#the >:( is lighthearted btw i was pretty happy with the ending

[joshuamj]

If canon won't give me a Collector timeskip design, I'll just do it myself >:(

[theniftycat]

What other Neil Gaiman work might you like?

The biggest thing to know about Neil Gaiman is that each work of his is a mixture of horror, fantasy, and subtle comedy.

That being said, each of his projects is pretty distinct from one another and there might be some that are more up to your tastes than others.

I haven't read some of his newer stuff (because I largely stopped reading as much since the early 2010s), but I'll do my best to remember what matters in other works.

Horror

The Sandman is a great work for horror fans. It's also great for mythology fans and other nerds, but horror is a major push and pull factors.

The comic is probably the greatest body of work Gaiman produced and it's recommended if you're a goth at heart and are comfortable with themes of death and humans being gods' toys.

The Sandman (TV) is a great adaptation, but it's very short so far and doesn't cover the best stories.

Coraline is a horror story for children. It doesn't have anything that's not suitable for kids, but it can be viscerally scary to some people. Both the book and the film are great.

Mirrormask is my personal favourite, it's a low budget film with mindblowing surreal imagery and one of the best soundtracks ever.

It's about a teenage girl who has troubles with her parents (who run a circus, btw) and who gets swiped up by her imagination into a bizarre world that is being eaten by her depression. Not a scary film, per se, but it's disturbing. However, it's a very warm film and it always makes me feel better.

Fantasy

Neverwhere is set in a dimension of twisted London Underground where everything that's straightforward in our world becomes weird and too real.

It really tickled my imagination, I highly recommend the book.

Stardust is set in a more high fantasy setting.

It features kings, witches, ghosts, and a star that fell to the Earth. It has a young protagonist who's not exactly the best or the brightest person, so if you hate such things, stick to the adaptation. In my opinion, the book is just lovely.

American Gods is a darker fantasy that asks the questions: "What if every god people ever believed in became real through the power of their worship? And then what if that worship started fading?"

It's set in the USA and because that country is such a melting pot, there are many gods. And not all of them are happy. This is the book that gave Neil Gaiman his reputation of a writer who loves weird sex scenes.

Humour

Stardust the film is often compared to Princess Bride. It's lighthearted, funny, full of imaginative adventures.

Just a very nice film with an all-star cast.

Anansi Boys is a spin off of American Gods, but it's a lot more lighthearted.

Anansi is a trickster god, so you know things will get funky.

I haven't read The Graveyard Book and The Ocean at the End of the Lane yet, but I hear they're very good as well.

Also, short story collections or Norse Mythology might be a good place to start if you want to get a feel of Neil Gaiman as an author first.

[ofthecaravel]

Gold Satin Dreamer

Summary: Danny follows a trail of little white lies right to the door of the object of his affections, Harvard hotshot Sam Kiszka, who invites him in with open arms and an incessant need to blur boundaries.

Tags: Danny being very/a little creepily obsessed with Sam (but like in a hot way), unrequited (??) feelings, NSFW!!! (masturbation, dirty talk, cum), homoerotically toeing the line of friendship

Words: 5.7k

A/N: This is inspired by Saltburn (which I recommend you watch, btw) but not as intense as it gets in the movie. Mostly references and borrowed themes of obsession and devotion. So, you know, this might not be for everyone! You've been warned >:)

