#I don’t think I can keep doing every performance in order because some are just really OTL so heads up about that | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

sixosix · 1 year ago

Text

summary you take it upon yourself to make it up to lyney when he couldn’t perform on the night he looked forward to the most—and lyney falls a little harder.

or, sickfic, basically, but it’s more than that

warnings wc 3k, mentions of injuries and blood, fluff!!! and a bit of angst oops

A/N @hiraethsdesires wanted to get tagged so here u goo!!! hope u like reading it <3

“For the last time, Lyney,” you sigh, shoving one more macaron in the small, red box with the same shade as the accents of his hat, “I can’t attend your show.”

It’s a stroke of luck for him that you don’t have a line right now, or else you would’ve kicked him out the moment you saw him enter, fully expecting he doesn’t intend on leaving right away.

Lyney droops dramatically, his bottom lip jutting out in a pout. “Seriously? Not this week either?”

“Not this week either. Not ever, I’m pretty sure I told you.” You push the box against his chest, to which he responds eagerly by situating his free hand firmly over yours.

He keeps his grip firm when you try tugging your hands away. He bores his eyes into yours, too sincere and open for a performer such as himself—you feel a bit of your will chip away. “That night is special to me. Won’t you consider again?”

“Why is it special?”

Lyney’s lips curl into a smirk, striking right when you’ve faltered. “Because you will be coming to watch, of course.”

You jerk your hands out of his grip as he laughs. “Bold assumption,” you say, smiling a little when Lyney cries a ‘come onnnn’. “Lyney, I already said—”

“—That you have no one else to take care of the shop if you leave, I know, I know,” Lyney interrupts with clear disdain. “But don’t you think I deserve a bit of compensation? Surely you recognize my efforts in being this bakery’s most loyal customer. Most purchases and most compliments to the prettiest owner.”

You roll your eyes, but you do give it a bit of thought. Lyney has been the reason why your humble little shop tucked in some hidden corner of Fontaine’s city has been gaining attention. You’ve definitely increased in customers ever since Lyney took it upon himself to come over every day with a Rainbow Rose and a dream (and Mora).

“If I attend to one, will you promise it’ll be the last?”

Lyney’s expression shifts instantly. He beams, leaning close enough until your noses are touching. You swear you can see the sparkles in his eyes. “I can’t promise anything if you enjoy it so much you keep coming back for more.”

“Don’t push it,” you say.

“I won’t, I won’t,” Lyney murmurs, his smile turning softer. “You’re not joking around, right? That’s a yes?”

“It’s a yes, I guess.”

He kisses your hand three times, saying, “I’ll make it the best night of your life, I promise,” between them.

You look forward to it. You wouldn’t tell it to his face, but if he were to look closer and see the tremble of your hands to the smile on your face, he’d know anyway.

Lyney doesn’t come over the next day.

You will yourself not to feel too disappointed. You have no right to be. Every time he does visit, he’d just invite you to one of his shows under the guise of ordering whatever you tell him is the best seller of the day, and every time, you’d reject his offer. Yesterday was an exception—on a whim.

Maybe he got a revelation, thinking that he'll find it boring when he finally got you in his grasp.

It certainly doesn’t help that Lyney still hasn't come to visit the day after that, which happened to be the same day of the performance.

They canceled the show, you hear them say, from outside on the streets and even in the walls of your bakery. What a shame; I was looking forward to it.

So was I, you want to say through gritted teeth.

You knew their fame knew no bounds, but it was only then that embarrassment crept in when you realized that the show star, Lyney himself, frequented your small shop with a bouquet in hand to invite you personally. And you had the gall to reject him.

You also learn that the bakery feels much more empty without his blazing presence.

The moment you finish watching the customer exit the shop with two paper bags in their arms, you rush to fling your apron off and flip the sign to ‘CLOSED’.

You don’t often leave the bakery in fear of missing out on what could be busy days, but this is more important than that. You can’t handle working idly for another hour with guilt in your stomach urging you to do something.

You must look like a sight: speeding through the pathway with a bit of flour on your clothes and a determined glint in your eyes. Only when you spot a familiar house overhead do you pause to take a deep breath.

You can do this. You need to find out what happened.

“He got sick?”

Lynette nods, sighing in defeat. “Would you like to come in? I’ll explain as I make tea.”

You glance around unsurely, feeling a little out of place. You occasionally break the heart of the brother of this woman currently inviting you inside their home. You can only hope that Lyney hasn’t been lamenting his bakery troubles to his sister.

Lynette directs you to the loveseat of their small living room before padding over to the kitchen. “Make yourself comfortable,” she says in her endearing ever-monotone voice.

“I’m okay, thank… you…” Your gaze catches on a picture frame on the desk beside the seat of Lyney, Lynette, and what you can only assume from stories he’s shared is Freminet. Lynette is far from the camera, staring into the distance and sipping tea. Freminet is smiling awkwardly with no teeth, and the one eye he has visible isn’t even staring at the camera. Then Lyney sits in the middle, holding the camera with two arms and a wide grin, eyes screwed shut and his face so open.

You feel as if you’ve just caught a glimpse of something so personal, and the thought of that twists your heart and pushes it to beat twice as fast as normal. You’ve never seen him smile like that before. (You briefly wonder what it would be like to see it happen personally.)

“I’ve never seen him get this high of a fever before,” Lynette says, rousing you from your trance. She hands you a cup of tea, steam emanating from the cup.

“How did he even get sick?”

“I’m not sure… It could be because of the thunderstorm yesterday—he was out at that time and came home like that. He seemed really excited for tonight, too. Lyney kept telling me that this one would be special.”

“Because you will be coming to watch, of course.”

You nearly choke in your first sip because of your own thoughts.

Lynette looks back up at you over the rim of her cup. “With the stress of not being able to perform tormenting him, I assume he wouldn’t be getting better in time for the show. Or at least, not tonight at all.”

“Ah,” you voice lamely. You can’t even imagine the look of pure distress on Lyney’s sweet face—it hurts to even think about it. He’s done so much for you and even promised a whole show, only to fall sick before he could make it come true.

Will he think he’s at fault for this?

With your fingernails digging crescents on your palms, you quietly ask, “…Can I come visit him? Or would that be too much?”

Lynette’s gaze sharpens a little. “Has my brother told you the truth of our identities?”

“Most of everyone found out after the trial,” you answer without missing a beat.

“And still, you choose to care for Lyney?”

Is this a shovel talk? Are you experiencing a shovel talk right now?

“He makes it hard not to,” you say weakly; it’s the truth. You’re here because Lyney, throughout his little visits, has made you care so deeply for him that you started to look forward to each visit. “…Is that a no? Was that too much of a request?”

Lynette has a ghost of a smile on her face. “It’s perfect.”

The room is silent as you enter. You feel shame for visiting someone’s room without them knowing, even though you’ve been given complete permission by his own sister. Still, your face burns the closer you reach Lyney’s bed.

“Hey, Lyney,” you murmur as you kneel beside the bed. “I brought some of your favorites.”

He doesn’t respond, much to no one’s surprise. You wonder why you feel so disappointed that those lilac eyes aren’t looking at you, begging you, wooing you. Defeated, you place the bag of macarons on his bedside table, mostly an excuse to inspect his face closer.

His brows are furrowed, and a thin layer of sweat is on his forehead, even in his sleep. He looks nicer in casual clothes and his hair free from products.

A bowl of water is near his head, with a towel sitting in the bottom.

“You get really sick when you get it, huh?” you muse to no one in particular, gently wiping the sweat off his forehead. Then to his neck, where the warmth of his fever nearly burns you just by hovering close.

Lyney shifts a little. You pause with bated breath. Still, he doesn’t wake up.

“I’ll be right back,” you whisper, taking the bowl in your hands.

His nose is really red. You shouldn’t be finding it cute—really, what’s wrong with you recently?

But your movement brushed against the blanket over his torso and, with it, came revealing the side of his waist. His stomach is wrapped with bandages, and a spot of dried blood is seeping in on the bandage on his side.

Your eyes widen in horror, nearly making a loud, indecipherable noise before you catch yourself.

You rush to the door, finding Lynette in the same spot of the loveseat where you left her. Her eyes flick up to you, brows arched in surprise.

“Lynette, he—”

She catches on quickly. “He’s alright,” Lynette says, though her ears are curled back in distress. “He’s been given help. We knew of someone affiliated with Hydro and its healing properties. He’s alright.”

Well. Of course, she knew; she’s his sister. You can’t bear the thought of Lyney in the middle of a thunderstorm, finding himself in front of Lynette, bleeding. You feel sick just thinking about it. You can’t possibly imagine what Lynette has been going through, having to take care of her brother by herself.

You hesitate. “Can I come back here tomorrow?”

“Yes.”

“Oh. Wait—really?”

Lynette pauses. “Should I have not said yes?”

“I just thought you’d be a little more stern with me because of… you know…”

“I respect those who put my brother in his place,” Lynette says, then: “And those who don’t run from us when they find out what our identities are,” and that’s that.

“You brought a flower,” is the first thing Lynette says as soon as she opens the door the following morning.

“He gives me one every visit,” you explain, and you’re not quite sure why it’s humiliating to do so. “So, I want to pay him back at least this once.”

“Rainbow Rose,” Lynette notes as she shuts the door softly. You follow her into Lyney’s room, but she halts before you two can reach the door at arm’s length. “Do you know what this one means?”

You look at the Rainbow Rose nestled in your palm. It's been well taken care of since he gave it to you—all of them had been. “No, I can’t say that I do…?”

“He’s given everyone else Lumidouce Bells because this flower is a little more special.”

Lynette reaches for your hand, gently pushing the Rainbow Rose until you’re holding it against your chest.

She looks into your eyes. “That flower is like him giving his heart to you. Please, take care of it some more. Don’t give it back, okay?”

And as you mull over her words, she leaves. And left you standing in front of Lyney’s room alone, with your entire face feeling as if it’s been burnt by the sun.

But this is no time for distractions, no matter the implications. Lyney still hasn’t woken up yet, and it’s time to pay him back. He deserves that much.

“You finally feel better?”

Lyney blinks. Or, at least, he tries to, but his eyes weigh heavier than usual. He lays back down and chooses to close them back again. “Ugh…” he rasps out, “Lynette. My side is still hurting a little, but it’s much more bearable than yesterday. I thought I was about to die!”

“Don’t be so dramatic,” Lynette says, handing him a glass of water. “You already caused quite a scene.”

“Hmmm?” Lyney answers absentmindedly, finding himself ready to fall asleep again.

“You didn’t get injured yesterday. That was five days ago. And the bakery shop owner kept coming over every day.”

Lyney’s eyes definitely open at that. “What did you say?”

Lynette’s tail flicks. “The bakery has been closed for about four days now, and no one else but I know that it’s because the person responsible for it has been here in this room instead, taking care of you. It was even on The Steambird.”

Lyney’s finding it difficult to catch up. “Wait… wait. Are you saying…”

“You made Y/N, Freminet, and I worry so much, you know,” she chides.

Lyney’s heart shatters. “Does that mean—my wound—”

“I wasn’t the one changing your bandages,” Lynette says with a tiny smile as she watches her brother’s face explode in red. “Do you still feel tired?”

“Not at all!” Lyney springs up from his bed, his grin wild and insane. His side will most definitely punish him for this, but that’s far in the back of his mind. “Ah, so Y/N does care. All my efforts weren’t in vain!”

Lynette sighs, but still stays to listen.

“And—bandaging my wounds? While I was out cold? How intimate… My heart is racing at the thought of it.” He clutches his chest, because it’s true despite his dramatics.

“I’ve never seen Y/N before; I’ve only heard of what you told me every time you came back from the bakery,” Lynette starts, urging him to lie back down. She presses a towel on his forehead, and he yelps because it feels ice-cold. “But you seem wrong about every assumption, Lyney. I know the face of someone who cares.”

Lyney falters, his expression softening impossibly. “Y/N’s not mad I missed out on the show I promised…?”

“Y/N was worried about the same thing, but in your shoes.”

Lyney hides his face with his hands, but that’s a fruitless attempt. Lynette has a clear view of his red ears. “I can’t tell if I’m elated or mortified,” he groans. “Both, perhaps?”

“You’ll find out soon enough,” Lynette says, getting up at the same time the door swings open.

“I’m sorry I’m late!” you exclaim, though hushedly. “Lynette, I brought food to eat. Here, help yourself. Has Lyney woken up yet?”

“Oh, he…” Lynette takes your handmade lunch and glances down at her brother, briefly surprised to see him with his eyes shut and his breathing as steady as it had been when he was sleeping. “Excuse me, I want to eat.”

“Wait, Lynette—” you start, but Lynette is already walking away and eventually shuts the door. She must be very excited to eat her food.

You turn to Lyney, and the world falls silent. Lyney doesn’t know why he’s terrified of you finding out he’s awake. Was it guilt? Shame for a promised night in ruin, or humiliation for seeing him at his lowest point? He grips the sheet under the blanket tighter. His heart racing seems like it’s neither of those.

“Hello again, Lyney,” you say in a low whisper, and all of a sudden, his grip loosens, and his shoulders lose tension. “You should wake up soon. I promised Lynette I’d bake your favorite dessert if you do.”

You're not expecting any reply, ceremoniously reaching for the towel on his bedside table, like you’ve lived here as much as he has been.

The steady beat of your heart calms him, and he wonders how you aren’t hearing how fast his is beating yet.

Lyney finds himself enjoying being under your tender care, until the warmth on his side disappears and he panics instantly. His eyes fly open just in time for him to see you leaning in to press a gentle kiss on his cheek.

Lyney slips, instinctively reaching out to hold your head in place.

You both freeze, staring at each other wide-eyed.

His thoughts race. Four days. You’ve closed the bakery shop you swore to him you wouldn’t ever abandon just for anyone—yet you did for him. You’ve been taking care of him. And kissing his cheek, for god’s sake. Four days you’ve been caring for him so sweetly, and he wasn’t awake enough to experience all of it himself.

“You’re—you’re awake!” you exclaim, your hands on both of his cheeks. “Lyney, oh, you’re— Wait, how long have you been—”

Lyney silences you with a kiss on the side of your mouth. He smiles at your dumbfounded expression. “You shouldn’t promise my dessert,” he says, and he winces when his voice doesn’t come out as smoothly as intended. “I don’t want any more promises to break.”

“You didn’t break any promise, Lyney,” you say softly, and he blinks when your eyes glisten. “You’re awake right now, aren’t you?”

“Then,” he straightens to sit up, grinning, “let me make it up to you. I promised you a night you would never forget, didn’t I?”

A/N not another lyney fic...

#genshin x reader #genshin impact x reader #genshin impact x you #lyney x reader #lyney x you #lyney x y/n #lyney x gender neutral reader #genshin x you

3K notes · View notes

csuitebitches · 1 year ago

Text

How to Wake Up Early

I always wanted to be one of those girls who would wake up early, go for a run and be super productive with their mornings. The issue is - i really love sleep. Every time i would start a routine, i would eventually fail. I would wake up to turn the alarm off, think to myself “5 mins more” and boom- it’s suddenly 8:30 am and i need to leave for work in less than 1 hour.

Two videos on YouTube really changed my mind. One was Andrew Huberman’s, and the other was Jihyo, a k-pop star.

I came across Andrew Huberman’s video about dopamine, and somehow, it helped me to understand why the difficulty waking up early is so important. Now I’m no expert of neuroscience, but let me explain to the best of my abilities.

Dopamine is essentially the build up to the reward; it is not the reward. It is the satisfaction and happiness you feel (when your body releases), after you have achieved something that was painful/ required you to struggle a bit. In order to receive this reward, you have to feel pain, because pain and satisfaction are directly related to each other. Satisfaction without pain is useless and does nothing for you essentially.

That got me wondering: for me, waking up early is difficult. It’s painful. I dont want to do it. But if I do it, its my first win of the day. It’s the first challenge I have overcome of that day, and I always do feel amazing after. The dopamine release after the struggle of waking up and winning the battle of not going back to sleep is definitely there. I feel more confident because a) I have done the “right” thing b) selfishly, i can do something so simple that a lot of people struggle with c) it weirdly makes me feel more confident and like I’m doing the first step of being an adult right.

Jihyo’s video was quite random - she did some show where it shows her daily life when she’s not working. Parts of it made me feel like she’s unable to just relax with herself (probably because her body and mind are so used to chaos, performing, her girl group living together for so many years) so she busies herself a lot. I took the positives from the video; she’s extremely disciplined which I admired, she gets her chores done, she’s good at ensuring that her space is truly her space.

So I decided to build a relatively foolproof routine; but mind you, it does require quite a bit of willpower.

I’ve developed a habit of waking of waking up at 5 am. I head straight for a 30-45 minute meditation and then at least an hour long workout. I stack my habits that way; right after meditation, I put on my running shoes. I used to really struggle with waking up, even if I had to wake up late. This is the strategy that worked me, see if it works for you.

1. Reset your space the night before

This makes you feel less stressed in the morning and also genuinely makes you feel like you have your shit together. Put your clothes away, keep your bag in its place, clean up your desk, reorganise your make up and skin care products. You’re going to go to sleep and wake up to a clean space.

Make sure you define both your bedtime and wake up time. My bedtime is 9:30 pm - so i manage my chores, reading, dinner, everything around that.

2. Early dinner

I’ve noticed that early dinners help me sleep better. I’ve built the habit of casually walking for 25-30 minutes post dinner (not right after eating, after about 15 mins). I’m not walking fast to a point where I’m sweating and puffing, I’m casually strolling outside. During this time, I don’t listen to music, interact with anyone or my phone. I use this time to connect with myself and think about whatever I feel like.

3. No devices before sleeping

I don’t want to stimulate myself before sleeping, so I prefer reading before bed. If you don’t like reading, you can instead do your skincare, maybe revise some physical study notes, etc.

4. Using Alarmy app

This app is torture and I swear by it. This little thing makes you a solve a challenge of your choice in order to make the alarm stop, like math problems, puzzles, etc. I chose 5 math problems.

5. Keep your phone across the room

Don’t charge it near your reach. Keep it as away from you as possible.

6. Stand for two minutes after shutting off the alarm

Don’t allow yourself to snooze, or go back to bed. This is the part that really requires you to tell yourself: “i am not going back to sleep. I’m going to wake up and do the things I have to do for my own benefit.” Remember - the states of heaven and hell are not outside of you, they’re inside you. They are mental states. You have to fight with your lazy demon and tell him/her/whoever that NO; we are NOT going back to bed.

I charge my phone across the room so that forces me to walk first thing in the morning. To stop myself from going back to sleep, after i have shut the alarm off, i just stand for 2 minutes. I dont sit, or go back to bed. I stand and tell myself, we’re doing this. We’re going to wake up and have an amazing day.

Your mind is like a child with tantrums and mood swings. Your rational self has to discipline your mind the way a parent would to a child.

7. Turn a small light on

Not something that is jarring or overwhelming, but enough to help you start waking up. I turn my phone’s flashlight on and keep it on my desk.

8. Be consistent, even on weekends

The biggest mistake you can make is not being consistent. Your body doesnt recognise weekends, your mind does. Your body doesn’t know that tomorrow is Monday, so its time to wake up early. By staying consistent (yes, I wake up at 5 am on weekends too), it allows my body to develop its own body clock and not wrecking the system I’ve kept in place.

What do I do if I have a late night?

It really depends. Let’s say I come home relatively early (+2 hours around my bedtime) around 11 pm, and im in bed by 11:30. I’ll wake up somewhere close to 5 am, like 6 am instead. The next day I ensure I’m in bed by the bedtime I’ve kept for myself and wake up at 5 am again.

If I come home really late, like 3 am - i keep my alarm exactly 8 hours from that time. I need to get sleep, but oversleeping is an issue and that wont allow me to wake up early the next day. I want to get enough sleep where im rested for the day, but not excessively. Unfortunately, sleeping so late would definitely mean that i wont be able to fall asleep at my dot 9:30 pm bedtime, but i turn the lights off and get ready to sleep by then anyway, and mentally prepare for my 5 am wake up call.

#c suite #powerful woman #strong women #ceo aesthetic #personal growth #that girl #productivity #q/a #getting your life together #balance #waking up early #neuroscience #Andrew Huberman’s #K-pop #jihyo

1K notes · View notes

griancraft · 8 months ago

Text

Hi guys, this is sort of my official "please, for the love of god, listen to Skyjacks with me” post because I’m losing my mind and all the content I can find is from the latest stuff right now, and I don’t want to spoil myself. I want to be able to talk about this with people!!!! I will make a watch (listen) party discord if there is enough interest. Just give it a chance; you won’t regret it. Also, some information may be wrong or outdated. I’m on episode 11 out of over 200.

Skyjacks is a ttrpg podcast about sky pirates in a world where there was a catastrophe about 200 years ago that left the sea unsafe to sail and maybe even damaged the entire world to the point where civilization is scattered and in small groups. There is very casual queer rep, and it’s casual to the point where it really just fits into the world perfectly.

A brief summary of the premise of the first episode will hopefully get you hooked. I’m really bad at summaries, but I promise it’s a billion times better than how I talked about it here:

Captain Orimar Vale is dead, and a mutiny will be on Gable, Jonnit, Travis, and Dref’s hands if they are unable to keep up the ruse of him being alive. To do this, necromancy (deeply forbidden magic) is performed by the Dref, the ship's doctor, to turn him into a semi-functional zombie. Captain Orimar is famous for his abilities as a captain; to replicate this will take great skill.

As they run out of supplies, they make a desperate decision: port on the land of one of Orimar’s scorned lovers or deal with the growing uneasiness of the rest of the crew. They haven’t seen their captain healthy in months, and whispers about his health are starting. However, greater danger will await them when they take to the skies again, lurking just beyond the clouds…

And more propaganda as to why I think you guys will like it:

There are unique and interesting gameplay mechanics they use to tell a really cool story, and if you like Hermitcraft or any other sorta storytelling-based SMP, I promise you’ll like it. Like. If you liked Boatem from Hermitcraft 8, you’ll love the characters in Skyjacks. The players are exceptionally good at playing their characters, their humour is unmatched by anything similar I’ve had the pleasure of seeing, and the story is prioritized, which I think is an amazing choice.

Best part? It’s still ongoing after, like, 5 years. Some people have left, but a good chunk of the OG cast has stayed. Not that leaving is bad, because holy crap, 5 years is a long time, and stories have to end at some point! It’s a good way of getting into something and knowing there is still a shit ton of content to be explored.

The music is good. The story is good. The characters and humour are amazing. The lore of the world is sprinkled throughout, and as you learn more about the world, the more excited you get. It’s incredible so far, and if you decide to listen to it, I will actually love you forever and ever. My boyfriend is on episode 190, and he finds it so funny every time I go. Oh my god, this is so cool.

Link to the podcast, but in a playlist (up to 180). So it’s in order and easy to find, since it’s a part of something else from the oneshot network:

#I need you guys to get into skyjacks I cannot do this alone #Can’t even look in the skyjacks tag for fan art to loose my mind about because I am literally over 200 1hr+ episodes BEHIND #I promise it is so worth it #I’m almost done episode 11 :#which is so so early so it would be very easy to catch up to me #I’m going to reblog this once a day or so I think #collapses in a heap of dust this post was never supposed to be this long #also please don’t spoil me if you’re ahead or get ahead guys istg i will kill you with my bare hands I’ll put my episode number in my pinne #ack tags too long #me when I infodump for 45 minutes straight when I should be working on my final essay #I’m dragging you fuckers kicking and screaming. Please guys.#I realize now this will like definitely show up in the tags but honestly I don’t know if that matters

125 notes · View notes

tomorrowxtogether · 16 days ago

Text

TAEHYUN: “I wish happiness for the people who made me feel happy”

TOMORROW X TOGETHER The Star Chapter: SANCTUARY comeback interview

2024.11.14

TAEHYUN never speaks in a roundabout way. The idol doesn’t mince words, and there’s something tender about that.

You spent some alone time at the Hangang River a little while back. What do you do when you go there? TAEHYUN: I buy my choice of drink, a caramel macchiato, and go in search of serenity while I sip it to get the taste of sweetness on my tongue and take in the peaceful scenery with my eyes. It doesn’t really inspire me so much as it just sort of feels restorative. I just feel good when I do that.

You’re probably so busy that you only get little bits of time here and there, but what would you want to do if you could carve some free time out of your busy schedule? TAEHYUN: I’d have some of that serenity I just mentioned, and work out, too. I’d probably just do the same things I do in tiny bursts now but be more relaxed about it. Right now I exercise when I have little breaks, like when I’m done for the day.

It seems like working out’s pretty much a part of your routine. TAEHYUN: It’s so routine for me now that sometimes I don’t even know why I’m doing it. It’s like how gym rats work out with no end goal. (laughs) It’s helpful for my posture since I start hunching over if I haven’t worked out in a while, and anyway, if I go straight home after work, I feel like I haven’t done enough. (laughs) I like how it keeps me ready to go and makes me feel productive.

