#and how important it is to communicate that with a partner

[licensedproldier]

highlights from the brennan hank interview (aka taking notes on things that i liked or didn't know)

HE STARTED ATTENDING COLLEGE WHEN HE WAS 14?????

immediate jump off topic from hank to ask him about d20 (this happened while fhjy was airing)

"and the greatest project of all, my wonderful family with my wife isabella roland"

bonding over their children

brennan and hank's son both corrected their father's bedtime stories 💀

many elaine lee shoutouts

"his dad met my mom and fell in love" "you did that" "we did that, parent-trapped them"

was pulled out of school in 4th grade for homeschooling because the bullying was so bad....

started a company when they (he and his brother) were fifteen?? called Bootleg Adventures

hank's little awed hiss of "what" to the above piece of information

GOT PART OWNERSHIP OF THE WAYFINDER COMPANY AT 15

"knowledge is something that, when you share it, there's just more. there's no scarcity"

hank staring off into space slightly looking like brennan just blew his mind (we're 11 minutes in)

"we were 14 year old philosophy majors, if you can imagine anything more normal than that"

brennan unable to resist doing fun voices for the people he talks about

he wouldve loved to work at wayfinder full time and said back then hey maybe ill become a famous internet comedian or something and that's how i can help camp. now he's got texts from the staff saying how a bunch of dimension 20 fans have joined and its been a huge boon for them that way 🥺

"it's funny when a really bad plan works. dont make that plan."

"every new community-- is this too sad? no its true" THOSE THINGS ARE NOT MUTUALLY EXCLUSIVE

anyway "for every new community i start with the presupposition that someone is going to pick me up and put me in the trash can" 😭

hank sniping him through the duplex door with "[when you do that] you kind of imagine yourself to be the value you're delivering rather than yourself, or that your value is in what you deliver and not who you are" and brennan going 😐 "that's a great point man"

both of them turning to do pained smiles at the camera 😭

"i think the value is in who you are" "that's really sweet i appreciate that" "but i also love that you deliver"

brennan quoting mary oliver

im starting to feel a little called out guys

robert mckee "stories are not about their premises they're about their conclusions"

brennan also staring off into space slightly thinking about what hank said

the REAL college advice brennan is giving is reportedly "put an egg in your ramen" because thats how you stop your eyes from going "matte finish"

shoutout to vanessa's dumplings for keeping this man alive

"i am ozymandias nerd of nerds, gaze upon my banner and despair"

the moment he felt like something changed was walking into C2E2 and seeing that the biggest hanging banner in the convention hall was of fantasy high. or, as brennan put it, "my dumb face"

"my friends moved in with their partners, the apartment i had with them scattered to the wind, the woman i was dating dumped me after three weeks, and i won a bunch of money on Who Wants to Be a Millionare" "wh- what???"

he taught emily, murph, siobhan, and zac how to play dnd 🥺 and was running a home game for lou at the same time

got hired at um, actually because his name was getting around for being a big dork

zac stepped down from troopers and sam liked brennan's character from a previous casting call (tim curry eating pizza) so he brought him in

its very charming the detail with which brennan remembers these important moments in his life

became a full time cast member in the same week he started dating izzy! "hard to beat week gang!"

"they told us they were launching dropout and everyone had to make a show, which, if you're been trying to make a show your whole life, that's like saying 'bad news guys, there's 24 birthday cakes in the break room and everyone has to eat a whole birthday cake'."

brennan was making a document for a market pitch on an actual-play show when he was called into office and THEY pitched HIM the idea of an actual-play show

"i guess i have tumbled through life to end up here ready to do this"

truly like. one of the guys of all time.

"some of the things that didn't make sense about you make more sense now" hank talking indirectly about how amazing he found all the moving parts of mentopolis and now getting to hear about how long and how many time he's done storytelling it makes sense

"yeah its the one skill"

"i wanted to tell stories before i was anything else"

🎉anti-capitalist rant🎉

"people used to say 'is ucb a cult' and i'd say 'in a cult, somebody is making money'"

HIGH FIVE!!!

