#I’ve had this idea marinating in my brain for so long

[the-au-collector]

Sora keeps collecting father figures

[nicksolemnlyswears]

WELCOME HOME

MASTERLIST

pairing: opla!mihawk x reader

word count: 3.2k

warnings: 18+, swearing, smut, slight knife play, oral (female receiving), p in v, slight breeding kink

a/n: i got carried away with the fluff at the end. as much as i love smut i also love some domestic ass fluff which is very clear here lol.

i started this a while ago but got busy and only managed to finish it today! next up i’ve got buggy. i actually have two ideas for him. both have smut but the premise is so different lol. let’s just say one has a prominent daddy kink.

this might be very ooc! mihawk, again i’ve only watched the live action. i would like to start the anime but those 1,000 episodes are intimidating to say the least.

Working for the Marines proved to be useful for Mihawk. His bounty was canceled, and he got to travel and get up to shenanigans that would otherwise bring him trouble.

Mihawk gets to strike pirate after pirate, which benefits him greatly. It gives him the opportunity to search for the one meant to surpass him while getting paid. No one has come close to beating him yet.

After another tedious mission, Mihawk returns home. He opens the grand doors of his castle and leaves his hat and coat by the door. He silently goes deep into the castle and into his bedroom, unhooking Yoru from his back and placing it by the bed.

He removes his boots and pants while keeping his eyes on the figure sprawled on the bed. His dear wife sleeps peacefully on her stomach, her hair casting a halo on the white pillows.

He tries his hardest not to wake you, but you groggily open your eyes as he lays on the bed. He stares back at you apologetically, kissing the back of your head.

"You're back," you sigh, closing your eyes again. Your muscles relax when you see it's your husband who has returned from his latest mission.

Normally, you'd greet him much more enthusiastically. However, the sky outside is still a deep shade of blue, the stars twinkling brightly to shine some light on the otherwise dark room. And you have had a long, exhausting day that is pulling you back to sleep.

"Just got back," he responds softly. His eyes trace over your exposed figure. It's a warm summer night if the sheets crumpled by the end of the bed are any indication.

He was away longer than he expected. It's times like these that he resents his agreement with the Marines. He will resent anything that keeps you away from him. He would take you with him if your circumstances were different, but it's too dangerous. 

You suddenly feel his touch on your back, but pay him no mind as sleep threatens to take you away once more. Mihawk traces your exposed skin with his small blade Kogatana. He likes seeing two of his priced possessions in his grasp.

He'd never dare cut you with it. That's reserved for his enemies. Enemies who would be scared by the mere sight of Mihawk, but you simply melt under his gaze without a worry in the world. The touch of the cold blade familiar and comforting.

"Don't you dare cut through my clothes again, Mihawk," you suddenly threaten when he glides the blade over your night dress. You might be safe from the sharpness of his blades, but your clothes never are.

"Or what?" he asks, lifting your silky nightgown with the blade. Just a bit more tension, and it will cut through the fabric. There's an unmistakable smile on his handsome face.

"Fuck around and find out," you groan, looking at him with furrowed eyebrows. Deep down, you know you're not getting any rest anytime soon. Mihawk is clearly in a particular mood.

"Is this how you receive me? With empty threats?" Mihawk teases you. He follows it with a "Tsk, I expected more from you."

"My love, it's four in the morning. My brain isn't working properly, but rest assured it'll come up with something by morning," you huff, burying your face on the pillow.

"I'm dying to find out what you come up with. In the meantime, I'll fuck around." Mihawk says with a tone that warns you he's up to no good.

In an instant, you hear the blade ripping through the material of your nightgown. The cut is clean and precise, exposing your skin to the room's humid air.

"Mihawk!" You groan, annoyed but far from surprised. Another piece of clothing ruined by Kogatana. Add it to the tally.

"Screaming my name already? I've barely touched you," Mihawk chuckles, amused at his joke. He traces his lips down your spine, pressing kisses along the curve of your back.

"Idiot…" you mumble with a small grin. You prop yourself up on your elbows, still on your stomach, looking at your husband over your shoulder.

"All yours, darling," he responds cheekily, biting down on your exposed ass cheek.

"Hey!" You giggle, wiggling under his hold. Mihawk pins you down with his body as he comes back up.

Mihawk brushes your hair over one of your shoulders to dig his head into the crook of your neck, kissing your pulse point. You smile at this, having missed his touch like the familiar scrape of his beard on your skin.

Mihawk gives you enough space to turn around in his grasp. You cup his face and say, "I missed you. A few more days and I would've gone out in search of you." Your thumbs mindlessly rub over his jaw. No matter how much he cuts through your clothes, you love him.

Your actions bring him comfort as he leans into your touch, "My apologies. Will you allow me to make it up to you?"

You pretend to think as he stares you down. His gaze is soft and loving and filled with playfulness. Playfulness that is reserved only for you. "It's the least you can do," you finally respond, touching his lips.

Mihawk closes the gap in an instant, kissing you senseless. He groans into the kiss as he deepens it, his tongue swiping your lips to gain entrance. He grabs your thigh, wrapping it around his waist to have you closer.

Your arms wrap around his back, scratching his skin with your nails as you pull yourself closer. Mihawk's hand comes up to your chest, pulling on the tattered fabric of your nightgown, successfully throwing it somewhere in the room.

"Don't forget you owe me another nightgown," you breathe as Mihawk kisses down your body.

"And a blouse, a skirt, a dress, and many the undergarments. But who is keeping track?" Mihawk says. He's settled between your thighs, placing open-mouthed kisses down your soft stomach.

You prop yourself up to watch him delve lower and lower down your body. He searches for your gaze when he reaches your mound, where he places a small kiss. "I'd much prefer you sleep naked. We can sleep skin to skin."

You smile and shake your head at him, biting your lip in anticipation. "What of the nights you're gone?" You ask, raising an eyebrow.

Mihawk's strong hands grasp your thighs, pulling them open. Maintaining eye contact, he traces his lips over the inside of your thighs, not quite kissing them. His facial hair tickles you and leaves goosebumps in its wake.

Not one to lose an argument, he responds, "More of a reason to stay naked. Makes it easier to touch yourself while you think of me," he purrs. You feel his breath where you need him most.

As you open your mouth to reply with a snarky comment, Mihawk takes his chance. His tongue licks up your slit, tasting you for the first time in weeks.

"Ohh."

Mihawk eats you out like a starved man lost at sea for months. His tongue licks and flicks over your clit repeatedly as his lips wrap around it to suck. You fall back on the bed with your fingers digging into his curls, pulling on them. It only spurs him on as his hips involuntarily thrust into the mattress. Pleasing you turns him on.

"I missed this cunt," he lewdly moans as he kisses the inside of your thigh, lightly biting the area.

"Mihawk," you whine, turning red-faced by his crude words.

He mimics your tone, saying your name. Your ankle digs into his back in response. He's far from hurt as he laughs into your thigh. Having had a taste, he slows it down, taking his time. Enjoying everything about you.

He spreads your lips apart, exposing your pink center to him. Strings of arousal cover you, giving your cunt a pretty sheen. You're easily embarrassed by Mihawk's actions, but your whines do nothing to stop him.

"Fucking beautiful," he purrs, thumb circling over your exposed clit.

Your fingers card through his curls, pulling them back to watch his lustful expression. No one has ever made you feel as desired as Mihawk has.

Soft breaths fall from you as you feel Mihawk's warm tongue gather the slick from your entrance. He gets lost in his pleasure as his fingers dig into your thighs. Obscene wet noises coming from his mouth, mixing with the staccato of your moans.

Each flick of his tongue gets you higher and higher, your tummy tensing under the weight of the pleasure. You whine as you get closer to your peak, small warnings Mihawk doesn't need as he's learned what each of your tells are. He's adamant about making you cum on his tongue.

It's a matter of time until he feels your legs squeezing his head and your hips bucking into him. Your back arching follows soon after as a loud cry escapes your lips.

Mihawk licks his lips, satisfied, as he pulls slightly away from you. The twitching of your cunt is not missed by his hawk eyes. He presses his palm against your center, easing you down from your high.

He crawls back up your body, kissing your nipples on his way up. You swat him away gently, feeling sensitive.

"My beautiful wife," he says once he's face to face. In his eyes, you're the most beautiful woman in the world. Your skin shines prettily with the afterglow of an orgasm.

"What's gotten into you?" You giggle, giving him exactly what he was looking for. Your smile.

"Can't a man miss his wife?" He asks, nudging your cheek with his nose as he sporadically leaves kisses on your face.

He did miss you, but he's also extremely pussydrunk. Going down on you does as much to him as it does to you, judging by the hard on pressing against your lower stomach.

"He can..." You smile, wrapping your arms around him to caress his back. "Just how much did you miss me?"

You feel his laugh in your ear as he catches your suggestive tone. Nonetheless, he whispers, "I missed you like the sun and moon miss each other."

"You're cheesy," you say, wrapping your legs around his waist to pull him flush against you. His cock is between the two of you, a bead of pre dripping onto your skin.

"Don't tell anyone. Or else my reputation be ruined." Mihawk says, pressing his forehead against yours.

"It's our secret," you whisper in response with a kiss on his waiting lips.

Hiking your leg further up his body Mihawk lines himself up and pushes his cock into you. You gasp into the kiss as he fills you up until he bottoms out.

He always starts slow. The drag of your walls against his cock is a memory he never wishes to forget. He swears your cunt feels better each time he has the pleasure of being buried inside you.

His thrusts are slow but deep. He keeps a hand on your leg that's hiked up around his waist while he holds himself up with the other. The way you look up at him with wide, pleading eyes is his favorite sight in the whole wide world. Your soft gasps and cries are a symphony of their own, especially mixed with his own.

His slower pace only lasts so long as he gets lost in the way your cunt chokes his cock. He wants more. He needs more.

His resolve quickly disappears as he picks himself up to kneel on the bed. He easily pulls you closer as you slide down the bed with a yelp. His cock always inside of you.

Mihawk presses your legs up to your chest, grabbing a discarded pillow to place under your ass.

"Much better," he mutters as his hips buck against you tentatively.

"Yeah, 'cause you're not the one folded in half," you begin saying as he snaps his hips, which turns into a moan. The new angle brings tears to your eyes. The tip of his cock hitting that spot that makes you see stars.

"Don't deny it. You like when I manhandle you," he gruffs, picking up the pace of his thrusts. He further presses against the back of your thighs as he looks down when you both meet. His cock wet with both of your juices.

"I'm. Not." You pant between each one of his jerks. You leave it at that, closing your eyes to focus on the sparks of pleasure.

This is Mihawk's favorite position just because of the visual standpoint. He's in total control and gets to gauge your body's reactions.

Your scrunched up eyes as you concentrate on following your release. The biting of your lips to try and remain quiet, yet whimpers betray you. Your chest bouncing pulls him into another trance as he watches your skin blushing and your nipples hardening.

Your eyes squint open as you bring your hand down to your lower abdomen, where you say, "Feel you right here, Mihawk."

Mihawk mutters a curse under his breath. He places his hand on top of yours and asks, "Want me to cum right here too, darling?"

His moves become sharper and more precise as he bullies that spot inside you. "yes. yes. yes. Fill me up, my love," you cry out.

It's all becoming too much for you. You bring your arm up to bite on it and muffle your moans, but he still manages to coax out your voice. Your moans remain a secret in the night, heard only by Mihawk.

It's fucking glorious the way your cunt squeezes his cock when you reach your climax. The rhythmic pulses of your high urging him to continue pushing into you. You try to push him away to get him to go slower, your hands only managing to caress his abdomen before he pins them down.

He is in total control. He just needs a bit more from you. You can take it. You've done it before. Your legs shake both in exhaustion and rapture. His pace is steady as he feeds into that feeling that tightens his balls.

His hands turn to lace his fingers through yours. The sound of skin slapping echoed through the room. With hooded eyes, you watch your husband in all his glory. Trickles of sweat fall down his strong chest, and his curls are a mess atop his head. It all makes him look like a work of art.

Once more, the familiar sensation of pure euphoria washes over you, and it's enough to push Mihawk to reach that place as well. He stills inside you, his hands squeezing yours as he empties himself inside you, just like he promised.

With your hands on his hold, he brings them to his lips to kiss your palms. He follows the path down your arm until he buries his head on your shoulder. He lies there, almost crushing you under his weight, breathing you in. You wrap your arms around him, enjoying the closeness and rubbing your hands up and down his muscular back, rubbing the spots with the most tension from carrying Yoru around.

You talk in hushed whispers as you gain back your energy. It's a hard task, considering you were woken up in the middle of the night, and Mihawk probably hasn't slept in more than 24 hours.

Hours later, you feel the hard patter of footsteps nearing your bedroom. You sit up, preparing yourself despite Mihawk's heavy arm threatening to pull you back down into his embrace.

The door to your bedroom is slammed open with a bang barely second after you manage to slip on your robe.

"Wake up, wake up, it's morning!" Your loud, curly-haired boys scream as they run around the room with wooden swords.

"What's all this ruckus about?" Mihawk groans. Both boys freeze, noticing the other figure sitting up on the bed, "Papa!"

"There are my brats," Mihawk huffs as they let the swords clatter to the ground to climb the bed and throw themselves at him, "I missed the two of you," he says, hugging them and kissing their heads.

You stare lovingly at the scene in front of you. The twins were a result of your honeymoon with Mihawk. Fruits of your love, if you will.

The five-year-olds are the spitting image of their father. Kind reminders of him whenever Mihawk has to go out on a mission.

"Missed you too, Papa."

"I want some snuggles, too!" You exclaim, grabbing the twin closest to you and placing him on your lap to kiss and snuggle. He squirms and laughs as you tickle his belly.

The twins celebrate their dad's back as they cling and climb over him. You let them do as they please, considering it has been you who they've clung to for the past couple of weeks.

"Mama is sick," one of them blurts out to Mihawk, causing you to freeze.

"Mhm, Mama called the doctor to make her better!" The other echoes as you pull him to your lap to shush him.

Mihawk narrows his eyes at you as he listens to the twins ramble. You throw him a sheepish smile and quickly look down at your son, brushing his unruly curls to avoid his gaze.

"Well, Papa is home now. I'll take good care of Mama," Mihawk reassures them. "Why don't the two of you go to the kitchen and gather the ingredients for your favorite?'

"Really?" They ask in unison with excited smiles.

"Absolutely," Mihawk says just as excited, ushering the boys out of the room. As soon as they run out, he turns to you with a raised eyebrow, "Not that I'm a doctor, but you didn't seem sick a while ago."

"I didn't?" You ask incredulously, standing from the bed to sit on the vanity.

Mihawk follows you, knowing you're trying to avoid the conversation. He calls your name, kneeling down on the floor by your seat. "Why did you call the doctor?"

You sigh, mustering the courage to tell him the news. You face him as he settles between your legs. He grabs your hand and places a kiss on the back of it, giving you the courage to tell him.

"We're having another baby," you smile at him, squeezing his hand.

"You're happy?" Mihawk is ecstatic, to say the least, but he recognizes how hard your pregnancy with the twins had been. So, he toned it down for the moment.

"I'm happy," you nod, allowing him the joy of having another kid. It's been six years, and you're ready for another baby. Besides, the boys are growing up so fast that they aren't babies anymore.

Mihawk hugs you from his kneeling position, digging his head into your stomach, "You think we'll have a girl?"

"I have my fingers crossed. There's too much testosterone in this castle. One thing is for sure though, it's the last one," you tell him, kissing his head.

"Come on, darling. We have more space for two or three more..."

You roll your eyes at him and gently push him away, reminding him he has two hyperactive boys downstairs waiting for him.

[acphengene]

Chapter 1 - It’s her

₊ ⁺ pairing: Jay x reader

₊ ⁺ genre: fantasy, fluff, angst, found family, brotherly love, death of family, loss, heartbreak, swearing, smut

₊ ⁺ word count: 7.6k

₊ ⁺ note: this is my baby… the amount of brainstorming - rewrites and hours I’ve put into this chapter over the last few months is something else. I really hope you love it as much as I do

₊ ⁺ Introductions ₊ ⁺ Chapter one ₊ ⁺ Chapter two ₊ ⁺ Chapter three ₊ ⁺

You had always loved to travel. Today was no different. You slid down the soft material your seat was covered in and closed the window cover to block out the blazing sun from scolding your skin.

The usual travels you embarked on were for relaxation or fun, this, as fun as it might end up being, was for the better of your kingdom.

When your older brother had left The Kingdom of Night, he had not only left you and your father behind. He had left your people, and because of that he had also left you the crown.

You couldn’t help the sigh that escaped your lungs, you had always been ‘just’ a princess, but now it said crown in front of it, and that single word came with a shit load of responsibilities.

Which meant training of your powers, and learning of foreign policies and the history of all kingdoms. Because of that you were on board a plane, soon to enroll in the ‘University of Heirs’.

Despite the name it wasn’t only the heirs of each kingdom that attended, which was your luck. Two of your three best friends were currently enrolled in the prestigious school that was located in The Kingdom of Day.

Sunoo was a siren from The Water Kingdom, with beauty, brains and a voice who could make even the stone giants from Fire cry. He studied medicine and marine biology and hoped that the plants only his people could get beneath the waves, would change the face of the medicine most used on land.

Jungwon was a Night fae studying gastronomy. Always passionate, always kind, and with a serious addiction and fascination of mixing everything with chocolate. However, his experiments didn’t always end well. The two of you had grown up side by side, as his father had been a chef in the royal castle since before you were even born.

