#and sphinx was so fucking cool

[lunneus]

sighing loudly that sphinx and the cursed mummy wasn't more successful, left a lasting impression on a lot of people, and made enough money to have a sequel/remake with the cut content

Siiiiiiiiiigh

[puppyeared]

meow

[theevilbrainman]

Please get piercings please get piercings please get piercings PLEASE GET PIERCINGS PLEASE GET

[muchmossymess]

I may be a bit late to the guillermo del toros pinocchio train, but holy shit did that alter my brain chemistry

[traaanskimkitsuragi]

yooo tlovm season 2 is actually so good so far 👀

[n3ptoonz]

OMG OKAY SO I JUST READ YOUR RECENT HEADCANONS WITH EARTHREALM BOYS AND HOW THEY'D REACT TO READER RIDING THEM AND I LOVE IT SO MUCH AND IT GOT ME THINKING

How would they react to reader pegging them HEHEHE 👁️👁️🙏

mk1 hcs: how the earthrealm guys react to pegging

sorry i took so long to get to this anon! life is on my asssss and kept getting random spurts of writers block but WE HERE

warnings: explicit, smut elements, fluff elements, sub men obviously, sphinx might have favs idk tho😹

Scorpion

When you suggested pegging for the first time, it intrigued him. He'd always been down to try something new, especially if you bring it to him since he does it more

Y'all would be reeallll slow in the beginning. Luckily you knew all about preparation and making sure he was relaxed and okay the whole time. It didn't take long for him to get used to it, and even take a liking

He'd prefer for it to be a regular thing after his looonngggg days after work. There's nothing he needs more than to either be treated with tender, love, and care or just straight filthy coitus with him seeing stars and his hair tangled to all hell

The first few times he was a shy boy, cute lil whimpers here and there. Now? Doesn't give a damn, he will be as vocal as he feels like. You're gonna be the one who wakes up with claw marks and bite marks in the morning

Sub-Zero

Huh? You want to what? Were you inside of his head or something? How'd you know he wanted you to absolutely mix his guts whenever he gives you attitude? Something ain't right

He only acts reluctant because he didn't wanna look eager, but the man was waiting for this moment. The second you suggested it he was like "okay i'll say yes after like the third time i gotta look cool." when whole time he wanted to fall to his knees and hug your thighs in agreement

Don't try to go slow the first few times. His patience is shorter than his temper, this mf is the most power bottom individual in the bedroom. After he's gotten used to it he'll 'allow' you to go the romantic route (he's such a lil bitch for it we love it)

He barks orders at you like you won't grab his face and give him a taste of his own medicine. One good time where you're hovering over him, a thumb on the inside of his cheek while he drools and you fuck him like your life depended on it. Mission success!

Smoke

He's the one who brought it to you. Any objections? I think tf not. He isn't saying it aloud, but his eyes are silently begging you to treat him like the town's whore

He likes both the romance and the pure filth. It's entirely up to you; he will never say no to anything you suggest. Fuck him like you're mad at him or go slow and steady while you kiss his jaw and play with his hair and sing his praises

Any and all positions available. If you can somehow prone this big boy, DO IT. He'd totally ride you too if you really down for the count. We are troopers around this bitch!

Sometimes it would concern you how rarely he tapped out, especially when shit was getting intense and didn't calm down for a while. If you were absolutely demolishing his ass, you'd see a pool of drool escaping his lips, his eyes glossed over, his whines and moans gradually getting louder, and when you asked if he was okay, he would nod and give you a thumbs up like he didn't just bust 3 times in a row

Johnny Cage

Every time I do any sexual hcs of this mf, I will continue to say he's a brat. I do not care. He's a fucking diva and will dare to bark orders at you too like you're not the one who brought it up

Y'all know that Meg the stallion lyric where she's like "no don't fuck me like that fuck me like this"? THATS HIS ASS. He KNOWS it'll piss you off but go one of two ways: you indeed do fuck him like that but added aggression, OR! you stop completely and pretend like you're gonna leave the room. Works every time

He thoroughly enjoys straight up sex over romantic sex, but every once in a while he indulges in popping champagne, throwing down rose petals, and playing sexy music in the back to set the mood. Ol dramatic ass

Remember how I said in my riding hcs that he records everything? Yeah. Even as far as come to you and be like "okay so like what if we sold these? i could cut your face out if you want-" and you're like !1!2? HOWEVER ik some of yall are FREEKIE FUCKS. If you say "fuck that leave my face in it", prepare to never need a job ever again

Kenshi Takahashi

Surprisingly is down with it. That's what #love does to a mf. He's like Kuai, anything you want you shall receive. If you wanna play around in that ass, say no more!

