#! i ADORE raw dog as a concept
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@fiddlingonthetympanic sent an ask (in September) (I am very grateful) (I wish I had the ingenuity and energy to match this):
Eventually, Krakoa spat out seasonally temperate zones; the island grew as the mainland shrank beneath the rising tide of seawater.
They’re too tired to party all night–Krakoa’s seasonally temperate zones developing really sucks the energy out of everyone–no matter how wonderfully batshit the Thoroughfare of Masks was throughout the month, or how much of a distraction Bob-Cat needs with all his kids grubbing for candy with their other parents. The last straggling trick-or-treaters were skulking their way through the trees, many of them darting out to snatch bits of candy from colorful platters before older members of the Wild Hunt could leap out and catch them with a swipe of the claws. (That was all part of the game.)
Woolf’s fending off Bob-Cat and Daken in the gnarled ‘doorway’ of the pod, but in that annoyed, half-hearted manner that really means ‘you’re both still getting laid.’
“Go–off, you two idiots!” She writhes between them, batting Bob’s clawed fingers away from the white fabric of her dress with a huff of exasperation and a gentle shove to Daken’s side. (The latter is sniffing at her. Right time of the month.) Another authoritative push sends Bob-Cat into the pod after him. “Start without me. Put the tape on or something.”
“Thanks for pulling me out of my dad-funk, you guys.” He pauses, reconsidering his language before giving an apologetic grunt, slinging one hairy arm around Daken’s neck as the other gnaws at him like a chew toy. “‘You two’.” He gives a little sigh, a chuckle, and a laissez-faire shrug, allowing himself to be pulled deeper into the pod. “My bad. We’re never too old to check ourselves, are we?”
“Hey. Bob-cat. Blow me.” Daken’s voice faded into the background, as did the telltale swish of the Krakoan biomattress beneath their weight.
Woolf lingers in the doorway, breathing deep the crisp, sugary air and smoke. Ghoulish candlelight flickers from behind the carved faces of fruits, vegetables, and G-d knew what else. The laughter of children rises and falls within the shadow of the trees. ‘A good night,' she decides, reaching to brush her fingers over the warped turnip jack-o’-lanterns she’d hung outside earlier.
When she glances down, the child is there at her feet, smelling of overripe pumpkin and moldering leaves. Her eyes widen beneath the white, wide brim of her hat, a seasonally appropriate breeze rustles the hem of her dress.
Kid’s carrying a giant orange sucker, and it’ll be a miracle if they don’t choke on it before the night’s done.
Her brows draw together in an apologetic frown. “I don’t know if I have any candy left, honeybee.”
Black button eyes gaze up at her from a burlap sack–face. They’re so–expectant that she tips back the brim of her hat and sighs. ‘How things are done,’ she realizes, then sighs. ‘Gifts for the children.’
“Let me get something from inside. D’you like spicy n–” A pumpkin sails past them, exploding against the trunk of a nearby tree with a wet, hollow thunk; Woolf makes a garbled sound of shock and frustration as one Raw Dog–newly reborn as a teenager, as all mutants are eventually-stops his shenanigans, raising one hand in a not-so-apologetic wave.
“Sorry, ma’am!” A pause stretches between the three as Dog Howlett shifts. “You smell–uh– look nice tonight?”
Fire Knives raised him to be polite to women at least. She glowers at him, then darts back into the pod, briefly hissing at the men inside to ‘keep it down, there’s a kid!’ before returning with a little bag of spiced nuts from a leftover party bag, dropping it into Sack-Child’s treat basket. “Here,” she murmurs, reaching out as if to pat them on their burlap head before pulling her hand back. “Sorry. You caught me a bit late.”
The child scurries away without a word, and she feels a weight leave her shoulders as she foils her arms over her chest and narrows her eyes at the teenager vandalizing his way past.“You should have some respect for tradition, Dog,” she calls disapprovingly “The roots of this sort of thing run deep!”
Then, she leaves him to mull the importance of the old ways in favor of watching an old mummy-themed porno while eating Hunt-jerky off of washboard abs.
“When I told you to get started, you really ran with it…”her voice fades away, and “Raw Dog” Howlett and the strange, solemn trick-or-treater are left relatively alone, one with an oversized sucker and candy bucket, the other with his general douchebaggery and disrespect for the holiday season.
A bare foot punts a jack-o’-melon like a soccer ball.“Go to bed, yo,” is all Raw Dog–whose birth name is Wild Dog–tells him, sniffing loudly and rubbing a hand over his runny nose as the sad remains of fruit rind and candle wax drips down the side of a stone ledge.“The grown-ups have things to do.”
Black button eyes glint.
___
Woolf wakes up in a pile of man-flesh in the middle of the night, her nostrils flaring at the scent of drying blood. She grunts, spitting out a mouthful of Bob’s hair even as she runs a hand along a sleek, bare thigh. (Daken’s, judging by the thick pelt of manfur.) Blood. Too close.
Don’t like that.
“S’mone g’see what that is,” she mumbles, less concerned about the vaguely familiar smell than its proximity to her ‘autumn-summer home.’ “Bob. Up.” At his rrroooorrwl of protest, she nudges the thigh-haver. “You. Fang. Up. No kids vandalizing my porch tonight.”
Daken eventually does drag himself outside, muttering and bitching about family. The blood smells of Raw Dogging, you see.
So does the severed head hanging strung alongside the turnip jack-o’-lanterns, its eyes glassy and staring, lips split wide by the bright orange sucker jammed into its mouth.
“Tell your nephew to clean up his mess!”
#fiddlingonthetympanic#( ⬛ ) save.#murder cw#blood cw#gore cw#! definitely need to write up the krakoa+ npcs#! i ADORE raw dog as a concept#! not to be confused with the original dog howlett#! i also adore this murder child#( ⬛ ) verse — krakoa+.
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I've been really curious about your ocs, the ones for your universe "Utroba" specifically your lady doctor (does she have a name?) cause I adore her design but what's her personality? Does she have any supernatural abilities? Is she a hero or villain? Stuff like that.
Oh wow question about UTROBA, god yesssss thank you for asking. A lot of things in this project are still really raw and we only share concepts and some art, but we have something to tell about this lovely woman
Her name is Grigora Vocula. She is the second main character of one of our UTROBA stories after Temir and his companion-partner. She is a doctor of medicine, and also a teratologist and aberration consultant — think of her as a special pathologist who studies the original mutant monsters (aberrants), and also helps in investigating cases with them and sometimes with local cultists
She's not the villain in our story, but she's not a hero either. She's just a very good doctor who knows how to do her job, but she gets involved in a very big story. Her personality is inspired by characters like Dana Scully, Dankovsky, Gregory House, Filipp Preobrazhensky, Kim Kitsuragi... Grigora is cold, emotionally closed, authoritative, cynical, but lives her work like a real nerd and can really be passionate if we talk about her as a professional. She doesn't see personalities in people and is surprised when they see a person in her
While she lacks empathy, she is faithful to her personal principles and the law, viewing the world around her as a system of rules and logic. She is used to being alone, living alone, and working alone. Okay, not entirely alone; Grigora has a little dog — proof that someone can be really dear to her, even though she denies it. In any case, dead bodies have become much better friends for her than colleagues... However, Temir destroys everything one day when he suddenly decided to awakens on her table right before the autopsy. It’s a looooong story
She doesn't have any supernatural abilities, but at some point she will have to face the risk of becoming what she is fighting against — an aberrant, and it will look something like this
And a few lil facts about her
She's tall. Like.. really tall. 192 cm of authority
A heavy smoker
Grigora is a lunar. Lunarism is similar to our albinism in UTROBA, but with its original lore. It also affects her appearance, making her skin and hair colorless, and her eyes moon-yellow. So she make up her eyebrows and eyelashes to make them black
Loves crosswords and card games
A representative of the intelligentsia and has a privileged status in communist society
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Since you made one for Valentine’s Day, how bout celebrating Halloween with the main hazbin cast? Maybe Charlie is throwing a Halloween party or something!
HALLOWEEN W HAZBIN! ₊˚⊹♡
characters: vox, charlie, valentino, lucifer, alastor
warnings: nothing :)
a/n: idk if i like alastor's part, he's just so hard to write imo😭😭 pls tell me what you think guys🤞
VOX:
꩜ it’s obvious to anyone that vox looooves halloween.
꩜ he’s claimed to you on several occasions that it’s his favorite holiday.
꩜ and that getting the chance to spend it with you only makes it better.
꩜ and how does vox spend Halloween? two words.
꩜ haunted house.
꩜ you never really understood the concept of having those on hell.
꩜ hell is already scary as it is.
꩜ however, being an overlord, having the control that vox has, eliminates some of the fear most people normally feel.
꩜ so a haunted house is his favourite place to go when he wants to feel some of that adrenaline.
꩜ he picked you up that night and away you went, ready to get your scare-factor on.
꩜ darling, if you get scared, just let me know!” he pointed to himself with a grin "i'll stop the whole thing, i swear".
꩜ “afterall, I wouldn’t be much of a man if I can’t protect the person I care about most.” he smiles at you and you can't help blushing.
꩜ you stuck to him like glue, laughing and screaming through every house you went through.
꩜ it was well into the night before you both decided to call it.
꩜ your throats raw and blood pumping from the adrenaline.
꩜ but even in your stupor, vox still managed to take your breath away once he brought you back to your apartment.
꩜ his arms circled around you as he kisses your face.
꩜ you bury your face in his neck as you hug him goodbye.
CHARLIE:
꩜ as far as charlie is concerned, you can’t celebrate Halloween without a good time.
꩜ and to her, the best way to do that is with a party!
꩜ she throws one once every year at the hotel, because, how could she not?
꩜ “you’ll come right? you have to! pleeeease!”
꩜ she’s so adorably persistent, eyes all puppy dog wide and hands folded.
꩜ your answer is obvious.
꩜ and it had her jumping up and down throughout the whole lobby.
꩜ upon arriving at the hotel, you were completely in awe of the change of scenery.
꩜ what once had a reddish vintage look now practically screamed 'halloween'.
꩜ costumes, decorations, snacks, bowls filled with candy, games, music.
꩜ you knew your girlfriend sure took things to the extreme, but nonetheless, it was always fun.
VALENTINO:
꩜ valentino loves halloween.
꩜ you could say he likes it for the aesthetic and you would be right.
꩜ he'd invite you over that night to spend the evening with him.
꩜ you thought maybe you were gonna go to a halloween party, somewhere filled with decorations and people.
꩜ but when you get to his house you only see a mountain of scary and halloween themed movies piled high on the coffee table in his living room.
꩜ along with a bowl of popcorn, soda, and a selection of only your favourite candies of course.
꩜ “are we… gonna watch all of these?”
꩜ "well duh. why? you got something else to do?”
꩜ unexpected, indeed, but who would complain?
꩜ it was hard to pick which movie to watch first since he had such an extensive collection, but you both decided to kick things off with the classic 'the nightmare before christmas'.
꩜ after that, 'carrie', 'scream', 'anabelle', 'halloween' too of course.
꩜ name it, and valentino had it.
꩜ you sat on the sofa between his legs the entire time, bowl of popcorn in your lap, and you silently fed him pieces of the salty snack while he unwrapped and fed you bits of candy.
꩜ it was the perfect way to spend halloween and you wished you could have gone at it all night.
꩜ but after the 7th film, you had promptly knocked out against val’s chest, popcorn bowl empty.
꩜ but instead of waking you up, he merely shut off the tv and covered both your bodies with a blanket, kissing your forehead.
LUCIFER:
꩜ you're getting ready as you anxiously wait for the king of hell.
꩜ the hotel was organising a halloween party, and of course you couldn't miss it.
꩜ and of course you were going with lucifer.
꩜ you couldn't help but feel a flutter of excitement mingled with nerves.
꩜ just as you were beginning to think he might not show, you heard a knock at the door.
꩜ with a mischievous grin, he strutted over to you.
꩜ "sorry for the delay, darling," he said, offering you his hand. "hope you didn't wait too long."
꩜ you accepted his hand, feeling a thrill run down your spine as his fingers intertwined with yours.
꩜ "not at all," you replied, trying to sound nonchalant despite the butterflies in your stomach.
꩜ together, you walked in to the lobby, greeted by the lively sounds of the halloween party in full swing.
꩜ you were sitting at the bar, just chatting.
꩜ "i have to go to the bathroom, i'll be right back" he says with a wink as he leaves.
꩜ "hmm so he really is in love with you" you hear husk, the bartender, say.
꩜ "oh so you've doubted that?"
꩜ "not really, it's just that it's the first time i see it in live action".
꩜ "what do you mean?" you question him.
꩜ "i mean, do you see the way he stares at you as you talk." he fills up a glass. "pure adoration."
꩜ you feel heat creeping up your cheeks and turn around before husk realises how flushed you are.
꩜ lucifer gets back and it isn't long before you find yourselves in the ballroom.
꩜ with a twirl, he pulls you into his arms, and the two of you began to dance to the infectious beat of the music.
꩜ as you moved together, laughter bubbled up between you, your clothes swishing in tune with the music.
꩜ "you know," he says, his voice low as he spun you around, "there's nothing i would want more in the world that being with you."
꩜ you couldn't help but smile at his words, feeling a warmth spreading through you.
