#it's still very much a high-level overview; there's just a /lot/ to overview.

[novanhistorian]

The next part of the increasingly-inaccurately-named Sketch of History has now gotten long enough that I'm considering splitting it up by century. Sorry Moreau, you may get bisected. Again.

[hannieehaee]

raindrops (an angel cried)

18+ / mdi

summary: being assigned watching duties over humans was usually a task reserved for high level angels. on jeonghan's first week of promotion, he finds himself far too curious about licentious human activities, becoming infatuated with his assigned human. what happens when his interest goes too far, it gets him kicked out of heaven?

content: fallenangel!jeonghan, jeonghan is your guardian angel up until he gets kicked out of heaven oops, infatuation, inexperienced jeonghan, even as an angel he's still a menace to all, heaven is super strict, afab reader, smut, oral (m receiving), mentions of masturbation, penetrative sex, etc.

wc: 11.1k

a/n: the lore on this is so nonsensical pls just work with me. i hope despite that u guys enjoy thoughhh<3

masterlist | kofi/patreon

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"Who is that?", asked Jeonghan, apprehension in his eyes.

"That's your human."

"My human? I'm getting a promotion?"

"Listen, Jeonghan. I had to call in a lot of favors to get the higher ups to let you get this promotion. You better follow the rules to the letter. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Kwannie, I know," he rolled his eyes, "Why do you have so little trust in me?"

"I'm serious, Jeonghan. If you keep messing up, you might get kicked out of heaven. Do you really want to be down there with the humans? Being a mortal?"

Jeonghan couldn't help but think the idea sounded enticing.

He hadn't had too much exposure to humans thus far, but he had always had great interest in them. They just sounded so free and different from one another, unlike in heaven, where specific behavior was to be expected from every working angel.

Within heaven, you were either born as an elite sort of angel, – with all their angelic duties assigned – or you were born human and then admitted into heaven as an angel, getting to enjoy eternal happiness with your loved ones. Jeonghan, sadly, was the former. Having been born into an angel position, it meant that although his life was not miserable by any means, it was just a closed box of responsibilities to fulfill until the end of eternity. He truly envied all the humans-turned-angels in heaven, often asking them about their memories as humans and trying to live vicariously through them.

Due to his constant curiosity of humans, Jeonghan often got in trouble as he stuck his nose in places it shouldn't be. As an angelic being, Jeonghan's duties as an angel were mostly clerical, managing which human each angel would be assigned to as a guardian angel. Ever since being born as an angelic entity, Jeonghan's dream had been to be promoted into a guardian angel position. In his current job, the most interaction with humans he ever got was the ability to see a quick overview of their timelines in order to assess which guardian angel would be the best fit for them. His job was comfortable and stable, never causing him any trouble. But he wanted more. He wanted to be down there, on the playing field as he watched over his own human.

So he would cheat occasionally, maybe snooping into human's lives for more than he was allowed to. Sometimes he'd pause on certain bits that drew a little curiosity and simply observe. He'd also on occasion tried to make his way down to Earth, only to check things out on his own. All his attempts were always met with reprimands from his higher ups, claiming that a soul as curious as his own should not be near humans. The existence of angels was meant to stay a myth, after all.

When Seungkwan took him into one of the offices designated for guardian angels, Jeonghan had been shocked. He had been banned from being brought here a few years back, so it was a very well appreciated change of pace for him. What was even more shocking, however, was when Seungkwan led him into one of the sphere rooms, which contained a view of any and every human in existence in real time. The most shocking thing, though? The pretty girl reflecting on the globe, very deep in slumber as Seungkwan revealed Jeonghan's promotion.

"Her old guardian angel retired. Chose to move to the land of humans-turned-angels. Angel Jihoon was simply going to ask you to assign her a new angel, but I put in a good word for you, so he gave you the job. Don't fuck it up, Jeonghan. Do you understand?", his friend was quite stern as he warned him.

"Big words for an angel."

"Don't go puritanical on me, Jeonghan. Your behavior in Heaven doesn't matter. It's when you meddle with humans that you'll get in trouble. Just ... Please follow the rules and don't step out of line."

Seungkwan was right. From all the accounts he heard from angels who had died and gone to heaven, Heaven and Earth were quite similar. People held jobs, lived a day to day life, had relationships. There were a few stark differences, though. There was no suffering in Heaven – no illness, no tiredness, no debilitating feelings. Sure, frustration and annoyance were a thing (God knew Jeonghan had felt those things), but it was virtually impossible to be truly unhappy in Heaven.

Jeonghan had no problem with Heaven, he was just far too curious about humans to stay still and do nothing. He was not allowed to admit it, but he had always wanted to know what it'd be like to be human. To live through pain, struggle, confusion. He just wanted to experience it all.

Angels had no needs in heaven. Hunger didn't exist, neither did aging or an itch to do or feel things humans usually engaged in. For instance, while Jeonghan had heard of sex and romantic relationships, this was something that angels did not have the innate desire to feel, as they were born fulfilled in every sense. Human-born angels, however, brought their humanly experiences and emotions along with them to heaven, sometimes telling tales of such things, always drawing Jeonghan's curiosity to new heights.

Looking at you through the sphere, Jeonghan felt excitement at thinking of what humanly emotions you may be feeling. He also felt giddy at knowing that you would one day come to pass onto his heavenly realm, where he would meet you after having known you for the entirety of your lifetime.

"Woah, really? You got a human now? Congrats, man," Joshua gave Jeonghan a bro-shake, clinking his wine glass with Jeonghan's in a celebratory manner .

Joshua was one of the few former humans that Jeonghan tended to hang out with on his down time. Despite having died of old age, he had been able to choose his 25 year old self to manifest himself as such on Heaven, conveniently matching Jeonghan's age range. He was also one of Jeonghan's main informants about what life on Earth had been like during his own time there.

"What are they like?"

"Not sure yet. I start tomorrow. She's a pretty thing, though," Han admitted, remembering how peaceful you looked in your sleep.

"Oh? Well, you gotta tell me everything about her when you start watching her. Man, I'm excited for you. You've been shooting for this since I met you."

"Yeah, sure, man. I'm kinda nervous. What if I fuck up? They'll throw me out of heaven," Jeonghan recalled Seungkwan's warning, also remembering every other reprimand reminding him of his punishment if he ever stepped out of line again. He wasn't sure what being kicked out entailed, as it wasn't a common occurrence in Heaven, but as much as he wanted to feign indifference, he did not want to leave his current lifestyle altogether.

"It'll be fine. As long as you don't try and meddle with her life, you'll be okay."

Yeah. Joshua was right. He just needed to follow the rules and nothing would go wrong.

Jeonghan's streak of good behavior did not last him too long on the job.

He couldn't help himself, not when you kept enticing him minute by minute of your day.

It wad almost as if you knew you were being watched, the way in which everything you did caught his undivided attention.

Guardian angels were not supposed to keep constant watch of their humans. This was just Jeonghan's personal choice, entirely fed by his curiosity of humans – and specially due to you. In usual terms, guardian angels would go through their regular lives, only ever checking in on their humans whenever their angelic senses felt a need to take a peek at their lives. Sometimes angels would end up checking in on their humans only once a month or so, never feeling the need to watch over every single moment. Other times, certain humans led lives that required a more watchful eye, causing their angel to keep better track of them. That was actually Jeonghan's previous job – assigning the right guardian angel to the right human, ensuring they'd get just the right attention from their angel.

Jeonghan's human did not require such close attention, but he just couldn't help himself. Within one day he was already enamored with you. And he only became more and more enamored as the days passed. He let go of all his other daily activities in favor of watching you, swooning over you. Although he still gave you your privacy whenever you did things such as go to the restroom or wash yourself, he was present at any other time.

He had actually made the mistake of staying present on what appeared to be one lonely night of yours.

As an angel, – a perfect being – Jeonghan clearly knew what you were doing. Contrary to popular belief back on Earth (at least by many of those who believed in Heaven), sex was not seen as a negative thing by the greater powers. Though such acts did not take place in Heaven too liberally, all angels were well versed on the carnal acts humans took part in. They just had no innate interest in such things. They could still engage in it, but it was just less common. This was yet another aspect of human life that guardian angels usually looked away from, seeing no need in guarding their humans during such an intimate setting.

Jeonghan always wondered how the physical act of sex manifested itself among angels. This was something that was entirely unspoken in Heaven. He knew angels could seek pleasure in such ways (he had done it to himself a few times, but wasn't well versed enough in it to truly find much pleasure in it), but since there was no innate desire for it, he guessed that most angels just didn't do it. If anything, it was more likely to be done by humans-turned-angels, since they had already done such acts in their previous lives. Jeonghan had meant to ask Joshua about this at some point, but he felt ashamed for some reason. He felt as if he'd be breaking a rule if he talked about it. This belief still did not prevent him from watching you play with yourself late at night, all while he laid on his own bed and attempted to play with himself in coordination.

As the days passed, Jeonghan could've sworn he fell in love with you. From your angelic appearance to your sense of humor, to your wit, (God, you were just his perfect match in every way), Jeonghan fell for you more and more each day. He came to wonder if becoming your guardian angel had actually been a punishment; to show him Heaven but not allow him to have it.

Luckily for him, he would soon find out.

~

"Let me go down there," he demanded after days of trying to get the heavenly council to give him the time of day.

The council consisted of a few of the highest regarded angels, along with a jury of angels that would rotate every so often. Luckily for Jeonghan, he saw some familiar faces within the jury on that day, with his buddies Jun and Seokmin taking part in it.

Currently, Jeonghan was directing his demands to head angels Jihoon, Seungcheol, and Minghao, who – with help from the jury – would decide whether his demand would be granted or not. He liked to think he had some pull with Seungcheol, but judging by the frown his face was adopting at the moment, he wasn't too sure anymore.

"Jeonghan ..."

"No, listen! Let me make my case."

Jihoon sighed, but gestured at Jeonghan to continue.

"You've been saying you'd send me down there as punishment for my behavior, but it wouldn't be punishment for me. I've watched humans for years," he winced at his own admission of guilt, knowing that only certain types of angels were meant to watch humans, and he wasn't one of them up until one week ago, "and I just know that I'd be an amazing guardian angel if you'd just let me go down there and see her."

Jeonghan had done all the math in his head. This would simply be a harmless experiment, causing no damage to anyone as he got a chance to live human life in the same way other angels had in their prior lives. Ultimately, he promised to cause no trouble on Earth and come back whenever the head angels decided.

These were all the arguments Jeonghan presented to the council, hoping that his selfish desire to meet you didn't somehow slip through the cracks.

The three angels huddled together after Jeonghan finished his long argument, surprising Jeonghan and all other angels present in the jury.

After a few moments, the three angels nodded at one another, seemingly coming to an agreement and turning to Jeonghan again.

"Fine. You may go," Minghao said decisively.

"W-what? Really?!"

"You're troublesome here on Heaven, I'm sure you'll somehow be worse on Earth," sighed Jihoon before continuing, "But, your arguments are valid. Heaven has been far too strict on working angels. Allowing you to experience what all other human-born angels have lived will cause no harm, and since you'd only be guarding your human, not much damage can be done."

"So I can go? I can be with my human?", he asked for confirmation, eyes still wide and mouth agape.

"Yes, Jeonghan. You may go. You will remain an angel as you stay with her, so you will have to learn to behave as a human. We will come to decide how long you get to stay, and whether or not you get to come back. I'm sure this will prove reasonable to you, with your curious nature," added Seungcheol, a small smile on his face at being able to grant Jeonghan's wish.

"Do you agree to these terms?", asked Minghao.

"Yes! I agree! Send me!"

"One last thing," interrupted Jihoon, "Only she can know your identity. We have assessed your human to be trustworthy enough for this experiment, but even this much is a risk. You must keep a low-key image while on Earth and not step out of line. Anything happens and we pull you back out. Understand?"

"Yes," Jeonghan nodded with all seriousness he could muster through his excitement and nerves, "I'll follow all rules. I promise."

"That's a first", chuckled Cheol before turning to the jury, "Any objections?"

Jeonghan looked to his friends in the jury with pleading eyes as they grinned at him and nodded in encouragement.

At receiving no objections, all three angels sounded their gavels, granting Jeonghan the wish to be a fallen angel, for however long they may wish.

Jeonghan's departure had been quick.

He bid his goodbyes to his closest of friends, promising to come back as soon as he could (though maybe that had been a lie – he wanted this to last as long as possible).

Despite his desire to leave and be with his human, he was still a bit sad he'd stay separated from his friends for a while. Time in Heaven passed quickly, but he would feel their absence all the more while on Earth.

The council had also granted him with the ability to rid himself of his wings whenever he wished. This way he'd be able to blend in with other humans in Earth.

Today was his last day here, which coincidentally was the exact same day the verdict had been ruled. He was happy to know the anticipation wouldn't last long.

"So, you fell in love with your human?", asked Seungkwan as he helped him make his appearance as humanly as possible.

"Maybe. Is that not a thing that happens to other angels?", he asked, knowing the answer already.

"No, Jeonghan. Angels don't feel romantic love for humans. I'm dating an angel, couldn't you just do that too?", he berated his friend, "Also, what did I tell you about following the rules?"

"Hey! I'm still on the job. I just might've done it a bit too well. And now, I get to meet her," he couldn't help but sigh in contentment at the thought of meeting you.

"What's so special about her?", asked Joshua, who was also there aiding Jeonghan in his makeover.

"Are you kidding? Joshua, you've been human. You've been in love. Hell, I was there when your partner finally arrived to Heaven. You know what it's like to fall in love."

"Hmm," he clicked his tongue, "I guess you're right. Still, I can't believe you're willing to leave Heaven for her."

Jeonghan couldn't really believe it yet either. He was so giddy about it, knowing just how perfect for him you were. Along with that giddiness, though, he felt nervous at the possibility of you not liking him as much as he did you. He expressed this concern to his friends.

"Are you serious? You're an angel. No matter if you try to hide it, which I know you won't, she'll know. I'm surprised they're even letting you go knowing she's 100% going to fall in love with you."

"Wait, really? What do you mean?"

Seungkwan sighed as if Jeonghan had just asked the most obvious question ever, "Dude, you're an angel. Angels have an alluring essence by nature. It won't take her long to see it and fall for you, specially since you're already interested in her yourself."

He had a point. And Jeonghan would likely do anything to get you to like him.

"Well, this is as human as I can get you to look, Jeonghan. You might just be too pretty for Earth. The women are gonna eat you alive," chuckled Joshua, stepping away from Jeonghan so he could look himself in the mirror.

They had trimmed Jeonghan's long locks ro shoulder-length hair, making him look a bit less ethereal (though his long, blonde hair still made him look angelic). Joshua had also styled Jeonghan in usual Earth fashion, ridding him of his white gown and putting him in some casual clothing.

Jeonghan liked it. And he had a feeling that you would too.

Holy fuck.

Jeonghan couldn't believe the sight in front of him.

It was you, in all your beautiful glory.

He had been transported directly onto your home, appearing in your room as he watched you sleep.

Luckily, you lived alone, which meant that he did not have to deal with anyone else's presence as he tried to figure out the best way in which to approach you.

When the council had transported him here, they gave him no advice on how to interact with you or even introduce himself into your life. They had left him to his own devices, so he was entirely unsure on what the best next steps should be.

Should he let you know he was an angel? Should he try to pretend to be human? There were no guidelines for how to do this; no Seungkwan to lead him in the right direction.

None of that mattered to him too much, though. He knew his internal instincts would lead him to the right

However, things didn't go as smoothly as he wished.

Despite knowing human customs, – they were mostly the same as that of angelic ones – Jeonghan admits to having been a bit of a creep in the way he first approached you.