also thank you @holdingup-fallingsky for the inspo during A Scene, you da best

~~~

Danny had gotten everything he’d wanted. Everything he worked so hard towards had been handed right to him, but now that he was sitting pretty in the middle of the glamour he’d been so hungry for, he couldn’t help but find it all particularly excruciating. 

First, there were the meals. Breakfast and lunch could slide by without any troubles for Danny, but the formal wear reserved for the quiet, fanciful dinners tended to dig against his skin and pique his anxiety. And the only thing worse than dinner was the time after dinner, when he’d be left alone in his room that was way too big with very little to do but read or wander the halls if he was feeling brave. During the days, Danny would kindly ward off the endless parade of questions from Sam’s deceptively sweet mom about his life back at home. The days also held a myriad of startling encounters with Sam’s older brothers, Josh and Jake, glittering and grinning twins who couldn’t be more different and more invested in the most personal details of Danny’s life. Danny had met Jake back on Harvard’s campus after he’d gotten under Sam’s thumb enough to be introduced to his brooding, supposed genius of a brother, but Danny was met with nothing more than a lukewarm reception. Jake tacked on jabs and quips to the ends of Josh’s elaborate attempts at conversation and never seemed satisfied with Danny’s answers, no matter how cool or lighthearted or perfectly catered they were. Even after a few weeks staying with them, Danny couldn’t figure out if either of them liked him at all.

Yet the real issue at the heart of it all wasn’t his social anxiety or boredom or even the upkeep of his slew of little white lies. 

It was Sam. 

Always Sam.

Stiff collars and warm blazers didn’t seem to matter when the heaviest presence was Sam’s flitting feline stares from across the table. His face would be lit up golden in the candlelight as he came to Danny’s rescue in conversation when his words faltered even for a moment. Danny’s room never felt as wide and as empty when he pressed his ear to the door of the bathroom separating their rooms and heard Sam and his brothers laughter through the walls and across the tile. Or, on the worst occasions, he’d hear Sam’s obscenely uncensored sighs over the slosh of water in the bathtub. Danny would sit there with his ear rubbed red on the wood until the water stilled and Sam’s whimpers turned to light humming, signaling it was time for Danny to quickly take care of himself before rushing to brush his teeth at the same time as Sam. 

It was obvious from the start that Danny was The Guest in the Saltburn estate that Sam called home for winter and summer break. Sam had been so eager to invite poor, lonely Danny to spend the summer with him. Danny, whose poor loneliness had been decisively orchestrated, was more than happy to humbly accept that invitation into his world. He’d gotten his first ticket during a “chance meeting” when Danny had lended Sam a helping hand during a “freak accident” bike tire blowout, and since then he’d strategized his growing proximity to Sam through offhand sob stories and persistent company when Sam’s other lackeys grew tired of his boisterous personality. Well placed whispers of a home life that was far from the reality of Danny’s adoring close knit community and occasional sad little sighs were the nail in the coffin. Danny remembered often and fondly how Sam had spirited him away one blue evening to sit and shoot the breeze on a secluded bridge walkway to celebrate finishing their finals. He remembered the hysterical flurry of butterflies in his stomach when Sam had paused conversation and watched his long legs swinging over the water before he turned his smile on Danny and asked. Except he hadn’t asked, had he?

“Come home with me,” Sam had demanded, really. “Come to Saltburn.”

And Danny had. How could he not? A summer alone with Sam had seemed too good to be true. And now he knew it was. The reality was all the time he got alone with Sam was far more overwhelming than he could’ve imagined. 

Danny had a horrible feeling from the time he’d met Sam that Sam was going to pick up on Danny’s shy, yes man behavior in his presence and put two and two together. Lately, Sam seemed to not only know that, but play into it every chance that he could. At school, Sam was happy to have Danny around, but was also completely comfortable in waving him away for days at a time in favor of his fellow medical student buddies and the girls that flew to him like moths. This Saltburn invitation apparently carried more weight than Danny had realized. And it was driving Danny up the wall.

 Sam would chase off his brothers and beg Danny to spend all day at the pool with him, only to avoid the water all together and lay out on a lounge chair to work his way through an entire box of popsicles and stare at clouds. Danny swore Sam would sneak glances at him when the sugar would melt and roll down his chin with his cheeks hollowed to catch what he could and making no further effort to clean up what he couldn’t. Danny would stare up at the sun and blink the image of Sam’s bare, sun warmed, sticky sweet skin into white blurs that hurt his eyes, but the memory of it would linger in his head throughout the day and render him flushed and embarrassed. 

Sam had also steadily picked up a habit of touching Danny at all times. Sam had been touchy since Danny had befriended him at the start of the semester and often patted his knee or dragged him into quick, one armed side hugs that made them both stumble. However, since coming to Saltburn, he had graduated to grazing Danny’s leg with his shoe under the dinner table after his brothers would say something snarky, as well as perching on his lap to show him books and photos that Danny cared about far less than the sensation of Sam sitting on him.   

But Sam’s worst development was that he couldn’t seem to stay out of Danny’s bed. Danny had gotten a look at the tall ceiling and resplendent treasures that Sam had somehow turned to clutter and wondered how Sam ever found the strength to venture outside of the comfort of it. And yet, with each night that passed, Danny found himself waiting for Sam’s inevitable knock on the bathroom door leading into Danny’s much less extravagant guest room. He’d smile with faux sheepishness, clutching a pillow and blanket as if Danny’s bed wasn’t regularly replenished with more pillows than could accommodate the number of bodies that could fit in the bed.

“What’s the point of having you stay the whole summer if we’re not gonna hang out the whole time?” Sam had questioned with a wicked grin the third time he’d been let into Danny’s room. He landed hard on Danny’s bed with a bounce and a sigh, falling backwards and covering the expanse of the quilt with his wingspan and long splay of hair. Danny watched and cringed when the dainty roll of his wrist landed squarely on the spot where he had shamefully finished earlier after enduring the glorious torture of Sam spending the evening curled into his side on the living room couch. 

“And what’s the point of having a bed all to myself if you’re going to take up two thirds of it every night?” Danny countered, sitting on the plush mattress and laughing when Sam scoffed.

“You just go ahead and tell me when you’re sick of me and I’ll be sure to write it down and not give a shit,” Sam smiled, rolling his head to look Danny straight in the eye. “I mean, this is the point in the summer when I really can’t stand Jake or Josh. I need you to keep me sane.”

“Summer’s not even halfway over yet,” Danny pointed out with an enamored little laugh. “And didn’t you all live here together for, I don’t know, the first 18 years of your life?”

“Nope,” Sam said with a subtle pop on the p. “It was boarding school for the lot of us. A private, no girls allowed sort of affair from, I don’t know, 6th grade to senior year. How do you think me and Jake managed to swing Harvard? All that rigorous private school education.”

“Jake and I,” Danny corrected teasingly. “Must not have been that rigorous.”

“Come on, I would’ve totally let that slide if it were you,” Sam complained. “And not just because you’re a scholarship student.”

“Ooh, harsh,” Danny whispered with the cadence of a fake blow to his ego. Danny had also been a private school kid, matter of fact, but as long as Sam believed he had gotten into Harvard with nothing but a golf scholarship, he figured they’d both be happier. 

“I’m only joking,” Sam immediately relented, sitting up and curling his legs under him. “You’re a boy genius or whatever.”

“I’m also terrifically humble,” Danny hummed, faking a little stretch and letting his knee knock against Sam’s. “What were you saying about boarding school?”

“Ugh, nothing really,” Sam said with a dramatic curl of his lip. “Just that my brothers drove me crazy there and they drive me crazy here just the same. They’ve spent their whole stupid lives forcing me to do whatever they want to do. You’ve seen that they’re still convinced they can dress me up like they did when I was 4. And I always end up having to run for stupid tennis balls when they wanna play on the courts. But I’m 21 now, like, maybe I want to call the shots this year.”

“You’re doing a pretty good job at bossing me around,” Danny shrugged casually, trying to play himself off by scooting backwards and leaning back against the pillows he had propped up while waiting for Sam to knock. “If that helps at all.”

Sam looked at him for a long couple of seconds with a completely unreadable expression. It settled into an amused smile with his dark eyebrows arched in surprise, abandoning his seated position to lie on his front and look up at Danny.

“You are so odd,” Sam noted with an air of awe, laughing as he said it. “It does help a little, actually. I mean, fuck you, but, yeah. Maybe you’re right.”

“Were you under the impression that you were entirely passive?” Danny asked, half sincere and half joking. “Were you unaware you’ve got at least 20 people at your disposal at all times when we’re at school?”

Sam laughed a little uncomfortably, caught in a lie that Danny knew he was entirely unaware of. Sam was never quite the damsel and never quite the hero, but he was always pretending he was either one or the other as if it were proven truth. When they’d met, Sam had been a knight in shining armor ready with confidence to shake the world, but after a few months of friendship, he began to intermittently present as a poor, pathetic thing that Danny needed to build back up. It was ridiculous and Danny lapped it up every time. He dreamed about the days when Sam had cornered him at parties only to release him into a throng of his other friends, parading him around to show them all the boy he’d managed to save from poverty and irrelevance. 

“Yeah, well,” Sam started, stuttering slightly as he flushed under Danny’s honesty. “Those ‘20 people’ don’t get to come home with me like you do.”

“Was I hand selected for your little summer camp because I’m so easily bossed around?” Danny questioned, another insecure laugh coloring the end of his query.

“No!” Sam blurted defensively. Danny laughed, his nose scrunching with a fit of giggles as Sam stammered and tried to save face. 

“I’m just saying I like you better than the people at school,” Sam professed genuinely, reaching up and across to clamp a hand on Danny’s thigh. “I didn’t bring you here to boss you around, sheesh. I brought you with me because, like I said, you bad listener, you keep me sane. And I trust you not to tattle about the whole Jake and Josh outfits thing.”

“I like their fashion shows,” Danny smiled, violently aware of Sam’s hand still on his thigh, heavy and unmoving. “And the stuff they so evilly force you to put on isn’t bad at all.”

“Liar,” Sam grumbled, childishly muffling the bottom half of his face in his palm as he huffed. Danny watched his silent tantrum with affection.

For once, Danny wasn’t really lying. The outfits they trapped Sam into trying on were actually very easy on the eyes for Danny. Twice then the twins had sat Danny down in Josh’s white and tidy room to walk him through the entire inventory of his closet, forcing him to sit and wait patiently when Jake would mad dash to his room next door to pull out identical or similar pieces for them to lecture about and compare. They insisted it was a much needed education for Danny, who frequented polos and straight leg pants instead of the silken dress shirts and embroidered slacks that were apparently much more suited to him. Sam’s recommendations always fell more on the more “daring” side of the fashion spectrum, usually involving glimmering thread, dainty jewelry and, on more than one occasion, a skirt. Josh and Sam would loudly fight over Sam’s consistent refusal of Josh’s “fashion counsel” while Jake stared at Danny like a hawk over his Saint Laurent sunglasses, somehow hearing the dirty thoughts in Danny’s head at the sight of Sam pacing in a sparkling red skirt and trying to expel them with his mind. 

“I mean, you wouldn’t tell,” Sam piped up again, suddenly genuinely shy. “About all that. It’s not a big deal here but, I don’t know, people at school might not be as cool about the whole necklaces and…and skirts and shit. It’s whatever but-”

“I promise I won’t,” Danny assured Sam. “I would never.”

“Are you even gonna tell anyone that you came here?”

A split second decision. It changed things.

“I haven’t come at all since I’ve been here, actually, so you have nothing to worry about there,” Danny joked, his cheeks lighting up with warmth at his lie and the crudity of his words. Sam’s face went similarly pink as he let out a single shocked laugh, his hand finally retreating from Danny’s thigh like a slap to the face.

“I see what you did there,” Sam stammered through another nervous laugh. “Very clever. You’re an asshole.”

“You’re an asshole,” Danny echoed meekly, turning his eyes down to a piece of dry skin on his nailbed that he picked at as a horrible minute of quiet passed between them. 

He’d gone too far, he was sure of it. Sam would give him another tinny giggle reserved for his friends he didn’t even like, scoop up his blanket and bid Danny a polite goodnight so they could restart in the morning. He was sure of it. Danny wanted to crawl inside of himself and turn off the lights.

Instead.

“Have you really not?” Sam asked, his voice barely audible and muffled slightly by his lips barely moving. He didn’t even look at Danny when he asked it. 

“Feels wrong,” Danny answered simply, giving an unassuming little shrug as he finally looked up from his fingers and studied Sam’s face. Sam’s brow was crinkled in thought as he picked at the loose yarn on the top quilt of Danny’s bed, his eyes hidden by his thick fan of lashes. 

“So, what, you’re just not gonna do it the whole time you’re here?” Sam teased, still treading very lightly. “You leave in August. That’s a long time.”

“It’s too nice here,” Danny argued, not even pausing to think about what the hell kind of conversation this was. “I’d feel totally weird doing it in this bed. It’s probably a million years old and has a rich history that I’d be disrespecting.”

He hadn’t felt weird about it, actually. In his eyes, he had no choice but to exorcise whatever little demons Sam afflicted him with. In the bed, on the floor by the door, in the bath. On occasion, wiped clean with a handkerchief that Sam had given him as a birthday gift.

“Obviously you don’t have to,” Sam said coolly, his legs now kicked up and absentmindedly moving as he talked. “I don’t want you to freak out on me is all. But, like, I don’t really care either way. Just saying.”

“It kinda sounds like you care,” Danny challenged, his eyes still dragging over Sam and his easy body language. He enjoyed watching the moment it changed. A muscle tensed in his jaw and his shoulders that only Danny ever cared to notice and he watched with quiet thrill as Sam’s expressions shuffled.  

“I care about you being comfortable,” Sam replied in a strange, soft tone. 

“I’ll just get it out of the way tonight, then,” Danny said calmly, fighting the nervous tremor in his voice. “You can come back for a sleepover tomorrow night. Okay?”

Sam sighed for a long moment and stretched his arms out in front of him on the bed, dramatically face planting and muffling his groan. His legs were still kicking petulantly as Danny stared him down and tried to think of what he was going to do. He rarely did anything Danny suggested he did, and Danny usually had a pretty good grasp on how Sam would act in situations after months of studying his every little move. But this exchange was foreign from the very beginning and Danny felt an anxious, blind itch in his throat as time ticked on between them.

“But I’m so comfortable,” Sam complained into the blanket. “You’re really gonna make me move? In my own home?”

“I’ll do it tomorrow then,” Danny laughed nervously. It seemed like the only thing he remembered how to do now that he was riding entirely on his reflexes. 

“Well, I’m gonna wanna sleepover tomorrow, too,” Sam murmured, his head turning so he was facing Danny’s pajamaed leg. “I said I wanna hang out.”

“Sam,” Danny rasped, the last ghost of his laugh settling into a rattling exhale that sent them into another silent spell. His heart was buzzing like a hummingbird inside his chest, which felt porcelain thin and ready to crumble.

“It’s only weird if you make it weird,” Sam whispered, his lips starting to spread into a muted, impish smile as he finally looked up at Danny. “I’m just, I don’t know, curious now that I’m thinking about it.”

“How do you know this won’t be the thing I tell people when we go back to school?” Danny challenged. 

He wanted to bite his tongue in half after he’d said it. This was exactly what he wanted, wasn’t it? From the moment he’d spotted Sam through the car window on freshman year move in day, Danny had wanted little else but to bend to his every whim. Now here he was, perfectly in the palm of Sam’s hand, and he was aching to stop it for some reason beyond his understanding.

He’d figure it out later on. Deep down, Danny knew that once he had Sam like this, he would never really be able to stop whatever kind of obsession he’d been diving in over the duration of the school year. He would drop like a stone and touch the bottom and never feel the warmth of moderation and sanity ever again.

“You like me, Danny. You know I know that.”

Goodbye to the world up above. Hello to the refreshing darkness of nothing but Sam, Sam, Sam. 

Danny froze, then remembered to breathe, and then he was hard. Sam’s words slammed into him while Sam lay there like nothing had been revealed but the smile on his face.

“I’m not dumb,” Sam flirted. “And you’re not dumb. I haven’t been easy on you since you’ve been here but, come on, not just anyone gets an invitation to Saltburn with me. You have to know at this point that maybe, I also, I don’t know…you know what I’m trying to say.”

“Sam-”

“We don’t have to talk about anything,” Sam interjected quickly. “And you’re not going to tell anyone, I know that much. Just…I wanna see you. And it’ll give you a little taste of my boarding school experience, actually. Circle jerks were totally a bonding thing. It’ll make us closer. I wanna be closer.”

“You’re a little desperate, aren’t you?” Danny asked quietly and very hypocritically. “You’re not even pent up enough to be nagging me like this.”

“And how would you know that?”

“You took a bath last night. You’re not exactly quiet. Honestly, dude, after this conversation, I’m starting to think that you want me to hear you.”

Sam’s mouth snapped shut and a flush bloomed high on his cheeks as he and Danny stared each other down. The thick tension in the air stretched and groaned. Danny was visibly straining in his thin summertime pajama pants as he adjusted slightly and waited for Sam to say something. Anything. 

“Yeah, you’re right,” Sam admitted casually, sniffing and shrugging awkwardly while balanced on his elbows. “Only ‘cause I know you’ll be listening.”

“Fuck,” Danny breathed with his voice cracking, his hand unconsciously going to grasp at his clothed dick for any kind of relief from the weight of Sam’s words. Sam watched it happen and blinked patiently, lazily resting his chin in the palm of his hand like he was settling in to watch a movie. His dark eyes flicked up to Danny expectantly, a silent “Well? Go on.” that Danny received loud and clear.

If the rest of the world was already putting on a performance for Sam, Danny decided that he might as well be his favorite actor.

“I really do like you,” Danny admitted nervously, forcing the words out as he awkwardly shimmied his pants down and freed his dick into his palm. Sam’s eyes widened ever so slightly as they wandered over Danny’s lower stomach and the dark trail of hair that led to his cock, which Danny had begun to very slowly stroke with his hand shaking slightly.

“Jesus,” Sam muttered, exhaling a silent laugh through his nose. “Didn’t expect you to be so well endowed.”

“Did you hear what I said?”

“Yeah. I already told you I know.”

“I thought you might have more to say.”

“Man, can’t we just leave that alone for a second?” Sam asked snippily, his hips rolling against the mattress as he let out a frustrated breath. “Fuck’s sake. Just keep going.”

Danny complied with a slight sting to his feelings, his pace increasing and his lips pressing together obediently to keep himself from prying further. A few minutes of silent touching and hip rocking passed before a barely contained noise escaped Sam’s lips and he let out yet another annoyed sigh.

“Talk to me,” Sam whined, reaching out again and digging his fingers into Danny’s thigh where it was still covered by fabric. Danny’s hips bucked slightly in response and he desperately tried to unclog his thoughts from the steady, blurry stream of Sam memories he’d gotten lost in like he usually did. Then he realized that might be exactly what Sam wanted to hear about. 

“Sorry,” Danny apologized. “I, I was thinking about you.”

“What about me?” Sam asked with a thin, reedy voice as a hand disappeared under his groin, soon followed by the sight of his pants being pushed down around his ankles. Curiously enough, he didn’t remove his briefs.

“Everything,” Danny replied truthfully, his eyes rolling slightly as he slowed his pace and enjoyed the infuriating simmer of pleasure rolling on his skin. “I like everything about you. How you cut your hair, how you look in the sun…I, uh, I like your body.”

Danny felt a palpable strain from the muscles in his stomach as he fought the urge to tell Sam the actual extent of what “everything” was. 

Danny did like Sam’s hair; he liked it so much that he’d slowly begun to use his shampoo so he could smell its sweetness on his pillow and pretend it was left there by Sam himself. 

Danny did like Sam in the sun; he specifically liked the sweat that rolled down his skin so he could picture licking it up with a dutiful curl of his tongue.

 Danny did like Sam’s body; he liked the tension and repose of it through his first story dorm window, which was perfectly placed and never curtained so Danny could kneel and observe without obstruction.

“More,” Sam begged, his hand still holding fast to Danny as they both began to pant and shudder.

“You’re a brat,” Danny complained right back. Sam shivered appropriately at the title, muffling his mouth with his hand and his head falling forward right after. His hair fell in a chestnut curtain and hid his expression from Danny, which he immediately missed. His hips continued to grind into the mattress and his rhythm was growing erratic and sore. Danny grinned wide at his response, allowing himself the luxury of quickening his pace on himself now that he’d given Sam something. He’d known it would land. He knew what kind of porn Sam watched.

It’s why Danny felt confident in reaching out and running his fingers along the silky crown of Sam’s hair before lightly tugging to yank Sam’s head back up, where he was met with the satisfying sight of Sam gawking at him with round eyes and his (what appeared to be freshly bitten) lips ajar. 

“Thought you wanted to watch?” Danny taunted weakly, struggling to evoke any semblance of dominance while he felt his orgasm begin to creep up on him after struggling to stave it off for as long as possible. When it came to Sam, he was used to finishing fast.

“Fuck off,” Sam whimpered, his brow crinkling in concentration as he let himself be held up by Danny’s gentle grip on him. His rutting into the mattress quickened before suddenly petering out as Sam’s chin tipped upwards and his nose gently brushed against Danny’s inner forearm. His eyes fluttered close and splayed his dark lashes as he drew in a shivering breath and then let out a choked little laugh. 

“You’re wearing my cologne,” Sam rasped tonelessly. 

A small thread of panic wound around Danny, but his body alchemized it into lustful adrenaline and he took Sam’s revelation with a groan. He was seconds away now, and he knew where he wanted it to end. 

“You love it,” Danny growled, his arm burning with overexertion as he welcomed the familiar, buzzing warmth that was taking over his senses. He fuzzily pondered the etiquette of this situation when it came to telling Sam he was close, but his impulses quickly won over verbal communication. Danny felt himself gripping Sam’s hair a little tighter and pulling him slightly forward, losing himself in the white hot ecstasy of his high as he spilled over onto his hand and, as he’d find when he finally opened his eyes, Sam’s cheek and chin. Sam gasped at the contact and Danny let go of him, his own head falling backwards against the oak headboard as he attempted to catch his breath. He stared up at the ornate ceiling as his cheeks burned with uncomfortable heat. 

Moments like these were the rare ones where Sam faded to the edges of Danny’s thoughts along with everything else, and Sam took the silence from Danny as an opportunity to jostle the bed for a few more thrusts before giving a simpering, keening whine that signaled his own end. Danny’s ears perked at the familiar noise and snapped his head back down to look at Sam, who was looking right back at him wearing a mask of bleary afterglow. He was panting ever so slightly with watery eyes that stuck his lashes together and turned them cartoonishly starry. Danny quickly noted the glossy cum painting the lower half of Sam’s face and felt the air get punched out of his lungs, drawing in a choked breath as his hand drifted up on instinct. His thumb made keen contact with Sam’s lower lip and brushed it gently, pressing into the smooth pink flesh and collecting his release as his thumb swiped across. As he did so, Sam’s mouth slowly fell agape while his brows knit slightly, allowing access for Danny to wipe his thumb against Sam's tongue. Sam let out a small, barely audible gag before closing his mouth and continuing a stubborn eye contact with Danny as he swallowed, his adam's apple bobbing while Danny let a fulfilled smile tint his face.

Allowing himself to indulge in this spell of arrogance, Danny’s hand balled the collar of Sam’s sleep shirt and tugged so that Sam stumbled forward and crawled reflexively over Danny. When they were face to face, Danny eagerly leaned in and dragged his tongue up Sam’s chin and cheek, trying not to groan at the combined sensation of Sam’s skin pressing against his tongue and the taste of it mixing with the cum. One of Sam’s hands came up and clenched Danny’s shoulder for stability as he shuddered in Danny’s grip, letting out a hurried exhale as Danny’s lips remained on him. His tongue retreated and instead he pressed a kiss to Sam’s sweaty, now spit slick cheek. His eyes closed contemplatively while the both of them did nothing but breathe erratically and cling to each other.

Sam soon turned his head so that his mouth came to rest against Danny’s lips, hesitating slightly before fully driving them into a proper kiss. It was slick and clumsy despite Sam’s professions of frequent sexual conquests, but Danny was convinced that he’d never felt a sensation more euphoric and deliciously numbing. Danny cupped Sam’s face in his hands as they fumbled their way through a couple of inept yet long lasting kisses. 

It was Sam who pulled away first, leaning back on Danny’s thighs and wiping his mouth and face with the back of his hand while Danny blearily watched him. He could see the wet patch on Sam’s otherwise clean white briefs and focused his energy on remembering it for later when he’d reflect on this exchange with his dick in his hand again. Sam blinked dumbly as the aftershock settled over them before he finally cleared his throat and looked everywhere but Danny’s eyes. 

“Well,” Sam exhaled with a short, hoarse laugh. “Wow.”

“Yeah,” Danny replied, his voice still airy with awe at his luck. “Fuck.”

“I…um, I’ll let you go for the night,” Sam announced, lingering a second longer before moving off of Danny and sheepishly collecting his pants and pillow. He stood with slightly shaky legs and smiled down at Danny, who stared back with a questioning look. 

“No sleepover?” Danny asked pathetically, pulling his pants back up and pulling his knees to his chest to try and hide the second wind of his erection at the realization that Sam was clearly about to forget his blanket.

“Nah,” Sam said, staring at his socks before offering another unstable smile. “This was fun, though. Seriously. Didn’t peg you as such a kinky motherfucker.”

“That’s me,” Danny joked weakly. “Hey, uh, are we cool?”

“Very cool,” Sam promised, winking at Danny before flouncing off towards the bathroom door. “Night!”

“Night,” Danny called after him. The door shut with a click of the lock behind Sam, and Danny didn’t hesitate to instantly melt back into his seat of pillows with his hands over his face. His dick was already aching for attention again already as he tried to steady his breathing and process the last hour. 

Danny’s mind immediately began to wage war against him.

He had him. He had Sam. Finally.

Sam had been here with him in a way he had only ever fantasized about, but at the same time, he had just merrily walked away from the huge thing they’d wound up that would have to be untangled by the both of them, preferably as soon as possible.

Why didn’t Sam want to stay the night with him anymore? 

Now that they had gotten the experimenting out of the way, would that be the last time anything like that ever happened?

Did Sam even like it?

Did Sam even like him?

Danny slid down the pillows and pulled Sam’s blanket over his head, gripping it tightly and breathing in the spiced scent of him to try and clear his head while also attempting to hide himself from Sam, the room, and, if he was lucky, the world. Things suddenly felt very lonely at the bottom of his mind. 

Then, there came a sound to the right of Danny. It pushed through the wall, familiar and relieving. Pressurized water rushing out of the faucet and spilling loudly, warbling and muffling itself as the minutes passed and the porcelain tub began to fill. After a memorized amount of time, the faucet fell silent and Danny lay there trying to quell the sound of his own breathing so his ears could properly strain to hear what he knew was coming next.

There came an unexpected second sound that didn’t require any strain at all to hear. 

The sound of a lock unclicking. 

Danny removed the blanket from his eyes and sat up to see that the bathroom door was now scarcely ajar, allowing for a golden slice of light to cut across the dark hardwood flooring and the maroon persian rug. 

Danny felt the smile return to his face as he saw the light bob in and out of shadow with movement from within the bathroom, tossing the blanket off him and swinging his legs over the side of the bed so he could quietly pad towards the light. Danny now properly understood the value of Sam’s invitations, and he felt no hesitation walking right in with a newfound air of confidence.

Especially now that he had so much to prove.

