#or at least written with Dan in mind

[pearlywritings]

New day - same you

synopsis: morning routine with them and other sweet moments

pairing and characters: Argenti, Aventurine, Blade, Boothill, Dan Heng, Gallagher, Gepard Landau, Jiaoqiu, Jing Yuan, Loucha, Sunday, Veritas Ratio (separately) x reader

tw: established relationship (marriage/dating), fluff, halovian!reader in Sunday's, halovians have back wings here, foxian!reader in Jiaoqiu's (and his part is written before 2.5)

word count: ~4k words

Argenti

With Argenti it almost feels like competition - who's going to be the first to awake and marvel in the morning beauty of their sleeping lover. He, with his flashy but sincere words and loving kisses all over your wrists, and you, with your soft touches and quiet murmurs of the declarations of love.

The fog of the dream is hard to fight through this particular morning - Argenti stayed up way past midnight to fix the “One and Only’s” engine and practically fell into your embrace after the shower, worming his way under your lax arms. His body clock, however, is sending alarms to his brain, pushing him to wake up, stimulating the thought of opening his eyes and having a blessing of witnessing your angelic face.

Which is gone as soon as it appears. You, awake, and still holding your lover in your arms, tug him a bit closer and let his face nestle into the crook of your neck. As a fellow Knight of Beauty there is no hate in your heart for the broken engine that kept Argenti busy tonight, but it doesn't mean you can't dislike it and let him sleep a bit more. It's not like you two are rushing anywhere.

When your tender hand is laid upon his head, lovingly patting and threading fingers through the heavy locks of crimson hair, the knight feels bliss. His mind is sedated and willingly enters the gates of another dream, just as sweet as your presence.

This morning you may not have your share of compliments, breaking the little ritual, but it's more than alright. After all, the beauty of the proper rest is a nice alternative.

Aventurine

No matter what day it is - Aventurine is always the first one to wake up. An occupational hazard, if you could name working for the IPC this way. However, the one of the Stonehearts despises leaving the bed without you, and even more despises waking you up before your alarm clock goes off.

Aventurine is a busy man, who is used to starting his days with calls and messages, managing to have at least three little ‘meetings’ throughout his morning routine. And he can’t have you waking up from his voice taking a sharper edge in the conversation with one of the partners. So you reached a compromise - you sleep with earplugs and he gets to hold you in the morning while on the phone, waking you up with some nudges and kisses once the time comes.

He loves to see your sleepy but absolutely lovesick eyes after he pulls you out of the dream and lets you rest onto his chest with his arm around your body a bit longer, until this exact call is over.

Then you’d take your sweet time in the bathroom and then, as you are cooking breakfast and he is on the phone again, the man would cling to your back with his chin on your shoulder and one arm wrapped around your waist. Then he’d keep talking with you on his lap, keep talking with his hands busy with the dishes, keep talking as you pack his and your lunches. He’d be having the fourth or the fifth call by the time you are all dressed up and smoothing some invisible creases on his clothes, but he’ll always put the caller on hold to get his ‘good morning’ with a kiss and ‘have a wonderful day’ with another kiss.

But don’t be fooled - he does all that only because you explicitly expressed that you don’t mind. Just one word of yours - and he’ll swiftly finish the call, turning off his phone and giving you so much attention that by the time you both leave for work, you're gonna be affectionately sick of him.

Blade

It’s ten more minutes, the swordsman reminds himself after a quick glance at the wall clock and back to your sleeping figure. Nowadays, the Stellaron Hunter doesn’t deny you the request of staying in bed with you even if he can’t sleep normally and stays awake many hours through the night. After some nagging from you he even stopped getting in bed with his clothes on, opting for the sleeping pants and shirts you’ve bought for him to match most of yours.

Blade is leaning back on the headboard with a pillow squeezed in between as one hand, wrapped in bandages, resting on his thigh, while the other is carefully caressing the side of your head. It’s hard to believe that someone is able to snooze so peacefully next to a man like him, let alone, pressing their face into his thigh with arms wrapped around his leg.

And ‘peace’ is what Blade cherishes the most during the mornings spent with you. He makes you feel safe. You make him feel relaxed. His body next to yours is the fruit of your successful worming into his heart, your body next to his is his sanctuary. The man’s mind is at ease and he more often than not falls into the light slumber, dreamless, yet lacking nightmares too.

You crinkle your nose under the more prominent touch of his fingers across your face, and Blade stiffens. It’s still three minutes more, he doesn’t want to wake you up earlier than that. Yet at the same time, something inside him is burning with the strongest yearning of seeing your eyelids sliding up and the prettiest drowsy eyes looking up at him with so much adoration, that his heart starts bleeding like pierced.

The Stellaron Hunter looks at the clock again. One more minute. Maybe tomorrow morning he’ll let you both sleep in. Maybe it’s because you are not in any of the upcoming scripts. Or maybe it’s because he’d like to try cuddling once more.

Boothill

When in his travels, the cyborg doesn't sleep in the usual sense of this word. The correct way to describe it would be ‘recharge’, hiding somewhere in the secure corner, not even lying down, just sitting comfortably enough and letting his systems cool off and eyes plus brain rest.

When he is back home to you however… He literally starts whining and complaining if you take too long to join him in your shared bed.

Boothill always asks you to sleep in panties/shorts only. Not because he is a pervert (though he indeed can touch or lick or suck a time or two), but because in his absence he missed the heat and softness of your skin so much, that he immediately takes the little spoon position, burying his face into your chest and keening on the feeling of your fingers scratching his scalp and playing with his hair.

He loves falling asleep to the tender thumping in your chest, and even more so he loves waking up to the very same sound. It reminds him that he isn't alone in this world, that even with all the losses he experienced he still has someone to adore and treasure. He always hugs your waist a little tighter upon awakening and presses a long kiss to the valley in the middle of your chest, closing his eyes and focusing on the deep breaths you release. It feels like heaven. It is home.

Plus, he loves your confident morning behavior, when you don't bother putting on a shirt after getting out of the bed and walking around the house still mostly bare, playfully swatting his hands away when he reaches to you with grabby motions. Well, given he sometimes walks around completely naked, he has nothing to accuse you of.

Dan Heng

Dan Heng isn’t particularly fond of you sleeping in his room. Not because he guards its contents akin to a dragon that fusses over its treasures or because he doesn’t want your body pressed close to his, no. Simply because his ‘bed’ is hard. And, admittedly, the mattress is not big enough to fit two people comfortably.

But you, oh you, are always so sweet about it and reassure him that you love the close proximity it brings, and that you are ready to deal with the slight body ache in the morning, understanding that Dan Heng himself is more at ease while staying in his own ‘den’ (he is working on it).

Mornings usually start with you on top of him - even in his unconscious state the man still worries about you, so he’d rather have you use him as a pillow (and, as you once teased him, he’d use you as a weighted blanket). Next, you’ll be swift to leave his side, throwing his coat on and quietly tiptoeing to the kitchen.

Usually, by the time you return, your boyfriend is already awake, but still staying under the blanket, waiting for you. He gratefully accepts a steaming mug with a calming herbal tea and you peck his cheek, flopping next to him with your own mug in a hand. You are sitting quietly, shoulders touching and knees bumping, while you are sipping on your drinks and chasing away the remnants of sleep.

Dan Heng smiles when you wiggle your feet under the blanket and put your head onto his shoulder, and as he turns his head to kiss the top of yours, securing a tender end to your special morning ritual, the man thinks he is indeed healing. And that’s what he cherishes about mornings with you most.

Gallagher

Gallagher takes extra long showers in the evenings after his shifts, because he doesn’t want to bring the smell of alcohol, cigarettes and anything else of the bar’s patrons to your bed. He doesn’t want you to grimace first thing in the morning and push him away, complaining about the stink. He’d much rather have your body tightly pressed against his, maybe face squished into his chest, arm thrown over his waist and legs stuck between his.

Gallagher loves just lazing in bed with you, as you are both awake. Loves rubbing his cheek against yours and hearing you reprimand him lightheartedly for the stubble. And yet, you never move away, welcoming his big palm resting on your hip, fingers lightly digging into fat and dragging you even closer to him.

Today you, however, throw a leg over his body and swiftly climb on top, immediately settling onto his chest like many times before. It’s because you know he has a night shift and you don’t plan to let him go until at least lunch. And your lover is strong, he can throw you off using just one arm or by simply turning his body under yours, but he does none of this, all because he absolutely adores your little sparks of possessiveness.

His heavy hand lowers onto your head, gently ruffling your hair, to which you grumble, poking his side with a single finger, only to scratch him lightly with all five a second later. Oh how deliciously he shivers and even a following pinch to your ass is unable to wipe a pleased smile off your face.

He’ll tell you stupid stories from the night before at the bar, share the worst jokes his patrons slurred and admit the teasing Sioban put him through once again, because ‘the old dog was glancing at the clock, counting the minutes till running home to you’. And you’ll be laughing. And he’ll be laughing too.

Gepard Landau

The Captain of the Silverman Guards is obviously the man of schedule. He wakes up at the same time, he wraps up his morning routine in the same period of time, and he leaves the house at the same time.

Every morning the man is trying his hardest to get out of the bed as sneakily as he can, because otherwise there are chances of waking you up and his heart cries when you follow him around wrapped in the blanket while whining that it’s so cold to be out of the bed and his warmest embrace (yes, you’re sometimes faking it, but come on, your golden retriever of a boyfriend is warm and comfy to cuddle with).

Can never deny you, when you squeeze yourself past him in the hot shower, explaining that yes, you are cold, and yes, it’s saving water (obviously not to admire your handsome lover and steal a couple of morning kisses from him).