97% of the time wants to go slow and steady. He just loves looking at your face with the power of Sento while making love. Tell him how much you love and appreciate him and how he's doing so good for you and he'll instantly become the butter to your bread (like melting- ok y'all get it cool)

That 3%?? He would be on his knees and begging you to fuck the stress out of him. He's had such a tough week, just shove his head into the pillow and get to work!

If it's missionary just grip his neck, get real close to his face so he can feel your breath, and welcome him to pound town. All aboard the slut-Kenshi-out train

Raiden

Secretly a whore. The first green light into pegging territory, you could see his pearly browns sparkle in excitement and eagerness. He's relatively chill and calm about it at first because he didn't want to scare you away, but that's gone in an instant when you actually do the deed

Walks up to microphone Raiden...enjoys the prepping damn near more than the actual pegging. This pretty boy sure loves to see you break out the lubricant and gloves just so you can get him ready. Bro is on the edge of the bed swinging his feet while you have the most devious look in your eye

He's 50/50 on sensual nights vs getting down and dirty. Literally has zero preference, just spread him!

Back to how I said he's secretly a whore, sometimes he does subtle things that get you riled up throughout the day so you can take it out on him later. It's kinda funny sometimes cause he can be vocal but he's more shy than ever, but he'll break soon, trust

Liu Kang

Out of everyone he'd probably enjoy it the most. Now hear me out, he's not used to something like this, so it may take some convincing, but it's very little. It's good that he was mortal before so this level of intimacy isn't completely out of bounds

Once you get the stamp of approval and you try it for the first time, he's in love. It's like all he wants to do. Like holy fuck, where has this been for all these eons? This is the ultimate relaxation and he gets to forget his worries for a few hours??

He's so fascinated that he'd be the one introducing YOU to different types of straps all the way down to the patterns. "A dragon one... have you heard of this one?" like damn bro we get it you fw dragons (literally 😹)

Given how calm he is he prefers slow and sensual. It's only when he's truly curious that he'd be like hmm...it certainly wouldn't hurt to try (prepare for his godly stamina to have you on the brink of death btw). also, there's no way he wouldn't request for his hair to be pulled 😮‍💨

Kung Lao

Kung Lao my beloved. Morphs into alpha with huge muscles and impeccable imagination. Kung Lao, the egotistical and prideful man he is would think he has the up on you simply because he brought it up before you did. This fine ass man can and will come prepared on his own, case full of toys and all

And if I said he likes to be tooted up with music in the back and you pulling his hair while being used like a barracks bunny, would you arrest me?? For speaking TRUTH? He's a whore your honor

He don't give a damn about slow and steady but he'll do it if you want to. Just know it will never end in slow and steady, the pace always seems to be picked up and all of a sudden he's strap-warming you as a punishment (he literally wanted this to happen)

Idek what more to say Kung Lao is a slut and I need him in a way that's concerning to women's suffrage. I will make that hat chucking dimple having sexy ass man a fucking mother, just you wait. [he is one of the first I will breed]

[sanctus-ingenium]

I love the moth guy a lot. Such a cool design! He's a photographer, too? What a funky little guy. Do you have more to tell about him?

Patches is a large (about 1.6m long) sphinx moth descended from the family Sphingidae. He is based off of a combination of striped hawk moth and tersa sphinx moth and he is distantly related to both :)

(source) (source)

I have to explain some of the setting - so every few million years, a mountain appears. It appears in the same spot on multiple different parallel dimensions, and it is there for maybe 45 years at a time. During this time is the only time these parallel worlds can touch, intersect, or meet one another. The last time this happened, members of the class Insecta came over, and found a different world with a ludicrously oxygen-rich atmosphere and some extremely energy-dense plants. They were able to develop, in the intervening years between then and the time of the story (think 1910s on earth) into the dominant life forms in this new world, many becoming quite large and developing complex societies and technology of their own.

