#he gives off such short man energy you CANNOT be serious

[hasarjunadoneanythingwrong]

WHAT DO YOU MEAN JASON IS TALLER THAN BOTH ARJUNA AND GEORGIOS???

#WHAT THE FUCK!! #he gives off such short man energy you CANNOT be serious #my post

[floppydiskettess]

VALORANT AGENTS REACTING TO THEIR S/O GETTING INJURED ON A MISSION

featuring - sage, killjoy, cypher, yoru, sova, gekko, viper

a/n : cyphers part contains a lot of angst and alcohol talk. i couldnt let it ALL be fluff 😋

✮~ Sage ~✮

literally the sweetest ever, but this doesn't need to be said

if its a minor injury, she will definitely be giving you a talk about being safer and how to prevent that from happening

"but what if it was something more serious? something even I couldn't heal? you must be more careful angel."

if her s/o was harmed badly, she would do two things.

one, she would immedietely drop everything and rush towards healing you, this woman will stay up all night trying to heal you and make sure that there is not so much as a scratch left on your body. she would definitely overwork herself but making sure you are alright is all that matters.

two, the second you are stable and resting, she is going to find out whichever enemy agent hurt you and fuck. them. up.

im talking full battle sage, she will have no mercy if the injury they caused was threatening enough.

she may excude sweet and kind energy but she is one scary lady when the people she loves are harmed

she knows exactly how damaged a body must be for it to be unfixable.

"I'm so sorry I couldn't be there my dear, but they won't be hurting you again."

she will be watching you carefully, even asking brimstone to take you off of missions for a short time or asking him to keep an eye on you.

she doesn't know what she would do if she lost you..

☻︎~ Killjoy ~︎︎☹︎

she blames herself, how could she not? she designed most of the stuff...it must be a error in her inventions.

she will work night and day trying to figure out what happened. was it a weapon error? did the gun she designed for you malfunction? oh no was she to blame for anyone elses injuries?!

it would take a lot of reassurance for her to calm down. after all, this wouldn't have happened if she had been more careful...right?

"Mein gott...you scared me. I thought I lost you schatzi..."

she is going to be by your side after sage discharges you from her infirmary. expect lots of physical affection (if your comfortable with it.) and care.

she will treat you as if you were glass about to break. you will not be doing any chores while you recover.

oh you need to work on a mission report? its already finished and submitted. you are hungry? she would cook a lovely meal her parents would make her when she was sick. (with the help of some other agents...shes probaly not a great cook lets be honest..)

"KJ...Sage gave me the all clear! I can do it!"

" Nein nein! You are going to rest mein Häschen! I don't want you straining yourself!"

♖~ Cypher ~♖

if you get injured, be it minor or major. this man will WORRY.

he already lost everything, he cannot lose you either. if he did...he would have nothing.

when sage showed up at his door covered in blood and bruises. he knew something went wrong.

you told him you were going on a small mission. just an in and out radianite extraction at an abandoned lab. he had no reason to worry...right?

when he heard what had happened, he was devastated. what was supposed to be a quick mission turned out to be a setup. what makes it worse? you were alone at your site.

he will be thinking the worst. what if you...? if he had only done a more detailed check on the lab...maybe he could have protected you. but he didn't. he feels like he failed.

you spend weeks in the recovery bay, lying unconcious.

he spends those weeks without you in his lab drinking the memories away and trying to figure out what happened.

he just cannot function with the thought of losing you at the back of his mind at all times.

he knows he was caught when viper appears at his doorway with a concerned glare and a solemn looking sage in tow. he can't remember most of it, but viper was worried? about him?

soon he was also transported to sages infirmary. getting put on nutrients and oxygen. it was obvious he was not taking care of himself without your presence

when you wake up, he would be right there cradling your cheek with his hand. his mask nowhere in sight. all that matters was that you were safe now

"يا حياتي..i was so scared i lost you"

he will never forget his past, but he looks forward to his future with you.

can you tell i like cypher guys :)

☁︎~ Yoru ~☁︎

do not even get me started on this man

he would be extremely angry.

but is it at you, the others, or maybe himself?"

upon hearing the news, he would immediately check on you. seeing your unconcious body just makes something in him snap. the thought that someone had done this to you...he plants a soft kiss to your temple, before storming out of the infirmary.

for the next few days, he would lash out at everyone around him. sage came around to bring him some food as he had not left his room and he just...lost it.

he wasn't even sure who he was yelling at, who he was blaming for what happened. poor sage looked petrified and the others seemed to gather the idea yoru didn't want to be talked too right now.

with no word from anybody about your condition, he lay down on his bed and cried numbly. every night he would teleport into where sage had kept you to heal. he would sit in silence staring at your asleep face before always kissing your forehead goodbye. in hopes that somehow, you would wake up.

he went to your room and grabbed some sweaters of yours, every night he slept with them for comfort, clinging onto them as if they were going to leave him too.

when you wake up, he won't care about keeping his mysterious "badass" persona up. he will be at your side holding your hand and crying.

"please be more careful 私の日光...i don't know what i would do if i lost you."

when sage discharges you, he will be glued to you. he will simple little things for you (such as opening doors for you.)

his love language is definitely acts of service

if you teased him about this though, he will never admit to it.

he will be doing simple things such as cooking meals, cleaning up, and helping you finish any work you have

he is so domestic

he may not be super outwardly affectionate, but with each small favour he does for you he is putting all of his love into it.

𖦹~ Sova ~𖦹

sova is literally the most caring boyfriend...like ever..

if its a minor injury, he will treat it (if sage and skye are off on a mission).

he will definitely lightly scold you, not to be mean! just because he hates seeing you hurt and in pain.

"ангел. please be more careful next time..you know i hate seeing you upset."

if it was a major injury though, he is relatively the same.

he isn't scared to cry infront of the others, when he gets the news that your mission went south he was crying into sages shoulder.

he would stay with you the entire recovery. sage had to keep kicking him out at nighttime but eventually she realized she couldn't stop him. she simply would bring meals for him whenever he would forget to eat.

he would sit and tell you about his day, how the missions were going, even the silly schenanigans that the younger agents were pulling

"yoru tried to get revenge on phoenix for his prank but it went so bad ангел. he entered his rift and jumped out to scare him, but reyna happened to have just been passing by! she was absolutely livid родная. i have never seen our dear riftwalker so terrified!" he chuckled

when you woke up, he was still there lightly snoring against the chair sage had brought him.

when he woke up, he was thrilled, his eyes immediately lighting up like a childs

"have you been sitting here the whole time?"

"of course my dear. as if i would leave you."

߷~ Gekko ~߷

as the newest agent, he hasn't known you for very long. your relationship was coming up to a few months old but he hadn't told you how much he loved you yet.

so naturally, when he heard you were injured he was terrified

he knew this job was dangerous! he just never thought it would be you getting injured...he also never really thought of anyone getting badly injured

he was training with harbour when he overheard a mission going wrong...a mission you were on.

he would rush to the infirmary overloading sage with questions about you

"Sage!! Finally...que pasó?? Neon told me something happened on the mission?!"

Appariently, you had gotten caught in a fight with the enemy Breach and he hit you with his aftershock.

He didn't know much about Breach, but he knew that man had quite a bit of strength in his abilities (being like...bionic you know?"

After some skillful and strategic convincing (pathetic and annoying begging) Sage agreed to take him to see you.

When he caught sight of you lying in the bed staring up at the ceiling, he let out a big sigh he didn't even know he was holding.

"Mi sol! Oh mierda I was so worried! What happened?"

He would be sitting patiently listening to you explain what happened. All while staring at you softly.

"Shooottt...sounds like you had a busy mission! I am just happy you made it back cariño."

☠︎︎~ Viper ~ ☠︎︎

if you were minorly injured, it was probably from tinkering with her poison vials and one leaked onto your fingers

after hearing your grunt in pain, she turns around and her eyes widen, rushing towards you.

"Idiot, I said not to touch anything!"

she swears under her breath before wiping it away and rubbing some sort of cream onto your hand

"Honestly..who would touch something containing poison WITHOUT protection?"

her biggest fear? her poison causing you harm.

so what if a mission were to go wrong and you happened to step into a bubble of her poison?

it was a genuine wrong place wrong time situation. she had a poison bubble deployed and sitting on the ground, as she activated it she looked up to see your frame walking overtop of it.

she shouts to get you to move, but you don't hear her in time. next thing she knows, you are on the ground out cold with green and purple lines all over your face.

she quickly would call for backup, holding you tight but trying to avoid the chemical burns.

when she is back to safety, she rushes to sage's infirmary with your barely warm body in her arms

unfortunately, the poison had seeped into some open wounds you had. causing it to spread throught your body. viper leaves sage alone to do her job, pacing back and forth outside.

she knew how strong her poison could be, but she also knew how strong your body was. you would survive. you had too.

after a few hours, a tired sage walks out and nods, signaling it went well.

viper rushed into the room and immediately looked at your sleeping face, wincing at the fading bloodshot lines on your face.

"i'm so sorry love..please wake up soon"

she would wait by your side holding your hand and occasionally planting soft kisses to the back of your hand.

she knew you would be ok, but she couldn't help but feel bad that her miscommunication and carelessness caused this to happen to you.

when you wake up, she would be whispering soft apologies into your ear

"i promise...you will never feel this pain again my dear."

a/n : holy shit guys!!!! this took a while!! i spent a good 4 hours writing all this JDJSBSJSKSKSN its probably cringe im sorry

but yeah! i tried my best to write this with a gender neutral reader in mind but in some of these its definitely a bit more fem reader leaning! also i do not speak any of the languages spoken in this so if i made a mistake or used something wrong PLEASE let me know so I can fix it!!!

#valorant headcanons #valorant x reader #yoru x reader #viper x reader #sage x reader #sova x reader #cypher x reader #gekko x reader #killjoy x reader #valorant #valorant x y/n #valorant x you #y/n not used #but its implied #headcanons #ooc post #valorant fanfiction

[thelampisaflashlight]

The ghouls, but I reveal how I actually headcanon them personality wise. Below the cut.

Aether: Plays at being timid/submissive, but uses it to provoke bigger/wilder responses, because he likes seeing people go absolutely bonkers when he flips the switch and goes ham himself.

He enjoys instigating things and then letting the other person take over, because it’s that much more entertaining when he starts taking control again.

It’s like a cat showing its belly.

You were never in control of the situation.

An absolute nightmare when paired up with Swiss during trips to bars, because neither of them are playing around with the macho meathead bullshit.

Dewdrop: Fairly subdued overall, but he’s easily stirred up/teased into doing some crazy ass shit.

Definitely loves chaos and all it brings, though he’s not opposed to the idea of softness and a quiet day to himself.

More of a “Just because I’m alone doesn’t mean I’m lonely.” type which often gets misread as him being aloof/cold for not always enjoying having company.

The friend who gives you a heartfelt pep talk, but calls you a little bitch (affectionate) at the end of it.

Side hug kinda guy.

Multi/Swiss: Buys fancy mixed drinks with his dinner and enjoys them without joking about it in that, “Aw, couldn’t they have given it to me in a different glass?” kind of way.

Not afraid to be vibrant and colorful in the way he acts or speaks, and encourages his friends to do the same and appreciate the good things in life without feeling a need to hide it.

Will make people argue in circles for hours if they try to give him a hard time.

“Yes, but if that were true, this-” 

He’s quite proud of it.

Rain: He’s a sweetheart, and genuinely quite sweet, but he will also do the weirdest shit knowing no one will believe it was him who did it. 

Never anything malicious though.

Unless you count biting.

Because I feel like Rain is the biter here, not any worse than Dewdrop, but he’s the type who waits until he sees an opening that will maximize reactions with minimal effort.

In short; “I would very much like to make you scream.”

Mountain: The guy who keeps you safe at a metal show by standing behind you the whole time like an ominous obelisk of a man. 

Resting bitch face to the max until he’s leaning down and asking if you’re gonna finish the rest of your donut and let’s out a slow, “Yoooo...” when you let him have it.

I cannot emphasize enough the slowness of the yo.

Would let you sleep in his bed... without him in it.

Teamed up with Rain, you are 1000% in for the weirdest adventures, and you’ll never be able to recreate the experience with anyone else.

Cumulus: An absolute sweetie, who could probably bench every member of the band with ease.

She’s the person who asks if she can try picking you up, and then proceeds to do so both emotionally and physically.

Lifts Cirrus all the time because she can.

Shows affection through hugs, kisses, and headbutts.

Mildly concussed?

Good.

Cirrus: Confident in who she is, and straightforward with how she thinks and feels, although she can often be a bit too blunt.

Joins Aether and Swiss in getting rude people to talk themselves into a corner in the best/worst way possible.

Has “You’re in her DMs, but I’m living in her head rent free.” energy and she knows it.

Sunshine: Gives off a playful and innocent air, but with an edge that indicates that that’s definitely not always the case.

Doesn’t play games when it comes to the safety of herself or her friends, and can go from joking around to deadly serious at the drop of a hat.

I don’t know why, but I can see her getting into a bar fight alongside the others if they saw someone being a dickhead, and would wear any bruises she gets from it as a badge of honor.

Has a solid punch, but you really have to look out for her legs, because she kicks like a horse and will knock your ass across the room.

#Lamp rambles #shitghosting #nameless ghouls #ghost band #ghost bc #the band ghost #ghost band headcanons #nameless ghoul headcanons

[thedivinevera]

XANTHUS NSFW

ALPHABET

Xanthus x reader, Xanthus x fem!reader, Xanthus x afab!reader, vampire x reader, zsakuva! Character x reader

!NSFW ALPHABET!, Vampire x human, established relationship, p and v smut

Tw; NSFW, dirty, dirty, dirty, mention of toys, Nsfw alphabet, wrong spellings, bad writing (seriously)

Xanthus Nsfw alphabet, from a to z all of the sin and disturbingly detailed NSFW information using my bad writing and sleep deprived mind 🥹🥹, live, laugh, love Xanthus

A/n there is no Nsfw audio for Xanthus not like Luca, Andrew and kayson 😔😔✊, i've had like pending series for xanthus and planning to repost my works in Tumblr from my Wattpad which are all zsakuva characters

A= Aftercare (what they’re like after the act)

A 10/10 would fix a bath with you and would cook food or snacks, he's a vampire so even how many rounds you both had done he still has some energy to take care of you, while you had all of her body parts shaking from pleasure and guts rearrange

B= Body part (favorite body part their own or their lovers)

Your neck and lips. Love to take blood on your neck and also love to take kisses. You can make him thirst home by your neck and give him life by your lips. For his, he loves his hand because they're handy ahahhah

C= Cum (anything that has to do with it)

Wants his to be deep in your inside, as a vampire he doest have to worry about you getting pregnant because he's a vampire, he's dead. Dead cannot give birth to another life. If it's yours then he wants it in his mouth. Like your blood, he also loves your white fluids is just as delicious as your blood is

D= Dirty secret (Pretty self-explanatory)

Wants to have a little predator x prey roleplay, you know like he would hunt you as his little prey then you need to hide and he would catch you and would fuck you brainless while he takes blood from you also like to see you depends on him, would love to see you cry and asked him to make you cum. Xanthus secretly loves it when you're dependable to him it gives him power and reassurance

E= Experience (do they know what they’re doing)

Has enough, and probably already tries a decent amount of kink to pleasure you, most of them are just loveless sex nothing more or if there's feeling involved it's something he convinces himself is true, but being with you is everything. Sex with you is like the first sex he's been so passionate, so eager. He always had control over himself when it comes to intercourse but he can't control himself to you, to not just take you right there and here

F= Favorite position

Missionary, cowgirl, and spooning, so he can see your face and have good access to your neck, his favorite is missionary it's the default but to have the privilege to see your face while he fucking you and to also have good access to your neck is such a jackpot for him

G= Goofy (how serious are they)

Very serious when he's trusting to you but once you both finish would catch some hideous jokes and dirty ones that you need to cover your face up, probably joke about how he would pay so much to feel you again and if you're a stripper he would definitely pay a lot just to fuck you. If you like to joke in bed you would get silenced after some deep hard thrust

H= Hair (grooming habits)

The carpet matches the drapes and also it's not shaved bald just long trims you can still see his pubes around the cock it's not that long it's short. He trims quite often, more when he knew that your sex drive is sex driving again

I= Intimacy (in the moment romantic or rough/dirty)

Combination of romantic with roughness I cannot really see Xanthus calling you names mostly because he thinks sex as a very special thing and he cherishes you very well to even dare to call you that also there are some chance that Dontis is probably listening you both, and don't want to get teased again

J= Jack off (do they masturbate and how often)

He didn't do it often, he has a full control to himself and i also doubt that this old man has a high sex drive after all this years and centuries but to be honest he can be easily aroused by you just because it's you

K= Kink (kinks what they like possibly unusual)

This old man is a vanilla with a high strength and stamina, loves to keep it romantic, just kisses and good ol basic ( a/n there's nothing wrong with vanilla sex it's enjoyable as a more flavored one) but he likes to tie you up also like possessive sex, when he get jealous he loves to fix it with sex unless it's a big thing but if it's just some little jealousy then yes. Mostly you're the one who try the kink since he already experienced it

L= Location (where they like to get it on)

In his bed or couch. Just like i said he likes to keep it romantic and everything so i doubt that he likes doing voyeurism

M= Motivation (things that makes them tick/turn ons)

Everything that you do that look very sexual or when you look innocent (reference to the "whiskey") gives him the urge of corruption

N= No (turnoffs or absolutely won’t do)

Hurting you like i mean the legit hurt where you can see some bruises in your skin also don't like threesomes or even letting someone touch you aka voyeurism. He's possessive and he knew that Sharing you would make him act aggressive

O= Oral (receiving or giving and how skillful they are)

By receiving, he wouldn't deny it, he likes it when you suck him under his desk and his eyes roll back because of pleasure and head and back laying down to the leather chair while you choke in him. By giving his the best, just like what i said he likes your cum as much as he loves your blood and kisses. Would overstimulate you with his tongue and its not helping that he's so great at it. 100% would turn into a hungry man when you remove your panty and sit on his face or if you don't like to sit on his face and choke him with you weight then to damn bad he would force you to grind and sit comfortably to his face and would have his eyes look at you with lust and no he don't care if he can't breathe anymore he's already dead remember?

