#anyway cycling back to tag number one

[runningatypufullspeed]

Worlds most tragic victim to male pattern baldness

[buckleydiazmp4]

do you mind if i ramble in the tags about my weird relationship with making art in fandom for a second

[biibini]

Its okay if you dont wanna do this but i really wanna know what you think mizu would do when reader gets her period

modern!mizu x reader gets her period (request)

tags: period, cuddling, fluff, kissing, modern au, modern mizu, mizu being best girl

a/n: ok midterms r coming up so soon HAHAHAHAH (im so nervous)

modern!mizu would def have the supplies

but i’d feel like she’d carry the lighter, smaller pads

but on most days, mizu would be a tampon user

to ur surprise, she typically uses panty liners for the majority of her period

and even if she does get a heavy period, she can handle it on most days

(yeah im fucking jealous i wish that was me)

like perfect silky hair and thin pads???

mizu my girl

hand those genes over

anyways

she would have aspirin and a hot pack on hand if u need it

when she was growing up, they used to be super heavy but now they've become lighter

if ur a heavy flow typa gal,

oh lord its extra packs for mizu to buy

at first, she would be rlly confused at the sizing and the number of flaps/extensions the pads would have

and what specific color to buy

(iykyk my heavy flow girls will know)

but she doesnt mind, u need them

as long as her girl is covered and safe and sound

if ur a tampon girl, mizu would double check to make sure she got ur brand when she goes shopping

modern!mizu would notice ur cycles, especially the week beforehand when ur rlly moody

whether its u being acting more impatient or upset than usual

she checks and makes sure that she has the necessities at hand

if she doesnt, she’ll say she’s just gonna run some errands

technically its not a lie

she does go to the closest convenience store

but the errands in question: pads/tampons and something sweet

(personally im a chocolate sweets girlie)

she’ll get u a lil sweet treat that’ll last u for a week or two

modern!mizu would also pour an extra cup of tea for u before bed

she just wants u to be as comfortable as u can be during ur period

and if u guys are cuddling and watching something before bed

she’ll make sure to keep u comfortable

“Mizu, pleaseeee. Just one more episode?”, you plead. You guys had just finished the second to last episode of the show. Sure, you felt a little tired. But the thought of moving and crawling off of Mizu’s chest didn’t outweigh the comfort of the couch.

Mizu sighs.

“You always do this and then you end up falling asleep.”, Mizu states as she grabs the remote control.

“Not necessarily-“, you rebute. Technically, she wasn’t wrong with your history of falling asleep. But not this time.

“Mmhmm. Right…”, she responds, a little sass in her tone.

You pout. “Please. I promise, I’ll stay up.”

You place your warm cup of tea aside, allowing you to wrap your arms around Mizu’s neck. You feel the heat of her neck against your forearms.

“Besides, it’s the final episode.”, you smile. You look at Mizu for sign of defeat.

“Ok fineeee,” she clicks on the next episode button, “Stay awake now. I’m not summarizing it this time.”

You plant a kiss on her cheek, pulling her closer to your body. She places her mug next to yours and letting her arms wrap around your body. You feel the warmth of her hands press against your body, almost burning from the hot tea.

“I promise I won’t.”, you assure as you sit back against Mizu’s chest again. You feel Mizu’s arms relax and allow you to prep yourself before watching the finale.

Mizu smiles as she felt your body lay back on hers. Your weight alongside the blanket you’re sharing relaxes her. You feel her arms gently wrap around you again as you hear the intro to the episode play.

Her hands start to drag along your sides to your stomach. You feel her burning palm place itself on the top of your lower stomach. Its presence shared a similarity to a heat pad.

You hum in response. While her right hand is busy drawing attention to your lower stomach, you feel her other hand wrap around you and pull you closer. You feel her lips lightly graze your shoulder.

“Mizu, it feels good but-”, you say as her right hand starts to gently massage your stomach.

Fuck. That feels so nice.

You hold back a groan. “Not here, hon.”, you say as you nod your head towards Ringo’s bedroom door.

“I know, don’t worry.”, Mizu responds as she places a soft kiss near your neck. “I just want you to feel comfortable now. You’re on your period, right?”

You nod in response.

“So c’mere. I’ll keep you nice and warm.”

modern!mizu would put ur towel in the dryer while u shower

ik its oddly specific

but i feel like she would make sure to make u feel warm in any way possible

with or without heat pad

same concept applies for the blanket

shes always so thankful her and ringo got an apartment with an in-unit washer dryer

when ur washing up, she’ll typically be doing some light studying with some tea before bed

a break inbetween would be the pop the towel in the dryer

next break is swapping out the towel for the blanket

final break is bringing back the blanket right before u get into bed

its a strange strategy but it helps her stay focused and paces herself while synonymously taking care of u

modern!mizu would make sure she’s wrapping her arms around ur lower stomach when ur cuddling at night

the heating pad gets annoying to sleep with

especially if u tend to toss and turn at night

but having her hands warm u helps u relax at night

when ur trying to sleep, she’ll gently caress and massage ur stomach to help release any tension

at first, u thought it wouldnt have an effect on u

but the more she did it, the more relieved u felt at night

mizu would also feel relaxed knowing that u r relaxed as well

when she heard ur snores, she knows shes done a job well done

[thesparklingwriter]

millenia precede us

“Let’s play a game,” You say. “Whoever finds the other first wins a prize.”

tags: reincarnation au, fem!reader, reader is part adeptus, inspired by this ask from aine

word count: 3k (apologies for this monster of a fic)

ao3 link | taglist | masterlist | next

Zhongli dreams of you again. For the first time in centuries, he sees your face, your smile, your laugh. The dreams had first started when he was young—or young by archon standards. He’d drifted off to sleep one night, and woke up entirely occupied by the face of someone he’d never met before, by the smell of something he was sure he’d never smelt in his lifetime.

He’d found comfort in seeing you—in listening to you talk in a language he didn’t yet understand, wearing clothes he hadn’t seen before. You’d come for a few years, and then disappear, only to reappear later, wearing something different, speaking in a different language. Your smile never seemed to change.

The two of you could never truly communicate either—your shared dreamscape was simple, a park in the height of autumn, a small picnic blanket on the floor. There, you’d snack on whatever was laid out on the blanket and try your bests to communicate however you could. Most times, however, you’d cuddle up to each other and sit in silence, watching the way the landscape changed.

He’d always known that you’d come back. He hoped that you’d come back. But you’d been gone for so long that he began to fear that your reincarnation cycle had ended, that he’d never get to meet you in real life.

“Hello,” you smile. Zhongli can barely reply to you—hes so stunned that he can understand you, that he can recognise the clothes you’re wearing and the floral scent you always carried with you. Glaze lilies. That’s what it was. “First time here?” You ask kindly. Zhongli stares at you before clearing his throat.

“No.” he replies. You seem confused, but sit yourself down on the blanket and run your hands over the copper-coloured silk. “I’ve met you a few times.” He says, lowering himself to sit beside you.

“A few times?” You say quietly. “I recognise your voice, the way you smell, but not your face. Is that how this is supposed to be?”

Zhongli is ashamed to admit that he doesn’t know. As far as he knows, he was the first to experience anything like this, and slowly others began to too, until it became commonplace for people across Teyvat. Something he or the other archons did must have made this happen, but none of them had any clue what it could be.

“I’m not sure,” Zhongli replies, shifting himself so that he’s not so close to you, for fear of making you uncomfortable. You notice him shifting away and close the gap yourself, resting your head against his shoulder the way you did when you first met all those centuries ago. “Not much is known about the dreamscapes.” he says.

“How long have you been able to visit?” You ask, looking up at him.

Zhongli is torn between lying, or gracing you with the truth. “A number of years,” He says finally and you look at him with wide eyes.

“How much older than me are you?” You ask. Zhongli looks at you, again torn as to what he should say. The truth is always better, especially in situations like this, but the truth may also be too much to handle.

“I’m an adeptus,” he decides this is a better course of action. “I’m older than I appear.” You don’t seem as surprised by this as he expected—in fact, you don’t seem to have a problem with it at all.

“My mum’s an adeptus, this isn’t new to me.” You smile. “Anyway, what’s your name?”

“Zhongli,” He says. You say his name under your breath, resting the words on your tongue. Zhongli looks at you in wonder, at the way you take this all in your stride. You ask him questions and he responds, and you don't seem to miss a beat. He reckons he could tell you everything, the whole truth, and you probably wouldn't even flinch.

It’s strange to you, the way he already seems so comfortable. How long has he truly known you for? And how is that even possible? But even despite your thoughts, you know Teyvat is place a where the most random things can happen, and you know you won’t find the answer you seek without asking him. But you'd like to enjoy his presence, so you decide to pack it in for the time being. “You don’t have any questions for me?” You ask him, tilting your head slightly.

“Not necessarily, no.” He smiles. “I’ve learned to know you fairly well, though you might not remember our past encounters.”

“That’s sweet,” you reply, sitting up. You sigh as the beautiful landscape begins to fade and you sense yourself waking up. How unfair, you think to yourself. It feels like I've barely had five minutes with him. “I’ve gotta go, but I’ll be looking out for you when I’m out. Bye, Zhongli.”

Zhongli stays seated once you leave, staring out into the middle distance. He sighs. He never got your name.

You sit up in bed, head pounding. It’s still pitch black outside, but your alarm continues to ring incessantly as you pull yourself out of bed and get ready for a day at the office. A new publishing company has begun shipping its books to Liyue and it’s your job to read through as many of them as you can and provide thorough and honest reviews. The only problem with this is that they aren’t really the kind of books you usually read. If anything, they’re the exact opposite of the Liyuean fiction you’re used to reviewing.

As you read, your mind drifts to Zhongli, the way he’d looked at you as if you were coming home to him, as if you were familiar. And it scares you—the fact that somewhere in the back of your mind, you know you know him, but can't place your finger on it. A stranger shouldn't feel familiar.

“Everything going okay?” Your coworker lets herself into your office, smiling brightly. “I heard you got lumped with the Inazuman erotica. How’s that going?”

You sigh, placing the book down. It’s not like you were truly going to get to the end of it anyway, with your mind so focused on the way Zhongli smiled at you with such fondness.

“Oh, it’s going, alright,” You sigh, leaning back in your seat. “I just never know what to expect next, if I’m honest. Did you know there’s a whole book that’s just about a dragon?”

“Dragon…erotica?” Your coworker asks, glancing dangerously at the pile of books on your desk.

“Sorry, half dragon, half-qilin. I should be more specific.” You run your hands through your hair. “I’ve been avoiding that one like the plague.”

“Isn’t your deadline in like three weeks?”

“Don’t remind me.” You say, standing up to shoo them out of your office. “It will be the last thing I read. A final hurrah of sorts. Now get out.”

Over the next few days, finishing work for the day is a much more exciting event than it usually is. You know that the minute you hit the hay, Zhongli is likely going to be there. He goes to bed early so it seems like he’s always waiting for you in his shared dreamscape.

“You know,” You say, resting your head on his shoulder. A lake suddenly appeared in the dreamscape and you’ve taken to watching the koi as they dance around each other in the glistening water. “Why don’t you just tell me where to find you? Make this easier on both of us.”

Zhongli chuckles. “I could do that, yes. But it would be rude of me to send you on a wild goose chase across Liyue. It would be easier if you just told me where to find you.”

“As if.” You scoff, getting up to dip your hands in the lake and feel the fish brush past you. You’d named them over the last few days: Ai for the fish with heart-shaped scales, Lian for the fish who was easily startled, and Gan for the fish that seemed to protect it. “Where’s the fun in that?”

“I’m sure you can identify the hypocrisy in your own statement.” Zhongli says.

“Let’s play a game,” You say. “Whoever finds the other first wins a prize.”

“And that prize is…?”

“A secret. What do you say, Zhongli? Up for it?”

