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immajustvibehere · 4 months

Text

Amidst a Crashing World (3/5)

Pairing: Arthur Morgan x fem!Reader

Summary: Arthur returns to your cabin after you presumed him dead. The time between your last meetings have lead Arthur to a realisation.

tags for this series: fluff, little bit of angst, no-tb-Arthur, literally your love redemption, maybe smut (but probably not), slow burn (but I mean how slow can a story really burn in five chapters?)

masterlist

Chapter 1, Chapter 2

6000 words

Sooner than expected, you heard of Arthur. Unfortunately, not because he sent you a note or stopped by again. As you rode into Annesburg three days after wishing him luck for the big score he had planned, the paper boys yelled through the town: "Saint Denis robbers still on the run! What happened to the gang of Dutch van der Linde? Find out in today's edition!"

Normally, you weren't too big on reading the newspaper, but this time…you hadn't never snatched it so quickly out of the boy's hand, leaving him to boast with the change you gave him. Hosea, dead. Lenny, dead. No account of any other names. You weren't sure who "a further gang member was arrested and awaits trial" meant. It only took a couple of days until everybody seemed to talk about it. Your main source of income being doing women's hair, you got a fair bit of gossip about the news.

Everything you heard from the ladies, took with a grain of salt. Either way, nobody ever mentioned Arthur by name. Your anxiety reached its peak when a rather well-off woman, not typically your demographic, had visited family in Saint Denis and brought an unsettling theory with her. Apparently, the most important members of the gang, including the leader, could have fled on a boat and drowned in the storm that was raging over the ocean the same night.

The "they have fled the country"-rumours were the most popular. Drowned in the ocean or not, the version varied based on who told you their theory. With every day you didn't hear the contrary and had no word from Arthur, you believed that you'd never see him again.

That was until one morning. You were working in your garden, busy with fixing the fence that had long stood neglected, when you saw a rider approach. Whether it was the hat or the horse you recognized first, you weren’t sure. But unmistakenly, the man on the horse that lazily trotted towards your cabin was Arthur.

You put your tools down and approached him, forcing yourself to walk calmly. The closer you got, the more unfamiliar he appeared. His beard had grown out, looking unkempt and way too long for what you were used to see him wear. Long strands of hair spilled out from under his hat. Arthur’s skin was darker than usual, even the unforgiving desert in the west hadn't left his skin as sunburned as it now appeared. Most of the red had settled into a golden-brown tan, particularly strong around the area where he cuffed his sleeves. For not seeing him for almost a month, this was quite a change.

A faint smile appeared on his lips when you reached him and walked next to his horse, leading it to your cabin.

"I thought I'd never see you again", you blurted out straight up.

Maybe a “Hello” or “Thanks for stopping by” would have been more appropriate, but the thought that had driven you insane the last three to four weeks just slipped out.

"I know. I'm sorry", Arthur jumped off his horse when you had reached your newly fixed gate. He looked at you, trying to take it all in. He had missed you; he had thought of you so much the last days and weeks, having you in front of him was a little overwhelming. But you looked like he remembered you. You weren’t wearing your fine clothes that you had worn when you caught him in your pond, but the worn jeans and shirt that had seen many fences painted and potted many plants looked good on you. It looked homely.

Arthur cleared his throat before he asked, "D'ya still cut hair?"

It was awkward...the ways he pronounced his question, the uncomfortable manner in which he scratched his way too long beard, seemingly unhappy with its new length.

Before you could answer, he added sarcastically: "Tried finding a barber on the Caribbean island but didn't came across someone I wanted to trust with scissors."

"Caribbean island?", you repeated questioningly, leading him into the cabin.

The tension between you felt peculiar. If tension were a tangible thing, you could have thrown a lasso and seemingly strangled it out of the air. But it wasn’t, so you and Arthur only struggled with finding your rhythm again.

"I came as soon as I could after returning...", Arthur explained apologizing, as if he had to rectify not visiting you sooner.

"Arthur. I thought you were dead", in front of your table, you stopped and looked directly at the man.

"'m afraid I have to disappoint", he chuckled, "Instead I'm here, asking ya for a cheap haircut because we lost...ten thousands in the sea."

"Ugh", you groaned, readying a chair for Arthur to sit on right at the table, "You sound so desperate, I might just give ya that haircut for free."

Arthur placed his jacket on a hinge next to the door and his hat on a free spot on the table. Again, it felt like he knew exactly where to place them, just as if he was coming home after a workday.

"Where d'ya want me, miss?", Arthur asked politely as if he had just entered a barber shop and there wasn't only one chair that looked prepared enough to serve as seat for his cut. You pointed at the chair a little absentmindedly, gathering your equipment and laying it out in the table in front of you.

"How short were you thinking?", you asked, walking around the seated man, ruffling his hair a little.

"Whatever you prefer", Arthur answered.

"What's that supposed to mean?", you asked, letting your finger scrape through his hair. His hair was wet at the roots, so you added surprisedly, "Did you just take a bath?"

"Might 've...", Arthur shrugged as if it was no big deal.

"You didn’t have to”, you reassured him, secretly amused by how endearing you found it.

"You wouldn't say that if you’d seen me before the bath. After three days in the Caribbean, killing half of the Pinkerton's agency and moving camp, you would have shot me on sight", Arthur joked, a bitter smile playing on his lips. Your answer was a soft chuckle.

After combing his hair, you repeated you question: "You're sure you don't want me to tell you how you want your hair done?"

"I trust ya", Arthur said.

"Mh, big mistake", you grinned. You caught Arthur's eye for a moment, and you could have sworn it was admiration in his expression. And trust, which honestly, was seldom for this man.

"I'll just cut it a little shorter than you had it when you first came to collect me", you said, waiting for his confirmation.

"...collect you and failed miserably at that", Arthur added.

"I thank the lord every day for that", you said jokingly. It was no laughing matter, though. You knew that as well as Arthur. The list of people the gang had lost in the last two months was long and you not rejoining was probably the only thing that had kept your name off that list.

You started doing Arthur's hair and one minute in, you decided to carefully pose the question of "What the hell happened the last couple weeks?". Arthur couldn't stop talking. He explained the plan of the bank robbery, explained when it went south. When Hosea was mentioned, he digressed a little. You too ended up sharing some anecdotes of the old man. You had loved him and felt a pang of guilt that you hadn't sent word to him that you were indeed fine. Hosea had been so kind to you when you expressed your wish to be on your own for a while, he had wished you the best and you had never even thought about sending a letter.

Then Arthur mentioned escape from Saint Denis. Your mouth went dry when Arthur recounted the storm, how he went overboard, nearly drowning and not knowing how lucky he was that he washed ashore on a beach. It was uncanny how some of the rumours you had heard mirrored the actual story.

Then came Guarma and everything that happened there. The return, the Pinkertons apparently following someone to Lagras and finally the move to Beaver's Hollow. They had been up there for a couple a couple of days now, and so much had already happened.

You listened, occasionally asked a question, but most of the time you were concentrating on not messing up the haircut. You had never heard Arthur talk that much before. Sober, that is. He can be quite a chatty drunk, but it seemed like he just wanted to get everything off his chest.

"How does that look?", you asked when you were done with his hair, holding a little mirror for Arthur to see.

His only response was a nob and a slight smile.

"Okay then", you spoke gently, "your beard's next."

The whole retelling of the last couple of weeks was what Arthur needed, but it killed his mood the same time. At least, that's what you though he was silent for. You cleared a spot on the table for you to sit on. It was way more comfortable sitting in front of Arthur while trimming his beard, but if you sat on a chair, you wouldn't have the height you needed.

You took a seat on the table in front of Arthur and noticed how his eyes immediately fixed on the ground.

"D'ya mind spreading your legs a little?", you asked. Despite the request confusing him a little, Arthur did as he was told and you put your on foot on his chair, so you wouldn't topple forward. Arthur tried his best to stifle the cough that worked its way up as he choked on his own saliva at this move.

"We're not going for a clean shave, are we?", you asked casually, trying to catch Arthur's eyes. He shrugged: "Whatever's easier for you."

You shook your head and began to trim his beard back to what you remembered he had the last time he visited you. Soon after you started, you noticed Arthur's cheeks getting warm and red. You were well aware that your cleavage was on his eye-level, probably the reason why he decided he was better off inspecting the floor. Meanwhile, you enjoyed gently tilting his head the way you needed it, finding no resistance from the man himself.

You talked only little, answering insignificant questions Arthur posed when the blade wasn't near his face, and he could actually move his mouth. You were almost done, only lining up his beard to give it an overall cleaner look, when Arthur said something out of the blue.

"Y'know, I been thinkin' about you. A lot," Arthur croaked, his throat dry all of a sudden.

"Mhm", you answered, not sure which direction that was supposed to go. You stopped shaving off the stubble on his neck when his Adam’s apple bobbed.

"Uh, I mean...", Arthur clears his throat, forcing you to stop the shave and look at him. Finally, his eyes found yours, "We're...uhm...friends, I hope." He forced a little chuckle that didn't sound genuine, especially under your curious gaze. You gave a quiet hum as sign of agreement.

"'s just that I...look, I understand if ya've found someone else. Hell, I took my sweet time and it wasn't fair how I treated you when you...", Arthur cleared his throat again, the words coming difficult to him, "when ya told me about yer feelings."

This was the point when your heartrate picked up and you felt your hands become sweatier. You had to put the blade down for a moment to wipe your hand on your shirt. Your mind was still caught on the line 'I understand if ya've found someone else'...like that had even been an option for you. For months you had tried to get over this man, then he came back waltzing into your life and you put your own ugly bounty poster on the wall as a reminder. And the you fixed the bedframe that he had fixed rather unsatisfyingly. You hadn't told him it broke the very same night he had “repaired” it. Nothing had changes the last year, you were pining as much for this man as ever...and yet, you didn't quite know how to react.

"I really like ya", he finally said, " I know well I don’t deserve it, but if ya wanted to give me another chance…"

"Morgan", you exhaled, "I got my boot between your balls and a blade at your throat...if you want to pull my leg I suggest you-"

"I mean it", and Arthur's gaze was so intense, this time it was you who struggled to watch him in the eye. You knew he wasn't lying. Hell, you hadn't really expected that he was just pulling your leg, you just said it to say something…to lighten up the mood that appeared so heavy again.

"Okay", you mumbled, barely able to disguise the tremor in your voice. Then you took the blade again, carefully turning Arthur's head upwards so you could better reach the hair you still needed to shave. There was this long and uncomfortable silence that neither of you wanted to break. You heard the birds outside, the blade scratching the skin and a heartbeat...if it was yours or Arthur's, you weren't quite sure.

Arthur thought that Guarma had been hell, but he found that your silence and okay was even more tortuous.

Finally, you were done. With a hairdressing brush you got rid of all the loose hair that decorated Arthur’s face. He gave you a slightly annoyed look as you tickled him behind his ears. Then you took the little towel that had prevented hair from falling into his shirt out in the garden to shake it out.

The moment you stepped into the cabin again, Arthur's eyes caught yours and they were demanding an answer.

"I've never stopped loving you", the words burned as they left your mouth. The towel was thrown over an empty chair. Saying the words out loud…it changed something. Because as long as you had only thought them, there was this slim chance that they weren’t true. But there was no backing-out now, no denying.

You continued: "But I can't...I won't rejoin the gang. I want to live here."

You said that because you knew that Arthur wouldn’t leave the gang for you, but you wouldn’t rejoin in either.

"Y/n...this thing is pretty much over", Arthur sighed. He was referring to the gang. He had alluded to it when he had recounted the happenings of the past weeks, especially breaking John out of jail and earning Dutch's disapproval. This was the first time he directly admitted it, "I want the Marstons safe...and the women...then it's done."

"Oh, so 'one more big score and then you can leave everything behind", you mimicked Dutch's voice. A tinge of animosity accompanied your words and this certainly wasn’t lost on Arthur. You couldn’t help but feel a bit unfairly placed in this situation.

"C'mere for a second", Arthur beckoned you, his eyes following every one of your movements until you stood in front of him, your hips brushing against the table. Arthur remained seated in his chair. Glancing at the man quickly, you congratulated yourself on having done a good job; his haircut looked sharp.

Then, suddenly, Arthur took your hand. It was such an unusual gesture, it alarmed you immediately. His hands were warm and rough, but not in an unpleasant way. Arthur held your hand lightly, as if he was afraid of hurting you.

"I promise this is the last time. In a week, we're going to hit a train with army pay. Wednesday evening. After that, I'm done", Arthur spoke earnestly.

"I can't-" believe you, you wanted to say, because you knew it had been the same story with Mary. You knew that once an outlaw means always and outlaw. Not even Arthur's word was enough to ensure that those bonds wouldn't bind him to his old life and to the gang.

"Don’t say nothing yet", Arthur interrupted calmly. He stood up and let your hand slide off his, as he walked to his satchel. He pulled out his journal and carefully put it next to you. With no hesitation, he opened and skimmed through it. You couldn't see most of the pages because he flipped through them so quickly.

"It ain't even half-way done", Arthur assessed, showing you the empty pages, "I'll leave that here 'n collect it in a week."

"What?", you questioned, frowning, "What if I decide to read it as a bedtime story?"

"'s nothing in there that yer not allowed to know", Arthur mumbled, "Contrary. Sometimes I think I'm much better expressing my feelings on paper. I've never been a good talker."

Silently, Arthur opened a page in his journal that had a little dog-ear. The left side was empty and only had smudges of pencil on it, on the right side there was this impressively detailed bounty poster. It had the layout of the bounty posters they have hanging all over town, obviously it wasn't printed, but hand drawn. You recognized your name, your 15-dollars-worth and then yourself, staring back at you. You hadn't imagined Arthur to be one to draw people, let alone portrait style. In the brush of his pencil you recognized that he might be more professed in sketching trees and animals, but it was a perfectly decent drawing of you. Hell, it was even flattering, compared to the atrocity they had on your real poster.

Arthur put the journal away, leaving it on top of a pile of books on your nightstand.

"I jus' need t'know if this is a place I'm allowed to return to", Arthur finally asked.

"Always", you replied without hesitation, your gaze still fixed on his journal. Is he trying in tempting you to read it? Because if that's the case, it was definitely working.

"So I won't be greeted with a gun in my face?", Arthur chuckled.

You sighed, taking a brush that stood abandoned in the corner of the room and started to swipe Arthur's hair out of the house. "If you're going to bring that up one more time, I swear I'll give you a reason to fear me", you quipped.

"Oh, I already fear you a great deal", Arthur said sarcastically.

You shot him an intense gaze.

"You staying for dinner?", you asked in between the sound of bristles scratching on wood.

Arthur shrugged, mumbling: "They won't miss me for another day..."

"Good. Then go hunt something", you asserted, gently shoving him outside by brushing against his boots until he took the hint.

"Yes ma'am...", Arthur mumbled, a hint of amusement in his voice. When you had successfully shoved him outside, you closed the door behind him, not without a bit of force. It left him slightly perplexed and wondering.

You had tried your best to hold your feelings together, but it had become a little much. Since Arthur's confession, your hands hadn't stopped shaking and you hastily put the brush aside, sitting down with your back against the door. There were so many feelings inside you that all needed to be addressed, but you struggled to even detangle them.

First and foremost: You had spent months pining for Arthur, only to be rejected in a cruel way and then again wasting months in trying to get over him. Just when you thought you were getting somewhere, he comes back into your life with a request that suggests anything but care for you. So, he leaves, and appears again. Then leaves again, presumed dead or out of country and now he's here again, asking for another chance as if you even had the power to reject him. You didn't know if Arthur would be able to make you happy. In a way, you feared it might be the opposite because there was still one score...one more score. He might die, or he might stay for another score, and another, and so on.

You stifled a sob. Scenarios played out in your mind, and they all converged into two possible outcomes, ending with Arthur dead or disappeared, disappointing you yet and yet again because one can't just stop being an outlaw. The 5000 on his head won't just disappear, presumed or actually dead - it didn't matter much.

"Son of a bitch", you hissed, mad at the situation.

You just wanted to be happy and find some closure for this surge of emotions that had held you hostage for months, if not years.

"Y/n?", Arthur's voice was so soft when he called out your name, you almost jumped in shock because you thought he had long gone hunting. But his voice came from right in front of the door.

"You okay?", he asked quietly.

"Yeah", you croaked, and it sounded anything but convincing.

"Ya sure?", he wanted you to confirm.

"I just need some time to think...", you whispered, trying hard not to sob.

"I'll stay close", you heard him state, then there were his steps leading away from the house.

For a while, you just sat on the floor. How to proceed?

By the time Arthur returned, the door to your cabin was wide open again, the sun shining inside. You had made your decision.

"I got us a rabbit", Arthur announced, "already skinned it. Figured it ain’t your kinda work."

