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precious-little-scoundrel · 2 months

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Nine Times she thought she was, and the once she actually was #1

Pairing: Rosie Rosenthal & Ida Brady, intimacy journey.

Warnings: very few, still, typical warnings apply, 18+, discussions of a past rape and fear of intimacy

Requested? ☑️

Circa: October 1945

Mother held up a very frilly, decidedly see-through garment with a bashful grin, bridal boutique exclusivity and the comparative privacy of the dressing room making her as cheeky as a Catholic housewife ever dared. That was Robert’s effect on everyone, it seemed, he was so solidly wonderful, so obviously perfect, his mere attention so great a compliment that becoming his wife? —everyone rightfully gave Ida no peace over how fortunate she was. Her mother more than anyone, after watching the blood sport that was their courtship, egging on one declined proposal after another until at last they were here, a week out and assembling a hasty trousseau for an even hastier wedding to be followed by a lengthy overseas assignment.

Together. Nuremberg.

“You’d like Germany in the fall.” he’d told her.

It made one’s head spin, as did the very notion of donning that toilet paper excuse for nightwear. Maureen had not needed to be told, one grunt from Ida over the phone when a trousseau was mentioned was enough: “I’ll send you a portmanteau or two”, Maureen had concluded easily, without even needing to be told why. She’d also sent along perfume, rich and woodsy with just enough vanilla that Ida felt almost a bride in it. Ida worried such deep consideration was perhaps the product of the Clevens’ own marital struggles and adjustments to peace, but that was not her concern.

“Mother.” Ida begged now with a laugh, mildly unused to such familiarity with her parent, or with such liberal inclinations.

“You’ll be married Ida!” her mother responded, pleadingly happy, “If that’s not the time for it, when?”

When indeed? That hung like a thundercloud over this whole marriage and yet Rosie had set his face to the storm and welcomed it. “So long as you’re doing the ruining” he had blithely responded to her dire predictions for marital misery in his promising young life. Companions, he had declared them

-companions didn’t wear things like that.

“I- I don’t think it would suit me.” she fibbed, thumbing at a sensible set of mulberry colored silk shorts instead.

“My dear, think of him a little.” Mother meant well, words that would make Ida bristle were said so kindly and with such good intent she could only wince while deflecting them.

Ida gave her a curt nod before slipping behind the curtain and shimmying into a slip, very much like the ones she already owned with a pretty little trim of lace around the decollege. Dove gray and striking with her complexion. She already owned and wore such a piece often, the idea of wearing it next to him sent her stomach plummeting, suddenly she saw herself as he might, boyish limbs and the slight swell of breasts leading to a trim waist and only moderate hips; she was flat and tall —it still felt too clingy.

Mother’s voice startled her on the other side of the drape, “Here’s that other size you wanted.” she offered and Ida drew back the partition. Mother stood as if aghast in admiration.

“My beautiful girl.” her voice grew thick with emotion and Ida too felt a lump in her throat at the thought of how many years had been robbed from them, first by the seperation and then by the war, they might have had many such outings and none of them so burdened. “You’ll be irresistible in that.” she said it with such pride and Ida tried so hard to cling to that as her world grew cold and her fingers and lips with it, creeping doubt and pernicious terror raising itself at last at the sheer loneliness of not even her own mother having any idea what horror such a compliment evoked. “Ida, Eye Eye, what’s wrong? My sweets what’s wrong? What did I say? Sit, sit! -there, Ida, darling.”

Ida did not realize she was crying until she was sat on the pretty velvet bench beside the mirror, sobbing like a girl in her mothers arms. “I don’t want to be irresistible.” she tried to explain through her sobs, “I don’t want to tempt him at all.”

Confused as she was, mother did not argue the rightness or wrongness of temptation and desire within marriage. She just held her daughter like she had wanted to when her father died, when her plane had been downed, when they sent her away to Florida so someone else could feed her and she came back more pilot than woman. “Alright, then you don’t need to.” Mother said instead and it brought Ida such relief a new flood of tears were unleashed, years of pent up grief and disgust flowing out of her. “Be yourself. You’re precious Ida, never meant other than that.”

-see how ugly you have now become? the Kommandant had asked her before shearing her hair.

Crumpled against her mother, red faced and quite unimpressive, she wished she were even uglier for once. Poor Robert. She had warned him.

Gaining some composure back, Ida pulled herself away and squared her shoulders, allowing mother’s arm to stay loped around them. She did not deserve to be rebuffed after such kindness. “Mother,” Ida found her voice sounded gravelly and distant even to herself but needs must, “in the war, after I was downed-“ she chose her words carefully, eyes fixated on the most unoffensive thing in the mirror, mother’s sensible brown shoes, she had long debated whether to ever even tell her,, “-I think you know, or have heard or, but, there were things…done to me…that I cannot…easily forget. Robert knows, there’s no, no um, defrauding? no defrauding happening, I have told him, he knows. But I, I don’t want -I don’t want to be irresistible.”

Ida had watched the face of her brother process what had been inflicted on her, Johnny had watched her body swell with lurid proof of it, he had wrapped the bloody product of it in the only white garment left in the camp and buried it with last rites and a muttered Ave. A shroud of innocence for a life conceived in anything but.

Ida had no appetite left to watch a mother’s face when she learned her daughter had been violated.

Mother was now the one who cried, and Ida numbly felt the burgeoning impulse to hold her in return. Awkwardly but with growing surety, she lifted her arm and tucked mother’s smaller frame to her chest, holding her shuddering shoulders, “My brave child.” mother managed in grief, “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’d do anything to take it away-“ it was a natural sentiment and Ida had grown to feel herself quite unnatural for not regretting the course of duty that had placed her in such jeopardy. “Robert is -he is a good man,” mother could not grieve for herself a full minute without returning reassurances, “I wouldn’t let a lesser man have you. But now I know— no one else will do. He will be good to you and if he is not, your father’s house is always yours.”

Ida had never doubted it but to hear it vocalized, to hear it with a recently unburdened heart, the last of her terror calmed to only simmering nervousness, and with the purchase of the demure mulberry shorts, it set her lightly on her last week of singlehood.

That night, the night of her wedding, Ida brushed her teeth alongside Rosie and splashed her face alongside her husband like she had with dozens of men hundreds of times in the shower rooms. Nothing remotely off there. Nothing until she closed the door on him, he to don his pajamas in the suite and she to don them in the bathroom, then the anxiety struck lethal and sharp.

“Don’t fail me now.” she muttered to her nerves as she tried her utmost to efficiently step into the sensible mulberry satin shorts after pulling off the sensible and smart wedding suit she’d been wearing.

She stalled at the door, trying to prepare herself for anything on the other side of it. Robert greeting her with excitement despite all their talks to the contrary of trying anything tonight, or any other night in the near future. Robert hitting the whiskey and passing out pleasantly only to forget his promises in the middle of the night. Or somehow worst of all -Robert lying in bed stiff as a board while waiting for her to shuffle under the sheets already and lay beside him. What then? shut the lights out like two senile dotards? That could hardly be borne, despite how dreamy he made it sound to have celebate sleepovers and chaste companionship. She’d rather take matters into her own hands tonight and pull him bodily inside than endure such stiltedness.

When she opened the door and spied him, nothing could quite prepare her. But then again, surprise was hardly the predominant sentiment. It was gratitude at being right. For deep down in all her doubting she had anticipated him taking her by such pleasant surprise she would never guess it -but never to be confounded.

Prim and homely in his flannel cover and blue pajamas, hair still immaculately lacquered except for where her voracious kisses had done them harm, sat Rosie on the suite carpet, cross legged before a meticulously stacked tower of wedding presents. Beside him was an ice bucket complete with champagne bottle and a plate of chocolate dipped strawberries.

“You absolute dreamboat.” she accused in a gush, hand over her gaping mouth.

Robert’s eyes flicked up, blue and warm all at once, and those smile lines carved their way deeper into his cheeks. “Come on,” he held up a neatly wrapped present, “I can’t guess this one by shape and it’s driving me nuts. Let’s get it open so I can sleep.”

When they had gone to sleep, Ida had imbibed so much champagne and indulged in enough kisses she was foolish and pliant. She wiggled her eyebrows when he rolled beside her, close enough to heat the cradle of her thighs; Robert had only laughed warningly and rolled off. When she woke to sunlight streaming into unfastened drapes, warmth near her but not pressing against her, and Rosie’s dark mustache aglow with amber flecks, she was rewarded for her good faith. The curls had come to harm in his sleep and she pushed them off his forehead to wake him.

“Morning.” she whispered.

His smile was dazzling, somehow even more so with his puffy eyes and his loose, drousy lips catching against her palm, “Morning, Mrs Rosenthal.” his voice tickled her, “We’ve got a boat to catch.”

💋 Hope you enjoyed! Feedback is a writer’s lifeblood, please feel free to scream in comments or the inbox, I love it and wanna hear it all. Trust me, nothing is “too dumb”. Your thoughts mean the world to me.

MOTA taglist, I only have one so ignore if this is not the universe you signed up for:

@stylespresleyhearted

@ab4eva

@earth-to-lottie

@suraemoon

@blurredcolour

@steph-speaks

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@justheretoreadthxxs

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@ka-ski

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@slowsweetlove

@richardslady121

@barbeygirl

@prfctplcsreads

@vaf24

@harrys-housewife

@claireelizabeth85

@pearlparty

@piastrinho

@sapienti0sat

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@beingalive1

@vendylewin

#those who can #Rosie x Ida #masters of the air #mota #mota fanfic #mota fanfiction #masters of the air fanfic #robert rosenthal #rosie rosenthal #rosie rosenthal fanfiction #rosie rosenthal fic #rosie rosenthal x oc #Nate Mann fanfiction #mine

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crow-posting · 5 months

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Awoken Headcanons

note: this is mostly based on my own audacity rather than actual lore. 🤫

Earthborn and Awoken Guardians are like the book versions of LotR elves, while Reefborn are like the movie versions. They're actually similar, but to outsiders, Earthborn are friendly and full of life while Reefborn are aloof and elegant like their queen. This perception, though frustrating to people like Petra, generally works in Mara's favor so she allows it to continue.

Awoken Speech sounds more like creole than a separate language. This is due to the multitude of languages spoken aboard the Yang Liwei, which then carried over into the dialects in the Distributary. Although some argue Speech is a mixed language rather than creole, consensus from both the Gensym Scribes and Last City's Cryptarchy has not yet been reached.

Portmanteau examples:

daatma (ดาว/"dāw" + आत्मा/"ātman"): Awoken [older gen]

tulatma (tulay + आत्मा/"ātman"): Awoken [younger gen]

luxïn (luz + 星/"xīng"): starlight

noyam (noyer + يوم/"yawm"): Darkness

Traditional Awoken names usually sound "soft," with palatalized consonants and several vowels. The most common ending letters are "A" (Mara, Petra, Amrita) and "N" (Uldren, Jolyon, Nasan), while the most uncommon letter is "K" (Tulnik).

Most Reefborn are highly superstitious, due to the environment they grew up in. However they don't consider themselves superstitious, as it is only "practical" to refer to The Dreaming using epithets instead of names, or to look for omens in dreams, or to treat water and reflections as near-sacred, and so on.

Promises and vows / oaths are generally a life-long ordeal for Awoken, especially for Reefborn and especially if they are made to Mara. This is partly influenced by the post-Distributary riots, partly influenced by contracts with Ahamkara, and partly influenced by Mara's own charisma, which has created an almost religious devotion* amongst her followers.

*(Embarrassingly, when Calus sought to imitate this sense of devotion to lure Awoken Guardians to the Menagerie, he was partially successful.)

Balance is an important part of Awoken culture. Past and future and life and death are strongly emphasized by Reefborn, while Earthborn have integrated Old Earth philosophies like yin-yang and wabi-sabi. While Awoken Guardians tend to be less ardent about balance and/or a desire for it, there are noticeably less Awoken within the Praxic Order than in other Vanguard-affiliated organizations.

The Awoken don't believe in a physical afterlife, only the Unreal. This makes the existence of Awoken Guardians egregious to other Awoken, as they do not "return" from death, but rather "take form" of people who no longer exist. Even so, Guardians (or "Noble Dead") are still treated with respect - out of love for the ones they look like, and fear of the entities they are.

(Awoken don't believe in reincarnation either, as The Awakening is considered an "extraordinary" circumstance.)

Contrary to popular belief, male Awoken aren't ostracized in Reefborn society, and they aren't considered second-class citizens either. Even so, due to the 70/30 split [which has persisted since the Distributary], it is rare to see male Reefborn in high-level positions or as Techeuns. The perceived lack of opportunity has led to an increase in Reefborn emigrants in recent years, especially after the Battle of Saturn.

Due to the loss of resources and difficulties of growing food in the Reef, Reefborn dishes are "bland" compared to Earthborn ones. The most common seasonings are salt, cold-hardy herbs like mint, and corasteri (a star-shaped culinary variant of asphodelia). However, Reefborn food is both warming and filling, which is suited to a life in deep space.

The Dreaming City is surprisingly bare in terms of flora and fauna. Aside from pink asphodelia, queensfoil, baryon bough and memorial trees - most of which are cultivated - there are very few plants to be found. Spectral butterflies and non-native jewel bugs can be found in gardens and lost sectors, and starcats have free rein of the buildings, but there is no urban wildlife like in the Last City and Earth's metropolitan ruins. The vibrance is an illusion; it is as empty as the Reef's biodomes.

Earthborn do not live as long as their Reefborn counterparts; higher oxygen levels, increased gravity, and larger amounts of pollution make life more difficult for people adapted to space. Ironically, this is the inverse issue the Awoken faced when leaving the Distributary.

