#My dearest Domino

[karaokebearwithal]

STOP!!!!!

What your doing and look at this awesome WIP @star-bear-art made for me!!!!

Isn't he just

✨✨

STUNNING?!?!?✨✨

[maegalkarven]

No but I'm obsessed with the situationship where Durge and Karlach are friends, Durge and Gortash are lovers and Gortash and Karlach can't stand each other.

Also,depending on Durge, the Durgetash reveal can be messy af with both Durge and Karlach reacting violently, Karlach at the fact what her friend is the architect of that mess and Gortash's lover and Durge at her and the team's reaction.

Bonus point if Durge is loyal to Gortash to a fault bc they went against their Father's direct wishes bc of the affection towards that man, and everyone having an awful time dealing with it.

[restinslices]

LKBS X Reader MK1 Intros

Going back to these because I love them. Concept is you’re married and you have the power of luck. You’re basically Domino from Deadpool 2. Also did something similar with Bi-Han. This is a mix of that headcanon post and that LKBS X Corny Reader post because… idk. I like corny reader.

✎ I won’t hold back because we’re married

✎ You say this everytime. And everytime, I win

✎ You say you hate my puns, but I know you secretly love them

✎ I do not

✎ I’m feelin’ lucky!

✎ Work on your combat instead of puns

✎ Are you ready, my dearest?

✎ Is that a term of endearment… from YOU?!

✎ Have you ever questioned the love I hold for you?

✎ Never

✎ I wouldn’t be so sure you’re going to win this time

✎ Me winning is in my DNA

✎ Oh no, please don’t throw me around…

✎ Try to focus for me

✎ Beating you is getting really boring sweetheart

✎ Then you’ll enjoy this match

✎ This match is gonna be… fire! Do you get it? Because the youth use it-

✎ I get it

✎ You know you love me

✎ I always will. Even after death

✎ Why do you say certain things?

✎ I like it when you turn red

✎ If I win, no more puns

✎ Guess I better get some more puns ready then

✎ You must reeeeaaalllyy love being under me

✎ Things like that is what I’m talking about

✎ Winner pays for lunch?

✎ Oh you’re an ass and I love that about you

✎ Oh you are so in love with me, and the puns make you fall harder

✎ *Laughs* Whatever you say honey

[thescarletnargacuga]

JUST KISS

A HARLEQUIN AU SHOWTIME ONESHOT

Harlequin AU credit: @tadc-harlequin-au @iamespecter

A/N: I'M SORRY! I could NOT get this idea out of my head for the life of me! Inspired by the marriage scene from Pirates of the Caribbean!