꩜ "well i can assure you it goes both ways." you replied, caught up in the moment as you gazed into his eyes.
ALASTOR:
꩜ it does surprise you that the radio demon has no idea what halloween is.
꩜ he comes up to you and asks you why the whole lobby is filled with pumpkins and little paper ghosts and black and orange streamers.
꩜ you simply smile and say, “it’s halloween!”
꩜ “oh…”
꩜ it’s not that he didn’t know what hallowen was, he explained to you.
꩜ he just wasn’t really aware of what occurred during the holiday itself.
꩜ so you decided it was time to change that.
꩜ you told him to meet you at your room, not giving him any more details than that.
꩜ when he arrived, you took him by the hand and led him towards one of the best places you could possibly think of to give him a proper introduction to the spookiest night of the year.
꩜ the pumpkin patch.
꩜ upon arriving, alastor seemed absolutely awestruck at all the different things there were to do.
꩜ the corn maze, hayride, petting zoo (to which you found out that alastor is a major softie for animals).
꩜ and of course, pumpkin carving.
꩜ it was so cute watching his expressions.
꩜ how his brow would furrow when he tried removing the guts and how his tongue would poke out when he began working on the face.
꩜ you almost forgot you had your own pumpkin to carve.
꩜ you both left in the later evening, hand in hand as the stars twinkled above you.
꩜ “so what did you think? did you have fun?”
꩜ you were expecting a nod, or a quick little hum.
꩜ but he straight whisked you off your feet and into his arms.
꩜ and you knew that right now, the smile on his face was truly genuine.
#hazbin hotel x reader#hazbin hotel imagine#lucifer morningstar x reader#lucifer morningstar imagine#lucifer morningstar headcanon#hazbin hotel headcanon#hazbin hotel#hazbin hotel vox#vox x reader#vox x you#charlie morningstar#charlie morningstar x reader#charlie x reader#valentino hazbin hotel#valentino x reader#valentino hazbin hotel headcanon#alastor#cursed cat alastor#alastor x reader#alastor headcanons#alastor imagine
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im genuinely curious what ur take on a pregnancy scare with ds johnny would be cuz i personally can see him being all like "fuck yeahh i bred u haha ur mine fr now" but like he'd be an AWFUL father (imo) LMFAO
cranking this one out rq to answer your question, just gonna answer it instead of writing about it
dark star!johnny cage > pregnancy
CW: discussions of abortion & sex, ds!jc is a piece of shit
part 1* / part 2* / part 3* / part 4* / part 5*
[ masterlist ]
while i don't own the concept of the order of darkness johnny, my specific rendition of dark star!johnny would not want to have children.
i need you guys to remember that this version of him is a manipulative, abusive, narcissistic POS!
he's young, he's spry, he's a party man, and he would be fully convinced that a child would be a waste of time.
protection during sex feels like a workload to him so he'd often hit it raw, yet still become a disaster when your pregnancy test turns up positive.
he'd make you take five, ten, fifteen more before he's convinced. he'd accuse you of baby trapping. screaming matches so loud you both get migraines.
being a celebrity, johnny would pay you under the table to take care of it. that's how he would word it, too. "just get it done, and not a single fucking word to the press." his reputation is more important than a potential family life.
now let's say hypothetically you end up having a child with him. johnny would try to be a decent parent in his own stupid way, but in the way that a Man would. he'd call it babysitting, pretend like he's doing you a favor and giving you a night off. johnny would sit down and talk to the kid as if he was an adult, speaking professionally and quirking a brow when the baby would simply coo in response. how the hell do you talk to a baby? he'd pick up extra jobs, extra outings just to be away from the crying for a night after a while.
he'd tickle their chin like they were a dog, crouching down and going eye level with them. the baby would stare back with large eyes, and a part of him tears apart inside knowing he wouldn't be able to provide the kid with the emotional support they'd need. he decides that quickly, absolutely, as if there's no way to change that outcome.
they have his nose, and your eyes, but a mixture of your lips and his. he couldn't deny that the baby was cute, but he'd rather admire the cuteness than manage it. johnny would try to show off his admiration by releasing adorable photoshoots of the baby in onesies or wicker baskets, but then you'd argue that you don't want your child's face plastered all over hollywood. you don't want your baby to grow up to be like their daddy.
johnny'd be the credit card of the family. he'd fund the clothes, toys, medical bills, insurance, food, but you'd be the one in the store. he'd just flick his card at you and tell you to take care of whatever seems to be wrong.
even still, when the press would ask about his child, he'd beam and grin and even let some crocodile tears flow about how happy he is to have a little boy/girl with his wonderful partner.
and you'd be stuck at home with eye bags and the same clothes you'd been wearing for days, feeding the child and wondering when he'll be home.
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I love your posts, think if i slid you some funky bones like say i don't know, a rib cage and some vertebrae i could get some story about something that danny does in gotham affecting damien specifically?
I like the stories where damien is suddenly inexplicably nice due to simethung danny did, and it scares the other members of the batfam.
Ya know… I wouldn’t be opposed to some extra rib bones.
Ok ok let me put on a 10 min timer and just write as many prompt concepts as I can and hope that appeases you in exchange for some ribs:
Danny is unaware that as the ghost king, he is able to command liminal beings. After being mockingly harassed by Robin he just says “Geez man. Can’t you be nice for once?” Robin can’t disobey. He can’t say no to any asks for a favor. He can’t tell anyone when they’re making him uncomfortable or distressed in any way. He can’t speak his mind because it could be considered rude to that person. How long does it take for the Bats to figure out what’s happening and how does Damian let the batfam know that something is wrong.
Danny starts dating Damian. The bats don’t know shit about it. Damian meets Jazz who helps give him tips on how to interact with people because he doesn’t really know how normal interaction works. The Bats don’t know how this change happened but it’s kinda weirding them out.
Danny is a Mermaid that lives in one of the underwater caves in the same cave system that the Batcave is in. Damian goes exploring and finds Danny. Why Damian spends a vast amount of time exploring the caves and why he suddenly is very politely asking for vast amounts of raw seafood to be brought to the house is beyond the rest of the family.
Damian has a new dog. Shame that the poor guy seemingly got dipped in glow in the dark green paint. He dotes on the lil guy like a child and it’s adorable.
Damian somehow knows information about various crimes and crooks in Gotham. He says he has a new source he contacts to get info from and refuses to let any other Bat to meet them. Apparently if they do it violates their agreement and he will be unable to meet this person ever again. That person is Danny. The fucker is omnipotent after becoming the Ghost King and he’s grown a liking to Damian so he tells him whatever he wants to know in exchange for just hanging out together.
Damian knows a bunch of rare human customs on Ghost King Worship. The practices have been lost to the Ghost Zone’s side of the realm so Danny just pops on over and asks Damian about it. Damian, confused yet intrigued, tells this strange glowing boy about the League of Shadow’s customs.
#danny phantom#dpxdc#dp x dc#dc comics#writing prompts#dp x dc prompt#bones replies#tumblybumbly7#technically this was 8 minutes but it took me 2 minutes to try to remember what tf the right way to spell ‘weirdness’ is.#Ty for the ribs :3
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Intro / Master List
I made a place to shake out all of the writing blurbs free instead of leaving them to rot in my e-mail drafts. Fics, drabbles, nonsense musings, headcanons and whatever else falls out will go here. Side blog to @tearueful
I am here to WRITE because creativity DEMANDS it, and this is low enough energy that chronic pain can't steal it from me. Unless it has an A03 mirror link, the writing is RAW and probably full of errors. Real fuck it, we'll do it live hours.
I loveloveLOVE interactions on my posts and in my ask box. PLEASE add replies, reblog with your comments and/or and go HOG WILD in the tags. IT FEEDS MEEEE and further fuels my inspiration.
🔞 18+ content. I say fuck. I will write smut. The situations will be adult in nature more often than not. There will be problematic content as my favs are problematic.
The ask box is open and I encourage sending requests, inspiration, or just chatter.
Feel free to send ask requests on or off anon.
Current brain worms are focused on Homelander of The Boys with a mild Fallout invasion.
Archive of Our Own Link
Prompt Requests / Fandoms / Tags / Master List of Writing
I have no issues with prompts that are open ended with what characters are involved or ones that specify. Within the fandoms that have captivated my brain, I'm up for writing any relationship romantic, sexual, or platonic and x reader writings are ones I'll happily engage in.
Sending something in is no guarantee I'll write for said prompt or when I'll get to it. My mind is fickle and sometimes a prompt grabs me by the throat, or I let it simmer for a hot minute. That or I'll simply delete it if it doesn't spark joy.
I've been writing and RPing for a very long time, but only recently delved into anything canon adjacent and then writing actual fanfics for it. Thus what fandoms I'll write for are currently limited to things I've been hype fixated on or am currently fixated on. Obviously, the main one right now is Homelander. He's my poor lil meow meow, but I will happily slip back into writing OCs from my years of RP or other characters in fandoms I adore.
Fandoms I'll write for:
The Boys
Fallout, TV series
Wildstar (OCs)
World of Warcraft (OCs)
Given how long I've been writing for and what sort of dark stories I've written with friends, there's not much that I won't explore if it has an interesting concept that I can get a good story out of. Dark themes, kinky fuckery, violence, and sexual situations are all well and good. That being said, there's plenty of things that squick me out that I rather not touch but as I'm an adult I'll either delete the prompt or explain my thoughts on the prompt related to whatever character it is.
i.e., Homelander sure as shit has a lactation kink but pregnancy stuff is body horror to me. Can I write it? Possibly, it wholly depends on the prompt.
Writing
Fallout:
🔞Explosion (Lucy x Maximus)
🔞Too Sweet ( Cooper x Reader, WIP) : Chapter [1], Tag
🔞 Gash (Cooper x Reader)
🔞Take It As It Comes ( Pre-War!Cooper x Reader, WIP)
The Boys:
Fanfics
Play with Fire (Homelander x f!reader, plus sized, WIP) : Chapter [1] [2], [3] Tag
One Up (Homelander x f!Reader) : Chapter [1] , Tag
No Bad Dogs (Homelander x Kimiko??? besties!???!?!) : Concept stage, Tag
General Drabbles:
🔞Two Player Game (Homelander x f!reader)
🔞Lonely Together (Queen Maeve x Homelander)
Pinky Promise (Ryan Butcher & Homelander🥺)
Mark You Pretty (Homelander x reader)
🔞THC Gummies (Homelander x f!reader)
Introducing the 'wife' (Homelander x Billy Butcher)
Girl Dad (Homelander & Zoe)
Rainy Day (Homelander x reader)
Mix Tape (Homelander x reader)
Plushie (Homelander x reader)
Sugar Daddy (Homelander x reader)
🔞Making a Mess (Homelander x f!reader)
🔞Blackmail, Play With Fire side fic (Homelander x f!reader, plus-sized)
🔞Crusty.. (Homelander x reader)
Driving Lesson (Homelander & Ashley Barett)
🔞Over Eager (Homelander x f!reader)
Tampons (Homelander x f!reader)
Emoticons (Ryan Butcher & Homelander)
Flower Picking ( Homelander x reader)
🔞Office Tryst (Homelander x f!reader)
Breaking Point (Homelander x reader)
🔞Pet Play (Homelander x OC, WIP)
🔞Choke (Homelander x Reader, WIP)
Tags
General Tags
Drabble / Ask / Anon Ask / Fanfic Planning / Fanfic Chapter / Worldbuilding / Canon x You / Plus-Sized Reader / Brainstorming
The Boys
The Boys FanFic / The Boys Smut
Homelander / Homelander Headcanon / Homelander x Reader / Homelander Writing / Homelander Smut
Queen Maeve / Maeve Writing / Maeve Smut / Maeve x Homelander
Kimiko / Kimiko Writing
Frenchie / Frenchie Writing
Ryan Butcher / Ryan Writing
Fallout
Fallout Fanfic / Fallout Smut
Maximus / Lucy MacLean / VaultKnight / Cooper Howard / The Ghoul / Cooper Howard x Reader / The Ghoul x Reader
18+ Banner Source
#I like being organized#and maybe having a place to dump this shit out of my brain will inspire me to CONTINUE to create#and also I want to share
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4, 7, and 14 for the Httyd ask game :0
4. What is your favourite type of dragon and why?
I can't narrow it down to one, but my top three are probably: Deathsongs, Stormcutters and the Boneknapper
Deathsongs because they remind me of rainwings from wings of fire (my first dragon media obsession) with the bright coloring and ear frills as well as the amber being vaguely reminiscent of the acid rainwings spit.
Stormcutters because I absolutely adore Cloudjumper. The way he moves (owl + dog like body language) is incredibly fun to watch and his design is gorgeous.
And the Boneknapper because I had an obsession with the special as a little kid as well as having a one in SoD, iirc. Also, the concept of a scavenger dragon coating itself in an armor of bones is badass.
7. Do you have any OCs? If so, talk about their appearance, backstories, and personalities.
No, unfortunately. I've not really been into OC making since middle school. Not sure what happened, but I kind of lost interest and shifted to focusing on pre-existing characters 😭 I'd like to make a Dragon Rider sona one day though if feel the inspiration to.