You are still sleepy as the water is gushing on your body, which is held in place by two strong hands on your hips. Gepard can’t take his eyes from your cute droopy expression and smiles softly when you lift your head to let the water splash against your face. He doesn’t like it when you sacrifice your sleep in the mornings, but he can’t lie to himself that he loves spending these moments with you either. He gently brushes your wet locks away from your cheeks and forehead, leaning down to plant a small peck on your chin.

A cheerful ‘hooray’ is coming out in bubbles due to the water getting into your mouth, but you don’t care, wrapping your arms around his neck and burying your face into his chest instead. Oh Qlipoth, let this poor man be not that obvious with the raging blush from the new mark blooming under his uniform while leaving the house

Jiaoqiu

Waking up with the rays of rising sun to throw on an embroidered robe and get to the kitchen to cook another delicious breakfast for you and him is indeed a pleasurable and relaxing part of the healer’s morning. However, much more than that he enjoys wondering in his head who’s going to wake up hugging whose tail the evening before, just to arise the next morning and see if his guess is right.

Opening his fanged mouth in a big yawn and squeezing still shut honey golden eyes even more, Jiaoqiu starts his day with a nice full body stretch. Something soft gets into his mouth and immediately jerks, provoking an abrupt puff of air released from the male’s lungs. There is a dissatisfied mumble somewhere close to his collarbones, and when heavy eyelids slide open, the foxian catches just the swift motion of your ears pressing back against your head.

He can't help but smile softly, leaning down and kissing the top of it (his own pink ear slightly twitching as you quietly murmur in delight), then moving back and looking down to assess your sleeping positions.

Face to face and legs tangled together, your bodies lay closely to each other. With your nose buried into his neck and arms wrapped around his frame, Jiaoqiu, to his greatest disappointment, notices both your tails peacefully resting on the mattress behind your backs.

What a pity… Now it means you won't be helping him comb through his fur to make it look presentable and he won't be doing the same to you… Unless…

As the clawed hand carefully reaches behind you with a clear intention to mess up your tail and sly eyes crinkle in mischief, Jiaoqiu is truly ready to start his morning routine even to the extent of your complaints.

Jing Yuan 

Jing Yuan is a true connoisseur of soft things. He has the fluffiest carpets back at home, silkiest fabrics for clothes, his bed is like one big white cloud, and his pet is a lion with a huge mane. Not to mention his beloved, who has the softest thighs to nap onto in the whole universe (he has never compared to others, but he is a firm believer).

The General has been having trouble waking up in the morning for a while now. Alarm clock? Ignored. Mimi’s nudges and complaining groans? Ignored too. Your loving voice and tender kisses all over his face? Careful, he is the Dozing General, not the Weak one - you are very much at risk every time to be dragged back in bed in your husband's embrace.

And that little fight you put up every morning to get him from under the blanket and send him off to the bathroom is his favorite part. Just like today.

If anyone was to walk into your bedroom, they'd see a strange image of your strained form being hunched and jerking backwards, trying to rip your arm from an iron grasp, and just a single hand visible in the mess of pillows and blankets, holding onto your wrist and trying to pull you back onto the bed.

You swear, the man hasn't even opened his eyes, relying solely on his other sharp senses to effortlessly catch you when you tried to flee after kissing him good morning.

It's pointless to remind him of the meeting today - he'll get there in time either way, but you still try to hold your ground and win this fight of stubbornness.

Jing Yuan laughs, when with a loud gasp you fall onto his swiftly sitting up figure and are immediately thrown back onto the bed with his sturdy body pinning yours underneath. He loves the heat of your face he feels when his cheek is pressed to yours. He adores when you wiggle under him, refusing to admit that this display of his strength didn't leave you hot and bothered. And he is absolutely smitten when eventually you let out a long exasperated sigh and wrap your arms around his shoulders, admitting your defeat, agreeing to sleep for a little bit more.

Loucha

The merchant is too used to the feeling of loneliness in his travels. Getting out of a hardly couple-of-days-familiar bed, grabbing a pin from a nightstand table to fix a quick messy bun and, swiftly stopping by the bathroom to freshen up his sleepy face, the man drags his feet to the kitchen.

Oil is sizzling in a pan, as the man throws the cut vegetables in it, grabbing a spatula. He is barefoot, still in his sleep wear and long locks of golden hair hanging in messy waves to his shoulder length. It’s the sight that is hard to resist, and as much as you’d love to keep watching your lover, so uncharacteristically unkept and cozy, the need to get closer to him gets too strong. As your arms encircle his waist and lips press to wherever you can reach, Loucha doesn’t fight a soft smile. Yes, on some of his trades he’s on his own, but your presence is such a sedative to his soul and mind.

You ask him what he is cooking and he answers, letting you duck your head under his arm, so you could see for yourself, and then offers you to choose something extra if you so desire. Giving him your response, you immediately suggest helping, but he declines, carefully prying one of your hands from his stomach and lifting it to his lips, murmuring how he doesn’t want your pretty fingers to get all tired and dirty in the very morning.

But you are a little stubborn, so when he lets you go, you stay behind his back and reach for a simple jade pin, heroically holding the whole mass of his hair, and take it out, letting the heavy waves cascade down his back. The fingers he’s just been so worried about, bury into the locks, brushing out the knots, dividing in parts and then twisting them one around another, collecting his hair into a nice, but simple braid.

The merchant is used to spending his mornings alone. But admittedly he loves you being by his side and your adorable little gestures much more.

Sunday

It is a well-known fact that the halovian has OCD and his prior commitment to the Order only proves it more strongly. Admittedly, ever since he’s been released from Gopher Wood’s clutches and left Penacony, he’s been getting better: less paranoid, less twitchy, more forgiving to not only ones around him, but himself. He’s been working on abandoning some of his habits, going as far as styling his clothes in a kind of mismatched yet still smart manner. And still he’s having a hard time not to fuss over his appearance.

While sleeping, Sunday is restless. Having been sharing a bed with him for a long time, you’ve been a witness to all - thrashing from side to side, kicking off and then dragging back the blanket, both head and back wings flapping in sleep, messing equally his feathers and hair (sometimes yours too).

And sometimes, Sunday wants to cry. It’s so intimate, it’s so sweet, it’s something he was used to doing on his own, but here you are - doing it for him, cooing lovingly and pressing tender kisses to the smaller wings protruding from the back of his head, making them tremble slightly and the milky skin of his cheeks - flash with crimson.

But you are understanding. You are gentle, when you offer the miserably looking man your hands and tug him out of the bed, walking him to the huge mirror and asking him to sit down in front of it. Your hands are soft and careful, as they are grooming his wings, rearranging the feathers correctly, removing broken ones, fluffing up the beautiful plumage that reminds of the night sky.

And you trust him to do the same for you! His hands are shaking, his breath is hitching while you keep encouraging him to clean up your wings after sleep, being nothing but patient as the morning sun arises.

The ex-head of the Oak Family used to say that patience is a virtue, but in the dawn glow of your bedroom it turns into his paradise.

Veritas Ratio

No matter what your sleep schedule is, Veritas is always the first one to wake up. Sitting up he reaches for his nightstand drawer, tapping the phone’s screen to stop the alarm clock’s ringing. His other hand automatically reaches for the black-furred critter, nestled onto his lap, to gently pat its soft ‘shell’, receiving a quiet content chirp. Once done with the phone, the man turns to the other side of the bed, reddish-pink eyes lowering to your still sleeping form, with another critter snoozing under your arm. One more is spotted at the end of the bed.

Every single morning Veritas witnesses the same view - well, maybe your sleeping pose is different, or the placement of your ‘cats’ on the bed, or how much of the blanket you've either stolen from him or on the contrary thrown at him… still it's always you, him and your recently adopted pets.

And every single morning your lover can't help but take some minutes from his work out session and dedicate them to simply sitting in bed next to you, observing, doing his own little research. Today he notes how you've moved slightly onto his part of the bed, head occupying both yours and a small part of his pillow. Then his gaze moves downwards, noticing the covers being pulled down your waist and feet peeking from under the blanket. That's so you - feeling stuffy and hot yet still moving closer to his body.

Carefully, not to disturb you and give a couple of more minutes to rest, Veritas bends down and kisses your cheek, testing another hypothesis of his - would you smile in your sleep, upon feeling the touch of his lips on your skin?

He is surprised, when you open your eyes, staring back at him in a haze. Sensing your awakening, the orange critter practically zooms from under your arm, then onto the man’s pillow and off the bed, disappearing somewhere in the hallway. But he hardly pays attention to it. No, his eyes are glued to yours and that sweet smile that tugs on the corners of your mouth as you reach forward to circle his neck with your arms.

Yes, his thinks contented, closing his eyes, another hypothesis of his has been proven right.

[flanaganfilm]

Hi, I'm a big fan of your work. Sorry if this is a dumb question, why kill the kitties? I notice it a lot in horror in general, and it completely takes me out of the story and just makes me feel bad for the cat. I feel like I'm missing something.

Not a dumb question at all - and I knew I'd be getting some of this the moment we decided to include Poe's The Black Cat in TFOTHOU. The comments sections of the world are full of accusations that I hate cats and/or hands, and - well - neither is true. I've admittedly gotten a little flippant with my humor in the past when people have brought this up. My knee-jerk reaction is always to say something along the lines of "well, Websters defines 'horror' as..." But honestly, as far as I'm concerned, it's just not a thing.

A brief history of cats in my work:

HUSH - Maddie's beloved cat, "Bitch," escapes the danger of a home invader completely unharmed and is alive and well at the end of the movie. The last shot of the movie is Maddie lovingly petting the cat on the porch.

