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#i didn’t go into this show expecting to really care about these characters beyond the comedy they provide

physalian · 2 months

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Writing Tone #2: Avoiding Manufactured Sincerity

There’s a scene in season 5 of My Hero Academia where two beloved teachers have been brought to some high security prison to interrogate a captured villain that turns out to be a brainwashed childhood friend of theirs. The scene is really dramatic, these two teachers are screaming at this guy, heartbroken, and when I saw the episode (shortly before quitting the entire show mid-episode over how bored I was) I was not at all as outraged and horrified as they were.

It was so tonally jarring, and so unfounded within the plot, that it was almost uncomfortable to watch. The villain they’re interrogating isn’t unfamiliar, but the plot-twist-surprise childhood friend is a stranger no one but these two care about.

I didn’t care, couldn’t empathize with why they were upset, knew nothing about their relationship with the guy beyond the ham-handed flashbacks given right that moment. I wasn’t prepared to mourn the loss of this random character, wasn’t primed ahead of time with the idea that this was a possibility to dread the scene before it happened. I was just waiting for it to be over and when it finally was, the impact it had on me was a resounding: Well that was weird. Now back to the plot.

Unfounded sincerity is the uncomfortably ugly step-sibling of plots that are starved of sincerity—look at most of Phase 4, but really, starting with Thor: Ragnarok in the MCU. Many Marvel properties are afraid to embrace the emotional moments and resort to bad jokes to laugh at themselves before the audience can laugh at them. Because how dare a late-stage superhero story about mythical gods be at all sincere in its relationships, its quiet moments, its tragedies. Nope, time for jokes.

Unfounded sincerity is when a story goes far harder with the drama, the love-declarations, the angst, the humor, where it’s trying really hard to convince the audience to care and it just isn’t working.

This happens when arguments start out of nowhere, as well, when characters explode at each other in a heated screaming match that hasn’t been left to fester for nearly long enough, undercooked and hard to swallow.

This happens when characters fall suddenly, madly in love with each other with zero dubious intervention to explain away the sudden passion.

It happens particularly when characters care a whole heck of a lot about someone the audience doesn’t, at the expense of characters the audience is invested in.

It happens when characters have emotional breakdowns and start crying over what ends up reading like spilled milk. When stoic and strong characters break over something they normally would never, for ~drama~.

This is usually both a tone and pacing issue, and a serious case of telling. The author hasn’t done any of the work ramping up a situation or relationship for proper delivery of these emotionally charged moments that are written like critical character beats we’re supposed to care deeply about.

So how does this happen?

1. The author *really* wants this scene, but writes it too early into the story

Unless there’s foul play involved, or this is a romantic comedy that isn’t supposed to be a realistic and healthy depiction of how romance works, characters suddenly declaring love for each other at the cost of their own well-being, their own character arc and journey, and their other motivations can be very frustrating to read.

But the author wants to get to the Good Stuff, so they coast on the “male + female leads = relationship” expectation without writing the why (and so ensures the rise of so many gay ships in the process). Or the male + male leads” or what have you.

2. The author cannot fluidly change tone and characters explode, instead of simmer

An argument that comes out of nowhere can really take your audience out of a scene. Your characters suddenly look ridiculous and your audience can’t follow what’s going on or why they’re so upset. This is different than a character exploding seemingly out of nowhere, but who we know has been building resentment for dozens of pages and loses it over something otherwise inconsequential.

These scenes are painfully, obviously there for manufactured drama and don’t feel natural. These characters don’t feel like people, but playthings, action figures manipulated by the hands of the author.

3. The characters involved are underdeveloped

As in the My Hero scene mentioned above, of the three characters in the scene, the “friend” we’re supposed to care about is a non-entity. The two teachers could have lost their minds over this guy’s sudden death, or the reveal that he turned traitor, or that he murdered younglings and puppies and kittens, to the same emotional impact, because we don’t care about this guy (or, I don’t, at least. I didn’t, and shouldn’t have to read the manga).

You can of course have characters who grieve non-entities, like the fridged wife trope. The difference is the audience knows we’re not supposed to know or care about that lady and the character she never was. This happens pre-plot, not mid-season 5. The frigid wife is the catalyst for the character we then come to know, not a character whose death radically changes our heroes from the people we’ve already established.

4. The tonal jump is just too extreme from the established rules of the story

Abrupt changes in tone can be very tricky to pull off, and almost always fail when it surrounds an abrupt shift in character dynamics (as opposed to something more plot-related). As in, your lighthearted comedy suddenly stops the plot so two characters can scream at each other, when this level of emotional charge hasn’t been established as a possibility.

Or the aforementioned emotional breakdown that just leaves audiences uncomfortable like the awkward friend trying to soothe a weeping companion.

—

Unfortunately, the fixes to these situations are either delete that entire scene, or go back and do a lot of rewriting so there’s enough build-up to justify its existence. Go back and write in that simmering resentment, all the little frustrations, a pre-existing tension within the relationship that is always primed to snap.

Absence makes the heart grow fonder and there’s a reason the “slowburn” is so popular. Setting out from the beginning to write a fast-paced, passionate romance tells your readers to expect exaggerated displays of emotion.

My favorite musical is Moulin Rouge. This movie is insane. Everyone is hyperbolically emotional and nothing is half-assed. The dances, the belting singing, the costumes, set-design, editing, the declarations of love– they’re all dialed up to 11. So characters screaming their love or rage from the rooftops is a *lot* but you’re prepared for it from the opening scene, knowing exactly what kind of movie this is.

Even if you don’t start your story with the level of drama it will eventually reach, there should still be some sort of progression when it comes to character drama.

Last Airbender didn’t open episode 2 with the emotional intensity of Zuko and Azula’s last Agni Kai… but it did show you that this isn’t just a lighthearted comedy in episode 3, with the reveal of Gyatso’s body and Aang’s violently emotional reaction.

Speaking of episode 3, they didn’t throw in Gyatso out of nowhere. We know from the show so far that a) Aang is the last of his kind, and b) he doesn’t know this. Everything leading up to this reveal is lighthearted, sure, but with that undercurrent of dread, waiting for Aang to see for himself, waiting for that other shoe to drop.

So some things to keep in mind are:

Prime the audience with dropping that first shoe, make them aware of the building tension (romantic, aggressive, grief, or otherwise), even if not all the characters are aware.

Build that tension. If your characters will eventually explode, let them be mildly irritated first, then annoyed, then frustrated, then angry, then raging until they can’t contain it anymore.

Make sure every party involved in this dramatic moment is someone the audience actually cares about, not just someone they’re told to care about.

TL;DR: Don’t pull the trigger prematurely. It’s most obvious with suddenly passionate arguments, characters flinging insults and hurts the audience isn’t prepared for and doesn’t know about, in effort to move the plot along before it’s fully cooked.

So unless there’s some drugs or fairy magic involved, or one of these characters has a gun to their head forcing them to do this right now, people don’t just explode in a rage without some buildup first. People can explode in a rage over a seemingly inconsequential and unrelated thing, but they’re likely already upset and this one little thing is the final straw. Audiences love the anticipation of what that final straw will be, and whether the explosive drama is rage or romance, “slowburn” is immensely popular for a reason.

#writing advice #writing resources #writing tips #writing tools #writing a book #writing #writeblr #writers on tumblr #pacing

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ode-to-oddette · 2 months

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unexpected.

after your planned date with tim takes an unexpected turn, you show him just how full of surprises you are…

word count: <500

warnings: not proof read…i kinda raw dogged this :p no use of y/n

notes: omg first thing of writing on here…im an autobiographical writer, haven’t touched fanfic since i was like 10. with that being said if i proof read it i won’t have the guts to post it. there will be better writing on my blog i promise. also super late for valentine’s day but it rained when i love the day of and no other day of the week n i thought it was funny.

“You told me you checked the weather Tim.”

You had called your boyfriend to let him know that a picnic wasn’t going to work. As soon as you woke up, the noise of rain pattered on your apartment’s roof, hitting you with the reality that being outside wasn’t an option.

“I did! Today is the first time this month it’s rained! But uhhhh should we do the Mary’s?” He tried to remedy the situation with the Italian restaurant in your university neighborhood.

“We go there all the time, can we do something special since it’s Valentine’s Day baby?” You smiled into the phone receiver. You knew he melted into man pudding when you called him baby and used that tone.

“Oh uhh-“ evidence of your work, “Anything you want. Maybe the rink and then hot chocolate after?”

“It’s a date.” You smiled, perfect time to show Tim what he didn’t know about you on the ice.

❅ ❅ ❅

Tim came to pick you up, you made sure to put on a raincoat. Not only to protect yourself from getting soaked, but also to reveal your outfit to your boyfriend in the car.

“Oh look at you, expecting to get some laps in?” He joked at the expense of your lululemon attire

“I like my pink define jacket, thank you very much”

“Hey! I like it too, definitely…tight. Hugs the right pla-“ You slap him on the shoulder, “Ow! Do you even know how to skate babe?”

This was your moment. Should you lie and wow him? Or should you tell the truth and loose your novelty? You lie.

“No actually, you’ll have to teach me.”

“That’s great actually, then you can’t let go of me-“ he smiled like an idiot before you interrupted him

“Don’t push it”

“Yes ma’am”

❅ ❅ ❅

You try not to be suspicious. ‘Act like you’re nervous, get shaky the first few minutes-‘

“Hey babe, need help with your skates?” Tim is an angel. As much as he likes to talk dirty, he genuinely cares and you always know it.

“Oh uhm, yes please”

“No problem.” he got on his knees and laced your skates up, “They need to be super tight, but not so tight you can’t bend your knees beyond a certain point.” Nobody could wipe the smile he had off his face. He was just happy to be teaching his girlfriend how to skate on Valentine’s Day.

“Thank you Tim. I feel like Cinderella, only my shoe has a sharp blade on it and my prince charming doesn’t know how to check the weather.” You giggle at his expense

“Im sure I’m a much better prince charming than whatever that guy had going on. Now stand up and see if it’s comfortable.”

“Perfect! Oh! I mean uhhh-“ You can’t let the jig be up, “Ouch super tight but I’ll be okay!”

Tim looks at you funny, but thought nothing if it, “Alright let’s go.”

❅ ❅ ❅

You can’t even stand it. You’ve been pretending to be awful at skating for almost 30 minutes. The real truth? You were on a figure skating scholarship just like how Tim was on a hockey one. You’d been skating since middle school and it had become a sport you loved deeply. You and Tim had been together for eight months, but the topic never really came up due to you thinking there were far more important things to your character.

“Can I try by myself?” your posture was awful, but it as about to be perfect in about 5 seconds

“Remember what I taught you about falling on your butt and not your face?”

It took so much not to roll your eyes, “Ill try not to fall because you like both of those things about me. think I’m okay.”

“Great! Let’s see you do 5 feet ahead. Go at any pace you want.”

You nodded, kissing him on the cheek. You immediately shifted into better posture, stopped shaking , and started skating at the pace you wanted, like he said. You begin with fluid crossovers, transitioning into quick footwork. With a push, you launch into a simple jump, landing with precision. You could feel the air whipping past your face as you gained speed. Your body twists and turns effortlessly, soon you’re skating circles around your boyfriend, who couldn’t do anything but look at you in shock. You stop right next to him.

“Was that okay?”

“Was that okay?? What are you doing studying here! People get injured all the time at the olympics I’m sure you could fill in and it would make no difference” He laughed in complete shock, “How long have you been skating for?

“More than 10 years”

“We should definitely take this to my place. You’ve won my heart. Not that you didn’t before I just- let’s go babe.”

“No I’m actually having so much fun!”

#matthew lillard #tim laflour x reader #tim laflour #tim laflour x you #tim laflour fluff #senseless 1998 #tim laflour fic

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dreamingofep · 9 months

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Sinned Awakening pt. 3

An AU Elvis fic

(Vampire!Elvis/Vampire Austin!Elvis × reader)

Character/Fandom: Elvis - Elvis (2022)

Request: No

Prompt: Getting promoted to be Elvis’ full time housekeeper, you realize the man holds secrets beyond belief and your undeniable attraction makes you fear the unknown. [Fem!Reader]

TW: Cussing, tension, angst, SMUT, oral, the usual dirty stuff

Rating: Explicit

Word Count: 5.5K

A/N: Hello everyone!

Welcome to part 3! This part was a lot to write and I felt it to be a bit of a challenge to show the tension and magnetism between these two. I hope you enjoy all this and can't wait to show you what happens next. Please let me know what you think in the comments or send me a message!

Thank you again!

Sorry for any spelling mistakes and overall goofs. 🖤

Arriving to work the next day, you felt that familiar knot in your stomach form. Yet again, you didn’t know what would be in store for you. Would he fire you? Would you get another obscenely weird letter of praise? You had no idea but you had to show up and find out.

Three o clock arrived and there was no phone call, just the buzzing sound of the lights above you. You tapped your leg nervously, wanting to see him but unsure what to say. He might not have seen you after all, maybe it was just you being paranoid and he wasn’t upset at all.

Six o clock came and still no phone call. In fact, there wouldn’t be a phone call for an entire week. You were incredibly frustrated that he has you on call like this. You expected him to have more manners than this rather than keeping you waiting at his beck and call. But Tanya's voice rings in your head and it reminds you that he's "particular." Just another word for him acting like an asshole.

Looking at the clock, it was almost seven and your blood boiled. The least he could do was tell you he didn’t need you to clean today and you could go home and rest. But instead, you’re stuck here in this cold, poorly lit locker room in the basement of the International.

The shrill cry of the phone makes you make a frustrated groan. You quickly pick up the receiver and raise it to your ear and don’t say a word.

“Mr. Presley will-,” you hang up harshly and head to the elevator.

You had rehearsed the things you wanted to say to him, really give him a piece of your mind. How he can’t treat you like this and you’re not some servant to him. You work for The Hilton, not for him solely, and he needs to be reminded of that.

You rush past the men in the hallway and don’t care about the judgmental stares they give you as you head to the suite’s double doors. You open the door abruptly and slam it behind you making the walls shake. Your eyes search for Elvis in the living room and don’t see him anywhere. Not only that, the room is in spotless condition as you left it last, leaving you bewildered that you got a call in the first place. You creep your way further into the room and you get that familiar chill down your spine. Your body freezes and your eyes dart to the dark figure coming out of the bedroom.

The shadow in the corner of the room makes it’s way into the light to reveal Elvis standing in a silk black shirt and black slacks, anger radiating off of him and hitting you in waves.

“Do not slam my door,” he bellows.

You scoff at him and cross your arms on your chest, “You can’t possibly think I’d be happy waiting for a week not hearing a word from you. Then you call me up here thinking I could get the normal cleaning done! A normal person would call at the beginning of the shift that they don’t need me so I can go about my day,” you snarl.

“So you can go do what? Go home to a fiancé that doesn’t care if you exist?” He snaps back. You stare wide-eyed in shock and disbelief at the pure hate that he spits at you

“What the hell is your problem?! I have been nothing but kind and gracious to you despite your god-awful raging mood swings,” you retort. His jaw clenches, slowly walking towards you. The closer he gets, the clearer you could see his eyes, engulfed with pent-up anger. They were a much darker blue than the icy blue you saw a few days ago and you can’t figure out if it was your imagination or the lighting, but the way he’s looking at you now is dangerous.

“You’re my problem, honey,” he scoffs, “You don’t listen. You were told up front, I am the only one who tells you if I need your services, and yet you come barging in here tonight like you own the place. I didn’t need you tonight, but you hung up on one of my men and couldn’t even listen to the complete instruction,” he scowls. His eyes burn into yours as he inches closer to you.

“And possibly even worse, you went into my bedroom the other night when I specifically told you not to under any circumstances,” He growls, pointing his finger at you, getting closer than he normally gets.

“Well, I wasn’t in your bedroom so I don’t see what the issue is,” you say defiantly, watching as the disbelief washes over his face. You straighten out your posture, showing him that you’re not going stand here and take his harsh words like a scared child.

“And if you were so concerned about me finding out what you do in your bedroom, you might need to gain the ability to actually close your door and turn your porn off until I leave the penthouse,” you sneer. He quickly rushes to you, taking your face in his hand, making you look up straight into his fiery eyes.

“You have no idea what I can do to you,” he seethes. Your breathing begins to become labored and his close proximity makes it feel suffocating. You peel his cold hands off your face and throw it down at his side.

“I’m not afraid of what some recluse with money can do to me. It was only a matter of time before you would fire me,” you say fuming.

“Mhmm…but you’re right, maybe I should fire you. Or, maybe I should make you work for me forever, keep you all to myself,” he says darkly. Your heart thumps in your ears and you look at him wide-eyed as the mood in the room drastically shifts.

“Y-y-you couldn’t pay me enough so don’t even try,” your voice waiver the closer he gets to you.

“Maybe you’re right… maybe there isn’t a number that could make you happy, you’re just going to be as miserable as me,” he scoffs.

“No one can be as miserable as you, I can guarantee that,” you scowl.

He takes another step forward and you retract back, needing to keep space between you two. He smirks when he sees your reaction to him, taking one more step closer.

“I make you nervous, don’t I?” He quips slyly.

A lump in your throat forms and you don’t realize you’ve retreated so far in the room and are at the piano now. You bump the keys of the piano with your backside and jump at the sound. “I don’t know what you mean,” you say nervously.

“I see it in your eyes, the way your body fights to get away from me, but you can’t. You want to be here. To be close to me,” he reveals.

“Elvis, I- I’m engaged you can’t try to win your way with me like any other woman,”

“I don’t think you care about that right now. I know a troubled and unhappy soul when I see one honey. I’m just trying to figure you out. What you… need,” he emphasizes.

“Who says I’m not already happy?” You question. Another smirk forms on his face, making you weaker by the second.

“Based on how your cheeks are flushed and your eyes pleading for me to give you attention, I’d say you need something more. Something more from me.”

You bite your lower lip, knowing everything he is saying is the truth. The longer you stare and be in his presence, the more your body craved being around him. Not only that but this carnal desire to let him have his way with you ignited a fire inside you you didn’t know existed. You look down at the carpet, mapping out the way you’re going to try to get out of here. He places his hand on the bottom of your chin, making you look up into his eyes as they consume you whole.

“Do I make you nervous, yes or no,” he spat.

You nod your head in his hand, unable to keep your breathing steady as his eyes bore into your searching for answers. He pushes his body into yours, his erection starting to form and pushing into your tummy. You let out a slow breath, trying to fight how good his body feels on yours. The battle is lost almost immediately as you find your hands wrapped around his torso, needing him even closer, scratching your nails down his back.