14. Which part of the franchise has your favourite animation style?
The first movie era, hands down. The rough, somewhat bleak (in the beginning, at least) gritteness of Berk's scenery, the textures and lighting, Toothless' original design (Cat-like, sleek, very clearly built for speed over raw strength, you can literally see the dust in between his scales) and the original designs for the all the dragons tbh, they feel more.. textured and wild (which I guess makes sense. Later, while they're still, very much wild animals they've become accustomed to being cared for. But still.)
And with the human characters as well!!! I love how much personality their designs have alone; Hiccup has crooked teeth and so many freckles, Astrid has really choppy, greasy looking bangs that she's always shoving out of her eyes, Snotlout's actually missing a tooth, and most of the kids have like, visible dirt on their skin and clothes.
I love how 'imperfect' the designs for all of them are!! And like of course they are!!! Like these kids were training to wage war against dragons! Of course they're gonna be grimey!! I dunno, I just feel like a lot of movies/shows aren't willing to have that level of perceived realism in their character designs. Httyd's cast feels so real to me despite how insanely stylized some of the characters are, and its an absolute shame they seemed to have lost that in the later installments.
(Hiccup's teeth magically get straighter, his freckles fade, Astrids skin is no longer ruddy, her hair looks like it's been shampooed or something, her freckles are completely gone and that's just the second movie. As it goes on the characters' designs and the world around them feels less full of life and more like shiny, plastic figurines. Especially Toothless.)
All the first movie era stuff has just a completely different feel to it that the rest if the franchise hasn't been able to replicate
Anyways, tysm for the ask! I had a lot of fun answering these!!!
#i jusdt now saw it 😭#idk why i didn't get a notif sooner but also i was in the car for 5hrs the other day and havent slept so#httyd ask game#httyd#ask#thw salt#kind of#moth.txt#ouroborros
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Hey RBS 🌈
Recently i came across GG interview on ool where he talk about how envious of he is gu wei because he have a perfect life, a loving family, adorable son. Somehow it gave me this feeling that, deep down GG wish to live a ideal life. Where there is no fans chasing after him, no paparazzi breathing down on his neck.
I do saw some fans try to interpret it as GG being straight and he wanted a wife and kid in the future. But for me it was more like his dream to have a domestic life with DD.
I would like to know what you think about this.
Hi Anon, 😊
Fake, fan fiction, CPN.
I think interviews are often taken too literally and too seriously by fans. Just because someone says something in an interview, that doesn't mean it's their final word on the topic, or anything broader than a simple off-the-cuff musing.
I've never had even the remotest interest in being a parent, but there are some people who seem to have the perfect life, the perfect kids, the perfect home, where everyone looks like they stepped out of a Scandinavian architectural magazine and they all go to the farmer's market on Saturday mornings and then go for long hikes in the mountains in their handmade knitwear with their perfect, utterly obedient dog, and then come home and eat a delicious wholesome rustic gourmet home-cooked meal at a large raw log slab trestle table with the sun slanting through their 30foot floor to open-rafter ceiling windows, etc. etc. etc., and there are moments when I envy that even though it in no way resembles the life I really want.
I think it's normal for people to daydream about other people's lives.
And there is also a certain element of marketing at play here. An actor pretty much has to sell the character and the story to the audience. GG is a savvy man in that respect, and scrupulously polite. He will find something nice to say if the situation calls for it.
Having said all that, please everyone repeat after me:
GAY PEOPLE ARE ALLOWED TO WANT KIDS AND STILL BE GAY.
I talked about that a while back in a discussion about DD saying he wants a son.
There are so many heteronormative fans who don't get that concept. It's crazy.
Like you said, Anon, he could easily be daydreaming about wanting a nice domestic life with DD. I'm absolutely certain they would have talked about having kids, even theoretically, because A] the culture and B] DD seems serious about wanting one.
People often think China is inherently homophobic, but that perception isn't entirely accurate. Family is given high importance in some cultures, and that can lead parents and relatives to pressure gays to marry straight and have kids. However, many families are perfectly happy to accept queer family members as long as they still plan to have kids via adoption or surrogacy.
Anyway, point being - that 'straight' narrative says a lot more about the person interpreting than it does about GG. 😅
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kin assign your moots :)
ok this has been sitting in my drafts for so long and kin is too hard so i decided to ship my mutuals... so basically i am not answering ur question but alas here we are
also i have a lot of mutuals so i think im just gonna do a few rn... maybe the ones i interact w the most or who i see the most on my dash ???? idk i also haven't talked to some of my mutuals bc im a dumb scared baby so if you are not on this list please do not crucify me i love u and if anyone wants a ship/more of these pls ask me i swear i can be normal
@crysugu - why do i wanna say... d-d-deku.... I DONT KNOW something about him is making a lot of sense with you! two lil sweethearts who are so so selflessly kind but ik u guys are Freaks when it comes to one another....
@soumies - i know megumi is such a safe answer but its so real... like so real i cant even think of another name to put down here. my two sweet little babies !!! :3 ;P you match one another energies so well... i trust him in ur hands (and more importantly, i trust u in his)
@alert-arlert - porco LMFAO its always gonna be porco with you ryn! i want you to walk him like a dog so fucking badly. he is so annoying and you are so powerful i just KNOW you have the ability to tame him. close second is hange tho for similar but less intense reasons
@ghostbeam - again there is no answer that is not dabi... but weirdly... i see you with dabi more than touya ??? idk something about the dabi-eqsue yearning closed barriers angsty dark love that shouldn't work but it does fits you guys so well. an icon in the dabi universe is what you are
@demxnscous - im fearful that im saying osamu. and im saying this because the way u write him is so RAW that you cant not be soulmates. i swear you could turn anyone on to him and THAT right there is such a power to wield.... the power of ur love for that man deserves this title
@izurou - SUNA please my favorite suna baby. he annoys you and you let him and its so beautiful. you just get him !!!!! which is tough but you're tougher. i think about ur characterization of him all the time, specifically in the routine and thursday and i could cry with how lovely he is when it comes to you
@augustinewrites - augustine.... you feel so Classy to me. like in my mind u radiate the purest of elegance. a god-tier creator on this app amongst us mere mortals. i feel like your poetic way of existing could compliment sakusa really well! the two of you are so sexi you look like you'd bully people but in reality are so kind just a bit intimidating
@maplesuna - maple i love the idea of you and atsumu becuase i cant stand him half of the time and i absolutely adore you so i love the concept him just being absolutely whipped for you. like u boss him around and he adores it and i get to watch it all front row w some buttery popcorn
@touyangel - sunny my baby you are so sugary sweet i know that hawks would treat u sooooo good. because hes kind and a little fucked up but you truly see the very best in everyone and i think you could save that man from himself. also pls take his #2 hero money u deserve fancy things
@utahimeow - gojo!!!! char u are one of my go to gojo babies whenever i want to giggle and make fun of him or completely tear my hair out thinking about him...i know ur always game. u understand him so well!!!! u are also not afraid to humble him <3 which i love
@kentoangel - choso. choso choso and choso. i know u love him but it feels so right. u guys are like a quiet kind of morning love... like when you sit in a sunlit window and don't need words to explain how you feel. also i think about your mango piece every day of my life... need i say more?
#again if you arent here i am just stupid and there's a lot of you#im happy to do more tho!!! :P#and this is just me being kinda silly and ranting :P nothing serious
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OMG i love that!!!! blondie are SO good i love dancing to their stuff. do you have a favorite blondie song?
its been good! very rainy & i had a test but i think i did good on it:) how was yours?
top ten, i realised halfway thru i'd run of of like. text so i stopped giving long explanations … i am just very. talkative sometimes haha
1) lulu by metallica & lou reed: i am very much aware that it is considered one of the worst albums ever created but i PERSONALLY think thats cuz people just dont understand the concept of it. & are not familiar w/ lou's work. i think its a masterpiece i think its a very unique and poignant album and listening to it makes me go insane. i think its really just a phenomenal album and i will literally die on this hill. my #1 album of all time
1.5 (2) bummer by cleopatrick: i sometimes cite this as my favorite album of all time when i don't feel like causing drama over lulu. more often i'll cite it as my favorite album of all time because i am the hardcore cleopatrick fan ive been listening to them since like. 7th grade and i love this album so MUCH its literally so good, the lyrics are flawless the flow is phenomenal the drumming on this is LITERALLY unparalleled. and the guitar tone is SO good. and all the songs are sooooo good like 2008??? literally one of the best songs ever. great lakes is a masterpiece and so is vic park and the drake and…its just SO good. instantly lifts my mood
3) welcome to hell by venom: i love the evil vibe plus ppl take it so seriously when venom literally wear the sluttiest outfits possible
4) blank generation by richard hell: my first introduction richard hell was an article by lester bangs where he talked about how he thought richard hell's music is incredible and how he thought that richard hell had a great grasp of the problems of being alive in the 70s but his solutions were absolute dog shit. which made me want to listen to the album, as a good review will, and now its one of my favorite records. forever mad this is the only proper LP they did. i love his delivery, the guitar work is so unique, and i think the lyrics are still so real & relevant
5) pretty on the inside by hole: sooo raw im a big courtney fan tbh i love her work. holes best album was for sure live through this (nobody's daughter is a close second imo!) but pretty on the inside is my personal favorite cuz its pink! & bc i think its the rawest of holes discog. i like the discordantness of it its so exciting to me
6) welcome the plague year self-titled: PHENOMENAL scramz album its so raw & i think its the best album from that era of scramz & i just adore it.
7) germ-free adolescence by the x-ray specs: prob the only british punk band from the 70s or 80s id cite as a favorite, i just adore everything abt this album
8) lets take it to the stage by funkadelic: groovy! funky! rocking! also i love bootsy collins
9) are you experienced by the jimi hendrix experience: cures headaches somehow?? not complaining though
10) rust never sleeps by neil young: first neil young album i listened to, hes definitely my favorite singer/songwriter of the 70s :)
honorary mention to blue by joni mitchell, grateful dead's 13th february 1970 at fillmore east show even tho its not an album, opening fire by powertrip & killing is my business… by megadeth
i think i've put you through enough reading with this for today so have a nice day!! i hope the whole thing sends LOL
-❄️
that’s such a good list! i’ve just gotten into richard hell recently, and i haven’t listened to that full album yet but i’ll have to give it a go for sure!!!
picking my favourite blondie song is so hard omg. i’d probably have to go with dreaming, denis or hanging on the telephone, but picture this, in the flesh and atomic are very much up there! what’s your favourite?
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Mother's Day
❧ Pairing: Daryl Dixon x Female Reader
❧ Era: during Season 9 time jump (The Beginning Is the End Is the Beginning series)
❧ Pronouns: she/her
❧ Warnings: none!
❧ Word Count: 1.6k
❧ Summary: Your husband and daughter take Mother's Day very seriously.
❧ A/N: This is my first oneshot that takes place in The Beginning universe! You don't need to read the entire series to understand what's going on, but it might help! Basically, Reader and Daryl have been together for about six years. They have a three-year-old daughter named Robin, and Dog is currently a puppy. Everything is pretty good in Alexandria at this time, so this is literally just a sweet little Mother's Day-themed oneshot for the series. Enjoy, and happy Mother's Day!
Holidays in Alexandria were few and far between, that’s for sure.
Christmas was too extravagant to celebrate in any meaningful capacity, besides a small dinner and an exchange of a few gifts, Halloween was non-existent, as the world was already scary enough without people dressing up as vampires or witches, and Thanksgiving was almost everyday, since not a day went by when the citizens of Alexandria weren’t thankful to be alive.
But the simple holidays, the ones that honored the more mundane aspects of life, were much easier to celebrate.
Birthdays were routine, as you now had the birthdate of almost every citizen of Alexandria marked on your calendar, and other holidays, like Mother’s Day and Father’s Day, somehow wormed their way into the small cultural zeitgeist that had formed the past several years of Alexandria’s relatively peaceful existence.
You were still getting used to the concept of being a mother. You’d been one for the better part of three years, with Robin only a few weeks away from turning four in late May. Still, no matter how many times the little girl called out “Mommy” or “Momma,” you felt like you were living in the Twilight Zone. A very, very nice part of the Twilight Zone, without the eeriness of Rod Serling’s haunting voice over black and white terror stories.
“Can I crack an egg, Daddy?” you heard your child ask her father as you groggily stepped down the stairs, rubbing your eyes and laughing to yourself at the idea of even Daryl cracking an egg.
“Jus’ watch me do it,” he said. “Eggs are tricky. And you gotta wash your hands or you’ll get sick.”
“Really?”
“Really. Raw egg ain’t good to eat. Give you a tummy ache, or worse.”
You turned the corner to feast your eyes on the sight: Daryl in his best shirt and jeans, Robin still in her white hooded onesie (with rabbit ears and tail, no less), and Dog, your rather rambunctious puppy, clumsily tilting his head side to side as he watched Daryl instruct Robin. She stood upon her little kitchen step stool, barely allowing her to see over the edge of the counter.
“But they’re okay to eat after you cook ‘em?” she asked curiously.
“Mhm,” he said, concentrating on the egg as he attempted to crack it above the mixing bowl. “We’re gonna mix these up and make scrambled eggs. Real easy. Why don’t you hand me that whisk, birdie?”