The last one was Niki, even though he did not attend the school he still called Day home, at least until his profession would whisk him off to the next far away land. He was a dancer, with charisma and an almost dangerous appearance very similar to the black panther he could shape shift into. You and Jungwon had met him in the forest behind the castle when you were little and the three of you had been together ever since.

You smiled a little by the thought of your friends, before shooting them all a text telling them you were officially on your way. They had all been ecstatic when you’d informed them of your official acceptance to ‘UoH’.

In front of you stood a glass of sparkling light wine, one you quickly drowned before finally calling your brother. As per usual he didn’t pick up.

“Hey I just wanted to let you know we’ll be taking off soon. Can’t wait to see you” you said before hanging up.

Despite your brother having earned the title; ‘the lost prince of Night’, he wasn't really lost. No, Jake had left to go do… Well if you were being honest you didnt really know. But he would get to live a normal existence as of now.

The two of you had always been close, two halves of one whole, born no more than a few minutes apart. So it had felt a little like a betrayal when he had left to live in the cold and white tundras of The Winter Kingdom.

He was, just like your friends, now enrolled in UoH, with three best friends of his own, or brothers as he liked to call them. You had no idea exactly what he was studying, he had always been vague about that, but you guessed it didn’t really matter in the end, as long as he was happy.

The plane started its motors and off you were, all you could do now was hope that everything would work out in the end.

As you’d touched down you were quick to find your bags, you had decided to travel without any kind of security, hopeful you wouldn’t draw too much attention to yourself. It was possible most of the time, as long as you hid your eyes behind sunglasses.

They looked much like the night sky, dark black with small specks of grey, they were a physical manifestation of your bloodline, of where you belonged. Despite having tried every colored contact out there, it was impossible to mask them. It seemed that ordinary fae magic couldn’t keep the magic of a royal at bay. But that wasn’t really a surprise.

Jake had sent you a message somewhere along your journey, telling you that he would be there to pick you up and take you to the apartment your father had secured for you off campus. As far as you knew it wasn’t one of the complexes that hosted most of the heirs, which made it a lot more bearable.

Your hidden eyes searched for his dark messy hair, but instead all they found was what looked like a thousand black and silver balloons, and a few bouquets of flowers. In the midst of it stood your brother, surrounded by your best friends.

Sunoo threw his bouquet into Jake's arms, startling him, and sprinted towards you. You let out a high-pitched scream and ran to his arms. A second later Jungwon was there as well. And as you looked towards your last bestie, you saw him hand what you assumed to be sparkling wine to your brother who now had all your presents in his arms.

Niki’s walk was slow and elegant, and he had a feline smirk painted on his lips. The last few steps he lept as the cat he was, just before wrapping his long arms around the three of you. Kissing the top of your head. “We’ve missed you” he whispered.

The little heart in your chest was beating so fast it felt like it would beat out of your chest by the pure joy you felt of finally having them all so close. It had been so long since you were all together, too long.

Sunoo was the first to look at you, his tears had already spilled from the prison that was his dark blue eyes. “You’re a bitch for leaving us for that long” He said as he willed his voice to not break.

Jungwon chuckled at the statement. You laid your hand on the siren's cheek. “I know, but I’m here now” you whispered. He nodded as a response, just before Niki pulled him closer to his chest.

“He’s right you know, you literally have the ability to shadow jump, yet you still choose to stay away from us most of the time. It’s not fair” Niki had a twinkle in his eye as he spoke and you couldn’t help but roll your eyes.

“I hope you don’t mind that I brought them,” Jake said with a smile before he bit his lip. Niki was by his side quickly, helping him get rid of everything they had thrown at him, so that he too could welcome you.

Jake grabbed your wrist and pulled you into a bone crushing hug, and for the first time in a long time, you felt whole. You smiled into his chest. “I’ve missed you” you whispered into his shirt. He hummed in response.

After a little while you pulled away and grabbed his face. He laughed a little with his eyes closed. You took him in, he looked older.

“Look at me Jake” you said with a little laugh.

His smile disappeared with an instant, and you felt your blood go cold. You removed your hands from his cheeks and lifted the sunglasses that until now had hid your eyes. In a much harsher tone you repeated; “Look. At. Me”.

You punctuated each word, and it was said with a dominance that was well known between royals and their subject. You saw how both Jungwon and Niki squirmed by the command beside you. Saw how there was a hint of gratefulness that the words weren’t directed at them.

And as he opened his eyes your previously beating and happy heart stopped. Where his eyes had previously mirrored your own, were now only filled by the dull grey that were typically known in Winter.

Jake sighed. “It’s just contacts Y/N, don’t make such a big deal out of it”

In an instant you grabbed his chin with your thumb and index finger as you crept closer to him, turning his head from side to side as you inspected them.

“That’s not contacts” you whispered.

The two of you weren’t identical in any way, but the one thing you had always shared had been your eyes. It seemed however that Jake didn’t share the sentiment, and had chosen to replace them. His nickname suddenly made sense however, the one thing that identified him as a prince had been erased.

You let out a huff of air as you finally let go of him. “I’m not done discussing this with you”. He chuckled nervously, as he turned towards Niki, most likely to gain some kind of sympathy from him. The two had always shared a brotherly like bond. Niki being the younger brother none of you had ever gotten.

“You brought this upon yourself my guy, don’t look to me for help” he crossed his arms over his chest, one of which you quickly hit with a flat hand. He only sent you an annoyed look, as to say; seriously?

“This is getting a little boring, so let’s instead discuss what we should be drinking tonight” Jungwon said, as he snaked his arm around yours, suddenly dragging you along, not giving two shits if any of the other ones came along.

When you were out of earshot he whispered: “I know I should’ve warned you, but Niki swore us to secrecy”

“That’s just because he wants to be present whenever I kick Jake’s ass,” you whispered back to your best friend, just before you turned your head to look towards the three other men. “It’s creepy, it’s almost like he’s no longer my brother…”

Jungwon squeezed your hand in a reassuring manner. “Let’s just get you home, and we’ll fill you in on everything”

“Hey, where the hell is Jake?” Heeseung yelled from the bathroom. The cracked door had resulted in the smell of his perfume traveling out of the room as an insane amount of steam escaped with it.

The heir to The Winter Kingdom liked the feel of the scalding water on his skin despite the fact that he could survive days if not weeks in the snow. One of the many perks that came with his title.

His younger brother was currently laying on the large couch in the living room. His arms and legs were spread out, and at this moment he looked more similar to a sea star than the ‘Ice Prince’ he was.

“He said something about picking up his sister” He yelled back. The sudden start of the conversation kicked him out of the hangover he had been nursing all day, and for the first time in hours he actually sat up.

In the kitchen not far from him stood yet another young man, Jongseong, or as his friends called him; Jay. He was currently occupied with cutting up different kinds of vegetables all the while he laughed at his best friend. Sunghoon held up a finger, as to say; hold that thought. As he fought his body's need to throw up.

Jay shook his head. “I can’t believe you’re still hungover,” he said laughing. Sunghoon sent him a glare in response.

“It’s not my fault, blame the star shots my love” he said as he once again fell back onto the couch.

By the mere mention of the beverage, Jay shuddered. “Gods, why would you drink that shit? You always get so miserable, plus it taste like unicorn piss”

“It’s because he thinks they give him the ability to dance whenever he drinks them,” Heeseung said as he appeared in the room, wearing nothing more than a towel, as he tried to dry his white hair with another. “And that being said I’ve actually been told unicorn piss isn’t that bad”

He sent a pointed look towards the suffering man just as a groan escaped him. The two older men responded by laughing.

“Don’t worry baby, you always have an incredible talent for shaking ass” Jay commented.

“Have anyone ever told you two, you’re disgusting?” Heesung said as he threw himself on the other end of the couch.

“I think you might've told us once or twice”. Jay said as he sent a wink his way.

“Always defending my honor” Sunghoon said before he crawled towards his brother, dropping his head in his lap.

“Gods you need a shower, brother” the look on Heeseungs face was nothing short of disgust.

The three of them shared an apartment with Jake, and the connection they all shared was nothing short of brotherly love.

Jay walked over with a bottle of wine in hand. “I’m guessing you don’t want any of this?” he said as he poured the red liquid into two glasses. Heeseung took one with a sigh and a thanks. Jay had always had a talent of foreseeing whatever those closest to him needed, and when Heeseung was tired he typically craved red wine.

Sunghoon lifted his head from the couch and narrowed his eyes to look at what bottle he held in his hands. “Please give it to me”

“Cheers to yet another night guys” Jay said as he gave him one of the glasses. Sunghoon drowned it quickly, hopeful that it would cure him in an instant. “Fuck that’s good”

Heeseung sipped to his glass, as Jay turned to fetch one for both him and Jake, he couldn’t be far behind.

Jay had been raised like the prince he was, always polite, always well dressed, rarely caught unguarded. He had always had a signature smirk painted on his lips whenever he was out in public, and his eyes bore the darkness and secrets from his kingdom; The Afterlife.

He grew up without many friends and the spirits didn’t always feel like keeping him company, so instead he had spent time with his parents. He had travelled with the pair whenever their duties had taken them beyond the grey mist that surrounded what would end up being the resting place for all souls.

Despite what most people thought, he was capable of love, of laughter and of heartbreak.

When he was no older than 8, he and his parents had travelled to Winter, to collect the soul of the late king of the Kingdom. During the festivities of saying goodbye to both a father and grandfather, Jay had run into the two princes.

They were burdened by grief, but instead of teasing them for their tears, he had instead explained the orb or pure blue light his father had collected to bring within their borders. He had asked them if they had a message for the man they had lost, because if they did he would be happy to deliver it once he stood on solid ground again.

The three had been inseparable ever since, always so connected to one another that their parents teased that they could speak into each other's minds. They had sworn nothing would ever come between them.

Jay and Sunghoon were however kindering spirits, they liked to joke that they had probably been lovers in another life, hence the disgustingly sweet pet names they always had called each other. They were a unit, and one was rarely without the other.

Shortly after Heeseung had accepted his position at ‘UoH’ he had run into Jake at a coffee shop. The sunglasses indoors in the middle of a snowstorm called out to him, and after Jake stared into the beaming grey and blue orbs of the prince, he had felt comfortable enough to share the secret of what had happened to ‘The Lost Prince of Night’.

No longer than 3 weeks after Heeseung had left them to travel to Day, they had followed him. Not to enroll, no it hadn’t been their time yet, but to be near one another, and together they had all found an apartment.

Now they shared a home, and for some reason it worked perfectly despite them having four somewhat contradicting personalities.

As Jay returned to the living room the magic of their front door clicked open, and through it walked their dark haired friend. He gave them an almost sad smile.

“You owe me 30 gold leafs,” Jay said as he held out his hand to Heeseung.

“Fuck she clocked it that fast?” He asked as he got up to fetch Jay his well earned money. Heeseung was back in the living room, changed into the clothes of the night, gold leafs in hand, before the guys had even blinked.

Jake just nodded before receiving the glass Jay had just poured for him. “Yeah, I don’t even think it took her a full minute” He didn’t drink, he just swirled the liquid around, almost hypnotized by it.

After about a minute he looked up and saw his friends who all stared back at him. “Look, can we talk about something else?”

Heeseung slapped his brothers naked thigh, and said as he screamed out: “You can tell this dickhead that politics is an important subject to have, even though you’re not crown prince”

Sunghoon stuck his tongue out. “Don’t see why I would need to, it’s not like I’m ever gonna use it”

Jay got up once again and went to get a different bottle of wine, since Sunghoon had drowned his second glass efter Heeseungs comment. “Well if you think about it you could use it to get to The Summer Kingdom and seduce Beomgyu’s sister?”

He pointed towards him in response. “I like that!” Sunghoon said as he took the bottle of light wine out of his twin flames hand and cooled it down instantly.

“Look, if you want I can remove the veil from your eyes whenever you’re around her, that way she might not be as triggered by it” Jay said as he laid a hand on his friend's shoulder.

Jake just shook his head. “No, she’s already seen it, and I don’t really want people finding out.”

Heeseung shrugged. “Maybe she’s not really mad at you veiling your eyes, but more the fact that she has to step up as crown princess?”

Both Sunghoon and Jay sent him somewhat panicked looks, it had never really been something they all talked about. None of them had ever wanted Jake to explain his actions unless that was what he wanted. He himself had never brought it up.

“No way I’d ever take over for your brother, so don’t even think about stepping down” Sunghoon said in an effort to make light of the situation.

“If Hee didn’t want the throne, no one would ask you babes” Jay said before ruffling his hair.

“I get why that would make her mad, but she’s just always been more headstrong than me, so honestly I didn’t even think she’d mind. I mean she has her powers, and she’s so much like our father, whereas I… I just run when things get hard.”

His head was hanging low, as if finally admitting what he had always felt would somehow make him less of a male, less of a prince in his friends eyes.

Instead of judging, Jake's three brothers pulled him into an embrace.

In an apartment not far from the four princes, you too opened a bottle of wine, only to plop down on a pillow in the empty living space.

You sighed. “I’m never lifting a box ever again” Sunoo said as he threw himself next to you.

“I’m pretty sure it was my shadows that did most of the work” you said as you grinned and a shadow stroked your cheek lovingly.

“Plus we gave you all the light ones, so I don’t really think you have anything to complain about” Jungwon said as he put down the final box.

Instead of answering, Sunoo just rolled his eyes, as he held out his hand, just as Niki brought over one of the bottles of sparkling wine.

“So, how long have you known about Jake’s eyes and not told me?” You said after taking a few sips directly from the bottle.

The three men looked at each other, all with a similar expression; like the last thing they wanted was to speak. Instead of forcing them, you just waited patiently.

Niki was the first to respond, as he shrugged. “It’s been a few months, for a while I thought it was just the light, or that maybe the sparks of the grey and silver had taken over… that was until I actually talked to him for more than 2 second, and then he was forced to maintain eye contact with me”

Jungwon took over as Niki seemed to look for the right words. “We sought him out when it was made public that you were taking over as heir, I mean we’re at the same school after all, his disappearing act won't really work on us”

They both sipped at their bottle before looking at one another. “I wasn't exactly nice to him,” Jungwon finally said.

You couldn’t help but raise a brow at your best friend. He was known for being level headed, keeping cool even as things were tough, so him losing it, even if just a little, was everything but normal.

“Yeah, he said some stern words that’s for sure” Sunoo said as he picked at the dust stuck to his trousers.

You couldn’t help but chuckle. “I would’ve liked to see that”

Jungwon smiled a little. “Sorry we didn’t tape it for ya”

You sighed as your fingers found the label on the bottle, as much as you wanted some type of explanation as to why you found yourself in this mess, you knew they couldn’t give you one.

“Now” you said as you stood up and opened one of the boxes. “How about we get some of all my junk put in these cabinets, while you give me all the tea on those spoiled heirs I’m gonna spend most of my days with”

“Now you’re talking!” Sunoo said as he got a sudden rush of energy. He was by your side in a heartbeat.

“Okay, Jake’s powers have for obvious reasons not manifested yet” Sunoo said and the two of you did a dramatic eye roll together.

“Obviously not” you echoed as you pulled out a few wine glasses from the bubble plastic they’d been hidden away in.

“I’m pretty sure Sekura is currently in the top of the class” Jungwon said, as he inspected a vase for cracks.

“Yeah she’s incredible, someone pissed her off the other day and she started a full blown storm” Sunoo commented as he started pouring the wine into the glasses.

“Okay, so powerful but not in control then” You made a mental note of that.

“Heeseung and Yeonjun is currently on a shared second place” Sunoo tried not to look at you but couldn’t help it. It wasn’t that you hated Yeonjun, you just didn’t like how he had almost laid a claim on you since you were kids.

Your father of course loved the idea of a marriage between the two of you, especially now that you were heir, him not being crown prince only made the match between the two of you more perfect. He himself had used that pun once or twice.

Instead of commenting on it you just hummed and tried to seem like his rise in power didn’t piss you off immensly.

“Heeseung has as far as I’ve understood only shown his speed, but we’ve all figured there's something else lurking under the surface” He shrugged.

“Jay is third” Jungwon said, desperate to change the subject. "Although I’m pretty sure he has as much if not more power than his father”

“Jay is from The Afterlife, right?” You felt how the shadows almost reached out by the mention of his name.

They had always done that whenever the kingdom was mentioned. It had frightened most you grew up with. They saw it as a bad ownement, but they had always refused to explain why.

Sunoo nodded. “And he’s hot”

“Heeseung and Sunghoon too” Jungwon added.

You couldn’t help the laugh. It was something they had always been masters at, taking your mind off whatever might cloud it with negative thoughts or energy.

“Jay is kind, kinder than people give him credit for. But then again I don't think he lets anyone in. Sunghoon is… an acquired taste” Niki had decided to chime in. He didn’t know a lot about what happened at school, but he knew the elites.

You sent him an interested look, urging him to explain further.

He shrugged. “The two are rarely without the other, pretty sure Sunghoon only leaves Jay’s side if he’s hooking up with someone - plus they call each other every pet name under the sun. Not gonna lie it’s pretty fun to be around them”

Niki smiled, clearly thinking back on one or two interactions he had with the pair in the past.

“I could set you up with one of them if you’d like. Sunghoon owe me one after I let him see my answers for a test a few weeks ago”

“Fuck no!” Niki was quick to say.

You all laughed at his reaction. He was not alone in being protective over you. Jake and Jungwon was just like him, Sunoo on the other hand was like a demon on your shoulder, always urging you to do whatever might cause the most trouble.

“Sunghoon might not be an official heir, but he is powerful” Jungwon said as the laughter died down.

“Yeah, he’s like the talk of the grounds. People say his mate has to be someone extraordinary for him to be this in control of his powers. He didn’t only get his nickname ‘ice prince’ because of his cold heart ” Sunoo said with a shrug.

