#se's given no reason to be nice

[deathfavor]

@shackld said: ☂ lamia and shes holding the umbrella completely over her so its only covering her :)

send ☂ to find my muse in the middle of a storm, beaten and bloody

For all the helpless, innocent acts that Lamia pulls off to manipulate people, she never reaches out for help when she really needs it. She grits her teeth and endures it because that is what she knows. She refuses to hand the power over to someone else to control. But direct combat isn't Lamia's forte. She's an AMBUSH predator, a manipulator, not a tank. It normally isn't a problem. Most people who recognize her admire her, or clutch at her dress asking for her to bless them or ask what the ocean wants for their prayers to be answered.

But there are those brutes who use force for everything. Stupid gangsters. It's not her fault they're poisoned, forced to suffer in a loop of torment like her despicable cousin. They deserved it. THEY were the ones who hurt her first. They were the ones who kidnapped her, they were the ones who tried to scare her, they were the ones who chose violence first. She can feel the warm blood on her skin and the sting of the rain on her wounded body. She's not sorry for what those hell those scum are enduring. Except it was causing a scene by the sound of the sirens approaching. Good. Except she doesn't want to go to the police for help. Because the police don't like sinners. Their chief was a member of the Thaumus Society, but he hadn't gotten to see Lamia in person yet so she'd have no leverage if she tried to go to the police. Either they'd just see her as an oddity or pin her as a Sinner immediately.

Instead, she's lost and injured in dark alleyways she doesn't recognize.

Lamia isn't sure how long she sits in the pouring rain, staring at the ground. In the dreary weather, her skin acts like camouflage to help her blend into the miserably grey of the city. Time trickles by and its only the sudden ceasing of raindrops on her skin that has her confused. No one should be out in this weather so who - ?

The ocean's messenger lifts her head, pushing heavy, slick hair out of her face to see Chief standing in front of her, holding an umbrella over her head. It's stupid. Lamia's already soaked to the bone, what was the umbrella supposed to do for her now? Why was Chief giving it to her of all people?

" You should keep the umbrella, or you're going to catch a cold. You already look pale as it is. " Lamia finally says. It lacks her usual bite. She struggles to stand up, heer expression barely changing even as her body aches with wounds and bruises. But she manages, her posture all defensive rather than confident.

[wip]

A very very minor thing I have been curious about for a while, and I'm finally asking: why do you calculate queue posting times the way you do? For example, if I set my queue to post 3x a day, naively I would expect it to post every 8 hours. But in reality it posts every 6 hours with a 12 hour gap between days. Why complicate the math like that?

Answer: Hello @circumference-pie!

Buckle up y’all, it’s story time again!

First: nobody who works at Tumblr right now was a part of the work of planning the default queue implementation, which was more than ten years ago. So the full story behind “Why does it work that way?” has unfortunately been lost to the sands of time. All we can do is tell you how it works today and surmise some reasons why. The queue is actually a very clever system and part of how it works explains some of why it works the way it does. Also, there have been attempts to do what you ask—we still have “Queue 2.0” available in your Tumblr Labs settings, which tries to get closer to how you expect things to work.

Anyway! How the queue works today is not actually a queue in the traditional sense. There is no single list of posts that are in “your queue”. Instead, when you “Add to queue” after creating a post, we’re actually scheduling it to post at a future time, as if you had used the “Schedule post” option instead. We’re just calculating that time on your behalf when you use “Add to queue”, based on your settings, and how many other scheduled posts you have already. We use a secondary “index” model, called “ScheduledPost”, to keep track of posts you have scheduled on your blog. We do mark the ones that are a part of “your queue”, but the data model doesn’t keep one list of your “queue” per se.

You can see this in action on your blog, hiding in plain sight. If you add a bunch of posts to your queue, and then schedule a post for a specific future date, you’ll see both in your blog’s “queue” list, side by side. Because technically to us, they’re the same thing: queued posts are really just another kind of scheduled post, relying on the same always-running service to publish scheduled posts across all of Tumblr. Here’s a fun fact: we typically have about ~14.5 million future posts to publish from this list at any given time and are publishing hundreds of these scheduled posts every second.

So when you’re adding a new post to your queue, what we’re doing behind the scenes is starting at the beginning of your “day”, and creating time slots based on your queue settings. If a time slot is already filled, we move on to the next one. That’s why the default queue scheduler works how you describe—we’re trying to fill those “slots” based on the start of the day, rather than trying to divide the calendar day evenly. This just makes it much simpler for us to understand, scale, and predict when our “peaks” will be. At peak times, the publish-scheduled-posts service is publishing tens of thousands of posts in a manner of seconds. We did rewrite that post-publishing part of this architecture a few years ago to improve its efficiency and solve a lot of “lost post” bugs, but we didn’t change how “Add to queue” works.

However, the Queue 2.0 project available in Labs was an attempt to change the queue system to work as you expect—instead of starting at [beginning of day] and creating enough slots to fit [number of slots] every [number of hours], it tries to divide the calendar day into [number of slots] and fit the result back to the original algorithm’s mapping of the day. We never productionized this alternative approach, because it has a few bugs that some blogs hit in extreme cases, and we’ve never had time to fully fix them. It also can cause a bit of weirdness when time zones diverge, like with daylight savings time. Also, a lot of people prefer the default algorithm, and we haven’t thought of a nice way to transition everyone from one to the other. So for now, both options exist, and you can choose which algorithm for queue-slot-generating you want to use. We hope that makes sense! 

While complicated, it is a great example of a system built by engineers to make sense and be scalable and predictable. But sometimes these kinds of systems, while clever, aren’t very intuitive to understand without digging into how they work.

Thanks for your question, and keep ’em coming. 

[fangweaver2099]

𝐅 𝐀 𝐖 𝐍 𝐓 𝐄 𝐄 𝐓 𝐇 - Prologue pt 1

MINORS DNI 18+ FIC

You’ve always liked the idea of having a dominant partner - BDSM was something you’ve read about, watched videos about.

Something you made Pinterest boards and aesthetic tumblr posts about when you were 18 and curious, the idea always sounded nice, but you’ve never done it in practice, not really. Sure you bought fuzzy handcuffs at a gag gift store once, but that didn’t really count.

You’re still a virgin.

You’ve always had that chronically awkward, workaholic type of vibe that made typical dating near impossible at worst and frustrating at best. Normal dating apps have proven fruitless and agitating. So poor curious little you talked yourself into making a fetlife account. You weren’t looking for true love, but at least you could get laid.

DM Request from: 10:13 PM - WebRigger2099 - “Hello, Fawn.”

College was for new experiences after all.

CW: BDSM heavy/centric fic. Safe, Sane & Consensual. Miguel is your professor, but you both don't know that. Age Gap (Y/N is 23, Miguel is mid 30's)

PART 2

DM Request from: 10:13 PM - WebRigger2099 - “Hello, Fawn.” 

You squint at the request - you can see his icon is his torso.

You knew you had to snoop - be careful. The classic teen girl not wanting to be abducted shit. His skin was tanned - pale palms and even skintone told you he wasn’t a white guy. NYC was a melting pot - so you weren’t about to think too hard about it. You scroll through his writings. Most were boring and formal. You debate reading over the ‘contract template’ he had posted but decide against it.

His pictures are, mostly, not entirely him. A few torso shots showing off dark hair and abs - or more casual showing off a normal looking body of a dude who clearly worked out. The others are a few different women in different states of undress smothered in bondage ropes, always a bright red. The one that intrigues you the most again has the face censored by a black bar, but she’s hung upside down against the wall, diamonds of rope on her thighs as she’s suspended before red rope that was weaved into a massive spider web. He was a fan of spiders - the user name made sense.

The photos were old, from 2016 at the newest. The photos of him were new - posted just 6 months ago.

His wall was what told a touch of his story. You scroll down dozens of posts, women and men acting friendly or asking to meet up again. You wonder if he used to be a community person, the anon nature of his account was new? Could you check on the wayback machine? 

You tab back into his chat.

“hey. are you really 6’9? ” - Fawnteeth - 10:19 PM

 10:19 PM - WebRigger2099 - “You think I’d lie about that?”  

“maybe. I know a lot of guys who lie about their height, I’m tall enough to tell.” - Fawnteeth - 10:20 PM

 10:20 PM - WebRigger2099 - “Smart to ask. Yes, I am really 6’9”. Is height a big seller for you?”  

“when you’re a tall woman, it is.” - Fawnteeth - 10:20 PM

 10:21 PM - WebRigger2099 -  “You want me to make you feel small. Noted.”

“what had you messaging me? you seem popular.” - Fawnteeth - 10:21 PM

 10:22 PM - WebRigger2099 -  “I’ve been in the scene for a long time, made my way around. Your interests line up and you seem at least somewhat concerned about your own anonymity.”  

“here I thought you’d say you found me pretty.” - Fawnteeth - 10:22 PM

 10:22 PM - WebRigger2099 - “Shallow compliments hardly get us anywhere. Besides, that’s a given.”  

“well, thank you anyway. need to keep this and my personal life separate, like you I see.” - Fawnteeth - 10:23 PM

 10:24 PM - WebRigger2099 - “ “We all have our secrets and reasons to keep them.”  

“serial killer sorta secrets?” - Fawnteeth - 10:24 PM

“I’m kidding.” - Fawnteeth - 10:24 PM

 10:24 PM - WebRigger2099 - “Would you believe me if I said no?”  

“I can try. it’s not like you’re a blank profile, web.” - Fawnteeth - 10:25 PM

 10:26 PM - WebRigger2099 - “Maybe you shouldn’t. Things like that are easy to fake. You’re clearly trying to keep a secret, which means if I met up with you no one would know where you went. Would be a good tactic if  I was preying on little girls.”

You stare at his message for a moment, forcing in a quick breath you sit up as your bed creaks. Okay, time to take things a bit more seriously.

“Good thing I’m not a little girl. I do appreciate the concern, it’s attractive.” - Fawnteeth - 10:27 PM

 10:27 PM - WebRigger2099 - “Lot’s of untrustworthy people on sites like this. Ones that will lull you into a sense of security.”  

“Trust me, I’m well aware. You think I should be afraid of you?” - Fawnteeth - 10:27 PM

 10:28 PM - WebRigger2099 - “Yes. You can’t trust me right away.”

“Well, I like the honesty. I don’t think I have any plans to meet up with anyone soon - not even you.” - Fawnteeth - 10:30 PM

 10:30 PM - WebRigger2099 -  “Of course you don’t. You’re new at this.”

“Did I really give it away that quickly?” - Fawnteeth - 10:31 PM

 10:31 PM - WebRigger2099 -  “Yes.”

You stare at the screen for a long moment, eyes wide. How the hell do you reply to that? Is he ending the conversation? Did you already fuck things up? At this point, most men would be falling over themselves to impress you, not making you feel intimidated . You feel your core throb as you click back to his profile, scrolling over dozens of comments on his wall from years ago - the fact is, his profile spans back years. Longer. He’s experienced, and… he isn’t wrong, either. 

“Is that a problem? I hope it isn’t. You’re the first dude who hasn’t asked me for nudes yet.” - Fawnteeth - 10:32 PM

 10:34 PM - WebRigger2099 -  “No. You should be more careful though, me explaining that and this is something you should be suspicious of. Wanting to ‘protect’ you because you’re young and need to be taught the ropes, so to speak.”  

“Got it, Sir.” - Fawnteeth - 10:34 PM

“Wait, can I call you that?” - Fawnteeth - 10:34 PM

You cringe, placing the laptop on the bed for a moment. Shit - you’ve already messed up.

 10:35 PM - WebRigger2099 -   “That’s acceptable. If you ever call me ‘Daddy’ however I will block you.”  

 10:35 PM - WebRigger2099 -  “That’s not a joke.” 

You open your eyes, glancing over at the chat and his two messages. Raising a brow, you lean in, shifting the laptop back into your lap. 

“Understood. Not my thing.” - Fawnteeth - 10:35 PM

 10:36 PM - WebRigger2099 -  “What is your thing, Fawn?”

“Well… I like giving up control… Feeling like prey. I’ve always loved deer, something about being so fiercely defenseless as a fawn in a wolf’s maw is thrilling.” - Fawnteeth - 10:37 PM

 10:37 PM - WebRigger2099 -  “No wonder you brushed over the red flags.”

“Maybe.The whole giving up control is why most submissives are here, aren’t they?” - Fawnteeth  - 10:38 PM

 10:40 PM - WebRigger2099 -  “The illusion of giving up control. Any good dominant knows the submissive is the one with the power. Safe words, limits, contracts - it all relies on knowing they can end things whenever they want to explore it safely.”  

“Of course.” - Fawnteeth  - 10:40 PM

 10:40 PM - WebRigger2099 - “Of course? So you have those things ready for me?”  

“ Safe words and how I prefer them - yes. Limits, I think so. Contract - no. ” - Fawnteeth  - 10:40 PM

 10:42PM - WebRigger2099 -   “I need one for slow down/ease up and one for an immediate stop. I also need a physical sign if you are unable to say your safe words. Please list them.”  

 10:43 PM - WebRigger2099 -   “Send me 4 lists: Favorites, Yes, Maybe, and No not ever. Include everything you can think of. If you do not include something that I am interested in I will ask about it and we will consider it a maybe until you’ve had time to consider it and possibly research.”

 10:43 PM - WebRigger2099 -  “You will not need a premade contract. I have a basic format we can edit to our needs. If it goes that far.”  

“Is the green, yellow, red method good with you?” - Fawnteeth  - 10:44 PM

 10:44 PM - WebRigger2099 -  “Yes.”

“That’s good.” - Fawnteeth  - 10:44 PM

“...And I'll get you the other things - do you have any hard nos I should know of?” - Fawnteeth  - 10:44 PM

10:45 PM - WebRigger2099 -  “Send me yours and we’ll go from there.”  

“Okay.” - Fawnteeth  - 10:45 PM

You take your time in a Google document, carefully considering your late-night Archive Of Our Own feed. Anxiety tells you to rush, but you get the energy that Web isn’t the kind of guy who wants you to rush.

“ Will you click links? Google Docs. ” - Fawnteeth  - 10:55 PM

 10:55 PM - WebRigger2099 -  “ I applaud you if you somehow hack me from a google docs link. I have a very good firewall as a warning. ” 

You couldn’t help but grin at his reply - you’re charmed by him. Oh no.

“I’d figure as much. Here.” - Fawnteeth  - 10:57 PM

“ [Google Docs Link] “ - Fawnteeth  - 10:57 PM

 10:57 PM - WebRigger2099 -  “I’ll ask specifics soon but I want to be clear about this - I want something in person, but that is not on the table until the end of the summer. I have obligations. If that is a problem I don’t want to waste your time.” 

“That’s fine. I know we’re both in NYC. I’m kinda glad as I don’t think I’m ready to meet up soon anyway.” - Fawnteeth  - 10:57 PM

 10:58 PM - WebRigger2099 -  “Gives us time to get to know each other and learn expectations.

“Then it sounds like we’re on the same page.” - Fawnteeth  - 10:58 PM

 10:58 PM - WebRigger2099 -  “Good. Due to this being a distance-based arrangement for the time being I cannot touch you myself; Have you heard of a lovense?”

“I have. Aren’t those expensive?”   - Fawnteeth  - 10:58 PM

 10:58 PM - WebRigger2099 -  “Money isn’t a concern for me, and anything I get you is a gift. The only expectation is to use whatever I provide. Acceptable?”

“Yes. I don’t take pictures or videos with my face in them.” - Fawnteeth  - 10:58 PM

 10:58 PM - WebRigger2099 - “I noticed.”

 10:58 PM - WebRigger2099 -  “Neither do I. That isn’t a problem.” 

“Glad to hear that.” -   Fawnteeth  - 10:59 PM

“...So…”   - Fawnteeth  - 10:59 PM

 10:59 PM - WebRigger2099 -   “Your list says nothing about exhibitionism. If I were to tell you to wear your lovense during the day would that be acceptable?”

For a moment you stare at his message. Now that you’re not under your father’s roof, you have free reign to do whatever, and it’s honestly not like your roommates haven’t done weirder, less appropriate shit in far more public spaces. 

“That’s fine as long as I’m not visiting family. I live somewhere else.” - Fawnteeth  - 10:59 PM

 10:59 PM - WebRigger2099 -  “ You say you like roleplay. Are there specific scenarios you’re interested in?”

“Do you know what dead by daylight is?” -  Fawnteeth  - 10:59 PM

 11:00 PM - WebRigger2099 -  “I can’t say I do.”

“...Well. I wasn’t joking about the idea of enjoying being hunted. I guess. Kinda embarrassing to admit to a stranger.” - Fawnteeth  - 11:00 PM

 11:00 PM - WebRigger2099 -   “Does that embarrassment excite you, Fawn?”

“Maybe.” - Fawnteeth  - 11:00 PM

 11:00 PM - WebRigger2099 -   “I expect yes or no answers. If you’re not sure say so.”

“Yes, then.” - Fawnteeth  - 11:00 PM

 11:00 PM - WebRigger2099 -  “Good girl. What do you want me to do when I catch you?”

There’s no hesitation, no doubt in the message. What do you want when I catch you. Not would you want, not if I caught you. When. You can’t help but squirm. For a moment, you consider pacing your tiny, cluttered bedroom.

“Is whatever you want the wrong answer?”   - Fawnteeth  - 11:01 PM

“I might be new, but I think I’m kinda open. I want to please, I suppose.” - Fawnteeth  - 11:01 PM

 11:01 PM - WebRigger2099 -  “ Not at all a wrong answer.”

 11:02 PM - WebRigger2099 -  “Have you ever been spanked before? You said it was a favorite.”

“Yes.” - Fawnteeth - 11:02 PM

You bite your lip - it technically isn’t a lie. You have been spanked - just… not sexually. It’s fine .

 11:02 PM - WebRigger2099 -  “Would you be willing to use a paddle, crop or belt in my absence if I believe you need punishment?”

