#maybe I should start writing before I reveal too much lore…

[purpleponder]

More sketches of just whatever dynamic I wanted for Shinichi and Kaito, some of these might be finished at some point in the future but most of them are just shit posts lol

Except for the first one, I just really liked the sketch of that drawing a lot

[ukranianacearo]

"Mother", a strong word

Part 1 Part 3

Fem!Reader

Word count: 558

Mentions of Innocent zero's original name

TW: mention of [Y/N]

Pairing: romantically none, but reader had to marry Innocent zero

Tag: @makima1345

Genre: fluff I guess

Author's note: It's preferably to read part 1 first, because most of the lore is already explained there and I'm not a parrot to repeat it all over again. Someone wanted a part 2 so here it is😭 probably will write mash x reader fanfic soon, (probably gn or fem) and reader will have the same powers as here and a similar background, I think

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The room was in complete silence. Which was awkward. You were sitting in the nursery's bed, your back against the headboard of the bed. Mash, who just came in, was standing in front of the bed's feet. Never you would think that it would be so awkward to talk to your own son, but here you are.

- "Um, hello, Mash. I'm [Y/N], your biological mother. You can call me whatever you're comfortable with. Also, sorry for letting Cyril, I mean, Innocent zero hunt you down for sport and almost kill you and your loved ones. Please, sit down. " - Saying that you patted the chair next to the bed you're sitting on.

- "M'kay." - This was getting really awkward. You didn't know what to say, but still tried to act calm. - "Why did you join him in the first place?" - You didn't expect such a question from him. Although, maybe you did. It wasn't too surprising after all.

- "To secure my own survival." - Your answer was in a soft voice, just like a mother's one should be. Mash was silent for a few moments, seemingly thinking about your answer. Then, he replied.

- "Didn't you have another choice? I heard people liked you back then." - You laughed lightheartedly at his words; he really didn't know as much as you thought. At first, you thought that Wahlberg or someone else told him about your persona, about how you are such a bad, lying, manipulative witch. But even if someone did, Mash seemed unbothered.

- "Silly, they didn't like me as a person. They liked what they say, what I gave them, what I showed them; they liked the happy and positive mage not the torn out lack magic who all can do is steal magic and throw punches. Innocent zero knew me, the actor, and not the character of the play. While he didn't plan to reveal it, enjoying the show too much, he also wouldn't try to help me in a dire situation unless I helped him." - You said calmly with a soft smile. He seemed to process the information, but there was some sort of lag in his brain halfway through. Before you could explain it again in simpler terms, someone barged into the room. It was a young boy, the same age as Mash, with pink hair and pink dull eyes. You knew it was Domina from the pink necklace, very similar to your own necklaces in design, around his neck. Domina looked agitated, as if he just run a marathon; he looked distressed and as if looking for something. When he finally spotted you sitting on the bed with Mash by your sight he had a complicated expression on his face. It revealed relief, doubt, nervousness, excitement and much more. He started slowly walking towards the bed you were sitting on and Mash seemed calm at his appearance.

- "Oh, hi Domina." - Mash said casually as he looked at Domina who stood already next to the bed, probably on the verge of tears as you looked at him with soft eyes and a smile, just like a mother should. It was the first time he felt so loved even without knowing the person personally well. You guys really had a whole bunch to talk about...

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I'm sorry it's so short compared to the first part, but I just couldn't wrap my head about how would Mash react😔 maybe, I'll do headcanons, like, post-""Mother", a strong word" but idk. Hope you enjoyed and take care of yourself! <3

[alma-amentet]

Why do you dislike the DLC main story so much?

Not to argue or something, just wondering after seeing you ranting in the tags.

I just don't like it. It didn't meet my expectations. In the end, yeah, it comes down to preferences... Though I agree on 'bad writing', and it's just good to know I'm not alone in this.

You know, I'd like it. After all, I knew what I was messing into and didn't expect a happy ending, Age of Abundance (though it was in cut content, so...) or something. It could've been a beautiful tragic story of Miquella loosing parts of himself as a last desperate attempt to fix things but failing.

There are good rewrites, this is one of my favorites

But there are major things that I'll never accept as canon.

Promised consort Retcon. Makes no sense. Bad writing, and I will really die on this hill. Bc no evidence of this in the base game and a weird idea in general. Also how drastically they ruined the battle of Aeonia. Like... really? This feels like fanservice/trollery (assuming fandom's past fights). Horseboy's story should have ended with the festival (for me it did).

'Mohg beating allegations' and all that evil charm thing. First of all, no way he did, he's still an evil bloody cultist. Secondly, him being charmed makes it actually more problematic in some ways. I liked him as a well-designed villain acting on his own and Formless Mother's behalf, the new reveals ruin his character for me. Third, there are known plotholes (like others not acting this way under the charm or why would he travel to the Haligtree and back - could've stayed there or something). In the end, I think it's Ansbach who's a real charmer, charming the fandom. Luckily I'm not into handsome old men, so not buying it. He's devoted to his lord, that's all, no matter how wise and reasonable he may seem (still devoted, mind you).

There are other new bits of lore that look more OK... Though they have plotholes and contradictions, too (questioning ideas of godhood and the Shattering itself - that's what I can remember).

Much's been said in general, not gonna repeat (you can find it in my older posts and reposts). I see people analyzing and rationalizing new lore, enjoying the DLC. Good for them. Even envious at some point. As for myself, no matter how I miss my prev happy times in the fandom, now I see not much sense in discussing it, finding deep meanings etc. Loved to watch lore vids, now I mostly can't even if I want to. Maybe rewatching my older fav ones, but not most new ones. Some content is just upsetting. I'll need it anyway for my own AU and headcanons, so hope I'll find strenght, but not now.

Again, It feels like a joke or trollery, and if the authors themselves treat it this way, why should I bother wasting my time/energy?

There are some other details that are still interesting (like Marika's backtory n stuff), yet again, could've been a beautiful tragic story... but oh.

I used to be in kids/tween fandoms, which were silly by default, neither deep meaning nor dark complex philosophy. Yet some of them were making even more sense in writing, while others were not given high expectations right from the start, that's it.

Not leaving the fandom bc it's not done so easily, will even do some fanarts (finally. hopefully). I think I'll dwell solely on AUs / fixes / rewrites and some visuals without much context. Also on things I liked before the DLC and things I still like (like Maliketh/Marika), and filtering unsettling content as much as I can. But yes, you'll see me venting and supporting other people's rants. Untill my passion fades naturally and switches to something else.

I'll pick up the base game back when I can (my current PC won't run it by any chance), but will notbe buying the DLC. At least, for now.

[somehowmags]

Fun fact: the book is not just supposed to be a fantasy of our world, it’s the 1516 novel Utopia by Thomas More. Hence More’s name, the name of the king, Hythlodaeus (from Raphael Hythlodaeus, the narrator of the book), and the name of More’s cat, Plateau (from Plato’s The Republic, as Raphael discusses Plato within the novel). There are a lot of other references to the novel within the game and its lore. That part in the Memorandum where it mentions that slave classes exist as punishment for crimes, for example, is something straight from Utopia. The word “utopia” actually entered people’s lexicons from More’s novel, as he used it for the name of his fictional country. From the start, this More is very much inspired by the real one. They were both arrested for treason, locked up by the king in a tower, and apparently executed. (No clue how he’s still alive but I guess I’ll find out.) The game points out flaws in the ideology of the in-universe utopian novel, as well as More’s novel, though it’s less obvious if you’re unfamiliar with the contents of the book.

ahhh i knew about the thomas more connection but i didn't know about the rest of this! i haven't read utopia (although maybe i should one of my textbooks this semester has a couple excerpts from it i think) but i figured there must be references to it i was missing w/plateau especially bc that is so specific of a name to NOT be a reference lol. and yeah i read that part of the memorandum too and i was honestly so shocked bc i didn't remember that being discussed anywhere else? i do wish they'd brought it up before that, but maybe they will later since im also still playing through (about. 50 hours in now according to steam. God Damn. story wise ive just finished the dragon temple).

i did like the bits where the characters talk about the novel in universe and sometimes critique it. esp with heismay's critique that (iirc that was like 20 hours of gameplay ago LMAO) that the novel doesn't provide a way for the weak to protect themselves. its a really good way of showing both the characters and their ideologies and what the book presents as a utopia. i don't remember where this quote came from (may have been an episode of kill james bond? in my head i remember november saying this but who knows) i remember hearing someone say when critiquing a work of art you also reveal a part of yourself and the game shows that with what each character focuses on when they read the book, like [REDACTED SPOILER] focusing on art and [REDACTED SPOILER] focusing on religion.

im really excited to see where the game is going with all of this. like ive said before i don't have like, a TON of faith in atlus's writing, but i really really hope they stick the landing for this because so far the writing is really good.

[alienskittless]

The Mystery of Aaravos and my personal problem with it.

This is going to be very long so hold on tight

Don't get me wrong, I love this show. I have little drawings of the characters in my notebooks and my friend and me are always talking about what's going to happen in the next season. The characters are so funny and cool, the story line is very interesting and it's good to binge with friends or family.

This show, while being very visually pleasing and having a thought-provoking story, is not exactly written very well. I will say it plainly, it is rather bland and repetitive.

Let's compare it to a show like House M.D. While House M.D. is not a kid's show and is repetitive on purpose, but does follow a very similar writing scheme. Unlike The Dragon Prince, it shows a different plot every episode and has an overarching plot every season. However, it focuses on one special person (wink wink nudge nudge Dr. House) to be the plot driver, the fan favorite, and universally untouchable character that everything revolves around. Who does that remind you of? Aaravos. Maybe even Viren and Callum, though they're regular antagonist-protagonist characters and are not as neutral and protected as Aaravos is. Aaravos is the only thing keeping this show alive. Oh, maybe Terry? Rayla and Callum? Runaan and Ethari's reunion? What about them? ALL of this relies on Aaravos. Much like Dr. House, his actions and his words are what drive the plot, and he doesn't need to do anything but lift a finger. I would be sitting on the edge of my seat because it's so mysterious and I am actually interested in Aaravos's character and his actions. Now that I know too much about him it's bland to me. I know WHY he's leaving the world in shambles, I know WHY he wants to control Callum. This trope only really works if it's a character made important earlier (e.g. if Aaravos was the protagonist) and the corruption arc is the actual plot. The least that could have been done was reveal the fact that Leola was his daughter and that she died throughout the season and make season 6 ABOUT Leola. Instead it was revealed to me in a rush and there's so much in the blue that should have been told to us before. This is like House M.D. where so much information is revealed all at once that the mysterious and powerful Gregory House kind of becomes this creepy and irresponsible Vicodin addict. Long story short, Aaravos was interesting and the show would be great if he was still interesting. In fact there was a better way to reveal his motives and he would still be interesting.

This obviously is made for kids. I will not forget that. However, I was nine when this show first aired. I still thought it was kind of repetitive. Let's compare it to another show I watched when I was nine! Avatar: The Last Airbender. I know, it gets compared a lot, but that's why this is important. ATLA and TDP go hand in hand. You can't not relate them to each other if you've watched both. Hell, they have some of the same writers and voice actors! But TDP's similarities to ATLA currently aren't what needs to be similar. Firstly, TDP likes to make references to ATLA a lot. Callum is a very big example, as the writers take him as an opportunity to reference Sokka. Aaron Ehasz obviously wants to make TDP as similar as possible to ATLA as he can without making it look like it. What he NEEDS to do to make it similar is to stop making references and using the same sort of plot (guy is trapped in a bubble/prison and causes havoc when he gets out) and start using what is GOOD about the show's writing. ATLA has amazing filler episodes. The Ember Island play episode, the beach party episode, the Tales of Ba Sing Se episode. Along with so many others, it connects a lighthearted break from the intense plot while also adding to it and the show's lore. TDP does none of this. No, really. They have no filler episodes. It is all just plot straight to your face. It doesn't take a break and it feels jarring to watch.

