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misc-obeyme · 7 months

Note

Hello hello!!! I just saw your kink/flufftober post and wondered if I could request “biting” with barbatos? It can be either fluff of nsfw, whichever gets the creative juices flowing more! As always, love the work you do here, thank you!!!!

Hello and thank you I'm so glad you're enjoying my writing! <3

I was doing so well keeping within my word count limit until now. I can't act like I'm surprised, it's Barbatos we're talking about lol. And I decided to use this as a kink prompt because ooooof I love biting. So you know, having two things I very much enjoy as a prompt ended up with something slightly longer than perhaps intended. But I think it turned out okay still!

Thank you for submitting a prompt!

KINKTOBER 2023

GN!MC x Barbatos

NSFW MDNI

Warnings: biting, a little bit of blood, oral and penetration (both reader receiving)

You were in the kitchen at the Demon Lord's Castle, helping Barbatos make red velvet cupcakes. Since it was a flavor from the human world, you had agreed to help out with making them, passing final judgment on how they turned out. You were currently mixing the red food coloring into the batter. While the recipe you had used was a classic red velvet recipe, the bright color of the cake still needed that extra vibrancy from the food coloring.

Barbatos was beside you, mixing vanilla into the frosting.

Normally, Barbatos entered a sort of flow when baking. It was almost meditative, the way he moved around the kitchen so easily. But at that moment, you noticed that he seemed a little distracted. Certainly the frosting was looking delicious, but he seemed to be focused elsewhere.

You stopped what you were doing and looked over at him. He froze, meeting your eyes for a moment before flicking his gaze down to your fingers.

You looked down at your hands and saw that they were covered in red food coloring.

You laughed a little. "Sorry," you said. "I'm making a mess, huh? Is that why you're so distracted?"

Barbatos closed his eyes and frowned. "You needn't apologize, MC. I'm afraid seeing that brilliant red on your skin has made me think of things I shouldn't."

You were puzzled by this response. You cocked your head curiously. "Such as…?"

Barbatos opened his eyes and the hunger you saw there made heat run through you. Barbatos put down the spatula he'd been using to mix the vanilla into the frosting and took one of your hands instead. He brought it to his lips and kissed away some of the red. The way it painted his lips was so sensual your knees went weak.

You let out a little gasp as Barbatos circled behind you, putting his red stained lips to your neck. You had to grip the kitchen counter for support as he sucked for a moment, his arms going around your waist.

Barbatos let his teeth scrape gently across your skin as he pulled his lips away. "Forgive me, MC. I am not sure what has come over me."

His arms moved as if he was about to move away from you, but you put both of your hands on them. You didn't care that you were likely getting red food coloring on him. You just wanted to hold him in place. "Don't stop."

Barbatos pressed himself into you and there was no mistaking the erection you felt against you as he put his lips back on your neck.

You moaned as he bit down gently, as though he couldn't resist but he also didn't want to hurt you too much.

You deliberately pushed yourself back against him, making it clear that you knew how turned on he already was.

Barbatos laughed softly against your neck. "What is it you would like from me, MC?"

"I want you to bite harder," you said.

Barbatos put his lips on your ear. "As you wish."

A tingle ran up your spine at the sound of his voice in your ear. He turned you around in his arms, then lifted you bodily. He set you down on the kitchen counter, on a spot that was far away from where you had been attempting to make red velvet cupcakes.

In moments, Barbatos had removed your clothes and put his lips on your inner thighs. Your hands flew to his head, fingers running through his hair. You gasped and tried desperately not to pull when he bit down on the sensitive skin there, harder than before just as you had asked. He worked his way up your thigh, biting the whole time, making you gasp and whine as he did.

When he finally put his tongue between your legs, you cried out his name, your legs squeezing around his head involuntarily. He stayed there for a long time, but he never let you get too close to orgasming.

Barbatos finally stood up, causing you to whine and grip at his arms unhappily. You squirmed on the counter top as you tried to pull him closer to you. He obliged, moving closer to stand between your knees.

Barbatos reached out and put his fingertips to your neck where he had been biting it earlier. He wasn't wearing his gloves, of course, he had taken them off long before you even started baking. Now his fingers were covered in the red food coloring.

"Barbatos," you said as you pulled on his pants, unzipping them and pulling out his cock. You rubbed it in your hands for a moment before looking at him. "Please."

"Normally I would not allow such a mess to occur on my kitchen counter," Barbatos said quietly, putting his hands on either side of you and leaning in to your neck once again. "But I'm afraid you've awakened something in me, MC."

You wrapped your arms around his shoulders in an attempt to pull him closer. You realized that the counter here was a bit lower than it was in most of the other places in the kitchen. Which meant that you were at the perfect height. You smirked a little when you realized that Barbatos knew exactly what he was doing when he placed you here.

The smirk was gone in an instant as Barbatos pressed his cock into you, his teeth leaving marks on your neck at the same time, his hands gripping your hips. You had to hold on because as soon as he was inside you, Barbatos did not hold back. You felt your entire body heat up as he thrust fast and hard, his teeth continuing down your neck. He reached up to pull your top out of the way so he could bite down your shoulder.

The sweetness of his cock inside you mixed with the pleasurable pain of his teeth was almost too much sensation. You couldn't hold still and you couldn't keep quiet. You were already close from when he was using his tongue and it wasn't long before you were crying out, clamping hard around him. You felt his cum inside you only moments later.

When Barbatos pulled away to look at you, the red of the food coloring was still bright against his lips, but there was a slightly darker red next to it now. He leaned back in and kissed the bite marks he had left.

"Your blood is much prettier than this food coloring," he said softly in your ear. "I do hope I did not hurt you too much by drawing it."

You sighed against him, leaning your head on his shoulder. "Next time you can add the food coloring to the batter."

Barbatos chuckled, taking your face in his hands and kissing you. Later you would need to wash the red off your hands as well as your lips, cheeks, neck, and thighs.

flufftober | kinktober | masterlist | Thank you for reading!

taglist: @anxious-chick @t0tallycoolname @libidinous-weeb

#apparently Barbatos only allows sex in the kitchen when he can't control himself #which seems to happen when there's food coloring involved?#I dunno I just write what the smut muse brings me #obey me #obey me nightbringer #obey me shall we date #omswd #obey me smut #obey me barbatos #obey me barbatos smut #om barbatos #barbatos obey me #obey me barbatos x reader #obey me barbatos x mc #obey me x reader #misc kinktober 2023 #misc naughty times #misc writes

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am-i-the-asshole-official · 4 months

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AITA for being too close to my childhood best friend?

(This is so long I'm so sorry, there's just a fair bit of info.)

Me (22F) and Jake (23F) grew up together. Our mothers were friends for years and got pregnant around the same time, and we've basically been side by side our whole lives. We consider each other platonic soulmates and siblings.

Jake has had a girlfriend (Lucy, 23F) for the last seven months. I really like Lucy, she's so funny, so interesting, and she clearly makes Jake happy. There's been one or two awkward moments between us, but its never been anything that lingered or caused problems.

Now I know how people generally act/think about "the girl best friend" so when Jake said he was thinking of asking Lucy out, I made sure to back off a bit. Instead of having a brate (bro date, just hanging out doing something like bowling, Maccas, movie theatre, ect) once a week I said we should have one once a month, I don't call him just to hang on the phone together anymore, I make sure to not message at all on the days I know they have dates planned, ect.

I've really, really done my best to not get in the way, to make sure Lucy knows he really is just my brother, and I've tried to give them both space as someone who is not involved in their relationship.

I thought I was doing really well because its never really come up until this week. It was Jake and I's brate day and we decided to go to the mall so I could shop for clothes and he could get the slushies he likes there. Lucy knew where we'd be, and "happened" to show up, which was fine. Like I said, I like hanging out with her, and I actually thought it was cool I could get another girl's opinion on my outfit.

Jake decided to try on some clothes too while he was there and it turned into something of a mini fashion show of both of us showing off our possible choices. Lucy seemed to alternate between really having fun and going quiet. She refused to try on any herself but grinning and laughing while Jake and I were, and while we were taking turns playfully hyping each other up.

Jake tried on a pair of jeans and I was teasing him and said "damn dude, look at all that ass" trying to make him embarrassed. This was when Lucy muttered something I didn't quite hear, and politely suggested I should leave. Both Jake and I were really confused and taken aback and Lucy kind of shrugged and said things like this were things couples should do, and it was really inappropriate of me to make a sexual comment about her boyfriend while she was right there.

I didn't want to make a scene so I said I'd go, but Jake argued back and said it was clearly just joking around and he's sick of her getting upset at literally anything I do, or he does with me, which was surprising because it was the first I heard that she's had actual complaints.

We all wound up sitting down in the food court to talk and Lucy basically said that she's growing more and more uncomfortable with how close Jake and I are as her and Jake get closer, even though Jake and I's interactions have drastically dropped since they started dating. She thinks its weird we have friendship bracelets (our families went on a double vacation when we were 14 and me and Jake bought those cheap seaside shell bracelets in matching colors, that's literally it) and we hang out alone once a month (even though she's been invited multiple times and always refuses) and she thinks its even weirder than our families are so close and call us siblings.

I won't lie, it killed me inside, but I offered to back off entirely and only be around Jake in group settings, if at all, but Jake cut in and said that wasn't a compromise he was willing to make, and asked Lucy to talk more in private. They left together and trying to be respectful, I haven't reached out at all to either of them while they talk it through.

Jake's mom came over today to hang out with mine, and wound up telling me the last few days Jake has been stressed out, miserable, and isn't sure about staying with Lucy. She said it was a shame because Lucy seemed so nice, but she also said she was proud of him because I was family and Lucy's insecurity wasn't reasonable.

It made me feel sad and like I was hurting Jake by interfering with his relationship again, so I asked some of my online friends from a game I play and the opinion was kind of split. They all agreed I've never spoken about Jake in a way that hinted I liked him, but also that as girls, they'd feel weird anyway about knowing their boyfriend had this close bond with another girl, and they'd be wondering what the future would look like and if our friendship would get in the way of choices like moving, starting a family.

Now I feel completely lost and honestly a little scared of both losing Jake and apparently ruining his life by being so close to him. None of the rest of our IRL friend group has ever brought anything up about it, and I don't know if this is Lucy being jealous or if this is my fault.

What are these acronyms?

#aita #am i the asshole

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afreakingdork · 1 year

Text

Crush Too Much - Part 4

RotTMNT Donatello x GN!Reader

Warnings: Light Angst, Fluff, Embarrassment, Overbearing Siblings, Aged-up Turtles

Synopsis: So you met a customer three times at work and that made a pretty big impression on you? That’s nothing to necessarily get worked up over, but when you’re all prepared to ask for his number the next time you see him and his brother gets involved instead, you might be in for something more than you bargained for.

FIRST 💜 PREVIOUS

“So….” Was the melodic tone of his voice when he was joking grating or was it just the fact that Leo had insufferably been avoiding said topic of your meeting with Donnie while heavily implying he was going to ask about it at any given moment. Either way, after the first 7 fake-outs, you were no longer holding your breath.

“Mhm?” The response was automatic at this point. Using his tiny plate as a useless middleman, you watched as 5 tiny sandwich triangles disappeared into Leo’s mouth.

“I sort of liked the huge piece that takes up a whole section over on the left.” He pointed towards the said piece and the two of your wound around the packed gallery to get closer to it.

“Is it because it’s blue?” It wasn’t that you weren’t enjoying the event or even his company, but you wished he would just rip the bandage off already.

He looked at your with genuine offense. “I will not be reduced to a mere shade. I can’t believe you would think moi to be so one-note.” He placed a dramatic hand to his chest which absolutely did not help his point. When you’d first arrived at the venue, he gushed over the same brand new trademark blue crushed velvet dinner jacket he now happened to be emphasizing. One of his eyes popped open to find you unamused by the layers of nonsense he was spouting so he straightened up as if properly inspecting the art. “I was going to say I like how you can’t see the brush strokes from far away, but you can up close.”