You responded with an appreciative nod.

"It’s a real beauty”, Arthur grinned, a wisp of humour in his eyes, “or was, anyhow. I shot it with a small arrow so I reckon the meat-“ before Arthur could put the rabbit down on the table, you had sneaked in for a hug.

"Oh", Arthur stuttered, carefully placing the rabbit down. He lifted his bloody and dirty hands in the air to make sure not to get any dirt on you. Even though you wore clothes that had seen better days and apparently had been demoted to housework, he still didn’t want to get you dirty. Despite his desire to reciprocate the hug.

"Y/n…", he chuckled apologetically, "I need to get washed up."

At that moment, you suddenly looked up to him, your faces mere inches apart. He noticed your gaze drifting between his eyes and lips, then you leaned in, placing a gentle peck on his cheek.

The blush was immediate. Your hands instinctively found their way to his face and tenderly cupped his cheeks. They were just as warm as they had been when you cut his beard.

"I'm really glad you're here", you said, a smile playing on your lips.

"Yeah, I'm-" Arthur began, but you interrupted him with a proper kiss. It was a brief one, testing the waters if Arthur would be fine with that. As you pulled back slightly to assess his reaction, he didn’t hesitate a second, closing the distance between you once more. "I really …don't wanna get ya…dirty", Arthur mumbled between kisses. He could feel the corner of your lips curving into a smile each time you interrupted him. The man struggled to keep his dirty hands in the air.

The kisses quickly became more passionate, and when your hands left his cheeks, one to rest in the hollow between his shoulder and neck, while the other one boldly explored his chest region. It occasionally shifted to grab his arm and squeezing lightly.

Arthur mumbled your name warningly, twice. Then he couldn't help but put his hand in the small of your back, pushing you closer. His bloody hands would surely leave a mark on your clothes, but neither of you cared about that, as his hands became just as active as yours, sometimes cupping your cheek, at other times allowing himself to explore your body a little.

Arthur had just enough control to not place you on the rabbit, when he lifted you up on the table. When both of you became short of breath, Arthur rested his forehead against yours. Your legs had snaked around his, caging him in.

"Haven't done that in a long time", Arthur's voice was raspy as he tried to apologize for the somewhat sloppy make-out session.

"Me neither", you giggled and placed a final kiss on his cheek, "brushed your hair for nothing", you noted, looking up to Arthur's tousled hair. Your fault.

Arthur backed away a little, as much as your legs allowed him: "Christ." He had left signific signs of blood and dirt all over you.

"Mhh…", you hummed amusedly, "Ain't my fault you can't keep your hands to yourself."

"T'way I see it, darling…", Arthur smiled and tried to brush some dirt off your cheek with his thumb, "it's precisely your fault."

Arthur had headed to a keg outside to get cleaned. You decided to get cleaned up only after butchering the rabbit, as this would get your hands dirty again anyways. As the meat sizzled in the in the pan, you decided it was time to wash up as well. While you put the finishing touches on the dish, Arthur sat at the table, leisurely smoking a cigarette and observing you. He had asked if he could help you with anything, but you had declined, insisting that he had already done his part by hunting the rabbit. It was your turn prepare it.

When you plated the meal, it was really nothing too complicated, and yet, Arthur thought, for a free meal, it was perfect. You initiated a conversation; it was more light-hearted than the one you had when you cut his hair. The weightier themes seemed to have lifted from Arthur’s heart, and both of you sought distractions.

You told Arthur more about how you passed your days, gardening, drawing, riding into town. Really most of the money you earned the honest way, cutting hair and doing the odd delivery job for the grocery store.

It was frightening how easy it was to talk to Arthur. Two or three years ago, you would have never imagined, talking so freely to him. Though he'd always been kind, there was an air of unapproachability that had since crumbled completely after the heartfelt conversation you both shared.

The conversation where Arthur poured out his frustrations and regrets concerning Hosea's and Lenny's death, had brought a sense of liberation. It dawned on him how long it had been since he spoke so openly with anyone. Arthur leaned back into his chair. In front of him was his empty plate, opposite of the table, you sat within arm’s reach, chatting about an interesting traveller that came past your cabin a few months back. Arthur listened attentively, his eyes following the movements of your fingers skilfully rolling a cigarette.

Neither of you ran out of stories to tell the other. Arthur talked about people he had met on his travels, a clumsy photographer, a man obsessed with fast horses and racing.

You only realised how long you had been talking when the light in the cabin became sparse, the sun sinking closer to the horizon.

As the visibility waned, limited to the faint glow emitted by the burning tip of the cigarette, you finally rose to your feet to illuminate the cabin with the warm light of lanterns.

"I'll get my bedroll", Arthur announced, standing up with a grunt. He hadn't allowed himself to be this idle in a long time. All he had done today was sitting still for a haircut, killing one rabbit and then indulging in a lavish meal while engaging in easy conversation. His body had finally caught up with the stress of the last few weeks and he didn't know how to feel about how much his body ached. Despite the sun barely disappearing, Arthur would have been ready for bed. Funny, he thought, admitting one’s feeling for a girl could drain his strength that much.

At his announcement, Arthur noticed that you halted and were about to open your mouth as if to suggest something. But you didn't and let him venture outside.

When he took longer than anticipated, you followed him outside, only to find him leaning against the fence, his eyes in the sky. The sky was in this beautiful transition phase, going from hues of purple to a serene shade of blue with the first stars emerging in the east. You observed Arthur’s profile for a while, he didn't protest or showed any signs of being disturbed by your presence.

He was handsome. Something about his stature made you want to lean into him. But you didn't. Instead, you stood there, finding it hard to peel your eyes off him. Your lips quivered under the urge to say what you had thought earlier. After a big breath, you tried to say as casually as you managed: "I know my bed is too small for two people...but I was thinking if I put the mattress on the floor we could-"

"Y/N", Arthur interrupted you gently. He turned to look at you. Caringly, his hand found your shoulder, "It ain't right just yet."

Lying next to each other, cuddling, hugging, maybe stealing another kiss, you craved it badly. You finally had what you had desired for so long, you wanted it all at once. But Arthur knew that it would be unwise. He thought a lot about you, hell he did. And in his mind, he'd be too embarrassed to admit it of course, you had done way more than just kissed. But he knew it'd be wrong. He didn't want to fully commit just yet, and he didn't want to get your hopes up. It was genuine, when he said that the train robbery was the last score he wanted to do with the gang, but one train robbery is enough to get killed and he wouldn't dream about giving you this kind of pain. If he held it vague, if there was no sleeping close to each other, there was also no missing this proximity...if. Always if.

"Fine", you sucked in a little air, "but you take the bed then."

The two of you headed inside, Arthur with his bedroll clamped under his arm.

He shook his head: "It's your house, I can't jus'-"

"Exactly. It's my house, I can sleep in the bed every damn day. Besides, I don't figure you had a proper bed on Guarma, did you?", you teased.

"No, but-"

"Neither do you have one in camp so please- accept it", you looked up at Arthur rather desperately.

"Fine. You don't come complainin' to me if yer back hurts tomorrow", Arthur quipped.

"Oh, I'll definitely complain", you grinned. Arthur gave you his bedroll to spread in the corner where he had slept the last time. Arthur had sat down on the bed and watched you quietly as you readied your sleeping corner. When you glanced back at him, it was evident how weary he was, his eyes barely open, sitting up only out of politeness.

"You don't have to stay awake for me", you smiled, leaning against the table and studying the exhausted man. You noticed how tired he had become during your conversation. He had at least supressed three yawns.

"I jus'...haven't seen ya for so long, I don't want to waste that time with sleeping", Arthur explained. You found it cute he thought that way.

"You're not wasting anything", 'because we'll see each other again in a week, right?' you added in your mind. "I have this book I want to finish anyways, you just rest", you assured him.

You waited until he had settled in, exchanging a couple laughs about how unstable your bedframe was, and then you did the dishes. It didn't take you long, but Arthur was asleep when you had finished. He was turned towards the wall. On the nightstand was his journal. He had put it on top of the book you were currently reading. You took the book and settled on the bedroll.

You woke up to the sound of the bed creaking and blinked at Arthur, the first rays of the sun casting a warm glow on his frame. At some point during the night, he must have woken up and shed his clothes, as he now rested in the room clad only in his unionsuit.

"'m sorry, darlin'. I didn't want to wake ya", he apologized his raspy morning voice.

"It's okay", you yawned, forcing yourself to throw off your blanket to stand up, "I'll make some coffee."

In a couple big steps, Arthur was at your side: "You sleep some more, it's my turn for breakfast." Arthur squatted next to you and tugged you in before you could protest. You forced your tired eyes to stay on his face and not venture further down, pondering what the thin material might reveal.

When Arthur shot you a content smile, seeing you were up for no protest, a wave of panic washed over you.

"You won't just leave, right?", all of a sudden, you were wide awake.

"I won't", Arthur assured you.

"'cause if you do-", you started, a yawn interrupting your threat. Arthur chuckled at how cute and innocent you looked, happy that your yawn cut off before you could destroy that innocence with another gory threat.

"I'm way too scared of what you'd do", and then, to your surprise, he kissed your forehead. You only relaxed when Arthur had stood up again and indeed started to set up coffee. You were soon off to sleep again, only woken when the sizzling of fat in the pan woke you.

Arthur had made eggs. You ate in silence. A couple of times, Arthur tried to start a conversation, but you weren’t in the mood. He’d be gone in a couple of hours and you’d be left wondering if he’d ever return. Arthur knew that this was what was plaguing you, but he didn’t find the right angle to approach you.

You both did the dishes together, you helped Arthur by saddling his horse and then he had mounted it, looking down at you.

“Ya ain’t so happy about the prospect of me returning in a week, ‘s that it?”, Arthur joked.

“No”, you answered dryly, “I ain’t so happy about you leaving for a week.”

Arthur sighed and steered his horse closer to the fence: “Climb up here, I gotta tell ya something.”

Rather unwillingly, you climbed on one of the horizontal planks that kept your fence together. Arthur offered his hand for support and as an excuse to pull you a little closer. He kissed you, gently, on your lips.

“I promised I’ll be back, didn’t I?”, Arthur mumbled. He wasn’t convinced, and neither were you when you whispered a dire “Yeah..”

You didn’t like the good-bye kiss. In fact, you wished he hadn’t done that. It hurt even more, seeing him disappear between the trees in the distance. For a while, you stood there helplessly, wondering what to do next. Minutes passed before you ventured into your cabin, distracting yourself with some cleaning before your eyes fell on Arthur’s journal. You noticed a piece of paper sticking out. Without thinking, you opened the journal and the loose paper floated to the ground. You didn’t even bother picking it up, your eyes caught the first word written on top of the page. It was your name, written in Arthur’s familiar handwriting.

“Hell no”, you kicked the paper under the bed before you could read any further. You weren’t up for some heartfelt “Good-bye, in case I die I want you to know this”-letter. Frustration and anger bubbled within you as you scrambled into your good jeans and crammed your revolver into its back pocket. With a swift motion, you picked up your hunting rifle, mounted your horse and started to follow Arthur’s track.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x--x-x-x-x-x-x-x

next chapter: here

Shoutout to @little-honeypie who basically wrote the confession scene. I wouldn't have ever finished this if it weren't for them <3

taglist: @photo1030

taglist for this series: @pinkiemme @loveheartarthur @twola @shiokitsune @missredemption @kakashiislut @thewalkingdead1463 @yyiikes @renwai @walk-in-sunshine @rdrlady @ivybeeloved @trinswhimsys @reddedmiller @chiefqueefsosa @sauvignon-velvet @mrsarthurmorgan @readingcoco @pookiesnatcher @gloomdoomraccoon

#arthur morgan x reader #arthur morgan fanfiction #red dead redemption 2 #arthur morgan #rdr2 #arthur morgan x female reader #red dead redemption community #rdr2 fanfiction #rdr #rdr fanfiction

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jordanstrophe · 1 month

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Abandoned Whumpee, 2/2 Final

[Masterlist] CW: Whumper turned caretaker, team whump, betrayal, angst

Blood was dripping from whumpee's chest. The blood pooled at their feet and their hands shook.

"Are you sure you aren't hurt?" Whumper asked.

"I'm - I'm sure." Whumpee looked down, knowing the blood wasn't theirs, but their mind kept thinking it was. Their pulse was beating so hard it pounded in their head, drowning their thoughts.

Whumper pulled them out of the room away from where the body where their teammate laid. Whumpee felt numb and blank, their only focus was to stay on their feet as they were led back to the infirmary.

Whumper sat them on the bed and rooted out clean clothes. They knew whumpee wouldn't like wearing something with whumper's logo on it, but it was better than wearing a bloodstained shirt.

"Get changed quickly, sitting in that can't be good for you." Whumper said. Whumpee didn't hesitate to pull their shirt over their head and change. Their hands fumbled as they folded them on their lap when they were done.

Whumpee exhaled, calming their shaken voice. "I have questions."

"I know you do," Whumper pulled up a chair and sat across from them. "I'll answer anything. Any question you have." They opened their arms.

"Who are you really?" Whumpee asked, pulling out the journal. "Why do you have one of our field guides? Does this belong to you, or did you take it from one of us?"

Whumper laughed for a moment, but seeing whumpee's face not change they took a deep breath. "I didn't grave rob it, if that's what you're asking. It was mine, when I was working for your team-leader. I see they're still sacrificing recruits in order to save their own skins, are they?" Whumper tilted their head.

Whumpee swallowed past the pit in their throat, "But I told them to run. I willingly stayed behind."

"Of course you did." Whumper smiled sadly. "But I didn't. And neither did the person before me. Or you, for that matter. That's why I said you were rare when we first met. You're the first person I found that did it willingly."

Whumpee's skin crawled, coldness spread from their chest down to their feet. They shook their head and anxiously bobbed their leg. "But they told me- ... The ones that didn't come back were either missing or traitors."

"That's probably what they said happened to you, too."

Whumpee sighed and dragged a hand down their face. How could they not have seen it... How could they have been fooled for so long? When they returned from missions, sometimes they would be one less person. The team-leader always had an explanation, but the reality was they were left behind as bait.

"What happened to those who were abandoned? Did you kill them?" Whumpee asked hesitantly.

"No," Whumper smiled and leaned back, "Just like you, I took them here. Of course, you were different; you stayed behind willingly, naturally you were a lot harder to convince. Your teammates are safe and deployed out of this zone. It wouldn't be good for them to be seen after being presumed dead. You've seen first hand what they'll do the moment they find you alive."

Whumpee nodded as tears welled in their eyes. All this time, people they grieved and mourned over, were alive and well. Better off, even.

"I can take you to them," Whumper added softly. They got up and sat next to whumpee. "Most of them joined our side, you would probably recognize a few of them. Would you like to come with me?" They wrapped their arm around whumpee's shoulder as they collapsed against whumper's side. Silent tears streamed down their face.

"Y-yes... Yeah I would." Whumpee sniffed and wiped their face. "I-I'm sorry for trying to st-stab you, earlier."

Whumper chuckled and held them tighter. "You almost got me good with that plastic fork. But I understand I was too hard on you when we brought you in, I didn't know if I could trust you yet." Whumper turned whumpee towards them and cupped their face. "You know none of this is your fault, right? Not a single part of it."

Whumpee leaned up and nodded, finishing wiping the rest of the tears. "If you won't accept my apology, then at least accept my thanks." They smiled. They looked down at the journal, their old team's logo branded on the front. Whumpee set it face-down so they wouldn't have to see it anymore.

"I'll stay." Whumpee murmured.

"I want to stop them. I want them to know what they've done" Whumper looked up with a hint of surprise, but nodded as they understood.

"I want to join you."

[Previous] - [Masterlist]

[If you made it this far in the series, thank you for sticking with me to the end. Hope you enjoyed reading!]

@parasitebunny @starzabove @frog-hat-fa-ggot @morning-star-whump @memepsychowhowantsuperpower-blog @mommymarichatfurever @isita-torrrres @tobiaslut @anonintrovert @sausages-things @briars7 @ms-awesome52 @haesium @painfulplots @decaffeinatedtimetraveler94 @sausages-things @icarusignite

#whump #whumpee #whumper #whumper turned caretaker #hurt/comfort #whump writing #whumplr #betrayal whump #soft whumper #team whump #caretaking #whump angst #rescued whumpee

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wangxianficfinder · 9 months

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In the mood for...

