#we get it you like the 90s

[biggest-gaudiest-patronuses]

putting my prediction on record now that the coming decade is going to see the rise of viral-marketed fancy at-home water filtration systems, driving and driven by a drastic reduction in the quality of U.S. tap water (given that we are in a 'replacement era' where our current infrastructure is reaching the end of its lifespan--but isn't being replaced). also guessing that by the 2030s access to drinkable tap water will be a mainstream class issue, with low-income & unstably housed people increasingly forced to rely on expensive bottled water when they can't afford the up-front cost of at-home filtration--and with this being portrayed in media as a "moral failing" and short-sighted "choice," rather than a basic failure of our political & economic systems. really hope i'm just being alarmist, but plenty of this already happens in other countries, and the U.S. is in a state of decline, so. here's praying this post ages into irrelevance. timestamped April 2023

#apollo don't fucking touch this one #serious post #not a shitpost #hope i forget about this post and have no reason to ever look back on it one day #fyi i'm aware that access to potable water is already a major issue in parts of the U.S. yes i know flint michigan exists #i'm saying that this issue is going to GROW unless local & federal governments work together to fix it. #so it's a matter of if we trust them to fix it. And well--do you? #what are the chances the government just denies there's a problem until the water actually turns brown #at which point it's already been common knowledge for years and people have just become resigned and that's our new normal #i'm mean come on. how many of us already believe that we're being exposed to dangerous pollutants we don't know about and can't avoid #like that's pretty much just part of being a modern consumer. accepting that companies will happily endanger your life for a few pennies #and the most you'll get is like a $50 gift card as part of a class action rebate 20 years down the line #probably the history books will look back on Flint as a warning and a harbinger that went ignored #luxury condos will advertise their built-in top-of-the-line filtration systems--live here and you can drink water straight from your tap! #watch the elite professional class putting $700 dyson water filtration systems on their wedding registry #while the rest of us figure out how to fit water delivery into our grocery budget while putting 90% of our paycheck towards rent #also eggs are $15

[royalarchivist]

[A sad violin song plays over an image of a sad hamster]

Pac: This doesn't have anything to do with me – I wear a blue sweatshirt, you're crazy, this mouse doesn't even have a sweatshirt, this hamster! [Reading chat] Am I a depressed hamster?

[ Transcript continued ↓ ]*

–

Pac: Actually– that's fine! I embrace that idea – of course I'm going to be depressed, are you crazy? [He hits his desk, then starts counting off people on his fingers] Fit is gone, Richarlyson is gone, Ramon is gone, Bagi and Empanada who were always there when we were there are also gone, I haven't seen them! It's just me and Tubbo, and sometimes Philza shows up.

Pac: I lost Chume Labs, I lost the Favela, I lost Murder Mystery, I lost Ilha Chume Labs, it's crazy! Look at how much I've lost, and I've gained nothing! Of course I'm going to be depressed, are you crazy?! How am I supposed to be happy?!

Pac: [Reading chat] "You have us Pac," that's true, thank you. No, that's true, sorry.

* NOTE: Please note that this is an incomplete transcript, as I was primarily relying on Aypierre's translation mod at the time and if I am not confident of the translation, I do not include it. As always, please feel free to add on translations or message me corrections.