You couldn’t help the roll of your eyes. You had heard people speak of that so-called theory your whole adult life. When your powers had manifested everyone had been in awe. It had been generations since Night had a shadow jumper, even longer since one had the ability to talk to them, to see them as sentient beings.

It had been everyone's theory that it had to mean you were mated to someone powerful. Whoever that being was, they too would also gain an immense power almost overnight if you decided to join them by their side.

Every royal on the continent had dropped by or invited you to their galas whenever one was held. And every single one of them had made sure to introduce you to every nobel-being from their court, hopeful that a bond would snap between the two.

Nothing had come of it, all you remember from those days was a voice in your head, one that had seemed to follow you at every dinner og party since, you had never quiet figured out who it belonged to though. You did however have your theories.

“So people are throwing themselves at him and he’s entertaining it? Can’t say I don’t understand then”

Niki shrugged. “I’m pretty sure that’s not the reason. Apparently he had been the perfect prince up until a few decades ago, and then a switch flipped”

“Nothing breaks a being as bad as heartbreak” Sunoo sang, the sound of his voice was instantly calming the somewhat tense in your brow.

He smiled. “Sorry” he said as he started fidgeting with some paper.

“Never apologize for who you are” you said right before kissing his cheek.

The next morning Jake came knocking. After a long talk with the guys the night before he had decided he owed you a bit of an explanation as to why and how he had lost his eyes.

You opened the door for him, letting him in, and this time around his eyes were back to their normal glory of darkness and light.

“Hey” he said. His shoulders were drooping, and his usual confidence seemed to have disappeared as soon as he stepped through the threshold.

“What can I do for you?” You asked, the question seemed colder than you had intended it to.

“I actually wanted to talk, you know, explain myself” he said as he bit his bottom lip, he had always done that. And when he did he was either excited or nervous. This time it had to have been the latter.

You raised a brow in response before you moved into the room and threw yourself on the lounge chair the guys had help you build last night.

“I’ve never really apologized for leaving, for putting this burden on you. I know I should have discussed it with you beforehand, but it just seemed easier for me to just disappear” He had sat down on the couch across from you. His elbows were resting on his knees and his whole body seemed to reach out for you.

A small smile painted your lips, but it was easy to see the hurt displayed in your eyes. “You never left me any choice. I had to take over, I had to step up. If you would’ve just talked to me, we could’ve figured it out, we could’ve talked to father together”

You reached over the gap between you and took his hands in yours. The two twins of night, the moon and the stars as they had called you. He had managed to break decades worth of trust between the two of you with just one decision.

Jake shrugged, and squeezed your fingers. “My powers never came, and it felt like the land itself rejected me as heir, as if I wasn’t worthy to bare the title nor the crown after father. And then you got yours… And they were stronger than anyone had seen for generations. I know it wasn’t your fault, that you couldn’t help it, but it was the last straw, the final thing that broke my belief in myself. Why would the people rally behind me, when you were right there for the taking?”

“This is gonna sound harsh, but the land did reject you Jake, you were always running off to other kingdoms, always leaving especially after mom... The magic had nothing to stick to, no vessel to blossom in. It wasn’t because you weren’t worthy, it was just because you weren’t there. The crown is yours if you want it Jake, all you would need is just to spend some time back home”

He let go of you then as he leaned back into the cushions of the black couch. He smiled, and he somehow seemed lighter than just a moment ago.

“No, that would do more harm than good. And if I’m being completely honest, I kind of like living like this. Everything is so slowpaced and not really that serious, and I like Jake Sim, much more than I liked crownprince Jaehyun” he smiled, and this time it seemed genuin, so you returned it.

“Good, I’m glad. But just promise me that in the future, you’ll come talk to me, okay? No more secrets”

He reached out with his pinkie and grabbed a hold of yours, as the two of you had always done. And then you laughed, and for the first time in a long time, you felt like a part of you had healed.

“By the way” you said with a smirk. “What contacts are you using? I’ve never gotten any of them to actually work”

He poked the inside of his cheek with his tongue. “Oh wouldn’t you like to know”

You raised a brow at him and he chuckled in response. “It’s one of my friends… Jay, he can veil anything. It doesn’t really matter where you are, when it’s up it’s up”

Jake saw how your eyes widened as he spoke “yeah, he’s pretty darn strong”

“We’ll see who’s the strongest in a few days” You winked at your brother.

One bad thing about emptying all boxes while drunk on sparkling wine, is that nothing ends up where you intended it to.

You had rushed most of the morning trying desperately to find the little bottles of cream and serums you had gotten from a prince when you’d turned 200 a few years back.

It was your first day and you felt almost sick by the thought of all those princes and princesses under the same roof.

Of course you had all run into each other at every other gala held to celebrate whatever your parents had deemed to be important, but you had avoided most of them after the whole mate-ordeal.

But this, this was now your time to get to know people, to socialize and build alliances, not just for you, but for your people. It had previously been Jake’s job, so instead of getting to know these people you had just had fun with what some would call “the help”.

The school was grand, with cathedrals and corridors almost longer than the wings of the castle you had grown up in.

Every door opening were covers in gold emblems that represented each kingdom. There was nowhere, where the ceilings didn’t seem to stretch into the sky. Didn’t matter if you were on the ground or the first floor.

The beings of every kingdom scattered the halls and it seemed like the trend was that people stayed in the colors that represented their home.

You saw snow fox shifters in all white, summer fairies in light green, angels in light blue and the mermaids seemed like they had been dipped in liquid pearl.

Jungwon spotted you before your eyes found him and Sunoo in one of the many halls. He had you in a tight hug even before you were able to greet your two friends.

A genuine smile broke out on your lips as you returned it. “Thank you” you whispered before kissing his cheek.

Sunoo was like both you and Jungwon in all black, something that made almost everyone stop and stare, he however didn’t seem to mind. Instead he quickly returned every disgusted look people would send his way.

“Gotta let people know that I have a future queen in my life” had been his response when you had asked.

The pair had followed you to your first class, and you looked over the people in the room. The winter princes were the first to spot you. Both beautiful with their white hair and blue and grey eyes. Sunghoon sent you a smile, reassuring but still somehow curious.

Heeseung on the other hand gave you a nod. Respectful and royal, like the heir he was raised to be.

Yeonjun noticed you almost instantly and he left whatever conversation he was having with a dark angel, and walked straight towards you.

“It’s good to see you Y/N” a voice said behind you, and you quickly tore your attention from Yeonjun to greet whoever had sneaked up on you.

You met the tall figure of none other than prince Soobin. He smiled at you, dimples on full display. “Soobin” you said before embracing the royal.

Soobin was the youngest brother of King Jimin of The Water Kingdom. Jimin had always had a soft spot for you, both because of your love for Sunoo, but also because of the way people had fought over you. He too had been in a similar situation, not because of his powers, well that too, but mainly because of his beauty.

“Incoming” Soobin said before he let go of you.

“Y/N, hi… It’s good to see you” the red haired male bounced on the balls of his feet as he greeted you. The action seemed almost child-like.

Soobin rolled his eyes right before he put a hand on the small of your back. Startling you. Somewhere in the room you heard a growl.

“Let’s get you out of here before the fire spirit set’s fire to your hair, shall we?” Soobin sent you a sweet smile, completely ignoring the red prince before him.

He guided you past Yeonjun and you sent him a somewhat apologetic smile as he said: “Oh come on ‘Bin, you can’t still be mad at me because of that!” He laughed and it only grew louder when Soobin glared at him.

You sat down next to the siren prince. And somewhere in the back of your mind you heard that small voice repeat one word over and over again: “fuck”.

“So how did the training go?” Jake asked as he stuffed his mouth full of rice.

He looked between his three friends. Friends that were all uncharacteristically silent.

Sunghoon coughed as Heeseung hid his head in his hands.

Jay swallowed and said with a low voice: “your sister just shot to the first in the class” he send your brother a serious look, he tried to smile but failed.

Jake dropped his spoon into the bowl. “What, how?”

“Oh god Jakey, you could’ve told us she’s absolutely insane!” Sunghoon said before leaning back into his chair.

“Insanely powerful is what he means…” Heeseung said as he rubbed his temple. “If you thought it would be hard to keep the royals away from her before, god just you wait until they phone home and tell them what happened”

Jake sighed as he started stress eating. “Just tell me already”

“She’s new, so our teacher likes for people to demonstrate their talents, and you know she just stayed seated - everyone was so quiet, like so so quiet” Sunghoon said dramatically.

“And then some idiot decided to say, out loud I might add: that she clearly had no powers, that she was nothing more than a scammer” Heeseung said as the color drained from his face.

“Gods” Jake said as he shook his head.

“Yeah, and then the ground swallowed him. He literally got eaten by his own shadow, and a few seconds later he was catapulted out of the shadow the chandelier made on one of the walls” Jay said.

It was now Jake’s turn to hide his face in his hands. “Did she make them sentient?” He asked but his voice were muffled by his hands.

The spoons the three princes held in their hands dropped then, making a loud sound that made him remove his hand quickly. His friends all stared at him while they gaped.

“What. Do. You. MEAN?!” Sunghoon almost yelled in what sounded like dispair.

Jake rubbed the nape of his neck nervously. And as if on cue, a small shadow crept over his shoulder and looked between them all, right before bit slithered back to your outstretched hand.

You send them all a wicked smile. Heeseung stood up with a small ‘nope’ and left his lunch behind. Sunghoon stared into the thin air as if he would turn to stone if he met your eyes, and Jay sent you a look that was almost impossible to desipher. Gods he was beautiful.

Jungwon and Sunoo laughed at their reaction. You turned toward your friends and dropped the mischievous mask. The smile on your lips turned genuine and soft.

“That was mean” Sunoo said as he tried his best to hold in his laugh.

“Mean? That was absolute perfection” Jungwon’s laugh was contagious, and soon the three of you were almost rolling on the floor unable to take a normal breath.

When you finally got it back to normal Sunoo looked a little more serious. “Since Niki isn’t here I’ll be the bummer and ask; are you sure you didn’t do too much in there?”

You grabbed his hand. “I chose not to downplay my powers. And it might work for Jay, and I’m sure there’s other people in there that doesn’t show their full potential” you shrugged. “But I don’t wanna hold back, I’m already a little behind compared to the rest, and I don’t need them to think I’m completely useless”

Jungwon sent you a dimpled smile. “And what about your dear little friend, did you hear them again?”

Since you were very young, you’d heard a voice inside your head. It wasn’t your own monologue, it was more like a presence of someone else. Someone who would offer comfort and sweet words of encouragement when you needed it the most.

It had showed up shortly after your mother died, and you liked to think it was her looking out for you, as if not even death could keep her from being there for her daughter.

When you woke up this morning you had hoped to get words of encouragement maybe even a phantom hand to brush your cheek. “Yeah but all I got was ‘fuck’”

Sunoo raised a brow. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Well how the hell would I know, it at least sounded like it. Literally repeated over and over for at least five minutes”

“Maybe dear old mom doesn’t think you taking over is the best idea?” Jungwon said teasingly.

“Oh she definitely would’ve hated every second of this” you said with a smirk as you picked the skin off a grape.

“Maybe she said something else?” Sunoo said, trying to sound reassuring. “I mean after all it is kind of muffled, the sound of her voice I mean”

You shrugged. “It doesn’t really matter, I mean maybe they just dropped something on their feet”

“So what are we doing to night?” You quickly asked to avoid sticking to the topic.

“I’ll see you at home guys” Jake said to both Sunghoon and Jay, he had afternoon classes, where as these two twin flames were lucky enough to have an early day.

When Sunghoon had asked Heeseung if he wanted to go home with them, he had mumbled something about putting out a fire in the library. Not that that made any kind of sense.

Sunghoon looked at Jay as they walked across campus, he had been quiet today. And usually a quiet Jay meant a hurting Jay.

He had learned it the hard way through the decades, but after almost two centuries he now knew if something was going on by the mere way he took a breath.

There was no need to bring it up, least at all when they were out in public, so instead he let his friend be as the two walked home in silence.

Jay had been there for him all the times he had cried and yelled, even when he wanted to claw his heart out of his chest with his bare hands. He owed him to be there for him, he wanted to be there for him.

“Jay…” Sunghoon said cautiously when they were outside the door of their apartment.

“Just open the damn door Hoon” he said with gritted teeth.

He obliged, and as soon as the lock had clicked open, Jay threw himself at the door and the second he was inside he released a nightmare of pictures.

What had a second ago been their entry way was now a cascade of flashing locations. Grey mist, was replaced with complete darkness, the darkness with the night sky, to be surrounded of a thousand bushes of moon light lillies.

Sunghoon tried to remember where the furniture was as they had disappeared when Jay had veiled what seemed like the entire world.

The Afterlife heir had thrown himself up a wall and was now clawing at his mind, his neck and his chest as he hyperventilated. Sunghoon could hear the frantic beating of his heart, and tried his best to get him to calm down.

“It’s okay, we’re home Jay, just breathe” he laid a hand on his friend's shoulder.

His face shot up to meet his best friends worried eyes. But instead of eyes all he saw was stars, thousand of thousand of stars. The world around them stilled to that exact picture as well. And the pair stood somewhere in the sky.

“Breathe” Sunghoon repeated as he himself took a deep breath. Jay mirrored him, and a few minutes later the stars disappeared, and they were once again back in their entry way, and the darkness of the heirs eyes were back once again.

“What’s going on?” He asked as he sat next to him on the floor.

Jay rubbed his face with his hands, as he took a shaking breath. “I’m so fucked Hoon, so fucking fucked”

He shot up, as if finally opening up made it impossible for him to sit still. “Fuck, fuck, fuck! Gods I’m so fucked!” He kicked the chair that stood closest by.

Sunghoon laughed a little, trying his best to ease the tension.

“It’s her…”

For a split second Jay thought Sunghoon moved as fast as his brother. Because before he knew it he stood up and were walking towards him.

“Who’s her…?” He was suddenly more serious than Jay had seen him in a long time.

“She’s … Y/N. It’s her…” he said.

For a second Sunghoon was certain the world had stopped spinning.

“WHAT?!” Sunghoon yelled so loud, that Jay was certain even the dead back home could hear him.

₊ ⁺ please comment, like and reblog if you like the story - it helps me so so much ₊ ⁺ please let me know what you think, if you have theories of both Jay and our sweet reader but also about the rest of the guys ₊ ⁺

₊ ⁺ let me know if you wanna be added to the tag list

⁺ taglist: @1-itsneverthatserious-1 @flawlessapollo6 @ijustwannareadstuff20 @azzy02 @zaycie

[raven-at-the-writing-desk]

I admit I'm curious, do you sometimes take a long time to answer questions? How come your answers are so detailed and great, if you sometimes take a long time to research certain topics? I wonder if you still have questions from months ago that you haven't answered yet? And you answer so many answers a day and many of them are very detailed.

It depends on what the ask is?

I of course get asks requesting lore compilations, to analyze scenes or characters, or to explain certain things, which are what take the most time to research and write. I can write multiple drafts or go back to edit the post several times. In some cases, I automatically know the answer (due to how much of the Twst lore I’ve hyperfixated on), happen to have irl background knowledge on a topic that can help, have a friend who knows, can give a quick or simple response to a quick or simples question, or have already answered a similar ask and can just link back to it. It helps a lot that I’ve been in the fandom since Twst first launched in March 2020 (so I’ve experienced a ton and have had the time to marinate in it).

I also get plenty of asks that don’t require a ton of brain power, like people wanting for my opinion, discussing their own thoughts and ideas, or just being silly. It’s not all seriousness and calculations here!

Part of it is also just the illusion of frequent activity 😭 It may look like I’m responding to 3-6 asks every day, but I’m NOT actually writing most of those responses the very same day they go live. In some cases, it could take me a few days to several weeks to put out my reply to an ask.

I don’t know if this is uncommon knowledge or not, but Tumblr has a queue function which allows you to make posts and schedule them to automatically go up at a later date and time. I use this function a lot, it’s a godsend!! And there can be anywhere from 30 to 90 asks queued at any given moment! If I happen to find a sliver of free time in my day, I just chip away at asks and slap them into the queue so there’s always some activity to look forward to while we wait for the next major update ^^

I do have asks from months ago (heck, even years ago) I haven’t answered, but it’s mostly because it’s not feasible for one person to respond to hundreds and hundreds of asks. Some of them are no longer relevant, don’t warrant responses, violate blog rules, or I just have no interest in answering. I have the ability to pick and choose what catches my fancy to bring to the public to discuss.

[base0h]

HELLO MY GORGEOUS EVOU DEAR <333

imma say this with no shame, i’ve never submitted a single request before 💀 yes, not a single one even tho i’ve been here for almost 2 years now -

so as you’ve submitted an amazing request for me before, i’m here to submit one ;)))

can we please get our beautiful doctor law, lost in the woods zoro and for the sake of august 6, our favourite rubber ball luffy with an S/O who looks absolutely perfect, but can’t seem to understand that she’s flawless and still gets self conscious all the time because she thought that people were staring at her and complementing her to make fun of her? like she thought that all those words were fake and people were being sarcastic.

i’m nowhere near flawless but i thought that a guy back in high school were making fun of me for all the compliments 💀 when we talked for the first time in a while a few weeks ago, i talked about that and he was offended af like ‘i literally told you i tho j you’re beautiful and cute everyday, how am i making fun of you you little-‘ 💀

so yeah, thought it’d be a fun little scenario <33

hope you’re doing good!! in case you haven’t heard it from someone today, ily <33

-leah

a/n - HI MY DEAREST LEAH 💜💜 AHHH TY FOR REQUESTING! I loved the request you did for me omg I still have it saved and I keep going back to it :)) ilysm and i love this idea 😭 and yes that guy from your high school is right, you’re literally amazing and gorgeous and I will make a point to tell you that (this is a threat)

Warnings ⚠️ - g/n reader, kinda crack (I’m sorry I can’t ever be serious)

- this guy has no shame and will tell you everyday that you look awesome

- “Oooo! That outfit looks badass y/n!”

