Civil Combpaign by Ariaste (Jin Ling/Lan Sizhui, T, 20k) ***

“And,” said one of the pompous ministers, “there’s the matter of a marriage to consider as well!”

Jin Ling, who at the beginning of that sentence had expected to slam into the very last wall of his patience and lose his temper entirely, paused. “A what?”

Thing was… it wasn’t such a bad idea.

A MUST-FUCKING-READ!!! Jin Ling gets it in his head that as sect leader he should get married and sets his sights on Lan Sizhui. I cannot stress enough how FUCKING CUTE this fic is!!! Sizhui being the best boy! Jin Ling having more uncles than he knows what to do with! Jiang Cheng being the worst at relationship advice! It’s so fucking good it love it so much.

Anyway, Here’s Wuji by kakikaeru (Lan Jingyi/Lan Sizhui, T, 18k)

The melody gets a little clearer when he breaks out of the trees, and Jingyi changes course with certainty, barreling down the back hill and through the Cloud Recesses, dodging scandalized disciples left and right. He throws open the doors to the Receiving Hall without announcement and bows nearly double, eyes on the floor instead of on the shocked faces of the Mei delegation and the impenetrable gaze of the Chief Cultivator.

"Forgive this disciple," Jingyi shouts, because he's going to get punished for rule breaking regardless. "From the back hill, Hanguang-jun, there is a song in the wind!"

Lan Jingyi comes of age.

A Jingyi-central fic about Jingyi growing up and falling in love and being a hero and being the second best boy of my heart right after Sizhui. Not only is this fic sweet and romantic but it’s another one that explores a lot of interesting things within canon and all of the supporting characters are written very well and are just as interesting as second best boy Jingyi.

Ok, JiuJiu by kakikaeru (Jin Ling/Ouyang Zizhen, T, 16k)

Uncle's jaw works in the way that suggests he's about to say something irredeemable. Jin Ling, in a move of diplomacy he hopes the Chief Cultivator appreciates, distracts him with spicy food and his favourite subject: the incompetence of his own officials.

"I hear the lakes in the south east are having drainage problems?" he asks nonchalantly, sticking three big slices of braised pork belly into his Uncle's bowl.

Jin Ling just wants to get through the Discussion Conference with his Sect, his dignity, and his heart intact.

A follow up fic to “Anyways, Here’s Wuji.” I LOVE the Jin Ling/Ouyang Zizhen dynamic of Jin Ling having been raised by Jiang “I keep all my emotions right here and then one day I’ll die” Cheng AND being hopelessly charmed and smitten with Ouyang “President of the I Love Love Romance Novel Book Club” Zizhen! I LOVE IT! EXTREMELY CUTE!

Lan Sizhui's Guide to Courtship by Kimblydot (Lan Sizhui/Lan Jingyi, T, 23k)

In which Jingyi is a little oblivious, Sizhui is patient (and should have said something in the beginning), and everyone else is resigned to watching them dance around each other for far longer than necessary.

(Or: five things Sizhui tries to do in his courtship, and the one time Jingyi realizes there was one happening in the first place.)

I’ll stop describing fics about the juniors as being “cute” when they stop being SO FUCKING CUUUUUUUUUUTTTTTTTEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!

His Merit All My Fear by violettressed (Lan Sizhui/Lan Jingyi, G, 16k)

It’s too late for any of Hanguang-Jun’s rabbits to be awake -- one of the sundown chores for young disciples is to herd them back into their hutch -- but the rabbit field is as good a spot as any for quality sulking, so Lan Jingyi makes his way there.

Someone has beat him to it.

Lan Jingyi stares at Hanguang-Jun. Hanguang-Jun stares passively back.

When Lan Sizhui is swept away with the Ghost General, off on a new adventure, Lan Jingyi is the one who returns to Cloud Recesses alone.

Not only another extremely cute Sizhui/Jingyi fic BUT one that includes a Wangji/Jingyi friendship??? Incroyable! *chefs kiss*

spirit running wild by idrilka (Lan Sizhui/Lan Jingyi, E, 17k)

He doesn’t know, exactly, when the friendship he shared with Sizhui over the years has changed into something that’s made Jingyi finally understand why Hanguang-Jun always wears that expression whenever he looks at Senior Wei. There hasn’t been one single moment that he can point to and say, yes, this is where it started, because the thing about falling in love with your best friend is that it happens gradually, until it’s impossible to tell which step has been the deciding one.

Jingyi goes to Baling with a crush.

Written by the same genius that wrote the first three fics I made you read so you know it’s good. Its truly the childhood best friends to lovers of it all! Sizhui is adorable and Jingyi is a mess! *muah!*

FAMILY FUN TIME (NO ROMANCE, JUST FEELS)

Grow by cafecliche (Lan Sizhui & Wei Wuxian, T, 14k)

“Okay,” Jingyi says, as Sizhui puzzles this out aloud. “Okay! So the demon has been turning its victims into children.”

“I think so,” Sizhui says.

“To make them easier prey,” Jingyi says.

“Yes,” Sizhui says.

“So—” Jingyi’s voice cracks here, “this kid is Senior Wei.”

Wei Wuxian, still tangled in his own massive robes, blinks politely at them.

(Or: Wei Wuxian is cursed on a night-hunt, and the junior quartet rapidly finds themselves in over their heads.)

What I expected to be a goofy, silly fic turned out to be extremely emotional and made me FULLY CRY! It’s a very moving fic about Sizhui coming to understand himself and Wei Wuxian a lot better AND features all of the juniors arguing over who’s turn it is to hold 6 year old Wei Wuxian. A true win/win of a fic.

To The Act of Making Noise by words-writ-in-starlight (Lan Sizhui & Lan Wangji, G, 19k)

His father in white plays the song late into the night, and when A-Yuan wakes up confused and afraid, the guqin lulls him back to sleep.

Lan Sizhui hears his father play the same song every night for his whole life, and never, ever get an answer.

Another very moving and heartwarming fic about Lan Wangji raising Sizhui and Sizhui figuring out Wangji’s past and then eventually reconnecting with Wei Wuxian. It’s cute and soft and Sizhui is my best boy!

History (Proud To Call Your Own) by words-writ-in-starlight (Wen Ning, G, 5k)

“A-Yuan? Um—Lan-gongzi,” Wen Ning corrects, trying to set a good example. The children are young, seven and eight, exactly a dozen of them lined up in two crisp lines of tiny blue and white robes. Wen Ning can feel them staring at him, even though most of them have already mastered that Lan trick of neutrality. The smallest, a little girl with liquid dark eyes, is clinging to her nearest shijie’s sleeve and half-hiding. “Can I—what can I do for you?”

Wen Ning gets himself recruited for services, while he and Sizhui are visiting Cloud Recesses. Wei Wuxian gets a fan club.

Set in the same universe as “To The Act of Making Noise,” a very cute fic about Wen Ning finding his place in the post-canon world and being proud of Sizhui and being the world’s best substitute teacher. As the official Wen Ning Fan Club President, I had to include this.

the stone-filled sea by yukla (Lan Sizhui & Wei Wuxian, T, 9k) ***

He forgets how quickly Wei-qianbei changes faces, sometimes. Like pulling a theater mask over a bruise—color over color, a diversion with the swipe of his hand.

Lan Sizhui navigates a world that hates his father, one endless wave at a time.

Oh man oh man. I will never get enough of the fics where Sizhui (and the rest of the juniors) get ANGRY on Wei Wuxian’s behalf!! That’s their dad and their teacher and their friend and they will DEFEND HIM!!! YEAH BAYBEEEEEEEEEE!!!

PICK & MIX (MISCELLANEOUS)

This Side of Paradise by greenfionn (Wei Wuxian/Wen Qing, E, 3k)

Wei Wuxian does some very quick math in his head that goes something like this: He is pretty sure he’s in love with Lan Zhan - Lan Zhan is not here and likely never will be here - Wen Qing is here, not to mention very hot and let us not forget, actually interested in sex with him - there’s a solid chance he goes genuinely crazy or dies, or both, in the next few months and really, who wants to die a virgin?

Listen.......the fic premise is “Wei Wuxian and Wen Qing, noted bisexuals, figure life sucks enough at the Burial Mounds, they might as well have any fun they can before they die” and........I Am Looking Directly At It. It features Wen Qing bossing Wei Wuxian around and Wei Wuxian’s canon he-wants-to-be-pregnant kink. It’s........I liked it.

palm to palm is holy palmers’ kiss by iodhadh (Song Lan/Xiao Xingchen, M, 15k) ***

The realization strikes Song Lan like a bolt of lightning: Xiao Xingchen laughs, and he wants with a sudden, stunning desperation to kiss the mirth from his beautiful mouth. How, precisely, he is meant to manage that—that, he has no idea at all.

Or: introspective meditations on touch, trust, and the problem of desire.

I Am Baby and for some reason cannot handle how sad the entire Song Lan/Xiao Xingchen storyline ended up so I rarely read songchen fics, and when I do they’re always soft pre-canon fics like this one. Luckily there are some very beautiful and moving pre-canon songchen fics!!! I love you fandom!!

purpose and ritual by iodhadh (Song Lan/Xiao Xingchen, E, 8k)

Song Zichen has beautiful hands. He's a powerful swordsman, strong and skilled, unfairly impressive and unreasonably handsome. He is devoted and self-disciplined and he takes direction like a dream. And he doesn't touch people—no one at all, if he can help it, except for Xiao Xingchen.

The poets might call him a saint, but Xiao Xingchen is so very, very human.

More of the same :-)

born to sweet delight by la_dissonance (Song Lan/Xiao Xingchen, E, 10k)

Xiao Xingchen lightly jumps into the center of the pool, the water a shock that cools his sticky, heated skin, and does nothing for the heat building inside him. When he surfaces, pushing the hair out of his face, he finds Song Lan's gaze and meets it. Between them, everything goes both ways. What Song Lan will offer, Xiao Xingchen will freely give too.

Or, Xiao Xingchen and Song Lan meet, pledge their lives to each other, and then fall in love.

This is about the angstiest I will go for songchen and its still absolutely Baby Soft lmfao!!!!!!

