#how tf is this fandom still alive?

[trashboyshoka]

[ricosbrainrot]

some times I’ll be reading a fanfic on ao3 and I’ll look at the date it was published/completed and I’M COMPLETELY FLABBERGASTED CUZ WDYM THIS WAS WRITTEN IN 2014–

[l0ganberry]

How tf did I get Bob Velseb brainrot???

AGAIN!?!

[synnthamonsugar]

Still thinking about this post and continuing to be frustrated about Elsie, and how poorly developed her relationship with Eris and Drifter is, and how underutilized their friendship is in general.

Thinking about the intersections of their lives. Elsie knows Eris and Drifter, even if they don't know her. Elsie has faced off against Eris at her worst, and now stands at her side at her best. Elsie has found Drifter dead as he desperately and selfishly tried to survive, and now he's alive, more sure of himself, more willing to look out for his friends.

And Eris and Drifter don't know Elsie at first, but they must trust her for their collective survival — for humanity, the Traveler and the Light, if they are to use Darkness against Darkness.

Thinking about the parallels of their stories. Elsie, who like Eris trapped in the Pit, has pressed on day after day, held onto hope against better reason, who finally finds a way out, traumatized, changed, but wiser. Elsie, who like Drifter, has lived by different names and identities, has endured betrayal, and withstood apocalypse.

Thinking about these three as the three who transcended their design, as foretold by The Nine. The hourglass counting down with infinite patience, the forgotten blade sharpened anew, and the dredgen. Their meeting is not just happenstance, but fate.

How satisfying it would have been for them to find in each other what they lost or never had. For Elsie, friends to walk at her side as she escapes the cycle and faces an unknown future. For Eris, a fireteam; not a replacement for her lost comrades, but a chance to make new ones. And Drifter gets a crew he will neither be betrayed by nor forced to betray — learning the real meaning of trust.

I think a catastrophic disservice has been done to all three by focusing on Eris' and Drifter's relationship, all but cutting Elsie out of the picture. It would have been so much more powerful to have Eris send a radio message to Elsie and Drifter talking about how their friendship helped her aspire to more than survival. Imagine if all three continued their studies of the Pyramid and its technology together, continuing the arc first started in Beyond Light. (This one is shockingly egregious for being set on Europa and hand-waving Elsie away to focus on Eris and Drifter — as the fandom does.) What if Elsie and Drifter had visited Eris together in Season of the Witch, what if Elsie had told Eris that she trusted her despite the terror she felt at Eris picking up the mantle of hive god as she had in all her dark futures, instead of getting into fights with Ikora over it?

These are relatively small tweaks to the narrative that would have kept Elsie relevant beyond her role as emotional support sister to Ana, would have added depth to all three, and truly established them as a "Dark" mirror to the Vanguard. I'm heartened that all three were together at the final battle, but it sucks that we got zero development of their relationship between their fight with House Salvation in BL, and the very end of TFS.

Just!! What they could have been. What the writers and fandom could have made of them. Man.

[wheregoodthingsthrive]

💚Legendary

The headshots obviously aren’t done but I gotta get the Broly brainrot out somehow, even if it’s premature in production. So expect finished ones soon.

A side tangent☝🏼🤓

I love DBS Broly. Designs go hard and are sleek, animation is sick, soundtrack leaves no crumbs, fight choreography is fun. But man the original DBZ movie just has a vibe that cannot be achieved again by DBS and while I do think that’s majorly to do with Toriyama not writing the OG movie, I also just think it’s due to the course DB has taken overall.

I’m glad Toriyama got the chance to write Broly more according to his liking in DBS Broly 2018 but man…the vibe of this film is immaculate. It’s surprising grungy and desolate by DB standards.

The usage of color, imagery, dramatically opposed shots (composition, heights, directions, etc.), and music really make for a good (despite its problems) film that feels thematically, tonally, and weightily different. While you know Goku and Gang are going to make it out alive and all the Roshi/Oolong shenanigans are going on, there is still tension and weight. Broly’s “how much do you love your son” line haunts me in my bored-mid-lecture-thoughts.

As much as I do love Broly in DBS being kinda a tortured sweetheart with a sweet tooth for violence, I find DBZ Broly to be much more compelling. The vibe I got was very much “uncontrollable, wrathful god trapped in a sensitive, underdeveloped emotionally body.” And I feel this is conveyed well in the screentime devoted to the disturbing but valuable time spent between Paragus and Broly whilst in exile from a destroyed Vegetasei. Additionally, having a backstory marred by more corruption than just “well King Vegeta said so” and having on screen attempted infanticide is So. Much. More. Vile.

Broly’s characterization as a deity wolf in Saiyan sheep’s clothing (a fault that is not his) is dangerously appealing. I hate that TFS won out and dominates fandom perception of Broly’s trigger regarding Goku— it makes the whole point of crying being the backdrop to Broly’s early suffering moot for humors sake. 0/10. But if you push past that bs, Broly is SO FASCINATING.

I think another fascinating element of the Legendary Super Saiyan that got lost a little in DBS is Broly’s consciousness. While him going basically non verbal Oozaru mode is still captivating, I think a Broly that jeers, snaps, comments, and berates his opponents creates a more interesting fighting dichotomy. Screaming gets boring after a lil while.

Anyways I just wanted to praise DBZ Broly and gush about some of its facets on a surface level. Maybe I’ll go deeper one day. Oh well. Enjoy the art. Another opinion in the tags below💚🫡

[whenishipiluxurycruiseit]

After reading some twts about how the reveal should not affect the kaishin fandom bc of how old it is and how most old shippers had the suspicion of kaishin being related and proceeded to not care and accept and even ship them more leads me to the acceptance stage and the realization stage where this is all fiction and not true thus it will not affect anyone greatly and most of us should realize this too HAHAHA

I mean i had my suspicions too ya know but like i was expecting them to be distantly related not this closely related gahdang gosho JAGDHSHS also i was kinda closing my eyes when i saw how similar toichi and yuusaku looked like when i saw them so AHDGSHS lovelies lets just think that the reveal made the ship spicer that ever

Kaishin may be cousins and what? Its fiction, this ship is old, there are even more worse ships than this, will this hurt anyone? No (unless ur really in deep like delusional deep), will this change the world? No, will this affect your daily life? No, will this change your morals? For me no, cause i know they are not real, why on earth would they change my morals.

Honestly its not just kaishin, there are a lot of ships with this kind of relationship, and other shippers must realize the fact that they are not real and no one will get hurt. If you get disturbed by the fact that we ship cousins/twins/siblings then you may close your eyes and move one to the other post, im not like validating this bc in the real and current world this may seem disturbing but everyone must know the difference between real and fiction, do not do what fiction do but you may learn what fiction do, just put it at the back of your head as an additional knowledge and the possibility that some other people might mix up fiction and real life.

Anyways so much for the monologue JAGSHS

THE REVEAL FIRED ME UP INTO MAKING ANOTHER PROMPT YEEEEY

Like im not even focusing abt how kaishin is cousins anymore but at why toichi did that to his son, what is incest compared to betrayal (not rlly cause kaito still didnt know hes alive BUT STILL THATS HIS KID??? HIS CHILD IN THE EYES OF DANGER?? AND HE LET HIS CHILD DO THAT?? BOY?)?

Like i know he protects kaito at the side (it was on magic kaito 1412 i forgot what episode) but he protects kaito with kaito experiencing trauma bc how tf how dare u use my dead dads face you traitor like that like bro??

I dont even also think that chikage knew that her husband is alive, only yuusaku (like wow cute they mustve been such close siblings but thats not the point) knows that hes alive and yuusaku probs only also knows cause hes yuusaku and yuusaku knows everything in just once glance for some weird ass reason

ANYWAYS SO

My prompt is that (please know that some of the characters are ooc!!! Esp the parents cause they dont show much wth JAGDHSH also ill put in a oc for plot purposes WAHSGAHSGA)

Shinichi, still as conan, was in a pinch and was suddenly saved by a mysterious guy. Whom he thought was like akai san but he sensed someone different like.. KID? No.. dad??

Toichi who saw a kid who looked like his nephew when he was a child is being chased by men in black (who suspiciously looked like snake for some reason but snake doesnt wear shades in the dark cause thats a foolish move) decided to help him and lose the pursuers off his back

“Boya are you ok?” “…..(hmm? What is this feeling.. i feel like i’ve met him somewhere but..)” “boya?” “Ah! Un! Thank you uncle!”

Toichi suddenly thought of shinichi when he heard conans voice saying uncle, it sounds just like 10 yrs ago when he visited yuusakus house to teach yukiko the art of disguise

Toichi then took conan to his guardians when he found out that his parents was in america apparently (1) and he also found out that his guardians were the mouris (2) which was 2 points of suspicion which wasnt that bad but just weird cause why didnt his younger brother tell anything, not that that shit tells him anything at all. Adding to the fact that he has not seen his attention loving smart nephew in the news for a while now then pops out a child that looks like him makes the suspicion highly likely. (Their family kinda has a knack for attracting dangerous orgs, from what he seen to himself and his son, he just hopes his younger brother and nephew didnt get it (which was highly unlikely now too))

Consider his suspicions correct when his younger brother decides to okay dumb (he knows ok, theyre twins for a reason and hes a older brother for a reason) the problem now was which shady org was it and how much does his nephew and younger brother know….

2 weeks later he found out

Apparently he wasnt the only one suspicious of someone

His, (knew it), dear shrunken nephew was too! Bc of one comment from mouri kun (have we met somewhere before?) and his suspicions were proven right when he saw yuusakus phone lying around with his message on the notif screen

(Toichis so proud, thats my nephew, be nosy kid you will go far in life)(it made his nephew cute too 🥰)

and color him suprised when his nephew has a shady org at his back too (he was kinda hoping that his nephew only stumbled on the scene of the crime that was he was chased not being a victim himself sighs the family curse)

and toichi and his nephew (whom just found out they were related with the first kaitou kid, who was supposed to be dead) made an alliance! (it kinda feels good to not only have one person know about your secrets, it also makes him relieved that his nephew has a lot of trusted people at his back other than some bigass shady org)

it also makes toichi happy that his son could be himself (not just kaitou kid but really being kaito his son whom he left with his wife toprotecttonotpullintothismessbutthey-) with his cousin

his son was inlove with his cousin

oh shit

yuusaku why did we not let them meet again

how he found out? he got the front seat

with snake

but does that really matter

(is akai kun included when hes so far away from the build the confession was happening)

(akai kun just shoot snake pls)

then it all went to shit (from his perspective cause wdym kaito did not even notice snake was there so its ok uncle shinichi kun did u also not notice my mental breakdown too)

they apprehended snake, and found out he was just some lackey in the black org and wanted to be the same lvl as gin so hes chasing after some immortality granting stone (yea hes not gonna be on the same lvl as gin hes stupid says his dear cutified nephew)

he told his younger brother about the confession

his younger brother knew all along ever since he caught kaito sneaking in their house to leave a jewel that he stole and saw him caress shinichis face.. yuusaku told him with the face of did u really not see that coming, we never let them meet when they were old enough to remember.

like valid? but at least share the tea gahdang

yukiko also knows? brother? i thought bros before hoes? (he nearly got mauled to death by his mystery loving younger brother, bc how dare you call my wife a hoe? ur the hoe u *spits real talk that hurts*)

after yuusaku hurt him internally he has come to the fact that yea he was worse than his son.. (also who can blame him, shinichi kun has yukikos genes (not that his darling wife is any less beautiful than yukiko, his wifes beauty came from being reckless and he likes that in his woman sighs i miss my wife) and their reckless genes so, with his wifes beautiful and shiny loving gene with his reckless loving gene, shinichi, conan, his nephew was the perfect person for his son. not ignoring the fact that shinichi kun is also a very understanding person. his nephew grew a lot (internally cause well.. he shrunk physically))

and now shinichi is looking at him weirdly

no way

did he not hear his sons confession

"shin kun... what did you think about what my son said to you?" "hm? ah that chase?... isnt it just a chase? oh im sorry uncle if i hurt kaito, it was needed to make it look convincing haha, i dont plan on capturing him rn dw!" "... oh! its ok shin kun ^^"

it was not okay, how does his nephew not notice his sons confession to him? (his son was a child of two phantom thieves, making a heist even grander than it already is shows that his son is courting his nephew SO HOW TF- oh, oh yuusaku just told him that every heist shinichi went to was always that grand so he might not see the difference? oh. oh my gosh.)

how to break this to his son who thought his father was dead

yuusaku just smiled (useless asshole, just bc hes still close to his son even though his son is in another identity now and can still pretend to be his new sons identities father bc of the disguising art that toUICHI HIMSELF TAUGHT HIM)

shinichi kun said to wait till evrything was over, or wait till the black org is down cause he will help explain too cause he hid it too after knowing his undeadness (at least his nephew was helpful, might be yukikos gene)

"you know, ever since i met kaitou kid, i knew that i might need his help to bring this org down, but i never knew that it would be the first kaitou kid that will help me hehe"

his nephew is so cute (yep its yukikos genes, yuusaku could never be like that anymore, still regrets the day where he showed off to his younger brother his magician skills)

the org was brought down but the antidote for shinchis problem still hasnt been made but time is an essence they need to reveal the truth to his family now or it might get worse

family reunion time! :DDDDDDDDD

shinichi went to get his son and wife while he and his younger brother prepares his execution letter

(if u wanna know how shinichi went to get kaito and chikage pls comment! ill write it up on the other post)

"yukiko chan can u-" "nope"

"yuusaku istg id u dont help me we're twins for a reason if i die you die too" "fk u" (helps him)

then it all went to shit (pt 2) (shinichi kun can see it now too, toichi thinks even hakase next door can feel it)

his son did not walk out bc of shinichi kun ("kaito, listen to you father please, you know my situation, its kind of the same but in your fathers case, you are ran" "at least you were close to her!" "does it really matter when all she saw was conan not shinichi?" "but-!" "kaito, the woman i love is slipping before my eyes because i cant go to her like before now! everytime i go back to my body temporarily all i think about is how she will get hurt if the organization realizes i was one of the victims they failed to kill and will go after her and her family and friends! there are numerous people in the org who already knew about my real identity, they mightve been killed or decided to not tell about it but there is no saying they might decide to not do the opposite!"

[callmearcturus]

oh my gd that would be INCREDIBLE- the character building alone would be Fantastic, but fitting ethan and benji into a world where mutants are a thing??? i want to se how they each navigate that social strata, how ethan might try to use his mutation to disguise himself more, and how benji relates to his mutation (does he know? is it coincidence? is he just the luckiest sombitch alive?). anyway im in neither of these fandoms but i have been adoring your writing and now yearn for this fic.

oh lmao punct gave me the thumbs up to share a bit of what if mission impossible/x-men fusion

we have been watching the good xmen movies and obvsly were like "okay what would the mutations of the IMF team be" if this were an AU where they were, like, International Mutant Force or something less stupid

(well nothing is as stupid as Impossible Mission Force so--)

anyway right away: Ethan is a telepath, but we're kind of obsessed with telepathy as a power but also a disability that has to be constantly managed and accounted for. so:

Ethan is not an omega-level mutant like Charles Xavier or Jean Grey, but he's pretty powerful. His telepathy is tangled up in the way he falls a little in love with everyone he meets and is categorically unwilling to accept collateral damage on a mission. He finds it astonishingly easy to let his mind drape gossamer connections to everyone in his vicinity and is buoyed by the feelings he picks up on.

