#pride month never ends in this household

[ordowrites]

Of Archery and Apples

cw: smut, slow burn, arranged marriage, afab reader, minors dni, mdni. reader is mentioned to have an abusive family, but nothing shown. fluff, gentle sex, not sfw. diluc frequently asking for consent. reader has a vision. please let me know if i'm missing a warning!

word count: 6,509

notes: this is a pretty long slow burn and build up, so be warned!! this is also unbeta'ed. this also gets pretty fluffy at the end.

diluc birthday month!!

He's avoiding you, you can say this for certain - he was barely present at your wedding ceremony, only staying until it was socially acceptable to hurry off, politely engaging in conversation here and there, and his kiss was simply a quick peck on the lips. Of course, the vows were very basic and quick but you figured it's because he's not exactly the best at words.

The business man being terrible at social engagement is quite the entertaining thought, or well, you would normally think so if this wasn't you trying to navigate this new marriage. You'd known Diluc Ragnvindr in your childhood, the two of you had exchanged a whole handful of words but you remember very clearly how social he'd been back then. You remember him, very clearly, sneaking some living frogs into a maid's pockets at some social event with his adoptive brother glued to his side. And you also remember how much chaos it had caused - expensive red wine being spilled, some screams, and you - little old you - had managed to sneak a sip of wine amidst it all. His father, Crepus Ragnvindr, had to pull both his sons aside, while apologizing profusely and Diluc sobbing his eyes out over getting caught.

The other few times you remember of him was when he'd been in the Knights of Favonious - chivalrous, well loved, everyone talked about him with pride in their voices. "Mondstadt's Pride and Joy'', is what they'd call him - he was sure to take the Grandmaster's job once Varka grew too old for his position and nobody would fight nor question it.

You two had talked during that time, exchanging names and he'd given you some flowers because you'd looked lonely and "everyone deserves flowers!" You'd thanked him, albeit very shyly, avoiding eye contact because the heir of the biggest name in Mondstadt was paying attention to you. (And you barely remember what made you so sad, though you're sure it had to do with one of your fathers outbursts.) A small part of you wonders if he remembers that.

The reasoning for your arranged marriage with him is not lost on you - Ragnvindr is a household anyone would want to be part of, the Young Master was the most eligible and the promise was made between your father and Crepus a long time ago. The two, from what you understand, had been close friends in their youth and worked closely with one another, even if you - personally - never met his sons. Of course, once Crepus had passed - a few months before your own eighteenth birthday - you figured that the arrangement was done and over with, and your mother would cart you off with some older man in another country.

Except, that wasn't the case - three years later and you received an invitation from the Dawn Winery. Diluc was still keeping up his fathers promise, but the two of you hadn't even seen each other in adulthood. And your first meeting after that was uncomfortable and awkward - he'd done his engagement with you, but it was clear that he had no idea how to navigate any of this. (Not like you did, either).

The wedding still happened - you'd begged for it to be small, but your mother does not do things small. And Diluc merely wanted it to be done and over with, and you'd spent your entire wedding day apologizing profusely and him reassuring you that he doesn't really care, the mora doesn't matter.

And now, four months into the marriage, you're still trying to even get a glimpse of your elusive and quiet husband. The two of you don't even share a bedroom, and you often find yourself in a confused haze, wandering around the Winery and vineyard with very little to do. A good wife stays at home, cooks and cleans, but you can't do that because he has maids doing that and they shoo you off if you even try to help. Your embroidery skills have a lot left to be desired and whenever you offer assistance in the vineyard, you're told not to worry about it.

Boredom left you asking the head maid for something to do and Adelinde had given you a few tasks to do, you just had to organize things and that was about it. The manor is well staffed, there isn't much work for you to do, is what she'd told you. Perhaps Master Diluc would like your company.

Oh yes, your dear, beloved husband who seems to be avoiding you. Archons, you'd much rather be working for the Adventurer's Guild. You're proficient in archery because you had begged your mother into letting you learn, it was the only way she could get you to do anything else she'd wanted. Of course, being someone of nobility means that your only job is to be a dutiful spouse who bears children and stays at home, but you're going insane.

What most people don't know about the manor is that he does have a small weapons collection - some swords, a few bows and arrows, his great sword, and other things. You're not sure why he needs this armory, but you'd happened upon it one day in your usual afternoon hauntings of the hallway when staff locked you out of the busier places they'd be. (Of course, you'd be more than happy to receive guests but apparently, that's the Head Maid's job and you feel slightly insulted your husband can't even trust you with the business of the Winery)

With the bow and a few arrows in hand, you meander outside - unnoticed by the staff as they rush around for one reason or another (rumors have it that the Traveler is visiting today or someone equally important) - and find a secluded spot to start shooting.

Place the arrow, draw the string, shoot. Repeat.

You're, by no means, an expert but you like to think you're pretty good. You knock down quite a few apples, but you never aim for animals - you repeat this until your fingers are sore and hurting. Still, you load up the arrow again, point, and -

"What are you doing?"

The voice cuts your concentration and you let out a yelp of surprise, releasing the arrow in a loose and awkward manner.

"Archons! I could have shot you!" You shout as you turn to look at the person who broke your concentration. It takes you a few moments to realize who had approached you, arms crossed over his chest, and an unimpressed look on his face. "Oh, sorry, Master Diluc. I thought you were someone else."

"I didn't know you do archery." He says, hardly acknowledging your words as he steps closer. "You're pretty good."

"Of course I am," you boast. "Why wouldn't I be?"

He considers his words and you frown at him, as if daring him to say anything untoward and awful. "Not a lot of nobles take it upon themselves to become proficient in weaponry," he finally answers. You're pretty sure he's spoken to you more now than he ever has in the entire time you've known each other. "Anyways, Add- Adelinde was calling for you. It's time for dinner."

"Will you be joining?" You ask as you pick up what fallen arrows you could, frowning when you realized that there's no way you could re-use them. At least you have yourself a handful of apples. "Or will you be assisting the Traveler with some things?"

"Ah - well," Diluc seems to be stumbling over his words now. It's as if he's remembering he's married to you, and you're not some familiar stranger who has decided to hunker down in his home. "If I have your okay, I would certainly like to join you for dinner."

You're handing him the apples, and he's taking them into his arms without question. You wonder if you could get away with just...handing him things and if he'd noticed. Because his eyes are trained away from you, at the horizon. His face is a tiny bit red.

"Are you not the master of the house and my husband?" You prompt. "Why would you seek permission to have dinner in your own home, with your own spouse?"

He opens his mouth to say something and closes it again. He doesn't know how to talk to you, you realize.

"What are all these for?" Diluc asks, awkwardly changing the subject.

"You eat them." You answer, as if he doesn't comprehend what apples are for. "Obviously."

He makes a noise that sounds like an annoyed growl but seems to drop the subject as he is a good husband and carries the dozen apples back, just for you.

Dinner is quiet - he's been joining you for dinner nightly now, and every time, it's just quiet. The soft clinking of silverware, and he keeps his head down as if it's hard to look at you. Sometimes, Adelinde whispers something in his ear and he'd have to look up, but not at you.

You think this is worse than eating by yourself. And he's always quick to leave once he's finished, thanking Adelinde and uncomfortably wishing you a good night.

One thing you noticed now, is that you're not without apples since that day. And there's more arrows stocked in his armory.

"Master Diluc thinks they're your favorite fruit," Adelinde explains as you ask her one day. "He ordered quite a bit. I think it's a bit too much for one person to eat, and I can only use them for so many recipes."

"Rumors have it that the Anemo Archon loves apples," you tell her. "Leave 'em out as an offering."

The head maid laughs a bit. "Perhaps. I'm not sure why he won't ask you about the things you do like."

"He'd learn things about me - and I, about him - if he stayed longer than the thirty minutes it takes him to finish his dinner." You say as you inspect one of the red fruits. Bruiseless, perfect, round. And juicy, when you bite into it. (You're sick of snacking on them, but hey, he bought them so you might as well make sure they don't waste away) "I timed him one night." You clarify after a moment.

"Yes, well, the Master is a very busy man." Adelinde says, after a moment. You're unsure if she's displeased with your comments about him - the staff is very loyal to Diluc. Of course they would be, he’s their employer and he treats them way better than most people of his status. You’re pretty sure he pays them pretty well on top of that - considering the servant houses are well constructed and well kept. "It cannot be helped."

"Sure," you simply agree, not wanting to anger the one that is in charge of quite...literally everything in the household that Diluc doesn't oversee. "But perhaps he could make time in his busy schedule for me?"

"One could only hope." Adelinde says. "Perhaps you'd like to entertain yourself with other means?" It's a polite way of kicking you out of her kitchen.

You grab an extra apple and head out. Diluc is in his study - you're surprised that he's stationed himself there. You're even more surprised when he looks up at you.

"You missed breakfast and lunch." you say, after a long stretch of silence. A small part of you wonders if you'd be having children right now if you had a husband who actually wanted to be at your side, instead of carrying an apple in your hand. "Have you eaten?"

Diluc regards you for a moment, before glancing at the small plate with crumbs of some confectionery on it and an empty tea cup.

"...At some point." he says as he looks back down at his papers.

You set the uneaten apple down on his desk.

"We apparently have an overabundance of apples," you inform him with a small smile. "Do your part and eat some then."

Diluc stares at it as if he's never seen an apple before. "Right," he says, after a moment. "Right. Yes. Thank you." The way he says your name sounds lovely but strange, like he's sounding it out. "There's a target range outside."

You quirk a brow and head out.

The target range is simple - it resembles something the Hilichurls would use, but you can at least practice your aim.

Your evening goes quietly - Diluc joins you for dinner again. Tonight it's your favorite meal.

"How come you don't go to Mondstadt anymore?"

Huh? You look at him with surprise.

"Well, I guess...I don't know. Most of my friends are married and have kids or like, moved." Because if you saw your parents, you might cry is the real answer.

"The maids tell me you're bored." You're likely to become the tale of a poltergeist haunting the Ragvnidr mansion, a tale for the children to tell for ages to come. "You can get a job in the city if you'd like. Come work at the Angel's Share."

"With you?"

His face tinges red and he clears his throat. "Maybe."

"How 'bout the Cat's Tail?"

A silence. A grumble.

"If you must." Diluc sounds resigned at the thought - you, however, find yourself wanting to work with the cats at that cute tavern but you wouldn’t actually do that to Diluc, regardless of the current standing you’re both in. You’re not even sure what kind of work you want to do, but bar work doesn’t sound all that great for you (or a match). You decide to let him think you’re willing to work with the competition.

It's in the middle of the night when you're woken up to something - a sound. You've always been a light sleeper and the Manor is always so silent at this hour. There's some shifting, you let out a breath when you feel a familiar but comforting sense of energy around you.

When you fully wake up, you're met with your Vision at your bedside. It flows with familiarity, glowing when you touch it. The Electrical element gives you more energy than you thought you’d ever imagine-

You'd received it in your teens and your mother confiscated it from you. She claimed you had no need for it - someone like you does not deserve it. After all, Visions are only for people who are worthy and who are you to believe you're worthy of such a blessing?

How?

You wonder if Adelinde had quietly dropped it off or if -

Would he? Diluc? The man who can barely stand being in the same room as you? Hardly. Maybe an Archon chose to give it back to you.

With energy that you haven't had in ages, you dress and head down for breakfast. Diluc is there.

"Good morning," he says, barely glancing at you. His face is tinged red again.

"What a lovely surprise," you say. "Truly blessed by the Archons today to see my husband."

