#ther. i would say. but that is getting very far away from the point which is to say i do not mind… (& i think the idea of minding is—well !

[timesomewhere]

in honour of the West End's next to normal closing today I've finally proof-read my 'things I noticed/general thoughts' post that's been sitting in my drafts since I saw it earlier this month. it's very long I'm very sorry.

Act One:

it was really fun watching this show in September given that there's two references to it in the first song

I adore the monologue about the pills that Dr. Fine gives during 'Who's Crazy'. it's rhythmic and funny yet also unnerving. It's such a quick and impactful way to summarise what Diana has been through for the past 16 years

Gabe does a 'one of your French girls' pose on the kitchen counter under the cabinets during 'My Psychopharmacologist and I'

Jamie Parker made direct eye contact with me during the last part of 'Who's Crazy' and it was one of the most intense experiences of my life

I might just be dense but I don't get the point of the neon sign that says 'Fine' which drops down during the Dr. Fine scene. Initially I thought that then one would drop down saying 'Madden' during his scenes to help people differentiate between the doctors but then it didn't so it just feels like a weird extra prop

speaking of random props, shout out to the iPad on the table in the opening scene which Gabe pretty much instantly takes away after telling Diana that she shouldn't obsess over tragic news stories and is then never seen again as far as I remember

Dan in the flashback scene being such an optimist about Diana's pregnancy and the future they're gonna have together... soul-crushing

Caissie Levy's 'I Miss The Mountains.' Holy Shit.

I love how Diana and Gabe are the only characters who sing on/stand on the table. it's as though it's this extra dimension of the house that only they have access to and it's a really neat and subtle way to show that they relate to each other in ways other characters don't

'It's Gonna Be Good' is so underrated. Jamie Parker's somewhat genuine optimism becoming optimism-through-gritted-teeth is incredibly acted

The way Jamie delivers the first line of 'He's Not Here' is devastating. the heaviness of that moment as you feel the audience around you realising what's just happened is something I'll remember forever

Gabe body-blocking Dan from Diana during 'I Am the One' is such good staging. People talk about how Jack Wolfe plays Gabe with a lot of layers and a lot of simultaneous contradiction and this song is one of the best examples of that. how Jack manages to project a character who is goading his father and protecting his mother at the same time is beyond me

also Jack has maybe half-an-inch on Jamie which obviously isn't something the actors control but it does makes Gabe seem just that bit more threatening when he's getting in Dan's face

for the first part of Superboy and the Invisible Girl when it's just Natalie singing, Gabe is actively laughing. He's totally unperturbed by her efforts to make herself seen to her mother. it's only when Diana replies, particularly when she says "you're our little pride and joy, our perfect plan" that you see his face drop and you see him trying to figure out a way to stop her from getting Diana's attention which then results in him kicking her off the melody in her own song

"I'll hurt you" being directed at Dan and "I'll heal you" being directed at Diana as Gabe gently touches her face gets me so bad. but the most painful part of 'I'm Alive' for me is when Gabe looks at Dan as he says "I'm the perfect stranger who knows you too well." that's the first time you realise that perhaps Gabe doesn't just impact Diana, and there's something much larger at play

Caissie and Jack W's voices harmonising on 'Catch Me I'm Falling' was one of my favourite parts of the whole show. Their voices are so magical together and their mother/son chemistry is incredible

The 'I Dreamed A Dance' into 'There's a World' sequence is one of the most tragically beautiful things I've ever witnessed. I went into the show knowing what Gabe was trying to achieve during 'There's A World' and yet Jack's voice is so beautifully haunting you totally forget you're supposed to root against Gabe in that moment

Jamie Parker's 'I've Been' is some of the best acting through song out there. Interestingly my friend and I had very different interpretation's of what Gabe's horrified reaction to the blood meant. I viewed it as him being upset about what he convinced Diana to do - he doesn't like seeing her hurt. Whereas my friend saw it as him being angry at himself that she didn't manage to follow through, meaning that he has failed to regain control over her life

'I'm no sociopath, I'm no Sylvia Plath. I ain't no Frances Farmer kind of find for you' is one of the best musical theatre lyrics of all time. I genuinely don't know why I Miss The Mountains is the 'big song' known from N2N over 'Didn't I See This Movie?', it's just so good

Natalie's 'She trusts you!' line is heartbreaking, I was basically watching that entire scene through my fingers because of how high the emotion was

Act Two:

'Pfizer's woman of the year' will in fact be peak comedy every time. Eleanor's delivery is *chef's kiss*

Gabe having just one line in 'Wish I Were Here', and that line being 'Wish I were here.' Yeah. I feel very normal about that.

Natalie's line of "Can I hide my stupid hunger, fake some confidence and cheer?" being pretty much exactly what Gabe has done throughout the entirety of act 1

"And you're not a scary rockstar anymore" got one of the biggest laughs at both of the shows I went to

Dan's desperation during 'Better Than Before.' He is simultaneously trying to cajole Diana into remembering and get Natalie to be more positive. This one song really highlights how he's being pulled in a million different directions while trying to hold it all together and Jamie portrays that so well

Aftershocks. Wow. The way the last word of each line echoes throughout the theatre is great sound design. I've been in exam halls louder than the audience during that song. Holding a room that captive as a silhouette is quite the feat Jack Wolfe you will always be famous

"I don't know where the fucking pieces go" as Diana pushes things off the table as if there's a real jigsaw there that she's rage quitting and choosing to give up on is such a nice detail

"Have you talked of your depression, your delusions and your son?" The gasp in the theatre both times was sickening

the response of "good' in reply to "name?" when technically that was part of his name as they are the "Goodmans". I don't really have a point here I just think it's neat

The 'It's Gonna Be Good" reprise was one of my favourite Dan/Diana moments. Caissie and Jamie are really pushing each other to their emotional limits and they handle it so well

The first "Why stay?" is so fragile as Diana sits against the kitchen island. Also interesting given that Dan and Gabe will also sit against there later when they are at their lowest point in the story. The idea of the characters crawling to the 'centre/heart' of the home when they are at their weakest

"This is one old game that I can play so well" is the line that has stuck the most with me throughout the show. Jack's delivery of it while striding across the kitchen table - seemingly totally invincible - is crazy.

how Caissie manages to deliver "you shrugged and said that no one really knows" with humour and desperation at the same time is amazing

When Gabe and Diana stand on the table and if they let go of one another they'll fall. yeahhhhh.....

Gabe's realisation that Diana isn't going to give up on getting better. Totally collapsing in on himself and beginning to cry. How you manage to feel bad for him after all the destruction he's caused is wild

Diana's "maybe I'm tired of the game" relating back to Gabe's "this is one old game that I can play so well"

the lyrics in 'Hey #3' clearly reflecting things Diana has done, Henry cutting Natalie off at "bleeding in the bathtub"

"I am the one who'll heal you" being said to Dan not Diana this time

"Why didn't you go with her?" is the most devastating line in the whole musical I said what I said. Jamie's delivery of it is heart wrenching

the drums and bass kicking in for the loud part of I Am The One as Gabe becomes desperate to be seen once again

Jack and Jamie's acting in this moment is so intense. there's a moment where it's genuinely feels as though only one of them can make it out of the interaction alive

Jack's emphasis on the word 'loved' in the line "I am the one who loved you" nearly killed me on the spot. how somebody can deliver a line so desperately while remaining pitch perfect is unfair

Natalie coming in to kiss Dan's head at the start of 'Light' like Gabe kisses Diana's in the first scene. I'm such a sucker for a gut punching

the "And are they real?" line about Diana's parent's from Henry gets such a loud reaction from the audience. Some people laugh immediately, some people clearly get shocked out of their sobs. so good

In conclusion, this is my favourite musical of all time and I'm going to be so annoying waiting for the pro-shot to come out

[hirik0]

You always meet twice part 3

part 1 | part 2

Dirt road, Mexico 8 h after Graves betrayal

Ghost drove as fast as he dared speeding towards the safe house. Soap slipped in and out of consciousness. He needs to patch up Soap soon, but he's not sure if they are far away enough from Las Almas. Soap groans in pain and Ghost just stops in the middel of the road. Just a bandage he can do the rest in the save house. "Lt?", Soap ask confused. "Just a short stop, till we reached the safe house." "Can't believe Alejandro didn't tell me", Soap complains voice sounding tiered. "You were to friendly with Graves, nothing personal Soap", Ghost says shrugging before he pulls out a mini medical kit. Not seeing the hurt expressions on Soaps face, it felt personal to him. "Showed me the cool new shiny toys", Soap groans when Ghost putting a good amount of disinfectant on his arm. "Yeah, got something Price should put on our shopping list for Kate?", Ghost jokes geting a huff from Soap Johnny. "Na, don't think Laswell gets the founds for what I want", Soap pouts while Ghost is wrapping the bandage around his arm. Adorable.. oh bloody fucking shit not again. Soap is patched up enough for them to continue to drive. Get to the save house and then figure out how to get the fuck out of Mexico. This country is cursed he will never do a mission here again. Also not knowing who burned them sucks. Price hand picked them he would not, right? Gaz, he's Price protégé, but also he would never do something like this having still intact morales. Kate and Shepard in the other hand, who else could it be. Which means that if Price and Gaz aren't involved they have a target on ther backs now to. "Fucking shit", Ghost curses anger settings his blood on fire and maybe he steps a bit harder on the gas pedal then needed. Soap just holds on for dear live, clearly noticing how angry Ghost is and how fast they are driving in the dark over a sand road. But he stays silent hopening they will not crash or he bleeds out first.

They regrouped with Rudy in the save house and its time to finally taking proper care of Soaps arm. Rudy is collecting some supplies while Ghost is cooking some water to make it sterile while Soap is sitting on a table waiting. "Got everything, hermano", Rudy says when he puts all the supplies on the table. "Ghost, you got expiring in patching yourself together right?", Rudy ask when he notices that there is no exit wound. "Yes, Why?", Ghost ask bringing the water with him. "Ever needed to get a bullet out of yourself?" "A few", Ghost says grimmer understanding what Rudy is actually asking, Soap just swallows at the news of getting someone to pick a bullet out of his arm. Fucking Graves. "Don't think I should do it", Ghost admits as he starts feeling exhausted, from not really sleeping the last few days and the way his body is stopping producing adrenaline. Rudy nods, he's the most rested of the three, he had a nap, maybe cried before said nap, but nobody needs to know. He gets the gloves on before washing as much blood as possible from Soaps arm. While he picks around with the twisers in Soaps arm he asks: "When did Ale tell you about this safe house?" "Right before the oil rake." Rudy just nods, while having problems to get grip on the bullet. Soap does his best to not flinch death gripping the table edge. Cursing in Scottish in ways his mother would not approve. "He is trying to curse Graves bloodline or something like this?", Rudy asks amused before he finally is able to pull out the bullet. Ghost just shrugs but is laughing at Rudys comment. "Very funny Rudy", Soap says clearly not amused. Rudy just stitches him up before putting a new bandage on and giving Soap some pain killers. "Let's get some rest, Sergeant", Ghost says needing sleep just as badly as Soap at this point. "I will wake you up if we get unwanted guests", Rudy assures them while cleaning up. "Ghost drove the ones over that saw the car", Soap says. "Gave them a good close look", Ghost jokes making the other two laugh. Ghost takes a cot in the darkest conor needing the comfort of the shadow putting an knife under the pillow. Not been seen on the first, second and third glance can safe your live. Soap already passed out on his cot, occasionally snoring the only indication of him still breathing. But of course sleep dont just happend to Ghost no matter the exhaustion and of fucking course Tommy is haunting him again. Johnny was the only friend Tommy made Ghost liked, he didn't encourage Tommy to take harder drugs then Ecstasy and made sure that Tommy didn't drank to much. Hell he even convinced Tommy somehow to finish school and to get better grades. A small smile is spreading over his face, emotions are bubbeling up in him he didn't feel in a long time. He should stomp this emotions but sleep is claiming him instead.

Ghost wakes up 3 hours later, hes still exhauste, but he dont sleep more then that. 3 hours is honestly his equivalent of a full night rest. He hears Soap snoring feeling revealed that the Scot is still breathing. His eyes lids are still heavy maybe he would be able to just fall back asleep. Against his better knowledge he let's his eyes fall close again, knowing the next round of sleep will be filled with nightmares. Sleep slowly pulling him down again. The dreams are the worst he had in a while. Price throwing him down a cliff, Gaz stabbing him, Soap sliding his throat, Soap turning in to Graves, and from time to time Joseph's voice telling him to not trust the egg head. A clear reference to Shepard. He wakes up sweeting taking in deep breaths the rest of the 3 hour sleep washed away, he should just have gone up offering to Rudy to take a rest. He gets up, shortly looking over Soap seeing the younger is still in a deep sleep and the badge is still clean before he goes to Rudy who is looking over some blueprints. "You look like shit", is all Rudy is saying when Ghost steps in the light. He can only see Ghost eyes and general body langue, good observing skills. Ghost says nothing seeing that the remains of tears that run down Rudys face, if the other would look up Ghost is sure the eyes would be red and puffy. "You good Rudy?", Ghost ask instead of making a snark remark. "Si, why do you ask?", Rudy answers confused. "You cryed", Ghost stats his observation. Rudy looked up, his eyes are indeed red and puffy. "Got me there", Rudy says looking a bit ashamed, he got here in a lot better condition then Soap or Ghost and he still cried like this is the worst think ever happening to him. "We will get him and the others back, us three", Ghost says before looking at the blueprints of the base. "Si, honestly I think our chances are a lot better now then just me alone", Rudy says with a small smile. "Is that so?" "Si la fantasma is not on the enemies site big improvement, I guess Soap also will help", Rudy jokes. "So what's your plan?" Ghost asks chuckeling and shaking his head.

Soap wakes up after 6h of sleep, his first look goes to the cot Ghost claimed. He first thinks that he is just not seeing Ghost hidden in the shadow, but after several minutes if staring in the dark he realises Ghost already got up. He turn so he lays on his back, hearing the voices of Rudy and Ghost talking about something still to tiered to make out words. He puts his uninjured arms over his eyes before exhaling deeply. Jesus streaming shit, he has it bad. Running for your life and developing a crush on your fucking CO with the worlds shittiest jokes he ever heard.

"The mask take it off"

"Show my face?"

"Aye."

"Negative."

"Are you ugly?"

"Quite the opposite."

God Ghost sounded sure of himself, so smug and Soap wants to know now, seeing Ghosts face. What was he thinking? Flirting with his CO like this over radio with the enemy posibel to tap in on them every moment. A blush is painting his cheeks a dark pink. The voices of Ghost and Rudy are getting clearer now, they are talking over the base and strategies to infiltrate it. He takes a few deep breaths waiting for the blush to die down. He groans in pain when his arm is reminding him of the bullet would. Its loud enough for the other two to stop talking. Footsteps are aproaching him and he has to fight down the disappointment when its Rudy with pain meds and a glas of water. "How you're feeling hermano?, Rudy asks with,a tiered smile. "Like I got shot", Soap deadpans. "I see what Ghost calls humor must be rubbing of on you", Rudy says getting a insulted noice of protest from Soap. He has actual funny jokes and Rudy knows that. "Of with ya head, Rudy", Soap says before taking the meds. "Ready to kick Graves ass and get the Valqueros back?, Rudy ask with a smile on his face. "Aye."

[chocolatechimsugakookie2]

Things I feel Jesse would do and say (Basically headcanons🙃)

I feel like Jesse is the type of driver to be parked away from everyone. Like if he is at a store, he’ll park in the far lot instead of in front of the actual store.  he likes the feeling of being able to get out his car smoothly and when he’s ready to leave, he hops back in and goes without worrying about anybody else.  And believe me when I say it pisses him off when those annoying people choose to park next to him when there’s so many other parking spots! He will walk up to his car and stare at the other car, for a good minute like, “……..😐” and say, “now why the hell would you park your ass right here when there’s 50 MILLION OTHER SPOTS!!!!”

I said this before, and I’ll say it again DO NOT walk into his art room without knocking, or you will get hit with a piece of clay! He’s likes to work without interruptions, especially if he is doing something like making a certain art piece or writing a song, so definitely give him a fair warning, like knocking if you need to say something or he will get frustrated 😭 his aiming is on point, so please duck if you open up the door 

He will stay up writing songs high on coffee!! and when the members try to get him to stop and get rest he is always like “I can stop when I want….. and I don’t want😐”

Locks people out of rooms as a joke and on purpose.

*in the practice room*

Z: Okay guys we can take a 10 minute break.

Tae: *huffing and puffing* FINALLY 🫠

Z: It wasn’t that bad🙄

Ro: you made us do the wholeee choreo 7 times in a row!!!!

Jesse: yeah I can’t feel my legs

T: when can you ever feel your legs old man?