#Pactw #QSMP #Pac #March 18 2024 #As much as I love keeping people updated about Pac / the other Portuguese-speaking creators #I think I might not make as many transcribed posts for their clips anymore #I just don't think I'm qualified enough to be transcribing things for a language I don't know #like yeah we have the Qlobal Translator and Aypierre's translators to rely on #And I'm always upfront when I'm not 100% sure about a translation #but I've been thinking about it a lot and it kinda makes me feel a bit icky. Idk. #I might be overthinking this but I just I don't want to spread around translations I'm not super confident about #esp. since I know a lot of people cite my clips in analysis posts or link them to other people as resources #and 90% of the time I'm like ''Hell yeah I love seeing people getting a lot of use out of the archive'' #but sometimes I get a bit anxious like ''Did I do a good enough job translating this'' #''Am I ruining someone's entire perception of a conversation or character because I left one word out or mistranslated something?'' #And like I said that's normally not a HUGE concern since if I'm not certain about a translation I just won't post a clip. but you know #idk it might just be the anxiety talking but I really really don't want to spread bad info #Happy to hear other folks' perspective #I'm really grateful for people like Bell and Pix and others who translate clips and I always try to reblog those #but we don't have a ton of people posting clips & translating things on Tumblr since we're so English-centric #which is part of the reason WHY I like sharing clips of the non-English-speaking CCs #but at the same time I want to do an accurate job representing what they're saying #Maybe I'll just start posting things and give a TLDR context of what they're talking about but not a transcript #that way native-speakers can hop in and add translations if that's something they're comfortable doing #and if not then well. at least I'm not sharing something that isn't super accurate #idk I'm just thinking out loud a bit in the tags #But I'm open to hearing other people's thoughts on the matter #Anyways giant rant aside. q!Pac is NOT doing ok rn

[30-3am]

i want to cuddle with early 90's james. like, he comes back home after staying until late at the studio recording the black album, and he's so tired that he just wants to go to bed to cuddle and make out.

aaaand then we fuck

i like to think of this james purely because i've been thinking about him a LOT lately

you'll be in bed, having gone to sleep hours before he came home and wake up to the bed shifting with his weight. he's trying not to disturb you, cringing as the bed creaks and slowly pulling the covers around him.

he can't help but press a quick kiss to your head when he's finally settled, turning over to try and get some sleep. but you've missed him all day and want to say hello. so you turn over, wrapping your arm around him and kissing the space between his shoulder blades.

"hi," you say, voice laced with sleep.

he turns back around, hand automatically on your waist and gazing at you in the dark.

"didn't mean to wake you up," he mutters, struggling to stifle a yawn as he pulls you closer.

"i heard you come in." you snuggle closer to him, pressing your face into his neck and pressing a small kiss to the skin. "i missed you today."

he chuckles, hand running through your hair and caressing the back of your head.

"i missed you too."

you pull yourself from his neck, smiling sleepily at him and reaching up to cup his face with one hand.

"good day?" you ask, stroking his cheekbone with your thumb.

"it was alright." you're so close you can feel the heat of his breath on your face. "didn't get much done though."

that's what you were waiting for. you could tell as soon as he sat down on the bed that his day hadn't been brilliant. it was the relaxing of his shoulders when you finally touched him - the unclenching of his jaw as your fingers traced his face. he was glad to be home.

"that's okay, you've got time," you reassured, smiling at him to provide some comfort.

"i know. i'm just glad to be home." his hand was flat against your back, pulling you as close to him as was comfortable.

"i'm glad you're home."

it's the last words you speak to each other before your lips overtake your speech, kissing each other softly.

it doesn't take much time - a few wandering hands and a slip of his tongue inside your mouth - before the mood switches and his kisses become more desperate.

"need you," he murmurs into your mouth, rolling over so he's on top of you, arms bracketing your head as he presses his lips to your jaw. "missed you so much today. all i could think about..." a kiss to your neck. "was fucking that pretty pussy of yours."

you can only whimper in reply, noises being pulled from your throat as he sucks on your neck.

"been thinking about those pretty little noises you make." he pushes your shirt up, exposing your breasts and sucking and biting at the flesh. a noise escapes your throat and he smiles against your skin. "yeah, those kinda noises."

you laugh with him, hands threading into his hair and tugging him back up to your mouth.

"you feeling better?" you ask genuinely, scanning his face and trying to pinpoint any tension. you find none.

"i'm always better when i'm with you."

he fucks you slow that night, long, languid strokes filled with intention and desire that have you moaning into his mouth. he mutters "i love you" in the dark, over and over until you its the only thing you can hear.

#alana's thoughts #anon #ask #well #what was that? #i'm not too sure #but what i am sure is that i want slow sex with him #alsoooo #i'm so tired rn #but i wanted to get like a little something out #and i don't exactly like this #but hey ho #we move #gotta write barefoot #james hetfield x reader #james hetfield smut #also re read the ask and was like #not early 90s james??? #alana wtf are you doing #i didn't read #i took some creative liberties #okay???