Maybe caressing your cheek as you slept had not been the best of ideas, specially since you woke up almost immediately after, screaming at the sight of a stranger in your home.

Wingless and having the same appearance as any other human, Jeonghan stood like a deer in headlights, trying to calm you down and let you know he wasn't here to cause any harm, and that if you just let him explain, everything would make sense. Except he had no idea what that explanation could possibly be without taking the risk of freaking you out even more.

When you continued to freak out, locking yourself in your walk-in closet and yelling at him to get the hell out of your house, he decided to use some of his angel magic to get you to come to reason.

Teleporting himself into your walk-in closet, he held onto your arms as soon as he saw you lift them in fear at his sudden apparition, not understanding how in hell he had made it to the other side of the door while it was locked. He attempted to soothe you, which didn't work. So he went for the next best thing and covered your mouth with his hand in order to quiet you down.

He felt terrible at holding you hostage like this, but he just needed you to give him a chance to explain what was going on.

"I need you to listen to me, okay?"

"Hmph! Hmph-mhph!", you mumbled, words muffled by his hand.

"Please just tell me you'll let me explain. If you tell me to fuck off, I will, but just give me a chance."

He meant his words too. Even as infatuated as he was with you, he was willing to respect you if you found the situation too strange to deal with and asked him to get out of your life.

It took you a while, but eventually you visibly relaxed, nodding at him to take his hand off your mouth so you wouldn't feel as retained as you listened to what he had to say.

The two of you were sitting on the floor of your small closet, entirely too close to each other. But Jeonghan liked it. It allowed him to truly feel your presence for the first time. You were even more beautiful than he saw through that sphere. He hoped against all hope that you wouldn't be scared of what he was about to tell you.

"I'm your guardian angel," he started. It wasn't part of his original plan to tell you straight away, but looking at you, he knew he couldn't lie to you, "I know it might sound crazy, but I promise! I ... I was sent to Earth so I could watch over you. I, uh, I actually asked to be sent here. With you," he wasn't sure why he felt so embarrassed at revealing that. He was so sure of his feelings for you, but having you here in front of him made him lose some of his usual confidence.

You stared dumbly at him, eyes wide and confused. You didn't seem scared, but Jeonghan was also sure you probably thought he was insane. Then he remembered he could show you proof of his truth.

"Look, I'll show you, okay? Just, please, don't be scared," he hesitantly grabbed onto one of your hands, bringing it up to his own, surprised you allowed him to do so, "Promise me you won't run."

Seemingly thinking it over for a second, you nodded a moment later, intertwining your pinky with his own, "Okay."

Your voice while not taken over by fear was soft and alluring. Jeonghan couldn't wait to hear more of it.

Taking a deep breath before activating his wings, he grabbed onto both of your hands for support, closing his eyes as tight as possible as he allowed his wings to open up, creating a rip in the back of the shirt he was currently wearing.

As his wings opened up, the usual shine that came from them lit up the small space of the closet, tiny sparkles brightening up.

Hearing no reaction out of you, Jeonghan slowly opened up his eyes, scared that he'd find fear in your eyes.

But he didn't find fear.

Your eyes showed the opposite of what he was expecting. It was awe.

Unable to break eye contact with your eyes as you stared at him like he had put the stars on the sky, he moved closer, bringing up one hand to caress your cheek softly.

"Y-you're ... you're an angel?"

"Your angel," he clarified.

You disconnected from him, getting up and exiting the walk-in closet, making him deflate but continue to follow you.

You walked around your room in circles, seemingly trying to make sense of the situation in your head. After some moments, you halted your movements and turned to look to him, "Why are you here, if you're my guardian angel? Shouldn't you be in heaven?"

Although he had already kind of explained it, he guessed that maybe a more detailed explanation was necessary considering the strange circumstances he had put you in.

"I wanted to see you, see what being a human was like," he started, hoping you didn't find his statement strange, "I've only been your guardian angel for a short time, but you just brought out this curiosity in me that made me want to come down here more than ever. I know this might be too much all at once, but I just ... I just wanted to see you."

You looked affected by his words, maybe feeling for Jeonghan and his words. Your arms were wrapped around yourself, making yourself smaller while also protecting yourself from the strange situation. He hated that he made you nervous, but he understood. Still, he wanted to go back to a few moments ago when you were looking at him with awe in your eyes rather than confusion.

"You wanted to see me?", you parroted his statement.

He nodded, taking a tiny step towards you.

"Why?"

"I ... I don't know. I had no idea angels could fall for their humans in such a way. I think this might be unheard of," he chuckled humorlessly.

"So you're a fallen angel, then?" you joked, laughing awkwardly along with him.

"Hah, yeah."

Taking a seat at the edge of your bed, you patted the space next to you, inviting him to sit next to you. Putting his wings away to not get up in your space, he sat down, appreciating the gesture.

"I'll help you," you turned to him decisively.

"Huh?"

"If you wanna explore human life– if you want to explore your ... feelings for me, I'll help you."

"You will? Really?"

He was surprised at this, having expected fear or disgust out of you more than anything.

"Yeah. I mean, how often does a girl get to meet her guardian angel. And you seem harmless, so I don't see why not."

"Fuck," he breathed out, getting up, "Thank you, I .. Where do we start? Should we head out? Maybe–"

"Hold on," you put your hand on his chest to prevent him from walking away, "It's 3AM. I don't know if angels get any sleep, but I kinda need it ro function, so ..."

"Oh, right. Where should I sleep, then?"

"Angels sleep?"

"I can if I want to. And since I'm trying to assimilate to your people, I might as well."

"Okay. You can sleep, uh ... do you wanna share my bed?", you offered, pointing to where you'd just been sitting.

"You want to sleep with me?" he asked, a small smirk making its way to his face.

"God, I didn't know angels could even make innuendoes ... No, we'll just sleep next to each other, that's it," you clarified, rolling your eyes at the angel in jest.

"Fine, I guess we'll save the sleeping with me thing for later," he snickered at the groan you let out at him.

The two of you were already beginning to get along.

You began preparing an extra blanket for him, leaving the room for less than a minute, only to come back to him already laying in your bed.

"You ..."

"Oh, hey," he patted the space next to him, "C'mere. Need your human sleep, right?"

Bringing the blanket over with you, you used it for yourself, now that Jeonghan was using the one you'd been wrapped around in before he'd materialized into your apartment.

"Goodnight, Y/N," he mumbled sleepily.

"Goodnight ... Wait, what's your name, again?"

"Jeonghan. Yoon Jeonghan."

"Goodnight, Jeonghannie. Hope you enjoy your life as human," you bid him goodnight, quickly falling asleep after.

Jeonghannie ... Fuck, you were already beginning to get to him.

"Okay, there's gonna have to be some ground rules if you're gonna be leaving the apartment today."

It had been about an hour since you'd woken up, once again finding Jeonghan hovering above you as he watched you with endearment in his eyes as you slept.

The first thing you'd done was tell him that that was far too odd behavior to showcase around humans, to which he reassured you that he only felt like doing so to you.

After that, Jeonghan had insisted you let him accompany you everywhere you went, claiming that he could pretend to be a distant friend or something in order to get away with being with you while he explored human life. Reluctantly, you agreed, thinking it might've been too soon but reasoning that he had already come all this way just to be with you.

He nodded to your statement, enjoying your commanding tone as you listed out your rules.

"You cannot say any weird shit that gives away the fact that you're an angel,"

He nodded along.

"You have to stick by me at all times and never stray away from me."

He hummed, eyes attentive and on you.

You made eye contact for a quick second, gulping before looking away and continuing with your list.

"No meddling with my life or anyone else's with your weird angel powers, and no, I don't want to know what they are, just don't use them."

You continued to list more and more obvious things, most of which he had already heard from the angel council (and Seungkwan) before leaving Heaven. Still, he enjoyed listening to you, so he sat and stared at you with all his attention completely on you. Occasionally, you'd make eye contact with him, always looking away as if you'd been burned.

"And– and fuck, stop looking at me like that!"

He tilted his head to the side in confusion, "Like what?"

"You keep staring like I'm the angel, it's unnerving me!"

Chuckling, he nodded, "To me you are."

You sighed and ignored his flirting, continuing with your list.

"Are you willing to obey all these terms?", you asked once you had finished.

"I'll do anything you ask me. I'm here for you, after all."

It had only been a few hours since he met you, but he already enjoyed how you'd try to hide your flustered state any time he'd express his liking of you.

This was going to be fun.

~

As per what you told him, you did not have work today, which meant he could be with you the entirety of the day without getting in your way.

Due to this, today you were going to take Jeonghan out to a 'get-together' with some of your friends. He was looking forward to meeting the people he'd seen were part of your life. There were only a few characters he was curious about, not having watched over you long enough to figure out the nature of your relationships.

Vernon was one of the main characters he was interested in. He seemed to be just a friend, but considering human customs, Jeonghan couldn't be too sure.

When he asked you whether you'd be meeting him today, you were confused as to how he knew him for a moment, then remembering who he was and confirming that yes, Vernon would be present today.

Your morning routine proved to be quite interesting to Jeonghan. Unlike him, who could become dressed and presentable from his slumber with a snap of his fingers, you had multiple steps to take. He knew of the mundane human activities beforehand, of course, but seeing you partake in them in person was extremely intriguing to him.

The amount of needs you had was also quite interesting. From showering, to using the restroom, to eating, to even scratching your arm when it itched. Humans were truly complex and needy. Yet Jeonghan liked that. He ached for that. Being a perfect entity grew quite boring for him. He knew most people enjoyed it, but he wished for at least the chance to experience the mundane once.

This was the closest he would get, he guessed. And he still had no idea when the superior angels would pull him back up.

"Dude, what the fuck? Did you get a boyfriend?"

You slapped the boy's arm – Vernon's arm.

"Stop! We're just friends. I met him on twitter a few years back and he came to town, so, uh, yeah. This is Jeonghan, everyone."

Jeonghan currently found himself at an almost empty pub, standing in front of a booth filled with a few of your friends.

From Jeonghan's recollection, these were Vernon, – your best friend, as per your own words – Mingyu, Chan, Wonwoo, and Soonyoung.

Jesus, did you have to be friends with all men? And did they have to look almost as angelic as Jeonghan himself?

Despite Jeonghan's feelings of envy (an emotion he had not dealt with much in his existence), he was still glad to know that you had your own little group of friends here on Earth, just like he did in Heaven. Vernon was kind of like your Joshua, he assessed.

"Well, your friend's hot," Soonyoung broke the silence.

"Yeah, I know," you grumbled, taking a seat next to Mingyu. Before Jeonghan could complain about having no seat, you patted your side to gesture for him sit next to you, making him grin boyishly.

"So, Jeonghan. Tell us about yourself," Mingyu sipped his drink as he asked, "Oh! Chan, get him a drink, yeah?"

While Jeonghan tried to improvise some response, Chan handed him an open beer, seemingly expecting Jeonghan to drink it.

Grabbing the bottle, Jeonghan sipped it a bit, wincing at the rancid taste of it.

Is this what humans drank for leisure? Jesus.

"I'm Y/N's friend," he said blankly as a response.

Chan chuckled, "Yeah, but like, what do you do? How did you two meet?"

"Oh. I-"

"He's, uh, a social worker a few cities over," you interrupted.

This caught Wonwoo's attention, "Shit, really? I'm a social worker too. What do you do?"

"I watch over people, mostly."

That was half true.

"Nice. Anyways, work's boring, let's move on!", Soonyoung pushed even more drinks onto the table, "Tell us about your relationship with Y/N. Have you slept together?"

"Soonyoung!"

"It's a valid question! He's just your type."

"You've always liked them pretty," added Chan, nodding.

This peeked Jeonghan's curiosity, but it wasn't too surprising to him that your friends thought him to be your type. He had already caught you staring at him a few times through the past day.

"I didn't bring Jeonghan here so you could berate him about his sex life, okay? Stop," you took a frustrated swing of your drink afterwards.

The way in which your friends bantered with you made him think back to his friends in Heaven. But he pushed this sad thought aside to respond to the question.

Jeonghan took advantage of your mouth being busied by your drink to answer the inquiries about your friendship.

"We're just friends," he responded, "For now."

This caused a small commotion among the booth, making your friends throw childish 'ooo's at you.

Once again, you rolled your eyes and told everyone to shut up, lightly hitting Jeonghan's chest to reprimand him.

"So you brought your situationship to hang out? Doesn't that go against the rules of situationships?"

"He's not my-"

"I thought I was your situationship," whined Mingyu next to you, leaning his head against your own.

That caught Jeonghan off guard.

Although he didn't know what this word meant, he assumed it must've meant some sort of relationship. Maybe a relationship of sorts? Which meant that you and Mingyu must've had some sort of thing going.

This confused Jeonghan immensely. In the short time he had watched over you, he never once saw any evidence to show that you and Mingyu were anything more than friends. You'd usually see your friends once or twice a week, with Vernon being the only one you really saw on a daily basis. Did he miss something at some point? Had Mingyu been who you were thinking about that night he watched you masturbate? It must've been, if what Mingyu had just said was true.

"Your what?", he decided to ask, turning to you and ignoring all other eyes on him.

His eyes landed on Mingyu for a second, not liking the way he was so close to you. He hadn't minded it previously, but if the two of you really had something going on, then Jeonghan was going to have to break some rules and intervene.

Before Mingyu could respond (with that damned smile on his face ..), you interrupted.

"He's kidding. It's an inside joke. We accidentally went on a blind date together once so now Mingyu acts like he's my ex. He's an idiot, ignore him," you pushed Mingyu aside jokingly afterward, something which made Jeonghan smile.

"Okay. Good," he responded, going back to a relaxed stance despite the curious look a few of your friends were sending him.

The rest of the evening was spent like this, occasionally interrupted by Jeonghan's questions about human terminology that he did not understand (earning him multiple questioning looks from your friends at being so out of date), and frowning whenever there was any mere insinuation at you being anything more than platonic with any of your friends.

Overall, it went well. Jeonghan decided that he liked your friends (though he still wanted to keep an eye on Mingyu). It wad enjoyable to Jeonghan to watch human behavior first-hand, specially while he sat next to you, shoulder to shoulder as he occasionally allowed his eyes to quietly drift to you, admiring you while everyone else engaged with one another.

A few months had passed since Jeonghan arrived to Heaven, and Jeonghan was having the time of his life spending every waking moment with you. And he wad happy to say that it seemed like you were enjoying it just as much.

In order to show Jeonghan human life as much as possible, you had decided to work from home whenever possible, even using up a few of your sick days to take him out with you to explore your city and introduce him to as many fun human activities as you could.

When Jeonghan had informed you that he was unsure when he'd be pulled back to Heaven, you seemed genuinely upset, pouting at him that you were enjoying his company too much for him to get taken away. Your friends had also taken a liking to him, you confessed after a few more outings with them. He fit perfectly into your group.

Jeonghan had grown to become an integral part of your life. The two of you shared a bed every night, even waking up to partake in your skin care routines together every morning (a routine which Jeonghan did not need but simply copied for the immersion of it all). You were quite affectionate with one another too, always being called out by your friends on the unspoken nature of your relationship.

The two of you were practically twin souls as far as Jeonghan was concerned. You got along perfectly and existed in such harmony. Jeonghan couldn't help but grow to like you more and more as the days went by, constantly being told off by you for watching you so consistently. He had also caught you staring at him a few times, specially when you believed him to be asleep, but he decided to keep that to himself, simply enjoying the knowledge that you swooned over him as much as he did you.

Unfortunately, as the time passed, you seemed to run out of new experiences to show Jeonghan. You had taken him to work a few, allowing him to shadow you at your office. You had taken him on every single outing you could think of (most of which Jeonghan had come to find were usually considered to be romantic dates). You had shown Jeonghan mundane household activities, such as cleaning and cooking. You had also strictly prohibited his usage of his angelic powers, stating that they'd ruin the immersion you were trying to show him.