She followed his pointed finger to focus her gaze on the jar of utensils. “This thingy?” she asked, holding the whisk in her tight hand.
“Bingo,” he said, a proud smile forming on his face. Robin could do just about anything and it would still impress him. “Look at you, smartie pants. Already learnin’ a thing or two.”
She cradled her head in her hands as she watched him whisk the eggs, periodically spooning out eggshells he had missed. He wasn’t the greatest cook in the world (besides his blueberry pancakes, of course), but at least he tried.
“Can I wake Mommy up now?” she asked, and you snickered mischievously to yourself, shaking your head at how adorable the two of them were. Robin must’ve been dying to wake you up for at least an hour now, and Daryl must’ve been about ready to pull his hair out, dealing with the talkative, curious child. “Please?”
“Let ‘er wake up on ‘er own,” he said. In truth, he was hoping to have as much time as possible to prepare your Mother’s Day breakfast before you awoke. “She’ll be down soon enough.”
Dog’s ears perked up when he noticed your presence just before he bounded forward, each paw stumbling over the other. “Hi, buddy,” you laughed, kneeling down to pet him. “Hi, kiddos.”
Robin turned on her stool and nearly tripped as she stepped off, though Daryl quickly dropped his whisk in the mixing bowl to hold onto her before she sprinted across the modest-sized kitchen towards you. “Happy Mother’s Day!” she sang out as she threw her little arms around your shoulders.
“Aw, thank you, sweet pea.”
Her lips quickly pecked your cheek, and you swore you could feel her long, dainty eyelashes fluttering on your cheekbone. She pulled away with wide, expressive blue eyes, filled with about ten times the energy of you and Daryl combined.
“Daddy and I are making you breakfast,” she said, and jauntily pointed towards the myriad of pots and pans and dishes cluttering the stove. You only hoped Daryl also intended to clean the kitchen, too. “Dog’s helping, too.”
“Pfft,” scoffed Daryl. “Mangy mutt’s been trippin’ me all mornin’. Keeps gettin’ under my feet. He’s gonna need trainin’.”
“I’m not the one who brought him home…” you teased, scratching behind the canine’s ears as he exposed his belly to you on the kitchen floor. “So, what’s for breakfast, househusband?” You rose to wrap your arms around his waist, kissing his cheek as he rolled his eyes. You simply couldn’t help but be a little amused at the sight of Daryl cooking. It always warmed your heart.
“Scrambled eggs,” he said with a huff, pointing at each dish with his spatula as he listed it. “Bacon… Pancakes… Robin’s s’posed to be buttering up the English muffins.” He glowered playfully at the little girl, who was now scurrying around the dining room with the puppy. “Guess I lost my little chef.”
You laughed, squeezing his shoulder before eying the cutting board on which were Robin’s abandoned English muffins. Each of them were already split in half, but only one was buttered (rather sloppily, you might add), with a lone spoon holding a glob of homemade butter.
“You gave her a spoon to spread the butter?” you laughed. “Daryl, a butter knife won’t hurt her, you know.” You reached to open the silverware drawer, with the intent of buttering the muffins yourself, but Daryl dropped his spatula in the egg pan and grabbed your hand, guiding you away from the counter.
“No moms allowed in the kitchen,” he said. “Dads only.”
He quickly ushered you into the living room before frantically running back to check on the food, and Robin and Dog scurried out from the dining room to meet you at the couch, a crudely wrapped present in Robin’s hands.
“We got you a present,” she said bashfully.
Your eyes widened as you gasped in exaggerated shock. “Oh, chipmunk, you guys didn’t have to get me anything! I have everything I could ever want and more.” You reached out to pinch her chubby cheeks. “But I do love presents… Can I open it?”
“Wait!” you heard Daryl call out from the kitchen. “Wait for me!”
He hurried out with a rag in his hands as he tried to wipe the bacon grease from his fingers.
You patted the couch cushion beside you, urging Robin to sit next to you while you opened her present. Daryl took the invitation, too, sitting himself on the other side of you. He seemed almost more excited than the three-year-old.
“Open it,” he said with an uncharacteristically large grin. “You’re gonna love it.”
“I know,” you said excitedly, tearing open the wrapping paper, made from old newspaper. “I can’t wait to…”
Your voice trailed off as the picture came into view. It was a small, framed canvas, upon which was a childlike family portrait of yourself, Daryl, Robin, and Dog, with your blue house in the backdrop, complete with your pink rose bushes and the little wooden sign you had nailed to the picket fence years ago: DIXONS, it read.
You beamed at the attention to detail, how each stick figure still looked familiar. Even Daryl’s shoulder-length brown hair was drawn with stunning accuracy.
Framing the canvas were four worn pieces of wood, mismatched and yet somehow fitting perfectly together. You could already tell Daryl had put the frame together himself, especially since upon the bottom piece was the word DIXONS carved meticulously into the wood, in case anyone forgot that you were, in fact, Dixon’s.
Robin’s little signature, with her initials, R.E.D, were painted in small, green letters in the bottom right corner.
“Oh, I love it!” you practically squealed, a lump forming in your throat as the tears began to well up in your eyes. “Thank you, babies.” You pressed a small kiss to Robin’s head as your arm pulled her close to your side. She snuggled up happily, watching her mother press a different kind of kiss to her father’s lips. “This means so much to me. I’m going to hang it over the fireplace.”
“Nah,” said Daryl, surprising you for a moment. Surely he’d want to hang such a prized piece of Robin Dixon’s original artwork above his mantle? He stood up to remove the Alfonso Mucha painting that was already hanging above the fireplace. “I’ll hang it. Moms don’t work today.”
That evening, you watched the sunset with Daryl, swaying lazily on the porch swing as he held you close, the usual procedure. Only today, it was a little different—it was your day, and when he held you, he reminded you of how thankful he was for you, how much he respected you for bringing his child into the world, and how great of a mother you were.
~
Thanks for reading! Likes, reblogs, and comments of any kind are always appreciated!
Masterlist
#daryl dixon x reader#daryl dixon fanfiction#daryl dixon x you#daryl dixon fanfic#daryl dixon#daryl dixon fic#the walking dead#the walking dead fanfiction#the walking dead fanfic#twd fanfic#twd#twd fanfiction#norman reedus#norman reedus fanfiction#norman reedus fanfic#norman reedus x reader#the beginning#the beginning series
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Secret Agent Bard (Welcome to the Underground!)
Hello everyone! E here with a new chapter of the underground! Woo! I hope you are all doing good and staying safe.
So I actually have more to say today! That's a trip. I’ll have an author’s note under the line.
So that's it for now. Stay safe, take care of you and your loved ones, stay out of trouble, wash your hands, wear your mask, get vaccinated if you can and push to release the vaccine world wide cuz we're all in this together. Have a great week and thanks for reading. I appreciate it and feel free to tell your friends, reblog, drop likes and feedback i love it all. Bye for now and enjoy!
If you want an easier place to read the story cuz tumblr sucks sometimes here’s a link to the chapter https://archiveofourown.org/works/27814297/chapters/79541746
The First Chapter: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27814297/chapters/68094967
and since you made it this far here’s a link to all my stories!
https://archiveofourown.org/users/MrE42/pseuds/MrE42
Byeeeeee!
Author’s note: Today’s work will be a little different as there will be singing. The chapter with the bard is gonna have singing? Go figure haha So if you see a sentence in Italics, that means someone is singing. Bold and italics represents various people singing as a group. The song in question is called twiddles. There's different versions of it but the one I chose is from the misbehavin maidens. Great group but all their work ranges from innuendos to straight up not safe for work so listen at your peril. I have now completed my responsible adult duties haha. here’s a link to the chosen song https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iS1-_fKF5ug
Summary: Oliver has quite the task ahead of him as the group splits to achieve their goals. Leading Sel and Flora, the young bard will have to think quick on his feet to ensure this mission is a success. Luckily he's an old hand at this. Ironically the one person who could distract him may make a surprise appearance tonight.
-----
Oliver stood quietly, arms crossed and his mind thoughtful as the group prepared to go their separate ways. While ideally nothing would go wrong, that was a childish belief: Every person and robotic being here knew safety was not guaranteed in their line of work.
Even the old man knew the risks.
Oliver hated doing nothing. He thrived when he was busy, focused on whatever task required his attention whether it be being a better bard or upholding the Choir’s values. Too many ghosts and regrets lingered on the edges of his mind and he found the best solution was to simply keep occupied.
But that was his coping mechanism, not everyone else. He knew better than to rush his team: The party would last at least another few hours and beside the goal of getting Sel to the third floor, there was nothing else to do. No information to gather, nothing to review. Let them have their moment, it was good for morale.
Terri and Flora were sickeningly adorable: Hands clasped tightly with Terri tearfully asking her girlfriend to not poison everyone. Flora gave a halfhearted promise while as they shared a tender kiss. Terri noticed her less than enthused tone but refused to press the matter further.
Tyrell stood awkwardly to the side, his face twisted in a strange mixture of sick and excited. He fidgeted with something in his pocket, seeking comfort from whatever lay within. Given the shape of the bulge and size, Oliver guessed it was a knife.
Sel stood nearby, motionless in the shadows of the alley. They hadn’t moved in some time though he suspected the automaton was simply waiting for the next phase of the plan.
“Alright” Oliver spoke up, his voice firm yet gentle “Times up. You have your assignments?”
Uneven murmuring responded.
“Let’s go.”
Oliver, Sel and Flora went down one end of the alley, Terri and Tyrell disappearing in the opposite direction.
-----
It didn’t take long for the trio to find the main streets of the Merchant Ward and make their way towards the Brambleoak banking office. The crowds weren’t as thick as they had been during the day but Oliver knew everyone out and about did so with a purpose.
“Bard.” Flora asked without warning, breaking the awkward silence “Question.”
“Answer.” Oliver cheekily replied.
Flora glared.
Oliver coughed “Yes?”
“You are a First Chair Soprano correct?”
“Yes ma’am.”
“Yet you are so young. How did you manage that? I thought First Chair ranks were only reserved for experienced or particularly skilled members. You don’t seem to be very magically powerful.”
Oliver paused for a moment, trying to best answer the question.
In a way Flora was correct in her assessment: He wasn’t particularly powerful as a spellcasting bard. Unlike Flora who clearly committed herself fully to nature and thus druidic magic, Oliver had only recently thrown himself into the magical arts.
Unless you were a wizard who studied the secrets of the universe with a very intimate and well versed knowledge of magic, most spellcasters drew their power from sources of existence: Clerics from their gods, Druids from nature, Warlocks from something beyond mortal existence yet not quite a deity, sorcerers because a family member fucked around with pure incomprehensible concepts. Magic was the fabric of the universe and the more you threw yourself into a source of power, the more the source threw itself into you, guiding your hand and your spells.
Of course each, wizards exempt, were limited in their spellcasting options. Clerics were powerful holy/unholy practitioners but couldn’t command plant life to save their lives. Druids were in tune with nature and the weather and all the lovely flora and fauna but ask them to superimpose an image onto something and they’d give you a dumbfounded look. Warlocks kinda just do whatever their sugar patrons felt like lending.
Magic bards drew their power from the arts: Drawing, singing, poetry, even witty and funny satire. Bards were in tune with life, with existence. Art could heal, could hurt, could make you feel happy and sad. It could make you feel like a whole new person or perhaps take you to a time and place you’d forgotten. Bards sung the song of life and Oliver was no exception.
However, Oliver still wasn’t sure what he could do exactly. His magical muscle was average on a good day and he could only cast a few spells before needing a good night’s rest. The basic healing spells and comprehension language he cast earlier today had taken a good chunk of his energy but he relied more on his wit than raw magical strength. He discovered creative and useful ways to cast his spells like amplifying dissonance noises to distract and disorient foes or temporarily place another person’s image over himself. Magic was as much about creativity as it was skill, pushing the limits of what you can do with your particular brand of spells.
“I’m clever.” Oliver answered honestly “The whole magic of the arts is new to me but I’ve been in the Choir for a long time now. I used to be Tenor like Sel here but more fast talking than breaking and entering. I guess they carried over my old position into my new one.”
Flora nodded, satisfied “That answers much. How long have you been a bard?”
“Few years now.” Oliver checked the street sign to ensure they were on the right path “The magic part is going on 3 years.”
“I see.” Flora scratched her chin “I’ve been a druid my whole life so it is a strange concept to be so new to the spellcasting arts yet hold such a high rank.”
Oliver gave a casual shrug “Not sure what you want me to say. We’re here by the way.”
The bank looked as unkempt as Oliver had remembered: Faded, peeling green paint with gaudy gray stone pillars. Two guards in green uniforms stood in front of the massive reddish brown doors that led into the bank.
“Lea’s mercenaries.” Sel pointed out “They are not letting anyone in.”
“Correction.” Oliver brushed off nonexistent dirt from his washed-out outfit “They’re not letting nobodies in. Luckily tonight we’re somebodies. Follow my lead.”
Oliver let out a tense breathe before strolling forward, his mannerism cocky yet unsteady. He reached the top of the steps when two sharp looking blades reached out to stop him.
“Halt” The elvish woman spoke with a hint of irritation “You lost?”
“Not at all!” Oliver beamed with a smile that was too wide to be natural “I’m here for the party. There is a party inside no?”
