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thewalkingthread · 7 months

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"I've been thinking" - D.D.

pairing: daryl dixon x f!reader

summary: After witnessing how good Daryl takes care of Judith and RJ, you think it's about time y'all have one of your own.

warning: fluff

a/n: I love soft Daryl.

You and Daryl had been through more than your fair share of hardships, having faced the trials of the apocalypse together. Your bond had only grown stronger over the years, and now, after the war in Commonwealth settled, you and your community found a place to call home. Despite the chaos of the world outside, you had finally had a semblance of peace and security among friends, new and old. Hell- you guys even had a dog now.

It was sunny today, Judith and RJ ran around on the street with some of the other kids. They screamed and hollered as they played tag, a heart melting smile spread across their faces. Just kids being kids.

You and Daryl sat on the front porch of your house with Dog. Daryl's crossbow rested against the wall as he sharpened the points of his arrows. You watched the kids, you had a smile that mirrored their contagious ones.

"You okay?" Daryl asked, his voice soft, he glanced at you briefly before he continued to work on his arrows.

You nod your head, your eyes still fixated on the kids. "I've been thinking,"

"That can't be good," Daryl scoffed, teasingly. You roll your eyes, reaching over and bumping his shoulder with your fist. "Bout wha?" He asks.

You shrug your shoulders, glancing down at the glass of water in your hands. "The future." You said simply.

Daryl looked up, curiosity evident in his stormy blue eyes. "The future, huh? What's on your mind?" He placed the arrow on the table, giving you his undivided attention.

"Well," You began, a faint blush coloring their cheeks, "I've been thinking about this for a while, but it never seemed like the right time. I mean these past few years have been so... crazy." You wince.

"But now, everything feels right. We're safe. Here, in commonwealth. The kids are safe here, we've got something good going. Something real." You hated saying it, knowing you felt the exact same way with the prison, with Alexandria. I don't think anywhere in this world would ever be safe, but here felt like it.

"We've been dealt some shitty cards. With Rick and Michonne gone, we've basically been given all their responsibility. I know we have to lead these people. I know we have to keep Jude and RJ safe. But I can't help but notice how great you are with Judith and RJ. You're a natural, Daryl. We take care of them like they're our own and-" Your voice trails off, losing the confidence to finish.

"Spit it out, woman." He grunts, staring into your eyes knowingly.

"I want to expand our family... Have one of our own?" You raise an eyebrow, "I wouldn't mind a little Dixon running around."

Daryl paused, his hands grasping yours. He looked at you with the softest eyes, his heart swelling with love and tenderness. "You serious?"

You nodded, your eyes never leaving his. "Yeah, Daryl. I am. I think we're ready. I mean you're obviously going to be one hell of a dad."

Daryl's rough exterior couldn't hide the softness that your words had brought out in him. He scooted closer to you, holding both of your hands tightly in his. "You really think that?"

You smiled, your love for Daryl shining in your eyes. You've been with Daryl from the beginning. Him and Merle found you alone in a convenient store the day everything went to shit. After months of pining over each other you finally bit the bullet at the prison and made it official. Though the two of you been through hell the past 10 years you're here, together.

"Absolutely. I've seen the way you protect and care for those kids, the way you take care of me. It makes my heart ache with how much I love you. We're building something here. I want to start a family with you."

Daryl leaned in, capturing your lips with a tender kiss. It felt just like it did the first time all those years ago. "I love you too, Y/N. Let's do it. We'll make it work, no matter what. Us against the world. The way it's always been."

His arms wrapped around your body and pulled your close to him.

"Are you two okay?" Judith's voice caused the two of you to pull away from each other. Her eyebrow was raised suspiciously at you two. You and Daryl both burst into a fit of chuckles.

"How would you feel helping Auntie Y/N out with a baby?" Daryl's voice was scuffed. Judith's eyes just about popped out as she jumped into y'alls lap.

"Yes, yes, yes!" She cheered. "About time!" She laughed. Dog barked, oblivious to what was happening but happy to see everyone happy.

You and Daryl exchanged amused glances. Deep down inside you both knew you'd be okay. Whatever happened next, you'd handle it together.

#daryl dixon #the walking dead fanfiction #the walking dead one shot #the walking dead fic #twd #daryl dixon fanfic #daryl dixon x reader #daryl dixon fanfiction #daryl dixon x female reader #norman reedus #norman reedus fanfiction #twd fanfic #twd fanfiction #daryl dixon fluff #daryl dixon smut

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unclewaynemunson · 8 months

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'I don't even know anymore why I wanted to do this in the first place! What if I'm terrible at kissing, Nance? I've never kissed anyone, I have no idea how to do it! And Vickie had a boyfriend, a boyfriend who was in college, she must've gotten tons of practice, she'll definitely know what she's doing! She's gonna want to kiss me tomorrow, I'm sure! And it's not like I don't want to kiss her, I do, but what if I mess up? Or what if I'm spectacularly, irredeemably bad at it? What do I do? She'd never wanna see me again and I'd have to move states because she'll tell everyone how bad I am at kissing and nobody's ever gonna wanna date me again and –'

'Please stop talking,' Nancy finally says. This rant has been going on for over two minutes and she can't take any more of it. 'Sit down. Take a breath. You'll be fine.'

Robin does exactly what she says, flopping down on the edge of Nancy's bed while finally breathing again for what feels like the first time ever since the two of them walked into Nancy's room earlier.

'First of all, Vickie is clearly crazy about you, so it'll be very hard to mess this one up.' Nancy tries to ignore the uncomfortable feeling in her stomach when she says those words. All she wants to be is supportive of Robin, it doesn't make sense that she feels like smashing things every time she envisions her friend finding happiness with Vickie. She should be better than this.

'And second,' she continues, 'Nobody is irredeemably bad at kissing. That's not a thing. I'm sure you'll do great.'

'You can't know that!' Robin sputters. 'I might be the first person ever! Somebody's got to be!'

'Want me to teach you?'

'Wha- What?'

At least Robin is quiet now, but man, one look at her face tells Nancy that this was a terrible idea. There's no going back now, though.

'Me and Barb used to practice kissing all the time,' she says, trying to go for casual with a little shrug of her shoulders - no need for Robin to know that that's not exactly true.

Robin is still staring at her like she's just sprouted a second head.

'Nance,' is all she says, her voice all weak and quiet.

And something in the way she sounds is making Nancy forget entirely that this was a bad idea. It speeds up her heartbeat and makes her want nothing more than to be the one who gets to teach Robin how to kiss. That's what friends are for, right?

Nancy goes to sit down right next to Robin, their legs touching.

'We don't have to,' she says, giving Robin an easy out. 'I just thought it could ease your mind, knowing you won't mess up with Vickie.'

'You'd be okay with – kissing a lesbian?'

Nancy shrugs again, trying to feign the confidence she certainly doesn't feel in this moment. 'Yeah, why not?'

'Okay. Alright. Let's do this,' Robin says, sounding like she's gearing up for a big soccer match instead of practicing kissing. 'Teach me everything you know, master.' It sounds just a little bit jeering and she wiggles her eyebrows as she says it, and somehow, that makes Nancy oddly nervous.

Nancy swallows. It's definitely a bad idea. But then why does it feel like an undoubtedly good idea?

'Okay,' she starts to explain, 'It's all about patience. About build-up. If you were about to go on a date with a guy, my advice would be to wait. Always wait until he leans in, that's how it's supposed to go, right? But I guess with two girls, you'd both be waiting forever, so that'd be useless.'

'So... Don't wait?'

'See how it goes,' Nancy advises. 'If she's giving you a certain look... You go for it. Lean in. Slowly, you're gonna want to take your time, remember the build-up.' She starts leaning towards Robin, but Robin immediately leans back.

'Wait, wait, wait,' she blurts out. 'What do you mean by “look?” How do I know if she's giving me a “look”?' There's something bordering on panic in her eyes and Nancy automatically grabs her hand to calm her down.

'You'll recognize it when it's there, I promise,' she says. 'It's something like... Like she's expecting something from you. Something like this.' She widens her eyes a little bit and tilts her head upwards, closer to Robin's.

'Oh,' Robin breathes out. 'Yeah, I – I guess I'll recognize that. That's –' She clears her throat. 'So then I lean in?'

'Yes,' Nancy mumbles. 'You lean in, but not all the way, you gotta give her the opportunity to reciprocate. So you start leaning in, you wait until she does the same, and then you'll kiss her. And if she starts leaning in, you lean towards her, and then wait for her to cross the rest of the distance.'

'That's a lot of rules.'

'It's easier than it sounds. I swear. C'mon, lean in.'

Robin swallows visibly, and Nancy realizes that she never let go of Robin's hand when the place where their palms are touching is getting sweaty. It doesn't bother her enough to pull her hand back, though.

Before she starts leaning in, Robin licks her lips - and suddenly Nancy can't see anything else than that: she's wearing magenta colored lipstick and her tongue looks pink and soft, and the weird thought comes to Nancy that she wouldn't mind finding out what it feels like to have that tongue exploring her mouth. But before she can stop to unravel that thought, Robin leans a few inches closer and Nancy brings her focus back to the task at hand.

'Close your eyes,' she whispers as she answers by leaning into Robin's space, too.

Robin abruptly pulls back. 'Then how can I see if you're leaning back in?!'

Nancy can't stop a giggle escaping from her throat; Robin pulls her hand out of Nancy's to give her a painful jab between her ribs.

'Don't laugh at me!'

'Wait, no, I wasn't laughing at you!' Nancy rushes to say. 'I'm sorry. I won't laugh. It's just- you were kinda cute about it.'

The words leave her mouth before Nancy's brain can catch up. For a moment, she wonders if this is how Robin feels all the time around Vickie, blurting out things she doesn't want to say but can't seem to stop herself from doing.

'Okay.' Robin takes a deep breath, the rosy color fading from her cheeks again. 'Let's try again, then.'

'Just – close your eyes as soon as you see me leaning, alright?'

'Alright.' She nods. 'Here we go.' She shuffles on the bed, then catches Nancy by surprise when she rests a hand on Nancy's knee.

'I lean in,' she says softly before she starts doing just that.

'You don't have to announce it,' Nancy points out with a smile.

'Okay, alright.' Robin makes a dorky gesture like she zips up her mouth and clears her throat again. Then, she leans towards Nancy... Nancy lets herself be pulled towards Robin as if there's a magnet between their mouths... She watches Robin's eyes fall shut and follows her example...

And suddenly, Robin's lips are on hers. They're soft; it all feels much softer than when she'd kiss Steve or Jonathan...

It only takes a few seconds until Nancy pulls back. She gives Robin an encouraging smile.

'That's great,' she establishes. She somehow still feels the heat of Robin's mouth against her own, like a phantom touch lingering on her skin, something she can't quite shrug off. 'Perfect first kiss. You have nothing to worry about.'

'That's all?' Robin asks; it sounds confused.

'Oh no, this was just the beginning,' Nancy explains. 'Like I said, it's all about the build-up. For the first kiss, this is it. Then, if it's as good as this one, you'll both want more. So you'll give each other a smile and make sure your lips find each other again. You don't need all the steps of leaning in, you already know you want to kiss each other at this point – unless one of you takes a step back after you stop the first kiss, then you know that no second kiss is gonna follow.'

'So if I like it, don't take a step back.'

Nancy nods. 'Don't take a step back. Don't let go of the points where you're touching her.'

Robin's fingers twitch against Nancy's knee. It's very distracting, but Nancy tries her best to stay focused. She has a lesson to teach, after all.

'Okay. And then?'

'You both lean back in. And you...' Nancy pauses to think of a good way to describe it. 'You explore,' she settles on saying. 'You feel out each other's lips, and from there, you basically just go with what feels right. Get your tongues involved at some point – but not too much.' She adds that last part strictly. 'It should be... delicate. You start out soft, alright? Only when it starts to take longer, you can get more heated, take some more risks. Then you just feel out how she responds and you adjust to that.'

Robin is frowning, now. 'That sounds very complicated,' she remarks.

'Let's just try and see how it goes,' says Nancy in a reassuring voice.

They start from the top with Nancy's expectant gaze and taking their turns leaning in. Then, Robin's lips are against Nancy's again, just as soft as the first time.

When she pulls back, her eyes wander over Nancy's face like she's searching for something. It's a bit stilted, the way she's waiting for Nancy's body language to tell her if there's gonna be a second kiss.

'Should I go on?' Robin asks softly.

Nancy has to suppress another giggle while she nods.

'You don't have to ask that,' she whispers in the second it takes Robin to lean in again.

'Sorry,' Robin whispers back right before she presses her lips against Nancy's another time.

This time, her touch is firmer. Nancy can feel all kinds of little things, like the muscles built by years of playing trumpet and the way her breath ghosts against Nancy's cheek when she breathes out. She can taste the peppermints they'd been sharing earlier.

The bed creaks when one of them – Nancy doesn't even know who – shifts, and suddenly their bodies are pressed closer together, Robin's arms around her back and her own hands divided between Robin's shoulders and her waist. She can feel the shape of Robin's upper body where it's pressed against her own, so much softer than what she's used to feeling when kissing a boy, and she notices how they've unconsciously aligned their breathing. Their tongues find each other, gently, almost shy, and it oddly tastes like wanting more. It turns out Robin knows exactly how to suck on Nancy's lower lip just right, how to make heat course through her veins and get her hungry for –

Robin pulls back – and simultaneously pulls Nancy right back to earth. Her cheeks are bright red again and the look in her eyes is unsure.

'Was that okay?'

Nancy has to take a few seconds to blink, catch her breath and return to reality. The reality where they're friends, not lovers. The reality where they're two girls, practicing something that's not about them at all. The reality where she's helping Robin prepare for a date with Vickie, and very much not kissing her senseless or letting her explore every single inch of her mouth and possibly her body while sparks fly between them and every touch of Robin's fingers is setting Nancy on fire.

