#too late now WHEEEEE!!!!!!!

[edsbacktattoo]

🎶 (your new icon makes me happy)

Adrian!!! hello my beloved <3 my icon also makes me happy and so do you 😌✨

for YOU!!!!

Or!!!

i actually really struggled to slim this down to two lmaooo but i hope you like them!! :) i went for songs that sound a little bit like running through a dense and dark forest, ya know? ego is one of my favourite songs ever so i hope you like it! <3

send me a 🎶 and i’ll assign you a song

[pawbeanies]

noo i don't WANT to yearn i dont wa (hit with the yearning curse) NNNOOOOOOO

[zoppzoop]

knock knock, did someone order a monthly check up? bcs hello!!! i hope ur good lish!!! pls tell me 5 of ur favorite things ur enjoying or doing these days, songs or anything! hope ur taking lots of rest, and eating well! also, just wanted to say ur art! sooo cool i cant believe everytime im mutuals w such an amazingly talented person! have a wonderful time for ur coming birthday too, hope ur well!! (solar)

also ps: can u pls remind me again when ur birthday is i think its on 25th may? but i forgot to mark somewhere and now i forget and keep forgetting everyday and sit in this imaginative horror of oh wait fuck did i miss it ??? tha nk

RAHAHHHH HI SOLAR <3333 i absolutely love you and your monthly check ins <3333333

5 things ive been enjoying lately? hmm 1. I caught up with shadows over welde and am going absolutely bonkers over it (its another dnd campaign who wouldn't guessed skldjfa) 2. been drawing a lot as usual! but haven't really been able to finish anything other than comms because well,,, artblock kinda </3 gonna get my ipad soon so that's something im looking forward to!! 3. rn im watching prime defenders (another jrwi campaign) and WHEEEEE its so fun!!!! 4. picked up my guitar again after a long time so that's been fun! my fingers hurt so much more tho but hhhH practice might help that and 5. I've also been catching up with dungeon meshi and 'the guy she was interested in wasn't a guy at all' which is an amazing manga and Im absolutely in love with the characters and the art

ALSO ksldjfkds solar,, i am so sorry to break it to you but my birthday already passed T^T dkjfasdlk it was on 14th ddjlskdf BUT REALLY THO DONT FEEL BAD ABOUT MISSING IT KSDLJLFSDF ITS COMPLETELY FINE!!!!!!! <333333333

[belethlegwen]

You are so wonderful and I hope things smooth out for you sooner rather than later. Obviously you should prioritize yourself first (god knows we all have sooo much good fic of yours to reread), but it leads me to a question I’ve been too shy to ask 👉👈 how do you feel about recursive fic about your fics/characters? Would you be ok with us sharing it with you/others, crediting you for the creation of such good characters of course? I have serious Stranding/Rescue brainworms and it’s making me want to write drabble & fluff for the first time in a long time 💕 of course it’s fine if you’d be more comfortable with me not posting it — either way, thank you soooo much for sharing this lovely world & worldbuilding & all the characters within. I will be rotating them in my head for years no matter what 🙇

Hello and good morning! Or afternoon, I'm not sure. I'm drafting this answer over a late breakfast because I got a precious day of sleeping-in and I'm still thinking deeply about it.

Firstly: I want to hug you so tight (if you were down) because this is wildly sweet and flattering, thank you so so much for reaching out at all even just about the works, but the wishes that things smooth out are highly appreciated ;-; We're looking… solid? Right now? But there's still so much up in the air and hhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh I won't bore you with it, it's not the reason I'm drafting this out.

ABOUT RECURSIVE WORKS [very long, read under the cut, tl:dr summary at the end]:

I would love it. I would genuinely, honestly love it, with the caveats that you laid out that proper credit would be given (thank you so much you lovely beautiful soul), that it be clarified wherever it is shared that it's based on characters/settings/storylines of the current works, but truly importantly that it would clarify that the works are actively still being written at this time.

That's my biggest hesitation, if I'm being honest. The stories are both at this time unfinished (they are all unfinished, I am a creature with heavy need to process things through writing and, quelle surprise, I am never truly finished processing anything, new shit just needs to get processed, wheeeee) and being that they're unfinished, there's a chance that any recursive work could hit on a scene/plotpoint/moment that I've already got plotted out for the future. I'm not Neil Gaiman or anything, I'm not planning to make money off of this work, so it's not my concern that you or anyone else is gonna turn around and try to sue me for stealing something or whatever-- that's not the problem. I just don't want you or anyone to feel at that point that the effort you put into something was then copied and put in the main work or something.

It's an odd situation. The odds of it actually BEING a problem I know are astronomically low, but I didn't get to where I am today without chronically overthinking everything.

I love that you have a desire to create, and I do not know who you are-- I don't know if you already have projects and characters of your own and just want to branch out with something familiar-but-new, but I want to encourage you to use this energy and focus for writing all the same. If you can put it into your own works, hell yeah, but also: yes I would be flattered if you used my dorks and their silly little worlds. It's just the concern where I'm not finished with the stories yet. I just am, again, overthinking and overworrying, likely, but if I could stop doing those things then life would presumably be easier.

I would be absolutely down for like, experimental works I believe is the best term for what I'm looking for. Characters and stories based off of my works that are wholly new. Want to write a refracted AU about Melinda and Hank in Space? Fuck yeah, yes. Though I mentioned this to Zip and they immediately told me No, We're Doing That One and we laughed about it for a hot minute, so maybe not exactly those names hahaha

I guess another question here is, if you were to put in the effort and the focus and the pride of writing something based on my characters, of a scene you had in your head, and got through the beauty and pain of creation to get it down and then put it out there, how would you feel if something similar then happened in the main work? Not the same, not based on what you did, but that similarity still there and still noticeable at least to you. Like if someone had written (before I had posted them) something similar to Melanie being involved in a Naval battle, even though I have the receipts that that arc was written in November of 2022 and only finished posting in September 2023, I don't know how they would feel to still see that like, a similar idea had been there.

On one hand, personally, I love being in the G/t community and reading other people's works when I have the spoons and focus and time to do it, because I love that something as simple as "small person falls and big person catches them" permeates the ideas so often, and what that can mean to dozens of different creators. Refracting the same light through a diamond and watching the facets all scatter it differently, etc etc. It's beautiful. It makes me happy. But that's a personal thought, and I know how deep and personal writing can be. I know how much the process of creation can mean to the individual. I don't want you to go through that, to write something beautiful even if just for yourself, and then think in some possibility later that because I did something similar I was trying to do it 'better' or whatever. It's not the case, it's never the case.

So, after chatting about this with people I love in this community (I love you Zip and Kelly <3), I think the solution is: If you want to chat with me about the like, basic bare-bones of the ideas you might have just to give me a heads up, and I can let you know if it's something that'll be in the main works soon and if I'd rather you wait on something, or if I'd go 'oh fuck yeah, go ham', I would adore to chatter away with you about it all regardless. I'd love to chatter with you about writing in general! My characters, your characters, whatever. I'm down. Please feel free to hit me up and I'll get back to you whenever I can <3

Let me know what you think! Thank you so much for the sweet message and the ask!

Cheers,

~ Belle

[TL;DR]

When it comes to recursive works I'm interested and open to them provided they're not something major/heavy I'm planning to tackle too soon in the future canon, as the works are still being written and posted. I am always down to receive DMs about writing, and would prefer to get messages about the recursive fic ideas (as vague as you'd like them to be!) just so I can give a quick yes/no on if it's something I'd rather you wait on until I can get it out myself, or whathaveyou. I don't see this being a huge problem, and if you're good for chatting then I'm positive we'll have a good time with this <3

Writing recursive fics for my existing, in-progress works means agreeing to the caveats that credit be given to me and the existing works, and clarifying when posting that the fic is not canon and the works they're referencing/possibly based on are still in progress/being written. It also means accepting that there is a chance that things tackled in your fics may be similar to things that have not yet been posted for said works.

When it comes to experimental fiction based on my characters, settings, or plot: hell yeah go full 50 Shades if you want to. File the serial numbers off of it and/or write something New Enough. It's what I did to Jonathan Swift, please feel free to do it to me hahaha.

Shortest answer: Yes, just send me a quick message first <3

[gentle-hero-blog]

as a special treat for doing my work i'm throwing my hat into the "is Echoes a good sequel" discussion WHEEEEE

Story-wise, some people think it's weird but personally I love that Echoes is a sort of "quieter" mission in between the big galaxy-changing plot-heavy adventures of MP1 and Corruption. Samus is still mulling over everything she discovered on Tallon IV, quite possibly weighed down by the fate of the Chozo who died there. They spoke about her by name in the lore scans* and yet her efforts did nothing to help them. They couldn't; she came along far too late. So now she's called to Aether, probably still grappling with all she learned on Tallon IV, and soon enough she's presented with a chance to do what she couldn't on her previous mission.

The parallels between the Chozo and Luminoth are indisputable, with the Luminoth on the brink of meeting a similar fate to the one the Chozo met in the game prior. And with the Luminoth, Samus got there soon enough to prevent it from happening. This time she can actually save someone!

Although I don't doubt she would have done it anyways (<literally trapped on Aether if nothing else), I really think Tallon IV and the fates of the Chozo were a big motivator in her lending a hand to the Luminoth. She went to Tallon IV and it made little difference, with the Chozo who looked to her for hope long dead before she got there, but she went to Aether and emerged having made a world of difference to the dying Luminoth. Samus then enters Corruption with new resolve that she can make a difference; her efforts are worth something. I think this victory helps to carry her through Corruption to an extent.

That's what I think Echoes is tbh. Samus proves to herself with this mission that her efforts have a tangible impact. In many ways, Echoes feels separate from the other two games but I love how it feels like both a respite** from the stuff we encountered in MP1 and the calm before the storm of Corruption. most importantly it brings her into the final part of the Phazon saga with a new mindset after the very ambiguous victory on Tallon IV.

*in the gamecube version I played. still so salty they retconned these in the Wii trilogy they were my favorite part of the game ToT

**in the middle of a dimensional war. lol

[softprettything]

late bloomer, ch 10

AO3 | Previous | Next

Fandom: OHSHC

Pairing: Kyoya/Reader

Tags: 18+, A/B/O Dynamics, College AU, Fake Dating, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Slice of Life, Eventual Smut

Taglist: @silverhetdanes @lampalooza

late bloomer, ch 10

You wake up in your own bed, which is good.

You’re also surrounded by empty wine bottles and cups, which is…less good. 

Doesn’t matter. You can clean those later. Right now, you let your eyes flutter back shut, planning to get whatever additional sleep you can before your alarm goes off. You smooth your cheek against the pillow, which seems almost to be rising and falling beneath you.

Oh, shit.

Not a pillow; a chest. A person. And all you have to do is let your gaze wander ever-so-slightly upwards to confirm that wonder of wonders, miracle of miracles, that person is none other than Kyoya Ootori. He stirs. Slightly. He must have felt you move your head. 

“Kyoya,” you whisper. He doesn’t respond. You try again. “ Kyoya.”

His arm tightens around your waist, and you feel his chin against the top of your head. Before you can even consider what you’re doing, your eyes close again; your leg curls over his hips, your face tipping up to rest against his neck. 

The panic and embarrassment you should be feeling? Nowhere to be found. It’s buried beneath half a dozen layers of a deep, heavy calm, too powerful to fight. You let out an involuntary hum of contentment, pressing your hips more firmly into his, and—

He jerks awake. 

