#IT'S NOT ABOUT SEX OR ROMANCE IT'S ABOUT WHAT YOU WANT MOST

[probablyn0thuman]

Scars and Acceptance

Pairing | Jason Todd x FemReader

Summary | Jason just needs some time to realize is scars aren't that scary.

Warnings | NSFW, smut, size k!nk (if you squint), P in V, Unprotected sex (wrap it up kids), Oral sex (Fem!Receiving), Fingering, Fluff, Aftercare, Scars and a smidgen of angst.

Words | ??

Notes | This is my first time ever posting a fic, please be patient if there are any spelling or grammar mistakes, english isn’t my first language.

(I wrote most of this at 3am while listening to the Hamilton soundtrack).

You’d been dating Jason for a while. You knew about his… nighttime activities, they didn’t scare you much. You’d dated your fair share of criminals and scumbags, it was inevitable living in Gotham, a standard of the crime-ridden city. But when you got with Jason, you didn’t expect him to be so… polite and well-read for a crime-alley street kid.

It had been six months since you made it official, but you were yet to actually see him without a shirt on. He always made excuses like, “Babe, I have some nasty scars on my chest, I don’t wanna freak you out,” and “C’mon, it’s way too cold to sleep without a shirt on,” But of course you respected it, it was his body, you weren’t going to force him to do anything he didn’t want to.

Until one night, at his apartment, during an unusually heavy make-out session, he took his shirt off and threw it across the room before pulling you down on top of him before he could realise what he’d done, you pulled back and saw his chest. The ‘Nasty scar’ he’d told you about in full view. It looked like an autopsy scar, like someone had cut him open and stitched him back up purposely.

Jason pulled away, scrambling to get his shirt back on, “Shit, I’m sorry, sweetheart. I didn’t mean for you to see those.” But before he could get his shirt back on he felt your hand on his chest, over the scar. “Why are you apologising? You made it out like your scars were all mangled and horrid, that’s a surgical scar, Jay.” you point out, looking up at him with kind eyes. “But they’re… I don’t like them, they’re ugly.” he says, slightly flustered by your hand on his chest. “You don’t have to like them, Jay. Just know that I won’t hate you for having them.”

Jason pulled you into a tight hug, “Thanks, babe…” That night you two just went to bed instead of carrying on. He cuddled you to his chest and listened to your soft breathing as it lulled him to sleep.

A few months pass since that night and Jason decided he was finally ready.

It was a weekend you both had off, a saturday night to be specific. You were both cuddled up on his couch watching some cheesy romance movie Dick recommended Jason for ‘Date night.’ You were sat in his lap, softly making out and he ran his hands up your sides and through your hair. His tongue was in your mouth, exploring it and tangling with your own, enjoying your sweet taste. His hands start to wander as one of them cups your asscheek and squeezes, making you let out a whimper that sent blood straight to his crotch.

He could feel himself getting hard, and he knew you could feel it too as you straddled his lap, the movie now completely forgotten. He broke the kiss, looking up at you with hungry eyes, he wanted you. “Jay?..” you ask softly. “Baby, wanna move this to the bedroom?” he murmurs, giving you a wink. Your cheeks flush, was tonight the night? You nod and he picks you up and carries you bridal style to the bedroom.

He places you down on the bed softly and takes his shirt off, revealing his scars again. You could tell he was still a little insecure of them, but you decided against commenting on it. He looks down at you, his hands reaching for your own t-shirt, “Can I?” he whispers as you respond in a nod. His hands slide under the fabric and gently pull it off, exposing your breasts and stomach to the cold air. Your skin covers in goosebumps. He can’t help but gawk for a second before moving to touch you and cup your breasts. 

He moves to straddle you on the bed, “Gods, you’re beautiful..” he mumbles as he ducks down to take one of your nipples into his mouth. In response you let out a soft moan, his tongue swirling around the sensitive bud, his other hand paying attention to your other breast. Your hand comes down to card through his hair as he switches his attention to your other breast and you let out another moan, louder this time.

He sits up from his worship on your breasts and toys with the waistband of your pants and you nod, mumbling a quick “yes” as you capture his lips in a fiery kiss. He unbuttons your pants and you lift your hips to help him slide them down your legs. “Fuck, you’re gorgeous,” he mumbles, running his large hands down your sides, making you shiver.

He slides your panties down your legs, revealing yourself to him. “You’re so wet, sweetheart,” he groans, ducking his down between your thighs. Your hand resumes its place in his hair as he licks a long stripe up your pussy. He continues his feast between your legs, he slides one finger inside of you, curling it to hit the right spot, making you let out a loud gasped moan.

His tongue circles your clit, the feeling was amazing, he ate pussy like an expert, and you were glad for it. He slides another finger in, curling it to match the other. You could feel the coil in your stomach tightening, that familiar feeling of euphoria close. “Jay, I’m gonna-” you moan as he speeds up. “Come on, sweetheart, give it to me,” he groans against your pussy. You came pretty soon afterwards, him catching every drop with his mouth like it was his life source.

He crawled up from his spot between your legs, caging you in with his huge arms. You pull him down for a messy kiss full of teeth and tongue, tasting your sweet juices on his mouth. Your own hands reach down this time to unbutton his pants eagerly. He helps you slide them off and then moves you to straddle him. You grind against him through his boxers, “Gods, sweetheart,” he growled, hastily taking his boxers off and discarding them. His cock was big, bigger than any you’d seen before. It was long and girthy and veiny. You weren’t really sure if it would fit.

“Jay, is it gonna fit?” You ask timidly, taking it into your hands and stroking him. “Yeah, we just need to go slow, sweetheart.” He murmurs reassuringly, moving you to position over his cock. He slowly slides into your hole, inch by inch. “Ah- Jay, it's too big-” you gasp, he stops halfway to let you get used to it. After a few seconds the sting starts to fade and you give him a nod to keep going. He slides the rest inside, bottoming out quickly. “Ugh, sweetheart, you’re so tight,” he groans, gripping your waist to keep you steady on top of him. About a minute later he starts to move, slowly thrusting in and out of you. A cacophony of moans and whimpers leaves your mouth, mingling with the sound of his groans. You loved that he trusted you enough to do this with you, but most of all, you loved him. Every part of him, even the scars he hated so much.

“Ugh, babe, I’m- Oh my god, I’m so close, babe-” you whimper, the pleasure overtaking you as he hits that sweet spot over and over again. “Its ok, come for me, sweetheart, I’m close too.” He groans as he continues his movements, faster. It didn’t take long for you to come over his cock, him colouring your walls a sticky white soon after.

You don’t notice when he pulls out, coming too when you hear the sound of the tap from the bathroom sink running and when he comes back into the bedroom with a damp cloth and a glass of water. “Are you ok, sweetheart? I didn’t go too hard, did I?” he says, handing you the glass of water and watching you take a sip. “I’m ok, babe.” you answer, you notice he put his boxers back on at some point, did you really black out for a moment? You wouldn’t really doubt it if you did.