THE HAUNTING OF HILL HOUSE - Yes, a malnourished stray kitten dies within Hill House, only to be horrifically reanimated. This was done to show the horrors of Hill House, serve as a warning to the family, and foreshadow the deaths of several human beings (who would meet more horrible fates) later. Hill House is an evil place, and it killed and collected all sorts of living things... there are dead humans aplenty, and also phantom dogs, which Stephen and the kids hear several times and see in episode six. I'd argue that Hill House is an equal-opportunity horror show.

DOCTOR SLEEP - Azzie the cat is a great friend to Dan Torrance. Azzie also has a "shine" of her own, and can sense when patients at the hospice are going to die, and goes into their rooms to comfort them. Azzie is never once in any danger throughout the film and, we presume, lives a long and happy life.

MIDNIGHT MASS - All of the residents of Crockett Island, which include 157 people, a huge population of stray cats, and at least one particularly sweet dog, do not fare so well in this show. But nothing against the cats - everybody dies. The arrival of a certain evil creature marks doom for literally every living thing on the island (except for two people). And yep, it started with the cats, because they were plentiful and would not alert anyone to its presence. We see its lair full of dead rats, birds, and raccoons as well, all eaten while the creature was in hiding.

THE FALL OF THE HOUSE OF USHER - we adapted The Black Cat, written by Edgar Allan Poe. If you're familiar with the Poe story, you know that it involves the horrible death of a cat, which then seems to get revenge from beyond the grave. This is Edgar Allan Poe's story - we did not write it. HOWEVER, we decided to make a huge change to Poe's story. At the end of our retelling, we reveal that Pluto the cat is alive and well (and still wearing the Gucci collar), and that the supposed violence against the cat existed entirely in the person's mind. Pluto 2 - the terrifying, supernatural replacement that stalked Leo - is not real either. It is just Verna, taking another form (hence the injury to VERNA'S eye). So in this show, not a single animal is harmed AT ALL. We did that on purpose. We decided to change Poe's classic story so that the cat lived. We went out of our way to do that. I truly don't have anything against cats. I do tell horror stories... but that's about it! I hope it doesn't make it more difficult to enjoy the story, and thank you for watching.

[pauli-writes]

May I request an Aventurine with a reader who's a member of the Astral Express?

Have a nice day!

warning: reader is suffering from nightmares, references to gambling (it’s aventurine after all), flirting

pairing: aventurine x reader

author’s note: this man has taken over my mind, i’m so excited for 2.1 !!! also thank you for requesting, sorry this took so long i had private matters to take care of :3 (this is once again not proofread and partially written at 3am)

being quiet was never really your forte.

whenever you couldn’t sleep at the night you’d restlessly wonder around the astral express, the morning after dan heng would usually complain that you were too loud even though you were trying real hard to stay quiet.

now in the reverie, the hotel in penacony you were staying at, the space was much bigger and the occupants much more lively, not to mention dan heng wasn’t even with you, so he had no chance to complain.

another restless night and you wandered around the hotel. while other guests indulged in the dreamscape, you stayed in reality, afraid that the usual comfort of the dreamscape will twist into something ugly and gruesome for you because of your nightly terrors.

you looked around, most people were asleep, only a few guest were awake, sitting by the bar or enjoying the music. without your friends from the express you felt a little out of place.

“oh, and what do we have here?” a voice snapped you out of your self pity. you looked around, only to find that ipc guy from when you were checking in standing next to you, a golden coin being twirled in between his fingers. “aren’t you a member of the astral express? i think i saw you earlier...”

“i am…” you replied cautiously, not sure of his intentions. “you’re with the ipc, correct?”

he smirked, he threw his coin in the air before pocketing it. “yes. tell me something, why aren’t you dreaming with the rest of your friends?”

you tensed up, unsure of how much you should reveal to him. you didn’t even know his name yet. “i don’t sleep well.”

he paused, looking at you curiously. “do you now?”

“yes.” you said defensively and slightly annoyed. he wasn’t exactly making a good first impression on you despite his rather attractive appearance. “why aren’t you dreaming?”

“let’s just say i have business to take care of first,” he replied, in the same breath he pulled out a pack of cards. “although i have some time to kill until my meeting, care for a game?”

you thought for a moment, before nodding. “it’s not like i have anything better to do…”

the blond smiled and started shuffling the cards with his skilful fingers, you didn’t even know what game you were playing yet, but found yourself at least slightly interested. you gained your hand and he explained the rules, but a few turns in it was apparent that he was much better than you. he won easily.

you sighed and gave him his cards back. “you don’t mess around, huh?”

he chuckled, “of course not. i play to win.”

“even without a wager,” you mused with a smile, watching as he put the cards away. he chuckled too.

“i have too leave now. it was nice meeting you, i hope to see you again, sweetheart.” he flashed you a charming smile and a wink.

you rolled your eyes playfully, “you don’t even know my name, i doubt you’d even remember me.”

“oh, i think it’d be impossible not to remember you. you’re very unique believe it or not.” he stepped closer to you, it was then that you noticed how he was slightly taller than you. you opened your mouth to give him another snarky remark, but was stopped as he pressed a gentle kiss on your cheek. as he pulled away you could feel your face heating up.

“cute.” he said with a chuckle as he stepped away from you, “we’ll meet again after everything is over. i promise you that.”

he walked away, giving you a nonchalant wave over his shoulder and leaving you sitting at the bar with a bright red face. you watched him walk up the stairs, disappearing down the hallways leading to the rooms.

once he was out of your sight you calmed down a bit and gathered your thoughts, it was then that you noticed that there was a foreign object in the pocket of your coat. you grabbed it and looked at it, it was a playing card, queen of hearts, on the back scribbled with a golden pen was:

something to remember me by

- aventurine

you couldn’t help but grin and pocketed the card, just in that moment you saw mr. yang and himiko walk down the stairs talking animatedly. did you really spend the entire night awake…?

[particular-one]

we would’ve been timeless.

synopsis. how they would react and cope after you left their lives. characters. jing yuan, dan heng, blade, gepard x gn!reader (separate) author's note. congrats, you have made it to the vault (carlyle's version). due to the 1.2 update i will not shut up about hsr and speak now tv. sorry if this was short, the writer's block is still kinda there. lmk if u want any other character!

jing yuan would be a bit more dignified about losing you. after all, after everything he has witnessed in his long, long life, he knew that it would only be inevitable that he would lose you, too. but for the amount of loss that he has experienced, it did not make it any easier for him to cope. your presence always made everything just a tad bit bearable and he missed that sorely. on the outside, jing yuan would make sure that he would seem fine, greeting everyone warmly and nodding to their consolations, but the moment the public's eyes are off him, he'd be devoid of any emotion. you had always likened jing yuan to the sun, he'd remember, before you went on a tangent about his eyes again, but the true sun in his life was you. and you were gone.

dan heng would immediately blame himself. no matter the circumstance, he'd chalk it up to the karma of being with someone like him. it was apparent how much happier you made him when you were together — the astral express would always comment how he seemed to glow around you despite the neutral expression he always wore — that everything just turned dead when you were gone. at least, that's how it was like for him. no more of indulging in the silly romantic antics that you'd drag him in — oh, how he'd give anything for one last adventure with you. dan heng would spend most of his time locked in the archives after this, his mind awake and going over every tender memory you shared with him. his most favorite one was when you sung to him; now, it'd be the only voice haunting him before he fell into the deepest slumber.

blade would not believe it first. you made a promise to him that you would stay with him, no matter how long it takes. you promised that to him, and he does not take the promise of forever lightly. when the undeniable is presented to him, blade would lose control over the overflowing emotion in him. he's in despair, he's seething in anger, he's breaking down in labored cries, even kafka does not want to be around him when he'd be experiencing all these at once. he'd curse his immortality again over and over, wishing that the universe would finally grant him his wish to die, because all he wants now is to be reunited in your arms, your hand gently stroking his hair and your voice whispering to him that you were there and you were fine. he would swear to never love again, not like how he loved you.

gepard would break down at the news. rightfully, it was unbecoming of the captain to react in such a public manner, but he did not care. you had always made sure he was taking care of himself, that he'd just condemn himself for losing the best thing that ever happened to him. he'd work thrice as hard and sink himself deeper into his duties afterwards. as you were no longer there to chastise him for overworking himself to the bone, gepard would be prone to collapsing every time he pushed himself too hard. even when serval would call him out on this self destructive behavior, he wouldn't listen. some nights, he'd swear that he, delirious and sleep deprived, sees you standing right next to him, a frown on your face as he stayed up all night to finish the documents. "don't look at me like that" he'd say, but how he would wish for you to say something to reprimand and snap him out of it.

written by carlyle (@particular-one) copyright: all content belongs to particular-one on tumblr (2023)

[fuel-me-coffee]

Taking a nap on them

Characters: Nanook, Jingyuan

Content: fluff, the reader is sleepy and so was the author when this was written, so yeah, this is not really proof-read, Nanook is doing Nanook things, there was supposed to be a Dan Heng part but I ran out of steam, I keep forgetting how to spell Jingyuan's name

Nanook

They were busy. And their hand was very toasty and warm. In the vast plane that is space that aeons occupy the loud sound of whatever world was currently being destroyed could not reach you.

And so as you sat in the palm of their hand, your eyes grew weary, with it being harder and harder with each passing moment to keep yourself awake. Soon you have succumbed to sleep, tumbling over to your side to rest on the Destruction's hand.

Soon enough the world burned away, Nanook granting it one final gaze as it went out. As the light muted, they turned their eyes to your form, finding you peacefully asleep. A curious creature you were, taking a nap in a hand of Nanook as their celestial form loomed over you, the other hand mercilessly crushing planets.

They place you on their right shoulder, the one unmarked by the numerous scattered scars. Their collarbone alone is big enough to nest you, and so they rest you there, tracing their large fingertip over your small body. A soft hum reaches their ears as you subconsciously turn in your sleep to face them.