#brennan lee mulligan #hank green #dropout #dimension 20 #d20 #txt #dropout.tv #i had fun!!!!! yall should watch this

[scribbledghost]

Hello, it is I, here to make more angst request with fem! Simon. Now, I have a hate/love relationship with misunderstanding trope, but here's my idea. Fem! Simon has been spending a lot of time with a fellow soldier due to an important mission they are working on together. They have been texting frequently and meeting up outside of their usual work hours to discuss the mission details. Her girlfriend notices the increased communication between fem! Simon and this soldier. One day, she sees a text on fem! Simon's phone from the soldier that says, "Can't wait to see you tonight! 😊" This message, taken out of context, causes the reader to feel insecure and suspect that something romantic might be developing between fem! Simon and solider. You can go on from there-

Simon tried so hard to keep things as tactical as possible with the Sergeant she'd been tasked with collaborating with. The mission unfortunately required frequent communication and meetups to discuss logistics, added to another misfortune of not being able to really include you due to the classified nature of it. It irritated her, truthfully, because now the bright-eyed, fresh Sergeant had been getting a little too close for her liking. No matter how many times Simon offhandedly mentioned she had you, her girlfriend, waiting for her at home.

She should have known it would cause trouble.

You'd been distant lately. The past few days, as a matter of fact. And Simon couldn't pinpoint why. She suspected her frequent meetings with the Sergeant had something to do with it, but she didn't know the specifics.

"You're upset," she says one evening, coming up behind you as you're making dinner to wrap her arms around your middle. It's not a question.

"I'm fine, love," you respond softly. Too softly.

"You're not," she says, reaching past you to turn the stove off as she turns you around to face her. "Talk to me, love. Please. Let me help."

You sigh, looking up at her.

"This... assignment you've been on."

"Yeah?"

"With the new Sergeant."

"Mhm."

You hesitate, then sigh again before explaining.

A few nights prior, Simon's work phone had lit up when she stepped out. You'd managed to catch a glimpse of the message on the screen, a "Can't wait to see you tonight! 😊" from her work partner.

Simon hadn't entertained the thinly-veiled attempt at flirtation, and had simply responded with a quick "Keep it tactical. And don't forget the case files I requested."

But you hadn't seen that part.

So, she shows you.

She doesn't hesitate to pull her phone out, unlocking it and scrolling to the messages in question. She feels safe letting you scroll through the message log - it's all coded jargon anyway, as specifics are only discussed in person for security reasons.

"Keep tryin' to tell her I'm taken," Simon explains, nudging her nose against your temple as you look through the texts. "Won't take the hint."

Her texts reflect as much:

Sgt: Drinks tonight?

Simon: Negative. Night in with my girl.

Some days later:

Sgt: Anything a girl can do to entertain herself around base?

Simon: Wouldn't know. The missus and I live off-base. Get that report I asked for?

The exchanges go on.

"I... I'm sorry I jumped to conclusions," you say softly. Simon softly shushes you in response.

"Don't apologize," she says. "I know how it must have looked."

After a moment of silence, she pulls back, putting both hands on your upper arms as she gazes at you intently.

"Y'know you're the only one I want, right?" she asks. When you only nod and cast your gaze aside, she tucks a finger under your chin to redirect you back to her.

"I mean that," she says. "Don't want anyone else. Never have. Never will. I'm serious.''

As you pull her in for a kiss, Simon's already formulating plans to really get it through this Sergeant's head that she's a (very happily) taken woman.

#simon ghost riley #simon riley x reader #simon ghost riley x reader #fem reader #fem simon #ghost scribbles

[mars-ipan]

talking to my mom is such a blast. meeting of the minds

#marzi speaks #pseudosexuality moment #<- for what the tags shall entail #it’s great we both engage in good faith share our perspectives #and then we both come out of it having learned something new #and it rules!! #we had a really good discussion about kink and sex tonight #and we talked about negotiation and sex positivity and the specific things we liked and didn’t like #and how important it is to communicate that with a partner #and how all of this ties into being acespec #i even explained pseudosexuality to her! and she seemed to get it pretty well! about as well as i do anyways lmao #and then i mentioned my kmda crush bc he’s a good example of it being easier for aspecs in some cases to be attracted to fiction #to which she was like ‘that makes sense- it’s like fantasy’ #anyways i was trying to explain why i liked him to her. and i was like ‘ok kmda. my mom grew up in the 80s. kmda. 80s. what connection. OH’ #and i said he had the JD appeal and my mom went ‘ah gotcha mkay’ #eventually the discussion turned into how stories like heathers are being simplified and reduced for the sake of remakes #and that was also a really good convo #but i really enjoyed talking about kink stuff with my mom. we bonded :] #also it was cool to see where we differed. some things i was like Yes about she was like Absolutely Not about and vice versa #it was also fun to see where we had similarities. rope bunny solidarity 🤝 it’s the GAD lmao #anyways i love talking to her. she’s so smart and when she sees something she doesn’t understand she doesn’t judge it or shy away from it #she just asks for clarification and tries her best to understand and contribute to the conversation #and usually we both end up learning from each other!!! it’s so cool #also a lot of my friends (at least that i regularly see irl) are not nearly as freaky as me so i rarely get to talk kink with ppl #so it was nice to just get to have that conversation