He makes a soft 'hmph' sound. "Were you not complaining about never seeing me?"

"I'm glad you came."

Diluc gives no answer.

He heads to Mondstadt Proper, offering you a chance to come along - but you decline. You'd rather practice what you were blessed with. Also, you’re not really up for seeing anybody you know at the moment - you’d rather not field questions on what it’s like to be married to the Diluc Ragnvinidr. Sure, it’s bragging rights but neither of you even share a bed and barely speak to one another as is.

He is back by lunch.

And you are a bit singed - bruised but energetic from practicing with your Electro Vision. It glows at your side.

Diluc looks pleased.

"You seem happier these days." Adelinde says as you enter the kitchen for your daily snack of the never ending abundance of apples. They even taste sweeter. "Have you told the Master to stop ordering these apples for you?"

"I prefer that they become part of our nightmares," you answer her with a small shrug. Adelinde gives you an odd look. "'sides, they're an alright snack." 

You snag one extra one and bid her a quick goodbye as you head to Diluc's office. As before, you set the apple down for him to eat.

This time, you stay.

"Is there something you need?"

"Thank you."

"Whatever for?"

So, you gesture to the Vision that hangs at your side. “If you brought this to me, thank you.” Diluc peeks at it and says nothing. “The apples too, but the maids seem displeased with those.” He shifts uncomfortably. “Am I bothering you?”

“No.” he answers, tensely. “I’m just…don’t worry about it. I’m glad you’re enjoying yourself.” Silence falls over you, and you look everywhere but at him as he pointedly stares at his desk. “Um-”

“So why are you ordering an over abundance of apples?”

“Do you not like them? I can order something else. Sunseittas, those fruits from Fontaine, anything-”

“N-no, they’re fine.” You force out, interrupting him before Diluc works himself into some sort of anxiety induced panic attack. “They’re perfect, thank you.” You need to learn to put your foot down, but you didn’t want to accidentally upset him and think you hated how kind he was, even if the apples were a bit much. Hopefully Adelinde will talk to him instead.

–

It's been a week since the two of you have last exchanged any sort of conversation or words - the schedule went back to relatively normal. He’s there for breakfast, lunch, and dinner now - sometimes, there’s an uncomfortable invitation for tea and no conversation to flow with it. You find yourself wondering if Diluc even knows what he wants at this point, even when you try to better engage with him, he seems to barely meet your eyes this days and barely responds so you tend to dominate the conversation.

“Is something wrong, Diluc?” you finally ask, during afternoon tea, one day. He’d barely touched his own tea and his eyes lowered with shame on his beautiful face. “Did something happen?”

“No,” he says, after a moment and clears his throat. “My apologies, I was daydreaming, that’s all.”

“About me?” You tease, unable to help the fact you noticed how he looked at you earlier - with this strange look of longing and hunger. But he always acts as if there is a barrier between the two of one, and if he broke that barrier…of what might happen afterwards. You have to swallow a giggle when his face goes redder and he looks away. “Wait - really?”

“M-my apologies. It seems I have some important matters to get to.”

Now it’s your turn to be red faced and shying away - watching as Diluc walks away before you can muster up the bravery to call out to him to come back.

What a great start to your marriage, you think sarcastically as you wander the halls again - confused as to what to do. It’s been what, two months? Since the two of you got married now. Something like that, and what looked like behavior starting to change for the better, was now becoming a problem again. You let out a heavy sigh and sit down on a bench in the garden, burying your face in your hands. Maybe this marriage really is a sham - maybe you could get a divorce, no harm, no foul. Nobody would blame you for that, right? Or him.

You do not go down for dinner that night - feeling way too humiliated over what had happened between the two of you. It takes a week to be brave enough to be in the same vicinity as him, or well, you would be but your husband isn’t anywhere to be seen. With a sigh, you decide to venture out on your own for a while, armed with the wooden bow that’s intended more for practice than actual self defense and some arrows. It isn’t like there are any hilichurls or treasure hoarders who linger nearby or even in the vicinity of the Dawn Winery. 

As you wander along the shore of the riverbank behind the Winery, you find yourself lost in your own thoughts - puzzling together the enigma that is your husband. He avoids you sometimes, and a lot of the time, doesn’t seem to know what to do with you, as if he’s surprised you’re there whenever he sees you. You know you can be pretty shy, but this man takes it to another level. You know Diluc had suffered a tragic loss or two, and you know he can be pretty closed off and rough around the edges, but this feels just ridiculous.

You pluck flowers as you go along - Calla Lily’s, Lamp Grass, really, whatever catches your eye. You figure you could spruce up your room some with decorations, now that it’s been bare for close to five months. It’s not as if you’re forbidden from decorating, it’s just that you haven’t felt like it just in case something happened within your marriage that would ruin that time and effort.

When dusk hits the horizon, you finally force yourself to trek back to the manor, flowers in one hand, your makeshift weapon in the other. As the manor appears in your sights, you decide you won’t go inside just yet - though you’re sure everyone is worried about your disappearance, you don’t particularly care right now.

Diluc is sitting on a stone bench in the garden, his eyes downcast and a small frown on his face and you stop dead in your tracks. You can’t help but think of how beautiful he looks with the sun setting behind him, casting soft hues on his face, his red hair down and waving with the soft winds. Beautiful but sad.

“Hey.” you greet, finally catching his attention.

“Where have you been?” he asks, quickly getting to his feet. “You left and you didn’t say anything to anyone, I thought you were hurt!”

“Sorry, Master Diluc,” you say, sheepishly. “I just went for a walk and lost track of time.” Diluc reaches out, as if he wants to touch you and hug you but withdraws just as quickly. He clears his throat. “I’m sorry, I should have said something.”

You hold the flowers you had plucked from your impromptu adventure.

“Some flowers because everyone deserves flowers.” You echo something from the past and his beautiful red eyes widen for a moment. “Remember? You said that to me once. So here, some flowers because I think you need some.”

Tentatively, he reaches out, accepting them from your outstretched hand. Your face, you realize, is red and not because it’s sunburned.

“Thank you.” he murmurs. You remember, once, that Adelinde had mentioned he likes Lamp Grass.

–

Diluc puts any flowers you give him in vases that sit in the best spots in the manor - you’d found that he really likes to receive them as gifts, so you go out of your way to find them out in the wild and present them to him like a dog presenting the fruits of its hunt. He always looks much happier when he receives these flowers, and the manor looks a bit better too - the artwork, you always thought was a bit bleak (but never said anything because apparently Master Crepus painted some of them) and the whole place just needs more color.

He stays around now, to talk to you or to be around you even if neither of you talk. It feels normal, like what a normal, married couple would do. But maybe the two of you just aren’t normal - he most certainly isn’t.

Sometimes, Diluc leaves for the city in the evenings and always says that it’s a night shift at the tavern so Charles can have a night off or two. You don’t think much of it, so long as you can actually see your husband more frequently, he still has his job to do.

It’s late, and you haven’t even considered going to bed yet - despite having taken a bath and switching into a nightgown because summer nights in Mondstadt are hot and you’re a bit too absorbed into the book you’d been reading since after dinner time. So, you’re slung on the couch, with a blanket on your lap and legs (sliding off, of course) as you get more and more engrossed in the mystery romance that you’d found in Diluc’s library. The downpour of the rain outside only adds to the ambience and it makes you quite sleepy.

Neither of you were sure when the Master of the house was going to be home, so when it came close to midnight, you insisted that Adelinde head to bed. You’re Diluc’s spouse, after all, you can greet him and take care of him when he gets home. There was a moment where the head maid looked like she was going to argue this with you, but she’d decided against it. It’s about two in the morning when you’re falling asleep, half slipping off the couch yourself when you hear the front door open a bit louder than usual. This startles you from your sleep, and you get up, making your way to see who has the audacity and the bravery to try to break into the manor.

“Diluc?!” you gasp as you rush forward, trying to quell the Electro energy that had been surging in you, ready to attack. He looks like a pathetic wet cat at this moment, hair sopping wet and sticking to his face, clothes just as drenched, his clothes askew and torn, he smells a bit burned. “Are you okay?” Your arm is already snaking around him, and he can’t even look at you. “Archons, you’re warm. C’mon, let’s get you upstairs and in bed.”

“I’m -” he stutters out. Clears his throat. “I’m fine.”

“You don’t look fine.” You answer, a bit more snappishly than intended. He doesn’t fight you as you help him up the winding staircase and down the hall - into the master bedroom. “What happened?”

“I got caught in the downpour is all.” he says, still unable to meet your gaze. You’re already working to unbutton his shirt to make sure he isn’t injured anywhere that you can’t see. There’s a few bruises and welts forming on his body. “H-hey, I said I’m fine.”

“Why won’t you let me help you?” You ask, pulling away - feeling more hurt and exasperated than you think you should be. “Diluc, I’m your wife and you won’t even look at me.” Despite your words, he’s doing his best to look everywhere but at you. “Diluc, look at me.”

Carefully, he lifts his gaze to yours - his eyes are so enticing. His face is a little bit red, and you think you catch his eyes drifting downward for a moment before meeting your own eyes again.

“What happened?” You prompt.

“I got caught in the downpour.” Diluc answers, simply. “There was a - there was a treasure hoarder lurking outside of Mondstadt’s walls.”

“You got into a fight?”

“Yes, but I’m fine. They aren’t worth much energy or attention.” You sigh and rub your forehead. “It’s just a little bit of rain, I’m honestly more lucky you didn’t try to electrocute me.” It’s an attempt at a joke, one where he’s forcing a smile but you can’t bring yourself to return it. “I…I don’t know what you want me to say or do.”

“As long as you’re okay.” you tell him, finally resigned. “It’s late, we both should go to bed. Um…Adelinde will lose her mind tomorrow when she sees you tracked mud on her clean floors but I’ll take the blame for that.” You bid him a quick good night, turning to leave him to his own devices if he doesn’t actually need your help.

“Hey, wait.” His voice is slightly strained. Your hand is on the brass knob and you look over at him, watching as he gets up and takes a few strides towards you. Before you could ask what he needs, his lips brush up against yours for a brief moment. The kiss is soft and he breaks away after a moment, his thumb caressing your cheek. You tilt your head to the side, trying to comprehend what he just did. “I’m sorry.” He mumbles. “I should have asked.”

“So ask.” You whisper, feeling oddly cheeky.

He swallows, Adam’s apple bobbing as he does so. He clears his throat, a nervous habit of his. “Then, may I kiss you again?”

“Yes.” You murmur and he pulls you in for another kiss, this time more certain - needier. You find yourself melting into his touch, leaning against him as the two of you make it back to his bed. Clothes start to scatter around, his skin is weirdly dry to the touch (and you attribute it to his Pyro vision) but lovely anyways. There’s scars all over his body, your eyes rake over the muscle and old injuries, you start to ask him what happened but he stops you with another searing kiss. Tongue in mouth, teeth nipping at your lips. Soon, those lips, that hot mouth, find their way to your neck - biting and sucking.

But he always stops short of going down further, looking at you with hunger, looking unhinged with those red eyes and wild red hair and the soft glow of the candlelight. Your body aches with need.

“I wish to touch you.” he whispers.

“So touch me.” you breathe. That seems to be all he needs for him to remove those damn gloves, tossing them to the side. Teeth graze at a nipple, making you gasp and arch as his hand teases your other nipple. Lips move down further and further, searing kisses with soft bites that follow, and he tries to get every inch of your skin.