For the first time that whole evening, he’d had an actual astute observation. The change of pace was like a breath of fresh air. This particular topic was also something you’d heard your friend mention. “I think it has something to do with relationship between color and form.” You turned to look up at the piece. The muddled shades of blue reminded you of the good parts of the evening thus far. It felt like the two of you had successfully conned your way into what was very much a public event. You'd both snatched away a good portion of the free food and no one seemed to think you were freeloaders because of Leo’s outrageous ability to fit in amongst the art crowd by just saying the most the most ridiculous things you had ever heard. Different factions of critics ate up his nonsense and you were only alerted to the deception because every time it worked out, Leo would shoot you an obnoxious wink.

“’Color and texture are ends in themselves.’”

That one sounded like a quote, but you weren’t sure. Maybe he wasn’t all mouth and had been picking up on the cacophony of conversations that drifted amongst the high ceilings. You took a sip of a sparkling cider that you had been nursing since eating a few too many deli meats. “So what kind of feeling do you get from it?” You tilted your head to one side wondering yourself. Blue was usually synonymous with sadness, but that didn’t seem right.

“Curiosity over what happened when you kept my darling brother out for several hours last week.”

You sputtered into another sip and tried not to let your choking fit disturb the other patrons. Leo patted you on the back and after you were able to force oxygen into your lungs once again, you looked up to find him gazing down at you with an self-satisfied grin spread wickedly across his face. You wanted nothing more than to smack it right off. He'd dangled the bait in front of you all evening and you'd been able to resist. You were so mad at yourself there was little room to be mad at him. Further frustrated by your brain's lack of response, you did the next most petty thing and walked away. You dress shoes pinched your feet from their otherwise disuse.

“Aw, Y/N, come on!” He called after you and you stubbornly inserted yourself amongst a crowd of people surrounding a oozing statue of liberty sculpture. You could feel Leo catch-up, but your humility had yet to do the same. “Don’t be like that. You knew it was coming! It can be difficulty when you’re going up against a number 1 player like myself, but I’m sure by tomorrow you will deeply appreciate how hilarious that was.”

A warped reflection of the blue trickster shrugged in your glass. “But right now…?”

“You are mad, yes I got that.” The crowd dispersed to the next piece and Leo stepped up beside you.

“I thought you made the boundary lines pretty clear about Donnie the last time we talked.” You cradled the glass across your chest to telegraph that you were still closed off.

“Donnie, hm?” You weren’t looking at him, but you could just tell his eye brows were waggling.

You were just annoyed enough that you were able to mentally stomp out any flames of blush that the comment may have otherwise sparked. You had been able to strike up a few, albeit short, text conversation with Donnie since your bao meeting. The purple-themed man had even gone so far as to text you that same night about his family’s response to the food. Needless to say you lost more than a few hours of sleep just trying to get your heart to stop beating uncontrollably out of your chest.

Even though you were now only silent out of contemplation, Leo still took it as a cue to drop that particular part of the subject and return to the matter as a whole. “Fine, D is his own person! Yes, you got me! I said that, but that doesn’t mean I’m not super curious about the little impromptu date you went on!”

“It wasn’t-!”

He held up a hand to stop you. “Phrasing, don’t get to tied up in it.” He waved the hand off as if the stop signal he’d given was too serious. “I’m not saying he’s as pure as freshly fallen snow, but people don’t catch his fancy as much as things and nerd stuff do.” Leo shrugged his shoulders as if it was a silly uncontrollable fact of the universe. “So what if we don’t focus on him or the content, but maybe what you did?”

“I didn’t do anything…” You finally offered him a side glance out of how absurd the question was. He was acting like you had duped his brother somehow.

“Come on!” You hadn’t realized you were wearing Leo’s nerves thin until he actively starting to unravel. His knees buckled and his shoulders slumped down until his hands almost touched the floor. “You have to give me something. I thought you were just going to ask for his number!?”

His youthful dramatics were cute so far as it brought out the kid side of him that was far more manageable. “I asked him to go eat first is all.”

“Donnie isn’t really the one of us you can bait with food…” Still crumpled over, Leo narrowed his eyes at you.

“I don’t know what else to tell you.” It was your turn to mimic his earlier cosmically unhelpful shrug. “It’s the truth.”

Leo was uncharacteristically quiet for awhile. You lowered your drink barrier and turned to look at him. He was staring at some black and white photographs. His brow had the slightest crease in it. Just as you were about to ask, you saw his lips part instead.

“So crush, infatuation, or something else?” He was slow to turn to you for your response.

The significance of the question created a mental blowback so strong your whole frame shifted. He turned to stare and his gaze was so intense that you dropped yours to the floor. Your dress shoes shone back at you. You knocked them together at the toes ever so slightly.

“I’m still not sure.”

“Take you time…” You could hear a movement of Leo’s jacket as he presumably turned away from you. “But don’t take too long. Donnie is smart, but he’s also just as dumb as the rest of us in a lot of ways. Don’t even think about hurting him.”

“I would never!” Your gaze snapped up to meet Leo’s back. “Not intentionally… at least…”

“That’s what I’m worried about.”

Your hands fisted at your sides, but Leo did his characteristic mental 180 and bounded back into his bubbly self as a carter came out with a new tray of canapés.

Stumbling out onto the street, the darkened sky disoriented you. Hadn’t the clock rolled over to morning. You took a few weary steps before leaning against a wrought iron fence. You used the brick they were built off of to sit your backpack down. It took some fishing, but you unearthed your phone from between your textbooks and notepads to find the time around 5am; just long enough from sunrise where the sky hadn’t reflected the oncoming dawn. Both yours and your phone’s batteries where lethally low. You sighed and packed your things back up, wrapping your coat tightly around you. Your late night cram session turned video game night had run so far over that you had no hope of getting back to your apartment for any sleep before you’d need to be on your way to your morning class. You made it several steps down the sidewalk as the loaming burden of today’s test seemed as dark as the ocean above. You needed to reorient.

The street was empty so you led a leisurely pace and closed your eyes to check your most pressing needs based on importance. The omnipresent sleep was out of the questions so you shoved that top notification to the side. In its place a new item appeared in the form of caffeine. Opening your eyes and seeing you’d made it a good way down the road without running into anything meant your luck was faring well. An energy drink this early was not something your stomach would tolerate so that meant sustenance was on the menu also. At this hour and on your current budget, you could hit a cheap coffee shop. Some of your facilities returned to you as a streetlight glowed overhead. It would also be a great place to charge your phone. Walking with more purpose now that you had a plan, the next hurdle appeared instantly: without your phone you couldn’t look up the closest or cheapest shop.

You paused, doing a minor heel turn to look up and down the street. This wasn’t an area you were really familiar with. The study group had been hosted by a classmate you’d only met this semester. After brains were thoroughly stuffed with knowledge, the video games had come out. The others, weaker to sleep, had filed out on by one until only you and the host were left. They’d ushered you out, bleary eyed, and were presumably already unconscious which meant so going back for directions was out of the question. Another breathy sigh and you resumed your trudging. You’d have to find somewhere the old fashioned way. You let instinct lead you, turning corners whenever you felt like it. On one particular street, there seemed to be a two or three people mingling down the block. You carved your path outward toward the street and saw there was some sort of break between building rows. It was the most promising lead you’d had so far. If nothing else, you could try to ask the people for directions.

Reaching the break you slowed as everything took on a dream-like quality. Lights were strung all around a plaza bathing it in a golden hue. Cute café table sets were tucked into one side and two open mini food trucks were operating out of the opposite end. The brick inlay of the space shifted outwards from a center point into a mesmerizing swirled pattern. You stepped along a row watching the way your shoes followed the lines. It brought a smile to your face which was made all the brighter when you realized one of the trucks was serving coffees, teas, and pastries. You resisted the urge to run, but only succeeding in instead speed walking your way over.

There was a man hunched over with his back turned to you in the truck. It gave you time to nervously check their hand drawn chalkboard. You were pleasantly surprised to find the prices were reasonable the limited menu seemed tasty.

“Can I help you?”

You turned to him and started off your order with a warm drink. He commiserated on the ever approaching winter. When you ordered your pastry next he offered to warm it up and that could not have sounded any better. You thanked him and paid before remembering something else needed a pick-me-up also.

“This probably sounds ridiculous because we’re literally outside, but do you have a place where I could charge my phone?”

The man chuckled between grinding coffee beans. “You’d think we wouldn’t, but we actually have one outdoor outlet.” He wiped his hands on a cloth before pointing to the café tables. “Though it looks like someone’s using it so you’ll have to share.”

Following his finger and throwing a gratitude over your shoulder, you felt time slow. The only person in the seating area looked ethereal under the twinkling lights. His head was tipped down, but his purple hoodie was unmistakable. One of your hands moved up to your face and you pinched your cheek hard, wincing at the sharp sting. You couldn’t believe it was real. You crossed the bricked space and approached Donatello.

“Mind if I use the charger too?” It felt like an out of body experience.

“Knock yourself out, I’m only using one plug.”

He hadn’t noticed yet, that was somehow even better. You slowly set your bag on the table to fish out both your phone and charger. It took a little longer than it should have because your eyes were glued to him. He was hunched over and oddly enough, not on his phone for once. He was a bit too shaded to see, but it almost seemed like he his eyes were closed. Leaning over the table to where the socket was, you plugged your phone in.

“Wait… Y/N?” You wondered what had finally tipped him off.

“Hey, Donnie.” You smiled at him, straightening up.

“This is…” He straightened his posture and looked at you with a cocked neck. “How did you know I was here?”

“I didn’t.” You smiled, zipping your bag up.

“I need to work out the exact calculations, but I can assure you that the odds of us running into each other outside of our respective neighborhoods in a city with a population of a little over 9 million is extremely high. There must be some kind of outside interference.” He tugged on the edges of his hoodie to cover the exposed parts of his legs.

“Trust me, I thought I dreamed you for a second.” You shook your head and took your bag from off the table.

“Does that mean you dream of me often? Your psyche better be doing me justice.” His monotone delivery didn’t read flirt, but the contents of the sentence had you swooning.

“Hm, maybe someday you can read my dream journal.” You muttered, looking back to the coffee stand.

“Ah, so you also keep a log of your dreams? There’s no exact science to it yet, but I feel as though sometime in the near future we can learn a great deal about how long-term memory is utilized in the dreamscape.” He held out a hand of glory. “Someday the future generation will look back on the data of Donatello Hamato as the greatest scholar of his time. Also, I will definitely be remembered for the presumable number of Nobel prizes I’ve been awarded.” Creating an L-shape between his thumb and first finger, he brought it to his chin as he devilishly imagined his illustrious future.

You had meant the journal bit as a joke, but you adored that he took it seriously. It didn’t keep you from being sarcastic about the rest. “Speaking of dreams…”

“I consider myself a scientist foremost and a realist after that. I've simply stated a given!”

“Ah to be young!” You crooned, shouldering you bag like it was far too heavy.

“Another unknown, I might be older than you.” He pointed out both literally and figuratively. You both shared your respective birthdays and he cackled. “I’ve got you beat!”

“Fine, but only someone with youth on their side would be out dressed like that in this weather.” You pointed down to the green branching out from between purple coverage.

The look on his face soured instantly and you debated retracting your statement. Instead he clicked his tongue and gestured for you to take a seat. You took the one across from him and could feel some sort of story coming on. “So the lair lost power and I was given not a second of peace while I alone was tasked with the repair. Unable to take the constant barrage of 'when will it be done, Donnie?' and 'what happened to the backup generator, Donnie?' nonsense any longer, I told them I needed some air. I was just going to take a walk and start anew, preferably with some music to drown them out, but my precious phone was about to die.” He groaned and wiped a hand down his face. He then reached for a drink cup that had been otherwise left forgotten. The moment he lifted it a pathetic whine struggled it's way up his throat. In an act of pure frustration, he crushed the apparently empty cup in hand. “Great! Just great!!”

“Order up!”

You gripped the table, torn between getting your much needed drink and leaving an obviously distraught Donnie behind.

“Just-" He didn’t have the energy for further words and waved you off.