“No” The human man spat out.
Oliver gave a forgetful grin “Oh? I could’ve sworn Brambleoak was having some sort of charity event tonight. I’d show you my invite but I think I misplaced it.”
The elvish woman sneered “Right. How convenient for you having lost your special one of a kind invite.”
“Pfft.” Oliver scoffed “Special one of a kind invite? Reiner hands them out like candy. Probably find one in a gutter nearby.”
The guards shared an unspoken understanding with one another.
“Well.” The human began “Let’s pretend that is true.”
“It is but go on.”
The human’s eyes narrowed “Why should we let you in? You dress rather poorly for someone claiming to be in Reiner’s usual circles.”
Oliver let out an exaggerated gasp as he puffed out his chest “Do you know who I am?”
“Umm no.”
Oliver growled unhappily, his fist clenched tightly within his pocket “I am rich! I AM POWERFUL! AND I DEMAND ACCESS!”
As quick as lightning, Oliver flung a handful of gold coins towards the pair. The two reeled back in surprised as the money clanked onto the smooth marble floor. A moment hardly passed before the guards were shoving the loose coins into their tunic pockets like hungry dogs. They straightened up, eyes alive with greed.
“Of course sir” The elvish woman bowed her head in apologize “Deeply sorry for that.”
“Please go ahead.”
Oliver gave a self satisfied nod before moving past the pair only to stop as he heard the sounds of swords scraping each other. He turned backwards to see the guards barring access to Flora and Sel.
Flora looked back and forth between the guards, her eyes calculating and cold. Sel stood still but clearly at the ready for any sort of trouble.
“They’re with me.”
The Elvish woman shook her head “We said we’d let you in. These two? Definitely not Reiner’s usual prey.”
“They aren’t” Oliver admitted “But I need them.”
The human turned to him, suspicion in his eyes “Why?”
“She…” Oliver pointed lazily towards Flora “Is my street doctor.”
“Street doctor? As in….?”
Oliver gave a cheery wink “The fun kind.” And for give measure, he added a weak shiver to his act “Ugggggh I feel cold, are you cold? It’s cold.”
Before anyone could say anything, Oliver began shaking. He rubbed his hands for ‘warmth’ while swaying back and forth.
“Uh oh.” Flora spoke dully, pushing past the guards and holding Oliver steady “He’s crashing. I need to give him his umm medicine.”
“Medicine?” Oliver repeated, his voice soft yet manic “Yes medicine. I need it. I NEED IT!”
Folks began to turn their way, the guards shifting uncomfortably under the sudden attention they were receiving.
“And this one?” The Elvish woman gestured to Sel.
Oliver began to rock back and forth, his voice a harsh whisper. “Guard. Guard. Guard guard guard guard.”
The human threw up his hands in defeat “Bah! Get him in there and fixed! Any trouble and I’ll personally come over to beat your asses.”
“Thank you sir.” Flora murmured through gritted teeth. She guided Oliver and Sel through the doors and into the party within.
Flora sighed as Sel cracked the tension out of their fingers. Oliver straightened up, wiping the sweat from his brow.
True to his expectations, the bank had been altered to be suitable for a charity event: Torches lined the walls, casting the building into a bright light. The desks normally found on the floor were gone as to allow a more spacious setting. Oliver counted a handful of guards scattered about, wandering about for any sign of trouble. All except for the lone guard beyond the empty elevated platform who stood in front of the stairway to the upper floors.
“What now?” Flora asked
“Split up. Sel stay close to the door, Flora and I will figure out a distraction.”
“Sounds good.”
And without another word, Oliver was swallowed whole into the crowd.
-----
It had taken an hour for Oliver to figure out what kind of distraction he would need.
The patrols themselves hadn’t been very difficult to plan for: They would move randomly about, keeping an eye on the party and each other. He counted about 6 of them total and each one of them was easily starstruck. At the sign of any disagreement, they would swarm in groups of three and quickly threaten any troublemakers into compliance. However, upon meeting anyone with even the smallest bit of fame, they would subtly motion to each other and make their way as one to the person in question, hoping for a glance or the chance for an autograph.
So the floor guards were no problem but the one standing watch over the door was much more difficult. Evidently Lea was smart enough to give the most important job to the most responsible of his idiots. The stairway guard or Stairy as Oliver labeled him, would not budge at the sign of any trouble. Loud arguments, agitated party goers, a waiter being tripped (sorry it was for science buddy). None of these would pull him from his post. Celebrities wouldn’t either. Any time his buddies motioned to a famous person, he would shrug his shoulders and stay put.
Oliver was beginning to wonder if Flora needed to poison Stairy until he noticed something about half way into his observations: Stairy was a music lover. Specifically a cute girl music lover.
His gaze would wander every time he caught sight of a pretty girl who happened to be too close to him. Oliver wasn’t sure at first so he decided to test his theory. With his pocket change lessened, Oliver noticed how often a girl would catch Stairy’s eye. His attention didn’t shift when they fell in front of him, obviously in distress, or walked slower allowing him to enjoy the view longer but Oliver caught him smiling and tapping his foot when the odd girl would sing. He even staggered away from his door a few steps at a time before catching himself and returning to his post.
So the best distraction would be a girl who could sing and have some level of fame attached to her name.
Oddly specific and Oliver hadn’t the slightest idea how he was going to mange that. He was attempting to solve this puzzle when something caught his ear.
“Get off me you mulched dirt licker!”
That rather unique set of cursing could only mean one thing: Flora.
Oliver turned to where he last spotted her and found the young druid being hassled by a tall man in an elegant uniform.
Oliver noticed the guards were looking about, not yet spotting the commutation but aware something was going on. He needed to act first if he wanted to stop Flora deciding to kill everyone in the room.
The bard quickly slipped into the crowd, darting and weaving between any and everyone he could. He saw Flora slip a small vial into her hand as the man towered over her.
“I jus wanna dance.” the man’s words slurred out of his mouth “A pretty thing like yo shou wanna dance”
Flora’s eyes narrowed angrily “For the last time you dried poop stain, LEAVE ME ALONE!”
Flora pulled back her hand, prepared to throw the mysterious vial at the drunk’s face.
“Whoa!” Oliver cried out, tightly grasping onto Flora’s wrist “What seems to be the problem?”
“Nothing I can’t solve on my own.” Flora coldly glanced towards the drunken man.
“One sec.”
Oliver eyed the man carefully, absorbing every little detail he could.
He could see the muscles strain against the fabric of his light green tunic so this man worked in something physically laborious. The sheathed sword on his belt weight seemed to throw him off balance with every step. His gaze was unsteady and Oliver could see his pupils dilating wildly.
So this man was physically fit, armed with a sword in a charity event for the rich people and wearing light green tunic while currently drunk.
“You should leave her alone” Oliver said, sarcasm dipping from each word “You are so not her type.”
“So?” The man hiccupped “What’s the big deal?”
“So she’s got a girlfriend you idiot.” Oliver gestured with his hand “Besides you should go before your boss Lea gets here. I’m betting he won’t be happy one of his undercover mercs is currently drunk on the job. Of course I could always tell your captain what’s going on. That’s him over there right?”
Oliver gestured to the closest guard making his way towards the trio. He didn’t look any different than any guards but Oliver noticed his green was a shade darker than the rest. Lea probably used different hues to signify rank in his mercenaries.
The drunk’s face paled as he fidgeted nervously. He rose his hands in surrender, eyes darting between the two “Sorry.”
“Any trouble?” The captain approached, his hand tightly held around the hilt of his blade.
Oliver beaned cheerfully, trying his best to pull attention away from the fuming Flora “Not at all my good sir. This man simply mistook us for someone else, correct?”
The drunk nodded slowly “My bad. Forgive my intrusion.”
The captain gave a cold smirk “Apologizes. Mikey?”
The drunk flinched “Yes sir?”
“A word in private. Now.”
Oliver let out a sigh of relief as the captain dragged Mikey away..
“You should’ve let me poison them.” Flora muttered darkly.
Oliver scratched the back of his neck tiredly “Night’s still young. Still might get your chance if I can’t figure a way past Stairy.”
Flora tilted her head quizzically “Stairy?”
“The asshole at the base of the stairs.” Oliver answered absentmindedly as he spotted a familiar streak of platinum blonde hair among the crowd of strangers “And I just figured it out. Can I trust you not to poison everyone here?”
“You have an hour. I get bored easily” Flora swirled the sickly purple liquid in the vial threateningly.
“You and me both.” Oliver patted her shoulder before chasing down his perfect distraction.
-----
Oliver’s heart began to thunder loudly in his ears, a nervous and uncontrollable energy overtaking his resolve. The mission was important but he would be lying if he said he wasn’t happy to see Maria today.
Maria Thoreau was the daughter of a powerful, influential family. The Thoreau’s were more concerned with their standing in high society than any virtuous endeavors and thus each one of their children was trained from birth to excel in their chosen field. Maria’s older brothers were an aspiring politician and merchant respectively.
Maria’s path was to be a well famous singer and patron of the arts. She wanted nothing more than to sing for the people. Unfortunately, her father only saw a chance to further the family’s good name and tied his desire for power with her passion and dream. It was bittersweet really but nothing much could be done about it.
Yet.
Maria knew Oliver as a musical rival who thwarted her group’s attempts at winning local competitions which in turned derailed her father’s plans. So needless to say she was less than thrilled when she caught him making his way over.
“Ollie” she forced a smile while her hazel eyes narrowed, peeved “I’m surprised to see they let you into this exclusive event.”
Oliver gave a cocky shrug “Well your beauty caught my attention and I couldn’t resist trying to figure out a way in.”
Maria’s cheeks burned a pinkish hue.
Maria was the same age as Oliver with short, tastefully cut dark brown hair. A single streak of platinum blonde hair hung off the side of her face, giving her such a cute look. Her clothes were practical tonight since she wasn’t performing: A simple white blouse with a long flowing dark blue skirt that went all the way down to her feet. Her shoes were sensible dark blue flats designed for comfort over style.
Maria coughed into her hand, willing her blush away.
“So.” She cleared her throat “Is this your sad attempt to throw me off my game? You won’t win the next competition. We’ll be dealing with professional judges this time.”
Oliver’s eyes widen in false surprise “There’s a competition here? Fancy that. I hadn’t been made aware of that but since we’re both in town, why not have a round two?”
“Oliver….”
“I mean” Oliver went on, pretending not have heard “You are a much better singer solo than with those harpies you’re forced to keep around.”
Maria glanced to the side timidly “Don’t be absurd, the Melodic Maidens are a perfect, well oiled machine.”
Oliver scoffed dismissively “I suppose they’re nearby, listening in. Hardly leave you alone, don’t they?”
Maria opened her mouth to respond when a shrilly voice cut in.
“What do you know you two bit hack? How much did you bribe the judges last time?!”
Oliver gave a strained smile as the rest of the ladies forced their way into view.
“Lilly, Filly, Sally. You suck.”
The triplets snarled in unison, openly glaring at the bard.
Lilly, Filly and Sally were Maria’s chains: They were as much there to further her career as they were to report back to daddy to ensure the errant daughter stayed on course.
As triplets, they all shared the same features: Three pairs of dull green eyes and long messy black hair. Even their clothing were the same with each wearing a strapless dress that showed way too much skin and skirts that were way too short. The only reason Oliver could tell them apart was due to their preferred colors: Lilly in a shade of pink that was bright for her skin tone, Filly with a pale ugly yellow and Sally in seas of dark red.
The trio surrounded Maria, their arms embracing her in an uncomfortable hug. Maria bit her lip, trying to hide her uneasy.
“Still wearing that tacky outfit huh Ollie?” Lilly eyed his faded clothing distastefully.
Sally let out an unfriendly laugh “Ollie always looks like trash. Not even prize money could buy an ounce of class.”
“Actually” Oliver brushed his shoulder dismissively “Class is cheap. No amount of money could buy an ounce of character. You can blow hot air at me all you want but nothing in this world could ever change the fact that the three of you are bitches.”
The trio clicked their tongues disappointingly, their normally plain faces twisted into unflattering visages of rage while they screamed as one.
“HOW DARE YOU INSULT US?!”
“YOU ARE SUCH A POOR TACTLESS MAN!”
“YOU FUCKER!”
Oliver casually waved his hand “All bark and no bite. I’m supposed believe you’ve gotten any better in two months? Last time I checked I won the last competition.”
“OH YEAH?!” The triplets yelled, furious.
Maria threw a suspicious glance Oliver’s way “Girls, I don’t think…”
“Come on Maria, we don’t want to have to tell daddy you backed down from a challenge.”
A shiver ran down her spine, the fight draining out of her face. Oliver felt a tinge of guilt but said nothing as the girls took their positions.
Maria paused for a moment, her breathing slow and calm. The murmur of the crowds grew louder and louder upon the recognition that the ladies nearby were the Melodic Maidens.
Maria pivoted on her heels, a bright warm smile gracing her lips. Oliver could feel his heart skip a beat at the sound of her soft, airy voice beginning to sing
“Oh you hear a lot of stories about the sailors and their sport” Maria gave a playful wink his way. His cheeks burned brightly at her playful banter.
“About how every sailor has a girl in every port”
Maria twirled, her steps mischievous and alluring as her dark blue dress chased after her. She gracefully held two fingers aloft for everything to see, her smirk cocky and assured.
