#and i'd be out of Gifts of Exploration. + if i want to make another Aurene legendary i'll need to map complete echovald again (agony)

[valiant-portabella-pirkko]

"It is done, my Champion. When this world comes to heel, you will be my blade in the dark. Together we will remind mortals why they once feared the night."

Guess who just finished Mordremoth's Fang the other night. :)

[avelera]

(Arcane Headcanon) Ever since S1 of Arcane, I thought we'd learn that Singed was the one who helped Viktor get into the Academy by passing along a personal recommendation on his behalf to Heimerdinger to help Viktor after he fled Singed's lab.

Since S2 is out now this falls firmly into the "headcanon" category rather than meta, but I'd like to think it's a plausible headcanon and perhaps explore what its implications could have been?

Viktor tells Jayce that no one ever believed in him when he came to Piltover but it is curious that he so coincidentally ran into the Head of the Council, Founder of the City, and Dean of the Academy Heimerdinger who not only took a liking to Viktor but eventually took him under his wing and elevated Viktor from impoverished student from the undercity to his personal assistant. Unless, of course, someone who was once close to Heimerdinger recommended Viktor to him as a bright young mind in need of a positive mentor (and I can easily see Heimerdinger being all the more eager to take Viktor under his wing after learning Singed once mentored him specifically too make sure the boy is free of any lingering influence from Singed's view of the world).

Basically, it strikes me as incredibly plausible that Singed realizedthat Viktor was far too soft-hearted for the distasteful work necessary to turn Rio into a cure for Oriana. But, Singed knew of someone else someone who was similarly softhearted who could mentor Viktor instead. And, at his core, I think Singed always had a soft spot for Viktor and did want to see him succeed. I could easily see him realizing Viktor doesn't fit in with him. While Viktor as a child believed that storming off would mean the end of his relationship with Singed, I actually do think Singed has enough altruism left to look out for Viktor anyway, and to relaize they were a poor fit, and to therefore send a covert letter of recommendation to Heimerdinger. Something along the lines of, "I'm sending you a student. Whatever our past disagreements, he is a gifted young mind who would be a credit to your institution."

That said, I think it would have to be something that happens without Viktor's knowledge in order to sync with his canonical in his belief that no one ever believed in him. And, given how he and Singed parted, it would make sense that Singed doesn't tell Viktor he did it AND for Heimerdinger to not bring the recommendation up either, to allow Viktor to believe Heimerdinger just "stumbled across him" ruminating in his steel oasis, perhaps knowing to look there because of Singed's direction and still being willing to listen to Singed's recommendation when it comes to a gifted young scientist, even if he would never work with Singed personally again.

And finally, if such a scene occurred (big "if" of course, but as I said, I think it's plausible) it's a bit of a shame that it wasn't shown on screen because it would have worked very well as yet another parallel between Mel and Viktor. That, like Mel, Viktor was also explicitly sent to Piltover because he'd get along better with those, "Soft-spined idealists," just like how Ambessa sent Mel away.

And, like Ambessa with Mel and (possibly) Singed with Viktor, there would be the tantalizing possibility that Singed also recognized the horror of what he was doing with Rio, and that through Viktor's eyes he could see it too, and so he needed to send Viktor away in part because he "weakened" Singed, distracted him from his singular drive to bring Oriana back and instead made him consider instead letting her go and seeing the child in need who was right in front of him (arguably the healthier choice for everyone involved and one Oriana would have likely approved of if she had a say). And this parallels too with Ambessa also not wanting to be distracted from her singular, self-destructive drive towards her goals and how Mel showed her another way that she wasn't ready to embrace, and never would be. This could have also leant some weight to Ambessa and Singed's eventual team-up.

But anyway, it's never made explicit so it sadly must remain in headcanon land, free to a good home if someone wants to use it in a fanfic, etc etc.

[somanyratsinthewalls]

Congrats on 700!!!! You absolutely deserve it!!!!!

I'd eat up anything eggshell, but can I get bat please 👉👈

HI FRIEND thanks for requesting! This is only my second or third time ever writing Killer sooooo I'm still getting into it, but I tried my best!

Pairing: Massacre Soldier Killer x Female Reader

Prompt/Trope: Exhibitionism

Summary: You opt to join Killer on an exploration trip instead of drinking with the rest of the crew. It takes some convincing, but Killer decides to loosen up a bit.

MINORS DNI!!!

WC: 2100

TWs: voyeurism, non con voyeurism but they're all open about it, unprotected sex, p in v sec, size difference ah!!!! steamy hot spring onsen sex, killer keeps his mask on sorry yall I'm feeling canony

Take a Dip (+18)

— — 

You sit at the kitchen table flipping through your old pile of gossip magazines for what seemed like the billionth time. You had your head in your hand while you finished up reading “Hottest Ramen Spots on the Grand Line” for the 5th time. You let out a long sigh. 

Killer, who was cleaning out the refrigerator across the room from you, picked his head up and turned in your direction. 

“What plagues you, tiny thing?” Killer stands up straight and wipes his hands off with the dish cloth that was slung over his shoulder. 

“I’m so fucking BORED!” You slam your magazine closed and toss it haphazardly towards the end of the table. Kid promised you would make land today, which delighted you to no end. It had been weeks on this stuffy ship and you were excited to get off and stretch your legs for a bit. You had gotten ready to go early in the morning, basically skipping through the Victoria Punk’s hallways as you made sure you had everything you needed for an excursion. 

That was until Kid decided the safest thing to do would be to head to the town after nightfall. He thought the crew would attract less attention if they arrived under cover of darkness. 

“But I want to go now!” You whined in protest. 

“And I want to be King of the Pirates!” Kid had shouted back at you. “Sometimes things don’t go your way!” 

And this was how you ended up slumped at the kitchen table nursing a warm, half drank beer while going through trashy magazines. 

“The sun’s gone down already, I’m sure we will get off soon.” Killer begins wiping off the kitchen counters with disinfectant. 

“I can only read ‘6 Vibrators You Need to Buy RIGHT NOW’ so many times before I stick my head in Victoria’s coal engine.” You sigh. 

“Hmmm… can you order those straight from the magazine, or..? Because you’re a bit cranky, I guess I could get you an early Christmas gift. ” Killer says as he continues meticulously cleaning his kitchen. You can hear a smile in his voice, he must have a cheeky grin on his face underneath that damn mask. 

“Yeah yeah yeah okay whatever.” You roll your eyes. You feel your cheeks heat up a bit, so you turn your body away from Killer to hide your blush. You grab another magazine to further disguise your flushed expression. 

The galley door was kicked open and you whipped your body around. Killer turned around from his place at the sink, hanging up a pair of rubber gloves. 

A heavy thud of combat boots and a flurry of red hair had burst into the kitchen.

“Let’s go, assholes!” Kid grinned at the two of you before retreating to the deck. 

— —

The Kid Pirates strolled through the quiet, gas lamp lit streets of this remote town, Kid leading the way, no doubt towards whatever bar was still open. It was easy top spot, being the only business with their lights on and a hot pink neon sign blaring in the foggy window. It seemed this sleepy little town was so small that the main square seemed to only consist of a few buildings. 

There was a pub, a butcher, a general store, and few other essential businesses, along with an old school Onsen hot spring further up the road a bit on a grassy hill. Kid holds the pub door open for the rest of you but you noticed Killer staying back. You’re about to enter the bar but you turn around to shout at Killer who was still in the road. 

“You’re not coming?” You question.

“Yeah come on, loser, let’s get fucking drunk!” Kid shouts from above you, still holding the door. 

“Not tonight. I want to see if anything else is open. We could use some supplies.” Killer holds his ground and starts walking up the road. 

“Wait for me!” You call out and duck under Kid’s giant metal arm to hustle up to Killer in the road. 

“Oh come on, y/n! You’re my good time girl!” Kid pouts at you. 

“I’m sure there’s plenty of girls looking for a good time in there!” You give Kid a sarcastic smile and a wave as you jog down the cobblestone road. 

You finally reach Killer and keep your pace quick to match his… his legs were much longer than yours. You walk together in silence for a few minutes, nothing heard but the clicking of your boots on the road and the dull hum of grasshoppers. 

“Why did you want to come?” Killer eventually asks you. 

“I dunno. We sit and drink all the time, I’d rather do something different while we’re out.” You say as you watch your feet, trying not to trip over the craggy road beneath you. 

“I see.” Killer states plainly. 

You walk without saying anything for awhile again as the two of you reach the top of the hill. The onsen comes into view. You see the hot springs gently cascading down from one azure pool to another, steam radiating heavily out of the pool to dance upwards into the crisp air. 

“Oh, Kil! Come on!” You break off from Killer and run towards the pools. 

“Y/n, they aren’t open.” Killer waits in the road. 

“Okay? And we’re pirates? Who cares? Come on! Come get in with me!” You say as you skip over to a particularly large, stone pool and kick off your boots. 

Realizing you weren’t going to be swayed, Killer grunts in frustration and heads over to where you were undressing. 

“You realize anyone can see you like this out here?” Killer reminds you, not taking anything off himself, just watching you. 

“And? God, Kil you’re really being a buzzkill tonight.” You rip your shirt over your head, leaving you in your jeans and your bra. “It’s almost like you’re going soft…” You tease as you unhook your bra and toss it to the side. Your naked breasts bounce freely and you didn’t need to see through Killer’s mask to know exactly where he was looking. 

Killer lets out a long sigh. He then rips his blue t-shirt over his head, your eyebrows raising as his golden, washboard abs and pecs are exposed to you. You quickly strip off your jeans and panties and step into the pool. 

“Ohhh…” You groan as you sink further into the relaxing, hot waters. You felt your tired muscles release and the grit and grime of the sea melt off your skin. You hear movement in the water behind you and you turn around to see Killer already in up to his waist. You pout at him playfully, as you didn’t get to see him fully nude before he got in. 

“Happy now?” Killer chided as he stalked towards you at the other end of the hot spring. He slowly gets closer and closer to you. 

“Hmmm…. Almost…” You bite your lip and look up at the blonde’s hulking form that was now right in front of you. 

“Oh? And what would make you happy, tiny thing?” Killer asks as he brings his left hand to gently play with your hair. He was standing and you were sunk down into the pool… your face was so close to his hard cock, bobbing just under the surface of the water.. he could have pushed your mouth on it in a second…

You hop up and sit yourself on the stone edge of the pool and spread your legs, presenting yourself to Killer. 

“I want you to fuck me, Kil.” You reach your hand down and spread your lips with two fingers, showing Killer exactly where you wanted him and how badly. Killer takes a split second to decide what he was going to do before pouncing on you entirely. He pulls your head into his chest and uses his other hand to line his throbbing cock up with your hole. 

“You want this, little one?” You feel it rumble through Killer’s chest. 

“Please…” You whisper out. 

Killer hikes you up fully into his embrace. Your wrap your arms around his neck and lean your forehead into his mask. Killer sinks you down onto his cock swiftly, plunging it into you in one smooth thrust, holding you up with your knees over his forearms as he impaled you on his member. 

“Aaah… fuck!” You cry out and throw your head back as you feel yourself being stretched so deeply. Killer grunted as he gripped your ass cheeks even harder to toss you up and down on his giant cock as he stood in the hot spring. 