Zhongli looks at you in awe and mild frustration. He always knew that you enjoyed problem-solving and a good challenge, which was clear by the way you used to try and find ways to communicate with him all those years ago, but he never expected this. Either way, he nods, listens dutifully to your rules (three clues each and no cheating by asking for each other by name) and agrees to your terms. That is, not that you gave him much of a choice in the matter.

And thus the game begins. The three clues you give him are mean—you work ‘normal’ hours, you like to read, and you spend a lot of time near the harbour. It doesn’t really narrow down much for him, but he humours you anyway, giving you his three clues in return. Arguably, his are even worse than yours—they’re riddles that seemed to have no connection to him whatsoever. As you try to accuse him of unfair play, you feel yourself stirring awake, and instead swear you’ll call him out on it on a later date.

Of course, you didn’t expect that you’d be seeing him so little over the coming weeks.

As your deadline pulls closer and you begin to pull more all-nighters to try and finish reviewing all the books that have been sent to you, you spend so little time sleeping that by the time you’re deep enough in sleep to reach the dreamscape, your alarm goes off and you’re dragged back into the real world.

“Mr Zhongli, are you alright?” After a week of watching Zhongli descend more and more into a worrying state, Hu Tao realises that she has to speak up. “You haven't been yourself lately. Do you have too much work?”

“I’m quite alright. I’m simply concerned for an acquaintance of mine.” Zhongli says, snapping out of his daze, and swiping imaginary dust off his blazer. “It’s not something to worry yourself about.”

Hutao dutifully ignores the last past of his sentence, seating herself on the other side of his desk. His office is always spotless, ready for a customer to come in at any time. That being said, he seems to get more menial questions from history buffs than paying patrons.

“Now, Mr Zhongli. I’m going to give this to you straight. You’re a loner. And I’m very curious as to where this friend has spawned from. So talk.”

Zhongli chuckles. It’s not the first time he’s been told that he essentially has no friends, for it was improbable that his adepti friends would be open to meeting in the harbour. “She is an old friend.” Zhongli says.

“‘She’?” Hutao gasps, jumping up from her seat. “Oh, this is great. You have a crush on her, don’t you? This is why you’ve been in such an odd mood recently.”

“I really do dislike you sometimes,” Zhongli says quietly, as Hutao begins her incessant teasing. “It is difficult to explain, so please do not ask that of me.”

“Fine, fine.” She returns to the seat. “Well, let’s go find her. Then you can stop being worried, and I can see her for myself.”

“That may prove difficult.” Zhongli says, rising from his desk. “But I suppose the task will be easier with your help.”

You sneeze lightly as you finish the review of your penultimate book. You’re running on two hours of sleep, three coffees, and the hope that when this is done, you can finally get to finding Zhongli again. No matter how much pay your boss offers you, you won’t accept a job like this again. No way.

You glance at the final book with a glare. Why someone decided to write erotica about the archon of a nation they didn’t even belong to was beyond you. Furthermore, you really didn't feel like trudging through thousands of misconceptions, concessions in knowledge of Liyue’s customs, and of course the blatant blasphemy. And you definitely aren’t going to do it in this office.

Taking the book and a newfound sense of dread, you walk out of the office, tell the receptionist that you’re going to find somewhere nice to read the book and find yourself strolling along Liyue Harbour in search of a nice bench. You haven’t had the time to walk around like this since you started your job a year ago, and it’s crazy how much things have changed. You look around some of the stalls before asking one of the stall owners whether they know any relaxing places to sit and read.

“A koi fish pond has just been installed. Apparently it’s a symbol of friendship between Inazuma and Liyue.” She says to you. “It’s just along there, you can’t miss it.”

You thank her gratefully, following her directions before arriving there. It looks exactly like the one in your shared dreamscape, shiny silver rocks around the border and clear teal water. Even the fish look the same, and you kneel down at the pond to look at them, one jumps out of the water, almost to greet you.

“Hello, Ai,” you say softly. “I have no food for you today.” The fish jumps back into the water, disappointed by the lack of food, and you rise to your feet, getting comfortable on the opposite bench to read the book. Sitting here like this makes you miss Zhongli. With your sleep schedule being so messed up the past few weeks, you never truly get to see him anymore. This is the closest you’ve felt to him in days. And maybe it’s your own fault for suggesting you play that silly game, maybe it’s your own fault for being afraid of what would happen if you finally met, but you’re tired of the torture. Next time you catch him in the dreamscape, you’re going to tell him how to find you.

The sun beats down on you as you read, and paired with the caffeine that’s slowly draining out of your system, you slowly feel your eyes start to close. It’s not the book’s fault—it’s certainly not bad as you expected, but when you’re this tired, there’s nothing you can do to stop it.

“We should start at koi fish pond,” Hutao says excitedly, as she drags Zhongli along the harbour.

“Why?”

“It’s new. I’m sure it would have garnered her interest.” She says. “And I've never had a chance to look at it.”

“I should have known better than to allow you to recruit yourself to this task,” Zhongli says. “No matter, let us go and look at the pond.”

Zhongli remembers your love for the koi pond in the dreamscape, so whilst Hutao’s suggestion may have been selfish, it wasn’t the worst possible idea. He remembers the way you named the fish, fed them with care and watched them with unleashed curiosity and joy. Even if he didn’t find you there, he would be happy to just relish in the memories of you for a while.

“What’s all that commotion at the pond?” Hutao says. Zhongli snaps out of his daze, looking up at the Millelith crouching beside the bench, his spear flat against the floor. “Miss, are you alright?” The man asks, tentatively reaching out with the intention to shake her awake.

Hutao drags him closer to the scene, ignoring the way he seems to resist her.

“Miss, are you alright?” The Millelith repeats, and the woman he’s waking up sits up slowly. Zhongli can’t believe his eyes.

“Archons, I need to finish reading that book.” You mumble, thanking the man for waking you up with a slight smile, and almost instantly burying your face back into it.

Zhongli makes no effort to move towards you, overwhelmed by seeing you in real life for the first time. The version he sees of you in dreams doesn’t even do the real you justice—in real life, you’re so much brighter and striking. Your voice is something he could listen to for hours. You’re so perfect and he fears that if moves any closer, he’ll find that it’s all an illusion, a cruel trick his mind is playing on him.

“You are aware that it’s creepy to stare at people, yes?” Hutao says lightly. And Zhongli nods, slowly walking up to you, your name on his lips.

Your book falls to the floor as you look up at him. “Zhongli?” Your body moves before you mind can and you pull him into a hug. He’s real and he’s here and you can smell him and hold him and archons, he feels like home. You pull away to look at his face, to commit every single pore of his skin to memory. He’s real. “What are you doing here? How did you find me? What’s going on?”

Zhongli smiles. “You’re just as perfect as I remember.”

“Even when I’m falling asleep on a park bench?” You grin, running a hand over the back of his head.

“Especially when you’re asleep on a park bench.”

You roll your eyes, pulling him into a kiss. “You have terrible taste.”

“Perhaps,” He says, gently stroking your face with his cheek. “But in that instance, so do you.”

© 2023, thesparklingwriter. please do not copy, edit, repost, or translate.

notes: hi this is a repost I just couldn’t bear watching it flop 😭😭 omg so i didn't mean to make this so long and i am absolutely confused as to how i got this many words. im so sure i blacked out somewhere in the middle and ended up with 3x the amount of words i usually aim for lmfaoo. anyway everyone thank aine cause if it wasn't for her you would not have this monster of a fic xoxo removing tags as I don’t wanna disturb y’all

(coloured @s couldn't be tagged)

[bucknastysbabe]

Heaven or Las Vegas

Aegon II x Reader

Rating: Explicit

Tags: TW// Alcohol and drug abuse, verbal abuse, shit head Aegon, manipulation, actually you know what the whole thing is fucked up, non-descript smut, Aegon’s self hatred and learned helplessness

A/N: Yeah so it’s soothing to write about active addiction when I’m feeling crazy so I remember how awful it was. Addiction will hold you and loved ones HOSTAGE. If this struck a chord w anyone my dm’s are open me is sober around 18 months. Anyways love The Weeknd and the trilogy fuckboi era

I'm paying for all my father's sins

Aegon could blame his consistent need to fill the void in his chest on his father. That rotting, dead, vapid old man. The closest thing he had to a dad was the family bodyguard and Aegon never quite lived up to the standard.

Maybe he was just cursed to chew the world up and ruin them before spitting them out. Just like Viserys, clapping and smiling while letting his family fall to pieces and hatred. Never gave a fuck about anyone but his eldest, maybe Aegon’s uncle. His dead wife that Aegon’s mother couldn’t replace.

Vicious cycles.

So I'ma thank him for you, I'ma thank him for you

Like his father, Aegon could thank the wretch for being consistently blessed with good women. Women who took on too much in exchange for very little. Exactly the same as her. That perfect angel who he corrupted and left a goddamn mess. He loved the woman. She shouldn’t love him. Black hole of a human he was.

My serotonin's gone a while ago

She made him laugh and filled that empty hole for a second. When Aegon wasn’t snorting, popping, and drinking up everything. But he was always doing that. The fallen angel found a habit in those pills from him.

But nothing could recapture those moments late late at night, between her thighs. City lights casting her teary face into a gorgeous glow. “Only you, only you, i love you,” he’d lie. She’d cry and tighten around his cock, knowing it was a lie. Gripping manicured nails so hard into Aegon’s shoulders just to make sure it wasn’t a dream.

Girl it’s been gone cause of you, it’s been gone cause of you.

Aegon knew any sort of happiness he’d feel came from warped, perverted things. Orgies, drugs, girls and girls and fucking girls. Spending money he had no clue what do with. It made him fill that void for some minutes. He feared it was going to open up and swallow him whole soon.

The prince wanted her back. So goddamn bad. She didn’t fit in the picture. Got clean, ignored his calls, moved on. Fallen angel no more. Not his baby to mould and blacken to his liking. She thought there was something good in him. Nothing like the rotation of women on his cock now, a fifth of vodka shaking in his hand, tears threatening to roll. They didn’t give a fuck, just like everyone else. But they did what he wanted.

They say they want Heaven, they say they want God.

Towards the end she’d cry and clutch a rosary, praying to god. Aegon would get pissed. He’d demand what the fuck she was on about, get in her face. Those doe eyes bleary and red, flinching in fear.

“I don’t want to live like this. It’s eating me alive Aegon. This,” his baby had sobbed, “Is vile. I’ll never make it heaven. What would God think?”

I say, I got Heaven. I say I am God.

Aegon laughed in her tear streaked face. He gestured to the penthouse around them, booze and drugs scattered around, a wad of cash on the table next to the unlimited card used for cutting coke half the time. His not-so-fallen wept openly when he giggled maniacally, “This is heaven! I am God! You can have everything you want and more, hah, what the fuck’s not clicking here? You want to go back to the poor house?”

I never prayed a moment in my life

He did get down on his knees when his only love left him. Went to detox, didn’t leave a number or address. Aegon shook with anger, self-hatred, mind boggling sadness. He howled to the roof, “Fuck you!” When he was properly fucked up later, lips around his half-flagging cock, the blonde dimly wondered if her prayers had been answered by getting away from him.

Girl, I'm rewarded with you. I've been rewarded with you.

His love came by months later. Aegon put on an act, not a very good one when all he wanted to do was cry and be held once more. She looked good. Healthy. No permanent shakes or dark bags under the eyes. No wonder, she escaped an incubus.

“I love you. You need help.”

How could he receive help? It’s too late for a fuck-up like him. Blackened to the core. Defiled beyond measure.

So, baby, let me kiss your inner thigh. Let me kiss it for you. I can kiss it for you.

