#(you are now pretty much caught up to where I am with this comic)

[lurochar]

A Daily Stroll

Based on the Alastor comic

Warnings: I am really really bad at writing at headcanons it seems

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It was a daily routine for you and Alastor to go on strolls around the streets of Hell. Despite the fact you and Alastor having been together for almost the entirety of his reign as an Overlord, Sinners still have trouble seeing the sadistic Radio Demon in any part of a romantic relationship.

You were Alastor’s assistant in life, but never married. Of course, there were questions about your exact role, as there were scandalous rumours flying about. Alastor paid you well enough that you could support yourself.

You were murdered about five years after Alastor’s own death by one of his victim’s family members, believing you were his accomplice.

It was one of his few regrets, not confessing to you. He just didn’t want to drag you down with him if he did ever get caught for his crimes. He’s honestly surprised to find you in Hell, but now he has his second chance and he isn’t wasting it.

You accept and so your daily life as the wife of the Radio Demon begins.

Everyday, you and Alastor go to the same cafe with the same shaky nervous waiter. Alastor just ‘tsks’ at you when you throw a few crumbs of your meal at those hungry-looking birds watching your every move. “Darling, don’t waste food on those filthy scavengers.” It doesn’t take him long to join you if the food isn’t to his liking, though.

Next on your stroll, is a park where naturally flowers bloom, which is a rarity in Hell. In life, Alastor had given his mother flowers on the regular and you red roses in particular. Now, he can no longer touch any flower without them immediately wilting, which is quite the shame.

You had long since noticed his annoyed sneer when yet another rose withered in his fingers and you smiled, reaching into your coat. “It took me a while, but I finally learned to make this!” You said excitedly. “Please, bend down for me!”

Alastor’s eyes gain a curious look, but he does as you ask and bends down. A brow raises when he feels you tying something around one of his ears and watches as you stand back and seem to stare at him proudly. “Now what is this?” He reaches up to feel what it is.

You reach into your coat again. “Paper flowers.” You hold one out for him to see. “I know, it’s not as pretty as the real thing. But… but I thought I should try something?”

“It’s lovely, Darling.” 

And so is your proceeding smile.

Cannibal Town is both charming and daunting. Your tastes are not the same as Alastor’s and it’s always a bit unpleasant to see a group of Sinners feasting upon some poor soul unfortunate to wind up as their dinner, but this is Hell and you are no judge.

“Morning, Alastor~♡!” 

It was a swarm of women with hearts in their eyes and blood dripping down their faces and Alastor politely bows his head in return. “Good morning, ladies.” His ear, with the paper rose still tied around it, twitches at your laugh. He’s only being a gentleman, after all. He can’t ignore a greeting from a lady. “Give Rosie a hello from me!”

“Popular as ever, I see.” You say teasingly as Alastor veers you away, not wanting to deal with flirting women when he was out with his wife. “I guess that’s what I get for marrying a celebrity, hmm?” 

He’s content you’re secure enough not to be jealous – he couldn’t even fathom the thought of ever straying from you.

“Speaking of celebrities…” You cough, noting the demons who are just staring blankly into the windows of the stores you both are passing. You grimace and Alastor sneers at the sight of Vox on the TVs. “Is he still…?”

“Madly obsessed with the both of us? Very much so.” Alastor grips his microphone cane harshly, his voice breaking the hypnotizing spell on the two Sinners standing there. “There really is nothing good on these picture box shows, hmm?” The demons instantly run. “Come, Darling. No need to waste time here. A new meat shop has opened and I would like to try it.”

You both stroll along until you reach the meat shop Alastor was talking about. There was a boar butcher, who looked nervous at the sight of the famous Radio Demon. “My good man. I do hope you have fresh venison! My wife and I are partial to it, you see!” Alastor grins and the butcher shudders.

The meat is packed quickly and you and Alastor are on your way out of the shop, passing a lamb Sinner. It only takes a moment, but screams are heard and you both stop and you can see Alastor’s smile is tense. That butcher was a fool, it seemed. You both are back in the shop to see the lamb being choked by the butcher.

“You know, I do really hate those who can’t show a little more respect to those of fairer means.” Alastor is shifting into his more demonic form and you are left to comfort the lamb. “It’s rather distasteful. LIKE BAD MEAT.” Now the butcher is the one screaming and you usher the crying lamb out of the shop.

It’s not long at all before Alastor exits with a bloody bag in hand. “It’s not as tasty as venison, but won’t boar do for tonight’s dinner, Darling?” He grinned and you laughed nervously, blinking when the lamb shyly pulled on your arm with tears in her big eyes.

“T-thank you for saving me!” She squeaked. “How can I repay you? This happens to me a lot.” She confessed. “I’ll give my soul for protection.” 

You are taken back by her blunt offer, but Alastor is used to this sort of thing and it’s clear he does not see any worth in the lamb’s bid and he summons a card out of the air to hand to the lamb. “My dear, go to Cannibal Town and ask for Rosie. Perhaps she can be of some assistance to you? Do keep that card on you, otherwise you will end up as mutton.” Alastor sends the lamb off on her way.

“So kind of you, Alastor~”

It was just another daily stroll with your Radio Demon.

[sykloni]

Part 6

<previous - masterlist - next>

[rootsofdread]

Autism be damned my brain can hyperfixate anyway wowowo requests >:D

Could i get reader who (before they were taken by the entity) was a professional tag player and can hide on the cellings and parkour really well? With Leon, Ghostface, Trickster romantic and platonic Legion (Any/All how you prefer)

ALSO look up professional tag on yt cuz MY LORD THEY'RE FAST AND GOOD

did actually watch a little bit and i was amazed, honestly love parkour sm and am sad it fell out of style. anyone who says parkour isn't cool is LYING

Leon S. Kennedy:

Leon feels confident having you by his side. Sure, he’s known for his cockiness, but he feels it’s warranted this time — a professional tagger could run a killer around for hours while he and the others work on generators. It’s perfect! And besides, if you end up getting caught, he always has a surplus of flashbangs ready to run and save you because you’ve bought him so much time to make them.

He gets a kick out of watching your loops from a distance, seeing you almost instantly lose a killer thanks to your prior experience. Seeing them confusedly look around for you until they decide to leave always makes his day, honestly. 

Until you decide to loop him, too, when the two of you are just running around. He laughs harder than you’ve ever heard him laugh when he realizes you’re now on top of something, or up in the ceiling.

You make trials much more tolerable for him by making him laugh with your antics, plus he appreciates your almost supernatural ability to buy him (and the other survivors) time. You aggravate the living hell out of the killers and he loves that, there's no one else he'd be more proud to call his.

Danny Johnson / The Ghostface:

Danny is endlessly amused by your shenanigans. He usually hates variables and unpredictability, but he's always been charmed by your variation and unpredictability. It makes things more exciting, more fun.

You always manage to run him around for a few generators, where he's usually aware enough to know when to leave someone alone. He just gets so caught up trying to catch you and having fun doing it, he almost forgets there's more survivors to go after. 

He tries to match your skills during chases, he's not too bad at parkouring himself. He can nearly keep up with you most of the time, narrowly missing you with his knife. It just motivates him more.

After he realizes a few generators have been completed, he then realizes he should leave you alone so he can get some work done. He'll stop and get your attention, leaving you with a cute little wave and his signature 'call me' gesture.

Ji-Woon Hak / The Trickster:

Ji-Woon is exhilarated having someone fun to chase around. Someone who he sees as a performer like himself — someone who takes pride in their talents. He loves that about you, your confidence and your talent.

You're wonderful target practice for him the way you bob and weave and jump and duck, you're nearly impossible to hit. But he tries, he's always trying to nail you and get better. When he manages to hit you, you'll hear his maniacal little giggle. You know he’s having fun.

Like Danny, Ji-Woon is pretty good at matching your movements, he’s quite acrobatic himself (probably even more so than Danny). He enjoys leaping and running around with you, chasing you all over trialgrounds, all while trying to land some knives in you.

He doesn't even particularly care if he loses matches to you, if it meant you were both having fun and honing your abilities. Practice makes perfect, after all, for him and for you, and he wouldn't want anything less than perfection.

Frank Morrison / The Legion:

Frank mostly finds it comical. He especially loves hearing you tell him about other killers you ran around and tricked into losing you, he’ll usually bring it up to them later to poke fun at them. You’re his best friend and even if you’re more modest about your talents, he’ll boast about them for you. Well, maybe boast isn’t quite the right word…Brag, more like.

He’s often astonished by your ability to completely lose him. He’ll spend a few seconds looking around for you, ducking around walls he was sure he last saw you between. Then he hears you laughing above him…High up on the dilapidated wall, curled over the edge like a cat. He cracks up.

You’re one of the few people who can outrun or simply outlast his Frenzy, and that amazes him. It’s a feat he feels he has to congratulate you on at least a few times when it happens, during a trial he’ll just give you a quick nod to acknowledge your accomplishment. But afterwards, he’ll give you a slap on the back and tell you that was great. He really has fun with you.

He loves seeing the reactions from other survivors when they witness your professional skills being put to use in the realm. Meg is the most athletic of any of them, but they’ve never seen her pull stunts like you do. Sometimes he’ll quietly watch their amazement, then when they finally realize he’s standing there, give kind of a nod in your direction, signifying he knows you and he’s proud of you.

Susie Lavoie / The Legion:

Susie finds it the most fun out of everyone, really getting a giggle (more than just one, actually) out of your antics. She loves seeing you dart and jump around like crazy to outrun her, you can hear her maniacally giggling the entire time she’s chasing you. At some points, she’s laughing too much and has to take a break. But she knows you’re hiding nearby, just out of her sight, waiting for her to kick back into gear.

Sometimes she’ll get you in a chase just to see what crazy tricks you have up your sleeve. She’ll even steer you to specific areas of realms to see what you’ll do there, how you’ll use the environment to your advantage. It’s amazing to her how you can use just about anything to dodge the swings of her knife.

She absolutely asks you to teach her some moves outside of trials. She wants to use them to impress and distract other survivors during chases, and use them to cut chase time and get to them faster. She knows you’ll be a great teacher for her, and she gets so excited to try doing some stunts of her own during trials.

If you hide up in the ceiling or on top of something tall when you’re getting chased by her, she’ll actually stop and offer you help down. She knows you can do it yourself, but you’re her friend. She holds her hand out to you and stands on her tiptoes so you can actually grab it and she can pull you down.

[gelpensoncomics]

Guy Gardner: A Study of Heroes and Head Trauma

SO! It's July, which is disability pride month here in the United States where I live! I figured it would be appropriate to kick things off by talking about a character who has a mixed reputation, to say the least: Guy Gardner, Green Lantern. He's been around since the Silver Age of comics, and his characterization has been through some serious ups and downs over the years! But what if I told you that it's not inconsistent writing? What if I told you there is a lens with which to view his shifting behavioral patterns and at times abrasive and offensive personality that makes it all come into focus and make perfect sense, and it's all already there on the page? I'm here to give you that lens, and it's viewing Guy Gardner as a man who has suffered multiple traumatic brain injuries and managed to heal over time. Buckle up, this is probably going to be a long one, and it's pretty image heavy as I try to back up as much as I am claiming that I can.

So the first thing I will start with is establishing Guy's former baseline. This is not the post where I will go incredibly in-depth on Guy's full family history and his education, I'll save that for another time. Here, I simply aim to sum up. Guy Gardner met Hal Jordan for the first time in the 1991 title Green Lantern: Emerald Dawn, a volume that served as an updated backstory for the Silver Age hero after Crisis on Infinite Earths. Hal was in prison to serve a 90 day sentence for drunk driving. Guy Gardner was Hal Jordan's caseworker.

"What? Huh? That's Guy Gardner?" You, the hypothetical reader ask. What happened to him?!

A lot. A lot happened to him, and it took him from a man who gave the advice to "Use your rage! Don't let it use you!" to a man who is known as the rude angry ginger lantern. First off, he got hit by a bus. No, I'm not being metaphorical or making a joke. See, he quit his job as a prison case worker because he didn't like how the job made him feel, especially after he was caught up in a prison riot and threatened with death at the hands of a prisoner there. So he put his second degree to use and he became a teacher. Specifically, he became a physical education teacher for disabled children.And then there was an earthquake, and he was hit by a bus while attempting to rescue one of the students on a field trip he was running, nearly dying in the process.

Now, I will say: he got better. This time. See, no sooner had he recovered from this incident, as he was filling in for Hal as Green Lantern he was exploded in the line of duty and sent to a parallel dimension. In that parallel dimension he was tortured, and Sinestro used a dangerous and severe form of mind control that, when it was finally broken, left Guy... well, the comics call him comatose, but he is conscious, he is just not responsive to the environment around him or able to care for himself.

For years, he remained in this state, with his care at a top-notch hospital paid for by fellow superheros. And then, during the Crisis on Infinite Earths event, a miracle happened. Guy regained consciousness.

But the Guy who came out of that vegetative state wasn't the same man who fell into it. Or at least, not exactly. He was angrier. His fuse was shorter. Perhaps most upsetting of all, one of the first actions he took upon regaining consciousness was attempted grave robbery.

"Gelpens, what the fuck," you ask me. I know. It's a lot. Bear with me here. See, he didn't wake up on his own. The Guardians of Oa woke him up, using their tremendous cosmic powers to attempt to heal his brain damage so they could deploy him to help during the Crisis.

Sure, Guy got his strength back. He was able to function as a Green Lantern. But he still wasn't the same as he was before his coma. He stayed angry, and confrontational, and was frequently known to make inappropriate comments that failed to fit the setting he was in or the bounds of good taste. He had a constant chip on his shoulder, very different from the man who was concerned about controlling his anger so it couldn't use him.

This all came to a head in a series of events that is frankly infamous in comics circles. Almost every fan I know of who knows Guy Gardner knows about the time Batman got fed up with his confrontational rude attitude and laid him out with a single punch to the face.

The thing people don't remember about that punch is that, seeing as it was the 90s, and comics writers had learned a few things about the brain, they decided to use it to make... let's call it a running joke. See, after Guy regained consciousness, he was much more like the guy he was before all that head trauma. He was polite, cared about being a team player and not trying to prove himself, he didn't go for lethal force!

Of course, this didn't last. No, the whole 'joke' here was that Batman punched him hard enough to rattle his brain, and he would occasionally jump from being a sweet, friendly team player to, in the words of the narration box the first time he got hit on the head again, his new old "thoroughly rotten" self (I know). Slowly but surely though, Guy did get better, and start to stay better. His mood stabilized, he gained more self-control, he started making better plans and he was much less angry as a default. And it's kept going! This train keeps chugging along! He isn't so angry anymore! He has it under control!

And honestly? This moment, right here? This is the crowning jewel in my thesis, I think.

Guy has a Red Lantern ring and a Star Sapphire ring. For those of you less familiar with the extended Green Lantern lore, the Red Lanterns run off rage. The Star Sapphires are powered by love. Outside of willpower, the emotions that are the most powerful within him are his rage and anger, and his love for his friends. And what does he fuel them with, when it comes down to the wire? When willpower alone isn't enough? The thing he hates most is being filled with rage. The thing he loves the most is his friends.

So. I don't think Guy was ever just an angry, sexist, rude asshole at his core. Is he the same as he was before the injury, before all that happened to him? Of course not. Nobody goes through life completely unchanged by what happens to them.

I think he injured his brain and lost his ability to regulate his emotions and impulses for a while. The road to recovery was far from smooth. It just took him some time to heal and be in a place to act like the man he wanted to be all along. But in my opinion? I think he's there now.

[inbloomwriting]

Everything to me - Chapter 2

Chapter two - Blueberry & Kidney Bean

Chapter 1

Plot: Jamie Tartt is a lot of things: professional footballer, the island's top scorer .... sexually, extremly handsome. But one thing he never saw himself as was a dad. Too bad he has to deal with the consequences of his own actions. This fic follows reader and Jamie as they navigate life and turn from practially strangers to parents. Pairing: Jaime Tartt x female reader Warnings: Pregnancy, swearing, mentions of food and alcohol, slight mention of sexual intimacy (nothing graphic), strained/toxic parental relationship Notes: 5.6k words. I do not have a set uploading schedule. Please bear with me as I work on this story. I know hardly anything about pregnancy, all my information comes from google. I tagged everyone who asked me to do it when I posted part 1. Please let me know if you want to be taken off or added to the taglist. Likes, reblogs, comments are all much appreciated. I am German. Sometimes I get the tense wrong or make mistakes. I am useless when it comes to punctuation. Go easy on me, please

The store smells like dust and cardboard and old carpet. It's not necessarily a bad smell, it just doesn't live up to her memories.