The mountain reappears. This time, some of our insect characters (Nettle Rove [Staphylinidae] among them, though he is much younger than Patches and arrived at the tail-end of the time window) cross the mountain again, either by accident or on purpose, and find earth there, and human society. There's not enough oxygen there to fly or do much physical activity but they can still survive there and participate in a type of cultural exchange. So we have a First Contact type situation, but that's not what everyone really cares about. See, the humans have climbed the mountain and found at its peak, hidden in the clouds, a city. Completely devoid of life (even microbial), but obviously made by somebody. So the actual premise of the story is the exploration and mystery of this place.

Patches is 18 when the mountain shows up. He has just had a fulfilling caterpillar-hood of territorially murdering everyone he meets (kind of a solitary species! some members of Sphingidae will literally fight to the death if they meet as caterpillars) and, he is naturally extremely curious about the world outside His Tree. he meets his mate/bestie, Rosy Wing and while they do spend a lot of time terrorising everyone they meet, eventually they get interested in what's on the other side of that giant mountain. after meeting up with some humans trying to map the place, a camera-maker has a bright idea to send up Patches, who can hover very still in place, to photograph the strange lifeless city from the air (the humans are in full steampunk swing so obviously they have airships but atmospheric mixing between the different worlds makes it too dangerous to fly them, given that a stray breeze from the insect world might make a combustion engine blow the fuck up). the mixing is also sufficient to allow the insects to fly on the mountain but not for very long, meaning that most exploration of the city is on foot. The development of this aerial photography technique reveals that, from the air, the city appears disproportionately huge, and seems to stretch on for infinity. Because of this, and Patches' part in it all, an entire industry strings up for city exploration, and by Nettle Rove's time twenty years later, it has descended into bitter and violent rivalries between wealthy patrons funding expeditioneer teams. Murder is legal there (it's legal in insect world too. have u met insects? they love murder)

As for Patches himself, he is a barely-socialised semi feral freak with an incredibly upbeat and curious personality who is so so so devoted to Rosy Wing (who is.. similar, but more into people instead of cameras). Until their habit of harassing and thieving from randos goes poorly on a city expedition, and their entire team gets caught in a shootout. There were no recorded survivors. Our guy survived by playing dead but Rosy Wing was not so lucky. With Patches' hindwing in tatters, his only hope of being able to fly again and get of there was to use Rosy Wing's own hindwing as donor material. And that's how he got his name (he didn't have one before) :3

Rosy Wing was similar to an eyed hawk moth in appearance

(source)

In Nettle Rove's time, there is a persistent rumour of some weird old hermit in the city. These claims are dismissed, but something's out there drinking the blood of random expeditioneers, and that thing might know more about what lies at the heart of the city than anyone else...

okay thank you for reading love u

[lakesbian]

also i will never forgive wildbow for including a scene where someone [checks notes] Jokingly Accuses Rose Of Incestuous Gay Attraction . solely so she has reason to go "uh, no, blake did NOT give me his attraction to women." fuck you. yes he did. she's bisexual now. she is. right there in the middle of the demon disaster, rose thorburn is becoming bisexual. she is suddenly noticing that isadora is blindingly hot and doing her utmost to stay cool and casual about it. standing there sweating while she suddenly gains the ability to "care about stuff" and also to notice isadora the sphinx's huge gigantic tits. i don't care WHAT wildbow says. Rose Thorburn Had A Bisexual Awakening During A Horror Beyond Anyone's Worst Nightmares. shes like ok all of a sudden i understand paige. is this thing on

[utilitycaster]

look, I know polls are silly and fun and so I want you to understand writing this rant is silly and fun for me but EMON? Emon is the Critical Role Entry for Most Place of All Time? I must call bullshit. And so:

Friends, fellow critters, and people who have me blocked but hate read my blog each morning over breakfast: Emon is not even the Most Place on the Material Plane. It is not even the Most Place in Tal'Dorei. Hell, it's not even the Most Place on the fucking Bladeshimmer Shoreline, which includes a destroyed city now overtaken by bandits, and a cave system that hosts both a rift to the Far Realm and a different rock than residuum that can make a different magical drug than suude. Emon is if you took the aggressively mid vibes of Washington, DC and transplanted them to the inconvenient location and city of refuge for flaky people who avoid gluten for non-medical reasons of Los Angeles. The second Percival Frederickstein von Musel Klossowski de Rolo III invents the motorcar that sumbitch is going to have traffic bad enough to summon Tharizdun. Also there's a literal pit of fire that's been burning for 30 years that both hasn't been adequately addressed but also doesn't really seem that interesting. Like oh a bunch of dragons destroyed your city? Big deal. Draconia got so fucked up it doesn't exist anymore, and at least Westruun has some fucking charm. At least Pike and Grog actually lived there, whereas Vox Machina got a house in Emon and proceeded to spend their time literally anywhere else.