Jing Yuan

He's the one with the most napping expertise between the two of you. However, being the general, sometimes duty (the unending stack of paperwork) calls, and he cannot avoid doing it forever, as much as the thought crosses his mind.

You initially only came over to the Seat of Divine Foresight to have a cup of afternoon tea with the general during his break. However you saw the tall stacks of papers and the miserable expression on Jingyuan's face, and felt too bad to leave the white-haired man to fight this battle on his own. You couldn't write official matters for him of course, but you could at least keep him company.

Time passed by, and the general's sleepy aura must have rubbed of on you, because you sat there with your head of his shoulder, a yawn escaping you. Jingyuan smiled sheepishly down at you, feeling bad for keeping you cooped up with him for so long: "dear, this might take a while. You do not have to keep me company if you are tired."

You reassure him that it is quite alright, and that you don't mind at all, because as Jingyuan turns back to his work, your head drops. You have the man worried for a second a moment as he glances you over, thinking you may be unwell, but breathes a sigh of relief as he realizes you are simply asleep. He carefully moves your head to his lap to prevent any more sudden falls that made his heart jump in worry, as getting a heart attack would most certainly make it quite difficult to complete the work, and then surely he wouldn't hear the end of it from Fu Xuan.

A few finches climb out of his hair and fly on top of you. Jingyuan puts a finger to his lips, gently shushing at them as they about to start chirping near your ear.

[358jours]

Dan Heng x GN!Reader⎢Under your charm

Word Count⎢2163

Genre/Tags⎢SFW, fluff, Dan heng has anxiety, first meetings, pining, written and posted before game launch⎢Crossposted on AO3

Though reserved, Dan Heng is completely in tune with his body, his emotions, and most importantly– his intuition. His instincts are what made him run from Xianzhou, what made him run from the IPC, what got him boarding the Astral Express. It kept him away from the wrong people, it’s what made him join the ones worthy of trust and he’s now in an environment that doesn’t force him to face his past. His intuition is the reason he is still alive this far, so he never doubts any of it. 

Or had, until this very moment where he’s not so sure of himself anymore.

You seem like a loving soul, so caring in every way you exist. Your soothing aura only makes the beating of his heart more erratic. That’s what he blames this odd feeling on, your kindness. 

Dan Heng has laid his eyes on plenty of beautiful partners in his life, he knows what lust entails. The way he’s drawn to you? it’s something deeper than simple attraction, something instinctual. Something that has never happened before. Something he’s scared of. 

He wishes he wasn’t on babysitting March Seventh duty so often so he could approach you and yet — even in his free time, his apprehension keeps him a distance away from you. That’s the best he can do, look at what you do, listen in on any conversation you’re having, gaze at your form, avert his eyes when your face turns in his direction. It’s a bit like dancing: one step forward, two steps back, except the steps are very very small. 

He thinks he’s slick about it but his self-doubt makes him second guess himself. He hopes nobody has noticed, and especially not you. (Though he secretly wishes you did, so you would take the leap he’s so scared of, so you would approach him. Until then he’ll keep away, waiting.)

Dan Heng stares at the charm in his hand, lost as to what to do. It’s not from a passenger, as it’s been lost in the private lobby of the Astral express. But the place is completely empty now, except for himself. It’s obvious it’s a cherished item, as seen by how used it looks. It has a bit of a weight, despite being made of fabric. He’s dubious on who would own such a keychain however. It doesn’t seem like something March would own, neither Welt, nor Himeko…

His mind halts when he realizes it’s probably yours. 

What should he do? Leave it here? He’s not too sure about which places are considered ‘yours’, where would only you find it. March is a troublesome girl, if she found out anything the whole Astral Express would know of it by the end of the day. Himeko is a perceptive woman, if she had any idea of his inner turmoil about you, she would probably chastise him about it. Welt is a bit more respectful, giving it to him would have lesser consequences unless you asked who found it back…

“Dan Heng, you’re here!” The boy closes his fist at the sound of March Seventh’s voice. Defeated by the circumstances, he pockets the charm. The girl grabs his arm, full of energy as always. “Come on, Himeko called for us in the control room.”

He’ll deal with the keychain later, if he doesn’t forget about it.

He forgets about it. Well, not completely at least. His subconscious reminds him of it when he can’t sleep at night, when all his worries come for his throat. Otherwise, it doesn’t cross his mind unless you’re in the same room as him, which isn’t too often. Whenever that happens, you’re usually busy with someone else, occupied with your phone or the time simply isn’t right (read: he didn’t have the courage to approach.). He carries the charm with him most of the time, unless he’s out of the Express. 

He blames it on being occupied, on not being sure it’s yours. Of course, fate has other plans.

Dan Heng follows March Seventh into the private lobby of the Astral Express. He’s a bit tired, his step quieter than the pitter patter of his companion. “We’re back! Everything went well we got– what’s wrong?” 

Three ‘welcome back’ rings out in response. Welt and Himeko are, as usual, sipping tea as they sit facing each other. What caught their attention is you– who’s under a table searching for something. You shift around to look at them. “Ah, the strap of my phone charm broke earlier and I don’t know where the keychain ended up. I’m hoping it’s somewhere here, but I can’t find it.” 

“Oh no! I’ll help you find it!” March jumps out to join you. 

“Really? You don’t have to, but thank you. We will definitely get it back if there’s two of us. You’re kinder than the elders.” 

Himeko snorts at the jab. “Think about our poor old backs. Besides, we have to finish our tea while it’s still warm.” Welt smiles as you laugh. 

Dan Heng averts his eyes. Of course it’s yours, of course. He should’ve known better, that right at the perfect opportunity to give it back to you, he doesn’t have it on himself. March will definitely talk about the mission in high detail, there’s no need for him here. He sighs quietly, opting to go back to his bedroom.

The next time he’s out of the Express, he’s accompanied by you and March. It’s a simple errand run, nothing as strenuous as some other missions. He’s not really needed but Welt insisted, “You’re more perceptive than March, it’s simply so she doesn’t get in trouble.”

Said girl has her arm linked with yours as she blabbers endlessly. You don’t mind, commenting here and then to show you’re listening. Dan Heng keeps to himself trailing behind you both, simply making sure you’re going the right way. 

Despite the anxiety of running into someone from his past, he’s content being present. He could count the times you were out of the Express on a single hand, and never with him. It’s nice to see you out, how you react outside, how you interact with March, what shops and items catch your attention. You’re relaxed in the way you walk, and— Dan looks up to the sky. He’s only a man after all.

“We better find you a new charm before we get back!” March exclaimed. The boy curses under his breath, ‘not this damn charm again…’ He left it in his bedroom this time.

“But why? There’s no need if it doesn’t mean anything special.” Your face expresses your confusion. 

The girl shakes your form with all her strength, faking anger. “Aw come on, don’t you buy things just because you like them? Take it as a gift from me, that’s special enough. Besides, you seemed really bummed out about losing your old one.” 

You only chuckle awkwardly but Dan is sensitive to your unease. You’re kind, and you enjoy caring for others but it seems you dislike when someone helps you in return. He sighs when he feels his heart warming up. “March, you need to stop making people uncomfortable. That charm held a lot of dear memories, replacing it with a new one just like that won’t cut it.”

You both turn around, surprise on your faces (he wonders, did you forget about his presence?). The girl’s gaping mouth turned into a pout. She protested, but all went from one ear to the other when he saw your smile. You nod in gratefulness, your eyes softening. His lips curl up ever so slightly. 

March’s voice shakes him awake, he’s forced to look away. “Hey come on, are you listening to me!? You’ve been so quiet this far, somehow quieter than usual!” 

“You’re so loud, it’s hard not to. Besides, you talk enough for the both of us.”

As she lets out an astronomically comical gasp, your laugh rings out.

He makes his way out of the lobby, toward his bedroom. The Express won’t arrive at its next destination anytime soon. It means he gets some time for himself, to think, and to decompress. 

He reminisces about his past, what he has accomplished since he got on the express, where he would go if he had to leave again. He ponders about his companion… It’s been a while since he last saw you. The weight of your charm is almost none in his pocket, but it’s still there. It’s probably better to give up at this point. 

He should think about something else.

His steps are quiet as he walks through the train. The cabins to his right look all the same: classic green seats, light brown and black walls, dark gray floor, completely empty. One, two, three, four, five, six cabins per wagon. He opens the door connecting to the next car, and goes in. One, two, three, four, and— he stops. 

This cabin door is open. He didn’t expect for you to be there. Seems like thinking about the wolf got him seeing the real one. You’re reading a book, sitting sideways with your back against the window. Your current outfit is more casual (and probably comfortable) than what he usually sees you in, but it fits you just as good. 

You turn the page, look up, then back to your page and— you do a double take when you notice him at the door. You’re a bit surprised, but your smile tells him it’s not the bad kind. “Dan Heng, hello! Please don’t simply stand there, come sit down. How are you, is there anything I can do for you?”

“Hello. I’m fine, what about you?” His steps are just the slightest bit uncertain, smaller than his usual walk. He comes to sit down on the opposite couch. 

“Really? You seem a bit tired though, are you sure you’re getting enough rest?” There’s something in your smirk, as if you know what he does not. Your eyes have a glint of mischief in them, and he wonders if you see right through him. 

He avoids your stare, opting to close his eyes for a moment. “Nothing a couple nights cannot fix.” 

“Hm.” You look at him a bit longer, your expression relaxing. Your head turns sideways, akin to a dog. A moment passes, until you shift back to continue your book. “If you have trouble sleeping, I have medicine and concoctions from Xianzhou that are rather effective. Don’t be a stranger, I’ll give you some whenever you ask.”