- “WHOAA YOU LOOK LIKE SHANKS!” He had sparkles in his eyes, I mean- he just thought you looked so cool because you were wearing a super long coat! And colorful- pants.. (Just take it as a compliment I know it’s not a compliment but it is to Luffy) shanks has horrible fashion sense

- btw you changed out of your outfit that day 💀

- In public, you’re literally so perfect that even marines don’t want to capture you. They’re too dumbfounded that you’re so gorgeous, their brains literally explode, and they become dumb asf just looking at you

- but- you happened to think that they’re staring at you because they think you look weird or ugly

- So you cover up most of the time, all the staring has made you even more self conscious than before. Even when people compliment you, it seemed fake even though they were telling you the truth

- Luffy noticed you got uncomfortable with all the staring so he literally started growling and hissing at them (he’s feral) and acted as your little rubber guard dog

- “hey don’t look at y/n!”

- he didn’t know that they were looking at you because you were pretty, he thought they were admiring how strong and cool you looked

- so before that, he was all proud and showing you off in public

- “Isn’t y/n cool?! Yeah shishishi~ I know!”

- “Literally no one asked.” -random civilian

- luffy beat them up, no one talks smack about his gorgeous, beautiful, awesome y/n

- one day you got the courage to tell Luffy what you’d been feeling, and asked him if he really thought you were as cool and beautiful as he said you were

- “Huh?”

- man was confused. Like what? Are you joking right now? Because it’s not a very funny joke 💀

- “What do you mean?? I thought I told you yesterday that you looked as cool as shanks?”

- luffy that’s not a compliment when it comes to clothes

- “Yeah but- are you sure? I don’t think I look that cool.”

- he was so confused, how could you not think you looked cool??? His brain wasn’t working right, it just didn’t- make sense!

- “Y/n, you’re awesome! I don’t lie like Usopp! BELIEVE ME! YOU’RE AWESOME AND COOL!”

- he started shaking you around and wrapping his arms around you about 6 times, choking you and preventing you from breathing

- “OK- LET ME GO PLEASE I CANT BREATHE.”

- “NOT UNTIL YOU SAY YOU’RE COOL!”

- “OKOK I’M COOL!”

- “Shishi!! Ok!”

- it was a traumatic wake up call. Let’s just say that now you believe what Luffy says 😭

- he might not say it that often, but he thinks you’re a literal angel sent from heaven (has never said that to you because he’s a shy guy)

- but if you’re perceptive enough, you can catch him staring at you wherever, and whenever

- you could be tidying up the submarine, and he just can’t help but stare at you, his work can wait

- his eyes are blessed every time he sees you, I mean- how could you be so perfect? When you turn around to look at him, he’ll look back down at his work at the speed of light, trying to hide his red ears with his hat

- you swore you could’ve seen him staring, but whenever you ask, he just ignores you, “I don’t know what you’re talking about y/n. I’ve been working.”

- “you were staring at me.”

- “No I wasn’t.”

- “Yeah you were!”

- “Yeah because you look pretty in that shirt!”

- a silence echoed throughout the submarine, and both of your cheeks started to turn pink

- “You think I look pretty? Really??”

- man wanted to run away, but he didn’t want to make you feel bad, so he just awkwardly hid behind his hat in a cheap effort to make it seem like he wasn’t turning as red as a tomato

- “Yeah.. You’re pretty.”

- That right there is probably the biggest and most meaningful compliment you’ve ever received

- But still, even with a lot of other people saying you were pretty in public, it still felt like you just didn’t believe them

- all the staring actually made you even more self conscious, were their compliments just fake? They didn’t really mean their words?

- you weren’t THAT gorgeous right? (YES YOU ARE)

- “Law do you think I’m pretty?”

- He almost choked on his tea, he was literally shocked that you’d ask that dumb of a question. He looked mad at you, but then quickly wiped that expression off his face

- “Y/n. Bepo has made fun of me for WEEKS about how I keep staring at you. I don’t know how else to say it-? You’re pretty! Ok?”

- you’d never seen law so flustered before, his cheeks were literally bright red, his ears flushed the same color

- the great surgeon of death was at a loss of words because he couldn’t express in words just how beautiful and amazing you were. But law being as red as a tomato was kinda funny 😭

- “Law… You look like a tomato..”

- “Don’t make fun of me! And don’t tell the crew.”

- sorry law, but they were watching the whole time 💀

- with the way zoro is, he’s kinda bad at giving compliments, and he’s better at insulting people (mostly sanji)

- but when he first met you, he almost dropped his beer. He was amazed at how perfect and gorgeous someone could look

- he questioned whether he had died or not because wtf you looked like an angel

- since he was drunk, he swore he could’ve seen wings and a halo on top of your head 😭

- little did he know, you’d be joining the crew, and he’d be able to spend all the time in the world with you :)

- Zoro truly did believe you were some angel, all throughout your time together, he was still confused whether or not he had died and gone straight to heaven

- “Zoro?? Hello? Are you sleeping with your eyes open?!”

- he hadn’t realized that he’d been staring at you for so long that he looked like he had just been sleeping with his eyes open 💀💀💀

- “Uh no? I’m awake.”

- “You’re staring through my soul.”

- “Huh? I can’t help it if you’re so pretty! It’s your fault!”

- “WHA-??”

- zoro then paused, he had just admitted outwardly and quite loudly that you’re pretty. And bro just blamed it on you 😭

- “Why is it my fault?! And- I’m pretty?”

- marimo didn’t answer because he was so embarrassed

- “DON’T START STARING AGAIN PLEASE.”

- “I’M NOT STARING.”

- “YOU’RE LOOKING AT ME!”

- “YOU’RE LOOKING AT ME!”

- this argument continued for a while before Nami told you two to shut the fuck up so she could get her beauty sleep :’)

- but still, did zoro really think you were that pretty?? A lot of people told you that, but it felt more meaningful coming from him

- so a little while after your argument, you went up to him and just blatantly asked him

- “Zoro, do you think I’m pretty?”

- “I literally told you that an hour ago.”

- “yeah I know but do you really think so?”

- “Y/n why tf would I say it if I didn’t mean it?”

- Welp. There’s your answer, but your question kinda made him pissed 💀

- “Zoro I was just asking!”

- “Why though?! You don’t make any sense!”

- yeah don’t start with him- he just doesn’t get it, but you managed to get him to say you’re pretty about 30 times in that same argument so 👍

a/n - damn zoro 💀

[finchly-tintinnabulation]

- Foster Fail -

OCs: Parker Brown (baseline), Battle-Brother Mikhail (Dark Angel), Blood Claw Kári (Space Wolf). Brother-Sergeant Perseus (Ultramarine) and Battle-Brother Celeborn (Lamenter) are mentioned but don't appear yet

Tags: Space Marine Husbandry (Sentience), found family dynamics that will be elaborated on, fluffy self indulgent nonsense, Space Wolf is big doggy, gay ass space marines

This idea wormed its way into my brain after binge reading @kit-williams's Space Marine Husbandry stuff, though what I've written may not exactly be compliant with the established lore in terms of bonds. Idk I'm a silly guy who likes nontraditional found family,, ty to @daily-shenanigans784 for the beta and to my beloved Blood Angels fan for giving a seal of approval lol

The Chorus: @thisuserislilsilly

- - -

“I just don’t see myself taking on any Blood Angels in the future.” 

“Really?” The new case worker tipped her head to Parker, clutching her clipboard and giving him a bemused look over the cafe table.

“Don’t get me wrong, my friend has a beautiful Sanguinary flock with a dreadnought they absolutely adore, so I can see the appeal. It’s more of a lifestyle thing.” Licking his lips, he brushed the last crumbs of pastry from his fingers, crumpling up his napkin to discard on his empty plate.

“You say that like you don’t have a Lamenter roosting in your barn, Mr. Brown. Clearly you know how to keep ‘em.” She tittered. Speaking to another baseline was certainly a change of pace from Ankesh, the Salamander he’d corresponded with the last few years, but so far he had no complaints about Lorraine.

Parker scoffed. “Celeborn and Percy are a bonded pair, I had no say in the matter.” Well, that wasn’t entirely true, but it was hard to imagine life without the Lamenter these days.

“Oh, Perseus? Your Ultramarine?” Lorraine’s bleach blonde hair swished as she glanced down at her clipboard.

“Mhm.”

She peered over the top of her forms, expression quizzical as he took a final swig of his coffee. “I thought you and him were bonded.”

“Hm? Why’s that?” With a raised brow, he wiped his lips on the sleeve of his sweatshirt.

“Well, I’ve never seen a solitary marine follow a baseline without one before.” Her round eyes bored into him, seeking answers like she could drill them out with a stare. Okay, maybe there was something he could complain about. Way too much eye contact.

“Dunno about any of that, but Percy’s family, no matter how you slice it.” Shrugging, Parker tried to find a spot on Lorraine’s nose he could look at more comfortably.

“How long have you been…?”

“Seven years.” He stated before her inquisitive silence could stretch too long. “I’m 23, be 24 in the spring.”

Beaming, her round eyes grew even wider. “No wonder you’re the local loyalist foster, if you’ve been working with Astartes for so long.” 

“Working is a strong word.” Chuckling, Parker couldn’t help but be reminded of days crawling out his bedroom window only to be scruffed by a scowling Ultramarine. “Speaking of, you bring the file?” 

“Sure thing.” Flipping past what he assumed to be his foster record, Lorraine unclipped a few papers from the stack on her clipboard, passing them across the table as he pushed his glasses up his nose. 

In the interest of skimming the whole document, Parker removed the paperclip holding the stack together and picked out the important details. Battle-Brother Mikhail, Primaris, loyalist. His brow furrowed. Dark Angel. First-time foster. “...No brothers-in-arms with this one, Lori?”

“Nope! You said you wanted to take it easy for the holidays, so I figured you’d only want one on your hands.” Lorraine grinned, seemingly oblivious to the migraine already brewing.

Fostering the rough cases of loyalist Astartes was Parker’s bread and butter, and it was partially because he had gotten quite good at tuning into their needs. Loyalists might have seemed easier than Chaos marines or Renegades, but that was only on the surface, as they could become just as unruly and sullen. Potentially violent.

 A great many fosters that had gone through Pinkman Ranch, and the most common were those poorly adjusted to the second millennium, either through recent arrival or homes that couldn’t provide for their needs. An industrious and well behaved Ultramarine or a beautiful and artistic Blood Angel could very easily become agitated and restless with someone who expected an easy foray into the benefits of having a space marine in the household. His father had taught him that the hard way.

“You’ve worked with Dark Angels before, right?” The case worker piped up, snapping Parker out of his contemplation.

“Yup. A pair of them, last year.” He mused, remembering that they were… hard to motivate. For lack of a better word, space marines with hobbies often adjusted better to a time without the strife they were built for, giving them passions to pursue. Dark Angels ran on piety and persecution as their duties, which proved to be incredibly difficult to get past. “They aren’t exactly big talkers.”

“Which makes them perfect for a nice quiet vacation!” Lorraine forged ahead, nodding eagerly.

“Mhm.” Quiet was exactly what he was worried about. Years of familiarity had cracked Percy’s shell, Celeborn was forthcoming with his needs and had Percy to advocate, and Kári wore his emotions as plainly as wearing his armor. Without a battle-brother for support, to ease his way into a new worldview, fostering a Dark Angel could be tricky and delicate work.

“My only question is how you think your Space Wolf might interact with him.”

“Kári listens to his pack. He knows to back off.” The concern was how the foster would react to his squad, not the other way around. The Blood Claw could be rambunctious, but Parker worried how such an insular marine would warm up, especially if he was out of commission for a bit and unable to stand between them. However, that wasn’t something Lorraine needed to know about.

“Anything else you wanted to ask? I assume you already know how to contact the local base.”

Parker dragged a hand through his hair, staring down at the small photo of the Primaris attached to the document. Serious but slim face, dark hair, a proud but haunted look in his eye. Of course he could always decline, but… this was part of why he started fostering after all. Percy would always be there if things got out of hand. 

“Nope, I think we’re good to go.” He paperclipped the file back together and handed it back across the table to Lorraine. “I assume you’ll send him by tomorrow?”

-

In the cold grey light of early morning, frost covered grass crunched beneath boots and sabatons alike, padding along the fence of the property. For someone so big, Parker was continuously impressed by how quiet an enormous stack of muscle and armor like a space marine could move so quietly, the Dark Angel having fallen into step behind him. 

“Just so we understand each other, you’re here to adjust, so I only have one big rule. Stay on the property, don’t go running off into the woods.” Parker looked sidelong over the barbed wire at the dense thicket of blue spruce blanketing the mountainside. “Rocky Mountain National Park is pretty damn big, so there’s plenty of room for war bands and renegades and the like, but you can’t go running after them while I’m supposed to be keeping an eye on you. Understood?”

Looking back at the marine, Parker waited for some indication of understanding, thankfully receiving a nod. 

“Great. You can run off and hunt once we’re done, though if you can’t stand being idle that long, there’s plenty to do around here.” He smiled at the impassable helmet, hoping the Astartes felt welcome behind it. Mikhail hadn’t said a word since the local base had dropped him off, but Parker had to admit to himself he didn’t expect much else. 

“Most of the profitable work is seasonal thanks to the livestock we keep, the sheep get sheared in the spring, and we harvest honey from the bees in summer and fall, but upkeep is year round. There’s also the chickens up by the house, but they’re more like pets, and we eat the eggs more than we sell them.” Meandering towards the barn, Parker chattered away, a soft pride in his chest as he talked about what had become the last few years of his life. 

It wasn’t long before he was intercepted, a behemoth in grey armor rising from where he’d been sitting amongst the flock of sheep and jogging over with a sharp toothed grin. 

“This our fresh blood, PB?” Kári crowded into Parker’s space as usual, grabbing the baseline by the underarms and scooping him up for a hug in greeting. Though the armor was cold in the winter air, his body glove and skin radiated heat, and without his helmet Parker had free rein to run his hand through the Space Wolf’s short auburn curls. 

Parker chuckled. “Be nice, there’s no need to call him that. Kári, this is Battle-Brother Mikhail. Mikhail, Blood Claw Kári.” Twisting in the affectionate marine’s grip, he turned to smile encouragingly at Mikhail, gesturing as best he could for introductions. 

“No need to keep your helmet on, cousin. Let me see that pretty face of yours.” The Space Wolf teased, expression wolfishly playful as he nosed Parker’s cheek, ruffling his hair with warm puffs of breath. 

“Be nice, I said.” Parker groused, righting his glasses as Kári’s nuzzling had knocked them askew. “You don’t need to if you don’t want to, Brother Mikhail.”

Silent through their exchange, Parker half expected the Dark Angel to ignore Kári, but to his surprise after a moment of stillness Mikhail reached up. With a hiss of a releasing seal, his helm was removed and magnetized to his hip. 

The printed black and white thumbnail image on his file did him no justice. Wavy black hair hung down to the man’s jaw, framing oddly wide green eyes and high cheekbones. He, much like Kári, had a look of youth almost uncharacteristic of the Adeptus Astartes, but with a pale face rather than the Space Wolf’s freckled and suntanned one. 

Kári whistled appreciatively. “Oh, you are pretty! Why don’t you waste some time with me tending the sheep?“ Parker was ready to scold him when Mikhail defied his expectations once again and looked shy. A blushing Astartes was truly a sight to behold, and the baseline had to consciously keep his mouth shut so as to not gape at him. 

“That which does not serve the Emperor’s will is not anything praiseworthy.” Mikhail muttered, voice soft but oddly robotic. Blinking, Parker stared at the Dark Angel for a long moment before covering his mouth with a hand, almost certain that laughing would be seen as disrespectful.

“Seeing as he isn’t here to impose that will, I wouldn’t concern yourself.” Tipping his head at the other marine, Kári spoke flippantly. Already pushing buttons. Mikhail’s brow furrowed into a frown. 

“What he means to say,” Parker quickly interjected, “Is that nobody can find your Emperor in our time. Humanity is not united under him like in yours, so… he’s not exactly leading anything here. At the moment.”

Jaw working, Mikhail’s lips twisted as he seemed to think for a long moment, perhaps coming up with a retort as he stared intently at the baseline. It was what Parker often feared working with loyalists; they only knew to be His weapons. However, there was no way of knowing what Mikhail thought, as he once again fell silent with a brief nod of understanding. 

“How about we head back to the house? Percy and Celeborn are still baking?” Uneasy but relieved for the time being, Parker steered the conversation away from the Astartes’s past (future?) and patted Kári’s gorget in a request to be put down that was quickly obliged. 

“Lead the way.” Kári pressed his nose to the baseline’s mousy brown hair one last time before letting him go, and Parker started the trek back to the farmhouse, the two space marines following behind like a pair of very large, armored ducklings. 

[minniiaa]

Silly little hc I came up with:

Law doesn't use pet names/nicknames. He hates them. But it's for a reason. He thinks they're super embarrassing and kinda unlock a new level of intimacy he does not want with Luffy cuz he's scared of getting too close to him.

One day, while Luffy is absolutely fucking his brains out, he calls him beautiful and then baby on accident. He's so lost he he doesn't even notice until Luffy points it out. He withers away internally and gives into his own mind as he spirals. Luffy, being amazing at reading him, is immediately like "wtf?" And Law pretends everything's fine.