“I’ll be right back!” You pressed before heading over to pick up your breakfast. Your backpack thumped against your back as you gave a meager jog to the counter. You slowed on approach, passing the chalkboard sign which gave you an idea. “Uh, can I do a last minute addition?”

“Sure! What’ll it be?” The man anchored an arm to the counter, ready. You leaned in as if it were a secret and placed the order with a hushed tone. Thankfully the barista was game and leaned into the demonstration himself. When you were done, he glanced across the plaza and pointed at Donatello. “For him?”

“Yes.” You bobbed your head.

A laugh bubbled up in the man, but he seemed to remember the classified nature of the order and cleared his throat. “That’s perfect. I love it.” You paid and he gave you a beaming smile. “Wait right there and I’ll whip it right up.”

You did as you were told with only a few nervous glances back at Donnie. The man was in a purple heap and thankfully didn’t seem to be going anywhere. You were glad you’d forgotten to take your backpack off when you had sat down.

“Here we go!” Instead of the to-go cup that both your drink and Donnie’s previous had been in, the man handed you a tall glass with a matching stirring spoon. You gawked at it in amazement. “Hurry and get it over to him before it mixes. Oh, and I’m sure you will, but be careful with the glass. We’re not actually supposed to give those out to the customers, but I figured this was a special occasion.” He punctuated his sentence with a wink and you felt almost weepy at the kindness this man bestowed upon you.

Juggling your order and the delicate cup, you brought it back over to the table. Donnie’s head was down and folded into his arms. Ypu struggled with a tinge of guilt over the fact that you were grateful for it. Hoping the reveal would at least make up for it, you steeled yourself. “Donnie…” You urged, carefully setting the glass down in front of him.

“Hrm?” He grumbled from underneath his layers. “It’s best if you just leave me. I might as well try again tomorrow.”

“Then I have bad news for you about the time.” You couldn’t keep the airy tone out of your voice. His dramatizations were too much.

“Don’t tell me it’s sunrise already!?” He raised his head and froze. His eyes widened at the concoction in front of him. In the glass was a steaming, cascading mix of rich golden coffee and purple cream. “What…?”

“It’s an ube latte.” You smiled and carefully took a seat. Setting your bag aside, you palmed your cup to warm your hands and watched as Donnie uncurled out of his ball. He gave the drink a stir with stick and you took your first delicious sip of your caffeinated beverage.

“It is my color…” He remarked with a sense of fondness. You nodded and resisted the urge to scarf down your whole pastry. The mix of food, drink, and Donnie’s rising spirits warmed your body.

He grasped the glass and took a sip. “Hmmm.” He then acted as if he were a sommelier, twirling the liquid and sniffing it between small tastings. “It’s a bit sweet for my tastes, but the nuttiness pairs really well with the espresso.”

“As long as you don’t hate it, that’s a win for me!” You nodded, just finishing off the last flaky bite.

“It’s not your responsibility to cheer me up.” Cradling the cup in a similar way for warmth, he continued to sip the beverage.

“Is that what I did? I was just thinking purple goes with purple.” You gave him a catlike grin and took a long luxurious swig of your ever emptying drink.

“I would like to reinstate the line of questioning about this being a set-up.” He pointed at you and there was an air of playfulness to the otherwise staunch delivery that was not lost on you.

“Damn, I knew the barista wouldn’t be able to keep his mouth shut.” You snapped your finger in frustration and both of you chuckled.

Several moments of silence passed before Donnie gave a long winded sigh. “I believe I left off when I was about to lose my phone?” His brows hung heavy with effort.

“That’s right, but you don’t have to get into it if you don’t want to.”

He shook his head. “I like to finish what I start.” He leaned back in his chair and took the latte with him. “So I change course for the nearest cafe and catch a glimpse of orange which means I was definitely followed!”

In rapt attention it occurred to you that must mean his other siblings were also color coded. It seemed like it should be obvious seeing as how the only one you knew was too, but it somehow wasn’t.

“I catch up to Mikey and he says he was just worried about me, but he’s a terrible liar.” Donnie rolled his eyes. “His phone goes off and after a short grapple for the device, I find that the others are using him as a gauge to see when I had ‘calmed down’ and to give an ‘eta when the power would be back on.’” You were impressed that he was able to inject so much anger into air quotes. “Like that’s all I’m good for! They act like my emotions are just a hindrance when they pop up because I usually don’t have them!”

Your eyes widened. That was a particularly loaded sentence. You wanted to interject to reassure him that it had never crossed your mind that he didn’t have emotions, but interrupting him didn’t seem right either.

“Cue a long winded chase where Raph and Leo came topside in pursuit and…” Donnie rolled a wrist in demonstration before flattening out for the finale. “Needless to say I lost them since it’s been… Oh.” He smacked the hand to his forehead. “I had asked about the time?”

Waking your phone up, your read off the number. “It’s almost 6am.”

“I lost them about two and a half hours ago, so I would rate it as a pretty successful escape.” He took a long swig of his drink, almost finishing it off. “Since I ran out, I didn’t have time to throw on pants as I would have if I had known I was going to be stuck out in the cold for so long.” The weight of the story lightened into his characteristic dry tone.

Finishing off your drink, you ruminated over the tale as Donnie continued to recuperate. The words ‘lair’ and ‘topside’ were jumping out to you as particularly strange. Were they a family of super villains? They didn’t seem like it, but it was such a strange word choice. You really wished you knew what they did for a living. As you came out of your thoughts, you watched Donnie chug the rest of his latte and give a long breathy exhale that seemed to blow out his concerns.

“I did not yet thank you for this.” He set the glass down with the stirrer tinkling from the movement. “Still too sweet overall, but I suppose one could say it was ‘just what I needed.’” He put on a different voice for the quote and you wondered who he was mimicking. “Though to be more accurate there were many factors that improved my current mood.” He paused, his lip pursed before eyeing you. “If you did track me, you picked a very good time to reveal your location. To reiterate: thank you.”

Oh how you wished you had any liquid left in your cup to justify hiding behind it. “Any time!” You were torn between upholding the gesture and playing your skipping heart beat off with a joke. “My sensors are specifically tuned for when Donnie is in distress.” Your mouth jumped ahead of both your brain and heart. You wanted to bang your head against the table.

Donnie, on the other hand, smiled softly. “That might be something I should consider adding to my repertoire.” He tapped his device and made a quick note with nimble fingers especially considering how many he had.

“Are you saying you track your brothers?” You wondered through a laugh. This meeting might have charged you up just as much as your breakfast had.

“Nooo…” He drew out the word and looked left to right with narrowed suspicion. "I definitely do no such thing."

That was not convincing in the slightest, but also seemed to absurd to be a real thing. It wouldn't keep you from teasing him for it though. “And you said Mikey…?” You really hoped you had gotten that name right. “Was the a bad liar?”

“Yes, Mikey, but otherwise, I don’t care to know what you mean!” He retorted, folding his arms. Pale hues started to color the sky. You saw them as you craned back, enjoying the moment.

“I have a mid-term in just over an hour.” You told the single streaked cloud above.

“I’m sorry, what?!” Donnie banged the table with a sudden jolt and the glass cup tipped violently. Slow motion horror spread across your face as your brought uour gaze back down only to see the cup suddenly right itself before your eyes.

“Wh-“ You muttered in disbelief, raising a hand to feebly point at the action.

“No!” He ordered, pointing his own finger in a more accusatory manner. “We’ve been focused on me this whole time when I should have been questioning you! Why are you up so early? You look like you haven’t slept at all! You’re going to take a test in this state? Where’s your academic honor!? Did you even study?!”

You stared back at him weakly. The ever growing light overhead was certainly not helping the bags under your eyes, but all you could think about was how much he must value education. That and he apparently had the reflexes of a ninja.

“If you aren’t going to answer me then get up. Up!” He flung his arms in time with the command, picking up his glass and standing himself.

You scrambled to follow suit while gathering your trash. “In my defense, I was up all night studying.” You would just leave out the gaming part out for the time being. It was something you could consider texting him as a fun teasing surprise after your class.

“An all-nighter?” He seemed utterly revolted as he strode over to the drink truck where a line was starting to form.

After watching him deposit the glass, you pouted and turned your head away as he approached. “I’m hearing a lot of lecture from the guy who is also awake… What did you say you were doing? Electrician work?”

His inhale was so sharp he almost whistled. “How dare you!? Tradespersons have honorable professions, but my arsenal includes so much more that comparing what I do to a single line of work is utterly disgraceful!” You walked out of the plaza together, but the indignity was too much for him. He rounded you and pressed a finger right to your forehead. “Apologize to me while I’ll still accept it!”

The best you could do was crinkle your overjoyed smile.

“And stop smiling! Why are you even smiling?!”

If only he knew how lucky you counted yourself.

💜 NEXT 💜

#rottmnt donnie x reader #rottmnt #rise of the tmnt #rise of the teenage mutant ninja turtles #rottmnt x reader #donatello hamato #donnie x reader #rise donnie #rise leo #rise donnie x reader #Leonardo Hamato #rottmnt donatello #rottmnt donnie #cartoons #fanfction #my fanfiction #crush too much #crushtoomuchfic #me

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i-guess-im-into-this-now · 22 days

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The Apothecary Diaries

S1E10 First Watch

Here's where I watch The Apothecary Diaries for the first time and give my thoughts, analysis, predictions, and occasionally I stumble into a joke.

To start at the beginning:

Episode 1

My character/location cheat sheet

Lady Ah-Duo - Pure Consort, one of 4 top concubines

Garnet Pavilion - Lady Ah-Duo's residence

Fengming - Head LIW at Garnet Pavilion

Xiaolan - Maomao's servant friend

Lady Lishu - child bride concubine

Lady Lihua - the consort who was poisoned by powder

Jade Pavilion - Lady Gyokuyou's residence

Luomen - Maomao's physician father

Sir Kounen - Jinshi's older acquaintance who died

This episode fought me hard. Like, I struggled a lot with it. I'm more lost than I've ever been in this show. And forewarning, much of this episode's blog is me spinning wild theories, since I couldn't actually figure out what is happening.

And full disclosure, I had to watch this episode twice. I watched it once while I was tired, and could not figure out a lot of it. So I slept on it, let the mysteries roll around my head all day, and then watched it again and I'm still confused about many things! But I had some insights about a couple things, and added some more notes to my initial watch responses. Enjoy!

Cryptic opening. A person sits drinking alone on what appears to be the walls of the palace.

Palace gossip! The girl who drowned used to serve at the Garnet Pavilion. Word has it that she's the one who poisoned Lady Lishu's food. Could she have done it because Lady Ah-Duo is at risk of losing her place as one of the top consorts to a younger concubine?

At age 35, Lady Ah-Duo is so, so old. She's practically geriatric. Way too old to be a favored consort, even if she has been married to the emperor since he was the crown prince, and bore him a child that died.

And the math is funny when you have to consider child brides, but there is a possibility that if that infant that she bore had in fact not died, that they would be a young adult right about now. Right around the age of Jinshi a lot of young men in the palace. This possibility isn't my leading theory, since the show has already implied that Jinshi is the emperor's brother, but it's a good back up. For what it's worth, Lady Ah-Duo has the right coloring and look to be related to Jinshi. Also, I have no idea how old Jinshi actually is, but Gaoshun keeps referring to him as a young person, so I'm guessing young 20s or late teens. Which means there is an age gap between him and his brother the emperor who we now know is 34.

I'm starting to notice a motif. Maomao describes the Rear Palace as a garden, and the concubines as flowers. I remember her talking to Lady Lihua about how one could not compare a peony to a bellflower. And now she says:

Even the most beautiful flowers wilt eventually. And those unable to bear fruit no longer serve a purpose.

The ladies of the Jade Pavilion prepare and host a tea party for Lady Lishu, which is fraught with politics. The party is attended by Lady Lishu's food taster, who is terrified of Maomao after the events of the Garden Party. But even so, it seems Lady Lishu is still being bullied by her ladies.

Of note: Maomao is dressed up for the party, and doesn't have her freckles on.

