#i only post memes or curious things but is hard that someone see your post with so many posts

[savebylou]

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[robin-evry]

First of all, just want to say thank you for your hard work and I love them, keep it up! (But don't overwork yourself). If possible, my request will be Luz like reader in Twisted wonderland. (There is not enough TWST x TOH content and makes me sad.) Wether, they will be using glyphs or not? Your choice! Thank in advance ^^

Sure thing, ask and you shall receive

𝐓𝐖𝐒𝐓 𝐖𝐈𝐓𝐇 𝐀 𝐋𝐔𝐙 𝐘𝐔𝐔 💡📃

Luz Noceda is the protagonist of The Owl House. She is an eager, teenage Afro-Latina human, who accidentally stumbles upon a portal leading to the Boiling Isles. To prove herself as a witch, Luz begins learning magic under Eda's guidance, despite not having any magical abilities of her own

Luz!yuu would fit perfectly and adapt towards twst custom, I mean it's basically their world but with magic and mythical creatures.

Originally Crowley was about to reject them from entering the school, until they showed their glyphs magic to him and he allowed them to enter the school.

The ramshackle ghost and them get along very well. They help them clean the dorm as well help them with preparations. And protect them from any danger

Thanks to the new world, Luz is able to create more spells for their glyphs as well creating new ways to use magic.

When they meet malleus instead of fear he suspects it was amazed to be met by their eyes, Luz immediately starts to ask him questions and says how cool it was to meet a fae.

Malleus asks them if they had any dragon faes in their world, Luz!yuu says no they only have witches and demons in the boiling isle. They ask him to teach them some basic magic.

I imagine after being in twst for some point of time, some magic started to transport to them because since glyphs are magic it kinda mutated Luz!yuu to be able elemental magic.

And soon Crowley gave them a magic pen for them to use, they are still considered to be very strong by the other first years.

They are also very smart and managed to create a plan in the midst of battle making them a good leader.

Completed the braincell trio, it's basically the meme "Why is it, when something happens, it is always you three" said Crowley after them blowing up the lab due to Luz!yuu wanna make a potion and get an ingredient wrong.

Luz!yuu might be viewed to be weird by some of the students like riddle, Jamil etc. but they're not just weird they're just curious and wanted to learn

They would be so eager to learn everything, history, potionolgy and etc, Mr.trein and Mr.Crewel They are by far one of the most eager to learn students as a praise towards them

Have video games and movies with their closest friends. Teach them tales about the boiling isle as well their home dimension, about eda, king, amity and their other friends.

Sees grim as king 2.0, best friend to the end. Use grim like a pokemon. "Grim I chose you"

Their first encounter with Leona, is similar towards meeting malleus, they ask a bunch of questions and Leona finds them annoying

Lilia is grateful towards them being a friend to malleus. He also enjoys their optimistic personality and their curiosity.

Parties with kalim, Jamil is working 24/7 for both them do not died. He originally didn't like them due to their reckless personality that could let them into death or kalim death.

Even tho they are very optimistic, if someone posts a threat towards their closest friends, they would protect with all their might. Have a powerful will many students say.

[thepersonperson]

omg i'm so excited to find your blog!

its genuinely hard to find someone out here in the wasteland of jjk fandom who reads the manga and also doesn't discard the queercodedness of the characters and the interpersonal relationships between them!!

I'm curious if you have any ideas on how this all might end? Gege keeps saying the manga will end by the end of 2024 but it feels like there's so many things to be addressed.

I personally think it might end in either two options: cursed energy ceases to exist altogether (all sorcerers die and humanity is left to fend of for its own curses it creates) or everyone becomes like Maki (no/minimal cursed energy but can fight curses- too optimistic). Knowing Gege there might be a secret third, forth or fifth thing as well :D

I also think Megumi will be saved for sure and he will activate the merger, but also I'm thinking there might be a small little moment something like happened between Gojo and Geto in Shibuya otherwise Yuta laying there useless is so much wasted potential.

Do you have theories?

The burden of proof for queer readings is really high because the default reactions to them are 1) you’re reading too much into it due to personal/shipping biases and 2) unless the creator is explicit, it’s unreasonable to assume they would include queerness on purpose.

So it’s not uncommon for those who would otherwise have these readings to overcorrect and minimize the queerness to show they aren’t biased in that way. I find that to be incredibly unfair to creators that have to be subtle because of the political landscape or laws limiting queer expression.

What makes me comfortable being so overt about queerness in Jujutsu Kaisen isn’t Gege’s personal interest in yaoi and inclusion of characters indisputably outside of the gender binary. It’s the fudging dudebros.

You have to understand. I grew up on an internet where dudebros loathed any ounce of queerness. They unilaterally hated gay ships. There’s also the entire existence of the trap meme and slur used to erase the identities of characters that are trans or genderless.

But with Jujutsu Kaisen? Even notoriously homophobic Black Twitter is posting things like this.

This is unheard of. Instead of denying the queerness in Gojo and Geto’s relationship they are arguing over who tops or bottoms. (Honestly I am fascinated by how much black people, myself included, love this series. I’ve never been in a fandom where black culture is the default for memes. Calling Sukuna The Unc? Famous music artists Usher and Megan Thee Stallion like doing cosplays. I should probably do a whole post on that.)

And it keeps happening. I keep seeing dudebros have takes that put all of tumblr degenerates to shame.

They fudging reinvented mpreg with canon compliant mechanics.

It's not just limited to Satosugu. Just look at this.

And when you look at these people’s profiles, they are straight men. Most of their timelines are powerscaling, sports, busty women, or hentai.

If the dudebros are acknowledging the queer subtext as a part of canon, it’s no longer reaching to interpret the text that way as far as I’m concerned.

For your other points…

I doubt the manga will end in 2024 because of all the unexpected health related breaks Gege has taken. That statement was made before these breaks and likely under the assumption things would meet a specific schedule.

I don’t really have theories for how the series will end. Every time I try to guess the direction of the plot it’s always wrong. The only predictions I can make with some accuracy are things with respect to character relationships and motivations. I sure hope to get more character interactions and less death though! (<The delusions of a foolish creature.)

[awkwardgtace]

For the ask game, 🔪, ❄️ and 🦴 :3

ask game

❄️ ⇢ what's your dream theme/plot for a fic, and who would write it best?

ohh ok this is hard. A dream theme would probably be a good mystery I can't start piecing together or a horror novel that scares me. For mystery I oddly enough think Brandon Sanderson would be good. I've been unable to predict things moving forward in the Stormlight Archives. But honestly I think it would be written best by someone who hasn't even tried before. There's a way of placing clues in a mystery I feel a lot of people follow. Most of the time those clues placed by someone new wouldn't have the same easy to tell hints and tips.

For horror I kind of am expecting Lydia Prime to do it. She's a newer author on the horror scene (actually have a book she just managed to publish I plan to pick up). I also some comedians would be good at it. Comedy is kind of the other side, takes a lot to do it. I don't know who would be best for this outside of like a pro author. I'm pretty hard to scare, make a habit of marathoning horror games and horror movies just because. That does mean I get psyched to read any horror sent my way that might be good!

For a dream plot it's kinda hard to say. I know how my brain works, but honestly even if i'm not super into it I just like seeing people posting/sharing the stuff they put their time into. It's so scary to take that first step so it's really amazing when someone does and they keep going.

🦴 ⇢ is there a piece of media that inspires your writing? 

Ok so this one is kind of a lot. For some of my stories it's probably some myth, post, or my own daydream mixed from anime/games/books throughout the years.

Specific media would be MTG Streets of New Capenna set (Mafia AU), Fenyx Rising (Delphia rising), FF14 (some fanfics and an au i am working on), Oddly enough a story I have on and off struggled with was inspired by a yugioh series, Godzilla vs Kong (the fight for Rhys and Felix in mafia au). My gods might have been inspired by the old hercules disney movie.

Oh Delphia is a bit inspired by an Kagome in Inuyasha (got me looking into reincarnation). oh and a book series I read forever and ever ago. The Eternal Ones by Kirsten Miller. (I went to my bookshelf to find this title.)

I also do love mythology and folklore so I'm sure that's a big inspiration even if it's not obvious. (obsessed with fairies since I was like born. My sister can't even remember a time i wasn't).

Basically it's everything? I have a few characters I've realized over time fit a meme a little or i put together match someone i loved from a game.

Oh last one I can think of. Alice in Wonderland. I loved that from the disney movie, to the books, to the manga based in it, to the new tim burton movies. Pretty much the only time I haven't liked it was in RWBY 😅

🔪 ⇢ what's the weirdest topic you researched for a writing project? I feel weird leaving this one out in the open, but like also it's not exactly nsfw. just a little insight into my weird thought process at times

ok so originally it was gonna be the general size of a dick/vagina of the average person to then do the ratio for how big it should be for a giant/how small for a tiny. In searching for this math (cause ofc i only shared it on discord) I realized i had an entire discussion that involved at least a little research where i determined it's incredibly viable that if giants and tinies are under the same homo species it would possible to successfully get pregnant in a multisize couple with the question being the survival rate of the child/birth parent dependent on a number of factors....

I used the dick knowledge in one (1) specific story i wrote on ao3. The pregnancy knowledge was lost until now.

Most likely to get me arrested was how much a person could move after a stab wound

for those curious this was the percentages i came up with are under the cut

balls: 2.7% of total height per ball dick: 6.9% of total height pussy opening: 4.8% of total height pussy depth: 6.3% of total height

[rosehippiefield]

For the ask game I am curious about 20, 23 and 24 (yttd and undertale)

20. your very first fandom!

