#it really does feel like I've taken something i wasn't meant to have

[shanastoryteller]

Congrats on finishing See Something Say Something!! I checked the notification of the first AO3 email sent out and you initially planned on five chapters.

Would you say that the ending changed considerably since you started in October? Or has that stayed the same?

thank you!

it stayed the same lol. while my fics getting wildly out of control and becoming way longer than i anticipated is pretty common, i'm pretty much never changing overarching plot when this happens. the story that i become interested in telling is typically the story then i end up telling

almost every story can be made shorter or longer. it's less about what happens and more about how that information is conveyed. things that really tend to affect writing length are perspective and breathing room

the shortest fic i have on ao3 that's not part of a series is You Were (Not) Meant For Me (posted 11 years ago, jesus T_T). the premise is that claudia was a witch who intended trained stiles to be a witch and she arranged his marriage to laura hale, the future hale alpha. this is a traditional pairing as talia's husband was also a witch married to talia in service of the pact. except claudia died before she could train stiles or tell him about the engagement. stiles starts learning magic after scott is turned. derek falls for stiles and feels like he's betraying his sister by loving him, betraying stiles by not being the alpha he deserves and not telling him about the arrangement claudia made, and hates himself the entire time, but not enough to stop himself

that's a 100k fic easy

it's 1,696 words

it's extremely limited perspective (derek's) and it's made up only of limited snapshots of moments with very little context. there's no seeing what's happening, only told, which i think would quickly grow boring if it was longer and if the real point of the story wasn't derek's self hatred and how he fails to deal with it. that's the part of the story that isn't told, really - derek does think explicitly that he hates himself, but we're also seeing it in the way he talks and thinks about himself and the people around him

by contrast we have survival is a talent, which is obviously my longest fic. we're over 500k and we've got quite a bit to go

perspective doesn't just refer to character pov, but audience pov - are you being told a story, or are you experiencing the story? this is also tied into breathing room. there's no wrong way, i've done both and will do both, but one certainly requires more words than the other in my experience

siat is told only through draco and harry's perspective, but it's all happening in real time. the audience is being taken along for this story. the thing is that that things in real life don't all come tumbling one after another, not all questions have immediate answers. when depicting character growth and a plot unfurling, i think it's really important to include breathing room to give the audience time to feel that growth and change. i'm stricter about this with siat than anything else i've written, probably sometimes to its detriment. i want you and the characters to have time to feel the effects of emotional revelations and plot hints. i want you to have the time to question and wonder about things the same way the characters do

one time a friend criticized the good place for including the portion where they were alive again on earth because it wasn't as interesting as being in hell, but i disagree. we needed that breathing room both to live with the effects of character growth of going through hell and to have time for the effects of their actions on the plot to settle before they moved forward again. i stopped watching agents of shield because we weren't given enough breathing room - there was never a chance to see the characters not in crisis, the world was always ending, ect. the alchemyst book series has the first like 3 books taking place over a day and a half. i got tired of it after that. there's no breathing room

a story where i gave up on the concept of breathing room was build your wings on the way down. i liked that fic, but i wanted it finished, and to do it with i think optimal pacing would have made it twice as long as it was. so i said screw it, avalanche time, everything is happening all at once right now. there's very little breathing room there, which i think doesn't work too terribly in part because everything is so urgent and everyone is stressed so not being able to catch you breath sort of fits

See Something Say Something did not need to be 215k, although i'm not at all complaining. i feel very happy with how i told this story. but the basic premise - sam getting his powers early, getting involved in the large hunter world secretly from his family, and dean feeling misplaced and worried about how much sam needs/wants him - could have been told a hundred different ways and all would have pulled it off, so to speak

i considered doing the the entire fic from dean's pov (as a sam girl i love his pov because all he thinks about is sam and he's so insane about it) which would have effectively cut out basically the first five chapters. i thought exploring the slow realization of what's going on purely from dean's pov, with the audience having not insight would have been really interesting, just like what I did in dumb luck or good ghost with dean slowly figuring out that sam didn't die in the crash. another thing is the inclusion of all the side characters which i did to make the world feel rich and real, but we didn't need all these outsider povs to get the basic point across. very rarely is something vital being conveyed by an outsider pov, but it reinforced and adds to the main characters. i also initially didn't have wincest, which obviously added a ton of words. i loved exploring dean's self hatred and fear and sam's obliviousness, but bringing them to a place of ignorance to acceptance to happiness is a lot longer of a journey than just dealing with dean's propriety love as an unhinged co-dependent older brother. again, i'm sticking by all these choices, i made them because i thought it was the best way to the tell the story i was most interesting in telling, but my point is that you didn't need them to tell this particular story

it was also how i told the story. we spend a lot of time wallowing in character's emotions, especially dean's and sam's, but the others as well. part of this fic is convincing you that these two brothers should fuck, actually, and doing that effectively is going to take some time, especially at this point in their lives when things are pretty normal. comparatively, fucking your brother after starting the apocalypse is pretty small potatoes. i wanted you to understand these people, to feel what they were feeling, to not feel that it was inconceivable that jess would be willing to share her boyfriend with his brother, to buy all their relationships with each other in a way that isn't purely based on convenience

part of the reason i wrote dumb luck or good ghost before see something say something was that i felt i needed a firmer grasp on who the characters are before getting into who they were and who they could be - especially john, who i feel is exceptionally difficult to write without over excusing his actions or over villainizing them. the reason john doesn't get a single pov in see something say something is that while he's a motivating and underlying factor in much of the story, the story isn't about him. it's about the effect he has on those around him, and i didn't want to sully the pureness of that effect by introducing his internal dialogue, regardless of how persecutionary or absolving it would be. it's just not about him. it's how he responds to others and how they respond to him in turn

anyway! this is another example of something ending up longer than expected, but yeah. the plot of see something say something didn't change much from posting of the first chapter and my stories rarely do - i have plot points in siat that have been there since i posted the first chapter that are still relevant and happening. "harry and draco just. cut dumbledore's fucking hand off" my beloved

[fuckyeahgoodomens]

Neil talking about the responses to Good Omens Season 2 - from the Neil Gaiman interview with Brian Levine for The Gould Standard (x,x)

BL: The audience that you have built is a very passionately engaged audience. They, frankly, they love you. And one of the reasons they love you is that you fit into what I think of as one of two great divisions in art. There's, or in writing, um, there is: I'm entertained, I'm amused. I may be even enchanted; and then there's this hits me at a visceral level. You understand me as no one else does. You have touched something very central to my experience. And it seems to me that Much of your writing, maybe all of your writing, actually reaches your audience at that latter level. You know. I would say in the former category, sort of my quintessential and beloved example would be P. G. Woodhouse. He amuses me, but I don't feel like he's revealed my inner self at a very deep level. Um, were you aware that you were going to be able to achieve that? Um, that this is something... was it a startling thing when people began coming up to you, who'd read your work and said, this means so much to me?

Neil: Yeah. It was huge. And it wasn't expected. I... if I had a mountaintop I was heading towards, it was gonna be P. G. Woodhouse. Um, I wanted to be a proficient entertainer with a clear prose style who could tell stories. Um, it probably wasn't until Sandman that I found... I started to realize that in order for a story to work, I had to show too much. In order for a story to resonate, in order for a story to matter, I had to let it matter too much. And, and I remember the first people who would start coming up to me and saying, um, you, you know, your, your Sandman comics got me through the death of a loved one. Your death character got me through my child's death, through my parent's death, through my partner's death, through my friend's death. Um, and that left me kind of amazed. I'm like, well, I didn't write it to do that. I wrote it to feed my children. I wrote it to satisfy myself. I wrote it because nobody else had ever written it. And if I didn't write it, it wouldn't be written, but I don't think I wrote it to give you what you've taken from it. And I spent really about 20, 25 years feeling awkward about that. And then my father died, in March 2009, and never got to cry about it. Never... I, you know, I've, I've got on a plane and I went to the UK and dealt with the funeral stuff and organized all of that stuff and came back and go toff the plane and went and did Stephen Colbert's Colbert Report and wearing the funeral suit because and that was all I had with me and carried on. And then, somewhere in the middle of summer, I was reading a friend's script. They'd sent me a script and said, can you look this over? And I'm reading it, and on page 20, the lead character meets somebody, and on page 26 maybe, she's dead, and I burst into tears. And I'm bawling. I am sobbing. It is coming out of me in giant racking waves. And I realized that it's everything that I'd been, hadn't let myself feel, or hadn't been able, hadn't stopped enough to let myself feel, was suddenly being given permission to feel by the death of a fictional person who I'd met six pages earlier, ia script. And I thought that... and it was huge for me, and I thought, okay, that's that thing that people are talking about sometimes, when they come tome and they say, you, you did this. So right now, I'm in this weird, wonderful place where I think a lot of people in Good Omens Season 2 thought they were signing up for the P.G. Woodhouse, and didn't know that, no, no, no, you've, you've signed up for the whole thing. You've signed up for the feelings. You've signed up for the emotions. I... it is my job to make you care and to make you feel and to feel things you haven't felt before. And which meant that the first week or so after Good Omens came out, I was getting angry, furious, deeply upset messages on every possible social medium telling me that I had betrayed people, and it was awful, and they couldn't stop crying, and why would I do that to them, and did I hate them? And they hated me. And then a weird sort of phenomenon happened as people would watch the show again. And again. And now they started to know, okay, this is where it's gonna go, this is what's gonna happen, this is how it works. And they started realizing that they were actually feeling things, and that was good. And that they were caring about two people who don't exist. You know, I made them up, and then and Terry Pratchett made them up, and then, um, David Tennant and Michael Sheen gave them life, and then they get to walk around on a screen and you know they don't exist, but you can cry for them, you can love them, they can make you laugh, they can make you exult, and most important of all, they can make you care. And the number of people who are now writing to me, saying, 'This was so important to me. This has changed my life. This makes me feel like I belong. This makes me feel like I can cope. And it's let me sort of find myself. P. S. I hope you get to do Season Three.' is, is huge.

[celtrist]

Hazbin & Helluva Vs. Aromanticism

(Aka: I have a problem with the Spindlehorse team about this, not shippers.)

(Also this is mainly about Alastor but can go for Octavia and Mammon too.)

Alright, so I've cleaned up this uh... rant, to make things a little more clear hopefully. But to summarize here, this is about the team's lack of commitment when every other character is allowed full confirmation of their orientations but these (potentially) aromantic characters aren't.

While I have no beef with shippers (I think you can ship whoever with whoever you want, I ship Alastor too on occasion), there is some conversation about how the fandom might be a bit of a reason WHY they "can't" be confirmed as aro. But again, my main problem is more with the showrunners than the fandom at this point about this.

I'll also be getting into why it's "important" and the double standards against characters being aromantic.

This is not an attack, ship however way you wish (again, I do it myself). My intent isn't really to stop the shipping, that would be ridiculous. But more so to give my thoughts on why it's BS characters like Alastor can't be confirmed as aromantic when other characters are allowed confirmed orientations.

I will start off by saying I don't mind the shipping of Alastor. While it's NOBODY'S business but mine, I suppose it's important to clarify that I'm someone who does currently identify as aroace. I might be wrong but who cares, it's how I think of myself now at least to some degree (I do after all still have fictional crushes. Real-life romance is not an interest for me though, don't like 'em).

I'm gonna get what I don't think people talk about enough on both sides of being for and against shipping Alastor, and then I'll talk about the shippers as they're (I realized) not my main issue at this point.

A little history: So Alastor has been long time confirmed as an ace character. He hasn't been confirmed as being sex-repulsed or anything, but I can personally say I don't mind either flavor of him being repulsed or favorable (though I imagine the series will lean towards the former to counter everyone else's sex-favorable attitude and for jokes). This statement was initially taken VERY poorly by fans who, at the time, were shipping radiodust and radiobelle/charlastor, one more than the other. Care to take a guess which? The answer will not surprise you.

But then people realized "Oh, asexual doesn't mean he COULDN'T get with someone" and people even went further to "Being asexual doesn't mean he CAN'T have sex", both very true statements. So shipping was back on the menus boys! And his asexual was certainly blurred a bit (to the point where it wasn't even him being sex-favorable asexual as much as just not asexual, something that still happens but certainly not as bad). But overall, people were taking his canonicity as asexual with as much grace as a duck.

So here's where MY problem comes in. While I have some gripes with shippers, I had an epiphany that "Oh. It's not really the shippers I have a problem with. It's the people WRITING THE DAMN CHARACTER". Which, might I just say, is so much worst.

The shippers, while they got annoying at some points and certainly can be still, are just having fun. Because shipping just happens to be the way most people like to interact with characters in the media they're into. Hell, I am no different. I just have the misfortune of only really getting into rarepairs most of the time (curse you my bizarre tastes). I've even shipped with Alastor, I like AngelicSmile/radiojoy quite a bit.

Back on track. Now, what do I mean by my main problem being with the writers more than the fans with this? Well, queue this darling of a clip about the topic (this is the only clip I've found of the live stream, feel free to watch the whole video but just wanted the clip here).

This. Single. Clip. Infuriates me.

Vivzi, while I'm sure not meant to, pretty much implied "Alastor being aromantic and 'non-shippable' would ruin people's fun". I'm sure she meant it as a way to keep others from policing shippers (which didn't work, it still happens), it really just reads as "a character being aromantic is not a fun character". Like there's something wrong with being aro.

Not to mention some other things that would contradict this statement:

Viv in the past said "fans are allowed to ship outside character orientations", so... what makes that so different here with confirming Alastor as aromantic?

It being confirmed is not relevant to the plot. Great, so is every other orientation not relevant. Why can't Alastor be confirmed as aromantic but Vaggie can be confirmed as a lesbian or Vox bi? What does Vox being bisexual have to do with the plot? Neither is relevant to the plot, but one can be confirmed but not the other?

People were gonna ship him ANYWAY. Like, there's really no point in pretending. They were going to anyway because of the first point I already mentioned, but also people ship against canon orientations ALL THE TIME. It's just gonna happen and there's nothing wrong with that in of itself.

You've kind of just implied it's canon by not wanting to say specifically him being aromantic is canon or not. If Viv had just said "I don't wanna confirm his romantic orientation because...", then this statement would be fine and fair I suppose. But she had to call out him being aromantic specifically. And I mean, he COULD be something else (he was slated to be a couple with Mimzy originally after all), but the context doesn't seem like that would be the case. Plus, would she really feel the need to hold back from saying "Alastor is homoromantic" or biromantic or heteroroman- actually yes for that last one probably.

So riddle me this, with these points, why the FUCK would it be so wrong to confirm Alastor as a canonically aromantic icon and help get MORE REP for this very very very VERY underrepresented orientation? And I've thought of a few reasons to this, one of which being to avoid the same backlash that they got for Alastor being ace. Which, DID HAPPEN WHEN THE VOICE ACTOR AND SOMEONE ELSE ON THE SHOW CONFIRMED ALASTOR AS AROMANTIC BUT BACKTRACKED ON THE STATEMENT.

To which, fine. THAT'S on the fans (especially as no one would've complained if he was confirmed as homoromantic, which is a double standard VERY PRESENT in this fandom, but also many others quite honestly). But I can see another reason is to avoid others policing shippers about it.