You even keep it up when you’re on tour, running to stay in shape or working on your abs for “Tinnitus (Wanna be a rock).” TAEHYUN: We did around 30 shows and I showed off my abs every time. (laughs) I showed them once on tour in Seoul and then I thought people might feel left out if I skipped it anywhere else. I started getting more into food somewhere down the road so they’re slowly disappearing, but I’m trying to keep them around one way or another. (laughs) It hasn’t been easy. I make myself run until I’m out of breath when we’re on tour because it challenges me in the exact same way as performing. I don’t know if it really helps since I’ve never not done it and therefore don’t have data on it, but I believe it does.

Boxing, on the other hand, seems like something you’ve kept up a long time not for keeping in shape but just for fun. TAEHYUN: Boxing isn’t something where you can slow down when you get tired. If your opponent ups their pace, you have to, too—but you’re just as much an obstacle to them. If you’re not fighting for a title or to make it into a competition, then there’s no risk of getting hurt, so it’s a great way to break a sweat and get in some cardio. You hear sports like these called chess played with the body. Even if you’re not as good as your opponent in some ways, you’ve still got a shot at winning. What makes it so enticing is how you have to hone your skills in order to be powerful.

What does it mean to you to be powerful? TAEHYUN: It means a lot of different things. There’s some boxers who are strong for their weight class, and some who can shut out the crowd when they’re on their opponent’s home turf and win. I think it’s partially mental like that. There’s people who make a plan and work toward their goal, avoiding any obstacles standing in their way—people who don’t fall apart.

It feels like that’s your approach to your work in some regards. TAEHYUN: I’d say so too. Those are the kinds of people who get up in front of tons of people at the pro level. We’re similar in that we get up onstage and show everybody what we’ve got after working at it for a while.

How do you find touring after working at it for a while? It’s been about two years since you resumed in-person touring. TAEHYUN: It feels really overwhelming at first. When you find out how many shows there are, where you’re going, and get the set list, it’s seriously … (laughs) I mean, obviously there’s fun parts, but you’re running in an unflattering way to get through the walkways underneath, and sometimes you just feel like, Let’s get it done, or, Time to go change—I will survive. Then there’s parts where time flies, especially when you first get a mic in your hand. It’s all about jumping around and having fun together. Going around and getting hyped with the audience happens spontaneously. That’s when it gets exciting.

I found what you said about your first online fanlive event on weverse LIVE really memorable: “When the camera’s not on me, there’s nowhere to see me. It was crushing.” TAEHYUN: That was a really weird period, since now there was no way for people to know what I was up to when the camera wasn’t on me. But there’s always somebody looking right at me when we do shows in person. In those cases, I have to be capturing the mood of the songs at all times, and I can’t tuck my clothes in right away if I need to or rub my eye if something gets in there. There’s a lot more I have to pay attention to, but they’re all minor things. I’m always going to feel grateful as long as people are watching me.

You also put a lot of effort in for the tour in regard to your vocals, right? You seem to keep challenging yourself and experimenting in your own unique way. TAEHYUN: Yeah, totally. (laughs) I make minute adjustments, like, How can I make this easier? How can I increase my chances of success? How can I minimize damage to my throat? I try to feel how my body changes every time I do. Even for the sound, I’m in direct communication with them to try and get things right during rehearsals. When you’re recording vocals, you can do it over and over to get it right, but you’ve got people watching you at a concert, so you have to be confident you can keep your vocals steady 10 out of 10 times. I asked our producer Slow Rabbit once if we could bring the key down so it wouldn’t be so hard to sing so hard live (laughs) but eventually it worked out anyway. There’s nothing you can’t do if you just practice. If I can’t do it, it means I didn’t try hard enough. Anything is possible.

You sing several ad libs in The Star Chapter: SANCTUARY that give a real sense of your vocal style. Do you feel like you’ve developed your own style while recording vocals now? TAEHYUN: Recording feels more familiar to me now, and the producer and I can practically read each other’s thoughts now, so it's a completely stress-free experience. But there’s one thing that’s always on my mind. I love so many different genres. I love knowing their histories, singing them, and listening to them. But choosing what suits me is a huge challenge. I’m confident I could handle anything they throw at me to 70 or 80% quality, but there’s nothing I feel confident I could do at 100%. I don’t really know if I’m doing a good job of finding my own style, but knowing people can pick out your voice is something that makes any singer happy and appreciative. It’s a really good sign.

I personally felt like only you could pull of the “Forty One Winks” intro. TAEHYUN: We recorded that in Japan during the tour, and before the parts were assigned, I heard the song and asked the producer if I could do the first verse. I said I’d crush it. (laughs) So he said okay and I got to do it, and on the first day of recording, I immediately nailed it. I felt confident about that part: This is how it should go.

You’ve also been writing lyrics for a while now. How’d it go with this new album? TAEHYUN: I have a lot I want to write whenever I think of something that would be really fun for TOMORROW X TOGETHER to sing. The idea behind “Danger” is sort of cliché, but we hadn’t done something like that before so that actually made it fun. What was unusual this time was that we were out of the country so I couldn’t take my preferred approach of opening up a bunch of windows on the monitor in the studio and writing on my phone. It was a new experience for me to not settle down in one place and write. I wrote “Danger” on a plane, “Resist (Not Gonna Run Away)” in a car. I have a tendency to drag things out when I’m in the studio sometimes, but when I’m on the go, I end up writing faster sometimes because I feel like I have to get it all down before arriving—like the ETA’s now the deadline. (laughs)

The lead single “Over The Moon” has a more straightforward message than previous songs. How did you capture your interpretation of the song? You strike me as someone who really needs to understand what they’re singing. TAEHYUN: It’s way more straightforward, but there’s still one line I’d like to hear MOA’s interpretations of: “Let’s make an ancient future.” I need their help because I’m curious how listeners feel about it. (laughs) I guess “Over The Moon” is first and foremost about feeling good. Visually, the sense of freedom is important. I also hope anyone who sees it feels like we’re steady and talented—so much that it’s like, Huh? They’re so eye-catching—I can’t stop thinking about them! If people feel like, These guys are so uplifting—who are they?, at the end of our performance, I’d say it’s a big success. We have to bring out the subtle allure to achieve that. The vocals need to be so good they sound fluid and flexible, and the choreo flawless.

Doesn’t trying to have that kind of allure make it that much harder? TAEHYUN: It’s way harder. (laughs) We reduced the amount of group dancing and filled that time with individual choreo instead, which took a lot of work. All group choreo takes is good stamina and a lot of rehearsal time—this approach takes exploration and gut feeling into what makes it look cool. I think we’ve reached that point in our career now. It’s something people who perform 30 shows at a time can do. (laughs)

You’ve always been the type to practice as hard as you can and just as confidently say so. Is that the case for this album, too? TAEHYUN: Yes.

You sound very sure of yourself! (laughs) TAEHYUN: I put in everything I’ve got within the time available. That’s something I feel I should do. It’s just one of those obvious things. I feel a huge weight off focusing like that. Doing my best means putting my heart and soul into it until I feel that nothing will change no matter what might happen. That’s what doing my best means, I think.

That’s something only someone who has poured everything they have into their work can say. What’s there waiting at the end of all that hard work? TAEHYUN: I chose this path because I love being onstage and love singing, and now I’ve achieved that, but there are times when it becomes necessary to have goals. I want to set loftier goals—I want to do and reach for lots of things under the name TOMORROW X TOGETHER—the five of us and MOA together. There’s a lot I need to uphold for the fans, like sharing feelings and promises. We didn’t pinky promise, but still. (laughs) I want to keep going with our group for a long time, and in order for that to happen, people need to keep checking us out, which gives me a sense of certainty. Having some goals and achieving them lets us feel like we’re really doing a good job and heading in the right direction.

You’ve been with the other members for eight years now, which is over a third of your life. TAEHYUN: That’s true. And I’ve known YEONJUN for nine years. Now, even when we’re working out how to move, we don’t need to say much—like, “Two? Three?” That’s how we ask whether to stand at the second or third marker on the stage. We’ve reached a point where we can talk entirely in nouns.

I could sense how close you are in episode 144 of TO DO X TXT, “Abandoned Stars,” when the older members were being protective of you even though they were equally scared. (laughs) TAEHYUN: I felt there was still kindness in the world in that moment. (laughs) SOOBIN saying, “He can’t do it alone,” and YEONJUN said, “Don’t send him in by himself.” (laughs) We know each other so well that we don’t hide anything. Working with people who you get along with that well is an absolute blessing. It’s a good thing, too, since we spend more time with each other than our own families. It wasn’t easy to get there, though. (laughs) I don’t mean to be blunt, but we first came together to work together, meaning there were conflicts, and it took some time to figure out what didn’t work. Sometimes I even felt it’d be easier to go alone, but now doing it alone is challenging.

You even brought YEONJUN a lunch you made for him when he went to do a pre-recording to promote “GGUM.” TAEHYUN: I know one thing for sure: I think I’m extremely attentive toward the other members, and I’m always monitoring their performances. Maybe if it were one of the other members, I would’ve expressed how much I care in a different way, but for YEONJUN, I thought it would be best if I went there in person. He finds that kind of thing touching. (laughs) I was worried because he loves to eat and yet he probably couldn’t eat properly and would just be eating fast food from the store. I just happened to be free, so I dropped by, gave it to him, and came back to get some sleep. (laughs) Only love can make that possible.

You’re really good about showing the people around you how much you care. TAEHYUN: I’m actually not close with that many people. There’s people I care for, or see all the time, or do stuff with, and I feel like, even if I put in the time and effort, it still requires a lot of opening up and communication. That’s what the people in my life mean to me. With the group, I feel like it has to be that way to end up with better results and build trust. That means that sometimes when we’re talking together, we’re not just saying nice things. If all you’re looking to do is keep things roughly as they are, you could get away with saying nice things exclusively, but sometimes you just have to say or hear unpleasant things.

That could honestly be hard to handle, but it’s love that keeps you going, isn’t it? TAEHYUN: It’s important how I express things, but I think it’s also important what the other members think of me. If they’re working with the knowledge that I’m saying those things out of love, they wouldn’t think it’s absurd. It’d just be nagging otherwise. (laughs) It takes a lot of effort from everyone involved.

But you have nothing but love when it comes to MOA. I randomly saw how one time while YEONJUN was doing pre-recording, you talked about how MOA’s wait times need to be shortened. TAEHYUN: I hope our fans can have the best fan experience possible. I felt like it’d be better if we came back out a little sooner in the space between songs to talk. Spending a little extra time on fixing ourselves up doesn’t really make us look that much better, I mean. (laughs) I told our staff, “We should hurry out there,” and I guess they listened. (laughs)

You also left a comment on weverse saying, “Wishing other people happiness is one of the ways I’ve found happiness myself.” I’m guessing you had an experience that led you to feel that way. TAEHYUN: When I meet fans, sometimes they say things like, “You saved my life.” Honestly, all I could do was do my best with singing, put out some albums, and get up onstage. I think maybe the reason they say it that way is because getting to know TOMORROW X TOGETHER and seeing us brings out positive feelings for them. I thought that wishing happiness for the same people who made me feel happy and wishing the best for them would send more positive vibes back their way again. I think that moment really hit me.

#txt #tomorrow x together #241114 #weverse magazine #taehyun #kang taehyun #weverse

39 notes · View notes

matan4il · 2 years ago

Text

Buddie 614 meta

What I find to be the loudest about Eddie’s arc here is that the whole ep is meant to show us everything that can go wrong when people try to live up to others’ expectations, and how much better it is when people are looking in and figuring out what’s right for them, which means they’re performing for and as themselves. That’s the context for Eddie’s date and story. He needs to figure out how to want a romantic relationship again without feeling like it’s a task he’s performing just to please others. That’s the place he gets to at the end of the ep, which is a good place for him to be. ~~

And this is essential to Eddie. Based on how little people talk about it, maybe many in fandom aren’t aware of how 911 implied back in 217 that he only married Shannon because she got pregnant. Eddie said explicitly he didn’t think he was ready to get married at the time, and he brought this up in the context of Shannon and him having Christopher. So I think it’s very meaningful that here, when his aunt wants to set him up, he jumps straight to the (wrong) conclusion that he’s expected to marry Vanessa. He was under this pressure to perform for others before, he knows how disastrous it can turn out, and you know what? Trauma totally triggers this kind of reaction. It tells us where he’s at emotionally, that there are still things he has to deal with. ~~

Speaking of trauma, another symptom of it can be denial, and we do see a bit of it from Eddie during this ep. Remember how he claimed he doesn’t panic back in 501? Right to a doctor’s face while she’s diagnosing him with panic attacks? He did it again in this ep. The thing is that healing isn’t linear. He was advancing with some things, but in 614, faced with his aunt’s ambush, he feels cornered back into a place he’s been in before, a place that left its scars on him, and Eddie regresses. Which is okay! But that’s one step back in order to take two steps forward. Before the ep ends, he will figure out that it’s better not closing himself off completely to the idea of getting into another relationship, even if Tia Pepa’s surprise blind dates are not the way to go about it. ~~

As a side note, I loved Bobby basically trying to trick his subordinates into giving him a review, and poor Buck stepping right into that one. I saw it coming and I almost choked laughing. This show is damn brilliant with comedy, too. We don’t give it enough credit for that! But it's also a moment when I was really proud of Buck. If Eddie's panic caused him to take a step back, we got to see his husband, who grew up so unloved that he needs every bit of approval he can get, being mature and able to point it out when Bobby was over-praising him in his evaluation. And you know what's more? Bobby knew it would go like this. He has seen Buck's growth and he knew his surrogate son would do the right thing and correct this. Bobby's set up wouldn't have worked otherwise. Excuse me while I get emotional over this. ~~

Fitting for an ep where 911 flexed its comical muscles, it was embarrassing how hard I laughed at Buck’s reaction to Eddie’s romantic woes. Remember when Buck heavily implied how hurtful it was to be ghosted by Abby, saying in 502 that he had been in Ana’s position, of being unwanted and led on instead of getting a clean break up? Well, look at how quick Buck was to suggest ghosting as a viable option for Eddie this time! It’s almost like Buck doesn’t even notice that he will offer whatever it takes to keep his husband away from these potential Love Interests, even if it contradicts stuff he has said in the past himself. The way Buck could be so calm making this suggestion, and take the “threat” in stride, because duh, he knows his husband wouldn’t want these LIs intruding on their marriage and family either, and it’s absolutely legit to just ghost this girl if she doesn’t get the memo, was hilarious. And honestly, who can blame Buck? He’s defending his hot man. ;p ~~

Which brings me to my weekly gif set, that I dedicated this time to Buck pointing out on Eddie’s failure to let Ana down easy. I mean, it already IS canon that these two talk about everything, it IS canon that Buck is someone who gets to hear all about Eddie’s romantic woes. But this proves that Eddie doesn’t just fill him in using broad strokes, stuff like just letting Buck know that he indeed broke up with Ana. No, they get down to the finer resolution as well, and Buck gets to hear every detail about how Eddie did it with the delicacy of a bull in a china shop. And clearly, Buck wasn’t about respecting either Ana or Eddie’s pain during that break up, at least not enough to stop Buck from teasing his husband about it. XD It’s so funny how naturally Buck’s staking his claim on his husband even while they’re discussing going on dates. I see you, Buck, and am totally with you! ~~

One last “made me laugh” point. I’m tempted to snicker about Pepa telling Eddie he should be shopping for antiques. I’m queer, so please excuse my dumb queer humor, but ummm. That’s not a very straight suggestion for your nephew, Tia. Or maybe that’s deliberate, maybe it’s implied she is trying to set up Eddie with anyone, girls or guys? After all, she did use gender neutral language during this ep... So we can’t know for sure, but something tells me Pepa just wants Eddie to officially have someone, and if she learns that Buck actually IS her nephew’s other half? (I can’t call either of these morons ‘better half’, sorry) Then she’d be the first one to throw them a party! And I love that, and I love her. Because after all, she’s not just a sassy queen, she’s not just incredibly loving and caring with her nephew, she was also willing to sacrifice her own image in his eyes, she was willing to be seen as herself, and not as what he expects, in order to help remind him that even if his first marriage failed miserably, he can find the courage, move on and re-commit himself to someone else. And soon maybe Eddie will realize and Pepa will find out who is that someone else that Eddie can have a beautiful committed r/s with...

~~ (my weekly meta posts) (my Buddie gifs) (all of my content)

~~ My tag list will follow in the reblog, please let me know if you wanna be added/removed here.

~~ Thank you so much for reading and for any reblog, like, comment or supportive tag! I really couldn't keep doing these without knowing people want to see them. Also, my eternal gratitude as always to @whosoldherout. I'm always in awe of your giffing!

651 notes · View notes

writerblue275 · 7 months ago

Note

hi i love ur work so much and ive been racking up the courage to try and make a request so here we go. uhm. can you do maybe an irritated/upset!reader and how the heartsteel boys would comfort them? or vice versa with them being upset and the best way to comfort them/reader trying to comfort them.. idk loll. (ily again btw ur works giv me life)

Hello sweet Anon!! I’m so happy you enjoy my work! Thank you for the lovely words, they mean a lot to me. And thank you for requesting!! I totally get it. I’m a very anxious person so I definitely have to work up the courage to request or comment on stuff. But I promise I don’t bite (like 99.999999% of the time)!💙

How Heartsteel would comfort an upset/frustrated reader

Inspiration: So I know I said I’d work on requests generally in the order they’re sent, but I was literally in the process of doing basically this as a non-requested WiP. Because lately life has been TRYING. ME. 🙃 (I will neither confirm nor deny having multiple stress cries in my car the past week.) So even though this is my newest request, since I was already working on something like this, I might as well combine the two. I think I’ll just keep this to them comforting the reader, but I like the idea of doing a separate one where reader comforts the Heartsteel members. Also listen, I absolutely love me a good comfort moment. I melt.

Genre: Headcanon (with some fake texts??? Trying something a little new here.)

Type: A bit angsty just because you’re upset, but fluff because comfort.

Gender: Gender Neutral Reader!

TW: General hurt/comfort. Mentions of a no good very bad day/week for reader. Swearing.

Aphelios

I think Aphelios would actually do comfort pretty damn well. He’s also used to being stressed and tired and upset about things (because let’s be real he works so hard. Too hard sometimes) so he’d be great to turn to.

One thing I think Phel would do, if you do visit him in his studio, is play music to distract your mind a bit from whatever has you so upset. Now this might be through a file he’s already recorded on his computer and sent to Yone to be mixed. However, he also just has a shit ton of different instruments in his work space.

So pick one for him to play and he’s happy to do so. You get like a mini concert from an instrumental prodigy! Or even better, pick one that you want to try! He’s happy to teach you some basics on how to play it.

And it doesn’t matter how badly you might sound as you attempt to play an instrument for the first time, Phel’s nodding and clapping as if you just finished giving an incredible performance. Every time. Because he supports you. (Though he will use some very very light teasing occasionally, but he’s joking.)

And he’d definitely order some food in and cuddle or nap with you on his studio couch (which is so mind-blowingly comfortable for some reason). And once you are eating and settled together and in a better mood, then he’d ask if you want to talk about things.

And you don’t have to. He’s happy to continue to keep your mind on happier things. Phel also has a couple gaming consoles hooked up to a tv that you can play with him/watch him play. But he’s also happy to just let you talk and get everything off your chest. (He’s just so supportive oh my god.)

Ezreal

(I enjoyed getting to break out a little millennial/Gen-Z slang here lmao.)

If Ezreal has one goal in your relationship, it’s to try and make you smile as much as possible. He hates seeing you upset or frustrated about something. And he will do anything to help get the smile he adores back on your face.

So when you do come to him upset about something, his internal alarm is just going bonkers. DEFCON 1 level shit. 🚨🚨🚨

If you want comfort? Ezreal’s going to give it to you. He already loves cuddling you so you can have all the therapeutic cuddles your heart desires with him (god bless his love language of physical touch). And he’s more than happy to play with your hair or do whatever actions help you relax the most.

You wouldn’t even have to ask him, he’d already have your favorite comfort food ordered and he’d go pick it up (or have it delivered). He fully know your order by heart.

Builds the BEST pillow forts to unwind in. Truly an expert. Ezreal even decorates it a little bit with some of your favorite comfort things. And as his texts said, pick anything you want to watch. Whether that is a movie, show, gaming streamer, him gaming, it DOES. NOT. MATTER. It’s all up to you. Also if you want him to sing to you he absolutely will, no question. (Can you imagine? HEAVEN!)

He’d let you take the lead on whether or not you want to tell him what has you so upset. He knows stewing in your emotions isn’t always productive, but sometimes talking about things when they’re so fresh in your mind can make the feelings more intense. And while he’s not the go-to guy for advice, he’s an excellent listener. As long as he can play with your hands or hair or something, he’s fully tuned in, letting you get everything off your chest.

He’s such a great example of golden retriever boyfriend, and if golden retrievers are good at anything, it’s comfort and making people happy. So don’t you worry, Ez will have you smiling again in no time.

Kayn

So when it comes to Kayn, comfort is very interesting to think about. Definitely feel like he approaches comfort differently from, say, Ezreal, but he has his own special ways of supporting you and helping you reach a better mindset.

If he can tell you’re frustrated or angry or the type of upset that requires a little bit of rage release, he’s fully on board to go to a rage room with you so you can get out everything you’re feeling in a controlled and safe environment.

And you absolutely know Kayn’s cheering you on the entire time. “FUCK yeah baby! Show that wine bottle who’s boss!” Or “That’s it, Sexy. Work has been driving you nuts right? Take it out on this shitty copier. Fuck it up!” Or *softball pitches a vase to you while you’re standing at-bat*

He’s fully supportive. And if expressing your feelings requires more of an artistic approach, that works for him too. He has a small room that has been turned into an art studio where he goes to practice his graffiti (in a way that’s legal) and he would gladly let you use it. Or he’ll let you play with his guitars if you want. (You’re one of the VERY FEW who can. You, Phel, and Yone.)

And if you just need to talk out your feelings, Kayn’s going to be there to listen, only interjecting if he has questions or if he’s commenting something supportive. “Of course you’re upset, baby. That’s bullshit and would piss me off too!”

And his love language (giving) is physical touch. So if you just want him to hold you while you cry, he can do that. And physical touch doesn’t just mean holding you. Like his hands would just be gently wandering. Nothing suggestive necessarily, but just reassuring. Like rubbing your back or your arms. Playing with your hair. Stuff like that.

It absolutely breaks Kayn’s heart to see you cry. He will do anything to keep you from crying/make you feel better when you are upset. (Again 🤫🤫🤫🤫 don’t tell anyone but he’s a huge softie for you!)

K’Sante

As mentioned in previous headcanons K’Sante gives off the vibes of someone who is just amazing to talk to. And that absolutely applies when it comes to helping you feel better when you’re upset.

Just an absolutely incredible listener. Vent as much as you want to him. He’ll listen to every single word you say. And when I say listen, I mean fully tuned in. You have his undivided attention. (How could he give his partner any less??? He couldn’t, is the answer.)

And if you ask K’Sante for advice? He’s offering you sincere and thought out advice. He truly wants to help you, always.

Now beyond talking, he can also make a mean meal in the kitchen (even if Sett is the official best cook). So you’re going to enjoy some really excellent food. Either your favorite or one of his favorite comfort foods. And that’s never a bad thing.

You’re also receiving some prime cuddles. Have you seen K’Sante??? He loves holding you. And leaning against that broad chest while his arms wrap around you seems like a great way to feel better.

Oh and even better? He will absolutely sing for you if you ask. (Which bestie…how could you not??) His voice is so lovely too. And he will sing any song you want him to. (Though he definitely already knows your favorites that he can pull out if you don’t feel like picking anything/making decisions.)

K’Sante is just someone who would be amazing at comforting you. He’ll go the extra mile in helping you feel better and making sure you know he’s always got your back.

Sett

Sett would be phenomenal at comforting you when you’re upset. He loves to see you smile and will do anything to help bring a smile back to your beautiful face. (Remember his love language is acts of service).

He’d make your favorite comfort food. And hell even that would go a long way in helping you. He cooks with so much love.

And the CUDDLES. Oh my god cuddles with Sett would be 😩👌🏻👌🏻👌🏻. He’s so soft with the people he loves. And he loves YOU.

He’d pull you into his lap, wrap those lovely arms around you, and let you get comfy. And only when he can hear your breathing level out and feel you relax in his arms would he ask about what has you so upset.

And as you’re talking Sett would give you the gentlest little forehead/to-of-the-head kisses and rub your back and stuff. And he’d be such an excellent listener. He’d let you unburden yourself first before talking. He’d also ask if you just want comfort or if you want his advice. He realizes sometimes we all just need someone to listen while we vent and we don’t necessarily need people to give advice. And he respects what you want.