You’re snapped out of your internal monologue when he presses the damp cloth to your sticky thighs and between your legs, cleaning you up. “Thanks, jay,” you mumble, feeling extremely tired after your activities. “It’s the least I can do, I gotta make sure you’re ok, sweetheart.” He flashes you a smile, one that made him look kind of prince charming-esque. You smile back as he climbs into bed with you, surrounding you with his strong arms in a big hug.

“I love you, babe..” you mutter against his shoulder as you drift off to sleep. “I love you too, Sweetheart.” He says, playing with your soft hair as he watches you sleep, settling in soon after and being lulled to sleep aswell, the movie in the other room completely forgotten about. He’d have to tell Dick they’d watch it another time, he couldn’t remember what it was even about by now.

Ahhhh, that was my first fic! I hope you liked it! Please, if you have any, give me some things I could add to make my writing better and send me requests on my account!! ❤️

Also if anyone wants to be a beta reader, hit me up!

[carnalcrows]

HOW TO STEAL A MAN (AND HIS GROCERY LIST)

pairing: gi-hun x top male reader

synopsis: When Gi-hun’s late-night cat-feeding routine attracts a stalker with a cart full of cat food and questionable social skills, chaos—and maybe romance—ensues.

content warnings: 18+, top male reader, stalking, blowjobs (reader receiving), missionary, unprotected sex, breeding, creampie, reader wants to get gi-hun pregnant asap, age gap (reader is in his 20s and gi-hun is in his 40s).

word count: 2.2k

A/N: ty anon for the request!! i had fun writing this one

Seong Gi-hun’s life wasn’t glamorous. Every evening, after whatever sorry excuse for a day he’d had, he stopped at the corner store, bought a packet of cheap cat food, and made his way to a run-down alley to feed a scruffy stray. It was the one bright spot in his life, and he looked forward to it more than he cared to admit.

What he didn’t know was that someone else looked forward to it too.

That someone was you.

You first noticed Gi-hun a few weeks ago while wandering through the neighborhood. At first, you thought he was just some random guy lingering in the alley, but then you saw him crouch down and pour food into a chipped saucer. His voice was soft as he spoke to the stray cat, coaxing it to eat.

It was... oddly endearing.

From then on, you couldn’t help yourself. You started following him—not in a creepy way (okay, maybe a little creepy)—but you were curious. Who was this man? Why did he care so much about a stray cat?

Your fascination grew, and soon, watching him feed the cat became part of your routine. But you wanted more than to just watch. You wanted to talk to him. To know him.

One evening, as you watched Gi-hun walk into the corner store, you got an idea. A foolproof, albeit slightly unhinged, plan. You hurried inside ahead of him, grabbed every single packet of cat food off the shelf, and went to pay, ignoring the cashier’s confused look.

When Gi-hun arrived at the pet aisle, you lingered near the exit, pretending to browse.

“What the…?” Gi-hun muttered, staring at the empty shelf. He rubbed the back of his neck, sighed, and turned to leave, only to almost bump into you.

You were standing there with a massive bag filled with cat food packets.

“Oh, uh, sorry,” you said, pretending to be startled.

His eyes narrowed. “You’re the reason the shelf is empty?”

“I feed a lot of strays,” you said innocently, though the amusement in your voice probably gave you away.

Gi-hun raised an eyebrow, clearly skeptical. “You think I could buy one of those off you? There’s a stray I feed every night, and now I’m empty-handed.”

You pretended to think about it, then smiled. “I’ll give you one… if you let me come with you. I’d like to meet the cat.”

He hesitated, his lips pressing into a thin line as he considered your request. Finally, he sighed. “Fine. But don’t scare it off, okay?”

That’s how it all started.

What was supposed to be a one-time thing turned into a routine. Every evening, you’d meet Gi-hun at the corner store, walk with him to the alley, and sit on the curb while the stray cat ate. Over time, you learned bits and pieces about him: his failed marriage, his gambling problems, and most importantly, his love for his daughter, Ga-yeong.

“She’s all I have left,” he admitted one night, his voice soft.

You nodded, unsure what to say. It was clear how much he cared for her, even if he didn’t always show it in the best ways.

As weeks passed, you also got to know Ga-yeong, who was surprisingly cool for a kid. She started teasing her dad about how much time he spent with you.

“Are you two dating yet?” she asked one evening, smirking as she watched you and Gi-hun prepare dinner.

Gi-hun spluttered. “W-what? No! We’re just friends.”

“Sure, Dad,” she said, winking at you.

You laughed, enjoying how flustered he got.

One rainy evening, you were at Gi-hun’s apartment again, helping him cook dinner. The kitchen was small and cramped, but it felt cozy with the two of you working side by side.

As you chopped vegetables, you glanced at him. “You know, you’re not half bad at this.”

He chuckled, shaking his head. “Don’t sound so surprised.”

“I’m just saying,” you teased. “You’re full of surprises.”

Gi-hun smiled, but when he noticed you staring, his brow furrowed. “What? Do I have sauce on my face or something?”

“Nothing,” you said, setting the knife down. “I just… I’ve been wanting to do something for a while now.”

Before he could ask what, you stepped closer, your heart racing. Gi-hun froze like a deer in headlights, his hand awkwardly holding a ladle full of stew.

“What are you—”

You cupped his face with both hands and kissed him.

At first, he didn’t move, his eyes wide with surprise. But as you pressed into him, his shoulders relaxed, and the ladle clattered to the counter. Slowly, tentatively, he kissed you back, his lips warm and soft against yours.

It started gentle, careful, like he was afraid to mess it up. But as the seconds ticked by, something shifted. He leaned into you, his hands nervously gripping your waist, pulling you closer. You smiled against his lips, enjoying how hesitant he was, even as his breathing grew heavier.

“Relax,” you murmured, your lips brushing against his. “You’re doing fine.”

“I—I don’t—” he stammered, but you cut him off with another kiss, this one deeper, more insistent.

Gi-hun let out a muffled sound of surprise, his hands fumbling as they slid up your back. His inexperience was endearing, and it only made you want to kiss him harder.

Somehow, the two of you ended up pressed against the counter, the dinner long forgotten. Gi-hun’s hair was an absolute mess from your hands running through it, and his cheeks were flushed a deep red.

“You’re gonna be the death of me,” he muttered breathlessly, his forehead resting against yours.

“Good,” you said with a grin, leaning in to steal another kiss.

The smell of burning stew eventually snapped the two of you out of it, but not before you got one last, lingering kiss. As Gi-hun scrambled to salvage dinner, muttering curses under his breath, you leaned against the counter, watching him with a satisfied smirk.

“I like you,” you said casually, making him freeze mid-stir.

He turned to look at you, his expression somewhere between flustered and incredulous. “You think?”

“I know,” you corrected. “And I think you like me too.”

Gi-hun sighed, his lips quirking into a small, shy smile. “Yeah... maybe I do.”

You laughed, reaching out to tug him back toward you. “Good. Because I’m not going anywhere.”

Your mouth found his once more, and you slowly lifted the man onto the countertop. He yelped in surprise, and you used the opportunity to slide your tongue, relishing in how he tasted.

His hands gripped onto your shoulders, while you held his waist, steadying him. You slowly trailed butterfly kisses from his jow to his neck, stopping at his Adam’s apple before lightly nipping on his ear lobe.