Which, if that's the case, shit luck it's happening anyway.

To cower away from this orientation because of fans being upset says a lot, both about the fans and the creators. There is a whisper of "Alastor isn't allowed to be aromantic". That "being aro isn't allowed or appreciated".

We live in a world that at this point has a lot more lgbtq+ characters than ever before. At this point, there's just a lot of gay/lesbian and bi characters, and that's wonderful. But, there's barely a handful of aroace characters. And when they are, nobody wants to pay attention to that part of the character. So why can't the deer man be aromantic? I would imagine it would honestly make things a little better ship wise because ship wars wouldn't occur seeing as, well, there's no ship to be fought for. None of them could be canon.

So you might see where I'm leading into this, but I can only really think of one real reason Alastor being aromantic just "can't be confirmed" where as everyone else's orientations can be.

His popularity. Like, that's weird but walk with me here. Alastor is the most popular character in the fandom. There's honestly no denying it, he just is. And what do people do with the most popular character?

THEY SHIP THEM OFF IN A LOVEBOAT.

But wait, if he's aromantic, he can't be on a love boat. THIS IS BS-

And then... the outcry. And we HAVE seen this happen. I mentioned before, he was stated to be aromantic on two occasions by two people who work on the show, one of which is his voice actor (which I'll be fair, I personally don't think VAs always know the characters they play the best, that's the writers). But they had to backpedal because people DID complain. People WERE upset. So it's kind of shown just aromantism isn't really welcomed, at the very least not for a character like Alastor.

And that's the key: "Not for a character like Alastor". But if it were say, Niffty or Mimzy who are either overlooked or just not very popular, THEN it's probably more than okay for a character to be aromantic. Because no one wants to ship with them much, so they can be aromantic all they want.

AKA. The aro community is allowed the scraps but not the dinner.

At this point, you've probably noticed I switched gears from the creators to the fans because I DO think they could be a reason why Alastor "can't" be confirmed as Aromantic. I'll give credit, I'm pretty sure it's mainly on twitter and wouldn't be surprised if it was a "loud minority" thing going on, but the people have spoken. They vehemently cannot STAND the idea of Alastor being aromantic.

But I don't have a problem with these people quite honestly- I mean I kinda do, but my main issue is the lack of commitment when the other characters are allowed confirmed orientations. Why can't aromantic people get confirmed rep? Because "it'll ruin people's fun?" That's such a crappy reason because it's just saying being aro is bad on some level or isn't okay. Why can't the aromantic community get the dinner this ONE TIME? It's one character in a pool of many others that are canonically gay or bi, so why can't the aro community have this ONE popular character?

I'm not even asking for people to stop shipping him, I think that's perfectly FINE. It wouldn't change the canon. I'd appreciate more LOVE given to the aromantic identity (and I'm talking about the far end of it, so absolutely NO interest in romance as many have used aro Alastor but it still comes off as just normal shipping, but that's just me). There's such a double standard to the treatment of aromantic characters to the other characters in these shows (because Octavia and Mammon are in the same boat here), and the reasons given are so crappy that they sound more like off-hand excuses.

Again, I don't MIND people shipping Alastor, or Octavia, or Mammon who is randomly shipped with Adam the most. Let me repeat:

YOU. ARE. ALLOWED. TO. SHIP. THESE. CHARACTER.

But what I have a problem with is that these characters aren't allowed to be OFFICIALLY aromantic. How would it feel if this was a gay character? That they didn't want to confirm it but there's been indications with past statements and even in-universe stuff indicating so? I WANT Viv and her team to STICK with what route they were gonna go with.

And some might argue "what's so bad with nothing being confirmed?" Other than the fact every other character's orientations are allowed confirmation and Viv's crappy way of putting it in not confirming anything. There's, by all technicalities, nothing wrong.

However, if I may pose a counter, why is it fair for people to demand or ask for gay representation or confirmation but not aromantic? Because it's "not ruining anything"? If that's the case, I'm inclined to say that may be a bit aphobic. Because how is it that a character being aromantic can "ruin" the character or something, but a character being gay DOESN'T "ruin" the character. It's a double standard that I don't think most people realize or want to say because you don't want to be dissing on gay stuff.

But WAKE UP SHEEPLE. The gay stuff has PLENTY of things by this point. Whether through fan works or official media, it is growing and it is growing rapidly. And we should be HAPPY about that. But alternatively, Aromantic (and asexual) rep BARELY gets any attention in either fan works or official media. People would be UPSET if a ship like Angel Dust X Vaggie or Stolas X Verosika got into one of the top most popular ships. But Alastor? Nah, it's fine.

Again, while I don't mind the shipping itself, hopefully, you can understand how it might feel to see one of the most popular ships involve a character that goes against their orientation and it's YOUR orientation. It doesn't. Feel. Great.

And not everyone who ships Alastor even would LIKE him to end up with who they ship. Some people just like it staying in fanon. I have met SO MANY nice people who ship Alastor with characters that I personally don't really like him shipped with. But it's clear that I don't think THEY'D mind if he was confirmed aromantic because it doesn't change their life. They'll still keep shipping him because that's fun for them and that's FINE. People explore themselves through characters with confirmed orientations and they don't always line up with canon, and that's FINE. I don't think people should be policed on shipping with the deer man, they're just having fun. Would I appreciate a little more love for the aro identity? Sure (I mean just look at Alastor's ship weeks activeness vs. his aro week activeness), but if that's not how people have fun they shouldn't be forced to do stuff with it.

But Alastor being seemingly "not allowed" to be confirmed as aro has set a precedent that there's something wrong with being aromantic. And personally, it makes me feel a tad unwelcomed sometimes.

It's the precedents. Again, why is every other character's orientation allowed to be confirmed but Alastor's isn't? What is so wrong with him being aromantic? Hell, he might not even BE aromantic. But at least I'd KNOW instead of floundering around hoping upon a star for some aromantic representation.

It's okay to be gay but- WHOA HOLD YOUR HORSES THERE. WE'RE GONNA HAVE TO PUT A PAUSE IN THAT ARO BUSINESS YOU GOT THERE.

A character's worth is in how shippable they are. And if they're aromantic, they're not shippable. And unfortunately, there are just enough people to throw a hissy fit about it that Viv doesn't want to confirm it.

Because apparently being aromantic would "ruin" things.

[bbina]

after rereading your conversation with wonbin, the realization dawns upon you that this was the very first time you're inviting someone who isn't giselle, karina and seunghan over at your place

the only reason why you even invited him over in the first place was that he claims that shotaro is currently bringing someone over at their place (whatever the fuck that meant) after asking wonbin if he wanted to watch a movie

you being you, you felt bad that he had no where to go (not really), so you offered your place as wonbin's place of refuge for the meantime

there was a knock on your door. you get up from your bed and open the door slightly to reveal wonbin in a hoodie and glasses. there's something about seeing him in the most casual attire you've seen him so far that made your stomach flutter unexpectedly

"woah!" you react, widening the door to let him in. "i didn't know you wear glasses" you comment, watching him scurry inside your place with his guitar bag on his back

wonbin smiles sheepishly, looking around for some space to settle his bag in without disturbing or touching any of your stuff. he hesitates for a moment, unsure if he should even settle his guitar down but in the end he does when he sees you pointing to an empty spot near the small kitchenette

"i only wear them at night" he explains, rubbing his hands on the fabric of his sweats. "thanks for inviting me over. i didn't really have a plan on where i would be staying"

you wave him off, "talk about good timing. usually around this time we would be watching a movie together so i figured why not text you" you giggle

wonbin smiles and begins to look around to take in his surroundings

you had a pretty good space all to yourself. it wasn't cramped like usual apartments. you had enough room for two people. there was a small kitchenette, a bathroom, a desk space and of course, your bed

"are you judging my cute apartment" you narrow your eyes at wonbin who was busy looking around. wonbin instantly looks at your direction and apologizes

"oh shit sorry. it's just that it's cozy in here" he murmurs, cheeks turning pink from embarrassment

you let out a loud laugh, making your way to your bed and flopping down on it

"then make yourself feel at home" you grin, grabbing your laptop

you don't see it but wonbin nods, quietly sitting on the floor. he keeps his hands to himself, unsure of what to do. he then sees you scrolling through your laptop

"are you working on something?" wonbin asks, breaking the silence, glancing at your laptop screen that had a bunch of different applications open

"just some assignments for my engineering classes but i'm too lazy to do them for now so i'm just procrastinating" you laugh, scrolling through twitter

wonbin nods, unsure of what to say next. he feels skittish for some reason. is it because he's at your place right now? the same place that he's been seeing on facetime every night for the past few days

"you can work on your music here. i don't mind" you remind him, recalling your text earlier

wonbin looks up in surprise. he isn't sure if he's ready for someone else that isn't himself to listen to his unfinished piece. he's still working on finding the perfect melody before he could start making the lyrics and all that

"i don't want to disturb you" wonbin awkwardly says, fidgeting with his hands. wonbin is taken a back when he hears you scoff

"it's fine. i want to listen to you play guitar in real time anyway too so it’s the best of both worlds i think" you chirp, glancing at wonbin who was looking back at you

wonbin chuckles after hearing your reason. he raises his hands up in surrender

"fine if you say so" he says, reaching over for his guitar bag to pull out his guitar

your eyes widened in awe when you see his guitars were filled with stickers

"cute guitar!" you comment, moving close to the edge of your bed so you could see the guitar more up close

wonbin smiles, "thanks. i've been adding stickers to it recently after seeing anton's laptop. you should see it one day, it's absolutely filled with to the brim" he says, picturing anton’s laptop in his head

"if i have a sticker, can i put one?" you ask, reaching over to touch the said stickers on his guitar

"sure thing" he smiles, watching you run your fingers through the endless amount of stickers stuck on his guitar

you pull your arm back as you now wait for wonbin to start playing

while you wait for wonbin, you slowly start to become hyper aware that wonbin is in your apartment right now. you never really invited anyone else over, minus your ex boyfriend of course so this lot feels a little odd to say the least

it feels different in a sense because before the only person you had over that wasn't karina, giselle or seunghan was your now ex boyfriend, gyuvin.

inviting people over to your apartment in general just feels personal, so intimate that you'd let them see the real you

so having wonbin over despite just meeting fairly recently is a huge feat. that means you actually feel comfortable around him to even invite him over in the first place. something that took you a while to even reach with your past lover

hold on, why are you suddenly comparing wonbin and your ex right now?

your train of thought gets interrupted by the sound of wonbin strumming his guitar

your head shoots up hearing the way wonbin effortlessly plays the guitar like it was his second nature. the way his fingers danced over the strings, filling up the whole place with a catchy tune

"funny you said that all the love is gone.." wonbin starts to sing

your eyes widened. this was the very first time you're hearing him sing in person. who knew he would sound better in person than a voice note that he sent a few nights ago. so much that you couldn't take your eyes off of him

wonbin continues to sing effortlessly, even hitting the high notes of the song as you attentively listen to him. once in a while, his eyes would meet yours before returning back to the strings of his guitar causing you to smile wider each time it would happen

"you can have my heart, but baby don't let me down" wonbin finishes, strumming his guitar one last time before finishing the song

you clap your hands together, cheering him for his performance

"oh my god you sound amazing! even better in person!" you gush, praising wonbin like there was no tomorrow. wonbin couldn't help but blush at the amount of compliments you were throwing his way. it feels way different when there's only one person to compliment you instead of a whole block of students

"oh shut up" he murmurs, hiding his face away from you, making you laugh

"hey! you should be thankful i complimented you! i just don't compliment anyone" you laugh, motioning him to not hide his face away from you

you then get the urge to steal his glasses. while he was trying to look away, you take this time to steal them. wonbin eyes widened and lets out a small gasp when you slide his glasses off his face, even more so when he sees you putting them on

"these don't have prescription?" you ask, checking the lenses if they altered your sight

"it's anti blue light radiation" wonbin says, "i'm always on my phone at night so it helps to keep the radiation away from my eyes" he explains, watching you wear his glasses in front of him

wonbin watches the way you were posing in front of him with his chunky frames. the same frames he doesn't wear often, let alone let anyone see him wearing them but yet here he was, wearing them in your presence

he won't lie right now, but you look good wearing his glasses

wonbin mentally slaps himself on the face for even thinking of such thing. to distract himself, he starts to mindlessly play the guitar again. strumming random chords to mask the slight growing tension in the air

"so what song was that you played?" you ask, thinking about how you're gonna add the song he just sang to your playlist

"don't let me down by leroy sanchez" wonbin answers absent mindedly, his focus fixrd on his guitar only

you let out a hum as you continue to listen to wonbin's strumming. this shit could honestly lull you to sleep if you were being honest right now

suddenly, you get an idea

"sit here" you say, patting the spot next to you on the bed

wonbin's eyes almost pop out of their sockets the way you just casually just asked him to sit next to you. he opens his mouth to say something but closes it instantly. making him look like a fish out of water

"teach me how to play please" you plead, pulling the puppy eyes on him (you're not really sure why you did that but whatever)

wonbin gulps, unsure of what to do or say. he's never taught anyone one on one before. let alone the opposite gender

"didn't you say i can ask you to teach me? are you chickening out now, mr. applied music?" you raise an eyebrow, playfully calling him out. if you remembered correctly, he did say you can ask him to teach you

realizing that you were right, he slowly gets up from your floor to sit at the very edge of your bed with his guitar on his lap

you wanted to laugh at how awkward he was. the real life wonbin is so vastly different from his online persona. it's like you were with different wonbin

"i'm not gonna bite you, i promise" you hold in your giggles, watching him act like a robot with the way his moves were calculated. he was far from your reach that your skin wouldn't be touching his

".. sorry. i'm nervous" wonbin manages to choke out, making you burst out giggling

"what's there to be nervous about?!"