[blinkpen]

another huge problem with viv's writing is she was so damn impatient to just get to the part where the status quo gets shaken up and revel in it she decided to just fucking teleport there and failed to spend any time at all establishing a status quo TO be shaken up and so literally nothing in the show feels earned and everything feels rushed and confusing constantly as the tracks get laid in front of the train as its rolling

this is something i call "narrative speedrunning" and it is something you literally can never go back and fix, and that's a big part of why heckuva badshow is kind of unsalvageable and was doomed to be from the very beginning, which, like,

[mr krabbs voice]

i warned ye!

#hhhhverse tag of spite #the truth seekers episode is hilarious for this #like #time to resolve moxxie's character arc about being too meek and not speaking his mind to blitz! #what character arc. he doesn't even have that issue. we have literally never seen him back down from speaking his mind #he just get buttmonkey'd whenever he does. and then he still does it? #him bitching and objecting to what blitz does and says is what. 90% of their dialogue #the pilot Opens with him arguing with blitz. the first episode was him defying blitz Repeatedly. he talks back All The Time. #what the fuck are you talking about Big Sad Emotional Heart to Heart moment #you literally havent shown us any of the shit you are making such a big deal about resolving in this scene?? i feel fucking nothing??? #hello??? #i never watched this show for fun but to Study It it's like a How To Not Guide for SO MANY things holy shit

[ramshackledtrickster]

Wow another adult animated show headed by people who don’t know jack shit about the medium and then calls animation inferior and throws their artists under the bus and calls the audience stupid for watching animated media and thinking the only thing worthwhile about adult animation is making it gross and shocking and going “this isn’t like your Saturday morning cartoons haha you fucking idiot” while actually good animated shows with some level of maturity and respect for their audience gets axed left and right

Disappointed but not surprised in the slightest

#looking at you Velma HBOMax #I couldn’t even finish the first episode it’s just so unfunny and poorly written #saw that gag abt adult animation floating around and it really grinds my gears so I made this post yeah #also I went into the show expecting a dark satire but it didn’t even deliver on the good satire part 90% of it is just #‘isn’t this trope stupid’ and doing it #there are deeper issues I have with this show but the animation angle is easier to post about I think #also woke up to the news of Dead End Paranormal Park getting axed #and thinking back to how Hbo max did Infinity Train #it’s just rubbing lemon juice and pouring salt over a wound y know #also can we get people who respect animation to head animated projects instead of this trend please… #same thing happened with Housebroken where the writers kept demanding last minute changes because they don’t understand that #you can’t ‘reshoot’ scenes in animation like you would live action #just treat your artists with some fucking respect it’s not that hard

[booasaur]

Crush (2022)

#crushedit #crush 2022 #crush hulu #aj campos #paige evans #auli'i cravalho #rowan blanchard #crush spoilers #aj x paige #femslash related stuff #stealth fave scene? POSSIBLY #you know how much I love just freaking talking about feelings #and who doesn't love when there's finally an emotional outpouring because they just can't keep it in #and are like frustrated because it's so dumb and they just can't help themselves #very 10 things #the whole movie feels like an updated take on '90s high school romcoms tbh #feel like we barely get these scenes because f/f couples are so rushed or like Serious Period Dramas where there's staring and symbolism #atypical did it well too and honestly same mood #and what I love best about that last line is that it isn't just a trope #it has to very specifically apply to them #because paige IS often stupidly cutely being a flustered dork and aj's usually around half-smiling fondly

[the-knife-consumer]

While im thinking about women characters being assigned their fandom roles the way the pikmin fandom outside of tumblr treats brittany is fucking horrible. Whats wrong with you people its a children's videogame character.