“I’m not sure. I have a very high pain tolerance, but I don’t live alone, sound is a concern.”   - Fawnteeth - 11:02 PM

 11:03 PM - WebRigger2099 - “Not a problem. Making a small list for a care package if you show me potential is all.” 

“Well, what can I do to impress you, Sir?”  - Fawnteeth  - 11:03 PM

“I don’t mind homework, for lack of a better word.”   - Fawnteeth  - 11:03 PM

 11:04 PM - WebRigger2099 - “Eager, aren’t you? I’m not done.”

 11:04 PM - WebRigger2099 - “Dirty talking. What are your limits, and do you have a specific pet name you want me to use?”

“I like Fawn, obviously. Affectionate things, I think it’s better figuring it out organically. Feels more genuine.” - Fawnteeth  - 11:04 PM

 11:04 PM - WebRigger2099 - “And no humiliation.”

 11:04 PM - WebRigger2099 - “ Understood.”

 11:04 PM - WebRigger2099 -  “I have rules. It’s better that I tell you about them early. They’ve scared most people off.”

“ Well. I won’t pass judgment immediately.” - Fawnteeth - 11:05 PM

“I don’t cut my hair.” - Fawnteeth  - 11:05 PM

 11:05 PM - WebRigger2099 -   “I would be disappointed if you did. Speaking of, I only allow my submissive to trim their pubic hair for one, no shaving it.” 

“That’s fine with me. I haven’t shaved anything in a while.” - Fawnteeth  - 11:05 PM

 11:06 PM - WebRigger2099 - “ If you are going to be unavailable for more than a few hours I expect an explanation so I know you are safe. I don’t allow my partners to go to clubs or bars without me either. If this becomes serious I expect you to download a location tracking app so I know where you are at all times.”

“Okay. That’s fine. I don’t go out much.” - Fawnteeth  - 11:06 PM

 11:06 PM - WebRigger2099 -  “I am not polyamorous. If you want to be mine you are only mine, and I will hold myself to the same standard.”

“That’s fine with me. I have been talking to someone else, but about as much as you at this point. Honesty and all that stuff.”   - Fawnteeth  - 11:06 PM

 11:06 PM - WebRigger2099 - “I don’t let things I own go into disrepair; You will take care of yourself and report what you don’t complete. Punishments will be given if you do not complete these tasks.”

 11:07 PM - WebRigger2099 -  “The basic daily requirements are the following: Three meals a day, showering every day, an hour of exercise and a consistent bedtime during weekdays.”

“Okay. Did this really scare people off?” - Fawnteeth  - 11:07 PM

 11:07 PM - WebRigger2099 - “People have called me controlling. It sounds like you want to surrender your control though.” 

“Not wrong.” - Fawnteeth   - 11:07 PM

 11:07 PM - WebRigger2099 -  “ You’re not hard to read.”

“I’ll try and take it as a compliment.” - Fawnteeth  - 11:07 PM

 11:07 PM - WebRigger2099 -  “Deception and confusion are a waste of time. Own it.”  

“I’ll try my best. I’m used to being considered odd.” - Fawnteeth  - 11:08 PM

 11:08 PM - WebRigger2099 - “Are you?”

“I’m on fetlife. So, yes.” - Fawnteeth  - 11:08 PM

 11:08 PM - WebRigger2099 - “I suppose.”

 11:08 PM - WebRigger2099 -  “ We already established you’re new to this. Will I be your first dominant?”

“Yes. Not my first partner.” - Fawnteeth  - 11:08 PM

 11:09 PM - WebRigger2099 -  “ Were they not interested in this?”

“I never brought it up to them. I don’t really want romance right now.” - Fawnteeth  - 11:09 PM

 11:09 PM - WebRigger2099 -  “And if you fall for me?”

“I’d rather talk about it then, I suppose. I don’t get the vibe from you that you’re looking for romance, just a pet.” - Fawnteeth  - 11:09 PM

 11:09 PM - WebRigger2099 - “Good, and no, not right now.”

“But you think I’ll fall in love with you?” - Fawnteeth  - 11:09 PM

 11:10 PM - WebRigger2099 - “You’re young and inexperienced. Maybe you will, maybe you won’t.” 

 11:10 PM - WebRigger2099 - “ My last important rule - no drugs, limited alcohol. If you drink you must have friends with you that are reliable or myself. Drinking and doing drugs is just asking to put yourself in a vulnerable situation. It’s a precaution some have complained about.” 

With how much he spoke of other people not liking his rules it was almost like he was trying to talk you out of it.

“That’s fine. I celebrated my 21st by watching movies.”   - Fawnteeth  - 11:10 PM

 11:10 PM - WebRigger2099 - “What movies?”  

“Midsommar, it’s my favorite. Silence of the lambs too. Roomies insisted on watching Barbie after that. lol ” - Fawnteeth  - 11:10 PM

 11:10 PM - WebRigger2099 - “ You like horror.”

“Yes. I thought the ghostface poster in my 3rd photo gave it away.” - Fawnteeth  - 11:11 PM

 11:11 PM - WebRigger2099 - “And you’d like him or some other violent thing to chase you down and do whatever they wanted with you instead of killing you.”

 11:11 PM - WebRigger2099 - “It must make watching movies with a group tense if that’s what is going through your mind.” 

“I won’t say it doesn’t.” - Fawnteeth  - 11:11 PM

 11:11 PM - WebRigger2099 - “Let me guess: some part of you likes the discomfort?” 

“Honestly. I haven’t thought about it. Probably.” - Fawnteeth  - 11:11 PM

 11:11 PM - WebRigger2099 - “I think you’d like to walk around with a lovense in you, never knowing when I might turn it on or increase the settings. You enjoy suspense.”

“ It’s appealing, yeah.” - Fawnteeth  - 11:12 PM

You sit back on your bed, propping up the laptop with your pillows. Why did you love that this guy was reading you like an open book? You take in a deep breath, remember - play it cool.

 11:12 PM - WebRigger2099 - “What do you want out of all of this?” 

“My first thought is sex - but also to learn myself a bit more, I guess. Explore something with a partner I can trust… Please someone, feel better about myself. Like I said - I’m a tall woman, it doesn’t exactly make you feel pretty.”  - Fawnteeth  - 11:12 PM

 11:12 PM - WebRigger2099 - "Okay, sounds good."  

You bite your lip, reading over the message on your dimly lit phone screen over and over again. Curling up tighter into the cotton blanket on your bed, you exhale, the cheap mattress creaking underneath you. You flinch, eyes flickering towards the shut door of your bedroom. Your heart flutters in your chest for a few moments until silence rings in your ears. 

You haven’t woken up any of your roommates.Thank god. 

Sighing, you turn your attention back to your phone, looking over the message again.

 11:12 PM - WebRigger2099 - "Okay, sounds good." 

Usually men are more expressive in their text speech when it comes to you - to the extent that some even make you uncomfortable. But WebRigger2099… is very much not . You’ve dubbed him 'Web' in your head, easy enough with his username. 

Web is formal, speaks with proper punctuation and never a single spelling mistake or emote. He’s direct, not flowery or soft in any way. But… you kind of like that. Direct is easy. There’s no guessing games with instructions and meanings laid out plainly.

 11:12 PM - WebRigger2099 -“ You are very pretty, by the way. ” 

You blush.

[bangtanintotheroom]

Plug & Play (M)(Teaser)

• Pairing: Guitarist!Hongjoong x (F)Reader

• Genre: Non-Idol!AU, Rock Band!AU, Smut, Strangers to Lovers

• Rating: 18+

• Words (teaser): 742

• Summary: Tonight is the night that you quit being a bystander and make a move towards the guitarist on stage with the devilish smile.

• Warnings/themes: a rock show! 🎸, swearing, drinking, pining, Y/N is a horny bean, Hongjoong and his dangerous smiles 🫠, Yeosang the wingman, flirting, making out, semi-public sex, oral (f. receiving), dirty talk, fingering, hitting it from the back, fingers in mouth, finger sucking, protected sex (be responsible!), clothed sex, multiple orgasms

• Notes: Welp, it’s happened; I fell for yet another leader 🙃 which culminated in me going feral over his recent guitar solo and needing to write something related to it. So here it is! I should have this uploaded by Thursday morning, the latest, since I’ll be out of town for a few days. We’re trucking along pretty quickly, so I have faith! 💕

• Teaser Notes: Teasers are a WIP and will not fully reflect the final draft, warnings and themes are subject to change. If you want to be tagged when the final draft is released, either leave a reply or shoot me an ask!

• Taglist: @minttangerines @minisugakoobies @firesighgirl @swga-ficrecs @hyunjinsjeans

“I’m gonna fuck him.”

Yeosang stared at you from behind the counter, wondering if he heard you right amidst the clinking glasses and rock music.

“Excuse me?”

“I said, I’m gonna fuck him, Yeo.”

“Who?”

You rolled your eyes, rotating ninety degrees to point at the object of your desire on stage.

“Him.”

There was little surprise on your end at the scoff you heard from behind.

“You’re still on that mission?”

Your head whipped around incredulously. “Yes! Why are you shocked by this?”

Yeosang’s expression reeked of indifference as he wiped some bottles down.

“Because I thought you would have given up by now.”

“I don’t give up easily, dude—” Your eyes watched as a certain someone tuned their guitar strings. “—especially when I really want something.”

And you really wanted the man you had in your sights.

“Here you go.”

“Thanks. Are you new here?”

Your head shook at Seonghwa’s question. “No, I don’t even work here. Just helping my friend out while he gets slammed with customers.”

The pretty guitarist smiled softly.

“That’s very nice of you.”

Your cheeks couldn’t help but warm a tiny bit, shooting him the same look. “Thank you. He has to listen to enough of my ranting at home, might as well ease his pain somehow.”

Yunho blinked curiously before asking, “You’re roommates?”

“Mhm.”

He made a sound of understanding, yet another voice cut in before he could say anything.

“Thought you looked familiar.”

You focused your sight on Hongjoong, recognition on his attractive face that had your heart beating a little faster.

“Me?”

“Yeah—” His mouth quirked. “—thought I saw you hanging around Yeosang the last few times we were here.”

Oof. You weren’t sure how to react to him basically saying that he recognized you from afar. It wasn’t a bad thing, at all, considering your end goal, but you were surprised he even remembered with the amount of people in this building.

All you could muster was a scratch of the back of your neck, trying not to fluster further under his gaze.

“Haha, that’s me, always bugging him.”

Hongjoong gave a soft laugh, eyes scrunching in humor. It only made you more bashful, trying your best not to rub the toe of your boot into the ground.

Noticing that Yunho was roped into a conversation with the others now, it just left you alone with the lead guitarist.

A window of opportunity!

But for some reason, you couldn’t muster the words to continue speaking with him. Even though he continued to acknowledge you with his gaze, your eyes averted to watch the stage behind the dining tables.

“Hey.”

Your ears perked up, looking up to see Hongjoong eyeing you with curiosity.

“What’s your name?”

A lifesaver.

You had to hold back the large grin you wanted to give, settling for a polite smile instead.

“Y/N.”

“So…”

You turned around, hearing the door shut and lock before Hongjoong approached you, lips curled akin to someone ready to indulge in the sweetest dessert of their life.

“Is this a much better spot?”

Your mouth twisted in humor, nodding as you replied with delight, “Much better.”

“Good.”

The both of you looked into each other’s eyes, bodies thrumming with energy that was ready to be unleashed at any moment. Although, no one made a move for a moment.

That is, until Hongjoong chose to take a step forward, leaving the tiniest of spaces between you two.

Having him so close directly in front of you had even more of an effect than before, his fresh scent invading your nostrils while your heart pumped faster. It got worse when a hand came up to brush some hair behind your ear, his touch making you bite your lip.

Hongjoong noticed your shift and chuckled, “Nervous?”

You shook your head.

“No, just…excited.”

His grin only widened at your admission, sliding his hand down gently cradle your jaw.

“Same. Didn’t think I’d ever get to be up close and personal with Yeosang’s pretty friend.”

Although you were melting inside at the compliment, your eyebrow raised in amazement.

“Really?”

“Mhm.”

“So why didn’t you make a move first?”

You hoped to trip him up, but the guitarist didn’t seem fazed, straight teeth almost blinding you.

“I wanted to see how badly you wanted me.”

His low response brought a mixture of exasperation and lust to you, your eyes rolling as you huffed, “You rockstars and your egos.”

©bangtanintotheroom, 2024. Do not repost to other sites or copy without permission.

[cripplecharacters]

Sorry to bother you,

Your blog is wonderful! Since it's one of the most dialogue/explanation oriented, i wondered if i may please come to you with a more general doubt. i'm sincerely confused... Why is "curing" disability bad per se?

So far, the arguments (on Tumblr) seem to be,

i. Consent.

ii. Generalisation. ("Everyone will want this same thing".)

iii. The undercurrent ideology holding disability as a flaw to be "cured" (including the use of the term "cure").

On which we all agree, they're implicitly bad no matter if it's disability or a haircut. Very well.

But.

What of magical healing per se is inherently bad? Because being given a choice implies that for every given person agreeing, there are going to be others who won't. So we should still write our fantastical society around them, that's not in any way in question.

But these, the possibility of magical treatment and the non-necessity of the same, are not mutually exclusive. You don't have to "take one before the other", they can very well coexist.

Last question (i promise), is seeking treatment for oneself bad?

Like, if there came up a quest to get the glittering flower blooming once a millennia guarded by the Evil Dragon of Evil and capable of magically taking away OCD and PTSD, sign me up! Or if there's a spell to resuscitate my thyroid or an alchemical pill that solves ADHD's executive dysfunction. i mean, that's kind of what my medications should do if they weren't so costly and inaccessible, and that would be a one-time thing too.

Autism's doing alright, i'd keep everything, thanks.

Disclaimer, i'm obviously not advocating for eugenetics (as this term has been often used and misused in these discussions, better to precise).

All these conditions in one way or another define me and effect my life in a pervasive, quotidian way, or/and on a more existential scale. Not always in bad ways -my life is not a tragedy, and this i wish to make clear. i'm not saying that a "magic cure" should come before a change in society to accommodate disability. What i'm advocating for is their coexistence, as a choice -not evil per se, but nocive if inserted in a context of ableism, negation of individual consent, and, indeed, choice.

Or at least that was what i was arguing for until a few months ago. Now however, seeing as the collective opinion is one of strong rejection for these ideas, i believe there must be some important fallacies in my reasoning, and i wish, before everything else, to correct them. To understand.

Sorry for the monologue, but, may you help me?

Thank you for your time and for your kindness,

Anonymous Sloth.

Thank you for your ask! The reason curing disability is bad in media is because the disabilities cured often cannot be cured in real life. People with incurable disabilities already have so little representation, taking away the characters they see themselves in with an impossible cure is incredibly disheartening. I live with multiple incurable physical conditions, and I’ve accepted that I’ll live with them for the rest of my life. Day to day I already deal with people saying how much better my life would be if I didn’t have these conditions I had no choice in getting, I don’t want to see that in my stories! If someone has my conditions I don’t want the author to get rid of them with magic, I want to see that character going on cool adventures and being badass! Sure a magical cure might be nice, but that’s never going to happen. I’m going to be living in this body for the rest of my life, and I want to see stories where people like me get to live their lives with their conditions!

Disabled people should be allowed to see themselves in sci-fi and fantasy stories! People who can’t be cured, who can only have their symptoms managed, who have to be on medication/assistive devices the rest of their lives and who don’t want to be cured should be allowed to see themselves in media without the constant reminder that most able bodied people think their lives would be so much better is they would simply stop being disabled.

Additionally, even conditions that do have cures or ways to manage them aren’t realistically portrayed. There are never any symptoms, side effects or rehabilitation, it’s always portrayed as a magical cure that completely gets rid of the disability. This rarely happens in real life, and I don’t think it’s wrong for someone who shares a condition with a character to want to see that condition accurately portrayed.

It’s perfectly fine for a disabled person in media to want to seek treatment, plenty of disabled people in the real world also have to fight to get treatment (though the fighting is usually against insurance and doctors, not dragons and wizards). But like I said above, it should be at least somewhat realistic. The world is already over saturated with stories of people getting magical cures that make everything better forever, but what about cures with long lasting or permanent side effect? What about healing that requires extensive physical therapy? Or someone who needs to take potions for the rest of their lives to manage their condition? These realities should also be portrayed. Sure maybe some people want to see an escapist fantasy where their conditions could get cured, but not everyone wants that and it’s almost entirely done by abled authors who fathom why anyone would want to see a disabled person who isn’t trying to ‘overcome’ their disability.

We’ve also reblogged this post & answered this ask that deal with similar topics if you want to check them out.

I hope this helps! Have a nice day,

Mod Rot

-

Everything Mod Rot said.

Basically, it's like giving us representation and then taking it away. Readers with that disability are going to read that book and relate to that character. Having a character like you in a work can be so important. But then the character is magically cured of an incurable condition, and now they're completely abled. Good for them. But the reader is still disabled. The reader will still always be disabled.

Disabled representation is already so rare. It's not really nice to take away what little we have.

- Mod Aaron

Echoing what everyone else has said, I want to add an extra thing:

If there was a wealth of disabled characters in media, represented with respect and nuance and care and all that, some stories involving disability being cured wouldn’t feel out of place, because there would already be so much to see that it would be an interesting departure and not posed as the only option for a happy ending.

And if you’re writing something about curing a disability that you have because that’s your experience and it’s what you want, that would make sense as well.

But since so many representations of disability in media have the underlying message that the only way to truly be happy or worthy or whatever with a disability is to have it cured, to have the least amount of signs of disabilities ever, then adding more of the same to that can be not just frustrating but harmful.

An “overcoming” of disability, a “making invisible” of a visible disability, or a cure for a disability are not the only stories worth telling about disabled people—because they are also not the only lives worth living for disabled people.

— mod sparrow

[oneatlatime]

I was thinking about city of Walls and Secrets again (because when I don't like things I want to know WHY) and it occurred to me how much power Iroh has amassed, just by being nice.