Awoken anatomy is uncanny if you look closely enough. Most traits fall within expectations (eg resistance to radiation, increased reaction time) but adaptations like tapetum lucidum can still startle people who aren't used to seeing them. Experimental traits, which are common in later-generation Reefborn, make some seem entirely inhuman. And the ability to track Guardians by their Light will never not be creepy.

Experimental traits include but aren't limited to: pointed ears; nictitating membranes (i.e. "third eyelids"); and genital slits [for Awoken specifically created for deep space missions].

Due to a history of bio-engineering, cybernetic augments are seen as unnecessary and rarely utilized outside of eutechs, and later, Techeuns. Fully robotic components, such as exo frames, are practically unheard of and often met with pity or revulsion.

The 891 are forbidden from seeking information about their lives from The Time Before (aka pre-Collapse lives), as it is considered a "distraction" from Mara's plan. Descendant Awoken are also discouraged from pursuing such info unless it is considered pertinent to their mission.

Queenslaw has been partially lifted in the Reef, due to the influx of Guardians after the Battle of Saturn. Many things once considered illegal or taboo are now acceptable, and some things are even encouraged. Unfortunately, not everyone agrees with these "sudden" changes and it has done little to reduce tensions between factions, most notably the Gensym Scribes and the Last City's Cryptarchy.

Reefborn sobriquets often refer to relationships (Uldren "Queensbrother," Taranis "Rivensmate," Petra "Covensdaughter"). Earthborn nicknames are often more individualized but still invoke a sense of interconnectedness (eg "Swornsister" Takara, Avraam "Firstborn").

Although the Awoken are known for their music (for ceremonies, parties, mourning, etc.) Earth-derived music seems just as violent to them as the Guardians who enjoy it. Knowing this, RZ-3 intentionally made a playlist to "scare" Petra on missions, and has successfully startled several Corsairs by belting out the lyrics to "Teenagers" while doing patrols.

[official grimoire / lore books: The Maraid (D1); Marasenna, The Awoken of the Reef, The Dreaming City (D2, general); The Forsaken Prince, A Tangled Web, Ripples (D2, Uldren/Crow), Ecdysis (D2, the Emissary)]

[specific lore that Tickles My Brain: "Holdfast Bond," "The Supremacy", "Third Gift"; "Crow's Best Night"]

[see also: "Things I Think About: Awoken Edition"; "Awoken Phrases & Exclamations"; "Last City Lingo"; timeline in the Distributary; Awoken amethyst]

#I think I forgot a few things but this has been sitting in my drafts for over a month #so here it is #once again these are HEADCANONS not ''CANON'' CANON #feel free to discuss or add your own thoughts but pls don't come at me for not being a lore expert!!#this is just for fun!! 🙏#destiny the game #destiny 2 #destiny lore #destiny fan lore #destiny fanon #destiny headcanon #destiny awoken #crow-posting #oc-posting #the awoken brigade

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yusakiiiii · 5 months

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New group nicknames!!!

I’m making a little fanfic when the Hermits (bar Xisuma for reasons) end up in the Life Series. I’ve tried to make new groups mostly to test out new dynamics and I’ve tried to give those groups names either made by other members or what fans would call them. Here you go:

Iskall, Stress and Etho — The Vaulters — Because having Iskall and Stress taught Etho Vault Hunters before, Etho is now teaching Iskall and Stress the Life Series.

Zed and Tango — A.S.S — Because the gimmick of the season they’re in in the fanfic is that each member has a power given to them, which is easier to do in a fanfic than in actual Minecraft. And I of course gave Zedaph the ability to make sheep levitate. Tango is along for the ride, trying to land in rivers after he hits build height on Flossy the third.

Beef and Skizz — Big Salmon — Because they moved over from Hermitcraft in the fanfic, they’re keeping the rivalries from the server and Beef wants to use the chance of a Life Series to mess with Doc.

Jevin and Gem — Slimestone — This name was coined by Skizz. He calls Gem, Gemstone. With that it’s just a simple portmanteau.

BDubs and Joel — BDubs and the Beanstalk — Joel’s power is that he’s 11ft tall. This name was also coined by Skizz and subsequently adopted by fans.

Ren, False, Hypno and Grian — Hearts, Arts, Smarts and… Farts. Or “HAS Farts” for short — Coined by Skizz, Ren said they were a pretty ragtag group and Skizz said, “You’ve got Heart” looking at Ren, “Martial Arts” looking at False, “Smarts” looking at Hypno, “and… Farts.” looking at Grian. Fans took that moment at they became “HAS Farts”.

Wels, Joe and Cleo — Soldier, Poet, King — The fans made this one up entirely. Joe and Cleo understand the reference and Wels is a bit confused by it.

XB, Keralis, Scar and Impulse — The Farmers — Definitely my least imaginative name, but three of them have powers related to farming in some way and Impulse is a Farmer type hermit in the HCTCG.

Doc and Mumbo — Shrek and Fiona — Doc just wants to work in his swamp and Mumbo goes to live with him. They get into nitty gritty Redstone together whilst trying to ignore Beef and Skizz.

Pearl and Cub — The Powvestigators — They go around trying to help people who haven’t figured out their powers yet, figure out what powers they have. Investigating powers, thus, Powvestigators. In doing so they also try to find out people’s weaknesses for their own gain under the guise of trying to help.

What do you think of these groupings and team names? Do you have any better suggestions? I’m all ears, the only one I will not budge on is HAS Farts. That group name is comedy gold.

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ingravinoveritas · 8 months

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Heheh

Grouping these all together because a whole bunch of things happened today and there is a lot to talk about. For those who haven't seen, Georgia posted an Insta story of the sunset, which was followed by an extremely similar picture/Insta story from AL about an hour later. Shortly after that, Anna posted another story of Lyra and Birdie baking side by side, which Georgia also reshared:

Right off the bat, one thing in particular stood out about AL's story: Her using the hashtag #bakingwithsheenant, which differs from the tags she and Georgia normally use (#Sheenbergnants or something to that effect). It especially caught my attention because "Sheenant" is one of the ship names used in the fandom for Michael/David (though it is not a term I normally use). AL could have easily been referring to Lyra and Birdie in the photo, of course, but...of all the portmanteaus and hashtags AL could have chosen, she went with that one, and all I can say is that if it was nothing more than a fluke, then it was one hell of a fluke for her to make.

As if all this weren't enough, however, we then have what @phantomstars24 has mentioned, which is another story that Georgia shared just a little while ago:

To what was said in the Asks above, if this is true, it would absolutely mean that Michael and David are also neighbors, and that my head feels like it's slightly melting. Because there is no way in hell Michael bought a house in London next to David by accident. A meteorite has a better chance of hitting the Earth and bringing back the dinosaurs as our reptilian overlords than that does of being an accident.

Also if Michael and David are together as part of some poly arrangement, I can't think of a better way for them to ensure that they can see each other all the time. The number of possibilities are limitless: Random sleepovers, snuggling on the couch for movie date night, unwinding with a glass of red wine after they've had a long day doing their respective plays. Thinking as well of how we saw Michael and David looking at each other at opening night of Macbeth, now the chances of them going home together afterward have shot up by about a million, and I can hardly get my mind around it. I mean...dear God...

As for Georgia's "So linked!" sounding sarcastic, I could definitely see that as sarcasm. The sunset pictures from earlier seemed very planned, and even more so once we saw the baking picture. I saw some reactions from fans calling AL and Georgia "besties" once the Insta stories were posted, but I'm not exactly sure how those posts make them besties. The way Georgia posts about Anna is entirely different from how she posts about Jennie Fava, whom we know actually is one of Georgia's longtime best friends, so that difference makes it difficult for me to see why people see Georgia/AL in that light.

And if they are frequently getting together because of that proximity/because it is easier for Michael and David to have one house to themselves while AL, Georgia, and the kids are in another, I could see some degree of resentment existing on Georgia's end, especially if she feels like more of a babysitter than anything else. It's difficult to say for certain, of course, but we also have so many instances now of Anna copying Georgia on social media that I would imagine it has started to feel like a bit of a "me and my shadow" routine.

In any case, we have a lot of little pieces here that only give us a small glimpse at the whole, but boy, are they some very interesting pieces indeed. I think what strikes me most about all of this is that these stories also allude to Michael and David spending time together, yet we never actually see any pictures of them. (I have an Ask related to this waiting in my inbox, so I will expand more on that in a bit.) But we are being given room to think that, and to draw certain conclusions as a result, and I think both Georgia and AL know that and seemingly do not have a problem with it.

So yes, those are my thoughts on all the developments from today. Glad as always to hear from my followers and what your thoughts are on all this...

#unforgivablengk #phantomstars24 #reply post #michael sheen #welsh seduction machine #david tennant #soft scottish hipster gigolo #georgia tennant #what even is happening here #it's like Michael got tired of ordering off DoorDash and moved next door so he can get a David snack anytime he wants #let me live please #'sheenant' though why #Michael is about as subtle as a drunken llama on roller skates #ineffable lovers #so many questions #i need to lie down #anna lundberg #discourse

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jbaileyfansite · 2 months

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Interview with Evan Ross Katz (2024)

Whether he’s carrying Kylie Minogue to the Hyde Park Festival stage with his pal Andrew Scott, making the Internet go collectively feral for merely running a half marathon, chasing dinosaurs (in the upcoming Jurassic World reboot), romancing Matt Bomer (in Fellow Travelers) or Simone Ashley (in Bridgerton) or Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo (in Wicked) or, with his most recent venture, launching an LGBTQ+-focused charity, it seems Jonathan Bailey is always up to something. And yet, he still makes time, from his hotel room in Thailand (where he’s shooting Jurassic World 4), to hop on a Zoom with me to catch up.

We discuss everything from chafed nipples to queer shame to who he’d like to see in the “Drink Your Milk” T-shirt to if we’ll see him on Broadway any time soon, which is to say it’s a brief but wide-ranging chat.

I haven't seen you since the Met Gala! When we last spoke, you were prepping for your first half marathon. I obviously saw the viral photos that went around of you at the finish line, but how did it go?

You know, I should have put those nipple stickers on. That's my main takeaway.

[Laughs] Did you bleed?

I did a bit, yeah. Did you? I know you've done a couple of marathons.

I did bleed, and I didn't know about the bleeding beforehand. It's not something you really hear about but it's painful and uncomfortable.

Totally! And not even just beforehand: It took ‘til 4 hours later when my best friend told me there was evidence [of the bleeding]. But anyways… it was euphoric!

At least there was no photo evidence of that element!

Exactly! So thankfully, it's done. But it's just the most amazing thing, isn't it? And the community as well. Hackney Moves is amazing and they raised loads of money. It was the Bridgerton [Season 3 release] week so I feel like you could sort of harness that.

I do have to ask you a pressing question: Days ago, it was announced that Wicked had moved up its release date and will now be released the same day as Ridley Scott's Gladiator 2. Many online were affectionately calling this Barbenheimer 2.0, which led many to try and speculate about a proper portmanteau. Jon Chu wrote on Instagram that the consensus seems to be “Glicked,” which you reposted on Instagram, signaling a cosign. But I have to ask you, Johnny: Are you not considering“Wickediator”?

I love it. Whatever Jon Chu has ever said to me, I’ve taken as gospel, so I actually hadn't explored all the other options. The one that I've now heard since then which is making me reconsider everything is “Gladicked.” [Laughs] It's quite good, isn’t it?

Yes! To me, “Glicked” feels too Wicked-skewed and then “Wickediator” is just clunky AF, so I like where you're at.

We want it to be equal footing for sure. Another thing that I love that went viral is someone going: “Oh, brilliant. A film for the ladies and a film for the ladies.” [Laughs]

I am both ladies!

Oh, yes. Me too!

Let’s talk The Shameless Fund, the charity you founded to raise money for LGBTQ+ nonprofit organizations. Can you tell me about the formation of this project?

It's been a labor of love over the last three or four years. It's been quite an organic experience, mainly inspired by Fellow Travelers, hence why I started with a collaboration which references a very specific scene and a performance by Matt Bomer.

I think through Covid and Bridgerton coming out, I found that there’s a real sense in the queer community about awareness of people who came before you and other experiences. And then obviously in Fellow Travelers, which explicitly explores that, the character I played was sort of on the front all the way through a very complicated experience for gay men at that time.

He experienced real moments of blooming liberation and quite insane amounts of oppression as well, and he was always fighting. He ends up becoming an activist, essentially, and I think it was in playing that part — which was kind of spiritual for me and for everyone who's involved in it — that I was like: Right, okay. I know that I've got this idea in my head and having experienced how much love there is for things like Bridgerton and how much money there is in collaboration, I felt that there's so many things I had said “no” to because it didn't feel quite right for me but if there was a world in which I could marry all of it in a creative sort of cocktail, then why not? And to give back to the community that I so love, and also, I'm a massive beneficiary of the work that the people that came before us did, so that's where it came to fruition from.

You collaborated with our dear friend Jonathan Anderson, the creative director of Loewe, on a T-shirt with a memorable quote from Fellow Travelers to promote the launch of The Shameless Fund. How did this collaboration come to be?

During the strikes during the filming of Wicked, I went on a run one day and this idea of a T-shirt came into my head in full form. Then I sat next to Jonathan [at a Studio Voltaire fundraiser], and he’s lovely and brilliant and naughty and has a foundation, so it was all kind of organic.