#i take a stroll into a yt comment section and its like getting fucking flashbanged. the amount of vitriol. god. #idk. suuper weird that louie is just ohhh my poor little meow meow meanwhile brittany #a character with nearly the exact same attitude (self serving) the exact same motives (food) #whos only major difference being that she talks more often (and is a women. hmm.) is treated like the fucking devil #bit funny considering LOUIE is the one that causes 90% of the series conflict but i guess brittany's downright evil. whatever u say #just. #'we need more mean women!' you people cant even handle children's videogame character brittany pikmin #like come on. its a kids game she is disney sitcom bully levels of mean AT WORST. its not that deep #and you know damn well if louie spoke more often hed be saying the same shit. you know he's an ass. look me in the eyes and tell me he isnt

[lucaplushie]

okay fnaf art request: michael afton in fnaf sister location when he's watching the shitty vampire show and eating popcorn

its his special interest okay leave him alone

#hes so babygirl #real ones will know michael afton has always been bbg #michael afton #fnaf #five nights at freddy's #michael fnaf #luca draws #genderqueer-frog #yall remember when you couldnt answer asks on tumblr mobile with pictures?? no?? just me?? okay.. #its like the 90s or whatever what else is there to do at 7am when you get home from work. other than watch trash TV #my ipad was burning my lap while i drew this idk if thats a sign of anything but here we are #requests

[blaithnne]

Being in the Hilda fandom is so funny cause it’s like omg this post did so well it spread throughout the whole fandom and it has 34 likes

#SO HARD to gauge whether or not you’re fandom famous here #saying you run a semi popular Hilda blog is like saying most of the local gas’s station employees like you #I have no idea if my content is popular #and I have no idea if my mutuals content is popular #I just know that I think my moots are the coolest people ever and I want their autographs #also rlly funny when we get excited cause the fandoms had a boost in popularity #and that just means. we’re getting 60 notes instead of 3 #and 90% if those notes are people going wait hilda is getting a season 3 #and baby that’s big news #hilda #hilda the series #netflix hilda #hilda netflix #textpost #Sadie shitposting #Sadie thinkin

[greenerteacups]

What do you think as Hermione's career would be post battle of Hogwarts? To me her being minister for magic really doesn't make sense. She does not have patience or tact to wade through murky waters of politics 😭😭

So hard to say! The Trio are so, so young when we leave them, I find it almost impossible to project their futures farther than a few years out. The job that suited me at 17 would be radically unsuited to me now. That's why of all the Trio, Ron's ending strikes me as the most realistic — he jumps straight into the save-the-world business again, burns out, realizes he's actually Done The Fuck Enough, Thanks, and pivots into a low-stress career where he gets to see his family a lot. Feels accurate! The others are weirder to me because they do seem to just... pick a lane and stay there.

With Hermione, you could spin her a couple ways. You could say that she leans into her bookish side and does research or teaching, which is not my preference for a couple reasons (namely, I don't think Hermione would like academia as a profession; she finds her classwork interesting and enjoys intellectual validation, but she'd be stifled and wasted in a DPhil program, and she'd be infuriated by the administrative politicking of your average higher-ed faculty). You could say that she gets disaffected with politics and ends up as a barrister or a lobbyist of some kind, but if anything that requires more political finesse, because you don't actually have institutional power, you're just handling the people who make decisions and trying to persuade them of your goals. This is not Hermione's preferred method of influence. She's not even particularly good at persuasion, she just happens to be smart enough (and right often enough) that people take her ideas seriously.

Or you could say her brashness fades with the years into a softened flavor of tell-you-like-it-is honesty, which some politicians actually do successfully trade on; as we see in British politics today, you don't have to be all that charming or clever to get ahead, you just need to be really driven and well-connected (which Hermione completely is; she fought shoulder-to-shoulder with the first postwar Minister and her bestie, the Literal Messiah, runs the Auror Office.) But I don't know if Hermione especially wants to be Minister, after the war. She's just watched years of horrendous bureaucratic incompetence plunge the country into a violent civil conflict. She's had not one, but two Ministers of Magic try to bully or shame her friends into complicity with fascism. Her view of government is... likely extremely dark.

But Hermione also isn't the kind of person who sees her life as a quest for happiness. Babygirl has a savior complex that makes Harry look selfish. (She basically kills her parents — yeah, obliviating is a form of murder, #changemymind — "for their own good," and justifies every batshit, vindictive, mean-spirited move she ever pulls on the grounds that it "helps" one of her friends.) She is a mean, lean, dragon-slaying machine, and she needs a dragon. After Voldemort, the Ministry is the no. 1 threat to muggle-borns and non-wizarding Beings. As a war heroine with basically infinite political capital, I'd be surprised if she didn't try to do something there. That said, Hermione is so vivacious and dynamic that she could potentially grow in a hundred different directions; it's possible that all of this, while true of her at 18, becomes completely inaccurate by 22. That's why I'm not too fussed about any particular fanon interpretation.

