#i genuinely think she is pushing the medium of

[wooftphr]

met aabria iyengar. just rambled about how cool the work she does is. shook her hand TWICE bc i was so excited.

[imthepunchlord]

Which one do you like more and why: Miss Ayase or Okarun?

That's hard as I genuinely really like them both.

Momo has a lot of spunk and fire to her, and she can be really funny with her dramatic antics. And while she can be short tempered and difficult, she has a lot of heart and empathy for others. Part of the reason their bond is so strong is because she saw a stranger being picked on, stepped up to protect him, and she's continued to secure his safety and having his back.

As much as she gives him a hard time and butts heads with him, Okarun's safety is always on her mind. Like, you got her taking punches from this huge alien, and she makes sure to get him to safety before she sets this thing on fire.

Okarun in turn is a genuine sweetheart and awkward fella that makes him endearing and so funny. Like, one of my favorite jokes so far is him realizing she is cute, and he's not able to handle it so he won't face her, and she is not letting him escape and so sparks off a chase all because he can't handle she's cute yet.

And between the two, I am more intrigued to see his backstory, working off that we got nothing of his family or parents yet. We just know he didn't have friends growing up until Momo, and was bullied a lot.

And you know, it kinda speaks to me quite a bit that he tolerates a lot of the bullying, but someone does a slight at Momo and it pisses him off.

And the factor that he will fight back and squabble with Momo but he won't do so with his bullies. It really adds to that he has a level of comfort with her that he'll push back.

And I'm curious on the personality change when he transforms.

Turbo Granny herself isn't really a bummed out character. She rivals Momo in temper and sass. So why does her power change him to be bummed out? At least he's not held back by the low self-esteem and slight anxiety that I see, but he trades it out to be gloomy.

Is it more on him and his own emotional/mental state? Or is this just an effect using a yokai's power can have on a human? Is it a mix of personalities and this is the apparent medium? I haven't seen anything of an actual answer to this yet, just more of speculation.

...I guess if I had to pick between them, I probably like Momo a little more, but I also give it that between the two, she's a more defined and solid as a character. We have more on what her stances of things are, she has a more defined background. Okarun we're still waiting for answers for. So at this time, Momo just has more of a lead, but only slightly. Because these two are great, I love their dynamic and how they are as characters.

I actually don't think I've shipped a lead pair so quickly in my life. Especially one I know will be endgame.

[birdscribblepad]

Baked Goods

Alastor x Baker reader (slow burn romance)

Plot: During the 7 years, Alastor was missing the reader and Rosie became friends. Now that Alastor is back, Rosie is dying to introduce you. She just knows you'll get along amazingly, after all, she's a great matchmaker.

Warnings: suggested cannibalism, swearing

(Note: reader is a poisonous frog demon) Next

“Alastor!” Rosie was waving her hand in the air to get her friend's attention as she approached him. Her other hand was pulling someone behind her.

Alastor smiled at his friend before noticing the demon his friend was dragging behind her. Alastor was filled with curiosity and excitement.

“Rosie!” Alastor greeted, letting the woman hug him before turning his attention to her guest.

“I have someone I want you to meet” She smiles wide, pushing you in front of Alastor. You smile up at him, offering your hand, “Nice to meet you. I'm y/n.” You were beyond nervous.

You've been in hell for a while. You knew about Alastor and had even heard his broadcasts. You were a huge fan. You were also hugely disappointed when Alastor disappeared, but you kept his radio on display in your shop. In hopes, he would one day return.

Shortly after he left, you met Rosie. You were hoping to branch out and expand, and the cannibals were one of the few markets left. You had approached her about doing business, and the two of you quickly became friends.

Alastor shook your hand. “A pleasure,” his signature smile seemed genuine. Rosie quickly excused herself, leaving the two of you alone. Alastor looked you over a bit, amused, “So tell me about yourself.” Alastor led you over to a bench so you could sit and chat. After all, Rosie had made the effort to introduce you, which piqued Alastor's curiosity.

“Oh, um, I'm a baker.” You take your seat on the bench. “I've recently started working with Rosie to include meat in my menu.” You emphasized the word. A bit obvious, but that was the point. Alastor's eyes light up. That was interesting. “Oh? You must let me try one sometime”.

The two of you talked for hours about everything from recipes to music. It was getting late, Alastor stood up and adjusted his outfit “it's getting late, allow me to escort you home” You nodded jumping to your feet this earned a chuckle from Alastor. You'd never dream Alastor would be walking you home. You chatted more about meaningless things. All too soon, arriving at your home. Alastor gives you a bow, “goodnight, I do hope we meet again soon.”

“Holy shit!” You were pacing around your living room. Alastor, the Aalstor, the Radio demon himself, just walked you home. You couldn't sleep that night.

You contemplated closing the bakery today but decided against it. You had a feeling Alastor might stop by. You quickly eat and dress before heading to the bakery.

It was currently 9 am and business was slowing down. The morning rush was finally over. You were sitting at a table taking a much-needed break when 'ding' a customer. You sigh before getting up and turning to see Alastor.

“Hello dear” his smile widened at you. “I was hoping to try your meat dish”, Alastor emphasized the word the same way you had the day before.

“Of course!” You smiled and disappeared for a moment before returning with a plain white to-go box. Handing him the box.

Alastor accepts, “may I?” He gestures to the box. You nod, holding your breath as he opens it. In the box is a medium-sized pie. Enough for about 4 people. Alastor pokes a hole into the pie with one of his long fingers and samples the pies insides. His eyes light up. “That is fantastic!” His voice crackled with excitement. You can't help but blush. “I will have to return,” he smiles, turning and leaving. Stopping at the door, he snaps his fingers, the radio you had on display switches on, and music begins to play. “Such a lovely radio should be enjoyed, don't you think?” With that, he walked out the door.

[jq37]

I'm like genuinely interested as someone who thinks a lot about the craft of critique and fandoms the ways in which the current Rat Grinders discourse shows why you can't really apply the same lens you use to critique a pre written story vs an improvised actual play show by a bunch of comedians who are first and foremost concerned with committing to the bit. Like Porter's a great example of this, he went from a nothingburher to secretly evil with a whole lore and backstory!

In the same vein the Rat Grinders probably could have turned out to be not as culpable in all of this had the Bad Kids really tried to bond with them, but instead they focused on other things with the way downtime was structured! And because they did that they could pass the Last Stand, and are safe from Porter's rage thing! Like legitimately I really liked the mechanics of downtime this season, it just also came at the cost of developing the Rat Grinders!

(Though to be entirely fair, the BKs did try to engage with Oisin, Ivy, and Ruben and then Oisin launched the house, Ivy was racist, and Ruben still attacked Wanda so)

I think it's really fascinating from a storytelling/game design perspective! The downside is the Discourse is so tiring

Yeah it's interesting. I covered some of this in other asks so I'm gonna hit on the stuff I haven't yet.

If you're telling a story that is based partially on user input, it's not entirely fair to be like, "This subplot was underdeveloped" if the reason for that was that the players didn't make choices to facilitate that development. When DM's push hard for the players to care about things they're not interested in, they get hit with railroading accusations.

And even outside of the player choices, there are also the rolls. A BIG part of D&D is the randomness of the dice. Even if the players care about something, it doesn't mean they'll get it. I'll mention again that Kristen tried to roll Insight on Buddy before the final fight and got a Nat 1. What is she supposed to do? Roll again until she gets a good read on him? That's not how that works. If the dice aren't cooperating, there's not much you can do. And you can make sure your big story beats don't rely on dice but at the end of the day they *will* shape your story in ways you can't control.

Another key thing about the medium, as you pointed out, is things can change on the fly. The confluence of high rolls and serious interest can change things that were behind the screen canon in an instant. In Burrow's End, Aabria planned for Bennet to have a family but as soon as Tula/Brennan expressed interest in romancing him, she Thanos snapped that family out of existence. I don't know how much Brennan wanted the Rat Grinders to be recruitable but even if he'd planned them all to just be foils and evil and nothing else, I can totally see him flipping one if they'd really wanted to and it would have made for a good story beat.

Anyway, yeah! Interesting stuff to think about. Even though D20 often feels like a TV show, it's important to remember that it's a different beast in many ways.

[aziraphales-library]

Thank you so much for the work you do on this blog. For no reason at all I was wondering if you could recommend some fics where crowley is just extremely happy, having a wonderful day, loving his life

Here are some happy Crowley/good day fics...

May I Have This Dance? by AnonymousDandelion (G)

“Angels,” Aziraphale murmured, the words a warm and welcome breath of air not very far distant from Crowley’s cheek, “don’t dance.” “Oh?” Crowley’s answering smile was practically audible in his voice as he leaned forward, already on the verge of accepting the very obvious temptation to tempt. (That particular subtext technique — tacitly inviting Crowley to push, persuade, entice one step further — was one Aziraphale had mastered long, long ago. It no longer served the same purpose it once had, but that didn't mean they couldn't still dabble in their old patterns, if now purely for the entertainment factor.) “Is that the case, my angel?” “It’s certainly what I’ve heard, at any rate.” Reaching up, Aziraphale caught Crowley’s hand in his own, their fingers interlacing in what was now an accustomed movement… and never any less marvelous, each time, for all its growing familiarity. ~ ~ ~ In which Crowley and Aziraphale are very soft, very happy, and very together. That's the fic.

oh, but surely not by Phoenix_of_Athena (G)

Aziraphale can be firm, sometimes. Sometimes, when he really cares about something, he’ll speak up, and he’ll get this tone to his voice that makes Crowley take notice. It’s a little sharp, undeniably bossy, and it’s immovable…Crowley likes it.  Aziraphale usually takes pains to be passive; affable; soft—whatever he thinks it is that an angel ought to be, in order to guide people towards kindness and good and all that mush. But a lot of that’s an act; those are traits that Aziraphale’s put on, and which, over time, have left an impression on his personality. But really, Crowley’s counterpart has a core of steel underneath all of his silk and cotton. Crowley can be downright cheerful, for a demon. Peppy. Excited. Eager. Like a puppy, Aziraphale thinks when he’s not being particularly charitable, or like a child, when he is. It’s endearing, either way. And it’s striking. When Crowley’s not self-conscious, and he’s usually not around Aziraphale, he’ll get this grin. Wide, and wondering, and kind. Not like the wicked quirk of lips he’ll get after a job well-done, though that smile too has its own appeal—no, this one is hopeful, genuine, and charming in a wholesome way. Aziraphale can never help but smile back.

one of a thousand perfect days by 5ftjewishcactus (T)

Aziraphale and Crowley spend a lovely day together, first curled up in bed together, doting on each other and then later go for a picnic and a bit of stargazing. It really is a perfect day.

Ocimum Basilicum by KannaOphelia (T)

This was their life now. A peaceful village where they could hear the sea. Aziraphale was fast cultivating a reputation as 'that terrible man from the second-hand bookshop, he looks so kind and cuddly but just try buying a book from him, how that nice Mr Crowley puts up with the old devil I'll never know'. Happiness. Happiness was their life. Perhaps it was just that happiness was too much for a demon to bear without getting sick. Or perhaps it was something else entirely.

Enrichment Activities by EdosianOrchids901 (T)

Eager for novelty, Crowley takes up art. Picking one medium would be too limiting, though. Aziraphale is confused by the deluge of sculptures, paintings, and drawings, but he tries to be supportive.