WARNING: violence

~~~

Chaos consumed the ruined City of Circuits. Hordes of crazed puppets swarmed the town square where Pomni, Caine, Kingr and the others were making a stand. Explosions rocked the earth. Buildings crumbled, burying dozens of enemies, only for dozens more to climb over the rubble. Thick smoke blotted out the sun.

Blasts of energy from Caine lit up the smogged sky. He kept an eye out for Pomni, fighting by his side. The situation was looking bleak. No matter how many enemies were cut down, more took their place. Surrounded on all sides, even with his allies, this could very well be their last stand.

Caine slammed his cane down and sent an electrified shockwave out, sending enemies flying and giving him enough time to grab Pomni's arm. "Pomni!!"

Pomni almost stabbed him out of reflex. She stared wide eyed at him.

Caine looked her dead in the eye. "Will you marry me!?" He shouted over the pandemonium around them.

An enemy bared down on them. Caine diverted it's attack with his cane and Pomni shot it in the face. She looked at Caine like he had finally gone insane. "I don't think now is the best fucking time?!?" She held tight to Caine's arm and used him to swing around to slash two enemies in half with her sword.

Caine reeled her in close, holding his cane out and electrifying an enemy. "Now may be the only time!" He blinked with her to another part of the battlefield, where they were a little less overrun. "I love you." He still has to let go and arc lightning from his cane to five enemies.

Pomni's sword ignites with energy as she sends a wave of gold light through a large enemy, slicing it clean in two. She grabs Caine's forearm as she takes his words in through the intense atmosphere.

Caine was breathing heavily, his voice raspy from exhaustion. "I've made my choice...what's yours?"

Pomni gazed into his eyes, a smirk on her face. "KINGR!!"

Caine furrowed with confusion.

"MARRY US!!" Pomni shouted to the former general, who was currently tossing enemies left and right.

"I'M A BIT BUSY AT THE MOMENT, LITTLE ONES!!" Kingr shouted back, his oversized hands crushing and tossing a half dozen enemies. He then punched out the support of an unstable building, collapsing it and blocking a route into the square.

Caine grinned and twirled Pomni to his other side. They dance into enemies on both sides. She energizes her gun with soul magic and laser blasts an enemy point blank. Caine summons three balls of lightning and controls them with his puppetmaster strings, sending them through enemy after enemy until the electrical energy dissipates. He backs up to Pomni. "Kingr! Now! PLEASE!!"

Kingr rolled his eyes. "FINE THEN!!" He swept his arm over a pile of rubble, clearing away any enemies, and stood atop it.

Caine put an arm around Pomni from behind. His cane joins her sword in stabbing an enemy. She looks back at him with a sharp toothed grin. He smiles at her.

"DEARLY BELOVED WE ARE GATHERED HERE TODAY-" Kingr punched downward with both fists, sending a shockwave of rubble and earth to keep enemies back from his perch.

Jax swung his hammer against one enemy, domino throwing three others. He hadn't heard Caine and Pomni but he definitely heard Kingr. "What the fuck??" He activated the spikes on his hammer and slammed it down onto another enemy's head.

"-TO JOIN TWO SOULS IN HOLY MATRIMONY!!" Kingr growled with frustration from being interrupted and crushed an enemy in his hand.

Caine and Pomni danced across the battlefield. Arms never unlinking. They cut and carve their way to the square center. Caine holds her close, face to face. "Pomni, dearest harlequin, do you take me to be your husband?"

Pomni, hyped on the energy of combat and genuine excitement of his question, nearly squeals her answer. "I do!"

Caine almost laughs at her out of character giddiness. "Great!!" They have to separate to avoid an attack.

Pomni carves her sword through the enemy. "Caine Puppetmaster, do you take me to be your wife?" She takes his hand again, he twirls her. She cuts down an enemy and he blasts two more. "In sickness and in health? Ah!" She ducked, he electrified. "With health being the less likely!!"

Caine blinked away with her again to give him a chance to properly hold her close. "I do." He poured his whole soul into those two words. He wished to tell her again that he loved her, but he had to move with her to avoid a tossed enemy from Z.

"AS GENERAL, I NOW PRONOUNCE YOU-" A shot to the face interrupted Kingr again. He swung around and batted the enemy away. "YOU MAY NOW-" He was grabbed from behind by a large enemy. He wrestled them to the ground. "YOU MAY KISS-" He took a punch to the face, cracking his skull mask. He returns to the favor by destroying the enemy's entire head.

Gangle had control of a large enemy, Ragatha on the shoulder. They were just as confused as the others on what was going on with Kingr. Then Ragatha saw Caine and Pomni take down two enemies together, their gazes locked.

"JUST KISS!!" Kingr roared as he pummeled another enemy.

They didn't hesitate. Caine held Pomni in a bow, blue energy engulfing his entire being. Gold energy surrounded Pomni as she held around his neck. They met in an intense, yet loving kiss. Their energies intertwined and blasted out from them. The violent shockwave of light and electricity vaporized every enemy within a large radius. Their allies taking cover.

Caine held his wife with reverence. Kissing her like it was the last time he'd ever get the chance. Pomni returned his passion tenfold, wordlessly vowing her devotion to her husband. As the energy wave faded, they breathlessly parted.

For the first time, there was tenderness in Pomni's eyes. "I love you."

Caine could be slain on the spot and die a happy man. "I love you, too. In this life, and the next...forever and always."

[redgoldsparks]

August Reading and Reviews by Maia Kobabe

I post my reviews throughout the month on Storygraph and Goodreads, and do roundups here and on patreon. Reviews below the cut.

Heavyweight: A Family Story of Holocaust, Empire and Memory by Solomon J Brager After listening to this excellent interview with the author on the Gender Reveal podcast, I was very excited to pick up Solomon Brager's hefty nonfiction comic about family history, Jewish identity, the Holocaust, and empire. This is an incredibly well researched and thoughtful book. The author grew up with outsized family stories of a Jewish boxing champion great-grandfather from Essen who punched Nazis, and a great-grandmother who carried her children across countries and mountains to escape to the US. But these stories became much more complicated when the author started digging for receipts. One factor is the immense financial privilege of the family which already had bank accounts and significant savings in New York. Another factor is the layers of violence and empire that build up the power of the countries fighting on both sides of WWII. The author's quest to research the family story is a major thread in the story itself and I am absolutely awed by the amount of work that went into uncovering and shaping this story.

My Dearest Patrolman vol 1 by Niyama As a delinquent teen, Shin was mentored and protected by a friendly patrolman, Seiji. Having one supportive adult in his life completely turned Shin's life around and he also decided to become a patrolman. Years later, Shin and Seiji meet again, and Shin decides to confess the feelings he's been nursing for a decade. Lighthearted dating hijinks ensue! Strikes a nice balance between silly, sweet, and spicy.

Go For It, Nakamura! by Syundei An extremely silly and cute high school rom-com. Shy Nakamura has a massive crush on his classmate Hirose. Despite the fact that they see each other every day, Nakamura has never introduced himself. What will it take to get him to finally speak up and try to befriend his crush??

Something Not Nothing by Sarah Leavitt In 2020, Sarah Leavitt's partner of more than 20 years, Domino, died with medical assistance after years of severe chronic pain and a rapid decline at the end of her life. Leavitt, a cartoonist and writer, tried to make sense of this decision through comics and abstract watercolor paintings. The result is a gorgeous, heart wrenching, deeply human meditation on love and loss. There were pages that lifted my spirits and pages that pierced me to my core. I sobbed through the majority of reading it, but couldn't put it down. Leavitt's mapmaking of the landscape of grief is a gift to us all.

Assassin's Fate by Robin Hobb read by Elliot Hill What can I even say about this, the final novel of a 16 book fantasy series, which I have been reading and re-reading now for twenty years, other than holy shit??? I can't believe I've reached the end of Fitz's journey at last. This book is SO long (nearly 1000 pages) and much of it is brutal to read; characters we love are beaten, abused, tortured, and left in pretty hopeless situations for much of the novel. I think Hobb's insistence on revisiting almost every single character from the Rain Wilds and Live Ship sub-series expanded the first third of the book more than needed; had I been editing it, it would have been shorter. And yet! And yet! I was riveted by this too-long book, devouring it in big gulps, scream-texting about it to several friends who were reading the series along with me. The ending hit SO HARD. Its PERFECT, TERRIBLE, WRETCHED, one of the cruelest endings for several beloved characters and while also giving them a kind of grace and eternity I did not see coming, but should have. This book fulfills the themes of the entire series so well, completing repeated patterns, showing cycles that ripple through three generations, while also leaving a door open for the future that I'm already daydreaming about. Literally how did Robin Hobb come up with all of this. Its flawed but its perfect. I am in awe.

