#like I cannot imagine what they'd be actually like in person

[tearlessrain]

I want to see an aurora so bad you guys

[asgardian--angels]

...prayer circle for izzy hands

[sillygoofyqueer]

I'm bored, so take different people's reactions to Xie Lian's spiritual array password ('just recite the Ethics Sutra a thousand times'): Quan Yizhen: No matter how many fucking times it is explained to him, he will never get it. He will sit there in utter silence for at least twenty minutes (everyone thinks he's talking to Xie Lian), until he's asked what he's talking about to Xie Lian, and he gets pissy because they interrupted his count - by this time, it becomes realised that he has fallen for it again. Extra points if it's like, a super dangerous mission and his team is in desperate need of support so they're like "Qi Ying, contact His Highness for backup now!" while they fight this massive fucken ghost and he goes utterly still, face screwing up in concentration, and just gets pummelled into the nearest wall. He ends up just using other people to talk to Xie Lian.

Lang Qianqiu: At first, he finds it funny because what a silly little joke from his former mentor, if only he was this funny when he had been teaching him all those years ago. After a while though, he starts getting slowly irritated each time he has to communicate with Xie Lian because he has to catch himself out as he starts reciting the Ethics Sutra, silently cursing himself out in his head. Ling Wen: If she ever does need to communicate with Xie Lian, it's for official business so she has no time to think about it too much, and therefore cannot be tripped up by it. However, after a long while without sleep, she will occasionally find herself quite literally doing what the password commands, and will allow a little smile at the thought. One time when this happened, she was reported to have started manically laughing and placing her head into her hands. Pei Ming: He finds it fucking HILARIOUS. Like, imagine Feng Xin's reaction but times ten at least, as he laughs uproariously and slaps his hand to his knee, all the while pointing at Xie Lian and going, "Your Highness, I didn't realise you were such a comedian!!" No matter how many times he communicates with Xie Lian, he will always laugh at it for a few minutes. He's like a father. I if he's talking about using the array, everyone can immediately tell who he's communicating with based on whether or not he laughs. Shi Qingxuan: I honestly think they'd have a little laugh about it at first, and then never react to it ever again. Like, "Hahaha" and that's it. They never really get caught out by it, because their brain is going into overdrive about whatever they want to talk to Xie Lian about so they just break their way into his Array with little thought to it all. Not that they're dumb in any sense of the word, they're just so focused on their gossip that they shake at the bars of the cage without even remotely thinking too hard about it. Shi Wudu: I know he'd probably communicate with Xie Lian through other people but, on the rare occasion that he communicates with His Highness personally, he is not at all amused. He calls it childish and silly. Well, in public, anyway. In private, he'll probably actually find himself having a little chuckle about it, shaking his head as he enters the array before pulling up his walls instantly. Yushi Huang: Xie Lian gets really embarrassed telling her because it feels childish, and she let him borrow her spiritual device during his first ascension, so he doesn't want her to be like "can't believe I let this child use my spiritual device." When he does eventually tell her, she probably smiles and nods, but doesn't give any other reaction. Inside? Knee slaps all around for the Crown Prince. He Xuan: Why does he have to personally communicate Xie Lian? He doesn't want to risk Hua Cheng beating him if he says something "wrong". When he hears Xie Lian's password, he stares at him with a glower that could kill if it were any other person, letting out the most empty laugh ever so he didn't get beaten, before walking away. So no, he does not care for Xie Lian's humour, and did not fall for it - he did. He did fall for it, but he has such a resting bitch face that it's hard to tell. He gets mad at himself for falling for it. He pretends not to. Hua Cheng knows though, and He Xuan knows that he knows. Yin Yu: So, imagine you're an underpaid, overworked employee with an absolutely terrifying boss. He scares the shit out of you. He has a very lovely husband who he cares about dearly and will definitely be pissed off at you if you dare hurt his husband. His husband makes a joke and you can feel your boss' eyes glaring right into your soul from behind. This is how Yin Yu feels when he's told about Xie Lian's password. So, of course, I'm sure you can all picture the - in Yin Yu's opinion - most exaggerated falling for it ever, followed by laughter that reeks of "please, PLEASE go with this. I don't want to lose my job", until Yin Yu has to physically stop to breathe.

[ghoulfuckersincorporated]

Ghoul Thought™️, perhaps a request? I haven’t played the game to know anything for sure, but I’m vibrating imagining the possibility that maybe he has a heightened sense of smell, and can smell just how turned on and wet his little vaultie has been for him from the moment they met. 🥵

Probably tries to ignore at first, but at a certain point he really needs to call her out😏

So, not only do I think ghouls overall would be able to smell when you were wet, I think ghouls with a particularly sensitive "nose" (I have spoken at some length about sense of smell and scent marking in ghouls, so you can find elaboration on that here) would be able to detect hormonal changes, so they'd be able to smell when you're ovulating.

Cooper can absolutely smell both, though he's not quite sure what he's picking up at first. He notices the tang in the air when you two initially approach one another, so he doesn't necessarily think much of it. What he fails to notice is the longing with which you'd been sizing him up before approaching. Your smell changes during your first conversation (well, more like a first argument, since every conversation with the man is about one crossed wire or snarky comment away from devolving into an argument, especially when you've only just met), and the change seems to stick once you both calmed down and agree to travel together.

However, the first time you two stop by the roadside to rest for a few hours, he notices the smell returning. He doesn't say anything about it, simply watches you drift off to sleep out of the corner of his eye, intrigued about this person who is so willing to travel with a ghoul, especially one as gruff and unwelcoming as he can be. Once you begin to snore lightly (a sound that makes him chuckle), he spends a long time just staring at you, studying you curiously. The smell has fully returned, and is even stronger than before, but it takes seeing you rubbing your thighs together and sighing in your sleep for him to fully realize what's going on.

He spends that whole night with the most painful, bothersome erection he's ever had in his life, but he's too annoyed with you and himself to do anything about it. The next morning, he's quieter than he'd typically be, but you don't know him well enough at that point to notice.

From that moment on, he notices it constantly. The idea that you simply find him, specifically, sexually attractive to the point of fairly blatant arousal is ridiculous to him, so he spends a long, long time turning the whole thing over and over in his brain; is it some adrenaline rush? Or a ghoul fetish? Do scarred-up, rotted near-corpses just get you going in general?

That theory is a wash when tested, though, since any time other ghouls are around and his nose picks up on it, he's also obviously there as well. Even observing from a distance doesn't really support the idea; you don't seem to really "click" with the others in exactly the same way. You're kind to them, of course, as you are to pretty much everyone, and it actually softens his heart to know you still see ghouls as real, whole people. But that's all it seems to be: friendliness. No matter how much he may try to deny it to himself, there's a chemistry, a spark between the two of you that he can't ignore, and that he doesn't see when you interact with others. He also cannot ignore the thrill it gives him to see other ghouls studying the two of you together, their eyes full of assumptions.

You always choose to sit close to him even when there are other options. You pester him with personal questions and inquiries about the Wasteland and he has to pretend to be annoyed by it, secretly overjoyed to have some seemingly genuine companionship for once in god knows how long. Sometimes, in your sleep, you unconsciously move close enough that you touch him. Rather innocent touches, considering, but they never fail to send his heart racing, leaving him humiliatingly aroused at as little as your back against his outer thigh, your face against his hip.

All the while, that scent tantalizes, haunts him.

He ignores the problem as long as he can, enjoying the way you two have slowly begun to chat, joke around with one another; there might even be some real trust developing there. He doesn't want to jeopardize that because he's lonely and can't control himself. Even if it's slowly beginning to seem to him that you might actually want him, too, he'd rather have your friendship and be happy with that than push his often rotten luck and risk losing you trying to be greedy.

But at the same time...feeling his long-dormant sex drive reawakening is strangely thrilling. It makes him feel human, makes him feel alive. For so long, he's found his sense of masculinity in violence, in vengeance and bloodshed. Your warm presence, your beauty, your scent...it all makes him feel masculine in a very different way, leaving him waiting impatiently most nights for you to fall deep enough asleep that he can sneak away to relieve the ache in his balls.

Of course, he doesn't go far enough away that he can't watch over you, still. No, he stays close enough that he can still see you, can study every inch and soft curve of your body as he strokes his throbbing cock. It's not disgusting or perverted if it's done out of necessity, he tells himself. The desert is a dangerous place, and he can't afford to take his eyes off of you when you're in such a vulnerable state. That doesn't mean he isn't left feeling guilty after he finishes, though, the euphoria of his orgasm tainted with shame. Still, he finds himself in the same position most nights, sighing your name wantonly as he spills all over the ground.

He can only fight his urges for so long, though.

You spent most of the previous week smelling of blood (something he also found tantalizing but decided to not think too hard on), which meant that soon you'd be ovulating. It was funny, almost, how he had all but completely forgotten pretty much everything about how women worked, but a handful of months with you and he's suddenly keeping track of your cycle (sort of) like it has anything to do with him. The whole thing makes him strangely nostalgic for when he and Barb were trying to conceive, and the emotions of that only add to the inner tumult he feels. The fact that your smell becomes even more temping, more inviting in this time only makes things worse for him.