"being at your place and all for the first time. sorry, i'm not used to it" he apologizes again

"oh my god. don't apologize. i was just joking" you wave your hands. who knew wonbin would be the one that's easily flustered in real life, "so when do we start our lesson?"

wonbin snaps out of his little daze after hearing your question. right, he was gonna teach you how to play guitar. that's why he's sitting on your bed, in your apartment, for the first time

he carefully moves his guitar from his lap onto yours. you happily accept the guitar as you put your arms where they should be when it comes to handling guitars

wonbin looks at the way you were holding his guitar before he fixes your position. he gently moves your arm a bit where they would be comfortably holding the neck of his guitar. your skin feels like it was on fire with just his gentle grazes

"you hold it like that" he says softly, eyes fixated on your arm

you nod your head yes, forcing yourself to concentrate while you wait for the next instruction

"now i'm gonna teach you the three basic chords. it's C major, D major and F major" wonbin starts, trying to reenact how he would hold it so he could move your fingers

you couldn't help but look at wonbin's face the way he was calmly teaching you the mere basics of the guitar. the way he was so focused and totally in his element. you almost feel a little distracted at the sight. the way his eyebrows were furrowed, eyes focused on your hands. the way his plump lips slowly jutted out as he concentrates–

wonbin looks at you for permission before moving your fingers to the right placements for the first chord he was teaching you which was C major. you smile, letting him take control. his fingers wrap around yours and gently moves them into the right position, causing you to blush a little at the close proximity

"now strum" he instructs and you do

you let out a little squeal when you hear the chord you were strumming

"i just played a note!" you gush, repeatedly strumming to hear the same chord over and over again

"yes you did. good job" wonbin laughs. the way you were so excited despite it being the most basic thing in the world was infectious to wonbin

"now i'll teach you D major and F major" wonbin says, moving onto the next part of his little makeshift lesson

it goes on like this for what seems like a while. just wonbin teaching you the basics of guitar

you've been going at it for a while now that you can feel your fingers start to hurt from pressing down on the strings

wonbin senses that you were about to give up the way you kept hissing and looking at your fingers that now had dents on them from pressing the strings too hard. he wordlessly gets the guitar off your lap

"okay lesson is over for today. i'll teach you again next time" wonbin says

you let out a sigh of relief as you lie down on your back. you raised your hands up in the air, relaxing your fingers after holding them in the different and difficult positions (for a beginner like you) for a while

"my fingers hurt" you pout, complaining at the dull ache. who knew playing guitar for the first time would actually hurt?

wonbin laughs, and steals a glance

"it's not for the weak" he comments, snickering to himself when he notices you sit back up and frown at him

"you calling me weak?" you challenge, an eyebrow raised as you attempt to stare him down which only just makes wonbin laugh harder

"that was just the basics. how much more if we continued onto a more complicated lesson" wonbin muses

"then that means you just suck at teaching!" you retort, poking your tongue out at him. wonbin snorts and legitimately laughs out loud. his laugh was so contagious that you also started laughing

when both of your laughter slowly dies down, the room falls silent again but it was the silence that you always somehow find yourself in with wonbin. the comfortable kind of silence

you've never felt more at ease in times like this. which in most cases, it’s rare. usually if it falls silent in a group setting, there would be awkward pauses or awkward stares but with wonbin, it just feels different

wonbin starts to play the guitar again. soft music becoming background noise that compliments your shared silence. the gentle strumming that's creating some sort of bubble between the two of you

you smile as you slowly scoot next to him, your head barely above his shoulder as you lean over to watch his fingers dance on the strings again

"i don't think i'll ever get tired of telling you that you play so well" you murmur, glancing at wonbin, whose gaze is fixated on his guitar. wonbin suddenly looks up and you two make eye contact

you suddenly remembered that you were wearing his glasses so you take them off and slowly but carefully put them back on his face. you feel yourself smile as you gently adjust his glasses on his nose while he was busy strumming away on his guitar

your fingers linger on his face for more than a second and your eyes meet again. you can feel that there was a shift in the air. almost like there was a spark between the two of you. so much that you wonder if wonbin feels it too

wonbin bites his lip, ignoring the way he can feel your body heat with the way you were suddenly so close to him. he’s suddenly hyper aware of his surroundings especially when you two are on your bed

it feels like the world has suddenly stopped spinning for the both of you. the tension was so palpable that it feels so intimate

maybe it’s the way that you are so close to wonbin that it was slowly driving him insane. he suddenly stops playing as he couldn't concentrate anymore. his thoughts infiltrated by you

you’re all he could think about in this very moment. the way you’re up in his personal space, the way you’re suddenly the only person he can think of, the way you look so kissable right here, right now

wait a second, kissable?

you and wonbin make eye contact again. there was a glint of something you couldn't pinpoint in his gaze that it made your heart pound against your chest

is it just you or did the room suddenly feel hot? was the ac not working?

"can i kiss you?" wonbin suddenly blurts out in the heat of the moment

the air around you was thick with tension. both hearts hammering against your chests. wonbin's eyes flickered back and forth from your eyes to your lips as you stare at him in shock

you sit there in front of him dumbfounded by his sudden question. it was like the air was knocked out of your lungs

wonbin sets the guitar aside, his eyes still directed towards yours. you can see the way his gaze darkened at that very moment like he just found his prey. which in this case, was you

slowly the realization was slowly catching up to him. wonbin internally winces at the way he asked so casually and direct

he can feel his heart stuck on his throat as he anticipated your answer. he was silently wishing you'd say yes because if you were to reject then well.. this is awkward–

"i thought you'd never ask" you say quietly, voice barely above a whisper, leaning closer and closer til you can feel his hot breath fan your face

he lets out a shaky exhale of relief at your answer as he slowly reaches to cup your cheeks

"is that a yes?" wonbin asks in a low voice, eyes directly boring into your soul

instead of answering, you crashed your lips against his.

alone together ᶻ 𝗓 𐰁 . . . different

── taking comfort in the thought that you are together in aloneness through late night talks, heartfelt confessions, and a genuine connection. with your shared experience of recent heartbreaks, you wonder if getting together would be all worth it. in which you find solace in each other's company, that you are alone together.

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꩜ notes .ᐟ did i jus change the trajectory of their lives forever

꩜ taglist .ᐟ @onlywonb @rosesfortaro @starwonb1n @wonychu @totheseok @dolloie @hyunjinsnumberonefun @binluvsu @onlyhyunjin @annswwa @wonbinsvlle @hakkkuu @ilovejungwonandhaechan @artstaeh @lecheugo @odxrilove @bunni @saranghoeforanton @nujeskz @nakam00t @kyusqult @nctsshoes2 @revehosh @s9nwoo @daegale @palchokitty @dutifullyannoyingfox @oshakyao @koryutte @b-riize @meowbini @the-swageyama-tobiyolo @winuvs @i03jae @rsatoru @enhacolor @dalliesque @sweetiejaeyun @dearestjake @cupidslovearrows @sasfransisco @kkumistars @sngj08 @taroddori @nshmurarki @ennycutie @ffixtionista @koeuh @astro-doll-the-star @amouriu

[jessejaredstories]

Walk on the Wild Side

Sergio was a walking gay man’s fantasy. He was tall and muscular as fuck. Beefy could barely even begin to describe him as everything from his biceps, chest, thighs, back, and even ass were massive! He made his living off of flexing his hot body as well as fucking other beefy dudes on camera. Sergio was truly living the life many could only dream of having.

But although Sergio was living the good life, he couldn't deny that something was missing. More specifically, something about his sex life. Sergio loved his very active sex life and was more often than not satisfied after every hookup he had. Yet at the same time, Sergio found himself wanting more. He wanted something new, and he knew exactly who to contact. Kris the Kink Witch.

Sergio reached out to Kris through Twitter DMs. Kris, like Sergio, also made his living off of recording and selling the videos of his gay escapades. He was known to be one incredibly kinky motherfucker online, and he took great pride in it too- as evidenced by his self proclaimed title the Kink Witch. But unlike Sergio, Kris took a much more professional approach to his line of work. For Kris, it wasn't about pleasure, it was about money. He meant business, and he never shied away from demonstrating that fact.

Fortunately, Sergio was also pretty well-known in the online gay community. Kris recognized Sergio and responded back to him within a couple of minutes. Their conversation went as follows...

S: Hey, you're the Kink Witch right? I've got a request in mind.

K: Yo. Yeah that's me. You want to film a collab together?

S: Not at all. I was actually thinking you and I can link up and have some fun. No cameras. 

K: Sorry, I don't do charity work. 

S: Trust me, I don't either. I just need to have some real fun and I know someone like you can help me out with that goal. I'll pay you a good amount too if you're interested.

K: Go on, I'm listening...

Sergio and Kris went on to negotiate the deal. In exchange for a kinky night of fun, Sergio would pay Kris $2500 in cold, hard cash. However, in order to earn that money, Kris needed to get Sergio to cum and to feel real pleasure while doing it too. But before they could seal the deal, Sergio gave Kris a heads-up by saying that he had already done almost everything anyone can think of. If it wasn't something new and exciting like he wanted, then Sergio had no problem calling the deal off. Yet despite his stark warning, Kris accepted the deal without any hesitation. It slightly unnerved Sergio how confident Kris was. He was pretty sure they both had more or less the same amount of experience when it came to sex. Could Kris really know something Sergio didn't?

Regardless of the initial unease Sergio felt, it was too late to back down now. Kris was already on his way to his apartment. Sergio passed the time by doing the usual prep work of cleaning himself out, just as Kris told him to. Yet despite his best efforts to distract himself, Sergio couldn't help but wonder what Kris had in store for him.

Does this twink really think he's gonna satisfy me just by fucking me? Ha! I've already taken on plenty of men, there's nothing new he can do there! 

Sergio chuckled at his own thoughts. His curiosity was making his mind run wild. Luckily it didn't take much longer for Kris to arrive. He showed up at the entrance of the building and Sergio buzzed him in. Sergio then welcomed the young man into his home, and although he was excited to hook up, he couldn't help but wonder if he was in over his head by hiring some 20 something year old dude with messy hair and a dirty hoodie. 

"Alright, you ready?" Kris said as he began to strip down to nothing but his underwear. 

"Yeah, do you wanna go-" 

"Wrong answer," Kris interrupted Sergio. "I'll excuse the first mistake but you'll only address me as Sir, Daddy, or Papi from here on out. Got it?" 

Sergio was thrown off by how to-the-point Kris was but decided to just ignore it. 

"Yes, Sir." 

"Good boy, now whip out your cock. Get hard too,"

Sergio did as he was told. Kris did the same. Sergio was impressed with Kris' member. It was long and hairy with some decent girth too. Although his was definitely longer, Sergio's cock was the thicker one. They were both hung, Sergio like a bull and Kris like a horse. Once they were both erect, Kris reached down to his pants. He pulled out two rings out of the back pocket, one gold and one silver. He put the gold ring on, then handed the silver cock ring to Sergio.

"Put this on, then on the count of 3, twist it to the right."

Sergio held the cock ring in his hand. The silver hue of the ring almost seemed to glimmer under the light. He hesitated putting it on. It definitely wasn't the first time he wore a cock ring, but Sergio got an inexplicable feeling telling him that he shouldn't put it on. Kris noticed his hesitation right away.

"C'mon, don't be shy, put it on!" Kris said firmly. Sergio looked up and met his gaze but didn't say anything. A moment of silence passed, then Kris sighed.

"Look man, you paid me to do a job and I plan to deliver. You trust me, right?" 

Kris seemed slightly more empathetic now. It was just enough to make Sergio trust him. Sergio nodded, then proceeded to put on the ring. He placed it on the tip of his dick and slid it down to the base of his rock hard member. 

"Alright, ready? 1... 2... 3!!!"

Sergio and Kris then twisted their cock rings to the right at the same time. The moment they did, a wave of orgasmic sensations hit their bodies, causing them to throw their heads back with pleasure. 

"UURRGGGHHHHH!!!" They both moaned obscenely loudly. 

Sergio's vision blurred as he felt the wave of pleasure overtake him. His body trembled as the ring grew tighter around his cock, making it engorged. Then suddenly, Sergio became extremely lightheaded. He could feel his very soul leaving his body. As his soul stepped out of its vessel, Sergio lost all physical feeling as he became nothing but a mass of light. He looked ahead and saw the same had happened to Kris. Both of their souls had just stepped out of their bodies!

Sergio was mind blown by what he was seeing. But before he could even react, his soul began moving on its own. His soul was floating towards Kris' body. At the same time, Kris was floating towards his body. During the brief moment they passed each other, Sergio could've sworn he saw Kris smirking. His soul continued its march towards Kris' body, and as soon as it made contact, it began sinking into the soulless body. Sergio's soul aligned with its new vessel within seconds. Every single cell of Kris' was invaded by Sergio's soul, and he could feel ecstasy wash over him as his soon-to-be new body surrended itself to his control. Once it was done, Sergio immediately felt the difference as he longer possessed his jacked, beefy body but instead a hairy twink like Kris. 

"Arghh fuckk.. what the fuck..." Sergio said with his new voice. All of the extraordinary sensations he just experienced made him fall to the ground. While he was busy trying to recover, he could see his body moving out of the corner of his eyes. 

"Bro look at these fucking pecs! These are some massive slabs of meat on your chest!!" 

Sergio watched as Kris bounced and groped his pecs with shameless joy. Slowly but surely, while Kris was enjoying himself, Sergio came back to his senses. He sat up, then kneeled down onto his knees. Well, Sergio was mostly back to his senses anyway. The sight of seeing a burly man play his own chest was filling him with lust. The only thing on Sergio's mind was how to best worship and please his master. 

Kris noticed Sergio was basically drooling and smirked.

"What's the matter, you want something?" Kris stripped down naked, then bounced his pecs again. Sergio nodded his head vigorously. "Then ask for it, tell Daddy what you want."

"I want milk Daddy..." Sergio said with bated breath and dilated pupils. "Please, Sir, let me worship your beautiful pecs!" 

"Good boy," Kris put his thumb on Sergio's chin and flicked it down, leaving his mouth hanging open with his tongue out. "Now show your Daddy what you can do with that mouth."

As soon as he heard he got permission, Sergio couldn't contain himself anymore and pounced onto Kris. He immediately planted his mouth on one of Kris' nipples and began suckling away while Kris enjoyed getting serviced. He was smirking all the while. His plan had gone off perfectly; the cock rings switched their bodies! That was the kink Kris had planned for Sergio, and he knew it would be the fun night he could've never predicted. After all, nobody knew how literal his title of Kink Witch was. But while Sergio was aware that they switched bodies, there was one little detail Kris kept to himself. Both rings would allow a body swap, but only the gold one would let the user retain their original personality. Because Sergio used the silver cock ring, his soul was forced to absorb Kris' hidden total sub personality when it took over his body. It might still be Sergio in mind and spirit, but it was now Kris in personality. With Kris possessing Sergio's muscular body with his mind still intact, the conditions were now set for him to complete the request Sergio made. 

"FUCK yeah, just like that!" Kris moaned. He could feel as Sergio alternated between licking, sucking, and flicking his nipple with his tongue. His warm mouth felt amazing against his sensitive nipples. Kris pressed Sergio's face down into his chest. Sergio let out a muffled groan of pleasure as he motorboated Kris. They were both having the time of their lives, filling the room with their sensual moans. 

Kris let Sergio worship his chest for a while longer before moving onto the next phases. Within the span of the next half hour, they made out passionately and intensely. Kris stuck his tongue inside Sergio's mouth as they grinded their bodies together, sharing their body heat together. Kris then began moving his mouth down Sergio's body, covering his neck and torso with hickies as he bit and sucked on his body. All while Kris had his middle finger firmly set inside Sergio's ass, massaging his hole and making him squirm while he claimed him as his sub. 

Then, before the final act, Kris tore Sergio off his body. He had a hand wrapped around his throat, lightly choking the panting young man. Sergio's eyes were lit with an intense lust, begging and desperate for more. Kris smiled internally. He had him right where he wanted him.

"Fuck, Boy!! You really know how to please your Master, I wanna give you a reward... Are you ready? Are you ready for Daddy's present for his favorite sub?" 

Sergio whispered "yes Sir, please Sir." Kris then pulled out a couple more things he brought and gave them to Sergio, who put them on enthusiastically. 

Sergio laid there with his ass perked up. Kris came up from behind and laid his big, strong hands on Sergio's perky cheeks. He massaged him first, letting Sergio's bubble butt jiggle in his hands for a bit. He then spread his cheeks apart and leaned down to stick his tongue deep inside his ass.

"Nghh..." Sergio groaned. He could feel Kris' tongue swirl and flick around inside of him and it. Felt. AMAZING. 