Then I went over to DC to present Matt Bomer with an award for the Human Rights Campaign and it was really galvanizing to experience the American fervor. It was a gala, and the energy in the room was absolutely wild and there were amazing stories on stage. I texted Jonathan and I said: “Look, I have an idea and it involves milk and a T-shirt. What do you think?” and he said: “Call me tomorrow,” and then he said yes within the same phone call. I just felt tentative because it’s the sort of thing where you ask and you don't know, but then it went from there.

I do recall first seeing a photo of you in the shirt several months ago during a night out with the Loewe team in China…

I went to the Loewe exhibition in Shanghai, which was incredible, and that night, we had quite a big night out and I wore the T-shirt because I’d been given the first prototype.

I was having a little boogie and [Anderson] uploaded it whilst I had no access to the Western World — my phone was off the whole time. So by the time I came home, you could see that people were gonna go wild for the T-shirt. Now, it's sold out and we're gonna get some more and it'll be a first step for The Shameless Fund to raise some money.

Jonathan Anderson did my and my husband's wedding looks and I had to send him that same initial text to be like: “Can one even ask this?”

That's what's so brilliant in life: People who have the ability to collaborate, and that's just what Jonathan does.

One thing that you said just now that struck me is: “Why not?” I interview a lot of people in your profession and they're not asking that question all the time. A lot of people say:

“Oh, there's lots of money I can make. I can have more money. I can have more things for myself.”

Why are you a “why not?” person rather than a “why”? Is that something that was imbued in you by your family and your upbringing or is it how you've always been?

I don't know. I just feel quite strongly emotionally. I sense injustice in certain places, and I think what comes with success — especially being a gay actor — is that you think: “Hang on a minute. Are there limitations? Are there glass ceilings?”

When you experience success that you never thought you would and you grew up thinking that you're limited because of your identity and who you are, I think about the people that have supported me and the people that were really pioneering, but also, the actual heroes who do the real work; the people who work for these nonprofits and these charities where the majority of their energy is spent trying to raise money. When Bridgerton came out, I was inundated with requests to help draw attention to [these organizations] or raise money or donate things that they could sell, so that's where the kernel of this idea came from. All my life, I’ve been thinking about how I can give back.

It's not for nothing that you call this The Shameless Fund. We grew up at a time when, and I don't know if this is the same for you, but I didn't know that gay people existed. I thought I was the only one because I didn't have access to the kind of media kids do today where you can go on Instagram and see that gay is not only acceptable; it's cool. There's this very significant paradigm shift. I feel like a lot of gay men of our generation felt this shame as young people and often spend a lot of our adult lives working to rid ourselves of it. What is it for you about this idea of shame?

I totally agree in terms of generations. I think the queer experience changes every five years. Even with some of my friends who are 10 years older than me — it's just so specific to cultural moments and representation as well, as you're saying. But I think my understanding of shame, especially having experienced Fellow Travelers, is that it permeates. It's not just a community that experiences the shame; it's the people around them. It's the parents who don't understand it and kick their kids out of their house. It's the sisters, it’s the cousins, it's the nephews, it's the children that are in broken families because of it. It's actually so toxic, that sense of self-hatred. That’s why The Shameless Fund is actually something that I hope is going to benefit everyone, even beyond the community itself.

Also, the older we get and because of the world we live in now, you can read The Velvet Rage and you can read Matthew Todd’s Straight Jacket and you can explore and have conversations with your friends that are really enlightening and you can have therapy, if you're lucky enough that you can afford to do that. As a 36-year-old now, I look back and I just go: “My God, I had such a loving family and yet I was still so isolated and so crippled.”

Shame can stop people from having a proper education and from being able to structure proper emotional relationships, like fundamental relationships with their family, which is the one place you're supposed to feel safe. It's flawed if the family is not aware of what you're going through.

How did you come up with the name?

I did have other names [in mind for The Shameless Fund], but we won't go into them. One was so aggressive! [Laughs] But “The Shameless Fund” felt punk enough and fundamental enough. To me, I think that to be without shame is to be able to be joyful and to be able to thrive and to be able to learn and have a bloody good time whilst doing all those things, so it just felt right that it should be targeting shame because then hopefully it benefits the whole community in every color on the pride flag and, in turn, will also help so many people around them.

So what can people expect next?

There's going to be some really fun things coming with The Shameless Fund and there's different ways in which it can grow, but I have people who really know what they're doing who are helping lead it. By the end of the year, we'll hopefully have worked with three different charities, starting small and helping people understand the work they're doing because that's the most important thing. If you think about Instagram, other than chatting with Evan Ross Katz [laughs], that's the platform through which you can really draw attention to things. Literally anyone in our community who's thriving at the moment — in a community that's obviously under threat going forward — knows what it's like to receive support. We know what we missed growing up.

I, too, grew up with an accepting family, but that doesn’t mean I didn’t still feel ostracized. I appreciate you recognizing that nuance, one I think many of us experience in some form but don’t always discuss.

Now, on The Shameless Fund’s website, it does say that more collaborations are coming. As you said, there’s going to be a restock of the Loewe shirts, but are there other brands in the mix?

There are other brands, and it'll be really exciting because the scope is endless, but I definitely had a couple of other ideas. After Fellow Travelers, the next thing will be a Wicked garment, so you might have to keep your eyes out for that. Maybe jumpers and sexy boots?

That’s perfect for my fantasy! So we've seen Kylie Minogue wearing the shirt — who I was lucky enough to be introduced to by you on the dance floor at the Met Gala after-party, thanks again — and we've seen Kit Connor, Scarlett Johansson and your Bridgerton co-star Luke Newton sporting it as well. I'm wondering who else is on your wishlist of celebrities that you'd like to see in the Drink Your Milk T-shirt?

Oh, God. What a question! Great shout. I would love to see Jerrod Carmichael in it right now. Very specifically Jerrod Carmichael.

I feel that.

I would also love to see Hanson in it. Their three-part harmonies are a knockout at the moment.

At the moment?

[Laughs] We were just talking about this today. I’ve literally just come away from a field where I was running towards or away from dinosaurs, and we were talking about Hanson for about four hours today and listening to their three-part harmonies.

That is not what I was expecting.

Who else? I can only think of people who are going to be wearing it over the next few weeks, which is quite exciting. Is there anyone you want to see in it?

I have quite a few people. First of all, Jamie Dornan. I would love to see him in it. Paul Mescal, for obvious reasons. And the fans are waiting for Matt Bomer!

Don’t you worry. They’ll be satiated! They’ll be quenched. And Andrew Scott had a good time at Glastonbury is what I’ll say. [Laughs]

I bet he did! Last but not least: Richard II is bringing you back to the stage. Wicked is giving us the musical theater moment we've been craving. Is there a musical theater moment that’ll be live on stage in Jonathan Bailey's future?

Potentially, actually. Maybe in 2026.

On Broadway?

I would! I had the best time recently in New York and I watched as many things as I could. I saw Stereophonic, which, to me, was like a religious experience. That, and Oh, Mary! And Cole Escola.

That is what it's about. I would come back to watch that; I was so inspired by it. Obviously, I'd love to [be on Broadway] at some point and you just have to wait and see what pops up.

Source

#jonathan bailey #jonny bailey #evan ross katz #interviews #interviews:2024 #substack interview #richard II #theatre #wicked #jurassic world rebirth #fellow travelers #the shameless fund #charity #NEW!

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melanie-the-artful · 9 months

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Genshin Character Names' Meanings Pt.2

Well, since we've got an announcement of our crane mom Cloud Retainer (or it's Xianyun now, I guess) and Gaming (no, not gaming Gaming, but like Ga Ming Gaming, you see), I thought it would be a great reason to sit down and make a compilation of all Liyue characters' names. Once again, I'll be glad if you tell me whether there are some mistakes, and have fun!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Xiangling | From Chinese 香 (xiāng) meaning «Fragrant» and 菱 (líng) meaning «Water Caltrop» - Chinese Name

Xingqiu | From Chinese 行 (xíng) meaning «Carry Out», «Execute» or «Travel» and 秋 (qiū) meaning «Autumn» - Chinese Name

Chongyun | From Chinese 重 (chóng) meaning «Layer» and 雲, 云 (yún) meaning «Cloud» - Chinese Name

Hu Tao | Hu (胡, her surname) can mean «Doing things out of order or recklessly»; it's also present in «Butterfly» (蝴) and Tao (桃) is «Peach Tree» in Chinese, associated with longevity, immortality, and a sacred object - Chinese Surname and Name

Qiqi | From 七 (qī) meaning «Seven» - Chinese Name

Baizhu | From Chinese 白 (bái) meaning «White», «Pure» and 朮, 术 (zhú) meaning «Glutinous Millet» - Chinese Name

Yaoyao | From 瑶 (yáo) meaning «Jade», «Precious Stone» or «Beautiful» - Chinese Name

Yanfei | From Chinese 烟 (yàn) meaning «Smoke», «Vapor» and 绯 (fēi) which is for «Crimson», «Scarlet» - Chinese Name

Yelan | Literally «Night Orchid» in Chinese

Beidou | Named after the Big Dipper asterism, which is known in Chinese as 北斗 (Běidǒu). The name literally means «Northern Dipper». Interesting how it is also referred to as 北斗七星 (Běidǒu Qīxīng), lit. "Seven Stars of the Big Dipper" in Chinese. The North Star, Polaris, is located within this asterism and is used by sailors to navigate at sea. Yes, the name of the organization Qixing also consists of the same hieroglyphs, and the titles of the members of the Qixing are the same as the Chinese names for the stars in the Big Dipper

Xinyan | From 辛 (xīn) which is «Spicy» and 焱 (yàn) meaning «Fire», «Flame» - Chinese Name

Yun Jin | Yun (云) means «Cloud», and Jin (堇) means «Violet (plant)» - Chinese Surname and Name

Gaming | From 嘉 (jiā) «Praise», «Joyful» or «Auspicious» and 明 (míng) meaning «Bright», «Clear-sighted» or «Honest» - Chinese Name

Xiao | 魈 (Xiāo), which derived from a chinese legend "魑魅魍魉” in which there is a group of demons. although its mainly four demons

Alatus | Literally «Winged» in Latin

Shenhe | Most likely from 申 (shēn) meaning «State» and 鹤 (hè) meaning «Crane» - Chinese Name

Xianyun | 闲云 (xián yún), comes from a four word idiom 闲云野鹤 - «Drifting clouds and wild crane» It means people who are footloose and fancy-free

Ganyu | From Chinese 甘 (gān) meaning «Sweet» and 雨 (yǔ) meaning «Rain» - Chinese Name

Keqing | From 刻 (kè) «To Carve» and «Clear/Sunny» (qíng) - Chinese Name

Ningguang | Literally «Frozen Light» or «Concentrated Light» in Chinese

Zhongli | 钟 (zhōng) translates to clock and 離, 离 (lí) - «To leave», yet together they form 送钟 (sòng zhōng /song jong), which sounds exactly like the Chinese words for «Attending a funeral ritual» (送终 -sòng zhōng) and thus it is bad luck to gift clocks or watches - Chinese Name (and an interesting game of words)

Morax | Comes from Duke and Governor Morax, the 21st of Goetia Demons

Ping | 萍 (píng), means «Tender», «Natural» and «Friendly» - Chinese Name

Guizhong | From Chinese 歸, 归 (guī) meaning «To return» and 終, 终 (zhōng) meaning «To end» - Chinese Name

Osial | May be a portmanteau of Ose, the 57th of Goetia Demons

Beisht | Is likely derived from the Beisht Kione Dhoo (Manx: "Beast With the Black Head"), a creature from Isle of Man folklore, where "Beisht" means «Beast» or «Worm» in Manx.

Marchosias | Comes from Marquis Marchosias, the 35th of Goetia Demons

Havria | Could possibly be a form of Havres, another name of the 64th of Goetia Demons, Duke Flauros.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Phew, that was probably the hardest one. There is still Inazuma up ahead, yet I at least have some knowledge in Japanese, while with Chinese names I had to look up every single one (I mean, I will double-check Inazuman names of course, it's just that I'm more sure about the meanings of some of them).

'Till next time!

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askshoutyasshole · 6 months

Note

Hell9, Karkat. I seem t9 have f9und that y9u have created an 'ask 6l9g', and s9 I have decided t9 take the time t9 pr9perly inf9rm y9u 9f the many ways t9 appr9priately tag and/9r trigger warn y9ur p9sts. As previ9usly stated, there are numer9us ways t9 tag and/9r trigger warn p9sts, 6ut it is m9st imp9rtant t9 tag m9st /everything/. Y9u d9 n9t kn9w exactly what 9ne may have g9ne thr9ugh in their past t9 6e triggered 9r upset 6y said thing; s9 it is very much 6etter t9 6e safe rather than s9rry. S9me may 6e upset 6y the littlest 9f things, 9r even the m9st seemingly inn9cent, it is all simply depended 9n what they have went thr9ugh. It is als9 quite imp9rtant that y9u put it in a way that the alg9rithm will 6e a6le t9 understand, as there are many ways that y9u can put it s9 that the alg9rithm will n9t 6e a6le t9 c9mprehend, thus leaving y9ur unpr9perly tagged p9st t9 land 9n the dash 9f s9me9ne unwanting t9 see said c9ntent; which c9uld result in an argument. Three examples 9f these impr9per ways are: 1. Putting num6ers, letters, 9r slashes after y9ur tag instead 9f simply tagging the w9rd itself with a simple TW. This key69ard smashing isn't the simple 'tw this/this/this tw' that 9ne may put in their 6lacklist as t9 av9id it, such as the alg9rithm n9t reading it t9 6e said thing that the pers9n d9es n9t wish t9 see. Av9id this 6y simply putting 'tw this/this/this tw', as that is what 9ne will put in their 6lacklist and that is what will keep the p9st away fr9m their dash69ard. 2. F9rgetting t9 tag s9mething 9r an9ther. When y9u f9rget t9 tag s9mething it is 69und t9 end up 9n s9me9ne unexpectings dash69ard, which 9nce m9re c9uld lead t9 an argument. Read 9ver y9ur p9sts and tag everything pr9perly, d9 n9t f9rget anything. 3. Placing the 'TW' and the 'thing' in separate tags. There happens t9 6e a wide variety 9f triggers, and s9 putting them all under such a vague large um6rella will either 6l9ck 9ut much c9ntent that w9uld 6e accepta6le f9r the 6lacklister t9 view, 9r perhaps it will simply sh9w 6ecause they had n9t /wished/ t9 6lacklist such a 6r9ad tag. Instead 9f this, please 6e sure t9 put them in the same tag as t9 n9t c9nfuse the system 9r the viewer. Lastly, an9ther quite imp9rtant thing; clarity and understanda6ility. When tagging, 6e sure t9 clearly t9uch 9n each theme y9u will 6e menti9ning in y9ur p9st, as t9 leave n9 c9nfusi9n f9r th9se wh9 may n9t want t9 see it yet it ended 9n their dash69ard anyways. 6e sure t9 leave en9ugh space f9r the system t9 cut 9ff y9ur p9st and add a read m9re 6utt9n f9r th9se wh9 are alright with c9ntinuing. H9pefully, all 9f this inf9rmati9n was clear and taught y9u s9mething. #Less9n #Teaching #Trigger warnings #Trigger talk #Rant #L9ng text #Instructi9ns #I'm sure this will help. #Lecture #Y9u'll need this. #F9ll9w it, really. #I'm telling y9u.