Pin it down by rheawrites (Jiang Yanli/Jin Zixuan, Jin Zixuan/Nie Mingjue, E, 2k)

“Yanli, I did not lie on our wedding night. You are the only woman I have gone to bed with. But… there was a man.”

“Oh?” Yanli blinks up at him. She does not appear horrified, or betrayed, which is surely a good sign.

Jin Zixuan swallows. “It was Sect Leader Nie,” he says quickly, as though that will make it easier.

“…Oh,” says Yanli, and her eyes are dark.

-

Jin Zixuan tells his wife a war story. Or, two thousand words of Jin Zixuan getting railed.

Have you ever looked at Jin Zixuan and been like “I bet that mf likes getting PEGGED!!!!!!!!” Well here’s the fic for you. 

*YIBO VOICE* DIDI LOVES YOU! (YIZHAN RPF)

never really over by gdgdbaby (Yizhan, E, 10k)

The thing is: it would be good to see Xiao Zhan again — if Yibo could just trust himself to be normal.

Author gdgdbaby is the yizhan master, so here are five of my personal favorites of their fics, starting with this post-filming reunion fic that was the first yizhan fic I ever read and HIT real good after having just finished the show myself.

pedagogy by gdgdbaby (Yizhan, E, 17k) ***

Yibo opens his mouth and says, "I want to learn," barreling past the rapid rise of Xiao Zhan's eyebrows. "To last longer. Will you teach me?"

Quick-fire Yibo comes too easily and Xiao Zhan helps train him to last longer :-)

you’re the reason that i just can’t concentrate by gdgdbaby (Yizhan, E, 10k)

Xiao Zhan hears about it from Yu Bin, which probably should've been the first warning sign.

Yibo was only 20 when they filmed the untamed, which lends itself perfectly to fics like this.

a truth so loud you can’t ignore by gdgdbaby (Yizhan, E, 5k)

It's their last day of filming in Hengdian when the secret comes out.

If yibo has to be a fictional virgin than SO DOES XIAO ZHAN!

if you would only let you by gdgdbaby (Yizhan, E, 32k) ***

"Well?" Yibo demands. Past the severe frown tugging at the corners of his mouth, a flicker of the old him slips through, the persistent boy who shoved his way into Xiao Zhan's space without a second thought and made a home for himself there. "Are you coming or not?"

Xiao Zhan's heart twists. He forcibly settles it back in his chest. He's only told Yibo no once in his entire life, and it was already the hardest thing he's ever had to do. "Okay," Xiao Zhan murmurs, quiet but decisive, and thumbs his phone off. "Let's go."

Like I said, all gdgdbaby fics are incredibly good, super well written, and very hot, but this one does stand out from the bunch for being a Full Epic Romance! This is one of Chi’s favorite fics so that should speak to it’s quality!

baby, who’s counting by nobirdstofly (Yizhan, E, 12k)

Xiao Zhan gasps, trying to rein in another peal of giggles. “What do I owe you anyway?”

Yibo shrugs one shoulder, and his smirk deepens. “Haven’t decided.”

Xiao Zhan’s still staring at him, laughter gone in his dry throat, when he hears someone yell for a reset. Yibo’s eyes are so, so dark, and he hasn’t stopped watching Xiao Zhan this whole time. Xiao Zhan swallows, nods, and pushes every dirty thought out of his head.

(Or: Yibo bets Xiao Zhan he'll break first during a take, Xiao Zhan loses, and it's all downhill from there.)

Ah sex bets, who doesn’t love sex bets!

Mystery Dance by mrsronweasley (Yizhan, E, 16k)

"That? That's your confession?" Yibo's toppled onto Xiao Zhan's side and is clutching his shoulder, trying not to fall over. "That's pathetic!"

"Oh, what, you can do better?" Zhuocheng is pretty flushed and there's a challenge in his voice that Yibo just can't walk away from.

"Hell yeah, I can. Hit me, Yu Bin." Yu Bin cheers and refills Yibo's shot glass. "All right!" Yibo downs the shot, gags only slightly, and says, "Everyone! I'm a fucking virgin!"

WHAT’S better than a Yibo virgin fic? A SECOND YIBO VIRGIN FIC!

This author also writes extremely good yizhan threesomes so here’s three of them!

Some Nights by mrsronweasley (Yizhan/Xuan Lu (Jiang Yanli), E, 2k)

Xuan Lu opened her legs to him and Xiao Zhan wasted no time diving in. He pressed his mouth against her pussy, licking her out steadily as her thighs trembled around him. She was nestled between Yibo's legs and if Xiao Zhan looked up, not only could he see the planes of her body, her small breasts going up and down with her breathing, ribs expanding, her tipped back head and open mouth, but Yibo, gaze boring into Xiao Zhan's as he ate Xuan Lu out.

The entire cast is hot and there is no reason they shouldn’t ALL fuck! Not one reason!!!!!!

gege loves you by mrsronweasley (Yizhan/Wang Zhuocheng (Jiang Cheng)), E, 7k)

"We are very sorry," Xiao Zhan murmured as he unbuttoned Zhuocheng's jeans while Yibo kissed his ear, "for how we've been acting."

"Is this how you apologize to everyone," Zhuocheng panted, hands already going for his zipper to help Xiao Zhan along, "or am I special?"

WHEW LORD!!!!!!!!! WHEW!!!!!!!

Talking in the Dark by mrsronweasley (Yizhan (Side Xiao Zhan/M/F), E, 14k)

Xiao Zhan has a light-hearted romp of a threeway with some friends, then makes the mistake of telling Yibo. It goes down.

A non-yizhan threesome BUT features jealous!yibo which is a ton of fun.

Finally, a couple AUs!

With Joy and Purpose by feenwitch (Yizhan, E, 30k) ***

Yibo has been alone for approximately five Earth years when Xiao Zhan crash lands on his planet.

YIZHAN ANDROID AU!!!!!!!! This is a very star trek-esque universe which is fun, but the fic itself is also CRAZY interesting and moving and beautiful!!!!!!!!! It’s A LOT! This was a rec from Nina, so thank you Nina!

Bound With a Same-Heart Knot by mrsronweasley (Yizhan, E, 59k)

London, 1892. Xiao Zhan, a promising young attache at the Chinese embassy is tasked with showing the new ambassador's son Wang Yibo around London. The inevitable happens.

Victorian AU! I actually think you already read this, but included for posterity.

AND SCENE! This is the result of two months of daily fic reading, having 50 tabs of fic open at any given time, reading truly anything and everything, and Loving The Untamed. I’m SO EXCITED you’re diving into fic for this show and I can’t wait to talk to you about all of them and to have someone to scream with! WOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!

[project-paranoia]

Live Watch: Guardian  Episode One, Part One

It's Guardian!  The show that got me interested in this genre!  I love spooky things and I love mysteries and fantasy!  I simply adore it so much!  When I can't sleep I just put on a playlist of Guardian in the background.  I was aware of censorship before - every country has some version of it, but to some degree this was my first deep dive into how it might effect a piece of media.  Guardian is exceptionally acted and incredibly written, as well as suffering from obvious dubs where the dubbing voice actor sounds nothing like the previous actor and odd cuts that are disrupted.  In some ways it's the little drama that could fighting its way past their studio going bankrupt while they were filming, reshoots, and being taken down and altered several times.

In some ways Guardian's struggle fits the spirit and aesthetic of the show. Worn in like an old pair of jeans but still making an effort.  Putting emphasis where things count and hoping the kindness of the universe will make allowances for the rest.  Attention to detail where the story really matters.  It has the charm of a community production put on out of love with actors and crew who would not be anywhere else in the world for any amount of money.  That feeling of love comes through, and whether or not I'm barely literate I have so many words to share.

Part of why I love it as well is it has that feeling of 80s and 90s fantasy, like Moomin, Xena or Condor Heroes. Everything feels lived in, nothing's been spit shined except for Shen Wei's suits. It's an old city street of a show, it has history and character built in. 

*After all that I don't know that I have a tonne to say about the intro.  It's very good but it's also full of spoilers.  I think having the intro song be in English does make a difference in making it appealing to English speaking audiences as well as standing out as different and interesting, which the show is. Speaking of Spoilers!  Spoilers below!

* The obligatory beginning narration is beautifully animated, I have another post that will be done some time before the heat-death of the universe talking about the fascinating world building options.  Unlike some Make It SciFi plots, this one has legs and implications.

* Remakes rarely are able to meet the original on equal ground - and I struggle to believe the actors would Fit as well - but part of me really wants to have a chance to have the Dixingren worldbuilding really leaned into.  The writing is good enough we get implication but no real follow through.  I want fifty episodes of how Dixing functions, give me more pseudo-science behind the mutations, what are the biological differences.  I'm hungry for more!

* I love the cameos of later characters, and the way there was some effort to be discrete with spoilers.

* It's Ya Boy!  I love Shen Wei.  With that music cue and that sinister turn around they really set him up as dubious.  I wish they went with something a little different with the intro so his character wasn't spoiled.  The writing, directing, and acting was so good and spoiling who Shen Wei is kind of took the teeth out of that.

* Also cheers to the costume designer who outfitted Zhu Yilong so well and made him look jacked with the fit of those clothes.

* Also you can tell this is a real university because the staff has to sit in tiny student chairs.  I'm not joking, please be warned if you're going into academia.  Unless you have tenure life is An Adventure - and even then.

* Also shout out to Shen Wei's Prized Cabbage and the Queen of our hearts, Li Qian.  Why is this actress not in more things?  She has such an expressive and lovely face and she really goes all the way in with her acting.  I respect an artist that acts from their chest. Also that windbreaker, white skirt combo is chic and fun all at once, it draws the eye and makes her melt into the background all at once - perfect for the character.  I love her so much.

* Here's another one of Shen Wei's coats, it's a lovely color for him but it also is so thin that it looks like it crinkled up just from being worn.

* I'm being distracted by details and missing plot stuff.

* Story of my life.