You tangle your hands in Killer’s long blonde hair spilling out from behind his mask. He gave you an extra hard thrust in response which made you yelp. 

“Such a tight little thing…” Killer huffs out to you as he pumped his hips upward into you at an unrelenting pace. “Must have needed this bad, huh?”

“Y-y-es! F-fuckk so g-good!” You slam your eyes shut and you can barely get out coherent words with how fast Killer was slamming into your cunt. Suddenly you were spun around and felt yourself being lowered on your back onto the stones lining the hot spring. Killer ripped your legs apart by your knees and moved to stand between them, tapping his weeping tip on your clit teasingly. 

The hand that wasn’t teasing his cock against your sex was reaching up to grab at one of your breasts harshly. You start to moan under his touch when he abruptly slams his cock into you to the hilt again without warning. You yelp. 

“AH!” 

“Quiet, sweet girl… you don’t want the whole town to hear you like this, right?” Killer coos down at you as he thrusts into your messy pussy from above. 

“Ahh- K-kil! I-I’m close!” You feel your muscles squeeze and that familiar tingling in your lower half starts to reach its peak. This only increases the speed of Killer’s thrusts. 

“FUCK!” You ignore Killer’s warning and you let out a loud moan to the starry sky as your orgasm hits you. 

“That’s a good girl…” Killer pulls his cock out of your hole as he feels you finally stop spasming around his shaft. He steps forward to stroke himself quickly over your flushed body. Your eyes had hardly returned from the back of your head when you felt hot ropes of cum splatter against your chest and abdomen. 

After a few seconds of catching his breath, Killer scoops up your body from the cool stone and places you gently on his lap as he sinks the two of you into the hot spring. You feel the hard nuzzle of his mask against your forehead as he gently wipes the cum off your chest under the water. 

*clap* 

You pick your head up from Killer’s chest. 

*clap* …. *clap* …. *clap*

“What the fuck is that?” You say as your eyes scan the area. 

*clap clap clap clap clap* 

“Bravo!”

*wolf whistle*

*clapping continues*

“Nice show, kids!” You finally were able to pinpoint the unknown speaker. 

You were all but mortified as you see Kid, Heat, and Wire all hanging drunkenly off the wooden fence to the Onsen. 

“What the fuck! How long were you there- Kid… are you eating??” You shout as you cover your breasts instinctively, Killer’s protective hand coming up to replace it yours. 

“Yeah-“ Kid shoves another handful of chips into his mouth. “I didn’t think we’d come across something as interesting as you guys fucking in the hot spring, so I brought a snack.” 

“Yeah and honestly the chewing was really distracting.” Heat chimed in. “You should really close your mouth, dude.” 

“What? So you can perv-out over your crew members some more?” Kid spat back. 

“Captain, you were the one who suggested we ‘stay to catch the end.’” Wire adds. "Nice choice with the cum shot, by the way. I'd have done the tits too."

“I NEVER SAID THA-“ Kid spouts off but Killer interrupts him. 

“If you’re finished arguing, the show is over.” 

You feel Killer’s grip on your naked body tighten. 

The trio turns tail and continues squabbling with each other as they stumble back to the Victoria Punk. You can’t help but giggle a bit. 

“What’s so funny, little one?” Killer whispers into your ear. 

“Your jealousy is showing, Kil.” You laugh as you lay your head back against Killer’s bicep. You bring your hand up to hold his mask. “You know I’m yours.” 

“I know.” Killer says softly as he strokes your back. “I just think we should charge them to watch next time.” 

[feral-lore-creature]

💙 Prometheus Fics I Adore 💙

Just here to share some Prometheus (Alien) fics I love to re-read. 😌

Forbidden Gifts by Ardath_Rekha On Ao3 (Has not been finished) - This fic actually has the Last Engineer x Elizabeth Shaw ship! It's such an extreme rare-pair, and it's very well done! I love this ship with my whole heart, istg. - The bridging done between the prequels & the main film is interesting, and the whole story takes you on such a journey. The only thing I remember of reading this the first time was that it was a perfect vibe for mid-winter. - I won't spoil anything, but it does something really interesting with David's character, so for any David sympathizers (*cough cough* @elecctromechanika ) this one's pretty fun! - Is super internal-dialogue centered, and I love it for that! - Just as a note: there is a sex scene in here, but the author warns you thoroughly, and you can skip it if you please.

Those Whom Fortune Favors + Intrepid by JShale on Ao3 (Intrepid isn't finished, but the first one is!) - Those Whom Fortune Favors doesn't need much artistic liberty when going in, as it keeps the same isolated feeling & story as the movie. - Elizabeth's characterization is so fucking on-point. It's always the little things that make each character so distinct from one another, and makes them layered. - Intrepid is basically TWFF, but from the Last Engineer's P.O.V. & adds really interesting perspective I think I needed to recognize how severely a language barrier can warp your perception of a character.

Alone by @wingedmidnight on Ao3 (My apologies if you don't want to be tagged! I'll get rid of whatever upon request. :3) - This fic is OC & David centered, but I love it a lot because of that. It's a very interesting take, seeing the world through a different human's eyes while exploring the weird world of Alien. - David also doesn't turn out to be a creepy little murder machine! No war crimes here. Love that for him. - If you don't like shipping, romance, or sexual tension (the latter of which happens in the both of the above listed, seemingly only on Shaw's side in TWFF-) this one's better suited! - The world building is so creative! Not just in environment, but in the personalities and culture of the Engineers. - Not finished, but I don't mind. I love re-reading it either way.

Curiosity is a Virtue by MewMidnight fanfiction.net (Is also not finished) - There's definitely Elizabeth x Engineer stuff in here, but I'm a little less focused on that. There's also like... one chapter of smut, but it can be easily avoided, if that's not to your taste. - Shaw is as curious as she always is here, constantly seeking answers. - I enjoy the little chunks of world-building in here, but it's mostly funny to watch the other Engineers gawk over Shaw and David the whole time. - CiaV is a far lighter read by comparison, for multiple reasons. It's just such a nice ride.

Figured I'd make this list to give a bit of love (and life) back into this niche corner of the Alien fandom! I hope you give at least one of these a try, and happy reading! 💙

[weirdlookingsnakewithlegs]

I have decided to make my own presence known here thank you for leaving the door open no I will not be leaving anytime soon

I can only be mildly obsessed with Seeker culture here just because.

Anyways- I propose a personal headcanon:

All seekers have some certain special coding specifically regarding reaction times. The purpose of said coding is to make sure if they're ever flying in some rather cramped area (maybe think maybe a deep canyon with rocky pillars) that they can react in time to avoid hitting something at high speed. So seekers have much faster reaction times in comparison to bots of other frame types, which would also put them a bit ahead when it comes to combat. That leads to a second headcanon.

Seekers very much enjoy racing. Not car racing, but sky racing. Specifically not in flat or clear areas, they want vast canyons with arches to fly under/over, they want deep valleys full of trees to dodge or brush over, they want twisting ravines to navigate at high speeds, they want wide gorges to dip down in and touch the water, they want void-like chasms with bumpy walls to use as leverage when redirecting. They want terrain that would give a chance to overtake an opponent rather than a clear sky, barren of any real obstacle.

And I very personally believe these races should be considered as both form of entertainment and a form of bonding. New trines practice their coordination in the valleys. Young seekerlets, after being deemed both mentally and physically developed enough, get the chance to practice flying in a cramped/dangerous environment. Seekers in general exploring a chasm so deep there's almost no natural light. It gives a thrill unexplainable to any grounder. They have reaction times hardpressed in their circuitry to let them avoid obstacles, they're gonna use those given skills not just for survival, but for fun.

Now, who do we say conveniently somehow didn't get that coding just to imprint some angst on?- I'd volunteer skywarp

-☄️

YES YES YES A THOUSAND TIMES YES

Also leave the door open <3

Cybertron is a dangerous place but stars above its brutality beautiful. The depths of caverns, the height of mountains, the tightness of trenches, and the openness of something strangely akin to forest. I love love love the idea of seekers racing, using their surroundings as obstacles. I adore the idea of seeker plummeting into caverns, delving into the dark with only their biolights and sensors as guidance.

And oh how I love the reaction time headcanon, it makes sense! Quick turns and sharp peaks are necessary when flying through dangerous areas!

This has me thinking of those drone videos! The ones where they dive in and out of caves and abandon buildings.

This video specifically because it does just go dark at one point and it makes me jump! Oh the chills!

I can’t imagine anything better than a pair of seekers racing through terrain, diving in and out of cave systems, plummeting into ravines, twisting into open caverns, desperately attempting to one up each other in a form of friendly competition or admiration for one another. It’s freedom, it’s their gift from Primus himself to enjoy such a thrill.

Earth itself has a lot of references for what we can think of when it comes to areas they may use.

You could even take some oceanic caves as a reference.

Sky is to the seekers, above or below and until the wind dies they will stake their claim on what truly belongs to them.

[bump1nthen1ght]

To Be Cherished (Dragon x GN!Reader)

Pairing: Male!Dragon x Gender Neutral!Reader

Warnings: Kidnapping, Slight infantilization (of the reader)

Word Count: 2255 words

Summary: You'd never thought of yourself as the "darling" type; That seemed more fitting for demure nobility, fawned over by their one true love. Usually a knight, or a duke, or someone else.

But dragons were never ones to play by the rules.

Request: heyo, if it’s okay, could i have a male dragon taking a transmasc (or just gn) human to be their pet? kind of just petting and praising the reader, saying things like “good boy/pet” to them? thank you!

A/N: Another dragon! Feels like I haven't written a proper dragon fic in forever, glad to be back.

I wasn't sure if this request wanted NSFW, so I decided to play it safe and do SFW. But if people want a NSFW second part (or another part in general!), I'd be glad to continue this!

When you started this day, you had expected mundanity. Thats what your whole life up to this point had been, a slightly-changing list of chores on the same land your family has worked on for generations. It may have been boring to some, knowing that some towns folk would refer to your family as ‘simple people’, but you always brushed it off. You loved your life! You loved the ever present routines and the beautiful rolling hills, even the gray-blue mountains that seemed to loom over like a fog. It was nice, your life was nice!

Now, looking down the muzzle of a dragon, you think you may have benefitted from exploring a bit more. Maybe if you had gone into town more, talked to more adventuring parties, you’d have the proper response ready when you found a Dragon sitting in your pumpkin patch.

“Hello?”

You mutter, which has the dragon cocking its head. It’s eyes are frighteningly large, giant pools of yellow with a menacing black slit at the center. they sit several feet above you, even with its head tilted low to look at you. A wave of its hot breath rolls over you like a summer breeze, it’s nostrils right by your face.

“H-how can I help you?”

The dragon doesn’t move, just letting it’s third eyelid flit between, only adding to its uncaring (?) gaze,

“Uhmm…” You mutter, looking at your basket. “I have some cucumber, some eggplant, some tomato-” You hold up a fresh, fat red tomato to the dragon's nose, “-if you want some?”

You know dragons prefer more luxurious gifts, but maybe it's hungry? Whatever it wants, it can have, you’re just hoping it doesn’t sees you as the meal.

