#And it’s like. Incredibly soft

[beloved-child-of-the-house]

I got a new tattoo 🌞

[vaguely-concerned]

thinking about not only the specific people lucanis pulls in to represent the 'locks' in his psyche, but the storytelling that happens in the structure/order of them. the underlying ideas are presented something like:

the lucanis who went into the ossuary never came back out again; he died down there (the boy caterina raised is gone forever) -> you're putting yourself in danger doing this (by being close to me), you should leave because I can't bear it if you get hurt because of me -> it doesn't matter even if we do try this, it won't work anyway (again because of me) ('you know what he's like, you can open the door but he won't walk through it' :'( oofie doofie) -> what if the real secret is that there was never anything but the monster in here from the beginning. you should leave, there was never anything here worth saving in the first place. (implicitly: what if I deserved what happened, all along.)

it runs pretty cleanly from outward-oriented attachment anxiety ('caterina won't even want me back like this, she won't recognize me (the same way I no longer recognize myself)) and gradually deeper inwards until we reach self-image and self worth. or you know, the harrowing basic lack of it lol.

"careful -- they'll know we're not right," spite says in one of their first scenes... but clearly, some very deep part of lucanis has feared or suspected for much longer than that that there's something inherently not right at the core of him, way before any demon entered the picture. and the voice he gives those lines to is the person who should know him better than anyone in the world, who he has loved more than anyone in the world -- and who deliberately chose to hurt him so horrifically anyway. 'It's better if I'm just a monster and deserved what happened than it is to allow for the idea that the brother I love doesn't really exist and maybe never did'. it's better if he's fundamentally flawed in some way that needed fixing to help him survive, and that's why caterina chose to hurt him again and again -- out of love. (this one I think he might have a very sad wakeup call on one day if he ever ends up with the responsibility and care of a child of his own in some way and realizes just how alien the idea of ever intentionally hurting them for any reason is to him. oh buddy. also interesting that he keeps caterina as the outermost lock -- there IS a distance he keeps there that he hasn't with illario. he doesn't resent her 'anymore' he says, but he also keeps her carefully further away from his deepest self.)

as far as I could tell the only note in the mind prison that's fully hidden and needs to be uncovered is the sad painful helpless stupid little truth that even after all this, even knowing what happened... he still loves his brother. is there anything illario could ever do that would make lucanis completely stop loving him, do you think? sometimes the trouble with unconditional love is that it is, well. unconditional, even when some terms and conditions probably would have been in order haha.

that's the pattern you see there again and again; he would rather destroy and abandon and imprison himself at every turn than let go of love, even when it's just scraps, even when there's only ever enough of it to hurt him. it's only when rook shows up and as it were takes his hand and walks along with him that he can entertain the idea of changing the story of what walking out the door might mean in the end.

[egophiliac]

(breathing into a paper bag) FRALIO....

can't believe they gave us another guy. oh my god. so I guess Kelka is more, uhhh, more OOO then, and Fralio is Ankh? not that it matters too much, although they do seem to be doing something with the connected Riders so. who knows. anything goes! or if I may, anything gOOOes! god. of course they're the Ambition parallel. of course they are. oh my god.

fortunately there's nothing else they can throw at me right now that could possibly --

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

[yourlocalgremlin96024]

POV: You’re Howdy

+ Bonus doodle and alt versions under cut!

Bonus Doodle!

Alt versions! (Just the image without post and one without the URL and PFP)

[fairsweetlonging]

thinking about crowyuan saving liu qingge from his qi deviation and disappearing before he can fully wake up so he won't be recognized (him being a demon and all), but it causes liu qingge to accidentally mistake him for shen qingqiu.

there is a massive fight during the next peak lord meeting, with liu qingge accusing shen qingqiu of saving his life and not taking responsibility for it as if it's a war crime, while shen qingqiu keeps denying he had anything to do with it and if he had saved liu qingge, he'd be rubbing it in his face every chance he got.

it escalates and escalates until liu qingge, red with embarrassment and anger, points at shen qingqiu and says "you were cradling me in your arms!" and shen qingqiu explodes.

mu qingfang tries to calm them down by saying that perhaps liu qingge hallucinated, which is not uncommon for a qi deviation, but that sets off some of the other peak lords who now start teasing him for "dreaming of shen qingqiu coming to rescue him", and of course that only makes it worse.

liu qingge refuses to let it go and starts bringing shen qingqiu his victories to try and pay off his debt, because he is an honorable man and he will not let shen qingqiu get away with this!!

meanwhile shen yuan is watching it from a distance wondering whether he made it better or worse by stepping in.