Gi-hun was still quite unsure of what he was supposed to be doing, not having engaged in such…activities for far too long.

“You do want to do this right? We can stop the moment you tell me to,” you said to him, your tone soft. After a second of pondering, he gripped your shoulders with determination, and latched his mouth right onto yours.

You took it as a sign to continue, and slowly broke away the kiss to close the stew before continuing to have your way with him.

You slowly picked him up from the countertop and carried him to the couch, revelling in how surprised you were. Carrying those giant bags of cat food was worth it.

You laid him on the couch gently, its base creaking with the sudden weight. Gi-hun hastily pushed your pants down, tugging at the strap for a few seconds before it made way. Your cock sprang out, hard and leaking.

His eyes widened, and he looked up at you. Your eyes were soft, letting him know that this didn’t have to continue if he didn’t want it to.

Before you could say anything, he licks a stripe across your length, savouring the musk emitting from the base. You let out a groan, gripping onto his hair–but not too tight; not yet.

You let him experiment with your dick, leaving small kisses along the underside, while his hand moves up to clutch your balls, heavy with your seed. He wonders to himself on how your cum would feel inside him, and the thought makes his ears burn a bright red.

“Don’t take this long darlin’, wanna please you too,” you mumble, wanting him to speed up just a little bit.

He slowly wraps his pretty lips around the tip of your cock, making you let out a garbled moan. His mouth was just so, so warm.

“Breathe through your nose baby, that’s it,”you cooed, watching him struggle to take your length all the way.

He slowly bobbed his head up and down, savouring the precum hitting the back of his throat. Your moans were getting louder and louder, to the point where you had to muffle the noises with the back of your hand. The walls of his house were quite thin.

Tears pricked at the corner of his eyes as he struggled to swallow you whole. Your grip on his hair had gotten significantly tighter, as you push his head to take you all the way. His garbled mumbles did nothing but send vibrations straight up your dick, turning you on even more.

“So good f’me baby, I’m almost done,”you groan before releasing your grip on his hair and pulling out of his warm throat, before ejaculating all over his face. 

He looked up at you in shock, his face a mixture of tears, sweat and semen. It truly was a sight to see. Your dick stood right back up.

His eyes widened, but before he could say anything, you quickly turned him around on the couch, his ass up towards you.

You pulled his pants down, along with his boxers, to reveal his tight hole, clenching around the cold air. He hissed when he suddenly felt a finger at his hole, slick with lube (where did that come from).

“This might hurt a lil’ bit,” you said before slowly pressing your finger into his hole. His back arched with the intrusion, the pain mixed with the pleasure going straight to his cock, the tip red and weeping.

You slowly added another finger, watching as his ass practically swallowed them whole as you pumped them in and out.

After adding a third finger, you deemed that he was prepped enough to be fucked. He already looked out of it, that was a different thing altogether. His shoulders were slumped and his elbows were the only thing keeping him upright.

You positioned you cock at his entrance, and slowly slid in, groaning at how tight and inviting his hole was, as if it was made just for your dick.

Gi-hun let out a loud moan, it was almost pornographic. He had never felt this full in his life– your cock was almost ripping him in half!

You bottomed out all the way to the hilt, and you slowly started to move, whispering dirty nothings in the older man’s ear.

“How does it feel, getting fucked by a man half your age, hm?” Gi-hun could only blabber at this, his brain could no longer form coherent words as his mind was so focused on how your cock was hitting the right spot with every. single. thrust.

You felt his hole mould into the shape of your cock, and every time you hit his prostate, his moans got more high pitched. One of your hands caressed his stomach, and you were surprised to find his belly bulging with every thrust. He squealed when he felt it, his brain was feeling so empty. 

“Y’know Gi-hun, your daughter must be quite lonely, considering that she is an only child. Wanna give Ga-yeong a sibling?” you teased, to which he could only moan, his head filled with the thought of you making him pregnant with your seed. The thought didn’t seem too bad.

To this, you lifted him up and sat on the couch with him on your lap, his back to your chest. You lifted his legs up in such a way that every single time you lifted him up and dropped him back on your lap, your dick would hit places he didn’t even know existed.

He threw his head back, eyes rolling to the back of his head with the vigour of your thrusts, fucking into him like you were an animal in heat. At this point, it really felt like you were trying to get him pregnant. A man couldn’t biologically get pregnant, but all rational thought had flown out the window, and who said you couldn’t try?

As your thrusts started to stutter, you knew you were at a climax, so when Gi-hun came with a cry, painting his abdomen white, you pushed into him all the way to his imaginary womb before coming undone with a loud groan, painting his gummy walls a pearly white.

You kept your cock in him for a while, letting him relax. His hole clenched and unclenched around your dick, while only spurred you on even more.

Gi-hun turned around to face you lazily, but with surprise, as he felt your cock harden in him once again.

“We can’t stop yet love, I need to give you a baby after all,” you smirked before pushing Gi-hun back down onto the couch.

He was fucked.

And somewhere out there, a stray cat was probably wondering why its dinner was late.

© carnalcrows on tumblr. Please do not steal my works as I spend time and and I take genuine effort to do them.

[thedas-elf-lover]

A slightly deranged review from a long time Dragon Age fan.

What this game promised to be in terms of a Dragon Age game: - Most romantic - Offer a few key world state choices that would have great plot impact, which emphasis on wanting to give players choices that have a visual impact, not just codex. - The most complex, deep companions yet. - Choices that matter.

What I got: [SPOILERS] - The shortest, chastest romances I've ever seen, where the end goal is quite literally sex. The final romance scene is the sex scene, after you've been locked in for some time. No sex before marriage, lol. Even the shortest romance in DAI is longer than the longest romance in this game. It's probably the least sex positive game out of them all. - The only choice that has visual impact is the Solas option, and even that doesn't really give anything major. Solas has maybe one unique line? Otherwise, there is no major change. The other two choices (Did you disband the Inquisition? Did you vow to save or stop Solas?) have no difference, either. It's a matter of do you want your Inquisitor to say "comrade" or "friend." The Inquisition doesn't matter. The South gets nuked off-screen anyway. In codex. So two of the three world state choices we get are mostly represented in codexes anyway. - I have nothing against the companions in Veilguard, but to call them the most complex is somewhat... false. Solas is a complex character. Thom Ranier is complex. Vivienne de Fer is complex. Fenris, Anders, Merrill, Isabela, Morrigan, and Sten are complex characters. They are characters who contain complexities that are not easily swept away. ALL the Veilguard companions are your next door neighbors. They're normal. There's nothing wrong about that, but they don't challenge you. There's nothing to think about. Lucanis isn't going to make you seriously consider your morality, despite being the "prince" of the Crows - hired killers. Neve's standing and possible privilege as a human mage in a magocracy is never commented on. These are just two examples, but the same applies for the rest of the companions. None of them are HIDING anything. I will reiterate that there's not anything necessarily WRONG with that, but it does mean they lack the flare of drama that previous companions had that made them brain-scratchers. - Choices don't matter. No matter what Rook does or says, you're railroaded into a scrappy, heroic person who is always right. The worst thing you can do in this game is just NOT do the companion quests. - Despite being a RPG, there is no roleplaying. It's more action/adventure. But it gets a little slow in places for an action/adventure. And it doesn't have enough roleplay value to be a satisfying RPG. - Pretty much the only reason I can see replaying this game is to see the opposite city routes. You don't have to finish the game to get the full romance, either. - No lore continuity. Elves, qunari, dwarves, and humans just living in peace in Tevinter. Some fantasy where poor communities aren't racist doesn't explain this away. - Orientalism in Rivain? - Reducing what was originally a story about slave liberation and rebellion to "love and murder" over Solas' ex situationship. - The game can understand gender that exists outside a binary but somehow can't understand multiculturalism. - Why does Bellara, a Dalish elf, have white guilt?

