#not gonna give more details for many obvious reasons

[reasonsforhope]

Crowdsourcing a question

Okay totally personal post here because, now that search engines suck, my research is failing me. So I'm crowdsourcing my question about the residential care work industry!

Hoping at least some of my followers have experience in/with the industry and some intel on this:

Actual question: How common is it for jobs in residential care work (residential centers, btw, not home care) to actually have two people on the night shift? vs. just saying they always have two people on the night shift in interviews and their official policies, and actually it's not true?

Because my current job was, it turns out, apparently totally lying about "you'll never be on shift alone with clients" at orientation (when it comes to the night shift, anyway). Which, holy fucking safety issues, Batman!

Suffice to say this was a very fun thing to find out like three days before my first regular shift

So, I'm thinking realllll hard about switching companies, and I'm trying to figure out if I could expect to actually have a coworker at a different company, or if it's like an open secret in the field that actually, basically all the night shifts end up being solo shifts, because the industry is so chronically understaffed or w/e

[overlysour]

＃VARIOUS GENSHIN CHARACTERS♡ — THEM WHEN THEY’RE JEALOUS

VARIOUS GENSHIN MEN & WOMEN X READER ♡

Wanderer

He can’t help but want to savour your touches and smiles for himself but he knows he can’t keep you to himself.

You made an effort to interact with him, even with his big ego and judgemental comments. So why would you cheat on him?? What would you even get from that?

Also, his newly received anemo vision represented his freedom, so why would he take yours?

He would still be annoyed, probably rolling his eyes, glaring and overall being grumpy if he’s jealous, he’s not just gonna act like nothing is happening!

Might make a scene out of it… overall pretty petty even if you don’t get what you did wrong.

Probably ends up yelling at the person he’s jealous of after telling you someone needed help (did he throw an arrow at some stupid guy that stalks your neighbour? Yes! Was it just because he needed to distract you? Yes! (also partly because the neighbour wouldn’t shut up about how they have an admirer to you and he wanted attention)).

Aether

It really depends on the situation but he won’t act on what he deems to be unreasonable jealously. He thinks it’s unfair to act in that way when he’s been flirted with by many in front of you, though you still try not to react.

If he thinks it’s reasonable then he will act, just briefly though.

Would probably ask for help with a commission, muttering a sorry and making sure to give you a loving hug.

Understands the feeling of loosing someone very well so he’d want to still make it slightly obvious that you’re his and he’s yours.

Rosaria

Would likely threaten anyone making you uncomfortable in anyway.

If she’s just feeling jealous due to you speaking with someone closely then she absolutely won’t make a scene, though most likely asking who they were and what their relationship is with you.

Might make an excuse to walk off with you..

Overall chill but quick to threaten or drag you off.

Dottore

Doesn’t really come out of his lab much unless going to other nations for fatui missions so he wouldn’t really get the chance to watch you converse with others.

Though If he does get jealous then he’d be slightly colder to you then usual.

Petty as heck (much like many other characters but way more in a ‘I’m-gonna-kill-whoever-that-was’ type of way).

If you were his lover then he’d think high of you, meaning he’d think of stuff like ‘that measly brat doesn’t deserve someone like [Name]’

Wouldn’t make contact with the cause of his jealously, instead gaining small details about them just in case.

Quickly pulls you off, glaring at the probably already scared person.

Acts normal once away, might be the tiniest bit more affectionate.

Xiao

Understanding yet one to quickly go take out anger on any unsuspecting enemies he can find at that moment.

If it’s someone he trusts then he wouldn’t go let his anger out, instead opting to give you more affection then usual.

He doesn’t want to loose you, since he’s lost so many people over the years.

Though it wouldn’t to be death, he wonders if it’d make him feel worse knowing that he’d lost you to emotions.

Overprotective but watches from afar I guess??

Albedo

He’s well aware of human emotions but I think he’d be a little confused at first, like why was he jealous so easily? Also how is he feeling such intense feelings?

Treats it as an experiment on himself, though still making sure he’s keeping any more-than-friendly remarks off anyones tongues (he’d like to hope that you wouldn’t do that but he’s prepared to be a barrier between you two anyways)

Trusts you but won’t hesitate to send a cheeky smile at the person as he plants a kiss on your hand and you become increasingly flustered.

Ayaka

Absolutely makes no scene, she’d just feel a bit self-conscious.

If you give her lots of love then she’ll easily forget about it (though it may linger in her mind for a while no matter what).

Kind and collective, openly stating her worries with you if given encouragement or if you’re worried about her.

Venti

Honestly quite chill depending on what’s happening.

Though no matter the situation, he’ll butt in your conversation by kissing you and hugging your waist with an innocent smile.

Can be intimidating but would only ever act that way when no others can see him act like that, therefore nobody would believe the person and he’d be known as a cheerful and carefree bard!

Childe

Absolute child about it (pun not intended 😗).

He will hang onto your waist whilst he hugs your back as he glares at his source of jealously.

Acts like nothing happened afterwards, dragging you wherever suits him that he thinks you’d like.

Won’t really think about it again, only feeling the need to protect you from harm or people with the wrong intentions.

Diluc

Calm as long as it’s not much of a big deal, extremely understanding and not afraid to let people know that you two belong to each other only and any objections will be ignored.

If it’s a bigger deal then that, then he’ll keep his calm facade and act relatively normal and understanding but with a small loss of patience.

Worst case scenario, he’ll threaten them without a smile in sight.

Won’t pay much mind to what happened, only focused on perhaps kissing you on the cheek or hand a bit more.

Zhongli

A man that is genuinely not that easy to make jealous, seemingly always calm and knowledgeable.

If in a situation that he becomes jealous, he’ll kindly ask to speak with you and then express his feelings.

Would easily sort out any misunderstandings between you two.

To be continued. I will take requests on what characters people want included!

[edgeray]

Hi ray

Could write dragon! Arlecchino x hunter! Reader who hunts dragon because she was tasked to even tho she didn't wish to do so but little did the reader know that arlecchino is very strong

So when the reader was tasked she was warned by the villagers but what could the reader do but to only obey the orders when the reader met arlecchino trying to hunt her down she failed to do so

Dragon Hunter Mother

(Arlecchino x Fem! Reader)

A/N - Like always, if you want to request something from me again anon, give yourself a name/emoji ☺️ Also, I love this idea. I don't plan out my requests, plot just kinda comes as I write, so let's see what I do with this. I'm assuming you also want reader to be afab as well. Since you didn't say about arlecchino having a human form, I'm just not going to write it. Don't ask me how this turned to be over the limit I said these requests were gonna be. I got carried away with world building and plot. Sorry 😬 . Hopefully this was okay? Honestly, didn't know how I would make it romantic, but I guess I'll put it under romantic? I tried by best anon, feel free to request again if you want me to write it in a different way 🫶. Sorry for taking so long, but here it is!  Content warnings / info - author doesn't know how to write dragons, semi-graphic violence, if it wasn't obvious, Freminet, Lyney, and Lynette make an appearance, 2.6k words 

Stemming from a long line of dragon hunters, it was no surprise that like the rest of your siblings, you would take up the mantle of also being a dragon hunter. Dragon hunting is a service to the kingdom exclusive to only a few noble families like yours, hence why its hunters are practically revered by the kingdom's citizens. Protecting the kingdom, receiving glory after every slaughter, earning a large chunk of the kingdom's money, it's no doubt that many aggrandize and covet to be in the same position. 

You've never wanted to be a dragon hunter. It's an arduous job in a kingdom known for its dragon outbreaks. The Majesty is prompt in requesting dragon hunters, sending them from one corner of the kingdom to the other unhesitatingly, and frequently underestimate the duration that these kill orders take. When the process of dragon hunting involves tracking the dragon, finding the dragon's sanctum, preparing to combat against a dragon, and finally, killing it, it takes at least a week if it's one of the older dragons. The Majesty has high expectations, and it's a struggle to keep up with them. Kill orders were often piled on top of one another, which means immediately after you complete one, it is off to finishing the next one.

It is a job of ruin. When was the last time you've gotten more than a few hours of sleep? The last time you've had a full meal? The last time you were able to have a relaxing bath? 

Killing dragons is not how you would like to waste away your life, slaving away under a duty that everyone idolizes. As you carry on your role, you begin to learn more and more about these flying reptiles; dragons are fascinating, intelligent creatures. It is a shame that many villagers are so terrified of them, dragons actively avoid humans; though for one reason or another, dragons occasionally seek the nearest human civilization, eating farm animals and destroying any shelter or barricade that stands in their way. Perhaps you're just foolish, but you believe that there is a real reason for this behavior, and that there could be a solution to this. 

Until then, you could do little more but heed each order, slaughtering dragon by dragon. Their dying cries plague your dreams every night, leaving you empty and restless. 

You arrive at a village, the emblem on your chest plate that indicates your occupation glints as you step out of the carriage. The village head greets you quickly, settling you down in front of a cup of tea and some snacks, before cutting straight to the details.

“This dragon… I'd be careful. I've heard of you, a genius among geniuses in terms of dragon hunting, but I warn you right now. This dragon is different. Smarter, more powerful than your typical one, I bet. Its fire… even among other dragons, isn't comparable. It can torch the whole village, and it got damn near close to. Cunning bastard as well, it can pinpoint where our sheeps are and it can evade our traps. It disappeared from our village a few decades… we assumed it died naturally, but then it returned again earlier this season.”

“When was the last time it attacked? Do you know what kind of dragon it is?”

“No. We’ve never seen a dragon like it before. I'm not sure if it follows under the kingdom's classifications. It's black and white with three pairs of wings! And its tail… sharp like, like…like a scythe, can slice houses in half! Its claws are just as dangerous too. Can breathe fire, of course.”

Three pairs of wings… that means this dragon is considerably old. Dragons gain pairs of wings after their first set through molting, which only occurs every fifty or sixty months following reaching maturity, meaning this dragon was at least a century old. You grimace. Older dragons are always harder to get rid of. Most of the dragons that you encounter only have one pair, on the rare occasion, two. This is the first time you've been assigned a three-paired dragon.

Its colorings are also strange; you've never heard of a black and white dragon specifically. The tail description, however, isn't very uncommon; it could be a signifier that this is an incredibly rare hybrid among dragon species. If it's as powerful as it's said, and if you consider its age, then perhaps they come from one of the Dynasty species… but a descendent of that species hasn't been seen in many years. If this is true, then of course it wouldn't follow under the kingdom's ordinary classifications of dragons. Still, a hybrid? Mating between different species almost never happens. This really was a special case. And its disappearance? You couldn't even fathom why.