The new game you'd been playing recently, however, would be the straw that ultimately broke the camel's back.

The last few nights, you'd taken to settling in for sleep, as per usual, but your breathing wouldn't drop down into the same deep, rhythmic pattern that indicated unconsciousness. Instead, you'd roll over onto your belly, a position you didn't usually sleep in, laying on your arm, and begin rather conspicuously grinding against your hand, pretending to be asleep all the while.

Cooper Howard is a man with an excellent poker face. Not much shakes him badly enough to draw out a genuine reaction. But the first time you did this, he sat a few feet away, frozen, a lit cigarette burning itself away to nothing as it dangled between his parted lips. The smell of you, the sound of your little whimpers and quiet sighs, had kept him nailed to that spot beside you all night two nights in a row, even after you'd finished and actually drifted off to sleep.

He tells himself tonight will be different if you pull the same stunt.

Which, of course, you do.

A shocked gasp leaves you when he grabs you by the ankle, dragging you a few feet through the sandy dirt towards him and flipping you onto your back, staring down at you as he pulls himself halfway on top of you.

"Filthy fucking tease." he growls, your natural perfume making his head swim as his deft fingers move to the button of your pants.

The pitch dark of the desert night is eerily silent, save for the harsh sound of your breaths intertwining as he helps wrestle the worn material down your legs, trying his best to rein in his strength and not shred it to pieces in his haste to get to that warm, inviting place between your legs. A snarl, feral and borderline inhuman, rips from his throat when his fingers finally find what he's been fantasizing about. The small part of him that has any control is nervous for a split second, worried to frighten you, but the shudder that seems to break down your spine in response isn't one of fear.

He knows he should be gentle, take his time, but the wetness that he feels, the heat, the hormones in the air short circuit his brain, and after a few swipes at your puffy clit, he sinks his middle finger inside you in one fluid motion, giving a few pumps before sliding his ring finger in alongside it. The sounds you let out are the most beautiful thing he's ever heard, and they drive him to rub and tease and fuck you with his hands until you're whimpering his name in a way that tells him you're close. Fleetingly, he wonders what his odds of being able to knock you up really are.

You turn your head quickly and snag his lips in a passionate kiss just as you begin to come apart all over his fingers, leaving him swallowing your moans and whimpers as his hips buck and grind wildly against your own. It's sloppy and rough and your teeth are bumping against one another, but you still bring your leg up around his hip, letting him rub himself against you as he cums in his pants.

After a few minutes, the two of you calm down enough to really look at one another, though you're both a little hesitant. No one says anything for a good, long second, but the look on your red, sweaty face says you're happy. Nervous, he tucks his face back into the crook of your neck, laying a few soft, sort of awkward kisses there, debating whether he should pull away or not. He doesn't want to impose himself on you anymore than he already has.

But your leg remains wound around his hip, holding him close as your hands move up to cradle the back of his head, petting softly, and the loving touch glues him in place, too lost in your affection to even think about going anywhere. He knows that you two are going to have to have a long, likely awkward talk about this, about what this makes you. He isn't dreading it as much as he imagined he'd be. He's eager to call you his, actually, if you'll let him...

...but not so eager that he can ignore the way you're starting to grind against him again. Or the way he's getting hard all over again. Poor thing, you're not getting much sleep tonight, are you?

He'll make it up to you somehow.

[unemployedhockeyfan]

Not All Breakups Are Equal

Summary: Lando and Eloise, two best friends. They'd been there for one another for as long as they could remember. But, just a few short weeks change everything.

Warnings: angst I guess

Notes: Hi! This is a first for me, so please share your feedback!! Let me know if you want a part 2!!

[1.4k]

This was not how it was supposed to end. 

We were supposed to be friends until our dying breaths. If I let my true imagination wander, it wouldn’t have ended just like that either. If I was honest with myself early on, he would have been the man I saw as I walked down the aisle. 

But here we are in his way-too expensive Monaco apartment. 

“Eloise, I don’t understand why you are so pressed about this,” Lando shouted in my direction. 

The issue was nearly nonexistent three weeks ago. Lando, my best friend, had been seeing a new girl. I had tried my best to try and get to know her — it is what I always did when a new woman entered his life. 

The key is that I tried. She didn’t want any part in being my friend. Only a few days after I had met the new fling, I found out what she had to say about me. 

None of it was good. Honestly, most of it was vile. She’s so fake. She’s just jealous because he will never look at her like that. He just pities her. I’ll make him forget her name. 

As my mind continues to be clouded by what my best friend’s new girlfriend thinks of me, I’m thrust back into reality. Lando and I are shouting at each other — something we never used to do. Really, this may be the first time it’s ever happened. 

Max, a mutual friend to both of us, is sitting awkwardly on the couch. He clearly wishes he was anywhere but this apartment. I can only imagine what Lando’s neighbors are thinking at this moment. 

“How could I not care, Lando?” I yelled back.

“She was joking,” Lando responded. 

This wasn’t a joke. A joke is between friends. A joke isn't supposed to leave you crying on the bathroom floor. 

A joke isn’t supposed to end a friendship. 

“She was not joking, Lando. She was serious. If you cannot support me, if you cannot tell her that it’s not OK to talk about me like that, I’m not sure we can be friends anymore.” 

I can’t believe those words just came out of my mouth, and by the look on Lando’s face, I don’t think he can either. 

“Eloise,” Lando said before he paused to take in my emotions. 

I felt the tears rolling down my face. I hadn’t even realized the tears had started to come. But how could they not? A 15-year friendship was only a few words away from ending. As I had made the proclamation, I glanced to my side and saw Max’s mouth agape. 

The three of us — the three musketeers — had been side-by-side-by-side for as long as I could remember. My twin brother had grown up karting with them, and while Lando and Max were friends with Rory, there was something about the three of us that clicked more. 

I watched from the sides as they grew up and chased their dreams and I watched as Lando made his Formula 1 debut. 

Along the way, I had apparently caught feelings for the British driver, too, but I’d never openly admit that. 

Max suspected it, though. 

“You can’t seriously be thinking about ending our friendship over this?”

“I don’t know, Lando. I think we’ll always be friends, but I can’t be an active participant in your life if she is too. I need to protect my own mental health.” 

Lando’s eyes were beginning to be rimmed with tears. 

I cannot believe I’m the person who’s making him cry. When he and Louisa went through their breakup and I saw how sad he was, I vowed that I would never be the reason for his tears. 

But, here we are and I’m making him cry. 

The longer I stand here in his kitchen, though, the more I start to think about it not actually being my fault. He’s the one who invited his new girlfriend into his life. She’s the one who said negative things about me. I’m just protecting myself. 

“No, Eloise, you can’t just walk out the door.”

My mind was so cluttered that I didn’t even realize I had taken steps toward his front door — that I had one hand on the doorknob. Here I was, though, a simple hand movement and step away from walking out of Lando Norris’ life. 

“I’m sorry.”

I twisted the handle, opened the door and walked out. 

I was three steps down the hallway when I heard the door slam closed. I paused, part of me hoping I’d hear his voice call out. All I wanted was for him to follow me out into the hallway and fight for me to stay. 

As I stood three feet away from his front door, it was silent. He hadn’t followed me, Lando was still in his apartment — likely gazing down at his kitchen counter with Max equally shocked sitting on the couch. 

It was silent. 

I glanced back at his apartment, willing the front door to open. It never did, so I turned back around and walked toward the elevator. 

This was it. Our friendship was over. No, our friendship was paused. I wouldn’t let it be over, at least not in my head. 

No matter how much it hurt, no matter how much sleep I lost over it, I was going to always tell myself that Lando was going to come back. I didn’t care if it was him coming back to me as a single man or if he entered my life again with the same girlfriend as long as she agreed to be kind to me. 

As I stepped out of the elevator and into the lobby of Lando’s apartment building, I braced myself for the evening chill. Before tucking my arms into my body, I wiped away the tears that seemed neverending at this point. 

Only seconds after stepping outside, I heard my name being called. 

“Eloise! Eloise! Stop, please, Eloise!” 

It wasn’t Lando, though. It was Max being the friend he always is. 

“Where are you going?”

It was a valid question, I don’t live in Monaco. Well, not officially. 

My job allows me to work remotely, so I truthfully live wherever Lando happens to be that week. That’s over now. 

“Um, I’m not really sure. I may just show up at the airport and see where I can get a flight. I just can’t be here.” 

The look on Max’s face is one I hope to never see again. I knew at that moment that Max had always known. He knew about the crush I started harboring when we were only 13 years old. 

“Eloise, I’m not going to stop you from leaving. I cannot imagine how much you’re hurting right now, but please know he does love you.”

“No, Max, don’t say that! Please, my heart can’t entertain that idea — not anymore.” 

“But he does, Eloise. He just doesn’t reali…”

“Max, stop,” I shouted to interrupt him. “Please. I need you to not say what you’re thinking. If he loved me, even if he didn’t realize it, he would never let me feel like this. Even if he wanted to still see her, he’d tell her to be kinder to me.” 