P= Pace (how fast they are and how long they last in bed)

Fast and rough with a little romantic sometimes he also like a slow and romantic pace really depends on what mood are you in

Q= Quickie (do they prefer fast and hard)

Love it sometimes, just sometimes. He loves it when you had a little quickie when he's busy in the gallery and cannot take care of your needs of course he cannot have any other creatures or anyone to satisfy you so he would do anything even making you cum in the private room on the gallery

R= Risk (do they like to try new things)

Would try if you want to try it, just doesn't like having a threesome, gangbang nor just a mention of anyone seeing your body but otherwise as long as you're comfortable then he's ready to cooperate

S= Stamina (how many times they can go and how long each round lasts)

So fucking long, i swear you never saw him being exhausted or tired after many rounds like hell you're already passing out and he still has his pace (a fast and rough thrust). Don't try to be nice and give him the permission to use you as much as he can because while you already pass out many times and wake up with him still thrusting inside you, he still has his pace on the same as the pace from the start

T= Toys (are they game for using sex toys on themselves or lovers)

Ho ho ho. I doubt that he likes using toys a lot i love tot think that xanthus is a boomer and doesn't know how to use technology that's why he prefer writing in a notebook and he just said that he likes writing more than typing because he don't want you to laugh at him for not knowing technology but yeah he would just probably use a little vibrator (which is he loves the effect but hate to use) and a dildo because it's a lot more easier for him (no technology nor buttons needed) after all he just need to pump it down your hole

U= Unfair (how do they tease or do they enjoy suspense themselves)

Sometimes he would tease you but he actually prefers you use him as your personal toy or something like that. Ride him or do everything he's ok with it. Just like what i said he already experienced a lot of kink by himself so he wants you to be the one who explore more so yes he likes to suspense himself you know so you can have more time to try things before he fills you up

V= Volume (are they loud, what sounds, and do they talk)

Sometime quite but sometimes would pant and moan occasionally but otherwise he's not really as loud, He prefers listening to your voice than his

W= Wild card (random sincannon of any sort)

Love it when you use him as a personal dildo he would just lay down to the bed while you bounce to him as much as your heart's content. Loves it when you get jealousy and try to please him by again bouncing on his cock and milking him while you had this coy smile, so innocent like you're not fucking your pussy down balls deep on his cock

X= X-ray (what’s down below in dem pants)

( Holding a ruler) 5 and half inches with a circumference of 2 and half when it's hard. It has a pinkish brown hue his head/ tip is pinkish

Y= Yearning (sexdrive level)

Probably lower than a normal he's already fucking old basically 500 years old ahahhah this grandpa already have his sex drive spend and turn to dust after all this years ahahaah

Z= Zzzz (do they sleep after if so how quickly after)

No, not really, you would but not him definitely he prefer to clean you while your sleeping so you don't feel uncomfortable also give you water or massage your muscles, he has a lot of energy despite all of this fucking and love making so it's not a surprise that he wouldn't sleep fast after you both are finished

Votes are appreciated

#zsakuva #zsakuva x reader #Xanthus x reader #Xanthus Claiborne x reader #xanthus x fem reader #Xanthus Claiborne #vampire x reader #Xanthus smut #zsakuva smut #obey me #afab reader #fem reader #VERA'SWORK #❦𝐕𝐄𝐑𝐀❦ #Xanthus x afab reader #Xanthus

[ordinaryschmuck]

What I Thought About the Series Finale of The Owl House

Salutations random people on the internet who certainly won't read this! I'm an Ordinary Schmuck! I write stories and reviews and draw comics and cartoons!

And today...we talk about the series finale of The Owl House. Man...What a show. WHAT A SHOW! To accurately convey how much joy and love I've had with this series...is too much to go into for a short intro. Regardless, I cannot believe we're actually here. Especially after such a fantastic season that, let's be honest, had NO RIGHT to be as good as it was. Going in, I was a little worried that the finale wouldn't have the best treatment, what with Disney, the homophobic bastards that they are (that was a joke...kind of), shortening the series and making Season Three have three specials that are forty-five to fifty-five minutes long. But I could not be more pleasantly surprised to find out how wrong I was.

"Thanks to Them" might just be the new best episode of the show, showcasing all of The Owl House's best qualities in just forty-five minutes. Featuring some perfect character-building moments, serious heartbreak, brief but insanely adorable Lumity moments, Camila being the best mom, some surprisingly dark stuff for a kids' cartoon, and practically speedrunning Amphibia's "back to Earth" arc but cutting out all the fluff and saving the goofy antics to montages as it should. Any worries I had about Season Three were pushed away thanks to this special, and I appreciate it.

And "For the Future"...also exists.

Alright, that's not fair. "For the Future" IS a great special, giving some much-needed development from Willow, having a beautiful moment with Luz and Camila, gifting us with Stringbean (who IS perfect. SHUT UP WITH THAT MAIN CHARACTER ENERGY BULLCRAP!), and showing how much of an intriguing character that The Collector is, even if he's not as devious or threatening as we originally predicted. BUT it is held back a bit by a forced redemption with Boscha and all the big story moments with King, Eda, and Lilith happening off-screen, so we can spend more time with Boscha’s forced redemption. There's way more good than bad, but it feels like the bad weighs the good down too much. And, I won't lie, it made me feel a little worried again for the show's future.

Remember how I said in my "A Lying Witch and a Warden" review that a show's premiere doesn't need to be perfect? I stand by that rule, as its job is to illustrate what is to LIKE about the show and leave future episodes to reveal why people should LOVE it. However, for the series finale, it NEEDS to be good. Not perfect, mind you. There can be SOME cracks here and there in the story, but the overall thing has to still be a satisfying conclusion. Because when it comes to a series finale, it can make or break a show. For example, Star vs. the Forces of Evil had an awful series finale with a main character doing the exact thing a series antagonist set out to accomplish and screwing up the world in such a bizarre way that it didn't feel fair for anybody involved. It was so bad that, despite having more good memories than bad ones, it caused me to not want to watch the show again. Contrast this with Amphibia, a show that I didn't love all that much but had a phenomenal series finale that was a perfect conclusion to the story that connected to the show's overall themes and caused me to cry FIVE TIMES when watching it. And even then the ending wasn't perfect. There were still some poorly placed jokes that spoiled moments, a character redemption that wasn't entirely earned, and an incredibly confusing scene between Anne and a specific character (you'll know when you see it). But still, I cried FIVE TIMES for a show that wasn't my favorite. A reaction like that made me believe that I was a little too harsh on Amphibia because why else would its ending make me feel that way?

THAT'S what a series finale needs to do. It must evoke this powerful emotion that this show is finally over and that there won't be any more adventures...Unless the network makes a revival for some reason. Regardless, that's still the goal, and I cannot emphasize how much I hope that The Owl House accomplishes it. The question is: Did it?

...I don't know. I wrote this intro a week ago. How was it, Future Me?

Future Me: AH-HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

Awesome. So, let's see what made him react like that as we dive in, one last time, with "Watching and Dreaming."

Spoilers below.

WHAT I LIKED

It Just Goes: That's the best part, really. No build-up, no messing around. We're just going RIGHT into it all with everyone getting captured and Luz waking up in a nightmare. And it's a good thing, too. We only have fifty-five minutes, and, apparently, eight of them will get cut for future reruns...Why the f**k do people even bother with Cable anymore.

Anyways, if this special isn't wasting time, I won't either.

*Looks at my intro*

...Anymore. Let's move on to the nightmares!

The Nightmares: Yup. This hurt.

Eda and King's nightmares are pretty basic, with Eda's having more of what we've already gathered and revealing that King might have more trauma than expected regarding the Titan Trappers. It's still well-done and honestly creepy with Bill's blank eyes, but it is still LUZ'S nightmare which hurts the most. All of her fears, anxieties, and guilt are put up on full display, and, yeah, it's what we've seen before, too, especially within this season. What makes this one hurts is because, well...it's Luz. My favorite character in the show and one of my favorite protagonists in anything. To have her fight through her literal worst nightmare, one she probably thinks she deserves to go through is an extra bit of pain I did NOT need. And there might be an extra subtle bit of pain where the explanation behind why she gets out of it was that she fact-checked her own nightmare. Not because her friends were saying things they would never say in real life but because Amity misquoted Azura. Luz believed EVERYTHING the others said, but because Amity didn't say things exactly how she must have imagined it over and over makes Luz realize that it wasn't real. There’s never a moment where she goes, “They don’t really think that way.” At least, maybe not until later, but we’ll get into that. For now, I will say that it was pretty painful to see Luz go through this, but it was also uplifting to see her friends still build her up despite how bleak things were. Because it’s Luz. She has and will forever do the same for them, no matter what, even if it’s hard for her to see right now.

Besides, as painful as this was, at least it wasn’t the MOST painful thing in this episode…That comes later! And we’ll get to that, but respectfully, I’m gonna stall for a minute.

The Nightmares Last…For Seven Minutes: That shocked me. This whole premise of Luz, King, and Eda living out their worst nightmares sound like something that could make up its own episode, but I’m kind of grateful that it doesn’t go on for too long. If we had twenty minutes and several more episodes to go through, I would be mad, but we have fifty-five minutes with a lot to do and no time to do it. So, while I would have loved to watch more, I’m still glad that the nightmares didn’t overstay their welcome. It gave us all the interesting stuff we could ask for, all the pain we DIDN’T want, and led us to…

Luz, King, and Eda’s Reuniting: The tears weren’t falling down my face as I expected, but let it be said that I was still grinning ear to ear at this. Our main trio is back together and it really does feel like everything is right with the world again. I’m not kidding, just seeing these three interact again and goof off in just the briefest of moments made me feel like I was watching The Owl House again. “Thanks to Them” was great in having the main Hex-Squad work together and bond, but Luz, King, and Eda is the show’s main trio. Things never really felt right with them all torn apart like that, even if King and Eda still had each other and Luz still had her friends. And, I won’t lie, it felt weird that so much of this season didn’t focus on them that much. It’s the final season, and we have so much time dedicated more to everyone else but them. Oh, they had great development throughout, especially Luz going through her pain, guilt, and revelations of wanting to be understood. Still, it didn’t feel enough to me, so it’s good that “Watching and Dreaming” is a special that’s all about Luz, Eda, and King TOGETHER as they solve this issue for one last adventure. The series started with them, so I’m glad it ends with them fighting off their greatest challenge yet...Playtime.

The Collector’s Games: Again, this could have been an episode of its own. But, just like with the nightmares, we have so much to do and no time to do it. So as fun as it is to watch Luz, Eda, and King fight through the Collector’s toy chest, I’m glad we didn’t spend too much time on it. A brief montage is MORE than enough for me, even though I wouldn’t mind seeing, well, more.

Plus, if we go on for too long in showing the Collector screwing with our trio, it would make his redemption a little harder to swallow.

Speaking of which… 

The Collector: I’ll be the first to admit that I wasn’t interested in a Collector redemption story. Well, that’s not true. I was mainly against the idea of him becoming part of the gang. I could already tell that they weren’t an evil psychopath like Bill Cipher, but more like a kid that has way too much power. That doesn’t make the Collector evil, it just means he needs to grow up and learn that mortals aren’t playthings. In fact, their idea of mortal life says a LOT about who the Collector is: “Toy’s break all the time. You just fix them.”

So, I do see how it’s possible to redeem him. They’re a kid and he doesn’t know better. Even his backstory helps support that, showing how they were a kid that was playing a game with cute creatures but was blamed for actions outside of his control. The Collector never saw themselves as the bad guy, so it makes sense to try and teach him TO know better. I was never against that…I was just against the idea of them being a part of the family like our other redeemed characters. I love Amity, Hunter, and sometimes Lilith like any other schmuck, but the Collector kind of enslaved an entire civilization to play his games. Redemption is fine, I can see it, but I wanted the Collector to have SOME punishment…And they don’t get it. But that doesn’t mean I don’t like the final decision the writers made. I truly do believe its smart to let the Collector go off and learn to grow up, only willing to come back if he feels ready to do so. It’s a decent end for a character that…came the f**k out of nowhere and was a last minute addition to making the final season more epic.

Though, I will admit, it is a decent turn of events for making us think that the Collector would be the final boss of the series only to reveal that they’re just some poor kid who doesn’t know what mortality means. It helps make them more of a unique character than just “Diet Bill Cypher,” while not stealing away from the REAL big bad of the series. And on that note, let’s talk about…

Belos Possessing the Titan: Ooooooh, so THAT’S what the f**k was up with the beating heart in the throne room…That had to be planned, right?

Like, I’m sure Dana Terrace didn’t plan things to go exactly as they went in the series, but why else show attention to the BIG FRICKIN’ HEART in Belos’ throne room if there WASN’T a plan ahead of time. And…BOY what a horrific plan it was.

Belos just infecting the Isles with…himself leads to more spectacle than the Collector ever brought. Having a single foe and their minions to fight against is pretty cool, but to have an ENTIRE island and its environment against our characters leads to a pretty epic final showdown, as well as an intense one, if I’m going to be honest.

But what’s even MORE intense was watching Belos get to the heart. I didn’t WANT to see him succeed (who the hell would), so it was great to see Raine do all that they could to prevent it from happening. Plus, it’s cool to see Raine take an active role rather than be pushed to the sidelines or get tortured again (they REALLY deserved that rest in the final moments). They were actually giving it their all, but unfortunately it wasn’t enough due to Raine being exhausted after Belos’ possession and a bit of luck on Belos’ part. The bastard got ONE bit of his glop through and that was all he needed…

However, as awful as it is, this really was a cool way to give the series one last epic battle…And a little something painful. But before we get to that, I need some fluff. Can I get some fluff? PLEASE give me some fluff!

Luz, Eda, and King Showing The Collector Around: …I’ll take it.

I know I said this special has so much to do and no time to do it, meaning we have NO TIME to waste, but this feels like wasting time with a purpose. Not only does it help teach the Collector the value of life, but it sort of makes the show feel like we’re going down memory lane with the characters, revisiting some great hits before we close out for one last time. Not all of them, unfortunately, as we don’t have TOO MUCH time to waste, but it’s still some good sights to see again. Plus, it is pretty adorable to see The Collector genuinely take interest in what Luz, Eda, and King are trying to teach him. Again, the Collector’s a kid. And any kid will learn and understand things that you teach them if you do it in the right way, so it’s sweet…Although…

Collector Trying to Show Belos Love and Kindness: They could have specified that not EVERYONE deserves it.

And it’s…sickly funny? Like, it makes you think The Collector is going to demolish Belos again, only for them to try and show love and kindness. Because of COURSE he would. They were just told that love and kindness is the better option, so he immediately applies it. JUST. LIKE. A KID.

Seriously, I cannot emphasize how much of a well-written child the Collector is, where all it takes is a good talk to make them at least try and do something different if told it’ll be better for everyone. Sure, his immediate actions were incredibly misguided, but, hey, at least it didn’t cause any real damage like–

Luz’s Death: …The amount of times I yelled “No” when this happened was immense…You know that scene in The Punisher where Frank Castle is having a nightmare about being forced to sit and watch as the people he loves die in front of him? The one the internet memed? Yeah, that was literally me when this happened.

This…hurt. It hurt a lot. And I knew Luz’s death wouldn’t be permanent. It’d be f**king CRAZY, even for this show. But there WAS a small amount of fear that it could have been. A fear caused because of one character: The Collector.

This HORRID scene (that I weirdly put in the likes section despite the pain it causes me) has a purpose. It’s to teach The Collector that mortals aren’t just toys that can be fixed when broken. It’s why they try to stop Eda and King for going feral. He now understands that life is fragile and doesn’t want to see anyone else die, even crying for the first time over the stress and pain of it all. Is this a little muddled by Luz (THANKFULLY) coming back to life later? Maybe, but there’s two things I want to say to that:

One. I still think it’s done decently enough. Even though Luz comes back, that brief moment the Collector gets when they think he can’t fix it helps teach them that not every solution is as simple. And because it’s the TITAN that brought Luz back and not the Collector, a character that’s canonically weaker than Titans, it could potentially make The Collector think that death isn’t something THEY can reverse. Meaning the lesson can still stick with him as they realize that even HE isn’t that powerful.

And two. I’D SOONER BASH MY OWN HEAD IN BEFORE ADMITTING THAT IT WOULD HAVE BEEN BETTER TO LEAVE LUZ DEAD! SHOVE your thematic sense nonsense! Luz does NOT deserve death, and I will forever stand by that statement!

As for the death scene itself…it pains me with how much it mirrors Eda’s goodbye in “Agony of a Witch.” There, Eda was giving her last words to Luz, knowing she won’t bounce back this time. She did so by forcing a smile to keep things light, but the problem is that her EYES betrayed her. Here, it’s almost the same thing. The second Luz realizes what’s happening and that there’s nothing she can do to fix it, she tries to reassure King and Eda that it’s going to be ok, even forcing a smile as there’s tears rolling down her cheeks. And Eda and King are just…frozen. They don’t move, they don’t say anything, they don’t even CRY. They’re too frozen in shock and horror of seeing Luz die before their eyes to react in any way. And when they DO react, all they feel is blind, justifiable rage towards Belos, going feral in trying DESTROY Belos. That’s the power their love for Luz had on them. THANKFULLY, her death wasn’t permanent. And we have one person to thank for that.

The Titan: PRAISE BE THIS SHAGGY MAN!

Also, I LOVE this shaggy man! It’s hilarious to me that the all imposing titan, the very thing the characters LIVE on, is just a big boy hanging out in the In Between while wearing a bathrobe and some PJs. In fact, I’m willing to bet that he has some fuzzy slippers under that…water? Is it water? Whatever it is, I bet he has slippers under there. Plus, he’s such a charismatic goober, trying to lift Luz up despite experiencing…literally the worst thing anyone can experience. But he’s also reasonable and kind of sad. Sure, the Titan has a chance to watch his son live his best life, but he’s still stuck and half-dead in a realm that not even HE can escape from. He’s a chill guy and, honestly, he’s the type of guy I’d chill out and binge TV with if not for the fact that he’s, you know…dead…And fictional.

And to address the elephant in the room, this IS pretty similar to the series finale of…a different show that I’ll be vague about. However, despite the similarities, I do think this scene is different enough and honestly a little better. In that show, it comes out of nowhere and it feels like a cop-out for what could have been a more tragic ending. With The Owl House, we see the Titan running around in the In Between, trying to get Luz’s attention in “For the Future.” Heck, he even shows up for a split second in the opening scene, so we KNOW he’ll play SOME part. Plus, the resurrection makes more sense to me. In that other show, it again feels like a cop out while having this very contrived idea for how the main character will learn to one day take the god’s place. Which, again, comes out of nowhere. But with resurrecting Luz, it’s done as more of a battle strategy to stop Belos from killing everything. I mean, he probably would have done it anyway because of what Luz did for King, but that just proves my point. There’s more reason to select Luz to save and resurrect. One might even call it personal bias. In that other show, the god picks and resurrects the main character because she made a big sacrifice. And that’s a good reason, but it cheapens that sacrifice the character made. Luz wasn’t thinking about sacrificing herself. She was trying to save The Collector and died for it due to a mistake. It’s an unfair ending and the Titan sets out to change that. Call it gratitude for taking care of King, say that it’s him wanting to stick it to Belos, and you can even claim how it’s a showcase of how kind the Titan is. No matter how you look at it’s a great moment with a great character that we only got to really know for a few short minutes.

But I will admit, seeing a Hooty in his eye makes me even MORE questions about what the f**k Hooty is. Seriously, WHAT IS HE!?

But that’s a question for another time. We’ve got a BATTLE to commence!

The Final Battle: AND EVERYONE DOES SOMETHING! That’s the best part, really. For a series finale, you want at least the most essential characters to be doing SOMETHING in the final battle and not have most of them watch as three of girls go off to have an anime battle in space (I SWEAR I love that finale). The Owl House certainly takes advantage of that for its final battle, with every character going off to take care of something.

You have the Collector making sure their castle doesn’t fall and kill everybody, while Camila and the kids do the same kind of damage control INSIDE. I do feel as though that Camila and the kids don’t do that much, large in part in the fact that there’s so much going on, but I’m fine that there’s at least SOMETHING they do.