Visibility by Aethelflaed (G)

“I just…woke up like this,” Crowley explained, in what was probably supposed to be a casual voice. “Definitely a curse. Probably one of those angels, thwarting and all, you know how they are.” “An angel.” Pinching zir nose, Beelzebub tried not to imagine the foolish way she was probably grinning. “And by pure coinczzidenzze, this angel juszzt happened to make you completely inviszzible on the day of your department budget review?” -- A mysterious curse that Crowley DEFINITELY didn't cast on herself makes her invisible for a day! What sort of trouble can she get into? Or get her angel out of?

- Mod D

[darkfantasysworld]

First MtF monster post on this blog. I genuinely don't know what I was thinking when I came up with this idea. This post is also not really gender specific, reader just has a cunt & womb.

Female or FtM reader x MtF!drider

You'd heard about driders, basically spider centaur creatures, but you didn't think you'd fall in love with one. You'd been talking to someone you assumed was a regular human for a few weeks, she always had an excuse for not going out but you assumed that maybe she was just shy in person. You couldn't have been more wrong since now you were looking up at the 8'4 woman with the lower half of a giant spider. Her hair was black with a red streak and went down to her waist, her eyes were also red… from what you could tell anyways. Her skin was dark brown with the skin on her waist fading to black to match her spider half. "You're so small.. I think we'll have fun.." She said, her voice was low and seductive. She lowered herself a bit and reached out, caressing your cheek with her hand, her nails were sharp and painted an almost blood red color. You decided to just go on with this date, she was nice while you were texting so you decided to give it a shot. You were sitting down across from the drider, you at least knew she was trans and on hormones, you couldn't help but look at her chest, it was rather large, possibly C or D cups. "What can I get you?" The waiter asked, holding a notepad and pen. "A bottle of your most expensive red wine," She looked at you as she spoke before turning back to the waiter "and I'll have the steak, medium rare, with roast potatoes." She said, eyeing the waiter's hand as he wrote it down before the two turned their attention to you. You told the waiter your order and watched him walk away then looked at the drider. "Is your name actually S—" she cut you off. "Yes, my name is Salem, I didn't lie to you, you just never asked what I am." She responded, reaching across the table and gently grabbing your hand. You could see her muscles and realized how gentle her touch was, her hands felt so soft.. The waiter brought you two the bottle of wine and two glasses before pouring a little in each glass and leaving, setting the bottle between your glasses. Salem moved her hands away from yours and took a sip of her wine. You grabbed your glass and took a sip of your wine as well, noting the… odd flavor. "This doesn't taste right." You looked at Salem who gave you a small smile. "It's supposed to have a tangy note." Salem responded and turned the bottle so you could see the label. "Spider venom…?" You said, confusion in your tone as you read the label. "Small doses help make you slightly immune.. in case I bite." Salem gave you a wink and reached over to gently caress your cheek. You leaned into her touch, wanting more, her skin was so soft.

You and Salem ended up going to a bar after the restaurant and she paid for everything… from what you remember. Your eyes fluttered open, you were moaning as you felt something long and thick push into you, your pussy dripping. Your vision was blurry as you looked around the dark room, concrete walls surrounded you. Your eyes widened and you let out a yelp as you felt the pleasurable object push into your cervix, the tip forced it to stretch and you felt objects move through the shaft and poured into your womb. You felt a bump form in your stomach but for some reason you couldn't move. "That's it.. let my eggs into your pretty little womb.." Salem whispered into your ear, you felt your stomach grow for what felt like hours before you felt Salem begin to pull out. "Wha'd ya do ta me…?" You asked, your words slurred so much you barely knew what you said. Salem didn't respond and just began thrusting her cock into you, your body was practically inviting her large cock, so warm, wet, and tight. Salem softly moaned into your ear as she raped you, her thrusts were slow and gentle, she didn't want to hurt you.

You moaned and whimpered, your body overstimulated as she came in you for the tenth time, she had to make sure her eggs were properly fertilized. Your eyes fell shut as you passed out only to wake up who knows how long later, you felt the eggs moving then, suddenly, you felt one break and your natural instincts kicked in, you pushed, screaming in pain as the baby drider came out, you couldn't even grab the baby you birthed before you felt more eggs breaking, forcing you push out at least two more babies in a row, thankfully they seemed to know how to move and crawled away from your stretched pussy so more could come out. You passed out after the tenth one only to wake up to Salem laying more eggs in your womb, you didn't know where the babies went and you tried to push her off but you were too weak. You remembered why you disliked driders, they used humans as incubators until one of them died.. at least Salem was being gentle.

[melkluver]

Midnight

Ellie Williams x f!reader

word count: 3k

warnings: SMUT- like a lot. marijuana consumption, established relationship,  minors DN!!!!

a/n: I need to express all of my feelings and this is the only way that seems right (I also tried to proof read to the best of my ability)

The clock reads midnight. You can’t sleep, and you haven’t been able to for the past couple of weeks. 

All you think about is her. Ellie. She’s always on your mind and you can’t seem to get her out, not that you want to anyway. 

You guys have been dating for the past several months and the relationship has been so much better than anything you could’ve ever asked for. 

She knows you, she cares about you. She remembers every single detail about you. 

She loves every part of you, even the scars that scatter across your body that you’ve collected over the years from the countless run-ins with the infected. 

Her love is genuine and kind.

Of course you feel the same way about her. You would do anything for Ellie. 

You need Ellie. 

You decided to get up out of the bed to make your way over to her house, making sure to grab boots and a jacket seeing as it was freezing outside. You also made sure to grab your backpack that had something in it that you knew would definitely help you two fall asleep.

You wrapped the jacket around your figure tightly when you stepped outside, hoping to block out as much cold air as possible. Like expected, the Wyoming cold was too much and made your journey towards Ellie’s little shed even more difficult than you had planned for. 

When you arrived at the green house in the backyard, you wasted no time in knocking. You were eager to see her.

“Hi El” You said smiling to the auburn haired girl.

“Hey babe” she says back. She wastes no time pulling you inside, closing the door behind you. 

It wasn’t unexpected for you to show up in the middle of the night. It was something that Ellie had grown quite fond of, secretly hoping every night you would find yourself making your way back towards her. 

You engulf each other into a hug, her hands rubbing up and down your back feeling every inch of your covered skin. Ellie’s figure stood taller than yours, but it wasn’t too drastic of a height difference. 

Your eyes meet each other. Wasting no time, you both move forward harmoniously with your lips eventually meeting. 

You guys act like you haven’t seen each other in days, when in reality you had seen her only yesterday. You guys had been busy with patrolling recently, there's been more and more sightings of infected, and sometimes it’s hard to catch the other one awake before they accidentally fall asleep from exhaustion. 

Our saving grace was the weekends. Maria thought it would be nice giving you guys weekends off especially because of how hard the two of you have been working, You guess infected didn’t matter on the weekends. Not that you were complaining anyway. 

“I have something.” You giggled, pulling away from the kiss, making your way towards her couch while also making sure to tug your boots and jacket off behind you. 

“What is it?” Ellie said, following right behind you. 

You placed down the backpack on her little table in front of the couch, pushing the zipper to the side and pulling out the medium sized glassware Eugene had lent you. 

“Holy shit,” Ellie exclaimed “how’d you get that!” she grabbed the bong out of your hands, taking a closer look. 

“Eugene, who do you think? He only needs a little bit of sweet-talking.” You said playfully to the green eyed girl. 

She playfully pushed your shoulder, laughing in the process. “Do you even know how to use this? I don’t.” she says sheepishly.

“Eugene gave me the rundown on how to use it, I think I got the jist of it.” You say back to your girlfriend. “We need water,” You say, turning to Ellie. 

She nods and walks away into her bathroom, grabbing a cup in the process. The faucet squeaked as she filled the cup up with water. 

She handed you the clear cup when she finished filling the cup all the way to the top. “Thank you baby,” you mumbled to her while pouring some water into the side of the bong. “I think this should be enough. Eugene said not to cover this hole with water.” 

She mumbled an ‘okay’ before sitting back down next to you, intertwining her legs with yours. 

She was a very touchy person and you loved it. Every touch she left on your body, you were sure enough to soak up. 

You pulled the small little baggy of the loose green flower out of the bag. Eugene had somehow managed to keep and maintain a weed farm during an apocalypse, something you weren't sure how he did. It made so much sense now on why Eugene always liked to patrol in that area. 

It was a complete accident when you stumbled across it too. You were supposed to be trading shifts with Eugene for patrolling that day but when you arrived at the lookout and he wasn’t there you made a decision to search the surrounding area. You found the library and made your way towards the basement where the atrocious smell of what you thought then was skunk, was seeping out.  

You found Eugene passed out, sprawled across the couch. When you eventually woke him up, he made you promise you wouldn’t tell anyone about him and the stinky flower he called weed. 

That was months ago. Eugene had given you weed in the form he called ‘joints’ only twice before this, obviously you shared it with Ellie. This was something new though. 

You opened the little baggy, and grabbed a small amount of the sticky green stuff to place in the part Eugene had told you to. 

“Okay,” You paused, trying to remember his exact instructions. “He said we have to breathe in while lighting this part, and then he said we take this little piece out from the side when we’re done inhaling the smoke.”

“Sounds simple enough to me.” Ellie said. 

You love how Ellie is always eager to do things with you, no matter how dumb or stupid it may seem to everyone else. She is something worth living for, she makes you feel so free.

You turn your head towards Ellie, pressing your lips to hers feeling an overcome of emotions towards the girl. 

You brought the glass up to your mouth and followed the steps, eventually being able to finally see smoke fill up the cylinder. You took out the little glass piece like he said, and inhaled all the smoke that still lingered. 

It’s only a few seconds before you start to cough, you were honestly so thankful that Ellie had gotten more than enough water for trying to fill the bong. 

You cough for a few more seconds, before your lungs finally start to calm down from the sensation of water. You extend the glassware over to Ellie while also handing her the lighter you had brought from home. 

Ellie had taken a hit out of the bong and to your own surprise, she didn’t cough. 

“Okay big girl” You say, playfully rolling your eyes towards your girlfriend. 

“Come on babe. You know how horny you just made me, saying that?” 

It’s not uncommon for Ellie to use dirty talk, and you knew how much it did to her when you used dirty talk back, especially when you talked to her like she was in charge. She was dominant and you didn’t mind it. 

“Yeah?” You say while taking the bong from Ellie, bringing the cylinder back up to your mouth to take another hit. “Show me” You say while exhaling out the smoke. 

She wastes no time in taking the bong out of your hands to place it on the table in front of you.

She turns back to you and grabs the back of your neck pulling you forward, bringing you to sit on top of her, your lips immediately crashing together. Your mouths move together, her tongue making its way into your mouth as your tongues fight for dominance, which Ellie obviously wins. You moan into the kiss as Ellie’s hands explore your body, especially paying attention to your ass. 

You struggle to breathe and pull away, to which Ellie responds by crashing her lips onto your neck leaving love marks that you know she’s secretly proud to show off. 

She gently tugs your face back down to her, before viciously attacking your lips with hers. Both of your highs made the intensity of it all become much deeper, both of you getting lost in each other. 

You moved your hands to the hem of her sweatshirt, letting your hands travel under her top and your fingertips softly grazing her stomach. Ellie pulled away from the kiss, licking her lips.

Fuck she looks so fucking hot. You felt a rush of heat stretch down to your core and you squeeze your thighs closer together around her, your pussy aching for her. 

You stand up from the couch, Ellie shuddering from the cold air that’s met when you leave her lap. “Come on” you said motioning to her bed, grabbing her hand. 