Some disorganized additions:

- Tonal whiplash. You go from losing a supposedly beloved companion to the final romance scene (the sex scene) in the space of 5 second. - You can't speak to your companions outside cutscenes. However, you can go around the Lighthouse snooping on your companions having nice conversations amongst themselves. - Not a SINGLE companion bothers to check in on the PC even once. You played as a Grey Warden who lost Weisshaupt? No one cares. Emmrich will check in on Davrin but not you. The only point in the game where they show even a smidgeon of care for you is after the Regret Prison, but they don't actually show it. You're pulled out and it immediately cuts to a war table scene. No emotional reunions. - This is Found Family - but only for the companions. Bellara has the opportunity to see Neve as a sister figure, but not you. This could roll into the lack of roleplay value in this game, but it really adds to the lonely element of this game. - "Okay guys, we lost the big game. Let's all take a step back and do some self-care exercises." But the game is Weisshaupt and the South is getting nuked. - Characters often feel like caricatures of themselves. Oftentimes this game feels like a fanfiction of the story and characters it's representing. Some of the things the characters say are not things that normal people would say. Because Rook never builds more than an entirely superficial relationship with their coworkers, it's entirely believable that the most moving thing Rook can think to say, whenever the obligatory Sad Moment happens to a companion, is "[Insert Name Here], I'm so sorry." - You could replace the Inquisitior with a cardboard cut out and it would have more life. - We already had a story about a disapproving parent who is hurtful to their queer child with Dorian. There was a missed opportunity with Shathann to explore the Qunari's view on gender, but only the Tevinter characters are allowed to talk to Taash about different gender identities. When Shathann talks about qunari gender identity, it's oppression. This game's handle on cultural identity is awful. And then they fridged Shathann. - Did you know Elgar'nan and Ghilan'nain, the ancient elven gods (we won't say Evanuris even though that's shorter and more believable to Andrastians who might balk at the idea of ELVEN gods), have escaped from their prison and are blighting the world? The elven gods escaped and they're blighting the world, because they're blighted and escaped prison and are elven gods and are blighting the world, Elgar'nan and Ghilan'nain, those gods, who are elven, and escaped and are blighting the world. - This game is Young Adult. This game is YA with all the darker, grittier elements from the previous game filed away, presented as "politically correct" with "ethical piracy" with no continuity in characterization because Isabela Dragon Age 2 would NOT say any of that. It's if Genshin Impact was a Dragon Age game, complete with the canned body language (cross arms). - The villains are one-dimensional. Aelia's "Minrathous dark truth" AKA Batman villain, Butcher dies after 1 moment of glory, the Dragon King is nothing sauce, if Elgar'nan was just a little bit more intelligent he'd have just smashed that moon into Thedas and called it a day, Illario's speech is ripped right from the Lion King. Gone are the days where antagonists had complex reasons for their actions. Gone are the days where characters were put into situations were there was NO good choice for them to make and we could judge them with the nuance they deserved. - Also did you know: Whatever it takes?

On the bright side, the CC is great.

[chocolatepot]

I realized that the best example to make my point is the Ladies of Llangollen, Eleanor Butler and Sarah Ponsonby.

The Ladies were a pair of female friends who ran away together in 1778, dressed in men's clothes; they were caught and separated, but made another escape attempt that was more successful, and their families reluctantly allowed them to go their own way. Minor celebrities, their neighbors just knew them as a pair of eccentric ladies who kept house together while people in the know came from far away to visit them.

They habitually wore masculine-styled riding habits. They were buried in the same grave (along with the servant who helped them elope, Mary Caryll). Butler left a diary that said nothing about them having sex. Some in the period suggested they were lesbians and they reportedly were shocked. This was an era where men and women had same-sex "romantic friendships" that were more effusive than what we'd consider platonic today. Anne Lister, Definite Lesbian*, visited them.

All of these data points can be interpreted in two ways, one implying they're queer and one taking it for granted that they weren't.

Riding habits: They're the closest women could get to men's or gender-neutral clothing in the Georgian era / They're practical and hard-wearing

Same grave: They were in love and wanted to be buried like spouses / They were best friends and didn't want to be separated

Diary: Butler didn't want to provide proof of what would have been considered wrongdoing to anyone who found her notes / Butler just didn't have any romance or sex to record

Shocked: They worried about exposure and had to pretend to be horrified at the thought / They genuinely were not behaving as anything except platonic friends and were genuinely shocked

Effusive: Many romantic friendships were in fact what we'd call queer today, acceptable to the world as non-sexual homoromantic relationships / Romantic friendships were between straight friends, like it says on the tin

Anne Lister: Lister recognized a kinship with these women and wanted to be part of their network or validate her sexuality through their acceptance or something / Lister was imposing her own take on their relationship or just admired them as independent women

Neither option is more objectively true. The first interpretations are simply using a different lens than the second, one that presumes that the Ladies being queer is a possibility.

Our culture generally teaches us that straight is the default, that everyone is far and away more likely to be straight than anything else, so it's not only safe, but the most sensible thing to do to choose an interpretive lens that doesn't bother engaging with the possibility of queerness. With this assumption in place, any reading of historical evidence (visual or textual) that doesn't exhaust all possible straight readings before moving on to a queer one is suspect as not having scholarly rigor. (It's also, of course, seen as much worse to consider someone queer if they would call themselves straight than to do the reverse, in general.)

People on the street do this and historians who don't have any background with queer theory do it too. That doesn't make it the only correct way to talk about the potential queerness of historical figures, and in fact more historians are developing the ability to balance potential queer readings with others!

Complete rigidity about this these days is, in fact, generally a sign that someone has very little interaction with real, contemporary historical scholarship. The study of history is not an attempt to determine all the facts of the past, but an attempt to interpret them in many different ways in order to illuminate what might otherwise be ignored.

If you want to read more about the Ladies of Llangollen, how they've been perceived, and how good historians deal with the ambiguity of queer readings of history, I would recommend “Extraordinary Female Affection”: The Ladies of Llangollen and the Endurance of Queer Community by Fiona Brideoake, which appears to be open access.