But while that’s happening, you have King, Eda, and Luz, who is ROCKING that new look, working together to kill Belos! And I could not have asked for it in any other way! While things didn’t go exactly how I imagined it, I always did hope the series would end with the three of them working together to beat the big bad Belos. Not only do we get that, but we also get Luz being the most powerful she’s ever been, an epic guitar version of the show’s theme song (which is always good), and even Raine joining the fight. And yes, the kisses they got from Eda gave me life.

But all of this doesn’t compare to the final bit, where Luz RIPS BELOS OUT OF THE HEART like the parasite that he is! The animation was as smooth as butter, the others giving her backup was perfection, and Luz brings the whole thing full circle by screaming, “NOW EAT THIS, SUCKA!”

THIS was everything I could have hoped for with the series finale of the show and so much more! And things get better!

Amity Being the First to Offer Her Hand to The Collector: …Well, not that. Although, that is a pretty sweet moment. Amity, more so than anyone else in the show, understands that people are more complex and have reasons for their behavior. If a person truly wants to help and be better, it’s for the best to offer a hand to help them back up on their feet, and that’s just adorable of her…But you ALL know what I need to talk about.

Belos’ Death: SCREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEW YOU, Belos, for trying to weasel your way out of a just punishment! I didn’t believe his lies about the curse for even a SECOND, and neither did Luz. NOTHING excuses Belos from his awful behavior. Not a curse, not dark magic. Just him and his failure to meet the consequences of his actions.

And watching him melt away in the rain like the wicked witch of the west to then get CURB-STOMPED by Eda, Raine, and King? Yeah, that’s cathartic.

Burn in hell, you evil bastard.

Now, with justice more than served, how about we look more to fluff and–

Reunions: BECAUSE THEY FEEL SO GOOOOOOOOD~!

But, yeah, a lot of fluff and sweetness.

You got Gus and Willow reuniting with their parents, which made me grin from ear to ear.

You have Hunter gaining a father with Darius, which is the happy ending that boy deserves, really.

You have Camila hugging Luz again after (maybe?) thinking she’s dead.

You got Luz and Amity reuniting with a SECOND on-screen kiss (YES)

You’ve got HOOTY hugging Lilith…In a weird display, really.

You’ve got…everything. Everything wonderful, everything is perfect. Because, best of all…

IT’S A HAPPY ENDING: Dana Terrace, you conniving witch of a woman (and I say that affectionately), how DARE YOU make us live in fear by telling us you hate happy endings!

“She didn’t say–”

ShE dIdN’t SaY sHe HaTeS hApPy EnDiNgS! Yeah, I know. She specified that it’s Happily Ever Afters she doesn’t like. But WHAT IS THIS if not a happily ever after?! And for those who hate happy endings, you can hate them all you want but you cannot deny that this one, in particular, is EARNED. These characters have gone through so much hell with things only getting progressively WORSE ever since “Hollow Mind.” So to have an ending where everyone is perfectly happy and living their best lives is more cathartic than watching Belos get stomped into the dirt. And there’s so much thoughts to discuss…Which is why we’re gonna speedrun it. Because if The Owl House can speedrun a season long arc into three specials, I can speedrun my thoughts for its epilogue:

The photos on Luz’s wall are perfect. My favorite is the new and updated Grom photo, which shows Vee looking happy with the others. And a happy Vee is the best Vee.

Luz is going to the University of Wild Magic! She’s still learning magic, even if she can’t do it the way she used to! And going to a school that EDA made helps make it EXTRA sweet.

The future designs are perfect! And they’re all babies! Yes, the kids are young adults now, but they STILL look like babies in my eyes…Except for Gus, who looks like he’s in his mid-twenties–How does witch puberty work again?

Willow’s still doing flier derby, and good for her. It’s good to know she’s doing something that makes her happy and isn’t a stereotypical “she runs a flower shop” ending that some of us (myself included) expected.

Hunter has a new palisman! And no bags under his eyes! He’s finally happy! A happy Hunter! YES!

Hunter and Willow is…kind of canon? I mean, it feels more implied with no kiss to seal the deal, but I like it that way. Not every canon couple needs a kiss to be official in my eyes. Plus, I always find it funny when shows with explicit same sex couples have implicit straight ones. That’s a bit of role-reversal that we can all appreciate given the many, many years when it was the opposite.

Flapjack’s gravestone…Ow.

And it says “Thanks for finding me.” That’s some EXTRA ow.

Boscha’s almost completely blocked behind the credits…I actually appreciate that more than I should.

Kikimora is put on grunt work…Perfect

Lilith is adding a new section to the library…I guess. And the notes on her blueprint for the new library are funny. “Call Flora to show off :3” Love it.

I think Amity’s dressing up and traveling? Probably to find new additions for the library, which is pretty cool.

Scara’s new look is perfect.

The first character we see get a coven patch on screen is the first one to get removed. That’s actually a cool detail that some might miss if they didn’t rewatch this series over a dozen times…like me.

The kids have matching tattoos of Flapjack…Ow.

Eda having a hook for a hand is more appropriate than getting a cybernetic arm from Alador. I don’t know why we didn’t think of that.

King has his initials “King Clawthorne” on his collar now! That’s adorable!

Luz’s King-ceañera! We got a Quinceañera afterall! Even though most with Dominican decent don’t really do that…It’s still adorable!

The final shot…I mean, could you ask for anything better than all the characters saying goodbye to this final goodbye? What a perfect ending…

WHAT I DIS–I said PERFECT–

Actually, no. I told you, it didn’t need to be perfect, and it really isn’t. There’s a few nitpicks to be had.

NITPICKS. Let me specify that none of these really ruin the special for me. They’re just little things that don’t make it perfect. For instance:

If the Collector’s powers don’t work on King, then why was it possible that the Collector levitated King and put him in that nightmare?

Why were King and Eda there having nightmares too? Specifically Eda. Yeah, the Collector was mad at both Luz and King, but why put Eda in the mix too? Lilith was turned back into a puppet for…I want to say spiteful reasons, so why didn’t Eda get the same treatment? I know it’s for the convenience of having them all together, but it feels a little too convenient to me.

It’s pretty vague on how people freed themselves from puppet forms. Amity at least has the explanation that maybe it was the light glyph, but what about Raine? Did Belos’ possession have anything to do with it? If so, why didn’t it work immediately?

Camila and the kids protecting the people inside the Archives is fine, but it does feel a little pointless with how little they do. You might even be able to cut them out and little will change.

Especially since those five got shafted HARD in this special. I’m willing to live with it because “Thanks to Them” and “For the Future” more than compensated for how little we see of them here. Unless you’re Amity, who has VERY LITTLE to do all season, but Seasons One and Two ALSO compensated for THAT so…Pbbt! Still, I feel like others would take issue, so it’s worth noting.

And, as my buddy @l-egionaire pointed out, Luz losing her magic really is kinda pointless. If she’s going to get magic again from KING anyway, why remove it? To me, it feels like a half-baked attempt to give a little bittersweetness to the ending. A good attempt, but THAT’S something that I’d agree is cheapened a little.

Other than that, this finale’s golden.

IN CONCLUSION

“Watching and Dreaming” doesn’t leave me empty…but it DOES fill me with peace. And honestly, that’s better.

I was scared that something bad would happen within this finale, what with the constant “You’re not readys” from the crew. And sure…Luz died…But she got better, so it’s no big deal.

It really is rewarding to see this show get a well-deserved happy ending that came after some large amounts of pain and an EPIC final battle that was all I could ever ask for. There might be some cracks, but that doesn’t stop this special from being a well-earned A+ in my eyes, nitpicks be damned!

And to Dana Terrace and the crew, in the less than zero chance that any of you is reading this…Thank you. Thank you for EVERYTHING.

I’ll be rewatching this show for years to come, and dreaming about what any of you bring next.

#the owl house #luz noceda #king clawthorne #eda clawthorne #the collector #toh the collector #emperor belos #raine whispers #the titan toh #toh the titan #camila noceda #amity blight #willow park #toh hunter #gus porter #lilith clawthorne #the owl house spoilers #toh spoilers #what i thought about #the owl house reviews

[fleetingskylark]

/head in hands/

today I shall bring an um... nsfw A-Z headcanon of Lee HAGSJAGAJ I am going to be very self indulgent and yes this is my personal headcanon so you may agree or disagree orz

i'll put it under the cut below. stay away if you cannot handle nsfw orz

A–Aftercare

Lee wouldn't really give any aftercare besides asking you if the session was painful or not, or whether you find it enjoyable or nah. He will also pat you a lot. Other than that, he prolly won't do anything.

B–Body Part

He'll enjoy every part of you, but enjoys your neck, ears, and chest the most.

C–Cum

Since he's a construct, he can't really cum (unless Asimov installed some module similar to human reproductive systems) so if anything his length would just vibrate. As a human however, he'd just taste like sin /hj

D–Dirty Secret

He secretly enjoys going inside his own M.I.N.D. and imagine himself fucking you. May look like he's in a trance when doing it.

E–Experienced

He knows a thing or two before he became a Construct, but after that he just does his own 'research' to give you the best feeling. He's the awkward first-timer, but improves as time passes.

F–Favorite Position

He enjoys every position as long as he's with you, but loves missionary and standing up a lot.

G–Goofy

I–Intimacy

Lee is more serious when it comes to sessions with you. He focuses on pleasuring you and himself, though he may tease or taunt you with his words. Joking in bed isn't his forte.

H–Hair

Constructs don't typically have hair over there. But as a human, Lee would groom himself pretty well and keeps his hair short.

Lee makes sure that he feels amazing, and so does you. However, if he's in a domineering mood, he'd just use you like a personal cumdump.

J–Jack Off

As a Construct, he'd just do as mentioned on the 'Dirty Secret' section of this post. As a human, he'd lock himself in a room and masturbates when he craved for you.

K–Kink

Degradation, tying up, blindfolds, mirror sex. Personally, he'd enjoy seeing you being nothing but a common slut when you're alone with him in bed.

L–Location

He prefers doing it somewhere private, like his room, your room, or the office when no one is around.

M–Motivation

Whenever you tease him about how good he would feel inside you, it would get him going. He has a good job of holding back however–until he can't take your teasing anymore and straight up fucks you.

N–NO

He would not like it whenever you would look like you're in genuine pain. He loves his kinky stuff, but if you feel discomfort around him, he'd immediately stop and calm you down before asking if you'd like to continue or not.

O–Oral

He prefers receiving slightly above giving.

P–Pace

Depending on his mood, Lee could take it slow and make you feel the best pleasure as he grinds into you. Or he could just pound you in a fast pace and make you cum over and over (as a human, he'd cum again and again too honestly)

R–Risk

If Lee feels like it, he would ask you to try a new kink or a new toy. But most of the time, he prefers following your desires when it comes to trying new things. Your comfort is his priority, no matter how kinky he could be.

Q–Quickie

He does not mind quickies once in a while, but prefers long, actual sessions where he'd get to enjoy you fully.

S–Stamina

As a Construct, he could go until you're completely worn out since Constructs has bigger energy than humans. As a human, Lee could last around five to six rounds.

T–Toy

Sometimes, he would use something like vibrators. If he's not in the mood, then his length is enough.

U–Unfair

Oh, this man ENJOYS teasing. Especially if he's in the mood to be a do-S dom. How he teases you is up for you to decide.

V–Volume

Lee's voice is breathy, and he is slightly loud when he is nearing the edge.

W–Wild Card

He lowkey has a submissive side to him, and enjoys getting degraded the same way he enjoys degrading you. Will never admit to this, though.

X–X-ray

Length is around 15-17 centimeters, be it as a human or as a Construct. Also, quite thick.

Y–Yearning

Lee's drive is somewhere in the middle, as he has a pretty strong self-control. If his drive is at a high however, tease him a few times and it's all over.

Z–Zzz

Constructs don't typically need rest, but he would accompany you to sleep. As a human however, he falls asleep roughly 15 minutes after the session (unless he has enough stamina to continue a few more rounds until morning)

#pgr #punishing gray raven #exhibishoun #pgr lee #punishing: gray raven #this is self indulgent #i am very normal #not safe fw #punishing gray raven lee

[ackermansimper]

Hanji x Kenny, if it's alright, there's very cute fanart of them both, I know it's unusual but I'm kind of dying to see what it could be like XD still ♥ Thank you!!

YES. Congrats to Kazuhiro and Romi (Kenny and Hange's VAs) for their marriage. Legit didn't know for the longest time 😭

Kenny x Hange headcanons!

(sorta modern and canon AU?)

-Kennyhan, Hanny, Kenhan?-

OKAY so

Kenny and Hange would definitely be a fun couple. They'd cause chaos together and I'm here for it, honestly.

as soon as they got together, it'd legit be them poking fun at Levi. They'd be absolutely relentless with teasing and insulting him together

Kenny would probably have no idea what Hange is doing with their experiments and just fidget with random things in their lab

Kenny would playfully insult them and joke around with them a lot. Hange would never mind the insults as they NEVER took it seriously but the jokes would just keep getting thrown back and forth

Hange being so chaotic and curious is probably what pulled Kenny in

He'd probably be the one making the first move too. Again, Hange made Kenny interested with all their shenanigans causing him to start flirting with them

They might not even understand it at first, honestly. Like why is this old man here saying this random crap? But they'd reciprocate it whether they meant to or not. Either that or he got blown off by them giving him short answers as they were completely focused on an experiment of theirs

They'd probably playfully flirt at first though before making anything official. Especially after learning they both knew Levi

In fact, he'd be their first conversation. They'd definitely bond over the 'little runt' and it's probably make them really good friends

I think Hange and Kenny would begin hanging out together doing their own hobbies. It could be at the bar, Hange's lab, some random rooftop as they wondered how long it'd take for a human to fall down the roof. It could be anywhere. They'd both make fun out of anything

I honestly don't think their personalities would clash much. They aren't the most similar but they aren't too different. Kenny would enjoy Hange's energy and chaotic self while Hange would enjoy Kenny's toughness and somewhat funny self

They'd both be the life of the parties with no shame. Like they'd both just be some chaotic duo doing stupid shit and not giving much of a damn about what anyone else thought

Kenny would definitely still be the tough one though. Although both of them aren't too serious all the time, Hange would be a bit more open and fun. Even then though, they both know when and where to get serious

I honestly think conversations with Hange and Kenny would be the farthest thing from bland. They could both talk for hours on end about the most random crap that it's impressive..Although, Kenny would definitely be the one to lend it quicker..Hange just cannot be stopped.

Once Kenny and Hange were to get together, it'd be game on. They'd be together a lot. They'd tease Levi together, talk about random stuff together, experiment together, and work as a team in a way

Kenny wouldn't be too soft with Hange of course but would treat them as a very close friend of his which he usually doesn't do so it definitely means something.

He'd be more open with them though, probably more than anyone else. He'd still keep stuff to himself since Hange's got a big chatter box on them but he'd be a bit more open with them in particular

Overall they'd have a pretty solid relationship. It'd have some rough edges sometimes but it wouldn't be a bad one since they could match each other's energy

♥ Thank you for reading ♥

[422220]

✰ INTRO.

HELLO, hi, i finally got some energy to do this so here it is. EVERYBODY LIKE THIS TO PLOT OR I WILL RIOT!!! love me and kija, please, i beg. he's literally the softest man outside of the practice room but he will reign terror if you don't take his lessons seriously. definitely #DADDY because look at him but also like he gives good advice and will baby anyone younger than him. oh, and, he has a kid too. ASKSDLSDKFJSADJKL okay but on a serious note, thank you guys for being patient with me and i seriously cannot wait to write with all of your amazing muses. :D <3

I JUST TALKED FOR 3 HOURS, I KNOW, BUT LISTEN… kija is heavily inspired by hobi himself. jhope is someone i look to for comfort (he isn't called hope for nothing) so i thought i'd build a comfort character off of him. i'd say he leans more towards the more mature version of hobi, the one with a tamer aesthetic and personality, than his earlier fashion and image. (but no shade, hope world was iconic and when i started falling in love with his personality!) i also feel it's easier for me to write and relate to as i'm an anxious introvert. ADNJSKASDJSADJKL

kija was born in the bustling city of seoul, his mother was a famous tv personality that moved into journalism as she got older. (inspo is lisa ling tbh) and his father worked in the fashion industry with a focus on luxury accessories.

kija is a native of the city but he has a deep love for the countryside as that is where his grandparents retired to and he grew up visiting there. [sidenote: his comfort movie is my neighbor totoro because the setting reminds him a lot of their home!]

he has an older brother, kyubok, known as 'kyu' in the idol industry. he is a famous boy group member that debuted in the 2nd generation and was known for his dancing skill. (think taemin and shinee)

his grandfather was the first one in his family to enter the industry, he was a reporter for the kyunghyang shinmun newspaper and made special appearances on news channels. so being in the industry was like a second language to him from childhood.

kija was good enough in school, he managed to keep a to b- grades and out of trouble; he wasn't the best in math but excelled in english due to his artistic nature. he also enjoyed learning about history and geology and certain science topics. (i'm picturing him being the geeky but nice kid that wore dinosaur shirts and khaki cargo shorts when he was like six. #norizz)

kija enjoyed music as well but didn't take it that seriously until he was older, picking up the drums in middle school before taking an interest in dance and music production in high school. his brother was meant to be an idol and kija felt pressured to follow in his steps so he started dancing lessons in freshman year but truthfully, kija is introverted and has had an anxiety disorder since childhood.

here's the sad bit. *insert the tiniest violin ever* OKAY, SERIOUSLY, his grandmother passed away when he was fifteen and this completely shattered him. his low self-esteem combined with the loss of one of his closest family members messed with his mental health to a severe extent. he began to act out, acting recklessly, spending a lot of time drinking and smoking weed.

after being pressured to enter the company as a trainee when he was seventeen, he didn't stop being a rebel and got scolded a lot by the company for breaking rules but they favored him due to his family name. i want to say he never got caught with weed, i know he would have gotten punished badly, he's just a sneaky devil about that. >:) he did get caught texting another trainee romantically and showed up late or unprepared for training a few times. [sidenote: i know he's basically a nepobaby BUT don't hate him, he's matured a lot because he had a whole-ass child.]

kija wasn't the most exceptional singer or rapper but he was an exceptional dancer with lots of charisma and passion when performing so they kept him around, training him to become an idol /at some point/ but definitely not rushing it. in a way, they were stringing him along and keeping him under contract so they could eventually profit off him because they knew his name would sell. (it's lowkey giving huening vibes tbh.)

so *record scratch* you're wondering how i ended up here? driving a mini-van to pick up my kid from kindergarten? [kija vc] well, basically, he ended up getting that trainee from earlier pregnant when he was 23 and had his contract suspended immediately. this was another core memory, of course, because he was now a dad but he also had no future.

for the next two years, kija's parents paid rent as he prepared for his new life; transitioning into someone that could be a father and a husband with lots of therapy and self-reflection. (IT'S ABOUT DAMN TIME!!!)

kija was in love so it wasn't a question of that, it was a question of his maturity and ability to commit; i can safely say that he is a wonderful father and a full-hearted lover. a few months after having saja, his daughter, the two lovebirds were married and kija started a job in the local seoul theatres as a choreographer for musicals.

we all know the truth that kija didn't want to be an idol so he managed to find happiness for a few years but that comes and goes, we all know that, and shit had to hit the fan for him once again. (i'm evil, i know…)

his wife cracked under the pressure of a sudden marriage and came to him one night, explaining that she had fallen for another man, telling him that she wanted a divorce. it wasn't an ugly divorce, the two were civil and agreed to 50/50 custody, but that didn't mean that he wasn't heartbroken. kija truly loved her and had experienced the joys of first love and parenthood with her. he's hasn't seriously dated since their divorce two years ago and has focused on his career plus his parenting, of course.

after the merge, kija was given another chance from infinite and hired on as a choreographer; major thanks to his brother for putting in a good word. (lmfao) he is happy in his career, he just wants to dance because that's such a natural instinct in him; brownie points for not being in the spotlight but being paid well still.

i think i rambled enough about kija so let's move on to connection ideas??? i'm demanding that saja gets babied by everyone so she can brag that her aunts and uncles are idols at school. since he was a trainee in the past, older idols might know him and have trained with him. i'm guessing he would have known some just due to his connections through his brother. if they grew up in seoul, maybe they went to school together or were neighbors so childhood / early teenhood friends. if they were in the industry since young, kija could have known them due to his parent's connections.

since being at infinite, he maybe choreographed something for them or is currently doing so. he could just know them as a co-worker so we can grow the chemistry. since they're on tour, i'm sure he has time to party so i could definitely go for a party friend. if you think they'd get along, everyone needs someone to confide in so maybe they're close. since kija isn't the best vocalist and rapper, maybe he can help your muse produce a track since that's a hobby of his. i can see him doing anything artistic so i'm open to all sorts of collaborations. let's have them direct a music video, create instrumentals, act in something online, release an artbook or whatever else you can think of.

this was literally all over the place but i hope this is helpful enough to spark your imagination and drive you to plot with me. did i beg enough yet or should i add a pretty please? 🥺

#infinte:intro #death tw #depression tw #anxiety tw #i never know when to shut up........... #✰ about.