[fagtainsparklez]

the jaiden-roier-cellbit dynamic is so important to me because like. cellbit treats jaiden and roier's relationship with the same level of respect and importance that jaiden treats roier and cellbit's marriage. which may not seem like that big of a thing but like. platonic relationships are often seen as "lesser" than romantic ones, and that your romantic partner should come first before all other bonds in your life. and seeing cellbit treat jaiden and roier's bond and relationship with the same respect that jaiden treats his marriage. as an arospec person it genuinely makes me want to sob

#icarus speaks #THEY ARE THE BLUEPRINT!!!!!!! #THE MOMENT THE EVERYTHING #everything about them in general is so. like some of THE healthiest treatment of aspec relationships ive ever seen #the fact that roier is hypersexual but cellbit is aspec. and there is no conflict with this. sex does not define their relationship #the fact that Everyone acknowledges the importance of roier and jaiden's relationship #they're seen as partners just as much as any of the romantic egg pairings #just. wahhhhhhhhhhhhhh #personally i was struggling a bit with acknowledgement of being aroace. bc a Lot of my friends have been getting into relationships #and i Know that there is a possibility Of me being the lesser of the two options bc romance is so prioritized #but seeing these three gives me so much hope #i hope they know how important they are to the aroace/aroacespectrum community :((

[pipiezexal]

I think it's really important that soon after the reveal that Toshiro hated Laios the entire time they were adventuring together and just never said so, Kabru makes clear, in a way that Laois understands, that he intends to meet Laios again. He's crafting his words very carefully (in the English "I'm glad that we met. I got so much out of talking to you.") but by god he means them and he's not just being polite.

Laios has just learned someone he thought was a dear friend couldn't stand him, which is painful to watch and has resonated with lots of neurodivergent viewers, but that realization is followed with proof that there are and will be people that care about Laios as he is: here's another character, one who's great with people, making the effort to know Laios and establishing that he wants to continue knowing Laios.

#dungeon meshi #dungeon meshi spoilers #i've tried to remain anime only for this analysis #but i do think it hits a lot harder if you've read the manga #idk i just see a lot of people talking about how much the shuro scene hurts #and it really. really does #it's scary to imagine yourself in Laios position #and sad to know that you have been #but i feel like it's just. important that that scene is not in a vacuum #there might be people who don't communicate with you #or don't communicate in a way that you understand #but there will also be people that love you in spite of and more importantly for how you are #and there will always be people that see you as you are and want to spend more time with you #anyway if your first kabru thought is 'but he wanted to kill laios' did he. #or was that the part of his brain trying to navigate a social encounter when his conversation partner went wildly off script #kabru is trying to minmax conversation and laios is not cooperating and that's short circuiting kabru's brain #anyway i also have toshiro thoughts and that's that he's not being cruel or a bad person #and it's honestly a testament to both laios and toshiro's character that they have this conversation #and then still work together afterwards in some capacity--arguably better so now that they've been able to have this conversation

[majicmarker]

ᴡʜᴀᴛ’ꜱ ʏᴏᴜʀ ᴠɪʙᴇ? : a sex shop romcom, is available at multiple retailers in ebook + paperback (and hardcovers exclusive on amazon)!

💓 synopsis

💓 links to buy

[ᴄᴏᴠᴇʀ ʙʏ @redbelles—ᴏᴘᴇɴ ꜰᴏʀ ᴄᴏᴍᴍɪꜱꜱɪᴏɴꜱ!]