My first fandom was Fairytail and gosh I have so many memories about it. While I have my reservations about fanservice and story plot holes, the power of friendship actually (mostly) made sense and the found family that is the guild is very sweet. I was mesmerized by all the magic types and many likable characters. I even used to tell fanfics to my friend who got me into it (yes, "tell" because I had no idea what fanfic was, so I just imagined random stories. I never thought them out or finished them but it was incredibly fun).

However, I didn't really see the fandom until later, when third season came out. It was light-hearted, memey and fixated on power scales and ships. I didn't exactly join it because I never interacted with anyone (given some hot takes of mine maybe it's a good thing) but there was plenty of material to read and analyse. And I was obsessed so I count it as my fandom

Also my second most powerful hyperfixation, Freed Justine. It was awkward waiting for this guy to appear at least somewhere while majority of fandom was into ships and main characters. But then I saw that someone wrote fanfics about him, there were plenty of fanarts. My thirst for information was more or less satisfied. He became so inspiring that I ended up creating oc based on him (partly because I didn't like his canon character development but hey I shouldn't be negative here)

23. the fandom you're curious about because of a mutual

There are many like Dungeon Meshi, Omori, Parties are for losers and School bus graveyard

Dungeon Meshi seems comforting for some reason, maybe due to Senshi (that's his name, right?) and how he promotes healthy eating habits. And memes about characters being different kind of autistic. If I join this fandom know it was power of autism all along

I know some events from Omori but not the whole story. I heard it's depressing so I don't want to be sad, I have real life and yttd already. But at the same time I'm intrigued by its fighting system and well, sometimes I'm attracted to tragedy

Parties are for losers is something I have googled and read about but ultimately I didn't watch anything. So maybe once I'll finally give it a try

And I have read a bit of school bus graveyard but I decided that one hyperfixation is enough. Even though it is an interesting webtoon.

Just wait, my dear mutuals, I'll join these fandoms someday. Probably

24. how has fandom positively impacted your life? (Yttd)

Right now I adore our fandom! It is so cozy and funny and I'm glad to be part of it! Honestly, before I began posting I was afraid of hate or that my takes were wrong etc, but people were far more accepting. I argued only once about my opinions and even then it was a civilised discussion. Some tumblrinas followed me, I followed back and I got to know those people better. So even if my life is hard I know that there are people here that care. It's heartwarming to know

If I'm talking about yttd as a game it's going to be too long but in a nutshell it really makes me think. What is good, what is bad, what is justified? What makes us human, what is weakness and what is strength? It is not black and white, yttd shows how different perspectives define our understanding of these concepts. And one of many conclusions I've come to is that we should believe in ourselves and try to stay true to our beliefs as much as possible

Also, English language practice. English is nowhere near my mother tongue so I make ungodly amount of mistakes. But with practice I am improving little by little. And I'm grateful that there's absolutely no semblance of hate due to grammatically incorrect sentences and the like

24. how has fandom positively impacted your life? (Undertale)

I didn't actively participate in it but it was so creative! So many AUs, so many ideas. I loved listening to musicals (which also helped me understand English orally). I am still inspired to do something like this. I dream of creating musicals for my favorite games (I've tried to write lyrics for battle of wits from Exit/corners but I have no idea if the result is fine). And some of my ocs come from Undertale's souls because I loved the concept of souls and their abilities

This comforting game also made me think about forgiveness and the whole complexity of monsterkind's situation. I really sympathise with overwhelming majority of them. Is violence an option? Is it the last resort? Such lessons are impactful even if you're the one choosing the answer

[chemnections]

It really bothers me that so few people on this site seem to genuinely like Frank. I'm glad I found this blog.

There are so many people who only post about him when he mentions MCR, or only post about Frank when there is some nonsense drama fabricated around him and those people want to get in on the memes.

It's almost as though people can't be genuine or sincere about Frank. There's always a level of sarcasm or criticism or slight hostility when they talk about him. They can write novel length posts about anyone else in MCR with no snark, but can't do the same for Frank. The only exception to this is the Sydney bus accident, and honestly I dread the day some fucking ghoul tries to make a joke post about that incident.

these past few days really have been disheartening on that front.

i did expect there to be some anger and typical capitalism discourse from people who really do not understand what they are talking about. but it is so crazy to see anger from people i actually didn't expect to lash out in that way. seeing users change their frank profile pictures because they were so mad over the reverb sale, or i have even seen someone keep theirs but with a red x over his face. as if frank doesn't see what happens online and like his feelings can't be hurt. all because they objected to him selling old clothes (conveniently forgetting that were part of iconic shows/tours/photographs) for a proper collectors fee? significant figures in music have their 'old clothes' in museums or on display or in private collections - these pieces have the potential to increase in value or have donation value to future music exhibitions.) the turn around from being excited to try and buy something of frank's to straight up condemning him is weird. like you said, like they never really liked him in the first place.

mikey literally just had a signature bass line where the bass costed over $1000 and i never saw anyone comment or complain about it. no one accused mikey of 'going for the cash grab'. and this isn't a dig at mikey, just shows the double standard.

long time frank fans should know that 'being critical of your favs' is not dished out fairly and often leads to certain fans attempting smear campaigns against frank. it's why i tend to be protective of him on this blog, to try and counteract that bs.

there were some particular tweets that really pissed me off and i thought about responding, but i also didn't want more attention on them. it's a thin line.

and then with the context of certain meddling/manipulation that goes on in the fandom space where frank is often targeted with unfounded rumours. . . i'm usually out of the loop on that one but i've been curious with lola's reemergence. on that topic i can think of a certain person with a deleted possum post making fun of a car crash.

frank cares and puts in extraordinary effort into his career, truly giving fans so much, and for his efforts he is unappreciated or has his name dragged through the mud. from his efforts to reunite mcr in the first place, to the amazing ls dunes content recently and giving fans opportunity to purchased reasonably priced collectors items tagged with stories where all fans can learn more. have fans ever heard of thank you? and appreciating what you get instead of demanding for something else? truly biting the hand that feeds. and then there is a controlling aspect to it as well - not accepting who frank is as a person, the art and opportunities he is putting out and bullying him online to get things out of it. i'm glad he won't bend to that pressure and his snarky response tweets were gold.

this is the same behaviour that ran frank off of twitter in the first place. so it's hard not to get upset about it when it is being ruined for the rest of us. but we also can't change other people. it is what it is.

[twistedtavern]

You said in your scrapped content post that Leona used to be the only love interest in the self aware au (besides Rook apparently? 😳 what's the story with that??) Care to elaborate?

Ah yes, finally time to introduce The Simp Squad!! And with them, their respective arcs in the afterstory ^w^ (IN-DEPTH SPOILERS UNDER THE CUT)

Your romantic options for endings include:

These boys (at the moment)!! If someone can somehow determine that I have some kind of type based on these I am horrified to see what this reveals about me

Starting with the (relatively small) elephant in the room: Rook was mentioned in the scrapped post as a love interest, but he's not present in the simp squad picture. This is relatively easy to explain, he is canonically the player's ex! They hooked up around the time of the VDC, ended up not working out because of a variety of reasons, had a non-toxic breakup, and remained good friends even though they were exes all before spring. This is just part of the story. I swear if you look up the phrase "no hard feelings" you will see a picture of Rook throughout this entire au, what a champ. Maybe he could have an ending where he gets back with them and they do end up working... God dammit guys

Now onto the ones pictured above!

Leona: Ah, yes. The OG lover boy. If nobody got me, I know Leona Kingscholar got me. Can I get an amen? Yes, this is just "aha! the grumpy character has fallen in love with the sunshine character!" but it does have more depth than that. He starts off not paying the player any mind, but when Halloween hits and everyone is dragged down to the Spectral Realm, and he sees his ghost fighting to protect them with his (after)life, he definitely starts getting curious. After the events of Halloween, he starts approaching them, and since they're just a sunshine-flavored enigma, Leona just ends up getting dragged in more and more until he's realizing that he calls out to them whenever he sees them, and oh shit they've been snuggling together since noon and now it's 3 PM. Player honestly just thinks he's the sweetest ever and every other character is staring at them like 👁️👄👁️. The soft ship.

Octatrio: Yes, you are reading that right. All three. I just think the dynamic is frankly hilarious, because they can bounce off each other about their simultaneous crush on the player and form devious plots to get cheek kisses and snuggles together. Their dynamic is not competing for the player's hand, it's more like a full blown sprint toward the door whenever they come in to see who can get headpats first. There's a difference. They also apparently think the player is the funniest thing in Wonderland. If you ever catch Jade doing anything other than Polite Butler Chuckle #3, chances are the player probably suddenly remembered a meme they could recite from memory entirely out of context in the middle of a conversation. They definitely get hit the hardest by the "oh!! yeah, I'll kiss the homies goodnight" attitude when it comes to platonic affection, Floyd especially. He enjoys it when he gets it, but if he is blatantly flirting with them and it flies over their head, catch him looking deadpan into the nearest camera like it's The Office. Jade just gets shy and soft, he's scrunkly. Azul gets really flustered and tries to hide it, but he's absolutely touch starved and Needs It. All in all, Snuggle Pile Supreme.