“Do you know at least where it lives?”

The village head turns to his right, pointing in that direction. “If you continue that direction, you'll come across a forest. That's where it goes. We don't know where it lives, we've been too scared to try and find out ourselves.”

You sigh. Well, this wasn't much to work with. “Is there anywhere I can stay?” 

“Yes, yes. There's a room above the bar that's just for you. Free of charge, of course. The food as well. Just please… eradicate this beast.” 

“I'll do my best.” 

—

No matter how many forests you go to, you never become fonder of them. Traversing them was always annoying. Too much greenery to walk through, too many streams and rivers to cross, and just too many damn trees. This terrain is especially difficult to find traces of dragons in. It'd be better to make your own traces then scour through the forest to search for them, hence why you're at a stream, catching as much fish as you can with a net. Fish makes for good dragon bait, though you don't intend to use it to trap the dragon. You doubt any trap you could make in the little time you have could kill or harm the dragon, but it will lure the dragon to you.

You pause to take a break, glancing at the pile of fish you've collected. The smell is starting to assault your nostrils. Ugh. 

You hear a crunch behind you, and you turn. Your eyes widen and you pick up your sword, raising them towards the three dragons that surround you. Adrenaline pumps through you as you stand up, observing the creatures. 

All of them only have one-pair of wings, with similar features and size; they’re as large as bear cubs, if you subtract their tail length, and you realize that they're baby dragons, yet to reach maturity. They have, notably, distinct colorings, but they all share the same black and gray coloring. Perhaps they come from the same hatch? The one to your right has red, almost maroon, splotches over their scales. This one is wide eyed, but its features are relaxed as if playful and curious. The one in the middle seems to be the smallest, fearful as if it’s cowering with its dipped head and the tail wrapping around itself protectively; this one has almost a marigold accent to it. The one to the right is teal, and passive, like it doesn't see you in the slightest. 

Baby dragons are hardly as aggressive or destructive as their adult counterparts, but that doesn't mean they can't pose a danger. Still, you don't want to harm them, not when they haven't done anything that would warrant you to.

The red one approaches, deliberately, sniffing towards your direction. You brace your sword, and it trudges up to you, nostrils grazing against your armor before it nudges against your hand. It then walks past you, its focus deadset on the pile of fish behind you. The two other dragons follow in the red one's lead, and you sigh in relief, placing your sword back in its sheathes.

Baby dragons, three of them especially, are a rare sight, as they're often sheltered in their father's den, and they don't venture out until they've fully matured. This being because they're quite vulnerable despite the threat they hold once they've matured. Eliminating them is a part of your duty, however, you never feel right killing creatures that have just hatched. They couldn't be more than ten years old; they still had a few more decades before they could pose a danger. If they're out like this, it's likely they've been abandoned. Mother dragons often leave their young after childbirth, and the fathers are left to take care of them; it could be that the father died recently. 

Whatever the case, you think that they deserve to live a little longer. Plus, they're kind of cute… 

Although, the more you observe them, the more you feel you should prevent the fish supply you spent all day getting from declining. They seem less cute now. You groan as they eat until there's no more fish, and they turn back to you, croaking as if requesting more. 

What are you, their mother? Your eye twitches in vexation. 

You spend your evening fishing for baby dragons at the river. Un-fucking-believable. Weren't you wonderful at your job? 

You decide to leave the dragons at the river bank as you search for wood to make a campfire. To your slight annoyance and amusement, the young dragons trail behind you. You get random twigs and branches that scatter the forest floor. One of the dragons, the yellow one, picks up a branch in their mouth, before offering it to you. 

Damn it, why did you have to be a dragon hunter? You take the stick in your hand, hesitantly petting the top of its head. This is something you’ve never done before, but you wouldn't mind doing it again. It leans into your hand. You don't deserve this treatment, you hunt their kind. Oh, how you wish you could tell them what you'd have to do once they grow up. Why did you have to be a dragon hunter? You're holding back tears as you continue the petting action. 

Its other siblings, unbeknownst to your existential crisis, follow its behavior, and you've turned the baby dragons into your personal campfire wood carriers. You think dragon trainor fits you better than a dragon hunter at this point, but that profession doesn't grant an affordable life. 

Seating yourself on a tree stump, you build your campfire and light it. You use it to cook a fish over, while you try to fend off said trout from being eaten by the dragons. By the time it's done cooking, the little creatures are exhausated, curling against you as the three fall asleep against your legs and back. You don't want to admit it, but it's a comfortable weight against you. You didn't even know that dragons snore until now.

Peace at last, you think, finally able to eat your fish alone. 

Too soon, too soon. You hear it before you see it, the whipping of winds that you can only associate with the beating of dragon wings as it flies. The sound grows louder, meaning it's heading straight towards you. You stand up, unsheathing your sword and bracing yourself for an assault. Shit, shit, shit, you're not prepared to fight in this territory whatsoever. What was it attracted to? The campfire? The smell of your fish? Or perhaps… you glance at the still sleeping creatures. 

You don't have much time to ponder as the ground shakes when the beast lands in front of you, right on top of the river, its gargantuan form making you tremble. An earth shattering roar escapes its throat, nearly making you tumble back from the sheer force, and your ears ring painfully. 

You've never seen a larger dragon before. You count the pair of wings through squinted eyes. One, two, three. This is the dragon you've been hired to hunt? 

The hand holding your sword doesn't stop shaking, no matter how much you try to control your muscles. The adult dragon nears, and your heart rate pounds louder and louder with each footstep. Black and white colorings? Check. Sharp tail? Check. You know you have to fight it, but how could you possibly? It dwarfs you in every single way possible. 

It swipes its tail at you, and you duck as fast as possible, just barely missing being sliced in half like the trees behind you. Its tail retracts to lunge at you again, and you block the sharp end with your sword, though it just swats you away easily, throwing you across the bank of the river. You land on the gravel with a pained groan, and you scramble to get up, facing the dragon. 

Piercing red-crossed eyes gaze back at you, and you no longer feel like the hunter. Instead, you feel like the prey, and every fiber of your being is telling you to run. You wield your sword again resolutely. If you die, then you die, but you'll die knowing you tried. The dragon tilts its head back, preparing its fiery breath, and you ready your wrist shield. 

Suddenly, a familiar croak comes from behind the adult dragon, and you see the baby dragons rush into the adult dragon, headbutting its feet. The dragon snaps its head back into its normal position, gazing down at the small dragons at its feet. You're afraid that the larger dragon will crush them, but instead it growls. The young ones chirp back, communicating with it. 

You stand there, bewildered, the pieces coming together in your mind quickly. Is the black and white dragon their father? Are they trying to save you? The tension in your shoulders relaxes the slightest bit. The father dragon whips its head back to you, and you freeze, paralyzed under its predatory gaze. Too swiftly does its tail shoot towards you, but instead of impaling you as you prepared, it merely wraps around your midsection, lifting you effortlessly. You drop your sword out of pure shock from being in mid air, and it brings you face to face with the dragon. 

The dragon snarls, baring its teeth, and you think it's the end once you see its pearly whites. Instead, however, it sniffs you, before pausing, observing you more. You're holding your breath, wondering when you will meet your fate. It opens its mouth wide, displaying a row of teeth in its oral cavern. You squeeze your eyes shut but all you feel is something warm, wet, and slimey. A tongue drags across your face, and you cringe, immediately bringing your hands to wipe away the thick saliva. The tail around you loosens, and you fall on your back, grunting from the impact of hitting the floor. 

Okay. Well, you're alive at least, you think, once you get the liquid out of your eyes but it is unfortunately in your hair. If it hasn't killed you yet, then it must mean that it likes you? 

You open your eyes, and see that the dragon lays in front of you, its snout just a feet away from you. Each huff from the dragon blows your hair back with hot air, but you don't mind it. The smaller dragons prance by your side, chirping and croaking with a high-pitched tone. Bemused but just grateful that you've yet met your end, you pet their heads. By the growl from the father, they approve of your action, and your heart melts. You reach out to pet the snout of the larger dragon, and it closes its eyes, further nudging against you before a grumbly purr escapes its throat.

Seems like you've just been forcibly adopted by a family of dragons. You don't think you'll complain that much. 

[lullabesstie]

Found this comment on Reddit. Couldn’t explain it better than this.

“It’s clear from Mist and Fury that the original ships were: Feysand, Nessian, Elucien, and Mor/Azriel. Like it’s so obvious the way she wrote Mor and Azriel; Mor even seems vaguely interested/torn about Az. Looking at interviews, SJM even talks about Elucien as a couple (eg where would they like to travel together, etc).

Flash forward to ACOWAR. For whatever reason (lack of chemistry with Az, wanting more diversity) SJM has Mor say that she prefers women. This time the Az-pining-for-Mor is more desperate/feels like a zero chance of being requited. SJM also introduces Az as a potential love interest for Elain because she loves throwing a wrench. Just because Elucien are mates doesn’t mean they’ll have it easy; SJM’s whole thing is angst. She had to throw in a love triangle to make it uncertain. This is the first couple where mate status is confirmed upon meeting.

But there’s a problem now. If Az and Mor are no longer endgame, who will they end up with? is it not suspicious that the two new characters introduced in SF (Gwyn and Emerie) just HAPPEN to be potentially be good partners for Az and Mor? Like it’s not a coincidence that Emerie looks at Mor and blushes, remarking how pretty she is. It’s not a coincidence that Az and Gwyn have so many interactions in the text. It’s not a coincidence that a “random side character” shows up in a bonus chapter.

When SJM created Gwyn and Emerie, it wasn’t just to give Nesta friends. These characters clearly didn’t exist when she wrote MAF. SJM wanted new characters that would solve her retcon of ending Az/Mor. She wanted to solve the Mor/Az retcon so bad that she created a NEW RETCON of Az going to Sangravah. Like why bother to add that detail if it’s not important.

Also: poor Lucien. His endgame heroine was supposed to be Nesta until SJM realized they would be terrible together and that Nessian had better chemistry. So she gives Elucien the mating bond. Like is she really going to fuck Lucien over TWICE? She loves him as a character and has put him through the wringer. Yes, I agree that SJM can change her mind and maybe is open to mate rejection, but Lucien has already switched love interests from Nesta to Elain! Who else is he going to switch to, considering that Jurian and Vassa are “at each other’s throats?”

Finally, please think about the number of books left. Ignoring novellas (which are probably gonna be fluffy ones like ACOFAS where nothing happens), there are two main books left. Two couples.