#*stefon from snl voice* this. book. has. EVERYTHING!!— #how to clean your sex toys (NOT dawn dish soap for the love of god) #being emotionally vulnerable with your partner #food as a love language (so! many! beverages!) #the importance of supporting everyone’s identities within the queer community #BANGERS 🎶 #and straight men saying the worst things you’ve ever heard in your LIFE #(and they’re Real Things men said to me during my tenure at the sex shop too) #it’s here it’s queer and it’s serving So Much millennial existential dread 😎✌️ #a/n #book tag: wyv #demisexuality #ace spec #bisexuality #indie romance #authors on tumblr

[paintingformike]

apart from mlevens trying to claim the van scene as el’s genuine feelings for mike, one thing that also gets on my nerves is the way they make it seem like all of mleven’s relationship issues in s4 were resolved because mike and el had stellar “communication”....as if the second love interest didn’t do 90% of the work for them 😭 PUT SOME RESPECT ON WILL’S NAME!

#and the “communication” in question is the monologue which wasnt even a MUTUAL conversation? be serious 😭 #when will they admit mleven wouldve keeled over in an instant without will in the picture #lets list out all the construction work he did for them shall we #he told el to stop lying to mike #mike would have been clueless about everything el was going through in lenora had will not told him the full truth #professed el’s “undying love and need” for mike in her stead #pushed mike to say something to el while she was in the brink of dying bc otherwise he would have just stood there #played the role of mike’s partner and gave him comfort and reassurance the entire season #gave el credit for the painting in hopes it’ll save their failing relationship #basically most of the pivotal mleven moments heavily involved will in some way #and its impossible to just remove him from the equation completely #mlevens’ first mistake was downplaying just how important will’s role is to the current state of their relationship #and trying to pretend will’s little pep talk for mike before the monologue didnt happen #plus theyre convinced mleven is going to come out of the painting reveal unscathed...well. they better not say we didnt warn them! #byler

[perfectlyunknownn]

I did hold out hope that things would be different. that they would actually miss me because they liked me and wanted a friendship. yet they proved that I am nothing to them but a thing to be used.

#I feel disheartened #this shit would have been fine when I was younger but no #I feel disgusted with myself the most #I allowed this to happen #how sickening #only good thing that came from this is the fact that I acknowledge that I have this disorder #boundaries are super important as well as communication #I wrote a list of what I actually want from a partner so maybe it’ll be a bit easier to spot #I need to write a list of boundaries #and a list of what I want from friends too #wow #I don’t even have time to be sad about all of this #thoughts #bpd #diary #actually borderline #bpd fp #favourite person #mental health #actually bpd #bpd thoughts

[palms-upturned]

.

#meg talks #i forgot how much group projects make me want to become the joker #joined a strategic research group and 1) my research partner has done nothing and basically never says anything to me #2) the check in meetings w the other group members are always when i have work and nobody shares notes/takeaways #or like offers more than one check in time to accommodate scheduling #3) nobody has fucking LOOKED AT MY RESEARCHHHHH #horse staring out at the ocean.jpeg #someday i will actually get involved w organizers who know what they’re doing. someday. #ok that’s mean i think it’s important to do SOMETHING even if u don’t rlly know what ur doing or else how would you learn #i mean that’s exactly what im doing! i don’t know shit abt fuck and i joined this group to learn new practical skills #so it’s not their fault and im no better #but also jdsgsjdncj when it comes to the basics of like. actually organizing the resources we are currently gathering. #i feel like ‘’make sure you actually are communicating with everyone and looking at the research’’ is basic enough #that im allowed to be frustrated abt it #TALK TO MEEEEEEEE FUCKING HOLD A MEETING I CAN PARTICIPATE INNNNNNNN #ok im done. fkxhgzjxnc

[barkingangelbaby]