We've seen Iroh being nice to strangers, often in situations where he can't receive anything in return for his good manners, since the beginning of the show. I've usually written those occurrences off as Iroh smoothing over for Zuko's awkwardness or awfulness (think him interfering between Zuko and the ship's crew in The Storm), or as simply Iroh being a polite person. I don't think he was lying when he told Toph - while showing Toph - that he enjoys sitting down for tea with new people. He is sociable by nature, and if Azula's comment about him being a tea-loving kook is accurate in Zuko Alone (which is up for debate - she did a lot of lying and/or repeating what the adults around her think as her own opinions that episode), then he's always been a sociable creature. This seems to be a fundamental aspect of Iroh's personality.

So whenever I've seen Iroh being nice to strangers, I've never suspected that it had a purpose beyond the short term (cover for his nephew), or as Iroh being Iroh. But I think he's playing the long game with niceness. Let me explain:

When you're hiding under a false identity while posing as a refugee in a city that probably has a ridiculously large bounty on your real identity's head (and rightfully so), you'd think the smart thing to do would be to keep a low profile. And Zuko and Iroh are doing that! Sort of. They're staying in the lower ring, but they are working customer-facing jobs. And more importantly, a true attempt at lying low would include reproducing the awful tea that was being served at the tea shop before they were hired. But Iroh won't let bad tea stand.

I made a joke in my write up of the Tales of Ba Sing Se that it was a good thing that Iroh came to people's attention as the person who makes the "best tea in the city," because he was going to attract attention one way or another, and being a good teamaker is both less suspicious and more of a currency than just being a nice guy who stops babies from crying and compassionately redirects muggers. But now that I've thought about it for a bit, I think he was going to attract attention one way or the other because he has, all this time, been attempting to attract attention. It's not just his personality, it's not just him cleaning up after Zuko, it's him consciously attempting to build connections. It's a 'nice two birds with one stone' type situation that he can attract this attention while being paid to make tea.

Here's the thing: all these times that Iroh has been polite in situations where there could be no payoff for being so, I think he has been casting seeds. And City of Walls and Secrets is the first episode where we see the seeds of his politeness and (seemingly counterintuitive for keeping a low profile) network building bear fruit.

Jet accuses Zuko and Iroh of being firebenders. He's absolutely right. Given that Zuko and Iroh are members of the Fire Nation royal family, you could argue that they're the most firebenders a firebender could be. But Iroh has been being relentlessly polite to customers, and serving the guards such good tea that they declare he makes the "best tea in the city." Rather than playing it safe and letting people overlook him, he has given people a reason to like him. So the customers, the guards, even his boss, come to his defence when Jet accuses him. The guards are not going to let a man who keeps them fed, keeps them in tea, and keeps them company, be maligned.

Here's the other thing about these seeds of politeness that Iroh casts: they protect Zuko in the long term as much as the do in the short term. Sometimes Iroh's politeness is just covering for a single remark from his nephew, which I always view in the short term as smoothing over offence. But Iroh being polite also goes a long way to protecting Zuko from Jet's accusations. Lest we forget, Zuko steals a guard's swords, at least participates in the destruction of the tea shop's table, and at least participates in the disorderly conduct outside the tea shop. If the law were fair, half of the consequences heaped on Jet would fall on Zuko. And (this is speculation) I would argue that if Iroh had kept his head down and played at being a refugee rather than everyone's friend, Zuko at least would have lost his job for destroying some of those tables. But the goodwill Iroh has generated with customers, guards, and his boss stretches to cover Zuko too. Which is handy, because Zuko is not looking like he's in a place where he can expend much mental energy on anything beyond taking it one day at a time at the moment.

Iroh knows there is power in being nice. The incident with Jet shows that being nice can carry more power than being truthful. A lot of that is down to presentation; Jet didn't exactly endear himself, and frankly season 1 Jet would have been ashamed of season 2 Jet's lack of charm, but that's a post for another day.

All this makes me think two things: first, I wonder if any of the other one-episode characters that Iroh has tossed a throwaway polite comment to are going to come back. Second, Iroh is playing a somewhat risky game by attracting attention; so far it's paid off. I wonder if there will come a point where it causes trouble instead.

[cinnamonest]

Yandere Profile - Kaveh

Happy birthday baby boy. Angel. Blessed boy. I want to hold his face in my hands and squish. I love a man that's just a lil bit pathetic, as all men should be. If I can't occasionally point at a man and laugh what's even the point

(Also I added a question to the list that I'll be using in all future profiles as well ^_^)

//dubcon/noncon, yandere, fem reader, manipulative behavior, n/s/fw section + implications/mentions of not sfw throughout

------

What are they generally like? Lucid, aware? Obsessive? How do they behave?

Kaveh falls head over heels, face-first, and he tries so, so hard. It's pitiful, really.

He's somewhat on the milder side in terms of what he'll actually do to you and others, provided you comply with him and don't give him reasons to become worse. He's just... very, very intense. In lots of ways, he's a very ideal partner to have, so much so that there's a very good chance you'll end up together of your own volition, making him more of an over-attached boyfriend than a stalker from a distance.

At the very least, even if not a romantic partnership, he will surely become an active part of your life very quickly. Which you likely won't mind, given his pleasant disposition and empathetic nature. What's not to like? Compared to a roster full of individuals ranging anywhere from unhinged and violent to cold or cruel to prideful and infuriating, Kaveh feels like a breath of fresh air. He's considerate, he's empathetic, he really likes making you happy. He recognizes his feelings very early on and has no trouble understanding them, so there's not a lot of time that passes between meeting you and trying to get closer to you. It doesn't take a lot to get him infatuated, either, namely just showing him some kindness.

A waitress or bartender that he sees regularly that's always sweet to him, a stranger that calls out to him to give him something he dropped, a former classmate he still sees around sometimes, pretty much anything, he just latches on to any gesture or display of kindness or affection. Kaveh has the same vibe as a stray cat -- you feed it once, and watch it come back again and again until it just decides to permanently stick around you, only he feeds off of smiles and nice words and gestures. He's always conveniently showing up where you are, trying to brush it off as if he's surprised to see you there.

And again, it's head over heels, boy is in love, the sort of love where he's going around in this smiling daze all the time, mind off somewhere else to the point that he hmm?'s every time someone is trying to talk to him. He asks around about you to people who know you, starts showing up a short ways outside your door and greeting you in the mornings (you never told him where you live, though), starts making small mistakes in his work that he has to go back and fix because his mind was preoccupied with you. He also starts following you around a bit, just to a degree that he feels is still normal. He's not, like, some creep or anything.

Which is how he rationalizes things to himself -- he's well aware of his own feelings, yes, and he's not really a full-blown delusional type per se, but he does have a tendency to rationalize abnormal actions to himself, convince himself that certain things he does are okay or normal or reasonable when they very much are not. Or sometimes, he can acknowledge something is in fact not normal or okay, but he lies to himself that it's just this once and he won't do it again (he will), that everyone makes poor decisions or does some not-so-good things every now and then, or that he's doing what he does for good reasons, which justifies the action itself. It's a specific sort of delusion wherein he maintains lucidity and objective perception of everything else -- he doesn't think that everyone else who likes you is actually super evil and has malicious intent if they clearly don't, nor does he convince himself that you must love him, or anything like that -- it's limited to rationalizing his own actions.

And even then, it's fairly weak, not so much true delusion, because in the back of his mind, he doesn't actually believe it, it's just what he tells himself for a time to feel better about what he does. Even so, it can't last forever, and eventually he gives up and just has to live with the guilt. Thus, it gradually progresses to following you more and more, taking some things that won't be missed, and maybe he might or might not have climbed into your room and laid on your bed for a while because you left the window unlocked. Which is bad, but he won't do it again, it was just a one-time thing, really.

While he does rationalize acts he knows are considered "bad," he also engages in other behaviors he isn't quite as self-aware of, including both clingy tendencies as well as other behaviors that aren't noticed by anyone else, but he fails to stop and realize how abnormal and unwell said behaviors are. For the clinginess aspect, the closer to you he gets, the more comfortable he gets with complaining about his frustrations and stressors onto you, and frankly, he can get a bit whiny. It's not intentional, it's just that he doesn't have a lot of outlets, and he's under so much stress and you're so nice to him and you don't stop him from drinking so he just starts to go on and on and on, eventually leaning over onto you as he continues on about his woes. Sometimes for very long periods of time, if you don't stop him. He likes the attention and sympathy you never fail to give him.

Which tends to happen a lot anyway, since you notice the poor thing seems rather prone to misfortune and mishap, at least whenever you see him. There was that time he showed up to you all scraped up, forearms covered in little cuts because of, when you inquired, apparently helping that traveler friend of his fight some common criminals as part of some mission or another. He didn't bother to take care of the wounds in any way, seeing as they were fairly minor, but you started fussing about infections and insisted he come over and sit down and let you wrap them up and treat it to the best of your ability.

You poor thing, you said. He can recall the softness and concern in your voice. You said something about how he should be more careful, that he could come back to you if he got hurt again, that he must be rather brave and strong to get into fights like that. He doesn't remember all the exact words due to the dizzy fuzzy warm feeling all over. You only recall that he started to show up to your home within a few days with significantly worse wounds, which you once again worried and fretted over and tended to for his sake. It becomes something of a routine. You think to yourself that it's sweet that he smiles the whole time despite being hurt. You assume it's forced so as to not make you worry more.

Also, Kaveh has a drive to learn about the things he likes, more intensely so than the average person. He's been academically successful for a variety of reasons, such as being both naturally suited for at and passionate about his craft, but also possessing the general ability to intake, retain, understand, and apply information. And when it comes to you, he undergoes an experience very much akin to how he used to discover some area of special interest in his field while studying, he'd come across and become fascinated by a certain style or era of architecture or the like, and spend days on end absorbing information on it.

Similarly, he feels a compulsion to know you, to learn everything he can in relevance to you. He takes any available avenues to do so, be it from others, from quietly observing you and your behaviors and habits, normal things... and maybe some more intrusive things. It can't be that private of a conversation, since you know he's supposed to be in the other room, so it can't be that big of a deal if he just quietly shuffles his way over and puts his ear to the door, just to listen in on who you're talking to. And if you wrote things that were really that private or secret, you wouldn't leave your journal sitting right there on your desk, you'd hide it away somewhere, so it can't be that bad to read it.

Regardless of those more secretive behaviors, his outward, non-secretive behaviors are a lot more obvious than he realizes, so much so that you're not at all surprised when he finally does muster up the courage to say something to you. He's also rather nervous and consequently awkward, at least when sober. He's like a little schoolboy trying to confess to a playground crush, stumbles over his words, lots of nervous smiling.

Still, you're fairly inclined to accept. He's always been so sweet, he's pretty, you see no reason not to, and he seems positively elated when you agree. The poor thing is in such a daze that he walks headfirst into a lamppost after walking you home and parting for the night (you laughed, but you still ran over to help him back up). Sure, he's a bit clingy, that much is already obvious, but you figure he'll calm down at least a little bit once you start seeing each other more.

That, however, turns out to not be the case. Quite the opposite.

The most noticeable behavior from the get-go is that he is almost a bit too attached, and he develops a bit of a dependency very quickly. Now, it's more acceptable for him to know where you are and be around you and all that, so he makes sure to do so at every opportunity. To an even greater degree than before, which turns out to be somehow possible. He moves very very fast, in terms of a relationship. You've heard the phrase I love you within a few days, he wants to move in together within no time, he's spending what little extra money he has on you at every opportunity from the get-go. Sure, there's a "honeymoon phase" where it's normal to be super clingy to each other, but it quickly becomes clear his is not dying down any time soon.

And he cares about you so much, so it's okay for him to want to know where you are if he can't find you, to get a bit upset and frustrated with you when you disappear for fifteen minutes because you went to the store to pick up something and didn't tell him (or, ideally, take him with you). Which you can dismiss and blow off as him just being stressed or anxious once or twice, but it soon becomes clear you can't so much as leave his line of sight for a few minutes without him going to look for you.

Then starts the isolation from others. Sure, you could go out with your friends, but he forgot you had that planned and may or may not have gotten takeout for both of you, so you can miss it this once, right? And then the next time, it's that it's just that you all are planning to meet so late at night, and he doesn't feel comfortable with that kind of risk... so on and so on. You soon realize you haven't spent time with anyone else in quite some time. Whenever you do talk to someone, he always wants to know who they are and what you talked about. He doesn't demand to know, or sound angry or anything, he just... asks. Just out of curiosity, you know.

He just wants to be with you, spend time with you, talk to you, be involved in the little aspects of your daily life. It's just that that means... everything. All the time. Every single second of every single day. Even the phrase "every waking second" doesn't quite cover it, because he'll be there every second of your sleep as well, clinging to you tightly. He wants to be there when you wake up, and when you get ready in the mornings, and when you walk to your daily routine of work or school or whatever, and he'll linger and talk and talk until the last possible second, until you remind him for a third time that you're both going to be late if you don't go your separate ways, where he'll finally relent and wish you a good day. Then he starts to make sure he gets to eat lunch at the same time as you, so you see each other then too! And then he's right there to greet you as you leave for the day, and then you can walk home, and then he'll be there the whole evening, clinging to you both emotionally and physically, talking and cuddling and staying right there by your side, and then he'll ask if he can stay over for the night as he always does these days, and then you'll go to bed and he won't leave your side all night long. And of course, he'll bring up the idea of moving in with you yet again, that he could pitch in for the rent and it would save you both money, and you'll give a vague non-answer because you're not quite ready for that but don't want to hurt his feelings, deflect and try to change topics again. And then the cycle repeats.

Day after day. Without relent. Endlessly. To say it's starting to affect you psychologically would be an understatement.

Of course, with all the unfavorable aspects combined, you might just start to think that maybe you made a mistake, maybe you should think about suggesting you take a break...

Except he seems to kind of sense that. Even if it's just subconscious, he sort of detects your body language and recent behaviors and realizes something has you unhappy or discontent or just distant from him. It makes him feel this awful pit of dread in his stomach, the mere notion makes him sick. You wouldn't ever leave him, though, would you?

He was already attached to you beforehand, but now, his entire happiness and sense of purpose depends on you. You become his entire world, the only thing that really matters. The only thing he really thinks about or cares about. If, for whatever reason, you were to suddenly disappear from his life... well, then he would have nothing left. His passion for his work alone can't keep him going, now that he's had a taste of the euphoric feeling of such intense emotion towards someone. Nothing else will ever compare. You wouldn't do that to him.

But just in case. Whenever he gets this feeling like you're getting distant or like you're going to soon tell him something he doesn't want to hear, he makes sure that he has something prepared to prevent the worst. Expensive gifts he scraped enough together for, planning some big night that will make you happy, doing some significant act of service or favor for you. Something that wins over your favor, makes sure you remember you love him and don't ever think of leaving him. Or maybe even just holding you close and reminding you that you're everything to him, that he needs you, that he wouldn't know how to keep going if he didn't have you. Just to make sure you know how much you'd hurt him, how awful you would be, if you ever got any ideas about not needing him as much as he needs you.

How likely are they to kidnap their darling? How quickly will they do so?

Kidnapping is something that would only ever be a last resort. Kaveh ideally wants something very close to a normal relationship. In his mind, what he wants is a normal relationship, he's just... maybe a bit clingier and more protective than most. But otherwise, he's very normal!

Nothing unusual, he just wants to... move in together. Get a place together that he can pay part of (eventually he'll make enough to pay for it all by himself, so he promises). Or you can even just move in with him where he is now! It'll be, uh, awkward, but Alhaitham will probably be okay with it. You've already spent a lot of nights there, and he's only told Kaveh to go over to your place instead so he can 'get at least one night without having to sleep with earpieces in for once, you do realize I can hear literally everyth--' well, anyway, he's only been driven to the point of saying that a handful of times, so as long as you're careful with the, uh, timing, it should be fine.

The whole moving in together thing does get sprung on you very fast, like, a matter of maybe a week at minimum. A bit too fast, so you can gently put him down and try to hold off for a while, but he'll take the first opportunity you allow, and with enough pushing, you're bound to agree eventually.

Which makes him very happy. Now he can be around you that much more.

He does have some ideas, though, to gently suggest to you, on your future and how the relationship should work and all that. He saves up enough to decide that you don't need to work or have a job, you can stay at home and take care of domestic stuff and not have to worry about ever leaving. Oh, well, you can leave to get groceries and stuff, just... don't go by yourself, okay? Let him go with you. That way you'll never have to be alone outside without him, that's all. You know, he read this headline on a public news board the other day, said pickpocketing and theft in the area has been rising, so you know, just to be safe, you never know who's out there. Best to just not go out in public alone. And if you really do have to go meet someone or get something alone, just be sure to let him know. In fact, here's a fun idea, how about each morning you give him an hour-by-hour plan of what you anticipate doing that day? Just so he can have an idea of where you'll be, just for safety's sake. And be sure to be there at this and that time, since he'll use his breaks to come back and check on you, and he would get really worried if you weren't exactly where he anticipates you to be, you know?

As long as you can mutually agree to be safe by following those little guidelines, everything will be fine, he won't have any reason to worry, and he'll be content. Should you disregard his suggestions, though, he might get a bit more paranoid. Check on you more often. Try to talk it out, just let you know that, hey, he would really appreciate it if you could do like he asked you to and stick to the plan, he just worries about you is all. You understand that, don't you? He'll have to continuously bring it up the more you deviate from that plan, and maybe he'll have to, in is own words, 'get a bit annoying about it, haha...'

There is, however, one way that could potentially get you truly imprisoned in the classic obsessive-lover sense: attempting to go through with those thoughts of yours about leaving him.

You don't actually get to finish your spiel, when you try to bring it up and lay it on him as gently as possible. It's very obvious where you're headed, what you're about to say, so there's no need to let you finish talking, to make it all too real and actually be forced to hear the words he'd rather not. You can already see his face fall, his eyes get wide. It's... it's actually kind of creepy, unnerving and unsettling in a visceral way, a way that sends a genuine chill down your spine, like some instinct telling you something is very, very wrong. You find yourself trailing off and going quiet before you can even get the words out.

You instinctively take a step back when he moves towards you, but he's faster. Locks his hands around your wrists with a crushing grip. His face is completely blank, pupils small from having widened eyes.