Option A:

• ⁠Gwynriel (Valkyrie growth, Illyrian rebellion, exploring Ramiel, Gwyn’s autumn heritage and maybe lightsinger?? powers)

• ⁠Elucien (Helion secret baby, defeating Koschei, freeing Vassa, fixing spring court)

Option B

• ⁠Elriel (mate rejection storyline, potentially some stuff above)

• ⁠?????

Literally WHO is the second book in this equation? Lucien and Vassa?? We barely know Vassa and there’s barely any connection to Night Court. And Lucien’s book is going to be depressing as fuck dealing with mate rejection; does anyone want to read two heavy books of rejection? Jurian and Vassa: again, we barely know them! At least with Tower of Dawn, Chaol had been a main character for a long time with POV. SJM will not do a full-length Emerie/Mor book as much as I would love for one. She’s very cognizant of criticism re: Mor bi rep in the past; she doesn’t want to open a can of worms and be accused of writing bad sapphic rep. If anything, I can see a fluffy Emerie/Mor novella with little angst (or them getting together in the background of other books).

So from a meta structural level, I don’t understand who the second couple will be if Elriel is endgame. Lucien/Vassa is the most plausible answer, but 1) we barely know Vassa, 2) she’s human and Lucien is immortal. So are we going to toss her into the Cauldron to make her immortal? Serious question, and 3) I don’t want TWO books about mate rejection, it’s depressing as hell. I can see one but not two.

But with Gwynriel and Elucien, you have enormous fan and audience interest in ALL FOUR CHARACTERS. They’re directly tied to Night Court and SJM so far has no intention of staying away from the core group.”

[cor-lapis-candy]

So I am a licensed Brothel manager here in my country and have been for Six years now, and I'm gonna use my professional knowledge to give you what kinda clients I would think some of the genshin characters would be.

This is part 2!

Part 1: here

Childe is the client that the service providers all flip between loving and hating to see walk through the door. He is a big spender but also a difficult booking. On one hand, he will and can book a provider out for the night, but the provider will be out of commission for a week at the shortest.

A booking with Childe can swing from gentle comfort and sweet attention to violent grappling and roleplay that leads to the parlour needing to replace beds, draws, tables and dressers. Some providers blatantly refuse to even acknowledge him when he comes in, knowing that he is in a rougher mood and they don't want to be out of work for the week.

-

Biazhu is an irregular client. Most providers know him as their doctor and physician, and as such, they don't see him or he won't see them, not wanting to cross the line with such repeat and regular clients of his.

Most bookings that Baizhu makes are private escorts to his home. These are mostly travelling providers staying at the parlour who are unlikely to have ever been his patients or even stepped foot in his pharmacy.

His bookings are mostly very relaxing and focused on gentle touch and free affection. He is one of the few clients who always passes his health checks for obvious reasons, and he likely has actually declined to see a provider because of a concern for his health and well-being.

-

Parlours in and near fatui postings or controlled territories are likely owned by a harbinger and are held to his standards for providers, style, service, and above all discretion. Dottore and or his segments are ghost clients, you never see him enter or leave but when someone has been chosen all you get is a room number and a payment followed by a good luck.

A booking can be anywhere from a 20min stint of him poking and prodding you to take in details or measurements for something he is working on and needs more data for, to a three-hour long and draining booking that is broken up by sudden stops to change something or change providers to achieve something that popped into his mind.

Dottore is wholeheartedly some providers' favourite client, and they won't say why, simply smiling and waving curious eyes away.

-

A provider in Fontaine is well respected and admired by many. They fill a role that many seek out and enjoy, but those who are blessed to even be considered or rumoured to be considered by Neuvillette are held to a degree above the rest.

He has never set foot in any of the actual parlours or venues that host providers, but the people whisper about people visiting the office of the iudex after his office hours and leaving with him. Neuvillette has one provider that he sees regularly and the people who come to him after hours are messengers and the like telling him that his provider is ready and waiting for him at his home.

The single provider he sees regularly hasn't changed in years, only when they age out of service or choose to retire. Does he even think about finding a new one? Even then, he has his prior provider choose and organise it for him, knowing that they will understand and find someone who will see to all his needs and keep everything discrete.

[sh0jun]

Ikemen Sengoku Modern AU

Boys as various university professors or teachers--

I'm not elaborating it much for now

Maybe there would be updates idk--

Oda forces

→ Nobunaga Oda (Academic Head/Economics teacher)

He's gonna have a separate drawer in his office FILLED with candies

That drawer has a lock on it all the time (he doesn't want Hideyoshi to find out about it)

→ Hideyoshi Toyotomi (history teacher)

Really looks up to the department head

Very patient with all the students and will help each and every single one of them :)

You'd see him in the halls A LOT

so be careful. If you get caught breaking the rules you WILL be lectured by him

He keeps a check on every teacher's health too- also he would tell you to take it easy if he sees that you're not well

Also pretty good at giving motivational speech

→ Mitsuhide Akechi (computer science)

Okay hear me out. This man will be GOOD with computers and technology.

The event stories prove it

He's the teacher you'll go to every time there's something wrong with your iPad

And he WILL tease you endlessly

→ Mitsunari Ishida (Maths teacher)

For obvious reasons.

Our clumsy but very smart angel.

He'll be very kind. And calmly teach you if you're having trouble with a math problem no matter how many times you come to him

But no matter what you do, you won't be able to get his attention if he's reading

The janitor has caught him several times in the library reading books in a secluded corner when it's late in the night

Librarians sometimes have to kick him out

→ Masamune Date (food tech)

Yes.

I think it's self explanatory (I don't have anything to say about him I'm sorry-)

You'd always. ALWAYS. catch him at the farmers market.

→ Ieyasu Tokugawa (Biology/ chemistry teacher)

Yes.

He knows his stuff when it comes to plant and medicine

He'd be very cranky if you come to his with a question but he will answer it in full detail

He does NOT like the math teacher

The math teacher and the physics teacher seem to constantly fawn over him which he does not enjoy.

→ Keiji Maeda (Drama/music teacher)

Pretty self explanatory this one.

He and the literature teacher are good friends :3

Best friends in fact.

He's the cheery teacher. Very enthusiastic.

→ Ranmaru Mori (teacher assistant)

The principal's assistant to be more specific

Running around doing errands for Nobunaga. Looks very cute and is very helpful

The students love him

Kasugayama forces

→ Kenshin Uesugi (specialist PE teacher/sports department head)

Martial arts. Fencing. Horse riding. Swimming. Sword fighting. You name it

This guys knows EVERYTHING

he trains students in these sports for competitions.

The group sports activities go to the other gym teacher

Very cold. And seems very rude and icy. But will teach you if you ask for his help

Also do NOT expect him to go easy on you

It's your first time learning judo? Will TOO bad. You will be thoroughly beaten up by this guy

→Shingen Takeda (DT/department head)

The hot teacher who's at the carpentry workshop

Many students attend the workshop JUST to see him

Very nice. Flirt to everything that breathes

Loves sweets just like the academics Department head.

But doesn't like Nobunaga at all

→Yukimura Sanada (PE teacher)

The worst PE teacher you'll ever have 💀

Doesn't know how to talk to students or teachers which result in him getting some pretty snarky comments

Is in charge of preparing sports teams for sports competitions

Does not like Kenshin's guys but has to put up with them

He's best friends with the physics teacher and they sometimes show experiments together (yuki is the lab rat of course)

→Sasuke Sarutoki (Physics teacher)

That fun physics teacher that shows experiments in the class

Uses memes in his lectures

All his lectures are extremely fun

The students are often confused as to how does he always has a straight face

The PE teacher is his guinea pig at times

The sports department head has some beef with him for some reason

→ Yoshimoto Imagawa (Arts teacher)

The guy LOVES art and appreciates it to his fullest

This job was MEANT for him

Will appreciate your art and also give you pointers if you ask for it

Very charming

Students fawn over him

Has a very soothing voice along with a pretty face

→ Kanetsugu Naoe (Literature teacher)

Teaches English along with Japanese

Very strict

He's pretty and has little fangs but the students are afraid of him

A very good teacher

But also does some very strict marking in tests

Do not try to fight with him cause he will point out all the grammatic errors

Lone forces

→ Kicho (linguistics teacher)

Teaches other foreign languages

Like French, Chinese, Korean, Spanish, German, arabic, Russian. You name it.

This guy is a genius

He and the computer tech teacher are cousins

Seems very tired always (cough blackholes cough)

→ Motonari Mouri (portugese teacher)

Yes.

No comment on him.

Those who know him well will probably get it.

Will teach you every single curse word there is >:D

→ Kennyo (History teacher/ religious studies)

He does not like how modern studies are taking over

No phones allowed in his class

Very calm but also hella intimidating

Uhhh- does not put up well with the Computer tech teacher's antiques

Usually eats alone outside with cats.

Animals love him <3

Mai

→ Mai Mitsuzaki (Textiles teacher)

Das right. Mah girl gets her own category

The most fashionable teacher on campus

Everyone loves her

Shingen, Masa and she are the DT trio

Will teach you all there is to know about clothes and fashion

Designs the best clothes

She should be a designer.

Tags: cause idk who wants to be tagged--

@ikesenanigans (we came up with these together<3)

@rubia8 @bakersgrief @nightvers @ginshoujo @y2ashlee

UHHHH IDK WHO ELSE :(

Anyways Enjoy :D

This is my first hc that i wrote--

Leave in the comments whatever else you want to add? Idk how this works bro- (　-̥̥̥̥̥̥̥̥̥̥̥̥̥̥̥̥̥̥̥̥̥̥̥̥̥᷄◞ω◟-̥̥̥̥̥̥̥̥̥̥̥̥̥̥̥̥̥̥̥̥̥̥̥̥̥᷅ )

[cq-studios]

Do you have any screenshots of your favorite details from KHUX?

HAHAHAHAHA, yeah I do

Gonna just drop a read more here 'cause if y'all know me at all you know this post is probably gonna be 10KM long lol

So, I'm gonna try to hold myself back a little because I literally have like 10 pages of notes about specifically stuff in the backgrounds and I doubt the internet will find my bench and lamppost count interesting. (Also image limit lol)

I'll list just 4 things for now (in no particular order) and talk about them a bit underneath.

NUMBER 1 || STREET SIGNS

So there are four street signs that we’ve seen in Daybreak Town. Two are in the Fountain Square (A and B), one is in the Marketplace (C), and one is in the Clocktower Outskirts map (D).