Max just stood there. He didn’t know what to say. To be honest, I didn’t really know either, but he knew enough to at least pull me into a hug. 

That’s when I lost it. The tears started flowing and it seemed like nothing would stop them. Max laid a kiss on the top of my head, he’s always been another brother to me. He gave me an extra squeeze before placing his hands on my shoulders and pushing me away slightly. 

“Just let me know where that plane ticket gets you, OK?”

“Always.” 

With that, I turned away from one of my two best friends, with the other several floors away, and began to walk. I didn’t even have my suitcase. I guess I’d have to text Max about that one because I couldn’t turn back now. 

It was just after midnight by the time I arrived at the airport — I had thankfully found an empty taxi despite the late hour. 

As I approached the counter in the airport, the employee gave me a quick glance before her eyes returned to the screen in front of her.

“May I help you?”

“I’d like to buy a ticket.”

“To where?” 

I froze, I still hadn’t thought this far. I could go home, but that would be the first place Lando looked. For as much as I wanted him to chase after me, I still didn’t want to be easy to find. 

On a whim, one place came to mind. 

“New York. New York City.” 

[ilovejeongintoo]

𝔾𝕒𝕫𝕖 𝕆𝕗 𝕊𝕥𝕠𝕟𝕖

!WARNING NSFW Content ahead! !MDNI!

Genre: Fantasy, Gorgon Hongjoong x Reader, Magic Academy Au Warnings: sex p in v, bruising(don't worry), venom/aphrodisiac, a little of blood(bite), begging, teasing kinda? Wordcount: 5029 Not proofread

Serpent Hybrid Honjoong would actually be so hot, I can't breathe. Also inspired by Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.

Summary: The magic school you go to has many secrets and students start disappearing again, but when you're friend also suddenly turns into thin air, you decide to find her yourself, one of the secrets is closer than you could have ever imagined.

"Did you hear?, it happened again."

"This is the third student this month."

"Aren't the teachers gonna do anything."

No, they won't, they never have. In all the years that you've been training to be a wizard, no one did anything against the mysterious disappearances happening in this school. And you doubt anyone ever will.

Every year, when the snow started to build a thick layer onto the gras outside and the days started becoming shorter, at night students went missing, one by one. And every time, not a single teacher would investigate further, you doubt that they even told the parents about the fate that their children would suffer.

It wasn't like they'd disappear forever, they would return one day, out of the blue. But not the same, they had a blank expression, as if the life was sucked out of them. And they would mutter about strange, unintelligible things.

This was seriously getting out of hand, you'd never know who would be next, maybe it was that nerdy girl in potions class, or that stupid jock that sat way too close with his sweaty self.

Or maybe you.

You closed your locker in frustration, swiftly heading off to your next class. You were not in the mood to listen to any of this nonsense anymore, the upcoming exams had you on your feet already, there wasn't any need for more stress on your end.

You were sat at your desk, patiently waiting for your friend to show up. But she wouldn't show, not even when the teacher arrived, or 10 minutes into the lesson. Maybe she just forgot to tell you that she wouldn't be coming.

You tried focusing on your lessons, a weird feeling stirring in your gut. As you were packing your books, the runes teacher called out to you, a small old woman.

You quickly headed over to her, your bag over your shoulder. Your brows furrowed at the serious and kind of dim expression that her wrinkly face was painted in.

"Have you heard anything from your friend, Adeline?" "No, I haven't, why?" It wasn't rare for her to miss a class, especially not this one. Why was she so concerned?

"She wasn't at her after school studies, or any of the club activities." Now those she definitely never misses, as she actually likes those. That feeling in your stomach started feeling heavier and a clump in your throat started forming at the all the possibilities of where she was, or what could have happened.

"Her roommates also noticed her missing." How could you be the only person to not have noticed anything, you, you were her best friend for god’s sake. You broke out in a cool sweat; she couldn't be far. Hopefully.

You thanked the teacher for informing you, telling her you'd tell her if you find out anything about her whereabouts. This cannot be happening. Not to her, your mind kept making pictures of all the times at the academy, how you'd spend any moment with her.

The third student this month. It must be her. She was now one of the missing students, that were going to turn up again like brain dead zombies. No way you'd let that happen. Your steps began quickening, you stopped in front of a few students to ask them if they'd seen her. Never getting a positive answer or even a clue. You kept asking people around the school until someone said something that struck you.

"Oh yeah, the little one, saw her yesterday with…who was it?" They stopped to think, you were restless and grabbed them by the collar.

"Who? With whom was she?"

You looked like you'd start killing the poor student if they didn't tell you, pupils small and eyes wide. You needed to find her, as soon as possible. Your hold didn't let up until they got the answer out with a trembling stutter.

"Kim- Kim Hongjoong"

You let the go, the person catching their breath a little and hurrying off.

Kim Hongjoong, you weren't unfamiliar with the student. He was also going to be a graduate, you had never spoken with him before, but you sure as hell would now.

He was a little popular with his looks and charms. But right now, he might be one of the names that would land on your "to kill" list. If he had anything to do with your besties disappearance. You knew where to find him rather quickly, with asking the next person in your line of vision, a lot nicer than before, as to where he would be. His charms class was just about to end, and luckily for you the classroom was just a few halls down situated.

As soon as your eyes were sat on a familiar blonde hair you grabbed said person by the tie and slammed them into the next wall, fuck being patient, your friend was missing. The dude was definitely taken aback by the shocked expression and silver rimmed glasses that fell down his nose a little.

You got in his face, trying to intimidate him even if he was quite a bit taller.

"Where is she?" "Who?" He seemed genuinely confused, as if, he must be playing dumb on purpose.

"Adeline fucking Winters, where is she?" You gripped him tighter, not aware of the stares some student threw your guys' way. You were sure you must be choking this dude with the way you were holding him.

"Woah calm down- he tried prying your hands from his shirt-"I don't know what you mean." "You were the last person to seen with her, so, where.is.she?

Fed up with your pulling, he roughly yanked himself out of your grip, face now an angry expression at your accusing tone. "I got nothing to do with her vanishing if that's what you're insinuating."

"Fancy words from a kidnapper-" You stepped up to him again, wanting to close the distance again. "-or worse a murderer, huh, what did you do to her." You jabbed an accusing finger into his chest, not believing that he didn't know anything at all.

Before he could come up with what you were sure, was going to be another excuse, a teacher interrupted. She pulled you away at the aggressive look and most definitely clenched fists, trying to deescalate the situation.

You would not let that man rest, he knew something, he has to. So, you shouted, hoping that he would hear:" I'll find out what you're hiding!"

After an hour-long lecture from the principle for your behavior you were finally let off with a warning. They still wouldn't do anything to help you find your friend though, making some lame excuse that she might have just gone and needed some time alone. They clearly just wanted this subject off the table.

You wouldn't give up though. And you had a plan, one that would start with operation: "Observe Kim Hongjoong". You came to realize that the dude was as boring as the next one though, he just went to his classes, hung out with his weird group of friends and would then retire in his room. Nothing out of the ordinary. He must be playing it safe. As to not get found out. So that would mean, you needed to switch to the next phase of your plan: "Confront Kim Hongjoong". That step was a lot easier than you were thinking, as he himself paid you a visit in your potions class, snagging the seat next to you.

Making himself a little too comfortable in the seat, same uniform as any student here wore. A tie, dark coat and slacks matched with dress shoes and a white pristine shirt.

As the lesson began, he began whispering to you. "Look I don't know what happened to your friend." He had a sympathetic look to his face; you'd almost believe him.

Almost.

"I know that you have something to do with this." It was more of a feeling than anything, he was either lying or just not telling you the whole truth, you were guessing it's more likely the first option. You turned to him, laying your fountain pen down and stared him down. Right in those deep eyes of his.

"And when I find out what you're hiding, everyone will know." Just then the bell rung, which made you snatch the book and supplies of yours into your arms and speed walking away from him. Being near him made it almost hard to breathe, he was a lot more imposing than you first realized.

You didn't even put away your books, heading straight to the library. Because maybe you hadn't found out where your friend was now, but you did manage to catch something.

His eyes. The moment you looked into them, for a split second, so fast that anyone could miss it, they changed. Yes, maybe you were actually going crazy…but if not, this could help find Adeline, Addy, your friend. You started missing her more and more over the passing days, praying that she was okay at the least.

For what reason would Hongjoong need someone to disappear? To kill them? To sacrifice them? God, he just a kid like you though. But those eyes weren't, they looked cold, like pure ice that sank into the depths of a deep-frozen lake.

You decided just looking at all the books in the library would take way too long, the room was practically the size of a mansion. You started looking through a few ritual books, nothing. Looking into some records of the school, nothing. No missing people, no records at all, even though this was a phenomenon that had been going on since your first year here. Someone must be covering this whole thing up, or something.

The tag for the forbidden section caught your eye, looking back to see if the librarian had their eyes on you, you slipped through the wooden door. It was left unlocked, well not willingly as some students broke the lock and the school decided the cost wasn't worth fixing. It was pretty dark in here, as you choose to keep the lights off. Noone needed to know you were in here, or the next lecture with the principal wouldn’t just end with a warning.