[wayfayrr]

Love like you ✧*.⚝⋆

Here's the 400 follower raffle grand prize for @wailing-whaler!! Got Sky and reader collecting rocks <3 This went a little off of the initial base, but they do definitely collect rocks together (what a geologist not going utterly obsessed with rocks? it's a miracle) But this was very fun to write!! just soft soft fluff with the soft sleepy boy himself.

[masterlist]

“I’m still sorry for dragging you into this by the way.”

“You aren’t, and you don’t need to keep apologising for something you would happily do again in a heartbeat.”

“I am - I really am, I didn’t mean to drag you here.”

“You are an awful liar.”

He drooped like a puppet cut from its strings at that, offended I bet for calling him out. Despite it being the truth, he knows as well as I do that he was bouncing from the walls when I was brought into the game, happier than I’ve ever seen anyone before in my life. And emotions are new for him, kinda. 

“No- I’m not.”

“Yes, you are.”

“Hmph.” 

“Come on, I’ve already said that I really don’t mind it, why are you still so pouty?”

“Cause I wanted to get out rather than trapping you here with me.”

Oh, that admission is new. He’s dodged the reason why he brought me here since it happened, so that makes sense more than anything… The way that he’s leaning on me is also new though, and nice despite his grumbles, which come to a halt as he snakes his arms around me and buries his head into my neck from behind with a soft sigh. 

“Look it doesn’t really matter right now, you’ve got to save zelda right? So we should really get going, gaepora asked me to help you and I really don’t want to make a bad impression.”

That got me a squeeze and a little whine, does - does he not want to save her?

“But no matter how fast I am impa is going to tell me I’m late anyway, so why does it matter… I just wanna spend time with you.”

…

How does he know that..?How does he know what will happen??? He - this is his first time going through this journey… right? But it isn’t is it, even though he’s been trying to act like it is it’s not. I’ve played through this game once already, and he can remember that. The acceptance of it is like a cold chill down my spine, Link already knows me and has been pretending that he doesn’t, half-heartedly but still pretending. Or has he? Just because he hasn’t said it outright doesn’t mean that he’s trying to hide it, maybe he just assumed I knew already. Either way, would I be bothered by him hiding it? It’s not insidious or anything, he’s just like a lovesick puppy. 

“...Love? You - are you alright? I didn’t say something wrong did I?”  

“I was just thinking… link did you know about before?”

“Before? You mean your other playthrough right?”

Well that settles that, he wasn’t trying to hide it. It was just never mentioned, no reason for it to be honest. No one on skyloft needs to know their entire life is a game which could be very easily overheard on the tiny island and sky thought that I knew he knew so why reiterate the obvious already. 

“Sure I didn’t remember completely right away but going through Faron with you here- here brought everything crashing back so quickly.”

His grip on my waist tightened for a split second before loosening, like he’s not sure if I’ll want to be held close now that he’s sharing this. It’s only made clearer by the sigh he lets out as he takes a step away from me.

“I mean I remember remembering you when I tried to get out now, it was like… like when you fell here, on skyloft that is, everything got locked away but since we met the elder kikwi, everything has come back including how felt about it all and how I fell in l-!”

“How you ‘fell in l-’, why’d you cut yourself off there link, I’d love to know what you were going to say.” 

Almost by instinct, my head turns to follow him as he’s fumbling about in his own flustered embarrassment, having said just a tiny bit more than he’d probably meant. Stopping himself mid-word so sharply you’d think he’d bit his tongue to force himself to stop, but not soon enough that I didn’t know what he meant anyway.  

I won’t lie to myself. It’s something strange to know, and honestly all of this is making way more questions than it answers. Questions that it will be pretty hard to get answers too really, for one he and I both know this is a game and yet I’m here - he’s practically a person and… and he’s said it himself. He fell in love with me. But, I don’t dislike that. I really don’t dislike that. 