Another wave of breath is snorted over you, ruffling your overalls and the straw hat on your head. Your hands shake, still tired from harvesting all your vegetables this morning, your nails caked in dirt. You’re sure you look a mess right now, especially in front of something as regal as a dragon, you hope the smell of sweat and soil is enough to deter it from eating you.

The dragon eyes the tomato, but does nothing to eat it. You slowly put it back into your basket.

“Sorry, that’s all I’ve got it. Just a farmer, as you can tell.” You rub the back of your neck, mayb you could appease to it’s sense of humor? Dragons love wiley adventurers, don’t they? “I’ve been told I can make a mean brisket, though. W-would you like some of that?”

The dragon blinks again, but this time you see the sides of its mouth begin to curl up, it’s tail flitting behind it. Is it…smiling?

“Yes.” The dragon’s booming voice nealry rocks you backwards, just as noble and threatening sounding as you thought it would be. “I think you will do, just fine.”

Before you can even stutter out a “What?” the dragon's claw descends upon you, gingerly wrapping around your torso as its wings extend. The ground rumbled as it flaps the giant wings, pushing it’s massive body off the ground with you still in it’s paw. You’re gobsmacked, no words and breath left to exclaim as it begins to take off into the air. A million and one thoughts and panics run through your mind, but as quickly as you realize you are being kidnapped, you black out.

—--

You’ve never actually swam in a lake, but if it was anything like this 30 foot cavern-bath you were taking, you were clearly missing out.

You had woken up in a dark cave, so far underground that the only light source were the various braziers and bioluminescent mushrooms decorating the walls. Laying on top a pile of furs, you noticed how surprisingly intact your body still was before noticing the dragon sitting nearby. It’s only when the dragon huffs that you jerk upward and look at the beast.

“Oh….hello again.” You say, trying not to freak the fuck out. The beast is just a mere 20 feet away from you, the tip of his (at least you think its a he) tail just close enough to tilt up your chin. The dragon hums, appraising you, its lips curling into that same intimidating smile.

“You look so cute when you sleep, pet. I was wondering if you would ever wake up.”

Your jaw would’ve dropped if not for the sharp scales pointing it upwards. This is really not what you were expecting.

The tail moves to your cheek and coerces to tilt your head to one side, then the other. The dragon hums again.

“What nice features. I feel awfully lucky to have found you dear, before you had to suffer any more hard labor.”

Hey, it wasn’t that hard.

You rebut in your thoughts, not daring to speak out of turn. The dragon doesn’t seem to be dangerous…not yet.

The tail moves down your chest and to your hands, lifting them up by the wrists but not pulling you uncomfortably. The dragon leans its head closer, its black scales shining like mother-of-pearl in the mushrooms glow. It tsks. “Workers hands, I loathe the fool who callused these hands. Who has you breaking your back, picking those fruits.” The tail reaches up, and pats you on the head, almost like a dog. “But you mustn’t worry, my pet, you won’t have to do that anymore.”

“I-I think there may be a misunderstanding.” You meekly say, almost a whisper. The dragon tilts its head, still amused. “I appreciate your kindness, dragon, but I wasn’t an indentured servant. Those fields were my own, I chose to work in them, and wasn't forced to do anything.” Your shoulders shrug up, trying to appear grateful but embarrassed at the mix up. “So you can take me back, I promise I wasn’t being hurt.”

The dragon looks at you, not saying anything and still having the amused look on his face. You feel sweat bead on the back of your neck, trying to avoid losing eye contact, showing disrespect or weakness. But the tail simply tips up your chin again, the dragon chuckling.

“Oh no my dear pet, I’m afraid you have misunderstood.” The dragon stands up on its paws, circling around the piles of furs yet keeping his tail under your chin. “ I know you weren’t imprisoned, you just didn’t know any better.”

You furrow your brow. That literally explained nothing.

“You will find your accomadations much more suitable for you now, my dear. Now, lets get you cleaned.”

The dragon’s tail nudges you backwards, turning you to see the large cavernous pool of water behind you.

Huh, that's why it’s so humid in here.

The dragons tail moves down to your shoulder, moving with enough finesse to pull down a single strap of your overalls. Your eyes go wide and you find yourself stumbling away.

“I c-can undress myself!” You squeal, before catching the way the dragon’s brow furrows. “I-uhm- thank you. But I can manage.”

The dragon chuckles, retracting his tail.

“Of course dear, I forgot how important clothing was for human propriety. Here,” The dragon sits up again, sitting around the rim of the bath, though facing away. That long tail flops over the side and stirs the bath water, the fragrant steams of lavender and bergamot bath salts wafting across, “I won’t even look.”

You shrug. You think thats about as much privacy as you’re going to get.

—--

To his credit, that bath was amazing. You don’t think you’ve ever been this clean in your entire life, having grown comfortable with a base level of sweat and grime.

Still, did he have to get rid of my clothes?

You’re not sure how he did it, but when you stepped out of the bath all that remained as a silk robe and fluffy slipper for your to wear. No sign of those well-worn overalls. He even had you do a spin as you got out, cooing at the outfit.

“My, my, now don’t you look handsome?”

You rub the back of your neck, not quite sure how to feel. Embarrassed, flattered? The growl from your stomach does the hard part of filling the silence for you.

“Lets get you some food, huh?”

The dragon leads to a different part of the cave, an outcropping with a gigantic dining room table, several blankets and quilts, and a circular bed in the center. Theres a stack of books, paper and pencils by the bed, but what draws your attention is the platter of delicious food on the table. You walk a little too eagerly to the table, the site of a freshly roasted chicken and potatoes tempting you in. When you sit down, you try not to lunge for it. This is the most luxurious food you’ve ever seen, plates of figs and rinds of cheese for you to snack on, alongside various other fruits. You give the dragon a side eye, wondering if you could start.

The dragon nudges your chair, effectively pushing you in, and gestures with its head for you to eat. Trying to keep some sense of propriety, you use the fancy silverware to your right instead of just digging in with bare hands. You even try to take a delicate bite of one of the chicken wings, but find yourself quickly melting under the flavor.

You were right, this is the best food you have ever eaten.

“Do you like it?”

You nod, taking another large bite. The dragon chuckles, laying down its head and just watching you. You swallow and give it a smile. A real one.

“Yes, thank you. I…don’t know what to say.” You take another quick bite of a nearby fig, almost moaning at the sweet taste. “How’d you get all this?”

“I have my ways, sweetling.” The dragon winks.

“Well, good job because this is incredible.”

You eat until your belly’s full, the lingering heat from the bath weighing down your muscles and making you feel drowsy. Sitting back in your chair you hum in content, before looking at the dragon. He still watches you, that pleased smile on his face.

“Uhm, could I ask you your name?” You set aside your plate, brushing imaginary crumbs off your robe. “I feel like I don’t know anything about you.”

“My name is Nyryym, dear.”

“Na-rim?” You enunciate, smiling when the dragon nods. “Nice to meet you, my name is ____.”

Nyryym nods, sitting upward so his head lies above the table, looking down at you. “A fitting name for my adorable pet.” He uses his tail to tilt your chin, admiring the way you fluster and blush. Your body responds almost naturally, that drowsiness from before weakening your resolve.

“Yeah, about that-” You swallow, a shaky smile on your face, “What’s the plan? Like, do you want me to do something or…” you gesticulate randomly. You’ve heard of dragons enjoying human talents before, like taking dancers or musicians, artists and poets to keep them entertained. But those were usually carefully curated picks, often from a big city or a royal court. You were just a farmer and while you’d like to think you're witty and charming, you didn’t have any extraordinary talents. “I c-can clean, or cook, maybe-” You look at the big pile of books near your bed, “Read to you?” You’d sometimes read to the children next door, putting on funny voices and such.

Nyryym chuckles again, patting you on the head with his tail.

“That is very sweet of you to offer, pet. You are such a dutiful sweetling. But I do not require you to do anything.” He sweeps his tail around your waist, nudging you to stand up and walk towards him. “Your company shall be delight enough, pet.”

“O-okay.” You nod, eyeing the large bed nearby. Surely he didn’t mean..

Well, you’re not gonna even broach that topic.

“I’m happy to help, Nyryym.”

His smile is less disconcerting than you thought it would be, especially with a mouth full of teeth that could grind your bones into dust. Nyrymm draws you even closer to him, his tail now fully wrapped around your waist. His head leans down dangerously close, enough that you yave to coach yourself not flinch away. Another hot breath of air blows through your hair, when you realize he’s smelling you.

Nyryym lets out a content sigh, rubbing your stomach with the tip of his tail. It almost tickles. After another sniff, he opens his eyes and stares you down.

“That’s a good pet. How about we retire for the night?”

You both look toward the bed, luxuriously plush and practically begging to be slept in. The combination of shock, the bath, the food and a morning full of work beforehand urges you to lie down. Now knowing that Nyryym doesn’t plan to eat you, that urge is even more compelling. So you nod, letting him guide you to the bed.

Laying down in the cotton sheets confirms your suspicions; You’re fucking exhausted. Your body sinks into the cushions, immediately pulling up the blankets to tuck yourself in. Nyrymm curls around the bed, lying his head so it's parallel to yours.

“Good night, my sweet pet.” He says, rubbing your face with his tail one last time.

“Good night, Nyryym.”

The hum of the cave and Nyryym’s heavy breathing, alongside everything else, quickly lulls you to sleep. It might be the best sleep you’ve ever had.

You guess things could be worse.

[writing-for-life]

He Hears the Sound of Her Wings…

When Death Equals Solace

This meta started out as part of an exploration of Dream’s relationship with his siblings (and what we learn from their very first appearances) that’s been languishing in my drafts for ages. But since we’re discussing “The Sound of Her Wings” in our community at the moment, I just decided to pull these bits up now (maybe also better to write about the siblings individually than in one novel-length meta 🙈). So here goes…

Dream’s relationship to his sister is undoubtedly special. He is closest to her—but what does that actually tell us?

When she shows up for the first time in issue 8 (“The Sound of Her Wings”), we see Dream desolate, seeking purpose beyond his function. And seeking purpose beyond his function is what's at the root of the deep schism between being Morpheus and being Dream (I am fully aware they are one and the same at this point, but bear with me): Morpheus wants something that is real, but Dream is the unreal.

When we read/watch “The Sound of Her Wings”, we tend to focus on that she helps him remember what his function is, and what it means to be what he is. All of that is true. But while she reminds him of what he his, and why, she ignores his deep longing for something else—a personhood, if you will. That's neither a What nor a Why—that's a Who. And I don't blame her, purely because of what she is. Her function already defines something real: Life and death. You can’t get any more real than that. But Dream is the unreal.

And Dream's meeting with his sister in “The Sound of Her Wings” reminds him of his function and purpose, true. But that isn’t solely helpful—it’s also painful. Because his main takeaway, in a nutshell, is actually this (more about that in a sec):

If we remember that the Endless are concepts, it’s is near impossible to read “The Sound of her Wings” as anything other than it is in the narrative arc: Of all the siblings, Dream is closest to Death. There’s meaning in that sentence. He perceives what she has to offer as a gift. He finds solace in her. This is abundantly clear when he recites the following (I’m still sad we didn’t get to hear it in the show to be honest):

Death is before me today: Like the home that a man longs to see, after years spent as a captive.