Dan Heng doesn’t answer. All people aboard the Astral Express are kind, but your kindness is not something he’s used to. Your care seems so familiar, something he hasn’t felt in a long time. He stopped getting too close to those generous-types, sheltering himself was a matter of survival. But you’re a part of this crew for a reason, he reasons. 

And suddenly, he’s not too sure of himself. He’s lost on what to talk about. He really would like to rest, get back to his room, but he doesn’t get up. His instincts scream at him to stay with you longer, and leaving now would be pretty awkward. The air is slightly stuffy between you two, or perhaps it’s just him given how deep in your book you are.

His hand goes into his pocket, grasping at the cause of all of this. The weight of the charm is almost none in his hand, but the weight of what it implies sparks up his anxiety. “Excuse me,” You look up at him curiously. He slowly extends his hand toward you. “Is this… yours?”

“My charm! You found it back!” The happiness on your face is something he doesn’t get to see often. Your grin, the light in your eyes, the way your attention is on him, it’s all a bit much. Your hands touch his to grasp the keychain. There’s sparkles on your face as you inspect it. “Thank you so much. You’re really a reliable person, Dan Heng.” 

“It’s nothing.” His hand scratches at the back of his neck, ears blushing at the compliment. All the pressure on his shoulders evaporates, perhaps it was all him from the very start. You’re easier to approach than what his apprehensions told him, always returning each gesture no matter how small. Your consideration of others is a virtue he has always liked about you. He was wrong to count himself out because of his past, you’re ignorant of who he used to be.

He exhales, his first attempt at a conversation starter. “That keychain seems to mean a lot to you.” 

“You noticed? This lil’ guy’s got quite the story.” You look at him kindly.

 And as you start explaining why that charm is so special to you, as he listens to it all, Dan Heng realizes it was wrong of him to dub you as a stranger. You were more than that since the very start. 

[qqueenofhades]

I love your essays; they are fascinating. Thank you for sharing your perspective! I have a follow up question, if you have the time or energy: in your last, you said, “It's a blueprint for a tiny group of extreme right-wing theocrats and fascists to get their way regardless of what the broader public says about it…”. Who ARE the tiny group of extreme right wing theocrats and fascists? Is it the politicians whom we see all over the news, like Vance and Boebert ands Haley and DeSantis? Or are they puppets whose strings are being pulled by donors behind the scenes, like…I don’t know, the Koch brothers and the Uleins (sp?)? I feel like whoever it is must have mind boggling amounts of money, to overcome the sheer number of people who don’t think like that, even people nominally republican who believe in traditional low taxes and small government, but are not completely bananapants. Or maybe that’s why they tagged trump, bc no one before him was willing to act like enough of an outright gangster to seriously move the needle…? How much more rich than disgustingly rich do they need to be?

Perhaps surprisingly, it's fairly easy to identify the Hall of Shame who are busily trying to end American democracy, not least because they have become increasingly open about it. Their motives are diverse but all terrible. The quick rundown is as follows:

First, the alt-right billionaires club such as Peter Thiel, Elon Musk, Harlan Crow, and Leonard Leo (the last two are some of the chief funnelers of dark money to SCOTUS; Crow is Clarence Thomas's sugar daddy). They have reasons ranging from grandiose delusions about "remaking" the world in their preferred image (not at all terrifying) to attaching themselves to fascist politics in order to defeat workers' rights and labor unions, who they view as a threat to their mega-wealth. Thiel is the primary sponsor of JD Vance and the alt-right cryptobros clubs that draw the young right-wing white men who also primarily form the membership of neo-Nazi and white nationalist groups. They want to end democracy in order to punish women, minorities, LGBTQ+ people, and anyone else who Nazis always hate. Crow and Leo have lavishly funded the corrupt SCOTUS in order to influence their preferred right-wing rulings, and there are undoubtedly more who we don't even know about. This is just the tip of the iceberg and I have no doubt that it's far, far worse than anything that has been publicly reported.

Next are the extremist right-wing interest groups that have cohered around and advocated for Project 2025, which is basically just the conservative-extremist wet dream put in one place and written down. They include the Heritage Foundation (the primary Project 2025 author) the Federalist Society and the John Birch Society of right-wing judges and policymakers, and Opus Dei, the secretive Catholic right-wing influence group who are straight out of a Dan Brown novel but are in fact some of the most consequential and powerful players in MAGA World. Their name means "work of God" in Latin, which is very much what they see themselves as doing, and their reach in DC is vast, particularly in the far-right evangelical and fundamentalist Christian groups that have attached themselves to Trump as a vehicle to push through their regressive-reactionary social and cultural politics, especially on abortion, women's rights, LGBTQ+ rights, and other things that they view as "unholy." These are the diehard true believers who really, truly think that it's better for the US to be a fascist theocracy espousing "Right and Moral" religious views than a flawed, pluralist, and secular democracy. Hard Yikes.

Thirdly we have the useful idiots, such as Vance, Ron DeSantis, Boebert, Greene, basically pick-a-Republican-politician-here, who are pursuing fascist politics out of careerism, opportunism, some amount of genuine belief, and exploiting the age-old fissures of American racism, nativism, xenophobia, and other original sins that have dogged the country since its founding. Of course, Trump himself is chief among these useful idiots, because he's completely willing to end American democracy and install himself as Dictator-for-Life if it exempts him from having to face the consequences for all the crimes he did last time (and frankly, his entire life, which is now catching up with him). I don't think Trump has an actual consistent or coherent policy bone in his body; witness how quickly he was willing to flip-flop on the Florida abortion issue depending on what he thought was useful (and then after the backlash he received from his base). He's a malignant narcissistic sociopath who is incapable of complex reasoning and long-term planning. His only and overriding interest is himself, he will do absolutely whatever he has to in order to save himself, and as long as he has his death grip on the GOP, everyone who wants to succeed in the party or even have a future in it has to slavishly kiss Don Corleone Trump's ring. That is why many lifelong Republicans have been breaking ranks to say they will vote for Harris, because "being a Republican's" one and only qualification is now "being utterly loyal to Trump." That's it.

These are all actors based more or less in the US, but we also can't forget the fact that basically the entire Republican Party is in deep, deep hock to Vladimir Putin and other foreign autocrats (but most especially and dangerously Putin). We just had the DOJ indictment of MAGA influencers who were taking Russian black cash by the bucketload in order to spread damaging lies about Biden/Harris and pump for Trump, and this is consistent with Russia's pattern of extensive interference in American elections going back to at least 2016. It is hard to overstate how much Putin hankers to end American democracy for many reasons. He is a former KGB agent trained in the black-and-white us-and-them logic of the Cold War where the US was the USSR's archenemy, his constant mourning for the USSR's collapse has been well documented, and it would be the absolute defining and singular achievement of all of post-imperial Russian history for Putin to effectively end American democracy with a second Trump term.

This is for the simple reason that Trump is utterly in thrall to Putin and will do whatever he asks, whether it's cutting off aid to Ukraine and forcing them to accept annexation by Russia, pulling America out of NATO and letting Putin set his invasion sights on Poland and the Baltic states, and anything else. That is genuinely terrifying but very likely if Trump was re-elected, aside from the end of American democracy and the worldwide ramifications it would have to empower fascist authoritarians everywhere. Putin is trying to achieve this through a combination of good old-fashioned Soviet-style dezinformatsiya, paying off MAGA influencers, putting the entire resources of the Russian state into defaming Harris-Walz, and recruiting useful idiots like his asset Jill Stein, who has extensive Russian ties and only pops up every four years for idiot leftists to spoil their vote and ruin Democratic electoral prospects. So. Again. Hard yikes.

So that's the quick rundown of the people who are vested in Trump and Project 2025's success and why, and as you can see, while they're all different, they're all terrible. But yes: that really is a very, very small group of people, relatively speaking. And a vote for anyone except Kamala Harris and Tim Walz is a vote to empower them and also to ensure that you will never have the chance to vote again, due to living in an authoritarian fascist regime. Choose wisely.

[giamee]

𝐂𝐈𝐆𝐀𝐑���𝐓𝐓𝐄𝐒 𝐎𝐔𝐓 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐖𝐈𝐍𝐃𝐎𝐖!

╭─────────────────────── ( 🎐 )

even though you don't talk, they'll still find a way to listen

› 〉 📂 .ೃ | mute reader, jus some fluff really, bit on the short side

requested by @/anon

╰─➤ 💌 ₍₁₎ ok i should nawtttt have used this colour scheme im squinting like a rat at my screen tryna see what i'm saying. the title is 'cigarettes out the window' (shoutout tv girl) if u couldnt read it which i do not hold against u

ᯓ ᡣ𐭩 GEPARD.

it's simply in his nature to look out for others, to ensure that everyone is alright. and when he meets you, he's thrown for a loop a little. because you are fine.

the first time he sees you is in serval's workshop- you're just leaving, and something compels him to make sure that he speaks to you, even if it's for a few fleeting moments before you leave and he most likely never sees you again.

it's a simple question of how your day is, but you simply offer him a small smile before ducking past him, scurrying out of the door that he held open.

he's puzzled at first- maybe it's something to do with him? did you not want to talk to him? but then his sister explains that you're mute, and now he feels like a fool.

and thus begins his attempts to talk to you.

he writes you little notes to begin with. luckily for him, you're a regular at serval's shop, always seemingly having some device or another broken and in need of repairing. serval rolls her eyes at the pair of you- at gepard for being an idiot (you can still hear, you don't need notes), and at you for your attempts to run into her brother as often as possible (those machines weren't really broken).

despite this, it was somewhat amusing to watch the pair of you attempt to flirt with each other. and somewhat cute when your attempts worked.

you kept each and every one of gepard's notes to you, as redundant as they were. his handwriting was a little scruffy, and if you looked at them hard enough you could spot the little tremors where he tried to make the lettering neat.

a special treat was when he decided to add little doodles to them. it was anyone's guess as to what they were supposed to be- you were pretty sure that one of them was supposed to be you- and your heart warmed amidst the chicken scratch and stick figures.

you decide to write your own note back to him. in the top right corner is a little sketch of him, on a similar level to his own creations, that you hope he'll appreciate alongside the note.

you give it to him along with your best smile, mentally capturing the look of joy on gepard's fave at your little gift to him. you were gone by then, shyness overtaking your urge to stay, so you could only imagined his face when he realised that what you had written to him was a formal request to take him out on a date.