* I love Li Qian hovering along behind Shen Wei like a duckling following their mother.  A) Mood and B) it quietly informs their dynamic.  Shen Wei has like one person he can trust but no one he can really confide in and it's the same for Li Qian. A ship will find a port in a storm and Shen Wei has Big Da-ge Energy. My fanfic heart hopes they found comfort in the pseudo familial relationship with each other while it lasted.

* Even in episode one we receive foreshadowing, we love and respect some excellent writing.  For those of you who missed it - Professor Ouyang is talking about Lin Jing who I love partially because he's so outrageous large but has the total opposite of intimidating energy.  

* What did they feed you Lin Jing? He is so tall and wide, but they do a lot with camera work to try to make him not quite as big.  Side note, I would really love to see the actor who plays Lin Jing (Liu Minting) both in more dramas but more specifically in a role where he was like a minister or scholar - someone intellectual.  I think the combination of being such a big gentleman and also someone who like plots or plans would be really dynamic if it was written well.  

* Also I like the exchange where without a word Professor Ouyang indicates he has one last thing to say, it's private and that he would like Shen Wei to ask Li Qian to leave. That's What You Can Do With Good Actors!

* Li Qian is just so pretty and the actress emotes so well!

* Shen Wei totally understanding what's going on with this shady research immediately and wanting to stay as far away as possible.  We see one of the first examples of him being aggressively polite to remove himself from a situation.

* "i'M jUST aN oRDINARY sCHOLAR." No one buys it Shen Wei.

* Angy Thinking Face

* One thing the show is really good at is using establishing shots really well so you always know where everything is and everything is going

* Guo Changcheng, all around good boy and angel.  We stan a nervous legend

* Zhou Yunlan Arriving.  Why is everyone on this show an Absolute Legend

* Guo Changcheng protecting himself with his certificate is too cute.  This young man is trying his best and I support him.

* Also that coat is Young, Pure, Stylish; I love it

* Zhao Yunlan, what's wrong with you? You are amazing!

* His irreverent style and disregard of usual policy makes him fit in really well with his band of misfits and special cases

* Guo Changcheng's OO face is too good, elastic face

* Da Qing my love!

* Jin Ling, I think he has an all seeing eye on his hoodie thing. Illuminati Confirmed.

* Also they filmed the shots so well, so you always know where everyone is in relation to everyone else

* Our Prized Cabbage!  I love her!

* Great handheld work: shaky and unhinged, but not migraine inducing

* Foreshadowing in the form of a shadow and reaching for the necklace

* Da Qing's cat behaviours. I really want behind the scenes of the actor discussing how cat was he going to cat

* We get our first real example of how Zhao Yunlan doesn't feel safe emoting negatively and so he uses a super sunny mask to hide his feelings, except with Da Qing who he lets his anger show with because he trusts him.

* I'm not even halfway through and I've written so much, peace and blessings to the readers of this.

* Zhao Yunlan's swagger, after his childhood having a little power must feel comforting and good

* I love how Da Qing is talking as a cat less than a meter from the medical examiner.  Does the examiner not care or does he know?  Is he deaf?

* Harassing Guo Changcheng is the new team sport

* Zhao Yunlan Realises Something Music

* Also, Lollipop Measurement

* It's nice to see Zhao Yunlan just being himself with Da Qing, he's able to really be honest and genuine with him

* Slow Look Moment

* This moment is so fascinating!  Shen Wei doesn't know what's going on yet.  He just sees an old friend who winces when he sees him and disappears.  We mostly see things from Zhao Yunlan's point of view, but from Shen Wei's perspective this is a first part of just some Odd and Confusing Happenings

* This cat though!  I love him!

* The delicate way they’re both feeling each other out.  This must be so confusing and startling for Shen Wei and Zhao Yunlan is trying to figure out if this teacher is going to bust him or what.

* He forgot to let go, way to set off Zhao Yunlan’s suspicions

* “Mark Stewart” Is he though?  Who picked out that English name?

* Li Qian!  I love her and I love that striped blouse. Fashion.  Got to look good when you’re resisting a mental break. *Also she hears a meow and looks around at eye level, I love that for her.

* Zhao Yunlan!  You can’t take pictures of young ladies without their permission.  What is wrong with you!

* I love Da Qing’s very cat attitude of I Will Have Vengeance for These Wrongs

* Two for one! Shen Wei meets two faces from his past.

* Also, I get a little frustrated about people making a big deal about the 10,000 years versus 1,000 years age thing with Da Qing.  a) He has amnesia and b) the thousand years refers to the amount of time needed to cultivate to a certain stage in Chinese mythology - usually by absorbing energy from the sun, moon, or depending on the animal other sources.

* I feel so bad for Shen Wei, who knows what he thinks.  Were his friends brainwashed?  Did they forget?  Can they not say for some reason?  What is happening?

This review is getting a little long, so join in tomorrow for Part Two~~!

[knickynoo]

BTTF Headcanons

As suggested by the wonderful @tsukinikawatteus, I’ve put together some of my headcanons. Honestly, these are going to revolve solely around Doc & Marty, because I don’t really have any developed ones involving other characters.

I’ll hide it under a ‘read more ’ in case it gets too long and ramble-y. Which it will, because this is me we’re talking about.

First, I’ll answer the ones I got in the ask.

- How Doc & Marty met: For this one, I just go by the official Bob Gale answer that Marty was 13 or 14, had heard rumors about the crazy old scientist in town, & snuck into Doc’s lab one day & got caught. The comic series actually shows this event happening, but I tend to dismiss that version because honestly, I don’t like the way it’s handled. (Plus Bob Gale has said that the comics/game/etc can be take it or leave it as considered canon, so yay) Anyway, I imagine a young Marty hearing all these whispers around town about Doc and being curious. Maybe he was looking for danger/adventure in going to investigate, but I also like to think that part of Marty felt sorry for this guy who everyone seemed to look down on. So he made his way over to Doc’s lab to see what the deal was & was initially scared when he got caught. But he saw all the cool experiments and the general chaos & was totally into it.  (And btw, in my headcanon, Marty is the one who first refers to him as Doc & establishes it as his “name,” unlike the comic version where Doc tells Marty to call him that?? Def didn’t like that part.)

- When they started to consider each other best friends/what impact did they have on each other’s life: I’d say they considered the other a best friend pretty quickly. Doc was absolutely thrilled to discover that this kid thought he was awesome & was so interested in his work. After spending so much of his life without true connections or relationships, having Marty around really changed Doc’s life. He finally had someone (aside from Einstein) to talk to about all of his experiments and the science behind them.

The same goes for Marty considering Doc a best friend. Seeing as he was growing up in such a dysfunctional environment, with parents who probably weren’t super attentive or close to him, he loved being around Doc. Not only was he treated as an equal, he also had someone to listen to him, which he didn’t get at home. He found encouragement and felt respected around Doc. Plus, my general headcanon is that Marty really doesn’t have other friends & was always kind of an outsider.

Now onto some of my other headcanons....

- As I mentioned above, I don’t see Marty as a guy with many friends. He’s friendly towards a lot of people, but doesn’t have a specific group he belongs to. He really only interacts with his band mates while he’s at practice & it’s more of a business situation than a friendship. Marty gets to practice, runs the show (playing sick guitar riffs) & then just leaves. His band mates serve as a convenient cover story for when he wants to go somewhere with Jennifer, but that’s pretty much it. He has three friends, ok? And one of them is an animal.

- Upon finally settling into the improved ‘85 timeline, once all the time-traveling was over, things were understandably very jarring to Marty. One of the things he found hardest to adjust to was the sudden affection from his parents, namely the good morning hugs & kisses like we see Lorraine give him at the end of the first movie. Marty was previously used to spending the mornings in solitude since his father would already be at work & his mom would sleep in (often because she was still out of it from drinking the night before). The idea of family breakfasts & being greeted so warmly when he woke up, and when he got home from school, was super weird to him at first.

- Marty has ADHD. (this seems to be a very common headcanon, lol). Doc, being the kind of guy who’s interested in a wide variety of topics, came across some research & information on it at some point & instantly recognized the signs in his friend. When Marty came over one day, frustrated after a particularly rough day at school, he sat him down & talked to him about his suspicions. And since Doc was well aware of the lack of potential support (because this is the 80s after all, & SO many people with ADHD just didn’t have resources to get help), he took on the role of giving Marty advice and tips on how he could cope with it.

- Related to above point: Marty found that wearing layers helped keep him calm/feel grounded, hence why our boy rocks the t-shirt/button up/jean jacket/puffy vest look. And honestly, the suspenders might play a role in that too, since they put subtle pressure on part of the chest/shoulders/back. This also explains the leather jacket from part II! Aside from just thinking it looked awesome (and perfectly inconspicuous), Marty liked that it was a thick, weighted material.

-Doc is autistic. As he was diving into the world of research concerning ADHD & other various conditions, he came across a series of studies on Asperger’s syndrome & instantly connected the information with his own childhood and current life. Since he grew up feeling isolated from his peers & like nobody understood him, reading through the studies made him feel like he had found an answer. (A fact nobody asked for: the first study printed in English on Asperger’s syndrome was released in 1981. Yes, I checked to make sure this headcanon would be possible.)

-Doc set up a bed for Marty in the garage partially for the nights they were working late & his friend was too tired to head home, but also because he realized that a lot of the time, Marty simply didn’t want to be at home. Marty got into the habit of sleeping in his clothes so that at any given moment he could head over to Doc’s garage if he needed to. Doc made it clear to him that he was welcome anytime & doesn’t bat an eye when the boy wanders in at night & flops down into the bed.

-For Doc’s birthday, Marty went out & bought him the most colorful, “loudest” Hawaiian shirt he could find. It was sort of a joke, but Doc absolutely loved it.

-On Marty’s birthday, Doc asked him to come over under the guise of needing help with an experiment, but it was really a mini party with the lab decorated with streamers & balloons & cupcakes Doc had gone to pick up. Einstein wore a party hat. 

- We all know Doc & Marty eat a lot of Burger King. When they eat it in Doc’s garage, Marty takes pieces of the fries and slips them under the table to Einstein. Doc does not appreciate Marty encouraging Einstein’s begging but the boy can’t resist sharing with the dog.