“I - I fell in love with you, and how you act and all the little things you do and how you make even the smallest things seem exciting, and it’s why I wanted out so badly so that I could hold you close and tell you how much I love every part of you, from the way your hair falls, to the way you smile, how you collect things that others wouldn’t see worth in but you give them so much worth. I can’t even tell you just how much I’ve wanted to get out even if just for a second to hand you a crystal or even a cute pebble I think would bring a smile to your face - even if it meant I’d go back to being trapped in this hell afterwards.”

My face feels like it’s about to set alight, and not from being on an active volcano. He’s still rambling about what made him fall for me, and it’s only getting more and more natural, he’s getting more and more human over time. More real. As with all good things though, it has to come to an end with him looking up only to realise that he’s been going on for a good few minutes now. Ceasing up like a deer in headlights as he struggles to move his mouth again, almost reflexively licking his lips before glancing down confusedly. Better to break through the awkwardness now so that it won’t get any worse. 

“You know, I wouldn’t be against having a relationship with you…”

“- You wouldn’t - I thought that you… you’d… you’d-”

“But.”

“...b-but?”

“I think I’d like to get to know you first link.”

“Wh - What..?”

“Well, right now I haven’t spent much time with ‘you’ you, and I don’t think it’s fair for you if I’m dating you expecting to you to be exactly like the character the game had you as.”

It’s easy to tell he’s thinking about it, with the hurt but pensive look on his face from being denied something he so clearly wanted a yes to. 

“But, I think I’ve been starting to fall for you too, for who you are link. I’d like to spend some more time with you before we have anything romantic.”

He perked up at that, a lot. Which I don’t blame him for. 

“There’s plenty of time for that then, we aren’t in any rush are we?”

“But zelda-?”

“Even if we were to teleport to the end of the dungeon we’d still be too late. Why not take it slow?”

Despite his leather gauntlets his hands are still nice to hold with how he’s intertwined ours, sneaking his fingers so that they snake between mine. Pulling my hand up to rest up on his cheek, leaning into it with a gentle sigh. 

“You’ve talked about wanting rocks from Eldin to study before, how it looked like a different volcano to anything you’ve ever seen. What if we just I don't know, went off and got you as many as you could ever want of them?”

His eyes look almost pleading, begging for me just to say yes, to give him this precious time so that he can win me over to being with him romantically. And really, how could I dream of saying no? Since ending up in skyloft those few weeks ago he’s been nothing but kind, patient and caring towards me and plus even though I said I wouldn’t compare him to the character he’s come to life around, he’s still link. Still the kind-hearted hero that I fell in love with when playing the game for the very first time, who i grew to wish was real when reading comics about his journey, why shouldn’t I be a little selfish when he cares for me as much as I do for him?

“I-”

Biting down hard on his lip now, the pleading look in his eyes switching to something more akin to outright begging. Just for me to say yes. As if there were any other options available to me. 

“I think I’d love to do that with you sky, as long as you’re certain we have the time.”

No words needed to be said after that, his face lighting up like the sky at a new years celebration. I swear if you looked closely you’d be able to see the very fireworks he was initiating in his own eyes. All the while his face was graced with the softest grin I could have hoped to see. It was definitely the right thing to say. 

“So, do you have anywhere that you think would be good places to collect some?”

“You really think after all this I wouldn’t have somewhere nearby in mind?”

“It doesn’t hurt to ask though, does it?”

“Well my pride might have gotten a little bruised, but that’ll heal in time.”

“...Do you reckon a kiss could help speed up that healing?”

“...”

“Link? Are you alright?”

“Are- would you do that for me?”

“If it’ll help fix your pride then, of course… wouldn’t want an injured hero would we?”

That shut him up well and truly, not even his usual confused soft stutters could be hurt as it seemed his code bluescreened at that idea. A full reboot happening in the time it took his face to go through a multitude of different emotions, settling on a gentle, yet mildly confused, look of contentment. Kinda spelling out his answer for me, but still, I’ll wait for clear consent before doing anything more forward than a suggestion. 

“...”

“Take your time, there’s no rush on an answer.”