And if you’re ever angry/frustrated-upset, he’d offer to grab his boxing training pads and let you safely hit out your anger. He knows how cathartic that can be. And if you take him up on that, he’s cheering you on the whole way. (Such a hype man.)

And after dinner, he’d give you a couple options. Bath? Massage? More cuddles? Whatever you want, you get. Sett will take care of everything.

Yone

(A/N: The amount of time I spent trying to come up with a better contact name for him…but he’s just so 🥰.)

Yone would be EXCELLENT to turn to when you’re upset. There’s no one who understands work stress more than him (if that’s the problem), and he has all the tools to help you feel better, whatever the issue is.

One of the things Yone is best at is calming you down. Something about his vibe is just very grounding, which is super important when your emotions are running high.

He is absolutely someone who meditates regularly/uses incense and such. (He would have killed his band members by now if he didn’t.) So when you either come to him or call him and he can tell you’re upset/frustrated, I think he’d first do some breathing exercises with you to help settle you down and help you get your emotions back to a more manageable place.

If you’re with him in person, he’d light some of your favorite incense that he always has stocked for you and pull you down to sit in his lap so he can hold you. Because he knows you feel better when he does.

Once Yone can tell you’re in a much calmer state of mind, only then would he ask if you want to talk about things. And he’s truly leaving that up to you.

And once you’ve cuddled for a little bit, and finished talking if you do end up telling him, then he’ll definitely just keep you on his lap and work with you there. He knows you love watching him work on music. He’ll pass you your own set of headphones that he has plugged into a splitter, so you can hear what he’s doing. He’ll even ask for your input. (Nothing too technical unless you have a musical background, but more so “Which of these sounds better, my love?” Or “What do you think, baby? Instrumentals too busy?”) He also gives you the occasional forehead kiss while he works, and those are the BEST.

Yone just gives off such a peaceful vibe (when he’s not stressed by his band members), and that sort of energy is perfect to be around when you’re upset and you need comfort.

Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed. This really helped me feel better I must say. Thank you Anon for requesting this too, and I hope I did your request justice! 💙

#Heartsteel #heartsteel headcanons #heartsteel x reader #reader insert #headcanon #requested #heartsteel aphelios #heartsteel ezreal #heartsteel kayn #heartsteel k'sante #heartsteel sett #heartsteel yone #heartsteel fluff #heartsteel angst #(At least a bit of angst)#league of legends #thank you for requesting! 💙

128 notes · View notes

aquariius-rising · 6 months ago

Text

Lavender Latte (Shikamaru x reader)

Thinking about a slow burn situationship with Shikamaru Nara, who you meet during your first year at university. I got carried away with the mutual pining, but I’d like to eventually make this into a series of fics that can also be read as standalones.

feat: fem!reader, university student! reader, fluff, angst, comfort, mutual pining, two idiots in love

wc: 2.4k | masterlist

It was a general education class, which had little to do with your major, but you were determined to maintain a perfect GPA. Shikamaru did not care too much about GPA, he just wanted to graduate (D’s do get degrees, after all).

On the first day of class, he was the last person to arrive. The only seat available to him was up front, next to you. You smiled at him and passed him an extra copy of the syllabus, which you saved in case someone came in late. He mumbled a quiet thank you.

He found your attitude grating at first, especially since the class was at 9am. He couldn’t understand how you managed to show up early, eyes bright and well-rested with your color coded notes that you took ahead of each lecture.

You answered every discussion question and hosted study sessions in your dorm room. Shikamaru, on the other hand, showed up late (if he showed at all). He didn’t talk unless he had to, and he certainly didn’t take notes. You were sunshine in human form, and Shikamaru preferred to stay in the shadows.

When he showed up 15 minutes late one morning, he noticed that you’d saved his seat and left an energy bar with a smiley sticker on it. A sticker!

‘Tch. troublesome.’

He cursed you for being so sweet, but the lazy man made a point to grab your favorite coffee as a thank you for the next class. He scoffed at your order, a flowery latte with plant milk.

‘Women,’ he muttered to himself, ordering it and a black coffee for himself.

Despite your differences, the two of you got along.

You only see each other in the context of the single class you share, but you make a powerful study team. The rest of the class, sensing that they could never keep up with your high energy and his intellect, slowly stopped showing up to your sessions.

Noticing this, Shikamaru began to come each week. Eventually, you two had a private study session. You tell him you need an A in this class because you want to apply to law school, and for some reason he decides he wants to help you get there. Your grades soared, and Shikamaru found himself making a point to get to class only 5 minutes late.

His group of friends teased him about it every time they met for a kickback. Since when do you care about gen eds? They’d ask. Shikamaru could only curse at them and roll his eyes.

Your friends were equally confused. They couldn’t understand why you’d spend time with a slacker like Shikamaru. You laughed them off, assuring them that he’s actually the smartest person you’ve ever met, and that he’s just waiting until his higher level classes start next year.

Exam week looms over campus like a thick fog. You were especially anxious to set the best foundation for your academic performance, which is why you were camping in the library. You spent a solid 6 hours staring at your textbooks, willing your brain to understand what you were reading.

“The answer is C,” a voice drawled behind you, startling you back to reality. And there he was, smirking down at your disheveled appearance, your latte in hand.

He’s never seen you so flustered, and for a moment, he wondered what else could make you look like that. He wanted to be the one to tousle your hair and make you stare up at him with those wide eyes. A slight blush crosses his face and he averts his gaze. You don’t notice.

He offers the caffeine to you and you accept it, your eyes filled with gratitude and he settles in a seat beside you for a quick tutoring session. It helps, and you try in vain to offer anything in return.

You both get the highest grades in the class, of course. Your friends go out for a night to celebrate and to loosen up after 16 weeks of focusing on classes, volunteering, and internships. They meet you in your tiny dorm room with 2 bottles of cheap red wine and dress you in your roommate’s old little black dress before sneaking out to a bar on campus.

The smell of cigarette smoke mixes with greasy pub food, and you can’t maneuver around the space without bumping into someone. The experience is equal parts mortifying and exhilarating.

Shikamaru notices you walk in. He’s surprised you’d come to this shitty establishment since he’s never seen you out during the regular semester. He puts out his cigarette and ambles toward you, ignoring his friends’ prying questions.

You beam when you meet his gaze, and emboldened by the unfamiliar territory, you offer to buy him a drink. To make up for all the coffees he got you, of course. Shikamaru lets out a laugh at this.

‘Troublesome woman,’. You giggle at the nickname and loop your arm with his, dragging him to the bar. Your shoes stick to the linoleum flooring, making your inebriated steps clumsier.

He steadies you, rolling his eyes despite the mirth dancing in his eyes. You let him order for both of you since you don’t know what you like, and he hands you a yellow drink. The bartender smirks knowingly at Shikamaru, and you quietly pay and offer a meek “thank you”.

His eyes drink in the way your hair sticks to your neck and the soft sheen of sweat that gathers at your hairline, causing the tiny hairs there to curl from the moisture. You smell like summertime, citrus and wildflowers. It cuts through the heavy smell that lingers around the venue.

“Tequila pineapple,” he offers. You look at him with slight confusion.

“Your drink. It’s not a real cocktail since this isn’t a real bar, but it works,” he said simply. You thank him again and try it. It burns, of course, but the pineapple juice offers sweet relief. He laughs at your attempt to drink without wincing.

Your friends find you before you can talk properly and you follow them to the dancefloor, careful not to spill on anyone. You shoot him an apologetic glance before getting lost in the fervor around you. It’s sweaty and maybe a little gross, but the tequila makes it difficult for you to concentrate fully.

Shikamaru returned to his friends, his beer half finished. Lately, your conversations have left him feeling uneasy. He’d hoped it was because of exams but he knew what was happening. Every shared laugh, every conspiratorial look, felt like a punch to his gut. It was a tangled mess of emotions he was ill-equipped to deal with.

He tried to pay attention to whatever Kiba was talking about, but his eyes kept flickering to you. Eventually, Choji followed his gaze to your form.

"So that’s why you’re up at 8AM on Mondays?" Choji asked, darting between his childhood friend and you. The rest of the group, sensing a juicy conversation taking place, turned to face you too. Kiba whistled, causing Naruto to burst in a fit of laughter.

“It’s not like that,” he muttered, watching some guy wrap his arm around your waist and whisper something in your ear. The dazzling smile you give him in response could have stopped Shikamaru’s heart. His hand tightens around his beercan, denting it a bit. Choji looks at him, sympathy clear on his face.

You swayed, holding onto someone’s shoulder for extra stability. The air around you was electric. You hummed in tune with the music, loud and overpowering.

A guy from your political science class, Sasuke was it?, approaches you. He tells you he was impressed with your final project, making you blush. He was handsome, but the connection between you was friendly. He leans into you and asks you about your roommate and you grin, ecstatic to play matchmaker.

You grab your roommate to introduce her, but she surprises you with her own observation.

“He keeps staring,”

You blink, once, twice. She motions for you to turn around, so you spin dramatically. Your friends groan at your lack of subtlety. You lock eyes with Shikamaru, who finishes his drink without breaking eye contact. A shiver races down your spine.

Shikamaru Nara didn’t like girls with so much energy. Shikamaru Nara will never put in the effort to date. You knew this, but the hours you spent together made it impossible to ignore the way you craved his attention.

Frozen on the dancefloor, all you can do is watch as he leaves the bar. The night continues, wholly unaware of your pity party.

Shikamaru stalks toward the exit, ignoring the calls from Choji and pushing past drunk people more forcefully than he should. He needed air. Stepping outside, he leaned against the brick wall, a cigarette dangling unlit from his lips. The cold air felt welcome after being in the hot and humid bar for the last 2 hours.

He groaned and searched his coat pocket for his lighter. It was unfair how much you affected him. He hasn’t felt quite like himself for months, and you seemed to be completely oblivious to the effect you had on every fiber of his being.

Taking a long drag of his cigarette, Shikamaru reflects on just how much he wishes he could say something to you. He has no idea if he’ll see you again once he left campus for winter break since you were going to be in different programs.

Tonight felt like a gift until you were ripped from him by circumstance. He hears commotion near the exit, so he turns to the source of noise. His heart rate skyrockets when he sees you, searching for something.

You talk to the bouncer, but the wind makes it difficult for him to hear your words. The burly man motions in his direction, and you see him. You start to head in his direction with that same dazzling smile.

He offers you his cigarette and you laugh. Of course you don’t smoke, but he wanted to break the ice somehow. There’s a heaviness that lingers between you both. And for once, he notices, you seem to realize it too.

You shiver, December weather finally penetrating your liquid jacket. He shrugs out of his jacket and offers it to you, ever the gentleman. It’s hard not to swoon when he treats you so sweetly.

The jacket smells like smoke and his cologne, a distinctly masculine scent. You nuzzle the collar and inhale, earning a laugh from your normally stoic companion. The sound sends goosebumps over your skin. He tells you the dress looks good on you, that it makes you look cool with his jacket. He asks you how it feels to go out for the first time. You retreat into the jacket, but will yourself to respond.

"It's...different," you admit, the words muffled by fabric. You weren't sure if you meant the change in style or the shift in your dynamic that you both seem to be acknowledging tonight.

Shikamaru chuckles again,"Good different, I hope?"

You meet his gaze, the playful teasing you usually shared replaced by a hesitant vulnerability. "Different...and confusing."

He pushes off the wall, shoving his hands into his pockets.

"Confusing?" He echoes, his voice a low murmur. He looks dangerous and you gulp despite yourself.

"You," you blurted, surprised by your own boldness. "You looked upset. And then you were gone,"

Shikamaru flinches, a flicker of something akin to embarrassment crossing his face, seeming to wrestle with the right words. You take a step closer to him.

There was a beat of silence, thick with emotion. Finally, Shikamaru sighs.

"Look," he mumbles, scratching the back of his neck, a nervous habit you noticed on the first day of class. "Don't get the wrong idea about… back there."

You feel the moment slipping away before you’ve said what you’ve been too afraid to say for 4 months. You reach for him, desperate to prevent him from sabotaging what they had before they could confess to each other.

“Sasuke was interested in my roommate. He’s my friend,” you say, firmly.

He meets your gaze, the air crackling between you, tension reaching a fever pitch. "This isn't..." He paused again, frustration evident in his furrowed brow. "This isn't how I thought things would be. I hoped to tell you before now, I guess"

Your heart hammers against your ribs. Did he just...? But before you can press him further, a mischievous grin spreads across his face. "Besides," he continues, a hint of his usual playfulness returning, "You wouldn’t want to waste your time with a troublesome guy like me, would you?"

The playful tease sent a wave of relief and confusion washing over you. Before you could decipher his mixed signals, he flicked his cigarette butt onto the ground, an almost defeated sigh escaping his lips.

"Come on," he said, offering you his arm. "Let's get you back inside before you freeze."

You hesitate for a moment, the weight of his unspoken words hanging heavy in the air. Then, with a small smile, you grab his hand, intertwining your fingers with his. Before nerves can convince you otherwise, you brush your lips against his. Time stands still as he takes a step toward you, deepening the kiss for a second longer before parting. Your breath heaves from excitement and he swears he could cry tears of joy.

“Okay, now let’s go back,” you whisper against his lips. He nods, unable to say anything.

You join him inside, this time meeting his friends.

Choji watches Shikamaru joke with you, his demeanor more excited than he’s ever seen. And you stare up at him, the depths of your feelings obvious to everyone but the two of you. Even Kiba, normally the jokester and playboy, can’t help but smile at your obvious chemistry.

Sasuke buys everyone in both groups a round, as a thank you for setting him up with your roommate. Despite your differences, everyone chatters excitedly about their upcoming plans during break and your schedules for next semester.

You have no idea what the future holds, or what tonight means for you and him, but you decide not to think about it for now as you take a sip of your second tequila pineapple.

Shikamaru never thought a troublesome 9AM class would inspire gratitude, but looking at you tucked beside him warmed him like a sip of perfectly brewed coffee on that fateful morning.

#naruto au #naruto fanfiction #naruto x reader #shikamaru x reader #shikamaru nara x reader #shikamaru x y/n #shikamaru nara x y/n #shikamaru x you #shikamaru nara x you #x reader #i have a crush on shikamaru omg!!#he's my fav

55 notes · View notes

genshinluvr · 2 years ago

Text

Crave 6

Pairings: Various Genshin Men x Isekai'd!Reader, Dainsleif x Isekai'd!Reader x Kaeya

Summary: You're going adventuring to the ruins on your own! The men will accompany you on the first part of your exploration to get rid of the monsters that are roaming around and you'll continue your exploration after they eliminate the monsters. Just when you think you're in the ruins alone, two people make their appearance known after watching your little performance.

Note: Fun fact! I didn't plan on making and posting Crave 6 until after I completed the recent archon quest 💀 I decided to scrap the fic that was supposed to be posted this week and chose to write a Dainsleif and Kaeya smut because I missed them and because they look so good in the recent archon quest 🫶🏻 The order goes from the people that have been in the harem the longest to the newly added men/characters. This smut is probably not my best, so I'll make it up to Dainsleif and Kaeya by giving them (hopefully) better and longer smuts in their individual mini-fics (that is still part of the Isekai'd!reader series). As previously stated in the previous Crave "series," I tried to keep the story as gender-neutral as possible. All of my smuts do lean towards female!reader/AFAB!reader with gender-neutral pronouns. As usual, minors DO NOT INTERACT! I don't post anywhere else but on Tumblr (Genshinluvr) and on AO3 (Aaliah_exo).

Warnings: Horribly written smut (as per usual), threesome, fingering, chest/breast grabbing, hickeys, public sex, cervix fucking, double penetration, slight overstimulation (???), creampie, slight breeding kink (?)

Word Count: 9.5k

Crave "Chapters": [1], [2], [3], [4], [5], [6], [7]

You peek your head into the living room of the estate, debating how you’re going to ask the men for permission to go out and explore Teyvat alone. Technically you don’t need their permission to go out because you’re an adult, and you’re capable of taking care of yourself when you’re out of the estate. You want to breathe the fresh air of Teyvat, bask in the sunlight, and have some alone time for yourself!

While you don’t mind having the men accompany you, you think some alone time for yourself would be good once in a while. Plus, it’s not like you’re going to go out and wreak havoc on Teyvat or put yourself in danger! Well, the last part, you can’t promise them that since Teyvat is filled with danger in every corner. You can’t even trust merchants, or else they will scam you and take all of your Mora!

You walk into the living room, your hands crossed behind your back while giving the men an innocent smile. They all look up from what they are doing and look at you curiously. You purse your lips and stand in the center of the living room. Now that you have gotten their attention, you’re starting to question whether you should go on with the plan or not.

“Heyyyyyy, may I ask you all something?” You ask, bouncing on the balls of your feet.

Zhongli closes his newspaper and places it on the coffee table in front of him, reaching for his teacup and taking a sip. “You can ask us anything, dearest,” Zhongli says after taking a sip of his tea.

“May I go out and explore Teyvat on my own?” You ask, waiting for their answers.

Diluc raises his eyebrows at you. “I’m sure you can go out on your own without our permission, sweetheart,” Diluc says, fixing his gloves.

You stare at Diluc owlishly, trying to process what he just said to you. You’re allowed to leave the abode without the men’s permission and their company? This is something you’re not used to because you hardly leave the estate on your own or in general unless it’s to attend your classes. Plus, in your world, your parents never allowed you to leave the house without their permission. Then again, your parents hardly let you leave the house in general, so the men giving you the freedom to explore Teyvat on your own is a foreign concept for you.

Childe looks at you with an amused look, the corner of his lips quirking up. “Why do you have that expression on your face, snookums?” Childe asks, laughing softly.

You press your lips into a thin line. “You guys aren’t going to prevent me from leaving the abode on my own?” You ask.

“Now, why would we do that? You’re an adult. You can leave the estate by yourself whenever you want without our permission. As long as you inform us that you’re leaving and your whereabouts,” Ayato says, running his fingers through his hair.

You look at the men suspiciously, poking the inside of your cheek with your tongue. You’re not sure whether you should take their word for it because you know how protective they can get. Plus, you said you wanted to explore Teyvat alone. You didn’t specify the area, nor did you mention whether it would be the city or the ruins. And you want to explore the ruins.

Xiao narrows his eyes at you. “Where are you going to explore exactly?” Xiao asks.

Ah. There it is.

You cross your arms over your chest. “I’m going to explore the ruins!” You say confidently.

The men look at you with wide eyes, unsure what to say. Did they not tell you that you can leave the abode without needing their permission? After all, you are an adult like them. You don’t need them to hold your hand every step of the way when you’re in Teyvat. Right? Although, you don’t mind holding hands with them in general. You were, uh, using it as a figure of speech. It’s not like most of the ruins throughout Teyvat are teeming with monsters, Eremites, the Fatui, and treasure hoarders! Some ruins are empty and devoid of life. You’re going to have a look around, not pick up an artifact and take it for yourself. You want to explore the ruins because you had been researching about the ruins a few weeks ago, and it piqued your interest.

“Any particular reason why you chose to explore the ruins? We assumed you’re going to explore the cities and villages,” Al Haitham says, crossing his arms over his chest while looking at you skeptically.

“I had been researching the ancient ruins at the House of Daena a few weeks ago, and the topic of the ruins has piqued my interest ever since,” you reply.

Realization dawns on Kaveh. “Oh, so that’s why you were asking me so many questions about the architecture of the ancient ruins,” Kaveh says, stroking his chin.

You clasp your hands in front of you. “So? Can I explore the ruins on my own?” You ask.

“What ruins are you going to explore? There are many ruins scattered around Teyvat,” Tighnari says, raising his eyebrows at you while his ears twitch with curiosity.

Fuck. You didn’t have a specific ruin in mind. You were going to throw darts in the dark, and wherever the dart lands, you’re going to explore the ruins in that region. Now that you think about it, where can you explore without getting into trouble with the government of that region? You’re not entirely sure if you can explore the ruins in Sumeru or Inazuma because those two regions are teeming with Eremites, Nobushis, and Kairagis.

“You don’t have a place in mind, do you?” Cyno deadpans.

You shake your head. “None at all, but I will be staying away from Sumeru and Inazuma. The regions are beautiful, but the enemies there are terrifying,” you shiver.

Heizou props his hands on your shoulders and pinches your cheek. “Good choice on staying away from Inazuma. It’s a beautiful region to explore, but only if it’s in a populated area,” Heizou says.

If you’re going to explore the ruins on your own, you’re going to need to be prepared in case anything happens. That being said, does that mean you have permission to walk around the ruins while carrying the teapot? It’s portable, so you don’t see why not as long as the men don’t randomly pop out from the teapot while you’re walking up a steep hill of the ruins. You don’t plan on climbing up precarious cliffs; you’re not going to risk it.

“Do you want me to pack you anything to eat while you’re out adventuring in the ruins?” Thoma asks, sitting on the couch’s armrest beside Ayato.

You tap your chin. You don’t plan on being in the ruins for too long. Perhaps from in the morning to the mid to late afternoon? For some reason, you assumed monsters would roam the ruins at night when no one’s around, but you’re optimistic that the ruins are going to be devoid of life other than your presence.

“Lunch would be nice! I don’t plan on being out for way too long. Also, I will be carrying the teapot with me, too, if that’s okay,” you said, pursing your lips.

Venti giggles and pokes you in the belly button, making you squawk before slapping his hands away with a small glare.

“I think it’s cute that you’ll be bringing us with you on your adventure to the ruins! We’ll be with you, but not actually with you,” Venti says, leaning in his seat.

Baizhu raises his hand. “I’ll be packing a first aid kit for you to bring on your adventure just in case anything happens. I’m optimistic you won’t get injured, but you’d never know,” Baizhu says, shrugging his shoulders.

Ah, right. How could you forget about bringing a first aid kit with you? Even though you’ll be out in the ruins (the specific location of the ruin is still unknown), you’re grateful your boyfriends are helping you prepare for your exploration. It’s not like you’ll be exploring the ruins immediately after getting their permission. You still need to prepare and make sure to bring essential items without bringing too many things that’ll weigh you down.

Aether looks at you curiously. “Are you going to the ruins today, or will that be some other time?” Aether asks.

“Tomorrow! I’m not leaving today because I need time to get things ready for the exploration tomorrow, and I need to make sure I have sunscreen with me,” you said.

Itto sighs in relief and throws his arms around your shoulders, hugging you tightly. “That’s good to know! At least we have some time to cuddle with you before you go on your exploration!” Itto says, resting his cheek on top of your head.

“You’re so cute, Itto,” you coo.

Itto giggles and lays his cheek on your head, stroking your hair. Your bottom lip juts out, and you reach up and squeeze his cheeks lightly. This is going to be the first time you’ll be exploring Teyvat on your own, and you’re actually nervous about it. Not because of the unfamiliar setting but because you’ll be alone for the first time, and you don’t know what’s going to happen and how things are going to go while you’re out.

“So, do you have any specific place in mind?” Gorou asks, poking your thigh to grab your attention.

You shake your head. “Not really. I’m leaning towards Liyue, but I’m not sure if Liyue is what I’ll be sticking my mind to,” you said.

“Oh? Does Liyue bore you?” Pantalone asks, looking at Zhongli from the corner of his eyes.

You stare at Pantalone quizzically and slowly shake your head. You’ve visited Liyue plenty of times, and it’s probably the only region you have visited the most because of the food and because Zhongli would invite you and the other men to have lunch or dinner at Liuli Pavilion or Xinyue Kiosk.

You hold a finger up. “If I do choose Liyue in the end, I will be exploring Tianqiu Valley.”

Pierro raises his eyebrows at you, crosses his arms over his chest, and sits back. “Last time I checked, Tianqiu Valley is teeming with treasure hoarders, hilichurls, geovishap hatchlings, and many more,” Pierro says gruffly.

Well, shit. You completely forgot about that. Tianqiu Valley pops up in your mind first when thinking about ruins in Liyue, other than Guili Plains. Still, you decide to stay away from Guili Plains for the sake of your safety. And for the sake of your sanity as well.

You shrug, getting out of Itto’s grasp. “Okay, then what about the Stormterror’s Lair?”

“Also teeming with monsters, my dove,” Kazuha gives you a sympathetic smile.

You press your lips into a thin line and stare blankly at everyone in the room. There are ruins that aren’t occupied with life and monsters, but they’re usually in domains. Now that you think about it, you can still go to the ruins you have named. All you have to do is be careful and not get caught by the enemies mentioned.

“How about this: you all can accompany me on the first part of my journey to the ruins and, you know, get rid of the roaming enemies, then all of you can retreat into the teapot, and my solo exploration can begin!” You suggest.

Scaramouche drags out his sigh and pulls you over to him, letting you sit on his lap while he wraps his arms around your waist. Scaramouche places his chin on your head and closes his eyes, shaking his head.

“I believe we spoil you too much,” Scaramouche murmurs.