Kris ate Sergio out for a while, making sure his ass was nice, wet, and ready for his girthy cock. Once he had enough of using his tongue, Kris got back up and positioned himself just above Sergio. He let his dick rest in between his cheeks and moved it up and down, making Sergio squirm in anticipation. Then, with a wide grin on his face, Kris stuck his dick inside of Sergio. He let out a silent "fuck..." as he watched his cock head penetrate his bound up sub. He thrusted slowly, letting inch by inch of his fat member disappear into Sergio's hole. Kris was proud of his tight and warm hole, and now he finally got a chance to fuck himself in a very literal way. He waited a bit to let Sergio's wall expand to accommodate his dick, then began pounding away at him. 

Loud obscene moans, guttural groans, and boorish grunts filled the room as the two men fucked. Kris found the perfect rhythm to move his hips, fucking Sergio like he was a jackhammer. Sergio closed his eyes as he took the dicking down like a champ. Somewhere in the back of his head was the vague memory that he and Kris had switched bodies. The thought of getting fucked by his own body made his pleasure increase tenfold. It was his own cock stretching out his hole and rearranging his insides. It was a strange thought, but Sergio didn't care. All he could think about was how he was Daddy's personal fleshlight and how much he was loving servicing a big, strong man like Daddy. 

They fucked for a while longer until Kris couldn't hold his load in any longer. He pulled out, flipped Sergio over, tore off the jockstrap, then stuck his cock back on.

"C'MON! CUM FOR ME! COVER ME WITH YOUR- FUCKKKKK!!!!"

Kris finished mid sentence. He rammed his throbbing dick deep inside Sergio and let out all of his loads inside of him. Hearing Kris' satisfied groaning as he cummed along with the sensation of getting filled with his seed made Sergio shootout ropes of warm jizz all over. Within seconds, they had both become incredibly sweaty, potently musky, and drenched in Sergio's spunk. Sergio got his walk on the wild side and Kris completed his job.

Once they cooled down and cleaned up, Sergio collapsed onto his bed. Aside from the mind blowing sex, he was also exhausted by swapping bodies. He was a first time swapper after all, it was only natural. 

But just before he could drift away into a deep sleep, he noticed Kris was still moving around with his body.

"Hey... what are you doing?"

"Daddy's gonna go have a night out with his bros. Don't worry about it, just go to sleep."

Kris hopped into bed with Sergio. He kissed him on the forehead, snuggled with him, and watched as he fell asleep in his embrace. Sergio was way too tired to question it, and Kris was glad. Kris then hopped out of bed and let Sergio rest inside his body while he went out to complete his next assignment: find a hairy, muscle bear with a big ass. Now it was his turn to bottom, and although Sergio woke up the next morning not knowing where Master was with his body, he had no problem patiently and eagerly waiting until Daddy returned home.

[mcflymemes]

DRAGON AGE: THE VEILGUARD PROMPTS PT 2 *  assorted dialogue from the second hour of the video game

that suit of armor is moving.

where'd you come from?

i've only been gone three days!

the situation's changed - for the worse, unfortunately.

i've had a couple of days, and i'm still trying to wrap my head around it.

it does sort of explain a few things though.

there's something kind of exciting about it. and dangerous. really dangerous.

hope that means you've got an idea.

a few dozen demons shouldn't be a problem.

do you know what this place was?

it's probably something important.

well, isn't this a sight?

the artifact we're looking for must be inside.

think we can make that jump?

i plan to find out.

we're getting closer.

it's a lot trickier than that.

i've never seen this before.

it's almost like it's... breathing.

wasn't expecting to fight an ogre today.

just one of those days.

what does that crystal do?

i have questions.

it's kind of my thing. fixing magical stuff.

let me know when you're ready to head to the camp.

some of our most experienced fighters are still missing.

whatever's going on out there, it's scary.

sounds like things have gotten a lot worse since we left.

it's only a matter of time until our luck runs out.

if we could predict where they'd strike next, we might get ahead of them.

i don't know what you're going to find there. likely nothing good.

you sure you're up for this?

i've never seen fog this thick.

something happened here.

stay sharp.

it's so quiet.

where is everybody?

everything's just abandoned.

keep them inside.

everyone has to stay.

we need to search for survivors.

ever seen anything like it?

we're going to help you! we'll get you down!

i know you.

they made me do it.

i was tricked! manipulated!

i never meant for that! i swear! you must believe me!

what if the dragon comes back?

let's get him out of there.

we don't kill people. not like this.

try harder next time.

don't let me regret saving you.

what a pleasure to see you again.

so who are you exactly?

this dark turn of events shall only become worse.

what can you tell us about... all this?

how do we stop them?

how do we stand up against that?

none of us can do this alone, but we can stop them together.

these are the times in which legends are born... or slain.

i should've taken the shot.

we all did what we thought was best in the moment.

look where it got us.

we're still standing. the fight's not over.

i like that about you. you don't stop fighting. you push for answers and action.

we need someone who can put the pieces of the puzzle together.

we're fighting the unknown.

everyone has a part to play.

i think i can manage that.

i can feel lingering magic. powerful magic.

i can hear it.

i don't know how to control it!

you said something "took you over?"

i'm sorry. i wish i had answers.

talking has helped.

i guess we don't have any real answers.

we're friends, so i'm going to be honest.

it feels wrong.

i trust you have all this handled.

at least people are free because of what i did.

it must have been worse than i had thought.

so... you're going to be insufferable about it.

see, this is the reason nobody likes you.

[anothermansjeans]

Closer

a.h x f!reader

cw: some slight angst (blink and you miss it)

wc: 1k

prompts

a/n: hiiiii!!! this is based on this request! sorry for taking a bit, i've been swamped with homework. i have one more in my inbox but im still taking requests! you can uses any of the prompt lists linked or just send me any request you have!

++

Hotch had a problem. He didn't necessarily want this problem, but he also didn't want to fight it. He had started to develop feelings for his coworker– who is also his subordinate– Y/N.

It started pretty recently. The team got back from a case and he told Jessica he would need her to watch Jack for a couple more hours. Unfortunately, that couldn't work for her, so he asked if she could talk to the babysitting agency and get someone in before she left. All was well when he last heard from her, and he was told that if they can't get someone out, they'll call him.

That’s why when his personal phone rang, he closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose, muttering “this is the one time I’m wishing they’re calling about my car’s extended warranty.” Alas, he picked up the phone and saw it was the agency he used, and they couldn't get anyone out this late in his area. He was so frustrated, he wanted to cry, which was more common than not recently.

After hanging up, he was so lost in his head, preparing to head out and take his work home with him (he never liked doing this, too scared Jack may see something he shouldn't). He didn't realize his door was opened the entire time, and he certainly didn't realize that Y/N had popped her head in with a mildly concerned look on her face.

“Hey, I was just heading out… are you okay?”

He jumped the tiniest bit, and looked up at her. “Uh, yeah. I’m actually leaving too.” He stood up and grabbed the pile of files in his desk, preparing to shove them in his briefcase, when he looked up for a millisecond to see the confused look on her face. “Jessica can't watch Jack for the rest of the night and there are no babysitters available this late of notice. I have to bring work home.”

Hotch didn't know what to expect from his oversharing, but it definitely wasn't the next words out of Y/N’s mouth. “I can watch him!” He looked at her. She looked at him. Y/N suddenly laughed to herself and shook her head. “Sorry, I meant to say if you need me to, since I’m already heading out, I can watch him until you're finished up here. I know how you feel about bringing those files home.”

“I couldn’t ask you to do that–”

“You're not asking!” She promptly cut him off. “Trust me, Hotch, I want to do this for you. The sooner you say okay, the sooner I can go relieve Jessica.”

He numbly nodded, putting his briefcase on his desk. “Yes, thank you. I owe you for this. I’ll let Jessica know and I promise I won't be too long so that you can enjoy the rest of your night.”

And it was that simple of a solution. He did his work, you watched Jack, and when he got home, he was able to witness you putting his kid to bed. It was sweet (beyond sweet, really), and since then, whenever the team got back from a case and he needed extra help with Jack, Y/N would volunteer without being prompted. He loved seeing the little moments Y/N had with Jack, so much so that he would sometimes come home a little early (he could survive the extra work on a night Jessica was babysitting) and offer to have Y/N stay for dinner, which turned into bedtime for Jack, and then a little wine after he was asleep.

He didn't know when the feelings began to develop exactly, but once he noticed the excitement of going home to not only Jack but also Y/N, well he wanted to put a little bit of space between them. He wishes it was a gradual thing– really, he does– but he kind of just started declining her offers, making sure to book a babysitter hours (sometimes days) prior so that there were no issues with someone watching Jack. He hadn't taken into account what Y/N would be feeling about this shift, and he wasn't sure why he was so surprised when she marched into his office after a case; a time where they would normally arrange for her to watch Jack.

“Did I do something? Did I hurt Jack, or offend you, or literally anything wrong?”

“Excuse me?” His head whipped up from the papers under him.

“We had a routine. Something happened to disrupt the routine. I just need to know what I did wrong.” She looked sad. That was something Hotch didn't see on her often.

“You didn't do anything wrong.” He placed his pen down and stood up, closing his office door and standing in front of Y/N. “I have this problem.” He didn't know how else to state it, but he had to say something now or she’d think that his problems are her fault (and he would say a hundred times over that this was never her fault). “I don’t want to feel things for you but at the same I have this need to be near you 24/7.”

Eyes wide and deep breaths, the only thing Y/N could utter out was “what?”

Hesitating, Hotch stepped a little closer. “After seeing you with Jack and spending more time with you I…” he scoffed and shook his head “this is so juvenile.”

“Keep going, please.” Her response was quick. She needed him to finish.

“I want to be near you all of the time and I got scared of that– we work together, I’m your unit chief, I shouldn't be feeling things the way I do so I just… I pulled away.”

The silence was suffocating for the minute Y/N took to digest all that was said, but after what felt like years to Hotch, he felt her hand tentatively touch his, gently raking her nails down his palm before interlocking their fingers. “You don't have to… pull away.” The shy look was turning into one of awe. “We can… be around each other more often. See what happens. If you want.”

Maybe Hotch didn't have a problem. He felt a warmth spread through his body at the mere thought of being closer to Y/N, to seeing what happens with them, to a future. He definitely didn't have a problem.

[logansargeantsbabymom]

Too Good To Say Goodbye pt8

Logan Sargeant x Fem!Reader, Lando Norris x Fem!Reader

A/N: First I wanted to say thank you to everyone for all the kind messages I've been receiving, I keep rereading them and tearing up. It lets me know that there are genuine people in the world and that I can take a few days or a week to finish a request. Sorry this part took a bit longer due to the short break I took, I'll try my best to get the request I have out in a timely manner!

warnings: cursing

part 1 I part 2 I part 3 I part 4 I part 5 I part 6 I part 7 I part 8 I part 9 I part 10

Follow my instagram account (THATS STRICTLY FOR THIS BLOG) for updates on when i post and fun stuff like that!

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A drive to Lily's that normally would've taken 25 minutes depending on traffic only took Lando 10 and I think the way he is flooring it right now has been the fastest he's ever driven in his life. I mean anyone could've easily mistaken him for Max Verstappen in this moment and rightfully so, my bastard of an ex-boyfriend and baby dad is an absolute dick for what he just did.

I get being upset that I'm pregnant and that my boyfriend right now is treating me 10x better than you ever will but actually spoiling the gender for us AND spoiling the fact that I'm carrying twins is on another level of insanity.

When we dropped Yelena off, Lily had told us she wasn't going to be expecting a baby pick up anytime soon. Which by the way, God bless Lily for just being able to drop whatever she had planned for today to be able to watch my kid while Lando and I dealt with baby daddy drama.

The blaring sound of a ringtone is what yanked me from deep in my thoughts. I picked up the phone to look at the caller ID before answering and placing it on speaker "Carlos, now is really not a good time". I said while running a hand over my face to try and ease some tension building up.

"Logan's at my place." Lando's knuckled gripped the steering wheel tighter at the mention of his name.

"Why is he there and why does he need to have a conversation with you present?" I questioned

"He told me to tell you and Lando to meet him here to talk to you but wants me present and he thinks Lando is going to kill him." Carlos started, doubt coating his voice as he talked.

"I FUCKING AM" Lando screamed as he pressed down on the gas pedal harder.

I’ve seen Lando upset and even angry before but what I was seeing from him right now wasn’t either of those, this was pure hatred. Lando was seeing pure red in his vision as he was driving, almost hit a pedestrian (who shouldn’t have crossed but people don’t pay attention to signs).

Now that Lando knows he has to book it to Carlos’ place instead of Logan’s he makes a sharp turn, which could’ve easily flipped the car if you weren’t as much of a skilled driver as Lando is.

"BABE! I KNOW YOU'RE MAD AND ALL BUT DON'T CRASH THIS CAR AND KILL ALL 4 OF US!" I screamed as I grabbed ahold of the center console

Something about the fear in my voice as I screamed at Lando seemed to get through this barrier of red he had coating him and he seemed to ease up on the steering wheel and drove a bit more safer.

-

Arriving at Carlos house, we were greeted with Carlos standing out front. Lando and I got out of the car and started making our way to the front door of Carlos' luxurious house while Carlos started walking towards us, meeting us halfway.

"Ay, I talk to Logan. He meant no harm pero I think he did. He is in the living room." Carlos said as he patted Lando's tense shoulder before turning his attention to me. "I'm so sorry Logan did what he did. I feel so bad but just know that I'm here for you with whatever you need." Carlos added while he pulled me into a hug.

I've always loved Carlos' hugs because of the level of comfort they always brought was just unmatched. If you're sad, have a Carlos hug, if you're happy, have a Carlos hug, if you don't want a hug, have a Carlos hug. Moral of the story: a Carlos hug can fix everything. Well, almost everything.

"Thank you Carlos, I really needed that hug. I just-" The sound of glass breaking is what caused me to stop mid-sentence and I turned to look over at my boyfriend, only to find him no where in sight.

My heart dropped to my feet when I was met with no sign of my boyfriend and all I could hear from a distance was arguing. Carlos wasted no time in spinning on his heels and running into his house and into the living room where all the arguing was taking place.

"I DON'T UNDERSTAND WHY IN YOUR MIND, YOU THOUGHT IT WAS OKAY TO SPOIL A FUCKING GENDER REVEAL BY POSTING IT ON INSTAGRAM AND ON TOP OF THAT SPOILING THE FACT THAT WE'RE HAVING FUCKING TWINS!!!" the voice of Lando booming louder as I inched closer to Carlos' living room.

"I DID IT BECAUSE YOU TOOK EVERYTHING FROM ME! YOU TOOK MY BABY, MY LIFE, MY GIRL, YOU TOOK IT ALL! I HAVE NOTHING TO LIVE FOR!" Logan shouted in rebuttal, his face contorted in a way I've never seen before and his skin as red as a tomato.

When our eyes locked, I could see Logan's eyes soften but when he opened his mouth to say something, Lando cut him off.