#greenteacup asks #sidebar: I know Minister “of” Magic is an Americanism but mea culpa #Someday I might actually bite it and pay someone to britpick Lionheart but I can't do it now #because I have a ban on editing published fic unless it's finished. Otherwise I'll never get around to writing the actual ending #I have a Process #is it the best process? likely not! but it makes the words go. so here we are. #I also think the fact that JKR is Gen X makes a difference here. careers worked differently in the 80s and 90s than they do now #i.e. we have the gig economy and a lot more mobility and EXPECTATION of mobility in your early life #that means career changes & professional pivots through your 20s and 30s are increasingly normal #and in fact have always been normal — but the image of the 'true' or 'ideal' career has changed #so we look at those careers and go hm. really? none of them changed? #none of them even went to uni? do wizards... just not? #but again. I believe the epilogue was written almost completely without consideration as to what happened between the BOH and then #I really believe that JKR did not know what happened to Harry except a wedding and 3 kids. because that was the whole point #I don't think she even knew what his career was when she wrote that scene #It existed to marry everyone off and do a quick munchkin headcount #because of the understandable temptation as an author to keep your hand on the wheel. but it didn't even matter! #the epilogue changed NOTHING! it was the most useless chapter in the series! I just — GOD #you can absolutely accuse me of being sour grapes about my ships getting nixed. I AM sour grapes. I AM a hater. #AND I have plot/theme/craft reasons for disliking it. #I'm not objective. I just want credit for being a sophisticated hater. my grapes may be sour but they're still artisinal.

[mellifera38]

Its very funny to me that this website loves to pat itself on the back about being the only site without an Algorithm and then no one fuckin reblogs stuff. Do y'all understand that YOU are supposed to be the algorithm? If no one can get any traction they're just gonna leave the site and you're gonna have a site with no content lol.

I'm just sayin the like/reblog ratio that I've been seeing is fucking bleak. They should honestly just remove the Like function bc its not doing anyone any favors.

#I've been pretty inactive lately- but I doubt I'll become a big fandom 'content creator' on here again. I think I'd be too frustrated tbh. #if i spend 10+ hours on a piece of fanart and it gets 90% likes you better bet I'm packing my bags and finding a new fandom space haha. #fandom #tumblr #i feel like online communities are just withering away and all we got left is just... consumers. #how depressing

[hella1975]

i need to read more books and annotate in the margins i need to write more i need to buy jeans that fit me i need to eat more fruit i need to buy good quality headphones i need to get a skincare routine i need to talk to my friends more i need to wash my hair i need to stop treating this inhabitation as a curse. i am tired of punishing the body that has fought me for survival every day for years. i deserve little treats as regularly as possible !!

#more money would also be good but! we are working on it <3 this is a team effort im bored of being in a perpetual bar fight with myself #like sorry i havent answered my texts in months or barely sustain personal hygeine but that bitch (points at mirror) chucked a drink at me #it's okay tho we are in our enemies to lovers arc #just had a really vivid sudden 'i am in this body' moment and let me TELL you when you spend 90% of the time feeling a very #set seperation between your emotional self and physical self that is INCREDIBLY fucking jarring lmao. like oh this is me #the freckles on my fingers are just as much me as my years long loyalty to specifically prawn cocktail pringles. okay #that's cool. cool cool cool that's so cool so everything that's happened to me physically is still me okay cool #coooool cool cool. super cool btw. very angry for myself rn which never happens i normally just get angry at myself #LIKE THIS IS MY BODY! WHY DO I HAVE TO DRINK IT INTO BED AND HURT IT FOR NO REASON! WHY DO I LET PEOPLE GET AWAY WITH SO MUCH! #'i'll take care of you it's rotten work especially to me especially if it's you i'll do it but christ alive' except it's me and my body #like yeah im not happy about it bossman but we're stuck together. let's get you some nice clothes