- Occasionally, when they’re taking a break from working or are just hanging out, Marty takes out his guitar & Doc takes out his saxophone & they jam. Sometimes they play actual songs & other times they create their own. Whenever they try to make up lyrics, it quickly devolves into complete nonsense, usually ending up with the two of them laughing so hard that they can’t even play anymore.

-Marty also sometimes puts on a Huey Lewis tape while the two of them are working. Doc initially wasn’t really into the music, but he eventually found himself singing along to the songs with Marty. 

Okay, I need to stop myself because. Wow. If anyone actually reads this thing, I commend you on the effort. Kai, you had no idea what you were unleashing when you sent me that ask the other day.

[izukult]

This is such a cute idea! I’m addicted to making weirdly specific Spotify playlists so this is perfect. I have an ✨eclectic✨ music taste but my favorites are usually bedroom pop (mxmtoon, chloe moriondo, khai dreams, etc), romantic classical (think Debussy and Revel), and indie (although I like some Megan Thee Stallion, AC/DC, Nirvana, etc when I’m hyping myself up). As far as my personality goes, I’m pretty insightful and like to support people whenever I can, even if I don’t know them well. I can be a little chaotic sometimes, but I like to think it’s a chaotic good. I love tea, blankets, philosophy, deep conversations, the outdoors, and writing. I’m also an INFP and a Taurus :)

Sorry if that was too much, thank you so much! Take care of yourself and stay well

- Elle ʕ•ᴥ•ʔ

( @snoozless ) you don’t understand how bad i want to be your friend. 😐😐 ok so you kind of get bonus 😀 but it rly might not be bonus because akfjakdkw. so, i gave you matsukawa!! but he’s not always like revered about so if u want a character lmk!! i am. in love w him tho. you’re so sweet you would balance him out and yall would be equally chaotic together.

he would have philosophical questions w u!! he might just be a little blunt & might accidentally cut the convo short, but he would listen to everything you said.

he’s used to a wide variety of music bc i’m convinced the seijoh playlists are absolutely fucking cracked like so loud. so he really could sit there and listen to anything. and i mean ANYTHING. like if you wanted to put on christian rock he’d awkwardly try to tap his foot on beat for you.

but, that doesn’t mean he’s gonna geek over you i feel like he’d be pretty private about the relationship. he’s not like secretive but he’s not gonna post you every two seconds yknow? he wouldnt put prom photos, but if yall went to look at the stars or go on a little hike he’d take a pic and youre wearing baggy sweats and one of his shirts and your hair isnt brushed for shit and it’s way too dark to properly make your face out and he’d put that shit on his main absolutely 😒

this man would be the kind of mf to look up his “crush’s” zodiac just for shits & giggles, so if he randomly knows a taurus fact, don’t question it<3 (he looked up your compatibility and he will take that to the grave)

issei is an infp idc. so yall got that in common.

he’s genuinely so pretty.

bc i took so long, i’m going to put descriptions for all the songs i love you thanks for requesting sorry for taking forever i’ll link the playlist and list the songs<3

1. silly girl- chloe moriondo

okay while this song is actually kinda sad, i think tHIS is pretty cute. issei comes off as this intimidating guy, and the more you get to know him the more you forget ab this idea of him you had or whatever? like the lyrics “i made him perfect, cause i wanted him to be” are really prominent in the point i’m tryna make because like even tho the lyric is obviously sad bitch shit, music is up for interpretation and this is like “hello ok he actually a real mf and shiiit maybe he cool😁✊”

2. nice boys- TEMPOREX

kinda sad. i don’t care how unemotional he might act, everyone has shit that brings them down. PLUS HES A PISCES THERES NO WAY HES NOT SAD SOMETIMES. this song just really taps into insecurities for him, and the song just gets under his skin in like a very therapeutic way. also “because he’s a pisces” some of his emotions are super intense so the “because he cares too much” line hits him fuckin hard

3. IV. sweatpants- childish gambino

this is some shit he listens to more with his team, absolutely. no doubt they blare this shit during weekly practice. but, he really really likes the song. so, when you’re hanging out and he has the aux? it’s one of the first ones he puts on. you two jam to it together. he’ll come up w dumb little dances to fit with certain lyrics (stole some of them from oikawa and hanamaki, but he won’t tell you)

4. you get me so high- the neighbourhood

okay unfortunately i must say him and hanamaki get fuckin faded in empty fields at two am all trashy like. but they make it look good idc. and if you smoke, cool, if you don’t he does not care. he always associated getting high with,,, getting high and everytime he listened to this song it just was one of his getting blazed jams, but now he’s got like a different kinda “euphoric” feel with loving you? like i said this bitch is a pisces even if he doesn’t overwhelm you with affection, he thinks ab you 24/7

5. 80’s makeout session- dacelynn

thIS SONG IS SO CUTE. but it’s p self explanatory. in love and also spare a kiss pls

6. can i call you tonight- dayglow

i feel like actually coming to terms with genuine feelings for someone would be kind of weird for issei. like no offense, but he sees it as kind of a pain in the ass. i genuinely think he would be someone to put his all into work or a task in front of him. he’s super intuitive, and constantly uses it to be better. whether it’s in volleyball or like cremating ppl i guess (HE WORKS INA FUNERAL HOME POST TIME SKIP IF U DIDNT KNOW). and it’s the same in relationships, but it’s also harder because he can’t have this complete clear head because you make his brain go kinda fuzzy. so, this song is like his little way of expressing that even tho he was like ‘internally conflicted’ this mf chose to go for it and that’s how much u mean to him

7. clair de lune, L. 32- claude debussy

i’m gonna be fucking honest with you. even though he’ll listen to anything, i really don’t think this man is looking up ‘classical romance study tunes’ playlists in his free time. he definitely enjoys the music, but that’s only if someone points it out to him. and he’s listened to you talk about it before, and watched you as you heard the piano and gauged your reactions and thought u were pretty cute he’s not gonna lie😼. so he definitely just looked up classical romance and picked the first recommended song and added it on there. he’ll dance w you a lil bit, but it wouldn’t be that quiet, intimate slow dancing in the dark you think would come w this song. itd just be a little sway as he hugs you from behind while you get water, or he twirls you once randomly with a laugh UGH I LOVE HIM

8. like real people do- hozier

ok. this one was fun for me. idc. double meaning lol. so this song is literally about two dead bodies in a bog and ,,, and he works in a funeral home PLS LMAOFJAJDJA I THINK THATS SO FUCKING FUNNY AND SO DOES HE. but also this song literally is my idea of love. this is my idea of love. and yall listen to it, with your stupid little death joke, but he looks at you and he’s just like ‘oh’. yknow? YKNOW?

9. BS- still woozy

like i said, i think he puts a lot into work. and he literally plays for a powerhouse school there’s no way he doesn’t practice a lot. so that means there’s a lot of time where he’s physically not there and definitely can’t text, because he’s trying to improve. and while he wouldn’t stop volleyball for someone else, he understands that you are like super amazing for being so Cool with him not being the most available. the song just reminds him of how compassionate you are and also he does miss u when he’s at practice YKNOW?

10. i <3 u- boy pablo

this one made me so fucking soft ew. ok. this song reminds him of you so so much. he’s totally okay being vulnerable with you? and even though he has pretty heightened emotions, he’s never felt like so strongly for smth other than like ??? volleyball and caring ab his siblings (BUT HE FEELS DIFFERENT FOR U THAN HE DOES FOR A VOLLEYBALL AND HIS SIBLINGS PLEASE😁). HE LUVVVVV YOU

11. heart-shaped box- nirvana

so many reasons. for one, simply fucking JAM. yall would scream this on a drive. if you ever got drunk together, this would be the first song you play. also, little lyrics remind you of each other. (the pisces lyric in the first and third verse, and even tho the flowers aren’t being used in a sweet sense in the song he does remember talking ab flowers w u, and now any flower is mentioned and he’s like “ah yes. my girlfriend.”)

12. pluto projector- rex orange county

FUCK. FUCK THIS SONG. GOD. NO. LIKE HE REALIZES HE’S IN LOVE WITH YOU WITH THIS SONG. HE T E L L S YOU HE’S IN LOVE WITH YOU WITH THIS SONG. the first time, he just sends you the name of it like ‘pluto projector <3’ and you listen and it’s so sweet and ur like ayo turn this shit up. and he adds it to your playlist, which definitely gets a smile from you. and then one night like two weeks later youre just laying together, and he’s running his fingers through his hair and he pulls away for a second to grab his phone and he turns the song on and you just listen to it in silence and it’s so fucking intimate. and he’s just like “i don’t think i’ve ever related to a song more” and you think he’s making a joke so you tell him to shut up (also jokingly) and he just laughs and it’s dark in his room and he’s playing with your hair again and he just goes “god, if you’re telling me to shut up over that i don’t even want to imagine how you’re gonna react when i tell you i love you” and it’s right around 3:10 in the song i’m literally so gone for him. bye you cry and try to hide it but he can tell HES PERCEPTIVE

13. i wanna be yours- arctic monkeys

okay for one, it’s a good song. it’s a song he absolutely let’s play in the background, just to cover the static lol. but also? ALSO? THE TITLE APPLIES TO YOU THE FUCK? it’s as if,,, he’s whipped,,

14. supermassive black hole- muse

hanamaki prolly showed him this song, and it’s one of his vibe songs. he will do falsetto while singing it if he’s in a really good mood and it just makes everyone laugh, including himself. it actually kind of grosses him out, because this song used to literally just be a song he would aimlessly go hard to but NOW his little bitch ass is like “you set my soul alight”? i guess i relate and “oh baby, i’m a fool for you” well, surely i’m not a fool but yea i get you muse sing it. it’s so gross. at this point he wants one thing that doesn’t make him think of you, just to prove that he’s not that gone, but he struggling

15. desperado- rhianna

i’m sorry to say it but this song makes him feel like a bad bitch LMAOOOOO. like if he’s ever getting pregame jitters or anything, he will just play this song. whether it’s on the speaker or in his headphones, he puts this shit on full volume and gets a lil too cocky LOL. this is also on the main seijoh playlist no doubt. he wants to share his bad bitch song w you, so you can aLSO feel like a bad bitch?? dUH