You don't... you don't mean that.

HIs voice is eerily quiet and soft. You try to pull back, but his grip is unrelenting. You say something else, but he acts as if he doesn't hear you. Pulls you along as he starts to walk. Doesn't respond when you ask what he's doing. You feel a sense of alarm growing heavier in your chest. He pulls you into your shared bedroom.

I think we both need to just calm down for a while.

His voice is still ominously quiet, devoid of emotion. You try to step back, but he pulls you forward again. Lays down, takes you with him. Holds you tight, runs a hand up and down your back, slow soothing motions, totally silent. A moment ago you were trying to end things, but you suddenly feel very, very nervous at the thought of saying anything further, some instinct telling you that trying to break away or insist on leaving would be a very, very bad idea. You don't like the thought of that, the implications of the fact that you're pretty sure it's your innate danger and self-preservation instincts telling you to stay quiet. You find yourself trembling in his hold.

And after a while like that, he finally says something.

I really love you.

You know what the appropriate response is. Even if you're filled with resentment and irritation, those same self-preservation instincts force out the correct response. He sighs when you say it, like he was afraid of hearing something else.

I'm... glad. See, we just needed to relax for a moment. That's all.

And when he stands up, smiling again, you think the moment is over, that the eye-opening momentary episode of whatever the hell that was is done and you can escape. But then, he gently pushes you back onto the bed.

I think... you need to stay in here for now. I'll be back in just a little while with some food, okay?

Once more, the instincts tell you not to resist, at least not now. O-oh, uh... okay...

He hums in response and smiles, and for a moment, you think everything is fine now, that maybe he's just emotional and in a bad state of mind, maybe he'll come back and apologize, maybe he'll finally agree that this isn't working out and wish you the best... but when he shuts the door and you hear the distinct sound of heavy furniture scraping against the floor as something is pushed in front of the door, a sinking feeling of dread swells in your stomach. Another instinct, somehow even worse than your prior fear, tells you you won't be leaving this room for a long time.

How difficult is it to escape from them? How do they keep you restrained? How do they deal with attempted escape? 

Because he doesn't really want to restrain you much in the first place, the only thing really holding you in any given place, at least initially, is his gentle suggestions on where you should or shouldn't be, and specifically some very strong urging to stay away from certain places or people. Really, the biggest hurdle is his presence, seeing as he clings to you so much, it's hard to get away, and he'll do everything in his power to stop you from leaving if he's right there, namely standing in between you and your path, trying to change the subject or stuttering to find something to say to distract you and deter you from leaving.

Should you try to slip away and get a little bit of time to yourself, it probably won't last long. Firstly, he notices your absence near-immediately, and seems to have some innate ability to find you, like a bloodhound or something. You didn't give him any hints or implications as to where you'd be going, yet somehow he manages to show up there as his first guess of places to look...? The only possibility that actually makes sense is that he's obsessively learned your own mental process tendencies to such a degree that he was able to predict your own conscious choices, which frankly terrifies you in its own way, so you choose to believe it's coincidence.

He always calms down once he does find you, but he stays quiet as you head home (he insists you go home right now, and the unusual, almost out of character intensity to the command makes you nervous enough to comply). Once home, he'll go through his usual cycle of being cold and quiet, then expressing his feelings all in one frustrated rant. Holds onto you, buries his face in the crook of your neck.

This is where one of his talents comes in -- albeit largely a subconscious behavior, he's masterful at guilt-tripping. Keeps talking about how he was so worried, how he doesn't understand why you want to hurt him like this, he cares so much about you and it feels like that means nothing to you, on and on it goes. Any irritation on your part is met with more and more guilt-tripping, sucking you down until you can't be mad or express your own frustrations that led to this for long because come on, look at him, he's looking like a wounded puppy and talking about how much he loves you, how can you be so mean? It's not asking a lot, is it? Are you really mad that he cares so much about you...?

No? Now you sigh and shake your head and get out something about how you're sorry, but-- You don't get to finish the sentence, though. He's already wrapped his arms around you, smiling and assuring you he'll try to be around more so he can take you wherever. Just... don't do this to him again, okay? The way he grips your shoulders like he's trying to break them when he says it makes you inclined to stutter out an agreement out of impulse, even if you regret saying it a moment later.

How easy are they to trick, deceive, or manipulate?

It's easy enough on a purely practical level, but honestly, it's hard to not feel guilty for doing so, given how sincere and loving he is. He's pretty gullible, it's not hard to fool him. He'll just get really sad once he realizes you did, in fact, lie to him. Or, if you lie about something like where you'll be or what you'll be doing because you didn't want him to get all worried and paranoid (such as going out with friends, which always makes him very paranoid), he gets nervous. If it's bad enough, it might be one of the few occasions where he really raises his voice and gets upset, asking you what you were thinking and why you didn't listen to him, why you couldn't just talk it out, and so on. But his anger very quickly gives way to being rather hurt and bitter, resulting in him isolating himself and sulking for some time. He takes a few days to get over the sense of betrayal, but his recovery is expedited if you try to make it up to him or apologize for it. Apologizing is especially a wise move -- even though he tries to be understanding and often tries to agree to whatever you want to make you happy, when it comes to things like this, where it's a matter of your wellbeing or a moral issue, he really toughens up and becomes much more firm in his resolve, even stubborn, when it comes to things of that nature.

And as easy as lying to him is, manipulating him is even easier, you barely have to try. Just give him a little bit of affection and talk to him in a sweet cooing voice, and he'd walk off a cliff if you asked him to. You hold a lot of power in your hands. If you end up abusing it enough, he'll eventually realize he's being manipulated... but even then, he can't bring himself to stop. He just loves you so much, he lives for the high he gets from hearing you thank him and hug him and kiss him for doing things for you. You can even convince him to do morally bad things for you, if you push him enough, although he'll be sullen and sad afterwards, so if you have a heart, try not to abuse this power.

And another thing. The moment sex is involved, he becomes somehow even more manipulable than he already was. An inch of bare skin or a few sweet suggestive words in a sultry voice will have him going red in the face before bending over backwards to do whatever you want and performing requested tasks at the speed of light, often without even thinking through what it is he's been roped into doing. It's rather cute and amusing, really. Again, please be careful with the power you hold.

How lenient are they? What privileges can you have, and what will you be denied?

He would like to allow you to do anything you want -- and he'd never force you to not do something you want, of course! -- but obviously, anyone who cares for someone has certain limits and boundaries, which are there because of love for someone. After all, if you love someone, you won't let them do something reckless and stupid or dangerous. If anything, allowing someone to do whatever without regard for safety would indicate apathy. That's why it's understandable -- you should be glad, even -- that he's very conscious of your well-being and risks thereof.

You can do pretty much anything, so long as it's inside. He'll spend whatever he has buying you anything you want to do, supports any non-dangerous hobbies. It's just... you can't go outside, not without him at least. He'll gladly take you anywhere you want as long as it's when he has free time, though! Just... just abide by this one simple request, please? That's the only thing he takes an issue with. You can dress however you want, act however you want, do whatever you want. He just doesn't want you putting yourself at risk is all.

What kind of rules do they have? What kind of punishment would they use?

Again, it's pretty much entirely about staying inside and not going out, and he would really appreciate you do that one thing for him. It's not asking a lot, right? Well, then there's all the checkups throughout the day and insistence on communication, but that all ties back to the same main rule. But to be honest, he really doesn't like thinking of it as a "rule," that word has this... authoritative, controlling connotation to it that he really doesn't like. It makes him feel guilty to think of it like that, like he's doing something wrong. He'd be really hurt if you referred to it that way.

Likewise, punishing you for not following something you both agreed to sounds a bit harsh. He'll try to talk with you about it, of course, communication and mutual understanding is important, and the key to a happy relationship. The only issue is you might not come to that mutual understanding. But even if you don't agree, he can't just let you do as you please, and put yourself in danger, as well as give him constant anxiety. If you can't seem to reach an understanding, he might just have to get an extra lock from the outside. You may call that unnecessary or absurd, but he's very insistent, and if confronted on it, will get huffy and cross his arms, say something about how it's incredible you're getting mad about him caring about you. He's good at overdramatizing like that to deflect from his own actions, to sort of shift the blame onto you. The more you try to bring it up, the more he'll talk over you, keep distracting and refuse to acknowledge the actual problem.

While he also doesn't call it a rule either, he also is really insistent that you communicate. He gets very paranoid if you won't talk to him, if you try to give him silent treatment or something like that. So if you pull this behavior a few times, he'll try to sit down and have a talk with you about how communicating is very important, and how when you refuse to speak to him it makes him really really nervous and he feels so sick to his stomach and his mind assumes the worst and the paranoia eats away at him and... well, just, can you both maybe agree to not do that? That when you're upset, you'll just tell him you are and why? Please?

He'll be very relieved if you agree, but do note that in practice, this rule actually only applies to you. He, on the other hand, will very commonly get quiet and refuse to elaborate on why he's upset without coaxing. But he tells you eventually once you give him the attention he wants, so, it counts as compliance with the agreement, in his mind.

How do they deal with rivals, or perceived rivals? Will they get rid of them? Will they kill them themselves, or find another way?

Kaveh would strongly prefer to avoid homicide if at all possible, and will go to great lengths to avoid it.  He's not a particularly confrontational or aggressive person at all. He's also self-aware enough to know that starting any actual up-front conflict with someone else would just be embarrassing himself, and you as well.

It's not as if there isn't a brief second where the thought does cross his mind, though. That it would be so much easier to deal with everything if he could just permanently get rid of someone.

But he's just not that sort of person. He's rational and empathetic, he's not the sort of obsessed that will convince himself the other person is committing a transgression worthy of death just by liking you. He knows that killing them would be an incredibly selfish, abhorrent act... and, of course, very much a crime, one that has the potential to ruin his life if found out.

He does try roundabout ways. He's a sweet person and most people like him, so he has heard his fair share of talk and gossip that circulates around the community. Ideally, he can find someone else that likes the person who likes you, encourage them to go for it and pursue the one they want, and everything works out perfectly. Well, that's how he envisions it in his head, but he knows it probably won't be that easy.

He puts himself to work trying every other angle he can. Digs around for information on the individual, trying to find some negative thing to use against them — a violation that could get them expelled or jailed, a secret he can post on a public bulletin and ruin their reputation, anything. He feels bad, of course, but it's the morally superior option to murder, and that thought helps him feel less guilty.

If worse comes to worse, he can still cause inconveniences. They're going to go meet up with you? Not with their keys hidden they aren't, preventing them from locking their door. He'll find countless little ways to sabotage, all in the hope that it will somehow ruin the relationship between the two of you... he'll feel bad, but it's worth it.

For him to ever actually, truly reach a point where killing is a realistic possibility, it would require a lot of pushing and desperation. He would have had to exhaust every other possible option, and feel that he's at a point where he'll lose you permanently unless he takes some form of drastic action. Even then, the downside of this is that he actually doesn't plan a murder, he ends up doing something spontaneous and impulsive out of a sudden panic response. There's an opportunity — they're standing at the edge of a railing they would die if they fell from, he knows which drink is theirs and there's pest poisons just sitting right there so temptingly, or something of that nature — and he just takes it on an impulse, only to process his own actions a second too late.

The downside of this is that the homicide will certainly be discovered, so it's not as if it's just a person gone missing, but it's just perfectly done enough that they never have any idea who might have done it, or, it may be written off as an accident, depending on the specifics. Nonetheless, you notice that you haven't seen Kaveh in a few days... turns out he's holed up in his home, with his roommate saying something must be wrong with him, because he's been sick and feverish... it's very unfortunate timing, seeing as you were hoping to go to him for some comfort over the loss of another friend, but you can just wait for him to feel better.

How easy is it to make them mad? What does their anger look like?

He may be sweet, but it's not really that hard to get him upset. He's rather patient, tries to be understanding. If you have some disagreement, he tries his best to be calm and see things from your perspective and all that. But there is a limit to his patience.

However, his poor moods aren't really what you'd call true anger, he's more prone to this quick cycle where he first gets frustrated and huffy, then sullen and sad and moody. The first stage is lots of heavy frustrated sighs, he crosses his arms and grinds his teeth. He doesn't yell or shout, but he does raise his voice just a bit, and it's clearly audibly irritated. Prone to using those phrases with "if" and "just" -- if you would just listen, or if we could just do that, then, or if they just leave you alone, so on and so on, creating these scenarios where his ideal is the most reasonable outcome, and it's dependent on you or someone else to meet some simple condition, at which point everything would work out perfectly, making you or some other person the only thing inhibiting said ideal outcome. If he's really, really mad, he doesn't want to end up saying something that would hurt you or anything, and he gets the impulse to just go walk it off and cool down, so he actually ends up storming off, muttering something about needing just a few minutes. It's actually one of the few times he ever leaves you alone, funnily enough. It doesn't last too long before he comes back, and that's only on rare occasions that he reaches that point.

After that first stage, after getting out the frustration, it gives way to feeling all sad and melancholy, so he tends to mope. And whine. And sulk. And wallow in feeling sorry for himself. And, if possible, drink the feelings away. It's kind of childish, really, and often overdramatic. If you're present and it's not you who made him feel that way to begin with, he doesn't actually outright say anything or ask for anything, but he goes out of his way to be extra mopey and sad and makes sure it's right within your field of vision, hoping you will give him attention and love and encouragement. Just sort of silently sits there all sad and waits for some attention. And yes, this means that if you haven't caught onto it due to being spaced out or focused on something else, and go into another room, he will sort of quietly trail behind you and go into the next room with you before sitting down and sulking again, until you finally catch on and give him the attention he craves.

If you are the reason he's all hurt, even unintentionally, he might resort to giving you a bit of silent treatment, with a similar goal: hope that you'll give him attention and ask what's wrong and then ask what's wrong again when he says 'nothing' and then gasp and apologize when he tells you and say you didn't mean what you did or said that way and hold him and kiss his forehead and... well, that's how it plays out in his head.

If you're trying to make him mad intentionally, though, he's likely to see through it, and again, he just gets hurt. Why are you being so mean? Did I do something? He actually gets really, genuinely hurt by this sort of behavior, and will likely make you feel so guilty for trying it that you cease and refocus your efforts to a different tactic.

How do they express affection, or attempt to endear themselves to you?

It would be easier to ask how he doesn't. He tries every angle, every means of expression, manages to have every "love language" simultaneously. He's always getting you various little gifts (how is he affording that?), always saying nice things, always doing things for you and helping you with any task you wish, always spending time with you (even if you don't want it), and if you'll allow it, he's very, very cuddly. While he does it all, he's especially focused on getting stuff for you, despite his lack of funds.

Maybe it's because it's just his preferred way of expressing his affection, but perhaps there's also a more manipulative side to it -- he knows that you know that he doesn't have a lot of money, so if you see that he's spending what little he does have on you, it will seem that much more significant, right? You'll notice, and then it will seem like an even bigger, more meaningful gesture because of that. You'll thus be more emotionally moved by the gesture, and you'll surely want to repay him with affection and attention. Whether that's just a natural exchange of sentiments or a subtly manipulative means of trying to win your favor, well, you can think whatever you like.

So they see you as above them, beneath them, or equal to them?

It somewhat depends on his mood. On better days, he'd like to just disregard such notions as "value" of an individual person, thinks the concept is shallow and meaningless, the sort of thing only either very prideful or very insecure people would even care to think about. Who cares what someone's "worth" is, or if someone is "better" or "worse" than someone else? As long as two people love each other, nothing else should matter, right?

But on worse days, when he's sulking and his thoughts wander to negative places, he starts to feel like you're better than him, to the extent it can make him depressed. When he's not in a good mood, he often lays around wallowing, deep in thought about how you can do so much better than him, there's no way you'd ever choose to stay with him permanently, and even if you do like him, surely someone better will come along and he'll lose you... sigh.

When he's in such a sulking mood, it's very outwardly obvious, he gets quieter than usual and a sad look on his face. So if you just give him a bit of reassurance, maybe a hug and cuddles and a kiss to the forehead and some sweet uplifting words (please), he'll perk right back up. Well, the thought will still be in the back of his mind, but he can't stay too sad when you're giving him attention. He'll just keep feeding off your reassurance for a while until the contentment from it runs out, and then he gets depressed again, and then you reassure him again, and, well, it cycles like that.

How determined are they for you to love them? How hard will they try to make it happen? Or are they content just having you?

If you haven't accepted him, he's still incredibly determined, in spite of a tendency to sometimes be pessimistic in his own thoughts about the matter. He bounces back and forth -- he'll undergo a brief sad spell thinking about how he'll never make you like him, but he comes out of it with newfound determination that he'll either win you over or die trying. This repeats over and over, at least until you show some semblance of affection or attention, which will serve as a fuel he manages to stretch out for an incredibly long time thereafter.

...And don't give him any ideas, because seriously, he will die trying. This man will put his own well-being at great risk for a chance to impress you. Seriously. He doesn't even really need you to do anything to push him, even. He will do something incredibly stupid and he will get himself hurt if you don't actively stop him from doing so. Over time you kind of develop a sixth sense, a radar where you can feel when he's about to do something stupid, so use it wisely.

If you do accept him and agree to be with him, he'd like to think you already do love him, but to be honest, he gets insecure pretty easily and, while he won't actually ask for it because he deems it too pathetic, he would very much appreciate if you remind him you love him on a regular basis.

Bonus: Is there anything that makes them unique, in comparison to other yanderes?

His reluctance to do anything he deems immoral does not combine well with his desire to secure you all to himself. The two don't exactly go hand-in-hand, it's difficult to ensure someone remains around you at all times and never interacts with anyone else without taking some unsavory measures to get to that point. Hence, he takes so many roundabout measures of getting the results he wants, and does so much by proxy -- not only does it prevent a lot of things from being tracked back to him, but it also alleviates himself of guilt. That alone sets him apart from the typical type of obsessive lover and their tendencies to kill, rape and kidnap without much hesitancy.