She nods.

'Yeah,' she manages to say. 'Yeah, that was – that was really good, Robin. Seriously, you're a total natural. If this isn't gonna blow Vickie's socks right off...'

Robin smiles. She gently bumps her shoulder against Nancy's. 'Thanks, Nance,' she says. 'I gotta admit: you've been a pretty okay teacher.'

Robin's lipstick has faded and there's a slight smudge of magenta in the corner of her mouth. Her hair is disheveled, just like the collar of her blouse, where Nancy apparently grabbed her without even noticing...

I did that, is the only feverish thought left in Nancy's brain. I made her look like that.

Read part 2 here

#don't mind me rambling about stranger things #ronance #robin buckley #nancy wheeler #rockie (but not endgame)#stranger things #fruity ficlet

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lucifer-is-a-bag-of-dicks · 2 months

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when I took a month off work I was lowkey worried I'd come back and find everyone had been fine without me and I wasn't needed at all (because being terrible at every previous job I've had did some ✨damage✨ to my self confidence)

but that is not what happened

I have never encountered someone so fucking happy to see me as my boss' wife was on my first day back, her face lit up like it was christmas, she was practically jumping for joy because now that I'm back she doesn't have to do the ops team's fucking timesheets anymore

I have been told by one of the ops guys that my leave of absence had caused a genuine rift in the boss' marriage because his wife hated doing my job so much they were actively fighting about it

to be clear, his wife is lovely, she doesn't usually throw a shit fit about just anything, it was just that my job is just so fucking annoying that she hated every second of it, and that was the most validating shit I have ever experienced in my LIFE

and the reason she was pissed off at my boss/her husband about it is because he's too soft on his crew and doesn't make them all report their hours for the week

which, as you can imagine, makes building their timesheets extremely fucking difficult

it basically turns the whole process into a puzzle that I have to solve using roughly three different sources of information, one of which is the boss himself who isn't always easy to get ahold of when he's on a site

this puzzle is made even more difficult by the fact that a glitch in our form system keeps messing up the dates on the timecards, so I have to cross reference the time cards from the two (2) ops team members, who actually DO fill out their forms, with the roster, but my boss often changes the roster at the last minute without telling me or noting it down, so then I have to cross reference with the reports they have to submit for certain ongoing jobs because they'll have correct dates and also a list of who was present (if they were doing one off smalltime jobs that week I'll have no physical records and will rely entirely on the boss' memory to confirm dates and staff numbers, unless I can get ahold of one of the ops team members themselves and there's only one who will reliably communicate with me but only when he's not currently on a site)

I tried to explain this process to boss' wife before I left and, looking horrified, she asked me 'is there no way to streamline this?' I replied 'this is streamlined'

as far as I'm aware, as long as I've worked there, there has only been a handful of times people were paid incorrectly, and it was because I was not given correct information by the boss, in the time I was gone, his wife told me that she had incorrectly logged several pays because of this broken ass system

so, as you could imagine, my ego is through the fucking roof right now, I am GOOD at this bullshit job, I took an impossible system and made it work, I am playing on hard mode and killing it, in a field I had zero experience in before taking this job other than a natural inclination for organising and scheduling

and to be clear, I love this job, the boss is too soft on his staff but he's a good guy, he makes us all feel valued and appreciated, he paid me above my award rate, he's absurdly accommodating, and I have an insane amount of freedom to do what I want with company files

I may be working with a bullshit system but I can take naps in the office whenever I want and tell my boss off when he's being too soft (one time his wife literally started clapping when I told him off for sending clients their reports before they'd paid for them) and I get to control when I work, and whether I work from home or the office (which is GREAT when my back flares up)

I might not get many hours (only 16 hours per week) because the company is so small and I run out of things to do because I've streamlined everything (boss literally called me TOO EFFICIENT), but he'll give me those 16 even if I spend half of it playing solitaire and watching youtube

so just, yeah, it feels so good to be confident in my work, to feel valued and appreciated and like I'm actually successful at something after being handed dud jobs for years that I wasn't cut out for, and now knowing that what I'm doing is actually genuinely hard but I've been doing it anyway without fail, makes me feel good!

so tldr; taking a month off work taught me I have phenomenal job security because if my boss ever fires me his wife might actually fucking kill him

#lula's life #I have genuinely hit a point in my life I never thought I'd reach #I'm happy with my job #I'm not in constant pain #and I am living very comfortably with a friend I love dearly #I don't make a lot of money and still rely on government benefits but that's okay because I make enough to be comfortable #life is actually good I can't believe I made it

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charmingsoa · 1 month

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■ Bring it On Home to Me (Intro) ■ John Egan x OC Multi chapter story ⚠ Warning ⚠ This story will feature themes not appropriate for those under the age of 18 and will focus on sensitive subjects at times. Story will contain scenes of sexual content, cursing, physical and verbal abuse, substance use, cheating, miscarriage, mentions of war, etc. Warnings will be posted with each chapter. Please be advised when reading. This fic is purely fiction and has nothing to to do with the actual men of Masters of Air. A/N: Hello! So this is my first John Egan story and i'm kind of excited and nervous to display it to you all... I've never written for this character before but i've read all the amazing stories that are out there and I wanted to jump on the bandwagon. So, this story starts off a little different than most and it will actually go back in time to tell the story. Like I said, it's a little different, but I hope in a good way! I hope you all enjoy 😊

If you would like to be tagged for future updates, please let me know!

“I think that’s the last of it, mom.” I looked up from the picture, my oldest daughter staring back as she wiped a stray hair out of her face.

The house, the place where I had spent the last 50 years, now stood before me vacant and empty, echoing with the memories of a lifetime. The bare walls, once adorned with photos capturing moments from the past and present, now stared back at me, the original paint faded from where the frames had sat untouched for many years. This home had been the anchor of our family, the sanctuary where my children, grandchildren, and now great-grandchildren had all found solace and security.

I could still see it vividly in my mind's eye - my girls taking their first steps on the soft carpet of the living room, their laughter filling the air. The kitchen, with its worn wooden floors, bore witness to their growth, marked by notches on the door frame tracking their increasing heights. The backyard, a place of endless play and joy, had been the backdrop for countless family gatherings, from first day-of-school photos to prom nights and even wedding celebrations.

As I wandered through the empty rooms, memories flooded my mind - the sound of children's laughter echoing down the halls, the smell of home-cooked meals wafting from the kitchen, the sight of my grandchildren playing in the backyard as I watched from the comfort of the wraparound porch. This was more than just a house; it was a living, breathing repository of our family's history and love.

This was the home that he had promised me, the place where we had vowed to build our lives and raise our family, where we had planned to stay until the end of our days. Now, as I prepared to say goodbye to our beloved home, a mix of emotions swirled within me.

"I'm gonna get you out of here – give you a life worth living and loving in America," the soldier declared, his voice tinged with a mix of determination and allure. As he spoke, tendrils of smoke curled lazily from the cigarette between his fingers, adding to the air of mystery that surrounded him. His eyes, a piercing shade of blue, bore into mine with an intensity that was hard to ignore.

Rolling my eyes in response, I stubbed out my own cigarette, the ember extinguishing with a hiss. All the soldiers were the same, I thought wryly, willing to say anything to win favor and attention, especially at the end of a long night. Despite his good looks and the faint scent of whiskey and smoke that emanated from his dress greens, I remained guarded, having heard similar promises before.

"You watch and see, little girl," he continued, leaning back in his chair, his posture exuding confidence. His thighs were spread open, a display of dominance that didn't escape my notice. "I'll buy you any kind of house you want – a farmhouse, a mansion, one on the beach."

"Mom-" Bridget's voice broke through the silence, pulling me back from the depths of my thoughts. I blinked, refocusing on the present moment, feeling her warm hand gently pressing against my back. Her touch comforting.

I turned to look at her, a concerned gaze searching mine. Her eyes, so much like her father’s, reflected a mix of worry and love. In that moment, I saw the strength and resilience that she had inherited from him.

"I'm okay, sweetheart," I reassured her, offering a faint smile to ease her concern. "Just lost in my thoughts for a moment there."

She let out a sigh as she looked over the empty home, "Daddy used to always tell Maggie and me that we wouldn’t be able to get you out of this house – even if we infested it with all the spiders in the world – you would find a way to stay," she reminisced, a hint of amusement in her voice.

A smile tugged at my lips as she continued, "He would kid us by saying that you loved this house more than you loved him, which we both knew was not true."

"Well," I smirked, "There were times when your father was not my favorite person, but he always had a way of making it up to me in the end, even if it was my fault for the argument." The intensity of our arguments, fueled by stubbornness and pride, seemed to fade in comparison to the fierce passion that ignited between us once the storm had passed.

"Do you realize that you’re a pain in my ass?” I rolled my eyes as he stood firmly in front of me. “If I wanted to cheat on you, I would have gone out and done it already, Vanessa. I could go down to George’s bar and pick any one of those hookers that hang around there – I’m sure they would be more than happy to spend a couple hours with me."

A mean smirk formed on my face as I retorted, “You haven’t lasted more than 10 minutes in over two years.” I scoffed. “Over here talking about lasting a couple hours – it's either your back or your knees that start hurting in a matter of seconds. God forbid you’re the one on the bottom.”

His eyes narrowed at my cutting remarks. “You sayin that I’m no good in bed?” he shot back, a hint of defensiveness creeping into his tone.

“You’re the one talking about being some kind of Adonis,” I remarked, feeling my back hit the counter behind me as he crept closer. “I’m just stating the facts, sweetheart.” His tall frame towered over mine, his arms trapping me in on either side. I glared up at him with hooded eyes, while his piercing blue eyes held a hint of mischief.

“I mean, you’re okay I guess,” I replied, trying to maintain a façade of indifference despite the closeness between us.

His breath tickled my ear as he leaned in even closer, his voice dropping to a husky whisper, “The way you were begging last night might say otherwise, V.” His words sent a jolt of heat through me, memories of the previous night flooding back with an intensity that left me momentarily speechless.

"Daddy made this place fun, that's for sure – it's gonna be weird not seeing him sitting in the rocking chair out front or fiddling around in his garden," Bridget remarked, a hint of wistfulness in her voice. I nodded in understanding, feeling the weight of her words settle heavily in my heart.

"Gonna be weird just not coming here period," she added, her eyes briefly meeting mine as I let out a sad sigh.

As we stood there, surrounded by the familiar sights and sounds of our family home, I couldn't help but feel a sense of loss creeping in. John’s presence had always been a comforting constant, his love and warmth filling every corner of this house. Without him, the home felt like an empty shell – hollow and cold.

“I think I’m gonna take one more look around- “My voice hitching in my throat. “Make sure I have everything before I turn the keys over to the realtor.”

Bridget nodded her head, her touch leaving my arm as she slowly walked towards the front door. I could hear her speaking with the real estate agent that was waiting outside, the realization that this was the end starting to dawn on me.

My eyes moved down to the picture that I clutched tightly in my hands – our young, bright smiles on display as the bulb flashed in front of us. The first photograph of us in front of our new house – the place where we promised to spend the rest of our days.

549 Timber Creek Rd.

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bigwishes · 2 years

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Hey could you help me out?

I've been applying to some of the frat houses, but I've never gotten invited. They always make fun of my small frame, saying I should apply to somewhere else.

Is there a way I can get back to that asshole leader. I want him to cower in front of me. I want to be taller and more muscular then any of those douchbags, so they beg me to join them.

Oh sorry you've been having trouble finding a frat to join but I think I know a group of guys who can help you. Funnily enough they made a wish too but don't worry about that.

Brinley, Brayden and Bruce. The three had wished for some jerky jock personalities and they got what they wished for but now they also wanna have the best A lister only party. Well I've already gone ahead and asked them for a favour since I've now granted them two wishes, don't be shy and introduce yourself.

"Hey bro, you can totally join our frat" "Yeah bruh, you'll be so good for what we asked for" "Yeah, man, you'll look so good"

The three pull away to themselves and leave you standing there whilst they chat and laugh, you catch a couple bits of the conversation something about "how big did you ask for?" followed by Brinley and Bruce breaking out in that stupid bro chuckle whilst shoving Brayden between the two of them. They began to turn back and you heard "don't worry, he'll definitely listen"

"Okay bro, all ya gotta do to join our frat is....ride home in the car with us" "yeah bruh and hurry the fuck up we gotta get stuff for the party" "ye-yeah, let get going huh huh" Brinley and Bruce burst out laughing again shoving Brayden calling him a fag. You have no idea what's going on but this could be your only chance to join a frat so you follow them back to their car. You get in and the floor is covered in energy drink cans, the car stinks of stale sweat as you see three gym bags stuffed in the back. Brinley and Bruce take the front two seats whilst you were stuck in the back seat next to Brayden. Brayden stuck his hand under his backwards cap scratching his head and biting down on his lip, almost salivating looking at you. But what why was that jacked stud drooling over your average skinny frame. "Ooooh Brayden, excited about his big changes?" "Yaahhh Brayden, why don't you stick your face in the big boys pits" "BRUH SHUT THE FUCK UP" The car started, buzzing to life and you instantly felt weird like your lungs had been replaced with a void, every breath you took seemed endless. You began breathing through your mouth deeply, huffing like you'd just been running for an hour. You looked down at your body and noticed your chest puffing out with each breath, building, becoming more and more solid. Your arms tingled as they began to inflate. Your shirt rips apart around your torso.

"oh, errr here bro, have my tank top. might be a tight fit huh huh" "YOO BRAYDEN, ROCKIN A HARDY THERE MATE HAHAHA" You noticed Brayden's hard on straining against the fabric of his shorts as he threw his shirt at you. As you put it on you couldn't help noticed what happened to you in the car mirror.