You looked through a few books, they were sometimes in a language you couldn't read or barely understood. A dark cover in the corner caught your eye, you reached for it and blew the dust on the top off it a bit. It uncovered the title "Legendarum Magicus". That almost sounded like a childrens book for magic legends. You flipped it open nonetheless, it didn't have an author and the writing, it wasn't printed, it seemed to be handwritten, each page of it.

And all the texts, they were all about this school. Hidden stories about the weird creaking in the abandoned girl’s bathroom. The hidden cellar in the school, which was supposedly home to mysterious caged creatures. What made your hand stop turning pages was when the book spoke about the missing students, or more importantly, the cause of it.

As you read through it with your phone as a light. Each paragraph you read, made your hand tighten and shake against the book until you closed it with a slam. A noise way too loud for anyone not to hear. As soon as you heard the familiar squeak of the librarian chair you ran out, slipping the book into your bag and hiding behind a pillar as to not get caught. When the coast was clear you headed to the stairs you just wanted to go to your room now, too exhausted and tensed with all the new things you learned from the book. And about the infamous Kim Honjoong.

Your eyes closed your eyes trying to keep the headache you managed to sport away. And at last made you fall asleep, bag still clutched to your body.

The next day phase three your plan would step into action: "Confronting Hongjoong and getting Adeline back". You had no idea how you'd do that but just in case of something happening, you packed a special little object with you.

Hongjoong must have some kind of unnatural for feeling when you needed to talk to him because he came up to you again, just before class was going to start.

"Hey, I just wanted to make sure, that you know I-" He gestured to himself, and you cut him off, not planning on listening to more of his lies.

"I know your secret Hongjoong." That sure got him to be quiet quick. He looked calm from the outside, but once again, those eyes said more than anything on that pretty face. The Frames didn't hide the icy expression, his eyes seemed to get deeper now you felt like you were drowning in that cold, frozen over lake. That same restricting feeling on your chest.

You managed to get it out though, in a barely there voice.

"I know what you are."

At that he abruptly grabbed your hand and began pulling you away from the classroom, not planning on partaking in the lesson. Your and his steps were the only things that could be heard in the empty hallway. Would he take you to where the others were now? You didn't feel that good about going there alone, wherever "there" was. His steps were quick and long and the rooms that you passed were a big, connected blur.

You stepped down several stairways, they all went further and further down. And then he stepped through doors until you were in the common bath, he pulled you in and then let go.

He stepped around the huge bath going for where the multiple faucets that were used for it were. He turned a few, seemingly in a specific order and when he stepped back from them a buzz rang through the room. An opening in the wall opened, the wall sliding from it former place like a normal door, yet this was anything but normal.

He walked through the hole, stopping and turning to you. "If you wanna know where your little friend is now, you ought to follow me."

Was this smart? Absolutely not. Were you going to do it regardless?

Yes.

You knew what this path led to, his lair. Where he trapped his victims. His eyes seemed to glow a green in the dark of the tunnel and he continued walking ahead, knowing that you'd follow.

When the tunnel opened up again it was into a big room. Water pouring from a lot of places in the ceiling and disappearing into nothingness. Big stone pathways were decorated with big statues on each side making it look like a big ominous walkway, headed straight to a statue in the front. All depicted the same animal, a serpent. That made your heart beat a little faster, your hands tremble a little more and you turned your bag a little more to you, for easier access. Hongjoong took off his coat, throwing it off into a corner. He loosened his tie and popped a few buttons open, before turning back to you.

"You know, your first one to figure it out." He said all friendliness and the desperate attempts of convincing you of his innocence were gone. Now before you stood the real Kim Hongjoong.

"You humans are usually so stupid and naive, quite easy to fool. But now, you show up, trying to play hero." He took slow steps to you, and you reached into your bag at the same tempo. Your heart began racing.

"Most of the times I just get a little bit of the energy of the magicians here, letting them walk away in a little daze and making them come back again if I’m in need of a little snack again." He continued on, explaining, not that you'd understand his situation.

"I think I'll make an exception for you though." He closed in on you just as you had done the first day you confronted him. You pulled out the round object that you took with you, a mirror. You looked away as well, not wanting to be affected with whatever he was trying to pull on you.

If the book was correct, what stood before you wasn't a human. It was the embodiment of medusa, the curse holder of the gaze of stone, a gorgon. He was a living myth, inhabiting the dark underground of this Academy. Feasting on his prey. He turned away with a yell, stopped by the reflective surface in your hand.

"Smart little thing, aren't you?" You heard him speak, not willing to give him an ounce of your eyesight. He wouldn't be able to catch you with his gaze.

"Yeah, that's right- you stood from your cowering position; mirror still held tightly in hand. "-so give me back my best friend and nothing will happen." You started looking for her in the room, not seeing anyone besides the two of you.

"Oh, but it will, now that you know, you don't expect to just walk away? Do you?"

"Oh, sweet thing, but she isn't even here." You felt a grip in your hand, making you turn your head regardless in shock. He turned your mirror away from him, gripping your wrist tighter until you let go and it shattered on the stone floor. You choose to just tightly close your eyes.

He stepped closer into your personal space, he dragged his one hand to your jaw, turning your head to him. "Look at me." It was a demand, a command to do as told or you'd suffer some serious repercussions.

You refused to give in, you wouldn't, for your friend. You felt his warm breath brush your face and then you felt a soft feeling against your lips, nonetheless, making you open your eyes. Which in turn made you gaze into his-now grey-eyes. You felt like you were afloat, in a daze, completely relaxed. Like you were on a high, it felt like when you used to make potions to fall asleep.

His blonde fluffy hair was starting to go out of focus a bit, your eyesight blurry. A hand cupped your cheek, now tilting your head to properly get you to look at him.

"Now Now, don't fall asleep, we're just getting started."

You didn't really hear his words, too out of it. The thing that you could focus on the most were those lips, that were now curved in a pretty smile. Your throat dried up a little at the notion of getting to feel those lips again, you leaned into him a little. You kissed up your cheek, in a motion way too sweet given the situation. You kept your eyes open now, intent on capturing all of his movements in your memories. You felt a little prick of him biting into your lower lip and right after you felt even more floaty, incredibly warm as well. As if you were coming down with a fever, Hongjoong's lips felt so cool in contrast now, which made you more the desperate to reconnect your lips each time. With each smack it seemed to cool you off, but your body began burning more.

You pulled him more into you, feeling the exposed part of his chest, just as cooling as the rest of him. You unbuttoned it more. "Eager, aren't we?" His voice seemed far away, but his touch wasn't as he got rid of your cloak and shirt just as fast.

His touch was soft but demanding not rushing at all, you however couldn't get enough fast enough. You pressed messy kisses along his neck, down his collar bone and chest, your hands finding their place on his pecs. You explored the expanse of his body, keeping your lips on his torso. You slipped your one hand down further his abdomen, now noticing a few scales scattered over the sides of his torso. You delicately traced his abs, being stopping by your head, when a hand pulled your head back by your hair. It forced you to make eye contact with the heavenly looking creature in front of you. "That's only for good ones, have you been good?"

You nodded, whatever would get you to feel more of him and satiate that ache deep inside you. To make the burning stop. Instead of letting you continue on, he completely pulled away.

The suddenness made you sink onto the cold stone floor. A whine escaped you in response, which, in any other situation would have embarrassed you. You couldn't pick your body off the ground, way too weak, your bones felt like they were made out of pudding. "Now tell me, who else might know that I'm the reason for the incidents happening on these grounds? Any friends you like to gossip to?" He tapped your chin to get you to look at him, noticing how it sunk at the relaxed feelings of your body.

You couldn't even understand him, the question hadn't registered at all in your mushed up brain. So, he repeated himself now sounding a lot more serious though.

You tried thinking back, no one, you hadn't told anyone about this escapade of yours, or even that you had the slightest idea of who could be behind the kidnapped students. That shook you awake a little, you were here for someone, for your best friend.

You didn't know which answer would make you come out of this alive, so you stuck with the truth. Instantly a a big smile formed on his face, eyes crinkling a bit and fangs showing. Fangs that you managed to only notice now.

"What do you want with them? You don't eat them, so what do you do to them?" Your weakened voice questioned. Hongjoongs one eyebrow raised in surprise at the fact that your head was starting to clear up again. That wasn't part of his plan in bringing you here. He supposed he could tell you, not that you'd remember any of this after, just like the others.

"But that's where you're wrong, I do eat them, partially. I take away that delicious spiritual energy, it doesn't kill you. But can you really call that living? You saw, they're empty husks after."

He enjoyed the wide-eyed look on your face, now just realizing what real danger you were facing. It was crazy how nonchalant he was about all of this. He kept his non-threatening facade for now, and then when you would least expect it, he'd wrap himself around you, just like a viper.

"No, please-uh not my friend please." Aww how cute, you were really worried about someone else right now?

You really were naïve.

Following him down here, trusting his words of giving up your mortal friend. He enjoyed seeing you beg, especially on your knees on the floor. It gave him even more of a power trip than he was already having.