~~~

[idyllic-affections]

HELLO!! YOUR BAIZHU WITH CHRONICALLY ILL READER IS THE BEST THING THAT'S EVERY HAPPENED!!! I've never seen a blog that does only platonic things, and as an aroace person, IT MAKES ME SO HAPPY! I wasn't too sure if you requests were open or not, but I was wondering if you could make either some headcanons or a fic where the reader (from that series) has a flare up or gets sick and Baizhu takes care of them? I'm unfortunately sick right now (just in time for when my final school assignments are due, slay 😍) but found family and hurt/comfort are literally the best thing ever, and, if put together, I'm pretty sure will cure me /j. If you requests aren't open, then please disregard this message!

Anyway, I gotta go sleep before the fever messes up my brain (if it hasn't already); so good bye, and thank you again!!

a slip of the tongue.

summary. how does baizhu care for his junior herbalist when they fall ill?

trigger & content warnings. flu-like sickness, lighthearted mentions of death.

tropes, pairings, fic length, & other notes. hurt/comfort-ish. baizhu & reader. 1.1k words. they/them pronouns for reader. this post is an expansion of invisible disability? it's rather visible to me & contains vaguely implied spoilers for baizhu's story quest.

author's thoughts. hello lovely!!! thank youu <3 i am slowly collecting people that like this series like how i collect shiny rocks. its great to get a request related to it. i hold this series very dearly, so please (and this goes for everyone reading this!) never be shy to send thoughts about it or requests related to it. anyway, i love catering to aroace folk, you all are so special to me. im on the aro spectrum myself, so i get it. i know from experience that it can be super frustrating looking for fanfic content that's non-romantic. please remember to take care of yourself! i totally understand the feeling of needing to finish final assignments while being sick. me and you are in the exact same boat LMAO... my requests are always open btw! ive no intention of ever closing them. in the end, i went with our poor reader being sick rather than having flare ups, since i already briefly touched on that idea in employee benefits.

how does baizhu care for his junior herbalist when they're sick and out of commission?

baizhu is most often the first to know when they're sick or otherwise unwell. he's so impossibly attentive to their bodily condition, simply because their health is partially his responsibility. he's their teacher. what kind of mentor would neglect to take care of their apprentice? a bad one, that's what kind.

(he also feels somewhat indebted to them—even though they're chronically ill, they're always doing anything they can to help him recover after his "secret art" treatments. even though he's the doctor, they've helped care for him on more than one occasion. he has to return the favor whenever he can. just because he's older doesn't mean he gets to freely take advantage of their kindness.)

if he's not the first to know, he's the second, because the only instance where he wouldn't know first is if they woke up ill at home.

he'll always end up being the second to know, at the very least. someone will inform him of their condition, whether that be a parent or a sibling or another family member. sometimes a friend of theirs may tell him, such as xingqiu, chongyun, hu tao, or xiangling.

in hu tao's case... she may be distrustful of him, but she does tell him when they aren't well. [name] is a childhood friend of hers. she cares about their health and, surprisingly, doesn't want to put them in the ground just yet!

even though she dreads the path they've chosen to walk down... she still cares for them, very much so.

(junior herbalist!reader's lore drop is finally here?!?!?)

regardless of how baizhu finds out, they'll end up being cared for at the pharmacy.

though he could prescribe them medication and let them be taken care of at home...

he often wants to care for them himself.

gui has asked why in the past, and baizhu really has never had a good answer for him.

he's really not sure why he wants to be the one to monitor them. perhaps it's because it gives him a sense of calmness and reassures him that they're recovering well.

after all, if their condition were to rapidly decline for any reason... he could fix it.

(to some others, his concern might seem overprotective. unnecessary. however, something as simple as the flu has been known to take lives. he worries that, because of their chronic illness, they may be more susceptible to a severe case than others are.)

he has the means to save them if something like that were to happen, and undoubtedly, the life of his sweet and kind apprentice is one that deserves to be saved and protected.

perhaps it's also because it seems to put qiqi at ease; baizhu's noticed that she gets fidgety in [name]'s absence during work hours, but when they're ill and being cared for at the pharmacy, she functions very well and often even remembers to check on them herself.

sometimes when they have a fever, qiqi may sit by their side for minutes at a time and just press her little cold hands on their forehead to cool them off. she also ensures that they stay hydrated.

both baizhu and gui find this behavior very endearing. qiqi cares deeply for her big sibling (despite the fact that she's technically older...). her bond with them is something very special and sweet to bear witness to.

bubu pharmacy's work environment is familial and tightly knit by nature, so it isn't too hard to imagine that something would feel wrong if one of the four herbalists were gone for whatever reason. even those who don't work there are affected by the absence of one or more of the pharmacists.

overall, baizhu takes very good care of them when they fall ill.

he monitors them closely, hand-crafts their medicine depending on what they need, makes sure that their fluid intake is maintained...

he dotes on them tbh.

"Ugh..." they groaned, blearily blinking up at their mentor. Baizhu's hand against the feverish skin of their forehead was cold; they couldn't help but lean into the gentle touch. "Bàba?"