Every time you and Ellie had sex, there was something so magical about it. Ellie is the first girl you’ve ever been with. You cringe thinking about how nervous you were with your first time with Ellie, but all those nerves were quick to fade away in an instant. She's the type that makes you feel very comfortable in bed, always making sure to praise you and tell you how good you are doing, she’d also do anything to meet your needs.

Ellie really liked to please you, like really please you. It took weeks for her to understand that you wanted to please her too, finally letting you eat her out. The moans she let escape her mouth that night let you know you must’ve been doing something right. 

Your knees immediately buckled underneath you with the first contact of the soft bed hitting your skin, Ellie quickly finding herself on top of you.

You quickly take your sweatshirt off, leaving you bare to Ellie. Her lips immediately showered your chest with kisses and hickeys. She takes her time sucking and biting softly on your nipple, while her hand toys with your other nipple. She leaned back for a moment, admiring her work on your neck and chest. 

You take this time to slide her grey sweatshirt up until her stomach is exposed, encouraging her to take her hoodie off, in which she complies. 

“You’re incredible” you say breathlessly to the auburn haired girl, your eyes scanning across every single inch of her skin. You’ve seen her naked so many times before but you’d never get over how she looked. 

She slides her fingers under the layers that consist of your sweatpants and panties, encouraging you to take them off. She leans down to kiss you while she removes the garments you let her take off your body. 

Her right hand finds its way in-between your legs, running her fingers through your wet folds. 

“Fuck. You’re already this wet for me” Ellie breathed out on your lips, her fingers finding their way to your pulsating clit. She made circle motions with her thumb on your nub, making you cry out loud with joy. 

She took her thumb off your clit, making you whimper from the loss of contact. But before you could complain, her middle finger found its way dipping into your soaking cunt. You moaned from the feeling. 

“So tight” she breathed out, her head finding its way further to your cunt leaving kisses down your stomach. Your head rolled back when Ellie added a second finger. You let out gasps and little whines while Ellie fingered you. 

The sounds of Ellie fingering you bouncing around her room, made you both want more. 

She pulled her fingers out of you folds and pulled your legs closer to her face, wrapping her arms under your legs and around your hips in the process. 

Without warning Ellie licked a stripe up your cunt, stopping her tongue on your clit. You let out soft moans and reached out to grab a handful of Ellie’s hair, making her suck on your clit. 

She inserted both fingers back into you, stretching you out. She ate you out like she was starving, her expert fingers adding even more pleasure to it all. She added another finger deep into your cunt, as her mouth still sucked away at your pussy. 

You moaned, that familiar feeling coiling inside your core, your orgasm approaching soon. Your legs tightened, threatening to close but Ellie had managed to keep them apart with her arms. 

“Shit” you groaned, your head dropped back while you still had a handful of Ellie’s hair, your grip getting tighter with each passing second. 

Your legs shook as your orgasm hit, Ellie moaned into your cunt while the vibrations added more stimulation to your clit as you came. When your body feels limp, you let go of Ellie’s hair. 

“Good girl” Ellie said, placing one more kiss on your pussy before making her way back up to you, kissing you, letting you taste your juices on her lips. 

Before Ellie could protest you managed to flip you two over, leaving you on top. You wasted no time leaving kisses all over the top half of her body, while also leaving a few hickeys on her chest. 

Your hands came to rest at her hips, quickly tugging away the material that covered her bottom half. You pulled her legs open, your eyes quickly landing on her soaking wet cunt. Fuck she’s so wet. Your clit throbbed with the feeling of making Ellie feel good. 

You settled yourself close to her and your mouth met her sopping cunt, your tongue swirling around her clit. She let out soft moans and her hand found its way yanking a handful of your hair. 

Your lapping between her thighs are loud, the most pornographic, obscene slurps can be heard from where your mouth sits on her pussy. Your eyes looked up to see hers already starting down at you, one hand behind her head. 

“You’re doing so good,” she breathed out words of encouragement “that's it, baby.” 

Your tongue moving in circles against her wet clit, trying to give her as much pleasure as you could. Her moans became more desperate as you sucked on her cunt.  

You ate her out more aggressively, trying to help bring her closer to the edge. You added your middle finger deep into her folds, causing Ellie to groan deeper. Her eyes closed tightly and her thighs began to shake. You picked up the pace. 

Her hips buckled as she let out a moan, coming undone on your mouth. “Fuck” she moaned as her body shook. 

Ellie immediately cups your face, bringing her closer to hers as she smashes her lips onto yours tasting herself. Your lips move together more desperately, you straddling her thighs, your legs on either side of hers. Her hands roaming your naked body, one landing on your hip and the other landing on your breast.

She smiles into the kiss as her hand fondles with your breasts. She gently pushes you back, wasting no time crawling over to you. You didn’t ask questions; you trusted Ellie. 

“You’re so beautiful.” Ellie managed to speak, while positioning the two of you so that your cores could face each other, with you laying down. 

She was sitting up, leaning back holding herself up with one arm, while the other arm grabbed ahold of your leg. She began to grind her pussy onto yours.

“Oh my god” you immediately groan. Ellie’s head rolled back as her movement quickened. You didn’t know if it was the result of being high, but this shared time with Ellie had felt so passionate than previous times. 

You managed to sit up enough to be closer to her, you wanted to see her face when she fucked you. You intertwined your fingers as you both rolled your hips together. 

You both were letting out soft moans, internally cursing at yourself for not trying this position sooner. You groaned, the feeling of her slick clit rubbing against yours was overwhelming, and you could feel your second orgasm approaching.

“Fuck” Ellie whimpered, as she tightened her grip around your waist. You looked up to Ellie, admiring how her hair was stuck to her forehead with little beads of sweat, and how her lips were parted just enough to let out delicate moans.

“You like that baby?” Ellie grunted out, and the feeling coiling inside you finally snapped and for the second time that night you came undone underneath Ellie, letting out a string of curse words following. 

Ellie finished shortly after you, still grinding her hips over your clit while also letting a string of curse words fall from her lips. She sat for one more minute, the both of you trying to catch your breath before untangling your legs from hers. 

She pressed an innocent kiss to your lips. You both move back to the top of the bed, laying down next to each other with her blankets pulled over the both of you. 

Ellie looked at you with a small smile on her face, her hand resting on your cheek.

Your eyes locked with each hers, the high giving her a little more confidence to finally say what she’s been thinking for the past few months. “I love you” was all she said. 

Your heart skipped a beat, your breath almost cut short. “I love you too, Ellie”. 

Silence followed as the both of you drift off to sleep, intertwined with each other. 

[quakearts]

Random strawhat headcannons because I can:

Luffy: He seems so dumb until you ask him about beetles. He's a bug enthusiast. Thinks Buggy doesn't deserve the name bc actual bugs are WAY cooler. Tone deaf.

Zoro: Genuinely likes to hear about history and culture, he just gets the geography mixed up. I bet he has shoulder pains but just doesn't say anything. Has an appreciation for art, just doesn't feel like putting time towards developing the skill. Also Tone deaf.

Nami: Likes drawing quite a bit, and in her free time she doodles the landscapes she sees. Farsighted but her eyesight isn't too bad.

Usopp: IDGAF what Oda says he's a lefty in my book. Favorite medium is watercolor, but enjoys charcoal drawing too. Wants to get a tattoo to be cool but is too afraid it'll hurt too bad.

Sanji: tone deaf. Cannot hold a tune to save his life.

Chopper: doesn't even bother telling Zoro off about his bad habits anymore. He knows he'll never listen. Wants to learn how to draw (it'll help him with his medical journals), and spends time with Usopp and Nami to learn.

Robin: She enjoys some shenaniganery too. She very easily sneaks up on everyone else to spook them. On top of general history, she also admires architecture. She and Franky nerd out about it.

Franky: how his ginormous hands play an average sized guitar is beyond me, but I bet he has regular jam sessions with Brook.

Brook: You hand this man ANY instrument and he already has previously mastered it, or will in a matter of minutes. The skeleton jokes are a coping mechanism. Enjoys when anyone else joins in on his musical endeavors.

Jinbe: (I'm about to start the Marine Ford arc, I'm in impel down right now, at the part where everyone is trying to escape to go save Ace, so fair warning if he's mischaracterized, I'm going off what I've seen in clips and little in-show material) Gives the best hugs out of anyone else. Amazing at comforting others without sugarcoating much.

BONUS ROUND

Bon Clay: Typically not the violent type until push comes to shove, or until there's a new pair of pointe shoes that need to be broken in. I mean this guy is so violent with the pointe shoes. I know they need to be broken in and fitted right but damn what did the shoe do to you?

Buggy: He starts rehearsing different circus acts when he's stressed out. Like "Captain!" "What?" "What are you doing?" "I'M WALKING A TIGHTROPE THAT'S AS UNSTABLE AS ME RIGHT NOW!"

[hyprfixate]

soul vine ↝ [L.M.] :: part four

˚ʚ♡ɞ˚ summary: when you decide to get an ear piercing as part of your transition to adulthood, you expect a lot of things, like the pain and the high price tag. what you don’t expect, however, is finding out you’re soul-bound to the angry blonde from the parlor. or that you’re technically not human.

but hey. adulthood, right?

˚ʚ♡ɞ˚ pairing: lee minho x she/her reader

˚ʚ♡ɞ˚ chapter word count: 5.7k

˚ʚ♡ɞ˚ tags: magic au, grumpy minho, fantasy, medium burn, strangers to enemies to friends to lovers, soulmate au, gang au, minho has some issues to work out

˚ʚ♡ɞ˚ author’s note: I had to cut this chapter in half and then do some plucking cause... I got a bit out of hand. Please enjoy this longer than usual chapter to make up for my constant disappearances.

˚ʚ♡ɞ˚ tag list: @mal-lunar-28 @dutchessskarma @weakforskz @liknws @goddessraven2371 @beaann @deadpoetsandhoney @poody1608 @soobs-things @3nch1i @babyphotos0325 @skz1-4-3 @justcallmemitchie96 (comment on this post to be added!)

part one - part two - part three - part four

It was so silent in the room, you could hear your heartbeat pulsing in your ears.

You weren’t entirely sure what being soul ties meant, but with the way the atmosphere changed, you could tell everyone was now on edge.

Chan spoke, his voice heavy with trepidation. “Min…”

Minho shook his head and stood up from his place on the floor. “No,” he said. “I’m not doing this. Fuck this.”

And before anyone could stop him, Minho pushed past Chan and all but ran down the stairs. 

You stared after him, your body almost frozen in shock. You certainly weren’t the only one either; behind you, Hyunjin had his hand slapped over his mouth, and you were almost sure Chan hadn’t blinked in the last 30 seconds.

After a beat of heavy silence, the three of you turned to look at each other, and despite your overwhelming ignorance, you spoke first.

“I… I don’t understand.”

Chan sighed as you spoke, rubbing the back of his neck with his hand. “He always does this,” he muttered. He cleared his throat and spoke up. “I’m so sorry to leave, but I’m gonna have to go after him. Stay here with Hyunjin, and I’ll send Jisung up when I leave.”

He paused on the top step, stopping to look at you with an apologetic yet firm look. “We’ll explain everything when we can. But you have to stay here.”

And with that, he was gone.

You turned your attention back to Hyunjin, whose wide eyes were fixed on the staircase. He glanced at you for a second, an untraceable emotion shading his face, before fixing his eyes on the floor.