The tears in your eyes, the disheveled state of your clothes and hair and God, the pink blush that was still left on your cheeks from before. He was barely keeping himself under control. Maybe he could make an exception, just this once.

"Alright, I’ll let your friend go, hell I'll even stop taking students, for a price of course."

Okay, this was your only chance to save her. You'd do whatever it took to know that she was alive and still the one that you spent all this time with, in all those years.

You were still looking up at him with those big eyes, in hope. That he would keep his words. "If I can’t feed on those friends of yours, you'll just have to quench my hunger."

Die? Was he really asking you to die? To sacrifice yourself? You were shaking, you were going to be one of those lifeless husks, roaming the halls until you graduated. Only God knows how your life would continue after.

You supposed you didn't have any other choice, if this was really the only way, there’s no way you could walk away and live with the guilt. If Hongjoong would even let you leave.

"Alright, I'll do it, but you have to let them go." He moved towards you at that, with each step your shoulders shook more in fear of what was about to happen to you. You were praying for it to at least not be painful. You closed your eyes in preparation of his next move.

Directly in front of you again he ran his fingers down, along your cheek. Going down and over your neck, feeling your pulse and staying there. The smell of your fear was already feeding him more than you'd ever know, but he wouldn't just stop without having an actual taste of you.

He leaned in, those same plush lips brushed over your neck and then slightly exposed shoulder. Your shirt had ridden down quite a bit, some buttons opened. You could feel his long tongue occasionally trace a few lines along the expanse of your shoulder, but he bit in, just slightly.

Your taste was heavenly, reminding him of his favorite pastry. He needed to keep you alive so that his now favorite snack would never leave him.

That made you wince; this would be it. His tongue went over the small holes that were left behind in a soothing touch. You started feeling dazed even more, more than before. His venom that must have been it before as well. Now that it was more and deeper it worked so much stronger. The heat was actually unbearable now, you began taking your top clothes off in a fruitless attempt to feel cooler.

Searching for some coolness your hands met Hongjoongs skin again wrapping yourself around him to get your naked upper body flush against him. His went around to hold your waist, quickly slipping down to push your skirt and panties off in one move. If your blood tasted that good, in between your legs would actually make him ascend to heaven. Usually, he wouldn't drain his victims like this, not at all.

He pushed you to lay on the floor, on your back. He followed right behind, settling himself between your legs. Eyes going for the space in between your legs, which was a sight for sore fucking eyes. So wet, from just a little kissing and his venom. And those tits, that he hadn't appreciated until now, he really should have. Everything about you was screaming to be consumed, he wonders if he was the one lured and not you.

He wasn't any better than you though, his dick leaking pre-cum and coating his underwear maybe even his slacks. He made quick work of both, just as impatient as you. Your hands kept going over him, caressing any space you could find. His hands found the back of your thighs folding them up to have you spread out even more for him, the position had him licking his lips. He lined himself up against your pulsing hole, that was clearly eager to be filled.

No foreplay at all he pushed in slowly to not hurt you anymore than necessary to get himself sheathed inside of you. He rubbed your clit to alleviate some of the pain that followed with his push. You barely even registered the pain, grabbing him by the nape and pulling him down into a kiss.

The moment he moved his hips back and forth you were seeing stars, your senses seemed so dimmed but your touch receptor and nerves were heightened. The pleasure was ten fold, the slide got wetter and wetter with each passing thrust. The groaning and moaning from each of you growing louder and rawer. You pulled back to catch a breath from the kiss, your head was thrown back at a particular deep and calculated thrust.

You looked down to see where you two were connected, the sight straight out of a porn, your wetness leaking all over Honjoong and yourself. And you could clearly see some sticky precum pulling strands and connecting the skin.

It was so hot, so sensual and dirty. The wetness provided the right slide for when your clit would make contact with Honjoongs pubic bone, grinding against it. Your climax was approaching way faster than any time before in your life, faster than when your favorite toy was hitting all those spots inside you, deeper than your fingers ever hoped to reach. The pleasure felt unreal.

The same was for him, he was so out of breath. The squelching from your pussy and your wet and warm walls made such a deadly combination. It felt as if no time at all passed, you hit your highs that fast, with Hongjoong curling over your body and pushing your legs a little further up. And you gripping onto his back for dear life, your body working overtime with all the sensations and pleasure coursing through you. Little lightning bolts making you flinch a little in sensitivity.

The only thing heard in the big room was the harsh breathing that escaped the both of you, having you stay in position for quite a while, until he separated the two of you.

His cock leaving you empty but that heat also slowly dissipating. You stayed laying on the floor until you felt some fabric being placed around you, like a blanket. Opening your eyes, it was Honjoongs coat your body disconnected from the uncomfortable floor and was lifted into his strong arms.

He didn't walk in the direction of the exit, he walked further in, it kept getting darker and darker making sleepier. His grip tightened in realization of you starting to doze off. In spite of the clear danger holding you, you felt yourself surrendering to the sweet sensation of sleep. He felt himself smile a little at the adorable sight and now he would have more than enough times to enjoy that over and over again.

A deal is a deal after all.

[midniiights-garden]

General HCs on Mizu with an S/O

First Meeting: How would she have most likely come into contact with the reader?

Personally I believe that Mizu would have most likely met her future S/O whilst they were travelling or working.

I'm gearing this more towards non-binary/female readers so if you're a guy reading this I'm sorry 😞

Anyways, yeah she probably met her S/O whilst they were either running away from something, hiding themselves or maybe as a brothel worker.

Either way I really think the first meeting would go the same no matter how you met her.

She'd be pretty cold and distant as she is with most people, keeping her distance both physically and emotionally. At first she won't treat her future S/O that differently than others.

Her Type: What would her type be?

I see Mizu as someone who needs stability. So ideally her S/O wouldn't be someone with the tendency to need adventure or conflict to thrive.

She would probably want someone who knows who they are, someone she doesn't need to take care of as an addition to herself. Someone who is ok with being alone especially since Mizu strikes me as the type to need time to herself often.

I also think she wouldn't be great with words of affirmation, so if you really need words to feel secure I don't think she'd be a great partner for that. Throughout the show I notice that she shows appreciation mainly through acts of service and quaility time, and this would still be the case with her S/O.

In terms of apperance I don't think she'd actually care too much. I think she may have an unconcious bias towards other Asians since she was raised in Japan, but due to her prior experience with racisim I don't think she'd necessarily be willing to be with someone of European lineage. I think that this might change through time though, especially once Mizu manages to come to terms with her own features. Then I think she'd be pretty unbiased.

They'd also have to be more on the mature side. Not necessarily in terms of age, but just personality wise. Someone who is self-aware and understanding and paitent.

Trust: How trusting would she be?

At first not very.

Obviously she has had incredibly negative experiences with relationships, so once she had an S/O I think she may still struggle with making the difference between her past relationship and her current one.

This may result in a bit of a turbulent start and I think there may be more arguements.

However, as time goes on and she realises that her S/O is truly in love with her for who she is and would probably die for her she starts to open up some more.

I've seen other headcanons saying that she becomes more feminine once she's comfortable with her S/O and I 100% agree with it. Just imagining her with her S/O, her hair down and letting her partner put makeup on her makes me blush and giggle ngl. Like, she is stunning. Breathtaking. Absolutely gorgeous. Words cannot describe how wonderful she is.

Anyways-

Yeah it would be like the reverse of "calm before the storm".

Arguements: How would she handle an arguement between her and her S/O?

Ok, so firstly I think an arguement would probably arise due to her aforementioned unwillingness to open up. Her S/O would be tired of being kept in the dark or worried about Mizu and would pry, and Mizu would snap.

I think Mizu would actually end up storming off, wanting to cool down first before coming back.

Mizu isn't one to solve things with violence when it comes to the people she cares about, so I think she'd prefer to talk things out calmly instead of yelling.

It may turn into yelling if said S/O tried to follow her when she leaves to go cool down though.

After the arguement she may be a little cold for a couple of days before returning to her usual self.

Marriage: Does she want to get remarried?

At the beginning of the relationship I do not think she was very willing to get married again. (Fuck you M*kio.)

Of course, as I mentioned plenty of times before she would have a lot of reservations in terms of opening herself up emotionally.

She fears getting married again might be a Mikio pt. 2 which would not be great for her mental health.

But as the relationship grows and her S/O proves that they intended to stay by her side ring or not... that's when she starts to consider the idea again. Especially since this time it's with someone she truly loves and who loves her back.

Her wedding would be small. Obviously. No hate to my precious baby but she doesn't have a whole lot of friends nor family to invite over. It would most likely just consist of her S/O and her, Ringo and Akemi. Who may or may not have dragged Taigen along.

Mizu would get to wear her wedding attire and properly get married to the love of her life. 😭😭😭

I can imagine her being really nervous beforehand, wondering if her S/O might consider her ugly once she saw her in her wedding attire and what not.

But of course her S/O would be like "stfu you're beautiful".

All in all it'd be a pretty emotional affair, lots of crying (behind doors for Mizu) and hugs.