When he does engage in morally questionable behaviors and manipulative tactics, though, it's really not even intentional. That behavior isn't even necessarily a conscious choice, he doesn't really think about it or intend it to be part of some bigger picture of control, it's just that whenever you mention going out to see other people, or when he doesn't know where you are, or when you're paying more attention to something else than him, he gets this awful sick feeling and acts on impulses to soothe his nerves, which just so happens to be keeping you right by his side and ensuring he has your full attention. It's not malicious, or intentionally controlling or manipulative. He just cares so, so much and loves you so, so much and the behaviors just come out without him really putting any intentional thought into them, nor has it ever occurred to him as an afterthought. It just doesn't really cross his mind, he doesn't reflect on his own actions all that much.

If he was made aware of how manipulative he can be, forced to come to the realization of everything he's done, it would come as a bit of a shock to him, and would leave him more or less a psychological mess for a little while as he comes to terms with the fact that, despite his best conscious intentions, he's actually been pretty awful in some ways. He would come out of it swearing to himself to be better, thinking he will keep better track of himself in the future and think his actions through, that he'll make up for anything bad that he's done before... but, of course, the chances of that resolve lasting in the face of situational impulses is not that great, and in the heat of the moment, any thoughts he has that what he might be about to do is kind of distasteful behavior will be overridden by some momentary justification, which will be reinforced and repeated to himself afterwards to make himself feel better.

On a more wholesome note, Kaveh also gets really enthusiastic about your passions, talents and hobbies. He understands passion and dedication to a craft or art form, having the same experience himself, and gets really into supporting you in your endeavors, should you have anything of the sort. Whether it's something artsy like music or drawing or dance, or something more sport-related or science-related, doesn't really matter, he just really makes an effort to support you and encourage you. He'll tell you whatever you've created is amazing (even if you both know it's not), he'll spend whatever money he gets his hands on to buy materials or supplies or other thematic gifts (even though you keep telling him not to, to save his money), and he always asks tons of questions. It's partially a genuine, heartfelt sentiment, and it's also just partially an obsessive compulsion to know everything there is to know regarding you, but he also does very much hope that you will be happy and appreciate his efforts, and that in turn you'll think more highly of him and have more affection for him. Basically, it's partially yet another means of trying to win your favor. Nonetheless, it's really sweet and endearing.

Finally, in all honesty, Kaveh can be pretty sensitive. Especially in regards to you. It's easy to hurt his feelings, and when he's hurt, he goes into one of his attention-seeking moping sessions. You often find yourself feeling like you can't be entirely honest with him, because he's so sensitive to your words and feelings, so if you're bluntly honest, you'll end up hurting his feelings fairly often. You sometimes have to just find ways to articulate what you want to say in a way to deflect from anything he might take too personally. Regardless, be prepared to deal with a lot of his sad wallowing. He'll be sad (and make sure you see it) until you come cheer him up, preferably with hugs and kisses and sweet words. He can get rather childish when it comes to this, so it's easy to get frustrated by his sensitivity, but it's easier for both of you if you just comply and be all sweet like he wants, or else you'll just create a bigger task for yourself when he gets even more upset.

General perverseness: how sexual of a person are they? What’s their drive like? How touchy do they get? Do they have any reservations about sexuality?

He's incredibly touchy, if you allow it. He's perceptive enough to tell if you flinch or draw away from his touch, so he'll refrain if he feels like it's bothering you, but if you seem to be receptive to his touches, he can't keep his hands off of you. All throughout the day, laying on the couch or in bed, he keeps his arms wrapped around you, always holds your hand in public, and clings to you in some way even just walking around the house. Depending on your height difference, he likes to rest his chin either on the top of your head or your shoulder, arms wrapped around you from behind while you work on whatever you're doing.

He's admittedly developed a habit of masturbation fairly regularly, so he's used to getting to cum pretty often, needs it at least once a day. He's fairly horny overall, but in particular, his drive increases as an emotional response. If he's in a good mood, the slightest of visual stimuli or touches can get him going, and he's very eager. If he's sad, though, he still gets horny over it, the purpose of wanting sex just changes, now being that it will cheer him up. The only time he really can't get easily aroused if when he's under very intense stress, situations that need to be resolved as fast as possible, he's just too focused on whatever the task at hand is to think about much else. He'll still very much appreciate (and not outright ask for, but maybe strongly hint at wanting) a nice blowjob or riding him when he's finished as a means of praising him for getting through his task, though.

He's a mix of reserved and not reserved. He's awkward about it and very new to it all, so he has a tendency to be shy about it, the sort of thing where he can't make eye contact, keeps sheepishly rubbing the back of his head. But the raging hormones and eagerness make him simultaneously still very much unhesitant to participate and discuss, even if he's burning on the inside with embarrassment the whole time.

How forceful are they? Do they care about your willingness?

Of course he cares tremendously. Forcing someone into doing intimate acts against their will is one of the most horrific crimes he can conceive of, and he despises people who would do something like that. Rapists, in his mind, are all strangers, a certain class of bad people who exist solely in certain unsavory spaces and groups.

But people who are in relationships are supposed to be intimate with each other and all. It's natural and healthy. Relationships are said to suffer if there's a sudden drought in that department.

See, Kaveh has a sort of slow descent. A lot of his approach depends on whether or not you've had sex or any sort of intimacy before. Before you've ever done so, he's very respectful of your wishes, would never push anything onto you, would never pressure you, is willing to maintain a perfectly squeaky-clean relationship where you never touch below the neck, will stiffen and turn around and cover his eyes automatically if you start to change or have a wardrobe malfunction that reveals something, won't even talk about such things if you don't bring it up first. Much to your amusement, he even asked to kiss you the first time he did so. The sort of "pure" relationship that you've seen particularly religiously pious or socially traditional people promote.

Things change a bit with time, though. Still, he'd never ever ever force anything, of course, but, you know. There's a lot of space between forcing something and being totally okay with not having it ever.

Once you've gotten somewhat hot and heavy, late at night alone in your place, mouths latched onto each other, but you pull away because you don't want to move too fast or whatever your reason is, he accepts that, really. He just looks very visibly disappointed, might mope a bit... but no, really, it's fine. You can tell how badly he wants it, and he seems to think every night is going to be The Night based on how quickly he seems to perk up and eagerly latch onto you if you embrace him or kiss him or anything of the sort. But no pressure. It's fine, really.

The pressure of the blatant disappointment is not so bad, really, it can be more amusing than anything, but it gets significantly worse after you actually do sleep with him for the first time, because he gets hooked like some sort of drug. And consequently, without even realizing it himself, he gets much pushier. In a more rational mind, he'd probably at least try to stop himself in his worst moments, but one's self-awareness and inhibition are severely compromised when you have a flood of hormones pumping through your veins, and the object the brain associates with that burst of a chemical high right in front of you, complete with visual stimuli. He's still not forceful, of course, just... encouraging. Touchy. Can't get behind closed doors for more than a few moments without pulling you close and holding onto you while you two lay on a couch or bed or whatever at the end of the day, just like you always have, just much more sensual with the places being grabbed and the not-so-subtle tugging on your clothes. If you actually want it, it's rather cute, always strikes you with the imagery of an eager puppy wagging its tail or the like.

But you don't have to, and if you aren't feeling it or something, that's fine... he'll be really sad, but that's fine. Maybe you'll feel like it again in an hour or so. He'll be sure to check. But if not, that's fine... he's just going to be even more sad. And quiet. And mopey. Blatantly so, such a contrast to his usual self you can't not notice it. It makes you feel a bit guilty, makes the atmosphere a bit awkward. But hey, if you give in and give him what he wants, he immediately perks right back up.

It's really not a conscious behavior, not something he's ever really stopped to think about, it's just something he sort of does without ever really thinking about it or how manipulative it is. If you ever point it out to him, he'd feel awful about it and try to stop himself from subconsciously engaging in that behavior... which will last about a week or so.

What is intimacy with them like? What sort of kinks or fetishes do they have, or would they fill?

Poor baby is a total virgin. He won't admit to it unprompted, but it's kind of obvious, and he'll be (albeit sheepishly) honest if you asked. He's incredibly nervous, but also very eager, hands that tremble yet rush to pull everything off of you and run over your bare skin with intense fixation. He pays a lot of attention to you and your reactions, at least in the beginning, and is very afraid of accidentally hurting you or something.

Oral fixation

Kaveh is a very simple boy, he gets off to knowing he's getting you off. He likes making you feel good. He quickly discovers that he really likes having his head between your legs. Loves the way you squirm and moan and fuck it feels so good when you lace your fingers in his hair and pull, when you clamp your thighs down on either side of his head. It gives him such a rush, a sense of pride and excitement at the same time. He can spend literal hours like that, and likes to just do it at random. Expect to be often pushed against the wall when you're home, any of your whining about how you were cleaning or working on something soon replaced by noises of pleasure you can't restrain when he drops down and buries his tongue inside you. He keeps insisting that you sit on his face -- yes he can breathe, don't worry, and even if he can't, he'll be pretty content if that's how he goes anyway, doing what he loves.

It goes both ways, though, not just on the receiving end. If you go to reciprocate, he'll be in total, sheer bliss. He starts off trying to be cautious and worries about your comfort, but quickly gets lost in the feeling, grabbing you by your skull and pulling your head down, jerking your face up and down like a toy until he cums down your throat. Of course, after he does, he'll be apologizing for it over and over, but if you reassure him it's fine, he might just lose inhibition and control like that more readily in the future.

Praise

This probably doesn't even qualify as a kink for him, it's more like a need. He desperately needs you to tell him that he's doing a good job. Moans and other such noises are very nice on their own, but specific verbal praise is very much appreciated. Tell him it feels good, that he's good, that you love him, that you love his cock inside you, that you need him and want him and will never ever leave him. He eats up any positive words you say, depends on them even. It's partially an emotional thing of course, but it also makes him cum that much faster, each word of praise about how good it feels like an electric shock of pleasure.

Oh, and if the phrase "good boy" leaves your mouth, his soul might actually leave his body and ascend right then and there.

Marking

He discovers this because he has a tendency to get rougher than he realizes in the heat of the moment. He'll get more intense halfway in, start thrusting harder and gripping more firmly, nails digging in and even, without consciously intending to, sinking his teeth into your shoulder. Only after it's over does he start sputtering all wide-eyed because he sees the marks his actions have left across your skin, stammering out an apology and asking if you're hurt or need something and why is hot, why does it make him feel weird. What is this? This weird feeling, he feels so bad about having done it, and yet, it's... kind of nice...

If you don't mind it, maybe just maybe he can do it again... the thought of which makes him nearly hard again already. He finds himself tracing a finger over the indents of his teeth in your flesh, over the hickeys and scratches... he still feels guilty, but provided you don't seem upset, he finds himself sort of attracted to it. It feels nice, in a way, like it's marking something as his own, makes him feel a sort of prideful swelling feeling that also very much correlates to making his cock twitch. Like he's writing his name on you with each mark. Or, hey, maybe he could quite literally do that instead...

He grows a fast affinity for any sort of marking on you, be it scratches, bites, hickeys, actual writing, or even just cumshots on your face and back. It's rather cute how he still feels guilty about it, mumbles out an apology for it, but it's very evident that he's enjoying it nonetheless.

How do they feel about pregnancy or babies? Do they want them? What are they like as a parent?

He'd prefer to be financially stable first, of course, but yes actually, very strongly so. He really likes the thought of eventually having a family, likes to picture it in his head. Just you, him, a bunch of kids, maybe you guys could get a dog or a cat or something, in a nice but modest house, living a peaceful, happy, simplistic life... it's a nice thought. He knows it's a bit embarrassing to be dreaming of stuff like that with someone he doesn't know that well, so he tries to refrain, but the thoughts seep in nonetheless.

It wouldn't be something that would practically, actually happen, though, until later stages, if you've finally accepted him, most likely via an "accident" wherein he forgot (or rather, tells himself he forgot) to wear protection, and one thing leads to another. Granted, he probably won't actually make it to the point of financial stability before it does, but... hey, having love and hope is what matters, right? Sure, maybe it'll be a struggle, but you'll manage... probably.

On the bright side, he's actually a very good father, one of the best you could have. Very caring and loving, and highly involved in every aspect of the kid's life. He's always trying to take care of tasks for you to "give you a break," wants the full Parent Experience™ -- which is rather endearing, seeing as you know a lot of men tend to push the boring or annoying or tedious tasks off on the mother, but Kaveh gladly helps you with a smile on his face and enthusiasm in every second.

What kind of (nsfw) punishments would they use?

It would be a stretch to call it that, largely because he doesn't really intend it that way. But if you happen to trigger his anxieties when he's already in one of his worst moments, where he becomes more forceful and irrational out of paranoia or panic, the solution his mind comes up with for the issue of your discontentment is to make you feel good. Orgasms trigger a critical part of a bonding process (he remembers learning that in some mandatory class years ago), and you can't have room for too many bad thoughts when your mind is completely consumed by pleasure.

As always, he's not going to force you, of course not, he's just a little more pushy than usual, talks fast enough you can't get a word in, hands on your shoulders with a firm grip and an even firmer push as you get quickly guided into the bed (not forced! If you really didn't want it, you could always shove back), pushed down onto your back. A hand held over your mouth, should you try to talk, not because he's trying to prevent you from getting a word in, but because you're going to get yourself more worked up and distressed if he lets you talk. Just... just calm down, okay? Just let me handle it...

You have the opportunity to say no, despite the crushing grip and frantic voice and the ominous intensity of his stare. Looming over you, light from the hallway casting a shadow over his face that makes you feel uneasy. But you know he wouldn't hurt you, he's sure of that, so if you really wanted something else, you'd just tell him. Your stillness and quietness and wide eyes are an unspoken form of permission in and of themselves. You're clearly in recognition of your own distress and need for him to help you, and he'll do his best to make you feel good, which will in turn make you feel better and relax. Rather, maybe just keep going until you eventually pass out. Get the negative emotions out of you so that you'll be back to normal in the morning... and if not, he can just keep going then, too.

What body parts of their darling do they like the most?

If you ask, he'll say something really sappy like your eyes or your smile. Which is true, but he also likes all the soft squishy parts. Thighs, chest, anything he can rest his head on after a really long day and blissfully relax on. It's probably the closest thing on earth to what heaven feels like, he thinks. There's something comforting about the soft warmth that just melts his anxieties and stress away. Sometimes, if he's been dealing with a particularly disagreeable or demanding client or been pushed around all day, he just comes home at the end of the day silently sulking, makes a beeline over towards you, flops down and stuffs his face into your chest without a word.

But going back to his affinity for your eyes, over the course of his career, he's become somewhat familiar with certain stones and metals often inlaid into more ornate or sacred works of architecture, and he will definitely at some point get you some form of necklace or bracelet or the like with some stone or metal in it that matches the color of your eyes. He just puts a lot of effort into trying to be classically romantic like that, which is cute at least.

[apomaro-mellow]

King and Prince 19

Part 18

Waking up with morning wood was a wake up call Steve didn’t know he needed. He was able to calm it but now there was a thrumming under his skin. It was like realizing you were hungry and being unable to ignore it. Taking care of it himself was always an option. He had his own room. But he missed being with another person. The thrill of flirtation followed by the ecstasy of coming together as one. 

The castle was filled with people. But most either ignored Steve or gave him glares when they passed. It was clear that his family name was causing some grudges and it was only because of Eddie that no one took out their grievances with him. Of the people who didn’t actively hate him, most were children and the other was Robin. She was perfectly lovely with hair that framed her face in a way that caressed her cheeks like a lover. 

Honestly, there was a moment where Steve wondered if he was falling for her himself, but her disinterest in men meant she wouldn’t respond to any advances from him. Late one night, when that energy filled him to the brim, he let a bout of madness take him for only a second where he imagined seducing Eddie. In the dark, Steve snickered to himself at the absurdity of it. He was a hospitable host but no one had more reason to hate him than Eddie.

That only left people outside of the castle. People who didn’t recognize him as a prince and thus wouldn’t hold it against him. And Eddie did say that he was no longer a prisoner.

------------------------

Jeff liked to take pleasure in the little things. A nice cool breeze, the smell of warm bread, and the entertainment he got anytime Eddie and Nancy disagreed on things. Nancy was logical and loyal. Everything she did was in the best interests of the kingdom. Eddie, for all his experience, was often impulsive and emotional.

But it was because of this that Eddie often heeded her advice, knowing it came from a place of rationality. To an untrained eye, it may appear that Nancy ran the kingdom. Looks were deceiving. Eddie had years under his belt that most of them couldn’t fathom. It was what made him fit to rule. More important than the great power he held was the wisdom he had acquired.

“You want to be allowed to leave and go out into town?”, Eddie repeated.

Steve stood before Eddie, Jeff, Nancy, and a few others who made up the council. It was a bold thing to ask, given his title and position. 

“I’ve been learning about your people and lands. I think I should see more of it for myself.”

“I didn’t realize you were such a scholar of culture”, Eddie brought his leg up to rest his ankle on his knee. He could tell that wasn’t the only reason Steve wanted out, but he also saw no reason to pry besides his own curiosity. The prince had no allies here, not counting the few bonds he’d made within his own walls. Certainly no one with which to conspire against Eddie and his subjects.

“You can’t be considering this seriously”, Nancy said. 

“Why not?”, Eddie shrugged.

The others waited to see how the debate would go, keeping themselves silent until each party justified their point. Jeff could see both sides. The prince hadn’t really done anything suspicious to require him to be guarded so closely. Even so, he hadn’t officially denounced his home land nor pledged loyalty to this one.

“Because he’s from an enemy kingdom? Because he could be trying to get you killed or overthrown? I know you think you’re invincible, but try to remember that the rest of us are not”, Nancy said.

“Believe me, I am aware”, Eddie said. “I’m also aware that he has had zero contact with his own people since arriving. And there are no spies in my court. If he wants to go on an outing without having to corral our young wards, I see no reason not to allow this.”

Nancy frowned at Steve. She didn’t see him as much of a threat, merely what he represented and what he was attached to. It was still difficult for her to believe that a king would discard a crown prince. It just didn’t make sense to her. The others began to chime in with why this could go wrong. And many of their arguments were right. This one decision could end very badly. But Steve wasn’t his prisoner anymore. He had already offered to set him free. And it was like Nancy could read his mind.