ᯓ ᡣ𐭩 DAN HENG.

for dan heng to open up to someone new, several criteria have to be met.

for starters, he had to be at least a little bit comfortable around you. receptive, but not too probing or overbearing. rational, but not judgmental. open, but not too much.

in many ways, he was like a cat. you had to let him come to you.

and luckily for you, you seemed to fulfil those criteria.

as one of the newest additions to the astral express, you were in some sort of in-between phase of being one of them and a stranger. you communicated in your own ways, but you found yourself withdrawing to your room. it was overwhelming, this new environment.

it was only natural that you felt more drawn to dan heng more than anyone else. he had similar qualities to you- more introverted, tended to keep to himself. and, as you later found out, you both had a tendency to burn the midnight oil.

it became almost routine to run into him when you're both up late, wandering the astral express for some peace of mind. brief encounters with little nods sent your direction gradually evolved into longer moments spent basking in each other's presence, mostly in silence. but not always.

you both had your reasons to be up late- on the nights where dan heng looked more frazzled, a certain look in his eye, is when you began to piece him together.

he'd lend you some information of his own volition occasionally, telling you about the nightmare he had, recurring or not. there was just this certain quality to you, a look in your eye that made him feel like you truly did listen to him.

and he wouldn't trade your late-night rendevous for the world.

𝜗𝜚 honkai star rail masterlist

[mono-dot-jpeg]

too aware - express crew

summary; a self aware kid walks into the express and.. they shock the crew more than a stellaron.

genre/extra tags; headcanons, fluff, slight comedy, the child is aware, the child traumatizes the crew more than anything else /j, they have seen it all, reader is implied to be a vidyadhara

[platonic] [6-7 years old! reader] [gender neutral! reader]

a/n; i have,,, no idea if i'll be writing this correctly at all. honestly it's really reminding me of being really self aware, which i kind of relate to KSDJKSJD, so there will be some of that mostly. i've never really written a character like this. but i hope you enjoy.

also possible spoilers for those who havent reached the xianzhou quests yet. sorry.

what can i even say to start...

let's just say you're a kind of new to the express, you were part of the luofu or at least training to be part of the cloud knights

despite being such an old self-reincarnating species, sometimes you just wanted to start from the beginning, have an empty and open mind to enjoy your curiosities.

you would argue that you were the most cheerful vidyadhara out of the comrades you knew for centuries

but some people knew better

you were sweet, don't get it twisted but when the express crew met you for the first time

let me rephrase, when dan heng and welt met you for the first time .. .

"you... know a lot, don't you?"

you whispered to dan heng

you probably just scared the shit out of him so unintentionally.

you totally know who dan heng really is

you're just as old as he is, maybe a bit younger but you're not stupid

and then you look to welt, and you end up introducing yourself with a cute smile on your face as if you didn't look through dan heng's soul 10 secs ago

dan heng felt whiplash as he watches you talk to welt

welt is concerned for you. he knows that look in your eyes, when you know so much, when you're so aware of yourself and everything but you're so happy

"you must be a smart kid.." welt says softly. "do you know a lot as well?"

"i do."

it's a really interesting relationship that kind of develops as father figure and kid.

you connect to himeko and welt very easily with your experiences

you know a lot and you've experienced a lot, you eventually confess to being of the limited species of the xianzhou, vidyadhara

and you're happily proud of it. you're comfortable as to who you are.

with the trio on the other hand, you're really curious about march and trailblazer the most due to their origins

and they gladly indulged you.

"please tell me more about you!" you would tell them and inquire about them quite a bit

dan heng and you had confusing relations, you knew him from the past and he knew you

and you seemed the same despite your physical age

and dan heng.. you wish you knew more about him

so you end up being curious about him

and as expected, you two are the closest to each other

you're sweet to everyone despite the hardships you faced and you always look at the world with realism and yet you find a way to appreciate the good and bad

while everyone is concerned about how self aware and aware of the world you are as young as you are, you carved a place in their hearts and you never fail to surprise them with your outlooks on everything around you.

[drunkenlionwrites]

hi! i love Sampo and saw you write for him, but you can do this with whoever you feel comfortable writing for (i wouldnt mind seeing it for the other characters you listed!)

but what do you think their thoughts on pegging/being pegged is like? or maybe who's most-to-least open to trying it? ^-^ (no preference for the type of reader also!)

Hmmm nonnie. That’s such a nice prompt! I really like it! I’ll write for all of 3 boys I have written for so far. From most-to-least open to try it. 💖

HSR boys (Sampo, Gepard and Dan Heng) pegging headcanons Warnings: smut, pegging obv, g/n reader, no reader body parts mentioned

Sampo

I don’t even know if it’s worth commenting about. Sampo’s the guy who is open to everything. His credo is “don’t refuse until you’ve tried”. So, you don’t even need any convincing to do. Just bring the topic up, and he’ll agree after 3 seconds of thinking about it.

I’m also sure that pegging is something he’d really enjoy and will bring it up a lot, asking you to peg him or at least finger fuck him.

If you’re having sex at home or in hotel – he’s shameless. Will moan and beg for more, while he strokes his cock for even more stimulation.

He likes it the most with you on top, pushing his knees up to his chest, and thrusting inside him with strap while sliding between his legs and grabbing the back of his thighs. This way you can also see his fucked-out eyes and the way he unashamedly pants and moans while opening his mouth prettily.  

Sampo will also be into you finger-fucking his ass or using a toy on him when you suck him out. Though he’ll cum much faster if you do that, so if you want to tease more it’ll be too much for him.

Gepard

Yeah, the shy and uptight noble boy can also be persuaded to be pegged, though not nearly so easily as Sampo.

The first time you mention it, there’s a big possibility that Gepard doesn’t even know what ‘pegging’ is, so you’ll need to explain it to him, watching as his face becomes more and more flushed as he gets flustered.

He’ll refuse the idea in the beginning, but there’s a beg chance that he can think back to the idea at some point.

I headcanon that Gepard is a subby guy or at least a switch, so during one of the passionate lovemaking sessions with you in charge he’ll ask you, shyly, if you still want to try ‘the thing’ you talked about some time ago, having some difficulties naming what ‘the thing’ was.

Once you understand what he means, you’ll chuckle at him and will promise to try it some other time so that you can prepare him properly.

I also believe that during the first time Gepard will be too flustered to face you, so the position with him facing away, like doggy or jockey would be best, so he can save some dignity not outright showing his red and blissed out face.

He may ask for you to peg him from time to time since that, and I’ll believe he will become more confident in himself with time to open up to you more.

Dan Heng

The less likely to agree to pegging is for sure Dan Heng. He’s more on the vanilla + dom side, so I don’t really think it’s something he’ll be interested in

He’s the one to look at you with straight face and just say ‘no’ 😭

I’m not saying it’s completely impossible, but not highly likely. I’m sure that you and High Elder of the Luofu can do a lot of other kinky stuff in bedroom.

[elderwisp]

◁ || ▷

Dan: Alright, no more sulking.

Frances: [ whines ] But it’s fun.

Dan: That’s a fucking lie.

Frances: Let me rot! I’m not bothering anyone!

Dan: Dude, you haven’t left the couch! I’m surprised you two haven’t merged into one.

Frances: Being a couch would be nice.

Dan: So did you get fired? 

Frances: I took some time off. I needed to finish up some projects for school.

Dan: What projects ‘cuz you literally have done nothing. No offense.

Frances: [ whimpers ] Am I useless?

Dan: NO! God no. I’m just a bit concerned. Scoot.

Frances: I did something.

Dan: You can tell me whenever you’re ready.

Frances: GOD IT’S SO EMBARRASSING!!!

Dan: Plenty of people do weird things.

Frances: [ blurts ] I kissed him!

Dan: Christ. What the fuck?

Frances: YOU SAID PLENTY OF PEOPLE DO WEIRD THINGS!

Dan: Yeah but this takes the cake. [ pauses and thinks ] Actually no, you and Atlas might be at a tie.

Frances: What did he do now?

Dan: He tried to kiss Taryn.

Frances: ha-HAH!

Dan: I feel so bad laughing-

Frances: But it IS kind of funny. I’m guessing it ended badly?

Dan: Sort of, Atlas needs to figure some things out. He’s got to earn it, you know?

Frances: Maybe working towards something meaningful will set him straight. Better than worrying about Toni.

Dan: Hopefully. What about you? Now why did you kiss your boss?

Frances: [ groans ] Stop saying it like that. Icarus, his name is Icarus.

Dan: Icarus can kiss-arus my ass. 

Frances: PFFT-

Dan: Seriously. Like what elderly man preys on the young and beautiful?

Frances: Dan he isn’t like a decrepit old fart.

Dan: Hmph, still.

Frances: He’s really… Pretty to look at. Like plays could be written about him and I’d read every single word.

Dan: SIMP!

Frances: I’m not denying it. I just misread things, that’s all. I mistook his kindness for something more because… Well… 

Dan: You wanted it to be true.

Frances: Yeah. A girl can dream I guess.