"I DIDN'T 'TAKE' YOUR GIRL, I SHOWED HER WHAT IT'S LIKE TO LIVE IN A HOUSE WHERE SHE DIDN'T HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT DOING SOMETHING WRONG WITH HER EVERY MOVE. I SHOWED HER WHAT IT'S LIKE TO BE IN A HAPPY AND HEALTHY RELATIONSHIP, I SHOWED HER WHAT IT'S LIKE TO BE LOVED BY A REAL MAN! I SHOWED HER EVERYTHING YOU COULDN'T AND YOU KNOW WHY? BECAUSE YOU'RE A COWARD!" that seemed to set Logan off because the second the word "coward" came spilling out of Lando's mouth, Logan lunged towards him in an angry manner.

Before they could make any type of contact, Carlos was in the middle trying to set some type of boundaries between them.

"YOU GUYS ARE NOT FIGHTING IN MY HOUSE! LOGAN, OUT NOW! BEFORE I CALL THE COPS!" That seemed to be enough for Logan to walk away but not before stopping in front of me, his face so close to mine I could feel his breath against my skin.

"I hope I never see you again until your fucking funeral, slut." Logan walked away brushing his shoulder past mine as he did.

I knew Logan felt some type of way towards me since I left him while I was pregnant and refused to give in to all his promises of being a better man for me but hearing those words coming out of his mouth hurt. I always hoped we would be able to work it out for the sake of Yelena but after what he said, I don't know if we can, even if I wanted to.

Everything after what Logan said was blur, I don't remember him leaving, I don't remember Lando running after him and Carlos after Lando, but more importantly, I don't remember my legs giving out under my weight and me collapsing to the ground.

All at once everything started to hit me like a semi-truck. The pain in my knees after the fall, the ache in my heart but also the excruciating pain in my abdomen.

"BABE?! BABY ARE YOU OKAY? CARLOS GET THE CAR STARTED! WE HAVE TO TAKE Y/N TO THE HOSPITAL!"

-

The whole car ride to the hospital had to be the worst 15 minutes of my life. Every bump or sudden brake of the car increased the pain in my abdomen by 10. At one point it literally felt like there was an elephant sitting on me, restricting my oxygen intake.

When we finally arrived, Carlos quickly parked in front of the ER doors before rushing inside. Less than 30 seconds after running into the hospital, a group of doctors and nurses came running outside with a gurney.

Seeing them, Lando swung the car door open and quickly got out, allowing them better access to get to me.

Getting transferred from the back seat of the car to the gurney hurt just as suspected but they quickly rushed me in so they could evaluate my symptoms to tell me what's wrong.

No matter how much pain medication they gave me, the pain was still too much to bear.

"Do you want us to give you something to sedate you?" The student doctor said. She sounded genuinely hurt at hearing how much pain I was in.

"YES! PLEASE, I CAN'T DO THIS ANYMORE!" I screamed and I watched as she grabbed the vile of liquid.

Just as the student doctor was done giving me the sedative, I heard the doctor come in.

"So, unfortunately I've got some ba-AH NO! WHAT DID YOU GIVE HER?"

"I- Uh, Gave her a sedative?"

"YOU'RE NEVER SUPPOSED TO DO THAT WITHOUT CONSULTING ME! THE SEDATIVE IS GOING TO DO MORE HARM THAN GOOD!" that was all I heard before slipping into unconsciousness.

-

After I fell unconscious and was of no use, my doctor made his way to the waiting room to have a talk with Lando in order to figure out the steps going forward.

Once Lando locked eyes with the doctor, he shot up from his seat "Doc, how is she??" Lando asked as he searched the doctors face for answers.

"Unfortunately your girlfriend has a rare condition that affects the babies called Monochorionic Twins, which is where the babies share the same placenta and amniotic sac which can cause tangling of umbilical cords, imbalance of nutrients, blood and problems to other vital organs. Your girlfriend also has a history of major bleeding, vomiting and dehydration during pregnancy which also puts her at risk. We have to operate to save them, the babies have a 25% chance of survival and would have to be in the NICU for many months whereas your girlfriend has a 75% of surviving with minimal damage to any part of her reproductive system. " the doctor started, he tried to look and sound as sympathetic as possible.

"What are you saying Doc?" Lando asked, his breath and hands shaky and his knees trembled beneath him.

"You have to choose who we save, your babies or your girlfriend."

-

Again, thank you guys so much for the overwhelming amount of support I've received in the past few days. I appreciate and love each and every single one of you guys and I hope you enjoy this part.

Unfortunately this series is coming to an end soon but I really don't want to say goodbye to it yet.

taglist:

@luckyladycreator2 @itsmiamalfoy @jeffs77 @ilivbullyingjeongin @forevercaffeinated-lee @daemyratwst @gulphulp @callsignwidow @f1wintermoon13 @teenwolf01 @victoriassecret101 @hiireadstuff @formulaal @eddieharrington @kazza72584 @zabwlky1999 @dark-night-sky-99 @rougekiki @xoscar03 @jess-wither @bountychanti @dhanihamidi @Ggasly.p @tellybearryyyy @a-panseuxalmess @love-simon @tallrock35 @iiaik0ii @Milkyymelanine @ilovsyou3000morgan @styl1shl1v

[ninyard]

hi nin! could you maybe… possibly… perhaps… elaborate on your thoughts about jeremy giving kevin a praise kink… perchance…

okayokayokay im going to try my very best to answer this one without going into writing something wayyy too long as per usual (i dont think i succeeded) or just writing full blown keremy smut (wish me luck)

SO

kevin is not used to being congratulated or praised for how he plays; the master always has something to critique him on, the ravens aren't exactly fond of compliments, and something about the "son of exy" "one of the best" "unbeatable" comments from the press or the media never feels,, legitimate to him. maybe the first few when he was a kid and doing well on his high school teams or when he started becoming a big name in exy, they were really meaningful to him, but it kind of lost it's novelty after a while. there's only so many "how does it feel to be the best?" comments he can hear before they start to feel almost like an obligation from them to him. these interviewers, these journalists, these commentators; they don't know him. so, the older he gets, the more he feels like his talent isn't really appreciated. he rarely hears a "good game!" from anyone that matters to him. he rarely hears a "you played well!" from someone who can look him in the eyes and truly, truly mean it.

then; maybe it's in his first year with the ravens, and its the first time kevin has played against usc (or, maybe he's younger, and it's the first time he's played on a national level with his high school team, playing against jeremy's high school team, and their friendship starts when he's 16/17 instead of older) and kevin hears it all - kevin day, son of kayleigh day, amazing, talented, brilliant. he smiles and thanks whoever he has to politely, and goes on about his day. meaningless and unimportant formalities that are just that. but he meets jeremy knox, who he's heard rumours about, who the whispers have claimed is one of his biggest competitors in the league, and kevin is,,, taken aback. from the moment he lays eyes on him, he's smiling, shaking hands with people much older than himself without a twitch or a deep breath to calm him down. kevin watches as he turns his back, and how his smile stays wide on his face, more than just a media-trained look into cameras and into the faces of the people more important than himself.

jeremy looks around the court as the two teams are having their warm-up time, until he locks eyes with kevin and his already wide smile gets wider. he practically bounces across the court, and shakes hands with riko first, as riko whispers to kevin in japanese to not let this dumb surfer waste any more of their time. then, he turns to kevin, and takes his hand sincerely into his. he looks him dead in the eyes, shakes his head like he can't believe this is happening, and tells him, "it is an honour to meet you. there's very few people out there that play like you can."

riko is jealous, of course he is, and kevin feels weirdly almost embarrassed by the compliment. he thanks him genuinely and tells him that there's no need to be so kind, but jeremy, with his hand still in his, he says something else like "there's only kind things to say about someone like you," or that it wasn't kind; it was the truth. he tells kevin he's excited to play against him, with an obligatory compliment sent to riko, too, but kevin could tell that it was his one that was genuine.

the game goes on, kevins team wins, they're crossing the court after the game and jeremy takes a second longer with his hand in his again, "that's how exy is meant to be played," his smile is toothy and real, "i've never met anyone as good as you,"

oh, kevin walks off that court trying to hide the blush that covered his cheeks. when they found a way to reach each other afterwards, and they stay in touch, meeting up every once and a while when games and banquets and events allow for it, kevin is almost infatuated with jeremy's kindness. everything that leaves his mouth, every compliment that he says feels so heartfelt and thought-through and real that he feels like he's never heard these praises that he's heard a million times before. and it's not like jeremy is kissing up, either, the compliments are casual and appropriate for the conversations that they have.

but kevin is a teenager with a bare basic understanding of his sexuality and his body in general, and he's really not sure why when jeremy compliments him like this, he feels like that. he's not sure why he feels this twist in his stomach when jeremy texts him after a televised game that he played well, that he did a good job, that he's so good at what he does and so brilliant to watch. to make a long story short, kevin realises he's turned on by being praised because of jeremy, because of how he talks about how kevin plays, how he compliments him in a way he's never been spoken to before. (of course he feels guilt and shame the first time he,, imagines jeremy telling him he did such a good job. but he also feels how it feels to picture him saying that to him. and the times that he thinks of jeremy are the times he remembers, the times he thinks of over, and over, and over, and over and-)

(the other option is another thing im working on right now - when kevin is trying to figure out his sexuality, and finds himself in an experimenting kind of phase, jeremy is the only person he trusts to help him figure it out. jean is there, of course, but he's too,, close to the nest. he's too close to riko. jeremy doesn't even intentionally praise him, but he feels how kevin stills and how the hairs on his arms and the back of his neck stand up when he says that he feels good. jeremy is the one who brings it up sometime afterwards, asking if he wants to be praised, and he has to be the one to explain to kevin what it means - an explanation that becomes a demonstration that becomes a Praise Kink that kevin didn't even know he had)

[renatogpadilla]

Lux, On The Clock.

Ever seen a horse do a double-take?

Starfire certainly did.

It was good to know, Jinx thought, that even the horse realized how radical the change had been. Impressions were important!

That said, she was still unsure of her, regardless of how much more she fit the setting now.

"Alright, Star, darling, Jinx is coming with us today, so be a lady and behave, alright?" Lux was trying to be cute. Jinx didn't know if that worked with horses, but she appreciated the effort.

"I'm not gonna eat you, I promise." Jinx replied, putting a hand on the horse's side. She didn't kick her, so she must've been getting used to her. Or maybe Lux being cute did work. Or maybe this was just a badass warrior horse who simply got bad vibes from her calling herself a witch rather than being scared at all. But whatever the case, Lux got on the horse no problem and extended a hand to her.

"Alright, up you get!"

"Full disclosure: I've never ridden a horse before." Jinx wondered if it would be like a rollercoaster. "She's not gonna bump me off halfway through the ride or something, right?"

"Nah, she's harmless!" Lux mused. She thought she was, at least. Never really been put in a situation where her horse had to fight... She honestly hoped she never did. "Just hold on to me and you'll be fine."

"Well, you're the expert". Jinx handed Lux a small rucksack she'd brought with her and climbed on Starfire. She immediately felt weirded out by riding a living being. Gods know the last time she'd done it had been a little rushed, but this was waaaay different... Just the thought of being rummaged around like luggage made her slightly queasy. She put her hands around Lux and waited for the ride to start.

As soon as Starfire took off and Jinx pressed against her, Lux had a thought. She remembered those old story books she used to read as a kid, about knights and princesses and dragons... And here she was, with her own rogue-turned-witch-turned-princess on a white steed and everything!

This felt nice.

It might not just be Jinx that got to pretend for a day. Wouldn't that be something! Being able to just relax... Today was going to be great!

She probably didn't notice how fast she was going... Or that Jinx was holding on for dear life.

Probably.

******

Jinx had to admit, for a nation full of xenophobic prudes, Demacia itself was exceedingly pretty.

The shining city itself looked straight out of a fairytale book: Curved roofs, broad, stocky houses, white and blue everywhere and a few fountains here and there to liven the mood.

She could not have hoped for views like these growing up...

The place Lux had taken her to eat was the quaintest little hole-in-the-wall. A little bakery with a wooden interior, a few tables littered about and a cozy hearth that only made the smell of the baked goods behind the glass showcase inside the counter that much more powerful. This right here is the life!

They took a table in a corner and sat opposite each other. Lux went off to order and Jinx couldn't help but notice the lady behind the counter jump a little when she saw her. 'Right.' she thought. She was so worried with how people would see her that she forgot her friend was a big deal here. 'Big name.'

"Not on watch today, Ellie. Don't worry." Lux told the baker lady, and she looked over her shoulder at her friend with the cherry hair. Made a face like 'nice catch, kid!', (or at least that's what Lux thought it meant. She didn't let it get to her. It wasn't like that!) and got to serving.

Lux returned to Jinx and sat down with a big smile on her face.

"So, first time out in public in a while! How does it feel?"

"I thought it'd be louder, honestly... I'm glad for the peace and quiet, tho. The city's nice and the vibe is cozy, so I'm doing great!" Lux saw her physically relax, putting her arms on the table and plopping her head on top of them.

"Glad you like it! And hey, maybe if we ever end up at your old neighborhood, you can show me around!"

Lux meant that genuinely, but Jinx would NOT have this girl within visual range of Zaun if it was up to her...

"I appreciate that you'd want to, but reconsider."

"Oh, so your criminal underworld is too much for a trained soldier?"

"We clobbered an army of Noxians." She lowered her voice and the catscratch returned. "Sparkles or no, the Undercity would eat you alive, Flashlight."

"Don't threaten me with a good time, Firework!" Lux chuckled. Like threats were gonna work on her! That was half the adventure!

"Lady Luxanna!" Jinx answered with exaggerated outrage. "I did not take you for such a prude!"

She was laughing again...

"There's a lot you don't know about me, my witch. And I, for one, am glad to tell you if you ever ask! Not a lot of it is going to be prim and proper..."

"I would HOPE not!" Jinx had to ask now. "Okay, before everything turned rebellious, what was your biggest adventure?"

Lux actually had to think about it. When was the last adventure she'd had before embracing her powers...?

There had been one time, she thought. If she could even consider it...

"I wouldn't call it an adventure." she said, and she genuinely realized how boring her life had been before the glow. At least Garen got to go places in his campaigns with the Dauntless Vanguard! "More like... the promise of one. One I didn't take."

For once, it was Jinx's turn to perk up.

"It was a few years back. I had just started wearing these." She tugged at her gloves. "I was out in a small garden with a view of all High Silvermere, my home city, when I got this unexpected visitor."

She remembered the boy now. Scrappy, with a mat of brown hair and the look of someone who hadn't stayed in a single place for a long time. Bit of a twink, but hey, she was nobody to judge!

"He called himself 'Jarro Lightfeather', but we both knew that was a lie. I got him to tell me his name in about 2 minutes."

"Ooh, an alias and everything? I'm starting to sense a theme with you, Lux..."

"Hey, it's not my fault that mystery's just naturally drawn to me!"

Jinx wasn't so sure about that.

"So anyways, there I was, freaking out at this stranger on my balcony garden-"

"Humble, by the way."

"-and he starts telling me all about how he's this daring treasure hunter that's traveling the world in search of glory and adventure... We got to talking and he eventually told me a bit about his home. That's how I first heard of Piltover, actually!" She hadn't thought about Ez in years! She wondered now, if at no other moment, if the dashing and daring boy she'd met in the garden that day had found the glory he so eagerly sought... She'd have to seek him out and catch up after the rebellion was over.