Z, Ro, Tae: AHAHAHAHAHA *dying noises*

Jesse: …………😐 ha. Ha. Very funny

T: *smirking while popping his collar* Yeah I know I am😏

T: I’m headed to the bathroom

Z: don’t take long, I want to do the choreo one more time

Ro: ughh of course you do 🙄

*walks out of the practice room door*

Jesse: *runs up to the door and locks it* Idiot ass, now try getting in

Ro: *laughing* don’t do him like that😂

Jesse: he wants to be funny? well shit I can be funny too🙂

Z: *Snickering*

*T walks up to the door and tries to open it*

T: Ayo! Let me in

Jesse: NO!

T: WHAT?!? Why?

Jesse: Tae go tell him that “his ass is not welcome”

Tae: say it just like that? *slightly smirking*

Jesse: *nods* yes just like that

Z: *shaking his head* that wasn’t a good idea😐

Tae: *runs to the door* Jesse said that yo broke stupid punk ass can’t come back in! You’re officially unwelcome bitch!

Ro and Jesse: *jaw dropped*

Z: I told you it wasn’t a good idea.

He always say things like “…Actuallyyy” “wellll if you think about it”. “yeahh I don’t think that’s right”. Because he lives for correcting people specifically T because that boy can say the craziest things

Another thing he does is call out people out on their BS (mainly T again) if someone is a telling a story and Jesse himself was actually there and he hears a whole part that never happened he will tell the truth with no hesitation “umm yeah that is not what happened😂”. “Now you know damn well no one said that”. This one time T and Jesse were out and about and some fans came over and one of them asked T to do a flip, and he did 3 but he did not land the 3rd one AT ALL, but of course he told the rest of the members that he did “3 flips in a row and looked so cool and the fans were loving him”, but here comes Jesse “No they weren’t!, you landed on your ass the last flip and it got quiet as hell”

Something that Jesse always says is “Y’all are acting worse than my children” whenever the members are being crazy and childish which is VERY HYPOCRITICAL because Jesse can be very childish at times (which the other members love because most of the time Jess worries about being the mature oldest too much) anyways he is sort of like Jin from BTS, he is the oldest but sometimes can be the youngest at the same time😭

Something that he does is smack the back of the members heads when they say something stupid, about to spoil something, get on his nerves or just feels like hitting someone

*In an interview*

Interviewer: so what are y’all most excited about for the upcoming tour?

Tae: for me seeing all the 4Townies, and I like exploring the places that we go to even if we already been there before there’s always something new and there’s always a place that we weren’t able to go to the first time so we kind of get a second shot at things!😁

Z: of course the 4Townines like Tae said, but also just being able to perform, I just like doing it you know? And also food

Ro: definitely agreeing on the food part but also the fans as well especially since we’re going to more places than last time, so we get to see even more 4towines than before 😄 but also shopping, I always find good pieces somewhere.

Jesse: I’m excited to see the museums I always try to find one wherever we go but most importantly, of course, the 4Townies it’s always a great experience seeing them! Especially to hear them sing the songs with us just feels nice.

T: 4TOWINES FOR SURE MAN!! to be honest everything about this tour is what I’m excited for, but I’m also really excited for the 4townies to see the new choreo for-

*gets cut of by Jesse smacking him in the head*

T: OWW! What was that for? *rubs the back of his head*

*everyone gives him a look*

T:🫢 oh… nevermind there is no new choreo for anything 😀

*gets hit in the head again by Jess*

He’s the type of person to say “bless you” before somebody sneezes so like if somebody looks like they’re about to sneeze (we all know that face) he’s already going to say it 

Even though sometimes the “oldman jokes” gets on his nerves sometimes. He will not hesitate to pull the old man card if he does not feel like doing something. “Hey Jess can you go with me to the store?” *sighing* “that’s a lot of walking for my old man bones”

As usual, there’s more to come! Next is Tae and then Robaire! And then my first series will be finished😄 always feel free to send in request or message✨

[hestzhyen]

What Can Kairi Do Now?

KH Brainrot has completely taken over so let me yeet these thoughts into the uncaring abyss. In the off chance anyone reads this... I like Kairi. I related to her struggle a lot as a kid; it was reassuring to see a character resist change when so many are written to embrace it. She's not my favorite KH character but she's definitely up there. Poor girl's been not much more than a plot device for her entire series so far. Friend to be rescued in KH1, forgotten memory in CoM, side-quest rescue mission in 2, completely absent in Coded despite it being a KH1 retelling, absent in DDD, important but not proactive in 3, present but not effectual in MoM... it's tough out there for Kairi fans. Most of this, I think, is because she's not meant to be important to the narrative beyond her relationship to Sora. I've felt for a long time that Nomura just wasn't very interested in writing about her as an independent character. She's there for Sora as a friend, a love interest, and as a McGuffin. Makes sense since she's supposed to represent friends drifting apart- she's the comfort and stability that Sora so badly wants to return to for most of the series. And yet, over and over again, he's getting called away from her side. Star-crossed and separated from each other despite how badly Kairi wants him to stay with her forever. So now that Sora's gone to the Other Side of reality itself and her left behind again... where does that leave Kairi?

Well, this could be her time to shine! FOR REAL! No cap, as the kids say. I mean it.

Kairi has so far been inseparable from Sora's character. Everything she's been shown to be so far is about him- Sora don't change, Sora I'll wait for you, Sora I'll protect you. Sora, Sora, Sora. Every scene of her relates back to him in some way, except the one in BBS when she had yet to meet him... which actually still leads to Sora since that's where Aqua placed the spell on Kairi's necklace that enabled her heart to take refuge in his during KH1. It's only the precious few scenes we see of her apart from Sora that we see her growth. She decides waiting isn't good enough in KH2, then decides she's going all-in on wielding a Keyblade so she can protect him in KH3- decisions made only in his absence. So the problem is pretty clear: for Kairi to grow, she needs to be separated from Sora. And oh hey guess what, MoM went out of it's way to do exactly that when it really didn't have to.

So what could we see our sweet girl doing going forward? There are two things that come to mind for me. First, by choosing to train under Aqua, she can forge strong bonds outside of Sora and Riku. Second, she can take charge of one of the subplots dangling around. I'm under no illusion that she'll ever be as imporant as Sora is to the narrative, but it's not unreasonable for her to step up and protect their home until he comes back. Deciding to take control of her own fate at the end of MoM set a solid foundation for her to grow separately from Sora in a natural, realistic way. And this would be the best thing possible for her character.

KH3, re:mind, and MoM all point to the end of the status quo for the relationship between Kairi and Sora. Nothing stopped him from fading away, after all. She tried everything and came up short when it mattered again. So Kairi seems to finally be accepting that she can't be strong enough to stand with Sora if she's only doing things for his sake. She needs to find her own inner strength. Deciding to train on her own terms, without mentioning Sora even once, is letting us know that Kairi's primed for her own arc for realsies this time. Will it come to be? Maybe!

There's a bit more I could say about Kairi but... well, I just want to wait and see. We know so little about what to expect in KH4 that I don't want to go full-on theorizing mode into this empty chasm. Especially since every time Kairi's been set up for growth it just hasn't happened. There's a big enough difference between this situation and all the previous ones that lets me have some room for hope at least. Thanks for listening to this ramble, internet void.

[thequeenwechoose]

My thoughts on House of the Dragon 1x06

Book spoilers and show spoilers

This episode felt like a second pilot to me with the introducition of the children and the time skip. I had not the feeling that it was rushed, it was simply a lot to cover up and you can't fit everything in.

Rhaenyra: First it felt strange to see a diffrent rhaenyra but at the second rewatch i thought this is a very good change she is stronger, wiser and better versed in politics. Needless to say emma d'arcy is incredible beautiful, she gives rhaenyra a vulnerability and confidence that the  younger version was lacking (which is alright because she was a child). You belive she is a mother of three children and she loves them all very much. But she is under a lot of pressure due to the childrens true heritage. Sadly the reason why she did not at least had one child with laenor is not explained. Their relationship seems to be one of we accept the other one as he is and play the happy couple in front of the court but behind closed doors everyone does as he pleases. That sounds good in theory but they have reached a point where it isn't working anymore. She has put herself in a dangerous position with that. The relationship to alicent has grown downright hostile over the years and every offer of peace from rhaenyra gets thrown out of the window. So when she decides to leave court it is a good decison for her family but a bad one for her positon as heir to the throne. I think if she had stayed, in the moment viserys dies alicent, larys, otto or chole would have had her and her children killed. So in the end it's better she left. Plus her whole relationship with daemon could have not progressed the way it does later if she had stayed at court. In ep. 5 i thougt that the marriage with laenor would be a good thing but now i think he is not the right man for her. He can't help her in her quest for the throne. She is without allies at this point. I think it's clear that she needs daemon very much because he will fight for her and protect her. A very good entrance for the new rhaenyra can't wait to see more of her.

Damon: I did not expect him to be depressive it looks like he has given himself up. The only time he was happy in this episode was when he was riding caraxes. This is not the same daemon we got to know and seeing him like this is hard. He is clearly heartbroken. But i think that despite that he loves laena and his kids. He is trying, teaching his children giving them a peaceful life far away from the court and conspiracys in westeros. It's a good life but he is made for so much more. I think he cares for laena even loves her he is devastated when she dies and when faced with the same chice that viserys has to make in ep. 1 he simply can't do it to her. I expected him to be happy with his family like he was in the books. But i feel at this point we have strayed very far from the books. Daemon and Rhaenyra are the main pairing from the beginning, which makes sense because they are both playing very crucial roles in the dance. But that does not mean they have to downgrade their other relationships. They even go that far that laena says she knows that she is not the woman that daemon wants. And she is fine with that what the hell? The other thing that bothers me that there is nearly no physical intimacy betwen them (the same goes for harwin and rhaenyra) They have 3 kids together ther shuld be more but then again i think they are saving this for Daemon/Rhaenyra. I myself think that there is nothing wrong with having more than one love in your life because that's what life is.

I look very much forward to the next episode when he is back in westeros.

About the deleted scenes: I dont understand why he can't hug his kids on screen. They filmed it why leave it? Also daemon being bisexuell, why not.

Viserys: he looks not good and he lost an arm. Alicent has her claws in him and tries to undermine him at any given oportunity. He loves his rhaenyra and turns a blind eye to her illegimate sons. He seems to have no close realationships to his other children. And when rhaenyra leaves at the end of the episode he is now truly alone. He is a character that i did not like at the beginning but that has changed. I think his death will make me very sad when it comes i think in ep. 8. What is the meaning of the rat in his room? It's the 3rd time that we see it. Is she one of the the reasons why he is so ill? Do the producers think they need to remind us that we are in a medival world? Or does it mean cheese is working sloopy or is not there yet?

Alicent: She seems to have turned even more bitter over the years. Her only goal is that aegon succeds rhaenyra. I understand that she is angry that rhaenyra takes libertys that she never had, but knowing how this all will end i can't understand her point of view. She has gatherd allies over the yars with larys and chole who each have their own motivation. And with rhaenyra gone she holds the power at court. Removing harwin and his father out of the picture to isolate rhaenyra and robb her of one of her gratest allies was a cruel move. Even if she did not expected larys to do it. She has unintentionally cleared the way out for daemon to step in that role. Can't wait for her reaction when she sees them back together.

Ser Crispin: God i hate him. What a poor image of a man. Why is he still a kingsguard thank god he is not lord commander like he was in the book.When he called rhaenyra a spider and a cunt i wanted to punch him in the face. Really enjoed that harwin did that but he should have broken his nose. Him doing all this out of spite because she rejected him and blaming it all on her what a cliche. Taking it out on the children was a really low blow. He is alicents guard dog now it seems. Worst kingsguard ever. Are there really people out ther who like him?

Larys: We had a lot of villians in thrones but no one killed his own brother and father (except of ramsey). But why did he do it? Did he hate his family or is he just power hungry. I can understand a bad guy but i need to know why he does what he does.

The Children: Not on board with aegons wigg. Was that window scene really necesarry? He seems not to be interested in taking the throne. I guess alicent will push him very hard in that direction. Aemond is bullied around by the others i guess thats why he turns out to be so deranged. Luke and Jace are just cute.

The Dragons: Having a dragon burn his own rider is quiet cruel and i did not like it. It seems to me they did it to shock the audience. Vhaegar looks like a really old lady that just wants to have her sleep. She seems to be slower than caraxes. Seeing him and vhagar in the same shoot was some cruel look in the future. We finally get to see the dragonpit from the inside and its dark and moody, poor dragons who live there. Little vermaxx reminded me of rhaegal.

The costumes are very beautiful, the costume department has done an amazing job so far.

The episode was good and the focus was on the recast characters and family dynamics. 3 of 5 stars. Because it's another episode that i will not rewatch a lot.

[oldtestleper]

ok sorry but idgi when people get mad about other people tagging their art as kin/id/whatever tbh, and you see it all the time... i guess its a matter of preference/perspective on the one hand and on the other sure like maybe if it is a deeply personal piece or a personal portrait or something i get it feels a lil weird .but on another simultaneous level is it not kind of kind of deeply cool that someone—a stranger! another human person out there in the world!—saw your art and identified w it on that powerful of a level !

[blorbocedes]

Hey! Not sure if you do brocedes prompts but just in case you do it would be amazing if you could write an AU where everything is the same except Lewis get stuck in an alternate timeline where nothing has changed except Nico who didn't grow up with him and is a young rookie eager to impress Lewis the 7 time world champion.

hi there anonstie 🥺 I saw this prompt in the morning and couldn't stop thinking about it....... since you said Lewis is a 7 time wc, but Nico is babby... that means Nico didn't win 2016 WDC so I made Seb win 2017 with Ferrari 😅 fanfic is truly the pinnacle of wishful thinking.

this is set at the start of 2022, where instead of George Russell, they bring in rookie rising talent Nico Rosberg. I hope you enjoy!!!

There was a crick in Lewis' neck when he woke up, and it got worse when he saw Nico Rosberg on the other side of the long Mercedes hallway, in the full black latest Mercedes suit.

What the fuck?

His hair was longer, like it once was, and whatever surgery he got done worked cause he didn't look so obviously plastic the way he did on TV. They barely made eye contact, Nico looked at him and immediately looked away; which was unusual for him. He usually preferred dragging it out and taking the win when Lewis looked away first.

He didn't have time for Nico's games, walking into Toto's office.

"So, what's he doing there?" Lewis asked, trying to keep his tone neutral, pointing at the hallway outside from the glass walls.

"I am glad you asked. As you know, we are looking to replace Valtteri, and have looked at multiple young candidates..." Toto starts.

Yeah, like Russell. Lewis was pretty sure he was locked, last he'd heard.

"And Nico Rosberg would be a perfect fit." Toto finished.

Hold on.

"You're joking, yeah? Very funny, Toto." Lewis says coolly, classic Austrian humour that doesn't land and isn't funny. Not sure they needed to go as far as getting Nico, and putting him in the latest suits but whatever.

"I am not, Lewis. Is there a problem?"

Lewis sputters, staring at Toto stone-faced. Did he forget the myriad of problems they had when these two were on a team together?

"Well, he hasn't driven an F1 car in years, for one. Seriously, Toto, what's going on? Is the company going under? What was wrong with Russell. I can't believe you're even looking at Nico as a serious candidate, that's nuts."

"While it's true he hasn't officially been in a Mercedes W-13 car, we've done a few practice sessions and he's been purple sectors all around. His results speak for themselves, GP3 champion, F2 champion. Quite frankly, if we don't pick him this season, Redbull and Ferrari have his eyes on him too. I don't understand, Lewis, you were all on board a few weeks ago. What is the issue now?"

Toto's gone mad. There's no way Ferrari and Redbull are fighting for a retiree, and why would he be bringing up feeder wins from a decade ago?! And a few weeks ago, they talked about Russell. Nico's not on the table, he never has been.

"Because it's Rosberg! You know what happened. Come on, Toto. This seriously isn't funny. The team doesn't need a repeat of 2016."

Toto frowns, at how emotional Lewis was getting. He hadn't been aware the two had any shared history, or even met yet.

"2016?" Toto asked, delicately.

"When Nico won and retired, after practically ripping the team apart." He had responsibility there too, but Toto had made it clear years after if he had to make that choice all over, he'd pick Lewis. So this, none of this, none of today made any sense.

"Lewis, you were World Champion in 2016." Toto said calmly, pointing at the wall of trophies behind them. "Up until today, Nico Rosberg has never even been in Mercedes premises."

And Lewis had a sick, sinking feeling of his world being uprooted as he pulled his phone out to google himself out of this elaborate prank and stared at the '2016 World Champion F1 - Lewis Hamilton.'

"Lewis..." Toto's voice is impossibly gentle. "It's normal for stress to get to anyone. And there is no shame is looking for help. Do you want to see our psychologist?"

x

If Lewis admits the truth, then he never gets to race again. No doctor would believe him, and no evaluation would give him the mental sanity checks to drive. So instead, he has this nightmare to deal with.

7 time World Champion still, apparently Vettel got the better end in 2017 with Ferrari after all, and apart from that everything is the same; the same Abu Dhabi call, the same Verstappen world champion. Everything except Nico Rosberg. Nico Rosberg who is now 23 -- whose Google results only show his rise in feeder series, son of world champion Keke Rosberg, F1 hopeful. If the real Nico had just one WDC to his name, this one has nothing. He's just a kid. Lewis rationalises that it's just a kid who looks remarkably similar to his Nico. Because by the time they were 23, Nico had already known him for two decades by then. This Nico looks at him with the same awe and adoration he's gotten used to from fans; knows the power of it an icon of the sport, and none of the easy familiarity -- that he used to leverage for closeness. Lewis hates it.