WOW K4RK4T, D1D YOUR 4NC3STOR S3ND TH4T? H3 T4LKS 4LMOST 4S MUCH 4S YOU DO H4H4H4H4

UHHH K4RK4T?

Oh This Happens Sometimes After Kancounters Which Is A Term I Made Up For This Particular Situation (It Is A Portmanteau Of Kankri And Encounter) Give Him A Moment And He Will Reboot

While He Is Currently Incapacitated I Will Accept The Tagging Advice On His Behalf So Thank You? It Was Very Informative

#I Suppose I Shall Handle Tagging For This One #Kanaya Maryam #Karkat Vantas #Terezi Pyrope #Homestuck #Homestuck Ask Blog #AskShoutyAsshole

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cohawk-canoe · 3 months

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Cohawk Week Rules & FAQ

First, let me pause to call your attention to the super fun banner image above! It was made by the long-suffering @taibhrigh42 and I am very grateful!

Here are some rules and a FAQ for the event.

RULES

Have fun.

Support your fellow fans.

Stay on target re: prompts, posting dates, and which ship this event is about.

Read the last FAQ about what flavors of content are prohibited from the event and understand that it is about personal preference for your one and only mod, not moral judgments of any kind.

FAQ

What is Cohawk Week and, uh...why is it called Cohawk?

Listen, portmanteau ship names are all the rage and not only is Wooley's defining characteristic in canon his mohawk, but I do love a good pun. So...Cody + Mohawk = Cohawk.

Cohawk week is an event for fandom creators in the Star Wars: The Clone Wars fandom. It celebrates the relationship between Commander Cody and Clone Trooper Wooley in any and all forms including (but not limited to): sexual, romantic, platonic, and subject to the command structure of the GAR.

When is Cohawk Week?

Cohawk Week 2024 begins Sunday, September 22 and runs through Sunday the 29th. There is also one bonus day on September 30. Just because.

Will you accept late works?

Yes, the collection on AO3 will remain open until October 31st and the Cohawk-Canoe Tumblr account will reblog works tagged with the #cohawk week 2024 tag for 10 days after the end of the event.

What kinds of fan works are welcome for Cohawk Week?

All types of fan works are welcome; fic, podfic, digital art, traditional art...anything you create is great.

Do I have to make something for each day of the week?

Absolutely not! You are free to create (or read/take in) fan works for one day or for all of them.

Can I mix and match prompts?

You can, but please post them on the day of the latter prompt. For example, if you take a prompt from Day 1 and combine it with a prompt from Day 4, the work should be posted on Day 4. If you are posting multi-chapter fics that mix and match prompts, please try to match your posting dates to the prompt days as closely as possible and add an author's note if they do not align.

Can other characters (or ships) be included?

Yes, but please keep the focus on Cody and Wooley in whatever form you see their relationship taking and please tag appropriately for all ships and characters.

Are NSFW/Explicit works allowed?

Explicit works are allowed (and encouraged), but MUST be tagged properly on AO3 and labeled with the appropriate Major Archive Warnings. Tumblr contributions must also be properly tagged and have appropriate community labels applied.

Where is Cohawk Week happening?

There is a collection on AO3 that is cleverly titled Cohawk Week 2024 and a tumblr named Cohawk Canoe (because it's bigger than a pool noodle, but not actually a ship yet). You are free to post works wherever else you like on the internet, but please link to them from your tumblr and tag Cohawk Canoe so they can be reblogged as part of the event.

The event tags on tumblr are: #cohawk week 2024 and #cohawk week

Since this is the first year of the event, there will be no Discord server. If interest remains high and the event is repeated in 2025, odds are a server will be created.

If you are unfamiliar with how AO3 Collections work, please review the FAQ.

Which versions (Legends/Canon) of Wooley are acceptable?

Any and all --even the one where he was supposed to be a medic. He does not have much of a presence in the Clone Wars show, so feel free to expand on his personality as you see fit.

Is there anything that is prohibited content?

Without the intent of harshing anyone's buzz, I am the only mod for this event and would prefer that works not include the following: animal cruelty, non-con, graphic violence involving characters under the (species equivalent) age of 16 (8 for clones), and sexual content involving characters under the (species equivalent) age of 16 (8 for clones)

This is a matter of personal preference, not moral judgement. Please do write any of the above if that is what brings you joy and please share them far and wide outside of Cohawk Week.

Questions? Comments? Gripes? Either DM me or ask in the comments please!

Prompts are coming soon. Hopefully on July 1.

#cohawk week 2024 #fandom event #cohawk week #commander cody #clone trooper wooley #clone wars event

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cadilver · 5 months

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intro post :)

this is cadilver!

they/he. nicknames are cool (cad/caddie/whatever)

they're a normal Point with normal Hobbies and a very normal Not Too Dangerous World that is Hospitable to Visitors. Definitely! they don't know why Cyalm Named it Night of Nightmares it's just a Graveyard and a Haunted Mansion and a Catacombs with no Nightmares to be found Anywhere not even in their Vault. um. well they might be Lying about That but it's really not your Business anyway.

// will be the ooc marker for this blog. and yeah cad talks like That (not in 3rd person) and the Capitalizations are worse when he's nervous/lying.

Asks are open! I'll probably make/write stuff even if no one asks anything, but hey why not.

run by @p7agu3 btw

Lore/Design/Backstory infodump below (may contain spoilers, if i end up actually doing anything with this storytelling wise)

cadilver is a portmanteau of "cadaver" and "silver". his aspects include, predictably, metal and general undead shenanigans, though he was also really into Halloween for backstory reasons when he was. alive? (complicated) so that carried over as well. he gets to join the holiday gang (compale and arrolin). stuff happens :) that i may write about proper if i get the motivation

his true form symbol is a concentric cloverleaf pattern, in the orientation associated with metal jewelry and not highways. mostly cause i thought it looked cool and not for deeper meaning. their normal symbol is more. interpretable. it's his prepoint's 'eyes', yes, but also infinity, cool sunglasses, ouroborous, venn diagram. you can really go crazy with it. it's mostly just them big ol eyes.

oh yeah! prepoint lore. i haven't fully decided how much of the p7v plague lore i want to use for him (some of it is insane and wouldn't fit AF well) but what's definitely sticking is the facts that he was undead (if cyalm can pointify a robot then reanimating a reanimated corpse is light work. also, name), cavorted around in a plague doctor costume, was powerful enough to at least hold out against cyalm in a fight, and [definitely something i wanna reveal later].

interestingly, they're more "alive" now than they were before, having a complete kinda-organic body, fully functional senses, and the capability to experience emotion normally. cyalm did some witchery fr. on the downside they just "die" as a extreme stress response now. like a possum. apparently that's called "thanatosis", which is a really good word. usually it takes specific triggers to set him off that badly.

cad's world is functionally the 9th because ixol has been pretty much exiled from the Emporium. the two have never met (cad was Pointified later), and (probably) won't meet until AF2's events. ixol has yet to draw the message or their symbol on the walls to indicate their location. the other points knew ixol somewhat but unanimously (some more reluctantly than others) agreed to exile them once they started hearing voices.

the world is called Night of Nightmares (double reference lol) and is located in the same area as Battery Canyon, maybe on the right side.

#ooc #pinned post #adventure forward 2

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canonicallyobserving911 · 1 year

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9-1-1 Season 6 - Constructive Criticisms #15

Buddie: Buck & Eddie

FULL DISCLOSURE: Buck and Eddie’s relationship is the MAIN reason why I watch 9-1-1.

DISCLAIMER: THERE ARE THREE SEPARATE POSTS ABOUT BUCK, EDDIE, CHRIS AND BUDDIE. The reason for this is because there was a lot of information to cover and the attempt to combine it into a single post, like those completed for the other main characters and ‘ships’, wasn’t feasible since one post for them and their family would’ve been too long. Therefore, their posts are numbered as follows: Evan “Buck” Buckley - #13, Edmundo “Eddie” Diaz and Christopher “Chris” Diaz - #14 and “Buddie” - #15. Each of these posts are identically tagged because they include information that’s related to all of them.

This is a LONG POST.

__________________

Buddie is the “ship” name for Evan “Buck” Buckley and Edmundo “Eddie” Diaz. It’s a portmanteau or a combination of their first names as it combines the first two letters of ‘Bu’ in Buck with the last four letters of ‘ddie’ in Eddie or Bu + ddie = Buddie. Back in 2018, Ryan Guzman, the actor who plays the character of Eddie Diaz, created the name of the ship during a social media conversation with his co-star Oliver Stark who plays Buck and the ship name for Buck and Eddie’s pending CANON relationship has been called ‘Buddie’ ever since. In addition to the ‘ship’ name Buddie, when the letters ‘pher’ from Christophers’ name is added, the Buckley-Diaz Family’s portmanteau ‘ship’ name becomes ‘Buddipher’ or Bu + ddi + pher = Buddipher.

Even though Buck and Eddie are NOT a CANON COUPLE (yet), they are the MOST POPULAR SHIP ON 9-1-1. Also, the Buckley-Diaz Family is popular too and most viewers’ comments include information on how much they like to see Buck, Eddie and Chris spend time together on-screen. Eddie is Chris’ biological father and currently Buck is Chris’ legal guardian (in the event of Eddie’s death, Buck will become Chris’ guardian). All three of them are main characters and in previous seasons, most of their storylines involved each other. Even when Eddie and Buck were dating other people, they continued to have Buckley-Diaz Family moments on-screen.

But something changed at the end of season 4 and even though Buck, Eddie and Chris occasionally shared the screen together as the Buckley-Diazes, the time allotted for it became VERY LIMITED. In 5A, the three of them shared the screen once in 5x2 and in 5B, they shared the screen together in 5x14 (5x11 doesn’t count because Taylor was there and 5x13 doesn’t count either since all three of them weren’t shown together. Reminder, Chris called Buck and after he arrived, they were in the hallway together until Buck broke down Eddie’s bedroom door. Chris wasn’t shown again with Buck and Eddie until 5x14 when they went to Equine Therapy). In season 6, they were shown together once during 6A and two times in 6B (in 6x11 while Buck was in the hospital, Eddie brought Chris into his room while he was still in the ICU but Hen was there on the other side and in 6x13 they were together in the loft).

When Buck woke up from his coma, episode 6x13 “Mixed Feelings” included A LOT of Buck and Eddie, Buck and Chris and the Buckley-Diaz Family but they were not shown together for the remainder of the season. Buck and Eddie barely talked with each other during the finale and they were both put in relationships with one-dimensional women the same way they were during season 4.

My fifteenth set of “constructive criticisms” regarding the Buddie ship and the Buckley-Diaz Family in season 6 are included below the cut. Please note criticizing a TV show is NOT a bad thing especially since TV critics have been doing it for decades. Constructive criticisms are designed to help make something better and they are VERY different from negativity. A person can offer criticisms about a form of entertainment they spend their time watching and not be negative about it the same way two people can agree to disagree on a topic. Just because one person liked the season, they shouldn’t expect others to feel the way they do because everyone has their own opinions. Simply put, two people can have different opinions about 9-1-1 and those opinions can COEXIST since they are not mutually exclusive.

If reading criticisms about the TV show 9-1-1 upsets you, then don’t read below the cut.

Warning! ⚠️“Constructive Criticisms” Ahead!⚠️

Please note: Instead of unraveling the mess that was season 6 for Buck, Eddie, Chris, Buddie and The Buckley-Diaz Family via my blog posts, I decided to write a season 7 speculation multi-chapter fanfic and it’s already available on AO3. It was the most effective and therapeutic way I chose to deal with how much I HATED the way season 6 ended because I absolutely refuse to speculate about what will happen in season 7 on my blog (AO3 link here - an account is needed to read the fic).

Buddie’s relationship

“Buck and Eddie share a once in a lifetime, love of their lives, soulmate type of love that transcends space and time. They’re madly in love and they can’t live or breathe without each other!” (Direct quote from the notes section in two of my fanfics titled “Believe Half of What You See” and “You Mean the World to Me” fanfics).