BL Metamorphosis vol 1 by Kaori Tsurutani translated by Jocelyne Allen An older woman picks up a BL manga by chance at a bookstore and discovers a new fandom late in life. She ends up befriending a shy high school girl who works at the bookstore and also loves BL, but has no one to talk to about it. This is such a freaking cute premise and I love the loose sketchy art style!

BL Metamorphosis vol 2 by Kaori Tsurutani translated by Jocelyne Allen Unlikely friends Urara, a shy high schooler, and Ichinoi, a widowed calligraphy teacher, bonded over their love of a BL manga series. Now they're heading to a doujinshi event to try and meet their favorite author. This brought me right back to my early days of visiting cons and meeting authors for the first time!

BL Metamorphosis vol 3 by Kaori Tsurutani translated by Jocelyne Allen Urara has been reading and loving BL manga years, but it takes a push from her older friend Ichinoi before Urara considers the idea of possibly drawing her own. Can she find the time to write and draw a story around her cram school schedule? This series PERFECTLY captures the BL reader to BL writer pipeline, I'm so charmed.

BL Metamorphosis vol 4 by Kaori Tsurutani translated by Jocelyne Allen Urara applies for a table at a comics festival, so now she has a deadline for her first original comic. Can she get it done in time? Ichinoi is there to cheer lead and support in every way she can (finding a printer, sewing a table cloth, agreeing to work the table, packing their lunches) but only Urara can get the comic done. This book contained one of my very favorite exchanges of the whole series, when Ichinoi asked "Is it fun to draw manga?" and Urara responded honestly, "No. It's hard to look at my own art for so long. But it feels like I'm doing what I should be doing."

BL Metamorphosis vol 5 by Kaori Tsurutani translated by Jocelyne Allen Urara and Ichinoi struggle through a long, slow day of trying to sell an original comic at their first ever comic event. Unbeknownst to them, their favorite author is there as an attendee. This book felt like one of the most relatable portrayals of the early days of a comics career I've ever seen. I'm obsessed with this series and definitely want to watch the live action movie adaptation!

The Spear Cuts Through Water by Simon Jimenez This complex fantasy novel weaves together a multi-strand narrative of violence, love, and the end of empire in an original world of old gods and talking animals. In the main thread, two warriors carry the corpse of an almost-dead goddess across the country in a five day dash from the mountains to the sea. The goddess was once the Moon, torn out of the sky by her own desire for immortality. Her children became the despotic Moon Throne, a cruel dynasty which has repressed and punished the people and elements. The Moon Thrones' heirs, three brothers with extraordinary powers, chase the warriors and hunger for the last dregs of the fallen Moon's power. In another thread, an unnamed protagonist watches this drama unfold as a play being performed in a dreamy underwater sleep realm, while recalling the stories their lola told of the old country before the war. This novel is often compared with NK Jemisin's The Fifth Season in terms of scope, literary prose, and ambition and I can see why. This novel employs some very creative and unusual writing choices that make it more rewarding to read in print than to experience in audio. I had a content warning for gore and cannibalism going in, so I was prepared for the violence of the middle section. I really enjoyed this novel and I can tell I'll be thinking about it for a long time.

Horse by Geraldine Brooks read by James Fouhey, Lisa Flanagan, Graham Halstead, Katherine Littrell, Michael Obiora This book follows multiple different story lines, some of which captured me much more than others. In Kentucky in 1850, an enslaved black boy watches a new thoroughbred racing colt's birth and begins a lifelong relationship with the horse, who will go on to be one of the most well-known champions in the history of American horse racing. In New York City in the 1950s, a gallery owner known for her modern tastes falls for an equestrian portrait of the great Kentucky race horse, Lexington. And in 2019, in Washington DC, a Nigerian-American art history student and a Smithsonian scientist dig into the mystery of an unlabelled horse skeleton in the museum's collection- and its possible connection with several paintings by a Civil War era equestrian artist. I admired the amount of research that went into this novel, and the way the paintings of Lexington tied the different timelines together. However, I really struggled with how the interior emotional lives of several of the Black male characters in this book were portrayed by this author. When Jarret, the enslaved Black groom, is separated from Lexington and forced into plantation labor temporarily, Brooks writes of him gaining a depth of spirit and understanding for the human condition from this experience. This felt deeply weird to read from a white author! I'm not really the right reader to say whether Brooks did a good job or not, but it put me on edge. When the final climatic moment of the novel read like a heavy-handed lesson in how Black men are still at risk of police violence even in 2019, I wondered who exactly that point was supposed to be for, and if Brooks is the one who needed to make it. So, I felt very mixed as I finished this book. There's a lot to admire craft-wise, and I can understand why so many readers were impressed by it. But I honestly I don't recommend it, unless you want to read it in a book club setting and have a nuanced discussion about what works and what doesn't in this novel.

The Summer Book by Tove Jansson A young girl named Sophie spends her summers on an island of the coast of Finland with her very present grandmother and her rather absent father. Each chapter tells of an incident experienced through the eyes of the very young and the very old- the growth of mosses and wildflowers on the island stones; boxes and bottles of flotsam and jetsam washing to shore; a great storm; an adventure in trespassing; an unexpected visitor; a night spent outside sleeping in a tent. Without much of an overarching plot this book is still a moving picture of living very close to and in tune with the seasons and elements in a very specific part of the world. It's brief and open ended but I really enjoyed it!

Delicious in Dungeon vol 14 by Ryoko Kui As the smoke clears after the explosive ending of the previous penultimate volume, our heroes gather themselves, check on the survivors, and set out on the most collaborative challenge: cooking and eating an entire chimera body. This is a satisfying and in some ways gentler ending than I expected from this series, but I really enjoyed it!

Notes from an Island by Tove Jansson and Tuulikki Pietilä translated by Thomas Teal  In the autumn of 1963, Tove Jansson, her partner Tuulikki 'Tooti' Pietilä, and their taciturn friend Brunström set about trying to finish a small cabin on a tiny Finnish island before the onset of winter (and possible legal delays of building permits). Tove and Tooti spent their summers on the island for the next 3o years. This book contains excerpts of journal and introspective writing on the nature of the island, the sea, the changeable weather, the futility of human efforts to shift the natural environment. These writings are paired with delicate prints Tooti made of water, stones, and ocean views. I read this directly after The Summer Book and after listening to a short biography of Jansson- this made a good companion to those other texts, but might have been a bit spare on its own.

[aachria]

dearest pookie bear

the trenches (college) are as war torn and bloodied as ever (mid terms are in two weeks and i want to die)

my heart yearns for your touch (i NEED more e d domino)

since i last wrote you i have found solace in the fact that i have found yet another thing to focus on while i wait to return to you (i've started to watch dungeon meshi and they are just like the straw hats. one of the main characters is voiced by Emily Rudd aka live action nami. and the other is a guy from SMOSH.)

warmest regards.

me

Dearest scnoochums,

The war (college) rages on, though I find reprieve in a momentary ceasefire (this week is reading week).

I fear I may not make it through to fight another batter or ever feel your touch again (I am sick and extremely tired) and may die within a fortnight (I’m gonna be fine I’m just dramatic).

Thoughts of an unfaithful sort have made their home in my mind (I accidentally started writing a Harry Potter fic IT WAS AN ACCIDENT) and the river begins to run dry (THE BURNOUT IS COMING FASTER THAN I CAN STOP) though I shall persevere as I have always done (I’M STRONGER THAN MY MENTAL ILLNESS RAAAAAGHHHHH🦅‼️🦅🦅‼️‼️).