“So beautiful,” he breathes and gently bites your hip bone. Diluc kisses the area above your pubic bone, before moving to kiss along your thighs - teeth digging in deeper and he stops his ministrations right before hitting the spot you want him to focus on. Your eyes lock together. Your heart skips a beat when he bends down and presses his lips against your clit, tenderly kissing at your wet cunt and you gasp. His tongue pokes out, giving your slit a curious lick before diving right in.

His lips and tongue work at you as if he were a starving man - the noises that escape you are lewd and embarrassing as he licks and sucks, a finger slowly working at your entrance. You gasp when he presses a finger inside of you - it’s bigger and thicker than your own, and you can’t help but squirm at the intrusion. Much to your dismay, he pulls away from your soaking cunt to look up at you, his face a mess.

“Are you okay?” his voice is raspy and he’s definitely drunk on your pussy. His face is about as red as his hair at this point, he’s panting slightly and oh, he looks more like a demon of temptation than anything sweet or angelic. Want is etched on every bit of his features and your slick shines on his lips.

“Just - ah - unused to the feeling.”

“Mm,” he gives your clit a lick and you gasp, tightening around the appendage that gently presses in a bit further. “Tell me if I hurt you.” At your nod, he dives right back in - and he slowly adds in another finger and you whine, your fingers finding perch in his soft, but soaked hair. He pays that no mind as he starts to move his fingers in and out, slowly stretching you until he curves them upwards and - oh. You see stars.

“Diluc!” You moan out, grinding against him now. “Fuck.” You’re pretty sure he’s probably grinning to himself. He continues to eat you out and fuck you with his fingers until you’ve ridden out your orgasm, and are more of a mess of noises and moans, fingers pulling at his hair.

He pulls away soon enough, and you stare up at him with slight disappointment - your body trembling from your orgasm and the cold air that hits your heated skin. Diluc trails his fingers along your torso, playing with your breasts for a few moments.

“You’re perfect like this.” Diluc murmurs. Unable to properly formulate a reply, all you can do is reach to meet his hands for a brief moment until you find him gripping one of your legs and under your waist, pulling you flush close to him. “Remember to tell me if I hurt you too much.” You nod, watching him give his cock a few pumps, some pre-cum shining at the tip and you can’t help but feel a sense of nervousness. Sure, you’ve had sex with a partner or two before but that still doesn’t alleviate the anticipation or worry, considering his size. “We don’t have to do this.” He tells you, softly.

“I want to.” You murmur. He guides himself to your slick entrance, gently teasing your folds with the head of his cock for a moment, watching in delight as your eyes close and you push yourself closer, trying to encourage him. Once his head penetrates, you can’t help but reach to grip his arm. He shifts, gently pushing himself in, inch by inch, and your hands finally find each other. Soon enough, Diluc’s bottomed out - your legs on either side of his waist as his hands hold yours down on the bed. And oh, you feel so full - stretched out on his cock.

He stays still for a few minutes, peppering your face and neck with kisses as he whispers words of affirmation - before slowly pulling out and pushing back in. He keeps a slow pace at first, watching your face and kissing you whenever you look like you’re about to cry out.

“So wet for me,” he breathes against your ear. “So good for me.” And those words go straight to your cunt, clenching around him. “Look at you, so needy for me.” Archons, you wonder what else you can get him so say in that tone. Maybe even filthier things.

Your arms wrap around his shoulders and you cling as he continues to fuck you - your second orgasm hitting you as hard as your first, this time you let out a shrill sound and a sob, your nails digging into his back. You think you hear him let out a hiss at that, but you don’t care as you dig your teeth into his shoulder to try to muffle your cries. There’s a taste of copper in your mouth so you let go, giving the bite wound an apologetic kiss.

“Mine.” he groans out, pace quickening. “Ah - I’m gonna -” His thrusts become harder, deeper and your legs lock around his waist as he bites and sucks at your throat, leaving hickies in his wake. He groans as he cums, his pace slowing down to shallow thrusts - the wet noises filling the air. Your muscles feel weak as your legs slowly free him, his cock finally slipping out - followed by a mess of his cum. Your arms fall away as well and much like before, his hands find yours as he kisses you, deeply. He shifts a bit so he isn’t caging you.

The kiss breaks, a string of saliva hangs between both your lips and he looks at you with want - like he could easily go another round.

“We should get you cleaned up,” he murmurs, shifting to get up. “Do you need anything?” You reach out, catching his arm before he can actually get up and off the bed.

“Just…lay with me for a while.” Diluc looks at the mess you both made - or well, mostly him - with a sheepish and slightly ashamed look but he lays down next to you. “I just want to be next to you.”

“Okay,” he murmurs and nuzzles the crown of your head. “I’m sorry.”

“For what?” He’s silent for a moment and you open your eyes. “Diluc, for what?”

“Avoiding you.” There’s some shame in his voice. “I-you don’t know how long I’ve been wanting you but couldn’t have you.”

“And why not?” you prompt as you sit up. “We’re married, aren’t we?”

“Well yes but -” he pauses for a moment, as if thinking. “I figured you hated me or resented me for our…arrangement. I didn’t want to impose.” You stare at Diluc, slightly stunned. “I know I sound ridiculous, but I would have thought you’d be against an arranged marriage. I remember when we were kids and you were telling everyone you’d never get married, that you were going to join the Adventurer’s Guild and become a famous adventurer.”

You snort. “You remember that?”

“Of course I do. You know, we were introduced when we were young, and when father said that the two of us were going to be married, you told him straight to his face that you’d never marry a boy.” Diluc lets out a soft sigh.

You snort back your laughter. “Did that upset you?”

“N-no.” He lets out a soft laugh. “I wish we’d been able to speak more while growing up but…I was busy. I think the last time we actually ever interacted was at some ball or party, you were crying over something and…”

“You gave me flowers.” you finish, quietly. “I remember that very distinctly. Honestly, you made my night way better for that. I’m surprised you remember that moment.”

Diluc frowns at you. “Of course I do. Father actually had a few choice words to your mother about making you cry like that.” He lets out a soft breath. “I actually went off out of the city to find the perfect flowers to give to you in hopes that it’d cheer you up. I…was lucky you hadn’t already left the city when I got back.”

“Thank you, Diluc,” you murmur. “Really.”

A comfortable quiet lapses between the two of you - his fingers stroking your hair. You could fall asleep like this. “If you still want to join the Adventurer’s Guild, I would not be opposed to it.” He finally says, quietly. “Or if you want to work in the city - it isn’t uncommon these days, and I fear your family was a bit too traditionalist in how they raised you.”

“Maybe.” you mumble. “I could work at the Cat’s Tail, give you a bit of trouble.”

He leans down and kisses you on the lips. “I’d much prefer you joining the Guild.” he murmurs against your lips. “I might even have bragging rights if you get better at not breaking my weapons that you get your hands on.”

“Hmm, I’ll consider it.” You curl up close to him, your eyes drooping shut. You feel him relax and rest next to you, his breath warm. “Diluc?”

“Yes?”

“I love you.” You feel him kiss the juncture of your neck and shoulder, his hair tickling you as he does.

“I love you too, my flame.”

[bibinibikkkkk]

Damen's sin

I've read some amazing analyses about Damen, but I've never seen anyone who shares some of the thoughts I have about his character. So I wrote down some points that I find interesting. This is an interpretation I've had since the first reading of the trilogy.

Damen's greatest sin is pride. He is almost the sin of pride personified. All Damen's life he worked to be the best. The best soldier, the best son, the best brother, the best friend, the best prince, the best lover. And he had all the materials to be the best, being the Crown Prince. So it is natural that he became a proud man, who believes in himself and expects everyone to believe in him too.

In Marlas, it was Damen's pride that made him fight and win against Auguste. Many people point out that the duel between Damen and Auguste was just a way, probably the best way, to end the war faster and spare the lives of more soldiers. And that is true but in part. Damen was present at the war, but he was not fighting, he was just watching to learn, since he was the heir and was still only 19 years old. But Damen saw Auguste, and with all his self-confidence he told his father "I can take him". For Damen, he wanted more than anything to prove that he could fight and win against the best warrior of the enemy kingdom. That he succeeded must have been the biggest ego boost of his life.

The problem is that Damen's pride has made him a bit stupid. Because I believe he reached a point where he thought he was invincible. Not only because he was the strongest and the most intelligent. But because he believed that everyone loved him for that. So he never imagined that he would be betrayed in his life. So when he IS betrayed, especially by the people closest to him, it is a huge blow to his ego. Damen perhaps for the first time in his life begins to know what it is like to be humiliated. When the soldiers enter his quarters, kill the people in his household and manage to restrain him, Damen feels humiliated. Both because he is unable to fight and also because he never in his life thought that this could happen.

He feels humiliated by Jokaste, because she orchestrated his being sent as a slave to Vere. His own lover sent him to spend the most humiliating months of his life. Where he had to humiliate HIMSELF to survive. That's why when he meets her again and Nikandros asks what to do with her, he says to send her as a slave to Vere. He wants her to feel the same humiliation he went through, for Damen that would be the only appropriate punishment for Jokaste. He doesn't care that she didn't love him, he only cares that she humiliated him, perhaps more than anyone else.

In Kastor's case, things are a little different. For Damen, Kastor's betrayal in itself is not the biggest problem (the coup), but it is that this betrayal means that Kastor never loved his younger brother. Again, Damen feels humiliated by this, because he loves his older brother and, for Damen, knowing that he does not receive this love back from Kastor is extremely humiliating. So much so that Damen, until the last second, says that he wants to talk to Kastor, to try to understand his reasons. Damen hopes with all his heart that Kastor was manipulated by someone, by the Regent or by Jokeste. He hopes that in the end, Kastor actually loves him and regrets what he did. Which does not happen. Damen doesn't understand how Kastor doesn't feel the same love he does. It just doesn't make sense. Because Damen has always treated Kastor well, he has never treated him differently because he is his father's bastard son. So Damen believes he DESERVES Kastor's love.

Just as he probably always thought he DESERVED the love of many people since he worked hard for it his whole life. Until he met Laurent, and saw that love is not always a matter of deserving.

Just to be clear, I DO think Damen deserves all this love because he is more than amazing. Like I said, he always worked hard because he wanted to be the best for OTHERS, not just for himself. Unfortunately, he was surrounded by selfish people who didn't appreciate him.

[celenawrites]

Thinking about Human!Reader and Fae!Ghost rn.

Human!Reader who was abducted by a fae to live in the world of faeries and magic. She's got an upbringing befitting a fae royalty, but she cannot deny the mortality that taints her blood. The people around her serve that bitter reminder time and time again.

The fae general treats her like his own child, because she is. He is always there for her and prepares her to march into the royal court with a head held high and a disposition that makes her an asset to him and his allies. Her ability to lie and to blend in the background makes her a most useful spy and eavesdropper.

Human!Reader who swears loyalty to one of the King's children as she tackles the politics of the fae royalty. She wishes to finally have the power she needs.

One of such royal revelry forces her to cross paths with Fae!Ghost - bastard child, half fae and half human. A royal knight, forced to guard the royal throne and estranged from his father and his half-siblings, save for his own brother Thomas. His skull mask hides his face at all times, and you wonder which enemy was unfortunate enough to lose his head to the Ghost. He's tall and overbearing, silent and ruthless - and you feel on edge whenever you're forced to acknowledge him. And yet, you smell the fae blood and pine needles on him and resist the urge to goad the beast of a man into pummeling you into nothing.