The sudden movement shakes you out of your fog, and simultaneously the two of you leap to opposite ends of your creaky twin bed. He hits the wall; you fall off, You scramble ungracefully to your feet. “I didn’t—um.” You grab his glasses from your nightstand, and toss them at him. “I’m going to go brush my teeth.”

And with that, you bolt from the room.

“What did you do?” you whisper to your reflection.

In your early college days, when you went out more, you took a specific pleasure in going to the bathroom, mid-party, and looking at your face in the mirror. Examining it. That is me, you would think. That is me and I am drunk, wheeeee--

Now, you find yourself doing the same thing—regrettably sober.

You look down at your clothes. Pajamas. You do remember putting on your pajamas. You remember opening the door; opening the wine; passing out after Kyoya left for water. You don’t remember him coming back.

So you didn’t sleep together, then, you just…slept.

That calms you down a bit. You set about actually brushing your teeth, washing your face, combing your hair. 

When you get out of the bathroom, you half expect him to be gone, but he’s still here. Leaning against the doorframe to your closet-sized-bedroom, holding two steaming mugs. He is also dressed in yesterday’s clothes, rumpled but still obviously expensive.

“Coffee?” he asks. You take the mug to be polite. “I called a car.”

“Oh. Good.” He sips his coffee. You put yours down on a little shelf built into the wall. “I’m sorry about…all of that.”

“All of what?”

“You know. We don’t have a proper guest room, or anything,” you improvise, trying to convey your intended meaning without flat out saying sorry for snuggling up to you in the middle of the night like some kind of drunk koala. “I mean, we don’t have a couch. Or, like, any floor space whatsoever. So I appreciate you being cool with sharing the bed.”

“I’m the one who showed up unannounced.”

“At Haruhi’s request. And besides, I invited you in,” you say, and how has this become an argument over whose responsibility it was that you woke up cuddling? “And then proceeded to foist alcohol upon you.”

“I think you foisted more alcohol upon yourself than on me,” he says, his voice wry. 

That’s true—you drank more than him, and you’re a lightweight to begin with. Oddly enough, though, your head feels entirely fine. “I’ve had much worse nights out. Out and in.”

“I’d agree. This was one of my better nights in, as of late.” He checks his phone. “And it seems H and T are still occupying my apartment, so. As much as I regret imposing on you, I can’t say I’m not grateful.”

“Right.” You lean against the wall, and slide down until you’re sitting more comfortably on the floor. “What a shitshow.”

“You know, coffee might not fix a broken heart, but it’ll at least do something about the hangover.”

You shake your head. “I don’t drink it. Sorry. Not that I don’t appreciate it. It was nice of you.”

“A grad school student who doesn’t drink coffee? I didn’t have you pegged as that much of a masochist.”

“Guess you had me pegged wrong. But I do drink tea.”

“Noted.” His phone buzzes again. “Car’s here. I’ll see you tomorrow?”

Tomorrow. Monday. In class. Right, it’s Sunday already. Christ, all the unfinished work you have to get done…

You nod, giving him a small smile. “See you tomorrow.”

“Thank you again for the hospitality, (Y/N). Especially the wine.”

“Wait!” You stand up, reach out a hand. Without having to be asked, he hands his phone over, still unlocked. You text yourself his name, then pass it back to him as the two of you walk to the front door. “There. Now you have my number. Feel free to shoot me a text if you ever get sexiled again.”

“Thank you.”

“Not going to return the offer?”

He shrugs. “I strongly doubt Tamaki would elect to stay here in the face of…” He peers back over your shoulder at the world’s tiniest living room. “Literally any other option.”

“Fuck off.” You can’t help but grin as you say it.

He smiles as the car pulls up. “Have a good afternoon, (Y/N).” And with that, he’s down the stairs, down the sidewalk, and gone.

Afternoon? You look at the time. Sure enough, it’s a quarter to one, which means… shit. Shit!

It takes you ten seconds to yank on shoes and a coat and take off running.

*************

“Sorry, sorry!” You get around the counter and scribble your name on the clock-in sheet just as the hour turns. At least the rain washed away the last of the snow and ice, which made your sprint slightly easier than it would have been otherwise. Kaoru regards you with amusement. 

“Careful there, (Y/N),” he says, “You’re only exactly on time .”

“Ha, ha.” You’re trying to slip your apron over your head while simultaneously tying your hair back. It is not going well. “You look like hell.”

“Why, thank you.” He pretends to flip hair back over his shoulder. “And in last night’s clothes, no less.”

“Worth it?”

“Never. It was that Zeta guy. The one from last semester.”

You freeze. “No.”

“Yeah.” 

“White Boy Dreads?” He nods, and you groan, tipping your head back. “Kaoru. Even you have better taste than that.”

“I missed the first half of this, but no, he doesn’t have better taste than whatever it is he did. Especially not after ten shots of Fireball,” Hikaru says. He yanks on one of the ties of your apron as he passes by, freeing you from the tangled mess you’d gotten yourself into. “You don’t look much better yourself. Are those pajamas?”

You look down. Silky white sleep set with little pink and purple hearts all over it, check. Bra, uncheck. Heat rushing to your cheeks as soon as you realize—check, check, check. “Shit! Is it that obvious?”

“Apron covers most of it. Stay behind the counter, you should be fine.”

“Right. Perfect.” You rub your eyes and shake your head, trying to wake yourself up. Trying to focus. “Remind me to never keep alcohol in the house ever again.”

“Hungover? On a Sunday? ”

“More importantly,” Kaoru says, “what I’m hearing is that you’d rather drink alone, in your shoebox of an apartment, than with us.”

“I wasn’t alone,” you say, “and besides, I wasn’t planning to get drunk, I just—”

“You weren’t alone?”

You freeze. “What?”

“Well. It’s just interesting, because…” Hikaru pauses to open his phone, and gives it a few taps before turning the screen to you. “I have it on very good authority that Haruhi was out of the house last night.”

You look at the picture — a beautiful candlelit dinner — then back at him with an unamused expression. “So by very good authority , you actually just mean Tamaki Suoh’s Instagram story ?”

He locks his phone, and slips it back into his pocket. “Fess up, (Y/N). Who were you with?”

“Doesn’t matter.”

“Doesn’t matter? You get laid for the first time in ages , and it doesn’t matter?”

“Nobody got laid last night!” Your gaze slides sideways. “Except for White Boy Dreads.”

Hikaru wrinkles his nose. “Ugh, Kaoru. Really?”

“Not the point. (Y/N) —”

“I should check on the register,” you say, and escape before he can get any further. You’re not exactly in the best mood to be receiving customers right now, but at least a perfect stranger won’t ask you anything more personal than whether or not you’re out of croissants. "Hey there, welcome to Ground Up."

"(Y/N)?"

"That's what it says on the tag—oh." It so happens that the person on the other side of the counter isn't a stranger. Or not a perfect stranger, at least. Bronze hair, bright smile— "Hi. You're—"

"Reese."

You nod. "Yes! I know. Sorry, I'm just—” such a mess this morning “—I, uh, what can I get started for you?"

"Flat white with oat milk, if you have it?” You try to keep your face neutral, though you catch Kaoru snickering in your periphery. “And…” Reese scans the pastry display. “I don't know. I'm stuck between the pumpkin bread and the Danish. Which would you recommend?"

"Hm. I’d usually say pumpkin bread, but…” You shift to a stage whisper. "This is the end of last week's batch, so it's not as fresh."

They chuckle. "Danish it is, then."

You pass off the marked up cup to Kaoru, and wave off Reese when they offer their debit card. "Don't worry about it."

"What?” They try offering it again. “No way."

“Please.” You shake your head, keying in the code to cancel the transaction. "It's the least I can do to pay you back after you rescued me the other week."

"And after you forgot my name this morning."

"I didn't—" They tilt their head, and you realize you're being teased. "Well. I knew it started with an R, at least."

"Honestly? Grateful for even that." You share a small laugh. They tuck their hands into their pockets. "Hey, I'm actually glad I ran into you here. I don't want to overstep, but..." 

“Oh?”

They hand over a different card—a business card, almost, but instead of their name and number, it's the name of the beta frat.

“Oh.” You hold it like you would a live slug. Then you remember yourself, and try to school your expression into that of someone who doesn’t feel as though they’re holding a live slug.

“We’re having a meeting tonight. Not a meeting-meeting, just this thing we do every other Sunday—I mean, usually we burn through a couple of agenda items for the first fifteen minutes, but after that it's just, like, a study hall. But more social.” When you don’t respond for a few seconds, they add (with a chuckle), “You don’t have to be a card-carrying member, I swear. Zero pressure. But it’s a good time, and I think you’d really fit the vibe.”

You’ve spent so much time avoiding Greek life at Ouran. And while half of it has to do with an actual distaste for frats themselves…you’d be lying if you said that was the only reason. 

There’s no shame in being a beta. You know that. You’re the first to proclaim that. Why, then, does it feel like that proclamation applies to everyone but you? 

For all your determination to not feel shame in your status, you’ve never felt comfortable taking up space in all-beta rooms. You don’t apply for beta-only scholarships. You at least have attended some rallies and donated to some fundraisers over the years, but for the most part school and work kept you so busy that anything else had to fall by the wayside. But it makes you feel like a sham. Like you’re all talk and no walk. 

You’ve tried to comfort yourself sometimes with the thought that academia isn’t nothing—this degree is the start of an entire career, an entire life, dedicated to the examination of dynamics. The work that Professor Suzuki and Abe and all the researchers like them are doing—the kind of work you want to do—is the type of thing that informs policies for decades to come. 

So no, academia isn’t nothing. It is, however, incredibly slow. Any progress you make will be subtle. It won’t come to fruition for years down the line. 

And…does it make you a bit of a hypocrite, this not-so-subtle avoidance of all beta spaces? 

You know your answer to that—yes. It’s just hard to shake this…this fear. The feeling that you’re not a good example of what a beta should be. The feeling that you should be happier. More content. More at peace with who you are. In truth, the idea of sharing a space with people who are so entirely secure in their—your identity—made you feel deeply inadequate.

Better late than never, right? 

You finish bagging their Danish, and move to hand it over the pastry counter to them. “Sounds cool.”

“Great! Hope to see you there.” They toss a few bucks in the tip jar, ignoring your protests. “Cool outfit, by the way,” they say over their shoulder on their way out.

You look back down at your pajamas, and immediately bury your burning face in your hands.

“Reese Barlow was your mystery date?" Kaoru lets out a low whistle. "Damn. Now I'm really embarrassed about settling for White Boy Dreads."

“The fact that you weren’t embarrassed before is embarrassing," Hikaru says from your other side.

“There was no mystery date, we just—hey!” That last bit is in response to Hikaru plucking the card out of your hands, and Kaoru grabbing your wrists to keep you from stealing it back. You hate it when they team up on you. "Cut it out!"

“ Epsilon Phi Cozy Quorums ,” Hikaru reads. “Oh. So they were just…recruiting you?”

You get your wrists back from Kaoru, and Hikaru hands you back the card. “I guess.” 

“You gonna go?”

“Maybe. I don’t know.” You shake your head, and put the card on the counter, next to the register, which you open to re-sort the bills. It’s rare to have a lull in the cafe during the afternoon on a weekend—part of the reason why you always make a point of arriving ten minutes early, to get ahead of the work rush—and God knows the twins aren’t the best at keeping things organized. “I have all this work I meant to finish last night—”

“Before you got distracted by your mystery date, right.”