Life continues to surprise me (I got accepted into another college program but it might have been a mistake??) and the bloodiest of the battles has yet to come (portfolio interviews are next month), but I keep you in my heart always.

I distract myself from the pain of your absence and pray for when next we see each other (I am excited for the Sunday chapter) and eagerly await our reunion (you lot to say stupid shit when it comes out).

I apologize for my rambling (I got carried away by the format) and count the seconds until I may see you again.

With love,

Me.

[griffinswitch]

Spilled Ink

Synopsis: After the many letters they have exchanged in the past, written in a coded-language only known to them, Griffin writes a letter to Faragonda about an impending threat lurking in the shadows of Obsidian that will extinguish the light in Domino.

Side note: the italicise 'her' refers to Griffin and the italicise 'they' refers to the Ancestral Witches.

_

A raven, dark as night, flew into Faragonda’s window bringing forth a sudden change in the atmosphere. Storm clouds and grey shadows remedied the bright blue afternoon skies into a dreg, yet she felt a familiar comfort. Could it be? She looked up to see Artiglio, hovering over her head like a bad omen.

Artiglio swiftly swooped in, dropping a tiny glass vial from its beak that disintegrated in pieces on her desk. Glass shards suddenly metamorphosed into crackling green sparks releasing purple fog that filled the room. As the smoke revealed a mysterious envelope, Artiglio vanished into the perfectly timed lightning, disappearing into the dark just as she once did. With the help of her magic, Faragonda snapped her fingers, purifying the smoke-filled room and clearing the grey skies back to blue.

And there it was. A letter that contained secrets within secrets. It has been a while since her last. Faragonda studied the way she delicately inked the fairy’s name with careful, curved strokes. It was so precise that Faragonda could feel her presence brushing her fingertips on each letter. She ripped the envelope open the way she did with Faragonda’s heart when she left.

Its contents were written in code that no one would ever be able to decipher. No amount of magic could reveal or translate their made up language. A secret code they had converged in ancient magic when they were younger, bound by their unbreakable bond that neither distance nor opposing sides could splinter. The memory sent Faragonda to a place of solace that she absorbed like light, but what she was about to uncover held the fate of millions, weighing heavy.

My dearest Faragonda,

I know I have much to apologise for, and by no means am I asking for your forgiveness but in writing this letter, I hope you find the answers to your questions and understand the meaning behind my absence, for my distance was the key to the resistance.

I have made decisions I regret and I never meant to hurt you, yet I did. I had to do what I had to for the sake of dark magic users, to prove that we were just as important to the balance of power as light magic users. Too much of either would disrupt the equilibrium of magic. And with everything happening with the Council and how they were treating my kind, I needed the protection of a coven. A powerful one — but I was wrong. About them. In many ways, I was wrong. But I’ve always fought for what’s right, for my goal, for my kind. At least I thought I did.

But I don’t have much time and what I am about to disclose should be considered a warning.

It all started today in the early waking hours, I received an invitation. About a blood ritual. Sealed with the ancestral coven’s crest. Signed with their sigil in red. It was said to happen a few moon phases away from now – a full blood moon. And who I am to be bonded remains a mystery, though I have an inkling. How peculiar that after all the years of my servitude, they chose now as the time to let me in their inner circle.

On the same day, I overheard heated discussions a few doors from my room. Zatura and a few coven members were preparing something threatening in Domino — a mass destruction of innocent lives. The Ancestral Witches are planning to steal the power of the Dragon Flame to wield the ultimate power that will control the whole Magic Dimension in total catastrophe. An endless cycle of suffering for everyone.

But don’t you find this all odd? It was only a matter of time until they found out. And I think they know. They know about my deepest secret. They know about you. The resurgence of your presence when we went head to head in the last mission. For the first time in years. Seeing you on the opposite side. I couldn’t bring myself to face you, let alone fight you. I needed to reason with you that day. I wanted to keep you safe, despite our circumstances. Even after all these years, I still thought about you. And now, they know. They know you mean something to me. That you’re close to me, to Oritel and Marion. And they’ll get to you. I know they will. They’ll weaponise you against me, all for the power of the Great Dragon. They’ll break you. And the thought of…

No. I can’t even write it out.

I never wanted you, or anyone, to be dragged into this. I never wanted this. In all my years trying to reinstate dark magic users as equal to light magic users, this is where I draw the line. I must leave. By dawn, I should be back in Magix and if you have not heard from me, then you know what this means.

So I hope this reaches you before it is too late.

Yours,

Griffin

P.S

Yours — I am yours, not the Ancestral Witches’, not Valtor’s, not the Company of Light’s, nor the Council’s, but yours, and yours alone. I am yours in other ways I was not. Yours for the times we spent apart. Yours even on opposite sides. Yours forever. 

P.S.S

And if this war will be the end, I am yours until then. Yours beyond death. If you’ll still have me… Even then… That is.

Faragonda stood up so hastily, it nearly sent her chair flying off the window but her magic stopped it from causing damage. She curled her fists so tightly, a surge of energy glowed from her orbit. As she grabbed hold of her chair, she fumbled and shattered to her knees, as if already surrendering in defeat. Tears streamed watery tracks on her cheeks, her periwinkle eyes sapped all the colour into grey. She buried her face on her knees as she wrapped her arms around her legs, rocking herself gently. Back and forth as she shivered. Unsteady breathing. Muffled cries. She wanted to scream. To open a portal to Obsidian. And bring Griffin to safety. To bring her home but it was not that easy. Wishful thinking.

Faragonda perused the night sky as she glanced towards the windows, whispering to the stars. Wishing. Hoping. To keep her from harm’s way. Faragonda keeps her in her memory, others in her heart. It was beyond words, yet she held her letter close to the rise and fall of her chest, wishing she could hold her close.

Faragonda did not need to wait until dawn for Griffin’s bittersweet escape because she knew Griffin would not make it out of there alive. Not that Griffin is not capable. If it was as easy as defeating the Black Mud Swamp Monster, then have at it but the Ancestral Witches were a different kind. And Griffin needed her. More than ever. Fuelled by her vengeance on the Ancestral Witches, Faragonda would burn the grounds of Obsidian before they could even step foot in Domino. Before they could even lay a finger on Griffin. And if Faragonda could march into Obsidian Castle and drag Griffin out of their wicked lair, she would have done it by now. But it was foolish to barge into the deepest, darkest depths of the Ancestral Coven. Not without a tactical, precisely, and carefully thought out plan. 

If it weren’t for how the Council demonised dark magic, Griffin would not need to help her kind be less ostracised from society. She would not be on the opposing side. She would not need to fight for her life, her fellow dark magic users’ lives. And maybe she would still have Griffin’s warmth in her heart. She would not have left Magix and they would still be friends. A flurry of hypotheticals flooded Faragonda’s mind, playing out different alternate realities of ‘maybes’ and ‘what-ifs’. 

But atlas, this was her reality. And it was up to Faragonda to do everything in her power to rescue Griffin, help achieve her goal, retain her freedom and still live to tell the story. 

First, she had to relay the information she had read to the King and Queen of Domino. To save Domino and the rest of the Magical Dimension. Hoping she could convince them to help her rescue Griffin. An impossible and difficult task, given the situation. Regardless of Griffin’s affiliation with the Ancestral Coven, Faragonda knows that the Griffin she grew up with, the prideful but kind-hearted witch who always had the best intentions, is still the same Griffin now. She had to try and reason with Marion and Oritel. It was Faragonda’s only fighting chance to save, not only Domino, but Griffin too. And if Faragonda does not receive their support, if she had to do it on her own, so be it.

[mommangomom]

admit it

~pairing: beidou x fem!reader ~cw: suggestive

content: beidou noticed you were being extremely friendly to the traveler, who you had just met a few days ago