~*~

1. hey! I'm looking for non-specific Canon or canon divergence (MDZS verse) fics where Lan Wangji has a "he is adorable" or "he is cute" moment about Wei wuxian. or just lan wangji simping and having soft, rose tinted thoughts about wwx from his point of view >< @wutheringskies

~*~

2. helloo!! i have a request for the next itmf. are there any fics where resurrected wwx has like a really bad flashback to his three months in burial mounds and juniors/lwj/or someone different witnesses it? thank u and love u @vicleey

~*~

3. for the next itmf, do you have fics of either A) wwx not being adopted by the jiangs/him raised in other sects or B) wwx leaving the jiangs realizing he deserves better

3A)

Seen and not heard by eatmyass (E, 51k, WangXian, Case Fic, No Sunshot Campaign, AU in canon setting, Kid Fic, dadxian, Strangers to Lovers, Found Family, POV LWJ, Pining, Sharing a Bed, Fake/Pretend Relationship, First Time, Falling in love in metaphors)

this whole comp

3B)

🧡 Company by WithBroomBefore (T, 29k, WangXian, Canon Divergence, Pre-Relationship, Getting Together, POV LWJ, Fix-It, Pre-Canon, at least to start, WWX goes to Cloud Recesses, But Not In The Usual Way, fear of character death, Everybody Lives, Hurt/Comfort, Happy Ending, Light Angst, good teacher LQR, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, brief discussion of past minor character suicide, Kitten, Not YZY Friendly)

~*~

4. I am back for more in the mood for requests! Thank you for everything you do.

I am in the mood for modern/au fics with a stand-in for wwx dying and getting resurrected. Such as him going missing, being presumed dead, being in witness protection, or leaving by his own volition. Any fic about modern/au lwj missing/mourning wwx and them getting reunited some time later. Preferably with lwj searching for wwx?

Anything works though. I would love to see all kinds of different takes on what his canon death could be in an au.

End Racism on the OTW || Yesterday Once More by Sweetlittlevampire (T, 22k, wangxian, modern au, reality show au, Long Lost Family au, adoption, family reunions, lost love, getting back together, family feels, angst w happy ending)

These Things Stay the Same by notevenyou (E, 29k, WangXian, Modern AU, Kid Fic, Minor Character Death, Injury, Natural Disasters, Angst with a Happy Ending, Hospitalization, Accidents, These Things Stay the Same [Podfic] by Rionaa)

please accept this fried chicken and my feelings by thelastdboy (G, 4k, wangxian, modern, Reunions, Marriage Proposal, Trans Male Character, Trans WWX, Single Parent WWX, Mental Health Issues, Medication, allusions to past suicide attempt, Light Angst w Happy Ending, Alcohol, Drunk LWJ)

always on my mind series by sami (E, 37k, wangxian, LWJ/others, LWJ & JYL, modern, family, sexual tension, grief, superstar musician LWJ, fluff, children, pregnancy, parenthood)

~*~

5. Hi! Thank you for all your hardwork <33 ITMF for jealous/possessive WWX, but no post-canon fics please. Thank you!

~*~

6. Hello! ITMF Gusu lecture era smut? Like, teasing in class, getting distracted in the library, dorm room shenanigans, etc. Preferably longer fics like “ Straight at the Sun ” by diamondbruise, but short pwp would be nice too! Thanks so much!

Fentao-laoshi’s Guide to Cut-Sleeve Pleasures by occultings (microcomets) (E, 31k, wangxian, canon divergence, pining while fucking, friends with benefits, first time, cloud recesses study arc, practice kissing, sharing a bed, jealousy, getting together, confessions, happy ending)

~*~

7. Hi 👋 Thank you sooooo much for finding that fic for me," Turn Left " 😁 its exactly what i was looking for.

Please can you recommend fics that are similar 🙏Thank you 😊

~*~

8. any lan zhan POVs? bonus points for those delicious misunderstandings @chellsky

Concord by Deastar (T, 41k, WangXian, Arranged Marriage, Gūsū Lán Sect Rules, Depression, Canon Divergence, Angst with a Happy Ending)

The Fifth Type of Non-Contact Force by Caixx (Not Rated, 83k, WangXian, Modern AU, High School, Slice of Life, Slow Burn, Fluff and Humor, Actually Somewhat Canon, Mutual Pining, Horny Teenagers, Angst with a Happy Ending, Non-Graphic Smut)

Tempo Rubato by Spodumene (E, 107k, WangXian, Modern AU, Angst with a Happy Ending, Romance, Persuasion au, Separations, Mutual Pining, Depression, Miscommunication, Emotional Roller Coaster, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Reconciliation, Eventual Smut, Jane Austen Fusion, Underage Kissing)

The Scarlet Lotus by rainbowninja167 (M, 137k, WangXian, Marriage of Convenience, Secret Identity, Fix-It, Angst with a Happy Ending, It Gets Worse Before It Gets Better, Canon-Typical Violence, canon-typical war crimes, Yunmeng Bros, the mortifying ordeal of getting seduced by your own husband, nonlinear chronology we die like cql, just kidding nobody dies in this fic, Slow Burn, Mutual Pining, Miscommunication)

Caffeine, Small Talk by mistergoblin (E, 144k, WangXian, Modern AU, Friends With Benefits, Enemies to Lovers, or more accurately: frenemies to fuckbuddies to lovers, Angst and Fluff and Smut, touch-starved lwj, Slow Burn, high levels of sexual tension, Misunderstandings, Getting to Know Each Other, Switching, Bottom LWJ, bottom WWX, slight D/s, Happy Ending, side yanqing, lwj’s patented horny grip, Sub LWJ)

Mad about the Boy by TriviasFolly (M, 62k, wangxian, 1950s America au, greaser WWX, historical smoking, historical viewpoints, angst, internal struggle, pre-relationship, historical homophobia, sexual awakenings, sexual exploration, self-discorvery journey, self-love journey, gay academia, teenage dramatics)

~*~

9. Hello, for the next itmf, are there any fic where WY is just losing it and just went mad or traumatized. But not in the the way that he become brutal and jusf killing people.

Sorry if this is weird. Thank uu

of all the hands by typefortydeductions (E, 51k, wangxian, canon divergence, arranged marriage, emperor LXC, PTSD, nightmares, dual cultivation, mental health issues, fluff & angst, consensual non-con, pining, politics)

~*~

10. Love love LOVE fics where Yu Ziyuan gets her way and Wei Wuxian is removed from the Jiang Sect, only for Yu Ziyuan to run the Jiang right into the dirt while the whole world sings the praises of Wei Wuxian, who can now reach his true potential without having to scrape and knowtow to Yu Ziyuan's temper. I need more of them. I need ALL of them.

... Or I guess really just any fics where WWX ends up standing above Yu Ziyuan.

If Wishes Were Donkeys by NightOwl1 (M, 93k, WIP, WangXian, SVSSS, Time Travel Fix-It, Case Fic, Mpreg, Fluff and Humor, Dysfunctional Jiāng Family, Bad Parent YZY, WangXian Get a Happy Ending, Period-Typical Homophobia, Crossdressing, LWJ and WWX Have a Breeding Kink, It’s All The System’s Fault, Post-Canon, Cloud Recesses Study Arc, Warning: JGS, Good Uncle LQR, LWJ and WWX Are LSZ’s Parents, Inappropriate Humor, Family Feels)

💖 Light Source by abCEE (M, 31k, wangxian, not Jiang friendly, no golden core transfer, fall of the jiang sect, happy ending)

~*~

11. I don't mind Best Jiujiu Jiang Cheng, but it's starting to bug me that everybody seems to forget it's not canon (CQL notwithstanding ig) so I'm asking for post-canon fics that acknowledge Wei Wuxian as Jin Ling's actual favorite uncle. It doesn't need to be Jiang Cheng bashing or anything like that really, I just want Jin Ling and Wei Wuxian feels and bonding that are NOT Yunmeng Bro reconciliation or focused on Jiang Cheng. I won't say NO to some Jiang Cheng bashing, but I'd prefer the focus be on Jin Ling and his ACTUAL Best Jiujiu Wei Wuxian.

Rotten Work by ShanaStoryteller (Not rated, 64k, JL & WWX, wangxian, post-canon, protective WWX, protective JL, JC & WWX reconciliation, reluctant matchmaker JL, pre-JL/LJY)

i won’t let you down (give me what i need) by orphan_account (Not rated, 2k, JL & WWX)

Questioning by Rainewritesfanfics (T, 1k, JL & WWX, Crushes, Bisexuality, Uncle-Nephew Relationship, Family Fluff, Good Uncle WWX, JL pov, Queer Themes)

The Truth (Untold) by anxiouswreck0_0 (G, 3k, JL & WWX, wangxian, canon divergence, Canonical Character Death, Fix-It, JL & WWX talk, JL centric, JL & WWX bonding, wangxian being shameless)

in which Jin Ling is tragically underappreciated by Buttercup_ghost (Not rated, <1k, JL & WWX, wangxian, post-canon, Crack, Crack Treated Seriously, Matchmaking, Time Travel, Good Nephew JL, Humor, Mild Homophobia from Jiang Cheng but it gets shut down, Supportive NHS, NHS Is A Little Shit, BAMF JL, Cloud Recesses Study Arc)

a reconstruction by JaggedCliffs (G, 7k, JL & WWX, JL & JZX, Uncle-Nephew Bonding, Family, JL learns more about his parents, he also learns that his family committed past atrocities, Jin Ling is going through it)

of past and present by Here_For_This (This_Rocks_My_Socks) (T, 6k, JL & WWX, wangxian, Underage Drinking, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, bad unlce JC, not JC friendly, Discussions of moving on, Implied/Referenced Torture, brief mentions of Wei Wuxian’s cynophobia, Implied/Referenced Character Death, self-care, Hopeful Ending)

~*~

12. Can I get some relationship reveal fics pls

The F-Word by raspberrymocha (M, 10k, WangXian, Modern AU, Family Dynamics, Established Relationship, Implied/Referenced Homophobia, Humor, Fluff, Light Angst, Weddings, Engagement, Marriage Proposal, Implied/Referenced Sex, 5+1 Things, Heteronormativity)

~*~

13. Hi! Are there any canon-era fics where Lan Zhan and Wei Ying feel each other’s pain and/or an injury on one shows up on the other? Can be a soulmate au or a spell or the like. Thank you!

You'd Break Your Heart to Make It Bigger by vesna (mrsronweasley) (E, 32k, wangxian, soul bonding, first time, case fic, fools in love, soul boning, pining while fucking)

Sunder by naqaashi (E, 32k, wangxian, canon divergence, soulmate au, Golden Core Reveal, Golden Core Transfer Fix-It, WWX Has a New Golden Core, Heavy Angst w Happy Ending, Denial of Feelings, Feelings Realization, Pining, Smut, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Emotional Sex, Porn w Feelings, Porn W Plot, Light BDSM, Edgeplay, Multiple Orgasms, Blow Jobs, Anal Sex, Rimming, Fix-It Temporarily Unrequited Love, ,First Time, First Kiss, LWJ pov, Sunshot Campaign, YLLZ WWX, Dom LWJ, sub WWX, Marathon Sex, Lube, Whump, LWJ Whump, Canon Jiang Cheng Characteristics, Angry JC, Good Sibling JYL, Good Sibling LXC, hurt LWJ, hurt WWX, It Gets Worse Before It Gets Better, switch wangxian, Light Dom/sub, Cuddling & Snuggling, WWX Whump, Miscommunication, Misunderstandings, Grief/Mourning, Five Stages of Grief, Suicidal Thoughts)

Flowers of pain by CorkaHadesa (M, 16k, wangxian, canon divergence, soulmates au, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, LWJ pov, Bad Parent YZY, Bad Parent JFM, not YZY friendly, not JC friendly, not Jiang friendly, Bad Sibling JC, Bad Sibling JYL, Protective LWJ, Protective LXC, Protective LQR, Bad Parenting, Healing, Family Issues, Child Abuse, Self-Esteem Issues, Happy Ending, WIP)

~*~

14. Hello! For the "I'm in the mood for" section, I was looking for long fics where wwx or lwj (or both) have a disability. Any of them would do, I'm not picky. The longer the better, and if the fanfic has an M/E rating, I would prefer it if it's canon dynamics. Thank you so much for your hard work! :D

the thread may stretch or tangle but it will never break by RoseThorne (E, 88k, WIP, WangXian, Canon Divergence, Soulmates, Self-Esteem Issues, Fix-It, Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Nightmares, PTSD, Handfasting, Panic Attacks, Getting Together, First Time, Aftercare, Implied/Referenced Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Implied/Referenced Torture, Scars, Chronic Pain, Golden Core Reveal, First Time, Switching, sex-related injury, LWJ Stays at the Burial Mounds, LSZ is a Wèi, Good Sibling JC, Dissociation, Burial Mounds Settlement Days) chronic pain

some things go forward by everythingispoetry (T, 73k, WangXian, Modern AU, Hospitals, Teenage Drama, Slow Burn, Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, Happy Ending)

we’re starting at the end by Miss_Enthusiasimal (M, 92k, WangXian, JC & WWX, Time Travel, Canon Divergence, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Golden Core Reveal, Burial Mounds, Hurt/Comfort, Angst, Starvation, emaciation, Cannibalism, Self-Harm, Amputation, Suicidal Thoughts, Sunshot Campaign, let JZX and WWX be friends club) WWX loses a leg & gets a prosthetic

no new age Series by everythingispoetry (M/T, 145k, WangXian, Canon Divergence, Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Permanent Injury, Recovery, Disability, Parenthood, Character Study, Thirteen Years of WWX’s Death, Families of Choice)

Mod Kay: i also have a collection for stories where wwx loses his hand

The Martial Arts Instructor Fic You Didn’t Know You Needed by enbysaurus_rex (M, 423k, wangxian, LWJ & LSZ & WWX, WWX & Wen remnants, WQ & WWX & WN, modern, martial arts, everyone lives au, not canon compliant, WWX has ADHD, autistic LWJ, pining, enby WWX, implied/referenced alcoholism, PTSD, slow burn, chronic illness, found family, polyamory negotiations, JC & WWX reconciliation, Single Parent WWX, Single Parent LWJ) I know I recommend this fic all the time but it’s my fav so - neurodivergent disabilities, chronic pain/injury & illness Can also apply to #4 because wwx fakes his death and lwj raises a-yuan

The Darkness Before Dawn by PsycheStellata707 (M, 113k, WIP, WangXian, Angst with a Happy Ending, Time Travel Fix-It, Canon Divergence, BAMF WWX, Time Travel, Attempt at Humor, PTSD, Oblivious WWX, WWX-centric, Blind WWX, Sentient Burial Mounds, Self-Indulgent, Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Oblivious Pining, Not Canon Compliant)

🧡 close your eyes, feel my heartbeat by ThatDesiGirl (T, 11k, WangXian, blind!WWX, Angst with a Happy Ending, Rewriting Canon, not a fix-it but a what-if, Golden Core Transfer, Romance, Pining)

Disabled WangXian Comp

~*~

15. Any fics where Jin zixun succeeds in killing wwx and being lazy and callous realizes he doesn't have a gift for the party and presents wwx's as his own instead. Maybe he is immediately found out cause someone recognizes wwx's handwriting on it or whatever. Or maybe jl grows up with it and adores it cause there isn't a wwx stigms attached and like it saves his life many times, people constantly saying whoever gave it to him must of really loved him. And then he finds out the truth

a symbol to remind you that there’s more to see by paperminds (T, 9k, JL & WWX, JC & WWX, JL & JC, post-canon, canon typical violence, hurt/comfort, angst w happy ending, JC & WWX reconciliation) this one (from 2 itmfs back) is 'similar' the other way, jin ling grows up thinking his mom commissioned the bracelet. for #15, i think i've never read a fic with jin zixun specifically stealing jin ling's gift, so i hope op gets recs, but otherwise it might be a cool prompt for the kinkmeme!sadly i cant find the 'similar' fic i want to rec lol 🤦‍♀️ its the one with ghost rogue wwx who was (spoiler) killed due to jin negligence in a nighthunt iirc, and jin zixun steal all his notes and passes them off as his own. wx have a different first meeting and lwj investigates wwx's death.

asymptotic by chinxe (T, 26k, WangXian, Canon Divergence, Angst with a Happy Ending, Slow Burn, Misunderstandings, Pining) The fic the previous reccer for 15 is looking for is Asymptotic!

~*~

16. ITMF fics with protective LXC. Maybe he goes against JGY because he dares to hurt LWJ and that's where he crosses the line. But I mainly want protective LXC over his brother (and maybe a bit dark?)