As you ran out of things to show him, he had one last thing plaguing his mind, but he wasn't too sure how to bring it up, or whether he should.

He could still think back to his time in Heaven, when he was first assigned to watch over you. It had been late into nighttime on Earth when he saw you, your lower half under the covers as you slowly removed your tank top.

He had been good, had decided to look away any time you undressed or needed some privacy, but your state had intrigued him. You looked desperate to undress yourself, quickly kicking off your covers and your bottoms along with them. As Jeonghan watched you in the nude for the first time, he salivated at the sight. He had seen all kinds of beautiful sights in Heaven, but you had been truly the most captivating of them all.

Jeonghan felt dirty, but he couldn't help but look as you began touching yourself, letting out the prettiest sounds he had ever heard. Your hands had gone to your breasts, tugging at your nippled with desperation as you whined. Jeonghan's own hands went to his pants, trying to calm a foreign feeling he had never felt before.

He had tried masturbating before, knowing that it was an act some angels also partook in, but he had never felt anything arouse him into doing it in the way you had. In Heaven, sex was really just a leisure activity, not usually caused by arousal. Angels had no necessities, so calming that ache was not something they ever had to deal with. This led Jeonghan into confusion, not understanding the effect you were having on him, though his desire caused him to ignore his confusion, instead continuing to palm himself as he followed your own rhythm.

After finding his high with you, he sat in the most satisfying post-orgasm glow he had ever felt. He had never experienced such a satisfying release, which made him become even more infatuated with you at the time.

This was the last time he had ever allowed himself to watch you as you got off, having felt like he was breaking a rule by doing so. Which he technically was, as angels were advised against intruding their humans' privacies to the extent in which Jeonghan had done.

And now the curiosity kept on itching at him. He wanted, no, needed to know what came after that, what such a carnal act would be like when done with someone else. In his time on Earth with you, he had already experienced arousal a few times. Waking up next to you was not something that really helped matters in that area, as he would be reminded of your beauty as you touched yourself every single morning you woke up pressed up against him.

You hadn't masturbated during his stay on Earth, or at least not as far as he knew. Jeonghan wondered if you felt as needy as he did, waking up tangled up together.

Then one day an answer to his question came along.

He had been watching you all morning, noting how pent up and easily alarmed you seemed. You had jumped back when he lightly nudged you in the kitchen while making breakfast, goosebumps forming on your skin. You had also looked away with a blush when he came out of the shower, only a towel hanging from his body. Even when he played with your hair as he usually did, you had shivered at his touch, avoiding his eyes.

All signs led to sensitivity. The same sensitivity he had felt any time he stared at you for a little too long, eyes shifting to the breasts he had once seen nude, or the lips that had released those pretty sounds that still played on repeat in his head.

So he went on a whim and threw all cares to the side, knowing that what he was about to do probably broke a thousand rules back in Heaven.

"Will you have sex with me?"

He couldn't blame you in your reaction, dropping the plastic bottle you'd been holding and having some of the liquid spill to the floor.

"What?!"

Getting up from his seat at the kitchen table, he walked over to where you were leaning against the counter, standing in front of you as he responded.

"You said you were running out of human activities to show me. You haven't shown me this," he said quite matter of factly.

"Y-yeah, but-"

"I see the way you look at me. You want me. And you know I want you," he lifted a hand to run a lone finger on your cheek, "don't you?"

"I ... I know you like me, Jeonghan, but you're my guardian angel, we can't. What if ..."

Moving his finger over to your lips, he shushed you.

"I'm in love with you. I know it may be far too soon for a human, but I've loved you since the moment Seungkwan assigned me to you."

"Who- who's Seungkwan?"

He chuckled, recalling that he hadn't told you too much about Heaven so far.

"He's my friend back in Heaven. I'll tell you more about him someday, okay, pretty?", his hand left your lips in favor of caressing your cheek, holding its round form against his palm as his thumb rubbed softly at it.

"Don't you wanna go back to your friends? What about when you have to leave me? What ... What will I do if I start feeling the same for you?", you asked sadly.

"I'll see them again, baby, don't worry. And I'll never leave you," he got closer, wrapping his arms around your waist as he leaned closer to you.

"But, Jeongha-"

"Shhh," this time it was his lips shushing you rather than his finger, "It's okay. You don't have to worry about anything. Just ... Show me. Teach me, yeah, angel?"

Closing the gap, he kissed you, soft and angelic as he did so.

You fell into the kiss quite quickly, using your own hands to play with his hair as your lips touched.

Jeonghan had never kissed anyone before. He could've at some point or another, but he had just never felt anything for any other angel before. The first time he ever experienced such feelings had been as he watched you through that sphere, thinking you the prettiest soul in all of existence.

He had thought of kissing you many times, but the actual act was better than any imagination he could conjure. You weren't shy in your desire for him, quickly taking control as your expert lips danced against his own. While he started off shy, he attempted to match your pace and expertise, licking at your tongue in the same way you did his own. Anything you did that got his eyes rolling back, he did in return, wanting you to experience the same sensations you were giving him.

"Hannie ...", you pulled away with a struggle as Jeonghan's lips attempted to follow your own, "Let me ... Let me take you to bed," you held onto his hand without waiting for a response, walking him to the room you'd been sharing these past months.

Jeonghan was surprised at whatever had taken over you after your kiss as you pushed him onto your bed upon walking into your room. He had no complaints, though, allowing himself to be maleable to everything you might to do him.

His desire took full control of his body as it worked against him, hips canting up towards your own with no finesse whatsoever, hands feeling up every inch of your body in an animalistic manner. For once in his life, Jeonghan was imperfect in his actions.

This proved to be no issue for you, though, as you moaned all the louder at his sheer desperation for you.

After making out for a good while, you disconnected once more, hands on his shoulders as you hovered over him.

"What do you wanna know, Hannie? What should I teach you?", you asked against his lips.

Without a response, his hips continued grinding up against your own, his hands aiding him as he pushed your hips down towards his crotch. He was fully out of it, his body taking a mind of its own. It was a bit embarrassing how clearly desperate he felt.

"Can I- Fuck, can I fuck you? I'll know what to do, I promise. Just wanna take care of you," he whispered back. And he was sure of it. He knew his body would show him what to do; how to take care of you as he discovered the pleasure your bodies could bring.

"Yes, Hannie. Anything you want."

So he flipped you over, laying you down beneath him as his hands slipped under your pajama top, feeling the soft skin underneath. Asking for permission before removing it, his hands lifted it up and threw it to the side, eyes never leaving your torso as you revealed yourself to him. He repeated this process with your sleeping shorts, leaving you fully nude apart from a pretty pair of white panties you were donning.

Just as expected, you were the prettiest sight he had ever beheld. Despite being an angel himself, he truly thought you to be the most angelic thing he would ever get to hold in his arms.

His hands touched and caressed every inch of bare skin, drawing goosebumps across every part of you he made contact with. Your soft gasps as he toyed with your nipples had him reeling. The pretty whines you let out when he wrapped his lips around your nipples and kitten licked at them sent him on a frenzy.

The more he touched, the crazier he felt. His hips had begun grinding down against your own the moment he got you under him, leading to a constant stream of pleasure as he explored your body with his hands and lips.

"You're the prettiest thing I've ever seen ..." he mumbled while his lips made their way up from your tits to your neck, nibbling at your skin every so often, "Came all the way from Heaven just for you, my pretty angel."

He could tell you were growing more and more desperate by the second, something which he understood. Unsure of how much longer he could take without feeling your bare skin against his own, he undressed himself and discarded your panties, groaning at the slickness that connected your panties to your cunt. Hovering over you once again, he couldn't help but feel sheepish at the way your eyes scanned every inch of his bare skin, practically salivating at the sight of him.

Your hands went up to toy with him, feeling him up in a similar fashion as he had done to you. His nipples were tweaked with, causing a high-pitched whine to leave him. Then your hands went to his aching cock, which was the final blow he needed before thoroughly losing his mind.

As much as he wanted to be the one in charge and the one to take care of you, you had him at the palm of your hand the moment you touched him.

"A-angel," he gasped as you began playing with his cock.

"Hannie ... Let me take care of you? I'll teach you everything, just ... Fuck, you're so pretty, Hannie. Such a pretty angel," you repositioned the two of you as you said this, hypnotizing him into following your directions as you toyed with him.

Once again, you were above him, leaning down for one last wet kiss before crawling your way down his body, resting on your knees before him.

Kissing up and down his thighs, you mumbled praises at him all throughout. Jeonghan felt weightless under you, like he was floating as you shamelessly expressed your lust for him. He truly thought he felt the most extreme ends of pleasure while you kissed and licked and sucked at his thighs, but he was fully unprepared for the moment your lips arrived to his cock.

Fuck.

In all his years in Heaven, he had never felt such bliss. Your warm lips wrapped around his cock as you took him deeper and deeper, bobbing your head as you suckled at him. His eyes rolled back and his back arched against the bed, whining endlessly at the feeling.

You worshiped him like a god, making him feel like the most powerful entity to ever exist. He was reaching heights he didn't know possible. How had he lived his entire life without ever feeling such lust? Specially when said lust was being rewarded by the prettiest thing he had ever seen.

"Angel ...", be breathed out, fingers wrapping around your hair, "Please .."

You gave him a nod in confirmation, not needing a verbal warning before he started grinding his hips against your mouth. He was mindful of the pace, allowing his body take control as he tried to reach his high.

Jeonghan kept at it for a while, slowly grinding his cock into the warm hole that your mouth offered him. He was entirely gone, not even aware of how desperate his movements were beginning to become.

"Are you gonna cum, Hannie?" you mumbled as you disconnected from him to catch some air, continuing your ministrations in the form of licking at the veins on the side of his cock.

He nodded in confirmation, eyes furrowed and unable to speak anything that wasn't a high pitched whine, "P-please, I ... Fuck, oh fuck- Yes! Keep- Fuck!"

Just as he attempted to respond to you, you put him back in your mouth without warning, suctioning as you hollowed your mouth and went as deep as you possibly could. Had he had time to process the act a bit better, he would've claimed you a minx for making him lose his mind so suddenly, but his pleasure completely overtook every other though.

Jeonghan whined and writhed on the bed, back arching into the perfect slope as his high reached its crescendo.

You only gave him a few seconds to recover before pulling him out of your mouth with a sweet kiss to weeping his tip, climbing up his body to fondle his tongue with yours. Despite his exhaustion and lack of breath, he couldn't deny any intimacy from you, so he kissed you with all he had. He kissed you with all the passion left in him, silently thanking you for the otherworldly pleasure you had given him.

"Need to fuck you," he whimpered against your lips. He could feel your dripping cunt lying directly atop his cock, mixing both your juices on the surface of his stomach.

You disconnected from him with a gasp, looking down and seeing his cock already hard again.

"You're already hard?", you looked puzzled as you asked.

"Yeah," he said as if it were the most obvious thing, "You literally made me discover the concept of lust, of course I'm hard."

You stuttered shyly at his statement, making him chuckle before you continued, "Do you not need time to recover? I-"

"Baby, I'm an angel. I don't need anything but your cunt wrapped around me," he spoke in words likely never spoken by an angel before.

Blushing again, you grumbled at him to shut up and did just so by kissing him again.

Jeonghan couldn't imagine not wanting you time and time again – even if he were a human. He was entirely certain that any man would defy human nature to harden for you over and over just to feel the pleasure your pretty body could give.

Luckily he didn't have to worry about that as you ground your bare cunt against his cock, reaching an angle that had you crying against his lips and him writhing under you, hands squeezing every curve he could reach.

"Gonna sit on you, okay, angel?", you whispered against his lips, licking at them as you pulled away.

You got up, positioning his cock against your cunt. His anticipation was at an all time high, entirely too desperate to feel the warm home that laid between your legs. But of course, before he could find his way home, you rubbed his tip against your cunt, making his head throw back in frustration.

His hands took action on their own, slapping your own away and positioning yourself so that you would finally sink down on him, giving him access to the greatest heaven of all.

There weren't enough words for Jeonghan to understand the myriad of sensations cruising through his body. His nerve endings were on fire, while his body writhed and arched uncontrollably. His body seemed to have a mind of its own, holding you against him as he canted his hips upwards at the most pleasurable rhythm his body could find.

The beautiful sight above him did not help matters.

Through your time together, Jeonghan had seen you in every state possible, having spent every waking moment by your side. Yet nothing could compare to you now. Your sweaty skin, shinning under the bedroom light as your tits bounced up and down. Your expression revealed one of utmost pleasure, eyebrows furrowed and eyes almost crossed in ecstasy. Jeonghan couldn't look away, despite how harsh of an effect your beautiful form had on him.

Jeonghan knew sex between angels was a thing. He knew it differed from human customs in many ways, yet he had never partaken in it. Not once had he ever felt lust or excitement at the thought of another angel. You had been the one to wake him up to this brand new realm of pleasure. You were the one bringing him to Nirvana with every touch.

And every sound too.

"H-Hannie ... So good, fuck. L-love your cock. It's so pretty 'n so fucking good ... It's all for me, right. Right, Hannie?", you breathed out between breaths of exhilaration, "My pretty cock, just for me."

He was yours. His existence orbited around you. Heart, body, mind, it was all for you.

Fuck, how could he ever go back to Heaven now?

There was no time to think about such things now; no time for any rational thinking as your hands came down to pull at his nipples, whimpering to him that your high was on the way, and that you needed him to get there with you.

"With you ... I'm gonna cum, just- fuck. Kiss me. Please ... Need you to kiss me-"

Moments later and his lips were trapped between yours, relishing on the feeling of your tongue dancing with his own. Your bodies were in perfect coordination, with the both of you receiving nothing but never ending pleasure.

Your high found you first, triggering his own as his hips went on a frenzy against yours, attempting to milk out every second of his orgasm.

The aftermath was two limp bodies lying against each other, eventually finding a way to cuddle and caress the other with all the love your souls allowed you to give.

Jeonghan laid there, the most content he had ever been. Your time together had proved to be the happiest of his life, but nothing compared to having such an intimate connection with the girl he knew was the love of his life – this one and the next.

Just as Jeonghan was about to verbally voice his feelings for you as he had done time and time again since meeting you, you interrupted him with your own confession.

"I love you," you said as you nuzzled yourself against his chest, "Please never leave me."

Your voice sounded sad, making Jeonghan frown before masking his worry with a smile, choosing instead to bask in your reciprocation of his feelings.

"I can never leave. I love you too much."

One more month passed like this, with nothing but bliss between you and Jeonghan.

By now, Jeonghan was an integral part of your life. Not only was he now close with all your friends, but he had been promoted to the role of your boyfriend, sticking his tongue out at Mingyu any time he'd joke about you replacing him.

The two of you slept together regularly, finessing the art of your physical love to an extent Jeonghan was sure was incomparable.

It had been a total of four months by now, and Jeonghan was nothing less than enamored with his current life. He missed his friends dearly, wishing he had some way to communicate all his happiness to them, maybe hear about their own happy happenings in Heaven. But this was a sadness he needed to push aside in favor of enjoying the unknown time he had left with you.

His doubts about Heaven did not last long, however.

One sleepless night, Jeonghan was distracted by a higher power calling to him. He was surprised at the feeling of sleeplessness, seeing as he did not need sleep as an angel. This was new.

Pushing such thoughts aside, Jeonghan followed the voice in his head, telling him to meet them in the living room. As carefully as he could, he detangled himself from you, heading to the living room in curiosity.

That's where his emotions truly took over.

Standing in your living room was none other than a beautiful angel donning the classic white gown – it was Boo Seungkwan, Jeonghan's best friend and confidant.