You'd some how bulked up, going from looking like a twig to a football playing jock in a matter of seconds. The tank barely covered your torso, leaving the sides of your chest exposed. Brayden sat next to you staring at your body biting his lip drooling and with all this muscle some confidence was brewing in your gut and you wanted to slam Brayden into a wall.

"oi, don't get comfy mate, Brayden asked for more" "BRO SHUT THE FUCK UP" "you're gonna be on door duty tonight big fella," Great, your first party and your stuck as the fucking door man. Soon the four of you had pulled up at a cheap looking frat house. It looked pretty run down but so did most of the houses on the block. Something still felt off, your body ached. You needed whatever this pain was to go away before the night. Even if you were just the fucking door lacky you needed to be at the top of your game for any guys who might wanna stay the night. Bruce showed you to your room and left you alone until the party. You took a deep breath and the void reappeared in your chest. Each breath your body inflated more, bursting out of your tank and pants leaving you in stretched out briefs.

You couldn't believe how fucking incredible you looked and you were now so fucking horny. You had to find Brayden, he seemed to be drooling over you before so surely he'd wanna feel your massive arms now. You bit down on your lip thinking about shoving Brayden's head down on to your waste and skull fucking him.

You called out for him asking for help with moving something, but when he appeared in your doorway you grabbed him by the shirt and stared to undress him. He wrapped his hands around your torso and dug his fingers into your newly formed back muscles but the pleasure didn't last long before the aches and pains were back, but this time instead of just the feeling of your muscled getting bigger it felt like your spine was snapping. You dropped Brayden on the floor and watched as him and the floor seemed to be getting further and further away. You felt your arms move outwards from your body and your shoulders and lats got wider. Your body became thicker and thicker. You looked at the doorframe it looked like you wouldn't even be able to get through without turning sideways at this point.

Now standing at 8.6ft tall and wider than the door frame you were shocked and what you'd become.

"DUDE WHAT THE FUCK DID YOU GUYS DO TO ME" "oh fuck, when I wished for a large door man...I really got a large door man huh" "WHAT THE FUCK DOES THAT MEAN" "Bro relax, you're huge and fucking stunning" "Look, It'd be hot if I wasn't at risk of crushing the guy" The other two appeared in the doorway "LETS FUCKING GO BOIIIIS" "HAHA Brayden when you wished for a big door man you really a man..whos a door AHAHAHAHA" "I'm not gonna be your fucking door man, I'm taking this body out on the fucking town boys, not standing in a doorway all night" "OOFT, nah, sorry mate we wished for you so we get what we want" Brinley snapped his fingered and it felt like firecrackers in your head, a moment later your head was hung slack and drool poured out of your mouth and onto your chest. "Okay big man, time for some adjustments, FIRST you'll always be our doorman, personal bouncer and do everything you're told" "OH OH OH, AND SECOND YOU'RE BRAYDON'S PERSONAL FUCK MACHINE HAHAHAHA" "DUDE YOU FUCKING IDIOT, WHAT DID YOU JUST DO" "relax man" "No you fucking idiot, we only got 2 braincells to give him" "huh?" "Jesus fucking Christ Bruce, you always fuck things up like this" "What are we gonna do with this animal now?" "hmm, I've got an idea, but I'll explain after the party"

The lads first party wasn't exactly the A lister only they wished for but, it was good enough to spread the word and Brinley had the bright idea of opening their own mini nightclub in the basement. People would come from every corner of campus just to try and get in, but they had to get past you. The enourmous fucking door man blocking the entrance to the house every single night for hours on end, sometimes not moving for up to 8 hours at a time. But surely there was atleast some part of you left in that empty head because every night when the leaders of other frats came to party you picked them up by the scruff of their shirt and threw them on the street and non of them ever tried to fight back, one even pissed his pants when you caught him sneaking in through the window.

This is you now, from skinny lil bloke looking for a frat to massive brainless hulk who does exactly what he's told and has frat leaders begging him to let them through to the best party on campus.

#male transformation #muscle transformation #muscle #male tf #reality change #tf story #gay transformation

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beammeupmoony · 3 months

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Wrote something for @redriotinggg because they had a cute prompt and it sounded fun. Sorry if characters are out of character. I've never written for One Piece before. Basically it's what if Zoro gave Usopp his bandana the way Luffy sometimes gave people his straw hat. I haven't written in years, and I wrote this in one night, and did not re-read it. It's just a little self-indulgent thing. Story under the cut.

Don't Be Scared

One Piece. Usopp centric. Was written as Zosopp.

It wasn't that Usopp was cowardly. No one could have ever predicted that he would come down with a crippling case of Don't-Want-To-Get-Torn-Apart-itis. And this was what pushed the sniper now to keep running as a group of three marines chased after him. It had been a simple task, create a distraction so that Nami could sneak in and rob the Marine base blind. Well, "base" was generous. It was little more than a two story building in the middle of the island town. Usopp had used a small round of ammunition just to create a loud noise. It wasn't meant to draw attention to himself, yet when the loud pop had sounded, one of the marines had caught him before he could duck out of sight. Now, he was running for his life as the marines pursued him. "Stop!" One of the marines ordered. Shit, shit, shit! Usopp kept running. His legs burned, haven't fully healed from the events in Alabasta. Without warning, he hears the scream of three marines, and the thus as their bodies hit the ground. Usopp turns around, panting heavily as Zoro sheathed his swords.

"Ah, thanks, Zoro... don't know what I'd do without you," Usopp gasped, holding a stitch in his side.

Zoro turned to face Usopp and said, "The witch has finished pilfering the place, so we are heading back to the Merry. Let's go." Zoro began to walk north, the opposite direction of where they had left the Merry. Usopp moved forward and turned the swordsman around, "It's this way, Zoro. Come on, you must have just come from the Merry. You're sense of direction is truly hopeless, ya know?"

The swordsman glared at Usopp and scoffed, "Hah? I know my way around well enough."

Ussop just shook his head. The two head back to the Merry, Usopp talking about how he knew Zoro would be right there, and that running from the marines was all a part of his plan. Zoro just rolled his eyes, hand resting on Wado. When they reach the Merry, Zoro speaks, "You could have taken out those three marines yourself."

Usopp blinks and is quick to scoff, "Of course I could have. I, the great Captain Usopp, who have eight thousand men at my command-"

Zoro shakes his head, "That's not what I mean."

Usopp would laugh a bit, trying to keep his grin in place. He knew perfectly well what Zoro meant. But of course it was easy for Zoro to say. He wasn't like Zoro. Strong, confident, fearless. Reliable.

"Come on, Zoro. Not all of us can become invincible by-" Usopp adjusted his own bandana so it was right above his eyes, and lowered his voice, "Three swords style: Oni-GIRI!"

Zoro doesn't laugh, but there is a glint of amusement in his eyes that Usopp, whose eyes were downcast, does not see. Usopp cannot find the courage to meet the swordsman gaze. Usopp hears the sound of fabric being moved and something is tied around his wrist. He looks up and sees that Zoro had tied the black bandana around Usopp's wrist. Usopp opens his mouth to ask what Zoro was doing when there was a high pitched whine as cannon Fite landed near the Merry. A marine ship was heading for them. Nami, who had arrived before them, began barking orders to get the ship out of here. Zoro took off to defend the ship, cutting Canon balls in half as they fired at the Merry. Sanji was at the helm, Chopper unfurling the sails with their newest crewmate's, Robin's, help. Usopp touched the bandana. Why had Zoro given it to him? He shook his head to clear it and moved to raise the anchor of the ship.

They get away, barely, and on the open ocean, Usopp approaches Zoro, who was leaning against the rails of the Merry. Zoro doesn't move, eyes closed, his swords at his side. Usopp had untied the black bandana and held it out to Zoro, "Hey, Zoro. What was this for?"

Zoro opened one gray eye, took the bandana and said, "you're the one who said it made me invincible."

Usopp felt his cheeks grow hot as he spluttered, "I didnt- you know what I meant, Zoro-"

Zoro closed his eye again and grunts in response. Usopp continued to try to protest, but Zoro cut him off, "Usopp. It was just for you to be brave."

Usopp's cheeks darkened even more. The swordsman was so blunt. Nothing more was said between the two. But Usopp, apart from feeling embarrassed, also found himself pleased. Having the bandana had made him feel... safer? And he couldn't deny that. Zoro was the most dependable on the crew.

And so it went. Whenever Usopp needed to be brave, Zoro would tie the bandana around the sniper's wrist. Usopp would pull his wristband over the bandana, to keep it safe. It proceeded in this way until they reached Water 7.

When Usopp decided to leave the crew, he found that he missed the security the bandana had brought him. And when he apologized and returned to the group, he kept himself at a distance. Mostly because he was ashamed at how he had acted. And he wrestled with the notion that people on the ship may hate him now. That Zoro may hate him. One night, Usopp climbs up to the crows nest to relieve Zoro for night watch. When he reaches the top, Zoro turns to look at him.

"H-hey. I'm here to take watch. So, uh, yeah." Usopp can feel his insides shrivel under the steely gray gaze of Zoro. The swordsman nods, and moves past the sniper without a word. Usopp bites his lip and his chest aches. Would they ever be nakama again? Would Zoro ever forgive him? Zoro began climbing down the ladder and Usopp kept his eyes on the horizon. When he no longer can hear the sound of footsteps, Usopp allowed himself to turn to find a folded black bandana on the ground near the ladder. Tears sting his eyes as he reached out and tied it on his wrist, covering the cloth with his sweatband. Be brave, Usopp. Usopp gripped his wrist tight, feeling the knot of the bandana press into his skin as tears fall onto the floor of the crows nest. Even if Zoro couldn't speak to him, even if he was still mad, he was willing to remind Usopp that Usopp could be brave. Usopp's chest swelled with comfort. This time, it would be awhile before the bandana returns to its owner. When he finally returns it, he manages to sit up with Zoro on watch and apologize again.

The bandana passes between the two men, almost always wordlessly. Never did they exchange it in front of the crew. It was always subtle. But there was added weight as time went on. Intense looks of reassurance and gratitude. A brush of calloused fingertips.

Then, Thriller Bark. That damned ship of an island. They had gained so much there: treasure, a new nakama, and had taken down another warlord. But they had almost lost more than that. They had almost lost Zoro. Even now, as they sailed away from the cursed ship, Usopp still couldn't settle the knot in his stomach. He walked along the deck of the Sunny, and his sharp gaze moving to fix on the training room high above the ship. He could just make out movement in the room. Unbelievable. Usopp climbs the ladder and pushes the door open without knocking. Zoro was indeed inside, lifting his monstrous weights. What little bandages still remained on the swordsman were tinged pink.

"Chopper will kill you for that, if you don't kill yourself first," Usopp states matter-of-factly. Zoro doesn't acknowledge the words. He just continued to work, lifting the weights with shaking arms. Anger licks at Usopps gut, and he waves a hand, "Oi, I'm talking to you, Zoro!"

Zoro growls, "I wish you wouldn't. I'll lose count."

Usopp glared at the stupid man before him and walked up to Zoro, standing closer than he typically dared when the swordsman was swinging around weights. Zoro growls and sets the weights down, "What do you want, Usopp?"

Usopp snaps, "I want you to relax. You're not even supposed to be up, from what Chopper says."

"I'm fine," he rumbled. Usopp shouts, "You aren't! You're injured! You almost died, Zoro! Died! That's serious! You could have died and left-" Usopp stops before saying me and instead says, "The crew! You could have left us!"

"But I didn't."

"That's not the point! You do this all the time, Zoro, you put your life on the line without thinking about what it would to- to us if you didn't come back!" Usopp throws his hands up in the air and looks away, "You... you make us feel safe, Zoro. And we-... I... I don't like feeling like you won't come back."

Zoro remained silent for several minutes. Usopp's chest tightened with anxiety as it stretched on. He went too far, he crossed the line. But a large hand gripped his wrist, the one with the sweatband, and a deep rumble softly said, "Usopp."

Usopp looked up at the larger man. Stormy eyes meet his brown ones, and his heart skips a beat. He had forgotten how close he was to the swordsman. Zoro kept a firm grip on the sniper's wrist, "I can't promise I will always come back. We're pirates. It doesn't work like that." Usopp doesn't look away, holding his breath under the intense gaze of the former pirate hunter. "And I need to keep training. I need to be stronger. I have to be." Zoro's voice never wavered, but there was a strain in it that Usopp could hear. No one knew what happened to Zoro, but clearly he had gone through something that had shaken him. For the first time since his fight with Mihawk, Usopp could see that Zoro was shaken. The normally self-assured first mate had had his confidence shaken. Zoro let go of the sniper's wrist and doesn't offer any other explanation.

"Y-you should get your bandages changed, Zoro."

The swordsman nodded and headed for the trapdoor without a word. There is an ache in Usopp's chest that had nothing to do with anxiety. Without thinking about it, the sniper opened his mouth as Zoro opened the door.

"Zoro-wait."

Zoro turned back to face Usopp, and Usopp swallows, his heart hammering in his chest. He strode up to the swordsman and removed his olive green bandana, his curls bouncing as they are let free. Then, he tied the bandana onto the swordsman wrist. He glanced up at Zoro, who had raised his eyebrows in surprise. Usopp blushed and hurried past the swordsman, clambering down the ladder as fast as he could. That was stupid, what was he thinking?! How embarrassing, Usopp, get a grip!

But in the crows nest the swordsman touches the bandana, and the smallest of smiles grace his usually stoic face.

"Zoro!" Usopp called.

"Zoro!" Sanji repeated.

"Where are you going all by yourself?!" They shouted in unison.

Zoro called back, "For a walk. That okay?"

"Of course not!" Usopp shouted angrily.

"You're gonna get yourself lost, moron!" Sanji yelled.

Zoro glared and snarled, "Screw you, I'm not gonna get lost! All these trees have numbers on them, only an idiot would get lost here!"