Your stomach twisted, almost feeling ashamed of yourself. What have I done? you thought. And what the fuck do I do now?

“Did…” your voice was tentative in the silence. “Did I just ruin Minho’s life?”

“No,” Hyunjin whispered. “I’m just… I never thought– we never thought we would… his soul tie?”

For some reason, guilt clouded your mind. Not for Minho, though you weren’t feeling particularly negative toward him anymore, but for Hyunjin and Chan. They both looked genuinely stressed at the revelation, which made you think that the deeper, underlying meaning behind this was not good. The only question in your mind now was whether or not you wanted to be a part of the deeper meaning.

Whatever it was, you could tell the workers at the piercing parlor were into some kind of trouble. If their magic story was true, it was something that was completely over your head. You’d lived a normal life up until now, and you were certain that you wanted to continue having a normal life. Magic bloodline be damned, you were not about to get caught up in a battle that wasn’t yours.

At that moment, you decided to ignore Chan’s warning, and go home.

However, you weren’t entirely sure how to do that at this moment. Chan had asked, or nearly begged, that you stay put so he could explain things when he came back. However, he had left you there. With Hyunjin of all people. Now, you’d only known the redhead for a week, and only saw him in person one and a half times, but you had the feeling that he would not– could not– stop you if you decided to run. At least, not with violence. 

You eyed Hyunjin’s frame, taking note that he was more gifted in height than thickness– if you ran, he would catch up quickly because of his long legs, but if needed, you could take him.

You watched him sit up and rub his hands along his jeans anxiously.

You nodded to yourself. Yeah. You could definitely take him.

You began calculating the amount of footsteps from where you were to the staircase. If you walked quickly, it would take about 5 individual steps from where you were standing to the first stair. There were at least 10 stairs in the staircase, then maybe 10 more steps out the front door.  With a quick estimate, you realized two of your steps were probably equivalent to one of his. If you could get to the stairs without being noticed, you would have enough of a head start that you’d be just out of reach for him, and could probably make it home. 

The more you thought about it, the more you realized that this could actually work. However, as you took your first scoot, Hyunjin let out a soft sigh.

“Don’t,” he said softly. “Please. Don’t try to go anywhere. I can’t let you leave.”

A cold chill ran through your body. What was with the telepathy? How did they always seem to know something before it was said aloud?

You turned around with your arms crossed over your chest defiantly. “Why not?” 

You hoped your glare would shrivel Hyunjin into a pliant little wrinkle that you could convince to let you free, but upon meeting his eyes you realized that he was entirely unaffected. Besides the still-present air of surprise and confusion, he looked at you like nothing happened– the same way he looked when he met you. 

For some reason, this made you angrier. You’d just been attacked, sort of kidnapped, learned that you weren’t technically a regular human, and found out you’re soul bound to the angry blonde in the parlor. Yet he seemed to talk to you like it was just a normal Tuesday. You stared daggers into his eyes, hoping you could melt his brain into soup with your glare.

He patted the space next to him on the couch, breaking you from your trance. “I’ll explain, just, please come sit down.”

You thought it over for a moment. While Hyunjin seemed nice enough, fundamentally you were still being held hostage by a group of men. As curious as you were about the situation, you were angrier, and you didn’t want to give the impression that you were comfortable being mindless and obedient. For all you know, this could be some elaborate scheme.

So, instead of walking toward the couch, you turned around and made your way to the staircase and started walking down the stairs.

Hyunjin called after you, his tone sounding almost like a warning. You flipped him off and continued your descent, laughing to yourself about how easy this was.

Your laugh proved premature when you heard Hyunjin sigh again, and then within a second, his fingers closed around your wrist. 

            You gasped and tried to jerk your hand away, but his grip was strong, almost inhumanely so. You spun around and tugged your arm away from him again, using your other hand to attempt to pry his fingers off of you. Even though you knew you were using all of your strength, his grip would not budge. After a moment of pulling, you glared up at him and noticed something looked… different… in his eyes. They were dark, almost like his pupils had dilated so much that they swallowed every millimeter of the soft brown in his eyes. His gaze was unwavering, and though you wanted to say something rude, you noticed you felt… off.

Your entire body felt like it was slowing down. Every thought seemed to go one mile an hour through your head, and you could feel every muscle you used to blink. It felt like you were being dragged through molasses or wet cement.You were terrified, and you looked up at Hyunjin with what you hoped were pleading eyes.

He parted his lips and said your name sternly. Still stuck like a deer in headlights, all you could do was stare at him and hang on to his words.

“You cannot leave.” His voice was serious and deep. “I understand that you’re skeptical and frightened, but I can’t help with that until you sit down and let me explain.” 

You felt so pliant and relaxed that it made you dizzy. Swaying a bit, you gripped the arm holding you to keep yourself from falling over.

“It’s okay,” Hyunjin mumbled. “I’m not going to let you fall. But squeeze my arm if you understand what I just said.”

Upon your gentle squeeze, the redhead nodded and guided you back to the safety of the couch, still holding onto your wrist. He gently eased you into the cushions, watching to make sure you wouldn’t fall over. As his hand slid away from your wrist, rational thought came back to you, and the dizzy feeling began to clear like ember dwindling from a campfire. You felt a bit breathless and pressed your hand to your chest in an attempt to calm your breathing.

Hyunjin looked sheepish as he stood near you.  “I’m sorry,” He sighed, sitting down in his spot next to you. “I didn’t want to use my powers like that, but I was scared you would leave.”

You stared at him blankly as he spoke. The brown was back in his eyes, shining like fresh coins in the summer sun. “Why shouldn’t I leave,” you said between breaths. “I don’t know what the fuck is going on and I’m starting to feel like a hostage.”

Hyunjin sighed, glancing up at the ceiling as tho he was pleading for the strength to deal with you. “Can I explain now?”

“Please do.”

“The reason you can’t leave,” he started. He opened his mouth to say more, but you could see the words get stuck in his throat. His annoyed aura was quickly replaced with one of anxiety. He began to chew on his nails, staring at the floor as though the answer would rise from the floorboards. Finally, he let out a huff of air and shifted in his seat. “You can’t leave, because if you do, you’re going to die.”

Lead dropped into your stomach as you stared at him. He couldn’t have just said that. Your mind was playing tricks on you. “I’m sorry…What?”

He shifted again and brought his hand back up to his mouth. You noticed his fingernails were down to the stubs, and he was now just gnawing on his skin nervously.

“You didn’t mishear me. If you leave, you’re going to die.”

Your eyes were blank as you nodded. “Okay. That’s what I thought you said. Are you going to elaborate or am I just going to have to trust you blindly.”

“No,” he mumbled. “I’ll explain. Just– give me a second.”

Watching him, you realized that this was really hard for him to talk about. He was nearly shaking at this point, his breath coming out ragged and labored. After a moment, he let out a deep breath and turned to you.

“When you’re soul tied to someone, it’s more than just an emotional connection. It’s a connection in every conceivable way: physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual. Your lives will be intertwined forever, and you don’t have a choice about it. The bond is eternal.”

Your anger had now subsided, and you hung onto Hyunjin’s every word like it was the gospel.

“The thing is, you won’t know you’re soul tied to someone until you meet them.” He was staring ahead now, his eyes dull and almost lifeless. “And sometimes, you don’t figure out who it is until it’s too late.”

You shook your head. “I don’t understand, Hyunjin.”

He focused his eyes back on you, and you could see they were beginning to get red. His face was flushed, and he chewed on his bottom lip before continuing. “You can’t fall in love with anyone else. The magic of the bond won’t allow it. Even if you begin to think you are falling for someone else, you’ll get sick. So many people have lost their lives because they met their soul tie after they were already married or in a relationship. Not many people are fond on the idea of giving up their families for a total stranger.”

You nodded slowly. “So… I can’t leave because I’ll go live my life and possibly fall in love with someone and die?”

Hyunjin shook his head, and his expression was grim. “The magic of the bond thrives on physical connection, like being in close proximity. Once you know who your soul tie is, that’s when the power of the bond is activate, and the need to be physically close begins. When you’re with your soul tie, your powers get stronger, you get healthier– all the things like that. But if you’re not around your soul tie…”

He took a deep breath before continuing. “If you’re not around your soul tie, both of you will die. If something happens to you, your soul tie will feel it. And if you die, they die too.”

“So… by coming here and getting my piercing…”

He nodded. “You’ve sentenced yourself and Minho to death.”

Before you could even begin to process what you just learned, you heard a quiet voice coming from the staircase. Whoever it was seemed to be singing to themself under their breath. You stared at their shadow as they inched closer and closer to the top, your stomach twisting and turning with anxiety.

Jisung peered over the banister and caught sight of you and Hyunjin. “Oh!” His smile was bright. “It’s you again!”

You couldn’t find the strength to match his excitement. You waved weakly at him and went back to staring at the ground intently.

Noticing the somber atmosphere in the room, Jisung cautiously made his way over to one of the lounge chairs and paused. “I’m sorry… is this a bad time? It’s just that.. Chan told me to come up here when I was done with my last customer, so I thought….”

“You’re fine, Ji,” Hyunjin mumbled. He motioned for him to sit down. “There’s something you need to know anyway.”

You could see the anxiety begin to settle on Jisung’s face as he gently lowered himself into the chair. “What’s going on?”

Hyunjin took a deep breath before gesturing towards you and introducing you. “You remember her, right?”

Jisung nodded slowly. 

“Well. She’s Minho’s soul tie.”

Eyes wide and mouth agape, he glanced between you and Hyunjin as though he believed it was an elaborate prank, and one of you would crack. Taking in your already anxious and disheveled figure, he closed his mouth and proceeded to blink repeatedly.

“Oh my God,” he whispered. “Oh my G… I–what?”

“It seems like I’m a Sirid,” you offered weakly.

Jisung glanced at Hyunjin, who offered him a very weak shrug in return. The grey haired boy attempted to regain his composure quickly.

“Oh wow. That’s… that’s, um…. So, which clan are you?”

“That we don’t know yet,” Hyunjin cut in He seemed grateful for the change of topic. “She never knew she was a Sirid, so she never used her powers.”

“Wait, so, how did you end up here? In the human realm?” Jisung tilted his head in confusion. “Making a portal takes–” He cut himself off, biting his tongue. “Well, it takes a lot of energy.”

You shrugged, completely clueless. “I’ve just… always been here I guess.”

Hyunjin paused for a second. “What year were you born?”

“I’m 21 so… 2002.”

Jisung scratched his chin. “Oh, well that’s way before everything happened with Ardor,” he mumbled.

You peered at him, confused. “What’s Ardor?”

Jisung’s eyes widened and his face flushed. “Ah– no one–i mean, nothing! It’s not important. I shouldn’t have mentioned it at all.”

You turned to Hyunjin for answers, but his eyes seemed glazed over with some unreadable emotion. It was almost like he was having a flashback of some kind. Once again, you could tell that whatever backstory came from this was not good.

Eventually, the red head sighed, and looked at you. “It’s okay,” he mumbled. “I’ll tell you. Iphorus is… not like here. There’s a ruler appointed every 15 years, called the Templar. It’s like… a monarchy, but worse. Everyone is expected to obey and praise the Templar and anyone who steps out of line is considered unworthy, and can be banished or�� killed.”

“Ardor was the Templar four years ago,” Jisung added. “He wasn’t bad, not at first, but then his wife met her soul tie and chose to be with them, not him. Things were.. Not great after that.”