Lewis makes a commitment to avoid Nico as much as possible, just like his real counterpart. It's harder, when you're on the same team; and oh, does he have experience with that. Nico is on his best behavior around the engineers, trying to get as much data out of the W-13. The W-13 isn't acting the way it should, the porpoising is insane, and that becomes Lewis' number one priority. He doesn't have time to hold some rookie's hand through his first run. In the back of his mind, he does feel a twinge of guilt that he would've had that patience for Russell, probably, or anyone else because just seeing Nico's face -- all hopeful and shy like he was waiting to approach -- just made Lewis walk away faster, avoiding seeing it go crestfallen and disappointed.

Sometimes, though, this Nico behaves exactly like his Nico, and it sets Lewis off kilter. He laughs exactly the same way, nose crinkling. He still has that scar above his eyebrow that he got while unicycling with Lewis in Greece, Lewis laughing while Nico had tripped over a rock but then got very serious when he saw the blood, with Nico laughing at him later at how concerned he got; calling it a battle scar. He frowns at it during the team meeting, Nico catching his eye once or twice and quickly looking away not being able to withstand the intensity and the scrutiny of being pinned under the eyes of the World Champion.

"How'd you get that scar?" Lewis tried to ask as naturally as he could, when the meeting ended.

Nico went pink, embarrassed, scratching his neck. "Uh, a cycling incident. When I was a kid. Fell off my unicycle. Promise I have better balance now!"

"Course you did." Lewis said under his breath with venom, walking out.

Nico had sat there confused what he did wrong. That had been their first actual conversation outside of work.

He wants to treat Nico like any other teammate but he can't. It's Nico. He tensed up when he heard him speaking in German in the garage and heard his name mixed in with the Deutsche, back to his old tricks again.

The mechanics told him later Nico had been appreciating his drive, a tenth quicker than Nico's best.

They have a preseason testing session in the rain. It is disastrous. Half the cars send it to the wall, everyone spins at least once; a few engines fail. Nico spins at the same spot a puddle made the Alpha Tauri crash, but he catches the car in the time somehow, doing a perfect 360.

"Did you see that?" He grinned, walking out, completely drenched and high off the adrenaline of not crashing a multimillion dollar car -- taking his his helmet off, messy wet blonde hair.

Lewis nodded in approval. "Not too bad." They always did try to one up each other at practice, and once upon a time it used to be fun; both in far better cars than the rest of the team so only had each other for competition, and Nico would always come running, ask if he was watching.

Nico fucking beamed at him. The sheer genuine joy of it took Lewis aback more than the pace of the Ferraris which were five tenths faster.

The tension is palpable before the first race. They know what W-13 is capable of -- and until it gets fixed, they're probably not competing for wins. Still, the pressure to do the best, to be the best is always on. Nico is nervous, Lewis can tell -- he looks nauseous the whole time, doesn't talk to too many people, a frown ever present on his now wrinkle free face. It's weird, when Lewis joined Mercedes Nico had already been here, hell he'd been kick Schumi's ass and it was upto Lewis to prove his worth to the team. He remembers his first F1 race. The nerves are something.

On Friday, before practice, Nico had turned to him unusually determined, eyes bright, and outstretched his hand.

"I know you don't really like me, but I'm going to prove myself to the team. And I hope we can be good teammates." Nico says, trying hard to sound adult and mature about it while not being able to look at Lewis in the eye.

Lewis shakes his hand. "I don't not like you." It was the most he could offer. This Nico did nothing to him. Hell, even his Nico at 23 did nothing to them -- they had shared Nico's first ever podium; he still remembers how happy they'd been. It's strange to think of "his Nico" when Nico Rosberg is right there in front of him, in the flesh. His Nico no longer exists. Lewis can't blame him for a ghost that only exists to haunt Lewis' memories.

This Nico Rosberg, young and with everything to prove, was taken aback but recovered quickly, nodding along.

They qualified 5th and 8th.

It takes until way too long for Lewis to finish on a podium. This car is not easy to love. Nico finishes ahead of him in points, and it's laughable how familiar these headlines are -- except where it used to be childhood friends, it's now young talent versus old guard, the classic Rosberg - Hamilton battle. This time, it could be different. Lewis is older, and wiser, and knows when to hand his iPad to Angela. The words slide off him easier too, after 2021 few things had capacity to really get in his head anymore. He remembers what it's like to resent Nico performing better than him; he struggles to feel that way anymore.

They make it on a double Mercedes podium in France. Dragging this shitbox to P2 and P3 was no easy feat, especially with the defence Nico played behind while Lewis tried to catch up to Max -- an impossible feat with this pace. Lewis empties the entire bottle on Nico's head, who takes it like a champ. He had forgot, Nico was always a champagne boy.

In the darkened halls of the Mercedes afterparty -- finally, the team having something to celebrate, Lewis wasn't surprised when Nico's body found his. It was impossible to ignore the reality, that Nico was beautiful again forever seared like this in Lewis' memory, following him around with perpetual starstruck puppy dog eyes and hanging onto every scrap of praise Lewis doled his way. He hadn't grown into the edge yet, didn't know Lewis like the back of his hand to hurt him. Vivian Sibold is an interior designer in her late 30's who never met her husband in a sandbox in Ibiza. Lewis doesn't feel guilty about it, he didn't stop it from happening then and he can't quite remember why he should now when Nico's mouth meets his, clever hands finding their ways across, bodies pressed together.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck Lewis," Nico moaned into the kiss, still as uselessly talkative while hooking up. Lewis had the foresight to take it to the bathroom. Nico sinks to his knees, still so pretty, looking at him through the bangs of his blonde hair falling over his eyes that Lewis brushed away. "I've--I've fucking dreamed of this. I had posters of you on my wall."

Fuck.

Lewis puts himself in Nico's mouth to stop himself from talking further. He gags a bit, no Schumacher to break him in. Lewis closes his eyes and fists his hair, and tries not to think about that no matter which universe a teenage Nico Rosberg has always jerked off to the thought of him. Posters of Lewis, huh. Mika's gonna be heartbroken. The universe has a way of fucking with him, but Lewis Hamilton always comes out on top.

Here's Part Two

[princessofprocrastination]

The Faceless Youtuber (Sapnap)

MASTERLIST

pairing : sapnap / nick armstrong x reader 

summary : people often pressure faceless youtubers to reveal themselves. but for you, you were happy to show it to the world. but were they ever ready to see who you actually are? (fluff)

a/n : hi! i know it’s been awhile since i wrote a sapnap one, so here it is. (finally it’s not an angst.) AU 

-

 the first faceless legend that anyone could really think off would probably be sia. she kept herself secluded, always performing on big stages with her face covered, until she didn’t.

you loved your time being a faceless youtuber. you enjoyed it, if you say so yourself. you knew that once you let the world know what you look like, you can’t really take it back, no matter how many people respected your decision, there would still be a couple who don’t. 

the world knew very little of you, just your first name, and maybe which state you lived in. you liked to keep them anticipating and kept in the dark. 

they also knew that you were for some reason close with the twitch streamer, karl jacobs. the same karl jacobs that is always on mr beast’s videos. when they kept asking you two questions, you would tell them that the two of you simply met through mutual friends. 

of course, being friends with the opposite gender, or not would mean that there would be certain rumours, which included that the two of you are dating, or that the two of you are siblings. 

you laughed and played along sometimes at their stupid theories but it seemed like no one really had guessed who you actually are. 

honestly, you weren’t sure how no one has figured out who you are, or even just whose sibling you are. 

granted, it wasn’t often that you appeared in your brother’s videos, but you appeared in a couple, enough for at least a couple people to figure it out. 

being a friend of karl meant that you were friends with his friends, so you’ve met and spoken to everyone he knows, which obviously included everyone that’s in the dream smp.

so you’ve met everyone on the smp, eventually you got so close to dream that he allowed you into the smp. 

being karl’s fiance and all, you’ve definitely met quackity and sapnap before. and for some reason, you and them clicked so well. 

you and sapnap got really close whilst you joined the smp, being a year younger than he is. he treated you like his sister almost. 

what he didn’t know was that you hated that he treated you as his little sister. but what he doesn’t know, wouldn’t hurt him. 

you and your brother had a couple times talked about what you should do, or how you should do your face reveal. 

and it clicked to you that your brother is doing a spin on youtube rewind for 2020. and since everyone pretty much was on lockdown or in another country, he couldn’t really film people so he asked content creators to send him certail clips he wanted for the big video. 

so you brought it up to him, and not to everyone’s surprise, he loved the idea. also being the fact that he wanted to troll people about dream’s face reveal, he liked the idea of an actual faceless youtuber making a face reveal in his video. 

if people reading this hadn’t figured it out yet, yes, you are indeed the sister of the mighty mr beast. as fun as that sounds, life can get chaotic with him around, which was one of the reasons you moved out, away from him. though not far, it felt good to be able to wake up to no screaming. 

you’ve definitely thought about the consequences of doing a face reveal on his channel. 

first of all, would people even know you enough to acknowledge you? you’ve also been in the background of some mr beast videos, but they knew you as a crew member. 

of course you told your brother about your concerns, but him being his bubbly self, he told you to never say that about yourself ever again, and that your face reveal would top of dream’s future face reveal. 

-

although you and sapnap, or nick, are close, you’ve never showed him your face, and never revealed to him that you are jimmy’s sister. he respected that, and told you once that it was your choice and never rushed you to show him your face. 

but that didn’t mean you guys didn’t facetime. but instead of your face, he’d see your ceiling. 

he was one of the first people to know that you were planning to do a face reveal on mr beasts’ channel. 

you remembered exactly how the facetime conversation went. 

“sappyyy.” you greeted as the texan boy answered your facetime call. you wanted to tell him your plans as of december 2020. 

“i’m doing a face reveal on mr beast’s 2020 rewind.” you went straight to the point, not wanting to drag it out. you never understood the point, anyways. 

“holy shit, really?” you could see his face as he asks you, in shock. you nodded to him. 

“since we all know dream is really just trolling, jimmy said i could fill in the void in people’s hearts after that.” you laughed, remembering what your brother told you. 

“wait, that means he gets to see your face first?” he asked you. you nodded again. 

“ugh. he never loses, does he?” he jokes around, laughing towards the end of the sentence, clearly clueless about the two of you being siblings.

-

time came for the countdown for the premier of the video. you were nervous, but more excited. you couldn’t wait for people to see you, and to get to know more about the dynamics of you and jimmy’s sibling-ship. 

when you tweeted out a teaser video for the mr beasts’ rewind, everyone was pumped. and although a lot of people knew deep in their hearts that dream wasn’t actually going to do a face reveal, they still had that little bit of hope left in them. 

nonetheless, they were really excited to finally see you, and to get to know more about you, besides knowing which part in america you live in, and what your voice sounds like. 

you saw yours and dream’s name trending on twitter for the face reveal. while you waited for the countdown to touch zero, you scrolled through twitter, to see what they were talking about. 

some were making theories about the face reveal, saying that it was sus that dream and you wanted to do one together, that the two of you were dating. some say that the both of you were just going to troll everyone and isn’t actually doing a face reveal. 

you laughed at some of the stupid tweets you read. they were all definitely in for a treat. 

your brother, jimmy was talking to his cameraman as everyone was anticipating to watch the video. obviously he wanted to document this, he felt a sense of pride for you. also, you brought him a lot of views, according to him. 

you sat next to karl, texting nick as you bounced your leg in mixture of excitement and nerves. 

“oh my god, stop. it will all go well.” karl’s hand stops your annoying leg bouncing as he rests it on your thigh. 

“i can’t help it, after this video, everyone will know what i look like.” you told him. honestly, you didn’t care about what the public would think about you, you were more worried about what nick would think. 

what if he thought you looked weird or just generally didn’t like what you looked like. 

as if karl could hear your thoughts, he said. “he will think you’re the most beautiful girl he’s ever laid his eyes upon.” 

you rocked yourself in the chair you sat to calm yourself down. and just in time, your brother’s video started playing. 

-

SAPNAP’S POV

everyone thinks her and i have this amazing sibling relationship but none of them really know how much i hate that word so much. 

siblings. 

do we not look good together? granted, no one really knows what you look like, but why don’t people ship us together as much as they ship you with all the other guys?

i pushed that hurtful thought down my chest, though. this was it. i can finally see what she looks like. not just the top of her beautiful, healthy hair. not just the side of her neck. 

i watched through the entire mr beast video, seeing all the small creators who have became successful during the pandemic, you being one of them. 

i watched as clips of yours and dream’s youtube videos and streams popped up. i smiled hearing your soft voice talking in the background of the video. 

knowing mr beast, he would put all the important parts towards the end, so i had to sit down and watch the whole video. not that i minded, though. 

there was another thing i was curious about. i knew dream isn’t actually going to show his face, but what if you did the same thing, too? 

you wouldn’t, right?

i bounced both my legs as it came towards the end of the video. 

at that point, they were playing the dream’s supposed face reveal. i chuckle as dream removed his cardboard sign to reveal a mask. i was sure everyone knew that this was coming, anyway. 

then, your part came. 

i heard people in the background of the video talking a little bit about you. they were talking about how mysterious you are, and what they expect you to look like. 

the background voices goes quiet, as the screen starts to show your back. 

everyone right now is staring at the back of your head, your shiny hair as you type away on your computer. your hair was put down, not long but longer than shoulder length. 

your hair isn’t a natural colour. it seems like it had a tone of purple in it, just dark. although i hadn’t seen your face, your hair was just what i had expected. 

you heard mr beast call out your name from behind you. 

“hey, uh, sis? i kinda need your help.” i heard him say. 

wait. did i hear that right? 

there is no way he meant it as actual siblings, right? but then, it he didn’t mean it like that, what was the point of saying it. 

i heard you hum as an answer to him, still not turning back. 

“just turn around and see, dear sister.” mr beast himself, said again. 

oh my god. you and him actually are siblings. that basically confirmed it all. 

“why have you said sister twice now?” your voice soft, but confused to why he repeated that word. 

on screen, you slowly turned to face your supposed brother. you looked straight to your brother, finally giving him the attention he wanted.

soon, you realised that there is a camera pointing to your face. your eyes widen, not expecting a large camera pointed to you as you spoke to your brother. 

your eyes visibly flicked from making eye contact with your brother and the camera, confusion still etched on your face. you offered a small smile and wave to the camera as the scene cuts there. 

holy shit. when karl said she’d be pretty, i didn’t think she was going to be gorgeous. is she even in my league? 

the outro rolls in. mr beast has his arm around your shoulders. 

you were wearing something different this time. you wore a blouse under a sweatshirt, tucked in jeans that fitted you so well. goddamn, you are beautiful. 

“hi.” you exclaimed to the camera, now visibly more comfortable. 

i could hear karl say something, though it sounded far. in the next second, karl came in the shot, hugging you, making sure to wrap his arms on your waist, tightening it after a while. you gave karl a small kiss on the lower part of his cheek since he’s slightly taller than you.

queue the ship comments. the little interaction burned me a little but karl’s love language is physical touch and you and him have been friends for a while, so i tried to not think about it too much. 

i focused on the grin on your face as your brother went on to talk about how proud he is of you, and how far you’ve come. 

the video finally ends with you grabbing and holding karl’s hands as you went forward, near the camera to give it a kiss. 

“i love you guys, byeee.” you ended it, pulling the ‘e’ as far as you can. 

the video ends. 

holy shit. i need to call this girl. 

-

YOUR POV 

as the video ends, while the guys and you are laughing at you giving the camera a kiss, your phone goes off. a facetime call from someone you wished to hold like you did to karl. 

you jumped in your seat, on the couch, excited to finally call him and not have to cover your face.

“helloo.” you dragged your ‘o’s.

“you beautiful woman, why would you hide that from me for so long?” his voice louder than usual, almost screaming. he has a large smile on his face that complimented all his facial features. 

you smiled back to him, knowing that he wasn’t actually expecting an answer from you. 

“is karl next to you?” he asked you.

“you called me to talk to your fiance? this is unfair.” you pouted. 

“just you wait, gorgeous. pan the phone to him.” he told you. 

you showed karl’s face on your phone, now karl sitting even closer to you to get a better look of his friend. 

“yes, my betrothed?” karl starts conversating with the man on call. 

“listen here. you are to be far far away from my woman, got it? no hugging her anymore. you can only sit next to her if there’s room for jesus, no closer.” he said seriously. that was intimidatingly hot, you couldn’t lie.

“what? i got her before you did, this isn’t fair at all.” karl whined. 

“nah, before i seclude her from you, i better see some space between you and her.” nick told karl. 