Sebek: GOD HELP ME I AM ABOUT TO BE SO OBNOXIOUS ABOUT THIS. WE STAN. Definitely the most plot-reliant out of ALL of them. The hyper specific conditions of the afterstory have created the perfect habitat for this ship in particular. Malleus being missing was the key starting point for this ship to thrive, because Sebek suddenly had a wide open vacancy in the "liege to protect" position. It's really his devotion to the player and determination to be a proper guard for them that drives this ship forward. After all, if he can't protect a mere human, how can he protect the Young Master? Once he starts getting attached, though, that's when THE ANGST kicks in >:Dc. You see, there is one MAJOR point of angst that sticks with Sebek and largely defines his arc in the afterstory, and it's the player's memory. Throughout the entire afterstory, their memories have proven to be the main conflict of the afterstory, either because of what memory they have or lack. Sebek's conflict in relation to their memories is firmly in the 'lack thereof' zone, and it's the fact that they only remember him from the game, and not the kidnapping night. He is more than aware of the atrocities that were committed against them in that time frame, and that there were those who attacked and those who helped, but he's also aware of the fact that he is not remembered amongst their protectors, and because he loves and reveres them so much he's HORRIFIED of what that could mean for his past actions. But no flashbacks of him ever come. Never attacking, never protecting, nothing. And so the question weighs on his mind, what the hell could he have possibly been doing that night? It's when he starts getting answers that the angst REALLY kicks up (for both the fake answer and the real answer). And don't get me STARTED on how the return of Malleus/Tsunotarou throws a wrench into the works. Don't get me wrong, this ship certainly has its fair share of fluff and hurt/comfort, but by GOD this is the angst ship 100%. I will go into even further detail if asked.

Malleus: Was not included in the image because he does not deserve to be for a NUMBER of reasons. First off, he doesn't even love the player, like REMOTELY. Second, the only reason he's listed here is by the technicality of a VERY fucked up thing he did. Thirdly, CRIMES AGAINST DIASOMNIA. HE EMOTIONALLY ABUSED THAT POOR CROCODILE TO HELL AND BACK DAMN WELL WILLINGLY KNOWING FULL WELL WHAT HIS WORDS WOULD DO TO HIM ALL FOR A BITCH HE DON8 EVEN WANT!!!!!! LILIA RAISED HIM AS HIS OWN SON AND FOUGHT FOR HIM AND BELIEVED IN HIM UNTIL THE ABSOLUTE LAST AND WHAT DOES THAT MOTHER FUCKER DO TO THIS POOR OLD MAN?? HE JUST TOSSES HIM ASIDE. JUST LIKE THAT. HE TRIES TO KILL HIM!! AGAIN!!!!!!!! I HAVE NEVER WANTED TO BASH A MOTHERFUCKER UPSIDE THE HEAD WITH A CHAIR SO BAD!! I WANT TO BEAT HIM TO DEATH!!! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Anyways there's also platonic endings so lemme know if you want those too because I will get equally as obnoxious

[deliciouspeachpirate]

I posted 1,194 times in 2022

12 posts created (1%)

1,182 posts reblogged (99%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@carryingthebanner

@mysandwichranaway

@cold-butter-warm-toast

@hotcocoandmarshmallows

@shippingcannons

I tagged 554 of my posts in 2022

#newsies - 144 posts

#jack kelly - 52 posts

#newsies shitpost - 38 posts

#davey jacobs - 34 posts

#percy jackson - 26 posts

#lord of the rings - 22 posts

#important - 22 posts

#newsies fanart - 21 posts

#fansies - 21 posts

#tumblr culture - 19 posts

Longest Tag: 138 characters

#i’m currently in a room with 11 other people who are presumably asleep and will be for another hour and a half so i can’t listen to it now

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

This is a tumblr hug, or a tumblr high five, or a tumblr sitting in the same room together, pass it on to your ten favorite followers or mutuals <3

AYYYYYY THANK YOU BESTIE! Right back at you! I saw your other ask too, you're so sweet <3

1 note - Posted August 10, 2022

#4

crash

2 notes - Posted April 1, 2022

#3

Ok now I'm curious to see which newsie you associate ME with

Okay so I went to look through your blog and the very first thing I saw screaming lady and cat meme and so my brain instantly said Race but then then the very first couple posts were about how nice it is when someone's open about how much they care about you and giving someone the bigger or better part of something you're sharing because you love them and so I'm gonna say you're Jojo.

I've always seen him as a bit of a jokester and always trying to make people laugh, but he's also the sweetest guy ever and one of the first people to know if someone is having a bad day. Basically, I think you're really cool!

2 notes - Posted February 22, 2022

#2

for the newsies association, either kath or finch!

Ooooo interesting! I am very honored that I remind you of our queen, her majesty Katherine Pulitzer Plumber! And Finch is cool too, I never would have thought about that! We stan our bird man

2 notes - Posted February 21, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

Sprace Royal Wedding AU (Let me know if anyone has an idea for a good title!)

@gendistic42 Here is your fic for @newsiesgiftexchange! I absolutely LOVED your prompt! This was my first time writing an au, so I hope you like it. It's also important to note that this fic isn't finished yet because it is going to become my first ever series! Updates will probably be sporadic, but shall be made with love so hopefully that counts lol I'm so glad I got to be a part of this! Without further ado, here is the first part of *Inset Title Here That I Will Come Up With Later!* I hope you enjoy this as much as I enjoyed writing it!

Spot was pissed. He'd always known that one day he was going to have to marry someone who was chosen for him, someone that he wouldn't have much time to get to know, and given his track record, likely someone he wouldn't even like. All the same, to find out that Denton had chosen someone without even talking to him first made him angry.

Denton had been his father's advisor before he died. He'd practically raised Spot and while it was safe to say he was one of the only people Spot actually loved, they two didn't always get along very well. Denton wanted to make sure that Spot would be ready to rule when the time came. Seeing as how his father had died years ago, he would be crowned king as soon as he turned 18, leaving him with far less time to prepare than most had. Spot had watched Denton rule as the Lord Protector, learning all he could from him, until he effectively took over at 16. It was a hard life and while Spot often wished it had been passed to someone else, he wanted the best for his people and wasn't willing to risk turning over his kingdom to someone who didn't care about it as much as he did.

Spot's inevitable marriage was one of the most common debates between the him and Denton. It always started the same way. Denton would ask if Spot had thought any more about one suitor or another, Spot would get defensive over all the other things he had been working on lately till Denton pointed out that Spot was using that as an excuse to avoid thinking about it. Spot would get angry, Denton would yell back and they'd fight till Spot inevitably stormed from the room to lock himself away in his office for hours on end. They always made up quickly, they couldn't afford not to, and they both understood the other's position. The last argument had ended with Spot telling Denton to just find someone for him so that he didn't have to think about it anymore.

Sitting in his office, Spot now regretted telling Denton to decide without him. Spot realized that while he trusted Denton to try not to doom him to a miserable life, he had given up what little choice he'd had in finding someone to marry. Knowing Denton, it was likely someone serious, stoic, and far to boring for Spot's taste. Someone who could help him run his kingdom well, but probably not someone he would want to spend his life with.

Most of the reason why Spot loathed the idea of an arranged or political marriage, though he would never be caught dead admitting it, was that he wanted to have a chance to actually fall in love with someone. He wanted the chance to admire them from across the hall, for his friend's to tease him whenever his crush walked in the room. He wanted to ask them on a date and go to the movies or watch the stars together talking about everything and nothing. He wanted to hold their hand and watch their face light up when they talked about their passions. He wanted to make pancakes on a Sunday morning while his partner cooed over their kid in the living room. He wanted so many things that he'd never get the chance for.

Spot jumped as his phone vibrated next to him. Looking down he saw the name lighting up the screen. Of course Davey would be calling him. Spot had known Davey Jacobs for as long as he could remember. The Jacobs family had always been granted nobility back when Spot's grandmother had been queen for their ongoing efforts to align the monarchy with the needs and feelings of the people. Ever since the family had been both politicly active and well loved by most of the nation. Because of their close relations with the royal family, Davey, Sarah, and Spot had practically grown up with each other. Spot wasn't always sure if Les knew that he was technically his future king, but Spot didn't care for Les to ever see him as anything other than his older brother's stressed out friend.

He huffed and ran a hand down his face before declining the call and going back to the document he had been trying to distract himself with earlier. Not five seconds later his phone lit up again. Groaning he declined the call again, unlocking his phone and typing out a text before the young politician could call him another time. Just as he was about to send it, that damned picture of a smiling, gap toothed 8 year old Davey took over his screen again.

"Davey what the fuck do you want?"

"Wow, Denton said it was bad but I didn't expect that," Davey's languid and amused voice gave away that Spot's reaction was exactly what he had expected.

Spot gritted his teeth a took a deep breath before he responded.

"Jacobs, I swear, you'd better have something real important to say."

"Dude you just got engaged and you don't even know who it is. You literally told your dad to choose someone for you."

Only a handful of people knew that Spot would often refer to Denton as his dad. Given that his actually father had been the king and was now dead, it would have been considered disrespectful of him to refer to anyone else as his father, even though the former king had never had much of a hand in raising Spot in the first place.

"Yes, which is why you had better say something interesting in the next five seconds or I'm hanging up, I've got work I was doing before you called!"

"Uh huh, because you were definitely focused on that and not on your future husband," Spot could hear Davey rolling his eyes through the phone.

After a moment of silence, Davey huffed slightly before speaking again.

"Look Spot, how about I come over tonight. I don't want you stewing around your office and don't say you're working, we both know you aren't gonna get anything done like this. Let's just watch a movie, maybe sleep out on the balcony and talk. You need some time to process this."

Spot sighed before answering. "Ya know what Dave, you pick out the movie and I'll cover snacks."

"I'll be there in 20 minutes."

Spot laughed, "You'd better, Jacobs."

20 notes - Posted January 1, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[masschase]

i can’t remember if you talked about it before, but for the ask meme i’m curious about troy and casey. and if you have already, or feel like talking about more than one ship, what about casey and viola?

Ooh, OK! I thought I wasn't going to get any this time around so this is a pleasant surprise! 😊

Have your followers send in suggestions for ships for your OC, and you describe how good/bad/amazing/disastrous/hilarious it would end up.

Casey and Troy

So Troy and Casey is a definite no! At one point early on in forming my hcs I was going to have them be cousins, and while I have yet to give a definitive answer on whether they are or not, I've been shifting back in the direction that are, but that unlike my original hc, neither of them remotely know that in my main-universe. In fact, you know what? They are and I'm going to do a post on that later because I have more to say on it. 😁

However, speaking from a potential situation where they're not related... it's still not something I can see.