A Little Fall of Rain by Just_a_Girl_in_a_Crystal (T, 47k, wangxian, LXC & LWJ, canon divergence, fix-it , Angst w happy ending, Canon-Typical Violence, Canon Temporary Character Death, Not Everyone Dies au, Grief/Mourning, Lan Wangji’s awesome family, Golden Core Reveal, Protective LXC, Protective LQR, WIP) ooh idk fics where lxc actively opposes jiggy/discovers his actions, but for now, i have these for 16. protective lxc starts to mistrust ppl who aren't lwj

The blame game by apathyinreverie (T, 13k, wangxian, LXC & LWJ, LSZ & WWX, WWX & WQ, LXC & WWX, canon divergence, fix-it, time travel, Possessive LWJ, Oblivious WWX, Fluff, Siblings, Romance, Golden Core Reveal, Golden Core Fix) general protectiveness with the power of hindsight

Alternative Choices by StarClearWaters (Readoutloud) (T, 20k, wangxian, LXC/WQ, Time Travel, LXC pov, Protective LXC, Temporary Character Death, Butterfly Effect, Mpreg, Panic Attacks)

~*~

17. Hi!!!!! For the next itmf I’d like some secret relationship wangxian. Preferably canon or canon adjacent, definitely not ABO tho. Thank you!

~*~

If you didn’t get an answer to your ask here, don’t forget to make use of @mdzs-kinkmeme and MDZS KINK MEME on Dreamwidth. Authors actually do use them for ideas. You may get what you order!***Your prompt doesn’t have to be kink! Fluff, crack, whatever - it’s all good!***

#wangxian #mdzs #wangxian fic recs #i'm in the mood for a fic #the untamed #wangxian fic search #wangxianficfinder #long post

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trensu · 6 months

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I set myself a goal to have this fic finished and postedon ao3 by Halloween. As you can tell, I have failed miserably since it's neither finished or posted. In my defense, my hands were in much more pain than usual for most of October and so far November's not looking so great either.

Still, I feel kind of shitty about missing my goal, so I decided to post the first couple of scenes here. This fic is part of the Hawkins Halfway House series and we'll be meeting Billy in it. Enjoy!

Eddie was enjoying a quiet, little Horrors-free day with House. He’d dropped off Max and the Sinclair siblings with Steve in the morning since they hadn’t been able to hang out with Dustin and El for longer than any of the little Horrors deemed acceptable. El had been living with Steve for about a year now, and Dustin nearly twice that long. The transition hadn’t been as painful as expected but the kids were not used to being apart from each other, so an arrangement was reached that every other weekend, the kids could spend the night together either at House or at Junior.

This weekend, the kids had opted to stay at Junior with Steve. Depending on how things went, they might stay longer seeing as the kids were on some extended human holiday weekend as of the night before. If that happened, then Eddie planned on having some slow lazy mornings. However, it was now past lunchtime and he really needed to restock their stores of red meat, thanks to the pair of werewolf cubs in his care. He had very quickly become the local butcher’s favorite customer because of them.

Eddie had just about convinced himself to get going and be a responsible adult when the phone rang. Eddie made his way over to where House decided to keep the phone hooked up this week. He leaned against the wall, already fiddling with the phone cord, as he answered.

“Hawkins Halfway–”

“EDDIE,” Dustin screeched over the phone. “You have to come over right now. Steve is DYING.”

“What?” Eddie asked, bolting upright from where he had slouched. He heard the voices of the other kids over the line.

“He is bleeding. Blood should stay inside humans,” El said seriously.

“Bleeding? Where? What happened?” Eddie asked, resting the phone between his shoulder and ear to free up his hands. He got a bit tangled in the cord in his hurried searching of his pockets for his keys.

“Guys,” Steve’s voice broke through. “Guys, I’m fine. Oh god, Dustin, who are you calling? What did I say about using the phone? Junior, what did I tell you about letting the kids use the phone?”

“This IS an emergency!” Dustin protested, loudly.

“There’s so much blood,” Lucas could be heard in the background. “It’s like that time I ate a rabbit just before the moon set.”

“See, Eddie? HE’S DYING!” Dustin shouted directly into the receiver.

“You called Eddie? Dustin, give me the phone,” Steve said. After a brief scuffle, and what sounded like the handset being dropped to the ground only to get hastily picked up, Steve was speaking directly. His voice sounded funny. “Eddie, hi!”

“What happened? Dustin thinks you’re dying,” Eddie said.

“I’m fine! Nobody’s dying,” Steve said. Then, presumably to the kids, “Give me some room, I don’t want to drip on any of you.”

“Steve, are you bleeding?” Eddie asked, his worry mixing with irritation.

“Yeah, but I’m okay. It’s a bloody nose,” Steve said, which explained why he sounded weird.

“And a bloody mouth,” Lucas added.

“His eye’s busted up, too!” Erica said loud enough for Eddie to hear.

“Yes, thank you for that,” Steve said to the kids in that bitchy tone Eddie secretly enjoyed hearing. “Go watch some TV while I talk to Eddie. I promise I won’t fall over dead.”

“I’m coming over,” Eddie decided out loud.

“You don’t have to, honestly, the kids are freaking out over nothing,” Steve insisted.

“You’re due for a home inspection anyway. See you in ten.”

Eddie hung up before Steve could protest.

–

Eddie didn’t have a chance to knock on the door before it slammed open and he was swarmed by the kids.

“He’s in the kitchen,” Lucas told him.

“We couldn’t remember how much blood humans are supposed to keep inside,” El said.

“Yeah, so Dustin freaked out,” Erica snorted derisively.

Dustin started to argue that his concern was legitimate, but Eddie pushed past all of them to get to the kitchen. There, Eddie nearly swallowed his tongue because Steve was indeed in the kitchen. Shirtless. And bent over the sink. The steam rising from the running water dampened his chest hair and made his skin dewy. The muscles in Steve’s arms flexed distractingly as he scrubbed almost violently at a bloodied shirt.

Eddie didn’t have much time to enjoy the view because as soon as he finished processing the vision, he caught sight of Steve’s face. He immediately understood why the children panicked. Steve’s face was a mess. Steve had done his best to clean up most of the blood, but his nostrils were still rimmed with some, and the split lip started to bleed again when Steve looked up at Eddie. The skin around his eye was puffy and bruised.

“It looks worse than it is,” Steve said immediately. “No concussion!”

Eddie covered the distance in a few long strides. He reflexively reached out to touch Steve’s face, then pulled back when he realized what he’d been about to do. Eddie had been adamantly ignoring the small crush he was harboring for his kids’ foster parent. Unfortunately, it meant he had to forcibly ignore opportunities to touch Steve as much as possible. In this case, it resulted in Eddie fluttering his hands uselessly around Steve.

“What happened?”

“First, you should know that I handled it and I was already planning on calling you to give you a rundown of the situation. I wanted to clean myself up a bit before calling but that didn’t go as planned, obviously.”

“Steve.”

“I’m fine, really. I’m more worried about Max.” At Steve’s words, Eddie’s whole body tensed.

“What happened to Max?” Eddie asked before it occurred to him, “She wasn’t with the other kids. Where is she?”

“She ran to her room as soon as we got home. She’s kind of shaken up. I haven’t had the chance to talk to her about what happened because the others saw me and were freaking out the whole ride home.”

“I can talk to her,” Eddie said immediately. Steve nodded as if he hadn’t expected anything different, and began to explain what happened.

“I took the kids to the park nearby to burn off some energy before dinner,” Steve said. “Max stayed in the parking lot because she wanted to practice using her skateboard.”

While Steve spoke, Eddie maneuvered himself around the familiar kitchen. He grabbed a clean kitchen towel and dug out an icepack from the freezer. After wrapping it up, he handed it to Steve, who delicately placed it over his eye.

Steve continued to explain how he made sure he settled in a spot that would give him a good view of both the parking lot and the playground. Everything had been going well. All the kids were having fun, although Max had tumbled a couple of times while trying to find her balance on the skateboard. Then Steve had been distracted.

Erica had gotten a bit too into a game of chase. She had started to get a little wolfy around the edges. Lucas had immediately shielded her from view by throwing his hoodie at her face. Steve guided her a farther away from the playground to somewhere more quiet and secluded to give her a moment to calm down. Once she had collected herself, she and Steve rejoined everyone at the playground. Steve had given the playground a quick lookover to make sure everyone was still accounted for, but when he’d looked for Max over at the parking lot, a man was with her.

Steve had been too far away to hear what the man was saying, but the man was way too close to her. Max had frozen in place. If the unknown man approaching her hadn’t been alarming enough, seeing her freeze like that set off all sorts of bells. While Max wasn’t Steve’s foster kid, he knew her well enough by now to know that, when cornered, Max's first instinct was to fight, not flee or freeze.

“I ran over there as soon as I saw what was happening,” Steve told Eddie, as if Eddie would ever doubt him. Steve had a protective streak to rival a werewolf. “By the time I got to them, he had grabbed her by the arm.”

Steve had shoved the man away from her the moment he had gotten within reach. From there it had devolved into a fistfight that left Steve in his current state. Thankfully the other kids were too wrapped up in their playground games to realize what was happening at the time but one of the other parents at the playground had seen and used the nearby payphone to call the police. The cops showed up to break up the fight. As far as Steve was aware, the man who had grabbed Max was taken away by the cops. They took some statements from witnesses, but Steve, to Eddie’s utter lack of surprise, insisted on going home with his kids rather than going down to the station.

Eddie was grateful for that. He had seen how cops treat people they consider less than human, even when they didn't have an ounce of supernatural blood in them. Little Horrors in distress were not always great at keeping their human faces on.

Once Steve finished updating Eddie, he went to reassure the other kids while Eddie made his way to see Max. Eddie had barely stepped into the guest room Junior had made for Max before Max shot to her feet. She was very pale, made even more apparent by the dark red feathers that had sprouted through her hair and along her face. Her hands were rough and clawed.

“He found me,” Max said. “Billy found me. He tried to take me away.”

Eddie swore under his breath. It was just as he had suspected. He didn't think the cops would hold Billy for very long. He had to start planning a defense but first, he wanted to comfort Max, offer some reassurance. He stepped closer to her but slowed his movements at Max’s flinch. Instead, he redirected and leaned against the dresser close to Max. Her jaw was tense. She crossed her arms, clutching at her elbows.

“But he didn’t,” Eddie said firmly. “You’re still here. Steve stopped him and you’re safe.”

Max’s breath hitched.

“Is…is Steve mad at me?” Her claws dug into fabric at the elbows of her hoodie, nervously shredding it. “I have my backpack in the closet. I can leave. If he’s mad.”

“What? No, no, no, Max, Steve’s not mad at you. He’s worried, but he’d never get mad at you for something like this.”

Her voice dropped to a shamed whisper.

“But Billy hurt him so bad. He broke Steve’s face,” her breath hitched again, but she had yet to break into tears. It hurt Eddie to see her try so hard to keep it together. “It's all my fault, he’s going to be so mad.”

“Max Mayfield, listen to me,” Eddie said fiercely. “None of this is your fault. This is all on that hunter. Steve doesn’t blame you and he’s not mad at you.”

She gnawed at her lip, eyes cast down. She didn't believe him, he could tell.

"Billy's going to come back. He’ll hurt Steve again," Max said.

"If that happens, and I'm not saying it will!" Eddie said. Though he knew she was right about Billy. Billy was a stubborn, possessive, and angry man. "But if it does, it still wouldn't be your fault. He's a grown up making his own awful decisions, okay?"

"Okay," she said despondently, though she no longer sounded like she would break into tears.

"I need to let Steve know what to expect but he'll probably come up here after to check on you if you're okay with it."

Max nodded jerkily, not looking at him. Eddie suppressed a sigh. Max had been making so much progress, opening herself up more to others and getting attached to things that interested her. If Eddie hadn’t hated Billy already, the sight Max retreating into herself again because of his reappearance would’ve done it.

"Do you want to be alone? Or do you want some of your friends up here with you?" Eddie asked.

Max shrugged. Eddie glanced over at the unmade bed. The underneath looked darker than it probably should be. He smiled tentatively at Max.

"I think El is already under the bed, so if you want to be alone…"

An oozing black tendril squirmed out from underneath the bed to wrap gently around Max's ankle. Some of the stress that pinched Max’s expression eased at the touch. She easily dropped to the ground and scooched into the cramped space beneath the bed.

“You are safe, Max,” El’s voice hissed from the dark space.

Eddie left the room and closed the door quietly behind him. It was time to fill Steve in on some things he had hoped would never come up.

#trensu tells stories #hawkins halfway house for homeless horrors #i wanna say I'm about halfway done with the fic #but since my job has me typing 8hrs a day 5 days a week #ive stopped typing at all when off the clock in the hopes that the brief respite will give my hands some time to recover #they haven't hurt this bad in a LONG time and idk what's triggered it #but as soon as im physically able ill writing finish this fic and post it on ao3 #stranger things #steddie #hhh: tradition

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aziraphales-library · 6 months

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Hi! Thank you for this blog. I was wondering if you could recommend any fics where one or the other or both at once think the other is dead?I love presumed dead fics.

Hello! You can check some previous presumed dead recs here, and you may also be interested in our #temporary character death tag. Here are some more presumed dead fics...

The Empty Flat & The Burning Bookshop by probably_publius (T)

It took a lot for Aziraphale to finally give in and give Crowley the thermos of Holy Water, and when he does, he is ladden with guilt. He can only hope that he doesn't use it on himself. In this storyline, Sergeant Shadwell takes just a minute longer to run to Mr. Fell's bookshop and misses Aziraphale after he runs to Crowley's flat. Meanwhile, Crowley is driving (if you can call it driving) to the bookshop. Aziraphale finds the demon goop and his thermos of Holy Water in Crowley's empty flat, his best friend gone. Crowley finds the bookshop in flames, his best friend gone. Warnings!!! You have been warned! Heavy angst, some swearing, reference to murder , reference to discorporation, reference to stealing, mention of Nazis, themes of and apparent suicide, themes of depression, self-loathing, and self-guilt.

Fractured Heart by Blue_Sparkle (T)

Angels are sturdy beings, but rigid and changeless and not meant to endure grief or loss. When thousands Fall and many more are slain in the Great Rebellion, they either literally break apart...or forget. Aziraphale's only memories of his lost beloved are his lover's skill at creating stars. Memories he cherishes above all else. It complicates matters when his heart starts attaching to a certain demon, but perhaps his time on earth can teach him how to heal.

Stitches by CaspianTheGeek (E)

Until now, Aziraphale's family has seen fit to ignore him slipping into the village to see his tailor-turned-lover. That is until the King dies and Aziraphale's brother decides it is time he finds a proper match. Crowley is sent to prison and Aziraphale is told he has died for daring to love the prince. Love isn't so easily stopped, and Crowley is determined to return to Aziraphale however he can. (I promise, this will absolutely have a happy ending. As all my stories do.)

Anyway, Don't Be A Stranger by Juno_Sunlit (T)

It's been 10 years since Crowley died, and Aziraphale has mourned for every single minute. It's also been 10 years since Aziraphale died, and Crowley, up in the stars, has done the same. To God's chagrin, neither is aware of the other's continued existence. Sick and tired of grief big enough to end a universe, She sends them both on a trip through their old haunts, hoping they'll meet. All is as well and good as possible until something happens to Aziraphale, and a grieving Crowley must unknowingly come to his rescue. Includes musings on existence, gentle, warm flashbacks, demonic heists of a homosexual nature, God in slippers, asshole Gabriel, tearful reunions, the inherent tenderness of loving someone ever so much, and, through all the sorrow, a very happy ending.

A Beautiful Fiction by Thestarlitrose (E)

Nineteen years after having his memories of Crowley stolen, Aziraphale encounters Warlock and has everything come rushing back to him. Together; with the help of an ex-antichrist, they embark on a journey through the Southeastern, United States to locate Crowley to bring him home, where he belongs. Chapters with smut and other potential triggers will be listed in the notes.

The Ghost of Husbands Past by A_N_D (E)

Az always knew that he’d be thrown out the moment his father found out he was gay. He hadn’t expected to be declared dead though - or for his husband to believe it! But their marriage had been a foolish teenage impulse (not to mention invalid in America), so when Az moved to a small town far upstate New York to start his new life, he moved alone. The kindest thing he could do was let Crowley mourn and move on, not be shackled for life to a now disabled partner. Tony Crowley never recovered from losing his best friend, his childhood sweetheart, his better half. He’d been drifting ever since; no plans, no hope, no money - and now, just before Thanksgiving, no job either. Given the stark choice of freezing to death or accepting his sister’s invitation to join her upstate, Tony reluctantly lives out the Hallmark cliche of Recently Unemployed Person Moves to Small Town for Christmas. It’s a time of hope, love, and family. It’s time for Az and Tony to find each other again.

- Mod D

#good omens #ineffable husbands #angst #presumed dead #fake character death #mod d

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makethatelevenrings · 1 year

Text

Day 31 - Threesome (Free Day)

Pairing: Dick Grayson x Wally West x f!reader

Warnings: dom/sub, dp in two holes, if you’re under 18 GO AWAY

Summary: Watching your lovers battle it out on the news was always difficult. You needed to make sure they were taken care of when they came home.