*Anne Lister, I should mention, has only been considered a Definite Lesbian herself since the translation of the sexually explicit parts of her diaries from code, because We Must Always Presume Straightness even if a historical woman behaves highly unconventionally for a straight woman of her time. Actually, they were decoded in the early 20thc by a Lister descendant and literally hidden again because, if only 100% serious proof allows a queer interpretation of someone's actions, lacking that proof means that nobody will be able to seriously speculate without getting called a loser writing fanfiction.

[darkwitchoferie]

Train Ride - Chapter 4, Hyunjin

A quick note about the immersive Van Gogh Exhibition. They go to SeMA – the Seoul Museum of Art. That’s not where the real exhibit was when it was in Seoul, but fanfic rules, so who cares? Also, why was Hyunjin’s smut scene so much harder to write than any of the others so far? Like, it just didn’t want to cooperate. Finally, I decided to use text screenshots from time to time instead of just saying ‘oh you got a text’. There’s only one in this chapter. Also, this one has more plot to it than the others have had. It starts to get that way after this. Still smutty, but a tiny more plot too.

Cw/tw for this chapter: alluded to member x member action (Innie and Felix), unprotected vaginal sex, nipple play, oral (f receiving), this one’s actually really sweet

wc: 3.8k

Chapter One Two Three

While you were watching the livestream of the boys in the airport, you got a text notification. Seeing it was from Chan, you opened it quickly to see a screenshot of the picker wheel you were using with Hyunjin’s name chosen. Smiling to yourself, you switched back to the livestream, watching your boys make their way through the airport and thinking of ways to seduce Hyunjin.

It was about an hour after they were on the plane, while you were on your way to the grocery store, that you saw an ad and realized what you wanted to do. You knew Hyunjin was a romantic at heart and, while he may not object to being outright seduced the way Felix and Jeongin had been, he’d like something with more romance. When you parked at the grocery store, you quickly pulled out your phone and bought two tickets for the immersive Van Gogh Exhibition that was happening at SeMA for the free day they had, two days after their return.

--

Hyunjin picked you up at your apartment in one of what you often thought of as his most dressed-down outfits. Not to say he didn’t look good – he always did. But there was something about the way he was dressed and held himself that made him seem like ‘no, I’m just an attractive man, definitely not Hyunjin of Stray Kids’. You weren’t sure what exactly it was, but when he was dressed so simply like this, people tended to not notice who he was. It reminded you of something you’d read about Marilyn Monroe, how she said she could “turn on” the Marilyn persona but otherwise people wouldn’t notice her. With Hyunjin, the disguise was the persona he was turning on.

He had a cap pulled down enough to partly obscure his face, but not enough to make it seem like he was hiding. He’d told you once before that that was part of the trick – hiding without making it look like he was hiding.

Knowing the way he would be dressed, you dressed to match. Instead of wearing fancier or typical date-wear, you were just in a normal, knee length skirt that flared out when you spun, a plain t-shirt, and flats. While normally you may have considered jeans or shorts given the pleasant weather, you’d discussed with Chan and the two of you agreed that there was something delightful and ‘easy-access’ about being in a skirt for every one of these seductions.

“Hey, Y/N,” he smiled at you, pulling you into a hug. “Thank you for this. I didn’t even realize the exhibition was in town.”

“Oh, of course. I saw the ad for it and immediately thought of you.” You linked your arm through his as you headed toward the elevator. “And I figure we’ll be there for a while, so stop for dinner after?”

“That sounds perfect, actually. Chan’s not gonna miss you?”

“He knows I’m with you today. And he’s holed up with Sungie and Bin.” You knew he only planned to be with them for an hour or two, but you didn’t need to point that out. Let Hyunjin assume it meant one of their marathon sessions.

He chuckled, clearly assuming that. “Good point.”

The immersive exhibit was perfect. So much so, that you periodically forgot your seduction plan, which you supposed helped it feel less rehearsed. You’d been thinking and planning for this date the whole time they’d been gone that you worried you’d come off as stiff or something. Instead, the pair of you fell into a natural rhythm and it felt perfectly normal to reach over and grip his upper arm, play with his hair that was finally growing out long enough to actually, properly, play with, or tuck yourself close to him whether there was a crowd of people around you or not.

After getting your fill of the exhibit, the pair of you headed back to Hyunjin’s car. You watched him gesture wildly as he talked about Van Gogh’s artwork, hands imitating the movement of the stars, speech speeding up as he talked about his favorite parts of the experience. Then he stopped, just before reaching his car, and flushed.

“Sorry. I didn’t mean to –”

“No,” you cut him off, “nothing to be sorry for. I was enjoying your enjoyment, Hyune,” you smiled at him, linking your arm through his again.

“I just, I know I can be a little… much sometimes.”

You raised an eyebrow at him. “And that’s different than any of our other friends, how exactly?”

“Okay, that’s…. Yeah, you have a point.” He grinned at you, turning to face you fully and pulled you into a hug. “Seriously, thank you for this. It was amazing.”

“You’re so incredibly welcome. I’m glad I got to do this with you.”

He pressed a kiss to the top of your head before letting go. “Dinner’s on me. Where do you want to go?”

“Anywhere Thai, I’m craving chicken satay.”

“Ooo, yes.” He chuckled, taking your hand and spinning you, making you laugh too. The pair of you made it to your favorite Thai restaurant where you were sat at a booth toward the back of the seating area. The managers all knew who you were, or more importantly, who Hyunjin was, so they did what they could to make sure you were seated out of the way like they always did when any of the guys came in.

On your way to the table, you sent Chan a prearranged emoji message to let him know that you’d be back to your apartment in about an hour – the Thai restaurant being less than a five minute drive from your apartment. He was most likely already waiting at your apartment, but just in case he wasn’t yet, you sent the text to be sure. Hyunjin slid into the booth and you slid in beside him, sitting just barely far enough away to not be touching. He gave you a weird look, but otherwise didn’t comment on how close you were. Just like he hadn’t commented after any of the looks he’d given you at the museum that you’d elected to ignore. You ignored this look too, crossing one ankle behind the other and then fighting the internal laughter that came when your brain provided you with an ‘actually keeping your legs closed?’ joke.

Throughout dinner, you kept leaning into Hyunjin’s space – laughing with him, touching his arm, sharing his food. While none of it was unusual in the context of your friendships with all of the guys, you did your best to take it past the edge of flirting but not so far past that it would make him uncomfortable. Hyunjin was a good friend, one of the best, and as far as he knew you and Chan were exclusive.

As always, when you hung out with any of the guys, Hyunjin walked you to your apartment door. Chan was either watching the parking lot or got very lucky, and opened the door before you could put the key in the lock.

“Hey baby,” he kissed your cheek in greeting. “Hey Hyune.” He waited until you were both inside and he’d closed the door before asking, “So, how was your date?”

Hyunjin sputtered, “It wasn’t…. Hyung, I… I wouldn’t….”

“It was good. I got some great photos of Hyune enjoying the immersion. And he did that thing where he imitates the art with his hands, ya know?”

“Adorable,” Chan agreed. Hyunjin had fallen silent, staring between the two of you.

“We went for Thai at our usual place down the road. And I think I make Hyune nervous. Or, he’s just nervous how you’ll feel. I couldn’t really tell.” You could, but you wanted Hyunjin to know that you understood his nervousness.