(A/N: Ok. So I may have lied when I said general. Listen, in my defense I'm basically just throwing up my ideas here.)

[controlsy]

These are the main characters of the story! A Spinch scientist in the mountain town of Ragus Kaep named Dr. Hawk wanted to do something no scientists had ever done before, which was create an entirely new form of life. Though he succeeded, it didn't go how he thought it would.

His intentions were to make an ESPer robanthry who could take in every piece of information imaginable. Verge N. 1 was his first attempt at this. Verge is effectively a "technology ESPer" which means he can read all data from every piece of technology. As an example, looking at a phone he could read through its entire message history, its browsing history, every app it has, every contact, and every voicemail. However, unlike regular ESPers, he cannot read the intentions behind messages that are sent.

Hawk considered Verge to be on the brink (or verge) of success, but not good enough, so he created Verse N. 2, who was the second attempt. Verse is exactly what he wanted- he can not only read technology, but also the minds of regular anthries and every living thing. Verse is, quite literally, the most dangerous thing that has ever lived on Spinch.

Hawk's intentions were bad- he wanted to use them for evil gains, but he didn't anticipate how much free will they'd have, and instead of being able to use their abilities for wrongdoing, he simply puts them through testing and tasks and experiments to see what they are capable of. He controls their lives.

Verse resents their creator because he doesn't view either of them as actual people, and he's full of bitterness and anger. Verge doesn't like Hawk either, but he also has a SERIOUS complex about the fact he's literally the "failure" of the project, while Verse is the "success". Verge and Verse are also technically the same person in their programming- Verse is simply an "improved" edition of Verge. Hawk just built them with different appearances to differentiate them. Both of them also have huge identity issues and want to be their own people and don't like that they're the same person... at least most of the time, when sometimes Verge falls into the wish that they WERE literally the same because Verse is "better" than him.

ESPer robanthries are different from regular anthries in one major way. They have the ability to control their powers instead of it being non-stop and un-mutable. One aspect of robanthry biology is the fact that, since they are computers, all of their "senses" are just programs, so they can turn them on and off. They can turn off their hearing, their sight, their voice, or their sense of touch at any time. The ESPer sense is technically just another program, so they can turn that off too.

I hope you guys like them!!!

[vengeful-horde-of-angry-ghosts]

I think something to keep in mind regarding Kiriona and John's relationship, especially regarding the content of Kiriona and Ianthe's argument at the tomb, is what happens when they first meet. Yes, Gideon has a parent now! He's God! He gave her a new name connecting her to their culture and a commission in the cohort and made her his heir! Maybe he really is trying (when he's not drunkenly fucking his way through the cohort).

But the first time she meets him (during the Jerry Springer portion of the book), she sees the fight with Mercymorn and Augustine where he admits to lying about the cavaliers having to die. (As a cavalier who died, I think it would be totally reasonable for her to take this one personally.)

More importantly, she's angry with him for hurting Harrow. She straight up tells him, "Go to hell, Pops."

She watches Ianthe save him and says, "She got one choice, and not only did she blow it, but she blew it in such a huge fucking spectacular way that you would’ve been impressed had you not hated her for it."

Next sentence she calls John "the guy who had lied to everyone about everything."

Not a great first impression.

So back to Kiriona. She seems loyal enough. She plays the part. But she goes awol to get to New Rho first chance she gets (I don't believe for a second that John actually sent her there, especially considering there was no way to know they'd end up on the ninth. It has to be about Harrow, which Ianthe even asks.). She seems to me to be angry and defensive when she talks about what John has done to her body, her eyes "hard and dead and bright, like something that had been dug up" when previously they had been compared to Nona's eyes.

I feel like her loyalty to John isn't as secure as most people seem to think it is. If Harrow was disappointed by him as God while he still had his shit together, how disappointed must Gideon be to finally have a parent and it's John in his breakdown stage? Even Ianthe is disappointed by him.

I'm reminded of this exchange with Harrow in GtN:

“I need you to trust me.”

“I need you to be trustworthy.”

Given everything she's seen him do, I cannot imagine her finding John trustworthy. I can't imagine that a few months of playing happy families has changed that.

[lgbtlunaverse]

Now this is meaner than i like to be when talking about fandom because i am pro people having fun and doing what they want and playing around with dynamics. So let me preface by saying that if you like this headcanon there's nothing wrong with you and I hope you have a great day. That said, aside from the Wen erasure and trying to flatten a more unconventional family dynamic into a nuclear family shaped hole one of the main reasons I vibe less with the "wangxian are a-yuan's dads" headcanon is that I honestly think it's kind of... Lan Wangji character assasination.

Yeah that sounds really harsh but the headcanon recquires Lan Wangji formally adopting a-yuan as his own and/or raising him as his son and i cannot stress this enough he would not do that. Because that would be actively endangering A-Yuan's safety.

To be clear: Lan wangji and wen yuan canonically look so alike that strangers who'd never met either of them assumed they were father and son. If Lan Wangji suddenly comes back with a child that he is insisting to raise, and that child looks exactly like him, people aren't going to assume that's hanguang-jun's adopted son. That is hanguang-jun's biological son with a mystery mother!

Jiang Fengmian didn't even formally adopt wei wuxian, and people knew who his actual (married!) parents were, and they still regularly assumed that he was secretly jiang fengmian's bastard instead of the child of the man cangse sanren literally eloped with.

If that's how eager people are about bastard rumours, what do you think happens if one of the most eligible bachelors in the jianghu turns up with an "adopted" son who looks just like him and refuses to say anything about where he came from?

Yeah, Hanguang-jun knocked someone up and apparantly the union was so scandalous he's deperately trying to cover it up while literally bringing this bastard kid into his own clan. Can you imagine a more juicy rumour? Everyone would want to know who this kid's mother is. A-Yuan's background would be one of the hottest pieces of gossip around.

Which, if you're triyng to make sure that no one finds out that this kid is actually a Wen and came straight from the burial mounds, is really fucking bad. If everyone is looking for A-Yuan's backround and someone succeeds, his life is in danger.

A-Yuan lost his memories, and that must've hurt like hell for Lan Wangji, both for A-Yuan's own sake and because that means this child that Wei Wuxian loved and who loved him in turn now no longer remembers him, will only ever know him from the lies the world tells about him. But he didn't do anything about it, because not knowing was safer for A-Yuan. Even if Lan Wangji wanted to personally adopt him, he would not risk A-Yuan's safety to satisfy his own feelings.

On the other hand, A-Yuan looking like Lan Wangji means he looks like a Lan, and wonky as the mdzs timeline is it's pretty clear he was born during the sunshot campaign. The Lan lost a lot of people in the war, they probably have loads of war orphans, and this kid clearly looks like one, they'd have no problem taking him in. Are they 100% sure who his parents were? No, but they probably died shortly after he was born and weren't able to safely return him to cloud recesses.

It's really easy for Lan Xichen and Lan Wangji to come up with a story from here. Someone came across the kid on the streets, saw the family resemblance, and decided to take him back to his home! After the burial mounds Wen Yuan probably wouldn't look too different form an average street rat. Or maybe the boy was raised by a common family who told them about the cultivators that left him there for safekeeping, unable to idenify them exactly but mentioning the signature white robes and forehead ribbon. Who knows!

The point is that Lan Wangji and Lan Sizhui could, for Sizhui's own safety, not be seen as father and son. From Sizhui's comments that Lan Wangji was "like a father or older brother" to him, and the fact that Lan Wangji chose his courtesy name we can infer that after he got out of seclusion Lan Wangji was more involved in his life than he would've been with other disciples. But from the outside that could be explained as a teacher having a favorite student, and an honoured sect elder (and family member, though now the assumption is "distant cousin/nephew" instead of "bastard child") helping to name a child in lieu of parents that are no longer there. By all accounts, Lan Yuan was raised collectively by the Lan as one of the several war orphans they must have had. Just like how he was raised collectively by the burial mound Wen before that.

[emmitaaa4]

Elriels... I am sorry. I fear I may have come to my senses.

I hate to say it, but from my time in the fandom, it has become increasingly clear that Elriels tend to have superficial views of Elain and Azriel: when you actually deep dive into their characters, it's hard to ignore how toxic they'd be for one another. And they’ve been telling us:

"… Elain and Azriel are such different characters; Elain wouldn't understand Az nor fully accept him. After all, how could she deal with his darkness, when she couldn't handle Nesta's? They would stunt each other’s growth by enabling the other’s ‘toxic traits’—Az would coddle Elain and she would let him."

Right ?! I just—I didn’t want to see it, but their incompatibility is so evident.

I mean, it’s not like:

It’s not like they are both said to draw their strength from hope, even as the world holds that hope by the throat and tells them to despair.

It’s not like they both power through their lives quietly, not making too many waves as to not bother anyone: after all, they couldn't possibly both feel like burdens to their families, however differently they may cope with it... Elain hiding the parts of herself that do not conform to what others have made of her, while Azriel defines himself through his ceaseless work as the NC's Spymaster and torturer—for if he is needed, he cannot be abandoned.