He didn't point it out. He hardly even acknowledged their words, as if he were somehow used to it. He only smiled, hand stroking tenderly over their disheveled hair, taming the defiant strands no doubt caused by restless sleep. "So sorry to wake you, dear."

Even Changsheng was quiet—she only hummed thoughtfully from her place around Baizhu's neck. Normally, she'd find something to tease them about (usually because they started it!), but now... she seemed to know that it just wasn't right to tease them in their hazy state of mind.

Gui was quiet, too. He was surprised. He had never heard them address their mentor such an... informal way, let alone with familial terms. He did once briefly think that the dynamic they had with Baizhu was awfully family-like, but...

It was still unexpected.

"Come, now. It's time to take your medicine again, and then you can go back to sleep, okay?"

Gui watched, still silent, as they hummed in absentminded acknowledgement, rubbing their eyes ever so slightly. It didn't seem to help them come to at all; their gaze was still distant and unfocused and they didn't even realize how they addressed the doctor. If they did... they'd probably apologize, embarrassed, but they showed no such emotion. Baizhu gently guided them into a sitting position, rubbing small circles on their back.

Gui handed the cup filled about halfway with herbal medication off to the doctor. Baizhu gingerly guided it to their lips, knowing very well that the guidance was needed; they looked half-asleep sitting up. Archons know they were in no condition to successfully do it themselves. They took the medicine without so much as a whine about its bitterness—they only grimaced slightly after swallowing. Gui supposed that they never really were one to complain about it, even when fully coherent. 'I think it would set a bad example for others if I complained,' they once told him. 'Plus, it's not like Dr. Baizhu gets some kind of sadistic pleasure from giving medication to me, so there's no reason to complain. It's herbal. There's nothing to be done about the taste... I know he doesn't like taking it either. Hehe. It's kind of funny, actually, like we're hiding some kind of company secret. Herbalists who don't like the taste of herbal medicine.'

It was only after he left the room with the doctor that he pointed it out:

"They called you bàba."

"Hm?" Baizhu hummed, turning to Gui. "Oh. Yes... [Name] has done it quite a few times, actually, whether that be because of fever delirium or a slip of the tongue. I don't mind it. It only means that they feel safe enough to be vulnerable here. Qiqi has done it a few times, as well. Those two are only children, so... it is to be expected."

Gui then smiled, nodding. "It's cute."

Baizhu couldn't help but agree, his lips tilting upwards into a little smile himself. "It is."

please consider reblogging, it helps me out quite a lot!

[kdramaxoxo]

Hey I love your blog soooooo much!! 💖 I’m going through a tough time rn and I was wondering if you had any funny kdrama recommendations?! Or kdramas that made you feel really happy when you watched it?!

Thank you for all your posts and recommendations btw! I’ve loved so many of your recommendations and I’m so grateful for your blog!!💕💕💕

Oh anon i'm so sorry you're going through it :( Thank you so much for the blog love and hopefully one of these will fit your mood!

K-dramas to brighten your day:

Shopping King Louie (romcom): Ridiculously fun and lighthearted romp following a spoiled and useless chaebol with amnesia who is being taken care of by a country bumpkin in the city. Very low stakes, super adorable couple, and as many tropes as you can fit in your bag, this one is one of my favorites to recommend.

Extraordinary You/ A Day Found By Chance (fantasy/romance): This magical k-drama has my heart. It plays with all of the predictable tropes and then just goes crazy! While not perfect towards the end, I give this show bonus points for being super creative AND inspiring me to read a LOT of fan fic. I think about this drama more than any other.

Soundtrack #1: (romance) A short drama about two friends. One of them is helping the other write a love song (while also being in love with her). It’s cute!

Hit The Spot: rom/com-ish: Just a heads up this is legit rated-r and has graphic sex scenes. I don't usually go for that (and actually the scenes are pretty funny to me personally - the first episode starts that way but I swear you can just skip those scenes) but the actual drama was soooo good (and maybe sponsored by a sex toy company?) Hani delivers (i love her so much) and the sex positive messaging and just two ladies getting what they need?? So funny and so fun!! But take care if this isn't for you.

Run On: (rom com) This show follows four people in their daily lives: An athletic, a translator, a CEO and an artist. Soft soft couples!! Y'all know I love this slice of life rom com for so many reasons, but you might not know that Kang Tae Oh’s character (the painter) is like one of my dream boys. BLORBO FROM MY SHOWS.

Have a Nice Dessert (another cute web drama): If you’re looking for low angst and a super soft boy, this is your drama!! It’s a web drama (youtube) about a girl who loves photographing desserts and the boy who likes her.  Like all web dramas, it’s short, and there’s really no time for angst and breakups :)

The Best Hit / Hit The Top (romcom): A famous 90′s boyband dude travels into the future and meets up with his family and friends in this really cute drama featuring Yoon Shi Yoon. I LOVE Yoon Shi Yoon in pretty much everything but this role was made for him - he is hilarious. It’s a slice of life but features the k-pop music industry so the setting is unique.

Into The Ring (workplace/romcom): The perfect slice-of-life rom com! Goo Se Ra has trouble holding down a job due to her passionate personality so after she loses her latest job working for the ML, she decides to run for a small government office position because it pays a salary. Literally she does it for the money which is just *chef’s kiss.* The show is about her dealing with local politics and it’s SO FUNNY and smart and the OTP is the best! 

Eulachacha Waikiki / Laughter In Waikiki: (ridiculous comedy) I hope you’re ready for a crazy amount of unlikely situations and nutty hijinks because this show is probably one the most silly ones I’ve ever watched. It follows a group of friends who own a hostel so it’s a slice of life drama. At certain points I was like “this is TOO silly” but I’m glad I stuck with it cause it was so hilarious. Plus, the baby is a star!

Light On Me (web drama bl): I absolutely adored this simple and sweet drama! One of my favorite korean BLs EVER! Because it’s longer than the average Korean BL, it actually has: *cues triumphant music* Character development!

Fight for My Way (romcom) I love this drama! The couple is one of my OTPs and it’s really funny and a mostly lighthearted story of a group of friends. It’s down to earth and adorable - I’ve never had anyone complain about this one!

Wok of Love: (romcom) Despite the fact that the show was shortened by two episodes because of sports, this drama is a funny and quirky show worth watching. Many people dropped it because it was SO crazy for the first couple of episodes (it has a talking horse people!), but it does settle into a really sweet and fun story about a chef, a gangster and a rich girl and her family. If you love food, this show is for YOU!

Splash Splash Love: (short drama) Featuring a girl struggling with her studies and magically ends up in an ancient land working for a king! It’s awesome!

Weightlifting Fairy Kim Bok Joo: Super cute and fluffy drama featuring a female weightlifter lacking confidence, and a popular and good looking swimmer. Romance & great friendships!

Top Management: Adorable mini drama about a girl who can see the future and becomes the rookie manager for a kpop band. Fun and easy (plus they seem to be setting it up for another season…)

***J-drama rec*** Cherry Magic! Thirty Years of Virginity Can Make You a Wizard?!: (romance, fluff, represenation!)  If you’re used to k-dramas were everything could go wrong at any time, you’re in for a real treat! Cherry Magic is my absolute favorite drama of last year and this year combined (even with a silly name like it has!) - It’s the ONLY show I’ve ever given a 10/10 rating to. An introverted guy finds out a seemingly popular and confident co-worker has a crush on him. This drama is so so soft, so so sweet and it has not one but TWO ace characters and a lot of gay panic! I’ve rewatched it recently and smiled the ENTIRE time. Plus there’s a valentines day special that’s really fun.

Bonus short shows for instant relief:

Gaduri Sushi Restaurant

Semantic Error

Out of Breath (gl!)

The Best Mistake

Kiss Goblin

XX

Enjoy and I hope you feel better soon!!

[aceoflanterns]

Ok so the in the shortest way I can here is what happened (sorry for responding so late I actually responded a while ago but I’m pretty sure that didn’t send so I have to write this again :,)

So there is this island that some people are trapped on. The island is run by “the federation” and they are evil and they do t want the players to leave, we don’t know why

So they decide that the best way to make the players stay is to give them kids that they need to take care of , to be more exact they are eggs (that are played by real people btw they are not some AI like I thought for a while)

The important egg for this story is Juanaflipp the egg of Charlie Slimecicle and elmariana

Flippa died at 11 days old

It destroyed everyone but especially Slime, he when crazy when Flippa dies

He almost killed the other eggs out of grief, he transformed in an egg bc of the immense grief, so yeah he was not doing great

But after a lot of time and self reflection, he was making baby steps towards recovery

The the birthday stream happened

(Some context, on the server there are this monsters called the code monsters that are played by admins and the whole purpose of these guys seem to be killing the eggs. They can also shape shift to look like the eggs)

Most of the stream is goofy and lighthearted but then there are the last 15 minutes

Slime goes back home and he finds a book that said this

Then a path of torches appeared that lead him to a big underground cave

In the came there is this house and in the house she finds her

Juanaflippa

His baby

His daughter

His everything is here, alive, whit him

She starts placing signs that say things like “I missed you dad” and “happy birthday” in the same broken speech as the one on the book

Slime is understandably super confused but he spend care. All that is important is that he is whit his daughter

The Flippa says that “it’s dangerous for me out there” and “I’ll see you soon” then she runs off

Slime runs after her frantically screaming for her to come back, that he will do anything she says, that he will keep her safe, that she will kill anyone that comes close to her. He begged her not to leave him again but Flippa doesn’t stop running and Slime loses her

He is left crying, alone again

But before the stream ends he promises that he will satay here as long as it takes and that he will make flippa feel save again, no matter the cost

End strea

We, as viewers, know about the code monster and how it can mimic eggs but slime doesn’t. He fully beloved that his baby is back and he will do anything for her, which probably includes killing the other eggs (he already almost did that)

Anyway, I highly recommend watching the last 15 minutes of the stream bc Charlie Slimecicle is an amazing actor and the pain and desperation in his voice is incredible. I’m on mobile so idk how to share the link but just look up Slimecicle on twich and it’s the most recent stream, or you can look up Slimecicle vods on YouTube and watch it there when it gets uploaded

Sorry for any mistakes I made and for responding so late, hope that what I wrote makes sense. How you have a good rest of your day :]]]

damn man that’s A Lot 😭😭😭 listen i just had no idea what was going on in the qsmp from like . early june onwards . so i appreciate the update :]] (and i shall check out the stream because charlie slimesicle is an insane actor and it’s unfair to us all) thank you!!!!

[seoafin]

YOU DIDNT LIKE AO HARU RIDE??? KOU THO?? OR DANGEKI DAISY??? tbh the plot was kinda ass and super convoluted n i think i remember the ending letting me down BUT THAT MAIN GUY WAS SOOOO CUTE THO???? the fact that u liked soredemo sekai wa utsukushii is so funny tho because i feel like not a lot of ppl have watched that one and liked or just watched at all!! i don’t even remember the ending did they end up together?? he was like some middle schooler wasn’t he? whjwkeke but yea i get where ur coming from i think i just kinda have tunnel vision when i see a hot guy😔 did u at least like maid sama?? ALSO i’ll def check out the recommendations u gave out i saved them up in my notes already i’m excited to start reading them and i’m glad u ended up liking kamisama kiss too!!! btw i was reading a webtoon which i think u might like ‘after school lessons for unripe apples’ i saw u mentioned smt about not liking a sugar apple shojo n i freaked out thinking u meant this one wiwjejek it’s SUPER SUPER sweet like yamada one vibes but like a lil bit (a lot) more wholesome check it out if ur ever interested!!

also i wanted to ask u about howd u like the succesion finale but i didn’t wanna bombard u with asks WHATD U THINK!!

i knowww my friend was obsessed with ao haru ride but i thought it was BORING. and i know we were in that era of having quirky heroines but all of them were quirky with no substance. i just never got into it. and as for dengeki daisy i dont think i liked the art lmaooo and i am very particular about my shoujo art. but i do like the mangaka's new manga queen's quality a lot!!!! definitely a jump in quality from dd. i did rlly like soredemo sekai wa utsukushii but it wasn't really for the romance. like yes the ML was a child but im pretty sure they were only like 3-4 years apart? both children tbh. but i think i liked the plot more than other shoujos at the time and nike was actually interesting. i DID like maid-sama....ik it's problematic but my nostalgia lenses are ON.