The ladies of the Jade Pavilion won't let Maomao help clean up and they toss her out into the hall claiming she needs to rest, but they may have ulterior motives, because a certain palace manager is waiting for Maomao there.

Jinshi wants to know about the tea party, and Maomao realizes that he may have had a hand in organizing this event. I assume he wanted Maomao to observe Lady Lishu with her ladies in waiting to determine if the bullying is still happening, which is a noble intention. Why he does these things without simply asking Maomao to help, I don't know. She doesn't appreciate being maneuvered, and her natural curiosity and desire to help usually get her involved anyway, so there really isn't a good reason for him to continue operating this way. But things have been weird since Maomao became despondent after the servant girl drowned. He's retreated to old behaviors, which include manipulating Maomao. And the mask of the enigmatic palace manager is back. He's all sparkles again.

Maomao tries to brush him off.

Jinshi: I am far from being done with you.

Understatement.

Maomao: Funny, I'm more than done with you.

A lie.

But she may be done with him in this moment. When he's sparkling, he's manipulating, and she knows it.

They are bantering as they always do, but this isn't honest or fun. And he's put his hand on her shoulder. She has asked him before not to do that. She slaps it off as she did last time. Nothing has changed. What she said before is still true. His status makes anything between them impossible, and he shouldn't be touching her.

His tone immediately changes, signaling his sincerity as he wants to talk about the servant girl who died. He's not convinced that it was a suicide. He's heard Maomao's thoughts on this before, and he believes her. He also doesn't want to give up on finding the truth and getting justice for that girl. And... I just love that.

We see Jinshi through Maomao's distorted lens so often, that it can be hard to see that he has heroic qualities. When we first met him, he seemed to be almost an antagonist to Maomao. He was using her in his machinations, trying to seduce her to more firmly control her, and keeping information from her. But his role in this story, is not that of an antagonist, he's the love interest, and he's got to be worthy of the hero. As we've moved through the story we've caught glimpses of his better nature, and we can read between the lines to see what his motivations and actions have been. He's got some growth yet to do, no doubt, but fundamentally, he's a good person. And here, with his pursuit of justice for the murdered servant girl, we get a good example of him becoming a hero in his own right.

This also demonstrates the impact Maomao has had on Jinshi. I do believe he cared about justice before Maomao arrived in his life, and I think he would have pursued this case regardless, but this case in particular has extra meaning to Jinshi, because of Maomao.

The woman who died is a servant girl, just like Maomao. Someone targeted this woman and murdered her, because she was expendable.

Maomao: I am but a lowly commoner. My life is easily taken away over the slightest error. [From episode 9]

And that is unacceptable to Jinshi.

He saw a despondent Maomao, and listened to what she had to say, and in the moment he had no idea what to do. And he still might not know what to say to Maomao, but he does know that servant girls don't deserve to die when they become an inconvenience to someone in power.

And servant girls shouldn't have to live in the palace feeling like their lives are expendable.

Maomao: We wander through life, never knowing when it's our time. That's fate. There's no way of resisting it. [From episode 9]

No. Not okay. Not to Jinshi.

He might not be able to escape the obligations of his station or be able to take off the mask he needs to wear, but he can at least use his power for this.

He saw Maomao at her darkest moment to date, and it threw him. He has pulled back a bit but as he said he's far from being done with her. Jinshi never gives up on Maomao. Big male lead energy.

And so Jinshi asks for Maomao's thoughts, as he always does. He always wants to know her thoughts, her conjectures, and he believes her. As he did with the drowned servant girl. Now he wants to know if she thinks the servant girl could have done what it's being said she did. He's not sure himself, but he trusts that Maomao will have some insight. Just as Jinshi's support and encouragement helps Maomao to solve mysteries, Maomao's careful analysis and even unfounded conjectures, help Jinshi make sense of the cases he's call upon to handle. They work better when they work together.

Jinshi has heard her thoughts about the servant girls death before, but he has to ask again:

Jinshi: Do you think she really committed suicide? Maomao: I've already told you that's not for me to determine.

And if Jinshi is back to masks, and sparkles, then Maomao is back to conjectures shouldn't be spoken out loud and "a mere lady-in-waiting wouldn't know."

Jinshi: She was a common servant girl. What reason would she have for attempting to poison Concubine Lishu? Maomao: I don't know.

The walls are up. The communication is down. Jinshi makes a frustrated sound. He tried asking her earnestly, and it got him nowhere. If Maomao is going to retreat to old behavior, so will he. It's time to ✨sparkle.✨

Jinshi will get to the bottom of this case goddamnit, even if he has to maneuver Maomao to do it. She's been sent to the Garnet Pavilion to help out get answers. She acts like she's upset at being sent, but don't listen to her. She wants to solve this case as much as Jinshi does.

That's... a hell of an intro for Lady Ah-Duo. She's going to be someone important isn't she? See wild theory above.

Caught it on the second watch, but the person on the wall was Lady Ah Duo. Her guan and hair style are the same, and when Maomao pictures her riding a horse, it's the same outfit at in the beginning.

Which begs the question, what was she doing sitting up on the rooftop drinking and staring at the stars?

Lady Ah-Duo is getting the kind of starstruck reaction usually reserved for Jinshi. And Maomao is wondering who Lady Ah-Duo reminds her of. Don't tell me my off-the-wall theory was correct? Shit, I'll have to rework all my other theories if that's true...

Everything at the Garnet Pavilion seems... nice. The servants work hard, and the head lady in waiting is kind, and approachable, different from what we've seen before with Lady Lihua's and Lady Lishu's servants. Maomao isn't sure what to do. She didn't get any specific instructions from Jinshi, and she's not sure where or what to look for. She's considering all of the angles though. In fact those thoughts are keeping her up at night. A servant girl who used to live and work in that very pavilion, was murdered. And someone did try to poison Lady Lishu. Maomao knows there must be a clue somewhere. It's driving her crazy.

This show just casually drops in commentary about the role of women in society.

She's (Fengming) well past her prime, but in another life, she would have made a great wife. I wonder if she ever considered marriage? Or if she chose to serve Concubine Ah-Duo for life?

I wonder if Maomao considers this her fate as well. Will she ever consider marriage? Will she choose to serve Concubine Gyokuyou for life? Do servants even get a choice? Do their desires matter at all? What about the concubines? Do they get a choice? Do their desires matter at all?

Lady Lishu shows up to the Garnet Pavilion acting weird as hell. Looking all around like she doesn't want to be seen. And she only has her one food taster with her. Strange for someone who may have been the target of an assassination attempt from the Garnet Pavilion.

Something about this doesn't add up. Why is she hiding her visit? Is she hiding from her own ladies? Is that why she only brought the one? Or is she avoiding someone else and didn't want a large retinue that would make her more noticeable. And why visit the Garnet Pavilion? What is the connection? She had the weird reaction to honey at the tea party she attended at the Jade Pavilion. Does this have something to do with honey? I really don't know. Maybe there will be some clues later on.

When she's done Maomao reports back to Jinshi, who... is acting very strangely. I think he's trying to seduce Maomao again. But, why use methods he knows will fail? Just what the hell is going on here?!

Maomao: And what's with his casual attitude recently?

Maomao thinks it's weird too.

He starts by lounging suggestively across the couch. Maomao finishes her report of the facts, and Jinshi asks her to go on... and I think I've figured out what he's up to. She's still holding back, not willing to share her thoughts and theories with him. He's pushing her. He tried talking it out before, and it didn't work, so this is plan B.

He pushes her with a pointed question, and that works! She tells him the facts she knows, her reasoning, and her opinions. Gaoshun and Jinshi share a look. Everything Maomao said aligns with what they already thought about Fengming.

The honey. Does the fact that Jinshi brought it mean anything?

Maomao: Given the way he's lapping up that honey, he must have already suspected her (Fengming).

I actually don't know how she gets to that leap of logic. Does she think he went to request a pot of honey from Garnet Pavilion to investigate himself? Maybe he or Gaoshun really did do that. Maybe that is how Gaoshun discovered that Fengming has a bandaged arm. I don't know.

What does he already know, before Maomao even gives her report? We know he knew about the bandage on Fengming's arm, but didn't tell Maomao about it. She noticed it and figured out it's significance on her own. She realizes that he already knew everything that she reported. So why bother to ask her?

My theory is that he's not sure, but he trusts Maomao's judgement and wanted to hear it from her to confirm his own thoughts, or see if she had any additional insights. Maybe to see if she can tie in any of the other mysteries. Or maybe he is seeing if she is a good spy. Perhaps he will use her this way again in the future, since she performed so well.

For what it's worth, I think he would like to be able to ask her opinion and have it freely given. And they may reach a day where he can simply consult with her, without her pulling away. But that day is not today.

There are also the mysteries of who tried to poison Lady Lishu, and why the servant girl that worked at the Garnet Pavilion was murdered. I think both Jinshi and Maomao would like to know if any of those things are connected.

Jinshi then does something so deeply weird... it's... he.... he tries to put his fingers In. Her. Mouth.

He offers her a pot of honey. An expensive luxury, with medicinal properties. It's something she probably would be willing to accept. However:

✨Jinshi✨: This is for you. Good girls should be rewarded.

She declines, completely freaked out. So he dips his fingers in the honey and corners her. What the absolute fuck Jinshi?!

Maomao: Offer it to someone who wants your fingers in their mouth!

Back the hell off with your honeyed words and your honeyed fingers!

Jinshi: Don't be so modest.

Is he doing this because she smacked his hand off of her shoulder earlier?

Maomao yells for help from Gaoshun, who pretends he can neither see nor hear what is happening. Holy hell. Don't these guys remember her story about nearly being assaulted? What the hell does Jinshi hope to achieve here?

Maomao is pissed at Jinshi, unnerved, and uncomfortable, but she's not triggered into having a trauma response. I think she must know that Jinshi would not force her. Even with the honey, I think he would stop shy of forcing his fingers into her mouth. I think, he thinks he is teasing her (it's harassment as Lady Gyokuyou says when she comes in). Maomao considers fighting. She considers submitting. She considers fleeing, but before she can decide what to do, she has an insight, which is what finally stops Jinshi.

Maomao has a moment where she thinks through some earlier events, like Lady Lishu not wanting to eat honey, and having had an allergic reaction to fish. She draws a connection that Lady Lishu may also be allergic to honey. Then she thinks about the servant girl who was drowned, about Lady Ah Duo, the servants, and Lady Lishu acting shady. And... I'm not sure what connection they have to honey, but I'm glad Maomao was able to connect all of the events. I knew she could do it, even if I can't!

My hero, Lady Gyokuyou walks in and Jinshi is caught honey red handed. And he runs away, like the guilty asshole that he is. Did I say he had heroic qualities earlier? I take it all back.

Gaoshun calls Maomao "Xiaomao" and tries to make excuses for Jinshi, calling this a prank that went to far. And barf. Fuck that excuse. And boy do I think there is some commentary happening here about sexual harassment and rape culture, but I won't digress into it.

Maomao: Since it was nothing but harmless fun, next time you can do the licking for me?

So, what is the point of this scene?

I've thought about it, and I'm swinging in the dark, but I think Jinshi is acting bizarrely because he is getting desperate. We've seen him slowly unraveling for awhile now, as he struggles between craving authenticity, and living up to the expectations of his status. To be clear, what he did is way across the line. It's certainly across the line in Maomao's eyes. It's also crossing the lines of propriety which is why Gaoshun pretends not to see, and why Lady Gyokuyou reacts so strongly when she sees it. But I think Jinshi has even crossed a line of his own that he normally wouldn't. So what would compel this usually composed and calculating man to behave in such an unhinged way?

Well I think it comes down to a few key events that happened recently.

Maomao left.

Jinshi has gotten rather used to having Maomao around. Being able to call upon her whenever he wants to take advantage of her incredible mind and unmatched skills. Or if he just wants to tease her or banter with her. She's the one who sees him. The one who makes him feel like he's a person, and not like he's just filling a role. So when he shows up and she's just... gone. Well. Jinshi did not like it.