“Are you happy?” He questions.

“I’m not happy,” you whisper. He lets a slow exhale, his body melting into yours.

“Then stop fighting me so much and let me give you what you need,” He groans into your ear, pushing his hips into you more. You hold back the moan you want to give him, unable to denounce that this is exactly what you wanted from him.

“I was born to please honey. It's what I do best. I get on that stage, I please the audience with my voice every night. I always make sure those around me get what they need too. Whether that’s money, food, clothes, you name it. And that applies to you too,” he pauses and takes his hand off of you. You take a sharp inhale as you feel your core throb for the first time in his presence. “So, what do you need?’ He asks patiently, smirking down at you.

“I need you to show me what you do best,” you say slyly, succumbing to him. He grins and in a flash, his lips are on yours. His lips feel better than you could have ever dreamed of. They’re soft and pillowy, kissing you with a newfound urgency you had never had before. The way he groans when he kisses you more passionately has you rolling your eyes back; like he’s been dying to do this and has mapped it all out.

His hands are around your hips, squeezing them tightly, making you push your body into him more. His hands roam your body freely, putting them everywhere, touching certain areas longer than others then moving on to touch somewhere else. He finds the curve of your ass and squeezes it firmly, making you break the kiss and look up at him gasping.

The way his skin felt on your body was beyond a craving; it was a need. This was exactly what you needed. All this weird pent-up energy between you two was bound to make the dam break and the only cure was having him this way. With your bodies clutching for each other, moaning and gasping for more as your apparent arousals made your thoughts go hazy. Your hand trails down to the front of his body, grazing down his til you hit his hard bulge. Your fingers trace the outline of his cock, getting to feel how long his length really is and you look up at him.

He has the most devious grin on his face as you keep rubbing him over his pants. You let out a breathy sigh, realizing you can’t wait any longer.

“Mmm, Elvis,” you say low.

“I know honey,” he grumbles, his finger hooking onto the inside of your shirt as he pops off every button. Your skirt has the same treatment as you feel the zipper slide down and it slipping off your hips. His hand finds your hair and swiftly pulls the elastic that was holding your hair back, letting it fall in effortless waves.

Before you have any chance to react to what he’s doing to your clothes, he picks you up and sits you down firmly on top of the piano. Your head spins at the way he’s touching you, being more exposed just being in your bra and panties. It's all so much better than you anticipated and it feels like his hands are burning on your skin. He grunts inwardly and rubs his hands along the inner parts of your thighs, spreading them open. His thumbs play dangerously close to the sensitive flesh that reaches your core and you can’t help but spread your legs wider for him to touch those places. Elvis stands in between your legs and brushes your hair behind your ear. His fingers unclasp your bra and slide the straps off your shoulders. Cupping your breasts in his hands, he gives them the lightest touch, rubbing your nipples in slow circles with his thumbs making you fall apart instantly for him.

He leans you back on the piano and lifts your legs up, letting them dangle on his shoulders. Your heart pounded away as Elvis inched closer to your dripping heat. You look at him in between your legs, looking absolutely ravenous. He glides his thumb up on your covered folds and instantly brought a shock to your entire body. Your panties were soaked through already, and he smiles when he makes this discovery. He keeps rubbing your sensitive bud, watching your face as it drowns in pleasure.

The friction he’s giving you is exactly what you wanted and it feels like heaven. He knows the exact amount of pressure to put on it to make you want more from him. Your blazing heat and his cold fingers provide such an interesting sensation that you’ve never experienced and it drives you insane.

Elvis can’t keep his eyes off of you, wanting to make you feel better than you ever have before. He hooks his fingers in the elastic waistband and you move your hips up to help him get them off of you. He hums softly, amused at your eagerness. He lightly glides his hands over your entire body, leaving you with chills. He can’t help but smirk when he notices how your body reacts to him. How your nipples hardened by his cool touch and how your chest heaves waiting for him to give you more.

He crouches down slightly, placing his two fingers on your lower lips, spreading them apart, showcasing the wet mess he has created and spilling out of you.

“Fuck this kitty looks so perfect,” he moans breathlessly, looking at you with need. He rubs his thumb on your sensitive bud, making you let out an obscenely loud moan, having not been touched like this by a man in ages. He knows just the right pressure to give you, enough to work you up. He stops and looks up at you, grinning like a little devil.

“This is one of the things I do best honey,” he groans deeply before he leans down and you feel his tongue on you. He starts to lap his tongue into your folds, swirling it and putting the perfect amount of pressure on your clit. You gasp, so unaccustomed to all of this, it feels almost overwhelming.

“Oh shittt,” you groan the more he uses his tongue. He has a tight grip on your thighs, keeping you still as you try to squirm on top of the piano. He is also groaning the more he licks at your wetness, driving you to the edge by the sounds he’s making. You lift your head up to watch him with his eyes closed, eyebrows furrowed as he looks positively ravenous as he eats you, sucking and lapping all the wetness from you. His groans sound animalistic, like he’s been so deprived for your pussy and he finally gets what he’s wanted the most.

Suddenly, you feel his tongue slip into your entrance and you both make the most salacious moan together. He eats you like he’s trying to get all the sweet cream from the bottom of the cone, not letting a drop get unlicked.

He sucks on your clit before taking his lips off of you, “Goddamn baby, tasting so fucking good. I've never had someone taste so sweet. Just like honey,” he murmurs drunkenly and goes back to licking your weeping folds. One hand is on your thigh, holding your leg up in the air and the other is grasping onto the edge of the piano, hunched over in stature as he is so laser-focused on you.

You hadn’t experienced this very often and it was definitely never like this. This was beyond pleasurable, it was euphoric with the way he made you want to get the very edge and come apart with his mouth on you.

Your hips start to rock involuntarily into his face, needing more from that mouth of his.

You feel his lips form into a mischievous smile as you continue to do this, guiding his tongue where you want it most.

“That’s right baby, I make you feel so good hmm,” he whispers. The sound of his voice makes your walls flutter and you can’t last much longer. Your breathing begins to shake, not used to so many sensations that he is giving you right now. He plunges his tongue deep inside you and you practically see stars behind your closed eyes. He keeps this same pace, moving his tongue in and out of you as you reach for his hair. You tangle your fingers in the soft black tresses and continue to rock into his face, feeling the warmth of your orgasm rush all over your body. You moan loudly as his tongue continues to fuck you and your squeezing walls.

Your body tingles all over and feel more pleased than you have in ages. You never particularly liked oral because you had a harder time finishing, but tonight, that was the complete opposite problem.

If that’s what he can do with his mouth… what can he do with the rest of his body…

He takes his mouth off of you, your slick covering his lips and chin, his eyes looking positively drunk on you. Standing up, his chest heaves when he looks at you, contemplating what he’s going to do next to you. His long index finger glides through your sensitive folds, making you hiss at the added pressure.

His other hand traces your jaw and his thumb rubs along your lips, humming to himself as you lick the pad of it. He groans at your little insinuation and moves his hand down to your neck putting the most delicious amount of pressure there.

Suddenly, you feel his finger enter your weeping core and you gasp and groan at the intrusion. Your walls hug his digit snugly and he too lets out a pent-up moan as he moves it in and out of you slowly.

“Fucking hell honey, when was the last time a man fucked you right,” he coos.

Your mind races and your body aches with desire, needing him to take care of every last want and need you crave.

“I-I-I don’t remember,” you manage to mumble, feeling his long finger get deeper inside you. Your jaw drops as he continues to feel your slick walls, letting out a loud moan.

He enters another long finger inside you and you cry out his name, so completely enamored with the feelings that are being brought into your body. Your walls flutter and you sit up on your elbows watching what he’s doing to you. He curls his fingers inside you, hitting a soft spongy spot you didn’t know existed before. He keeps curling and pushing there, making you moan louder for him.

His mouth is back on your clit, suckling it eagerly. You can’t hold back anymore and feel your walls squeeze around his fingers. Your head falls back, begging for him to give you more. The rippling wave of pleasure hits you like a train and won’t stop as long as he has his mouth on your aching bud. You try to push his head away from your over-sensitive core but he doesn’t let you move it. Sitting there shaking with pleasure, he stills your legs and looks at you deviously.

“I’m gonna show you how a man should fuck you, honey,” he growls, his eyes continuing to look dangerous and yet so attractive. He pulls his fingers out of you and picks you up off the piano, pulling you into the next room.

His bedroom is dark, with black furnishings taking up most of the space and a large king-sized bed in the middle across from the tv stand. A picture of an angel in stained glass sits on his nightstand, backlit with a candle to shine on the depiction of the biblical figure.

Elvis pulls back the sheets and places you in the middle of the bed. He doesn’t get on it with you right away, instead, he just stares hungrily at you, working the buttons of his shirt to reveal his body to you. Your eyes wander down to his pants and see his straining erection and he notices you staring.

“Need something, sweetheart?” He teases.

You nod your head at him, “Mhmm, I do” you beckon, trying to reach for his hand to pull him in. He doesn’t move though, and takes his hand away from you.

“Tell me what you need,” he prods.

“I need your cock,” you pant.

He slowly drags his pants off his hips, his erection slapping his lower stomach as it springs free. You lay there unable to function. Seeing it up close makes you feel an undeniable need to have him fill you with all of that. Your heart races out of your chest as he still doesn’t make a move yet.

He wraps his hand around his length, slowly pulling back his foreskin to better showcase his red leaking tip. He looks down at you slyly, watching how you bite your lip and scoot closer to him on the edge of the bed.

“Did you like it?,” he cocks his head at you waiting for your response.

You look at him puzzled, “Did I like what?” You ask unsure.

“The other day, did you like watching me get off?” He says darkly. You hold your breath, confirming your big fear that he did indeed see you watching him through the crack of the door. You know there’s no point in lying, he saw you and there’s no other excuse.

“Yes,” you squeak out embarrassed. A sly grin washes over his face and his hand continues to rub his length.

“Then say it,” he commands, his voice deep and gruff. Your stomach drops when you hear his tone and what he is expectantly waiting to hear from you. You don’t have to ask what he wants and you take a deep breath before speaking.

“I liked watching you get off,” you say in a breathy moan. He bites the bottom of his lip and nods his head at you.

“I know honey, I know you did. I liked how you watched me. Now it’s time to give you what you want,” he groans, getting on the bed in between your legs and spreading them open. The coolness of his hands pressing into your soft thighs makes you shiver with anticipation. He guides the tip of his cock in between your folds, covering it with your slick and you groan.

He lines himself up to your entrance and pushes a few inches in swiftly. You gasp at the initial penetration, he feels so much bigger than you anticipated and you haven’t had sex in so long that your body needs a second to acclimate. Your hands reach for his arms and grab onto him tight and groan.

He also lets out a loud moan as he moves in and out of you slowly, his eyes closed shut and his mouth dropped open in pleasure.

“Fuuckkk honey. Squeezing me so damn tight. You feel perfect,” He groans through his teeth, pushing more of his cock inside of you.

Your fingers dig into his flesh, leaving little red marks on his biceps. There’s a searing pleasurable pain that resides within you as you try to take him. He watches how you writhed on the bed, gasping for air as all of this is overwhelming.

“Ahh, oh my god Elvis,” You moan as you toss your head to the side, squeezing your eyes shut. You hear him hum in delight as he watches every single reaction come out of you. How you inadvertently moan for more when he pulls his length out of you and how your face looks when he plunges the rest of it in you.

“Oh my god,” you both moan out.

“Elvis, holy shit…” you managed to get out as he starts to snap his hips faster into you.

“What honey, you not used to get fucked like this hmm?” He teases.

You shake your head fervently, looking down as his length goes in and out of you.

“No, feels so good though,” you whimper. He pushes your legs up more and has both of his hands on your knees and he grinds his hips into you, watching you from above. God those hips were talented in more ways than one, the way he was barely moving them but was hitting the most perfect spot inside you had you dying.

The coil in your belly tightens by the second and has you crying for release. Almost reading your thoughts, he stops and pulls out of you. You plead for him, wanting nothing more than for him to make you cum. His eyes are still very dark, lust taking them over as he watches you plead for more of him.

“Elvisss please oh god,” you cry, pulling at his arms to get him on you again.

“You’re gonna have to tell me exactly what you want baby,” he commands.

You let out a frustrated moan, looking into his eyes, “Keep fucking me, your cock feels so good,” you beg unashamedly.

He grins at you and quickly puts your legs on his shoulders. He lines himself up again and plunges into you fast and fervently, making you see stars already. Elvis stretches his arm over you, holding onto the bed frame for leverage as he pounds into you. The moans and cries are coming out of you like water. He was right, you’ve never had a man fuck you like this and you enjoyed it more than you probably should.

When it came to sex, Daniel didn’t think about your needs, he did the same thing every time if you two ever did have any. This wasn’t the case at all with Elvis. He was on a mission for you you to feel the maximum amount of pleasure and cum first.

He looks so powerful and addicted to you, as he keeps fucking you. Your hips move with him, matching his rhythm and feeling that familiar feeling in your core. His other hand is back on your neck, wrapping it firmly there making your eyes roll back. You groan loudly, not able to take much more at the pace he’s set.

“Elvis I’m gonna cum oh god,” you cry.

He groans with you and you feel his thumb trace the side of your neck, rubbing there back and forth cussing under his breath.

“Oh fuck, oh fuck honey,” he moans as he leans down and nips hard at the crook of your neck.

You cry out for him, feeling beyond overwhelmed. The way his teeth felt on your neck was a feeling you could only describe as perilous. You didn’t want him to stop necessarily but it made you nervous with how intensely he was focused there. He keeps nipping that spot over and over then at it licking ravenously. You feel his body convulse on top of you, his breathing ragged as he nuzzles his nose next to your ear.

“Cum for me, now,” he demands gruffly, his hips snapping into you like an animal.

You obey without hesitation and feel your walls squeeze his length, making you both cuss. His face stays buried in the crook of your neck, not moving it as you ride out your orgasm.

Your fingers scratch at his back, holding onto him for dear life as you try to regain your normal breathing. He quickly pulls out of you and keeps his head down, his chest heaving like you've never seen, and grabs his length in his hand, growling in frustration.

“Turn around, now,” he grunts. Your brain scrambled to listen to him, his tone making you jump out of your skin. You quickly get on all fours and wait there for his next instructions. His hand grasps at your hip and you feel his hot seed land on your ass. His moans are gruff and you hear his breathing scattered, frantic almost. The sounds of his moans made you melt and you wanted to look at his face to see what he looked like coming. You bet he looked even more attractive somehow. But you decided to listen to him and let him finish the way he wanted to. You felt his seed drip down your ass and onto the backof your thighs, making you completely wet with both of your arousal.

His hands squeeze your hips and he turns you around again, laying on your back looking up at him. He looks delightfully fucked out of his mind and looks down upon you like prey. You both don’t say anything right away, trying to regain your normal breathing and not pass out from this beautiful man on top of you.

“Did you like that?” He asks softly.

“Y-yes. I really did. Didn’t know it could be that, intense,” you admit. He chuckles to himself, his blue eyes still dark with lust as he looks at you.

“Good, that’s what I wanted to hear,” he says smugly as he leans down to kiss your forehead.

He carefully gets off of you and goes to the bathroom to get a towel. He has you turn around for him again, he wipes your backside clean and he sits on the edge of the bed staring at you. You didn’t know what else to say or do, so many emotions were running through your head, and couldn’t make any sense of them.

Why did your body like him this much? It was more intense than you could have possibly imagined. You wanted to believe it was because you had been so deprived of another human’s touch but it wasn’t convincing enough. You just cheated on your fiancé, it should be making you sick with what you just begged Elvis to do to you but instead, you’re already thinking if this could possibly happen again.

No stop it. It’s not going to happen again. You promise.

You need to break this deafening silence and look at him smirking.

“I hope you don’t expect me to change the sheets next,” you say smartly. He shakes his head at you and laughs. Another thing that is beautiful about him; his laugh. That contagious sound makes you smile without you even trying.

“No honey I won’t make you do that. We might just make another mess in them,” He says deviously.

“Elvis, I umm, I really enjoyed all of that but this can’t happen again,” you say weakly.

“Mhmm, whatever you want honey. If you change your mind, you know where I’ll be,” he discloses, getting up and heading for the bathroom. “Leave whenever you want, I have to get ready for my show,” He says gently.

You look at the clock and it’s already eight, his show starts in half an hour. Looks like he might be going on a little late.

You go back into the living room area where you see your discarded uniform. You slip your skirt back on and button up your shirt. And throw your ruined panties and bra in your cart and make your way out. You couldn’t make eye contact with the men there in the hall, almost guaranteeing that they heard everything that was going on in there. The elevator doors open and you get in and take the long ride down to the basement.

Your head felt like it was in a cloud, blurry with so many thoughts and feelings you couldn’t escape. Grabbing your panties out from your cart, you make your way to your locker to grab your purse and go home. You keep a small mirror on the locker’s door and you take a look at your reflection. Your hair looked like it went through a tornado and your mascara was smudged underneath your eyes.

Nice you look completely normal.

Then your eyes stare in disbelief at what you see next. On the side of your neck, a large purple bruise has surfaced, pulsating and burning. You delicately touch it with your fingers and wince, feeling your pulse underneath it throb. He was nipping there harder than you thought based on how big and purple the bruise is, he did some damage.

Tilting your head further and inspecting for any more signs of how you committed adultery, you see your carotid artery running down your neck and through the bruise Elvis left behind.

You take deep breaths and try to find a bandage that will cover this up properly. You have no idea what excuse you are going to try to give when people ask what happened but you’ll figure it out later. Right now, you need to cover it up and get out of here.

Rushing over to the first aid kit, you find a band-aid that covers the bruise and you carefully placed it on. Closing your locker and grabbing your purse, you run to your car and lock the door, catching your breath and calming yourself down before you drive home.

This can’t happen again.

There’s already too much evidence he left behind.

You can’t have him.

He’s too tempting.

Do your job and get out.

But something in you knew it wasn’t going to be that simple.