IM SO SORRY FOR THE WAIT BABES! IF YOU WANT ANY OF THE SONGS CHANGED (or even the character) LMK!! UR AMAZING ur so sweet it makes me ill

[theartofpodcasting]

hello :)) i’m so late to listening to this ah (ahaha quirky low motivation tings 🤪✌️) but chapter 8 is honestly probably in my top 3 favorites and !!! i loved this episode sm!! this is widely just my stream of consciousness because yeah why not

FIRST OF ALL THOUGH !!!!! UM !!!!! WHAT THE FUCK !!!!!! WHY ARE YALL SO NICE IM- not you guys hyping me up in the beginning this was the sweetest fucking thing ever and just !!!!! ily all 🥲💙🫂

AHHH I DIDNT EVEN NOTICE THE RED BEFORE and!!! the kanut is future zuko part, that’s such a cool take

the art of suffering indeed

the podcast really said aput rights and that’s so valid

i feel like nanook is kind of the quite rock of the group, he’s a really steady person

zuko hyping himself up to talk to people is so relatable djhfjjggh

ugh this chapter, but especially the wasted relationship part is probably still the one of the hardest hitting parts of the fic, and i loved how you touched on the differences in the way zuko and azula’s relationship was wasted versus the way that kanut and yutu’s relationship was.

and this: “kanut was trying to have a relationship with someone who could never reciprocate in the way he needed”

i just find that specific statement really powerful. and thinking about it more, it honestly made some things click in WHY the zuko-azula vs kanut-yutu (and further, zuko-ozai) relationships could be so different and yet both wasted all the same. i’ve got a lot of thoughts here but no idea how to articulate them ahhh anyways

AHHH kanut’s freezing (with a burning feeling) versus zuko’s burning (with a freezing feeling) it feels like it should’ve been obvious to me but i love that so much. part 2677854433567 of hella being a genius (and yall being able to understand the genius)

aroace kanut ahhhh yeah he really is so empathetic and i liked how you pointed all this out

CHILD ISSUES SHJGJDGGJ and. ah!! did Not notice the lightning foreshadowing what the fuck that’s so cool

when you cry at the chapter AND at the podcast commentary for the chapter 😤😏👊 i’m just hot like that

hugs for all of you, your self talk is horrible but i think you’re all super cool people anyways 🫂🫂🫂💙💙💙

hello :)) thank you for sending in your thoughts and chapter 8 is up there as one of my favorites too 

you deserve all the hype, we love ya 💙

we did say aput rights! we did also say tulok rights but editor boom cut that out cause they thought we were trying to stick to short episodes, but then we decided to just make episodes longer so now i look like a fool (....where’s my prince?)

nanook and toph are gonna be good friends cause they’re rocks? (that’s definitely not the joke but i feel like there should be a joke there)

me: hypes myself up for a minimum of 15 minutes to walk into a cafe and go “pick up order for boom”

also me: haha zuko has to hype himself up to talk to people who technically kidnapped him. he’s so lame 

the difference between a wasted relationship cause you don’t see eye-to-eye and a wasted relationship cause one person is an abuser is very important

i exist solely to explain hella’s genius to the world. i shall be simping over here and letting you appreciate her forever

i’m glad you liked my aroace kanut rant cause i felt like i didn’t articulate it very well

WE MADE YOU CRY?? AFGDNKJGDFHJG

hugs for you too (no comment on the self talk) 🫂🫂🫂💙💙💙

-boom

[gh0stbra1nz]

jiann x male reader

request: You're a K-Pop-centred Youtuber who occassionally does collaboration videos with idols. During the promotion period of Newkidd's latest release, Come, Jaewoo and you are set to do a video together during which you'll do one another's make-up.

note: hey bud. first of all, thanks for being my first request! i don't know newkidd super well and i don't know a thing about make-up but i did some research and tried my best lol. i hope it's alright!

word count: 2.6k

Room tidied, filming set-up prepared, lighting adjusted; [Y/N] had readied everything for the arrival of Newkidd's member Choi Jaewoo, also known as Jiann, and yet he was still fidgeting with the unbuttoned sleeve-edges of his baby blue shirt.

It was a typical video, that which he would be filming that day. He had done it a handful of times already, once his Youtube channel had really begun to grow in popularity and his offers to small entertainment companies for collaborations were accepted. [Y/N] had done this before, but nonetheless, the idea of meeting Jaewoo in person was something that brought upon him a strong sense of giddiness.

[Y/N] had been following Newkidd's activities as a rookie group for some months already and had quickly developed a low simmering crush on the very member he'd be filming with that day.

It was therefore on that high of utter excitement and nervousness that once Jaewoo himself had finally arrived, naturally glowing and somehow even more handsome than [Y/N] remembered, that the youtuber's behaviour morphed into one of a skittish hyper-activity, desperately trying to come off as calm whilst they introduced themselves.

Not much time was allowed to trickle by with their minimal conversation before [Y/N] had to get to work and the camera beeped to show it had begun filming.

Jaewoo gave his second small bow to [Y/N] prior to sitting, a broad yet somewhat awkward smile on his face. [Y/N] was determined, however, for this to not be a negative experience for the young idol.

Sloppily rolling up his sleeves, [Y/N] went to stand behind Jaewoo's chair, bare lips pulled into a happy smile and hands softly clapping down onto the other man's shoulders, mildly startling him.

"Hi!" [Y/N] cheerfully greeted his eventual audience, sight directed into the camera.

At his exclamation, Jaewoo curiously peered up at him, a baffled grin adorning his face.

"Oh, we're filming?"

His voice itself was melodic, [Y/N] came to realise, somehow a blend of soft and deep. That thought in itself though, also made him realise how much he was blindly infatuated by the man.

"Yeah," [Y/N] confirmed, cutting off his own wonderings, "We're going straight into it! Introduce yourself to the viewers."

Jaewoo nodded, quickly facing forward and flashing a winning smile.

"Hello, I'm Newkidd's Choi Jiann!"

"Mhm, and you guys know I'm [Y/N], your local mess of a fanboy!" He took the opportunity to lightly squeeze Jaewoo's shoulders, prior to letting his hands drag as he moved to instead stand abreast the idol, "You know what we'll be doing today, right Jiann?"

The black-head's lips momentarily pursed, his expression playfully twisting into one of pondering.

"Something related to make-up?"

[Y/N] chuckled, tilting his head in agreement.

"Well my desk is, in fact, currently covered by palettes and brushes, so that was a calculated guess," He allowed himself a quick glance down at the man, finding him to be already gazing up with a keen smile. [Y/N]'s heart skipped a beat.

"Today will be really fun, and quite possibly a disaster, because after I do your make-up you'll be doing mine!" He paused, squatting slightly so that he and Jaewoo were at the same height, eyes locking at what [Y/N] decided to call a safe-risky distance. "Have you ever done make-up before?"

Jaewoo belatedly shook his head, a light laugh bubbling past his lips.

"Never, I'm afraid."

[Y/N] offered an almost timid smirk.

"Honoured to be your first," He cheekily replied, tossing in a wink for good measure, prior to straightening himself and already reaching for some wipes.

The idol seemingly had no qualms about the joke, merely chuckling as the tips of his ears very faintly dusted pink.

"Alright, so, let's get started and in the meantime you can tell us about yourself or whatever else you like."

[Y/N] got to work with wiping the other's minimal make-up off, being careful to be gentle but to also let his touch linger across the expanse of his cheeks and wide chin. Jaewoo spoke rather stiffly at first, giving a status-quo introduction of himself as a member of Newkidd whilst continuously peeking at the youtuber, wanting to take a glance at the look of concentration that had settled upon the younger's face.

"Your skin is gorgeous," [Y/N] stated once Jaewoo had briefly paused, and the compliment brought on a stronger blush than the previous one, now possibly a shade of pink on his ears that could be evidently seen on video.

"Thank you," He gingerly murmured, and [Y/N] couldn't help but admire the way Jaewoo looked up at him with a bashful smile.

"I'm thinking － since you have black hair － we should go for a sultry type of look," [Y/N] eventually states, pulling away and setting down his wipes, "Smokey eyes, red-tinted lips, that kind of stuff. What do you think?"

Jaewoo simply nodded, more than willing to go along with [Y/N]'s plan as the other must have certainly known what he was doing, considering the following he'd been informed the youtuber had. Then again, perhaps it was also due to the fact that [Y/N] looked really cute with his blue shirt and ruffled [h/c] hair and Jaewoo would most likely agree to anything should it leave the younger's mouth.

"Perfect. So I'll apply some toner, which helps with any dry patches you might have," [Y/N] squeezed some into his palm, "This is more out of habit though, seeing as how your skin is literally as beautiful as the rest of you."

Jaewoo didn't get the chance to reply before delicate hands were patting and rubbing along the curves of his face, making his breath catch in his throat and his dark eyes lock with those already staring back at him. [Y/N] offered a warm smile.

"Next, I'll put on just a bit of lotion and we can get to work on your look."

Jaewoo thickly swallowed, head tilted up at a better angle for the artist to work. "Okay," He said, to show he was listening.

"Right, so you guys had a comeback a couple weeks ago, didn't you?" [Y/N] asked, instigating a conversation for while he did what he needed to. Jaewoo quickly caught on, humming.

"Yeah, on the 28th," He replied, then briefly looking to the camera, "It's called Come. Please support it a lot."

[Y/N] nodded, "You really should check it out, the song's a banger and they all looked super great in the video."

Jaewoo dipped his head that was liberated from [Y/N]'s hands as he wiped them clean. "Thank you," he spoke and proceeded to watch as said male fiddled around with his boxes, intrigued.

"Apart from your own," [Y/N] had turned to show he held a square box of sorts in one hand and a brush in the other, "have there been other comebacks you liked? Ah, and this is just some foundation I'll be applying now."

"Oh, there are lots of talented senior artists with really good music this month, like Got7's You Calling My Name and EXO's Obsession," Jaewoo answered, attempting to ease his pulse that repeatedly quickened whenever [Y/N] dipped in particularly close.

It was strange, because Jaewoo had had his make-up done countless of times and his body had never reacted such a way. Perhaps this was different because [Y/N] was a guy, who just so happened to be very attractive.