She remembers the perpetual scent of menthol cigarettes and some kind of cheap men's perfume wafting through the air. The store used to smell like her dad and now it doesn't. And that just makes it all even more real.

Boxes upon boxes litter the room, filled with records. Some older, some newer. Guitars adorn one wall while the others are covered in posters from tours that happened long ago, some even before she was born.

There is something comforting about being here. It’s like stepping back into the past. Long nights watching Dad and his friends play their guitars after store-closing. Discovering new bands whenever a new shipment of records came in. And yes - she is the first to admit that in her younger years, she mostly chose the records by how cool the cover looked. 

It’s also memories of Dad getting caught up in the after-hours jam sessions and forgetting about her dance recital and that one time he threw a guitar at the window out of anger that a shipment of records got lost. It took him months to get the window replaced. She could probably still trace exactly where the crack used to be. 

Being here is very reminiscent in all the good and bad ways. But it’s a warped version of the past. One that’s laced with all the knowledge she has now. Like a movie that you’ve seen a million times.

“I don’t think pregnant women are supposed to be doing that!” 

Jamie’s voice cuts through the nostalgia-induced fog like a sunbeam through the clouds. And it also gives her a little heart attack as the only sound filling the room up until now had been her moving around and the soft tunes of an Eric Clapton record playing in the background.

“Jesus fuck! You scared me. I’m pretty sure you’re not supposed to startle pregnant women either and give them heart attacks.” 

He looks at her with those big expressive eyes of his and a comically overdone pout on his lips. “Sorry, didn’t mean to scare you. But seriously give me that.” 

He’s so quick to take the box of records from her hands (Y/N) hardly has time to process what’s going on. 

Quite honestly, his worry is a bit misplaced here but she appreciates the sentiment even if he might be a little overly cautious at that moment. It feels nice to be cared for. 

“You know I’m pregnant, not sick, right? I can carry stuff.” 

“Yeah but why would you if you got me carrying it for you?” 

He has a point, she has to give him that. 

“Fair enough. Those go over there in the corner please.” 

Jamie follows her order without hesitation and, after setting the box down in its designated place, his eyes dart across the room and light up with childlike wonder and curiosity.

“This used to be your dad’s place, yeah? It looks really neat with all them posters and shit. Like stepping into an old person’s mind but like a cool old person that buys you alcohol when you’re 15 and lets you watch horror movies when your mum said no.” 

Of all the adjectives in the world, (Y/N) wouldn’t ever think of using the word “cool” to describe her dad. He was creative and fun and eccentric and stubborn — but cool? 

Then again he was her dad and no one ever likes to think of their own parents as cool. Oh god, will their kid think she’s uncool?! 

“Uh yeah, the shop and the apartment right above us. He owned it, now I do. I’m trying to get it all fixed up and ready to be sold.”

“What? Why?” 

There is something to be said about Jamie’s face and his absolute inability to mask his emotions. Everything he thinks and feels is mirrored twice as vividly on his face. He’s all furrowed brows and pouty lips. 

“I mean — it’s a record store. People don’t really buy records anymore. Be honest, when was the last time you bought one instead of just streaming the music?” 

“Like two weeks ago.” 

“Fuck off, no you didn’t!” 

“Uh — yeah, I did. Olivia Rodrigo if you must know.” 

A soft giggle falls from (Y/N)’s lips. How fitting for Jamie to buy an album full of teenage angst. 

“Well, you’re one of very few people though. In a perfect world, I wouldn’t have to sell. I’d keep it open. Instead of selling instruments, it’d turn that part of the shop into a little stage with a coffee counter or a bar. Host open mic nights and shine a spotlight on undiscovered artists. But the world isn’t perfect and there is no way I can afford to turn that vision into reality so really there’s no use in letting myself get too caught up in it.” 

There is pity in his eyes and she hates it. She doesn’t want pity, not his or anyone else’s. Has seen enough of it, especially lately. If she had received just one more “Sorry for your loss” card in the mail from relatives she hadn’t seen in decades, she probably would’ve stabbed a fork in her own eye. Pity does no good to no one. 

“Anyway, Jamie. Not that I don’t enjoy hanging out with you, it’s kind of necessary if we want to get this whole beings-friends-thing right, but uh — what are you doing here?” 

“Jesus, can’t a guy just come around to say hi to his baby? “ 

She thinks the way he says the word “Baby” in his thick accent is surprisingly and undeniably adorable. As if it ends in an “eh” instead of a “y”.

“By the way, they’re as big as a blueberry now.” 

And the way he’s keeping track of the baby's growth gets her right in the heart. For some reason, this seems to come so naturally to him when it all still feels weird and foreign and surreal to her. As if it were happening to someone else and she’s just a mere spectator. The idea that something as small as a blueberry will one day turn into a proper baby, a child, a teenager … a whole ass adult - is so wild to her. Almost incomprehensible. A person with their own feelings and dreams and personality. (Y/N) wonders if at any point in this pregnancy, she'll wake up and it'll all just make sense or if that only comes once she's holding the baby in her arms.

“That's cute. Doesn't answer my question though. What brings you here?”

A shadow of something flickers across Jamie’s face. Something unreadable and unfamiliar. Something that makes (Y/N) feel a sense of dread bubbling up in her stomach.

“I uh — I can’t do this.”

And there it is. That unfamiliar shadow is now a metaphorical atom bomb, a mushroom cloud of all that could have been and won’t be.

“Oh okay. I mean no, not okay. This sucks actually. You said you wanted to be part of the baby’s life and now you’re bailing? That’s a shit move, Jamie. You’re a right prick for pulling that crap.” 

“What? Oh no!” his eyes widen as the realization sets in. “That’s not what I meant.”

“Well then what did you mean? Cause you’re truly giving me a heart attack right now. Second one for today. You really need to start working on your conversation starters.” 

She had given him the chance to opt out of being a dad, to not be a part of the baby’s life. It seemed like the right thing to do and, foolishly, (Y/N) had believed that she’d be okay with him doing just that. In this very moment though, she feels everything but okay. The idea of Jamie changing his mind is terrifying. 

Sometimes you don’t realize just how much you need something — or someone until you’re faced with the possibility of losing them.

“I mean, I can’t do this alone. I need to tell someone. All I keep thinking about is the baby and I feel like I am going to explode any second now. I know we can’t tell everyone yet ‘cause of — well you know, things going wrong and stuff. But I need to tell someone. You got to tell Rebecca and your mum, I think it’s only fair I get to tell two people as well, yeah?”

A sense of relief floods her. Starts in her toes and fills her all the way to the top of her head. He wants this — wants the baby. It’s not just her in this. It’s nice to know you have someone in your corner. It’s also scary. Because he deserves to know just whose team he’s on. And being vulnerable fucking sucks. 

“Jamie, that’s fine. Absolutely you can tell your mum.” 

“And Simon? You got two people so — “

“I didn’t though.” 

“Uh yes, you did. I know you told Rebecca.” 

“That’s right.”

“And your mum too”.

The silence that follows his words is deafening. Being vulnerable means also admitting guilt. It means owning up to all of your mistakes. Though we are not the sum of our mistakes, they are what help shape the person we become. And (Y/N) really doesn’t think they make her a very good one.

“And your mum too?” 

More silence.

“You didn’t tell your mum? Why not? “

To his credit, Jamie looks truly surprised and confused. There is no judgment there, just absolute bewilderment and that signature softness that rounds out his features and settles in his eyes whenever Jamie talks to her about something serious. Granted they’ve not had that many conversations but she hopes that softness stays. She hopes that maybe their baby can have those soft, gentle eyes too.

“I’m not sure. I think I’m scared. My mum and I have a — complicated relationship. I disappoint her, she judges me. You know, the usual.” 

“You think she’ll be disappointed because we're having a baby? Is it because of me?”

(Y/N) shrugs, breaking eye contact and fixing her gaze on the old grey carpet with the ugly 90s pattern. What if those soft eyes can look straight through her, see all the ugly parts and the insecurities? That’s too scary for now. Too much too soon.

“No, it has nothing to do with you. Think she’ll just be disappointed I didn’t get pregnant according to the timeline she dreamed up for my life when I was like 2 years old. Had it all planned out for me and I never stuck to it.” 

Jamie is quiet for a moment but (Y/N) doesn’t dare to look back up at him. She can’t deal with any more pity.

“Well if you want to practice telling a mum, we can start with mine.”

“Huh?” 

“You can come to Manchester with me if you want. To tell my mum. We’ll have one mum down then, makes it easier to do it a second time. It’s science.” 

Jamie has the fascinating quality of making you believe in his words just by being so undeniably charming and because he believes in them himself. He makes it look easy when it is everything but.

“And if things don’t go well with your mum at least you’ll know you have at least one mum you can rely on, even if it’s not your own. She raised me pretty much by herself so she knows a thing or two about babies and parenting and stuff.” 

The mocking raise of (Y/N)’s right eyebrow doesn’t go unnoticed by Jamie who opens his lips to a silent gasp and clutches his chest with an overly dramatic gesture. 

“What? You saying I didn’t turn out perfectly?”

“No,” she laughs, a lightness festering in her chest. Like the first rays of sunshine after a cold winter that never seemed to end. Like a glass of wine after a long day at work. Like your favorite song on the radio at the exact moment you need it most. “I think you turned out exactly the way you were supposed to.” 

“Thanks,” Jamie says with that cheeky smile playing on his lips that makes him look a little younger than he actually is. Then he dares to wink at her and it’s a little annoying but also insanely charming. “Not sure you meant it as a compliment but I am taking it. Now when are you free for a trip up to Manchester?” 

(Y/N)’s been on a lot of road trips around the country when she was younger. She’s even spent a whole summer traveling Europe, partially by train but most of the time was spent stuffed in a Fiat Punto with 3 of her friends and all their luggage. It was stuffy, it was chaotic and it was immensely fun. None of those road trips ever involved a shiny black Aston Martin Rapide though. 

Or a famous footballer dressed in the ugliest lime green sweater (Y/N) has ever seen. 

“That’s all the luggage you got?” Jamie questions as he moves the black shades off of his eyes and sets them on the top of his head, holding back some of his hair. It shouldn’t work so well but it does. 

“I mean, we’re only staying for a night right? Why? Should I have brought more? How much did you pack?” 

He glances at her, then towards the car, and back at her. A sheepish look crosses his face before being replaced by his childlike cheekiness. “That’s confidential. Don’t worry about it, yeah?” 

“I got my ginger lollies, that’s all that matters really.” 

“You feeling alright?” 

“Mh, I’m good. Just pregnant.” 

His eyes drop down to her stomach for just a second before he nods his head in what (Y/N) can only describe as a mix of pride and satisfaction. “Yeah, you are.” 

That’s new. Well not new-new but it hasn’t happened since the day of the funeral. That tingly feeling in her stomach that has fuck all to do with the baby and everything with how the baby got there. Yes, Jamie is hot and (Y/N) is the first to admit as much but there has been so much stress and chaos and she hardly had time to think about anything but surviving and making sure not to completely lose herself in bad visions of what-ifs that her brain has had no time to process any feelings of arousal or lust. That look he just gave her though, that one made her remember it for just a second.

“You sure you’re alright?” 

Jamie’s voice shakes her from her daydream and brings her back to the real world, her eyes focusing back on the obscene car parked in front of her tiny apartment building looking so insanely out of place.

“Uh yes, I’m fine. I just — sometimes I forget that you’re famous.” 

Jamie regards her for a moment before shrugging his shoulder and grabbing the bag from her hands. “I don’t. It’s fun. Now come on, let’s goooooo.” 

His voice is dipped in excitement and there’s a bounce in his step. If this is how the prospect of seeing his mother makes him feel and behave, she must be one lovely woman. Whenever (Y/N) thinks of her own mother her chest fills with tiny metaphorical icicles. Sharp and rough and painful. It’s all regret and judgment and disapproval. It’s “You gained weight”, “you look tired”, and “You should really look into getting a new job”. Daggers disguised as roses. Stabs right to the heart in the name of being honest. “I just care about you, because I love you, because I am your mother!” 

If there is one thing (Y/N) knows for sure, it’s that she will never ever find the need to resort to criticism and thinly veiled malice in order to show her child that she cares. They will know. Every single day. Because she’ll make sure to show them. Every single day in all the big and tiny ways a person can show their love. 

“Kidney Bean?”

“Kidney Bean. And apparently, the baby is sprouting webbed fingers and toes right now. Oh, and it’s starting to move!” 

“Can you feel that?” 

“No, not yet.” 

“It’s mental. Last week she was the size of a blueberry and now she’s a kidney bean. Kid’s growing up too fast.” 

It’s true. There is so much happening all at once and it’s almost impossible to really process it all. Suddenly there is a tiny spark of a human inside her. Not really a baby yet but a baby to her. And it's moving and developing and changing every second of every day. Fucking insane.

“Wait … you said she. You think it’s a girl?”

Maybe it’s the sunlight casting a glow through the windshield but (Y/N) is almost certain she can just about make out a blush dusting Jamie’s cheeks. 

“Dunno.”

“Jamie Tartt, do you want to be a girl dad?” 

He glances at (Y/N) through the corner of his eyes for just a moment but it’s enough for her to see the sincerity in him. This is something he’s thought about before. Learning new things about Jamie is fascinating.

“Ah,  it’s stupid, really. It’s — It’s dumb or whatever.” 

“No, come on, don't go shy on me now. Tell me.” 

He takes a deep breath. A moment passes then another. There is no rush. Sometimes silly thoughts are the result of harsh truths. 

“Told you my dad was a prick. Like the biggest piece of shit walking this earth, yeah? And I knew that all my life. Thing is I still tried to impress him. I just — I wanted him to like me so badly. Just felt wrong that me own dad didn’t care about me and that made me angry. And I kept that anger inside me for so long. Sometimes when I think about the baby and the future I am scared that if I have a son that anger will jump over to him. Like maybe all Tartt men are cursed or some shit like that. But if I had a little girl maybe that would make it easier for me to be a good dad. I don’t mind either way, obviously, but the idea of having a son scares me.” 

It’s the most vulnerable he’s been with her so far and by the way he clenches his jaw and grabs onto the steering wheel just a little tighter, (Y/N) can tell this isn’t easy on him. It means a lot that he shares this part of him with her anyway. It feels like they are actually becoming friends. So opening up to him in return is only half as horrifying. 

“When I was a kid, maybe 11 or 12, I wrote a short story for school and I won an award. They did this big ceremony thing where the 3 finalists got to read their stories out loud for an audience and then receive their prizes. My mum didn’t show up, not sure if it was because she stayed longer at the office and didn’t care enough to leave on time or if she just didn’t feel like getting out of the house. Point is, she wasn’t there. When I came home that night I was sad, obviously, and I was also pissed. Because why the fuck couldn’t she take one night off to come see me succeed at something even if it wasn’t something she deemed worthy of praise. 

So I yelled at her and I’m sure I said some hurtful things. But I was so devastated and angry and I needed an outlet for once. She called me ungrateful but I was used to that, she always called me ungrateful. Then she looked at me with that look of absolute resignation and malice and she said that she hopes I have a daughter like me one day and that she makes me realize how hard it is to love me. 

When I think of the baby, sometimes I see a little girl too. One that I will love so much she never has to doubt it for a single second. And I will also prove my mother wrong. Because it will be so easy to love my little girl and it would’ve been so easy to love me, her little girl.” 

It’s the first time she’s ever said those words out loud. Truly, (Y/N) had not expected for them to come out in an Aston Martin, on the way to meet her baby’s father’s mother but life doesn’t seem to care for plans very much these days.

Softly, as if to not startle her, Jamie places his hand on hers, squeezing gently.

“I think your mum is a right bitch.” 

“Thanks. I think your dad is a huge asshole.” 

“We’re gonna be better than them, right?” 

It’s not really a question. It’s more of a promise.

“We will. I know it.”

His hand doesn’t leave hers for a good long while. 

The nerves don’t hit her until they pull up to the quaint little house with the white front. There’s a rose bush to the side and some kids playing football just across the way. The nerves don’t hit her until Jamie puts the car in park but when they do, they hit her like a freight train.

“Woah, you alright?” 

“Huh?” 

“You look all pale and like you’ve seen a ghost or something. Do you have to puke?”