And then I dont know how else to continue it lmao. Just a thought.

This HC has me tearing things with my teeth I swear I started writing a one shot about it (I wrote plot somehow) I just need to grab it from where it’s been marinating and finish it. In the meantime, have this post.

I’ve always had this same idea about Law, like he’ll call Luffy “Strawhat” or “Lu-ya” which aren’t even really nicknames but pet names are horrifying to him. Calling someone “baby” or “honey” is just TOO MUCH for his emotionally unavailable brain to handle. He’s not heartless, he still compliments Luffy and gives him the affection he desires, he’s just more reserved with his words.

But Luffy LOVES pet names. He calls Law everything in the entire book honey, baby, sweetheart, my love, kitty, princess, beautiful, pretty, and Law simultaneously loves and hates it because it makes him feel all warm and fuzzy inside and has his heart jumping out of his chest. He tells him to knock it off at first but when he sees how happy it makes Luffy he gives up because he’s weak to that cute smile.

After Law’s been with Luffy for long enough, after he’s steamrolled down the concrete walls Law has built around himself, he eventually caves. When they’re having sex one day and the praises and pet names come tumbling out of Law’s mouth, Luffy is SHOCKED. Did Law just call him baby? It’s like a dream come true for him. Like he’s finally knocked down that last piece of glass that was between him and Law.

After that, Law calls him nicknames but he’s Law and he has to make them extra stupid like “my pretty idiot” when he’s doing something dumb, “insatiable bunny” when he’s pushed him a little too hard in bed or “little squirrel” when he’s stuffing his face again. Luffy doesn’t care, he just likes it when Law calls him something other than Luffy and the shit he comes up with always makes him laugh.

[wannabepapa]

I see you’ve been reboggling a lot of old asks from me which has also gotten my brain juice flowin like

Lately I’ve been thinking about roommates who bond over a pregnancy. A one night stand or a surrogacy, doesn’t really matter, all we care about are the roomies who are now stuck in this fun situation of finding a new groove. Bonus points if the pregnant one gets big and uncomfy quick, leading to far far more late night rendezvouses.

The way I picture it, it starts with your typical incredibly awkward “I gotta come clean about something” scenario, with roomie B expecting a broken appliance or a forgetting power bill, but certainly not a pregnancy! Then as roomie A grows, they get needy, which sends roomie B into overdrive. Late night pizza runs become a regular occurrence, waking up way too early to hold their roommates hair, sitting up at night cause roomie A thinks they felt a kick and wants witnesses.

Then break happens, they go home, and when roomie A comes back they’re HUGE, which changes everything. Suddenly they need so much more to be comfy, and roomie B begins to realize just how much they like being there for their pal. They spend all afternoon at school just to come home and both collapse into the same twin bed, using the other bedroom as storage because who needs it? Sharing is caring after all. Roomie B is there to hold roomie A when they’re sobbing at a ghibli film or some advertisement about sad animals, they’re there to help with anything academic or physical, they’re driving their expectant buddy to and from appointments now that they’ve outgrown the drivers seat.

Bajshxjhshxhs it is 5 am and this ask is ridiculously long winded but I am tired and sappy and obsessed with this idea and thought you’d like it okie bye

uh hello???????? you have left this beauty of an ask in my inbox?????? Marin i am kissing your forehead right now.

roommate B has had nothing but terrible experiences with past roommates so when A comes to confess something they brace themselves for a problem. it's expected, especially when A looks anxious and worried before spilling the secret. the last thing that B would have ever expected was to be living with someone who was going to have a baby. they don't hate babies but they never hung out with people who had children of their own. it was going to be a learning curve to say the least.

the roommates were never close in the beginning, keeping to themselves as they had only recently roomed together but now they find themselves in each other's space. A has asked for help in the morning because the nausea makes it tough to function early in the morning so B is on kitchen duty. B tends to do a lot of the clean up now to give their roomie a break in the first trimester. it's only fair that someone does the bulk of the housework when A is creating a whole person over the course of nine months!

B is also in this weird "I'm not the parent of this child but I feel responsible for A and this child" state of mind that is confusing to them. they don't know why their brain has latched onto being the caretaker for a pregnant person but whatever A asks for, they get. A is feeling cold and wants to borrow a blanket? it's put in the dryer so it's extra warm. it's two am and they have an intense craving for pizza, but only the pizza at this shop that is an hour away? yeah just let B get dressed and get coffee in them before they take the drive. they don't want to be sitting alone at their doctor's appointment and want moral support? of course B will be driving them to and from every appointment now so they don't have to be alone. A meekly knocks on the bedroom door and says the baby needs a cuddle? get in under the covers and pick a movie! it's this perfectly platonic relationship that both just don't acknowledge but now all of their family and friends wonder if they're dating.

when they have to go home for their respective holidays there are definitely tears shed by A. it's seventy-five percent hormones and twenty-five percent not wanting to be away from B for weeks on end. they're ending their second trimester right now and terribly needy. the roomies have forgone sticking to each other's rooms to alternating every few days—it's become their routine. A also worries that something catastrophic will happen and B will force them to move out which B shuts down immediately. they're stuck with each other now whether they liked it or not. this comfortable thing the roomies have with each other is too precious to B for it to ever cross their mind to end it. A has become more than a friend, they've become a companion that has made their days more exciting ever since they got close. it isn't long after A is dropped off at the airport (with more tears shed) and B not even out of the parking structure that a text is sent that reads "we already miss you :c"

they talk every day of the break. A leaves no details of the crazy antics sprinkle (the baby has a thing for funfetti cake and B said they were probably a sprinkle now so it stuck) has been up to and complaining how cold it was where their family lives. they've sent many a selfie where they were hidden under piles of blankets or bundled up in multiple layers of warm clothes with a pouty lip and silly quip about how nobody does the dryer trick here like B does. it's too cute for B to handle. the weeks drag on for eternity to their dismay, their mind straying to how their gravid friend was doing.

to make matters worse A was stuck for an extra week due to a surprise blizzard that grounded all planes going in and out of the state. that was nearly a month apart and it drove B mad. too much time has been spent away from A and there was going to be hell to pay if this new flight would be canceled. if they were stuck any longer with their parents A wouldn't be cleared to fly, leaving them with no other choice but driving hours back down. B would have gone up there themselves to bring A back if it was necessary but to their happiness there were no cancelations and A was in route back home. B couldn't pick them up—work had switched schedules without asking—so they sent a friend to go to the airport for pick up. luckily A would already be home by the time B was off work so they wouldn't be alone in the house for long.

B never considered how fast someone grew in their final months of pregnancy. A's clothes still hide the bump before they left. now, walking into the apartment, B could do nothing except stare at their roommate. A hadn't grown, but popped in the last month since they were apart! there was an undeniable swell that tented A's shirt, their stance wider as they waddled to the door to greet B with a watery grin. the bump is pressed between them which makes it impossible to really hug while making it hard for B to not plaster their hands on the belly. the baby takes the opportune moment to shift between them as they were clearly unhappy about being squished. A chuckles at the movement but B is completely losing it.

after that they don't really stay apart for long. they're very, very close to one another at every second of the day just to revel in the fact that the baby will be born soon. A likes to complain about the pains from the movements of the nugget but they will actually miss it. B, however, has made it loud and clear how they'll miss being able to cuddle up with the belly and feel the nugget move. though both are equally excited to meet the little kicker that they've been waiting nearly ten months to hold.

[m1ckeyb3rry]

will you ever share what other routes you were thinking of taking threefold 👀

(your writing is absolutely stunning btw 10000000000000000000/10 stars)

HIII first of all thank you so much!! hehe i really appreciate it and yes of course!! to be honest i mostly had threefold planned out from the start i wrote it all down in like a fever dream but there are def small things in my original note that didn’t make the Final Cut of the story which i can share!! it’s mostly worldbuilding stuff that i just didn’t think was necessary/forgot to add so it’s not that it didn’t HAPPEN it just wasn’t mentioned if that makes sense 😭

i will also add that the idea for threefold did marinate in my mind for a while because i have had a very specific gladiator au that i’ve wanted to write for AGESSS and i was thinking of doing it for dan heng!! but then i was like wait why would i put him in a greco-roman setting when there are characters that CANONICALLY are of that vibe?? but i didn’t know mydei/phainon (who were the options for obvious reasons) Like That so i never got around to it even though ig it kept marinating in the background…like i think that’s where the idea of mydei as a prisoner came from JFKDND it was just an offshoot of him being a gladiator really🙂‍↕️❕ since many gladiators WERE prisoners of war

adding a cut here because i don’t want this to get too long on the dash/for any lurkers HAHA

so this is like the ORIGINAL thought i had…i’m not joking when i say i woke up at an obscene hour with the paragraph in my mind KDHDDJ time stamp included for proof

obviously i ended up editing it a bit more to flow better in the actual story but this is quite similar to the paragraph included to the masterlist!! i’m not sure why my brain included the term “thrice-blessed” but that throwaway description is actually where the entire motif of threes came from HAHA which is kinda crazy actually (fun fact the original title for threefold was “panthera” which is now the title for just part one!! it took a bit before i was like wait maybe i should just have the motif of three be the title itself too) also note that i do typically write in cursive but i wrote this entire thing in print to make myself think about what i was writing OFJDJDJ

i think mydei’s backstory is the one i left out the most about looking back on my original note!! these are what i first had planned for him:

i honestly just forgot about this part i think but it’s fine it wasn’t Necessary to add just cool i guess!! so yeah there’s some threefold mydei trivia for you 😜 i also remember he was going to mention that in kremnos if a man kills a woman’s husband he essentially marries her?? which was supposed to be the outcome of him destroying the statue — he “wins” reader which frees her to give him to her husband. i ended up not including that because i feel like poor reader already has enough trauma from marriage and i think mydei would not Want to do that to her 🙂‍↔️☝🏻 like he loves her so much he only really wants to set her free even if that means she won’t be with him if that makes sense !!

now as for reader’s backstory most of it stayed the same!! we learn the most about her just because so much of part two and the story as a whole is reliant on mydei knowing her whereas we don’t really need to Know mydei himself — the obstacle on reader’s side of their love was coming to trust him if ykwim…but here are the original plans for reader!! the hometown’s similarity to carthage/south italy was kinda just hinted at because ofc that wouldn’t make sense to outright state but that is indeed where i got the inspiration for the southern sea and its kingdom!! i think everything else in this was mentioned besides her being very sought after as a girl although i think given that she’s a princess it makes sense she would be?? plus we got the news that mydei has been in love with her since he was a little kid and heard her name for the first time (at the announcement of her birth) so i think it makes sense LOLOL

AND FINALLY the proof that the ending has been planned from the beginning!!

the only things from the ending that i changed from my original plans: the husband didn’t mock mydei for thinking that he was in love with reader (in the first draft as you can see he was going to say something about how in kremnos they don’t understand love so it makes sense that mydei confused “bloodlust” with “actual lust” but i wrote the entire ending scene in a trance and it just didn’t come to mind HAHA instead we just got a throwaway line of the husband saying mydei isn’t capable of love) and originally the husband was going to shame READER for thinking that mydei would’ve loved her (in the final draft, he shames mydei for thinking he loves reader…honestly either way could’ve worked but i think it ended up a two-birds-with-one-stone moment where having him say it to mydei served to both deride mydei and get the message across!!)

SO that ended up being a lot of nonsense LDJDJS i am sure you were not asking for this much of my original ideas 😭 but yeah!! threefold has been a very complete idea in my mind almost from its inception and almost all of the changes have just been the natural refinement that comes along with actually writing something in full vs just jotting down notes for an outline 🤩

[hamliet]

*SLAMS THE DOOR OPEN* Hello! I just found out you read One Piece so I know must ask, which arc are you on? (Guessing Arlong Park) [Also for your sanity, would recommend making multiple metas based on major arcs or the big Sagas bc on their own they're so long and get longer (Oda's a gardener & Shonen Jump sucks ass) and when you think you've said enough, you will always have a lot more to say] How do you compare the manga to the 1st season? Who are you top 5 Main characters? Who are your top 5 minor characters? What do you think of Luffy as a character and his philosophy as a pirate? I love how you clocked his similarities to Gon since Togashi had characters like Luffy (& Naruto) in mind when making him - the two even share the same birthday, May 5, Children's Day. I'm so glad you like Nami, she is def your type of character. You're going to be collecting these characters like candy. Welcome to One Piece. I hope you're ready to shake your fist at Oda with tears in your eyes

For some reason it’s not showing me your ask after you sent it @isammy7936​!

^^this is exactly what I pictured with your ask! Bahahha. 

I started reading from the beginning, so I am still in Nami’s village arc. But almost done with it, and then onwards! I am really liking it; life’s just been crazy so that’s why it’s slower going for now. This weekend I *knock on wood* have so much more time that I’m hoping to dedicate to reading it. 

So far, I think the LA was a really good adaptation of the manga. They definitely simplified some things and changed aspects to make it more understandable for clueless people like me. But I do like the additional complexities of the manga--like that Nami’s village was aware the entire time of her plan, and that her adoptive mother was so young, which makes her seem far more understandable and sympathetic than in the show. She’s a child raising children, and it’s an interesting contrast between Nami’s childhood and her current found family situation with Luffy and the others. 

I’ll save the top 5 minor characters for right now, because I’ve been told I will apparently love Robin(?) and I’m excited. But for now, it’s a rare manga where all the main characters are very much in my top group. Still, it will probably shift once more are introduced. Shoutout to Kaya as a minor character I love though, and to Zeff whose love language is hate but who is a good dad regardless. Still:

1) Nami

2) Zoro

3) Sanji

4) Usopp

5) Helmeppo

Luffy is probably 6th, and Koby 7th. Buggy is also a very fun antagonist. 

What do you think of Luffy as a character and his philosophy as a pirate? I love how you clocked his similarities to Gon since Togashi had characters like Luffy (& Naruto) in mind when making him - the two even share the same birthday, May 5, Children's Day.

That’s so cool about the birthday!! I had no idea.

I think Luffy has not a single brain cell in that skull. He’s all heart. But I kind of love it, because his philosophy seems to be based on less the assumptions of piracy (stealing, etc) and more on a deliberate flouting of the rules of the Marines. I mean, they basically have a one-world authoritarian government with a focus on obedience and order. 

Except, it’s human to want freedom and compassion and close friendships, and these very ideals contrast sharply with an over-focus on rules and law and order. Luffy’s piracy seems to be a way to declare himself opposed to this stifling of humanity and human desires, and a way to also find himself. At the same time, we see how piracy can also be taken too far in characters like Buggy or Arlong, in that they flout the rules but specifically to hurt people and make themselves powerful.

I am curious if we’ll see more of Luffy’s flaws. While I am not expecting a full deconstruction a la Gon or Eren Jaeger, I do think he may end up complex! Basically, by him eating the devil fruit and also the genre being an adventure story (meaning adventure stories are often about finding yourself) I wonder if Luffy will struggle with these two opposite ends of humanity--the part that wants control, and the part that wants freedom, as well as how they clash. Meaning, if you want total freedom, you have to stop caring about others to an extent. But if you stop caring about others, then aren’t you denying another aspect of human nature (a longing for compassion and relationships) in your focus on freedom? I mean, that’s basically SnK’s thematic question, but I think One Piece might explore something similarly, albeit via a more shonen premise and being an adventure story, not a war.  

[asexual-spongebob]

you've been suddenly making some mermaid/siren stories lately, and I needs ask;

What got you into the mermaid/siren thing?

Sorry about how lengthy this answer is lmao- and also kinda a dive into my creative process lmao.

I’ve always had a soft spot for merfolk and siren’s ever since I was a kid, I’ve always found them fascinating. Not to mention I’ve always had a love for marine biology and the ocean (blame octonauts) so the fact they were underwater creatures made me love them even more.

when I got into fanfiction was I was a tween I always adored merfolk and siren au’s, I’d eat them up every time. I loved reading merfolk AU fics.

When I started watching H2O, a show I never saw as a kid but I know i would’ve loved, I just became obsessed with merfolk and sirens all over again.

So, when I got into Octonauts, I wondered if there was any mermaid/merfolk AU’s, and then I stumbled across my friend @/c-midori ‘s Reclaimed By Nature fic, and wondered “Huh. What if I made a Octonauts x H2O: Just Add Water AU?” So I did, and that’s how TWTLTS was born.

When I first started getting into IZ, I wondered if there were any merfolk and or siren AU’s and I found just what I was looking for. I then read this really good fic called Look Out On The Day Of Another Dream by PsychoLimbo on AO3, it was one of the first ZaDr fics I ever read it still holds a special place in my heart. It was an AU where Zim was a siren and Dib was a selkie. I loved it so much.

So, I went to go find more merfolk iz fics, and I loved them so much. But I noticed there wasn’t a whole lot of merm or siren Dib fics and I was like “huh. maybe I should make my own siren Dib fic?” So I did. I decided to also include Gaz because I had never seen a siren!gaz! fic before and I thought it could be interesting.

And I thought it’d also be funny considering Irken’s are allergic to water, and Dib and Gaz are sirens, aka creatures who live in water. So I began to think of ideas, one of the first was Zim and Tak being dock workers of some sort and Dib and Gaz being sirens who lurk around said dock. But, I decided to scrap this idea because I had an AU similar to it for Octonauts. (Which I still haven’t shared here lmao-) So I decided to think of something different.

Aka the plot of WotS we have today.

I asked myself, “How would Dib and Gaz become sirens?” And my brain went, Chemical Spill. So, I decided that the chemical spill would turn them into sirens when they were in salt water.