Another thing ATLA does well is it builds up relationships instead of shoving them in your face. Sure, Zuko and Mai were kind of unexpected, but they eventually break up and then work up to becoming a couple again. Even if they were sudden, they made sense. Both emo nobles somehow related to Azula, who were never really loved or accepted. Now Aang and Katara are a perfect example of a well-written young couple (we will forget that Aang ended up abusing her when they got married). They became friends, had moments with a lot of romantic tension that was necessary (like the secret tunnel episode where they almost kissed), and they also had bumpy ends that led to them having a stronger romantic bond. Besides that, I couldn't see them as friends at all. They were meant and set up to be a couple. Meanwhile, with Rayla and Callum, making them a couple was not necessary. Sure, I think it's very cute, but the whole story would be the same without them becoming a couple. Let's plug them into the whole Katara and Aang thing. Did they become friends? Yes. Did they have moments of romantic tension when it was necessary? No (and this is mainly moments in season 3) and they had no drive to the episode's and story's plot. The only scene where this was applicable was the dancing to get into the silvergrove scene and it didn't have to be romantic. Did they have bumpy ends? Yes. Did this end up giving them a stronger bond? No, when Rayla left him for two years it only weakened both Callum's and Rayla's trust. They are probably going to end up hurting each other. When I saw the episode where they first kissed I was so confused. I thought they might have been awkward and that in the oasis Callum was being a good friend and comforting her. Kissing her was fanservice and had no actual point of being there. The scene where Rayla and Callum are talking about how their love is forbidden and what the dragon queen will think, that is applicable as friendship as it is strange even to be friends with the other race. It became more important in arc 2 but arc 2 could have had the same point if it was about Rayla and Callum's friendship. Now, Terry and Claudia. They give me mixed messages. They're cute, but how did they even meet? I have so many unanswered questions. The only couples that makes sense are unfortunately the adults. Viren and Aaravos, while not canonically a couple, very obviously have romantic subtext that adds to Aaravos's eerie effect on people. Sarai and Harrow's relationship actively effected Callum's childhood and what he grew up to be. Runaan and Ethari are the same for Rayla.

Overall, I love The Dragon Prince. It's so silly and I like to theorize and make memes about the characters. However, it is not my favorite piece of media and it is not meant for deep thinking like other kid's shows are.

[writingquestionsanswered]

Hey, I'm wondering how much foreshadowing is too much? After drafting it all out, I can't help but foreshadow eveything in the beginning of the story, almost like dumping all the lore in the start, but with foreshadows. I don't know if I should limit the foreshadows, add them for a later and relevant time, or keep them where they are.

Worried About Too Much Foreshadowing

So... lore isn't something you would usually foreshadow in a story, unless that lore can only be hinted at because it's building up to some sort of big reveal later in the story.

Foreshadowing is used to subtly hint at things to come. It's used to stimulate curiosity in the reader and to build suspense in the story. Lore, on the other hand, is usually a part of your story's world building. Elements of your story's world building or lore may need to be foreshadowed, but not all of it.

Lore can be built into the story at points when it is relevant or makes sense. For example, if part of the world's lore is the existence of old gods vs new gods, you could have a character visiting an older relative who still worships the old gods, which gives you an opportunity to explore both. Now, let's say it's going to later turn out that your character is actually a demigod who is the child of an old god and a human woman--who is not actually the woman the character thinks is their mother--and maybe the older relative is well aware of this. You could use this scene to foreshadow the significance of the god in question. For example, perhaps your character could be perusing the older relative's altar, which contains different figurines of the old gods. Maybe--because the older relative knows the significance of this certain god--they have a little shrine built to them. Maybe your character notices this and the older relative smiles as your character examines the alter. "Feel an affinity for god xyz, do you?" the old woman says with a crooked smile. And that's all it has to be in that scene. The woman's crooked smile indicates that she's amused by the character's interest in that particular god. She knows something they don't know, but it's so light your character--and even the reader--can shrug it off for now. It's only later on, once it's revealed that this particular god is your character's father, that the character and the reader can look back on moments like that and connect the dots. That's what makes it foreshadowing. :)

So, how do you know if you have too much foreshadowing? Well, remember, you're not trying to give away the whole big thing before it actually happens. You're just dropping occasional "dots," because again, you're not trying to lead the reader to the conclusion on your own... you want them to remain clueless until they get to the reveal, but once they get there, you want them to suddenly remember all those "dots," connect them, and say, "DUH! Why didn't I realize this before???"

I hope that helps!

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[box-architecture]

Some dsmp fics I would write if it was my full-time job:

----A Sapnap/Techno fic, that explores Sapnap's feelings about BBH as his father becomes distant with him and becomes the head of the Egg cult, being invited to its banquet even. Sapnap angst where he gets to express how awful he feels about being constantly abandoned by the people he loves, over and over. Insecurity where he thinks something might be wrong with him, struggling to maintain a relationship with Karl when Karl doesn't even remember who he is half the time and calls him by a different name.

I think it should have Sapnap end up needing to take arms against the Eggpire and try to get his father back, and he ends up joining with Techno instead of the Techno/Quackity team-up. Techno and Sapnap should have a lot of moments that explore what it means to be a person, to have friends, and how much it hurts to be abandoned when you're a naturally devoted person. If apologies for any past lore between them need to happen, they happen. I think there should be a lot of parallels between Philza/Techno and Sapnap/Dream, but Dream isn't treated negatively in this scenario or shown to have Secretly Been A Bad Friend All Along, and there's actually potential for a reconciliation as Sapnap realizes that he and Dream stopped communicating the way they should have been, and a resolution to go back to the prison after he finishes with the Eggpire.

(which would eventually lead to him discovering the torture and abuse which would lead to him freeing Dream and-)

And this should end with Sapnap defeating the Egg with Techno, and freeing Bad, who's obviously not doing too great, and they hug, and Sapnap gets to say I missed you and Bad gets to say I'm sorry with something like reconciliation that could become more secure in the future (if the Dream stuff doesn't end up destroying it). Sapnap and Techno get to be close and protect each other in battle and Techno invites Sapnap to the arctic sometime, and Maybe Even. Feelings. Mayhaps. Maybe even the future promise of Sapnap joining the Syndicate when he goes to get Dream and realizes he can only go to one person he trusts more than anyone to have his back.

----A Wilbur/Michael McChill fic that explores Revivebur not entirely knowing what to do with himself post-revival, hearing the radio talking about Serenity, an interesting metaphor and concept for a man like Wilbur who has never known that kind of peace a day in his fucking life, and deciding that Yes He Would Definitely Go To This Country. And then he shows up the the Radio Station That Is,,,, Not A Country, or particularly serene. He's positively miffed but he's here now, and he is going to make himself McChill's problem now.

So now Wilbur is crashing on McChill's couch and no matter how much McChill tries to explain that Serenity Was A Metaphor, Wilbur isn't hearing it. And really, McChill did want to know about the true history of the DSMP and its stories, and look! He's got the original artifact in the form of a dead man who started it all. Yeah, he's pretty sure that every other word out of Wilbur's mouth is bullshit or a very deeply twisted truth, but this is his first real visitor, the only real answers to things he has. If the fanfic is from his POV, its an interesting, mysterious thing, the idea of Wilbur Soot.

But also I think that they could be a really interesting dynamic in the form of McChill being able to call bullshit on Wilbur's stories the way his CC called bullshit on the disc finale before it was revealed it was staged. I think that McChill would set some ground rules and force Wilbur to take a shower. Wilbur can play his guitar and McChill can snark that somethings out of key, and Wilbur can snark back, but their relationship will never explode or set anything on fire. Wilbur wants everything to be about him, needs to be the center focus, and he gets that to some degree by controlling the narrative of his past! But also McChill is someone who is unaffected by that past and has nothing to do with it. Wilbur can't pull on the past as a way to maneuver this relationship, so he's forced to just... be whatever he is in the present.

And I think Wilbur struggles a lot to figure out what he is in the present, but even if he bullshits and backslides, McChill is never going to enable his past behavior or be too traumatized to push back. If Wilbur is going to come all this way and steal his couch, McChill is going to tell him he needs to eat something other than sand. This isn't therapy, but it is Wilbur coming home to Philza with his very exasperated boyfriend and insisting that He Is So Good At Healing And Being Normal.

---- A Tina/Hannah fic that Explores their developing relationship and Hannah falling to the Egg. I want this Slow Burn from when they first meet on the SMP to maybe-possibly being very close to being romantically involved, that sort of deep tethering pull and dates-that-are-not-dates that could also have the fun background effect of letting us see how other characters we don't normally get a lot of focus on are doing in their day to day lives. It feels very light-hearted at first, almost slice of life-esque, tooth rotting fluff.

But as time goes on, clearly something is wrong on Hannah's end. The reds in her outfit have always been a lovely rosy shade, but lately they've become more dappled with crimson and mahogany. Its not something most people would notice, but Tina does. Tina notices every little shift in her behavior, the way her dearest friend withdraws more and more.

And Tina wants to help, of course, as she always does, but Hannah has realized both that she's being taken over by the Egg, and that the Egg wants to take Tina too, coaxing Hannah to try and infect her as well. Not acceptable. Hannah's goal is to attempt to keep Tina safe from whats happening at all costs. She'd leave a trail of blood behind her if it meant that she'd see Tina, whole and happy, on the other side.

Tina isn't really happy to be told "I'm doing this for you!" as the love of her life starts going a little ax-murder-y in a sacrificial cult. She thinks that taking away a bit of her agency, low-key. She doesn't want Hannah to destroy the world for her, she just wants Hannah, safe and happy and in her arms.

I want Tina to put on very cute, purple/pink armor and pick up a sword and maybe even join the Syndicate in taking down the Egg. I think Tina should go up against Hannah and the vines and the sacrificial cult and win after nearly losing, because Hannah has her hanging by a vine and insists that they could be Happy Like This, that Tina could be her beloved treasure, safe from the wars and conflicts of the SMP that she's seen through her hivemind connection- only for Tina to cut herself free and insist that she doesn't want to be safe. Not like this. If being safe means never being free, then she'd rather live a life full of danger. And she wants to live that life with Hannah as herself, not the facade the Egg insists she is.

I think, after the Egg is defeated, Tina is cradling her love very gently in her arms. I think they should kiss, blood still on their lips.

(I think they should get married, but its probably too soon for that.)

[ladyinbooks]

Happy new year m'lady!

Just wanted to drop in to say I found IB on AO3 a month or two ago and got totally hooked. It reminds me of Matthew Reilly's work in all the best ways (I highly recommend the Jack West Jr series and the Scarecrow series). The pacing is just *chef's kiss* and I just love the interpersonal chemistry and the depth of lore that support the story. I just couldn't bring myself to put it down and Samiel, Jay, Pallas (who definitely deserves a raise for turning up every day to JUST DO HIS JOB and to do it so well; and to almost die of stress every time his name comes up in conversation, I feel you Pallas), Venn, and Hird all live rent free in my head now. I'm looking forward to hearing more about them as you expand on the IB universe.

Especially Jay. I feel like we've started to explore how Samiel and Jay interact with Samiel's family and Lenian society, but there's a lot of room to explore how they interact with Jay's family or Human society (I can imagine terse exchanges at diplomatic events when Samiel and Jay bump into the human delegation). I actually cried when Jay revealed to Samiel that his threnodia said "I loved him" and nothing else. Such a beautiful, romantic moment! But part of me also wanted to berate Jay for being too humble. I dunno if I'm just being biased, but I think Samiel would have felt similarly. No doubt he would have been pleased that Jason recorded for all time that he was Samiel's but I also think he would have felt that the universe and future generations should know who his Jay really was, all the incredible things that he achieved in his own right (I'm certain Samiel would have insisted on including the incident where Jason convinced the full battalion of Creets to surrender to him), and all that he meant to him.