On the flipside: he is absolute dogshit at untangling himself, and it takes much longer for him, like fighting against some innate nature of his mutation. One way this manifests is sleeping; if Ethan is alone and sleeps, his unconscious mind will just drape over everyone in the vicinity and he has to untangle that for a while when he wakes. One way of dealing with this: early on, he asks Luther if he can hitch a ride in Luther's mind as he sleeps, so his telepathy will octopus around Luther while he sleeps, and it's much easier to untangle that in the morning.

On the scale of What Is He Capable Of: Covertly skim through minds for specific information: max one or two people at a time if he wants to keep hidden. any more and he can't be sneaky about it. Converse with people telepathically: 4 to 8, any more and his coherence frays badly Broadcast to people around him (maybe to alert to danger): CANNOT do so subtly, has been pushing this over the years from 20ish to double that to even more, but as he pushes himself more and more, he's more likely to just pass tf out or get a nosebleed Range?: The longer he's connected to someone's mind, the further away they can be and still be in Ethan's reach. Luther could be on the other side of the world and if Ethan really focuses, he can transmit an image or emotion or 'hey i'm alive.' Nothing beyond that but still.

Speaking of Luther, his mutation is extremely high perception of electricity and sonic fields. This manifests in several ways:

Luther can tell when something is powering on, can feel devices and machines around him and has an affinity for them, able to read them via touch or from hearing them when power is moving.

As he gets older and more honed in his work, he can grip a cable and get a sense of where the data is going/coming from, tracing things. The data moving through the air is tangible to him. He's a beast against any and all security systems, able to just feel where motion sensors and cameras are.

I think maybe he can learn to hold and redirect energy over time. He's never going to have lightning powers, but I can imagine him placing a hand on a wall outlet and pushing and shorting out a specific device in the room with an overcharge. But primarily, his power is observational.

BOY it has downsides. Luther is constantly struggling with overstimulation, and because it's not exactly sound or light, it's energy he can ambiently detect, he struggles a lot with controlling it and avoiding getting overwhelmed. Once he and Ethan are buddies, Ethan tends to just hitchhike in Luther's mind. When they're off the clock, he'll filter out all the extra stimulus. When they're on a mission, Ethan helps Luther cut out the superfluous information and humming energy so he can narrow in on what he's working on.

Those people who have Smart Houses where every device is somehow connected to wifi, Luther hates them so much. Just SO much. The proliferation of Google Homes and Connect With Alexa shit is going to turn him into a terrorist someday.

okay so Benji. lmao. here's where shit gets wild.

the thing about Benji is he doesn't know he has a mutation until he's an adult and working in the IMF as support analyst and tech. sure there's been some odd moments in his life. when he was a kid, he was in a car crash and somehow wound up outside the car and fine. and once he was riding a bike through his village and accidentally went down a hill, but managed to land the bike instead of winding up in a crumpled pile of limbs at the bottom. but maybe he was got lucky!

then an actual threat happens at the IMF and a gun goes off at Benji, and the world slows to a crawl. he can just... step out of the way, and the bullet eases by him. turns out, Benji sets off-- okay. it's either a time dilation effect or its superspeed. both are functionally the same, and i think the effect is undetectable to other people so no one knows for sure. but it only happens when Benji perceives himself to be in a life-or-death instance.

he also can give it to people by touch. if Benji's panic switch goes off, he can grab another person and move them and they'll perceive the same dilation he does. the IMF is overjoyed because this is extremely exploitable, and Benji gets rushed into the field because if a mission goes tits up, just shoot at Agent Dunn and he can cheat time.

Eventually, Benji gets assigned to work with Ethan bc the handlers figure Ethan is a telepath, he can just reach into Benji's mind and give him a shock and make him think he's about to die. Isn't that so much nicer than just shooting at him? But Ethan is a fucking telepath and clearly sees the extreme stress all of this has put Benji through. He never sets off the panic switch and more often uses his telepathy to soothe Benji's nerves than anything. Like with Luther, Ethan rides-along in Benji's head a lot.

This throws a wrench into Rogue Nation obvsly because Ethan hears "the IMF has been absorbed by the CIA" and he does not wait 6 months to reach out to the guy who can fuck with time if you threaten his life. because of course the fucking CIA starts experimenting, seeing how they can reliably set the panic switch off. they come up with a device like an epi-pen that can be used to basically give Benji an almost-heart attack but then Ethan breaks Benji tf out of Langley's grasp and tows him across the globe bc no one else can be trusted not to traumatize the shit out of Benji.

As Benji gets older and more adept at his power, he discovers a side-effect of Ethan being tied to his mind more often than not; Benji starts 'going off' when Ethan is in peril. ETHAN IS NOT AMUSED BY THIS because he risks his life all the time and now Benji's going off because of that where it gets tres interesting is that Benji has spent so long talking telepathically, he knows how to direct a thought at Ethan to get his attention (as does everyone who works with Ethan more than a few times). and if he telepathically taps on Ethan, he can pull Ethan into the dilation, even if they aren't touching. it's kind of all Ethan's fault; he's the clingiest telepath ever, and having accumulated years of connection to Benji has just urged Benji's mutation to expand in that direction.

anyway that's that

WE ALSO HAVE BEEN DELIBERATING ILSA POWERS, mostly along the lines of mimicry

one of the ideas I super liked was Ilsa being a power-mimic but she doesn't luck into innate understanding of how a power works, so it's very dangerous for her to borrow someone's power. like, an example we were kicking around was Ilsa accidentally picking up on Ethan's power and, not understanding how his telepathy grabs ahold of people, she accidentally ties her mind and Ethan's together the moment she gets his power, and they're Stuck for a while because Ethan can't untangle her knot and she is figuring out how tf it even works. it's a nightmare.

another idea was the Rogue Powerset, touch-based connection with its own pitfalls. Ilsa able to subtly touch a human and glean some information from them, but she has very little control over what info she gets. and once she touches them, they black out a bit, losing about a minute of time, which is just long enough for her to get out of there. but if she bumps into a mutant, she gets their power for a while instead, and it's messy and awkward and well, she wears long sleeves and gloves a lot is what I'm saying.

and Punct liked how Ilsa might self-select into spycraft because she needs to learn all these skills to protect herself, so she follows the career path and just keeps her power very very quiet, only using it when it's too useful to avoid. or on accident. for instance: when she meets Ethan and Ethan hurls himself into the fight and she touches his skin, Ilsa gets the telepathy juice. while Ethan is dazed from the contact, Ilsa uses the telepathy to sneak him out the back tunnel, then makes the other Syndicate members trust her so her cover isn't blown.

we also came up with a VERY FUN ONE for Grace, which is matter teleportation. Grace cannot teleport herself, but she can move things around when she focuses on them. There's huge limits on this:

smaller items are easier than larger, lighter is easier than heavier.

she doesn't have to see the object to move it but she does need to know about it pretty thoroughly and have a strong idea of its shape and the space its taking up.

example: if you set a closed, empty box in front of grace and told her there's a snowglobe inside, she could try to retrieve it, but it won't work (obvsly, it's empty) and she won't know why and might keep trying to 'grab' the object.

this would make her and Ethan extremely potent, as he can get eyes on something and transmit the information Grace needs to her, and she can grab the object.

because of how her power works, Grace has fun skills about guessing the weight of things. toss her an object and she can probably tell you pretty accurately how heavy it is. this isn't a mutation; she is just hyperfocused on that sort of info because it assists her power.

ANYWAY I THINK THAT'S ALL

[kibblbread]

TRANSFORMERS ONE BLURB — OPTIMUS PRIME X MEGATRON

Based off my tf one alt clock fic! You don’t have to go back and read the other post but it will give some insight to how I envision how they got to this point.

This is a decent time jump btw from current events and closer to the time of where my fanfic takes place tho. Also excuse the writing, the last fic i wrote for the transformers fandom was when i was 14… im in my early twenties 😭

ty for reading and support the official release, i want a sequel pls

🫶🏾🫶🏾🫶🏾

Optimus looked up at Megatron with half lidded eyes. He was deciding whether or not to wake the sleeping titan of a bot. It’s been awhile since they’d gotten any alone time since the recent quintesson strike.

The dust was finally beginning to settle though.

High-Guard has always been more than effective with ridding Cybertron of hostile forces since Sentinels fall. With Megatron earning back the trust of not only the citizens, but Optimus’ as well, he was able to easily climb rank to first lieutenant of the Cybertronian Defense Corps and become official commanding officer of High-Guard. Megatron is a protector, and has been actively putting the safety of homeworld before his needs.. even if it means grinding his gears down to scrap.

Optimus was tired, yes. He fights against quintessons and isn’t afraid to get his hands dirty just like his friends and colleagues, but, there’s no doubt that most of a Primes work is done in accordance to his people’s needs. And right now that need is diplomacy, organizing society, & supervising the rebirth of a nation. Ultimately, Prime’s job is mostly relegated to delegation as of now.

Megatron however, doesn’t have the luxury of talking things out. He’s not just tired, he’s completely exhausted. Constantly having to fight on the frontline and keep the enemy at bay was wearing on him in a way that was downright worrisome. The guy has never been good at hiding his feelings either, sincerity is just his nature. Don’t get it twisted though, Megatron’s essence is that of a warrior, a gladiator. It’s what’s kept him alive to outmatch all his opponents again and again, but also what makes his lover so anxious.

Optimus pressed his palm to the center of Megatron’s chassis.

The young Prime took a moment to think a second longer, ‘I shouldn’t be selfish.’ He let his hand fall gently from Megatron’s chest.

“You don’t wanna tell me about your day?”

Optimus snapped his head up to met Megatron’s heavily lidded bright red eyes. “You- …Did I wake you? I didn’t mean to-“

“No, I was-” Megatron yawned between words “I was waiting for you.” A tired smile appeared on his face, it was playful looking as his eyes were still squinted into happy beams of red.

Optimus gave a subtle breathy chuckle “In your stasis chamber?” His arms crossed over his chest.

“Uhhhm, well clearly- I uh..”

Optimus raised a brow knowingly.

“Yeah I fell asleep. You caught me, Prime.” Megatron stepped out of his pod and Optimus naturally backed away just enough to make room for his larger frame.

Ever since taking on an aircraft transformation, Megatron looks down at him. It was initially a weird adjustment, but a welcomed one all the same. Optimus allowed himself to be enveloped by large limbs, and embraced gently.

“I missed you.” Megatron kissed the top of his lovers helm “Like, a lot actually, I feel like we never see each other anymore… It’s not fair.”

Optimus stayed quiet. Keeping his head tucked under Megatron’s chin, he loved listening to him. From complaining, to nonsensical ramblings, nearly any and everything over time became more and more melodic. Shifting the weight of them both, Megatron leaned against the doors of his stasis chamber while continuing to hold Optimus.

“I wish we could just have a day, just one day alone together.” This time Optimus yawned, “Oh sorry, is my yearning for your undivided attention boring you?” Megatron asked sarcastically.

Optimus half chuckled and half hummed to himself as he rubbed an eye. “Don’t be such a glitch, Mega, besides you fell asleep first.” The bot negged playfully.

“Tch, you’re the glitch.” Megatron subtly opened his stasis pod again and pulled Optimus in alongside himself. “And now you’re trapped.” The silver bot smirked to himself.

“Trapped definitely insinuates this isn’t something I enjoy… I’m immensely enjoying this by the way.”

“Uh huh.” Megatron rolled his red optics. They were dimmed as he began feeling the effects of the pod working.

They both started to doze off.

Optimus however, after a couple of moments opened his eyes just enough to gauge where Megaton’s hand was. He grabbed it without second thought right as he felt his free hand being caressed.

Optimus smiled to himself and rested his against the top of Megaton’s chest as they intertwined their fingers.

“Yeah, I missed you too.”

[lets-try-some-writing]

I like writing little stories and snippets of things I like and alot of your TFP work I really like, but this AU was what finally got me to send in an ask, so how about this for a prompt? (I'm new to the TF Fandom so please excuse my excited rambling)

In your Innocent Abominations AU, what if - in a bout of strength and clarity - Orion/Optimus fights back against the Matrix and gets through to Megatron, Bumblebee, and whoever else might be there? (Like Elita One, Ratchet and Drift (if they came to visit), Grimlock, the Humans, etc.) He begs them - mainly Megatron - to remove the Matrix, this accursed power that's willing to kill sparklings that have no clue about their origin, that haven't done anything wrong. He even reasons that since the Emberstone, Quintus Prime's artifact and thus a creation of Primus, had created them. Despite their Earthly origins, they were still Cybertronian. But the Matrix is having none of it, actively trying to suppress Orion/Optimus again so it can fulfill its duty. 

Megatron asks who's who, if he's Orion Pax or Optimus Prime. To which Orion/Optimus says they are one in the same, just that the Matrix would offer wisdom and influence his decisions. And now the Matrix was in fill control, or trying to have full control.  A puppeteer forcing Orion/Optimus to watch as his frame attempts to slaughter innocent sparklings. 

As his strength is weakening, he bears his spark chamber and begs for the Matrix to be removed. To free him. To silence these overwhelming voices in his head once and for all. And just as the Matrix is about to smother Orion/Optimus for good (what good is "the perfect host" if it doesn't listen?), Megatron rips out the Matrix, shoves it into a container that silences its commanding whispers, and the Prime collapses from exhaustion. Optimus retains his Primely frame - the reformatting he went through when he accepted the Matrix was permanent - and his spark chamber is damaged, but his spark itself remains intact, having physically rejected the Matrix from his frame. 

But the Matrix was successful in one thing, it sowed a seed of doubt in Optimus' mind. He just hopes that despite the Terrans being of Unicron, he made the right choice in sparing their lives. Seeing the sweet Innocent Abominations sparklings happy and alive - not scrapmetal beneath his axe - was all the more relieving and could put his warring mind to rest.

It was finished. He was free. But at what cost?

I love this prompt thank you.

Previous part here.

━━━━━━ ⊙ ❖ ⊙ ━━━━━━━━━━━━ ⊙ ❖ ⊙

The voices grew louder with every passing cycle. Optimus knew deep in his spark that he was hunting sparklings, but he found he simply didn't care. For weeks he stalked, his remaining inhibitions stopping him from progressing further than a few feet out from the tree line once a few warning shots were fired. Megatron and Bumblebee always stood in his way, and while the Matrix wanted the Terrans dead, it did not demand the loss of life of his own kind. There were so few of them. He could not risk killing those that remained.