I choose salt water specifically because I didn’t want it to be to much like TWTLTS (which works the same way as H2O).

I decided that them being sirens may make them a bit more… feral. (Which is why Dib is described as eating aggressively raw fish in the first chapter and later on) As, I always saw sirens as more feral then the typical mermaid, I also thought that they’d look a bit more scaly looking. (Hence why I always draw Dib and Gaz with scaly, webbed hands.)

I took some inspiration from the clips of Freeform’s Siren had seen on the internet as well.

And that’s how Wail of the Siren was born. Sorry about how long this answer was, I just love answering asks like this.

[rowanul-tyr]

So. Dawntrail.

I finished the 7.0 MSQ roughly a week ago, during the early access period, and overall I had a great time with it! My thoughts on the expansion as a whole have been marinating in the brain pot since then, and I wanted to touch on some of those thoughts and why I think this has been such a great expansion so far, at least story-wise. All under a cut for spoilers, and I’ll honestly be talking mostly vaguely about plot stuff anyway. And I’ll mark anything specific that is spoilers, and dividing things zone by zone.

Anyway.

First and foremost, since I feel like this will help put my overall opinion into perspective, is my ranking of expansions so far.

1: SHB will forever be king to me in a ton of ways; part of it is this was the expansion I started with, but I also just love the story it tells so much and even if I have little gripes, they’re all so minor that it doesn’t really matter

2: a tie between HW and EW, actually--both are excellent, and while I have some issues with parts of them, the positives for the most part outweigh my issues

3: another tie between STB and ARR--I think both of these are good, but have some issues that really can’t be ignored. And they’re only at the bottom because that’s how lists work.

DT is not perfect in my eyes (not by a long shot), but it is giving SHB a true run for its money in terms of how much I liked it. Like I said initially, I don’t think it’s without its problems (no expansion is, even SHB no matter how much I love it), but overall there is just SO much good stuff here that I am 100% willing to forgive it.

Before I get into the details, I want to say: making it clear from the pre-order stuff and Viper and all that this is the FF9 expansion really is important. FF9 begins fairly bright and cheery and its aesthetic lends itself well to hiding what subject matter it tackles, but then it eventually starts dealing with a LOT of heavy topics--and Dawntrail is very much living up to that in my book.

Expansion Start

Going into this expansion I really had no idea what to expect. I admit that the 6.X patch cycle really threw me for a loop once DT was announced, and it felt kind of pointless to be doing so much with the void? I was like, “Why are we spending so much time on this, when we should be looking at things that are relevant to Dawntrail??” because none of it made sense to me.

One of the issues I had with STB for a long time was Lyse. Don’t worry, I’ve come around on her, but it took a while. The biggest issue I had was that the devs tried to take an existing character and turn her into something other than what we knew, and it threw me entirely. I think they learned the lesson from that, which is why the focus is on Wuk Lamat, a new character, and on Krile, an older character we know so that we feel more invested in what is to come.

Another aspect of STB that kind of threw me off was…how little focus it got after the HW story ended? Like we get two patches worth fo story to lead into it, and I 100% think the Ga Bu stuff is important, and obviously the Warriors of Darkness story is important to set up part of SHB, but…everything to set up STB felt…not there? And we meet Lyse properly during 3.55/3.56, just like Wuk Lamat. We don’t have time to get to know her as this new person before we’re dropped into STB proper. And that didn’t help me when it came to bonding with Lyse--it took until the Lakshmi trial before I realized how I was supposed to feel about her my second time playing through Stormblood.

Wuk Lamat won me over really fast, thankfully--she has a certain kind of charm to her that endeared me to her pretty quickly (she’s very Sora from Kingdom Hearts coded in my eyes), and I was quietly interested to see what would happen with her character arc going forward. To be frank, I was more excited about how much better my character looked in game than in the updated benchmark than what little of the story we knew! I also was more invested in Krile than anything else story-wise; she’s always been a low key fave of the Scions for me so it’s nice to see her be much more involved in MSQ this time around.

But then we hit the first city and actually got into the story. Tulliyollal is such a lovely city, and its inn room was the first to make me go “wow” since the Pendants (since the Baldesion Annex was fun but still feels way too cluttered for me). I loved meeting Gulool Ja Ja, and his vibe as a character was excellent. I was surprised by what the rite of succession was shaping up to be, but once you see the Saga monuments and hear the story behind them it pretty quickly clicks as to what the Dawnservant wants the claimants to the throne to learn about during the rite. That was when I rsaw the mentor-type role my character would play, and once I knew what role the WOL plays for Wuk Lamat and in at least the start of Dawntrail’s story, I was in. I was determined to embrace that role in a way I had issues doing when I played through STB initially for Lyse.

One other thing: I was super surprised by Zoraal Ja being the one Wuk Lamat was prioritizing as a threat, and that he was the one who couldn’t be allowed to be Dawnservant. I guess I’d been anticipating the aloof/stern but decent older brother from him based on what I assumed was one of his lines in the launch trailer, so that was a fun surprise.

Zones 1 and 2, first visit

Urqopacha absolutely blows Kozama’uka out of the water for me, but I think both zones do a pretty good job with their first of two feats.

I started with Kozama’uka. The HanuHanu felt straightforward enough, and their feat set Koana up really nicely for what exactly his views are. I was glad to hear that he and Wuk Lamat were on friendly terms right before we left Tulliyollal to start the rite. One of my first thoughts when seeing how he and Wuk Lamat both handled the feat was, “He’s not going to win the rite, but I want him to either be advisor to his sister or for her to invite him to rule together.”

Bakool Ja Ja was fine as the zone’s antagonist, the writers did a good job of setting up his rivalry with Wuk Lamat in the intro so I wasn’t surprised by him trying to cheat his way through things. Wuk Evu was also…um. Not my favorite. I wasn’t super into the “behead me for being rude to the Third Promise” joke being reused over and over and over again…but maybe that’s just me.

As I said, Urqopacha was by far my favorite intro zone for the views, the music, and the overall aetshetic. I really love FF10, so getting to spend so much time with the Pelupelu was excellent. I also loved the zone music and this part really was what got me hooked on this expansion. Working with Mablu to make trades for the saddle was such a great showcase of what exactly the player character is to Wuk Lamat, and really solidified how much I enjoyed her. She is SUCH an orange cat (meaning she is “no thoughts, head empty” in a lot of ways but also just impulsive and can be unpredictable) and I mean that in a very kind way.

This was also where we got to see so much more of what Zoraal Ja’s whole deal was, and once I spent more time hearing him speak I totally understood why Wuk Lamat didn’t want him to be Dawnservant. Also, Mablu is the best and my roommate/best friend who is the biggest FF10/FF10-2 fan I know cried when she saw Tobli (since he’s from 10-2 himself) and the music is so good. So yeah, 10/10 zone.

Zones 1 and 2, second visit, and First Trial

Jumping ahead a teeny bit (since you go back to the capital between these visits). I liked this second set of feats overall! It felt like we were finally making some good progress with Krile’s goals to find out more about the city of gold in addition to moving forward with the rite. I also liked jumping right back into zones we’d already seen instead of waiting for 5+ levels to go back.

I liked how the Moblin feat incorporated the Elezen goldsmith from the boat, and seeing once again just how charismatic and magnetic a personality Wuk Lamat is. Her ability to show so much empathy for people is absolutely her biggest strength, and her desire to understand things--something those helping her with the rite have helped her discover--really start to shine, at least for me. That’s what makes her such a great fit for Dawnservant.

Koana also really was a star in this zone, and I really adore his character archetype and the love he so clearly has for his sister. Working together to rescue Wuk Lamat after Bakool Ja Ja snatches her was a nice change of pace from what we’d had so far from the rite, and that was when my initial impression of what would happen with Koana gained a bit more strength behind it. I was about 90% certain at this point that he wouldn’t win, but would stay at Wuk Lamat’s side to help guide her when she needed it.

I LOVED seeing the Yok Huy and honestly just getting to go back to Urqopacha was a delight. It felt like SO much progress was being made for both the rite and Krile’s goals, and the dungeon was excellent. No notes.

As a quick aside, though, I loved that we got to hear the Yok Huy’s take on death--that those who have died will always live in our memory, and so long as that memory remains, they are not truly gone. I loved this because it fits so well with the lore I have for Rowan regarding the way the Echo manifests for him, and how he cherishes the memories of people he’s lost but has come to move on with his own life. It just…is a very good thing to nail home some of FF14’s broader conversations about remembering and honoring the past, but still turning your focus to the future.

I have gripes with the Valigarmanda trial (I wiped twice on Duty Support :( ) but I appreciated that Wuk Lamat, Koana, and Zoraal Ja ALL came together for the good of their nation. I also liked that Zoraal Ja was cooperating because people dying because Valigarmanda would be bad for his own goals in the end if he won the rite, and also it’s good to see more of him before Things Happen (™).

Zone 3

Basically from here on out I loved every zone.

As a person who loves food and specifically enjoys making food for others, the feat in Iq Braax was a delight. Given that we find out the clan’s leader is Wuk Lamat’s father, it is VERY fitting that the people of the village are much more on the nose about not directly helping the team-up between Wuk Lamat and Koana. In addition, the cooperation between the Second and Third Promises was very clearly there to show 1. how well they work together and 2. what it is that Koana still has to learn, which he very much does by the end of the zone.

I’ve seen in the Disc Horse (™) around DT that Bakool Ja Ja turn in the second half of the zone was weird, but I don’t think it was, not really. By the end of the instanced duty after the X’braal feat, he’s a humiliated mess. Seeing the added context for why the Mamool Ja are the way that they are in the second half of the zone and learning the true cost of the blessed siblings among them, you actually have a reason to offer empathy to a person whose whole life has probably not been great. Wuk Lamat putting aside her anger with Bakool Ja Ja to truly help his people is yet more proof of the things that truly make her a good leader and why she really is the best choice to be Gulool Ja Ja’s heir.

The end of Koana’s arc here is excellent. Wuk Lamat reaching out to him when she needs help finding a way for the Mamool Ja to find ways to thrive outside of the blessed siblings--knowing that he can succeed in an area that is not her forte--is yet MORE proof of her ability to see the best in others and understand their worth. And Koana is genuinely a great brother and partner to work with for her, as his generally calm demeanor evens out her boisterousness very well. The instanced fight against the shade of their father where both groups come together was EXCELLENT.

The end of the Skydeep Cenote and actually finding the city of gold is such a good way to close out the first half of the expansion. We’re left on more intrigue for what is to come in the second half of the expansion, and this was when I got the deep sense of “Okay. But when is the other shoe gonna drop”.

Midpoint, and thoughts on the first half of the expansion

I was so happy with Wuk Lamat’s coronation, and how she outright asked Koana to join her on the throne. Finding a way to truly be their father’s successors by embodying both reason and resolve works out so well in Tural’s favor in the end.

I think the only somewhat negative thing I can say here is that…I was totally thrown by the song that played when the stone monument was revealed, haha. The song is fine on its own, but it was SO weird for me to hear that it did actually kinda take me out of it. But otherwise this turning point for the latter half of the expansion was good. I wasn’t sure how to feel about MSQ going forward, though, because I was like “Wait, where’s the rest of it?”

In terms of my overall thoughts on the first half of this expansion… It’s very good as a way to decompress following the end of the Hydaelyn and Zodiark saga that ended in 6.0, and even a good way to relax after everything that happens with Zero and the void.

I know there’s a ton of Disc Horse (™) around this expansion, particularly about Wuk Lamat and the rite and how “slow” the first part is. I have two things that come to mind about it all: this isn’t the Shadowbringers or Endwalker of this next story arc. This is the Realm Reborn to the next arc. Things are definitely going to be a bit slow.

In addition…the WOL may not be the protagonist of this particular part of the story, but that doesn’t mean the first half and dealing with the rite is worthless? The WOL knows by now that they were Azem, the Traveler. Remember, the Traveler part of that convocation title? My BFF/roommate Sarria put it best:

“DT really feels like it's back to our "roots" and I mean like AZEM roots. Being The Traveler, visiting new places and meeting new people and learning about places outside of our known bubble. Listening to people's stories and desires and then being asked to help specifically *because* we listened to and learned from the locals. And I for one really really am loving it. The story doesn't have to be about us - just being there means we have a role. (Also the first half of DT isn't supposed to be about us anyway.)”

I find it so funny that people have such a problem with it--and I won’t lie, I do agree that some of it had slow pacing. But like…I don’t know, this really feels in line for what Azem would do. We are Azem now, we have the crystal and everything. We’re not known in this continent because it’s only been 70 years since the world we know made contact with it--to the point of the guy credited with discovering this “New World” IS STILL ALIVE. There is ample reason why your character is not the focus of the first half of the expansion, and it’s so disheartening to see people just…not get that?

It could be that my overall excitement to explore the new zones laid out before us led me to be much more forgiving of this section, but getting to know the people of Yok Tural was such a treat. I can’t wait for NG+ to come around for 7.0 so I get to explore all of this again.

Okay, back to going zone by zone.

Zone 4, part 1

So as someone who knows the Southwest US fairly well this zone was excellent, I loved the vibes. The overworld music is great.

I will say outright here that I’ve kind of been an Erenville disliker since his introduction in EW. He’s been overhyped for a character who up to DT basically had no personality in my eyes, so I was apprehensive about how this zone would go with him as our only companion. But, credit where it’s due, the writers actually got me to come around on him a little with the background we finally get for him. Not entirely, I still have issues with him, but he’s now more well-rounded.

Seeing the railyard workers actually made me cry, specifically seeing Not!Magnus’ wife. I’m so glad that 1: they were included and 2: explicitly shown to be the exact same as the people we know from the first. My roommate Sarria and I joked several times that this was SHB/Trolleys 2 and it was such a delight getting to laugh about it.

The end point for this visit to the zone was excellent. The dread had been building for me the whole time, knowing that something was around the corner, but no idea what. So the dome appearing and then the aftermath in Tulliyollal was anticipated, but about as brutal as I was expecting.

Tulliyollal revisit and Zone 4, part 2

The destruction of Tulliyollal and trying to aid those we could was done well, to me anyway. The devs handled that sort of thing pretty well in EW, so was glad to see it done again just as well.

Then comes the “cat”valry as I’d like to call it. Honestly, the moment I heard G’raha’s voice and heard Eternal Wind, it was like I could finally breathe. I think that’s the point of him and Y’shtola showing up to give you help for the rest of the expansion--they give a sense of release to all the tension and anxiety players might feel after the attack on Tulliyollal. A mini version of what the low-stakes rite of succession is to the story overall. You have to have a release for tension before building it up again, because building tension with no release just doesn’t work.

The truth of what the golden door is threw me for a loop, because I was NOT expecting it. I imagine it’s what people felt when the SHB launch trailer dropped and the truth about Hydaelyn and Zodiark was given--you’re so shocked that it’s a bit much to process. But I liked the revelations about the golden city and Krile and everything.

The revisit to Shaaloani was a delight, and deciding to blow up the train was exactly the kind of crazy I’d expect from the Source version of the trolley guys from Twine. The song that played during the coronation came back and it felt just as cheesy as before, but I think I’d accepted it by this point? I just let it happen even though it doesn’t really work for me.

And the Vanguard dungeon is SO good. I loved the music--honestly Soken popped off this expansion for the most part.

Zone 5/Second Trial

So I love the aesthetic of this zone in general--thank you for giving us FF10’s Thunder Plains properly this time!!!--but there was a zone where I ever felt like the story was loosing me, it was this one. I wasn’t sure what to make of the time bubble nor the regulators, so it took some time for Heritage Found to find its footing for me.

Sphene also was slightly unsettling, in a way? It was hard to put my finger on whether she was sympathetic or playing you, which I guess is the point.

Solution Nine kind of just…added to my sense of confusion. I was a bit lost on it all, and trying to wrap my head around it. It is also way to big and spread out for my tastes…but oh well.

With all the talk of souls, though, I finally understood why all the Void stuff with Zero in the 6.X patches was actually good to spend so much time with, since it was basically a primer for ALL of this stuff in the latter half of DT. So once NG+ is here for Dawntrail, I may actually start with 6.1 and see how it all flows together.

What finally got me back on loving the plot again was seeing baby Gulool Ja and Otis in the other half of the map, where the ruins of Alexandria are. I haven’t even played FF9 myself, only watched a very abridged playthrough, but the way I instantly knew who Otis was a stand in for made me feel so warm and comforted. Steiner is just so goofy and endearing, and Otis is exactly like him.

Was not surprised by Zoraal Ja making his move, but the cutscene for the defense of Tulliyollal was very good. I was surprised by Sphene both in and out of Solution Nine for that instanced duty, and I think here is where I really started to see the parallels between what I know of FF9 and DT. Sphene is Wuk Lamat’s mirror, at least in a way--loving and compassionate and charismatic (because I’d come to like her quite a bit by the point she outright says she was playing you). She exemplifies the extreme end of Wuk Lamat’s desire for peace, and the need to protect and preserve her people.

The fight against Zoraal Ja is a satisfying one. I am not the person to ask to talk about fight design or anything so will leave that to others. But I thought it was good.

Also liked the revelations after the trial, where Sphene turns on you for real. It did feel like downing Vauthry just to have Emet steal the Exarch again, though maybe not in the same way. Similar dramatic stakes, I guess I’m trying to say.

Zone 6, and the Finale

This zone will always have an interesting flavor to it for me, since I use the Living Memory title for personal WOL lore reasons. But the zone is, I think, such an excellent one for what the expansion as a whole is trying to say.