“i guess you’re losing the fiance card, karl.” you told your best friend, laughing. 

karl, although still whining, tried not to laugh along with you and some of the boys who heard your conversations.

you glanced at your brother who was standing opposite you. he gave you a small wink and gave you a thumbs up, mouthing “i approve.”

you rolled your eyes. you glanced at the camera next to jimmy, recording this very conversation. you knew that everyone would not live this one down ever. 

you blushed, remembering the very words nick had said on the call. 

[hazelcephalopod]

The Eye of the World Ch 31-33

The Whump continues! This time it’s Rand and Mat’s turn. And I mean both of them. Very shippable worthy moments; not that friendship isn’t nice but, is not a stretch. But also, just when things seem to cool down they heat up.

Buckle up for a long one if you’re still with me.

Disclaimer: this is my first read thru but I’ve watched all of the show this far and been spoiled on some book things. So… I’m going to lean into that. Enjoy figuring out what I know, and what I think I know, and what I just don’t. Also s/x I add commentary when I edit.

Spoilers for the first book and up to the most recent episode under the cut. Potential spoilers for latter books.

Ch 31

Never thought I could be happier to see a Rand POV.

Like maybe Nynaeve would also be as welcome but I’m not looking forward to more damn Whitecloaks

I mean that’s nice. Guy has deep pockets. (Me later. Internal wailing)

I feel like he was like ‘here are some scarves. Good luck being bandits or whatever. Plz hide your faces dipshit’

No good very bad trip.

Cold hard ground will do that. And stress. Creepy dagger is creepy

And cursed. So clearly cursed. Don’t think I’d have missed it ever

So everyone’s trip is just getting worse then? (This is when I relaized this is all just whump. No I’m not going to stop callin it that)

“Who would I sell it to, Rand?” -Mat on selling the clearly cursed dagger. Gotta admit, he’s got a point there

Glad to see reason is had

Honestly the image of Mat trying to steal eggs and milk -from unattended field cows- is hilarious. Oh and getting chased by dogs up a tree. Excellent.

Ah paranoia

Food! Real food. Honestly worth those hours dude

Specifically Mat’s terrible no good life

Grinwell’s farm… hmm

Nine?!

50/50 they’re just taking in kids off the road. That’s my bet

Blondes are also apparently very rare

“Perrin would know how to handle this… He’d make some offhanded comment, and pretty soon she be laughing at his jokes instead of mooning around where her father can see.” -Rand thinking to himself on Else’s staring and laughing and general. Attentions. Ok. This is just lowkey a comedy. I’m elated again.

And shoe drop when?

It’s just too happy right?

I can not believe it took them that long to try performing in an inn. I love these woolheaded babies so much

Ch 32 : Four Kings in the Shadow

Dark fang thing on this chapter. That’s what it’s called right? (I later learn why it’s here)

Rand POV again. Cool

In Four Kings. A village. Where it seems like the shoe will drop

See chapter name

Saloon town!

Immense. Kids are playing in the ditches so (future me- idk why it says immense. I’ve forgotten but kids were playing in ditches)

Hey winner! The Dancing Cartman. No music. Seemingly [foreboding music from the future]

Innkeeper- Saml Hake (btw he’s skinny)

Lovely man. Great. Just great /s.

Nice. Go in confident. Hope it works.

He’s still real fuckedup from the father thing huh? Which… fair I guess?

This place has two bouncers? There 6 customers

The plot is merciful. The rain waits

B/c their town is shit for starters.

Ah preparing to be a thriving bastard. Be ready to take turns sleeping boys.

Oh thank fuck he’s at least perceptive enough to notice that

Truly. At least get a meal

Ah the plot weather ‘no you sleep inside or I fuck you up’

Oh great creepy rich dude.

Creepy rich guy = Howal Gode, Whitebridge merchant(?)

Yes that’s weird.

And the shoe drops. Inns a trap

Oh I’ve read this getting bars off a window stuff before. It was uh… worse than this situation

Team luck is running out of luck tonight

Lol. Ok… if so, now they’d just pretend to, ya know. Do something else that could make lots of noise.

Gode is a fucking Darkfriend then.

Just stab him through the door

Mmm. I I don’t think you could just get away from them. Somehow. I doubt that

Oh shit lightening just struck that inn. And opened a hole to outside.

Oh those men are dead

That’s gonna leave a scar. An inside one.

Ch 33

Rand POV again

Sounds like he’s ill?

Where’s Mat?

Oh there.

Mmm quick illness huh? That’s not at all concerning I’m sure /s (flashback to an earlier chat between an Aes Sedai and a Wisdom)

Fuck. Whitecloaks? Oh no just militia. Yay! (Cuz that is better imho)

Aw Queens Guard specifically

Lol. The boys ‘what’s a queens guard and why?’ farmer dude ‘damn this kingdom has gone to shit’

The whole Two Rivers ‘what’s Andor -the kingdom they are claimed as- and why are they here?’

“…not like to rob or hurt anybody.” -Master Kinch (a farmer who helped them) to Rand and Mat. Yup! Sure. /s

Ah smooth Mat.

Cursed dagger. Also stress. Also trauma. But mainly? I’d bet it’s the cursed fucking dagger

“There are still some good people.” -Rand to Mat. Now I’m feeling things!

And more feelings!

Oh… that’s a trauma dream/nightmare. Yup. That’s what that is. Not gonna put that one here.

Suffice to say that man is burned badly.

And it also ol’ Balzo. Of course

“I belong to myself. Not you. Not ever. Myself.” -Rand to -Ba’alzamon- Balzo. Good for him!

Did still hit him with a fireball. And he woke up with sunburn. So… not good

More feelings.

“Suddenly, he [Rand] realized Mat was twisting and moaning in his sleep. He shook him, and Mat came awake with a whimper. ‘My eyes! Oh, Light, my eyes. He took my eyes!’ Rand held him close, cradling him against his chest as if he were a baby. ‘You’re all right, Mat. You’re all right. He can’t hurt us. We won’t let him.’ He could feel Mat shaking, sobbing into his coat. ‘He can’t hurt us.’ He whispered, and wished he believed it. What protects you makes you vulnerable. I am going mad.”

Wtf is the queen going to do? Well I guess she could like distribute food or something. But she can’t cure the cows.

… can she?

Everyone ‘idk what your running from and I don’t want to. I have a family. But I’ll help ya’

(I’m just saying if Mat and Rand touched each other this much in the show people would be feral. And I don’t say that as a bad thing)

Of fuck. I forgot we’ve been in a flashback for like two chapters until now.

“We never even saw you. You are a good man. The best we’ve met in days.” -Rand to some farmer who says he can’t really help them and to plz act like they were never anywhere near him but here’s some scarves to protect you from the road dust.

The pattern was like ‘oh right. People need? Hope and stuff. Uh… Here’s a guy with some scarves.’

Yes you are going to get pneumonia

Oh we’re in flashback again!

“The front door opened to let someone out, and a wave of laughter rolled out after him. Rand froze in the street, the drunken laughter at The Dancing Cartman echoing in his head.” -eotw. Rand’s perspective, as he leads half blinded Mat by the hand to an inn, after the previous no good bad time at tDC.

Oh… the Pattern- ‘crap. Crap. Ok he’s getting too fucked up too soon. Look. Nice inn. Its fine. Be ok. Damn it.’

“…he doubted he would ever again trust a skinny innkeeper.” -(Rand) relieved to see a fat innkeeper. (Hake was skinny. Bad times)

Innkeeper- Rulan Allwine

Thinking everyone is missing Moiraine at this point. ‘Specially team Luck. She had money, they do not (I later learn I am right)

“The innkeeper seemed surprised that they were retiring so early, but he made no comment.” -teotw. (Astonishing what making characters actually just get along and like each other will do to make me want the relationship, in some form. And then these moments too)

‘Ey! Mat got his sight back! Sorta.

“No more worrying about Darkfriends, once they were back with the Aes Sedai and the Warder.” -(Rand)

Paitr uh huh. Let’s skip to the betrayal huh? (Editor me- bad name. It’s similar to one on my list)

Love that Darkfriends truly can just be some dude.

Inn- The Queen’s Man

Mat assuring Rand. And convincing him to perform again so they don’t starve or freeze to death

Oh man. The old “one coin to crawl into a bed with some strangers to sleep” (and yes historically that was absolutely a real thing)

Yay. He bit

Nope Dragon isn’t in Caemlyn

Oh fuck. That’s not just stress is it? Chills?? /flashbacks to earlier chapters/

“Suddenly, Mat took his arm, pulling him to his feet. All of their things… hung from Mat’s shoulders with his bow. The innkeeper was watching them… Weaving, more than half supported by Mat, Rand let his friend steer him toward the back door. ‘S-s-sorry, M-m-mat,’ he managed. He could not stop his teeth from chattering.’” -Rand after all but collapsing when overcome with chills and brain fog. Being half carried out at an inn by Mat.

Now shivering in fetal position in a stable.

Emotions. Mat is like legit taking care of him. Noo. I don’t want these emotions! What I’m I gonna do with them?

Listen yes I am a shipper. But I also do actually appreciate just the friendship and caring for each other b/c of friendship

And now. Hot flashes.

“They don’t even know what a wisdom is.” -Mat. Also mentions a Mother Brune who is currently delivering a baby and therefore can’t help them. (Later me learns we don’t see her. Not for this illness far as I could tell)

Inkeep- Master Inlow.

And now Rand’s just straight up hallucinating.

What he sees- Ba’alzamon and two Fades; silent. Egwene, mournful; blaming him for killing the rest; at its end “But she turned into the shadows, and was shadow.” Moiraine, serene but deathly pale; insists he must go to Tar Valon and only Aes Sedai can save him. Thom, “smiling sardonically”, clothes charged and fighting a Fade; insists he not trust Aes Sedai -asks which Ajah will find him first red or maybe black? Lan, stone faced and face covered in blood; warns him, extremely ominously, that anyone can be a Darkfriend; at its end “He smiled a wolf’s smile, and blood poured out of his mouth. ‘Anyone.’” Perrin, Mistress al’Vere, Capt Bayle Domon, Master Fitch. “Min, screaming in a Trolloc’s clutches.” Others. Tam. [Tam frowning and shaking his head just standing over Rand].

… so just a bad time.

lol. Wondering the Ajah of a woman dressed all in green

Dark friend actually tho.

Oh fuck more cursed daggers

Sure you will buddy

Oh shit… I mean. I could be wrong. Been a bad time. He might

Sure they will. And I’m sure you’ll all sing and dance and be happy until you break time and everything is destroyed. /s

“Maybe you Darkfriends aren’t as dangerous as I’ve always heard.” -Mat to the darkfriend woman in the stables. After she nearly killed him

Oh no a Fade. (/Sardonic) Listen, yes it’s terrifying but at this point de we been care anymore? Bring it on

Bye other cursed scary dagger

Oh shit that channeling sickness -b/c that’s what it is- is no joke. Lasting a while isn’t it? I guess just a full night now actually?

And I think that takes us full circle. Met Hyam Kinch, man with wagon, seen earlier in the story.

[shigarakislittlepet]

Hooooh boy👀 okay so if you have a character limit just do Dabi and Shinsou (my absolute favourite boys) but if you don't have a character limit I'd also like Aizawa and Bakugou with a s/o who's very obedient and good for them (and ofc good to them) and they're afraid that they're boring because they don't really break any rules or misbehave. Everybody's on and on abt brats and my obedient subby lil ass is over here like qwq obedient subbies aren't boring😤😤 take your time and don't feel pressured oke?? 💕💕

oh my god i love you, you are so so sweet 💕💕💕 I hope I did this request justice, the implications are just !!! So sweet QuQ

no character limit, so i will do all the bbys 🥰

TW: NSFW, Dom/sub themes, light quirk use for sexy times (shinsou), Daddy kink (for Aizawa, I’m sorry lol), some name calling... I think that’s it! Let me know if I missed anything!

HERES MY TAKE ON SUPER GOOD SUBS AND HOW THE HUBBIES WOULD REACT!

-Dabi-

•Okay okay so we all know Dabi is a HARD dom, he has a LOT of aggression to work through in a healthy way, and you help make that happen!

•You’d worry that Dabi would prefer a “bad girl”, a brat that talked back sometimes so he could punish them and REALLY let all that frustration out!

•Once you talked to him about it he would laugh at you. He’s just mean like that lol. BUT once he calmed down and realized it was something that was actually bothering you he’d just look at you and be like “...really?”

•Because what you HADN’T considered is that Dabi spent so much of his life with absolutely no control over his environment, he lived in constant fear of uncertainty. The only certainty he EVER had at home was pain.

•You provide him with total control. You never talk back, you never question him. You do as you’re told and then you say “Thank you Sir” in your sweet little voice no matter what depraved things he’s made you do for him. The absolute control he has with you makes him feel like he’s on top of the world! And you THANK him for it??? Way to stroke his massive ego while you’re at it, damn.

•You give him the stability he never thought he’d have, and the unconditional love and adoration and worship that he never thought he deserved. To him, you’re perfect. His perfect little angel. He would kill and die for you. He would get drunk off of your submission.

•He’d get bored of a brat pretty quickly, not as much of a power trip in his opinion. XP

•I feel like he doesn’t really go heavy on the praise, but when it DOES happen, when you’re on your knees worshipping his cock and using your talented mouth for what it’s MEANT to be used for, and he’s certain your mouth was meant for this, and he slides a hand into your hair grabbing a handful and tugging while his other hand grasps at any stable piece of furniture for some stability and groans out unfiltered praises in his deep gravelly voice??? It feels like you’re both on cloud nine, and nothing is ever going to tear you down from it.

-Shinsou-

• Shinsou would love his precious little kitty cat and shower you with praise and adoration and gifts to reward you for being so good for him all the time. He is a quiet simp, and will the worship the ground you walk on.

• If you voiced your concern about being boring, he would just smile deviously and then back you up against a wall of your shared apartment and start kissing your neck and saying things like “What do you mean kitty cat, don’t we have fun?” And then he will spend the next few hours reminding you just how much fun you have together~~~

• He would make sure that you never worried about being boring again. He would have a wonderful time making you verbalize all the "fun" things you want him to do to you. The fact that he can make you say all those embarrassing things so easily and make you beg for him without a second thought from you makes him so unbelievably feral. He doesn't even have to use his quirk to make you do anything he wants, which makes him feel like the most powerful man that’s ever lived, although whenever you bat your pretty little eyes at him and beg him to "Pleeeaaaassseeee brainwash me and turn me into your puppet? Pretty please?”. He will melt, and he will HAVE to grant all his perfect little kitten’s wishes.

• The reason he absolutely adores your complete obedience and submission is the undying and unwavering trust you clearly have in him. To do all the things he asks of you, no matter how humiliating, without so much as a single complaint? It makes him lightheaded and he will tell you that there is only one feeling in the world better than that, and thats being in love with you. He’s such a sap.

• It's the trust he gets off on. Even after becoming a pro-hero, the media tends to treat him similarly to Aizawa. They have this sort of “scary vigilanty that barely operates within the law” angle on him, even though he isn’t scary at all, and he’s a wonderful hero. The public tends to like him, but in a wary sort of way. Some people are still afraid to look him in the eyes or respond to him at all. So the trust you openly display is intoxicating to him.

• And of course, as is most important, the fact that you trust him enough that you will use your safe word when you need to, knowing that he will immediately put a stop to whatever is going on and hold you tight and take care of you never fails to warm his heart. He is never disappointed when this happens because it shows just how much you TRUST him to take care of you and not abuse his power.

-Aizawa-

• Hahahahahahahahahahahaha

•Okay so Aizawa is a different beast entirely.

•We all know Aizawa is a Daddy, and he expects his sweet little submissive baby to behave at all times. He’s HAD bratty subs before, and honestly, he finds them tiring. He can and WILL correct misbehaving subs with an iron fist, but over time he’s gotten tired of the whiny “make me”’s and the purposeful breaking of his carefully thought out rules.

•He deals with bratty teens all day, what makes you think he has the patience to deal with another brat at HOME? Nah.

•What he enjoys most about your near worshipful levels of obedience and submission is the level of respect you display to him. How much you truly want to please him and impress him. He finds it equally endearing and entertaining.

• You memorized every single one of his rules, every position, every expectation that he had of you, and you never failed to preform beautifully. He would never expect PERFECTION from a partner, per say, he’s perfectly lenient when and if you make an honest mistake, but he tells you all the time how perfect you are for him. He’ll tell you how much he loves the lengths at which you’ll go to please him.

• This man LIVES to tease you about how obedient you are, almost daring you to step out of line. You never take the bait though, you just get adorably embarrassed and pout at him while he teases you more. “Awe, what is it kitten? You know, if I didn’t know any better, I’d think you like it when I tease you.” as he drags his thumb across your lower lip while it trembles, the deep bass of his voice reverebrating through your skull and turning you to mush.

•He layers the praise on THICK when you’ve earned it. Once he’s had his fun tormenting and teasing and edging you, he will fuck you slowly and deeply, agonizingly, and he will tell you what a good little slut you are for his cock and it’s ages before you realize that he’s prolonging your torture by fucking you this way and saying these things to you. He wants to see how far he can push you before you either break down into a pitiful mess of tears and pleas, or if maybe ther IS a needy little brat in there just waiting to come out. It’s always the former though, and he always loves getting you to that point. You’d do anything for him, and he knows it. He gets just a little high on it.