For B and D it’s pretty easy to figure out what the represent. B is a clock, probably representing the Clock Tower… or maybe the best place to see the Clocktower because it’s in Fountain Square. The overall shape of it is different from the rest of the signs so I imagine that means something. D is a gondola or canoe of some sort, which makes sense because it’s next to stairs that seemingly lead to the canal that runs through town. Maybe there’s a ferry system of some sort?

A and C I’m less sure about. The designs don’t really bring anything obvious to mind. Maybe C is Munny because it leads to the Marketplace? I’m not sure.

NUMBER 3 || DOOR UNDER FOUNTAIN SQUARE

See what makes this interesting to me isn’t just the fact that apparently Fountain Square is hollow underneath (maybe for pipe repairs or something, I don’t know) but just the general fact that a lot of structures in this town, that maybe shouldn’t be, are hollow.

If you look even some archways have windows, so there has to be an open space inside, right? Most of them seem at least connected to houses so I assume they’re basements or something. (The one by murder house gets me tho, like that’s right under the bridge. Who’s living right under the bridge)

And I also feel like this leads into the fact that, similarly but not as extreme as in Scala, Daybreak Town is kinda built on top of itself. Maybe that’s a symptom of being around so many (and possibly on) mountains but I still feel like it should be talked about more.

NUMBER 4 || LIGHTHOUSE INTERIOR MAP

There is so much to unpack here but I’ll try to keep it brief.

So I’m pretty sure this is one of, if not the oldest building in Daybreak Town. Two reasons.

1. Instead of having little wall lamps, like the rest of the town and buildings, all the light seems to come from mounted candles.

2. There are swords (A) on the walls and not Keyblades. Why would the Keyblade town not have Keyblades on its little shield emblem? Is it possibly because it was there before Keyblades?

This staircase here (B) is also the only known (not sewer drain) way into the waterways. It leads into the sewers then out to the little dock below the Lighthouse with the boat, hence the sign.

There’s these maps here (C) that I don’t really know what to say about, but is definitely worth pointing out. They’re all the same and I assume show the layout of the area surrounding the town (the darker parts being water). It could be a world map though (darker part being continents)… I don’t think we’ll ever really learn lol

And also I don’t know what this is (D) but I think it’s interesting that it has writing on it. It kinda gives me the vibe of those flat on the ground gravestones…

NUMBER 5 || BANNER

Daybreak Town actually has a flag it’s all over the place and you’ll start to see it everywhere if you look for it. They also kind of look like the banners in Radiant Garden. The colours and shape/mounting are the same but the designs on the flag itself (and mounting) is different.

I have no clue what that implies, if anything, but I figure it’s worth pointing out ‘cause it’s interesting.

[yurislotusgarden]

Hii! could I request ranpo and chuuya with a fem s/o who makes cute bento boxes for their lunch at work? (I was curious on how this would go, feel free to add any details you want!)

My bento!

ʚїɞ Separately! Nakahara Chuuya, Ranpo Edogawa, Sigma x F!Reader

ʚїɞ Keep in mind English is not my first language, so you may find mistakes!

ʚїɞ word count: 1764 (Chuuya - 537, Ranpo - 664, Sigma - 561)

ʚїɞ Have Sigma as an extra bcs my ass forgot it was meant to be Ranpo instead of him after I was done with Chuuya's part

ʚїɞ Tw’s: None! Just pure fluff, pet names are used (barely), reader’s gender is not specified that much

Nakahara Chuuya!

ཐིཋྀ He loves the bentos so much, well more like the fact that you take time to make them for him

ཐིཋྀ Tries to always eat them

ཐིཋྀ Once, when you started making them, he didn’t eat the food because he was so busy that day, and when he had a little free time, Chuuya decided it was a better idea to go on a stress smoke break (He tries to limit smoking to the minimum he can if you don’t like smoking/the fact that he does it. He knows it’s because you care about his health)

ཐིཋྀ It ended with you fussing over him eating almost nothing that day and he doesn’t like causing you stress or making you worry so he makes sure to eat those bentos😭

ཐིཋྀ He may be an executive but this man is not embarrassed at all to eat those bentos in front of people, no matter how colorful or cutesy the food looks

ཐིཋྀ Food is food, he’s not gonna not eat cause you to worry just because the bento is one that doesn’t look like someone like him would eat

///////////////

“Lad, may I ask where do you get those bentos from?”

It was a long time since Kouyou noticed Chuuya’s bentos, and she tried to ignore just how much she wanted to try one. The only reason why she didn’t is because she doesn’t know where he is getting them from.

The young woman looked at many shops in Yokohama and saw a few places with similar bentos, but it was easy to see that none of the stores were the ones where Chuuya kept getting his lunch from.

…She really wanted one for herself, especially with how obvious it was that they were delicious, kept quiet about it tho.

Chuuya turned towards the older woman, whom he came to see as an older sister over the years.

“They’re not bought from a shop.”

“You don’t buy them?”

“Not a single one of them. Actually,-”

Kouyou was confused. Where did he get a bento from every single day? She knows the younger of the two probably wouldn’t bother spending his free time making food for lunch definitely a day before, even if he did, it wouldn’t be so colorful or detailed. There were even rice balls decorated as bears and stuff, it obviously took time to make one. But if he wasn’t buying them,  then the only other option that came to her mind was-

“- [Name] makes them for me.”

“She does?”

“Yeah, and she’s yet to make one I dislike.”

It all makes sense now to the red-haired woman. You have more free time most of the time compared to Chuuya, and you were probably aware of the eating habits he had before.

The fact that you take time, quite a lot it seems if Kouyou was to guess, the bentos are even detailed, in a very cute style if she was to say, made a smile appear on her face.

“Mhm, you wanna try?”

“How could I refuse such an offer?”

The food was even better than she thought. Kouyou made a mental note to ask you if you would have a problem with making two bentos from time to time.

Edogawa Ranpo!

ཐིཋྀ Another reason as to why he’s dating you -you give extra homemade sweets to the Bentos-

ཐིཋྀ He doesn’t even need to try to remember to eat it because he ends up eating it before lunch anyway -the reason behind you making more than one bento usually-

ཐིཋྀ He fucking boasts to everyone about the food😭

ཐིཋྀ “See what I have here? HAHA! Something you don’t and probably never will!” ← totally not Ranpo to anyone else -and totally not him to Dazai and Atsushi about the fact that they will probably never have homemade food like him-

ཐིཋྀ Don’t make the bentos with him in the kitchen unless you have prepared double the amount of food you plan to use. He uses any opportunity to snack on the not-ready-yet bentos

ཐིཋྀ BUT! He will share with you if he notices you’re hungry or just generally wanna eat it <3

///////////////

“C’mon give me just a little piece!”

“Nope! [Name] made it for me! Make your own if you want a bento at work, Yosano-san!”

“I can’t make such a bento Ranpo-san!”

“Not my problem!”

With a pout, the brunette turned his chair away, trying to eat his food in peace. It’s one of his favorite bentos! You put his favorites in this one! The only thing he doesn’t like in it is the veggies which Ranpo would ignore or throw out but he knows that he won’t get his favorite candy made by you anytime soon if he does (the others will snitch if he throws them out, especially Dazai and Yosano they did that the one and only time he did so. He learned a lesson from that after you didn’t cook his favorite like you said you would that morning)

Ranpo could practically feel the eye-roll done by Yosano. “It’s not like it’s the only bento you had today.” It’s true, he ate a similar one 2 hours earlier. “Doesn’t matter. It’s my bento either way.” A sigh came from the woman.

And right when one would think his problem was solved, another arrived. 

“Ranpo-san! What an interesting bento you have there!”

“Go away Dazai. I’m not giving you a single piece of my food!”

“Oh c’mon! You can spare a little!”

“Nope! Especially not when it’s [Name]’s cooking!”

Seriously, can’t they leave him alone? He knows your cooking is good, everyone at the agency knows that! But he wishes that you’d never let Dazai taste your food. The bandaged man has horrible eating habits, you both know that, and yet he always tries to get his hands on Ranpo’s bentos. The audacity!

Ranpo could tell that Dazai's annoying mouth was about to open again before someone interrupted him.

"I can make bentos for you too if you like them so much, Dazai-san"

Isn't that his angel who came to visit him at his oh-so-tiring job? Lovely timing, if Ranpo was to say, but there was one problem.

Among ‘hello’s and ‘hi’s from others upon noticing you, gasps could be heard, from 2 men specifically.

"You would do that for me?!"

"Excuse me?!"

What is this?! There's no way that you’re gracing anyone else with the perfection that are your his bentos!

“Hm?” It’s easy to see for anyone in the room that you were confused.

“[Name]-chan, if you could be so nice, could I ask for a bento with cra-”

“No no no! Shut up Dazai! She’s not making you any bentos! In your dreams!”

In the end, while Ranpo and Dazai at first thought that you wouldn’t make the taller brunette a bento after your conversation at that moment, you indeed did as a surprise. 

The best detective in the world didn’t like that but he allowed you to after bribing him and reminding him that if you can get Dazai to eat, you will, no matter if Ranpo will allow you to make a bento for him or not.

Dazai's happy scream the next day could probably be heard throughout the whole building.

Sigma!

ཐིཋྀ He didn’t think he’d be able to adore you more than he already does, and yet you found a way to make him do so

ཐིཋྀ He tries to eat the bentos every day but it isn’t that rare that he forgets about eating altogether when faced with a mountain of paperwork or problems in the casino

ཐིཋྀ He loves how they look and taste. He, at one point, will ask if you can teach him how to cook. Like not even necessarily a bento, just to learn since he doesn’t want the kitchen to end up in flames one day, he’s aware he sucks at cooking

ཐིཋྀ He probably would be a little embarrassed by eating it. Not because of how colorful or cutesy they are, but because of the looks he gets from people who see it. 

ཐིཋྀ The stares aren’t criticizing or anything, others just don’t expect that their boss/the manager of the casino would eat food that looks like that

ཐིཋྀ Someone was probably jealous because he has homemade bentos like that and they have some store-bought sandwiches 💀

///////////////

“It’s mine actually. Sorry, I forgot to take this from here earlier.”

The man standing in front of the bar was shocked.

He’s been sitting there and drinking not too much for some time now. At one point he noticed the bartender taking out a bento from under the bar, the lid see-through enough to see the food inside. He has to say, the detail and overall look were very cute, it definitely took time to make it look so.

The man had thought that the bento was made by someone for the bartender (In his mind it was a fair thought as he didn’t think that one could buy a bento like that anywhere close to a place like this. Especially if you work there).