[Y/N] let out a sound of agreement, startling Jaewoo from his thoughts about him.

"Yeah, those were awesome," He brought the brush along Jaewoo's left cheek, gently dragging it straight down then to blend in the powder, "Even Jessi and Victon delivered this month." He lifted his gaze to that of the idol's that was intent on him, and he quirked a playful brow when he saw Jaewoo to be dazed enough to answer in delay.

"Definitely."

Giving the final strokes, [Y/N] leaned away again and changed the box with another, clicking it open and analysing the colour for an instant before swapping it for a different one.

"Now I'll be applying some light blush mixed with highlighter, just to give some colour to your face."

After having said so, [Y/N] proceeded to mix the two, tapping his brush to bring the excess to fall into the lid. Of the hand that held the box, he freed his index finger to gently nudge Jaewoo's head upwards by his chin, their faces once more closer than necessary and causing a spark to continuously flow in the air between them.

"We'll put some on your cheeks, nose and chin so as to better define your facial structure," [Y/N] murmured in explanation, pulling his eyes away to focus on the way the soft bristles of his brush swept over Jaewoo's smooth skin.

"So, Jiann, what do you like to do in your free time?"

The question seemingly caught the idol off-guard for he rapidly blinked himself awake from his unfocused state, sight momentarily dropping to [Y/N]'s hands that had since closed the box and begun grazing over his desk, clearly in search of a specific palette.

"I play the piano sometimes and listen to music, but other than that I spend a lot of time with my members."

[Y/N] hummed, eyes directed upon the box he'd picked up, studying the colours.

"I didn't know you played," He said, and Jaewoo was oddly happy to see that the youtuber had finally looked to him again, "I'd love to hear you one day."

Jaewoo instantly smiled, quickly nodding, "I'll make it that you do."

The eager response made [Y/N] chuckle, a fond upturn to his own lips as he adjusted his grip on the fine brush he held.

"You can't go back on your word now, it's on camera!"

"I promise, [Y/N], I'll play for you."

A pregnant pause ensued, Jaewoo's flush returning at full strength after he processed what he'd said, and [Y/N]'s heart beat wildly against his ribs.

"I'll look forward to it then," He swiped his tongue over his bottom lip, briefly biting on it before smiling.

"Okay, now I'll begin doing your eyes. We're going for a dark look: black eyeshadow blended into deep purple at the end, with a fine liner along your top lids and at the edges of your bottom ones."

Jaewoo nodded, raising his head without needing to be told to, and [Y/N] mumbled a quick "Thanks," before leaning in and beginning his work.

They stayed silent for a while, but Jaewoo didn't mind. He took the chance to watch the male from up close when he could and obediently shut his eyes when he had to. There was something careful and precise about the way [Y/N] did his make-up that was different from how the staff his group had usually did.

"Alright, open," [Y/N] ordered, "I need to work on the bottom."

Doing as told, Jaewoo allowed his lids to part and flutter open, [Y/N]'s [e/c] eyes glimmering with focus as they bore into the idol's own. He sharply inhaled.

The remaining minute seemed to be a time of stand-still, both passing too quickly and too slowly, their close proximity bringing the two males to shyness.

"We're almost done," [Y/N] quietly stated, in a way akin to a warning, "I'll put some red balm on the inner parts of your lips and blend it out with gloss."

Jaewoo mutedly nodded, heart still thrumming in his ears even after [Y/N] had momentarily distanced himself.

He blinked and the warm hold of [Y/N]'s index and thumb was back on his chin, holding his head and forcing their gazes to meet.

"Part your lips a bit."

And Jaewoo did, watched as the other carefully applied the colour to his mouth and held his breath until it was over.

"All done!" [Y/N] eventually announced, beaming, "I didn't think you could look any hotter and yet, here you are."

Jaewoo dipped his head, attempting to ward off his flattered smile and flustered blush.

"Here's a mirror," [Y/N] said, handing him a circular one prior to stepping aside, allowing him to properly look at the artist's work, "Thoughts?"

The idol spent a few seconds taking in his new appearance, a look he hadn't really tried out yet, and found that the heavier make-up suited him more than he'd initially expected.

"It looks great, thank you," He told [Y/N], looking up at him with a fondness in his eyes that made the younger's chest warm.

"Well, I didn't have to do much, you're naturally good-looking," [Y/N] set a hand upon the man's shoulder, a gleeful smile stretching across his face, "Now that you like your look though, you have to promise to make mine just as good!"

Jaewoo chuckled, playfully shrugging as his left hand went to rub at the nape of his neck.

"No promises, but I'll do my best."

With the timid affirmation, [Y/N] went ahead and fetched a wide headband to push back his [h/c] hair and make it easier for the idol － temporarily-turned-rookie-make-up-artist － to do his work.

Swapping seats, [Y/N] allowed himself to sink into the padded chair and peered up at Jaewoo, smiling. Jaewoo couldn't help but think that he looked adorable with his mussed up hair and supple cheeks.

"You don't have to do the skincare part," [Y/N] stated, vaguely gesticulating towards where he'd left the toner and lotion, on a corner of his desk, "Do you have an idea for a look in mind?"

Jaewoo paused, contemplated, because no, he hadn't thought of anything because he was too distracted by [Y/N]. He looked at the younger's pale shirt and grey jeans, and an idea came to mind.

"Maybe peach or pink colours?"

He was afraid the suggestion was a stupid one, he wasn't experienced after all, but [Y/N] bobbed his head in agreement, lips still smiling.

"Sounds good!" He leaned forward, found palettes of colours that fit the spectrum Jaewoo wanted, and set them in front of the idol, "Here's everything you'll need. Do your best, Jiann!"

The idol quickly got to work, spending more time than most simply to choose the shades he wanted and even more so being perplexed about which brushes were best to use.

At his confused pout accompanied by a frown, [Y/N] chuckled, finally lifting a hand to point at one of the finer brushes.

"This will be the easiest to use."

Jaewoo gave a grateful nod, too shy to speak as he came to realise that he must have appeared to be a fish out of water.

"You don't have too worry too much," [Y/N] said, attempting to put the man at ease, "I trust you'll do just fine."

With nervous hands and a speeding pulse, Jaewoo immersed himself into his work, making sure to do as well as he could and even mimic what he could recall [Y/N] having done on him. The youtuber found it endearing how seriously the idol was taking such a playful task and didn't want to disturb him in any way, only scarcely speaking up.

By the end of it, Jaewoo had given [Y/N]'s eyes a peach-coloured tone, his lips a light pink gloss, and his cheeks a dust of rose; he even went as far as carefully adding glitter along the high curves of [Y/N]'s cheekbones.

He took a step back and smiled, meeting the younger's eyes with somewhat pride and admiration.

"It's not as great as your work, but you still look really handsome, [Y/N]."

》》》

i had no fucking idea how to end it and i was afraid it would get too long so i trimmed the end down a bit. i'm sorry if it wasn't all that great, i'll do my best to improve.

[dark-strangeson-virgil]

High School AU!

Roman Ryder:

Junior, second semester 

Theater kid, but has never been the lead (in his freshman year he actually got a callback for the school musical and the director told him they were seriously considering casting him in the lead role, causing Roman to panic and spend that night in his room crying)

(He ran into the choir teacher’s room the next day asking for his name to be taken off the audition list, it was the only semester he didn’t do theater)

(He was crying because he felt like he was letting his teacher down and was disappointed in himself but just the idea of being in front of so many people made him want to throw up)

Clearly has some issues with self confidence and potentially a bit of anxiety, but began seeing a therapist in his freshman year after the callback incident and has been slowly been working on building his confidence

He decided to try again his second semester and has been in every school musical since, though he’s specifically requested to not get the lead because it’s still too much for him. The director is very understanding.

His dad and brother come to every one of his performances, and he can always hear Remus’ whistling loudest in the applause during curtain call

His friends usually come too, and knowing that they’re all proud of him really boosts his confidence

(Especially when he’s standing on the stage during the curtain call and sees Virgil clapping and smiling wider than he’s ever seen, looking so genuinely proud. Roman cried backstage after seeing that his first time, which may be slightly related to the fact that he’s had a crush on the boy for a while now)

His mother manages to make it to almost all of them, even though it’s difficult considering her hectic work schedule (she’s a trauma surgeon at the local hospital)

Despite popular belief, he does pretty well in school. He has an A in every class except English (He’s barely passing with a C)

He loves writing, but he doesn’t like having his creativity stifled with the strict guidelines of the essays they’re forced to write, and the old fashioned novels with outdated concepts they’re always forced to read in his class (not the typical high school assigned novels, more obscure ones that their teacher is convinced will eventually rise to popularity)

Loves writing in his spare time, mainly short stories

Multiple short stories of his have been put on the school website, though always under a pseudonym because he doesn’t feel comfortable with the idea knowing it’s his work they’re reading (he only submitted the first one because hardly any students even check the school’s website, but he could never be too careful)

His real passion, though (besides theater/singing, of course) is photography. Loves finding beauty in the world around him. Wants to be a photographer after college, ideally for natural geographic

HE. LOVES. ANIMALS. 

Like, all animals. Dogs, bats, fish, literally any animal. He’s not picky.

He and Remus own a pit bull named Emma who he absolutely ADORES

Owns and can play a guitar, but tends to only do so in the late hours of the night when he can’t sleep. Not really a super prominent hobby of his.

Only ever officially came out to his family and close friends, the first of which being Logan. (It was really awkward at the time but Roman laughs now, thinking back on how disastrous such a simple conversation became) (Logan was completely accepting, that wasn’t the problem, Roman was just a disaster and Logan was painfully blunt, but we don’t talk about it) Everyone else just gradually found out through the small pride pin on his backpack or his pride vans he wore often

Remus Ryder:

Junior, Second Semester

Is actually a pretty good artist, his emotions aren’t always super clear or understandable to him and his thoughts can be kind of erratic so it’s a good way to express what he’s thinking/feeling

Is a really good cook, usually his group of friends will hang out at his house after school and he’ll cook dinner 

Sometimes he adds interesting ingredients to try and “spice up” the recipes. Usually these ingredients worry the others, but he actually ends up making amazing creations most of the time. Trust his creative process people.