Without a single word, the friends held ran to each other, holding one another in a tight embrace. Their didn't need to verbalize how much they'd need each other, the hug said it all.

"Kwan, what are you doing here?", Jeonghan chuckled incredulously.

"The angel council is pissed at you man," he started, "You slept with your human, really? No, wait. You've been sleeping with your human!," he whisper-shouted, well aware that said human was in the other room sleeping.

There was no use in fabricating some type of ruse. Jeonghan was proud and honest about his feelings as he explained the happenings of the past few months, letting Seungkwan in on how hard and fast he had fallen for you, and how you had done so in return.

Surprisingly to Jeonghan, Seungkwan's reaction wasn't to reprimand him. Rather, he chuckled amusedly before responding.

"You know, we all expected it. We had a bet going to see how long it took you to officially get together."

"Y-you've been watching us?!"

"Hey! You're practically human now. Someone had to be watching over you. Not my fault Jihoon thought me the man for the job."

Jeonghan grumbled despite feeling glad at knowing his friend had had his back this whole time, never truly leaving him to be on his own.

"I'm here with news," the tone shifted, "I ... The council has given you an option."

Seungkwan paused for a moment before continuing.

"As the time passes away from Heaven, angels begin to lose their powers. They eventually regress to the state of humans," he explained, taking a breath, "If you ... If you choose to stay, you will become fully human within a year, and then you will age accordingly."

"I- I get to choose? That's a thing?"

"You're not the only fallen angel, Jeonghan," Seungkwan explained, "Jihoon was one once too."

"He ..? What?"

"The reason he never exiled you was because he wanted you to find your way here on your own. Like he once did. He, like you, fell in love with his human and descended. All angels have that option, they just need to want it. Most angels find happiness in Heaven alone, like me. But others need to live through all cycles of life to find their own bliss. I'm happy that you found your own."

Seungkwan chuckled at Jeonghan's wordlessness, a sight he probably had never seen before.

"The council sent me here to give you an ultimatum. You've blended here well. They want the choice to be yours."

Jeonghan couldn't believe his friend. He could stay and live out his life as human? With you? But then he remembered something.

"Wait. What about ... Will I ever see you guys again?"

Once again, Seungkwan chuckled at this.

"As long as you behave and live out your life dutifully, you'll end up in Heaven once more. This time with your human by your side."

That sounded like an awfully long time without seeing his friends. But it also meant a lifetime with you, followed by another one.

"Don't worry. I know you've gotten used to Earth, but time in Heaven passes so much quicker. In my time, you've only been gone for a week. I'll see you in a few months," Kwan assured his friend.

Even if he didn't express it while in Heaven, Jeonghan would miss all the people he loved. He was happy to know his absence wouldn't be felt, knowing that you'd also help him fill the hole he'd feel at missing his friends. Looking forward to reuniting with them would also help him not miss them too much.

Seungkwan watched him think with a smile, "I take it you've made your choice?"

He hesitated for a moment, but ultimately nodded, "Yeah," he breathed out, "I'll stay."

Seungkwan nodded back, "I'm happy for you, Han. I'll see you soon."

With one last hug signifying goodbye, Seungkwan made his exit, leaving his friend behind to his choice.

Feeling a bit solemn, Jeonghan made his way back to your room, tangling himself up in your sheets once more as he seeked your comfort.

His shuffling woke you up, making you flip to face him and inquire if anything was wrong. Your arms wrapped around his form sleepily, cuddling further into him.

"I'll stay," Jeonghan said, breaking the silence.

"Hmm?", you looked to him in confusion.

"The council got back to me. I can stay," he said with a smile in his voice.

There was immediate worry in your eyes, surprising Jeonghan, "Jeonghan, I- I know I wanted you to stay, but you can't. What about your friends? Your life?"

He chuckled silently, bringing his hand up to caress your cheek as he loved to do, "I'll see them again, angel, don't worry", he explained, "and next time I'll bring you along with me."

He decided to save the explanation for another time, currently too happy to function at the thought of the long life that awaited him. The thought of reuniting with his friends with you by his side also made its way into his mind, making his chest tighten with contentment.

a/n: in my little headcanon y/n, jeonghan and all their friends live long and fulfilling lives and end up in heaven with the rest of angel-svt<3

to read short 2.2k word continuation you can go join my monthly tier on kofi or patreon!

content: established relationship, goes back and forth between jh's pov and reader's pov, jh wakes her up for sex, penetrative sex, oral (f receiving), body worship, depraved!jeonghan, etc.

wc: 486 (teaser); 2291 (full drabble)

sneak peak:

After just a few more months of staying on Earth, Jeonghan had finally fully lost his angel powers, and with them, his essence as an angel also went away.

For any other angel, this would've been bad news, but Jeonghan was excited for this change. Okay, maybe he had been a little anxious about it, but after constant reassurance from Seungkwan and the council that he would get to come back to Heaven once he fulfilled his human life, he felt quite at ease. As one last goodbye, he had been allowed one last visit to Heaven, which he spent raving about you to all his friends. Apparently his months-long absence had only been a mere week in Heaven. This also reassured Jeonghan, now knowing that his friends wouldn't miss him too much while he was busy growing old with you.

And you were the best part of it all.

Your day to day remained quite similar. The two of you were a well established couple by now, which to Jeonghan meant that this was only the beginning of eternity with you.

However, even after being on Earth for quite a while, he was barely beginning to truly understand what being a human was like. He could now feel every human emotion to its fullest extent. He could feel pain, sorrow, anxiety. But, he could also feel all the positive emotions – happiness, excitement, and his favorite, horniness.

You had been his awakening to lust back when he first met you, but now emotions felt all the more intense. Without his angel powers, he felt everything to the extent every human would. He believed that his previous lust for you was the most invigorating it could possibly get, but he was swiftly proven wrong when his angel essence fully left him.

Jeonghan's discovery of lust (and sex in general) gave him the libido of a perverted man.

Every morning, you'd wake up with a huge boner pressed up against you. Not only that, but Jeonghan would purposely grind against you like a dog in heat, far too horny to hold back.

When Jeonghan began to feel these heightened human emotions, the two of you had agreed that it'd be okay if Jeonghan woke you up to take care of him. The sex with the angel was more than ethereal, so you saw no downside to it. However, you hadn't expected just how horny Jeonghan would be once his human form fully took over. You'd fuck every day, sometimes even twice a day.

Even now, after having fallen asleep immediately after riding Jeonghan to completion, the first thing you felt upon waking up was a hardness against your ass, bumping against you with a pathetic desperation.

You considered pretending to still be asleep, but ultimately decided that it'd be more fun to mess with Jeonghan a little. He was always so pretty when he got desperate for you, so what could really be the harm in it?

...

find the 18+ continuation on kofi or patreon!

if you have trouble finding it on there, just let me know!!<3

[maple-the-awesome]

Friend or Foe || Part 1/3

Part 2 || Part 3

Pairings: Four, Hyrule, Legend x GN Reader

Overview: Link visits an alternate world without its hero and, more importantly, a version of you without your Link. Unfortunately, it seems even the smallest of details can lead to disastrous results. In spirt of October and Halloween, I've decided to do a little evil prompt because none of the Links have enough emotional damage yet😈

Zelda Masterlist 💙Fandom Masterlist

Four has known you since childhood, both of your families having been good friends for generations. You've always been peas in a pot together with a level of closeness that results in a lot of ‘old married couple’ jokes. You're usually the first person Four returns to after his adventures, never sparing a single detail as he knows he can trust you with his life if it were to come down to it which makes this situation so perplexing...

This you is nothing like his dear friend back home. You don't have that same sweet smile that makes his heart do loops of delight, rather a wicked grin that makes his stomach turn in disgust. When he heard murmurs about an evil magic-wielder terrorizing this world, it would've been his last guess that such a person could look exactly like you - same face, same name, same everything!

"What an interesting assortment of weapons, especially this one!" Four bites back a snarl when this cursed version of you holds the Four Sword high into the sky with a teasing smirk, "It's practically dripping with magic. Where did you get it? ...Still not going to answer me? Oh, but you were so talkative earlier - what, with all your meaningless questions and desperate begging.”

Trapped behind cold iron bars, all Four can do is watch helplessly as you search through the rest of the items you’ve stolen from him, making little comments here and there which he refuses to acknowledge (he’s learned from Vaati that responses are only encouragement). The others should be here to rescue him soon anyway. In the meantime, he’s trying to make sense of this whole situation as he has been since you first caught him.

'This just can't be our flower. I refuse to believe it. They'd never be so cruel to us like this! They're our friend!' 

'Of course they aren’t, you idiot! There's no way they'd be evil at all! This scum is an imposter and the second we get out of this prison we'll teach them a lesson about why they shouldn’t dare tarnish an angel's name like -!'

'- Calm down. We're in a different version of Hyrule which means this is more than likely this kingdom’s version of -'

'- Hogwash! Don’t you dare finish that sentence! They'd never act like this even in a different world!'

'I don’t want to believe it either, however the fact of the matter is it isn’t impossible. Think about it. Everything about this world is similar to our own excluding our existence. There is no hero meaning we weren’t ever there to protect them. Did you think about that?'

'...No...'

'That's so sad!'

Four must agree with his arguing thoughts. Although this you isn't the one he has waiting for him back home, he can't help feeling some pity towards you, refusing to believe you could simply be born evil. Something led you down this path you currently trek, and maybe this world isn't necessarily within his range of responsibility, however he still feels a bit guilty for not being able to help any version of you, here or there.

Hyrule met you shortly after meeting Zelda which was natural considering you were the eldest child of the crown. He must admit he's unfortunately never gotten the chance to know you too well, seeing as you have so many responsibilities that keep you busy while he, himself, is often sidetracked venturing through a broken world, yet nevertheless, he does know you to be a kind and generous leader - someone he’s always admired very deeply which is why he’s having so much trouble accepting you could ever be like this…

This kingdom has a sort of sadness that flows throughout the dusty sky and crumbled grass. Legend mentioned something about visiting a kingdom like it before, although Hyrule wonders now if all aspects of the Vet's experiences would match. He would ask, however such a question wouldn't be appropriate at the moment given as both heroes have been brought to their knees, spears held close to their heads to keep them submissive (not that it gets rid of Legend's scowl).

When Hyrule first laid eyes on you while being forced him to take a knee in front of your throne, he had been relieved, so certain that you'd immediately wave off your hostile guards and take note of the obvious misunderstanding that has occurred, after all this traveler is a dear friend of yours who should be treated as such. Alas, Hyrule shivers instead, frozen under your cold gaze as you glare down upon Legend and him.

"These are the heroes you found? I thought they'd be taller - more a threat than little mice," You sigh boredly with your head rested against your hand, although you do take a second longer to admire Hyrule, smirking at the boy who unlike his feisty friend looks absolutely petrified to be in your presences. 

Pushing yourself off your throne, you approach the poor boy and kneel before him. Despite his attempt to flinch away, you still succeed in running your hand against his cheek, "...Oh, but you're a cutie, aren't you? A rare gem in a world so broken."

At least you're aware of the current status of this kingdom. Hyrule would like to think that with some bitterness in mind, however he actually manages to feel sympathetic while watching you wander back to your throne, not missing that frown upon your face. 

It’s then that he’s reminded of a story his friends and him were told upon arrival here - that this world’s hero had died tragically many years ago. There’s no evidence that this world’s current state is because of you which means you could’ve simply inherited a cursed throne and allowed your own heart to hardened under the depressing circumstances, a fate Hyrule fears might have easily occurred to his own version of you as well if not for the support you had received from your siblings and himself. If only you weren’t alone in this world. Maybe then you could have become a beloved queen here, too.

Legend denies that he ever knew you; it hurts too much to accept otherwise. For the short time that he had known you, you had been a light in his life, always so sweet and magical in a way that could lift even the darkest of thoughts. There's a side of him who wishes every night that he'll be blessed with a dream about you because much to his dismay, that's his only way of seeing you again. He'd give anything to meet you in person once more even if for just a second, but not like this...

He's trying hard to keep the scowl on his face - trying to act unintimated, trying to act annoyed - despite how much his heart is aching deep down. He can feel his eyes burning. He can taste iron as he bites down upon his lip, praying to Hylia he'll wake up any moment now.

Promptly after arriving in this Hyrule, the Chain had received several warnings from locals about a ‘demon’ which lurks in the night. They claim that the creature only ever appears in the shadows, preying upon weak minds and cursing them with cruel nightmares. 

Legend, of course, dismissed it all as a story meant to scare children, even going as far as to give Warrior a hard time for being jumpy while the group was setting up camp in a forest right outside of town. Unlike some of the others, Legend doesn’t care if the wind whispers or how certain trees around them look like faces, and he was actually sleeping quite well amongst it all until getting up to go to the bathroom. 

Walking back into camp, he had been alarmed to notice a cloaked figure hovering right above Wild, their hand outstretched towards his head as the Champion shifted and whimpered in his sleep. Everyone else appeared to already be in similar states of distress, even Time’s stone expression crinkled in pain.

"HEY! GET AWAY FROM THEM!" Legend was quick to shout, catching the monster's attention before drawing his sword which he had thankfully taken with him earlier. He planned on fighting off the beast then hopefully waking the others from their nightmares, yet instead he found himself trapped in one of his own when the cloaked figure removed their hood.

Now he can't move, frozen in terror as he tries desperately to shake the feeling...No...No, it can't be you. This is a trick - an illusion the monster has created to mess with him. You would never stain your beautiful face with such a wicked smile. You'd never hurt anything or anyone the way this thing already has!

Regardless of his doubt, Legend can only shake as you approach a lot faster than he can process, likely aided by your ability to effortlessly float his way. Whether due to a spell of yours or a result of his own weak will, he doesn't jerk away like he wants to when you run a hand over his cheek, cooing in a mocking way, "Aw, get a lot of nightmares, do you honey?"

"N-No. Not at all," He manages, at last finding the strength to swing your way which is an action helped by closing his eyes. If he can't see your face, he won't have to battle his concern over hurting you; he can better convince himself that you aren't truly here as you've never been.

"Liar," You easily dodge him, using merely two fingers to grab his sword midair. Keeping it in place, you lean forward, your breath making his legs wobble as the tears finally begin to prick in the corners of his eyes, "I can read your thoughts - see your fears…Oh, but this is far worse than any nightmare you've had, isn't it, my dear? Far worse than any I could bestow upon you with my magic. Poor thing. You miss them terribly, don't you? If that's the case, then you shouldn’t avoid me so. Soak it up. Remember what I look like. After all, it's the last chance you'll ever get to reach out and touch me."

[utilitycaster]

Hello there!! I have just this week finally caught up with campaign 3 after starting it very very late as a self admitted Mighty Nein girly the most noticeable difference to me was how the Bells Hells don't really feel as connected to Marquet as the Might Nein did to Wildemount.

You could not have created a Fjord without the Menagerie Coast and you could not have made a Caleb without the Empire or a Jester without Nicodranas as a whole, but Bells Hells kinda feel to my brain like they could've been plucked away and put anywhere and it would still fit, which was a little bit of a personal disappointment.

Now that I'm interacting with fandom tho I saw that you are very very knowledgeable about lore and out of campaign content and such so I wanted to ask if you know of any supplements or anything similar that could allow me to learn a little more of Marquet away from the Hells cause I was fascinated by what you have been seeing.

Hi anon! Thank you! Here's a few resources for more on Marquet:

The biggest one is Call of the Netherdeep, which is specific to Ank'Harel. It's still a useful portrait of a major city (and addresses many of the Orientalism issues from C1), and a lot of the Netherdeep creators also worked on Marquet more generally for the campaign.

The Explorer's Guide to Wildemount and Tal'Dorei Campaign Setting Reborn don't have much, but check them out for a very high level overview if you haven't already.