Kinktober Masterlist

You couldn’t tear your eyes away from the news replays of the battle on TV. There was something morbidly exhilarating about watching the heroes over and over again. The knot of anxiety that had choked you hours earlier loosened once you heard they were safe. Now, you were watching it to see the slender lines of Nightwing’s body as he leaped over some Joker goons and the blur of Flash as he took on Gorilla Grodd. You didn’t understand why the two assholes had decided to team up, but you were just glad that they were both back in captivity.

Any last vestige of tension in your shoulders bled out the second you heard the front door open. You were up and off the couch in seconds, your feet freezing from the ice cold linoleum of your cheap apartment.

“Dick.” His name exhaled out of you like a prayer when you saw him. His head raised and he dropped his duffel bag on the floor, his shoulders falling in the same relief you felt at seeing him unharmed.

“Hi sweetheart.” The endearment on his tongue made your knees weak and you gripped onto the wall next to you. You couldn’t relax fully. Not just yet.

“Where is he?”

There was no need to say his name. Dick knew exactly who you were talking about. He kicked off his shoes and ran a hand through his tousled hair.

“He had to run to Central to grab something. He’ll be here any second. I promise.” Dick wouldn’t lie to you, but this was one of those seeing instead of believing moments. True to his words, the door flew open and shut before you could blink and strong hands gripped your wrists. Wally yanked you into his chest and you melted into his touch, the unshed tears that you had been holding back all night finally bursting forth.

“We’re okay, pretty girl,” Wally breathed. “Everyone’s okay.”

A steady, warm body pressed up against you from behind and you shut your eyes with a shuddering breath as Dick sandwiched you between the two men. In their arms, the world quieted. All of the worry and fear dissipated as Dick drew circles on your hip and Wally whispered reassurance into your ear. Dick pressed closer to you and you could hear the soft kiss he planted on Wally’s temple.

You raised your face from where you had buried it against Wally’s chest and blinked up at the redhead. He grinned and cupped your face, bringing your lips up to meet his. A soft sigh escaped you as he ran his tongue along the curve of your lips. You could taste Dick on his lips and it just made you crave the touch of your lovers that much more.

Pulling away from Wally, you tilted your head back and swallowed Dick’s soft chuckle with a searing kiss. Wally hummed at the sight of you two, his grip tightening on your hips. One of his hands came up to stroke along Dick’s thigh, eliciting a sigh from the dark haired man that sent shivers down your spine.

“You never have to worry about us, pretty girl,” Wally murmured as he kissed down your shoulder. “Wing and I will always fight to come home to you.”

“I know you will.” You breathed in the scent of your boys. From friends to first kisses to fumbling hands, your boys loved you with all of their beings. You had been there for the serious injuries, the missing in actions, and the presumed dead.

But they always crawled home to you, bleeding and broken and your name on their lips.

You turned and placed a hand on either man’s chest. Dick’s blue eyes darkened as you trailed your hand down to rest against the waistband of their sweats. Wally inhaled sharply as your nails scratched lightly at the skin there.

“Well, I should leave you two to relax,” you said, pulling away your hands and stepping backwards. Their sharp, calculating gazes followed you as you inched back.

And then you were flying.

Well, not really flying, but you were standing in the entryway one second, and the next you were in your bedroom with a very, very horny Wallace West tugging you into a kiss. He yanked himself away, chest heaving with repressed exertion. Your boys were always keyed up after a fight, no matter how exhausted they might appear to be.

Which is precisely where you came in.

Quite literally…came.

“You better be naked before Rob gets in here,” Wally growled. You peeled off Dick’s sweatshirt you were wearing and instantly your nipples pebbled at the cold air. That’s what you get for not wearing a bra.

“Fuck, pretty girl. Strip and get on your knees.” Wally usually deferred to Dick’s control, but he was always dominant with you. You slowly pulled your shorts off, revealing the Flash panties you had picked up a few days ago. His tongue darted out to wet his lips and he watched as you tossed your clothes into the corner and then sank to your knees.

“That’s my pretty girl,” Wally cooed. He tucked his hand under your chin and cradled your face just as the door opened. Dick walked in, juggling numerous items that you knew would be for after he fucked you senselessly. Always a gentleman. Always a good dom.

“On the bed. Both of you.” He had his team leader voice on so you knew he wasn’t taking shit today. Wally dashed out of his clothes and took up his spot at the headboard. You moved to lay on the bed, your back flush against the scratchy cotton sheets that Wally insisted on.

You took a steady breath before opening your mouth, knowing what was coming. Wally looked to Dick first and once he got the nod, he slid the head of his cock past your lips. You shut your eyes, inhaling his scent and letting the feel of him consume your tongue.

Wally didn’t do anything but rest there. No thrusts. No jerks. Nothing. He simply let himself harden in your mouth surrounded by your warm, plush lips. You whined and flicked your tongue out across his slit, wanting to be used by him, and Wally groaned in response.

“C’mon, ‘Wing. She’s about to make me blow my load like I’m a fuckin’ teen again.”

“Patience, Wally,” Dick chuckled. You flinched at the touch of cold hands against your ankles, but you relaxed when you realized it was Dick. Lips pressed against your skin and then slowly made their way up, ghosting right over your cunt. You tried your best to not squirm, but you wanted Dick there so bad.

“C’mon, man. She deserves it,” Wally murmured from above you. You tilted your head up, slipping more of his cock into your mouth and Wally thrust shallowly into your throat. You gagged slightly and he paused, giving you a chance to breathe, and then started again when you gave him a thumbs up.

Meanwhile, a gentle kiss on your mound turned into a kitten lick across your slit. You sighed, your legs falling open further as Dick dove in. For a man who always used his tongue to sass villains, he certainly knew how to use it. You shuddered at the feel of his rough tongue dipping into your cunt.

As one of his fingers crooked into your pussy, you focused on making Wally come. You hollowed out your cheeks and licked along the underside of his cock, making his hips stutter and a garbled moan escape his lips. You would have grinned victoriously if Dick hadn’t taken that as an opportunity to start rubbing slow circles on your clit. The whimper you let out vibrated through Wally’s cock and he gasped, his thrusts picking up speed. You reached up one hand to roll one of his sacs in your hand, feeling it tighten under your touch.

Salty cum shot down your throat and Wally grabbed the back of your head, making sure you took every last drop and swallowed it down before he released you and pulled out of your mouth. Your cunt clenched around Dick’s fingers and you were so close…

He pulled his fingers out and moved to your head, sticking his soaked fingers between your parted lips. You obediently licked your slick off of his skin and gazed up at him. God, even when he was depriving you of an orgasm, he looked perfect.

“Up, sweetheart.” He grabbed your hips and manhandled you to your knees so you were straddling his waist. “Give Wally a kiss.”

Wally captured your lips with his just as Dick sank you down onto his thick cock. Wally’s tongue pressed against yours and he licked the combination of his cum and your juices out of your mouth as Dick lifted your hips, his cock dragging along your walls. Lips enclosed around your nipples and you whimpered at the touch. Dick suckled at one of your breasts while his fingers pinched and twisted your other nipple.

Pleasure surged through your core, but you knew that Dick wasn’t going to let you off this easily. Your jaw slackened as he bounced you on his cock and you were so focused on the stretch of him inside of you that you nearly missed the sound of a bottle opening.

Wally moved to kneel behind you, one of his lube-slicked fingers finding the tight hole between your cheeks. You gasped as he rubbed his finger along the pucker of your ass and then he slipped the tip of one finger in.

Pitching forward into Dick’s chest, you were pretty sure you went boneless as Wally slowly pumped his finger in and out of your hole. One became two and he scissored his fingers to widen the gap. You knew what they were planning and you welcomed it wholeheartedly. You wanted to feel the sweaty press of their bodies on either side of you. You wanted to be suffocated by their lust and love. You wanted to feel them fill you up and leave you dripping with their cum.

Dick felt your muscles tighten in your stomach and he immediately stopped bouncing you on his cock, settling you in his lap. His hands came up to cup your face and he studied your glazed eyes.

“You with us, baby?”

“Mhm. Yes, sir.”

Wally twisted his fingers, eliciting a shudder through your spine, and then added a third finger. The intrusion burned slightly and your breathing hitched for a second, but it quickly turned into pleasure as he shallowly fucked his fingers, adding depth with each thrust.

“Think you can take both of us tonight?” Dick asked.

“Please, sir. Want to feel you both.”

Dick chuckled, smoothing back your hair from your face. “Hear that, Walls? Such a good girl for us.”

“Just want to make you feel good,” you murmured. Wally let out a breathy laugh behind you and kissed your naked shoulder.

“You always treat us so well, baby. Think you’re ready for me?”

You wiggled your hips back, testing the stretch of your asshole with the girth of his fingers. You nodded and leaned forward so your ass was exposed more. Dick hissed as you clenched around his cock and you let out a quiet apology.

“Don’t you ever apologize for squeezing me like that, sweetheart. You were made to take our cocks, weren’t you?”

“Yes, sirs.” You felt Wally grasp your ass and pull your cheeks apart. He scooted closer and rubbed the tip of his dick, hard once more, against your hole. You greedily sucked in his tip and he sighed, as if he were seeing heaven. Dick adjusted onto his knees, sinking you further onto Wally.

They were splitting you apart from the inside, but you loved the burn. You could feel every ridge and vein of their cocks as they filled you up and settled you on their laps. Wally’s chest pressed against your back and Dick’s chest pressed against your own. You grabbed Dick’s shoulders and let your head fall back to rest on Wally’s as they started to thrust, one after the other so you were never ever empty.

They could feel the other inside of you as they alternated thrusts. Dick loved the feel of you clenching around his length and he savored the knowledge that Wally was right there, pressed against the two of you, and sharing in this pleasure. He never thought he would be able to have both of his loves in his life and in his bed, but the three of you made it work.

You were the perfect sweetheart, always eager to serve the two of you yet never taking their shit. You didn’t care if they were heroes. You only cared that they came home to you.

Sweaty bodies rubbing against one another, cum-tinged tongues meeting in the middle, and burning kisses along jaws and shoulders and cheeks were all proof that you three were alive and present and no one would be able to divide you.

You clenched around your boys and Wally looked to Dick for permission. The dark haired man nodded and Wally slid his hand down to where Dick and you connected. He found the bundle of nerves at the top of your cunt and pressed down on it, letting his fingers vibrate at a speed that he would consider to be a light jog.

You jolted, your walls fluttering around the two men as you came with a strangled cry and their names on your lips. Your vision whited out, muscles tensing and shaking with exertion and orgasmic pleasure. You were pretty sure your brain broke, because when you came to, you were lying on the bed, the feeling of sticky cum dripping out of both of your holes. Gentle hands stroked over your spine and you tilted your chin up to find that you were lying in Wally’s lap with your head on his thigh.

“Hey, princess,” Wally whispered. “How are you feeling?”

“Fucked out,” you answered bluntly. “Where’s Dickie?”

Another hand landed on your hip and the bed dipped as a glass of water appeared in your line of sight. “Right here, sweetheart. We might have been a little rough there. I’m sorry.”

You shook your head. “I wanted it. I would have used the safeword if I didn’t want it. And I know you two would have stopped.”

Because you trusted them. They were good men and good lovers and good doms. They were always on alert for anything that could go wrong.

“Alright, do you want a bath?”

You considered it for a moment, but you didn’t want to lose the warmth the three of you had developed. “Can we take one later?”

“Alright, but you gotta go to the bathroom, drink some water, and eat something for us. That sound good?”

You nodded and Wally helped you up and onto your shaky legs. He supported you to the bathroom and stood outside until you said you were done. The speedster appeared in the doorway with some clean clothes, already dressed himself in some plaid pajama pants, and he helped you into the clothes. It was one of his ratty old t-shirts and a pair of Dick’s boxers, but you savored the smell of them on the fabric. He bent down and picked you up, one arm around your back and the other under your knees.

“What’s on the menu, Chef Grayson?” you teased as Wally settled you gently onto the king mattress Dick had bought for the tree of you. Your boyfriends insisted on a fuck ton of blankets, even if Wally ran hot thanks to the fact that he literally ran hot. It came in handy for times like this when Wally bundled you up under a pile of blankets and settled a few throw pillows behind you.

“Bagel bites,” he answered dryly. “They’ll be ready in about eight minutes. Need anything?”

You beckoned him forward with a wave of your hand and he climbed into the bed on your left with Wally on your right. You curled up against your boys and rested your head on Wally’s chest, your legs tangling with Dick’s.

“Thank you for coming home to me,” you whispered. They shared one of those looks over your head. The look that meant they were discussing something without words. Wally reached over to the nightstand and pulled something out.

“I ran by Central to grab something. Today made us realize some things and well…”

The speedster held out a small velvet box and you glanced between your boys for a moment, words failing you. Wally flipped open the lid, revealing three rings stacked on each other.

“We can’t get married legally. But we can at least make it somewhat official,” Dick murmured. “You can marry one of us legally because if one of us doesn’t come home…Just in case…”

“Don’t say that,” you choked out. You picked up the slim silver band that rested in the middle of the two thick black silicone bands.

“Just in case, you will be taken care of legally and financially. Okay?”

“What do you say, pretty girl?”

You picked up Wally’s left hand and slid one of the rings on his finger before doing the same to Dick. Finally, you placed the diamond band on your own. Holding your hand out, you compared it to theirs.

“I think if you keep giving me mindblowing orgasms, then I’m in.”

Dick burst into laughter as Wally rolled his eyes. “I love you boys.”

“We love you too.”

#kinktober #kinktober 2022 #dick grayson x reader #wally west x reader #dick grayson x wally west x reader #nightwing x reader #flash x reader #dick grayson imagine #wally west imagine

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illuminatedquill · 7 months

Text

Sabine Wren and Ezra Bridger:

Star Scar-Crossed Lovers

They don't know how much they'll miss At least until you're gone like this Talking to the mirror, say, "Save your breath Half your life, you've been hooked on death" Twice the dreams, but half the love Be careful what you bottle up The chemistry is a mess, it seems But me, I'm still a sunbeam I will never ask you for anything Except to dream sweet of me I will never ask you for anything Except to dream sweet of me Tell me, when the party ends Will you still love who I am, I am? - Fall Out Boy, Heaven, Iowa

Here's the thing - Ezra's disappearance and subsequent absence from Sabine's life was always going to hurt her in a way that no one else's did.

All because Ezra was kind. That's the horrible, tragic irony of it all that keeps me up at night. Sabine has lost so many loved ones throughout her life: ran from her own family; her fellow Mandalorian and friend Ketsu Onyo left her for dead; Kanan died to allow her, Hera, and Ezra to escape Imperial forces; and, later on, her master, Ahsoka Tano left her shortly after the Purge of Mandalore.

It's arguable that even Hera and Zeb presumably became estranged from her at some point during or after the events of the Original Trilogy. The Ghost Crew split up. Sabine is alone on Lothal and clearly is not accustomed to visitors when we see her in the Ahsoka premiere.

Sabine, as we know, is accustomed to this. She has developed a method of "moving on" and forging a new path ahead. She internalizes the pain, for better and worse, and keeps moving.

It's served her fairly well.

But not with Ezra. He does the one thing none of those others did: he leaves a message, just for her, shortly before his disappearance with Thrawn into another galaxy.

With that message, that act of unconditional love and kindness, it leaves an indelible scar on Sabine's heart.

With the others who left or died or she ran away from, she could ignore the pain. Sabine could justify it for being due to one reason or another.

Ezra's message does away with that defense. Slips past through her hardened exterior and nestles deep within her heart.

Because he's kind. Because he's Ezra and he didn't want to leave his friend without saying good-bye and wanted to give her some sense of closure.

"Sometimes being offered tenderness feels like the very proof that you've been ruined." - Ocean Vuong, On Earth We're Briefly Gorgeous

She doesn't close the door on Ezra. But she can't cross through it either. For the next ten years, Sabine becomes stagnant, keeping that fire of hope burning for her lost friend but unable to act on it.

And she plays that message every day, probably.

Plays it again.

And again.

She dreams of that recording; has Ezra's statement memorized to where she mouths along the words with him and can even copy his mannerisms. Sabine takes to heart every little one of his movements and how shy and awkward he looks when he says she's "like a sister" to him.

(And she scoffs. Every single time. But doesn't quite know why that line irritates her.)

The tragedy is that Ezra's message was meant to reassure Sabine and let her move on . . . only to do the exact opposite.

It becomes a burden to bear - one that she does so willingly and with all the ferocity and determination she can muster. But, still a burden it is, despite Ezra's good intentions.

Sabine eventually does the unthinkable - she takes on the mantle of a Jedi.

Think about it. Never, in the entirety of Rebels, had she ever shown an inkling of being interested in following the Jedi path.

Why now? What's changed?

It's simple. Ezra's gone.

Maybe it's a desire to get closer with him but, equally likely, Sabine sees it as a potential avenue to find him someday. She's seen it's power and the abilities it produces in those who are able to wield it.