[apompkwrites]

reader impact || first meeting: archon edition

series masterlist characters: venti, zhongli genre: fluff summary: a game has been released entitled genshin impact, consisting of otherworldly abilities relying on the basic elements of nature. the game follows the story of an interdimensional traveling twin in search of their other half. along this journey, they meet different characters that live in this world. including you. notes: i still don't know if this will be a series but last post would've been too long if i had all four in one

venti's playthrough -

hoo boy, venti's streams would be VERY chaotic.

this boy has nothing to tie him down except for his own mortality, but will that stop him? no.

lots of late night or early morning streams because his sleep schedule is practically nonexistent.

he does a lot of singing or storytelling streams, which is why the time is perfect.

he'll sing lullabies and read bedtime stories at night. in the morning, he'll sing soft songs to wake up his viewers and talk about the rare dreams he'd have once he passes out.

he'll also have drinking streams where he just drinks as much as he can. he's a drunkard, what can i say?

anyway, gaming is something he isn't opposed to, but mainly ones with music or just pure crackhead energy.

when his viewers suggest genshin impact, he'd be somewhat hesitant?

he needs games that are chaotic and filled with energy to keep his attention.

his mods and viewers, however, are able to convince him because of a certain drunken character.

as soon as he sees the non-spoiled description of your character, he's off to download.

he actually enjoys a lot of the adventure aspects of the game, even if he's known as a lazy streamer.

anyway, his viewers definitely should have warned him about your appearance.

they never told him you were such a cute character!

"don't be afraid. it's alright now, i'm back."

"HASGDGSJFK"

he shrieked when you started talking.

"HOW ARE THEY SO CUTE?!?!"

he gets sad when his character sets off dvalin...

you disappear and your dragon friend flies off... now venti's just sad he might've made you upset.

he's pouting the whole way through mondstadt, thinking of ways to make it up to you.

he doesn't care if you're a video game character, he loves you nonetheless.

and once dvalin shows up in mondstadt, he's genuinely excited. he knows your bound to appear again because your friend is here.

when you help venti fly behind dvalin, his chat is teasing him because of the grin on his face.

he's so soft for you, man...

he will spend hours just ranting about you when he's going through the domains with the standard characters.

when he finds the other statues in mondstadt, he likes to climb up it to admire your archon design.

even though he's known you for a few minutes, he will automatically recognize your face in the game.

he knows it's annoying but he can't help but ask his chat if he'll get to see you again soon. he really doesn't want to spend hours without hearing you and seeing you in game.

he likes to yell at paimon whenever she makes fun of you

he shrieks again when he sees you running past the fountain.

he almost cries when he sees you playing your lyre for the first time.

you're perfect in his eyes and all he wants is to spend every minute of this game with you.

although, he did have to take a break the first time he saw your archon form illustrated.

you just... look like an angel and his body can't handle that.

he loves listening to your tales. like the battle pass story that occurs every time it renews, he never skips it. soon, he'll memorize it and recite it with you once it appears.

"oh! i remember you two. you both scared dvalin away!"

"I'M SORRY"

please forgive him. he knows you won't because the game doesn't require it, but he decides to always call stormterror dvalin to make up for it.

"ah, right! i haven't introduced myself... i'm (name) the bard!"

please this boy is so smitten for a video game character.

when you're revealed to be the archon, he's not too surprised? i mean, he already recognized you from the statue.

he is so excited to steal the lyre for you.

it takes him a bit, though, just because he has a bad attention span and ends up revealing his location.

he's even more excited to learn you're a regular at diluc's tavern.

he would do anything to drink with you.

he'll reluctantly end the game there just because it's time for his bedtime songs/stories.

"i'll be back tomorrow, (name), my love! i promise!"

zhongli's playthrough -

zhongli's a really good streamer even when he doesn't try to be.

he is basically the king of just chatting streams.

daily tea times and storytime streams are a go!

his voice is what lures them in and his charm is what traps them there.

he's still poor, though...

he relies on the donations from his viewers but he always expresses his gratitude.

man's respectful, what can i say?

anyway, he does play games every now and then. he doesn't tend to enjoy fighting games though.

although, he's rather good at them... for some reason.

his gaming streams tend to be a lot longer because he picks games with an overarching story.

i'm talking long games like night in the woods, detroit: become human, really any long game with deep meanings and stories.

his viewers will pay for him to just sit there and read to them.

anyway, someone donates to him and recommends he play genshin impact because of the long story and hidden lore.

he definitely enjoyed the beginning of the story, but got even more attached once he reached liyue.

he seems very intrigued when he begins the quest by watching liyue's archon fall dead on the ground.

he would definitely go on a long rant about gods and goddesses that have fallen.

when he meets childe, he does take a liking to him.

now, this man is known for being stoic and serious, so it comes as a surprise when he almost loses his composure when you appear.

keyword being almost.

he manages to stay composed but his chat knows for a fact he's freaking out over you.

your fancy suit/dress reminds him of the anthropological tales of gods/goddesses and kings/queens.

let this man drink tea with you please--

"it is an honor to meet you. i have heard tell of you from mondstadt."

"... they have quite the pleasant voice."

his chat is going wild at this point.

they get to listen to two heavenly voices talk to each other at the same time?! it's a dream come true!

another man that will let your long lines of dialogue play, listening intently to the stories you tell his character.

he actually really likes the image of his character talking to you.

he's so short compared to you--

he also really likes your animation when you're standing still.

not your idle animations, even though those are really nice as well. i'm talking about the movement of your clothes when your character is standing there. it's just so... soothing to him.

the gradient of your hair color to your elemental gnosis is also a nice detail to him. he likes how there are subtle ways archons look compared to normal citizens in teyvat.

when he finds out you are also a person who struggles with money... oh boy, this man cannot relate more.

you both can be broke together.

he will look to his chat for help every time a bargaining option occurs.

similar to venti, he'd be able to tell you were an archon automatically, mainly because of the way you carry yourself and your design.

when you give away your gnosis, he was really interested in the fact that you were so dedicated to your title of the archon of contracts that you would just willingly give your gnosis away.

when he meets the adepti, his chat jokingly says that the yaksha is yours and his adopted child.

"... i would not be opposed to that idea."

all of the artists and writers in his chat are dying at this point.

he'd look up all of the lore, especially ones involving you, and use them for his storytime streams.

#genshin impact x reader #genshin impact #genshin x reader #genshin impact headcanons #genshin impact imagines #genshin impact scenarios #reader impact #genshin impact fluff #genshin impact venti #genshin impact zhongli #genshin venti #genshin zhongli #genshin impact barbatos #genshin impact rex lapis #genshin impact venti x reader #genshin venti x reader #genshin impact zhongli x reader #genshin zhongli x reader

[thunderheadfred]

💥Bakugou HC's💥

Aged-up pro hero Katsuki for all of these. Some NSFW beneath the cut. Minors do not interact.

- - - - -

General

He’s scary good at everything he tries. Every. Single. Fucking. Thing. It’s infuriating. Has zero patience when other people can’t immediately master a skill. Never let him teach you anything. Not that he’d offer, nerd.

He WILL offer, though. A lot. He can’t believe you still can’t Do That Thing. Tsh. Like THIS. You're gonna hurt yourself, Dummy.

But hold on. Of course you have unique skills of your own. You work hard to improve yourself. Trust me, he's the first person to notice. He doesn't praise anyone lightly, so when he raises his eyebrows and whispers he's impressed, your heart will go thermonuclear.

Perfect spelling and fully punctuated texts. Never uses abbreviations. Employs a grand total of four emojis, all of them angry faces. Constantly leaves you on read. He's busy, dammit.

Doesn’t smile or laugh in public (except sarcastically). His real smile is a crooked, fragile thing. Never make him feel self-conscious about it, or you might not see it again for weeks.

He does not talk about his private life to the press. Ever. Will K.O. rookie reporters who can't keep their big mouths shut.

HOweVER: he's intensely kind to his fans. There is a whole photographic sub-genre of little girls in cosplay hugging Great Explosion Murder God Dynamight like he's a Disney Princess.

Too smart for his own good. Emotionally hyper-vigilant. Overthinks every interaction to hell and back. Will act like he's not listening but actually hears every single word in a ten-block radius.

INSECURE AF. 110% convinced he will never be good enough. Terrified of his loved ones leaving him behind. Does he do anything to assuage his fears? Like... talk to anyone about it? Hell no. That would require admitting he has fears to begin with.

Seeing people upset makes him upset, especially if he doesn't know how to fix it.

The epitome of being mean because he cares. He genuinely does not seem to comprehend that monosyllabic grunts and lopsided shrugs are not actually that comforting.

Because he was such a brat growing up, he wants to make up for it now. Sort of. In his own way. Look, he's trying, okay?

He smells - so - good. Obscenely good. He doesn't wear cologne; are you joking? There's the burnt-sugar caramel candy smell of his quirk, for starters. And since he sweats deadly ammunition, he showers and wipes himself down almost constantly. He always smells clean. Like a fucking meadow.

Never got that growth spurt he was hoping for. He’s a short man - not even THAT short - but he has a Napoleon complex anyway. If you’re taller than him, the collars of your shirts will all be stretched out. He’s constantly dragging you down to his level. He will assert himself all the fucking time; the pissing contest is never-ending. Don’t wear tall shoes unless you want him to drag you around on a leash. If you’re shorter than him, that’s good. That’s very good. He likes that.

He’s an incredible cook, but everything he makes is a nuclear fire challenge. Adapt or starve.

- - - - -

Dating

Makes artisanal, nutritionally flawless bento lunches for both of you. When people assume his S.O. makes them, he gets fucking pissed. Damn right your co-workers are jealous of my cooking.

Your pet name is Dummy. Don’t like it? Fine. You can be dumbass.

There will be zero PDA in this relationship. His hands are shoved so deep in his pockets you can’t even try.

Intensely private with the press. But with his friends, he will brag about you nonstop. Bakugou Katsuki has the most talented and attractive and intelligent S.O., and anyone who doesn't recognize that is blind. Were you assholes even listening?

A mutual buddy definitely recorded one of these drunken brag-rants and sent it to you for safekeeping. Do not let Katsuki find out about it, unless you enjoy having an ash pile for a phone.

Gets jealous about everything, at least at the start. He calms down eventually. Kinda. He stops saying shit to you about it, anyway, because he learns to trust you. But anyone who so much as looks at you in a too-friendly manner will get the death stare of a lifetime.

He’ll throw all kinds of temper tantrums and the two of you will argue about every tiny fucking thing. He’ll scream out car windows, he’ll ball up his shirt and gnash on it. But he will never raise his voice at you. He’d rather die than make you feel unsafe.

Honestly, the constant bickering is really just... uhh... passionate communication. Eventually you both hash out the important things. You'll learn how to step around his landmines and actually make your points, and he'll learn to open up. A little.

Once you meet his mom, Katsuki starts to make a lot more sense. His family just... emotes like that. Eventually, you and his dad form a spousal support group consisting of exactly two lifetime members. He teaches you the Bakugou family semaphore you need to survive a long-term relationship.

Katsuki can dish it out but absolutely cannot take it. The only person who can level with him about serious issues without explosive fallout is his dad. Or, on a lucky day, Kirishima.

If you give him a legitimate criticism (even gently!) he will take it about as gracefully as a knife to the gut, because it confirms everything he hates about himself.

To your never-ending shock, you’ve made him cry. Yes, CRY! You monster! More than once! His lip gets all *trembly* and his eyes get all *watery* and all you want to do is hug him, but. No. He’ll storm out and wander around for a few hours before coming back with the problem perfectly solved.

He always takes your advice to heart. No, he will NOT talk about it, stop asking.

Gets mad if you don’t snuggle him on the regular. Will drag you into his lap with a pissy little grunt. There might be two seats on this couch but you will not be needing both of them.

Takes pictures of you while you sleep.

Takes even more pictures of you when you're awake but think he's out of the room.

He looks at all these pictures when he's away on high-stakes jobs. He gets all bleary eyed and sleeps in a salty puddle without you. NO ONE WILL EVER KNOW.

You don’t have to meet him at the door or anything, but when he says “I’m home,” you’d better answer fast. If he doesn’t know your precise location in 0.05 seconds, he will assume you’ve been kidnapped. He never checks the fridge for notes. Never assumes you've gone down to the konbini for a snack. No, it’s kidnapping every time.

A terrrrrrible bed partner. He goes to bed at senior citizen hours and will never fuck you after sundown. He snores SO loud. Runs hot and sweats through the sheets. Slaps and elbows you in his sleep and aggressively spoons you with his loud, sweaty body. You WILL want to suffocate him. Separate bedrooms aren’t such a horrible idea......

BUT HANG ON, because in the morning he transforms into an honest-to-god angel. He's half awake, his guard is non-existent. Morning Katsuki is a doting kissy-faced marshmallow man.

If you can wake up before the ass-crack of dawn, he will pamper the fuck out of you. You are royalty for one (1) hour only, and he is your bleary-eyed slave. You want a cuddlefuck? You got it. Hugs? Kisses? Take as many as you need. You want a perfect, fluffy, NON-SPICY omelette with a heart drawn in ketchup? Here it is, gorgeous.

Then he gets in the shower and the spell is broken.

- - - - -

💥bang BANG💥

Let’s get the obvious out of the way: this here is an ASS. MAN. He'll spank you with his quirk; doesn’t matter if you’ve been good or bad. Wants to see you wince when you sit down later.

Likes pounding you face down with a vice grip on your waist.

Unfortunately, even with all that said... he doesn't exactly have the feral beast sex drive you were expecting. He’s married to his work and has the fuddy-duddy habits of a once and future valedictorian. Only fucks you when he has the time and energy to fully dedicate himself to it.

But ohhhh. Shit. When it's time? It's TIME. The man will rush for nothing. Stamina for days. Making you cum as many times as possible is a point of pride. Yeah, you passed out once.

You’re gonna need those days off when he’s done with you.

That dick THICC.

Sends unsolicited dick pics. Only after you’ve been dating a good long while - he doesn't show that shit to just anyone. But yeah, don’t check your phone at work. He won't cum without you; those pictures and videos are time bombs. You better get home. Now.

Physically dominant as FUCK, but won’t verbally degrade you unless you ask. Well, let’s be honest. Unless you beg.

Praise him and reap the rewards. A long hard ego stroking will get him off more than touching his cock ever will.

Will grab your hair and fuck your throat. Will also stop immediately if you need him to.

The two of you have safe words and gestures. Even for vanilla stuff. He’s paranoid about scaring or hurting you. He insisted you both sign a color-coded ‘love contract’ that he meticulously formatted in a word processor. When you gave him guff about it, his blush was the darkest crimson you’d ever seen.

Coin-flip: he will sometimes be unbelievably gentle in bed. Doting and affectionate, taking perfect care of you. Like, it’s baffling. There’s no warning, the switch just flips. When you want him to be extra-rough and mean, he’ll sweetly worship you instead. For hours.

Bonus: he likes being penetrated. But of course he’s got a complex about that too. Super intense power bottom. You will never fuck him hard enough. He’d like to see you try. Hit his prostate just right and he might literally explode.

You'll live happily ever after but he will say he loves you out loud exactly once. Maybe. If you're lucky. And you're both about to die.

#bakugou katsuki #bakugou headcanons #bakugou x reader #bakugou x y/n #bakugou x you #gender neutral #mha #bnha #mha headcanons #bnha headcanons #smut #mha x reader #bnha x reader #fred writes

[chubbybuckydumpling]

Royally Screwed

words: 4.2k

pairing: chubby!stableboy!bucky x royal!female!reader

warnings: arguing, period (probably not) accurate problems, smut, fluff, oral (f and m receiving), fingering, unprotected sex, power dynamics

A/n: dear anon, I’m sorry it took me 2 months to write this, I hope you’re not too upset. I changed the original prompt a little, I hope you still like it! Dividers by @firefly-graphics

My Masterlist

The wind is blowing through your hair, a cool breeze that relieves you from the hot summer sun. Your horse is galloping under you, his strong legs taking you over the loose ground. The rays warm your face, a welcome sensation. You missed this, riding through the afternoon, taking time to just live, all troubles and worries forgotten.

Admiral has always been close to you, your first horse and best friend since you were twelve years old, merely a child. The Arabian Stallion slows down to a trot on your command, the high grass tickling his side. You let your hands roam over his dark mane, feeling the sturdy hair under your fingers.

A single bumblebee flies ahead of you, its loud buzz making you smile. The scene around you makes your heart feel lighter, a warm feeling that floats through your chest. You let Admiral come to a halt and slide down from your saddle.

You trail your hand over the horse’s muscles, the short hair caressing your palm. His strong snout nudges your arm and he neighs, causing you to giggle, “You did so well, boy” You wrap your arms around Admiral’s muscular throat.

His scent fills your nose, it’s familiarity never fails to bring you comfort. The animal scratches over the earthy ground as the sound of hooves hitting the floor ripples through the air. You whip around, parting yourself from your companion. A little further away, you see two of the guards coming your way. Their horses are quick and strong, but they have nothing on your Admiral.

“Lady Y/n”, they yell out and you can’t help but roll your eyes. The men reach you quickly, panic in their eyes, “Your highness, you must remain in close proximity for us to successfully protect you at any time”, one of them states, trying to deepen his voice.

“Of course”, you smile at them, “it wasn’t my intention” A lie. You purposely mislead them to have a moment of your own, some quiet minutes of peace. The guards exchange glances until one of them shrugs. “We see. Now, it is of utmost importance to immediately escort you home. We shall keep you as safe as possible, your highness”

You sigh internally, but follow the mens’ orders without argument. Admiral snorts stubbornly, but reluctantly follows your lead.