-Bakugou-

•Mans wrote the BOOK on hero worship, and he expects you to worship.

•Pro-hero Dynamight expects nothing but perfection, and he expects you to measure up. He can tell a brat from a mile away, and I genuinely think he actively avoids them. He’s enough of a brat to for both of you anyway lmao

•I hope you like pain, because he’s the type to inflict it for fun and not just for punishment. A true sadist for the truest masochist.

•If you ever talked to Bakugou about your fear of being boring to him, I really hope you’re prepared for the consequences. “What??? You think if you were just some boring shitty extra that I’d honestly waste any time on you? Do you really think I’m that stupid???” Its all in an attempt to reassure you, but he will spend the rest of the night punishing you for thinking so lowly of yourself.

•No matter HOW good you seem to be, getting a praise out of this man is damn near IMPOSSIBLE, even when he IS pleased with you. Getting him to verbalize anything he’s happy about is a struggle, so you start to look for the subtle signs. You notice his hands trail lightly down your back when you handle the paddle better than the night before. The way he brushes your hair out of your face when he’s roughly fucking into you after a particularly frustrating day of hero work, and you don’t even bat an eye at his brutality. The soft smile you almost miss when you KNOW he’s had a rough day at work and meet him at the door, already on your knees in one of his favorite outfits and with dinner already cooking away on the stove. Sure, he usually cooks, but when all he has to do is come home and have you... He’s damn near ready to propose every time you do it because you are just. So. Good to him. Good for him. And on those days, when you’re both showered and warm in bed and he’s stroking your hair and half asleep, you can hear faint praises fall from his lips. You know he means them everyday, but it’s on these days when his stress is melted away completely by your touch and your love and he’s so filled with contentment and just by being with you that his heart and mind are relaxed enough to let a little vulnerability show. As a treat.

• He never thought he would feel like this about anyone. Never thought that anyone would ever measure up to his impossible standards, but you take all his gruffness in stride and throw it back at him by being warm and loving, following all of his rules, doing everything you can to make him happy, and treating him like a god. He can’t think of anything better than spending the rest of his life with you.

[songofclarity]

I think Wen Xu does exist/was killed by NMJ in battle but they just decided not to mention him this ep. There was a head on display @ 11.20 of the ep which I think is Wen Xu.

This makes the expression WRH's looking at NMJ with even better. WRH has reason to be frustrated and emotional because he is faced with ther person who defeated and killed his son, and the fact that he isn't is the best part.

(posting his face again because I love it 😍)

He looks calm and contemplating? Like he's looking at NMJ and remembering his past with the Nie. The soft, sad even, expression could indicate that he has regrets? He could be thinking 'Look at us. Your father was killed, my son is dead. Where would we be if it never happened.' ...The regret passes and he turns around smiling 'We have the upper hand. It is what it is.'

All in all this is the best portrayal we had of him in the donghua so far! ☀️

Best portrayal of Wen Ruohan in the donghua without question! ☀️

I just have to highlight this part of what you said:

"WRH has reason to be frustrated and emotional because he is faced with the person who defeated and killed his son, and the fact that he isn't is the best part."

Absolutely yes to this 100%!!! Wen Ruohan looks so angry and cruel in seasons 1 and 2 at the mere mention of sects and people being unruly. But here, standing in front of his son's killer, he is just... "calm and contemplating" and "soft, sad even" and "has regrets." I was a worried I was reading too much into Wen Ruohan's expression, to be honest, so I'm glad you see it too!

Your idea on what he could be thinking is perfection.

And I do stand corrected both by your good eye on that head (hello, Wen Xu...!?) and as Nie Huaisang does mention him way back at the indoctrination camp in ep 8:

Of note, both CQL and the donghua leave out Nie Mingjue's fight with Wen Xu. It is an interesting directional choice because for all of Nie Mingjue's well-known resentment of the Wen Sect, it emphasizes how his resentment of them pales in comparison to his resentment of Meng Yao/Jin Guangyao. Nie Mingjue can look at Meng Yao and call him and him alone "You Wen-dog," but to Wen Ruohan he says nothing, and Wen Ruohan says nothing to him in return.

Season 1 and 2 donghua Wen Ruohan was made to say stuff like, "You should've killed them all and made them understand" (ep 10) vs novel Wen Ruohan who says things like, "Why mop around with someone who's already half-dead?" (ch 49). Novel Wen Ruohan only attacked Nie Mingjue to stop him after Nie Mingjue had just slaughtered Wen cultivators right in front of him. Season 1 and 2 donghua would have killed Nie Mingjue since obviously Nie Mingjue, who continues to fight the Qishan Wen and refuses to kneel, obviously has refused to learn. These are two very different people with two very different policies on how to treat their enemies!

So this episode 29 Wen Ruohan is fantastic in wearing that kind of soft, contemplating expression because at this point in time, Wen Ruohan had given the Sunshot Campaign and Nie Mingjue years of patience to sort themselves out and stop this bloodshed, and yet... this is what it comes to. A dead father, a dead son, and more dead lying in between them.

When Wen Ruohan turns around and walks away, literally nothing has changed. Meng Yao put on a good show, but that's all it was in the end. A show. Because another good point to note in all this is that while Wen Ruohan retains this calm and contemplating expression, Meng Yao looks up to see that -- and then proceeds to push down on Nie Mingjue even more. Meng Yao shoves Nie Mingjue's face all the way to the ground, forces Nie Mingjue to bend his back entirely, and he still gets no sign of approval from Wen Ruohan in the end. Which is exactly how it went in the novel when Meng Yao pressed for permission to torture Nie Mingjue and Wen Ruohan never agreed to it, and instead waved him off with, "Do as you please" (ch 49).

It's like Meng Yao and the donghua both wanted and needed Wen Ruohan to be cruel and vicious to his enemies to spin a story, but the truth at the end is that he's honestly not.

Just excellent ☀️

Both Wen Ruohan's portrayal and his face ☀️

[blackhakumen]

Mini Fanfic #827: Golfing (RWBY)

12:12 p.m. at Mistral's Country Club's Golf Course.......

Ruby: (Sitting on the Back of the Golf Cart While Looking Up at the Blue Skies in a Very Exhausted like Fashion) ('UGGGGGGHHHH') Why is it have to so freaking hot today? I feel I can die at any moment here!!

Oscar: (Starts Looking For his Ball He Just Hit While Holding his Golf Club Around) We'll get back to the cart as soon as I find where the ball is.... Couldn't be too far from here.

Ruby: (Turns to Oscar) How are you not as hot and exhausted as I am right now? (Starts Pouting at the Farm Boi While Pointing at Him) Did Ozpin taught you some kind of heat protection spell that I don't even know about?

Oscar: (Starts Rolling his Eyes a Bit Playfully) Trust me, Ruby. If I'd knew a spell like that would existence right now, I would've told you all about it a long time ago. But to answer to your first, real question, the heat doesn't really bother me as much as it used to. I guess being raised in a farm really does has it's quirks after all.

Ruby: I envy you and your farming life style sometimes....

Oscar: (Chuckles Lightly) I envy your lifestyle more. Enrolling to Becon to become a full fledged Huntsman like with you......It would've been nice.

Ruby: (Smiles Brightly) It would've been amazing!!~ We would've been best friends a lot earlier, do crazy missions together, I would've even taught you everything I know about the boring school life.

Oscar: (Smirks Playfully at Ruby) About how to be Chaotic Troublemaker like you were?

Ruby: (Glares at Oscar Again) Hey, I wasn't that terrible of a student!!!

Oscar: Then how come you started a Food War in the Cafeteria?

Ruby: I didn't start the whole thing! Nora did!.....Or was it Yang? I don't remember. The point is, I was a simple bystander defending my rights to eat peacefully.

Oscar: Uh-huh....

Ruby: You can "Uh-huh" me all you want, mister, but I know I'm speaking the truth! (Starts Sighing While Wiping the Sweat Off From Forehead) Anyways, can we pleeease do something else besides golf right now?

Oscar: (Turns to Ruby) You sure you wanna stop now? We only have like eight more holes to complete left.

Ruby: Yeah. I'm sure. (Slouches her Head Onto the Top of Both of her Palms) The heat is already killing me as we speak, Oscar.

Oscar: ('Sigh') Alright fine. We can always go back inside and hangout with Ms. Goodwitch the rest of the day.

Ruby: Nah. It would get boring in there real quick. And besides, I bet she's already having a lovely chat with her lady friends as we speak.

Oscar: (Place his Hand on his Chin) That is a possibility.....(Turns to Ruby) You have any ideas?

Ruby: Hmmmmm.....(Takes a Look at the Golf Kart She's Sitting on Right Now Before Smirking Mischievously) Wellllll~

A Couple of Minutes Later......

Ruby: (Excitedly Riding The Golf Kart Around the Course in Fast Speed With Oscar Sitting Next to Her) ('WOOOOOOOO!!')

Oscar: (Nervously Holding the Side Handle a BitTightly) Damnit, Ruby! Could you at least try and slowing down a little?

Ruby: No can do, Oscar!~ This is a perfect way to cool ourselves off! And don't you think it's a lot more fun to do this than playing golf under the sun all day?

Oscar: I'm more worry about the damages we'll cause than any of those things...Speaking of which...(Turns to Ruby) Do you even have driver's license?

Ruby: (Giggles Awkwardly) About that... I've..... never got the chance take the permit test....

Oscar: (Immediately Gives Ruby a Deadpinned Look on his Face) Seriously?

Ruby: Hey! Don't get moody at me, mister! I was too focused on being a Huntress at the time! And last I checked, YOU were the one who flew a Atlas Airship at Argus without flyer's permit!

Oscar: That because we were all in a do or die situation at the time. There wasn't anything else I could other than that.

Ruby: ('Sigh') Yeah. You do have point ther- (Suddenly Starts Gasping Loudly Before Putting the Golf to a Immediate Halt)

Oscar: (Confused by the Sudden Stop) What happened? Why did you stop?

Ruby: Oscar. Look...... (Points at a Small Hill in Front of Them) A-

Oscar: (Went Back to Having a Deadpinned Look) Don't tell me. You wanna try drive up to that hill with a maximum speed velocity....

Ruby: Yep.

Oscar: Knowing full well that there might be a 50/50 chance of not only getting ourselves hurt, but also getting the kart itself totaled.....

Ruby: Pretty much.

Oscar: Yet you still wanna give it a shot anyways because you're name is Ruby Rose.

Ruby: (Immediately Gives Oscar the Puppy Dog Eyes) Please?~ I promise to get the both of us out if there as soon as we start flying~

Oscar: (Stares at Ruby For a Brief Second or Two Take a Deep Breath) Bring it on.

Ruby: (Gasps Happily Before Turning Back at Front of the Grassy Road With a Determined Look on her Face) Yes sir!~

As the engine begins to roar loudly, Ruby starts driving the golf kart towards the hill quickly..... Except....the kart itself is suddenly not moving anywhere.

Ruby: What the- The engine's still on! Why are we not moving!?

Oscar: (Turns Around Only to Have his Eyes Widened a Second Later) Uhhhh, Ruby.....(Points at What is in Front of Him) I think we found our culprit.....

Ruby: (Turns Around) What is it, Osca- ('GASPS')

Much to the kids surprise, the culprit was none other than Glynda Goodwitch herself, using her wand to stop kart from moving any forward at ease.

Glynda: (Gives the Duo a Stern, Motherly Glare) Children.

Oscar: (Starting Chuckling a Bit Awkwardly While Slowly Waving at the Woman) H-Hey, Ms. Goodwitch.....

Few Minutes Later Inside the Country Club.......

Glynda: I cannot believe you two! Recklessly driving around the golf course with that kind of speed, without any supervision. What on Earth were you thinking?

Ruby: ('Sighs in Utter Defeat') We're sorry......We got so bored and hot outside that we-I mean...I thought about taking the kart for a ride.

Glynda: ('Sigh') Ruby, if that's really the case, then why didn't the both of you just come back in here and spend more time with me?

Oscar: You see, we thought about that. But.... We'd figured that you would be too busy spending time your friends some more. So we decided not to bother you at the time.

Glynda: ('Sighs Once More') I suppose I can understand where you're coming from of this....Our conversations have gotten quite longer as of late.... Regardless, I would rather have the both of you with me than seeing you two get yourselves hurt on a golf kart. I mean, seriously, do you have any idea how much that cost alone?

Ruby: Uhhhhh.....Three or....four hundred dollars?

Glynda: Thousands.

Ruby/Oscar: (Eyes Widened in Complete Shock) THOUSANDS!!!?

Ruby: For one stinking Golf Kart!?

Glynda: I'm afraid so. These karts are exclusively made in this Country Club for as long as I can remember. So it makes sense on why it would cost a high amount. You'd be surprise on much this membership actually cost by itself.

Oscar: You......want us to guess what the price of it too or.....

Glynda: No. That won't be necessary, Oscar. All I ask for the two of you right now is to stay here and not get into any more trouble. (Gives the Duo Another Motherly Glare) Unless you want me to inform Mr. Xiao Long and Ms. Valkyrie about the reckless actions you've made today.

Ruby: Nononononono! I-It's fine, Professor Goodwitch! You don't have tell them!

Oscar: Yeah! We'll stay out of trouble this time. Promise.

Glynda: (Stare at Oscar and Ruby For a Brief Second Before Sighing Once More) Very well. I suppose I'll take your word for it. In meantime.....(Gets Up From her Seat) Get us some refreshments. Anything you need specifically?

Ruby: Do they got anymore Chocolate Chip Cookies in this place?

Oscar: I'll just get water.

Glynda: (Simply Nodded) Done and done. I'll be right back. (Walks Away)

Ruby/Oscar: 'Kay!

Ruby: ('Sigh') Well....That was a day.

Oscar: Tell me about it.... I'm just glad we didn't any actual trouble from any from another else besides Ms. Goodwitch. Was she always this stress to you guys?

Ruby: Yeah. But we mostly asked for it. She was Ozpin right handed woman for a reason after all.

Oscar: (Chuckles Lightly) I can tell.....(Turns to Ruby) Sorry the day gotten boring for you?

Ruby: (Smiles Softly) Are you kidding? You don't need to be sorry for that. If anything, I should apologizing for dragging you into this mess in the first place.

Oscar: Don't be. I don't mind get dragging along with your antics every once and a while (Starts Blushing a Little) If anything....It made enjoy spending time with you a lot than before, you know?

Ruby: (Eyes Widened in Genuine Surprise) You really mean that?

Oscar: Of course I do. You mean a lot to me, Ruby and....I lov-(Eyes Immediately Starts Widened as His Blush Turns Bright Red) LIKE! Y-Y-Yeah! Yeah! That's what meant to say! Like! I like you, Ruby. Just....like.

Ruby: (Stares at Oscar For a Brief Second Before Giggling Softly) Oho Oscar~ (Pulls Oscar into a Loving Hug) I love you too, dumb-dumb~ Always.

Oscar: (Sighs Heavily Before Smiling Softly) Thanks.

@keyenuta

@caleb13frede

@ma-lemons

@albion-93

@roz-ani

@miki-13

@maripr

@oscarpineprotectionsquad

@neale-47-rwby

[the-ghost-of-jason-todd]

aight SO

i finished ep 12 and i've talked about it with a friend, and now i've also taken a look into the tarlos tag to get a sense of what people are saying. i think i'm ready to break this down.

so there are a few big questions about That Scene and the following tarlos interactions. i'll just work through them one at a time. buckle in, this is gonna get long. now without further ado...

1) Was TK lashing out at Carlos at the firehouse in character?

Short answer: yes and no.

Long answer: we've seen TK get physical and even violent before. He literally sought out a bar fight in s1. He nearly got into a fist fight with Judd, too. And did you see the way he was hurling darts after that, when he and Carlos were on their date? This boy is not a stranger to getting physical. There are, however, a few major differences between those scenes and this one with Carlos.

One. The bar fight was premeditated, while his fight with Carlos was not. Why is this important? Because it means that TK has shown some measure of restraint in the past. He managed to stay present during what I would call the 'trigger' of the bar fight episode, and saved his physical response for a later time.

Two. His altercation with Judd, on the other hand, was not premeditated. The difference, then, is that Judd was also ready to get physical at the time. With the scene with Carlos, Carlos was trying to remain calm and impartial for most of it, and attempted to de-escalate when TK got violent. The whole thing was driven by TK.

Three. In none of the scenes we've seen before of TK getting violent has his dad's health or safety been threatened. TK's dad is a HUGE part of his life, and he has a LOT of emotional trauma surrounding his relationship with his dad. He's TERRIFIED of losing Owen, because he's nearly lost him so many times before. TK has some MAJOR anxiety about losing people, to the point where he refused to let Carlos into his heart at the beginning of s1. There's also the fact that TK has gone through a lot of trauma in not a lot of time. Even if the show wants us to believe the kidnapping is over, I'm willing to bet that the after-effects are still hitting. For both TK AND Carlos, honestly.