You smile and giggle, snuggling up against him. “But you guys love it,” you said, poking him in the chest with your index finger and peeking at the other men in the room.

“That we do. But we’re not complaining about it,” Albedo says, smiling at you.

“You got yourself a deal. We’ll be with you on the first part of your exploration of the ruins of your choice. Once we eliminate the nearby monsters, we’ll let you continue your exploration. We will be in the teapot if you need us,” Dottore says, stroking your hair after grabbing Scaramouche’s face and shoving him away.

Capitano sighs and shakes his head. “You’re both adults, don’t start fighting like insolent children now,” Capitano says gruffly.

The two men next to you ignore Capitano’s comment. Scaramouche scowls and zaps Dottore. Dottore snorts and ignores the shoving coming from Scaramouche’s end. You sigh and let yourself zone out while Scaramouche and Dottore are bickering with each other like stray cats fighting over the last piece of a chicken nugget. You can hear everyone sigh simultaneously while Scaramouche and Dottore continue batting at each other.

Dottore ends up accidentally whacking you in the face while trying to reach for Scaramouche. Scaramouche moved out of the way successfully, but that didn’t give you enough time to process what was happening. Your mouth opens in a silent scream, and you clutch your face.

“I swear, every time you men get into petty squabbles, I’m the one that gets whacked in the face or head,” you grumble.

Scaramouche pulls you to his chest, glaring at Dottore. “Look at what you’ve done! You hurt [Y/N]!” Scaramouche exclaims, pointing an accusing finger at the doctor.

Dottore ignores Scaramouche’s comment and smacks Scaramouche’s hand to the side before pulling you off Scaramouche’s lap. Dottore has you sit on his lap while he checks the area where he accidentally hit you.

You give Dottore’s bicep a reassuring squeeze. “It was an accident, so there’s no need to worry or apologize,” you say.

Instead of responding to your reassurance, Dottore presses his lips on your head while murmuring an apology. Capitano and Pierro share a collective sigh, shaking their heads or pinching the bridge of their nose.

“I think [Y/N] is less likely to be injured while out exploring the ruins alone than being in the same room as those two,” Capitano says before gesturing toward Childe, “and Childe, if the Balladeer and Childe were to bicker.”

Childe scoffs. “I didn’t even do anything, and you’re dragging me into this mess?” Childe asks, looking at Capitano incredulously.

Pierro huffs out a laugh. “Oh, Childe, you and the Balladeer always get into petty arguments. Do you not remember when both of you were so occupied with bickering that you two didn’t realize [Y/N] nearly got run over by a sumpter beast?” Pierro raises an eyebrow at Childe.

Oh, yeah, you forgot about that! You, Childe, and Scaramouche were tasked to gather some henna berries in the desert. Scaramouche and Childe end up arguing over whether the three of you should split to gather henna berries faster. While the two were at each other’s throats, Scaramouche chucks a henna berry at Childe and misses, only for the henna berry to hit a sumpter beast’s face, pissing it off.

You exhale through your nose. “I tried to outrun the sumpter beast, but it caught up to me so fast. I saw my life flash before my eyes, and I swear, I thought I was going to die that day,” you say, chuckling to yourself.

That day was terrifying because you nearly got trampled by a sumpter beast while Childe and Scaramouche were busy insulting each other. The three of you took so long to gather henna berries that Pantalone had to check up on the three of you, only to see nothing but chaos when he arrived at the area where you three were. Pantalone annihilates the sumpter beast with one swipe while you’re clinging onto his back, praying to the archons that you wouldn’t die by being trampled.

The hilarious thing was when the four of you returned to the estate, Zhongli and Venti were standing at the door, waiting for your return. Venti informed you that he and Zhongli heard your prayers and was confused, worried, and horrified when a series of your prayers popped up in his head. Zhongli, on the other hand, was scolding Childe and Scaramouche on the side.

Kaeya chuckles, “It’s a good thing you’re not going to explore the ruins in Sumeru. We wouldn’t want you to relive that experience,” Kaeya says, ruffling your hair from behind the couch.

“Oh, archons, I hope I don’t have to relive the experience of being chased down by a beast bigger than all of us,” you say.

You stand up and dust stretch your arms in the air, yawning. It looks like you’ll need to sleep early tonight for your exploration of the ruins. Again, you have yet to decide what regions to explore. You wouldn’t mind exploring the ruins in Inazuma and Sumeru, perhaps you’ll do that in the future, but for now, you’re debating between Mondstadt and Liyue.

“We should help you pack a few essential items for tomorrow,” Ayato says, grabbing your hand and leading you up the stairs to your bedroom.

Dainsleif follows close behind. “Have you made the decision on where you want to explore the ruins?” Dainsleif asks.

You hum thoughtfully. “Well, I was thinking about Liyue at first, but then I realized that I’ve visited Liyue quite often. Therefore, I am going to explore Stormterror’s Lair! It’s quite big, so there should be plenty of things for me to explore,” you answer.

Venti laughs nervously. “If you’re going to explore the Stormterror’s Lair, please make sure not to touch any object you see on the ground,” Venti instructs.

You salute Venti. “Aye, aye, captain!” You give the anemo archon a thumbs up.

You’re not entirely sure what Venti was referring to when he instructs you not to touch any object you see lying on the ground. Still, you will follow Venti’s instructions and not pick up anything. You’re sure there’s nothing valuable at the Stormterror’s Lair. Even if there is something valuable at the Stormterror’s Layer, you don’t plan on bringing back any artifacts or souvenirs to the estate.

The men end up packing essential items for you to bring on your journey to the ruins. A first aid kit, a stainless steel water bottle, an extra water bottle, a bottle of sunscreen, and a few more items you didn’t think of because you have never gone out into nature by yourself before. Or in general. Thoma has informed you he will be packing you lunch when he gets up to make breakfast. At first, you did plan on leaving the estate to go to the Stormterror’s Lair early in the morning (before the sun rose), but you did not want to get up that early. So, you and the men opted to leave the estate around seven thirty in the morning. It’s still early, but not as early as the original time.

Dinner went on like usual, but once dinner was over, everyone began treating you like you were going to die soon. Your boyfriends spoiled the hell out of you by giving you endless kisses, cuddles, and affection. I mean, you’re not complaining about it! You love it when your boyfriends spoil you with affection and give you their undivided attention. While you hate having people’s attention, you love being the center of attention when it comes to your boyfriends.

Your yawning and stretching are interrupted when someone snakes their arms around your waist, letting their hands slide beneath your t-shirt to squeeze your chest. You squeak, let your arms fall to your side and turn to look at the person behind you with wide eyes. Itto gives you a cheeky smile and nuzzles against you, his hands on your chest underneath your shirt.

“Someone’s a little touchy today,” you chuckle, running your fingers through his hair.

Itto presses his lips against your neck. “As your boyfriend, I should be allowed to show my significant other my affections before they leave on an adventure,” Itto says, peppering kisses down your neck to where your neck and shoulders meet.

You giggle and stroke his hair. “Itto, I’m not going to be away for long! It’ll be a few hours! Plus, you and the others are also accompanying me on the first part of my trip,” you say.

Itto ignores your comment and continues to litter your neck with kisses, squeezing your breasts with his big hands. Before Itto can take things further, Al Haitham grabs Itto by the ears and pulls him away from you. Itto cries out in pain, and his hands slip out of your shirt while he tries to get Al Haitham to release him.

Al Haitham rolls his eyes. “I don’t care if you’re going to miss [Y/N]. We’re going to miss them as much as you will, but they will be back the same day,” Al Haitham says, narrowing his eyes at Itto before releasing the now red-eared oni.

Itto stares at Al Haitham with a deep frown on his face while clutching onto his red ear, muttering under his breath about how rude Al Haitham was for pulling his ear. You chuckle and rub Itto’s shoulders to comfort him. Itto wraps his arms around your shoulders with a pout on his face, glaring at Al Haitham from over your shoulders.

“You know, you’re pretty brave for doing that,” Kaveh says, propping his hands on his hips.

Aether and Heizou snort.

Aether points at Childe and Itto. “Those two aren’t afraid to pull a bold move on [Y/N] in front of us. You’re still kind of new to the relationship, but Itto and Childe being touchy with [Y/N] is normal,” Aether says, crossing his arms over his chest.

“We all learned to tolerate it, but sometimes they need a little smack to bring them back to reality,” Heizou adds, looking at Itto and Childe with a smile that didn’t reach his eyes.

You look at the clock on the wall and yawn after realizing how late it is getting. It’s a good thing you decide not to leave the estate so early in the morning. At least you and the men will be having breakfast before heading out to the Stormterror’s Lair. You don’t think you can bring both breakfast and lunch while you’re out adventuring in the Stormterror’s Lair.

“It’s starting to get late. I believe we all should get ready to go to bed,” you speak up, rubbing your eyes.

Holy crap, you did not realize you were feeling this tired until it hit you a few minutes later. Thoma carries you up the stairs while you rest your chin on his shoulders, trying your best not to fall asleep. You need to brush your teeth and prepare for bed. And by some grace of an archon, you’re able to stay awake for the next few minutes to brush your teeth and get ready for bed. Once you lay on your bed, you’re nearly knocked unconscious. Your eyelids feel heavy; you’re drooping, and it almost forced you to sleep.

You snuggle against your pillows and blanket, falling in and out of sleep. The men drop by your bedroom to bid you goodnight and kiss your forehead. At least you’re able to stay up long enough to say goodnight to the last person. Once the last person, Tighnari, kisses your forehead after bidding you goodnight, you can’t stay awake any longer. You fall asleep a few minutes after Tighnari strokes your hair.

The next day, you’re woken up from your sleep by none other than Cyno himself. You groan and stretch in your bed, yawning and groaning. You blink at Cyno before sitting up, scratching the back of your head, and looking around your bedroom.

Cyno chuckles. “Morning, sleepyhead. How was your sleep?” Cyno asks softly, stroking your hair while you lean against his leg.

“‘M tried,” you reply, closing your eyes.

Tighnari snaps his fingers in front of your face, startling you. “Don’t fall asleep on us now, [Y/N]. Today’s the day when you go out and explore the ruins, remember?” He pokes your forehead lightly.

You nod in response. “I know, Tighnari. I’m just…. Trying my best to wake up right now. I’m still groggy from my sleep,” you say softly. “I’m going to need to drink some coffee when I get downstairs.”

You get off your bed and walk to your dresser to pull out appropriate clothing for adventuring. You won’t be surrounded by woods or grass, so you wouldn’t need to worry much about coverage. But then again, you’re not entirely sure what the weather will be like at Stormterror’s Lair. You shrug your shoulders and continue picking out a t-shirt and shorts to change into for your exploration.

You walk to your bathroom and quickly change your clothes, brush the knot out of your hair, brush your teeth, and put on deodorant. Maybe deciding to explore the Stormterror’s Lair was a mistake because getting up this early in the morning is awful. Yes, you have gotten up earlier for the Akademiya, but today was not the day. When you step out of your bathroom, Baizhu is waiting for you with Cyno and Tighnari.

“You look sleepy. Did you not sleep well last night?” Baizhu asks, looking at you worriedly when you approach them.

You rub your eyes and yawn. “I’ll be okay after I drink some coffee, Baizhu. I need more sleep, but I think once we’re at the Stormterror’s Lair, I should be a little bit awake,” you reply. You grab the three men’s hands and pull them to your bedroom door. “Let’s go downstairs for breakfast. I believe the others are waiting for us?” You ask.

The three men nod, letting you pull them downstairs with you. Even though you’re going to be out on your own for a few hours, the men aren’t exactly prepared to let you go out on your own. You’re an adult, and you can do whatever you want! They’re glad that you ask for them to join you on the first part of your exploration to eliminate the monsters roaming around the Stormterror’s Lair.

But hey, you will be carrying the teapot with you on your adventure! You can return to the abode whenever you want or when you lose interest in exploring the ruins by yourself. Once the men get rid of the monsters roaming around the Stormterror’s Lair, there won’t be much to see other than the crumbling architecture.

You, Baizhu, Tighnari, and Cyno step into the dining room and see everyone sitting and waiting for the four of you to join for breakfast. Thoma’s eyes light up, and he gets up from his seat before walking over to the lunch box he has packed for you and walks to you, handing the lunch bag to you.

“I hope you don’t mind that I packed your favorite foods from each region. It sounds like it’s a lot, but I made sure that it’s enough to keep your tummy full,” Thoma says, rubbing the back of his neck shyly.

You throw your arms around his shoulders and hug him. “Thank you, Thoma! I’ll put the lunch bag in my backpack now,” you say, pulling away from the hug and walking over to where your exploration backpack is sitting.

Once you have put your lunch bag in your exploration backpack, you walk back to the dining room and sit between Dainsleif and Kaeya. Breakfast consisted of you and the men planning how the day was going to go. Of course, once the men have eradicated the hilichurls, mitachurls, samachurls, abyss mages, slimes, and ruin guards at the Stormterro’s Lair, they will all return to the teapot, and you continue your exploration of the ruins. While you’re excited about the exploration, you’re a bit anxious since many things can go down south quickly.

Once breakfast was over, and dishes were washed and dried, you all set out to the Stormterror’s Lair.

Now here you are, sitting on the edge of a cliff that looks out at the view of the Stormterror’s Lair with the teapot in your lap. You watch the men split into groups to take down the enemies from a distance. You love watching the men in action; it’s entertaining and mesmerizing to you— especially when you watch them use their elemental skills or bursts. Your favorite is watching Zhongli use his burst from afar because of how terrifying and mesmerizing it looks. It’s huge!

The sky suddenly turns dark, and you see the meteor falling from the sky, and a loud boom echoes through the ruins—your hair whips around your face from the massive gust of wind from the shockwave.

“Are you guys done?” You call out once everything has settled down.

You get up from the ground and dust dirt off your clothes, fixing your hair and watching all of the men walk to the nearest waypoint to teleport to where you’re standing. You turn around and see the men standing there, dusting their clothes off and acting like they didn’t eradicate an entire population of monsters in the Stormterror’s Lair.

You cover the bottom half of your face with your hand when you feel your cheeks warm up. Gosh, these men are so attractive. You don’t know how you managed to score all twenty-five of them for yourself. The men walk toward you; the closer they approach, the more your face warms up, and your heartbeat starts to pick up its pace.

Zhongli tilts his head to the side, gazing at you worriedly. “Dearest? Are you alright?” Zhongli asks. Zhongli’s deep voice sends tingles down your spine; goosebumps appear on your arms, and the hairs on the back of your neck stand up.

Damn, now is not the time to act like a cat in heat.

You audibly gulped, nodding in response to Zhongli’s question. “Yes, I’m fine! There’s nothing wrong with me at all!” You squeak. “Thank you, all, for eliminating the monsters that are wandering around the Stormterror’s Lair! Now I can peacefully explore the ruins without having to worry about getting smacked in the head by a hilichurl,” you say, rubbing your neck.

Xiao places his hand on your forehead. “Are you sure you’re okay? You’re burning up, and I can feel it through my gloves,” Xiao says, pulling his hand back and crossing his arms over his chest.

You squeak, “Of course, I’m fine! I’ve been sitting under the sun, so it must be the heat from the sun that’s making me feel hot.” You fan yourself to make it look more convincing.

Diluc sighs. “I guess we should’ve brought a hat for you to wear for your adventuring,” Diluc murmurs, closing his eyes.

“Oh, no, no! Don’t worry about me! I’ll make sure not to stay out in the sun for too long and to stand in the shadows or under the pillars to cool down,” you say. “Plus, it’s quite windy here, so you guys won’t need to worry about me overheating,” you smile at the men innocently.

The twenty-six of you stand there in silence, listening to the wind howl and whistle. It seems like none of the men wanted to leave you alone just yet. You know your exploration around the ruins isn’t going to be interrupted by ruin guards and hilichurls, so you brought your music player with you. Al Haitham has gifted it to you for getting straight A’s in the Akademiya and for getting an award for your grades.

“We should get going; we don’t want to hold you back on your exploration,” Kazuha says, smiling at you.

Gorou frowns, his ears flattening on his head. “We’re going to miss you. Please be safe while exploring the ruins,” Gorou whimpers.

You pout and let go of the teapot, allowing it to hover in the air while you wrap your arms around Gorou’s waist. “I’ll be okay! I’ll see you all later this afternoon, I promise! I don’t plan on staying out late,” you say, pressing your lips on his cheeks.

You release Gorou to give each man a hug before they all enter the teapot. You wave at them and look out to the Stormterror’s Lair, waiting for everyone to go inside the teapot. You’re excited to explore, but watching them leave kind of hurts. Once everyone went into the teapot, you grabbed the teapot and began your journey in the ruins that were once Old Mondstadt. You stand on the bridge that leads to the crumbling building and put the teapot down while plugging your headphones into the music player.

You begin blasting music in your ears, picking the teapot up, and continuing your journey around the ruins. You entered the Stormterror’s Lair and surveyed your surroundings. It’s eerily beautiful. You would say that it’s quiet, aside from the sound of the howling winds, but you have music blasting in your ears that blocks out the sounds.

You close your eyes and let yourself get lost in the music. Twirling around in the center of the Stormterror’s Lair with the wind blowing in your hair, you hum and dance and sway to the music blasting in your headphones. Maybe you shouldn’t be dancing in the ruins, but you were caught in the music to notice two people lingering in the shadows, watching you enjoy yourself. You let the teapot float in the center of the building, stretching your arms in the air, sighing with contentment when the cool breeze blows through your hair, cooling down your heating neck.

You turn to walk to where the teapot is floating, only to bump into a chest, causing you to stumble back. You pause your music and look at the person with wide eyes. Dainsleif and Kaeya stare at you with amusement, the corners of their lips quirking up. You clear your throat and pucker your lips, taking your headphones off. You peek up from their shoulders to make sure the teapot is still there. You sigh in relief; the teapot is safe and sound.

You look at Dainsleif and Kaeya. “Not that I don’t want to see you two or am disappointed in seeing you, but what are you guys doing here?” You ask.

Kaeya smiles and caresses your face. “We wanted to see how long it would take for you to notice our presence,” Kaeya replies, stroking your cheek with the pad of his thumb.

You blink at Kaeya and Dainsleif owlishly; your mouth is agape. “I thought both of you returned to the abode with the others,” you squeak.

Dainsleif lets out a thoughtful hum and runs his hands through his soft blond locks. “We did, but it was for a brief moment before returning to the Stormterror’s Lair,” Dainsleif answers.

You squint at the two men before you. “And do they know about your sudden disappearance?” You ask.

Kaeya and Dainsleif shake their heads simultaneously. You prop your hands on your hips with a huff of breath. How dare they follow you to the ruins when the others have retreated to the teapot after eliminating the monsters that were roaming around the Stormterror’s Lair. You’re not upset with them. You’re upset (well, upset isn’t the correct word, more the best way to describe how you’re feeling currently would be embarrassed) over the fact that Kaeya and Dainsleif witnessed you dancing and getting lost in the music that was blasting in your headphones.

You gnaw on the inside of your cheek. “So, you two are stowaways,” you murmur, narrowing your eyes at them. “Stowaway isn’t the correct word since we’re not on boats or ships, but you two get the gist,” you say, tapping your index finger on your hips.

Kaeya laughs and pinches your cheek. “Come on, now, kitten. Do you not miss us?” Kaeya coos, raising an eyebrow at you.

You bat Kaeya’s hand away from your face and look away with your arms over your chest. “Of course, I miss you two and the others! But you two are here, and the others are unaware of it! It’s not fair for them,” you declare.

“You have been spending time with some of them individually or as a group of three. Are we not allowed to do the same?” Dainsleif asks.

Heat rushes to your face after hearing Dainsleif’s response. You have an inkling feeling that Dainsleif and Kaeya may or may not know where these hangouts tend to lead towards. Then again, you’re sure everyone in the estate knows how the hangouts typically end. Gosh, now that you think about it, if the citizens of Teyvat knew about it, they would be clutching their Sango pearls.

Kaeya takes a step toward you, and you take a step back. “Speaking of spending time with them individually or as a group of three,” Kaeya trails off, licking his lips, “what do you do when you hang out with them?”

“Uh, well, depending on who I’m with, we do things differently compared to if I were to hang out with someone else!” You squeak.

Dainsleif tilts his head to the side and raises an eyebrow at you. “And what did you and Albedo do compared to when you, Lord Ayato, and Thoma were in Inazuma together?” Dainsleif questions.

Dear archons. It’s like you’re being put on the hot seat. While these questions are easy to answer, you’re hoping they don’t press on any further. You don’t think your heart and pride can take it any longer if Dainsleif and Kaeya continue to press you on about the hangouts between you and certain individuals. Though, what’s there to be embarrassed about when everyone in the estate knows how the hangouts and “assistance” ends. Even if these little hangouts end with you and one of (or two of) the men balls deep inside of you, you did assist them with tasks. So, that’s something you can’t make up because it’s true! You did help them with their duties before finding yourself bent over a table or getting railed in the pantry of the Kamisato Estate.

You poke Kaeya in the chest with your index finger. “Albedo and I were conducting experiments! As for Ayato and Thoma, I assisted them with their duties at the Kamisato Estate. Did you know that Thoma gets up at the crack of dawn to start on his duties at the Kamisato Estate?” You ask, scratching your chin.

You don’t realize you’re rambling until Kaeya caresses your face in his hands and shuts you up by pressing his lips against yours. You shut your eyes and kiss Kaeya back, your hands reaching to grab his shirt, pulling him closer to you. You’re so occupied with Kaeya you don’t hear Dainsleif walking closer to you and Kaeya and standing behind you.

Dainsleif grabs your face and makes you face his direction, breaking the kiss between you and Kaeya. Dainsleif presses his lips against yours, and he clutches your hair while Kaeya trails his lips down your jaws and toward your neck, pressing light kisses and sucking on your neck. Your, Dainsleif, and Kaeya’s breathing becomes erratic the more the kiss continues. Kaeya and Dainsleif sandwich you between their bodies, allowing you to feel their erect cocks pressing up against your groin and ass.

You break the kiss between you and Dainsleif, panting. “We can’t do it here,” you say breathlessly.

Kaeya sucks on the skin below your jaws. “And why’s that? You, Lord Ayato, and Thoma didn’t have an issue with having sex in a public bathhouse,” Kaeya purrs.

Your breath gets caught in your throat after hearing Kaeya’s comment. How in the world did he know about that?! Did Ayato and Thoma tell the others about your little activities when the three of you returned to the abode? Kaeya lets out a breathy chuckle when he feels you freeze underneath his lips after hearing his comment. Oh, come on, just because these men get to have their fun with you doesn’t mean he and Dainsleif can’t have their part of the fun.

You bite your lips to muffle your moan when Kaeya sucks on the sweet spot on your neck. You tighten your grip on Kaeya’s shirt and rest your head against Dainsleif’s chest. Dainsleif massages your hips and slips his hands underneath your shirt, sending shivers down your spine when his gloved hands make contact with your skin.

You gulp. “If you two are going to fuck me, might as well do it somewhere where it’s not out in the open where the rest of Teyvat can see,” you huff.

“Seems reasonable enough,” Dainsleif says.

Dainsleif wraps his arms around your waist and carries you toward the pillar. You clutch Dainsleif’s jacket tightly and shake your head.

“Dainsleif, I don’t think this is safe. I don’t want either of us to plummet to our deaths while the both of you are railing me simultaneously,” you say, tugging on his coat lightly.

Kaeya chuckles. “If that’s what you’re worried about, then how about we do it in the center of the Stormterror’s Lair?” Kaeya suggests, walking over to the teapot and moving it to the side of the crumbling building.

Dainsleif kneels and has you sprawling out on the glowing center of the Stormterror’s Lair. You can’t help but feel titillated at the thought of being railed in the Stormterror’s Lair by Kaeya and Dainsleif. The men can step out from the teapot any time and catch the three of you in the act, or some poor adventurer can walk in on Dainsleif and Kaeya balls deep inside of you in the center of the Stormterror’s Lair.

You whisper, “Having sex in the center of this…. Glowing floor is like having witchcraft sex,” you mutter mindlessly.

Dainsleif pauses above you and gazes at you with amusement, the corners of his lips quirking up at your comment. You and Dainsleif gaze into each other’s eyes for a moment before Kaeya kneels above your head.

“What an interesting observation, [Y/N],” Dainsleif says, leaning down to press a quick kiss on the side of your head.

Kaeya chuckles and reaches for the hem of your shirt, slowly pulling it up to reveal your navel. “An interesting observation it is,” Kaeya says.

You shiver when the tip of Kaeya’s fingers brush against your waist. Kaeya leans down and presses his lips against your neck, bunching your shirt up to your mid-torso and sucking on your neck, leaving hickeys behind. Dainsleif cages you between his body and the floor with his arms; he leans down and begins to leave love bites behind on the other side of your neck that wasn’t occupied by Kaeya.