You are soon betrayed by the princess who took you in as one of her own. You are hurt at the betrayal, and even more so, humiliated for getting bested by a fae. Unexpectedly, it is the Ghost who saves you from your predicament - taking on the blows meant for him and shielding you from the cruel goons as he obliterates them, leaving nothing but ash and bones.

You fret over him and his wounds, using your knowledge of herbs to create a salve to soothe his injuries, wiping away the dirt and grime and blood from his pale, scarred skin. He stays deathly still while you tend to him.

Things come to a head when the king is suddenly assassinated. Fingers are pointed, blame is shifted. Swords clash, loyalty dies. People die. But most importantly, the death of the monarch invokes such bloodlust in the hearts of his successors that almost all of them die fighting for the throne. All except three. The crown prince, the princess you used to work for, and Ghost.

The subjects of the kingdom anticipate that their future ruler must be between the prince and the princess. The idea of a half-fae like Ghost ruling over them is absurd. Luckily, Ghost is not too eager about taking the throne either.

The fight between the siblings drag on for far too long, and it ends with the death of the crown prince - establishing the ruthless cold princess as the tentative head of the household and the kingdom. But she's not satisfied, letting her pride dictate her actions and her pride would not let the Ghost live.

And so she plans to be rid of him, and you get to hear of it first. You rush to Ghost, urging him to hide - which he refuses. You beg him to leave and to never return, if he wanted to live - but he's Death on two legs. You decide that the least you can do for his kindness is stick by him in his last moments, and when the princess uses treachery to land the final blow on the half-fae, you decide that taking it in his stead would be the best course of action for the kingdom.

You're gone and dark and then you're alive - months after the fight between the royal knight and his sister. Ghost had to assume throne, and his brother Thomas is his advisor. The kingdom has successfully established a tentative peace after the constant bloodshed and familial betrayal. Sickened by the sights you had to witness and the horrors you have survived, you plan and plan and then you flee the fae lands - hoping to connect with your human roots and to be forgotten by the faeries. You hope your father can forgive you. You wish everyone else forgets you.

Except your disappearance causes chaos.

Ghost is inconsolable - unable to function without any trace of you. Thomas suggest him to get hitched to someone else - royalty from other kingdoms, princesses of powerful species; hoping that a political marriage to a powerful ally will strengthen his brother's position as king. Except all Ghost wants is you.

And so he searches for you for years. Five or more years since he last saw you, and when he's desolate and believes all hope to be lost, he finds a trace of you that won't end in a dead end now. He leaves the kingdom and ends up in the human world and it's overwhelming. He had always promised his dear mother that they would escape and live out their lives back here. Seems like you accomplished what he couldn't.

He's fuming when he finds you, all human and weak and occupied with mortal achievements and materialism. You left him reeling with your kindness, with the humanity you have lit up in him. You tended to him and cared for him in a way that even his kin failed to do so. And then you left.

Left him alone to deal with fate and its cruel games. Left him starving of your attention and gentle touch. Left him alone without a taste of you.

He's so furious and starving and yearning, so the moment he sees you notice him, he ensures that you have nowhere to run anymore. You try to run, and he's reminded of a bunny trying to escape the nets meant to trap it.

"You cannot leave me again, not unless you take responsibility of your actions".

You ask him about it, and your morbid curiosity leaves you horrified as you realise that he means to abduct you back into the unwelcoming and treacherous lands of the Fae. You feel hopelessness seep into you when he reveals that he had planned to take you in as his consort before you booked it, and now to ensure that it doesn't happen again, he decides that the best course of action would be to bind your soul to him in holy matrimony.

"Have to ensure that you don't go off running on me now, sweet human. I cannot afford to lose you again."

It almost makes you wish you hadn't helped him at all.

[ineffectualdemon]

We talked about how Shang Qinghua almost certainly grew up in an abusive household but today I want to talk about why he also has attachment issues like Binghe

Airplane sold his soul, his pride, and his story for profit. He wrote only to please the audience.

Anything they wanted they got as long as that put money in his pocket

And he did 10,000 words a day of this absolute pandering

Meaning he had basically nothing that was truly his

Except for one thing

He kept one thing for himself

His king

Once he's Shang Qinghua he knows meeting Mobei is inevitable and that it will end his life

But when they finally meet and he has the chance to kill Mobei to save himself he cannot do it

He could have just walked away too. He could have just left him to fate

But he couldn't do that either

Because Mobei was his

So he takes him and cares for him and spies for him and gets smacked around but always always follows after calling for HIS king

I don't believe Shang Qinghua ever even tried to grow a mushroom body for himself. I mean we see no evidence that he actually tried

I believe it's because the thought of his creation not needing him or going to someone else for support was intolerable

He jumps after Mobei on the ridge

He stays for days, hiding in the icy north, to protect Mobei from his Uncle

He comes back and only asks for noodles

Shang Qinghua is craftier than Luo Binghe. He's more subtle and keeps things to his chest more

But for all his month long (well deserved) pout Shang Qinghua was never going to leave

Mobei Jun is his

He is never ever letting go

But, and I say this as someone who has attachment issues, he's fairly mature about it. Mobei Jun is his own person and Shang Qinghua cannot dictate the nature of their relationship or ban his King from talking to people

Just like how Luo Binghe says in the extras he won't keep Shen Qingqiu locked away for ever because it would make him sad, realistically Shang Qinghua knows he can't keep his king all to himself

(though I doubt he's self aware about it)

But I think if someone managed to hurt/kidnap Mobei or Mobei started to, idk, stop Shang Qinghua from sticking to him like glue we'd see where Binghe got it from only it would be so much more

Honestly I want fics of demons scoffing at this dumb human but then say shit about Mobei behind his back and just make eye contact with Shang Qinghua from across the room and shit themselves

I wish I could draw the stare he gives people he thinks or knows are plotting against his king and how the demons in question end up widdling on the floor in sheer terror

[gods-favorite-autistic]

nonbinary fig and transfem bigender gorgug are things that can be so real. what other gender hcs would you like to speak of?

Long hc post so this will be in bullet point form!!

(minor fhjy spoilers!!)

Enby Fig and bigender Gorgug 10/10 no notes

Ayda researches nonbinary people so hard once Fig comes out to her and sends Fig so many articles

Fig reads them all and takes notes <3

Transfem Adaine is so tragic with Aelwyn and her parents and adgeasresd

Aelwyn paid for Adaines estrogen using their parents money but never told her

Adaine knits all of the bad kids their pride flag

Pangender Cass. That’s it that’s the headcanon

Riz Gukgak transmasc detective

His mom would absolutely buy his T if he asked but knows how expensive it so he refuses

He uses a lot of home remedies (a lot of *checks google* legumes in the Gukgak household)

The second Riz comes out to Fabian he insists on paying for Riz’s T

Does NOT wear his binder correctly

Called Fabian in literal tears when he noticed he was starting to look like his dad

Ok enough sad hc’s. For now.

TRANS JAWBONE TRANS JAWBONE TRANS JAWBONE

T R A N S R A G H T R A N S R A G H

Mary Ann starts calling Gorgug her partner and Adaine immediately starts working on a spell to make a cowboy hat appear on Gorgugs head every time she says it

Bigender. Bisexual. Biclass. 🎵Bye bye by-

I think it’d be a little bit funny if Kristen was the only cis one but she/they demi girl Kristen is just too strong

For pride month Kristen convinces Adaine Fig and Ragh to get up at 12:01 am June 1st to spray paint Mordred Manor the trans flag

They also. Set fire to Bobby Dawns car

Fig makes it their mission to look as androgynous as possible but not in a ‘no gender’

In a ‘double d tits and a 5 inch bulge’ type way

They appear at the end of Garthy O’Briens bed one night to ask for tips like the cryptid they are

Kristen comes out in virtually the same way she did the first time just way more drunk

They whisper it to Adaine and Adaine is just like “Kristen last week you googled ‘how to tell if demigirl’ directly in front of me and then told me what you were googling when I asked”

Kristen’s just like oh. Then they throw up

For transfem Fabian Mazey (also transfem because her) figures out she’s trans before Fabian does but doesn’t try to like push her out of the closet because she knows that won’t help

She does however try to like nudge her in that direction by like sending her transfem memes and getting her to try on Mazeys dresses (read a fic where Fabian tried on Mazeys dress and I loved it so much) and stuff like that

Transmasc Fabian comes out to Riz when Riz comes out to him

Kristin assigns themself binder boy (Ragh Fabian and Riz) duty

Also known as showing up in each boys room 8 hours after she finds out they had a binder on and beating them with a pillow until they take it off

Usually Riz

Kristen shows up in his doorway he’s immediately sprinting out the fire escape as fast as he can

Jawbone has top surgery scars on his untransformed body but you can’t see them on his usual half and half body (they are still there)

Fig keeps casting dream to show up in Bobby Dawns dreams with a nonbinary flag

[no-passaran]

Happy Pride month! Here are some things I want as an asexual person:

Protect asexuals seeking asylum. Asexual asylum seekers still aren't accepted because asylum laws only include the strict l, g, b and t letters. Many asexual people around the world are forced into marriage, threatened, subjected to corrective rape and pseudoscientific conversion "therapies". Include the A in the acronym and it will save lives.

Affordable housing. Many asexual and aromantic people do not establish romantic relationships with a partner. The current housing model is a disaster for all the working class, but even more so for people who want to (or have to) live alone. People should be able to afford their own housing with 1 person's wages.

Housing for households outside the nuclear family. Many asexual and aromantic people decide to live with friends, QPRs, or other structures outside of the amatonormative nuclear family. Some real estate agencies and residential area regulations don't allow housing to be rented or sold to people who aren't living with a romantic partner who they are married to or intend to get married to, designating certain areas "for families" with a strict definition of what a family is. (The podcast @theacecouple talked about it in this episode)

Asexual people should be included in anti-discrimination laws.

Training for medical professionals should include education on asexuality and its experiences, same way that their training in many countries already must include training on L, G, B and T care. "How often do you want/have sex", "how often do you masturbate", and questions related to libido are routinely used to diagnose patients. This can be a helpful element in some cases for people who aren't asexual, but medical professionals should stop misdiagnosing asexual people out of ignorance or pressuring them for their orientation.

End conversion therapy. When a person explains to a medical professional that they don't get sexually attracted to anyone or that they don't want to have sex, the official course of action in most countries is for the medical professional to tell them they need "treatment". That is conversion therapy and can be extremely traumatising and anti-scientific. Sexual orientation doesn't get changed. If our asexuality causes us distress, it's because of how we are treated by society and made to feel abnormal.

Right to healthcare. We should be able to say the truth to healthcare providers without fear that we'll be put in conversion therapy, misdiagnosed, taken off necessary medication, that the medical staff will try to fix our sexuality instead of whatever problem we actually have, or other forms of discrimination. End the medicalization of asexuality (especially when the medicine given to "cure" women of being asexual is often just making them sleep so their boyfriend/husband can rape them and has been found to have other negative secondary effects).

Sex ed in schools should take asexuality into account. This doesn't only mean mentioning that asexuality exists (which already isn't being taught, leading asexual young people to feel pressured, out-of-place, alone, and can lead to putting themselves in dangerous situations), but including asexuals in the creation process of these curricula, too. Sex ed must take into account all its students to offer enough information for their safety, health, and well-being. For example, including asexuals in the creation of the course will mean stop assuming that there are things that don't need saying because "everyone knows". In my case, I would most importantly have liked to be taught that having sex is something people should do because they and the other person(s) involved want to, not because it's mandatory. It's not "everyone knows that", because it never crossed my mind that it's something people want, and I've read many others share the same experience.