I LOVE AFTER SCHOOL LESSONS FOR UNRIPE APPLES. THEY ARE SO CUTE. i haven't been able to catch up yet but i am on like chapter 20. i loveeeeee them.

SUCCESSION ENDING SPOILERS:

okay im glad shiv ended up breaking the cycle (for roman and kendall) but it's heartbreaking how she got mom'd. like.....i know she made tom into the man she wanted him to be so that's technically a W but she's been relegated into being a wife. she's pregnant!!! standing behind a man!!!! but let's be real like shiv was never going to get it lmao and it KILLS me because if she had been a man it would've been her. like 100%. shiv overcompensates and talks too much and it's all stems from her never being taken seriously as a woman. like had she had the privilege of being a man in a male dominated world it would've been her!!!!!! she's logan's favorite. mattson wouldn't have wanted to fuck her (who knows). all three of the roy siblings self sabotage in different ways, but the fact that shiv's comes from her insecurities is so heartbreaking. also i watched the ending commentary and one of the directors (i think) talked about how in the end none of them would ultimately be logan's successor because they'd never be able handle it. it was never going to be them. succession is a tragedy because when something happy and lighthearted happens you know something awful is going to follow. AND GOD. the scene where they swim and everything's happy that's when I KNEW it was going to end terribly. the roy siblings all united. it never would've gone well. it was never going to end well.

and kendall KENDALL. the poison drips. yes shiv was right kendall would have never been able to handle but if u think about the fact that he's been groomed into this position to continue the cycle of abuse (by logan who told him at SEVEN he was going to take over) he has nothing now! there's literally nothing for him anymore. this is what his life had been culminating towards and to have it all taken away. the part in the episode where shiv refuses to vote and kendall is literally like 'i might die' and then him denying point blank that he killed a man (DELUSIONAL). but also kendall recanting that confession a confession that bonded the siblings together in the last season. brought them together in a moment of genuine comfort and bonding. gone. gone. gone!!!!!

rome never wanted it in the first place but he just couldn't say it. he didn't want to be CEO he wanted logan's approval but logan's gone. he doesn't have logan's approval. the next best thing is being CEO but roman can't bring himself to admit it's anything other than poison for himself and the family. like.......the director's commentary talking about how this has just been one long thing that happened to roman and now that it's over he's back to where he was s1.......ughhhhhh. and him ordering gerri's drink????

anyway i thought for sure roman or kendall were going to kill themselves. i was on the edge of my seat thinking kendall was going to jump off in the last few seconds of the show. whewwwwwww

[tiredsadpeach]

Hi it’s been a while because I sort of rode the serotonin from Tuesday it was so fun but uh I feel like shit now so hello

[lanawinterscigarettes]

Do you think five would be upset having an s/o who's taller than him. Bc I think he would be

Oh he definitely would be anon, you're absolutely right

Five Hargreeves having a s/o who's taller than him

Warnings: swearing, some lighthearted teasing, Five's anger issues lol

Five's obviously not very tall, what with the whole being stuck in his younger body thing and all that

If you're only a couple inches taller than him, he probably won't make a big deal about it

He might roll his eyes if you mention it, but other than that he wouldn't be much bothered by it

If you were a lot taller than him, however, he'd be a bit less indifferent

He'll scowl whenever it's mentioned by one of his siblings and pout until you give him attention and reassure him you don't care how short he is

He's also not afraid to get physically violent with someone who has the audacity to point out he's shorter than you, his siblings included

"Oh, you think that's funny, Diego? We'll see how funny you think it is when I shove my foot up your ass!"

You like to tease him whenever he can't reach something on a higher shelf, asking if he needs a boost or if you should get him a step stool

He's earned a lot of nicknames from you due to his short stature, including "fun size" and "short stack"

Sometimes you like to use his head as an arm rest, much to his displeasure

"You're taller than me, I get it, but that doesn't mean you get to rest your arm on my head whenever the fuck you want!"

"Mm, pretty sure it does, actually"

You're the only one who's allowed to tease him like this btw, if someone like Klaus does it he'll probably end up punching them in the stomach for it lmao

He gets pissed whenever he wants a kiss from you because he has to ask for you to lean down because you're so tall and it humiliates him

"Poor baby, you're so short you need a pair of stilts just so you can give me a kiss"

"Shut. The fuck. Up"

You give him a lot of forehead kisses to make up for it tho <3 which makes him happy, even if he won't admit it

~

Main masterlist || The Umbrella Academy masterlist

🏷 taglist: @anxiously-sad @iloveentrapta @ghot-girl @your-next-daydream

[dreamkidddream]

Those Doll!anon fics were really amazing! I really wanna do something like it if you don’t mind. Could I maybe get a Yorkie!MC? Like, a really short, really friendly MC until they feel like they or one of the brothers/undateables are being threatened or insulted, then they try to pick a fight they’d obviously lose? I’m just laughing at the mental imagine of this short, unthreatening human yelling at and trying to square up against a demon lol.

Awww tysm!! 💙I missed writing for Obey Me (and we also hit 666 followers at this point 😈💜) and since this was so interesting I decided that I’m gonna do the Undateables first and then do the brothers cause I feel like I don’t show them enough love 😔 reader is gender neutral!

The Undateables with Yorkie!MC

Diavolo

He is LOVING your energy

Your happiness is so contagious, it just adds onto his already cheery demeanor. He honestly feels his cheeks hurting from smiling even more when you’re around (and he doesn’t even care!)

He’s gonna buy Lucifer so much Demonus as a thank you for picking you for the exchange program. Seriously, you’re PERFECT (for him)

As the President of Student Council and future King, he loves seeing you interact with the other students, and he’s glad that they’re reacting positive to you. At least some of them do

Now, no one is to foolish (or powerful) enough to threaten Diavolo or do anything to you that can bring you harm. They can try, but they won’t be getting the results that they hope for

But he can’t help it but find it amusing when you try to “defend his honor” when someone bad mouths him. He makes sure to not let it show (gotta be professional after all) but he does tease you about it later. You’re so small and seeing you just yelling square up to this demon is hilarious. He has no idea what geometry has to do with this, but he’s learned some new slang thanks to you!

He’s finally found someone who’ll go along with his antics and more. Whereas other people may complain about him wanting to do fun activities that seem basic, you just flash a big smile, grab his hand and tell him to lead the way

(You even made matching friendship bracelets and he refuses to take it off, ever)

You really make him happy MC. He doesn’t remember the last time he’s ever felt this lighthearted, and he doesn’t feel the sense of loneliness that he felt himself getting used too

Also Lucifer gets twice the headache now, but the Demonus helps it go away (temporarily)

Barbatos

Ah, so another Luke, except older and that you take your threats of violence very serious, if what he sees (both in the present and the future) holds true (which it does)

You’re still harmless in his eyes though

Your friendly personality makes it easy for you to be forgiven for a lot of things…even if your actions make him give you the side eye at times

Despite how energetic you are (which is something that he’ll never grow tired of) your presence has a relaxing effect on him. Even if he has to warn you sometimes to be careful with the way that you bounce around so much, especially when he’s in the kitchen

He unfortunately can’t be by your side as he is Lord Diavolo’s butler, but that doesn’t mean that he can’t keep watch on you, even without the use of his powers

With how outgoing you are, you’re bound to attract trouble, in which you do at a constant rate. What was comical however, is that it seemed like the trouble you attracted was on his behalf

“MC, what seems to be the issue here?”

“BARB! You won’t believe this! This jerk has the nerve to call you stuck up- well I can show you stuck up! After I stick my foot up your- Huh? Hey, why am I the one being dragged away?! W- count yourself lucky that Barb is saving you right now demon! But this isn’t over- MPH!”

“I hate to spoil you before our tea party, but you were already late and I have been meaning to have you try my new recipe that I’ve been working on…”

You were too busy trying to savor the delicious flavor to focus on what just happen, which was his plan all along. You get to try more of his delicious treats and he gets to enjoy your touch and company. Crisis averted!

He’s crafty enough to have plans to evade you “fighting” and you haven’t caught on yet (or maybe you did and just feign ignorance? Either way works for him)

It doesn’t bother him what people say about him, he doesn’t care in the slightest (and they’re not bold enough to say it to his face). What he cares about is making sure that you keep your carefree energy, and that he keeps to see you with your radiating smile on your face

Simeon

You remind him so much of Luke. Are you sure you’re not from the Celestial Realm too?

Don’t worry he’s only teasing you (kinda) but you do have just as much energy if not MORE than Luke

And you don’t mind helping him either, no matter how “silly” his requests may be

“You’re doing great Si! See, you didn’t even need my help!”

“MC, I couldn’t have gotten to this point without you. My pictures are still coming out a little blurry, but that could be because you wouldn’t stand still- but it does add special kind of charm to them…”

He’s keeping them btw

He was shook when he saw you go off the first time, like he really wasn’t expecting it (Solomon did try to warn him, he was laughing but he did try to warn him)

“Don’t think just because he’s an angel means I’m bout to act like one! I will end you!”

MC please don’t make this demon “catch these hands” violence isn’t necessary

He doesn’t know what that means but he’s scared that he’s gonna find out if he doesn’t hold you back

He has reprimanded you each time when you try to fight others. He knows that demons see him as weak and talk behind his back, but he chooses to ignore them, to turn the other cheek. But just because he does, doesn’t mean that you do, and he sees that now

Simeon really doesn’t want you to fight, and it’s not even because it’s against his nature (it’s part of the reason, just not the whole reason). Fighting leads to injury, and injury leads to distress, and that’s the last thing that he wants to happen to you. And he’s not going to let anything happen to you!

He truly believes it’s a waste of time and energy, and you could find better things to do. For example, by spending time with him!

Simeon may not be your guardian angel officially, but he’s your guardian angel. Always

Has definitely written a character based on you

Luke

Is immediately upset that you don’t stay in Purgatory Hall with him, and even more upset that you don’t live in the Celestial Realm

You’re like the best older sibling he’s never had! And you don’t treat him like a baby either!

Or he’s just admiring you too much to notice

You never hesitate to help him with anything; baking, homework, pretty much anything and everything. He may try to make it seem like you need his assistance, but we all know it’s the other way around (with the exception of Luke himself)

We all know that Luke gets teased by the brothers and even his roommates sometimes (looking at you Solomon), but it’s just harmless teasing (for the most part). It’s when he hears what the other students say about him that gets to him- he tries to show that it doesn’t bother him and he tries to stand up for himself but- their words really hurt him

And no one hurts Luke and gets away with it

You already get onto the brothers for their teasing when it starts to bother him, and now the brothers have to jump in to stop you from trying to rip this demon horns’ off

You can’t really reach them and they’re pretty sure you won’t do any damage, but they rather not take the chance of you getting hurt

It’s not the first or last time that you do this either, and it just makes him feel horrible. He’s the angel here, the one that’s suppose to protect you, not the other way around!

You help him out so much, either without defending him you do so much for him already. How can he ever repay you? He feels like whatever he does won’t be enough…WAIT- he figured out what he can do!

He can get stronger and protect you! He can go to Beel so that you don’t have to fight for him anymore, or maybe have Solomon make some potions that’s like demon repellent but only for those jerks. If those mean demons see how serious and strong he is, then they’re bound to leave you guys alone! Maybe he can show you some tricks too once he’s done. He has to hurry up and tell you the plan then, you guys can’t wait any longer!

Their words do hurt, but so does seeing you putting yourself in harms way to protect him. You can’t do all the protecting MC, he needs to watch out for you too, no if ands or buts about it!

You and Luke are the duo we never knew we needed

Solomon

Ah, it’s about time he found a human as interesting and adorable as you. Where having you been hiding all his lifetime?!