I feel like such a broken fucking person lol

I talked way too much in the tags don't read them

#fighting off the ideation like my life depends on it!! bc it does!!! #been good about not thinking certain phrases but F U C K am i feeling it. i want to turn into a pile of dust #i am so desperately trying to work on myself and change my patterns and bad habits and perspective but it feels like i always fall short #i try not to talk about it online but I'm just. having a very hard day with N because we experience our feelings in different ways #i isolate myself bc i struggle with regulating my reactions and tones when im having an episode but she needs me to talk through things and #i sometimes just. can't. bc I'm not done experiencing the negativity and am not in a place to have a productive convo bc shame spirals etc #we just spent a long time talking and being patient and i thought i was understanding and explaining myself well but i just. idk. #i don't know how to explain that of course i love her even if I'm isolating myself. of course i love her although I'm nonverbal today. i jus #t can't *make* myself talk when I'm like this i don't want to be nonverbal i don't want to isolate i don't want to be a distant partner i do #n't want to fall back into these patterns related to my grief i want to be better i am trying to be better i am working so fucking hard on #being better. i just feel so defeated bc this all spiraled from me not wanting to decide what to get for lunch n using a poor tone about it #I'm about to talk with her some more but I just. kinda don't want to exist right now. fuck dude. it feels so fucking awful when i upset her #like i love her so much she is so important to me and it breaks my heart that our entire day is shot bc i was tired and cranky #i just don't understand how that equates to me not loving her bc she is my whole world dude. I'm going to throw up #i also don't know how to explain to her that scrolling on tumblr is comfortable to me I'm not ignoring her it's just the SM that i scroll on #like we're hanging out watching tv together I'm gonna scroll a little bit. it's just not insta or anything #idk my mind is scrambled I'm crying I just want to be a better person who can calmly communicate my thoughts and emotions #today has just beat my fucking ass dude. i isolate so those feelings don't get translated into my interactions with others #i don't even know what i typed in these tags I just don't want to off myself or think about it I'm fighting myself so much 2day #rAMbles

[trans-leek-cookie]

seeing ppl shipping marcille n chilchuck just makes me. Okay this sucks man. Like these r the least 2 compatible Dungeon Meshi characters chilchuck is a full hater of magic and elves and shit and like. Yeah he can grow out of that but marcille should not have to deal with this idiot. He already lost one wife he doesn't need to be inflicted on more women

#As someone who's pro chilchuck. Leave marcille alone stay friends #Also I believe in lesbian marcille but that's secondary to the fact I feel like they have negative romantic chemistry #Plus marcille is such a romantic idealist and chilchuck is jaded in a way that doesn't feel like ''opposites attract'' but rather #Marcille tries to keep the relationship alive while chilchuck tries to pull away and neither of them can communicate w eachother #That plus the lifespan and arguably maturity differences would just add to the difficulty like. Yah ppl can grow past stuff and learn n shi #But also sometimes that learning is hard and doesn't work out and just leads to you hurting the ppl around you #Because change is scary. Anyway I just genuinely think chilchuck is good on his own! He should be friends will his wife and never date agai #Because I think he would be deeply unpleasant to be in any sort of romantic relationship with tbh #Revised a tag bc while marcille would bring up problems she would have trouble seeing things from chilchucks pov and cgilchuck would #Probably be dismissive bc he sees her as naive and he might be partially right but he'd struggle to be a decent partner bc of his pride #And also literally his wife left and he doesn't fucking know why. He just went damn... Ok... My bad. HELLO #This man is not communicating in a healthy way. Also while he shouldn't have to tell ppl his age and I don't think his secrecy and the way #He values his privacy is bad the fact that he's been working with the party for 4 yrs and it seems like none of them knew #HE HAD CHILDREN? speaks a lot about how secretive he is and I just genuinely don't think marcille would be able to deal with that #The most I can see for them is they try to have a relationship but they end up learning something Important Lessons and their friendship is #Still there but undeniably was strained and forever changed even if they reconcile and improve. 👍

[findstenicht]

.

#hate hate hate when you have to mail someone important documents if they dont send you any confirmation that they received them #like. i even wrote in the email that i wasnt sure which email address they wanted me to send stuff to #and im *pretty sure* that they checked that account and likely got my docs but. what if they didnt #also my anxiety levels are skyrocketing as is #i have to do so much stuff for work rn #plus this project im working on is. a trainwreck not gonna lie and my project partner is *not* helping #also my health insurance situation is still kinda weird #also the bone marrow donation agency (?) wants me to preemptively fill out some form about my health status and idk how to communicate that #im fine on paper but theres most likely something wrong #also my grandma passed away on saturday. yeah. thats also something that happened #right. sorry. once again i cant find my physical journal so. oversharing on tumblr dot com it is i guess