Exquisite Exandria is obviously limited in what it shares since it is, ultimately, a cookbook, but honestly it's just a good cookbook anyway so it's worth checking out.

The Re-Slayer's Take podcast is set in Issylra, but Heera is Marquesian and played by Jasmine Bhullar (who was also a designer/consultant for Marquet and is Punjabi and Sikh). There's not a ton yet, but there's been some small hints. (Also it's just a great podcast, all the characters are fantastic, and it's not a huge time commitment).

Wiki plug! You should always check citations, but this will serve as a catch-all for information that came out via tweets from Matt and the team of worldbuilders (eg: the Filipino origins of Bassuras's name)

Anyone else have recs?

[mecachrome]

probably very out of context, but how do you get into the nhl fandom? before i got interested in f1 i was looking for what sport to watch (other than football) and i wanted to go there because a few years ago it became a popular topic in m/m romance books (which i read a lot at the time, now i mostly read fics xd) and i found… nothing, i mean, on twt there didn't seem to be a community, i didn't see people interacting about the players, and there weren't high numbers in the posts either, i found a bit of the same thing here on tumblr and other apps, probably it's more popular on tiktok which is what is used the most? the thing is, in the end i couldn't get interested because i didn't understand anything and i ended up watching formula 1 thanks to the noise made by the stans of other fandoms that migrated there lmao

LOL anon a lot of the things you mention here that you considered to be barriers of entry are honestly a great overview of why user-restriction is more commonly practiced in the hockey archives...!

anyway i actually did some sports fandom analysis last year and i really think a large part of it is >nhl fandom is much more accessible to people in na and >football fandom is a lot more accessible to people in europe... for me personally, i've spent Most of my life in places with local hockey teams + part of my family is from a classic market so getting into hockey as a sport was like a pretty natural thing, and i loooveee going to hockey games and actually watching the sport—plus it's way cheaper, if you're in a shitty market with a shitty team you can go to one game and see the players all up close during warmies for like $20 vs. $1283749492347 to go to an f1 race. that being said though, there are definitely people from all over the world who are into the nhl and i do think it's really easy to get into! i've actually seen a lot of f1 fans migrate to hockey recently and i'd argue that it's a lot more public/mimics f1 fandom culture on twitter now (for better or worse haha) if you ever want to get back into it... i'd also say that there's lots of fic to read as well, but admittedly if you were only trying to consume hockey during the height of its like booktok surge, it probably wasn't the same landscape i was working with when i first started reading hockey fic 11 years ago. the thing is that BACK_IN_THE_DAY, hockey WAS the top-producing sports fandom on ao3, so it was super easy to invest in current narratives without feeling like you were part of some tiny grassroots community (ok exaggerated on my part but i'll get to this in a bit lol)... honestly if you just sort by kudos on ao3 while logged in there's plenty of old classics that are fun to read even if you don't understand everything! see an old graph i made below:

anyway 1) i truly think hockey is the best sport ever like as an actual sport in terms of Sportish Entertainment (forgetting the rpf for a second) and you can learn it pretty easily just by watching with a good commentator! hockey isn't like f1 where you watch a race with everyone on the grid, so that's why as an overall fandom it's more quiet and it helps to pick One (1) team you're interested in getting into and just watching their games and not worrying about the rest of the league for the moment.

for ex i'm primarily a dallas stars fan, and my main hockey blog 39oa is entirely meant for them, and they're the only team i watch All 82 Games For. i also have montembeault for other teams i like (mainly habs/nux) but i don't really update it that much anymore...

2) hockey rpf has definitely had phases with strong formative ships and the problem with it currently is that there's kind of a dearth of like active, marketable material to work with... at its peak and during the early ao3 days there was sidgeno, ship i won't name, bennguin (in some ways we still have 2 of these but it's not like at the same level of course), nickovi, i mean i could go on... tragic kings yaoi... and then the 2015 draft class revitalized things majorly (this is when i got into hockey rpf properly lol i peddled mcstromarner when they were still in juniors so hard... not many people know this) and a lot of rpf for the following years depended on them, and then of course we had the Summer of tknp which is what REALLY got things going again..... but that ship is functionally over and there's also a really prominent rivalry ship that has much less pull now that they're not actually on rival teams lol and then another ship that had rookie and_they_were_roommates narratives got separated so now it's like WHAT IS THERE TO SHIP!!! and i mean hockey is SO spread out truly, i actually have another old stats post about degrees of separation in hockey shipping but anyway... nowadays there is actually a Hawt New yaoi ship that kind of models jdtz (rookie rommates) that many people are into! so that's a fun place to start if you want to try somewhere trendy. i'm 100% sure if you sought out sharks fans on twitter in like a fandomy environment you could do so pretty easily...

3) i think part of it as you said is that hockey is a much smaller community, especially when you're interacting in the subfandoms for each individual team. some teams have HUGE markets on an IRL fandom level (canadian teams like toronto and montreal for example), but my team's being from dallas where the primary sport is american football means it has an absolutely tragic amount of news coverage and no one really cares about them much. the #southernbias in hockey is so strong 💔 and then on top of that even teams with big irl fandoms might not really have the equivalent attention on tumblr because it also depends on whether they have compelling yaoi to keep the fujos interested......... but to ME that's also beautiful because even if your team's fandom is just 10 people liveblogging and making gifsets with 40 notes, it's a special sense of community and the wank/drama levels are like insanely lower, and there's more of a sense of We're in this watching sports together than like We're all going to be really mad at everything and argue about team orders all day even though the race ended 5 months ago 🥲 yes the fic outputs will be much slower than you might like but that's what i mean by the grassroots feel haha like there's really a sense of support for the fandom creativity!!! f1 can kind of feel lonely sometimes because there's so many people but they're all silent lurkers/likers :'(

also playoffs hockey will change your life. so you gotta stick around until april!!!!!!!! that's all i've got...

[arminsumi]

let’s ignore how i’m flooding your inbox with requests 😭😭

buttttt, childhood bestie armin who’s watching you get ready to marry someone else, even though he’s always had a crush on you and you’ve secretly always had a crush on him even now, when you’re suppose to marry someone else. and you & armin finally confess your feelings for each other either before the wedding or when they say “does anyone object�� or whatever is said 😭

˗ˏˋ꒰ 🍒 ꒱ Be mine instead

Armin x fem!reader ♪

Overview; Armin makes a very late confession and last-minute objection at your wedding

Content; fluff, a little angst

Warnings; a little infidelity, kissing, cheesy and kinda romcom-y 🙈

Note; this request... THIS REQUEST!! 💕you needn't apologize, i'm screaming over this idea i hope u like what i made out of it

He knows you're nervous; it's written all over your face, it's clear in the way you obsessively straighten out your white bridal gown over and over again.

No one else has analyzed your pretty face as much as he has; he knows the meaning behind your every subtle expression. the subtle pinching of your brows when you look in the mirror at your reflection, the curling of your lips, the creasing of your eyes.

what a beautiful bride...

He hid his regret and sadness so poorly. Even someone as oblivious as you could see the prominent sad corners of his eyes becoming more weighted as he admired your gown.

"You're beautiful..." he said, something caught in his throat.

"I'm so nervous, I can't think." you responded anxiously, straightening out your gown again. "I feel strange... I don't know. Isn't it strange? It feels like just yesterday Eren was introducing you to me, and now you're here watching me get married. Where did all that time go?"

Armin chuckled softly and shrugged. "Time flies when you're having fun." he said, fully aware how cliché his line was. "And I'm glad we had a lot of fun while we could."

"Oh Armin, don't put it like that! You make it sound like once I get married, we won't be able to have fun together anymore."

"Sorry... I know we'll still have fun, but..." he trailed off, looking away from you. "But we won't have the same closeness as we do now. I mean, the fact of the matter is, you're going to be married. we can't be the... slightly crazy best friends who go ghost hunting in abandoned buildings... or who run down the beach pretending to be newly weds... remember that? When we were eighteen and made that spontaneous road trip?"

Armin began rambling, rubbing the back of his neck, choking up. There was clearly a lot of emotional turmoil in his chest, you could hear it in his voice and in the words he chose and the topics he brought up.

If you leave armin to ramble, he very quickly begins reminiscing on the past.

"I remember having a big, big crush on you in high school." he admitted.

"Oh really?" you looked at him curiously, the mood tinged with sadness.

"Yeah, I had a crush on you for so long, too. Remember when I asked you over to help me with learning how to speak English?" he asked, looking at you, and you hummed with a nod in reply. "Well" he continued, "Really, at that point, I wasn't struggling anymore to articulate myself, I just wanted an excuse to invite you over to my dorm more often."

"I had a suspicion!" you laughed in response to what he had just told you, "You know, because sometimes you'd say something very clearly like a native speaker when we were around friends, but then when I came over to help teach you, it felt like your English level mysteriously lowered."

"Yeah..." Armin chuckled, fixing his eyes at his shoes. They were polished to perfection.

Standing there in his neat suit, his mind raced. His heart pounded. there were unsaid things between you and him. That was clear to both of you for a long time.

"I think I fell a little bit in love."

You looked at him. Why, you asked yourself in the far back of your mind, oh why did he only get around to admitting to this now?

"I did as well." you said.

He looked at you and gave you a sad, faltering smile.

It was silent. Neither of you talked. But your emotions weren't silent at all; you could feel the amorous truths floating in the air between you and armin.

"I still love you." he said stupidly. Dumbly. Ridiculously. What a true idiot, confessing at the last minute.

Now he really went ahead and said something stupid. I love you. at your wedding.

You looked at him until tears slowly pricked at the corners of your eyes. "Armin, what are you saying?"

He heaved a watery sigh. "I'm selfish," he began, speaking in that languid yet melancholic yet sensual voice that only Armin could speak in, "I should only want you to be happy, but really all I truly want is to steal you away before you exchange your vows."

"Armin!" you pinched your brows together, nearly crying. "You can't be saying this... not right now."

"I'm sorry." he mumbled, "I'm sorry... I'm just in a strange mood... this is all feels surreal."

He almost wanted to admit that he wished you weren't getting married. Hell, he almost wanted to get on his knees to beg for your hand in marriage instead.

But he didn't do such things. No, he did something far more bizarre, and pressed a deliciously fervent kiss on your lips.

His one hand pulled you in close by the back of the head, while his other hand came to hold the waist of your bridal gown, delicate fingers feeling over delicate lace and silk.

After a moment of shock from feeling your best friend's lips, you melted right into his kiss. His embrace. His whole feeling. What an engulfing feeling he always had, it's no wonder you fell for him in the first place, and no wonder why you can't fully let him go even on your wedding day.

"Armin..." you mumbled after breaking from the kiss. You were surprised by his actions, by your reciprocation – you barely hesitated to kiss him back and that made armin's heart sing.

He looked at you like he was about to ask something. His hands held yours as you kept your palms flat against his chest.

But the two of you broke away the instant you heard someone's footsteps come to the door of the dressing room. There was a knock. It was time to get things going.

Outside, people were beginning to look around and wonder where the bride was. They'd been sat for some time now, watching your fiancé searchingly crane his neck around.

Though you and armin pretended nothing happened, your ragged breaths and tingling lips told a different story.

Armin took a seat and traced his fingertips over his lips.

Your wedding day was going so fast that it spooked him. He felt like he had to do something before it was too late. It felt like you were slipping through his fingers and he didn't want that. He wanted you right there in his hands.

But you were already stood under the wedding arch in the warm afternoon light with your hands being held by your fiancé.

Armin anxiously fidgeted with the hem of his shirt.

He heard them say the line he was waiting for, "if anyone objects to this marriage, speak now or forever hold your peace."

Now, if saying i love you wasn't wild enough of a thing to do at your best friend's wedding, then standing up and yelling "I object!" certainly was.

All eyes were on him; your blond best friend that everyone in the room knew very well. To see him shoot up out of his seat like that and practically scream his objection to your marriage was absurd. Comical. Something out of a romcom.

"I object... because..." he gulped and stopped talking for a moment.

You looked at him tearfully behind your veil. "Armin...?"

Hearing you call his name... oh to hell with it, he thought.

"I object because i'm selfish!" he nearly yelled.

The guests didn't know what to make of this situation. They felt awkward, except for your true friends. They were nearly splitting from holding in their laughter.

"Armin, what are you doing?" you asked, staring at him with wide-blown eyes of surprise.

He just continued madly, "I love her, and I can love her better than you." he directed boldly at your fiancé. "and she's loved me, and still loves me."

Oh the reactions of the people sat in the rows. How beautifully comical some of their expressions were, their faces seemed to ask what did he just say??

"Y/n," Armin continued, after taking a shaky breath, "Please, I'll beg you if I have to, be mine instead."

You looked at him incredulously. What the hell were you supposed to do? In this bizarre, romcom-like situation, it was a genuine question on your mind. Truly, what were you supposed to do or say in response to your best friend asking that at your wedding?

Well the only answer was to respond in the most bizarre, romcom-like way possible.

You very dramatically threw down the flowers you were holding, they thudded to the ground with a rustle, and you grabbed a fistful of your gown before dashing down the steps and running away from the wedding arch, leaving your fiancé to stand there, befuddled and shocked.

You decided to live your truth.

And your truth was that even after meeting another lover, none proved to be a greater lover than the boy you knew like the back of your hand.

The blond. The one with the bright eyes that intimidated you when you first met him. The one who used to say awkward jokes through his braces at fifteen. The sweetheart who was there at your lonely birthday parties throughout the years. An angel who held your hand through every sharp turn in your life up until this pivotal moment, this insane decision, this wild U-turn that you made.

"Let's go." you said and gave Armin your hand.

His eyes said it all. They were glittering in disbelief.

You threw a apologetic smile back at your fiancé. "Sorry." you mumbled half-heartedly. "I hope you'll find someone who's right for you. But that person isn't me!"

[thekingofwinterblog]

What were the "High Men" of Numenorians really? A Tolkien Theory

In the two towers, Faramir gives an overview of how the Gondorians measure the different "races' of men, High men(themselves, that is to say the Edain), the men of twilight/middle men(men who were related to the Edain, but didnt go to Valinor during the migration after the war of wrath) and the men of Darkness(Everyone else why by their definition must have served Morgoth.

There are a lot of problems with this catagorization of men.

The DruEdain that Gan-buri-ghan belongs to is, as the name implies amongst the High Men, for their ancestors joined the trip to Numenor and was presumably blessed with all the same gifts as the rest, before much later, seeing which way the wind was blowing, left back to join the kin on the mainland, and mixing with them, creating thw modern Druedain, who presumably still have all the same blessings as the numenorians, even if they long ago forgot much of the arts and lore they learned in Numenor.

This very close ethnic and cultural connection is forgotten by both Dunedain and Druedain, but they are far, far closer than any other people of numenorean connections, other than maybe the Black Numenorians.

Sinilarily, the accusation that anyone not related to the Edain are "Men of Darkness" who served Morgoth is blantantly false, as the Dunlendings fit neither criteria.

And finally the middle men is very much played loose with, as while there is a distant, distant relation between the Gondorians and the Rohirrim, it's way, way more distant than the Gondorians make it out to be.

However, while very, very faulty, there is one bit of truth to this artificial catagorization of how "important" people are deemed to be.

Namely that the Numenoreans were and still ARE different than other men.

The different peoples of the Edain, that mixed together on their new island to form the new ethnicity of Numenoreans(with only the Druedain remaining apart from the rest, despite there no doubt being intermarriages through the years) blessed with a masaive, stupidly tall height, enormous lifespans, a natural capacity for creating magical marvels unseen in any other race of men, and when they started out, a distinct non fear of death.

All of these are said to have been a direct blessing from Eonwe, Manwe's herald who defeated Morgoth at the end of the War of Wrath.