A chuckle falls from her lips at the absurdity of it all. In all honesty, she’s not met a lot of parents yet but the few she did meet were parents of actual partners. People she had been dating for a while. It was a natural progression of steps. This is all wrong and sideways and topsy-turvy. You’re supposed to meet the mum first and then get pregnant. 

Again with the life and the plans. 

“I’m fucking nervous.” 

“Hah,” Jamie laughs. The audacity of this guy. “You’re nervous to meet my mum? Why? She’s an angel.”

“Do you not know how intimidating that is? Like, if she was shit I wouldn’t care but she sounds wonderful and I want her to like me. No, I need her to like me. Desperately. And I can only imagine what she thinks of me already. Some floozy who gets knocked up and really just wants your money.” 

Before she even fully realizes what’s happening, (Y/N) feels Jamie’s hands on her cheeks, framing her face in warmth.

“Calm down, please. I promise it’ll be alright. My mum will love you, I know it. Probably more than she loves me. Actually no that’s a lie, but she will love you and she will love our baby. Promise.”

“She’s not gonna judge me for — you know. Getting pregnant even though we’re not dating or anything.” 

“My mum was married to my dad, worst person on planet Earth. Don’t think she’s in any position to judge you. It’ll be alright, trust me.” 

She hardly knows this man and yet she can’t help but do just that. Trust him.

The first thing (Y/N) notices about Georgie is her smile. A smile that is so familiar because it looks exactly like Jamie’s smile. Warm and radiant and true. A part of (Y/N) hopes that their baby inherits that same smile. Partially because it’s a really good smile and partially because maybe that could help Jamie realize that he is more than the sum of his father’s problems and mistakes. He is all his mother’s boy.

“Oh, I missed you, my baby.” 

Georgie wraps her arms around Jamie’s middle, getting swallowed by his frame for a moment. There’s no denying that part of (Y/N)’s heart breaks a little seeing how loving of a relationship these two have and wondering where she and her own mother went wrong.

And as it so happens with so many kids that have never been loved quite the way they deserved, (Y/N) can’t help but search for the problem in herself. 

“Yeah sorry for not visiting earlier. You know how it is with training and stuff.” 

“Don’t worry about it. I know my boy is busy being a star.” 

The words hold a slight mocking, never mean but in the way that only people who are close can tease each other. You know every word comes laced with deep affection, with pride, with love.

“And it’s so nice to meet you too. I’m Georgie.” 

It takes a second for (Y/N) to realize that Jamie’s mum is now talking to her directly.

“I uh — oh thank you. Nice to meet you too, I’m (Y/N).” 

Georgie smells like mint chewing gum and floral perfume as she pulls (Y/N) into a hug. She’s soft and gentle and it’s been the first hug from a mother (Y/N) has received in quite some time.

“Sorry, didn’t even ask if you’re a hugger.”

“Oh that’s alright, don’t worry about it.” 

She’s not a hugger, never really was, but there is something about Georgie granting her some affection that isn’t all that bad. Maybe their kid can have at least one grandmother who cares and who isn’t completely disgusted by the idea of showing any kind of positive emotions.

“Jamie never brings girlfriends around so I’m a bit out of my element here if I’m being honest.” 

“Mum we’re not — she’s not.” Jamie takes a big breath before starting again “(Y/N) and I are friends, yeah? Told you about it on the phone.” 

“Right, right. Well, you don’t bring around a lot of friends either so same difference, really. Now come inside will you, I’m sure we got a lot to catch up on.”

Oh if only she knew how true that sentiment really is.

There are pictures of Jamie staring back at (Y/N) from every corner of the house and Georgie leads them through the hallway and towards the kitchen. Every wall and every shelf holds a memory of him at one point in his life. Gap toothed with a football in hand smiling, surrounded by a field of tulips arm wrapped around his mother’s shoulder, his teenage self smoldering at the camera with an even more questionable haircut than the one he is sporting right now. Oh to be loved in a way that every past version of you is being remembered.

As they reach the kitchen a sweet scent fills the room when a man clad in an apron turns around and faces them with a huge smile playing on his face. He has a dorky kind of charm to him that immediately puts you at ease. Maybe it’s just the frilly apron, maybe it’s the big oven gloves, maybe it’s the smile. Either way, (Y/N) thinks that if they take the news well, her kid might have truly lucked out on one side of the grandparents department. 

“Jamie, welcome home.” 

“Hi Simon, thanks, mate. Glad to be back. This is (Y/N).” 

“The friend, right.” Simon says and shoots Georgie a look that neither of them misses. Subtlety doesn’t seem to be one of his best qualities. “It’s nice to meet you, (Y/N).”

“Nice to meet you too. It smells amazing in here.” 

“I found this new recipe for honey blondies. Not sure if they'll be any good but I guess we'll find out. If you guys want to go have a seat, I'll come bring them over.”

“Actually,” Jamie speaks up while nervously fiddling with his hands. “I was hoping we could have a talk before we do anything else. There’s something I need to tell you both.” 

Imagining the hypothetical scenario of telling your mum you’re having a baby and actually doing it really are two completely different things it seems. Gone is all of Jamie’s confidence and replaced with a whole lot of anxiety. 

“You're worrying me, Jamie. What has you acting so serious? Did you get someone pregnant or something?”

Georgie's words are followed by a thick awkward silence. It's heavy and suffocating and it makes (Y/N) feel uneasy in both her heart and her head.

It doesn't take long for Jamie’s parents to realize what his silence means. Everything communicated by not saying a single word.

“Oh, fuck.”

And there's nothing to add to Georgie's reaction. It's the exact same one (Y/N) had when she first saw those faint blue lines.

Of all the possible outcomes and ways this day could’ve gone, (Y/N) had not expected to find herself staring at not only a curly-haired Roy Kent but also come face to face with two very persuasive arguments belonging to no other than Keeley fucking Jones. 

“This is surreal.” 

The posters stare back at her all crinkled paper and bleached ink, as if to mock her silently. 

“Ah, well I told them to redecorate when I moved out, think they just haven’t gotten around to it yet.” 

A light dusting of pink settles on the apples of Jamie’s cheeks as well as the tips of his ears. This man can’t hide his emotions for the life of him. It’s quite adorable really. 

“Do they know?” 

“Does who know?” 

“Roy and Keeley. Do they know you have their pictures up in your room?”

“Well no and It’s not my room anymore, is it? ‘S not like I have ‘em hanging at home. Put these up ages ago.” 

A giggle slips through (Y/N)’s lips at his desperate attempt to talk himself out of this situation. 

“It’s okay, Jamie. I won’t tell.” 

“There’s nothing to tell, alright?” he responds in mock offense before sitting down on his childhood bed next to (Y/N). “Just liked boobs and football and those two were the best those fields had to offer, yeah? Can’t really blame me.” 

“Not much has changed has it?”

He shrugs his shoulders in response “Nah. Still like boobs and football but no way I’d put up a poster of granddad’s ugly mug nowadays.”

From the few times they talked about his job, including his teammates and coaches, (Y/N) was able to gather that Jamie’s relationship with Roy is something special. Odd, but special. Maybe that’s what happens when you end up working with your childhood idol. Either way, no matter how much shit he likes to talk about him, it’s clear that Jamie respects and admires Roy a great deal still.

“And uh — and Keeley?” 

“What about her?” 

“Is she — are you — how are things?” 

She still remembers that crestfallen look on his face on the day of the funeral. That infinite sadness in his eyes. She hadn’t put two and two together at that moment but later that night it all clicked. Keeley was the woman he was in love with, the woman who did not love him back. And while (Y/N) knows that she and Jamie are only bound together by happenstance and fate — if one chooses to believe in that, and that there is nothing romantic about their situation, it does sting a little to know that the man you’re having a baby with is in love with someone else.

“We’re good. We’re friends, think that’s all we’ll ever be. Her and Roy, they’re happy and I don’t want to ruin it for either of them. Keeley and I just were not right together.” 

“And you’re okay with that?” 

He nods his head, a small smile playing on his lips “Yeah, I’m alright with it. If I hadn’t made a fool of myself at the funeral then you and I wouldn’t have — you know, and then we wouldn’t be having a baby. Little Kidney Bean.” 

“That’s true. Your mum seemed excited.” 

“Hah, sorry about her. She can be intense.” 

Intense might be the understatement of the century. It took her approximately 2.3 seconds to get over the initial shock of the announcement and really process it before Georgie let out a scream of pure excitement and joy and wrapped both Jamie and (Y/N) up in her arms. She didn’t fully let go for a good 20 minutes. It was intense. It was also phenomenal.

“Don’t apologize. I am so glad she took it so well, Simon too. At least now I’ll have the certainty that my baby will have one set of loving grandparents at least.” 

“Hey,” Jamie says and nudges her shoulder with his “We’ll sort out telling your mum next, okay. I’m sure it’ll go better than you think. And if not we can always call up my mum for some more hugs and a pep talk. Whatever happens, you won’t have to do it alone. I promise.” 

For what is probably the first time in her life (Y/N) lets herself believe that there truly is someone else having her back, undisputedly and all the way. It’s unfamiliar. It’s a little scary. It’s also wonderful.

“Thanks, Jamie. I appreciate it, I really do. Think so far we’re doing alright, huh?” 

“I’d say so. Two sexy parents and a little Kidney Bean.” 

Their laughter echoes through Jamie’s childhood bedroom for quite a while longer until at some point it stills and gives room to soft breathing and quiet snores. The bed isn’t meant for two grown adults and really Jamie truly meant to sleep on the couch but somewhere between talks of baby clothes and childhood memories, eyes grew heavy and tired, and soon enough both of them are fast asleep.

Just them and their little Kidney Bean 

— and a curly-haired Roy Kent 

— and Keeley’s boobs.

taglist (@ me if you want to be taken off or added): @captainfrisbee - @scaramou - @mischiefmanaged71 - @rexorangecouny - @respondingtoshowerthoughts-blog - @tweasley20 - @dreamtrydoforkinggood - @oxxolovemelikeyoudooxxo - @heletsmelovehim - @snubug - @katdahlali - @oldglitterstory - @lalla-04p - @aiyaiy

[the-dumpster-fire-of-life]

hi!! i literally love ur atsv works(also the fact that you're a shifter too,,,like you're giving me so much content for my scripts <33). anyways, i was wondering if i could request an e42!miles x a felicia hardy/black cat variant(name doesn't have to by felicia hardy ofc) who's like a top art thief or something and prowler!miles meets them for the first time in the middle of a heist ?

I only watch the movies & am not really into the comics, so I don't really have an idea on the full character of felicia other than that she's a flirty cat burglar. So go wild on how you'd perceive her in earth42!

thanks!!

-🐈‍⬛

(Hello! lmao, shifting is amazing and these help my scripts and motivation also, lol. So sorry this took so long but I hope you enjoy!)

Felicia Hardy!Reader

You and Miles would have a certain dynamic

Like you guys would sorta be rivals, who could pull of better heists, missions, who gets caught least and who can go undetected and be the stealthiest

Shit like that is a competition to you two

Especially when you guys didn't even know each other

Miles heard about you on the news one day, and it seemed people thought you were pulling off better heists than the Prowler

Miles couldn't have that, no sir

So, he pulled off a bigger one, and this, rivalry began behind the masks

It was sorta entertaining, seeing how you never interacted but seemingly were so competitive

Miles was actually impressed on how you pulled off your stunts and heists

Especially if you hit somewhere big and got a lot of shit on the making

He never knew your plan, you never seemed to go somewhere personal or have connections to there

It seemed you just hit where you want and grabbed whatever was in your way

I think you guys could be great ass partners

And Miles was shocked to see that even Uncle Aaron thought so

Uncle Aaron thought you would be a good asset or you would be a good person to have to work with, not against

Miles was stubborn, of course, and don't wanna admit that he was right

Until he actually met you and came face to face with you

And not gonna lie, Miles was pretty much just staring at you

You seemed to pop up out of nowhere, just sitting on a rooftop as he busy out the door

He didn't even notice you for a minute, he was trying to flee from the cops that showed up and to be honest they got him pretty good on the side before he got to the roof

You actually reminded Miles of a black cat when he first saw you, which held true to the name people around the city gave you

You didn't help Miles out off the roof really, just wanting to see him in person to see if he held up to his name

He did, you got your answer and left with a smile

Miles couldn't help but watch you go before he had to leave himself

He told Uncle Aaron about the whole thing and his uncle laughed at him

Soon after, it seemed like you always were you the same place Miles was

Even if it wasn't a heist, even on his apartment buildings roof

He couldn't tell you were coming, or the amount of times you sat in the dark and watched as he had no idea

You have a habit or watching and sneaking up on him so much he's now looking over his shoulder

But after you guys get past that, you guys actually make a pretty good duo

Maybe crime fighting, maybe regular teens

Miles was not prepared on how flirt you wer

Sure he was shocked at how stealth and smart, but nothing could compare him for the amount of nicknames, and whispering you did to him

Or the fact you were so shameless about it all

He never got flustered, but somehow you always did that to him

He did it a fair amount back, but catch him of caught and babe it's so fun

I have nothing else so here's how you first met:

"Shit…" Miles cursed under his breath, holding his side as he stumbled out onto the roof, leaning his back against the wall.

He could hear police yelling to each other, the dogs barking as they tried to sniff him out.

Miles knew he wasn't about to be caught, he just worried on how he would get out of this without being spotted and followed back home.

Miles grimaced, hissing under his breath as he pushed off the wall, almost stumbling as he walked off to peer over the side of the roof.

Miles cringed at how many police cars say around the building, all ready for him to walk out. Like hell he would.

"Running outta luck?"

Miles almost jumped, turning around quickly in the dark. It took a moment before his eyes settled, finding a figure laying on their back, just above the roof where the door was.

You laid with your arms crossed under your head, turning slightly to look at him, almost amused and with a cat-like smile.

"How long have you been watching me?" Miles glared, but in his mind almost surprised, and impressed, at how long you sat there without him knowing.

You hummed, still smiling as you sat back up, throwing your legs over the edge.

"Since- like, May?" You offered, leaning onto your arm, throwing your head back to think.

Miles looked at you, half surprised and half shocked, trying to form what an actual sentence would mean before your eyes lit up.

You laughed at yourself quietly, knowing that's not what he meant, but loving the look of utter shock on his face.

"Yeah, sorry. Be more specific next time, sweetheart." You shook your head, hopping down from the small platform.

Miles could almost back up, but had nowhere to go, instead standing and watching silently through his mask as you walked towards him.

Your steps were quiet, calculated and almost careful, like a cat as you hummed, a look on your face he couldn't describe as you circled him.

You were looking over his suit, running your fingers on his suit, nodding to yourself as you felt the material.

Something about you made Miles unable to pull away, instead lifting his arm to give you more space as you ran your fingers around his body, stopping in front of him.

Miles was able to see the small smirk on your face, standing in front of him with your hand on the Prowler mark on his suit.

"So, how is the Prowler is stuck on a rooftop with cops around?" You laughed, looking up at him with the same smile.

"Not stuck." Miles denied, not looking away from you as you leaned in, getting a closer look at his mask.

"Oh, then poor you." You mocked, thumbing over his mask, as he surprisingly, didn't say anything about it.

"Why are you here?" Miles finally asked, getting another small laugh from you as you glanced into his eyes.

"Wanted to see if you were the real deal." You shrugged, your face close to his.

"Got what you wanted?" Miles asked, his voice cool and calm, sorta distorted through the mask, but watching perfectly as your hand slipped down.

You looked back into his eyes through the mask, studying almost carefully before you hummed, stepping back.

"Yup. Certainly." You laughed, standing on the edge as you held up a bag. One of the bags Miles had robbed.

Miles patted around his body, feeling one missing from his pockets, looking up to see you with a hand on your hip, holding it out teasingly.

Though it was Miles, he couldn't find it to reach out and take it, instead watching your proud smirk.

"Seems you were too distracted to know." You teased before Miles could say anything else, tucking the bag into your pockets.

"See ya around, Miles."

And with a final wink, you stepped off the ledge, leaving a stunned Miles in your wake.

"Hey- wait!" Miles yelled out, seeing you disappear as he hurried towards the edge, looking down and being shocked as he saw you nowhere around.

He could hear your laugh echoing around him, the bag missing from his side gone with you.

And, you called him Miles.

You were watching him for a while, for too long, and you knew too much.

Miles couldn't wrap his head around it, shaking his head as he thought over every second you stood in front of him, every moment leading up to this.

And the fact he never knew. Never knew you were there. Never knew you were watching.

Miles couldn't help but chuckle, impressed and shocked, looking around the dark for any sign of you, not that he would find it.