“Things went to shit,” Hyunjin corrected. “He went absolutely crazy. He hired the best minds in the entire realm to come up with a magic stronger than the magic of the soul tie. He burned all of the text on soul ties and made a law that anyone who meets their soul tie while already in a relationship had to stay in that relationship and wither away slowly. If not, they’d be caught and publicly punished.”

“And by punished, I assume you mean…?”

“Yeah,” Jisung confirmed. “More death and stuff.”

“Then the war started,” Hyunjin breathed. “It was.. Nasty to say the least. The population dwindled by 20%.”

You rubbed your hands over your arms, trying to beat the chill that just surrounded you. “That sounds horrible,” you mumbled. “How did you guys end up escaping?”

The two boys shared a look over your head before Hyunjin continued. “It was a hard decision,” he said gently. “But, ultimately, we knew didn’t want to be in that society anymore. So Minho rounded us up and.. We left through a portal. It’s been, what, 3 years now?”

Jisung nodded. “We can’t go back. Even if we wanted to.”

Your voice came out softer than you expected. “Why not? Can’t you just open another portal?”

Jisung paused, taking a breath before he continued. “No, we can’t. There’s no way to make a portal here– not unless you bring the materials from Iphorus. Even then it’s iffy because our magic is weaker here.”

“So.. you’re stuck here, essentially.”

“Yeah,” Hyunjin nodded. “But it’s not bad. It’s probably for the greater good of everyone that we stay here.”

You let out a shaky breath. “But.. what about your families? Don’t you miss them? Do they–”

Hyunjin gripped your hand quickly and shook his head, panic on his face. He had a finger over his lips, and told you with his eyes to stop speaking. You nodded at him, albeit very confused, before he looked away. You followed his gaze to see that he was staring at Jisung, who had that glazed over, flashback look in his eyes– the same one Hyunjin had earlier.

Jisung was trembling. He started digging his nails into his pants, scratching so frantically you thought he’s rip right through the fabric. You could hear him whispering under his breath, but his voice was so soft that you had no idea what he was saying. 

“Ji,” Hyunjin whispered. He reached over you and touched Jisung’s shoulder. “It’s okay. You’re here with me. We’re okay.”

Jisung put one of his hands over Hyunjins, repeating the comforting words under his breath. Though you were in the middle of things, literally, you felt so far away and helpless.All you could do was watch, and hope that Jisung would be alright.

After a second, you watched him squeeze Hyunjin’s hand and nod. “I’m okay,” he whispered. He looked up at you, the tips of his ears burning a bright red. “Sorry,” he mumbled. “I don’t… hearing about family is… not great.”

“I’m sorry–”

“No, you don’t have to apologize. You couldn’t have known.” 

He rubbed his hand on the back of his neck. “I have a… complicated family history. So hearing about it can make me a bit uncomfortable. But I’m okay now. I promise.” 

You nodded and let silence wash over the three of you as you stared at your lap. Iphorus sounded like an awful place, and though you were now technically a hostage of some kind, it sounded much better than being sent somewhere like that. It was a wonder how the boys seemed to get out mostly unscathed.

A million thoughts raced through your head at once. It was so overwhelming, all of it. You could feel the beginnings of an anxiety attach cresting it’s head over your conscious.

Hyunjin’s hand found it’s way to you, rubbing slow, calming circles on your arm. “It’s okay,” he whispered. “It’s gonna be okay.”

“Yeah,” Jisung added sheepishly. “We’re here now, we’re safe from all of that.”

Your voice began to quiver as you tried to speak. “So… going back to the whole Ardor thing, is that… is all of that why Minho made the earring? So that people could find their soul ties and avoid death?”

“Something like that,” Hyunjin mumbled. “I don’t really know– it’s not my story to tell.”

“His invention did a lot of good during Ardor’s reign.” Jisung piped up. “But… I don't really know his intention for making it. Unless it was–”

“Either way.” Hyunjin cut him off, shooting him a look that you couldn’t decipher. His hand was still rubbing circles on your arm, and that cloudy, pliant feeling as beginning to return to your head. As long as you weren’t panicking, you didn’t really care.

“Either way, that’s our history now. We’re trying to stay focused on what our future is gonna look like.”

“I guess it’ll be the nine of us from now on,” Jisung said. “I wonder who’s gonna be your roommate while we clean up the guest room.”

“Wait, nine? There’s more of you?”

Jisung blinked. “Oh, I guess you didn’t meet everyone else yet. Well, you know me, Hyunjin, Chan, and Minho of course.” He held up fingers with each name. “That leaves Changbin, Seungmin, Felix, and Jeongin.”

Noticing your anxious gaze, he continued. “But they’re good guys! I promise, it’ll be okay.”

As you opened your mouth to reply, a banging sound came from downstairs. The three of you shot up out of your comfortable slouches, eyes glued to the staircase. You could hear feet pounding up the stairs and the pants of breath from two people. Your anxiety settled for a moment when you saw it was Minho and Chan, but when you noticed their intense demeanor, it quickly returned.

Chan raced over to the three of you, hustling you out of your seats with urgency. “Get up,” he ordered. “Now. We need to leave.”

“What’s going on?”

“I don’t have time to explain,” he breathed. “Just– please. We need to get out of here right now.”

You allowed yourself to get pulled off of the couch and nearly shoved into the corner of the room farthest from the staircase. Minho and Chan moved around the room in a way that nearly seemed choreographed, despite the air of seriousness looming over them. Chan shoved everyone’s belongings into a duffel bag which he tossed to Jisung. Minho, on the other hand, slipped on a black sweatshirt and beanie before standing by the top of the stairs.

Chan stepped in front of the three of you, pressing his hand against the wall until it seemed to disappear right before your eyes. A large black door replaced what was there before, and Hyunjin opened it to reveal a long, dark staircase.

“Get downstairs to the car,” Chan spoke. “Felix and Seungmin are already in there. Changbin is driving, do not leave without him. Understood?”

The two boys behind you nodded. As Hyunjin began making his way down the stairs,  Jisung slung the duffel bag over his shoulder and reached his hand out to you. “I know you still don’t trust us that much, but please, you have to keep holding my hand.”

As you stepped forward to grab Jisung’s hand, a feeling of dread washed over you. It felt like you would throw up any second. You could feel your mind begin to get rid of all rational thought and go right into panic mode.

No no no, your consciousness chanted. We can’t leave. Stop. Stop!

“Wait,” you cried. Your sudden outburst had both Chan and Jisung surprised, but you couldn’t calm your voice down even if you tried. “W-What about Chan and Minho? Are we just leaving  them here?”

“It’s for the best, they’re gonna be okay, but I need to get you out of here now.”

Jisung reached for you, but you stepped back, trembling like a wounded animal. For some reason you were terrified. Your entire body felt cold and your mouth felt like cotton.

You shook your head at him, and felt the words coming out of your mouth before you could process them. “No! I’m not… I’m not going anywhere!”

From the bottom of the staircase, Hyunjin called your name with urgency. “Please,” he shouted. “Come on, we need to go!”

“We’ll catch up, Jin,” Jisung called. He turned his attention back to you, his big doe eyes pleading with you. “I know you’re scared, but it’s an emergency and we need to go. I need to get you out of here, you’re not safe.”

You felt crazy. The dwindling embers of your rational brain begged you to go with Jisung, to run into the arms of safety and protection. But a louder, roaring fire spoke over it, and against all of your instincts you were desperate to stay.

Breaking you from your thoughts, Jisung grabbed your hand tightly, no longer waiting for you to make the first move, and he began to drag you towards the stairs. You dug your heels into the ground to stop him, but he just began to pull harder. He was adamant about leaving, and you were adamant about staying. You writhed in his grasp with such desperation and vigor, you felt as though your body would explode.

You couldn’t leave. It felt like your body would tear in half if you left the two of them there. It felt like you were being sucked into a whirlpool, water splashing around you and knocking the wind out of your chest. You couldn’t stand it. Though you knew Jisung was strong, you felt an unnatural strength take over you as you ripped your hand out of his and stumbled back into the room.

“No, we can’t… we can’t leave them here.” Your words came out breathless, as though you were having a panic attack. “I won’t go.”

A hand grasped your shoulder, and you whipped around to see Minho standing right behind you. He gripped your shoulder tightly– not tight enough that it would hurt, but firm enough that it would ground you. Your breath continued to rake its way out of your chest as you stared at him, eyes darting frantically around his face.

“Calm down,” he whispered. “It’s okay. Breathe with me.”

You let you eyes close, and without effort, your breathing began to match his rhythm. It was almost scary how easy it was to follow him. With every deep, dramatic breath he took, your body was able to copy him without a single thought.

The breathing was beginning to help clear the thick smog that covered your brain, and though you knew you weren’t thinking completely rationally, you felt clear enough to slow down and listen to what he was saying.

You let your eyes open, and found that he was staring at you intently. The expression on his face was unlike anything you’d ever seen before. You were used to his scowl and glare, but now he was looking at you with a type of gentleness you didn’t recognize. Goosebumps raced across your flesh as you waited for him to speak.

“Look at me,” he said softly. “Look. I’m going to be okay. Okay? You can go. They’re taking you somewhere safe, and I’ll come join you when I’m all done here.”

“But–”

He shook his head. “It’s okay.”

Emotions overwhelmed you the more you stared into his eyes. It seemed like everything around you had faded into nothingness, and you and Minho were alone in an entirely white room. Your senses were filled with nothing but him– his cinnamon scent, the softness of his hands, the sound of his heartbeat. You were entirely engulfed in him, even your brain seemed to be chanting his name over and over like a mantra, but something in you wasn’t satisfied. You needed skin to skin contact. 

You lifted your hand and put it on his, and you felt your entire body come to life, almost like you’d been shocked with enough voltage to power a small town. Minho closed his eyes and grunted softly under his breath, and you knew he felt the sensation too.

He opened his eyes after a moment, forcing them into focus before he continued to stare at you. His thumb rubbed over the back of your hand, and you felt yourself begin to tremble. 

“You can go,” he whispered. “It’s gonna be okay.”

You found yourself whispering back to him. “Okay”

Jisung took the opportunity to slip his hand into yours again, and gently drag you away from Minho and into the staircase. The two of you held eye contact the entire time. It was unwavering, intense eye contact that made the line of sight feel sacred. You couldn’t pull your eyes away until Chan closed to staircase door.

Though you were no longer in that weird trance, your mind was still fuzzy and your senses were still full of nothing but Minho, so much so that you were barely aware of anything happening around you. You knew that Jisung was running, and obviously you had to be running too if you were still holding his hand, but it felt like you were floating above the ground, completely untouchable.

After a moment, you found yourself in the alley behind the parlor. The air was thick with the stench of garbage and rotten food, and the ground beneath your feet was sticky. You look up to see that there was a large SUV parked with the back door open. You let Jisung guide you toward it, before he stuck his head in and said God-knows-what to God-knows-who. Upon getting a response, he turned around and offered you his hand once again. The fog of your mind was beginning to clear, and you stepped towards him and took his hand, climbing into the third row of seats in the car.

You were met with many unfamiliar faces. There were two people in the row ahead of you, one in the driver’s seat, and another sitting next to you. You saw Hyunjin’s red hair cresting over the passenger’s seat, and your anxiety began to dissipate. At least there were two people you knew. After a quick count you realized that the unfamiliar faces were all four people you hadn’t met yet.