This is very much historical fact in Middle earth.

The Numenorians for their part was blessed with amazing capacity, and they got the island kingdom of Numenor raised from the bottom of the sea for them to live on as a reward for their loyalty.

It was certainpy not a paradise, as the men of Numenor were capable of misdeeds, anger and all the other bad sides of the human condition, long before they came back to middle earth, but there is also no denying that just on a mental level, during that early period the Numenorians had become something... Very different in temperment. More like the Elves mayhaps, and yet not quite, for they accepted that they had to die in those early days, and they knew when it came, and so got their affairs in order before time was up.

There was no mentions of massive civil wars or internal conflicts during that first period, instead they seemed to have gotten along incredibly well on the island, on the same level as the early Elves before war and kinstrife, or maybe even like the hobbits of the shire.

Not perfect maybe, but as close as one can reasonably have it on earth.

Then that began to change as the centuries moved past, and especially as they made contact eith the outside world again, upon which they once more began to grow leaner and meaner, and the fear of natural death began to creep back in.

What i find most interesting aboyt this though, is that their blessed powers began to wane... Not because they interbred together with the "lesser" men of middle earth, but rather because they began to decline as Numenoreans become mroe wicked and cruel.

In other words, the blessings were interconnected with the people who carried them being good people. It had nothing to do with race itself, though that is how the numenorian percieved it.

And we see this as Numenor fell, as the two different kingdoms went very different ways.

The Dunedain of Arnor eventually split into 3 distinct groups, but it's very telling that the bulk of the nation's numenorians, the people who made up the successor state of arthedain, and who would be the only survivers of the kingdom in the form of the rangers from the North, whom would eventually spawn Aragorn, are NOT "Pure blooded" numenorians, for all 3 of the Dunedain groups that made of Arnor's 3 successor states intermingled and mixed together with their respective native populations of Eriador, "Middle men" all.

And yet only Arthedain, who managed to keep the nobility of early Numenor alive, did they retain their enormous lifespans, they still had great capacity for magic both in healing and smith crafting that far surpassed Gondor, and their kings very much had that old supernatural force of will that Gondor's Kings eventually lost, which Aragorn would showcase many times during the course of Lotr.

This was best shown as the great plague ravished the entirety of western middle earth... Only for the Dunedain of Arthedain to stand left as the only kingdom the plague didnt really seem to get any sort of foothold inside.

Clearly the old blessings of long life and health had a massive hold yet in Arthedain, while it smashed through the other two successor states as well as Gondor.

Meanwhile, Gondor managed to retain a lot of those old Numenorian blessings, if nowhere near as well as Arthedain.

The Numenorians blamed the fact that many of their clans were losing these blessings, slowly but surely, on their bloolines becomingless "pure".

There is some truth to that... In the sense that once a family lost their noble character, their blessings did indeed begin to wane, and it would rarely return, except maybe if one intermarried with someone who had the blessings still.

The ultimate example of the fact that it was character, NOT race that determined wheter the Nomenorians would keep their inborn gifts, is showcased nowhere as clearly as with King Eldacar, who was the result of his father's marriage to a northern "barbarian" princess.

This marriage outside of Numenorian nobility would cause a horrible civil war that slaughtered a huge part of the numenorean nobility, but by all accounts Eldacar was as blessed as every other king who came before him, despite only being half numenorean. His father and(presumably) his mother were of good character, and so was he, and he lived for a whooping 235 years, proving that the idea of the Numenoreans blessings weaking because of intermarrying with "lesser" peoples were complete nonsense.

No, the Gondorians numenorean gifts would decline for a variety of reasons(the kinstrife wiping out a huge percentage of the numenorean descendant population, their genocidal actions against the men of Rhun during eastern campaigns, and them losing sight of their own living relations in favor of their ancestors), but intermarrying with the non gondorians of their realm was not one of them.

So with all of this in mind, we have established how the Numenorean's divinely granted gifts work.

With this in mind, what exactly the high men of numenor were are self explanatory. They are(or at least their ancestors were) divinely blessed bloodlines who managed to keep that spark of nobility that the Herald of Manwe managed to impart to the Edain, and so retained the gifts that the Valar bestowed upon them.

Case closed. Or it would be, if not for one, single conversation from from the first age, between and elf and a human woman.

In the book "Morgoth's Ring" we get the debate of Finrod and Andreth, where we get our one, and only glimpse into what Mankind was when they first awakened to the world. Before the fall. before the corruption of Morgoth twisted the entire race. before the first sin.

The debate is between Finrod, that famous king of Nargothrond, and Andreth, a Human wisewoman who knows some human lore of the first days of man, which Elves know not of.

And here we learn a lot.

We learn that Humanity at it's beginning, used to be greater, stronger, completely unafraid of death, seems to have had very long life(described as immortality, though that is probably just because none of the early pre corruption humans lived long enough in that state to die of old age), lacking fear and hatred, and with a capacity for creation that far, far surpassed even the elves and maybe even the Valar themselves, as they would surpass the vision that the Valar had been shown of the world's future during those first sets of music.

Fingon who has been blessed with the gift of sight, even managed to see what Humankind's purpose in the world was supposed to be. Namely healing Arda, that is to say undoing, or at least halting and stopping the marring of Arda, the process which Moegoth used to infuse the essence of Evil into every bit of the world.

In other words, preventing the decline of magic and wonders that would pass on as the ages moved on, only to meet it's final ending at the beginning of the fourth age when wonder and sorcery began the the road to being snuffed out once and for all.

The age of man was always going to supplant the age of the elves, but as Eru Illuvatar originally intended it, it was not necessarily meant to be a literal supplanting, where Elves were doomed to either leave for Valinor forever, or begin to eventually fade away in physical form due to the Marring of Arda.

Now, we dont know the exact details of what derailed this vision of the future, other than the fact that Morgoth corrupted the entire Human race and made them acknowledge him as God, and in the end, by rejecting Eru, they lost that incredible potential.

But lets go over what we know of unspoiled Humans.

They were stronger, their spirits greater, their capacity for creation surpassed everyone else, they were untouched by(but not immune to) the corrupting influences of Morgoth in a way that elves are not, they did not fear death, had long lives, and it was their destiny to become masters of the world.

Now this might just be me... But this sounds a LOT like like early Numenor.

The very long lives, the non fear of natural death, the greater strength and spirit compared to other men, the unmatched capacity for creation and making of wonders, somehow lacking a lot of the darker aspects of humanity, even if they are not non-existent, and a natural destiny to fight sauron and bring greatness to the world.

My theory then is this.

The blessing's Eonwe gave the Numenorians, were not so much a boon granted to them and them alone, as it was given them the capacity to reclaim their birthright. The birthright of ALL of humanity.

A birthright that was stolen from them, and yet at this point could seemingly still return, and if things went well, maybe Eru's original plan might play out yet in some form(though wheter or not that was Eonwe's intent or not who can say).

If so, the Numenoreans intended destiny in the second age, was to defeat sauron and the rest of Morgoth's forces, somehow halt the long defeat that was the marring of Arda, and begin a slow reversal of the corruption of man, the relaiming of the entire race's birthright, as they willingly shared their gifts, their technology and lore with the rest of the world, and and ushering in the Age of man, not as a heralding that the age of all otgers were over, but that it was time for mankind to spread it's wings and lead the way.

If that truly was the case, then that is certainly how it began. But alas, that was not how it ended.

The fall of Numenor, and the bending of the world signaled that one way or another, there was no turning back.

The poamssibility of an age of magic and wonders as Humanity took dominion of the world died with the great island.

Any true healing for the Marring of Arda would now need to wait until the end of the world, after which it would be remade withouth Melkor's influence.

However, there is one, final note i want to end on.

Because there is one people amongst the race of man, that seems to have avoided the shadow of Morgoth, and been untouched by the darkness that swalled the rest of the race.

That of course being the hobbits. The hobbits fit almost all of the traits seen amongst pre corruption humans, other than great strength and capacity for grand creations.

They lack a lot of the inborn brutal nature of the rest of mankind, even if it's not completely non existence, they are not immune to the corrupting shadow, but it lacks the natural bite it has on bigger humans, or the allways there pressure it has on elves. They have a remarkably relaxed attitude to the idea of their own natural deaths, they live relaticely long lives, and has a surprising apptitude dor courage in the face of adversity, and capacity for pushing through hardships and pain, and they have a natural kindness and love of peace about them, almost unseen anywhere else amongst the rest of the known race and peoples of men... Other than that brief moment of early numenoreans, before they let fear and greed seep back in.

[ask-tss-runbabyrun]

run baby run au overview

this story begins in an overcrowded group home, where two orphans, half-brothers, have found each other, clung to each other, and decided from there on out that they would never, ever let go.

their names are roman and logan.

roman is the older brother, standing at ten years old. he is willowy, starting to hit his growth spurt, and he has luscious dark skin and beautiful red-brown curls that sit wildly upon his head, just how he likes them. he is shockingly gentle considering how much energy he constantly carries around, and he is always curious. the world is his playground, and his vibrant imagination is always in use. and he is severely intellectually disabled. roman is a boy who has the same mental capacity as a six year old due to an intellectual disability, his iq being in the 40's. he struggles with basic tasks, and it is uncertain if he will ever be able to live independently. nobody in the group home could be bothered with parenting the boy, as they label him as difficult and bratty. so roman basically has no choice but to lean on his little brother.

speaking of little brother, logan is the younger of the two, six years old to be exact. he is tiny, extremely tiny in fact, and he has light olive skin and pin-straight black hair that he chooses to keep long because brushing it soothes him. he is startlingly mature for his age, and he always has a gleam in his eyes as if he's always observing the world around him in a careful, scrutinizing way. he is a genius, able to learn things very quickly, to the point where he is at a high school learning level when other kids his age are barely at elementary school level. and out of necessity, he has learned how to parent his older brother, helping him through things that he cannot do, and basically dedicating his entire life and all of his time to making sure that roman's various needs are met. he doesn't see any other option. nobody else is going to take care of roman, and he is the only one who is capable. so he does it. and he loves roman dearly throughout it all, seeing the potential roman has where nobody else does.

roman and logan struggle in the group home. nobody wants to adopt them, or even foster them, because they are such a unique case. many people have tried to separate the brothers, but it never works. they are too attached, and they cannot imagine life without each other. until virgil, their kind, standoffish, and very anxious social worker decides that enough is enough. he loves roman and logan like they are his own, and he decides to make them his own. he adopts them, and roman and logan are thrilled that they get to live with the one person in the group home situation who was actually nice to them.

but good things don't always last forever.

virgil struggles. a lot. with raising these two kids. he tries very hard to give them equal attention, but it becomes difficult as roman has a lot of needs, while it seems like logan has very few. logan can take care of himself in the morning. logan can make his own meals when he is hungry. logan can do his own homework without help. logan can, logan can, logan can. and roman can't. not without help, at least. so virgil finds himself spread too thin trying to take care of roman, while logan is sort of neglected, left in the dark. it doesn't help that logan is a very independent type who doesn't like to be vulnerable. logan doesn't want help from virgil. he's six, and then he's ten, and then he's fourteen. and he still doesn't want help. and when roman turns eighteen and has to deal with the transition from kid to adult, he needs even more help, and so logan distances himself even more, deciding to skip high school entirely and attend the local college for schooling.

(to be continued...)

[elfinbloodbag]

Here is an over-long bio for Ára, giving her history and personality mainly from before the beginning of BG3. I'll likely make small tweaks to this to improve how it reads, but for now I'm putting it out there because otherwise I'm likely to just keep adjusting for a millennia.

Full name: Áradíhena Vilyaló 

Name meaning: Áradíhena: forgiveness of the dawn, or merciful dawn – Vilyaló: of the air 

Pronouns: She/Her 

Race: High Elf – Sun Elf 

Age: 126 

Orientation: Bisexual 

Theme song: God Turn Me Into a Flower – Weyes Blood 

Playlist: Coming 

Class: Fighter / Bard 

Subclass: Battle Master / College of Lore 

Origin: Noble 

Alignment: Chaotic Good  

Ability overview: Áradíhena is a talented musician and singer, specialising in stringed instruments and having a strong preference for the lyre – through her learnings as a bard she has specialised in support and healing based abilities, as her family felt this was most fitting for a noble lady and would allow her to support a future husband. Her talent with a sword came much later in life, and was learnt very much through real-world experience. At this point in her journey she prefers to use a greatsword and other greatweapons. 

Other abilities: Áradíhena is an expert in animal handling and husbandry, as well as having some skill in painting and sketching. Survival skills were largely self-taught, but she has enough experience making her way outdoors at this stage to be proficient.  

Personality: 

Áradíhena is grappling a very deep-seated belief, and fear, that her only value is to make other people happy, and also that she can never do so and therefore will never be deserving of love. She is insecure, deceptive on an instinctual level, and, without realising it, has anger and resentment that is almost boiling over, as anger isn’t something she was ever permitted to feel for most of her life. She has a lot of strength when it comes to standing up for other people, and she has a particular fondness for those who have been mistreated by people more powerful than them, but, at least at the beginning of her journey, she has very little strength for herself. 

Her desire to please others has often led to her squashing parts of herself, the ones that she sees as negative – particularly her anger, and sadness. Anything that might make those around her uncomfortable is brushed away and ignored. That doesn’t stop it seeping through though, and means that when she is not in control of a situation, or feels that someone is going to break her shell, she can be vindictive and spiteful, but always masks it with pretty words. 

She is warm and kind to everyone, but this manifests in two ways, depending on whether it is genuine. The performance, which she has lived in most of her life and which she displays to people she doesn’t know or trust, and people who have power over her, and the reality, which through her journey she begins to reclaim.  

The performance is dignified and demure. The picture of grace befitting of a noble lady. This is what she was taught to be.  

When the mask slips and she comes into her own, after she has learnt her new friends will not abandon her for showing her feelings, she is lively, she can be fierce, she is extremely loyal and protective, she snorts when she giggles and gesticulates more than is “proper”. 

Ára is enormously compassionate, fiercely self-reliant, passionate, and holds herself to her own high standards, and will lie to ensure other people continue to see her this way. What she really needs, although she can’t admit it, is to be shown that it is safe for her to show negative emotions, and that she can be known in that way and still be loved. 

Likes: Sunrise and sunset, especially when there is frost or dew on the grass. The scent of fresh bread. Animals, especially cats. Decadence and lavishness (in clothes, décor, food, everything). Singing and dancing – she adores all music. Praise. Effective deception and one-upmanship (on her part).  

Dislikes: What she believes to be wrongful, or mainly cruel, use of power. People who don’t think before they speak. Lack of opinion (though she is very careful when expressing her own, and so is a hypocrite in this regard). Quietness, as she feels (or has learnt) it is her job to keep a conversation sustained. 

Fears: Losing control, feeling powerless, and being told she has done wrong, or not done well. Small places and confinement, especially in the dark. Most of all she fears not being enough for anyone. 

Quirks: As she becomes comfortable in a situation you can almost see her expand and fill her space in the world, using her arms and hands as she speaks, sometimes even pacing if she is thinking deeply about what she’s saying. It’s not uncommon to hear her humming in her sleep. 

Mental health:  Áradíhena has quite frequent nightmares about being found by her husband or her parents, and being choked to death. She often wakes up short of breath, gasping and wild eyed. Her self-esteem is also enormously low, having never really learnt to value herself, but also learning from experience that she is not enough to be valued by those who should be closest to her. She is also extremely claustrophobic, and even small things like struggling to get out of her clothes can cause her to panic. 

Favourite food: Sweet cheese tarts, especially served with berries 

Favourite drink: Crisp and light sparkling pink or white wines 

Favourite flower: Double Peonies and baby’s breath 

Height: 5’7”/173 cm 

Skin: Surprisingly pink skin – ever so slightly cool toned or at least it appears to be next to her hair, just edging beyond the usual skin colour range for a high elf, but nothing surprising when looking at the full spectrum that exists in Faerûn. 