“Letting him go home and letting him come and go as he pleases are two different things.”

Eddie waved her off. “Semantics. I’ll honor your request to explore, little prince. But you will have a curfew.”

--------------------------

Eddie himself took Steve down to the stables to ensure that the stablehands knew he had the official seal of approval from the king. 

“I’ll let you borrow Sunflower here”, Eddie handed Steve the reins.

Sunflower was a beautiful color, almost golden and it reminded Steve that this place wasn’t all dark clouds and shadows. They had beautiful skies and flowers.

“Thank you”, Steve said, petting her mane.

“I want you back before sundown”, Eddie said.

Steve nodded. All in all, a rather generous curfew, given that the days were starting to get longer. He didn’t leave right away though. He went back to his room to get ready, putting on one of the new outfits he’d been given. It was meant for everyday wear so it wasn’t as nice as the one for the festival, but it was definitely good quality. He did his hair, checking in the mirror to make sure it was perfect.

By the time Steve was done, quite some time had passed, but he still had hours before the sun would set. He went to retrieve Sunflower and exited the gates, feeling free as he trotted out. 

“Now how sure are we that he’s not just going to ride off into the sunset?”, Robin asked as she happened to catch him leaving from a window.

“Pretty damn sure”, Eddie said, focusing on twirling a fork in his hand. 

When Steve got into town, he allowed himself to really take it in. Of course it was a sight to see during a celebration, but it was also lovely now too when people were just going about their business. 

Back home, Steve never had to search far for a partner. Even the most frigid had melted when a crown prince gave them his attention. But he couldn’t just announce that he was royalty. That would end in disaster.

No, if he wanted to find a lover for the evening, he’d have to rely solely on his wits and charm. Thankfully, he had both in abundance. He figured a tavern was a good place to look and he found one. He tied Sunflower up outside and ventured in. Only about three steps in did he realize he had no money but he kept up his stride. This was where the charm came in.

There was a young woman at the bar, nursing a drink. Her hair was cut short, in a similar style to Nancy’s but much curlier. Her brown skin was complimented by her gold earrings and made it apparent that she appreciated the finer things. She looked up as Steve approached and smiled.

“Mind a bit of company?”, he asked.

She nodded to the stool next to her. “Help yourself.”

It was easy to take a seat and slip back into old habits, even easier when his conversation partner was a beautiful woman who had no idea who he was. He hardly even had to lie. All that mattered was that he was new to the area and looking for a bit of fun. She caught on quick and luckily had a room in the tavern they could go to.

Afterwards, Steve wanted nothing more than to bask in the afterglow, but he knew he couldn’t linger too long. He didn’t want to mess up what little goodwill he had from Eddie so fast. 

On the way back, he was already thinking of his next outing. Who he might find and what kind of person they may be. Maybe if he behaved, he could convince Eddie to let him spend an entire night out. There had to be a place for entertainment other than drinking such as dancing. And perhaps he’d even find a regular lover and not -just a part time bed mate.

---------------------

Eddie resisted the urge to put eyes on Steve when he left the first time. He only kept his regular sentries that monitored the castle gates and walls. He knew when Steve left and knew when he returned but that was it. He tried not to think too hard about what he was doing and with who.

For all he knew, Steve was going to the tavern to drink his troubles away, playing cards with old men, or knitting with old ladies. Eddie had no idea what kind of hobbies Steve had back home but he could be a knitter.

The first time Eddie saw Steve after one of his excursions was about two weeks later. And there was only one way to describe Steve’s condition after reveling in whatever delighted him in town. 

He was glowing.

Part 20

Taglist

@thesuninyaface @only-evanescent  @snakeorsquid  @ignoremyworld  @theclichefortunecookie 

@goodolefashionedloverboi  @just-a-tiny-void  @0body0disphoria0  @cinnamon-mushroomabomination  @samsoble 

@jamieweasley13  @y4r3luv  @xtkxkrzrizir  @un-knownperson  @greekgeek24 

@justdrugsformethanks  @potato-of-the-lord  @notaqueenakhaleesi  @swimmingbirdrunningrock  @queenie-ofthe-void 

@nebulainajar  @lil-gremlin-things  @nicememerino  @robininblue  @hornedqueenofhell 

@anne-bennett-cosplayer  @moomkin77  @here4thetrama  @bookworm0690  @autumncrocusandladybug

@lil-gremlin-things @littlebluejane @puppy-steve

[f0point5]

You know, I love Seb (he’s the person who got me into F1) and I respect Lewis and his accomplishments but one thing I’ll never forgive them (and a lot of the older drivers, most already retired now) for is how they treated Max when he came into F1.

Yes, he might have been their rival but he was also a teenager, a literal child and gosh… I know Max probably doesn’t really care anymore but I still hurt for him sometimes.

Especially when you consider that he was the one paving the way for his generation. When Charles and Lando and George and everyone else came up a few years later they were welcomed as the youth, the future of the sport. Older drivers talking about their talent and how great it is to see them come up.

Max didn’t get that. He got shouts of “too young”, “too reckless”, “too… too much”.

So no, to me the only real grid dad (or maybe grid uncle is more fitting, idk) will be Fernando Alonso who said that some people are simply ready earlier than others and that Max should be judged on his performance in the races, not his age (paraphrased).

Fernando who has been an idol a lot of the younger generation growing up but also exchanged helmets with Oscar and Zhou, joked with Lando on instagram, talks Le Mans with Max and probably many more moments I’m forgetting about rn.

THIS.

Honestly, I don’t really get the Seb hype. He just has never given me good vibes. I didn’t watch during the RB days so maybe if I’d seen his golden era I’d have gotten attached but he has just always seemed…not likeable. Clearly a very driven, straightforward, intelligent guy, but something about him doesn’t sit well with me. Anyway rant over.

I’m not even going to talk about LH because…par for the course.

Yes, they were all mean to him. As grown men, too, how are you not absolutely embarrassed?! I get that he’s a kid and maybe you don’t want to hang out with him or confront the fact that you’re not the hotshots anymore but omg it’s a CHILD. (And Seb who made a bit of a meal out of being a bullying victim as a kid…I see you.)

No one else of Max’s generation would have survived the way they treated him, I stand by that. They all needed the support they got, and Max had none of it from his peers. I can’t see Max being the type who cared per se, because he was probably already used to being…not ostracised, but like…observed? And also because of how he grew up I don’t think anyone’s words could rattle him. But even if he didn’t care the grown men should have known better.

If I were Max I’d still be laughing about how bitter I made men in their 30s. Like “I couldn’t grow facial hair and y’all were running scared”. But I still think it must have been a pretty lonely few years until others his age started catching up.

I think Max was really lucky to have such a tight team (Christian, Helmut, Jos, Ray, GP) around him to insulate him a bit and stop him getting pushed around but the way these men tried it. (Toto I’m looking at your for the Jos phonecall.)

Yeah Fernando is the only one who I think was ready to embrace the new frontier as it were. But he is just kind of like that. I feel like he doesn’t feel his age is the disadvantage that most do, and that’s why he’s not so afraid of younger drivers. Like, his relationship with Max, Carlos, lando, George (nye buddies lol) and Zhou (literally just today saw a quote of him talking about how nice Alonso was to him, even Lance, he treats them as much as peers as he does his own generation, it’s cute.

Also, this is kinda random but I swear Nico and Max were kind of friendly in the early years? Max has known Nico a long time, despite the age difference (he said he remembered glasses Nico used to wear at like 7, and Nico once went out with his mum?), Nico was on the jet with Max on his birthday in…2017? And I think there’s a picture of Max having flown with some guys (including both Nicos in 2016) and for some reason I’ve always had the idea that Hulkenberg was his link to that whole crew? (Idk if this whole friendship is a headcanon but for some reason I feel like these two are/were kinda connected)

But yeah, agree. Grown men acting like little bitches. That generation I think was the last generation with real bitterness between the drivers, though. Idk you wouldn’t catch me being a jerk to a kid but I’ve never been terrified of a kid before so 🤷‍♀️

[technicallyverycowboy]

playboyy: no fags, no femmes

okay, so. playboyy meta. thanks to @lugarn, @chaos0pikachu, and @cryptidafter for talking all this out with me <3

i originally started this post with "not to be that guy," but honestly, i do want to be that guy. because so much of the critique and analysis of playboyy i'm seeing is a) grounded in a lack of knowledge about queer history and aesthetics and b) veers unintentionally but wildly into unexamined homophobia.

so, given i'm going to reference susan sontag's notes on camp several times, i've decided i might as well go full queer studies major about it and copy the list style she uses. (i would highly recommend reading notes on camp. it is academic and somewhat dense, but it's a tame 13 pages)

1. so many people are confidently asserting that playboyy is not camp, regardless of what the creatives behind the show think. to which i have to ask: how are you defining camp? what things are campy to y'all?

2. the personal definition of camp that i arrived at after writing a bunch of papers about it is two-fold: camp is exaggeration, treating things that are serious casually and treating things that are casual seriously. camp is about an aesthetic of inhabiting a role, where something is a little bit off or being something that it's not meant to be.

and to be clear, this is a wildly incomplete and simplified definition, because one of the points of camp is that it's a vibe, not something concrete. It’s also something that shifts over time the relationship between queerness and society changes.

2a. camp often intersects and overlaps with surrealism, like in rocky horror picture show. very often media that is campy exits the mundane world and enters a heightened world of exaggeration and stylization. 

3. so, is playboyy campy? i sure as hell think it is. i think lugarn and chaos0pikachu both made really good points about the campiness of playboyy and it being specifically sexwork camp. (both replies are at that link.)

4. a brief list of things that specifically resonated as campy to me: first throwing american dollars in the pool for soong to catch, zouey's fantasy of feeling up teena in art class, every single element of nant's room (especially the projected images), captain's sports plot that involved zero doing the sport and 100% fucking and fantasy, the softly romantic framing of nuth and phob's sex scenes, jump's pleather tank top & coverall combination, prom wearing assless chaps to a rooftop party at 2:30 in the afternoon, the entire concept of investigating a disappearance via a themed party... i could go on and on, but i said this was brief.

5. i think the actual problem a lot of people have with playboyy is that it doesn't care about straight people.

6. what i mean by that is that playboyy is not a universal story. you could not plug different characters with different sexualities into the plot and preserve the essence of the story. the gayness of the characters is integral to the plot. the sex work is integral to the plot. this is not a world where homophobia doesn't exist and being gay is just like being straight.

7. additionally, these characters are all performing gender in a specifically queer way. they are femmes and fags, they are obvious, they are clockable, they're visible. when nice gays talk about the people who are giving gays a bad reputation and making it harder for everyone (to assimilate into heteropatriarchy) they're talking about playboyy gays.

8. comparing playboyy to only friends is low hanging fruit at this point, but i would argue that the reason boston stood out in that cast and was so viciously punished by the ending is because he was a fag stuck in a nice gays narrative.

9. and this is where the fandom homophobia comes in. so, so many people describe these characters and chaotic and messy, watchable as incoherent and vaguely amusing from a distance, but without real substance. the resulting narrative is often that no one could take their characters or their stories seriously or resonate with them.

10. again, why? why was ray and sand's high and low, blow up fights, calling each other whores relatable but soong and first's miscommunications about what they mean to each other unbelievable chaos? why is white taking black's place an acceptable plot point, but nont pretending to be nant is absurd?

11. most bls do not deal with flamboyance except in limited capacities by comedic side characters. flamboyance is a baseline trait for most of the playboyy characters. so if they feel too much, too loud, too out there, consider asking yourself why they do.

12. to a large extent, i think a lot of the criticism of playboyy is rooted in a bad faith refusal to engage with the show beyond a surface level pearl clutching about the sexual content. the unspoken belief here being that sex scenes are inherently vulgar distractions. they can't be integral to characters or their relationships. they can't be vital pieces of a narrative.

to which i say, there are nine thousand other BLs out there where the kissing is chaste and sex scenes are ~tastefully abstracted shots of shoulder blades and hands. watch those instead.

13. if you decide you want to watch it anyway, take a couple minutes to examine what parts of the show make you uncomfortable and why. and to be clear, i think there’s a lot of value in watching things that make you uncomfortable; media is often one of the best ways to dip into interrogating your emotional responses from a safe distance. 

but don’t use discomfort to dismiss the possibility that there’s meaningful artistic and stylistic choices made to serve a meaningful narrative. take a second to sit with your reactions and ask yourself where it’s coming from. 

[peterparkouryo]

no way remedy | ꕥ

breaking news! | ꕥ

warnings: fluff. angst

word count: 3.7k

a/n: i just want to say this story was made in january of 2022 so the writing is horrible 😭 istg it’ll get better after chapter three

ˏˋ°•*⁀➷ taglist

YOUR DATE WITH PETER WAS GOING AMAZING. You'd never would had thought someone like him could be such a romantic. Not that you're complaining, but given how long you've known the boy, it was hard to assume he could be the movie sort of romantic guy.

Your date consisted of a walk in Central Park ( a classic) and some ice cream from the local convenient store because fall was approaching rather quickly and the ice cream truck was no longer in season.

Now to be fair, you were never a hopeless romantic type, but when you had met Peter, he changed your life (in more ways than some). He had made you see the colour you were too blind to see because your life was always filled with darkness by choice. He helped you be more optimistic than pessimistic as you always were. You felt as if Peter was the sun to your moon, and sure that was probably cheesy but it was the honest truth.

Currently, you two were hand in hand, walking to your apartment instead of swinging, because you were afraid of heights and of course you trust Peter with your entire life, but being more than three feet above the ground was a terrifying thought.

When you had found out about your boyfriend being the friendly neighbourhood Spider-Man, it was when you and your friends were on the school trip that quickly turned to hell. You had always had an inkling that he was your city's hero, but you were never really sure. It wasn't until your sister Michelle, told you her suspicions as well, and you were eyeing him ever since. Of course you only eyed him for that one reason, well that's not true, you had eyed him because one, you wanted to know if he was Spider-Man, and two, you had an major crush on him.

It wasn't major per se, but every time you secretly read a romance novel, you'd picture the two main characters were yourself and Peter, an insane thing to think, but you couldn't help it.

After the school trip, and Mysterio's pandemonium, Peter confessed just how much he liked you, which was a total surprise to you. You had always thought it was one sided, and he had his eyes set on your sister, but it only seemed that way because the boy is truly just that awkward. 

You're glad things are the way they are for now.

"So, same time tomorrow?" Peter asked, swinging your hands back and fourth, the upcoming August wind blowing mercifully against your faces.

"A second date?" You quizzed, gazing at him with a small smile.

Peter shrugs.

"Sure, why not." He smiled back, giving your hand a soft squeeze.

Given this was your first official date after all the chaos that happened on your trip, you couldn't really say no to a second one, knowing that since this one went without problems and normality, the second one shouldn't be as bad.

"I'd love to." You beamed just as you two arrived at your apartment building.

"Awesome." Peter smiled, letting go of your hand, watching your figure walk to the building's doubled doors as you opened it, stopping in your tracks to turn around to give him a final wave, which he reciprocated. 

Your building wasn't fancy, not that you mind, and you were grateful you had a place to live, to be able to go to sleep in a nice warm not so comfy bed.

You walked up the stairs to your complex, and you would had took the elevator if it wasn't broken for the fourth time this month.

Your phone dinged with a notification, a text from Peter asking if you made it to your door okay, and your heart flutters at his thoughtful concern. You reply with a 'yes', grabbing your key from the back of your pocket and putting it in the keyhole before unlocking it.

Once you entered the abode, you're hit with a familiarity of books, the pages either crumbled or worn out with a tear. The soft noises of the TV in the living room filling your ears and being the curious person you are, you travel to the noise.

Your father is sitting on the couch, watching an old show made in the sixties, a habit you adored about him.

"Hey." You greet him, setting down the flower Peter had gave you when he arrived at your apartment, into an empty flower vase on the end table next to the couch.

"Hey hun, how was your hangout with your friend?" He asked, turning his attention away from the TV to look at you.

"Dad for the last time, it was a date, not a hangout." You corrected, rolling your eyes as you fixed the flower into the vase.

You had told your father about the date, and also about the fact you were dating Peter, but he was either forgetful or just didn't really like the idea of you dating anyone. Peter tried his hardest to make your dad appreciate him, but it was pointless, and that may be because your dad did not care about his attempts of overawe.

"Oh, right. With Peter?" He quizzed, raising an eyebrow.

You hum out your response, flipping over the ceramic flower necklace attached to your neck.

It was a white astrantia flower, one of the petals cracked, but you didn't mind, it still had special meaning and gave it a sort of character, you suppose. Peter had given it to you shortly before his confession back in London on the landmark bridge. He rambled about what it meant to you and why he was going to give it to you and you only had smiled and gave his cheek a quick peck to shut him up.

The flower meant a lot to you, because anyone and everyone you met had told you how strong you were and how you would be the first to defend anyone you cared for. Your bravery was an inspiration to others, something Peter would remind you of any chance he got.

"Your sister should be home from her shift shortly." You hear your dad tell you as you make your way to your bedroom.

You say nothing, going to your bedroom and closing the door.

Your room wasn't much, just a room filled with shelfs of clutter and books, notes of affirmation attached to your wall near your closet, and Polaroids above the headboard of your bed that consisted of pictures from your trip and adventures with MJ.

Your favourite polaroid was your recent one with Peter, the two of you sharing a ice cream, but instead of the two of you being a cliche and licking it, you were holding up the cone as ice cream melted, a bright smile adorning your face as Peter reciprocated it, his hand also nursing the waffle cone.

You grabbed a pin from the drawer of the nightstand near your bed, your grip on the polaroid picture, closing the drawer and climbing on your bed holding the picture to the pinboard.

Before you could put the photo on the pinboard your sister practically bursts through your bedroom door, causing you to drop the polaroid, it slipping between your headboard and falling under your bed. You mutter a curse, getting off your bed and turning your gaze toward MJ.