Here is a brief list of places on the planet of Exandria in the Material Plane - not even across Critical Role's main campaigns/EXU, which includes such non-Exandrian places as "living city of people who mind-melded and escaped to the Astral Sea during a century-plus-long war of the gods"; "Ligament Manor"; "Ryn's groovy pied-a-feu, man I wonder what made the scorch marks on that furniture, anyway", and "THE MOON THAT IS ACTUALLY AN PRISON FOR A THING THAT EATS GODS AND IS POSSIBLY HATCHING" - that are more of a place than Emon:

Jrusar: 5 spires no waiting, sweet cable car system, city almost entirely destabilized by goo creatures as part of an overly complicated plot to blow up the aforementioned moon

Bassuras: (literally "garbagetown") Run by Mad Max gangs and everyone is cool with it; regular sandstorms; one of those gangs apparently sits atop a hive mind and NO ONE has examined this (except for them)?)

Whitestone: has a tree planted by one god over a buried temple to another god that was corrupted in the name of a third, shittier god; overrun by zombies but it's fine now; streetlights and two bears that are allowed to do whatever the fuck they want.

Yios: The canal system of Venice meets the colleges per capita of Boston meets the orcs from your fantasies, also there's some kind of kitchen-based organized crime ring so intricate it could be its own campaign (so, also like Boston).

Vasselheim: literally no one understands what the fuck its government system is. Old as balls. Temples everywhere! Temples full of trees. Temples full of blood! Temples full of an old guy who will kick your ass. A sphinx that regulates the monster hunter mini-game. Presumably the giant titan full of the ancient cannibal dwarf city is like, still there, as a new fixture, since I don't see how they're moving that.

The arctic: where teleportation doesn't work, there's a river of lava in the middle of the snow, ancient ruins full of snow globes full of actual people, and the Chaos Bisexual Emerald - and that's just a smattering of what Eiselcross has to offer.

Since this is about space and not time we can toss Aeor and Avalir too, since they once were places, and while we're at it whatever the fuck is going on with the Shattered Teeth and its permanent fog cloud and fish dream cult and capitalist shipwrecked merchants.

And, of course, any arbitrary square millimeter of Wildemount, frankly, has more Mostness than the entirety of Emon could muster under absolutely ideal conditions. But for the sake of one place per region, let's hand it to Rosohna (city of eternal night for practical purposes, built over the Evil God Headquarters); Uthodurn (underground! Giant goats! Elves and dwarves, living together, mass hysteria!); Hupperdook (steampunk gnome party city); Nicodranas (Fjord, Jester, Veth, Marion, and Yussa literally all live there at once; plumbing used to be courtesy of an imprisoned marid...but watch out); and Blightshore (Blightshore).

In conclusion: Emon is boring, nominating it was a mistake, there are literally sealed gods in other parts of the world and also way better taverns, good night, and what the fuck.

[leupagus]

Half of this fic is just me looking for more excuses to put in all the cool women that the show wrote out

Still working on the next chapter for the GOT rewrite from hell, but I had to write a little about how the fuck menstruation works in Westeros (other than "oh you can get married now!" which I refuse to believe is the norm) and also to introduce the Sphinx:

The next morning, Shireen woke up to find blood on her shift and a sharp sort of twist in her stomach, as though she'd swallowed a molten pin. The blood came out easily enough, with frantic scrubbing in the basin, but the pain grew over the course of the morning.

"It's your flowering," said Maester Alleras briskly, when she went to him in a tightly-controlled panic. "How old are you?"

"Fourteen," said Shireen, realizing the date. Her nameday had passed two weeks ago.

"And what do you know of flowering?" he asked, smiling slightly at her blush. "Forgive me, but Northerners have queer ideas of teaching their children about these matters. I do not wish to presume your level of education."

"I know it can last for a week or more," Shireen said, thinking of Mother's cycles, how she would confine herself to her rooms to endure the pain in solitude and prayer. "It's very painful and disgusting, but it allows me to bear my future husband's children and therefore is a gift from the gods."