Usopp and Sanji waved goodbye and told him to ask for directions. Sanji returned to the galley, but Usopp leapt off the Sunny and took off after Zoro, "Zoro, hold on!"

Zoro stops and glares at the sniper, "What now?"

Usopp shook his head, "No, nothing about directions, I just..." his heart fluttered in his chest, "you're still injured, you know. Maybe you should go with someone. Or maybe you should stay on the Sunny?"

Zoro pulled a face, "With the cook? No, thanks."

"But-" Usopp began, but Zoro pulled out his bandana and pulls the sweatband down to tie the bandana on the marksman's wrist. Zoro covered the bandana with the sweatband and Usopp suppresses a shiver as the large fingers brush against his skin.

"I'll come back."

Zoro spoke plainly. It was a fact. He would come back. Usopp relaxed, and blushed a bit, "Oh. Okay, then." Zoro chuckled, and headed off into the archipelago.

It wasn't that Usopp was cowardly. He wasn't running just to save his own skin. He was following his captain's orders to escape. The swordsman on his back was breathing raggedly as Usopp ran hard and fast from the Admiral bearing down on them. Pacifistas, an admiral, and enemies who were way out of their league? Luffy had given the order to escape.

"Put me down..." Zoro mumbled, "I'm letting you guys get away."

Usopp shook his head, "Not happening!"

He would have kept arguing had a beam not cut between them. Usopp fell backward as Zoro pitched forward, hitting the ground hard. And before Usopp could full rise, trying to rouse Sanji and Brooke so they could all run, the warlord Kuma had appeared behind them, in front of Zoro.

"So. You're still alive, Roronoa."

Usopp's heart sank as he gazed up at the Warlord.

"Only thanks to... your mercy..." Zoro managed to grunt out.

Kuma began pulling off a glove, asking, "If you could go anywhere in the world, where would it be?"

Usopp opened his mouth to shout for Zoro, but Kuma's hand made contact, and Zoro was gone. A wind blew through the field, "Zoro!!" Usopp felt his mouth move, but he couldn't tell who had shouted louder, him or Luffy. "What the hell did you do to Zoro!? He was right here and then he disappeared! Say something, damnit!" Usopp is on his feet, Kabuto in his hands as he shouted at Kuma, "Where did you send Zoro!?"

"Usopp, what out behind you!" Someone shouted.

"Behind me-?" Usopp turned to see PX-1 ready to fire a beam at him. But Kuma stepped forward and made the Pacifista disappear as well. While Kuma was occupied, Usopp moved numbly to Sanji, "the beam only grazed me. I'll lend you my shoulder-" but he had barely helped Sanji to his knees before Brooke was taken by Kuma as well. Sanji tried to strike Kuma but was kno ked aside. Usopp tried firing boshi after boshi at Kuma, but they didn't work. The massive man swung his hand at Ussop and all went dark.

This island, archipelago, whatever it was was going to kill him. He had been trying to lose the weight he had put on, but every success forward was followed by a major setback. When Heracles found Usopp, the boy was eating from the ramen River, slurping up noodles and broth as fast as he could.

"Usopp'n! You cannot keep eating the food. You will become too slow and fall prey to the plants here in Boin."

Usopp sniffed, and said, "Heracles, I don't know what else to do. I'm not... I'm not strong like Sanji or Luffy or..." or Zoro. His heart ached and he took another bite. His already large form expanded again, and there was a sudden sound of a rip. Usopp froze and stopped eating. The sweatband was stretched to its max, making it obvious that something else lay beneath. He pulled away the sweatband and saw a tear in the black bandana. He stared at it as he gently untied it, trying to prevent more damage. Oh. That's right. He still had Zoro's bandana. When it was removed from his wrist, he saw that the tear was minor. But it may as well have ripped in half with how it made him feel. Be brave, Usopp. His eyes fill with tears that he wipes away stubbornly. Gently, he folds the bandana and places it in his shorts pocket. He stands and turns to Heracles, "No matter what I say, Heracles'n, don't let me eat that food anymore. Even if you have to kill me to do it." Heraclese crosses his arms and nods, "Very well, Usopp'n."

Two years is a long time to spend running for your life every day, but he had survived. Usopp walked with his head held high, muscular shoulders squared as he looked around for familiar faces. Being back at the archipelago where he had been separated from his nakama made him ache. Who would he encounter first? Sanji? Robin? But his question was answered before he could run through the list. Someone had their back to him. Someone with bright green hair and three swords on his hips. Usopp strode up to the swordsman with confidence and the other man turned. More scars on his body, a scar over one of his eyes. But it was undoubted Zoro. Zoro's eye widened slightly and his face settled into an easy smirk as he looked Usopp up and down. Usopp's ears tinged slightly with pink, but he met the swordsman's gaze head on.

"Zoro!" He greets, waving a hand as he stood in front of the swordsman.

"Usopp," Zoro returned with a grin, "You look like you've gotten a hell of a lot stronger."

Usopp beamed with pride, "You noticed? Unsurprising. I have many great tales of my adventures since last we met!"

Usopp feels butterflies as Zoro grins at him, "I can't wait to hear them. You've been brave, then?"

Usopp grins back and nodded, "Yup. Oh, that reminds me!" He digs around in his bag and pulls out a balck folded cloth. He holds it out to Zoro, "here. I kept it safe for you." Zoro takes the cloth and unfolds it. It's his bandana. He can see a spot where it had been torn. But he can also see it had painstakingly been repaired with olive green thread. "Im sorry I ripped it. I used my bandana to fix it best I could. Do you know how hard it is sewing with a stinger? Terrible."

"You ruined your bandana?" Zoro asked.

Usopp shrugged, "Yeah, but I have a hat now. Much for fashion forward, don't you think?" Zoro stared at Usopp and laughed. He laughed and laughed and laughed. Usopp pouted, "Oi, oi, oi. Are you making fun of me?"

Zoro shook his head, putting his bandana in his pocket, "No. Just... good to have you back."

Usopp smiles at the swordsman, "Good to be back. I missed the Sunny. I missed the adventures. I missed our nakama. I missed... you."

For the first time, a small pink tinge found its way to Zoro's cheeks, and he hummed in agreement, "I missed you, too."

Usopp's heart raced and he said, "Well, let's head to the Sunny." Zoro had missed him. ZORO had missed HIM. Usopp didn't think he had ever felt lighter. And while he didn't know if he'd ever be ready to speak his feelings aloud, he was comforted in the fact that the exchange would continue between them for a long time to come.

#one piece #zosopp #usopp #roronoa zoro #pre-timeskip

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obsolescent · 9 months

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This Side of Paradise - Part Two

Part One

Pairing: Kyle ‘Gaz’ Garrick x GN!Reader

Summary: The events that happened after the fire. Unspoken words are finally out in the open and true feelings are revealed. There’s some truth to “when you have today, say all that you have to say.”

Category/Prompt: Two-part series | “I’ll take care of you.”

Song: This Side of Paradise - Coyote Theory

Author’s Notes: Thank you for your support with part one! I’m so glad that so many of you enjoyed it! Once again, thank you @glitterypirateduck for putting this event together, I’ve enjoyed participating! Gaz is the best guy, let’s go Gaz Nation!

Content Warnings: Non-descriptive vomiting, injuries from the fall, fluff, protective Kyle just wanting the best for you.

Word Count: 1,730

A myriad of colors and lights are what welcome you when you resurface from unconsciousness. Softened voices are heard, unable to pinpoint the location of chatter, like they’re echoing through your head. A heat like molten lava begins to spread from your feet upwards, consuming your flesh. ‘Did I not survive the fire? Did I just imagine I leapt from that window?’ Nausea soon joins that boiling feeling, your heart rate spiking. ‘I’m going to vomit. Can I even puke when I’m dead?’ Foolish questions aside, your upper body lurches forward anyways, beginning to empty what remains in your stomach.

A pressure is felt against your shoulder, something held out in front of you. A distant, “Easy, love,” You’re able to make out. ‘Well, it seems like I’m in good company in the great yonder.’ Groaning, that hand guides you back to the surface you had been laying against, soothing you with gentle rubs to your arm. You muster all the strength you can garner, willing your eyes to open. A tiled ceiling is what you’re first met with, when movement from your left is caught in your field of vision.

“Ask me why my heart's inside my throat I've never been in love, I've been alone Feel like I've been living life asleep Love so strong it makes me feel so weak”

Kyle’s eyes crinkled, a grin creating a domino effect across his face that lights up his features. “Oh, so glad to see those pretty eyes of yours, love. How are you feeling?” His voice light with relief and jubilation at seeing your gaze upon him. You begin to move your arm, trying to feel something solid, like him, when there’s resistance. You glance down, confusion fading into realization once you see your arm encased in plaster.

“Had a bit of a nasty fall there. A bit banged up, but you’re alright, yeah? You were so brave, dear. I’m proud of you.” A hand begins stroking your hair. “Thought I was dead,” you rasped, wincing at the ache in your throat. A ‘here’ and Kyle is offering you water through a straw. Taking a small sip to–literally–test the waters, you begin to drink more, confident there’ll be no bouts of nausea rising again. “Reminded me a bit of myself there, with what you pulled,” He chuckled, scooting his chair closer to your bed after you’ve had your fill of the drink. You gave him what you hoped to be an odd look, wondering what he’s gotten up to in his past. He shook his head with a smile, “I’ll tell you about it later, okay?”

The doctor entered not long after, going into detail about what happened. An electrical fire broke out on the second floor of the apartments and it had been contained to just that floor, no damages to the structure of the building. Just some cosmetic work for them to tackle. Your estimate had been right, the fall had been around twenty feet. Thankfully you walked (limped) away with nothing more than a broken forearm and a sprained ankle. They had to use general anesthesia, hence the vomiting, to reset the bone. Undergoing surgery to insert screws and a rod. You had been out for a full day. They planned to keep you in the hospital for one more day, for observation.

You notified your family, reassuring them you were alright and that everything was okay. They were relieved to hear from you, wanting any more updates about the situation as they came up. You also informed your work and university about what happened, both wishing you a full recovery and to take some time for yourself, thankful to have people understanding for a situation like this. Kyle stays for the final day, worrying over you. It’s funny, seeing him fussing about you reaching for something almost out of reach that he could easily grab for you. You obliged, letting him be a helpful hand to you, secretly savoring the attention he was showering you with. ‘Oh. That’s a new feeling.’

“Are you lonely? (Are you lonely?) Our fingers dancing when they meet You seem so lonely (are you lonely?) I'll be the only dream you seek So if you're lonely, no need to show me If you're lonely, come be lonely with me”

From the hospital room to the front door of your “flat”, Kyle was there for you. He even picked you up and carried you inside from the car, a squeak leaving you at his close proximity. Once inside, he laid you down gently on the couch. “You don’t have to do this much–” “Nonsense. Now, are you hungry? I could make you some soup, or anything you want. Well, if your stomach is still upset, maybe not anything…” He trailed off, looking at your flushed face, thinking it’s from queasiness. He gave a gentle smile, “I’ll go with something light then, yeah?”

He makes soup, a simple broth with veggies and protein, serving yours with some crackers–sorry–water biscuits? You definitely won’t be using that term for them. You thank him for the meal, sitting beside each other on the sofa while the telly plays a documentary. “Kyle, can I ask you something?” You asked after a stretch of silence, him giving a hum, signifying yes. “Why are you doing this? I mean, I’m real appreciative of it, but you got other things to do, don’t you? I don’t wanna burden you,” You finished, looking off while fiddling with your hands, suddenly nervous at what his response will be.

“Lonely (are you lonely?) Passion is crashing as we speak You seem so lonely (are you lonely?) You're the ground my feet won't reach So if you're lonely, darling you're glowing If you're lonely, come be lonely with me”

Warmth envelopes your right hand. You whip your head around to see he’s holding your one hand with both of his. You meet his warm brown eyes, a serious look on his face. “Have you considered that I have let my responsibilities know, like you had, that I will be busy for the foreseeable future, helping my flat–roommate–out after a quite traumatic experience? You don’t need to be alone this time, love. I’ll take care of you, yeah? Would you let me do that for you?” He asked, gently squeezing your hand between his, a reassuring gesture.

Red blooms across your face, now unable to meet his gaze. You stare at your interlocked hands. “I…I, I don’t know how to let you take care of me? Haven’t really let someone other than family do that before…” You mumbled out, feeling small, with a tinge of embarrassment at your lack of socialization. He moves one of his hands away, cupping your cheek, angling your face upwards to meet his eyes once again, saying your name. “Hey, it’s alright, look at me. I won’t do anything you’re uncomfortable with. I just want you to have the best recovery possible, to keep you safe, I…Care for you. When I got the alert for the fire, I didn’t know what to think. I called you as soon as I saw it, and when I heard you were still inside, I…Immediately drove here, hoping I could reach you before…” He took a deep breath before continuing, “I tried to talk you through everything, tried to be there for you as much as I could. I’m so glad you jumped out of that window. When I saw you on the ground, passed out, I was relieved, because then I knew I could take over, do what I do best. Didn’t wait for the bloody ambulance to show up, drove you to hospital myself.” He chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck, seeming bashful.

“Kyle,” You start, tears prickled at your eyes. “I care for you, too. I don’t know exactly what you do with your job, but back at the hospital when you hinted at some of the situations you’d been in, I began to worry even more than I usually do. You say it’s what you do best but, could I take care of you, too? You know, once I’m better,” You giggled, “But, I want us to be there for each other, okay?” You finished, biting your lip. He grinned, leaning down to kiss your forehead. “Alright, yeah. We’ll take care of each other.” He begins to pull away, your hand reaching out to mimic his earlier, cupping his cheek. He stops, before slowly leaning forward again, watching your face for any sign of discomfort. “This alright?” he whispered, lips hovering, barely grazing yours. “Yes, please.” He closes the distance, his hand moving up to hold the back of your neck, deepening the kiss.