Dainsleif places his gloved hand on your chest and squeezes them gently. You cover your mouth with your hand, trying to hold back a breathy moan when Dainsleif wraps both your legs around his waist, his hardened cock pressing up against your core. Kaeya slips your shirt off your body and turns your head to face his direction. He removes your hand from your mouth and presses his lips against yours.

Dainsleif continues to litter your neck with hickeys, occasionally grounding his hips against yours, sending shockwaves of pleasure down your spine when you can feel his cock rub against your swollen ball of nerves. Dainsleif pulls away from your neck, takes his gloves off before he reaches for your shorts, and slips his hands underneath the hems of your pants and underwear. You shiver when you feel his skin against yours.

Dainsleif takes your shorts off first, leaving you only in your underwear, almost completely exposed to both Kaeya and Dainsleif. You break the kiss between you and Kaeya, propping yourself up on the ground and narrowing your eyes at the two men with a huff.

“So, I’m going to be the only one naked while the both of you are fully clothed? How unfair,” you groused, sitting on the floor and hugging your knees to your chest.

Dainsleif stands up, towering over you. “Then what do you suggest?” Dainsleif asks as Kaeya stands beside him with his hands propped on his hips.

You grab their shirts and tug on them with a pout. “Start stripping, pretty boys. If you two want to repopulate Khaenri'ah and bring back your nation with me, you two might as well start stripping and fucking me now. Unless you two prefer Pierro and me to do that instead? There’s a small rumor saying he’s of Khaenri'ah descent as well,” you stroke your chin, biting back the shit-eating grin that was threatening to appear on your face.

Kaeya and Dainsleif’s expressions turn sour for a brief moment before the two start taking their clothes off one by one. You watch their cloaks, shirts, vests, and gloves fall to the ground. The unfortunate thing was they weren’t almost fully exposed like you. They’re naked in the top half but still clothed in the bottom half. Judging by the looks on their faces, you can tell Kaeya and Dainsleif did not appreciate you bringing up the first Harbinger before the two of them rail you into oblivion. Hey, whatever gets their engine going, having your insides wrecked by the two of them sounds like a dream coming true.

Dainsleif grabs your wrist and pulls you off the ground. Dainsleif wraps one arm around your waist, caressing your face with the other before pressing his lips against yours. You tangle your fingers in his soft blond hair. Kaeya presses his bare chest against your bare back, sliding both his hands up to your chest and squeezing them, grounding his erect cock against your ass.

Kaeya slides his hand down your stomach and slips his hands into your panties, rubbing and stroking your folds. You jolt in their arms, breaking the kiss between you and Dainsleif, your head resting on Kaeya’s shoulders. Kaeya inserts his index and middle finger into your entrance. You tense up at the intrusion, your nails digging into Dainsleif’s biceps.

“Oh, fuck, Kaeya,” you moan breathlessly.

Kaeya nibbles on your earlobe, thrusting his fingers in and out of you at a slow pace. “You like that, huh?” Kaeya asks, the corners of his lips curving up.

You bite on your bottom lip and nod. “I do, I really do—” Kaeya’s fingers reach the sweet spot inside you, making you squeal and tense up. “Kaeya!” You whine, feeling your entrance squeezing around his fingers.

Kaeya smirks and pulls his fingers out from inside of you, ignoring your whines of protest. Kaeya begins pinching and squeezing the engorged ball of nerves between your legs. Dainsleif starts unbuckling his belt with one hand and pressing you against his chest with the other. Kaeya follows suit, releasing your breast from his grip and unbuckling his belt with one hand. At the same time, the other hand continues to pinch and twist your throbbing ball of nerves.

Your eyes widen when you realize Kaeya and Dainsleif are planning on taking you at the same time, in the same hole. You don’t think your entrance can stretch out that far unless it’s for birthing a baby.

You grab Kaeya and Dainsleif’s biceps. “Wait a minute. Are you two going to be occupying the same hole at the same time?!” You squeak, looking at Dainsleif and Kaeya nervously.

“There’s nothing to worry about. I’m sure Kaeya has prepped you enough for you to fit both of us inside of you,” Dainsleif says nonchalantly.

You shake your head. “Just don’t tear me to shreds,” you sigh.

Kaeya laughs quietly. “I can’t promise you that, kitten,” Kaeya pinches your cheek lightly.

You sigh for the umpteenth time and close your eyes, resting your head on Kaeya’s shoulders. Dainsleif lifts your leg to his waist, tapping his thick, hot cock on your folds, coating them in your click. You shiver and mentally prepare yourself for Dainsleif to insert his cock into you.

Kaeya fondles your chest, squeezing and massaging them. Kaeya releases your swollen bundle of nerves. You nearly shout in protest, but your objection gets caught in your throat when you feel the mushroom tip of Dainsleif’s cock nudge your entrance.

Dainsleif looks at you. “Are you ready?” Dainsleif asks.

You suck in a breath and nod. “I can’t really back out of it. I did say I would help you and Kaeya repopulate Khaenri'ah,” you say jokingly.

After hearing your teasing response, a smile appears on Dainsleif and Kaeya’s faces. Kaeya presses his lips on your shoulders, holding your hand. You squeeze Kaeya’s hands and watch the pretty pink tip of Dainsleif’s cock slowly enter your sopping-wet entrance. Your mouth opens in a silent scream, and you squirm in Kaeya’s arms and squeeze your eyes shut. If you didn’t expect Dainsleif to stretch you out this much, then you’re definitely not prepared to be stretched out even more by Kaeya’s cock. Dainsleif presses his hips against yours, wrapping your legs around his waist.

Kaeya huffs through his nostrils. “No need to hog [Y/N] to yourself, Dainsleif. It’s rude not to share,” Kaeya says, stretching your right leg outward before positioning his cock near your entrance where Dainsleif’s cock is sheathed inside you.

Dainsleif rolls his eyes. “At least let them adjust to my size before you intrude,” Dainsleif grumbles.

Kaeya holds his hands up as if he’s surrendering to Dainsleif. “Fine, I’ll allow you to have your little fun with [Y/N] for the next three minutes, but once the time is up, I’ll be joining in,” Kaeya says.

Dainsleif ignores Kaeya’s comment and begins to thrust into your warm entrance. You pull Dainsleif closer to you and wrap your arms over his shoulders, clenching your jaws each time the tip of Dainsleif’s cock hits the sweet spot inside you. Dainsleif grounds his hips against yours, his pubic bone rubbing up against your aching ball of nerves. A strained whimper escapes from your lips, your head falling back on Kaeya’s shoulders.

Dainsleif tightens his grip on your waist and begins to hammer his cock in and out of your heat. The man before you lets out a string of moans, resting his forehead against yours, closing his eyes, and rams his cock into you repeatedly. Each time the bulbous tip of Dainsleif’s cock batters your cervix, your eyes roll to the back of your head, and your toes curl.

One thrust nearly sent you over the edge, your entrance squeezing around Dainsleif’s dick tightly, and you let out a loud wail while digging your nails into his shoulders. While Dainsleif is occupied with ramming his cock inside your wet entrance, Kaeya takes advantage of Dainsleif’s distraction and covers his cock with your slick.

The loud squelching of Dainsleif’s cock ramming inside you echoes the Stormterror’s Lair, blocking out the sound of your and Dainsleif’s mingling moans. Your soft whimpers and whines of Dainsleif’s name drive him crazy, making him thrust harder and faster into your welcoming heat. Dainsleif grabs underneath your chin, tilts your head upward, and slams his lips against yours without stopping his thrusts.

Kaeya stretches your leg outward, and Dainsleif slows his thrusts. Dainsleif comes to a complete stop and pulls away from the kiss, panting. Kaeya slowly puts the tip of his dick inside the hole where Dainsleif’s cock is nestled. Kaeya presses his chest against your sweaty back, pushing his cock inside you.

You hiss and squirm in their grasp, whining and whimpering about the painful stretch. Your face pinches up with pain, your body tensing up when your entrance is being stretched even more than you have anticipated. You dig your nails into Dainsleif’s back and Kaeya’s biceps, leaving crescent shapes on their skin.

“You’re so tight,” Kaeya grunts, pressing his forehead against the back of your head and squeezing his eyes shut as he continues to slip the rest of his cock inside your entrance.

Your eyes blur with tears, and you whimper. “This hurts, this hurts. It’s too much!” You whine.

Kaeya lets out a deep groan when his cock is fully sheathed inside of your wet heat, his chest heaving with each breath he takes. Kaeya and Dainsleif let you adjust to having both their cocks inside of your stretched hole, occasionally shooting each other glares from over your shoulders. Once you gave them the signal to start, Kaeya thrusts up into you, nudging Dainsleif’s cock with his and your cervix with the tip of his cock. The three of you groan simultaneously when your entrance tightens around their long, thick cocks. Kaeya tangles his right hand into your hair, tugs on it, turns your head to face his direction and slams his lips against yours while hammering his cock into you over and over.

“Oh, fuck!” You gasp against Kaeya’s lips when Dainsleif thrusts inside of you, making sure to rub his pubic bone against your throbbing nub.

Dainsleif buries his face into your neck, biting, licking, and sucking on your neck. Dainsleif and Kaeya decide to have an unspoken competition with each other. Whoever fucks you the hardest, makes you cum the hardest, and make you moan the loudest, is the winner. It’s petty and childish, but they don’t care because as long as they hear those pretty sounds coming from you, Kaeya and Dainsleif will continue to do what they’re doing to listen to it over and over again.

Kaeya and Dainsleif begin to plunge their cocks in and out of you at different paces, making you writhe in their arms, your legs kicking in place while they fuck their hard cocks deep inside you. Frustrated with you squirming around, Kaeya and Dainsleif grab your legs and spread them far and wide apart while continuing what they’re doing.

You pull away from the kiss, panting and whimpering while Dainsleif and Kaeya plunge their cocks in and out of you at a rapid pace.

“Kaeya! Dainsleif! It’s too much!” You squeal, saliva trailing down the side of your lips. “I don’t think I can hold on any longer!” You whine, tears rolling down your cheeks.

Kaeya chuckles and kisses the side of your head. “Oh, come on, pretty. I think you can last a little bit longer,” Kaeya coos, clenching his jaws and pressing his hips hard against yours, groaning.

Dainsleif lets out a breathy chuckle. “Besides, aren’t you the one that suggests we repopulate Khaenri'ah?”

“Yeah? Aren’t you?” Kaeya asks, nosing your jaws and breathing in the smell of your shampoo and conditioner.

You whine and nod. “Yes, I am,” you pout, your bottom lip trembling the more Dainsleif and Kaeya thrusts into you.

You can feel your impending orgasm, a tight coil forming in your lower abdomen, ready to unravel at any moment. You didn’t think Dainsleif and Kaeya could go any faster, but they somehow proved you wrong. Kaeya and Dainsleif drill their cocks into you, pressing their hips against yours hard, chasing their release. The walls of your sopping-wet entrance clench around their cocks as the tight coil in your lower abdomen tighten and snaps.

Your head falls back, your mouth opens in a silent scream, and your eyes squeeze shut as you cum around the men’s cocks. Dainsleif and Kaeya soon pump their cum deep inside you, coating the inside of your entrance white. You go limp in their arms, breathing heavily, and your eyes are glazed over. Dainsleif and Kaeya continue to keep their cocks plugged inside you to prevent their cum from spilling out of you.

“I don’t think that’s enough to repopulate Khaenri'ah,” you breathe.

Dainsleif snorts. “Oh? Do you want a second round?” Dainsleif asks, raising his eyebrows at you as he wipes the sweat from his forehead with the back of his hand.

You blink at the blond man and look around. The sun has yet to set. It seems like time barely passed when Dainsleif and Kaeya witnessed you getting lost in the music blasting through your headphones. Fuck it.

You shrug your shoulders. “I think we still have some time before we need to return to the abode. Plus, the Stormterror’s Lair is pretty big,” you murmur, deep in thought.

Kaeya’s eyes widen. “Are you implying we should fuck you in every place and surface in the Stormterror’s Lair?” Kaeya asks.

You purse your lips. “I mean…. We still have time, and there’s plenty of places to explore here,” you trail off.

Dainsleif and Kaeya look at each other for a brief moment.

“We’ll take you up on that offer,” Dainsleif says, wiping saliva off the corner of your lips with a faint smirk on his face.

You don’t know how many rounds you’ll need to repopulate Khaenri'ah with Dainsleif and Kaeya, but it’s an honor to test to see how many rounds it takes for you to lose your voice entirely and how much cum Kaeya and Dainsleif can stuff inside you before having to return to the estate.

Note: I'm thinking about making another fic like "The Lonely God," but I'm not too sure 🧍🏻‍♀️ I've been busy trying not to lose my mind because of university, but it's going to consume me soon 💀 I have a lot of story ideas, but so little time to work on them at once ;v; but it's fine. They'll be published one day when I have time to work on them. I think I might start a new smut series soon for the current isekai'd!reader series, but I'm not too sure 🤔 I officially have no more space to add more tags for my fics ;v; I wish Tumblr would let us add a few more tags for our posts ;v; Anyway! Please keep in mind that I ONLY post on my Tumblr (Genshinluvr) and my AO3 (Aaliah_exo)! Nowhere else except Tumblr and AO3!

Taglist for my Isekai'd!Reader one-shot series and my overall taglist: @xyji, @chirikoheina, @yoru-trash, @kwelibeeery, @deartoru, @luminarymoonlight, @toobytub, @ins4nebish, @bokuto-kinnie, @honeybedo, @exhaustedcommunist, @jadedist, @mompt2, @chalksdreams, @thelost-in-time, @ventisweetheart, @hispasian-otaku, @juuuuuj101010, @alteeeeyang, @samarill, @testsubject0012, @irisxiel, @urlocalheizousimp, @emilymikado, @mabie, @vinnie-w, @n8mareee, @bajifairyy, @heyimkay, @milkpeanuts476, @eliciana, @blesstosuisen, @goldeneclipsedragon, @jjvr4yxc, @sovermike-21-blog, @vox34, @wynncrites, @skyyyyackerman, @undecidingfate, @nightlysunn, @faeryminnyx, @simpcreator, @lucifarts-boxers, @sunlightstarr (Accounts that I was unable to tag have been removed. Those who don't want to be tagged in certain stories are not tagged in this particular post. Remember to check your settings if you're allowing people to mention you/tag you in posts or not)

Read more of my works on my Masterlist | Maybe support me by tipping me on Ko-Fi or by reblogging my fanfics! ^^ I will also be posting exclusive fanfics on Ko-Fi as well very soon! I might post all of my stories on there too, but who knows. You can also tip me on Tumblr if you'd like as a way to show support! ^^

823 notes · View notes

loveinhawkins · 2 years ago

Text

Part 1 Part 2 Part 3 Part 4 ao3 (Complete)

Eddie has a telephone voice, which Dustin finds absolutely hysterical. As the pizza place answers, his whole register switches into something a little smoother, over-pronouncing each word, and Dustin watches him with undisguised glee.

Eddie must read his thoughts because while their order is repeated back to him, he blushes, covers the receiver and mouths, “Oh, fuck off.”

When he hangs up, he playfully cuffs Dustin on the back of the head. “Do you mind? I was putting on the performance of a lifetime there.”

“What performance?” comes Steve’s voice, and Dustin turns to see him leaning against the counter, Tews following at his heels.

“That I’m a polite young man, of course,” Eddie says with a toothy smile.

Steve whistles, all faux impressed. “The Academy will be in touch, man.” He dodges Eddie’s attempt to trip him up, smirking—then yawns a bit into his palm. “Henderson, your cat’s like a sleeping pill or something.”

Dustin scoops up Tews, rocks him until he wriggles out of his arms. “Why can’t you be cute like that with me? You just claw at all my clothes, you little shit.”

“Dustin!” Eddie gasps, “don’t use such language around the baby.”

“Yeah, dude,” Steve snickers. “Don’t wanna offend Mr Polite Young Man’s delicate sensibilities.”

Eddie whacks him with the take-out menu.

Their back-and-forth hardly stops all throughout dinner. Eddie makes it look easy, Dustin thinks: how he delivers each quip so there’s never a lingering silence, yet still spaces them out so that Steve has more time to retort back.

And because Eddie keeps talking engagingly, Steve clears his plate without seeming to realise it; and Dustin feels himself calm at the sight of his eyes gradually brightening.

It’s not the only sight he takes note of.

Eddie is sitting close to Steve, their shoulders touching—and whenever he wants the box of pizza passed to him, or more soda, he just taps Steve’s arm in question, all while carrying on the conversation. Maybe before, Dustin wouldn’t think anything of it, but now he considers how Eddie had sat on the couch with Steve, his hand in his hair, how he’s been there for him the whole day; and a silent little lightbulb goes off in Dustin’s brain.

Because it goes both ways.

The girls Steve has dated wouldn’t do this—have never done this, at least as far as Dustin can tell, remembering flashes of dates he’d seen on the rare occasions Steve wasn’t driving him places, at the cinema or diner, or…

He gets the feeling that Steve has always been subtly holding some parts of himself back with them. He doesn’t do that with Eddie. He lets him in. Dustin watches as Eddie tidies the counter, gently nudging Steve out of the way with his hip. It’s like finally solving a puzzle: now Dustin knows which way to look, he can’t believe how he didn’t notice it before.

Instead of saying anything, he busies himself with finding fresh blankets for Steve. As he shakes them out, it occurs to him that this is kind of what Steve must do for him every time he stays over—the difference being that he’s over often enough to have a set of pyjamas waiting for him in the guest room. Steve even ironed them once, which Dustin had teased him relentlessly for, but secretly found it… nice.

As it nears 10pm, Steve suddenly jolts from where he’s sitting on the couch, dislodging Tews from his lap again.

“Sorry, baby,” Steve says distractedly, gives Tews an apologetic pat. Dustin notices the little pinch of stress around his eyes again, and doesn’t mention the fact that Eddie’s already got him calling his cat ‘baby’, too.

“What’s up?” Eddie says. He’s lounging on the floor, has a few of Dustin’s comics spread out in front of him.

“I told Robin I was gonna pick her up, I forgot. Shit, she’ll be closing soon.”

“On it,” Eddie says, almost singsong. In one move, he leaps to his feet and retrieves the keys to his van. “Back quicker than you can say—”

“Jack Robinson,” Dustin finishes; Eddie says it a lot, probably picked it up from his uncle.

Eddie winks at him, turns to Steve and gives a dimpled little smile before leaving.

Steve looks off into the distance, still frowning.

After making sure Tews has safely moved over to his food bowl, Dustin jumps onto the couch, blankets and all.

“Oof,” Steve huffs, “you trying to crush me?” But though he acts like he’s going to shove Dustin off, he never once does.

They poke at each other, complaining about bony elbows and freezing feet. As Dustin adjusts the blankets, he shifts so that Steve’s the one on the inside of the couch. Steve has never mentioned anything, but Dustin’s suspected for a little while that he likes to sleep with his back against a surface; probably makes him feel less exposed.

Now that Eddie isn’t here, Dustin can’t stop his mind from wandering back to Steve, sitting alone in the junkyard. To the thought of him waking up in an empty house, terrified out of his mind.

“You know you can… like, stay over whenever, right?” Dustin says.

Steve has said pretty much the same to him, but Dustin knows there’s a bit of a difference: that maybe Steve finds it easier to offer than take something for himself.

He feels Steve shrug next to him.

“Uh, you sure? Don’t wanna cramp your style, little man.” His voice goes into his parody of a middle-aged suburban dad, and Dustin has a sudden clarity about what his aim is: to make Dustin scoff and roll his eyes at him, and forget about the offer.

But he doesn’t take the bait.

He leans briefly into Steve’s shoulder and says, “You know I’d be fine with it, right? Like, Mike and Nancy, they hang out all the time even if they don’t act like it, just barge into each other’s rooms. Same thing with Lucas and Erica. Like, sure, they annoy each other sometimes, but that kinda comes with the deal.”

“Oh,” Steve says softly, and Dustin glances to the side; he doesn’t know what it is that he’s said, but Steve looks deeply touched. “Thanks, Dustin. Really. Thanks.” Dustin takes a deep breath. Gathers his courage. “I get them, too.”

“Huh?”

Dustin sighs, turns a little into Steve’s side. “Nightmares,” he mumbles.

“Oh,” Steve says again, and he wraps an arm around Dustin. “Oh, bud, I’m sorry. You… you wanna talk about it?”

Dustin pauses. Nods.

Steve squeezes his shoulders. “I know what happened with… with Eddie was awful, man, it’s my fault you went through all that shit alone—”

“No,” Dustin interrupts, because making Steve feel guilty isn’t remotely his aim. “They’re not… they’re not only about Eddie.” He closes his eyes; he’s not told this to anyone. “Sometimes they’re about you. Losing you.”

Silence.

“Sometimes the bats get you, too. Or…” And it’s stupid that what he says next makes him falter—compared to the previous dreams, it’s hardly anything, no blood or gore, but…

“Or you’re—I can see you, and I-I can’t tell which one of us is in The Upside Down, but you… you can’t hear me.”

“Hey.” Steve gently prods Dustin in the cheek, holds his gaze. “I’d always hear you. You never have to doubt that, got it? I’ll always come find you.”

Dustin nods again—for a moment, doesn’t trust himself to speak. He wiggles a little closer, sniffs.

Steve pulls him into a proper hug. “I’m sorry, I just—fuck, I get so scared sometimes, Dustin. I don’t—” He swallows. “I know I don’t say it, but, God, I love you so damn much. I don’t want a-anything to happen to you.”

Dustin returns the hug. Pulls back and makes sure Steve is looking him in the eye when he says, deadpan, “Steve. I hate to break it to you, but so much has happened to me.”

Steve snorts. “You know what I—ugh, you’re the worst.”

Dustin pauses. “But if something ever did happen,” he says carefully, tries to measure his tone to show he doesn’t mean anything Upside Down-related, not anymore, “then we’d be okay, in the end, I swear. You’ve got me, I’ve got you, right?”

Steve exhales. Nods a little jerkily. “Right.”

And what the hell, Dustin figures he might as well say it now—it’s too important to just remain an unsaid, sort of mutually understood thing.

“Steve? I love you, too.”

It takes a second, and then Dustin feels Steve start to shake. This time, the tears aren’t hidden; he just… lets them be.

“Aw, goddamn it,” Steve laughs wetly, “why’d you have to go and say that?”

“You started it,” Dustin says.

“Shut up,” Steve says, lips trembling a bit as he smiles.

Dustin gives him time, just waits in the quiet until Steve’s breathing comes out steady again.

“J,” Steve says eventually.

“Jaws,” Dustin says.

“Oh, boo. Predictable, Henderson.”

“V.”

“…Damn it, all I can think of is Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?”

“That doesn’t start with V, dumbass.”

Steve lets out a long yawn, like it’s crept up on him. “I know, butthead.”

They go on like that, throwing out letters and movie titles like it’s a tennis match. Gradually, it takes longer and longer for Steve to reply, his voice growing mumbly until it trails off entirely; and Dustin feels him go slack and heavy with sleep.

He looks up at the ceiling, hears the front door softly open and close. Tews is in the hallway, greeting Eddie with a more vocal miaow, and Dustin laughs quietly as he hears Eddie croon, “Oh, baby, hello, aren’t you just the best, huh?”

When he enters the living room, Eddie spots that Steve’s fallen asleep immediately. His expression softens, and then he smiles, looks at Dustin and says, “You’re gonna get a crick in your neck if you keep laying all stiff like that.”

“Was worried I’d wake him up.”

“Nah, you won’t. Here, I’ll help.”

And Eddie very carefully manages to tilt Steve further against the back of the couch, giving Dustin just enough room to move away from the embrace so he can stretch out properly.

Eddie is about to head back to his spot on the floor, where he’s placed a sleeping bag from the van, when Steve makes a tiny, vague noise of distress.

Dustin and Eddie both freeze.

“M’gotta…” Steve sighs, face twitching. His eyes remain closed. “Car keys, where… they need… have to…”

“Shh. Hey, Steve, you’re okay.” Eddie reaches across, strokes Steve’s hair. “You’re… you’re just dreaming, sweetheart.”

“Hmm?”

“That’s it, go back to sleep. You’re at Dustin’s remember? Everyone’s safe.”

“Dustin,” Steve echoes faintly. “Safe…”

Eddie waits until Steve has settled back into a deep, hopefully dreamless sleep, then draws back his hand.

Dustin turns, watches him unzip the sleeping bag and lie down.

“Do you love him?” he asks.

Eddie stares up at him. Then: “Yeah,” he says simply.

“Good,” Dustin says.

Eddie’s mouth parts slightly. He blinks. “That’s it?” he whispers.

Dustin blinks back at him. “I mean, yeah? Should I… um, have said something else?”

Eddie exhales a laugh, smiles. “No, you’re good. That was… great.”

A moment of comfortable silence.

“Hey, Dustin.” Eddie lowers his voice further, even though Steve’s out for the count. “He, uh. He doesn’t know, okay? Not… not yet.”