He needed to leave, he knew that, but maybe he could add one more thing to his list of shit to do.

From the way he could still feel your fingertips running along his body, the way you hummed, smiled or laughed, and the way you said his name,

Miles couldn't help but want to see you again

[kaitokitty19]

Seeing lurking for a while but would love to ask more about your Aptx4689 aus, specifically tiny!Hakuba but Arthur's appearance is came right after Hakuba's sudden leave of absence to "solve a case". Probably means it'll be extra quiet for Kaito while the rest of the class moves on with their high school life since this is normal for them.

What do you think Kaito's reaction is when he's asked what he thought about Arthur as "the second Kid Killer"? And if Arthur is one day found waiting for him outside of their school? (Cue Aoko asking if Kaito babysitting Arthur because he missed Hakuba. Arthur is deeply amused as Kaito sputters)

hiiiii, sorry for the late response; your ask had me thinking for a bit 😃

I think you're right, for the class, nothing would seem out of the ordinary since Hakuba's already frequently absent from class. But for Kaito, Aoko caught him glancing at Hakuba's desk more, being more quiet. She charged this up to Kaito's having a crush on said detective (which Kaito does, he just didn't know it yet lol).

I don't think someone as careful as Hakuba would show up at Ekoda high, however, since he stay at Kaito's, one day Aoko just badge in while they're discussing the Black Org and saw him > cue reaction similar to Ran in the first chap. Except Kaito spluttered and said it's Hakuba's relative from abroad, which springs a boatload more question from his childhood friend. Luckily, Kaito's good at adlibing shits: "Yes it's Hakuba's cousin visiting"; "No, Hakubastard had to run to solve some case and is currently abroad"; "Am I watching over the kid because I miss him? Psssh, he paid me to do it!"

And I don't think Arthur would be the second KID Killer. If anything, Kaito would proclaim him "KID's biggest fan" because: a) it would make sense to Aoko that Hakuba would pay Kaito - a known KID fanatic - to babysit this "cousin"; b) it would explain his inaction at heists when he shadows the Detective Boys; and c) it pisses Hakuba off so much it's funny.

Another thing is that since Hakuba now knows there is such thing as aptx4869 exists, he pretty quickly deduced the real identity of Conan (Chalice of Selene comics where when Hakuba throw Conan, he said "Sorry Kudo" instead of "Conan"). But since he hadn't yet know how Shinichi is planning to act, what sorts of security and threats is on him, and fearing that associations with him would lead the Black Org members who might be watching Conan straight to KID, Hakuba has reserves about formally forming an alliance. Which is why he enrolled at the primary school: to watch Conan closely before making a decision.

It should also be noted that in this AU, Saguru is completely head-over-heels for Kaito, but had long since resigned himself to be contended with unrequited affection. He believes himself to be no more than a nuisance to Kaito and is only being kept around because Kaito felt indebted to him for saving his life. Whatever the case, Saguru is prepared to sacrifice much for Kaito. On the other hand, Kaito, being his tsundere self, acts all annoyed because he's flustered by Hakuba. In truth, he harbors quite a big crush on his classmate, but disregards the fluttering feeling he felt each time to the adrenaline of the chase.

so yeah, they're messy 🫠 But as they work together and face various danger trying to dismantle the Black Org, I'm sure their truth would slowly be brought to the light 😉 (pun intended)

ahhh anw, sorry for the long post 🥲 if you haven't notice, I like to ramble lol

[loosingmoreletters]

whats sctir?

anon I am sorry you’re gonna regret asking me this because currently it’s everything to me. so sctir is short for S-Classes that I raised. It’s a webnovel and comic currently being published! It’s technically speaking one of those dungeon crawler “oh suddenly dungeons appear all over the world and now people with magic powers fight in them to stop the apocalypse” stories but actually no, it’s not about that.

It’s about the most sweet perfect absolutely unhinged sibling relationship I’ve seen in ages. Sorry yunmeng bros, you got nothing on the Han brothers.

So we got our protagonist Han Yoojin! He’s the older brother and pretty much spent over a decade raising his five year younger brother Han Yoohyun because their parents were neglectful and then died. So my boy Yoojin dropped out of school to work and ensure his baby brother did not have to suffer.

Except sike! Dungeons appeared and Yoohyun awakened as one of the strongest people. And then pretty much immediately cut contact to his brother. Yoojin suffered as a consequence. You cannot make someone else the entire purpose of your life and then have them abandon you. He Goes Through it, eventually also awakens, but as the weakest rank. This continues for a while until Yoojin is caught in a dungeon where a much too strong monster shows up.

And who appears if not Yoohyun! Who dies for his brother if not Yoohyun?

Because turns out he cut contact to his brother because he didn’t want to endanger Yoojin! He kept an eye on his brother but didn’t interact with him because he was afraid to make him even more of a target! He loves his brother so much he decided leaving him was the onky way to keep him safe! Very much the thought process of a teenager who’s only ever had one person in his whole life to rely on! And then he dies in Yoojin’s arms! And Yoojin gets all these memories dropped on him!

Anyway, the monster dies and Yoojin gets the chance to travel back in time. So he does that to save his brother. Somehow this escalates into him adopting a bunch of murderous people who are all utterly obsessed with him.

King of that is Yoohyun who straight up has a “what if I fake your death and lock you up so you’re safe and can’t leave me” moment in canon (I am not paraphrasing here), but it’s fine because 5 minutes later they hug it out.

Anyway they are so special to me.

It’s a really fun story exploring dependencies as well as the power of emotionally available parenting. Please read it I need people to talk about it more.

[paintyoureyeswithavividmind]

close to home | chapter forty one

close to home | chapter forty one

plot: the reader gets taken by the saviors

series masterlist

Pairing: Eventual Daryl Dixon x f!reader Word Count: 1,489 Warnings: violence, blood, typical twd A/N: thank you for reading!!! Hope you guys are liking the longer chapters! This one isn't lol updated twice today not to brag but look at me go

The room was so dark you thought you were still asleep when you woke up. You thought you were in a bad dream. It took you a few seconds to realize the light was shining underneath a doorway, but it barely lit up the room. The back of your head was aching, and you were nearly positive you had a concussion. Slowly, you started to sit up. 

The room was small, like a closet. That was the only thing that you knew. Other than the fact that the saviors had you. Your hands were shaking as you dropped your head in them. You were with the saviors. And you were most likely going to die here. 

Tears burned your eyes as you thought about home and how you’d never see it again. You wouldn’t jog the streets of the community or read comics with Carl ever again. You wouldn’t laugh with Michonne or see Maggie and Glenn’s baby be born. You’d never see Daryl again. And you would never, ever see your precious Tora. 

The image of the cat’s face made you lose it, and you couldn’t stop crying. Your heart was beating erratically, and you felt on the verge of throwing up. “No, no, no,” You mumbled to yourself. 

You weren’t sure how long you sat in that room for. It wasn’t until your tears had dried and you were lying on the floor, defeated, that you heard voices. 

“I got the message she was up,” You heard someone say. 

“Yes, sir, about an hour or so ago.”

“Alright, well let’s get this done then, shall we?”

You heard keys jingling, and then the door opened. Your eyes shut at the bright light, and you raised your hand to shield them as you squinted. 

Two men were standing before you. One held the door open, and the other stood in the doorway. You couldn’t see his face as your eyes hadn’t adjusted, but you should see the figure of a lean man with a bat over his shoulder. 

“Well, well, well, if you ain’t a sight for sore eyes.” The man said. “I sure am glad Dwighty boy brought you to me. Must be my birthday or something!” 

Your vision was finally restored, and you saw an older man with a dark beard. He was smiling down at you, but it made your skin crawl. 

“If you’re going to kill me, just get it over with,” You said. 

The man smiled and rubbed his jaw, “Huh. If I wanted that, you would be chained up outside already. Now come on, let’s get you off the floor,” He said, stretching his hand out to you. 

You ignored it and stayed where you were. “Who are you?”

“Oh, darlin’, I’m so glad you asked me that. I’m Negan. Now, don’t make me ask again.” He said, with his arm still outstretched. 

Your stomach tightened in a wave of anxiety and you grabbed his hand, letting him pull you to your feet. You glanced at the bat that was on his shoulder and caught him smiling at you. 

“This here is Lucille; she’s my partner in crime,” He gave you a playful wink. “But she doesn’t like messing with a face as pretty as yours. Well, at least not much.”

You nearly scowled at the threat but had the sense to keep your face neutral. 

“Come on, let’s go for a walk; we have some talking to do,” 

***

The ‘walk’ with Negan led you to a private room in the maze of hallways. You couldn’t tell where you were or even what this building was supposed to be. He walked before you, swinging the bat, and any person passing you knelt for him. 

You were left alone with him, and he pointed towards the table. “I had a meal prepared for us. I thought it’d be nice to talk over dinner. Nobody does that anymore, you know.” He said. 

The table was set up with two plates. As you sat down, you noticed there wasn’t a knife. Not that you would be stupid enough to try anything in this place anyway. You knew how many people were here. 

A few people came into the room and brought in food. You watched them in silence, and when they were gone, you looked at what food they gave you. It was some sort of chicken with actual vegetables. Fresh vegetables. The Hilltop. 

“Gosh, I’m just starved after a day like today,” Negan said, “Don’t worry about anything in the food. I don’t want to kill you.”

“I find that hard to believe,” You said. 

Negan smiled as he chewed and he leaned back against the chair. “They told me you had quite a mouth on you when they dropped you off here. It’s been a long time since someone talked to me like that. I forgot how much I liked it…”

You made a face at the lude comment and grabbed your fork, examining the food. “Why don’t you want to kill me then? At least for right now.”

“I believe people are a resource, and I believe you could be quite resourceful.”

“I believe it would be better for you to stop staying shit like that,” You said, stabbing a piece of chicken.

“Oh, darlin’, I just can’t seem to stop myself.” Negan chuckled. “I want you to tell me about the community.”

“I-.”

“And don’t tell me you’re not from there. I know it. You know it. And I think you’re smarter than trying to lie about it.”

“There’s nothing to tell.” You said, “It’s a community. Probably similar to this one.” 

Negan laughed and said, “I don’t think that’s true.”

“What even is this place?” You asked. 

“Why don’t you tell me your name, first?”

You looked at Negan as you chewed. “(Y/N),”

“The name as beautiful as the holder,” He chucked. 

You frowned. “Sweet-talking me isn’t going to get what you want, Negan. I will die before I tell you or any pig in this place anything. But it doesn’t matter. We’ll kill you all if you don’t back down.”

Negan looked at you for a long moment before he spoke. “But of course, you won’t be around for that then, would you?”

You dropped your fork and leaned against the seat. You knew his game now. “I don’t intend on it.”

“Well, I don’t think I can let that happen, now, can I?”

***

You weren’t sure how long you were in the dark room after that. Telling time was next to impossible, and you feared you would be left here to rot. But it was favorable to torture, and you considered yourself lucky. 

You’d been in there for hours before someone came to collect you. You were delivered directly to Negan--who you hadn’t seen since the dinner you shared with him. He smiled widely as you were forced towards him. 

“You ready to see your family, darlin’?”

You weren’t given a chance to respond. A bag went over your head, and you were roughly thrown into the back of some sort of van due to all the space you had. It started up immediately, and you fell over as it drove. With the bag over your head and the dark inside of the van, time moved slowly. You could tell it was for a while and thought you were headed towards Alexandria. They’d somehow found the community and would most likely beat you to death in front of everyone. 

The dark closet was preferable. But you didn’t want to wait any longer for death. Everyone lived on borrowed time since the world went to shit, and your number was being called. You could live with it if it meant your family would live. 

When the van stopped moving, it was parked for a long time. You couldn’t see what was happening outside, but you could vaguely hear voices. You heard the door roll up, and someone grabbed you. 

Your body hit the ground, and you groaned as you were pulled back up to your feet and forced forward. You struggled with every step, trying to fight back, but whoever pushed you forward was strong. 

It was quiet, just crickets chirruping when you heard someone’s voice getting louder as you approached. “It’s gonna be pee-pee pants city here real soon.” Negan.

“Oh shit, looks like you forgot someone, Simon!” Negan laughed; you could tell this was just a part of his games.

You struggled against the person holding you for another few steps before you were pushed to the ground. The bag from your head was pulled off, and you squinted in the light momentarily before you took in the scene around you.

Your family. All lined up.

[flutteringphalanges]

Reaching for the Stars

Adam Warlock x Star Lord!Sister Reader

Prompt:  When your infant daughter starts to exhibit signs of inheriting her father’s powers, you and Adam find yourselves in quite a predicament. Not to mention when your brother, Peter, finds himself caught up in it. 

Word Count: 1,509

A/N: So I decided to write another one shot involving the reader and Adam Warlock having a child together. It is the same baby mentioned in my first one shot Aydith. The baby’s name is a combination of Meredith Quill and Ayesha (Adam’s mother). Also I couldn’t decide if the reader is married to Adam or dating, so I just said “partner”. You can decide! I might do another part to this one but I am not sure. I am open to requests! I hope you enjoy!

                                 Reaching for the Stars

“Look, I’m no baby expert, but I’m pretty sure this isn’t exactly normal.”

Your heart was pounding too hard to even glare at your brother for his comment as the two of you stared up at the ceiling. You had only turned your head for a minute. A minute! And now your baby had decided that she no longer liked the ground and instead preferred floating several feet in the air where you couldn’t reach her. Thank god you were at least inside!

“Peter, do something!” You cried out, finally looking over at your brother in desperation. Oh, you felt sick. And faint. Christ, where the hell was Adam?! “Help me get her down!”

“What am I supposed to do?!” He gestured, obviously beginning to panic as well. “I’m not Groot! I can’t just extend my arms and grab her!” Peter exhaled and began to look around. “Maybe there is something we can use in here, like a broom?”

Your jaw dropped. “You want to hit my baby with a broom?!”

Peter threw his arms up in the air in frustration. “How the HELL did you come to that conclusion?! Why in all the universes would you assume I’d want to smack my niece out of the air?!”

“I don’t know?!” And your panicking was slowly growing into hysteria. You were just getting accustomed to parenting and now your perfect baby had decided to show off her celestial talents. Dammit, where was Adam?! “Aydith, it’s okay! Mommy is right here! Don’t move!”

Unlike you and her uncle, the infant seemed as if she hadn’t a care in the world. She floated in one place, occasional flipping and offering you a two tooth smile. Her (your eye color) sparkled and she giggled down at the two of you, completely unaware of the terror she was causing you both.

“Y/N?”

Both you and Peter turned to see Adam standing in the doorway. If it hadn’t been for the severity of the situation, the way his expression of confusion switched to one of bewilderment upon seeing his child in the air would’ve been comical. You didn’t have time to enjoy the feeling of relief as you hurried over to his side.

“Our baby is flying!” You pointed as if he couldn’t clearly see the situation before him.

“I didn’t know she could do that.” He replied so innocently. Damn, you loved him so much but sometimes…

“Nor did I!” You sighed deeply, trying to regain some form of composure after losing it with Peter. “But apparently she can and now she is up there and I cannot get her down!”

“Y/N wasn’t open to any of my ideas--” Peter began to argue before you cut him off.

“Because you wanted to knock Aydith out of the air with a broom!” You hissed.

“I was going to try to hook the handle on her overalls and pull her down!” He shot back. “But you didn’t even let me finish my plan!”

You really wanted to point out Peter’s interesting history when it came to planning, but decided against it. Instead, you watched as your daughter peered down at Adam, her chubby, little arms reached out towards him. Effortlessly, your partner rose into the air and gingerly took a hold of her. The moment his feet touched the ground, the wave of relief that hit you almost brought you to your knees.

“Oh, Aydith!” At once, you scooped her from Adam’s embrace and hugged her close. “Don’t you ever do that to me again, okay?!” It was a battle to hold back tears as you held her close.

“So the kid can fly now.” Peter said as he looked at Adam. “And she isn’t even one yet. I’m gonna go out on a limb here and assume you are just as clueless as the rest of us of what else Aydith might be capable of?”

You felt Adam’s hand rest on the small of your back. Even though his eyes weren’t fixed on you, you knew he was trying to offer some comfort. You moved closer, resting your head against him as Aydith fiddled with the collar of your shirt.

“No, I’m sorry.” His eyes met yours, the look on his face hard to read. “Until I learned Y/N was pregnant, I didn’t even think it was possible for us to reproduce.”