The sound of birds singing and insects chirping brings you great joy as you gently rock back and forth with the steady trot of your horse. Unknowingly, these were the last moments you would spend outside of the castle for quite some time.

The guards at the gate salute as you pass them. The warm sun has kept you comfortable in the open where the wind was stronger, but you quickly start to heat up inside the walls of your father’s estate. Admiral soon comes to a halt in front of your mother. The woman is fuming as she approaches you, her face twisted into an angry grimace.

“Your father and I need to talk to you, young lady! You are in serious trouble”, her malicious voice hisses as you jump off of Admiral’s back. Your mother’s fingers wrap around your arm to pull you towards her, but a warm smile is on her face. A muscle in her jaw twitches and exposes her true anger. She speaks to one of your guards, but you can’t be bothered to listen for something has caught your attention.

A man has walked up to your horse to pet his head. He is gentle with Admiral, careful and loving even. You let your eyes rake over the man. The typical stable boy clothes are obscuring your view, but you can make out the bulge of his tummy, his big arms and thick thighs. His long brown hair falls over his face, some strands are stuck to his forehead as the sweat glistens over his face. This man looks like an absolute dream and you can feel your lips twitching up.

You begin to walk towards him, a giddy feeling brewing up in your stomach, but your mother pulls you back, “Oh no, you are not getting out of this one. Follow me, now” She drags you behind her and you wish to struggle against her grasps, but won’t dare to resist her. Not at that time at least. You take one last glance in his direction, hoping to see his face, more of him. You find his gaze, stare into the warm blue of his eyes before your mother pulls you out of his view.

A sad sigh escapes your lips, but you promise yourself to go and find him as soon as possible. The way he looked at you, sweet and shy, is replaying in your head, his sweaty form a picture in your mind. Whoever that man is, he makes your insides throb with desire.

Your father’s yelling rips you out of your trance and you look up to meet his vicious glare. He takes a deep breath with closed eyes and when he meets your eyes again he looks calmer. His hand reaches out to your face, cupping your cheek.

“My daughter, what am I going to do with you?”, his voice suddenly sounds sad, “Y/n, you know that you need to enter a marriage soon. I need you to be on your best behaviour, this is about your future. I only want good things for you” You rest your palm over your father’s, “I know, father” He brushes his thumb over the apple of your cheek, “You’re so beautiful, my only daughter. I know this isn’t what you want, but at least let me make it as pleasant as possible for you”

You sigh and stare right past your father, “I already gave my word to marry whomever you choose, father” His hand falls from your face and wraps around your fingers, “I don’t want to hand you to anyone, don’t you understand? I want someone that cares about you” He squeezes your hand, “But you need to behave,Y/n. The men of higher status, they won’t accept an ill-mannered, rebellious women”

Enraged, you rip away from his touch, “I am not ill-mannered” Your mother gasps at your outburst, but your father smiles at you. He steps forward and grabs you by the shoulders, “I know that. Believe me, I do. But these other men don’t” A sigh escapes your lips, but you nod nevertheless, “Okay, father. I will do my best” He grins and it jumps right over to you.

Your father pulls you into a warm hug and whispers to you, barely audible, “I could not be prouder of you, my child” A warm, comforting feeling spreads through your chest and you feel like a little girl, no worries or problems, just love and happiness on your mind. You pull away from the hug and watch your father’s eyes crinkle.

Your mother forces a cough and directs a pointed glare at her husband. He sighs and turns to you, “However, your mother and I have decided to ground you for the next few days. We cannot let your temperament ruin your future. We ask you to stay on the estate’s grounds” This is obviously your mother’s doing. She always cared more about your standing and reputation, but you’ve learned to just accept her orders.

“Yes, father”, you nod at them, “Mother” A satisfied look settles on the woman’s face, hands clasped tightly. “You are excused”, your father rasps and you leave the room, a sour look sneaking onto your lips. Stupid marriages. All of your life, the fact that you will be married off as soon as someone worthy shows interest, has been hovering over you, a subconscious thought that drained your energy, leaving you exhausted and numb. You can’t believe that this dreaded day is moving closer so fast.

You enter your room and sit down on your bed. The mattress gives out under your weight and perfectly molds into a comfortable shape. You let yourself fall until you’re lying flat on your back and close your eyes. Slowly, the darkness and exhaustion consumes you ,hugging you like a warm blanket.

The shine of the moonlight dancing through the window rouses you from your sleep. The light has a slight pink tint and colours the dim room in a nice shimmer. A yawn escapes your mouth and you sit up. The cool air makes goosebumps appear on your skin, yet you feel drawn to it. Suddenly, an idea pops into your mind. Surely, nobody would notice if you left for a little to see Admiral.

A grin sneaks on your lips as you wipe the nasty crumbs from your eyes. Quickly, but careful to remain silent, you dress in your warmer riding clothes, the training ones, not the dresses. Thick, warm leggings and a nice, comfortable pullover. On your way out, you grab a wooly hat to cover your ears, smiling mischievously.

Skipping, you make your way through the halls. A giddy sensation rumbles in your belly, the excitement of knowing you’re about to go on a ride. The door knob feels cool under your skin as you turn it to open it. The freezing air seeps into the kitchen, swirling around your body. Adrenaline shoots through your veins and your legs begin to move on their own, moving faster and faster until you’re running, your feet carrying you over the well known path.

You come to an abrupt stop when you see a small light in the stables, most likely a lit candle. Nervously, you sneak closer to peek around the corner. In the dim shine you manage to make out the features of the beautiful stable boy from earlier that day. His hair is falling free, framing his chubby face so beautifully.

A long sleeved linen shirt layered with a dark vest and brown trousers clad his thick form in such a delicious way. For some reason, this man made you feel things. To your surprise however, he is standing next to Admiral, gently stroking the horse’s strong, defined face. Weird, you find yourself thinking, Admiral usually does not tolerate close proximity with anyone but yourself.

That fact is seriously arousing. This beautiful man being so gentle to your hot headed horse is insanely attractive. Your heart fills with warmth the longer you watch him. He whispers into his fur, smiling adoringly at him. The stable boy’s big hands look so soft against Admiral’s fur, his thick, long digits massaging the strong muscles. You bite down on your lower lip, a sly smirk forming. This beautiful sight almost made you forget about the cold.

Your lungs fill with air as you take a breath of encouragement before you move out of the hiding spot. Making sure to move your hips extra seductively, you wander closer to the man of your desire. It’s easy to pinpoint the moment he notices you by the way his eyes double in size and his entire body freezes. The look of fear in his eyes tugs at your heartstrings.

Gently, you take a step closer to him, but he shies away from you, like a baby deer, scared and vulnerable. “Lady Y/n, I beg your pardon. I didn't mean to intrude”, he stumbles through the words, clearly afraid he upset you. You smile in hope of looking safe and not angry. “You’re fine”, your voice is gentle, almost like you’re talking to a child, “It’s impressive. Admiral really seems to like you”

He shyly looks up to you to gauge your reaction, nervously playing with his fingers. “He’s very beautiful”, the man whispers and tucks some of his loose strands of hair behind his ear. You grin, taking another step forward, “He is”, you reach out to scratch Admiral’s neck, “So are you”

A deep blush rises on his cheeks, warming his skin. You continue talking, eyes trained on the stable boy’s chubby face, smiling warmly at him, “So, what’s your name, pretty boy?” Nerves cloud his eyes, his chest rising and falling quickly, “James, b- but people call me Bucky”

“That’s a real pretty name”, you purr, “Bucky”, testing out how the word feels rolling off your tongue. Lower lip between your teeth, you reach out to touch his biceps. His strong muscles flex under your touch, but it feels soft beneath your skin. Your fingertips squeeze around him as a surge of want ripples through your body.

“I saw you with Admiral this afternoon and I could not stop thinking about you. You’re so good with him, it’s very”, you smirk and lean closer to him, lips right next to his ear, “arousing”. The whispered word makes him gulp and he feels himself twitching in his loose pants. He can’t deny he feels attracted to you, especially in these casual clothes that you’re wearing right now.

He’s been eying you for months now, always hidden away in the shadows or behind corners. He heard so much gossip, so many rumours that intrigued him, but your bond with Admiral really did him in. To see how caring and tender you were with the horse made him crave the same attention from you. He wanted your affections and love, almost like he needed them, but he knew better than to approach you. His family depends on his earnings, he would not challenge that security he could provide. But now it seemed like maybe he could have both.

The close proximity makes his heart race, your breath tickling his sensitive skin. You feel his nerves, so you move even closer, pressing your body against his. He tenses up, but shyly reaches for your waist. “I really want you right now, Bucky”, you whimper, pushing your breasts forward and up against his chest. His breath catches in his throat, but he somehow finds the energy to tighten his grip on you.

The feeling of your body against his further arouses him, a shiver running down his spine. With all the courage he could muster, he looks up at you, “I really want you too” Your hands run over his chest and grip onto the edges of his vest, “Then take me”

Pulling on the leather, your mouths crash together. His rough, chapped lips fit right onto your own soft lips, a result of your maid’s tending. The smacking sound immediately helps you relax into Bucky’s frame, letting out a little sigh. With newfound confidence, he traces your lower lip with his warm tongue, leaving you yearning for a taste.

You open up for him, letting him explore your mouth. He moans at the feeling, licking into you greedily. Little glimmers of want spark in your belly, nipples hardening as the simmering pleasure begins to grow. Your saliva mixes with his, tongues dancing together in an aroused display of want.

Just as you were about to shrug off his leather vest, Admiral neighs right next to you. Bucky shrieks, jumping away from you. You stare at him, a slight fear of being caught running through you before a grin etches on your lips, laughter bubbling in your chest. Bucky mimics your giggling, his eyes crinkling adorably, lips swollen.

Grinning you pet your horse once, but turn to the chubby stable boy to pull him after you. The back of the stable is dark, only Bucky’s candle serving as a source of light. You turn around, coming face to face with the pretty boy. The golden glow makes him look so beautiful, the breath stuck in your throat. It’s completely silent, only the sounds of your breathing audible.

You gulp, stepping even closer to him. Carefully, you take his candle and place it on the floor, close to a pile of hay. “Bucky”, you whisper, “please” He takes a deep breath, but closes the distance between you two, once again connecting your mouths. Gently, he grabs you by your waist, both hands feeling warm and powerful on your body. Your own fingers wrap around his neck, playing with his beautiful hair.

With tongues intertwined, Bucky closes his arms around you to lead you towards the hay, supporting your weight. “Wait”, he mumbles against your lips, reluctantly pulling out of the embrace, “Let me just…” With care, he shrugs off his vest and places it over the hay. A soft smile spreads over your face, a funny feeling whirling in your belly. You take the chance to take off your hat.

“Well then, gentleman”, a purring sound fills the air, “I could use some help undressing” He gulps, eyes widening in arousal. Slowly his hands find your hips, fingers sliding under your shirt. The immediate warmth that seeps into your skin makes you gasp, moaning lightly at the feeling. His digits trace your skin, gently lifting up your shirt so you can take it off.

His hands roam your exposed skin, exploring your body to his full extinct, feeling every curve and uneven spot. You reach behind your back, unclasping your sturdy bra. Bucky gasps at the sight, eyes trained on your exposed breasts. Your nipples harden, once more, under his fiery gaze and you gently push his hands towards the, your body burning for his touch.

The moment his palm cups you, a needy moan escapes you which spurs Bucky on to massage your breasts with more enthusiasm, toying with your nipples. Greedily you let your hands wander under his linen shirt, reveling in the feeling of his soft skin. The chubby rolls feel delicious under your touch, gending to your wishes. You hastily free him from the offending clothing, pressing your body against his.

Arousal and need is flaming inside you and you desperately press your lips together into a hungry kiss, teeth crashing against each other. “Please, I need you so much” He nods, breathless, and gently lays you down on his vest. You catch a glimpse of his tented trousers, saliva running in your mouth, the sight so delicious, especially paired with his big thighs.

Bucky’s chubby fingers work your fuzzy leggins down your legs. The cold air causes goosebumps to raise on your skin. You hear him gasp when he looks at your exposed heat,dilated eyes transforming into a hungry stare. “You’re beautiful”, he groans, his hand cautiously travelling up your thighs. You nod as confirmation and Bucky runs two of his digits up your heat.

He traces your outer lips, your anticipation rising. You hold your breath, hands running through the hay that the vest doesn’t cover. Finally, he leans up and spits on your core, further lubricating you. He finds your clit and begins to rub gentle circles into it, a stuttered breath leaving your mouth.

Bucky trails down to your opening, carefully inserting two of his fingers into you. “Fuck”, he groans, pushing in further, “you’re so tight and wet” He starts to fuck you with them, slowly at first, then faster, his gaze set on you. The squelching noises fill the air, soon joined by your moans. Suddenly he hits a special spot and you arch your back, pressing into him as a loud, guttural groan leaves you.

Your gaze meets Bucky’s and you begin to move your hips on your own, “Please do it again, do it again” Your begging eggs him on and he adds another finger, his strong thrusts leaving you breathless. Your eyes roll into the back of your head, pleasure building up in your lower belly.

All of a sudden you feel something wet around you, followed by a suction right around your sensitive nub. You moan loudly, hands flying into his hair. His penetrating gaze meets your eyes and with an especially hard suck the coil in your tummy snaps and you cum around his fingers, your core grabbing him tightly. You feel him moan against you, but he keeps fucking you through your orgasm, prolonging the addictive high.

Finally, you regain your senses and push him away from you, too sensitive for any further stimulation. You look at him. He sits in front of you, his chin wet with your slick, chubby belly rolls folding into each other deliciously, his trousers tented with his obvious want. A smile plays over your lips, “You look so beautiful like this, James”

He perks up when you mention his name, a shy, but aroused glint in his eyes. “You really think so?”, he sounds so little your heart starts aching for him. “I’ve never seen someone as stunning as you”, you crawl up to him, hands on his cute little cheeks. You feel his breath graze your lips and lunge forward, mouth against his, tongues tangling.

One of your hands drops lower to cup him. He feels heavy in your palm and so nice. A craving awakes inside you and you squeeze him through his trousers, a lovely moan ringing in your ears. Your fingertips hook around the waistband and you pull all the bothersome clothing off of him. His cock jumps free. It looks delicious, hard and slightly curved to the side, thick veins running along the length of it. The bulbous head is covered with his foreskin, a trail of precum has made its way down some of it.

The sight of him is so beautiful, his thick thighs making you bite down on your lip. You bow down, one hand gripping his leg, the other slowly fisting his cock. You watch as the foreskin pulls back to show his wet, sensitive head. With one last look into his face, which is contorted in pleasure, you take him in your mouth, slowly sinking down on him.

He moans, hands cupping the back of your head. You suck on him, yearning for his cum, his taste .Fondling his balls, you become even more hungry for him. He smells so husky, so good, mouthwatering even. Slowly, you take him even deeper, your nose buried in the curly pubic hair. His hips stutter, pressing his length even further into your throat, a hearty groan leaving him. You splutter around him, your gag reflex kicking in.

Pulling off, you take deep breaths, spit running down your chin. “‘m sorry”, Bucky mutters, his own hand now wrapped around himself, fisting his wet cock, “It just feels so good” Your pussy clenches at his words and you lay back down, spreading your legs. “I bet this will feel even better”

Bucky groans at the sight and shuffles closer. He runs his thick head along your slit, coating it in your wetness. Managing to hit your sensitive clit with his cock, he groans, twitching in want. Gently, Bucky positions himself at your stretched hole and begins to push in. He moans, steadily spreading you over his cock until he bottoms out.

Sweat runs down Bucky’s face, pleasure and desperation filling him. He tries to refrain himself, but when you begin to whimper and grab onto his thick arms he crumbles. Bottoming out, his fat balls slap against your bum. Slowly he pulls out again, just to thrust right back into you. His cock is so hard and curved perfectly, he fits inside you so well.

The sounds of skin slapping and moaning is the only thing you can hear, sweaty bodies moving in unison, a play of mutual pleasure, need and adoration. Bucky’s chubby belly feels so good against you, especially paired with the delicious feeling of him hitting your spongy g-spot over and over again.

His hands are all over your body, grabbing handfuls of your breasts, playing with your nipples, holding your thighs and squeezing your waist. His moans and whimpers sound so delicate and sexy, almost serene and calming, but so arousing. The squelching of where your core envelopes him makes you arch into him, his chub so soft against you, yet his obvious strength makes you clench.

His length fills you so good, his hard, quick thrusts turning you on enormously. His fattened up cock makes you mewl, all the sensations adding up into one big coil of pleasure.

Bucky’s sounds grow louder, his hard thrusts faster, more irregular. His cock begins to pulse in you when he drops a hand to your sensitive nub, drawing quick, strong circles on it. Your body is on fire, spasming under the stable boy, your hips meeting his thrusts. You feel so close to the edge and when Bucky grunts, “You’re so good for me, you’re gonna make me cum” you fall over.

Your body shakes, yet you feel like you’re floating. A warm, fuzzy sensation enveloping you, like a soft blanket hugging you close. You feel Bucky’s naked skin against you, his fingers on your skin and his breathing against your neck, but you can’t open your eyes. He grunts loudly and pulls out, but you’re so blissed you don’t find the energy to do anything but whimper.

“Thank you”, he mumbles, his soft lips resting near your collarbone, some spare hairs tickling you nicely.

Slowly, you become more conscious and manage to blink, opening your eyes. Bucky is cuddled against your side, laying on the hay. His arm is wrapped over your waist. You spot his white cum on your tummy; It looks slightly dried and feels a little itchy.

You turn to look at him, a soft smile forming at his beautiful face. His long hair frames him so well, a delicate sight that makes your fingers itch to draw. Instead, you cuddle closer to him and close your eyes. You know you’ll have to get up soon, nobody can find out about this, but for now you want to enjoy this moment of peace and serenity for a little while longer.

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#bucky barnes #chubby!bucky barnes #chubby bucky barnes #chubby!bucky #chubby bucky #bucky barnes x you #bucky barnes x y/n #Bucky Barnes x reader #chubby!bucky x reader #Bucky Barnes smut #smut #chubby Bucky smut #Sebastian Stan #marvel #royal au #stable boy bucky #chubby Bucky x reader #Sebastian Stan character

[arwenkenobi48]

The PDF That Saved My Life - Why I Love “All Tomorrows” With All My Heart

(Content Warning: Discussions of trauma, suicidal ideation and sexual abuse)

*clears throat* So, as some of you may be aware, the past few weeks haven’t been easy, not in the least. I was struggling with serious suicidal urges and feeling extreme anguish towards my own body and soul. I believed myself to be tainted, filthy and all manner of destructive and negative things.

The reason behind this breakdown was due to the realisation that I had experienced sexual harassment and assault multiple times throughout my life, including an occasion last year in which I was groped by an immediate relative. I had been aware of the incident since it happened, but was in denial. I was thinking “It couldn’t have been that bad, right?” But after trying unsuccessfully to repress it, I had to face the facts that she did what she did. I was heartbroken and I’m still deeply saddened by the realisation. Everything just seemed to fall apart and I psychologically imploded, plummeting into a dark pit of worthlessness and childlike sorrow. I felt as if I had been thrown into a mental oubliette; just tossed away and forgotten about on every level. Whenever I wasn’t bawling my eyes out and grieving my lost innocence, I was stress-eating and lying in bed, feeling nothing. Every now and then, I’d receive a short burst of energy, but nothing substantial, and the feelings remained.