He thought he lost her to another man.

Not only was she gone. She was gone with another man! Hadn't Jinshi been clear enough when he gave her a hair pin? How can she prefer Lihaku?! Also, doesn't she shrink away or cringe whenever Jinshi tries to touch her? How could she allow herself to be with Lihaku?! It turned out she wasn't physical with Lihaku, but for a moment there he saw what could happen. Jinshi did not like it.

Maomao's despair

That the machinations of the palace could tangle Maomao and get her killed, and that Jinshi would be powerless to stop it, well... This is intolerable to Jinshi.

Mix these feelings of loneliness, jealousy, and desperation and we get a Jinshi that is irrational. We've usually seen Jinshi in control of himself and everyone else around him. He's the mastermind, who knows how to move the pieces around the board to produce the outcome that he wants. And if he feels some way about what's going on around him or inside him, we usually have to guess, because he doesn't have anyone that he can talk to about it. So to now see him behave without thought, or reason, just from a place of desperation, of wanting to connect with Maomao, who just won't let him in, no matter what he does. Well, it's really weird, and inexcusable, but also kind of sad.

Whatever the case may be, Maomao uses this opportunity to ask Gaoshun for a favor. She's put the pieces together and now she needs evidence. Gaoshun accompanies her to visit Lady Lishu. His presence implies that the visit is sanctioned by Jinshi, which it is not. Maomao feels he owes her this one.

She wants to ask Lady Lishu about honey. Things are starting to come together for Maomao but I'm lost. I haven't figured out how exactly the conspiracy works yet, or what connection Lady Lishu has with the Garnet Pavilion. In any case, Lady Lishu had a dangerous reaction to honey as an infant and was told to never again eat it. And when Maomao asks about Fengming, Lady Lishu looks downright terrified. I'm also remembering that Lady Lishu was the child bride of the former emperor, and was mother-in-law to Lady Ah-Duo. That little tidbit probably wasn't dropped into this story for no reason. Just what is the connection between Lady Lishu, Lady Ah-Duo, and Fengming? Whatever Maomao suspected she didn't share it and now I'm starting to understand how Jinshi feels because I also want to force her to tell me what she thinks!

Gaoshun may not be a fan of JinMao but he is becoming quite a fan of "Xiaomao." He's giving her cutesy names and doing her favors with no reward. He has seen the way her brilliant mind works, her passion for protecting the powerless, her composure under pressure, and her superior competencies. She's earned his respect. When she asks, he searches through the court library, without question.

Wait a god damn minute. Honey. Lady Ah Duo's child appeared dead because they gave him honey. Of course they did, they have honey in abundance at the Garnet Pavilion. Then when the doctor was called he... took him out of the palace to safety? No that doesn't sound right. If the baby were a girl I would say yes, and that the baby was Maomao. But if that were true and we assumed that the emperor was her father, and we assume that Jinshi is the emperor's brother, than that would make Jinshi Maomao's uncle. Lol! Perfect. Absolutely perfect. But I don't think that's right.

So I've thought some more and I'm reminded that someone said the Emperor and Lady Ah Duo were foster siblings. I'd like to know more about that scenario, but regardless, I wonder if they truly saw themselves more like siblings than as spouses. I wonder if they didn't have physical relations at all. It would explain why they never had another baby in the many years they have been married. But then how did Lady Ah Duo end up pregnant you may ask. Well, there are not a lot of named male characters in this show that could fit the bill, so with my limited information, and a shot in the dark, I'm going to guess Sir Kounen. He was around in the palace with access to the imperial family, which we know because he had an impact on young Jinshi. Was he friends with the Emperor and Lady Ah Duo? Did Lady Ah Duo used to ride horses with him, then sit under the stars? Was that why she was drinking while stargazing at the top of the episode? Was she toasting to her past lover? I don't know. I don't really have any evidence at all.

So then what is with Fengming burning secret communication sticks? Well, if we consider that Lady Ah-Duo sneaks out to go horseback riding or meet up with her fellow who isn't the emperor, then maybe those communication sticks are for setting up secret rendezvous.

When Maomao was figuring out the connection of honey to every as yet unsolved mystery, she thought about how honey can nearly kill an infant, she thought about the servant girl who was murdered, and of Lady Ah-Duo, and if Jinshi is that baby, and honey was used to feint his death, then maybe the reason the servant was killed, was because she found out that the baby that was born was not the emperor's, or maybe that the baby lived. Or maybe she found out about Lady Au Duo having an affair, or maybe she saw Fengming using the secret communication sticks. Hmmm, could be a lot of things. There are a lot of secrets to keep in the Garnet Pavilion.

But how does Lady Lishu tie in? Am I way off here?

So I guess I'm now leaning towards Lady Ah-Duo's baby being Jinshi. Was Sir Kounen actually his father? And that would make Jinshi 17. He seems older to me. With all of his responsibilities, that makes me very sad to think he's so young.

There were two baby boys born around the same time, the baby of the emperor and the baby of the crown prince. Was there a baby swap in the palace? Did the emperor's child die? And they replaced that child with the Lady Ah-Duo's baby? Therefor removing Lady Ah-Duo's baby from the line of succession, since the child is a bastard and isn't actually of the imperial bloodline. That would kind of fit with how Jinshi is treated.

But you may ask, if Jinshi were Lady Ah Duo's baby and honey almost killed him at an infant, how can he sit around lapping it up now as an adult? Well, babies' deadly reaction to honey isn't due to an allergy, it's a rare infection. So even if you have a reaction as a baby, that doesn't mean you can't eat it as an adult. Will this be relevant later? Is that why the storytellers made such a spectacle of the honey scene? So we would remember it later?

Also, Maomao thinks it strange that the current emperor only had one concubine while he was still crown prince. That's even stranger if that one concubine was his foster sister whom he didn't have a physical relationship with. Did he also have a secret lover on the side? In the annex maybe? Perhaps someone that it wasn't appropriate to make into an official concubine? Perhaps Maomao's mother? Do we even know any characters that could fit this role? Fengming, maybe? The emperor comes to visit Lady Ah Duo, but he's actually there to see her head lady in waiting? Is Fengming actually using the communication sticks to set up a rendezvous for herself with the emperor? Did the lady in waiting find out, and the emperor's people had her killed? But Fengming is quite a bit older than the emperor so that's probably not it either.

Ahhhhgggg! This episode is too confusing! I give up! I want to threaten Maomao with some honeyed fingers and make her tell me what's going on!

I am really sorry to the people who read all of this. I have nothing good to offer you this episode. Just a ton of really wild, conjectures. Maybe I should take Luomen's advice and keep some of those to myself. Or maybe put them to use in writing a fanfic. lol.

If you want to start this blog series at the beginning:

Episode 1

Next episode:

Episode 11

#the apothecary diaries #apothecary diaries #maomao #jinshi #jinmao

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firstdivisiongirl · 2 months

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Emma x Draken: Love Story Part 5

First Date

Festivals were the perfect stereotypical date. There were games, good food, dressing up, etc. Draken knew this was the perfect date to take Emma on. At least, that’s what the ladies at the brothel told him. So that’s why the Shitamachi Tanabata Festival was the perfect place.

The night was cool and the sky was covered in stars. But the most beautiful thing about the night was Emma. She looked beautiful. Not cute. Not pretty. Beautiful. Her light pink yukata perfectly complimented her golden eyes. Although if you ask her, it’s blush. Everything was perfect. Little did he know, he had two boys making sure everything went perfect. Keisuke Baji and Manjiro Sano.

The date was going amazing. Any prize Draken tried to win for Emma, he won. If there was something Emma wanted to eat that seemed to be selling out, she was always able to get one. He didn’t like this one bit. The ladies at the brothel told him that no first date is ever perfect. So his being perfect didn’t sit well with him. He looked around waiting for some sign to see what could be making this date too amazing. That’s when he saw the familiar blonde locks that matched the color of his dates: Mikey. “Hey Emma,” Draken said, “I’ll be back. I need to use the restroom. Wait here for me.” She nodded.

Draken’s ora had completely changed from one of euphoria to rage. He grabbed both his captain and the first division captain by the shirts and dragged them away from all the hustle and bustle of the festival.

“What are you two doing meddling in my date,” he asked, a vein popping out of his forehead, “why? Just why?”

Both looked at each other before Baji spoke up, “we just wanted your date to go perfect. We knew you really like Emma and she really likes you, so we just wanted to make sure it was a good time.”

“Morons! It doesn’t matter if the date is perfect or if everything goes terribly wrong. All that matters is that we enjoy ourselves no matter what.”

Mikey looked up at Draken and laughed, “I know.”

“Then why?”

“Because I wanted to see what happens and Baji was afraid you’d mess up the date.”

“I’m gonna kill you Mikey.”

Draken sighed. He felt like he was their parent sometimes more than their friend. But he looked back and saw Emma there waiting for him. “Stop getting involved in my date,” Draken said, glaring at the two boys, “if you excuse me, I have a date to get back to.”

The rest of the date went smoothly from there, even without the help of Mikey and Baji. That was until Draken was walking home Emma and it started to rain. Neither had an umbrella and the shops had sold out of them. But Draken, being the gentleman he is, he hid Emma under his jacket so she wouldn't get as wet. He was warm, which was good since she was always cold. She was a blushing mess as he held her close to him. When he got home, the ladies wanted all the details. He didn’t want to tell them, but they wouldn’t leave him alone, so he had to. He told them all about how his friends meddled in the date and then how they didn’t have an umbrella. The date wasn’t perfect like Mikey and Baji were trying to make it, but to him, it was the perfect first date.

Please do not copy, modify, translate or repost my writing on other platforms. Comments, reblogs and likes are highly appreciated!

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xylaes · 3 months

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February DWC Day 4 - Vengeance

The Cleaner Part 3

Previous stories in this series: Prologue Part 1 Part 2

It didn’t take long for Xylaes to get the information he wanted out of Elrothos Sol’sil. A little flirting, some gentle touching, and a gin and tonic spiked with psychoactive drugs seemed to easily do the trick. Xylaes knew exactly what questions to ask and how to ask them. This is what he had been trained to do during his time in the Elite Forces, and this route was much better than the alternative which typically involved moderate amounts of torture. That’s not something he cared to get back into, and he doubted that Ouro would approve of his indiscretion.

The topic of Elrothos’s old restaurant, Sage and Salt, had been raised, and Xylaes raved about the delicious food (which he had never actually had), and the delightful owner (whom he had never actually met). Apparently the two had been old friends and sort of kept in touch over the years even after Rasen Cinderblade, Xy’s current person of interest, had abruptly moved to Bilgewater Harbor: A lawless city where every vice you can imagine is available for just a handful of silver and debauchery is half off.

That sounded about right for Rasen’s type. It was a place full of cartel activity, and a great place to go to become someone else. Rasen could easily continue whatever dirty work he was into in a city like this, and hopefully he could still be found there. He would go by a different name now, and perhaps have changed his appearance in some ways; hair color, facial hair, hopefully nothing too major or Xylaes would have to dig much, much deeper.

Xy left Elrothos Sol’sil passed out at one of the back tables of the underground brawling ring. He would wake up confused, no doubt, but likely with no memory of their conversation; just the memory of joining one of the fighters over in a darkened corner of the room, likely for lascivious purposes.

He stepped out onto the streets of Dalaran, inhaling the fresh night air before pulling on his coat to cover the sweat and blood-stained shirt. While a great many illegal activities happened in the Underbelly, it was usually best not to bring any attention to it in the main part of the city. He made his way back towards The Red Moon; showering and packing were on the agenda tonight, and then in the morning he would leave for Bilgewater. Taking out his comm device, he sent a quick message to Ouro, ‘Headed to Bilgewater in the AM, may be onto something. Gonna need some extra G for bribes’. Because of course he would need bribe money in a place like that. Time is money, after all, as is silence.

‘Wired to your account, keep me updated.’