So just off the bat I don't ship Casey with anyone during SR1 because she's only 15 at the start(slight exception being in universes where she has Zoo as her co-boss and/or friend as they are the same age, so I shall allow them their little moments). The next youngest Saint is Dex who I hc as 21 and gay so... yeah, no. But I do have the thing of Casey having one-sided crushes on Johnny, Lin and Dex.

Why not Troy? He just wasn't someone she saw as "cool" like she saw the others, in fact he was quite protective and responsible with regards to her and this is why I see their connection as more familial and duty-based (because I believe regardless of Troy leaning towards the Saints overall he's had a keen sense of protecting civilians drummed into him since childhood) even if they aren't related by blood. When she starts to succeed in life, he feels pretty proud of her.

Additionally, while I see that Troy is a complicated and probably conflicted character, Casey takes a long time to get out of the mindset that he betrayed her. It's one of those things where she knows it's not entirely black and white but she can't quite shake the grudge she felt when she woke up from the coma and found out.

There is the brief and admittedly kind of silly thing about Troy having a wife who resembles Casey(referencing ONE mission and something I thought of bc of posts so far back I will NOT be able to find them but you know). I don't believe that's because Troy has some secret attraction to Casey, I think it's something he just doesn't really see because he doesn't want to. He sees them too differently.

So there just isn't a place and time for them, you know? But even if things were to align, I just don't think they're attracted to each other, sexually or romantically, so I can't really envision a ship dynamic for them.

Casey and Viola

This one is interesting. I think Viola is incredibly grateful Casey allowed her to join the Saints, but her overall opinion of her is Boss first, friend second, and Casey reacts accordingly, so they're not super close friends. I can see some physical attraction between the two, more Casey towards Viola than vice versa(partly bc of Viola's thing for Shaundi, but also just in general). I don't think they ever hooked up but like they easily could have given the right situation.

Romantically, on the other hand, I can't see it at all. Viola and Casey are both, to me, "cool" characters emotionally. While they aren't unpleasant people I think both of them have a certain standoffishness, though Viola's would appear as more "professional/detached" and Casey's as "chill/unphased".

I think they both have a great deal of capacity for love. But I think they both need an emotionally warm character to unlock that. I think Shaundi for example is emotionally warm even if some of the barriers she puts up from SR3 onwards make it hard to see, which is why time and place dependant, she works as a ship for them both. For the record, they could potentially work as a triad. Maybe. But I also feel like there's also something about the Shaunvi vibe that Casey would just throw off completely. Maybe because she's almost the mediator between them so she might balance out what's passionate and interesting about them.

This is going a little off topic but I've actually wanted to talk about this aspect of Casey for a while because when you look at their first impressions you wouldn't get that she is the cold one and Matt is the warm one. Matt doesn't immediately come across as "warm" at all but I would chalk that up to fear and anxiety. In SR4 we get to see him acting a lot more openly emotional as well as passionate about things he cares about, because he's found a group of people he actually feels comfortable enough around to be himself. Leaning more towards headcanons (although maybe not so much when you see his rejected advances towards Asha in-game) I have him as quite physically affectionate/touchy feely. It's a combination of sensory seeking and not always being able to put his affection for people into words.

I don't allude to it here as much but in my writing I make frequent mention of it. Casey talks about how she's always cold and Matt is really warm as a justification for being physically close with him. I constantly have Casey tell Matt to relax/breathe when he's panicking and talk about how he finds her cool touch calming. That sort of thing. If you want to go one further there's the fact that Casey smells warm (cinnamon) but feels cold when you get closer, and Matt smells cold (lemon) but when you get closer he's physically warm.

But getting back to my actual point- Matt and Casey take a long time to get together because he's like a very persistant hairdryer melting a block of ice. But it works eventually. With Viola, Shaundi is more like a decent heat source which melts the ice very easily once her own barrier (in my hc, finding out in 2016 that Johnny isn't actually dead) is lifted. Viola and Casey on the other hand are just... two blocks of ice. It's a nice thought but it's just not going anywhere.

[mercurybliss]

The Midheavens on Social Media

>> Based on my observations! If you find that this does not resonate with you, it could possibly be due to a variety of factors, such as planets that sit in your tenth house or that might be forming an aspect with your midheaven. 

   Aries Midheaven: These natives are all about testing boundaries with their posts. Unique poses or fashion. Perhaps they’ll use filters and edits to make their selfies pop out. They strongly express their opinions on subjects and often use their social medias to advocate and let their voices be heard. They have the potential to be very powerful figures on social media.

  Taurus Midheaven: Their social medias are filled with beautiful selfies of them and their hair and makeup look perfect in every picture. They seem to give off this divine, godlike aura. Their favorite things to post on their stories are usually food, selfies, and luxurious things. They want to make people feel awe. They want to look classy.

   Gemini Midheaven: They have a very lighthearted approach to social media; most of their content will consist of funny, off-guard pictures or pictures of them with friends, wearing bright smiles. They usually post pictures with witty captions and they actively respond to comments. Could have full-blown conversations in the comment section. Because they’re usually Virgo risings, they post lots of pictures of nature or there’s an artsy, earthy vibe to their pictures. 

  Cancer Midheaven: I’ve noticed that they always look angelic and dreamy in their photos. They don’t post often because they are very careful with what photos they choose to share, and they absolutely hate showing any blemishes or imperfections. They (mostly Libra risings) usually find a way to make their eyes the most noticeable feature in their photos. Quirky or romantic captions. Documents day to day activities and posts pictures of their friends/pets/loved ones on their stories.

   Leo Midheaven: Holy moly they’re powerful on social media. They’re all about grabbing everyone’s attention or they unintentionally grab everyone’s attention. Popularity comes easily to these natives. They tend to post 24/7 (especially selfies) and they go viral easily. They are constantly online making friends and impressing people they’re interested in. They tend to have HUGE followings and can attract many envious people or stalkers. 

   Virgo Midheaven: Their social media presence is very humble. They typically have small followings because they only want close friends and acquaintances to interact with their photos and they’re quite comfortable with keeping their circle small. They like their privacy. These people might post photography or very natural selfies that seem like they’ve been taken in one snap. They don’t really understand the obsession with gaining popularity on social media.

   Libra Midheaven: The majority of them look very elegant in their pictures and have very nice, charming online personalities. People might find them easy to interact with so they could have many online friends. Very sweet and will leave compliments and feedback on your posts. Probably retweets/reblogs quotes or aesthetics. All about looking as perfect as possible in their photos, so they spend a lot of time analyzing them. Shares many photos of their friends or loved ones. 

    Scorpio Midheaven: Love to appear mysterious on social media. Are constantly afraid that people might say something bad about the way they look or about what they’re posting, so they delete their photos excessively often. Will post sporadically because they don’t want to seem annoying, but they also don’t want people to forget them. Probably have many selfies tucked away in their camera rolls that will never see the light. They carefully select things to post or retweet/reblog. Very secretive. They are professional lurkers (seriously--hire them if you need to find out information about someone you like) and they are prepared to deactivate their account at any moment (always afraid that people hate them or are judging them hard). 

   Sagittarius Midheaven: They seem like they have thousands of interests but it’s because they are very curious people. They have a very lighthearted approach to social media, although they do like to use their social medias to give their thoughts and amplify social issues. Could post a TON on social media, or they might have a spam account where they do this. People are attracted to them because they seem bold and different. 

  Capricorn Midheaven: I feel like they often have too much pride to post often on social media, so long hiatuses are common. Are very conscious about what they post and might delete their pictures after a bit. Might not post their own thoughts much but they’ll retweet or share many different things. They might not interact with people unless they’re really close and they rarely respond to comments. When they do drop pictures, they grab attention quickly. 

     Aquarius Midheaven: Some will have you questioning whether they are still alive because they rarely ever post. Actually, the most they’ll do is have that one photo from like 5 years ago still on their page, so you’ll never know how they look now or if they’re even alive. Others have very disorganized feeds because they post hundreds of things. These natives are constantly online, however, because they like the memes and funny videos (and they’re probably lurking hard). Most Aquarius Midheavens don’t seem to care so much about social media, they’re only there for the jokes and entertainment.

     Pisces Midheaven: On their page they post creative selfies and pictures and probably some sort of photography. They give off a very artsy vibe honestly, but that’s what they’re aiming for anyways. They’ll drop a really obscure or artsy pic every few months. They’re all about having an aesthetically pleasing social media. Just like Sagittarius Midheaven, they like to post about their interests and seem to have hundreds of them. Could seem hard to figure out. Also very outspoken about social issues. 

>> Comment your thoughts! Thank you for reading!