Aegon did get down to his knees when the void in his chest ached too much. He stared up at her with that look, the one that made the beauty swoon. He grabbed her soft thighs, begging and begging, “Baby- baby- please, lemme make you feel good. Like old times?” It was the only thing he knew besides drugs. She caressed his cheek and sighed, tears in her eyes, “You’d make me feel good if you loved yourself Aegon. Call me when you do that, yeah?”

Well, they say they want Heaven, they say they want God.

There’s no hope. He’d just have to make do. Even the bleakest of places looked like Heaven when you’re on enough K to kill someone. Aegon leaned over the balcony that night, staring off into the city, the dark streets below. He was in Heaven. Up above the regular doings of people. Svelte hands locked around his waist, Aegon smiled.

I say, I have Heaven. I say, I am God.

He plowed that girl on the balcony, wind whipping his pale hair. Hips snapping into a nameless wet cunt he shouted, “I am God! Fuck!” She squealed and twisted like she enjoyed his insane ramblings. Aegon finished on her ass and stumbled to his unmade bed, dizzy as the party raged on. He’d make his own destiny. With the void, always there, always hungry.

[lilioopdf]

mini F2 race predictions

✧ ‧˚₊ ❆ ‧ ₊ ⊹˚✧ ‧˚₊ ❆ ‧ ₊ ⊹˚✧ ‧˚₊ ❆ ‧ ₊ ⊹˚✧ ‧˚₊ ❆ ‧ ₊ ⊹˚ ✧ ‧˚₊ ❆ ‧ ₊

this is personal bc ive been staying away from tarot and fortune telling for really really long because it just doesn’t align with who i am anymore but i am also a really curious person and this week has been emotionally taxing so im doing this for FUN and for myself

but anyway these are my mini predictions for the sprint and feature race (F2) except im only looking at one driver (and i won’t tag this post because i really don’t want this to show up anywhere)

✧ ‧˚₊ ❆ ‧ ₊ ⊹˚✧ ‧˚₊ ❆ ‧ ₊ ⊹˚✧ ‧˚₊ ❆ ‧ ₊ ⊹˚✧ ‧˚₊ ❆ ‧ ₊ ⊹˚ ✧ ‧˚₊ ❆ ‧ ₊

sprint race: king of wands, 7 of pentacles, the star

not too bad?? its not amazing but it’s not horrible, just average. and i think that with the seven of pentacles there will be lots of information picked up on or gained from this race, which could really help in the feature race the day after. and with the king of wands it makes me wonder if there’s a possibility of him dominating the race, for at least some period of time? or maybe setting the fastest timing for a lap/sector at least once. with the star, i think a lot of useful data could be collected behind the scenes, like really really useful info that wasn’t found previously. the star kinda feels like there will be certain blessings present, and a wish may be made and granted. the seven of pentacles is usually the final step before the hard work pays off.

significant numbers (in this context): 7, 17, 3, 4

✧ ‧˚₊ ❆ ‧ ₊ ⊹˚✧ ‧˚₊ ❆ ‧ ₊ ⊹˚✧ ‧˚₊ ❆ ‧ ₊ ⊹˚✧ ‧˚₊ ❆ ‧ ₊ ⊹˚ ✧ ‧˚₊ ❆ ‧ ₊

feature race: 3 of cups, 10 of cups, 6 of pentacles

so so positive i cannot stress this enough— so much celebration, so much fulfilment marking the end of a cycle. maybe some help involved, either given or received. positive, in the way only cool and calm mornings can feel, specifically at 8am, as it slowly gets closer to 10am. idk not much to say but the effort behind this race feels more centred, like there is a smaller group of people being actively involved in this race, and the celebrations may also be mainly for a smaller group of people than usual, but lots of happiness of course. this feels like watching the sunset at a beach, unplanned.

extra: i noticed the devil card pop up but it came with too many cards so i put it back in but it feels like a small warning to not get too egotistical or rude and lose focus on what’s actually important, like safety and relationships, and to not be overly consumed or obsessed by something— like results or incidents on track or the past

significant numbers: 3, 6, 10, 5, 7, 4

✧ ‧˚₊ ❆ ‧ ₊ ⊹˚✧ ‧˚₊ ❆ ‧ ₊ ⊹˚✧ ‧˚₊ ❆ ‧ ₊ ⊹˚✧ ‧˚₊ ❆ ‧ ₊ ⊹˚ ✧ ‧˚₊ ❆ ‧ ₊

bottom of deck: wheel of fortune

the wheel of fortune usually symbolises luck, or karma. it usually signifies a change in luck, and i always tell people that this change in luck could be from bad to good luck, or vice versa. it’s not a one directional thing— whatever you’ve been experiencing recently, changes. although in this context it definitely feels more positive given the recent dnfs. card number 10. with 11 under it— whatever is received this weekend is well deserved and long time coming

also wait im adding on to this but maybe tyre management might be significant in these two races, in this specific drivers case

✧ ‧˚₊ ❆ ‧ ₊ ⊹˚✧ ‧˚₊ ❆ ‧ ₊ ⊹˚✧ ‧˚₊ ❆ ‧ ₊ ⊹˚✧ ‧˚₊ ❆ ‧ ₊ ⊹˚ ✧ ‧˚₊ ❆ ‧ ₊

anyway i still don’t know if ill watch the races because both F3 and F2 races have been heartbreaking recently but i might, after this reading— i just pray that pepe does really really well and that there are no crashes and that everyone is safe and happy despite their end positions and that it’s a good weekend for all drivers and mechanics and fans and team principals and any and everyone on earth except mean people

okay byebye ill come back to this after both races are complete and update this

- 🪷

[windvexer]

Hi, do you have a post on calculating the planetary hours of the day or a specific tag for planet magic like that? I found charts online but for some reason I just keep getting really confused on figuring out what hour corresponds to what with time zones, I'm not sure how that affects it? I know I've seen you post about it but tumblr search is useless. Thank you!

Hi, I do not have a post about the calculations, but perhaps my explanation will suffice where the same explanation has elsewhere not suffoced 😅

First things first, no need to use charts! There are many online calculators. Try this one!

Any modern calculator will calculate the time zones for you.

In the linked calculator, only enter in your current city. The math is done on your behalf.

I tried to do an explanation of calculating this but my nerve pain is just brutal today.

So I stole it from PlentifulEarth.com instead:

Determine Sunrise and Sunset: Check local times for these events using reliable sources or apps. Calculate Day and Night Duration: Calculate how many minutes are between sunrise and sunset for day time. Calculate how many minutes are between sunset and sunrise for night time. Divide Each by Twelve: Each period (day or night) is divided into 12 equal hours, but remember, these aren’t the standard 60-minute hours we’re used to! You should have two separate hour lengths, one for the length of day time’s hours and one for the length of night time’s hours. Convert Minutes Back to Hours: Starting at sunrise, take the number of minutes from step 3 and add them to find out the next “hour” mark. Repeat until you get to sunset. Do this again for the night time period. Assign Planetary Rulers: Based on the day, the first hour will be ruled by the planet governing that day. Then, label each following hour as the planet that comes next in the Chaldean sequence.

Just remember, if doing by hand, start the operation by finding your current sunrise and sunset times.

Be careful when Googling, because Google will by default show you today's sunset and tomorrow's sunrise; but what you really need is both for the same day. (Ultimately this will at most change your calculations by a minute and isn't vital, but good to be mindful of).

When doing this calculation yourself, there should never be a time where you are calculating your own time zone in relation to another time zone.

There are 12 planetary hours during daylight. But, these "hours" are not 60 minutes long. The 12 units of time stretch out for long days (summer), and get squished for short days (winter).

All you are doing is finding how many hours of daylight are happening for your location that day, and dividing by 12.

The first planetary hour matches the day (Sun Sunday, Moon Monday, Mars Tuesday, Mercury Wednesday, Jupiter Thursday, Venus Friday, Saturn Saturday) and they cycle through the day.

There are also 12 planetary "hours" during nighttime, which are stretched (winter) and squished (summer) so that all 12 fit into the darkness.

Anyway, hope this helps! I'd recommend just using a calculator, not charts :)

[fiercynn]

so @manogirl, @inventedfangirling, and @sharingfandoms all tagged me in the thai ql favorites tag game (thanks friends!), and i wasn't sure if i had enough to say about shows other than bad buddy to do it, but i figure you can't ever talk about bbs too much amirite

favorite thai ql: yeah so it's bad buddy, surprise surprise. i watched it all in the course of like 36 hours in february 2022, not long after it had ended, and it has been thoroughly stuck in my soul ever since. i've watched it so many times and in so many pieces that i couldn't even guess at a number. i've posted...uh...200k words of bad buddy fic in the past year and half? the obsession is real. it's just such a perfect mix of antagonistic and silly and tense and sweet and heartbreaking and healing that i keep going back to it over over. i love its narrative arc, and i love its little details, and i love all the ways we get to keep reinterpreting it over and over in fanworks. and i love the people i've met in the fandom, which is really hard to separate from the show! i've made really close and awesome friends here, which seems extremely fitting tbh. so yeah anyway i like that show a lot

favorite pairing: seems obvious given my previous answer, but patpran, followed closely by inkpa! idk i just think they're both neat and extremely in love

most underrated actor: JENNIE PANHAN I NEED HER IN EVERYTHING OKAY

favorite character: parakul siridechawat. he's just so in love you guys, even when (he thinks) it's hopeless. i love a character who pines. my sexuality is pining actually and pran's might be too (jk i love pran for many many many reasons but this is the one i felt like talking about today)

favorite side character: i think it has to be a tie between mae from 3wbf and longtae from a tale of thousand stars...two very different characters! i love mae in all her complexity, her efforts to be good and kind and empathetic that are interrupted by the death of the one person who was good and kind and empathetic towards her, and her search for revenge once he's gone, and then her ultimate realization that she needs to stop the cycle of violence even if it takes one more act of violence herself. meanwhile i love longtae because he is sweet and funny and adorable and such a good friend to literally everyone in pha phun dao and also it's khao, how could i not?

favorite scene in a ql: so if i type the letter "y" in my browser, the first search result is the youtube link to bad buddy episode 5 part 4/4. does that answer your question

favorite line in a ql: i thought i was going to struggle with this one but it came to me instantly: uncle tong from bad buddy saying, "you might think one man can't change the world. but i want you to know that this world can't change someone like me either." have i mentioned i am both queer and work in climate activism for a living

most anticipated ql (& why): 23.5 degrees the series!!!! i was already one million percent there for milklove but the recent confirmation of viewjune is just like the icingest of icing on the cake. i'm so fucking stoked you guys

i'm sorry i'm not going to answer the question on guilty pleasure series because like @manogirl i do not believe in the concept, nor the ones on healthiest vs. toxic relationships because i simply do not feel like it <3

most underrated series: hmm, most of the thai ql series i've seen are too well-known/watched to count for this. like would we call gap the series underrated? probably not, right? maybe...triage? but i personally felt like triage got pretty uneven in the second half...idk this is the problem with having mostly stuck to gmmtv huh

i really have not kept good track of who has done this meme already so ummmm @citystoryscapes @mahuhumaling @melto @mousieta @incandescentflower @galauvant @dancing-out-in-space

[transformers-bold-bright-brisk]

Prince’s First Day

Pt. 1 / Pt. 2: Departing

Tagging: @sonia-aquamarineson @asmoteeth @novafire-is-thinking

Summary: The tension between Prince and Predaking grows stronger after their fight. Predaking does his best to subtly try to leave all this on a high note before Prince has to leave for Earth soon. But Prince’s future actions might just lead to an even bigger divide between the two than before.

— — —

The following day, after Prince and Predaking’s fight, was the day Prince had to pack up and get moving. Yesterday, when the argument between the two escalated, Prince managed to spill blood as he savagely bit Predaking’s claw. Both his heads after blasting King in the face with fire, retired all sensibility out the window and bared their strong fangs. Immediately piercing Predaking’s index claw—spilling Predacon energon, some of which Prince accidentally tasted and almost threw back up.