"Eventually, he offered to take me with him." Lux realized, now that she'd said it out loud, that that's not the kind of opportunity that just drops on your head every day. She also noticed how taking him up on that deal would have undoubtedly ended with her dead in a ditch somewhere, but she still had appreciated the gesture. "Maybe he could see that I wasn't happy being stuck in the house all day, or maybe he just wanted to have someone to travel with and figured a princess from a mansion in the middle of Knight's Rock would be the perfect company... But either way, I turned him down. He was a bit hurt, but understood. I remember he jumped out of the balcony and just... vanished. His laughter was all that remained. Some days I thought I'd imagined the whole thing... But there was something about him that felt so... Fantastical. Like a fairytale character comes to life. I hope he's doing okay, wherever he is."

"The full 'Thief-Meets-Princess' Routine, huh?" Jinx mused. She wondered if that's what it had been like with Vi and Caitlyn for a moment, before being disgusted at the thought of taking interest in her sister's love life. "What is it with Pilties and unceremonious adventuring? Bet you must've been swooning!"

"Well, he was pretty, I'll give him that... But ultimately, I'm glad I said 'no'. After all, if I hadn't, we probably wouldn't have met!"

"Daaaaawwww!" Jinx meant it jokingly, but hearing that did warm her heart. "You big, bright softie, you."

They were in the middle of feeling warm and fuzzy when their order came up.

"Oh! Speaking of happy surprises!" Said Lux, promptly getting up and bringing over their food.

She put the tray on the table and Jinx could feel her stomach grumble.

"This one's for you! I honestly didn't know what to get for you, probably should have asked, sorry about that, but you did mention coffee, so here you go!" She passed her a steaming hot mug and a glass full of sugar cubes. Jinx could not have been more excited.

"Hello, my love! Oh, I've missed you so much..." She said, practically lunging at the mug. "Come to mama!"

"You two need a room?" Lux jested. My, that's an awful lot of sugar...

"Oh, we'll behave, beautiful, don't you worry..." She mused, taking her sweet time slurping up that hot cup of goodness she'd missed so terribly. Had she called Lux 'beautiful' or the coffee...? Eh, either way, she felt appreciated.

"Well, if you're sure..." She put her hand in a bag on the tray. "I also brought these, if you want."

She produced a muffin. A big muffin with cream on top. Jinx's eyes twinkled.

"Oh, Flashlight, I could kiss you!" She scarfed down the muffin.

"Do it, coward. You won't." She nibbled on her own muffin as she said it.

Jinx bit her muffin slower. "Heh, now who needs a room?"

They found themselves giggling. This was a moment Lux wouldn't have minded staying in for a while...

So when they heard the screams from outside the building, she was doubly pissed.

"What's going on?" Jinx finished her muffin and pulled up her dress. Oh, she's still wearing the other outfit under that! Okay! For a second Lux had been worried she would have had to explain how that had taken all her attention. She was just looking at the holster on her thigh, she swears! Wait a minute... Zapper was strapped to her thigh.

"You've had that on you all day?" Lux said, like it wasn't taking all her willpower to just stare at the gun. A gun! She'd taken a gun to lunch! "Do you take weapons everywhere you go?!"

"You don't?" She said, and she pulled the rest of her dress over her head and stuffed it in her rucksack.

On the Spirits, she was about to burn through those gloves.

"N-no! It was supposed to be a cozy dinner! I'm off duty, I wasn't gonna-"

Another scream. Banter would have to wait.

Lux got up first. She scarfed her muffin and was halfway across the room before Jinx could finish getting up. After shotgunning her coffee mug, of course. Wasn't wasting that!

When they hit the street, they saw smoke coming from a few blocks down. People running in their direction, screaming like a monster was chasing them.

A guard started running towards the commotion. Lux stopped him.

"Knight!" She said, and there was a steel in her voice Jinx hadn't heard before. "What's going on? Do we know what's attacking?"

"Ma'am, go inside-"

"I am Illuminator Luxanna Crownguard." She flashed the family crest. "My brother is Lord Commander Garen Crownguard of the Dauntless Vanguard. Sit-rep, now!"

"Of course, my lady! My apologies. Reports of flying lights around the south of town hit about 10 minutes ago. There was an investigation ongoing when... THAT started." He pointed at the fire that was now visible from the the rooftops.

"Mages...?"

"Seems to be sir! Sorry! Ma'am!"

"Then you have a new mission, soldier." There was authority in Lux's words. Jinx had seen her fight before, but this was the first time it had sunk in that she'd been trained as a soldier. "Go to the Vanguard and ask for Garen. Tell him his sister calls for him. Tell him she's buying him time. He'll bring his men and end the threat. Now go!"

"But my lady-"

"THAT'S AN ORDER. GO!"

Jinx didn't think anyone could bolt that fast in full plate, but the guard made it work. She was trying to process how she felt about seeing Lux like this when she turned to face her. She caught herself sweating. What the hell had been in that coffee?!

"Jinx, find Star and ride home. I'll help deal with that!"

This was not the same girl who was laughing with her a mere moment ago. This was Lux on the clock, and she was not to be argued with...

Good thing Jinx had spent a lifetime undermining authority!

"Haha, you're hilarious." She answered dryly. "You can't light up, remember? I'm helping too!"

"Yeah? And when they see lightning come out of Zapper? What then? They won't ask if it's magic or not!"

"You are not going alone! I won't shoot if you don't want me to, fine. But at least let me help out! I'm no civvie either and you know it!"

Lux didn't show it due to the nerves, but she was grateful she wasn't going into whatever that was alone. They'd fought a demon scarecrow together! They could handle a few mages, surely!

"Alright." She nodded her head and they both took off running. "You're fast as hell, so I distract the mages and you get anyone you find out of there. Once there's nobody else, come back for me. I am NOT going to deal with THAT on my own!"

"That an order, Illuminator?" She enjoyed ribbing her a bit too much...

"Not the time to get cute, Jinx! Move!"

'Yes, ma'am!' She thought to herself, and the two bolted into the flames.

********

The fire wasn't the main problem. Lux could see just fine, and Jinx seemed to not mind the smell of rising smoke. One perk of growing up in Zaun, Lux guessed.

The moment they heard the scream of somebody trapped under a house, Jinx was off like lightning. The people would be safe, at least, she thought.

Now came the hard part. Who was causing this?

She snuck (as much as she could sneak through burning debris) to the source of the flames. She'd been making the light bounce of her eyes a little less, changing the saturation of the smoke so she, and only she, could see through it better. She was really proud of how her powers had evolved! She wondered just how far she could push that if the need arose...

Focus, Lux. Lives are at stake!

She had gotten to the rubble near the center of the street when she heard the voices.

"You think this is big enough?" A husky voice reverberated.

"It'll get their attention, that's for sure. Sylas worries too much! He knows how easy it was to take the city the first time!"

Hearing that name almost made Lux choke. Two men, down in the street, mages, the both of them. One was lean and had fire for powers, the other was big and buff and seemed to have a metal chain on him as a weapon. Real original. Even his minions had to steal someone else's whole shtick to make anything work.

"Can you imagine his face when we finish what he started?" The lean one lit a fire under a door he'd seemingly missed. Immediately, a scream ripped through the street. And another. A woman who hadn't been able to get out... Maybe a daughter too. She didn't sound very old... Time to move.

She wished she'd taken a crossbow from the guards before coming here, but hey, hindsight was 20/20... And besides, she had something much more powerful than a crossbow, if it really got that bad.

"If we get that far. The boss will kill us himself if he finds out what we're doing and it doesn't pay off." The tall husky one with the chain replied.

So they're not working on his orders. Good. Sylas was a cunning bastard. He'd make much more of a ruckus than one burnt neighborhood... and if he wasn't here, then maybe she wasn't as defenseless as she thought!

Lux circled around them. Pick off the lean one first. Contain the fire.

Then they noticed it. The screaming woman was quiet. The daughter too. In fact the only sound other than them was that of the flames burning around them...

"That's odd." Said the lean one. "Usually they scream louder before they burn."

Then a knee hit him in the face, faster than the eye could track.

Jinx had taken absolutely everyone out as fast as she could. A couple of kids, a wife and her daughter, a man and his father stuck under some beams of what was left of a once beautiful family home... But everyone was out now, so all that remained was to go back for Lux. She tied her cherry red hair into a ponytail (not her thing, but not the time either!) and she charged at the first mage she saw.

She really did love hitting those knees! There was something SO satisfying about feeling the 'crunch!' of a bitch's face at mach-whatever!

The guy hit the floor like a sack of potatoes and didn't move again. Lux hoped Jinx hadn't killed him. If Garen could get him to talk, they might find out where Sylas was hiding...

She didn't have time to finish that thought before the other Mage took initiative. A swing of his massive chain would have taken her head off, but Jinx limbo'd under it with ease. She weaved another swing and got ready to rush the guy when Lux jumped him from behind and put her arm around his neck. Maybe with all the smoke he'd suffocate quicker!

No, that would have been too easy. He rammed his back into a building and Lux was forced off by the impact.

Jinx's turn. She rushed again, before he could swing, but she didn't expect him to just clock her in the face. Those junkie powers came in clutch. She managed to grab a hold of his arm while she reeled back and pulled him towards her. A dash upward and she felt her knee connect with his jaw. Something something 'if it ain't broke'...!

Lux caught what breath she could. Jinx was holding her own pretty well!

She got up and caught sight of the big guy getting absolutely assaulted from every possible angle by Jinx. A rib, cracked, a knee, buckled... If he hadn't been so bulky, he'd be unconscious. What he was at the moment, though, was lucky.

He managed to block a kick and Lux thought she saw something move along the edge of his chain... Like a shimmer of light. His own brand of magic.

When Jinx hit the chain, she yelled. A sharp pain shot through her leg as she was sent reeling back. Lux did NOT like that one bit. Jinx caught herself by rolling into a re-stance and started playing defensive, dashing away from everything chain swing, dodging by mere inches. Lux noticed that she could actually track her dashes now...

She looked around and grabbed a dislodged brick from one of the burning buildings and ran at the big bastard.

He swung wide at her and Lux had to slide under the chain in order to keep her head. She slammed the brick against the knee Jinx had buckled earlier and allowed herself to feel some satisfaction as the bastard howled in pain.

Jinx was never one to miss an opening, and she immediately reached into her rucksack, pushed the dress aside and threw one of her Chompers at the mage as she saw Lux roll away from another swing. The little grenade bit him in the arm and got another scream from their enemy.

But the bastard was more metal than Jinx would have liked to give him credit for... He saw the little grenade stuck to his arm and immediately ripped it off with his other hand, tearing off a chunk of flesh from it, and threw the Chomper away.

It blew up over a rooftop in a cloud of pink and blue, sending the tiles and the brick tumbling down onto the street, and some over them.

Lux appreciated the distraction. Hey! More bricks! Don't mind if I do! She grabbed another one and threw it at the mage, who blocked it with his chain, that shimmering light crackling back and making the brick explode on contact.

That chain was starting to get on her nerves... And she was getting on his. He swung at her hard. The first swing, she rolled no problem. The second was a fake-out: He swung just high enough that Lux could duck it, and then in the same move turned around and went to swing at the lunging Jinx.

Once again, the Chemhead reflexes saved her life. Dodging mid-air was always a bitch. She put her hand on the chain, felt a shock again, and pushed off of it before the rest of it could crack her across the face.

Her arm was numb, but at least it was still there. She tried a kick as she landed and got her leg caught, lifted and found herself being thrown at Lux like a flail.

Lux braced and caught her witch as the force of the impact dragged them both back against another wall. Too much force this time. Her head hit the brick and for once it was Lux who was blinded by the lights. When she realized what was happening: The chain was flying towards her already. No time to dodge! Get Jinx out of-!

But she was in danger too, and Jinx was done losing people.

A flash of purple. Lux knew it all too well by now, but she didn't realize what had happened until she heard the aftermath. Until she heard Jinx scream in pain at the top of her lungs, holding her... She'd flipped herself at the last second. She'd saved her life. She took the hit for her... If not for her enhanced endurance, she would have been torn in half, nevermind Lux!

She crumpled in her arms, moving, barely, shallow breaths and moans of agony reached Lux's ears and she had to hold back tears... Her friend... Her witch... Battered to shit to keep her safe!

"How is this bitch still alive?!" Said the mage, rearing back for another whipping. Lux didn't grace that with an answer.

Fuck subtle.

She grabbed at Jinx's thigh holster, pulled out Zapper and shot the mage immediately. His body started to convulse when the bolt hit him. His chain reacted too. It must have dispelled some of the lightning, because he was immobilized but his chain was also absorbing the shock... He wouldn't stay still for long. His eyes were shut from the pain.

Good.

Her left glove came off. She'd never shot anyone before. She'd never wanted to kill with her magic. She'd never wanted to kill at all! But right now, seeing Jinx struggling to get up, hurting the way she was? She didn't think about that... No, that was a lie. She did think about it.

She simply didn't care.

She didn't do full-blast out of respect for the local architecture. Yes, it was on fire, but there was still a house to build back up after the fire was gone behind this fucker.

She sent a single, targeted beam at his chest and the mage was sent flying so hard he got put through a wall. Good. Let him feel what it's like.

"Jinx?" She shook her friend as gently as she could. "Jinx you didn't have- why would you-?!"

"You... would have..." She wasn't wrong. Spirits, her voice was so small...

"Can you walk?"

"Yes..." She said, getting up slowly. Very slowly. The smoke was starting to become a problem.

"Gotta go. We can't be here when Garen gets here." Lux said, and she started carrying her friend by the shoulder, using herself as a support until they were out of the frying pan...

*****

They were out of the fire in a few moments, and to Jinx it felt like forever. Everything hurt. Whatever that big bastard's chain did was still keeping her weak. She actually tried to dash forward at one point, just to see if she could.

Nothing.

There had been a few times where she wished a healing factor had been included in the powers package... This sure was one of them.

They made it to a narrow alleyway a little farther from the site of the battle. They needed to stop to catch their breath. They leaned on a building and let the sounds of the footsteps of the Dauntless Vanguard's arrival soothe some of their worries for a moment.

"Are you okay?" Lux asked. She knew the answer, but she wanted to show concern. Like her face didn't do that enough...

"I'll live... Believe it or not, I've walked away from worse." Her voice was still ragged, but some of her spunk was back. That's good.

"That is not as reassuring as you think it is, Jinx."

"Yeah, sorry. Still reeling a bit..." She said, and her eyes softened. "Oh, Lux, for me? You shouldn't have."

She put a sooted finger to Lux's face and wiped away a tear the Illuminator didn't know she'd shed.

"Well, can't say you didn't earn it." She tried to play it off but she was too tired to pretend. "Let me see that."

She turned around and Lux felt the tears well up again.

"Is it as bad as it feels...?"

"Well, it's not exactly pretty..." Lux placed her hand on the wound and felt Jinx flinch. A gross, crude, almost cauterized wound, like she'd been struck by lightning, running the length of her back. "Bright side is it'll leave a great scar, at least."

"There we go... Positives." She was almost smiling. She felt Lux slowly press herself against her, hugging her from behind.