[l3vi4than]

Okay, I’ve had enough of that “men evil” nonsense spilled at me lately so want to share two things here in case someone might find it helpful:

1) never try to reason an “all men must die” person with “not all men”/“but trans men” and other such arguments. The “not all men” is a big meme there and will be actively used against you to dehumanise you to the point of irredeemable man-supporter who “must die as well”

2) as prev said for the most part these people really aren’t feminists in the slightest. They just love to have a “legitimate” reasoning behind their uncontrollable hatred tornadoes. They act from the same point of devouring fear that makes people support other fascist ideologies. You can’t argue with them with reason, only emotion — and their emotions are probably much stronger than you think (which makes it really hard to sustain a conversation)

I am really surprised this hasn’t been said before, but here are also a few advices for the critical thinking part that can help you avoid ill-intended debates and preserve your mental health:

If you notice someone is trying to radicalise you against anything — they are most probably trying to manipulate you, withdraw from the discussion if it makes you uncomfortable until further clarification is given

The vast generalisations are almost always false premises used to justify violent message behind them. Don’t trust generalisations without statistical evidence behind them

The false dichotomy “us vs them” is always a red flag. I beg you, please, “uniting against the common enemy” is the most well known manipulative shit ever, it only leads to dehumanisation of “them”. We’re all humans in the same proportion, nobody is “more human” and there’s no way to make this argument acceptable with fancy words

Another red flag is when the Pavlov’s dog reflex is trained via indirect aggression. “Everyone says that trans women are evil” -> “I too must not support or have compassion to trans women because how can I support something evil???” It is difficult to notice, but pay attention to the phrases structured as “as always some X has done Y”/“another tragedy:…”/“why can’t X just be normal about Y?”/“you only care about X because you’re Y”/“this is different or a special case”/etc — these are rarely mirroring speaker’s opinion, instead they are translating the pattern they’ve appropriated and are now reusing to prove the initial point (like “all men are evil”) The funny example from my recent experience: “all penis-havers are evil and must die; gays don’t count tho they’re built differently” 💀

If you’re curious, I’d recommend reading Amanda Montell’s book “Cultish” — it covers pretty well the language of indoctrination and manipulative gaslighting. She describes how cult leaders hook people into their “beliefs”, but also provides curious examples from politics and culture. It’s really one of the best introductions into the critical thinking without actually being one of those, so I highly recommend

Anyway. As a cis man, im extremely happy to see this post happening. I’m in no position to engage in a discussion here probably, but I just want to say that there are much more (cis) men who support feminist ideas and activism than it is commonly thought there are. And tbh, I think it’s great, the more people are engaging in (real) activism, the sooner our world will become a better place for all of us 💖 baby steps!

Last, but not least, im so heartbroken to find out about transmascs experiencing this “anti men” shit as well (TIL). Because even within the terf logic itself it just doesn’t make any sense, lmao. To me all this “all men are inherently X” sounds exactly the same as “if you’re attracted to buff girls you’re gay” shit 💀 like wtf?! Be strong, my brothers, being pushed into a frame of ridiculous and contradictory expectations is part of “being a man” — which is sad, and you shouldn’t have to deal with this shit (as nobody should), im sorry 🫂

sorry since realizing my gender i have zero tolerance for the whole “man hating” angle of being queer i hate i hate it i hate you. stop. you are hurting people.

[olderthannetfic]

re: reposting anon. I am genuinely curious - where’s the generally agreed upon line?

People repost content all the time and get celebrated for it. Tweet threads, reddit posts, memes, and quotes from various sites get screenshot and put on tumblr all the time, and the only complaining I see is folks who want everyone to use image IDs.

I personally always ask before I post someone’s art to another social media site, and am often directed to the artist’s profile to share from there, but even more often am told it’s fine with a direct link and credit to the artist. I’ve never reposted fic. That feels more invasive to me in some nebulous way, but I do post fic recs, and I’ve never asked permission to make fic recs, either.

Clearly no one (sane) is saying there should be no content moving between sites unless the original artist puts it there, but tweets et al are just as much the intellectual property of their OPs as art and fics are of those creators.

--

It's hard to say.

I do have qualms about the endless twitter reposts on tumblr even as I reblog some of the funnier ones. I have zero qualms about using that one bird rights screencap as a reaction to things all over the internet. I never have qualms about reccing in whatever space I choose to use. The desire for historical preservation and the desire for control of one's own content are directly in opposition, and I tend to fall somewhat more on the historical preservation side.

Reposting to twitter is especially contentious because twitter is even more of a generator of mass harassment than other platforms. If you reposted to Dreamwidth, that shit isn't retweetable/rebloggable, and nobody's paying attention anyway, so the level of drama is going to be lower. If you save a copy on your own computer or repost to a private discord, who's going to know?

I don't mind a pithy quote being quoted elsewhere because it's funny. That's typical fair use. I absolutely mind my content being used to further sites I think we should mass abandon and make die. Twitter is at the top of that list.

[familyfriendlyweed]

makeup sessions (karl jacobs x fem reader)

a/n : hi! this is my first tumblr post. i have written stuff on wattpad in the past, but it’s still quite new to me, so please be nice :]] i accept positive critism and advice, as that most definitely will help me grow as a writer!

 Y/n let out something between a squeal and a scream at the same time when she saw Karl's tweet. her face was beat red and her lips couldn't help but curl into the stupidest grin ever.

the tweet read :

hey @) y/nhasursocks wanna do my makeup at my stream today :]]

 it was the simplest tweet, yet it meant so much to the girl. Karl and Y/n were always really good friends, they often streamed minecraft together, but never in a million years did he yet ask her to be in his stream in real life.

 Y/n picked up the phone with trembling hands, already seeing a bunch of likes, comments and retweets to Karl's tweet. before answering, she got curious to know what the people say. cautiously opening the comments section, the girl scanned it through with her eyes. a bunch of "awwwwws" and hearts could be seen, which worsened her already red cheeks.

With her heart thumping hard against her ribs, she started writing her reply :

sounds great! <3

 for a moment Y/n hesitated to press the "reply" button with the "<3" emoticon in the comment, but then she figured she and Karl sent lovey dovey emojis/emoticons in the past to each other anyways, so, she pressed the "reply" button at last.

 in an instant, her reply started gaining more and more likes, comments and retweets. Y/n was never really popular, having her clout was only because of Karl being her friend, so seeing this much attention was weird to her. but she didn't care about that right now. all that Y/n cared about at the moment was the fact that Karl appreciated her enough to actually invite her over.

 a little bit later in the day, Y/n received a private message from Karl, which said :

hey Y/n! I'm really glad you're up to stream together <3 i planned on starting the stream at 4 pm, but you can change the time if you're busy :] here is my address (don't tell anyone! :D) - (random address lol)

 Y/n answered :