As I mentioned at the beginning, despite its cheerful colors and friendly looking character design, FF9 is a darker story. It deals with death and the existential. The perfect word to sum up FF9, from what I know, is bittersweet. And I think this zone--and in a way both zones and the city that comprise Alexandria--PERFECTLY handles that bittersweet feeling.

The weather is Reminiscence, bathing everything in this beautiful golden color. It’s full of areas referencing FF9--I recognized Alexandria and the Iifa Tree, but each zone is a call back to 9. The music is this soft, comforting piece that just triggered my nostalgia for a game I haven’t even played. Seeing Otis in his prime again, the tour of the Gardens with Cachuia, letting Krile meet her parents and learn her real name--it’s all so bittersweet.

Every time you turn off a terminal, you get that message of how nothing will go back to what it was. And the part of Living Memory that you shut down is then forever less colorful and lively, and there’s no music (at least when you’re there during this part of MSQ). You’re left with silence. We can always remember it like it was before (or use NG+ to bring it back if you were a dummy like me and didn't gpose there before it went away), but it won't ever be the same now.

I took my time in Living Memory before moving from area to area, and did all aether currents and quests as I could/they became available which only happened AFTER the zone was gone for the quests. So I was doing all this in silence. Left alone with my thoughts on it all and trying to understand what the point was.

Sphene is clinging so much to that nostalgia for a time gone by because of her programming, and it’s sad to have to end it. But to me, she is eerily similar to Emet-Selch: she was clinging to the memory of the dead, desperate to bring them back and keep them alive. But in the end, it was only an imitation that would lead to untold amounts of suffering to others.

All of Living Memory reminded me so much of Amaurot. Sphene letting the Endless explore as they pleased was I think a much kinder version of Emet's magic working on Amaurot, but I couldn't help but see the similarity there.

I did cry in this zone, during G’raha’s talk with the player in the gondola and all the interactions Krile had with her parents. And it’s just…sad. You might feel awful about destroying the Endless once you understand them and their ways, but in the end…they’re only memories of people who died long ago. Their lives continuing are coming at the cost of the future for everyone on the Source and the reflections. It just can’t be sustained as Sphene’s realm continues to grow and more and more is needed to keep things running.

Sphene wanted the best for her people, going as far as she did for them. And I like that she is clearly kind but does a lot of bad things out of love for her people, and the desire to preserve them. But in the end, she had to accept why death is an important part of life.

I loved the Alexandria dungeon, and the trial was excellent. I will say that the intermission was maybe a bit long, but I still liked it tremendously. I’m excited to see what the relic has in store for us, and where the new arc of the story will take us.

Overall thoughts

DT has two very distinct sections, and there are parts I think could be refined to maybe make things go smoother overall, but honestly? I am totally willing to overlook those things because I enjoyed myself as much as I did.

DT, to me, managed to deliver on the summer vacation aspect that was so heavily advertised while also keeping with FF14’s larger ideas about hope persisting in even the hardest of times, and why the connections between people are so important. It also continues to show why it is not just important but also good to remember the past fondly, but it is just as important to keep moving forward in the best interests of all people.

I said it in the part about Living Memory and the finale for DT, but Sphene is very similar to Emet-Selch, and while some of the Heritage Found stuff lost me for a bit, the story did hit its mark where it needed to. The ending zone was not what the Tempest or Ultima Thule were, and I’m glad that it’s not. I’m sad that I’ll have to replay on an alt or when we get DT NG+ to take the pictures I wanted there, but that’s the point. You’re supposed to feel a longing for something that you can never truly get back, and that’s one of the best parts about it. You’re left with this bittersweet feeling as you let go of the past, and these people who are long gone.

DT drove home Venat’s point from EW even more for me. To use Ardbert’s words from SHB, “Joy and sorrow walk hand in hand.” There is joy and sorrow all over the place in Tural’s story and in its peoples, and I loved how every minute went even if sometimes it did feel a bit slow. But not everything needs to be so fast paced, either.

And even in the slower-paced parts, the WOL is really embodying the adventurer spirit we’ve returned to. We’re embracing our Azem roots, and travelling to new lands and meeting new people and coming to enjoy their cultures and presence. That sort of thing is what Venat, the previous Azem, loved so much about the world. And getting to understand her sentiments a bit more was excellent.

All in all, while DT has its faults, I 100% think this a great expansion. I’m excited again to see what is to come from this story, when I was apprehensive at best after 6.X patch story.

[thekinkyleopard]

Revenge Turned Spicy

Kanai x Draeko x Alistar

A Non-Canon One-Shot Snz Fic

⚠️Content Warning ⚠️

Denial, Snz, Mess, Teasing

Author’s Notes: What’s this?! A fic so soon after the last release of a fic? Is Kezzi…unblocked?! This is a request Geezie made a LONG while ago and I’ve spent far too long putting it off and must tackle the task! Art and both Kanai & Draeko owned and created by @aller-geez 🥰

Description: This fic is mostly inspired by the prompt below! With Kezzi Flair!

Snz Color Index:

Kanai

Draeko

Alistar pranked Kanai pretty unfairly, it was the first time it actually made the hound feel almost slightly…embarrassed? That wouldn’t do. He’s been letting the idea marinate but he’s found the perfect in. He knows Al has a raging Fetish for sneezing, as well as an insatiable sexual appetite. He decides to recruit Draeko for his revenge.

Almost in a panic, like he was in the rush of his life, Kanai came barreling into his bedroom. Like he suspected, Draeko was sitting on the bed, playing his switch, but quickly looked up when the door swung open. “Hi Nai!” The mutt smiled happily setting his console down, wiggling in his seat as his little tail swayed back and forth. “What’s up?” His ears flickered.

Kanai stood there for a second, lifeless, emotionless, the usual. “Luciftias…” he spoke, tone flat but clearly something was on his mind.

“Yes..?” He cocked his head, a mint brow raised as he braced himself for the incoming wave of whatever confusion weighed heavy on Nai’s brain.

“I have a favor,” their heterochromia eyes stared deeply into one another, paused for a second before Draeko eventually opened his mouth to respond.

“A favor?” Though he was slightly apprehensive, he trusted Kanai far more than Alistar when it came to favors, so more or less, there was intrigue.

“Yes,” Kanai spoke again, still cold and lifeless as he started.

“Okay???” Draeko raised his brows as if waiting for the demon to continue, but was met with a few more seconds of silence.

“Would you like to help?” He finally asked, taking him a while to process how asking a favor should go, so he was checking all his boxes before just getting on with the subject.

“Oh my god! Yes! Out with it!” Draeko giggled impatiently now rolling his eyes as he swayed back and forth in the criss cross position.

“I wish to prank Alistar….he told me there was this creature, that the humans could never catch called a ‘Snipe’ so he sent me on a ‘Snipe hunt’….” Draeko’s face winced, he already knew where this was going. He’d had the same prank done on him as a child, so this was only ever going to go in one direction already.

“Oh…Nai…” he bit his lip, honestly trying his best not to laugh.

“They don’t exist, Drae…” Kanai’s flat face turned into that of what could only be described as irritation. Possibly a mix of visceral annoyance.

“No…no they don’t…” Drae shook his head in response, and disbelief. He couldn’t imagine his poor hell hound out there for hours calling for an animal that didn’t exist where he was looking. Or let alone the specific one he was probably searching for.

“Well, they do, they’re birds…not a small rodent that answers the world’s most impossible questions…point is..I was out there for 4 hours…” the hound now pinched the bridge of his nose as his eyes closed with sheer embarrassment. It wouldn’t have been so bad if he didn’t tell him to look in the middle of Time Square NYC. Sewer dwellers. He figured he would save that half of the terrible crime to himself. He was experiencing shame for the first time, because how could he have fallen for something for so long??

“Yeah…okay, I’ll help you, what are we doing?” Immediately, Draeko was on board. Al was mean, but this was too far. Having him out there for longer than 10 minutes is just cruel.

“Okay wonderful..Now…I figured, Al really likes that thing we do, when our body has a mini explosion,” he was rolling his open hand trying to find the right word for what he was trying to describe. He knew it but, it escaped him.

“Sneezing,” The mutt nodded once, holding onto his feet as he rocked, to patiently listen, and hang on to the rest of Kanai’s plan.

“Yes, that…we would have a competition, me and you, while he’s home,” the hound explained further, his eyes searching over Drae’s to observe his reactions. Already seeing a disconnect behind the other’s gaze.

“Ok…ay?” The mutt thought, he knew what the other was trying to say but, if they make Al horny, he’s just going to fuck them. He doesn’t see how that’s a prank.

“But we don’t let him have consent,” Kanai now lifts his index in a finger gun, something he’d seen Al do when he gets to a punchline. He figured it felt appropriate here.

“Oh?” Drae’s tail waggled again, back and forth. The two of them knew that Alistar couldn’t fuck someone if they told him no, and meant it.

“Yes. No consent. You have to remain strong,” Kanai pointed his finger sternly in the hybrid’s direction.

“Hey! I can resist!” Lifting both his hands up defensively while pleading with his softened grey and mint duo colored eyes.

Kanai looked at him with a look that clearly said, he didn’t believe him. “Can you?” Head tilted slightly and his eyes narrowed.

“I can!” Again he spoke up but confidently, slamming his fists on each side of him on the mattress.

“Okay, it’s imperative you can, Luciftias,” the hound responded, starting to feel more confident in Drae’s determination.

“Promise! You can rely on me, NaiNai!” The mutt raised his hand up in a salut, causing the hound to actually lift his lips into a small side smile.

“Okay, good, what do we have in the house that can easily induce?” The smile fell as fast as it showed, back into his game plan they both mulled over it silently. Draeko being the first to speak up.

“Ooo we have some black pepper??” Lifting his index like a light bulb.

“That should do just fine,” Kanai nodded in agreement as they both settled with this means of induction.

“Okay, I’ll go get it, where should we do this?” Quickly, Drae got off the bed and put his hands to his hips ready for action.

“Living room, it’s right by the front door, we should start before he gets in so it doesn’t seem planned,” the hound explained to the small hybrid as he too got up from the bed and they both started making their way out of the bedroom and into the main part of the apartment.

“Good idea!” Draeko trailed behind the larger, and while Nai stopped in the living room, the mutt continued all the way into the kitchen and rummaged through the cabinets. It wasn’t a hard find, the pepper. One of their most used spices, but he paused. Would this have negative consequences later? Possibly…however, if he just slept in Kanai’s room….forever! Things should be just fine.

Meanwhile in the living room, Kanai is sitting on the couch, contemplating the ways this plan might possibly go south. If Al isn’t in a good mood, perhaps this may be pointless altogether. However, if Al is in a good mood all WILL go according to plan. Which is about a 80/20 probability so it today, Kanai is hoping statistically, should go in his favor.

“Okay I got the pepper…maybe we should be shirtless?” Draeko toddled back into the living room, setting the seasoning down onto the coffee table before coming back to a full stand. Kanai broke out of his mental math gymnastics long enough to look the mutt up and down curiously.

“Why?” Sincere in his questioning, he wasn’t sure what taking their shirts off would do to improve the plan but he was a willing partner in this, he could be open minded.

“I don’t know, makes us look more irresistible?” Drae shrugged his shoulders once over but Kanai nodded, agreeing with the hybrid male.

“…Good idea,” Already the two of them began to strip themselves of their shirts, taking a seat side by side on the couch directly behind the coffee table. They sat there…eyeing the bottle of pepper. Then they both turned to look at each other and in unison, closed their eyes, gripped their fists tightly and took three deep breaths.

“Ready?” Kanai now opened his eyes, released his fists and turned to look at Drae, who was reluctantly opening his own, the moment he felt Kanai’s presence on him.

“As ready as I’ll ever be to purposefully induce myself…” breaking a nervous smile across his blushing cheeks. He hated sneezing, especially since once he got started, it was almost like it was never going to end. Draeko took a deep breath.

“Fair,” Kanai nodded once, he understood all too well. However, it was a small price to pay in order to send Alistar into the world’s most painful discomfort without any tension relief. The hound grabbed the shaker, and twisted the cap off the glass container, particles of spice trickled off the lid through his fingers before setting the piece onto the table. Now just holding the shaker itself, lidless. He turned it on it’s side, dumping a bit too much of the substance into his palm. Neither of them needed to snort it, as just while Kanai wafted the seasoning across their smelling range, they both began to hitch, and gasp.

“H-…H..” Kanai started first, his nose itching as he thrashed it around in circles his eyes squinting and he immediately wanted to cover his face but realized it was still full of pepper. “Dr-…Hah’ The…hIh’…PeehhEh’kkssshuuh!” Immediately he sneezed into the open palm of pepper causing it to puff outward in the air all around them, only resulting in the inhalation of even more spice than they had originally anticipated. Their eyes widened in horror, a calculation Kanai had not considered a possibility. At the same moment the front door swung open and in came Al right before the kick off.

“A—Hh’NDKT’ih! H’GXTSH’UE! K’GNSH! H’NDK’IH!” The sudden eruption that greeted the demon, completely off set his entrance and he stood in the open doorway with his mouth slightly agape. Then Nai popped off.

“Oh n-Hh’KSHHh’hieww! Eh’KGSSH..!” Trying to make it into his inner elbow but missed entirely, both of them openly spraying all over the coffee table to leave behind a fine, speckled mess of saliva flecks across the wooden surface. Al’s jaw unhinged even further, stunned silent almost mentally you could picture him crying cartoonishly with his heart beating rabidly and unrealistically out of his chest.

“Is it my birthday already?! You guys!” Snibbling softly almost overwhelmed with emotions, he dabbed at his fake tears and clapped his hands together. “Who’s turn first???”

“No-…IHH’GXXNT’iiew!! Ih’GNXT! H’KXNT!” Draeko tried began to interject but the peppery air was infinitely way overdosed. Shaking his head rapidly, his eyes welled in tears, and his nose was redder than a cherry. He hicked and hitched, trying his best to speak, but finding every time he opened his mouth, another session of sneeze escaped. “Hihh’GXXTsh’iiew! Ehh’GXTCH! K’GNSHH!!” Drae’s hands flailed wildly as he tried to interject and explain their situation but it was useless, he was in way too deep as spit and snot came hurdling out of his itching face.

“We are h-HaAh..ving aaHh~ …Coohhaa’Ahntest…” Kanai sniffled and huffed as best as he could through the urges but not much context could come out before he too found himself stuck in a cycle. “Hh’KGGSSHh’IH! HH’KTisSh! HEH’KSSHUH!” His arm flung over his face as he tried to cover the amount of mess they were making amongst their living space. Alistar shook his head trying to clear himself into a coherent thought as all of this sudden treasure was bestowed upon him. Did he do something good today? Did he earn a treat? What was this momentous occasion he stumbled into!?

“Please…don’t mind me…” he went to pull out his phone before Kanai furrowed his brows. Draeko was trying his best to clean his face up before he found himself being pulled back almost frozen into a prequel. “H’HGXNF!” It escaped him despite clasping his open palm over his maw.

Before Al could get the camera rolling, the hell hound tossed a couch pillow at the device knocking it across the room. “Hey!” Al yelled out with disappointment and frustration, Nai could only shake his head.

“N-NO, Donnie! H’h…” by this point, the hound’s eyes were uncontrollably pouring with tears, his nose dripping as he tried to keep up with the amount of drippage by rubbing his nose across his hand.

“But…you guys are shirtless…and sneezing…! At least let me…” reaching toward his belt buckle Draeko now managed to cry out between struggling.

“No Al!” The demon frowned and stood there before tossing his arms up. “Well.. what the fuck!”

“Ehh’GxxTCHH’iew! H’GXTSH’UE! HihhhTSH!” The continued secession of kitten like sneezes were driving Al straight into madness as he fell to his knees and clawed at the carpet below.

“Please!! Just…let me do something!” His head quickly snapping back and forth between the two. This sudden gift, feeling a lot more like a punishment now. This was absurd! No filming? No touching? No fucking?! The two of his house mates and sexual partners/best friends continued to blow sneeze after sneeze with bushels of clouds of misted saliva rolling past his crimson eyes. This was a CRIME! “No seriously, what the fuck!” He shouted again with disdain.

“Hh’KTisshh’yuu! S-Sorry..Al..bu..Huh’GXXTsh’IIEW!” Kanai sneezed into his open palms, his hands now feeling much warmer from the fresh spray, but then suddenly cold as he lowered them to the rest of the surrounding air. Soaked on both sides. “Ju-jus..t pick a w-winner..HIh’KSHHh’hiew!!” The spice burned as it came shooting out from their nostrils in each series of fits. Both Draeko and Kanai were starting to feel like maybe this prank was a little under considered through Kanai’s specific lense of understanding. This was sort of a disaster. Why did Drae agree to this? Sure Al was suffering clearly as he sobbed and ripped at the fabric of the floor, foaming from the mouth. However, they also were suffering greatly.

Each time they sneezed, it felt like a thousand needles shooting from their brains, their noses dripped, and eyes watered without break. At this point they were 90% swollen and it felt more or less like they’d been attacked by a swarm of bees. This was a complete failure in most senses of the word. This did not turn exactly how Kanai wanted but he was satisfied to see his best friend weeping on the floor practically throwing a fit.

“Just let me…just let me at least catch the debris…?” Alistar whimpered pathetically reaching outward with a grasping hand.

“N-No…Al,” Draeko’s glassy eyes looked quickly over from the pleasing red head to his Navy haired partner in crime. Winking playfully toward him to signify he was still remaining steadfast in his decision to deny Al anything. Kanai nodded in return. “Hh’NDKT!ih!” Draeko pinched the bridge of his nose and exploded into his other hand before another crept up to follow “Hihh’GXTSH!” Alistar bit his lower lip and whimpered loudly, sadly shaking his head back and forth as his eyes switched between Draeko sneezing and Kanai hitching and hawing.