“but if you added two and two you’d figure out right quick”
Maria backed up as the triplets step forward to join her, the group made whole and ready for the chorus.
“It’s just because the girls all have a lad on every ship”
Maria turned to throw a sultry look towards her rival bard but instead of finding a dumbstruck Oliver, she found a smiling one. His gaze was gentle and loving as if he was seeing utterly beautiful. A small smile was tugging at his cheeks. Maria could feel her heart thunder in her ears as, without warning, Oliver gave a thumbs up and mouthed an appreciative “Thanks” before ducking into the growing crowd.
“And it’s twiddley idle idle idle, twiddley idle aye.”
What was once a spattering of folks formed into a massive gathering. Most of the party goers and guards had come over to catch the free show the girls inadvertently given and thus all focus shifted onto them. What was an attempt to show up Oliver ended up being a very unnecessary showcase.
“It’s often times a man will leave you broken with dismay”
Boy was Maria feeling that dismay right now.
-----
Oliver’s plan worked: Stairy hadn’t been to resist the siren call of a beautiful woman and her singing. Luckily the harpies hadn’t ruined it with their imperfect pitches. Stairy hadn’t taken more than a few steps when Sel slipped in behind and began working at the door. It took a moment but one blink later and the automaton vanished out of sight.
Oliver let out a sigh when a hand gripped his shoulder tightly.
“Hello sir.” A guff, low voice in a less than friendly voice “Might I have a word? You’ve been acting rather strange all party long.”
Well fuck.
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I Can’t Leave
Genre: hurt/comfort, real world AU
Pairings: Romantic Dukeceit/Demus
Content: description of slightly graphic intrusive thoughts, panic attack, fear of intruders/murder, dog.
Word count: 1.2k
Comments: Little break from our regularly scheduled Soulmate fics to bring you another episode of “Ly Projecting on their Favorite Characters”.
The upstairs bathroom light was still on when Janus walked into their front door, giving an exhausted shout of “Remus, I’m home!” through the otherwise silent house. In front of him, somewhere in the darkness, was a quiet shuffle and he rolled his eyes, flicking on the lights after locking the door.
“Good evening, rat.” Despite his general displeasure of the brown and white schnauzer mutt, he stepped up to his kennel and gave him an awkward pet through the bars. The dog barely paid attention to him, flicking his ear when it was touched, as if saying ‘screw off, I’m sleeping’. He was startlingly like Remus.
It kind of made sense, since Remus was the one to find him stuck in a dumpster; whether he had been looking for scraps or had been tossed in, they never found out. Janus hated dogs, they were loud and smelled bad and caused nothing but problems, but when he opened the door to see his rain soaked boyfriend, dangling the dirty mutt in front of him like a child, he knew he had no choice. He was quickly dubbed Cornball, for reasons Janus would never understand but Remus adored, and he was the newest member of their little family.
Janus stood up straight again, Cornball shutting his eyes again and curling tighter into a ball of apathy. For the first time, he noticed the house was oddly quiet for a light still being on. He’d expect a shower running, at least. Remus probably just forgot to flip the switch, he thought with another fond eyeroll and took the stairs to the second floor, intending to do nothing but flop onto their bed and sleep. Tomorrow was his first day off in two weeks, a result of them being short staffed at work.
But it seemed his plans would have to be put on pause.
When he rounded the top of the stairs, at the end of the small hall, the bathroom door stood open, and Remus was sitting on the ground, staring at him. His eyes were red rimmed, hair damp and sticking up in every direction, wearing sweatpants and an oversized t-shirt. Behind him, bunched on the floor, was a stack of towels and clothes, and the mirror was just losing its last remnants of steam.
“Hello,” Janus said quietly, sitting down in front of Remus, separated only by the bathroom’s threshold. Remus blinked.
“Hi.” When he spoke, his throat sounded raw. His chest shook with another stuttered breath.
“Why don’t you come to bed, Remus? You look exhausted.” Janus reached out a hand slowly, careful not to cross the line between the hallway and his boyfriend.
“I can’t.”
“Oh?” Janus retreated, folding his hands on his lap, “And why is that?” His voice held no mockery, only steady calmness that Remus desperately needed in episodes like this.
“I can’t leave the bathroom.”
“Okay. Why’s that?”
Remus blinked hard a couple times, whole face scrunching with the effort, and unconsciously reached up a hand to tug at his hair. Probably why it’s all over the place.
“Don’t laugh.”
“I won’t, dear. I would never.”
“Okay… uhm,” He leaned his head against the open door, effectively smooshing his hair into his face, “Cornball was barking. While I was showering. And I yelled at him to be quiet, but he kept barking. He usually stops when I tell him to.”
He hesitated, and Janus was silent, allowing him to speak on his own time.
“But then it changed, and it sounded like he was screaming, but I couldn’t tell if it was real or… just in my head. And then I got this intrusive thought that someone was in the house, and they strangled Cornball, and now they’re waiting in our room for me.”
“Oh, honey, why would I ever laugh at that?” Janus finally reached beyond their invisible barrier to run a hand through Remus’ damp hair, scritching his skull lightly.
“I can’t leave the bathroom until Cornball makes a noise.”
There it was; the ultimatum that Remus was forced to follow by his own mind. Even if Janus was there, and he checked the whole house top to bottom, Remus wouldn’t feel able to leave until his intrusive thoughts were satisfied. No matter how nonsensical the task was. A thought crossed Janus’ mind.
“Wait, how long have you been here?”
“Two hours.”
“Honey,” Janus repeated in a near whisper, letting his hand shift to Remus’ jaw, his thumb rubbing the other’s cheekbone. “Why didn’t you call me?”
“Left my phone in my room. My mind was too loud for shower music-” A concept Janus didn’t exactly understand, but knew his boyfriend experienced regularly; the idea of a loud mind. “Even if I had it, I wouldn’t be able to talk. I couldn’t make a noise. I just... couldn’t.”
Janus made another sad hum. “Hang on for just a second, okay? I’ll be right back.”
When Remus nodded, Janus stood up and took the stairs back down, speed walking to Cornball’s crate and pulling the lazy dog out of it. He was a limp ball, a true testimony to how much Remus spoiled him rotten, only moving to shift his weight to be more comfortable in Janus’ arms. The mutt lifted his head as they trekked up the stairs, the zone he was generally not allowed to enter (Janus wanted some sacred ground that wasn’t littered with dog fur), and full on began to tremble seeing Remus sitting on the floor.
His boyfriend perked up upon seeing his little friend, and the dog leapt from Janus’ arms to launch himself into Remus’ lap, immediately taking to decorating his face with slobber.
“Aw, hi Cornball. Yes, yes I love you too. I’m so glad you’re not dead, yes I am,” Remus cooed in a dreadful baby talk reserved for the dog only, even though his voice was still cracking with exhaustion, “Can you sit? Sit? Yeah, good boy! Now speak. Speak.”
Cornball let out a single bark, wagging his tail rapidly, and Remus’ shoulders visibly relaxed.
“Alright now, my love?” Janus murmured, and when he nodded again and began to push himself to his feet, he scooped up the mutt and went to put him back once more. “You were the solution, but you also were the root of the problem,” He hissed as he locked the kennel, “Don’t look so proud of yourself, rat.” If dogs could look unimpressed, Cornball sure did, circling three times and dropped into his bed. For what he hoped to be the final time that night, Janus climbed the stairs to their bedroom.
Remus was just outside of the bathroom when he reached the top, shaking like a leaf. He was on his feet though, and across the threshold, which was significant progress.
“Well done, dear.” With no prompting, he took Remus’ arm to steady him, and lead him at his own pace into their bedroom. The younger man looked around the room quickly, eyes flittering at all the dark crevices the shadows created, and to appease his fear, Janus did a lap around the room. Closet was clear, under the bed was empty, nothing behind the door.
“Thanks,” Remus whispered as Janus closed the door, flipping the lock for extra measure.
“You’re welcome, love,” He responded, sliding under the covers next to Remus after changing into pajamas. No hesitation, the other latched onto him not unlike a koala baby, burying his face into Janus’ chest.
Not that he’d ever complain.
“I love you, Jayjay.”
He’d complained a lot about that nickname.
“I love you too, Remus.”
Tonight he’d let it slide, though.
#lywrites#dukeceit#remus sanders#janus sanders#sanderssides#sanders sides#sanders sides fanfiction#sanderssidesfanfiction#intrusive thoughts tw
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FIC REC (Part 13) :)
Okay! So, this one has been requested at least 13 times lol, I hear you guys, and its finally here! I now present the Single Dad!/Single Mom! AU. I hope you guys love these fics as much as I do!
Astrophile by @all1e23
Surprise surprise, there was absolutely no way this wasn’t going to be on the list. There is not a single fic that I have been invested more than this one. Like don’t get me wrong, I have favorites, but I am literally invested in this family. This a story about the sweetest (also firefighter? yes) Bucky (December) and his baby girl Orion and a newcomer “Beck”, cue the road to the purest relationship I’ve ever seen, with love that lasts a lifetime, and a universe that is so expertly crafted.. I read this fic at least once a month, and wait on baited breath for the “Astrophile files”. If you haven’t read this, I personally guarantee that you will love it. I know I cant imagine anyone who wouldn’t. My heart was in a constant state of mush during the whole thing.
Ready of Not by @star-spangled-man-with-a-plan
One of my favorite types of stories are the ones where its like a modern AU with Bucky coming back from war, and this is the story that started that love for me. Bucky is out of war, missing an arm, but gaining the cutest therapy dog. Who loves dogs? The readers baby girl. This was just so phenomenally cute, and also like, raw in a way. You see the traumatic effects the war had on bucky so its really realistic, but its also beautifully melded with the sweet moments between Bucky and Gracie, and the reader and Bucky. It may be lame f me to call it “deep” but I really do feel that way, it was a fantastic read. Also, check out her story Bittersweet Symphony, which is another fantastic and honestly kinda sad, albeit unfinished story.
Sweetest love @propertyofpoeandbucky
Do you want to know Keira? Jesus, this is it. This is a story about a single mom reader, starting a relationship with Bucky, deciding to introduce him to her daughter, and from that we just see the purest real Laois and ship for me. It is so absolutely adorable to see how lovely Bucky is with this baby girl. The title is absolutely encompassing of the fact that it really is just such a sweet pure love between these two people. This family deserves all of the love it can’t get, because my heart absolutely just melted for them. Also check out her stories Bed and bath & From left field which are also so cute.
The lucky one by @avengerofyourheart
Alright, so Anika Has a fantastic gift for being able to take canon story lines, and interweave these AUS inside of them and oh man did it create a wonderful story. Like I genuinely could believe this is what happened. Bucky is on the run, and single mom reader needs some help on the farm. What can go wrong? This story was just so investing, I feel like I’m still invested in it like I wanna know everything that happened to them. It was such a good story, and that sounds so basic but I really mean it. They were twists and turns and I read it all in one go, and then I just had to go back and read it again because I felt like I needed to take it in again because it was just so good. Also check out her other incredibly cute story Of snowstorms and men
Bookmark my heart by @moonbeambucky
OK, so I’m not gonna spoil anything, but those of you who know this or will read this will understand why am a little iffy about putting this on this specific list, but also it’s really good so I decided to put it on just because it’s a really good story lol. There are so many feelings that come with this, the reader works at a library and Bucky is there with a little girl and he catches the readers I, and I can’t blame her boy is fine as heck. There are some definite plot twists that come with this, but it is so cute, and Bucky is so baby, and their relationship is so adorable. I need me a bucky.
Sweet as can be by @yallneedtrek
What’s one trope you guys know I love? Detective Bucky, and what can make it better other than Dad Bucky! Oh my God, this one was literally so cute. Bucky is just a single dad, who has a lot on his mind. He loves his daughter so much, but he doesn’t have the best memory. He needs help with his daughter’s birthday planning that’s coming up within the next day or two, and who better to help other than Baker reader. This couple is absolutely adorable, I think really just the dynamic between all of the characters, like just the love you can see between Bucky and his daughter, and just a kind of mutual pining between the reader and Bucky really just is recipe for a wonderful story. They really are sweet as can be lol
Because I met you by @captain-ariel-barnes
this one is a single!mom reader, and holy hell its cute. Okay so Bucky meets the readers daughter who has a prosthetic arm, amazing concept right? And its just about as cute as you would think it would be. Its such pure interactions between these three, and it really just made my heart absolutely melt. Like, and im not gonna spoil it but holy hell the ending really made me cry, everyone is just way too pure.
The art teacher by @irndad
God this one is soso cute. 1) its written so well, like poetry the way he describes the reader, its so lovely, and 2) the whole forbidden lovers aspect of dad x teacher thing is so good haha, I love those kinda things. This is short, but so sweet, and the line “the two loves of his life” oof, my heart
Bewitched by @buckyofthemyscira
oh man, OK, so this one is another Halloween time related story, and it’s so cute. It’s a single dad Bucky story where he takes his baby girl out on Halloween, and absolute utter adorability ensues. He’s dressed up as Indiana Jones, his baby is Winnie the Pooh, I was dressed up as a mess of heart mush and tears because oh my god it was so cute. Bucky really is just the best father, he’s so sweet and caring and this family made me just want to give them all a group hug.