Your daughter let out a whine, one that you had come to recognize as her needing a nap. Peter made a goofy face, trying to make her smile. He’d always been so good with her--not that you had ever doubted he wouldn’t be. Aydith looked back at him, one cheek pressed against your chest. She was tired--and if you were quite frank, so were you.

“We need to talk with the others.” Peter stated, looking from you to Adam. “Maybe come up with some sort of game plan to keep Aydith grounded until we fully understand what she is able to do.”

Your eyes flickered down to your daughter who appeared to have finally drifted off. She was so small. So little. How could someone like that do something so extraordinary, yet so terrifying at such a young age? You didn’t fear the possibilities of what she would be like if she had inherited some of her father’s powers. No. No, you worried what would happen if she did. What dangers she would face. That’s what scared you.

  “Okay.” You nodded, shifting her in your arms. You knew the other Guardians would literally drop anything any of them were doing and come to your aid if you asked. That’s what families did after all. There was an old saying you remembered that said it took a village to raise a child--in this case, that village was turning out to be Knowhere. “Let’s do it.”

                                                      XXX

Silence followed you as you and Adam walked to Aydith’s room. Peter was gone and a part of you felt guilty of not apologizing after he left. You made a mental note to do so the next time you saw him. When you reached her crib, you cautiously set her down, doing your best not to wake her. Thankfully you were successful.

“I’m so sorry, Y/N.” The sound of Adam’s voice pulled you back to reality. “I never even fathomed the idea of Aydith having my abilities. If I had known, or even considered it for that matter…” He shook his head, guilt heavy in his tone as if he blamed himself. “If there hadn’t been a roof…”

The last thing you wanted was for him to feel bad. Adam’s powers, his gifts, they were beautiful. You didn’t dare want him to think otherwise. And certainly you didn’t want him to think that he’d cursed your daughter. Reaching out, you take a hold of his hand, interlocking your fingers. Aydith was safe. That was what was important. She was in her crib before the both of you passed out. Completely and utterly lost to the world.

“You have absolutely nothing to apologize for.” You assured him, reaching up with your other hand to turn his face towards your. “Aydith is a part of you, just as she is me. And I suppose one of those parts of you involves her having some sort of special abilities.” You offered him a small smile. “Even if witnessing my child levitate in the air wasn’t what I had initially ever anticipated her doing.”

Adam squeezed your hand. “No, I cannot say I pictured her doing so either.”

You both watched her quietly, his thumb gently stroking your hand. You were still on edge, though your anxiety had lessened quite a bit since Aydith had been deemed safe. Exhaling, you catch Adam’s gaze in your own.

“We’ve got this.” And you were a little surprised how sure you sounded. “At least, we can’t afford not to be, right? After everything we’ve been through as Guardians, I think we can manage this new milestone…Or whatever you want to call this new development.”  

The corners of Adam’s mouth twitch slightly upwards at your words. “Yes, I agree with you. We haven’t let anything stop us yet.”

He dropped your hand and wound his arm around you to pull you into a kiss. You let your eyes close for a moment, melting in his embrace. It was moments like this that you cherished between the two of you. Especially after Aydith had been born and your intimate times had shifted some depending on her needs. Parenthood had surely become a whirlwind--one that you had welcomed with wide, open arms.

“I love you.” You murmured softly, pulling back just enough so that your eyes met. “Both of you.”

“And I you.” Adam replied, resting his forehead against yours. “In every universe and every dimension.” He turned away for just a second to peer over at your daughter before looking back. “We’ve got this, don’t we?”

This time, the nod you gave him felt much more confident. “Yeah,” you agreed. “We do.”

[zombiee-reviews]

Keirr character discussion / breakdown

• The egotistical prick • The Aira hater • The deciever

- Quick author note: I’m going to be doing something slightly different, where I basically read the scenes that involved Keirr and leave a tag afterwords of pages I am going over. This will at least give you opportunity to read along with me and understand my breakdowns a little better.

- Another note: I am always using the Tumblr mobile app, so I apologize if my documents look rather funky on the computer version. I am trying to spruce them up and make them look at least somewhat good lol.

- Final note: I will be going over “Asmundr” Keirr, only a little bit though, mainly for his background. Other than that, I am focusing on “Home” Keirr. Now let’s get into it!

-

What I will be going over:

- What we know of Keirr’s history

- How he suddenly went from sweet and family oriented. Then turned into an egotistical jerk off, who stopped prioritizing family.

- A little on his personality

-

- Early History

In Keirrs early history, we know that he was born around the middle of Kiques 1st comic, Asmundr. And let me tell you, this fool has changed designs like.. 5 different times.

Ahem, anyway. Keirr is shown as the more “mature” one, compared to Rhov. In Asmundr, it is shown that he is a “decent” hunter, while him and his brother work on deer hides. He is even more reasonably suspicious than Rhov, when Jahla enters the scene and tackles Rhovanion.

When the war between Ranulfr and the Asmundr pack hit, Keirr was pretty useful and followed instructions well. Near the end of the war, you could tell he was tired of having to kill the Shield wolves, but he continued to kill. And really, that about sums up Keirrs story in Asmundr. Obviously, the first comic wasn’t about the offspring, like Home is. So I can’t really follow up with much, in “Asmundr” Keirr.

-

- Read along breakdown:

Now, we’ll be going over “Home” Keirr.

Two years had passed since “Asmundr”, so I feel the rest of this information does not qualify for Keirrs early history section.

Too begin.. Keirr and his family are dropped off on Aedra, they are not given a time limit of how long this lasts. All they know is, father will return at some point. Until then, they all make do and continue with their lives.

Keirr is still shown to be the more mature / family oriented guy. As everyone else decides to explore Aedra and see what they can find, Keirr decides to stay back with the Asmundr pack. Keirr at least retains his personality, for now, from Asmundr.( Page 8. Can also be seen on page 104. )

Then came the time when Zilas died, Keirr was the one to discover him first. Of course, he took it pretty hard considering that he grew up with Zilas and saw him as a brother. Of course, a lot of those crucial bonding moments us readers need are shown “off-screen”. It was never truly shown how close Keirr and Zilas were. ( Page 127 - 128 )

Fast forward to the time he discovered Aira, this is when things get juicy. For a while, Keirr was not Kiques priority and he did not make a real, solid appearance for a few chapters, up until page 138. This is when Kique decides Keirr needs a fucked up “Home” style arc next.

Keirr is seen carrying a torch, probably out mourning his loss I’d imagine.. Otherwise, idk why tf he is out late, or seen / helping anyone bury Zilas? This was the time when night beasts were a thing. Anyway! He is caught off guard by a voice, who comes from Aira, hiding. Keirr still retains his suspicious behavior, like in Asmundr and asks her to come closer, for the fire he is carrying. To his surprise, he is greeted with a badly wounded dog. Reasonably, he asks Aira if she was attacked by a feline, probably trying to see if she is the reason Zilas is dead. Quickly, his suspicions are cleared and he offers her help. ( Page 138 - 139 )

Suddenly, in video game reloading fashion, Keirr spawns at camp with Rhov and Jahla. Where the hell did Aira go? Anyway, I like that Keirr called out Rhov and Jahla for trying to throw blame around on anyone they could, for Zilas’s death. And then looking down at them, like a disappointed father. Thankfully, he is still retaining his personality at this point. I have to say though, it is interesting that Keirr decides to care for Aira alone and not bring her back to the Asmundr pack. Knowing his suspicious behavior, this might have been the better option for him. ( Page 140 - 141 )

We are then shown Keirr and Aira at her den. Keirr is definitely shown as more able bodied than Aira and attempts to help her up, when he realizes she can’t make it up on her own. His so far suspicious behavior remains intact, when he realizes her den has an odd amount of space for one dog; especially one of her size. He even tries to wiggle in some questions for her, but to no avail. He leaves Aira with supplies and is even kind enough to give her a knife and hide a hare nearby for her. ( Page 151 - 152 )

A few hours had passed, seemingly it looks like Aira tracked Keirr down and sat down with him. Keirr then opens up a little bit about Zilas and his family. The odd part for me is that, he is shown to be a family oriented guy, you’d imagine he’d want to mourn with his family? But I suppose he would rather want to mourn alone, for some odd reason. Kique tends to do a lot of important things “off-screen.” Anyway, instead of going back to his family, he chooses to mourn with a stranger. Which to me is slightly out of character of him. ( Page 160 - 161 )

A day or so later passes and suddenly Keirr is an expert in physical therapy. This scene from him looks promising, until he joins up with Whispervale. More on that later. Keirr helps Aira jump over a log and help regain her mobility. Then he decides it’s time to go back to his family, in the middle of such a primary moment? Aira then runs up and kisses him to stop him from leaving. Then he subtly gloats at her about how he is her “only chance of survival”, I mean what a nice thing to say lol. I feel this is when Keirr starts acting out of character, but it isn’t super noticeable yet. I’m also not quite sure why he said she couldn’t join the pack, Kainan would have saw no problem with it? Then he contradicts himself by saying he’ll continue taking care of her, but can’t leave his family to care for a stranger, all in the same breath? What? lol. ( Page 197 - 199 )

Keirr then finally discovers that the Asmundr pack is no longer there. Also, it’s kind of funny how it foreshadows the reindeer being dead in the fourth panel, but magically they’re still alive when Ronja gives them to the Deer humpers. Not only this, but it’s way too soon for the Reindeer to leave behind bones? Or why didn’t Keirr notice them while he visited the territory? Another plot hole lol. ( Page 226 )

Then Keirr suddenly decides he wants to go back to Aira, even after being a subtle dick to her. He notices that she is no longer in the vicinity and begins looking for her instead. Contradicting himself again, because he just told her he wouldn’t leave his family for a stranger. So why does he choose to go after Aira instead and not start looking for his family? Hm. ( Page 235 )

At least Keirr was nice enough to go searching for her.. But he comes across her re-possessing herself with the monster she was previously. Aira explains that she can’t survive without it. Keirr added salt to that wound by saying previously, he was her only chance of survival and then dipping out on her. Reasonably though, Keirr stops her from completing the ritual. Once he is able to pull her away from the spirit, he comforts her and makes sure to tell her that he is here for her. Boy what a damn 180 that happens in the future! Keirr then discovers Aira’s background and what she use to be, they share a tender moment together and then apologize for their previous actions. ( Probably the one and only time you’ll see that in this comic. ) Then Keirr suddenly decides she can join the pack, because it was always an option, Keirr was just being a dick. And with that, Keirr invites her to look for his family with him. Aira is able to offer some advice, as she has previously traveled the entire island in her beast form. ( Page 267 - 276 )

Here comes the total 180 of Keirr, when Aira shows him the way to Whispervale. Suddenly Keirr spouts out “We should ask them to join their pack!” Wtf?? Even Aira asks him why, just ask them if they have seen his family. Then for some reason Keirr wants to use Whispervale for their resources before continuing, but in the same breath wants to join their Tribe? None of what he just said to Aira made sense to me. Obviously Aira is uncomfortable, but Keirr doesn’t give a shit lol. Once Whispervale approaches them, Keirr asks if they can join their Tribe. Keirr then attempts to gain sympathy from Fraujar, but rightfully he gets none. Fraujar makes a statement to Keirr that the health of his tribe is everything to him, and he needs more from them than what they have shown Fraujar. Fraujar then assigns Felidae to get them acquainted with everything. Not sure what Keirr or Kique are thinking in this moment, as this is a total 180 from Keirr and his plans.( Page 311 - 314 )

Time passes for the pair and of course Aira asks Keirr when they are leaving Whispervale. Seems she’s the one that adopted Keirrs old personality, cause she’s the only one eager enough to go find them. Of course Keirr shuts her down with a bullshit excuse. “We need stability!” Not sure why he suddenly is against his own idea of searching for his family and staying with Whispervale. I mean what else did he expect trying to find them? Aira is obviously uncomfortable joining a Tribe she did not want, but again, Keirr doesn’t care. Finally their right of passage comes and Aira is the first one to participate. Aira is once again expressing she is UNCOMFORTABLE, before her trial begins. Keirr tries to reassure her, but beyond face value, Aira is stuck there because of his dumbass, unwilling at that. Of course Aira doesn’t do very well in her trial, Fraujar then says her character can be improved, but her structure is… Not up to parr. Then Keirr is all like “Oh she just needs to be trained!” Homie, did you not listen to anything Aira has said previously? She was BORN like this, she can’t just magically work out and get better. That’s not how disabilities work, idiot. ( And would you imagine it, Kique is actually an ableist and no wonder Airas character was handled like this! Go on! Read Stazz / Zirvasitys documents on her relationship with the kind hearted author! ) ( Page 326 - 331 )

Tch, anyway. Aira is obviously disappointed, she told Keirr and even expressed to Keirr that she did not want to join this tribe. I would imagine being in her shoes, she feels unheard, but tried to please Keirr anyway, only to fail. Then of course came Keirrs time and suddenly we’re shown a flashback between Keirr and his father. Of course, this was never shown in Asmundr, or Home. Suddenly Kainan and Keirr found time to actually give a shit about reindeer behavior. ANYWAY. Keirr is oddly confident in larping, how did the confident, son of Kainan, shield wolf killer end up in this situation lmfao. Of course, to nobodies surprise, Keirr nails the trial, he still loses the fight against Raun and everyone is buddy - buddy. ( Page 332 - 336 )

The next scene that follows, we have Raun shouting out at Keirr, saying he looks good and can pass as a guard if he keeps it up. Tbh, this seemed friendly at first, but watching the way Raun interacts with Keirr in the future, makes me feel like Raun is the neighborhood creep lol. Aira then comes out of the hut, her scars completely healed. Keirr is at least somewhat more supportive in this page, but future Keirr is nothing but a prick. ( Page 345 )

Fast forward to chapter 10, we finally see Keirr again, because all of chapter nine was about dumbass Rogio. Ahem. We actually see some progress from Keirr, at least keeping his word to himself. But the odd part is, he brought Raun and not Aira? First of all, Keirr hardly knows Raun and Aira understood the whole situation a lot better than Raun. Soooo.. Odd choice in bringing Raun. ( Would like to add really quick, I know Fraujar assigned Raun to follow Keirr, but why tf would Aira not come either? ) Raun is more dead weight anyway, because he’s being a giant wussy about being in that area anyway. Not even allowing Keirr to scope out the area, completely. And Keirr is just laughing about it, like cmon man, I would imagine you would want to potentially comb through the area, not cater to some giant wuss like Raun. ( Page 458 - 460 )

And to nobodies surprise, the next scene that involves Keirr is a flirty Raun. He tries to encourage Keirr to let loose and have some fun, which would have been cool if it had stayed as a friendship kind of thing. But yet again, Kique force feeds us another MxM ship. At one point, if Kique had kept up with the Rhovanion x Rogio arc that he was hinting at, at some point. All of his main male characters would have been gay. Which is obviously unrealistic, not impossible! But unrealistic. Honestly, I take Raun as a fucking creep. You hardly know anything about Keirr and yet, here he is trying to make flirty gestures and tell Keirr he’s avoiding him. As a woman, to my fellow women, any time a man points out that you’ve been avoiding him, a very creepy vibe showers over us. ( Page 478 - 479 )

Then to nobodies surprise again, Keirr is suddenly able to pin Raun, even though Raun was seen to be a lot stronger than Keirr in his trial. Aaaaand of course, Keirr reciprocates Rauns flirting by responding to him in a sexual manner, “I’m the lead sarv now.” However, in the future Keirr becomes more of an asshole at Raun from this point. ( Page 480 )

Ah now this scene just pisses me off and makes me want to throw Keirr off a cliff. Aira is seen laying around, presumably missing Keirr, I’m sure. Or, just wondering where he went. When she catches sight of him returning, she is understandably excited to see him. The one guy that helped her out with everything, in her worst times. The one guy that made her stop from becoming a beast again.. Shits on her entirely. Eyup, you heard it right. Apparently, getting people totally dependent on you and then being a giant asshole, is something Kique favors doing. Aira of course asks Keirr where he went, Keirr is suddenly acting like the biggest ass to Aira. Which tbh, he has no right doing. HE is the REASON she is there, in the first place. She has EXPRESSED to him NUMEROUS times she is uncomfortable with the tribe, but yet, he took her cries for help and rolled them up and tossed them like newspaper. What a god damn jerk Keirr is. And of course, Aira is understandably upset. Keirr basically told her to fuck off and go make her own friends. Even tho a few chapters ago, he was seen cuddling and holding her, telling her he was there for her. FUCK you Keirr. ( Page 481 - 482 )