Hair: Her hair is a warm toned pink/peach colour, and it reaches the base of her spine. It’s inclined to waves and curls at the bottom, where the weight of it hasn’t pulled the waves out. She often adds some intricate plaits at the crown of her head and above her ears. She says this is to keep her hair out of her eyes, and that’s partly true, but she also thinks it looks pretty, and is a reminder of the decadence of her former life – one of the few aspects she misses. 

Eyes: Her right eye is a dusty rose colour, striating from almost red to almost coral, but primarily a desaturated pink. Her left eye is a very light almost green colour, due to a past injury and subsequent infection that significantly weakened the muscles, so her iris is permanently thinned. 

Other: Áradíhena is quite heavily freckled and has moles all over, but especially over her nose and cheeks, and shoulders where she most catches the sun. She has several notable scars. One is large and jagged, running from her left shoulder up her neck and onto her cheek – this is an angry pink colour and was the result of a fight with her sorcerer father as a child. This injury resulted in the in her pale left eye. The other is a few thin lines across her neck, much paler as it healed a lot better, which was left when her husband attempted to strangle her with a necklace. 

Colour scheme: Pinks, peaches, soft oranges, lilacs, and rich reds – all the colours of sunrise! She prefers gold to silver. 

Fashion sense: Áradíhena resists retaining much from her old life, but her fondness of beautiful clothing is one thing she has kept. She loves intricacy – embroidery, beadwork, slashed sleeves and unnecessarily layered clothing. Velvets, silks, and satins will always have a place in her heart. 

She does dress reasonably practically – nothing that restricts her movement, and when it comes to armour she will take what she can get, but she likes to find small ways to customise her clothing. 

If she had her choice, she would regularly be able to wear gowns and robes, favouring low neck-lines and clothes that fall off the shoulder. She also very rarely wears necklaces, due to the strangulation incident. Where armour must come up to her neck, she makes sure there are no loose straps that someone could grab, and it’s not uncommon for her to become panicked if it is taking her too long to remove. 

Family: 

Baroness Finnaelah - mother - alive | relationship: estranged   As a child Áradíhena loved and admired her mother, but as she grew older the relationship became primarily cordial. Finnaelah would have said they were close, and had a good relationship, but that was because Áradíhena hid her resentment, and behaved as was expected of her – which was mostly cordially, great displays of affection were not proper. 

Baron Apeníthir - father - alive | relationship: estranged  Similarly to her relationship with her mother, as a child Áradíhena loved her father very much. But she was wilful, and one day wanting to continue her riding lessons rather than go inside to meet the boy who would later become her husband, her father lashed out, casting much stronger magic than was necessary for reprimanding a child. From then on her relationship with him was strained, but she never spoke back or showed her fear again.  

Viscount Fândûren - husband - alive | relationship: estranged  Áradíhena’s husband held her to an extremely high standard, expecting her to be the perfect wife on his arm. Always pleasant and agreeable. She expected her marriage to be potentially a little cold at first, though it had been arranged for close to 40 years, but she also thought it would be a place where she could, carefully, express herself, after having to bite her tongue for years with her family. This turned out to be completely incorrect, and she was never quite able to please him. She stayed in her marriage for almost 40 years, from when she was 50, to 88, but fled the night of the attempted strangulation. They are still legally married, but she does not consider him her husband. He has made efforts to find her and bring her home, as her family’s support in his business has waned, but she hasn’t had to try hard to evade him, and the rest of her family. 

Background: 

Ára was born in her family’s estate just north of Baldur’s Gate, and grew up between their house in the city, and that estate and its grounds. The Vilyaló estate is a large manor with a span of grounds and land, including some farm smallholdings and woodland where her father often hunted. This was her favourite place, where she was able to find a little freedom and as a child frequently escaped her lessons to the kitchens to play with the staff, who treated her kindly despite the way her parents treated them, and the stables, where the horses and the barn cats allowed her to curl up with them in a way her parents never would. Their house in the city was equally grand, but necessarily smaller than the manor house, and had much less opportunity for her to hide. 

When she was young, it would have been very easy for an outsider to believe that she grew up in a loving household, and in a manner of speaking she did. Her parents were truly, deeply, in love, adoring of each other, and they doted on her as well. But more as one dotes on a pet, or on a particularly useful employee. As a child she didn’t know the difference, and as much as a child can she tried to be good and proper and earn their approval.  

She strove to be the perfect daughter, learning everything she must to one day be a strategically important man’s perfect wife. She paid very close attention to her lessons in music and singing, in dancing, in history, etiquette, horsemanship, painting, managing a household – all her lessons. And she learnt her own lessons in addition: how to bat her eyes and smile just right so whoever she spoke to felt like the only person in the room; how to add the right amount of sincerity and hint of a sparkle to her voice to disguise disagreement; even how to assess her parents response to her white lies about why she was late and adjust accordingly. But of course, perfection is unattainable, and she was never quite able to satisfy them. 

At the tender age of 14, Áradíhena was finally to meet her betrothed, Fândûren, 17 at the time. This partnership between the two very wealthy families would be one of note, going a long way to repair ancient wounds from the Weeping War Ára had fled to the stables, fearing the reprimands of being disobedient less than the disapproving looks and deliberate distance from her parents when she missed a note, failed to curtsey low enough, or made another misstep in front of her new fiancé.

When her father came to fetch her she begged and pleaded and cried that she didn’t want to be married, even if she did have years, in a way she had not done since before she was able to speak. He made to drag her inside, grabbing her by the shoulder and intending to give her a shock of lightning, but in his anger at this first brazen display of anger and upset from his daughter used more power than needed. 

When she was 50 the two were married, and she moved into Fândûren’s home in the city. Finally, she would be able to experience that great closeness, that great love, that she saw in her parents, for herself. She had anticipated some initial awkwardness and coldness, but she knew what marriage looked like, or so she thought, but the coldness endured.

Again, she tried for many years to be the perfect wife. She accompanied him on various engagements into the city, helped him to charm the patriars who made up parliament. She had used her skills as a bard to lull him into sleep, and mend torn muscles after hard sparring matches. It was his great ambition to raise his already respected family’s estimations and carve out a place for himself amongst those who led the city. She saw the great warmth he offered to them, and the care he took with the women he brought back to their home – who he made no effort to hide from her – and once again was left to try desperately to earn that affection for herself. 

In the year of 1455 DR, after 39 years of marriage, he discovered one of her regular visits into the house’s kitchens. She had been taking some of her jewels to give to a kitchen maid, who had very recently had a child, and subsequently the father had disappeared. Ára had planned to gift a few necklaces she didn’t often wear to the woman, with the hope that she could sell some and comfortably raise the child alone, and maybe be able to keep one for herself, just to have something nice. But Fândûren arrived home early and caught her there. He had smiled viciously, backhanded the maid and dragged Áradíhena out by her hair. Once out of the kitchen, he snatched one of the necklaces from her hands, and ever-so-softly placed it around her neck, fastening it tightly. He had told her she looked lovely, before twisting it tight and choking her. When it broke from the pressure, gasping for breath with eyes feeling like they were about to pop, she fled. It was the first time since their wedding night her had touched her without the eyes of his peers demanding it. 

For the next 37 years until she was taken by the Mindflayers she had lived in the woodland outside of Baldur’s Gate. She had left all her belongings, her jewels, her dresses, her beloved lyre, so she eked out a living for the first few years, using what little she knew of the lands to survive. Gradually she claimed back one piece of herself: her voice, and she became known for it. It was not uncommon for travellers to hear ethereal song from deep in the forest. Some passed by not paying it any mind. others, often women or children, sought it out either in need of help themselves or hoping to help the owner of the voice. Still more, sometimes vagrants, sometimes drunken soldiers or guards, sought the lone voice for more nefarious means.  

Ára never found out what those more nefarious means were. When she saw them leer at her, or brush their hand over their weapon, they were as good as dead. Her first kill had been a messy, bloody struggle on the ground, where she sustained almost as many wounds as her attacker, but she had taken a thumb to his eye and claimed victory. Now she had his weapon, and she taught herself to use it. The stories of her helping lost children back to their families, or offering men and women without a home a meal to share, never spread. But the news of the monster in the woods killing “innocents” certainly did. And so, she became The Siren. 

Áradíhena’s signature scent has top notes of champagne and peony, middle notes of white peach and hazelnut, and base notes of whipped cream, vanilla, and cedar. She wears this religiously, and if she is unable to find this scent she will scour shops for scents with similar notes that she can combine. 

Áradíhena was born just a few minutes before sunrise - after her mother had laboured for almost three days - pink skinned and with a light dusting of downy coral hair on her head. As the sun crested over the rooftops of Baldur’s Gate, the light caught her hair which seemed to glow like the light – her mother laughed that she looked like the sun herself, and her father thanked the new day for bringing an end to his wife’s long labour – hence the name Áradíhena. 

She longs to return to the three houses she had hoped to call home, to see those few beloved servants who would still be alive, perhaps to liberate them. But the fear of seeing her parents and husband have always kept her away. 

Ára is extremely dexterous and takes to skills requiring intricate movement with her hands very well, such as card tricks and knife skills, thanks to her many years learning to play every instrument under the sun. 

She has some hoarding tendencies – she is very neat and tidy, but is also always on the edge of feeling that she may have to flee and fend for herself again, and so she likes to keep what she needs with her, and is always adding useful items to her pack when she finds them. 

[zephiris]

All fancy smancy generative ai models know how to do is parrot what they’ve been exposed to.

A parrot can shout words that kind of make sense given context but a parrot doesn’t really understand the gravity of what it’s saying. All the parrot knows is that when it says something in response to certain phrases it usually gets rewarded with attention/food.

What a parrot says is sometimes kinda sorta correct/sometimes fits the conversation of humans around it eerily well but the parrot doesn’t always perfectly read the room and might curse around a child for instance if it usually curses around its adult owners without facing any punishment. Since the parrot doesn’t understand the complexities of how we don’t curse around young people due to societal norms, the parrot might mess that up/handle the situation of being around a child incorrectly.

Similarly AI lacks understanding of what it’s saying/creating. All it knows is that when it arranged pixels or words in a certain way after being given some input it usually gets rewarded/gets to survive and so continues to get the sequence of words/pixels following a prompt correct enough to imitate people convincingly (or that poorly performing version of itself gets replaced with another version of itself which is more convincing).

I argue that a key aspect of consciousness is understanding the gravity and context of what you are saying — having a reason that you’re saying or doing what you are doing more than “I get rewarded when I say/do this.” Yes AI can parrot an explanation of its thought process (eli5 prompting etc) but it’s just mimicking how people explain their thought process. It’s surface level remixing of human expression without understanding the deeper context of what it’s doing.

I do have some untested ideas as to why its understanding is only surface level but this is pure hypothesis on my part. In essence I believe humans are really good at extrapolating across scales of knowledge. We can understand some topics in great depth while understanding others similarly on a surface level and go anywhere in between those extremes. I hypothesize we are good at that because our brains have fractal structure to them that allows us to have different levels of understanding and look at some stuff at a very microscopic level while still considering the bigger picture and while fitting that microscopic knowledge into our larger zoomed out understanding.

I know that neural networks aren’t fractal (self-similar across various scales) and can’t be by design of how they learn/how data is passed through them. I hypothesize that makes them only understand the scale at which they were trained. For LLM’s/GAN’s of today that usually means a high level overview of a lot of various fields without really knowing the finer grain intricacies all that well (see how LLM’s make up believable sounding but completely fabricated quotes for long writing or how GAN’s mess up hands and text once you zoom in a little bit.

There is definitely more research I want to do into understanding AI and more generally how networks which approximate fractals relate to intellegence/other stuff like quantum physics, sociology, astrophysics, psychology, neuroscience, how math breaks sometimes etc.

That fractal stuff aside, this mental model of generative AI being glorified parrots has helped me understand how AI can seem correct on first glance/zoomed out yet completely fumble on the details. My hope is that this can help others understand AI’s limits better and therefore avoid putting too much trust into to where AI starts to have the opportunity to mess up serious stuff.

Think of the parrot cursing around children without understanding what it’s doing or why it’s wrong to say those words around that particular audience.

In conclusion, I want us to awkwardly and endearingly laugh at the AIs which mimic the squaks of humans rather than take what it says as gospel or as truth.

[hannieehaee]

raindrops (an angel cried) (teaser)

18+ / mdi

summary: being assigned watching duties over humans was usually a task reserved for high level angels. on jeonghan's first week of promotion, he finds himself far too curious about licentious human activities, becoming infatuated with his assigned human. what happens when his interest goes too far, it gets him kicked out of heaven?

content: fallenangel!jeonghan, jeonghan is your guardian angel up until he gets kicked out of heaven oops, infatuation, inexperienced jeonghan, even as an angel he's still a menace to all, heaven is super strict, afab reader, smut, oral (m receiving), mentions of masturbation, penetrative sex, etc.

(^ no actual content warnings in the teaser)

wc: 936 (teaser); 11.1k (full fic)

release date: may 17th

or you can check it out on my ko-fi or patreon today by subscribing to either one!

a/n: angel!jeonghan was a must so here it is

masterlist | kofi/patreon

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"Who is that?", asked Jeonghan, apprehension in his eyes.

"That's your human."

"My human? I'm getting a promotion?"

"Listen, Jeonghan. I had to call in a lot of favors to get the higher ups to let you get this promotion. You better follow the rules to the letter. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Kwannie, I know," he rolled his eyes, "Why do you have so little trust in me?"

"I'm serious, Jeonghan. If you keep messing up, you might get kicked out of heaven. Do you really want to be down there with the humans? Being a mortal?"

Jeonghan couldn't help but think the idea sounded enticing.

He hadn't had too much exposure to humans thus far, but he had always had great interest in them. They just sounded so free and different from one another, unlike in heaven, where specific behavior was to be expected from every working angel.

Within heaven, you were either born as an elite sort of angel, – with all their angelic duties assigned – or you were born human and then admitted into heaven as an angel, getting to enjoy eternal happiness with your loved ones. Jeonghan, sadly, was the former. Having been born into an angel position, it meant that although his life was not miserable by any means, it was just a closed box of responsibilities to fulfill until the end of eternity. He truly envied all the humans-turned-angels in heaven, often asking them about their memories as humans and trying to live vicariously through them.

Due to his constant curiosity of humans, Jeonghan often got in trouble as he stuck his nose in places it shouldn't be. As an angelic being, Jeonghan's duties as an angel were mostly clerical, managing which human each angel would be assigned to as a guardian angel. Ever since being born as an angelic entity, Jeonghan's dream had been to be promoted into a guardian angel position. In his current job, the most interaction with humans he ever got was the ability to see a quick overview of their timelines in order to assess which guardian angel would be the best fit for them. His job was comfortable and stable, never causing him any trouble. But he wanted more. He wanted to be down there, on the playing field as he watched over his own human.

So he would cheat occasionally, maybe snooping into human's lives for more than he was allowed to. Sometimes he'd pause on certain bits that drew a little curiosity and simply observe. He'd also on occasion tried to make his way down to Earth, only to check things out on his own. All his attempts were always met with reprimands from his higher ups, claiming that a soul as curious as his own should not be near humans. The existence of angels was meant to stay a myth, after all.

When Seungkwan took him into one of the offices designated for guardian angels, Jeonghan had been shocked. He had been banned from being brought here a few years back, so it was a very well appreciated change of pace for him. What was even more shocking, however, was when Seungkwan led him into one of the sphere rooms, which contained a view of any and every human in existence in real time. The most shocking thing, though? The pretty girl reflecting on the globe, very deep in slumber as Seungkwan revealed Jeonghan's promotion.