Recited by Morpheus, who just escaped captivity 😩

And it would be easy to still revert to thinking, “Ah well, she just reminded him of his responsibilities and his purpose, and that he’ll be okay.” But if you look at these panels…

It’s near OOC for Morpheus to say that his responsibilities can wait. But he does it here, and it becomes so clear that there’s another epiphany in there. A solace was found. In Death. Who is his sister but also always, always her function. I personally believe (and people are free to disagree of course) this is the very moment he knows, in his heart of hearts, that his only way out is D/death. And that’s something peaceful for him, not something he is afraid of.

Has he already, perhaps subconsciously, laid a few traps for himself well before that? Yes, for instance in a Midsummer Night's Dream. Has he already learned certain lessons beforehand? Yes, in Dream Hunters. But I believe the difference is that the way out becomes crystal clear to him here, and that from this point onwards, the traps become fully baited, and he can't (or won’t) back out anymore because his sense of responsibility made him paint himself into a corner (consciously or subconsciously—I'd hazard a guess it's all the same to him anyway). And we all know this one…

Even in his last moments, he never forgets about his responsibilities. But the responsibilities he only talked about a few panels before can wait. For once. And it’s very hard to know what a stickler for responsibilities Dream is and not find that significant. We are reading a return to what matters, finding new purpose and hence saying “responsibilities can wait” into these scenes because on the surface, it makes sense. Because we are human. And Dream becomes more human in his outlook as the story progresses (and that’s not without consequence).

Ultimately however, the Endless are concepts, and all dreams ultimately die—either because they are fulfilled, hence stop being unreal, or because they cannot be fulfilled and are either given up on or turn into something else. And all of these messages are central to The Sandman.

Dream loves Death, the darkness lifts from his soul when he is with her, and from this moment onwards, the sound of her wings is the solace he turns to. And that’s both beautiful and heavy…

[wooahaes]

fortunato in amore

pairing: non-idol!seungkwan x fem!reader

genre: fluff. established relationship au.

warnings: n/a, ask to add warnings

word count: ~1.1k

daisy's notes: venice is on my list of places i'd love to see one day tbh

Waking up in Venice in general felt like a dream. Waking up next to you in Venice, though… That felt special.

This trip had been a long time in the making, to be honest. After your last birthday, the two of you got around to talking about milestones. The pictures you’d both seen of your first birthday, the vague memories of your fifth. You celebrated your thirteenth with your family, your sixteenth with a few friends online… and the rest were looser. Vaguer. Your eighteenth had been dinner with your parents, too focused on the coming college years to do anything more special. And your twenty-first…

“I was sick,” you had shrugged off the idea of doing anything special. “I mean, I could have done something, I guess.”

“Did you do anything special after it?” Seungkwan rested his chin in his hand, watching you. “It’s a milestone for a reason. If you don’t want to do anything special, then you don’t have to…”

To be honest, you’d never really thought about it. A few weeks later, you’d come back to him and asked if the two of you could take a trip for your next birthday. Somewhere you’d never been before. The two of you ended up sitting down one night and just looking through places, trying to narrow it down to somewhere you’d enjoy going. After a while, you’d settled on Venice—Italy seemed nice, and you thought you’d enjoy the trip. Thus began the two of you saving up for the trip with the plan to have enough money to spend on yourselves and for gifts for your loved ones. The first day of your trip had been dedicated to finding little things for the people in your lives: things you’d mail off to your parents, other presents the two of you would take to his family when you saw them again. The two of you ended up snuggled together that night, completely exhausted from the day behind you.

Now he was admiring you in the morning sunlight. He reached forward, brushing a stray strand of hair back from your face. Maybe, in another life, this would be your honeymoon and not just your birthday trip. Traveling with you only opened up a world of opportunities. He’d always wanted to go places with you, but living in that reality now… He wanted to see everywhere with you. The two of you would have to take more trips abroad in the future. 

Eventually, you began to stir from your slumber, letting out a sleepy yawn soon after. You snuggled closer to him, legs intertwined with his own. 

“Good morning,” he’d said, voice still slightly hoarse from sleep. “Happy birthday, my love” 

Still sleepy, you let out a soft giggle as you nuzzled his neck with your nose. “Good morning,” you let out a blissful sigh. Yet you just buried your face in his neck a moment later, already about to drift back off to sleep. 

Tomorrow, he would wake you up again if you tried this. We’re in Venice, he would say. We should go explore. But for your birthday, he’d let you get the sleep you craved. Just for a little longer before the two of you would get ready for the day. The two of you couldn’t cuddle like this always when you were sleeping, but Seungkwan always took joy when the two of you could be snuggly. Besides… Both of you had been awake before his alarm went off. The two of you could afford a little more sleep.

“I love you,” he said aloud, fingers running over the back of your shirt. Absent-mindedly, he smoothed out the folds in your shirt, while staring up at the ceiling. “Sometimes I think about what would have happened if you didn’t trip and spill your smoothie on me.”

It earned a soft chuckle from you. “You looked good in pink, y’know.” 

He gently swat at your side, although he chuckled himself. “I do, but that was my favorite sweater.”

“I paid for your dry-cleaning,” you just smiled, eyes still shut. “Vernon told me you walked around, ranting about me for days until I asked you out.”

“You called me cute,” he said. “I thought you were cute, but…” He’d been too upset about the sweater, a gift from his mom for his birthday, to stop being annoyed. Yet he remembered the way your text had stopped him completely in his tracks: the cute little ‘hi seungkwan! sorry if this is too forward but i thought you were cute and i wanted to know if you would maybe get a coffee with me sometime? i’ll be careful with my smoothie this time haha’ that he read and reread over and over. 

Vernon had been the one who took his phone out of his hands. He had started typing out a reply for him, only to pause and glance at his face, “I’m supposed to tell her yes, right?”

Seungkwan averted his gaze. “Of course I’m going to say yes—” 

He’d lunged for his phone a moment later, brain finally catching up to him, but either way the end result would have been the same. It was all worth it, too, considering where it led. He remembered the early days of your relationship, where you’d fall asleep on bus rides after dates with him, head resting on his shoulder. He’d always rest his head against your own, shutting his eyes for a few minutes to just enjoy your company. He remembered the hassle of you moving in with him that was all worth it when the last and first thing he saw was your face. 

“Are you excited for the opera tonight?” He stifled his own yawn a moment later. “I told Seokmin about it. He was jealous, but I promised to get him pictures of the opera house.” He shut his eyes, stretching a little as he felt his spine popped. Then he relaxed into the mattress again, already feeling sleepy. “I sent Jeonghan pictures from our gondola tour yesterday… I said he’s coming with us next time we come here.”

It earned a sleepy chuckle from you. “Mhm. Sure.”

“We should do this again,” he said. “Travel together, I mean.” 

“I’d like that.” You pressed a kiss against his neck before relaxing against him.

Let’s see the world together, he wanted to say. He’d say it against your lips later, a quiet promise to spend this life together wrapped up inside of it.

taglist: @twancingyunhao @synthetickitsune @wonuziex @porridgesblog @staranghae @weird-bookworm @bangchansbae @laylasbunbunny @bewoyewo

[ressjeon]

I tried to make something cohesive.

Date: Yoongi

Genre: Pragma

Row: 9, Seats 2 & 8

Snack: Sour Patch Kids

pairing: prince!yoongi x witch!reader

summary: his return to the kingdom brought many surprises but nothing could've prepared Yoongi the moment he met you.

genre/au: angst, fantasy, drama, soulmate!au, romance

warnings/content: suggestive themes, implied smut, mentions of alleged witch hunts

a/n: and i appreciate you very much for doing so 😭 i badly need to turn this into a oneshot, i was battling on how to shorten this for the longest time so i apologize for it being this late. today is also the 25th birthday of my dearest @agustdakasuga, ilysm bb 🥺

☞ part of @btsgoldnetwork’s two hearts, one love valentine’s day event in 2022 🎞💓

🍿 bangtan theatre presents: impossible 🍿 purchases for movie tickets and snacks are now closed!

For the longest time, Yoongi refused to believe in soulmates. It didn't matter when the people around him seemingly found their match. His older brother, the crown prince, has wedded right away as soon as he found his soulmate. Meanwhile, Yoongi hasn't found his, leading him to believe that it must've not been real at this point.

More like he gave up on waiting for his own soulmate.

The thought of finding his perfect match used to daunt Yoongi since he was little. Even if his parents were also united through the bond, Yoongi was having a hard time believing it was through being soulmates alone. There has to be another way but at that time, he was pretty open to the idea.

His parents have talked a lot about how they met, how they felt the instant connection even before the marks appeared on their skins. It used to excite Yoongi a little because both his parents and his brother found theirs quite early on in life.

As time goes on and Yoongi still hasn't found his soulmate now that he's in his late adulthood, his hope of finding her decimates.

"son, do you have any good news now that you're back here in the kingdom?" his father queries, curious if Yoongi had found his other half while travelling across foreign lands.

"no, father" he tries to sound indifferent but his father quickly recognized the defeated look in his eyes.

"perhaps it's time to consider other options?"

The king had no ill intent but it had an effect on Yoongi, pronouncing his current predicament to the table. His mother looked at him with worry so he smiled at her curtly, hoping it's enough of a response for now.

"if you'll excuse me, i'd like to explore beyond palace grounds"

His father nodded and Yoongi immediately exited the throne room. He feels suffocated all of a sudden, wanting to be away from the palace for a breather. He hopes that exploring the rest of the kingdom will ease his mind for the time being until he figures out his answer to his father's question.

.

Agreeing to take over your aunt's stall for today means that you'll have the chance to see the town market once and for all. She had prohibited you to leave anywhere farther than the house for the fear of your life.

Because of what you are.

Your aunt is the same and has trained you since your gift came into fruition when you were a child. She raised you like her own when your parents passed, part of the reason why she's overprotective over you. Up to this day, you had suspicions that it may be related to your mother being a witch but your aunt has rebutted your theories each time you ask.

That was probably why she tasked you to look over her stall while she's away for an important trip to the neighbouring kingdom. She didn’t give any details but you saw the fear in her eyes and the urgency in her voice.

Everything has been great so far. You've lost count of how many people you've met since you opened the stall. Regulars of your aunts came by to visit and were pleased to finally meet you. Some customers are tourists who are looking for immediate herbal remedies to refill their supply.

However, one particular customer has caught your attention while attending a group of travellers. He's wearing a cloak but your eyes are glued to his form due to the way he's moving seamlessly through the crowd.

It's also because you felt a slight sting on your left rib as soon as your eyes spotted him. He couldn't possibly be..?

"are you alright, miss?" one of your customers asked and a feigned smile graced your lips.

You've finished up the transaction at a lighting speed, eager to talk to the hooded man from afar even though you have no idea how to approach him. You'd have to check where the pain is to make sure but by doing so, you could lose track of the man and you can't let that happen.

.

Yoongi sees someone approaching him and curses internally, hoping the person would not recognize him. It shouldn't be possible unless they work with his family since Yoongi does not leave the palace grounds often growing up.

"would you like to try our new herbs today? it's of no cost" the woman smiled at him and Yoongi was taken aback. You don't recognize him or maybe you do and this is just a pretence.

It’s a common tactic but there would be no harm to take one if it would get you off his back. Besides, he's here to explore his own kingdom and has never noticed the stall you’re in until now.