In the next scene, Keirr then wants to play a pity party for himself, sitting in the rain, all sad looking. Like he didn’t cause this whole situation for himself. Nothing told this jackass to join Whispervale and stop searching for his family, he did it all himself! So really, why tf is he sitting there acting all depressed? Get off your ass and go look for them! Nobody told you that you couldn’t? Honestly, he’s lucky that Aira still gives a damn about him, even after he treated her like utter dog shit. Then, while Keirr is acting like a baby, Zilas makes an appearance and Keirrs dumbass thinks it’s a grand idea to talk to the ghoul. It’s kind of interesting to me how Zilas is still mostly recognizable.. You would think by now he’d peel his skin off, you know, like what Fjordor said that ghouls do. Zilas has been dead for quite a while. Aira then witnesses all of this and comes to his aid, banishing the ghoul. Keirr then suddenly gets all butt hurt about it and snarls at Aira. Okay, I get it, you’re mourning dude, but I would have figured you’d have some logic / sense to know that Zilas.. IS NOT ZILAS! Keirr even asked the ghoul what he could do, like the damn thing can talk back to him. Honestly, Aira should have just let the ghoul tear Keirr up to shreds and save us all the drama lmfao. And one last thing, when Keirr says he saw that ghoul before, but didn’t recognize it. GIRL WHERE? ( Page 515 - 517 )

Suddenly, Keirr is the master of establishing the differences in the ghouls sounds and can still hear Zilas. Also, when Aira mentions that she lived with the Meteor Tribe, really that opened up way too many questions about her that I’d like to ask. But anyway. Aira gives some speech to Keirr about how MT basically fucked around and found out with the spirits. Then a conversation falls into place about burning Zilas’s body on MT land, which ew, his body im sure would be pretty rotted away by now. But this also brings me to another question, what are the ghouls made of? Are they a manifestation of the soul? They quite obviously can’t be their former bodies, because if that were the case, they wouldn’t even find Zilas’s body, as he would have risen and been a ghoul. Another fat question for this comic and I’m not even sure if this was talked about? ( I’ll be honest with you, I forget if this part was talked about. ) ( Page 518 - 519 )

And here we go with the sexual tension between these two idiots, Keirr and Raun. Raun is a full on creep already, but really Keirr is the big asshole here. Previously, Raun asked him out, as he mentioned before the trip, to Felidae and Aira. So instead of.. Idk, not leading Raun on, what does Keirr do? Hugs him and shares a tender moment with him. Oh trust me guys, it gets fucking worse from this point. And I will continue to say that Raun is a creep, but even he doesn’t deserve to be led on. I also don’t remember Raun asking Keirr out, but I’ll just assume that was yet another important off screen moment. This is also yet another rushed, no chemistry ship crammed down our throats by Kique. ( Page 526 )

So finally we get to the part where they eventually burn Zilas’s body, Aira asks Keirr if he wants to say something and of course! Nothing. It’s almost like any time someone dies in this comic, proper funerals don’t exist. Granted, Keirr just said “I love you, brother.” But when given the opportunity before hand, he was like eh, I don’t have shit to say lmao. ( Page 528 )

Fast forward to a year, I mean 3 months later ( in Keirrs arc ). Of course, in another off screen moment, supposedly Keirr and the others returned to Whispervale and told Fraujar what happened. In my opinion, I feel like some punishment should have been bestowed upon them, or at least show Fraujar being upset with them for doing this behind his back. It would have shown more character from Fraujar and also shown Keirr getting his ass chewed out, by bringing all this unnecessary drama and bullshit into Whispervale. Keirr is also being another nosy ass, listening in on his Jarls discussion. Within the midst of this, Ferah makes her appearance. Keirr miraculously still remembers her and asks what the hell happened. I almost forgot that Keirr and Ferah met previously, because they literally didn’t say anything to each other lol. ( Page 566 - 567 )

Oh boy, here comes the cringiest scene that involves Keirr. Keirr steps away for a moment, after watching Ferah, once Felidae walks in. Ferah wakes up and of course is spooked, cause she doesn’t know wtf is going on. Somehow they both remember each others names, though I don’t remember them ever sharing their names to each other previously. Anyway, Keirr asks Ferah questions about Roamer and Ferah tells him that Ronja and Roamer are at MT. Of course, Keirr gets excited and quite frankly I’m surprised he didn’t smell them before, because Keirr was literally in their territory a few months back, but whatever! Ferah then tells Keirr they’ve both been strong and bla bla. Keirr of course tries to take off, being this annoying problem child as usual. If I were Fraujar I would be so annoyed with Keirr lmfao. Of course you can’t just take off like that, from your tribe, which YOU wanted to join. Raun stops Keirr from running off and what follows after is a recipe for fucking disaster lol. Keirr ends up kissing Raun, further leading the king of creeps on. Keirr KNOWS that Raun likes him, so apparently kissing him out of emotional excitement is a totally normal thing to do. Especially when you know that person has a CRUSH on you and yet you don’t reciprocate it! No, no, it’s totally okay to lead on someone who has feelings for you! ( Page 572 - 576 )

Damn near 100 pages later and we finally see Keirr again. Course, nothing has changed with him. Raun and Keirr are seen in a hut together, Raun is basically asking Keirr what they are, because I mean.. They touched tongues, lmfao. But that was because of Keirr throwing himself at Raun, so really I don’t blame Raun for asking. Now in Keirrs defense, I don’t know why tf Raun is grabbing Keirr like that, when asking him a question, so I mean Keirrs response is a little valid, when he yells at Raun. But the blame still lies with Keirr, because this whole time he has led Raun on, but at the same time Raun has been a giant freaking creep bag as well. They are then interrupted when Keirr walks out and runs into Fraujar, standing there, needing to talk to Keirr. ( Page 640 - 641 )

A few pages later, we see a non emotional reunion between Keirr, Ronja and Roamer. I mean god, all of their expressions are so god damn bland. Y’all haven’t seen each other in months, but let’s just 1,000 yard stare at each other, BEAUTIFUL. ( Page 645 - 646 )

Fast waaaay forwards, to more important scenes involving Keirr. After Rhov and Keirr’s reunion, we are graced with a scene where Rhov and Feaf are telling Keirr that MT might get attacked… This fucking idiot. So instead of putting this whole thing on top priority, Keirr just brushes it off and is like.. I’Ll TeLl FrAuJaR iN tHe MoRnInG. Dumbass, how do you know if they are attacking MT? Feaf literally said they might come to Whispervale? How does Keirr know they aren’t literally waiting in ambush, that very moment? HE DOESNT. So instead of putting his family top priority, like he probably should’ve, he decides to talk about his relationship status. What a great fucking family member / tribe member he is. On top of this, “figuring himself out.” I think you know where you stand, buddy. This whole scene though, Keirr was an idiot. He doesn’t even show the slightest BIT of concern for his family / MT. Let’s act depressed af, because he didn’t know where everyone was, but as soon as he finds them and they could potentially be in danger, ah, let’s wait to warn others till morning! ( Page 788 - 791 )

Finally Keirr and Whispervale show up, but yall are too damn late already. ( Page 808 )

And that about sums up my read along breakdown!

-

- Personality Breakdown

So looking over Keirrs personality traits really gives me some mixed feelings. To be honest, I can’t say that he is independent. Not anymore at least, he was the one that decided he wanted to join Whispervale, he even went against his own independent idea of searching for his family. So for me, he is neither logical, independent OR family - oriented.

A few of these other positive personality traits really haven’t been tested thru the fire, so I can’t really say what he is or isn’t. Mainly because Kique does not focus much on Keirr, like he does with the jackasses of MT and former MT members.

To put it all in perspective though, Keirr was a pretty solid character in Asmundr and in the beginning of Home. Unfortunately, he too fell victim of Kiques weird kinks / fans and became a whole contradiction to himself and his own personality traits.

-

And that is the end ladies and gentlemen! Hope you enjoy :)

- Zombiee

[peppermint-toads]

𝚗𝚘𝚝𝚎𝚜 there are so many könig x pregnant reader drafts in my docs lmk if you want like a mini series

𝚠𝚊𝚛𝚗𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚜 könig x pregnant reader, morning sickness but no actual vomiting, established relationship, semi-gross food combos

𝚜𝚞𝚖𝚖𝚊𝚛𝚢 you take down your giant husband with your pregnancy meals

When König walked through the door, his nose rosy from the cold weather, he immediately scanned the home for signs of you. His twelve week pregnant wife.

He heard the television crackling from the living room, playing one of those old movies you liked to watch with those old hollywood accents he couldn’t quite understand.

“What are you doing, meine liebe?” He asked in the sweetest tone, leaning on the wooden door frame behind where you sat on the couch. When he approached you, he saw the half empty bowl sitting in front of you on the coffee table, and he grimaced.

“Having a snack.” You responded idly, focusing on the movie.

Sure, König was used to pretty bland, not so great food. And he was a tough guy, built to withstand the worst conditions. But when he saw the unique combination you’d decided on for the night he nearly started sweating.

“Well,” you started excitedly. “This is bowtie pasta with vegenaise and ranch seasoning, oh! Grape tomatoes, too.”

Regular mayonnaise was a big no, as you’d discovered early into your pregnancy when König had made you a sandwich that had instantly made you puke your guts out.

“And these are pickled jalapeños, and those are just maraschino cherries. Wanna bite?” You asked him with a precious little hopeful glint in your eyes, and he couldn’t refuse. It was his sperm making you eat like that, anyways.

“Okay,” he agreed hesitantly with a nervous smile. Maybe it would taste better than it looked.

He rounded the couch and took a seat next to you, taking the bowl from your slightly outstretched hands. He shoved a heaping spoonful into his mouth, not really thinking too much about it.

His eyes watered as he opened his mouth to lie to you and tell you it was delicious and ask how you came up with such a thing. And he shook his head, trying to dispel the flavors from his tongue.

He was running to the sink before you could even blink, spitting the bite out into it and running the faucet over his mouth.

“König, honey I’m sorry.” You couldn’t help the giggle that caught in your throat as you rubbed your hand consolingly over his back. “You didn’t have to try it!”

“I thought maybe it would taste better than it looked!” He grunted in defense, bracing his elbows on the edge of the counter. He looked comically large hunched over the kitchen sink with spit running down his chin.

He stood, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand and taking a deep, shuddery breath.

“I am just happy you are eating.”

And he really was. You’d been having such a tough time with morning sickness that he was just thrilled you could eat better again.

“Can I make it up to you? I’ll make anything you want for dinner. Just name it and I’ll run to the store—”

He herded you back to the couch with a shake of his head.

“You must rest now, meine liebe.”

[genericpuff]

A while back you made a post mentioning Down to Earth is trash and I would like to here your take on it. No pressure on it I just like hearing your opinion on things. FYI I hate Kade lol

I did, and I've been meaning to post about it, but I've been taking some extra time to re-read as much as I can so that I could better collect my thoughts :' )

Now I will mention, I have not caught up to the most recent episodes. Most of my thoughts here will reflect the earliest parts of the series, as I didn't end up sticking with this one. So please take my criticisms as someone who just never got into this series for various reasons, not as someone who was incredibly into the comic and fell off it (like I am with LO). I will try to judge it and review it fairly based on that context.

Most of my issues with Down to Earth don't stem nearly as deep as my issues with LO, Let's Play, or even Big Ethel Energy. Frankly, I think the comic is 'fine', but I don't think it's necessarily all that good either, and the amount of attention it gets from the platform lends to the fact that I really think its success is due to a lot of generated hype. This is one of the other comics on the platform that gets a LOT of priority advertising, not quite as egregious as LO, but still a lot.

The short answer: I think the comic is just overrated and pretty basic in terms of its storytelling and art, and I don't think it's necessarily a good "romance" comic for some of the same reasons I don't think LO or Let's Play are good romance comics. I think the only reason I don't get quite as mad at it as I do with LO or BEE or LP is because (as far as I can tell) it's not really advertising itself as some feminist progressive piece of work. It's sorta just "what you see is what you get", and what you get isn't really all that great (for reasons listed below) but at least it doesn't try to sound smarter than it is most of the time. Read it the same way you would watch a fluff anime.

Moving into my long answer, I will say some of the things that were initially appealing about it: the art is very colorful and cutesy, the comedy (for the most part) is inoffensive and simple, and the story is really easy to pick up and get into.

That said, I do think some of those praises are also part of its weaknesses.

While the art gets better over time, there are certain aspects of its stylization that still feel very "baby's first webcomic" to me. Which is great if you're someone who's into that style, but when I read it, it never really stops feeling like a Canvas comic, if you catch my drift. Nothing really sets it apart from the flood of Merryweather-esque fan service comics that are in the Canvas section.

And boy, is there a LOT of fanservice in this comic. I think the main plot point itself is fanservice in and of itself - cutesy anime alien girl crashes on earth, and winds up living with the depressed NEET-like guy, shenanigans ensue from how "inexperienced" she is due to her alien status. Everything from the circumstances of this character's plot to how she's drawn screams "this is for people who like to read about small titty girls with big asses being put into a situation where they have to rely on a man". The comic takes many opportunities to draw the FL, Zaida, as wide as possible (and of course, the ML Kade loves this trait about her, it's one of the first thing he notices aside from the fact that she speaks an alien language and can do weird alien things like telepathy and flying).

Thankfully this does get a little better in the later episodes, you can tell the creator was struggling with anatomy in places and then honed their skills, but there are still times it regresses back to the extremely-pinched-waist-mega-badonker-hips look.

Don't get me wrong, having a protagonist with wide hips like this is all fine and dandy, but there's a point where you can tell it's purely for fanservice and that's definitely what the comic wants you to know from the starting gun. She fits perfectly into that "born sexy yesterday" trope that so many romance FL's do (cough Persephone cough) while also having that "uwu I'm so inexperienced :(((" vibe that you get from characters like Sam in Let's Play. Shit, Kade pretty much starts sexualizing her before he even knows what her deal is as a person. Does he even know how old she is? Is "she" even a "she", do these aliens have different concepts of gender identity or even different types of reproductive organs than what you would find on Earth?

Look, I get it that I'm probably WAY overthinking it, you can write comics about characters from other dimensions and planets without having to get into the nitty gritty of whether or not they have periods, that's fine. But the real problem is the fact that her being from another planet seems to be used purely for creating an infantilized character with extra steps who's easily laughed at for not knowing things (don't even get me started on how "alien" could be replaced with "someone who doesn't speak English or have access to modern devices" in a lot of this comic, but I feel like that's way too deep of a criticism to be pinning on something that's literally designed to be a quirky fanservice fluff comic.)

Like, you want an alien girl who looks human but still acts reasonably like an alien - while even tackling subjects that come with being an "outsider" - without making her act like a literal baby? Starfire from Teen Titans.

(granted, the whole "smooching to transfer information" thing is definitely a little weird in hindsight, and there are definitely moments of fanservice, but that's about as weird as it gets lmao you don't see Starfire acting like a literal toddler, she is smart and capable, she just isn't from Earth, which is the whole point of her characterization being parallel to that of what foreigners experience ! She's not stupid or incapable of taking care of herself, she's just not accustomed to life on Earth!)

Like, this is in one of the newer episodes and I just-

(I suddenly have to throw up-)

It really dials the creep factor of this whole relationship dynamic to 100 when they drive home just how "babylike" she is through panels like this. It's not really her being unaware of customs around her, it's just her being written as babylike as possible with the fact that she's an alien being used as justification.

But it really makes you think about Kade's intentions when he goes straight to buying lingerie for the girl he just met who's been forced to stay with him in his home. He doesn't even really make efforts to help her get on her own feet, he just accepts this as his fate and goes "welp I guess I gotta make sure I don't get fired from my job" because now he has to support the baby girl that landed in his backyard. So Zaida ends up having no agency as a result. It just feels like a contrived situation meant to force an unaware, vulnerable girl into being taken care of by a guy who's, frankly, a creep.

And boy, Kade is actually kind of a creepy scumbag.

Kade makes for a really uninteresting and frankly pathetic character, he's just sort of a whiny man baby and you just know if Zaida was an earthling who had spent time on this planet longer than a few days, she probably wouldn't put up with this shit LOL Like, deadass he basically threatens to harm her within the first few episodes of the comic-

Like, this is after she's ruined his Playstation or w/e, and it's just like DAMN girl, this is a RED FLAG. But of course, she's an alien girl who's ignorant about everything, so it creates that power dynamic where he basically has full reign to take advantage of her at any time. Ladies, if a guy says you shouldn't trust him, take him at his word.