You shoot Kaoru a glare. “And part of it is a paper that I’m also going to be submitting for this scholarship contest thing?”

“I thought you’d already won every single contest in the school.”

“Yeah, but this one—it’s the Jennifer T. Goodwin scholarship? It’s, like, the biggest one in the department. So it’s not just the money, it’s the prestige—although the money would help, obviously.” You sigh, flipping through a stack of ones as you think of all the free time an extra ten thousand dollars could afford you. “I could travel to other universities for document research, I could replace my laptop, I could cut back on my shifts at the cafe…”

“Less shifts at the cafe? You absolutely cannot win this scholarship,” Kaoru says. 

“Absolutely not.”

“We won’t let it happen.” 

You roll your eyes. “Don’t waste your energy on sabotage. I’ve lost it every year I’ve been here. Don’t know why I’d expect this year to be different.”

“Jennifer T…oh! I have heard of that, actually,” Hikaru says. “That’s the one Ootori wins every year, right?”

You freeze while shutting the cash drawer. “Who?”

“Kyoya Ootori. You know him, right?”

“Why would she? The only people she even talks to are us and Haruhi.” Kaoru hip-checks you as he carries a tray of replacements to the pastry display. “And apparently Reese Barlow, now.”

“Yeah, but Kyoya and Tamaki live together. And if he keeps beating her in this humanities scholarship thing, they must have had a class together at some point.” Hikaru turns to face you. “You ever run into him, (Y/N)?”

*************

According to the card Reese gave you, EpPhi’s monthly shindigs take place in the old church on the end of campus, which is A) a bit creepy, location-wise, and B) doesn't exactly ease your concerns that you're about to be indoctrinated into some kind of cult. 

But when you walk into the basement, you're met with an airy, well-lit space. Paper lanterns are stacked atop every open surface, in soft golds and blues; against the back wall, a line of foldout tables have been set up and laden with food. The rest of the space is filled with overstuffed chairs, couches, beanbags; plush-looking rugs where a few people are sitting crosslegged with plates of food in front of them. 

"(Y/N)!" Reese waves at you over from the main table. "Glad you could make it!" 

You walk over to them. "Yes! Sorry I'm late, I just—" 

"No worries. You came at a good time; we're pretty much done with all the boring administrative stuff, so now people are just mingling while we wait for the Trips to show up. Go on, get some food." 

The who? you want to ask, but they're already gone to greet someone else. You grab a plate of snacks and make your way over to the nearest empty beanbag. 

You weren’t going to come. It’s like you told the twins—you have work to do. As soon as you got home from your overlong shift at the cafe, you sat down with your laptop and forced yourself to read every single winning entry Kyoya had ever submitted to the JTG.

They were all brilliant, dammit.

You shouldn’t be surprised. You know he’s smart, obviously. And he wouldn’t have gotten first prize if the essays weren’t any good. But…God, it’s just so unfair. Not only does he clearly not need the money, but you’ll never forget what he said the first time he walked into your Austen seminar. Where does he get off, submitting to prestigious awards in departments he clearly doesn’t give a shit about?

And all of this is complicated, of course, by the fact that you have hung out with him in depth, and are finding it increasingly difficult to dislike him.

He hasn’t texted you since this morning. Not that you’d expected him to. But you did maybe want him to, loathe as you are to admit it. You spend all day at the cafe with the twins, and Haruhi’s text chain with you has mostly been reduced to her letting you know that she’s going to be out of the house again. You’re lonely.

And so—after many failed attempts to rewrite your own essay submission, after scrambling together a discussion post response for your class tomorrow, and after checking your empty message inbox an embarrassing number of times, you dug the little card out of your pocket and headed across campus. To make some new friends, maybe.

Of course, you didn’t exactly get to where you are now by being a social wunderkind. 

So you resign yourself to people watching. The room isn’t overly crowded, but there are a good number of people here. Reese, of course, talking to a group of newcomers by the window; people standing and chatting at the food table, people with laptops in one corner, people coloring in posters in another.

“First time?”

“Hm?” You turn. A girl—shorter than you, with long, honey-colored hair and a well-tailored red pantsuit. “Oh. Yeah. That obvious, huh?”

She laughs nervously. “No! I mean, I’m new, too. New-ish. This is my second one. It’s really fun, though, everyone’s really nice. Sorry, I am off to the worst start—Reagan.” She sticks her hand out for a firm, if fluttery, handshake; her hand feels so light, almost delicate, in yours.

“(Y/N).”

“Yeah—I think I saw you present at SecGen last year? Sorry, not that—I mean—God, I sound like such a creep—”

“Chill, Ri.” Another girl, tall and dark-skinned with close-cropped curls and the prettiest eyeshadow you’ve ever seen. “But yeah, we were both definitely at the panel. You fucking nailed it.”

You feel your cheeks grow warm. Your advisor last year had submitted your thesis project—which combined your interests in medicine and the humanities—to a university conference hosted at Ouran, one of the biggest academic events of the year for people studying secondary gender dynamics across fields. Being selected as an undergrad was a huge honor. Probably the biggest honor of your academic career. “Oh. Thanks. I’m sorry, I have the worst memory for faces—”

“Shut up, you were the one up on the stage. Don’t expect you to remember a couple of faces in the crowd. But you’ve met Reagan now—forgive her the fangirling. I’m Lou.”

The conversation flows more easily than you would have expected. They’re both undergrads, you find out—seniors, so one year below you—and waiting to hear back from engineering job interviews (Lou) and med school applications (Reagan). You don’t envy them. You remember the anxiety of being a senior and not yet having any concrete plans for the next year.

“I’m going to miss Ouran, though,” Reagan sighs. 

Lou snorts. “I’m not.”

“Oh, come on. When else are you going to get the chance to live somewhere this beautiful?”

“Beautifully racist, sexist, classist…” Lou ticks off on her fingers. “Look, will I miss waking up every morning and looking out my window to see buildings that look like literal castles? Yes. Am I going to miss being micro- and macro-aggressed at every quarter hour on the hour?” She shakes her head. 

A wave of relief washes over you. “Yes!” 

She looks at you. “Aren’t you literally going to school here? For several more years?”

You nod fervently. You love the twins, but sometimes it seems as though they occupy a different reality than you, in terms of struggling through Ouran. It’s nice to meet someone who gets it. “I thought it would be better in grad school, but if anything it’s so much worse. I mean, I love the work, but it’s just…”

Lou shakes her head. “And that’s��where we differ. God help me, I wouldn’t go into academia if I had a gun to my head.”

“As opposed to engineering, that famously easy field,” quips Reagan.

Lou holds up her hands. “As long as they pay me and they don’t assign me any five to eight page papers with one inch margins on some niche topic I don’t give a flying fuck about, I’ll be happy.”

As you all share a laugh over that, you’re struck by the warmth in your chest. Yes, you’re dirt poor and overworked and losing your best friend to a man who knows the difference between sauvignon blanc and chardonnay, and also losing this one fucking scholarship contest over and over again to a man who also knows the difference between sauvignon blanc and chardonnay. Yes, you are going to have to pull an all-nighter trying to rework your paper proposal into something salvageable to show T.A. Abe tomorrow. And somehow, in this moment, you are bothered by none of it.

“Hope you guys didn’t start the party without us!”

Until you hear that voice, and turn to watch as Olivia Freidmonte walks through the door.

[ectogeo-rebubbles]

ok i know about several of these fics already but post-second-skin and also (carl anderson voice from the movie version of jcs) damned for alllllll tiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiime

Thanks for the ask!

(for this WIP ask game)

Damned for all time is a Kira/Winn ficlet set during the scene in Strange Bedfellows (I think?) where Kai Winn goes to Kira for advice bc she's just learned she's been hearing from the Pah-Wraiths not the Prophets! It was inspired by a prompt (your prompt lol) for the Sapphic Summer event. But maybe they also fuck or at least kiss a little? I'm currently struggling with this one bc of the word limit for the event being only 100-250 words lol, and I keep going over that when I try to write it, so I need to really refine the idea down to like the Essentials. No snippet right now bc it's so in flux, sorry

Post-Second Skin first time is a Garashir getting together fic in which Garak has big, big exile angst. <3 Garak also maaaaaybe (definitely) has some unhealthy ideas about sex because he's never really been with anyone except as part of a mission. There's also a mismatch in their mindsets because Garak does not let on at first how very angsty he is and at first Julian only sees the flirty front he's putting up. So Julian's just internally like wheeeee we're finally fucking yaaaay ^_^ <3, and Garak is internally like oh no I am a horrible person, I am clearly somehow deceiving him into wanting to be with me and I can't do that to the man I love (oh no, oh fuck, I love him so much) T_T, and that angst all reaches a breaking point, after which Julian comforts Garak. <3

Post-Second Skin first time snippet below the cut:

He’d been invited over to make up for the late snack they’d had to postpone last week when he’d brought Julian the news of Major Kira’s kidnapping by the Obsidian Order. He’d been to Cardassia and back since then and he felt… Well, he wasn’t quite sure how he felt about that. 

Cardassia was the same as it had always been. The air tasted the same, the heat pressed against his scales like always. It was a little bit devastating that it was the same; his absence hadn’t mattered to anyone but him. 

And yet, it was also completely different. He was different now, exile having changed him in ways he hadn’t realized until confronted with his home again, and now everything that should have been familiar suddenly looked so strange to him. The difference had manifested in more obvious ways too, in that he had been, for the moment, working against the Obsidian Order to rescue a Bajoran soldier for a Federation commander. 

But all of that could have been forgiven, perhaps: he had been coerced after all. What was much less forgivable was how disconnected he’d felt, like there wasn’t a place for him here anymore. Like he could never go back. 

This station wasn’t home either. He knew that he was only allowed to stay because he’d made it a priority to make himself useful to the station’s new owners. It had been his idea in the first place to prove his value by helping out in the Tahna Los business, so he couldn’t begrudge the commander for putting him to use. He’d invited it. He’d auditioned for the role. A favor or two a year was usually an easy price to pay. 

But it had rattled him, to nearly be evicted just because he didn’t want to risk his life by breaking the terms of his exile. There was nowhere else for him to go that was far enough away from his enemies yet close enough that he could stay involved in Cardassian affairs. If he had to leave the station, he would never be able to prove himself to Tain or whoever else might be convinced to rescind his exile. 

And so as he sat here in Julian’s quarters, he wanted Julian to curl his arm around his waist and claim him as his own. He wanted this kind of thing often—and he was nearly certain that Julian wanted something more than friendship with him too—but he hadn’t dared get involved with him. Now, the usual longing was laced with something else, a desire for stability, a way to keep some measure of control on his life. If he were in a relationship with a Federation member—a senior officer on the station, no less—then he couldn’t be forced to leave so readily.

Garak swallowed. He could start something so easily. Julian would take him to bed if he asked, he was sure of it. And Garak would figure out how to please his alien body as quickly as he always had with his targets. He’d fill him or surround him or slide against him, do whatever he wanted, until Julian needed him, desperately. He’d make himself completely available to him, to use at his discretion. He’d give him so much pleasure and so selflessly that soon Julian wouldn’t be able to live without him, and would feel drawn to help him. 

Maybe Julian could even some day fall in love with him.

[homosociallyyours]

Hii! Hope the writing is going well?