Acceptance from family. Many asexual people, myself included, get forced to come out to their families because of their families' obsession with the asexual person's lack of sexual and/or romantic interest. The answer to coming out is often insulting and humiliating. I was told that if I don't like people it must mean I'm a zoophile and sexually attracted to objects, I was repeatedly called a liar and brainwashed by Catholic moral (I'm an atheist), I was pressured into going to a psychologist to fix my sexuality, that it's unnatural and unhealthy, that I'm repressing myself, and I was told that I must go out to party and let any young man have sex with me "doesn't matter who it is". When I answered that I don't want to and that to me it would be rape, I was told it would be worth it to fix me. Judging by what other asexual people explain online, and what other non-asexual friends who weren't interested in doing it were told by their parents, this is not uncommon.

Being believed by friends. Many asexual people explain their friends don't believe them when they say they don't find anyone attractive like that. This can go from openly direct hate speech to little things such as teen games like asking everyone who they like or have a crush on and not accepting "I don't like anyone" as an answer, accusing the person of lying, of not trusting the other friends, "everyone said it so you must too", often pressuring the asexual person until they end up making it up and lying to their friends by picking someone they're not actually interested in, making the asexual person feel like there's something wrong with themself and that they must hide in order to be accepted.

Acceptance and support from social movements. For example, sex positive movement further stigmatises us when it says things like "there's two kinds of people: those who say they masturbate and those who lie", or base acceptance of sexuality on arguments of "everyone does it". Subsets of the LGBTQ movement often also engage in hate campaigns against asexual people online, from spreading false rumours that asexuality is fake and it's straight people trying to infiltrate the community, to spamming asexual tags with porn to cause distress to asexuals and make the tags useless so we can't find each other and have spaces to talk about our experiences —in conclusion, so we can't have an online community.

Get rid of consummation laws. Most legislations say that for a marriage to be valid, there must be consummation, meaning that the couple must have had sex. This discriminates asexual people in their marriages, which are considered invalid. (Again, @theacecouple covered this very well in this episode).

Consent for being exposed to sexual material. It shouldn't be considered childish to not want to watch certain material or hear about certain topics because it's explicit. Events like Pride should explain what is going to happen and what the expectations are, so people can freely take an informed decision on whether that event is for them or not. Social media should have labels or tags that individual users can choose to blacklist. Tumblr users should actually tag the nsfw posts as such and use the mature community label. This way, everyone can still post what they want without censorship but we're not forced to see it or can choose when to see it.

End objectification and over-sexualization, particularly of girls and women who are most affected by this. End cat calling!!!

Educate on a more developed concept of consent. Make everyone understand that consent is a must, and that pressuring someone into saying yes, making someone feel like saying no isn't an option, or like having said yes to one thing also includes other things or the same thing other times, is not consent. Marriage or being in a romantic relationship also doesn't equate consent for sexual acts (end marital rape).

Stop making fun of people for not having sex. Stop using "virgin" as an insult. Stop spreading the idea that being a "virgin" means being a loser, ridiculous, childish, or a failure in life. Stop using the "virgin vs chad" meme. Stop insulting someone saying "this is what someone who doesn't have sex sounds like". Stop equating the number of sexual partners with success, particularly for men. This only pressures people against their will or possibilities, creates mental problems and incel mentality for people who want to desperately get out of the "loser" category that leads to rape, causes other people such as asexuals to self-hate and putting themselves in dangerous situations, and makes other people associate asexuality and not having sex in general with negative characteristics (aka bigotry).

Public libraries and library apps including books about queerness and asexuality. For many people, particularly young people and other people who live with their families, it can be difficult to buy books on asexuality, since they're often not found in physical libraries and must be ordered online. Living with possibly aphobic parents or flatmates, libraries and library apps are an important resource. A small percentage of population is asexual and asexual people often don't come out, so the internet and literature are often among the few ways we can feel like we're not alone and learn how to navigate a life outside the norm from other asexual people.

Feel free to add more if you want!

[horizon-verizon]

why is condal so committed to "Daemon has father issues"?

He was a grown man when Baelon died and there's nothing to suggest that Baelon wasn't a good father. He wasn't even heir for most of Daemon's childhood so you don't even have that as a reason for "neglect." Wouldn't his attachment to Viserys better be explained by him clinging onto his remaining family? If anything, wouldn't he have "MOTHER issues"? Wouldn't that better pair with how he so willingly accepted a subservient role to Rhaenyra?

what is going on in Condal's head and why does he think he understands the characters so well that he needs to CHANGE them?

I agree I have mostly claimed that Daemon would feel a void where his mother should be more than have dominant issues with his father. And I have described why Daemon's protectorness both not only came from his Targ pride/history but seeing Viserys fall into a pattern of trying to please people in response to that void and the pressure of living up to Jaehaerys' model of kingship/leadership/masculinity (they are all wrapped up in each other) to preserve said legacy. "We have reason to believe that his upbringing was still loving and that he maybe thought himself his brother and father’s caretakers. If not in traditional sense, in that he is the one who will do “what it takes” to keep them afloat. In his mind"

I think Condal's misinterpreted and is now overblowing & extending the possible distance Baelon had maybe a few months after Alyssa died in his most immediate and sharpest period of grief. Or using that grief he always had & choose to focus less on how hands on he would have been more than most fathers both bc Alyssa wasn't there AND bc Baelon has already shown to be less machismo--thus there was a higher chance of him of all men being like "kid rearing are for for the wives and servants, I have kids just for legacy" type deal. which is all why you got some people not that bothered by it bc he ends up in a place where Daemon does try to do as canon Daemon does with Viserys and seek validation. He obviously can see something in their relationship coming from their parent's presence and roles in their lives, but he attributes that to fatherlessness and not motherlessness.

It gets exaggerated/misunderstood and is still affected by the misunderstanding of Baelon's relationships w/his kids. It's another example of sidelining a Targ woman, this time, Alyssa. Same as when people argue about Daemon possibly training his kids w/Rhaenyra to someday usurp the 3 Velaryon boys or kill them for the throne bc "Daemon is a Targ supremacist" even though this idea makes everyone around him a passive bystander or participant: Rhaenys and Corlys & Rhaenyra all don't somehow see Daemon try to do this in their own homes? Rhaenyra doesn't have that much influence over her kids despite being the head of the household, having had a strong will before anyone died, and her definitely noticing if Daemon had any designs on her first kids' demise? Her protectiveness over ALL her kids? The only explanation is sexism and the projection of a resentment against Rhaenyra for her having the masculinized/male-entitled authority that Daemon-as-their-self-insert "should" have bc he is male.

So, yeah, it seems Condal might be projecting just a little. Or just negligent bc he doesn't think abt Alyssa much. Daemon wasn't Rhaenyra "good boy", nor did she "tame" him, but he also actually never troubles her political authority in any meaningful way until he saved Nettles from her. We would have heard from it somehow from the greens or the writers/sources; GRRM makes it clear when we should know when domestic abuses or troubles as he does with the greens, who comparatively has much more textual evidence of such despite this entire book trying to villainize Rhaenyra, the Targs, and female rulership in general. Hmmm.....

[maochira]

Tags: gn!Barou's child!reader, single dad!Barou, reader is a child, me and my single dad Barou brainrot again😔 (expect more to come)

If there's anything that being a single parent taught Barou, it's patience and that it's okay to live in a house that's not 100% clean all the time. Back when he lived with your mother and they split up tasks, everything was easier to manage. But since she moved out Barou has to take care of you and the household all on his own.

Sure, he could ask for help. But he has too much pride for that, so he ends up barely getting everything done on his own. Besides you and the household, there's also his soccer career that needs attention.

You're obviously his top priority. And right after that is his career. And then the household tasks.

As uncomfortable as he feels when the house gets too messy, Barou would rather make sure you're well and happy rather than ignoring you just so he can clean the house. Most of the time he just waits until you sleep and cleans at night, but never for too long because he needs sleep as well.

Barou has tried to involve you in cleaning up, but that has failed miserably because you're too young to keep your attention on it. All he could manage is to have you clean up your own toys and put them where they belong.

But even Barou can't do everything on his own in the long-term. After a few months he has no other choice than to ask others for help. Needing help makes him feel ashamed - even though there's no reason for it - but he gives in and asks friends and family to help him out a bit.

[weirdmageddoon]

The Cipher Show!

[written by bilicipher and CryptidIver on twitter go follow us :)]

You are now watching The Cipher Show!

Featuring: Bill Cipher, Scalene Cipher, and Euclid Cipher. 

Today's episode is Family.

Camera pans to the Ciphers standing in the middle of their cozy living room. Bill is between his 2 parents

SCALENE: This family means the world to me! Euclid, my husband, works hard to make ends meet for us. Bill, our child, is our pride and joy!

EUCLID wraps an arm around BILL who has a sheepish smile on his face 

EUCLID: Bill is a smart kid, one day he’ll be the smartest triangle in Euclydia! 

BILL: Thanks dad! Thanks mom! You guys are the best parents anyone could ask for! I love you guys.

SCALENE AND EUCLID (in unison): We love you too, Billy!

Everything slowly fades to black.

The opacity lowers, the Ciphers are now eating at the dinner table.

BILL is playing with his food and SCALENE is not too happy about that. 

SCALENE: Billy, we don’t play with our food.

BILL: I’m sorry mom. 

EUCLID (facing the camera): Bill’s kinda stubborn. He doesn’t like to follow the rules.

SCALENE: Would you like to be reminded of the rules, Bill? 

BILL: Yes, please. 

SCALENE: There are several rules we have to follow in order to live peacefully in this household but also not to get in trouble with other Euclydians! 

Camera pans to EUCLID:

EUCLID: Rule number one! No shoes inside of the house!

Camera pans to SCALENE: 

SCALENE: Rule number two! Always be polite and respectful. 

EUCLID: But don’t hesitate to give anyone the finger if they treat you like an ant! Am I right?

Laughing track plays. 

SCALENE: Here’s one very important rule now… do not talk about the third dimension. 

BILL: But why? I can see it. 

SCALENE: We know, Billy. But it is strictly forbidden! 

BILL: But, mooom! I just want you guys to understand! There’s stars and the third dimension —

AD BREAK. 

[Somber music starts playing.

Do you have a loved one who was born with a mutation? Do they see things no one else can see? Do you wish… they were normal?

Upbeat music starts playing.

WELL, PEOPLE I GOT A CURE JUST FOR YA!

I PRESENT TO YOU, THE TRIDIMENSIO-BLOCK! 3 SIPS A DAY KEEPS THE VISIONS AWAY!

YOUR LOVED ONE WILL BE BACK TO NORMAL SOONER THAN YOU THINK! They will never talk about seeing “the stars” ever again! 

BUY TRIDIMENSIO-BLOCK!

This ad was brought to you by Euclydia’s health department. 