“What is happening here?” He asked, still unsure and looking between you both.

“I suppose we were more direct with Jeongin and Felix,” Chan commented to you.

“Okay, more direct sexually, yes, obviously. But I feel like this was more romantic, ya know?”

Chan hummed his agreement. “Yeah, alright,” he turned to Hyunjin. “Blunt and direct, or soften it a little?” he asked.

“I don’t…. I don’t know?”

“Okay. I’m going to ask you something. It’s a genuine question, so I want a true answer. No judgement from us, no matter what your answer is.” Hyunjin nodded, not remotely reassured. “Do you want to have sex with Y/N?”

“Hyung, she’s your –”

“Nope,” Chan cut him off, “irrelevant for this conversation. Ignore me. Do you want to sleep with her?”

Hyunjin looked wide-eyed between the two of you a few times. “Yes,” he said softly.

You grinned, preening just a little bit. “Do you want to go on another date with her?”

“Yes.”

Chan smiled. “Good. Let me tell you what’s going on then.” He told Hyunjin about your desire to at least have sex with, but hopefully date, all the members but he didn’t elaborate on the previous comment about Jeongin and Felix.

When he was finished, you wrapped your arms around Hyunjin’s waist from behind like you’d done countless times throughout the time you’d known him. “It doesn’t have to change anything, Hyune. We can have sex today, then never again. We can have sex as often as we can fit it in for however long we both want. We can date and it can be a serious relationship if you want. Or, we can pretend this conversation never happened and today was just a fun day between friends. And any variation on any of that with Channie. It’s entirely up to you.”

Hyunjin hesitated. He brought his arms down to cover over yours but otherwise made no move for a few minutes. You didn’t press him, recognizing that he needed to think through his options. This was interesting for you to watch as you hadn’t given Jeongin and Felix the opportunity before anything happened. Which, worked out fine for your relationship with the both of them, but you knew it would never have worked that way for Hyunjin. The man had a romantic soul. Not that the others didn’t like romance, but it was just different with Hyunjin – he was more like Chan in this way.

After a few quiet minutes where you and Chan patiently waited for Hyunjin to think everything through, he turned in your arms. You tilted your head to the side, silently questioning him. He smiled, bringing his hands up to cup your cheeks and gently pressed his lips to yours. You smiled into the kiss, tightening your arms around him. You could still feel the nervousness, or maybe uncertainty would be more accurate, in the way Hyunjin touched you even as he tilted your head so he could deepen the kiss. You decided to just follow his lead rather than stop him to ask if he was sure. You were confident that Hyunjin wouldn’t do anything he wasn’t sure he wanted to do and the lingering nerves were either from the unusualness of the situation or because he knew Chan was watching you both.

His confidence grew as he kissed you, his tongue sliding past your lips and one hand sliding to the back of your head, cradling the back of your skull as the other slipped down to grip your hip. You clutched the back of his shirt as he broke away from your lips, trailing soft kisses along your jaw, neck, and down to the neck line of your t shirt. He didn’t seem to be in any sort of rush, just enjoying feeling your skin under his lips.

“Bedroom?” he asked softly, pulling away for just long enough to ask. You turned in his hold, forcing him to drop the hand that had been holding your head down to your hip. He stuck close to your back, occasionally pressing a kiss to the side of your neck, as you led him to your bedroom, Chan trailing behind him. Once in your room, his nerves came back, though it didn’t seem quite as much. He turned you around so he could kiss you again, then gently led you backwards until your knees hit the edge of your bed and you dropped down onto it.

Chan didn’t say a word, barely made any noise, letting this encounter unfold as just the pair of you. He moved to sit in the chair you’d put in front of the large window in your bedroom and relaxed back into the cushions, content to just watch.

Hyunjin bent over you, cupping the back of your neck and tilting your head back to give himself better access to your neck. Once again trailing soft kisses down your neck, he slowly shifted to force you to lean back on your elbows, placing a knee between your thighs as he did. He pulled back slightly to look at you as he slid his hand under the hem of your shirt. You nodded, sitting up just enough to help him lift your shirt over your head. He leaned back in, pressing you all the way onto your back this time.

Unhurriedly, but in relatively short order, Hyunjin had you completely stripped under him. At some point, you weren’t really sure when or how you didn’t notice, he’d stripped himself too. At his urging, you shifted around so you were laying back against your pillows, legs splayed wide so he could lay between them. With a pleased smile, he followed you, pressing a few kisses to your belly.

Hyunjin’s hand slid up your inner thigh, fingertips dragging just enough to tickle and make you squirm. He lifted his lips from your belly long enough to look up at you with a smile when you giggled. You sighed in pleasure with his fingers finally brushed over your folds, pausing to gently flick you clit with the pad of his thumb. Watching your reactions, he slid a finger up and down you’re your folds, parting them then dipping a finger into your pussy. Your head tipped back against the pillow as he slowly started thrusting into you.

You looked to Chan who smiled and winked at you but was still fully dressed, man spreading on the chair and with a noticeable tent in his jeans.

You moaned low in your throat when Hyunjin added a second finger, easily sliding it in along side the first. He continued softly kissing your belly, the light, sweet touches turning you into a puddle of goo. You carded your fingers through his hair, thinking you could be content with just these light, simple touches for hours.

You’re somewhat surprised to feel the coil of an orgasm building in your belly already. As if sensing what you only just started feeling, Hyunjin bent down and flicked his tongue over your clit. He batted the sensitive buddle of nerves around with his tongue until he felt you clench around his fingers and groan out his name.

As you come down, you glanced over at Chan at the sound of a belt being undone to see he was finally stripping himself. Once naked, he sat back in the chair, making no move to join the pair of you or to actually touch himself.

Between your legs, Hyunjin grinned up at you. You tugged his hair, making him lift himself up so you could kiss him. He pulled his fingers out of you, sliding his hand up your belly and pressing his palm on your sternum as you reclaim his lips. With a small smile to yourself, you hooked a leg over his and used the leverage and surprise to flip the pair of you. You giggled again, this time at the surprised look on his face. Looking down at his cock, steadily leaking precum, part of you wanted to taste him, but you wanted to feel him buried inside you more in that moment.

You straddled Hyunjin’s hips, a hand pressed to his abs to help you balance, the other hand wrapped around his cock. Slowly, giving yourself time to adjust as you went, you sank down onto him. You sighed in pleasure and watched his eyes roll back in his head as you rolled your hips once fully seated. His hands slid up your thighs to grip your hips, fingertips digging into your flesh hard enough you felt pretty sure there’d be small bruises. All the nervousness that had been lingering in his eyes, vanished as he looked up at you.

Steadily, with help from Hyunjin, you rolled your hips building up a rhythm. Sliding a hand up your back, he pushed you forward a little, just enough that he was able to lean up and wrap his lips around a nipple. Your hips faltered for a second as your head dropped forward with a groan. Behind you, on the chair, you could hear the sounds of Chan stroking his cock. You stayed leaning forward, bracing both hands on Hyunjin’s chest, lifting your hips now instead of rolling to give him a better view. The new motion and position put a wonderful amount of pressure on your clit. Added to it, Hyunjin brought a hand up to tease which ever nipple he didn’t have in his mouth.