"Sup, loser." She greets with a straight face, decorated in her work attire, her teal shirt with a hint of pink on the end of the sleeves the same pink colour also peaking from her collar, a mess.

"What happened?" You question, ignoring her greeting as you gestured toward her shirt that had a few stains.

"Some moron didn't know how to drink coffee, and I tripped with a donut in my hand." MJ shrugs, going over to your bed before laying down with a huff.

You nod, doing the same.

"Sounds horrific." You say, placing your hands on your stomach.

"How was your movie cliche date with spider boy?" MJ asked with a hint of curiosity. 

It made sense sister knew Peter was Spider-Man. You had nothing to do with her finding out, she told you how it was kind of obvious to begin with and she confronted him before things took turn for the worst during your time in London.

"It was," You started, pondering your thoughts as the curly haired girl expectingly looked at you. "Surprisingly great." You finished with a smile, your sister rolling her eyes.

"I always knew he'd turn you sappy." She sighed, sitting up from the bed, scanning your room.

You roll your eyes as well, staring at the ceiling.

"You're just jealous." You say back.

"I have Ned." MJ joked, causing you to chuckle.

"You apply to MIT yet?" She asked quietly, fiddling with her hands.

"Yup, just waiting for the letter." You tell her quickly, feeling your heart tighten in your chest at the mere thought of rejection.

You, MJ, Peter, and Ned had this almost impossible plan to apply for the same college, because you four were just that inseparable and even if you and MJ breathed being introverts, you were genuinely glad you met Peter and Ned. One being your best friend and significant other and the other being your best friend, but together, you'd die for them.

"Same." MJ says with a smile before the girl gets up from your bed and makes her way to your door.

"I'll be with Peter tomorrow for our second date." You tell her randomly.

"Gross." Is the last thing she says, exiting your room as the door closes.

You roll your eyes, dismissing her comment before turning off your light to enter a much needed slumber, anticipating tomorrow, your mind already filling with the things you and Peter could do.

peter parkour: omw, be thesr soon

peter parkour: thers

peter parkour: teher

peter parkour: nvm

you: don't swing and text :)

You quickly stuff your phone in your pocket after sending the message to Peter, warning him about his bad habit of swinging and texting. You were already nervous with the date you didn't expect, but adding him and his hazard swinging to the mix wasn't helping. 

Unfortunately for you, Peter had insisted that you two go on a swinging date, then go to Delmar's, which was at it's third instalment, and he promised for your third date that he would let you pick out what you two could do. You would hold him to that too.

You had hope that your current outfit was too much of a hassle for Peter to navigate with, because you know it would be difficult if he had to swing with you with the outfit you were wearing.

Your outfit wasn't plain, but it also wasn't extravagant either. You had barely just any energy when you were picking it out. You had borrowed a grey cable knit cardigan from MJ's closet, hoping your sister wouldn't notice, but given her observant personality, you doubt she wouldn't. You had paired it with a charlotte skirt you found in your closet with your black high top converses, because well, why not?

It wasn't that you didn't want to swing around with Peter, but you didn't, at all. There was nothing the boy could do that would convince you to do it, not anything that you knew would work. Somehow though, he convinced you anyway saying it would be fun, and a "one time thing only", which you only hoped was true.

A knock at your window broke you from your thoughts, your attention gazing over toward Peter, who was in his newly made suit, the classic red colour now assigned with black.

You send him a smile, going to your window and opening it to let him in.

"Sorry I took too long, there was this whole thing with Happy and May that I had to sort out, then it got all weird so I just left." The boy rambled, entering your room before taking off his mask.

"It's okay." You laughed, fighting the urge to fix his unruly curls.

"You look great, by the way." Peter adds quickly with a flustered face.

It always amazed you at how shy and awkward Peter could be at times when it came to complimenting you, or just giving you words of affirmation at any given time. It quite literally surprised you when he had the guts to ask you to be his girlfriend.

"Thanks, you too." You say just as shyly. You had no idea why you had said that anyway, he was only wearing his Spider-Man suit, but it was still the truth anyhow.

"I only wore this because I didn't want to go swinging." You admitted, watching the boy give you an eye roll.

"I promise it's not that bad, not unless you make it that way." Peter tells you, approaching your figure before taking both your hands in his spandex covered ones.

"And I promise to never let you fall. I will always be the one to catch you." He adds sincerely, and you swear your heart grows three sizes at his words.

Like you said before, Peter always finds a way to give you words of affirmation no matter what.

You give him a shy smile, your cheeks practically burning at his words, giving his left one a peck.

"Alright, let's go before I change my mind." You tell him, the boy letting out a breathy chuckle.

"Okay, okay." Peter says, tugging his mask back onto his face.

"Is MJ here?" He questioned as he exited your room, sticking to the building in front of your window.

"Yeah, why?" You ask, taking a hold of his hand he had it held out for you.

You wrap your legs around his hips, connecting your arms around his neck, clinging onto the boy for dear life and he wasn't even swinging yet.

"Just asking." Peter shrugs, closing your window for you.

"Ready?" He asked, one hand gripping around your waist.

"Never."

"Great!"

Everything happens rather quickly from you two being still at the outside of your window to Peter all too swiftly, without warning swinging you both through the city, your heart pounding wildly against your chest.

"Oh my god!" You scream, closing your eyes as you bypassed buildings, burying your head into his neck.

Your boyfriend seemed to pay no mind to your screeching. It surprised you, supposing you were quite literally screaming into his ear, which you hoped you didn't do too much damage to. However, your heart was no longer in your chest, instead at the bottom of your stomach, you felt like you were going to puke.

What really surprised you throughout this whole torturous swinging was the fact your skirt wasn't a problem at all, not that it would've been anyway because you were smart enough to wear shorts underneath.

"I'm not looking! I'm not looking!" You continue your whines, feeling the swift wind blowing wildly in your face, hearing Peter's cheers as you continue to navigate through the city.

Peter was keened on making sure you felt safe when swinging with him, though you did, it still didn't help with your fear of heights. Sure, you hated this, but you know somewhere deep down inside of you, you enjoyed this, maybe just for a bit though.

You let him be in the moment, him at one point doing some sort of trick where it seemed he was going to drop you, but doesn't, something that made you let out a loud throaty screech in fear.

After awhile though, the swinging thankfully comes to an end after your pleading of asking him to drop you in the middle of Times Square.

When he does, you two land near a lamp post, your hair that was in an up do, probably a mess from the rush of wind you induced. 

"You okay?" Peter concerns, watching your body relax as you catch your breath.

You nod, unable to form any words, your throat aching from all the screaming you did.

"Yeah, just-" You start, "never do that again." You warned him, watching him nod in understanding.

"Ever." You added, making him laugh.

"Alright." Peter reassures.

"You still want to go to Delmar's?" Peter asked unsurely, tilting his head in curiosity. 

You thought about his question for a moment. He did promise you he would, but in all honesty you really didn't feel like it, at least you thought you didn't. Plus Delmar's was all the way in Queens while you two were standing in the middle of Times Square, which wasn't anywhere near the deli.

"Maybe tomorrow?" You suggested raising an eyebrow.

"Oh okay, sure." He agreed.

"I'll just have my dad pick me up, because, you know." You tell him, hoping he caught on to what you were trying to get at.

"Right, understandable." Peter chuckles.

"See you tomorrow?" He questioned, and you give him a nod as your answer before going in for a hug.

You two mutter your goodbyes, you watch the spider boy swing to the lamp post you were near, causing the birds that were sitting there to fly away in alarm.

You were just about to pull out your phone to call your dad to pick you up, the spider boy also about to leave before something on one of the many screens in the Square catch your attention.

"This is breaking news." the anchor from a Led screen announces, dragging most of the civilians who were wandering the Square's attention, as well.

"We come to you know with revelations about last week's attack in London." An anchor on a big screen you were staring at says, Peter turning around to look at another one on a much bigger screen.

You furrow your eyebrows in confusion, curious as to what new information could possibly be provided.

"An anonymous source provided this video." The anchor says, your eyes gaze to Peter who was already looking down at you. It didn't take a genius to know that he was confused and fearful underneath his mask.

"It shows Quentin Beck, aka Mysterio, moments before his death." The man adds, a small crowd gathering near you to watch the screen.

"A warning, you may find this video disturbing." He adds.

Your head unknowingly tilts in confusion, watching the screen switch from the news man to a video footage of the former villian at the London bridge.

"I managed to send the Elemental through the rift." Beck says fearfully.

"But I don't think I'm gonna make it." He exclaims, and you almost could roll your eyes at his victimized act.

"Spider-Man attacked me for some reason." Beck lies straight through his teeth, you knew it was a bold face one, Peter as well, but you feared the many people that lingered around you who was either watching or not would believe him. You really hoped they didn't.

"He has an army of weaponized drones, Stark technology." He informs wearily, the video glitching every chance it got.

The ironic part about that sentence was that army of drones were his weapon, the same weapon the man used to try to delusion you and your friends, the same weaponized drones that he tried to kill you with. Somehow, he managed to make it seem like Peter was using the Stark technology for bad reasons, which wasn't the case at all.

"He's saying he's the only one who's gonna be the new Iron man." Beck spits out yet another lie.

Your face falls in disbelief, no longer in its curious expression as it was before, you glance at a couple people who had their phones out, recording the scene ahead of them.

The footage then glitches, or cuts to a new footage of Mysterio, or Beck, laying limp on the ground as Peter stood before him, talking to the AI glasses Tony Stark had given him, EDITH.

"Are you sure you want to commence the drone attack?" The AI lady's voice asked.

"There will be significant casualties." She warned.

"Do it. Execute them all." Peter tells, but from your knowledge you can tell the video is heavily edited, chunks of what actually happened cut out for reasons you weren't so sure of.

Gun shots were being fired in the video, most likely destroying the drones, but it probably seemed as if it was doing something way worst, you had no idea since Peter was the only one there, able to know what actually happened.

"This shocking video was released earlier today." The anchor mans says, coming back into frame of the screen, and you feared the worst.

"On the controversial news website." The man adds, and you figured it was probably the Daily Bugle, to which was true since the man says it anyway, the screen cutting to the news website, showing a grumpy old man known as J. Jonah Jameson.

"There you have it folks, conclusive proof that Spider-Man was responsible for the murder of Mysterio." Jameson informed.

You gave your surroundings a quick look over, the crowd that was small much more bigger.

"An interdimensional warrior who gave his life to protect our planet and who will no doubt go down in history as the greatest superhero of all time." You watch the bias anchor say, you were now starting to see why this news website was so controversial, your blood boiling at the praise Beck was receiving undeservingly. 

Peter once again looks at you, and if you weren't so focused on his reaction you'd miss his body demeanour practically pleading for the both of you to get out of there, not wanting to face the public any longer.

You were about to call out his name, but the next words from the screen stops you.

"But that's not all folks." Jameson exclaims, your head snapping back toward the screen in-sync with Peter's.

"Here's the real blockbuster." He says and your face turns into yet another curious expression, your eyebrows furrowed.

"Brace yourselves. You might wanna sit." Jameson warns.

The screen shows Beck once again, the video glitching more evident this time, due to the damage it had most likely faced.

"Spider-Man's real-" The man starts, the video footage glitching. "Spider-Man's real name is-" He tries again, looking around in alert before the screen glitches to black for a second, and your heartbeat quickens, hoping what you think was about to happen didn't.

Unfortunately the screen glitches back to Beck, his face only getting inhumanly bigger on the screen as the worst came to settlement, his final words shocking everyone around you.

"Spider-Man's name is Peter Parker!" Beck exclaims, the video cutting to an familiar image of your boyfriend, being plastered on many Led screens in the Times Square.

"Oh, shit." You say with dread, hearing people gasp in disbelief, a few citizens pointed to your boyfriend who still remained sat on the lamp post.

What was supposed to be an innocent date, turned into something much worst. You had no idea what to do, and you figured neither did Peter, the one who surely whose head probably was exploding with a million thoughts.

[aegonshusband]

Moonsun; an Helagon Bridgerton AU

Alicent stood tall, forcing a wide smile as she paraded her children in front of the queen like her prized pigs. 

“Your Grace, I present to you my match. My children Aegon and Helaena Targaryen,” Alicent said, motioning her hand towards her children next to her. The two were visibly uncomfortable. Who wouldn’t be if you were marrying your sibling? 

“Your Grace,” Aegon said, bowing as he spoke. “Thank you for blessing our marriage.” His long unruly white hair nearly shielded his entire face. 

“Thank you, your Grace,” Helaena said, curtsying and bowing her head as she stood up, “Thank you for blessing our marriage.” 

Queen Rhaenyra looked down at them from her throne made of swords, her lips pursed. Of course, it wasn’t unusual for Targaryens to marry within their family, most of the time it is expected. “Of course, dear brother, sister. Alicent, thank you for putting together such an excellent match.”

This comment caused Aegon to snicker. Alicent looked at him and scolded.

“Brother, you will find with time your love will grow,” Rhaenyra spoke. 

“Your wedding will be in 2 weeks time,” Lord Eryyk said. 

Alicent nodded. “Thank you, Lord Eryyk,” she said. Smiling as she made eye contact with the Queen. “We hope to see you in attendance, Your Grace.”

“Of course, I would never miss it.”

Alicent ushered them away, clenching her jaw as they entered the corridor. “Well that was easy enough,” Alicent said. “It was to be expected that she approved. She has no reason not to you are her siblings.”

“Half siblings,” Aegon corrected, following behind his mother. 

Alicent looked back and shot him a look as if to say *‘you’re on thin ice’.*

Helaena looked at her brother and sighed. She didn’t enjoy it either, but it wasn’t like either of them really had a choice. “At least once we’re married we won’t have to deal with the council's contestant pressure.”

“Until we become of age and they demand we bed and have children,” Aegon retorted.

“Thankfully that’s years away,” Alicent responded, leading them outside the castle. 

They arrived quickly at their home, they were related to the Queen, after all, the ride hadn’t been that far. They exited their carriage swiftly, Aegon hurrying off to his chambers to avoid further questioning, and Helaena stood next to her mom, silently understanding. 

“I don’t understand why you wed us if I speak plainly,” Helaena said, looking at her mother and meeting her gaze. “I wish you at least ask our opinion.”

“There was no reason to ask your opinion, it was clearly the perfect match. You two are the heirs to Dragonstone.” Alicent said, “Whether you like it or not it isn’t your choice.”

“I’ve realized many things aren’t my choice, Mother,” Helaena says, making her way inside the house. 

Their house was simple but nice. It was decorated with tapestries that depicted dragons, green silk curtains hung over the windows and handmaids roamed the halls. The Targaryens were the highest family in Kinglanding, the Hightowers a close second, nothing less than elaborate wouldn’t be good enough for them. 

It was customary for a ball to be held at the castle after the first showing of eligible men and women who are ready to marry, especially if you already had a match. It was standard to show off who you had been engaged to. 

Helaena was having her hair braided and pinned up tightly, gold jewels being clipped around her neck and wrists. Her dress was a simple dark green, it complimented her features quite well. 

Aegon was dressed in a dark green suit, a golden dragon insignia carefully stitched into the outside chest pocket. He looked at himself in the mirror, his hair being pulled back caused his features to be more prominent. He felt awkward and lanky in his position, he felt unsure. He had to live the life he was given, he had to do the things planned for him since before he was born. He has to live with it no matter how much he doesn’t want to. 

They met each other in the parlor, Aegon taking a second glance at Helaena. “You look pretty tonight, sister,” Aegon said, avoiding her gaze. She smiled and nodded.

“Thank you, brother,” she replied, not used to him being so gracious with his words. “You look handsome as well.”

He smiled and nodded, not audibly acknowledging her compliment. Their mother came down the stairs, fixing herself as she walked down the last step. “Are you two ready to leave?”

They both nodded, following Alicent as she exited the parlor. Helaena walked next to her mother, Aegon following behind them. Helaena’s dress swayed as she walked, Aegon noticing her hair was pinned up in a style he hadn’t seen before. They entered the carriage, Aegon plopping down across from Alicent, sighing heavily. Helaena sat next to her mother, fiddling with her fingers in her lap.

“Why do we have to go to this again?” He asked, looking at his mother. “We’re going to marry, what’s the point if we aren’t available?”

“Because society needs to see our standing, they need to see that you have a strong match.”

“At this point wouldn’t you assume everyone knows that we’re engaged? It’s kind of obvious.” 

“Once you are older you will understand,” Alicent said, turning her attention to her daughter. “You look quite nice tonight, Helaena. You will be quite the beautiful spectacle.”

“Thank you, mother. I wanted to try something different with my hair tonight,” she replied.

The castle was decorated extravagantly in gold and red. Music played as eligible bachelors and bachelorettes crowded the great hall, the evening just starting. The three of them entered, Alicent keeping a close eye on both of her children.

“Lady Targaryen, it’s a pleasure,” a voice boomed behind Alicent.

“Lord Cole, what a wonderful sight,” she replied. “I wasn’t expecting you to show up. It’s unlike you to show up to these.”

“I wouldn’t miss getting to spend an evening in your presence.”

Aegon gagged to himself, Helaena chuckling at his response. “It’s ridiculous is it not? Our father on his death bed and she parades around,” she said. 

Aegon looked at her in shock. “I didn’t think you had it in you to have a negative opinion.”

“I do, I just don’t voice them like you do,” she responded, a smile creeping up her face. “You would be surprised with how much we have in common.”

“Alright, the two of you need to go dance, show yourselves, and show the others,” Alicent interrupted them, Helaena turning her head to look at her. She gave a look of embarrassment, being able to avoid public displays until now. “Helaena you will be fine, there is nothing for you to worry about,” She said, shooing them off into the dance circle and turning her back. 

Aegon grabbed her forearm hesitantly, catching her off guard. “Shall we?” He asked, motioning to the dance floor.

“Of course,” She replied while nodding. Aegon grabbed onto her hand, leading her to the circle. They got many looks, many nods and smiles. 

“They’re all staring at us. I wonder what they think,” Helaena said. 