Tagging 🖤:

@powerofelvis @burninlovebutler @neptuneismysister @velvetelvis @ccab @presleyenterprise @elvispresleyxoxo @loving-elvis

@prompted-wordsmith @sillybookmarks @dkayfixates @rosepresley @ellie-24 @rktismylife-blog @myradiaz @lookingforrainbows @elvispresleygf @tacozebra051 @thatbanditqueen

@18lkpeters @flwrs4aust @emma181873 @austinswhitewolf @eliseinmemphis @everythingelvispresley @chasingwildflowers @idontwanttoputanything @ohjustpeachy @elvisalltheway101 @austinsmutler @kingdomforapony @generoustreemystic @kendralavon7 @lettersfromvenus @claire-elvisgirl

@ashtag6887 @burnthheparaphilia @richardslady121 @jacqueline19997 @returntopresley @iloveelvis @rjmartin11 @that-hotdog @louisejoy86

#elvis presley #elvis fanfiction #elvis presley x reader #elvis presely smut #elvis presley fanfiction #elvis x oc #elvis x you #elvis x y/n #elvis x reader #austin elvis smut #austin elvis imagine #austin butler elvis #vampire elvis fic #vampire elvis #70s elvis #sinned awakening #elvis fanfic #samfangirls

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sakkiichi · 8 months

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MATCHUP FOR MY DEAR @yourangel137

Suzy, love, I really do hope you like this <3 thank you so much for trusting me with your info, it really helped me determine your best match 🌸

I took into account your personality traits, your preferences and your hobbies, once again I hope I managed to write this according to your expectations.

your genshin impact match is the embodiment of both the sun and the moon: bright and welcoming, yet with a depth of magnetism and mystery if you look just beyond the surface. Although carefree and extremely charming at first glance, don’t let his allure misguide you: he is extremely caring and protective, going to any lengths needed if he so must just to keep you safe. he is definitely the kind to provide conversations for hours, his variety of topics never boring, as if casting a spell over you, you could listen to him endlessly. but because duality clings to him in flames and shadows, he is a dedicated listener as well, refusing to drop the topic until you’re done with all that troubles you.

well, you might have already guessed who’s starring in today’s performance, no? However, let us rise the curtains and meet…

✧ LYNEY

Closed off and leaning on the shyer side are no setbacks at all to Fontaine’s famed magician. Lyney is very curious about you, and all the beautiful secrets hiding behind quiet words and that bashful smile of yours.

Adept in the art of performing, he is also a pro at making you feel comfortable around him; be it his playful yet sincere smiles, the little magic tricks he performs for you or just the enigmatic warmth he radiates, you feel safe around Lyney.

You mention you’re family-oriented and love animals. Lyney is someone who cherishes his family deeply, as proven by his devotion to Lynette and Freminet, he’d literally go to hell and back again for them, and for you. So seeing that same trait reflected in your character as well makes his heart beat in ways he didn’t believe possible before; this is definitely different from being under someone else’s protection… is this what they call love?

Getting hurt by someone else’s words shouldn’t be a problem if you’re dating Lyney. He reads people quite well, plus his speech and mannerisms are inherently enchanting; gentle with you in a playful and mischievous way that makes you feel like royalty (he’d be damned if he didn’t make it known how special you are to him).

Forgiving and giving others chances are qualities of yours that I believe would be beneficial to Fontaine’s beloved illusionist. His past is not exactly the most easy to stomach, and he certainly won’t come clean about it at first. But with the time and nurturing you give him, you both will figure things out together.

After all, that’s the love song written in cursive for you in the distant starlight…

—

Reflections of the universe seem to sift through your fingers as you comb through his hair.

The night is quiet, as if waiting with bated breath for the greatest show to start.

In his lover’s lap, a magician lays the riddles of his magic, unspoken spells coming alive with no wave of wand when he’s around you.

“Does this feel good, Lyney?” You softly utter, fireflies stilling on flowerbeds, spectators of the sweet tale unfolding.

Eyes of lumidouce blooms conceal behind snowy lashes, not in the impenetrable way of the rings of fire he set aflame when painful memories were unearthed, no; but in a serene manner, as if the magic he commands was born from your touch.

“Mm, ma chérie…” Your beloved hums, stardust dotting his fine visage. “It does… but I know a way to make it even better…”

“Oh?” You smile at him, your movements continuing, as your free hand is tenderly caught by his.

“Sing for me, angel.” He whispers, gaze now focused solely on you. Because now, and always, Lyney couldn’t care less about the audience, as long as you were standing there, starry eyed and smiling.

“But Lyney…” Heat spreads through your cheeks, akin to a flock of doves set free from inside a mage’s hat. “Are you sure…?” You tentatively venture, the rhythm of your heart picking pace, already dancing to the symphony to be sung.

“Completely, my rose.” Your boyfriend offers, reassuring you with a gentle squeeze to your hand.

“A-alright…” You hesitate for an instant, and then, the true magic begins. Honeyed notes fill the auditorium of you and him, butterflies and nightingales swaying to your waltz; pluie lotus and romaritime flowers seem to come alive under the veil of your melody, almost glowing in the dim starlit lake; even the moon has appeared to lend an ear, her shawl of misty clouds opening up to the view of this private stage.

This must be what true love feels like. Is the thought flashing through the magician’s mind, his body feeling weightless, nectarine warmth wrapping tenderly around him.

As your song continues, your vocal chords loosen, the passion that you sometimes conceal spreading its fiery wings, flying you both to the faraway stars.

Instants like this one, where your truest feelings become center stage… That’s the greatest show to your partner.

What else could he need, when he has the night and your angelic voice all to himself?

And what more could you want, when the lines of his face look so utterly at peace?

This is your own idyll, its gates open only by the incantation of his lips on yours.

—

Another reason that made me choose Lyney as your genshin match is because of his caring nature. The famous magician will not, under any circumstance, allow you to forget to take care of yourself. As seen when he interacts with his family, Lyney is naturally shielding towards them, their wellbeing a priority to him. And that, of course, applies to you too.

Be it because of large crowds, too much stimulation from the environment or any other reason, Lyney somehow always manages to appear just in time to hold your hand. If you need to, he’ll hug you tight, as you bury your head in the crook of his neck, his pyro vision offering a comforting warmth to fend the cool seeping into your bones.

Lyney thinks it’s absolutely adorable that you enjoy childish things: from pretty dresses to plushies, to cute accessories, rest assured he’ll either make them appear right before your very eyes or buy them for you (I mean, he earns enough as a performing magician, but even if that wasn’t the case, seeing you happy is worth more than any amount of mora).

Your hobbies quite align with Lyney’s lifestyle too. Crocheting is one of your passions, so I can definitely see him including the plushies you sew in magic tricks he performs for children. Their smiles as they hold the dolls you make in their little hands are truly adorable.

Alternatively, I can imagine you giving stuffed animals to some of Fontaine’s less favored children, our star magician smiling melancholy and fondly, completely in love with the kindness you radiate (that could be how you met/your first interaction, with him being absolutely whipped from the first moment).

As for qualities you seek in a significant other, well, he definitely fits plenty of them: he’s shorter than you (and he’d melt every time you kiss his forehead); he can be both mature and playful, he just won’t shut up (affectionate), but knows when to be serious and lend an ear too; he’ll keep you safe without a doubt, plus he’s familiar with the night life in the city; you’d have to chase him a little too, he may seem all smiles and sunshine, but let me tell you, there’s shadows to unfold as you get to know him more. Even so, he’ll open up to you and be honest, it just might take him a while.

As for the insecurities you harbor, Lyney will be sure to make them vanish with a snap of fingers: he’s a natural charmer, his compliments leaving you speechless in the best way every time. Oh, and yes, he definitely takes that chance to steal a kiss or two hehe (don’t blame him, he loves you too much).

˚₊· ͟͟͞͞➳❥ Other matches I considered: Kaedehara Kazuha, Childe.

✧ RUNNER UP: SHENHE

She, too, fits most of your preferences.

She is very protective. I’m telling you, all hell will break loose if anyone ever dares harm you or make you uncomfortable.

Shenhe is mysterious, not letting many people close to her. But the lucky ones who get to truly know her (that is, obviously, you) are rewarded with one of the gentlest souls ever.

You mention you’d find someone both childish and mature interesting. While not exactly childish, Shenhe is still learning about many things from the human world. Her cluelessness is quite adorable at times.

I believe too that your soothing nature and fondness for childish things pair very well with her more detached and closed off self.

In a modern au, I know Shenhe would undoubtedly be the type to win a huge teddy bear or any big plushie you’d like at a fair.

She is not familiar with the concept of music, so wouldn’t it be beautiful, for her to learn about it by listening to your voice? The way her eyes sparkle, dawn rays over frozen streams, is enough to mesmerize you.

˚₊· ͟͟͞͞➳❥ Other matches I considered: Raiden Ei, Ganyu.

#genshin impact matchup #genshin impact matchups #genshin matchups #astronetwrk #genshin impact x reader #lyney x reader #genshin impact imagines #shenhe x reader #genshin impact x you #genshin impact x y/n #lyney x you #shenhe x you

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stanmammon · 9 months

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Flowers and Obey Me characters? Sign me up! May I request Barbatos with daisies, fennel, morning glories, sunflowers, and red roses? An absolutely bizarre bouquet, tbh... but we're going with it.

Barbatos:

🌻daisy: what is their love language, both giving and receiving?

The love language he gives should be no surprise. Barbatos is a firm ‘acts of service’ type of man, but there is some extra effort you’ll see that go beyond his butler duties. If you liked a particular type of food that he didn’t have much experience making, he’d perfect a recipe just for you; he’ll even go out of his way to mix flavors and create something new that still had your flavor profile in mind. Nothing has him more satisfied than knowing you feel taken care of and adequately doted on.

The kind of love Barbatos preferred to receive was a bit of mystery. He liked a little bit of everything, a nice balance, though he seemed a little shifty when you tried to go out of your way for him; acts of service was more something he was used to doing rather than receiving, though he always showed gratitude. You think he liked to have praised heaped on him, not in a way that goes straight to his head but it makes his heart flutter to know he’s appreciated.

🌻fennel: what are their kisses like? where do they like to be kissed the most?

Barbatos is very deliberate with his kisses, giving quick yet gentle ones when he had to depart for his duties, and romantic yet much more aggressive ones when he knew the two of you had a moment to yourselves. You think he holds himself back quite a bit to prevent himself from hurting you and he doesn’t necessarily agree; as a demon he did have to mind his strength, but he had total confidence that he wouldn’t hurt you even in the throes of passion. It turns out he really does just like to tease but there are moments even he is willing to let his lungs burst rather than pull away from you for a second, just because he missed your touch that much.

In private, a kiss on the lips is his favorite and you’ll hardly find an act of affection he likes more. He used it for a variety of purposes which included shushing you or wiping frosting from his newest baked treat from your lips. In public, he’s much more gentlemanly about his affections, preferring a kiss on the hand to greet you. He was never so formal with others so it was an act that was noticeably different while still not being so bold that it broke decorum.

🌻morning glory: what is their favorite form of physical affection?

Barbatos is not one for PDA so subtle little touches that he can give, even when around others, are among his favorites. He’s always wearing his gloves but sometimes you feel the smoothness of his skin on the back of your neck or brushing against your hand, the gentle stroke a reminder that he was beside you. You tried to catch him in the act but he was much like a ghost, giving a knowing, slightly amused smile when you spun around trying to catch him in the act.

🌻red rose: what turns them on the most?

Barbatos quite likes when you take the initiative or ask him what you want, even better if you give a few demands that he can fulfill. You can’t expect total compliance from a man who serves the future demon prince as his dedication is almost solely for Diavolo, but he’ll play along for a little before flipping the script on you.

🌻sunflower: how would they confess their feelings to their crush?

He’s always thought he was quite forward with his feelings, honesty is the very best policy, but there was a choice few ways he thought might get his feelings across to you without the need for words. Sharing late night desserts, getting to drink his favorite tea with him and even creating a special blend that has little pieces of both of you put into it… He thinks it’s quite clear that he considers you his beloved and he’ll put on a surprised face if you tell him you never would’ve suspected if he hadn’t actually said those three little words to you.

#Obey Me!#Obey Me #Obey Me Shall We Date #Obey Me Nightbringer #Obey Me Imagines #Obey Me Shall We Date Imagines #Obey Me Nightbringer Imagines #Obey Me x Reader #Obey Me Nightbringer x Reader #Obey Me Barbatos #Obey Me Barbatos x Reader #Plant Meme

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molluskmirage · 3 months

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Bad and Dapper’s bond

a full on discussion about how absolutely precious it is.

Bad and Dappers bond is so special, its not something you come across everyday and watching it unfold live on screen is a privilege that isn’t possible in other forms of media. So many sets of perfect conditions combined into what is one of the most endearing and precious bonds.

From first sight to now, it is such a beautiful and powerful relationship that is built with love by both players. Bad is a brilliant parent to so many degrees, because Bad was so open to letting his child flourish Dapper was able and willing to accept it and what a powerful dynamic it is. They can communicate without speaking and share each others joy with their mere presence. While Bad may call out worries and commands while fighting monsters they fight in tandem so seamlessly without saying a word. They volley hits so smoothly as an understated comment on how well they understand each other’s movements.

It’s something that could be seen from the very first sighting but as the love blossomed it only grew more and more. When Bad initially walked into the adoption center he was eyeing Chayanne but then he saw Dapper and those little hops and that hat, it was all over for Badboy that was his kid and he quickly became protective standing by him not letting anyone take him ensuring Dapper was his kid as for him he already was. On Dappers end as he has spoken he had seen a little of bbh, liked him enough but was unsure there personalities would gel, but in the moment completely excited for Bad to be his parent. What came next for Dapper was even more sweet because while he stated uncertainty at first before knowing in his words ‘I couldn’t have been more wrong’, there dynamic and bond played out so well it developed into real love.

Bad encourages and supports Dapper in all endeavors (even if some he may be wary of he’ll never stop of thinking of ways to support everything). While Dapper is an obviously skilled player him being able to flourish and be such a character so early on is a testament to Bad’s love and care. Many adults can feel overwhelmed when a little human their in charge of is smarter then them, the lost sense of control tends to lend itself to adults taking that power back by belittling the child or holding them back. Bad doesn't do this, he understands they need to go about something for caution so may momentarily wrangle Dapper but only enough so that they can do the thing with a backup plan for their safety.

Bad treated Dapper as both what he was told and what Dapper exhibited and also left room for ambiguity because he was uncertain by his source of information. Bad was told Dapper was a dragon egg so Bad didn’t hold him to human child expectations. While it may be laughed at that Bad made an actual nest as Dappers first bed that moment shows just how much care Bad is willing to put into appropriate care for Dapper beyond human expectations of comfort and care. Dapper understands this love and care and shares it as well. He loves all creatures and puts his heart and soul into research of there habitats and needs.

Those early moments with dirt poor Bad and Dapper in the side of a cliff to annoy Foolish are such a sickeningly wholesome and sweet experience. The tender love that was shared there really set in stone Dapper and Bads bond and when moments get rough and Dapper gets overwhelmed he falls back into Bad for theses moments of soft songs and comfort. Not watching Bad, Dapper both is and may seem very independent but Bad is his comfort and it’s something to see when he lets himself be vulnerable with Bbh he’s so sweet and soft and little.

Dappers wit makes for the perfect comedy duo play between him and Bad. Because Bad leans into Dappers love of the macabre it creates all kinds of humorous moments that showcase even more the support for one another.

Dapper loves to explore and Bad loves him being able to explore however Dapper is a vulnerable player so in order to achieve some exploration safety measures must be taken. I think audience wise many would assume Bad wouldn’t let Dapper do many things for fear of danger but thats not the case at all, Bad and Dapper completed so many of the most dangerous dungeons in the first few weeks that at the time almost all other eggs weren’t allowed within 100 blocks of. They were able to do this with understanding, communication and safety measures. Instead of saying ‘no you cant do that’ bad says ‘we can do that but we need to set up somethings before going in/ you need to listen when I say to run away’ Bad doesn’t impede on Dappers abilities but guides them through there wants and wishes in a manner that isnt a no but helps them guarantee safety.

They do this all alone together. There was never another in the picture for Bad, he was a lone parent in an environment that wanted to kill his kid. Poor and least audience favored Bad never spoke to any of these obstacles because they aren’t obstacles to him for Dapper. Dappers time and happiness is all that matters everything else melts away for Bad whatever he has to do to ensure that he does for Dapper, time and time again he proves his love without question, for Dapper its all worth it and he’s right. Dapper is such an incredible player smart and funny and sweet. (Admin wise its pretty clear that their a more reserved individual that ramons admin coaxed them to join with him and ccbad fits this perfectly well) moments where Dapper is shy and overwhelmed Bad immediately looks into, they share silent shifts and Bad pulls him away for his thoughts on the matter, Bad will then act accordingly to Dappers wishes while also talking Dapper through them if need be.

The narrative that Dapper is Bad’s parent and not the other way around is a joke thats able to exist because Bad so throughly supports Dapper and his intelligence. Emotionally Dapper is vulnerable, he has a huge heart but has a hard time placing that love without feeling incredibly shy, he depends on Bad for that support and Bad provides that. Thats an unseen practice however to any that dont see Bads pov which is many, there love is so strong and powerful though.

Dapper feels this bond of closeness too and repeats his biggest fears not being his own demise but what that would mean for Bad. He has shown other moments for being defensive for Bad when others try to insinuate that bad doesn’t care for him properly or that bad is a terrible character. And while slight he has also showcased small signs of monopolization (when he feels he can, in general I think he’s very chill/used to sharing time with bad between islanders and siblings but if he lets himself be a little selfish in a very cute manner he does like to hold onto bad) a very subtle wish but one still present.

Dapper and Bads bond, how the bounce off each other love and care for one another, It truly is a phenomenon that doesnt come often but when it does is so precious to behold and infectious to view. Theres no moment when the two are together thats not filled with joy and love for each other. Its been an incredible pleasure to watch. A timeless experience that never gets old. Their bonds so cute and sweet and precious its gold. Bad and Daper can have other relationships that are special to them too but the bond between the 2 has been such a profound showcase of love thats endearing through and through.