"Hmm. Well, that is what you were taught, at least," grunted the maester. He got up from his desk, rummaging through the cupboard behind him. He was a tall, skinny young man with the deep brown skin and tightly-coiled hair of a Summer Islander, and shared their fondness for brightly-colored nails: they seemed to dance along the shelves until he plucked out a jar and presented it to her with a flourish. "This will help with the pain, and stop the bleeding after this cycle. People of the North use it a great deal."

"Is it moon tea?" Shireen asked, taking it gingerly and wondering at Maester Alleras's use of the term Northerners, which sounded different from People of the North. Perhaps in the Summer Isles, everyone on Westeros was a Northerner. "Why do they use it so much here?"

"It is," he confirmed, "and as for why..." He shrugged. "I've only just arrived in Winterfell, you understand, and as you may have guessed—" this said with another smile— "I was born elsewhere. But from what I've gathered, they must be careful when they have children. The North can only feed so many."

Shireen thought of Fire & Blood, which Father had read to her as a child. The Winter Wolves had been a company of Northerners, who had answered Lord Cregan's call to fulfill the Pact of Ice and Fire with Rhaenyra Targaryen. They'd been greybeards who had knowingly marched to their deaths, for such was the custom of the North back then: at the start of each winter, the old men of each keep and castle and holdfast would choose amongst themselves who would go out into the snows. Some would return home in the spring, having endured the cold or escaped it to find their fortunes in southron lands; most would not.

"Put a thimbleful of this into whatever tea you like best," Maester Alleras continued, gesturing at the jar, his fingernails catching the light as it streamed into the rookery. "Once a day, and come back when you need more."

"Shouldn't I ask—" Shireen bit her lip.

But the maester caught her meaning; his eyes narrowed. "Shouldn't you ask your parents? Yes, I suppose you should. But they should be here to be asked, and they should have told you the truth."

"What's the truth?" Shireen asked, instead of admitting that Mother and Father had never told her anything about it. She couldn't imagine either of them even mentioning the subject. All her information had come from books, or from Mother's complaints.

"The truth is that if a cycle is painful and lasts for a week or more, that is the sign of an illness, not the will of a god. The truth is that you may well find it disgusting, but it is merely something our bodies do and should never be a source of disgust or shame to you or anyone else." He glared, though it did not seem directed at her. "And as for 'bearing your future husband's children,' the truth is that they are your children, just as much as his — indeed more so, unless he carries them about for the first nine months after their birth. But you will not be a woman grown for at least another two years, and any man who wishes you to bear children until at least that time is unworthy of your hand or your love." He sat back down, his half-dozen maester's links chiming musically. "Now run along, little princess."

Lady Sansa was just outside the door, with her brother beside her. "See, I told you she smelled funny," Rickon said triumphantly.

Shireen scowled at him. "Shut up." It was kind of him, she supposed, to have worked out that something was wrong and to wait for her outside the maester's chambers. But Rickon Stark was the sort of friend who was difficult to be grateful for.

"Yes, please do, Rickon," Lady Sansa said, pressing a businesslike kiss on the crown of Rickon's head before turning him round by the shoulders and pushing him down the corridor. Rickon protested, but went all the same, and Lady Sansa turned back to Shireen. "Moon tea?" she asked, nodding at the jar.

Shireen resisted the impulse to hide it somehow. It is merely something our bodies do and should never be a source of disgust or shame. "Yes, my lady," she said.

"Come along, then," said Lady Sansa. "I have some excellent tea from the Arbor. How does that sound?"

"Could I have a hot water-skin, too?" Shireen asked, as Lady Sansa looped her arm through hers.

"Of course. And the lemon trees in the greenhouse have given up their first fruits — we'll have lemon cakes for lunch instead of venison." She smiled and Shireen thought that even if Sansa Stark never took another husband or had children of her own, she was still all the mother that the North ever would need.

[notedchampagne]

it seems like pets aren’t really a thing in the houses, but what pets would you give the tlt charas if they had them (obv nona gets every puppy ever)

you asked the right guy i have Opinions on this

gideon: pet rock. she would also have a dog but shes a pretty mid dog owner- she loves that puppy to pieces and feeds it stuff off her own plate but its very reactive and she doesnt mind. "he doesnt bite" yes he does

harrow: snake. i can also see her having spiders but its less about owning pets with the 'creep' factor and more on having something reasonably low-maintenance with attention-giving, and also she likes seeing them eat stuff. in my dog au she has a really pathetic runt black lab that loves her to pieces and it forces harrow to go outside and receive affection and its adorable to me

pal & cam: in dog au they have a whippet named artemis and a greyhound named apollo respectively. they have such trembling lame skinny ass dogs but they have an Aesthetic about it. outside of dog au i do see palamedes as a (tentative) cat person! cam is neutral on animals

coronabeth would have an exotic pet :( sad but i know it. shes rich and thinks she would be special enough to properly handle one

isaac and jeannemary want a big dog so fucking bad but instead the fifth got them a goat. they still think its cool

dulcinea would be allergic to the dander dogs/cats have so i have multiple ideas 1. also snake. (sorry i have been watching too many snake videos) 2. sphinx cat 3. not really a pet but she would really like terrariums