These are the questions i want to ask if you're still answering: 5, 20 (related to 20, whichever answer you choose i would love details on this WIP)

Hiiiii it went well, I finished my draft!! WHEEEEE

my reward? answering this ask! so thank you :)

5) Do you have any writing superstitions? What are they and why are they 100% true?

Ummm not necessarily a superstition, but I do write in comic sans bc I read that it tricks your brain into thinking you're doing something very silly/not actually serious. And I believe it works for me!! So it must be true, right?

20) If a witch offered you the choice between eternal happiness with your one true love and the ability to finally finish, perfect, and publish your dearest, darlingest, most precious WIP in exactly the way you've always imagined it-- which would you choose?

I know this is supposed to be a hard choice, but. Love. For sure, no hesitation, I'll pick someone supportive sitting next to me on the couch and encouraging me to work on a new fic or an old WIP.

It doesn't hurt that I don't really have a WIP that's a darling to me at the moment. I have a couple that I really wanna finish, though. The next one I'm gonna tackle (hopefully for the end of next month, fingers crossed) is something that was supposed to be written for the reverse bang before last. It's got art by @becomeawendybird and UGH it's gonna be great once I actually write the last 2000 words or so. Details below the cut :)

So the prompt/art is girl direction and basically tax preparer Marcel/stripper Louis-- Marcel works for a big tax company that tweets about being able to help strippers with their taxes (in a cheeky, cute way) and Louis works at the Lusty Lady, a worker owned, unionized peep show in SF. Marcel helps Louis, and the two of them later go on a date and fall for each other. There's some good awkward moments in there and some sexy-ish ones too, imo.

I honestly think I could've finished it in time, but some outside pressures really got into my head and made me scared to finish. Basically I have a lot of sex workers in my life who I love and care about, including people who worked at the Lusty Lady, and someone on here heard that I was writing a stripper fic and got very upset with me, telling me I shouldn't write it bc it's disrespectful and harmful to sex workers.

My beta at the time was literally a sex worker? She is open about this, just to be clear, and I'm not going into this thoughtlessly. While I know I'm not gonna write something that perfectly portrays the experience of All Strippers with a story about someone working at this (pretty unique) spot in a very liberal city like SF, I was hoping to write something cute and fun but also respectful and informative.

ANYWAYYYY i valiantly pretended that i wasn't listening to this one person and did keep working on the fic, but it really got in my head and once I missed the deadline I had to limp over to something else. In case it's not obvious, I'm *still* not over it, and my only hope is that this person (with whom I'm in a mutual block, though I do know they're still active) doesn't know when i publish it and won't go after me for it.

so. uh. late April! hopefully! maybe finishing the WIP is all it will take for my one true love to find me??

** usually i like gossiping a bit, but i won't reveal the name of the person who came after me, so please don't ask. i didn't tell anyone at the time and i'm not starting now **

[heffrondriving]

no i'm not crying at how beautiful this album is. you are. i'm in utter shambles. no i'm not. yes i am <3

[onlyseokmins]

comfort • l.j.h. & k.m.g.

Pairing: lee jihoon x afab!reader x kim mingyu

Genres: smut (minors dni!), established poly relationship, teeny tiny angst of just having a bad day, basically just a sexci kind of comfort au

Warnings: poly/threesome sex ig, reader just having a bad day and the boys wanna make her feel better, swearing, gyuhoon dynamics, mingyu's a lil mean tbh, oral (fem receiving mostly), mentions of eating dinner, blowing on the coochie hehe, unprotected sex wheeeee, mhm bulge kink ig a lil, cum-eating hm, poor eating hygiene don't be like them lmfao idk i'm bad at this pls just lmk if i missed anything as always 🥰

WC: 2.4k

A/N: requested by the bestiest of bestie wives @onlymingyus a while ago but still seems like a good time to post it... Idk how "comforting" it ended up being but I hope you still enjoy it loml 💖💗💓💞

When it takes precisely two minutes longer than it normally does for you to come out of the bathroom, Jihoon knows something is off. He's very well accustomed to timetables and habits, especially when it comes to his partners. That's why he sits on the couch in your living room, waiting for you to walk by on your way to the kitchen where Mingyu is finishing up dinner prep.

He can hear the tiny sniffles you're more than likely trying to hide and frowns. You should never ever be shedding tears unless it is from sheer euphoria. The bathroom door opens and you shuffle out, pausing when his searching gaze lands on you.

"What's Gyu cooking?" you ask, voice sounding small and vulnerable so Jihoon simply pats the empty cushion next to him.

"More than likely a favorite dish of yours. He spoils you too much."

"And you don't?"

"No," he says as if he's not smiling when he kisses the top of your head, "I don't."

You bury yourself into his broad chest and strong arms, feeling safe and protected as you make yourself comfortable on his lap rather than beside him. "I beg to differ."

Jihoon's quiet for a couple minutes. He's not the best with words but his actions have always spoken clearly of the things he struggles to verbally express. You know that and welcome the comfort of his sturdy body and awkward but heartfelt caresses up and down your back.

He still feels slightly helpless when you start to sniffle again. "What's wrong?"

You shake your head, letting it rest on his shoulder. "Nothing."

"Doesn't sound like nothing."

"I'm just... tired," you admit, and although Jihoon nods you can't help but feel guilty.

"You've been working really hard and long hours."

"But you — "

"You've both been working absurdly hard." The two of you look up as Mingyu stands in the doorway with a frown, drying his hands with a handtowel. His wavy black bangs are pulled back in a cute little ponytail so they wouldn't get in the way while he was preparing dinner and his pout is on full display. "Neither of you has been getting proper resting time as of late."

A smile makes your lips curl up. The three of you constantly brought out each other's best similarities while making up for your obvious differences. It was the most loving and healthiest of all the relationships you had ever been in.

"C'mere, Gyu." Jihoon beckons the tall man over who continues to pout.

"Why? Dinner's gonna get cold."

"Don't you think there's something better to eat?"

You let out a quiet gasp when the hands rubbing your back encourage you to turn over so you're facing Mingyu, your back now pressed against Jihoon's firm chest. He lovingly grazes the underside of your covered breasts before trailing down to help you spread a leg over each one of his thighs.

Mingyu smirks with a shrug — devilish canines on display — and drops to his knees. "I guess naughty boys do always want dessert first."

Crawling towards where you sit, his large, warm hands replace Jihoon's on your thighs. You whine at how you can feel the way his open sigh heats through your thin sleep shorts. Fingers pull at his hair, tugging the (your) ponytail holder out so his bangs fall loose.

He giggles. "How am I supposed to see?"

"Do you really need to see to please her?"

"I like to enjoy the view of this pretty pussy, though. You know that."

"Don't talk about me like I'm not right here," you huff in embarrassment at the two of them causing Jihoon to chuckle.

"You're right, baby. We're supposed to be taking care of you... now get to work, Mingyu."

The younger man would protest as he usually does, their constant bickering not uncommon even during sex. However, he doesn't want to keep you waiting and takes off your bottoms only to peer up at you through his bangs with a knowing grin.

"No panties?"

"That's the rule around here, isn't it?"

"I'm just thankful that you listen."

"Of course she does," Jihoon interjects, "unlike a certain someone."

You're about to protest on behalf of Mingyu but end up letting out a silent gasp instead by the sudden motion of his tongue lapping at your cunt. You're not exactly wet considering this wasn't something you'd planned on happening tonight. But Mingyu's grunts of appreciation at your fingers brushing the hair off his forehead paired with the smooth actions of his plush lips gliding across your outer pussy lips are enough. Rather far too quickly, your arousal begins to gather but is quickly slurped up by his mouth.

Jihoon's busy spreading love and attention to your upper body. Normally he's more callous and collected, pinching harshly at your nipples or featherlight touches that have you begging with tears for more. But tonight, he's gentler. Kneading your tits without hesitation. Pushing them together and then cupping them upwards like the best support bra. Circling your areolas before rolling your tingling nipples between his thumb and pointer finger. And then his hands are diving under your shirt, repeating the same breathtaking ministrations on bare skin.

And he's loud. You can easily hear his unrestrained sighs of pleasure directly in your ear as he kisses up the side of your neck. Feel the way he hardens and stiffens against your ass as you lightly grind against Mingyu's mouth and subsequently, Jihoon's cock.

Normally, he's more distant. Commanding. Not pressed up against you but sitting across the room. Focused on creating the mood or guiding the direction. Watching you and Mingyu warm each other up before he physically joins in on the fun. But tonight, he knows you want the intimacy of both your boys. Once again setting things in motion and giving you everything you want, sandwiched between their two bodies.

In fact, it's Mingyu who's the meaner one tonight. You realize this too late, the excitement building as you practically ride his face with his cute nose bumping pleasantly at your clit. He's about to send you hurtling into a sweet orgasm that only dwindles out when two large hands suddenly still your hips. He nuzzles the side of your thigh as he catches his breath and with an intentional huff, blows on your fluttering hole.

You clench around nothing with a light sob.

"Don't tease her."

"The dinner I worked so hard on to nourish my loves is getting cold. I warmed up this cute pussy but should I let it cool down as well?"

"Mingyu — "

"I'm just kidding, Hoon." Mingyu interrupts and stands up, towering above the two of you sitting on the couch. He may be tall but his next actions truly give away the small puppy dog character he possesses. "I'll make sure our pretty princess gets what she wants. Cumming on my cock, that is."

"Who says it's gonna be your cock? Didn't even ask her." Jihoon clicks his tongue. "This is about you, darling. Tell us whose cock you want."

He tilts your chin back so your noses are almost touching, your other lover's firm grip remaining on your hips as your arousal starts to drip onto the couch. Mingyu hisses and attempts to catch it with his fingertips and licks them clean, although you miss the incredible visual because you're looking at Jihoon through your eyelashes. He's easily granting you the control that usually needs to be begged for. But with the ball suddenly in your court, you're uncertain about how to proceed.

Mingyu's dick was lengthy whereas Jihoon's had more girth to it. Either was delicious in any one of your holes. But if you had to be honest, Mingyu was better suited nestled in your cunt — his impatience at needing to be inside you always winning out plus his length managed to hit spots that you didn't even know existed before you met him.

Jihoon's thick cock was able to fit inside easier after Mingyu stretched you out enough but there was nothing better than the heavy weight of it on your tongue. The delightful ache in your jaw when you hollowed out your cheeks around him. Unlike Mingyu, there was no fear of damage to your esophagus. Jihoon was calculated and patient. Not necessarily gentle but he definitely had more control than Mingyu.

You hesitate. Knowing none of them would ever feel bad about who you choose because ultimately all three of you mutually chose each other. Still.

"Sweetheart, you've got to make a decision... I know you want to be filled up."

"Mhm, but Jihoonie... "

Mingyu groans when Jihoon sneaks a hand down to spread your cunt open. "Tell us, who do you want in this precious hole?"

You decide to make up your mind. Grabby hands towards the man standing in front of you. He grins cockily in triumph, quickly shedding his pants. His long, red dick slaps against your stomach as he leans over you to peck at Jihoon's lips.

"Knew you'd pick me, baby girl," Mingyu rasps. He takes your awaiting hands and wraps them around his length, encouraging you to guide it inside your cunt. He lets out a deep moan when he bottoms out, bracing himself against the back of the couch, and smirks eye-level at Jihoon who simply rolls his eyes. "So good for me. Fuck, this pussy is worth dying for. Always so goddamn tight."