[carlyraejepsans]

I’ve started watching Utena because of you. What. Is going on

HI. WELCOME TO THE CLUB, watch the trigger warnings. but yeah, revolutionary girl utena veers more and more towards surrealism the further you get into the series. it often and voluntarily forfeits narrative/logical consistency in favor of visual storytelling, metaphors and symbolism. i was just talking about it with nic the other day, and if the story weren't so harrowing, i would recommend it to everyone who wants to get into literary analysis, because it is SO packed with symbolism EVERYWHERE that it actually encourages you to try to decode it.

whatever you think utena is about, it is NOT. you can't go in and treat it like your 49293th classical shoujo. utena is a firework show of visual symbolism and it very rarely, if ever, explains itself to the viewer. it refuses to handhold you, but it never berates you for trying and getting it wrong either. there is SO much handholding in modern day media, but utena trusts its viewer to take away something meaningful from itself and to piece its message together on their own. it's one of my favourite pieces of media of all time just for that

#it's almost closer to a poem and to poetry than to a story in the sense that we think think about today #you see why ye standard transformative fandom was never able to take hold with utena? #my suggestion is try to actively analyze what's going on and the symbols presented to you as you go along #find recurring motifs. utena deals a LOT with cycles and repetition (they were playing into their budget limitations and did it brilliantly #what objects keep returning. what characters are they associated with. how do they relate to the irl systems of power the story criticizes #what does the white rose mean #^ had a lot of fun trying to figure that one out. i landed on something other people in the fandom also got but then nic told me his take #and yeah they basically pried my third eye open with a crowbar. #this anime made me want to try out symbolism and allegories in my own works #it's so fucking good #but hey if you finish it and still feel like you didn't get 90% of that you can go to nic metanarrates' blog and check out his rgu tag #basically 50% of the fandom posts are visual and narrative analysis. the other 10% is breathtaking art. the remaining 40% is memes #BUT! wait until you're finished..watch for spoilers #rgu #answered asks

[thebirdandhersong]

alas babes I literally cannot defend this man's name anymore except in the name of ignorance which. you can only claim ignorance for so long

#we established boundaries! no texting! limited contact! no teasing! #and what does he do the day i get sick. text me AND tease me through text #he's texted five times since (as in initiated conversation) and like. yeah i mean he's abnormally clueless but considering we had a whole #conversation where i explicitly said hey. i NEED the space. i need space if we're going to keep being friends #this is all a bit much :-) #thankfully i am 90% over him so this is not as painful as it would've been last month but sheeeeesh #i can't even defend him to my friends at this point because when i show them the texts they go what the actual hey is going on #i don't know if it's a matter of ignorance or lack of consideration or him trying to make things go back to normal #(except 'normal' for him was the time when i was crying like every day because i couldn't handle the emotional intimacy #of our strange friendship) or just sheer carelessness but mannnn what a situation #he told me that if he crosses a line to let him know and he'll course correct which like. yeah i mean i WAS thankful for that #but at the same time why is it my responsibility to draw the line why aren't YOU helping observe the line that #i drew earlier this month what is going ONNNN

[introspectivememories]

i've decided that i dont care about max verstappen domination anymore. i am swinging back around to it being funny. by how many seconds will he be in the lead in the next race? 45? a whole minute? maybe every other car on the grid will just break down and then max can do all 50 or whatever laps by himself. ferrari will still find a way to fuck charles over.

#this is the attitude i am choosing to take. it will be funnier this way. #the ferrari bit is a joke. i am (hesitantly) optimistic about this year. #2024 charles leclerc wdc will happen. i am in church actively praying for it. #f1 #max verstappen #charles leclerc #also im taking bets now #do we think max will win all 24 races? or just like 90% (22 races)? #or like lewis hamilton will come in with a steel chair and manage to take his 8th? (<- i am actively praying for that) #or!!! logan sargeant finally gets the power of america on his side and comes in as surprise contender for the championship? #<- this has no chance of happening. i just think it'll be funny. #or!!! halfway through the season charles transforms into lightning mcqueen and he wins the last half of the races thereby causing a tie #leading the fia to call for a tiebreaker match between charles and max in texas except charles gets lost in la on the way there and i end u #finding him and we fall in love and he charms my family until the paps find him and we have to reluctantly part ways but then he wins!! #and comes home to me. (<- i have described the plot of cars. charles please come home the kids miss you.)