"I'm supposed to be the knight. I'm supposed to save you. Thank you." She could feel the tears on her back.

"Well, see the difference is I got it wrong. Saving the girl? That's the job of a knight in shining armor." Said Jinx, squeezing her friend's hand. "You're a shining knight in armor, so really I just put that expectation there for nothing. Honest mistake, my bad!"

Lux turned her around and wiped the tears of her own face... Oh, her hair is blue again. When had she dropped that?

"Here. This has a nasty sting." She gave her back Zapper and Jinx tucked it in it's holster.

"Not the only one, though, is it?" She'd noticed her glove was gone.

"Oh, yeah. Kinda had to impro-"

The sound of a chain hitting the corner of the alleyway cut her off. And what she did next was more out of panic than any plan.

He hadn't seen them yet, and Lux would make sure he didn't. She pushed Jinx against the wall, and when she winced in pain Lux put her bare hand over her mouth.

She had thought it was possible in theory, but this was pure instinct. She pressed herself close to her witch and asked... begged the light around her to listen. She could see in the dark by changing the way light bounced off her eyes. She could change the color of things, and the opacity of the smoke... But that had just been her changing the way people saw things, not the things themselves... This took so much out of her she nearly passed out from the strain, but she still begged... And the light answered.

And it avoided them completely.

Save for two tiny specs of light in their eyes, smaller than grains of sand so the two wouldn't go blind, Jinx and Lux were completely invisible.

Nobody but them could see them, and when the mage stumbled in the alleyway, hurt, bleeding and with a burn mark in his chest, looking like he was hunting something to take with him to the grave, the two stayed still as death.

It really was a narrow alleyway...

Lux felt her friend's hot breath on the palm of her hand. It was taking all she had to concentrate on the spell... She looked into Jinx's eyes and her witch looked back. Such gentle eyes they were right now. They were the ones who were invisible, but to Lux it was like nothing else existed in the world but them. She saw her gaze soften. She noticed the strain... This way of using her power was the polar opposite of everything she'd ever done. Ever been. And Jinx could see it. Just with her look she tried to tell her. 'It's okay. I get it. Don't hurt yourself. I'm proud of you.'

She hoped Lux got the message.

The mage came closer, lumbering in their direction. He got dangerously close...

Jinx took initiative here. Lux felt her hand around her waist as she got pulled closer to her friend. She took a sharp breath, and Jinx lifted two fingers and pressed them to her lips.

And it wasn't the time. It really wasn't! But Lux just... Was. Not thinking of how she was going to maintain her spell, not thinking of how she was going to explain this to her brother. Not thinking of who she was becoming as her powers grew, in this very second.

She just lived in the moment, pressed against Jinx's torso... Toned, hurt. Hurt for her. She could feel her breathing steady a bit... And then she felt... She must have imagined the kiss on the palm of her hand, but it was enough to keep her grounded in the now... Now, pressed against her abs... Her chest... Her eyes. Gods, her eyes. Violet and beautiful. And... and... so... Soft.

And ironically, she first saw her witch in a new light. And her eyes said 'I trust you.' And Lux could have lived in hiding if it meant living like this... Her arm moved before Lux knew where it was going, caressing the wound on her back, just softly enough not to hurt. That shirt was screwed... Guess she'd have to go without it for a while...

Oh. There's those unholy thoughts.

She wondered if Jinx noticed her kissing her fingers back...

And then, pain. Sharp and sudden. Too much. Held the spell too long. She barely suppressed a whimper, but from her face, Jinx could tell that Lux was at her limit. Her eyes said 'I'm sorry'. Jinx thought she didn't have to be. She nodded her head, and Lux saw her eyes start to glow. She wondered how that looked from the outside...

Jinx made her intentions clear. She turned to look at the mage with venom in her eyes.

Oh, look, more unholy thoughts! Lux knew she was at her limit. Usually she could keep a pretty tight lid on those!

She rearranged herself to face the mage and crouched. Everything hurt, but she only needed one blink to get him down while Lux got her strength back. Then they'd just jump him. Simple!

Her legs felt like they were on fire but it worked. Just one dash and she grabbed the bastard's head and smashed it into the alley wall. That rang his bell! How he wasn't dead was beyond her.

Lux fell to her knees and both her and Jinx blinked back into existence. The mage was alone, and he looked at them with rage in his bloodshot eyes. The Vanguard would be here soon. He knew he wasn't walking free at this point. He was gonna try to take them down with him...

Lux ran at him as Jinx tried to tackle one of his stocky legs. Gods, that knee was cooked! And just as she'd hoped, it buckled under the pressure. He took a knee and now it was Lux's turn to land her own knee to the face. In her head, Jinx was running out of 'attagirl's today.

Bastard still had some fight left in him though, little though it was, and he grabbed Lux by the hair and backhanded Jinx into the floor. He barely got up, carrying the Illuminator like a doll that was about to learn the meaning of "rough-housing" the hard way... She yelled in pain.

"He always said... You'd be trouble... Entirely too much." Whimpered the mage. Lifting a hand with a chain on it, crackling with magic, ready to turn this girl that had bested him to a bloody stain on the floor. "I can see why he likes you."

Lux heard the massive boots before she saw them. Only one person in the whole Vanguard wore plate boots that large!

"Hope you liked the view!" She snarled, and she raised her hand to his eyes and burned as bright as she possibly could.

It was a disgusting thing, seeing a pair of eyes melt due to heat exposure like that, let alone so quickly and so painfully, but the fucker had it coming. He howled in pain, blind and disfigured as he took a few steps back to the mouth of the alleyway.

Lux hit the ground and immediately went to check on Jinx. She was clinging to consciousness, barely. Super-endurance doesn't mean super-stamina, I guess... The two slowly got up, leaning on each other, and faced the blind mage, who held his own face in excruciating agony.

He tried one more swing. There really wasn't much room to miss, and these two couldn't dodge anymore. This was it. He raised his chain high...

And then Garden's giant broadsword, Judgement, was protruding from his chest.

"You've done enough." Said the Lord Commander, and with a spin he split the blind bastard clean in half.

(Well, 'clean' metaphorically. The whole alley was red now, but you get the point!)

As both halves of the mage dropped on the floor, Garen immediately focused on his sister.

"Glove!" He whispered, looking back at, presumably his men, coming to join them.

She'd almost forgotten about that. She put it on immediately and as soon as it was on her hand Jinx's knees gave out.

"Goddesses, sister. Are you alright?!" The military mask was gone. He was fully her big brother right now, as he came to help her friend stand up.

"I'm not going to lie, brother. I've had worse. But not often..." She was panting those words. The exhaustion was kicking in.

Garen held her face in his huge hand. He'd almost lost his sister! He'd almost... Almost...

But he hadn't. Because she hadn't been alone.

He looked at the strange, raggedy woman next to his sister. She had a nasty wound on her back that Lux wouldn't stop holding a hand against. Had she done that for her? "Blue hair... You must be Isha." He gave his sister a look and she instantly faced away.

"And you must be the Lord Commander... Nice entrance! She wasn't kidding..." Jinx breathed out. "Those shoulderpads ARE huge..."

"You saved my sister's life. Just Garen is fine." And Lux saw her brother really meant that. Bless his heart, he was actually getting emotional.

"Garen then... That's nice..." She looked at Lux. Bright, radiant Lux, battered as she was, and alive, holding her upright. There was a light in her eyes that hadn't been there before... Jinx found it weird. A good weird. Something else to figure out together. "You were amazing."

And with that, her strength was gone, and her world went black...

[lurkingshan]

Every You, Every Me

Story 3

A mechanic! Not my Last Twilight trauma

Actually, now that he's stood up and I see this black tshirt and coveralls taken halfway down, his look is more Payu than Mhok

HE'S COMING TO ME

Okay listen, who put these mismatched hair extensions on this boy I just wanna talk 🔪

FIAT!!! I missed him

I continue to recognize but not be able to place most of the background music in this show, it's driving me nuts

What's with all these March 19s... no way

Are you telling me he's been stalking this kid at the graveyard for years on his mother's death anniversary? And he asked the mom’s dead spirit to bless their union before he even talked to him?? You a weirdo for this, X

He's never even talked to him all these years but he says he likes him. Love at first sight, I guess. "His mismatched hair extensions have bewitched me body and soul"

Btw why has this kid Namping had the exact same haircut for so many years, seems unlikely

I have no theory on the significance of their family members changing universe to universe but I am noting it

Does the little brother get a side romance in this one? They have two whole eps this time they're getting ambitious

This Bad Buddy style phone flirting across the balcony/window is very good

There's a real ominous vibe happening here, something is def going on that we don't know about

Well, that sure was a wholly unnecessary full body lift 😏

I think I would have preferred they use the time to go deeper on the main pair in this story rather than squeeze in a side couple, but this is a Thai BL, so

Something very charming about X getting excited and hitting his head on the undercarriage of the car

The extensions look better in this almost kiss scene god bless (btw that was mean, Namping)

The chemistry!! When they let them flirt these two are excellent

Hmmm Namping is P' here, but he def wasn't older in the last story, what does it meeeeeeean

"Stop asking" boy what are you hiding

Sexiest back hug of all time in BL?? Perhaps

Man, what the hell happened to Namping? Crying during sex and then disappearing on X and sobbing as he leaves. Why can't he tell X what's going on?? (and also me, please tell me). This all feels really needlessly cruel and I am struggling to imagine a scenario that would excuse it.

Welp! Ton showing up after a time skip alone, wearing all black, carrying a box sure doesn't bode well

The way they are dragging this secret out has officially become irritating. Just say what the fuck is going on.

Well, at least Namping knows he's a coward. Ffs. I cannot imagine how he justified leaving X in such an abrupt way, telling him nothing, leaving him waiting, knowing he will never come back. A terminal illness is not a good excuse for what he did to him, especially because his supposed reason was not wanting to be selfish. But his choices here were far more selfish and cruel than telling the truth and staying to be happy while he could.

This show is not really what I expected based on the way people talk about it. It's not all that light, for one. I've heard it described as being a fun speed run of fanfic tropes, but it's pretty dramatic (in the sense of dealing with heavier themes), and this last story at least was very melodramatic. It's the kind of maudlin terminal illness plot line you'd see in a decades-old drama. I guess that's the idea? We're just running through classic tropes, including some that have been all but retired. I still don't know if or how these different universes are meant to connect, or what to make of these characters. Should I view each iteration as separate from the ones before, or am I meant to think of these as the same souls repeating lives? It's interesting for sure.

[captainuranium543]

My thoughts on gruvia

So I wanted to make this post because I've been rewatching gmg recently and I wanna talk about it a bit.

Before I begin I know gruvia is a very polarizing ship so I'll make my own opinion clear, I don't hate gruvia but I also don't think it was very well executed in cannon. If you love gruvia this isn't against you at all, my intention with this isn't a hate post just to look at a weird decision made in gmg for gruvia from a writing standpoint and talk a little about it.

The biggest issue most people have with gruvia is that juvias obsession with gray is taken WAY to far sometimes and ends up feeling more creepy then funny or romantic. I agree with that point but also I do try to keep in mind that gags aren't really meant to be taken seriously. There is a limit to what I can write off as a gag but for the most part early on juvia fell within that limit, from my perspective I tend to take things as seriously as the characters around do meaning if their reaction is mild annoyance, I won't take it to seriously. While their reaction is genuine discomfort, I will. Early on, all of juvias romantic advances/creepy moments had been gags that where within the reasonable range that I could laugh off. This changed though in gmg.

Ok so starting off mid gmg gray has a very serious talk with erza. I disagree with a lot of people on this conversation because a lot of people seem to think this is her tell gray to love juvia. Gruvia lovers and haters alike seem to think this but I really don't see it that way. I think she's quite literally just telling gray to be direct with her about how he feels.

Up until this point because everything has been gags we've never really taken juvia seriously, gray has never had a moment where he has actually acknowledged and confronted her feelings for him and told her how he feels in return. Erza is basically telling him to stop just brushing off or avoiding her advances and just be direct with her, whether you like someone back or just want them to leave you alone being direct is good advice.

It's advice that gray takes to heart as we see here in the final episode of gmg

I really don't understand where people get the idea that erza was saying he needs to accept juvias love because this scene is literally him taking her advice and his answer is "no I don't like this leave me alone please". This would be fine but what happens next is just downright confusing

She just, doesn't care?? I genuinely don't understand why this scene was added in at all if it wasn't gonna matter. Like I said I can write off most gags but this was NOT a gag. Gray had a very serious talk with a close friend where he got the advice to be direct, he had a very serious moment where he very seriously took that advice and told juvia exactly how he feels, why does she just ignore it??? It's such a weird decision to make because it makes all of juvias future advances come off WAY creepier then they did before even when they are just gags because gray has already very seriously told her to stop.

I've heard some argue that gray actually does like juvia he's just afraid to admit it and he's forcing himself to say he doesn't like her in this scene, but regardless of whether he secretly feels something for her a no is a no and it's reaaalllyyy creepy to just not accept that. Hear me out here, what if right after gray did this juvia listened.

She did back off of him and gave him his space, then if you still wanted them to have a relationship maybe gray starts to miss her? Give him some autonomy and room for us to actually see him develop genuine feelings for her rather then having her force them onto him because without seeing Gray's side it just feels one sidedly obsessive. I know people argue he's just afraid to confront his feelings but you need to actually show us that, give him a scene where he's thinking about her or actually missing her in some way when she's not around if you want to show us that gray isn't just being forced into things he doesnt want. If juvia had backed off here I would have probably liked the ship a lot more A) because it would give gray room to develop on his own and B) it would show that juvia has restraint and genuine respect for Gray's feelings even if he doesn't like her the way she likes him.

Rant over, again no hate to gruvia fans. It's fiction I don't actually take it to seriously if you love gruvia live your truth🙏🙏. I like gruvia in theory it's just poorly executed sometimes and I could fix it fr fr

[acourtofthought]

Okay so scrolling the Lucien tag and not even 5 posts in I see an e/riel!

Now I’m at the point where I don’t bother to engage with them bc I do not see any point, but I am still curious. This person was saying Eluciens & Gwynriels have to twist cannon and the characters (sure Jan), but what really stuck out to me was that one of those “twists” is Azriel feeling nothing more than lust for Elain…

… where is a single shred of proof that Azriel feels more than lust? Which book, which page number? Because it’s literally explicitly stated that he’s planned nothing beyond the fantasies he’d pleasured himself to. So where is the more? I know you used to favor E/riel. Is there anything more you’d point to?

💖🧼

NTSSM my love!!!!! ❤️ I hope you've been well!

People can headcanon all they want that Az has real feelings for Elain but there is no irrefutable evidence and that's a big part of why I grew to really dislike the E/riel ship.

Az was point blank asked about his known feelings for Mor and he refused to answer. I've seen all sorts of debates about this, "he was just caught off guard!" "He doesn't like to talk about his feelings!" but again, those are all fanon theories right now. He in canon and in his POV did not admit to no longer being in love with her and was not willing to reassure one of his best friends that he wasn't about to just use his sister in-law for sex. Cassian noted his longing glances for Mor were fewer in between but that's not completely gone and we know she was traveling for much of SF. There can't be as many looks if the person isn't around.