He has wayyyy more fun teasing you than Luke. Your pout just makes things x100 better and cuter

Congrats on becoming his new victim MC

Another one to find you very amusing when you try to fight and won’t stop you either

He will dead serious be recording you trying to fight on his DDD. He’ll make sure that it doesn’t escalate but who is he to stop such entertainment?

He has become tempted to cast a superhuman strength spell on you, and he ends up doing it “on accident” (which has happened more than once)

Lucifer has done the “I’m watching you” thing to him every time he has lmao

But no seriously, he won’t let you get hurt; he won’t even let the chance arise. He’s already pulling you away before you can get yourself worked up fully, dragging you to the library or his room to test some new spells (one that he tempts you can use on these demons). It’s enough to get your attention back on him

You’re a daily source of his amusement and someone that he wants MC, but that doesn’t mean he can afford his favorite human getting hurt on his watch!

He’s no stranger to the gossip about him, nor is he clueless. It’s just all talk anyway, he doesn’t care and neither should you. But it is touching to know that you care this much about him and how he feels…

But he doesn’t want you to do this for him. He’s a powerful sorcerer, he can easily solve this without breaking a sweat if he wanted to, but he doesn’t deem it worthy to even waste a drop of potions on. But since you’re so concerned, maybe a quick kiss would make him feel better?

He thought you were a little gullible, but that’s not the case. You just have a very open and bright personality, one that he finds himself getting attached to more and more as each day passes

If he’s not careful, he might get more enamored with you than he already is-

[damn-stark]

La vie en rose pt.1

Pietro Maximoff x reader

Requested by anon “I think this is a good idea. So Pietro didn’t die in Age Of Ultron but dies in endgame so afterwards reader has same powers as wanda btw makes her own reality sorta like wandavision and they live in the town together and it’s basically just wandavision plot and jimmy woo and darcy are trying to get in meanwhile. I really hope this isn’t to long for you! Maybe you could do 2 parts if you’d like that? I just had this idea for a while thanks! 🤍”

Warning- ANGST, fluff, slight swearing, mentions of death and complete heartbreak

———-

“NO!”

Was it possible to feel your heartbreak, to hear the pain and agony in your ears?

One moment there was hope—hope that everything was going to be fine, that all your dreams and plans that you had made with the Pietro; the man you loved, the love of your life, was going to come true. But now there was nothing but despair as you saw his life hang by a thin line, tangled in the hand of Thanos.

“Let him go!” You growl, lifting your hands and seeing yellow hues emit from your palms as you don’t hesitate to use your powers. You dig your heels into the dirt ground and bend your wrist back to build up an energy ball and then throw it at Thanos gauntlet in a powerful stream. “Let him go!” You repeat.

Thanos gaze snaps to his gauntlet as he notices the powerful yellow hues hitting the stones, before tilting his head to look at you in stunned disbelief as he sees your eyes beginning to glow yellow as you use your other hand to shoot out more power at the stones without as much as breaking a sweat.

“I said let him go!” You bellow as you feel yourself add more strength to your attempts, seeing the yellow hues get brighter and stronger. You drift your gaze to Pietro and offer him an assuring hopeful look that he mirrors as Thanos grip around his throat falters and finally let’s him go.

Pietro at the opportunity gasps for air but doesn’t take his time to get completely better, instead he runs to you and attempts to rush you out of there, but you decline his attempts. “No, I can destroy the stones, help your sister.”

Pietro shakes his head and grabs your wrists, “I’m not leaving without you and I’m not letting this monster kill you.”

A small smile spreads on your lips and just as you’re going to respond, you feel yourself slide back as Thanos begins to use the stones against you, adding a powerful force field that blocks your actions. You snap your attention back to him and push back stronger, feeling your eyebrows pinch together and your face twist into a focused and irritated expression. It was beginning to get harder, but you pushed through and broke the force field, once again hitting the stones. Albeit Thanos didn’t like the idea and matched your attempts, aiming for your body to weaken you instead.

Pietro noticed and sped his way to stop him, in that moment in a blink of an eye missing Thanos use a stone to stop him, once again grabbing him by his throat, but this time instead effortlessly snapping his neck and looking at you with an evil smirk, knowing that what he did would stop your attempts instantly.

And it did, you stopped using your powers and ran towards Pietro's lifeless body as Thanos drops him and finds his chance to leave.

“Pietro!” You cry, dropping beside him and cradling his body, seeing his blue eyes unmoving. “Pietro?” You whimper, feeling hot tears stream down your face and an inkling of hope in your heart. But it was faint and just made up of denial.

“Pietro! Please!” You cry, brushing his hair out of his eyes and lifting him closer to you. Nothing else mattered around you, not the fight that was being fought around you, all that mattered was seeing him give any sign of life. “Pietro?”

But him giving any sign of life...was impossible.

“NO!”

——

*SOME TIME LATER*

“Pietro?” You call out, feeling your smile begin to fall as you don’t hear him respond, or see him anywhere around. “Pietro? Where are you?” Your heart begins to pick up its pace and you pick up your pace as you search the house. “Pietro?”

You stop at the center of the living room and let out a deep exhale to think clearly, to check over your surroundings, to feel him—

“Y/N.”

At the sound of Pietro's voice by your ear you jump and let out a small gasp before spinning around as you grab your chest. “Pietro, what the hell?”

Said man snickers and steps back, keeping his hands hidden behind his back. “You called.”

“Yeah,” you sigh with relief, “you weren’t around, I was beginning to worry.”

“Oh, well, there's a good explanation for that,” Pietro says as he begins to approach you with a mischievous grin on his lips, “I went to get you something.”

“Oh?” You quiered, lifting a brow and placing your hands on your hips as your eyes drop to his hidden hands. “You got me something, or did you “take something without buying?”

Pietro shrugs and begins to walk around you slowly, making sure to keep facing you. “It’s just a friendly contribution for saving the world. It’s well deserved.”

You chuckle and turn with him to keep your eyes on him. “What did you get me?”

“Close your eyes.” He commands.

You do so without hesitation and feel the warmth of Pietros hand wrap yours to pull them from your sides and keep them out in front of you. Anticipation begins to brew at the pit of your stomach at not knowing what it was, you feel yourself smile nervously wanting to take a peek, but before you could try he places something silky and long on your hands and speaks up. “Open them.”

Doing so, you instantly look down and see a pretty white silk dress; your mouth falls open in awe and you carefully grab the sleeves of the dress to lift it and get a full view of the dress. “Pietro this is beautiful.”

“It’s for our date,” he reveals softly. “Do you need help putting it on?”

You flicker your gaze up to him and grin brightly.

“I’ll go slow,” he quips softly with a smirk, “I know you like it when I go slow.”

You cup his cheek and shake your head. “How about I surprise you?”

“Fine,” he sighs in defeat. “Until then I’ll get everything ready.”

You part away and do you as you had told him, taking some time to get ready even if you could do it within seconds with your powers.

And at first, after you had finished getting ready, you were nervous to go downstairs and reunite with him—he still just had that effect on you. But as you thought of it, as you thought clearly, there was nothing to be nervous about, this was Pietro, the same man you were cellmates with while in hydra, the same man you fought by in Sokovia and Berlin, he was the same man you went in hiding with, and the same man you fell in love with. He was your Pietro. So you confidently walked to the top stairs, grabbed onto the railing and saw Pietro speed to the end of the stairs to wait for you to walk down.

He had on a nice suit and had a bouquet of roses in his hand that didn’t outshine the charming grin on his face—in the furthest corner of your mind, you knew this was wrong, but seeing this, seeing him do things like this made you happy and reminded you of him, you couldn’t let go of him yet. Not yet.

You grin brightly and feel your heart flutter. “Pietro.”

“My love.” He muttered softly.

You continue to walk down the stairs to meet him below, grabbing his hand as he offered it to you, while with his the other hand he handed you the bouquet of white roses.

“You look absolutely breathtaking.” He whispered in your ear after he had leaned in.

You grab onto his hand tighter and smile wider, “you do too.” Your eyes drift to the living room where the couch’s and the tv were replaced by a fancy candlelight dinner setup, causing you to gasp softly and take a moment to take in what he had set up. “Wow, Pietro,” you look back at him to complement his work, but it’s at that moment you look at him that you see his face as it was when he died; pale and lifeless. You tear your gaze away and cover your mouth out of the shock and fear.

Pietro notices and of course questions it. “Y/N, are you okay? Did you not like something?”

You swallow thickly and shake your head, peeking at him and noticing he was back to normal. “No, no, I loved it. I do.”

Pietro sighs, “good it took me long to plan.”

“I love it.” You repeat as you fully turn your head to look at him. “Thank you.”

Pietro stops by the table and you set down the roses, admiring the table he had set up and feeling the corner of your lips slowly tug back into a smile. “Pietro—”

“My love would you have this dance with me?”

You turn around and see him with his hand out towards you, he smiles and then you feel a breeze as he goes to quickly turn on the music that was meant to be on before.

“Now will you have this dance with me?” He asks again more confidently. “Is that how I’m supposed to ask?”

You nod, “yes you are and yes I will have this dance with you.” You take his hand and he pulls you to the middle of the room, not taking long to grab onto your waist and pull you close to him.

“I put on those old songs you like to hear.” He points out as the tune slowly plays.

“I like?” You queried, “or you like?”

“Both. We both like them.”

You express a lighthearted huff of air and begin to move with him as you both begin to sway to the music. The talking stops and the song only sounds around the house, you press yourself closer to him to rest your head on his shoulder whilst you grabbed onto him tighter out of fear he’d disappear. You inhale in deeply to take in that smell of the fancy cologne he loved to wear, to take in the smell of his shampoo he used, to remember what it felt when you smelt it when he was really alive.

“I miss you,” you sigh out with tears stinging your eyes.

“Miss me?” Pietro scoffs in a joking tone, “I’m right here.”

You swear under your breath at your accidental comment, lifting your head and parting away far enough to look into his blue eyes. “I know, I just meant like miss you when you’re gone.”

Pietro narrows his gaze on you but he doesn’t find your comment strange, (you didn’t let him find it strange) instead he makes it out as a joke and laughs. “Well you know I always come back to you as fast as I can.”

“Yeah, I know,” you whisper with a crack in your voice. “I love you, Pietro, so much. I love you.”

“You’re making me blush,” he responds smugly, cupping your cheeks and offering you a sweet smile, “I love you.”

Tears roll down your cheeks and you can’t help but not to cry at the words he uttered. And when he noticed your tears, he smiled brighter and wiped them off. “Don’t cry, I’m right here, it’s okay, I’m right here. I’ll always be by your side so you don’t have to miss me too much. Even if I do love that sentiment.”

Your bottom lip trembles, but to stop yourself from crying you pull him in for a passionate kiss, cupping his cheeks and feeling him smile under the kiss. He grips onto you tighter and deepens the kiss, stopping the both of you from dancing to focus on the kiss. Reminding you by every passing second that you never wanted this to end….

And yet an urgent knock on the door stopped the moment. Pietro parted away and rolled his eyes, focusing on the door and scoffing. “Who could it be?”

You shrug, feeling just as clueless as him, “I don’t know, let’s go check.”

“Is it Wanda? If it is, tell my sweet sister that she chose the most terrible time to come visit.” Pietro remarks as he stays in the living room as you go to open the door; seeing not Wanda, nor Vision, but two strangers that seemed just as surprised as you, or even more so.

“Hello, how can I help you?”

“Oh, wow,” a woman with glasses gasps as she studies you, “you look amazing. Damn it I missed this scene.”

You blink and laugh nervously, “what? What do you mean?”

“Y/N, who is it?” Pietro asks out loud.

“Just solicitors, please go get Wanda, Pietro.”

Without question he does as you say and the man and woman in front of you grow pale and shake their head.

“Who are you?” You repeat in a more threatening voice.

The man steps forward and you move to block his path.

“I’m Agent Woo and this Doctor Darcy,” he reveals, making you freeze.

“What?”