 thanks for inviting me bestie!! 4 pm is cool, I'll be there! <33

 she set the phone down, unable to remove the blissful smile from her face. she has never felt this way before - it was really weird, but the constant butterflies in her tummy reminded her that it's a good feeling. taking a few deep breaths, Y/n reminded to herself that all she has to do is to go to Karl's house and have a good time AS FRIENDS - no romantic stuff is needed.

  ~~~~~time skip~~~~~

  Y/n got off from the bus at 15:50, but she still had about 5 minutes to reach Karl's house. in what felt like forever, the girl felt a sting of what was unmistakably fear and guilt - what if she was late? and what if Karl would be annoyed with her for that?

 slowly she broke into a panicky run. passing careless citizens, who all looked at her fear-stricken face curiously, she finally made it to the front door of Karl's home. Y/n pulled out her phone and found the code that she was supposed to enter next the main door. she quickly dialed it, a beep beep beep was heard and she entered.  

 finally making it to Karl's apartment, Y/n stopped to smooth her hair and straighten her clothes so she doesn't look too shabby. her body seemed to be moving on its own - her finger pressed the doorbell automatically.

 Karl opened the door almost in an instant - he wore a warm smile and before Y/n could stutter a "hello", he pulled the girl into a big welcoming hug.

 "hey Y/n! it's so cool you made it!" Karl exclaimed, still holding her close.

Y/n's head was spinning, she needed more time to process what was happening. but nevertheless, she finally lifted her own arms and hugged the guy. burying her face into his sweater, she inhaled Karl's scent deeply - he smelled something like honey and warm days.

"hello, Karl." she mumbled with a grin on her face.

"come on, do you want to eat something before the stream?" Karl asked, letting go of the girl and taking her hand into his instead, leading Y/n into the house.

"oh no, I'm full. let's get straight to business." she answered, the blissful smile and content blush never leaving her face.

"alrighty! you already know, but we'll have an eventful makeup session, and then I thought maybe play some minecraft so the stream isn't too short?" the guy asked, opening his bedroom door.

"sounds great!"

Karl smiled and went to his computer :

"you ready? I'll start the stream now."

the girl quickly fixed her hair again and gave him thumbs up :

"ready."

Karl started the stream with facecam on and as soon as the chat saw Y/n, it went absolutely wild.

"guys, give her a rest, poor girl just came!" he laughed, drawing her a chair. Y/n thanked quietly and sat, waving to the chat timidly. in the corner of her eye, she saw comments like "she's so adorable" and "look at Karl being a gentleman" in the chat and her cheeks grew more red, but this time from satisfaction.

"well, as you guys know, Y/n agreed to be in my stream today, and since some of you don't really know her, she's a really good friend of mine who also streams and does youtube videos - so go support her!"

from that moment Y/n relaxed more and more with each minute. it was fifteen minutes into the stream when she already felt as if at home.

"Karl, you have a hell lot of lipsticks, where did that come from?"

"uhhhh, I only bought them for the stream today!"

"oh really? why are they all used, then?" Y/n asked giggling and showing them to the stream.

"hey- don't expose me like that!"

"chat, clip it, CLIP IT!"

all was going really well, Y/n was having a really good time with Karl AS FRIENDS. it was really nice. but all hell broke loose when the time to put eyeliner came.

"alright, I have no idea why, but you have four eyeliners."

"they're my sister's."

"haha, yeah, yeah, alright. Which one do you want big man?"

"hmmm, the one in your left hand!"

Y/n set the other eyeliners on the table, quickly glancing at the chat. her cheeks grew very very red…

"Y/N DO THE MEME SIT ON HIS LAP" "SIT ON HIS LAP" "THE MEME, DO THE MEME!!!"

  a/n: if anyone is confused, this is an example of the meme i’m talking about :

the girl tried to act as if she hadn't seen the comments, but Karl was already by her side, reading them with her.

"meme… what meme?" he wondered out loud. Y/n got the impression that he was genuinely confused.

'chat, shut the fuck up, please shut the fuck up.' thought Y/n, but of course chat was just being chat.

"SHE SHOULD SIT ON UR LAP" "THERE'S A MEME WHERE A GIRL DOES A GUY'S EYELINER WHILE SITTING ON HIS LAP" "WE'RE NOT FORCING BUT YOU GUYS WOULD LOOK SO CUTE"

Y/n hid her face in her hands, unable to control her blushing. Karl just chuckled sweetly :

"chat, calm down, she's going to die from blushing."

he put on the "please stand by" screen and scooted over Y/n :

"hey, it's fine. we won't do it if you don't want to," Karl then leaned closer and whispered, "I'd be pretty glad if you agreed, though."

Y/n lowered her hands, showing off the big red hue on her cheeks. for a split second Karl's eyes widened -  she looked really adorable.

"I'd also be glad." the girl said, almost not believing her own words.

Karl's adorable smile came back and he leaned back:

"well then, come here."

Y/n stood up shyly and straddled his legs, grabbing the eyeliner in the process.

"do you want me to turn on the facecam?" Karl asked quietly.

the girl nodded :

"I don't mind."

he turned it on and put his hands onto Y/n's hips. even without looking at it, Y/n knew the chat was blowing up at the moment.

"you guys better subscribe, because we're providing very good fanservice." said Karl jokingly and Y/n laughed. turning to him, she opened the eyeliner and put it next to his eye, only to find him staring at her in an awe. the girl blushed as a strong urge to kiss him kicked in. it looked as if Karl wanted the same thing.

at the precise same time, they both leaned in and pressed their lips together, Y/n putting her hands onto Karl's cheeks to hide the view from the chat. the kiss was very short and with no tongue included - but it was the most sweet kiss Y/n has ever shared with someone. she pulled away, an identical grin to Karl's on her face and hugged him very tight - they almost fell off the chair.

laughing, she continued to do Karl's makeup as if nothing happened and everyone watching the stream wasn't fainting and clipping the kiss. this will be talked about for a long time, but as before, Y/n didn't care about that, and nor did Karl.

a/n : anddddd cut! it’s quite wonky, but i believe it’s pretty swell for my first mcyt fanfic :]] let me know what you think of it and if you have any tips or advice on how to make my future stories more enjoyable! thanks for reading and i hope to see you around <3

[utilitycaster]

No idea if it's here on your blog but I'm curious as to what you'd change in the Imodna dynamic to make it a viable ship? It's been a while aince I've listened to c3 since I got into c1, finally, so I'm curious as to what you mean.

Oh sure, I've talked about it before but the quick and dirty summary is: a few people have noted (and I've reblogged their posts but I don't know if I tagged them well) that Laudna's demeanor towards Imogen actually fits the dynamic more of a loving but just a touch clueless older relative? Like, she wants to protect Imogen from the horrors of the world, and that's admirable, but it comes off a bit as a well-meaning but slightly overbearing figure. You can see this with how Laudna often insists Imogen is perfectly capable or tends to go with more of an "it's going to be ok, you can handle this" instead of the more "I'm sorry, that sucks/that sounds hard" support that other members of the party have done because the thing is that Imogen doesn't know if she can handle this, nor do we as the audience! This was much more present early on, actually, and as the two of them have branched out a bit among the rest of the Hells it's gotten a bit better, so I'm optimistic that they can find a way forward, and that the ship will be infinitely more complex and interesting if it happens.

As the ask meme post sort of alluded to some of my initial dislike of the ship was because it felt very migratory (fem)slash fandom, ie, people applying the dynamic they had applied to Beau and Jester and, from what I understand, Vex and Keyleth, of more experienced outgoing person and naive sweet uwu bean who only have each other (which is already outright false per canon, and frankly isn't a dynamic I find terribly attractive or enjoyable for any ship) to two new characters simply because they were women played by Marisha and Laura and not because of who the characters actually were as people.

[I have also found, as someone who very much loves Marisha's characters but has fairly consistently loved Laura's characters even more, that this dynamic is always much more from the perspective of Marisha's character, with Laura's character turning into something entirely noncanonical, eg: how in a lot of shipping stuff for Imogen/Laudna, Imogen turns into a sweet helpless little girl who has bad dreams and headaches that Laudna kisses better, rather than one of the more morally ambiguous and quietly sinister members of the party.]

As time has moved on (and as I've uh...blocked some tags and occasionally people) now I'm much more in favor of the ship, provided the what I said in the first paragraph gets addressed. And to be honest I think there's a really good chance of that! I think there's an excellent chance that Imogen and Laudna, now that they have the security of other friends and aren't just struggling to survive and setting some differences aside because of that, can have more honest conversations and come to a point where romance is possible.

[thefanficmonster]

Stranger In The Crowd

Corpse Husband x Reader (Female)

Warnings: None

Genre: FLUFF, Humor, RPF (Real Person Fic)

Summary: Having recently ended the process of moving, Y/N is rightfully very tired but also very excited for the new chapter of her life. Funnily enough, this new chapter includes a newly formed long distance friendship/crush with a very special person from San Diego.

Requested by @boiled-onionrings Hi darling! Thank you so much for your wonderful request and I’m really sorry you’ve had to wait so long for it to be posted but here it finally is and I hope you enjoy the read! Love, Vy ❤

I let out a heavy sigh, relieved to finally be at home after such a long day of standing around in the Georgia heat with only a thin layer of fabric to protect my eyes and head from the scorching sun. Yeah, anyone who says that tent did well at protecting everyone under it today is nothing but a liar. I was in a short, strapless white summer dress, the fabric of which barely had any weight and consistency to provide heat of its own yet I still damn near melted. Ok, I’ll admit, some of the roasting heat probably came from the energy and force I put into singing the songs of my band’s new album ‘Starting At The End’. 

The mini concert we held in this large open field was meant as an introduction to the city of Savannah where all the band members - myself included - are actually from but we all moved to the West Coast to pursue our music career. And now that we’ve grown, and the majority of us are married, one of us is a father now as well, we’ve decided to return to our hometown. The decision was so spontaneous and was executed so quickly due to no one objecting to it that it still hasn’t me that I’m no longer in LA. The heat isn’t helping my ‘processing’ process but I’ll get to it eventually. Do I miss LA though? Not sure I do - I think I more miss the people I was closer to while I was there.

Suddenly, as if perfectly timed, my phone dings, notifying me that I’ve received a message. I don’t have to look to know it’s from - there’s only one person I actively text and his name is....

C ~ Your virtual buddy Corpse here, making sure you didn’t die of a heatstroke today. If you did indeed survive, just reply to this message, if not....don’t do anything, I guess.

I can’t help but giggle at the sight of the message. I promised Corpse I’d text him after the concert to let him know I was ok, but the even dragged out for longer than anticipated so I’m guessing he got worried.

How cute.

Me ~ Alive and well, but I do feel like a popped tire of an overloaded truck. Hope that’s a visually appealing description

Corpse and I met on the charity livestream Jacksepticeye organized and invited our band to so we could play Among Us with some of the best gamers and streamers on the internet. It was a huge honor and a ton of fun, definitely an event I’d like to repeat in the near future because I had such a good time and I know all my bandmates did too. We all got acquainted and even became official friends with the gamers that were practically our hosts, Corpse becoming the closest friends I’d earn. That livestream happened months ago and we still text just as consistently.

C ~ Oh I know EXACTLY what you mean. Anyway, as to not exhaust you further to force you into typing, how about you send me pictures to sum up your thoughts and emotions and plans for the evening