“So…so..far Drae, is uh…is uh…winning?” The crimson eyed demon tried to remain impartial, tried to swallow the growing need inside his pants but he couldn’t. Jeans suddenly much tighter than they were when he walked in, and he just wanted one of them to say yes.

“O-oh..Hih…n-o…H’KTSHh’iew!” The hound made disappointed eye contact with the other hellion, tears streaming downward his otherwise emotionless and swollen face. Al almost felt a small tinge of guilt for having said what he did just now. Would it effect his chances?

“W-Wait no…Kanai..is?” Alistar looked helpless, like his first born was dangling off a cliff and if he made the wrong move, poof, there would go baby, cradle and all. He was on his knees, body slumped and defeated, a dog begging for a bone.

Kanai would feel accomplished if he wasn’t feeling pretty defeated himself with a face stuffed full of pepper dust. This was probably the worst plan he’d ever had. They should have done this with something more controlled, because neither he nor Draeko, we’re certain they’d ever escape this. “HEH’Kkssshuuh! Hh’KSH! D-Don’t try to buUhUh-.. tter me up!” The hound snorted with offense as he fought off the sneeze long enough to speak. Alistar folded his arms across his chest and sat criss cross, almost like a pouting child.

“Well…Uncle Fucking Christ! I hate this game!” Snorting angrily through his nostrils as he glared at the two shirtless traitors. How dare they? How dare they do this in THEIR SHARED HOME, knowing damn well they’re doing his FAVORITE thing and he can’t even PLAY? What the fuck? “Did I die? Is this my hell? Did my dad kidnap me again?” He asked seriously now.

“N-No! Th-this is Hh’NDKT! KSS’SHU! Payback!” Draeko shouted with a sneezy snicker wishing he could gloat a bit better but was unfortunately too busy wiping his face and trying to free himself of this terrible plan now. Kanai, however, feeling a bit snubbed of his personal call out and victory, still managed a mischevious grin across his face. One Al knew all too well, the only emotion Nai ever showed in hell. His prank grin. That FUCKER.

“You son of a bitch!” Alistar shouted pointed an accusatory finger at the hissing and hucking hound. “You did this on purpose?!” Kanai grinned harder, before his sensitive sinuses betrayed him once more.

“I-HH’Ktissh! Eh’Khgsshuuh! Did, yes,” Wiping his nose yet again across his already soiled hand, not doing himself any favors really, and Al shook his head.

“That’s really fucked up…so I can’t fuck either of you?” Alistar looked between the two of them, his head stayed pointed to face Kanai, but his eyes each ghosted back and forth to examine any sliver of an in.

Both of them shook their heads as they each now grabbed their disguarded shirts to blow their noses, wipe their faces and relieve themselves of the peppery disease that tormented them.

“Wow…IS THIS CAUSE OF THE SNIPE HUNT?” The demon raised his voice with the sudden realization of the most recent act he had pulled against his best friend.

“Ye-s….hEh’KgTSs! Snnddfff it is,” the hound snuffled loudly, rubbing his nose in circles against the fabric of his tshirt.

“WOOOOOOOOW, man, it wasn’t that serious!” The redhead tried to plead his case throwing his hands up with disbelief.

“Four hours, Al, I was…SNDF..out there for FOUR hours,” the grey haired demon narrowed his eyes with slight irritation that this detail was being blown over.

“….That’s NOT my fault,” the ruby orbed menace squinted and his gaze shifted to the side avoiding eye contact now.

“How?” Kanai asked flatly, still staring directly at the avoidant hellion.

“I thought you would figure it out in like….twenty minutes tops,” Still avoiding the other’s stern and ice cold gaze, he shrugged his shoulders and rolled his eyes in a casual way.

“Four hours, snndff,” the hound sniffled again, softer, as he stared blankly ahead at his target.

“SnDFf..” Draeko snuffed, doing the same as Kanai, clearing his nose with the fabric of his tee.

“Okay, hear me out…I’ll buy dinner..and take you to that boring ass dead people drawing showcase place….” Al now forced himself to look at the other, blushing lightly as he willed his way to try and bargain with the hound.

“The Metropolitan Museum of Art,” Kanai interrupted to correct him.

“Yeah that, I’ll take you there tomorrow….ifyouletmesmash….” Trailing off at the end of his sentence with a conniving grin, his ruby reds squinted with mischief and hope.

“….” Kanai paused…silent for far longer than a man earlier determined to make the redhead suffer should. Draeko’s duo colored eyes shifted to look at the hound. They squinted.

“Don’t do it Nai…sssnnnnddfffff…HICK…” Draeko tried to interject, clearing his nose as best he could to speak clearly, hoping to talk sense into his tall companion.

“…..Come on buddy…..” Al squinted harder, grinning wider as he could tell the hound was getting closer to his breaking point.

“…..” Kanai hesitated longer, really considering the deal in front of him. Was it worth it? Dinner…and the Museum he’d been asking everyone to go with him for weeks…

“Nai….” Draeko pitched in one more time hoping to snap the hellion out of his innate urges to always choose knowledge. History. Human information.

“Okay,” The demon broke, he couldn’t resist the offer, TOMORROW? Worth it. He’d make them go right now if it wasn’t far too late in the evening for that. Draeko sighed, slapping his palm to his sweaty forehead.

“YES! LETS GO BOYS! Both of you. Bedroom. Now.” Alistar shot to his feet in one fluid motion, pumping his arms up in victory before shooting a single index between the two men.

“What the fuck, Nai?” The mint and pink haired mutt looked over at the larger with disbelief. Seriously? This whole thing was for nothing. All they did was get the demon riled up to defile them now. In the end, the damn red head wins again!

“Let’s be honest, Luciftias…it was always going to end here anyway,” Kanai shrugs his shoulders matter of factly, his face flat again, emotionless but inside jumping for joy knowing that tomorrow would be a full day of immersive learning.

“….I suppose you’re right….” The hybrid sighed with defeat, shaking his head back and forth as the two of them followed their insatiable partner into his bedroom, once again, to give into his desires.

The End

Author’s Notes: Huehuehuehue Okay I’m sorry it’s less sexy and more funny/chaotic but like it flowed so well and I literally wrote this in 8 hours. It’s also easily my FAVORITE fic I’ve ever written. Which is the first fic I’ve been able to crank out in such amount of time. 🥹 I was so INSPIRED! Plus I got to Whump Al and it felt so good. SUFFER 😈😈😈 But unfortunately I just love the idea that Kanai can’t resist the Museum of Art 🤣 Hope you guys enjoyed! 🫶🏻🫶🏻 (Feedback is super recommended cause I’m pretty sure the validation is what’s got me flowing again 🫨🫣)

[smokeybrandreviews]

Shares

I feel like I've been super negative on this blog lately so let me straight up gush about something I've recently loved. Alien: Romulus was amazing. I’ve spoken at length about this before, but I am a massive fan of the franchise. It’s not part of my Pillars, but it’s definitely a support strut. Alien, to me, is as perfect as a film can get, and Aliens is a perfect example of Eighties excess. Go big or go home. The Queen Xenomorph is one of my all-time creature designs but my zeal for that universe was solidified with the Dark Horse comics. Some of the first comics I bought myself, with my own money, were Alien books. I ended up getting the first issue of Aliens: Earth War (before it was called Earth War) and the initial AvP run. That sh*t ended up taking a ton of space in my head, rent free, for years. Machiko Noguchi is the second best protagonist, after Ripley, herself. I had all of the Kenner figures and their little mini comics, too. Just the Xenos, though. I didn’t give a sh*t about the Marines. I remember lamenting I never got that “good” Queen Xeno, just the flying one. I love this franchise. So imagine my utter desperation for a competent big screen outing, after literally four goddamn decades of sh*t. The Assembly Cut of Alien 3 was pretty decent but everything after that was just awful. All of it. Including the prequels. I really f*cking hate the prequels. That resentment is actually a boon for Romulus because the way they incorporated that part of the mythos into this film, went a long way toward my acceptance of those ill-conceived and wholly convoluted, ego strokes. Romulus is so good, they make all of this cats-for-brains ideas in the Prequels, tolerable.

I don’t care for Prometheus because it came at the cost of Blomkamp’s Alien 5. I’ve seen a bit of that concept art and listened to Weaver just absolutely gush about the plot. Sh*t sounded exceptional, very Aliens, very much in the vein of that narrative. In all honesty, I think that’s why it was killed. It skewed more Cameron than Scott, and Mr. Ridley took offense. He made Fox kill the Oates effort and ran wild with Prometheus; an unwieldy, up-it’s-own-ass, creation myth, that was too convoluted to execute such an existential narrative with any decorum, and was too pretentious to be accessible to the common man. We wanted an Alien part Deux. We got Chariot of the Gods. Sh*t was pretty, though. After what Scott hoped to pivot the franchise to, imploded critically, he got a second shot at it, delivering an origin story to the Xenos no one asked for. While STILL pivoting toward his weird AI fetish super hard. Somehow, Covenant was worse than Prometheus in almost every way. Sh*t didn’t “fix” anything. David is still the architect to the Xenomorphs as we know them. He’s still the thing which set up the events of LV-426. The Black Goo is still a primary fixture of the franchise. Both Prometheus and Covenant are still canon. That’s dumb. However, the way Romulus addresses those things, really allowed me to accept those really, really, dumb, situations.

Mild spoilers, but the Aliens in Romulus are not the same Aliens from LV-246. They are reversed engineered by Rook, an Ash model android, from the remains of Big Chap. Rook was able to synthesize a strain of the black goo, I think it was called the Prometheus Strain, and even referenced Waylan’s death. What this told me was that, while the black goo was a really dumb addition to the overall narrative, I couldn’t be all that upset about it because Fede Alvares was able to make it feel legit. This strain of the Black Goo was different than the one the Engineers had. It produced subtly different versions of the Xenos. The facehuggers, for example, were larger, more mobile, and had barbs on their tendrils to grip faces better. The Xenos were larger and had a digitigrade stance, something that wasn’t solidified until Resurrection which, like Romulus, saw their Xenomorphs forged through genetic manipulation, not the natural processes or life cycle for the creatures. I was able to connect all of the threads and genuinely accept that Xenos can exist in an infinite number of forms, that the goo is hard coded to “create” a version of that creature. David's stupid f*cking experiments, explaining some sh*t that needed no explanation, can just be the version HE developed. His iteration to these random horrors, is the Queen. I imagine his version is the first version to have the egg. That is how HIS Xenomorph develops. I get that. I understand that. That's why the Big Chap in Alien is slightly different than the ones in Romulus. Different strain, but engineered from David's attempt. It's still dumb, but it makes it easier to accept whatever the f*ck is going on in the comics.

What really hammered it home for me was the Xeno-baby at the end of the film. Seeing that thing basically grow into a cross between a Xenomorph and Engineer was wild, all thanks to the nu-goo. It really threw me back to all those Kenner alien variations and, just like that, I got it. I got Prometheus. I got Covenant. I got Alien as a macro franchise and not just one of my favorite two films. It was a rough, four decade journey, but we got back to zero. Romulus does not work without the soft canonization of the prequels and I am okay with that because of how good it is. This is an Alien film, through and through, course-correcting the franchise in a similar way Prey did with Predator. It feels like Fede gets it and I can’t wait to see what the sequel has in store because this thing pretty much doubled its budget. It’s definitely getting another one. Unless the show is balls. If Aliens: Earth tanks, I might have another four decades of bullsh*t ahead of me because I kind of hate what Marvel is doing on the comic end of things. The games are dope at least.

[h0rnyv01d]

0: Height

1: Virgin?

2: Shoe size

3: Do you smoke?

4: Do you drink?

5: Do you take drugs?

6: Age you get mistaken for

7: Have tattoos?

8: Want any tattoos?

9: Got any piercings?

10: Want any piercings?

11: Best friend?

12: Relationship status

13: Biggest turn ons

14: Biggest turn offs

15: Favorite movie

16: I’ll love you if

17: Someone you miss

18: Most traumatic experience

19: A fact about your personality

20: What I hate most about myself

21: What I love most about myself

22: What I want to be when I get older

23: My relationship with my sibling(s)

24: My relationship with my parent(s)

25: My idea of a perfect date

26: My biggest pet peeves

27: A description of the girl/boy I like

28: A description of the person I dislike the most

29: A reason I’ve lied to a friend

30: What I hate the most about work/school

31: What your last text message says

32: What words upset me the most

33: What words make me feel the best about myself

34: What I find attractive in women

35: What I find attractive in men

36: Where I would like to live

37: One of my insecurities

38: My childhood career choice

39: My favorite ice cream flavor

40: Who wish I could be

41: Where I want to be right now

42: The last thing I ate

43: Sexiest person that comes to my mind immediately

44: A random fact about anything

oop this is long so

1: yeah lol

2: 6

3: nope, gotta keep them lungs healthy to stay slutty

4: nopity nope, i’m so scared of saying something i’ll regret while drunk

5: again, nope 😭😭

6: recently people have been offering me kids menus at restaurants? it’s odd, idk how old they think i am but

7: no :(

8: i wanna get a star pattern on my collarbone at some point, and maybe a jellyfish on my upper arm

9: yep! regular lobe, and a cartilage piercing on my right ear

10: i wanna get a bunch of piercings, but just on my ears, i’m getting a conch piercing on my left soon

11: probs my friend sophia but you wouldn’t know her obv lol

12: it’s complicated- we’re both into each other, and weve dated in the past, but neither of us is willing to b like “let’s get back together”

13: men just casually hinting at something they’re into. it just makes my brain go WILD with possibilities

14: being mean outside of sex

15: cinderella (1950)

16: i’ll love you if you’re sweet (my standards are so low i’m sorry)

17: my friends i don’t talk to anymore

18: i’ve had two seizures, and those were probably the worst moments of my life

19: i’m clingy but i won’t admit it

20: my chin and my need for attention

21: i got that hourglass figure <3

22: i wanna be an author!!

23: i have one little sister, i love her, but she’s nuts sometimes

24: no father, and my mom is more like a big sister than a mother to me

25: any date is perfect as long as i’m with someone i love. but if i had to pick, watching fireworks together

26: people pronouncing my city name wrong, idk why

27: he’s a lil short, he’s got curly blonde hair, and he’s so sweet, he wants to be lawyer someday

28: the person i dislike most has greasy brown hair, is 5’6, and looks like he doesn’t shower

29: protecting feelings, and also i’ve lied if i thought it’d help repair friendships

30: waking up early!! i hate getting up at 6

31: “will you wake up if i send you more pictures of cats i like, or should i wait until tomorrow?”

32: ‘we need to talk’

33: i’ve gotten told i look like cinderella twice today :)) that made me feel so amazing

34: i’m more attracted to men than women, but i’ve noticed that whenever i’m into women, they tend to be really strong

35: brunettes for some reason

36: tbh i’m perfectly fine in florida

37: my laugh

38: i used to want to be a marine biologist, and while that field is still incredibly interesting to me, i think i’d rather write

39: vanilla, i’m a basic bitch <3

40: adelaide kane, shes dropdead gorgeous i’d love to be her

41: greece, because apparently there’s a ton of cats!!

42: i had a banana a few hours ago

43: chris hemsworth. on his poster for thor: ragnarok, he literally fits leonardo da vinci’s idea of perfection, so i will unapologetically be saying this

44: the blue whale is the largest animal to have ever lived

[daiziesssart]

Hey, @daiziesssart

I just want to say that I’m in LOVE with the way you draw Lily. Honestly, you have such incredible talent and the amount of details that you put into each drawing, it always leaves me speechless! I’m so happy that you share your talent, I hope you know that you have such a beautiful talent. 🥺

If you don’t mind me asking, how long does each drawing take? Not just time-wise, but also do you have an idea in mind when you begin the drawing? Or do you get ideas in the middle and switch up the piece you are currently working on?

I hope you are doing well ❤️

OH MY GOODNESS THIS IS SO SWEET??? this message was like the writing equivalent of a warm hug i’m going to be thinking about it forever

gonna put this under a read more because honestly this got so long and i do not know how that happened i am so sorry?????? omg

i absolutely don’t mind!! to be honest, my art process is SO chaotic and unorganized, which is a direct reflection of my brain, lol. sometimes i get ideas and i’ll be drawing them in the same day, and other times what i post is an idea that i’ve had cooking in my noggin for awhile and finally managed to draw it (although it seems like the ones that i draw immediately when they come to mind perform a lot better, so maybe there’s something to be said about not overthinking an idea and just draw it pfff) just as an example, these ones are ideas i drew in the same day, whereas this one was Marinating in my noggin for awhile

i’m also a HUGE perfectionist, to the point where me tweaking and overcorrecting is a majority of my time spent on my art, lol. like i’ll be 90% of the way finished with an art piece, find something i suddenly Hate and then i redraw that entire thing. and then usually i end up realizing that i was just imagining things from staring at my own art for too long and then change it back to how it was originally LOLOL (i do this almost every time) that being said, i feel like i’m a pretty slow artist bc of that which is something i’m trying to work on!! sometimes i’ll even finish something, hate how it looks and start it completely from scratch lol

i do tend to switch sometimes! i have crazy adhd so i’m usually Super Focused on whatever i’m currently working on, but if i’m not liking how it’s turning out, i’ll start a new idea and come back to that one later (maybe) (i have so many unfinished jily wips) (help me)

(most of my jily wips are wips because most of my ideas are definitely suited better for writing and i have not written a fanfic since i was 14 and writing fanfiction for victorious and icarly)

THANK U SO MUCH FOR BEING SO SWEET MWAH