You're gasping as he begins his brutal thrusts, powerful enough to cause your body to slightly jerk up and down over Jihoon's, ass deftly brushing against his crotch. You reach behind, fumbling for his cock that's deliciously hard but he halts you.

"Don't worry about me," he whispers in your ear, "just focus on Gyu doing his best to make you feel good."

"But — "

"You can sit on my cock and keep it warm while we eat dinner."

"Oh, she likes that," Mingyu informs unhelpfully, "shit — tightened up so much."

"You two love it when I talk dirty, huh. Gonna have to shut Gyu up some way though."

It's your turn to giggle, eyes sparkling when Mingyu's hips stutter against your own at the implication. "I have a few ideas."

You lift your shirt up to display your breasts that bounce in time to Mingyu's thrusts. He takes the hint and leans down to lather one in sloppy kisses and love nibbles. Jihoon hums in contentment and returns to twisting the neglected nipple between his fingers. At the same time, his other hand teases your clit before running a hand across where Mingyu's dick is entering you.

Mingyu lets out an animalistic grunt at the sensation, his pace erratically speeding up. Your tongue tangles with Jihoon's in an erotic dance as you bring him close to your lips by gentling pulling the back of his neck.

In and out.

Mingyu's burying his cock deep within you and Jihoon's fingers drift up to splay across your lower body where he can feel the bulge of his partner wreaking absolute havoc and pleasure in rearranging your guts. In fact, he can feel MIngyu twitch once more at the filthy gesture.

"She gonna cum yet?"

He answers Jihoon with a moan. "Yeah... she's clamping down so hard... fuck, 'm gonna cum too."

"Go on, loves. Cum for me. Fill up her pussy and milk his cock for all it's worth."

And you do. Wrapping your legs around Mingyu's back, bringing him closer into you. Gyrating your hips as you squeeze his cock even tighter inside your cunt prompting your exhilarating release and causing him to lean his forehead against Jihoon's unoccupied shoulder, gently teething at his collarbones as he fills you up with his delightful warmth.

"I think I'll die. Happily."

Mingyu slumps against you and you squeal. Although his weight is always a welcoming presence, it's suffocating being squeezed between two bulky men. Jihoon playfully nudges Mingyu so he can pull out his dick, rolling off to the side so the other man can collect the cum between your legs with an approving hum. You open up your mouth and Jihoon chuckles, letting you lick his fingers clean as he teases Mingyu.

"Our chef can't die."

"Is that all I'm good for?"

"You're the one who wouldn't stop talking about us eating."

"Because you should!"

"We should listen to him," you sweetly mumble in Jihoon's ear but let out a pleased sigh at the two comforting pairs of hands that run up and down your body. "You'll let me sit on your cock while we eat, right?"

"As promised. And if you are a good girl and behave, I'll do the dishes."

Mingyu suddenly sits up straight. "Deal. I'll eat her out again while you do that."

"Wha — "

"We're just taking good care of you," Jihoon's voice is low so Mingyu can't hear him when he heads back into the kitchen. Naked. "If you can get him to be quiet instead, I'll come back and let you cum on my face."

You share a smile, nodding in agreement. There were many, many ways to get Mingyu to behave, your heading spinning as you struggled to pick one. Jihoon's not done yet though, continuing to hold you in his lap.

"And I want you to start taking more breaks. More time for yourself. You deserve it, deserve the rest."

A kiss is placed against his forehead. "I know, I'll try. And you too — you work just as hard without stopping."

He rolls his eyes but Mingyu pops his head back in and shouts, "Yeah! You both rest or I'll go on a cooking strike."

You giggle as you stand up on wobbly legs and put on your top, squealing when Jihoon playfully delivers a light slap to your ass.

"We better listen to him or he might set the kitchen on fire... on purpose."

Mingyu greets you at the kitchen entrance with a proud smile, a corny candlelit dinner prepared on the table. The microwave dings with the last dish he had to reheat and you nudge Jihoon in the side.

"Surprised it didn't burn down while we were in there."

"These are fake candles. They're meant to look real," Mingyu announces like it's new technology, babbling quickly in his excitement, and you snicker as you seat yourself back on Jihoon's lap.

"I'm impressed."

"Yeah? I just want to make things nice for you guys."

"You always do. Now go put on some pants, Gyu. You can't eat naked!"

"What about you two?"

"Oh don't worry," Jihoon chimes in, "nobody is cumming while we're eating. That's for later."

onlyseokmins: September 2022 ©

[burnedwriter]

Hiiiiiiii so I really like angst and kind of want to make myself cry bc why not so can you maybe do Diluc seeing you with another character and assuming you're cheating on him? Miscommunication trope WHEEEEE

I love reading your stories okay babaiiii 💖💖

A/n:sorry for the wait,this fic took me a long time to finish since i wanted to make it as angsty as possible,i was really hesitant at first because it didnt came out as i expected but i hope you like it :)

Warnings:sfw,angst to comfort,mention of cheating,fighting,screaming,petnames

You and diluc have been together for some time now,you relationship was going great .everyday both of you would wake up and get ready to head to mondstadt.

you usually kept diluc company and also helped him with the customers,but today was different you told diluc that you would go to the antique shop to look and buy some stuff to decorate the winery before you come in the tavern to help him.

some time has passed and diluc started to wonder why arent you back yet? you told him you will be looking some stuff up in the antique shop and its been 3 hours since you were gone,you should be back by now.he tells Charles to take the bartender role for as long as he was gone to go look for your whereabouts and hastily left the tavern.

worry started to take over his body when he didnt see you at the antique shop,the possibilieties started to fog his mind,did the fatui took you?,diluc knew that the fatui were always keeping an eye on him due to his past and that he was the pillar of the wine industry in mondstadt,something that the fatui really wanted to take over for themselves

lifting his head up to look around it didnt take him long until he spoted you on the benches close to the windmills talking to someone,coming closer to see who it is ,he frozed when he realized that it was kaeya who you were talking to.seeing you both talk and laugh made his heart break into pieces,this couldnt be real he thought to himself,did you fallen for kaeya's charm like everybody else,he would lie to himself if he said that kaeya didnt have a way to pull people but he didnt expect you to fall for it too

he started to question himself,how long has your affair has been going on?is this the reason why you would always go to the antique shop just to talk to kaeya,were there any signs that he missed that you were unhappy and made you look for someone else?

the more he stared at you the more he felt his heart ache,he felt felt souless,was this really happening to him,defeated he made his way back to the tavern.

''you are back master diluc''charles greeted

but soon realised that there was something really off about diluc,he knew him better than most people and diluc was being overly quiet today more than normal

''is eveything alright master diluc''charles asked

''yes charles,there is nothing to worry about''diluc replied

walking behind the bar he continued to clean the wine glasses that were left off trying to forget what he witnessed by drowning himself into work

he heard the tavern's door open,he looked towards the direction of the door there was you standing there smiling with a bag on you left hand

''im sorry that im late diluc,how's work been?,i hope i didnt missed anything '' you asked him

''good''he answered.

''is there something wrong diluc?''you asked him but you were met with silence,what was wrong with him today,he was fine in the morning,did a customer made him mad while you were gone?he was always quiet but not like this.you went to ask charles if something happened while you were gone but he also didnt know why he was acting like that,making you worry even more,you cared a lot about diluc,and seeing him sad always made your heart break.

Thinking your night couldnt get worse,diluc avoided you through the whole shift,everytime you asked him ''what's wrong'' he would simply avoid both you and the question,so you waited until you went back to the winery to confront him in private

''everything is fine for the moment'' he turned to charles''if anything happens please let me know''he said, now turning towards you ''let's go home''

his answer was short and cold towards you,what ever happened really must have affected him badly.

Both of you arrived at the winery and you immediatly asked him again ''what's wrong'' but you were met with silence

''diluc just answer me already,im worried''tears of frustration started to run down your eyes

''why are you acting like you don't know''diluc said with his voice raised this was the final straw for him

''diluc what are you talking about'' it was the first time he ever raised his voice at you ,making you shake in fear

''you know what im talking about pretending to go to the antique shop and instead you are meeting kaeya''

''what!'' you said in shock,how could he ever think you will do something like that

''diluc you know how much i love you,how could you ever think i will do something like that to you''

''are you seriously playing dumb right now''

tears streaming down your face,did he seriously not believe you?

''how dare you accuse me of such act after everything we been through diluc''

''it's over,im done talking to you''diluc said still frustrated

and with that you both stormed in different directions. you went to your shared bedroom and locked the door behind you.laying on your on the bed the only thing you could do is cry.was your relationship over,you felt empty just by the thought of it,you couldnt think how your life will be without him,he knew how much you meant to him how would he ever think such thing.

diluc on the other hand went outside to take some fresh air,feeling himself finally calm and now with a clear mind, he thought,did he messed up and you were telling the truth this whole time,was this really the ending of you relationship just like that because of his stupid overthinking,he always pictured you as the person that will spend the rest of his life with,suddenly feeling a hand to his shoulder he turned around expecting to see you but instead he saw adelinde

''master diluc i heard what happened and im really sorry''she said

''its fine adelinde really,i messed up and it's my fault this whole started in the first plays''

''why don't go and talk it out master diluc,you know your mother and father also got into arguement and after they both calmed down they always talked it out and made up at the end''

he signed ''i guess it would be better if we talked instead of screaming at eachother''and processed to enter the winery again.walking upstairs he went to the rooom of your bedroom expecting that you locked yourself inside your and knocked at the door.

''sweetheart please open the door i want to talk to you''he said softly

breaking the silence he heard you scream from inside the room

''please leave me alone diluc''you said your voice hoarse and shaking from crying.

''i beg of you please love open the door''his voice full of worry.guilt started to take over him more than before,he knew he messedd up and now he was going to lose the love of his life because of that

''fine'' hearing the door click and swing open.there was you standing behind the door,eyes red from crying and the trails of your tears still visible on your cheecks

''what do you want diluc''you said your voice sounded souless stripped from all the happyness it had a couple hours ago

''i want to apologise to you,i wasnt thinking straight and overthought the situation,it's my fault this thing started in the first place please forgive me love'' holding your face with his hands making you look at him ''i'm just so afraid of loosing you that i didnt know what to do''

wiping your tears with his thumbs and bringing you closer to his chest, he placed his hands on your waist

''diluc how could you even think something like that,you know how much i love and i would never try to hurt you''you said placing a tender kiss on his lips

it was a soft moment between the two of you that you wished it didnt end,getting to see the vulnurable side of diluc unlike his usual fierce appearance,made you realise that how special you were to him

[lcdrarry]

LCDrarry Round-Up Post | Week 4

This is our last round-up post for LCDrarry 2021 ;D You have time to catch up on the works that posted during the week and hopefully leave lovely comments for our creators. Reveals are on 15 June! Wheeeee!

Happy reading, commenting and sharing! ;)

~Your LCDrarry Mods

PS: Please have a look at the author notes and tags on AO3 for additional information and more detailed warnings. Thank you!

PPS: Here are all round-up posts of LCDrarry 2021:

Round-up Post Week #1 

Round-up Post Week #2 

Round-up Post Week #3 

Round-up Post Week #4 (you're here ;))

***

Art

***

In the Shadow of Your Heart

Prompt: Howl's Moving Castle, 2004, Hayao Miyazaki Prompted by: the artist Author: Anonymous Art Medium: Digital Art Rating: General Warnings: sectumsempra scars, memory loss

Summary: When the recluded ex-Death Eater Draco Malfoy finds Harry Potter wandering around the hills, with no memory whatsoever of who he once was, he and Teddy decide to welcome him into their little family.