The slightly shorter man changed his thought upon noticing that the bartender didn’t touch the food he had taken out (later on the lunch break he took out something else to eat)

Around 2 hours after the lunch break, -the bento still untouched, he noticed- the man decided to finally ask, curiosity winning over after all the time spent at the bar seat.

“Excuse me, who is the owner of the bento? I couldn’t help but notice that it hasn’t been touched at all.”

And he really chose the worst time to ask that question didn’t he? Right as the person to whom the bento belonged to, came.

“I-It’s yours sir?”

“Yes, why?”

How is he supposed to answer? That he didn’t think that such a cute-looking bento -that if he could he would consider stealing, it looks delicious and definitely better than his sandwich- can belong to the ever so stoic and calm manager of the sky casino?

“No reason! Was just that curious, that’s all! after all, the bento was lying here for the past, almost, 3 hours by now.”

“Ah, understandable then”

The bi-colored-haired man turned to the bartender, who was already giving the box over to him.

“Thank you for keeping it here for me, Shuichi-kun”

“no problem, Sigma-san. [Name]-san also told me to tell you-”

Yeah, the man needs a break from the confusion and shock for the next week.

And Sigma? He’s just happy you leave the bentos somewhere he can take them from when you know he’s busy.

Notes, comments, and reblogs are greatly appreciated <3

Do not copy or translate my works on/to any site

[kobold-that-bites-people]

dunno if this will get to anyone that it's relevant to, but as a transfem that's had bottom surgery (a rather standard penile inversion vaginoplasty) and is mostly recovered at this point, i'd like to give a few notes on my experience. hopefully it reaches some people who are considering and would be helped by such anecdotes. anyway, in no particular order,

it's major surgery. recovery is gonna suck about the same as other major surgeries. that said, a lot of the discomfort is frontloaded. in my case, i experienced about 2/3 of the pain i could attribute to recovery over the last six months, in the first week. the sheer drop in pain once the catheter came out alone was night and day. the first week was miserable though, you *need* someone, ideally multiple someones, who can look after you through that stage. (if you are in the green lands of not america, or just are well funded, many hospitals will look after you for the first week or so, but as a broke american i was only in hospital for about a day and a half. maybe two days, memory is a little fuzzy from the opiates (which i stopped almost as soon as i got out of the hospital, the brain fog from opiates is real)

it's been said other places, but it is really likely you will experience a lot of emotions during recovery. this can take a lot of forms, but in my case i had to grapple with a lot of "doubts" about if it was even what i wanted, if it was worth it to me, if it even looked natural enough, and so on. part of that is just that it's a major change in your body image, so doubts are normal and expected. part of it is that after major physical trauma like surgery, your body will amplify a lot of emotions intensely. try not to listen to the dysphoria talking when things still need to heal. the difference between a week from the surgery and a couple months later is *massive*.

this might be obvious to a lot of people, but for people like me that have only ever been even slightly intimate with partners that have cocks, pussies come in a *lot* of shapes. the very limited range depicted in a lot of common art and porn and games and so on, is simply not a representative sample of all the shapes that a pussy can be. despite my anxieties over my own, every person that has seen it so far has either had explicit compliments, or at least backhanded ones about how "normal" it looks.

despite how cautious doctors will be about promising function, it is entirely possible you'll have every function you might expect from a natal vagina. i get a not insignificant amount of self lubrication, can feel everything better than i dared hope for, and despite having to completely relearn what motions work for it i can reliably reach orgasms just as well as i could pre-op. that said, i don't self lubricate quite as much as *some* cis women manage. it's usually enough for fingering myself, but if i wanted to use a toy, or be penetrated by a partner, it simply isn't reasonable to go without generous lube. mostly because while i have some self-lubrication, it isn't exactly produced *quickly*, and friction can quickly dry it up, especially outside my entrance.

dilation can be many things, but it's usually mostly just tedious. it hurt *some* at the start, but once the swelling went down it generally only hurt as i went up a size. nowadays i only feel a miniscule amount of pain with the stretch as i work my largest dilator in, and that fades within about 30 seconds. the better you are at getting it done reliably, the less it will hurt. missing a session, especially earlier in recovery, will be *felt* the next time you dilate.

if you are open about your having had bottom surgery, or end up hospitalized from complications thereof, (as i did, i'll spare the medical details) there are a lot of people that will try to justify wanting to see, for motives that i'll leave as an exercise to the reader to deduce. such people will include doctors, nurses, and plenty of people with more spurious motives. i've had more people barge in on me while i was dilating within the last months since i had bottom surgery, than ever barged in on me while i was masturbating in the earlier 26 years of my life. *please* be aware that part of being perceived as "more a woman" is that you will likely experience more such attentions, in the various forms that takes. sometimes positive it is true, but usually not.

[autisticlancemcclain]

What’s your most hated fandom characterization for each of the main 7?

hoo boy am i glad you asked. although i’m gonna be real, my issue is less with fandom characterization, because you do you i don’t give a shit, and more with how people go batty if you personally are not a fan of fanon characterizations.

like, lemme be obvious and talk about my biggest example. i am a brown eyed lance truther. we know this. the amount of weirdo comments, weirdo DMs, and weirdo asks i get is atrocious. i post a lot of them bc they’re so stupid they’re funny but the amount of people per week that tell me to kill myself is lowkey wild. the amount of people that love to say some variation of “i liked your fic but you ruined it by making lances eyes brown! his eyes are blue!” and i’ve checked other brown eyed truther’s fics — either they delete their comments better than me, or they do not get the same thing. idk what the deal is lol.

i will concede to the point that i’m a contrarian and annoying about it, but a list of the following non-fanon headcanons/characterizations i hold that have been commented on in some derisive way:

- bitchy hunk (lol)

- non “cinnamon roll too pure and baby and good for this world” hunk*

- allura is a good character (🤡)**

- allura is a sweetheart

- allura is not a drill sergeant

- kuron was a good iteration of shiro

- red paladin lance/black paladin keith/blue paladin allura

- retired shiro

- pidge is not cruel

- pidge is not an infant and can handle things a regular 14-15 year old can handle

- small details are irrelevant (think lances family, exact prekerb details, etc)

- keith gyeong and lance sanchez

- fucking brown eyed lance. i’m saying it again

- tall keith

- non omega keith***

- readmores

- autistic lance

- adhd keith

- non asshole/cruel keith

- comphetting gay lance****

- shallura

- bi shiro, demi keith, essentially any sexuality headcanon that isn’t mainstream

- hunk who isn’t food obsessed

- that’s about it

*stop infantilising hunk

**the allura hate is ridiculous and largely rooted in anti-Blackness. it should not be a fight to say that she had a reason to feel betrayed by keith’s heritage, that she did not “get in the way” of klance, that her death was stupid and ridiculous, that she is often pushed over in favour of klance (not as in she’s less popular, but that her/her death are used as a plot device to further klance), and that she is as interesting, nuanced, and multifaceted as the rest of them.

***people, inevitably, feminize characters in fandoms (largely because many people in fandom are young women, i know i feminize characters simply bc i’m making them like me and i’m feminine lol), and my issue is that people (in the general sense, not everybody) love to feminize keith and then get really mad if anyone else is feminized. this is not about fem or trans woman keith btw. this is about people omega-ifying him and then losing their MINDS if i don’t share that headcanon.

****i literally only wrote this once and then never again because people lost their minds. but as much as i love bi lance, i think it’s interesting that usually, when we see “boy crazy” or “girl crazy” characters, especially if they have a lot of chemistry or homoerotic tension with a same-gender character, people are like oh ya that’s comphetting. that character is desperately trying to outrun the gay thoughts. but with lance, who was definitely girl crazy and cared more about having a girlfriend than actually dating and falling in love (think “mrs blue lion” — he didn’t give a fuck about who he was marrying, so long that it was a girl), calling him gay will have people saying you’re erasing bisexuality. as if he was not fucking straight in the show. so.

sorry this is so bitter and ranty lol. been in a mood

[baka-monarch]

Heeeyyyy I'm doing voretober this year!!! (Or at least I'm gonna try to) and here's the first one!

Ao3 link

Space

Gem had a meeting. She had a deal with this guy who wanted to hire her for some bounty work. It was supposed to pay well, but he was sketchy and she wasn't sure if she trusted him- especially with where he asked to meet.

Chrysos was a gambling moon, once a wasteland turned into miles of casinos, bars, and other things made for either getting rich, wasted, or both. Everywhere felt sketchy as she walked through the streets of one of the cheaper towns- Taboonan. She was heading to a bar in a small alley, her trusty trident on her back and at the ready. Anything could happen, and for all she knew this deal was actually an ambush.

Gem took a breath through her gills before she entered the building, going straight for the bar as she kept her head low. She ordered a drink, just some water with some small fish to snack on as she waited. There weren't many people here, only a few at a table laughing and a couple in a corner whispering to each other, otherwise it was just her and the bartender. She noted that she was one of the larger species here, the only other of her stature being the bartender and his scales were reptilian, differing from her blue and orange ones meant for the water. Otherwise majority of the other patrons were furry, not much of a surprise since most fishfolk like her didn't get off planet much- it wasn't like everyone with gills could breath air.

Gem was taking a sip as she thought, chewing and swallowing a minnow as someone sat by her. A Gordon, another reptile but this one she knew from when he'd contacted her and her crew. She nodded to him and he smiled.

“Well it's good to see you showed up.” The naga spoke and Gem rolled her eyes.

“Of course I did, I don't go back on things.” Gem let out a huff and crossed her arms. She was a reputable bounty hunter after all.

He raised his hands in surrender, “Of course of course.” He nodded then motioned for the bartender, “I see you already got started on a drink, but lemme get you something from the area before we talk business.” He turned to the other reptile, “Two terran shots please.” Gem raised a brow as the bartender hurried through a door.

“So, while we wait, mind giving me those classified details?” She sipped on her water, there was only one fish left, swimming at the bottom.

The naga nodded, “Of course.” He smiled to her as if he was relaxed- he was still a foot shorter than her and definitely more skinny, it was obvious he'd be at the disadvantage if anything went wrong. “There's this guy calls himself X or whatever- he's in charge of this company that builds ships, lots of planning- well my employer would be very happy if they were to hear he just y'know… befell a deadly accident.” Gem knew who the naga was talking about, Xisuma. She'd done a few jobs from him before and he was always more than happy to fix her ship and help her crew out- she already knew she wouldn't take the deal, but was careful to control her face. She needed to know of this employer.