I also 2nd the anon who suggested a babies all the way down storyline. I think it would be fun to explore Samiel/Jay and Venn/Hird as they tackle the challenges of family life. I could see a compelling story where Venn and Hird explore the physiological differences between humans and lenians through the pregnancy (How difficult is it for a human/lenian couple to conceive? Do the Lenian genetics of the foetus cause Hird to experience aspects of Lenian pregnancies? What traits does the child inherit from each side? Are there any human or lenian traits that are "dominant/almost always passed down" or "recessive/rarely passed down" to half-human/half-lenian offspring?). I think Hird deserves to settle down and enjoy family life with Venn as a reward for having to deal with Samiel/Jay and Aubrey/Lysander's shenanigans! I suspect she would Venn in her ear about it for several years before she would do it, but maybe having to deal with the chaos of Aubrey and Lysander would accelerate this? I also think Samiel and Jay would be fun uncles and there could be a story about the hijinks they get up to while babysitting! Maybe it convinces Jay that Samiel's right about starting a family of their own? My HC is that, if Samiel and Jay were somehow able through medical/technological advancement or through the effect of their soul bond, to have biological children, one of them would be a little monster with Samiel's emotions and Jay's silver tongue, with Samiel/Jay needing to ask Hird's advice because she's had to deal with Samiel and Jay.

At first, I wasn't as confident that I'd like P2P or RP, but your masterful writing in IB convinced me that I'd enjoy them anyway. I totally devoured both in short order after reading all the IB stories.

Apologies for the long message but I had so many thoughts I needed to share!

Happy new year lovely anon! 🤗 I hope 2025 is treating you well so far! ❤️

What a lovely, lovely message to read in my inbox this evening. Thank you! I'm so happy you enjoyed IB, and liked the characters! ❤️ Poor Pallas does need a pay rise, doesn't he? (And possibly a nice quiet holiday, well away from any Samiels and Jasons that we could mention.) I always have so much fun writing poor Pallas, because he's so good at his job, but his stress levels are always through the roof and his confidence lessons are through the floor. (Sorry Pallas!)

Oh I absolutely agree with you that we haven't seen much of Samiel and Jay (specifically Jay) interacting with the human side of things post-IB (excluding Hird, but she's a law unto herself). It's one of those elements I've always wanted to prod around in a bit more, as I think Jay is actually considered really quite dangerous in a post-war world. (Certainly the human delegation is far more hostile to him, I think - especially in comparison to Daimion's rule on Lenia, which is positively warm in comparison.) Oddly, I think one of the few humans who might treat Jay the same is Lault. He certainly doesn't like what Jay has done (or the fact he and Samiel both threatened him), but he can absolutely respect it. Lault is a results man, and he recognises something similar in Jay, I think. (Sorry lovely anon, I got sidetracked here, but it's made me ponder this!)

Ahh Jay's threnodia! One of my favourite ficlets to write (and I'm so sorry for the tears! ❤️) I think Jay was very much writing in the spirit of the threnodia: 'tell us why you did what you did; what wisdom can you pass down?' and, for once in his life, the answer was very straight forward: I did what I did for love. I think for Jay that's both the answer to everything, and actually the piece of wisdom he wants to share: love drove him to it. Love dictated his actions. Look at what love makes you do, in the face of overwhelming odds.

(As for Samiel recording Jay vs. the Creets - yes, I can definitely see it! However I suspect at one point Venn had to have a stern word with him about waxing a little too poetic about just how gorgeous Jay looked when he was negotiating! 🤣)

I think if I ever did go for a 'babies all the way' side fic, it would most definitely have to be set in the distant future, or as an AU. Interestingly I do want to tackle humans vs. Lenians as parents a little bit, most particularly through Hird because I'd love to write a oneshot about Venn's (sort of) adopted daughter, who is technically human but raised Lenian. I will also add, we're going to meet someone who is half Lenian and half human in Going Down, and I won't give too many spoilers, but here's a hint: Hird's ship.

As for Hird settling down... I think there does come a point (and I did laugh at your very accurate point that dealing with Samiel/Jay and Aubrey/Lysander hastens her retirement plans - I think it's true!). Hird settling down to a quiet life would, I think, look a bit different to Samiel and Jay's retirement, if only because I am absolutely convinced that Hird's entire crew also retire along with her, and then the new neighbourhood has to deal with all of them collectively putting down roots!

I love the idea of Samiel and Jay's biological offspring being absolute terrors (it's very fitting)! 🤣I could see the only person truly able to handle them being Daimion, and that's because he would simply dote on them so badly, they'd never dare upset Grandpapa! (Jay and Samiel would just be staring in exhausted bewilderment as the tiny terror miraculously became angels every time Daimion showed up with presents.)

I'm so pleased you enjoyed P2P and RP too (and thank you for giving them a go, especially as they weren't something you'd usually try - I'm honoured you did! ❤️❤️❤️)

Thank you for such a wonderful message, lovely anon - I loved hearing your thoughts and headcanons, and you have made my night! ❤️😊

[fangsforthevenom]

why i have abysmally low expectations for the fnaf movie, as someone who has been a fan of fnaf since 2015 or something:

ok. to start. I looked at the director's page on imdb, and her only other movies have been low rated. This is not a good sign. But, of course, I have seen first hand how wrong the movie critics can be about a subject. Past performance is not an indicator of future results. Necessarily. So this cannot be submitted as hard evidence as to why it might suck huge nuts, to put it plainly.

This film is also being produced by Blumhouse. Blumhouse has a few good movies, sure, but mainly it's average, very much imo, though. When I heard that BH was producing, I fell into a fit. The FNAF movie deserves to be show-stoppingly good. BH will likely not produce a movie that critics will enjoy. It will, at best, be kind of good. But most likely it will not be a good movie.

once again, past performance/future results, but still. the sample size is large enough to make predictions, as opposed to the director, who has only directed two movies.

They should have let me write and direct it. Just saying.

OK. I don't expect that there will not be much lore in this movie. They're bringing this down to nine year-old levels. Those are poopy diaper baby levels. This is THE child death series. And they're marketing it to kids who weren't even there in the trenches.

I'm aware I'm gatekeeping. However, I think it's fair enough considering the levels of child death, gore, killing, and all around unpleasantness depicted in the series.

The addition of the quirky little girl -- ostensibly to provide sympathy for the main character -- is bullshit. We all know she's going to wander off. Because kids in horror movies don't know how to follow directions. She's going to wander off, almost get killed or something, and the whole time we're supposed to be like "OH MY GOD! No way! There can't be child death in the Child Death series!" And there won't be! Because this is a studio film marketed to nine year-old boys. Nevermind the likely PG-13 rating.

But the girl won't die. She only exists for the main character to get into Situations. Shenanigans. Scenarios. And we're supposed to be scared for her.

I'm not sure why they included the whole forest with the children thing; maybe to stretch it out? Watching Josh Hutcherson press buttons and check security feeds can't be that entertaining, anyway. I'm not sure what they're trying to do with it, because the trailer already has him saying that their spirits are in the suits, iirc. So that's not the reveal. It has me worrying that they're going to try and shove the most simplified version of the lore into one movie. In my experience, they do this with movies they're not confident are going to gross well enough for a franchise. See the travesty that is Ms. Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children. So the appearance of Springtrap is a concern. It looks like Springtrap at least, or maybe it's Afton before the Squishening in the Easter Bonnie suit.

Why is Vanessa there? Vanny? I wonder if this is also going to be a false start, like the whole thing with Mike Schmidt is likely going to be. In all likelihoods, they're going to set her up as a love interest. But even if they don't, her involvement is baffling.

I'm worried, to say the least. This is all just speculation. But I'm not going to go into the theater expecting a good movie. All I want is for the series to not be fucked around with. Is that too much?

[ventiffy]

𝒯𝒽𝑒 𝒶𝓁𝓁𝒾𝒶𝓃𝒸𝑒 𝓉𝒽𝒶𝓉 𝒷𝑜𝓊𝓃𝒹𝓈 𝓊𝓈 𝓉𝑜𝑔𝑒𝓉𝒽𝑒𝓇 ♡ PT.4

EHEH *cries* GUESS WHO GOT THEIR *beep* PERIOD.... MEE! *cries again* ANYWAYS HERE IS pt.4 OF I FORGOT, jk, "The alliance that bounds us together"

FOR NEW PEOPLE, YES IF YOU HAVEN'T READ THE TAGS NOR SEEN THE HEADER (picture above).THIS. IS. A. DOTTORE FIC BC I LOVE HIM UGGH.. before any Dottore hater comes in my replies saying I shouldn't write these fics since they ship the reader with a HORRIBLE person... go away. Your comment doesn't compete with my love for him ever since his unhinged little self came into the manga. I read the manga before playing the game and so basically ever since I started playing genshin, even though he never appeared in game he was my fav character (AND I KNOW HIS LORE, IVE READ EVERY SINGLE ARTICLE THAT REVEALS SOME OF HIS LORE, I KNOW EVERYTHING ABOUT HIM)--(plus my post don't appear when at your home page so u either 1 follow me or looked at the tags so, you asked to see something like this- RANT OVER -

WARNINGS: should've put this for the last one BUT Dottore is named as "Zandik", mention of Pantalone (This shouldn't be a warning, just that I'm not going to put Pantalone in the tags cuz, this fic isn't about him so like why should I do that? MENTION OF TORTURE... NOT IN THE WAY YOU WOULD THINK THOUGH- READER IS AGED UP, SCHOOL = SOMETHING LIKE UNIVERSITY IDK- NOT PROOFREAD FOR NOW BECAUSE IM IN TOO MUCH PAIN, mention of the word : heck and hell

Summary: Just look at the part plz, this intro is getting too long-

You came back home safely. It felt as you went on a normal walk although, you had a particular destination that was not related to school at all. To you it felt just like a normal walk but instead of merely walking alone, you were with somebody to which you could interact with!

You decided to go on Zandik s' account, you remember not seeing any post, instead he only got tagged by accounts that you didn't care much about. The reason why they appeared on post/tagged was basically out of honor of sort. Heck, the Snezhnayan government even mentioned him on their post about how some particular doctor of theirs had figured a discovery that they'll look into professionally. Theirs? What did they mean by theirs? Did Zandik work for them. Already, you heard how the training to just become a soldier there was torture. Huh, good for him then. He was able to go through the stress of becoming a Doctor at the most demanding Akademiya AND he was able to put up with straight up torture the training gave him. You knew people were serious when they said you'll most likely die at the trainings then when you're actually at war. The Fatui had to set up their own healing buildings near their departments due to how many soldiers get ALMOST fatally injured. But yet, you found it weird. Neither did being a trainee in the Fatui nor did being a student at Sumeru Akademiya give you any breaks, so how did he manage to accomplish both and succeed further on. He looked young, possibly in his twenties. So, he couldn't really graduate and go straight to the Fatui. Since, trainings take 3 months to do since soldiers have to get to go in their camps in their group.

They take about a week if their lucky to walk to a certain destination in the middle of nowhere, yet they also have to go through the heavy snow, the icy wind while wearing a uniform almost made for the summer. They also have to go through storms on flat terrains which end in to soldiers getting electrocuted, through avalanches if their route makes them go by the edge of mountains during a storm. Then they get to site, yet you also have to know they are carrying all of their materials, even whatever they'll use as shelter and food to which they have to unpack and build on whatever terrain was given to them, whether it's bumpy or not, they decide whether they want to sleep in their sweaty uniform in a somewhat secured space or outside during maybe storms since that is the most frequent disaster experienced on a daily basis by the land of Snezhnaya itself.