#Qsmp Dapper and Bad’s bond

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parentsday · 29 days

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I once saw someone say that after Parents Day (the episode, not you), they never really touched on Max’s familial situation again. And while I agree that episodes like With Friends Like These could have paid a little lip service to it (why David just sent Max back home to what he knew were neglectful parents is beyond me, maybe he didn’t think there was anything he could do about it?), it feels to me like one of those things where once you know about it, you start seeing the character in a whole new light. Like you see what Max does in older and newer episodes and you rationalize it as “Oh, I see, he acts that way because his parents neglect him. Stuff like him not knowing how to swim or having a teddy bear when he’s theoretically too old for one.

i agree with you on many of your points and disagree heavily on the use of them you make later on. to start off max is an incredibly dear character to me, like painfully so. if i had the chance to i would love to dissect his head like one of a frog in a lab and see what makes his brain tick in ways it does, and of course one of the reasons is the abstract emotional state of mind any victim like him would have. one that sometimes gets more kafkaesque the longer i stare at him. so please bear in mind that i love the subtext his character possesses, i just can’t always rely on it to explain anything.

if you know me you know i like to complain about this shows writing, not out of hate for it but rather out of love for the material and what it started off as and has ability to be still (stuff like heavier writing that holds narrative weight, david being an asshole, the whole harrison thing that is lost to time now etc etc). whenever i watch this show with someone i usually opt to rewatch several earlier episodes after we finish parents day. it gets praised a lot but i don’t often see people mention how well it recontextualizes a lot of stuff previously shown to us, not only for max but other cast members too. a lot of the problems that stem from this is the fact that most other characters whose issues were presented to us in this episode are strawman connected to their family by the writers in a way that laters on allows for progress without relying on mention or presence of their parental figures (proper examples of this are preston, ered, nerris, somewhat harrison). max doesn’t get that simply by the virtue of the fact that his issues cannot exist in a vacuum and are inherently connected to his family. max’s parents haunting all of the narrative surrounding him has enough psychoanalytical subtext for it to traumatize several men and leave freud rolling in his grave, so i believe that you cannot in good faith progress his character without mentioning them or their actions or lack thereof towards him once or twice. that’s pretty much why i think that the topic of his abuse has not been brought up in a meaningful way since parents day. from where i stand i view abuse as one of the focus themes in this show, so poor treatment of it is very obvious to pin point to me as it usually drags most characters down with it the less it is respected in a way it should be.

like i said, the way the show recontextualizes max’s behavior leaves way for interpretation of the viewer on the way why he is the way he is, it’s easy for us to understand why he can’t swim or why he can’t fathom the idea of moving on and letting go on several occasions. the thing is in a perfect world we don’t have to do all of this. it can be attributed to good writing for making the audience be able to perceive any part of the characters psyche without the authors help, but in reality it’s lazy to expect everyone to treat the characters from a watsonian perspective and view their every move as a meta reference towards their trauma when not everyone cares enough to do so. the writer referencing child abuse and not adding onto it aside from the mention of its existence is exploitative of the viewers personal care for the character, it’s bad writing. you obviously can interpret what max does as a result of neglect (and you should!) with the power of subtext, implications and critical thinking, but what you also should think about is what does it tell you about his character aside from the fact that he is neglected. do we ever find out something new about his home situation or do scenes like these give us any discussion inside the show about the fact that he is still actively a victim of neglect? (the answer is most always gonna be no, maybe just always)

tldr; stuff like child abuse is heavy, writing it is hard and treating it the way rooster teeth does is not only poor writing but also disrespectful to the very real human trauma they are inserting into their show on more than one occasion

i would also love to discuss the david stuff you brought up and why him acting towards max and others in a way that he does in recent seasons is a long standing issue rather than a new problem but thats genuinely a conversation for another day as this post is already long enough as it is. thank you for the ask :3c

#i want to make a tag for these #camp camp meta analysis #that will work #camp camp #max cc

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naughtyneganjdm · 10 months

Text

On the Run - Chapter 10

Summary: At Bill’s home, the group recuperates and the time they spend there brings back painful memories for Y/N while she deals with the loss of losing her best friend.

Characters: Joel Miller (The Last of Us), Negan (The Walking Dead), the reader (OC, third person), Bill (The Last of Us), Frank (The Last of Us), etc.

AO3 Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/47007172/chapters/121849411

Warnings: Swearing, severe angst, talks about some heavy topics, etc.

Notes: This chapter was supposed to go very differently, but my brain decided to write it very different. I’m just trying really hard to get this story done so I can say it’s done. Thanks to anyone that reads it.

Trusting two strangers was the last thing Y/N wanted to do right now, but it was all she could do. Sitting in the corner of Bill’s living room, she kept her eyes on Bill who was standing at the corner while both Joel and Frank tended to Negan. Beyond stressed would be how she would describe Bill’s demeanor right now. He didn’t want them there and she wished she didn’t have to be there.

“What the three of you need the most right now is to get cleaned up, wrapped up, medicated and rest,” Frank explained, moving away from Negan to rub his hands together with an unnerving breath. “We’ll get you moved into the guest room where you can get comfortable. Unfortunately we don’t have more than one room, but the bed is a king size and I think the three of you need to get some rest where you are comfortable.”

“We can’t keep them here,” Bill snapped making Frank fold his arms in front of his chest to turn and glare out at his obvious significant other. “We could be at risk here with them here.”

“Bill, you have this house surrounded with booby traps and tons of security cameras so you know what is happening at all times. Nothing is going to get past you. We’re keeping them here,” Frank asserted pointing toward Joel and Negan that were sitting together on the couch. “These two look like they’ve been hit by a truck. If we throw them out of this house and something happens to the three of them, I’m never going to forgive myself. So let’s help them get their things in the house, do what you have to do so they can get cleaned up and then we’ll make them a dinner before letting them rest.”

“Damn it,” Bill muttered under his breath showing that it didn’t take much for him to agree and listen to Frank. Lowering his arms and nodding toward the door, Bill attempted to get Joel’s attention. “Help me get your shit to the guest bedroom.”

With a nod, Joel got up and limped out the door to follow Bill outside to the SUV. Offering up a weak smile, Frank nodded toward Negan, “You want to help me get this one in the shower so we can get his ribs wrapped and those wounds cleaned?”

“Thank you,” Y/N muttered when they worked together to get Negan up. Negan’s arms wrapped around their shoulders while Frank led them toward the stairs. It took quite some time to get Negan up the stairs and down the hallway, but once they entered the bedroom, she assumed they would be staying in she let out a questionable breath. The decorations and the way the room was put together was very classy which surprised her. “When I came into this house, this is not what I expected.”

“I thought the same thing when I met Bill, but you’ll be quite surprised by what he’s capable of,” Frank snickered urging her to follow him toward the bathroom. Once they pushed open the door, they were able to balance Negan against the counter while he braced himself with his hands. “Under the sink there are plenty of towels, razors, whatever you need. I’ll bring up the medical supplies. Have Joel wrap his ribs and help with the wounds when he’s up here.”

“He’s been taking good care of us, he’ll know what to do,” Negan grunted, his hazel eyes lifting to meet Frank’s stare. This was the most coherent Negan had been since they got there. It was nice seeing him have some kind of strength, but it was obvious he was still in significant amounts of pain. “Thank you.”

“Yeah,” Frank stood in the bathroom, his eyes gazing back and forth between Negan and Y/N. Throwing his hands up in the air, Frank cleared his throat and looked like he wanted to say something but it took some time. “I really am sorry for the things that Bill said to you on the phone a few days ago. It was wrong.”

“You don’t have to apologize for him,” Negan grunted, pulling himself up from where he was to outstretch his arm. Holding his hand out, Negan was looking to shake Frank’s hand and it shocked Frank. Accepting the gesture, Frank shook his hand and Negan gave him a weak smirk. “I am going to punch the hell out of Bill at some point though, I hope you know that. Not multiple times. Just once. Really hard.”

“I think it might be justified,” Frank tipped his head to the side with a frown making Negan’s eyebrows bounce up. That wasn’t exactly the response he was expecting from Bill’s lover. “And luckily you’re hurt so he won’t die from it.”

“There is always a positive to things,” Negan noted when Frank released his hand and back stepped. Tapping on the wall, Frank gave them a final welcoming smile before leaving them alone. Looking to Y/N, Negan could see that her worried eyes were staring out at him. Considering the way she was focusing on him, he knew that he must have looked pretty bad. “I look pretty, huh?”

“Fucking gorgeous,” she stammered, her bottom lip quivering when she stepped forward to caress over his face in a tender sweep. “You’re the one person that could get his ass kicked and you still look good. You and Joel look like you’ve been through a war and here I am. With little to nothing to complain about.”

“I’m sorry I let this happen,” Negan frowned, his thumb tracing faintly over her neck where there was some bruising before dragging his fingers up toward her cheekbone where she knew her cut was. “I should have never let him touch you.”

“He was a beast Negan,” she reminded him reaching up to wrap her fingers around his wrist, stroking her fingers over the pulse point. “I know that you would have done anything to protect me. Including almost dying.”

Lowering down, Negan pressed his forehead to hers when her fingers hooked with his. The warmth of his breath lingered over hers making her bite down on her bottom lip when she closed her eyes cherishing the warmth of him close.

“Let’s get you ready for the shower,” she breathed reaching down to start unbuttoning Negan’s shirt and his hands unsteadily reached for hers. Shaking his head, there was worry in his eyes and she felt her heart leap in her chest. At this point, with his face bruised, cut and swollen she didn’t imagine it could look much worse. Urging his hands away, she got the shirt undone pushing down the material from his body. When her eyes gazed over his abdomen, she immediately knew why Negan was trying to keep her from seeing it. Gasping out, she adjusted her positioning to look at the severe bruising that was done to Negan’s ribs, side and lower back. “Negan…”

“No…” Negan shook his head, stepping forward with a pained sound lifting both of his arms to cup her face in his hands tenderly when she started to break down after seeing what his body looked like. Seeing him this way had her crying and that was the last thing he wanted her to do. “I’m okay. You don’t have to worry about me.”

“You need medical help Negan,” she traced her fingers over the discolored flesh making him let out a sharp exhale. Shakily he reached for her hands and shook his head knowing that the last thing they needed was to let people know where they were because he ended up needing medical care. “There could be some internal bleeding, something that could kill you.”

“I can tell you what’s wrong with me Y/N. After playing baseball and seeing the injuries that come from it, I’m very much aware what happened,” Negan cleared his throat, his head lowering down to look at his body. “I have broken ribs, a concussion, a broken nose and probably a bruised kidney.”

“The way you just said that like none of those things are a big deal,” she snapped at him making Negan frown when his stare lifted up to look at her with his fatigued hazel eyes. “A bruised kidney is a big fucking deal.”

“I would have died already if it’s as bad as you think it is,” Negan responded with a frown, shrugging his shoulders when he swallowed down hard. That didn’t help calm her with that thought. “We just have to pay attention to my blood pressure and I’m fairly certain this Bill guy will have something for me to check it. I’m going to guess his house is better than any safehouse we would have stayed at when it comes to your father.”

There were tears in her eyes looking at how injured he appeared to be. Moving forward, he cupped her face in his rough hands getting her to lift her head up so he could claim her lips in a kiss that made her eyes come to a tight close. The tender caress took her breath away with his thumb sweeping over her jawline.

As their lips parted, she nuzzled her nose in against his and felt him wrapping her up loosely in his arms, “I love you so much Negan.”

“I love you too,” Negan replied with a grumble, faintly brushing his lips over hers again making her tip up on her toes toward him.

Jumping, she heard the sound of someone clearing their throat and looked to see that Joel was standing in the doorway of the bathroom after she pulled away from the kiss that she was sharing with Negan. It seemed like he was jealous of the way he found them, but he was holding some clothes in his hands, “I grabbed you something comfortable for when you are done with your shower.”

“Thank you,” Negan gave her one final weak hug before moving over toward Joel to accept the clothing. Setting it on the counter, he started unsteadily pulling apart his pants with a wince.

“You need help with the shower?” Joel offered making Negan grunt under his breath and look up at Joel with a certain expression that made Joel throw his hands up. “I know how hurt you are. I’m not looking to cop a feel.”

“You wouldn’t be able to help yourself,” Negan joked with a snort, winking the one eye that wasn’t swollen making Joel grumble under his breath. “If I ever ask someone else to help me suds my ass it will be a very dark day for me. I’m sure if I need your help, you guys can hear me if you’re in the bedroom.”

“I’m going to keep the door open then,” Joel announced making Negan shrug like it didn’t bother him. Moving out of the bathroom, they both gave Negan his space when they went to sit on the edge of the bed. At first it seemed like Y/N was worried about Negan being able to get in the shower on his own until the water started up and the shower door was heard. “I told you he took the grunt of it.”

“You both look like shit,” she blurt out making Joel snort at the way she said it. “You know what I mean.”

“It’s just funny thinking about it in a different context,” Joel spun his fingers around carefully lowering himself back against the bed. Humming out, he closed his eyes and felt her laying down beside him. “I don’t even care that we all have to share a bed. It will be nice to finally sleep on something where I don’t feel every single spring. Not waking up with severe back pain as soon as I get up will be nice.”

“Honey, your upper back is bruised to shit. You’re going to have back pain for a while,” she reminded him making him chuckle when he knew that she was right. Turning his head with his eyelashes fluttering to an open, he could see that she was staring out at him with worry in her eyes. “Thank you for bringing me here. I know how much your daughter means to you. So bringing us here was a really big deal for you.”

“Of course,” Joel bit at his bottom lip, sliding his hand in closer to hers to hook their fingers together. “I don’t want you or Negan dead. I couldn’t leave you. As fucked up as it is, we’re a team. The three of us. We keep each other safe.”

“Even though you pulled a gun on him?” she pointed out making Joel groan and roll his eyes. “I can’t believe you thought it was Negan that did all of this.”

“When someone dies, you don’t know what to think,” Joel turned onto his side, reaching out to brush his fingers over the side of her face making her eyes come to a tight close. “You were so upset and I didn’t know what to think. It was the only other option that I could come up with.”

Reaching for Joel’s hand, she pulled it from her face and sat up making him frown. Pushing up, Joel noticed the way that she was crying again and he slid in closer to her, “It’s hard pretending everything is fine when I know that Poppy isn’t here anymore Joel.”

“You aren’t pretending it is fine,” Joel whispered, brushing her hair back over her shoulder. “You’re just here trying to figure out what is happening. And we’re going to. For Poppy.”

“I don’t even know what I’m going to tell her parents,” she explained clasping her fingers together in her lap. The ache at the center of her chest grew and she let out a tremoring breath. “Poppy was a mess, but she was my mess. And I’m never going to have that in my life again. I just expect her to pop in at the worst times saying the most ridiculous things…”

A weak laugh fell from her throat when she pointed at the door and let out a whimper lowering her head again. Wrapping his arms around her, Joel hugged her tightly knowing that she was going through things he would never be able to understand right now. But this had to be her way of coping while they were here.

“I’m never going to forgive myself Joel. You can say what you want, but Poppy’s death is on me. I should have just been fucking mature, but instead I wanted to piss off my father. Throw this grand party to make him angry, but he didn’t even care. If I wasn’t throwing that fucking party, she wouldn’t have even been there,” she thought aloud hating that her best friend got tied up in all of this. “I didn’t even want to be there at that party. I wanted to be with you.”

“At the same time I could blame myself that I didn’t allow you to come over that night,” Joel countered hating that she was putting so much pressure on herself from the death of her friend. “There are a lot of factors that led to what happened.”

“You had nothing to do with this. Even you, I guilted you into being there and I blame myself for that,” Y/N thought back to the night this whole thing started on her birthday. More than anything she wished she could go back in time and stop this whole thing from happening. “I just keep thinking about all the decisions I made that led to her getting killed Joel. I should have just left when I planned on leaving the day you stopped me. If I wasn’t around the three of you, Poppy would still be alive and the two of you wouldn’t be this hurt.”

“I don’t think any of us including Poppy would have been okay with leaving you,” Joel claimed with a frown, caressing his thumb over the curve of her jawline. His empathetic chocolate brown eyes were locked on hers and she felt a chill flooding her body.

“Poppy isn’t here to say that Joel,” she painfully breathed out hating to acknowledge that very thing. “I know Poppy wanted to be with me, but Poppy wouldn’t have wanted to be dead. It should have been me, not her.”

“Listen, I know you’re always going to have a hard time accepting this Y/N, but this isn’t your fault,” Joel explained with a frown, stroking his fingers over the back of her neck. “Truth is, this is the fault of the person that wants you dead. And they are going to pay for what they did.”

“He’s right,” a voice rumbled making them both look up toward the bathroom door to see that Negan was standing in the doorway just in a black pair of athletic pants. They obviously got lost in their conversation enough to not hear Negan getting out of the shower. Brushing his fingers through his wet hair, Negan slicked it back and shook his head. “This isn’t your fault. I know you, you would switch spots with her in a second if you could. Whoever did this, I promise you they are going to get fucking punished for it. I won’t let it slide.”

Moving to the bed, Negan sat down on the opposite side of her and rest his head against her shoulder nestling in against her while they both comforted her. It felt nice to have two people trying to make her feel better, but she still didn’t think she deserved this. Both Negan and Joel were too good for her. And she knew that.

Taking some time to calm down, Y/N agreed to take the next shower while Joel helped Negan get his ribs wrapped and cleaned his wounds. Unlike Negan, she closed the door to close them out so she had time to herself. Instead of being quick about things, she took her time. Crying in the shower was an uncontrollable thing that happened, but she was broken. The image of Poppy’s cold, dead body was locked in her mind and she knew it was the one thing she would remember the most of her friend. It was a nightmare that she saw every time she closed her eyes.

Once she was dressed, she pulled the door open and saw that both men were sitting at the edge of the bed diligently waiting for her. They were worried about her. With a nod, she motioned toward the bathroom to suggest that Joel take the next shower. Even though it seemed like he wanted to say something more to her, he listened.

With Joel in the shower Negan did his best to talk her through things and while he was always the best at being able to reach her, this was something that she wouldn’t just get over. It wasn’t that he expected her to, but he was doing his best and with being hurt it was taking a lot out of him. But he was going to comfort her to the best of his ability because that was just who Negan was. And that’s why she loved him as much as she did. There was no one in this world that she could count on as much as she did Negan.

Joel was quick in the shower too and she knew it was because he was worried about her. Still, she was worried about him and they all took care of each other. As weird as it was, the three of them were linked now and together they cared for each other. At the end of the day, all the three of them had were each other to count on and they understood that.

Getting downstairs was hard for Negan specifically and they helped him down for a dinner that Bill had made for them which was shockingly good. Like something out of a high-class restaurant where it was obvious that Bill took pride in his meals. After living off fast food it was incredibly strange to have a meal like this, but they enjoyed it to their best ability. Negan didn’t eat much likely from all the pain that he was in. When their meal was over Bill led them to his basement telling him he had things to share with them.