His other hand holds you at your waist, rubbing circles. That feeling from before coming back, you delve into it. You melt against him, sighing. You feel the smile that forms against your lips, before he pulls away, leaving a peck on your cheek. “Been wantin’ to do that for a while,” He admitted, grinning at your surprised expression. He grabs a blanket to put over the both of you, pulling you close to him. He buries his face into your hair, sighing. “Guess we can make up for lost time, yeah?” He asked, giving your hand another squeeze. “Let me do it right, take you on a proper date once you’re up for it, yeah?” You hum, nodding in agreement, beaming at him. His heart rate quickens, looking at your wonderful face whenever he would get home from deployment had to be his favorite pastime. “Alright, lovely.”

You’ve been alone for the most part of your life, save your family. But with Kyle, everything feels so natural, so right. He makes you feel secure and warm. You trust he’ll take his promise seriously, keeping you out of harm’s way as much as he can. You’re so glad to have met him, not knowing that one conversation would lead to so many possibilities in your life. Eager to see what the future holds for you both, you leaned your head against his shoulder, his head soon resting against yours.

“Are you lonely? Passion is crashing as we speak You seem so lonely You're the ground my feet won't reach So if you're lonely Darling, you're glowing If you're lonely, come be lonely with me”

Tags: @sofasoap

#o fics #gazfest #gaz my beloved #gaz nation #gaz nation rise up #gaz x reader #gaz x you #gaz x gn!reader #kyle garrick x you #kyle garrick x reader #kyle gaz garrick x reader #kyle gaz garrick x you #kyle gaz garrick x gn!reader #gaz cod #gaz call of duty #gaz mw2 #gaz garrick #call of duty x reader #call of duty x you

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aethelwyneleigh27 · 6 months

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In honor of Christmas spirit, I will present you with things I love about my moots and why I appreciate them. Hope this there's you guys up no matter what you're going through right now, you deserve to have something good said about you, I love you guys <333

A/n: please excuse the few ones because now I've started to drink.. vodka mule.. hope I don't say anything too weird and I know I'm kinda a weak drinker, still building my tolerance and all.

Alright, let's start with my most favorite moot..

@puff0o0

🩷 You are so pretty love, how dare you ever say anything otherwise. The curly hair and it's beautiful color, facial features that look like they've been carved by a sculptor and down to your sweet voice. Physically hurts me to know that you're gonna say otherwise :((

🩷 Your writing? Fucking top tier fluff ever, those mean comments about it? Screw them, your writing got you to almost 3k followers and they're just jealous because they don't have that.

🩷 You are such a good friend, always caring for everyone and not asking anything for in return. Also please love, give yourself a break and please rest. Never will forget the first time we interacted because you are by far the sweetest creator who so happens to be well known.

@connorsui

🩵 Christmas is the time of giving right? It's time to give some back to you. I'm gonna get this out of the was, sweetie you are the best kind of reader I have ever come across and there's really only one of you, I wouldn't have it any other way.

🩵 You are the kindest and funniest person ever, your commentary keeps us writers motivated. I mean this genuinely, I find myself always looking forward to what you have to say on my works.

🩵 I'm sure many writers you've reblogged will agree with me, your commentary has honestly been the best, you sure know how to make me feel better about what I write. Also I'mma need some of those memes you use, you're so iconic and funny I can't.

@simp4konig

❤️ You don't give yourself enough credit for how much you help people boost their works, saying you haven't done much but commenting, talking to me and just interacting with my work does so much.

❤️ You are literally so nice to me, I don't even know where to begin with the list of things you've done that you refuse to be credited for.

❤️ You're so funny and another great writer, I hope that I see more of your writing along the way.

@blingblong55

❤️ First of all, who gave you the right and talent to be such a good writer? Genuinely, what kind of drugs are implemented in your writing.. you got me to like Makarov.. you're that powerful. I know I'm into villains but I wouldn't be surprised if you got me to like shepherd too... Please don't. (This is not a challenge please 😭)

❤️ How can I say this without sounding like a total fangirl? I'm obsessed with your work as you can tell, so much so that you're one of the creators who inspired me to start writing again and still as of now I think of your works while writing my own.

❤️ I DEFINITELY WASN'T SQUEALING AND KICKING MY FEET IN MY BED WHEN YOU FIRST INTERACTED WITH MY WORK...

@anonymuslydumb

🩵 Love you as the first Filipino person I had interacted with within this app that doesn't happen to be my school friend or relative.

🩵 Mangangaroling po, blue and yellow bills only. Pwede din po through G-cash and ShopeePay, pero no less than 1k pag-ganon AHAHAHA CHAROT, KIMI LANG.

🩵 Mwah <3

@shadofireshinobi

🖤 You are so special I can't even, you're my first ever mutual, first request and first person that I can genuinely talk to here before anyone.

🖤 You've made me feel so comfortable in my own skin and I know you're facing difficulties with your own that I am too but you're in so much more difficulty. I really do wish the best for you, love.

🖤 You are so strong, confident and resilient, you've been through so much and gosh you are the definition of a powerful woman who I wanted to be when I was young. Child me would be the happiest knowing that a motherly figure is looking after her.

Past Friends and Relatives <3

@marshmallowinamess

💚 Do I even have to say this? You are the best person in my life, my soulmate forevermore, we've been through so much together that I don't know where to start. I wish I was able to express how much I love you.

💚 You have been there for me through thick and thin for the most difficult times of my life, you've saved me countless times and though it doesn't feel like I'm doing enough, I made a promise to myself that I will make it up to you even if it will be the rest of my life.

💚 You are the only person who stood up for me when I needed you the most, I just.. don't know what else to say because what can you give someone who's done so much for you? Who has treated you better than anyone in your life, better than your parents? What can you possibly do to repay someone who saved you from yourself?

@ysalinedevreux

❤️ I know we've had conflict and drama in the past and I just wanna say I'm thankful that you contacted me again because we would've missed out on the friendship we were supposed to have.

❤️ A lot has happened and yet you stayed strong and we both learned from our past.

❤️ Happy holidays my dear <3

@rabblebite

🧡 What more could I say to my most favorite cousin in the world?

🧡 Thanks for being there for me always, you've made heartwarming promises and we still have a lot of adventures together (we're both drunk right now)

🧡 Honestly I wish my dad would take me here more often because then I'd get to spend more time and gossip with you guys. Thank you for comforting me like you always do when I needed, immediately noticing the change in my voice and that I'm crying.

Special mentions:

@azereus @rustic-guitar-notes @trepaika @skeletalgoats @icarustypicalfall @ghosts-cyphera @thesnowurzikdjinn @legallymentallyillfuckers @miss-gms-and-the-rotten-womb

You guys are always there to support my works and I want reciprocate that as much as I can, each and every one of you are so talented. I wish I can write more and do you guys justice but my eyes hurt so much and this is overdue. You guys are such good writers and even more amazing mutuals of mine who I know have been through some tough times. Know that all of you are welcome to talk to me when you need to and that my page is open to comfort as much as I can from a distance <3

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jbuffyangel · 2 months

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Hi this may be an odd question but reading your blog (and other Olicity blogs) it strikes me that while you provide insightful in depth analysis of the show at large you proudly admit that Oliver and Felicity’s relationship is paramount to your overall enjoyment and investment in the show. I personally possess a lot of internal shame stemming from my primary focus on the ship and will feel the need to justify my interest in the other aspects of the show (which I do love but I also love Olicity). I struggle with this with not just Arrow but any tv show where the romantic relationship isn’t intended to be the main premise of a show. I know I am allowing myself to be impacted by the views of comic book (and mostly male) fans and I can acknowledge that many of their views on Olicity fans and the show at large when it comes to the ship are at least somewhat if not primarily misogynistic. Despite knowing it comes from a sexist place which loves to shame women for enjoying romance and reduce our enjoyment to a surface level guilty pleasure unaware of the ways a romantic relationship can add major depth and development to a story as is the case with Arrow (although even if it didn’t add that it would still be valid to like the romance aspects), I still internalize those sexist sentiments and feel ashamed and like I cannot fully enjoy those things are I have to add caveats of my enjoyment. I was just wondering if you ever struggled with this or if you have always felt confident in proudly proclaiming your interest and investment in ships or if it was something that evolved over time. I’m sorry if this is a weird question I just witnessed your confidence in the validity of your passion and I wish I could have that conviction and not feel the shame that misogynistic society has given me in regards to shipping and enjoying romance. It’s definitely much harder in a fandom like Arrow where antis will openly voice their disdain for shippers and make extremely disparaging remarks and assumptions about Olicity shippers but I have felt this way in other fandoms too even when non shippers aren’t this aggressive or sexist.

Hello Nonnie!!!! I am so happy you reached out :) Apologies for the delay. I haven't checked my inbox for about a week. You write so beautifully!

To be honest, I've always marched to the beat of my own drum. I was a sick kid and had difficulty making friends because of it. I was teased in school a lot because of my health issues. Elementary school was not fun. I liked my mom and I liked being home. (These things really haven't changed). The Lord blessed me with a great imagination and a love for stories. I would just play by myself because the world I invented was so much cooler than reality.

It did give me a very strong independent streak, which my parents encouraged. The world had been very cruel to them as well. I was highly encouraged to stand up for myself, tell people where to stick it, and not care what other people think.

I was much healthier in high school and made a bunch of friends. But even my friends, who I know love me to this day, thought it was weird how obsessed I was with Buffy the Vampire Slayer. My family thought I joined a cult lol. I just like what I like. It never mattered to me if anyone else liked it.

I find it absolutely insane that anyone looks down on love stories. Love stories have been around for as long as there's been human beings on this planet. Every culture has love stories. Why? Love is central to being human. Love is what MAKES us human. We are here on this planet to be loved and to love in return. It's the whole damn point. And I'm not speaking just about romance. We build our lives around all kinds of different relationships. It is not exclusive to romantic love.

But let's address romantic stories, since that seems to be the genre asshats have a problem with. The question is why? Probably because it's popular with women and God forbid we'd be supportive of women and things they like. The horror. I think you absolutely nailed it here:

Despite knowing it comes from a sexist place which loves to shame women for enjoying romance and reduce our enjoyment to a surface level guilty pleasure...

But sometimes I think there are more personal reasons people have such vile reactions to it. Maybe they don't have romantic love in their own life. Maybe they've been hurt by partners. Maybe they've been rejected and are lonely. Maybe romance stories are a painful reminder of what they don't have. I'm not sure. What I do know is that hurt people hurt people. So, more often than not, what I feel is not shame, but pity.

We're clearly on the right track since every television show, movie, book and comic book has some romantic element to it. Romance sells. So, feel confident because you are in the majority.

I don't give the comic book crowd too much thought. My attitude when it came to Arrow was there's plenty of room for everyone to love what they love, hate what they hate, and go about their merry way. Don't like my blog? Cool. There's the door. Plenty of fish in the sea friends. Seek out other bloggers. Start your own blog! The internet is a vast place. Go with God.

But there is an element of ownership within that community that makes them think they can dictate who can watch a show/movie, what we can like or dislike, who can portray the characters on screen, what stories should be told and how they should be told. It's not just romance. Comic book fans are LOUD about basically everything.

To a certain extent, I get it. You love a character and their stories for a long time. It's very exciting when those stories which only existed on paper are going to be brought to life onscreen. Comic books are a refuge for many people, no different than books or movies. So, it can be very upsetting when you don't feel the tv show or movie has met your expectations. I've been bummed out on more than one occasion with books being made into a movie or television show. We've all been there.

But that doesn't mean they get to be the bouncers at the door. They don't get to gatekeep. They don't get to be racists assholes when an actor or actress doesn't look exactly like the character on the page. They are entitled to their opinion, and their opinion only, but it does not give them a free pass to be hateful towards others who may disagree.

I don't want to single out comic book fans out - this is a general internet problem. People just become assholes behind a keyboard. They say things they would never have the guts to say in person. And clearly this is not ALL comic book fans. I have met many wonderful comic book fans who are welcoming and kind. They love Olicity just as much as I do. Even if they didn't, they respect differing opinions. They are just good human beings overall.

In the beginning of my blog, I debated with antis a lot because I thought we were all just having fun. But when the death threats started because I like Olicity and believed Arrow was going to kill off Laurel Lance, then I reached a point where maybe I was dealing with people who were a few paper plates short of a picnic, if ya know what I'm mean. It's a TELEVISION SHOW. These characters are NOT REAL. But there's no reasoning with crazy.

Do you know who are huge comic book fans? Greg Berlanti and Marc Guggenheim. We're talking HARD CORE. And who created Olicity? Greg and Marc. Don't even get me started on the hate they receive.

I know there were entire Reddit threads devoted to trashing me and my blog. Did I read it? No. Did I engage with those people? No. When Stephen Amell's Facebook became a cesspool of terrible antis going after Olicity fans - I left. Did I read the messages in my inbox that were nasty? Nope. DELETED. Did I read the Lauriver tag on tumblr? Nope. We were North and South. The Red Sox and the Yankees. We were never going to agree, so you stay on your side and I'll stay on mine. And when some in the Olicity fandom turned on me because I was still enjoying the show in later seasons, I unfollowed and blocked if necessary. It really boils down to this - can you disagree with someone and remain a polite and kind person? Many folks do not have this skill.

The key to mental health on the internet is control your environment. Do not engage with people who are mean. It's really that simple. Because no matter how "strong" you are mentally, over time, nasty and demeaning comments have a way of sinking in and taking root inside your mind. It's completely understandable that your feelings get hurt because that's the intention! They are trying to hurt you. They are trying to shame you. So don't give them the opportunity.

Does that mean there will be some websites, blogs, social media sites that you don't go to anymore? Yes. Does that mean there will be some fans you don't engage with? Yes. But you know what? The internet is a vast place and there are plenty of people out there who share your opinions. Who love what you love and want nothing more than to chat with you about it until 4 am in the morning. Those are your people. That's your community.