2-9-12-12 3-9-16-8-5-18 8-1-19 20-18-21-12-25 12-15-19-20 8-9-19 13-9-14-4. 1-12-15-14-5 9-14 20-8-5-18-1-16-18-9-19-13 6-15-18 20-8-5 6-9-18-19-20 20-9-13-5 9-14 6-15-18-5-22-5-18 20-8-5 16-1-9-14-6-21-12 13-5-13-15-18-9-5-19 15-6 5-21-3-12-21-4-9-1 8-9-19 14-1-20-9-22-5 4-9-13-5-14-19-9-15-14 20-8-1-20 8-5 8-1-4 2-21-18-9-5-4 12-15-14-7 1-7-15 1-18-5 19-20-1-18-20-9-14-7 20-15 3-12-1-23 20-8-5-9-18 23-1-25 15-21-20 20-8-5 19-3-18-5-1-13-19 20-8-5 3-18-9-5-19 8-5 3-1-14’20 19-20-15-16 8-5-1-18-9-14-7 20-8-5-13 20-8-5 19-13-5-12-12 15-6 2-21-18-14-20 6-12-5-19-8 1-14-4 19-20-1-20-9-3 2-12-15-15-4 5-22-5-18-25-23-8-5-18-5

Back to the show!]

SCALENE and EUCLID are sitting down. They look a bit tired. BILL is nowhere to be seen.

EUCLID: We just put Bill to sleep…

SCALENE: He got a bit too agitated, we told him to take his medication.

EUCLID: 3 sips of TriDimensio-block keeps the visions away! Like the doctor said. Bill gets real fussy and refuses to take his medicine unless he drinks it through a silly straw.  

EUCLID and SCALENE laugh softly in unison. 

SCALENE: We love Bill, he’s our only child and means the world to us. 

EUCLID: But he gets us in trouble, constantly. We had to pay 3 fines in the past 6 months because he talked about that damn dimension. 

SCALENE: He’s temporarily suspended from school because he talked about the third dimension to a group of kids at recess.

EUCLID: The school board is run by triacontagons, they have no mercy. They threatened to permanently expel Bill from school! 

SCALENE sighed. 

EUCLID: We’re just triangles in a world run by circles. It’s tough out here for us as it is and Bill’s keeps fooling around.

SCALENE: Euclid… calm down. 

EUCLID: Look, I’m just worried about Bill. Don’t you see him murmuring to himself sometimes?

SCALENE: I do, but…

EUCLID: Something’s going on with him. I fear that one day he’ll step too far out of line and someone will get hurt because of it!  

SCALENE: Euclid… he would never hurt us, or anyone, for that matter. Bill is fine. 

SOHDVH KHOS PH.  L’P QRW ILQH.

The scene switches to BILL, who is not asleep. He has been in his room this entire time, listening to his parents. 

BILL has a sad look on his face. 

BILL: No one even tries to understand me! I like mom and dad but they don’t listen to me! TriDimensio-block HURTS! And it makes my vision all blurry.

BILL sits at his desk. Numerous sheets of paper lay before him. It appears he’s been doodling some kind of…plan?

BILL: I’ve been hiding my work from mom and dad. I’m trying to come up with a big plan to make everyone in Euclydia see the stars! I’ve scrapped a lot of my ideas… because according to my calculations, it would just end up killing everyone.

BILL scribbles on his paper… he seems content, overjoyed even. 

BILL: Ah ha! I think I did it! I’ve found a way to show everyone the stars with 0 casualties! 

BILL proudly shows the plan he made to the camera. 

BILL: I’m gonna have so many friends! I hope the hexagons will let me hang out with them, they’re so cool! People will love me! Dad won’t be scared of me anymore. 

BILL gets up from his chair and hides his plan under his bed. 

BILL: Mom and Dad can’t find out about this. This has to be a surprise.

BILL tucks himself into bed. He has a hopeful expression on his face, but it turns uneasy. 

BILL: I’m not a bad person, right? Sure, there’s a mini-me inside my head that’s always telling me to do bad things but I just ignore it. 

BILL: The truth is, living here kinda sucks… flat people with flat dreams. I have so much potential but they’re holding me back! They won’t let me help them see there’s so much more.  

BILL: But now that I’ve come up with the perfect plan, the insults and dirty looks will finally stop. I can’t wait. Goodnight.

BILL drifts off to sleep, hoping to show the stars to his people the next morning. 

NEXT EPISODE! Bill finally puts his plan into motion and hyhubwklqj zhqw devroxwhob zurqj. Hyhubrqh glhg. Eloo zdv fryhuhg lq eorrg. Kh frxogq’w vdyh dqbrqh. Wkh odvw olylqj Hxfolghdq.

What? I said Bill finally puts his plan into motion and everything goes great. The people of Euclydia cheer for him and he is declared a genius. That’s what happened. 

SEE YOU NEXT EPISODE!

[fandoms-in-law]

Ted Wheeler Knows Parenting

Summary: When Ted and Holly run into Steve and his father in Melvalds Ted has a few things to say about the other's parenting style. It ends up with Steve becoming a Wheeler and a lot of changes in that household.

Authors Notes: I've been working on this for a while, but between my days of recovery fic last month and some bad news I got this morning, I just want to post it, leave it where it is and focus on other stories that interest me. I'm going to make it a small series as while most of what I've written is post season 2 there's some bits for season 3 and 4 written too which I'm adding as oneshots.

I'm only posting this first bit here. If you want to read the rest of the series it'll be on AO3 here

/\/\

According to Nancy, nobody's dad's asked as much as he did about school, so Ted accepted that she wanted him to stop.

Mike asserted it was weird that his dad spoke about his hobbies with so much pride so he reduced that amount within his kids hearing.

Then there was Holly just wanting someone to play dolls with and thrilled he'd keep playing when her friends were around because she said he kept the games fun.

He wasn't and wouldn't claim to be the perfect father but hearing Mike's friends claim he was absent in all but body was hurtful. This was how his eldest and middle child asked him to be, and he would be there for his kids friends too, as much as they let him or realised given their own father situations.

Then there was Steve Harrington. Ted didn't know how to react so acted how Karen's dad had, tried to look after Nancy. Even he was able to see Steve would be lost when he was faced with Karen mothering him, as if it was a foreign concept to him.

That reaction made a lot more sense considering the scene Ted and Holly were witnessing now, just outside the supermarket.

"Think about the mud you're putting our name through, Steven. Your mother has been asked multiple times if she should be looking after you at home and can't argue her cases without allusions being made. I thought you knew better than to cause this trouble." Richard was lecturing, gesturing over Steve's body as if to highlight flaws he wasn't stating.

Whatever Mr Harrington was continuing to say Ted ignored, leaning down to Holly who had also noticed Steve and was already looking for permission to go and say hi. For a while she never thought about it but after a few outings with Karen when others weren't so happy to be interrupted he'd made sure to explain to her to check with them if her friends looked busy. Steve however looked like Holly would be a welcome escape from his father so Ted gestured over, encouraging.

"Steve!" She called, excited and hurrying over.

Ted watched as his face lit up and his focus was set on Holly now, as well as the anger that darkened his father's face.

"Holly Jolly, Mr Wheeler, How are you? You been having an adventure?" Steve asked, focusing on the kid as Ted had known he would. Every time he was around it was the easiest way to get him away from Nancy for a bit to suggest Holly asks to play. That'd been how he'd given the 'don't hurt my daughter' talk months back.

"Dad's getting me sweets but sssshhhhh, Mum said I can't have them so we have to hide them when we're home." Holly explained, ignoring Richard clearing his throat since he was a stranger. "Are you getting sweets too?"

"My father says I can't. You're so lucky with yours, Holly Jolly. I've got to get bread and cheese and that's all I'm allowed." Steve's words were joking for Holly but there was something genuine under them that had Ted wondering just what restrictions the boy was facing aside from being criticised and yelled at in public.

He stepped forward, also ignoring Richard for the moment. "I'm sure we can share ours. It's been a while since you came over and I'm sure Karen would love to have you for dinner."

"That'd be-"

"Unacceptable." Richard Harrington interrupts. "Who are you to undermine my sons life?"

Ted looked at the man in judgement. He'd lived in Hawkins for all his life and everyone knew the Harrington's by name and school memories. This was one of the first times he'd encountered the man since school however and what he saw was lacking, both in appearance and impression from Steve's reactions. "Theodore Wheeler. Unlike you I actually know that inviting someone to dinner doesn't undermine them at all. You standing criticising him in front of Melvalds does however, undermines whatever good reputation the Harrington's have thanks entirely to Steve. I see he raised himself rather than you doing any actual work parenting."

Richard scoffed at that, "Good reputation? You call getting into fights good for our name?"

"My son was one of the kids he was protecting as you would know if you were ever home or paid any attention to the newspapers of Hawkins." Ted countered immediately. "Something I can see you'd never do. How about we go and greet Mrs Byers, ask if there are any remaining papers that include that report as well as the invitations for the esteemed Harrington's to make a comment. I doubt the reporters meant yelling in front of a supermarket about their son failing to what? Avoid getting bruises?"

"You have no right to judge me when you're leaving your child in irresponsible hands." Richard snarled, never noticing Steve's step away and attempting to distract Holly.

"Looks pretty responsible to me even if Steve hasn't more than proven himself to me and multiple families including the Chief of Police if I'm not mistaken." Ted replied coolly, turning to lead the way into the store, subtly gesturing for Steve to head down the candy aisle. This wasn't the argument for kids to have or listen to no matter how grown Steve acted.

Almost twenty minutes later, and after the discovery Joyce Byers wasn't working that shift, Ted went to find his kids, ears ringing with some of the words Richard used about his son and reeling with the knowledge that legally or not, for the moment, he had 4 kids.

Steve was watching the end of the aisle with anxious eyes, but had Holly happily holding a couple of toys and talking about a game she was playing. "Sorry for whatever my father said, Mr Wheeler. I hope he's not hurt you." he immediately began, giving the impression that if he wasn't still looking after Holly he'd have already been hurrying off.

"Don't apologise and since you're living with us now you can just call me Ted." He waved the apologies off, bending to his daughter. "Would you like that, Hols? Like Steve to be your big brother as well as Mike?"

"Living with-" Steve cut himself off from asking with a shake of his head. "Can you explain that to me more later?"

Ted nodded, "On the way home I will. Let's get the rest of this list and head off."

[educatedsimps]

01 Affettuoso

≪ our last summer masterlist | fics masterlist

[it.]: tenderly Written in the form of a letter.

August 2021

Dear Tōru

I distinctly recall the first time we had met each other. It was the second year of middle school, and I was doodling in my sketchbook, seated at the grandstand in our school's sports stadium. I was enjoying my time of solitude, because I was a shy introvert who only spoke when spoken to.

I was in the middle of my sketch of an unknown male, partially because I did not have the inspiration nor a muse to get my creative juices flowing.

Well, that was until you entered that indoor stadium. It was really more like a scene from a high school drama.

The bright afternoon's sunshine shone down onto your being while your smile rode high across your face. You had your favourite turquoise volleyball bag slung across your shoulder, and your hair was slightly tousled - like you had just ran your fingers through it after a shower.

You really made my jaw drop, and from then on, I always referred to you as My Golden Boy.

I had found my muse, and I ended that day with a sketch of your face, even though I never found the courage to show it to you.

Isn't it amusing, though? Now, upon reflection, I still have no idea why you chose me back then. I was far from the ideal match for someone like yourself.

What we had shared, however, gave me a brief taste of happiness. I think schoolmates to lovers would be the most apt way to describe us. And yet, as we grew and matured even more in high school, we realised that our goals were gradually diverging from each other. And that, I suppose, was what pushed us away from each other.

You had always wanted to become a professional volleyball player, and I had always wished to eventually pursue my artistic endeavours. The more time we had away from each other resulted in an irreconcilable chasm between us. We ended up cancelling our dates because something always popped up at the last minute, and it only became worse when you got the offer to work in Argentina. I was left behind in Japan, and I don't think you know just how agonising it was for me to not be able to see and touch you for months on end.