Xylaes stopped in his tracks and blinked a few times when the notification came through that 500,000 gold had been sent to him. He shouldn’t have been so surprised, he had been to one of Ouro’s grand warehouses full of weapons, ammo, and other war necessities to pick up some supplies. He truly was a one-man cartel at this point, or were there others? Was he part of this now? A question for another day, but the thought didn’t bother him.

Money seemed to matter very little to Ouro, he never flaunted it nor boasted about it. If Xylaes had to guess, Ouro just preferred keeping himself distracted, and because he already knew this business well, he thrived with it.

Or perhaps when it came to vengeance, no price was too high.

@daily-writing-challenge @ouroandar

#dwc2024 #story #februardwc2024 #xylaes #ouro

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lifesver · 2 months

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GET TO KNOW THE MUN !

what made you pick up the muse you have ? : my friend typecasted my muse type when the victims concept art was announced. just immediately pointed out the horror jock like yep. that'll be the one u like. and then i played the tcsm beta back in may me and rae started wildly theorycrafting.... and well my demons have been winning since. i love a jock who is kind of fail but trying his best like you got me there.

is there anything you really enjoy writing ? : i'm a creep i'm a weirdo i love exploring horror and the many themes that can coexist in it. ig i like to kind of examine trauma and the healing process through the lens of the slasher genre, as well as where horror and love coincide as themes. i think there is underrepresentation in just....... letting slasher final kids have some kind of healing arc, or letting their story continue in general? seeing them before and after the things that happen to them? and i can't always do it but i do also like to kind of dive down into slasher horror and light gore and just practicing writing dynamic action scenes and what a character's thought process is like during those kinds of moments. i love an opportunity to be mean to my blorbo

is there anything you don't like to write ? : probably just anything needlessly like... melodramatic between characters? i have no interest in plots like genuine jealousy and love triangles and interpersonal shit like that, mostly because i write horror and there are so many more interesting things to focus on imo? and because not enough slasher content casts seem like they actually care about each other lmaooo. is this a callout post about gun.'s take on the friend group? perhaps.

how do you come up with your headcanons ? : dude i just receive the prophecies and act like im on twitter tossing my every stupid thought into the void.

do you write in silence or listen to music ? : tbh i usually write either in silence or in a deranged third way (writing between games of overwatch) my adhd sometimes demands that i am doing several things at the same time and sometimes i can sit down at the coffee shop put on some instrumentals and just slam some replies in

do you plan your replies or wing them ? : hmmm a bit of both? i usually have to start by winging it, which usually involves me dropping in whatever reaction dialogue immediately comes to me. kind of work around that, save and close the draft, and then think about the reply a bit until i eventually know where i'm going with it LOL

do you enjoy shipping ? : i do with friends! i'm not actually a huge like... ships person in a general fandom sense and i rarely feel any particular way until something is compelling to me in fanon, but i can ship most things if it's with a writing partner i like! simply ask rae we will be creating ships 0 people are thinking about shout out leland/connie tcsm tommy/jenny f13 and jake/adam dbd. i also usually go hard on the slowburn, and that's just like, personal comfort for getting to know my muse and my writing partner's muse, but also just think slowburn rules

what's your alias / name ? : kels.

zodiac sign ? : pisces sun, gemini moon, aries rising.

Birthday? : march 20th!

favorite color ? : a sort of pastel pink-lilac

favorite song ? : feel that it must be go your own way / fleetwood mac

last movie you watched ? : oh jesus i fear it was hellraiser: revelations

last show you watched ? : icr if it was an episode of goosebumps or true detective tbh

last song you listened to ? : putting the dog to sleep by the antlers....

favorite food ? : veggie burritos probably. or honestly like. just a really good bagel cream cheese LMFAO

favorite season ? : spring (:

do you have a tumblr best friend ? : rae and i have been in and out of these trenches for years i fear

TAGGED BY : @solarisgod thank u!!! mwah mwah <3

TAGGING : all my fellas

#:3c #readmore'd bc it's kinda long

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scarlet-fantasies · 2 months

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Being Best Friends With Zeke HCS

::Description::

Zeke as your best friend and just him being a handful.

::��𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬:: cringe

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

𝑃𝑟𝑜𝑚𝑝𝑡

𝐼𝑛𝑏𝑜𝑥 𝑖𝑠 𝑜𝑝𝑒𝑛

𝐶𝑙𝑖𝑐𝑘 𝑡𝑜 𝑗𝑜𝑖𝑛 --> 𝑇𝑎𝑔𝑙𝑖𝑠𝑡

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

If I’m being honest this is the most obnoxious friendship to ever exist.

He’s known you for way to long and is sooo quirky.

Like you see the text messages? That’s how crazy it gets between you two.

He always gets so philosophical and you sometimes just get so fed up with his bull want to tell him to shut up 😂 mostly bc you know he’s just trying to troll.

Although he means well.

As you’re best friend he knows everything about you and you vice versa.

Like he knows everything, dates, crushes, ex’s, all times you feel like you’ve failed, your accomplishments, and even your most shameful moments.

He even remembers something as dumb as you tripping over something from two years ago.

“Remember when you tripped over my math book?”

“How do you remember these things?!?” You’d complain.

He even remembers things like your middle name, the teachers you’ve had and even something dumb like the first two words you exchanged when you got to know him.

He’s very detail oriented on pointless shit and it’s just funny.

Aside from this he’s very corny and quirky as we can see with the text messages.

He makes a lot of dumb jokes as he likes to get on your nerves.

It’s always fun to him.

Even if he acts like he’s offended by your insults he actually lives for them.

And he just loves you.

Though he acts like a dork/asshole he’d do anything for you.

Something he likes to do is take photos because he wants to hold a lot of memories and let me tell you, you’re in a lot of these pics.

I could literally see him vlogging and he just randomly involved you in it somehow because you’re his bff.

He believe it or not he is able to cook so he’d probably make cute things with you like the snowman pizza.

Mostly cause he likes cooking and making arts and crafts.

He’s a softie too

He surprises you a lot sometimes it’s gifts and other times it’s just something crazy happening like one time he brought home a bunch of ducks and then swim in the sink.

Which yess was cute but you had no idea why he brought them all or what to do with them.

He also will look though Pinterest to get craft ideas and just do a bunch of like diy stuff.

And always tries to get you to make it with him.

He loves cooking so he randomly makes things sometimes. You also sometimes ask him to cook instead of you bc he’s good at it. Plus on bad days or your birthday he’ll make you your favorite food.

He does steal food from you. Because he believes in the “what’s yours is mine and what’s mine is yours” shit. So it can be annoying which is why you take his jacket with you when your going for a run, steal a shirt, use his laptop/phone for something, and sleep on his bed. Food wise, you make spicy food because he cannot handle it, which gets him off your back 😂

He probably is good at baking or cooking so he sometimes asks you to be his taste tester.

On a bad day he brings snacks and sweets you love.

Takes care of you when you are sick because what are friends for.

Sometimes goes shopping with you and gives advice especially if you’re going on a date.

“I think blue looks better, says a lot more about you.”

“It’s just a color.” You’d say confused.

“Guys don’t see it that way.”

“Guys don’t? Or you don’t?” You’d joke.

If you are near Eren’s age or seem like the kinda girl he’d date you’d best believe Zeke is shipping you two hardcore.

He’d try to get you to hook up and start dating.

One time, he asked you what you thought about him during one of your movie nights when you two were having a snack.

“Hey, what do you think about my brother Eren?” He’d ask, looking at you a little serious.

You’d shake your head looking at him, “Mhh, No, no.”

“What? I’m just asking.” He’d say playing dumb.

“No, Zeke.”

“No but seriously, you two would be cute together.” He’d insist.

“I don’t like him like that.” You’d say.

He’d sigh, “One day you kids will realize it.”

He’d try to scheme the two of you together it just really doesn’t surprise me at all.

Personally Zeke doesn’t seem like the kind of person to have feelings for a girl he his friends with.

However if he and his bff have been friends for over ten years and she’s able to still put up with him he may just end up liking her.

He has thought about it before but pushed it away because he thought he was thinking too much.

If he ended up liking you he’d end up telling you which would be a shock to you.

It would be like those text messages where it says I’m freaking out.

But this doesn’t mean you’re friendship would really change.

You’d still have plenty to laugh about it.

You’ll still be listening to his obnoxious theories and questions about the world at 3am while you’re trying to sleep.

You’ll still participate in his crazy games that he comes up with and put up with all his other antics nonetheless.

People have told him he looks like Jesus and he actually tries to use it as an excuse.

“I saw that.”

“Shut up.”

You once scent him a text saying Jesus crist but it auto corrected to Jesus Crispy.

And he’s never quit ever since.

@sp00ksic0la @bubs-world

::Previous Post::

#anime #attack on titan #snk #aot #attack on titan headcanons #snk zeke #zeke headcanons #zeke yeager #zeke jeager headcanons

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tiredly101 · 1 year

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Love is coming our way

Pairing: Peter Pan x Felix x OCC Male!Reader

Summary: Felix and Peter are in a casual relationship. Only sex with no strings attached but the second you arrived with your fierce, and deadly, behavior and your beautiful self they felt things that should have happened.

Notes: I'm using promps 22, 30, 31 & 144 form this list: click here.

Warning: none, just Male Reader OCC being revengeful and overall crazy, Peter and Felix being technically simps.

Felix being Peter Pan second in command made people suspicious, those people being the lost boys and each one if them had their theory. Most of those theories involved Felix sucking Peter's cock for his place as his right hand.

Both boys knew the rumors but they didn't care. Thay had a relationship only for stress release and it didn't have any sort of strings attached. No feelings involved which made both, Felix and Peter, very comfortable.

Everyone knew a new boy was joining them today even though it was a surprise since even the King of Neverland himself didn't knew of said arrival happening until it happened.

They saw a boy with ash brown locks with defiant grey eyes that seemed to stare at each lost boy soul. To say he was beautiful was an understatement.

The Lost Boys, received the new boy, who's name was John Wayne, with open arms at Neverland.

Months had happened since John's arrival so Peter decided to get everyone to join in on a prank on John. They were going to cut his hot water supply and by voting they decided that Darvin (don't know if there is a Darvin, just roll with it) was going to take the role as the mastermind behind said prank. They just didn't expect what they saw.

The lost boys see an in raged John appear by the premises with only some pants on, shirt not even bother to be put, while he walked closer to the campsite.

— Who in... FUCKING HELLS TURNED OFF THE HOT WATER SUPPLY? — screamed a rather angry John making everyone's skin crawl. In pure silence they pointed at Darvin and when John eyes landed on him he smiled in a way that put to shame Peter's evil/mischievous smile.

— You better watch yourself... Darvin — said John with a smile that seemed sweet and yet it could kill someone if it wanted to.

Another Lost Boy tried to calm down John to what he only answered "Get out of my face before I hit you". Peter could feel himself blushing at the scene that was displayed before his eyes and he didn't know why.

Dinner time arrives and John sets down everyone's plate with a kind smile whom everyone has loved from day one but yet when he served Darvin his plates his smile seemed to grow in a sort of wicked way.

Everyone finished their food rather quickly but Darvin was just staring at it. Scared. Scared of John. Everyone heard Darvin stomach growl, begging to be feed.

— If you eat your lunch and you wouldn't be hungry — John said to Darvin with a dangerous glint in their eyes making Darvin start eating out of fear.

Three days have happened and everyone is beyond confused on what is going on with Darvin. He is more pale, he is way to skinny even though he eats everyday and John seems oddly happy about his conditions.

— You know, you can scream if you want to... make it be the last breath you take — said John making everyone look at him confused but soon enough Darvin screamed, not because John told him to but because he was in pain, making a pleased laugh escape John lips when he dropped on the ground. Darvin was not moving and that made John laugh harder in pure and simple happiness.

Peter Pan and Felix walk with caution over to Darvin only to see his whole body was covered in black lines made by Nightshade. They both look at John who only showed a little container with the deadly plant that became a sort of liquid that had a different color to it's usual black since it was almost yellow and walked away with a grin.

Peter Pan blushed while he looked at John walking away who was smiling, it was a twisted and evil smile, while Felix used his hood to hide his new found blush.