“I kinda think he does, though,” Dustin says, then pulls back the blanket so he can raise one hand in acknowledgment. “But, like, I’m not gonna tell him. Swear on my mom.”

Eddie laughs again, and he somehow makes it sound thoughtful. “We’ll get there, man.”

And Dustin knows Eddie isn’t just referring to him and Steve, dancing around the beginning of something great.

Dustin thinks of Steve waking up and checking the news for car wrecks. Of the nightmares, shared between them all.

We’ll get there.

“You can come round whenever, too, obviously,” Dustin says. “Like, we could make it a thing? Saturdays or something, mom won’t mind. All three of us.”

Eddie’s expression goes soft again, his eyes overly bright. It kind of reminds Dustin of how his mom sometimes looks at him on the first day of school, or Christmas morning.

“What?”

Eddie smiles. “Nothing.” He sighs, closing his eyes. “Just… wish more people were as kind as you, Dustin Henderson.”

Dustin looks down at him, pride and affection welling in his chest. He can feel Steve’s light snores ruffling his hair, and he shuts his eyes, knows that two of the people he loves most in the world are on either side of him.

We’ll be okay. We’ll get there.

#dustin henderson fic #steve and dustin #steddie with dustin’s pov #steddie ficlet #steddie fic #steddie #dustin henderson #steve harrington #eddie munson #eddie and dustin #steve x eddie #pre steddie #henderfam

629 notes · View notes

breannasfluff · 1 year ago

Note

[SUBSIDE] Wild and Warriors 😶‍🌫️

[ SUBSIDE ]: an emotionally distressed sender initially shoves and strikes out at the receiver, but collapses into tears after a few moments and sinks against them for a hug.

Warriors fussing over him is the last thing Wild wants. Yet here he is with that condescending look on his face. “Hey soldier, how are you holding up?”

The title rankles and Wild has to unclench his jaw to spit out the words. “I’m fine.”

“That was a rough battle back there.”

“I guess.”

“A lot more injuries than usual, even if everyone got patched up.”

The champion’s hands fist at his side. Why won’t Warriors drop it? Abruptly, he rounds on him. “Was there a problem with my performance, Captain?”

“Woah!” Warriors holds up his hands, like he’s got no idea why Wild wouldn’t like the heckling. “I just wanted to check on you! YOu had some risky moves out there.”

“Well, they worked.”

A slow nod. “Sure, but it’s not worth watching you nearly blow yourself up.”

Anything Wild can say is mean to downright nasty, so he keeps his mouth shut.

“Don’t worry about it, kiddo. I’ll keep an eye out for you.” Warriors comes in for a hug, that condescending smile back on his face.

It’s too much.

“Leave me alone!” Wild shoves him away, anger surging. “I’m not one of your precious soldiers! I didn’t do my duty–by the Goddesses, I died, Wars! I’m not going to follow your perfect battle formations and…and fall into line!”

His memories may be gone, but the gruff anger of an officer still feels all too familiar.

The captain stares at him, expressionless. “Is that what you think of me? That I expect you to obey an order?”

“ISn’t that what you expect?” Wild steps closer, shoving into his space. “You’re constantly checking on me, pointing out where I did things wrong. I’m not going to be who you want, Wars! That person is dead and I’m glad!” The last words end on a shout.

Rather than yell back, though, Warriors face crumples. “Wild…I’m so sorry.”

Wait…why is he apologizing?

“I check in because I worry about you. Because you have crazy, amazing ideas and you’re giving me gray hairs every time you nearly don't pull it off. I want to see you alive at the end of this, that’s all.”

“But…the rules…”

“Are for the army,” Warriors interrupts. “Where there’s thousands of men and we need discipline. This isn’t the army. You don’t need to keep–holding yourself up to this past standard of who you were. You’re just you, Wild. That’s all you need to be.”

As quickly as it came, the anger drains away. This whole time…Wild was looking at it wrong, wasn’t he?

Rather than respond, he steps forward and lets his head thud into Warrior’s chest. The captain wraps him in a tight hug, a soft sigh tickling his ear.

“I just want you to be happy and safe, kiddo. That’s it.”

Wild nods and lets the tunic soak up his tears.

#Bre's hug prompts #lu wild #lu warriors #linked universe #linkeduniverse #my writing

127 notes · View notes

smtown-tourist · 5 months ago

Text

Ever since the AMIGO practice video dropped, it’s been going around again how killer SHINee’s live performance skills are, but what I don’t really see much of is people discussing why. Why are SHINee’s live performance skills so good? How were these five ROOKIES able to outshine their seniors in a skill they’ve been doing for so much longer?

The answer is simple: Timing. SHINee, as rookies, learned the valuable skill of timing when it comes to performing live.

Now, I know what you might be thinking: of course they’re good at timing - how else are they gonna be able to stay on track? And you’re right. It does seem like an obvious answer yet I don’t think you realize how important timing plays into singing and dancing live.

We all know that it’s hard to keep your voice steady when dancing, but what SHINee has learned is to make their voices flow with the choreography. In order to do that, it’s all about rhythm and timing. If for even a fraction of a second their timing is off, it’s going to throw off their rhythm, therefore throw off their ability to steady their voice. Same goes for timing when they need to breathe. Singing and dancing is a cardio workout. If they can’t time their inhales and exhales correctly, then they’ll be out of breath and unable to sing when their turn comes.

A lot of that has to do with the structure of the choreography. It’s been analyzed before that K-pop choreographies will be structured in two ways: either based on the rhythm of the instrumentals or the rhythm of the lyrics. SHINee’s choreographies, if you’ve ever paid close attention, often have the dance moves lining up with the rhythm of the lyrics. Sometimes all three will line up, but not often will you find their choreographies solely following the rhythm of the instrumentals. Again, that is because it’s harder to keep your voice steady when your voice isn’t following the movement of your body. It’s a balancing act, and what happens if your timing is off? You lose that balance, i.e. your voice becomes unsteady.

This is also why SHINee is always able to stay so in-sync when performing: because of their timing. It becomes a domino effect if they get their timing wrong. It’s not just about staying in-sync with one another for aesthetic purposes, it’s making sure they have the timing right so that their voices can flow with the choreography and they can breathe at the required times. Timing is the aspect that binds everything together.

So, yes, SHINee are great singers, great dancers, great at being in-sync, and have great breath control and those things combined together are what make them such great live performers. But those skills would be useless if it weren’t for their ability to time everything correctly.

I hope my analysis shed some lights on things, and if you were already aware of everything I stated above, great! I’m glad we’re on the same page. Of course, this is not meant to bash any of the hard work SHINee put in to perfecting their vocals, their dancing skills, their teamwork, any of that. It was simply an observation that I made to help everyone look deeper than the surface level of a performance.

Sometimes I think we get a little swept up in the theatricality of K-pop to realize that so much more goes into it and knowing the timing of every tiny piece is what binds it all together. SHINee has mastered the art of timing, which is what allows their talents to shine the way that they do on stage. In my opinion, it’s truly remarkable and shows their dedication to perfecting their craft.

#shinee #amigo #practice video #onew #jonghyun #key #minho #taemin #rookies #ot5 #5hinee #analysis

30 notes · View notes

igotanidea · 5 months ago

Text

Number one: Foggy Nelson x reader

Request: Reader is pregnant, but she doesn't realise yet. Matt can tell, because of his super senses thing and he breaks the news to her, and she rushed to tell Foggy.

A/N: changed the original request in that "rushes to tell him" part, adding a bit of hesitancy on reader's part. Hope you'll still like it anon :)

***

They were just hanging at Josie’s, having fun, getting drinks and enjoying time spent together outside of the law firm and the whole Daredevil business.

Matt, Foggy and Y/N.

Just like the old times, though a lot has changed.

“I’m going to get us a round of something stronger. On me!” Y/N raised from her chair, ready to head towards the bar.

“No, honey. Stay. I can’t let my girlfriend serve me.” Foggy kissed the top of her head quickly taking over in placing the order.

“Oh and since when are you a prince charming?” she mocked playfully.

“Always been. Too bad you didn’t notice the treasure you got for yourself.”

And with those words he headed towards the bar to get everyone's favorites.

“He’s a gem.” Y/N chuckled, turning back towards Matt, but upon seeing his expression, the smile died on her lips and she frowned in confusion. “Hey Murdock, you ok?”

“I don’t think you should be drinking tonight, Y/N.”

“Huh? What do you mean?” her confusion only grew bigger with Matt’s every word.

“Just don’t—”

“Ok, listen up, devil, I’m in no mood for your games, you either tell me what is going on or I swear-“

“Hey, hey, relax!” Matt smirked characteristically “I seriously forgot how defensive you can get at times.”

“Can you really blame me? I’ve been dealing with you and Foggy for way too long for it to not rub off me.”

“Well. Speaking of Foggy, when was the last time you two have—”

“MATTHEW MURDOCK!”

“I’m just asking-“

“This is none of your business! Jeez!” Y/N reached for her water, taking big, loud sips, trying to calm her nerves at Matt’s audacity and control her burning cheeks. “You’re unbelievable! Have you seen me asking about your performance in the area?”

“Come on, you know I had nothing wrong on my mind-“

“You better keep your mouth shut.” She spat angrily.

“Have you told him yet?” Murdock smirked again.

“Told who what?”

“Foggy.”

��I swear if you don’t stop talking cryptic I will…” she hesitated wondering what she could threaten the daredevil himself with, to make it convincing.

“Take a deep breath, princess. All that stress cannot be good for the baby.”

“Baby?” she almost choked at the word, coughing so excessively that it made Foggy look at her from the distance. Luckily Matt sensed his friend’s concern and smiled from above Y/N’s arm at the attempt to calm Franklin down. “What baby? What are you talking about Matt? Is this a joke, cause if so, it’s not funny at all and-“

“Y/N, sunshine, you don’t need me to tell you that. You already know.”

“Well there’s knowing and knowing. You sure, though? I mean, I know your super senses work in a strange way, but-“

“I’m sure.”

“So next thing you do, you’re going to tell me the future? Maybe a glimpse on the gender?” It might have been fake, but it sounded like her voice had a hint of hope for that.

“Nah, can’t spoil the surprise for the happy parents, can I?” he chuckled, corners of his mouth travelling upwards. “And as much as I would love to act like a diviner, this is not how my thing works. You’re going to have to figure it out by yourself.”

“Figure out what?” Foggy clearly heard the last part of their conversation, immediately wanting to be let in on whatever secret his best friend and girlfriend were discussing.

“The future.” Y/N quickly responded, her heartbeat a little accelerated and her breathing a little ragged. She didn’t want Foggy to find out about his future role like this. Not in a bar, with the bottle of beer in hand. No.

She was going to tell him, but at an appropriate time and place. Preferably choosing some veiled way to give him a hint. He was a lawyer, equals smart, equals he would put two and two together.

While her thoughts were spinning like crazy, both Foggy and Matt noticed her distraction, though each of them for very different reasons.

Matt was simply looking at her from the opposite side of the table, smirking knowingly. It was adorable how she was blushing and sweating, after he broke the news to her. Almost as if she wasn’t planning it while it was no secret, both her and Foggy were meant to start a family soon. And Matt was happy for both his friends.

Meanwhile Foggy, once again became alerted seeing his girl’s reddened cheeks and shaking hands.

“Hey, Y/N, you okay? You look a little flustered. Has Matt been throwing jokes at you?”

“More than one joke, actually-“ she muttered, draining the remaining water from the glass. “But rooted in reality.”

“Oh.” Foggy threw glances between both his companions. “Do you maybe want to share?”

“All at the right time, Franklin. All at the right time.” Matt gave Y/N a smile and patted his friend’s back. He was not going to spoil the surprise for Foggy, besides he had a feeling that Y/N was quite sceptical about the news he gave her and would like to check everything three times before spreading it to the father-to-be. “And I don’t think she will be drinking that beer after all.”

***

There was still a chance that Matt was wrong, right? That whatever he sensed or saw in her body was just a slip, right? Obviously, he couldn’t have seen anything she missed. It was her body after all. If anyone was to feel any changes it would be her, right?

At the moment, she was locked in the bathroom, sitting on the toilet, clutching the pregnancy test in her shaking hands, waiting for the results to come. Minutes dragging into hours as her feet couldn’t be still on the ground, instead stomping on the floor in some crazy, uncontrolled rhythm.

Two lines.

With a sigh and spinning head, she laid the stick on the counter, next to the previous five that were showing the same two lines over and over.

Seemed like Matt was right after all, damn his ass! It was almost embarrassing that a man read right through her body like it was something that he was allowed to!

She was going to be a mom to a little bean, already growing in her womb.

And that was—

Amazing. Heartwarming. Exhilarating.

-Terrifying.-

Her hand instinctively found a way to her stomach, caressing it softly, now with full knowledge that she was already two beings in one and that it came with a whole checklist of responsibilities, starting from doctor’s appointments and healthy diet, ending on shopping and nursing an innocent, fragile being that were to show up in the world.

Her baby.

She smiled to herself already imagining tiny hands reaching for her. Tiny feet with tiny little toes, perfect for tickling and caressing. Tiny face, perfect for smooches. Pretty little eyes and innocent looks full of trust.

Her baby.

Her and Foggy’s baby.

And now there was no way she could pretend anymore.

He had to know.

She had to tell him. Knowing that Foggy would be happy too. But just like he said to Matt, the night before – there was knowing and knowing.

***

“How was your day?” Foggy put his bag down in the hallway and rushed to the living room to Y/N’s side, leaning over her pecking the top of her head in that signature gesture that was speaking volumes.

“Bearable.” She retorted, putting down her book and shifting a little on the couch, to make more space for him. Obviously, he took it as a cue to move closer and pull her into a hug, allowing her to snuggle into his side. “But it’s much better now.”

Foggy chuckled.

“You are becoming a little cheesy Y/N, you know that?”

“Oh really? Too bad for you, your girlfriend is turning into a cheap romantic.”

“Another cute trait of you I’ll have to learn how to deal with.”

“And who’s cheesy now?” she rolled her eyes, poking his chest playfully.

“Hey! Stop it!” his hand wrapped around her wrist, before interlacing their fingers “at least we match, don’t we?”

“We do.” She grinned playing with his hand, before realising something “Oh! I totally forgot! There’s a parcel for you. Came earlier today, I left it in the kitchen.”

“In the kitchen?! And you’re only telling me this now?” Foggy feigned offence “there’s no way I’m going to move anywhere while you are so comfortably settled in my arms, love.”

“It might be important though-“

“Nothing is more important than my time with my girl.”

“But what if--?”

“Why are you acting like you want me to move away from you?” Foggy gave her a look, trying to read right through her and figure whether she was hiding something.

“Franklin Nelson, do not give me your lawyer stare, I am not one of your clients-“

“Of course not. Cause if you were, I’d have to recuse myself from the case due to personal reasons. And then, Matt will be the one to handle you. I mean – “ he grinned playfully “your case. Not you per se. Cause you are mine.”

“Ok, ok, I get it, but—”

“No. No Y/N, look at me.” She obediently met his eyes “You are mine. I do love you, you know it? And I may not me the vigilante, but I will always protect and cherish you-”

“Oh, Foggy…” she leaned to kiss him softly “I do love you too. And believe me, I do not need nor want a vigilante. Why would I when I have a hero sitting right next to me?”

“Cheesy, told you.”

“Ok, you know what, you are right. I do want you to get away and see what’s in that parcel.” She mocked “Because it may be addressed to you, but I am the one who seems to be more curious about the content. Did you order some sort of gift for me?”

“No that I know of.” Foggy walked to the kitchen and carried back the medium sized box, wrapped up in a pretty paper and with a bow on the top. “There was no label here? No sender’s details?”

“Nope. Not a single thing. Hey, are you having a secret admirer, I should be jealous of?”

“I can assure you, that since I met you I haven’t been flirting with any girls.”

“That’s not an answer dear.”

“Well maybe we should just look inside and check for ourselves?”

With that word, he started to carefully untie the ribbon and unwrap the box. Slowly and methodically as if he was defusing the potential bomb. Once the paper was off he put his hands inside retrieving…

“Shoes?” His expression showed a hell lot of confusion. Two soft slippers, small enough to fit on the palm of his hand “I don’t understand. Why would someone send me baby shoes? It’s not like I need any—”

“Um… Foggy…”

“It’s almost as if someone were suggesting that—” suddenly it dawned on him, his eyes grew wide. “Y/N…” it seemed like the whole blood drained from his face.

“Foggy, please just listen to me, I can explain-“ now she was sure that he did not like the news and it was too much of a shock. “Sit down and we can talk about it –” Y/N raised from the couch, grabbing his hand, hoping to calm and ground him.

“Y/N… Are you- are you pregnant?”

“Yeah…”

“You’re pregnant with my baby?!” he exclaimed

“Well, you’re the only one with whom-“ she managed to stutter, not sure how to proceed with his unusual behaviour. Foggy didn’t seem mad, but he also was not over the moon. “Foggy, dear, I swear I can-“

“You are pregnant with my baby!” he exclaimed again, rushing to hug and hold her. “We’re gonna be parents! I am going to be A FATHER!”

“Yes, yes you are, but—”

“Oh, Y/N, love! You have made me the happiest man on earth!” he cried out, pulling her closer, before realising that she was now carrying their baby and it might have been too tight. “I’m sorry. I;m just so excited!”

“So… you’re not mad?”

“Mad? Why would I be mad?” he pulled back, looking right into her yes “Did you think I would be anything but happy?”

“Well, it is unexpected and we didn’t exactly plan it—”

“And that was the reason you thought I would be mad? Y/N, love, I’ve already learnt that the best things in life are those that you cannot plan. I was never meant to go to law school. I was never meant to meet Matt, and he was never meant to become a daredevil. But all those little things, those little steps? They led me straight to you. None of that was planned and yet, turned out to be the best unexpected surprise I could ever hope and wish for. So, please, dear, when will you understand?”

“Understand what?”

“That I love you, that I’m not ever letting you go. Ever. And I’m not saying this in some creepy kind of way, but in a man-in-love kind of way. You are my world. Well – you two are my world now.” He smiled, placing palm on her belly. “And if anything, it’s the best damn thing I could wish for. Just imagine Matt’s face when we tell him.”

“Actually-“

“Please do not tell me he already knows!”

“Well, I wasn’t the one to tell him!”

“Well, I don’t care if he’s the Daredevil or the god himself, he couldn’t have known before me!”

“HE knew even before me!”

“Do you think we should tell him to piss off?”

“Foggy!” she laughed “since when do you use gutter language? Besides, he is your best friend.”

“Mhm. Best friend, indeed. But you are my family. So, he’d better stay back, because—”

She chuckled again and leaned to kiss him, before he could even finish that sentence.

“We are going to be parents.” She reminded him, emphasising the first word. “You and me, Foggy. Think about that.”

“You and me” he repeated leaning his forehead on her.

“Mhm. Yes. You and me. And I can already tell you are going to be the best father.”

“And how do you know? Did Matt maybe tell you that?”

“You’re so silly, Franklin.”

“That’s a valid question!”

“Then no. Maybe it’s impossible, but I know it from the way my inside tingled when you touched my stomach. As if our two-week-old baby already knows you. As if he or she knows you are going to accept them, love them and take care of them once they show up in this world.”

“Hm. If that’s the baby’s opinion—" he pulled her closer to his chest again.

“Not only. The mother agrees with it completely.”

Foggy chuckled, his heart racing as he kept holding onto Y/N.

He was finally going to have his own family.

And as much as he loved Matt as his best friend, Foggy was definitely going to tease him about the fact that it was him, who got the pretty girl this time.

That he was number one for her.

#foggy nelson x reader #franklin nelson #foggy nelson #franklin nelson x reader #daredevil #daredevil fanfiction #daredevil fic

34 notes · View notes

dangan-stuck · 14 days ago

Text

We're here, dammit. This is DanganStuck, and these are the V3 character casts!

SPOILER ALERT. This whole thing contains major spoilers for V3!

So, this all started when we found a dead body in the Lab…

Sorry, it’s an inside joke!

Hello, I guess? I don’t know what I’m doing, but here I am, telling you about the Danganronpa x Homestuck AU crossover.

I’m developing this project (?) with [ @happy6machine , @julia-bunncat ] and with the help of some other cool guys as a support team. Lots of headcanon material has accumulated, and progress in the development of the au has simply... stalled, and I thought I’d try to share it >_< because I haven’t seen anyone else doing something like this so extensively!

I’ll start with V3 (my current fandom fixation) and castes, I guess!! The choice for some characters was pretty obvious and straightforward (ex: olive cast for Ryoma and Tenko, purple for Kokichi, indigo for Gonta and etc.), others were more unusual options (violet for Kaito, whaat?), but I swear I have an explanation behind them :Ъ

But first, I’d like to make a small remark: We hadn’t set a specific lore for the whole thing. Sometimes we experimented with transforming characters into trolls during gameplay to see how it would work, leaving the game plot, killings, interactions and so on untouched. Other times, we made up certain plot snippets and events as if they all lived on Alternia. Occasionally, we’ve stayed in the session area (which we’ll discuss further), prescribing classpects, castes, quadrants, and so forth—all these options were considered.

Now back to the castes, let's go in order:

• Himiko is the weakest, slowest, and laziest member of the V3 cast. She isn't very bright, or at least she's too caught up in fantasies. She's also, well, red. I didn't see the point in making up something special for her, so I just put her in the rust caste. It also makes the dynamic between her and some of the other characters very intriguing, which I'll discuss later. Her desire to perform tricks can be interpreted as 'service/entertainment for the people', literally a jester for the public, which suits the lower castes. But what are the tricks? Well, rust and psychic powers, right? :D So Himiko has psychic powers, though not very powerful ones... And still calls it magic, of course.

• Kaede was a… difficult case. OK, my excuse: I wanted to include a representative of every caste (except Fuchsia) at least once, and Kaede got caught in the hot seat. But she's bronze for more than just that reason! There's a joke that I'll tell you about some other time, because I want to hold its punch for a while. As it is, we're hooked on the scene in the first chapter where Kaede immediately falls on her knees in front of Miu (instinct of subordination??). Also, the music is associated with birds, and all animals are associated with the bronze caste. Of course, Kaede is extremely... feisty and enthusiastic for such a caste, but luckily she has many highblood friends—including Kaito, who stood up for her in-game, and if they were trolls, it would work perfectly ;)

• /heavy sigh/ Keebo.

I originally drew this art [link] when my friends and I were just starting to get through V3, and I just liked the sort of black dynamic between the three of them. I didn't think much about the castes at the time, but ironically they haven't changed.

There are some problems with Keebo, because he's obviously a robot, and I want to keep him as a robot in this AU. The most realistic option is that Keebo is a prototype for a new kind of drone to be used on spaceships. After all, he is an advanced AI imitating a troll, so it makes sense to give him some blood color. Gold blood is often associated with the "trolls are used as batteries on ships” theme, and Keebo was literally created to maintain ships. It's... a bit of a stretch, really, but that's all we have for now. I think the lore will be expanded upon in the future.

• Korekiyo. Giving him gold blood was sort of a joke at first, playing on the fact that Korekiyo, like Sollux, has a point that grants him duality—his sister. However, as we fleshed out the lore, the choice felt increasingly fitting. I'll be writing separate posts, probably more than one, to outline his lore because, folks, this is FIRE. I never particularly liked Kork in the game, but now- hell, I LOVE him. Have pity on the poor boi; he's suffered a lot.

• Ryoma and Tenko. Since they both get the olive caste on the same principle, I will combine them. Guys, It's literally a catboy and a catgirl; what other questions could there be?

Okay, technically, Tenko also receives olive blood because she is combative and strong, which are characteristics of this caste. She generally looks like a cat herself ([EN] we’re referring to her fangs and headband with ears in the beta design, her collar with the bell and some of her facial expressions on the sprites), and her temper matches her caste. I'm not sure how to adapt her hatred of men to Homestuck... yet. Maybe she'll hate highbloods instead? That's something to think about.

Ryoma, for his part, with his whole cat theme (his Lusus is a cat, of course), the resemblance of cat ears on his hat, and his tendency to stare into space—he's a good fit too. And despite his small size, he is quite strong.

• Maki. And that's where the problems and doubts begin to unfold. We were deciding whether to make her olive or maybe jade, given her backstory. After all, she disguises herself as a caretaker in canon, and you wouldn't expect a girl from an orphanage to turn out to be a professional assassin. On the other hand, you might expect that from an olive caste troll. Actually, there are indeed olive assassins. But several factors convinced me to give her this particular caste:

- Maki herself is like a wild cat. Her killer stare, mouth shape, quick reactions, strength, agility, grace.

- raising jade trolls as ''assassins'' sounds not only ideologically dubious (after all, the jade caste has a special place in troll society), but also illogical. Jade's killing instinct is probably suppressed, otherwise there would be complete bloodbath in the brooding caves, they wouldn't get along with each other, they wouldn't be able to take care of wigglers.