This is OUR THING trademark, mine and Corpse’s and no one can take it away from us. It’s a significant element of our friendship that enables us both to understand one another when one of us feels the way I described in my message - a popped tire or a deflated balloon. I’m usually the exhausted one - blame the many shows we do and the many meet-and-greets we organize for our lovely fans. It’s the type of exhaustion none of the band members mind at all, but we definitely need some time to recover from it.

As I go to sit down on my couch, the flower crown I’ve been wearing slips off the top of my head, falling on the floor, creating a soft noise that attracts the attention of one of my many cats - Sasha. She’s the youngest and most curious kitty in the family, always protected by the other four - Luna, Cassie, Silver and Lynn. Those four are far lazier and a lot more disinterested in comparison to Sasha who immediately runs over to see what’s fallen.

I smile to myself, taking the flower crown and undoing it to lessen it by a few stems to make it smaller, all the while being watched by the curious Sasha whose interest is rewarded in the end when I put the now adorably tiny flower crown on her head.

While she still hasn’t shaken the thing off I manage to snap a pic which I send to Corpse who opens it mere seconds after it was delivered. 

C ~ Sasha’s pulling off your aesthetic better than you. Sorry, someone had to let you know

I burst out laughing for two reasons - 1.The message itself, damn it! It’s hilarious; 2. Corpse has learnt the name of each one of my cats and never mixes them up - not even Luna and Lynn who look almost identical. That amount of attention to detail is astonishing and very meaningful to me, it genuinely warms my heart and that may or may not be dramatic but it’s definitely not exaggerated.

Me ~ You think I haven’t caught on yet? 

C ~ Well, if it makes you feel any better you pull off my aesthetic better than I do

He’s referring to the e-girl look I did for one show the band had in downtown LA one night. I was drunk and looking forward to trying new things so I improvised the hell out of my outfit but I apparently looked presentable enough to leave a good impression on Corpse despite the pic I sent him being a bit blurry and being a mirror selfie in the bathroom of the very bar we were performing in. It goes without saying that the mirror was dirty too - had a bunch of writing on it which Corpse said only added to the aesthetic. Looking back on it now I kinda agree, and luckily so did the fans in the comments of that same photo when I posted it on Instagram.

Me ~ Means a lot actually. Nowhere near enough to aid the burn of having a cat pull off cottagecore better than I do, but still helps XD

As if sensing that we’re talking about her, Sasha hops on the couch, poking her head over my phone to look down at the screen.

Now this is gonna be golden.

I take a selfie with my phone in my lap, the camera capturing both me and Sasha at a rather unflattering angle which has me losing my mind laughing when I send the picture to Corpse who immediately sends back a string of cry-laughing emojis.

C ~ I can’t tell which one of you is cuter

Me ~ If that was a compliment, I gotta say I appreciate it greatly

C ~ Just telling the truth ;)

It’s times like these that the butterflies in my stomach remind me just why I’ve started catching feelings for this man despite all the distance between us and despite barely knowing him - he knows me more than I know him but I don’t mind it, oddly enough.

I’m fond of our connection and though I sometimes dream of something more, I’m also content with what we already have considering that ‘something more’ seems rather unattainable as of now.

My phone dings again, clearing the fog of thoughts and presenting me with a new message from Corpse.

C ~ Oh, by the way, look what I got....

That message is followed up by a picture of a ticket. A plane ticket to Georgia! 

While I’m still busy stomaching this and dealing with my quickly rising excitement, he sends another message.

C ~ I hope to catch a The Silver Rays concert while I’m there. Heard they had an adorable frontwoman ;)

My breath catches in my throat as a wide grin spreads across my face. The thought of having Corpse so close to me sends those aforementioned butterflies in my stomach into a raving mood and they practically explode my insides with excitement and joy like I’ve never felt it before. I can’t wrap my brain around the fact that we’re about to go from having an entire country between us, to being just some ways away - him in the audience and me on stage without a single clue of who to look for. That’s part of the excitement though, I guess, part of the guessing game that’s gonna make our meeting all the more interesting.

He’ll be a stranger in the crowd and I’ll be a performer on a stage - seemingly two people who have no relation whatsoever. But damn does it go beyond that: No one has to know how hard I’m falling for that stranger in the crowd.

Me ~ I’ve heard so too, can’t confirm it though

If this is gonna be a guessing game, I’ll flip the tables a bit - I won’t take any guesses. I’ll let the answer come to me. I’ll give the first move over to the stranger in the crowd, let’s see what he does.

C ~ I’ll check and let you know, don’t worry

Not worried whatsoever, Corpsie. I’m not worried at all.

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[aminiatureworld]

Spotlight

Characters: Albedo, Kazuha, Xiao, gn!reader

Word Count: 3,707

Warnings: Swearing

Premise: Modern AU in which the reader’s s/o is famous.

Author’s Note: My first crack at a modern AU and I enjoyed it immensely! My personal media of choice definitely came through in this prompt. I would now kill for Albedo to read Shakespeare. Also streamer Kazuha is an inspired idea, thank you anon for that! Not to mention musician Xiao, truly chef’s kiss.

Albedo

Albedo was a stage actor, both by education and by trade. Starting in high school he began in local productions, before entering into the Mondstadt Theateracademie. After appearing as Estragon in a filmed version of Waiting for Godot, he began to be scouted for various television miniseries, eventually becoming a well-respected film actor.

You arrived somewhere in the middle of his career. Working as a costume assistant at the Academie you had quickly fallen for the inquisitive and deceptively intense soul that exuded every color of emotion onstage, from raging anger to soft sorrow, before stepping into the wings and resuming an aura of utter calm. He had captivated you, both as an actor and as a human being; and when you learned that he had also become slightly infatuated with you, well, it was hard not to feel like you had stepped into a wonderful play, or perhaps simply a wonderful play had been brought to life.

The switch from theatre to screen was certainly a jarring one for both of you. When the first film contract was offered Albedo had stared at it for a long time, rereading it over and over again as the coffee in front of him quickly turned cold.

“Is there something wrong with the contract?” You had asked.

“No, it’s not that. It’s only…”

“Only?”

“Only on stage there is a single audience. You can feel their reactions, can measure their response. There is nothing nebulous about the people around you. But on film you cannot do that. You cannot adjust for time of day, or whether it’s a weekend or a Friday performance. You must let your lines out and hope that they land without even being able to calculate it.”

“It’s not a science experiment my darling,” you had teased.

“Maybe not,” Albedo admitted. Still he continued to read and reread, and it was only until the next afternoon that he had told you his answer.

Still, you had to admit that he made a fantastic actor. The naturally inward part of your partner’s personality, the part that always seemed to jump out the moment he left the stage, worked well to balance with the camera’s need for subtlety, unlike the projection required for stage plays. It was little surprise then that he should grow so popular. Despite all the worries about measuring audience response, there was no doubting the success of Albedo’s acting career.

Being a naturally withdrawn person Albedo mostly stayed off of social media. He had one private Instagram for friends – he didn’t post anything; one private Facebook for family – the only picture was one of you two in the mountains next to a particularly weird looking rock; and WhatsApp – which could barely be counted. Thus when he started blowing up on Twitter – a platform you had a mostly unused account on – the reaction was mostly one of “why are they talking about me?”

Not that Albedo minded fan enthusiasm, indeed when people started showing up in droves at the stage door for him he was always careful to thank everyone collectively and talk to as many people as possible, it just sort of confused him that so many people should take a vested interest in the actor and not just the character.

“It’s because they want to show you how wonderful they think your performances are,” you’d explained.

“I don’t have Twitter,” Albedo deadpanned.

Despite his protests though you sometimes caught him scrolling on your account, face slightly red at all the positive attention. His habit of internal self-deprecation had never truly gone away. That fact became slightly unfortunate in the face of hate comments. It was hard for Albedo not to take things personally. If someone said his acting was shit then you would catch Albedo reading the same line over and over again, as if to achieve mathematical perfection. It was a difficult urge to fight, and you were always careful to give Albedo plenty of reassurance when these things popped up, as well as surreptitiously blocking the trolls that wandered their way onto your dash.

This habit to take things at face value did not apply when you entered the mix. As far as Albedo was concerned you were his partner and no amount of complaining online would make him second guess that or second guess your worth. Even if you thought that you had a better hold on social media assholerly than he did Albedo would still make sure that for every hate comment that floated your way there were at least three compliments on his part. Mentioning you off-handedly in press interviews, saying that he had to go home to his partner, leaving small sketches on post-it notes scattered throughout your apartment, there were no lengths that Albedo wouldn’t go to assure you. And, if you had to admit, these things truly did make you feel better on the days when the small part of your brain said that this wasn’t mindless social media harassment.

Being an actor Albedo had an incredibly fine-tuned sense of the way that people responded to emotions, as if he were performing some grand sort of scientific experiment to see how many people he could sway with his gift. As of such he was always careful that, regardless of his success, things between you were never upturned. You were with him before he was really famous, and you would be there during and after. Albedo loved you deeply; though he often said that he hated romance plays for how sappy they were in his mind your relationship was the one, glowing exception – regardless of the other happy couples in the world. Though it was slightly idealistic, it was the kind of intensity that comprised Albedo’s personality, was the thing that had garnered him so much success.

Albedo loved you deeply, and no amount of surprise movie contracts would change that.

 Kazuha

You had to admit that when you had met Kazuha you had no idea about his double life as a streamer. He was merely one of the many singers that came and went to the recording studios, all people eager to unleash their talent on the world. But unlike the rest of them, Kazuha could make you laugh.

Perhaps then it was unsurprising that Kazuha should be a popular streamer. Though his often florid talking style might seem on paper like it would be too grating for streaming, in reality his soft cadence combined with a dry sense of humor made him wildly popular. He rarely lost his temper, making him palatable to those who wanted to have a fun time without blowing their ears out, and when he did lose it his hyper-specific, often nonsensical insults were the stuff of memes. No, in retrospect it was not all that surprising that Kazuha was a beloved streamer.

At heart though, Kazuha had told you over coffee, the enthusiastic and earnest internet sensation was a poet.

“When you’ve had a life as dissonant as mine, how can you not be?” He’d joked. And indeed perhaps he was right, for Kazuha was as wonderful a poet as you had ever read. He was born to be a writer, you had told him.

You were also an aspiring singer, as well as a friend of the studio owner where you did your recordings. As such you had made it a habit to help around the studio when you weren’t also working or studying. As you and Kazuha were both students with intense side jobs, the good natured complaining of overworked students also made their way into you rapport, a friendship that grew day-by-day. Eventually it sprouted into love.

Though you knew that Kazuha was a streamer when your relationship started, in reality you hadn’t realized how truly popular he had become. The first time you watched one of his streams you were blown away by his popularity. Watching your first livestream only cemented that. It was hard to believe that your down-to-earth, slightly self-effacing, partner could have garnered such a large fanbase. Not that you didn’t think he deserved it. He absolutely did. However after seeing that you admitted you were a bit awestruck.