[romance-rambles]

THE QUEENLY TRADITION OF KILLING BEARS AND SAVING PRINCES

In the very same forest where his parents met, Ayn reminisces about them with you. The conversation gets derailed long before you decide to tease him about the Sword of Transcendence—only to get teased in turn.

— pairing: [godheim] ayn alwyn x little painter/you

— word count: 1.3k

— tags: established relationship, referenced pregnancy, takes place after an AU of courtyard reunion/crown's weight where they were together the entire time

— note: i've had this in mind since the scene where you kill a bear. it's the writer's fault for making parallels so easy to draw.

— return to lbc masterlist | series: none

"THIS—" AYN SAYS AS THE sound of the careful footsteps and rustling grass draw closer to his location, underneath the very same tree that witnessed his parents' first meeting. "—is where my parents met. It took a while for me to find it, but I can finally show it to you."

In lieu of a greeting, his queen gazes upon him with a displeased expression. "I could've been an assassin."

Rather poetically, your long, messy hair has been tamed into a well-behaved plait. But you are not his mother, and he is not his father. There should be no tragedies in your future, and Lars will once more sit on the throne only if Ayn's own child refuses it.

"I knew it was you." He watches the ends of your red bow—the same shade as your dress—peak out shyly from behind your head. "Do you not trust my instincts?"

You don't respond. Instead, your gaze travels to the initials carved onto the tree trunk, where the E of his mother's maiden name has been overwritten by the A of his father's, and his own, surname. Crossing the remaining distance, you neatly sidestep his hand and places yours over the crude outline of the heart surrounding them.

"She saved him from an assassin," you murmur, voice distant and guilty.

At once, he knows where it is your thoughts have wandered to. Ayn shifts, reaching out his gloved hand to you—an offer, to do as you please, whether it's to pull yourself down, or pull him up, or to simply hold on.

"This is where Father meant to give her the Sword of Transcendence," he explains, once you take his hand and sit down. His voice has grown softer, and you take it as your cue to rest your head on his shoulder. "But he changed his mind after one of his knights stopped him and made a ceremony of it."

Even though you've heard this story before, you seem as enchanted by it as you did the last time—and all the times before that. You adjust your hand, intertwining your fingers with his, and when he looks over at you, he sees nothing but pure affection in your gaze.

Birdsong accompanies his story, as does the gentle rustling of the leaves. Closing his eyes, he remembers the days where his parents would narrate it for him. As a child, before he began to properly notice Father's treatment of Mother, he found it to be nothing less than a perfect fairytale.

Now though, most of the magic has been scrubbed off, leaving behind only a bitter taste on his tongue he associates with the life Mother could've had without him and his father. Ayn only hopes his own child won't feel the same way about him.

"And that was when he asked her to be his bodyguard," he finishes, repeating exactly what his father would say at the end.

"We met in a ballroom," you lament, after your obligatory cooing. The longing in your usual comments that you don't is especially pronounced today. "No carving hearts into meaningful trees for us."

He smiles faintly, angling his head towards you. "The ballroom is much closer to the palace than this tree."

"It doesn't have to be a tree," you murmur. Before he can comfort you, though, you spring back to life, lifting your head off his shoulder with a faux thoughtful look on your face—and he pays the price for it, your shoulder bumping against his, with a fond sigh. "But, you know, I've saved your life before. I've even killed a bear before. Even if we don't have a tree or a flower field—"

Lips stained red, slanted into a mischievous smirk. A slight tilt of your head. Gloved fingers tucking the longer strands of your bangs back behind your ear. You lean in close, until all that's left in his vision from the scenery around them is the golden hue your hair takes under the gleaming sun.

"How come I don't have a fancy heirloom sword to pass down?" you ask, clearly anticipating your turn at teasing him.