And when Prince realized what he had done, he tried to retreat both jaws from the wound—resulting in Prince ripping a chunk out of the claw.

They were then tossed back into his chambers and locked in until he could adjust their attitude. It was harsh, but how else do you deal with your kid ripping a chunk of your finger off? Albeit a small chunk by Predaking’s standards, but a chunk nonetheless.

Back to Prince wallowing in their chambers by throwing a tantrum. He tore up the walls and made shallow gouges at his own floors, not even taking any breaks. Just the longest couple of joors going absolutely ballistic.

Prince is a very immature and stubborn mech. He can be destructive, ill mannered, disrespectful, and overall terrible at handling their own emotions when things don’t go their way. Because under all that fiery temper is just a spoiled brat who is too selfish to understand how the world doesn’t revolve around him and him alone.

And under all of that, is someone who is worth helping, even though they act like they aren’t. That’s what Predaking wants to believe anyway.

— — —

Prince was finally done lashing out.

Everything was shoved off the shelves, his floors and walls were torn apart, and his window had been shattered. It was not a pretty sight. And there wasn’t really any point in cleaning it up if Prince wasn’t even going to be living here for a long time. A really… really… long time.

It was only for a couple stellar-cycles, but on the planet they’re being transferred to, it might as well be a whole vorn. A whole vorn on some big dirt rock in a cramped building with a bunch of puny dweebs. The worst part about it is that he heard that it has nurses.

And Prince is the number one needle resister when it comes to the vornly clinic visit.

*knock knock knock*

The knocking at Prince’s chamber door is what brought them of their post-tantrum trance.

Great. Now what?

“Y-Your m-ma-majesty—“

Prince answered through the locked door. Not letting the poor Predacon finish.

“What?!”

“Ah! Oh! Oh uh, uh oh—P-Predaking wishes for you t-to speak—to meet—to dine in the uh, the dining room..”

“And—how am I supposed to that? Hm? The door’s locked.”

“Oh! Okay r-right. H-Hold tight…”

As soon as the servant hesitantly unlocked the door with a *click*—it was a solid klik before Prince pulled both doors open. Shoving the Predacon sent to retrieve him, out of the way with force. He started storming down the hall and made their way towards the dining room, about to eat with his mentor after cooling down.

— — —

*tap tap tap tap tap*

Went Prince’s claws against the table. Looking down at his energon cube before him. He was still a bit riled up from earlier and didn’t feel like consuming anything. They were still mad but not as mad as before.

When Prince arrived to the room and saw Predaking sitting on his gargantuan sized chair, he didn’t want to speak with him at all. Talk about petty.

They were about to just snatch the cube and go back to his room, but his mentor “insisted” that they stay. And by insisted he meant glaring at them until they sat down. It was like the force of his gaze alone would turn them to stone, crush them into pebbles, melt them into lava, turn him back into a bot and do it all over again. It was not a feeling someone as full of themself as Prince likes to admit.

Predaking was taking a long sip out of his cube while looking at a datapad he laid on the table—pushing up his glasses with a bandaged claw to realign them with his optics. Prince couldn’t ever see what Predaking was looking at since they were so far apart. Oh yeah, turns out the table is as long as Predaking times two if he laid down head to toe.

With every time Predaking adjusts his glasses and shows off the bandaged scar Prince gave him on his claw, Prince starts to feel… weird. He obviously didn’t mean to bite off a piece of Predaking’s claw, but they were able to hurt—the—Predaking and tear through his armor with ease. He should see that scar as a symbol of pride, like an accomplishment or a trophy.

So… why does he feel so bad every time it comes into view?

Predaking finally looked over to Prince and noticed how his cube was still very much full. How the frag did he notice their puny cube from far away, if he needs glasses to read datapads? Psh, old bot stuff probably.

“You better get a good refueling while you can. Tomorrow is a big day for you.”

“TmoRrOw Is A biG DaY fOR yOu—yeah, frag off jerk.” Prince replied with an irritating impression of Predaking.

“I beg your pardon?”

“I BeG YoUr ParDOn?”

“Prince.”

“PrInCe.”

“I’m serious.”

“I’m SeRIoUs bleh b-bleh I’m PrEdaKinG and I’m StUpId and oLd and CrAnKy.”

Predaking said nothing. Having a face full of disappointment, which Prince absolutely ignored. And with an annoying grin spread across his face, they finally sipped their energon.

“Are you done yet?” Predaking asked begrudgingly.

Prince didn’t say anything. He had to keep refueling for the big day tomorrow, just as Predaking said.

— — —

It was finally time for departure for Prince.

Everything he needed was packed into a duffel bag by the servants since he was still being bratty. Standing in the doorway that was looking towards the entrance to the castle, Prince stood there with arms crossed and pouting. With the duffel hung on his shoulder, and Predaking standing behind him, asking if they’re ready to head off. He moved towards the door without answering or looking back.

Transforming and taking off after Predaking, so he could lead the way towards the Spacebridge Station. Prince stayed quiet the entire flight. Almost too quiet.

Predaking knows his protégé well, too well in fact, so he noticed something was wrong straight away. To ease his own concern, he thought striking up some small talk with him soon would be best. Afterall, he wouldn’t be seeing Prince for a while.

Even if they are the sole target for his citizens’ disgust. Or the most disappointing representation of Predacon royalty. Or even the most irredeemable Predacon on the planet, Predaking won’t give up on them regardless. It was his fault he turned out this way, and he was the one who made the decision to send him away to see if there’s still hope for the youngling. If it wasn’t already too late, that is.

No matter how much Predaking was going to miss Prince, he knew he was making the right decision.

“… Remember when we flew together on a cycle just like this? When you were ready to take flight just deca-cycles after hatching.”

“…”

“You were only twelve deca-cycles old, but were flying sparratically as if you were this full grown ferocious beast.” Remembering how that went, it made him lightly chuckle when Prince would play hide and seek with him by hiding in the clouds. And took him joors to always find him because he never wanted to leave the skies.

“Heh heh… you were so small that it felt like being pelted by stones every time you flew right at me.”

“…”

Predaking looked to Prince and saw that they kept flying inches farther away from him than before. He took that as a queue to stop trying to make small talk.

— — —

Before they knew it, they made it to the station.

Both of them headed towards the spacebridge that was to be used for Prince to get to Earth. It wasn’t long before the spacebridge came online, all powered up and ready for travel. Which signaled that Prince was now officially leaving the kingdom. That fact was sinking in more and more since before the flight here.

He just felt so powerless in his position, and he was staring at the glowing mass of energy before them. And Predaking took notice of how Prince was looking at that portal.

It was just the two of them in the room, and he could finally say a proper goodbye—to maybe tell his protégé to not get into too much trouble, to get along with their peers, to say to hi to Professor Boulder for him, or to tell him no matter what happens that he’ll care about him regardless of his behavior…

He tried to lay his oversized servo on Prince’s back to comfort him—

Prince immediately pulled himself away from Predaking.

…It took Predaking a klik to recover from the shock of Prince rejecting his kind gesture.

But it’s what Prince said to him after, that left Predaking at a loss for words…

Turning his head half way to look back at Predaking, they had a look of disgust across their face. With their fangs bared and voice full of disdain, he looked Predaking in the optic and told him—

“I hate you.”

And with that said, Prince turned to the spacebridge and walked straight into it.

Never looking back to see the hurt look that Predaking wore.

— — —

[firewoodwander]

hello allow me to infect your brain with a polyship. After the war: Fives/Tup, Tup/Dogma, Dogma/Slick (potential Tup/Dogma/Slick or Fives/Tup/Dogma, but Fives and Slick are on sight)

(for additional fun and profit throw in Echo returns with his batch of badboyfriends)

this is for the pairing/smut trope/kink meme, but you know they might be too busy fighting about everything, for anyone to get laid 🤣

BCNCBSSJHS the Tru Poly Agenda is one of my favourite agendas and I’ve been thinking about tup and dogma (my ogs… my beloveds) already, so this is too good. Idk how to get [counts fingers] almost nine whole (lol) characters into a prompt fic but the thought is there

Wish you would write…

“I’m back!” Fives shouts into the house, letting the door slam shut behind him.

“Did you pass Slick on your way in?” Tup calls out. Dogma swears under his breath and jabs Tup in the ribs, but Tup only grins and wriggles a little bit in his lap to get away from sharp fingers.

“No,” Fives says, sounding immediately perturbed, “thank the stars. Why is that bastard still coming here?”

“Because he’s a pain in the ass,” Dogma drawls, at the same time Tup snorts a laugh and emphasises the phrase, “Because we like him,” like he would to a cadet.

“He’s an indicted felon!” Fives protests—an old argument. He wanders into the living room and finds them sprawled on the sofa. “A coward and a bastard,” he explains, leaning down distractedly to kiss Tup hello and Dogma on the top of his head, “and he blew up half the fucking base on Christophsis.”

“We weren’t even there,” Dogma mutters. He has his thumbnail between his teeth and he’s not paused reading the article on his datapad. Fives makes an irate noise. “Get over yourself.”

Tup swings his feet down to the floor and gets up to follow Fives and the crinkle of grocery bags into the kitchen. “Anyway—aren’t there more important things to discuss?”

“Always,” Fives agrees, his frown melting into a wide grin as he unpacks the fresh produce. “The Marauder is on course to make planet fall, ETA twenty-two-hundred hours. I picked up a few more bits than usual, we’ll have a late latemeal and an extra mouth to feed tonight!”

Fives’ joy is infectious. Tup finds himself grinning too as he absorbs it, wrapping himself around Fives’ back and making a great hindrance of himself, not that Fives seems to give a damn.

“More like five extra mouths,” says Dogma, finally following them in. He sets his datapad in its cradle and comes over to help pack away the food. He gets an extra jab in to Tup’s side with his elbow and a smirk; Tup sticks his tongue out at him.

Together they clear the counters. Tup washes and slices up a bowl of fruit for the three of them. Dogma takes the time to wipe down all the surfaces, and then gets carried away scrubbing the sink and then the hob while he’s at it. Fives watches, plying him with berries from time to time and planning what to make for Echo’s return.

“We’re going to need to move soon,” Tup announces suddenly.

Both Dogma and Fives pause in their heckling of each other and look towards him in askance.

“Well, as much as I like our flat… it’s kind of small?” Tup runs his hand along the length of the counter and makes it only a foot or so until his fingers find the edge of the sink. “And with the number of people coming and going, it’s not just ourselves that Dogma and I are thinking about, anymore.”

Dogma is already frowning off into the middle distance. Tup can practically see the thoughts cycling through his mind, discarded or tagged onto his list of priorities one by one. More bedrooms, for one. A bigger reception area. Maybe even an actual table to eat at, rather than finding pasta under the sofa cushions way later than they ever want to be finding it.

But then Fives asks “Are you inviting me to move in?” with a sly, and slightly shy little smile, and that snaps Dogma right out of it with a huff and a flick of a tea towel.

“Are you seriously being coy about that? You live here already, you dolt.”

Fives cackles, dodging Dogma’s next snap of the towel. He hides behind Tup, who smiles wryly and pats his shoulder.

“So? What do you think?”

Ever-indulgent, Dogma smiles over at him. It makes the vertex of his tattoo crinkle a little, just the way Tup loves.

“I think that would be wise,” he says, and lunges for Fives again. “Especially if we’re going to keep picking up strays.”

Tup reaches out and snatches Dogma by the waist, preventing him running after their hooting third. Dogma goes pliant in his hold and Tup squeezes him around the middle.

“Thank you,” he says, utterly sincere. Dogma twists to brush a kiss along his jaw.

“Of course.”