(There was that time Logan had to stop him from adding strawberry jam to spaghetti. And the time Logan had been sick and Remus had ended up putting 2 jars of pickle juice into a chili recipe. They ended up ordering pizza that night.)

(Sometimes he asks Roman to help because he feels like they aren’t quite as close as when they were kids, they’re in the same friend group and talk often but it’s not quite the same as when they were younger, but he’d never admit)

(Roman pretends to be annoyed, but he secretly enjoys spending time together just as much, getting to talk about things they can’t always talk to their other friends about)

Wants to be a graphic designer when he grows up, he really enjoys making art and  worries that if he just made it a hobby he would forget about it or not have the time.

He knows how much Logan likes talking about his interests, so he makes a point of looking up the things Logan talks about a lot so Logan actually feels like he’s having a conversation. (Of course, they’re all very Remus-y facts. Logan went through a HUGE ocean phase earlier on in his junior year, so Remus spent HOURS researching the creepiest fish that lurk lower in the ocean, but it’s really the thought that counts. Logan doesn’t mind his gruesome details so it’s a win-win.)

Oh and of COURSE Remus has a huge crush on Logan. Unlike the others, he doesn’t necessarily try to hide his crush. He just usually turns it into a bit of a joke, acting like he’s “jokingly” flirting with Logan because, despite his chaotic nature, one of his biggest fears is rejection so he doesn’t actually plan on confessing any time soon. 

He did really well in science after freshman year. He loved Biology and Chemistry, which surprised everyone at first. That’s curently the only class he has an A in.

He drags his friends to go camping at least once every summer because he really likes camping. He can be as chaotic as he wants and there’s nobody to judge him. (Well, his friends are there but he knows that they’re not going to judge him.) 

He tries to make bets with his friends a lot. Even over dumb things. He’s a money hungry little rat boy.

He’s not big on extracurriculars but he is a part of his school’s art club/honors group after school. He once did an extremely detailed painting of a green octopus, which won him first place in the district-wide art competition.

He is banned from Pixie Stix. Permanently. They used to have them a lot at sleepovers, but two separate times Remus mixed all 4 flavors and snorted them, then whined about his nose hurting for like an hour. After that they banned Pixie Stix.

Doesn’t really like traditional reading much, but he has a small collection of comic books that he goes to if he’s bored because they keep his attention much easier.

Logan Sharpe:

Junior, second semester

Is incredibly good in school but hates the public school system

Pays baseball, started in Little League as a kid as bonding time between him and his dad, then slowly began to enjoy having a way to get his energy out after spending hours sitting in desks at school and more time doing homework

He has a specific baseball bat that he’s had since he was a kid (it wasn’t his first bat since that was a flimsy plastic one, but he got it when he was pretty young) and he doesn’t actually use it often (unless he feels like he needs luck, it’s his only superstitious thing yes he knows it’s not logical it’s just one small thing iTS FINE-) but he covers it in stickers

After his friends saw it they began buying any stickers they saw that reminded them of Logan, just as small presents whenever they felt like it. His bat is almost completely covered at this point, and he’s resorted to layering stickers over less important ones, but he doesn’t care. He’s just very happy his friends are thinking of him :’)

Wants to be a vet when he grows up, for him it’s slightly less emotional than dealing with human patients but still makes him feel like he’s doing good (people tend to think he doesn’t have many emotions but he actually enjoys helping others and making people happy)

Plus he really does love learning, and the medical field allows him to just expand his knowledge even further

He has study sessions with Janus every Tuesday and sometimes Thursdays if one of them really needs it, and he actually really looks forward to them. They don’t talk much, they spend most of the time silently studying or working on homework for their own classes, occasionally asking the other for clarification on something. He has a hard time studying in big groups, especially considering his friends’ tendency to easily get distracted, so he likes being able to quietly focus.

Usually they carpool home together after these study sessions, and talk together on the way home. It’s nice having someone who he can sometimes have simple small talk with, but sometimes they have serious conversations and it surprisingly doesn’t feel weird. Neither of them are great at opening up, and sometimes having someone who’s just as unfamiliar as you with something can make it a bit easier.

Surprisingly likes baking, his dad works at a bakery (if you can’t tell he kinda looks up to his dad) so he’s been around baked goods since he was really young and has a ton of recipes memorized by now. Sometime’s he’ll join Remus in the kitchen on sleepover nights. He helps Remus a bit with the cooking, and Remus returns the favor by helping him bake dessert for all of them. Plus this way he can stop Remus from getting distracted or getting a bit too crazy with changing recipes)

(One time Remus tried to add strawberry jam to spaghetti and Logan knew he had to put his foot down. It took 20 minutes of convincing but he eventually managed to get him to put down the Crofter’s. Logan loves jelly arugably more than the others, but there’s a time and place for everything)

(Somehow it was this exact moment when Logan realizes he liked Remus as more than a friend, and he has absolutely no idea how that happened.)

Usually when his friends are sad he invites whoever it is over to bake, focusing on something else makes it easier for him to try to understand what they’re going through and give thoughtful advice. Plus both the process and the treats at the end usually help cheer everyone up)

(Yes he has gotten into a cliche flour fight with each of the others at least once, and they’re actually some of his fondest memories. He felt so carefree in those moments, just letting himself be happy without worrying about any judgement or his image.)

He actually did officially come out to his friends, but it was pretty simple. He pretty much just said, “I know that the majority of you (actually all of them but a few hadn’t quite come out at the time) have already announced the fact that you are gay, so I’m assuming none of you will be offended by the fact that I am as well. Anyways…”

He just kinda… said it and moved on. The others were a bit shocked but just went with the flow. (of course they all supported him though)

(He had actually been just a bit worried about how the others would react. Hr knew that it was illogical, considering many of them were gay themselves, but he couldn’t help worrying, so he tried to just get it out and move on as quickly as possible. Their small gestures of showing they accept and care for him, such as  Roman buying a rainbow-striped tie for him for his birthday, really make him happy because it validates his feelings and helps him understand there’s no need to worry when he’s with his friends.)

Virgil Alvaro:

Sophomore, second semester

On the school’s swimming team in the spring, has the record at their school for fastest lap with a breaststroke and butterfly stroke 

Best friends with Patton, they’ve known each other since 6th grade and have always been practically inseparable

Orchestra kid, he’s played the violin since 4th grade (Even with his stage fright he loves the concerts, because he can feel proud and accomplished from his work without having to be in a spotlight by himself, with all eyes on him)

Longer, black hair (like down to his shoulders) but dyed a purple-pink gradient at the tips (He was originally just going for purple but while looking for reference photos online Patton saw a purple-pink gradient and loved it, and Virgil loves making his best friend happy)

(Plus he actually really likes the colors, but don’t tell anyone)

Does debate in the fall, he likes how it helps him see sides to issues he hadn’t considered before. Some friends told him it may help with his anxiety, and it makes him feel like people care about what he has to say 

Loves showing up to support his friends in their extracirriculars (usually they all go together to support each other but even if the others can’t come he tries his hardest) 

Will never admit it, but he’s a theater fan so he loves going to watch Roman’s musicals (and it’s not at ALL related to his tiny crush on Roman, why would you think that? It’s not even that big a deal we don’t even need to brING IT UP-)

Is a decent student, mostly B’s with a couple A’s sprinkled in. Used to be a straight A student but eventually kinda broke down because the pressure to get good grades was making his anxiety way worse, so after talking with his parents they told him as long as we was trying in classes and he was passing they were proud of him

Yes he was one of those gifted kids who had a  high school reading level in second grade and got put in all the “smart” groups, but then got burnt out at the end of middle school. It’s why he’s such a perfectionist with his own work and it was a big contributor to his anxiety.

Absolutely LOVES history class, it’s been his favorite class since he was young

Is close with his history teacher (very sarcastic old man who somehow manages to be both strict on grading and one of the most fun, relaxed teachers he’s ever met) 

He isn’t always great at having difficult conversations, so instead of formally coming out he just kinda started saying “haha same” whenever one of the others would make a gay joke, or commenting on how cute a guy in one of their classes was

Wants to be a teacher after college, he enjoys feeling like he’s making a positive differnece in people’s lives, and he’s personally dealt with unsympathetic teachers who didn’t have faith in him and only made his anxiety worse, so he wants to stop that from happening to other children if he can.

Also, he hates the school system almost as much as Logan, so he’s hoping being a teacher will give him the opportunity to try and improve the way kids learn, even if it’s just in his classroom

His hoodie is a comfort item for him, if he’s feeling extremely anxious and isn’t able to reach any of his friends to help him calm down usually fiddling with his sleeves or zipper helps calm him down pretty well (even if it’s usually only a temporary solution, as one of his friends almost always comes to help)

He likes to share earbuds with either Roman or Patton. As much as he hates to admit it, he actually really likes the musicals Roman listens to and he and Patton’s music tastes actually overlap at some points (cough cough MCR) and listening to music with someone else makes him feel less alone

Patton Myron:

Junior, second semester

Everyone assumes that he’s not very smart, but he actually has mostly A’s with only 2 B’s (woith those being Gym and History, it's hard for him to memorize specific dates)

Does tutoring on the weekends, his best subjects are Science and Math since they generally involve less memorization and are easy to understand for him

He joined band his freshman year and has loved it since, is first chair trumpet

Also does marching band in the fall, and always invited his friends to come sit with him and the rest of the band in the stands (he also convinces Janus to join marching band their sophomore year because he feels like they don’t talk enough, which actually helps the two bond)

Ends up getting a huge crush on Janus second semester of sophomore year.

Uses SO MANY emojis in his texts. He thinks they’re absolutely adorable, and the others are not big fans of emojis but don’t have the heart to be annoyed by it.