[dontneedmyheart]

x

#this is not a fully formed thought #but i’m just thinking that if buddie does go canon #one of the things the writers could deep dive into is #how they both have kind of complicated relationship with sex #i’ve been thinking about that post about eddie and does he know he can say no to sex #and how buck used to try to fill #heh pun not intended #an empty hole inside himself with meaningless sex #and how bothered he was that he might have not been able to please all his former partners #so i just think it would be such a good character study opportunity to have them figure out those things when it comes to their sex life #just. you know. have eddie learn that he is allowed to say no #and have buck understand that it doesn’t mean #that he failed as a partner #and that there are other forms of intimacy #that aren’t better or worse than sex but equally important #and even when you KNOW the other person #like really truly know them #you still need to communicate #because even in a commited relationship that is based on trust and love and devotion #you still can’t read your partners thoughts #and even if it’s hard at first it will make your relationship even better when you just talk #and that sex isn’t just some wordless agreement that just happens naturally when two people are attracted to each other #but it’s something that you NEED to talk about #and figure out what works best for everyone involved #i don’t know i have other thoughts about this but like i said #they’re not fully formed and i’m not able to articulate them #🤷🏻‍♀️

[bigothteddies]

saw a post the other day complaining about “like scolding” which ironically….everyone was reblogging

#like of y’all are reblogging posts then ‘likescolding’ isnt being directed at you #sorry if you dont create content and understand how rhe like-to-reblog ratio has changed over the years! #sorry if you havent been here long enough to know that blank blogs and ‘spankbank’ spam liking blogs have ALWAYS been discouraged #saw someone being like ‘if youre just gonna guilt trip me for liking your post i simply wont like it’ #like….okay? thats fundamentally the same thing? #you liking or not liking a post has no impact it does nothing ? there’s no algorithm? #likes are a great function! #i use it to confirm that ive seen a post before #i use it to show mutuals i like their posts #i use it to show people i appreciate their tags on my posts #my partner used it to save things for later! #i love the like button! #but if people take this criticism toward the circulation of the site dying #as a personal attack on them then that is THEIR problem #if you dont reblog shit then youre not actually a part of the community! #reblog shit !!! #genuinely blowing my mind like y’all are REBLOGGING a post #complaining about likescolding #LITERALLY SHOWING WHY REBLOGGING IS IMPORTANT #and still dont grt it? #unimportant thoughts

[dangaer]

as a lot was discussed yesterday i'll probably get a bit clearer on my shipping rules as im always second guessing if my shipping rules make sense.

my shipping rules are essentially that if we're shipping canon muses, i ask that you don't go ahead with shipping with duplicates. it's something i've had to think about a lot on but it's something i like to keep to. this is also to help conquer peoples fears that they might feel, perhaps, part of a shipping pile.

i do, however, do ship exclusivity (aka where i close my muse off to just one sole ship), but only when this is returned. on this blog, it's shin who is singleship and therefore i won't be pursuing any romantic dynamics, but i am always open if there is one or two other muses that you might wish to be closed off on.

i also extend the reminder that if you ever, ever want to back out of a ship that is completely a-okay! just let me know so i can make the appropriate changes. my ships mean a lot to me in general, but it pales in comparison to the idea of my partner being uncomfortable with proceeding with something further.

#❛ 𝐒𝐈𝐃𝐄 𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐈𝐄𝐒 ⧽ — ooc. #love my dupes and none of us should feel like the other person. and no one should feel like theyre shipping fodder either. i dont want that #for my blogs! #generally for things like scs i even have habits in checking out who my partners have interacted with so i can give you smth new but also #not to make anyone feel uncomfy with an interaction #when i ship smth i go ott in my head but im trying to learn how to communicate that better. otherwise ill go on and on about it to myself #and just. not come off as great FHDJSSAHD #anyway its as ive said before. ur comfort first but also ships are important to me in the sense #i want to give realistic and fun dynamics that people get excited to see around. i hope ive managed to make my partners feel that way #but we are still on that journey!!

[softquietsteadylove]

DON'T MIND THE FIRST ONE THAT I SENT TT

(“If we’re both single by a certain age we will marry each other” is always a fun story concept but it could be even better if the pact is made between rivals as a drunken dare and they go on to sabotage each other’s relationships because they’ve been secretly in love all along.) I saw this post somewhere on Twitter and it is a freaking good trope!!!! Could you do this to the rival mob bosses???? Maybe you could go on like after the spicy thing, they had admitted that they have partners but they didn't really love (Maybe just for business or arranged relationship???) and maybe you could turn them being undenial about what they feel to each other and them saying that spicy thing that happened is just a one time thing? I'd love to see the jealousy and them trying to sabotage each other's relationship (without them knowing that their both trying to ruin their each others relationship) BECAUSE THEY'RE FREAKING IN LOVE WITH EACH OTHER!!!!