Despite all of that, though, I didn’t want to die. A small part of my mind wanted to hold on and ride out these waves of suicidal thoughts. But I also knew I shouldn’t have to be going through this cycle of building up and breaking down, so I finally managed to seek professional help. There’s another thing that also pushed me towards seeking help and eventually guided me out of this dark place, and that’s the work of science fiction I mentioned in the title. All Tomorrows by C. M. Koseman (I hope I’ve spelled that right).

I don’t remember exactly how I came across it, but I think it was the video by Alt Shift X on YouTube that did it. As you can imagine, my dark thoughts weren’t only directed towards myself, but the world at large. I was wondering how life could be so cruel as to let something so horrific happen to me. I saw the thumbnail of that video and I didn’t know what it was. I had vaguely heard of All Tomorrows, but was more familiar with the much more nihilistic Dougal Dixon book Man After Man, and as such I got the two confused. I clicked on the All Tomorrows video, barely paying much attention and dismissively thinking: “oh great another sci-fi dystopia that predicted humanity’s inevitable downfall”.

What that video showed me absolutely blew my mind. As I discovered C. M. Koseman’s intricate worldbuilding science fiction project, I became fascinated and enthralled by the journeys and evolutions of the various post-human species, from the fun-loving Satyriacs and the mellowed out Snake People, to the bloodthirsty Killer Folk and the horrifying Bone Crushers. Yes, many of the stories were very, very sad. The Mantelopes lost everything and devolved because intelligence was so painful. The Striders, Titans and Temptors were all wiped out before they had the chance to truly reach their full potential. The Qu and Gravitals, one could say, ruined everything. But what truly amazed me was the fact that many, many of these stories also contained great happiness.

The Colonials, for example, suffered through the kind of torture that I wouldn’t wish on the Devil himself. Being wedged together into a wall of flesh bricks, all while retaining intelligence. And yet, they managed to turn into the beautiful Modular People and create a utopian society. Yes, the Killer Folk are traditionally violent, but the ones that made the biggest progress were the ones that chose peace over war. The Satyriacs started off as the mindless Hedonists, but were able to use their intelligence to appreciate every moment of their joyful lives. The lowly Worms became the comfort-loving Snake People, always able to appreciate the little things in life. The flattened Lopsiders rose up from the ground and became the proud, tall Asymmetric People. The list goes on, but you get my point.

The point is, even though this future humanity went through the sort of Hell that makes the past few years look tame by comparison, they always managed to rise up. Sure, nothing was ever quite the same again, but they managed to make something new and wonderful out of that. When you cut an orange, you may not have a whole fruit anymore, but you have lots of slices that can be shared with everyone. The best thing you can do is move forward. The future will always hold something better for you, even if that seems impossible. Don’t be afraid to reach for it. The final quote of this incredible piece of sci-fi wiped away the remnants of dark still clinging to me: “Love today and seize all tomorrows.” To me, that meant “Be a kind soul and you can achieve anything.”

This entire story ignited a strong feeling of empathy within me; an emotion I thought I was too traumatised to ever properly feel or express again. I think that was the point. Sure, the many strange post-humans may not look like us, but we cannot deny that they are human and that brings out the best in us. We shouldn’t be afraid to show empathy for our fellow humans. Thinking lowly of what collectively proves to be our best quality, claiming we’re “above” it and aiming to become “bigger than” everything else deprives us of our humanity. Empathy, compassion, love, that’s what makes us truly powerful. If we can learn to love today, the utopian future we all dream of will finally be ours.

Love is something that, from an early age and for over half my life, I was never truly given. But that doesn’t mean I can’t give it to others. Just as the post-humans were able to move forward and rise from the ashes, I fully intend to do the same. I’m safe now. The people who hurt me are gone from my life and will never hurt me again. I’m surrounded by loving friends, in a city I love, attending a university I love, receiving the therapy I need to heal and soon to be medically transitioning too. Even though I still struggle to accept it, I’m learning to love myself as well. I think that’s the greatest love someone can ever feel. If I continue to love each today that comes, all the tomorrows will be brighter and brighter.

And to think this all started because of a PDF about the hypothetical future of humanity. I’m determined to hold on no matter what. Idk if C. M. Koseman uses tumblr or any other social media for that matter, but if he comes across this somehow, I just want to say “Thank you from the bottom of my heart. I wouldn’t be here today without All Tomorrows.”

https://youtu.be/-WIk29qtrIo

(PS: I know I have stumbled and made mistakes on my platform as well. I’m still a little bit unsteady after being in such a dark mental state for so long. I’m sorry about that. I am doing better. Thank you all if you made it this far. I love and appreciate every single one of you.)

#arwen speaks #tw: abuse #tw: suicidal ideation #tw: trauma #all tomorrows #personal philosophy #Youtube #science fiction #the future #empathy #the power of love #queue

[morganaspendragonss]

holly's august extravaganza day 17: you and me (moving through this world as a two-man team)

for both my incredible birthday twin jenny (@laelipoo) and a little bit for myself! i hope you are having a wonderful, wonderful day and i wish you all the love in the world. i'm so glad we became friends and i cannot tell you how glad i am for our conversations 🥰🥰🥰

many, many, many thanks to jenny as well for helping me out with the plot!

ao3 | 3.1k | firefighter carlos, hurt/comfort, pining, developing relationship, major character injury (two of them 😌)

TK does not have a crush on the 126's latest hire.

Carlos Reyes: an Austin local, an incredible firefighter, and—objectively speaking—the most beautiful man TK has ever laid eyes on. Which is, in fact, the entire point; TK has eyes and, yes, he will use them to sneak a look or two when he’s suddenly sharing space with a man who looks like a Greek god.

That does not mean he has a crush, Paul.

(and, sure, maybe he does sometimes dream about how soft Carlos’s lips look and the soft blush he gets when he laughs and those little flecks of gold in his eyes, but he’s only human)

(how TK knows about the gold in Carlos’s eyes is none of anybody’s business)

The thing about Carlos Reyes is that he isn’t only stupidly hot; he’s also just plain nice. TK can’t even make up a flimsy excuse to keep his distance. Carlos is, quite literally, perfect.

He shares recipes and book recommendations with Paul, he spars with Marjan, he discusses superheroes with Mateo, and Judd has had nothing but good things to say since before Carlos even joined them. Apparently they’d worked together a lot before the explosion, when Carlos was with the 116, and he’s ‘one of the best damn firefighters’ Judd has ever seen.

He even makes time to hang with the paramedics, which...isn’t a new development, exactly. But it is recent, and TK is willing to bet they’d still be pretty divided if Tim hadn’t suddenly transferred back to Maryland and he hadn’t taken the leap to be a full paramedic.

Even after that… His friends were hardly going to abandon him after he switched, but Nancy had still only been semi-included at best. She’d called him out about it during their first week working together, but fixing it had been a slow process.

Until Carlos came along, that is. Excluding Judd, they all regularly hang out at his place now, and Nancy’s inclusion had never even been a question. Safe to say, Carlos has charmed everyone in the firehouse, including both captains, and the worst part is, he doesn’t seem to realise he’s doing it.

He’s perfect, from his freakishly toned body to his infuriatingly sweet personality to his incredible skills in the field, and TK does not have a crush, goddammit!

One morning about three weeks after Carlos’s arrival, TK is greeted in the firehouse by the sound of a long, beautiful laugh coming from the kitchen. Three weeks is an embarrassingly short amount of time to admit that he’s memorised everything about him, but he instantly recognises the noise as coming from Carlos, even if he can’t see him yet.

He saunters into the kitchen, where Carlos is standing with Paul, and leans up against the counter. “Hey.”

“Hey.” Carlos turns with a winning smile and holds out a steaming mug of coffee, clearly freshly made even though TK only got in two minutes ago.

He blinks. “How—” Then, taking in the slight pinkness to Carlos’s cheeks, “Are you seriously offering me your own coffee, Reyes?”

Carlos shrugs, forcing the mug into TK’s hands. “I only just made it so technically it belongs to anyone, and I can always make another,” he says. “Besides, you look like you could use it more than me.”

His grin has TK narrowing his eyes and stubbornly refusing to drink even though Carlos is right—he really, really needs it.

“If I didn’t know any better, I’d say that was an insult.”

“Who says you do know better?”

TK splutters, momentarily left speechless in the face of Carlos’s smile and the twinkle in those goddamn eyes. He turns to Paul for help, but Paul...has disappeared. Huh. TK honestly hadn't noticed him go.

He shakes his head and looks back to Carlos, only to be stunned silent again by the way his smile has softened into something else, something more.

TK’s heart skips a beat or two and he swallows, staring down into Carlos’s coffee. “Whatever, Reyes,” he mutters.

It was too late for a witty comeback anyway.

Carlos’s laugh follows him out of the kitchen, and TK wonders when, exactly, he let himself fall this far.

*

“Earth to TK? Hello?”

TK is rudely snapped back to reality by one Nancy Gillian’s hand waving violently in his face. He scowls at her, to which she responds with an eye roll.

“Stop drooling over your man and come help me with inventory.”

“I’m not drooling,” TK argues, following her over to the rig. “And he’s not my man.”

“Right,” Nancy drawls, folding her arms over her chest as she leans against the ambulance. “So you’re just going to deny that weird energy around you two that makes the rest of us feel like we’re creeping on something?”

“Exactly.” TK nods emphatically, then frowns. “Wait, what?”

Nancy casts her eyes heavenward. “You know,” she says, “you’re a lot of things, Strand, but I hadn’t pegged you for oblivious.”

TK’s next words are reflexive, said without thought for the consequences—the story of his life, really.

“I’m not oblivious!”

The grin spreading over Nancy’s face rams home just how much he’s fucked up with those three words. TK drops his head in his hands and groans, unable and unwilling to look Nancy in the eye.

“Not a word,” he warns, which Nancy appears to respect, for now. TK is well aware that there will be words—several of them—later, whether he wants them or not.

The thing is, he really isn’t oblivious. He knows perfectly well what Nancy is talking about and he has often fantasised about all the things he’d do to Carlos given half a chance. TK likes Carlos, way more than just in the physical sense, and he’s pretty sure that Carlos likes him right back. It would be so easy to start something between them and, god, TK wants to. He just… He can’t.

One year—that’s what he promised himself back in New York. One year on his own to sort his head out and figure out how he fits back into the world after the overdose. Granted, his sobriety anniversary is only a couple of months away now, but he refuses to give up on his promise, especially when he’s so close.

Maybe in a couple months, if Carlos hasn’t gotten bored of something that’s clearly going nowhere.

But not now.

*

“He did not ask me out!”

“He totally did, dude, and you know it. You want to say yes, I can tell.”

“No, I don’t. I—”

“Children,” Tommy interrupts from the back of the ambulance. They’re heading to a callout, and Nancy has not let up the entire way about something TK is certain never actually happened. “Either of you want to enlighten me on what the argument is about this time?”

“TK’s too chicken to go out with Carlos,” Nancy jumps in, before TK can stop her.

“I am not!” he protests. “Plus, he wasn’t asking me out, he said we should go over to his place for dinner sometime, which Carlos does all the time. So there.”

“Strand, you are not this dense,” Nancy snarks, probably rolling her eyes. “His exact words were, ‘You should come over sometime’.”

“We were all there! It was obviously the plural you.”

“Oh my god—”

“Alright!” Tommy sighs wearily. “Nancy, can we keep from provoking TK until we’re back at the firehouse and he’s no longer driving?”

“Ha!” TK exclaims, but Tommy’s not done.

“TK, if I weren’t your captain, I’d be telling you that Nancy is right and you should pull your head out of your ass before it’s too late, understand?”

Now it’s Nancy’s turn to be triumphant as TK struggles to form a coherent response. Thankfully, he’s saved from further torment by them finally pulling up at the scene—a warehouse where one of the workers had become trapped after parts of the upper level walkway had broken and fallen. Apparently, the falling metal had caused some of the machinery to malfunction, turning the call from simple to beyond complicated in a matter of minutes.

“TK, grab your turnout gear and your bag; I’m sending you in with them,” Tommy informs him as soon as they’re out of the rig. “Normally, we’d just talk the firefighters through it over radio, but given your training it’ll be quicker and safer for you to deal with our patient.”

TK grins; he’s missed the adrenaline rush of running into emergencies more than he can say. “Got it, Cap.”

“Maybe try and look a little less happy about a serious injury, too.”

“Copy that.”

*

The noise when they enter the warehouse is deafening, an ugly screeching cutting right through TK’s skull.

“Shouldn’t they have shut the machines off?” he shouts, fighting to be heard.

“Apparently they can’t,” Judd calls back. “Something wrong with the control panel, I don’t know exactly what.”

TK groans—just what they need. The sound is lost in the din, but Carlos still looks over and gives him a sympathetic grin, shrugging in a ‘what can you do’ motion. TK can’t help but grin back, the mere sight of Carlos easing the annoyance he feels and the headache already beginning to build behind his eyes.

Their patient, when they reach him, is pinned under a large, heavy-looking sheet of metal. He’s bleeding from a gash on his temple and his skin is worryingly pale, to the extent that TK can tell even from a distance. He jogs to the patient’s side and kneels down, pressing his fingers against his neck.

“Cap, I have a pulse,” he reports into his radio after a few seconds. “But he’s unconscious with a head wound, and I think there are probably injuries I can’t see yet. Possible spinal damage, but I can’t tell until we’ve got this metal off him.”

“Copy that,” Captain Vega says. “Get ready to run a line; he’s gonna need it as soon as he’s free.”

TK nods and moves to secure a c-collar around his neck. “We need to cut this thing off of him,” he says, addressing the team. “Quickly, but carefully.”

Judd steps forward, brandishing the saw. He hands TK a couple of spare turnouts and kneels on the patient’s other side. “Couple of you need to cover him, and yourselves.”

TK doesn’t even have to ask before Carlos appears next to him, taking one of the turnouts from him. He smiles gratefully before arranging himself to provide maximum protection to all three of them as Judd starts working on the metal. The vibrations from the saw are unpleasant, and TK dreads to think what effect it’s having on the already unstable machinery, but it’s the only option they have to get their patient free.

Fortunately, everything seems to go off without a hitch, and soon the team are able to remove the metal. TK immediately gets to work, feeling for any damage. As he suspected, there’s a pretty large gash on the man’s leg which is bleeding badly, though thankfully it seems to have missed any arteries. He also seems to have a broken wrist, but he should heal.

TK quickly wraps his leg, then gets Carlos and Judd to help move him onto the spine board. It feels like, for once, the call has gone as smoothly as possible, and TK allows himself a breath of relief as they prep to get the guy outside to the ambulance.

Naturally, that’s when everything goes to hell.

The machine closest to them lets out a threatening groan and shudders before there’s a loud roar and it explodes. On instinct, TK folds himself over the patient as shrapnel rains down on them, and he sees Carlos doing the same in his periphery.

The downpour seems to last forever, but eventually it slows and comes to a stop. TK cautiously lifts his head, his heart pounding, and sags in relief as it seems that the worst is over.

They need to get out of here, now.

He stands, a brief stab of pain running through his back—probably because of his awkward position over the patient—and turns to Carlos, reaching to offer him a hand up.

Only to see Carlos’s face tight with agony, and then the cause—a jagged piece of shrapnel running right through his hand.

“Carlos,” TK breathes, horrified. Carlos looks up at him, his breathing carefully measured and his eyes wide, and TK drops back to his knees, reaching out for him. “It’s okay, I’ve got you, don’t worry.”

Carlos swallows and nods, his eyes squeezing tight. TK’s heart rate skyrockets, and he’s barely able to keep his cool as he signals to the others to get their first patient out of the warehouse.

“Cap, the team are bringing him out, but we have a problem.”

“Talk to me, Strand, what’s going on?”

“It—It’s Carlos.” TK breathes out shakily and takes a moment to steady himself before continuing, “It’s not serious, but some of the machinery broke apart and some shrapnel impaled his hand. I’ve got to stabilise the shard before we come out to you.”

“Alright, but hurry. I don’t want you guys in there for longer than necessary.”

“Copy.”

Stabilising the shrapnel with rolls of gauze and wrapping Carlos’s hand should be a matter of course—it’s an easy process that TK could probably do in his sleep. But this is Carlos, so his damn hands won’t stop shaking and he almost fumbles and drops his supplies.

He manages though, and soon he’s helping Carlos up, instructing him to hold his injured hand above his heart. Carlos sends him a wobbly smile, which ends up turning out to be more of a grimace, but it’s a comfort nonetheless. Things could have gone so much worse today; TK could have even lost him, and he would have never been able to—

But that’s not important. Carlos is okay, or he will be, and they still have plenty of time to figure out whatever this is between them.

Everything will be okay.

TK’s back and side twinge again as they make their way out, but he brushes it off, too focused on getting Carlos to the hospital as fast as possible. Tommy shakes her head as they make their way over, her eyebrows raised despite the concern clearly in her expression.

“Never a peaceful moment with you, Strand, is it?” she asks dryly, hissing as she inspects Carlos’s wound.

“In my defence, Cap,” he says, more at ease now that they’re safe, “it’s not me who’s injured this time.”

Tommy hums, then directs Carlos into the back of the rig, jumping in after him. “Get back here, TK. Nancy’s driving.”

She has a teasing look in her eyes that instantly makes TK suspicious, but he moves to comply, shrugging off his turnout coat as he does. The movement hurts, which is weird, but he thinks nothing of it.

At least, until Tommy’s eyes go wide and she stands from her seat, holding her hands out towards him. “TK, do not move,” she instructs, her eyes firmly fixed on his right side.

TK frowns, then follows her gaze down, and— Oh.

His grey undershirt is stained with blood, and it’s difficult to miss the large piece of metal sticking out of his side. He has no idea how he missed it, but now that he knows, the pain slams into him full force, causing him to stagger.

“Oh,” he gasps, eloquently.

Then, his legs buckle and the world goes black.

*

TK wakes up to a steady beeping sound, which only exacerbates his pounding headache. He groans, scrunching his face up, before slowly peeling his eyes open, almost slamming them shut again after getting an eyeful of obnoxiously bright fluorescents.

“You’re awake,” a voice says, sounding surprised, then the lights suddenly dim, the room lit by the gentle glow of a lamp. TK sighs in relief and shifts to look at his saviour.

It’s Carlos.

“You… You’re here,” TK states, confused. His gaze drifts down Carlos’s body and lands on the white bandages around his hand, the memories of the warehouse suddenly hitting him all at once. “Shit, you— How are you?”

Carlos shakes his head and comes to sit in the chair by TK’s bed. “I can’t believe you’re the one asking me that.”

“I’m a paramedic, it’s my job.”

“Not when you’re the one in the hospital bed,” Carlos counters, sighing. “If you must know, I’m fine. They gave me some pretty good drugs, so…” He shrugs, and TK can’t help but laugh, which proves to be a very bad idea.

His side lights up, an unnecessary reminder that TK is very much not on the good drugs, and he moans softly, slowly settling back in the bed. “I hate you,” he mumbles, eyes closed.

“You love me,” Carlos says, and TK’s heart seizes in his chest.

The silence after his words is deafening, so TK forces himself to crack his eyes open enough to look at him. Carlos is frozen in his chair, biting his lip hard, and he looks like he either wants to bolt or be swallowed by the earth.