A nod. Clearly he doesn’t feel comfortable speaking right now, but that's more than fine. It’s not exactly like I’m not used to him being mute again, if anything it’s not an awkward silence as he leads me over to the spot he was thinking of. A small patch to the south of Eldin, littered with just so many different stones. A dream spot for any collector, so close to an active volcano to get fresh samples well as fresh as you can get without quenching the lava. 

Will they even be able to come back out with me? Link seems to think he would have been able to come out of the game, but that only dragged me in here instead. Can I even get - don't ruin this moment with that line of thinking. We can figure that out later. 

“Hey [name], mind coming over here for a moment?” 

“Hmm? Sure, it isn't an issue.”

Speaking again now is a good sign, clearly his brain - does he have one? - has finished dealing with the bombshell I dropped on it earlier. Moving over to him isn’t a bad thing to do though, with whatever he’s holding seemingly a pleasant surprise. As soon as I’m back in front of him, he takes my chin in his hand delicately tilting it upright as he stares into my eyes. Biting down on his lips as he thinks of what to say, lifting up his other hand to my eye level, like he’s comparing whatever he’s holding to them. 

“...It really is the same colour.”

“Oh, why didn’t you tell me we were doing that, I would have been looking as well.”

“No, no collect whatever you’d like for your own collection, I just… wanted to do something where I could still just um… admire your beauty really. If you don’t want this one then, I- I can just keep it instead.”

“I’ll keep it. Thank you link, but really now we've got to get you one too.”

[errruvande]

I found someone who's gonna talk with me about about G Dragon 24/7 😭 She was so close this whole damn time, she's my bestie's friend. We've already talked for like 3 hours and she's fed me 26$72872819 pics of soft goofy GD I wanna cry

[happenssweet]

sorry this is still crazy… boyfriends.

[chasedeys]

Steelers' coaches on Burrow and Chase

[delicourse]

most wonderful girl named mold

[femmedaraya]

thank you, friend

[roguegrove]

what do you know, i CAN finish something. maybe. sorta. i mean i can honestly go back to it forever. but the idea is to get better at stopping before i get nitpicky.

i made this for my lovely friend ban (@brabblesblog) based on her fic(s) of her tav (also ban) and a different take on ascended astarion. not usually my thing, but i LOVE the way she writes and the way she uses canon's clues to tell her love story. ban is such a wonderful part of the bg3 community and is so supportive of artists and creators, i just wanted to give her a little something for how she and her story touched me. she's been such a good friend to me, especially during this weird period of my life, and i hope my little sketch gives her at least a smidge of the warm and fuzzies she's given me since meeting her <3

what's funny is that i have like 5 different versions of this couple. i started before i finished the story, and you can see as i tried each new sketch, i finally started to understand their dynamic.

anyway i hope you like!!

[eef--stars]

I lowkey find it hilarious that people find me scary :3

[lale-txt]

i knew Soft Launch reached the right audience when the comments about the wlw dating being deeply relatable piled up lmao

[absolutely-not-my-main-blog]

[cum-a-calla]

we already kind of talked about this but…

willa telling roman about this weird new age hypnotism meditation bullshit she does. she thinks it will help him “relax” and get “more in touch with his physical being” and “release him from ego”. okay, rude. he’s, like, already super humble and in tune with himself, but whatever.

roman making his assistant lead him through it (for “the bit” and also to torture them) because there’s no way it could work, right? it’ll just be a funny, totally non-sexual team-building exercise.

uh oh— it works too well.

merry christmas!

merry late xmas.

-

"This is stupid."

You watch Roman sit on his office floor, legs crossed, exasperated at you. That line in his brow carves a grim cast to his expression, glaring at you like you forced him to do this. You take a breath, hands on your knees as you sit across from him. He keeps glancing at the windows, every single blind closed, the door locked. You’re almost positive that as his assistant and his inferior, there is some kind of rule about this - right? Does it matter? Not really. This isn’t the most unorthodox thing you’ve done for him in your brief career.

"I mean... you ASKED me to do this, so -"

"Blah blah blah, I get it, shut the fuck up." He waves your words away, snapping without any real cruelty. He mostly seems tired, like he needs a goddamn nap, maybe a juice box. "Just - okay. I'm just letting you know we look fucking stupid."

“Right. Noted, thank you.”