[hepatosaurus]

2023 AO3 Wrapped!

I had a lot of fun tracking my fic reading in 2022, so... I did it again in 2023! Still fun, still both completely unsurprising and a little illuminating at the same time. I definitely read less fic this past year—only 77 across 12 fandoms, compared to last year's 110—but that's OK. Life happens, and I'm very aware that I'm never going to be a person who reads a million words per month (or 100 books a year). Stats-wise, I can't guarantee that these numbers are completely accurate, but they feel right and that's what counts.

Word Count

971,646 words! Numbers fluctuated throughout the year with one real dead zone (lol @ June - I was busy! sibling got married! played a lot of Zelda!), and I kind of petered out by the end of the year. On the plus side, my brain can handle reading actual books again, which was fun. On the minus side: less fic. Oh well. (Also: May's number isn't entirely accurate, but I had to put rubicon's final word count somewhere. No, I haven't finished reading the complete edited fic yet, but that's when the last chapter draft hit my inbox, soooo there.) Most fics were on the shorter side, unsurprisingly (average length was ~12k); I think rubicon was the only one over 100k. I did read more 50–100k fic compared to last year though, which was nice.

(Putting the rest behind a cut. Obligatory warning that this is mostly about Fire Emblem, but what else is new?)

Top Fandoms

My FE3H reading took a HUGE hit this year, falling from 87.3% to... 83.1%. Ouch, how will my faves recover. Really though, this was yet another reminder that although I certainly watched and loved a lot of new movies and tv shows, read new books, played new video games (ok, it was mostly BOTW/TOTK), all things that could conceivably lead me to check out greener pastures, I am still in an extremely monofandom phase in terms of actual fic reading/fandom participation (four years now!). And honestly, I'm fine with that! I'm having fun, blorbos are still my blorbos, there's still a ton of fic I haven't read yet (new and old), and I'm in a nice/quiet/drama-free corner of fandom. Besides, the average fandom lifespan is too short these days anyway. I'm doing my part to break the cycle. :P

I do wish I had the brain space to read a little more widely, though. I was so close to going on a zelink bender after I finished BOTW, but life got busy and it just... didn't happen. Maybe in 2024. Severance and fandom juggernaut SoftBank Next 30-Year Vision tried their best—two fics each! impressive, lol—but the heart wants what it wants, and what it wants is anime chess pieces kissing (and/or killing) each other.

Top Authors

56 individual authors, with the top spot going to...desmodus! which does not surprise me tbh; they write such good fic. Looking at these particular results was an interesting reminder that I'm really not someone who methodically/voraciously reads through an author's entire back catalogue, at least not currently. Like, besides the named authors, there were four more with two fics each and the rest had only one each. Next time, I'm almost tempted to see if I can factor in word count to get a better idea of how much time I really spent reading each author, especially since I might (hypothetically) read multiple forgettable 1–5k fics by Author A, and then a single memorable/meaty 95k fic by Author B that sticks with me for years. Is Author A really more of a "top" author? Not really. That's more work on my part though, so we'll see what happens. (All of this waffling could be solved by making an actual rec list for once, but shhhhh.)

Top Pairings

Surprising absolutely no one, I'm still in sylvix hell. Congrats to None for jumping a couple spots in the rankings, though! A solid showing. I need to get better at tracking platonic relationships, but to be fair, those tags are underutilized on AO3 to begin with (or not used consistently), and I typically—but not always—stick with the main tags chosen by the author.

Also, please note that the ship in sixth place was entirely thanks to alphabetical sorting (it was a six-way tie), but I'm keeping it as is because it makes me laugh/implies some sort of character growth on my part that may or may not exist.

Top Characters

Lol. In my defense(?), Sylvain did drop almost three whole points this year; he couldn't even hit 60%! What kind of blorbo...?! Jokes aside, it's an entirely expected list. My Blue Lions/Golden Deer bias persists, but I'm not sure what determined when I logged "Blue Lions Students" vs. their actual names—probably half laziness, half just following what the author picked. I did love seeing Ask A Manager's Allison Green chilling at the bottom of this list with Bakugo, though. I'm sure she'll be fine. (And god knows Mr. King Explosion Murder and the rest of my top 20 could stand to follow her advice.)

(Also: apologies to Lorenz Hellman Gloucester, as I see his illustrious surname was cut off accidentally. Forgive me.)

Ratings, Categories, etc.

Also pretty unsurprising! I considered cutting my NSFW tracker at the beginning of last year since it's a little redundant, but that never happened. It might come in handy one day, especially if I'm looking through my spreadsheet for individualized recs. I was surprised that the Multi category was so low, but that could be due to inconsistencies in how people tag their fic? And/or how I logged them. Sometimes it means poly, but sometimes it just means that there are multiple kinds of ships in a fic. Either way, it's something to consider for 2024's tracker. Consistency! Let's strive for it! ✨

Tags & Tropes

Also about what I expected, though I was honestly shocked to see Established Relationship ranking so high? And Friends to Lovers so low? What is going ON here. (The former is probably partially due to mikey desmodus's excellent married sylvix fics.) Sorry to Horse Feelings, though; I made a dedicated tag on my google form and everything, but there was only the one fic in the end :(

Etc: Commenting, Rereading, Reccing, and Bookmarks

Commenting: My only real fic-reading "goal" in 2023 was to get my commenting percentage up to at least 50% and...I did that! Just barely, but 51.9% is 51.9%. Obsessive media tracking works!

Rereads: As expected, and pretty in line with last year (with a tiny increase). I'm just not a big rereader in general, though I did do a fair bit of rereading WIPs to prepare for new chapters. (Not sure how I classified those, come to think of it...)

Bookmarks: Also pretty similar to last year (with a tiny decrease).

Reccing: Now this DID surprise me. That "Yes" percentage seems almost absurdly high, jumping from 46.4% to 61%, and my "No"s dropped a ton too (22.7% to 5.2%). Either I got nicer or I just read better fic. :P Leaning towards the former, but probably a bit of both tbh. My one DNF was a longfic WIP that didn't spark joy and was becoming a hateread, which is rare for me - byeeeee.

Takeaways

By now my tracking form has become part of my fic-reading routine (read - track - comment/etc), and I can't see that changing any time soon. Obviously not everyone wants to (or should!) engage with fic this way, and I can definitely see how it might suck the joy out of reading for some people, but for me, it's been a good mental exercise and a really helpful commenting aid. Also, it's just fun. I like thinking critically about media! I like having a place to record my silly little thoughts about the silly little fanfics I read! All in all, I highly recommend doing something similar if you, like me, get a rush from making lists and compiling data, and if you like complimenting people but sometimes need that extra push to actually tell them and post a comment.

Goals-wise... I don't really do those lol. Probably to continue commenting and maybe try to read more widely, but honestly I'm probably not going to change my habits intentionally. Besides, looking at what I've read so far, yes, it's already half Fire Emblem, but also half gen and half F/F with nary a Sylvain in sight*! We got History Boys, we got Haikyuu filk, we got Ingrid and a MILF! Who knows what's around the corner?

(*This is quite literally only because I haven't logged rubicon yet. Don't worry, he's coming.)

[ca-suffit]

U know, I dropped the show and only know whats happening on it through mutuals reblogging gifs now. Not necessarily because it's bad, it's actually really amazing and so much better than those old dusty books, but because I'm fucking tired of these racist cunts everywhere! I want to reblog some gifs or some funny posts or pics and I have to go through them clogging the tags with their bullshit racist takes and "book knowledge" or whatever.

And you bet that if you tell them that they are the ones pushing ppl away from the show they cry "but we're not! we're the good ppl! anyway don't let fandom ruin something u enjoy!" but they don't realize that yes, shitty fandoms ruins cool shit for ppl all the fucking time — happened to me before, happened to ppl I know too.

But u know what Ca, whatever — lets see if their little white fandom group of 10 ppl can keep this show on air for long and renewed for more seasons lol It will be funny to see how much they don't need us

I had a lot of hope that the show fandom would fix a lot of this but it just ended up getting worse (this is not show fan's fault, btw, I'm not trying to say that). I've barely been here with an account now and the hate I've had aimed at me has been crazy. It would be worse if ppl knew anything about me personally too. I've seen them do this to ppl over and over again, before the show and now. There's been a lot of rly great ppl they've run off. This would be a much bigger fandom if not for the constant cycles of bullying. It used to rly be just white women doing this, now it's a whole mixed race group who says racism is ok because I gave u permission to attack the "bad" ones, let's go after all the ppl who talk about race and are the "real" racists. are u fucking kidding me.

It is rly funny how they're so worried about viewership numbers while literally doing everything in their power to turn ppl off of engaging at all. A lot of these ppl are rly old too, like parents to p grown ass kids. grandparents even?? It's so gd cringe. I luv this show too but fuck I also don't rly gaf either tbh. I'm here because it gets white fandom to stfu a lot, they were getting rly out of line without someone hitting back, but this is exhausting. This all sucks so much and for what reason? Like rly what fucking reason. jfc.

[thisbetternotawakenanything]

First Lines

Thanks for the tag, @catherineflowers29

Rules: share the first lines of ten of your most recent fanfics and tag ten people. If you have written fewer than ten, don’t be shy and share anyway.

————————

1. We Can’t Get Past The Weather - Roman/Gerri

He’s in bed but he can’t sleep. Kendall is barraging his inbox with brain dumps that would usually ring alarm bells about his recreational activities, and Roman’s still kind of unpleasantly numb to it all in a way that feels…not quite deserved? He can’t be bothered replying, but hell - he can’t fucking sleep and he doesn’t want to take anything or even have a drink about that in case it compromises him tomorrow on his first day in the big chair, so he’ll read them all and hope he passes out from the effort.

2. Ariadne (The Labyrinth Song) - Roman/Gerri

Roman can’t believe it. Joint CEO, sharing the paper crown. It should feel like finally nutting after fucking for years, but instead it feels like - a Saturday. Is it Saturday?

3. No One Can Hear You Scream - Roman/Gerri

At last, it was dark and still, and Roman was alone.

He wondered if he’d ever been this tired in his whole fucking life, but knew if he closed his eyes here in the back of the car he’d just see the after-burn of the end of the universe - The water at dusk turned to ink, the bag glistening under the moonrise, pulling him down the steps to the unforgiving horizon of the tarmac.

4. Don’t Fuck Me In Front Of Me - Roman/Gerri

When it comes at last? The blade?

Of course Logan sends Roman, and of course Roman botches it, because it’s borrowed conviction. He still hasn’t learned what Gerri tried spoon-feeding him, and now as usual, she’s left in the mess. It’s his Father’s axe handed to him, and Roman can’t swing hard enough to make it clean.

It’s a fucking flesh wound.

5. Intersection - Roman/Gerri

“I need you”

It’s the right words at the right time - but is it the right voice? Roman’s not sure, even now that he’s chewing on it. It’s hot sliding down, it’s hard to swallow but he opens wide, wider, lets it drop down to his stomach, lets it settle like stones in his pockets.

Lets the water into his lungs.

It’s fucking nice to be needed.

6. Back In The Room - Roman/Gerri

“What have you got in your hands?”

The question echoing through Roman’s nightmares in the time after. His dick hadn’t worked since. Well. Except once.

Not because of… it had nothing to do with-

You know.

Her.

7. 5 Times Gerri Kellman Let Roman Roy In, And 1 Time She Didn’t - Roman/Gerri

Roman ran his hand along the dresser, up and over the elegant antique box, over last nights hastily discarded watches and jewellery all tangled together, and then around the weighty bottle of Number 5, smiling to himself at the stability of it all. Gerri had smelled the same for as long as he’d been old enough and close enough to consciously smell her, and the hint of it never failed to make his balls fizz. Carefully, he extracted her pearl pendant from his Rolex, and put the former back in its place, then he bent down to the cardboard box by his feet and collected a glossy watch box and one of the bottles of Creed he was currently cycling through, and fussed for a few moments arranging them next to Gerri’s Chanel until he was happy with the vignette.