Buck and Eddie have been in love with each other for the last five years! FULL STOP! They’re EMOTIONALLY INTIMATE with each other and they share a deep and intense bond that is NOT brotherly, platonic or friendly because it’s actually ROMANTIC, SENSUAL AND SEXUAL. They’ve always been attracted to one another and that was evident in 2x1 while they were standing in front of each other in the firehouse’s gym. They had a disagreement but Buck’s mouth was open and he was breathless while Eddie bit his bottom lip at him. In 2x3 their feelings for each other started growing and by the time they were both single at the end of season 2, their RELATIONSHIP had matured and reached a level of ROMANTIC INTIMACY that couldn’t be matched by any of the people they would date in the future and that fact was still true at the end of 6x18.

Neither of them have shared that level of INTIMACY with any of the people they’ve dated. There are some who confuse sex with intimacy but the truth is they are not the same. Two people can have SEX but it does NOT equal intimacy since they can participate in the act even when they don’t know each other. Some people pay for it and others just do it and don’t want any strings attached and that’s ok because it’s not wrong but the act by itself doesn’t equal intimacy and that was illustrated in season 5 with Buck and Taylor for the entirety of their relationship. They were literally sleeping in the same bed but since they didn’t know each other, the longer they stayed together, the more clothes they wore whenever they were together and it’s evident that they couldn’t be emotionally naked around each other because it made them uncomfortable.

Buck and Eddie kept all their clothes on in 3x9 and they never touched but the way they looked at each other and acted in THE KITCHEN SCENE was the most SENSUAL, SEXUAL AND EROTIC SCENE EITHER OF THEM HAVE EVER HAD ON-SCREEN.

They know, see and talk to each other

Eddie is the ONLY person who truly knows Evan/Buck. In 5x4, Eddie told Buck that he didn’t know Maddie the way Chimney knows her and in 6x12, it was CLEAR Maddie doesn’t know Buck the way Eddie knows him. Since Eddie knew Buck would talk about the way he was feeling when he was ready, he decided not to participate in Maddie’s ‘Operation Buck up Buttercup’ plan. He simply waited and Buck eventually showed up at his house and immediately fell asleep on their couch after he sat down. He listened to Buck when he said, “Please don’t ask me how I am” and instead of pushing him to talk, he simply replied, “Ok.” Then he waited until Buck woke up and entered the kitchen before he asked if he was allowed to ask him how he was doing.

The same way Eddie’s the only person who knows Buck, Buck is the ONLY person who can make Eddie talk. He did it in 3x9 when Frank couldn’t do it and he did it in 5x2 when he wouldn’t leave him alone until he told him about his panic attacks. Reminder, Ana AVOIDED talking to Eddie about them because she knew her presence was a trigger but Buck wouldn’t rest until he found out why Eddie acted the way he did when she showed up unannounced at the firehouse. He also got Eddie to talk after his breakdown in 5x13. Prior to that night, the only person who saw Eddie cry was Bobby in 3x8 but even he didn’t see everything Buck saw. Buck got Eddie to open up again in 5x14 while they were at Equine Therapy and they talked again in 6x15 but their roles were reversed because Eddie got Buck to talk.

The fact that Eddie and Buck truly and intimately know the other one combined with the fact that they’re in love with each other are only two of the reasons why THEY ARE PERFECT FOR EACH OTHER.

By the end of season 6, some viewers were and still are waiting for them to confess their love but for whatever reason 9-1-1 continued to delay the inevitable. Previously, it seemed like Buck and Eddie were going to go CANON in season 5, after the shooting happened at the end of season 4 but it was delayed. Also, the way things played out at the beginning of 6B, it seemed like they were going to go CANON by the end of 6x18 but once again, it was DELAYED. It doesn’t make sense because the truth is, they’re life partners who’ve been co-parenting Chris so the show continuously adding recurring characters who’ll end up biting the dust like all the others is a tired tactic that needs to end. The truth is, it doesn’t matter if they introduce more recurring characters as love interests because NONE of them will ever compare and be able to love Buck and Eddie the way they deserve to be loved since only they can do that for each other.

Buddie’s past

Buck and Eddie’s relationship is built on TRUST and it was the first thing they established between them in 2x1 after they removed a grenade from Charle #1’s leg. It was the first time Buck stepped in with Eddie because he volunteered to join him in the ambulance. Then in 2x2, Eddie told Buck about Chris, Buck replied that he loves kids and by the end of 2x3 the Buckley-Diaz Family began when Buck drove Eddie to pick Chris up from school after the earthquake.

The advice Bobby gave Buck in season 1 about the right way to treat someone when he’s in a relationship didn’t work on Abby but it did work on Eddie. After they started their partnership, Buck stepped all the way in with Eddie and he eventually became a second dad to Chris. They’ve been co-parenting Chris for years and everyone at the 118 knows about it but no one says anything.

They literally had a domestic relationship argument inside of the supermarket in front of the 118 in 3x5 and NO ONE tried to stop them. They’ve been at the forefront of each other’s lives since they became partners and the show has always compared their significant others against the other one. Eddie gets petty whenever Buck dates someone else and Buck gets jealous and ignores Eddie’s love interests. Their behaviors are NOT common for people who are just best friends, bros or co-workers.

Buck and Eddie were both single for 17 out of the 18 episodes included in season 6 and it was evident their relationship was about to become more when Eddie’s position in Buck’s life changed in 6x11 after he stepped in front of Bobby at the hospital. Also, Eddie was physically missing from Buck’s coma dream which means his position in Buck’s life was about to change too.

That’s love!!!

Buck’s definition of love

Buck defined love in 5x18 during his conversation with Maddie. He said, “Is that really love? Right, shouldn’t it be, when you’re at your worst, they’re at their worst, you have every reason to give up and you still decide you want to try again?” The only person who fits his definition of it is EDDIE but he didn’t end the season in a relationship with Eddie because he passively fell into whatever it is he thought he had with someone he met for a few minutes at a live funeral. Let’s fact check his definition against Natalia to see if she measures up (She DOESN’T but let’s do it for kicks and giggles anyway).

Was Natalia there for him when he was at his WORST? HELL NO!

Has he been there for her when she was at her WORST? Double HELL NO!

Did they go through anything where they had to decide to try again? HELL NO and ABSOLUTELY NOT!

Since Natalia doesn’t fit Buck’s definition of love, WTF was their BS relationship even supposed to be? How did Buck go from defining love in 5x18 to completely forgetting what he said in 6x18? It would have made more sense if he would have ended the season SINGLE and searching for a NEW couch on his own. All 9-1-1 did with Buck’s last scene in 6x18 was piss off and anger their faithful viewers who continued to watch through all the other CANON Buddie delays. So, if season 7 begins with Buck and Natalia still together, it’s likely they’ll lose even more viewers than they lost in seasons 5 and 6 combined. Most of the audience was already creeped out by her actions since her reason for being there was supposed to HELP HIM ACCEPT HIS DEATH. But she crossed the ethical line with him the same way Dr. Wells did in 1x2 which made her irredeemable.

What Eddie’s heart wants

Eddie’s heart wants someone who will love both him and Chris and the truth is BUCK is the only person who fulfills not only who Eddie wants but also what he needs. He was married to Shannon but she didn’t want to be a wife or a mother and she admitted it when they were at the restaurant in 2x17. Ana only wanted to keep up appearances so she could get married before she turned 30 years old. She didn’t love Eddie because she was in love with “the idea of being in love” the same way he was. Marisol is a DIYer who DOESN’T WANT ANYONE’S HELP and that was evident in 6x5 when she was introduced. Eddie’s a caregiver, it’s in his nature to take care of people, hence the reason why he’s a medic and he takes care of Buck all the time. After he was shot and bleeding out, he literally asked Buck if he was hurt in 4x14. Reminder, Marisol didn’t want her brother’s help but she relented when he kept pushing which is why things won’t work between them since Eddie needs to be able to take care of the person that he’s in a relationship with. Reminder, Shannon was controlling like Helena and Ana was passive aggressive and wouldn’t speak up or listen to Eddie. If season 7 starts with him and Marisol in a relationship, it will meet the same fate as his previous ones because Buck is the only person who listens to Eddie, he pushes him enough to make Eddie talk but not to the point where they’re arguing, he allows Eddie to take care of him and he gives him the space and time he needs to express himself.

They’re enough for each other

In 3x8, Eddie told Bobby he wasn’t enough for Shannon and in 4x14 Buck told Taylor he spent a long time feeling like he wasn’t enough but the fact is they’re ENOUGH FOR EACH OTHER.

Eddie knows Evan/Buck which means he knows all of Buck’s insecurities, the things he worries about and he’s the ONLY person who truly SEES him. Eddie knows and sees everything about Buck and he won’t leave but all the women Buck dated did once they realized there was more to him than him just being their boy toy. The difference between Eddie and all of them is Eddie doesn’t just see Buck the firefighter like Abby, Ali, Taylor and now Natalia did because he sees Buck the man, the lover, the father and his forever. He takes care of him and Buck lets him do it. He gives Buck the emotional intimacy he’s craved his whole life and he doesn’t make him feel bad about himself. He builds him up with his words while all the women Buck has dated either abandoned, demeaned and/or tore him down. They saw Buck as a good time but Eddie wants him for a lifetime and that’s all Buck’s ever wanted.

Buck KNOWS Eddie to his core and he can tell when Eddie’s hiding something, hence the reason why he’s always the one who has pulled Eddie out of traumatic situations (he pulled him underneath the ladder truck in 4x14, he pulled him out of the dark recesses of his mind in 5x13 when he called his name and he pulled him out of the camper van in 6x18). The things the women Eddie was married to or dated ignored about him, Buck doesn’t. He makes Eddie talk about everything that bothers him and he truly cares about Eddie’s well-being. He’s not just looking for Eddie to be a piece of arm candy like Ana did, he won’t make Eddie carry all the weight of their relationship like Shannon did and he’ll let Eddie help and he won’t try to make him do it all on his own the way Marisol will probably do. Eddie wants to be in a relationship with the person who loves him unconditionally and that’s Buck.

Shared Traumas

Buck and Eddie have almost lost each other too many times and based on their reactions to the possibility of losing each other or when they did lose the other one, it’s important to note no one will ever mean as much to them as they mean to each other. Over the years, they’ve experienced a lot of traumas but they STILL HAVEN’T TALKED ABOUT THEM.

Buck had a ladder truck crush his leg in 2x18, he collapsed in Bobby and Athena’s backyard after he had an embolism in 3x1, Buck and Chris were caught in a Tsunami and they got separated in 3x1-3x3, Eddie was trapped in a well in 3x15 and Buck lost it on live TV with all of L.A. watching, Eddie was shot by a sniper in 4x13 and Buck crawled underneath a ladder truck to save him, they were held hostage in 5x6 by two escaped convicts and Buck thought Eddie had been shot again, Eddie had a mental breakdown in 5x13 but Buck broke down his bedroom door to get to him and Buck was struck by lightning in 6x10 and died for three minutes and seventeen seconds and Eddie climbed up the ladder without being harnessed in to save him after he had been CATAPULTED off the base when he was hit with the same bolt of lightning. They’ve experienced all these shared traumas except they haven’t been allowed to discuss them in CANON. Is there a reason for this? Probably and it’s possible they haven’t talked about it because the show is waiting to make them a CANON couple. Reminder, after 3x15, Eddie changed his will and named Buck to be Chris’ legal guardian but they haven’t discussed it since the reveal in 4x14 (detailed post linked here).

Therefore the question is, when are Buck and Eddie going to TALK ABOUT ALL OF THEIR SHARED TRAUMAS? It’s been more than five years since the ladder truck explosion, four years since Buck’s embolism and the Tsunami, three and a half years since the well, more than two years since the shooting, in October 2023 it will have been two years since the hostage situation and in March 2024 it will have been one year since Buck died after the lightning strike. It’s time for them to talk about these things so they can confess their love for each other.

Dating

Full Disclosure: It doesn’t matter how the show tries to spin it, Buck and Eddie went on a DATE in 6x13.

In 6x17, Buck told Eddie that he sucks at dating but his comment was oxymoronic because Buck sucks at dating too since he’s NEVER HAD A SUCCESSFUL DATE WITH A WOMAN. Dates allow two people who are interested in each other to truly get to know one another. They start out casual but the more they get to know each other, the more intimately involved they become. Spending time together and participating in activities is a date which means Buck and Eddie were on a date when they went to play poker.

Buck and Eddie have had several dates over the years including the time they spent together in 2x10, 3x9, 4x3, 5x14 and 6x13. Even though Chris was with them on most of their outings since they went there as a family, the fact is EVERY TIME they were together during those instances, they ended up spending some time ALONE TOGETHER (looking at 2x10 Santa Klaus visit, 3x9 kitchen scene and 5x14 Equine Therapy). In 6x13 things were different because it was the first time CHRIS WASN’T PRESENT, therefore they went on an actual date when they went to play poker and Eddie didn’t panic and Buck didn’t immediately go to the physical like he’s done in the past. They’re comfortable when they're together which means they don’t suck at dating when they date each other (related post here).

Buddie in season 6

Missing

There were several times in season 6 where Buck should have been present with Eddie or vice versa but they were missing.

In 6x5 Eddie and Buck weren’t shown when Eddie took Hoover the dog to Buck’s loft even though all the other hand offs were shown.

In 6x7, when Eddie was talking to Felisa about the Tsunami, he didn’t mention Buck but he should have since Buck and Chris went through it together.

In 6x8, Buck wasn’t there while Eddie was helping Chris get ready for the dance but Carla was which didn’t make any sense at all.