Gem opened her mouth to ask more, but as she did the bartender returned, setting two shot glasses in front of the two. “Thanks.” The naga nodded and slid a credit over- Gem wasn't paying attention though as she looked at the small glasses. They looked different than normal shots, lidded and void of any alcohol- but that wasn't the part she was focused on. Inside each was one tiny person, cramped and struggling to push the lid off. They didn't look like any alien she knew, but she could hear them talking, panicking about how to get out. The one in front of her hit on the side of their glass, their hair brown with green streaks and stubble- and she could tell he was shorter than the other.

Gem felt pale, this definition wasn't legal, for a multitude of reasons. “Sooooo….” She licked her dry lips, forcing herself to keep up the facade, needing the name of that employer. “What are these little guys?” She smiled playfully as she picked up the shot, the tiny person yelping as he got shaken around. She felt guilty, but if she could get through this she could get him out of here.

The naga smiled and picked up his own shot, “Humans,” He answered as he gave the glass a shake, the one in his hitting the sides a painful amount of times. “They're from that Earth planet, y'know the one with low oxygen mak'n everything tiny.” She held back a frown as the naga teased his human by licking the glass. “Taste pretty good apparently, and feel even better going down~”

“I see…” Was all Gem could mutter out as she looked down at her tiny human. He was glaring at her and held up a middle finger as soon as he noticed her staring- she snorted, yeah that was fair.

“You got a feisty one I see, those are always the best.” She looked back at the naga as he pulled the lid off his glass. She wanted to snatch it away from him as the human tried to climb out- but they weren't fast enough as he threw them back and swallowed almost immediately. “Aaahh…” He sighed and rubbed as the wiggling lump that soon disappeared into him. “Trust me, you'll love it~”

“I’m sure I will.” Gem forced a smile as she continued just holding her glass, avoiding eating the human if she could. “So about that employer-” She started, trying to get on topic.

“Lady, I don't like talking business until my associates join me, so c’mon try the little fella then I'll give the other details.” He smiled and something in Gem boiled. It was like he knew she was avoiding it.

“And I don't like taking jobs unless I know who I'm working for.” She growled, trying to intimidate the other- it didn't work as he smiled and shrugged.

“Guess we'll hire someone else then.” And that's exactly what she was afraid of- if she didn't know the name of this guy then they'd just hire someone else to kill X. The naga started to stand and she panicked.

“Well if a shot's all it takes to get the job.” Gem forced a sly smile, glad when the naga sat back down. She looked down at the human who'd pushed himself against the back of the glass, looking up at her nervously. She took a breath through her gills to stay calm as she started pulling the lid off.

●●●

Joel looked up at the alien fearfully but was trying desperately to hide it as her giant claws and webbed hand pulled the top off of the massive glass he was in. He didn't waste any time though, he'd spent too long watching these giant aliens and knowing they planned to eat him, as soon as the lid was off he pulled himself out and jumped off the alien's scales hand. He didn't get far though as he heard her make a shocked sound from above and soon another scales hand was in front of him and snatching him up.

“NO-” Joel squirmed and pushed at the hand around him, but it didn't budge at all as he felt it move. Soon light returned as the hand opened and he found himself closer to her mouth, staring into her green eyes. She looked different than most aliens that came, she had blue scales for starters, and no nose, orange fins that looked similar to hair and ears- and the thing he noticed most though, was her mouth full of very very sharp teeth. “Just put me down-” He shouted out, kicking errands fingers desperately.

In response though what he got was the alien opening her mouth, her tongue poking out as her hand moved closer. He tried to kick her mouth to get away but it didn't do much as he got thrown in, landing on the back of her tongue in a heap. Joel pushed himself up quickly and hurried back towards the front of her mouth, slipping and stumbling, but it made no difference as the opening soon closed and he was left in darkness. He took some deep breaths, trying to stay calm… until the tongue under him moved and he was suddenly squished into the top of the mouth. He groaned and squirmed, pushing down on the tongue but it only started moving him around and covering him in saliva. He felt gross as he tried to scoot forward- but soon the tongue started pushing him back and he felt the sucking before he heard it.

Gulk.

The alien swallowed and Joel yelled out as he got sucked down into her throat. It was tight and slimey, squishing and pulling him down at a constant rate until soon enough he was forced through a tight spot before falling into a larger area. Joel gasped and pushed himself up as soon as he landed and ran over to the wall, pushing and hitting at it. “Let me out blummin asshole!” He yelled, trying to hide his fear but his high pitch gave things away. He kept kicking and hitting at the fleshy, groaning wall, hoping to give the alien a stomach ache- instead the wall pressed in as she belched above him.

“Oh excuse me.” He heard the alien say and felt the stomach vibrate with her voice. “So about that employer-” There was more talking after that but he didn't pay any attention. He was trapped, going to be digested by some giant alien monster and there was nothing he could do.

Joel sat down and curled up. Maybe it'd be fast at least…

●●●

Gem felt sick as she walked out of the bar, having learned what she needed but having traumatized a human in the process. At least she had a storage stomach so he was safe, but he didn't know that… She sighed through her gills. She knew the employer, evil X, and now she could get the human home. That's what mattered.

She rubbed her belly and looked down as she walked through the streets back to where her ship and crew were waiting. “You doing okay in there?” She said quietly.

Things were silent for a while before the little guy answered, “What do you think.” He practically snarled back and Gem frowned.

“Sorry, I wasn't sure what else to do.” Her main stomach gurgled and she felt the human jump. She bit her lip, feeling guilty, “Don't worry you're safe in there-”

“Blummin Hell am I safe! I'm in you're fuckin’ stomach!” The human growled.

“No no no-” Gem hurried to say, “Not my main one. That one doesn't digest anything, perfectly safe!”

The human scoffed, “And why should I believe you?”

“Well- are you burning at all? In agony? Dead?” The human was quiet for a moment.

“No….” He answered quietly.

“Exactly.” She smiled, “You can trust me little guy and as soon as we're on my ship I'll spit ya up and Impulse can figure out how to get you home.”

“Impulse?”

“Yeah he's part of my crew- or team, we work together on bounties and stuff. Trust me you'll love em!” Gem's smile grew and she started walking a bit quicker to get back.

The human sighed, “Fine, as long as nobody else eats me.”

“I promise they won't!”

[loco-warehouse]

Mini TADC Theory

Okay, I'm not much of a theory person but since watching episode 3, I've been pondering a couple details. (Spoilers below)

I truly don't think there's gonna be a happy ending for the characters trapped in the Digital Circus.

I don't have too much evidence, but from previous statements from Gooseworx and the little bits of world building outside the circus, I believe we're gonna get a similar ending to, "I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream."

I'm sure most of us have familiarized ourselves with the connection with the two pieces of media-- group of humans trapped to be played with by an AI higher being.

At the end of IHNMAIMS, the humans killed each other besides one, and the only known way out the Circus is abstraction, which is basically a death sentence (or so we believe at the moment.)

But, episode 3 showed something really interesting that I feel needs to be taken a lot more into consideration.

The one person you don't want losing their mind, is the higher power AI God who literally controls and keeps everything together.

Yes, the humans there can abstract from losing their sanity, but you're talking about people who have complex range of emotions and comprehension. Caine does not have that as an AI, but doesn't mean he isn't capable of losing it, as we have seen within' the episode. There's a sense that, yes, Caine himself can abstract, but it's not him that's abstracting, but the environments that he has created. So, for him as the Ringmaster, to have continuously do what he has been programmed to do for how ever many years, to be told suddenly one day that the one thing he believes he's good at, is actually bad-- that is all its gonna take for the whole world to start crumbling around our protagonists.

And due to this not being a official essay, I refuse to go through months of notes that the creator has said so I'm pulling a cheat card of slamming down the wiki pages.

This part is less on the show and more based on its inspirations, and Gooseworx's previous works.

Stanley Parable is a game with many interpretations and meanings, but there is a gist of deconstructing game play and storytelling, which leads into a more philosophical route based off player choices.

And basing it off the obvious, with episode 1 being heavily inspired by the game, the same is happening within' the series for all the humans. While their breaking points aren't a choice, Zooble has already been shown as a shining example of continuing to not play Caine's adventures, even if its for different reasons relating to their body/identity versus philosophical video game tatics. Pomni has made the choice to bring Gummi-Goo back, even if that choice was taken away from them in the end.

Runmo is a short animation based around our protagonist trying to get extra lives to finally be able to reach the other side of the obstacle, even if it meant cheating on gaining those lives. Which, ironically, results in their efforts being nothing, as there was no further platform on the other side of the spikes.

And Darly Boxman...well, I can't fully say, mainly because its less a story and more like a concept. Personally, the short animation feels more in tune with Gooseworx's bleak, dark comedy and slight hints at something bigger going on without giving too much away.

Anyways, the reason I'm mentioning these pieces is mainly to prove that Goose's work has a track record of making fun of the horrific, while also not indulging into viewers sense of happy endings and cutting it short in a dark manner.

There's so much to the show than what I'm saying and showing, but my prediction within future episodes is that the cast is gonna make Caine lose his mind, which may result in them having to hurt/kill Caine, and the rug is gonna be pulled under them where they're (or one of em, probably Pomni like I Must Scream,) in a more broken, haunting version of the Circus and still unable to escape.

Or I could be totally wrong about all of this! Which is fine, I just enjoy speculating and would like to hear other theories and thoughts, or even counter-arguments! Anyways thanks for reading my very first theory ever have a Gucci day yall

[bored-trans-orchidsexual]

A Starstruck Odyssey, and Masculinity

I have thoughts and am just gonna unload them on Tumblr. That's what we do here, right? I recently have been re-listening to Starstruck and have had some thoughts on it's depictions of masculinity. This isn't a serious post per se, just some thoughts and observations. Starstruck has a wide spectrum of masculine characters on display, though a lot of it is hostile/toxic. Most men or male-coded characters are either outright villains, or more neutral parties with some toxic and selfish tendencies. Don't get me wrong it's a wild violent galaxy and that's the point, the entire party participates in scamming, kidnapping, exploitations, and unnecessary murder and we love to see it, it's not like it explicitly makes all men out to be inherently more monstrous and evil than others. But I do think the depictions of masculinity can be interesting to observe. Amercadia is a pretty cut and dry critism of the patriarchy and American nationalist culture, which is fantastic worldbuilding to include. Many of the masculine-coded androids are actually pretty nice, friendly and helpful or serious about their jobs, aside from a bitchy one in the beginning who injects our main 'droid with an anxiety spike about being one of a kind. Pretty much all of the Slugs we meet occupy masculine bodies, and they seem to have an abstract gender that picks up pronouns from the body they occupy, though the monarch is objectively a king and uses masculine pronouns even before getting a body, and he's pretty selfish and stupid.