You turned back to Jisung, who was sliding into the row next to you. Once he was situated and the seat was back in place, you felt the car vibrate as the engine started, then it peeled off into the street at what felt like a dangerous speed. You’d almost forgotten the dire situation you were in after… whatever that was, happened with Minho. Thinking about him being back in the parlor without you, your anxiety began to come back, and you began picking at the fabric of your jeans.

“Hey, it’s okay. Don’t worry,” Jisung whispered. He gently reached over and laid your hand flat on your leg. “Are you anxious about the unfamiliar people? I told you they’re all nice guys.”

Deciding to keep your thoughts on Minho to yourself, you nodded. “Yeah, but I don’t know them,” You whispered back. “And so much is happening right now. Do they even know who I am? Do they know about… you know?”

A sweet sounding giggle came from next to you. You glanced over your shoulder to see the most angelic looking man you’d ever seen in your life. His hair was bleached white and fluffed around his face, perfectly accentuating his symmetrical face. Freckles were dotted all across his rosy red cheeks, from over the bridge of his nose to around his eyes– which were nearly closed as his smile took up his  entire face.

“I know who you are,” he giggled. “You’re Minho’s soul tie. I’m Felix! Nice to meet you.”

You stared at him nearly in awe of his features. He looked like the picture of innocence and joy– almost out of place in the somber space within the car.

“You don’t have to be shy,” he continued. “I’m nice, so is Changbin and Innie.”

He leaned close and dropped his voice to a whisper. “Seungmin’s kind of annoying, but it’ll grow on you, I promise.”

“I heard that.”

“Stop bickering back there,” the driver, who, if you remembered correctly, was named Changbin. He adjusted his rear view mirror and peered at everyone. Your eyes met, and he lifted his eyebrow curiously, almost like there was a question brewing in his brain. He dismissed it quickly by shaking his head.

Despite his extreme speed, he maneuvered through traffic so smoothly you questioned if the other cars were even real. He spoke up again, “You all buckle up, I’m speeding.”

From the corner of your eyes, you could see Felix sit up in his seat and put on his seat belt. When he noticed you staring, he gave you another smile before reaching up and buckling your seat belt too.

“Oh– uh… thank you?”

“You’re welcome,” he grinned. 

He peered at you curiously through his long lashes. He seemed to be searching your face, or trying to read your expression. You held eye contact and, for a moment, his cheerful expression dropped and was replaced with something untraceable. But just as quickly as it fell, it was back. You thought your mind must have been playing tricks on you.

“You don’t have to be scared,” Felix said as he leaned back. “Everything is going to be fine. We’ll treat you like family.”

As much as you wanted to believe him, you couldn’t even process what he said. Your brain was almost too full of thoughts, and it felt like it was going to explode. You were terrified, and rightfully so. Not because Changbin was speeding, though you were watching the speedometer intently, but because you were fleeing some unknown threat. Something that was bad enough that you need to leave immediately, and yet, Chan and Minho were staying back, preparing to face the threat head on.

What terrified you most, though, was the fact the the very fabric of your being felt like it was being torn apart the farther you were from the parlor, and as you stared at the setting sun, you gripped your knees and shuddered.

Please be okay, Minho you thought. Please please please.

[sweetyluvs]

25 with ellie who wears pink cuz ist readers fav color??

𝐛𝐚𝐛𝐲 𝐩𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐫𝐭𝐬

MODERN! ellie williams x fem! reader

tags - just fluff<33

the bright pink color of the matching shirts in the display of Forever 21 caught your attention within milliseconds.

two bright, baby pink shirts with laced flower marks sewn in with hot pink string with the words “i’m hers” with an arrow pointing to each shirt had you foaming at the mouth.

Your feet carried you into the store faster than you’ve ever done anything, your heals announcing your entrance to the employee at the entrance. Her head turned towards you, a grin forming on her lips. “Hello, Ma’am. can I help you?”

“Yes! can i please purchase those two pink shirts on display?” you chirped, smiling back at her— happiness striding through you upon seeing her nod. “of course, what two sizes?”

“one medium in woman’s and one small, please”. the employee ran off to the back and you were left grinning ear to ear thinking about seeing ellie in such a cute shirt— her freckles being brought out perfectly, the embarrassed blush you knew she was going to have would be perfect with the shades of the top. You fiddled with your bracelet, that ellie had made you, while you wait for the employee to come out from the back.

when she did, you were sure she could feel your happiness because her polite employee grin seemed to turn genuine. “Thank you so much! i hope you have a wonderful day!!” you thanked her profusely, excitement running through your veins as you waved bye and rushed out of the store— deciding to take a detour from your shopping time to go home early and surprise your girlfriend.

˚₊‧꒰ა ☆ ໒꒱ ‧₊˚

Ellie’s soul practically left her body upon hearing the front door of your shared apartment slam open with such force. The otter pop in her mouth falling from between her lips and to her stomach, leaking through her white wife beater tank top and freezing her.

“what the— ouch! fuck.” she reacted quickly to the sudden cold by flicking the popsicle off her, standing up, she went to see who was at the door— (and she left the otter pop on the floor.)

She slowly approached, light shuffling could be heard, but no signs of life. ellie rose a brow.

“Babe? is that you?” she asked skeptically, popping her head around the walls corner to see who was making all the ruckus.

to her surprise, and her relief, it was you. You were home two hours earlier than you usually are. Ellie sigh a breath of relief, putting a hand to her chest, leaning against the wall.

“you’re home early. someone die?” she teased, dropping her hands to her side. You turned to her, a giant smile taking over your whole face.

Ellie knew she should be happy to see it— but deep down, she was scared. scared of what you’ve brought home this time.

She gulped, pushing herself off the wall and walking towards you. “i know that smile.. bring home another cat?” she bit out, watching as you only smirked at her. “oh, ellie. not this time. i found something better.”

“better than a cat? wow.”

“Turn around.” she rose a brow, lips creasing.

“do i have to—”

“turn around, ellie.” you interrupted, putting a hand up to cover your smile. She did as told, spinning on her heal but keeping her green eyes wide open.

The bags on the table she didn’t get the chance to fully look at began to shuffle. She could hear your new things being taken out and placed on the table.

You shifted, seemingly putting something on before letting out a squeak of excitement that had ellie in fear.

“Okay, els, turn back.”

Ellie inhaled, exhaling as she turned towards you. There you were— your cute smile on your lips, but the most god awful hideous shirt on you ellie had ever seen. The worst part? you held up an identical one.

Ellie’s throat went dry, all sign of life leaving her body the moment her face went pale.

“try it on. I got your size.” you beamed, eyes scanning her before blowing wide. “you stained that top? we just got it.. this is actually perfect. Now you have a replacement.” You tossed the shirt onto her chest, leaning on your hip waiting for her to put it on.

The grin on your face was the only thing keeping the auburn haired girl from running away like she had all the previous times.

Ellie groaned lightly, a huff of air escaping her. curse your adorable smile.

She unfolded the shirt, her biceps showing their muscle as she went to put it on. she was slightly disappointed to say it fit perfectly— ellie was going to protest wearing it, but than she saw the look on your face. You were euphoric.

You hadn’t looked this happy since.. well, the cat. and a few other times…

“oh my gosh, it’s perfect!! now we can wear them together.” you hugged her, smiling so widely she could feel it from where your face was buried in her chest. Ellie felt her cheeks heat up from embarrassment, hugging you back quickly before you pulled back, admiring your work. and the blush on her cheeks you knew would come.

“do you like it?” you asked, eyes gleaming brightly, lips puffed out, smiling wildly up at ellie. Said girls heart stopped, and shattered for a moment upon the look that might cross your face upon hearing her truthful answer— so she.. improvised.

“Yeah, totally, love it. looks great. good choice, babe.” she complimented, bending down to kiss your cheek. You began to talk about how you found it, why you thought of her etc.

You’re lucky ellie loves you so much, because she would have never worn this pink shit for anyone else.

[yellowelectroslime]

this is hilarious. yes.

Charlie:

SUPER EXCITED

brought board games, card games, snacks shes SO EXCITED

she would force everyone to play games like truth or dare in the dorms

makes sure eveyone brushes their teeth before going to bed and after waking up

goes above and beyond with the activities

she’s hell born so she never got to experience the human high school camp so she’s making up for it here :D

she’s just here for a good time okay?

Vaggie:

she’s only here to protect her girlfriend.

she’s armed.

like the moment she leaves the canin/dorm she’s drawing out whatever blade she brought with her

does this to “survive”

calls everyone her comrade in arms and forces them to do push ups like soldiers

treats this like a military

Charlie has to tell her to calm down and reassures her that shes safe :C

the bear grylls of hell

Angel dust:

HATES the outdoors

its funny cuz he’s a spider lol

hides in the cabin

whenever he sees something move in the bushes he screams and comically jumps in husk

has fun with indoor activities and games

like i said. hates the outdoors

I don’t think he will be all flirty and stuff when he’s like genuinely having fun

steals husks s’mores.

Alastor:

takes this opportunity to go hunt

probably teaches the others how to hunt deer and just wanted everyone in horror because the radio demon has a gun.

he drags a dead deer back to the cabin

vaggie scolds him saying thats it nasty as hell and it’ll attract flies

he cooks the deer for them to eat (vaggie is trying her best not to look like she likes the food)

best cook

purposely burns his s’mores cuz it’s fun and i think he’s the type of person to go “burnt to the core, that’s a s’more”

Husk:

brings alcohol :D 👍

vaggie has to drag his ass to get him to participate in the games

likes his marshmallows medium rare with a golden crust

…. along side a glass of whiskey

fucking HATES mosquitoes

will do everything in his power to kill all mosquitoes within a 7 kilometer radius of him

the only thing he brought other than alcohol is bottles upon bottles mosquito spray

he’s not taking any chances

Niffty:

Loves mosquitoes 

she’s crazy

she kills the mosquitoes with a  kitchen knife

will eat the burnt s’mores

crazy.

charlie has to keep her under supervision or she’ll run off exterminating the mosquito population

Sir pentious:

will bring all his egg boiz and make them do everything

vaggie has to convince him that camping means you have to do everything himself

doesn’t understand anything but nods and tries to have fun

he’s so innocent

Cherri Bomb:

she’s australian she’s BORN for the outdoors

probably knows the wilderness more than everyone

doesn’t really help with stuff and just chats with angie

plays truth or dare too but its the…. less family friendly type

nothing scared her

tells everyone scary stories by the camp fire

laughs how everyone screams when a hell bunny comes out of the bush

charlie has to confiscate all her bombs to not start a forest fire

makes the best s’mores

[florianniss]

Dungeons and Drag Queens

RatedE, Identityporn, drag queen!eddie for @steddie-week July 3: Long / mutual pining / Holding Me by Warlock

The feel is silky and light between his fingers, cornflower blue and not particularly racy. Steve holds the hanger against his chest and looks down, trying to decide if he should get the medium or the large bottoms to go with it. He does some quick math as he looks at the measurements on the tag. They’re both —

“Can I help you?”

Steve comes fucking unglued. He throws the bra and panty set in front of his face to protect himself against attack. He’d been so careful to avoid all the sales clerks. This lady must have been lurking behind the return rack, just waiting for him to make his move.

“I’m sorry,” she apologizes, but looks pleased with herself. “Looking for something for your girlfriend?”

“I wish,” Steve mutters as he fixes the strap on the hanger. What he wouldn’t do to make that happen.

“Excuse me?” 