He didn't say a word and followed you, asking him to try other herbs on display and he nodded. He has not really looked at you again since your first encounter, noticing that he avoids eye contact even when you converse with him.

"i'll fetch something from back if you don't mind"

"not at all" he replied curtly, scouring the glass bottles on the pile.

You hurriedly look for a mirror, untying your corset to check your left rib. There you find a fresh mark on your skin, a sign that you have found your soulmate and it could be the man waiting for you outside. 

Immediately rushing to go back and invite him to return went better than you expected.

"we have a new brewery every week so feel free to visit again!" you smiled enthusiastically, hoping he'll accept your invitation. This is the only way you'll get to know him without outright telling him that he's your soulmate.

You don’t want to scare him. He smiled at you for the first time and relief pours through your veins.

"i will"

.

Yoongi has visited the stall every week ever since. He doesn't even know why but it's a good excuse to get out of the palace whenever his parents corner him about his next plans. You don't ask why either  and he feels comfortable with you, finding it fascinating how you have so much energy in everything but never seem to point it to his way.

As for you, convincing your aunt after he returned from the said trip had not been easy. There are unspoken rules you follow but you can’t be cooped in your hut any longer.

You've argued but in the end, she lets you be despite her fear.

"there must be a reason why you suddenly want to take over the market now" your aunt teases but you dismiss her. You want to keep the whereabouts of your soulmate as long as possible. The time will come when they will meet, not while you’re still testing the waters.

When he revealed his name to you, that's when you knew that it's the proper time to show him how you feel. You're hoping that you haven’t been that obvious but Yoongi's little smirk when he thinks you're not watching tells you otherwise.

"i haven't been honest with you" you start as you pour the tea on Yoongi's cup.

It's been a few weeks since you first met him and the both of you developed a routine of having tea time after he chooses the herbs for the week.

"as am i" he declares after finishing his cup. There is hesitance in his face and the waver in his voice only increases the swirling thoughts in your mind.

"what.." you reply, a bit nervous that you almost dropped the porcelain teapot that Yoongi brought as a gift.

"why don't we both say what we need to reveal at the same time?"

You nodded and took a deep breath after placing the teapot on the table. Looking straight into Yoongi's eyes, the fear of him finding out what you truly are diminishes when you see the nervousness in his gaze. 

"i'm a witch"

"i'm a prince"

Silence rules after the declarations of your true identities to one another. You're just staring at each other's eyes, your gazes doing all the talking. The eyes are windows of one's soul so you hope that Yoongi can clearly see what he means to you. His eyes were unreadable at first but as the silence went on and the familiar gummy smile appeared on his handsome face, you realized that nothing will change between you. 

.

Yoongi's dreading meeting you today. He couldn't say no when you sweetly ask him to meet somewhere to have a proper brunch other than the areas around the market. He should’ve felt the opposite of what he’s feeling but instead, his chest tightens of what he’s about to do.

"i won't be able to meet you anymore" he whispers and the smile on your face vanishes.

“is it because i am merely a witch, your highness?” your defeated voice threatens to break Yoongi's composure. He knows how his words hurt people. He never should’ve let it go this far.

He's already trying to hold himself up because of the stinging he feels on his shoulder.

“n-no. forgive me but i must go” he mutters, his face wincing and in any other circumstances, you'd notice right away but you're too broken to do so after hearing his scathing words.

He's leaving you because of what you are. Being a witch must be the only reason because you genuinely thought he felt the connection too. Granted he was distanced at first which is valid and you understood more after knowing he’s a prince.

Had you known that your soulmate would eventually break your heart with the truth, you should've held on to the truth longer.

You’ve clearly misread him, thinking he was different, that he saw things eye to eye and understood that being a witch was not something you chose to be.

“you cannot even look me in the eye?”

Yoongi can't because not only will he take back his words but his focus is on the person he recognized from the palace staring at you both. He spotted them right before telling you what he’s here for. He cannot let his parents find out that it could be you, not even this way. 

This is what he feared since giving up on waiting for his soulmate. 

Why he was hesitant to confirm the connection in the first place.

"i am to be wed fortnight as of today. that was the reason why i wanted to talk to you" he rushes as he stands up, clutching his upper arm and that's when you notice.

That’s also the other reason. He’ll be dragging you with him if he keeps holding on you and that will put your life in danger. He hasn’t even met your aunt yet, the one who you talk to him about often and he’s already exhibiting an unpleasant impression. 

"meet me again once last time, a sennight from now before the bell rings, then i'll leave you be"

Without giving any indication if he'll show up or not, Yoongi leaves and you finally break down into tears. It crushes the prince to leave you but he knows right then and there that he has to leave you for your safety.

He hopes that you know him truly by heart, what his answer is. He had to leave that way to make sure you won't leave first. Who knows how many people from the palace are around witnessing the two of you together.

Yoongi enters his room right away as soon as he arrives, tearing his clothes off and sees the mark on his shoulder, confirming his suspicions. If that person reports to his parents what he saw then..

"your highness, his majesty, the king and the queen request your presence in the throne room" the guard outside his chambers announces and he closes his eyes. 

He was too late.

Knowing his parents, there's a slight chance that they already figured out Yoongi's secret. His mother can read him like an open book and even though he’s been avoiding them, the Queen sees that as an answer to their questions.

"who is she?" his father starts and Yoongi keeps his face collected.

"someone i commissioned for a recipe, father" his voice was void of anything but that’s clearly not enough.

None of his parents obviously bought his excuse and Yoongi's running out of things to say.

"what family is she from?" his mother adds.

"i do not know, mother"

"enough of this talk. we shall have your wedding sooner to avoid any of these nonsense rumours circulating around”

The new date is more than a week from now, which means a day or two after the time you asked to see him. Yoongi knows that he'd have to marry the princess from the neighbouring kingdom but he doesn't know what to do.

All he wants right now is to see you.

.

"i shouldn't be here" he grunts, finding it hard to stop himself from roaming his hands around your body.

Yoongi is scared. He has been since he locked eyes with you the first time you met. Even before the mark on his shoulder emerged, he knew that the only way for him to be married with another is for his soulmate to die.

The bond had to be broken and his parents began the hunt as soon as Yoongi refused the offer. He tried his best to intercept the information being delivered to his bride to be’s family but he overheard from the servants that his father ordered to confine him in his chambers.

That’s when he knew that he had to flee to make sure you’re safe.

"hey, you're here with me alright?" you tug him to bring his attention back to you.

He’s worried no matter how much he hides it. The bond doesn’t exactly pinpoint but you feel the weight in his chest and that was enough.

"it'll be alright my prince. answer me one thing"

"anything"

"do you feel it?"

"since the day i first met you"

Your heart melts to know that he felt the same thing when you first saw him. Maybe that’s how soulmates are supposed to work, to feel that instant connection on your first meeting. 

He accepts what you are. He didn't think lowly of you like you initially thought.

You’re sleeping soundly beside him and Yoongi couldn't stop staring at your face. It's a miracle that he's even here with you, he got lucky that he escaped the palace grounds tonight with the help of servants that held an affection for him. 

He rakes down your bare figure, committing everything in his memory just in case he won’t be able to see you again. His eyes continue to roam until they spot the marks on your ribs. With his callous fingers, he traces it delicately, causing you to squirm a little.

He waits until he hears your breath even again, afraid that his touch woke you up.

.

"then be with me" you groggily call out to him, fighting your slumber. Your ears caught some rustling and woke up out of instinct, finding Yoongi preparing to leave.

Again.

"i can't"

"why? you don't know what i can truly do. i can protect us, i'm powerful enough so we can go far away from here yoongi" you try to convince him but he won't meet your eyes.

Yoongi has broken too many royal rules by meeting with you again so he's torn with your offer to elope.

But how would the two of you live then? His parents are going to retaliate by punishing you and your aunt. They won't even have to do it directly because aside from the bounty, revealing your true nature of being a witch would make townspeople do the job themselves without a cost.

And Yoongi wouldn't be able to do anything but watch.

He has to make a choice, to be selfish or to be selfless? Can your soulmate bond truly withstand all the challenges that you're both going to face together? It’s not that he undermines your abilities but you’d essentially be running for your lives, desperately yearning for that freedom to be together.

“with or without your powers, i am with you always” 

He’ll always be terrified of what tomorrow may bring but none of it matters so long you’re by his side. 

.

e/n: fr i might re-write this and expand cuz 😩 thank you regardless for reading!

[this-sapphic-paradise]

A continuation of this ask plus "what if Alicent saw Rhaenyra kiss Mysaria?"

"What troubles you, my queen?"

Alicent heard the voice as she was walking past a door on the long corridor she had been exploring that morning.

"Is it the dowager queen?"

The question made her pause. The accent of the speaker informed Alicent they were not from Westeros, and the feminine, conservative tone but daring words made it clear that whoever that happened to be was a smart woman.

Inching toward the open door, Alicent was careful to stay quiet and out of sight.

"No. Alicent’s presence here is a boon."

Alicent couldn't help the smile that spread on her lips upon hearing Rhaenyra reinforcing the idea that her presence in Dragonstone was welcomed, however, the second she was able to peek into the room, her smile faltered. Rhaenyra and a lean, brunette with olive skin were standing entirely too close for her liking.

"The Gods often like to hide tricks within their gifts."

Alicent clenched her jaw and balled her hands into fists so she would not pick at her nail beds. She knew most people in Dragonstone merely tolerated her presence, but what had she done to this particular woman to make her speak in such a way?

However, to Alicent’s surprise, Rhaenyra actually laughed—the sound airy, feather light, reverberating on the stone walls. It made Alicent’s hear skip a beat.

"Is there any reason why you wish to make me question the validity of her presence here?"

Rhaenyra was smiling and Alicent watched her take a step closer to the other woman. No, no, no. Alicent knew that smirk, she knew that mischievous stare. She had been on the receiving end of them many times in their youth to not know.

"Are my feelings so outrageous?" The woman asked, smiling back at Rhaenyra as she gently took the queen's hand in hers, drawing gentle patterns on the inner side of her wrist.

The moment was so tender, so intimate it brought tears to Alicent’s eyes, and still, she could not move away.

"What would those feelings be?" Rhaenyra asked quietly, gladly allowing the gentle caress of her wrist to continue.

"Hatred of her family..." Mysaria started, taking another step closer to her queen, bowing her head slightly so Rhaenyra would have to lean in to hear her as she said, "Jealousy of your wandering eyes..."

Alicent's breath hitched in her throat as she watched Rhaenyra place her free hand on Mysaria's waist and search her eyes while offering her that thrice-damned lopsided smile that Alicent always found so endearing.

"Do they not wander back to you?" She asked softly.

Mysaria smiled timidly and Alicent wanted to scream. She wanted to claw at her chest to set free the viper that had so clearly slipped under her skin and wrapped itself around her heart; but instead, all Alicent was able to do was clench her fists on her dress as she forced herself to keep on watching.

"I must confess I have grown unused to sharing," Mysaria said, fleetingly brushing her lips against Rhaenyra's. "But as long as they return to me..."

Rhaenyra grinned and, unwilling to endure her lady's teasing any longer, she leaned down and captured Mysaria's lips in what Alicent could only describe as the most loving and tender kiss she had ever witnessed with her own two eyes.