Stranger danger by @highkey-holland
Okay so with this one its another sort of “Bucky finds the readers lost kid” story and ohhh man its cute. I always wondered like if the avengers would always get a lot of kids coming to them, and I think this answered my question, she didn’t talk to him until she knew who he was, but I feel like they just give off a safe vibe. The interactions between Bucky and the readers daughter is so pure, no one can convince me that Bucky wouldn’t be the best with kids, he’s so patient and sweet and :)) my heart
Groceries by @ballyhoobarnes
Hell yeah, now this one is cute as heck. Bucky has a little boy, and oh man is he just the suavest little wing man. This little boy is just about the cutest thing, he’s just throwing out those date invites haha, and the shyness between the two is so cute. The reader is his sons teacher, so you have some of that trope (which I love) all in all its just really cute, shorter, but so sweet.
Drabble by @bbbarneswrites
Okay I LOVE this one, something about Bucky just adopting an abandoned baby no questions asked makes my heart just want to explode. And seeing the way the avengers like all come together to help raise this girl, is like peak writing to me haha. And then we have mutual pining for his kinder teacher? Soft soft soft, I’m in love. Its just really so incredibly cute!
Lost and Found by @mybearyarmy
Oh man, okay, so this one is Single Dad!Bucky AND Single Mom!Bucky. Its a super cute story of the two of them coming together with their daughters after both losing their SOs (and their daughters at the zoo place haha) its really just a super, super fluffy story. I love the idea of their two girls being friends, and I love that their relationship after their past partners weren’t rushed. There are also some twists in there that I was surprised by haha, you never really can tell who is what in New York .
Life is Gourd by @redhairedfeistynerd
This one is super cute, it’s the start of a series I think, or at least a compilation of one shots. It’s about Bucky and his two baby girls coming together for some family time around Halloween, and meeting the reader, and it’s really cute. not gonna lie, I felt really bad for Becky because it must be so hard for him with two girls, and piper with a little bit of a butt haha. I’m really excited to see where this one goes. Hopefully the reader can help out with those handfuls.
Best Ever by @suz-123
OK, so this is one of the two on here that aren’t single parent stories, but they were just too good not to include. Alright, let’s talk about something that absolutely melted my heart. that is, Bucky being so excited about his baby’s birthday. Oh my God, I about died I think one of the things I loved a lot about this one was the fact that it was just so in character for everybody mentioned, and the whole family feel it gave for the avengers and what not,was just so cute. I love the domesticity.
Coming home by @hootyhoobuckaroo
OK so this is the second one that’s not really a single dad Bucky story. But I’m including it anyway because it’s really good, OK so this one is just like fantastic in terms of story writing, you really feel like you’re right there, right in the action, experiencing everything as they’re experiencing it themselves. It’s just really good, and the protective part of Bucky as a dad is absolutely wonderful to see.
Baby blues by @papi-chulo-bucky
Eleven months after a one night stand, Bucky is faced with raising his daughter and things are getting tough. That is, until he meets you, his extremely introverted neighbor. OHHH the neighbor AU, I love it, this one was so detailed and wonderful and just really well written and so cute. I highly recommend.
I hope you guys like these! :)
#bucky x you#bucky x y/n#bucky fic#bucky barnes#bucky#ficrecs#bucky barns imagine#bucky barnes x reader#bucky barnes imagine#bucky barnes smut#bucky barnes fluff#bucky barnes fic#bucky barnes feels#bucky barnes fanfiction#single dad!bucky#single!mom reader
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Survey #395
“suicide? i’ve already died / it’s just the funeral i’ve been waiting for”
Have you ever met a famous political figure? No.
Have you slept for longer than usual today? Ugh, no. I officially have my APAP mask for my sleep apnea, and I chose the one that covers my nose and mouth considering it varies which I breathe from when I sleep depending on congestion. It is very hard to get used to.
When is the last time that you experienced rejection–literal or imagined? Hm.
Is there an artist or celebrity whom you admire for their craft but take issue with their personality or politics? Yeah, such as Marilyn Manson. He's a pretty gross person but by god do I love his music.
What’s the last thing you made out of clay? An anatomically correct heart.
Do you like bacon bits on your salad? Yes.
What do you do to celebrate Earth Day? Nothing. :/ I wish I could think of something to do for it.
Have you ever had someone try to intentionally bully you to suicide? Bro what the actual fuck. No.
Who are your favorite kids that you’ve babysat? My nephew Ryder.
Would you feel funny if you kissed somebody of the same sex? I've kissed a girl and it felt pretty great, so.
Name three things in your room that others probably don’t have in theirs: 1.) a snake; 2.) a huge meerkat collection; and 3.) an APAP machine.
Besides furniture, what’s the biggest thing in your bedroom? My snake, I think.
Describe your feet: Ugh, the worst. My feet are horribly callused from when I used to walk all the time. I have small toes.
What’s a pretty bird? Peacocks.
Besides sleeping, what do you do in bed? Just about everything. .-.
How do you like your hoodies? Loose/oversized.
Can grills be sexy on a guy? They're hideous, if you want my honest opinion.
Have you ever been in a Catholic confessional? Yes. How fucked up are those, honestly... I really hate the concept of teaching children that they have to tell some random guy things they feel bad about and let him ask God to forgive you or else you're going to Hell.
What color was the hair of the last person you kissed? Brown.
Can you do a backflip? No.
Where are the last three places you went? The TMS office, a gas station, and my sister's house.
Do you consider yourself a flirt? No.
How old is the oldest person you’ve dated? I actually don't know, but at least close to 30 now for sure. I just know we were both in high school, but he failed I think two years.
What’s something that makes you feel more creative? Music.
Who has the best personality on YouTube? Guess who, lmao.
Which YouTuber seems uber-confident? Mark is a very confident person. I envy 'im for that.
What is the funniest YouTube video you have ever seen? I watch YouTube like... constantly, so I've seen thousands upon thousands by now. I really don't know.
Have you ever been inside a Victorian mansion? No, but that's like a dream marriage venue for me.
What was the most boring field trip you ever want on? I don't think I ever had a boring one. Man, I miss those.
Do you enjoy watching videos of babies being born? NO FUCKING THANK YOU. Does ANYBODY?
Are you a hoarder? No.
If you were rich, what things would you get done cosmetically? I would say liposuction, but I honestly want to lose the weight myself. If/when I lose the weight I want to, I am 110% getting loose skin removal at LEAST on my stomach because I feel hideous with it. Also if I achieve my weight loss goals, I want to get a breast lift. Weight loss-related things aside, I'm pretty serious about getting laser hair removal on my legs because I HATE shaving and my legs are VERY hairy, and the hair is dark, so I'm extremely self-conscious about it.
Are you the type of person who asks a lot of questions? It depends on who I'm asking. With some people, I'm afraid to look stupid if I ask too many.
How many states have you visited in your lifetime? If you're excluding the ones I've merely driven through as well as lived in (which is only one), I've visited Ohio, New York, Florida, Virginia, Tennessee, and Illinois, so six. I MAY have been to Michigan as a baby, but I don't remember.
What is your biggest fear for the future? Ending up homeless after Mom passes. I'm scared my family will give up on me, which is completely unrealistic, but I'm terrified of living on the streets.
Do you like seafood, or not so much? I only like shrimp.
Have you ever cried from being so nervous? Oh, certainly.
What is your favorite book series, if you have one? Hm... of all series I've ever read, probably the Shiloh trilogy. I adored the books and the movies.
Have you ever had a parasite before? NO NO NO NO NO, DON'T MAKE ME IMAGINE THIS. I am PETRIFIED of parasites.
Do you have a big heart when it comes to animals? Absolutely!
Have you ever put your pets in a kennel for a while? I actually don't remember? It's possible when we've gone on an extended vacation, but I'm unsure. Whenever we've gone somewhere, friends have normally taken care of our animals.
Where is your favorite place to buy clothing? Hot Topic or Rebel's Market.
Do you enjoy listening to older music? I love classic rock and metal.
What do you think is the most stupid song out there right now? "WAP" for fucking sure. I haven't even heard the whole thing, and I don't EVER want to.
As a child, did you ever want to become a mermaid? Nah. Ariel was my favorite princess, but I wasn't obsessed with mermaids or anything.
Can you compose sentences in any other language than your own? Some German, yes. Mainly just the basics.
Have you ever met someone who was really racist before? Yes, many. -_-
Do you have any celebrity autographs? No.
If you could be a Disney character for a day, who would you be? Maybe Kiara from TLK.
What is your favorite color of clothing to wear? Black.
Did you ever build furniture forts as a child? Oh yeah, lots of times! I sometimes even pretended they were burrows and I was a meerkat, ha ha.
What kind of dog is your favorite? I have a beagle bias.
Do you prefer water or land? Land.
Have you ever had a seizure? No.
Do you plan on losing weight any time soon? Hunny, I've been trying to since 2016. -_- I lost like 70-ish pounds through 2017-2018, but recently I've gained almost like... all the weight back and it is upsetting beyond words.
Have you ever been in a heated pool? Uh, a hot tub? Yes.
Are you looking forward to anything? Getting Venus' terrarium, finishing TMS so I can maybe get a job, visiting Sara again...
What was your GPA in high school? Over 4.0.
Do you require a lot of private time? OH yes.
What do you plan on doing with the rest of your life? I hope achieving a sense of accomplishment and becoming content with my hopeful career, marrying a fantastic partner, and having a family of lovely pets.
If you have a favorite television show, who’s your favorite character? I'll go through the very few I deeply enjoy: 1.) Mozart in Meerkat Manor; 2.) probably Hyde from That '70s Show; 3.) perhaps Envy from Fullmetal Alchemist; 4.) Jerome from Ginga Densetsu Weed; and 5.) Shiro from Deadman Wonderland.
Did you use to watch Blue's Clues? OH yes. I loved that show as a kid.
Do you stutter when you get nervous? BADLY.
Your lunch consisted of...? What DID I have... uhhh OH leftover pizza.
What is your favorite kind of chips? Hot, crunchy Cheetos.
What is the best way to tell someone that they stink? I wouldn't.
Do you have any embarrassing usernames? Some from the past, yeah.
Do you have a backpack in a shape of an animal? No. I found a meerkat one once, but it was way too small for me to use in school. :( I was so disappointed.
Have you ever waxed your legs? No. I've waxed my upper lip and eyebrows, but especially with how long and thick my leg hair is, I think waxing there would be excruciating, so no thanks.
Do you own any shirts with a peace symbol on it? No, but I would if it had a cool design.
Have you ever taught a little kid to flick people off? No, and I wouldn't. Children generally don't have a strong enough grasp on when profanity is appropriate and not.
Have you ever itched yourself until your skin was raw? This is VERY common. Like right now, my right arm is the Sahara with how dry and raw it is.
Do you always clear your history after using the computer? Nah, got no reason to.
Have you ever eaten a Big Mac? No, because I know I wouldn't like it; I don't like lettuce on my burgers.
Do you feel like you’re judged for your looks? For my weight, yes.
Name one world issue that upsets you. Just one? Poverty is high on the list. Just... no one should have to live like that.
Do you like Wendy’s frosties? After they thaw a little bit, oh yeah. It's physically impossible to drink them for a good few minutes because they're so damn thick.
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An analysis of The Last of Us Part II and its themes
I’ve seen a lot of people share their experience with playing The Last of Us Part II, and it’s safe to say most of it has been largely negative. It’s no secret this might be one of the most divisive games of all time, and it will probably stay that way for a long time after. I personally adored this game. I believe this is the masterpiece of masterpieces, and it’s the only game to ever top the emotions I felt when playing the first game, although I will say in terms of raw story (with nothing else like gameplay to support it) the first game is still a bit higher on the list for me.
But for all intents and purposes, when considering all aspects of this game, I think this is the single greatest accomplishment in game design and storytelling I’ve ever seen in a video game. That being said, I would like to try and respond to some of the criticisms this game has gotten, and furthermore, I’d like to try and analyze some of the themes I noticed when playing the game. Keep in mind this is MY opinion, and should not be taken as fact. This is just my experience, and I’ll respect yours one way or the other.
Take this as a MAJOR WARNING that there will be spoilers for both games in this post.
With that, let’s start with the common criticisms:
1. “They killed Joel for no damn reason. He deserved better.” This is an easy one to tackle. For one, Joel most definitely did not deserve better. Even though we might love him for being the first game’s MC and have grown attached to him, there’s no way we can or should look past the fact that he, Joel, is a bad man. He even says himself in the first game that he and Tommy did some questionable things to survive in the 20 years between the outbreak and even during the events of TLOU. While he may be perceived as the hero of the franchise, when you look at his rap sheet, you start to notice he’s not so great after all. Take the ending of TLOU as the most glaring example, where Joel has been told Ellie must die in order for the Fireflies to develop a vaccine. His first and only reaction is to kill every single Firefly he sees and murder the surgeon who would have killed his “baby girl”. Would I have done any different in his shoes? Probably not, but that’s the beauty of the first game. Its ending and the ambiguity of Joel’s morality given his actions is one of the driving forces that make the first game so spectacular and why it’s still being discussed 7 years later. Now let’s talk about the second point to this criticism: “He died for no reason”. If you recall, the people who killed him were former Fireflies, one of which (Abby) was the daughter of the surgeon whom Joel unceremoniously killed. In their eyes, they had every right to go after Joel. Like Anthony Caliber, one of the best TLOU speedrunners, said in one of his recent livestreams, “Joel signed his own death sentence when he killed Marlene and the surgeon back at the hospital in TLOU1”. While it may seem overly zealous to us as players who have grown to love Joel, if the roles had been reversed would you not do the same? Would you not want revenge for the killing of your father? And isn’t that exactly what Ellie is doing in this game, which most players justify in this hatred of Abby?