But the main pair I'm thinking of, is Barry and Gunnie. Looking at the two of them, there's a lot you can assume. Big Barry Syx is this massive, bulky dude in power armor and shades with a mullet, while Gunnie is a 4' 11" techie cyborg with a big ol' smile. Listen to them in action and many of your assumptions are reinforced; Barry is a total dude-bro associated with nuts, steroids, working out, and acting much like gym bros in our modern life, while Gunnie is a hyperactive technician just doing his best, despite being mired in sympathetic tragedy. Barry's trauma is fairly fantastical or common to stories, having his family gunned down by one of his own, while Gunnie is mostly weighted down by medical debt after he got in an accident after trusting the wrong person. Based on these apperent details one would assume Barry is this toxicly masculine jackass who's insecure about his flaws, while Gunnie is the smartest man on board and is trying to keep everyone in line, doing the right thing, ect. And of course, you'd be dead wrong. Gunnie, while a sympathetic and likable character, is *mired* in toxic masculine traits. While it was an accident that put him in his situation, it was brash foolishness and ignoring obvious red flags that got him in that position in the first place, not to mention a rebellion against his family driving him to it. Furthermore, as Lou himself admits in Adventuring party, Gunnie's *pride* is the reason his problems are so vast; He comes from a lot of money, his initial debt might have never happened or mostly gone away to begin with if he went back to his dads for help. His toxicity doesn't make him an unlikable character but he does have these traits. He's brash, prideful, and ignores common sense a lot. He is also very nice and friendly with others, listens to people, ect. He doesn't have *every* toxic trait in the book, but has them which I tend to not even notice because he's just a funny little guy. Barry, meanwhile, is just about the most wholesome and giving person in the entire 'verse. Syx *And* Nyne, when not under a slug's control, are these total sweetheart bros. Sure, they shit talk each other with friendly ribbing, and yes they are very good at violence, but this violence is always motivated by helping those in need or fighting for those who can't fight for themselves, the Barry Battalion way. Barrys hate it when people are rude, or hurt the innocent. Barrys fight for their friends, provide endless support and praise, and will throw their very bodies into danger to protect or help, as seen on Rec 97 and in the big finale of the battle of the brands. And while the thing the love most is other Barrys, that does not mean that what they respect is also being heavily macho dudes. Barry one (or was is spelled differently? Barry Won? who knows) was the professor who created the other Barrys, a nerdy and fragile professor type, that the Barrys loved and treated as a fellow Barry *literally* the moment they were created. Even Syd is a Barry now, and that's accepted both by Barry Syx who's known her a long time and bonded with her, as well as Barry Nyne who literally, to his perception, *Just* met her, despite her appearance as like a waitress with an arm canon. Being a Barry, in other words, isn't about being just like them, having the name Barry, or anything like that. It's a vibe, it's a way to be, and the 'verse is better off with these super wholesome boys who, despite embodying many stereotypes of the gym bro, posses *none* of the commonly toxic traits also associated with that. They aren't insecure around smarter people or those with different skillsets, they hold no gendered assumptions, and they never wanna use their might to opress others for their own satisfaction.

Just, some thoughts.

[ginalongillustrations]

Vox Machina Details

I realized that now that I've completed all of Vox Machina, I wanted to show off the symbols I chose for each member and their designs as some of them I'm super proud of! If you're unsure what any of the symbols are meant to convey, just read blow the line.

Keyleth

(side note, I finished her original version at like ep 35 and had worked so hard to stay away from spoilers so I had no idea what most of the symbols meant and was struggling to think of things)

Kraken- I included it because the kraken fight will go down in my personal history as the fight that was the biggest... slog to get through. You felt the weariness of it as shit just kept repeating, and unfortunately half the table was slightly drunk making everything worse, and it was so pivotal because Vax died and that hastened his deal with the raven Queen and it was Keyleth completing her journey and it was Tary's first real adventure. It also was right after my Roman Empire Vaxleth quote so it had to have a place.

Goldfish -iconic

Acorn- so this is one that has nothing to do with her journey, but it's something I chose to symbolize what I love about her. I love her passion for life and her willingness to protect it. I chose it after she went against Grog during the Whitestone Arc and ran back to help the townsfolk fight the zombie giant. I loved it because she refused to let those people fight on their own to live, and it really stuck with me. Her unadulterated anger at the death of the fire ashari and so many other times she cares about life and I wanted to represent that, so much that I included it in her personal symbol at the top of the designs.

Fire - obvious reasons

Raven feather - gonna represent the love of her life

Snowdrop- yeah Vax got two but I'm so glad I did because that last episode had me sobbing just like Marisha and it's such a symbol of goodbye and love and stolen time

Vex

She is one of the most straightforward ones, another one that I had help on from the community because I didn't want spoilers but did want to encompass her entire journey and not just what I had seen.

Grizzly paw - for the best companion out there

Gold coins - Her greed is such a defining trait for so much of her journey to the point where it, in part, got her killed by wanting to steal the armour. It is her hating to spend 30 gold on a very useful book, it is so much of her and I love it.

Sun - Paelor, since she was chosen by him

Broom - As much as I wasn't a fan of the broom, it truly is such a big part of her, her fighting technique, and her personality again tied to her greed that I couldn't help but add it.

The gun and the dagger - for the two most important people in her life.

Pike

Her ship - It's cute how often she brought it up even when we never once see her at sea. I think Ashley really enjoyed that part of her backstory even asking about it in campaign 2.

Her holy symbol - Sarenrae is the God who has my heart simply for her kindness to Pike. Her warmth and love and how important that relationship is to Pike. More so than any other cleric, it feels like they get each other and I love that. I'm also sad Sarenrae hasn't been around much in the other campaigns. Someone give this God some love please (I'm on ep 46 of c3 so who knows)

The lute - even if they never go on a date during the campaign, that relationship is super important. It was the first relationship I shipped in VM and how often they look out for each other. I'll always be sad Ashley couldn't be there for ep 85

Grog's axe - adoptive siblings for life

Iris - since it's the flower of Westruun, I thought I should add also because Matt was able to pull that out of his ass when asked was incredible and needs to be remembered always.

Glabrezu claw - even if it's not a death we saw, that death echoed throughout the campaign and it affected Pike so much

Scanlan

Scanlan was harder. So many of his moments are intangible. How do you draw a counterspell? A wish? The hunt for drugs that are actually just cooking spices? the meat man? Modify memory? Scanlan will always be MVP of the VM campaign in my eyes, and so it was so hard to do him justice.

The three eyes of Ioun - No one expected Scanlan to be chosen but chosen he was and the world is better for it.

Triceratops - That fight was the first time Scanlan really showed he could hold his own. Hell, the rest of VM came out worse with 5 people than he did. It was the first time you saw how much of a beast Scanlan could be.

Pike's mace- the woman who made him better

The beret - I had just finished the briarwood Arc what I was working on him and I thought this the best representation of Sam willing to just roll with the stupidest running bits.

The Burt Reynolds mustache - His love of disguises and also one of his most iconic lines

The flute - representing his meeting Kaylie and how that changed so much of his journey.

Percy

I struggled with Percy and his symbols because I couldn't always grasp what was important and what drove him as tangible things outside his family, Revenge, and Vex. I also just have the most trouble connecting to Percy so I think that played a part.

The bird skull - I felt it showed his connect to others? As it passed through his hands it showed a care for others and I dunno, this one just stuck with me. So it's there.

Black powder -no way in hell I'm leaving Viktor out

De Rolo crest - His family and all that he lost

An arrow - his future, his shining north star, his better half

Black smoke - Orthax and how much control it had over him

Vampire teeth - a bit corny I know but had no idea how to represent the briarwoods so I rolled with this.

Vax

Snowdrop - the mirror Keyleth, and if you have the prints next to each other with Vax on the right and Keyleth on the left, the snowdrops mirror. They're the only two of the series to have that (can you tell who my favourite couple is?)

The raven Queen mask - she needed her own spot because she is.. the looming shadow over so much of Vax, his choices, and his story. She is unrelenting, she is ever-present, she is inevitable. And I hate her for it.

The arrow - twins for life

The antlers - This man supports Keyleth's rights and her wrongs and I adore him for it. I love that he says if you're going to your death to fight this dragon then I'm with you no questions asked. He worships her and it makes me weak at the knees.

The feather - those wings become as much a part of his identity as the broom is for Vex.

The belt - his love for that belt but also his use of equipment. Vax, more than anyone I think, has his identity was tied to his equipment and his icknic moments. His boots, his armour, his belt, his daggers. They make up so much of him.

Grog

He's another super straightforward one because we'll, Grog wasn't meant to have a deep and rich and complex character. He has amazing moments but again how do I show them? Craven's edge was something I tried for but it just didn't read as exactly that so I sadly left it out. Believe me, it hurt.

The deck of many things - Those cards were Grog's roman empire and it bit him in the ass at the end and I love it. Also just Travis and his absolute inability to not push the red buttons.

Ale - no group has loved taverns as much as VM, and no one in that group loves a night of drinking as much as Grog.

The Lute - for his best bud

The Mace - for his sister

The shapes - callback to the original audio intro with Grog being first

The bag of holding - few things were as paired as Grog and that bag. No one has their inventory as well organized as that Goliath.

Tary

Blondies - I know he was only a portion of it and I think because he was there for the time they mentioned it the most, I connect Tary the most with the Slayers Cake. It's the friendships he formed in his time with the group.

The list - thinking of him saving Keyleth and getting to mark off rescuing a maiden will never fail to make me laugh

The arrow - his best friend

The gun - his other best friend

The book - his many grand tales all documented in one fantastical book

The helmet - I really wanted it in the original design but it just wasn't going to work with the pose I wanted, so it ended up at the bottom.

Yepp so these are the things I connect with these characters the most. It's silly and so much effort for such a small part of the print, but I'm proud of them.

[lovelyladyabsinthewrites]

I’m a strong defender of SB actually caring about his daughter and here are my reasons:

If she has a bully we’ve stated that he’d take care of it regardless if the bully was a boy or girl, and also not caring if he’s drunk or sober; especially this last detail shows how he cares for her because that’s his babygirl and even though she’s more than capable of fighting her bullies herself no one will talk bad to her or harm her, not if he has a say in it

If he’s awake late at night watching tv and having a drink or two, if she would walk into the living room and jump on the couch to sit with him because she couldn’t sleep, he’d let her sit there as long as she didn’t make a sound, but he also would ansker her if she asked what the movie he was watching was about or who was who on screen; and if she fell asleep at his side with her head on his arm or legs, he wouldn’t move her

He’d even caress her hair, you can’t tell me he wouldn’t as she sleeps peacefully at his side

How could he make something so… delicate? Not in a bad way. I think he’d be scared of having a daughter because he can’t be soft. He’s never been soft for most of his life. Girls need softness, that he can’t give.