The parts of him that were untouched by the Matrix grew quieter, and soon enough, he found himself no longer fighting back against the Matrix's demands. Beings not born of the Well were not Cybertronian. How could they be? They were not touched by Primus, they knew not the trial of emerging from the Well and the struggles of living on Cybertron. So many long nights he fought with himself, until at last, something in him was silenced and it did not cause him any distress to imagine killing the Terrans. The pain hung in every cable still, but it was no longer the unbearable agony that caused him to try and tear his plating off.

The itch, the urge, was impossible to ignore. But now that he had his mind? He could handle things more... delicately. The Matrix hummed in affirmation as he stepped out of the tree line one dark night, for once completely composed. Megatron and Bumblebee raised their blasters and the Terrans emerged from their resting place in horror. They did not know the details, but they knew enough to be fully aware that Optimus was no friend. Not while his optics shone a pure white.

Optimus: Megatron, Bumblebee.

Megatron: Stay back Prime!

Twitch: What's going on? Optimus, are you alright?

Bumblebee: Don't go near him! That's not Optimus, not anymore.

Optimus: That is where you are mistaken. I was foolish for failing to listen to the Matrix. It only caused me pain because I refused to adhere to it. But now-

Megatron: Save it! My old foe would never sink so low as to slaughter sparklings!

Nightshade: Slaughter...

Bumblebee: All of you, back inside.

Hashtag: No, we are staying here. We are family. And if Optimus isn't right in the head, we are going to deal with this together.

Optimus: How very noble of you abominations. If there is truly any touch of Primus in you, come to us willingly. Your deaths shall be swift.

Twitch: Why do you want us dead? I thought we were all Cybertronian!

Optimus: You wear our faces, you act like us, but you are not of us. The Matrix says this. Parasites, all of you. It is for the benefit of all that you perish by our blade.

Megatron: Stop this Optimus!

Optimus: There is no halting the inevitable. This is our only attempt at diplomacy. Give us the Terrans now and they shall die without pain. Deny us and we shall inflict as much damage to the surrounding life forms as necessary to accomplish our goals.

Megatron: This isn't you! Fight back against that Primus forsaken relic! It does not control you!

Optimus: You will not give us the Terrans... how very disappointing.

Optimus glared, but he did not fight. His voice rang cold, his expression so frigid that there was no room to even imagine what he was thinking. As he turned to walk away, his frame did not sway with any sort of life. He moved with calculation, like a true machine. Megatron almost fired on him, but he could not bring himself to for both the political havoc it would bring and due to the simple fact that he had no desire to see his old foe slaughtered. Bumblebee hurried the Terrans back inside and quickly called in all Autobots who were aware of him being on Earth and fully functional.

Arcee and Elita-1 were informed with haste. Starscream was called in, and he came without complaint the moment the situation was explained. Grimlock arrived without question as soon as Bumblebee notified him of the potential danger to the Terrans. Soundwave was kept in containment but on standby. An agreement was made that he would defend the Terrans if it was required, and in turn, he would be allowed to walk free afterwards. Megatron was willing to take no risks when it came to the Terrans and the unstable Prime. Bumblebee could only do his best to keep everyone calm as the children were forbidden from leaving and the Maltos carefully extracted. It was too dangerous to move them, not when Optimus could be lurking. And so instead they remained at home and the available Cybertronians constantly stood watch. There was always someone on guard, regardless of the situation. G.H.O.S.T were kept out of the loop through careful artificial orders and recordings.

As such, they did not react when Optimus Prime failed to return to base. None knew where he was, and for weeks, he remained completely off the map. Their fears grew, until at last, Optimus returned.

It was a sudden affair. The Terrans were milling about the Malto property and the children were sitting with them, watching Thrash play with Jawbreaker. Then there was a distinct sound of pedesteps, and Starscream who had been keeping watch that day, leapt to the air with his blasters ready as the lost Prime came crashing out of the tree line. Optimus was all but feral as he flew forward, his optics blazing white and his axe coming down hard into the ground where Thrash had been mere moments before. Starscream did not hesitate to throw himself into action, rocketing down and grabbing the Prime around the neck to by the Terrans time to flee while the others arrived.

Optimus flung Starscream off his back and slammed the seeker into the ground, causing him to scream in agony as a wing broke under the hit. The Prime did not waste a moment in rushing toward Nightshade who stood their ground, their optics cycling in fear only dulled by conviction. He charged like a rabid animal, his mind long degraded by the Matrix as he threw himself into action. Nightshade dodged the worst of it, only receiving a minor slash to their left arm. Twitch flew in to attack with her blasters, drawing Optimus's attention away while Jawbreaker rammed the Prime, sending him sprawling as he practically frothed at the mouth.

He rationalized his weeks hiding by saying it was for the best. Phycological warfare and all that. But in reality, the small parts of Orion that remained cried out and did their best to push forward morality to subvert the logic. He wandered for so long as a desperate attempt to prolong the Terrans lives. Now all that remained was wild wrath that did not even belong to him.

Elita arrived with Arcee and they wasted no time beating the Prime into the ground, tying him down like a wild boar. Starscream was tended to and the Terrans stood around in fear as Optimus snarled, screaming obscenities' and strange prophecies to the stars. Too weakened by weeks of wandering without reasonable energon rations left the Prime unable to do much when Grimlock arrived and kept a pede on his back to ensure he couldn't escape. He snarled, he bit his own derma, and by the time Megatron arrived, he'd damaged himself enough on the ground that his face bled from a thousand small cuts.

Something changed in that moment though. As Megatron drew near and Optimus was heaved to his pedes and held in place by Grimlock, Optimus stilled. He fell eerily quiet for the first time since he came bursting free from the forest. Those who were gathered feared he would attack, but instead his voice came out so softly as to be a whisper.

Optimus: Take it away. Make it be silent.

Megatron: Who am I speaking to? I refuse to be manipulated by that Primus forsaken relic.

Optimus: You speak to Orion Pax, I who then became Optimus Prime.

Megatron: How-

Optimus: We are one and the same. The relic merely awakens the Prime, it does not make us.

Megatron: Then we can remove it.

Optimus: Yes. Take it away. Make it be silent. Remove it before it silences me. I don't want to kill them. Please don't make me kill them...

Optimus spasmed in Grimlock's grip, his optics flaring as his voice turned to static. His plating folded away and revealed his spark quickly being smothered by the relic within him. Megatron did not waste a moment in dragging the Prime to the ground and reaching in to rip the relic out. It burned him, sending power flooding up his arm and into his frame. He screamed as his servos wrapped around the relic that was clasped around Optimus's fluttering spark. But with a burst of strength, he tore it free with an agonized scream from the Prime on the ground.

Before anyone could stop them, the Terrans hurried forward and checked on both downed mecha. Megatron got up with a few new electricity scars, but he was fine. Optimus for his part remained prone, his frame falling still. His spark still blazed, but it was weak. He was taken away and held in restraints, the Matrix boxed away and hidden until Optimus woke and they could decide what to do next.

But when he woke, Optimus was... different. He was still very much a Prime in frame and mind. He had the programming and he still remained the same in personality. However, as he recovered and revealed himself to be ordinary, no longer plagued by madness... he looked upon the Terrans differently. At first the gathered Cybertronians worried he was still maddened, but when questioned, he only had one thing to say.

"They are young, they are no threat to us. However... despite the lack of the Matrix poisoning my mind, I fear that they may not be pure. I could never harm them, not now. So if they really do become the threat the Matrix warned me of... I do not think I would have the strength to fight back."

With time, he returned to his normal activities, and the fear abated. He spoke with the Terrans normally, teaching them under supervision. He continued acting as Prime. But deep beneath the surface, he questioned.

And unbeknownst to anyone, when the Emberstone was used to restore the fallen, Optimus felt the all familiar call once more. The call that summoned him to receive the mighty relic of old. It was back, and this time, it was not loving.

He could ignore it. The call never grew stronger. But whenever he passed by the container the Matrix was held in, his spark flared in pain and fear.

It wanted him back. It still wanted the Terrans dead.

[bunnyshideawayy]

now that season 2 of HOTD has concluded and we’ve all had time to sit with our thoughts…..i have SEVERAL questions!

starting with: what the fuck?

who is ariana grande targaryen?? why retcon a brand new character into the story that doesn’t even make sense when you could’ve just changed something else that had more logic to it! so much as already been changed might as well!

is laenor dead? seasmoke claiming a new rider while laenor is still assumingely alive changes everything that is believed to be canon about dragon riding / bonds…

how will gwayne hightower end now that they have changed his story from book canon and sent him away from KL with cristian cole?

why tf is otto hightower in a CAGE? is it some freaky shit? did they lock him up in an insane asylum after he lost his mind in that scene with aegon and cole?

rhaena is claiming sheepstealer? where’s nettles? and will we still get morning?

where was the scene with baela screaming on dragon back? could it have been cut from the scene where baela chases cole and gwayne into the woods?

is sunfyre really dead?! its outright mentioned by aegon and larys does not correct him, cole states he’s left “long in the dying”, rhaenyra said he is suspected to be severely wounded after battle with rhaenys (and vahgar)- i know book canon it was thought sunfyre would die until he didn’t and flew back to aegon, and later survives battle with baela but i do not put it past show runners to make big changes such as killing off aegon’s dragon without second thought of how that changes the story. which this would change it- in a huge way!!

why are they waiting so long to bring in daeron? no mention at all in season one, a brief conversation about him twice in season 2….was this always the plan or did show runners retcon him in after outrage from season 1?

where is maelor? b&c was a horrid scene to watch and phia was amazing to see act, her eyes killed me, but i could not get over the fact that they excluded maelor all together which means they will have to exclude a essential scene for daeron (see above questions)!

is rhaenyra pregnant?? apparently there is rumor of a cut sex scene from daemon and rhaenyra’s reunion in harrenhall where daemon tells nyra of his vision, he mistakes seeing dany for a future daughter of theirs, he’s also seen smirking while leaving “the next morning”. it’s now a huge theory.

who are ulf’s and hugh’s real parents? no one believes baelon cheated on alyssa nor would he, known for being emotionally devastated after his wife’s death, would father bastards. now as for sheara, it’s not impossible! it’s been a huge fandom theory that she had a bastard before fleeing to essos, and she did have multiple kids while in essos, it’s just incredibly hard to make fit into her timeline.

what’s up with lady arryn? no seriously why did they change the only other female character with power, known for fully supporting rhaenyra and her cause, into a hardened woman who kicks out children? her queen’s children sent to be under her care???

aemond asking *helaena* of all people to fight on dragon back? really? leave her tf alone.

helaena can speak to others in visions and dreams?????? hello?!?!!! this kinda confirms a huge theory!!

dany is the prince who was promise confirmed!? bloodraven? green men? children of the forest? dying of the dragons? rhaenyra on the throne? dany’s eggs?

daenys the dreamer confirmed baelerion’s first rider???

[j0kers-light]

Chaos you're my conform writer fr 😭 😭 You always look for diversity and try to ensure that we can all feel identified.

Well, Im Spanish (specifically from Andalusia) and I would like to request something about a Spanish reader

I <3 u!!

YASSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS ANON! I love this and I love you!! 🖤✨

Representation matters! I try my hardest to conform and include all poc!readers in the fandom! I do have to apologize fresh out the gate anon: Spanish is my weakest language so PLEASE have mercy on my translation! 😭 I'm a better listener than speaker!

Let's make some noise for Spanish!reader specifically from Andalusia! 🇪🇸✨

Let it stand on record that you and Joker almost fought when you first told him that you were Spanish. His white-wash comment of "Oh like from Mexico?" had you ready to throw hands. 💥

Because tf!?! No disrespect to Latinos.... but you're from the mother country. Specifically from Andalusia. You are steeped in a rich culture that dates back to the 13th century, if not farther.

You refuse to let Joker diss your community like that and the first few weeks getting to know each other was rocky due to his blunder.

Joker tries to apologize and he spends time learning there is a huge difference in cultures.

You identify as a Spaniard and even your local dialect differs from the 'traditional Spanish' spoken around the world.

It makes for a more fluid sound that Joker adores. He makes up for his initial blunder by asking you out in Spanish ¿Quieres ser mia?

You laugh at his terrible pronunciation but eventually cut him some slack. He went out of his way to learn how to ask and it shows. He waits with bated breath for you to say yes before dazzling you with that scarred smile of his.

That's not to say he knows the language or tries to learn. Far from it in fact. 🫣 He likes not knowing.

Joker is left speechless when someone threatens you and you toss the insult right back in Spanish.

Joker doesn't know a word you're saying but it sounds hot. You talk so fast, he literally standing there like 👁 👄 👁 This man is a simp I swear.

Word gets around that The Joker is smitten, making googly eyes at some girl and he has to do damage control.

He asks you for the loose translation of your threat and you sheepishly tell him (insert whatever) 👀

"Ohhhh! My girl is so feisty! And possessive.." 😏 J rewards you for your bravery behind closed doors.

Joker eventually acknowledges the rumor of him dating a crazy Andalusian and you adopt that reputation because it keep you safe.

In reality, you aren't the angry/crazy Spaniard stereotype that people often assume. You are actually sweet and love to sing/dance to keep your culture alive. You wouldn't harm a fly and only Joker knows that.

Speaking of culture. When Joker saw you in traditional dress, he was 🥴😍😍😍😍 and begged you to spin spin spin!!

He loves the ruffles! The vibrant colors! You. Good lawd the man is obsessed girl.

English (may or may not) be your first language but he can still understand you on a good day.

He loves hearing your accent and requests that you speak in your native tongue more around the apartment and especially in the bedroom.. 😏

Joker is such a freak. MOVING ON! This is a sfw hc Chaos... lol (I can’t help it)

He can't help it either! Sometimes Joker deliberately does things to provoke your anger so he can hear you speak in your native tongue.

Joker would never harm you, but he does cut it pretty close sometimes. 👀

You were at home catching up on some laundry. You thought Joker was gone for the night and put on some tunes.

He hated when you wore headphones when you were home alone, case in point, because you couldn't hear your surroundings. Just to prove his point of how dangerous it was, Joker came home early to scare you.

He snuck his way down the hall and watched you casually loading the dryer with clothes, humming to some music. He smiled hearing your voice sing along with the fast pace tempo.

He could watch you all night but he was on a mission.

So without further ado, he slammed a door closed down the hallway. You were startled but mostly seemed unfazed so he decided to up the stakes.

You finished up your task in the laundry room and made your way back to the kitchen to start preparing dinner.

You screamed when you felt hands grab at you from behind and you didn't think twice as your hands made contact with a nearby pan and swung.

Joker easily dodged the skillet and burst into laughter seeing his Bunny shaking in fright. This is exactly why he didn't like you wearing headphones while home alone!

So easily distracted and you dented the poor pan.

Once you recognized that your cruel boyfriend was attempting to give you a heart attack, your fear turned into anger. You ripped your headphones off and didn't bother translating your words.

¿Has perdido la cabeza? ¡Pude haberte lastimado, Joker!"