And just for the record, romance loving shippers can be terrible too. I've seen awful behavior from our side of the fence so we're certainly not exempt from the behavior we receive from antis. And loving romance is no guarantee people will be nice either. My shipper flag was forged in the fiery pits of shipper hell - The Vampire Diaries fandom. Nasty doesn't even come close to what I experienced in the great Stelena vs. Delena wars. Arrow is child's play in comparison.

Here's the thing. Arrow is about one man's evolution to a superhero. He could not become that superhero without the love of one woman. LOVE is central to Oliver Queen's development and if you don't understand that part of the story then you really don't understand Arrow.

I think you'll find when it comes to Arrow that it's not romance antis have a problem with. It's who Oliver's romantic partner is. If it was Laurel Lance they would've been happier than clams. But Arrow deviated from "comic book canon" and developed an organic character with an actress Stephen Amell actually had chemistry with. And they CANNOT get over it. But thems the breaks.

I think my perspective on humanity has not really evolved past age six in kindergarten. If you make fun of me or are cruel then you're not a nice person and I will have nothing to do with you going forward. I've approached life like this and overall I have come out the other side a healthier person because of it. The beauty of the internet is there's always another playground to find friends.

I've always been a shipper since I was a little kid. I could never understand why Bobby & Pam couldn't work it out on Dallas. Loved every single husband Erica Kane had on All My Children. (My mother let me watch some wildly inappropriate tv as a kid). I was really torn between Prince Lotor and Keith for Princess Allura on Voltron. I really didn't understand why He-Man and She-Ra couldn't date. I was obsessed with Jerrica and Rio on Jem. And on and on it goes.

In the immortal words of our Queen, Taylor Swift, "The worst kind of person is someone who makes someone feel bad, dumb or stupid for being excited about something.” She's bang on. Always trust in TSwizzle. I'm a 42 year old woman with a full life who wears her shipper flag proudly. Love what you love my friend. Screw the haters.

And feel free to message me whenever you want to talk shipping. This is a shipper safe zone and always will be. You have absolutely NOTHING to be ashamed of.

#arrow #arrow fandom #olicity #olicity fandom #personal #arrow meta #olicity meta

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gotylocks · 11 months

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Willow Month 2023- Day 3: TV Show (Full Series/Specific Episode) or Movie

If you read my entry for Day one, you'll know I went into the show without seeing the movie. In fact, I actually made a point to wait to watch it until the finale, because it was a rare opportunity where I could watch one of these years later follow ups without nostalgia for the original (unlike, say, Star Wars), so I wanted to see if it worked on its own.

The fact I'm writing this should tell you, I truly believe it does. Now, I don't want this to come off like I don't like the movie, because that is not the case. I love the movie! I'm wearing a Sorsha and Mads shirt as I write this! But I would still love the show just as much without the movie.

Some hard numbers may make my point. I have watched the movie once, and while I often think about watching it again, I haven't yet. By contrast, I have watched the full series 13 times through at this point, and at least 8 of those times were marathon sessions where I went from episodes 1-8 in a single sitting.

Why is that? Well, I think the movie is missing some key ingredients that keep it from hitting that obsession level. Namely, Kit, Jade, (grown up) Elora... ok it's the entire crew. Their interplay, the way their relationships build over the course of the season, and the way that by the end of the finale every single one of them has been improved by the others being present in their lives.

The party of six, all with their beautiful, layered arcs and emotional storylines, they're the ones that make the show something special. I've said in the past that typically in shows with ensemble casts, there's usually at least one character that I find annoying, or one actor that I don't like for one reason or another. That's another thing that makes the show so incredible. I love every single person involved. From the main six, rippling out to the supporting cast and cameos like Hannah Waddingham and Christian Slater. Not only does everyone understand the assignment, they bring their own unique flavor and quirks so nobody feels like they're phoning it in. You can tell everyone is having fun and that translates to the audience.

And while fun is first up on the menu for the show, there's also so many moments of heart-rending drama. As someone who lost their dad at 26, I connect to Kit's feelings of grief and abandonment over the disappearance of her father. I connect with Jade feeling lost and purposeless. I connect with Elora desperately wanting to help despite struggling to believe in herself. I connect with Graydon carrying a lot of guilt over things he had no control over and wanting to prove himself as more than what his father believes he is. I connect with Boorman regretting his selfish choices and wanting to make up for his past mistakes. I even relate to Willow, thrust into a position where he has to be a believer despite feeling like a fraud.

Whether it's due to the run time or the time in which it was made, the movie just can't compete with the variety of character arcs, the layers that get peeled back the more the crew spend time together, the realization how each person has something to learn from the others and how they've grown to rely on each other.

By the time they reach the Immemorial City to fight the Crone, they have grown into one of the best found families I've ever seen. They have each other's backs, they trust each other implicitly, and they're willing to put everything on the line to save the world, sure, but more importantly, save each other and facilitate their rises to greatness.

The dialogue, while not to everyone's taste, I felt was a great choice. It immediately plants a flag on its own territory and says confidently "We are not Game of Thrones. We are not Lord of the Rings. We are our own thing." I love that shit! It is never a show that feels like it's chasing a trend, because it is so uniquely itself. That extends to the music, be it the fantastic score by James Newton Howard and Xander Rodzinski or the fascinating modern song choices deployed in each episode, which while I have opinions about songs I would prefer in different places, I cannot deny that they set the show apart from everything else that has come before. And "Crimson+Clover" by Pom Pom Squad will live in my brain forever thanks to its absolutely pitch perfect use in episode 5.

The fight scenes are fantastic, because they're never there for the sake of having action. Instead, major character beats are woven throughout, making each fight hugely meaningful to everyone involved. Whether it's Willow going from his weakened, nigh magicless state at the start of the show, to being the great sorcerer he was always meant to be thanks to working with Elora, or its Kit and Jade connecting and expressing emotions that words may not be enough for through their shared love language of sword fighting, or Graydon finding the magic within at the moment he needed to and killing one of the Gales pursuing them. Action has a purpose in this story and I love that after so many hollow and emotionless cgi fight scenes we've been inundated with over recent years.

This is why I can't simply choose one favorite episode from the series, because they are so intertwined that I cannot separate them. However, unlike many straight to streaming shows, Willow doesn't just feel like an 8 hour movie chopped into parts (despite my tendency to watch it like one long movie lol). Every episode has a unique identity that I can immediately point to when prompted. Every episode is important to moving both the narrative and character development forward, and there isn't a single one you could cut without everything feeling askew.

So. When I saw this prompt I was like "Maybe I'll make this one short", but we all know now that was going to be impossible. The intense emotional connection I have to this show from front to back just brings this out of me. To the only Fellowship I need in my life. I wouldn't be here without you.

To quote Erin from the making of doc, "These people are my family."

#willowmonth2023 #willow 2022 #willow meta #kit tanthalos #jade claymore #tanthamore #elora danan #graydon hastur #thraxus boorman #willow ufgood

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mdhwrites · 6 months

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Self Defeating Endings With Grom Factor by MoringMark

A link to the comic's, Grom Factor by Moringmark, beginning.

(If you want to skip the preamble about endings and tragedies, I've bolded the start of the paragraph when I actually start talking about Grom Factor) So I don't like making this. I don't really want to comment too much on fanworks. I have no reason to shit on people who are just celebrating The Owl House. My goal is not to make people despise it, it's to analyze, process my own thoughts, and hopefully teach through sharing those thoughts.

But... I can't talk about tragedies with TOH. The VAST majority of media I consume wouldn't give me the chance and, well... Endings are important. Happy Endings actually happen the most often because they're the most safe. The most gratifying. Everything the characters worked for had the simple point of success and a better future. And, you know, I like that. Their ubiquity though makes them a common point of lazy criticism as people will try to nitpick all the things not fixed or it being so happy because, well, the story had to end eventually. It's why I've never really been like "HoW dO wE aCtUaLlY kNoW tHe IsLeS wIlL bE oKaY!?" I don't care. The show says they're happy because they got rid of the evil guy then fine. It needed to end and at least this means our characters can know peace. The only things I really interrogate about the ending is what it says about those characters and the story that was told because that is part of your ending.

But if you want to claim a more complex story, especially if your story is already ripping off so many elements from a previous one (I'm sorry but Grom Factor is just Grom+Eda's Curse but missing the emotional cores of either because we don't know these characters and there's been no real build up. Not to talk about how ripping off your own series' biggest stories is already going to tank investment), a 'tragic' ending can be a way to do that. A bittersweet ending can be a way to do that. A way to undercut the happy ending everyone expected by instead ripping out their heart.

But you run the risk of making the whole story pointless.

Most people will argue that most tragedies are pointless. Romeo and Juliet is so confident in how pointless the love story is that it tells you the two people die at the end at the BEGINNING. But... It's not. The tragedy of Romeo and Juliet sticks with people and is something people want to retell because the tragedy of it all has a point. It talks of the brashness of youth, the collateral damage of endless fury, of how dangerous emotions can be, even the best of them like love. How things can be torn apart and destroyed, futures ended futilely because people will not let go of their emotions or even try to be calm when they have only ever been told to hate. Romeo's passion is both his most attractive quality but also the dooming element that makes sure he kills himself at the end, a trait that Juliet shares and both have from their families who never let people rest. Never allow there to be more than just extreme emotions and so anytime they're emotional, it's big and dangerous.

And so the ending has a point to it. It is the only one that fits the thematics and condemns properly all the damage that was done. That sweet words cannot fix an endless cycle of hate. It is an ending forced by the entire point of the story. Something is only self defeating when there isn't really a theme, core or narrative goal that requires that sort of tragedy. Or, worse yet, when the ending actively undermines all of those elements.

So let's finally talk about Grom Factor. For those who haven't read it, my description earlier is not far off. Luz and Amity's child, Ayzee, causes herself to be named as the next person who will fight Grom. She does this for the most bog standard next gen reason: Wanting to prove herself in contrast to her successful parents. To be her own person and prove that she can be great too. Meanwhile, her girlfriend Milan doesn't want this, partially due to being a healer and following the hypocratic oath, but then commits to helping her girlfriend no matter what. In this process, she gets a part of Philip's journal that shows that Grom is actually a small, scared child. So while Ayzee is preparing to fight Grom, her girlfriend prepares to try to cure Grom.

Big fight ensues, the elixir they bring (yes, just Eda's eliixir, nothing specialized or more complicated) doesn't work and Grom EXPLODES into something more dangerous than ever before. Ayzee and Milan are given a petrification glyph by Amity and Luz after showing Ayzee doesn't have magic of her own, they do a dance to get to the core of Grom to use the glyph... And Milan instead uses Lilith's spell from the end of S1 in order to split the pain of Grom and take the curse onto herself. It works but now anyone who touches Milan gets their fears shouted at them because her hair is now at least partially Grometheus. Then the two leads talk, kiss but we see in Ayzee's head that she is being tortured during the kiss with her fears of inadequacy and the idea that she will always end up hurting other people.

So there you go. A story about one person selfishly throwing themselves in danger without a care about others or the harm she may cause due to her potentially ready for this while the other lead preaches a stop to all harm and even pushes to save a monster because they're in pain too. All the while, the arc tries to sell us on the relationship and how much they theoretically care about each other, especially since this is their first arc together as a couple.

So the actual way to go for a tragic ending, that has similar results to what the comic does, is actually not that hard to see. Ayzee's fears and inadequacies, and her need to prove herself, has HER save Grom while thinking that this will fix her mistake and make her girlfriend happy because she's now taking part of her girlfriends beliefs: To let no one suffer. She could see about someone else taking the pain or not take charge in this situation her flaw, the thing that set all this up for failure which is a component of tragedies. is being unwilling to allow others to do that. To put the burden on herself. So, knowing that killing Grom would hurt someone she cares about by forcing her to take a life, but also needing to do something to set things right, especially as she sees this as her mistake through her original sin of wanting to fight Grom for glory, she sacrifices her happiness to do a selfless act and save the creature. It's bittersweet because of all the curse will do to her but it does actually resolve an arc to the episode and has something to say about how looking for danger for glory is always going to lead to more trouble than you want to have found. It has a POINT.

Instead... Milan's just such a dang good healer! It was so foolish of her to be a good doctor and not want harm upon others. If she had just been like Ayzee and focused more on herself, she might have been willing to let Grom rot and get to have anything resembling a happy life afterwards. Instead, this genuinely just good trait of this good person who did nothing wrong the entire story, means that she will NEVER have relationships again. Not just with Ayzee but ANYONE because she inherently harms people around her by mentally torturing them. By her own character motivations, this means she isn't going to be okay EVER unless this is cured.

But that doesn't track with the reveal of Grom's backstory. Because, you know, that did happen. The story ends so fast after Grom is saved and barely lets her have any time that it's almost easy to forget. But... Grom was made into what she was by cursing herself for the sake of power... To protect others. She was selfless. With it being Milan who saved her, this is meaningless. At best, it's cycles repeating. If Ayzee had, it would have been part of the point the story theoretically sets up for how one needs to do things for others, not for themselves. Instead, I guess the lesson is no good deed goes unpunished? It's not even that personal glory hurts those around you as collateral damage because that's NOT what Grom did.

And finally, there's just the last comic in general that REALLY highlights how little Milan or Grom matters here. She shrugs off the curse. She shrugs off the consequences. Her pain doesn't matter. The only pain that matters is AYZEE'S because this is still her story and NEVER was Milan's. All of this trivializes the tragedy and sacrifice Milan made, as well as the saving of Grom, because those things had nothing to do with the actual focus of the story which doesn't even payoff because the ending shot is making sure we know just how miserable Milan will make Ayzee's life.