[puppyeared]

werepuppy!!

[ranticore]

Can’t stop thinking about the tag on one of your posts where you called Ambrose an Elizabethan dipshit. I’ve got echolalia about it, it’s such a good phrase. Anyways how does Flicker keep Twist in line? I know Twist has his beloathed harness preventing him from biting but does he never have an opportunity to get Ambrose with his claws or tail before Flicker catches him? I love these three btw I particularly love the idea of Flicker just being the world’s laziest sphinx and letting Ambrose think he’s in charge lol

gfhsdkjgh yeah for Ambrose i really wanted to channel sort of classical zoologists/"explorers" from colonial nations who'd come home one day with a lion or tiger and then just kinda keep it around the house thinking they were sooo cool and impressive for "taming" one. coupled with a healthy dose of extreme foolhardiness and belief in his own superiority. you know he's writing absolute fucking nonsense scientific articles about keeping manticores and making batshit care recommendations for anyone who asks

flicker really doesn't need to do much to keep twist in line tbh. flicker is a massive bully and very well-spoken so they're pretty good at getting their way with Ambrose by just telling him what he wants to hear (with an added 'and if you don't do what i want, i might kill you and destroy your reputation, teehee'... Ambrose understands this subconsciously if nothing else). Twist on the other hand is at the bottom rung of the dynamic. If he tries to just slink off, Flicker will be able to follow him easily. If he tries to attack Ambrose for real, Flicker will stop him - don't ruin the good thing they have going on!!

Also yes hehe Twist got Ambrose Once with his tail, before Ambrose realised that stinger restraints are probably more important than anything at the front end. It was very shallow but resulted in immediate paralysis, but Twist couldn't do anything about it (he had already been taken to Ambrose's property and was trapped indoors with the head restraints on). When he made up his mind to try to kill Ambrose anyway by like, maybe trying to suffocate him or knock something heavy onto him, Flicker intervened. That was how they met and what made Twist understand the reality of the situation.

Ultimately Twist is a bit too passive to really fight against his situation all that much. He's lazy, too, it's in his nature. Also he killed like 12 people over the course of a couple of years outside the village where Ambrose captured him and is aware that this situation sucks but is better than the torches and pitchforks treatment he would otherwise have gotten.

[hamsterclaw]

I've been rereading The Vows so many times I can actually see it play out like a movie in my head. That is how much I love it! But I was wondering will you ever be up to write from Yoongi's POV during the time OC ran off to Geneva? A glimpse of his feelings during the time she's gone with a heartfelt but comical interference by Jin? 😬

what is this prompt and why do i love it so much?

here goes:

A Vows drabble, featuring chaebol! Seokjin

Yoongi watches as Mrs Gye sets the vegetables in the middle of the table, followed by the rice, the beef, the steamed fish. It's somewhere around the pickles that he finally breaks.

'Where's Mrs Min?' he asks.

Mrs Gye arranges the pickles for a maddening half minute before she answers.

'Mrs Min went out this morning and hasn't come back.'

It's only a lifetime of deference to his elders that stops Yoongi from snapping. He's also got the sense that he's on thin ice with Mrs Gye right now. Perhaps it's the way she's been glaring daggers at him since she walked into the dining room.

'Do you have any idea where she might be?' he asks, softening his voice.

Mrs Gye doesn't snort, she's too ladylike for that, but the look she gives him conveys her discontent effectively enough.

She stares him down until he's adequately chastened.

Then she says, 'I knew Y/N's mother. She was impulsive and hot-tempered, but she was a good sort.'

Yoongi's thinking back to the events of today. 'She came to my office today,' he says. He's thinking of you, of your bright face and windswept hair as you'd popped up in his secretary's office this afternoon, clutching a bucket of popcorn and a stuffed bear.