In 6x10, Eddie was missing from the call the 118 was dispatched to with the woman who gave birth during the car accident even though he was at the firehouse with all of them before they left.

In 6x11, Eddie was missing from Buck’s coma dream but Buck NEVER ADMITTED WHY HE WASN’T THERE.

In 6x13, Eddie wasn’t there while Buck and Chris were baking cookies and the reason was never provided.

After they were together at the cemetery in 6x15, they weren’t shown hanging out and the distance they had in 6A returned because the show was preparing to set them up in those lackluster relationships with one-dimensional women.

Themes

Season sex or season six was filled with themes and since the majority of 6A and 6B focused on Buck and his gazillion storylines, it’s evident that more than 90% of those themes were connected to him and his journey to finding who and what he wants. Reminder, in 6x4 he told Connor and Kameron he didn’t know what he wants but that was a lie. There were two overarching themes of family and fatherhood (discussed in the Buckley-Diaz Family section below) but in addition to those themes, there were others included throughout the season for Buck and Eddie, i.e., hearts, happiness, lies, chances, cheating, secrets and death.

Hearts

Buck’s and Eddie’s hearts have been intertwined throughout the last five seasons but in season 6, they shared another traumatic albeit poignant experience when Buck’s heart STOPPED and he DIED in 6x10. Similar to the way Buck saw his world shatter when Eddie was shot in front of him in 4x13 which caused him to enter a catatonic state of shock; Eddie saw his world crumble in 6x10 when he looked up and saw Buck’s limp body hanging from the aerial after they both were struck by the same bolt of lightning.

Unlike 4x13 - 4x14 when they were with a different firehouse, in 6x10 they were with their found family and everyone saw Buck’s body hanging from the aerial before Eddie did but it was Eddie who called Buck’s name first even though Bobby, Hen and Chimney were all on the ground looking up at him while he was lifelessly suspended in the air. Reminder, Eddie had been CATAPULTED OFF THE BASE OF THE AERIAL because he got struck by the same bolt of lightning and it took him a few seconds to get up so if Buck dying and Eddie being the one to restart his heart wasn’t about Buck and Eddie then WTF were those scenes at the end of 6x10 and the beginning of 6x11 supposed to mean?

Dr. Salazar was Eddie’s cardiologist in 5x1, she was Hen and Chimney’s in 5x17 and she was Buck’s in 6x12. But the things she said to them during their meetings with her were important because they highlighted the difference between Hen and Chimney’s work partnership when compared with Buck and Eddie’s relationship. Hen and Chimney both said their hearts were fine and they didn’t need to stay overnight but Eddie thought his panic attack was a heart attack and Buck’s heart stopped so she kept running tests to make sure he was ok.

Lies and misrepresentations

The wife in 6x2 lied to her husband because she was cheating on him, Buck lied to Connor and Kameron in 6x4 when he said he didn’t know what he wanted, Eddie probably lied in 6x12 when he told Buck he didn’t remember anything about the shooting and he lied again in 6x14, when he said, “I do not panic!” Buck and Eddie hid the real reason why they went to play poker in 6x13. Buck was pretending to be fine even though he wasn’t and he said it was for the sake of everyone else in 6x15. When he said he had to be the same old Buck, mostly for the sake of everyone else, Eddie told him he didn’t have to be anything for anybody.

Why was Poker included and misrepresented in 6x13 like it was a numbers game when it’s clearly a game about bluffing to win? What was the goal behind Buck and Eddie playing poker with Captain Jeshan Mehta, Chief Miranda Williams and Julie Rosen when Buck couldn’t use his math skills to win?

All these lies and the bluffing meant something or else it wouldn’t have been included in season 6.

Cheaters

The wife in 6x2 was cheating on her husband with her neighbor. In 6x14, the bodybuilder was caught cheating when he put motor oil in his biceps and Buck said, “Nobody likes a cheater!” even though he was the one who cheated in 5x11. What was the purpose of all the cheating if they didn’t intend to do anything with it?

Chances

Buck and Eddie weren’t cheating when Buck answered the question in 6x13 while they were in the firehouse but they were betting to win money and after Eddie collected the winnings he said, “A fool and his money are soon parted” but the reason for it was never explained. The A-shift members who betted against Buck were taking a chance but they lost so who knows why that scene was included in the episode.

While it’s true, lightning doesn’t strike the same place twice, Eddie reminded Buck of that in 6x15 but Buck has continued to live in a dream world where he pictures everything is the way he imagines but it’s FAKE just like it was in his coma dream. He doesn’t know Natalia and she doesn’t know him and he’s pretending to be fine for the sake of everyone else. Buck taking a chance with her will end badly and Eddie foreshadowed it when he told him dating someone that he rescued from a call never ends well.

Eddie took a chance at the end of 6x18 as well but he doomed his own chances with Marisol when he told Buck about dating someone they rescued from a call.

Happiness

Buck started searching for happiness at the end of 6x2 when he thought Lev didn’t give him the answer to it before he died but he did, it’s just Buck misunderstood the assignment AGAIN. Eddie and Chris are Buck’s secret to happiness but for some reason he keeps missing who’s right in front of him.

So the question is, how many more old men are going to have to die until he gets it? He talked with Thomas in 2x8 and Thomas told him “You don’t find it son, you make it” meaning he’s supposed to make love, make a family and make happiness with the person he wants to be with (Eddie). In 3x16, Red told Buck not to end up with regrets by putting his job first (right after the well when Eddie changed his will) and in 6x2 Lev told him “I think I get it now” right before he died but Buck thought he didn’t tell him the secret to happiness. He told him how the life he lived was all a blur because he did what everyone expected him to do. Bobby counts as another old man because he was dead in Buck’s coma dream and he told him in 6x11 “Aww kid, if what matters to you most is how other people see you… then you haven’t learned a DAMN thing”.

That’s why Buck can’t be happy! He keeps looking past the ANSWERS (Eddie and Chris) who are right in front of him because he still cares about the way people see him. Therefore, Bobby was correct since Buck hasn’t learned a damn thing.

Secrets

Buck didn’t tell Eddie about the sperm donation in 6x4.

Chris wouldn’t tell Eddie about his crush in 6x8.

Eddie didn’t tell Buck he was pissed about the sperm donation in 6x9.

Buck didn’t tell Eddie about the way he was feeling about dying and Eddie didn’t tell Buck what he remembered about the shooting in 6x12.

Why was everyone in the Buckley-Diaz Family hiding and keeping secrets?

Death

Buck hasn’t dealt with the fact that he died and Eddie hasn’t dealt with it either. Therefore, since Eddie’s the only person who knows and SEES Buck and he knows WHO HE IS, in 6x12, he said, “You died, Buck” instead of saying “Buck, you died” like Maddie did in 6x12 and Bobby did in 6x14. Eddie knows Buck to his core and Buck’s too afraid to look at it because he doesn’t want his heart broken (detail post linked here).

The Buckley-Diaz Family or Buddipher

Family and Fatherhood

The overarching themes for season 6 were family and fatherhood and even though they applied to Bobby and Buck’s father son relationship and Buck’s biological and found families, they also applied to Buck’s, Eddie’s and Chris’ Buckley-Diaz Family relationship because they're their own family outside of the 118 and they chose each other.

Family

Buck’s biological parents were in 6x10 and 6x11 but their presence seemed awkward and it was probably set up that way for a reason. Buck has a found family in the 118 but he also wants a family of his own and he’s had one for the last five years with Eddie. Their family dynamic was established in 2x2 and Buck and Eddie built their family together. They’re the family they chose so it’s evident all the comments that were made about family throughout the season were related to Buck, Eddie and Chris.

In 6x9 Maddie said, “A family lived here” and Chimney replied, “I think a family should live here again”.

In 6x10 Eddie told Buck, “You are a real family” after Buck said being with Maddie, Chimney, Jee-Yun, his parents and the Hans was like they were a real family.

In 6x13 Eddie said, “It’s a different kind of family” when he and Buck were walking through the kitchen to go play poker.

In 6x13 Chimney said, “There are all kinds of family” after Rhonda Fitzsimmons used her nephew to gain access to their home so she could collect those money orders that she had mailed to their address.

Fatherhood

Eddie’s already a father to Chris and even though Buck doesn’t have any biological children of his own, he does have a child since Chris is his son too. Over the years, Buck’s been shown to be a parent to Chris and he and Eddie have been co-parenting him for the last five years. Chris looks like Buck the same way Buck looks like Bobby and those casting choices were made for a reason. Buck wants to be a dad and he has been one for years, it just seems like he’s too scared to admit it.

In 2x10, the elf said, “You two have an adorable son” and Buck said thank you instead of clarifying Chris was Eddie’s son. In 3x2, Buck came out of the water holding Chris (his son) after Eddie took Chris to Buck so he could take care of him (Reminder this happened after Shannon passed and Buck's and Chris’ relationship strengthened over the hiatus) during the Tsunami.

Eddie told Buck in 3x3, “And what you think you failed. I’ve failed that kid more times than I can count and I’m his father. But I love him (Chris) enough to never stop trying and I know you do too” and “There’s nobody in this world I trust with my son more than you”.

Chris asked Buck in 3x10 if he could spend Christmas with him the same way a child asks one of their parents (reminder Chris told Eddie in 2x10 he wished for his mother to come back well after she died, Chris wanted to spend Christmas with Buck since Eddie had to work).

Buck was panicking in 3x18 when Eddie told the 118 that Chris wanted to go to Summer Camp for two weeks.

In 4x8, Chris ran away to Buck’s loft when Eddie started dating again and Buck told him he wasn’t going anywhere.

Buck and Eddie answered Chimney’s question “No!” in unison in 4x10 about both parents being good cops.

Buck was the one to talk to Chris after Eddie got shot in 4x14, there was no other option and no one questioned it not even Eddie’s girlfriend.

In 4x14, Eddie told Buck he changed his will a whole year before he told him about it. THIS WAS A LOVE CONFESSION but like everything else, Buck missed it.

In 5x2, Eddie said Buck takes Chris to the zoo all the time.

In 5x10, Chris had a nightmare about Shannon because Buck wasn’t there for Christmas like he had been in the past.

In 5x13, Chris called Buck during Eddie’s breakdown instead of calling 9-1-1.

In 6x1, Chris and Buck were wearing the same colors when Chris told him it was weird that he didn’t have a couch (family).

In 6x7, Eddie PURPOSEFULLY didn’t say anything to Felisa about Buck even though everyone knows Buck was there in the Tsunami with Chris.

In 6x11, Chris made Carla take him to the hospital and he told Eddie he had to see Buck so he could talk to him. When he stood by Buck’s bedside, he told him to come back. Also, Chris was looking for BUCK in Buck’s coma dream when he asked, “Can you help me find my dad?” but Buck misunderstood.

In 6x13 Buck was literally baking cookies for Chris’ class without Eddie being in the loft with them.

Eddie’s reaction to the sperm donation

Eddie’s reaction to Buck’s comment during their four-way call in 6x9 about him being the official creator of new life was very LOUD. Buck wants to be a dad (read Buck’s CC post) and Eddie wants Buck to be Chris’ second dad so Eddie’s reaction was very telling. He didn’t like it and that’s why he almost had a panic attack after he dropped off the call. He literally hung up before anyone could tell him goodbye. But the show played it off and tried to make it seem like Eddie was ok with Buck’s decision in 6x10 when he clearly wasn’t in 6x9. The audience never saw Buck and Eddie talk about Buck’s sperm donation and Eddie was never shown asking Buck about Connor and Kameron’s baby.

The Legal Guardianship

Eddie gave Buck a family and a son when he added him to his will. Basically, he chose his family and legally established it a year before he told Buck about it. Therefore, if it wasn’t for Eddie, Buck would be still (he is, cue coma dream) making everything about himself. Eddie was the one who gave Buck a reason to stop being depressed in 3x1 when he took Chris to his loft. He told him he might learn something and he did. He gave him Chris again in 4x14 when he told him about his will and he told him he’s not expendable. He’s the one who encouraged Buck and helped him to realize in 2x1 that he could have his back any day even though Buck spent most of the episode feeling threatened by him. All of these are examples of Eddie giving Buck everything he wants but Buck keeps looking past it. It's possible the show hasn’t let Buck and Eddie talk about the legal guardianship because they’re saving it for their relationship reveal (related post linked here)

The Couch

Eddie’s couch was used a metaphor for him and Buck’s pending relationship but the show decided to pull a whammy at the end of the season and let Buck ask Natalia to help him choose a new one. In 6x1, Eddie literally told him “I think you mean your last two girlfriends came with couches” to correct Buck’s comment of “My last two couches came with girlfriends” but just like everything else, Buck missed what Eddie was trying to tell him. Eddie already has a couch and Buck slept on it when he took care of Chris in 4x14 and he probably slept on it again after 5x13 when Eddie had his breakdown. There have been several posts about Eddie’s couch and the significance of it so no further details are needed (posts linked here and here).

Final words about the couch. Buck asking Natalia to help him pick a new couch was RIDICULOUS because her helping him find one is no different than when Ali helped him find the loft in 2x18. He didn’t pick it out for himself since she would have an opinion about it so their relationship is doomed to end the same way his relationship with Ali’s did. Basically, he ended up doing the same BS he’s done in the past. That wasn’t his choice because if it was then she would have FIT HIS DEFINITION OF LOVE BUT SHE DOESN’T.

Buddie’s future

Only the decision makers know what the future holds for Buck and Eddie and the Buckley-Diaz Family since it appears the plan for Buck and Eddie to go CANON was halted especially since the finale ended up being a RUSHED, SLOPPY MESS that DIDN’T MAKE ANY NARRATIVE SENSE for any of the characters. If it was delayed then it was interesting since Buck defined love in 5x18 and Eddie’s shown who his heart wants many times especially in 6x11, so what’s the hold up?