You groaned out your annoyance as Joker bit his lip, eying you lustfully. He loved when you spoke Spanish to him. You looked like a goddess to him all passionate in your ire.

"¡Oh Dios mío, juegas demasiado!" You threw up your hands and walked out.

"Whah... wait Bunny! Were ya goin'?" Joker rushed after you and got a door slammed in his face as a response.

It was all worth it to see that fire in your eye burn brightly. He would have fun apologizing to you tonight.

[littlecharmingenvy]

Belphie Headcannons

This is the first thing I've written for a fandom in literal YEARS so forgive me if I'm a little rusty- but anyways belphie headcannons!

warnings: nsfw (MDNI), mentions of lesson 16, belphie being a little shit

~SFW~

<3- Steals your clothes to put them on his pillows to sleep with. Doesn't matter if you're in a relationship or not, as soon as he gets comfortable with you, say goodbye to your comfy sweatshirts

<3- Very clingy. Thinks he's being slick ab it (he's not) always finding excuses as to why he ended up right where you are, totallyyy a coincidence. Brushing your teeth? That's crazy, so is he. Getting up for a midnight snack? Suddenly he's wide awake. For a yandere, he's got an awful lot of tsundere habits

<3- If he knows you'll be busy with plans with someone else -especially one of his brothers- he just so happens to fall asleep directly on your lap and just won't wake up. Oh, you weren't able to make it? That's ok, you can just nap with him instead :)

<3- ^^^ only gets away with this because he's the youngest. He knows his siblings can't bring themselves to be as mad at him as they should when he brings out the puppy eyes and he uses that to his full advantage

<3- Speaking of the puppy eyes, no one's safe except for MC. Bonus points if they're an oldest sibling who's used to it from their own siblings, or are a youngest sibling themselves so they know what tf is up. The others don't know how they don't fall for it, and it frustrates Belphie as much as it entertains him

<3- Even tho he's fairly small for a demon, he still stands at about 6'2. He's the second shortest of his brothers, Asmo being the shortest.

<3- Still gets nightmares from when he killed MC. He always goes to them for comfort, but the guilt of it all eats him alive. He never tells them why he's upset, but MC has an idea

<3- This man wouldn't know a coping mechanism if it hit him in the face. Relies on Beel to process things and to comfort him, which Beel is happy to do. Belphie tries to return the favor when he can. He's awful at comforting people, but Beel finds his awkwardness with it strangely comforting

<3- overall this man is just a pisces (bitch) who is too tired to process things. but, he is sweet when he wants to be

~NSFW ~

<3- brat. Doesn't matter if hes domming or subbing, full fledged brat. Anything you want from him, you'll have to (figuratively) beat it out of him

<3- He's torn between preferring to dom or sub. On one hand, he loves the control domming gives him, as well as any chance he can get to break you. On the other hand, he doesn't have the energy to a lot of the time. Plus, it's nice to let himself get taken care of sometimes. doesn't mean you won't have to fight him to get him to sub tho

<3- Prefers receiving versus giving head. He doesn't mind giving, in fact he enjoys it, but boys just lazy :(

<3- Does enjoy when you sit on his face, especially since it's less work for him. Likes teasing you by making you keep eye contact, and will stop if you do.

<3- I've seen a lot of people say he would fall asleep during it, and as hilarious as that image is, I'm not sure if he would. Idk, I just feel like he'd be too into it to fall asleep. Might fall asleep while you give him head tho-

<3- in theory, he'd have some pretty out there kinks, but they normally stay confined to his fantasies, as he doesn't feel like putting the effort in to test them out and totally not because he's scared you'll think they're weird

<3- Overstim him!!! please!!! He'll stop his bratting real quick once he realizes you still aren't stopping after he's cum for the 3rd time-

<3- On the opposite end, if you want to see him cry, edge him. He can take being overstimulated like a champ, but with edging he'll break after 15 minutes if you're lucky

&lt;3- adores cockwarming, and will often fall asleep while inside of you despite your protest. He just wants to be as close to you as he can get, especially after a hard day. How could you say no when he asks so nicely? :(

<3- not much aftercare from him. If you ask, he'll help you clean up, but otherwise he tells himself he'll deal with it when he wakes up. always regrets it when he wakes up tho

anyways hope y'all enjoy!!! live, laugh, lethargic-

[ca-suffit]

I was going to say this off anon but I have a second blog for iwtv and I don't want the og one out in the fandom kind of. But I never understood why people say Louis was abusive to lestat and the instances they point out are a) neglect b) not being affectionate c) withholding affection. Which like. Ok. Maybe my inexperience but I just don't think not giving love back in this instance is abusive. Because I genuinely do think he wasn't capable of love in those times. Like early on we see him lying to his family juggling 3 roles to spend time with lestat and shopping dates and what not. He was loving. And then HIS CHILD RAN AWAY. i don't think any caring parent is capable of love in that time. And then there's his malnutrition which ofc lowers his sex drive and the mental toll malnutrition takes is depression and anhedonia. But to call that manipulation??? To call that abuse?? Withholding affection as abuse in this case? Like mf What makes you think he was capable of love you can't deny something you don't have/aren't capable of!? His child is missing. His child is gone do you get it??? He's supposed to be making date plans??? Ik withholding affection and then lovebombing is a thing for abusers but ffs. He's depressed that's why he isn't loving when you're depressed you're literally not capable of it because your brain has drained all of it out WHAT DO YOU MEAN WITHHOLDING LOVE? Same with Armand. His child is dead. A part of Louis died with her. Is he supposed to be ffs. I don't want to type anymore. And ykw both these partners have the power to leave at any time. If you're not getting love that's what you do i get lestat why he wouldn't in America like he'd be pretty much alone and Armand always had that choice too. It's their specific personalities which made them stick with him but at the same time.my guy you're both more powerful than him fucking leave if it's so bad. But that's what love does and they stayed but at no point was it abusive on Louis' end?? At no point did it justify the abuse he's met with at lestat's or armand's hands??? And there's always intent behind abuse and if Louis' is not loving it's not because of some scheme. No his child is missing. The child.is also female and tiny we know what happens to them when they're alone how tf do you not get what state he'd be in?? And to expect love from him? And that's what's actually funny to me about both lestat and Armand like they really didn't think about what the loss of a child would mean to both their respective relationships with Louis. Like they really thought a parent could chill live laugh love with them while his child is gone. Ok. Sure why not. Um yea. Sorry for the long rant. Anyway I just don't think withholding affection applies to anyone here least of all Louis and never Louis no matter what the "pAtTeRn" is with him. No the pattern is depression brought on by the loss of his child. If you had actual brains you'd make that connection but no. No. Since this is the abusive partners yaoi show we have to see abuse where it isn't and minimize where it is. It'll be wonderful when Marius the guy who does loooooooove children will show up. Then we'll surely talk about love and loss and see the connections

ppl just made shit up bcuz they needed to soften lestat tbh. then armand to a degree too.

the angle never was "what are louis' partners doing to help him thru these bad times." it was always "louis isn't loving *them* enough!!" louis is also younger than *both* of them and comes from a different life experience which is still alive for him too, unlike their individual experiences and/or traumas. armand is still experiencing racism but it's not like the antiblackness louis and claudia face.......which then ends up in the trial too?! which *both* louis nb partners have a part in???

u bring up a good point for the marius angle too. this fandom makes me sick lol.

[jennilah]

i woke up and chose violence today

rant below!! an actual soapbox rant about some shit that annoys tf out of me

but still under a cut and unrebloggable bc im still a coward just an annoyed coward

"_ fandom is dead"

"the tumblr/twitter fandom is dead"

"any variation of a fandom being dead"

Im about to be under your bed

Is it really dead?

well considering im still following some moots of over 10+ years that still regularly reblog new art and fics for fandoms Ive seen called "dead" many times in the past, fandoms that havent had new content in years, it's probably not

also, the older the fandom, consider how much more ridiculous your claim is. if the media is from fucking 20 years ago and still getting art and fic in any capacity, I dont wanna hear shit about shit being "dead" because there was a slow month of content on tumblr.com

What is really happening?

well if its for an ongoing fandom and there's a noticeable slow period, ask yourself... are we in-between episodes? in-between movies? in-between games? the fandom is not dead, sheesh. everything naturally slows down a while after canon content stops being made. doesn't mean it's dead.

what is happening is that artists and fic writers and other fandom enjoyers that are still out here making plenty of "content" for you (to absorb in 2 seconds and then demand more like they're machines, btw) see your dumb little comment and look around like ???

like ok what am I, chopped liver? I'm still out here making plenty of content, am i dead to you?

what are you doing to keep the active community alive and motivated? are you actually liking and sharing their art? reading their fics and leaving nice comments?

orrrrrrrr do you only care when its your favorite artists making content?

its like. very obvious when its the biggest artists who arent making art anymore cause they moved to a new fandom or whatever and suddenly here come the "the fandom is dead" posts

i know from experience that it just makes everyone else feel like they dont "count." theyre just the backup "favorite" artists when the real "favorite" artists are away, because you don't have a choice anymore.

it feels so god damn disrespectful and dismissive. like thank god i will draw whatever tf i want whether it gets 1 like or 3000 but whenever i see that kind of comment I cant help but go "well the fandom is dead apparently so I guess I'll just throw my ideas and wips away huh???"

and most people are kind. i dont think those big artists would be very happy to hear you're dismissing an entire fandom's worth of creativity just because they havent drawn for it in a while

i keep saying artist but this goes for anyone who contributes to fandom in any way. even just posting headcanons and stuff is participation. and those fics need people to read them, after all.

ive yet to see any fandom actually die. but you will kill your creators' motivation if you keep saying its dead

[squeaky-n-blushy]

Peas In a (Lotus) Pod

Fandom: Mo Dao Zu Shi / Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation

Characters: Lee!Jiang Wanyin, Ler!Jiang Yanli, Ler!Wei Wuxian

Warnings: Angst, mentions of death, mentions of suicidal ideation

Word count: 12.000 words

Summary: The children of Yunmeng Jiang persevered. Even in the face of adversity, joy could be found in the simplest of things. (It was going to be found whether it liked it or not. Jiang Wanyin's siblings would make sure of it. They couldn't let their brother be so upset on his birthday, could they?)

A/N: UMM HELLO??? WHY IS THERE NOT A PARTY GOING ON IN HERE?? UNACCEPTABLE. EVERYONE WAKE TF UP BECAUSE TODAY IS @kanene-yaaay 's BIRTHDAAYYY!!!! To celebrate this special day and the incredible, wonderful person and friend that you are, Kanene, have a little gift made with lots of love! May you have a fantastic birthday, mana, because you deserve nothing but the best <3 <3

Jiang Wanyin knocked on his father's door once.

Twice.

Thrice.

He made sure to call out for the man, asking him to please come out, so he'd know it was his son personally asking for him, and not some random disciple.

There was no response. No greeting, no footsteps from the other side of the door, not even the rustling sound of his father moving about in bed.

Time and time again, he'd gotten nothing. Hell, his only confirmation that his father was even alive in there were the empty dishes left on his doorstep after servants brought him meals.

Jiang Wanyin thought today would be different. He should have known better. But still, he hoped. And he felt ridiculous for it. He was a Sect Leader. (He had to be.) He fought in a war, had to take on the responsibility of rebuilding his ancestral home almost from scratch and he was an adult. Yet here he was, paralyzed in front of his father's door because he didn't bother to acknowledge him on his birthday, like some clingy child.

He couldn't afford to act like a child anymore. So why, why, did he feel frozen on the spot? Why did he feel transported back to that day, tossed into a boat and held down by Zidian, forced to watch as his home burned and his mother walked into an ambush?

Wanyin forced himself to turn on his feet. He could not take it personally. He could be mature about it. So what if his father didn't want to see him? The man didn't even ditch his seclusion for an incense stick's time to congratulate his only daughter, his eldest child, on setting an official date for her wedding— Which Wanyin knew he was aware of, because A-Jie wrote him an actual letter just to make sure he knew, instead of trying to talk to him through the door and hoping he was awake to hear it— So why would he grace his son with his presence?

It's been that way for nearly a year.

He understood, he did, that his father was dealing with far too much. He'd been captured by the Wen along with his mother that night they invaded Lotus Pier, then held captive in Nightless City up until the end of the Sunshot Campaign, being subjected to gods know what until he was rescued. ‘Far too much’ was an understatement. He couldn't imagine the kind of mental scars that would leave on someone.

But was it that selfish of him to wish he could have his father back? Scratch that, have his parents back.

Jiang Wanyin wasn't stupid. He knew his parents' treatment of him throughout the years was less than ideal. But they were still his parents, and he'd do anything to have them by his side. Especially now that he was suddenly pushed into the role of Sect Leader due to his father's seclusion. He wasn't a child, sure, but he still felt so terrifyingly young. Unprepared. At least if he had his parents by his side, maybe he wouldn’t be haunted by the feeling he had no clue what he was doing. He'd have some guidance, regardless of how inadequate (second-best insufficient not good enough never good enough) their counseling always made him feel.

He found himself missing even his mother's sharp words. She still sent letters, although visits were rare, but it wasn't the same. Even with his father holed up in his quarters, she refused to set foot in Lotus Pier if she could help it. Wanyin didn't know what was it that hit the final nail in the coffin to start off the divorce that's been looming over his family for years, (How would he? It's not like they told him anything) but those two were dead set on staying apart.

Which left him juggling the Jiang Sect by himself. Because what else was he supposed to do? Leave A-Jie and Wei Wuxian to shoulder his responsibilities while he ran off to Meishan Yu to whine to his mother?

Yeah, no.

He was handling it well enough on his own, given the circumstances. Too many of their friends shidis disciples were lost, and Lotus Pier literally went up in flames. Obviously everything felt like a huge fucking mess. It was, objectively, a huge fucking mess. Anyone would have trouble piecing together the broken fragments of post-war Yunmeng Jiang into something functional and respectable. The fact everything still felt scattered to the winds had nothing to do with his leadership.

Right?

Zidian crackled around his finger.

He didn’t understand why. He was fine, he was calm, he was taking it all in stride, as expected from someone of his station. He didn’t understand why some disciples scurried to get out of his way when he walked past either. What, was there something on his face?

Weird people. Who runs away from their Sect Leader like a frightened animal without at least a greeting?

Heavy footsteps came to a slow halt as he neared the main area of Lotus Pier, away from the sheltered part of the forest where his father’s seclusion home could be found. Actually, he’d gotten here quicker than usual. His body felt a bit more tense and his legs a little more sore than it did earlier this morning, too. Did he storm all the way here or something?

He hadn’t noticed.

Only when something small thrown with high speed collided with his forehead did he realize in the back of his mind that his face had been curled into a scowl. He scowled even further.

"Wei Wuxian!" He snarled up at trees towering above him, eyes darting between the leaves in search of the one person who'd have the gall to throw a lotus seed at him. Sure enough, Wanyin found him. Perched high up in a branch, wine bottle in hand and a stupid grin on his face like he didn’t have a care in the world. He grit his teeth. 'What are you- Get down! We have work to do and you're just lounging up there like a damn bird?!"