“Not what I was picturing,” Negan mouthed taking a look around the old items that were in Bill’s basement.

“That’s because you haven’t seen the main attraction,” Bill snickered reaching for the dresser that was pressed up against the wall. With ease Bill was able to push it into a vertical position revealing that it was the top of a hidden entrance that led somewhere lower.

“Well fuck me,” Negan gazed down at the opening in the floor and Frank grabbed a hold of him so he wouldn’t fall in. “That’s fucking awesome.”

“Wait until you’ve seen the whole getup,” Bill motioned Negan down, but there was no way that Negan was going to be able to get down those steep steps on his own. Taking initiative, Frank went first and helped Negan wobble his way down the steps into the bunker that Bill had made for himself. Once they were down safely, Joel waited for Y/N to go next and then he followed her down. Once Joel’s feet hit the floor, Bill was coming down and closing them in. Negan was gazing over the walls that were covered in guns in amazement.

“Holy shit,” Negan’s words dragged out in a slur while Frank continued to hold onto him. “Bill is a fucking bad ass. Who would have known.”

“Paranoid is more the term I think I would use,” Frank suggested making Bill grumble under his breath and frown. Looking back at Bill, Frank offered up a weak smile and sighed. “He’s proud of his collection though.”

“He’s prepared for a fucking war,” Negan inspected the guns that were before him and bit down on his bottom lip. There was ammunition galore and Negan was actually in awe of everything. Moving around the group, Bill hit a button on the computer making the screen light up also drawing attention to the monitors he had of the security cameras that were watching both the house and the small town. Moving around the space, Negan gazed out at the monitors and shook his head. “I think paranoid is an understatement. Holy shit. Damn Mr. Smarty Pants, you really stocked this whole place full of goodies, didn’t you?”

“One day you’re going to realize that this was all for a good purpose,” Bill insisted noticing the way that Y/N stepped forward to look at the multiple screens. There was a person passing the house on a walk and it shocked her. When Bill was a hacker, this wasn’t exactly what she pictured. Reaching out to touch one of the monitors, Bill wrapped his thick stubby fingers around her wrist and stopped her. “No touching.”

“Careful Bill,” Joel warned stepping forward to grab Bill’s wrist himself so that he would release Y/N’s wrist. “Not everyone is used to something like this so they are going to be curious.”

“You were one of those Y2K people, weren’t you?” Negan snickered, bobbing his head about weakly. Even in his state Negan couldn’t help being a smart-ass making Bill roll his eyes. “You have this house prepared for a fallout, don’t you?”

“I’m a survivalist,” Bill corrected Negan’s words, taking a seat in front of the computer that he had set up. “This is a fucked up world and we need to be prepared for anything. And I am. If you knew the things that I did, you would want to be like me too.”

“I can only imagine the things that you hold in that big brain of yours, but I’m not sure I would ever want to be like you Bill,” Negan slurred making Joel smirk happy that someone was giving Bill shit and at least pushing his buttons a bit. Even though Negan was impressed, Joel still knew that Bill had severely upset Negan so he was going to fuck with Bill and get on his nerves.

“Are you going to show us something?” Y/N pondered knowing that it was interesting to see what Bill was capable of, but there was a point to this whole thing.

“You know, I wasn’t expecting all of you to show up today so I didn’t do a deep dive that I think you all may be expecting from me. I only got through the bare minimum to catch up with the whole situation,” Bill declared hitting a few keys bringing up multiple things on his screen. “After Joel asked me to look into what happened at the motel, I was able to pull up security video from both the motel and the club. This Half Moon guy shows up a few hours after you did and he just waits on his motorcycle.”

A video started to play showing exactly what Bill was saying to be true, “With facial recognition, I was able to discover that this Half Moon guy is a wannabe country singer. Popular in certain crowds but is apparently more talented at killing than he is singing. Or should I say was?”

Bill giggled thinking he made some kind of joke when he looked over his shoulder to see Negan’s eyes narrowing at him from where Frank was helping to keep him standing up. When no one else found the joke funny, he pulled up closer to the computer with his desk chair.

“Tough crowd,” Bill breathed under his breath making Joel tense up beside Y/N. Joel tapped his fingers against the desk trying to hint Bill to move along and Bill waved his hand in the air dismissively. “Keep your pants on Joel.”

“After you left the room, he followed you into the club,” Bill motioned to Y/N to look at the screen showing Half Moon following after her. How did someone that big go unnoticed to her. Was she really that locked up inside of herself to begin to even notice him? How did he go completely unnoticed? “From there he just sat at the opposite end of the bar and watched you. Almost came up to you until Negan showed up.”

Shaking her head, Y/N hated that she let this happen. If she wouldn’t have had a fit over Joel wanting to be with his daughter, maybe it wouldn’t have led to all of this.

“Once I found out his identity, I was able to track his cell phone and he got a text from the same number that was interacting with Perry,” Bill informed them, stopping the video when the video camera on the street caught Half Moon going into the motel room with Poppy. It made Y/N let out a hurt sound and Joel curled his arm around her to allow her to rest her head against the center of his chest when seeing her friend alive for the last time upset her. “They reached out to him this time. Offered him the same money amount. Gave him the same address to take the body once he killed Y/N. I don’t know why he killed her friend. He got nothing out of it.”

“He was a sick bastard, that’s why,” Joel grumbled under his breath making Bill gaze back at them and for the first time it looked like he may have had empathy for Y/N with her crying against Joel’s chest. “What about after we left?”

“I don’t know if she wants to be here for this,” Bill muttered, his eyebrows furrowing when he pushed away from his computer making her head pull from Joel’s chest to stare down at him.

“What?” she inquired making Bill gaze back at Frank who gave them a nod. “I deserve to know.”

“After you left, no calls were made to the police. About ten minutes after Joel got off the phone with me a cleanup crew arrived,” Bill declared showing the video where people actually showed up, but then the video seemed to be wiped clean. “Someone with a whole lot of power was able to knock out the security cameras. I’m assuming that your father had someone sent out to clean up the scene so this wasn’t on his record for running for governor. There were no reports on a body matching your friend’s description. Nothing about the fight or the bodies. I think your father found out about your friend dying and sent a crew to hide this from the media so it didn’t soil his name. Because I’ve found nothing on Half Moon or Poppy’s bodies. Not even a peep about the motel room you tore to shit.”

“That’s not what Simon said they were going to do,” Negan spoke up, his head shaking making everyone turn to look back at him. “Simon is her father’s head of security and they said that they would make sure that they would send someone to look into things.”

“If by look into things you mean have this erased so it wouldn’t affect his votes that he would be getting, then yeah, that’s exactly what her father did,” Bill snorted making Frank reach out to place his hand in over his shoulder to warn him to tone it down a bit. “I wish I had something better to tell you, I do. But I don’t.”

“My father cares more about his career than he does my life or my best friend’s life. He has made that more than clear since this whole thing began,” she snarled knowing that the only thing she felt for her father at this point was extreme hatred. “He’s pushed this whole thing under the rug. First it was the group of men that tried to kill us at the first safehouse and now it’s Poppy.”

“Bill, you have to have some kind of idea who is doing this,” Joel pushed making Bill huff and go back to the computer to type some things. “You have to help us figure this whole thing out.”

“I plan to, but what you are asking me to do isn’t something I’m going to be able to do in a few hours. Let alone one day. It’s going to take weeks. You have no idea how hard it was for me to just do what I’ve done,” Bill claimed with a grumble making Y/N let out a shuddering breath. “Trust me, you all need a few weeks anyways. Even if I could come up with something quickly, which I can’t, looking at both of you Joel and Negan, neither one of you is up for a fight. You can’t win a fight looking like you do now. The big one can barely stand and Joel, I’ve definitely seen you look prettier.”

“You expect us to stay here for weeks?” Negan scoffed making Bill look back over his shoulder at Negan who was glaring down at him. Standing up from his computer, Bill stood before Negan and nodded.

“If you want answers, you’re going to lay low for a few weeks here. That’s your only option. Trust me, that’s not what I would prefer either because every day you are here the more you put us in danger, but I agreed to do this and I’m going to do it,” Bill shoved his hands into his pockets, flipping his long hair back with the movement his head made. “Unless of course you want to go back out there and run into things like the giant country singing cowboy killer again.”

“We haven’t had a moment of peace in quite some time. I think laying low here for a while should be fine. As long as Rick is going to take good care of Sarah and Tommy, that’s all that matters to me,” Joel spoke up for the three of them, his throat tensing up when Negan gave him a firm nod. “Bill is right. More than anything, the three of us need some good rest. And Bill took care of the SUV. Here we are going to be hidden and safe.”

After they heard everything Bill had to tell them, Frank and Joel helped Negan up the steep stairs that Bill had built to his bunker. When it was just Bill and Y/N together, Bill reached for her wrist and pulled her back before she could walk away, “I don’t like people.”

“No kidding,” she piped making Bill’s eyebrows furrow while he looked up toward the opening where the three men would be above them.

“I hated the world until Frank came into my life. He made me see things I would have never seen,” Bill confided, his eyes narrowing while he unhurriedly released her wrist. “Because of him and how he feels about this whole thing, I promise you I will do everything I can to help you. I’m not a fan of your father and I know I’m strange, but I do know what it’s like to have a terrible father like that. Someone who never lets you truly be…you. Nor does he care about your better health. I promise I will use all of my resources to help you figure this whole thing out.”

Kindness. That was not something she expected to ever receive from Bill. Especially after the way he displayed himself to be over and over again.

“Thank you,” she whispered standing before Bill not certain how to respond to what he just said to her. Giving her a nod, Bill raised his hand and led her toward the stairs. Once she came up, Negan was waiting at the top for her eager to grab her hand to help her out. After she was safely back up, Negan did the same for Bill and when Bill got to the top, Negan firmly pulled Bill forward making Bill stumble forward toward him. “Negan?”

“From the moment you talked to me on the phone, I told myself that I was going to punch the fucking taste out of your mouth when I finally saw you,” Negan made Bill swallow down hard with the glare that Negan was giving him. Keeping his grasp firm around Bill’s thick fingers, Negan’s Adam’s apple bounced in his throat with his jaw flexing. “But I’m not going to. As much as I want to, what you have down there is pretty fucking cool. You’re weird. Really fucking weird. But I respect you and I like Frank. A lot. So I’m going to let what you said slip out of respect for what you can do and outta respect for your significant other.”

“Thank you,” Bill slurred his blue eyes narrowing when Negan finally released him with a small shove. Gazing over at Frank made him frown and he straightened up his shirt that Negan had ruffled. “I am sorry for saying what I did the other night.”

“No you’re not,” Negan shook his head feeling Joel hooking his arm around his waist when Joel visibly noticed that Negan’s knees were getting weak. “But I understand you.”

“Come on buddy,” Joel urged Negan to follow him toward the stairs.

“Thank you,” Y/N looked between both Bill and Frank, letting out a surprised breath when Frank reached for her hands and gave them a firm squeeze.

“If you need anything, please don’t be afraid to let us know,” Frank uttered noticing the sadness that was still in her eyes. Moving forward, he wrapped his arms around her to give her a hug. At first, she was uncomfortable, but allowed the warm gesture and loosened up in his arms. Having a stranger comforting her like this was not something she thought she would be okay with but there was something extremely soothing about Frank. “We’re here for you.”

Closing her eyes, she felt the same energy from Frank that she often felt from Poppy making her let out a hurt sound. Hearing her crying alerted Frank to squeeze her harder in his arms hushing her when she got emotional. Getting the empathy from Frank felt different than being around Negan or Joel. When she pulled back, it was hard to hide that she was crying and she reached up to wipe at her eyes with the back of her hand.

“I’m sorry for getting tears on your shirt,” she realized that Frank’s shirt was wet and he waved his hand about in the air.

“I’ve gotten much worse on my clothes before darling,” Frank winked making her smirk before heading for the stairs. “You know where to find me if you need me. Last door on the right. Any time of the night. I’m always ready to talk.”

Heading upstairs, she knew that this would take some getting used to, but she was almost happy that Frank was here. He reminded her of Poppy and while it hurt to be around someone like that, it kept the image of Poppy alive in her head for her. That’s what she needed the most right now and Frank was helping deliver that.

For the next few weeks, they lived at Bill’s home. The first few days were all about getting rest for them. More so for Joel and Negan. They were the ones that needed the rest. Sharing a king-sized bed with the two of them she thought would be more uncomfortable, but it wasn’t. Joel slept on one side and Negan the other with her in the middle. Jealousy didn’t seem to exist with the two of them while they were at Bill’s after that first day. They were a team and it seemed like both men seemed to understand that. Then again, there wasn’t much sweeping each other off their feet. Sleep was the predominant thing that they did.

Occasionally she would take a walk with Frank around the small town that Bill lived in. In the time that they lived at Bill’s home, she had gotten incredibly close to Frank. Hell, it was easy to do. His personality was loving and caring. Frank made her feel more at home than anyone had in a very long time. When he was awake, Negan seemed to get along well with both Frank and surprisingly Bill. The two of them shared a passion and a love for cooking. So dinners were often cooked by both Negan and Bill together which was some of the best meals she had in years. Negan also enjoyed spending time with Frank because they would garden together and talk, a lot. That was one thing Negan and Frank were very much capable of. Talking.

Joel floated a little bit everywhere. Frank and Bill were two people that Joel already knew so it wasn’t exactly a learning experience for Joel. But that didn’t mean he didn’t fit in because he did. Joel was just never big on being social. Joel was more of a loner or was more open around his small group of people which was her and Negan. This whole experience also gave Negan and Joel a chance to get closer. And boy did they. From there talks about sports to many other things, at night sometimes they would keep her up with their talking across the bed to one another.

This morning she had woken up early. The night before was a hard one for her because Bill had brought up something about Poppy bringing back hard memories for her. Both men tried to comfort her, but sleep was not something that was going to happen for her.

Shifting, she breathed out heavily when she realized that she was being held by both men while she was at the center of the bed with both of them sleeping. Negan was holding her hand with his head cuddled in against her shoulder. Joel had his arm draped across her waist with his head resting over her collar bone and she sighed.

Wiggling, she did her best to keep them asleep while she worked her way out of the bed. Once she did, she changed into some jeans, a white tank top and a button down before making her way downstairs. A surprised sound fell from her lips when she saw that Bill was sitting in the living room at the piano strumming at the keys.

“You’re up early,” she commented stepping forward making Bill jump, gaze back at her and grumble. It wasn’t the first time she had woken up in the morning to come down and see him at the piano. Often, he was down working in his bunker, but if he wasn’t there or in the kitchen, by the piano was where she could always find Bill. “You really like playing that thing, huh? You and Negan are always playing that.”

“It calms me,” Bill explained letting out an uncomfortable breath when she moved beside him on the bench that was before the piano. It made him tense up and she hushed him motioning him to put his hands back over the keys. “I’m particular about my music.”

“I was born into a rich family like yourself Bill. You don’t think I didn’t learn how to play the piano?” she strummed a few keys herself. Bill looked to her with disbelief and she shrugged her shoulders. “You wanna guess what the first thing they had me learn was?”

“Chopsticks?” Bill quipped back making her smirk and nod her head. Giving her an expecting glance he held his hands over the keys and watched her do the same. At the same time they started playing together making Bill snort while she managed to keep up with him. After about a minute, he groaned and pulled his fingers away. “God, I hated that one.”

“As did I, but I never forgot it,” she joked with a loud sigh looking to Bill. “You know Heart and Soul?”

“Of course I know that,” Bill grumbled under his breath waiting for her to prepare herself while they both started playing together. “You know, you’re not what I thought you were.”

“I’m probably everything you thought I was Bill,” she stated simply continuing to play with Bill through the song finding herself having no problem in remembering the keys that she played so constantly as a child. “I was born into a rich family. I was pampered. I was privileged. I was ignored. My parents wanted me to learn to play the piano to show off to their other rich friends, but do you think they ever showed up to one of my recitals? Nope. I was abandoned by my mother at a young age, but you probably already know that. Hell, you probably know everything about me, don’t you?”

“As much as someone could learn through technology, but not everything,” Bill stopped playing listening to her still playing her part of the song. Leaning back, he turned on the bench to watch her. “There has been something that has been on my mind since I went through your text messages…”

“Well shit,” she smirked hearing him sigh loudly. “Should I be worried?”

“I just…” Bill cleared his throat uneasily and tipped his head to the side. This wasn’t really any of his business, but it was something that he kept thinking about and with her alone he finally decided to bring it up. “Does Joel know?”

“Does Joel know what?” she stole a quick stare at him and by the way that he was looking at her, it immediately clicked for her what Bill was asking. It made the color drain from her face and she hit the wrong key letting it linger before pulling her hands away from the piano. “Oh, that.”

“I don’t mean to pry,” Bill continued realizing that him bringing up what he did really had brought her down while she hit the same key a few times on the piano. “What you went through…”

“So many women do,” she slurred noticing that Bill seemed to be staring out at her with compassion and she wasn’t sure that she wanted it. Her voice was hitched, searching for the right things to say when he noticed that her eyes were damp. “It wasn’t that big of a deal. It happened in the first few months. And…”

“It’s a big deal,” Bill corrected her making her frown and she was undeniably uncomfortable staring him in the eyes while he brought up something she tried to hide from the rest of the world. “I know compared to this, it probably feels like it’s nothing, but from your texts…”

“Bill, the only person to ever know about that was Poppy,” she finally spoke up with a whimper making Bill frown when she looked to him again. There was a single tear sliding down her face and he felt something he hadn’t in a very long time. Guilt. “You didn’t tell Joel, did you?”

“Of course not. I’m an asshole, but I’m not that big of one,” Bill defended himself placing his hand over the center of his chest wishing he had the right words to say right now, but he didn’t.

“Please keep this between us,” she begged of Bill knowing that before this whole thing started, the thing he was talking about was the event that was the worst thing she experienced. “Poppy was the one person that was part of the whole thing. I didn’t want anyone else to know.”

“You used her name when you went to the doctors,” Bill noted making Y/N inhale sharply and let out a tense breath. “I know I have no right bringing this up to you. I realize now what I did to Negan and seeing the things I did with you was wrong. I just, I can tell that you and Poppy were close. I’m no good with words.”

“She took me to that appointment and let me use her name so my father didn’t find out,” she swallowed down hard letting out a shuddering breath. A whimpering sound fell from her throat when she looked up at Bill with tears in her eyes. “She was the only one that was there for me through that.”