2. “Joel was out of character in giving out his name and trusting strangers. They dumbed him down for the sake of plot.” As I recall, Joel literally gave Henry and Sam his name and followed them out to their hideout barely 30 seconds after meeting them and beating the shit out of Henry. Joel may be an untrusting person at heart but he always does so with reason. The most common reason people give of this is “He didn’t trust the guy asking for help in Pittsburg and ran him over so why trust Abby and her gang”. First of all, that was literally the one situation Joel had already been on the other side of, and knew perfectly well it was rehearsed. On the flipside, he and Tommy had just saved Abby and literally mention there’s no other way to go other than with her because there’s a huge blizzard and a herd was after them. And especially now, after Joel has been living in Jackson for 4 years now and has been living comfortably in a community very obviously open to new people. Abby’s group gave them no reason to distrust them, and giving out his name, in any other situation, would have made no difference in the outcome. It was just unfortunate they happened to be after him.
3. “I hate playing as Abby, why are they trying to make me sympathize with her?” That’s the whole point, they’re not. The entire game, you keep rooting for Ellie to find and kill this woman who wronged you, and when you’re forced to play as her, you’re understandably angry. You’re upset, and you feel you have to slog through this seemingly endless section of the game. But as you keep playing, much like I did, you start seeing the other side of the story. Abby is not the villain the game paints her out to be when she killed Joel. She’s another human being with human emotions and a very real reason to hate Joel and to want him dead. As I said before, Abby is doing exactly what Ellie eventually does after Abby kills Joel.
4. “Why would Ellie go through all that effort to not kill Abby in the end?” I will touch on this in the analysis of the themes, but simply put, it was about breaking cycles.
Now I’d like to start defending how and why I believe this is a masterpiece by first taking a look at one of the admittedly less touched upon parts: gameplay. This aspect usually takes a step back when it comes to narrative-based games, and it is obviously not the most resounding part of this game, but it is clearly not taking a back seat either. The flow of both combat and mellower scenarios in this particular game is astounding. When battling opponents, the AI feels like one of the most intelligent I’ve ever seen in a video game. The way the enemies communicate between each other, telling the others when the player is out of ammo or when they’re flanking to create much more nuanced fight sequences, coupled with the expanded worlds Naughty Dog has come up with to create a seamless experience when fighting hordes of enemies without it feeling stale or repetitive, is one of the most immersive gaming experiences I’ve ever had. Each encounter feels unique and challenging in some ways you may not have felt before in the game, and by the end you’re so immersed in that feeling that going through the Santa Barbara group (to me, at least) was almost automatic and I could see so many different options for me to approach each situation as it came my way.
Likewise, Naughty Dog have managed to turn the puzzle solving from the first game, where you simply had to find a dumpster to step on or a door to open with a shiv, and incorporate the environment and world into it, finding clever ways to get over obstacles without simply having a step-up ladder be the end of it. The mechanics that went into the rope puzzles, breaking windows to get to previously unexplored territory (which is admittedly not new in gaming, but still a cool concept to add to the franchise) paired together with so many more new little features to bring the world they created to life, and bring you into it as well.
As always, and as was the case with the first one, you can’t talk about The Last of Us without talking about the soundtrack. The haunting score created by the masterful mind of Gustavo Santaolalla, a fellow Argentinean like me, brought to life some of the most heart-wrenching moments and the most beautiful ones as well, in a way that can only be achieved with amazing sound design and music. The main theme song, which is a sort of homage to the one from the first, takes a much darker approach, choosing instead to focus on the bass and that resounding low voice in the background, setting the tone for the rest of the game: a much darker, grittier, and grounded experience that will pull no punches. Santaolalla managed to create a score that mimics the first one in melody and rhythm, while succeeding in mirroring it to create a more dissonant accompaniment to the gruesome story you’re brutally killing your way through.
Another aspect of the game that deserves all the praise it gets, and one that people seem to at least be in consensus about, is the graphics and animation design. I can safely say this is hands down the most beautiful, gorgeous, astounding, breathtaking game I’ve ever laid my eyes upon, and that might not be enough adjectives to fully encapsulate how I feel about the graphics in this game. One can argue all day about the morality of the characters in the game or the balance between right and wrong that Naughty Dog so masterfully plays with in the story, but one thing is for sure: The graphics design team deserves so much credit for actually bringing the story and the characters we know and love to such vivid life. You can see it in the little things, like the veins in Joel’s arm as he plays “Future Days” by Pearl Jam and the facial expressions Ellie can make if you stand in front of a mirror during the museum flashback; you can also see it in the larger things, like the jaw-dropping backdrops that range from a beautiful mountain range in the snow to the downtown Seattle skyline. No moment will be wasted by stopping your pace to just admire the absolutely gorgeous view you’re presented with every time you enter a new game world. The attention to detail in animation is also not lacking at all, with so many little actions being given special treatment as we see Ellie patch herself up and still having the actual bandage over her arm instead of disappearing like any other game, or the way Ellie’s fingers perfectly (and correctly) play chords without resorting to generic hand gestures. You can see the love and care the developers have for this game in every tiny crack in the game that simply takes your breath away and that sometimes you won’t even see from the vastness of the world around you.
And finally, the story. It is definitely a divisive story, and Neil Druckmann did warn us it would be. There were times, namely the moment they switched the POV to show me the first 3 days from Abby’s perspective, when I was genuinely wondering what the hell they were thinking. My faith in Naughty Dog never wavered, though. I kept playing because I thought, “There must be some reasoning for this.” And to my greatest relief, it finally clicked for me a few hours into Abby’s section. Namely, the moment where she meets Lev and Yara, two Seraphites that defected after the former shaved his head. At first, it seemed weird that they would be cast out for such a stupid reason, but then you start to get to know them, and you understand the real reason they had to leave their religious cult. As I said before and will say again, this is a game about perspective. Up until that point, I just wanted Abby dead, albeit with some guilt since learning that it was her father Joel killed in that operating room. But seeing Abby’s willingness to help total strangers, much like Joel did at the start of the game, was what sold me on this game’s concept. The purpose of this story is to make you feel the regret and the weight of the actions you impart on the world, as you can see the carnage Ellie left in her wake during your time as Abby, seeing Abby’s friends butchered by either Ellie or Tommy, realizing they’re no different than the villains we have such tunnel vision about. The ending is something I’ll get to in the themes, but I just have to say I love the way it’s such a parallel to the first game’s ending, up to the point of divisiveness in the people who actually played and finished the game (which at the time of writing this is less than 4% of players).
Now onto the themes. One of the things people always praise about the first game, and rightfully so, is its themes and how well it portrays them through certain characters to create a cohesive and coherent story that pulls at your heartstrings and makes you root for the “heroes” of the game. This time it’s not much different, with the minor exception that this time, there are no heroes. Just like Neil Druckmann said many times during the development of Part II, “While the first game was about love, this game is about hate”, which is one of the main themes.
1. Hatred: I can safely say there have been very few times of my gaming life where I’ve been so viscerally angry (in a “good” way) while playing a video game as I have as I tore down through countless enemies that got in the way of me and my target. This game will let out the worst parts of you in ways you can’t even imagine, and will make you take a look at the way we glorify violence in video games without the usual preachy tone of “video games cause violence”. Like I said before, this is a game that mirrors the first one while paying homage to its themes. To take a page out of Abby’s book, it’s like a coin. There are always two sides to it. On the one hand, the first game’s main theme was love, and how loss and grief can be overcome with it with the proper care and time. The Last of Us Part II shows us the uglier side of human nature, which is anger, despair and a natural desire for revenge (another theme). Both games show us the natural progression of a grieving person, but both of them take wildly different approaches. Granted, we don’t know how brutal and vicious Joel was right after losing Sarah, but it’s safe to assume he was nothing short of a monster, which eventually didn’t really help in dealing with that loss until he found love and hope in a little girl whose safety was now his utmost responsibility. In Ellie’s case, she’s still in that first stage. Ellie as a character has always been reckless and foolhardy, and her actions in this game are a testament of how well Neil Druckmann and Halley Gross know their characters. The entire game, right up until the final moments where she’s about to finish Abby off, her actions are fueled by a rage and desire to exert justice onto those who’ve wronged her. In other words, she’s looking for revenge.
2. Revenge: Both main characters have at least one thing in common, and it is their desire to avenge their father/father figure. I truly believe that Joel’s death was not only justified (from a storytelling perspective) but also crucial to the development of a sequel that both enhanced the world of The Last of Us while building onto it with new ideals and perspectives. The idea this time is definitely not one we haven’t seen before in so many other mediums: “Revenge is bad and is never worth it” Seems trivial to even suggest it when we all know the outcome, but The Last of Us Part II manages to not only build upon the idea that revenge is a double-edged sword, but it also manages to balance the perspectives within that cycle to attempt to explore the psyche of the characters we’ve put into the boxes of “hero” and “villain”. And subsequently, they manage to break that characterization by showing us both sides of the aforementioned coin to see, in no unclear terms, that the consequences of our actions when dealing with vengeance always circle back to expose the nastiest side of our nature. It stands to reason that we, as the player, would at first be on board with Ellie “finding and killing every last one of them”, and demonizing Abby for not only killing but torturing possibly one of the most beloved characters in gaming history. We want her dead. We want her to suffer for the crime she’s committed. Yet, in our quest for vengeance and justice, would we not be succumbing to the same cycle that brought Abby to killing Joel in the first place? Did she not think, from her perspective, that she was entirely justified in killing the man who had not only destroyed the one chance humanity had against the Cordyceps, but also murdered her father in cold blood? Are we not the same as Abby for wanting her dead after she kills one of our own? When does it end? And that’s the real question. This whole thing, the lust for revenge that can only be quenched with cold-blooded murder, is just another facet to our complex and grey morality as human beings. It’s natural for us to feel angry and upset at this, and I believe all the hatred people give this game that stems from it forcing you to play as Abby is the exact nature the game is trying to bring out of us and show to us in a mirror.
3. Cycles: While this may not be such an obvious catch as the first two, it’s still very much ingrained in the inner workings of this game’s narrative and how both characters view the world according to their reality and perspective. The concept of revenge, as stated above, is a repetitive one. One that causes cycles and events to repeat themselves if left unchecked, and The Last of Us Part II plays with these masterfully. Starting the game with a heartbreaking moment and setting the dark tone for the rest of the game is what starts the first part of this cycle, which is Ellie wanting to avenge Joel’s death, much like Abby avenged her father’s death after 4 years of despair, planning, and training. Ellie’s desire to kill Abby is what leads her down the path we would characterize, were she some random character and not the main one of the franchise, as the villain’s route, going down a dark path that prompts her to mindlessly and mercilessly slaughtering countless people whose names you hear from their friends’ mouths when you kill them, to the point where you end up getting to Abby’s closest friends and companions and murdering them too, not unlike Abby murdered Joel. It is a sobering feeling to realize the character you most love and root for is, in the eyes of the other main character, as much of a villain (if not more) as we as players make Abby out to be. It is at the end of the game, which a lot of players had qualms about, where Ellie is beating Abby within an inch of her life that she realizes this is not worth it. Killing Abby will not bring Joel back, and will certainly not bring her any satisfaction, as showcased by how traumatized Ellie was after the killings of Abby’s other friends and the fact that she still kept seeing Joel’s lifeless body as she attempted to drown Abby on that coast. Then, as we are mercilessly choking the life out of her, which is yet another example of the visceral anger the game elicits from the player, we see a different memory of Joel. One of hopefulness, where Joel is playing the guitar and smiling. It is at that moment that Ellie realizes the only thing she can do now is to move on with her life and accept Joel’s death as something that happened. To add onto this realization, it’s probably good to mention that Ellie must have seen some of herself in Lev in that killing Abby would have left him (if not dead) in a state much like the one she, Ellie, was at the start of the game. Coming back to the theme of cycles, if Ellie killed Abby, what’s to stop Lev from coming after Ellie the same way she came after Abby, and so on and so forth. Both these things coupled help Ellie finally break the cycle and go back to the farm, where she’s greeted with the consequences of her actions in a more emotional and real way than the PTSD: Dina being gone and Ellie leaving her guitar behind, symbolizing her letting go of Joel’s memory and accepting her reality.
The game scares us; it scares me. It is a harrowing experience that will only get better with time and will, in my humble opinion, go down as one of the greatest games of all time for years to come. No matter the context, and no matter the medium, I wish it were easy to find such real, emotional, and powerful pieces of art as this one more often. But alas, we will have to wait and see. As someone whose name I can’t seem to remember said: “This will mark the gaming industry and divide it between ‘Before TLOU2 and After TLOU2”
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