Wei Wuxian's playful smile slid right off, whatever dumb thing he was about to say dying on his lips. Jiang Wanyin regretted it almost instantly.

Maybe he wasn't so calm after all.

"Aiya- Jiang Cheng, the world won't explode if we take it easy for a day." Wei Wuxian forced casualness and joviality into his voice. Wanyin wasn't fooled. Ever since he came back from his three-month disappearance during the Sunshot Campaign, there was something off about him. Jiang Wanyin barely recognized him, at times. Even Lan Wangji was having more difficulty genuinely lifting his spirits when he stopped by, and that was saying something. Wei Wuxian must think Wanyin a fool as well as blind, to keep putting on that dumb facade where he pretended everything was fine, as if his face didn't turn hauntingly somber whenever Wei Wuxian thought no one else was looking. "Did you forget what day it is?"

Jiang Wanyin nearly missed his words, but the playfully mocking tone drew in his focus. Wanyin knew it was fake. He hated it.

Wanyin should have been there to protect him. Whatever happened during those three months, Wanyin should have prevented it. What was the use in delivering himself to the Wens on a silver platter to keep Wei Wuxian safe, if Jiang Wanyin wasn't there to keep him from becoming a shell of himself?

He should have recovered faster. They should have been side by side-

Bitterness built up in his chest, crawling up his throat, wrapping around his tongue and prying open his mouth like a snake.

"The world won't stop just because it's my birthday either! It's just a day like any other." He spat, the words sitting heavily in the air. He ignored the protests in the back of his mind and he especially ignored how the words stung as they forced their way out. That was the truth. How he felt about it didn't matter. "We don't have time to waste. The faster we're done with the renovations, the better."

Wei Wuxian had the gall to scoff at him as if he was the one who'd gone nuts. "What crap are you spewing? You never want to work on your birthday!" His brother jumped off the tree and bumped their shoulders together— grinning in that way that seemed almost right but not quite— as he wrapped an arm around his shoulder and tapped the wine bottle against Wanyin's chest. "Shijie's been looking for you for hours so we can go to the vendors like we used to. Stop looking like you swallowed a lemon, eh?"

"It's different this year!" The Sect Leader snapped. He didn't outright shove Wei Wuxian away, but he did slip out of his grasp. So much to be done, and his brother was out and about lounging and drinking and- "Our sect is in ruin, this place is a mess and it's not miraculously getting better the moment we turn our backs because it's not like we can expect A-Die to swoop in and fix everything like when we were kids anytime soon!"

His brother pursed his lips, understanding dawning on his eyes when he processed which direction Jiang Wanyin came from. "Did you-"

"Yes," Wanyin interrupted through gritted teeth. He surprised even himself with the venom in that simple word. "Not even you or A-Jie could get him out of that room, I don't know why I tried! Obviously he wouldn't bother with me!"

Wei Wuxian's expression was surprisingly patient given how many times they've revisited that argument. Or maybe patient wasn't the right word. Exhausted and with no will left to argue, perhaps, if the dark circles underneath his eyes that suddenly seemed far more noticeable were any indication. "Jiang Cheng, don't speak nonsense. You're his son and-"

"He seems to forget that a lot, doesn't he!"

Two brothers could only stare at each other after the outburst. Wei Wuxian wore a forlorn look that seemed so out of place on his face. Jiang Wanyin's throat felt unbearably tight, his chest rising and falling in a rapid rhythm. He wanted to yell. He wanted to punch something. He might have wanted to cry, a little. He did nothing, his whole body so tense it felt completely rigid.

The sound of leaves crushed over light, familiar footsteps drained the fight out of him. He sagged.

"A-Cheng..." Wanyin turned to the sound of his sister's voice, his own face mirroring hers as he caught sight of her crestfallen expression. Now he's upset not just himself but both his siblings. Great. Way to go, Jiang Wanyin.

"A-Jie," he was thankful his voice only trembled the slightest bit. He couldn’t remember the last time he felt that small in front of her. Part of him wanted to lean into it, to let the anguish roll off of him in waves and let himself be comforted by his older sister the way he'd never been comforted by his parents. But he couldn't do that to her, not when she already looked so heartbroken. He pushed down the urge. "I'm sorry, I can't- I shouldn't leave right now. There's too much to do and I already wasted too much time-" He put a stop to that line of thinking, lest bitterness creep into his tone again. "If you want something from the vendors, I can ask some disciples to take you. Or you can go with Wei Wuxian."

Wei Wuxian sent him an indecipherable look. Jiang Wanyin ignored it. He'd still prefer Wei Wuxian here lending him a helping hand, but if A-Jie wanted some time off from the chaos that was current Lotus Pier, he'd feel more at ease if she had their brother with her.

"Didi, you know that's not why we wanted to go. If the three of us aren't going, then we're not going either." Jiang Yanli took her youngest brother gently by the hand as she's done countless times since he was a toddler, guiding him to sit beside her by the tree trunk. She shot Wei Wuxian a pleading expression. Please stay.

The Head Disciple (or was he already the Second in Command now?) was sat beside Jiang Wanyin in an instant.

There was a furrow between the woman's eyebrows as she faced her brother.. "You went to see A-Die?"

Jiang Yanli's semblance grew uncharacteristically melancholic with each passing moment she awaited his answer. If Jiang Wanyin wasn't already feeling like utter crap, he'd slap himself for putting such an expression on his sister's face.

"Seeing him is kind of a stretch." He genuinely wasn't sure what he was even expecting from his attempt. Maybe a note slid underneath the door if his father didn't feel like talking? Maybe for the man to whisper something to himself from his bed at least? The bright golden core spinning in Wanyin's dantian made his senses far stronger than before, yet he heard no sign his father wished to talk to him or that he even knew what day it was. Not even a sharp intake of breath. "It was stupid. I shouldn't have."

He certainly couldn't have actually expected his father would come out of seclusion, even if just for a moment, to spend some time with him just for the sake of it. No, that didn't sound like his father at all.

The young Sect Leader didn't like the feeling of being proven right, for once.

He vaguely heard Wei Wuxian making some loud noise of protest, but ultimately letting their sister take the reins of the conversation.

"A-Cheng. Don't say that." Her tone was chiding and firm, every bit the eldest child of a prestigious sect. Every bit the daughter of the famous (infamous, too) Violet Spider. "This day is important to you, it's always been. There's nothing stupid in wanting to spend it with people also important to you."

Now more than ever, under her gaze, Jiang Wanyin felt like a child again. But he found that in her presence, he didn't quite mind. She's said it herself once that they would always be her baby brothers. If some parts of her would always see him as a kid, he could afford to engage a little every now and then when the mantle of Sandu Shengshou the Sect Leader weighed too heavily on his shoulders.

"You can't take it so personally. Jiang-shushu, he's-" Wei Wuxian wore a strange look of uncertainty that Jiang Wanyin assumed to be the result of the battle between the admiration he held for his father and the bitterness that festered inside each of them. "He's not in his right mind."

"Obviously!" Jiang Wanyin glowered. "He'd have to be out of his mind not to show his face to A-Jie when she tried!" They both generally brushed aside how he'd been so ready to take it completely personally when it was himself that his father turned down. Jiang Yanli didn't manage to disguise her exasperation when Wanyin turned to her, his face bordering in apologetic. "If he did open that damned door today but not when you went to talk about your engagement, I'd start questioning my filiality."

Now he was almost thankful his father gave him no response. He couldn't begin to imagine how A-Jie would feel. Birthdays rolled around every year, so what if he cared too much about his? It's not every year you announce you're getting married.

Jiang Yanli gave a fond shake of her head and spoke with far more certainly than she felt. "We just have to be patient. Give him time, and he'll come around." With a soothing smile she pushed aside her own doubts, her own fears. Her brother needed reassurance. And that, at least, was familiar. She clung to it. "It won't be like it used to, but It'll be... better than this."

Silence blanketed them as they willed themselves to believe. Or at least pretend like they did, for each other's sake.

Jiang Wanyin wasn't sure he could pretend, not even to himself. He knew, better than the two of them would ever know, what it felt like for someone raised as an heir to a Sect to be completely weakened.

Powerless.

Coreless.

Even so, he wasn't stuck in that miserable state for nearly as long as his father. At least he was given some hope shortly after Wen Zhuliu became a source of his nightmares.

Baoshan Sanren. The name inspired in him gratitude and anger in equal measure.

What use was there in cultivating to immortality, in having powers beyond mortal comprehension, if you'd hide yourself away in a mountain when your skills were needed by so many? What was the point in mastering how to practically give life back to a cultivator, restore their future, if you would do it for the son of a past disciple but not leaders of a great sect? Or anyone else that had no personal ties to you, for that matter? (Sometimes he wanted to drag his parents up that mountain himself, despite Wei Wuxian's insistence that it would be for nothing.)

If he hadn't lied about his name back there, what would have become of him?

Alive, he would be, he presumed. Though he believed his parents dead at the time, he still had his siblings. There were times he... considered. But if it came down to it, if he had the opportunity to try while under Wen-guniang's supervision, he wasn't sure he could put what remained of his family through that anguish.

He supposed that, too, was the case for his mother. Her pride was damaged beyond repair with the loss of her cultivation, but Meishan Yu didn't let go of its children. His mother might have lost much, but she still had her sisters to support her. That wasn't the same for his father, however.

'Attempt the impossible' was their sect's motto. Jiang Wanyin always believed his father was stronger than him. He hoped with all his might that was the truth. Because he couldn't imagine himself finding the strength to attempt to bounce back from this.

The three of them sat in silence, merely being there for one another, A-Jie holding onto his hand and Wei Wuxian almost leaning onto him.

Minutes later, oblivious to his solemn thoughts, Wei Wuxian decided he had enough of the tension.

"And he'll be heartbroken to hear you spent your birthday sulking and running around Lotus Pier like a workaholi-"

"I am not sulking!" Jiang Wanyin shoved his shoulder.

A finger was wagged teasingly at him as his brother laughed. "That's exactly what a sulking person would say!" That familiar playful grin adorned his face again. Relief lightened the burden on his heart at the sincerity of it, even if it was at his expense.

Exhaling sharply, Wanyin felt a pull at the threads of his resistance. He still couldn't afford to spend much time away from his duties. But he supposed he could spare a bit, if only to make his siblings quit looking at him like he's about to break into a fever from overworking. "I still don't want to stay away for too long." He conceded. "Just the trip to the vendors and back would take half a shichen."

"Aiyo, fine, we can just hang around here then." Wei Wuxian jabbed a finger on his side. "But no working! For at least a shichen! You were up so late last night reading trade agreements it's a miracle you don't look like a walking corpse!"

Bless the older man's chatter for making his gasp go unnoticed.

Yet neither of them missed the way he stiffened.

Wanyin made the grave error of making eye contact with his brother and thus saw the exact moment when an idea formed in his head. Which usually did not bode well for him.

Hands latched onto his sides and the squawk that left him was in no way dignified. "You-!" Another embarrassing noise and he sent his brother the fiercest glare he could muster as he once again shoved him away. "Stop being childish!"

His troublemaker brother was undeterred. If anything, he was encouraged. "Who's being childish?" The stubborn hands returned with a vengeance, playful fingers digging into his clothes until he doubled over. "If tickling was just for kids, we'd have grown out of it!"

Jiang Yanli gigged at their antics beside him. Wanyin sent her a half pleading look, which only resulted in her bringing up a hand to hide an amused smile, contrasting to the mischievous delight washed over Wei Wuxian's face like he just sneaked into the Cloud Recesses a jar of Emperor's Smile for each rule etched into the Wall of Discipline.

The beginning of a protest was interrupted by a shriek as his sides were tased. Wei Wuxian swiftly avoided a hit by Jiang Wanyin's head as the latter trashed on the spot. "Now you're starting to look like a birthday man! You can't be sad on your birthday, that's like, the rule!" The menace flashed his sister a toothy grin. "Look, look, Shijie, doesn't he look a lot happier now?"

Jiang Yanli clapped enthusiastically, the perfect picture of joy and innocence. "The happiest!"

"A-Jihihihie!" Jiang Wanyin didn't whine at the betrayal, because he does not whine, but he did guffaw and jump as nimble fingers poked too close to his ribs before returning to his sides. "Dohohon't ehehencourahahage him!"

The woman leaned in closer, her lips curled into a very particular smile Wanyin hasn't seen in a long time. "But it's been so long since we got to have fun like this!" He felt the ghost of a touch against his ribcage before the fingers even made contact, his legs kicking uselessly in front of him. "And you've been so stressed lately, you should get to let loose a little. I think this could be good for you, didi."

His face burned. He wondered just when was it that his treacherous body decided to give up and not ask for his input, practically letting the two do whatever. Get up! Fight back! At least make a run for it! Don't just sit there like a dog squirming without thought or directio- "AHAHAHAHASSHOHOHOLE!"

Wei Wuxian gleefully ignored the outburst and kept up the onslaught of pinches up and down one side of his brother's ribcage, while giving Jiang Yanli free reign over the other. "And! We still gotta give you your birthday gifts!" His grin was downright diabolical as the younger man's features conveyed his confusion and suspicion as best as they could. "I hid the actual gifts in your room, but we can whip something else up right now! Cuz A-Cheng deserves the best gifts!"

"I'll pahahahass!" Wanyin scooted towards Yanli, the current lesser of two evils. He would have liked to say he immediately regretted calling his sister such a vile thing even in his thoughts, but rationality was pushed aside as she took his approach as permission to simultaneously skitter up his ribs and reach around him from behind to squeeze his other side, making him flail from left to right like a fish.

"You're turning what, twenty two?" Wei Wuxian tapped a finger against his own cheek in mock pondering like he didn't know the answer by heart, grin unwavering as he leaned over until his face was almost pressed against his ribs. "I say we give you twenty two of these gifts then! One for each year!"

"Whahahahat are yohohohou- NOHOHOHO!" He screeched, pushing Wei Wuxian's head. The explosion of sensation puppeteered his body farther from the attack– finally it came to its senses!– until he backed against the tree. Mercifully, Wei Wuxian allowed himself to be pushed away and didn't go for another torturous raspberry right after the previous that still had his skin tingling underneath his robes.

A-Jie beamed, following after him with a grace which contradicted the rare mischievousness shining in her eyes that did not mellow down over the years as he thought. In a fit of compassion, or maybe delusion, he sent a prayer up for the Peacock and whatever lucky yet poor soul Yanli would befriend when they unleashed her into Koi Tower.

Jiang Wanyin surrendered himself to the inevitable. He wasn't going to fight against his sister and fall victim to those obviously fake but still powerful, saddened 'My didi doesn't want my affection..?' puppy eyes.

"Oh my!" Yanli chirped, burying her face on his exposed neck and going in for the kill with no hesitation. The loud cackles ripped from his throat would have nearly muffled her next words, were the feigned innocence in her voice not alarming enough to grab his attention. "Twenty two from each of us? A-Cheng, I think you'll break the records of how many birthday gifts any young master's ever gotten."