Thank youuuuu, your works will continue to shine like gold in my memories❤️❤️❤️❤️

They said it was nothing--said it was just...one of those things. They couldn't exactly just go out and get brunch afterwards, anyway. Their lives weren't exactly conducive to 'dating', as it were.

So they went back to business. Gil was still the Tyrant King, with Koreatown in the palm of his hand. Thena was still the Ice Queen, and one of the richest figures in the area for her monopoly on the diamond - and fake diamond - industry.

And they were happy with it that way, they said.

Gil was fine not thinking about making love to her, his name on her lips, not knowing where one ended and the other began, their fingers intertwined and his heart focused on her and only her.

He was totally fine with it.

Just like Thena was fine not thinking about the first man she'd let anywhere near her in years, maybe a decade. Maybe she had never let a man as close to her as she had with Gilgamesh, letting him hold her, kiss her, touch her in ways that defrosted her long protected heart.

She was fine.

They were both fine with not talking about it, and not doing anything about it. Even when others in their lives and line of work asked what was going on with them, they said they were fine. Even when suitors for one another appeared on the scene they were...mostly fine.

It happened on Gil's end first. His family back in Korea had arranged for him to meet the daughter of another family. They were both 'in the business', and they had been hoping that Gilgamesh and this young lady would make for a very powerful allyship between bloodlines.

He couldn't have been less interested, and he almost felt a little bad about it. She seemed like a nice enough young lady. First of all, he couldn't remember her name. Second of all, she was somewhere in her mid twenties, but it was too young for him. Third of all, and most importantly, she wasn't his Ice Queen.

Thena hadn't commented on the news of his potential marriage/merger. She knew everything about the daughter of the associate of Gil's family. She knew when she had arrived in America and she knew what restaurant had been arranged for them to have their date be both public and private enough.

She definitely hadn't thought about it obsessively. She hadn't been frothing with anger at the thought of Gil's arms around her, and she definitely didn't call in a fake bomb threat to the bank next door so that the entire block would have to be evacuated for the next few hours.

She most certainly hadn't watched from a car across the street, anxiously waiting to see if Gilgamesh would invite the lovely young lady back to his apartment (or god forbid, his office).

He didn't--he bid her goodnight and all but sprinted down the street.

On monday, Thena asked if everything was fine. "I heard there was a bomb threat in your area. I assume it was resolved peacefully."

Gil was no better. It was no secret that the Ice Queen had plenty of admirers. But none were so persistent - and insufferable - as the Prince Eternal. He really thought himself to be quite the catch. And when Gil heard from Thena herself that the kid had thought it a good idea to corner her in a stairwell and try to kiss her, well...

Gil might have taken it upon himself to track the kid down. And maybe he had his luxury penthouse broken into - Makkari was the very best, the fastest, the quietest - and had him dragged to Gil's office in the middle of the night. And maybe he'd had a little too much fun threatening him.

"If you ever step close enough to touch her again, I'll rip your dick off and have it cooked and fed to you. Got it, little prince?"

It was rumoured that Eros had flown back across the pond since.

So maybe they weren't fine. But neither had really talked about it. In fact, it was so bad that others had begun to notice and theorise that maybe they were avoiding each other.

Ajak refused to be enclosed in a room with both of them.

"Ice Queen," he greeted as she walked into his office, pristine and shining as always.

"Tyrant King," she greeted just as formally, pulling that goddamn infuriating fucking lace shawl around her shoulders.

He already wanted to kiss her. "How's business?"

She looked around his office, avoiding his eyes, "the usual. Yours?"

"The same."

Barely able to remember why he invited her, Gil looked through the files on his desk. "Heard anything from Prince-y?"

Thena kept her arms wrapped around herself tightly. She shifted her weight from one hip to the other. "Not a word. How is Jasmine National?"

Gil paused, putting down his folder again. "Hm?"

"The bank--what ever happened to your bomb threat?" Thena asked again, looking confused by his absence of mind.