It’s been five years and in season 7 it will have been six years since Buck and Eddie met. If they don’t intend to put them in a relationship then it’s TIME TO END THE CHARADE and stop stringing viewers along. They’ve missed so many opportunities to put them together that it’s not even funny but for some reason they keep delaying it. If they don’t return already in a relationship at the beginning of season 7, they should expect to lose even more viewers than they already have. They lost over 1 million by the end of season 5, they lost more than 700,000 by the end of season 6 and after 6x18 aired, the comments on all social media platforms were predominantly negative and the majority of them were about the REDUNDANCY of Buck's and Eddie’s love interests.

If they're still planning to go CANON, based solely on everything that happened in season 6, it’s possible Buddie will go CANON offscreen and it’s also possible they’ll get married in Las Vegas (Eddie foreshadowed this in 6x13 before the poker game) and they aren’t going to tell anyone about it. The show has the opportunity to do GROUNDBREAKING TELEVISION if they allow Buck and Eddie to become a CANON couple and it's likely it will be talked about for DECADES. But it’s also possible they’ve waited too long and with everything else going on, they might have dug themselves into a hole they may not be able to get out of.

The start of season 7 will mark the sixth year since Buck and Eddie’s love of my life partnership began and since the show will NO LONGER air on FOX, the creators and showrunner(s) shouldn’t have any other reasons to keep them separated. Airing a new season, on a different network, ABC, is going to give them a chance to fix everything they messed up at the end of season 6, especially since there will be a time jump. They SHOULD NOT bring back any love interests for Buck and Eddie but they should let them ALREADY BE MARRIED and use flashbacks of the time they weren’t filming in the Fall to show how they got together. That will remedy the foolery they used to end season 6 because the start of Season 7 is the time to make them CANON and stop with the delay tactics.

These are my criticisms regarding the Buddie ship and the individual characters included in the Buckley-Diaz Family and it’s the final “Constructive Criticisms” post for 9-1-1’s season 6.

I have a total of 15 CANON “Constructive Criticisms” and as of Wednesday, August 30, 2023, they’ve all been posted. The topics were posted in a specific order that begins with the overall issues for season 6 so they can be referenced within the posts about individual characters and ships that followed them.

#buddie #eddie diaz #evan buckley #christopher diaz #the buckley diaz family #buckley diaz family #911 fox #911 on abc #911 on fox #911onfox #911 #911 abc #9-1-1 Season 6 - CANON Constructive Criticisms #Canonically Observing 9-1-1 Speaks #911 s6 #911 season 6 #911 season 6 speculation #911 meta

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sacrifices-of-the-literary-demon · 9 months

Text

A Web of a Different Sort

Couple of notes:

“Weirdo” is used as a term of endearment in my family, and thus is intended to be read as such here.

This is my first written work in a number of years. It was meant to be much shorter but I was having too much fun.It’s not what I thought it was going to be at the beginning, but I hope it scratches that particular itch that spawned the prompt all the same!

Also! I’m reasonably sure that the term “Drider” comes from a portmanteau of Drow+Spider. Atraxeus isn’t part Drow, although I’m not certain what spider centaurs are called outside of DnD.