For just a second, you reflected on how well all the guys treated you so far, always seeking out and paying attention to the areas that gave you pleasure. Not that you were surprised they were just as sweet to you sexually as they were in every day interactions. But still, they all seemed to focus on your pleasure more than their own. Or at least, it felt that way.

Then you lost that train of thought as his free hand slid between your bodies, quickly finding and rubbing circles against your clit. You gasped, digging your fingernails into his pecs as the orgasm that had been building crashed through you, Hyunjin’s name falling from your mouth like a litany prayer. Your hips slowed, then stilled as you came down from your high. Then you relaxed your arms, dropping to rest on his chest.

“Still good?” Hyunjin confirmed.

“So good.”

“Good.” He gripped your hips, lifting you slightly, and started thrusting up into you. The motion and pressure on your clit, not to mention the perfect thrusting against your g-spot, had you quickly building to another orgasm. Your moans with every thrust were somewhat muffled against his skin, but you were fairly sure he could still hear them. Giving into the impulsive thought that often crept into your mind when you watched him dance and definitely did now, you leaned up a little and licked a long stripe up his sweaty neck.

He groaned at your action, planting his feet so he could thrust up faster. With another, longer groan, and one last deep thrust, Hyunjin stilled as he came inside you. The feeling of his cum filling you, and his cock twitching against your g-spot, triggered your third orgasm, causing you to clench around his softening cock and pulling a small whimper from him.

After a minute or so, you slid off him, flopping onto the bed beside him.

“Hey baby, you got one more in you?” Chan smiled down at you, slowly stroking his cock. You had no idea when he’d gotten up from his chair, but you frankly could not care less.

“Absolutely,” you reached for him, but made no move to actually get up. He chuckled, moving to lay between your legs and claim your lips for the first time since you’d gotten home. You hummed into the kiss, lifting one leg to hook it over his hips and pull him firmly against your body.

It was not the first time he’d had you after someone else had come inside you – nearly every morning that Jeongin wanted a morning quickie, Chan decided he did too. But, as he slid inside you, the obscene feeling of someone else’s cum, Hyunjin’s this time, oozing out around his cock delighted you the way it always did.

“Fuck,” he growled against your neck. “You looked so good on Hyune, baby.”

“Mm, felt so good too.”

Hyunjin, laying beside you, danced his fingers over your belly, tapping then drawing little patterns, seemingly content to just be there but not actually add any stimulation. With a smile, you reached for his hand, pulling it to your lips and pressing small kisses on each of his fingertips, then setting his hand back on your belly. With a content sounding hum, he leaned in to press his cheek to your shoulder, looking down your body so he could watch Chan thrusting into you.

“Oh God,” Chan groaned, leaning back a little and seeing both of you watching him. He sat himself up on his knees, sliding his hands slightly under your hips so he could left them up, changing the angle and causing your back to arch. His thrusts sped up, rocking your body and pulling nearly constant moans or little ahs from you. It was, Chan knew, one of your favorite positions at the end of the night. You didn’t have to do much, there was little to no pressure on your, at this point, overstimulated clit, he typically went deeper than he had before, and his cock slid against your g spot without hitting it directly.

With the practice of someone who knew your body well, Chan had you building to a fourth orgasm fairly quickly. When your walls started fluttering around him and you reached out to grip the arm of Hyunjin’s hand that was still on your belly, he knew you were close. He kept his pace steady, helping you ride the wave that was building then washing through your body. His name fell from your lips on a sigh, you clenching around him causing him to cum too, filling you completely.

Tired, but content and comfortable, you relaxed on your bed between Chan and Hyunjin. After a few quiet minutes, Hyunjin said, “I would like to try the dating option. I’m not sure if…. I mean, the constant sharing might be too much for me.”

“That’s okay,” you reassured him quickly. “If it is, or it starts to be, come to us and we’ll talk about what to do.”

As usual, Chan insisted on getting up and getting a shower. While the tub filled and you and Hyunjin quickly showered off so you could properly relax in that bath, Chan hurriedly stripped your bed, changing the sheets.

Cuddled in the bath, allowing the jets to soothe sore muscles, you were drifting off a little when Hyunjin asked, “What did you mean about Iyen-ah and Felix earlier?” You giggled before the pair of you gave him the shortened version of your previous encounters with the two of them.

Taglist: @skzficpriv @strayk1ds143 @vegetablesarefuntables  @imagine-all-the-imagines  @yeetmylifeu  @wolfo2027

[iminyourwallsbabe]

Okay so I was thinking about Melvik last night because the streets(one person) asked for a Melvik playlist and I wanted to make sure I did it right and I think I've come to a conclusion about what the hell is going on with those two. There's so many different ways to interpret it, so I'm not saying this is objectively correct. We're in the corkboard with strings and pictures stage of shipping rn.

Okay so if we're being honest, there's not a lot to work with in terms of character interactions but there are clues in other places. One of the things I noticed is that they mirror each other. Mel has freckles in similar spots to Viktor's moles, she's the sun and he's the moon, she's covered in gold while Viktor has a lot more silver in his palette, she's a princess while he's some guy from Zaun but they're both fighting for legitimacy.

So they probably didn't like each other at some point.

Think about it, sometimes people who hate each other are exactly like one another. That bothers them. Maybe that was the case here. Then you add on the layer of their individual goals and I could see how they might clash. I could see how they might not understand each other at first.

I feel like after that, it probably became a game of cat and mouse. A rivalry if you will. It could've been academic, depending on how long they knew each other (we don't know). I could see there being a lot of competition in their relationship, but the thing is, it was never a fair fight. How is a man from the undercity supposed to compete with an exiled royal? You can't. People are more likely to give her what she wants than even consider your position just by default. And then you also have to consider that this is Mel we're talking about. A goddamn mastermind if I've ever seen one, if she didn't already have privilege on her side, she definitely has the people skills to compensate. It was probably frustrating, in a lot of ways.

But wait! There's more. There's something to be said about how the "evolved" humans are white and gold, Mel's colors. Even the way the gold is placed is reminiscent of her. Perfection, the peak of humanity, in Viktor's mind is Mel (and Jayce too if you remember that his little husk still kept a lot of his features, but his look was still inspired by her).

So in Mel, I think at first he saw everything he lacked and it was pissing him off. That probably stemmed from his need to get where he wanted to be quickly, because he knew his time was limited. Like fuck, I'm gonna die and you're in my way by being better at everything.

For Mel, I think she saw everything she wanted to be. Self assured, with direction in life. Peace is such a broad goal to have, living up to your mother's standards is a little more specific, but what does she want to do for herself? Where does she want to be when it's all said and done? Wherever she's been told she needed to be? In a throne or a seat at the council's table? Viktor knows what he wants, he sees it clearly, and he couldn't care less about anybody's standards or expectations besides his own. There's something so ruthless about that, and Mel envies it.