After that torture, the next day they'll have to wake up early, most soldiers in training get 5 hours of sleep at that time. And then, for about more then two months wit their commander they'll have to go on expedition all while going through courses such as going on one without wearing any form of shoes or socks, they'll have to use weapons against enemy camps. If they get hurt, they have to wait to get healed only after they get back to camp, which leads to infections. They are forced to swim through cold lakes in the early morning when the temperatures are at their coldest. So on and so on.

So basically, now you kind of had an idea that one maybe he didn't work at all. But, on that particular post, they mentioned "past soldier" then they tagged his "@". And, you can't really join before the time you're officially an adult so basically older than 18 years of age. You decided that nothing really peeked your interest so you decided to see who was following him.

Huh.

How?

How was a harbinger following him if he was some random Fatui soldier? Was it usual for the 9th to follow all sorts of Fatui soldiers..? Maybe the ones he trains..? No, the 9th doesn't train since he doesn't fight...

Maybe the one who takes the 9th place of the 11 Fatui Harbingers, used to be a Student at that Akademiya. Both of them looked around the same age and both of them were smart enough to be at least decent at that school. But, wasn't there a rumour that Pantalone grew up poor, the fees of that school have a price that not just anybody can afford, unless they have a scholarship. But only those seen as "average" get them.

But, although the possibilities were rare... Could Zandik and Dottore be the same person all at once?

It would make sense though since, Zandik only said he went to the Akademiya. He never said if he graduated from it though. And Dottore has is past sort of well known to those whose work has been somewhat related to his. Now most people know that he was expelled from that Akademiya for his inhuman experiments but, one of the higher harbingers, supposedly the first, gave him the opportunity to continue testing those blasphemous theories of his.

But, it was late. You didn't want to ask him any questions. Maybe you'll ask him tomorrow at his lab.

Me reading this is in like one year wondering what the hell was I doing:

Y'all reading the end basically realizing I did a cliff hanger once again (maybe on the verge on blocking (MAYBE unfollowing - 😒) me for being lazy and not writing the end bc I write right before sleeping-:

YEAH UHH adding memes at the end of my posts is definitely something I'll start doing more because it's fun. *cries in cramp pain* I MAY START AN AO3 WHERE I UPLOAD ALL THE CHAPTERS OF THIS FIC- ANYWAYS BYEEE-

[shytastemakerthing]

HALLO HALOO I'm here to request a romantic twst matchup since ur open and all teehee, it's the first time I saw your block so I backreadee and all and I love how descriptive your matchups could get and that you have two matchups so I was wondering if I can get two romantic matchups as well, it's okay if not considering you still have to answer some unfished ones just good luck writing them by the way❣️

I'm a 5'4 Intp-A , noticebly reclused and quiet that I'm most often seen by myself but once the walls start to crack due to the penetrating fists of friendship my skin loosens and what reveals underneath is an unhinged freaking wine aunt with a flair of sass and a tad bit too much wine to drink that doesn't hesitate to say sus stuff to get people flustered, not what you expected at all from such a quiet girl

also the fact I tend to act jokingly dramatic like exhagurated facial expressions and tone of speech, like rook but I'm doing it ironically, tend to be a tad bit too carefree at times that I don't really pay attention to my surroundings and don't comprehend it until it's clear I forgot to do my homework and i start writing it last minute before I have to pass it kinda scenerio. but if I realize I have to be serious about something I end up weirdly giving out good advices or telling people what they wanted to hear the most from what my besties told me whenever they vent? I dunno how I don't think I'm that good with words I just make sure to always be there when they want someone to lend an ear or to criticize honestly, but One thing's for sure I'm a ride or die kinda friend

My hobbies are Playing (Mostly grinding) Videgomes I'm interested in and drawing~

My likes are MONEY,fashion lore and Sweet foods

Dislikes:Wasting money on something not worth it,spicy Food and People who don't respect boundaries

Hello! Thank you so much for your request! I hope that you like this match-up!

Tw: None

I match you with..........

Rook Hunt

I find it funny that you mentioned Rook, because reading through the info, he was really the one that was screaming at my soul for this. Wine aunt meets over-dramatic french man in love with love itself, what could honestly go wrong here?

On a serious note, he really does love your carefree nature. Some people can be a little too uptight, you know? What is life without a little fun? And when you get as carefree as you do, unaware of your surroundings, it makes for the perfect time to keep an eye (stalk) on you. You are his favorite prey, after all (in a non creepy way... just a Rook way)

If you are ever looking for a muse when it comes to your drawings, he would absolutely love to model for you! What would you like him to wear? Where should he be? What pose? Just tell him and he bends to anything that you want to do. Let your creativity run wild!

Honestly, you are possibly the only person that could get under his skin and cause him to get flustered. There are just some things that he was not expecting you to actually say to him and when you do? Oh, you have a clingy but flustered hunter. Honestly, the surprised look on his face makes it all worth it in the end.

This man is in Pomefiore, where one of the biggest fashion gurus in the world is his Housewarden. Believe me when I say that this man knows a thing or two about fashion. He would love to bring you over to the dorm and you both can go all day just talking about anything and everything on the subject. If you're lucky enough, maybe even Vil will join in and even bring in some new clothing for all of you to model.

Overall, the renowned hunter of love itself has found himself in the position of the hunted. There are times where you just catch him off guard and he absolutely loves it. What's life without the thrill of the hunt, after all?

[goldom]

AFoLiS author commentary Part 3-2

Alright, moving on...

After that point is when entries started to really fall into the norm of what I intended the story to be: me writing about whatever events I played that day, as if Stelle were writing about them. So a lot of stuff out of canon chronological order. But let's be honest, canon chronological order is a hot mess anyway.

I'm still proud of "Stellfie." Yes, I do this word-merging all the time irl, often aloud, and near-constantly mentally, which I have learned is associated with Tourette syndrome. After mentioning this to my mom a few years ago, she revealed that I was actually diagnosed with TS as a kid. Welp. And so sometimes I'm just sitting here thinking about Firefly (as you do) and suddenly burst out with "Blupils" (blue pupils) at my spouse, who has no fuckin clue what I'm on about, so then Stelle got to think it too.

Okay, Interlude 3, let's see how badly I wrote the SH... Okay this is actually fine. Yeah they're all making quiet threats, but I think it still comes across as caring. Yes, Firefly is harsh to Kafka in her thoughts, which is not canon, but in my story, we know she watched Kafka erase her girlfriend before her eyes.

On SW's joke about picking Stelle's name, I realized later that I got canon backwards about Stelle's old vs new name. Rewatching the opening cutscene, it's trying to say "her name WAS Stelle, but her new name is the one the player picks." But we're way past that now. In here, Stelle is her new name. Her old name... Well, we've heard it of course. It's ███. :)

" “A Station ornament inscribed with defense? Really?” “I meet a lot of people, okay, maybe someone will need it. "

Look. Look. Genshin has characters with attack that scales on DEF. YOU NEVER KNOW what relics you're gonna need some day! And that's why I'm always hitting the inventory cap...

" “Why would you keep a journal on paper?” Herta sneers, sounding insulted by the idea. " <- Me not noticing that Herta's avatar in SU is literally writing on paper. Oh well.

I try not to use too much cursing of any sort, if only because the game doesn't, so it would be out of character. But once in a while, Stelle just needs to bust out a "fuck off, Herta." Meanwhile, I liked getting to make up at least one silly sci-fi curse, with Herta's "Droidhead's wires."

Here's the most mundane behind the scenes detail. After I changed pens because Herta broke Stelle's, I discovered the color of the new one came out really light in the scans. So after a couple entries I went back to the original, having Stelle note on the side of a page that she replaced it. Well. Actually I accidentally picked a different one without realizing it. If you compare, the pen color isn't quite the same before and after the light-green pen section. Wow. Such lore.

Dumb headcanon: The way Screwllum talks isn't cause he's a robot, it's cause he thinks it's funny to sound robotic to the silly organics.

Okay, we're up to the creation of the seal on the journal. Oh boy that thing gave me so much aggravation. I came up with the trick clue very early, and got really attached to it. I needed the password to be "me" for Firefly. But then, "me" makes no sense for Stelle to say as the answer. Plus, "me" is a terrible password because it would so easily be said accidentally. So I ended up with that whole mess of exposition with Stelle being making up a reasoning for how it works, like "I guess the journal is being pedantic" and ugh yeah I'm still not happy with it. But I couldn't change the wording at that point, because I'd already SHOWN the thing way back in the first entry, and there it was written in the cover of the real journal. I think this probably should have been a "kill your darlings" moment, because the payoff really wasn't worth how awkward it was to justify.

Still, the moment Firefly figures it out and whispers "me" is so cute.

Alright, one more third to go in this part.

[lumiereandcogsworth]

WOW 😭 im starting to wish YOU wrote the “as old as time” book since thats the only “official” world building disney gave us and it was … bad 😭

ok ok so everything made sense but i still got some questions .. im so sorry 😭

so before i ask about time, how old do you think adam was before the curse? i see in the remake the change from “if he could learn to love before his 21st bday” to “if he could learn to love before the LAST PETAL FELL” so now im like how much time was that really ?? i mean obviously ur right on the whole time freezing if they felt like removing a key plot point of it all happening before adams 21st and the whole eternal winter fiasco, so whatever adams age was before the curse was the same after?? So im asking a follow up bc im still a bit confused if you’re saying the gap between the WHOLE curse is january to june? am i getting this right lmk 😭 i seriously think someday you should write a timeline on ur beauty and the beast world bc i am loving this theory sm?? literally everywhere else is yapping about it being 10 years (some are saying the curse was 21 years!!) and the enchantress being belles mom for some reason??? literally so silly 🗣️ anyway idk man ur ideas r just refreshing for this fandom ngl 😭 anyway thxs for answering my questions dude <33

AAHH i’m smiling SO WIDE!!! i love this so much !!! yeah yeah yeah

okay SO! yes, because batb 2017 changed the parameters of the curse, it’s up to us to decide his age! i actually decided a while ago that i would make him 21. this was mainly to honor batb 1991, but i also like that he was young. and you didn’t ask this, but i headcanon belle is 20. they’re a couple of youngin’s!! belle turned 20 in may, the movie takes place in june, and adam will turn 22 in august. SO yes he was 21 when he was cursed, and just 21 the whole time. that’s just my timeline for ya. i think belle is surprised to learn how close in age they are, when adam inevitably reveals his age to her when they’re courting. i think adam has Always been old for his age. (caused by childhood trauma and also just his personality) and i’m sure being cursed sort of “aged” him a bit too. something i love about them is that while belle is mature for her age as well, she is also able to bring out the child in him. he laughs with her, they play with and tease each other. they’re best friends, always. so he IS young, but he’s never really matched his actual age. life’s been difficult for him, despite the royal status :(

as for the timeframe of the curse, yeah that works!! i’m not too fussy about how many months exactly it has been, but i think six months is a solid number, and a storm in january makes just as much sense as anything. some day, when i’m feeling extra insane, i want to develop my own formula for how time compares in and out of the curse. like one real day equals one curse week, or something like that. i’ll do that some day lol. but for now i’m just vague about it. they were under the curse for MONTHS (six works nicely) and it FELT like a couple/few YEARS. belle was at the castle for five days (according to gaston), so how long did it FEEL like she was there? i think her and adam spent weeks, maybe months, falling in love. once she spent the night there, i think she fell into their frozen timeline as well. (maurice doesn’t experience it because he doesn’t sleep there!) which is kind of cool!! i love writing extra scenes that happen during the curse, because in my view, a lot more time passes in that period. which is evident (to me) in the nature of their rapport and dynamic. they don’t seem like two people who have only known each other for 5 days, do they? :”)

as to your lamentations, i can only sympathize. while i do love and respect batb 1991, it really has some frustrating plotholes for people who like digging into lore & canon. and i hate to start up comparisons, but i’ll just say i’m quite thankful for everything batb 2017 does to button up those issues. the ten years thing is rough, because that IS was 91 lumiere says! i’d have a hard time refuting that, myself. as you may have noticed, i’m quite the canon girlie lmao. i think lumiere was just being dramatic and hyperbolic, which lends to 17 lumiere singing “too long” instead of “ten years” — which i am so thankful for. the 21 years is… ludicrous? i have no idea how people could get there. maybe they think adam was cursed from birth ??? ugh. don’t get me started on people who forget that he was born a human being, AND DESERVES TO BE A HUMAN BEING AFTER THE CURSE IS LIFTED. i’ll blow a fuse. anyway!!