There are also two other lines to consider when we're talking TK's characterization: first, in the episode when Gwyn moves out, and we see her and TK talking, she then calls Owen who asks if TK 'flew off the handle' (i believe that was the wording, correct me if I'm wrong). This is important because we have two people who are VERY close to TK talking about how he reacts to things, the crux of which is that TK gets reactionary. He has high emotional responses and says (or does) things that he doesn't necessarily mean.

Then there's another line that I think is important. This is the one in the crossover episode, when TK tells Buck that he's 'done a lot worse than steal a fire truck'. This one is important because it's TK talking about HIMSELF. We don't have any context for this or what it means, necessarily, but I'm willing to bet from context that he wasn't just talking about ODing.

So with all this in mind... do I think TK was in character? Do I really think TK would do this? Well... it makes sense in the context of TK's story and his arcs and all the scenes we've seen him in so far. But, at the same time, I would definitely have done it differently. It's a thing like... it's not a WRONG answer, but then again, was it really right, either?

2) Was Carlos's reaction to TK lashing out in character?

Short answer: yeah, I think so*.

*though if they don't expand on it I'm gonna have a problem.

Long answer: Carlos, at this point in the story, is dealing with two things that I think impact his emotional landscape a HELL of a lot.

One. His past and his family. He grew up with a man who seems emotionally distant, and it has only VERY RECENTLY started to get better. He felt INCREDIBLY alienated after he came out, and then when he became a cop and he was dealing with his father's silent disapproval. He is always searching for approval and, most likely, affection as well. What this means is that he feels like he constantly needs to prove himself, and bases his self worth on how OTHER people react. If someone reacts badly, that's a mark against himself.

"But Kay," you say, "What about the scene where he made dinner for TK and TK walked out? Carlos didn't blame himself then!"

Which is an interesting point! Carlos didn't put the onus on himself in that scene, he turned it back on TK, calling him 'crazy'. I think that was a secondary coping mechanism, to be honest. He knew he couldn't deal with feeling like he was the one who was wrong AGAIN so he twisted the situation around in his head until it was TK who was 'being crazy'. I've talked about that scene in depth before so I won't do it again, but Carlos's reaction is, I think, indicative of having felt rejection before and trying to protect himself.

Which brings me to number two. The fact that he's nearly lost TK several times already. This plays a HUGE role in how Carlos acts, especially with TK. Carlos has wanted TK LITERALLY from day 1, and since then he's nearly lost him how many times??? Enough, at least, that I'm fairly certain he's now holding on too tight, even when it comes back and hurts him. He just... he seems to have this mentality that if he's in he's ALL in, and he's not allowed to back away or put any distance between them, or else he'll lose TK for real.

Because we've seen TK pull back and get some distance before. We saw TK take a night away after their fight about the farmer's market. Maybe not with the best communication, but TK was angry and he needed space, so he left. When he did that, however, Carlos was convinced that they were breaking up. Like, CONVINCED. You cannot tell me that Carlos didn't think the worst in that moment.

Now why is THIS important? Easy. Because Carlos and TK may be moving forward in their relationship, but they are at a point right now where they react to things in fundamentally different ways. TK kind of bounces between becoming reactionary and going distant (again, we saw this in s2ep8 very clearly), while Carlos has reached a point where he kind of doubles down on holding tightly to TK even when he maybe shouldn't.

Basically, when you boil all this down, Carlos is DESPERATELY trying not to rock the boat, with his parents OR with TK, because he's scared of everything coming apart. And I think that makes sense with this episode.

The problem, then, is that this is a coping mechanism. The narrative has set it up as such. Which means that he's going to have to address it at some point. If he doesn't, I will be FUCKING PISSED, believe you me.

3) Did the narrative address that scene with respect, dignity, and nuance?

Short answer: I DON'T THINK SO.

Long answer: TK is human. He's a recovering addict. He's had problems with feeling numb in the past (that line about how everything is gray), which, I think, makes his feelings just THAT MUCH BIGGER when he does have them. So clearly, he's going to make mistakes. The question then is, was this particular mistake something he's learned from, or was it just used for the drama?

I have two reasons to believe it was the latter rather than the former.

One. Judd's reaction. Judd telling Carlos to get out of the firehouse after TK hit him, as if Carlos was the bad guy in that situation, was dramatic as hell. TK and Carlos are pitted against each other in that moment, and instead of mediating, Judd picked a side. Which is, ironically enough, the first thing that I think was NOT in character in that scene.

Judd, we know, is a bit of a hot-head, but he's also very empathetic. Judd was shown trying to mediate between Billy and Owen the last time the two of them had an episode together, because he understood both sides of the story and he cared for both of them. Why do I think it should have been the same this time? Well, because he loves TK and Carlos BOTH. They were both in the group hug at the hospital after the Ryder's car crash. It wasn't like Carlos stayed back, okay--JUDD CARES FOR BOTH OF THEM. And I think, at that point, that Judd would have seen the fact that TK was spinning out and Carlos was trying to stay objective and known that he needed to de-escalate. It would have been SO EASY to have that line be "Okay, okay, both of you step back and take a breather." He could EASILY have mediated. But he didn't. And that was a specific choice that leans more toward drama than anything else.

Which brings me to number two. The fact that they don't talk about it on screen. We had a hand-wavey 'we agreed no apologies' and a hot and heavy make-out scene instead. The writers wanted the drama of the two of them being in bed together while the fire started, and in order to do that they sacrificed the screen time it would have taken to actually have them have a conversation. Because, again, it would have been SO EASY to write them actually talking about it. They've done it before! After their fight about the farmer's market and Carlos's parents, the two of them have a WONDERFUL conversation. Why then and not now? Well, to make the fire more dramatic, to up the stakes one more time.

So no. I don't think there was any respect. I don't think there was any nuance. TK made a mistake, because he's human and he has some problems with emotional regulation, but there were little to no repercussions for it where there really should have been. There was no respect coming from the firefam for Carlos, either. There were no apologies, or further comments, or anything. And honestly... this season has done a lot toward making me feel like they don't give a shit about violence. Judd hitting that kid in the bear trap in the wild fire episode, Judd hitting the drunk driver who drove him off the road, Judd punching Billy when he thought he was framing Owen, and now TK hitting Carlos... all with no repercussions or apologies or even discussions about them... it's not a good look.

And there you have it. The writing makes sense. It does. But it's also really clear that the writers' priorities have changed. I really, honestly feel like the show has lost something since season 1. There's been a massive tonal shift, and I don't like it. The fact that we keep having Event after Event with no reprieve, have sacrificed conversations and interpersonal relationships for Drama, and have started killing and maiming characters with wild abandon, sometimes with seemingly no reason... it's all just a Lot. I have enjoyed watching season 2, but it's not sticking the same way as season 1 did. I'm not letting myself get attached to characters at this point because clearly we're not in a found family show anymore. I don't care about them the same way I did before. I can’t bring myself to do it when it’s becoming clear that we’re not going to slow down and actually process anything anytime soon.

[cupofteaguk]

i think i’m in love with you and i’m terrified

FROM THE PETALS COLLECTION

[pairing] :: jungkook x fem!reader

[genre] :: fake dating au + fluff 

[word count] :: 1.9k 

[note] :: previously “things you said too quietly” on my old blog 

.

In retrospect, maybe inviting you over to his apartment with the excuse that he ‘needed a favor’ hadn’t been the brightest idea Jungkook has ever come up with. But when the basis of your relationship sprouts from that exact same line, it doesn’t really leave him with too much legroom on how to go about conversations with you, especially ones that involve these particular moments. 

‘These particular moments’ pertaining to instances like these where he just really wants to see you and he can’t seem to get you out of his mind. Not because his mother had thought to call again to ask about your wellbeing, or to ask about grabbing another lunch with another family member; not because he needs you to spew up some lie about different milestones in a nonexistent relationship—but because he just really, really, kind of sort of maybe really enjoys your company. A lot more than he probably should, which is dangerous, considering that once his parents deemed his relationship with you ‘good enough’, you wouldn’t necessarily be… needed in his outside life anymore. 

And that thought, that uncertainty of what will follow, frightens him deeply. It’s gotten to the point where he can no longer picture an evening without you by his side, a dinner party where you aren’t grumbling snarky remarks about the wine underneath your breath, or filling him with stories about your childhood that makes him double over the chair in laughter—can no longer picture a day without your hands which, although much smaller than his own, still manage to fit perfectly in his own, can no longer picture a moment in front of his family where he couldn’t kiss you, partly because he had to but mostly just because he wanted to. 

However, his own hesitation, his own insecurities that you couldn’t return his feelings the way he wanted you to, keeps him from spilling the truth of his thoughts and emotions, keeps him hiding away in the dark, hiding behind poor ‘Hey, I need a favor’ text messages as an excuse to see you. 

Somehow, in spite of his pathetic nature that makes friends such as Kim Taehyung and Min Yoongi roll their eyes at him, it makes everything worth it to see your frame lingering outside his door, suddenly all wide gazes and the concerned curl of your lips. “Hey, I saw your text,” You say, brushing past him to enter the apartment, whirling back around to face him. “Is everything okay? Is your mom asking for another dinner?” 

“A-Ah, no, not today,” Jungkook manages, followed by an internal cursing because maybe he really should have thought this through just a little bit more. “I just needed some advice. Your opinion on something.” 

You inhale, exhale, shift slightly on the balls of your feet, and he wants to know what you’re thinking, what immediate thoughts are plaguing that brilliant mind of yours. 

And he’s nervous, although this isn’t necessarily the first time he’s called you over to ask of such a thing. He’s definitely engaged in a handful of these calls—but each invitation brings that choking anticipation of whether you were going to figure out his real intentions, the underlying fact that while yes, he really did require some advice over whatever predicament he’s caught himself into, that desire to see you overpowers his own independent responsibility. 

So he stares at you, just as you stare at him. He thinks he sees a flicker in your eyes, and his heart might give out because you know, you know, oh man, you definitely know and you’re going to confront him and reject him and leave him alone—!

“Oh yeah, for sure. What do you need help with?” 

The previous flicker is gone, no trace of it left behind in your eyes and he briefly wonders if he had imagined the whole thing just to give him some hope that maybe, just maybe, you returned his feelings and his internal, one-sided pinning wouldn’t be for nothing. But you are back to wide smiles and understanding eyes and he doesn’t know whether to be disappointed or not. 

“W-Well, uh, just follow me.” He waits until you have discarded your coat and purse, resting it down atop the counter in his kitchen, before following his form down the hall and into his bedroom. You enter the space hesitantly, lingering by the door frame momentarily before he beckons you to sit on the bed next to him. 

“Oh god, this seems serious,” You muse, clearly trying to keep the atmosphere light as you gingerly join him. Even though the pair of you have had to engage in similarity intimate moments within the company of his parents to keep up the facade, it’s different when no one is watching the pair of you, when there’s no expectation—and somehow that makes Jungkook more nervous than ever before. 

 “It is.” He elects to momentarily play along, distracting himself by opening his laptop and rummaging around for the file he’s looking for. “This is pretty life or death.” 

Your eyes widen slightly, taking his banters under a serious context—as always, an endearing quality about you that makes the smile want to spread itself wildly across your lips. “Is it really?”

Without a warning, he pokes your cheek. “Of course not, you moron. Would I really be this casual if the situation was that serious?” 

You furrow your eyebrows, lips pressing together, cheeks feeling as if it’s been set aflame. “I don’t know!” You retort. “You can be very calm under pressure sometimes!” 

For a moment, Jungkook cannot say anything, too caught up in his small fit of laughter over your protest. “You’re so cute,” He says without thinking, immediately halting his light-hearted giggles as the smile diffuses quickly from his face as he tears his gaze from you to the computer screen once again. 

Why did he have to be like this? Why did he have to speak such words without thought, even though he’s the one who put himself in this situation and knew more than anyone that it was important to separate emotions from objectivity. His mind is reeling, unable to think of anything other than the fact that he’s always been an open book, and if you were having doubts before about his feelings before then you would certainly know by now, there’s no way you couldn’t know at this point. 

But you don’t say anything. Not at first, anyways. Then, you pout. “Since this isn’t a life or death situation, what’s going on?” 

He doesn’t know how to feel about you brushing over the previous topic, but he decides, in this moment, to be thankful for it instead. He’s not sure he can handle you confronting him right now, especially when he has something important to ask of you. 

Which reminds him… 

“Oh, right,” He says, smiling softly to himself as he opens the file of his choosing, followed by making a grab for his headphones. “Well, remember when you encouraged me to get that composing software?” 

Your pout and the tension from his previous observation fades away as you look at him, lips twisting as if you don’t know what to make of his statement quite yet. “Yeah, I do,” You reply. “Why?” The corners quirk up. “Did you get it?” 

“I may have,” He answers, smile growing bashful when you grin and start clapping your hands together softly. “And I used it to record a cover.” 

“Jungkook!” You exclaim. “That’s so awesome.” 

He swallows thickly, looking down, looking over at you. “Would you like to listen to it?” 

“Of course,” You reply, taking the headphones that Jungkook offers to you. You have to move closer to him to avoid stretching the cord out too far, which immediately allows him to feel your body heat. He barely manages to talk himself out of tensing at the gesture, but you don’t seem to notice as you seem too fixated on readjusting the headphones so they are snug against your ears. “I’m ready,” You say, a little louder than necessary, but that only makes Jungkook exhale quietly through his nose in the form of laughter before he’s hunching over and clicking the play button on the program. 

At first, there is only silence, before some of the music from his cover start blasting out from beyond the headphones, meaning that you have turned the volume up incredibly high to hear every single detail he’s put into the track. Every breath, every curve and inclination of his voice, every key from the piano or every move of a string. He watches with bated breath as you listen with bated breath. 

He takes in the furrow of eyebrows that you’ve developed to signal the level of concentration you’ve put into making sure that you could really listen to his song. He takes in the way your lips have curled up into the softest of smiles at the sound of his voice, and he can feel his previous nerves disappearing at the sight of you enjoying yourself so much. 

He sees the fondness touching along your features, and can’t help but wonder how much different things would be in his life had you not decided to accept his plea for a fake girlfriend, had you not decided to indulge within your curious state of mind for him, had you not grown determined to dig through the realms of his past and his interests. Maybe he wouldn’t be feeling this way about you, but maybe certain passions would never have been uncovered, maybe his life would never have been the same. 

You start lightly humming to the track of his song, your voice barely above a whisper, something you probably don’t even realize you’re doing, but he sees it, and he feels it—his heart swelling, his eyes fixated across your features. You care so much, you care so deeply and so powerfully and you genuinely want to help Jungkook out in any way that you possibly can. You’re his friend, but you’re more than that. On the days his parents drop by into the city, you’re the one by his side, you’re the one running your hands through his hair, the one gazing into his eyes, and even though nothing about your relationship is real—it feels real and hopeful and influential. There’s no real title, but real feelings that are like warmth rushing through his body, his mind, lighting all the nerves from the tip of his toes to the top of his head. 

“I think I’m in love with you,” He says, barely above a whisper, watching the way you watch his work, his passion, his dreams come to live through the wire. He pauses. “And I’m terrified.” 

You don’t hear him over the ringing of his own voice in your ears, but you see the movement of his mouth out of the corner of your eyes. You turn towards him, lifting one side of the headphones up to address him. “Did you say something?” 

He straightens slightly, watching the same way you’re watching him, your eyes big and wide and curious and his own holding the truth neither of you were ready to face yet. 

That fear keeps him grounded, keeps him from saying too much, keeps him from spilling the truth of his feelings down across the bed on this Thursday evening. You expected just a typical friendly favor, not a confession. It doesn’t feel right, it feels far from such, and he would never want to lay anything emotional upon you just for his sake. 

So his lips remain shut, hoping that there will be a moment, and hoping that it will be alright. 

“No, I didn’t.” 

[hongism]

Hyello, okay so. I don't have the emotional energy to take in and discuss everything in that chapter so imma just gush over the info cause I am a ✨whore✨ for world building.

So obviously MOC SPOILER

hi bestie HELLO guess WHO!!! finally ANSWering!!! altho im gonna answer separately and space everything out all Neatly bc im all over the place so strap IN we’re going on an moc RIDE!