Mrs Gye's ladling soup into a bowl. 'Miss Kim Nara hasn't been around lately,' she murmurs.

Yoongi grimaces at the mention of your fiercely protective best friend.

'Nara doesn't like me,' he says.

Mrs Gye gives him another look that makes his balls retract. 'She's a loyal friend.' She pauses. 'Like Kim Seokjin is to you.'

'You've always liked Seokjin more than me,' Yoongi grumbles, annoyed with himself for letting petulance creep into his tone.

Mrs Gye pats his arm. 'Seokjin is an easy person to love,' she says. 'Not like you.'

She sets the bowl in front of him. 'But for some reason, Y/N seems to be fond of you.'

Yoongi gazes up at her in surprise.

Mrs Gye isn't smiling, but there's kindness in her eyes.

'I have no idea why.'

'Me either,' Yoongi says, honestly.

***

Yoongi's perfectly capable of not letting his emotions cloud his judgement. His cool head serves him well, and he's just as good at not letting his emotions show on his face. Compared to your best friend Kim Nara, though, he's an amateur.

It's been a few weeks since you left his office, and all he's managed to get out of the sphinx that is Kim Nara is that you're safe.

'Mr Min?'

The irritatingly nasal voice of his legal advisor draws him out of his thoughts.

Before he can answer, Kim Seokjin rolls his eyes and stands. 'I believe that settles it,' he says. 'Mr Min's agreed to sign over his entire company to me for the token sum of 1000 won. In the next meeting we can discuss his marriage contract, which I am also after.'

Seokjin waits with barely concealed impatience as the room empties out.

'What kind of man comes to a non-urgent meeting when his wife is missing?' he asks.

Yoongi shuffles through his list of possible responses to Seokjin and settles on a curt, 'Fuck you.'

Seokjin's looking out at the view from the floor-to-ceiling windows. It's a gloriously sunny day, and on any other occasion Yoongi would be giving himself a moment to enjoy the view of downtown Seoul bustling underfoot, the Hangang river in the distance.

'Is that the tone of voice you took with Kim Nara?' Seokjin asks. He turns back to look at Yoongi. 'Is that why she won't tell you where the brat is?'

Yoongi's eye twitches at the use of the word 'brat' coming out of Seokjin's mouth in reference to his wife.

Seokjin blinks at him, like butter wouldn't melt, like he can't sense how close Yoongi is to lunging out of his seat.

Or maybe he can, because he takes a step back.

'Kim Nara's company has been after a property in Itaewon for the last year. It's owned by the Kim conglomerate.'

Yoongi's sitting up.

'This Kim conglomerate,' Seokjin clarifies.

'I'll give you mates' rates if you want,' Seokjin offers. 'But if I were you, Yoongi, I'd just throw yourself at her mercy.'

Yoongi's frowning, reeling at the information.

Seokjin sighs. 'If Y/N came to me asking about you, she could offer me Cheongdam-dong and I wouldn't blink. But if she just told me how she loves you so much she couldn't function without you, I'd tell her everything she needed to know.'

He pauses, looks out at the view again. 'Maybe after I tried my damnedest to lure her into my bed and convince her one chaebol son is as good as another.'

Yoongi jumps up, and Seokjin turns back to him.

'If you're going to hit me, avoid my face, please,' Seokjin drawls.

He keeps his arms down, though, as Yoongi pulls him into a hard, quick, hug that's over almost as quickly as it's begun.

Then he's off, heading for the door.

***

Seokjin was right. Kim Nara folded the instant Yoongi turned up at her office.

He'd prepared a speech, with all the reasons why he needed to find you, but in the end all it had taken was a word.

'Please,' Yoongi had said. 'I want to make sure she's all right. I won't push her into anything. I just ---'

His voice had cracked on the word but he'd persevered. 'Please.'

And now Yoongi's stepping off the plane in Geneva, getting into the car that'll take him to your maisonette.

He steps out into the bright sunshine, the crispness of the early spring day.

There's a window box of red geraniums next to your door, and as Yoongi rings the bell, all he can think is that he's looking forward to seeing your face.

He can't wait.