After finally encouraging him to breathe into his core - and after he cracked off some stupid jokes to dispel his irritating tension - you’ve got him really listening. It feels nice. Taking in all the breaths, loosening your muscles. You manage to keep yourself fairly relaxed while opening your eyes to watch Roman. His eyes are shut, and that crease in his brow is gone. His sharp cheekbones don’t clench down into his jaw; his hands rest on his knees. There are gorgeous lines of veins climbing up from his fingers, through his hands and forearms. They disappear under the rolled sleeves of his dress shirt, clinging to him in such a pleasant way that it only serves you to look away before you’re… not so relaxed anymore.

There are words, soft, whispered - about his safety, his comfort, the ability to melt down into the floor. Be heavy. Sink.

For a moment, you feel like he’s asleep. He’s never so still, so… quiet. The fact that he hasn’t uttered a single joke or smirked or scoffed is unusual, to say the least. You wiggle your fingers under his face, slightly downturned.

“… Roman?” you ask softly. He moves a little, making a soft noise in his throat. Repeating his name, he cracks his eyes open, face gentle, still soft. His lids are so heavy, eyes dilated. Relaxed.

“Mmm?”

You stare back at him for a moment and he maintains eye contact, utterly silent. You smile and he returns in, just a little. Seeing his gentle expression is so uncanny that you utter a laugh, and he smiles only a little bigger, eyes still so heavy. He seems to hover gently in place. It’s almost like he’s drunk, or sleep talking. If he weren’t staring right into your eyes, you’d swear he were unconscious.

“Uh. So… you look… you look pretty loose, Rome.”

“Yeah. Yeah, I’m warm. Feels nice.”

Unable to help your own curiosity, you reach out to touch his hand and he glances down at it, then back at you, maintaining that stupid little smile. God, he… he looks -

No. Okay. Enough.

He trails his slow, warm fingers over yours, giving you such a light squeeze it has you stifling a gasp. A little one - just a little. Not a big deal. Not a big fucking deal. His eyes… fucking Christ. “Roman?”

“Mmm? Yeah?” His teeth. He’s smiling while talking, tongue running along his canine, lazy, eyes so fucking tired and hazed over. Oh, fuck - no, no, no. No. You can feel the warmth in your face, and thinking about it only makes it worse. Idly, you press the back of your cool hand against a cheek, trying to cool the feverish skin. Roman’s gaze shifts and you freeze. It feels like being a caged animal. It feels like neither of you are in his office anymore, existing in some bizarre twin world - it’s just… not Roman. Not really. He pulls his hand away from yours and reaches up, pressing his palm against your cheek while your eyes go wide. Heart thudding in your chest, pulsing in the tip of your nose and the cartilage in your ears. His pupils distend, yawning open into lovely little portals. Dark. He looks at you, his stare soft. Bedroom eyes. Focused, molten. “You look good like that. I do that to you?”

He sounds fucking drunk. His voice is so breathy and quiet. You swallow. There’s a ringing in your ears - it’s your blood, roaring. His thumb strokes your cheekbone. Somewhere in there is a knowing, a sexy sort of hint. The faintest glimmer of mischief, only a touch of it. No tension in his face. Everything slow, melting into the moment.

“Yeah.” Maybe you’re too relaxed, too. Roman ducks his head, only a moment, grin spreading easy. Toothy. Shy. Fucking shy. When he looks back up, he looks boyishly handsome, hair hanging over his forehead. He leans forward and crawls his fingers up your thighs, spider legs, tickling. So slow. Waiting, taking his time. Relaxed. When he reaches the tender bends of your legs, thighs melting into the soft flesh of your hips, he’s so close you could taste him if you wanted to. He never gives you the chance to find out for yourself - he leans in, pressing the most chaste kiss against your mouth. Eyelids fluttering shut, you return it. His lips are so smooth, his tongue against your top lip as he pulls back - just a lick. Just a little.

That moan can’t be yours, soft as it is. Must have been something else.

Roman giggles a little - a gentle sound, pleased with himself. The proof of his pleasure is evident, pulsing in the buttery-soft material of his tailored slacks.

“Uh… -” The time for words ends. There aren’t any more.