Dan: At least he didn’t take advantage of you. Otherwise, I’d have to kill him.

Frances: [ giggles ] Murder on your mind.

Dan: So I was thinking… What if we threw a house-warming party?

Frances: Ah yes so our new neighbors can hate us.

Dan: Not even! It’ll be a small get together. You invite your friends, I invite mine.

Frances: What if we just had a small thing with Kai and Atlas- Kai, I mean. 

Dan: You guys should really smooth things over soon.

Frances: Maybe. One crisis at a time.

Dan: Hmph. Sooo? Party?

Frances: Fine, but like ten people max. 

Dan: Totally! [ phone beeps ] Awh Luis texted me. He said.. I smell like old beans and that my room is comfy- What a little shit.

Frances: I’m assuming he misses you.

Dan: In his own weird little ways. I told my dad not to get him a phone.

Frances: Speaking of which, have you called your dad back?

Dan: Ah… One crisis at a time, right?

Frances: God dammit, Dan- YOUR FACE! That’s not what I meant.

Dan: MMM, you said it though. 

Frances: Bastard.

Dan: The one and only!

[hami-gua]

子(Zi)衿(Jin) · His Collar

This fic came as inspo after listening to 相和歌 where they took the poem written by 郑风 and turned it into a song and dance. Honestly it could fit any hsr men but because the poem talks specifically about a green (more turquoise like green) collar and I thought the only character that would have that kind of collar would be Dan Heng. I would describe this poem as a poem of longing (cuz it actually is lol).

Dan Heng (implied imbibitor lunae) x Reader (female as per the poem)

Warning: Chinese (translated), shit translation, not reviewed, spelling errors and grammatical errors (idk so I just put here in case), attempt on classic poetry was made, redundant use of certain words.

Contains: Fluff, mild hurt/comfort

青青子衿(Qīngqīng zi jīn)，悠悠我心(yōuyōu wǒ xīn)。      [The green on his collar, my heart longs for.]

纵我不往(Zòng wǒ bù wǎng)，子宁不嗣音(zi níng bù sì yīn？)？  [If I never go (to him), will he not send a message?]

青青子佩(Qīngqīng zi pèi)，悠悠我思(yōuyōu wǒ sī )。      [The green that he wears, my thoughts linger to.]

纵我不往(Zòng wǒ bù wǎng)，子宁不来( zi níng bù lái)？     [If I never go, would he come to me?]

挑兮达兮(Tiāo xī dá xī)，在城阙兮(zài chéngquē xī)         [I wait and wait, by the city gate.]

一日不见(Yī rì bùjiàn)，如三月兮(rú sān yuè xī)。      [Days pass without a sight of him, as three months have passed.]

How long has it been since his departure? The lady could only wonder. The turquoise green of his collar glow as his robes woven of silk glimmer under sunlight. His voice, a gentle lull, always putting those who hear it at ease. His touch is gentle and careful but held with steadiness. A steadiness she longs for. The bells let out a low hum, breaking the lady out of her stupor.

         It’s been days since he last sent a letter. She wonders if he intends to send another, or if her letter has been lost along the way. The lady wonders if she should go to him, lest he doesn’t want to see her. Not yet at least. But she could only hope – that he misses her as much as she misses him.

         The turquoise green of his collar brightens against the long dark strands of his hair. The lady feels as if the man her mind flits off to have currently been busy. Endless worry floats about in her mind: wondering if he ate, if he slept, or if he’s been taking breaks. She hopes that all are going in his favor – for war is not so easily won nor so easily fought.

         Each day, the lady passes by the tops of the city’s gate. Stopping right above the doors to gaze out over the horizon, as if looking for a figure among many to arrive at the gate. But alas, each day was met with nothing but the land as the sun arches over the mountains and peaks between the valleys. And like that, three months have passed with no news of the war or the man.

         On the eighth day of the fourth month, the sound of galloping startled the civilians as many rushed to supposed safety. Until all was calmed when a voice from the guards cried out, “They have returned!” And upon hearing those words, the people cheered with jubilation – relieved at the thought of their loved ones returning. The lady stood there very still, trying to gather the information that was given. It wasn’t until her maid spoke did she finally realize what has happened.

         A proud and steady figure with turquoise green collar entered through the gates first, leading the rest of the soldiers. Cheers and cries broke out around him as he allowed his men to join their loved ones. His turquoise green eyes darted from one face to another, trying to find the one he loves. And at last, with a call of his name did he find the one he sought.

         “Dan Heng!”

He turned, only to see his love with her maid chasing her – begging her to slow down. Dan Heng only had a second to brace as the lady crashed right into him, with her arms embracing him tightly.

         “你回来了！你回来了！你终于回来了！” [You’re back! You’re back! You’re finally back!]

He smiled as he softly stroked her head, “嗯，我回来了。” [Mhm. I’m back.]

         The lady looked up at him, tears brimming her eyes. Dan Heng’s hand reached up and gently brushed those tears away as more fell. Unbothered, he brushed more away as the lady giggled. That prompted him to also giggle a little. With a kiss to her head and a gentle voice, he told her:

         “我们回家吧。” [Let’s go home.]

After writing I realized the kind of green 青 means. It's the kind of greenish blue you would see on oxidized bronze. I wonder if bronze is called 青铜 because of the oxidization.

[about-faces]

I'm still loving Gotham Nocturne and I wish it was getting the love/respect/attention is deserves. I've spoken several people who haven't been reading the current Detective Comics run because they're Batmanned Out (good lord, do I get it) and they see it as just another attempt at some kind of "ultimate Batman story with Batman fighting the ultimate evil," which I strongly disagree with.

THAT SAID... as time has gone on, and the story seems to be reaching its finale, there are a few things that stand out of me as problems with this epic storyline.

1.) It's one of the most egregious examples of "writing for the trade paperback." This simply isn't a story that's meant to be read month-to-month. It's too slow, with too little "happening," at least on the superficial level. Paradoxically, it's NOT a story that should be binged! The best comparison that comes to mind is Better Call Saul, since that's the only other example of serialized media that's meticulously slow-paced yet INCREDIBLY RICH for those willing to engage with it on its level rather than expecting it to be Breaking Bad (or in Nocturne's case, a typical Batman story.) Ram V is capable of writing super-engaging monthly issues, as the fantastic Rare Flavours proves, but that brings us to...

2.) The story is sprawling. Maybe even TOO sprawling. When it comes to people who are sick of Batman, I try to sell them on the fact that this story is about GOTHAM AS A WHOLE, right down to the villains who call it home, and how everyone there is as intrinsically a part of Gotham as Batman is. But ensemble stories like that are tricky, and it makes the focus feel all over the place at times, with alternately too much and too little attention being paid to the main players, Batman included. It's a balance that was handled beautifully with Batman: The Audio Adventures, but it seems a bit more awkward here. Again, it's hard to pull off!

Like, we have characters pop up and then vanishing without explanation. We got Azrael back in the AzBats armor for the first time in decades, like, holy shit! That should be a HUGE development! And then, poof, he vanished! There's simply no time to explore Jean-Paul's character because there's so many other things the narrative needs to explore.

This feels like it would have really benefited from a companion series, something to focus on the characters the way the backup stories have done, but just more so. I think about how Peter Tomasi would write companion books to the main big storylines written by Geoff Johns, Grant Morrison, and Scott Snyder, and how he'd focus on character, which always enriched the greater "big important storyline." Which, in turn, also brings me to...

3.) The backup stories have really lost a lot of their punch since they stopped being written by Si Spurrier and were taken over by Dan Watters. Watters is incredibly capable, make no mistake, and his Cheshire/Lian Harper story is one of my favorite parts of this entire saga. But by and large, his tales focus more on the spooky and weird sides of what's happening with Nocturne, whereas Spurrier's stories were more focused on characters navigating the weirdness of the events. As a result, Spurrier gave us what I consider to be some of the very best stories about Jim Gordon, Harvey Dent, and Victor Fries ever written. I really miss those, and how they enriched Ram V's (possibly overly-ambitious) narrative.

Ultimately, Gotham Nocturne feels like the Batman equivalent to an arthouse film, which means it's going to be appreciated by a handful of nerds while leaving most other fans cold, and I can't really blame them. If anything makes me sad about all this, it's how all this incredible character work with Bruce, Harvey, Victor, Talia, and others is going to be ignored. Hell, it already is, given the complete lack of acknowledgement we've seen in other Bat-books for what's going on in Nocturne.

At this point, I just hope it sticks the landing in the finale, because I want to be able to have a complete, satisfying epic to recommend to people who want something a bit richer than the typical "guy in Bat costume punches clown" stories we usually get.

[zinphandel]

Art Angels- Grimes

greetings phannie nation! we are BACK with another dan howell favourite albums 2015 review and today we are listening to art angels by grimes!

Initial thoughts?

Super excited to get into this one! i’m a massive grimes fan (she’s a fucking weirdo like but u can’t deny the music is beyond fantastic)

Is this a first time full album listen through?

No, however I haven’t done a full art angels listen through in a long time. can’t wait to relisten, it’s such a fun album!!