The Traveler had a domino effect with the people she met since she was always helpful, kind, and just an overall good person, and you were no different. You spent the whole last few days at Liyue with her after doing commission with her days prior. Considering your out of the blue burst of good moods, of course your girlfriend Beidou noticed.

It was late at night when you arrived at the Crux ship. Everyone was practically ready for departure and only needed to wait until the break of dawn until setting sail. But in contrast to everyone else who was full of energy, you were slumped backwards with the amount of quest-ing you and the Travelers did. You made your way to Beidou's room to catch your much needed rest.

You opened the door smoothly thinking the captain must be outside aiding with the departure of the ship. So it was only reasonable to be shocked when she was instead sitting on her desk with her legs and arms crossed, glaring at you.

"You were gone for quite some time Y/n.." She said.

Maybe it was because of your exhaustion, but you couldn't notice her concerned tone, so you didn't think much of it and responded normally. "Well I was out with the Traveler the entire night, I'm exhausted." You yawned.

She scoffed, which was when you finally noticed her foul mood. "Traveler this, traveler that - You've been awfully close with that girl the past few days haven't you?" She questioned as she stood up and began walking closer.

It was clear to you she was acting on jealousy, and as angry as she looked, frankly it was adorable. You stood in your place. "I mean we've been partnered for commissions a lot... I wouldn't be surprised to pair up with her again next time we see each other." You told her with a smirk which only ticked her off more.

By now she was right in front of you. She towered over you by a couple inches so you had to tilt your head up just to reach her eyes.

"Tch, you really know how to get on my nerves Y/n."

You tilted your head, still keeping that taunting smirk. "I'm simply responding, 'Captain', what do you want me to do?"

All of a sudden you felt her hand cup your waist and pull you in, making you flinch and let out a quick yelp. Just hearing your voice began to influence Beidou in more ways than one. "Tell me how you truly feel about her, that Traveler."

Out of everything, you weren't expecting that. "Wh-"

"Come on.. just admit it, with how much you've been spending time with her, you must feel something with her right?" She whispered in a seductive tone that only made your ears burn red and your stomach churn.

Although it might anger her a little, you still wanted to continue the tease. "..Do you really want to know how I feel about her?" You asked, making Beidou's eyes bolden.

She hmphed. "The floor's yours."

Her face was inches away from yours you could practically feel her breath on the bridge of your nose. As a response you instinctively wrapped your arms around her neck and tugged. "That girl.. she'd never compare to you, Beidou, obviously, because you're the one I hold dearest."

Her cheeks grew a light shade of red and you heard the quiet gulp she took - to think the renowned captain of the Crux had such a flustered side to her - the thought of others ever finding out made you chuckle, but also, you wanted to be the only person to see it.

"What am I gonna do with you.."

Almost immediately after, her head tilt and she leaned fully into you for a kiss, and you gladly accepted it while reciprocating the same energy. It lasted seconds straight until you could no longer breathe and you broke off sending a small string of saliva across your lips. You both now were in complete heat over something so frivolous, not that the two of you minded.

Before she was about to lean in again, you frantically placed your hand on her chest. "Wait, what about the ship, don't you have to sail it out?" You asked, still out of breath.

"It's fine, I asked Kazuha to handle this one."

From there, the two of you went all out. To be honest, you weren't entirely sure how it got to this point, all you did was catch onto the wave and moved with the current. But in the end it was safe to say that you were no longer exhausted, seeing as you suddenly had all the energy in the world.

[blackbackedjackal]

I hope this isn’t a weird question, but how did you get into the practice of studying coyotes subspecies etc? Do you have to collect to be able to do so, or can online resources help? And where do you submit your findings. I’d love to get into something similar but I’m broke and unsure where to start

Not weird at all! It's just like, sort of a domino effect more than anything and a lot of really lucky interactions. It was like I had some major pieces of a big puzzle some but was missing other major parts that I eventually found by thinking outside the box.

I am not a researcher in the professional sense. I already had an interest in canids before I focused on coyotes, but it was an artistic interest. Color morphs and anatomy were interesting to me because at the time I wanted to improve on my art. So as I was going down different rabbit holes and collecting physical references (pelts, skulls, soft mounts, etc.) I noticed the one canid that had very little scientific research on them at the time were coyotes.

I couldn't find the answers I wanted online because the work hadn't been done. It was only in the mid 2010s this research finally started to surface in very random pockets online. But nothing as detailed or cohesive as the research done on ranched foxes, domestic dogs, and wolves. They were pretty much ignored by scientists because the stereotypes about them I believe kept people being scientifically interested in them at the time. The only information outside of Wikipedia were basically random studies published online, or old books I had to buy because the info had never been archived online.

So I figured, if I collected a bunch of them, I would have a library of information yet to be deciphered. I knew that genetic material would be needed at the bare minimum, and what better places than the roots of their teeth or the hair follicles to get the info from. I collected to archive any strange ones I came across and over time just got more detailed about my collection and data collection process the more I learned about how museums archived their collections. That's why I became a taxidermist, as it allowed me to collect things like tissue samples and work on the entire animal to get more information that I couldn't get from just buying skulls and the odd colored pelt.

I also attracted the right people interested in similar work through my blog. The three main researchers I work with I met through tumblr. We just all had the "we love coyotes bug" but in different ways. We started off chatting very casually and professionally (or about Steven Universe lmao) but they're some of my closest and dearest friends now. They were the missing pieces of my puzzle because the independent studies they had done about coyotes or other canids covered the gaps in my knowledge. We were able to teach each other and help each other.

Everything I've learned has come from independent study or group collaboration. I've spent thousands of hours just looking through all sorts of archives, online stores, libraries, forums, anywhere I thought may have some nuggets of information. I archived everything I could as any information was better than no information. I had to piece together various timelines, and corroborate that information with my friends who were more genetics or anatomical focused. We'd ask each other questions and were almost guarantee one of the 4 of us had an answer, had saved a book or article that may have the answer, or knew another researcher we could contact that had the answer.

So after years of this, the information became second nature. I went from not knowing anything about the subspecies, to being able to ID them form photos online or pelts and skulls in our collection. I went from having very little information, to an entire archive of scientific and historical data I collected on coyotes. We built our library and our community together. And even after all that STILL have not completed the puzzle, but we've gotten far closer by working together.

So to answer your questions, I got into the practice by practicing. To this day I'm still learning and archiving and updating my notes as I learn and improve. Nothing is set in stone but we have many hypotheses we've been muddling with and lining up things to aid in us to get actual funding and more definitive research done. We have plenty of questions, and some soft answers or plausible and likely theories, but we haven't shared any data because we either need to get the funding to run the tests we need, need to find other researchers who can help us add to our collective data, and in general just need the time to collaborate together in person (some of us are planning to move in together in the next few years though, so that's when things will really kick into high gear lol). Yes, online resources can help if the species you're interested in already have plenty of researchers who have published their findings, coyotes just aren't one of those species. Collecting physical specimens helps only if that's part of your research (like pathologies) AND if it's ethical to even collect those species to begin with. Coyotes are so numerous that we'd be able to have hundreds or thousands of specimens between the 4 of us and not effect their numbers (hopefully we won't need that many but like defiantly several hundred). Other species well, better get ready to jump into field research or working at conservation centers. Collecting information is (usually) free can often proves to be more valuable than many specimens you could collect. Like I can only decipher what's going on with my coyotes because of the books and articles and information I've read an gathered, especially when it's good information done by previous researchers.