Mutiny. That's what this was.

Wanyin has grown so wary of Wei Wuxian's tricks since he was mostly the main instigator, that he forgot where the man learned it all from.

"JIHIHIEHEHEJIE! Pleheheahase!"

The aforementioned bastard snickered, more than happy to play along with the deliberate misinterpretation of his words. "Are you telling us Sandu Shengshou can't take a few raspberries?" With eyes theatrically blown wide he drilled into Wanyin's hipbones. "Oh no no no, Jiang Cheng, we can't have that! What if some yao figures out it can take you down like this? You gotta be prepared!"

The impish grin stretched on his lips did nothing to convince Jiang Wanyin of the validity of his argument. Which didn't bother Wei Wuxian in the slightest if the raspberry unceremoniously blown on the other side of his neck meant anything. "This shixiong will help you build up tolerance! Though we should probably start off small, better if we stick to just twenty two in general." Fingertips crawled over his stomach as Wei Wuxian sent Jiang Yanli a playfully apologetic glance. "Sorry, Shijie! Save the other twenty two for next year, then throw in an extra one for inflation!"

Wanyin's exclamation of both relief and affront went unnoticed amidst the trio's laughter. Mostly his, as much as it embarrassed him to admit. "A-Xian is Head Disciple. If he thinks it's best-" Yanli stopped dead in her tracks. She blinked, staring as Jiang Wanyin instinctively propelled himself forward as her hand ghosted over a spot on his back.

Jiang Wanyin stood frozen on his feet and dared to look behind him, expecting to be met with A-Jie's big sad eyes and carry out The Walk Of Shame back to his siblings.

What he saw was somehow worse.

Jiang Yanli stood up only a few footsteps away, lips ever so slowly curling into a wide grin as they held eye contact. Behind her, leaning against the tree but ready to break into a sprint at any moment, Wei Wuxian mirrored their sisters grin with one of his own that seemed to spell out 'You are so screwed.'

It unlocked things he'd unconsciously repressed for too long.

Memories of being much, much smaller than he was now, tucked underneath his sister's arm and giggling his heart out. The joy of dashing away with stubby little legs, smiling so widely it almost hurt. Then the comfort and warmth of lying on her lap next to his brother after they'd been thoroughly tired out, squeals escaping them as a hand running soothingly across their backs accidentally strayed too close to a sensitive spot.

It all came rushing back to him quicker than he could process and something he'd long forgotten how to name bubbled in his chest.

Jiang Wanyin, despite his faults, was a smart, well-trained man. A force of nature fated to prevail at all costs. The young Sect Leader knew what he had to do.

Gathering all his courage, he ran.

Twin giggles echoed behind him, leaves and twigs crushed beneath his boots in a rapid pace. They might have called for him, but it was all drowned in the waves of giddiness and playfulness he hasn't felt since youth, alongside his awareness of his surroundings. He let his body and instincts guide him, the layout of Yunmeng Jiang's Lotus Pier familiar enough he could navigate it in his sleep.

He didn't know where he was running to, all he knew was the strength of the light-hearted urge to put distance between himself and his siblings who were determined to make a fun, delightful mess out of him.

Jiang Wanyin let his legs carry him to the heart of Lotus Pier, only the sound of wood under his feet alerting him that he's left the forest as adrenaline clouded his perception.

He could make out a set of light running footsteps tailing his every movement (One? Why was there only one?), slowly and steadily growing closer. Jiang Wanyin pointedly ignored the mocking voice in his head that said if he truly wanted to escape his nearly coreless sister, he would have already circled qi through his body to make himself faster by now.

Wanyin wouldn't do it because he wasn't a dirty cheater. No other reason. (The voice, which sounded suspiciously like a mix of Wei Wuxian and Zewu-jun, responded with a disingenuous 'Yes, of course.')

A startled feminine yelp pushed him out of his thoughts and he acted on instinct, rushing back and reaching his sister just in time to keep her from plummeting to the floor. Only for him to end up on the floor as Jiang Yanli embraced him and guided him down like a straw doll.

He barely had time to blink before feeling wood planks against his back, his nose being playfully tapped as a cheerful grin and shining eyes were flashed at him from above. "Have more faith in your jiejie, A-Cheng. I'm not that clumsy."

The man couldn't even wrap his head around the betrayal before a pair of lips nestled in the center of his stomach had him curling up with a shrill shriek. "NOHOHOT THEHEHEHERE, A-JIHIHIHIE!"

"Not there?" Jiang Yanli innocently tilted her head and he braced for impact, shutting his eyes to cope with the terribly ticklish leftover sensation that still lingered on that spot as she aimed for his side. "Okay!"

Heat flushed to his cheeks at the embarrassingly bubbly giggles that flowed out of him like a stream from the devastating combination of a raspberry to his side and her nose nuzzling against it like a rabbit. Even as he writhed and tried not pushing her away, the gesture transported him back to a time he barely remembered, calling forth what he could only describe as nostalgia and child-like happiness. Until an unforgiving mouth blew on his belly button again.

"GAHAHAHAHAHAH WHY?!" Self-preservation took over and he shoved at the offending face with all the gentleness Jiang Wanyin could afford, the incessant jingling of his clarity bell audible over his booming laughter from how much he fidgeted. (He couldn't go as far as to, what, staying still and taking it? No one could possibly have that much of a thick face.)

He grew redder as he not only heard but felt his brother snickering into his stomach. His eyes opened to see Wei Wuxian's lopsided grin. "What? You asked Shijie, not me!" His tone was conversational like he was merely commenting on the weather rather than reducing his Sect Leader to hysteria. "Unless I'm your A-Jie now. I'd make a pretty woman!"

When he responded with a squawk plus a kick of his leg it was certainly due to Wei Wuxian's words, and not due to the calloused fingers now kneading the back of his thigh. "A frohohohog wohohohould mahahahake a prehehettihihier wohohohoman than yohohohou!"

Jiang Yanli let her mouth fall open in false shock, clutching a hand to her chest while the other traced senseless shapes on his side. "Didi, don't talk like that to someone teaching you such an important lesson. This could be a matter of life or death, you know."

'What lesson?! How to keep making all these brainless noises?! A baby could do that!' His mind cried out as manicured nails teased the area where his side met his waist, where he was ridiculously sensitive, then spidered upwards to briefly brush against his lower ribs- where he was, also, ridiculously sensitive. Jiang Wanyin didn't know who'd taught his sister to be so ruthless, but he had some choice words to say to them.

Wei Wuxian vigorously shook his head, fingers drumming all over the underside of Wanyin's thigh like one would with a dizi. "No, no, see, this is how you know he's learning! He'd insult everything he laid his eyes on back when we were learning sword forms." Never once pausing his attack, he heightened the pitch of his voice to imitate a younger Jiang Wanyin. "I would have gotten it right if this dumb rock wasn't in the way! I'll kill these damn birds if they don't stop swooping in and distracting me! Whose stupid idea was it to fight with a ponytail if your opponent can just grab it?!" His head was thrown back as he laughed (Genuine. Genuine. Wanyin's spirit cheered), beaming with fondness and what was unmistakably pride. "It was dumb this, idiot that, but he'd always be one of the first to get whatever we were doing right."

"A-Cheng was always a wonderful student." Jiang Yanli agreed easily, voice warmer than the warmth of her fingers scraping gently over his side, following his every squirm. "I have it on good authority that some Jin disciples really looked up to you at the Cloud Recesses lectures. If things were less tense back then, you'd have your own ducklings trailing after you."

Bafflement broke through Wanyin's joyful expression. Wei Wuxian snorted at the combination of puzzled eyes, a wide smile and a red face.

"Maybe it's not just the Peacock that has good taste. I bet you work harder in a day than they have their whole lives!" The older boy sat over his brother's knees, keeping him from kicking out too much as Wei Wuxian's relentless squeezes alternated between one thigh and the other. "Pretty sure I've never met anyone who works harder than you, actually. Gusu Lan is struggling almost as hard as our sect even with the Jin helping them rebuild, while the only thing keeping Yunmeng Jiang afloat is your leadership."

The young Sect Leader felt his throat tighten and his eyes sting, which he would have ruled off as tears of laughter were the timing not suspicious. Aiyo, what's up with this? You hear a few nice words and you start crying? You must be really at rock bottom if you're down to this level!

"I don't think I've ever seen you fail at something you set your mind to." Yanli's whole demeanor softened, the playful tilt of her voice fading into something much more earnest. The nimble touches on his side slowed to a caress that could almost be called comforting if it didn't have him twitching in anticipation of something more intense. "A-Die...A-Niang...even A-Xian. For all you knew, you lost them, and you still had the willpower to help lead a war and win." A hint of sadness lingered on her smile as she offered his side a slight squeeze. If the gesture was meant to be soothing, it missed the mark entirely. Wanyin tried not to squirm away from it either way. "That takes far more strength than you realize."

The soft touches overwhelmed his mind and demanded his undivided attention, barring him from truly processing what was said to him. But the words' effects were felt by him all the same, in the way his body sagged as the fight and anguish vanished out of him. It was strange– but not unwelcome, he supposed– to feel like he did after he'd had a long cry in his sister's arms as a child, but from laughing himself hoarse. He guessed it was nice, maybe.

Wei Wuxian huffed in open affection. That alone could have made Jiang Wanyin turn his head in poorly disguised flusteredness, though the jolting sensation of curious fingers rubbing lightning quick circles into his hipbones played a massive part in it. "He's got plenty of strength to spare." Unforgiving drilling was unleashed upon the sensitive areas, as if Wanyin's strength was his brother's personal invitation to torment him as he pleased. As Wanyin felt the diligent attack falter, he risked a glance up at his brother. The soft, tender smile directed at him wasn't something he realized his brother's face was capable of doing. It tugged at his emotions more than he'd have liked it to. "I never thanked you for getting back to the Xuanwu's cave so quickly, did I?"

He didn't. And Jiang Wanyin wasn't about to let him start now. (Wanyin would have done it again, for his brother. Would do more. Did do more.)

Through chortles and gulps of much needed air, he managed to grit out what first came to his head. "As if yohohou wohohouldn't shuhuhut yohohoursehehelf off in anohohother cahahave if Lan Wahahahangji was in IHIHIHIHIT-!"

Wei Wuxian's rose victorious from his brother's waist where he planted a raspberry without as much as a warning, Yanli snickering as his laughter jumped up an octave. "You're one to talk! Don't think I don't know about your new penpal Zewu-jun!" Wei Wuxian had the audacity to wait until their gazes met to waggle his eyebrows. "What, are joining their rebuilding team and helping raise Gusu Lan back into glory or are you raising other things?"

Wanyin's eyes bulged, pink hues washing over his cheeks. "Wei Wuxian!"

His attempt at swatting his vulgar brother in indignation were foiled by Jiang Yanli taking the window of opportunity where he'd raised his arm and ducking in to aim a raspberry in his underarm of all places. "You really think so?" She conversed gleefully over his backstabbed, disbelieving sputters and exclamations, reaching down to trace as much of his kneecaps as she could reach with the other man sitting over them. "I'd love for someone to look after my didi when I'm away at Koi Tower."

He was not- HE WAS NOT DEFLOWERING SECT LEADER LAN! Nor the other way around! And neither would happen anytime soon! So what if Wanyin enjoyed his company more than he did most people's and wanted some way to keep in touch frequently, given Lan Xichen didn't have time to swing by Lotus Pier so often like a certain other Lan he knew? Can't a man have a close male friend in his life without being labeled a cut-sleeve? Sect Leader Nie and that Jin Guangyao seemed close and Wanyin wouldn't assume they'd trail after each other with lovestruck eyes!

No, he knew other people who did that.

"Me?" He yelled out amidst a wave of sniggering, courtesy of his sister venturing too close to the underside of his knees, trying to sneak between them and the floor. "It's Wehehei Wuhuhuxihian you shohohould wohohorry abohohout! Lettihihing that stohohone wall Lahahan Wahahangji wahahalk all ohohohover him! He'd juhuhump off a clihihihiff if Lan Wahahahangji dihihid!"

A reprieve from Wei Wuxian absentmindedly trailing up and down his hips and thighs was granted to him as the man scoffed in dramatic outrage at the insult to his 'Lan Zhan'. (Gross, even in his thoughts Wanyin heard the name in his brother's weird flirtatious voice.) Silver eyes narrowed in warning. Wanyin tensed immediately the second his brother's head took a dive for his stomach and-

"BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA-!" His back arched and his entire frame convulsed, the ridiculous silliness of the situation dragging him further into that fuzzy, giddy state of mind with each obnoxious 'PFFFBBBT' his attacker let out, rubbing his face into the expanse of his stomach for good measure to drive him further into madness.

A millisecond of nothingness. He thanked the heavens. It was over, right?

Then another blow of quirked up lips against clothed skin. Wanyin jostled with enough force to nearly throw his brother off him. One more cruel, taunting pause. And then another, before that demon was forced to retreat as Wanyin's hands flew down pry him off.

Which, he realized with danwing horror the moment Wei Wuxian got a hold of his wrists and pinned them over his head, was not the smartest decision to make. (That smug bastard had better count himself lucky A-Jie was on his side, or he'd have used spiritual energy to break free and turn the tables ages ago. Just because it was fun didn't mean Wanyin had to be a pushover about it.)

Panting and through eyes almost crinkled shut with the width of his smile, Jiang Wanyin called forth the will to glare at Wei Wuxian, who wiped off his own mouth with his free hand. "Eugh-!" The black-robed man stuck out his tongue in mock disgust. "Tastes like vinegar!"

"A-Cheng." Jiang Yanli cut in warmly, successfully worming her fingers under his knees and wriggling like there was no tomorrow, the onslaught on his nerves sweeping an 'I'll show you vinegar!' from the tip of his tongue. "Do you remember, when you were very little and you saw me petting a dog's stomach, you'd lay down next to it and ask for the same?"

Above him, his brother choked with delighted laughter. Wanyin was positive his face was on fire. It must have been. There can't be any other explanation for the way everything from his neck to the tips of his ears burned. "JihihIHIHIE!" The youngest's squeals pierced through the air, blunt nails fluttering at his underarm, pressing down at the sensitive center with deadly precision. "THAHAHAHAT WAS YEHEHEARS AHAHAGO!"

As though to connect him with his younger and shameless self, Jiang Yanli switched her focus to his stomach, spidering gently yet relentlessly along the middle. He thought she'd forgotten that- Why did she still remember that? He barely remembered that! Why did she have to remind him of that? Where had his kind, merciful sister gone? Spare your didi's pride!

Fragments of several occasions of darting through the legs of people much taller than him, of spotting his jiejie and launching himself to the ground next to her, knowing she'd cradle his head before it reached the floor. Of gleefully clinging to her sleeves, shrill giggles wracking his tiny body, playful touches and wet snouts encasing him in delight. Joy and affection burning brightly within him, brighter than any golden core he could grow to cultivate. Simple happiness.