Peter and Felix look at each other with a knowing smile. They both didn't see love coming their way and yet they loved the danger of falling for someone as ruthless as John. They loved the knowledge that John could kill them all and yet he didn't. They loved John Wayne and they didn't mind sharing.

#ouat fandom #once upon a time #Felix x Peter Pan #polyamourous #lgbtq #OCC Male Reader #Male reader is John Wayne #Felix x Peter Pan x OCC Male Reader #Felix x Peter Pan x John Wayne

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sanddusted-wisteria · 5 months

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Unpotable [oneshot]

GN!Builder/Qi; crack

Warnings: None

Also on AO3

Summary: Unpotable Summer Sand Tea: A strange green gooey substance sprawled out on a plate. Everything about it implies its impalatability, but its forbidden nature compels you to try it.

In which Qi somehow manages to mess up tea. Cut him some slack, though, he's only made it…several hundreds of times before…

A/N: Happy update! One of the new mechanics added is that your spouse can cook for you! Which is really sweet. Only issue is that not every spouse can cook all too well (Qi downright admits on multiple occasions that he cannot cook)…and they always have a chance of flubbing the dishes. One of Qi's options is summer sand tea…and yes, he can somehow screw it up. The description for bad food is generic across all the dishes, but it really seems to fit for the tea. I've had this half-finished since I've been beta testing this update, but the update came out sooner than I expected, so here you go! Enjoy!

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It’s gelatinous.

The builder slowly tips the glass sideways. The green substance stays put, until at about a 60 degree tilt, when it starts to slide out. They quickly right the glass again. The jelly falls back down to the bottom with a quiet flump.

The builder blinks and looks up at Qi with a look of barely-restrained horror.

“I…don’t know how this happened,” Qi says, pursing his lips.

It’s tea. At least, it’s supposed to be tea.

“D…Does all your tea end up looking like this…?” the builder asks meekly.

“N-no, no! It doesn’t. The pitcher is perfectly fine, see?” He holds up the fresh pitcher of tea. It’s all still liquid in there.

“Uh-huh…” The builder goes back to staring at the peculiar stuff in the glass. They shake it around a little, and the mystery goo jiggles with it.

…Does it still taste like tea?

They lift the glass towards their face.

“No.”

Would it feel like jelly in their mouth? Or would it just dissolve instantly?

“Do not.”

Is it chewy? Crunchy on the inside? Sticky? Gummy?

“I implore you.”

Was this like one of Fang’s weird potions that turns them different colors? Or maybe it would turn their bones to jelly…or knock them out…or melt their tongue off…or—

Qi snatches the glass out of their hand with an exasperated look on his face. “H-How about we safely discard this substance and not risk our lives consuming it?”

The builder freezes, tongue halfway out. “Aw, come on! It’s for science!”

“Science does not involve pouring unknown substances down every orifice. And kindly remind me to bar you from entering the Research Center whenever I’m running any experiment with chemicals.”

The builder snorts. “You know, I still have that bottle of sulfuric acid you gave me somewhere…”

“I’m confiscating it immediately.”

“Aw…” The builder slumps, but they can’t hide the mischievous grin on their face.

Qi lets out a sigh. It wasn’t everyday that he was the voice of reason among them. He inspects the glass again with a frown. “Hold on…”

The builder raises an eyebrow.

After a brief turnover of the glass, Qi's eyes widen. “Ah, that makes sense. This is one of my glassware pieces.”

The builder feels the blood drain from their face. “...From your home office…?”

“Yes, I was wondering where this one went. A couple days ago, I used it in an experiment where—”

“We need to pour that tea into every glass we have.”

“Eh? Wh-what—?”

“How much glassware are you missing?”

“Um…I believe I’m still missing one other glass— Ah.”

And so begins a process: line all the cups in the cabinet out on the table, pour a little tea into one of them, and swish it around a bit. If nothing happened, rinse and repeat with the next one.

Glass number 6 turns the green tea a very unappealing brown.

The builder and Qi exchange a look.

“...We need to label these.”

“...Indeed. Lest we want to suffer an unpleasant demise.”

The builder looks down at the pitcher. It’s almost empty now. “Shame about the tea. Wasted a whole lot of it.”

“Unfortunately so. I…can brew another kettle?”

The builder smiles and nods. “We’ll just drink straight from the pitcher this time.”

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

A/N: Btw, sometimes some spouses have a chance of making "gourmet" or better than average dishes with better perks. After trawling through the text file of the game, there appear to be no such options for Qi's dishes (summer sand tea, milk chestnut, tea porridge, tea egg). So poor Qi can always mess up his dishes, but can never make anything better than average.

It's okay tho we still love him

#the use of the word 'unpotable' kills me #this liquid is diseased #my time at sandrock #mtas fanfic #mtas qi #shady's fics

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sugaroto · 5 months

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There's a lot I wanna say about uni and how I feel about the whole shit, but imma start by one thing for now

"Friends"

I'm gonna take it from the begging

The first 2 days I was hanging out with a group of girls that were... too straight-girly for my liking and toxic

And when I say straight girly I don't mean "I like pink" or shit focus on the TOXIC part

Examples:

*girl leaves*

Toxic *literally 2 seconds later* she's a weirdo isn't she? You agree with me don't you?

*next day* Let's keep her around she's fun. The *[name_of_her_hometown]* gurl. Omg

(She literally called her the "Το [μερος] γκερλ" [μέρος] as in where that girl was from)

Example 2

"I can't have guys friends, they ALWAYS end up hitting on me and ruining the friendship, I only want gay queens for bffs"

Those 2 examples are actually of the same toxic girl

Oh also she's independent since 14 and has been smoking since then #cool #not like the others girls or something

Now, to be honest that group had a bunch of people, mostly girls, she was the most annoying,

I ended up keeping in touch with one girl from that group who we're gonna call Keila (used random name generator) who was actually cool

Before uni started we also met Floretta who I really liked cause she watches the same shows like me, like anime or good omens etc that kind of stuff, oh and also books like 6 of crows, she also knew what all for the game was and wanted to read it

In class we met Jessi... and I'm not sure how to describe her

And Beatrix who I don't remember when she appeared but she seemed nice and have become real close with Floretta

I am giving a description of these girls, cause supposedly that was the group of friends I made

Now, an ironic thing, one of the first days I was out with Floretta, Jessi and Beatrix (I think Keila was out of town or something) one of them asked if we knew that trend "where people bring food of different colors to a house gathering"

And I replied that "Oh my friends actually did that last year but I wasn't invited"

Jessi said "I would have not let that slide! The audacity" and stuff, in which I kind of tried to justify my school friends, bc if we're being honest I was mostly hanging out with other people at the time, and I was not this close with the girl that the party was at her house

And they said stuff like "We'll involve you now, in the stuff we'll do and all"

Guess what they did

Guess who was the only person they did not invite in shit they did

Well, we did do stuff at first, we had a sleepover at someone's house, we went to the cinema together... that I think

We sat together in class and all, and I could see that some of them were closer with each other than I was but I still thought we were a friend group

We didn't really hang out much lately, and too be honest the last... 8? Weeks I hadn't left the house on the weekends, daily I would go to uni for class and the canteen to eat with them but on the weekends I would stay inside the house for the whole 2 days... which was probably kind of lonely

Oh btw, there was a group chat, but nobody sent anything, they stopped texting right after a few days, and too be honest there were 2 other girls in the gc who found other friends and we stopped talking so I kinda expected someone would make a gc of the supposedly friend group we had

Anyways the other week, one of our classes got canceled, I stayed in and the next day Keila was describing to a girl from class what happened last night at Floretta's home on a sleepover and how Jessi got drunk and Beatrix slept etc

So I'm realizing they all had a sleepover and didn't tell me, but I'm not the kind of person that would make a big deal out of it even if I felt bad or something. I guess it was a last minute thing cause class was canceled (?) And didn't tell me cause I live in a different town 5 minutes away

Later that day Keila was telling Beatrix something like "I sent her(Jessi) *something something* on the group chat"

So I realize there's a group chat I'm not a part of

btw that was on a Friday, oh also that day, I asked Keila which bus I should take if I wanted to go to jumbo

Later on Monday, I had a morning class which I only share with Jessi, we didn't really talk. And I took the bus to go to town and 2 hours later I saw all of them across the street

Turns out they were waiting for the same bus I was waiting to go to jumbo, (I was on the wrong side of the street) but I ended up talking with Floretta outside the bus while she was looking for her ticket like "hello" "Oh hi... what are you doing here?" "I'm going to jumbo" "oh cool us too"

And since we had the same destination we ended up going together, since we're also friends

And honestly I'm a little mad cause like Keila knew I wanted to go to jumbo, and Jessi saw me that morning, but no one told me hey why don't we all go together, but the 4 of them went

And I did feel like an outsider and had my own basket while they had their own, I didn't feel like putting anything I wanted into their shared basket since I wasn't in the plan

Does this even make sense its 3am

Anyways Floretta was also buying candles and balloons and decorations, and when we were in the elevator she told me "Oh by the way I may do something for my birthday on Sunday if you want to come" Μπορεί, Κυριακή, αν θέλεις, are not enough information to invite someone in your birthday

Especially when you pick out the decoration like "but girls, I don't want to celebrate it" and then go "μπορεί" may means you're still thinking about whether or not you do something about your birthday, also I don't know when and where, do I just show up at her house at 7am on Sunday? No?

I've gone uninvited to 2 birthday parties as a kid I'm not doing it again if you want to invite me do it properly

She obviously told me cause I was with her when she was buying everything, but wouldn't she end up informing her guests about the time and all when she decides what she does? She didn't text me anything or told me anything about it the rest of the week

So on the weekend, I saw two birthday stories, one from Keila on Saturday and one from Floretta on Sunday, I already explained Floretta

Keila, tried explaining herself to me when I saw her on Monday

Which personally... I find ... stupid?

That's what she told me: "I want you to know the reason I didn't invite you was because I wanted to do something small with only the people from [town] cause they live close, and I didn't want anyone to sleep over, cause my dad died, and my dad died I can't be doing parties. Shame" all in one breath. 9am I didn't not have the energy.

And GIRL. Seriously when you try to excuse it like that it sounds stupid. 1) I live literally 5 minutes away with the bus, the taxi costs 4€(considering in my island it costs 27€ I DONT GIVE A SHIT ABOUT SPENDING 4€ ON A TAXI) 2)If she told me "come to my birthday" I would not have brought my pajamas with me, I would have left with a taxi, I do not know why she assumed I would sleep there without her wanting me to sleep there

3)... I know what grieving is. I assumed she didn't invite me bc she wanted to do something small due to her father dying.

(Considering I am the only one she didn't invite, I don't know what huge difference I make but anyways)

Also. I don't know how to explain it but I feel it ridiculous that she tried to explain this to me. I stopped inviting people at my house after my uncle died.

And don't tell me anything like "but that's her father it's just your uncle" or some shit because of what I know it seems I had a much better relationship with my uncle than she did with her father

I know no matter what of person he used to be, she still lost him and will grieve him, but ... explaining those reasons to me?

I used to have a group of 11 people coming to my house almost biweekly and then I just stopped. It took me a long while to actually invite people over again cause I have forgotten how to do so, and the people that came were 2 really close friends. Only after a year did I ended up inviting over my bsf and 2 classmates(3 whole people) for board games

I know what grieving is.

And I know people can grieve in different ways

...but when you word it like that it just sounds like an excuse....

I assumed she didn't invite me bc of it but the whole paragraph? "Only from the town, no sleepover, dead father"

Honestly I had similar experiences when I was 12 and I have hated those kind of excuses since then. You did not invite me. For whatever reason. Okay. Making an excuse is worse. I don't care

And like as I said, I had assumed the grieving part was why and I was not planning to fight her about it. Her paragraph just makes me mad

I'm tired it's 3.30 am

I have a few more things I'll say tomorrow

#sugar uni life

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mymiraclebox · 6 months

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How to you make kwami ocs? Like ur process while making them

(i think i like your kwami ocs more than the canon ones actually, they have such cool ideas and concepts :3)

Thank you!! ❤

Typically what happens is there's an animal I think would be fun as a kwami, which I'll then match with a concept. Either something very typical (Dove of Peace), or perhaps something I might do a bit of google searching into for more symbolism/traits to match up with. Or just flat out "I think this concept will fit well enough". xD Things like exact powers, names, design, transformation phrases, etc usually come later as I'm fleshing out the characters more. Also sometimes this process will be flopped, where I'll think of a concept/power first, then find an animal to pair it with.