But he can!! He doesn’t realize but he likes it when she cuddles up to him on the couch when he’s trying to have a nap, laying against his chest, and he likes it when she brings him random drawings she makes, folding them and hiding them in his pockets only to take them out again when he undresses and leaving them in a drawer of his dresser with the rest of her drawings

Maybe he doesn’t take her to her first day of school or teaches her to ride a bike, but he’s for sure proud to see her on that bike riding down the street. That’s his babygirl

When she’s older he even shares late night drinks with her. He knows kids shouldn’t drink but his kids are teenagers and they aren’t pussies and if they’re gonna do it anyway better do it at home; he even enjoys the small silent moments sitting with her having a beer when she comes home from a friend’s party in one of those rare days where HM was off somewhere himself, and it’s only SB and his daughter at home; she sneaks in a bit later than usual, and as many times Ben is awake having a drink. He doesn’t yell at her for being out late, at least she got home safe, and when she sits down with him after grabbing a bottle for herself, he nods acknowledging her presence, and they enjoy the moment in silence

Now I need headcanons for how their relationship would be once SB comes back years later

okay this killed me like

pure tender moments between soldier boy and his little girl

i like the hc of mc and sb having these quiet moments where sb feels secure enough to be soft with his daughter.

them sharing mc's first drink together while hl is out on an assignment for vought.

sb probably thought about those times alot in russia :( and now he has a chance to capture them again. You're just a liiitttllle bit older than last time. and more jaded.

having nowhere else to go (like hell he was staying in that shitty motel), you'd grudgingly offered up your small office room in your apartment. butcher had also suggested it would be good for you to keep an eye on your dad to make sure he doesn't act out. you kinda felt like the parent now.

for the most part, he'd behave himself in the beginning. this was a great chance for him to get to know the person you've become.

but you still don't really know how to act around him, ya know what i mean? you've never dealt with the obvious childhood trauma you had. vought had onsight psychiatrists and therapists, but you wouldn't dare. that would be a sign of weakness.

so when you come home one night you find sb has actually set the table with microwave meal trays on your ceramic plates. they're those incredibly unhealthy meals he used to warm up for you and hl years ago. looked like he spent most of his allowance (you learned he would drink your own alcohol stash if he couldn't go out to buy his own) on a nice bottle of whiskey.

"i hope you're hungry babygirl." he smiles though it doesn't go past him the tenseness on your face as well as the bloodied knuckles you attempted to hide with your sleeve. "why don't you go wash up for dinner."

It was freaking you out. "okay. . ." and when you come back you awkwardly sit across the table from him. "whats the occasion?" you watch him fill your cup with the honey colored liquid.

"no occasion. we just haven't had time to talk, you and i. remember this brand? the same one i gave you for your first drink." he chuckles to himself. "even for your first time you tossed it back like a champ."

communicating with soldier boy had always been a struggle. "talk. . . about what exactly?"

"your life! all i know is that you're fucking that butcher guy and trying to kill your brother."

"it's more complicated than that." like you wanted to kill your brother. someone you had loved so much with all your heart, trusted like no one else. it ripped at you to be on an opposing side to him. you'd tried reasoning with him.

"then tell me."

and you do

and to everyone's surprise, sb IS trying his hardest to be a better father to you now though it's far too late.

oh, oh and think of the bar nights with you, sb and butcher cuz he insists on attempting to get along with him.

sb: "still have no idea what you see in him."

you: "well, nothing you can see with his clothes on at least 😏 😏"

sb: "😡"

butcher: *laughing*

best believe he's still unfortunately a misogynist no matter how hard you try to correct him 😓 and he still lacks a filter too so that's why you give him a taste of his own medicine by mentioning your sex life.

sb: oh my god stop talking about dick sucking!!! >:(((

you: you're the one who called him a cock sucker! if you call anyone that it should be me 🧐😆

sb:

[lynnlovesthestars]

Serendipity.

Pairing: Astarion x OC (Lynn, changeling.)

Genre: fluff? idk not gonna lie..

Warnings: blood sucking, messy kisses?, my messy writing is a warning by itself.. honestly not much..

wc: 1.7k? fairly short but it was a blurb i accidentally wrote at 3 am.

summary: astarion was supposed to have a meal and ended up catching feelings- or something like that.

AN: as i said its messy, maybe i should have sent it to someone to beta read it but also my therapist told me to not give a shit n post.. anyways i hope it was somewhat good cause im low on motivation lately ahah!\

Taglist: @spacebarbarianweird @sessils

Masterlist

Taglist requests

Kofi

Lynn and Astarion had built a small feeding routine over the few weeks they had started traveling together, where the changeling would offer him blood a few times a week when he didn’t get injured.

The changeling didn't expect to be so affected by their little plan. It was supposed to be easy: feeding and leaving, nothing more and nothing less. So how did he end up in a weird tangle of emotions?

Lynn had forbidden himself from feeling anything but anger, yet he couldn't stop his heart from going batshit crazy whenever the two Were close.

That day Lynn had been feeling cold, as the lack of sun in the underdark would expect, the reason why, when Astarion looked for him that night, he had found the changeling in a cocoon of blankets reading a book.

“I hope you’ll share that novel with me.” He chuckled as he stepped closer, crouching next to the bundle of blankets that was Lynn.

The changeling had not heard him as he sneaked in, and it became obvious when he had jolted up. “Gods you scared me” He held a hand to his chest as he heavily panted.

“Sorry, my precious” He smiled.

Lynn didn't like to admit how Astarion’s sweet names affected him, they had been growing closer though he wished for more.

Anyway, it was in these moments, when silence would dawn on the two, that Astarion would feel the ghost of his heart fluttering, jumping to his throat as he noticed those little details about Lynn.

In that moment it was the faint line of a cut on his neck, as if he had been decapitated and sewn back together. He wanted to lean in, trace that scar and press his lips to it. Astarion mentally cursed himself at the thought, he had been so drawn to the changeling, that whenever he was in his mind he couldn’t help but derail to thoughts he was terrified of.

Nevertheless Lynn was the one that moved forward this silence.

“‘Starion, you are here for your dinner, right?” He asked softly as he eased down under the warmth of the blanket again.

“Uh, yeah” He rubbed the back of his head. “But if you don’t feel like it tonight we can-”

“No please, come in here..” He invited him under the blanket with a soft smile, a smile Lynn had not wasted for many before, lifting the bulde just enough he could slide in without dispersing too much heat. “It’s cold tonight, like this we will be warm” He murmured tenderly.

The elf swore he felt like everything faded away from around him as he was engulfed by the comfort of the duvet and Lynn’s closeness. It was so much and not enough at the same time.

“There you go” The changeling laid on his side to make more room for Astarion as he moved his hair to the side to expose the raw pinpricks on his neck.

“You’re sure? I don’t want to ruin your blanket accidentally” Astarion murmured as he gently traced the hollows where his fangs last bit.

Lynn couldn’t hide the goosebumps that settled on his skin as he nodded and as his usual he wrapped his arms around the elf’s waist, helping Astarion relax in the intimacy of the moment.

Neither of them knew how they did it, how the simple act of wrapping one’s arms around someone to bring them close, could ease any uncomfortable feeling that could go through them.

Lynn felt his throat suddenly going dry, as Astarion grazed Lynn’s neck with his lips, his face warmed up with a flush, and for a moment he was glad Astarion could not notice the blush. 

It felt as if he wanted to leave a kiss against the pale skin, but just the remote thought would make him run.

It didn’t matter how many times he’d be cradled in his arms and felt the sting of the bite pierce through his body, Lynn would always feel his heart race when Astarion’s lips would cup the wound and would start draining him of his blood.

In that moment, he felt like everything was amplified tenfolds, the way Astarion delicately held his head and clutched to his hip, or the hushed sounds he’d let out as he fed. The blanket, he blamed the blanket for the heat that rushed through his body, for the incessant thrumming of his heart.

He felt his body go through so much: he would feel heavy while simultaneously feeling lightheaded, he would feel soft while feeling rough, he’d feel like he was finally breathing while also being breathless.

Astarion wanted to be slow, tender, let the sweetness of the changeling’s blood rush slowly against his tongue, and get lost in the intrinsically private moment.

His arms kept the body from slipping away, as if he was terrified Lynn would walk away from the embrace. Not from the feeding, but from Astarion’s soft clutch, afraid of him.

Lynn hummed as Astarion tongue quickly lapped at the wound, collecting the blood that was still spilling out.

The two were breathless, forehead pressed against each other, still dazed by the exchange. They wanted to blame the closeness or the blanket that was shielding them, but that would have been lying to themselves.

Astarion’s fingers were still laced in Lynn’s hair, while Lynn’s hands now rested on Astarion’s cheeks, gently caressing the skin of the elf.

Of all the times they laid like that, this moment was when he realized how soft Lynn’s hair were, or how warm and calming his breath against his cold skin felt, or how delicate the touch of the changeling could be. He could feel his breath still affected by the softness of each other’s touch.

It was one of those moments where one would hope they would be sane enough to read each other’s eyes, to catch that feeling that was juggling between them, or they could read each other’s mind, cause they wondered if their lips would taste just like how they imagined. 

They didn’t even speak, it was astounding how the two didn’t want to let go of the other. 

Lynn had been the one to find the courage, he gently pulled him closer, tangling his fingers in his curls as he crashed their lips together. 

On his lips he tasted what divinity felt like, as Astarion's grip became ironclad on his waist.

Their kiss was breathless, desperate as they couldn't let go of each other. When one would take a moment to breathe, the other would itch to close the distance again, lingering close until their lips were not tangled again.

If the whole camp would have been silent, the only sound that would have reverberated would have been their breathy pleas.

“Don't go” Lynn begged as he lingered close, earning another kiss.

This time Astarion was tender, he caressed Lynn’s cheek as he eased. His usually taught body became nothing more than gelatin as he pressed himself against him.

“Not going anywhere” He murmured as he kissed him again. Their lips teased, sucked, clasped as they desperately clung to each other. They became one as the night swayed between sighs and caresses. Their clothes were long forgotten as they laid forehead to forehead, cradled against each other as they let their tongues do the talking for them.