“The queen’s siblings are marrying each other of course they will have opinions, no matter what they are. All we have to do is smile and move our feet.” 

Helaena nodded, “I suppose you’re right aren’t you?” They found their spot on the dance floor, getting into stance.

Aegon wrapped his free hand around her waist, trying to avoid making eye contact with her as the music started. As they danced, he led her around the dance floor, their hands staying intertwined as their bodies moved in unison. Their mother was desperate to have a good reputation, she taught them how to dance, and how to socialize. They learned everything they knew from their mother. 

Helaena gazed at Aegon, desperate for him to look at her. “Aegon,” she said.

“Yes?” He asked, making eye contact with her. His bright violet eyes sparkled under the chandelier. 

“I know you know I don’t like this just as much as you. But all we can do is make the most of it.”

“I know, sister. We have to fulfill our duty, no matter how much we dislike it.” He responded

Helaena nodded in agreement. “Exactly, we need to at least try to pretend.”

“You do have great ideas.”

They danced through the room, their fingers intertwined as they nervously pranced themselves around. They moved in rhythm, you can give them that. They look like two pawns dancing around a chessboard. As the music quickened, so did they. They were both smiling, genuinely having fun with each other. 

This was something both of them could get used to. 

The song ended as they stood opposite each other. Aegon bowed and Helaena curtsied, both smiling as they came up. “That was fun, sister.” 

“Same here, Aegon.”

The night grew long, with many dances, conversations, remarks, and looks. They both grew tired from the evening and begged their mother to leave.

Once they arrived back to their home, Aegon and Helaena bid each other goodnight, and then to their mother. Alicent was happy, this night was a step in the right direction. A practical match was needed, she hoped it would soon turn into a love match as well.

[seramilla]

So Sera after being reunited with Carmilla after thousands of years apart has some self confidence issues specifically with her appearance she doesn't feel like she's as attractive as she was when she and Carmilla had been dating all those years ago. So due to these issues she buys or somehow gets some lingerie and in the hope it'll help her feel sexy. She's looking at herself in the mirror and doesn't feel sexy just that this was a dumb purchase and waste of time. Carmilla than walks into the room sees her blushes and than pounces. Next thing Sera knows she's on their bed Carmilla on top of her kissing her passionately Carmilla likes the lingerie a lot and helps Sera feel better about her appearance.

Mostly fluff, awkwardness, and pining with implied sexytimes under the readmore.

Eight thousand years is a long time to be separated from your true love. Or was it 9000 years? Sera has lost count at this point. While the concept of aging isn't really something angels experience, their bodies can still change. When Carmilla and Sera had been young, they'd both been physically fit. Tall, agile, and perfect paragons of what angels are supposed to be.

When Carmilla fell, she remained in fighting shape, only because she had to. When Sera was promoted to High Seraphim, she spent her days toiling away at a desk, giving tours to Winners around Heaven, and raising Emily to be her successor. Her body, while still lean, has become lanky over the years, with some pudge in places that it wasn’t there before. Her flight muscles aren't as strong as they used to be. She fears if she so much as tries to lift a weight, she might fall over in embarrassment.

Carmilla says she loves her body. The arms dealer hasn't given her any reason to doubt that. Even so, Sera is always amazed at how...perfect Carmilla is, all these years later. Where Sera is fair and delicate, Carmilla has bulk and strength. She has a dancer's body. A warrior's body. Sera has...something, but she's definitely nothing like she used to be.

Carmilla's friend Rosie had told her to treat herself. "Get yourself something nice, girlie, something that makes you feel good about yourself." That's all it had been, at first. Sera isn't really trying to look sexy, per se. She had just wanted to...experiment and practice what Rosie had called "self-care." She'd never been shopping before, so asking for help from an employee at the boutique had been...a humbling experience.

She'd managed to come home with a beautiful piece of lingerie for her troubles. A bra and panty set made of deep, rich, royal purple lace. It's probably the most expensive thing she's ever afforded herself since she's been down here. She'd been blushing up a storm trying it on in the fitting room at the shop, and she's still blushing trying it on now, in the privacy of her own room, in front of her full-length mirror.

She has to admit it's flattering on her. While she doesn't care for her own assets that much, Carmilla does, and she appreciates that it accentuates all her best features. As she turns this way and that, over-analyzing her own body with the attention span of a bird of prey, she isn't...unhappy with what she sees. She could always be prettier, she imagines, but still, it does look...nice?

Sera doesn't get much further beyond that thought because her bedroom door suddenly slams open. Carmilla at once comes stomping into the room, frustration visible all over her face, as she throws herself onto the bed face first, screeching into the plush duvet.

"I swear to fucking Satan, if Velvette doesn't get her fucking colleagues under control for the next meeting, I'm going to--!"

Carmilla doesn't finish her threat, because that's when she notices Sera standing in front of the mirror. Any additional tirades she may have uttered dissipate into the wind at the sight of her wife standing there in nothing but her underwear. That underwear. Her eyes travel up and down Sera's body, as if in disbelief at what she's seeing.

"Sera..."

"Carmilla! Umm, what are you doing home so early, darling? I was just, uhh--oh Heavens, I'm so sorry, give me a minute, I'll change--!"

The golden flush on Sera's face spreads down to her neck and shoulders. She hadn't expected Carmilla to just bust in like this, without any warning. She realizes suddenly what she's wearing, or not wearing, as it were, and she can't stop the habit of trying to cover herself while she fumbles to pull her robe back on.

As Sera's about to pull it over her head, Carmilla is suddenly in front of her, taking it out of her grasp, and then drawing Sera into one of the most forceful, ferocious kisses the Seraphim has ever experienced. Carmilla grasps the back of Sera's head with her clawed hand, gripping the hair around Sera's nape with enough pressure that she whimpers into Carmilla's mouth.

"Is this for me?" Carmilla asks, almost growling, pulling away long enough to run the edge of her large claw along the swell of Sera's breast. The fabric of the bra is thin, and Sera can feel it through the lace. Sera shivers, and nods.

"Yes," Sera admits. "But I wasn't sure if you'd like it."

Carmilla's pupils dilate. She stares at Sera like she's said something crazy. Something completely bonkers, nuts, out of this world. Is the other angel all right in the head?

"Why on Earth wouldn't I like it?" Carmilla asks, running her claws around the curve of Sera's ass this time. Sera gasps. Oh, she really likes that. Carmilla does it again, enjoying the feeling of the lace and Sera's skin in her hand at the same time. Sera whimpers but tries to answer Carmilla's question.

"I don't know? I'm too lanky?"

Ridiculous.

Enough of this, Carmilla thinks. One moment, she's kissing Sera passionately, stopping any more self-deprecating comments from escaping her mouth. The next, she's on top of Sera on their bed, looking down at the flushing angel like she's a big cat that’s just pounced on her prey. Like she wants to eat Sera right up. A part of her actually does.

Sera tries to cover herself again, feeling the weight of Carmilla's scrutiny upon her. Carmilla doesn't let her.

"You were...are still...the most beautiful thing in any of the realms. I don't know how you ever got it into your head that you're not. Or that I don't like what I see when I look at you. Would I ever lie to you about that?"

"Well, no, but..."

"But? What but? Do you need me to prove it? Because I will, hermosa."

Sera grins cheekily, still flushing, but sensing a bit of teasing starting to enter Carmilla's voice. "...Maybe? That might help?"

Carmilla laughs. "Consider it done. Now hold still."

Carmilla spends the rest of the afternoon showing Sera just how beautiful she thinks she is. So Sera never forgets. Thankfully, Sera thinks she may have a really hard time forgetting after today.

[lamardeuse]

Quand il me prend dans ses bras

911  |    Buck/Eddie   |    Rated  M   |    c. 3800 words

for @devirnis, prompt: "it’s cold." "c'mere. my arms are warmer."

Eddie's being crabby and he knows it. He tells himself to stop it, it's only going to be a couple of days.

It doesn't work.

When Bobby decided to send him and Buck on a three-night training session on fighting brush and wildfires, he thought it would be at a hotel. Not a resort – he wasn't expecting a spa and a gourmet restaurant – but a basic-ass hotel would have been nice.

As they walk down the winding lane from the parking lot to their accommodations, Eddie's face falls.

“That is not a hotel,” he declares.

Buck, on the other hand, is delighted. “Oh, this is cool!” he exclaims.

“I think you mean cold,” Eddie says. “As in we're going to freeze.” The nights up here were not like they were in LA.

“I'm sure it'll be fine,” Buck assures him.

“It's a tent in the mountains in the middle of April.”

“It's a yurt,” Buck corrects, still grinning, totally undaunted by Eddie's lack of enthusiasm.

“That makes a difference?”

“No, but it's –” Buck waves a hand. “I've just always wanted to stay in a yurt, that's all.”

Eddie sighs. “Okay, yeah, I'm sure it'll be – whatever. It's only three nights.”

Buck stops outside one of the structures. “Sixty-two, this one's ours.”

“What's this?” Eddie asks, poking at the box sitting outside the door.

“Oh, that's the food storage box.”

Eddie raises an eyebrow. “Why do we need a large metal container for storing food?”

Buck's already opening the door. “Hm? Oh, because of the bears, of course,” he says.

“Of course,” Eddie says weakly. Right, how could he have forgotten the number one reason he's never been the least bit interested in camping. Oh, but it's fine, they've given everyone something to keep their Oreos in, that'll keep them perfectly safe.

Eddie wonders if both of them could squeeze in there if a bear were rushing toward them right now. He tilts his head, contemplating how easily he could fold himself like a pretzel. His verdict: unlikely.

“Oh,” Buck says, and for a hot second Eddie wonders if a grizzly has already found its way inside and is making itself at home in their ten – sorry, yurt.

Eddie peeks around Buck's shoulder and sees that the room is blessedly bear-free. However, there is another problem.

“Huh,” he says at the bed. The only bed in the room. He hopes it's a queen, but from here it looks smaller than that.

Buck bites his lip. “Should I – uh, should I see if they have another room with two singles?”

Eddie shakes his head. “I heard the clerk say the place was fully booked when we were checking in.”

“Maybe someone will want to switch?”

“I don't imagine there are a lot of couples on this training,” Eddie says. “It'll be fine.”

“Yeah?” Buck looks at him. Eddie keeps his eyes on the bed. “I mean, sure,” Buck adds hastily. “We shared during quarantine, it wasn't a big deal.”

Eddie doesn't point out that there's been a lot of history under the bridge since then, near-deaths and actual deaths and rebirths and wills and girlfriends and a boyfriend and now here they are, both of them single and Eddie wondering what the hell will finish him first, hungry bears in search of Doritos or sleeping next to Evan Buckley in a fucking yurt.

“Nope,” Eddie agrees. “Not a big deal at all.”

read the rest at the AO3

[gaybananabread]

okey okey since we got tadashi can we also se Hiroshima headcanons

omg i would love to see them especially made by you

have a grate day/ night

🫶🫶🫶

💻⚡️Hiro Hamada Tkl Headcanons🕹🤖

~AN: Awww thank you! I’m gonna assume that auto-correct happened and you meant Hiro. I've been rewatching the series, and a lot of people point out his age and size. Poor boy looks so uncomfy when they do! Incorportaeted that a bit cuz I can- These reqs are so fun to do! I get to ramble without all the stress of a fic! ( ˶ˆ꒳ˆ˵ ) Anyhow, thank you for requesting!~

General:

Hiro feels like he’s looked down on by others for his age/younger appearance.

For that reason, he strayed away from tickling in public and around his friends.

Fortunately for his mental health, he’s got a whole gang of buddies who helped him work through that backwards thinking (see lee section). 

Baymax may or may not have downloaded a new program specifically for tickle cheer-ups/therapy. Definitely not prompted by said friends…

Slowly, they got through to him. Turns out, once he got past the anxieties and irrational embarrassment, it’s actually kinda fun for him. Only with certain people, though, for both giving and receiving.

He gives lee vibes, so maybe a lee-leaning switch? Ler moods happen too, but they take time.

Lee:

At first, it took major getting used to. It was normally okay with Tadashi; he always meant well, and Hiro trusted him more than anyone. 

After he was gone, the boy really only trusted Aunt Cass. Even then, only light pokes or quick squeezes were allowed before he started thinking too much.

Once his friends helped him move past all the bad thoughts, he was much more open to the touch around them. In moderation, of course, but it was a start.

His worst spots are his knees and ribs. Surprisingly enough, he melts into bubbly, airy giggles when they go for his belly.

Super squeaky, bright giggles in general. When he really gets going, his laugh is loud and pitchy, full of little squeals and voice cracks. So, in other words, incredibly adorable-

His favorite lers are Honey Lemon, Wasabi, Go-Go, and of course Baymax. He’s obviously comfortable with Cass tickling him, but it’s sort of like being really vulnerable around your parents. Great sometimes, but not always the ideal situation.

Honey is just really sweet in general, always asking if he’s comfortable or in need of a break. Super nice about everything, and only goes as far as he asks. It can be really flustering, but he knows she means well. She smiles nearly as much as he does; it’s refreshing.

Wasabi is normally super selective about his touch, but if he’s in the right mood, he’ll tease Hiro all day. Typically super gentle; tickle hugs are generously given. Super methodical, makes little notes, out loud, about his spots and reactions.

Go-Go doesn’t tickle him often, but when she does…eugh boi. If it’s a really good day, and he’s in a massive lee mood, he’ll go to her for help. She’s a lot rougher than the others, unless he asks her not to be. Goes for his ribs almost immediately. She’ll never admit it, but she likes hearing his awkward laugh.

Baymax will tickle Hiro with some of the ~special features~ Tadashi installed. He can extend small little quill-tip like objects from his fingers. He's very gentle, only tickling Hiro lightly to cheer him up and get him used to feeling confident in his likes again. If needed/requested, though, he can definitely get full-on belly laughter from him.

He’s definitely a squirmer, no matter who’s getting him. Wiggles around and flails like a fish on a hook.

Ler:

Once he realizes most of his friends love the touch, Hiro starts getting ler moods.. 

The only one he ever really tickles is Honey Lemon. She gets lee moods pretty often, and will drop subtle hints to see if Hiro’s in the right mood.

He’s kinda shy until he gets in the groove of things. After that, he gets all snarky and smug; it’s all in the name of fun, though.

“This spot must be pretty bad if you’re laughing that hard~” “I’m barely touching you!” “Wow, that looks like it really tickles. Think I’ll stay here a while~”

All that confidence immediately dies when they ask for more or compliment him. He absolutely cannot handle what he dishes out.

Will blush as bright as the sun at a simple tease from his lee. We all know how Honey loves complimenting people. A few simple, sweet praises through her giggles, and he’s redder than she is!

She absolutely lets him tickle her.

While he would try, we all know the stringbean wouldn’t be able to actually pin any of his friends without help from his suit. He’s gotten stronger from hero work, but so have they.

The others don’t really ask him much, except for maybe Fred every blue moon. He’d normally bug Go-Go, but Hiro’s his backup if she isn’t available. 

I’d say he’s in between a rough and soft ler. Likes to poke and gently scribble, but he can and will dig in if the situation calls for it (or if he just feels like being a meanie). 

[yxnswife]

#I'm already writing the ghost hunting fic

Ok thank god bc I was about to ask you more about this AU 😂

The ghost fic is actually a different fic (it's more like Ghost Adventures, Ghost Files, etc.)!! But I'm feeling silly so I'll talk more about this au anyway 🫶

• Johnny was born into a family of vampire hunters. Not every family/group of hunters has a focus on one specific monster, but Johnny’s does. It's a personal vendetta.

• Bouncing off of the last one I think that Nitara would be a huge blow to everything that Johnny knew growing up about vampires. She's not nice per se, but she isn't the mindless and violent being that he had been taught to kill.

• Kenshi wasn't born into hunting like Johnny, but he was always aware of it. A group of rogue hunters protected his family hundreds of years ago and their descendants continue to do so, but in exchange ask for money, weapons, housing, etc.

• The Lin Kuei boys in this one are also hunters, and I like to think that Tomas was picked up after a monster killed his family. He was taken in after it was killed. The Lin Kuei are still the Lin Kuei, but they also hunt monsters

• Johnny and Kenshi met, surprisingly, not on a hunt. By chance, they ended up in the same antique store in the middle of nowhere. They bonded over some old items, and Johnny happened to mention Sento, an ancient sword said to be able to slay any monster. Immediately Kenshi is interested because that's his family sword and "What the hell does this guy know about it?"

• Continuing from the last one, they teamed up to fight some werewolf that had made its presence known. Either Johnny or Kenshi get injured (unused to hunting with a partner) and suddenly Johnny suggests that they start working together more often. Kenshi says no, but then Johnny says that he'd help him track down Sento. Kenshi agrees.

• Johnny still goes by Cage in this AU, but it's less of a stage name and more for protection than anything. His mother was a badass vampire hunter and people knew her name, so it was all around easier to come up with a new one.

• Kenshi is the most efficient at killing monsters, but will use the same weapon until it breaks if Johnny lets him. For this reason, Johnny has a whole arsenal to split between them.

• Johnny is in charge of handling witnesses and gathering info/researching when he isn't fighting. Kenshi is in charge of finding places to sleep and contacting other hunters.

• Mileena in this AU is a monster, but she was cursed to be one rather than born. She travels with Tanya, Baraka, and Syzoth. Ashrah comes and goes, but she hunts demons and has her own personal mission.

• Sindel has a coven that she's the Supreme Witch of, and Kitana stays with her to learn magic.

• After a hunt, there's always a debrief. It's like an unspoken rule between all hunters. No matter who you're with, or what your relationship is, you take care of your own. Johnny is the one to push for this the most when they're all together, and is typically the first one up and gathering medical supplies.

• Kung Lao and Raiden are married, and have been training to be hunters since they were young. They focus on spirit extermination and demons, but Kung Lao has an affinity for shapeshifters. He likes the challenge. Raiden still has his amulet, and it was given to him by Liu Kang.

• Liu Kang is the same in this universe. He's just also kind of the network control center and hunters come to him for advice or guidance. He only hunts if the threat is big enough, but he's more than happy to help.