He hid his flaring face on his shoulder just in time to muffle a startled shriek as his sister landed two 'gifts' on the tender skin between the bones of his ribs.

Jiang Yanli peered down at her youngest brother, lost in cherished memories of easier times, lips curved upwards in such a way that was so inconceivably fond Wanyin couldn't bear to even pretend to be angry at her. Not even when she took to prodding lightly at his bellybutton, following after it no matter where he flailed. "And you'd dip your feet in the water and let the fish nibble your toes, giggling so much you'd almost fall off the dock."

Jiang Wanyin's ability to think straight had long since bid him farewell. He wasn't going to waste any mental energy wondering how in the world she knew that when he always made sure there was no one else nearby back then.

"Jiang Cheng!" Wei Wuxian grinned like he'd never been happier than in this very moment. Scratch the grin, the man practically had stars in his eyes, gaze locked with his as he dug and vibrated blindly into his underarm. Wanyin swore, if he started cooing, he would throttle him. "Is that why sometimes you went to the docks alone, barefoot, and got prissy whenever I tried going with? Xiao A-Cheng was so embarrassed to ask his siblings to tickle him he had to resort to fish?"

Thirst for revenge sparked in Jiang Wanyin. If that was the game his brother wanted to play, he knew how to pay in coin. "Lihihike yohohou wehehere any behehehetter! You uhuhused to drahahahag mehehe to A-Jihihie and say we wahahahanted tihihicklehehes behehecahause yOHOHOU-!" Fingers sneaking to the back of his ribcage followed by a pair of raspberries over the crook of his neck were quick to silence him.

"Ah ah ah!" Wei Wuxian waved a finger at his face. For all his shamelessness, a faint pink dusted his cheeks. (Wanyin could accept this small victory.) "This is your 'losing face' moment, not mine!" Nearly having one of his secrets thrown at their sister's feet didn't deter him from kneading into his back ribs with renewed vigor, nor from sharing a conspiratorial glance with their sister, unbeknownst to the youngest, when he jerked hard enough to almost turn to lay on his side.

A light scribbling of nails up Wanyin's side from his sister- the same side of his torso Wei Wuxian was ruthlessly targeting- sent him trashing to the opposite side to evade the torturously playful sensation. "A-Xian, don't bully him." Yanli chided even as the grin plastered on her face showed she was anything but displeased. Said grin only widened when Jiang Wanyin trashed to the side and flipped over in his momentum as Wei Wuxian suddenly got off him, only to instantly sit over the back his thighs and pin him with his weight as Wanyin's front hit the docks.

Three fingers were held up to Wei Wuxian's temple, the customary 'I'm up to no good' grin radiant on his face. "I'd never, Shijie!" The aforementioned fingers signifying the promise he would not be mean to his brother quickly contradicted themselves by walking upwards to the evil spot between his shoulder blades where Wanyin couldn't reach. "I'm being so nice to our Chengcheng! Who wouldn't love this ugly face?"

Asshole. Ass. Hole.

"I'm gohohohonna breheheak yohour lehehehegs!" Squawks erupted from the youngest as his back was thoroughly (playfully, delightfully) assaulted with his siblings' combined forces, A-Jie scritching lazily at the small of his back while the older man took to prodding every single sensitive area on his upper back and laughing at each embarrassing noise forced out of him. (Squeaks, snorts, fucking squeals. He was never going to live this down.) The red on his cheeks could probably dye a dozen wedding robes.

An overjoyed gasp accompanied by wide, gleaming silver eyes countered his threat, and Jiang Wanyin was alerted that was the wrong thing to say. The worst possible thing he could have said. He could never criticize his brother for running his mouth ever again after sealing his fate like this.

"Shijie! Shijie!" Wei Wuxian beamed before Wanyin could protest, mischief written in every corner of his expression as he met the eldest's eyes while continuing to show less mercy to his beloved brother than he did to enemies on the battlefield. At least most of them died a quick death and didn't have to bear such humiliation- "Did we ever tell you how he came up with that threat?"

Fuck.

Jiang Yanli looked between them in open curiosity. Wanyin suddenly had a newfound appreciation for Nie Huaisang's tactic of hiding behind a fan.

"Dohohon't you dahahare, Wehehei Wuxihihian! Yohohou swohohohore!" Giddy panic flowing through him, reaching deep into his mind and taunting it, pacifying it, paralyzing it all at once, all he could do was writhe. Gentle wiggling fingers explored his lower back with precision, slowing or quickening their pace based on what got the biggest reactions from each spot. Incessant touches trailed up to the back of his neck, fluttering in such a way that had his hairs standing on end, made their diabolical way into the area between the back of his ribs and underarms and-!

Wei Wuxian's hands flew up to cover his own ears at the ear-piercing screech that echoed through the pier. A mere moment of respite for Wanyin's sanity before going back to tasing and tasing and tasing with single-minded focus. "Aiyah, stop trashing! You're gonna hurt Shijie!" Wanyin hadn't even registered whatever it is his arms were doing until his brother had them pinned with a 'tsk' and a torrent of vibrating digits over the bones of his ribcage.

He would have been thankful for Wei Wuxian staying rooted to the upper part of his body rather than drifting downward and unleashing hell, if he didn't know his brother held out purely for suspense. Jerk.

Quickly recovered from the near slap, Jiang Yanli chuckled into his lower back. The vibrations of the sound against covered skin eliciting from him a bubbly little giggle, descending into a hearty laugh as the spot became a target for a horrible, terrible, no good raspberry. "It's alright. A-Cheng will be careful, won't he?"

Wanyin, in his daze, very intelligently chortled wordlessly in return. The pair chose to take it as an affirmative.

"I don't know about that!" Wei Wuxian cackled, dragging fingertips teasingly down his ribcage, down his sides, down his hips and turning to trace past the sides of thighs. A giddy delirium settled in Jiang Wanyin's chest chest the lower those buzzing touches traveled. Instinct demanding he put effort into crawling away, pleading uselessly to a brain overpowered by warmth, fuzziness and a somehow mirthful, light-hearted brand of nervousness as the man neared the spot that would inevitably be his downfall-

Only to jump back to behind his knees.

"Shijie, there's this one spot on his legs I found when we were kids- I'll tell you, gets him kicking and screaming like he's being dragged to his death!" Stage-whispering to the woman over Wanyin's yells of relief and indignation over being tricked, Wei Wuxian leaned in closer to their sister. "He tried getting me there once, he was convinced I'd perish right then and there, because if he's that ticklish there, then everyone has to be at least a little ticklish, right?" Bearing an unfaltering shit-eating grin, Wei Wuxian's agile fingers curled and uncurled masterfully at the taut skin behind his knees. "Nope! Not a sound from me! You should've seen him, pouting like the universe betrayed him! Said if he couldn't get me back fairly he'd have to break my legs instead!"

Jiang Wanyin's face defied the laws of nature by having turned redder than what he thought possible as Jiang Yanli fell into ungraceful laughter. She had to actually withdraw her hands from him to focus on regaining her breath. Wanyin was thankful for small mercies, but at what cost? "No-" A wheezing giggle broke through her words. "No wonder you never took it seriously."

The Sect Leader decided to keep all his focus on not bending his legs– knowing from experience it would be infinitely worse if he trapped Wei Wuxian's fingers– to shelter his sanity from dwindling from both his siblings making fun of him to his face in such a way.

"Please, he's all talk!" The man taunted, each passing of fingertips against the unguarded spot making Wanyin wish he would launch himself into the lake rather than voluntarily sit through this. "I deserved it though. I got him good, he was almost crying!" Were Jiang Wanyin not laying on his stomach, he would have seen the demonic grin that split his face in half. "Like this."

Squeezes fell upon the deathly ticklish spot of his calves and Wanyin screamed.

"TRAHAHAHAHAHAIHIHITOHOHOR!" Overwhelming, overjoying, overbrutal, overpowering. That was all one could describe it as, as the electricity feeling bombarded his body, his nerves, his mind, his everything. Prods upon tases upon spidering sent the man over the edge of coherency, senseless blabbering and screeching spilling out of him like blood from an open wound. Wanyin knew how to deal with wounds, he didn't know how to deal with this.

The only coherent thought he caught hold of was Wei Wuxian better watch his back around Lan Wangji, when the stone-faced man suddenly acquired sensitive information regarding his brother and an uncommon, devastating spot Wanyin swore not to share, as long as Wei Wuxian didn't share his.

"A-Cheng," Jiang Yanli's glee shone in her eyes like the blazing sun. Wanyin looked back before promptly faceplanting onto the wood beneath him when he caught sight of her approaching. Their brother generously conceded her one of his calves, light fluttering joining unforgiving skittering in his gifted concoction of hysteria. "How come you never told me? I'm hurt, you know. I wouldn't have abused that knowledge."

'Because you'd get a kick to the face, that's why!' Crying out to himself he felt the moment the control over his legs snapped, only the fast wind against his pants making him consciously aware of his limbs trashing with no direction. Distantly, he felt his brother holding down his leg and his sister clinging into the other, arms wrapped around it and jiggling fingers pressing directly into it. It was incredible and horrifying, how the material offered no protection whatsoever. Up until now he'd never had reason to curse the thinness of the Jia- "GEHEHEHET OHOHOHOHOUT OF THEHEHEHEHERE!”

"Ah?" Wei Wuxian's speedy squeezes up and down the length of his calf didn't so much as halt as his target flailed. "But look at how much you're smiling! I haven't seen you that happy in- Ever! Maybe if you keep smiling long enough you won't make that ugly wrinkly sour grape face ever again!" The Second Tickle Monster of Lotus Pier earned himself a yelp of maybe annoyance, maybe sheer frenzy between thundering laughs. "Aiyah, don't yell like we're murdering you, we're doing you a favor! We're just looking after our didi's reputat-"

Abruptly, it all came to a stop.

Retracting his hands like they'd been burned, Wei Wuxian staggered backwards.

Jiang Yanli brought a hand to her mouth. Whatever she was hiding behind it, Wanyin couldn't see, couldn't care for it at that moment. His thoughts reeled. Over and over, that word echoed within him.

"Jiang Cheng-" The expression on Wei Wuxian's face was almost, almost blank. Carefully blank, with only the smallest tightening of his lips signifying the turmoil that lay beneath. He'd seen it before, plenty of times, when the other navigated his mother's temper to avoid her lashing out. It didn't belong on his face, not here, not now. Wanyin despised it, wanted to shake it out of him. "I-"

Jiang Wanyin growled. A pulsing strength from gods know where sparked through his muscles and, with a cry, and a gasp from their sister, Wei Wuxian was tackled to the floor.

"About damn time!" Wanyin barked. Panting and shaking from exertion, he dug viciously into the bewildered moron's hips. Wide and shocked silver eyes shut instantly with the force of uncontrollable laughter. The youngest's booming yells carried over it all, each irate-sounding sentence accentuated by a squeeze or vibrating fingers revealing the real care within. "What took you so fucking long?! Am I not good enough to be your brother? I get you out of trouble, I carry you on my shoulder when the Lans beat you, I don't let dogs anywhere near Lotus Pier for your sake, I searched the Middle Kingdom up and down for you for months, and when anyone asks, I'm just your sect brother?! You can rope me into your pranks just fine, but when you actually need help I'm just your shidi?! Wei Ying! Screw you!"

Wei Wuxian gawked dumbly up at him, arching and slithering and convulsing with the sudden attack, clearly not even possessing the presence of mind to actually get away. What's that shocked face for? Did you think I'd pull Zidian on you for hearing what I've been waiting years for? Stupid man!

"You think I can't tell you're going through your own crap and you don't tell anyone? Think you can just go around putting on a smile and I won't see there's anything wrong?" The mere idea had him full-out snarling, channeling each emotion (all the frustration, the love, the exasperation, the sadness) into targeting as many spots as he could reach like that would zap some sense into his brother. "I've known you for fourteen years! What do you take me for, a rock?! What do you take A-Jie for?! You don't think she might want to do more for you than feeding you soup?!" Eyes hardened into a glare bore into Wei Wuxian's while vengeful hands scratched into his underarms. "I'm telling you now, you blind idiot! Get your head out of your ass and quit acting like some forlorn hero doomed to suffer by himself because no one gives enough of a damn about him to want to know what's going on!"

When Wanyin re-opened his eyes post-rant, it was to be greeted by a beet red face and glistening eyes, so many emotions shining through them Jiang Wanyin couldn't even begin to figure them all out. Sentimental gazes locked for a too short yet too long moment, before Wei Wuxian turned tail. "SHIHIHIHIJIHIHIE!" A pleading squeal rung in their ears as Wanyin clawed into a particularly sensitive spot. "HEHEHEHEHELP!"

Jiang Yanli, who had sat silently off to the side, an array of bittersweet feelings visibly passing through her, had her lips curl into a smile that held so much love Wei Wuxian could almost feel it in the air. The woman looked off to the right, to the left, then blinked innocently at him. "Who's your shijie?"

Wanyin had the absolute pleasure of watching realization dawn on him like a sack of bricks. Fucking finally. He committed that gobsmacked look to memory.

"JIHIHIHIE! JIHIHIHIHIE, PLEHEHEHEASE!" Wei Wuxian forced out through sheer giddy desperation, cheeks redder than the ribbon in his now tousled hair. (Jiang Wanyin's was far worse in comparison, but he wasn't going to dwell into that.)

With that cue, quick as lighting, betrayal struck onto Jiang Wanyin in the form of arms wrapped him from behind. "Jihihie!" Wanyin arched uselessly from the wriggling digits latched onto his sides, the firm grip on his torso guaranteeing the hands wouldn't be dislodged even as he squirmed. "Yohohou hehehelp him buhuhut nohot mehehehehe?!"

The man gripped tightly onto the remains of his drive to keep Wei Wuxian subdued and laughing beneath him, switching erratically between spots to keep his brother down and following after him as he writhed. Wanyin's movements grew sloppy as he went through a similar treatment, but the youngest wouldn't let that stop him. Especially with the certainty that as soon as Wanyin let up, it would be him in his place.

"I am helping you!" Jiang Yanli's amused giggles joined their symphony of playfulness. Wanyin could almost hear her mischievous smile over the shriek derived from the surprise raspberry tingling at the center of his spine. "You still have the rest of your gifts!"

Light fingers with years of expertise jumped angles and techniques from one brief moment to the next. Swiping here, fluttering there, squeezing at far too many places and when Yanli resorted to the newfound knowledge she falsely said she wouldn't abuse, the self-control of the proud leader of Yunmeng Jiang broke. Nails ghosting over his calves sent flying his hold over himself and he toppled over, squeezing hard onto wherever his hands landed on Wei Wuxian to steady himself and with a panicked squeal the older man trashed so violently he fell off the dock.

The startled sound in Wanyin's throat hadn't even come out when he scrambled to turn around on his knees to hide his worst spot out of his sister's reach. A flash of her face, then something clasping onto his ankles and dragging him into the lake like a demon.