[that-blue-vault-dweller]

What if sole narrated and did sound effects to everything them and their companions did. They would also be a big drama queen in a goofy way. Like if they went into a spooky place they would say like “ We wandered into the great darkness that swallowed us whole. We jumped at every shadow and noise not knowing what awaits us!!” They then scream and grasp onto their companion for no reason and tearfully explain that them and Nate/Nora used to joke about this all the time. BTW I love your blog!!!

This is an absolutely awesome idea, and if it's all good with you, I might even write a oneshot about this at some point. 🥰 And thank you so much!!!! I'm so glad you love my blog! That means so much to hear 🥺💖

Thank you for the request, and I hope you enjoy! 💙💛

Cait - Thinks that F!Sole is being absolutely ridiculous. But she goes along with it and just lets F!Sole do her thing, keeping her own thoughts about it to herself. But it does eventually does grow to be very old. However, when F!Sole tells her that she used to do it with her husband, Cait feels absolutely terrible for being annoyed by F!Sole's little habit. She awkwardly tells F!Sole that she didn't know that. Next time that F!Sole starts narrating events, Cait adds in a few of her own narrations in an attempt to play with F!Sole.

Piper - Actually starts doing it with her a little. If they go somewhere creepy that is unsettling them both, they start narrating it as if it is some sort of great horror novel. It ends up scaring them even more but it makes them feel safe in some weird way. Probably because it gives them both vocal reassurance that they're both still there together. When F!Sole eventually explains that her husband used to do this with her, Piper feels her heart clench a bit in her chest. However, Piper feels extremely honored that her best friend values her so much that she would play this special game with her. From then on, whenever F!Sole starts to play the game, Piper feels warm and happy inside and easily pitches in, adding her own narration.

Curie - Is confused, but she thinks it is quite cute despite how unnecessary. She sometimes giggles at the things that F!Sole says and how she narrates. She ultimately just goes along with it, not really questioning the entire process, and finding it to be a sweet quirk of F!Sole's. However, when F!Sole tells her that she used to do this with her husband, Curie is suddenly struck with the deep meaning behind the game. Soon, Curie tries to throw in a few sound effects here and there and narrate a few things as well. However, she is not very good at it. But she is trying her best!

MacCready - Thinks it's silly at first, but he soon finds himself doing it as well. He starts narrating things like they're in a comic book together, and when F!Sole punches people in the jaw, he's somewhere nearby yelling about the Silver Shroud and of course, offering an emphatic "Pow" to narrate her great takedown. When she tells him that she and her husband did this, he feels a little awkward doing it with her still. However, he knows she must want to do it with him if she's doing it so much around him. Therefore, they both keep narrating their comic book journey.

Deacon - Absolutely loves it, and sometimes even initiates it himself. Especially when they happen to be paired together for missions with Glory. They both team up together to really annoy the poor synth. She is ready to chop off her own ears by the time they are through with the mission because the combination of Deacon and F!Sole is way more irritation than any normal human can handle. When F!Sole finally explains that she and her husband played this game together, he takes it pretty well, somehow managing to turn the entire admission into something much more lighthearted.

Codsworth - Eagerly jumps in with her and narrates as well. He knows the significance of this game already, and she does not even have to tell him about it. However, they end up talking about it together at some point, and he tells her that while he is definitely not at sir's level of mastery, he will do his best to efficiently play the game with her.

Hancock - Usually has to get high to really want to do it with her. However, if he can annoy someone with her, he will eagerly play the game with or without chems in his system. He thinks it's way cuter when she does it, and he sometimes proceeds to narrate what F!Sole is doing while looking at things through a very inappropriate lens making comments about her figure or something. When she eventually tells him that she did this with her husband, he is thrown off. From then on, he tries to pitch in with her game a little more often.

Danse - Finds this game absolutely and completely preposterous and tells her so in somewhat gentler words. It normally aggravates him a little when she starts doing it. However, after he finds out that she did this with her husband, he feels quite bad about telling her to stop. So he starts throwing in his own narrations very, very occasionally and only if it is just the two of them. Of course, he's not too good at it since he sounds like he is reciting events from a history textbook or an encyclopedia.

Preston - Does not really know what to think. It is the strangest thing he's heard anyone do in a while, but he just shrugs it off and decides to enjoy it. Sometimes when she narrates, it legitimately makes him laugh, and she seems very pleased when that occurs. When she tells him that she and her husband did this game, he feels sad for her. After that, as he laughs at her narrations, he always remembers that this game is a way to keep her husband's memory alive.

Valentine - Is confused by it at first, but he soon finds it extremely adorable, and he just happily listens to her narrating. It seems to make her happy, so he does not worry about anything else. If something can bring a little light in her life, then he is perfectly content. When she admits that it was an activity her and her husband did, he feels his heart ache a little. From then on, he takes an even greater enjoyment in hearing her, knowing that she is entrusting him with a valuable piece of her past life.

X6-88 - Is bewildered and at first begins to question if she needs some sort of help. He soon enough asks if she is alright and if she is feeling well. She soon replies that yes, she is feeling well and this was just something that she and her husband did. He immediately feels somewhere between relieved and very awkward. After that, he just lets her do her thing, and he keeps his thoughts to himself. However, at some point afterward, he himself accidentally ends up making a sound effect in that very monotone manner. He is terribly humiliated, but she seems absolutely thrilled with it. So he finds that he is not quite so embarrassed anymore.

Dogmeat - Loves the sound of her voice, so he is absolutely thrilled about her playing this game. He loves to hear her speak to him, and whenever she starts making sound effects or narrating, he sometimes barks to add to the fun. He always is looking at her when she does it, and he doesn't stop keeping his attentions on her. This is a wonderful game as far as he's concerned.

Strong - Is extremely disoriented when she firsts starts it, but he soon grows angry and irritated by it. He tells her that she needs to be quieter and quit saying weird things about what they're doing. He also says she needs to stop making those weird noises. It does not really matter to him that she used to do it with her husband. He just thinks she needs to stop.

[dark1k]

❛ it’s just a scratch, don’t worry. ❜ (Markus to Connor!) for the short angst starters if you're still doing them!

LOVE this blog btw

Omg thank you so much 🥺 I’m so happy you like my blog! Thanks for the request, please enjoy!

•••

November 12th, 2039 // 11:33pm

The night wasn’t supposed to turn out this way.

Exactly one year ago, they had won their freedom. They faced down insurmountable odds and won. From the moment Connor approached Markus with an army of newly-awakened androids standing behind him, the pair had been inseparable. Markus often teased him over the circumstances in which their relationship developed, saying sickly sweet remarks such as, “I guess CyberLife did one thing right — sending you on that undercover mission in the cutest beanie imaginable! No wonder I fell head over heels instantly.” and more until Connor blushed a pretty cerulean and swatted his hands away.

Oh, how Connor wished they were nestled in bed, sharing lighthearted jabs and languid kisses in the fading streams of sunlight.

Instead, Markus’ thirium was staining his hands and the ground beneath their feet.

“Everybody out of the building!” Hank ordered the guests.

Pressing his suit jacket harder against the gunshot wound in Markus’ shoulder, Connor’s mind felt as if it was going a million miles an hour. The shooter was already apprehended, thanks to the heightened police detail attending tonight’s banquet, but how he managed such a shot in the first place, let alone how he bypassed security, was a mystery. An event to celebrate the one-year anniversary of the Battle of Detroit was now a battle against the clock and Connor’s movements gradually grew more frantic.

“Markus, please keep your eyes open. The android medical unit is only five minutes away. Just keep your focus on me.” Even in the recesses of Connor’s memory, he could never remember a time where his voice cracked, almost begging as he attempted to stay level-headed. Having met Markus so late in the revolution, he never witnessed him actively get shot. Only the aftermath of such brutality in the middle of that foggy street, when their stories first intertwined.

Connor absolutely hated it.

Unaware to his knowledge, Markus’ audio processors were already damaged, sending the leader nothing but a feedback loop of screeching static. Connor saw his eyebrows furrow and his undamaged arm move toward the hands against his shoulder. He blinked sluggishly and his voice crackled as he spoke.

“What’s wrong? Why do you look so sad?” Markus asked, and Connor quickly realized that he was definitely confused, not fully aware of his surroundings or the severity of what happened. This only served to worsen Connor’s panic, did Markus hit his head when he dropped? Has the gunshot caused more damage than initially believed? Connor pleaded to whatever deity might exist — RA9, God, frankly it didn’t matter — that Markus’ faulty biocomponents weren’t causing his memory to glitch out.

And to think, Markus was the one who got shot and yet, here he was inquiring about Connor’s emotional well-being.

“Fuck, Markus, don’t worry about me. You’re going to be absolutely fine. The medical team is almost here. You're doing great, please stay with me." Not responding to his words, he lolled his head to the side and Connor saw his eyes widen, taking in the excess of blue blood coating their clothes. It appeared to click that he was obviously injured and using the same undamaged arm he moved earlier, Markus squeezed Connor’s hand. The detective felt sick when his brain examined how the gesture lacked the same amount of strength he usually possessed.

“It’s just a scratch, don’t worry.”

A hysterical laugh left Connor’s mouth before he could stop himself. Of course the leader of the android uprising would compare a through-and-through gunshot wound with a scratch. Shaking his head, he only squeezed Markus’ hand back in response and avoided looking at how much thirium was spreading across the white linoleum floors.

A minute that felt like an eternity later, the ballroom doors bursted open and the medical unit was swiftly pushing Connor aside. In his delirium and confusion, Markus reached out and attempted to keep the grip on his hand, but his weakened state and the slippery slick of blue blood caused it to be a fruitless effort. He keened and Connor decided it was the worst sound he ever heard.

Having started their ministrations, one of the doctors looked up at Connor as the others began opening a stretcher. “He’s lost a good amount of thirium, we need to transport him to the nearest hospital for further treatment. You’re welcome to join us in the ambulance but we need to leave right now.” Connor was already nodding his head before he finished talking, immediately walking back to Markus’ side once he was situated in the gurney.

Markus, who was typically so intense and focused on everything around him, was losing that awareness as his body started going into a forced shutdown.

Connor grasped onto his hands again, jogging in place with the medical team towards the exit. “Hey, hey. I’m going to stay by your side the entire time, you’ll be good as new in no time. Okay, Markus? We’ll be home soon enough and we’ll watch those nature documentaries you love so much. I promise.”

Still hearing nothing but static, Markus scarcely nodded his head in affirmation to whatever his boyfriend was telling him. It must have been something important for how fast his lips were moving and how his eyes never stopped roaming across his body, almost in a frenzied state. A moment later, he was succumbing to his body’s demands to shut down, the sudden exhaustion overtaking his systems too much to bear.

Connor barely glanced at Hank, who was managing the crime scene, and the others handling the surplus of press stationed outside, before he was boarding the ambulance. Markus’ thirium had evaporated by the time they reached the hospital, as if the entire event had been nothing but a horrible nightmare. A nightmare that wouldn't end for several hours.

As the clock struck midnight on November 13th, 2039, there were no celebrations to be found.

[kdramaxoxo]

hiii~ ! I've recently started watching kdramas again and I don't know which ones are worth watching. could u recommend some good ones to me if possible?? thank youuu ^^ (btw love your blog 💌)

Welcome back to K-dramas anon!

Also, thank you so much for the blog love - it means a lot to me :)

I'm not sure when you stopped watching k-dramas, or what genres you like, so I'll just recommend way too many and you can pick what sounds good?

Great K-Dramas in a Variety of Genres:

Fight for My Way (slice of life/romcom): I love this drama! Always a fave for me, this drama is funny and heartwarming! The leading lady is a strong female which I LOVE, and Park Seo Joon plays her really cute down to earth best friend. It’s a childhood friends to lovers trope with a group of regular people (no rich heirs in this show!) and has a happy ending and a lot of cute flirting, cuddling and kissing. Argh I love these two!

Terius Behind Me (Action/Adventure): FBI agent goes under disguise as a babysitter! While there are some intense parts of this drama because it’s a crime thriller, the characters are super funny and all work perfectly together to create a comedic element. Honestly this show was almost perfect for me, and I’m very picky.