TK thinks he should probably be feeling the same. They’ve been dancing around this issue for weeks now, and he’d thought he had it under control. That he could last that little bit longer until his one year was up; that he could ignore these feelings that have been steadily growing since he first laid eyes on Carlos.

It was a hopeless endeavour; he recognises that now. TK remembers the fear he felt when Carlos was injured back at the warehouse, the desperation for him to be better, and now with his own injury…

He could have lost this chance before he ever got it, and TK isn’t about to let it slip through his fingers now. He reaches out and takes Carlos’s good hand, startling him into meeting TK’s eyes.

“Yeah,” TK whispers, just loud enough for Carlos to hear him. “I think I do.”

The smile Carlos gives him lights up the room, and he doesn’t waste any time in leaning down to kiss TK. And it’s… It’s everything TK had hoped and imagined it would be and more. It’s soft and sweet and gentle and perfect, and he never wants it to end.

But end it does, though Carlos doesn’t go far. TK smiles at him, squeezing his hand with all the strength he can muster.

“That’s a yes, by the way,” he says.

Carlos frowns. “What?”

TK’s smile widens and he flicks his eyebrows at Carlos. “To dinner. Or were you not asking me out after all?”

Carlos huffs a laugh, and the look in his eyes when they lock back onto TK’s melts his heart and makes his entire chest ache. “Does Friday work for you?”

He nods, tugging Carlos down for another kiss. “It’s a date.”

#911 lone star #911 lone star fic #tarlos #tarlos fic #tk strand #carlos reyes #nancy gillian #tommy vega #lone star #911ls #holly's august extravaganza #fanfiction #my fanfiction #writing #my writing #jenny tag #userkimmy #userjillian #tuserpaige #tuserjamie #reyeslonestartag

[robininthelabyrinth]

Tedious Joys - Chapter 8 - END

- Ao3 link -

“You’re not going to like what we’ve decided,” Lao Nie said.

Lan Qiren could have guessed that from the way that the other man had marched into the room and promptly used Lan Qiren’s thigh as a pillow, primarily, Lan Qiren suspected, because he didn’t want to have to look Lan Qiren in the face.

It was a common tactic of his these days. The Nie clan had always been inclined towards tactile behavior and a certain lack of personal boundaries – personal information was too much to share, but apparently bodies were free game – and Lao Nie had very quickly transitioned from embarrassment to taking advantage of his newfound dependency on regular physical contact with Lan Qiren. Much to Lan Qiren’s relief, they had managed, with some experimenting and considerable effort on all parts involved, for Lao Nie to form a bond directly with the jade pendant. Now, as long as he carried the pendant, he was able to be by himself for a shichen or so without experiencing any degradation in his mental state – and that, in turn, enabled them both to separate and allowed them both some measure of privacy.

Unfortunately, after that shichen was over, Lao Nie would begin to become irritable and irrational again, his eyes slowly becoming bloodshot as the rage and resentful energy contained now wholly within him, rather than in the jade – in Jiwei, rather – began to need to be excised. Exercise and cultivation with a heavy training saber helped slow the effects, as did Lan Qiren’s musical efforts to calm and clear his mind, but Lao Nie’s cultivation was simply too high for it to last for very long. It was as if half his meridians had vanished overnight and yet he continued to cultivate as he did before; it was as if his dominant arm had been abruptly cut off, and yet he instinctively continued to try to do everything he previously could. He needed his saber to complete even a standard circulation of his qi, and short of suppressing his spiritual energy entirely (another experiment that met with some limited success, getting them another two shichen of time apart if they really needed it, but which was not a long-term solution given the unfortunate side effects), he had to have access to it.

Currently, that access was through Lan Qiren.

“If you’re warning me in advance, I’m quite certain that I won’t like it,” he said mildly, continuing to play uninterrupted. He wasn’t cultivating anything at the moment – the piece he was working on was actually a refinement of the music he’d inadvertently created in his grief at Cangse Sanren’s death, the one that had made his normally very stable nephews burst into tears, and he didn’t want to add spiritual energy to it until he’d worked out exactly how he wanted it to go. He reached an appropriate stopping place, noted down a few revisions to the score, and put his guqin aside. “You should tell me about it regardless.”

Lao Nie exhaled. “Well, good news first – the smiths have finally finished conferring and they’ve concluded that they believe it’s possible to try reforging Jiwei, so they’re willing to give it a try.”

“Good,” Lan Qiren said. He hadn’t really understood the spiritual weaponsmiths’ reluctance on the subject, but he respected their expertise as craftsmen, just as they respected his as a musician. “Once the saber has been remade, I can reestablish the resonance between them and, in theory, Jiwei should be able to use that pathway to return - and with greater ease, as she would be returning to her more familiar self.”

“Not that easy, unfortunately,” Lao Nie said regretfully. “Jiwei was shattered. To remake the blade, they will need to – for want of a better explanation – melt her down and start entirely afresh. It will be like having a wholly different saber, albeit with the same metal that she’s used to.”

Lan Qiren frowned.

“There, you see the issue. If it’s a new saber, the familiarity will be absent. We will need to work on reestablishing the resonance the way we did with the pendant, and that means –”

“Slowly.” Lan Qiren’s frown deepened. It had taken him years to establish that initial resonance, and knowing how it was done could only reduce the process by so much. “That is indeed a problem. I cannot stay here as long as that would take. In all truth, I am surprised that I have not already been summoned back by my sect…”

“Oh, you have,” Lao Nie said cheerfully. “A-Jue burned the letters and told the messengers to fuck off.”

Lan Qiren’s jaw dropped. “He did what?!”

“Did we not say? You’ve officially been kidnapped! Well, no, really it’s more of a hostage exchange situation, since they have A-Sang with them…oh, don’t look so horrified, Qiren,” Lao Nie said, starting to laugh. “Your sect elders have indicated that no offense was taken, under the circumstances.”

“Circumstances?!” Lan Qiren spluttered a little. “You’re not serious! What circumstances could justify one sect kidnapping another sect’s sect leader, acting or otherwise?!”

Lao Nie stopped laughing, the sound cutting off as if he’d been choked. “Yes, well,” he said, closing his eyes. “That’s the part you’re really not going to like.”

Lan Qiren determinedly prodded at Lao Nie’s shoulder until the other man, grumbling, sat up and took a proper seat so that they could have this discussion face-to-face. Their knees remained touching, which was good enough, and about all that the scoundrel deserved at the moment.

“Explain,” Lan Qiren ordered, and Lao Nie dipped his head into a nod.

“There are several relevant points,” he said crisply, dropping into the familiar pattern of a report. “First, Hanhan has clearly decided that he wants me dead –”

“Must you?” Lan Qiren interjected, even though he had not meant to interrupt.

“Oh, I must.” Lao Nie’s eyes were flinty. “He decided that if he couldn’t have me – and no one said he couldn’t, except his own paranoia – that if he couldn’t, no one could, and I’m not about to forgive him for that, don’t worry. But he’s still my Hanhan, my A-Han, underneath all his madness, and for my own sake, I’m not going to let anyone, whether him or me, forget it. No matter how necessary, some things have to hurt, and to their fullest extent...However, that’s not what’s relevant now. May I continue?”

Lan Qiren nodded.

“He wants me dead,” Lao Nie said, resuming his narrative. “Now that he tried once, he may try again, and I currently lack the capability to defend myself – the doctors, and you, have all agreed that I should avoid any excessive use of qi, and fighting a battle with a saber that isn’t Jiwei is a recipe for disaster in the best of times. I can’t exactly swing the pendant around, can I? Moreover, it may take years for us to establish the resonance, re-transfer Jiwei, and for me to re-familiarize myself with the new saber.”

Lan Qiren did not like the way this was going.

“There’s also the matter that I can’t be without physical contact with you for extended periods of time, and you of course have your responsibility to your sect,” Lao Nie continued. “Kidnapping you is, at best, a temporary fix. We will need something more permanent, and your sect elders have already indicated that they won’t let you marry out until your nephews are grown – and obviously we can’t wait that long, even assuming you’d want to marry me.”

Lan Qiren opened his mouth.

“Don’t say that you’d be willing to make the sacrifice to marry me, because even if you would, I wouldn’t. Putting aside the fact that you wouldn’t be happy leaving the Cloud Recesses and as much as I adore you, having been married before, I’m quite certain that I only want to marry my lovers, thank you.”

Lan Qiren had, in fact, been about to make an offer just like that, but he kept his mouth shut. They could discuss it at length at a later point.

“In short, the best solution to all of these problems, therefore, appears to be to allow events to play out as Hanhan would have wanted: for me to die.”

“You cannot be serious!” Lan Qiren exclaimed, abruptly furious. “After all the effort we put into saving your life, you would just throw it away?”

Lao Nie held up his hands. “Forgive me, I spoke unwisely – ‘do not take your words lightly’, right?”

Lan Qiren was usually very easily distracted by the mention of the Lan sect rules, but he resisted the temptation and glared.

“I didn’t mean I’d actually die,” Lao Nie said, and Lan Qiren’s shoulders relaxed a little. “Only that that would be the story we put out to the world. The process has already begun – that’s why your sect elders aren’t kicking up a fit about A-Jue being so rude to them about refusing to return you.”

“They think he’s in mourning,” Lan Qiren realized. “Whether actual, or merely preemptive.”

He could see how it might appear that way: Nie Mingjue showing up late in the evening, depositing a shaken and terrified Nie Huaisang, using up all the medical supplies in Lan Qiren’s personal possession, and then asking Lan Qiren to return home with him…

Due to Lan Qiren’s friendship with Lao Nie, Nie Mingjue had grown up especially close to the Lan sect; Lan Qiren had been his teacher, and in the end he was only fifteen, even if most people didn’t know that. Even in a world where Lao Nie could not have been saved, he might have refused to let Lan Qiren go home so quickly, seeking comfort from the sole familial authority, however informally constituted, that he had remaining.

“But Lao Nie,” Lan Qiren said slowly. “If you are supposedly dead, then Mingjue will need to become sect leader.”

Lao Nie grimaced, but nodded.

He’d been right about one thing, at least: Lan Qiren did not like what the Nie sect had decided.

He didn’t like it one bit.

“You know what that will do to him,” he said. He himself knew it better than anyone.

“I do,” Lao Nie confirmed, looking pained. “But it’s the best out of a short list of very bad options. If I stay on as sect leader in my current state, someone will kill me – probably Hanhan, but maybe someone else, one of the many small sects that have ambitions of taking the Nie sect’s place – and if that happens, A-Jue will have to become sect leader in truth, without my support. At least this way, I can act as an advisor, aid him with paperwork…that sort of thing.”

As much as Lan Qiren would have liked to argue, he didn’t have a good rebuttal to that.

Lao Nie’s position within the Nie sect was as secure as anything, and the Nie sect’s position as a Great Sect was nearly as unshakable, but there were always smaller sects looking to see whether that could change. If he were known to be so critically weakened...Wen Ruohan might not even need to kill him personally. He’d just need to wait.

And the rest was true, too. There were many things Lao Nie could do from a distance - his month at the Lan sect had shown that much - and having someone reliable to turn to for advice and hard choices was the ideal sort of transition for a new sect leader.

Still, the sect conferences alone would be horrifying, and those Lao Nie would not be able to aid Nie Mingjue with, even if he could help with all the rest.

He hated it.

But he couldn’t argue against it.

“Moreover, without the bulk of the responsibilities of sect leader on my shoulders, I’ll have more opportunity to focus on healing.”

That was true as well. Lao Nie had been hurt very deeply by Jiwei’s destruction. His cultivation had fallen, his usual cultivation pathway denied to him, his trust in his own mental well-being betrayed…in an ideal world, Lan Qiren would recommend seclusion for a few months, maybe even a year, for him to focus on reestablishing his connection with himself, re-centering his foundation so that he could climb up once more. But for a sect leader, that was impossible.

“Very well,” Lan Qiren said, although he made sure by his tone to make clear how much he disapproved. “I understand the basis for your decision.”

“I thought you might.”

“There’s only one flaw I see with your plan.”

“Oh?”

Lan Qiren folded his hands together in front of him. “You still need me, don’t you? Even with the excuse of mourning, Nie Mingjue can only request my presence for so long before the demands of my sect become paramount over their respect for his filial piety and grief.”

“Oh, we’ll let you go back eventually,” Lao Nie said with a shrug. “And I’d go with you.”

Lan Qiren had been expecting that. “And how exactly do you intend to keep the story of your death intact if you’re living with me at the Cloud Recesses? Even if we increase your tolerance such that you can stay home at all times, my home is often visited by my students, including those from other sects – and while there may be a rule against talking behind people’s backs, it is one of the most commonly broken.”

Lao Nie winced in a way that suggested both that he had thought of an answer to that question and also that Lan Qiren was going to hate it.

“Whatever you say, I cannot dislike it more than A-Jue becoming sect leader at fifteen,” Lan Qiren pointed out.

“I don’t know about that,” Lao Nie said. “Given that to this day you despise the smell of gentians.”

Lan Qiren’s brain came to an abrupt halt.

“Absolutely not,” he said.

“Qiren…”

“Absolutely not.”

“It’s a good solution,” Lao Nie argued. “No one in your sect goes to that house – most of them don’t even know it exists! It’s within a short walking distance of your home, protected by arrays to enhance silence and protect privacy…”

“I am not locking you in He Kexin’s place!” Lan Qiren bellowed.

“You wouldn’t be locking me anywhere,” Lao Nie said, for once the reasonable and calm one in the face of Lan Qiren’s fury. “I would be going willingly, and I would be free to leave at any time. You’re not your brother, Qiren, and I’m not He Kexin – not least of which because I’m neither capable of nor interested in bearing two sons for you as a means of passing the time.” He paused, tilting his head to the side. “A bit of a pity, that. I’m sure they’d be cute.”

Lan Qiren rolled his eyes at him, although the reassurance and humor had helped douse the worst of his terror at the mere idea. Irritatingly, it was a good solution: he had made the trek to He Kexin’s home hundreds of times and no one had ever raised any questions. In the unlikely event that they did so now, he could claim he was merely tending to the garden to maintain it for his nephews; more likely, however, they would simply not notice – the path between the two locations was short and purposefully discrete.

“You’ll need someone to clean the place,” he pointed out. “Even He Kexin had servants, and if you don’t want anyone from the Lan sect finding out about it…”

“I have some servants that are loyal to me personally, and which are not Nie sect disciples,” Lao Nie said. “They can seek employment at the Cloud Recesses on the basis that they didn’t want to remain here after I’d gone – literally true, if you think about it in a certain light. Your sect would snatch them up in a heartbeat.”

They would, too, even without Lan Qiren interfering: properly trained servants who knew how to serve cultivators were a precious commodity that often had to be raised up from a young age or recruited with great caution from the ranks of rogue cultivators, and ones with the skills and experience that came from serving at another Great Sect were even more valued than most. And once they were part of the Cloud Recesses, there would be no difficulty in Lan Qiren adding the task of caring for He Kexin’s house to their list of duties.

“It’s a good plan,” he finally conceded, and Lao Nie sniggered.

“You look as though you’ve bitten into a lemon, Qiren. Did it hurt to say?”

“It hurt to think,” he retorted, and turned back to his guqin. “Will you visit my brother while you’re there? He might enjoy hearing your voice and knowing that you are close.”

Lao Nie had always refused in the past, and he shook his head now. “Not all of us are as forgiving as you, Qiren. Qingheng-jun made his choices.”

“That was a long time ago.”

“He makes them again every day,” Lao Nie disagreed. “He may have declared that he would stay in seclusion for the rest of his life to make amends, but that was his decision. He could break his oath and come out, do the right thing, but he doesn’t want to.”

It was an old argument, and an unproductive one. Lan Qiren shook his head, signaling that he would no longer engage.

He had other things to be concerned with, and would for some time. There was helping with Lao Nie’s recovery, creating the new resonance, playing calming music for him, keeping his secret; he would also need to help support Nie Mingjue as much as possible during his transition to sect leader, whether through correspondence and advice or through active intervention during the discussion conferences. He would need to manage his nephews, who he had taught so carefully not to lie, and yet they would need to learn to keep this secret, too.

Taking care of Lao Nie would also be an additional set of duties, on top of being sect leader and being a teacher and being himself, but Lan Qiren didn’t mind it.

It wouldn’t be so bad, actually, now that he thought of it without prejudice. To have someone close by to take tea with in the afternoons when his nephews were too busy and it wasn’t the right time of year for students, someone with whom he could speak on any range of subjects, including his occasional frustrations with his sect, stories about his students, the political troubles of the day – a friend close by, rather than at a distance. Someone who would probably encourage him to take more exercise than he usually did, to try things outside of his comfort zone, someone who would listen to his ideas on music or the rules without judgment, someone who would share his burdens and support him…it would be a little like having a wife, but without all the inconvenient aspects that he so thoroughly disliked.

“It’s not too bad, as such things go,” Lao Nie said, his thoughts clearly moving along a similar line as Lan Qiren’s. “Whatever the world thinks, I’ll be the first Nie sect leader to live to enjoy a retirement, however premature.”

This was true.

“I’ll miss my boys, of course,” Lao Nie added. “But I’ll write, and you can invite A-Sang to your lectures when he’s old enough. A-Jue can come visit you, sect leader to sect leader…I wouldn’t be the first father to only see his children a few times a year.”

“Nie Huaisang will probably fail my classes,” Lan Qiren said, having been acquainted with the individual in question for some time now. A clever child, even very clever, but he was also lazy, hated reciting facts, and was as stubborn as a rock – as stubborn as his father. “You’ll probably have the joy of him for several summers in a row.”

Lao Nie smiled.  

“Well, I can’t say this was what I expected when I wrote to you for help all those years ago,” he joked, leaning down and playing with the jade token that now hung from his belt rather than Lan Qiren’s. Wen Ruohan would probably have a fit if he ever saw it – indeed, Lan Qiren was already looking forward to that day in the future, however distant, where Lao Nie would regain his saber and his former strength and re-emerge to make his feelings on the subject of Wen Ruohan’s actions clear. “But I’m still glad you came.”

“As am I, my friend,” Lan Qiren said. “As am I.”

#mdzs #lan qiren #sect leader nie #my fic #my fics #tedious joys

[lunaekalenda]

Heya An 💕🥺 I hope when you see this you are doing good!! First of all congrats and I checked out your event (which is so creative btw and I love it) and here is my request! (I hope it’s not complicated omg-)

💖, ❓, can it be in the aot world? Like she joined the survey crops and she is really skilled, smart and really tough and that caught Levi’s attention and he has a crush on her :,). After a mission battle she almost risked her life but Levi saved her. It got her by surprise and she tells levi why did u save me out of all ppl and Levi decided to confess his feelings first time to the person he loves and he gets all nervous and shy. (Like he just says randomly “will you be my girl?”) and hes all blushed up. And the girl is all surprised but accepts it and she brags abt it to all her friends that Levi is her man and he lowkey is rlly happy abt that 🥺 (fluff scenes of him holding her hand and all that to FINALLY show off he has a girl and he’s so cute and happy abt it 😭). Thank you and have a great day ✨

ofc!! i hope you like it <3 and thanks for participating! <3

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romance + strangers + canonverse feat. Levi Ackerman

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“Nice one!” Hange says approaching you. You land on the floor and smile to them. They look to the tall tree you just escalated in a very short time. 