©hamsterclaw 2023

[v1leblood]

isadora is a genuinely inspired addition to pact. shes so cool and does exactly what a sphinx is supposed to do. shes legally in the books as isadora phixoplous. shes an ethics professor. shes gay. its so fucking funny how her being a sphinx is Annoying To Her because while she enjoys sphinxing and eating people for answering questios qrongs shes also like. (deep sigh because no one answers her rhetorical questions when shes making conversation)

[mayapapaya33]

This is dangerous to write because I'm a bit behind in C3 but I feel relatively safe that The Chained Oblivion isn't a major player in C3. I don't think they're secretly Predathos or the Luxon. (haha watch me be completely wrong lol. If the answer is revealed post C3 ep 86 shhhhh! No spoilers in general, don't be a dick.)

Ok so we know The Chained Oblivion is bound at the bottom of the Abyss by 6 shackles tethered to various points in Exandria. Their locations are a closely guarded internal secret of clergy of the Dawnfather and the Knowing Mistress. We know the location of one in Rexxentrum from C2. My question is, how much do you want to bet one of the shackle's fanes is in Whitestone? lol.

In C1 Matt used to tease them, and us by extension, with the Sun Tree by saying that the Sun Tree may know a LOT of information, but they were asking the wrong questions. That's been in my mind this whole time. What does Matthew McConatree know?!?! Well, the Sun Tree is a tree sacred to The Dawnfather, and rests at the intersection of powerful Ley Lines. The tree was there before the city, in fact, they built the city around the tree. The tree was planted during the Calamity directly over The Knowing Mistresses' Ziggurat temple, and the location of her wounding. We never fully got an answer as to WHY the Sun Tree is there! Is the Sun Tree just watching over the scene of the final battle or is it something more? In fact in C1 ep 70 at (3:10:35) Matt says that Keyleth senses the Ley Lines shoot off in SIX different directions! SIX! The Chained Oblivion is held by SIX chains!!!!!! COINCIDENCE?!?! I THINK NOT!!!! (Ok maybe it is, but still, Matt is ridiculously detailed in his world building, I wouldn't put it past him!)

Whitestone is so fucking cursed. It was messed up long before the Briarwoods got there, they just made it worse. It's where the final battle between The Chained Oblivion, The Knowing Mistress, And The Dawnfather started, The Ziggurat was her temple before it was corrupted, it's where she was wounded (I saw a theory somewhere that the raw essence in Whitestone's rock that can be refined into residuum is actually The Knowing Mistress' blood, which is genius, whoever came up with that, I think you are absolutely correct! That's so damn cool! It has SOMETHING to do with their battle, that much is for sure, what else could it be from?)

The battle ended in Gatshadow, so that's another candidate. Gatshadow is cool, and another important place from C1, but if I had to put money on it, I feel like Whitestone is just one of those places that never catches a break lol. Also Percy's family were originally followers of the Dawnfather (if I remember correctly). The city is a Dawnfather leaning city, Vex is a/the champion of the Dawnfather, which I hope C3 subtly develops further if only in the background. I feel like, of those who were war time converts to fight Vecna, Vex would probably take her duties as Champion most seriously especially considering her position in Whitestone and its relation to the Dawnfather. I'd love to see some Champion of the Dawnfather Vex'ahlia in later C3. (Again don't tell me if it happens).

If Gatshadow was super important strategically, you'd think The Dawnfather would have left a Sun Tree there to keep watch. Maybe he did and we just haven't run across it yet? Seems like we would have seen it on our way to fight Umbrasyl but you never know. They should check the Cobalt Soul library and see if there are any other Sun Trees in Exandria or if Whitestone is it. (The Cobalt Soul, who's favored deity is the Knowing Mistress, someone high up there definitely knows where the chain fanes are!) On second though that's probably way too obvious, having a Sun Tree in each location. They should figure out what other powerful symbols/ followers/ creations of The Dawnfather and The Knowing Mistress there are and look for those! Sphinx's and Sun Trees are only the start. This'll totally be important in Campaign 4 or 5 or 27! Matt plays the long game! He's mentioned The Chained Oblivion too many times for it to not come up again eventually. After the shenanigans around the Angel of Iron's cult and Obaan, and Aeor, Cognoza, the Somnovum, The Eyes of Nine, all that Jazz.

With nothing preventing it from influencing people even from the bottom of the Abyss, it'll happen again. So even if it's just an eternal game of whack-a-mole we'll be seeing their influence somewhere, somehow, at some point lol. "No! Bad! Quit influencing mortals from your prison in the Abyss! Bad Eldritch Abomination, the form of which, were I to look upon it, my sanity would melt into a gibbering puddle of goo! Stop That! Stay!