Shopping King Louie (romcom): Ridiculously fun and lighthearted romp following a spoiled and useless chaebol with amnesia who is being taken care of by a country bumpkin in the city. Very low stakes, super adorable couple, and as many tropes as you can fit in your bag, this one is one of my favorites to recommend.

Flower of Evil (psychological thriller): A psychological thriller centered around a jewelry maker who is running from his past, and his cop wife (power couple alert!)  who doesn’t know his original identity. The chemistry of the couple is amazing and all of the characters are nuanced and interesting. I was on the edge of my seat, AND sobbing! Also, I finally understand Lee Jun Ki stans, he was SO GOOD in this!

Extraordinary You/ A Day Found By Chance (fantasy/romance): This magical k-drama has my heart. It plays with all of the predictable tropes and then just goes crazy! While not perfect towards the end, I give this show bonus points for being super creative AND inspiring me to read a LOT of fan fic. I think about this drama more than any other.

Extracurricular (thriller): An unusual, fast paced thriller about an introverted high school boy mixed up in a prostitution ring. His crush gets involved and well, I don’t want to say what happens but it’s a wild and crazy ride. There really is not another k-drama like it. I like to refer to it as the least k-drama-y kdrama I’ve ever seen.

Where Your Eyes Linger (BL web drama romance): A super cute BL web drama about a boy who is hired to be his friend’s body guard. There is a lot of tension and pining, and I fell in love with the stories pacing and the chemistry between the two leads.

Just Between Lovers (romance/melo): Slice of Life romance between poor trauma babies just trying to live! The OTP is one of my favorite couples EVER and even as the years go on, very few couples have matched their love in my opinion. There’s a lot of comfort/healing themes with for me is just *chef’s kiss.* Lee Junho became my bias wrecker because of that drama.

Have a Nice Dessert (another cute web drama): If you’re looking for low angst and a super soft boy, this is your drama!! It’s a web drama (youtube) about a girl who loves photographing desserts and the boy who likes her.  Like all web dramas, it’s short, and there’s really no time for angst and breakups :)

The Best Hit / Hit The Top (romcom): A famous 90′s boyband dude travels into the future and meets up with his family and friends in this really cute drama featuring Yoon Shi Yoon. I LOVE Yoon Shi Yoon in pretty much everything but this role was made for him - he is hilarious. It’s a slice of life but features the k-pop music industry so the setting is unique.

The Smile Has Left Your Eyes (psychological thriller): This drama has a lot of psychological thriller-y aspects but the style of filming is really interesting and the leads could not be more angsty (especially the guy). It takes them a while to get together and while not entirely pleasant, this show is one of my faves.

Into The Ring (workplace/romcom): The perfect slice-of-life rom com! Goo Se Ra has trouble holding down a job due to her passionate personality so after she loses her latest job working for the ML, she decides to run for a small government office position because it pays a salary. Literally she does it for the money which is just *chef’s kiss.* The show is about her dealing with local politics and it’s SO FUNNY and smart and the OTP is the best! 

Hospital Playlist (workplace/friendship): This slice-of-life drama featuring five college friends who all work at the same hospital came to my mind first. Chae Song-Hwa is one of the most interesting characters I’ve ever seen in a drama and I love the depth and care the drama gives to every single person featured. There is some romance but it’s the hospital and friendship dynamics that make this show a must see.

Psycho But It’s Okay (melo/romance): A gorgeous k-drama using fairytale narrations as a backdrop, features two brothers who lost their mother, and a beautiful & famous author who grew up in a traumatic and abusive household. Everyone is very closed off and holding onto intense pain, but the three come together to help one another move on and find happiness. Gorgeous angsty and melodramatic romance. Best friendship ever, and literally the prettiest lady I have ever seen.

Age of Youth 1 (slice of life): Age of Youth/ Hello My Twenties is one of the best k-dramas that centers around strong female friendships. A group of wildly different girls find themselves rooming together in an apartment. Lots of romance too, but the girl’s lives and friendships are the primary focus.

Her Private Life (romcom): Park Min Young really knows how to pick dramas. I loved this one about a museum curator who is secretly a fangirl obsessed with an idol. It’s fun and fluffy but does have a very mild childhood trauma thing with his mother but I mean, 99% of dramas like this do? If you like this one, Touch Your Heart and Why Secretary Kim are by the same person and have similar vibes.

Thirty But Seventeen (romance/found family): Precious puppies with past trauma! Don’t be turned off by the shows description as it turned out to be one of the best surprises of 2018 for me. The leads are lovely and everyone relies and supports one another - it’s so sweet.

Melo Is My Nature (slice of life): This drama is by far my favorite slice-of-life drama of 2019. Found family, strong and complex characters, I laughed, I cried. Plus a gay character that’s an actual character, with the gay as a casual side note (classy k-drama!!) It was just a perfect show for me. There’s romance, but all of the stories are super interesting.

[hachichimitsu]

top 5 fanfic tropes!

You always know what buttons to push to never get me to shut up 😫 You have opened a can of worms, Ella, A CAN OF WORMS!!

These aren’t in particular order btw because man, I tried ranking these 5 but I CAN’T. I physically can’t:

1. Hurt / Comfort: I can go on and on about why hurt / comfort fics legit give me life. The idea of achieving a sense of comfort within each other after moments of pure emotional pain is just so…*cries in hands* like I will eat that shit up every single time. I just like fics where the main central focus is about healing and finding pleasure again in the little things, and hurt / comfort fics are just so good at exploring the different love languages each character craves AND what they offer to their partner. I don’t think I’ve ever read a “sick fic” that was bad. Like even if the grammar is poor or it’s short or it’s pretty basic in plot, the essence of hurt / comfort in sick fics are usually never tainted or mismanaged. It’s like the heart and soul to any fic out there. Plus, I think it’s interesting how just as you read the characters getting the relaxing comfort and happiness they deserve, you are also “healing” along with them. So by the end of the fic, it’s like your mind is fresh and life is good again. Usually if I’m having a bad day, hurt / comfort fics are my immediate go-to.

2. Canon Compliant: I think being able to utilize canon events and adding your own unique spin to it is such a genius idea! It’s pretty hard to actually execute such a task in my opinion, which is why when I see one that’s done well, I’m like *surprised pikachu face*. You’re sort of forced to have the characters act “in-character” without ruining the integrity canon brings you, as well as still having the events fit within its timeline. Which is like….so hard since you’re trying to write something supplemental to canon, not a divergence from it. I think if a canon compliant fic has successfully clarified and expounded on something that felt “missing” from the original source material, then it’s done its job.

3. Found Family: This can also be applied with hurt / comfort, but I like fics where there is a large cast of characters that explore dynamics and friendships. The idea of finding solidarity within others, being able to grow with the people who actually see your worth and having nice, humorous banter between friends are just so fun in fics! I like lighthearted things, I like group camaraderie and I like seeing characters stick by each other no matter what. I guess it’s like the people-oriented aspect of my personality that just enjoys these.

4. Strangers AU: Imagine….if they never knew each other until way later on in life 😳 I like first encounter fics, especially since they explore (god how many times have I said that word) how these characters fare without the other in their lifetimes. How would Person A have grown up without having Person B in their life? It’s an interesting question to behold and truly highlights how the people you have in your circle really does influence the type of person you become over time. I love fics where it’s like “where have I met you all my life, it’s like I’ve known you for years now”. Or “wow, I grew up feeling this inner pit of emptiness, but then I met you and things finally make sense now.” Just…..like the idea of how “we were destined to meet again” and how magnetic the two characters are like missing puzzle pieces even having never talked before is *clutches heart*. I’m being so dramatic but it’s GOLD. Pure gold.

5. Tearful Farewells: Yeah, I obviously have issues because I LOVE reading fics that make me sad. Like seriously, there must be something wrong with me because I love feeling that excruciating pain of painful goodbyes. The idea that this will be the last time these two characters will ever get to do this. Them being in deep denial about the events that will unfold eventually, maybe cracking jokes that “maybe it won’t happen. maybe there’s a way out of saying goodbye to each other”. Them trying to find a way to prolong their stay, only for things to become fruitless in the end because it just “can’t happen”. The false sense of hope they keep telling themselves. Them trying to enjoy their last moments with each other, as time is ticking away. The bittersweet sorrow that comes with it. The end of a chapter. Why do I have this masochistic pleasure of doing this to myself?

[rae0fsunsh1ne]

Things that bugged me about the final season of CAOS:

if you enjoyed the season or you disagree with my thoughts here, that’s totally fair! everyone experiences media differently ^.^ escapism is super important so enjoy the things you like! i don’t want to argue with anyone, these are just my opinions. also, this is gonna be hella long, i’m so sorry..........

Sabrina “Morningstar” had a completely different personality to Sabrina  as if she was from an alternate universe or had been fully brainwashed. It didn’t make sense because she’s not actually a different Sabrina, until the time loop they both had lived the exact same lives and experiences and were literally the same person. Then all of a sudden little miss red headband is totally stoked about ruling Hell and is head over heels for Caliban and has a happy relationship with her dad, yknow Lucifer who possessed her boyfriend and terrorized her to sign his book and all the other horrific stuff he did

Speaking of which, suddenly Lucifer is a chill cool dad and all lovey to his daughter and not the literal monster he was shown to be for three seasons?? Because he’s the goddamn devil, the beast, satan himself. But now he’s just a Dad™..... Wtf?

And Caliban! I don’t even ship Cabrina but I was so disappointed that we didn’t even get to see any of the fun stuff of them getting closer and building a relationship, it was just thrown at us like “oh yeah btw we’re in love and getting married like right now” No! I wanna see the sexy flirty fun times, that’s the best part! C’mon!

Also, Sabrina and Harvey should have ended up together. Don’t even @ me. They’re meant to be! The show hinted at it, heavily, and never followed through with any kind of pay off. It felt like a bit of fan pandering because Nick was the more popular fandom choice (admittedly, the actor is a total babe but tbh they all are so, *shrug*)  and also the actors playing Harvey and Roz are dating in real life. They seem adorable irl, but that shouldn’t sway the writing. There should have been a tie in to the Aphrodite thing and a “true loves kiss” to save Sabrina’s life, with like Nick going first and when it doesn’t work they all turn to Harvey out of curiosity and desperation and he tentatively kisses her and boom she wakes up. I would feel bad for Roz though :( but still, Habrina 4evr

Speaking of Roz though, her storyline was cut so impossibly short. There was so much potential there for her coming into her own with her powers and learning more about the history of her family. I would have loved to see that.

AND THEO!!!!! DESERVED!!! MORE!!! SCREEN TIME!!!!!!!! I just love that boy, he is so precious and brave and his relationship with Robin was just blossoming and it was adorable and they both deserved so much more. And I want to know more about Theo’s connection with his aunt Dorothea. I really really want to know about the hobgoblins and the fae realm!

And can we talk about how many musical numbers there were? I am a huge musical theatre fan and I friggin’ love a musical episode, but even I was getting sick of it. There were just too many. It changes the vibe of the show, which pulled me out of it. The previous seasons had established a pretty clear tone for the show, very dark, and yes there were moments of the more comical and lighthearted things but s4 didn’t capture that balance right. In a lot of ways it felt like a completely different show.... it was weird.

All in all, I was having a good time, also kind of compartmentalising the shift in tone but still enjoying it, up until it got to the last couple episodes and then the ending.....ugh. 

She shouldn’t have died. Flat out she shouldn’t have, it felt cheap.

And I am super uncomfy with how casual yet romantic Nick’s suicide was treated. They just tossed it in there at the end, oh yeah he killed himself and it’s totally chill, now they’re going to walk off into the sunset of the afterlife together forever. But that’s not a happy ending. That’s pretty fucked up. Yikes

I think that’s everything...... that’s everything I can think of right now anyways

There was so much more potential for the show, if they had just gotten another season or two to flesh things out. But that seems to be the way with shows these days, especially on Netflix. The seasons have few episodes and then on top of that they get cancelled before the full story gets told. It’s so disappointing.