"You're right," he acknowledges easily, a bit unwilling to play along. Ayn cups his chin in such a manner that it covers up the small smile playing on his lips, and commits himself to the act. "I should've prepared some sort of gift."

The smirk on your face drops as he taps the handle of the Sword of Transcendence. A panicked gaze lingers on him, on his hand, and it isn't long before your emotions manifest in a more...physical manner.

"Wait, no—" You straighten up, hurriedly putting some distance between them, and perhaps Ayn is a terrible person for it, but he can't help but silently guffaw. "That was a joke. That's your mother's sword! You can't—you can't give that to me."

When it becomes clear that your ramblings have no end, he reaches out and curls his fingers around your wrist. The act silences you immediately, even before his patented snarky comment. You wrap your own hand around his, and your fingers slot into place in the spaces left between.

"Why not? I thought you wanted a 'fancy heirloom sword'." he quotes.

Though you hardly look threatening with the rosy hue of your cheeks clashing against your scowl, he can admire your commitment to the role. "I'll take another one."

"I don't have another one," Ayn responds innocently, taking delight in the way your glare intensifies.

"Make another one then," you fire back immediately, crossing your arms. A pout forms on your lips, before your hand slips out and cradle your still flat belly. "Your father is such a bully. Don't let him fool you, okay?"

He bites back a smile and leans closer, closing the gap between you and him. "I should be saying that about you."

You seem to understand what he's after. With a snort, you make the first move, pressing your lips to his for a quick kiss. But despite that, when you pull back, you're still holding onto your grudge.

You even go so far as to throw his own words back at him.

At that moment, he has a sudden, vivid vision of his own child—your child, separated by gender only through the length of their ambiguously-colored hair and nothing else—stirring up trouble. Usually, in idle moments, when his thoughts wander to the future, Ayn sometimes frets about what they'll take from who. From whether red eyes and deep purple hair is a better combination than the opposite, to whether they'll favor a paintbrush or an instrument, and anything in between.

But their affinity for trouble-making is something he's never budged, and right now, Ayn is certain your features lend themselves best to trouble-making.

Narrowing his eyes fondly at his wife, he says, "We can let the little one decide then."

The expression on your face as you think over his offer would fool anyone into thinking you were deliberating over something serious. You purse your lips, taking the time to exaggerate your exasperation, and declare:

"That would take years. So, I'll let you off, just this once."

"Oh, how can I ever repay you?" His voice is dripping with amusement. Ayn has the smile to match, which only widens as he pretends to have found the answer. "I know—"

"Not a sword."

Ayn bursts into laughter—the kind that leaves him breathless, with an aching stomach and a curse that only prolongs his condition. Soon, you join in as well, and then both of them are stuck in a loop, able to afford only a slight lull of peace before something or the other sets them off.

"A kiss?" he wheezes, once his laughter begins to die down. For real, this time.

"That—"

You don't hesitate to take him up on his offer. But this one is not a merely peck. He has enough time to pull you into his arms and onto his lap. Enough time to think about what it is that you taste like. Fruit, mostly.

When you pull back, both hands still cupping his cheeks, your eyes are glimmering with delight.

"—I'd say, is acceptable."

#fics by aya #for all time #for all time x reader #lovebrush chronicles #lovebrush chronicles x reader #lbc ayn #lbc ayn x reader #ayn alwyn #ayn alwyn x reader #little painter #lovebrush ayn #rambles from here on -> #hi i'm feral over the fact that the moral of ayn's route in regards to you seems to be “don't repeat your predecessor's mistakes.” #don't get so blinded by love that you forget that you are partners first and foremost—trust each other implicitly but advocate yourself too #but also maybe don't send your queen away in times of trouble like an idiot?? #anyway like i'm not even an ayn stan but all of the boys are just so well-written that i can't help but write for him anyways? #except cael—he scares me because i'm 90% sure i can't do him justice but like i also have barely any cael cards sooo...not all my fault!! #(for reference i started end of march) #fun fact: i almost didn't finish this because of the ending of his route but then i watched crown's weight and went “oh” #so here we are—all because feina and mc both killed a bear and saved a crown prince