- yeah, we've sort of canonised Maki being raised by a group of trolls to be an assassin. And raising an olive for that purpose is a perfectly reasonable idea, given their natural abilities.

- the idea for the jade caste came from the fact that children are attracted to Maki. However, Maki gets surprised by this fact every time. She calls it silly, paradoxical, and strange. Well, it wouldn't be strange at all if wigglers were attracted to a jade blood troll; that's natural. But the fact that they are attracted to an olive one should come as a surprise, even to Maki herself.

• Kirumi. Wasn’t overthinking it. The caste is given to her at the same time because of the method of exclusion (others don't really fit) and because of her calmness, composure, and desire to care for others. Kirumi can also be very, very dangerous, just like the jades in canon ;)

• Rantaro. Anybody ordered male jade? I love them personally, despite knowing they're very rare. Well, that choice is pretty obvious: Rantaro is filled with the desire to care for and protect his younger siblings. Where else could he end up but in the jade caste? He's also just a handsome guy with the cutest face, and he's GREEN, dammit! I made my choice immediately. And there's already a story about him! It's small, but we're definitely going to expand it.

• Shuichi. Do I have to explain anything??? Well, in case someone doesn't know, teal caste and detective work are two sides of the same (hee hee) coin, there was simply no other way.

• Angie. Blue caste. Uuuh, yeah, the elimination method again, I suppose? At first, I considered gold blood to maintain the original palette, but Angie has a blue caste psycho vibe to me. Damn, she's brainwashed half the class at some point! What else could it be but minor mind control? Also, Angie is quite bossy, feels at ease, and has the markings of a dominant personality (oh, the Love Hotel scene...). Blue caste suits her.

• Tsumugi. So, okay, given all her statements about her being "plain" and "nonexistent," it would seem that she should have been given low blood. But listen to this: she BULLIES MIU!

...okay, this might not be entirely obvious, but Tsumugi often makes all sorts of sarcastic comments about the other characters, most of which you can only notice if you replay V3 with knowledge of the plot. Her tweaks towards Miu are more noticeable, though, and considering that Miu herself is an indigo blood, it goes down well. Tsumugi is high-blooded enough to tease the indigo troll, saying things like, "Hey, why is it that as soon as someone starts talking back to you, you immediately turn into such a wimp?" She's also high-blooded enough to ignore Kaede when she tries to talk to her at the beginning of the game. Her blue caste might be the reason the killing game worked out at all, considering how many mistakes Tsumugi made. Who knows, maybe she also created Flashback Lights with her psychic powers...

And... eh. I confess. I wanted to keep her in blue colors, in addition to all the above reasons, so I didn't really consider any other castes.

• Miu. Indigo caste, wow! Well, considering her behavior and the fact that no one had ever punched her through the entire game, it’s CLEARLY obvious. Only a high-blooded troll, a really high-blooded troll, could afford to be so rude to those much lower down. The funny thing is that she targeted low and mid-bloods more often: Kaede, Shuichi, sometimes Himiko, Korekiyo, and Keebo. She didn’t bother, or almost didn’t, with Gonta, Kaito, and even COOPERATED with Kokichi—as if she had to, as if she were afraid of crossing the paths of those above her in caste. Also, Miu said she liked it when Kaede and Shuichi knelt before her...

You might ask—why not purple caste? Still, Miu’s strange behavior is a bit like that of a purple-blooded schizo, isn't it? Well... Firstly, there's nothing to suggest that Miu belongs to this weird purple cult. Secondly, Miu’s odd behavior when someone insults her gives us an interesting, almost Equius-like, God forgive me, “I'm superior to you, but I want to obey; it's SO WRONG but so arousing” conflict.

• Gonta. There was no reason to even try. I did have a stray thought, due to Gonta's nature and his connection to bugs, to place him in the bronze caste, but...no. Given his immense power and his lack of insanity like that of the purple-blooded trolls, you can't put him anywhere other than the indigo caste. Plus, he's from a noble family himself. And this ALSO creates a cool dynamic and adds interesting lore aspects to Homestuck!Gonta that I like VERY much and will definitely cover in other posts!!!!

• Kokichi. Oooh reeeally, who'd have thought? Of course he's purple-blooded! It's not that simple, though. Kokichi is definitely not a crazy purple cultist like most members of the purple caste. We are going to be talking about that separately, and believe me, I will give this guy a lot of lore, because I freaking love him. There isn't much else to say–no other blood color suits him better.

• AND HERE WE ARE: VIOLET-BLOODED KAITO, WAT???? Okay, let me explain!

1. I have a headcanon that violet-bloods are not as obsessed with the hemospectrum as land trolls. This is due to the fact that they are mostly isolated, living in the sea. In that environment, there are only fuchsia caste above them, and no one below them Occasionally, rare purple-bloods get caught on the shores, but EVEN then, their status isn't significantly lower. They don't live in a society where lower-bloods are constantly stigmatized and killed for no reason. They simply don't have any possibilities to "grow" those oppressive, rigid attitudes. Eridan shows this well: no matter how much he talks about hating land dwellers, he always interacts with other trolls on almost equal footing—for example, by hitting on everyone and asking Karkat for advice.

2. Kaito has strong leadership skills and a desire to guide, mentor, and support others. He stands up for Kaede, takes Shuichi under his wing, and protects Maki. This demonstrates the attitude of a strong leader willing to take responsibility. It seems very reasonable for an intelligent, thoughtful violet who knows that he is in a position of authority and must be relied upon. He can't afford to appear weak. No wonder he hasn't told anyone about his illness...

3. He conquered the sea... AND CAME TO LAND!!! All these stories about Kaito in Homestuck could become TRUE if he really is a troll with access to EVERYTHING. Fight a pirate king? Hell yeah! And he WANTS to go into space! Maybe not to enslave worlds, but to get off the planet and pilot a ship—why not? He has nothing to fear, unlike many other trolls, as he'd literally be in charge, with only the Empress above him. But back to his travels: tired of his life at sea, Kaito could just go and explore the land, and nothing can stop him. No other troll but a sea troll could afford to do that (although land trolls shouldn't go to sea).

4. Kaito is daring. And combative. He is pretty much the only one in the class who has no problem expressing his displeasure to Kokichi (a purple blood!) regularly and hitting him. Kaito is generally capable of aggression (I shudder to think how Shuichi must have felt when he was punched—minus another protagonist?) and emotion, which is also characteristic of the highblood. Even when he tries to stop Kokichi at the end, he's probably the only one who can do so after Gonta and Miu was killed.

5. COLOUR SCHEME. Let's just leave him with a beautiful violet. Especially as a highblood, he has every right to dress up. Even a star coat :з

Aaand yeah that's it! It has been a bit of a journey, hasn't it? Gosh, I'm really embarrassed. If you made it to the end, I love you guys so much!!!! I hope you enjoyed it!!! I'll develop this thread if there's minimal feedback and people are interested. And, uh, if you have any questions or anything, go for it. Questions help develop this whole thing.

TRANSLATION PREPARED BY MY FAVORITE WONDERFUL FRIENDS SUNSHINES I LOVE YOU WITHOUT YOU THIS WOULD NOT BE POSSIBLE THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU <33333

18 notes · View notes

dustorange · 7 months ago

Note

Hi! I'm a big fan of your Dick Grayson works but also kind of new to the character. And I've learnt that getting reccs from people who's characterization I like is worthwhile, so any comic recs?

HEY thank you so much you are so sweet ! i can’t give you ONLY comic recs that people will think r respectable but i can get you to my dick characterization lol

this is pretty much exactly the order i used when i started reading dick comics so i think its a solid intro reading order for Dick’s characterization OVERALL……it definitely will give u the Dick-as-a-character foundation but it will give u him outside of his element so u see his Essence as opposed to him blending in w the plot/setting BUT TLDR:

Robin Year One

Grayson (2014-2016)

Dick’s run as Batman — i think for streamlining purposes u can start with Damian’s first appearance in Batman #656 and sorta just keep going in Batman issues until you want to stop. There’s also a separate series for Dick-as-Batman: Batman & Robin (2009). I would say gives issues #1-6 a try and see if you like it. THEN READ SCOTT SNYDERS BATMAN BLACK MIRROR

New 52 Nightwing but mainly #1-17

Nightwing (1996)

After that u r free to explore the wonderful deeper worlds outsiders titans etc at ur whims equipped w a solid dg education BE FREE

explanation:

AFTER ROBIN YR 1 I SAY START WITH GRAYSON (2014-2016) because it will make you love reading comics, and it will make you love dick grayson. All (maybe most but mostly all) of my Dick Grayson characterization is a footnote to Grayson. Every DG fic i write is me playing with the Dick who appeared in Grayson. my favorite favorite favorite dick run ever (and my fav comic ever). it’s only like 20 or so issues so it’s VERY manageable. i read it when i was 12 and it was first coming out and its superb its jumpy and funny and warm and clever and just generally fun. its also. FOR THE FIRST HALF. very very VERY well written. To me it’s a skeleton key for dicks character—how hes bright and dark and intelligent and calculating and detached and passionate and contradictorily TOO attached and willingtodowhatmustbedone but above all, most of all, how he’s a performer. This series can get you REALLY FAR in dick’s character. I’ve read a lot of dick stuff but like when i write dick stuff i m writing the dick i learned from Grayson when i was 12. A lot of people rly hate it and they hate Tom king and seeley but Grayson is proof to me that they’re genuine talents. the end of Grayson does fall off but Grayson’s highs are so astronomically high you can’t begrudge it anything. it’s a mostly isolated series and takes place in a weird context but it explains EVERYTHING u need to know abt how Dick got there in the series pretty succinctly . i think it’s a GREAT GREAT GREAT starter series for dick if you’ve already got his robin origin down and it’s genuinely fun and a joy (albeit sometimes emotionally crushing) to read

Robin Year One and then just randomly pick and choose some 1940s detective comics they’re just sweet and good grounding

then i think u should read DickBats. i think it would be really interesting to read Dick-as-Batman before Dick-as-Nightwing because in DickBats, you get SO MUCH characterwork and you FEEL how much Dick loved being Nightwing so it would be a cool experience. i LOVED grant morrison’s dickbats run and I then scott snyders run so HARD REC THOSE some people say they don’t like them but this is also boiling dicks character down to the very foundational essential aspects because it’s placing him in a new situation instead of his typical one (nightwing)

As far as getting introduced to dick specifically as nightwing, i do think n52 nightwing is a good introduction to comics and it’s fun/enjoyable/angsty. Dick suffers a LOT. I also looooooove dick’s red suit and the way he’s drawn by brettbooth and i LOVE the storylines with the circus and Raya Vestri so i think this is a good and accessible intro. I think it gets worse after #17 (MY FAV SIDE CHARACTER DIES) so u can stop there or keep going

Nightwing 96 is very important so u should read it at some point it is the keystone but only read it from the beginning after u already like dick as a character bc I think some of the early issues with Dixon writing r soooooooooooo boring. it is like 25% devastatingly utterly boring and 75% sparkling super gem. which is a pretty good percentage!! but u can delay reading it . people will also tell u that New Teen Titans is critical dick reading. i also think that one is boring but unlike NW96 all of NTT is boring to me but reading NTT is ALSO important TO DO AT SOME POINT but for now u can def skip it

20 notes · View notes

douglysium · 6 months ago

Text

Episode 17 TMP Quick Thoughts

Housekeeping and Prologue

Hello, this is Douglysium and you might not know me as that guy who wrote over 100 pages of analysis on the Eye (which can be read on Tumblr here (https://douglysium.tumblr.com/post/735599414228484097/the-relationships-between-the-dread-powers-the) or Google Docs here (The Relationships Between the Dread Powers: The Eye- Knowledge is Fear and Ignorance is Bliss)) or as that guy who wrote an article on the Extinction (which can be read on Tumblr here(https://douglysium.tumblr.com/post/717929126195003392/what-would-avatars-of-the-extinction-be-like-a) and Google Docs here(What would Avatars of the Extinction be like?: A TMA Speculation)). Suffice to say I might be a bit of a TMA fan. Also, spoilers for TMP up until episode 10. You can read my ramblings on the last episode here (Episode 15 TMP Quick Thoughts).

However, Protocol offers a very unique opportunity and experience for me because I didn’t actually get into TMA until after it was over and I binged all of it. So this is my first time experiencing something even remotely similar to what the original TMA fans probably experienced when waiting for each episode week by week and slowly having to put everything together with the limited information they had. So I decided to throw my hat into the ring since this might be my only chance to do something similar. However, I’m working on some longer form TMA content so I can’t spend as much time on these articles giving a bunch of super detailed thoughts. I will try to keep these short and that inevitably might mean some could have questions about why I think or predict certain things and in those cases I would probably recommend you read at least some of the two articles I mentioned above to get a better idea of where I’m coming from. This also means I won’t be giving you a play-by-play of every single thing that happens in the episode so I encourage you to listen to or read them yourselves and feel free to comment if you feel something is important.

These reviews are probably going to end up focusing mostly on the Entities and their manifestations as they are what I have thought about the most and spent the most time interpreting and there’s been a lot of… interesting theories floating around about how the Entities are manifesting that I want to go over.

Finally, I’m just going to say it right now, spoiler warning for all of The Magnus Archives. I know that Jon and co said one could start with Protocol and be fine, and while that’s probably true, media like this tends to be made in conversation with or take into consideration what came before it in the irl chronology in order to connect them. While I’m sure you could skip The Magnus Archives, I don't really see the point of skipping over it when we are already getting characters from TMA showing up in TMP in Protocol. So to me it’s pretty clear that if we want to understand the full picture of TMP and all the things it is trying to say then we can’t just try to pretend TMA doesn’t exist or scrub it away. Just because you could understand what’s happening without the context in broad strokes doesn’t mean you're getting all the nuances.

These articles are meant to be quick and short so sorry if there’s typos and if I don’t address every possible question or possibility. I don’t want to repeat myself too much in this series outside of the prologue so be sure to skim some of my other articles.

Episode 17 “Saved Copy”

We start off this episode from Celia’s phone as she wakes up on a train track. The transcripts state “An overland train is powering down the tracks towards CELIA. The horn wails.” Luckily Celia wakes up and scrambles out of the way in time. As she hurries off she says “For gods sake! Not again. Not today!”

The first time something like this happened in Episode 11 (Marked) I had assumed Celia was trying to perform some sort of experiment involving multiversal travel. However, this scene makes it seem like less of an active choice on Celia’s part and that it could be a more passive effect. Celia says “For gods sake! Not again. Not today!” If this was some sort of experiment not working I don’t see why Celia would have to perform the experiment on this particular day and why she would choose to do so if it's a bad day. This leads me to suspect that Celia’s movement is more passive or unwilling in these cases. This could be something akin to sleepwalking but if that’s what it was I don’t see why she wouldn’t just tell Sam that’s what happening later. Which of course, leads me to suspect that what Celia is experiencing is somehow supernatural or unbelievable under normal circumstances.

It could be some Entity at play (we have seen them do weirder stuff) but there’s a lot of hints pointing to the idea that Celia is actually from the TMA universe. So there’s a good chance that Celia waking up in these random spots has something to do with that. The only problem is we don’t have a lot of references to pull from when it comes to multiversal travel and potential effects. At this point the only reference we have is from TMA with Anya Villette. In MAG 114 (Cracked Foundation) when Anya Villette is seemingly pulled through the gap. Anya notes “Thinking now I know that there wasn’t any light down there, but… that horrid gap was clear as day, darker than just the simple lack of light that surrounded it. And then I was at the edge looking down, and those eight spindly arms reaching up to pull me in. I couldn’t have screamed even if I wanted to.” and when she wakes up she notes that the date is off. The date was originally April 23rd but somehow it had become April 8th after what is presumably The Web pulled her though. But we don’t get much of Anya. This is the only statement she gives and we don’t follow up with her after. So if there was some sort of side effect from traveling through the multiverse we have yet to see it.

It’s also plausible that there are various factors at play for Celia’s jump that weren’t there for Anya’s or vice versa. We still don’t know much about how the multiverse works in TMA so the answer might be as simple as “multiversal travel can go wrong.” Sometimes you run into a storm while you’re sailing and sometimes you become unstable from multiversal travel. Celia’s movements could be coming from something attempting to drag her towards the gap and reality or maybe she just sort of hops around. It’s hard to say. It’s possible something is somehow tethering her to the world but there’s not really a precedent for that being a thing at the moment.

We cut to the breakroom as Celia apologizes profusely to Sam for missing their movie date. Sam says it’s fine but he wishes Celia called and Celia claims that she ended up missing it because she was trying to come back from Oxford. Celia offers to pay for their next date as an apology and Sam goes on to talk about how he actually liked Pillowman despite not being a horror fan. As Sam leaves the room Celia says “(to herself) You’re okay. It’s ok.” Reassuring herself of something. She might just be trying to calm herself down after waking up in front of a train or potentially upsetting Sam but maybe she’s worried about Sam finding something out.

Case

This case is given to us by Chester (Jonathon’s voice).

Statement and Research assessment for candidate PD553

Magnus Institute – Oxford Outreach Centre.

Private and confidential.

Viability as subject – low

Viability as agent – low

Viability as catalyst – low

Recommend continued incarceration as part of Welling Mutare Materia research program.

Let’s get some stuff out of the way. The viability system has returned. Last time this system was used was in Episode 9 (Rolling With It). However, in that episode the system was almost definitely being used in reference to the strange dice artifacts, which is extremely likely considering that the person who handed in the dice dies at the end of the episode. But there are no such artifacts that I think this system could be referring to in this case. Additionally, there’s a new bit of information. Unlike Episode 9 this case says “Statement and Research assessment for candidate PD553.”

So in this case the system is specifically being used to measure a candidate, a person. This means that the subject, agent, and catalyst system can not only be used for objects but seemingly any person or object with supernatural properties. This does make some sense since we know that the Institute had a gifted kids program. To me it feels like the Institute was definitely looking for something, but I don’t know what that thing would be.

In Episode 9 I had my theories about what the viability scales were referring to but people such as u/UffishWerf and u/Miss_Kohane pointed out the connection between the terms subject, agent, and catalyst and alchemy (which is probably relevant when you consider the alchemical symbols in TMAGP’s logo). In alchemy and chemistry a catalyst is “a substance that increases the rate of a chemical reaction without itself undergoing any permanent chemical change.” Miss_Kohane then goes on to argue “The dice are a catalyst as they don't change or react, they're not active themselves, they don't mix or merge with anything else. Just sitting on the table won't do anything but rolling them causes a reaction and a change, while the dice remains the same. Categorizing the dice as "Medium" makes sense as its presence isn't enough to prompt a reaction (you need to roll them) and the reaction is impossible to predict. A good catalyst would prompt the same reaction every time, at the same dose and without assistance.”

Okay, before we go on any further lets try to see how much weight this point has by throwing in some of what we know about Darien as a candidate. We know why the dice might have gotten a medium but what about Darien’s catalyst score? Well, he got a low which does still potentially fit pretty well with the previous point. Despite the weirdness of Darien’s case it doesn’t seem like Darien himself has powers that can be comparable to the dice. So his catalyst score could end up being a low one because he doesn’t generate any kind of supernatural reaction despite being a person that can move stuff around. The dice get a medium because they have an effect when you roll them but Darien gets a low because he either doesn’t have a very big effect on other things or the Institute just couldn’t figure out how to get Darien’s abilities to activate.

Okay so what about the other evaluations? The term “agent” also seems to have a definition used in chemistry. One that means “a substance that brings about a chemical or physical effect or causes a chemical reaction.” The dice got a low score in viability as an agent and so did Darien. Looking at this other definition it’s possible that what agent is referring to is transformative properties. We know that the entities or certain artifacts can physically change people or monsters into other things or forms. So if reading a book caused you to turn into a werewolf that might have a higher viability as an “agent.” This could also explain why both the dice and Darien got low scores here. I mean sure the dice cause stuff to happen but it doesn’t seem to chemically change anything. If you roll the dice you are still a normal human even if you get hit with a car or stub your toe. Nothing else seems to chemically change or transmogrify around you either. Cars are still cars, people are still other people, etc. The dice causes bad luck, but all the stuff that happens because of it isn’t completely implausible or physically or impossible. A light blowing out sucks sure but that’s something that can physically happen.

Then there's subject. It’s kind of hard for me to find a good definition of subject that might relate to chemistry or alchemy because Google keeps thinking I’m referring to chemistry classes or schools. As embarrassing as it is to admit, this really limits how confident I can be on my reading here because I don’t have all day to scour google. In my original speculation I said “Subject has a lot of definitions and can mean “a person or thing that is being discussed, described, or dealt with”, “likely or prone to be affected by (a particular condition or occurrence, typically an unwelcome or unpleasant one)”, “dependent or conditional upon”, “conditionally upon,” and “cause or force to undergo (a particular experience of form of treatment)”” The dice got a subject score of “none” while Darien gets a “low.” This might imply that subject is referring to some sort of agency or ability to act on its own. The dice get a “none” because they are inanimate objects that cannot move without an outside force acting on them and Darien gets a low because while he can move he’s just a normal person I guess and can’t like shapeshift or anything.

One of the definitions of subject according to merriam-webster.com is “the mind, ego, or agent of whatever sort that sustains or assumes the form of thought or consciousness.” Subject in this case might also refer to something like the mind. The more a target knows or the higher the level their mind operates on the higher the subject score might be. The dice themselves aren’t alive so they get a “none” and Darien only knows as much as a normal person so he gets a “low.”

There’s one last thing though. Where the dice and Darien go. When the dice are being analyzed we get “Recommend referral to Catalytics for Enrichment applicability assessment” and for Darien we get “Recommend continued incarceration as part of Welling Mutare Materia research program.”

Catalytics is defined as “relating to or involving the action of a catalyst.” while enrichment basically refers to enhancing a usually desirable trait. So the Catalytics of Enrichment might be referring to the idea of somehow trying to enhance or control the dice in some way. But it could also just be some artifact storage.

Where Darien gets sent is interesting because he’s just straight up incarcerated by the Institute. This is pretty big because it means that the Magnus Institute probably had way more power as an organization in this universe than it did in the TMA one. In TMA the Institute and its archives were kind of just some weird organization that researched the supernatural and collected stories. But in Protocol it seems like they somehow have the authority or means to straight up imprison / confine people. Makes me wonder about ERROR. I don’t think Darien is ERROR but I wonder if ERROR was being confined for similar reasons or in the same kind of facility?

According to Google translate “mutare” means “to change” in Latin and “materia” means “material.” So “Welling Mutare Materia research program” could mean “Welling material change research program” or something similar. Does this mean they were trying to change Darien into something? I have no idea.

But let's get back to the case. Darien says “I know how this looks but it wasn’t me. Well, it was me but it wasn’t me you understand?” and then asks that the Institute not hold anything against him for what happened.

The story starts off with his anger management and he explains that he has been going to therapy for it for sixteen months after being arrested at some point. Luckily, the therapy was going well for Darien. Darien also comments “...and I was making real progress. It sounds like rubbish at first but all that counting to ten, gratefulness and compassion work, they do work. From the look of you, you’d probably benefit from it.” This comment makes me wonder who is transcribing the information that CHESTER will read out. At first I didn’t really think anything of who was writing down the statements for the Institute but Darien’s comment about the interviewer’s appearance or emotional state has me wondering if they’ll be a recurring character.

Darien gets to his last session and he just needs to see Dr. Dumfries to get the “rubber stamp” saying that his therapy worked. Darien notes that it was a terrace townhouse and he always found it uncomfortable “...like the walls were so thin you could almost hear what people were saying on the other side. I never did though. At some point I’d chalked it up to just being antsy waiting for therapy.”

“Anyway, there was a new receptionist behind the old front desk, some big, soft looking guy who stumbled over every word. A year ago, it would have probably wound me right up but what can I say? Therapy works. There was another patient too, some bookish-looking guy with serious city miles. I used to play the game “what are you in for” where I would pass the time guessing… well, you know. In my head he was definitely some kind of weird pervert, really into stroking orchids or something. Thinking back, I almost wonder if the same thing happened to them… Do you know? Would you even tell me if you did?” The description of these two is interesting since one could argue that this might be how someone could describe someone like Martin and Jon. Martin is implied on a couple of occasions to be on the bigger side, plus he can stammer or get nervous easily, and Jon is noted as appearing older than he actually is, looking very tired, and potentially scrawny. In the Protocol universe the Institute burned down in 1999 so depending on the timeline here I suppose it’s not impossible for this to be the original Jon and Martin but I really doubt it. All we know about their potential whereabouts is that the OIAR computers have their voices and in Episode 7 (Give and Take) Sam asks Colin “Uh anyway yeah, I was wondering if you knew who “John” was?” and explains “I got a weird email from “John” with a random name and an address and it looks like it’s from an internal email so… ”.