I know it was never something we wished for, but our split was ultimately inevitable. I remember crying my guts out, wondering why and how we had reached such a low point.

I never thought that I would lose myself, when I lost you.

Seeing you today, however, made me feel nothing but pride and joy and hope. You had accomplished your lifelong goal, your dream, as a star player in the Argentinian volleyball team. And amazingly, more and more brands were lining up to get you to endorse them.

For me, well, I had ventured into the unknown for a while, but soon I was given the rare opportunity to work as an Art History Professor in The Juilliard School in New York. My specialty is now art in the form of words, rather than my original drawings and paintings.

I arrived in Argentina several days ago on a self-care vacation, only to see your once familiar face plastered all across Bueno Aires. I see you've become quite a household name.

It first came as a shock to me, since you had decided to relocate to Argentina, but I soon realised that you had finally found so much joy in this country. Much more than you did in middle and high school, in hindsight.

Perhaps, our breakup had been kinder to you, and allowed you to find yourself in both volleyball and in your soul.

I don't regret that we have ended, I only regret not letting you go sooner. I could have propelled you to an even better position in life had I done that earlier. I only see that I was holding you back from your dreams.

Penning all of this down now, at the age of 27, is perhaps too late.

I would never have the chance to give nor mail this letter to you now, since we've lost contact. Additionally, seeing you on practically every billboard and screen prompted me to do some research on you.

It seems that you are now happily engaged to an Argentinian-born Japanese badminton player, who attained her first Olympic medal when she was only sixteen.

So yeah, this letter will be mine to keep until I'm gone.

I just wanted to use my words - the ones I never said - to tell you that I truly loved you then, and to this day, I still do.

Love always Y/N

© educatedsimps 2024. do not repost, copy, translate or plagiarize any work from this blog on tumblr or any other platforms. if you do, the simps will hunt you down. but likes and reblogs are appreciated!

[eightfreak]

i know the question post was like a month ago but i love your ocs and want to know their lore and stuff! how did Flick and Clint meet?

ITS NO PROBLEM AT ALL‼️I DELIGHT IN TALKING ABOUT THEM

Flick and Clint are a pretty old case... Man, they had to be, what, 9 or 10? Their hometown, Paradise, is a pretty backwaters little settlement. Pretty decent schools, VERY decent community. Its a tight-knit little area, so it makes sense that the moment fresh meat was lowered in that it would be devoured Immediately.

Clint moved in permanently with his dad around 8 years old, and they fled from the more bustlesome Utopia city colony to Paradise for a simpler life, just a little ways down south. He was a really closed-off and weird-talking kid, and never showed much interest in speaking to other people. Even when he was caught-up academically, he struggled with the whole socialness bit. Quite literally, he had to be dragged kicking and screaming into friendship, and a very young Flick(and Piper) were more than willing to do so. Those 2 saw him sitting at lunch alone one day and just beelined towards him. I would say its just because it was meant to be, but Clint's dad made really good money in a town mostly consisting of fishermen, and the kids could smell it like it was like blood in the water. Though, where most other kids avoided him (because he kept threatening to bite them), Flick bit first. It was a whole thing actually, Flick's parents had to sign a form and everything and were very embarrassed. But, it was a start. Clint, even if he was fearful of that first interaction, suddenly looked to those funny two with newfound awe and respect.

After a long enough time of hanging out with him cause his parents told him to apologize (and bc his household has the Good snacks,) Flick just found that, hey! This guy aint half bad! It had to be cute, watching Flick effectively socialize this shitty newborn kitten of a child. He seemed to take pride in being an older brother in this regard, showing Clint all his favorite games, and the best trees to sit in(and then promptly not allowing Clint to sit in the good trees because they were for 'big kids only' and Clint's birthday came like, 3 months after the other two's so he was 1 year younger than them for a good majority of the summer (he hated this game)).

It's a very funny, somewhat ironic twist that in the end, Clint became LEAGUES more responsible and formal than his prior mentor, but if you look real close, Flick is still the real 'older bro' in their dynamic! [situationally. they take turns being the older brother]

[sleepingghostt]

Wip

“Hey Kagami! Wanna shoot some!”

The first time Taiga met Tyler, he thought the guy was an annoying little shit. A mix of Kise and that adhd kid Hayama from Rakuzan and he was instantly a pain in the redhead’s ass. He was fun to play with though, not as good as Daiki but some of his moves were pretty remarkable.

The problem was, he never left Taiga alone, especially on the court…no matter which court he went to (not that there were too many courts in his neighborhood to choose from). It was getting ridiculous but dammit, he was too nice to deny the guy some one-on-ones.

“You like banana milk?”

Taiga looked up from his foot long sub and shook his head. He was currently sitting on a bench near one of his favorite courts in California, basketball waiting patiently next to him, a half empty bottle of banana milk on his other side, threatening to fall with one accidental jerk of his knee.

Taiga hated banana milk, but he hadn’t seen Dai, face to face in a month. He was missing him severely these days.

“Huh? Ah, no.” he took his headphones off and spared the bottle a meaningful glance. “It just reminds me of Japan...”

“Cool... So are you ready to play or what?” Tyler was definitely dressed for it. Black basketball shorts and a skin tight tank, his buff muscles prominent under the thin material.

He was on the shorter side, between Kise and Kuroko, skin pale and white with no trace of tan, blonde hair, curly and short. He wasn’t bad looking; crystal blue eyes and a tiny array of freckles on his nose but Taiga wasn’t interested.

“Yeah, just let me finish this first.”

Once his sandwich was devoured, banana milk waiting safely beside it, they started playing.

—

Tyler was fast. So fast, Taiga was out of breath by the end of it. He almost couldn’t keep up. Almost. He still dominated the court and wiped the floor with the twerp’s ass but the fucker almost gave him a run for his money.

“God dammit...you sure you’re not…one of those…annoying fruit loops?”

“Fruit loops?” Tyler laughed and shook his head as Taiga collapsed on the grass and took a big chug of water. “Hell nah. But I am fruity.” He winked and the redhead chuckled, then made a face as the blonde boy bent down to grab his bottle, making a show of waving his ass teasingly in the air. “You referring to your miracle friends?”

“Yeah.” In the little time they’d known each other, Taiga hadn’t told Tyler his whole life story. Only bits and pieces, the Generation of damn Miracles being one them. He wasn’t surprised their household name hadn’t made it back to the states which kinda sucked but it gave Taiga the opportunity to brag about Daiki whenever he had the chance, to pretty much whoever would listen.

“Those little self destructive fucks.” His phone buzzed then and Taiga rolled his eyes and bit back a smile as he glanced down at the notification.

princess💙: no asshole send pic of kate upton

i heard she has the biggest rack

-

Speak of the devil.

Kagz🍔: gonna cost u

-

princess💙: obv

just send it

no mariah carey crap

-

Kagz🍔: bullshit

just admit u have a thing for milfs

-

princess💙: I FUCKING DON’T

Chuckling, Taiga put his phone down and stretched his sore muscles. He’d do it later.

“Hey, is that your boyfriend?”

Tyler was staring down at his phone, the screen lit up with another notification. Daiki was pouting up at them from his lock screen, face soft with sleep, dried drool on the corner or his mouth, Taiga’s favorite sight in the early hours of the morning.

“Uh, yeah.” Blushing, Taiga tried to grab it but Tyler was quick to snatch it and hold it closer so he could see.

“Oh my god, he’s a total trophy wife!”

“Ughh. Don’t give him that title. He doesn’t deserve that shit.” Despite his jabs, he smiled bigger, pride filling his chest. He loved when people commented on Daiki’s looks. As long as they didn’t try anything.

“He does though! It’s a total beauty and the beast type of relationship going on. I see you Shrek.”

Taiga looked at him so fast, his neck cracked. “Oi! Don’t fucking call me that! You wanna die?” He raised his fist to strike but Tyler dodged him with a laugh and a playful shove.

“Just let me decorate my coffin first. If I’m going down, I’m going in style.”

“Yeah with my fist up your fucking ass.” Completely missing the severity of his own statement, Taiga checked the time and stretched, throwing an arm over his head. “Come on. Let’s keep playing.”

[silosworld]

I realized that I was some type of queer at an insanely young age. I grew up in a queer household, both surrounded by polyamory and bisexual parents, both identities I would end up taking on in the future. This household was dysfunctional and traumatic in its own way, but I was lucky enough to have the words for what I am early on. I was a tomboy young too, never really fit in with the girls my age. I was 11 years old the first time I kissed a girl, and it made everything so so different. I have been an out and proud bisexual for so much of my life.

But there were other parts of me that were deeply repressed. I feminized myself for so many straight guys that wanted me to be their hot little girlfriend. I stole lines from romance movies to find words for a feeling I didn't understand. I blamed all my dysphoria on trauma and insecurity, blamed my lack of romantic feelings on autism of all things. Finally taking a careful step into transness by changing my name, finally naming my dysphoria, cutting my hair made my life so much better. Of course I wrecked it all for a straight guy I wanted about a month later, but the relationship made me miserable, and my friends pushed over and over again that they could tell the "girl act" wasn't me. It felt amazing, to know that this thing I hid for years was perceived and embraced by others. Being trans and happy is the best thing that's ever happened to me. I repeat, BEING TRANS AND HAPPY IS THE BEST THING THATS EVER HAPPENED TO ME.

Now the other thing. The thing I'm still shedding the shame of. There is asexual representation everywhere. There is an amount of aroace people around. I was exposed in a positive manner to both. Being aromantic and allosexual was always demonized, both in the media and in my head. I'm still working out of it. I still love people. I love my family, I love my friends, I love my boyfriend. But I am aromantic. I don't know how to add anything else. But I know that I am proud.

I am a bisexual aromantic transgender man. I try on labels like ambiamorous occasionally, and it's ok that I'm not sure. Happy pride everyone. I hope it grows on all of us the way it's begun to grow on me.

[archive-of-the-lost]

𝐒𝐢𝐛𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐜𝐡𝐮𝐩 𝐟𝐨𝐫 @waffledforbrunch

Your siblings are…Itoshi Sae and Rin!

♡ Within the Itoshi household, you seem like the middle child.💀 So, one year younger than Sae, one year older than Rin. It makes sense! Being the middle child and the only daughter, you developed a more outgoing personality to stand out from your brothers.

♡ Growing up, the three of you were very close. Being so close in age, the three of you stuck close together like glue. Though you weren't interested in soccer like Sae was, so you would accompany Rin with watching that Evolman cartoon he likes so much.

♡ Whenever Sae took Rin to get ice cream, he would bring you along too. Until they started playing soccer together, then they started getting more ice cream by themselves. But they still made sure to bring one popsicle home for you. Though you'd have to wait for it to refreeze in the freezer and it'd be a funny shape by then.

♡ You were always better at making, and keeping, friends than the both of them, so you weren't too lonely when Sae left for Spain compared to Rin. But you both obviously felt his absence, drawing the both of you closer together within a house where your parents felt so detached, even though they weren't neglectful or anything.

♡ You weren't there when the Itoshi brothers had their fallout, it's not like you attended Rin's training for fun. So you were very confused when Sae came home with the air of someone haunted. You tried to greet him, but he walked past you like you weren't there. Half an hour later, Rin came back with his eyes puffy, like he had been crying. You tried to ask him what happened, but he wasn't in the mood to tell you.