View "In the Shadow of Your Heart" on AO3.

***

Fic

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Sesame Seeds and the Entire Spectrum of Human Emotion

Prompt: "The Proposal", 2009, Anne Fletcher Prompted by: @prolix- Author: Anonymous Word Count: 9,530 words Rating: Mature Warnings: Nudity, Boat Incident, references to past abuse/neglect

Summary: Faced with exile, Draco pretends to be engaged to Harry Potter, who agrees to play along for Narcissa's sake. When they're forced to spend a weekend together celebrating the engagement with the Weasleys, they might try to kill each other, or... they might just fall in love. . Based on the movie The Proposal (2009), though you don't have to have seen the movie to understand the fic!

Read "Sesame Seeds and the Entire Spectrum of Human Emotion" on AO3.

***

My Fair Gentleman

Prompt: "My Fair Lady", 1964, George Cukor Prompted by: @ziezie13 Author: Anonymous Word Count: 20,766 words Rating: Teen and up Warnings: light alcohol use and mentions of child neglect by Dursleys

Summary: After an extended stay at Charlie's Dragon Reserve in Romania, Harry returns to London and makes a fool of himself at his first Ministry Gala. Minister Shacklebolt orders Harry to seven months of etiquette lessons with Draco Malfoy. Will Harry pull through and become an expert in PR? Will Draco manage to make over the biggest PR disaster the wizarding world has seen in years? Wouldn't it be loverly?

Read "My Fair Gentleman" on AO3.

***

saying yes (instead of no)

Prompt: "Schitt's Creek", 2015, Series Prompted by: the author Author: Anonymous Word Count: 21,022 words Rating: Explicit Warnings: canon typical alcohol and drug use, marijuana use, explicit smut

Summary: “It’s a general store that’s also a very specific store,” Draco grumbled. “Most people won’t realise this, but I want to market Muggle goods to the Wizarding world as well. I want something that will help boost the economy of the Hamlet and Muggles have so many amazing things we don’t have.” . Draco sighed again. “I think it would benefit everyone.” He glared at Emily. “But there’s not a single witch, wizard, or wix who will shop at a place owned by Draco Malfoy.” . “What if it’s owned by Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy?” Potter asked. . “That would be preposterous,” Draco mumbled. “Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy would kill each other before the store opened.” . “What if you didn’t?” Emily asked. Draco opened his mouth to let her know, they would indeed kill each other, but before he could say anything, she continued, “What if it turned into a lovely business?” . “There’s only one way to know,” Potter said. “I really think this is a good idea, Draco."

Read "saying yes (instead of no)" on AO3.

***

A First Look Into Resurrecting Mummies With the Aid Of the Chosen One, and Why It Should Be Advised Against (an Essay by Draco Malfoy, Assistant Archaeologist)

Prompt: "The Mummy", 1999, Stephen Sommers Prompted by: the author Author: Anonymous Word Count: 21,948 words Rating: Mature Warnings: minor violence elements

Summary: Draco hopes to find an ancient spell book rumoured to be in Hamunaptra after Astoria found a map to the lost city. If he makes this discovery, maybe the Magical British Museum will finally look at his application, and his annoying colleague will finally leave him alone. It’s a good plan, until Draco is reunited with Harry Potter for the first time in ten years, as the man is about to be hanged.

Read "A First Look Into Resurrecting Mummies With the Aid Of the Chosen One, and Why It Should Be Advised Against (an Essay by Draco Malfoy, Assistant Archaeologist)" on AO3.

***

Wicked Game

Prompt: "Jumanji", 1995 or 2017 Prompted by: @MysticKitten42 Author: Anonymous Word Count: 22,044 words Rating: Explicit Warnings: Sexual Content, Implied PTSD

Summary: Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy crossed a line during one of their late-night Astronomy Tower Bonding Sessions and neither are sure what that means. Not that they got particularly far, considering they were caught and assigned detention for their antics. And, now, they've been sucked into a boardgame. That's just fantastic...

Read "Wicked Game" on AO3.

***

Love in Three Parts

Prompt: "Bridgerton", 2020, Series Prompted by: Anonymous Author: Anonymous Word Count: 24,172 words Rating: Mature Warnings: Canon-typical content

Notes: Thanks so much to my beta, L, for all her help and her encouragement as I wrote this fic. Thanks to the mods for hosting this fest and to the Anonymous prompter who inspired this fic.

Summary: Draco has everything needed to be the diamond of the season. He has the looks, the pedigree, and if he should be short on the money end, well, it isn't up to him to convince anyone they want to marry him. And yet, he finds himself with no prospects and no suitable matches until Harry James Potter, Wizarding Britain's Most Eligible Bachelor, makes his first appearance in proper Wizarding society for the first time in five years. Together, they hatch a plan to secure Draco a husband and keep the debutantes' mothers away from Harry. And if someone should develop feelings along the way, well, the course of true love never did run smooth.

Read "Love in Three Parts" on AO3.

***

Outwit, Outlast, Outplay

Prompt: "Survivor", 2000-ongoing, Series Prompted by: @eletriptan Author: Anonymous Word Count: 30,976 words Rating: Mature Warnings: Brief homophobia, mentions of past health issues

Summary: Draco loves Survivor. Loves it. So when his job at the Dept. of Mysteries offers him the opportunity to go on as a contestant, he can't think of anything that could go wrong. He is sorely mistaken, but a little chaos turns out to not be such a bad thing. Featuring gratuitous descriptions of Survivor game-play, really jargon-y magical theory I got way too excited about, and Draco's best friend Isabelle being an absolute QUEEN.

Read "Outwit, Outlast, Outplay" on AO3.

***

Advantage Rule

Prompt: "The Queen's Gambit", 2020, Series Prompted by: @prolix- Author: Anonymous Word Count: 42,738 words Rating: Mature Warnings: Character death, Parental neglect, Brief references to eugenics, Sexual content, Mild homophobia, Alcoholism, Drug abuse

Summary: Draco's life has been struggle after struggle. He was exiled as a baby, his mother died, he was forced to live with muggles... Need I go on? Quidditch was supposed to be his escape, but how is he supposed to beat Victor Krum and take the world title if he can't even beat Harry Potter? ~No knowledge of The Queen's Gambit required~

Read "Advantage Rule" on AO3.

***

Please help promote the fest by sharing your favourite submissions, so more people can enjoy all the amazing new Drarry works of LCDrarry. Thank you!

Author and artist reveals are on 15 June.

[sushigal007]

Over to Chloe!

Who has forgotten how watering cans work. Chloe: Ahh, nice and refreshing.

I really like her new outfit.

Oh yeah, and here’s her random photobooth baby, Cody.

Chloe: Please hurry up and learn to talk, I don’t have cool alien mind-reading powers.

Remember when Marcel wanted to flirt with Chloe? Well she wanted to flirt right back, so I invited him over and let her and this is now officially the most interesting Marcel’s ever been. Chloe: And now you can go home. Marcel: But- Chloe: Got the aspiration boost, scram.

Yep, after one quick flirt, she decided she wanted to learn the skills to level up at work instead.

Adorable potty training face.

Chloe: This is all right for now, but maybe I should get an indoor dining table for when it rains.

The training continues.

Chloe: Hey, sunshine! Could you do me a favour and repair the sink? I’ve got stuff to do.

Stuff like: Cody’s birthday!

I have never seen a child look so... EAxis.

CC hair helps a little, but there’s no hiding those townie genetics.

Cody: Hi there! Don’t talk to strangers. Cody: Too late.

Townie: And now you have greeted me, I can enter the house, thanks! Cody: Please don’t. Townie: Too late.

Chloe: Why is my house full of townies? You forgot to give your kid the Stranger Danger talk.

Anyway. Turns out Cody’s OTH is cuisine, so he spends a lot of his time reading cookbooks.

Meanwhile, Chloe wanted to woohoo, so rather than me choose someone, I let her make a booty call, and she decided on Jim, her Twikki Island crush. Chloe: Show me what’s under that grass skirt.

Quick flight.

And to bed they go!

I locked it because her LTW is 20 lovers, but she’s actually way more interested in flirting than woohoo. Every time I let her flirt with someone, she instantly loses interest. Still, she doesn’t have any more interesting wants, so I leave it. Oh, and spoiler, pay attention to that roommate want.

Chloe: So how’s the weather on Twikki right now? Good?

Cody: But I read so many cookery books!

Jim: No. Nobody asked you. Jim: I’m still not doing it.

Some adorable mother-child bonding. Chloe: And the three bears lived happily ever after.

Cody: Turns out I just needed to read some different books.

Chloe: Hang loose! Elizabeth: Um, no thank you.

So! Remember that roommate want? It never went away and I suddenly realised that actually, there is enough space in the basement to house an extra person, so I got a few basic bits and let Chloe put an ad in the paper.

And here’s their new roomie. I’ve already forgotten his name.

Weekend, so I sent Chloe and Cody out to the park. Jason: Call me. Aren’t you gay? Jason: Not since I flirted with my wife.

Cody: Wheeeee!

Chloe: Holy shit, an alien I’m not related to, great to meet you!

Over to the spa for some Chloe time.

Not that Cody doesn’t have fun too.

Horrible idea. Let’s do it!

Buzz: So... anything else while I’m here? Chloe: Nope, that’s all I wanted, thanks.

Roomie autonomously cleans, we’re keeping him.

Roomie: Have you thought about taking a trip to Twikki Island yourself? Chloe: And risk you changing the locks while we’re gone? Lol no.

Still, they do risk leaving the house the next day to go to Sim Center North.

Chloe: Ladybirds. Thoughts?

Then a little fishing.

And we round off the week with Chloe inviting Ashley Pitts over for a little flirting. Chloe: Ahh, I needed that. You can leave now.

UBERHOOD INDEX

[toonqueen]

Duckvember 2020

--Goose--

This is taking place in my 87/Comic headcanon universe for Magicstone. Again. YOU CANNOT STOP ME.

Just some headcanons for the Gander side of the family. Wheeeee.

Lot of beta from @cataradical thanks again ahhhhh

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

“I told you this would be fun,” Gladstone said as he handed Magica a drink. He smiled and took a sip from his glass.

“Depends on what your definition of ‘fun’ is,” Magica replied, taking a swallow. The two hanging out by the drink table at the party felt a little familiar to the witch. Like being awkward outsiders at a high school prom.

“My aunt was really impressed with you! Or maybe she was my grand-cousin?” Gladstone counted fingers on his free hand silently. “My father’s mother’s aunt’s daughter? What would that be?”

“I believe an aunt, since she’s a few generations older than you. At least, that's how it works in my extended family,” Magica replied as she looked over a few groups chatting with one another. “All we did was talk about growing our own spices. Half Foods Market is such a rip off.”

“It's nice being around people that don't know /know/ you," Gladstone added. 

Magica knew Gladstone didn't mean for that to sound offensive. Though, it still upset her. True, she wasn’t known as a criminal witch here. Gladstone’s father’s side of the family was a distance from Duckburg, and not well knowledgeable on the goings-on there. Yes, it was nice to be at a party where she could openly be Gladstone’s date. With normal folks, too, no one in the magic community. Magica was guilty of dragging Gladstone to a few of those, so she bit her tongue about his comment. However, her sudden silence already said enough for Gladstone to pick up something was off.