Virgil started using emojis ironically occasionally, and it made Patton so happy! (Eventually it was habitual, and he’s not sure when he started actually using them unironically)

Met Virgil in 6th grade when they were paired up on a project about bugs, Virgil cried because he was scared of leaf bugs the first day of the project so Patton tried to make him as comfortable as possible to help him calm down, and their friendship grew from there

LOVES fashion, he loves trying things out even if they don’t always look good. He saw that “gay brunch” meme one time and spent the next week at school dressing up in each of the outfits. Roman caught on immediately and did it with him on the last day. (His favorite outfit was the frog one. “It’s just so adorable and comfy and I love it!”)

YES, he’s worn skirts to school. Not often, but when he does he looks amazing. 

 He’s always trying to get Virgil to try out more color/”spice”, as he says it, in his style. He knows standing out is scary for Virgil, so every time Vee steps out of his comfort zone Patton’s super proud of him and makes sure to let him know. (Look I’m a sucker for sweet BFF Moxiety)

He listened to Virgil’s favorite bands once to try and relate to him more when Vee was going through a particularly rough time and ended up actually liking My Chemical Romance. He gets sad sometimes even if he doesn’t talk about it, so he likes that their music discusses that, but that band in particular also seems to have songs that show you life does get better rather than just convincing you to wallow in the sadness, especially on Black Parade and Danger Days (Ex. Famous Last Words). It’s morbid optimism but he loves it. 

(Virgil actually cried when Patton told him, he had been really sturggling with his anxiety and knowing his best friend did that for him and actually liked his music got him when he was feeling extra sensitive. The two of them spent like 10 minutes fixing Virgil’s makeup in the bathroom, and only the two of them know about this.)

Never exactly came out, but is very open and proud. He has Vans that he painted rainbow that he wears at least once a week, among various other pride-related clothing and accessories.

Wants to be a nurse, he wants to do his part to make the world a better place

Gets a little overwhelmed when there’s too much noise, so he carries around a pair of earplugs to help keep him calm in loud classrooms/hallways.

When he gets sad (which happens more often than he admits) he does makeup. It’s a creative outlet that lets him get his feelings out, and he’s become amazingly good at it over the years. Occasionally he does makeup on the others, usually all together at sleepovers. (His favorite look he’s done was when he gave logan a galaxy-themed blue look. He was so proud of himself after that particular makeover, and Logan actually liked it!) He has the photo of all of them together in their makeup that night hanging on his vanity mirror.

One day Roman called him “puffball” as a joke, but now that’s sort of become his nickname within their group.

Remy Somnus:

Senior, second semester

Is head of sound for the tech crew in theater, has adipted all of the younger tech kids and will fight anyone who messes with any of his children

He’s the one who goes on energy drink and snack runs during tech week because that’s the only way the crew is functioning. None of them are sleepng or eating well. He even gets some for a few of his favorite actors (Including Roman, although Roman always tries to insist that Remy doesn’t have to do that for him.)

Him and Emile have also collectively adopted all of the others in their friend group (They’re the oldest so they have the right to) and HAVE turned into protective mama and papa bear over these children in multiple cases

He plays several instruments. Bass/electric guitar, flute (he was never a band kid, he just took private lessons when he was younger), the keyboard and the drums. He helped teach Janus when he was first trying to learn percussion

Wants to be a musician when he grows up

He's a vegetarian, and has been since middle school. He's been trying to learn how to cook from Remus so he can make his own meals rather than relying on Remus and Logan to make a vegetarian friendly addition to their meal of choice for him

Is not a morning person. Despite coming into school with Starbucks in hand almost every morning, it's still better to wait around 45 minutes after school starts to try and have a legitimate conversation with him, otherwise you'll likely just get grunting and mumbling as your response.

This bitch ADORES the vintage aesthetic. He wears his vintage’ ‘50’s leather jacket almost every day along with his sunglasses, and he has a whole collection of vintage t-shirts in his closet. Oh, and his record player is pretty much his most prized possession. When his friends don’t know what to get him for a present the go-to is always a record, and he loves it every time.

He does love older music, but he also listens to modern music so basically any album will make him happy.

He really loves cinnamon. He carries cinnamon gum around with him at all times. Some of his friends hate the smell, but they’ve learned to deal with it. Luckily, Emile also loves the taste of cinnamon gum. 

He tends to spoil his friends. He goes all out for birthdays or gifts of any kind, and ALL of their families attend the holiday parties at his house because they’re the best.

Is honestly a total softie. Although he loves planning elaborate, fun dates, his favorite times with Emile are when the two of them just stay in, make homemade dinner and watch rom-coms together.

He also loves when they watch horror movies because Emile gets all scared and cuddles up to him for protection and it’s absolutely adorable.

Janus Cameron:

Junior, second semester

Patton convinced him to join the band his sophomore year (he was very confused at first because although they had been in the same friend group, he and Patton had barely interacted at this point. He had actually begun to wonder if Patton just didn’t like him), he plays percussion in both band class and marching band. He doesn’t always say it but he’s glad he and Patton became closer because of it.

He’s actually had a huge crush on Patton since end of freshman year, so he’s very happy that Patton at least considers him a legitimate friend now (Can you tell I love YEARNING and PINING)

He has an addiction to hot cheetos, you’ll hardly ever find him without a bag in his backpack. He doesn’t know how it happened but at this point he’s just accepted it.

Sometimes he forgets to grab a bag before school, and usually Virgil will run to get him some during lunch because he doesn’t like his friends being sad. Even if Virgil for some reason can’t one of the others usually will.

Has ginger hair but is kinda embarrassed about it so he usually dyes it black. Only his friends know his natural hair color and they’ve only ever seen his roots.

He also has freckles like every ginger, but they’re concentrated on the left side of his face. The right side has a typical amount, while the left has an extreme abundance of freckles. Nobody knows how it happened, but it did.

Loves. Sparkles. 

He’s the kind of ultra sassy, dramaic gay that would adore sparkles and would absolutely rock them. For their sophomore winter formal he wore a black glittery vest, a yellow dress shirt, a black tie and black dress pants. (Patton literally swooned when he first saw him walk in, Logan caught it all on video and mercilessly teases Patton over it any chance he gets)

He reads a lot in his spare time. It’s calming and easy to lose yourself in. (Wow I really am projecting onto all of these characters huh)

His favorite books are mystery novels because he likes all the twists and turns and the satisfaction of the final reveal. However, he HATES cliffhangers. One time a book he was reading ended abruptly and what happened was unclear and he threw the book at his wall. It left a dent, and his friends point it out EVERY time they come over.

Sometimes when Patton, Roman or Virgil can’t sleep they call him and he reads to them. For Patton and Roman it’s super soft fluffy romance novels (that’s the only reason he owns any of those novels to begin wih. He really cares about his friends, even if he doesn’t show it) and for Virgil it’s sci-fi or fantasy because it really sucks him into a world completely different from his own.

Wants to be a marine biologist when he grows up. (Like Remus, he was a big fan of Logan’s ocean phase)

He obviously has a pet snake. He got her sophomore year and he absolutely loves her. Her name is Cuddles (Yes it was Patton’s suggestion. Janus loves the name too though.)

He loves video games and has a huge collection. He doesn’t have a lot of time to play, but he still tries when he can. Whenever his friends come over they end up playing all night because he has a bunch of old consoles. (Especially Nintendo. He owns every. Single. Nintendo. Console.)

He listens to jazz! Logan’s the only other one who really likes it but they add a few jazz songs to “The Playlist” anyways. (The playlist is what they play in the background whenever they stay over at each other’s houses, whether it’s for playing video games or cooking.)

Roman’s been trying to convince both him and Virgil to join the tech crew for theater so he has more friends in theater. Virgil’s pretty sold on the idea and plans to join his senior year (All it took was Roman’s puppy eyes and he had practically melted into a puddle and agreed on the spot). Janus knows it would be difficult while also doing marching band, but he knows he could work around it especially once marching season is over so he’s actually considering it.

Emile Picani:

Senior, second semester

Does both colorguard and winter guard, is the team captain. He joined as a sophomore and has loved it ever since.

He loves marching season, but he prefers winter guard because he loves having a full, detailed show

He also loves the weapon line! Saber’s his favorite (he’s also a really amazing dancer because he took gymnastics when he was younger so he’s frequently put on the dancing line), but he just adores the sport in general

Has been dating Remy since sophomore year (sophomore year was a pretty eventful year for Emile overall), people were confused at first but at this point it’s rare to see one without the other so everyone’s very used to it 

Wants to be a therapist when he grows up (wow, shocker I know), has a high sense of empathy and wants to help people any way he can. He’s seen some of the people in his life struggle with mental health and he knows how difficult it can be, so all he wants is to make some people’s journey easier.

Loves cartoons, but is kinda embarrassed about it. He wears cartoon-related shirts, but he never openly talks about it unless it’s with people he trusts. (One time in freshman year a kid in the grade above him made fun of him for his Steven Universe shirt and Remy had to be held back from going after the kid) 

Gets pretty good grades, mostly B’s with a few A’s. He knows being a therapist is going to require extensive work ethic so he made sure he had good work ethic early on in school so he’d be able to get through and get his degree

Blushes so easily. Literally the smallest compliment can set his face aflame. It's honestly adorable.

He just has that soft aesthetic. He loves cardigans, sweatpants, loose t-shirts, etc. He likes being comfy.

He has a whole wall dedicated to Funko Pops in his room. He’s even customized a few Funko’s to match some of his favorite characters that they don’t make figurines for.

He ALSO has a bucket of stuffed animals in his room, all of which he loves equally. He’s one of those people who worries about giving more attention to some of his stuffies than the others, so they rotate onto his bed. (He used to keep them all on his bed but he could barely fit so he developed this system instead.)

He and Remy try to have date nights at least once a week, like an adorable married couple. They really love spending time together.

One time on a date night they spent like 3 minutes just staring at each other from across the table at a restaurant with these goofy grins on their faces. This was pretty soon after they got together. The poor waiter had to bring them back to reality when he brought them their food.

(A/N: Wow. I’m really glad I finally finished this. I had this idea that was supposed to be a short introduction to these characters in this AU and ended up writing over 5K words. This is my first time writing anything fandom-related, so constructive criticism is appreciated. Big thank you to @coconut-cluster for giving me the encouragement I needed on the Logan sticker baseball bat idea, I was nervous and didn’t know how it would go. Thank you for reading!