A sob wrecked through Alicent breaking the spell that had kept her in place. With tears streaming down her cheeks and an unbearable pain in her chest, she ran toward her chambers not caring to check if the queen and her concubine had caught sight of her fleeing.

"Did you hear that?" Rhaenyra asked, breaking the kiss in order to look about them.

Still entirely enamored by her queen, Mysaria guided Rhaenyra's chin back to her, saying, "I did not hear a thing, my queen, but there are certain sounds I'd like to hear you make."

Rhaenyra opened her mouth to speak, but all she could do was blink at Mysaria's brazen words.

Laughing and blushing, Rhaenyra shook her head. "We should take this discussion to my chambers, then."

Grinning, Mysaria led the way. "A most astute decision, my queen."

[crispythehubcoon]

HELLO, THERE!

Crispy here! As I've made more and more roleplay blogs and gained more and more experience in the pokemon irl community, I've learned a few things. For one, I don't really like clogging my blogs with ooc messages. For another, sometimes communicating as the mun is necessary to help things go smoothly. And, most important of all, it's a pain in the butt to repeat the same announcement across 5+ blogs. So, I thought I'd solve all of those problems in one fell swoop by creating this blog! Here, you can find any blog of mine you might be interested in, ask me any ooc questions you like, and follow for ooc alerts/statements/commentary related to my blogs or my life. I hope this will help you out as much as it will help me!

Tags I will use:

#pinned - pinned posts from my blogs

#announcement - standalone posts that will communicate important things, including life events that might interfere with my blogging or any rule changes.

#ask - any ask I am sent here

#ask game - I'll store ask games here for later use. I don't reblog them to receive asks here unless stated otherwise! Feel free to reblog from here without sending an ask in return, I don't mind!

Trigger warnings will be tagged as I see fit. Feel free to ask me to tag anything! It will be in a triple format; #tw [trigger] #[trigger] and #[trigger] warning. Just to make sure no one sees anything they don't want to.

More tags will be added as needed :) enjoy your stay!

Blog Directory

@ballonleastadiumofficial - my interpretation of Bede from pokemon SWSH! He is a perpetually 15 year old trans boy who leads Ballonlea's gym with only moderate interference from Opal. The rotumblr populace is free to poke, prod, and annoy him as they please. Sometimes Opal, the gym trainers, or Bede's pokemon may make appearances on his blog.

Current arc: Bede is on the Isle of Armor, gathering the materials for a gift for his s/o.

@gmax-butterfree - my Galarian bug type gym leader OC, Hemmi. They try their hardest to look cool and appeal to other trainers, but they are really awkward at heart. The blog explores their passion for bug type pokemon and insecurities about being in Galar's minor league.

Current arc: N/A

@pixieprince - my interpretation of Ortega from pokemon SCVI. He's here to speak his mind and deliver the hottest takes this side of the great crater. ...And maybe to be there for his friends, but don't say that part out loud. Feel free to strike up a conversation! He will probably act abrasive, but he doesn't totally mean it.

Current arc: Ortega has recently come into possession of both a Furfrou puppy and a newborn Milcery. Can he handle the responsibility?

@when-lechonk-learn-levitate - my Naranja-Uva student OC who loves all things that oink! Her name is Samrah, and her main concerns are growing up alongside her little brother, determining her path in life, and spreading the love for pig pokemon. Her enthusiasm knows no bounds, and she's itching for a friend to share it with.

Current arc: Samrah's scrambling to gather willing student participants for her to start a Lechonk Fan Club at Naranja-Uva. Maybe she can find some like minded trainers on rotumblr...?

@medicalmystery7 - a faller blog for Medic from Team Fortress 2! Dr. Ludwig has been spat out in the pokemon world by unknown means with no memory to fall back on... just a pocket full of syringes and a Pidove named Archimedes. Honestly, it's not the worst situation he's ever found himself in, and he's making the most of it by applying his ingenuity and general disregard for human decency toward pokemon battles.

Current arc: After being fired from his job at a Nacrene City pokemon center, Medic is hiding from the authorities at an undisclosed location in Unova.

@macrocosmos-social - a Chairman Rose blog meant to compliment @ballonleastadiumofficial. It's meant to allow Rose to answer questions that Bede would never be caught dead answering and shed some light on Bede's upbringing that led him to become the person he is today. Oh yeah, it's also meant to allow me to roleplay being an insufferable jerk. Exploring perspectives like that is fun. Here, Rose has bribed his way into getting internet access from jail and is making it everyone else's problem. He is using an old, failed corporate account designed by a public relations worker for Macro Cosmos long ago. That original creator of the blog, the Rotom in Rose's device, and Oleana may make brief appearances on this blog.

This blog is a villain blog and thus will act in cruel, antagonistic ways. In particular, Rose is noticeably classist and transphobic. He acts this way to blend into the narrative I have in mind for Bede. If this might upset you, please feel free to block! If it sounds interesting, please feel free to interact! I will tag anything I believe people might find upsetting, in particular #tw transphobia, #transphobia, and #transphobia warning.

Current arc: N/A

@beauty-abuzz - my interpretation of Burgh from pokemon BW2! He is Castelia City's eccentric, dreamy, and impulsive gym leader with a heart of gold. Currently, he is engaged to @elite-four-grimsley

Current arc: wedding planning!!!!

@pokemonworld-ology - A faller blog for the Lodger/Bormot from Knock-Knock by IcePickLodge! Coming from an isolated cabin deep in the woods, Bormot is a stubborn, matter of fact, and extremely troubled scientist who mysteriously emerged into the Slumbering Weald after taking a fateful walk through the forest. Now, he is staying as a guest in the home of Emelia, mother of Gloria, Galar's own champion, and trying to wrap his head around both pokemon as a whole and modern human interaction. Emelia and Gloria may rarely make appearances on this blog.

Current arc: Bormot is getting his first pokemon! ...Eventually. Once he fully grasps the concept.

OOC Notes

I do my best to keep my blogs inclusive, bipoc friendly, trans friendly, pro-Palestinian, and generally safe and friendly spaces!

If you disagree with any of these values, please move along! If I've unknowingly done anything to betray these values, please let me know immediately. I'm not perfect, but I'll always try to improve 🙏

No NSFW asks or interactions are permitted on any of these blogs

Non-negotiable, especially on blogs with muses who are minors. That said,

Any and all other interactions are welcome and encouraged!

If I don't get to your ask/reblog, it's more than likely for a personal reason, rather than you doing anything wrong. I struggle with many a mental illness, which makes staying on top of everything difficult. I love meeting new blogs and participating in other people's stories!

All of these blogs accept Pelipper Mail and In Character Anon Hate. Magic Anons are restricted to events only.

Thank you for reading! Please feel free to send an ask with any questions you may have!

[avelera]

Was wondering if you had any theories about Viktor's childhood experiences and how exactly that shapes his politics?

I agree that Viktor is largely apolitical and pacifist, and I'm getting the sense that perhaps he believes politics/the council is incapable of solving the issues. After all, they haven't so far, and Viktor does respect Heimerdinger, so rather than Heimerdinger choosing to look away, Viktor perhaps believes it is impossible to solve the problems in the undercity through the council.

When I first watched season 1, I truly had no clue how they were going to be able to resolve the political conflict. The council kind of sucks, but so does Silco, and I don't think Ekko was powerful enough to fully take over.

I can picture Viktor also having no clue. He refuses to make weapons because he knows they'll be used against innocent people in the undercity (and I think he's also opposed to violence as a solution in general), but at this point he doesn't have an alternative solution. He refuses to side with the council, but he doesn't have an alternative. I doubt he even knows Silco is in charge or that he's someone they might negotiate with at this point (I think the council only learns about Silco when Caitlyn returns), so instead he chooses to stay out of it.

And with his cult, I'm getting the sense Viktor still had no clue how to end the conflict between Zaun and Piltover, so he doesn't try, but instead tries to create a safe place for people who, like him, want to escape the violence. It obviously doesn't work out the way he intends, but I do think that was the idea, and perhaps he hoped because of the remote location and his peaceful seperation from society, no one would really bother him. And when they do, he concludes mass hive mind is the only answer to the violence (because he still had no clue how to resolve any of these conflicts)

And all this gives me the idea that Viktor really is desperate to escape that violence, and makes me wonder what he lived through during his time in the undercity that inspires his actions, since we know so little apart from the time he met Singed.

This got a little long, sorry about that, but wondering what theories you had.

I think there's a core assumption to the question that I'd like to isolate out in the hopes it helps me explain how I see Viktor's views.

There's an assumption inherent here that in political times, everyone must be political. But let me point out, most people are not. All you need to do is look at voting turnout numbers to see most people are not political, especially not at the local level where direct action happens. When was the last time anyone reading this voted in their local, municipal election? Do you even know when the next one is?

Now let me add another aspect to this: Piltover is not a democracy. It is by definition an oligarchy, in which power is held in the hands of a small, elite group.

So, in such a world, why would anyone like Viktor think it's even possible for an individual to impact politics? Which is why I think Viktor always saw the only way of impacting the world for the better as being through where his own gifts lay: in science.

But I do think it's more complicated than that. And I want to take the chance to further explore the political landscape as Viktor would have seen it throughout Arcane and why that would be enough to make him take zero interest in politics and have zero hope for its efficacy at solving the problems he wants to solve for people, and that he wants to solve for people regardless of their political background or national identity, because Viktor is shown to be colorblind when it comes to those concepts.

As far as we can tell, the only people with political power in Piltover are the 7 Councilor. The major Houses have some influence, but that's it. Minor Houses, like House Talis, can't even trade upon their meager levels of influence in their own son's trial. Ximena, the presumed matriarch of House Talis in the absence of any extended family for Jaye being shown, has to trade on sentiment. That's how little political power is spread around.

One thing that Vander and Silco were almost certainly pushing for in their protest at the bridge was for "Zaun" to have a political voice at all. This effort was ruthlessly quashed. The undercity doesn't have a representative on the Council, they don't have any Houses, they are effectively voiceless except through riots and protests.

And, as they say, those who make peaceful revolution impossible make violent revolution inevitable.

Furthermore, organized crime tends to spring up and flourish in places that don't have a law of their own, or a law that common people can rely on. See the Italian mafia in the US, which in part sprang up from the fact these communities needed to be self-governing and self-protecting because the official law of the land wouldn't protect them. But then, of course, the criminal forces that stepped into that power vacuum may gain wide acceptance for keeping the peace and providing other social services, but then in order to hold onto power, they're going to prevent the actual authorities from stepping into their territory. Once they have a hold there, there's no elections either, there's no way to cast out a malfunctioning organized crime unit that's providing those social services.

This is more or less what I think happened with Silco. He stepped in and created a society in the undercity, one that he was able to run because Piltover turned its attention outward with the Hexgates, it no longer needed to rely on the labor of the underclasses in the undercity so they left them to their own devices.

But Silco's government was corrupt. I think that gets lost in a lot of Zaun vs. Piltover debates. Silco's Zaun was just as much an oligarchy as Piltover, they had their own Council with the chem-barons who are directly paralleled in the "Sucker" sequence in 2.02. There is no "Piltover is better" or "Zaun is better" they are both corrupt.