“I don’t understand why you didn’t tell Joel. It was his baby,” Bill spoke up in a whisper making Y/N smirk and look to Bill with a shrug of her shoulders. “It’s your body, but you think you would need him to help you through your miscarriage.”

“It’s complicated,” she simply said, her bottom lip quivering when she looked away from Bill.

“Even hiding it from your father, you were very much an adult,” Bill tried to reason it out in his head making Y/N smirk.

“Bill, Joel was my professor. I know you know that. I had to keep the pregnancy a secret because if my father found out he would have kicked me out of his life then and there. When I had the miscarriage, Poppy let me use her name because you know if my father found out it would have been a big deal. Look what he’s done to cover up everything that is going on right now,” she thought about her father and the extremes he was willing to go through in order to keep his good image. “If the press were to find out that Philip Blake’s daughter had a miscarriage, first they would have found out who the father was. It would have ruined Joel’s career if it was revealed he knocked up his student. And you know the media they would have spun it in some conservative propaganda. I was already broken enough over it. That’s why I kept it a secret. I wanted to suffer through it alone, not involve the whole world.”

“But I feel like you should have told Joel that you were pregnant,” Bill pushed, his voice rasp while he did his best to keep himself quiet. “You should have told him about the miscarriage. It was not something you should have suffered through alone.”

“I wasn’t alone, I had Poppy. Plus, you know Joel, right?” Y/N pushed making Bill take in a sharp breath and give her a nod. “You looked through most of my texts, you probably saw our relationship up until now. No matter how many times I told Joel I loved him, I never got it back from him. Back then? I didn’t know what I knew now with Joel. I thought he would hate me if he ever found out about it. There wasn’t a good way to tell someone who was uncomfortable with you telling him that you loved him that you were pregnant with his baby. Plus, I thought I was being safe, but it still happened.”

Bill went to say something, but instead he frowned and just lowered his head to look down at his fists that were balled up in his lap.

“It was probably for the best Bill. I only just found out on my birthday that when our relationship started it was all fake. I’m sure you’re aware of what Joel did. When he called me into his office that first day, I was so smitten with him. The way he looked at me, the way he made me feel,” she recalled her relationship with Joel cracking a small smile. “I mean there was Negan, but when I met Joel, Negan was still married and it was just a silly crush I had on him. Joel was the first person that made me feel special and seen. Beyond Negan and Poppy I mean. We hit it off immediately, I mean…at least I thought we did. I thought we just had this undeniable chemistry that was off the charts. I thought I got lucky catching the extremely gorgeous professor that every girl wanted. He was shy, but so charming. I thought I hit the lottery. When in reality he was just using me to get back at my father. After my father screwed Joel over and he realized what my name was, he let his rage for my father get the best of him and he didn’t even love me anyways.”

“From his texts…” Bill searched for things to say, biting down on his tongue knowing that he had seen conversations in texts between Joel and Tommy about what Joel was doing. Tommy knew from the start what Joel was doing. Joel didn’t seem to hide things from his little brother. And in the texts Tommy didn’t agree with what Joel was doing at all. But through time, Joel’s texts had softened about Y/N and he talked less like she was a conquest and more about someone he did care about. “By the time you lost the baby…”

“Listen, I love Joel and now we’re okay,” she whimpered feeling her chest aching at the thought of everything. “But when I had my miscarriage, it wouldn’t have mattered to him. I was afraid to tell him I was pregnant to start with, but the miscarriage saved me the trouble of having to tell him.”

“Joel is a lot of things, but I think if you would have told him he would have changed his way of thinking,” Bill reasoned with her reaching out to place his hand in over her knee watching the way her eyes looked up at him. “You can still have children, right?”

“I can, but now is not the time for me to be thinking about children Bill,” Y/N decided reaching up to wipe away at the tears that were staining her face. “I don’t even know if I am going to make it to the end of the year. Let alone be a mother. Plus, with Joel and Negan…”

“It’s complicated,” Bill filled in for her making her smirk and nod her head. “I could tell.”

“Bill,” she spoke quietly, her eyes finally connecting with his again. “If you know everything there is to know about me, you know how close Poppy and I were. You know what she’s done for me. If you do one thing for me, I need you to figure out who got my friend killed. Okay?”

“I will,” Bill vowed with his blue eyes locked on her when she stood from the bench. As she moved for the front door, he called out to her and watched her turn on her heel. “Where are you going?”

“For a walk,” she pointed toward the door and shrugged her shoulders. “Don’t worry, I’ll be back. I promise. I just need some time to think. It’s a bright sunny morning. It’s a weekend. I’ll be okay.”

Instead of fighting her, Bill let her walk out the door. Huffing loudly, Bill got up from the bench that he was on and made his way upstairs. Heading to the guest bedroom, he carefully pushed open the door letting out a surprised sound when he saw that Joel had his arm draped across Negan’s abdomen and his head resting against Negan’s shoulder while they both slept.

An amused breath fell from his throat making Joel lift his head up with tired eyes noticing that Bill was staring out at him snickering. Looking to where he was, Joel scrambled backwards when he realized that he was cuddled up to Negan.

“No judgement here Joel,” Bill waved his hand about watching Joel pull himself up to the edge of the bed to pinch at the bridge of his nose in a tired fashion. “I just came in here to tell you that Y/N went out for a walk and when she left, she was kind of…emotional?”

“About what?” Joel pulled himself up from the bed and headed over to grab some clothes.

“I uh…” Bill cleared his throat and waved his hand about. “Things.”

“That’s not vague,” Joel pulled his pajamas off leaving him in his black boxer briefs while he worked to tug his blue jeans up his body. “Did Frank go with her?”

“No, she went alone,” Bill answered making Joel grunt out when he pulled his shirt off and quickly put on a white t-shirt. Tipping his head to the side, Bill let out a surprised sound when Joel reached for a blue button down to pull it in over his arms. “You two definitely are connected because what you just picked to wear matches her so much.”

“Bill?” Joel grumbled looking back at Negan who adjusted at the center of the bed showing that he was still very much asleep. “Where is she?”

“We can figure it out. You know I have cameras all over this town,” Bill waved Joel on to have him come down with him to his bunker so they could find out what area she was headed in. When Joel went to go after her, Bill reached for Joel’s wrist and cleared his throat. “Be gentle with her. I brought up something that was a bit of a sensitive topic with her.”

With an annoyed breath, Joel quickly pulled himself out of Bill’s bunker and then headed out of the house. Swiftly moving through the streets, he saw that Y/N was headed for the big hill that overlooked the small town.

“Hey,” Joel called out to Y/N making her look back over her shoulder at him as he worked to catch up with her, moving in beside her. “Where are you headed?”

“Up here?” she breathed out looking him over to see that they matched except for the over shirts that they decided to wear making her smirk. “Nice choice of clothing.”

“Great minds think alike, huh?” Joel offered up a weak smile making her smirk and look down. Her eyes were still red making Joel sigh knowing that she was definitely emotional after whatever Bill had said to her this morning. “You okay?”

“I will be,” she assured him feigning a grin knowing that she was still so lost inside of the darkness that was lingering in her heart after losing the one person in her life that she considered her family. It was hard to really open up to Joel about things. What Bill had talked to her about was something that always weighed heavy on her. After Joel explained to her that she was just someone that he took advantage of to piss off her father, she assumed the miscarriage is why she took it all so hard. After her miscarriage she kind of clung to Joel and wanted him happy. Hearing at the beginning of this trip that their relationship was fake from the start broke her more than it should have. Everything hit her so hard because she had this connection with Joel that she had never told him about. Well, she never told anyone but Poppy, but now Bill knew too.

“Hey,” Joel whispered with the back of his fingers skimming over hers. Looking down, she hooked her fingers with his and let out a nervous sound.

“What did Bill tell you?” she wondered hoping like hell that Bill kept his word and didn’t tell Joel what they talked about. Shrugging his shoulders, Joel didn’t have an answer and she rolled her eyes. “Joel, there had to be a reason that you came running after me.”

“He told me you went off on your own for a walk and you were emotional,” Joel explained to her with a yawn knowing that he was still barely awake. “I don’t think you should be running off on your own, so I got quickly dressed and I came after you. As you can tell by the messy hair. Negan was still sleeping and we used Bill’s cameras around town to find you.”

“Oh, that doesn’t invade my privacy at all,” she sniffled finding amusement in his comment about finding her, but she still was trying to push past her emotions. Tipping his head from side to side she knew that they hadn’t wanted her to wander on her own, but she needed a moment.

“Why are you running off on your own,” Joel inquired, his eyebrows furrowing when he looked to her. The sun was shining just right on her face to bring attention to her eyes and how beautiful they looked even though she had undoubtedly been crying.

“It’s a small-town Joel. Walking around it makes me comfortable. It opens my mind up and Frank wasn’t up so I had to go on my own,” she replied back with a tiny snicker knowing that Frank had become her sidekick since they had been living at Bill’s. “I was going to go up this hill because no one really comes up here often and it felt like it would be more private than the gazebo by his house or the church.”

“Fair enough,” Joel grumbled moving in closer to her while they made their way up the hill. Once they got there, there was a big tree at the top that had a tire swing hanging from its thick, overgrown branches. Once they stopped walking, he gazed over to her to see that she was staring off in the distance at the small town that Bill lived in. “You know you can talk to me, right?”

“Joel, there are some things that I just don’t feel comfortable talking to you about,” she admitted looking straight ahead, her eyes tearing over while she stared out at the barely awake town down below. Tears were burning at her eyes again and she smirked looking down at the ground. “And what I talked about with Bill is one of those things. It was something that I only talked to Poppy about and with Bill digging into our texts, well…Bill knows now too.”

“Now I’m curious,” Joel alerted her, his dark eyes narrowing surprising him to hear her talk like that. When he woke up, he just assumed it was something about Poppy, but it sounded like it was something more by the way that she was talking. “Do I have to be worried about whatever it is?”

“It doesn’t affect your life in any way,” she assured him, lifting her hand to see that his fingers were still hooked with hers. Guilt ate away at her when she bit at her bottom lip and let out a broken sound. “It doesn’t even matter anymore.”

“But it matters to you, which means it matters to me,” Joel reasoned with her, stepping forward before using his other hand to reach up to palm in over the side of her face. Caressing his palm in over her flesh he urged her eyes to meet his and he gave her a supportive nod of his head. “I’m here for you Y/N.”

“Why couldn’t you be this Joel the whole time?” she whispered making the expression over his face change and he took a step back. That hit him harder than he expected. There was a tear sliding down the side of her face that he swept away before shaking his head. “God, things would have been so much easier over the last two years if this was the Joel I knew.”

“I reckon I was always this Joel, I was just confused and making some seriously stupid decisions,” Joel breathed out knowing that he couldn’t defend his actions because there was nothing that could explain them. “I got lost, but I’m here now. And I know this is where I belong.”

“You belong with your daughter, but you’re stuck here with me,” she corrected him making him frown and let go of her hand so his other palm could cup her face to bring her closer to him. “You know I’m right.”

“It’s a situation we both fell into, but this is the place I’m choosing to be right now,” Joel swallowed down, his chocolate brown eyes serious while he stared down at her. “Yes, my daughter is my life, but you’re part of it too. I know my daughter would support the decision I’ve made in wanting to help you. Because I’m a hero in her eyes and it’s time I finally did something right in my life. And you are the first thing I’ve done right in a very long time. Maybe the first thing since Sarah was born.”

“Damn it Joel,” she scoffed, pulling away from him and moving over toward the large tree that was behind them. Resting back against it, she dragged her hands down her face. Joel moved before her, resting his hands on his hips while he stared out at her. “You make things so hard. I thought I made a choice at the motel. You were leaving and Negan is so perfect…”

“No one is asking you to make a choice,” Joel reasoned with her, folding his arms out in front of his chest. There was a muscle that flexed in his jaw when he threw his right hand up. “I don’t think Negan or I expect you to make a choice. Not now anyways.”

“You weren’t a choice before recently,” she reminded him making him huff out loudly, his eyes lowering down toward the ground. “I’ve spent the last two years head over heels in love with you Joel. And over these last few weeks you have been exactly the man I always longed for you to be. But I have Negan who is the perfect man. Who has done everything for me. And I love him…”

“You’re right. He is perfect for you,” Joel agreed with her stepping forward closer to her making her let out a sharp breath. “And I know you love him, I don’t care. I told you that I was okay with you loving both of us. And I meant it. But I also know how I feel about you. I know that I want to protect you. I want to be part of your life…”

Outstretching his hand, Joel caressed over her shoulder making her look to where he was touching her. Getting even closer, Joel’s sigh was loud when his body pressed in against hers pressing her further against the tree, “And what the two of us have, the passion and tension between us…Negan is perfect, but our story is the stronger one. We’ve been through so much together and we’re still…together.”

“Joel,” she shuddered with the warmth of his breath over her lips. Pressing his hands beside her against the tree, Joel nuzzled his nose in against hers making her eyes come to a tight close. “I can’t choose right now. I love you both, so much.”

“I’m not asking you to choose. I’m okay with you loving both of us,” Joel pressed his forehead to hers cuddling his head with hers making her body tremble at the closeness. Caressing up and over his shoulders she knew to be careful since he was still healing. “The thought of losing you destroyed me Y/N. I thought I was okay with writing off what the two of us had, but I’m not. You’re part of me.”

Releasing a loud exhale, Y/N hooked her arms around his shoulders and his arms instinctively wrapped around her waist when he pulled her in closer to him. Silence surrounded them while they held one another close with his nose nuzzling in against the side of her neck.

“Come here,” Joel hummed against her lips, not kissing her but leaving her with the sensation of his lips over hers. Grabbing her hand, he led her toward the tire swing holding tightly to it making her give it a scrutinizing expression. “Get on it.”

“I am not getting in some old tire swing that is going to break,” she refused with a wrinkle of her nose letting out a gasp when Joel took a running jump and hopped onto it making the tire on the old rope swing out. With the power, the branch that it was tied to tugged somewhat while Joel swung back and forth on it using his legs as the power to swing it. “Jesus. Okay Tarzan, you could barely move a few days ago. Calm down with that. The last thing we need is you falling on your back and hurting yourself all over again.”

“Don’t be the boring one in the relationship Y/N,” Joel hopped down from the swing giving her a wicked smirk when he wiped his hands off on his pants. There was an ache in his leg that he injured and maybe that was a poor decision, but he was trying to lighten the mood for her. “I was the one that was always the boring one, not you.”

“You dick,” she huffed moving forward to hit at the center of his chest before putting her legs through the tire. When she was in safely, Joel started to push it for her making her gasp when she grasped tightly to it. “I’m too old for this shit.”

“You’re never too old to have fun,” Joel asserted finding himself happy when she started smiling with the way that he was doing the tire swing with her.

For a while she just allowed him to push her on the swing until she let out a sigh, “I can’t feel my legs anymore.”

“Good enough for me,” Joel snickered managing to get the swing to stop. Helping her out, he let out a gasp when she put enough power into pulling back out of the tire swing that they both fell back onto the grass with her falling over him. After groaning out loudly, Joel started laughing making her drop her head down against his chest in embarrassment. “You are so clumsy.”

“Come on, stop,” she giggled lifting her head up to see that his face was flushed over with the way he was laughing. “It was an accident.”

“I’m aware,” Joel growled rolling her over onto her back beside him on the grass. Wrapping her up in his arms, Joel cuddled his head in against the side of her neck and exhaled loudly. “You smell good.”

“I took a shower last night,” she reminded him closing her eyes when the warmth of his breath lingered over the side of her neck. Sinking her fingers into Joel’s hair, she loved this close contact touching that he was doing with her. Rolling onto her back, she felt Joel sliding in next to her on the grass while his fingers traced over the side of her body. “Joel?”

“Yes?” Joel breathed out, his chocolate eyes connecting with hers. Tracing his fingers up over her shoulder and over the side of her neck toward her jawline had her tremoring.

“If I kept something from you, would you hate me for it?” she questioned kissing at the pad of his thumb when he dragged it across her bottom lip.

“What could you possibly keep from me that would make me hate you?” Joel frowned leaning in to press a kiss over her temple. Lowering his kisses down over her face had her shuddering while she laid beside him. “After everything I’ve done, I would have no room to judge you.”

Thinking back on her discussion with Bill made her eyes tear over again, but Joel hushed her while he brushed them away and started to press gentle kisses over her eyes after she closed them, lowering them down over her cheeks when he nuzzled his nose in against the side of her face.

“I…” she reached out to brush her fingers through Joel’s hair when he gave her his full attention. Something inside of her wanted to tell Joel what happened in the past, but she was fighting it inside because of the fear of how he would respond to it. “I feel so lucky to have you here with me right now. I hope you know that.”

“I’m the lucky one,” Joel whispered taking her breath away. Noticing the way that Joel’s shirt was riding up over his abdomen, she reached out to brush her fingers over the exposed flesh that was there. Raising up on her arm enough she outstretched enough to meet his lips in a lingering kiss. With time the kiss grew and she reached for his shirt to pull him in over her. “I wish I was the man you needed all along.”

Hearing that made her heart skip a beat in her chest. Getting him to kiss her again, she cherished the warmth of his lips over hers. Each caress was tender and loving causing her to brush her fingers through his messy hair. Crawling in over him, she settled her hips in over his enjoying the way his hands caressed up and over the sides of her body. Laying down in over him, she traced over his features with her fingertips making him turn his head in to press loving kisses over the inside of her palm.

Rolling her onto her back again, Joel moved in over her and traced his fingertips down the side of her face with his eyes gazing over her, “I love you.”

A lump developed in her throat while she stared up at Joel and reached out to stroke her thumb in over the side of his face. Parting her lips, she felt her tears burning at her eyes again after hearing him say that, “And this time, I actually believe you. That one was real.”

“It was very real,” Joel stammered, his eyelids heavy with the warmth of his breath lingering over her lips. “I mean it, with everything that I am.”

Having his lips hovering in over hers, she got caught up in kissing Joel. Every touch, every kiss was so much more impactful than the ones she felt in the past. Pulling away from his kisses, she rest her head against the center of his chest. Joel stroked his fingers over the back of her neck and she could hear the powerful beats of his heart from where she was resting. Staying there for a few moments, she felt safe and comfortable, but still that conversation that she had with Bill lingered making her squeeze her fingers around the material of Joel’s shirt.