He stood slowly, smiling as he left behind his desk and approached her. "I never mentioned the bank."

Just a flash--there one second and gone the next. But he'd caught it. He'd caught her. "I heard it was a bank."

"I never mentioned what bank in particular," he continued, grinning wider and wider.

"Plenty of us heard about it, Gil, it was on the news," she snapped at him in her defense. And she was right, it had made the news.

But he knew his Ice Queen, and the look of terror that had passed through her eyes was real. It was the same look of abject horror she would get whenever he used the term 'make love'. "Mm, but you knew about it before everyone else, didn't you?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," she grumbled, although it lacked a lot of its intended bite when she was mumbling. And his lips were inches from hers.

"Now, now, Ice," he chuckled, his breath hitting her skin and encouraging pink to bloom in her cheeks. They were so close.

"Gil," she uttered, and this was Thena talking. It wasn't the Ice Queen, it wasn't the Goddess of War, it was just his Thena. She hadn't leaned away, but she was as curled in on herself as she could get, lips still hovering close enough to feel his warmth. "We said we couldn't."

"I don't know what you're talking about," he whispered, bringing his hands up to hold her cheeks as he kissed her. Her hands raised between them, and for a second he really believed she would put those deadly hands of hers to use. But instead she slid them up his chest and over his shoulders.

It was familiar. It was so comfortable it was painful.

"Gil," she gasped, although it gave him the opportunity to run his tongue along her bottom lip. He was asking, and she granted him permission in the same second.

Their tongues met, and he slid her lace off her shoulders.

"Gil," she repeated, this time with a hand on his chest.

He tore himself away from her, declaring that he had more willpower than she had diamonds in her control. He sighed.

Thena glared up and away from him. Him and those deep brown eyes of his, looking at her like a puppy in the fucking rain. He thought he was so cute and irresistible. "Gilgamesh."

"Thena," he retorted, and just the use of her name made her shiver. He pushed in closer, forcing her hand to spread at the fingers over his heart. He bounced his peck into her palm and she snapped the hand back, undeniably flustered.

"Don't," she pointed in his face. This was much, much too comfortable. They were too comfortable with each other.

"What?"

"I said don't."

"I'm not doing anything."

"Insufferable man," she huffed, although she was still recovering her breath from their kiss.

"And yet here you are," he reminded her, happy to let her know the effect she had on him. He had nothing to hide from his Ice Queen. He was hers and only hers. He winked at her, "suffering me."

Thena set her deadly green eyes on him, jaw set, lips pursed. She was trying to look threatening but he couldn't help but find it a little cute. "Maybe I should have let the little heiress marry you. Then you would be her problem."

"Ah, but Princess," he chuckled, leaning forward and kissing her again. It was soft, and it was slow, and it was sweet--all the things she didn't want to acknowledge between them. He let his lips trail over her skin as he moved to whisper in her ear. "Even then, I'd still be yours."

Thena sighed as he kissed down her ear, teasing her earrings and the back of them with that tongue of his. That talented, talented tongue of his...

"Only yours," he vowed as he kissed down behind her ear to her neck. "And for the record, I never agreed to date the little heiress--I thought I was meeting her for formality's sake."

"I don't know why you think I care," Thena managed to growl out, although even that faded as she started all but purring. Her hands slid up over his shoulders again, grasping the collar of his shirt as he lavished the base of her neck with attention.

"For the record, Ice," he smiled against her lily-scented skin. "So you know for next time."

"Next time?!"

Gil blinked as she dragged him off of her, holding the back of his shirt collar like a dog by its scruff. "Well-"

She tipped his chin up, sliding her finger up one side of his jaw and down the other. "Did you or did you not say you're mine?"

He nodded.

"So, next time," she whispered against his lips but still not kissing him. Oh, his Ice Queen was going to be the death of him. And he was going to let her. "You tell them exactly that."

#Ice Queen/Tyrant King AU #this was #a tricky one #there's a lot going on #in that one ask #so I hope it's okay I moved some stuff around #I wasn't sure how to work in actual partners for them #business or not #but I do always love the idea of #two jealous idiots unable to communicate for the life of them #Thena is always unable to get her feelings out and into words #and Gil #well Gil wants to #but they have very important jobs in this life #but we all know they're going to be in love together #because I don't have it in me to separate them