8. Champagne Complications - Roman/Gerri

Roman was the first to get the messy news about Caroline’s husband, just as the year they’d buried Logan was turning over at last.

A stray Bollinger cork to the temple sent Peter toppling headfirst into the Balearic Sea, and unfortunately for him none of the escorts he’d employed to sing Auld Lang Syne were moonlighting as lifeguards, and so the chair sniffer met his briny end. Gerri naturally thought of her own husbands - the dead, divorced, and symbolic - and was glad to have dodged another round of matrimonial angst.

The clean-up would be simple.

9. Cumulonimbus- Roman/Gerri

If he could cum he’d be calmer, Roman was sure of it. It was just normal turbulence, nothing to worry about, a lifetime of private jets safely ferrying him between countries Dad basically owned should mean he didn’t need to be gripping the plush leather arm rest so hard, right? Don’t think about Buddy Holly. Or Aaliya. Or the Kennedys. Or - shut up shut up - only an hour more to Tokyo and then the true hell would begin, if they weren’t struck down by this fucking storm first.

10. Humpty Dumpty - Roman/Gerri, Gerri/Greg, Roman/Gerri/Greg (I’m sorry)

This was of course Roman’s fault. If he’d just signed the documents terminating his RoyCo-GoJo employment at his lawyer’s office like he was supposed to instead of making sneering (and admittedly amusing) jokes about them being the frozen yoghurt of media monopolies, Tom wouldn’t have sent Greg around to his place with them. Or perhaps it was Siobhan’s fault, for giving Roman’s key-code to Tom when they were still on speaking terms, so that Tom then gave it to Greg. Really, broadly speaking, everything was Logan Roy’s fault for not wanting his children to be real people, long ago refusing to instil the concept of boundaries lest they ever attempt one with him, thus leaving it up to people like Gerri who were better at… drawing lines - to clean up the results.

But blame could be more accurately portioned later, once Greg was no longer doing such a convincing impression of an oxygen deprived giraffe, and once Roman stopped trying to curse him out from underneath her.

[thesparklingwriter]

millenia precede us

“Let’s play a game,” You say. “Whoever finds the other first wins a prize.”

tags: reincarnation au, fem!reader, reader is part adeptus, inspired by this ask from aine

word count: 3k (apologies for this monster of a fic)

ao3 link | taglist | masterlist

Zhongli dreams of you again. For the first time in centuries, he sees your face, your smile, your laugh. The dreams had first started when he was young—or young by archon standards. He’d drifted off to sleep one night, and woke up entirely occupied by the face of someone he’d never met before, by the smell of something he was sure he’d never smelt in his lifetime.

He’d found comfort in seeing you—in listening to you talk in a language he didn’t yet understand, wearing clothes he hadn’t seen before. You’d come for a few years, and then disappear, only to reappear later, wearing something different, speaking in a different language. Your smile never seemed to change.

The two of you could never truly communicate either—your shared dreamscape was simple, a park in the height of autumn, a small picnic blanket on the floor. There, you’d snack on whatever was laid out on the blanket and try your bests to communicate however you could. Most times, however, you’d cuddle up to each other and sit in silence, watching the way the landscape changed.

He’d always known that you’d come back. He hoped that you’d come back. But you’d been gone for so long that he began to fear that your reincarnation cycle had ended, that he’d never get to meet you in real life.

“Hello,” you smile. Zhongli can barely reply to you—hes so stunned that he can understand you, that he can recognise the clothes you’re wearing and the floral scent you always carried with you. Glaze lilies. That’s what it was. “First time here?” You ask kindly. Zhongli stares at you before clearing his throat.

“No.” he replies. You seem confused, but sit yourself down on the blanket and run your hands over the copper-coloured silk. “I’ve met you a few times.” He says, lowering himself to sit beside you.

“A few times?” You say quietly. “I recognise your voice, the way you smell, but not your face. Is that how this is supposed to be?”

Zhongli is ashamed to admit that he doesn’t know. As far as he knows, he was the first to experience anything like this, and slowly others began to too, until it became commonplace for people across Teyvat. Something he or the other archons did must have made this happen, but none of them had any clue what it could be.

“I’m not sure,” Zhongli replies, shifting himself so that he’s not so close to you, for fear of making you uncomfortable. You notice him shifting away and close the gap yourself, resting your head against his shoulder the way you did when you first met all those centuries ago. “Not much is known about the dreamscapes.” he says.

“How long have you been able to visit?” You ask, looking up at him.

Zhongli is torn between lying, or gracing you with the truth. “A number of years,” He says finally and you look at him with wide eyes.

“How much older than me are you?” You ask. Zhongli looks at you, again torn as to what he should say. The truth is always better, especially in situations like this, but the truth may also be too much to handle.

“I’m an adeptus,” he decides this is a better course of action. “I’m older than I appear.” You don’t seem as surprised by this as he expected—in fact, you don’t seem to have a problem with it at all.

“My mum’s an adeptus, this isn’t new to me.” You smile. “Anyway, what’s your name?”

“Zhongli,” He says. You say his name under your breath, resting the words on your tongue. Zhongli looks at you in wonder, at the way you take this all in your stride. You ask him questions and he responds, and you don't seem to miss a beat. He reckons he could tell you everything, the whole truth, and you probably wouldn't even flinch.

It’s strange to you, the way he already seems so comfortable. How long has he truly known you for? And how is that even possible? But even despite your thoughts, you know Teyvat is place a where the most random things can happen, and you know you won’t find the answer you seek without asking him. But you'd like to enjoy his presence, so you decide to pack it in for the time being. “You don’t have any questions for me?” You ask him, tilting your head slightly.

“Not necessarily, no.” He smiles. “I’ve learned to know you fairly well, though you might not remember our past encounters.”

“That’s sweet,” you reply, sitting up. You sigh as the beautiful landscape begins to fade and you sense yourself waking up. How unfair, you think to yourself. It feels like I've barely had five minutes with him. “I’ve gotta go, but I’ll be looking out for you when I’m out. Bye, Zhongli.”

Zhongli stays seated once you leave, staring out into the middle distance. He sighs. He never got your name.

You sit up in bed, head pounding. It’s still pitch black outside, but your alarm continues to ring incessantly as you pull yourself out of bed and get ready for a day at the office. A new publishing company has begun shipping its books to Liyue and it’s your job to read through as many of them as you can and provide thorough and honest reviews. The only problem with this is that they aren’t really the kind of books you usually read. If anything, they’re the exact opposite of the Liyuean fiction you’re used to reviewing.

As you read, your mind drifts to Zhongli, the way he’d looked at you as if you were coming home to him, as if you were familiar. And it scares you—the fact that somewhere in the back of your mind, you know you know him, but can't place your finger on it. A stranger shouldn't feel familiar.

“Everything going okay?” Your coworker lets herself into your office, smiling brightly. “I heard you got lumped with the Inazuman erotica. How’s that going?”

You sigh, placing the book down. It’s not like you were truly going to get to the end of it anyway, with your mind so focused on the way Zhongli smiled at you with such fondness.

“Oh, it’s going, alright,” You sigh, leaning back in your seat. “I just never know what to expect next, if I’m honest. Did you know there’s a whole book that’s just about a dragon?”

“Dragon…erotica?” Your coworker asks, glancing dangerously at the pile of books on your desk.

“Sorry, half dragon, half-qilin. I should be more specific.” You run your hands through your hair. “I’ve been avoiding that one like the plague.”

“Isn’t your deadline in like three weeks?”

“Don’t remind me.” You say, standing up to shoo them out of your office. “It will be the last thing I read. A final hurrah of sorts. Now get out.”

Over the next few days, finishing work for the day is a much more exciting event than it usually is. You know that the minute you hit the hay, Zhongli is likely going to be there. He goes to bed early so it seems like he’s always waiting for you in his shared dreamscape.

“You know,” You say, resting your head on his shoulder. A lake suddenly appeared in the dreamscape and you’ve taken to watching the koi as they dance around each other in the glistening water. “Why don’t you just tell me where to find you? Make this easier on both of us.”

Zhongli chuckles. “I could do that, yes. But it would be rude of me to send you on a wild goose chase across Liyue. It would be easier if you just told me where to find you.”

“As if.” You scoff, getting up to dip your hands in the lake and feel the fish brush past you. You’d named them over the last few days: Ai for the fish with heart-shaped scales, Lian for the fish who was easily startled, and Gan for the fish that seemed to protect it. “Where’s the fun in that?”

“I’m sure you can identify the hypocrisy in your own statement.” Zhongli says.

“Let’s play a game,” You say. “Whoever finds the other first wins a prize.”

“And that prize is…?”

“A secret. What do you say, Zhongli? Up for it?”

Zhongli looks at you in awe and mild frustration. He always knew that you enjoyed problem-solving and a good challenge, which was clear by the way you used to try and find ways to communicate with him all those years ago, but he never expected this. Either way, he nods, listens dutifully to your rules (three clues each and no cheating by asking for each other by name) and agrees to your terms. That is, not that you gave him much of a choice in the matter.

And thus the game begins. The three clues you give him are mean—you work ‘normal’ hours, you like to read, and you spend a lot of time near the harbour. It doesn’t really narrow down much for him, but he humours you anyway, giving you his three clues in return. Arguably, his are even worse than yours—they’re riddles that seemed to have no connection to him whatsoever. As you try to accuse him of unfair play, you feel yourself stirring awake, and instead swear you’ll call him out on it on a later date.

Of course, you didn’t expect that you’d be seeing him so little over the coming weeks.

As your deadline pulls closer and you begin to pull more all-nighters to try and finish reviewing all the books that have been sent to you, you spend so little time sleeping that by the time you’re deep enough in sleep to reach the dreamscape, your alarm goes off and you’re dragged back into the real world.

“Mr Zhongli, are you alright?” After a week of watching Zhongli descend more and more into a worrying state, Hu Tao realises that she has to speak up. “You haven't been yourself lately. Do you have too much work?”

“I’m quite alright. I’m simply concerned for an acquaintance of mine.” Zhongli says, snapping out of his daze, and swiping imaginary dust off his blazer. “It’s not something to worry yourself about.”

Hutao dutifully ignores the last past of his sentence, seating herself on the other side of his desk. His office is always spotless, ready for a customer to come in at any time. That being said, he seems to get more menial questions from history buffs than paying patrons.

“Now, Mr Zhongli. I’m going to give this to you straight. You’re a loner. And I’m very curious as to where this friend has spawned from. So talk.”

Zhongli chuckles. It’s not the first time he’s been told that he essentially has no friends, for it was improbable that his adepti friends would be open to meeting in the harbour. “She is an old friend.” Zhongli says.

“‘She’?” Hutao gasps, jumping up from her seat. “Oh, this is great. You have a crush on her, don’t you? This is why you’ve been in such an odd mood recently.”

“I really do dislike you sometimes,” Zhongli says quietly, as Hutao begins her incessant teasing. “It is difficult to explain, so please do not ask that of me.”

“Fine, fine.” She returns to the seat. “Well, let’s go find her. Then you can stop being worried, and I can see her for myself.”

“That may prove difficult.” Zhongli says, rising from his desk. “But I suppose the task will be easier with your help.”

You sneeze lightly as you finish the review of your penultimate book. You’re running on two hours of sleep, three coffees, and the hope that when this is done, you can finally get to finding Zhongli again. No matter how much pay your boss offers you, you won’t accept a job like this again. No way.

You glance at the final book with a glare. Why someone decided to write erotica about the archon of a nation they didn’t even belong to was beyond you. Furthermore, you really didn't feel like trudging through thousands of misconceptions, concessions in knowledge of Liyue’s customs, and of course the blatant blasphemy. And you definitely aren’t going to do it in this office.