Steve looks up and meets her eyes. She’s probably his mom’s age, her hair teased so high it’s clear she’s trying to look younger. It makes it only slightly less embarrassing, considering he’s been caught feeling up the ladies' lingerie on the upper floor of JCPenneys.

“Uh. Yeah.”

Her smile is knowing; she gets he’s covering up something. “Well, what size is she? Maybe I can help.”

Steve understands she makes a commission, but this is ridiculous. “Um. Well. She’s about my size.”

The woman blinks. “Your size. You mean your height?”

Steve thinks back. With the heels? Yeah. Without?

“No. She’s shorter.” He doesn’t know what this has to do with buying underwear.

She looks at him now like he’s stupid. “And what’s her bust size?”

Steve panics and stares at her. She takes his increased breathing rate for later stages of stupidity. Her shoulders heave a great sigh and she points at one of the mannequins who sports handful-sized boobs. “Bigger or smaller than that.”

It’s good that Steve deals in motorcycles for a living. He’s failing miserably at everything else. “Uh. Smaller. Pretty — pretty flat, actually.”

Steve notices for the first time her name tag says ‘Robin.’ Oh, how his friend would be laughing at him right now.

Robin gives him a look that for sure means she’s sorry for whoever this girlfriend is. “All right. I’m not sure this is the best option for her, then. How about if we try something else?”

Steve nods his head. Because apparently he’s a spineless weakling.

Robin the sales clerk takes him to a rack of nightgowns and pulls a silky cream colored, long floor-length thing that’s more wedding than sleeping attire.

“All the girls love this,” she says, fanning out the dress so it’s skirt twirls. “I’ve sold so many of these I’ve lost count.”

Steve crosses his arms over his chest so he doesn’t touch it and imagine smooth skin beneath the beaded bodice. He’s suddenly picturing long brown hair cascading over bare shoulders, and he wants one too.

“But blue,” he asks. It’s got to be blue.

“OK,” she hums and searches through the rack until finding one in powder blue. “Any particular reason?”

Steve wonders if she’s pushing the cream ones on him because there are dozens still on the rack. He stands his ground. “Her eyes are big and brown. And I think blue would be pretty on her.”

Robin gives him the first genuine smile as she searches his face for something. “That’s nice.”

She hands over the nightie and Steve is careful to only touch the curved part of the hanger.

“Anything else I can help you with?”

Steve looks longingly over one shoulder at the lacy blue lingerie set and wonders if his Robin might agree to pick it up later.

“No. That’s it.”

To be continued on AO3

[butterflydm]

wot rewatch (book spoilers edition): 2x4

Not only is this one going to have spoilers for all the aired episodes plus any teasers, it will also have book spoilers through book 14: a memory of light (haha let's pretend I didn't accidentally call it book 13 in my previous rewatch book spoilers posts). I am also going to talk about the trailer for ep5.

I love this change to the seals being what's holding the Forsaken -- and Lanfear's side-step of death at the end of the episode shows us why such a choice was required on LTT's part (I am currently assuming it was LTT who was the driving force behind this because of the memory echo that Rand had at the 'Eye of the World' where he was confronting Ishamael). He had to seal them up because they couldn't be killed conventionally, because the Dark One could just bring them back (Lord of the Grave). This is a great change for a visual medium because it means they can keep the same actors instead of needing to swap them out for a new body. It also adds a great new threat level to the Forsaken right off the bat and it gives viewers another reason to understand why joining the Shadow might be compelling. They don't want the wheel and reincarnation -- they want to live on as the person that they are now.

It's also interesting because it means that the Forsaken are potentially widely dispersed and it may mean that Ishy has to actively seek for where they've been sealed up (maybe asking his Darkfriends to try to find more seals like this) -- which may mean that the Forsaken are loosed more slowly than in the books, as Ishamael discovers where Lews Therin hid them. (or they were all released here and we were only shown Lanfear because she's the most relevant one)

3. The reveal that Lady Anveare is Moiraine's younger sister! This episode gives us a lot of information about Moiraine -- one of the big things that we learn is that she's much older than she was in the books. Which is a change I like; so many of the AS that we meet in the books are still within a 'natural' lifespan and it was kinda weird tbh. I think that she (and Siuan) took longer to make Accepted and Sister in this version (hence the note we get about how Cadsuane is the person to compare Nynaeve's rocketing through the ranks to and not the two of them) and that they were already full Sisters when they heard the prophecy from Gitara. This does track with them wearing blue in that scene from the trailer, which is potentially going to be a flashback to the prophecy (fingers crossed! would love to hear it!).

I am curious about how this may affect all the various familial relations in the show! But they were basically ignored completely in the books anyway, lol.

4. "My family have a cabin up near Kinslayer's Dagger". Wanting to take Rand up to the place that was named after how LTT killed his wife and all of the people that he loved -- I mean, yeah. That's Lanfear for you. So... has Lanfear used Compulsion on Rand at all or is it all pure manipulation? I am torn, tbh. She's manipulating him hard, both in the waking world and in the world of dreams. I'm not sure if she needed Compulsion to push him over the edge -- and I feel like her reaction to him implying that he loves her feels very genuine and I don't know if she would be quite that blown away by him saying that if she's been Compelling him to go along with her part of the way. They also might not want to lean too much on Compulsion for subtle things like this and save it for bigger influences. But we may find out more next episode, so I will be patient. He does abruptly change his mind in her favor a couple of times, so that may speak to a hint of Compulsion. If she is using it, she's picking and choosing her moments. (I don't think Compulsion has been mentioned at all on the show yet?)

5. An interesting thought to me about how Alanna approaches being an Aes Sedai with her family: this is potentially similar to how we're going to be seeing how the Wise Ones are integrated with Aiel society. They keep their families and are a vital part of their community.

6. Timing-wise, they do make it clear that Moiraine bonded Lan after her abrupt personality change -- so Lan is probably the same age that he was in the books, with only Moiraine (and some other Aes Sedai) being older. It's also interesting that Moiraine didn't feel any need to have a Warder before she heard the prophecy.

7. I will note again that Egwene does NOT tell Elayne the name of the person that she lost, which I am going to cross my fingers has pay-off later on in the season, with Elayne meeting Rand without knowing that he's the person that Egwene is talking about here. I really do want them to meet without the context of "this is my friend's ex-boyfriend who faked his own death" hanging over their heads. Right now, Elayne has zero facts or knowledge about Rand as a person -- doesn't know his name, his looks, or that he's a man who can channel (she does not even know that Egwene is talking about a man! Egwene says "someone I love more than anything").

8. We get some more foreshadowing of the coup in this conversation with Liandrin and Leane. "If she falls, you'll fall with her." I really am wondering when exactly Elaida will be introduced. I feel like it would likely be before the coup itself happens.

Liandrin, I suspect, will not be going back to the Tower (or, if she does, it will only be briefly, to collect a handful of other Black Ajah members and then head out to whenever it is that the Black Ajah Hunters plotline will take Elayne and Nynaeve next season -- whether that be Tanchico like in the books or Tear as @markantonys has speculated, also, to briefly go back to the previous scene, I am sorry that you did not get your boy! Hopefully we will hear something about him soon). Liandrin torched her bridges with the Wondergirls in this episode, so even if she does go back to the Tower, as soon as she learns that the Seanchan were pushed out of Falme, she would know that her cover in the Tower is blown and that she needs to leave before anyone can learn about what she did.

9. I think the placement of Perrin learning about wolfbrothers is so much better here than jammed into right after Shadar Logoth, lol. Elyas really just rolled up, infodumped, and then rolled away in the books, lol.

10. We still don't know that LTT was Lanfear's ex, which is fantastic and I love it, lol. Show-onlys guessing that Ishamael is the ex that Lanfear keeps talking about is the most hilarious thing in the world and I'm in love with it. I've seen it at least twice now in the non-reader reactions that I've watched.

Haha, Lanfear's reaction when Rand reminds her that he wasn't a virgin when they slept together. Her face is just priceless. She is stabbing Egwene in her mind right now. (does she know it was Egwene? I mean, Egwene being one of the ta'veren actually gives her a shield against Lanfear killing her that she didn't have in the books, since Fain established that TDO sees all five of the ta'veren as important)

11. The show has been establishing so strongly that Rand dreams of having a home, raising his kids, and doesn't want to be... idk a lone wanderer in the wilderness, and it does make me wonder/hope that they'll adjust his ending epilogue and have him going to his loved ones in the end instead of wandering off on his own and wondering which of the women he loves is going to be the first to abandon her responsibilities to join in him wandering around aimlessly.

(it's probably obvious from my description there that I am in favor of a bit of tweaking of Rand's ending!)

12. Learning that the person telling him to 'take' what he wants was, in fact, one of the Forsaken, might be something that leads into Rand pushing away the idea of being allowed to ever indulge in the things that he wants, which would match a lot of his behavior in the books.

13. So, in the books, Barthanes is a Darkfriend. I'm assuming that's the son that Anvaere is talking about, the one that she is marrying to the nameless queen who might be a Galldrian expy. Is Anvaere a Darkfriend? Lanfear didn't seem to like her in 2x3 but, well, she was A Woman who was talking to Lanfear's Man and that might matter more to her than any Shadow affliations.

...still, I'm going to guess 'no', because I don't think the Shadow would want Moiraine to get literally any information on Rand and Anveare's information is a straight line that leads to Lanfear's throat getting cut. But Anvaere's son being a DF while she is not is also very tragic to think about! While Anveare was trying to restore their house the honorable way, Barthanes may have taken a shortcut. Another possibility would be that Barthanes is not yet a Darkfriend but will become so because of the events of this season.

14. I think "Elayne is following them because she's suspicious of why they're sneaking out of the Tower" is a good way to get around the fact that Elayne doesn't know any of the people that they're going to rescue and she ends up getting caught up in it by accident, little knowing how the course of her life is going to change. It really feels like it needed to be something like this because of us losing Caemlyn from s1.

15. I am so glad that Min has a storyline that isn't about following Rand around like a puppy. She has a painful backstory! She has goals and desires that don't revolve around Rand! She has to experience moral quandaries and goes through trauma that actually focuses on her as a person, instead of her being Rand's post-trauma cuddle toy.

16. Okay, so now that we know that Ishamael specifically wants Mat in Cairhien, I feel like that gives us a bunch of information:

a. It implies to me that Lanfear is still working under Ishamael's direction for the most part and that she's essentially "the agent assigned to Rand's corruption".

b. We know that they want to corrupt as many of the ta'veren as possible (from what Fain said in the s1 finale). Rand is the Big Prize but if any of them turned that's a bird in the hand. So, Ishamael is approaching this in a few different ways.

c. It seems like he wasn't certain exactly what was going on with Perrin until 2x3 but as soon as he has realized more about the wolf connection, he worked to try to get Perrin to view it as something evil and dark.

d. Lanfear got put in charge (volunteered, I'm sure) to do Rand. In every possible way.

e. Liandrin got basically "everyone in the Tower" but chose to focus her efforts on Nynaeve and Mat. It sounds like that may be because they were the two that stood out to her more -- she had the (hilarious) impression that Egwene was the one who would 'know her place' when the time came. So she worked on Nynaeve by trying to mentor her openly (while doing some more subtle manipulation). And she worked on Mat by destroying him psychologically.

f. Once the Seanchan are settled in the far west (maybe once Suroth's soldiers are close enough to a Waygate), Ishamael lets Liandrin know that time is up to corrupt Nynaeve and we're moving to Plan B. We've gonna do this the 'easy' way by throwing her at Suroth and let the sul'dam break Nynaeve and Egwene to be obedient.

g. But BEFORE that happened, Liandrin released Mat (with Min tugging him along) out into the world, and we find out this week that Ishamael wants Mat to be brought to Cairhien. Why?

h. Theory: Mat is the back-up plan if Lanfear fails with Rand (which she did). One of the theories that I posted about Mat's viewing from Min (Theory #4) is that he is Compelled to stab Rand. We know from 2x3 that Liandrin could sneak into his cell without waking him. Easy enough for Ishy to do the same with some Traveling. Maybe Mat is already under Compulsion by one of them, with a trigger-event waiting to happen.