Az was asked point blank what his plans were when it came to Elain and once again Az said nothing, followed with him thinking how he hadn't thought beyond the sexual fantasies he pleasured himself to.

Az witnessed Elain's major fight with Nesta, he knew there had been another fight prior to it and he couldn't even be bothered to ask her how she was doing once they were finally alone.

Amren reprimanded Az for not believing Elain capable and we didn't see a single shred of remorse at his doubting her.

Az in canon showed admiration for Gwyn. Az in canon has never shown admiration for Elain. Az in canon credited Nesta for her part in the war. Az in canon has never acknowledged anything Elain did in the war. Az in canon felt a spark in his chest at the thought of Gwyn's happiness. Az in canon never noted feeling a spark for Elain. Az in canon thought of Gwyn's charming irreverence and how different she is now compared to when he first met her. Az has never thought a single thing about Elain's personality or her growth. Az in canon did want to taste Elain but Az in canon also has taken many lovers over the years. Az in canon spent 1 year staring at Elain's headache powder but Az in canon spent over 500 years staring at Mor with longing. We were also told that Az is upset that he didn't get what his brothers had which does provide readers doubt to Az having real feelings for Elain. The author specifically wrote the lines she did in a way that caused many to say "he doesn't want Elain for who she is but what she is in terms of the 3 sisters / 3 brother setup". Compare that to his love for Mor which has been a plot point since book 2 (something that was even discussed in the Cassian and Nesta bonus) and there is no doubt that Az had actual feelings for her.

If a romance author can't convince the majority of her readers that the MMC actually wants the FMC beyond sex and entitlement then I have to say she's not writing a very good romance. Especially when she's not a dark romance / bully romance author (those genre's are a bit different).

Az in canon did lend Elain TT but he turned around and looked at Mor with heat and yearning while Elain sat in the room with them (so clearly the TT scene was not really meant to be romantic). Az did head to Hyberns camp to save Elain but he also told Feyre he'd save Briar while they were there. He then disobeyed Feyre's orders to get Elain to safety so he could instead stay behind for Feyre. Az would have never gotten hurt had he left when Feyre told him to, he got hurt because he didn't want to leave Feyre. He was then ready to fly back into battle while injured but only sat out after Mor begged him to.

And when we flip that, where is the proof that Elain has feelings for Az? I'm not talking about a little crush or flirtation, a willingness to hook up, I'm talking "I will sneak behind the backs of my friends and family to have a forbidden romance with Az and don't care what that means for the peace of our lands because he's worth everything to me."

Was it when she was kidnapped by the Cauldron because she thought it was Graysen? Was it when Az was about ready to pass out from his injuries and she never bothered to ask after him? Was it when she knew he was bothered by her mating bond but had zero interest in actually talking to him about it in his POV? You know, actually sharing in a real conversation with depth after a year where they both pretty much avoided one another rather than thinking hooking up was the better option? (It's giving Tamlin and Feyre who chose not to talk about everything they were dealing with UTM and instead thought banging one out was the smart choice. Sarah doesn't have her endgame couples hooking up before dealing with the hard stuff). Was it when she returned his necklace and was written to be completely indifferent to him the rest of the book? Where she showed zero evidence of sadness or mourning after Solstice?

That E/riels accuse us of twisting canon when they've got Elain as a bloodthirsty, dagger wielding, black leather wearing liar who doesn't care whose feeling she hurts is something else.

I realize that Elucien's saying Elain might have secret feelings for Lucien and is overwhelmed by her physical attraction to him which is one of the reasons she draws back is also a fanon theory right now but the difference is we have empirical evidence to back that up because it's what was revealed about every single Archeron sister to date. Where she ignored, berated, etc. her mate because she was so overwhelmed at being drawn to them (even if she didn't fully understand why that was). Sarah is a Fated Mates author along with many other Fated Mates authors. We have actual data to support that Elain and Lucien as mates will end up together and that Elain has possibly been struggling with her feelings for Lucien all this time.

And yes, there are many yet to be proven Gwynriel headcanons but how could a male feeling something spark in his chest at the simple thought of a female's happiness, a female he really only just met, be considered anything but the first hints at a future romantic pairing?

Az felt happy thinking of Gwyn feeling happy. What is the definition of love if not that?

[party-lemon]

okay so. the kiss, right? after gathering information and reading so much meta (and fanfiction, because honestly, it has helped form my opinion on this also), I've come to a very long conclusion.

let's start with the fact that crowley apparently didn't realize he was in love with aziraphale. which goes against SO much fanfic and beliefs of SO many good omens fans. as someone who started watching after season 2 came out, i didn't think much of it because i wasn't as familiar with the characters. but now i get why people might have been confused by that writing/plot choice

but it's also really interesting. crowley is, essentially, TOLD that he's in love with aziraphale. and that's fascinating because he's been on earth for 6000+ years, how does he not know that, how does he not know what love is?

but for 6000+ years, he's been surrounded by HUMAN love. human love is fleeting, it's dramatic, it's romantic, it's sexual, it's silent, it's all these different things. human love is not only confusing, but it's distinctly HUMAN. and though they've taken up many human things in their thousand year stay, aziraphale and crowley are distinctly not human. crowley watches films and listens to music, sure, but he might see human love as something fantastical. humans watch fantasy films and read sci fi books and consume media and we think "that would be cool if we could experience that." we know it's fantasy, but it would be cool if it wasn't.

i think crowley kind of viewed human love like that. he knows it exists, but also it's sort of shrouded in fantasy. he's almost...indifferent to it. like it would be cool if it happened, but it won't. i think what he knows he feels for aziraphale is a distinctly NOT human kind of love, of which i don't think we're entirely meant to understand, because they're an angel and a demon and they've been alive for millenia and have known each other as they are for 6000+ years. from what we've seen, it's this deeply burrowed fear of losing one another, this desire to simply spend time together, share things they enjoy, exchange philosophical musings, pester each other, save each other, etc, etc.

and like i said, i think they know that that's love. it's unspoken, sure, but i think they both recognize that this deep, distinctly NOT human thing is love, in their own way. they've just been careful not to show it too much because they didn't think they could (flashbacks of "you go too fast for me, crowley"). after the not-pocalypse, they seemed a little more open to showing it, especially aziraphale.

but then nina lets crowley know that, not only is this distinctly not human love (she doesn't know they're not humans, of course) showing very clearly, but it LOOKS like human love. they look and act like a human couple. and i think crowley realizes that he loves aziraphale in a very human way also, that it's not just a fantasy, it's not off limits just because they're an angel and a demon.

so then the final fifteen happens and both aziraphale and crowley are desperate, and i think crowley kisses aziraphale, mostly, as a last push to show aziraphale what he's feeling. everything beforehand was him silently screaming how he loves aziraphale and wants to be with him in their not human way and that didn't work so he decides to show him in this distinctly human way. he's saying he wants to be with him and love him like a human, and kisses him, because it's what HUMANS do.

not sure if this made sense, and decipher that scene how you will obviously, but that's what i think, after being obsessed with this show since august lol

[therese-lokidottir]

Speaking of 'from child they already good', it's kind weird I meant many theory why sylvie taken by tva and main top saying " she taken because she was good"

I actually not agree, because it's feel weird and many point that out for showing sylvie is good and superior loki.... That's not how work. After all we saw loki as kid too and showing he was good kid too yet nobody using that as "he was good".

And look at sylvie, she is the most selfish and hypocrite person , yet nobody called her out. They keep justify her actions as have rough childhood despite she look normal and we never see her past

And with loki? Everyone blame him even it's not his fault and so many time in films showing that he is not in fault and it's other fault.

I feel they want us to belive sylvie is 'actually good' yet they showing how cruel and selfish she is. Mcu is really weird showing 'actually good' characters. I meant *cough*thanos*cough*

So showing 'as kid they actually good ' is not really good excuse. Peoples can feel pity to sylvie but never justify her actions.

I think I've said before that part of the reason I ended up disliking Sylvie so much was fans insisting she was something she wasn't and accusing anyone of not liking her of being sexist.

The insistence that Sylvie was born with a good heart is one of the blatant Sylvie worships. Not only is it trying to insinuate that Loki was born bad but ignores all the good he does in the present.

It's kinda crazy, its rewriting the narrative that instead of Loki turning out the way he is because the things that happened to him, it was just that he was born bad. But Sylvie was born good and she's only the way she is because the things that happened to her.

To be precise a character can be a crappy awful person and be a good character. It just has to be understood what they are, both for writing and for the viewers. Again, I saw so many people being insistent that Sylvie was so heroic and nice, and it was almost funny seeing those people react to season 2 because I saw people acting so confused when Sylvie's selfishness was undeniable. Some tried really hard to still insist she was good or some even tried to say the writing was against her, even though it was fully consistent with season 1.

Loki is the only one to show genuine kindness and compassion even when it does not benefit him and in fact costs him. Everyone else treats Loki like garbage, and a lot of the audience does not take that as an indication of the characters' true colors. The fact others can be so selfish as outright cruel to Loki is shrugged or justified even when loki is being nice or narratively shown to not be doing anything.

The writing does sort of treat it like Loki is the bad thing who deserve everything he get. Sylvie actions primarily affect Loki, the problems she causes become his responsibility and because people are unimportuned meat sacks and rules and worldbuilding are a garble mess of half-thought through ideas is becomes all the easier for people to say Sylvie did nothing wrong and it's Loki job to fix things.

[starryalpacasstuff]

Last Twilight Ep 8; Thoughts

We're at the 2/3 mark of the show, and the episode honestly felt surreal. Last Twilight is continuing to parallel iconic moments of Bad Buddy, this time with running away and scenes on the beach. However, it never feels like it's boring or repetitive, because while the parallels are clear, the shows are also distinct. It's clear that the characters in the two shows are pushed by different things.

I was yelling at the screen when I realized Mhok and Day were going off on their own, because ditching Night = recipe for disater (he'd obviously call Day's mom!?!)

But then this happened, and I had to pause and take a moment, now that my fears had been resolved. We know so little about Night, and yet so much. Understanding his character requires a lot of reading in between the lines, and until we know what happened between the brothers, the picture won't be complete. I did, in fact, breathe a huge sigh of relief when I realized that Night was in on it, because while Mhok and Day are capable of handling themselves, if Day's mother found out, we all know that it wouldn't make for a pretty situation.

Which calls in something else I'm curious about. Is Day really naive enough to believe that they can ditch Night with no consequences? Or is there some trust left in Day, that Night will let them go. Has he figured that Night is likely in on it, and is choosing to remain quiet?

There's a number of possibilities, and I'm curious to see how it plays out. It's highly likely that his anxiousness to get away from Night, and trust in Mhok meant that the though simply hasn't crossed his mind too.

On that topic, if we rewind to the beginning of the ep

I just love how much Day trusts Mhok. It's obvious, but I felt it was worth pointing out. Mhok tells Day that there's no one there, and Day accepts. Mhok having played the caregiver role for Day for so long is definitely the main reason for this, and it's beautiful to watch.

Speaking of transparency in their relationship, can I take a moment to talk about just how much I loved this scene? Mhok was upset about the prank, and Day wasn't taking it seriously. Mhok could have clammed up, creating tension between the two. It would even be expected, given his role as Day's caretaker and the 'put Day first' mentality that we've seen so far. But he doesn't, and oh my god, this calls for aplause. He calls Day out on it, and gives Day a taste of his own medicine. And, this is something that perfectly shows that things are not the same now that they're boyfriends. Mhok gets more agency, more say, because he's one half of the relationship. I've said thia before about the subversion of faen fatale, and I'll say it again; Last Twilight has a very strong identity as a show, and a very strong grasp on what it's doing. Time and time again, it has shown us opportunities that it could have taken to create drama, and veered in the opposite direction entirely. The subversion is intentional, and clearly so.

While we're talking about characters standing up for their feelings..

I feel like someone should create a masterpost of everything we know about Night, and we can add on every bit of new info we get and compare it to the rest, because everything tells us so little yet so much. It seems that Night is still willing to push against Day's hatred. But of course, he's more willing to allow Day to live happily, as we see him letting the two go off on their own. It seems that every time Night does something for Day, he prefers to do it anonymously, such as showing up to the race. We've seen that he's accepted the villain image. Is this why he seems keen on upholding that villain image in front of Day, while helping him behind his back? P'Aof isn't one to write conflict for small or petty reason, so I'm starting to be more and more convinced that Night genuinely did something wrong to Day. He regrets it, but he also knows he can't take it back or heal their bond, so he's simply keeping the status quo, helping his brother behind his back, while only allowing himself to be selfish on occasion, like this one. I'm so intrigued by Night and his mannerisms, his actions.

Back tracking a bit again, (this is a mess)

This scene was a pivotal moment. I've previously mentioned that Day was living in a fantasy, and I've also briefly touched on Day's sence of normalcy in a post, how he was relying on things to go back to 'normal' and how he's been able to build a new normal with Mhok. He'd get the transplant eventually, and things would go back to 'normal'. Mhok helped Day redefine his 'normal', but the hope that his sight would return one day was still present. Here, it's shattered. Up till now, Day was living his life as if he were biding his time till he got his eyesight back. Now he's going to be living as if he has to wrap up a lifetime of memories in three months. He's feeling as though time is running out.

I think this is one of the first times I've seen Day talk back to his mom, which is fair, because it's ingrained in asian kids to not talk back to your elders. Day is, in the end, a rich kid. On top of that, he has a single mom. 1+1=2, Day didn't get to see much of his mom growing up. @waitmyturtles talked about this a bit in a post, mentioning how Day's mom's career always came first. She didn't have time to attend a game because she had an event, she couldn't come to school for something because she had a meeting, etc etc. (I don't know how much of an age gap there is between Day and Night, but anyone thinking that Night had to fill in on occasion..?) He's making a jab at his mom, that she's far to busy to be there with him for stuff, and she's far too overprotective to let another be there with him for it. Again, typical rich family dysfunction. Day and his mother's dynamic will be an interesting thing to watch as the episodes progress, that's for sure.

Alright, onto the last one

When I'm not sure if there's a deeper meaning behind a scene, music is always a great clue that there is something greater behind it. As episodes progress, we've seen Day slowly reassimilate himself in society. This is such an important theme, because being a part of and engaging with society is a huge part of asian culture. I view this dance as a sort of culmination of the progress that Day has made over time with Mhok. Would the Day at the beginning of the series have danced with a stranger at a party while having worse eyesight that before? No way in hell. Also, paying respect and interactling with older people is, again, a HUGE part of asian culture, so this was essentially the perfect way to depict this culmination. When the first episode had aired, @twig-tea had first introduced in a post the theme of liminality in Last Twilight. One of the definitions given was "of, relating to, or being an intermediate state, phase, or condition : IN-BETWEEN, TRANSITIONAL". Since Mhok entered Day's life, he's been in a liminal (transitional) state, as he moves closer to rejoing society. In this scene, we see what I'd like to say is the end of this liminal state. Of course, this isn't to say that Day is no longer in a state of liminality. Liminality presents itself in various ways throughout the show. This is simply a culmination of Day and Mhok's efforts to reintegrate Day into society. While the battle is far from over; disable people often find themselves outcasted and removed from society; it's a sign of hope, a sign of growth, a sign that their efforts have a result.