But even that path forward to Ezra fails. Her people - and her family - are purged by the Empire and Ahsoka cuts her Jedi training short out of fear for Sabine becoming dangerous should she reach her full potential after such a tremendous loss.

More years pass, but the fire never dies. But Sabine cannot do anything. She stays locked in Ezra's watchtower, seeing the galaxy return to life but not feeling any of it for herself.

And then, eventually, Ahsoka returns with the map to Thrawn.

We know the rest.

The planet of Seatos. The map. Ahsoka's fall.

Sabine's choice. The only choice. The grand calculus of the universe demands that she place duty over love; that she throw away Thrawn's one chance of returning to finish what he started.

And, in doing so, doom Ezra to die far, far away from home.

And Sabine makes her choice. Gambles the fate of her galaxy, the hard won peace that so many had fought and died for - all for love.

The Ahsoka finale seems to find Sabine and Ahsoka making peace over her choice. Yes, Thrawn has returned to the galaxy - but so has Ezra, thus fulfilling Sabine's promise to herself of getting him home.

Ahsoka reassures her that the Force has plans in motion - that although they are stranded in another galaxy, they are meant to be here. Just like Ezra is meant to be back home.

Trust in the Force. Sabine and Ezra will find their way back to each other, no matter what.

. . . But there's always consequences to a decision. Always.

I don't believe that Sabine sacrificing her desire to be with Ezra after being kept apart for so long is the true cost of what she did. I don't think that's her real trial.

I think the real reckoning is yet to come.

Because Ezra never found out how she came to find him.

Sabine could not bring herself to tell him. Because she is, appropriately, scared of how he will react. She does not want to lose him again.

(The weight of that will break the galaxy.)

Helping Thrawn return is not only a betrayal of everything Ezra and others had sacrificed for but it places Lothal, Hera, Jacen, Zeb, and countless other beings in extreme danger.

In making her deal with Baylan to find Thrawn, Sabine may end up losing him again in a way more permanent than being trapped in a distant galaxy.

Sabine got him back after so long . . . only for her choice to cause an irreparable rift in their relationship.

The loss of Ezra's love, trust, and respect for Sabine is something I cannot fathom how she would handle. She saved him, only to lose him because of it.

And to think from it on Ezra's side - that he doesn't know how his message came to define Sabine's life these past ten years. He's Force-sensitive and, more importantly, knows Sabine better than most people; he knows she's hiding something from him.

But I don't think he could guess it was something like helping Thrawn. He wouldn't even consider it being in character for her, let alone especially for someone who is training to be a Jedi.

Ezra would never, for a single second, consider that Sabine is a traitor. It's unthinkable for him. It's probably why he never questioned Sabine further after she showed up on Peridea with little explanation.

For what reason would she risk the galaxy? To throw everything into the hands of the galaxy's most feared and cunning Imperial warlord?

And when he finds out it was all for him . . . . my heart breaks for Ezra.

The scar of Sabine's choice would mark him long enough for several lifetimes.

How do you fix something like that? How do you come back from a betrayal that burns everything you've ever sacrificed for, everything you've ever stood for?

How do you face the person you trusted to safeguard all of that, only to find out that they're the one who lit the flame?

How do you reconcile that they did all these terrible things for you?

(Ask Vader how well that turned out for him.)

It's Sabine. It's Ezra.

And the scars they've given each other . . . all for love.

If Filoni is brave enough, then this could be the most interesting relationship in all of Star Wars.

#sabezra #ezrabine #sabine wren #ezra bridger #star wars rebels #ahsoka #ahsoka show #star wars #ahsoka spoilers

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filesyourwalten · 2 months

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im not the best at solving for clues and all this, but i noticed some (admittedly obvious) loose threads on “findjackwalten.com”

nothing too serious but, it's always intrigued me how on "findjackwalten.com/brightonghosts", following the link on "can a Ghost KILL me? redirects to, not one of the explanation paragraphs written by y, that all the others do, but to "findjackwalten.com/missing"

Missing has been updated a couple times:

originally, in 2021, the page had an image of cut up paper shreds a distorted face (believed to be the face of Charles Brook) it also had text off to the side saying "did you forget about me?"

a second update was done, removed the image and stated “ill see you soon”

the third update showed a cracked, presumably porcelain, baby face

and as of current, the website is blank

could this mean anything?

i don’t really have any theories, but considering all the links on BrightonGhosts either aren’t real or lead to similar silly web pages and then “can a ghost KILL you” becomes so much more serious? it really stuck out to me.

My first thought went to Jack when i saw “missing” cuz duh (i personally think jack is still alive though), then the letter to Felix asking about a missing Susan, who, we know, was killed by bon. With the knowledge of “Bon” from twf4 being the most ghost-like character in the series thus far i feel like this could be hinting at bon potentially not being possessed by a person and instead an entity or whatever, a “ghost” could equally be a dead person though so i might be wrong

whether it means anything or not i’ve never heard anyone talk about this before so i thought i’d post this

(all images from the fandom wiki lol)

#the walten files #walten files #twf #twf 4 #twf bon #susan woodings #analog horror #brightonghosts #findjackwalten #findjackwalten.com is so complex i hate it #charles brook

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chloecherrysip · 1 year

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Maybe that Mario & Luigi warping footage has driven me mad and now I'm just terminally stuck on MAXIMUM BROTHERLY ANGST but the fact that the Mario movie seems willing to go to a very emotional and sweet place with their relationship is killing me!!! Here are some Mario and Luigi-specific theories/possible moments I've been thinking about for the movie, all nicely compiled (and not just tossed into other people's inboxes, haha) - maybe they'll happen in some way, maybe they won't, but if they DO, oh man, I will be a puddle of goo in the movie theater they'll have to sweep up afterwards:

Mario opening up to Peach and Toad about Luigi, what their life was like in the past, their closeness, and his fears/anxieties about the possibility of not being able to save his brother (some version of this seems EXTREMELY likely in the fire flower scene) (and likewise, Luigi talking to his fellow prisoners about Mario and how much he misses his brother!)

Both brothers taking moments throughout the movie to think of each other and draw inner strength/resolve from that - for instance, Mario struggling with his training, feeling exhausted and hopeless, but thinking of Luigi in danger and how much his brother needs him and that giving him the burst of strength and determination he needs to finally complete the course

LIKEWISE, Luigi panicking or struggling to act in his scary predicaments but thinking of Mario and what he would do/say in situations like this and being able to keep going/stay brave because of that memory

BOWSER FIGURING OUT THE RELATION AND USING LUIGI AGAINST MARIO AT A CRITICAL MOMENT??? (I'm sorry, but it feels like the interrogation stuff has to lead SOMEWHERE) (Bowser clearly is looking for info/weak points he can use against Mario, and Luigi himself ultimately IS that weak point!!!)

This could play out in a lot of different ways - using an in-danger Luigi as bait for a trap, maybe there's some Magic Shenanigans where Kamek throws Luigi's voice to lure Mario away from the group during a battle, or maybe Bowser just taunts Mario about his brother and how Mario's too weak to save him from the torture he's endured/will endure. Whatever the case is, Mario's anger and Ultra Big Brother Instincts overriding all other common sense could cause him to act too rashly or make some serious mistakes in the heat of the moment. :(

Either brother thinking that the other is dead for any period of time and just being BROKEN but also FULL OF FIERY VENGEANCE because of it!!! I know, I know, put me in Angst Jail but Mario could get blown off Rainbow Road and presumed dead for a little while, which could get back to Luigi through Bowser or his minions, OR maybe Luigi escapes but Bowser lies to Mario and tells that he disposed of his brother already and he's too late. I could just see both of them breaking down at first but ultimately being ANGRY above all else and resolving to avenge the other, no matter what ;___; (and this would also make their eventual reunion even MORE emotional and impactful)

Speaking of, the brothers reuniting with the BIGGEST, MOST DESPERATE, CLINGING HUG YOU'VE EVER SEEN IN YOUR LIFE (this is truly all I care about, I just need the movie to get this right, PLEASE)

Bonus points if there's a big lead-up to it where they maybe they just hear each other at first, or they see one another from a far-away distance and they're just RUNNING and FIGHTING and SCRAMBLING to reach each other, calling out all the while, to the point that they can't even stop, they just TACKLE each other at full speed

(They've never been apart this long before! Ever since they can remember, they've been joined at the hip, and this whole time, it's felt like they were missing a limb, but now THEY'RE BOTH HERE and THEY'RE OKAY and there's a lot of fussing over injuries and frantic questions and THE BIGGEST, TEARIEST SMILES EVER and it finally feels like everything's really gonna be okay, even though there might still be an ongoing invasion/final battle to take care of)

After reuniting, there being a situation where they need to split up again temporarily to accomplish different goals in the name of stopping Bowser and Mario is actually the more anxious one for once who really doesn't want to let Luigi out of his sight after they've just found each other again, but Luigi takes a turn reassuring him that it's gonna be okay (and Mario is quietly impressed by how his brother seems a little braver after his ordeal)

ALSO after reuniting, there being a moment before the final battle with Bowser where Mario is self-doubting and isn't sure he can win, but Luigi doesn't understand that because ever since they were little and dealing with playground bullies, he's ALWAYS thought of Mario as a hero - this new role just fits him so well, at least in Luigi's eyes, and he knows that Mario can do this (I KNOW, I KNOW, A LITTLE CHEESY, but!! i just love the idea of Luigi hearing about/seeing his brother as The Hero and being like "yep, my big bro IS amazing and brave and the absolute best, this makes sense!")

At any point, Mario actually seeing Bowser hurt/threaten Luigi and just going ABSOLUTELY BALLISTIC because of it. RIP BOWSER, YA IDIOT

Possibly related to the above, but it feels like a pretty sure thing that the final battle has to be Bowser VS Mario all the way, that's how so many games end, but! I do think Luigi could provide important assistance at one or two moments. Like maybe Bowser is startling to struggle and goes for the power star, but Luigi has already beaten him to it and manages to throw it to Mario before Bowser reaches him - but then he gets STRUCK HARD or even knocked out by Bowser and Mario's anguished reaction sets off the star's power! (I did see that somewhere else, not my original idea - the concept that the star can only be activated by an intense, pure-hearted emotion - but I love it <3)

That's all I got for now - again, even a FRACTION of these happening would be officially Too Much for my little, feeble heart. I'm just so grateful that from everything we've seen so far, the movie really does seem to be centering the brothers' relationship (even if they're not physically together for most of it) and how much they mean to each other and that is everything!

#mario movie #super mario bros #mario and luigi #super mario bros movie #mario movie speculation #mario movie spoilers #cherrysip hc's & rambling #(these are definitely NOT spoilers but just in case people don't even want to see guesses at what may happen lol)#i have always wanted more mario content about the brothers and their bond and how they would do anything for each other and #this movie does truly feel like a DREAM sometimes in that regard even if it is sad they won't spend a lot of onscreen time together #also i really wish i didn't have to say this but PLEASE don't be gross on this post or reblog it as a “ship” thing it is NOT meant that way

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raayllum · 9 months

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Now that we have the trailer, episode titles, and added context from the TDP shorts this season, I thought I’d take a stab at doing another season breakdown since there’s been so much updated information. Let’s dig in!

5x01 — Domina Profundis

The most likely episode to begin with a deep lore flashback, if any are going to, a la 3x01′s introduction with Sol Regem. This will probably involve Domina Profundis and perhaps her last goodbye to Zubeia after the death of the Empress broke her heart and she disappeared into the oceans. The scene of Ezran retrieving the Siren Stone from Zubeia’s antechambers at the Storm Spire are presumably a ‘missing’ scene from this episode as well, given that he’s with Soren and Corvus, so the group must have gone back to Katolis to pick up the later.

The first 4ish tracks from the soundtrack also likely belong to this episode.

29. The Beacon (1:44) — Ez, Corvus, and Soren lighting the Beacon to try and summon Domina Profundis. 30. Consequences of Magic (1:32) — Catching us up that Viren passed out for the general audience (hi end credits) and Terry and Clauda thinking about their next move. 31. I Haven’t Forgotten (3:41) — Could be Rayla going down to the dungeons for answers about her family and finding Runaan’s bow, as this is likely the only episode the whole gang will be remotely in Katolis for a while. It could also be inklings of Viren or Karim (Janai being very aware that her brother, while banished/exiled/jailed for now, is still out there.) This could also easily tie into Zubeia. 32. Seeking Answers (3:05) — Could possibly also be Rayla going down to the dungeons in Katolis and/or the kids having their “We need more info on Startouch elves” talk, and making a plan for Callum and Rayla to go to the Great Bookery of Lux Aurea.

While we know Ezran meets Domina Profundis, I would not be surprised if she says no to helping them and/or provides a dead end (her piece of the puzzle was given to the Empress, and has gone ‘missing’ since) and she retreats back into the waves, forcing Ez and Zubeia to consider other avenues.

5x02 — Old Wounds

Callum and Rayla, if they haven’t already, set out for Lux Aurea. Claudia reluctantly realizes that they can’t spend anymore time waiting for Viren to wake up, and that they have get moving, adjacent to these soundtrack titles.

33. Early Mornings (0:52) 34. My Most Eager Student (4:58) 35. Keep Moving (3:01)

Viren could be having this initial talks with Aaravos (in which case the student is Claudia) or it could be about him and Kpp’Ar in dream flashbacks. Early mornings / here could also easily be where Janai gives Amaya the sunforge blade as a gift.

Last but not least, this is almost definitely where Sol Regem and Karim meet / start to conspire, thanks to Sol Regem’s literal old wounds. Ez and Zubeia shortly travel to where the dragons congregate for his speech.

5x03 — Nightmares and Revelations

Almost definitively a big episode for Viren with his dark magic induced dreams, as well as Callum possibly having a nightmare while he and Rayla are on the road to Lux Aurea, resulting in the banther chase (threat in the forest). Terry and Claudia literally carrying Viren either has to come from this episode or the prior one, as it seems they make their ‘dream raft’ sooner rather than later in the season.

36. Threat in the Forest (2:30) 37. Dream Raft (2:43) 38. Calling the Dragons of Xadia (3:09) 39. In Your Dreams (1:55)

This is where the Rayla and Callum “Stargazing” clip would fit as well, before they get attacked by the Banther and have to flee into the night.

Last but not least, Ezran and Zubeia - likely fearing that without Domina’s help, they won’t be able to successfully beat Claudia to the prison - call upon the dragons of Xadia to instead help hunt her down and stop her along the way, resulting in the water dragon we see pictured a few times attacking her in the trailer (probably in the next episode).

5x04 — The Great Bookery

Callum and Rayla arrive in New Aurea and are taken to the Great Bookery with one less mount, aided by Amaya and Kazi, the latter of whom stays to do research with Callum (and possibly with Rayla, but unknown).

We also know thanks to the trailer and its backgrounds that Rayla tells Callum about the coins as well while they’re with the Sunfire elves, backed up by the according soundtrack titles:

41. To the Library (2:15) 42. Stay Safe (2:17) 43. Father and Daughter (1:37) 44. Like Aunt, Like Nephew (2:46) 45. We Can Help Them (2:26) 46. We Fight (2:59) - the Big Fight scene that’s featured in the numerous trailers, with Amaya, Callum, and Rayla 47. Rescue at the Great Bookery (4:04)

Zubeia saves Callum, Rayla, and Amaya from the corrupted banthers at the Great Bookery. (If you look closely, you can see the banthers actually falling down to the right of the screencap.)

5x05 — Archmage Akiyu

The gang reunites and pools together what they’ve found, resulting in the location of the prison and knowing who to find next (and where) in Archmage Akiyu, who is probably masquerading around as Tidebound Tina to be left the fuck alone (and to gauge anyone who may come calling for the information she has). This is when they have to go under the shells and follow the old Tidebound lady further. If Zubeia is having a dragon political plot line, this would be a good time to develop it, as well as Janai and Amaya dealing with the aftermath of whatever the hell’s happening in Lux Aurea.

Tina, either this episode or the next, leads to the kids to some kind of bioluminescent cave (maybe they passed some kind of ‘good intentions’ test) and unveils her staff and true identity as Akiyu.

The kids either stay here for an ep or one of the ending scenes is where Callum and Rayla have a bit of ‘pool date’ (for lack of a better term - take note of the bucket in the background, and Rayla is smiling briefly before hand, so it certainly seems safe) even if it doesn’t end well.

Given the context of Ezran’s short story and his complicated feelings about Runaan, I wonder if it’s some kind of disagreement surrounding the situation of Ez, Runaan, and the coins.

Soundtrack:

48. A Magical Prison (2:14)

5x06 — Bait and Switch

Akiyu, perhaps, has the location of the prison, and clues to where the final piece they need is: some sort of treasure taken from the Empress by the motley pirates who slayed her, and currently in Captain Finnegrin’s grasp in Scumport.