the enchantress being belle’s mother theory is i BELIEVE from a book that’s like batb but with a twist? i think there’s a whole series of books that are disney movies with wild twists. and for the batb one, it’s that her mother was the enchantress. i’m not ever going to read that, because it’s ridiculous, and canon is my beloved best friend that doesn’t need changing. but yeah i think that’s where that comes from. whateva. i have lots of lovely lore about belle’s beloved mama already💜

thank you again for your kindness and appreciation of my thoughts!!!! i can’t express enough how much it means to me. thank you a million times💖

[writingdesknashu]

Dark Orange: Reborn Chapter 6 Concept Post

Hello, welcome once again to Lord Nashu's writing desk. Where I shuffle the mess around and give you a look at the mind behind my creative process. Recently, Dark Orange: Reborn Chapter 6 came out, and while I was sitting here minding my own business, I realized this was the perfect time to talk about the concept of that chapter. Were I to sum that concept up in a phrase, I think it'd be:

World Expansion

World Expansion, as I see it, is a form of world-building where you introduce concepts to show how much more to the world there is. It could be in a direct manner, like say, human characters talking about visiting an industrially marvelous dwarven city, or in subtle ways like those characters mentioning dwarven design. I think the way you go about it depends on the type of fantasy story you're writing, and with Dark Orange being a bit more on the subtle side of things, the subtle way is definitely my approach.

Now I know what you're thinking.

"Lord Nashu, isn't Dark Orange a story about Gods at war with each other?"

Yes.

"And isn't it also a story about how Gods are formed from human belief?"

Yes.

"Then how is this story a subtle fantasy?"

Why that's simple, dear reader. It's subtle because as far as the world knew before it ended, Gods and such didn't quite exist. Even as we get into Book 1, there's still a lot of mystery about the world. Grays are running around and terrorizing people, to be certain, and they make the world a different kind of hell, but it's not really until we get to the end of Book 1 that we see how deep this story goes.

[A brief interlude]

The first time Dr. Naveen Gupta dropped the lore, I was a bit beside myself about the delivery. I was not in the company of frequent readers so I couldn't get an idea of whether this was too much at one time. I continued regardless though...

[Interlude concludes.]

By the time we get to the end of Book 1, the world starts to open up. We've only just learned about some of the pieces of it, but we can tell the puzzle is big. Chapter 6 here reveals more of those pieces in a subtle way. There is New York, of course, our setting for this harrowing tale. But then there's also Ace's dream about Phosphorus.

Here is where some of that subtle world-building comes in. There are the obvious details preceding this point of Phosphorus and Seiros being children of Greek Gods, but the subtle detail here is that Phosphorus almost thinks Paimon (the boy-like thing) is a satyr instead of what readers might believe he is. He quickly catches on to his error, but what this line tells you is that Satyrs were pretty common in his era. The question it should raise though, is, "Why aren't they common anymore?"

I'm not going to answer that question, of course. Why spoil the fun! But to put that question on the table is to give you an idea of how I'm expanding the world. As book 2 goes on, maybe I'll answer that question, but I think that's enough for now. Let me organize my desk and send you on the way...

I bid you adieu, but...

I would be delighted if you were to join me once again...

[thechekhov]

Alright, alright, I caved.

After a slot opened up in me to be able to take on another show emotionally, I decided to invest in OwlHouse. I thought I would probably like it, but it won me over faster than I thought it would.

I’ve already watched a few episodes, but I realized that it might be more fun to do liveblogs, so here I am - with a liveblog...

I will be doing this episode by episode, and probably releasing them every once in a while. Everything will be under a cut, however, to save you all dash space.

If you’d like to follow, please track the #chekhov watches owlhouse tag!

(I’d also like to dedicate this post to the Tumblr Staff Rob, who did his best to restore this post for me when tumblr queue ate it.)

Without further ado...

Episode 1!!

Fair warning - this is technically not a ‘live’ blog, because I have already watched some of the show before deciding to do this, but I’ll still react to them to round things out.

Immediately, this reminds me of Little Witch Academia... Anyone? No? Only me? I feel like maybe I’m getting my wires crossed, but there HAD to have been some inspiration taken from there?

“No-- my only weakness! Dying!!“

Same, big snake monster. Same.

Oh, backup snakes? This girl is READY.

Please don’t mistreat the snakes.

Spider breath... This kid is on my wavelength. That griffin seems to be waiting to be put out of its misery though, and I don’t blame it.

My child... where did you get that pigeon head though.....

Nurse mother, do you REALLY think signing up your spider-summoning daughter for summer camp will actively make her antics slow down instead of ramp up to 60?

Awww, baby makes AMVs... But also, NO ONE TOLD YOU TO THROW AWAY THE BOOK??? I know it’s symbolic, but goodness, isn’t that a bit much???

wait a sec, is that Eda????

Love the realistic bilingual kid experience of replying in English when your mom talks to you in your native language. Universal.

Love this introduction of Eda’s character. She’s got that little green scarf on and everything. Like a tiny trash grandma.

Oooh, okay, let’s extrapolate...

Lots of bones everywhere. I kinda love the aesthetic here - it’s gross and visceral, kind of like what Luz was making with her school projects. Yet in the middle of it all we have a rather clear gothic looking structure. Is this a power imbalance in the supposed kingdom?

The five circles of stained glass seem to perhaps indicate something like Hogwarts houses? Several different types of magic?

But Luz has no reason to freak out as much as she is - she LOVES weird stuff! Haha... No, I kid, I kid. I get it.

“Am I in the bad place?“

Eyyyyy, gotta love shows referencing other shows. :)

“Oh dear child... I’m not like you.”

Wow, what a DRAMATIC reveal for some pointy ears. :) I love her.

We should all aspire to have such cool and stylistically well put together wanted posters. You can tell the commissioned artist really respects her craft.

Steven Universe fans watching this:

I’m looking too.

Okay, okay, enough shenanigans, let’s have some LORE.

I love this landscape. Teeth or bones, or whatever they are, this is one of the more unique settings we’ve gotten, though maybe I’m prejudiced because I love body horror and bones. The darker orange and red themes fit really well here.

Things I’m desperate for: Giraffe Lore 

Things I’m more desperate for: Eda lore. Why do her limbs fall off? Is she a zombie?

Things I’m not quite as desperate for: Hooty lore. He can keep that to himself.

well hello there mysterious chekhov’s glyph which will DEFINITELY not be relevant in the second chapter (or end of season? Maybe? Idk it just seems important).

Ah, yes. That would have been my reaction as well, to be fair. Somehow I didn’t expect to see this guy so early on. I figured he would be a low stress early villain that got assimilated into the Found Family. Kinda psyched that he’s just there from the start.

....I’m just gonna presume this is all true and accept it at face value.

Old Escape The Cops Lady and Tiny Little Demon King, I need your backstory. How did you meet.

I love looking at background details, because like... you can tell the BG artists had fun. I particularly love how the 3 eyed toad doesn’t actually have any reward attached to her. Though the Knife Baby does intrigue me!

“I write fanfics of food falling in love.”

Why am I being called out...

“Noo! My weak nerd arms!”

Finally, a realistic portrayal of a protagonist thrust into a fantasy setting!

.....................

Okay but. If only humans could pass through the barrier... wouldn’t that mean a human had to have deposited those things in there? Do they have a human on staff in this weird pseudo-prison??? Suspicious....

Confession - when I initially saw ads for this show, I expected Eda to be a villain, not a loveable middle aged witch aunt figure. I am shockingly even MORE drawn to her this way. I expected betrayal. I expected her to be a lowkey threat?? But no. She’s just wholesome in the way a solid raccoon is.

“Eda, are you okay?!”

“Yeah, this just happens when you get older...”

“........does it..?”

If I had to pinpoint the exact moment this show won me over...... it would probably be this one.

I know it’s probably the wrong thing to focus on, but what is that insignia? Wings??? Like.... the kind OWLS HAVE?????

COINCIDENCE??? I THINK NOT!!!

I’m really loving the landscape here. And those fireworks are... hmm... intricate?

Gotta love the old tried and true Witch Apprentice Actually A Live In Intern trope. :)

Hold up...

Is that

Is that Hooty? I thought he was just a door....

Eda: This is my room for human stuff. I will also put my human in there.

. . .

Overall rating: I think this is a cute overall beginning. The prison break went hard! I enjoyed the characters and it kind of surprised me in a lot of ways. It definitely does a great job setting up a world with a lot more to explore while giving us a small taste of cool magic stuff and witchy battles. :)

Now on to Episode 2!!

Read the liveblogs in order by clicking here!

[calaofnoldor]

What’s Mine

Characters: Sam x F!Reader, Dean

Words: 7,595

Summary: The secret you and Sam are hiding from Dean is threatened by your inability to keep your hands off each other.

Warnings: 18+ no actual smut but plenty of implied smut, pre-smut, and smut adjacency lol, secret dating, enemies to lovers, jealousy and possessiveness (exhibited by both sam and reader), slight obsession with sam’s big ass hands (i blame this largely on @walkerboy290​‘s glorious hand porn gif sets), and language

A/N: inspired by and written for @thinkinghardhardlythinking​ bc she’s been bugging me to write smut and using her birthday as a bargaining chip, so i hope you’re happy sai. happy (belated) birthday babe! i suppose in my subconscious need to truly honor you, this became the longest one shot i’ve ever written... that and this is now also a little birthday gesture for the brilliant and beautiful @sams-sass​​ (damn your close birthdays!) even though she never asked for smut (if you hate it, i’ll write you something else!) happy birthday to you too, darling!

also written for @superbadassnatural​‘s 333 badass followers celebration with the prompt “___ and I are together.” “Yeah, right, and I’m Santa.” and @writethelifeyouwant​‘s 300 follower fic challenge with the prompt “All the pretty girls like Samuel” (both prompts are bolded in the fic) i’m sorry i’m so late! congratulations to both of you and thanks for letting me enter your challenges!

[basically i have a lot of people to blame for this disaster 😂]

Square Filled: Secret Dating for @spnfluffbingo​ and Enemies to Lovers for @girl-next-door-writes​ Make Me Feel Bingo

MASTERLIST

The waffles on your plate are surprisingly good for a sketchy, 50’s-themed diner, but unfortunately your attention is elsewhere. In fact, the two distinctly masculine voices behind you have been obnoxiously impairing your ability to savor the buttery, syrup-doused carbs since their owners sat down in the adjoining booth. It’s the topic of their discussion that disturbs you, and nips at your conscience until you realize you can no longer take off without imparting a few words to your oblivious colleagues.

Turning your head subtly to the side, you try to catch a glimpse of the men you’re about to confront in your peripheral vision. From what you can see, they’re both rather burly, a little rough around the edges, and from what you’ve heard, recklessly cocksure. You know the type all too well. Being a lone hunter of the fairer sex for most of your life means you’ve long since learned that the best way to combat their kind is with a steadfast façade of thick skin and unwavering confidence.

So you sigh and put on your best smile before turning around, crossing your forearms along the top of the booth seat, “Listen fellas, I hate to interrupt, but I really wouldn’t bother with the bamboo dagger and Shinto priest if I were you.”