Feminine laughs resonated through the heart of Lotus Pier, accompanied by no less joyful snickers and shouts as the Two Prides of Yunmeng wrestled in the shallow water, aiming playful hands anywhere they could reach and bickering back and forth like teenagers. "The hell was that for?!" "I fell in because of you! My socks are soaked, Jiang Cheng! This is payback!" "You attack your Sect Leader and you want payback?! I'll show you payback!"

It was maybe an incense stick's time before the eldest coaxed her brothers into climbing back onto the pier, with each man digging into the other's exposed underarms each time they tried, which set them off into yet another round of bickering which progressed into a full-blown attack. Jiang Yanli couldn't bring herself to even feel exasperated. Let her brothers let loose where there'd be no repercussions, let them live out so many years of their adolescence they lost to war.

She worried. Sometimes daring to assume she worried more than her parents did, while they were still of sound mind.

Yanli was under no impression her brothers couldn't care for themselves. They didn't need her as much as they thought, no, but the thought of futurely leaving them to themselves concerned her nearly as much as it thrilled her to soon move into Koi Tower. Not to mention, as Jin-shao-furen she'd find all sorts of new responsibilities on her plate, which meant less time to spend on anything else, including maintaining regular contact with her siblings. If they didn't storm into Koi Tower in a fit of protectiveness if she couldn't make time to answer their letters, that is.

They could look after themselves, that much was true. But she knew, oh, how she knew, just how much they relied on her for much-needed levity.

It warmed her, to see they could still find it amongst themselves.

"Where's everyone else?" Jiang Wanyin gruffly questioned as he sat, pulling out a towel from the qiankun space in his soaked sleeve. (Only an idiotic Jiang cultivator would be caught dead without at least something to dry themselves, given Yunmeng night hunts could easily take them underwater. He didn't know why he was even surprised his brother seemingly didn't have one with him. Go figure! If he thought taking up demonic cultivation made him any less of a Jiang, the idiot can drip water wherever he goes for all Wanyin cares!) "Why has no one come in here while their Sect Leader was being ambushed?"

"Actually, some disciples saw you in, ah- 'a foul mood in the woods.' It's how I found you." The woman quoted what she'd heard with a slightly apologetic quirk of her lips as their brother cackled at Wanyin's not drama, thank you very much. "Word got around and everyone went to work on the other side of the pier. A little extreme, I think."

Jiang Wanyin scowled. "Cowards, all of them! Will they run from a corpse if it looks angry too?!"

Eyes rolling, Wei Wuxian dropped the towel his brother tossed at him in favor of repeatedly poking Wanyin's side. At a safe distance. With the dizi that commanded the dead and took the lives of hundreds. "There you go making that face again. Who the hell so looks angry on their birthday? Stop that!"

"YohOHOU'D-" Poke. "You'd uhUHUSE-" Poke, poke, poke. "You'd uhuhuhuse yohohohour spihihirihituhuhual tool lihihike this?!"

"What better way for Chenqing to meet her shushu?" Ruthless, grinning Yiling Laozu looked back at their sister like Jiang Wanyin's weakened attempts of grabbing his wrist as he kept poking weren't even worth considering. Wanyin wasn't about to grab the dizi itself out of its cultivator hold as if he had no respect for the spiritual weapon, like certain people. "Sh- Jiejie, how many left?"

Jiang Yanli held out her fingers into a number where Wanyin couldn't see– A-Jie, A-Jie, how can you leave your brother in this suspense?– and no sooner than he was about to voice his protests, the woman gasped. "Oh!" Flashing him a lively grin, she reached for his face. "I want to try something! A-Cheng, does that tickle at all?" A giggle muffled by Wanyin's stubbornly pursed lips as a gentle finger traced the spot behind his ear let them all know that, yes, it did tickle. Jiang Yanli looked utterly fascinated at the discovery. "I helped Luo-guniang with her hair once and she giggled when I touched her ear, I thought that was just her! I didn't know ears could be ticklish!"

Wanyin didn't know either and his pride would have liked him to remain ignorant.

Though the subtle tickly sensation was mild enough to bear with relative dignity and silence (He was not going to lose his composure to a little tickling on such a ridiculous spot. Stay still, stay calm, stay quiet. If Lan Wangji could do it, why couldn't he?), it turned out to be a lot harder when the demonic cultivator figured he didn't want to be left out.

"Luo-guniang... Luo-gunian- Mianmian?!" Wei Wuxian gaped whilst scratching lightly at the same area behind the other ear. "I wouldn't have thought, with that annoyed face she always has." The man snickered at the shudder that coursed through Wanyin's body at their sister's brief raspberry on the small spot, which he instantly mimicked. "Like you, didi! I think you'd be good friends!"

"Mahahaybe you ohonly ehehever see her annohohoyehed becahause you're around her!"

He saw Wei Wuxian actually pout from the comment. Xianxian is three indeed. Really, his shift to that babyish behavior around A-Jie (Lan Wangji, too- and wasn't that a disgusting thought?) should be studi-"Eheheek!"

Wanyin froze. He should have appreciated that childish pout more. He discovered he much preferred it over what came after.

Slowly, bit by bit, Wei Wuxian's lips curled into a diabolical grin. The finger that accidentally brushed over Wanyin's cheek as he squirmed now tapping his own in mocking contemplation. "Ooohh, what's this now?"

Jiang Wanyin blinked.

No way. There was no way. What was he, ticklishness on two legs?

Jiang Yanli, on the other hand, could not look more delighted and Wanyin dumbly let himself be pulled towards her as arms encircled him, holding him in place. "A-Xian." Mischievousness and affection washed over the woman's face, a combination that Wanyin knew did not bode well for him. "Do you want to see something I used to do when A-Cheng was still a baby?"

Through Wei Wuxian's enthusiastic affirmations, Wanyin felt fingers cradling his chin and gently tilting his head to the side. In that quick moment the action triggered something in him. A switch flipped, and even as he wasn't touched, he found himself fighting a wobbly smile. An instinct that felt strangely innate, like he'd had it his whole life and was only not rediscovering it. Which was unwarranted, because he was not ticklish there, surely. People just weren't ticklish there.

Right? "...Jie?"

"You were too little, you probably don't remember." Jiang Yanli simply kept on grinning, patting his shoulder consolingly at his questioning tone. "But you always loved it when I did it, sometimes it'd be the only thing that would get you to stop crying. Let me know if it rings any bells, okay?"

Her face was brought to his cheek and, oh- Oooh.

The mind might not consciously recall, but the body holds memories still.

"Whahahat the hehehell-" Against his will, Jiang Wanyin somehow, through means beyond his comprehension, felt himself relax. Under gentle nuzzling and butterfly kisses, pink blossomed in his cheek. Squeaks jumped gleefully from his tongue; it was unbecoming, but at that moment, it didn't matter. Overtook by a joyful calm, strange and foreign, which he couldn't bring himself to bristle away from.

Or could, yes. But he didn't want to.

Loved. Safe.

"Ihihit's weheheheheheIHIHIhird-!"

"Poor, poor Zewu-jun. Won't even get to kiss his future husband on the cheek without getting his eardrums pierced!" Yet again Wei Wuxian theatrically brought his hands to his own ears with a sharp laugh as the youngest squealed from the woman's lips blowing against his skin. Just for that comment alone Wanyin shoved his face away before he could even try doing the same. "Don't forget you still have two more! Ready?"

Oh so now he wanted to be considerate?!

"Now yohohou ask if I'm reheheady?" Wanyin realized the incredible feat of grumbling between giggles. Neither of them mentioned how it had absolutely no bite to it. "Gehehet it over wihihith!"

Sneaky glances exchanged, a plan formed without his knowledge, twin raspberries against each cheek and Jiang Wanyin saw stars.

An explosion of sensation. An overload of his senses. Head shaking wildly. Thoughts spinning. Mirthful snickers ringing in his ears. (Was that him?) Loosened hair flying in the wind. Fire on his cheeks. Obnoxious sounds from each side. Fragrances of lotus flowers and freshwater. Home.

So this is what it's like, to forget everything and let go.

Content Conflicted as he was, even the strongest cultivator only had so much stamina. "Fihihine, fihihihine!" He wheezed after his laughter neared on breathless and they just kept going. "Okahahay, enohough!"

With none of the grace and elegance of a renowned young master, Jiang Wanyin let himself collapse to the floor the moment he'd been released. A panting, disheveled, flushed mess of red and purple against hard wood.

Recovering his breath through shut eyes, he felt the two lying on each side of him, close enough he could feel their warmth heating his still damp clothes. Trusting his siblings not to strike again, Wanyin crossed his arms underneath his head, gazing up at the cloudless sky.

All in all, as far as birthday celebrations went, this wasn't the worst.

"A-Cheng." Jiang Yanli's soft hum broke through the lulling sound of lazy waves. Wanyin turned his head to look back at her in question. "How are you feeling?"

Blissful. Cared for. Exhausted.

He huffed a laugh. "Takes more than that to beat me, jie."

Beside him, Wei Wuxian looked far too plotting for someone within tickling distance. "NoteHEHED-!"

"Next year-" Jiang Wanyin's terrifying smirk would have sent shivers down anyone's spine as he retreated the clawed hand he'd used to fake lunge at the man. "You are so dead."

"Your birthday's only a few days from mine, there's gonna be no time for my thirst for revenge to die down. Think of that next year." The Head Disciple very maturely stuck out his tongue, shielding the spot that had almost been attacked.

Jiang Yanli wisely stayed silent, well aware she'd find a way to join in on both events and still walk away mostly un-destroyed. (It could be useful, sometimes, to be thought of as so fragile.)

Comfortable silence had reigned among them, until Wei Wuxian tapped Chenqing against his shoulder.

"Jiang Cheng..." The man trailed off with the same cautious tone he took after slipping up and calling him 'didi.' Wanyin raised him an unimpressed eyebrow. "You really don't mind?"

Nevermind respect. Wanyin was going to grab that dizi and bash his head with it. Even A-Jie huffed in exasperation.

"When have you ever cared about what I think? Don't pretend to start now!" Jiang Wanyin swallowed the sudden bashfulness that arose with a passing thought. Just this once. Just this once to get his idiot brother to finally understand. "....Ge."

Wei Wuxian squealed out in delight. "What?"

"Shut up! And quit with that face! I'm not saying it again!”

༺🪷 Extras🪷༻

Jiang Wanyin: You'd use your spiritual tool like this?!

Wei Wuxian, who's used Suibian for dumb things like cutting watermelons and will in the future do far more unholy things with Bichen: :D

Jiang Wanyin explaining to Lan Wangji how he drew genuine happiness out of WWX in his Yiling Laozu Era: Alright you better fucking take notes, because I am not explaining this again.

Jiang Wanyin: Sect Leader Nie and Jin Guangyao are close and I don't see anyone calling them cut-sleeves!

NMJ and JGY, somewhere, in the middle of passionately making out: Strange, my ear feels warmer all of a sudden.

Jiang Wanyin being wrecked without an ounce of mercy: Please, I can deal with tickling, I'm not a pussy.

Jiang Wanyin minutes later discovering the existence of melt spots: WHAT IS THIS SORCERY???

[nimmie-nugget]

⚠️IGNORE ALL OF THIS SINCE IM WORKING ON A PROPER INTRODUCTION RN⚠️

No but srsly tf did I do to Mui’s chin💀💀 the shadings also terrible 😔

Hi! I’m Chip! I’m a Female!(IM BOT CHIP IM NIM PLS IM NIM NIM NIM NIM)

and I love interacting with others! Don’t be shy to dm me🤗 I’d never skip an opportunity to make new friends! I’m a loner irl🥲

My content will mostly be about the Tokito twins but I will happily do other characters too!

I will gladly do your requests and if you want something specific please add some context!

I am not entirely fixated on Demon Slayer! Please scroll down and read “Extra Note”

Time zone: PST

Do not use my shit without permission! Thx :)

(👆—It’s not like their going to cuz have u seen what u wrote💀💀)

~RULES~

-No Smut

-No Incest

-No Phedopilia

Can be platonic, just specify what kind of relationship it is :)

Anything that I did not mention in the rules will be accepted!

~IMPORTANT~

Please do add some context so I know where I’m starting off, it’s just like- I’m terrible at starting things off 😭!

It can also be any AU you’d like!

If AU is not mentioned, the AU will immediately be chosen by me, and please specify if you want it to be a Oneshot or Headcannons!

Edit: why do I have 👆 here 😃?? AU would be original if not specified 😋

I can’t guarantee my fanfics will be as good, since I’m new to writing. (Not new anymore but I’m still using this as an excuse 🗿✨)

I do hope my fanfics live up to your expectations <3 (YEAHHH!! Don’t be disappointed if it didn’t live up to your expectations because I friggin put my efforts and shit in there 😤❤️)

(How do u tell someone to not be disappointed it’s not like they can control their emotions like emotion benders or smth)

~Extra Note~

Note for Xreader

I just want to mention the fandoms I write for Xreader~

Fandoms~

-Demon Slayer Tokito Twins are my main focus, tho I don’t mind if you want to request a different [Character] X Reader.

-MHA only the Todoroki Family.

-Helluva Boss Helluva Boss is not an excuse for nsfw. There will be a few suggestive content in Helluva Boss. A LOT of vulgar language, not just swearing but I will censor the words with ‘*’

-Hazbin Hotel Season 1 yuppy

-Yandere Simulator apparently the fandom is still somehow alive so I shall write 😎.

-Toilet-bound Hanako-kun Reboot yuppyyyy

-Five Nights at Freddy’s Strictly Platonic. Do specify the relationship between the character and reader when requesting.

-Security Breach Strictly Platonic. Do specify the relationship between the character and reader when requesting.

-Ruin DLC Strictly Platonic. Do specify the relationship between the character and reader when requesting.

-Migi To Dali these twins istg, thought they were genius’s in the beginning but turns out there idiots and I respect that. 🗿☕️

-The Amazing Digital Circus We have all gone too far in simping to turn back now. 😔

-Murder Drones V stan here, if she doesn’t make a comeback I’m gonna cry for the rest of my life.

And that is all for now~ I will update “Extra Note” as I get introduced to others fandoms!

P.s I know Fnaf, Security Breach, and Ruin DLC are from the same fandom but I just thought I should make it separate.

~SERIES~

Forever Infinity Hashira/Alive Yuichiro AU [Currently in a Re-making.] <No xreader>

👆I lied it’s never coming out 😋👍

~MASTERLIST~

Demon Slayer [No XReader]

Demon Slayer

Todoroki Family

Helluva Boss

Hazbin Hotel

Yandere Simulator [Coming soon…]

Toilet-bound Hanako-kun [Coming soon…]

Five Nights at Freddy’s [Coming soon…]

Security Breach [Coming soon…]

Ruin DLC [Coming soon…]

Migi To Dali [Coming soon…]

The Amazing Digital Circus [Coming soon…]

Murder Drones [Coming soon…]

Random Crap