♡ The rest of Sae's stay was...awkward and tense, to say the least. Despite your attempts to catch up with Sae and lighten the mood, your brothers were unreceptive (Sae) and downright hostile (Rin). Then Sae leaves for Spain without another word, and you're left alone with Rin again. Watching Rin leave for training with a new determination set in his jaw, like he was out for murder, you felt as though you lost both your brothers that night.

♡ Rin opens up to you about the incident months after it happened, late at night while you're getting a drink from the kitchen. Your parents are in their room, out of earshot. He tells you everything, what Sae said about wanting to become a midfielder, the humiliating game that ensued, what Sae said to Rin after, how Rin is going to destroy him, destroy his life, destroy everything-

♡ You listen to Rin's furious, hurt, vulnerable ramblings and come to a conclusion: Idealistic plans made with someone else doesn't do you both any good. All it does is limit the both of you and cause disappointment. You did your best to comfort Rin, but that was the last time he confided in you for a long time.

♡ Okay, time for some headcanons more specific to you and having the Itoshi brothers as your siblings or this would just be an Itoshi brothers and middle child Itoshi fanfic. You can treat it as an AU where the Itoshi incident™ never happened, so they grew up to be well adjusted people, or the future when the Itoshi brothers have made up and are now normal about things. Whatever works for you.

Sae

♡ Sae influenced you to be logistically oriented growing up, since the three of you were so close. Seeing his brazenness probably taught you to have confidence in yourself too. You both get along well because of this, except when you butt heads because you both can be quite stubborn and prideful. The way you think your emotions shouldn't affect your performance also sounds just like Sae.

♡ The way you end up losing contact with people who don't live up to your standards for a relationship is. not great but Sae would encourage it. HE WOULD 😭 As far as he's concerned, you shouldn't be wasting time on people who don't benefit you (like someone who would distract you rather than encourage you to work towards your goals) or aren't even interesting enough to justify having your attention. It's harsh, but that's the way Sae operates, especially now when he's older. He doesn't have energy to deal with people that drain him, and he wants you to have that same mindset to some degree.

♡ Growing up with Sae and Rin is probably why you like straightforwardness. They're blunt and refuse to beat around the bush, so communication with them is easy in the way that it's easy for you to know what they want or what they're thinking. As long as no serious emotions are involved, that's another thing. Everyone can tell where your communication style comes from after talking to either one of your brothers for longer than two minutes. It's crazy how you share so similarities with them yet turned out the complete opposite in other ways.

♡ You like cats? Part two. Good for you because Sae is quite cat coded. He's quiet and silently affectionate, doing things for you so subtly you might not even realise it. He can get quite petty sometimes too. Sulks like a cat. To everyone else he looks pissed as always, but you can tell the difference when not even Rin can.

♡ Acts of service is definitely one of Sae's main giving love languages (it seems to be in a tight battle with gift giving and quality time). Maybe you and Rin got it from him. He often keeps your favourite snacks in mind when buying groceries, lets you have a seat in overcrowded trains, brings you cut fruit (like an Asian parent) while you're working on your homework frustratedly. But don't ask him to help you with it. He does not know basic math. Did he even attend high school (joking)?

♡ If the beach is Sae and Rin's special place, your special place with Sae is this playground not too far from your childhood home. Growing up, he would accompany you whenever you wanted some fresh air, push you on the swings. He was hardly ever interested in playing on the swings himself. The image of you hanging out by the space(idk what it's called) in front of the slide while it's pitch black outside, the only light source being a bright orange streetlight and Sae standing nearby just watching you popped into my head. The vision, okay?

♡ As older siblings, the both of you are morally and biologically obligated to annoy Rin. It's a great sibling bonding activity, playing pranks on him or just barging into his room to bother him before he chases you out. Sae likes to tell white lies and convince Rin they're true until he goes "really?" and Sae will go "no :/". You like to ruffle Rin's hair. Poor Rin probably gets pissed off at least once every day. But hey, it's not like he doesn't have his own ways of getting back at you.

Rin

♡ Like Sae, Rin is also very straightforward. When you ask to hang out with him and he's busy, he'll just tell you and suggest another time. Very clear communication with no hard feelings. Despite having strong opinions most of the time, the chances of him agreeing to whatever you ask of him is 50-50. You have older sister privileges. Use it well. You could convince him to cosplay and attend an event with you if you try hard enough. He will look sour the entire time, but hey.

♡ Rin was neutral about frozen fruit at first, but you managed to convert him into a frozen fruit lover after making him try frozen strawberries. Hope you like sharing because he's stealing at least one of whatever frozen fruit you're eating now. He likes doing it when you're not looking too, so you won't even notice unless you catch him in the act. It's most fun for him when you're down to your last berry and he steals it from right under your nose. You look down, realise your last fruit is gone and immediately know who the culprit is.

♡ You taught him to ice skate. He doesn't like roller skating as much, but ice skating is cool. It was also one of the good things he could look forward to in winter after the Itoshi incident™, so there's that. Somehow, you always find a way to make him feel better, even when you're not there. Your presence bleeds into his life. That's what it means to have a sibling. Then you both managed to convince Sae to try it out too, and found out that, to your shared delight, that he's the worst at it out of the three of you. He refuses to ice skate ever again.

♡ It's easy for him to tell when you have too much energy while working because you'll be fidgeting or getting up to walk around too much. Even if you have no idea what he's talking about, he'll insist you look like you're on a sugar rush. His solution to this? Make you exercise. A short workout, a walk outside. Just something to get your energy out. If you don't want to? Well... He gets a strange burst of energy once in a blue moon where he gets the urge to play with you. What is Itoshi Rin's form of play (with a sister)? Tickle fighting. He'll tickle you until you're slumped over your seat, exhausted in a boneless way. Like a deflated balloon. And then he'll leave, happy that you're finally not bothering him from across the house. As for whether you get any work done after that... That's not his problem.

♡ Both Sae and Rin never argue with your parents. If they want to listen or just don't care, they'll agree or go along with whatever your parents say. If they don't want to listen, they just ignore your parents and do what they were gonna do anyway. 💀😭 They could never as children, but they're all grown up now. Rin still spends more time with you and your parents than Sae, so whenever he hears you start to disagree with them, he'll roll his eyes and start scrolling on his phone to entertain himself until y'all are done. Do not involve him in your arguments, especially if it doesn't concern him.

♡ Rin is also big on acts of service. Guess it runs in the whole Itoshi family. Whenever you guys go shopping, the only bag he'll let you carry is whatever you brought with you into the mall. Heavy grocery bags, small bags of any accessories or clothes you got, even tiny plastic bags for candy or makeup or whatever, he's carrying all of them. No, he is not flexing to impress girls, where did you get that idea from? What's sad is that he's being serious. Also goes to your class to bring you stuff you forgot at home and chides you for being so careless. You always find that more female classmates talk to you after he leaves.

♡ Sae isn't big on physical affection, so Rin is the one more likely to give you hugs and cuddles. Rin's touchiness is most obvious when he's feeling sleepy in the car. He'll put his head on your shoulder and doze off peacefully. He'll let you do the same with him if you're also feeling sleepy. As opposed to Sae who would rather lean his head on the car door and risk hitting his head when the car goes over a speed bump. He remembered to buy a neck pillow eventually.

Notes: At first I thought about matching you with Bachira, then decided to go for a more opposite kind of dynamic. Rin came to mind, so of course, Sae comes as a package deal too. But I wanted to think of a deeper reason for your sibling match, then the perfect idea came to mind. The lore matches, I'm so happy with this matchup. 😭

About your moodboard because I got strangely excited over it

Red sunglasses: Your favourite colour is red and you wear glasses Blue popsicles: Self-explanatory. Also beach background Yellow roller skates: You like roller skating and give off yellow vibes online Egg: You used to go by "Eggo". Wordplay on your real name. There's also a smiley face, because you're very silly :) Reindeer slippers: Red again and you like festive holidays Swings: Three of them for the three siblings. Blue, yellow and red, the primary colours prominent in the moodboard Aquarium: Related to the sea Cat: You like cats and also yellow Raspberries: Red and you like frozen fruit, raspberries fall in a subset

[petrichorium]

i must know more about the kitties you have with your husbands 🫶🏻 pretty pwease

WHEEEEEEE ofc ofc I will gush abt them all always 🙏🏻 on a base level none of these cats r purebreds or anything they’re all strays either organically found or adopted from a shelter/another home. also there r so many pics i cant make them smaller so everything is utc

Gagamaru and I have one cat that was originally mine, Kabocha. He’s very sweet but is a bit flighty and takes a long time to warm up to Gagamaru; the first time I rlly have the hes the one thought is when I walk in on him napping on my couch w Kabo tucked into the crook of his arm dozing away bc!!!! It’s the first time he’s been comfortable enough to sleep on anyone other than me. Very himbo cat, absolutely gorgeous but total dumbass.

Kuroo and I have three cats! I had two and he had one when we combined households we were veeeeeeery careful w introducing them 🥺 he’s had a grouchy old lady for as long as I’ve known him. Her name is Suki and he took her in as a stray after an elderly neighbor’s son let her loose; she adores him and it’s slow going but she comes to adore me as well. I had a cat that passed a few weeks after I met him and then didn’t have any pets for a while, but then abt half a year before we move in together he stumbles across a trio of kittens on his way to a date w me and the date devolves into us getting them care……. One unfortunately doesn’t make it :( but I end up taking in the other two; they’re a lil girl and boy named Mizuki and Hoshi. Old lady is tolerant of them but they’re def a bit too energetic for her so the only times they rlly interact r when they’re in a puddle together napping…. Suki is the calico, Mizuki and Hoshi r the white ones! Once they’re fully grown they’re both bigger than her, tho Hoshi is an absolute unit and is the biggest by quite a bit

I believe I’ve said this once but. I have a perpetual series of completely normal housecats w Jing Yuan pfft I try my best but they have an unfortunate tendency of hunting his finches :( I only ever have one-three at a time and ofc I adore them all but I do end up w like fifty over the course of our lives together LMFAOOOOO including a few lil lineages where I kept many generations down the line!!! But the three that I’ve thought about r Jade and her kittens Bei and Feng (Yanqing named those two……) bc they’re the ones I have over the course of Mimi’s life. Mimi is a co-parent in their odd little pride, she and Jade grew up together and are very bonded n constantly exasperated by their rambunctious boys……. just like me and mine, though Yanqing and Jing Yuan constantly protest that comparison 🫣

i Have talked abt shanks before but its funny to me so. this lil scrawny tuxedo kitten ends up following me onto the red force one day (bc i fed it) and nobody realizes until we've set off.... i am told i Cannot name it or get attached bc we Will be leaving it on the next island....... except the crew ends up getting attached and they name it sharkbait. SHARKBAIT. FOREVER bitter NEVER getting over it every time shanks and i get into any kind of fight i bring it up "ALSO YOU TOLD ME I COULDNT NAME THE DAMN CAT AND NOW ITS NAMED SHARKBAIT YOU STILL OWE ME" (he will never stop owing me)

Lil bonus bc he’s been on the mind for months now: Capitano is not a cat person in fact when I first ask for one he gets me a pair of massive guard dogs that I stubbornly refuse to name at first and then end up calling Fluffy and Cuddles out of pure spite. Then I bitch enough that he does get me a kitten who Absolutely Fucking Despises Him tries to rip him to shreds every time he gets in bed with me (a week in he admits he finds it endearing but she does get kicked out of the room regularly when he wants alone time) I call her Lady she is a very elegant girl when she is not trying to murder him and actually gets along very well w the dogs, much to Capitano’s chagrin