"Her old guardian angel retired. Chose to move to the land of humans-turned-angels. Angel Jihoon was simply going to ask you to assign her a new angel, but I put in a good word for you, so he gave you the job. Don't fuck it up, Jeonghan. Do you understand?", his friend was quite stern as he warned him.

"Big words for an angel."

"Don't go puritanical on me, Jeonghan. Your behavior in Heaven doesn't matter. It's when you meddle with humans that you'll get in trouble. Just ... Please follow the rules and don't step out of line."

Seungkwan was right. From all the accounts he heard from angels who had died and gone to heaven, Heaven and Earth were quite similar. People held jobs, lived a day to day life, had relationships. There were a few stark differences, though. There was no suffering in Heaven – no illness, no tiredness, no debilitating feelings. Sure, frustration and annoyance were a thing (God knew Jeonghan had felt those things), but it was virtually impossible to be truly unhappy in Heaven.

Jeonghan had no problem with Heaven, he was just far too curious about humans to stay still and do nothing. He was not allowed to admit it, but he had always wanted to know what it'd be like to be human. To live through pain, struggle, confusion. He just wanted to experience it all.

Angels had no needs in heaven. Hunger didn't exist, neither did aging or an itch to do or feel things humans usually engaged in. For instance, while Jeonghan had heard of sex and romantic relationships, this was something that angels did not have the innate desire to feel, as they were born fulfilled in every sense. Human-born angels, however, brought their humanly experiences and emotions along with them to heaven, sometimes telling tales of such things, always drawing Jeonghan's curiosity to new heights.

Looking at you through the sphere, Jeonghan felt excitement at thinking of what humanly emotions you may be feeling. He also felt giddy at knowing that you would one day come to pass onto his heavenly realm, where he would meet you after having known you for the entirety of your lifetime.

...

read today on ko-fi or patreon by subscribing to either one<3

NOTE: comment if u'd like to be tagged when it comes out<3 i wont respond to comments but if u reply ill tag u<3

[konamicodex]

BASICS

FULL NAME: BADIN HIRANWONG

» MEANING: Badin [means "king" in Thai.]; Hiranwong [หิรัญวงศ์ Thai; from Thai หิรัญ (hiran) meaning "money, silver, gold" and วงศ์ (wong) meaning "lineage, family, dynasty."]

NICKNAME: Kinna [from kinnari (Thai: กินรี), usually spelt 'kinnaree' is depicted as a young woman wearing an angel-like costume. The lower part of the body is similar to a bird, and should enable her to fly between the human and the mystical worlds. The most popular portrayal of kinnaree in Thai art probably the golden figures of kinnaree adorned the Wat Phra Kaew in Bangkok, which describe a half-maiden, half-goose figure. A kinnara is a creature from Hindu and Buddhist mythology. They are described as part human and part bird, and have a strong association with music and love. Believed to come from the Himalayas, they often watch over the well-being of humans in times of trouble or danger.]; Kinna was given this nickname by his mother when he was born as she was overcome with so much love when she held him for the first time. Kinna is also known as Kona in the gaming world. Kinna also uses Kona as his rent-a-boyfriend name...

AGE: 21-years old.

DATE OF BIRTH: 2002 February 14th, he picked the date.

PLACE OF BIRTH: Bangkok, Thailand.

OCCUPATION: Kinna is a professional gamer. He also dabs in rent-a-boyfriend gig; he makes a lot of money doing it and it gives him pleasure seeing people fall in love even for a short time. Also, they only do dates in this company, no sexy time please... Well, it depends. Yes, he started the company which was modeled from those Japanese-based companies of the same nature.

ORIENTATION: Pansexual; Panromantic.

GENDER: Cisgender Male.

VERSES: The Meaning of Forever; Night Shift

POWERS: Cupid's powers, of course... He can make people fall in and out of love. He's got very good intuition, SUPER high alcohol tolerance, this is important coz he apparently LOVES to drink. He's also a great singer... His mother wonders where he got it from coz she can't sing for shit.

PERSONALITY

STRENGTHS: Progressive, Original, Independent, Humanitarian

WEAKNESSES: Stubborn, Sarcastic, Temperamental, Uncompromising, Aloof

APPEARANCE

FACE CLAIM: Saint Paramee Mahatthanadul.

HEIGHT: 5′9 [175 cm.]

WEIGHT: 139 lbs. [63 kg.]

BUILD: Lean.

GAIT: Relaxed.

HAIR COLOR: Black.

EYE COLOR: Dark brown.

BIRTHMARK: TBA. 

OVERVIEW: » SCARS: Some from growing up, nothing major. » TATTOOS: Bow and arrow. Do not ask.

BACKGROUND

HOMETOWN: Bangkok, Thailand.

RESIDENCE: Bangkok, Thailand.

NATIONALITY: Thai.

ETHNICITY: Asian.

FINANCIAL STATUS: Middle class.

EDUCATION LEVEL: Uni student under the Faculty of Communication Arts in Chulalongkorn University

DEGREES: Degree in being handsome, he said.

SPOKEN LANGUAGES: He is cupid so he speaks the language of love... -_- He speaks Thai, English, many Asian languages, some French. His mother loves French films, apparently.

RELATIONSHIPS

PARENTS: Dara, single mom. She tells Kanni she doesn't know who his father is but Kanni doesn't really care coz he knows who his father is... Well, at least his name. He's still alive.

SIBLINGS: None.

CHILDREN: None.

PETS: None.

SIGNIFICANT RELATIONSHIPS: 

» Kinna is very close to his mother.

FAMILY HISTORY: Kinna is Cupid's iteration. He was sent to the modern world as part-human to make people fall in love again and make babies coz young peeps aren't partnering up. Kinna realized right away WHY - everyone's broke and it's too expensive to have kids. But he's not reporting that at the moment as he is finding his human life a bit entertaining. He thinks humans are weird and funny.

Kinna was born to a single mother who was an aspiring actress. She now runs a hotel near a beach down south of the country.

Kinna as Cupid is pretty low-key; he's not the star of the show and would rather be in the background, just pushing things to happen. That's why he enjoys online gaming which, he found out, he's very good at...

ROMANTIC HISTORY: Kinna has no time... He's got a mission to accomplish and games to complete.

PLATONIC RELATIONSHIPS: Kinna is friends with that mute kid, Zero, who is moody and always grumpy. Good thing he can't talk...

THOUGHTS ON LOVE: …

HEALTH

PHOBIA(S): None, clinically.

HANDICAP(S): None.

MENTAL DISEASE(S): None... Maybe he developed some anxiety dealing with humans.

PHYSICAL DISEASE(S): None.

PREDISPOSITION(S): N/A.

[wewererogue]

[Pathfinder 1st Edition] A Guide to the Burglar Rogue

[by kcmorris / HobbyLark]

You’ll never see him coming.

The Overview

The burglar archetype (Advanced Player’s Guide p.132) is short and simple, but the idea is well-executed mechanically. Some (perhaps too many) of Pathfinder’s archetypes either give too little or give up too much to create a different sort of character, but with the burglar, the designers found that perfect balance between the two. With a bit of specialization, a burglar character can handle just about any trap a Game Master can devise, and, unlike the trapsmith (Advanced Player’s Guide p.135), will be more well-rounded than hyper-specialized.

At 4th level, the burglar gives up uncanny dodge to gain the careful disarm ability, which makes him less likely to set off traps he’s trying to disarm. With maximum ranks in Disable Device, a good Dexterity, and the bonus from trapfinding, the burglar’s likely able to tackle any trap he encounters. Obviously, you want your burglar to have a high Perception score to ensure you’ll be able to find the traps, but since you’re giving up uncanny dodge, you probably want to do that anyway to minimize the times you’re caught flat-footed. Careful disarm goes a long way to make you quite capable of handling any trap-happy Game Master by itself, but you can combine it with rogue talents such as quick disable and trap spotter to solidify your expertise here.

Unlike the large number of highly specialized archetypes out there (such as nearly every fighter archetype), the burglar turns you into more of a generalist character, spreading your talents into two areas, rather than one. Instead of another trap-related ability, the burglar trades improved uncanny dodge for the distraction ability at 8th level. This gem of an ability lets the rogue attempt a Bluff check if he’s ever detected while using the Stealth skill as a way to remain undetected. This can be a life-saver, as sometimes a lucky Perception roll can spell death for your rogue while scouting (and, as good at you are at disarming traps, you’re likely to be doing that often as a burglar!). Combine this with the honeyed words rogue talent to give you a once-per-day +10 bonus to such a crucial Bluff check, and you’ve got a great insurance policy for your scouting missions.

It probably goes without saying that the burglar benefits greatly from the skill mastery advanced rogue talent (you’ll want Bluff, Disable Device, Perception, and Stealth to be your first choices). By 10th or 12th level, you can be a veritable master scout for your party, on top of being able to lighten the local baron’s treasury without breaking a sweat, if the opportunity arises.

This archetype comes highly recommended for any game that features a preponderance of traps, and for a game that doesn’t, the distraction ability is still very solid for any rogue that does a lot of scouting or other solo work that requires a great deal of stealth.

Sample Build

There are a lot of ways to go about playing an effective burglar. Just about anything that would work for a standard rogue should work well for the burglar. You can approach combat however you want because you don’t need specific feats to make good use of the burglar’s tricks. With that in mind, the following foundational build is just one example. I’ve chosen to buck the trend a little bit and go with a half-orc, giving you greataxe proficiency, which keeps your damage high even when you don’t get the opportunity to sneak attack.

Half-Orc Rogue (Burglar) 5 Ability Scores (15 Point Buy): Str 17, Dex 13, Con 14, Int 8, Wis 10, Cha 12 Feats and Talents 1 Improved Initiative 2 Rogue Talent: Trap Spotter 3 Weapon Focus (greataxe) 4 Rogue Talent: Quick Disable 5 Power Attack

This is all very basic, but it’ll set you up for success as an effective damage dealer and gives you the edge against traps. Remember, you’ll also want to keep Bluff, Disable Device, Perception, and Stealth maxed out to make the most out of your burglar abilities. This does mean you shouldn’t dump Charisma as you would otherwise like to (leaving Intelligence as your best dump stat—but you’ve got the skill points per level to handle that). With higher point buy, you definitely want to get that Intelligence out of the gutter.

That’s it for the burglar. If you’re looking to create a well-rounded rogue with a focus on traps and stealth, this is one of the best archetypes you can take.

[source]

[buddywellls]

Full Name: Buddy August Wells.

Nicknames: B, Bud, The BAWS (that one’s self-given and he’s the only one who thinks it’s funny).

Pronouns and Gender: He/Him, cis man.

Birthday: August 2nd, 1995.

Birth place: Aurora Bay, CA.

How long have they been in town?: His whole life.

Sexuality: Bisexual.

Housing: Ocean Crest Apartments.

Occupation: Dog-walker / Attendant at the movie house / has an OnlyFans.

Family: 3 older sisters (Delilah Carreño (née Wells), Dolores "Louie" Wells), Sawyer Wells (older brother).

triggers for bio: cancer tw, death tw, emotional neglect tw

QUICK OVERVIEW:

Like most newborns, Buddy came into the world nameless. However, that namelessness stretched on for days and weeks after he was brought home from the hospital. The last born (and least wanted, if you asked him) of five, he was another pull on his already stretched-too-thin parents.

He was just Buddy while his mom and dad cycled through and trialed a variety of names, some lasting hours, the longest being 2 days (Matthew). When they couldn’t settle on one, Buddy just stuck.

The lack of effort directed to something as important as his name was something Buddy felt his whole life. His oldest sibling had already moved on to starting her own life by the time he came along, and his parents hadn’t mastered how to make their passion for changing the problems around them work in tandem with raising their children. Feeling adrift became the norm for him.

Despite feeling somewhat disconnected from the family unit around him, Buddy found it easy to form his own connections outside of the home – he slotted in easily in most social circles in school, which continued into his teens and adulthood.

Always cared a lot about being a good friend, even when he wasn’t always a good person.

Dated around in high school and his early twenties, the whole concept of settling down freaks him out some so he tends to cut ties before things get too far.

Has had 2 serious relationships in his life, one of which ended just over a year ago.

Skipped going to college despite having offers, and instead found himself in an entry level job at eighteen in a bank.

Intended to make something of a career out of it and stuck it out, until he ended up getting fired a year and a half ago for a series of unapproved absences.

Those absences were a direct consequence of his father’s illness.

When August Wells was diagnosed with cancer, the only people he told were his wife and his youngest son, making the pair of them promise to not tell anyone else in the family.

The responsibility was one he didn’t know how to shoulder, though he tried his best. He never missed taking him to an appointment or to treatment, and even in his final days he still couldn’t bring himself to pick up the phone and ask his siblings for help.

Took his father’s death incredibly hard. That and his recent unemployment sent his life freefalling.

Tried out a number of different minimum wage jobs, until he found dogwalking was the only schedule he could keep to due to it being one he made himself.

He's recently been employed at the movie theatre, but he's not sure how long he'll be able hold that one down.

PERSONALITY.

+ sociable, funny, loyal.

- insular, apathetic, distant.

FUN ADJACENT FACTS.

Calls the dogs that he walks Buddy’s buddies. Has an instagram page for it that’s just snaps he takes when he has them out. It’s gets plenty of traction due to how cute the dogs are.

Volunteers helping look after guide dogs in training. He thinks they’re dope, and it’s one of the few consistencies in his life currently.

Has an OnlyFans that's moderately popular, enough that the cash flow from it helps keep him afloat.

His parents house in fisher's cove was very much the party house to be at when Buddy was in high school due to the fact his parents were rarely home and his siblings had all moved out.

Buddy walking dogs is just the energy of this pic.

CURRENT CONNECTIONS.

young brother of @delilahcarreno

big brother vibe to @cricketcampbell

roommate of @solaadisa

former close friend / hook up / something that he ghosted @helenasoarcs

dog walker of @madiiscn

former high school crush (unrequited) on / turned now friend of @dilcne

high school ex / almost baby daddy of @missxrivera

former hook up of @edietello

ex-boyfriend of @paxton-brady

one night stand / OF collaborator of @scottienolan

cousin of @theirisxalderidge

co-worker of @tillycai

dogwalker of @aylinxc-s

possible OF collaborator of @esmaxdemirci

SPECIFIC WANTED CONNECTIONS.

A childhood best friend!! Gimme that lifelong ride or die. Can be plotted in depth.

His 2 1 ex that was serious. Can also be plotted in depth, very much open to one or both ended badly. All the vibes!

People who subscribe to his OF. in a way, he is ur sugar baby. tysm. KJSHGSGHJK

People who’s dogs he walks. Give Buddy his buddies. 🐶

Someone he was close to and then cold cut out after his dad’s death. Hella potential for angst. Maybe a little Banshees of Inisherin inspired given they wouldn’t have known why he turned on them so suddenly.

Open to him having a roommate if your muse is based in Ocean Crest also!

Someone (or someones?) who’s relationship he was part of ruining. Buddy doesn’t care much about the relationship status of folks he goes home with. He’s just a lil messy like that.

His older brother and his other 2 older sisters. I’m not above begging.

GENERIC WANTED CONNECTIONS.

connections wise he’s pretty much an open book right now, but some baseline ideas that can be springboarded off are:

friendly.

a best friend / ride or dies / close friends / childhood friends / pseudo-siblings / friends / drunk friends / new friends / former roommate.

romantic

flirtationship / friends with benefits / one time hook ups / tinder matches / unrequited crush (can be either way) / exes from high school / exes from his earlie twenties / exes on good terms.

antagonistic.

enemies / former (best) friends / exes on bad terms / frenemies / rivals / negative influence / significant other of someone that cheated on them with him.