THAT is a self defeating ending. The relationship that this arc ostensibly solidifies and sells to the audience? Dead. Ayzee's fears and worries? Made WORSE. Any themes about the need to do what is best for all instead of best for yourself? Falling on the character who already knew that OR saying that doing so always sucks for the person who actually gives a fuck. Any payoff for this? Dismissed so it can only focus on the person SPARED any consequences from her actions except tangentially. And yes, tangentially since Ayzee just needs to get over a teenage crush while Milan will never be a healthy partner to anyone.

The closest you might want to say is that because Ayzee's life did get worse, it sticks to a theme of her brash actions having consequences but then why is the ONLY person to explicitly be harmed by all of this Manila who didn't share that same flaw? At least in Romeo and Juliet, they BOTH die because they BOTH suffer from dangerous levels of brashness and passion. Not many main characters in tragedies get out unscathed for a reason. Usually even if others do get killed during their story, they still suffer just as badly, if not worse.

You can't even go with "Well, at least this version allows Ayzee to be her own person," something that would have been undercut by fusing with a creature" " which is ostensibly part of the point of this sort of next gen arc. To prove they stand alone from what came before... Except no. Ayzee's angst at the end, blaming herself for this, thinking everything she does will always end up hurting others, is literally just Luz's angst arc post Hollow Mind and just about as unreasonable for self hate as her justification. So even that theme, the most basic, number one next gen theme is pointless here, especially since it doesn't even get resolved in any way. The ending, and even the comments recognize this, reinforces that Ayzee is right: People will only ever see her like a little Luz instead of a strong witch herself.

So is there ANY point to this ending? Well... because it's a next gen retelling. Because TOH already did Grom. Already had Luz wanting to prove herself through being Grom Queen. Literally Ayzee's entire arc here is a more blatantly selfish, less interesting version of what her mom did one generation ago. The twist of Grom actually being a good person... *gestures to every character arc in TOH* so that adds literally nothing new, especially since it ends the same way as Eda's curse with the same spell. As such, if it ends happily, and with the couple okay and stronger than before... It literally is just Grom. So you have to give it a tragic ending or else there's no point to this story existing. There's nothing to say except that it's a worse version of the original and why didn't you try to shake things up at all?

It highlights the fact that yeah, this arc is just flawed from a conceptual standpoint which isn't surprising to me. This arc is much of why I made a post a couple days ago about the Isles being an objectively terrible setting for a follow up story. This story is the epitome of everything people dislike about next gen stories, even up to every change they make in a retelling being just worse than the original.

And here's the final nail in the coffin: I will never care about these characters because of this arc but especially because of this ending. We knew almost nothing about Milan before this besides her being Ayzee's girlfriend. Hell, we barely knew anything about AYZEE because we haven't gotten that many comics with her so the only trait that's really been established is that she's a gamer. And yet, in their first outing, a chance to really show who they are and to make them more distinct than Luz and Amity... Well, doing literally anything for your girlfriend and being a damn near saint is just what Amity turned into eventually and I've talked about how much the arc hammered in that Ayzee is literally just Luz all over again. It's a miracle she's not named Buz. Then the ending says screw you to any payoffs or themes for the sake of having ANYTHING to distinguish this from the original and little else. Even the idea that these characters could lead to a fun, silly extension of the show by how absolutely miserable the ending is.

So at this point... Why should I ever bother with these characters again? That seems like a self defeating goal for myself as a viewer.

======+++++======

As a note, this isn't because someone brought it to my attention. I still follow Mark and have since even before his started his final Star Versus comic story. I want to support him, I don't think he's a terrible writer and I like plenty of his comics, but it's rough when he took like two years to finally do a large arc like this again and it's just... not good. And no, I don't like A Hint of Blue either unfortunately but unless I just want to talk about how a boring romance happens, I probably won't ever do a blog like this on that.

I have a public Discord for any and all who want to join!

I also have an Amazon page for all of my original works in various forms of character focused romances from cute, teenage romance to erotica series of my past. I have an Ao3 for my fanfiction projects as well if that catches your fancy instead. If you want to hang out with me, I stream from time to time and love to chat with chat.

A Twitter you can follow too

And a Kofi if you like what I do and want to help out with the fact that disability doesn’t pay much.

#the owl house criticism #toh critical #toh #the owl house #Grom Factor #moringmark

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madhatterbri · 5 months

Text

The Devil Wears Prada | C.B.

Summary: Reader catches the eye of the devil himself.

"Avoid the devil himself tonight, and you'll survive the upper Eastside," the woman altering your dress advised. You had just finished telling her how excited you were to be visiting your cousin, Nate. You two were so close until you moved to Miami.

"Devil? Who is the devil?" You asked while staring at your reflection in the mirror. The woman did wonders on your dress. You couldn't wait to attend the Heaven and Hell ball.

"Carter Baizen, dear, if he sticks his claws in you, it is all over," she warned.

📃

"I still can't believe you are here," Nathaniel Archibald smiled, walking around the different guests with you. Your arm linked with his as the two of you made your way towards his friends. "Last time we hung out this long, we played with my car set,"

You smiled and chuckled. "I know. This is all still so unreal. I'm glad our moms finally made up,"

Your eyes scanned the room and stopped at a boy staring at you. He wore a Prada suit. A black devil mask covered his appearance from the nose up. Despite you catching him looking at you, he never looked away.

"Hey Nate, who is," You turned your head and stopped when your cousin was gone. He must have seen Blair with some other man. Your poor cousin was still so in love with her. You turned your attention back to the bar, but now the mysterious man stood next to you.

"Care for a dance?" The man asked and opened his hand to her. He bowed, waiting for you to answer him. A blush flushed your cheeks. The last thing you were expecting was an offer for a dance. The man was definitely your type. Well dressed, handsome, and confident you couldn't possibly say no.

Wordlessly, you slipped your hand in his. He looks up at you with a devilish smile. His face moves closer to your hand and kisses the top of it. Your stomach feels as if a thousand butterflies have been released in there.

He never let's go of your hand. His fingers laced with yours as he led you to the dance floor. You look at all the other dancers. A sea of angels dancing with devils. The scene was so elegant. Miami never had parties like this.

The mystery man spun you around before wrapping an arm around your waist. You placed an arm on his shoulder. Your fingers glided over his neck. He shivered at your soft touch. His other hand held yours.

You followed his lead, never quite being a fan of ballroom dancing. In Miami, you were more known in the club scene. Those people didn't care what you looked like or what you did. They just wanted to unwind. The mystery man spins you around. On your way back to face him, he moves his lips close to your ear.

"I know everyone in the Upper East Side. How have I never seen you before?" He asked.

"I moved away when I was young. I've lived in Miami ever since," you answered.

"Archibald's cousin then? I remember hearing about you," he said.

"Yeah, are you friends with my cousin?"

He smirked. "Something like that,"

The music continued to play. Your cousin and his friends are a distant memory to you. He was different from your regular scene, but this man made it fun. He joked with you a couple of times. His eyes filled with glee every time you laughed. After a few songs, he spoke to you again.

"You want to go somewhere quieter? They have stairs to a balcony," he asked.

"Lead the way," you answered. As much as he was great, hearing the same classical notes was starting to bore you.

He laced your fingers in his and led you away from the ball. The classical music sounded quieter the higher you made it up the stairs. He held the door open for you once you arrived.

"Oh, wow," you gasped in amazement. The city lights lit up the night sky. Illuminated skyscrapers were your favorite part. They looked like they cast a beam of light to Heaven. "How did you know about this place?"

"My dad owns the building," he shrugged like it was no big deal.

You walked to the glass fence and smiled. Your eyes filled with amazement. Carter stood behind you. His hands rubbed your waist as you looked on. There was no way you could ever go back to Miami now.

"How long are you here for?" Carter asked and rested his head on yours.

"Another week. My aunt has offered for me to stay with her and Nate, but I'm not sure,"

"I think you should stay," he spoke and moved his head from yours. He took a step back to admire you.

You raised an eyebrow and turned your head. "Why?"

"So I can do this any time I want," he whispered and kissed your lips. You placed your hands on his neck. Back home, you would have never kissed a man you didn't know. New York was definitely different than Miami. Your phone buzzed in your purse.

"It's probably Nate. I have to go," you sighed. "It was nice meeting you...."

"Carter,"

The woman's warning played in your head, yet you ignored it. "See you around, Carter,"

Spotted: Golden Boy's little cousin meeting the real-life devil. Careful, Y/N, or you might get burned.

#fanfiction #gossip girl fanfiction #carter baizen x reader #carter baizen fanfiction #carter baizen #carter baizen x you #carter baizen x y/n

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mythserene · 7 months

Text

Mark Lewisohn really wants to overturn narratives and “Get Back” accidentally gave us incredible insight into how little it takes to make him smoothly and confidently wrong

Great AKOM. Maybe too good because it left basically nothing to add on the primary topic. This show followed my own notes more than any so far—but I had not caught the John quote being about the Maharishi—chef's kiss. 👩‍🍳💋

However... it does give me a chance to riff off something they touched on that I've also been thinking about for awhile: Mark Lewisohn's big desire to overturn narratives, and how wrong he gets it when he runs into a fact check we can all see with our own eyes.

Pre-“Get Back” Mark Lewisohn previewed some of the narratives he was itching to overturn, and off the top explained that no one had really told the Get Back sessions correctly. By trying to ingest all that Nagra audio on a sort of anniversary-tribute calendar schedule—(which is insane, impossible, and hubristic beyond words)—he was prepared to make news on a few fronts. (All clips of him are from 2019.)

First of all, no one has told the "Get Back" sessions story right. Yet.

But after binging the Nagras once the expert is ready to “write it differently”

Redeeming Magic Alex

In this tweet is a hidden wink-wink-hint at the new Magic Alex storyline Lewisohn was queuing up. Although if he hadn't tipped us off in the podcast the “not so bad then” would be meaningless. As it is, we have the key.

Magic Alex has been slandered, his studio was fine, and the Nagras — especially George's good vibes — prove it.

Honestly, just imagine what we would be reading from him if “Get Back” didn't exist. This is the flimsy nonsense he builds entire storylines around. Because he prioritizes flipping narratives second only to deifying John. And like a reporter with a thesis he interviews and searches out sources to prop up that thesis. But unlike a reporter he has no checks. No imperative to give competing evidence. Answers to no one. Is wholly opaque about sources. And most certainly doesn't concern himself with adhering to even the most basic UK and US ethical guidelines for historians.

And so this is possibly the best peek we will ever get into how his process works and just how incredibly flimsy it is.

Paul didn't want to go up on the roof—he was the one who had to be persuaded—because it wasn't enough of a climax

Apparently even Anthology was trying to pull the wool over our eyes about Paul and the rooftop concert, but Lewisohn was ready to rewrite history and tell the truth about Paul not wanting to go up on the roof.

The last clip isn't of Mark Lewisohn, but references him as an expert. The final arbiter of fact. And it fits. Because at this point if Mark Lewisohn says it, no matter how ridiculous it is, it becomes cannon. And it pains me to see anyone—especially Beatles' fans—parroting nonsense and looking foolish.

Mark Lewisohn, heroin expert

It is so clear that Mark Lewisohn is going to handle John and Yoko's heroin issue by feigned expertise blended with apologia and creepy idolatry. (See Prellies in Tune In.) How he thinks he's expert enough to opine on the effects of heroin is beyond me, but that's never stopped him before. I really don't think he ever even questions himself or his superior knowledge of anything, despite zero experience or study. His expertise at extricating John from all hard truths is enough, and will make us all stupider. (Also playing now because I am inching up to pointing out something on those Nagras.)

Repeating Mark Lewisohn: the "Two Junkies" interview (where John literally had to stop to throw up) was from a heroin hangover because John and Yoko weren't messed up enough to actually be doing heroin on set

*I posted this last night and Tumblr disappeared 90% of the post then wouldn't let me post more audio because it counted the disappeared audio against me. Therefore I forced myself to repost it this morning before listening to the bonus (Womak/Mal Evans) AKOM I've been so looking forward to and may now go revel in my reward without guilt. 😌

#the beatles #beatles #mark lewisohn #lewisohn #tune in #akom #fine tuning #narrative flipping #get back #nagras #john lennon #leader lennon #heroin #historiography #ethics #transparency #Magic Alex #rooftop concert #Spotify

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floralegia · 1 month

Note

4, 19, 27, 29 for the writing ask game! 💜💖

EEEEE thank you!!

4. How many WIPs do you have right now?

OH GREAT SO YOU'RE COMING FOR MY HEAD RIGHT FROM THE START

Well, I counted 29 for this post, but as I noted there that doesn't include the plot bunnies chilling in my ideas doc (aka The List™) or either of the two bingo cards I currently have out, which between them have I want to say 32 prompts? So, you know. :'''')

19. Give us a small teaser from one of your WIPs.

There's important stuff being said, probably, but the only thought Pete's brain is capable of processing right now is this one: Oh my God, he's such a fucking DILF.

Well, okay, that's not exactly true, because as soon as that thought slides through his psyche, it butts right up against the answering one that shouts Patrick! That fucking DILF is fucking PATRICK!, and then he gets sort of stuck in that loop for a little while, until at last the DILF thing overpowers the shrieking confusion of the fact that up until a couple of minutes ago, he'd only known Patrick Stump as a sort of sweaty, scowl-y, angel-voiced teenager, and the whole thing starts over again with the urge to drool dramatically over the glasses and the beard and the fucking build of him, Jesus fucking Christ.

Suffice to say, it's been a challenging few minutes.

27. Is there a fic you were nervous to post/share? Why?

There have been a couple of notable ones in recent memory, one that I won't name because I ended up posting it on a sock account and then this one. In both cases, I was essentially scared of being harassed over the content of the fics; the unnamed fic contains a couple of noncon scenes, and obviously the linked fic is Waycest, lol. Both have been received pretty well so far (touch wood), so, I mean, I'm definitely building up confidence, I think? I very strongly believe in the idea of writing whatever and who cares what people think, but also I am very small and very frightened lol. It's a whole thing.