THERE'S A WHOLE SIREN COMMUNITY?! AND YN AND IT MUST BE WOOYOUNG WERE FRIENDS? SIRENS HAVE A FULLY FLEDGE COMMUNITY WITH PRIESTS AND SCHOOLS AND MULTUOLE CITIES TO SOME EXTEND??? MAYBE EVEN AN ENTIRE PLANET WITH SIRENS MAYBE THEIR ORIGIN PLANET? HOW MANY TYPES OF SIRENS ARE THERE AND IN THE COMMUNITY HOW DTRICT ARE THE DIFFERENT ROLES?!?! ALSO DOES THE SIREN COMMUNITY ALLOW FOR DIFFERENT TYPES OF SIRENS TO BE TOGETHER? OBVIOUSLY THEY SHOULD BUT ARE THE CHILDREN THEN HYBRID TYPES, LIKE WHEN WE GET BLUED DARK SKIND BABIES OR CAN A SKREN ONLY BE ONE TYPE. WHAT POWERS DO SIRENS HAVE AND DOES THE POWERS REFLECT THEIR PERSONALITY AND DO THE DIFFERENT TYOES LEAN TOWARDS CERTAIN JOBS. LIKE WE JUST LESRNED THE OCEAN GOTTA BE PRIESTS BUT MOON ISNT STRICT WHAT ABOUT FIRE. AND IS YN INSTIC TO PULL OUT A HEART CAUDE HER PERSONALITT, TRSUMA OR IS IT RELATED TO THE MOON. ALSO CAUSE ITS A RED MOON WHICH IS COMMONLY A BLOOD MOON, IS YN THEN A SPECIAL MOON SIREN AND THATS WHY HER POWERS ARE STEONGER OR HER INSTICTS TO USE THEM ARE STORNGER BUT THEN THE MILITARY FUCKED HER UP. AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

now this is the thing im biting my tongue on SO HARD bc it’s my favorite aspect of the world building and the universe and everything involved in it bUTIHDFKJG THERS SO MUCH I WANNA SAYYYYYYYYYY in short that one dream sequence holds more hints and information than ANYTHING from previous chapters, i think that it’s probably the MOST IMPORTANT dream to date. while we’ve seen some crazy ones in the past, this one is both the biggest hint and the biggest window into y/n’s past by FARRRR. even tho that whole scene was dialogue i think there’s so much to pick up on from it and so much to see and learn from it and it’s one of my faves bc there’s so much to unpack from it !!

Like yes the story and the development is freaking ✨yes✨ I love it. Genuinely think moc should be released as books. But I just cannot deal with the emotions rn.

But also now all I'm going to be thinking about how many sirens are actually out there. And if yn knew her parents and wasn't just an orphan the military found in the streets... How the fuck did she end up in the military grasps. What happened to her parents what happened to the community, is it still out there? Guess I gotta go back and reread the galaxies and the backstories, obviously I must have missed or have forgotten something. Ugh how the puzzle pieces are puzzling (or something). Moc is a drug and I'm not going sober anytime soon

(obviously you don't have to respond to my questions, this is more just an insight into the spiralling of theories going on in my mind)

releasing moc as books? a dream and a half, i can say that much slkjdlgkjlkf but back to the sirens... how many are out there? we heard early on that hongjoong was looking for ‘the last five’ but then seonghwa debunked that and said that was a mistranslation over time that was passed down and such, but beyond that, we don’t really know much about sirens as a whole? there are some hints in the galaxies and planet descriptions but if that dream sequence is a puzzle, i would say we have a handful of pieces that can be put into place based on what we’ve learned so far!!!!

Okay I lied, I am ready to unpack a little of the ✨emotions✨

When hongjoong explained that hwa tried to stop San only for San to detain him and in a sense make him watch the scene unfold. And then realising hwa had to go through that again, only being even more helpless. I don't doubt hwa loves San, but to see the events happening again, with someone he clearly loves as much as he does yn even if he also loves joong, and to see the desperation and determination must have been just. Horrible. Just absolutely soul breaking horrible. I can imagine him vowing to himself after San that he would never let something like that happen again. That of any of the crew got out of control like that, that he would fight harder to stop them. That he would would do absolutely everything in his power to stop it. And then being helpless as he watched yn do it. Just pure heart wrenching pain. And it must have been beyond terrifying to see someone you love ready and determined to kill themselves partly from rage and partly from desperation. With the backstory, that scene becomes almost as cruel as the warehouse scene with San. The only redeeming quality is no one needing life saving surgery in a time crunch, otherwise they would be the same level of ✨never again✨

honestly i think the two crew members i torture the most are san and hwa bc i just keep putting them thru all this shit and hurting them so much but really this was the defining point of why seonghwa was so afraid. before we kinda just knew he was afraid of yn and hongjoong was mad about it. in this revelation we get to see the source of the trauma and how it was amplified by it being someone he loves as dearly as he loves yn. and for sure when first reading that scene of yn and jisung in the brig, it’s meant to evoke a sense of anger and rage like yn is so angry to a point where she would do this sort of thing, but my hope with that scene was also to show that desperation. that when looking back at it after having already seen the rage and the aftermath, that reading it again shows how desperate and hopeless she was in that moment. which is exactly the same emotion that was evoked back in that warehouse scene with san, except it was relayed differently because the warehouse was a more immediate sense of desperation. this brig scene was meant to emulate that but in a slow burn kinda way where the veil of realization is pulled off after the fact and not in the moment!!!

Just to make sure you don't misunderstand. Those asks were compliments. You are an absolutely incredible writer. And the fact that you aren’t afraid of hurting your characters *cough cough* SHOOTING SAN?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!??!?!?!!!?!?!?!?!??!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!? *CLEARS THROAT AGRESSIVELY* just makes the story much better. No one gets plot armour, making it more realistic (?) and really draws in the writer and sorta imitates the fear and desperation the characters feel

PLS don’t worry, i live for every moment and i live for these open and raw and genuine conversations i didn’t take any as an insult i PROMISE!! i think part of the nature of this whole trope of space pirates and criminals is that hter is no guarantee of safety! i don’t wanna have to cut corners to make sure everyone stays unharmed and undamaged throughout the story when the nature of the world i’ve built thus far is a wildly dangerous one!!! i always say that i try to be as realistic as i can, all things considered, and i think that’s the biggest thing that adds to the ‘realism’ in my mind so im so happy to hear that you see it and appreciate it and enjoy it!!!

OHOHOHOHOHOH ALSO

YN GRIPPING SOMEONES HEART??? YOU WRITE THAT SO FUCKING WELL. LIKE ENIGUH DETAILS THAT WE KNOW WHATS GOING ON, BUT ALSO NOT SO MANY DETAILS SO IT GETS DETACHWD FROM THE STORY. LIKE THE LACK OF CLEAR SUPER MANY DETAILS REALLY MADE IT THAT *YOU ARE EXPERIENCING THIS, NOT JUST READING IT* LIKE IT MADE IT WAY MORE EMOTIONAL AND OERSONAL AND THE READER REALLY GOT IMMERSED IN THE MOST HORRIBLE WAY THAT KUST MADE IT ALL RHE MORE BETTER. ALSO JOONG AFRAID????? JOONG REALISING HE GOT A FULLY FLEDGED HEART RIPPER SIREN WHO CANT CONTROL HER BODY TO MOVE THROUGH A HARMLESS DOOR BUT CAN DEFINITELY KILL IN A HEARTBEAT (OR TWO 👀) ALSO THE CONTRAST OF REMOVING RHE BLOOD COLOURED WHITE OLASTIC AND HAVING A CLEAN HAND UNDERNWATH. THE SYMBOL OF IT ALSO BEKNG A TRASH CLEANERS SUIT. LIKE SHE WASN'T SUPPOSED TO ACTUALLY USE THE TRASH PROTECTION DUIT FOR ITS INTENDED PURPOSE. ALSO THE OART WHERE SHE SAYS SHES FINE EVEN TJO SHE ISNT. AT FIRST I READ IT AS HER TELLING HERSELF TO LIE BUT THEN I REALISED ITS HER ADMITTING SHE VERY MUCH ISNT. AND SAN NOT KNOWING???? AND KISSING HER HAND AND UGH AND SEONGHWA KNOWING. I BET HE'S LOWKEY GETTING MORE AND MORE AFRAID OF HER. LIKE YN IS READY TO KILL HERSELF AND ANYONE AROUND HER TO KEEP SAN SAFE. AND SHE INSTICTUALLY GOES FOR THE MODT AGRESSIVE METHOD POSSIBLE. IHHHHHHHHHHHHH I FUCKING LOVE YOU AND YOUR WONDERFUL WTITING AND YOUR TWISTED MIND THAT CAN CREATE ALL THESE FUCKING SCENES THAT GOT ME THUNKING AND FEELING ✨EMOTIONS✨

truly one of the HIGHLIGHTS of the chapter simply bc of how shocking and sudden it is!! for me, that was one of the easiest scenes to write in the chapter, oddly enough? it was something that when it came time to write it, i knew how i wanted it to be and was able to just sit down and write it out the way its written in the final draft of the chapter. i really love playing with those aspects of fiction and storytelling. tangible to a point, without spelling it out. i think it’s obvious that i really love delayed realization in writing, but i really like playing with how the brain processes information and for me personally, i don’t pick up on things right away! i can realize them in a snap or it can take me a bit to go ‘oh god that’s what happened’, and i like playing with that in y/n’s character a LOT.

and in that same vein of thought, there are some layers to that scene as well when compared to the door scene. in the door scene we saw hongjoong clearly tell y/n ‘you need to do this to save san’ yet she wasn’t able to do it despite trying and believing hongjoong. then in the heart scene we saw y/n clearly tell herself ‘you need to do this to save san’ and she did it then. so there’s a lot at play in that parallel alone too. and with that internal monologue she has of im fine vs not fine, then san kissing the hand that touched a literal real actual beating heart for me that was a sort of self indulgent scene and i was really worried about it coming across as too cheesy or something like that, but that is something that’s gonna impact y/n as a character and her relationship with san when they have the conversation of ‘oh hey i put my hand through a man’s chest for you’

i think part of why this chapter was so difficult to construct and write as a whole definitely is because of all the undertones and nuances throughout, and in a lot of ways it’s so so much to even think about that it’s almost too much packed into one chapter alone, but even if you don’t pick up on all the nuances throughout, i’m hoping to revisit them and bring them back around in that delayed realization style again bc that’s one of my favorite things to do ofc :3

[bloody-bee-tea]

A bunny’s kiss

Asadbatman over on Twitter commissioned me for some Xicheng where everyone still has some animal traits and Jiang Cheng gets attached to a very cute, floppy eared rabbit with a very peculiar silver spot right on its forehead😏I hope you enjoy it <3 It’s almost 5k, so you can read it here on AO3 too. It’s inspired by this art for the audio drama.

Jiang Cheng does not want to watch Wei Wuxian being punished yet again, so instead of keeping him secretly entertained while Wei Wuxian has to kneel, Jiang Cheng roams the Cloud Recesses.

He just hopes to get far enough away so that his sensitive hearing won’t pick up Wei Wuxian’s muttering anymore, and so when Jiang Cheng finds a way that clearly leads somewhat outside of the Cloud Recesses, he immediately takes his chance and follows it.

To say that he is surprised to end up in a clearing populated with rabbits would be an understatement.

Jiang Cheng stops dead in his tracks, his tail and ears twitching with a hunting instinct that should have long vanished, but he relaxes when he lets out a deep breath.

They are no longer animals—can’t even change their forms anymore—Jiang Cheng reminds himself, and the immediate urge to chase after the helpless fluffy animals vanishes.

It’s a relief, if Jiang Cheng is being honest, because he would much rather cuddle them than eat them.

So he slowly makes his way into the clearing, careful not to scare the animals or step on them, and once he reached the middle, he simply flops down.

It doesn’t take long before a few of the fluffy animals come closer; they are clearly still wary and they jerk with every swish of his tail, but a few brave ones come close enough to sniff at his clothes.

“Hello, tiny ones,” Jiang Cheng mutters, and he can’t help a small smile when he realizes that they must be used to human voices since they don’t seem particularly startled.

“So much for not keeping pets, huh?” Jiang Cheng whispers and carefully reaches out to stroke a finger over one particularly brave rabbit.

He’s so concentrated on this rabbit that he doesn’t even notice one approaching from behind. It’s only when it flops down over his tail, that Jiang Cheng turns to look at it.

The rabbit has floppy ears like many of its brethren, but there’s a silver spot on it’s head that none of the others have.

“You’re a brave one, huh?” Jiang Cheng asks it and reaches out to stroke the displayed belly.

He expected the rabbit to get up and bolt away at the contact, but it flops over even more, still firmly draped over Jiang Cheng’s tail and Jiang Cheng has to smile at that.

While no one can change into their animal form anymore, they do still keep some remnants of the animals which traits they still have. Jiang Cheng should still smell like a predator to these harmless little animals, and his reflexes are also faster than a human’s but this rabbit doesn’t seem to mind that at all.

“Is that a comfortable pillow?” Jiang Cheng asks when the rabbit continues to roll around on Jiang Cheng’s tail and it almost seems like the rabbit nods at him.

Which is ridiculous, because how could an animal ever understand him, and Jiang Cheng scoffs at his own ridiculous thoughts.

“At least you’re not bound to get into trouble that would see you punished,” Jiang Cheng mutters as he continues to stroke the rabbit. “Unlike a certain brother of mine.”

The rabbits ears twitch, despite them hanging down to the floor and Jiang Cheng has to chuckle at the silly sight it makes.

“You would never do anything as stupid as he, right?” Jiang Cheng asks it and watches as the rabbit squirms around, still firmly laying on Jiang Cheng’s tail.

“What are you even doing?” Jiang Cheng whispers, but he smiles softly when the rabbit snuggles into his hand. “Do you not get enough snuggles?” Jiang Cheng wants to know and he only feels slightly embarrassed, talking to a rabbit like it can answer him.

Jiang Cheng is just about to scold himself and get up to go back to Wei Wuxian—and his father who by now should have arrived—when the rabbit gets up and climbs into Jiang Cheng’s lap.

“You really don’t get enough snuggles, huh?” Jiang Cheng asks as the rabbit squirms around until it finds a position that seems comfortable to it, and completely strange to Jiang Cheng, and then it evidentially goes to sleep.

“Guess I’m staying then,” Jiang Cheng softly says as he puts one hand on top of the small body, and he can’t even pretend that he’s too sad about it.

He carefully strokes the bunny, moving again and again to touch the silver spot on it’s forehead and the rabbit stays exactly where it is, clearly content with the world.

“I wish I could get comfortable like that as well,” Jiang Cheng mutters, still looking down at the rabbit. “But my dad is here, and he’ll find no fault in Wei Wuxian’s behaviour and a lot of it in mine, especially if I don’t go back soon.”

Jiang Cheng waits a moment, feeling incredibly stupid when he realizes he expects the rabbit to get up and move away on its own, and then he carefully scoops the rabbit up.

“I have to leave now, little one, or my dad will be mad,” he tells it, and briefly touches their noses together.

It really is too cute, its little nose twitching, but clearly not alarmed even as its suspended in the air like this.

“What a strange fellow you are,” Jiang Cheng mutters and then watches fondly as the rabbit hops away when he sets it down, his ears flopping with every hop it takes.

It really is too cute, Jiang Cheng thinks, and he wishes he wouldn’t have to leave it behind.

~*~*~

Jiang Cheng doesn’t know what he’s doing. It’s been years since he last stepped foot into the Cloud Recesses—sometimes it feels like it was a life-time ago and he certainly was a completely different person back then—so he doesn’t know what he’s hoping to find.

The rabbit he still remembers very fondly will surely no longer be there, Jiang Cheng tells himself, but when Jin Ling squirms in his arms, he figures it doesn’t matter.

Some rabbits are bound to still be in the Cloud Recesses and Jin Ling has been having a rough day. He could do with some fluffy creatures he can pet with Jiang Cheng’s supervision.

Jiang Cheng might be in need of some fuzzy comfort himself, because Jin Ling had several meltdowns during the conference they are attending and while Jiang Cheng would never blame his nephew for that—he wishes he could break down every now and then too but he’s no longer four—it’s been hard on him, too.

Especially when everyone is watching his every step.

Jiang Cheng sighs when the clearing with the rabbits comes into sight, his tail swishing behind him in anticipation and Jin Ling perks up when he sees the little animals.

“No hunting,” Jiang Cheng gently reminds him, because Jin Ling still has strong animal instincts, and despite the rebuttal his tail starts wagging as his ears move around.

“No hunting,” Jin Ling still dutifully repeats and Jiang Cheng sinks down to the floor with Jin Ling still in his arms.

“Jiujiu,” Jin Ling complaints soon enough, squirming even more, but Jiang Cheng keeps his grip on him.

“They are small and easily scared,” he tells Jin Ling. “If you grab them too hard you could hurt them.”

“I’ll be careful,” Jin Ling promises, but he still seems too exited for Jiang Cheng’s peace of mind.

Still, he reluctantly lets go of the squirming boy in his arms and Jin Ling climbs off his lap. He starts running as soon as his little feet hit the ground, but he abruptly stops when he sees how the rabbits race away from him.

“Jiujiu,” Jin Ling whines and Jiang Cheng sighs.

“A-Ling, I told you they are easily scared. Look, I’m sitting peacefully and they are coming to me all on their own,” he tells Jin Ling, pointing to the few curious rabbits around him.

Jin Ling’s eyes go wide when Jiang Cheng even reaches out to pet one of them, and he immediately plops himself down into the grass.

Jiang Cheng presses his lips together so he doesn’t start laughing—there are only few things Jin Ling hates more than being laughed at after all—and he turns his concentration back to the rabbits.