Zaida's characterization is also very inconsistent between her being an alien and her just being an "uwu baby girl". Often times it just makes the whole "alien" thing feel like it's only there to justify writing yet another "I'm babyyyy" romance. Sometimes she's WAY more privy to things than you'd expect her to be and then other times she's doing the dumbest shit for laughs.

Now to be fair, she DOESN'T put up with his shit here, but the fact that the writing for Zaida is inconsistent makes scenes like Kade being a creep being more about the creator realizing they're leaning too hard into her being vulnerable to abuse and so they quickly have Zaida combat it with some strange amount of awareness despite the fact she's only been living with him for a few days... but not enough awareness to maybe realize this isn't a good living situation. Like, again, she may be able to speak English, but that doesn't mean she's fully aware of what Earthlings are like, so she's suddenly really smart about what it means to be taken advantage of by a human man even though everywhere else in the comic she's written like a toddler.

And of course, like many of these webtoons tend to do, they don't linger on the implications of this scene too long, so they quickly turn it into a punchline to ease the tension. Audience comfort restored.

And that brings us to the comedy. The "jokes" in this comic basically boil down to, "haha, the alien girl doesn't know how to take care of herself on Earth!" , which frankly, I think is just a very thin veil for infantilization. I mean, really, the fact that she's an alien doesn't even really matter in the world of this comic, it takes a while for the comic to even really give us a glimpse of what her life was like off Earth so most of the comic is just typical slice of life cutesy moments you'd find in literally any shoujo or romance webtoon. You could switch out the fact that she's an alien with her being from another dimension, or turn it into an isekai where she was the female character in Kade's favorite video game who suddenly got zapped into the real world, and it would make fundamentally zero difference.

They even sorta lampshade this fact but swiftly move on from it.

There's nothing really that makes her an "alien" in any unique or consequential way, she's just a carbon copy anime girl with pointy ears who could be replaced with any other trope from other romance subgenres like this. She can eat human food just fine, dress in human clothes, and as long as she wears a hat over her ears, she's literally indistinguishable from the humans around her.

I will add as well that there are a lot of little ways they hint towards the implied dynamic between these two, at least in the beginning. The whole "second rule: obey" bit, while passed off immediately after as a joke, feels like it was inserted there JUST to create that imbalanced power dynamic that so many "romance" webtoons rely on, similarly to LO and Let's Play. The fact that he corrects himself from this just feels like, again, lampshading.

And again, after this we do see Kade legitimately acting like a creep and he DOESN'T DO ANYTHING to help Zaida get her footing beyond paying for her room and board and telling her to mind her vocabulary, so this seems more like him trying to create a situation that's beneficial to him where he's effectively trapped this girl into relying on him.

They even lampshade this as well so that leads me to believe they're fully aware of this dynamic and how creepy it is, so they try and play it off as a "haha so funny" joke to ease the tension or create suspension of disbelief.

When it comes to the actual execution of punchlines, again, 90% of the jokes in this comic are "haha alien girl so stupid!"

(I will admit this scene did make me laugh, but it's telling that it was the only one that stood out to me for that because every other joke in this series is very mid and resorts to the same type of "haha she's a stupid alien girl" punchlines.)

(omg mental illness! so funny! /s)

If you really want comedy written around aliens describing human things in weird ways, then just go read Strange Planet. They're actually aliens and they're consistently funny through much smarter writing that doesn't rely purely on "lmao they're stupid because they're not from here". If anything the aliens in Strange Planet are way more welcoming and endearing to the concept of being a fish out of water than simply making them stupid for a punchline.

(i swear to christ, "crisscross flop disc" and "prohibit anxiety" are lines that have lived in my head rent free for like 3 years now, it never gets old and THAT'S how you know it's a good joke LMAO)

And the story, as mentioned, is easy to get into, but ultimately that winds up meaning it's not really all that well done. Like, it's fine! It's a cute comic to read if you're into this sort of thing, there are a lot of sweet little moments that feel good to read between Kade and Zaida, but ultimately because of the focus on the fluff, that's all it ends up feeling like - weekly doses of fluff. Even when it tries to have some semblance of plot, it's quickly undercut by fanservice. So it's just kinda boring and vapid.

Case in point, one of Kade's observations of Zaida is that she apparently looks "just like his ex girlfriend" who he still clearly hasn't gotten over, but we don't actually see even a hint of what his ex-girlfriend looks like until MULTIPLE episodes later after the "sparks" have already started being formed between him and Zaida.

Um... she doesn't really look like Zaida at all aside from them both being generic anime girls, but okay lol by that logic the girl he served at the store in Episode 7 also looks like Zaida.

So it kinda makes the whole relationship feel superficial, like he's only interested in her because she vaguely reminds him of his ex, and it's taking so long to get through any amount of plot through all the fluff that I can't be sure if they ever actually address this. I'd like to think they do eventually, though from what I've heard of the later episodes after his ex-girlfriend makes an appearance, it seems more like they go the LO route of making the two relationship "choices" just be complete opposites where one is actually sweet to the ML and the other is abusive JUST to make the sweet FL seem like the "better option". IDK, obviously my criticism of this is lukewarm because I haven't kept up on this comic in ages, but I have the sneaking suspicion the whole ex-girlfriend-the-ML-can't-get-over plotline isn't gonna be used for his development, just to further propel him and Zaida into a relationship - and by extension, manufactured drama to make their relationship more "interesting".

Overall, I don't think Down to Earth is anywhere near as egregious as Let's Play and LO, but it's definitely cut from the same cloth, and that's why it frustrates me to see it - alongside LO and Big Ethel Energy - being marketed as "new voices in romance".

(also real talk, it's so disingenuous for them to include LO in this "new voices in romance comics" panel when it's been around for so many years that everyone and their grandma who uses WT knows about the comic, if they aren't reading LO by now they REALLY don't want to. It's not "new", if anything it's one of the oldest ongoing webtoons on the platform and it REALLY needs to end already lmao)

Far be it from me to gatekeep an entire genre, but this brand of romance comic isn't really "romance". It's vapid fluff loaded up with egregious fanservice that's meant to give you a hit of dopamine every week, while never lingering on serious scenes for too long because they don't want you to realize just how imbalanced the relationship is between the two main characters. It's not quite as concerning as LO or Let's Play, but it does have a vibe that's really uncomfortable when you start to feel it. So having comics like these held up as the "golden standard" of romance is just... it's really telling as to what WT's priorities are and how unhealthy "romance" has become in mainstream media.

And if I can get a little "old man yelling at cloud" for a second, I miss when romance was sweet and soft and earnest and heartfelt. I think the only mainstream and successful romance webcomic (and it's not even an Originals!) that I've seen in the last several years that isn't loaded up with these problematic tropes is Heartstopper. Heartstopper is sweet and soft and earnest and heartfelt. Heartstopper is way more of a pillar for a healthy romance than what any of these "new voices in romance comics" can provide. It literally couldn't function as an Originals series because the definition of a WT romance comic would undercut the actual point of Heartstopper.

These unhealthy standards and dynamics that we've set in the romance genre have been so pervasive for years now and I really just wish they'd go away.

y'know what, this whole essay is really just a promo post for Heartstopper now, go read it-

[sunflowerheartsandstarryskies]

The Flirting Dork~Eddie Munson x fem!reader

Author’s Note: Yes I’m a clown who’s in love with the metalhead with a golden heart. I can’t help it, I’m soft. Anyway, I hope this isn’t too OOC but if it is I blame it on my NoUpsideDown!AU, that resides in my head, is that even a thing? A normal AU?

I thought it would be pretty fun if there was a 70’s Show style AU with the Hawkins gang, with a Steve/Jackie thing going on for Eddie and Y/N.

Warnings: None, pure fluff

Summary: You’ve been dating Eddie for a while now, almost three months and you realized how much of a giant dork he was when you got together.

Word Count: 1.5k

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You never really fit in anywhere at school, but you wanted to. Wanted to find some sense of belonging in high school, but you eventually moved on from that fleeting feeling when you decided to just be content with staying in the background of the drama of high school. 

You noticed that some people loved to be the center of people’s attention whether deserved or not. Eddie Munson was one of them, he seemed to thrive in dramatic speeches and theatrical movements. You always looked forward to looking at him from the cafeteria tables, watching him give a dramatic lament about the tragedy of today’s youths. 

Unsure and shy, you were content on watching from afar and laughing to yourself when he does give in to the dramatics to his friends and surrounding people around him. What you didn’t know was that Eddie noticed you too. How could he not? He thinks you’re cute as hell.

Eddie noticed you looking at him a couple of times at the cafeteria and in your shared classes. At first he thought it was just in his head that you were looking at him, multiple times, but also because you are so cute and hot?? His brain couldn’t come up with a scenario where you would be staring at him like you are, like he’s not a freak. How did he not see you sooner?

One day he noticed you staring at his table again during lunch and this time he finally caught your eyes, which caused you to get flustered and look down at a book you were reading. Eddie grinned, this was his time to make his move, to see if you really do like him. He gets up and his friends all look at him expectantly, maybe for another dramatic speech.

He winks at them and says, “Fear not children, I will be right back. I am on a quest.”

You were currently trying not to die at having been caught staring at Eddie by Eddie. While trying to get back into your book you heard footsteps coming towards along with the noise of metal jingling. You heard someone sit right next to you and heard a rapping on the lunch table as someone was getting your attention. 

“Hello, is it okay if I came over here?” 

You look up and you saw Eddie Munson staring at you with a curious look in his eyes as he stares, and you thought you were gonna die from overheating at his stare. You put your book down as you answered him, “Su-sure, yeah it’s no problem.”

“I couldn’t help but notice that you were staring at me from across the room, and I was just curious why,” he said with a soft smile as he held his head with both arms.

“Only if the fair lady wishes of course,” he makes a motion of backing up from the bench.

“I-know it’s fine, I’m sorry that I was staring at you,” you softly muttered.

He comically spins himself fully on the bench as he looks at you with a goofy grin. 

“Oh there’s no need to apologize, I’m Eddie, Eddie Munson, though you probably already know that.”

“Yeah, I like hearing and seeing you do all those dramatic speeches you do sometimes here,” you gesture around the cafeteria, “I’m Y/N L/N.”

He repeats your name softly and then his eyes widen as he fully registers what you said.

“Wait you like when I go all dramatic and stuff? Even when I do the,” he does a quick devil face at you with his tongue out, “Even that?”

“Yeah even that,” you laugh softly.

He stares at you for a brief moment until he points at your book and asks, “So what reading have I interrupted?”

“Oh you don’t have to worry about this book, I’ve read it about a dozen times already. I-it’s the Hobbit? By Tolkien?” you hesitantly answered. 

His eyes widened and his smile becomes brighter as he asks,“you like Lord of the Rings?” 

“Yeah I do, do you?”

“Hell yes, I run the local cult as you probably heard, the Hellfire Club?” 

“Yeah but it’s just a club right? You play Dungeons and Dragons right?”

He lets out a laugh and claps his hands and he answers, “and you’re not weirded by that? You know the game?”

“Why would I be weirded out? I think it’s cool, I’ve always wanted to play the game and yeah I know it. I’ve always wanted to play a dwarf or an elf like from Tolkien.”

“Well then fair lady, I’ve got some great news, the guys and I are looking for a new person to join our new campaign that’s starting soon. Would you be interested?”

“Yeah that would be fun, but are you? I have almost zero experience in D&D.”

“Oh don’t worry about that, I can teach you everything you need to know before the campaign really starts.”

You give him a bright smile as you feel completely at ease with him, and excited at the prospect of finally getting to spend time with him. 

“Yeah I would love that.”

“Cool cool, um would you want to go to our table? So you can meet all the guys?”

“Yeah totally.”

As you followed him back to the table he turned around to face you and collided to his chest.

“Sorry sweetheart, but before we go fully there I want to ask before they start pestering me that you would want to go back to my place? To start teaching you about D&D and stuff,” he rambles. 

“That sounds good, I’d like that.”

The rest, as they say, is history.

--------------------------------------

You have been dating Eddie now for three months and you still think fondly of how he approached you wanting to put you at ease and make you laugh. He still does, and you’ve come to realize he’s not so intimidating as you thought. 

The day has finally ended at school and you were finishing putting your things away in the locker. You closed your locker and let out a yelp as you see your boyfriend, Eddie, looking at you with a wide grin on his face.

“Hey Eddie,” you say with a soft smile.

“Huh?” he gasps and throws his hand to his chest and spins around. “The lady doth know my name?”

You let out a laugh and shake his head at his antics but decide to play along, “Oh of course the lady knows about you, Sir Eddie, but one wonders does the sir know the lady’s?” 

His face fully lights up into a bright smile as he bounces his head back and forth walking with you towards his van. 

“Of course I know it Lady (Y/N), and would it be okay if this lowly peasant take you home?”

You let out a snort at that last comment and broke character as you playfully shove his shoulder.

“You dork, we’re dating already,” you said.

He’s fully in front of you with a smirk on his face now and he wiggles his eyebrows as he says, “oh we are? Does the other one know?”

“There is no other one, you’re the only guy for this girl,” you replied with a soft smile lighting your face up. 

“And that makes this guy so very lucky and very happy indeed,” he mutters to you before catching your lips in a soft kiss.

“You know you don’t need to flirt with me?” you remarked as you resumed your walking back to the van. The walk taking longer then needed with both of your theatrics halting your movements every couple steps. 

“Oh but it’s fun to flirt with you especially if you flirt back,” he winks.

You are both finally at the car and before you got in it he stepped in front of you, opens the door behind him and bowed deeply to you as he says, “your chariot awaits m’lady.”

“Why thank you m’lord,” you grinned at him.

As you both got settled in the car you decide to lean in and give him a quick kiss on the cheek before buckling seatbelt. He just looked shock at you for a second before grinning and turning on the car. 

“What’s that for?” Eddie asked.

“Oh just for being your charming, cheesy self,” you replied.

--------------------------------------

You got out of the car and came over to you as you walked up to his and his uncle’s shared trailer. 

“Hey my hand’s feeling kinda heavy can you hold it?” Eddie said.

You were in a fit of giggles as you reached to grab his hand and said, “that is not how the saying but only for you, dork.”

“Aha but my flirting worked regardless though,” he stated.

“Of course only because it’s you.”

“I’m thrilled darling.”

As you rested fully with Eddie on his bed he turns to you and wiggles his eyebrows at you much like he did the first day he talked to you as he says, “hey there your lips looks lonely, mind if mine keep them company?”

“You’re an absolute dork,” you reply as you pull him on top of him to kiss him.

“Oh yes, but I’m your dork,” Eddie said smiling against your lips.

You hummed in agreement as you pulled him back in for a deeper kiss.

‘Yeah, your dork,’ you thought to yourself lovingly.

[fortheloveofowen]

Luke Patterson College Au

Summary: Just some Luke college! This is more or less if Luke was in college NOW lol IDK if that makes sense, but just pretend it does

Warnings: Man-whore Luke (I eat it up), mentions of sex, mentions of drug use/alcohol use, I'm in love with Luke I'm so delulu

Note: I am literally just working, and I'm bored so typing this on my work computer :) I hope you guys like this one, I've been wanting to make a Luke college au so so badly ;) Also guys I dropped out of college soooo living vicariously through this rn

𓆩♡𓆪𓆩♡𓆪𓆩♡𓆪𓆩♡𓆪𓆩♡𓆪𓆩♡𓆪𓆩♡𓆪𓆩♡𓆪𓆩♡𓆪𓆩♡𓆪𓆩♡𓆪𓆩♡𓆪𓆩♡𓆪𓆩♡𓆪𓆩♡𓆪𓆩♡𓆪𓆩♡𓆪𓆩

Major: Childhood Education

Minor: Music Composition

Was on the hockey team freshman and sophomore year, but quit once his band started getting booked

Can't y'all just see him as the cutest little elementary school music teacher like showing his students his guitar and talking about when he was in a band awww

Luke and Alex definitely have a shared house off-campus and they like throw parties like it's nobody's business

Definitely tried to join Alex's comic book club, but was quickly kicked out because he spilled soda on Reggie's collector's edition of the original Spiderman comics

"Dude, do you know how expensive this was? Like, for real?"

Luke is definitely known as somewhat of a player around campus and pretty much everyone knows who he is. He can usually be found with his tongue down a random girls throat

But, that's what college is about for him duh

He never wanted to go in the first place, but when his parents put that check in his lap to send him to school what else could he do? Especially when his buddy, Bobby, told him about all the hot chicks running around campus

So how do you meet Mr. Luke? Well, you were couped up in the library preparing for this god awful Bio final that has been stressing you to the point of pulling your hair out when you hear some.... children's laughter???