Where in the world would Viktor get the idea that the solution to the political problems between Zaun and Piltover would be solved by handing more political power to people like Silco? Why in the world would he reach the conclusion that two oligarchies would be the solution?

And even in such a world where maybe, self-governance would help some people in the undercity, why in the world would Viktor believe he would personally be able to make that happen?

In a society with no democracy, when the one attempt to gain a voice for the undercity was ruthlessly quashed most likely while Viktor was still a student in the Academy, where in the world where Viktor have developed a sense that he could have impact on politics or wouldn't simply die in the attempt if he joined a political movement, thus improving nothing? And if you can't buy into politics in any meaningful way, why pay attention to it?

Viktor has found his keys to the kingdom in science. He has one avenue to excellence, which is solving the material difficulties facing the undercity like cleaning up the air and making the labor there less backbreaking and difficult. He has a narrow focus. Indeed, one of his flaws is that it's kind of "his way or the highway" he doesn't appear to even seriously entertain other avenues besides science for improving lives in the undercity.

This is particularly interesting because he was an assistant to Heimerdinger, albeit in his role as Dean of the Academy I believe. Yet Viktor doesn't see Jayce's role as a Councilor as an avenue towards meaningful change, why?

I genuinely can only speculate there. Why doesn't Viktor ever try to advocate for the undercity when he has access to Heimerdinger? Or, as two scientists, do both just see it as the role of science to better lives down there, rather than political action? Heimerdinger does seem remarkably politically disinterested for someone who is the nominal head of the government. All the wheeling and dealing happens behind his back. Perhaps Viktor is just as oblivious, who knows? Maybe Viktor's lack of political interest is what made Heimerdinger like him enough to employ him as his assistant in the first place.

Now to further answer your question, I'd say Viktor isn't even trying to politically solve anything because it's unthinkable that he would be able to. That's why the undercity independence play I think makes him cautiously optimistic, if you see his face during the vote right before the rocket hits. He never really thought politics could solve this but maybe it can. Maybe the key is to just let the undercity go its own way. I'd argue Viktor seems a bit skeptical when he announces that Jayce brokered a peace with Silco, I don't think Viktor likes Silco, or likes the idea of handing the reins of power to him. But he does appear optimistic when the vote begins to go that way, in I would argue is one of the rare positive political moments for Viktor (the only other that I can think of is when he speaks favorably of Vander's vision for Zaun).

Then the rocket hits, which must be a gut punch of further disillusionment. It's not just Piltover that's preventing Zaun's independence, it's Zaun, it's the cycle of violence, it's the fact that the conflict has gone on for so long and is so ugly that a solution is no longer possible without more bloodshed.

This inevitable bloodshed includes Jinx and Cait's forces wiping out the remaining chem barons, thus in my opinion making the conflict a moot point, because there's no one on the other side to negotiate with anymore. There is no potential Zaun government anymore if there's no one to hand power to, there's no democracy to set up (not in Piltover either, so there's no example of one). Zaun dies with Silco and goes back to being the undercity, an impoverished community within Piltover. Its Shimmer economy dies, which was the only technology that gave it a prayer of competing with Piltover on the battlefield too.

Quick aside, I get that people are mad there isn't more Zaun vs. Piltover in S2, but that's already dead as a conflict in 2.03. Zaun gets decimated as a political player. It has no leadership, no weapons, nothing that allows it to act as an independent state anymore. Piltover won and it did so because Jinx's rocket gave them the motivation they needed to cut off the head of the snake, the snake Jayce was willing to negotiate with to give them their independence.

That's gone now. There is no Zaun. There's no one to give power to. There's no military, no forces, no money. It is not a state anymore. Sevika is trying to rally the various disaffected factions in 2.04 and even that is slow going because of the old internal hatreds. And even if everyone did rally, all Sevika is hoping for is to make enough of a cohesive Zaunite identity to be able to bring grievances to Piltover. She can't even organize that. Zaun doesn't have an identity anymore in 2.04, and not enough internal organization to begin to form anything resembles a town council let alone the government of a nation.

So in that backdrop, where in the world would Viktor have any notion that he can impact events with politics? Or any desire to when the most promising political hope Zaun had, which he had a hand in, was destroyed the second it arrived by a Zaunite who didn't want the deal? This is a difficult, intractable problem.

Of course Viktor would see the best way to "solve" this problem is to not engage with it at all. It's to sidestep it entirely. Go back down to the individual level, help those in need, give them a place away from conflict in which to flourish and live peaceful lives. He essentially starts a monastery during the political Dark Ages of the collapse of order in the undercity, a very natural human response.

Then, he decides the best way to solve this problem is just to stop it. Get everyone on the same side, even if it's into a hivemind. That's why he's willing to take poor shimmer addicts from Zaun like Huck and rich Councilors like Salo from Piltover.

I also think his view is informed by his parallels in the real world in that he's apolitical because he's a scientist, and to a scientist all these lines of caste and creed and nation are meaningless on a biological level, we are all people. That's how I think Viktor sees it. It's part of why I think too, somewhat speculatively, that Viktor only talks about being from the undercity as a place of origin for him, not as an identity, because I think he thinks all such identities are nonsense, they're missing the point of the general advance of humanity, something many scientists around the world feel. I'm more quick to ascribe an attitude I see amongst scientists, engineers, and astronauts to Viktor than I am to ascribe a political identity to him. I don't think he sees political identities are relevant.

For example, besides noting Jayce's privilege when they first meet, he never denounces Jayce as being from Piltover or sees it as a barrier to them working together. He never singles out details of Jayce's identity by birth as being relevant. Because such details are meaningless in science. He only even brings up Jayce's background, I think, the one time when they first meet to point out to Jayce that while he has lost the benefits of his patron and House Talis name, there's still a path forward for him, the one Viktor started with. He mentions it as a reason that Jayce doesn't need to commit suicide when he loses those things. But he doesn't blame Jayce for having them.

At no point, even when Jayce is othering the people of the undercity, does Viktor other him right back as being from Piltover. In my view, Viktor's response is actually, "Hey, a member of your in-group is also from the undercity, stop framing everyone from there as outgroup/other, you know better than this." And Jayce immediately acknowledges that Viktor is right. They are immediately back on the same page that political identity lines are meaningless when it comes to improving lives (aside, real world people who play identity politics do realize we're all aiming for a world where everyone can flourish regardless of their identity, right??).

However, he does admire those like Vander who imagined a peaceful end to the conflict by establishing a nation of Zaun, however it should be noted, I think Viktor saw Vander's effort as inspiring but tragically doomed to failure. Hence, the need for Glorious Evolution, when the most well-intention dreams have no hope of ever happening. Seeing people like Vander fail is part of the disillusionment that makes Viktor further decide to disregard and supersede all politics through his own scientifically endowed magical power.

So anyway I hope this very long, involved essay helps explain a bit better how I view Viktor's politics, specifically his lack of them.

Edit: I just realized you also asked about Viktor's childhood. I have less to say there because we know so little but I would add:

Viktor was othered by people in the undercity as well as people from Piltover. I think that would lend to his view that people are just people, there are no real lines of politics or point of origin that matter. People will isolate him for his disability in both. No one is better than anyone else. It's just that people in Piltover by and large have more resources than those in the undercity, but both will look down on someone like him and avoid him.

You also have the fact that Viktor emigrated to Piltover presumably while still fairly young, either a teen or a young man, one would guess, based on his intellectual ability. I don't think he inherently sees the two cities as being separate, more like just two different areas of town, one of which is disadvantaged. Like moving from a poor neighborhood in Brooklyn to Manhattan. If Brooklyn began to lobby to become its own city or state, separate from Manhattan, some would see that as a good thing from self-governance perspective, others might see it as nonsense, which is where I think Viktor would mostly fall, but more importantly, I don't think he has faith that Brooklyn and Manhattan becoming separate states would really solve anything that matters, when the issues are things like air filtration systems, which can be solved with science.

As for things like, did young Viktor face violence? I think if he did, it would just add to his sense that a lack of resources breeds violence and the undercity needs prosperity to flourish, prosperity brought by scientific innovation. Politics again isn't going to solve these problems.

And I would finally add, Viktor found success and a sense of belonging in Piltover. I don't think he's as down on the place as people make him out to be sometimes. Jayce is from Piltover. Heimerdinger is too, these are two people who accepted Viktor and arguably who have loved him. I think as a result, Viktor would just see Piltover and the undercity as two places of origin within one city, a city he belongs to and wants to help improve by focusing on those in need.

[itjazzbicch]

On My Mind

Pairing: Bonten!Kokonoi Hajime x Bonten!Fem Reader 

First time writing for Koko, so I hope I did well! 

Summary: Coming to a meeting, wearing one of her secret lovers' gifts, the attention she receives sparks the true feelings they have for one another, which they discuss when they're finally alone...

Warnings:  Pet names (Baby, princess) very slight swearing

Word Count: 0.7k 

"Y/N finally here yet? We need to get started."

It wasn't like me to be late for a meeting, hearing Sanzu in the meeting room and apologizing as I stepped in:

"Forgive me for being late. I had to handle a personal issue."

"Woo," Ran whistled from the bar, bringing drinks over and winking at me, "Who are you trying to impress? Because I have never seen you all dolled up like that, honey."

I hated when people put me on the spot like this. Although, Ran made a good point. A cute silk dress, heels, and jewelry to match. That wasn't exactly my style, but I was exploring new fashions, avoiding the eyes of the one who bought it for me.

Kokonoi.

"I just thought that maybe it was time to try something new," It was hard to hide how flustered I was, especially since there were only two seats left.

One next to Rindou for Ran, then one next to Kokonoi. Koko's eyes wouldn't leave the sight of my dress as I sat down next to him, our eyes connecting, and the lust in them had me looking away to hide my smile.

We were a thing but weren't official. So, I would rather not have the rest of the guys be in our business, looking at Ran as he brought me a drink, winking:

"Well, it looks good on you, baby doll."

Ran could never hold back his flirtatious ways, cheeks full of flustered heat as I felt Koko's hand on my thigh under the table. Ran couldn't see it but noticed my expression, going to flirt with me some more till Sanzu groaned:

"Stop worrying about your, baby doll, Ran, and focus on the work we have to do."

"Yeah, yeah," Ran huffed back, sitting at the table, and as we were going through files and talking business, Koko's hand found my thigh again, fingertips tracing the silk against my skin, their talking able to hide his whisper:

"I knew that you'd look gorgeous in that dress."

"I'm glad you think so. I really do love it," I whispered, fighting another blushy smile, my thighs squeezing together.

To make it look like we were handling business, Koko reached for some papers next to me; his whisper was quieter but loud and clear to me:

"Only the best for my princess."

That made all my blood rush between my thighs, his finger softly trailing between my thighs, teasing under my dress, and his eyes trailing over to Ran, who was side-eyeing me with a smirk.

I took a big gulp of my drink while staring at the clock, needing this meeting to end already. It was still a lot of attention to process. I wasn't the type to be so easily swooned, but there was something about Koko.

I'd never seen him entertain the thought of anyone lustfully in all the years I've known him, and to be showered in bliss and pampered by him? It never failed at making my heart race.

Thankfully, I didn't have to suffer in tension for long. I stayed a bit longer only to avoid the guys seeing Koko and me leaving together.