He can’t help but to look for the floppy eared one with the silver spot, but of course it’s no longer around. Jiang Cheng doesn’t know how old rabbits can get, but with the burning of the Cloud Recesses, Jiang Cheng doesn’t have much hope that it’s still around.

Jiang Cheng sees a few with floppy ears, but none of them have the silver spot on their foreheads and he can’t help the soft sigh he lets out at that.

It’s stupid anyway, getting attached to a single rabbit, and so he pets the ones that are still around extra carefully, all the while keeping an eye on Jin Ling. He seems to have calmed down for real, crawling after the rabbits but backing off when they hop away in fear and there are a few curious ones around him as well.

“Oh,” Jin Ling suddenly breathes out and Jiang Cheng’s attention immediately snaps to him.

One of the rabbits seems especially daring, because Jiang Cheng can only see it’s butt from where it hopped onto Jin Ling’s lap and Jiang Cheng smiles at the excitement he sees in Jin Ling’s face.

Seems like all the meltdowns are already forgotten.

“Be careful with it,” he reminds Jin Ling despite how carefully Jin Ling is stroking it and Jin Ling beams when he turns around to him.

“They are so fluffy,” Jin Ling tells him and then simply scoops the rabbit into his arms.

Jiang Cheng is just about to reprimand him for it, but then he realizes that the rabbit is not struggling at all, and so he swallows the words back.

“Look at it,” Jin Ling says once he toddled over to Jiang Cheng and he pushes the rabbit into Jiang Cheng’s face. “I named it Spot!”

Jiang Cheng jerks back—not overly fond of a mouth full of rabbit fur—but his curiosity is peaked at that name, and there’s a tiny spark of hope in his heart, despite knowing how impossible it should be.

But when he leans even further back so that he can take a good look at the rabbit in Jin Ling’s hands, he realizes that it is his rabbit.

“Oh, there you are,” he whispers and carefully takes it out of Jin Ling’s hands.

The rabbit doesn’t seem to mind at all; quite the opposite actually since the rabbit takes the opportunity to put its little paws on Jiang Cheng’s shoulder and touch their noses together.

“You remember me, huh?” Jiang Cheng mutters, even though he feels stupid just saying it.

It’s just a rabbit. How could it ever remember Jiang Cheng.

“Do you know it?” Jin Ling suddenly asks him, as he climbs back into Jiang Cheng’s lap and Jiang Cheng smiles at him as he carefully puts the rabbit into Jin Ling’s lap, though he keeps a hand on it.

“I have met it during my studies here,” Jiang Cheng tells Jin Ling and rubs one of the floppy ears between his fingers. “I thought it was too old to still be around.”

“It won’t leave,” Jin Ling says with conviction and Jiang Cheng does not have the heart to tell him that everyone will leave eventually.

The rabbit is still around for now; no need to upset Jin Ling over something he might never have to experience.

“Spot will stay,” Jin Ling says and puts a little finger to the silver spot on the rabbit’s forehead.

“It seems like it,” Jiang Cheng agrees despite everything, and he couldn’t stop stroking the rabbit even if he wanted to.

He didn’t even realize that he missed the little thing that much.

“It likes us, jiujiu,” Jin Ling whispers as he leans further into Jiang Cheng, the rabbit still calmly in his lap and Jiang Cheng has to agree.

“It does,” Jiang Cheng agrees and when he wraps his tail around Jin Ling to keep him close, the rabbit immediately puts his head on the tip of it. “Still going for the tail, huh?” Jiang Cheng asks, absolutely amused that the rabbit seems to like his tail so much, and he wraps it tighter around Jin Ling, so the rabbit can rest its head more comfortably.

Jiang Cheng gets back to the conference long after the break is over, but when Lan Xichen shows up even later than him, no one dares to say anything.

~*~*~

Jiang Cheng doesn’t know why he keeps coming back to the rabbit field, wishing to see the rabbit with the spot on its head, but whenever he has to visit the Cloud Recesses for Sect business he finds his way there.

Every time he walks down the by now so familiar path, he tells himself that he shouldn’t get his hopes up—surely Spot has to die at one point after all—but he can never stop the twitch of worry when he can’t find Spot at first glance.

And every time it does hop up to him, he breathes just a little bit easier.

Jin Ling is fourteen now and spends more time learning how to eventually take over his Sect, and by all logic Spot should no longer be around, but it meets Jiang Cheng every time he stops by.

“There you are,” Jiang Cheng whispers when Spot hops towards him yet again, its long ears flopping like they usually do, and Jiang Cheng can’t deny that he immediately feels calmer.

It almost feels like Spot is sort of his confidante by now, because at least with it Jiang Cheng doesn’t have to watch his words. He can unload all of his worries and anger here and no one will judge him for it, least of all Spot.

“Have you missed me, little one?” Jiang Cheng asks when Spot lightly smacks his head into his ankle and Jiang Cheng immediately sits down, bringing his tail into his lap.

Predictably,  Spot climbs into his lap, settling himself down right over Jiang Cheng’s tail and it makes Jiang Cheng feel much more grounded than it has any right to.

Sometimes he feels like he’s just floating away with all his responsibilities and anger, but Spot never fails to bring him back down to earth.

“How old are you by now? Are you going to leave me soon?” Jiang Cheng asks as he strokes the silver spot on its forehead, and just like every time he asks this questions, Spot nips his fingertip.

“I know I shouldn’t ask that,” Jiang Cheng complains and flicks one of the long ears. “But I’m worried I’ll show up one day and you won’t be here anymore,” he admits. “You’re my only friend. What am I supposed to do without you?” he lowly asks it, and Jiang Cheng gets all choked up.

He cannot believe that a rabbit is his only friend. What a sad life he has been living.

Spot seems to notice Jiang Cheng’s mood drop and it immediately flops over onto its back, presenting its soft and pettable belly to him.

“You’re so spoiled,” Jiang Cheng tells it, but he does obediently start to stroke the offered belly. He doubts he ever could do anything else.

“I’m sorry I didn’t bring Jin Ling around,” Jiang Cheng says after a while. “But he hasn’t been around all that much lately.”

Spot’s nose twitches at that, and it squirms around until it’s on its feet again.

“Are you going to leave now, too?” Jiang Cheng asks and the thought makes him sadder than he expected.

But instead of leaving Jiang Cheng’s lap and going back to its brethren, Spot raises up on its hindlegs, until it can put its front paws on Jiang Cheng’s shoulders.

“Ah, right, sorry,” Jiang Cheng chuckles, and he leans down so that he can touch his nose to Spot’s.

It has become kind of their ritual and knowing that Spot misses it when Jiang Cheng forgets about it fills him with so much warmth he could drown in it.

Once that is done, Spot settles back into Jiang Cheng’s lap, clearly content to be petted the rest of the afternoon, and Jiang Cheng is definitely not strong enough to tell it to go away.

The sunset is really pretty from here, anyway.

~*~*~

Jiang Cheng is reaching for Lan Xichen’s letter again.

It’s been almost a year since Lan Xichen went into seclusion; almost a year since he and Jiang Cheng somehow started to exchange letters almost weekly, and Jiang Cheng can still barely believe that Lan Xichen would invite him for tea. He still remembers how painfully surprised he was when Lan Xichen had reached out to him, when he had started the weekly conversation, even as he told Jiang Cheng all about his seclusion.

He did recently mention that he wanted to loosen his seclusion, wanted to meet family and friends again, even though he still doesn’t want to take up his duties as Sect Leader again yet, and Jiang Cheng had been painfully surprised when Lan Xichen had included him in the friend section.

‘If it would be agreeable with you, it would be my pleasure to invite you to tea,’ the letter says, the ink almost faded with how often he has moved his fingers over the words.

And even now, on the stairs up to the Cloud Recesses Jiang Cheng is reading the words again. And like the dozen times before, they haven’t changed.

They still invite Jiang Cheng over for tea.

Lan Xichen must have announced him, too, because the disciples guarding the entrance bow to him without comment, leaving him through without even asking what his business is in the Cloud Recesses and Jiang Cheng hurries along the way.

He knows the way to the Hanshi—has read the description almost as often as he has read over the invitation—but when his feet take him by a painfully familiar path, Jiang Cheng slows down.

Surely there is enough time for a quick detour to see Spot.

Because despite how many years have passed since that first time he met the rabbit, Spot is still around and kicking.

Or rather flopping, since it seems to be doing that a lot around Jiang Cheng.

Before Jiang Cheng can make a conscious decision, his feet already started moving, taking him down the well-worn path and it’s not long before Jiang Cheng steps into the clearing.

The rabbits seem to multiply every time he stops by, and Jiang Cheng is still so damn curious to know how Lan Qiren reacts to these pets inside the Cloud Recesses.

Jiang Cheng sits down in the middle of the clearing, looking around to search for Spot, but no floppy eared, silver spotted rabbit is coming forth.

Jiang Cheng forces himself to be calm and to take even breaths, but it never takes Spot this long to come to him.

“Spot?” he calls out, startling a few of the grazing rabbits, but still, no rabbit comes hopping towards him.

Jiang Cheng gets up again, bend down to check every rabbit with floppy ears, but he can’t find Spot and his heart starts to race in his chest.

It couldn’t have died, right? It has been around for so long, it surely couldn’t just have died, Jiang Cheng refuses to believe it.

But when the minutes tick by without a single sign of Spot, Jiang Cheng has to accept that it’s very likely that it did eventually succumb to its old age.

“Goddamit,” Jiang Cheng mutters, scrubbing a hand over his face and he hates how his voice shakes.

Of course it would have to die eventually, Jiang Cheng was stupid to get this attached to it anyway. He knew this was coming.

“I will miss you,” he still whispers, letting his gaze wander around the clearing one last time, still hoping against hope that Spot will miraculously show up, but when nothing happens, Jiang Cheng forces himself to turn away.

He guesses this will be the last time he comes to this clearing; it will not be the same without his favourite rabbit after all.

Jiang Cheng takes a few deep breaths as he walks towards the Hanshi, hoping that he appears more composed than he actually feels, but when Lan Xichen opens the door and immediately frowns at him, Jiang Cheng knows it was a futile wish.

“What’s wrong?” Lan Xichen immediately asks him and Jiang Cheng scoffs, trying to overplay how sad he is.

“Nothing,” he roughly gives back, but Lan Xichen clearly doesn’t believe him.

“I know we haven’t talked much face to face, but I still know when you’re lying,” Lan Xichen says, and Jiang Cheng sighs.

He’s right, too; even over letter Lan Xichen has the annoying knack to realize when Jiang Cheng is not telling him the truth. The last person who understood him that well has been Jiang Yanli, and Jiang Cheng doesn’t actually know how he feels about this.

“Nothing is wrong,” Jiang Cheng still shoots back, avoiding Lan Xichen’s eyes, and he wishes he had just looked at him when his gaze falls onto Lan Xichen’s floppy ears.

“But you are upset,” Lan Xichen immediately says and guides Jiang Cheng inside to the table where tea is already waiting for them.

“It doesn’t matter,” Jiang Cheng says, busying himself with the already filled cup, but he can still feel Lan Xichen’s gaze on him.

“It does to me,” Lan Xichen quietly says. “Are we not friends?” he asks and Jiang Cheng’s heart stumbles a little in his chest.

“I should ask you that,” he gives back, and just stops himself from reaching for the letter again. “You invited me, even though you’re only opening your seclusion for family and friends.”

Jiang Cheng very deliberately does not look at Lan Xichen as he says it because he’s not sure what he wants Lan Xichen to say to that.

Jiang Cheng has wanted to get closer to Lan Xichen for years now but resigned himself to their business relationship and he is more nervous than he would like to admit right now.

“Of course we are friends,” Lan Xichen immediately gives back, and he sounds so confused that Jiang Cheng would even question this, that he simply has to look at him.

“Oh,” Jiang Cheng breathes out and then quickly takes a sip from his cup.

“So won’t you tell me what’s wrong?” Lan Xichen carefully asks again and Jiang Cheng sighs.

What’s a little truth between friends, right?

“I went to the rabbit field before coming here,” Jiang Cheng admits and forces a smile on his face. “There’s a special rabbit I come to see every time,” he goes on, but then he doesn’t actually know how to finish.

When Lan Xichen doesn’t say anything to his admission, Jiang Cheng forces himself to look at Lan Xichen again. He’s more than surprised to see that Lan Xichen is blushing, all the way down to his floppy rabbit ears, and Jiang Cheng frowns at him.

“What?” he bites out, embarrassed about his admission and it seems to startle Lan Xichen out of his surprise.

“I—,” Lan Xichen starts, but his voice breaks and he has to start over. “I didn’t think you’d go there first.”

“And what does it matter?” Jiang Cheng gruffly says, reaching for the tea pot but Lan Xichen stills his movement with a hand to Jiang Cheng’s.

“I would have been there if I had known,” Lan Xichen whispers and Jiang Cheng frowns at him.

“What the hell are you talking about? I have never once seen you there.”

“Yeah, about that,” Lan Xichen says with a trembling voice and Jiang Cheng feels more confused than ever when Lan Xichen gets up.

Jiang Cheng sits frozen as Lan Xichen moves around the table, until he sinks to his knees right besides Jiang Cheng but he does lean a little bit away when Lan Xichen leans in.

“Would you just—,” Lan Xichen breathes out and stops Jiang Cheng with a hand to his shoulder.

Jiang Cheng is just about to snap at him, when Lan Xichen leans in and touches their noses together, effectively freezing Jiang Cheng in his movement.

“Spot?” he breathes out once his brain kicks back in and Lan Xichen blushes again.

“I meant to tell you,” Lan Xichen says with an embarrassed chuckle and Jiang Cheng is so stunned he can only gape at Lan Xichen.

“Jiang Cheng?” Lan Xichen carefully asks when the silence drags on, but Jiang Cheng is busy going through all his interactions with Spot, and he can feel his face burn when he remembers all the embarrassing things he told the rabbit.

“You’re kidding me, right?” Jiang Cheng demands to know but he knows Lan Xichen is not when he gives him an apologetic smile.

“It’s a secret,” Lan Xichen starts with. “But the Lans preserved the ability to change into their animal form,” Lan Xichen explains and Jiang Cheng blinks at him.

“You can change into your animal form,” he repeats and Lan Xichen lets out a sigh.

“Please don’t freak out,” Lan Xichen whispers, just as his form starts to ripple and between one blink and the next Lan Xichen vanishes and Spot appears.

The rabbit blinks up to Jiang Cheng, who is still numbly staring at it, but he startles when the rabbit—when Lan Xichen—climbs into his lap to brush their noses together again.

“Spot,” Jiang Cheng breathes out and his hand comes up on reflex, cupping the fragile body in his palm. “Fuck, Lan Xichen!”

Spot—Lan Xichen—hops back at that, and quickly changes into his human form again.

“I really did mean to tell you,” is the first thing Lan Xichen says and Jiang Cheng can still do nothing but stare at him, his heart hammering away in his chest.

“You let me touch your spot,” is the first thing out of Jiang Cheng’s mouth and when Lan Xichen’s hand reflexively goes to the cloud motive on his forehead ribbon, Jiang Cheng’s fear is confirmed.

“I did,” Lan Xichen admits and Jiang Cheng’s heart stumbles when the whole meaning of that comes crashing into him.

“No one is allowed to touch your forehead ribbon!”

“Except family and spouses,” Lan Xichen says, blush spreading out again. “And I mean, what we did is basically the equivalent of a bunny kiss,” Lan Xichen then soldiers on, and now it’s Jiang Cheng’s turn to blush.

“And you just let me!”

“Because I wanted you to,” Lan Xichen tells him and catches Jiang Cheng off guard with that. “You really think I would have done that again and again, if I didn’t want you to?”

“Oh,” Jiang Cheng breathes out and the full meaning of this crashes into him. “Oh,” he repeats, much more breathless this time and Lan Xichen shrugs.

“I hope I didn’t make you uncomfortable,” Lan Xichen says, clearly forcing himself to, and Jiang Cheng reaches out for his hand.

“It’s a bunny kiss,” he says and tugs Lan Xichen carefully closer. “What about a human kiss?” Jiang Cheng then dares to ask, and watches in delight as Lan Xichen’s eyes go big.

“I guess that would be acceptable,” Lan Xichen softly says, a smile already forming on his face and he boldly leans in to claim his human kiss.

Jiang Cheng presses against him, giving back exactly as much as Lan Xichen is giving him, and even when they stop kissing, they don’t part completely, instead resting their foreheads together.

“Which one do you like better?” Lan Xichen then asks him, brushing his lips against the corner of Jiang Cheng’s mouth, and Jiang Cheng can’t help his own smile.

“I don’t know yet. I have years of rabbit kisses. I guess you’ll have to work hard to make up for all the missed human kisses,” he tells Lan Xichen, who immediately presses another kiss to his lips.

“What a hardship,” he whispers, right before he dives in again, and Jiang Cheng finds it’s very hard to kiss someone while he’s smiling.

Not that it’s stopping Lan Xichen at all, and Jiang Cheng definitely doesn’t mind. He can’t wait to make up for all the rabbit kisses.

Now with a soft and fluffy sequel

{Buy me a kofi}