“Why? Am I not the same person on screen and off?”

“Of course you are! It’s just, well, my partner’s a celebrity!”

“I would go that far,” Kazuha laughed.

“Well you certainly are to me!”

Nevertheless your dynamic didn’t change much afterwards, besides the occasional teasing on both of your parts. Kazuha was after all Kazuha at the end of the day.

At the beginning Kazuha didn’t mention you much on stream, certainly not by name, you had to admit you were a bit intimidated by the idea of being recognizable on the internet, even if it was just by name.

“This is also my partner’s favorite map.” Had been his first mention, during a game of Mario Kart.

Despite this offhanded remark however the chat had almost immediately exploded, followed by the rest of the fanbase. Though there was, of course, some disappointed buzz – isn’t there always – the reaction was immensely positive. Positive, and curious.

After a while Kazuha started mentioning you more often in streams, especially after the two fo you moved in. Sometimes you would hear him as you passed him room – Kazuha liked to keep the door open – other times you would watch it on stream yourself.

“My partner hates this character. Too bad you can’t throw evidence.”

“Nobody tell my partner that I’m afraid of basements. I don’t need them to know that when laundry day rolls around.”

“Hey if you’re watching this dear, I promise that it’s not that much money. You don’t need to look at the bank account. Who am I kidding, this is why we don’t share one.”

“Hey, darling I know you’re watching this. Can you check and make sure I left my keys on the coffee table, they aren’t on my desk. Also can you make tea?”

Despite fans knowing very little about you, you were surprised by the amount of positive comments that flooded the streams. You had to admit that your initial expectations had been “people are going to find me annoying”. Instead funny comics of your voice drifting in from the other room popped up, along with a lot of waving and “tell your partner not to trust you with the keys” after Kazuha fell off a cliff one too many times. It was an odd experience, to be so happy about the comments of faceless people, people to whom you were also faceless.

Eventually Kazuha’s hardwork in singing paid off and his first single was recorded and given a deal. On the evening of the release livestream Kazuha set up in the living room, angling the camera so that you could sit on the chair just out of frame. You had talked about the release for months now, and a few weeks ago Kazuha had brought up the idea of a pseudo-stream reveal.

“I was wondering if you’d like to say hello to the audience or wave when my song is released. I understand that you’re hesitant about those sort of things, and I would never ask of you something that would make you uncomfortable. This relationship is the most precious thing to me, and I wouldn’t want you to feel pressured or exploited in any ways.”

“Thank you for being so considerate Kazuha. I’ll think about it.”

Now you sat in the chair, fidgeting slightly, waiting as the countdown on his laptop reached one. You excitement certainly seemed matched by that of the fans, who were typing wildly in the chat.

Eventually the screen faded to black and the chatting quieted down. The first few notes of a wooden flute emerged, combined with the strumming of a guitar. As the familiar words began to echo through the laptop speaker you found yourself washed away. Kazuha was always enthralling when he sang. At the end of the song was a dedication, and though Kazuha had already alluded to it, the sincerity still took your breath away.

To my dearest partner. My compass and my guiding star throughout this realization of my dream. You are my sun and my stars, and I’m forever devoted to you. Thank you for sharing in this project, and thank you for giving me such love.

Perhaps it was slightly saccharine. Regardless you felt the sudden, uninhibited urge to cry.

“So, what did everyone think?” Kazuha asked into the mic, face reappearing on screen. He was slightly giddy, and you watched as his hand tugged on the fabric of his linen belt.

Immediately the chat exploded, as waves of “that was amazing”, “I’m crying now”, and “the end was so sweet!” flooded the screen.

“Thank you all for the encouragement!” Kazuha let out a laugh, one that you could tell was one of utter euphoria, and no little relief. “There’s someone else I think who would like to thank you.”

Who knew that a small sentence could cause such a splash?

You barely had time to let out a tentative “Hello,” before an immediate wave of excited screaming covered the bottom left of Kazuha’s stream. “Thank you for supporting Kazuha’s song. And thank you for always being nice to me.” With a tentative wave of the hand you collapsed back on your chair, slightly hysterical laughter rising inside you out of the relief that flooded through you upon seeing the enthused fan reaction.

Afterwards your voice became the occasional guest on Kazuha’s streams, always greeted with enthusiasm. Kazuha continued to grow in popularity, and his music continued to capture a larger and larger audience.

All throughout this you never felt a snag in your relationship. Kazuha may have been a big streaming personality, but he was also a kind and considerate partner, the best that one could ask for in a significant other. Kazuha’s love was never in question. And neither was yours.

 Xiao

Sometimes you were a little self-conscious about the way that you met Xiao.

Though Xiao had definitely grown a following by the time you met – being the main pianist for a popular singer and a classical pseudo-prodigy in both piano and flute his own right certainly had roped him an enthusiastic fanbase – you had simply known him as “the guy who hogs the practice room”.

“I swear to the gods, how long can that bastard take to practice!” You texted angrily at your friend one day. Qixing Conservatory was the premiere music place in Liyue, but what should’ve been an amazing opportunity was being overshadowed by a practice room partner who appeared to not have a life, one who also had the obnoxious habit of playing the same damn thing over, and over, and over again.

“Playing the same piece as before?”

“Yes! Ugh I don’t even know what it’s called but I’ve heard it enough times to last a lifetime, maybe five!”

“Damn I’m sorry, what time does he usually end?”

“I don’t even know. Some time in the early evening. It’s obviously never gotten through to his brain that other people also need to practice. Or that hearing the same notes over and over while waiting makes me want to chuck my binder against a wall.”

“Lol. I kinda want to hear it now. Can you send a video, will the sound pick up?”

“I don’t know how it wouldn’t.”

“…”

“Holy shit! Okay, I need you to watch this video and tell me if you recognize the pianist.”

Safe to say you nearly fell out of your chair upon figuring out Xiao’s identity. Not that you weren’t already about to out of pure exasperation. Still, there was something much more intimidating about shaming a successful musician, and you no longer had the urge to glare at Xiao every time he left the practice room. Honestly, you would have been perfectly happy keeping your head down and never interacting with him at all.

Fate, however, has a sense of humor.

To be fair, some of it was your fault. You knew that Erlkonig was a massively difficult piece. You knew that you should’ve picked something else, knew that even Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata mvt. Three had to be less painful than the non-vocal arrangement you’d placed in front of your eyes. You were never trusting your music taste with your piece choices again. This was a terrible mistake.

“These stupid fucking running notes!” You let out, a groan of exasperation racing through you. Half slamming (you weren’t crazy) the piano cover down you swung the door of the practice room open. You didn’t want to deal with this anymore. Trying to ignore the embarrassment that rose up seeing Xiao waiting on a chair next to the door you went to walk down the hallway.

“You should work on it with a dotted sixteenth note pattern.”

It was the first time that Xiao had ever spoken to you.

Afterwards a rapport slowly grew between the two of you. Often Xiao said nothing as you passed, rarely you made a gesture of recognition when he finally reappeared from the practice room. However soon the occasional word or phrase of advice grew into longer sentences, later these sentences evolved into pieces of conversation. Soon enough you discovered, to your slight horror, that you found yourself yearning for Xiao’s company.

Almost as soon as you’d finally figured out your feelings you were hit with a wave of denial. You weren’t falling for Xiao? How could you fall for someone who got on your nerves so much? Sure he gave you advice, but what about it? You deserved it after having to hear him over and over again while waiting. Certainly Xiao didn’t seem interested in you, he barely talked to you! Yeah he was getting more talkative, but it’s easier to talk to people when you’re giving them advice. There’s no way you were in love with Xiao. And there was no way he was in love with you.

To say that Xiao’s career as a musician, never mind his genuine technical talent at two instruments, was a barrier would be an understatement. The moment you thought you were making some progress, finally admitting to yourself that this crush was, in fact, real, a wave of anxiety would pass over you. Xiao was too good for you, he was too important. Here was a man who had a successful musical career already up in the air while you banged frustratedly on the keys. Why would someone that successful be interested in you? Not to mention the fact that he didn’t seem interested.

Because, you had to admit, you did like Xiao’s music. Not just his classical repertoire, but his pop music as well. It was slightly jazzy, mellow and playful and utterly unlike the scowling musician behind it – something you secretly thought extremely cute and surprisingly charming. To him you were just a practice roommate, and you were sure he’d find the idea of dating someone who was more familiar with his public persona irritating.

So you buried your feelings, or tried to. Unfortunately like sometimes attracts like, and just as Xiao secretly had the emotional understanding of a teaspoon, you weren’t nearly as clever about things as you would like.

“Is there something on my face?” Xiao asked, his voice gruff and slightly reluctant.

“No, why would there be?”

“Because you’re staring at it!”

“Oh, I’m sorry!” You let your head drop, looking intently at the ivories in front of you. Eventually there was a sigh.

“You don’t have to do that. I… I don’t mind.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes! You staring down is weird too. Let’s, let’s just hurry up and do this passage.”

After that you became more aware of your staring habit. You also became more aware of Xiao’s own habit, leaning towards you. Sometimes you swore that you could feel the tips of his hair tickling your neck, light and feathery and stealing all your attention.

“Hey, Xiao, do you need glasses?”

“Why would you asked that!” Xiao flared up, face reddening. By this time you’d become more accustomed to these flareups of grumpiness, and ignoring it you pressed on.

“It’s just, you seem to be leaning forward.”

“I’m not!” Immediately Xiao shifted back, almost stepping away. Without thinking about it you reached to grab his hand.

“I didn’t mean it was a bad thing!” You got out, before becoming aware of your hand grasping Xiao’s. The touch felt electric, and you were suddenly so very aware of everything, yet unable to focus at all.

“Then you shouldn’t have brought it up.”

“Sorry.”

“It’s fine.” Xiao grumbled.

Slowly the musician leaned closer to you once more. You had already half stood up and now you found yourself stepping closer to Xiao. The world continued to shrink until you were almost pressed together. Xiao was leaning forward, as were you, and the longer tufts of his hair were tickling your cheek, helped by the fan whirring away in the corner. Your hand was still in his, but all your thoughts appeared to have died away.

“Xiao?”

“Is this, too close?”

“No.”

“Oh.”

“Xiao?”

“What?”

“I like your music. I hope that doesn’t bother you.”

“Why would it?”

“I don’t know. I just, I also like you, not just your music. But I also like your music.”

“I also like yours too.”

Perhaps it wasn’t the most romantic of confessions, but at that point you were far too carried away by the moment, or maybe by the fact that was the most sentences Xiao had strung together that weren’t about triplets. Regardless of the fact, you were suddenly seized by incredible happiness, as all appeared to right itself.

Afterwards initially little changed, Xiao was a gruff as ever, you were still itching to play in the practice room more. Nevertheless when you went to a concert of his for the first time and he let out a small, almost imperceptible, smile your way you knew things had changed. They would keep changing perhaps, or maybe they wouldn’t. After all, this moment was beautiful.

So much that you didn’t even mind the hours spent waiting for the practice room.