I can also see this being another big episode for Viren, realizing that Claudia is now the one Aaravos is after rather than himself, and it’s been “a bait and switch” if you will. Viren possibly finally wakes up after being passed out for 2/3rds of the season, his dream visions to an end.

Also Bait possibly being used as Bait, and Scumport being a place where Rayla can act as a quasi guide.

5x07 — Sea Legs

The kids make their way to Scumport after Rayla leads them to the ferry with a Charon-like figure and her Finnegrin’s Favour coin to prove it.

49. Welcome to Scumport (1:00) 50. Times Are Changing (2:21) 51. Blood Moon Rises (1:30)

It could also have a double meaning if the kids have already been doing some sailing between places and thanks to the promo poster with the octopus/squid (sea legs indeed).

Karim has either enlisted Kim’Dael (if Zubeia put an end to Sol Regem’s involvement) as another attempt to wedge dissent in his sister’s kingdom, or hearing of the unrest, Kim’Dael has come to make herself known. This may also tie into Claudia’s ‘blood moon’ quasi-vision (symbol?) scene that an awakened Viren seems to witness.

52. If You Kill Me Now (1:59) - Kim’Dael and Karim or a Callum and Rayla conversation? 53. The Wounded Return (2:13) - the survivors of Kim’Dael’s attack going back to Janai and Amaya with grave news

While in Scumport, the kids steal whatever they need from Finnegrin’s tower, complete with Ezran finally getting to go down another zippy-line-thingy.

They’ve either teamed up with Nyx (who seems to be comandeering her own ship) before as an exit strategy, or as a spur of a moment thing. The pirates pursue.

5x08 — Finnegrin’s Wake

The pirates catch up to them, even with sky magic speed boosts, and Callum possibly gets in a brawl with Finnegrin’s ‘first mate’ (?) Deadwood, who we see in Ch2 of Chasing Shadows is basically unbeatable. This leads to his injuries (the black eye and scrape on his face) although how and why we don’t know. Fingers crossed it’s fucked up and for Rayla (who has possibly stolen from him in the past) bc I can dream. Callum is seemingly made to summon lighting per Finnegrin’s command (notice the sleeve and the fulminus rune) to maybe lure in Domina Profundis, since it seems she has a male Tidebound rival, and Finnegrin is the one male Tidebound elf we’ve been introduced to (and if he benefitted from the Empress’ death, that’d certainly fit).

54. To Kill an Archdragon (3:03) 55. Not Yours to Give (4:50) - Aaravos magic related flashback? Kim’Dael, Karim, and Janai standoff because Karim can’t free her and Janai is still the rightful heir? 56. Deadwood Deserves Dignity (3:03) 57. Captain of a Crustacean (2:04)

Captain of a Crustacean seems like another reference to Finnegrin, although why it’s being emphasized now, I have no clue. Deadwood Deserves Dignity seems like a funeral, to me (as well as ‘wake’ meaning like in the wake of waves you’re leaving, or a funeral wake) so it’s possible that whatever Callum does here also kills some people. If the pirates were trying to kill Domina, ‘to kill an archdragon’ would fit in nicely, even if she will most likely come in and save the kids when all their boats get blown to splinters.

5x09 — Infantis Sanguine

Means “Blood of a Child” with a lot of possible options and primal/deep magic implications (“the lost child” referring to both Claudia and my little man, Sir Sparklepuff; Ezran and Zym being literal children; Aaravos deriding the whole dragang as “pathetic children”; Elarion being labelled “a black-eyed child” after Aaravos ‘gave’ magic to it/her). None of it’s good.

58. Zubeia’s Dream (2:54) 59. The Sea of the Castout (4:00) 60. The Prison Should Be Here (3:25) 61. Underwater Showdown (1:41) - hopeful mage fight between Callum and Claudia + everyone else 62. Tomorrow the Sun Will Rise (3:07) - is not a good thing, for reasons I will reaffirm below

S5 will likely end with Aaravos out, the Moon possibly but probably not freed, Janai’s kingdom in shambles and handed over to her brother, and a good deal of extra angst (Viren defecting and alive against his will? Claudia snapping? Other injuries for the main kids) for good measure, because

1) Nothing good in this show ever happens at dawn (Sarai and the queens of Duren’s deaths, Callum’s possession, the moonstone path disappearing, etc). 2) Love you season long Karim’s metaphor hold out

3) The humans huddled together, scarcely daring to breathe, awaiting the rise of the sun. And when the long, dark night had finally passed—for the sun must always rise, mustn’t it?—they gazed out upon an unfamiliar landscape. —TDP Reflections: Ripples

Conclusion

As always some of this is inevitably wrong / going to be shuffled around further, and while it may feel like a lot has been revealed, it only just makes me more curious for everything we don’t know as there are still plenty of gaps and all sorts of ways things could go horribly, terribly wrong for our favourite characters in the best of ways. And I cannot wait to see how the season turns out and what’s wrong and what’s right in just under a week!

#tdp #tdp meta #the dragon prince #tdp spoilers #s5 spoilers #arc 2 #s5 #s5 speculation #predictions #analysis series #analysis #trailer #tdp shorts

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gabessquishytum · 10 months

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whoops the brainrot is real and i'm back with more a/b/o bitching!! so. similar premise to last time, alpha hob was bitched in the past, it didn't take permanently, he realized how much happier he is as an omega. except, he's also known from the very first moment he looked up to see that lordling standing by his table in the white horse and caught scent of him that dream was his true mate.

dream's never given him any reason at all to think it's mutual, though, and hob's never heard of a one-way bond like that but... well, for all he knows, whatever sort of creature dream is just doesn't have mates. and he doesn't know if two alphas can form a proper mating bond anyway, so he decides to be happy with their centennial meetings and make the most of his life, even if he won't ever be truly mated.

once dream comes back after missing their meeting, they agree that yes, friends should meet more often. so they change their meeting to once a year instead of once a century. and hob... hob wishes he could see dream more often still, he does, but he thinks it might be for the best that he can't. it might be too much, to see his mate more often than that and know he can't have him.

dream, meanwhile, makes a point to not look too closely at hob's dreams... but he hasn't been able to help himself from brushing up against them once in a while. he knows hob's dreams are suffused with his mate's scent, and he knows the smell carries an aching sadness for hob, and so he assumes that hob's mate is dead and part of hob still mourns them. and if dream catches himself thinking sometimes that maybe it would be nice to be hob's mate, well... he hardly objects to hob's scent, but he's also never had much of a reaction to it. and he doesn't know if it would be kind to either of them, for him to attempt to court hob. not when the other man is presumably mourning, and a fellow alpha on top of that.

between two of their (now annual) meetings, hob runs in to his fellow immortal and off and on fuck buddy ollie. after they've fallen back into bed and hob's had his back blown out for the first time in decades, ollie makes an offhand comment about how he hasn't met many alphas who love being fucked the way hob does and hob, who's feeling rather more vulnerable than usual, breaks down and tells ollie everything. when he's done and cuddled up against ollie's chest and feeling small the way he constantly, desperately craves, ollie tells him that... he could help, if hob was really sure he wanted it. he could make him an omega permantly.

when the next meeting rolls around, dream has to go find hob because he's not at the new inn. he's moved on and reinvented himself, presumably, and dream finds him in a little cafe in the countryside. which he barely registers at all, because the moment he walks into the building where he knows he'll find hob, he catches the scent of mate. he doesn't even remember crossing the room to hob's table or hauling him to his feet. he only comes back to himself when he has hob pressed against the wall, keening into dream's mouth as he's kissed breathless, smelling overwhelmingly of omega and happiness and his.

-🐈‍⬛

Omg I love this.

I'm imagining Hob transitioning into his new life. Maybe Destruction helps him get set up in his new life (he's running the cafe, since hes got some experience from the inn and he wants to be able to meet people). All the locals are kind of side-eyeing them and assuming that they're a couple, and then Ollie leaves to do his thing... so Hob becomes this mysterious new guy in town, and all the alphas and betas are all over him. Hob is loving his new life and kind of sucking up all the attention because its the first time he's been desired by so many alphas. He tries out new clothes, pastels and soft fabrics and dungarees.

He's so nervous about what Dream will think of him when they meet again, but there's something in him that's deeply hopeful. He feels like there's something good coming towards him - its the immortal 6th sense or something. He isn't expecting to find himself pinned up against the wall of his cafe being kissed senseless by his alpha. But it does kind of make sense.

The whole village is side-eyeing Hob all over again because its not every day that a darkly dressed alpha comes storming in and claims his mate with a kiss in front of 20 people. Hob is all cute and blushy as he's dipped in Dream’s arms, practically carried out the back for more kisses. Dream has questions too, of course, but more than anything else he's fascinated by the smell of happiness that is rolling of Hob in waves. He's never seen or smelt anything like that and he can't stop pressing his face into Hob’s throat, drowning himself in wave after wave of happy omega.

Hob is still Hob, of course. Omega or not he'll always be outgoing and roguish, and he'll always wear his heart on his sleeve... and after this meeting, he'll proudly wear Dream’s mating bite on his throat. Next time he sees Ollie he throws himself into the big man's arms and thanks him over and over for giving him this chance... and when Ollie gets a glimpse of Hob’s alpha, he can't help but laugh. Dream finally smells like happy, settled alpha, and Destruction actually feels like he's done something good.

#🐈‍⬛ anon #the sandman #dreamling #nsft #cw omegaverse

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thekidsarentalright · 1 year

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20 dollar nose bleed analysis: fourteen carats but no clarity

so, i recently received an ask asking me to analyze 20 dollar nose bleed, and in trying to post the ask with the analysis it literally vanished lmao! so, i'm posting it instead like this <3

the song is a very interesting and complex one that was Quite daunting to analyze, so i can only hope i did it justice and that u enjoy reading this! analysis is under the cut:

So, to analyze 20 dollar nose bleed, we’re gonna start off, naturally, with the first verse and break it down lyric by lyric, with said first verse going, “Have you ever wanted to disappear? / And join a monastery, go out and preach on Manic Street? / Who will I be when I wake up next to a stranger / On a passenger plane? (Passenger plane)”

The interesting thing about these lyrics is that we have direct confirmation from fob/pete (via genius verified annotations) that the first two lines are about Richey Edwards, who was the rhythm guitarist of rock band Manic Street Preachers, who went missing in 1995 and was presumed dead in 2009. Pete says that the first piece, “Have you ever wanted to disappear? / And join a monastery,” is a direct juxtaposition to the “go out and preach on Manic Street.” And that direct juxtaposition is absolutely the most notable thing about these lyrics, with a monastery being a holy place, typically portrayed as very quiet and simple in terms of commodities, etc., versus rockstar life which is literally the exact opposite- being constantly very chaotic and loud and complicated, not to mention not being very holy, typically speaking. What I believe is that the narrator here is questioning, maybe themselves, maybe somebody else, or just in general, if the ‘you’ have ever wanted to disappear from this life to join a monastery, to have this quiet, simple life away from everybody and everything, or if you’ve ever wanted to disappear into being a rockstar, away from yourself and everybody and everything in a completely different way. Either way, you’re losing yourself to one extreme or another. You’re disappearing into it. I could also see this in connecting back to Richey Edwards, saying have you ever wanted to disappear from the rockstar life? As common with fob songs, i honestly feel it could be meaning both things, and overall the meaning is- pick your poison onto how you wanna escape yourself and your life.

To move onto the second portion of the verse, the narrator begins to question, who will they be if they wake up next to a stranger on a passenger plane? Which is continuing this idea of disappearing, i think. i believe this is meant to be playing with the idea that, on a plane, nobody knows who you are, you’re as good as disappeared when you’re on a plane surrounded by people who don’t know you. So, truly, who will you be if you wake up next to a stranger on a passenger plane? When you could be anybody, you could make them believe you’re anybody, you can use this as an opportunity to escape yourself and your life, who will you be?

Then, the pre-chorus kicks in, with the lyrics going, “Oh, permanent jet lag, please take me back (Please take me back) / Please take me back, I'm a stray dog / Sick, please let me in (Please let me in), the mad key's / Tripping, singing vows before we exchange smoke rings”, which is a series of some real fun, tricky lyrics lmao. The permanent jet lag, in my mind, no doubt connects to the lyric directly before it- perhaps, the narrator is now regretting all the hoping and wishing and trying to be another person, they feel permanently jet lagged now, permanently exhausted and bleary and not fully there and they just want to go back. Back to where is the imperative question and severely up to interpretation, I’ll offer a few options- back to who they were before possible fame, before they started trying to disappear, before they got dependent on drugs (this song is so about drugs), or just… back to a better time for them, in general. The stray dog lyric also has some verified annotations by fob/pete, with him saying that it’s, about that moment where you’re so desperate to come back, you’re like a stray dog, which can either be pathetic or endearing depending on your perspective. To me, this really cooberates what i’m already saying about this pre-chorus- they’re desperate to be let back to where they were before, before things went wrong. Now, the ‘mad key’ reference took a bit of looking into, but apparently a ‘key’ is sometimes used as another term for a drug dealer, which i feel could be very applicable to the themes of this song (drugs), it could also just be a reference to say they don’t have the key to get back to where they long so desperately to be. Either way, the last pre-chorus lyric’s meaning is pretty clear to me, thankfully- they’re making promises, vow-like promises, before exchanging smoke rings, which is almost positively a drug reference. it screams of unseriousness, lack of commitment, the vows are being sung and the rings are made of smoke. they’re doped up on drugs, they’re desperate and yearning and not themselves. these vows are not real and the rings are as flimsy a commitment, to whoever or whatever this specific lyric could be about, as the smoke is.

After that insane pre-chorus, we get into the possibly more insane chorus, saying, “Give me a pen, call me Mr. Benzedrine / But don't let the doctor in, I wanna blow off steam / And call me Mr. Benzedrine (Mr. Benzedrine) / But don't let the doctor, don't let the doctor in”. The first thing we need to establish here, now that we’ve gotten the core of the drug theme, is what benzedrine is- it’s a form of amphetamine used for depression, as well as PTSD and those with sleeping troubles (it’s a stimulant!), with some of the side effects possibly pertinent to the song being drowsiness and nose bleeds (snorting it is a common way of ingestion also). This starting with ‘give me a pen, call me Mr. Benzedrine’ automatically has me thinking it is just an all around drug reference with the narrator alluding to the fact they’re snorting benzedrine to try and aid them with their problems. They’ve already alluded to having depression and permanent jetlag (drowsiness/problems with sleep, perhaps?) through lyrics before this, making it perhaps no surprise that they’re going to the lengths of snorting this medication to try and help them. Help take them back to where they so desperately wanna go back to, maybe? With the second lyric of the chorus, “But don’t let the doctor in, I wanna blow off steam” saying to me that they’re basically taking these drugs, perhaps to a concerning extent, but are then going and saying they don’t want help, they don’t want a doctor, they don’t want people to show concern for them or what they have going on, they just wanna let off steam. They just wanna cope in their own way without intervention, so don’t let the doctor in.

After the chorus, we have the second verse, which states, “It feels like fourteen carats, but no clarity, when I look at the / Man who would be king, the man who would be king / Goes to the desert, the same war his dad rehearsed / Came back with flags on coffins and said, "We won, oh, we won"”. This is an interesting break from the themes we’ve already had in this song, as before we’ve had the narrator talking only of their disillusionment with their own personal life and reality and the troubles they’re going through to cope with those feelings. However, here, it seems they’ve shifted from speaking on their disillusionment with their own life to their disillusionment with the world. The very first line is essentially saying that not everything is as it seems- a diamond can be hyped up as being so big and expensive, but end up being horrible quality. This allusion could be made about anything- what you’re told is not always reality. What you want to be reality isn’t always reality. This almost feels the thesis statement for the song, honestly (there is a reason i titled this analysis with this!). And if not for the whole song, definitely for this verse, as the rest of the verse is a direct commentary on George W. Bush (former President of the United States) and the wars he launched in the Middle East (specifically Iraq and Afghanistan). Many protested the wars as being incredibly destructive and terrorizing on the countries impacted by them, not to mention not being fair fights and being possible fronts for America to enter the Middle East for oil and exploit them. This stance is the one being taken with these lyrics, as the lyrics are essentially saying that the “man who would be king” (Bush), goes to the desert (Middle East) to terrorize the Middle East just like his father (also a former horrible president) did, only to come back claiming he won with thousands of soldiers dead due to his actions, bitingly calling out the celebration of victory when so much life was lost so tragically for virtually no reason.