We still don't know where Jon and Martin are for sure, or if they’re even alive, but it’s possible Darien isn’t actually from the TMA universe or these two people just happen to have vaguely matching descriptions or are parallel versions of them.

Darien gets his turn with Dr. Dumfries: “Dr Dumfries said hello in that cheery way that always used to set me on edge and we get down to it. Now his office was pretty much the most boring room in the world. No pictures, no clock, not even a window. Just the front door, the office door, the desk and some chairs. It must have been deliberate. It drove me up the wall.”

However, things get weird when Darien attempts to try some meditation in order to calm his nerves: “I’d been trying meditation in the last few sessions and it had always been a struggle but this time, when I closed my eyes and went into myself… It was different. I remember sitting there that last time and realizing that this was what she had been on about. Just sort of… having a sit… going away for a while… just being… I don’t really know what happened then. I felt like maybe I was dreaming, but I don't really remember. I wasn't asleep, though. You can't feel pain like that in a dream. It was the migraine that brought me back. All at once this deep throbbing pain, and my eyes were so dry I couldn't open them. My neck was stiff and I was dizzy, cold and trembling. Finally, I tried to stand up and fell forward onto my knees. I could barely move, couldn't focus over the pain, I just knew I needed to get out of that room, into the fresh air. It was dark now, with no sign of Dr. Dumfries, and I had to make my way up a flight of stairs and through an office space I didn't recognise before I saw daylight. I collapsed again, but I remember two things before I lost consciousness: I was in some kind of shopping centre. And a sign reading “Magnus Institute Outreach Centre”. I assume that's how I first came to your attention.”

Darien regains consciousness for a bit within an ambulance and notes both the worry of the first responders and his physical state: “They seemed really worried, kept asking me what had happened. I tried to tell them I’d felt fine earlier… then I saw my arms. They were withered with paper thin skin hanging from my emaciated wrists. My aching eyes traced their way up to my sunken chest then down past my protruding ribs to the swollen belly below. I passed out again. The next few days are a blur. I know they kept me in for “malnutrition with complications” but when I told them I didn’t know how it happened they didn’t believe me. I reckon they had me pegged as bulimic or something but they seemed satisfied once they got me on solids and I scoffed everything I could get my hands on.” While Darien did have time to think about what happened he couldn’t piece anything together. Fearing that another “incident” could occur he decided to take some time away from the quarry to clear his mind. He tried to “phone in sick but the call wouldn’t go through” and the hospital asks for an emergency contact but it doesn’t go anywhere. Eventually the hospital just looks up Darien’s address on his NHS records and sends him on his way with a drop-off bus.

“At first, I thought the driver had managed to get himself lost. I certainly didn’t recognize the route and eventually instead of heading to Balfor Road he tried to drop me at some ridiculous place off Banbury.” Darien believes the hospital gave the driver the wrong address and says some harsh things before the bus driver drives off into the dark swearing at Darien. So “with no money, no bags and just the shirt on my back” he rings the bell of Harcourt House hoping for some kind of help. The door isn’t opened for a while and just as Darien is about to give up and leave “they pulled open the door, spilling golden light out into the cavernous porch and that was when I first met myself. The other myself. I don’t recommend it. We both yelled, then we both laughed, then we just stared. He took it better than I did. He even invited me inside once he realized how bad a state I was in. He sat me down and made me a tea, four sugars, just how I like it. I was so grateful, anything to stop that feeling that I was somehow falling through the cracks. He was my height obviously and had my eyes but I actually noticed the differences more than the similarities. He wore glasses, no grey in his hair and had white, almost glowing teeth and no beer gut. I realized that whatever this was, I was definitely the worse version and that is not a good feeling. Thankfully, he didn’t say anything. In fact, he looked thrilled, kept telling me how “amazing” this was, in his fancy house and designer clothes.” After talking a bit with this doppelganger, both come to the conclusion that they have been half-brothers. In theory, it would explain the similarities they share and “we definitely had the same piece-of shit dad. I'd grown up with a mum, though, so I guess I got the lucky side of that particular coin-flip.”

Darien always hated his dad but the idea that he had a second richer life without him and mom makes him hate him even more. This doppelganger is even also named Darrien (note I’m like halfway through editing this and sometimes the transcripts have Darien with two Rs and sometimes it’s Darrien with one R. I originally assumed this was to distinguish the two Darriens so I was using the one R for our Darrien but now I think the one R is just an error). Although, I have to admit that the idea of some deadbeat parent naming both their kids from secret love affairs the same name so that they never forget their names or so it looks like they are talking to the same kid as some sort of weird strategy is funny. Thoughts of Darien’s dad gets to him: “That hit hard. But the other Darrien was good about it, changed the subject, asked me what brought me here. I started explaining my side of things. The hospital, the ambulance, the weirdness in the waiting room. He was a good listener and I ended up telling him way more than I meant to. Even about therapy and the arrest, all of it… The only time he interrupted was to check the little details: dates, times, that sort of thing. That was when things got really weird because if the other Darien was right, that meant at some point Dad had been at his own funeral at the same time that he was in surgery for the tumor that killed him.”

Darien and his supposed half-brother (who I will start referring to as Darrien 2 to avoid confusion) talk for hours but fail to reach any concrete conclusion or answer for the discrepancies in their history despite being brothers. Darien is still in rough shape and begins nearing his limits. Darrien 2 notices and insists Darien stay “after all “we’re sort of family.” I was too exhausted to argue.” So Darien stayed in a spare bedroom “It was bigger than my whole flat.”

“The next day I was properly sick. I’d definitely overdone it and I felt horrendous. Darrien was really great about it though, insisted I stay longer; he had the space and the housekeeper was used to cooking for guests. Besides, we still had so much to talk about. I didn’t argue. It was a comfy bed. Darrien came by later with some spicy leek soup and we talked again. He was just so eager, he kept telling me how amazing it was, how he might finally have someone to talk to who would “get it” how happy he was to have me around. I’ll admit it did feel good to talk and he was right, he did get it. When I talked about the anger and what it had caused, he immediately understood with no judgement. He just smiled and said he knew just how to help. I stayed another couple of days getting my strength back. We spent the time talking, eating and just generally hanging out. He was really good company, and incredibly generous, letting me have the full run of the place.”

But the way the housekeeper, Sharon, acts around the two gives Darien pause: “The only thing that made me pause was how the housekeeper, Sharon, was around us. It wasn’t that she was judgmental or anything, she was afraid, maybe even terrified… I assumed she was just weirded out and tried to get to know her, talk to her when Darrien wasn’t around but the whole time it was like she was ready to run, like she was waiting for me to suddenly turn on her. Eventually, I had to just give up and let her hurry off. I didn’t want to upset her or anything but it worried me. The last time I’d seen people look at me like that was after the fight and I hated it. I had sworn I would never give someone reason to look at me like that again.” That evening Darien and his long lost brother sat smoking in the latter’s massive study. Darrien 2 told him about his time at university but Darien had never been to university: “it seems like he had done the whole Eton and Oxford thing and even done some competitive boxing while he was there.” This is an interesting past when you remember that our Darien got in trouble for some fight but this Darrien seems to have made some sort of career out of fighting. There’s a bit of duality here.

Finally, Darien gets to the elephant in the room. It’s clear Darien has some anger issues and that has made his life harder. So he asks his brother how he managed to stay so chill: “Venting the anger, that kind of thing? He gave me a look then. A very direct, very calm look over the tops of his expensive horn-rimmed glasses. “I was waiting for you to ask” he said in a tone I hadn't heard from him before. Then he smiled, stubbed out his cigar and walked off without another word.” and Darien follows him as he walks through the house without a word. Darrien 2 winds his way down to the basement and continues past all the stuff Darien had seen before (such as the gym and home cinema) until he reaches a locked door at the end of the room. Darien originally assumed it was just a cupboard or utility room but as he looked closer “I could see the hinges were heavy, reinforced, the edges of the door had a thick rubber seal and the lock was excessive for such a generic-looking door. Darrien placed a key in the lock and turned to me with a smile. “It’s so nice to finally share this with someone” he murmured before turning the key, opening the door and gesturing for me to enter. I looked inside, seeing a spotless sharp-edged steel staircase leading downwards into a harshly lit, stainless steel space. Most of the room was out of view from the doorway but I could hear something, right on the edge of my hearing, in the quiet, past Darrien’s measured breath and the distant hum of the boiler. There was another breath, a slow and ragged rattle creeping up from below. And a smell: the tang of disinfectant over a faint, coppery undertone. That was when I noticed a single spot of color on the otherwise pristine stairs. A single, crimson spot.”

This is a horror podcast, so I think we can all assume that this is blood and not just ketchup or something. “I didn't need to take a single step down to know exactly what this place was.” Darrien 2 tries to reassure Darien by whispering to him ““Trust me, you’ll enjoy it” as another rattle clawed its way up the stairs towards me, asking weakly for mercy. For death.. I tensed, I couldn’t help it. Darrien’s secret, his solution to the anger that had been burning my own life to the ground for as long as I could remember was down there. And if he really was the same as me, if he really had all that rage trapped inside him then whatever he had done to the man who was down there... I didn't want to see it. I couldn't. Darrien frowned at me then. I could see the disappointment bleed across his face like a stain, souring that boyish eagerness and replacing it with an anger I recognized immediately. We were so similar and yet… I couldn’t join him down there with our father in that horrible halogen light.”

Darien hesitates before instinctually shoving his brother: “He grabbed for me as he overbalanced, his face contorted in rage but he was snatching at air. He never broke eye contact as he fell. Even as his arm broke on the first impact, even as his knee wrenched as he tumbled, even as his temple cracked into the bottom step and he slumped onto the stainless steel floor. He just stared at me with pure venom in his eyes whilst I looked back sadly. He wasn’t dead. Not at that point. Maybe it would have been merciful to finish him off. Maybe if I had done, I could have saved whatever tortured soul he'd kept down there. But the idea of walking down those steps was too much. I just couldn't do it. The door was solid, soundproof and had a firm lock on the outside. I haven't opened it since.”

Darien then says “I’ve lived Darien’s life for four years now. It wasn’t as hard as you’d think, turns out your world and mine are pretty similar.” (which is a pretty big reveal but we’ll get back to it). He sends Sharon on an expensive package holiday and lies to her about his “half-brother” leaving in a hurry. “She knew what I had done, I'm certain of that. She never called the police or anything, but she never came back after that holiday either. I think she just wanted done with the whole mess. I don’t blame her. Oh. I bet she’s the one who tipped you off, isn't she? Yeah, I thought so. So where does that leave us? I suppose you could call the police but I don't see that that would do anyone any good. And I've had enough practice living this life now that I could make it pretty unpleasant for you. Besides, all I’m really guilty of is killing a killer and not helping someone who was likely dead either way. Is that really so bad, in the scheme of things? We could just call it quits? I’m really not a bad person. I give to charity, I pay my- his taxes. In a lot of ways I’m a better Darrien than he ever was. So let's call this a happy ending.”

This ending speech is pretty ironic since we know Darien ends up imprisoned by the Magnus Institute, so not really the happy ending he was hoping for.

This episode actually seems like a pretty important one. The Entities are very capable of creating copies of people, we see a copy of Martin in Martin’s Eye and Lonely domain that seems quite similar, if a bit more outspoken, and we know the Catalogue of the Trapped Dead creates copies because in MAG 154 (Bloody Mary) Eric states “I know that I’m not really Eric; I’m just a memory someone wrote down. It hurts, most of the time. I don’t like it.” Not to mention that Entities like The Stranger can mess with the memories of people on a mass scale in order to replace people with monsters such as the NotThem. As I originally listened to the episode I chalked up what was happening to one or more Entities attempting to replace Darien by making a copy but as the episode went on things became weirder and weirder. While an Entity might be able to emulate this somehow there’s still a lot of questions and this is pretty strange behavior even for them.

Is this some new set of Entities? Have the Entities changed into something unrecognizable? Well, I actually still don’t think so. I think what we are mostly dealing with here is actually multiversal travel. Let's look through some of the evidence based on what we know about traveling through the multiverse in TMA. There’s the possibility that Celia is from the TMA universe but we still don’t know a lot about that so let's look at more concrete examples by going to TMA itself. As I’ve mentioned previously the gap in reality The Web used to exit the TMA universe might still exist since there’s nothing to suggest it would automatically close upon all the Entities being dragged through. If anything it might stay the same size or get bigger as the Entities are thrust through it.

There’s a couple notable multiversal trips and parallels we can use as a reference point to support Darien’s comment about being in another world. First, there’s Anya Villette in MAG 114 (Cracked Foundation). When Anya travels through the gap there’s a time discrepancy. According to Anya the date was originally April 23rd but somehow it had become April 8th after what is presumably The Web pulled her though the gap. While Anya traveled back in time the odd time discrepancy could explain why Darien ended up malnourished since it’s possible he ended up coming out of some sort of gap days later (there could also be other factors but we’ll get to it). Anya doesn’t mention any malnourishment but we don’t know all the factors at play yet.

Anya says “It seemed to split the floor right down the middle; it was jagged, vicious, like something had torn out the ground with a hook. It was maybe a foot across at its widest, and so dark inside it made my teeth ache. I’m not sure how I saw it. Thinking now I know that there wasn’t any light down there, but… that horrid gap was clear as day, darker than just the simple lack of light that surrounded it. And then I was at the edge looking down, and those eight spindly arms reaching up to pull me in. I couldn’t have screamed even if I wanted to. I woke up in one of the chairs, the dust cover clinging to me like a cocoon. I threw it off, and ran out of that house, and I haven’t been back. But now… everything’s wrong. I went to clean that house on April the 23rd, 2009 which, according to all of you, is tomorrow. But it can’t be. That was two weeks ago. I’ve tried to talk to my friends about it. Those of my friends I can find, but they seem distant, like they don’t really know me. Everything is just… wrong. I can’t find my favourite coffee shop. And I don’t know who you people are.” Which honestly isn’t a whole lot to go off of. Darien doesn’t mention any gaps but I suppose if the Institute is at a different location then the gap could be too. Not to mention Darien also seems as lost as Anya, he can’t phone anyone he would know and has trouble finding his way around.

However, the rest of Darien’s experiences would also point to another universe being at play. The reason the hospital drops him off at a weird house is because that’s the house under his name in this universe. It also explains the similarities and differences between the Dariens. We have some reference for parallel versions of characters since we can use the Gerards and Gertrudes of both the TMA and TMAGP universes as a sort of reference point. First off, they have the same dad but Darien grew up with his mom while the other Darrien presumably grew up with his dad (which if their dad is as bad as to be believed then it probably made their anger issues worse). However, some dates don’t match up. Darien says “That was when things got really weird because if the other Darien was right, that meant at some point Dad had been at his own funeral at the same time that he was in surgery for the tumor that killed him.” This actually parallels Gerard and Gertrude. In the TMA universe Gerard died from an untreated brain tumor before some skin was harvested to bind him to the Catalogue of the Trapped Dead and Gertrude was of course eventually killed by Jonah Magnus. However, as we see in Episode 8 (Running on Empty) Gerard and Gertrude are both alive and seemingly healthy in this universe despite having died within the TMA universe around 2014 and 2015 respectively. But Protocol seems to take place around modern day (so 2023ish) and definitely after those dates. So we know that when it comes to parallel universes characters can be dead in one universe while being alive in another. These factors would also explain why Darien and Darrien have noticeable differences in their appearance and upbringing.

But something got me thinking about where Darien wakes up. Darien says “I collapsed

again, but I remember two things before I lost consciousness: I was in some kind of shopping centre. And a sign reading “Magnus Institute Outreach Centre”.” I also don’t think it’s a coincidence that the computers decided to give Celia this case now since she later thanks it and the computers have a hell of a good timing for when they decide to drop information sometimes (such as when the computers gave Sam new clues about the Institute just as he gave up his search). So I wonder if what’s happening is that the Magnus Institute of this universe was trying to create their own gap in reality or reach into other multiverses. If they used a method different than The Web that might explain why Darien was so malnourished and didn’t wake up on Hilltop, since it’s possible that whatever technique they were trying to use wasn’t perfected yet. This could also explain why Celia entertains Sam’s interest in the Institute, since it would overlap in her study of multiversal trouble.

Anya does say that she’d never heard of the Magnus Institute until falling into the gap. While some would say this proves Anya is not from the Protocol universe, it’s important to remember that Anya was presumably in London. The Magnus Institute in the Protocol universe was not only located in Manchester, instead of London, but it also burned down in 1999. So these factors could explain why Anya never heard of the organization. It’s also possible there’s some government involvement when it comes to keeping some stuff under wraps in the Protocol universe but that’s still up in the air.

This is normally the part where I view things through the lens of Smirke’s 14 + The Extinction but there isn’t a lot to analyze here. Most of what happens can be explained by Darien falling into another universe and, unlike Anya’s statement, I can’t really spot a clear Entity that dragged Darien to this new universe. It’s possible that it’s just The Web again or maybe some other Entity managed to pull it off but there’s also a chance that the Institute is somehow involved. Not to mention that we know people can fall through the gap in a more passive manner. In MAG 196 (This Old House) we get “The first to build a home upon that spot was named Eowa. He was a Saxon, and a coward, who had fled the field against the Mercian king, and sought to find his peace there. His squalid little hut was far removed from those of his once-kinsmen. Nonetheless, there he lived and worked, and tried hopelessly to forget the stench of blood and rot, and the feel of a seax knife in the wound he carried to the end of his life. Did his terror call to him with the drumbeat voice of carnage? Did it sing to him with the squirming melody of decay? Could any have told you the difference? It is strange. That a name, a face, a taste of fear should linger through the centuries, and yet I cannot be sure which of them it was that ate so well. Some fears are eternal, but within them lie a hundred titles, whispered in the secret places of every era of every corner of our world. Who can say if any of them are true? Whichever it might have been, they knew Eowa’s terrors well. Until he was no longer there. Until he awoke in a place that was a place but… somewhere else. Somewhere the Mercians had pushed further, had taken more. For all his dread of a violent death, his end was quick and clean. And none of his kinsmen ever knew his fate. His hut, left unattended, quickly fell to disrepair, then to collapse. No-one used the wood; the grain was warped.”

Additionally, it’s plausible other cracks in reality exist as that same MAG states“It’s not a point in space. The Earth spins and hurtles through the darkness, but it still carries it along.”and “None of us remember what had caused the crack, not even those things beyond time who might measure a generation in the echoes of their screams. It has been there as long as they have, if not longer. It’s not a large crack, and to walk by it, even through it, you’d never pause to notice. Perhaps the air around it is slightly thinner, lights slightly dimmer… In the summer there may be the slightest chill. In the winter a warmth that is almost unsettling. The fungus that grows in the damp there is somehow more vibrant in its whiteness, while flowers remain duller than those that neighbour them. But these changes are slight, and none have dwelt on them long enough to call the place cursed. Indeed, few have ever thought much of it at all. Perhaps there are many such places across the Earth. Perhaps it is unique. Certainly, no-one has known either way.”

This might be presumptuous on my part but I’m going to assume that just like how each statement in TMA involved at least one Entity somewhere in them that the cases follow similar logic. There is the person Darrien 2 tortures in the basement and this person is implied to be Darrien’s father or potentially someone meant to resemble him “We were so similar and yet… I couldn’t join him down there with our father in that horrible halogen light.” It’s a bit hard to tell if this person is being kept alive / revived by some Entity or if Darrien 2 became an Avatar or tied to some Power. If there was an Entity present it would probably be The Slaughter in relation to the fear of violence (succumbing to it in this case) and violently using someone as an outlet for anger and violence. Not to mention Darien fears getting into another terrible fight. Darien says “He grabbed for me as he overbalanced, his face contorted in rage but he was snatching at air. He never broke eye contact as he fell. Even as his arm broke on the first impact, even as his knee wrenched as he tumbled, even as his temple cracked into the bottom step and he slumped onto the stainless steel floor. He just stared at me with pure venom in his eyes whilst I looked back sadly.”

Some other Entities that could be at play are The Buried, with the man being trapped in the basement, and maybe something like The Flesh or Desolation depending on the specific nature of the torture. There’s even an argument for themes of The Web in relation to the fear of not having control over yourself in Darien’s anger issues and maybe even The Eye with Darrien fearing seeing a terrible truth about himself being shown in the basement by his doppelganger.

CHESTER

I’ve already talked quite a lot so I’m not going to go through all my thoughts about the computer voices. If you want to see most of them you can read about them here (Episode 12 TMP Quick Thoughts) in the conclusion section. TL;DR I’m trying to see if there’s any noticeable patterns in when the computer voices show up. Someone by the name of Maddie’s Maxis in a Youtube video titled “This Channel's First Video - The Magnus Protocol Analysis and Theories” (which you can view here This Channel's First Video - The Magnus Protocol Analysis and Theories) argues that CHESTER (Jonathon’s voice) shows up for cases having to do with the Magnus Institute while I argue that the voice seems to more broadly correspond to cases that have heavy themes of curiosity or people looking for things.

This episode definitely strongly support’s Maddie’s theory since Darien is being interviewed and detained by the Institute. Not to mention that he remembers waking up in the “Magnus Institute Outreach Centre.” When it comes to my take it definitely feels like a bit more of a stretch. I suppose you could argue Darien was trying to find his way back home but you can also argue he was looking for a way to control his anger.

Rest of the Episode

Celia actually talks to the computer after the case finishes by saying “(to computer) Thanks, I guess. Not exactly the same is it?” This is yet more evidence that the cases the computers spit out aren’t completely random. When Sam asked where Celia was earlier she says Oxford and the case Darien is in has “Magnus Institute – Oxford Outreach Centre.” So Oxford seems like it could potentially be a location of interest. I don’t know whether or not the computers can actually hear what people are saying in any traditional sense. It’s possible Celia is just anthropomorphizing them and people muttering to inanimate objects isn’t completely unheard of but who’s to say.

Alice assumes Celia is talking to her instead of the computer and asks “(removing earbuds) What's up? Got a good one?” but Celia has no luck. Alice asks if the cases are ever useful to which Celia replies “True.” before sighing. Maybe she agrees that they are rarely useful but considering that she just thanked the computer she might be hiding something.

We cut to a later time as Gwen attempts to fix Alice’s computer in the place of Colin, although it’s clear Gwen isn’t as experienced as Colin with these computers. Gwen and Alice argue like usual and it’s clear Gwen’s patience is running thin. Gwen says “It would help if your keyboard didn’t have an entire pack of digestive crumbs wedged between the keys.” and when Alice clarifies that it’s shortbread Gwen continues “It’s disgusting is what it is. It’s no wonder you’re having PC issues.” However, Alice retorts with “Are you seriously suggesting that a “jmj error” is actually an issue with the... cookies?” I suppose while Gwen’s point isn’t impossible if a crumb got in some extra weird place within the computer, Alice raises a good point. I mean sure, the keys would probably break but why would that cause such an error? But from the perspective of Gwen, a computer freaking out with an error because the keys were acting funny probably wouldn’t be the weirdest thing.

The episode then ends with this interaction-

ALICE

“Oh and you do? Look forget it. Celia said she’s seen Colin about. Maybe I can grab him so he can kick it into submission again.”

GWEN

“Then Celia’s wrong. He hasn’t been in for weeks so unless you’ve secretly been learning ethernet protocols”

ALICE

“Now you’re just making stuff up.”

GWEN

“I’m the best you’ve got right now.”

ALICE

“Jesus that’s depressing.”

GWEN

“Trust me, I hate it just as much as you do.”

GWEN continues to work on the PC as it keeps throwing up errors.

Now that they mention it, it has been a while since we’ve seen Colin hasn’t it? I wonder if the “ethernet protocols” Gwen jokes about are some cheeky foreshadowing to something Colin could be working on in the future. The comment about Celia and Colin is interesting because we know based on Episode 10 (Saturday Night) that he’s snuck into the OIAR office at least once to try to find out more about the computers. When he snuck into the office in Episode 10 (despite being on mental health leave for seemingly attacking Sam and breaking his phone) Celia was there. So the reason Celia’s seen Colin about this issue but Gwen believes he hasn’t been in the office for weeks could be because Colin has been sneaking into the office or Celia has been feeding him info.

Conclusion

Celia responding to the computer with “(to computer) Thanks, I guess. Not exactly the same is it?” makes me wonder about her past. If she really is from the TMA universe or some other universe I wonder if she had an encounter with another version of herself or if that version died or went missing at some point.

Anyway, if you want to read my other thoughts you can do so here (TMP Quick Thoughts Archive) and here is the categories for the case in the transcripts-

CAT2RC1147-30111997-04042024

Doppleganger (interdimensional) -/- murder

Incident Elements:

- Murder

- Existential Horror

- Temporal Distortion

- Identity Crisis

- Graphic Injury

- Captivity/Torture

- Mentions of: Therapy (Anger Management), arrest, malnutrition

#tma #tmagp #the magnus archives #the magnus protocol #theory

14 notes · View notes