“I wanted to try a trick that Rico taught me.” you say. Hange nods, excited.

“The one with the little tumble to turn faster and begin the descent with propulsion?” you nod.

“Yes! It’s pretty useful.” you say. You’ve been friends with Hange for a while now, but you spend most of the time with the cadets of your promotion, specially with Eren.

You have just joined the corps this promotion, training with Eren, that’s what made you two so close. You’re also friend of Mikasa and Armin. 

“Hange.” Levi calls them. He’s walking towards you two, loosening his shirt collar with a bony hand. “Erwin is calling us.” He looks at you, as if he had just noticed in your presence. He knows you, he recognizes your face though you two never talked. You made the salute to Levi, after all, he’s your superior. He nods quietly. 

He of course knows you. You’re that one that uses the ODMS as if you were executing a ice skating routine, so graceful and pretty. Hange waves a hand towards you. Levi walks fast in front of them. 

“You’re too obvious.” they say. Levi grumps.

“Shut up.”

Erwin called them to let them know there’s a mission the next day. One of the squads that went for a recognition a week ago has not arrived yet, and they want to search them. And to know if all of them are alive. Hange says they can call their squad, where you are listed. Levi nods, knowing he has to call his new Special OPs Squad. You talk to Eren to ask him if his squad also goes on the mission when Hange tells you you have to be prepared to fight tomorrow. Eren nods.

“Yes. Captain Levi told us earlier. So, I guess we have to go for that...” he says. You nod and say bye to him after you two end having dinner. You enter your bed and prepare yourself for sleeping, trying to recover energy for tomorrow’s mission. 

It is too early in the morning to be talking about titans, but Erwin is giving his discourse before you all leave. You listen to him, trying to avoid unintentional yawns. Once he has assigned every squad to each part of the army, you start to walk. Casually, Eren’s squad is next to yours, on your left. He smiles at you. Behind him, Levi Ackerman looks as awesome as usual, up in his black horse. 

The way is silent in your group and kinda uncomfortable. Some soldiers are crying and some others are screaming that they want to go back home. You try to not listen to them. You also want to go home.

No, you don’t. You’re here because you want to help humanity. If stay away from home and risk your life will help your family to live in better conditions, with no more fear, you’ll risk it every day.

A red light is seen, and you know what that means.

“Titans!” Hange says. “I wonder what amazing ones will we find today...” Once you’re near enough to them, you take your blades and swing between the trees. 

Levi saw you do that hundreds of times, but seeing your body elevate quietly, all the grace in every movement, from your side is another story. His grey eyes follow you, as if the battlefield was now a stage and this was a kinda strange ballet, in which you were the main dancer, and he only one of the public. 

He looks around, blushed. He has to center himself in the battle. Giving a couple orders to his squad, he easily finds an enormous titan. He goes all way up a tree, searching its weak point. You do the same a couple trees to his left, fighting. There’s a weird titan between the two of you, and Levi cannot predice its movements. He seems to be interested in you, but at the same time, he looks at Levi, as if he was about to attack him.

Unfortunately, you were it’s prey.

The titan runs towards you, his mouth open and his hands ready to catch you. You didn’t see him coming, you were too centered on the one you were attacking. The titan caught you off guard, taking one of the strings of your ODMS, making you scream. Levi hears that.

“Y/N!” He goes as fast as he cans near the titan, seeing your blades moving fast towards the enormous hand that was about to cage you. He kills the titan you were trying to kill, the one that had his mouth ready to eat you from his colleague’s hands. Then, he turns over himself, attacking the other one’s neck, the one that is squeezing your body so hard that you’re even screaming of pain. He never saw you screaming of pain. Never.

That’s when he realized how you’re suffering. You feel how the hand around you loses all strength and you fall. You fall because your body feels weakened. Levi catches your body in its way to the floor. You feel his warm body surrounding yours, his calm breath and his voice it’s the last thing your senses catch before you pass out.

❁❁❁❁ ❁❁❁❁ ❁❁❁❁ ❁❁❁❁ ❁❁❁❁ ❁❁❁❁ ❁❁❁❁ ❁❁❁❁ ❁❁❁❁ ❁❁❁❁

The first thing you feel when you wake up is a fluffy bed under you, followed by a softly touch on your leg. You open your eyes quietly, trying to adapt to the light of the room. Levi is there. You blush.

“Captain Levi?” you ask in a whisper. He looks at you.

“Y/N, you’re awake.” he says. He offers you a glass of water. You thank him and drink slowly. 

”What happened?” you ask. You don’t remember exactly how you ended there, but you were surprised to find Levi by your side.

“You got squeezed by a titan three days ago.” he says, looking at the marks in your legs. “I came here with you as fast as I could and took care of you.” he says. His hand feels soft and hot against your skin. 

“You? You took care of me?” You ask. He nods.

“For all the days you’ve been here, in this bed, with your eyes closed.” he says, his voice going down and his gaze showing what he feels: tiredness.

“Have you been sleeping here, Captain.?” you ask. He nods.

“In this chair.” adds. You take air heavily, but it makes your ribs hurt. He looks at you concerned.

“I’m ok, I’m ok.” you say. “But you should get some sleep.”

“No.” he says.

“Why?” your tone is concerned now. He looks at your bed, but never at your eyes.

“You need someone to take care of you.” He simply answers. His hands play with your leg quietly, making sweet caresses on too of the wounds. You look at his hands dancing on your skin. It feels really good... Levi has been taking care of you for days. He saved you and then took care of you. You thought that the one that will be Levi's partner will be so lucky...

“Can I ask you why did you save me?” you ask, out of nowhere. His hands stop its caresses and he looks at you. His grey eyes are fixated on yours, making a quick scan all pver your face. Your plump lips that he dreamed to kiss for a long time, your cute nose, your blushed cheeks and your beautiful eyes.

“Cause I like you, and i was hoping you could be my girl, y/n” he says.

Wow. You weren't expecting that. He said it so directly, as if it was the simplest thing to say. As if it was easy as breathing. You looked at him, but he was serious.

"Be your girl?" you ask. Levi nods.

"I've been watching you. How strong, beautiful and powerful you are. All those things make my mind a mess, full of you. Your voice. Your body. Everything about you is invasive in my head." he says.

You were totally speechless, analyzing every movement he makes. How his adam's apple goes up and down nervously, how he plays with his hands. You find it kinda cute, how a captain of the Survey Corps is nervous to tell the girl he likes his feelings. After all, Levi took care of you. You felt an attachment, a bond that pulled you closer to him as magnets. You smiled.

"We'll give it a try." you say. He looks at you again, blushed. You smile. His hand searches yours quietly, and you let his fingers tangle with yours. He smiles.

"Y/N, I prom..."

"HOW'S MY FAVORITE GIRL EVER DOING?" Hange asks, entering the room. They didn't pay attention to your tangles hands. A shy Eren and a concerned Historia are behind them. "Oh, you look less like a zombie." they says. "I'm sure that Captain Levi has been taking care of you really well, if you know what I mean." they winks. Levi clicks his tongue, but he keeps your hand caged in his. That makes your stomach be full of butterflies.

"I saw you were in danger, who helped you?" since Historia wasn't called to that mission, she didn't knew what happened. Rumors are fast but, the 99% of the times, false.

"Yeah. Fortunately..." you look at Levi. How his eyes shined when he told you he wanted you to be his girl. "... fortunately my man was there for me." you smile and Levi almost choke on his saliva, but his acting skills were really worked. Historia smiled and Eren blushed.

"Oh Goddess, you two are now a couple?" she asks. You nod, smiling, and Levi blushes after being caught looking at you.

"Why did the little brat blush?" Levi asks. Eren coughs.

"It's just that is weird... My bestie and my Captain..." he says. You blush as well.

"It isn't!" Historia goes on your defense. "It's really beautiful. How the two of them..."

"... are wishing to be alone and we're here. Guys, head to the dorms, our girl is being treated." Hange says. Levi raises a brow and you let out a little laugh.

"Your jokes are pitiful." he says. They close the door behind them and Levi sighs. You smile at him.

"Then... About what treatment was Hange talking?"

#cookiefics 'movie event! #aot x reader #snk x reader #aot fluff #snk fluff #snk fic #aot fic #aot scenario #snk headcanons #aot fanfiction #aot #levi shingeki no kyojin #levi #levi attack on titan #levi aot #levi x you #levi x reader #snk levi #levi x y/n #levi ackerman

[staysaneathome]

This Was Not A Dare, Reigen

Jon glares at each of the— the suspects traitors in front of him, tape recorder clutched tight in one hand.

Martin, wringing his hands uselessly, eyes wide and beseeching. Tim, fists clenched hard enough for his knuckles to go white and returning his gaze with a death stare of his own. Sasha, arms folded to form a barrier between Jon and herself, expression a perfect mask of concern. Reigen, radiating disappointment in every one of his gestures and quips. Elias, eyes weary, fingers rubbing the bridge of his nose.

Some intervention this is turning out to be.

Jon wants to scream. Wants to reach out and shake someone, anyone, until they admit he’s making sense and it’s the rest of the world that’s gone mad.

Every single one of them (except Martin) could’ve killed Gertrude. He knows he has no proof that they did, but he has no proof that they didn’t either, can’t they see that? If they don’t want him to suspect them, it should be easy for them to actually give him proof of their innocence (like Martin did), instead of just repeating platitudes of “you know this isn’t acceptable adult behavior, Jon” and “you’re better than this, Jon”.

Who cares about knowing better or acceptable behavior when it’s your very life on the line? He’s half tempted to throttle the con artist, see how dignified or adult he is when he’s the one with a murderer on his tail!

…Not that Jon is a murderer. It’s just the principle of the thing, is all.

“Jon,” Elias says, tone soothing in all the ways he doesn’t want it to be. “This is absurd. This goes far beyond an unhealthy work environment. I’ll admit it’s partly my fault for letting it get this bad, I should have intervened earlier.”

Reigen cuts in with a hand gesture that is as effusive as it is dismissive. “That doesn’t make his behavior okay, Bouchard-san. It may be bad here, but Jon chose to follow me, Tim and Sasha, and yell at Martin, rather than going to the police or paying a detective, like Herlock Sholmes or something.”

Jon sputters. “Wh- It’s Sherlock Holmes, not—and he’s fictional!”

Reigen blinks sleepily, one eyebrow raised. “Oh? That doesn’t sound right. Are you sure?”

“Yes!” Jon all but shouts, rapidly reconsidering his stance on braining the sardonic little git with his tape recorder. “Don’t you even—an-and you’re deflecting again! Just like with your ridiculous ‘haunted gun’ nonsense!”

“I’m not!” Reigen says, clearly deflecting. “I’ve seen this kind of thing loads of times as the number one psychic. When a weapon kills lots of people over 100 years, the bad energy gets bigger and bigger until the gun grows an evil spirit and is hungry—”

“I refuse to believe Gertrude Robinson was murdered by a sentient blunderbuss!!”

“Be that as it may,” Elias interrupts, shooting them both a stern frown. “This is exactly the kind of thing I was talking about, Jon. Given how badly it’s affected your work ethic, I will be taking direct action to ensure it does not continue.”

Jon can feel his shoulders hunch almost against his will, dread pooling in his stomach at the thought of whatever punishment is about to be unjustly inflicted on him.

Only Martin looks half as worried as he feels, glancing between him and Elias nervously. By contrast, Tim looks downright triumphant, smirk nasty and vindictive. Sasha’s somewhere between those two, not openly celebrating his soon-to-be-downfall, but not acting like she’d lift a finger on his behalf either, though he’s unsure why that feels like it should surprise him. She’s always been as neutral as Switzerland.

Reigen, oddly enough, has more in common with Martin than with Tim. He’s staring at Elias like he’s waiting for a bit of news he knows he won’t like.

Jon thinks he’d appreciate that more if he wasn’t about to be unfairly lambasted simply for trying to stop a murderer and bring justice for an old woman who probably died frightened and alone. Much like Jon probably will once he’s been hobbled by whatever Elias is about to say next.

“Such as by restricting access to the archives from members of the public who are ultimately doing you more harm than good.”

…Wait.

What?

“What?!” Tim, Martin, and Sasha echo.

Reigen glances between them all, blinking in confusion.

Jon shares the sentiment entirely. His punishment is…for someone else to be removed from the archives? Someone he doesn’t employ or even like that much, no less?

He must have misheard, surely.

Though maybe not, given how Tim looks aghast, glancing between Elias and Reigen. “Okay, no, Reigen’s clearly not the problem here—”

“I’m very sorry, Tim, but Jon has made several remarks about the disruptive nature of Mr. Arataka’s presence in the archives.” Elias sighs. “From the arguments like the one we just witnessed to the nonsensical purchases of oddities inspired by his presence, such as Duolingo subscriptions,” Meaningful glare at Jon who resists the urge to clutch his phone guiltily, “That are now billed on the Archives’ expenses, it unfortunately seems as though he is dragging down productivity for all of you as an active stressor.”

“But we’re much better equipped to take statements from people who don’t speak English because of that!” Martin protests, stepping forward. “Isn’t it an advantage to have a more, more international perspective for our work?”

“One positive in a sea of negatives does not an advantage make.” Elias says, sounding infuriatingly like he’s misquoting something. “And really Martin, how realistic is it that this would help in more than a few isolated cases? I expected better from you.”

Martin’s face crumples, and his shoulders hunch, making himself smaller.

Jon finds his own mouth opening to—what? Say something? What would he even say?

Luckily, Sasha intervenes before he can dig his own grave further. “That’s as may be, but he’s a wonder for morale. He and Jon are funny, not anything serious, and I don’t think we’d have come to you about Jon‘s behavior unless he encouraged us to—”

“Which only fits into the delusion where Jon feels an outsider is rallying his subordinates against him, which is not good for his paranoid outlook.” Elias replies calmly. “And it’s never a healthy work environment when one employee feels the others are making them the butt of a joke.”

“I’d say that’s not as bad as when the boss feels he has the right to violate everyone’s privacy whenever he wants to just ’cause he’s feeling sad!” Tim growls.

Elias begins to answer, before Reigen finally speaks up.

“Sorry,” The con artist says carefully. “But you are…«I know this one…» banning me from the Archives? Yes?”

“That is the long and short of it, yes.” Elias says, grudgingly

“Why?” Reigen challenges, eyes hard and searching. “What have I, personally, done that’s wrong here? What behavior do I need to correct?”

There’s a moment of silence. The whirring of the tape recorder sounds uncomfortably loud.

“Mr. Arataka, are you currently under the employ of the Magnus Institute?” Elias asks, brow furrowed.

“Ah, no, no, but—”

“Are you looking to become employed by the Institute at this point in time, as a prospective member of the Archival Staff?” He fires off rapidly.

“Su-Sorry, but if you could just go a little slower—”

“Then I am afraid that unless you’re looking to fill out an employment contract or a Statement form, we cannot help you, Mr. Arataka.” Elias spreads his hands wide. “We are an academic institution, a place of research and learning. The Institute cannot allow for social dalliances on company time, especially not when those visits are negatively contributing to the work environment and the wellbeing of our staff.”

Tim throws up his hands, “I-I cannot believe this!”

Reigen’s mouth works soundlessly for a moment.

“Arataka is my…what do you call it? First name?” He says, at last. “Using it in this context is…inappropriate. Please call me Reigen, if you would, Bouchard-san.”

“Of course. My mistake, Mr. Reigen.” Elias does have the decency to look somewhat abashed. “Though, regrettably, I am going to have to ask you to leave the premises within the next twenty minutes, or I will be forced to call security.”

Reigen nods, jerkily, hands stuffed in his pockets.

Jon almost wants to call out to the fraud as he turns to go, grab him by the shoulder, pick another argument, something. He knows he should be happy, be glad that this thorn in his side will finally stop bothering him, but instead he just feels—befuddled. Off-kilter.

What happened to the man who once spent three hours arguing for the “spiritual effectiveness” of entirely performative and useless rituals, saying that ensuring his clients left his office fooled and contented was better than actually uncovering genuine supernatural forces and learning all there was to know about them? Why is he going so-so easily now, when he’s made Jon fight tooth and nail in every debate he’s had with the so-called psychic?

At the door, the con man pauses.

“Bouchard-san. You said I could come back if I had a statement to give?”

Elias shifts in his seat, looking bemused. “W-well, yes. That is a service we do provide. Of course, the statement would have to be genuine, and verifiable as such before we let you back into the Archives.”

“We don’t even do that for most of the rubbish we do take,” Tim mutters under his breath, and though Jon is glad he’s not the one being shot a quelling look, he does have to agree.

The con man turns back.

He’s got that smirk on his face that immediately puts Jon’s hackles up on instinct, prepared to argue against whatever inane point he’s come up with now to defend his phony psychic title.

“Gotcha.” Reigen says, far too cheerfully. «Ja ne.»

Then he strolls out of the office, as cool as a cucumber.

Jon could even swear he hears him whistling as he makes his way down the stairs.

There’s a moment of stunned silence.

“I’d do him.” Sasha pipes up, unhelpfully.

“Sasha!” Martin hisses, scandalized. “D-don’t you have a, a—”

“Oh, I don’t have to worry about that.” She remarks, far too blasé for someone in a newly committed relationship. “Tom’s heard about him too, and he agreed he’s just our type.”

“And I’m not?” Tim jokes, but there’s a hard edge to it that Jon’s found himself increasingly familiar with in the past few weeks.

Sasha shrugs with a mischievous little smile, as if that mattered very little to her.

Elias coughs. “Right. Well. Whatever your relations to Mr. Reigen are, please try to limit them to outside the workplace in future.”

The rest of the intervention is surprisingly subdued. Elias gives Jon access to the footage from the cameras in the rest of the Institute, and Tim bodychecks him on the way out of the office, muttering about how nice it must be to never face any consequences for his actions. Sasha follows, the way she won’t meet his eyes a condemnation in its own right.

Even Martin doesn’t say anything to him, just bites his lip and hurries past back down to the Archives. It doesn’t sting. It doesn’t.

Even as he settles in to watch and rewatch the CCTV records of Gertrude’s last week alive, Jon can’t shake the ridiculous feeling of foreboding that’s dogged him since Reigen left.

Most of him wants to say it comes from the fact that despite the fact that Reigen has not appeared in any of the camera records for the Magnus Institute before he started his term as Head Archivist in 2016, isn’t banning him from the Archives just letting the con man run around London with impunity, with no way for Jon to ascertain his movements or motives? That instead of solving a problem, Elias has just given a potential murderer free reign to escape?

But a small part of Jon, one that never could deny the sensation of being watched, that is frozen in second-hand terror whenever he reads a Statement, knows, Knows that it this stems more from the idea that the fraud will actually accomplish what Elias has unwittingly challenged him to do.

The illogical but pervasive surety that he will do so.

Jon’s not sure if he’s more afraid that Reigen Arataka will vanish entirely, another unfortunate victim become an unsolved mystery.

Or that he’ll come back, and bring whatever he’s managed to unearth on his insane quest with him.

#the magnus archives #tma #mob psycho 100 #mp100 #reigen arataka #mp reigen #jonathan sims #jon sims #martin blackwood #timothy stoker #elias bouchard #not sasha #tma not them #tma s2 #jonmartin #(just a little) #(as a treat) #Elias: you cant come back unless youve been traumatized #Reigen: challenge accepted #Elias: wait no—