“And who the hell are you?” the one with shorter hair demands. He’s a bit stockier than his companion and has a face that looks like it was designed by Abercrombie and Fitch - well that explains the arrogance.

“I’m the person who’s about to save your asses evidently,” you respond with a smug grin, trying not to let their absurdly good looks deter your act.

Abercrombie’s partner, the Fabio wannabe, releases a quiet scoff, “And how are you gonna do that?” he questions dubiously.

“By letting you in on a little secret…” Throwing him a tight smile, you lean forward and lower your voice, “That ōkami you’re after? It’s not an ōkami, it’s a ghoul.” Sitting back, you await the outrage.

“What?! But that’s not possible, I checked the lore. And it’s obviously got a type.” Fabio’s glossy chestnut locks fall across his delicate features as he shakes his head in disbelief, and you almost snort out loud. How did this amateur expect to hunt with hair like that?

You look him over, taking in the broad shoulders and muscled arms, as well as the obvious height advantage he’s got over Abercrombie even whilst they’re both seated. To be honest, you’re surprised he’s referencing lore at all. Guys his size always assume they can either outman or outgun whatever obstacles cross their path, and they almost never take women like you seriously, despite your ample years of acquired knowledge and invaluable experience. It’s this experience that surmises a bit of antagonism here is inevitable, so you might as well get a head start.

“Yeah well maybe you should check again, big guy,” you glance down at his hands, your first mistake as their sheer size render you speechless and subsequently agitated at yourself for the momentary lapse of visceral lust, but the show must go on, “Make sure those giant, lumbering hands of yours don’t fumble over anything important or you might miss the connection to Isabelle Harding. You see it’s not ‘a type’; it’s revenge.”

“Wh- Bu- I looked through the files. I wouldn’t have missed that,” Fabio insists.

“Oh yeah? Why don’t you type ‘Isabelle Harding’ and ‘1987 school bombing’ into your search bar and see what comes up?” you gesture towards the laptop on their table with a raised brow. Minutes later, both men are dumbfounded by the revelation on the screen, staring between it and you with their mouths agape.  

You chuckle silently at their faces, “Don’t worry, there’s no need to thank me. Although you rookies might wanna go home and let the more experienced hunter finish up here.” As you’re about to bid them farewell, you dip back in to add, “Oh and a word of free advice, maybe don’t discuss supernatural monsters quite so loudly in public spaces next time. It might invite unwanted attention.”

With that, you turn around and slap some cash down next to your unfinished waffles, before grabbing your jacket and strutting out the door.

Sam is left in utter confusion. The sudden animosity you had spouted his way seems completely baseless and unwarranted. Had he somehow offended you? Sam generally considers himself a highly respectful and fairly easy-going guy, not quite as hot-blooded as his brother, and thus not as likely to provoke such antipathy from a complete stranger. To make matters worse, he certainly can’t deny that something about you had registered within his subconscious as inexplicably attractive, despite the way you’d embarrassed him. In his flustered and slightly aroused state, it had been all he could do to remain awestruck in his seat and stare blatantly at your ass as you walked away.

The next time Sam sees you is only twelve hours later and no less humiliating. You’re mid-swing in the killing blow against what you had accurately predicted to be a ghoul as he and Dean tumble in. Despite the low lighting, Sam is once again stupefied by your raging beauty, augmented by the incredible skill you’re displaying in a much more physical sense this time around. Before he can drag his eyes away, there’s a collective shout of “watch out!” and suddenly you’re right in front of him. In a blur of events, you somehow manage to push Sam out of the way and successfully decapitate the unexpected second ghoul that had been sneaking up behind him, with only a slice across the arm to show for it.

“Didn’t I tell you two to go home?” You’re panting from the exertion and Sam’s gaze lands on the neckline of your shirt, skewed from the fight and revealing a good amount of cleavage. He quickly averts his eyes. What is happening? Sam can’t remember the last time anyone had evoked such a staggering reaction from him. He feels as if he’s a mere spectator in his own body.

Across from him, you press your hand against the wound and curse when it comes back covered in blood. At your groan of pain, Sam finally finds his voice again, “Shit. I’m so sorry! I don’t know how I missed that other one. I- that normally doesn’t happen.”

“Yeah, I bet that’s what you say to all the girls, huh?” you reply offhand, still a bit out of breath.

It’s easy for Sam to dismiss your mocking given that he feels terribly guilty for being the cause of your injury. From where he’s standing, the cut looks deep. “Here, at least let me stitch it up for you. It’s too awkward a position for you to do it yourself,” he offers, holding out his ginormous hands to you like he’s waving a white flag.

“I think you’ve done enough damage for one day, haven’t you, big guy? At this point, I’d rather Abercrombie over there be the one behind the needle.”

“Who- what?” are the first words Dean speaks since the action has died down.

You turn to face the shorter guy, “Oh don’t look so surprised. You might as well be the model for a slightly older Ken doll. Are you up for it or not?”

Dean’s mouth hangs open as he tries to determine whether he should feel flattered or insulted.

“Uh- actually, I’m better at stitches than my brother,” Sam butts in.

“With those jumbo, fumbling hands? Yeah, sure you are, big guy,” you decline skeptically.

“It’s Sam,” he states through a clenched jaw.

“OK, Sam. Since I just saved your life, you mind making yourself useful and burning those bodies while your bro puts my arm back together? You know, as a ‘thank you’ perhaps?”

Sam is stunned for the third time that day. No one has ever belittled him (whilst gratuitously attacking his size) insofar without any apparent reason. It seems as though his very existence upsets you and the arbitrariness of your contempt has caused an anger to stir beneath him, but beyond that lies bewilderment and irritation. How had he managed to accomplish two such massive mistakes in front of you in the span of so short a time? Perturbed and bitter, Sam silently sets to work on the bodies.

Meanwhile, you’ve come to a surprising realization as Dean begins to cut the fabric of your flannel away from your damaged arm, the name ‘Sam’ and the words ‘my brother’ resounding in your head, “Wait a second- there’s no way… you’re not… the Winchesters, are you? Sam and… Dean?”

“The one and only, sweetheart.” He sends you a dazzling smile that is as perfect as you’d expect, but within his eyes is an underlying poignancy that you recognize as clear as day: an indication of a traumatic past and a lifetime spent plastering on tough veneers. You notice as well how gentle his touch is and how his stitches are practiced and prudent. Perhaps you had judged him too hastily.

Through an incredulous chuckle, you retort, “Well I can’t say I didn’t expect more from you, but at least this’ll get me a free round of drinks at the hunters’ pub tonight.”

Dean laughs with you before sobering at the thought of how his baby brother must be feeling, “Hey listen, take it easy on Sammy, alright? I don’t know what’s gotten into him today but he’s not usually like this. He’s actually the smart one, believe it or not.”

Scoffing, you can’t help but smile back at Dean and soon find an easy rhythm with the older Winchester, despite your awkward introduction.

From several yards away, however, Sam looks wistfully back to see you smiling lightheartedly at something Dean’s said, the two of you huddled in close proximity as his brother’s hands drift across your bare skin. Something akin to envy bubbles within his chest although he’s aware it makes no sense, so with a frown, Sam does his best to shake it off and get back to work.

But it’s not easy to forget you. And just as Sam is beginning to think he’s rid that awful day from his memory, you pop back into his life three months down the line.

“Well, if it isn’t the overgrown hunter extraordinaire Sammy Winchester.” The sarcasm that oozes from your otherwise beguiling voice has him gritting his teeth in no time.

“It’s Sam.”

“So you here to mess up my hunt again, Sam?”

Although he wishes he could have been the bigger man instead of surrendering to the resentment you roused within him, after a couple repeated hatchet burying attempts fall through, Sam just can’t resist the little game you’ve started.

Over the next few months, you and Dean form a fortuitously close bond and the older Winchester develops a habit of calling you up when faced with a troublesome hunt, and vice versa. Despite Sam’s fabricated displeasure, a show he puts on mostly for Dean (since any other emotion would seem illogical given the way you treat him), Sam is peculiarly and begrudgingly excited to see you every time. But the match never ends. In fact, Sam lets it intensify each time you work together, always astounded by how you manage to get him so worked up.

“I’m telling you, it’s a rugaru!”

“Right, because the last time we listened to you, things worked out so well,” you remark sardonically.

“The lore says-“

“Ooh, quoting the lore again now are we, Mr. Know It All?”

At this point, Sam is about as huffy and puffy as the big bad wolf and if he were a cartoon character, there’d surely be steam erupting from his ears. “Look, Y/N, this isn’t about who knows more or who’s right; this is about saving those people’s lives!”

“You think I don’t know that? Was I not the one who saved your life the first time we met?”

“OK, alright, just shut up you two!” Dean finally shouts above you, “Would it kill you to just get along for two seconds?”

“No,” Sam admits.

“Probably,” you say at the same time, causing Sam to shoot you his overly perfected bitch face.

SIX MONTHS LATER

“What the fuck?!” Dean’s booming voice echoes throughout the bunker and moments later you and Sam come flying into the kitchen to answer his call, guns at the ready.

“What? What is it?” you ask while Sam scans the room.

A whimper is the only the way to describe the sound of Dean’s reply, as he points toward an unseen object on the floor. Edging toward him, you lower your gun in the direction of his finger until you discover the source of Dean’s distress.

With a sigh, you look toward Sam who is also exhaling in relief at the sight of the entity in question. The two of you share a moment of wordless conversation before simultaneously dropping your guns with a conclusive nod.

“Why does this feel like déjà vu?” Dean’s tone is still timid and appalled, and you nearly laugh at the idea of a grown-ass man looking so aghast because of a used condom.

“Because it kinda is…” you supply unhelpfully, earning yourself a small glare from the man beside you.

“Dean,” Sam begins with a deep breath, “There’s something we have to tell you… Y/N and I are together.”

The snort that escapes Dean is full-bodied and borderline psychotic, “Yeah, right, and I’m Santa!”

You wait till his snickering subsides, “No, it- it’s true.” Your voice is hesitant yet hopeful, “We’re not joking. We’ve kinda become… a thing.”

“A thing?”

“Yeah, well you know, I don’t wanna have to put a label on it or-“

“Y/N’s my girlfriend,” Sam declares with conviction as he reaches out to curl his long fingers around your waist and lasso you towards him.

“-Buuuut, that is the one I’d use if anyone asks,” you quickly affirm with a stiff pat to your boyfriend’s abdomen, wincing at the unversed attempt of PDA and missing the dimpled grin that crosses Sam’s amused features.

“Well, I don’t buy it. I don’t believe either of you.” Dean’s sturgeon face comes on strong as he shakes his head and points a challenging finger at you, “Kiss him, right now,” he dares with perked brows.

The eye roll you respond with is so dramatic your entire head moves with it. But then, without a moment of pause, you turn your body into Sam’s, reach up to grab the back of his neck and pull him down for a searing kiss. Now this is something you’re well-versed in. The reunion of your lips starts off relatively slow, but it doesn’t take long to escalate into something more fiery that involves tongue, the eager push and pull movements of your bodies, and Sam’s enormous hands cradling your head.

After a moment of shock, Dean objects, “Alright, alright, I get it! That’s enough of that!”

Unwilling to recede just yet, you linger in the kiss for a little longer, delaying your separation by nibbling down on Sam’s lower lip and tugging gently, only releasing it as you pull away torturously slow. When the two of you finally open your languid eyes, it’s to stare into each other’s dilated pupils and ponder the moment for an indiscernible minute.

“What th- I said, I get it! Now could please stop ogling each other before my lunch comes back out the wrong way?!”

But the way Sam’s smiling at you is addictive and you can’t bring yourself to look away until he forces a break by leaning in to plant a tender kiss upon your forehead before tucking you into his side as he faces his brother again.