What I think changed with them is an understanding, realizing that it would be more useful for them to work together and be on the same team rather than continue to compete with one another. But how do we get there? Judging by how most of the romance in Arcane works, it was probably sex. I'm not even joking, this is a consistent thing. Jayvik? One of their key moments together involved Viktor saying "wait this isn't my bedroom", Mel and Jayce's relationship was kind of confirmed with a sex scene, Vi started flirting with Caitlyn in a brothel of all places and then LATER there was the whole thing in the prison cell, are we seeing the trend here? Sex and arcane go together like Jinx and explosions.

Anyway, right, back on topic. So yeah, I think unlike her relationship with Jayce, things were not nearly as thought through with Viktor. It definitely feels like a spur of the moment kind of thing, probably involving alcohol. Let me explain. I'm probably not going to phrase this right, but somebody else explained the bond between these two sort of like magnets. They attract and reject each other at the same time. They're so similar that by all means, they could be together, but something keeps pushing them away from one another. Knowing Mel's relationship with trust, and Viktor's relationship with time, this could make perfect sense. This could give way to some very complicated feelings. Knowing Mel, that wouldn't have been good. But then you start to remove those inhibitions, either through something artificial or just heightened passions, next thing you know shit happens.

Now we're in what I wanna call the situationship era! Because god forbid our favorite metal eugenicist has a committed relationship ever.

Mel doesn't know what she wants out of this so it stays casual for a while, Viktor wants more but he's scared to ask because he doesn't wanna scare her away. He knows she's conflicted about it, otherwise she wouldn't act the way she does. Still, it drives him fucking insane. He could die within the next few years, he doesn't have time to be playing will they/won't they. Especially not when the most perfect woman- no, person, he's ever seen in his life is right there in front of him. It's several months of "maybe we should stop doing this", that attracting and repelling I was talking about, with no conceivable end, but eventually it does. Eventually they both find they have better things to focus on than this. Not that they don't love or care about each other anymore, but the stress just isn't worth it. The world needs them, and they can't keep holding each other back.

However, that's not quite the end of their story.

In the words of our Lord and Savior, Shadow the Hedgehog, the light still shines even when the star is gone. They do try to keep their relationship as professional as possible, at least when there's eyes to see it. Outside of that though, it's clear that they're still attached somehow. Is it romantic still? That's up for interpretation, but regardless, no matter how much distance they put between each other, they'll always be drawn to one another.

Then here comes MC Hammer, and now the situation is like this. The moon (Viktor) revolves around the earth (Jayce), who revolves around the sun (Mel). They're all so interconnected now and if you take one out of the equation, shit gets messy. Can't take out the sun, the whole galaxy will collapse. Can't take out the moon, the earth will be in ruin. See what I mean? As Jayce and Mel get more serious, I think both of them wonder what could've been. They're happy where they are romantically but it's always something to ponder. What would it have looked like if Viktor was the golden boy, not Jayce? If they were the ones holding it down in those council meetings? What would it be like if her warmongering mother knew she was in love with someone like Viktor, someone so physically weak? Would she be rejected again? Would she approve based on the false notion that he was only a pet to her? That he meant nothing?

Maybe it's for the better that things are as they are, but when he thinks of what humanity can be at its peak, all he can see is her. When he's gone all she can hope is that he comes back to her. It's so beautifully tragic.

[pinketine]

I don't think you people know how sirens work. Maybe

[thornycoconut]

I love this headcanon!

Op tags made me think for a min:

Realistically i don't think he was a shit writer, and let me tell you why (excitedly!):

1. Writing that much every day fast tracks quite a bit of experience. You learn a LOT the more you write. And that was loads and loads of writing. A romance novel is typically about 70k words. He wrote one every 7 days at that pace.

2. You learn tricks and habits to not only write more faster but with less mental effort. The more you have to write descriptions the easier it is for your brain to write descriptions, for instance, because it's used to doing it all the time. It works for most aspects of writing, even things like creativity or problem solving. So it's actually kind of difficult to NOT improve with that much writing.

3. Now the previous two points you could argue just means he knows how to go very fast in the wrong direction, but this third point ties it together. Shen Yuan did say there were good aspects, such as the character, the world building, etc. Also, sqh had a lot of plot things planned that were cut to pay the bills. They were better than the endless sex scenes. They filled quite a few plot holes. They added character depth. He objectively could write good things.

4. I suspect even the "bad" aspects were actually pretty good. Do you know how difficult it is to keep a large reader base interested in endless sex scenes for that long? The original pidw was longer than the Bible. Your sex scenes need to be on point which requires talent.

Sex scenes aren't very engaging after a while so the man had to come up with ways to keep people hooked. New girl every time? sure, easy to get attention for a while, but not forever. So then you have to add in devices like sex pollen, dual cultivation cures, etc, but that too gets old. Add In more actual plot like political intrigue. Then mix them in a bunch of different ways to keep it fresh.

Also, he knew to hold back having on page sex with a fan fav wife because edging is a thing too. Like it's a lot. Shen Yuan wasn't interested in porn at all though, so his pov was skewed.

In conclusion, the more i think about it, the more im convinced sqh knew his shit when it came to writing AND catering to an audience. I think if he'd been a little less stressed, he could have married the two halves better. Or at least planned out his next novel to both give the audience what they wanted and tell the whole story he intended.

Headcanon:

SQH is a great writer who knows his audience well and needs money. The first time SQH showed SQQ his new work, SQQ started crying. The details in the worldbuilding and lore were so vivid that he could clearly visualize them. The plot had little to no plot holes and was well thought out, with an unexcepted plot twist that left SQQ gripping his fan. He remembered why he even started PIDW before it became popular. He began to imagine what PIDW could have been. Of course, he yells at SQH for ruining such a good novel for money and wacks him with a fan.

[blackgumball]

people are so weird about normal kinks. i was talking to some friends and they were like "can u believe some people have RAPE kinks?" ..yes i absolutely can

[altschmerzes]

ted lasso fandom stop posting things labeled as gen fic with both & and / tags listed for the same relationship leaving me wondering if i want to open the box of schrodinger’s gen fic and get shipping jumpscared today or not challenge

[butteryunlikelylady]

definitely on my I hate men bs tonight bc why are y’all like that.

[cheriboms]

NO FREAKING WAY VIKTOR IS CONFIRMED ACE I CALLED THAT SHT IN 2021 !!!!!!!!!!!! WE STAY WINNING :D

[townslore]

discovery of the day

[macchiatosdumptruck]

Was telling @disbear that jimwen would 100% be the type of couple to have nasty, disrespectful, hair-pulling, name-calling, spitting-in-mouths sex, and then go have a date by holding hands at the farmers market or something.

Imagine my disappointment when they're just a small part of the show tag on AO3, and they have like 10 E rated fics

There's no way I'm the only one who sees it

[depresseddepot]

trying to determine which parts of my relationship with sex are asexuality, which are trauma, and which are autism is like trying to have a conversation with three people talking loudly and all at once

[streetsandsodiumlights]

(tags from @no-1-rosalind-lang-apologist)

By the way "some aroace people still date and have sex" and "it's weird how internet spaces makes every single aroace character romance and sex favourable" can and should co-exist. Sincerely, an aroace person