We haven't shared much online aside from some specimen info/photos and things we can definitively say because a lot of our hypotheses either haven't been tested or proven/disproven. We don't want to spread any misinformation as that could ruin our reputation within the STEM community before we even begin, so until we have some tested and peer-reviewed info ready to publish (which is years down the line) and a couple of us get some more college/professional degrees under out belts, we've kept our research to ourselves for the integrity of the project. But we will be publishing any and all information when ready as a free online resource for other researchers. We want more people working in the field of coyote research and we're trying to help streamline the process so it's easier for people with no experience to get involved so they don't have to spend 5 years just researching HOW to research coyotes like we all have.

It's essentially self-led independent study. You have to just want to do it to do it. There's really no wrong way to do some general looking-up-things research. The hard part is learning how to do it ethically, scientifically, AND accepting you will make mistakes over and over that you have to be willing to self-correct. And trust me, it's far easier to do all of this if you find other people that you can work well with. You ain't gotta be besties (I just got very lucky in that regard), but you do need to be willing to corroborate your findings to check your work and ensure what you're doing is accurate.

tl;dr

[karaokebearwithal]

RULES: Post 5 songs associated with your OC, followed by 4 outfits they would wear

I was very kindly tagged by @piipaw to post TAv content!!!!!!!!!

Let's go!

(No sportifyin links I cannot afford)

Obviously for my Darling Domino Decanter~

Some Rare Ref Photo for ya (curtusy of me playing on a ps5 on a tv and not a PC)

SONGS:

(It based more on what my bard would sing rather than actually representing him)

Future starts Now by Kim Petras

Hearts Collide by Particle House

Ferris Wheel by Diveo

Out There by Muzz

AND

Hypnotic Pattern Chain by Odetari!

And for outfits:

To be quite honest this has two answers for Domino as umm well

If Domino is around people using her concentration spell:

If Domino is not actively using his illusion outfit concentration spell:

Any questions about this get up, My asks are open :)

OH also gotta tag some others for the game!

So uhhhh

@star-bear-art and ummm @quinthebard and mmmm @causticcontemplation !!!

And who ever else wants to play!

[vcrnons]

hello j!

relate your mutuals to svt songs go!

Mutuals as SVT songs, let’s GOOO<3

- @ikigaisvt : circles. i’ve said once and i’ll say a hundred times that sammy is, to me, like if a comfort blanket was a person. i play circles so often that it’s possibly gonna be in my top 5 on spotify this year, and every time i need to be reminded that everything’s going to be okay, it’s my go-to track (of any artist i listen to, not just svt). something about it just brings me such a warm, calming feeling from the deepest parts of my soul, and that’s what sammy means to me too. i genuinely cannot scream about her incredible nature enough, and even if i could find the words, i’d be a blubbering mess before i could finish saying them. i didn’t even have to think about this one. sammy, circles is for you.

- @irlvernon : wave! i adooooore this song so much you don’t even understand. it’s just one of those tracks that like… it doesn’t matter what mood i’m in when it comes on shuffle, i WILL, immediately, crack a smile. it’s a never-skip song okay. something about it feels so floaty and free and i just get that energy from max too. i cannot be a grouch when you’re in my dm’s. it’s scientifically impossible. i don’t know what that’s about but i’m VERY happy that it’s true. you’re wonderful. mwah.

- @aceofvernons : xan is home;run to me every single day of the week. you’re very very very very very (x10^15) cool and you bring me so much joy. i see your tags on any of my gifsets and need to take a seat before my knees give out from beneath me. your responses to my unhinged vernon asks could give me the energy to get through anything. so this works because any time i listen to home;run, i just get filled with so much pure happiness? one of those songs you wanna scream at full volume in the car on your way to wherever the fuck and i need you to know that in my head, xan is in the passenger seat screaming it with me.

- @ncteez : light a flame. do i need to explain this? i feel like it explains itself lol but OKAY fine let’s go. light a flame is such a soothing song and it’s SO easy to listen to but it’s also so MF HOT? look. if i deep this track for too long i start getting butterflies. and that’s how it feels reading anything hon writes, first of all, but just her ✨ energy ✨ is very light a flame. those pretty woozi high notes are her sweet, softer sides and the deep wonwoo parts = her ability to completely derail my week (complimentary). tldr hon, ur hot and nice and i like u.

- @hwanghyunjinenthusiast : anyone! okay this is an undeniably fantastic song and the video for it makes my brain short-circuit which are also two things about rj that are literally just facts. in the same way i always go to rewatch any of the anyone performances and tell myself i’m able to handle it, i go crawling into rj’s inbox with usually something feral and i always come out feeling like i’ve been hit by a train (affectionate, complimentary). HER BRAIN. IS HUGE. and it causes me real strife but i keep going back for more because it’s delicious and that’s just. how anyone makes me feel. one of my absolute favourite svt bangers for one of my dearest, most precious mutuals.<3

- @eoieopda : domino!! this was one of the first svt songs i ever listened to and i maintain that it is one of the best in their discography. domino is so lovely and bouncy and ANY time i see jade on the dash, i’m about to do a cartwheel i swear to god. also here’s some lore nobody asked for: if i need to do something, esp at work, and i feel like i’ve got a mental block trying to start it, domino is one of my ultimate hype songs. whichhhh is relevant if you’ve ever seen jade’s fic feedback. the BEST hypeman (/gn) ever. i want to put every single comment they’ve ever left me in a locket and wear it over my heart forever.

- @xukmins : snap shoot : max’s energy is V E R Y snap shoot to me. i can’t really explain that properly but it is, it makes sense in my head. she’s very bouncy and exciting and energetic, and truly any time i think about max or she’s in my inbox, i really just see so much brightness and fun and the happiness that you could always see in the snap shoot stages.<3

- @haechannabelle : _world!!! i don’t know if it’s the mv for it that springs to mind when i think of world but i immediately start thinking of bright colours and summer and that’s what i think about with annabelle too? your art is always so vibrant and even if it’s not of an artist I listen to, im always sat there looking at my screen like 🥹🥹🥹 because your pieces are always SO gorgeous. but you come across as so vibrant and bouncy too and this song just fits you SO well in my head.

- @cheolhub : is it. cringe. to say all my love. OKAY LOOK we don’t rly actually talk a bunch but i see sar in my notifications and it’s like someone put a fuzzy cardigan around my shoulders and has come to hold my hand. there is not a single part of all my love that i don’t adore; i could have it on repeat for a whole day and not get bored just listening intently to every member’s voice and remembering all the reasons i adore seventeen. to that end, i could equally scroll sar’s blog for a whole 24 hours and be sat with hearts in my eyeballs the entire time.

( i’ve definitely forgotten some lovely people and i’m SO sorry for that aaaaaa. i went back through my recent interactions & stuff but i do also have the working memory of a walnut && will no doubt be kicking myself in like two hours time for not including one of my loves in this ;_; pls forgive me. you’re all so very dear to me & don’t you dare forget it.<3 )

[prismaticpichu]

Can you imagine I like to read Sephiroth fanfics???

As I’m going back and re-reading some of the dearest, most embedded Crisis Core/Pre-Nibelheim works in my heart, I’ve kinda gotten to thinking why I love them so much. And then it hit me! It’s the stellar characterization of the 7-foot-tall-cat-man-thing that deepens and dimensionalizes and humanizes him all at once. Recently I’ve been reevaluating my own stuff, kinda thinking how I could improve and shoot to be more on-point with my own interpretation (personally I think I make him too squishy). So! To do this, I’ve went ahead and jotted down some key traits that, in my humble bumble opinion, make sane!Sephiroth who he is- both for me and my fellow writers!

Get ready for some overanalyzing, friends. Here we go. Brace yourselves. *applies dollar store glasses*