29. Share a bit from a fic you’ll never post OR from a scene that was cut from an already posted fic. (If you don’t have either, just share a random fic idea you have that you don’t plan on getting to.)

Random fic idea, under the cut because it's a bit long: P2 RHPS AU feat. Bandom At Large!

Due to watching the video of Patrick's performance of "I Can Make You A Man" for the 2020 RHPS charity livestream--which, oh my God, by the way--I was struck by the idea of a Rocky Horror AU. To be clear, I don't mean an AU based on the movie the Rocky Horror Picture Show, I mean an AU about the boys putting on the Rocky Horror Picture show. So really, I suppose, it's a college community theater AU of some kind, but it's focused around RHPS. Not that I've been involved in a production myself, other than at CTY, I suppose, but having done community theater generally and attended RHPS productions, I think I can make a fair attempt.

So, anyway. Pete is running the thing--whole thing is his idea, he's the director, etc. I feel like this is likely not the first year, and in fact Pete likely inherited the production from an upperclassman. But they had a lot of people graduate last year, and they're having trouble backfilling those roles, so in addition to directing he's reprising his role as Rocky. They're advertising hard for musicians, too, because Pete--being a go big or go home kind of guy--ALSO wants to perform with a live band this year and do a proper Rocky Horror Show production, rather than perform in front of the film as they've typically done. That's how Patrick gets involved: he shows up to inquire about playing in the pit, because he's always trying to pick up odd musical jobs here and there to pay for school, and in true Fall Out Boy fashion he ends up singing a little bit and Pete's like, wait, no, holy fuck, sing this, throws the book at him, Patrick sings a bit of one of Frank's lines, and that's all she wrote. They've been having a particular amount of trouble casting Frank, and Pete decides Patrick is perfect for the role, which kind of baffles everyone else, especially Patrick, but Pete's like... distractingly pretty, so against his own better judgement Patrick agrees.

Beyond that, I'm not sure what the actual, like, plot would be. I think Patrick has a passing familiarity with RHPS but definitely not intimate knowledge, so partially he has to get up to speed. Partially, too, he has to overcome his stage fright and particularly his aversion to appearing on stage in front of a bunch of strangers while wearing sexy outfits and doing a lot of slutty slutty things, so there's that, but idk if that's a "plot" per se. There's also the implication/background of the production being sort of scrappy, but I don't know that that's a "plot" either, really. Hmmm.

Well, in the meantime, other notes that I had in my head include Gabe Saporta as Brad because I think that's really funny given his everything; Joe and Andy are definitely involved, I think with Joe playing Meatloaf and Andy drumming, or maybe Andy's Meatloaf and Joe is Riff Raff???? General DCD2/bandom cast... Uhhh, Ray should definitely be in the band/pit, Hayley Williams and Gerard are Magenta and Columbia (not sure which is which--I like Gerard as a sexy maid, so maybe he's Magenta???), and then that leaves, what, the criminologist??? Oh, and Janet, obviously. Maybe Greta from the Hush Sound is Janet? Or Vicky-T, that would make a lot of sense. Frank is either in the pit or he's the stage manager or something. Or crew. He kind of has insane stage crew energy. Mikey is... there. Possibly pit as well. Possibly just hanging around and the joke is everyone's always like, Mikey what the fuck are you doing here???? and he just shrugs and the answer is that he tends to get dragged into things Gerard's involved in and this is no different, but really he's just hanging around.

#ask game #LOVE YOU HAN

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animemensblog · 1 year

Text

That didn't happen

Pt.1 - Pt.3

~ Meeting you, pt.2 ~

Summary: the couple of weeks following Y/N's first day went smoothly. They became great friends with Melody, and made quite an impression on Kurapika! Until today when Y/N has a surprise visitor; secrets get revealed, and fear sets in.

Warnings: this is angsty, physical violence, implies sexual assault, comfort at end

You began to wake up to a comforting feeling, a hand gently brushing against your cheek, dragging into your hair, then back down to your neck to repeat itself. A small hum escaped from your lips as your vision was still clouded from sleeping. Your eyes slowly opened to meet Kurapika's delicate face, looking like he was trying to wake up.

Letting out a soft groan, you sit up bumping Kurapika awake

"Hey" he says with a scratchy voice, "sleep well?" He eyed the marks along your cheek made by his lap. You go to cover them but he reaches to stop you, continuing to admire how adorable you look. He doesn't know why he stopped you, it was just happened. 'You met him yesterday, and you're sleeping in his lap?' You thought to yourself, starting to feel odd about it- like you're desperate for attention.

"Yea, I guess so" you spit out. Could you've given a better response? Absolutely but you wanted to be in seperate rooms, the idea he causes you to feel like this by existing is frustrating. So, you waddled out into the hall to find the bathroom.

You'd hope both of you would forget that night happened and how he made you feel warm and safe, yet so vulnerable, all simply caused by his touch.

~weeks later~

Gladly, your hope became reality! That feeling of being driven to each other had dissipated, allowing you 3 to build a strong friendship. No awkwardness or desires to be seen.

Today is pretty tame, the boss didn't want to go anywhere granting you and Kurapika a break. After all, you've both been stuck working non-stop compared to everyone else.

"Y/N! Wait up!" You turn around to find Kurapika waving you down with a smile.

"Hi Kurapika, what's up?"

"I was wondering... if you'd be interested in looking around the city. I have the day off and we could see some things before we leave again." He said it confidently but there was a slight nervous tone at the end.

"I'd love to!! I was thinking about doing so anyways, at least I won't be alone!" You smile, showing off your dimples

He doesn't think you notice but his cheeks started to turn pink. He's a sucker for your lips, smile, essentially everything about your face. He always caught himself being flustered around you.

You two set out to downtown, mostly looking at store fronts and small vendors out in the open. You arrived at a stand with beautiful flowers, you've never seen so much color in one place before.

"Do you like flowers, Y/N?" Kurapika tilts his head at you

"They're definitely my favorite, more specifically rare ones. I've heard there's one that causes you to see the dead! I know it's only a conspiracy but imagine if there is. You could easily visit certain places to find certain people, asking questions to fill in our timelines..." he loves when you ramble, especially when it's something you think is interesting. Plants being one of them, you found joy in learning all about it. He frequently sees you falling asleep with a book in your lap, or staying up late reading on your computer.

"Which one of these do you like best?" He quietly says, "I'd be more than okay getting you some."

"Really? Oh my gosh you're the best!! But it's so hard to choose- I loveeee these deep red ones, they shimmer like they've been freshly rained on. Though these yellow ones smell amazing!" You get overwhelmed, but finally chose the red ones.

"Why did you choose those?" He asks. You love how attentive he is of your hobbies and likes

"The red reminds me of something else that I find really pretty", thats most subtle way to say 'they remind me of your red gorgeous eyes'.

"I see, and what's that something?" He let's out a soft laugh

"Hmmm, that's a secret you'll never pry outta me" you giggle, spiking his curiosity.

"What I'm hearing is there's other secrets I can get from you? Haha, sounds like an intriguing challenge" you begin to respond when a new voice interrupts you

"Trust me, ya never gonna pry anything out of Y/N! That's not how they were raised" the tall man blurted out, you stood there watching him step closer and closer. Kurapika wasn't sure if he should be on the defense, he reaches out to tap you, making you flinch.

Kurapika took that as you're uneasy by the man, he stepped closer to you. "Who are you?" He spits out

"Nice to meet ya, I'm just an old friend of Y/N here" this, in fact, is not a friend at all. Before you gained your abilities or strength, he took advantage of you during a family gathering. Him being a close friend of relatives, and you being you, he was favored and the truth never came out.

"I've known Y/N since before they turned into a tough cookie! Actually so far back, I was there when they learned about their, uh, special attack" he was going to expose you in front of Kurapika, and you couldn't cough up words. "Their mom has this neat trick where she goes into a triggered, hypnotized-like blood lust, she was known for killing a 1/3 of a rural city because of a silly domestic argument about dinner! Killing anyone in their path if I'm honest!" The laugh he let out was sinister, he fully knew what he was doing and you wished he would disappear.

But he continued on, and your mind had no plan stopping him "lil one right here was told she had this ability too, they were actually set off when they were young. Hm, if I recall correctly you freaked at some guy at a park. Killing any authority who arrived to deal with you" he puts his finger underneath your chin bringing your eyes to his, "I saw you giggle at the sight of a man's blood spilling between your fingers, I'm sure the warmth is what caused you to continue ravishing all those people?" You turned your head away with a tears falling. This isn't how you wanted to let Kurapika know.

Kurapika had no words, but it wasn't because of this strangers claims. Its that he was all over you, and you were allowing it. Was he more than a friend? Is he the reason Kurapika can't seem to get closer to you? His mind was everywhere else except the stranger.

Then he saw it

The tears starting to fall, he's only seen you happy. Truly he didn't believe you showed anger or sadness after watching a sad movie the day before, everyone but you cried.

"I think you're done here" Kurapika says loudly, interrupting the conversation. He grabbed your wrist tugging you towards him, and away from the one making you cry.

The man started to walk away, showing no signs of wanting to mess around. Kurapika turned to you, using his right thumb to wiping away your tears. His cold chain barely touching, knocking you from your trance. He started to smirk when he got hit on the head, then thrown to the ground. You stood their once again in shock, watching the man who should've left stomp on Kurapika. Unfortunately the blonde was in too much pain to move.

The attacker spun around to face you, "finally, we're alone" You looked around confused as you see people surrounding the vendor. He quickly picks you up and runs into a small alley nearby. Tossing you into it, you hit the wall smacking your head. Though it doesn't feel like a usual hit, more like something that tickled from your head to toes. Within seconds your vision goes blank, only capable of hearing and smelling.

"Don't look at me like that, I can't help my.. urges, ya know?" You could hear what he was talking but it was muffled, you were entirely focused on the feeling in your legs, arms, back. Every breath you took felt incredibly sensitive. Eyesight still blank, a final tear slips from your eye, dripping down your neck then collarbone. Slowly your vision returns but it's different.. everything is enhanced. You can't speak, let alone move. Until your attacker touches you. Your body unwillingly lunges, taking your knife and stabbing him hard enough to slap him against the wall. Hand still on the handle, you push it deeper. You pull it out, then back in, then out, in, out, in, out. A soft whisper in your left ear guides you out onto the street.

People start to stare, you have blood splatter on you and Kurapika lying on the ground a few feet from you. It looks suspicious. One person starts to approach, about to tap you. Your blade found its way to the person's chest, you twisted it, then looked at the others. Almost telepathically sending a threat. Naturally, they scatter and you catch a few leaving their lifeless bodies behind like they're nothing.

Kurapika gets stepped on snapping him back to earth, he stares at you hunched over someone. He takes a look around to see a people on the ground, 'is this what the guy was talking about?' He thinks to himself, it was difficult for him to grasp in such a short time.

You stand up, turning to face him sitting on the curb. The whisper demands you run at him, so you do until Melody steps out. They manage to calm you enough they have an opportunity to knock you out.

Kurapika sits back down trying to process all that just happened. What he saw you doing, more importantly what you had done.

Nonetheless he stuck by your side as you slept- hoping you'd return to normal when you wake up. After all it's all he can do.

~the next day~

You don't remember waking up, but you find yourself sitting up against the wall in your bed. A glass of water in your hand with Kurapika slightly snoring in the chair next to you. The only memory you have of the incident is the sounds, grunts and cries made by strangers. Innocent people who had nothing to do with your attacker. You feel your heart sink at the thought this happened again.

Cupping your face, you fall backwards onto the pillows. You're disappointed, anxious, sad, but a small part of you felt excited. Your bloodlust was fulfilled after so long. You were mid thought when a soft voice interrupted

"Y/N, are you awake?" Kurapika stands up to hover over your body

'Mhm' you quietly hum while sitting up

You were so nervous you could vomit. How did he react? Is he here only to detain you? What exactly did he see?

"How are you feeling?" He asks while brushing your face with his hand

"Well rested, thank you" it's a tiny whisper, you drop your head in shame. Refusing to make eye contact.

"Good. I thought you wouldn't wake up" he removes his hand, letting it land right next to yours "since you're up, do you mind if I ask you something personal?"

'Oh fuck here it comes', you nod silently wishing you'd die right there

"Who was that guy?"

You jolt up, "what guy?"

"The one from before the incident. Is he a friend, neighbor, enemy.. partner?" He nervously looks away

"Oh. Him. Well he's a close friend of my family, let's just say he isn't pleasant" although concerned this isn't an interrogation about that murderous rampage, you couldn't help but giggle as you have a thought

"My turn. Why are you so interested in my personal life?" Your lips form a small smirk

"No reason", his hands rubbing the back of his neck reminding you of the day you met him. Bringing back that feeling about his chains, and he noticed the way you watched this time. "I'm just worried about you, that's all" he says as he sits on the bed.

You both seem to forgive and forget any awkward inconvenience in order to be okay with one another. Always just wanting to enjoy each other's presence.

Neither of you say anything, continuing to stare at him, and him at you. He fights the urge to hold you, he knows you're upset about what happened. He needed to comfort you but needs to keep refusing to so he doesn't scare you off.

You want him of course, knowing the risks of your bloodlust you're fearful of being with someone. However that doesn't stop you from reaching for Kurapika's hand, gently squeezing it. Dropping your head and starting to sob as everything sets in.

He doesn't hesitate to pull you into his grasp. Cooing in your ear how it's gonna be okay, how it's not your fault this burden was placed on you.

The memory of his touch is one thing you'll never forget

Gonna make a pt.3 with smut, and end this short series🥴👀

#kurapika x reader #hxh kurapika #hxh x reader #light angst

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