Dean’s face is covered by his hand, “I’m gonna need a minute. I just-“ His features leap through a range of expressions as he tries to find the right words, “When the hell did this start anyway? I thought you two couldn’t stand each other?”

“Yeahhh, that was mostly an act. Although we bought it at first too,” you explain with a shrug.

“We weren’t pretending the whole time. It just kind of happened and we didn’t really know how else to act around each other by then,” Sam adds.

“Right, basically it turns out there’s a fine line between love and hate... and that line is hardcore yearning.” Your words bring a chuckle to Sam’s lips but his brother still looks out of sorts.

Shaking his head with closed eyes, Dean sighs, “Alright, can someone just explain to me exactly how this happened, because I’m still not computing here. But spare me the details and try to keep it PG-13,” he emphasizes with adamant hand gestures.

“How do you know it’s not PG-13?” you inquire with a held-back laugh.

“Ha. With the way you two were playing tonsil hockey just now, I can tell you’ve been around the bend way more than I wanna know. My little brother doesn’t kiss like that on the first date.”

It’s impossible to hold back a giggle at the memory of your ‘first date’ and the way Sam had kissed you, “OK well, that would be hard, considering the story involves a lot of sex... You wanna give it a go, big guy?” you pass the ball over to Sam with a quirked brow and lowered voice, to which he responds with narrowed eyes and pursed lips, a little warning glance that you’re well aware means ‘save it for the bedroom’ but you simply smirk up at him.  

‘Big guy’ used to be a term you called Sam in contempt, but when the feelings between you evolved and a sexual relationship developed, it became an innuendo, such that calling him ‘big guy’ in front of Dean or in public almost always results in glorious sex. In fact, sometimes you believe the nickname has held a slightly obscene connotation for you since the beginning.

Afterall, your carnal longing for him has been present from day one, although at the time you had believed it to be purely physical. Sure, you had dreams about having him in various positions in your bed, but you figured those were merely betrayals of your subconscious mind. That was until one day, a heated argument in a rare moment alone had ended up in a violent make out session, after which the two of you had just barely gotten the last of your clothes back on before Dean walked in. One look at your worked up and frenetic states alongside the disordered condition of your surroundings, and he immediately assumed you’d been fighting again (which wasn’t terribly far from the truth), chortling as he asked if you would have killed each other had he returned a bit later.

With a clearing of his throat, Sam begins to recount the tale, “Uh, well it started in that motel in South Carolina, while you were out getting food…”

“Look, all I’m saying is there is no way he’s using the hospital as a dump site! It’s just not feasible!”

With complete disregard for the peace and quiet of the other residents within this thin-walled motel, you and Sam once again find yourselves in a shouting match.

“Oh right, I forgot! You’re Sam Winchester! How could you POSSIBLY be wrong?! Mister ‘look at me, my IQ and LSAT score match my fucking height! Oh and I also happen to have the physique of an Adonis without even owning a gym membership!’” you roar bitterly, gesticulating with your hands to help better communicate your pent-up indignation.

“Right and you’re Y/N Y/L/N, so how could YOU possibly be wrong? Miss ‘look at me, I never went to college but I’m a genius AND I can kick ass! Oh and I also happen to look effortlessly stunning through it all!’” Sam suddenly seems bigger than ever as he towers over you, that panty-soaking deep voice emanating from his diaphragm and infusing itself throughout the entire room until all you can see, hear, and breathe is Sam.

The fury takes over and you don’t notice your feet taking you closer to him, “Oh yeah because you don’t make EVERYTHING you do look so unnecessarily hot and make me wanna rip your clothes off all the damn time!”

“Fuck! And you don’t always drive me crazy when we have these stupid arguments and your chest starts heaving and you look so insanely delectable I just wanna pick you up and fuck you against the closest surface!” By now, the distance between you is essentially nonexistent and your brain is no longer run by reason.

“So why don’t you then?” are your famous last words, prompting Sam to grab you wildly by the back of a thigh, lifting slightly and driving you to climb up him like a spider monkey fleeing from a grounded predator, while his other hand pushes your hair aside to gain better access to your face. Your mouths clash in a fierce battle and before you know it, Sam’s huge hands are cupping your ass as your legs wrap around his waist and you rut into him, hands flying from his shoulders to his hair. Those divine chestnut locks that you’ve always dreamed of running your fingers through. They’re somehow even softer than you imagined and the revelation, in conjunction with the way Sam’s tongue is becoming increasingly aggressive causes a fresh surge of libidinous energy to rocket through you. As a result, you give his silky strands an irresistible tug and drink in the moan he makes, the sinful sound reverberating straight down to your core as you clench around nothing.

“Wait, wait, wait,” Sam groans as he grudgingly forces himself to pull back as much as he can, “Are you sure? Is this what you want? Cause I can’t- Y/N I won’t be able to stop myself if we keep going.” His eyes squeeze shut as if the notion of stopping or the act of keeping his lips away from yours is causing him genuine pain, and the entire gesture moves you.

“Fuck, you really are the opposite of everything I thought you would be,” you make a quick mental note to apologize later for your initially presumptuous behavior although you can’t find it within yourself to feel any remorse right now, “Yes, please Sam, fuck me. I want you so bad… I think I have since we met and I saw those gorgeous hands of yours,” you confess, biting your lip lightly.

Sam breathes out a low incredulous laugh, “What, these?” he asks, removing one of the aforementioned hands away from your butt to bring it into your line of vision.

“Yes, fuck they’re so big and beautiful and strong and-“

“Alright, I don’t need to know about your weird hand fetish!” Dean hollers abruptly, rubbing his fingers across his eyes as if he could somehow erase the image of you and his brother together out of his retinas. “OK, but that was like… four months ago. You mean you’ve been sneaking around behind my back this whole time?”

“Well at first we didn’t want to tell you because we weren’t even sure what it was ourselves,” you divulge.

“Yeah, we didn’t want to try to explain something that we didn’t understand yet,” Sam supplements, hoping his brother will understand the motive behind your secrecy.

You nod along, “But then… it got a little harder to hide.”

The apprehension behind Dean’s emerald eyes is unmistakable as he reluctantly inquires, “That’s why this felt like déjà vu?”

It’s with a grimace that you reply, hesitantly, “Remember the time you found those panties in the backseat of the Impala?”

Dean’s eyes grow comically wide and Sam ducks his head in preparation of what’s to come.

“Yeah, there’s a story behind that…”

The click of her heels against the porcelain-tiled foyer irritates you as the three of you stride through her front door. You’re posing as detectives sent to question this overdressed young woman about her late husband, but the moment she lays her eyes on Sam, you reckon she’s forgotten her beloved’s damn name.

“Oh my… lord and savior. Well aren’t you a tall drink of water?” she beholds breathlessly with a seductive bite of her painted ruby lips.

You cough loudly and Dean sniggers, thinking you’re annoyed about Sam getting such commendation and attention during a serious case.

“I know this might be the grief talking, but I would climb you like a tree,” she purrs, sauntering up to Sam with an exaggerated sway of her hips. With her half-lidded doe eyes adorned with dark, fluttery lashes and low, sultry voice, you have to admit she’s quite attractive.

Grinding your teeth as your nails dig into your palms, you glower at the woman unreservedly. She, however, takes no notice, running her hands along Sam’s forearms before gripping at his bicep to lead him toward her living room. “Please, come have a seat, detective. You can ask me whatever you want.” The wink she appends is somehow the final nail in the coffin.

It’s with zero hesitation that you feign the reception of a notification on your phone before declaring, “Oh would you look at that, the uh… Sheriff needs us back at the station, Sam. He says it’s urgent.” You try to keep your tone even, thankful that you all maintained your real first names for these aliases, “Dean, you’re good to conduct this interview on your own, right?” Without waiting for an answer, you trample over to snatch Sam’s other arm and ignoring the horny widow’s gaping mouth, proceed to haul him away.

Dean sends you a strange look but relents, “Uh, yeah I guess, OK.”

As soon as the door closes behind you, your hand shifts down to lace your fingers with Sam’s, marching him towards the Impala with a staunch and mighty purpose. Even Sam’s elongated legs stumble to keep up.

“So uh… when did you give the Sheriff your number?” There’s an edge in his voice that normally disappears when it’s just the two of you.

“Wha- I didn’t. Sam, I just made all that up,” you tell him as you reach the car and open its back door. Pushing Sam inside, you climb in swiftly after him, wasting no time as you straddle his thighs and begin to undress him, only pausing when he looks up at you in adorable, puppy-like confusion.

“Wait, what? Then what are we doing?”

That’s when it finally dawns on you, “Hold on a sec, were you… jealous?” You can’t help but smile, finding it amusing that he’s stewing in his own envy after what you just witnessed.

“No, I just- He was kinda all over you this morning.”

“You mean like the way Mrs. My-Husband-Just-Died-But-I-Wanna-Climb-You-Like-a-Tree was in there?”

“Oh, that’s what this is about?” Sam perks up, the hint of a smug grin ghosting across his lips.

“She was practically holding your hand!”

“That’s what bothered you the most?” He dips his head to catch your eyes and those variegated irises burn into you with an intense, questioning gaze, alight with mischievous curiosity.

“They’re my hands to hold,” you contend with a pout, subconsciously clenching your thighs around his as you seize one of his large hands with two of your much smaller ones, “Just like you’re my tree to climb.”

Sam’s head falls back in bright laughter, “I thought you said they were ‘oversized’ and ‘ungainly’?” he teases, quoting your previous slights.

“You know I only said that cause Dean was there.”

“I’m pretty sure you called them ‘fumbly’ and ‘lumbering’ the first time we met.”

Staring at his fingers as you play with them, you shiver at the memory of how they feel all over you. “That was cause I used to think all hunters with a Y chromosome were cocky, misogynistic assholes who needed to be knocked down a peg or two.”

“But I proved you wrong, right?”

“Fuck yes you did. So, so wrong. And now you’re mine, and I don’t like seeing other people touch what’s mine,” you growl before returning to your earlier task of removing his clothes, pouncing on him when your fingers finally land on bare skin. You kiss him fiercely, swallowing his surprised grunts with glee, and as his hands start travelling from your hips up to your back, holding you tight against him, your lips move down to his pulse point, sucking, licking, and nibbling, “Mine.”

“Fucking Jesus Christ on a cracker! You goddamn rabbits!” Dean squawks in protest as he begins to pace the floor, “Have you no decency?! And in my poor Baby! While I was busy doing all the work, saving lives!”

You roll your eyes at his melodramatics and can feel the tension in Sam’s abdominal muscles as he attempts to restrain his laughter. As if Dean had never taken a break during a case for a stress-relieving quickie before, or hadn’t been at least somewhat grateful to be left alone with a beautiful woman.

His next comment confirms your point, “Although, if I remember correctly that lady was a fox.” After a brief pondering pause and an introspectively appreciative smirk, Dean’s whining resumes, “But seriously! I can’t believe you two! Here I was feeling bad for forcing you to work and live together, hoping you’d eventually learn to get along when this whole time you were shacking up like animals and casually defiling my Baby just because what? Some girl touched Sam’s hand?!”

Feeling emboldened by the catharsis of this long-overdue airing of your dirty laundry, you decide to add to Dean’s exasperation, “Yeah and in the spirit of honesty, that might’ve happened more than once.” Sam tries to hold back his snort as he gives your hip a playful cautionary squeeze while Dean’s feet come to a full stop as he turns to give you a death glare. “Hey, it’s not my fault all the pretty girls like Samuel! And I’m pretty sure we wiped her down after.”