~~~~~~

• One of the #1 integral traits imo is his RESILIENCE. Sephiroth. Is. Frigging. Resilient, man. He never stops working. It’s an extremely double-edged trait, but that makes it all the more human. On one hand, Sephiroth gauzes wounds through doing this, using work and fighting as a distraction. He’s not a guy to take a day off; he ain’t going to Costa Del Sol for a vacation, no sir. That’s the negative side of things tho. On the other hand, Sephiroth is physically resilient! I’ve never ever ever seen this portrayed better than in LuckyLadybug’s fic Shine Until Tomorrow on FF.Net, wherein after being consumed by flames, knifed in the back, and thrown down a FREAKING MOUNTAIN, this man drags his shredded body all the way across Wutai looking for someone who’ll help him. When help doesn’t come, he eventually falls to his knees, unable to stand any longer. And then he proceeds to crawl (bless this fic I love it so much <333). Whether it’s mentally or physically pushing himself on, it’s a VERY core part of Sephiroth’s personality; giving up ain’t an option. It’s unacceptable in his little kitty eyes.

• Second to resilience, I gotta say, is undoubtedly his loyalty. No better example for this than canon itself! Y’all know the story: Sephiroth was ordered to kill his only buddies in the world, ordered by the company he was supposed to devote every aspect of his life to. And he went ahead and defied them; he spared his buddies’ lives even when their friendship was blighted. He refused missions to fight them at all (see this WHY SEPHIROTH WAS TOO GOOD FOR— *tv bleeping sound; takes deeeeeep breath, collects herself*). Loyalty is prolly the trait I wanna nail most! Sephiroth is a good friend. I’ve seen so many fics explore how deep his care goes and what he’s willing to do for others.

• Sephiroth AIN’T bloodthirsty. The best works I’ve read is where he only ever kills out of defense for others, or when others are a noticeable threat. He does NOT enjoy killing, not at all, and will look for alternate routes when possible. However! At the same time… the guy is well aware that sometimes it can’t be helped—and that bloodshed, sacrifice, that whole jam… it’s all engraved into the line of work he’s in. Additionally, Seph can lose it sometimes (GASP— I know, I know, I know, calm down folks in the back.) There are times when sore spots are hit, and those sore spots unleash the Dragon™️ I’ma bring back LuckyLadybug for this one; in the sequel to the aftermentioned gem, there’s a part wherein Sephiroth is taunted to the point of snapping. Blood is sent flying, bodies crumble like dominoes… The thing is though, when he came back to himself, he’s horrified at what he’d done. He can barely stand. There’s a real human heart in there, folks ;,3 Not a monstrous one. Sephiroth’s hero title is well-deserved.

• In a similar vein—kinda, not really—Sephiroth AIN’T stupid. Not socially, not culturally. This man knows what an oatmeal cookie is, folks! He knows how to dip french fries in ketchup! From what I can gauge, there’s more or less a spectrum of “things that Sephiroth had no idea existed”. Pastries? Yes! Just cause this guy was most likely sheltered and raised by evil slimy scientists, just because he never had one before (we don’t talk about that :,3), that doesn’t mean he looks at a cookie and his mind explodes into a Windows buffering screen. In tandem with that point, Sephiroth is also not socially slow—at least in my opinion. There’s a difference between being unable to express empathy and unable to pick up cues. There’s a little scene in CC wherein Sephiroth sees Zack grumpy and asks what’s wrong. The guy is very empathetic, perceptive, and he is kind <333 But it is true to his character that it doesn’t always come across so palpably.

• Sephiroth’s gotta sense of humor. He does! “This goes on your permanent record” came outta this refrigerator’s mouth. Sephiroth’s amusement is very veiled, very quiet, and it usually takes something reeallllly good to get him to crack a smile. I think everyone knows it, but this guy ain’t made of bricks! (Nor is he made of play-doh. That’s my problem x,D). He is also not all that formal, either. I’m saying this to myself more than anything—little me avoided Sephiroth using contractions like the PLAGUE, which only really crafted someone who you frankly wanted to punch. Though he’s not throwing around slang, he is a perfectly chill fellow and doesn’t speak in Shakespearian riddles (yeah remake Seph.)

• Sephiroth is not thinking about his mommy issues 24/7. They’re usually tucked away, hidden somewhere in his caged little heart. Certain things will trigger them—but they’re rarities imo. Sephiroth is focused, professional, and most likely has accepted what happened to his mother when he was young. It’s not allllllll a mask, y’know? This bean genuinely has moved on, or at least convinced himself that he has.

(And when he has a friend by his side, those things can’t plague him at all <3)

[deadbeatbirdmom]

Blake Nickname Poll Results

Transcript:

Blakey: 34.2% Babe or Baby: 30.8% Dear: 1.5% Honey: 7.2% Cat associated (Kitten, Kitty, etc): 8% My Love or Darling (if reclaimed from Adam): 0.8% Brighteyes (credit to @based7100 for their headcanon): 3.8% Other: 1.1% No nickname, just Blake: 12.5% Final result from 262 votes (not including my own)

Blakey 'won,' with Babe or Baby under 5% behind, as far as a fanon nickname poll can be won.

Some interesting things from replies and tags of reblogs:

Adapted from @lovingdabeessss tags:

Bell or other belladonna related nicknames. Blake isn’t really a nicknameable name in my opinion and they (Blake and Yang) were buddies way before they were dating, and Yang is definitely the Type to give nicknames. I think she’s the type to give a normal nickname and have it just get crazy from there.

Like with Ruby it’d be like Ruby to Rubs to Gemstone to Pebble to like Rock to Rock and Roll to Extra Extra. For Blake it’d be something similar, Belladonna to Bella to Bells to Donna to Don to Ella and then it’d just get crazy. Like Yang the music nerd would be like “Hey Stevie Nicks" as a reference to the album belladonna.

Blake would start responding to anything. It might evolve to literally anything starting with a 'b,' like Bonnie. Nicknames are just like that in my experience, domino effects man they’re crazy.

Adapted from @incredibly-unprofessional tags:

Blake and Yang calling each other honey would be SO FITTING LIKE CMON, they're literally THE BEES. BEES MAKE HONEY

o o o o o o also yang calling blake 'gorgeous'

From a reply by @vanphanel:

Yang would delight in coming up with new nicknames for Blake fitting to the occasion: some punny, some sincere, sometimes she'd just call her "Blake."

From @kkglinka's tags:

Honeybee

From @iactuallytryingtolovemyself's tags:

I think they would call each the most niche things. For Blake maybe things like “my dearest 50k omegaverse ninjas of love fanfic writer” or “my dear 'uuhh I mean you're great and I'll hurry back'"

[scenetocause]

hello my dearest emptyhalf do you have any horny thoughts about max and his slutty hairy thighs and lando's shirt a lil tight on his chest? if you wanted to share ❤️

this was all very slutty of them wasn't it. their medium phase is very slutty. i think they should do it! max is looking very hot lately and i know he has a complicated relationship(tm) to his body because don't we all but it is very nice, very cute! if i was an even less restrained person there would probably be omegaverse in his fictional self's near future for looking, ahem, breedable.

some ficlet. warning: undernegotiated polyamory/probably just cheating but whatever

"Mate" Max isn't even going to pretend he thinks what Lando's about to say should be on stream, glares at him as though Lando doesn't know perfectly well he's already muted his mic.

"You - those shorts. Did you always have - y'know, legs like... that."

"I have always had legs, yes, Bob." Max sighs. This is going to be - he had a feeling bringing Pietra was going to turn things chaotic but he'd been hoping Lando'd like her more if they spent a bit of time together.