Sometimes I'll have a more vague idea in mind that I'll be modeling my kwamis on. Like I'll build a kwami off of a personality idea I have or a role I want them to fill. For example for Yuume I knew I wanted an evil kwami who wouldn't seem like antagonist at first glance. So instead of something like Tasmanian Devil of Darkness or something that has a "bad guy" vibe I developed something that felt more innocent for this kwami. A little Sheep of Dreams.

Other times it will be just sheer stubbornness that creates one of my kwamis. Like the animal lover in me doesn't like the idea of a camouflaging powers for a Chameleon kwami, because chameleons don't change colors to blend in, they do it to express emotion! ...So now I have my Chameleon of Emotion. xD

Things like names, favorite food, and transformation phrases are either something I come up with instantly, or it involves a lot of brainstorming and bouncing ideas off of my friends (or using a friend's idea, with their permission of course. @silverslate221 has helped with a lot of my kwamis. :D ) The thesaurus becomes one's best friend when trying to come up with a lot of power names for a lot of kwamis. xD I often would do these in bulk as well when I was developing multiple kwamis at a time.

As for the design itself, its just something I think about a lot, also referencing the real life animal and the canon kwamis for how they're designed, etc until I get a good idea in my head so I can start sketching. Even then though there's a lot of experimenting until I get something I'm happy with.

#anon ask #kwamis #kwami oc #kwami #oc kwami

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rcvana · 8 months

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BE MY MISTAKE ... KYRIE HAN ! characters. kyrie han, maya wang warnings. suggestive content, briefly sexual content, i believe that all ! word count. 0.891

Kyrie is a complicated man. Some would say he’s impossible to love. He’s dumb, he’s impulsive, and he fucks up with everyone he loves. He makes everything harder for everyone. It’s almost hilarious how he seems to never make the right choices. Almost.

Almost because his choices are those made by assholes. Ones he would classify as mistakes but they keep happening, so even his friends are left wondering if they’re really mistakes or just the fucked up way he was born.

And he’s sure this is going to be another mistake that he’ll have to excuse around others, as he stands at the doorstep. He knocks on the door of the lofty home. It’s one of the nicest houses Kyrie’s seen up-close in Korea. The door opens up, revealing a girl of shorter stature and thick, chocolate colored hair.

“Hey,” Maya greets, her eyes their usual sultry low.

Kyrie leans down and places a brief kiss on her cheek. Maya steps aside, allowing Kyrie to enter. He eyes her up and down, taking in the baby pink loungewear she’s clad in. “You look good.”

“Thanks,” she smiles.

He feels a little odd, being here. It’s not like he hasn’t been here plenty of times before, laying his feet wherever he pleases and eating up the food she cooked. But things are different now, considering the circumstances.

The house is empty, Maya’s daughter is with Addy today. Kyrie always admired how Maya never invited anyone over that was anything more than platonic (or a man in general that wasn’t her father), when Kaia was there. She was a good mother, he knew that. It’s something that drew him to her in the first place. He likes a woman who handles her business, he always says. That knows her priorities and has them straight.

“Are you okay?” Maya asks, taking him by surprise. “You’ve been, like, spacing out since you got here.”

“Nah, I’m good,” Kyrie envelopes her hands in his, staring down into her golden shaded eyes. “I’m more than good, ‘cause I’m here with you.”

She smiles coyly, a flush creeping across her cheeks.

“I, uh, I have this movie that I liked and thought that you might like,” she says, squeezing his palm.

“Let’s watch it.”

Of course, naturally, an actual watching of movies only lasted about twenty minutes before the cuddling started feeling more hot than it initially did. Because then hands started moving, and then kissing got involved, and then they succumb to the feelings of sweltering passion and the coming undone that nears rough. That’s how sex always was between Kyrie and Maya. Everything was fast and rough, and it’s not to say it doesn’t feel good. Maya was good at everything she did in the bed. She knew what she was doing. It’s just not like what he just now found out he loves. It’s not like how it is with Charmeine.

Kyrie takes a deep breath, lying his head on the pillow. Maya follows him from underneath the thick blanket, her head crashing on his chest, which rises and falls with each hard breath. The movie is coming to its climax, just as they had done. He’s not sure what the movie was about. There’s something about dogs and people who live on a farm. It’s not anything Kyrie would pay to see. He prefers old-fashioned 90s movies or inappropriate comedies. He doesn’t know where Maya got the idea that this would be a movie he liked.

He wraps his arm anxiously over her shoulders, his thumb rubbing the soft of her skin. He’s done a lot of fucked up shit but this has to be one of the worst. It feels like one of the worst. Guilt is a feeling that eats you from the inside out.

“You know how good you are, right?” Kyrie randomly asks.

Maya meekly giggles. “Where did that come from?”

“You’re so good. I don’t know how you can be so good,” he says. “You’re good at being a mom, you’re good at being a singer, you’re good at fucking,” he laughs at that last one, so does she.

“Nobody can take that away from you,” he pulls her closer, staring up at the ceiling.

She doesn’t say anything, listening to his words and his heartbeat together.

“You’re so beautiful and I’m…I’m so lucky that I even got to be with someone like you,” Kyrie rambles. “I don’t even know how I got this chance.”

He got this chance because he was trying to “heal her” after getting her heart shitted on by the father of her child. She wasn’t doing her best when they first started talking. Her mind was swindled with thoughts of never finding love if she couldn’t find it with Addy. So when Kyrie came around, talking a big game, treating her like no one ever did, it felt like Kyrie was swooping in and saving her like some sort of Prince Charming-Superhero hybrid. Sometimes the second love can feel almost as bad as the first did.

“You’re so perfect. I wish I could give you the world.” He pauses, thinking for a moment the words getting caught in his throat. “Nobody really deserves you.”

“Why does this feel like goodbye?”

Because it is. Something he should’ve said.

“I just wanted to tell you.”

#𓈒 ˙ ☕ ּ 𖠗 writings #𓈒 ˙ ☕ ּ 𖠗 kyrie #ficnetfairy #fake kpop oc #idolverse #fake kpop group #fictional kpop group #fictional idol oc #fictional kpop idol #fictional idol community #idol oc #idol au #kpop oc #kpop au

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lu-lox · 7 months

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Prompt 1 (SFW) weird! faerghus! rituals!!!!! there’s probably 347589345 wild pagan pre-church traditions and I think dimitri and felix might need to do one of them together, possibly to make sure the sun rises again in the spring. blood stuff? something needs to be burned? wearing a flower crown? wearing a freshly skinned boar??? survival naked and afraid medieval fodlan gameshow?????? can be silly or horror or everything in between.

tags: boar hunting. a little blood. dimitri gets got but is fine.

Felix had tasked himself with overwatching the overwatchers that would prepare the rites chamber. It was a thankless task that involved much staring, much paying attention, much doing what he knew others would be incapable of. Everything had to be meticulously arranged and he would not let things happen otherwise.

Dimitri, of course, simply put a hand on Felix’s shoulder and guided him out of the room. They, too, had to prepare.

“The least we can do is make sure it works.” Felix didn’t want to partake in the rite at first. It was ancient tradition that benefited no one, much less the meek rebuilding of the Church. He sighed and slumped on the chair; Dimitri pulled him close, Felix’s back to his chest, and nuzzled at the crook of his neck.

“It will be alright, just a pinprick compared to everything we’ve already been through.” Physically, yes. But Felix still hadn’t shaken off the feeling of seeing Dimitri armorless in the war. The permanent bruises, the dried blood, the sickness of it. “And you will know when it is done.”

Felix took Dimitri’s hands, which rested above his stomach, into his own. There was still much to prepare. The clothes, the foods, the weapons. And the wait was the worst; nothing he had read about the rite, nothing that he had heard, would be half as difficult to live through as the wait was proving itself to be.

Dimitri was wrapped in thin, colorful cloths. They parted and shifted, a mosaic of color as he moved, revealing his body ethereal and fuzzy underneath them. He stood on a makeshift staging, holding a ceremonial sword in a hand and carrying a dagger at the hip. Unlike true ceremonial swords, this one had been sharpened. Felix had made sure of it himself, spending two nights working the blade though stone and paper.

Felix’s cloths weren’t as colorful, wearing just the muted Fraldarius teal and one piece of Blayddid blue. He stood vigil by the hunting grounds entrance, waiting for Dimitri to finish his farewells.

The forest, sparse on evergreens, was orange and brown. Wet and moldy leaves in many shades of rotting orange stuck to the ground, incorporating themselves onto the very earth they stepped on. Felix resisted the urge to sneeze and he noticed Dimitri doing the same while inspecting the sword.

“It seems we are alone now,” Dimitri looked at Felix, coy. Dimitri was in stark contrast with everything around him. He took Felix’s hand on his free one, and they began to walk. “I would like to be back before sundown; we haven’t been allotted any tochlights.”

Dimitri whistled as they ventured. They also didn’t have any lures. Despite Dimitri’s placid appearance, Felix could read that he was just as nervous; he had never put himself in harm’s way while lucid. Felix squeezed Dimitri’s hand in what he thought would be a reassuring gesture. Dimitri squeezed back.

The boar seemed to be sleeping. Felix had studied, he knew the temperature hadn’t risen enough for it to be sleeping deeply. It snored. Dimitri gave a light chuckle before letting go of Felix’s hand. The sun was still above the horizon as he shifted into a defensive stance and advanced toward the boar. Felix drew his bow and watched as Dimitri stepped carefully close and raised the sword; he didn’t use any flourish as he drove the blade into the shoulder of the boar, waking it.

Felix had never accompanied his father and the late king on the royal boar hunts, he had been too young. Now, he had to resist the urge to puke at the shriek of the boar.

Dimitri, too, seemed to struggle. Felix kept position but Dimitri slipped backwards, catching himself not a moment too late and stumbling into the boar. Felix’s hands shook as he prepared an arrow, and he could see, clearly, Dimitri struggling to grapple with the boar.

He had managed to impale himself on one of the boar’s tusks.

Dimitri used a hand to hold onto the boar’s other tusk and, having thrown his sword to the ground, another to hold it by the neck. Felix released the arrow. It missed his intended target, hitting the boar’s open mouth; he quickly drew another, more focused, and managed to pierce the throat of the boar. Blood bubbled over, and the boar fell too. Dimitri went down with it, taking care so that the tusk wouldn’t rip more of him than it already had. Felix let his bow drop and ran.

He ended up needing to help Dimitri free himself from the tusk and he averted his eyes as he repaired the worst damage with small healing spells; the rest would be best left for the royal healers, the ones that knew how to make skin look unharmed, not just fixed.

“It’s done now, let’s go back, Felix.” Dimitri could barely speak, overtired and sprawled on bloody grass. His robe was less majestic now, maculated and deep red. They would have to carry the boar back with them.

Days later Felix still marvels at how Dimitri and him had managed to come back with the boar. Dimitri had been limping from pain and the corpse of the animal half carried by each of them in an uncomfortable sharing due to their bodies differences. He stood with Dimitri before the door to the ritual room. The blood tracks from the boar had been cleaned, but the smell, coppery and bitter, sting hung.

Felix pushed the door open. He heard Dimitri shudder as they saw the head of the boar hanging on the wall. Everything but the tusk that had pierced Dimitri had been clean. The blood had oxidized into a deep rotten brown. Dimitri shyly grasped Felix’s hand in his own.

It was already done, there was no need for them to do anything else but for Dimitri to don the boar's skin as a cape and gloves. And to watch, routinely, the room that now housed the tusk. Him and the boar were now one and the same, each a part of the other.

#mimesis

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