Taking the book and a newfound sense of dread, you walk out of the office, tell the receptionist that you’re going to find somewhere nice to read the book and find yourself strolling along Liyue Harbour in search of a nice bench. You haven’t had the time to walk around like this since you started your job a year ago, and it’s crazy how much things have changed. You look around some of the stalls before asking one of the stall owners whether they know any relaxing places to sit and read.

“A koi fish pond has just been installed. Apparently it’s a symbol of friendship between Inazuma and Liyue.” She says to you. “It’s just along there, you can’t miss it.”

You thank her gratefully, following her directions before arriving there. It looks exactly like the one in your shared dreamscape, shiny silver rocks around the border and clear teal water. Even the fish look the same, and you kneel down at the pond to look at them, one jumps out of the water, almost to greet you.

“Hello, Ai,” you say softly. “I have no food for you today.” The fish jumps back into the water, disappointed by the lack of food, and you rise to your feet, getting comfortable on the opposite bench to read the book. Sitting here like this makes you miss Zhongli. With your sleep schedule being so messed up the past few weeks, you never truly get to see him anymore. This is the closest you’ve felt to him in days. And maybe it’s your own fault for suggesting you play that silly game, maybe it’s your own fault for being afraid of what would happen if you finally met, but you’re tired of the torture. Next time you catch him in the dreamscape, you’re going to tell him how to find you.

The sun beats down on you as you read, and paired with the caffeine that’s slowly draining out of your system, you slowly feel your eyes start to close. It’s not the book’s fault—it’s certainly not bad as you expected, but when you’re this tired, there’s nothing you can do to stop it.

“We should start at koi fish pond,” Hutao says excitedly, as she drags Zhongli along the harbour.

“Why?”

“It’s new. I’m sure it would have garnered her interest.” She says. “And I've never had a chance to look at it.”

“I should have known better than to allow you to recruit yourself to this task,” Zhongli says. “No matter, let us go and look at the pond.”

Zhongli remembers your love for the koi pond in the dreamscape, so whilst Hutao’s suggestion may have been selfish, it wasn’t the worst possible idea. He remembers the way you named the fish, fed them with care and watched them with unleashed curiosity and joy. Even if he didn’t find you there, he would be happy to just relish in the memories of you for a while.

“What’s all that commotion at the pond?” Hutao says. Zhongli snaps out of his daze, looking up at the Millelith crouching beside the bench, his spear flat against the floor. “Miss, are you alright?” The man asks, tentatively reaching out with the intention to shake her awake.

Hutao drags him closer to the scene, ignoring the way he seems to resist her.

“Miss, are you alright?” The Millelith repeats, and the woman he’s waking up sits up slowly. Zhongli can’t believe his eyes.

“Archons, I need to finish reading that book.” You mumble, thanking the man for waking you up with a slight smile, and almost instantly burning your face back into it.

Zhongli makes no effort to move towards you, overwhelmed by seeing you in real life for the first time. The version he sees of you in dreams doesn’t even do the real you justice—in real life, you’re so much brighter and striking. Your voice is something he could listen to for hours. You’re so perfect and he feels that if moves any closer, he’ll find that it’s all an illusion, a cruel trick his mind is playing on him.

“You are aware that it’s creepy to stare at people, yes?” Hutao says lightly. And Zhongli nods, slowly walking up to you, your name on his lips.

Your book falls to the floor as you look up at him. “Zhongli?” Your body moves before you mind can and you pull him into a hug. He’s real and he’s here and you can smell him and hold him and archons, he feels like home. You pull away to look at his face, to commit every single pore of his skin to memory. He’s real. “What are you doing here? How did you find me? What’s going on?”

Zhongli smiles. “You’re just as perfect as I remember.”

“Even when I’m falling asleep on a park bench?” You grin, running a hand over the back of his head.

“Especially when you’re asleep on a park bench.”

You roll your eyes, pulling him into a kiss. “You have terrible taste.”

“Perhaps,” He says, gently stroking your face with his cheek. “But in that instance, so do you.”

© 2023, thesparklingwriter. please do not copy, edit, repost, or translate.

notes: omg so i didn't mean to make this so long and i am absolutely confused as to how i got this many words. im so sure i blacked out somewhere in the middle and ended up with 3x the amount of words i usually aim for lmfaoo. anyway everyone thank ainecause if it wasn't for her you would not have this monster of a fic xoxo taglist: @ainescribe @thelonelyarchon @aixaingela @medusuu

(coloured @s couldn't be tagged)

[tracle0]

hi hi Trade, I am here because I simply Must know more about Elan immediately please and thank you (also do you have any tunes for him? just by the look of him n his vibe I feel like he'd have some bangers) mwah ok bye

:D HELLO

I'm tagging @khufiya-khaufnak-antariksh here as well cause you both asked about Elan and I figured I'd just babble a lil about them to both of you here, hello, thank you for your interest!!!

Okay okay okay Elan issssss yeah! A fucking mess, basically! They, they, they. Hmm. HMMM!

They're basically the result of a fun kidnapping and testing that was executed on a wide number of colour mages. Elan semi-volunteered for it, with zero intention of actually taking part, and then took part anyway. Sucks to be them.

I don't know an awful lot about the actual process, but the general aim of it was to see how much colour could be taken from a mage before they. Yknow. Fucking died. Which for most people was alarmingly far! Strip magic away and see how deep this colourlessness can go.

Alas, most of the people fucking died before anything truly interesting could happen. But but but! Elan did! Not! For various reasons I'm keeping disclosed, they were full of spite and rage and Vengence and decided actually, you know, I'm not gonna die, I'm gonna take this white you're pumping me full of and just. Harness that, thank you very much. Reject the magic you were born with and embrace this synthetic model instead.

Basically, edge 14-year-old brain went 'teehee evil science experiment character :)))?' and I went oh HELL yeah!

Elan is the kinda guy who likes gardening :)! Lil gardener fella! They've got a section of BigBad's base wardened off for Just Them, where they have a little living area and a big garden, where they spend most of their time, chilling out, feeling At Peace, crushing any sliver of green that starts to edge into any stalks or leaves. It is a petrified garden. It could not survive without them. They love it dearly. Sometimes, when they get overwhelmed or frustrated, they smash it and sob in its remains until it's replaced and they start the cycle over again.

They also stand as one of the first characters of mine where I looked at them and decided they wanted to be in a lil relationship, which is nice and good for them! Less good for them that it's, uh, with the. BigBad. The woman who funded and dictated the research that made them Like This.

The relationship is very much a. Toxic one. Power struggles between the two, knowing full well they've hurt each other badly and still coming back for more. By the end of the first book, they quite literally stab her in the back and ease her into her death, all romantic style.

Mmmm despite how things have been phrased, I think Elan does quite like being a White. They want more people to be White so they can understand how things are, how they should be. Very obsessed with perfection and cleanliness and purity. Bleached as many pigments out of themselves as they possibly could, and still finds the red of their blood to be grating.

I have exactly one (2) songs that vibes for them at the moment which I think you know both of, Monday? Tis 'The Quittin' Kind' by Eleisha Eagle and 'Pretty Little Head' by Eliza Rickman. Both vibe with the more toxic part of their relationship with the BigBad. Who has no name. Pretend she does.

Okay that's it! Bye! Thank you!

[somekndofnature]

No Other Way #24

Hello all! So, please be patient with me, I have a little bit to say before we get to the actual story. I’ve got another one for the domaystic2022 prompt list. I’m determined to finish before the end of the year. 

I’ve decided to go back and add the number in the title of these posts so people can tell which ones they’ve read or not. I hope that helps @shikonstar I can totally understand why it would be frustrating. (I’ve been loving reading your tags by the way; makes my day 😁) (as does the tags and comments from all of you❤️ I totally haven’t expected the warm reaction these shorts have received.)

Once I finish with this challenge, I’m going to split the entire story up by fandom on AO3, but I wanted to wait until I reach the finish line. I hope you all understand; my neurotic brain won’t let me change up the formatting of each chapter in the same collection too much before I reach that goal. It would drive me insane and completely derail me.  

Anyway...I hope you all enjoy my first story about human Inuyasha. I hope to delve a little deeper into this in my longer story but here’s a taste. I won’t deny that hanyou Inuyasha is my favorite, but I love the idea of him being a little more emotional and irrational on his human nights. There’s a bit of role reversal in this story. Inuyasha gets into some trouble and Kagome comes to the rescue.  

I quoted the song that this story is based on in this fic because it just felt so apt for the moment. If I had a Spotify, I would add the actual song at the bottom but I still haven’t signed up for it. If you’re interested, go listen to No Other Way by Jack Johnson wherever you get your music. It is a really tender and bittersweet sort of love song, very relevant to the joys and struggles of an every day life shared with another person and a love that endures all of them. 

Okay...that’s enough rambling from me.  I hope you enjoy the story. It is non-explicit, sfw.   

Day 24: alt. What’s that burning smell?

Fandom: Inuyasha; modern MMA AU

Pairing: Inuyasha/Kagome

Rating: G

AO3

Resolve is Just a Concept That's as Dead as the Leaves

Kagome hurried home and glanced up at a dark moonless sky, trying to shake off the lingering frustration from her work day. When she had taken the part-time position at the student library, she had never expected to be so labor intensive. Nor had she expected to get home this late. She looked at her watch; it was nearly nine. Good thing she had remembered to text Inuyasha and tell him she would be running late. She could just imagine the amount of grief he would have given her if he had waited at her bus stop that long.  

Her pace quickened as she approached their building and hit the button for their apartment, hoping Inuyasha would buzz her in. Nothing happened… 

Kagome frowned; he had to be home. He hated leaving the apartment on his human nights.  She pressed the button again, holding it down for a little longer. When she was answered with silence, she dug into her purse, searching for her keys in the bottomless pit. Groaning when she couldn’t find them, Kagome pulled the bag in front of her and held it open under the muted light. There at the very bottom her keys shined back to her; illusive little jerks. She yanked them out and waved the key fob over the lock, pushing through the door.  

Kagome headed toward the stairs, bypassing the mailboxes. She could check it later. Right now, she was a little more concerned about why Inuyasha had gone suspiciously silent. That was never a good indication; either something had gone horribly wrong or…he was sulking.  

She couldn’t really blame him for being so morose on the nights that he was human. In her mind–and only in her mind–Kagome likened to a condensed version of her monthly cycle, when she was cranky, emotional, and just didn’t feel like herself. Not that she would ever dare to voice that comparison outloud; she could just imagine Inuyasha’s reaction. Still, it helped her have more patience with him. She could endure his grumbling and extra prickliness for a night. More often than not, they ended up snuggled on the sofa, watching TV or playing games until the wee hours of the morning, amid his muttered complaints about being weaker, slower, tired. 

Kagome sighed and slowed on the last flight of stairs, rolling her sore neck as a mild exhaustion crept over her. Maybe she could coax him into a few hours of sleep tonight. Kami knew she needed it. 

She pushed through the entrance to their floor and immediately knew something was wrong. A worrying smell was growing stronger the closer she came to her apartment door. Kagome shoved the keys into the lock and it opened into a cloud of smoke.  

“Inuyasha!” she called, abandoning her bags in the entryway and letting the door slam closed behind her. “Inuyasha! What’s that burning smell?” 

“Nothing!” She heard him shout from the direction of the kitchen.  

Kagome coughed and waved a hand in front of her face as she rushed towards the sound of his voice. “Inuyasha!” 

She rounded the corner, eyes going wide at the six inch flames billowing up from the pan on the stove. Inuyasha stood on the opposite side of the kitchen at the sink, sprayer in hand ready to flip on the water.  

“No, no, no,” Kagome cried out as she snatched the lid off the counter and dropped it over the skillet, flipping off the burner in the process. 