It's not that he thinks Lando likes her any less or that it's been totally unsuccessful getting them to speak to each other. It's just that Lando likes Max so much he can't act normal about it and Max had been promising he wasn't going to - like, he's not under the illusion this is ok, really but also it's Lando and if only they could've coordinated being single better maybe-

Ok, stop that thought. He's not having that thought. But this is a lot more complicated than he was expecting it to be, mostly because of the simple truth that Lando wants to get in his pants and Max wants him to.

"They're, hmm." Lando chews his own thumb for a moment. "Very nice."

"Thanks, Bob." He doesn't dare look round, having averted his eyes to the screen while Lando was still gnawing at whatever this is. "Can you help me set this up?"

Giving Lando things to do for Max always seems to focus him, bring him back from whatever alternate universe he was getting close to touching. It's just that it also gives him an excuse to touch Max, which gets very dangerously close to groping Max's tits on camera and they might be muted but this isn't a good idea.

He knew he shouldn't have worn the McLaren shirt. Except that he did, precisely so this would happen and he could blame it on Lando being a gremlin instead of Max wanting.

"Bob," he says it quietly, catching sight of himself in his own camera for a second and nearly squirming. His lips look kiss-swollen even though - he swears - they haven't been and he's got this look he remembers from Pietra's bedroom with the mirror wardrobe.

Lando is grinning, the sharp-teeth one that's particularly unhinged and always makes Max feel like something good's about to happen. Like feeling out a car that you know is going to be good for pole. Like lightning on the horizon. Like they're gonna order Domino's to the Woking house and then get each other off on the big, stupid, grey sofa.

It takes him slightly too long to refocus, has absolutely no idea what track or race or anything he's about to be doing and it's guaranteed to be a mess anyway. He can't think about iRacing when his brain's running away with reasons it'd be fine to just stay up late with Lando tonight, get some them-time to do man things.

Just normal things. Innocent things, as the meme goes.

Lando trails his stupid, long fingers down the back of Max's neck, stroking behind his ears and he shivers involuntarily, has to rearrange in the seat only to settle right back to where Lando can touch him. Like he does with everything.

[digitaidummy]

"Today's the most important day of the year! Guess what it is? It's a holiday in Domino City, so you gotta know!"

"Yup!!! It's my dearest, coolest, talented nii-sama's birthday!!!!!!!"

"Alright, here I go! Three, two, one..."

"Happy birthday, nii-sama!! I love you!!!"

[kayrockerqog]

Leadershipping (oc x canon)

Headcanons 🎻🦖

Because screw it, something to make me feel better for Crimbus-

As per my headcanon that Kenzan started to cook meals with Kabayama (or Prof. Sartyr, aka the Ra dorm head teacher) after their duel; he often has Musa joining them since she's also used to making her own food. Through this, they learn each other's flavour profiles and occasionally make each other snacks or entire meals just because----most often, Kenzan brings Musa something to eat while she's studying.

Even before they were romantically involved, Musa was the most effective method of snapping him out of dino mode. None of the others know why that is.

Musa is actually a bit of a Mai fangirl, and implies as much while the gang is in Domino City in Season Two. This enthusiasm was met with even MORE enthusiasm from Kenzan and the two would be talking tidbits about Battle City whenever he wasn't preoccupied arguing with Sho.

"You were in a tag duel on top of the same building Mutou-san and Kaiba-san did?" "YEAH, THAT'S WHAT I SAID WHEN WE GOT THERE, SAURUS!!" "I'm quite jealous...what I would not give to be where Kujaku-san dueled..."

More under the cut because I get kinda rambly,,

While he was still trying to get to know Musa, Kenzan would make many amateur mistakes during their music class JUST so she would talk to him.

Musa has a stim where she taps her fingers on whatever surface she has nearby, and sometimes she gets into a deliberately complex rhythm when she's trying to calm down. If Kenzan is around when she's tapping, he will slowly start tapping back a counter-rhythm that'll get slower until she adjusts to the beat and settles.

In contrast, since Kenzan is a bit of a biter and she noticed he chews on his pencils a lot, she got him a bag of those bigger attachable erasers to nom on instead of the actual pencil.

Though Musa is not one for too much PDA, she has gotten used to Kenzan having an arm around her by the time they're dating and will lean on his shoulder if he doesn't while they're standing together until he does.

They've developed a habit of whistling to get each other's attention, half because Musa has exceptional hearing and half because Kenzan's dino instincts are similar to dog instincts, so they listen for it above all the other noises.

Kenzan takes pictures of any birds he finds outside or hanging out elsewhere to show Musa and get her rambling about them.

During the zombie arc, they exchanged cards and kept the other's in their decks "in case of an emergency;" Musa has a copy of Black Stego, while Kenzan has a copy of Solo the Melodious Songstress.

[Rei and Fubuki tease the hell out of them about this]

">:3 Sooooo, our dearest Queen of Ra has bestowed a token of her affections to her champion~ What a bold move, Musa-chan~!" "...what on Earth are you talking about? It was nothing like that."

"Oooooh, you guys traded cards to put in your decks so you have a part of each other everywhere you go?? That's so cute!!" "W-What?? No!! It was a precautionary move in case something goes wrong!! Yeah, that's it, saurus."

After wearing his bandana for so long during the Yubel arc, Musa got used to having one on and felt weird without it. So for Christmas he made her one, in his most obvious act of courtship to date. With embroidered music notes. (because his customizing of his jacket has me convinced he can sew) She cried on the spot. /pos

They have candid pictures of each other as their phone wallpapers.

They are 100% the type of couple coordinating their outfits without trying to. Like they keep to their own aesthetics, and yet they match.

And a lot of these next ones are connected, so, spacer :>

Because Musa is dense as a rock when it comes to flirting, she occasionally tells Kenzan about "strange encounters" with other male students telling her random things, only for him to tell her they were pick-up lines and ask for the students' names. For reasons :>

And if any brave soul tried this while Kenzan was there, they would almost immediately cower away because, dear god does that boy have the most terrifying guard dog energy.

He also uses this to his advantage since Musa is about as straightforward as it gets, always saying how much he loves her and her quirks in oddly specific ways. He is also very vocal about it.

On the other hand, Musa values Kenzan's opinion a LOT, and her best display of affection outside of her gifting/acts of service is to ask him questions about things. What he's currently working on, how his day is going, if he noticed anything interesting, and opinions on stuff going on; she likes to know his feelings and uses that knowledge to better help him or cater to his wants.

...which is exactly how she learned about his leg pain and migraines, which causes her to check the weather far more than any sane person would so she can make him tea to soothe the pain.

He HAS tried to pull off a grand gesture or two, most notably when Musa got the Asuka treatment and another suitor straight up tried to claim they were engaged (despite Musa literally not even knowing the guy)--- Kenzan challenged him to a duel, absolutely wrecked him, all the while debunking every fake claim the guy made pretending he knows Musa and thus proving how well he knows her.

"...he actually remembered all of that." "Ahhhhh, my heart!! Musa-chan, you're so lucky, that's so romantic of him!!" "...yes, I suppose it is. &lt;3"

....yeah, I'm ill about them, I'm well aware, leave me alone /lh /nm