Roman rests his weight on your seated hips as he unfolds his slim legs, smoothly making his way to his knees as his mouth comes back. He’s firmer, but still takes his time; he tastes you, tongue against yours. Your lip gets caught between his teeth and he pulls, but he doesn’t bite hard. He moans into your kiss and it’s over. There was never going to be a chance, and now you’re absolutely fucked. He continues his sensual, patient assault, guiding you to unfold your legs and lie back. The floor, the shitty carpet - none of that matters. None of it registers. Only Roman’s hot breath on your throat as he drags his tongue over your racing pulse, his hands smoothing up over your ribs, over your chest. His thigh between yours, and then both of them as you part willingly for him. The feeling of him so solid against your clothed cunt, his hips rolling slow and steady like a tide. It washes over the both of you. God, he tastes good - he smells good, spicy, musky. His stubble is pleasantly scratchy. It feels good as he unbuttons your shirt and kisses down in the valley between your breasts - he kisses at the swollen flesh there, hands kneading. You’re at the button and zipper of your own slacks, hurrying to capture his with your trembling digits so you can free the both of you.

Roman moans, hands leaving only to free his cock - no words. None as he guides himself to your cunt - slick. Tight. All that rippled, gorgeous flesh there for the taking, pushing inside of you with the most deliciously infuriating patience. A slow rock of his hips until he’s fully seated, grinding against the deepest, most sensitive nerves. All the heat. Only vaguely mindful of the world outside his office, the both of you taking turns tasting each others’ gentle whines, his voice drawn high and sensitive. All of you, all of him, bare, raw. Fingers on the sharp edges of Roman’s cheekbones, tracing with your thumbs to meet the corners of his jaw. Feeling it move as he consumes your moans, your sobbing little sounds as you try to keep quiet. Roman’s hands wander down, feeling the curve of your ass as he thrusts, undulating, gripping you tenderly there like he can’t bear to not cover as much of you as he can with his own body. His teeth skating over your throat as your climax approaches, deep, different than usual. Nothing about this is usual. Not even fucking close.

Roman shifts his angle just a little and it’s like magic - the suddenness of your orgasm flows up into your brain like sparks, those tiny, fizzing bubbles that evaporate from the edge of a hard wave, surging back down in the riptide to devastate you as it crashes down your belly, your thighs, all the way to your toes as they curl. All of it is cyclical - the unending wave of your body tensing up, contracting; Roman’s rolling hips; his soft little moans in your ear, on a wonderful loop. Those will stay - you’ll remember them late at night while your fingers do what they can to replicate the pleasure, but it’s never the same on your own. Roman whines and goes taut with you, sucking your skin between his teeth to leave a little mark - the marks of those teeth, that delicate flesh that is going to be purple the next day until it fades into a brown, a green. The dimples his teeth make fade before any of that. The sensation stays. Roman’s cock throbs inside of you and he’s filling you up, hips twitching. Your fingers in his hair. He kisses you again, and it’s sloppy - his lips are wet, his tongue against yours in earnest. Cyclical. Mouth to mouth, Roman still buried to the hilt inside your cunt. No beginning. No end. Only heat. Only dying stars, blooming bruises.

Redressing should be awkward, maybe. Roman helps you, and still there aren’t words. Just tenderness. Both of you red, and the sheen of sweat on his face is beautiful, the way his hair has shaken out of its styled part. Loose. Strands hang over his forehead. Only a hint of his smirk is there - just behind the smile. Just a touch. Both of you back in position, legs folded, breaths caught. Roman’s cum leaking from you, his dreamy bedroom-eyes getting a little clearer. A little less lost. After a long beat, you decide to pretend nothing happened. You clear your throat, blinking, watching him.

“Ro… Roman?”

“Yeah.” He sounds clearer, returning back to a familiar register. Like he’s shaking it off. The lines around his smirk - there it is. A certain degree of smugness in those eyes, pupils not so blown. “What?”

“Nothing,” you test. He cocks an eyebrow and the flush returns with a vengeance, hotter than before. “I just think it… worked.”

“Uh-huh.” Roman tilts his head, cracking his neck. He scoffs with clear pleasure as he stretches his arms up and catches you eyeing his lithe form, slim belly peeking from under his shirt before he shudders back to sitting. “Not bad. I feel all… mmm, relieved. Don’t you?”