“I mean, for both of us. They aren’t bugging me about my luck either. Since, they don’t know,” Gladstone explained, turning the half-full glass in his hands. “Neither of us have bad reputations here. And I get to see family I haven’t seen since I was a toddler.”

“I know what you meant,” Magica replied. She knocked back the glass, finishing her drink in one swallow. Gladstone’s comment stung nonetheless. A reminder that they couldn’t have a real relationship. She still had to get Scrooge’s dime, despite having feelings for the old duck’s nephew. Feelings Gladstone might recepticate, or at least like having someone else around for various activities and adventures. 

For someone blessed with luck, Gladstone sure was a lonely guy. 

“Let's have another dance! They’re playing something less boring again,” Gladstone offered a distraction. Maybe he had been mulling over the same relationship doubts too. Though his way of dealing with problems was to change the subject. He took her empty glass from her and placed both of theirs on the nearby table.

 Magica smiled lightly, maybe a bit sadly. “All right.”

They started dancing quietly. The two had danced at enough events to understand and memorize each other's moves. After a short while, Magica rested the side of her head on Gladstone’s chest.

“Thank you for coming with me. I felt weird coming alone,” the half-goose admitted softly, “bringing my sort-of-girlfriend to an already awkward situation cancels that out, right?”

Magica gave a soft chuckle. Gladstone was glad his small joke amused her. “Well, I understand what it’s like having a family you don’t ever see. Not really having bad blood with them, but you know. Drifting apart.”

“I’m not sure why my father didn’t take me to see them. Why he had a falling out. I guess he was from a higher social class, and mom was a farm girl. Maybe they looked down on him for that?” Gladstone contemplated out loud. Quietly, as another couple danced by.

“They’ve been nothing but cordial to you tonight,” Magica stated, lifting her head up from Gladstone’s chest. 

“Ah, well. While I have enjoyed talking to my extended family, ah...” Gladstone smirked, “I am wearing a six thousand dollar suit I won right after I accepted the invitation for this reunion.” 

Magica rolled her eyes. “Of course.”

“And luckily it matched the dark green of your dress. It's quite lovely. I’ve never seen you wear that one before.” 

“It’s my mother’s,” Magica replied softly, then rested her beak on top of Gladstone’s shoulder. 

They danced slowly for what felt like forever. Magica knew so much about the half-goose’s family from past late night talks. It was at that moment Gladstone realized he knew hardly anything about hers. He made a note to listen more; he knew he could be bad at that. Gladstone had dragged Magica to a strange family party, so it would be the least he could do in the future. 

“Well, even if they might be snobby, it would be nice to have a family to spend time with every once in a while. They seem like the type to have outdoor picnics in spring. Wouldn’t that be fun for the both of us to attend? Just--whatever gatherings they might have. Once in a while,” offered Gladstone. 

Magica was endeared by Gladstone’s words. He had found this new thing that might make him happy, and he was excited to share it with her. What he said next sounded simply, but was loaded with multiple implications: “We could get a house out here.” 

“But my career comes first, darling,” Magica replied. It was tongue in cheek, a vague hint she still needed to steal his uncle’s dime for the Midus spell. However, it was a little sad as well. If only things had been different. If only they’d met a good decade earlier. 

Gladstone didn’t say anything, but where his hand rested on her side gave a quick light squeeze. There was a pause, and another deflection. “But we’ll still go on a few family activities with the Gander side of my family, hm?” he said in his usual optimistic tone.

“Of course,” Magica said as she pulled back. She gave Gladstone a peck on the cheek. “I need to powder my beak. I’ll be right back.”

Gladstone nodded as they headed to the edge of the ballroom floor. The half-goose instantly struck up a conversation with one of his uncles there.

Magica approached an elderly goose sitting at a table. She recognized her as one of the matriarchs of the family. “Excuse me, but where is the bathroom?” she asked.

“Through the study, to the left,” the old goose answered. 

Magica nodded gratefully and left.

Magica was only gone a couple seconds. She had a brief look of panic on her face as she scanned the party for Gladstone. He was a few tables over from where she had left him, talking to an older aunt and the same uncle. 

“Ah, yes, we met your mother when you were nothing but a babe,” the aunt said, smiling. She had the same slender goose bill as Gladstone’s father did. “She was always willing to help in the kitchen. Your grandfather, rest his soul, always told her they had servants for that. Oh, and she was always going on about her good luck.”

“Oh, yes, I’ve heard many a-story about sweet Daphne. I’m sure living a simple country life and meeting the goose of her dreams would make any gal feel like she’s always lucky,” Magica interjected as she stood beside Gladstone. Her beak looked a few shades paler than usual. Gladstone would have made a comment about “over-powdering her bill” but he instantly picked up something wasn’t right.

Magica took hold of his hand, fingers interlacing between his. They’d held hands at least a dozen times before; cupped around each other, but not like this. 

Magica gave his hand a squeeze, followed by an uneasy smile. Normally, he would find her nervous smile sweet or cute, but Magica’s tense body language and energy set off alarms in his head. 

Something was *very* wrong.

Gladstone said abruptly, “You know, it is getting late. We should really head out, darling.”

The aunt and uncle looked confused. The uncle then smiled and said, “Well, Gladstone, we do hope to see you around. Please, don’t be a stranger.” 

Magica pulled Gladstone to the exit. She whispered from the corner of her beak, “I’ll tell you in the car. Right now we must leave.”

If this had just been a normal party, not with the estranged side of his family, Gladstone would have left with her right then and there. He believed something had upset her, but since this involved family, he needed to know. Gladstone would’ve trusted her to tell him what she saw; he really would have believed her no matter what. He was just drawn to see whatever it was for himself. 

Gladstone brought Magica’s hand up to his bill and gave it a light kiss. With everything else going on, this seemed to surprise her as well. It was easy to figure out whatever upset her happened on the way to the restroom. He spoke loud enough for the relatives nearby to hear, “Go warm up the car. I’m going to use the restroom real quick. It was a really long drive out here.”

Gladstone handed her the keys to his car. Though he was often a selfish half-goose, he wasn’t going to make her stay in a place that made her uncomfortable. At first Magica gave him a baffled look, one brow cocked. She opened her bill slightly, about to talk him out of it-- The witch then looked away from his gaze before turning to head out. 

Perhaps it was best Gladstone saw for himself.

With that, Gladstone went to find the restroom. Passing a hallway, and then into the study. At the end of the room was the slightly ajar door to the restroom. 

The study itself was more like a large living room. Two dark brown leather sofa chairs were in front of the fireplace. Hanging above the fireplace was an old shield, and two long spear-like weapons crossed behind it. The shield had a set of red wings, with a heavily patterned circle in the center. Something about the emblem and symbol felt familiar. 

Gladstone recalled something Magica had said in passing during an adventure. They were looking through an old book she’d found. Inside that book was the very symbol on this shield. Gladstone remembered Magica, frustrated, saying, “There are many bad things I can say about the McDuck clan, but at least they weren’t hunters.” 

Maybe he was a better listener than he thought. 

The shield symbol had been in that book she held then. He glanced over a few paintings in the room. One looked like a regular medieval scene; people at a feast in fancy dresses with baskets of fruit and baked ham on decorated picnic tables. On the horizon of the picture, however, was a fire. 

With a small silhouette of a person tied to a stake in aforementioned fire. 

Oh, so just your average witch burning party, then. 

Gladstone sighed to himself. That explained everything. On one side of his family, Magica was the villain, and now the other side turned out to be descendents of witch hunters. Just great. As if he and Magica having a normal relationship wasn’t strained enough. 

Gladstone had a sudden urge to look behind him. Like that feeling when you know a fly is in a room that needs a good swatting. He glanced up; bordering around the edge of the wall right before the ceiling was a line of hooks. And on those hooks were various hats, ranging from Victorian era, ladies Sunday hats, to top hats with an unusual garnish of flowers on the side. Some were stereotypical witch hats: bent points, different colored patches. Anyone might have thought they were keepsakes, antiques; heirlooms passed down the generations. Gladstone, knowing what he knew of the magic world through Magica, saw them differently.

Trophies from past hunts. 

The snooping half-goose noticed a wall of family portraits throughout the years. He looked over them until he found one of his parents. He assumed it was painted from when they first married. It dawned on Gladstone that Magica’s strange behavior wasn’t just this shocking revelation, but that she was worried about him, too. 

Four times tonight family members asked him about his mother’s luck. What if the witch hunters weren’t just ancestors? What if these relatives were active hunters themselves? There were more empty hooks in another corner of the room, which could mean... What a terrible thought. 

“Oh! Admiring all the family portraits, I see!” a different aunt spoke from the doorway. It was the one Magica discussed spices with earlier that evening. Gladstone would have jumped out of his skin if his immensely high charisma didn’t help in the most stressful of situations. 

“Yes, yes. It's so weird to see my parents so young. I have so many photos of them from when I was five and six-ish? That's when all my cousins and their parents insisted we hang out with each other. Have playdates.” He knew he was over-explaining things, but hopefully it was a good enough distraction.

“Ah, cousins on your mother’s side,” the aunt deduced. She smiled coyly. “Maybe you and Helen will be on this wall someday, hm?”

“Huh?” Gladstone was already in such a tense situation that he’d forgotten Magica had used a different name when introducing herself. Now he was grateful she did. Couldn’t exactly come into a household of hunters (presumably) with a name like Magica. “Oh, yes… well… that's a more complicated situation.”

“Someone on the other side of the family does not like her?” the noisy aunt pried.

“In a way,” Gladstone said, as he moved towards the door. He eyed a window for a possible emergency escape.

“Well, we found her company most delightful. We would hate to lose more relatives due to a misunderstanding.”

“Ah-- Yes, well--” Gladstone truly didn’t know how to reply to that.

“You know, the falling out our family had with your father wasn’t because of your mother. It was your grandmother. Elvira, was it? She took a shine to your father but gave the rest of us quite the cold shoulder since the wedding. The last time we saw him you were just a baby, so you wouldn’t remember the details. What most of us assumed is Elvira told Goostave it was either her daughter, or his family. And he made his choice.”

“Ah-- all right. Well, I didn’t ask,” Gladstone said, tone suddenly cold. The way she spoke about Elvira... It felt like this aunt was trying to turn him against the sweetest grandmother anyone could have. He was done being polite, swiftly left the study, and headed out of the house. 

Gladstone sighed in relief when he saw Magica seated in his car. He quickly got into the driver’s seat. Stiff for second, he let out another deep sigh as he put the car in drive.

“Are you all right?” Magica asked, concerned. It wasn’t like her to sound so worried. 

“Yeah,” Gladstone said quietly as they started down the long driveway. 

“You saw what I saw, right?” Magica questioned. She knew she hadn’t been seeing things, but it still helped to have some confirmation she wasn’t alone. She relaxed back in her seat, asked, “Do you want to talk about it?”

“Maybe when we’re close enough to Duckburg to see the skyline,” Gladstone muttered.  

Magica paused, then put her hand over his on the gear shift. There was a lot to take in. Less than a half an hour ago he had been happy to have a family he could spend time with freely. Spend freely with both him *and* her.  