“We should head back before the kids that use this swing come up here and see us making out,” she circled her fingers over the center of Joel’s chest making Joel chuckle. Joel cuddled his chin in over her head before kissing over her head. Carefully getting up, she helped Joel up from the ground and pulled him into a hug that he was eager to accept. “Thank you.”

“Thank you,” Joel repeated what she said, stroking his fingers through her hair before allowing her to lead him back down the hill that they were on hand in hand. Taking her time to get back to the house with him, things were circling in her mind making her think of Poppy, Joel and Negan all at once. When they got back to Bill’s, Bill asked Joel for help and she was thankful for that. “I’ll be back.”

“I’m going to go check on Negan,” she headed up the stairs when the two men disappeared. Once getting to the bedroom, Y/N opened the door to see that Negan was cuddled up to a pillow holding onto it tightly. Sitting down on the bed, she reached out to stroke her fingers through Negan’s hair making his eyes shift beneath his closed eyelids. Negan’s shirt was riding up revealing the healing bruising over his lower back making her frown.

“Good morning beautiful,” Negan yawned drawing her attention back to him when his eyelashes fluttered to an open. Palming in over the side of Negan’s face had him tipping his head in closer to her touch. Noticing the way that she looked down, Negan frowned and groaned when he pulled himself up unhurriedly. “What is it?”

“How do you always know when something is wrong?” she weakly smirked making him frown when he slid in closer to her and cuddled his head in next to hers. “You’re the only person who always knew when something was wrong. Even when I didn’t tell you.”

“That’s because I know you,” Negan whispered stroking his fingers over the side of her face making her bite down on her bottom lip. With a shuddering breath, Y/N felt her emotions getting the best of her while Negan comforted her. “What’s going on Y/N?”

“I don’t know what to do,” she answered with a shake of her head making Negan frown. “And that’s with my whole life. I don’t know what to do with Poppy gone. I don’t know how to live life normally anymore. I don’t know who I want to be with because…”

Tipping his head back, Negan’s hazel eyes grew heavy when she licked her lips, “Because I love both you and Joel. And I don’t want to pick who I want to be with. Not now.”

“Who is making you pick?” Negan tipped his head to the side asking the same question that Joel had earlier. “Right now with everything going on, that should be the last thing we’re worried about. We’re all together and that’s what matters right now.”

“You should be furious with me for loving Joel too,” she reasoned with Negan letting out a whimpering sound when Negan shook his head and brushed her hair behind her ear. “You’ve always been there for me, taken care of me…loved me.”

“I’m not going to force you to make a decision between the two of us,” Negan hushed her, stroking his fingers over her jawline pressing a loving kiss against the side of her face. “I like what we have now. I like that you feel comfortable with both of us.”

“I need to tell you something,” she reached for his hand, giving it a firm squeeze while he urged her in closer to him so he could wrap his arm loosely around her hips. “Do you remember a few months ago when I disappeared on you with Poppy? And when I came back, I was so…so depressed. And you just knew something was wrong? So you kept doing those things to make me smile. Pampered me for days even though I asked you to leave me alone?”

“I remember all the good and all the bad days Y/N,” Negan stated with a long sigh, his tired eyes watching her closely. “Why are you bringing that up?”

“I had a miscarriage Negan,” she blurt out in a quiet voice making his eyebrows furrow, the lines in his forehead growing. Leaning back, Negan’s face grew tense and she cleared her throat. “Not recently Negan, then. I got pregnant with Joel’s baby and I was so scared to tell him. The only person that knew was Poppy. I knew how I felt about Joel, but things were so hard back then with him. I wasn’t trying to get pregnant. Hell, I didn’t want to be pregnant, but it happened. I don’t know if it was the stress from things or if I wasn’t healthy enough, but I ended up having a miscarriage in the first few months. I wondered if it happened because I was stressing so much about telling Joel that I was actually pregnant that I ended up losing the baby.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?” Negan frowned sweeping the tears away from her face while she cried beside him. “I would have done what I could with things. I would have been there.”

“Lucille just passed away Negan. The last thing you needed was worrying about me in any fashion,” she hushed Negan with a whimpering sound seeing the empathy in his eyes while he listened to her. “I had to go to the doctors and instead of going as myself Poppy let me use her name. So people thought Poppy got knocked up and fucked off too much causing her to lose a baby when in reality it was me. She did it so that my father didn’t find out. I never told Joel. Ever. And Poppy was the only person that knew, but you knew something was wrong and you wouldn’t let up, but I could never tell you because I was so embarrassed.”

“Why would you be embarrassed? I would never judge you for that,” Negan promised her, stroking his fingers through her hair and reaching out to pull her in closer to his chest so she could cuddle in closer to him. “Y/N?”

“You’re the one person I’ve told other than Poppy. You’re the only person I want to tell because you’re the only person that has understood me from the start. Saw me even when I hid myself so hard from the world,” she sobbed against his chest while Negan stroked his fingers over the back of her neck. Maybe it wasn’t the best time to tell Negan, but with it weighing heavy in her mind after her conversation with Bill she had to tell someone and Joel was not the person she felt comfortable telling. “I keep asking myself why I am so hooked on both you and Joel, but the answers are completely there right in front of me. With you, I have everything I could want and more, but with him…”

“There’s history,” Negan filled in the blanks making her nod, but not lift her head from Negan’s chest. “It makes sense.”

“I’m sorry for throwing this on you Negan, but Bill brought it up and I realized the one person that knew as gone and I couldn’t tell Joel. I don’t want Joel to know,” she whimpered making Negan tip his head back to look down at her when she raised her eyes to his. “You’re my best friend Negan. You’re also the man I love and know that I can tell absolutely anything to.”

“Anything,” Negan repeated in a whisper, stroking his thumb in over her bottom lip with his eyes genuinely worried about her. “I love you Y/N. No matter what, I’m here for you. And I always will be.”

“I’m in so much pain Negan, “she informed him crying without even trying to. “I know I have nothing to complain about because both you and Joel have been through so much physical pain that I am nothing in comparison, but my heart is broken. I was already broken before this happened. From my mom leaving me. To my dad just hating me and ready to cut me out of his life. To never feeling loved. Then all of this happened and I realized that I meant more to the world dead than I did alive.”

“That’s not true,” Negan shook his head, pulling her into his arms so he could hold her and allow her to rest back against his chest while squeezing his arms around her. “You mean so much to this world Y/N.”

“The one person who loved me my whole life is gone Negan,” she cried knowing that there was so much going on, but she couldn’t stop thinking about Poppy. “When I had nothing, I had Poppy. As crazy as she was, she was my family. My father didn’t even care about that. He doesn’t care about me. Someone wants me dead and I don’t even know why. All I feel is pain. I just want to feel better but no matter what I do I’m not going to. I want to forget about everything, but all I think about is Poppy walking through that door and saying something ridiculous and she’s just not going to. That’s my fault and that’s the weight I am going to have to carry my whole life. People thought Poppy was a shitty irresponsible person because of me. Poppy is now missing and dead because of me. I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to come to terms with that. Because right now, I hate myself. I hate the decisions I’ve made in my life. I hate my family. My blood is dirty and I just…”

“You are not dirty. You are the woman that I love. You are what saved me when the darkness ate me alive,” Negan nuzzled his nose in against the side of her neck hating to hear her crying like this. “You have always been the light in my life since the moment you came into my life Y/N. Without you I would be absolutely fucking lost. I would have given up, but you saved me. I’m here because of you. I love you. And while I know you are in pain, you need to know that while you think you have nothing and you are nothing, you are my every fucking thing. You are everything to me. And I love you so much.”

Tipping her head back, her hand palmed in over the side of his face leading him to her lips so they could kiss in a passionate sweep that took her breath away. After, she cuddled into his arms and laid back against the center of his chest.

Hearing the sound of the door pushing open, Negan wondered if Y/N heard it when he saw that Joel was standing in the doorway. Clearing his throat, Negan could tell that Joel had heard everything that Y/N had said and he was doing his best to hold it together himself. Cuddling her in closer to him, Negan watched Joel step back and away from the door. Through the crack Negan saw Joel press his forehead against the wall before he lowered down. Joel covered his head and Negan knew in that moment Joel was undoubtedly crying too and he understood it.

It was the last thing that he knew Y/N would want Joel to hear, but he heard it. Negan was worried that Joel would explode after he heard what he did about her miscarriage, but instead Joel took his time out in the hallway while Negan comforted her. When Joel got it together, he managed to wipe at his face and headed back for the bedroom.

Once he entered it, Negan’s eyes locked with Joel’s and they didn’t have to say anything for them both to understand what the other was thinking. Lowering down onto the bed, Joel reached out and caressed his hand in over Y/N’s hip making her lift her head.

“Do you think you would be okay with a small little day trip?” Joel questioned, his eyebrows bouncing up before he reached for one of her hands to squeeze it in his. “I just got done talking to Bill and he said we could use his truck to do something nice. The three of us. What do you say? Just take a day to pretend to be normal?”

“Sure,” she gave Joel a nod, reaching to wipe at her face. It took a minute for her to gather herself before she pointed toward the bathroom. “Let me go and clean myself up so I don’t look terrible when we leave.”

“We’ll be here,” Joel offered up a weak smile when she headed for the bathroom. When she was in the bathroom, Negan reached out to touch Joel’s shoulder trying to comfort him from what he undoubtedly heard. Allowing Negan to do it, Joel shook his head and cleared his throat. “This isn’t about me. I’ll be fine. What’s most important is her.”

“Okay,” Negan breathed out, giving Joel’s shoulder another firm squeeze before standing up from the bed allowing Joel to have his space for a minute. Negan’s eyes were damp as well while he stared down at Joel. “I don’t think she would want you to find out like that. I don’t think she’d want you to be hurt.”

“I know,” Joel swallowed down hard, his lips parting when he looked between Negan and the door. “What’s important right now is her. And that’s what we both need to focus on. Making her feel better. Making her feel loved because that’s what she needs the most.”

----

Tags: @jennydehavilland @labyrinthofheartagrams @msjamesmarch @thebeautysurrounds @hotfornegan @redmercysugar @a-girl-interupted @akumune @stoneyggirl2 @xsarcasticwriterx @insertneganhere @haleygreen23 @xhannahbananax03 @sanctuaryforthelost @burningredaffair @killaweiser @dead-of-niight @ayumi-wolf @hollyismentallyillhelp @wonwoosthetic @misskittydenoire @casangel1986 @pedritosdarling

#Negan #Joel Miller #Jeffrey Dean Morgan #Pedro Pascal #The Walking Dead #The Last of Us #negan x reader #joel miller x reader #negan fanfiction #joel miller fanfiction #negan x you #joel miller x you #tlou fanfiction #twd fanfiction

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theamityelf · 3 months

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Who gets worse in the entire Descendants franchise? Lonnie or Audrey? I’ve heard that Lonnie was ignored by the fandom, even Descendants instagram didn’t show her as much while Audrey was a broken girl.

Interesting question, and I'd say it depends on how you look at it. (Also, I'm talking about just the movies here, because watching the animated show or reading the books, those are separate choices, and most people will just watch the movies.)

On one hand, Lonnie is given the grace of having her microaggressions toward the VKs largely forgotten/ignored by the franchise, much like Jane, whereas Audrey's microaggressions are taken 100% seriously. On the other hand, they botched the cultural aspects of Lonnie's character on so many levels I'm not qualified to outline (like, her name, her wardrobe, etc.), and Audrey didn't get that axis of mistreatment.

In Lonnie's case, it was more like the series was cheerfully dismissive of her. The writing says, "We don't care about her internal life; she's here to move forward one story beat in the first movie and rehash the plot of Mulan in the second movie and then we're done with her." (Narratively, that is. Beyond that, she's there as continuity fanservice for people who like Mulan.) Lonnie finds out Ben has been captured. How does she react? She doesn't have any questions or concerns; she just wants to go with the VKs to save him so she can sword fight. Lonnie visits the Isle of the Lost. Wow, how would someone like her react to something like that? She doesn't. She gets there and she has a sword fight and she does a good job at the sword fight and she leaves, and Jay learns a lesson about how Auradon is sexist and really, thematically, the whole Lonnie thing was there as a way to have him acknowledge a good thing about his Isle heritage. In the first movie, she's there as the catalyst for the VKs to realize parents who love their kids treat them differently. In the second movie, she's there as a catalyst for Jay to realize that his upbringing had some positive aspects, too. (Granted, you could also make a real argument for Jay's arc in D2 being crafted around the idea "Lonnie but Mulan now" as an afterthought. Like, Lonnie is given more attention in that subplot than Jay is. But I think that's more symptomatic of the series never really knowing what to do with either of them.) But the writing likes her. Like, it doesn't care about her, but it likes her. She's treated like candy; they toss her in there as a treat.

The writing doesn't like Audrey, but it cares about Audrey. Her feelings get focus and have weight. She's not just there to do cool stuff or give focus to the protagonist's feelings or remind people of a good movie Disney made years before this one; she's a character with feelings and beliefs and experiences that are interrogated and explored. Not very well, but I'd say about as well as anyone's are. Like, how well do we know Mal? What does Mal believe in? What does Mal care about? What does Mal want? I would say we can answer those questions in about as much detail for Mal as we can for Audrey.

What does Lonnie want? Well, she wanted to join the R.O.A.R. team, and she did that now. I don't know what she wants now. What does she like? ...Cookies? Sword-fighting? What does she dislike? ...? Who is she close friends with? Who isn't she friends with? What, in the land of meticulously color-coded characters, is Lonnie's color?? Was she into R.O.A.R. in the first movie? She never seemed to be characterized as sporty until D2. She disappeared in D3. Why did she have that haircut if she didn't like it?? Lonnie is not insecure and does not have a strained relationship with her mother like Jane, so why does she have so little agency in her appearance? On a day to day basis, what do we expect Lonnie to habitually do? Well, she's captain of the R.O.A.R. team now, as of the end of the last movie she appears in, so...probably that. (In comparison, we know that Jane organizes school/kingdom events and sometimes delivers messages to her mother. We know Evie has a lucrative design business. We know that Audrey is a cheerleader and has been since before we met her, we know Audrey hangs out with Chad between classes, we know she's close to Flora, Fauna, and Merryweather.) That's the thing, is that we have little details of Lonnie that we can use to craft her character if we want to, but it's work the filmmakers didn't care to do. We know that Lonnie has a good relationship with her mom, we know that she likes and is good at sword fighting, we know that she's generally positive and energetic, and we know that she used to have a haircut she didn't like. I can't visualize a day in the life of Lonnie based on that; I would have to use my imagination and make up new things about her.

So, Audrey is a character who is treated spitefully by the writing, but she is a character who is allowed to feel and express feelings that are informed by her own wants, beliefs, and experiences. Lonnie cries in the first movie because she finds out the VKs' parents are neglectful, then in D2 she doesn't blink an eye when she goes to the actual island where villains and their kids live in squalor. Why? Because it's not plot-relevant for her to care, so she doesn't.

#disney descendants #li lonnie #princess audrey rose #sorry i organized this by ideas so some of the paragraphs are long

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landofzero-archive · 7 months

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Ibara Saegusa - Private Room Chapter 5

Writer: Nishioka Maiko

Season: Autumn

(Location: Starmony Dorm Room (Ibara, Mitsuru, Midori, Tsumugi's Room))

Aira: Ow ow ow…… What happened?

—Ah, the stepping stool’s legs broke. So the sound I heard from before was the legs snapping?

Ibara: Shiratori-shi, are you alright? I heard a loud sound.

Aira: Ah, while I was using the stepping stool, it’s legs……

Ibara: I see. So you’ve used that stepping stool. That stepping stool belongs to Takemine-shi, but it seems that the legs were broken.

Even though it could no longer be used, he kept it because it’s something you can’t get anymore.

Aira: Eh, it’s something really important, then? What should I do? Even though I didn’t know, I still destroyed something important……

Ibara: It’s not like you destroyed it. It was already broken in the first place.

Aira: Even so, that’s not the problem. If you could not buy this from stores anymore, I wonder if there is anyone selling it on flea market apps?

…… It’s no use. Nobody is selling. I didn’t expect it to be so rare that even second-hand items were in short supply.

What to do. I don’t want to just apologise, I want to compensate him.

Haa. Today was the same as yesterday. I wonder why I keep breaking the things around me? How unlucky……

Ibara: (‘Unlucky’, he said. The same thing’s been happening to me a lot lately. Though it's not like I feel empty enough to feel a kinship with someone due to having bad luck.)

…… If you can’t buy it, let’s just make it.

Aira: Huh……?

(Location: Starmony Dorms Courtyard)

Aira: Saegusa-senpai! I’ve compiled all the materials you asked for. What now?

Ibara: Yes, leave them over there.

Ibara: Next, measure each part to their correct size and mark them. Then we just have to cut along the mark.

Aira: Fuha…. By ‘make’, you really meant making it by hand.

Ibara: What else would it mean?

Aira: Ehehe, thank you very much for lending me a hand.

Still, Saegusa-senpai does things like this huh? I thought you would be the type of person to buy new things when the old ones get broken. It’s surprising.

Ibara: Usually I’ll just buy them. In the first place, there is nothing wrong with buying new things to replace old things.

There are people who think that cherishing a singular item so it could be used for a long time is a virtue, but it doesn’t suit me.

To begin with, why is using money always a minus against someone’s image?

Aira: Hm~mm. Now that you mention it… I’m happier saving money than spending it. It feels like something commendable.

Ibara: Purchasing things drives the economy to function. Circulation of money is how a proper society works.

It’s ridiculous to simplify spending as needless consumption or wasteful extravagance. When you purchase things, you’re compensating the professionals for their skills and techniques.

In other words, it also comes with the connotation of showing respect.

Aira: I see……! If I think about it that way, splurging on my oshi’s is actually going to feel like a noble thing!

There have been times when I feel discouraged and it gets hard because I don’t have enough money, but from now on I feel like I’ll be able to face that situation positively♪

Ibara: It’s fine to advocate for a good cause, but please be careful as wasteful spending beyond your means is just foolish.

Aira: Ugh…… Yes, I’ll be careful.

Eh? In that case, Saegusa-senpai is usually the type to want to buy things, and not make them right?

Well, even if we feel like buying it, it’s no longer being sold anywhere so it can’t be helped.

Ibara: Yes, and in this case you could say that each has its own value. I think this is not an example that can be applied to what I’ve just said.

Aira: Each has its own value? What does that mean?