Before the spoken word piece at the end of the song, there is only two other lines that are deviating from the pre-chorus and chorus we’ve already discussed, with those lines being, “Only one book really matters, the rest / Of the proof is on the television, on the,” I feel as though these lyrics really summarize a lot of what we’ve already talked about in a way, that way being that it really conveys further disillusionment for the state of things and is a biting commentary of that. The narrator is saying, what a lot of people truly believe, that the only book in the world that matters is the Bible, with nothing else being worth reading or trusting, while the rest of the ‘proof’ (proof of what is laid out in the bible, beliefs and morals that people blindly follow) is on the television. People will so often just blindly follow religion or what they see on the news and never dare to look deeper into things, keeping so much of the world cut off (sort of like the lyric is cut off at the end of it) or censored from themselves.

The spoken word part is as follows, and is a lot to unpack so we’re gonna try to do it lyric chunk by lyric chunk, “It's not me, it's you / Actually, it's the taxidermy of you and me / Untie the balloons from around my neck / And ground me / I'm just a racehorse on the track / Send me back to the glue factory / Always thought I'd float away / And never come back / But I've got enough miles on my card / To fly the boys home on my own / But you know me, I like being all alone / And keeping you all alone / And the charts are boring, and the kids are snoring / And my ego's in a sling / You say you're not listening and I said I'm wishing / And I said…I said!”

To start dissecting this, we’ll look at the section, “It’s not me, it’s you / Actually, it’s the taxidermy of you and me / Unite the balloons from around my neck / And ground me / I’m just a racehorse on the track / Send me back to the glue factory / Always thought I’d float away / And never come back”. Though this seems like a lot to look at at once, it’s relatively easy to boil it down to the fact the narrator is back to speaking about their disillusionment with their own life and problems, speaking to a possible romantic partner in saying the classic breakup line of, it’s not you, it’s me, except turned on its head to directly blame the other person instead of taking blame. They’re also saying, though, that the blame isn’t exactly on the other person directly but is more on the fact that the relationship was already dead (taxidermy of you and me). They’re then asking this person, symbolically, to untie balloons from around their neck and let them be grounded. This could be saying their partner was putting them up on a sort of pedestal, putting them above others, but with the line ‘I’d always thought I’d float away / And never come back’ working with this, I definitely believe this position of floating above others was a point of stress for our narrator as they felt they’d never be able to get away from this situation and could never come back from it, perhaps even choking them and being disorienting, causing them to need to be grounded. They then go on to say they’re like a racehorse on the track that needs to be sent to the glue factory, essentially saying they’re past their prime and needs to be killed and turned into something that can be useful again (old horses used to literally be made into glue. This is also referencing that).

The spoken word continues, with the narrator once again shifting focus from themself to the world/politics and their disillusionment with those things, saying, “But I've got enough miles on my card / To fly the boys home on my own”, where pete, once again verified on genius, said, “the idea that in some capacity that the i could fly the boys in iraq & afghanistan home on my miles if the gov wouldnt fly them back :(“

To end the spoken word section, and the song analysis as a whole, it ends with, “But you know me, I like being all alone / And keeping you all alone / And the charts are boring, and the kids are snoring / And my ego's in a sling / You say you're not listening and I said I'm wishing / And I said…I said!” with our narrator essentially saying that find comfort in loneliness and being alone, and finds satisfaction in making others feel his loneliness as well (I want to keep you as lonely as me so you can get addicted to this vibes, showing this is a sentiment shared in fob songs previously). The line about charts is a bit of a stand out, as being one of the most obvious ones about fame and pop culture, continuing to show the narrator is just generally sharing their displeasure with things of the world, here stating a fact that the charts, the popular songs perhaps made with less heart, with the kids in mind less, are boring and causing ‘the kids’ to snore, to lose interest in music and art and fall out of touch with it, causing the narrator’s ego to hurt because well… i keep saying ‘narrator’ because that’s just how i do these things but this is about pete, and it is no question that kids falling out of love with music would be detrimental to his ego- sorry to get out of my analyzing persona here but it’s the only way i could think to put this part lmao. Anyways! The song ends with the narrator being not listened to, and them then trying to scream how they’re feeling and what they’re saying to be seen and heard like they want to be.

This song is a very very complex, interesting one, detailing all of the troubles and complaints and gripes of a person struggling with mental illness and perhaps even losing their grip on reality some, or at least on the reality they want to be in. it’s a depressing thing to want to be a different person, only to realize you don’t like who you ended up changing into, or realize that no matter how much you change you can never go back to when you were truly happy. And turning to unhealthy coping mechanisms like drugs don’t help either, especially when it feels like the world around you is dashing your spirits and hope constantly as well. Where is there to escape when even your escape is riddled with problems? As the title of this analysis says, and as i stated earlier as well, everything truly can feel like fourteen carats but have no clarity.

#ive deemed tuesday atlas analysis tuesday to force myself to write more of these so. here u go #it's a bit of a long one (5 pages fskjdhf) but i'm proud of it :] again i hope u all like it as well #and to the anon who asked for this i especially hope u see it i. literally have no clue what happened to this ask fkjsdfks #but maybe i'll keep posting the analysis stand alone like this idk fun format change #txt #analysis.txt #fob

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sepublic · 10 months

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Acknowledging that I may be missing the point by trying to figure out the in-universe explanation and logistics, rather than focusing on the metaphor and symbolism behind Emesis Blue;

I think the Plague Doctor might be Fritz Ludwig from the future, possessed and/or under control of his alter ego (Hence the uncharacteristic act). There’s the obvious fact that Jeremy treats Fritz with hostility and fear, and Fritz’s own hallucination of killing Jeremy’s mom. He has the gouged-out eyes and smile, which Fritz receives at the end of the film after crashing.

At the end of the film, Fritz is brought back in the respawn machine, amidst a bunch of fire. In Archibald’s PSA to newly-respawned mercenaries, there’s an inexplicable fire that enters the room just offscreen, so I think there’s a deliberate connection. The only other possibility is that Fritz respawns as the Conagher Slaughterhouse burns down near the end of the movie (note that this would require someone to perform the manual input on the respawn machine, possibly the Plague Doctor). The abrupt fire at the end of the PSA feels too deliberate of a detail to otherwise ignore. Note that right after the video ends with fire, we cut to some photos taken presumably around that time, including of a burning Fritz…

Likewise, we have an example of time travel being an actual thing, and not just a Diazepam-induced hallucination (note Soldier claiming to have never taken any of the pills, only to later interact with his future self). This would explain how Fritz is in two places at once, which he needs to be, given we see him drive past Soldier in his ambulance, followed by the Plague Doctor’s hearse arriving just moments afterwards.

Now Fritz normally would have no reason to kill Jeremy’s mom, but that’s assuming it’s him in control; More than likely, it’s his alter-ego. Now I’ve watched TheWhat Show’s video on Emesis Blue, so I’m inspired by a lot of what he suggested here. But if we go with the idea that Fritz is being possessed by the spirit of the Tenth Class, this may explain a bit...

Dell’s Bar seems to be the limbo, the purgatory, the waiting room that the mercs and others who go through respawn wait in. And we know the respawn machine creates a fresh duplicate of one’s body, meaning respawned mercenaries can interact with their previous corpses; Hence the motherload of identical dead bodies all over the place.

There’s also the hallucination Fritz has, where he’s trapped in a casket inside the church, while the Plague Doctor watches; Foreshadowing both the church he kills Pyro in, and later his own funeral assassination. But it could also symbolize Fritz’s mind/soul being locked away in his body, or perhaps in a briefcase/limbo, while the Plague Doctor takes over...

If we go by the theory that the Plague Doctor is the vengeful ghost of the Tenth Class who has possessed Fritz, I think things begin to come together. After crashing at the end of Emesis Blue, Fritz’s soul is stuck in limbo, awaiting his next respawn. Due to time loop shenanigans, he is respawned in the past as Archibald records his PSA, possibly with only the Tenth Class’ soul inside; Fritz’s soul may have been left behind in limbo, which may be located within the briefcase. Either way, the Tenth Class in total control now.

The fire is an interesting detail; Did the respawn machine malfunction? And this malfunction caused both the flame and the retrieval of future Fritz, instead of his current self? Or maybe, and this is a bit out there but I just want to say it; Maybe the Tenth Class’ soul was plucked straight from Hell, and in doing so brought some hellfire with him that burned the Conagher Slaughterhouse, the first time. We see an apparition of the Tenth Class when Soldier is about to jump over the chasm leading to ‘Hell’, after all; Maybe the Tenth Class went there.

Something I find interesting is that the Plague Doctor seems to be working with BLU Heavy, Pyro, and Zed and Maynard Conagher. Somebody else was holding up Mama Scout’s head when Pyro kidnapped Jeremy, and it appears BLU Heavy was supposed to pass the briefcase to the Plague Doctor near the start of the film. The Plague Doctor’s hearse is a convenient vehicle to transport BLU Heavy’s body to the Conagher Slaughterhouse, to later be revived by RED Medic into a Mr. X reference.

We know Maynard was the one to lock up Jeremy, “according to specification” as he tells Zed. And the Plague Doctor’s hearse is seen right outside the Conagher Slaughterhouse, burning just as its driver did when he first arrived in the past... Obviously the Plague Doctor isn’t being totally honest with the Conagher brothers, since he presumably gave the key to Jeremy’s casket to Fritz; Zed is confused as to how Jeremy escaped.

If the Plague Doctor is a possessed/evil Fritz from the future, that could explain how he has the key; That, or there's a second copy of the same key that Zed and Maynard don’t know about. Maybe there’s only one key and they threw it out, only for the Plague Doctor to retrieve it behind their backs... OR, Fritz held onto the key after freeing Jeremy, bringing it with him all the way to the film’s end; So when he respawns in the past, he has the key with him. And he slides it under his past self’s door near the start of the film.

What puzzles me is what the Plague Doctor’s goal and motive is; Did the Emesis Diazepam lead to memory loss, meaning he doesn’t realize he’s reliving the same events, just from a different role? Is he trying to end the cycle? Set up Soldier to arrive at the Conagher Slaughterhouse, learn the truth, and kill Redmond and Blutarch, breaking free? How did he convince BLU Heavy, Pyro, the Conagher brothers, and presumably RED Sniper into working with him? Is Archibald aware of and working with these guys? Being led to believe they’re helping him lay low, when in reality he’s just bait for Fritz, BLU Soldier, and BLU Spy?

RED Sniper asks Soldier if he wants to die for something worth dying for, after deriding Archibald; Indicating he’s knowingly a part of some plan to end the Gravel Wars. But why try to kill Soldier at the start? Was that just Plan A, and Plan B was to inspire him to end it? Is BLU Heavy even collaborating with the others after being revived, or has his undead state turned him into an uncontrollable monster on nobody’s side?

#emesis blue #tf2 #team fortress 2 #fritz ludwig #speculation #theory #analysis

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sukibenders · 4 months

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(2) Instead we see laena feeling like a consolation prize (imo not even 2nd best) and trying to make peace with that, probably thinking she's lucky because considering the world they live in, 'it could've been worse'. She misses her family and has to comfort a daughter who thinks her dad doesn't love her for being dragonless, but when she tries to talk to daemon about how she feels he dismisses it, all because he's moping about rhaenyra. Don't get me started on how he laughed at her funeral, idc the reason, you bet he wouldn't have even thought of doing that if it were viserys or rhaenyra's funeral. He spent the day with his eyes glued to rhaenyra, his daughters abandoned in a corner (thank god for rhaenys) and finally he has sex with the woman whose shadow laena had to live under all those years. At laena's funeral, in her house, while her family is grieving for her. Daemon didn't show any respect for her; he might've been fond of her but did he love her? Idk, he definitely wasn't in love with her. Tbh i don't know if laena loved him either.

Imo they also missed a chance to show how alike daemon and laena were but only if we consider daemon's better character traits and when he's in his best behaviour. I guess you could say laena was a kindred spirit to daemon's better side, which can be compared to how he behaves around rhaenyra and in which ways those two are alike. Laena obviously didn't change daemon, she didn't make him better. But i think that in a way daemon's worst instincts were dormant around her (granted, in the book they were together only a few years and there were no external factors that brought daemon's bad side out). It even makes me think of laena's bond with vhagar, an ancient war machine who was drawn to darker characters than laena but was drawn to this spirited girl and spent their time together taking laena out for joyrides. It didn't last long and sadly vhagar went back to bonding with a darker character that rode her to war again.

Definitely, show Laena does give off the vibe of "could have been worse" in terms of her just "accepting" how her relationship with Daemon is (probably from having dodged the bullet of marrying Viserys in her mind) and, added on to the stress of her current pregnancy, probably was too tired to fight him and expected to do so after the birth (which we know didn't happen). It's sad because you can how alone she feels as taken from her family and can't even share her childhood home with her daughters (I fully believe that had she been able to return home, maybe even survived her pregnancy, she would have stayed back on Driftmark and never thought of leaving permanently again). It really boils my blood how we have Rhaena being ignored by her father for being dragonless when he loved her in the books. He would not do that. Him laughing at Laena's funeral would not have happened had it been Viserys or Rhaenyra, as you said, as he would have killed someone then and there had they done so. And him spending the day staring at Rhaenyra all throughout the funeral (not even hiding it because other people noticed) and leaving his daughters was so disrespectful, making matters worse when he sleeps with Rhaenyra (who was wrong for that too). Laena hadn't even reached the bottom of the ocean before they moved on. In context of the show, I'm not sure there was even respect for Laena after she died because if you respect someone then you definitely wouldn't of have done that at her funeral (not even including his treatment of her during their marriage as well).

Thank god for Rhaenys too, as you said, but even some of her character kind of has flaws when it has to center Daemyra (or just Rhaenyra). Because the pair [Daemyra] were not very smart to have gotten married literally, not only, after Laena was just put into the sea but Laenor was presumed dead as well with Rhaenys and Corlys discovering the body (that scene was wrong as hell too). It sends a very bad look and Rhaenys definitely was not feeling Rhaenyra after that. I also wished there was more anger from her towards Daemon because she would know fully well that the only thing stopping Laena from coming home, from bringing her daughters with her, would have been Daemon. And you know that if she caught wind of him ignoring Rhaena she would have swept her off to Driftmark with her sister in a heartbeat.

But back to another point that you said, op, that really got me thinking: both Laena and Rhaenyra bring out sides in Daemon that influence his character. Now, from what I've heard about her book characteristics, Rhaenyra is very different from her show counterpart and doesn't flinch at getting her hands dirty, for a lack of better words. In the show, while not the same, I do feel as though she brings out a side of Daemon that makes him brash and fiery. I saw a gifset edit of them standing side by side with her casually nodding to him before he does something reckless (she definitely nodded at him before he cut Vaemond in half) and that would have been even more interesting had we been given more scenes with Laena to parallel this. In the books, Laena doesn't seem to hold that darker energy as Rhaenyra, and this would contrast her well with Daemon. I see her holding him back from acting out violently, which is very smart in my opinion because having Rhaenyra be okay with his violent acts towards others doesn't seem very smart if you want people to back your claim for the throne. I see Laena calming the fire within Daemon without trying to smother it, but I also see him being surprised by her own (or, since the Velaryons are of the sea have him describe her with sea connotations like "she was as calm as the sea on a peaceful day, but don't let that overshadow how she could rage as it during the storm", like the sea is a force to be reckoned with too HOTD!) This could correlate well with what you had said about Laena's relationship with Vhagar, a dragon from a time period of huge war in not only Targaryen, but Westerosi history. A dragon known for her darker riders (eg. Visenya and Aemond) but allows Laena, who definitely isn't like them, to claim her. That within itself is a feat, but to have mentions of her being like the sea, as said earlier, it would have added more context. I kind of imagine it as those character dynamic drawing with three people where two have "look like they could kill you and would" being for Visenya and Aemond and then the third, in the middle, being "looks like a cinnamon roll but would actually kill you" for Laena. Like it also would have sweet to see how she and Vhagar interacted because, in comparison to her past and future rider, I feel like Laena's kindred spirit would have been a nice break for Vhagar.

While there isn't much to go on from their relationship in comparison to Daemyra's in the books, I think that could also work for their benefit. Granted, there wasn't a war happening, but if Laena didn't help ease his fire then I'm fairly certain there would have been insistent involving him during their time together aside from him killing Bravos. But that's just me personally.

Another thing that annoys me is how some in the fandom use the possibility of Laena and Rhaenyra being in love for the wrong reasons. Hear me out, I think the pair would be cute and I wouldn't mind Daemon's inclusion as long as Laena is cared for as well, but some in the fandom use this ship just as an excuse to hate Rhaenicent all the while not even caring about Laena (same with it just being Laena and Rhaenyra). Like they use Laena as a prop (and sometimes target for some toxic Rhaenicent stans) and it does her character and the actresses a disservice (sometimes harm because I know the hate actors and actresses can receive from ship wars especially if they are a woc).

#hotd #house of the dragon #laena velaryon #daemon targaryen #rhaenyra targaryen #anti daemon targaryen #anti daemyra #rhaenys targaryen

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