Which would be completely devastating for Mat (and Rand) and also (along with Liandrin's torment of Mat in general) lead to a very compelling (ha!) reason for him to seek out a way to prevent channelers from using weaves on him. It would essentially give him the same kind of emotional reaction that we saw from the flicker-flicker scenes in the book (where he was talking about how he's not going to betray Rand) without us actually needing the Portal Stones. Mat will be: a. absolutely traumatized by Aes Sedai in general; b. terrified about weaves being used on him; c. have viscerally been forced to betray Rand against his will.

There is also... hmm, to this point. The first shot of Ishamael in the trailer for ep5 might be a match for the 'Mat is tempted by the dagger' scene that we've seen in some of the other trailers. And Ishamael and Mat getting a scene together would complete the circle of him having an intimate little talks with all the ta'veren boys. Not certain if it's the same place, but it feels like the lighting is the same. Not the later shot of him walking with Suroth but the earlier one of him in a room that looks like it's got some fireplaces going on. I will brace myself for potentially not getting Mat next episode though.

(again, if this doesn't happen in the show, I might be forced to write it. We will see!)

Plus!

i. It could provide a real-time example of Min accidentally creating a viewing while trying to prevent it! She doesn't want to hurt Mat but she also would not want him to stab Rand. But since she is the one who would likely be bringing Mat into Rand's orbit (as she has no idea that Rand is in Cairhien, I don't think), it would show the viewers that Min's viewings are inevitable instead of it just being her telling us that.

I've seen speculation that Min is going to do a U-turn and take Mat anywhere else but Cairhien (presumably accidentally going to Falme) after learning that one of the Forsaken wants Mat there but... but I really really want Rand and Mat to get a reunion lol. Rand was THE most affected by Mat staying behind last season and it would be good to build them up again in anticipation of them spending s3 together, so I'd love if they got a reunion BEFORE Falme. Like, I was so excited to hear Min is meant to take him to Cairhien!

17. I do feel like something changes for Lanfear when Rand implies that he loves her. She stops for a moment and reacts to that, and the vibe of the scene shifts afterwards too. Great meta on the subject here: https://moghedien.tumblr.com/post/727929706072227841/1-it-immediately-sets-up-the-threat-of-going-up and I pretty much agree completely. This is where her true obsession with RAND as LTT was born. She just got everything that she wanted and then it was stolen from her.

Episode 5 next week! So excited!

Looking forward to seeing Lanfear unleashed in the next episode! The saa in her eyes was just... yes. Such a good decision for them to treat TDO's resurrection of his Chosen this way, I think, so that we can keep these spectacular actors. We're gonna get info from Moiraine about the Forsaken next episode, it sounds like, which is exciting.

We also are going to get AVIENDHA! So excited about this. She looks amazing in the trailer. She sounds amazing. She is amazing.

This is also when we're going to get some more insight into the Seanchan as a whole (Loial is with Ishamael and Suroth in the trailer), I suspect.

The other probable important event about next episode is, uh, gonna be more trauma for one of our characters, though. Lots more trauma. So far, most (definitely not all!) of Egwene's trauma has been "horrible things keep happening to the people I care about" (Nynaeve's assumed death; Perrin being tortured in front of her; Rand's assumed death; Nynaeve's assumed death again this season) but now her trauma will include "a horrible thing is happening to me". It might be the 'cliffhanger' of the episode; Egwene getting taken as damane. Since it looks like we're spending some time in the Ways with Liandrin & the Wondergirls first. Or it might happen earlier. I will brace myself!

[datesinredink]

I won’t lie, I completely forgot that I actually planned on posting writing on this blog- aghhh I’m one of the most inconsistent people alive, god help this outcast please. Here’s some stuff I wrote while listening to the ruikasa fixer cover. Hopefully since school’s over for the summer I’ll remember to write more! Might do Tsukasa later.

General yandere Rui headcanons

Yandere type: Monopoly main type with stalker and manipulative subtypes

I think you’d know Rui either as one of his middle school friends or as a WxS fan

If you were friends in middle school, I think he’d be less intense in his obsession. You’ve already stuck with him for this long, so he has less doubts of whether or not you’ll leave him.

On the other hand, if you meet him through his shows with wxs, he’s much more paranoid about you abandoning him, especially if you also end up getting close with the other members.

He doesn’t realize his feelings for you at first, though his friends probably notice. It’s likely one of them teasing him about you that makes him finally piece things together.

Anyway, I think he would’ve stalked you throughout school and occasionally outside of that even before he realized he loved you, but now that he knows, he’s upping the ante

Any room with good hiding spots have cameras in them, he’s hacking your devices, giving you little robotic gifts that, while cute and fun, also have listening bugs.

Speaking of gifts, you now have a horde of them. Anything from little figurines that throw confetti, to your own robo-you if you’re shy like Nene.

He brings you along to his rehearsals. He does show off a bit, but it’s in line enough with his usual dramatics that it’s only obvious if you’re looking for it.

Unfortunately, Rui tends to be Extremely Jealous. He is NOT a fan of you getting close with the others. I think he’d believe Tsukasa to be the biggest threat, since he can be genuinely charming, followed by Emu, then Nene, since he’s known her for a while and trusts that she won’t hurt him by getting in his way.

I don’t think he would resort to killing other people, it’s just not in his character. I think his method of driving people away from you would be leaning into his reputation as an unhinged freak so that people stop talking to you since he’s pretty much glued to your side whenever he can be. This might result in some injury to others, but usually nothing too bad. He won’t go further than a medium sized cut or a particularly bad bruise.

The main motive behind his obsession is a fear of abandonment. He’s been so alone and isolated from his peers for so long that the first time someone he’s in love with doesn’t think he’s creepy (before the stalking, anyway) he can’t help but latch on to you and never want to let go.

He’s entirely aware that what he’s doing and feeling isn’t normal or sane, but at the same time, he doesn’t really care. Even if you do find out, he’s been called a maniac for almost all of his life, so even if it stings a bit more, what’s one more person? If push comes to shove, he could just stage an incident to get you expelled and then keep you in his basement with him and his inventions.

[andmaybegayer]

Last Monday of the Week 2024-07-15

I've been trying to be more thorough in putting down my thoughts about things in here because increasingly I don't do it anywhere else. Sure picked a week though because I went on a completionist streak for some reason.

Listening: Courtesy of making some muffins, Wet Leg by Wet Leg, who you probably know from their hit Chaise Longue.

it's a good album, very much dreamy alt-indie voice. At its best produces some sounds that are more fun to listen to than the lyrics suggest, good command of phonemes.

Also, a late rec off IRC by proxy from @amiscellany with Literary Mind, a new single from SPRINTS. Big fuzzy guitar on a retro rock soundtrack about being in lesbians with a girl.

I haven't gone through the rest of their music but I will be checking it out.

Watching: Finished Scavenger's Reign which was on the Canmom Animation Night last weekend, I only caught the front end because we started late. Really gorgeous show, if you want carefully considered realistic spec bio this is not for you but if you love That Moebius Shit then it's ideal.

I then rewatched the back half with Animation Night last night! Love to talk to my friends about beans.

The main selling point is that it's beautiful but there is also some very fun body horror and good amount of character. Azi and Levi probably have the most interesting relationship, with Azi being genuinely quite normal and polite with her little robot who is suddenly becoming a person. The very long sweeping views and extended scenes of things just happening occasionally breaking out into bloody messes keeps you alert, you can't get too comfortable assuming some part of the world is safe for the visitors.

There's space catholics? What's up with the space catholics.

Oh yeah, here's the original short that started the show, which was fun to see at Animation Night

Also finally got through the last three episodes of The Mandalorian, which. I really like quite a lot of The Mandalorian. I like it when Star Wars explores its backwaters and odd corners. They keep putting the skywalkers in it. I feel like this might be a way to get us to empathize with the residents of the Star Wars universe, who presumable also groan and roll their eyes any time a Skywalker shows up on the holonet.

The pitch for Book of Boba Fett at the end of the show is great. They killed my guy Bib Fortuna! He didn't do anything to anyone, except for the hundreds of murders! I love this weird power couple of Shang and Fett.

Reading: Finished The Traitor Baru Cormorant and picked up Monster. I am a tragedy lover and so this is great. Baru is in a race to kill the monster she's been digested by and unfortunately she's losing.

I like a fucked up secret political cadre. It's probably the least realistic part of the series but I also wouldn't be surprised to find out that it's also a trap. I mean it kind of is! Explicitly it's a trap for the most powerful people in the Masquerade, finding unusually talented people and binding them up with secrets in service of the Empire.

Playing: Beat Indika which is interesting but could probably mostly have been an arthouse film. I like the styling! It is very Arthouse Film, the weird framing, the somewhat stilted dialogue, you can even see it in the camera work, both in game and in cutscenes. The camera goes on an angle if you look the wrong way, which is very intenional, and there's lots of really beautifully framed cutscene moments like the watermill in the factory.

Is Indika good? I'm not sure. I think if you highly value your money it might annoy you. It's doing some fun things with the interactive medium in a very different way from something like, say, What Remains of a Edith Finch. It's doing movie shit. I forgot that video games could push my GPU that hard though.

Started the Dark Souls NG+, currently just beat the Moolight Butterfly. I would really like to build a dex fighter to try out rapiers, maybe Ricards Rapier, but you really need to have the upgrades to make it put out enough damage to stand up to the increased NG+ HP pools.

Making: Helping a friend put together some furniture, but little else. Fiddled with some music stuff to make new ringtones for my new phone, not that I ever hear those, but I like to know that I have them there.

Tools and Equipment: It's central hot water maintenance week so I don't have piped hot water at home. Reviving the great tradition of the washbasin shows you that you can actually get pretty clean pretty easily with like two liters of warm water and some soap, the hard part is really just long hair, which was also hard for people to manage in the 16th century.

[sexcromancy]

mallorynolanchess 🖤🤍 ... I think what Ali really gets right about the sports romance dynamic, same as challengers and check please, is that the sport has to be a part of the relationship. it's a medium through which the characters can interact in an ostensibly non sexual/romantic forum, even though when done right it can be incredibly sexy and romantic. train me, face me, beat me, praise me. so many straight sports romances sadly miss out on this by only having one of them be an athlete, or they're in different sports/leagues. sad. but mallorynolanchess is so masterful in my opinion because Nolan wanting to play a game of chess with Mallory is the same as wanting to fuck her. there is no difference. he wants both, and is very aware of wanting both, in the exact same way, and that's what throws her off; he's so dogged in his pursuit of one she doesn't even notice the other. even though playing with him, or even watching him play, is such an erotic experience. I think this is what Ali is doing with the science/coworker dynamics in several of the other novels, to varying degrees of success. but it works best when they can genuinely connect over smart, dynamic work, when they push each other, when they can succeed together and feel that rush. sapiosexuality is real and Ali has it down