It was astonishing how platonic we looked, but as we stepped into the elevator, there was no more acting.

"Gosh, I can't keep my eyes off you."

"You're too good to me, Koko," I said, melting from his presence, let alone when his hand found my hip, bringing me in front of him.

"Look at you, princess," The walls of the elevators were mirrors, my hands following his on my dress, pressing kisses on my ear, turning into soft nibbles with every word, "You are beautiful."

"Koko," Exhaling a soft moan, I found the motivation to ask, "Can we come out about us? When Ran was eyeing me, I only wanted to show him that I'm yours."

"I know how you feel. That damn Ran needs put on a leash," He was annoyed by what happened earlier, too, smiling into my eyes through the mirror, "I agree that he needs to learn that you're mine."

That's all that needed to be said, turning around in his arms to kiss him. We didn't have a lot of time to be affectionate with one another, so I took the opportunity, cooing between kisses:

"You're the only one I want, Koko." 

2023 © itjazzbicch — do not repost or translate my work. Likes, reblogs, and comments are always welcome 

[coraniaid]

Tagged by @jannacalendar.

Rules: give us the links to your fics with the most hits, second most kudos, third most comments, fourth most bookmarks, fifth most words, and fic with the fewest words.

Fic with the most hits (and also most kudos, most comments, most bookmarks, most words, ...) is Coexist, my Season 3 Buffy AU. Jenny Calendar survived Season 2, but not everyone did. Angel never got his soul back before Buffy sent him to hell. Now Buffy has a new Watcher, and she's brought another Slayer with her to Sunnydale.

I started writing this in late 2020 and posted the first chapter in February 2021. I wouldn't be finished for twenty-six months, twenty-seven chapters and about a quarter of a million words. It's easily the most popular thing I've ever written (just checking now, it doesn't just have the most hits of any fic I've published, it has the most hits of any Teen- or General-rated Fuffy fic published on AO3, which is wild), and I think it's probably the best, too. Will I ever write a sequel? Well, one day, maybe ...

Fic with the second most kudos is another Buffy AU, Last Year's Rain Didn't Fall Quite So Hard. Faith wakes up from her coma in the middle of Season 4, but she's forgotten everything that happened since before Allan Finch died.

I wrote this as part of a gift exchange at the end of 2023, and I think it's best read alongside @bodytoflame-ao3's trying to drown in the fountain of youth. Without meaning to, or really coordinating in any way, we ended up writing a pair of stories that explore some very similar ideas (we both even named our respective fics after songs about water).

Fic with the third most comments is Residuum, my long dormant -- I guess it's probably fair to say 'abandoned' at this point -- Mass Effect AU. How would the galaxy be different if, shortly after humanity finding the Charon mass relay and settling their first interstellar colonies, Earth had been cut off from the rest of galactic civilization?

I originally started posting this on fanfiction.net in 2018. It was the first fanfiction I'd ever written (as an adult, anyway), and in hindsight I was ludicrously optimistic about just how much I'd be able to write (I managed 19 chapters of a planned 67). I think I learned a lot by trying to write it but I just wasn't able to keep up the energy I needed and in hindsight I suspect I never would have been. (If anybody ever wants to message me and ask about it, I'd be more than happy to talk about where the story was going to go: I had a huge amount of notes and timelines and ideas and half-written chapter fragments and the plot was going to eventually bring together ideas and concepts from all three games of the original trilogy.)

Fic with the fourth most bookmarks is another Buffy one: Mixed Signals. Fuffy, again, to nobody's surprise.

This was originally written as a prompt-fill on Tumblr (the prompt was "I've got you"). I couldn't work out which season of the show I wanted to set it in, so I went with ... all of them?

Fic with the fifth most words is The Choice. Back to Mass Effect for this one. Two different takes on the end of the second game, as two different Shepards lead their crews on a last desperate assault on the Collector Base.

I think this was the first fanfiction I ever actually finished? A bit of a Sliding Doors style experiment on my part: one Shepard's story is told in the present tense and the other is simultaneously told in the past tense, and the two versions of her are dimly but not quite aware of one another (in the way one is always aware of choices we didn't make and lives we might have had as a result). Rereading it now for the first time in -- well, years, I assume -- I think it holds up okay.

Fic with the fewest words is the only real work in progress on this list: Take Me Somewhere Nice, another Buffy Season 3 AU, this time a Kendra & Faith story. To paraphrase the AO3 summary: "Kendra never dared to ask her Watcher what would happen when she died but, deep down, she'd hoped the world would be kind. That when whatever was going to happen had happened, when she'd fought her last fight, she'd open her eyes somewhere better.  But the world isn't kind. After Kendra died, she found herself in Boston."

Stalling quite a bit on this one at the moment -- only chapter published so far is from September -- but I'm excited to try to get back to it this month. I've talked on this blog previously about some Kendra headcanons and plot concepts, and I'm keen to actually try to explore some of them a little bit. (Think this should end up being about a dozen chapters long when completed, give or take.)

Tagging: @bodytoflame-ao3, @explosionshark, @juanabaloo, @finalgirl1984, @quillbard and anybody else who wants to try this.

[hamliet]

Invincible: Proving the Superhero Genre Invincible

Another story I've watched recently is Invincible. I know it's based on comics, which I'll get around to eventually.

Despite masquerading as a dark deconstruction of the superhero story, the story is actually far more a hopeful coming-of-age story that just happens to don a gory costume. You can tell the writers love superhero comics, and that they aren't deconstructing it out of disdain but instead out of a desire to see what the main principles are.

In other words, it's far more akin to Hunter x Hunter's take on deconstructing shonen or even ASOIAF's spin on fantasy literature (matching the violence too) than it is a cynical, nihilistic tale with intent to ridicule. Love and friendships win the day. It's just complex to navigate them in a world where there has been so much hurt.

I wish Horikoshi had read a little more of this.

The tl;dr is that the world's Number One hero turns out to be working for a planet of alien colonizers who live forever and subjugate other lifeforms because they believe they're saving them. This gets to the heart of a thematic question often asked in the superhero genre but not often well-explored - what does it mean to save someone who doesn't want to be saved? Are there valid reasons to not want to be saved? What even counts as not wanting to be saved, and does perspective alter that? Is it not wanting to be saved for humans to cling to their fragile and short lives and free will when they could lose free will and have no more sickness and pain?

The story explores this through many different aspects and characters--from Eve being genetically engineered, to the boys turned into cyborgs, to Mark finding out his entire life has been a lie, to government bureaucracy running the superhero world. And just because the series affirms free will doesn't mean it's blind to the pitfalls of this, or that it doesn't explore the gray areas in which we live--namely, when to listen to others and obey orders, and when not to.

In addition to free will, the series affirms that one of the top gifts of humanity is love. Love is what wakes up the cyborgs when their emotions have been pried from their brains. Love is something intrinsic that can't be perfectly defined and doesn't listen to logic, yet also isn't purely emotional. It's powerful, and it's a weakness. It can save, but not always. (For example, Mark's love for his dad, the cyborg's love for his boyfriend, etc. But Eve's parents love for her doesn't save).

My favorite episode of the story is the final one in season 1, where Mark's father puts him through an overly literal lesson of the trolley problem and then tries to kill his own son. And then there's that one line:

Omni-Man: Why did you make me do this? You're fighting so you can watch everyone around you die! Think, Mark! You'll outlast every fragile, insignificant being on this planet. You'll live to see this world crumble to dust and blow away! Everyone and everything you know will be gone! What will have after 500 years? Mark: I'd still have you.

Really he has 0 reason to still want his father around at this point. And yet that single line contains so much power about what the series is saying.

Mark shouldn't still love his father, logically speaking. Even emotionally, he's determined to stop his father by any means necessary. But, he chooses to still love him, no matter what that means. Whether he lives or dies. Because whether he dies then or later, in that moment he loves his father. And it's so illogical and against what Omni-Man has been trying to literally beat into his son, yet so real, that it pauses destruction.

It doesn't fix anything. Not by a long shot. Not Mark and his father's relationship, not the world, not the plan of Omni-Man's Space!British Empire. Not Mark himself, as Mark will go on to make some pretty intensely Bad mistakes himself. But it means, in that moment, that a life is spared. And that single life is worth sparing (saving).

(This is how you write an abuser-son redemptive love arc!)

Mark and his parents are well done as characters, complex and flawed. I did wish the show had shown more of the ugly side of Debbie's grief (which they apparently do in the comics). I really would like women to be less sanitized, even if that means they act in despicable ways.

That said, the best female character is undoubtedly Eve. The special that chronicles her origin was brilliantly written--one of the best hours of TV I've watched. It's poignant and , despite being horror scifi cyberpunk in some ways, also realistic in how it portrays humanity. I appreciated that her adoptive parents were extremely complex for background characters. They desperately wanted a child, but not necessarily her. Her mom loves her, but still wishes she was someone else, and her father is just a bad dad. Of course, this is underscored by the fact that she's not their biological daughter, but I don't know that it would have been different if she was.

Plus, Eve and Mark are a great couple, though they take a bit too long to get together.

On that note, I also liked Amber as a character, but I thought the writing kind of didn't know what to do with Mark and Amber at times. Clearly they wanted this relationship to demonstrate the struggles of Mark trying to balance being a superhero with a normal high school life, but the writers were actually a bit too harsh on Mark at times. (I know, right?) I thought the main conflict between them in season 1 (about his identity) was unfairly framed as only Mark's fault when it wasn't, and it wasn't resolved in a satisfactory way.

Ultimately, though, the story is about humanity and all its ways of attempting to create superhumans. Science. Religion. Aliens. Living forever. Strength. Cyborgs. But what it affirms is that there is so much that is beautiful about humanity, and what transcends humanity are the traits we all can have--love and free will.

[reddevilmcnt]

Greetings! 😁 I'm a 30+ writer (any pronouns) with multi-para/novella and NSFW/smut experience, seeking other descriptive writers with similar backgrounds.

Watching Rome and Spartacus again has me in the mood to bring out my gladiator character! The plot is having your character gifted to mine as a pet for yet another victory inside of the arena, and his champion status (mlm for this ONLY.) If you are not comfortable with kinks like non/dubcon, pain/blood play, group and public things, then this is not the plot for you.

I do want to expand on this and have feelings and other drama outside of smut evolve throughout the story, maybe even introducing a rebellion later on. We can definitely add in myths/fantasy elements to drive character development if you're into that sort of thing, as well. Furthermore, I'd like to point out that I prefer writing for and against characters of color!!

I also do not rapid-fire post or have the ability to post daily. I'm fast when there's chemistry, I'm inspired, and my busy graduate schedule allows me to be. Please no poking for replies.

A plot/smut ratio of 50/50 or a little more plot than smut is typically fine with me; I usually go with what flows the best character wise and makes sense. Character exploration and development are always needed so please be able to help me plot.

When it comes down to smut, I strictly write for Tops and Dominant characters, although I don't make that their whole personalities. My characters are complex and will have vulnerabilities; they will cry and develop certain weaknesses for their love interests. I love writing against bottoms, so long as my partner helps me to create a story and move along the plot.

Please be willing to share writing samples with me, and I will do so in return.

Interact with this post and I will reach out to you! Roleplay is also over Discord only.