“You know,” Magica said, “my mother’s grandmother’s side of the family, they’re nice. They-- well. My grandmother-- well, she’ll have quite a few questions, and I’m sure she’ll talk you under a table, but we do spend time together. You’d have to ignore Rosolio, though, if he’s tagging along. Ugh. They’re in Italy, so I don’t know how easily--”

Gladstone’s phone buzzed. He went to reach in his suit pocket before Magica quickly snatched it out. “Oh no,” she scowled, “not while you’re driving. I don’t care how lucky you are.”

Despite the lingering tense energy in the air, Gladstone chuckled, “Okay, okay. Read the text for me then. In case it’s from someone important.”

Magica glanced at the message and gave an undefined sigh. It wasn’t in frustration, just the usual “this is so typical” tone. “You just won two free tickets to Italy.” 

----

[artxmisery]

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okie dokie i'm a month late to this but WHATEVER time to talk about destiny stuff this will be a not-insignificant length so i'm gonna put the rest under a read more

ok i wanna talk about the vex but there are a few things to get through first quick background on the cosmology of destiny: there are two primordial forces, the gardener and the winnower, representing light and dark respectively. they existed before time and the universe as we know it in a place hereafter referred to as the first garden. in the garden (which is not a garden and not the only garden significant to this post) the two played the flower game. basically a big ol version of conway's game of life. however, they were also not playing the flower game? and just normally gardening in a metaphysical way. but back to the flower game. in the unveiling lore book, the winnower speaks to the player directly and a bunch of this info is from there. conway's game of life resembles their flower game "as a seed resembles the star that fed the flower and all the life that made it." it's not 100% clear whether each flower is a universe of its own or just a nebulous piece of cosmically important information, but the flowers are super important. flowers come back repeatedly as a symbol of the winnower, especially red flowers. another big concept in the grander story of the game is the final shape, i.e. the thing that will conquer the universe and be the last thing that exists as it ends. it's the ultimate following of the sword logic (which isn't particularly important here, basically just might makes right but on magic steroids) and lots of people are trying to be it or figure out what it is. what we, the players, know is that there was a successful pattern in the flower game that always won. in other words, the final shape. in the aforementioned unveiling lore book, we learned that this pattern survived the destruction of the first garden that lead to the creation of our universe. the details of that conflict aren't important here (although i'd recommend reading the unveiling lore book if this is at all interesting to you) but that pattern managed to make it out. for the first however long of the universe, it was basically just an untethered mathematical pattern running around in the quantum foam. as the universe cooled down and coalesced it turned into crystals in the water of comets, which then provided a space for them to become something like life. from there, they fell into the ocean(s) of planet(s) (details on whether they appeared in parallel or just once aren't super clear or conflicting). from here we need to go on a slight tangent to keep talking about the biological origins of the vex. there's this huge company that existed during the golden age called clovis bray, named after the dude who founded it, clovis bray i. basically, this guy is space jeff bezos but arguably more shitty. he wants to become immortal and experimented on his son, clovis bray ii, but ended up killing him in the process. i think you can see how much of an egomaniac he is at this point lol. on the moon, there was a group of scientists that found an anomaly connected to the darkness/winnower (a similar artefact is what we got the unveiling book from) that drove them mad with the signal it was trying to send. clovis gets wind of it, hears the signal and flies off to europa. the signal told him he'd find the secret to immortality there (and he did, sort of). part of said secret was the vex. during the golden age the vex were found/appeared/started existing but they weren't the enemy we've faced in the modern game, they were just curious. clovis steals a vex unit from the ishtar collective on venus (might come back to them later) and brings it to europa. it builds-organizes-forms a gateway to somewhere else. that somewhere else is volantis 2082. clovis goes through the gateway and discovers a solar system entirely converted into a forge. the star is engorged and being sustained with hydrogen in order to make metals. it's surrounded by a bunch of artificial satellite worlds where the vex are n where clovis and co ended up. anywho this is where clovis gets a closer look at the vex. so from him, we've got a more concrete idea of how they got from crystals in comets to the time-travelling robots we know and love. back to the biology stuff. basically the environment the vex evolved in was way earlier than our own, so heavy metals were so rare as to be nonexistent and harmful radiation was way more prevalent. because of this, predators never evolved from the vex. they just kept cooperating and feeding off cosmic radiation and whatnot. to protect themselves, they started making "armour", perhaps some sort of gel membrane initially? but then they started forming it out of silica, which is why their fluid is called radiolarian fluid and milky white. the vex continued to cooperate and developed more and more complex swarm behaviours, signalling different facts with different configurations of cells and structures. they aren't necessary sentient or sapient, but they definitely have cognition and intelligence. their way of thinking is so alien to us as to be undefinable. they also don't have a hive mind, per se, but their pattern is so fully repeated and embodied by each unit and larger mind that they work similarly. anyhow, their silica armour was further adapted into tools and structures ad infinitum, moving on to more durable materials as the collective knowledge of the vex increased. now, the vex don't necessarily have desires or goals or anything of the sort. their entire m.o. is to make everything fit the pattern. because they first evolved from that mathematical pattern from before time, they're able to exist as nothing more than information and then hijack matter to make more of themselves. clovis found this out the hard way, cause the vex started travelling through their calls and messages and stuff (and started infecting people, too). the vex are also extremely adept at simulating stuff since there's effectively no difference between a simulation of their pattern and the pattern itself (this comes up a la weeping angels once or twice). they are so good at it, in fact, that they can simulate nigh-infinite realities within their pattern. the simulations are equally as real as baseline reality and through that (i think?) are able to time travel and hop across timelines. that may be how they ended up in our solar system during the golden age. luckily for us, they're not perfect at it, otherwise, they would have always had won (wheeeee time tomfoolery). originally their goal was thought to be writing themselves into the rules of the universe and while that may still be part of it, they're also basically trying to make everything else vex. we have two examples of them turning whole worlds into vex machines/structures, one of which happened in like three days during the collapse (the darkness armageddon that ended the golden age). their architecture is super cool, highly recommend checking out concept art or in-game footage. the whole vex network spans an incomprehensible distance, although we don't have an exact number on that. they come into systems and build beachheads and pull themselves through space and time into the system. on mercury, which was what got converted in three days, they basically turned the whole planet into a giant simulation engine. they have some ridiculous teleportation technology and their weapons pull energy from distant stars through tiny gates. they've also got weapons like the vex mythoclast that pull energy from alternate timelines/loops of time/whatever. that about covers all the notable info about the vex, but there are some cool stories/places i want to touch on. the black garden is one, which is where the climax of the first game takes us. it's untethered in time and space, basically orphaned off from the rest of the universe. after we kill its heart, it ends up on mars. at some point between the end of d1 and shadowkeep in d2, it got untethered again and we go back for the garden of salvation raid. the black garden is referenced a bunch in some of the more cosmological/mythical lore and is the other important garden i mentioned right at the start. the vex have a bunch of cool stuff on venus, too, like the vault of glass. vog is basically where they test time travel stuff and ontological (i.e. reality-affecting) tech and weaponry. if they ever manage to make that stuff work outside the vault, we're toast. also on venus is the ishtar collective which was mentioned earlier, where a bunch of scientists found that a vex unit was simulating all of them hundreds of times over. they called in a super complex ai to help break out the simulations and those simulations went and explored the vex network and have shown up a couple times since. i'm sure i'm forgetting tons of other stuff, but this is wayyyy too long already. definitely hit me up if you wanna hear a quite frankly ridiculous amount of lore about a fictional universe/race lol anyways. thank you very much for the ask n i hope you enjoyed reading if you got this far

[aelaer]

Author Interview Tag

Tagged by @amethyst-noir a week or two ago, thank you!

Name: Aelaer. Laer for short.

Fandoms: LOTR, Doctor Strange (and the MCU by osmosis) are the two big ones. The former will be a constant in life; the latter has been going on and off since late 2016.

Where you post: I used to post on both ff.net and AO3, but now it's exclusively AO3 due to lack of feedback on ff.net for the Avengers category. I post Tumblr prompt posts on said site first, before moving them to AO3 within a few weeks/months (just... depending on stuff).

Most popular multi-chapter fic: Post 2016, it's still "Strange in a Strange Land", funny enough (The LOTR/DS crossover). Maybe if I get another modern story to 10 chapters, it'll get near those hits/kudos. Crosssssing fingers!

Favorite story you’ve written so far: I don't tend to have one favorite. I'm fond of most of my stories for one reason or another. Generally speaking I can reread all of them because I generally enjoy them - I write what I want to read. (And I'll reread my older stuff sometimes to try to motivate myself to write.)

Fic you were nervous to post: I was a little nervous about "Untitled" due to its very serious topics about depression and attempted suicide. I was similarly a bit nervous about fic #25 - Humiliation for Whumptober because the narrator/antagonist references real world horrors in order to bring down and demotivate Stephen. But generally speaking, I pad these stories with so many warnings that if people stumble into it, I don't feel bad if someone didn't heed the warnings. If I ever purposefully tagged "chose not to use warnings", I'd probably warn on that too lmao.

How you choose your titles: Amy wrote in her answer that she has random post-it notes to lyrics she'd like to write to. I'm somewhat the opposite - I created a 4,000 word document with all my favorite lyrics from all my favorite bands and then choose from there for chapter/one-shot titles. I've been doing this for the last uh, year or so. Sometimes a lyric doesn't work out and I choose something that works thematically instead. The latter is how I came up with the title of #4 in the Earth-197320 series - which is gonna be called Illuminating the Shadows (bringing back an echo to the first story in the series and also going well with the chapter titles theme, which are all lyrics from one song that I just addddoooorrrreee). But the chapter titles, all lyrics from one of my favorite songs.

Do you outline: Yes, even one shots tend to get mini outlines. Sometimes it doesn't happen, but it's more rare for me to write in order than it is out of order, or without a sketch of what's to come. The last multi-chapter fic to actually be written in order was the LOTR/DS crossover; all others since have been out of order.

Complete: A lot. It was over 60 on AO3. If I ever commit to revamping my old LOTR one shots surrounding Aragorn, that number is only going to get astronomical. (It is something I have been considering on and off this year.)

In progress: Ughhhh more than I like. Four or five prompt one-shots and two active multi-chaptered stories. And one very long term project in the back-burner.

Coming soon/not yet started: The other half of my tumblr prompts. Getting through those is my next project after this story’s written out.

Do you accept prompts: Yes. It is just very likely it will take over a year for me to get to it. I'm doing my darnedest to get through more of the 2019 batch before the end of the year, but I may not reach that goal just because all of my writing effort has been towards Illuminating the Shadows the last few weeks.

Upcoming story you are most excited to write: Sequel #4, aka Illuminating the Shadows. It's currently at 23.5k and is the pivotal tale in the series when it comes to the emotional aspects of Tony and Stephen and their growing bond. I really hope I can do what I'm envisioning justice. The difficulty lies within the short time frame the story takes place, so I'm just hoping that it feels real, even if it is over a month rather than a year. *wrings hands* (But good news, I had a draft of this survey from about 2 weeks ago waiting on my phone for a bit and it was ‘just over 10k’ then, so progress *is* being made! And by the time this scheduled post comes out, it’ll be even further along! Wheeeeee!) (and post update it's now 30k since less than a week ago wheeeee)

Upcoming story you are most excited about: Uh, see above. Hopefully I'll be able to do it justice.

Thanks for reading!

Tagging: The writers who replied a couple weeks back! @an-odd-idea @dragonnan and @lifeofroos (though poke me if you’re also a writer who likes to get tagged in stuff).