Grabbing a towel, Kagome scooted the pan off the heat, holding the lid tightly in place. When it was clear that the fire was smothered, she released a held breath, but it was too soon to relax. The shrill sound of the smoke alarm was still ringing through the apartment and her head.  

“Help me open the windows,” she shouted at Inuyasha over the din.  

He nodded back at her, jaw stiff as he stomped to the balcony door and slid it wide open. Kagome did the same to the two windows in their bedroom and grabbed a couple pillows off the bed before joining him at the open door. She shoved one into his hands and together they fanned the smoke out of their apartment. After several long minutes, the excruciating noise went quiet.  

Kagome blew out a relieved breath before tossing a smile to her partner that he didn’t return. “Well, that was an exciting welcome home.” 

“Exciting?” He scowled at her, his dark gray eyes hard and flinty. “What about that was exciting? I nearly burned the fuckin’ place down!” 

“It was an accident,” she replied in an even gentle tone. “They happen–” 

“Yeah! To humans!” 

“To everyone,” she assured him, trying her best not to let his sharp tone ruffle her. “Why should you get to be immune?” 

He dropped his gaze and growled under his breath, sounding less guttural than normal but no less formidable. 

“Inu–” she whispered while reaching out to him.  

He shrugged off her touch, snatching the pillow from her hands and disappearing into the bedroom. 

Kagome sighed and wandered back into the kitchen to assess the wreckage. There were black scorch marks surrounding the stove, but it looked like the cabinets above and ceiling received the brunt of the damage. They would probably both need a new coat of paint. 

There was water everywhere. It looked like Inuyasha had been battling that blaze for at least a few minutes before she arrived. Kagome shook her head; why didn’t he just grab the fire extinguisher from under the sink? That’s what it was there for! Her brow twitched in irritation but she took a deep breath, striving to be more understanding. He must have been panicked and just a little bit scared; the thought made her heart ache.  

Inuyasha returned a few seconds later, eyes still downcast and contrite hands held behind his back. Kagome looked him over with fresh eyes. The inky black bangs around his face were more scruffy than usual, a few strands no doubt falling victim to the flames. His dark red shirt was streaked with black and had several holes, revealing patches of irritated skin beneath.  

“Inu?” she asked gently. “Are you hurt?” 

“M’fine,” he mumbled, hunching his shoulders. “I’m sorry about the–” 

“I don’t care about that,” she interjected, as she crossed to his side. “Are you okay?” 

“I said I’m fine!” he snapped without looking at her. 

Kagome pursed her lips, trying to rein in the retort crawling its way up her throat. “Then can I see your hands?” 

His scowl deepened, hiding more of his arms behind his back. 

“Inu, please? I just want to make sure you’re alright.”  

After several long moments he complied, holding his hands out in front of her. Angry red burns streaked his arms but his hands were the worst. White blisters had already formed all over his palms, several torn open and oozing clear liquid, no doubt thanks to his admirable efforts to help. He must be in so much pain. 

“Puppy,” she breathed, tears already gathering in her eyes. 

“It’s fine,” he replied in a sullen tone, already trying to hide the injuries from her again. “It’ll be gone tomorrow.” 

Kagome wordlessly grabbed his elbow, leading him towards the sink, and flicked on the tap. She drew his damaged and trembling hands under the water, cooing in nonsensical reassurances as she cupped some liquid in her palms and poured it over his arms as well. Inuyasha released a relieved breath, the tension in his clenched jaw dissipating the longer she held him under the cool stream.  

“Little better?” she asked, rubbing her damp palm across his back in soothing circles.  

He nodded, lips still tight in a thin line.  

“Come on,” she said, giving him a gentle nudge. “Let’s get you patched up.” 

“But the kitchen–” he protested, giving a significant glance to the destruction surrounding them.

“Is not as important as you.” She slipped two of her fingers into one of the belt loops on his jeans and pulled him in the direction of their bedroom. “Don’t argue, puppy.” 

Perhaps sensing that she would not would not be swayed, Inuyasha acquiesced and allowed her to lead him to the bed. 

“Arms up,” she instructed, helping to remove the remnants of his ruined shirt. 

Kagome pulled it over his head, sending the heavy weight of his long dark hair falling down his back. She dropped his shirt to the floor and frowned, brushing her fingers near the reddened skin on his chest and abdomen. It was nowhere near as bad as the burns on his hands and arms but it would still sting.  

Kagome leaned forward, placing a gentle kiss next to one wound. “Poor baby.” 

“Stop fussing.”. 

“Hush,” she chided. “It’s my job to fuss over you when you’re hurt. Now sit down, I’m gonna grab some medicine and bandages for those burns.”

“Keh,” he scoffed, rolling his eyes. “You’re wasting your time. They’ll all be gone in the morning.” 

“Well there’s no reason you need to suffer for the rest of the night.” 

He met her eyes in a silent challenge. 

Kagome raised a dark brow and crossed her arms over her chest. “Inuyasha, sit.” 

He ground his teeth together but still dropped onto the mattress.

She nodded and spun on her heel, rushing into the bathroom and grabbing the well-used first aid kit. When she returned, Kagome bit back a tender gasp at the familiar picture he created, slouched on the bed with a petulant frown etched in place. He looked years younger, more like the vulnerable boy she grew up with, instead of the strong and fearless hanyou he was now. 

Her brows drew together in sympathy as she approached, placing the kit beside him and flicking it open. Kagome dug out a tube of burn cream, hoping it would be enough to soothe some of his pain.  

“Lemme see your hands,” she said, squeezing out a line of medicine onto her fingers.  

Inuyasha lifted his palms up for her inspection and winced as she slathered the cream on his skin with featherlight strokes. It wasn’t until she worked her way up to his wrists that he finally released a pained hiss.  

“Shh, shh, shh,” she cooed, gentling her touch even further as she finished up his arms. “It should start feeling better in a few minutes.” 

Kagome wiped away the last of the cream from her fingers before grabbing a few packets of special bandages and placing them over the worst of the blisters and charred skin. As she pulled out a roll of linen gauze and knelt in front of him to start wrapping his arms and hands, Inuyasha broke his silence. 

“Why am I more angry than you?” he asked in a quiet tone.  

Kagome didn’t look up, hiding a small smile as she continued about her task. “Because the apartment doesn’t matter to me as long as you’re okay. Because you’re embarrassed and probably telling yourself that it wouldn’t have happened any other night.” 

“It wouldn’t have.” 

She shrugged. “Who knows?”

“I do,” he insisted. “If I had been able to smell right, I would have known that something was burning sooner.” His leg started bouncing in agitation. “I only left it alone for a few minutes. By the time I got back, it was already on fire. Then, I sprayed some water on it to try and put it out, but it just got bigger.” 

Kagome gave a sage shake of her head as she tucked the end of the gauze around one wrist and switched to the other hand. “Never throw water on a grease fire. That just spreads it around. You want to smother it…or you could have used the fire extinguisher.” 

“I’m a fucking idiot!” he bit out, glancing heavenward. “How the hell did I forget that?” 

“Don’t be so hard on yourself. It happens in the heat of the moment, Inu.” 

“But I put that there…for you.”

“Yes, I remember.” 

“Because you’re the accident waiting to happen.”  

She took a calming breath, finishing up the last of her work and tucking in the end of the wrapping. “How sweet of you to remind me.” 

“But that’s exactly what I’m talking about,” he said as she stood to her feet. “Shouldn’t you be more smug?” 

Kagome tossed him a confused look as she gathered up the trash and threw it into the small bin by the dresser. “What good would that do?” 

“I don’t know,” he replied. “It would put me in my place, that’s for damn sure.”  

She scoffed, stepping between his spread legs to run her fingers through his hair. ‘Inuyasha, do you really think I’m so petty? I don’t want to put you in your place; I just want to help you. I don’t feel smug or angry or any of the things you seem to think I should feel. I feel worried about you.” She lifted one of his hands, placing a kiss against the bandages. “I hate it when you’re hurt.”

“Keh, stop blubbering,” he muttered. “I’ll be fine.”

‘I know, but that doesn’t stop you from hurting now,” she explained, grabbing up the burn cream again. “Stand up, I need to get your stomach.” 

Inuyasha stood to his feet, waving her away. “It’s fine, that’s not as bad.” 

“Be still and let me put this medicine on, Inu.” 

He grumbled but didn’t fight her as she swiped it onto his tender skin, the muscles jumping at her touch.  

“Better?” she asked, screwing the cap back on the tube and packing the first aid kit away. 

“Yeah, yeah, I told you I’m fine, woman.” 

“Don’t snap at me. I’m trying to take care of you.” 

“Toss me a new shirt then.” 

Kagome rolled her eyes and reached into the dresser on her way back to the bathroom, pulling out a fresh one from the drawer before throwing it at him. Inuyasha caught it from the air just as stepped through the door, putting the kit back in its place beneath the counter. By the time she returned he was fully dressed and pulling his long black hair from beneath his collar. 

She approached him, smoothing her hands over his chest. “There, you’re all taken care of. So now, we can worry about the kitchen.” 

“I’ll clean it up.” Inuyasha wrapped his arms in a loose circle around her waist.

“We will clean it up,” she corrected, rising on tiptoe to plant a kiss to the corner of his mouth. “Then we can order out for dinner. Sound good?” 

He nodded, still seeming a little down.  

“Come on,” Kagome said, plucking at his shirt. “If we tackle it together, we’ll be done in no time.”

It still took them over an hour before they finally decided that it was the best they could do without a much needed trip to the hardware store. The cabinets and ceiling were still stained a blotchy black brown and the burnt  pan was dropped into the sink to soak. Kagome was still hopeful that they might save it.  

Inuyasha remained quiet and downcast, only speaking when it was strictly needed. It took a monumental amount of restraint not to prod at him, checking the urge to ask if he was okay every few minutes. She knew it would drive him crazy but Kagome only grew more unsettled the longer the silence went on.  

It wasn’t until after dinner, when they were cuddled in bed in the wee hours of the morning that she finally began to relax. Inuyasha was lying between her spread legs, arms resting at her sides, and face nuzzled into her cleavage. He took a deep breath and released it on a weary sigh, mumbling against her skin.

‘What was that?” Kagome asked.

He lifted his head, resting his chin on her breast bone. “Thank you…for rescuing me.”

“You don’t have to thank me, Inu.”

“Of course I do,” he replied, watching his finger trace patterns into the skin over her heart. “You saved my ass.” 

“Well, you’re saving mine enough,” she said, threading her fingers into his hair. “Sometimes, it’s nice to be the one protecting you..”

Inuyasha’s eyes slipped closed, leaning his head into her touch. “What’re you saying? You want me to burn down the apartment more often?” 

“You didn’t burn anything down,” Kagome chuckled. “It was really more of a charring.”

“Thanks,” he said in a dry tone, moving his head around until her fingers found the right spot. “I’m sorry, these new moon nights are such a pain.” 

“You’re not a pain,” she soothed, tenderness swelling in her heart as she scratched her nails through his hair just behind his human ear. “You’re still my puppy, even when you’re human. I’ll always take care of you, Inu.” 

Wide gray eyes glanced up at her. “I love you,” he whispered, vulnerability layering his voice.

“I love you, too,” she responded immediately, coaxing him to lay more comfortably against her chest. “Try and relax, puppy. Everything is fine and there’s only a few more hours until sunrise.” 

Inuyasha settled his weight more firmly against her, releasing a contended groan. 

Kagome went back to drawing her fingers through his glossy hair, singing out a soft melody. “Now, please close your eyes, baby, please get some sleep. And know that if I knew all of the answers, I would not hold them from you know all of the things that I know. We told each other…there is no other way. Mmm-mm-mmm.” 

Inuyasha sighed, breaths growing deep and even the longer she sang. Kagome held him through the rest of the night, soothing him back down every time he became restless. By the time the light of dawn graced their windows, both hanyou and human were snoring softly, tangled together in a dreamless embrace.