You look to the main double-door entrance and see a gaggle of children that can't be more than 5 or 6 years old barreling through the doors

And what shocked you most was... Luke Patterson leading this wild pack of children into the building??? I guess you had just never taken interest in what his major is or really anything about him, so you couldn't be too sure what his intentions were

A quiet Luke puts up a finger to his lips and begins counting down from 10, attempting to shush the kids he was directing

"Hey guys, can we quiet down please, we can't be too loud in the library! shhhhh"

And you're like is he soft? and good with kids? Definitely not soft (or so you think right now hehe), but he is great with kids

The kids are shuffling around the library, giggling at the pages in the anatomy books while Luke sits at a nearby table

"Are they bothering you? I knew it was a bad idea to bring them here, but I-I-It's about to rain... had no idea where else to take them..."

And you're just like huh? Because one, why is he talking to you, and two, this is not the same douchebag player you thought you knew. But, you end up telling him that they're fine and you continued studying until your roommate, Julie, asked if you wanted to meet up for dinner

You don't end up seeing Luke for a while after the first meet, and you had long let him disappear from your thoughts

That is until your friend Flynn decides to drag you to a party to "celebrate" finals being over (Even though you'd rather be couped up in your room rewatching Scooby Doo if you were being honest)

The house wasn't anything too crazy, donned with LED lights and some old beer cans strewn across the porch

You had been drinking with Flynn for a while, the fresh smell of marijuana and vomit stinging your nose as you waltzed around the house

Your bladder quickly caught up with you, though, as you excused yourself from Flynn for a second to find a pisser because you know you can't hold your pee while you're drunk

So, you're bobbing around sticking your head into pretty much every single room when you finally come across a door at the end of the hallway

You turn the door handle, astonished to find it unlocked, but you let yourself in and...

There's Luke... hands under a tiny blonde girl's shirt as he kissed up and down her neck

"Oh my god, I can... I am so sorry let me just go!"

You shout almost too eager as you swiftly slam the door and make your way back downstairs, ready to tell Flynn the shit you just walked into

But, alas, your friend is sitting on the couch with Reggie, one of Luke's closest friends, you've come to find out so you averted your attention to the kitchen

It was quiet in here, other than the small bits of banter going on around you in the almost empty kitchen

You stared into your cup of whatever concoction Flynn had made you when you're startled by a sudden presence to your left

"Hey, you're the girl from the library right? Sorry about uhhh... the bathroom sitch.... just doing my civil duty haha"

Luke slurred out as he hoisted himself onto the kitchen counter beside you

You nod your head, not really trying to engage with his "type"

"You wanna dance? Everyone else here is so boring..."

You and Luke head out to the living where masses of people were dancing along to whatever rap song was blaring over the speaker

Luke instinctively holds you by the waist as you sway the entire night, especially when you sway to his bedroom and then to his bed and then.... you get the picture

And Luke took care of you that night, kissing your shoulders, looking into your eyes as he kissed up your stomach bro omg I am getting ahead of myself

But, anyways, you wake up and immediately feel TONED HANDSOME arms around your waist and you're like??? because this is definitely not your bed and who is this man?

Your eyes peak out over the covers and you have the biggest "oh fuck" moment of your life because YOU JUST SLEPT WITH LUKE PATTERSON

So, without thinking you swiftly jump up out of bed and search around his room for your clothes, but not before you're interrupted by a groan and a yawn coming from the bed

"Shit..."

You mutter under your breath as Luke peers at you through hooded lids

When did he become so beautiful and why the hell hadn't you realized until now??

"Good morning to you too... You're leaving already? Didn't enjoy the show?"

He wiggles his eyebrows at you are you're like oh... my... god I gotta get out of here so you scurry off without much of a goodbye, but not before Luke puts his number into your phone

This goes on for a while, you sneaking over to his house, sleeping in his bed, waking up in his arms, and then spending the morning talking and eating breakfast. But, no lovely-dovey shit... ever

It had become somewhat of a routine, but for Luke, this wasn't normal

He'd sleep with a girl a few times, but then ditch her before things could get too serious

But now he's got himself a drawer of your clothes, and your smile embedded in his brain

So you're over this one time and you both had woken up rather sleepy due to the events of the prior night hehehehe

And Luke is just staring at you so lovingly and it was different than any way he had looked at you before

And he just instinctively wraps you in his arms and spoons you

You're like

"Luke, didn't we say that cuddling was off the table if we're awake? We're not like together, remember?"

And he freezes and is like

"We're together. We sleep together, we spend the mornings together, we are quite literally the definition of together..."

Aww he just chews on his thumb and looks up at you through his eyelashes and just kisses you

You and Luke are the couple that literally everyone is digusted with

He constantly needs to be touching you and will literally wait outside your classes so he can flash you that geeky smile and chuckle while holding out some food or coffee

He just wants to take care of you in all ways possible

Finally lets you come to one of his band practices and everyone is like

"Wow you're significant other is so cool, Luke!"

And he just gets antsy and is like yeah I know now leave them alone before I get jealous hehehe

Such a jealous boyfriend and sometimes you have to remind him how much you love him and he can get really insecure but he finds that comfort in you

Practically thinks you are gold and literally nothing in this world could compare to you

𓆩♡𓆪𓆩♡𓆪𓆩♡𓆪𓆩♡𓆪𓆩♡𓆪𓆩♡𓆪𓆩♡𓆪𓆩♡𓆪𓆩♡𓆪𓆩♡𓆪𓆩♡𓆪𓆩♡𓆪𓆩♡𓆪𓆩♡𓆪𓆩♡𓆪𓆩♡𓆪𓆩♡𓆪𓆩

Alrighty y'all that is it for now, but I hope you likeeee

[flo55i]

Maxiel. 2k. Max as the Grim Reaper. Daniel as the lost soul he’s ferrying to Heaven. Because there are some things you shouldn’t have to do alone. tw: death but it’s as fluffy as I get, promise. And also possibly tw; blasphemy?

Daniel wakes up in the same clothes he died in.  He laughs at the irony of the phrase, ‘wouldn’t be caught dead in’, never believing it would apply to him. The only reason he wore the faded red track-pants out of the house was to collect the bins with. Now they look a deep purple colour in the dark swirly mist thing that the afterlife apparently has going for it.

Suddenly realising he’s dead, Daniel puts his hands in his pockets just to make sure he still has control of all his limbs and is distracted by the fact his phone isn’t in them. It makes sense. But like. He can’t remember the last time he was without it. It was definitely there when he— Quickly, Daniel pulls the elastic band around the waist of his pants back and checks his dick is still there. 

“Thank God.” He mutters to himself. 

“God? Like that idiot has got anything to do with this.” Says a curt and surly voice from behind him.

Daniel swivels and comes face to face with Death. Or at least he thinks it is. The long swirling black cloak and the huge scythe that is taller than he is, is a dead giveaway. Literally. Immediately Daniel’s first instinct is to run, but as soon as he takes off in one direction, there’s a snap of fingers and he’s right back where he started from. 

“Was that fun?” The guy says, scowling down at Daniel from where he landed at his feet. At the sarcasm, Daniel takes his hands off his head and dares to finally open his eyes. He thinks he’s more startled to find that Death has sneakers on than the fact that he’s still alive— Daniel places a hand on his chest, checking— still breathing. Whatever he is. He doesn’t know if he’s technically dead or is he in some kind of Limbo? He looks around. It looks like it could be the land in between heaven and hell. What with the dark clouds and the horizon of agonising nothingness and—

“I can do this all day you know.” The guy says, interrupting Daniel’s freak out by tapping his scythe impatiently on the ground. Then uncrossing his arm, muttering to himself he adds, “Not like I’m busy or anything.” 

Slowly getting to his feet and brushing off the mist still clinging to his bare chest, Daniel asks, “You’re not like, going to reap me and shit are you?”

Death rolls his eyes. “What is it that you think I am going to do? You are already dead!”

The hood falls back off his face as he raises his hands in exasperation and Daniel can see this guy is younger than him, and pretty much human too. At least he is from the outside. He doesn’t look very menacing. Especially with those pouty lips and bright blue eyes. Angel, yes. Evil, no. 

If he really is dead like this guy says, Daniel was kinda expecting a scary skeleton type-a-thing, like how they showed in movies and comic books and stuff. No soul, no eyes. This guy looks anything but evil incarnated, what with the way he’s just waving his scythe around all over the place like a toddler throwing a tantrum. Maybe Daniel got the defective grim reaper or something?

“I mean, I’m not telling you how to do your job or anything.” Daniel starts, trying to be nice. By the sounds of it, this guy has probably had a hard day already. Or Eternity. Whatever. “But like, isn’t this the part where you take my soul?”

“Trust me.” Death says, staring Daniel down pitifully. “I do not want your stupid soul.” 

“Oh.” Daniel doesn’t know whether to be offended or not so he just asks, “So what ARE you here to do then? ‘Cause I gotta tell ya dude, that scythe looks pretty ominous to me.” 

Though the response gets an eye roll, Daniel thinks he can see the barest hint of a smile underneath it. 

Coughing, he then states, all official like, “My name is Max and I am here because it is my duty to guide you into the afterlife.” 

Max holds out the arm not carrying the weapon in invitation and Daniel takes the hint and starts walking. There’s rocks and uneven terrain that he has to climb over and crouch through. There are no trees or birds, no life except whatever he and Max are considered right now. Daniel didn’t know what he was expecting, fire and brimstone? 

They come to a lake and at Max’s gentle look, Daniel moves silently forward. It’s cool and the water laps at his collarbones, coming up to his neck. His foot slips and Max grabs his arm, saving his head from going under. He shivers away from the freezing cold touch. The hands don’t linger, as if Max knows that they feel like having a corpse clinging to Daniel’s body. Body moving again, Daniel refrains from rubbing his arm and tries not to think of the water being made up of thousands of souls who didn’t make it across beneath him.

Suddenly, Daniel can’t stand the silence. He tries a joke. “Why did the chicken go to the seance?” 

“I do not know?” Max looks unsure. But more so at the fact that Daniel is actually talking to him about something so stupid and not because he doesn’t know the answer. He plays along though, finally asking, “Why did the chicken go to the seance?”

“To get to the other side.” Daniel replies with a grin. 

“That was terrible.” But Max is looking at least faintly amused again so Daniel doesn’t believe him. 

They’ve reached the opposite bank now and Daniel steps free from the water. He feels lighter, like a weight has been lifted off his shoulders. Looking down, his pants aren’t even soaked. He doesn’t feel as cold either even though his skin is just as cold to the touch. It’s like he’s acclimatised and has simply gotten used to being here.

“So where are we going then?” He can’t help but ask. There’s nothing in front of them or beside them now, just a whole heap of swirling mist he can’t see anything through. “Up or down? Stairway to heaven or the Highway to hell?”

Max sighs. “Up.” 

“Yes! Woo hoo! Take that Mr Brown who thought I’d never get anywhere good!” Excited, Daniel starts singing. “And she’s buy-ying a stairway to—”

“If you sing one more word I will cut you down right here.” Max puts the blade right up against Daniel’s neck. 

“Chill dude. Relax.” Daniel tries to reassure whilst gently guiding the scythe away from his throat. It might not be able to kill him, but he doesn’t wanna spend the rest of eternity without a head either. Where was that nice guy with the smile from earlier? Daniel keeps talking, trying to find him again.

“So what’s it like then? Heaven?” He asks whilst drifting his fingers through the puffs of clouds at his hips. It disappears in seconds, like the water, without him feeling anything at all. 

“Is it Paradise like everyone says it is? Comfy digs, all I can eat? That sort of thing?” Daniel hopes the food is at least real. He can’t imagine not eating for the rest of eternity. “And are there hot angels flying around as far as the eye can see?” Daniel adds mostly to get a rise out of the one beside him. 

Max ignores him, long strides taking him slightly ahead. Daniel can feel that there’s some sort of frosty tension now, like Max is actually mad at him instead of just his usual surly and unpleasant self. 

“You know I always thought there’d be more trees and leaves around. More greenery.” Daniel muses out loud to himself since Max has gone quiet. “And like, I’m not going to be by myself up there, right? My family will be waiting, yeah? Cause that would suck, spending eternity alone and every—”

“I don’t know, ok!” Max shouts. Daniel stops when he does. 

“What?” He asks incredulously. “You’ve never been? Aren’t you an Angel? Isn’t that like, home base or whatever?” 

Max starts moving again and him not answering is answer enough for Daniel. “Is it a rule or something? No fraternising with the enemy or some shit?”

“I don’t—” Max starts, and Daniel is unnerved to see Death looking so startled. “I don’t remember.”

“How can you not remember?” Daniel snorts, struggling to keep up with Max’s pace. 

“I have been doing this for as long as I can remember. I don’t know what there was before.” Max whispers sullenly. “It is maybe punishment for something, I think, but I can’t be sure.”

Just as Daniel is about to ask what type of person is charged with leading him to heaven, Max holds the tip of his scythe up to point at something up ahead. They’ve reached the gates now. Actual pearly gates, not a hint of gold in sight. And they only open when Daniel approaches them after Max takes a step back. 

They creak charmingly, like a garden gate he barely remembers from childhood. There’s sunshine shining from somewhere beyond the clouds and it smells like summer rain and his grandmother’s chocolate chip cookies she would always have ready for him when he visited her. And Daniel knows everything that flashed before his eyes as the garbage truck hit him lies within— everything his Sunday school teacher taught him a life of good deeds has afforded him, but he just can’t seem to make himself take that final step. He hesitates. 

“Well?” Max asks impatiently. “What are you waiting for? Go!”

Daniel shuffles on his feet, only now realising he’s barefoot. The entire journey here, rocks and lakes and mountains of dirt and he hadn’t felt a thing. Max did that. Max got him here safely even though he clearly didn’t want to. “But what about you?” 

The question seems to stun Max, like no one has ever asked it before and it makes Daniel think that he has been fucking up his job all this time if the so called ‘virtuous people’ he’s been ferrying across Limbo to the afterlife don’t even have any human decency left to ask. 

“I suppose I will go and get the next idiot who cannot make it across on their own.” Max states bitterly. 

“By yourself?” Max looks away as he shrugs and Daniel can’t help but wonder what the crime was he supposedly committed that would warrant him to spend an eternity of torture having to watch as everyone else got their happily ever after and not him. “But for how long?”

Max is looking into the scythe now, like he can see all the answers to his past in its blade. Daniel can. Its shiny surface reflects the pearly gates and the Paradise beyond made up of everything he ever thought he could want in life. Family, friends, warmth, happiness…. But Daniel’s already had a crack at living that one. And it only ended up with him being sent here to Max.

“Don’t suppose you want any company, do you?” Daniel asks, half jokingly, half not, just to gauge Max’s reaction. He’s never believed in destiny or any shit like that, but who he is to turn down an actual Angel of God looking at him like he is the answer to all the mysteries and wonders in the universe. 

Holding out a hand, he takes the scythe from Max and suddenly Daniel is engulfed in a sea of black fabric. 

“Sweet.” He quips looking down at the same cloak as Max’s that’s now wrapped around him too. With the other hand not holding on to the scythe he holds it out to Max. “How’s about it then? We could call it a double team approach?”  

Looking back at the slightest glimpse of heaven he’s only ever been able to see, Max looks troubled. “Are you sure of this? I do not know if you can go back.” 

At the caution and care in those words, Daniel wonders who could have abandoned Max when he had obviously offered them to the last reaper. ‘Casue Daniel now knows that’s what must have happened. Max couldn’t ever be some heinous butcher or something like that. No one who has so much compassion and longing for human companionship could be capable of something so cruel as that.

“Well I ain’t no chicken.” Daniel laughs in reference to his own joke. “It ain’t all about getting to the other side, you know.” 

This time, the hand that grasps Daniel’s own is warm and full and together they glow a golden colour that makes him believe that this has always been a job better handled with two. 

“But you will not slow me down of course.” Max warns, still looking stunned at the glow. “I actually have a job to do and I can’t be holding your hand the whole time.”

And Daniel knows he’s bullshitting by how hard Max is still clinging to his hand but he lets it slide. After an eternity of dealing with ungrateful souls running and begging to have their lives back when he is only trying to offer them something so much better, Max has earned some faith of his own. 

“Then lead on, oh grimmest of reapers, you.” Daniel says and follows as Max leads them back the way they came.

Hands still tied by the souls that shine bright within, and by the burden of the scythe now shared between them, together they make the long journey back towards oblivion and beyond.