It’s not like they both would do—and have done—absolutely anything for their loved ones, nor like they both tend to be overlooked amidst the stronger personalities of their entourage.

It’s not like they both explicitly say that they value fae traditions & celebrations for how they bring loved ones together.

It's not like they both seem to be a little lost in the world sometimes, Elain rebuilding her life & finding a home wherever she must, and Azriel saying he is unsure of where he belongs even after 500yrs. If at least Az didn’t already have an established place/apartment for himself in Velaris, I could maybe imagine them carving their own place in the world, where they are free to be whoever they want (wait—).

It's not like they both tend to wear a mask around others—one warm & pleasant, one cold & distant—nor like we see freer, more genuine sides of them when they are with people they are comfortable with. It’s not like they both reveal themselves through actions, gestures & well placed quips, nor like they both show their care through thoughtful gifts—imagine if even their gifts were complementary: one giving paints the other brushes, one giving books and the other a reading lamp… nah, couldn’t be.

…

Right ?

… Not to mention their lack of understanding:

If at least SJM showed that they understood one another despite all of the red flags described above, they might be able to grow together, but let’s be real, she just hasn’t.

She’s never pointed out that Azriel, like Elain, understands what it is like to struggle with rare, prized powers in silence; what it’s like to be othered by them. All that time together and he's never bothered to actually listen to her.

Those two can’t even read each other without words nor communicate with just a look, so how could they work? Anyways, even IF they could (which the bonus shows they can't), everyone knows that the basis of any healthy relationship is ceaseless friendly banter, so even then they make no sense. She doesn't even bring him joy, let alone make him laugh: even their senses of humor are incompatible!

Their powers are too different, and in no way complementary; she sees everything and he hears everything, that’s like, not even the same senses. He walks through a shadow realm and she Sees through a murky realm—not to mention that what she doesn’t See is all « mist and shadows », so obviously their powers could never work together.

After all, Azriel is a Shadowsinger, it’s not just some title people have made up, and honestly Elain would not understand that.

She’s never looked at his swirling shadows, wide eyed (with awe)…. nah she just ignores them. His shadows lightening at the sight of her smile has such a negative connotation, too.

All those visions she has, plaguing her mind, they’re just too dissimilar to the voices howling in his head, which is obviously why she hasn’t noticed his headaches. His head quieting around her is such a red flag, I’m sorry.

PLUS, don’t you guys remember all the times she’s flinched away from him? She won’t even see beauty in his scars, for Mother’s sake, how could she ever possibly love all of him? If you want to see all the ways in which Elain is clueless in terms of who Az is, check out this post (shoutout to my fellow enlightened Elriels, @nikethestatue and @rahjasmine).

I mean, does everyone forget that Elain even loses her newfound boldness around hi—

...

Like babes.

[brazenautomaton]

so here's a conversation I had with a friend just now that sums up a lot of what I think so well I don't want to bother rephrasing it

them

Oh boy are we ready for 48 more months of hearing the Most Sanest Normalest People on the internet act like a right-of-center candidate getting elected when put up against another nagging scold of a progressive "It's Her Turn"-er was a surprise

me:

The Democrats and their wider supporters don't seem to realize people can remember the things they say. They said Biden was fine, it was a wild right wing conspiracy to think he was unfit for office. Then he is clearly, actively disintegrating on stage at the debate, so now it's Harris! Of course it's Harris, what are you talking about, we've always been about Harris! Harris who was, it's important to note, a diversity hire. She was not a popular candidate. She did dismally in the primary, and was chosen as VP because it was Time For A Strong Woman Of Color

them:

Y-E-P God imagine taking the VP of an unpopular incumbent and saying "Yep, she's the one" and being surprised when that goes poorly It is genuinely alarming, though, how absolutely temporally untethered a lot of the discourse coming from the left is. Like, genuinely just "don't believe your lying memories" level of attempt to disregard stuff that happened not just in living memory, not just in the last decade, but happened during the current presidency. The lack of humility is also not just distasteful, but actually alarming. If you make predictions that are wildly off the mark to try to get people behind your candidate, you cannot then treat your wildly off-the-mark predictions as if they did not matter.

the primary strategy of the "guys who spent five years using 'gaslight' to mean 'disagree with'" appears to be attempted gaslighting. you just aren't allowed to notice things they say and do. every time someone is like "I don't like this thing you're doing," the democrats as a whole are all "That didn't happen and you're a bad person."

this is an effective strategy for winning conversations with people and a very bad strategy for winning elections. when people are upset about things you did or allowed to happen, "nuh uh you bad person" is not a response. "that shouldn't count" is not an effective counter even if you genuinely believe it should not count. a million morlocks-holmes saying "this has nothing to do with the democrats because no democratic holder of office has introduced a bill with explicitly racist language" isn't going to convince anyone who wasn't already convinced. you are not entitled to votes, you have to actually do things to win the election.

focusing on how bad and threatening Trump is is a losing strategy when we had a term of Trump and none of the fascist future we were warned of came to pass. Trump had a fucking vision of the future to really behind that more than zero people believed in. Now, I'm not a "typical" ad-watcher because I only saw campaign ads on YouTube (but I feel like this is not super atypical any more), but I saw a lot of Kamala Harris ads, and zero of them were about any of her plans or ideals or vision and all of them were about "You need to give us money right now to win the election." Like if you're using the money to make ads like this, that's kind of like a one-person pyramid scheme.

the Trump presidency will be terrible in a predictable, expected way. there will be no fascism, just a slow crumbling of our already-dismal institutional competence. I don't think the Democrats would have been much better. They'd still be beholden to an activist core of psychopaths and doing everything they can to cover for those people, while also governing incompetently and completely unable to capitalize on or draw attention to any good things they actually manage to do. Leftists and progressives are already going through the whole "the Democrats move us all to the right they only want to move to the right!" but the Democrats don't move at all; they don't think they should change their behavior, because when they lose an election it is because the voters failed them and not the other way around.

[someidiotwithalaptop]

So... about the "Ironwood Was Right" thing.

I recently saw this resurface a bit, in the context of Ruby's regrets in Volume 9. Basically, taking the fact that she felt like she'd failed as the show saying that yes, actually, she was wrong to go against Ironwood's plan in Volume 7.

I feel like I went into thinking about this trying to debunk it on a logical level. Like, is it actually a good idea to fly off into the sky in one big long stalling measure when your opponent is literally immortal? What's stopping Salem from grabbing all the rest of the relics and then just waiting as many generations as it takes, until the people of Atlas forget why they came up there in the first place and return to Remnant out of curiosity?

The thing is, treating it as an argument about what's the more "rational" choice is missing the point that like. We're talking about a story. We don't know exactly how many people are in Atlas and in Mantle and where they are and how many more trips they'd have to take to finish the evacuation, because details like that would just bog things down.

This is not a trolley problem with x number of people from Mantle on one side and y number of people from Atlas on the other. This is a trolley problem with a wealthy and powerful person on one track, and a disadvantaged person an alternate track, and Ironwood choosing to pull the lever instead of trying to stop the trolley. The point is not "how many." It's not about math. The point is that there is a fundamental difference between dying in the central location while a bunch of Huntresses and Huntsmen do absolutely everything in their power to protect you, and dying abandoned in the mines you used to work while the city built off of your labor flies away to safety.

The question this conflict is asking is about whether or not other people can be sacrifices. Ironwood says yes—team RWBY disagree. That's the actual crux of this argument. Does Ironwood have the right to decide who deserves protection and who isn't worth the risk? Do we get to give up on other people before we've even tried to save them? It's about the idea of certain people being disposable. Mantle's wall isn't important, Amity is. Amity will protect all of Atlas, and that wall will only help the people in Mantle. It implies that their safety is an acceptable sacrifice for the greater good. It treats them as disposable.

There's a reason it was Nora who spoke up and pointed out that it's always Mantle being asked to bear the burden for the greater good. Nora has been a disposable person before. Hell, Cinder has been a disposable person! The way Atlas (through the madame) treated a living person as a resource to be exploited or sacrificed is the entire reason that Cinder is trying to burn the kingdom down. Thematically, Atlas cannot escape the danger she poses by sacrificing more disposable people.

One of the biggest themes of this show is cooperation. It's all about how Salem can only be defeated by working together. But working together is not possible if certain people are taking on all of the risk, all of the sacrifice. Everyone has to be willing to put some skin in the game. Like, imagine trying to do a group project if you knew half of you were guaranteed to get an A no matter what and the other half weren't.

So the idea that Volume 9 is supposed to come back around and say that actually, that plan that would have literally divided a city in half and cut loose the poorer half like fucking ballast, that was the right thing all along and Ruby Rose was wrong to challenge it... that would be an absolute disaster of a thematic statement.

This is not a show about hard military men making hard military choices. It's not going to contrive a situation where cold-blooded calculation determines that the right thing to do is to pull up the ladder. Because outside of weird philosophical experiments about trolleys, the right thing to do usually has more to do with empathy. Compassion. Cooperation. All that gay shit.

[mybrainisslowlyboiling]

Harker headcanons 👹👹

And my own words come back to haunt me once again.