Listen through:

• the album opens in SUCH a strong way. it sets you up so well for what is yet to come

•TO ME,… this is perfect pop music. weird and experimental but still has all the hallmarks of traditional pop music. the production on this album is pure pop perfection

• it feels like a love letter to 90s bubblegum pop turned on its head and revamped for the 2010s

• This is such an interesting album as it’s pretty much produced and engineered solely by grimes. it takes so many elements of music and fuses them together in a fucking cool and unique way

• this album makes me wanna dance it makes me wanna shake my ass and laugh and have fun

• it also reminds me just how good pop music is. people look down on it as an art form so unfairly, and i think this album is fab reminder of just how amazing it can be

• grimes is so bizarre and talented it’s such a shame she turned out Like That (being with that awful man lol)

•kill v. maim (the highlight of the album for me) is SO strange because it was written from the perspective of al pacino in The Godfather: Part ||, except he’s a vampire who can switch vampires and travel through space. next time you listen to this song please listen with that in minds its SO fun

• grimes is a visionary talent!!!!!! she literally used to be the coolest person ever

• ugh. i forgot just how good this album is. it sounds just as fresh and relevant as it did nearly 10 years ago when it was released

• janelle monae feature 😍😍😍

• this album is pure glorious pop perfection

Favourite song(s)?

kill v. maim, venus fly, butterfly

Least favourite song?

easily

Would I listen again?

absolutely!!! its been a while since i listened to this album and i can’t wait to add it back into my rotation. i still think i prefer visions and miss anthropocene (rave edition) over art angels but fuckkkkkkk what perfect pop music this is.

Do i recommend?

1000000% definitely give this is a listen, even if you HATE pop music, I promise this will change your mind, it’s that good.

What would I rank it out of 10?

8.5/10

ugh! what a beautiful album. great choice dan! see you tomorrow for the final album of 2015!!!! (never fear, i will also be doing alllllll the albums from 2016,17,18 and 19 soooo unfortunately you will have to put up with these for a while longer! <3

read my other reviews from 2015

[astoundingbeyondbelief]

Kaiju Week in Review (November 26-December 2, 2023)

I wasn't over the moon when Toho announced that Takashi Yamazaki's Blockbuster Monster Movie was in fact the next Godzilla film. I had seen a few of his works—none bad, but none spectacular either. Well, I've set my sights on watching the rest in the new year, because Godzilla Minus One is an unqualified masterpiece. A tagline from the original Godzilla, King of the Monsters! comes to mind (as it often does when you're me): "Mightiest melodrama of them all!" A lot of the post-Showa films suffer from an abundance of characters who just spout exposition and look at monitors; here, almost everyone in the small cast gets at least one close encounter with Godzilla, and the monster's backstory is conveyed with extreme efficiency. This tale of a war veteran trying to rebuild his life in the ruins of Tokyo, stumbling into a family, finding fulfillment in blowing up leftover mines, and haunted by what he perceives as his cowardice in combat, would have been plenty compelling without Godzilla.

Since it does have Godzilla, it's high on my list of the best movies of the year, and I only need one viewing to call it one of the best installments in the almost-70-year-old series. Yamazaki patiently waited some 15 years after Always: Sunset on Third Street 2 for his shot at a Godzilla feature. You certainly get the sense, watching one of the most brutal, pissed-off incarnations of the monster ever to grace the screen, that he spent every day of it in preparation. Watch it often while it's still in theaters, and watch it big.

Godzilla Minus One will gross about $10 million in its U.S. opening "weekend", a third-place finish that beat expectations. For context, Godzilla 2000, the last Toho Godzilla film to receive a wide release here, made about $10 million during its entire theatrical run here. Ticket prices were cheaper then, of course, and Minus One was helped along further by almost half of attendees going to premium-format screenings. Conversely, it had to overcome Americans' subtitle phobia, and the first weekend of December is usually a slow one. I was pessimistic at the outset, but now I expect larger theaters to carry the film into the new year, especially with near-universal raves from critics and audiences.

Yes, a third section for Godzilla Minus One; it's well-deserved, I promise. MyKaiju is risking life and limb by hosting an English translation of the film's novelization, written by Takashi Yamazaki himself. It appears to be at least partially machine-translated, but the Japanese text is included for comparison. Haven't read it yet, as I want to see the film a second time first, but quite a breakthrough given how mysterious this sort of thing usually is.

Monarch: Legacy of Monsters could never hope to compare with the opening of a stellar new Godzilla film; unfortunately, I also thought this week's episode was the weakest so far. It's bookended by Frost-Vark action, but the rest just drags. All's forgiven if the teacher and the hacker smooch though.

Toho and Legendary used to let each other's live-action Godzilla movies breathe; now the U.S. opening weekend of one is coinciding with the opening marketing push of the other. IGN released a trio of pics from Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, showing Kong with his axe; Dr. Andrews, Jia, and Trapper (Dan Stevens's character) in uniform; and Godzilla "evolving into a powerful new form." The same article included an interview with director Adam Wingard. Naturally, he didn't give away much... besides the return of Doug.

Earlier in the week, Legendary put out a trio of posters featuring Godzilla, Kong, and the film's antagonist, now christened Skar King. The taglines ("Unite" for our heroes, "Bow to Your King" for SK) sound like kaiju campaign slogans. Makes me wonder if, like Godzilla vs. Megalon before it, the movie will improbably capitalize on the presidential election next year. To steal a joke from Titanollante: Godzilla/Kong unity ticket? They'd have my vote.

Godzilla's new form, meanwhile, has already been spoiled by a T-shirt on Legendary's own site and some dire-looking Playmates figures. It makes sense that Wingard would want to have his own spin on the character after keeping the design from Godzilla: King of the Monsters for Godzilla vs. Kong. Hard to cast judgment without seeing the real design in full, but there's one particular detail I really like.

The film also has a booth at CCXP in Brazil, with a panel later today, so I think a trailer is incoming (the main reason I hammered out this whole post so quickly).

I missed this one last week: Tsuburaya announced an anime project called Ultraman: DARKNESS HEELS. The DARKNESS HEELS branding has been around for a while, spotlighting prominent evil Ultras—and, of course, Jugglus Juggler. No details on the anime yet, but if the Juggleman's there, so am I.

The big toy reveal this weekend was Super7's ULTIMATES! MaiGoji figure. Previous Godzilla figures from this line haven't lived up to the official photos, but hope springs eternal. It's $85 (much less than the MonsterArts); preorders started Friday. Other highlights: a Super7 ReAction figure of the original Godzilla's skeleton, which comes with a little Oxygen Destroyer, and a plush Mothra from Surreal Entertainment that can flip to imago form to a neck pillow-shaped larva.

[kitausuret]

Flash Thompson Venom Recs

@vulpinesaint asked for some recommendations on getting into Flash-as-Venom, so I decided to put together a little guide. Mind you, this is geared towards already having familiarity with Eddie, and of course by extension the Venom Symbiote.

Now -- let me start by saying it may be helpful to see first where it all started going downhill for Eddie and the Symbiote (because we don't get to other hosts until after their breakup). Are any of those comics good? Not really!

But If you really wanted to you could check out Spectacular Spider-Man (2003, Jenkins/Ramos) #1-5 and Marvel Knights Spider-Man (2004, Millar/Cho) #5-12 or thereabouts, which will take you through the official breakup, Angelo Fortunato, and the introduction of Mac Gargan.

For a little taste of what the symbiote had been up to before Chosen Blond Man #2, I also recommend Dark Reign: Sinister Spider-Man (2009, Reed/Bachalo) #1-4 and Siege: Spider-Man (Reed/Santucci, one-shot, just because it's funny).

At the risk of being controversial I also rec the fabulous "New Ways to Die" arc (Amazing Spider-Man #568-573, Slott/Romita Jr.) for a peek at what's going on with Eddie during this time.

If you'd like a primer on Flash Thompson before you jump into Symbiote nonsense, you can check out Amazing Spider-Man #574, which is not a great issue but it is helpful to see what was going on with him. I also recommend the Amazing Spider-Man #622 B story "Stages of Grief" which IS really good and delightful.

Flash officially kicks off as Agent Venom in Amazing Spider-Man #654-654.1 (really -- there's a point-one issue). It's written by Dan Slott so it's not, you know, great, but if you've read Venom Inc. you know what to expect.

Venom (2011) is the real meat of Flash's time. He's kind of silly, as you can see, but for the most part I enjoyed this series. Does it have problems? Sure, but it's worth a read.. The first part (#1-27.1) is written by Rick Remender, and the second (#28-42) is by Cullen Bunn. The latter is, at least in my experience, better-loved for its introduction of Mania in #38, but they are both worth reading.

My personal highlights are: #2 (very good Flash/Symby at the end) #6-8 (Spider-Island tie-ins, you get to see what Eddie is up to) #13-14 (Circle of Four!!!) #17-22 (Savage Six, more fun with Eddie) #33-36 (esPECIALLY #35 oh my god #35 is everything to me. I'm normal don't look at me) #38-42 (Mania -- need I say more?)

I would also be remiss to leave out Superior Spider-Man (2013) #22-25 because while the story is.. meh..?? ...it does have some great Flash/Symby. I would live for them.

Agent Venom additionally appears in Secret Avengers (2010) and Thunderbolts (2013), but all I can really recommend here is the T-bolts Annual. It's a fun one.

And now we get into Cosmic Bullshit Shenanigans!

Flash and the Symbiote join up with the Guardians of the Galaxy (2013, Bendis) in #14, but are officially introduced in the Free Comic Book Day GotG special. My only recommendations here are #21-23, but they're big recommendations.

Once you've read #23, you can jump right into Venom: Space Knight #1-13 (R. Thompson), which is by FAR my favourite Venom series of all time and I'm not even joking. I can't even express how much I adore this series. WOMEN. I LOVE WOMEN. Just. Just read it. And then cry that it's only 13 issues

And from there, you know how it ends if you read Venom #150. Such was the end of Flash's time as Venom, but what a wild ride it was.

now we just need to get eddie on board with a third

If you're curious about Flash's story post-resurrection (he died, if you missed that from the Cates run) you can check out my little guide here, and also the most recent Carnage series by Torunn Grønbekk. What the future holds for Flash Thompson is up in the air (as it always is with Spidey's supporting cast) but I've got to have hope!

Happy reading!