Ibara: It’s value in function. It’s value as a character merchandise. As well as the value of each material and part that make up the stepping stool.

The reason Takamine-shi liked this character stepping stool was not because it’s a stepping stool.

It’s not like he particularly liked the materials used here either. My guess is that the printing on the seat plays a large role in this.

Otherwise, he would have disposed of it once it was no longer usable.

Aira: Mmhm. I think so too.

I do think things like logos are cute, but I think anything with a large print of an idol on it is special in and of itself.

Ibara: In that case, we should make the most of this printing. At the very least, we should protect the lines that Takamine-shi wants.

It can’t be helped that it’s broken now, but this way we should be able to decrease Takamine-shi’s disappointment to some degree.

Aira: Uu….. For someone like me. Saegusa-senpai, thank you very much…….!

Ibara: Yes, yes. I’ve been accepting your thanks from earlier on and it’s enough. Don’t just talk, please move your hands.

We have to finish building this before Takamine-shi returns.

Aira: Ah, yeees! I’ll try my best to help!

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#ensemble stars #enstars #enstars translation #ibara saegusa #aira shiratori #era: !!#type: scout

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amaros-system · 1 year

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Prison of Plastic Thoughts

So, finished Prison of Plastic. Here are my spoilery thoughts: - I think I understand better why this show is called Epithet Erased. A very core theme is the pain that these powers cause, mainly to the inscribed themselves. - I really like this decision. I was expecting this to go in the direction of "oh no Inscribed hurt Mundies" like so many stories do. This is really tired, and always rubs me the wrong way because of how they are resolved. The notion of somebody's abilities being fundamental to who they are feels very ableist (looking at you, Legend of Korra). Being blinded would change my life, but it wouldn't make me any less. - On that note, I hope we get to see a character actually have their epithet taken away and to not get it back later in the same arc. I wanna see somebody grapple with what not having it means, and grow beyond their epithet. - The thing that unites all of the antagonists, is how they view powers. Mera's epithet causes chronic pain, Zora's sucks the joy out of life, Lori possibly accidentally caused the death of her mother with it. For these characters epithets are disabilities. This has a ton of narrative potential, and I'm immensely curious to see where Jello goes with this. - When you embrace that both Mundies and Inscribed can be the metaphorical representation of disabled people, EE is actually a very compelling disability analogy. Not sure if that's intentional, but I don't care! - Further on the EE-as-disability-analogy, I think this makes Molly the perfect protagonist. The first thing we see Molly use her epithet for is prevent overstimulation. While for other characters their powers are just nice boons or even active hindrances, Molly is the only one that relies on her Epithet. She runs counter to Bliss Ocean's ideals, in an interesting way. - Moving away from disability now! - Lori is so hatable, but also so lovable. Seeing her actually play along with Molly was so such an amazing moment, very sad to see how it ended. - Also, very conflicted on shipping Lori and Gio. They have such chemistry, but also Lori absolutely does not deserve him. I need her to finish her arc so I can see this ship god damn it. - Rick is the best. I envy his energy. - I totally thought Ricks friends in Ocean Country were killed for helping a slave escape for a sec. - Naven has such twist villain energy. Same vibes as Ralsei. The way he talks to Lori and the fact he has Yoomtah as a driver are all very sus. - I really want to see what Trixie’s epithet is, assuming they have one. I’m expecting something super obscure. There’s also that crow, and the possible Songstress connection I’ve seen some people theorize about. - Giovanni kidnapping Molly is so on-brand. He was really great this arc in general, really. Didn’t have a lot of big, bombastic moments, but I actually liked that. Get to see more chill Giovanni. AKA, what makes him so cool.

#epithet erased spoilers #epithet erased #epithet spoilers

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flightfoot · 1 year

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I’ve seen this recurring take about 4 or 5 times that Adrien is apathetic or low empathy and it’s not just from people who don’t like him. In fact one of the people who believes that absolutely adores him and is more of a Marinette salter. At first I just dismissed it as just another twisted miraculous take by people who misinterpret the characters, but now since I’ve seen it crop up a 5th time, I’m wondering… am I missing something? I always thought Adrien seemed to… care about things? Even if he doesn’t always speak up because he’s insecure, thoughtful or shy, I didn’t take that to mean he doesn’t care? He seems to care about going out with friends and saving people as Chat Noir and making appeals to his father. Even when it came to Lila’s lying, I never got the impression that he didn’t care if Lila lied. He seemed clearly uncomfortable with it in the Heroes Day episode and talked to her about it. I just thought he was taking a different route. I can’t think of why someone would interpret him as apathetic. Maybe because he doesn’t seem to have any goals that he picked out for himself so he doesn’t “really” care about anything? Like he’s putting on an act that he’s not even aware of? I can kind of see that. But children in general are often unaware of what they want for their future and still forming who they are beyond their parents expectations. And children are often anything but apathetic.

And as for him being low empathy, that’s even more difficult for me to grasp. I can’t think of one scene in the show that paints him as low empathy. Let alone enough to assign it as a character trait. Even when he’s a bit of an ass, he usually corrects himself pretty quickly. Is there a decent interp of Adrien being apathetic or low empathy out there that I just haven’t landed on?

Yeah I don't get this. If anything, Adrien's problem tends to be that he's TOO empathetic, to the point that he'll give even people who have been pretty awful second chances and the benefit of the doubt, because he can imagine being in their place, relating to them.

And he's hardly "apathetic". He's not quite as gung-ho about taking people down who've done wrong as say, Marinette is, but I'd put that more as being due to his high empathy. He likes to talk things out with people instead, try and get them to change their behavior through softer means.

#ask #adrien agreste #miraculous ladybug #ml analysis

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s0sorry · 1 year

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Avatar Shipping VENT/RANT (sorry to be that person)

I know this dead horse has been beaten to hell and back, BUT……I want to say my two cents about Kataang and why it’s so important to me (and why Zutara still gives me the icks to this day). When the show originally aired I was probably eight or nine so romance was the last thing on my mind. I gagged and closed my eyes at every kiss/romantic scene in the show, no bias, I hated every couple. I’m also ashamed to admit that by the third season I didn’t like Katara….like at all.

I didn’t like Katara because she was emotional and it seemed like she cried ALL. THE. TIME. And I behaved very similarly to Toph, I stomped around bare foot, picked my nose, hated girly things and other internalized misogyny and I’m not like other girls shit (those last two things apply to just me not Toph). But I had a lot and I mean A LOT of emotions, and just like Katara I cried all the time, I was angry and hurt and sad, but unlike Katara I was told to stifle those feelings. To cry was to be soft and weak and if I wanted to survive in my house I couldn’t do that. If I cried it was considered a manipulation tactic by my dad, so when I saw Katara reacting to conflict like I did and watched her be rewarded and loved, I hated it. I hated her, but not really.

This all ties back to Kataang and Zutara, I swear.

As I continued to grow up I would rewatch Avatar reruns a lot, but rarely would they show season one episodes. By the time I was 13/14ish (Katara’s age) I had begun dealing with the unwanted attention of boys and men a like and as the oldest of four kids I was expected to be a grown up by the age of 12. I hated it all. I hated taking care of my younger siblings and I hated the way men yelled at me from their cars as I walked home from school, the way senior boys prayed on my best friend when we were freshman. I was supposed to be an adult so young and I was angry, depressed, and so beyond hurt all the time. I still am.

So when I’d go onto the internet as a child and saw overtly sexual pictures of Katara and Zutara I was thoroughly disgusted, but I didn’t know why. (I didn’t even ship Kataang at the time). It all made me uncomfortable and I didn’t know why.

Of course now I know. I was a child looking at a heavily sexualized children. Katara and Zuko are children, something I wouldn’t realize until I watched the show as an adult. And that’s one of many reasons I don’t like Zutara. They’ve always been grossly over sexualized in medias and as a someone who has been grossly sexualized as a child and adult of course I hated it. Now I know not ALL of the fan art of Zutara was sexualized, but still I grew up on the internet in the late 00’s/early 10’s and I didn’t know the ins and outs so I came across a LOT of gross and often p*rnographic art.

As an adult rewatching ATLA Katara is one of my favorite characters. She reminds me of who I use to be, who I could have been…which explains why I hated her when I was younger (I’ve dealt with a lot of self loathing over the years). Rewatching the series on Netflix allowed me to watch all three seasons as many times as I wanted. I’ll never forget rewatching the Boy in the Iceberg and hearing Aang say to Katara the words I desperately needed to hear as a child:

“You still ARE a kid.”

It made me cry. And that’s when my appreciation and love for Kataang grew. I loved watching these two kids journey across the world together and see their relationship develop over the three seasons. The way Aang always viewed Katara in lovestruck awe and the way Katara found hope and happiness in this boy. They were just two kids who cared deeply for each other, they were two kids trying to cling to the little childhood that hadn’t been destroyed by the world around them and they found that in each other. As someone who has always had to men/boys in my life constantly wanted me to be this hyper sexual version of myself, and being someone who was force to grow up too soon, Kataang resonates deeply with me.

They get to just be kids together, because that’s what they are. Kids. This isn’t even really an argument against Zutara (though I could make many arguments against it), it’s more of an argument against how it’s always been portrayed. Katara is a child, Zuko is a child and the only one who seems to remember that is Aang. Zutara has always been based on the sexualization of two children and because of that I can never get behind it.

#atla #just ranting #team avatar #avatar #avatar the last airbender #kataang #pro kataang #aang #katara #zuko #and sorry but I am going to have to drop this tag #anti zutara #it feels weird

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fire-of-the-sun · 2 years

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Jancy is Endgame and Here’s Why

1. Jonathan and Nancy have always been a major duo since the beginning, it's a big part of their identity on the show and they’ve spent every season building it up. They’re not just going to throw all of that away for no real reason.

2. If Nancy leaves Jonathan for Steve, he will have very few connections left beyond just being Joyce's son and Will's brother - characters who have stronger narrative connections to others, which still leaves Jonathan with almost nothing. Steve, on the other hand, has a lot of other connections already - bigger ones than he has with Nancy too - like Robin, Dustin and the other kids. Narratively, Steve doesn't need Nancy, but Jonathan does.

3. If Stancy get back together, it really does leave Jonathan out to dry and does absolutely nothing for his character. The point of his story right now is that he has to choose himself and what he wants - his own happiness (with Nancy) over just being a caregiver in his family and has to learn to step away a bit to go live his own life. When Joyce returns, I’m sure she’ll reassure him of this as well and encourage him to pursue the life he really wants.

4. "We like Steve, but we don't love Steve." Murray says this to Nancy in S2 and, though she denies it in the moment, she obviously realizes it's true and that's why she pursues things with Jonathan. She does like Steve but she canonically never loved him (even after he changed) but she does explicitly state that she loves Jonathan and does so at the beginning of S4 despite their current circumstances.

5. A couple of shared looks between Steve and Nancy in S4 while she is feeling unsure about her standing with Jonathan at the moment and because she used to have romantic feelings for Steve and still cares about him obviously does not mean that she’s suddenly in love with Steve now and, again, she never really was. They have a history and haven’t spent much time together since they were dating so I think it’s understandable if that care for each other is visible.

6. We see other characters like Robin and Eddie share their interpretations of Nancy and Steve’s interactions as "love" but that doesn’t mean it’s true. They don’t know Nancy and I could honestly see her risking herself for anyone she deeply cares about and it doesn’t automatically mean it’s coming from a place of romantic love. We as the audience have the full perspective but they don’t.

7. Between S1 and 2 we know what Nancy wanted to be with Jonathan (despite already being in a relationship with Steve) but he kept his distance. Their situation in S4 is similar where Nancy is left waiting for Jonathan with Steve back in the picture again. If Nancy wanted to be with Jonathan over Steve in the past before they even started dating, then there’s absolutely no reason that Nancy would suddenly choose Steve now when nothing has changed beyond her feelings for Jonathan having grown even stronger.

8. Jancy has had rough patches before and came out just fine. It'd be a bit more worried if they were shown to have had a serious fight or breakup but they didn't. They're still in love and the show definitely reminds us of this at the beginning of S4.

9. Getting back with Steve or even leading him on just to break things off and get back with Jonathan again would just be cruel and unnecessary drama.

10. Just speculation but Steve knows Nancy has been happy with Jonathan and I honestly don’t expect him to ever genuinely pursue a relationship with her again and try to steal her away from Jonathan. If things start going too far e.g. some old feelings start resurfacing in the heat of a moment and they have a lapse in judgement, I expect both Steve and Nancy to realize it was wrong and not really what they want or need.

Anyway, Jancy are definitely endgame. Feel free to add to this if I missed something!

#stranger things #jancy #jonathan byers #nancy wheeler #stranger things s4 #stranger things s4 spoilers #stranger things spoilers #steve harrington #anti stancy

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lazarel-3000 · 1 year

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“Hey, No.”

There was so much from this Se6Ep8 to unwrap.

Laughing at the showrunners cheeky episode title Analyze Piss, because oh I’m gonna! I’m gonna analyze and comment the shit out of this!!

TW: Suicide, mental health, depression

Rick Going to Therapy

@tootiredforaname’s take on the possibility of Rick having turned himself into a fly to observe therapy before going in himself is a lot more benign and plausible than my interpretation lol. Because I thought my man Rick was doing that to eavesdrop to see how he could further manipulate the family by mining their insecurities and using them against them—which to my defense seemed like something he would do! Also I read a fic about that too!

Can I just also say how much I freaking love Dr. Wong?! She is so good, like wow – the way she didn’t play into Rick’s bs *chef’s kiss* She like straight up said No to him AND HE LISTENED!! And before that, she was so calm and non-reactive too, found a way to appeal to Rick in a way that didn’t directly connect with emotion because we all know how much he loves that! “Rick, would you be interested in proving me wrong? [...] Show me data.” She said. And of course it was reverse psychology but it worked! This character is amazing.

Rick pacing back and forth, but actually being OPEN to a session with her, I could not believe my eyes and ears. His roundabout way too of asking for her “expertise” melted my heart. Old Rick would NEVER.

And like it works, right? It works for A While.

The Pitfalls of Change

Like mentioned before I was totally expecting this not work and like can we say that yeah this whole process wasn’t the prettiest to watch but truth be told, change hardly ever is. Someone dragging decades long issues behind them is not going to change their mindset overnight. It’s a process that requires commitment and consistency; it’s awkward, uncomfortable and many times painful. Regression to old habits happens, and that’s okay - this episode did really good in demonstrating that.

Toilet Humor as an Analogy: Pissmaster persona as a vehicle of self-agency

People getting grossed out about the toilet humor is understandable I myself thought it was disgusting but going beyond that. Piss is an analogy, or I want to believe it is, because it’s like Pissmaster, Pissmaster, right? You have this guy whose personal life is so depressing that he adopted an entire persona focused on urine to prove others wrong. But then he fails by getting his ass handed to him by Jerry of all people, yet he gets to live nonetheless. Now here, Eugene Michael Piss, the person suffers an emotional break realizing his Pisspersona could not prove anyone wrong - which is all he ever wanted. So now he has nothing

I like how Rick says this to his daughter: “I can tell you for sure if anything happens to me, it’s 100% not on you, it’s my own choice.”

And it’s true, we all make choices every day. Eugene could have chosen something different for himself. He could have chosen to get help, could have re-connected with his worried family, could have not done That, but he didn’t. He looked for a way out.

So then Rick is placed in a position to do something about it, or do nothing at all. So what does Rick do?

He gets off his ass and starts saving the world, and he does it under the pretense of wanting to protect Eugene’s daughter from the crude reality of her father’s death. And finds it that he actually Likes It and Dr. Wong reservedly approves!

He is taking control in his own way and changing. Remember that recent interview with Justin? Yeah.

The additional point being made too, I like to believe, is that yeah you can be dealt the shittiest hand in life but at the end of the day you yourself choose what you do with it. And if you do good, others are bound to notice. Like the Orb Council or whatever, didn’t care Pissmaster was a literal piss lord! All that they cared about and saw was that he was moving on, he was changing:

“Everyone likes a comeback story...”

Edit: I just rewatched the episode and realized that Rick was not suicidal in the Orphan Island bit, he had planned to autopilot the bomb away before Jerry got there lol

Rick and his inability to make friends

Rick’s inability to make close connections continues to be a theme in the show. After the toilet episode with Tony, I see now how he probably does want to have friends, but is hesitant because it never ever works out. Like every time he’s empathized with someone - Birdperson, Tony and now Pissmaster – something goes terribly horribly wrong. And he’s left alone again.

I just hope that can change one day, because Rick really needs someone outside his family he can rely on. We all do.

Morty, the secret keeper… not!

Lol I laughed when Morty immediately went to tell on Rick.

And you know what, I saw some people being angry at Morty for this, but I’m like ‘What did you expect? He’s 14 and has had extensive character growth.’ Also, Rick’s the adult here, let’s never forget that. The reaction has me like ‘???’

I really hope ya’ll are super young and don’t know any better. Because if Rick really felt that he needed to tell someone, he could have told Dr. Wong or you know… a friend or even some random at the bar, not his grandkid.

But like let’s take a closer look at this bit.

Was he self-sabotaging? Like we know he can be pretty self destructive, so I can’t help but wonder if some dark part of him wanted to ruin the good image his family had of him. Like he can’t let them have this, can’t let them be right when he’s always been the one in higher ground. Or maybe part of him feels vulnerable, after being perceived as callous man all this time to then have them suddenly realize that he might have a heart underneath, I can see how that could be a scary thing to someone. Or it could be a combination of both and it’s understandable but c’mon don’t tell your grandkid.

He really needs a friend.

On Closing.

The fact that the episode didn’t end in a happy note and instead had them all arguing in the garage was a good choice imo. Like I keep saying in my ramblings. Change is not perfect. It’s not pretty, and it takes a whole LOT of work to keep it consistent.

Other Comments

I just find it cool that therapy was used a plot point in the story—not many comedy shows can do that without making fun of the concept. I mean the showrunners themselves have also had their own struggles with mental health, so it was nice to see them incorporate it. And like considering the show’s overall tone you would expect it to not be handled well, but it somehow worked! It worked on so many levels!

At the end of the day I hope it encourages those who need it to give therapy a try.

With all that being said:

I loved what we could explore here but it somehow felt off in hindsight. I don’t know it was the dialogue or what, but this episode’s tone felt different. Idk, it’s just my opinion.

Anyway, whose piss was that anyway?

#rick and morty #rick sanchez #rick and morty spoilers #Adult Swim

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