But here you go!

Yaelokre • Harker Headcannons

I believe The Croon and The Bellringer would be the best at caring for children (in that the Croon would theoretically be good at it but wouldn't really care enough about anyone who wasn't Perrine).

The Bellringer would be very caring and loving and gentle but would 100% pull a Rose from Steven Universe and let a baby climb a ferris wheel "because they wanted to".

The Croon, on the other hand, is very apathetic and abrasive, but believe it or not, a good listener. They would definitely sit and listen to a child's ramblings with rapt attention.

They would also probably be the only Harker to ya know, know well enough to not let a child die. (In my mind the Harkers fall into the foolish god trope where they know NOTHING of mortality and humans and it's very funny).

TLDR: Need a babysitter? Don't call the Harkers. Your child is NOT surviving.

Call the Lark, they'd probably also let your baby climb a ferris wheel but they have the plot armor to get away with it.

The Harkers will just randomly show up at the Lark's home and just hang around for the day, and I mean that quite literally. They'll just show up and follow around their specific ward for a while.

(In all honesty, they love them so much they have to refrain from showing up too often, as they are convinced being around too much will cause the Lark to grow reliant and branch off from one another and disrupt The Order.)

Cole and Clém are always very excited when Story and Yarrow show up. They'll play games with them whilst showing them cool things they've found and relaying stories of their recent adventures.

Perrine views The Croons arrival as some sort of doomsday warning and will start freaking out internally. (cue Grunkle Stan stocking up on canned food and telling everyone to bury their gold).

Most of the time The Croon will visit its really just to see what Perrine's up to, but it's not really Perrine's fault for being scared either. As instead of just showing up in their house one morning to say hello like Story and Yarrow, Perrine will just wake up one morning and look out their window to find The Croon just staring at them from across a field, or poking their head out from in-between trees.

Bro is NOT here for social interaction. They just wanna see how their little scrumbly is doing.

Everytime Kingsley wakes up to find the fucking Storyteller standing in their kitchen or something they get a little salty.

"Bro, what are you even DOING here?"

(This one is mostly a joke in actuality, Kingsley loves each Harker equally and swears that they are here to bless Kingsley themselves personally every time one visits even if it has NOTHING to do with them)

The only time the Enkindled really comes by is during group efforts when even The Croon is forced to socialize (much to their dismay, the croon doesn't care about any of these other mistakes they call children), that or if Kingsley was in some kind of distress or impending danger.

Kindle is the most protective over their ward (in terms of honor anyway)

"You CANNOT speak of my ward like that!"

"When's the last time you've even SEEN THEM?!"

The Croon isn't as juvenilely defensive of Perrine in conversation but will kill every other organism in the galaxy and lay them at Perrine's feet without even being prompted.

Kindle and The Croon believe they are each the most normal of the Harkers respectively. Cause how could it possibly be The Storyteller or The Bellringer? Those disgusting lovebirds going on picnic dates in fields of flowers and collecting little rocks and trinkets to give to the children. It's an abomination.

I dont quite know how this would work or why, but I believe the Harkers have some kind of spiritual connection with each of their respective Larks. They can sense when they're in danger or scared or in pain, or even when they're overwhelmingly happy.

I imagine any time any of them feel some type of emotion from their lark, all they want to do is go to them. But, oh no, the nonexistent Order.

"They'll work it out themselves and become stronger for it"

*Cue Cole fucking drowning in quicksand or something*

The Croon does not abide by The Order, they are overly attached and won't admit it.

Kindle has the opposite problem.

Croon: Aren't you going to check on your ward?

Kindle: Nah, they're tough, they'll figure it out.

Yarrow: With all due respect we all have an overwhelming sense of dread and death, you should see to that they're alright.

Kindle: Hey, I said they'll be- *gets knocked out and dragged*

As much as The Croon does not care about Kingsley, they hate the idea of the Enkindled not doing their job even more.

I also imagine this as The Harker's just going about their day. Yarrow and Story will be on a nice walk and then all of a sudden Story just fucking collapses to the ground. Yarrow is so confused and only mildy worried meanwhile Cole's having a panic attack and is convinced the world is ending.

Like Clémentine, Yarrow can be quite affectionate.

When they come by, they'll pull Clém into their lap as they talk to them and kiss the top of their head.

This would be very sweet, if only Story hadn't seen and decided they wanted to do the same.

Story is just a silly little guy who loves all these silly little children, and is oblivious to their silly little acts, not quite having the desired effect.

To put it simply... an act once perceived as so sweet is actually rather jarring coming from the silly little hay man.

Story: *picks each child up whilst squeezing them aggressively and placing kisses on the crowns of their heads.*

Cole: *bewildered and dazed*

Kingsley: *now has hay stuck in their hair*

Perrine: ....thanks..

Bonus from the last headcannons post: The Storyteller with children:

[alacetor-the-duckies-deer]

This probably isn't new but it just occurred to me that if sinners can't leave the pride ring, and the exterminator can't kill hellborns, then like 86% of hell has probably never even SEEN the carnage of the extermination.

We don't know how long the extermination go on for, but I feel like the way Adam is, that they're probably pretty quick, like legit a full day if not just one night.

And I can't imagine they BOTHER checking the other rings for escapees, if we're assuming there's nothing but the law stopping sinners from leaving, and THEY assume that's enough.

So there's like, probably a legit underground railroad of sinners trying to get out of pride, like probably at all times, but especially the days and weeks leading up to the extermination.

And I could see so many hellborns taking advantage of that, like life as a sinner cannot be safe or good in the other rings when you have to keep you head down and try to blend in. They're probably like, legit selling their souls for it. Which is what makes me think sinner can physically leave. (Or, can sinners tell their souls to hellborns or only other sinners?)

It's trading one hell for another. Literally.

And they're immortal. They'd get noticed if they didn't stay hidden, if they're contract wasn't like, passed down parent to child in a same house hold told to keep it quiet, because rtheye equally not auposed to have a sinner in their hosue. They couldn't lead any better of an immortal life.

Could you then imagine them trying to get back to pride just to be their own person again even if it means they might get murdered every year.

And getting back to 86% of hell's residence that have never seen it up close.

They've got to be buying into some kind of propaganda about it.

"Oh sinners are immortal and more powerful than us. They should be thinnes out or theyre rise up and take over hell" kinda thing, like the legit same argument heaven has for the genocide.

and since most of them never MEET sinners to empathize with, and the way they're encouraged to put down imps as children, they'd be it easy to convince.

But I feel like some Hellhounds and Imps would DEFINITELY be helping sinners escape pride.

I bet they help hide the ones who couldn't get out because I can't imagine sinners just go about their business as the extermination starts.

The days leading up there'd be so much going on as sinners try to get somewhere safe, in their own city, or places outside it or in other cities. The hours leading up to it, the streets have to be so quiet you'd think it already happened.

And because the sinners HIDE, the angels MUST be knocking down doors and raiding basement in house and business across pride.

I wouldn't be surprised if hellhounds and imps get killed, and the angels just don't see consequences because it's hellhounds and imps.

Like it's really actually that horrible.

Very very glad the shows plot is ending it.

[Continuation here]

[fruitninja76]

Macro Tropes: Species

With how many fantasy races I've seen throughout the years, it's honestly a shame that macro art doesn't play with it more. For example,

Mermaid's limitation to always stay underwater would be really interesting when pared with an extreme size dynamic. Imagine how much teasing a macro mermaid could do to a tiny person just trying to swim in the ocean, with each little splash the mermaid makes resulting in a 50 foot wave that the tiny needs constant saving from. Or heck, even a micro mermaid being kept some sort of fancy fish tank sounds like it would make some interesting art. The best story I could imagine though is a story about a human and a giant mermaid falling in love, only for the human to get captured by pirates. So now there's this part of the sea no one can sail across because the mermaid tears apart any and all boats that pass through piece by piece, looking for their lost love.

Slime people have been used a couple of times from what i've seen, but rarely for something other than vore. Slimes have such unique powers like splitting into multiple different bodies or shapeshifting that I never see used. Heck, I've never even seen any art or story where a slime person grows anytime they eat anything, which makes perfect since and would be a genuinely interesting plot.

Robots are made out of cold and hard steel, I get it. But they're robots, they can customize themselves however they want! There's so many little details that make macro/micro interactions hard that it would be interesting to see all the little changed they'd make. For instance, It could be like that old mech anime where the bottom of their feet are connected to some sort of transport tube, so any time the robot wants to pick a tiny off the ground they just to a bit of casual traumatising. Or even something like a stomach compartment that's a little room for the tiny to stay in. Just going "Human, I cannot carry you and these boxes at the same time." before mercilessly throwing their little human down their throat. Not to mention the cold and calculated tone could be both very intimidating and very sweet.

Anthro gets more than it's fair share of macro art, but it's criminal how little it's actually used beyond ascetics. Like, they're covered in perfectly climbable fur, why isn't that used more often? Not to mention other things like how a cat girl's grooming would cause so many cases of accidental vore, or how a large anthro with a wagging tail could cause so much accidental damage to surrounding buildings.