“I don’t even-“ Dean purses his lips and quirks his head with a dynamic expression of unbearable vexation, “You better be getting me pie every day of the week for what you did.“ He takes a deep breath before circling back, “Wait, OK so you’re telling me that a used condom ended up in our kitchen because- what? You two couldn’t keep it in your pants long enough to find a bed? You know what, forget I asked. I don’t wanna know. Did you at least sanitize the place after?? No, of course you didn’t, you left a fucking condom on the floor… I think I’m gonna throw up.”

But you hardly hear Dean’s rambling because you and Sam are far too wrapped up in each other, smiling as you recall the events of that morning.

Your eyes slowly drift open to find the most exalting sight in all the world: Sam Winchester’s sleeping face, blissful and serene. Lifting a hand to gingerly cup his cheek, the corners of your mouth curl up when he leans into your touch. It’s moments like this that make you wish you could wake up next to him every morning.

Only after you’ve traced his every feature and planted a soft kiss where his dimple would be if he were awake and smiling, do you carefully peel yourself from his side, slipping out of his hold as you quietly climb out of bed. Sam rolls over a bit and you freeze with bated breath, watching as his big arm extends out in your direction as if trying to reach for you in his sleep, before stilling again.

Mornings like this are rare and you want him to soak up all the restful sleep he can. Once you’re sure you haven’t woken him, you scan the room for something to cover your naked figure, until your eyes land on the flannel he’d worn the night before. Picking it up, you bring it to your nose and inhale deeply to revel in the residual scent of Sam. Another glimpse at his peaceful, sleeping form has you smiling fondly. God, you are such a goner for that man. It’s becoming hard to reserve your soft looks toward him for private moments alone.

You can barely remember how it happened, but over time, you’d come to learn that Sam is nothing like you originally imagined him to be. He’s kind-hearted and open-minded, the type of soul that can find hope and beauty in even the darkest of places, a far cry from the shallow macho man silhouette you’d expected him to fill. In fact, Sam routinely defies the expectations others have enforced upon him, proving his worth time and time again as he’s persisted through some of what must be the toughest challenges to ever face a single human. Yet through it all, his spirit remains intact, never once yielding to cynicism or resentment or apathy or even the building of walls as you and Dean have resorted to. He is truly the bravest man you know and infinitely more competent than your first fluke of a hunt with him had mistakenly suggested, both in the field and in bed.

Shaking the thoughts from your head, you wrap yourself in plaid and head out the door. Dean never questions your use of Sam’s shirts because ever since Sam firmly insisted on giving you his flannel after your second encounter with them resulted in Dean cutting your own top apart, you’ve grown into a habit of borrowing Sam’s clothes. You always claim they’re more comfortable than your own and Sam’s feigned annoyance over you ‘stealing’ his belongings tides Dean right over.

Half an hour passes before Sam approaches the bunker kitchen to find you with your back towards the entrance, busy prepping breakfast in nothing but his plaid. He pauses in the doorway to stare at you for a minute, licking his lips with an irrepressible smile. For some, this may seem like a stereotypical morning after, but for a couple of hunters, it feels like a dream come true.

After finally returning to the bunker last night following the completion of a series of successful hunts, you’ve got no solid obligations and very little on your to-do lists today, although Sam’s got more than a few ideas about how to pass the time, and a couple more come to mind when you stretch up on your toes to reach for something, causing the hem of his shirt to glide up until its corner reveals just slightest hint of your incredible ass. Sam can’t suppress his little grunt of approval, which catches your attention and makes you turn your head, peering back at him over your shoulder.

You smirk at the blessed view of him standing there in nothing but the pair of thin grey sweatpants you’d bought him a month ago when you discovered the viral online phenomenon, “Hey, big guy. You just gonna stand there and gawk or do you wanna make yourself useful and grab another plate from the top shelf?”

Chuckling at your false animosity, Sam stalks toward you, “Good morning to you too.” One of his vast hands falls upon your hip as he presses the maximum possible length of his body into your back side, while his other hand reaches up over your head to snatch the plate you’d asked for.

“Good morning indeed,” you concur with a silent gasp when you feel the generous bulge in his pants.

“Oh that’s not morning, baby girl,” Sam husks into your ear, “That’s all you.” His powerful arms slink around you and his lips find their way down the side of your neck, lingering in that tender spot just behind your ear whilst you tilt your head and close your eyes, contentedly surrendering yourself to the moment. “I ever tell you how good you look in my shirts?”

Wiggling your butt back to tease him a bit, you’re pleased with the hiss it elicits. “No, but you made it very clear how bad I look in Dean’s,” you counter playfully.

The man behind you scoffs, “I didn’t say you looked bad; you could never look bad. I just… don’t like seeing you wear his clothes.”

“Oh, I know,” you turn around in his arms, “I just don’t understand how Dean doesn’t know yet. I mean, I think you’ve been very obvious.”

“And you haven’t?”

“I’m not the one who leaves hickeys in very visible places all over your body!”

Sam’s eyes glaze over in lust, an idea clearly forming in his head as he glances down at you. “Dean’s a hot-blooded guy; he needs to know you’re off-limits,” he alleges before attacking your throat with his mouth.

“So why don’t we just tell him?”

Without pausing his efforts, Sam reminds you, “Because you said you thought it was kinda hot, all the sneaking around. Mmpf, and because you said you wanted to see how long it would take him to figure it out.”

You nod while running your fingers through his silken strands and leaning back to give him more purchase, “That’s true. But in my defence, we always have this conversation when we’re doing stuff like this and I can’t think straight when your hands and mouth are on me.”

“Kinda like how I can’t think straight when you’re wearing nothing but my shirt?” His kisses travel down from your neck to your collarbone and shoulder as he slides his loosely buttoned flannel off to one side, “Fuck, you’ve got me so hard.”

Without warning, Sam seizes your waist and hoists you into the air as if gravity were an absolute joke, before plopping you down on the edge of the steel counter, his thumbs digging lightly into your ribcage.

“Sam! This is where we eat!” you protest with a laugh.

“Exactly. Which is why I’m gonna devour you here.” He dives back into your neck, continuing his work on a little pink mark that’s already beginning to form.

“Oh fuck… Wait, what if Dean walks in?” It’s through a great struggle that you manage to push him back an inch.

“He’s got a date with the Impala. He’ll be in the garage all day, trust me.” Sam’s gaze sweeps over your body suggestively, “Now are you gonna let me taste what’s mine?”

With an equally lewd survey of his extensive frame, you reply, “As long as you let me impale myself on what’s mine later.”

His eyes darken and the way he’s looking at you like you’re the only person he’s ever wanted ignites a confidence within you, so in a rather swift motion, you grasp him by the shaft through his sweatpants – the delicious groan he emits at your touch is enough to turn your pussy into a slip and slide – and pull him back towards you until the clothed length of him is resting against your folds and your noses brush, while his hands settle naturally on your thighs.

Shivering, your breath stutters and for an instant you can do nothing but bask in the closeness of him. Sam seems to enjoy it too because he closes his eyes as he rests his forehead against yours with an elated sigh. For the second time today, you marvel at his beauty, whispering a string of gasping kisses along his lower eye socket and exquisite cheekbone, simply dying to breathe him in. All of him is so immaculate and sublime. Each time the two of you reconvene, you want to savor every fucking inch of him, but there are a lot of inches, so the task often overwhelms you. Still, you must try. Locking your ankles behind him, you use your legs to pull him even further into you and the friction makes you lose your mind.

“Fuck, baby girl, you keep that up I’ll be making a mess in my pants,” Sam grunts with his lips upon your cheek.

Your breathless laughter fills the air, thinking of the stain you've undoubtedly already left on his charming grey sweatpants. Nimble as he is, Sam takes advantage of your open mouth and plunges his tongue inside. After so much preamble, the kiss is heavy and full of need. When the pressure of his lips pushes your head back, your hands fly to his wrists for the sake of your balance.

From there, they journey upward across his vascular forearms to his bulging triceps, fondling his massive shoulders before sliding along his traps and up the gorgeous length of his perfect neck, until you finally reach the treasure trove of his impeccable locks. You tangle your fingers into the lush mane and yank, gently but zealously, making Sam growl into your mouth. His voice is the hottest thing you’ve ever heard and the sounds he makes always drive you insane.

Never breaking the kiss, Sam’s colossal moose paws roam up to your back as he slowly lays you down on the counter, his member somehow still notched at your entrance and the new angle rousing a quiet moan from you. When he ultimately pulls away, you pitch forward to chase after his lips, but Sam only grants you a devilish grin and a quick peck to the corner of your mouth before moving down to your jaw and neck. While one palm kneads at your breast through his shirt, the other begins pushing and pulling at fabric to uncover more of your skin for his wandering lips.

“Sam! Augh!” you cry out as your head falls back.

“I got you, baby. I’m all yours. Gonna make you feel so good.” As if to attest his words, he rolls his hips into yours and a needy whimper escapes you. With your fingers still twisted in his hair, Sam leaves no part of you untouched as his mouth travels down your body. But upon reaching your navel, he pauses, those vivid, color-changing eyes peeping up at you to check for any signs of discomfort or objection. Finding none, his thick tongue pokes out to lick a deliriously winding path from your belly button to your exposed clit. Then, pushing down tenderly on the insides of your knees to open you up to him, Sam directs you one last look that is both hungry and reverent, “I still can’t believe this is mine.”

Dean had stopped you halfway through your recollection, but it appears that was still too much for him, “What did I do to deserve this?! I feel like I need to go bathe in holy water for a week.”

You and Sam both open your mouths to respond but Dean cuts you off vehemently, “Ba-da-da-da!” His vocalized outcry is complete with animated gestures featuring an accusing index finger. “OK, before you two tell me another traumatizing story, that’s enough of the who, what, when, where, and how… I just need to know why. I mean, is this- are you- …?”

Sensing the protective wheels turning in his head, you decide to put Dean out his misery, “I’m not just with Sam because he’s an incredible lay if that’s what you’re wondering. We can skip the fatherly ‘what are your intentions’ talk. Yes, Dean, I am in love with your little brother… although ‘little’ is not exactly the word I’d use to describe him.”

“Sammy, could you please control your woman?”

“My woman?” Sam sounds mostly amused but you’re almost certain you can hear a hint of pride in his voice.

“Yeah, I admit I’m surprised I didn’t see it until now. You two are kinda oddly perfect for each other, you know, in a weird, kinky way.”

“To be honest, we’re pretty surprised too. I mean, he doesn’t look it but this guy is kind of territorial,” you quip whilst cocking a thumb in Sam’s direction.

“I don’t need to- Wait a minute, so all those bruises you told me were from hunts?” Dean’s eyebrows soar towards his hairline.

Chewing on your lip, you confirm his hypothesis with a miniscule nod.

“Yeah well that time you saw my back,” Sam chimes in vengefully, casting you a handsome grin full of mischief as he reveals, “that wasn’t a werewolf, that was Y/N.”

With eyes as round as dinner plates, Dean frantically shuts you both down, “OK, that’s it. Torture Dean time is over. I don’t wanna hear any more about your depraved sex lives! Look, I guess I’m happy for you guys, although mostly cause I don’t have to play referee anymore, but I’m gonna need you to follow some ground rules around here. Like rule number one! No sex in public places!” he starts counting with his fingers, “Always put a sock on it when you’re busy! And most importantly, no sex in Baby!”

Your laughter follows Dean as he wearily saunters out of the kitchen, an exhausted expression on his face. Turning to your newly outed boyfriend, you petition excitedly, “Does this mean we can have shower sex now?”

“Not while I’m around!” comes Dean’s snappy answer.

In contrast, Sam gives you the same look he did on that dreamy morning, “Oh trust me baby girl, I’m gonna get you wet somehow.”

“Still within hearing distance! I think I liked it better when you guys were at each other’s throats.”

As you’re giggling, Sam leans down to whisper in your ear, “For the record, I’m in love with you too.” And just like that, you’re tempted to re-enact your previous kitchen escapades.

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