Fluff!Yandere. I mean, it’s so mild I almost can’t really consider it yandere, so be forewarned.

~~~

When your aunt passed on earlier in the year, it was a sad but expected result of time catching up to the older, eccentric lady you’d loved in your childhood. Life caused you and her to have lost contact for some time so it was mildly surprising to learn she’d left her run-down abode to you. Your cousin lived deeper in the town her little home almost bordered, and upon you reaching out he’d made it abundantly clear he had no issue with his mother’s decision.

“What do I need with another house? Mom left me the few mementos I wanted, and if she wanted to help you start your life I’m not going to be the one to argue with her. She’d probably rise up from the grave just to slap me for being a greedy bastard, and I’d have no room to complain.” he finished with a laugh.

You moved your belongings in during the late fall, the forest on the left side of the house a riotous mix of yellows, oranges and reds making the trees look like torches flowing far beyond what you could see. The ever cooling weather made you aware of every nook and cranny that needed patching, the sharp wind discovering two new ones for every one you filled.

Despite the steady trickle of repairs that came with owning an older house, it was at least close enough that a short walk to the bus station gave you access to the town proper. Best of all, there was a well-stocked craft store that was quite popular with almost everyone- your heart in particular was won over completely upon seeing the rows and rows of specialty yarn skeins in any shade imaginable. You were watching the clock as it grew later and later yet, but it was a new store to you and there was always something else that caught your eye and away you eagerly went.

Four overflowing bags and an indeterminable amount of time later (you knew how long you spent in there, you just weren't going to admit it) found you at the bus stop once again but unfortunately just shy of catching the last bus. Calling your cousin after all the help he’d already given with repairs to the house and rides out of town was out of the question. And the house itself wasn’t that far from town, and yarn didn’t weigh all that much, so…

Looking at the map on your phone, following the road would take you an hour and some getting back home but you were walking, and by cutting through the forest you’d shave off at least 20 minutes, maybe more.

Fortune favored you for once; there was a clear path through the trees and frequently checking your phone made sure you never strayed from the path leading to your home. But even in the twilight (perhaps especially in the twilight) the forest was beautiful, and you began to rest more and more often to give your arms a break from the unaccustomed exercise, enjoying the sounds of the rustling branches as the nocturnal residents began their unseen rounds.

The sight of your back door was a welcomed one, giving you a burst of energy that got you in the house and your bags slung haphazardly onto the couch, causing several skeins of yarn to tumble to the floor. With a tired groan, instead of slumping into the tattered old loveseat like you’d wanted you began to retrieve your purchases from where they had fallen.

It was exciting though. Picking through your chosen colors and textures, mentally assigning them to each project you were planning. An orange to red ombré that would become a fall-themed couch cover, a similar patterned skein in a sparkling white to blue that would be perfect for winter-themed covers, alongside a much softer white that shined even under the bright lights of the store that would make for perfect snuggling pillows…

Okay…

You knew you had picked up at least four of those incredibly soft skeins because you had the idea wrapped up inside your head of building what could almost be called a freaking nest of pillows with them that would be simply heavenly once winter hit properly. But crawling around, disturbing the dust bunnies under the couch and tables didn’t reveal more than two. You had plenty more colors and varieties for your many, many planned upcoming projects for the house, so while it was disappointing you supposed you could wait to purchase more until you were actually ready to start on those. After all, you knew you were going to need a lot more than four for what you were planning, it was just unfortunate that you’d had been limited to what you could carry and the colors you’d already chosen by the time you’d come across these.

Invigorated anew by the sight (and smell, burying your nose into an armful of brand-new yarn and taking a deep, satisfying sniff, you weirdo) you plucked your hooks from the basket next to the couch, turned your music app on and happily began your first project.

The morning brought you a little gift of luck, finding one of your missing skeins slightly unraveled on the back porch. You figured you’d dropped it in your haste to get inside and there was a good chance the other one was also dropped somewhere on your way home, most likely on the path when you stopped to rest. The skein was surprisingly clean for having been left outside, another bout of good fortune.

Over the past several nights, you’d been curling up in the back bay window crocheting to your heart’s content. Being quite the recluse caused your daytime job of answering phones as part of an outsourced support team grate badly on your nerves, but it was by and far better than any other job that required you to interact with people directly (with the added benefit that you could still sometimes work on your craft as no one could actually see you do so). And as with any project done with love, you were quite proficient at it. You had started the couch cover, made a simple runner for the kitchen table, and was currently working on some matching curtains. As a little reward for yourself, you decided to head back to the craft store to pick through their offerings once more despite having plenty of skeins yet to use.

You paused at the door; it wasn’t too long of a walk into town using the pathway you took last time, right? It would be good exercise, and you wouldn’t have to wait a half hour for the bus or sit in the tin can of a vehicle squished up against strangers you tried valiantly to pretend didn’t exist. You may even find your missing yarn, although the elements by now surely would have rendered it useless to you.

The walk during the day was different, but the forest was no less enchanting than it was under moonlight. It was quicker than you had remembered, most likely due to not being weighed down by baggage.

You spent a good portion of the day around town, stopping in a few shops but never buying anything until your last stop at the craft store. You spent quite a bit of time thumbing through findings and beads and such, but keeping in mind your walk home you decided to pick up another seven skeins of soft white yarn alongside a long bar and hooks for the curtains you were nearly done with.

The walk back home was brisk and refreshing, the trees blocking much of the cooler fall wind. Some of the trees along the path had faint shimmers along the bark, and you were admiring whatever caused the effect when you stumbled over something on the path. You were fortunate enough to not be pitched to the ground, but your bags were not so lucky. Faint whispers of something tickled your face and arms, and you swiped your hands through the air around you, feeling light strings around your head, almost like spider silk.

“Huh.”

You swiped around your body to make sure there was nothing clinging to you before picking your bags back up. This time you counted your purchases, rifling through the bags to make sure nothing was left behind, completely missing the glinting eyes far into the trees as they watched you proceed once more on your short journey home.

The following week saw you flitting into town bee-lining directly for the hobby shop. You were in desperate need of a “didn’t cuss a customer out despite completely deserving it” reward and while the brisk walk into town helped with the stress, skimming your hand along the rows of brightly colored skeins helped to push the rest of your anxiety away, awash in the thoughts of projects to come.

This time your purchases were carried in a fisherman’s net bag with a drawstring close, the product of an hour spent in your cozy little nest and a set of free patterns you’d found online. So this time when you inevitably stumbled along the chain of webbing crossing over your path, you managed to keep hold of your purchases. And when not even a step later you felt a soft net-like web fall from the foliage above, dropping your bag in startelement to swipe at the strands criss-crossing your face and torso, your belongings stayed safe. Pulling at the strands did not break the filament despite its deceptively fragile appearance. But the threads were chained in a manner that almost seemed similar to your own, and all it took was a clear head to find a spot in the webbing, unraveling a section large enough to step through within moments. Bending towards the ground to retrieve your bag, you could see it really was kind of similar to a pattern that now hung from the kitchen window rods. You giggled a little bit when your imagination played out an image of an itsy-bitsy spider with an itsy-bitsy set of crochet hooks.

A rustling off to your side, yards away, startled you out of your mirth. When it was accompanied by what sounded like a frustrated growl you decided perhaps you should carry on your way before whatever nocturnal animal out there decided to take its bad night out on whatever unsuspecting creature got in its way. Specifically, you.

You’d grown to love the treks back and forth through the woods, and several times now you’d seen the glistening strings stretching across your path. It was fascinating, really- some of the webbing looked almost like different lacing patterns, again calling to mind some of your own work hung in the windows of your little home. You wondered briefly at the size of the spider (spiders?) that could make such a large web to stretch so far, but you’d seen some pretty impressive natural structures in your youth come from some of the tiniest creatures and so really thought nothing of it. You tried your best to avoid damaging the delicate-looking lacework, stooping and walking through various holes, unraveling the fewest strands necessary- you’d be quite upset if someone came along and ruined your hard work by haphazardly stomping through it. And really, some of the patterns were getting quite impressive for a little arachnid and you could only wonder at the time it took them to spin such increasingly intricate webs.

By the middle of winter you had two couch covers, three sets of curtains, one blanket, and three of your coveted cuddle pillows made amongst various other items you had crocheted for online orders that provided a little bit of extra cash. You were right- the pillows were almost orgasmic to pile up and snuggle into, but you hadn’t made nearly enough of them as you’d paused on your pillow sets to make the aforementioned blanket. You had a proper little nest in the window now, and even on the few nights you put the hooks down for a book or to watch a movie on your phone you were snuggled up in comfort despite the ever increasing chill coming from the window pane.

Obviously there were no more webs during the colder winter months, but nearer to the end of spring you found yourself once again coming across silken webbing laced around the path. The first one of the year was also the first one you’d found on your way into town, and you’d stepped back to admire it in shock and awe as it was also one of the largest, most intricate you’d seen yet.

“Oh, wow, that is just so amazing!” You gushed out loud, reaching out to run a finger across the patterns. A lacey chain of snowflakes spiraled out from the center, progressively growing bigger in size, the biggest snowflakes on the edges spanning further than your hand could spread. Interspersed between them were delicate swirls and loops of chain, the lattice-like structure now stretching to cover the path completely between the two trees it was anchored to.

Following the threads, you could see in the waning daylight more chains and swirls continued their patterns above your head, and tracing the path of webbing with your eyes found the designs stretching and looping around, almost seeming to form a tunnel off the beaten path to lead down into the woods.

All these months you have been smart enough to stay on the well-worn trail. You knew better than to risk wandering off into the forest- knowing your luck, you’d get lost within hours, starve to death, then have to explain to your auntie’s ghost why your corpse was now feeding the wild coyotes (or whatever was in here) and not taking care of her house.

But.

The tapestry of web-work was absolutely enchanting. It must have been the work of an enormous cluster of spiders to achieve such awe-inspiring displays of weaving, but not even the thought of encountering what had to be hundreds of spiders could dissuade you from wanting to see more. Thousands upon thousands of threads made the shimmering web almost glow in spots, more and more chains slowly being recognized. Ohmigosh, that’s just like the pattern I used for the table runner! Each pattern delicately bled into another, and so fascinated by the complexities of the work you barely recognized that you had stepped off the path until you bent your head down to pull out your phone for a flashlight. The sight of the weave beneath your feet instead of dirt gave you pause for a moment. Looking up, even with your (admittedly small) light the end of the tunnel couldn’t be seen, and a cautious backwards glance showed you had only gone a few steps off the path so far.

You could go back around the other side of the path, round the trees and be on your way as you have so many times before. But you just couldn’t keep your eyes from eagerly following the meticulously woven threads in shimmering designs as they swooped and swirled farther into the darkening woods. How dangerous could it be to look further? Would you ever get a chance to see something this unique again? The wall of webbing looked delicate enough, but pushing on the side only stretched the threads, bouncing back upon drawing your hand away. It would be almost impossible to get lost- the tunnel led straight back and you could merely turn around and follow the passage back to the trail once your curiosity had been sated.

The ceiling stretched a few feet above your head and if you walked down the middle of this new pathway, you would not be able to touch the walls either so claustrophobia wasn’t even a thought. Besides, the way the intricate shimmering swirls danced into one another, surrounding you as the webbing swirled deeper yet into the forest left no room in you for anything other than fascination. It was unfortunate that you couldn’t snap pictures while your phone used the flashlight- and there was no telling when whatever animals that roamed the woods during the daytime would ruin such a rare sight so you had to commit to your memory now whatever you could.

A slight ache in your legs was the only clue you had to how far you had walked, mesmerized as you were. A sigh left your lips; you were understandably caught up in being so fortuitous having the chance to examine such a rare sight for so long that night had to have fallen by now, which meant your trip into town was no longer an option. Not that you were complaining. But it was high time to begin your reluctant trek back home.

Just as the thought brushed your mind the web-formed tunnel gave way to an open cavern. The glistening threads still swirled and chained its way across the floor, but the walls and ceiling were suddenly dark grayish rock speckled here and there with different varieties of moss clinging to the crevices that split along the surface.

The webbing on the floor began to change, forming something that looked a little more like a spider’s web closer to the center of the rocky room, but not quite- and again, it was something that was familiar to you the closer you peered. Your curiosity and admiration were slowly being outweighed by caution- you were clearly in a cave, how far had you walked? You didn’t want your once-in-a-lifetime experience to become your final experience because you were eaten by a cave bear.

A skittering noise coming from the space between you and the tunnel entrance had your heart immediately in your throat and your feet rapidly taking you backwards further into the room, hands fumbling with your phone. Your light was a tiny beacon in the dark, a neon sign showing predators where to find you and your trembling hands took three tries to turn it off. You kept moving backwards, not wanting to stay still while your eyes adjusted to the dark the best they could, but you found your feet suddenly pulled out from under you and you only had seconds to brace yourself for the impact of your skull and back hitting the unforgiving stone floor.

However, instead of meeting the floor in a burst of pain, your backwards momentum was suddenly arrested and your body was abruptly pulled into the air. Your shriek of fear and surprise echoed off the walls and it took you more than a few moments to get your bearings. Your body was suspended, swinging in the air, the cording around you forcing you into somewhat of a fetal position. Your hands scrambled to find purchase, grasping onto the net-like bag that held you while you tried hard not to get sick from the dizzying sway.

“Little Spinner! You don’t know how happy I am to see you have survived the freeze!”

Your eyes widened in shock. A human voice was the last thing you expected in the middle of the night, in a dark cave carved out in the woods. And now that you put it that way, this was such a bad idea. What were you thinking?

Obviously, you weren’t.

“Uh, I- I’m sorry, I think I need some…help?” Struggling against your bonds you managed to get a hand above you just out of the snare-like net that held you captive who-knows-how-high up. Blind fumbling of your fingers encountered the rim, feeling the thicker loops of stitching just above you, and as your eyes began adjusting to the dimness around you a thick pair of strings could just barely be seen, gradually leading from the net that held you captive to the ceiling of the cave.

And the edging on the rim of the snare was too familiar to not recognize.

After all, you used your little drawstring bag entirely too often on your many trips to town to not recognize those chains by now.

Further scuff and scuttling noises drew closer to you, but the voice from the darkness below you interrupted the mounting fear of the unknown.

“And you have no idea how pleased I am to see my work is finally good enough to impress you! You’ve no idea the amount of spinning I’ve done to get it just right.” the voice laughed as it continued to move below you, then sounding from the side of the cave wall. “Well, perhaps you do. I’m sure it took you quite a while to master your craft as you have.”

Confused with the direction of the conversation, you fought the fear of having to rely on an unknown stranger who sounded much too happy for the situation you were in. “I don’t, I really don’t understand what's going on here? And I’m getting scared?” It came out as a question not because you didn’t recognize the feelings coursing through your veins was terror-fueled adrenaline, but because you were uncertain if you should admit it to a faceless stranger.

The voice continued as though you hadn’t responded at all. “But there are no complaints from me. Months and months of nearly spinning myself dry were worth it to hear your exclamations of joy, dearest one.” There was a shift in the air beside you and large barely seen hands took hold of the net that held you, stopping the swaying motion. “Oh, great Neith, I know I’m getting ahead of myself, but do allow me this moment of gushing. I’ve waited so long to properly meet you! And I’ve worked my spinnerets off to prove it, don’t you think?”

A pale face-a pale upside down face- with paler hair hanging down like a curtain appeared between the hands holding the netting. A wide grin flashed teeth but there was something wrong there and coal black eyes glinted back, with a few smaller black dots edged around each eye and in the dimness of the cave did they blink are those dots scars or eye- wait wait wait

Your own eyes grew wide and you slapped your hands over your mouth, converting a terrified scream into something more manageable. Or at least, muffled. The strings holding the snare to the dome of the cave stretched thin and the net bobbed down as if a more significant amount of weight had been added.

“Hello, little mate! Atraxeus is what I am called, and I have been admittedly a bit impatient to meet you but now that you’re here…” he giggled, “I’m just too excited to decide what to show you first!”

There was too much and too little information being thrown at you at the same time, and if you could just get free of this snare you were sure you could calm down enough to ask the right questions and possibly make it through this night intact.

One pale hand left the side of the shimmering net to strike a match, your eyes following the tiny flame as it fell to the floor below you and gosh that was a lot further down than you realized before the pinprick of light suddenly swelled into a sea of flames dancing across the floor for a brief moment, before crawling up the walls into cleverly hidden cracks throughout the cavern, settling in and burning brightly across the room. The intricate webbing surprisingly still held fast to the floor, appearing to have been untouched, and the gentled flames flickering between the sheets of rock interspersed with the rich green of the moss was admittedly breathtaking, the light now sufficient enough for you to be able to take in your surroundings.

Your gaze went from the walls to the man hanging beside you, trailing up his bare chest oh god he better not be naked that would just- and for a moment you couldn’t make sense of what your eyes were telling you. Because where his waist ended blended into a dark plate-like carapace and-

An undignified shriek trying to escape your throat had you once again clapping your hands across your mouth, falling into unhinged laughter. Eight long, spindly, legs held onto the line suspending you above the floor, a muted black abdomen easily twice your size with slight hints of lavender and gray glinting in the light behind them.

Your wide eyes met his, still struggling with unhinged laughter. Three smaller eyes curved around each of his two more human-like ones. “Man..spider..spider-man, wait, no, no-not right, not right ohmigod-” The not-man not-spiderman cocked his head to the side in question, not being able to understand you as your hands were still covering your mouth.

“Atraxeus, sweetling, but I understand it can be a bit of a mouthful. You can call me Atrax if you wish, but I’m also eager to hear the terms of endearment you prefer to use.” He frowned for a moment, looking pensive. “Except honey, or honeybear, or anything of the sort. Had a nasty run in with some bees a few years ago and can’t say I’ve had a taste for it since.” He refocused on you. “Let’s get you down from here, I know it’s a great view of the room, but there’s a little more to show you!” The line holding you suspended went slack momentarily before his hands and first two sets of legs caught you. “I’ve cleaned up and decorated in anticipation of bringing you home, but don’t worry! I’ve left more than enough room for you to display your own darling webs, dearest!”

He transferred you to his arms once the two of you reached the floor to allow his spider appendages to touch down first, the back two releasing his thread from the larger of the two sets of spinnerets. Your renewed struggles were rewarded with your head popping free of the net-like bag but casual hands merely readjusted you in his hold, curling you up into his chest with the remnants of the snare trapping your arms against you.

You looked up at him, pale skin and paler white hair that fell to his mid back. His gait was even and unhurried- quite the contrast to his exuberant, talkative personality. He caught your gaze from the corner of his eye(s) and gave you a sparkling grin that showed off an impressive set of fangs.

You closed your eyes and shuddered. “I don’t want to be eaten alive, oh god, that’s gotta be the worst way to go…” Atraxeus laughed and gave you a reassuring squeeze. “Oh, my, neither do I! Yet another thing we have in common!” He carried you through a short tunnel of rock sloping down before opening into what was a much more impressively sized cavern, although you couldn’t see the size properly as it was covered in sheet after sheet after sheet of webbing floors with silken tunnels interspersed throughout the space. He never paused, a slight hop taking him onto the glittering canvases, his legs navigating the maze unerringly. Despite yourself, you were overwhelmingly impressed at the silken architecture stretching around you. “In fact, I had quite despaired of ever finding a mate to share my life with- apparently I’m one of those “strange arachnaes” that want to actually enjoy my life with my partner, thank-you-very-much, not “‘Thank you for the babies’ then ‘thank you for the meal’”. This was said with a roll of all eight eyes, and you got the feeling it was something he’d been told a few too many times for his liking.

A smaller webbed tunnel led to a curiously warm room, the floor once more decorated in crocheted paisley-like swirls. A large web hung almost horizontally across the space, unique in its construction; criss-crossed with enough webbing layered that it was thicker than your hand, sparkling in an opaque off white color. There were natural openings formed around the edge with one large hole near the bottom, acting as the entrance Atraxeus carried you through.

Looking ahead, your sudden outrage pushed aside all the disjointed thoughts and fear that was flooding your mind. “Is that my blanket?!? Did you steal my blanket?” Said blanket was in the center of what you thought was another level of the room but now you assumed this must be his bed, surrounded by pillows of different sizes. The webbing barely moved as he walked forward- a testament to its sturdy construction- and upon closer look you realized this particular afghan was much larger than the one you had hooked yourself. Atraxeus’ chest vibrated beneath you as he let out a laugh. “I’ll take that as a compliment, little Spinner of mine. As prolific as you are with your webbing, I feared you would complete your work before I could learn the pattern.”

He set you down upon the middle of the blanket, his forelegs cocooning the edges snugly around you before settling his great arachnid body beside your own, propping his head upon his hands to gaze upon you with a little sigh of contentment.

It was awkward for you, though, and still terrifying pinned down as you were with and of course an annoying strand of hair was tickling your cheek but that wasn’t the most important thing at the moment. “So…” you began. “I’m getting the idea you probably don’t want to eat me…even though I look like a giant bug trapped in-” you trailed off; you probably shouldn’t give him any ideas. “I’m very glad! You don’t want to be eaten, and I don’t want to be eaten, and- um, you were saying something about, uh,” you could feel the blush forming on your face and you couldn’t look him in the eyes for the embarrassment “Mates…partners…you can see that I’m not a, ah, spider-person, right?”

You looked back at him when he giggled. “Trust me, it’s part of your charm. Although watching you night after night weaving your webs, it would not be surprising to find you might have Arachnaes in your bloodline somewhere.”

“It’s not weaving webs, it’s- wait, night after night? You were stalking me?”

“Well of course. How else was I supposed to learn about you?” He reached a hand out to gently move the wayward strand of hair behind your ear.

And this right here is why you really should have made an effort to try to connect with other people, other humans, because the mild shiver such a gentle move provoked in you should have been fear or revulsion. Especially paired with his unabashed admission of stalking. But in your defense, the people you tried to reach out and form relationships with, be it romantically inclined or a fulfilling camaraderie had left you with enough apprehension that you were almost serious about waiting for the inevitable robot revolution and trying your hand at courting one of them instead.

You’ve gone down some serious rabbit holes in your depressed internet searches, so sue you.

Atraxeus’ hands now perched beside you, his face much closer to yours than before. A rakish grin and sharpened gaze said he missed nothing when it came to your reactions. No, no, you were not so desperate for affection and acceptance that a mythical creature- ok, no, that was unwarranted meanness as he was definitely a person of some sort- but while he apparently knew enough about you to be entirely enthralled you had had your whole world-view set upon its head with just his existence alone. A person that had nothing but gushing compliments for you, something you’d never encountered with anyone else. And he was admittedly attractive, once you got accustomed to the multiple sets of eyes, and you never really had an issue before with picking up and relocating the little arachnids that made their way into your home.

What were you doing? Were you really going to talk yourself into a relationship with a person from another species?

Looking up at his adoring gaze centered on you, a small part in the back of your mind responded “YES PLEASE”.

You told that small part to shut up before it got you into trouble.

“Can…can you let me out of this, please?” You wiggled your shoulders slightly, the only movement the snug covering allowed. “I just think we can have a much more productive conversation as adults if one of us isn’t a literal captive audience, don’t you think?”

His smile grew wide before suddenly nuzzling his face into the juncture between your neck and shoulder, and you felt it when he took a deep breath of your scent. “We have plenty of time for talking later, sweetheart. I’ve worked so very hard throughout the night and into the day that I haven’t even been able to renovate the nest to accommodate for your disability, you know. I am in dire need of some rest and I fear you would wander off and get hurt, and it would just devastate me to see you harmed.”

“What do you mean by disability?” you asked warily.

He sighed and leaned back slightly, cupping your face in his hands and steadily holding your gaze with his own. “I’m sorry to be the one to have to tell you this but, my love,…you only have two legs.”

You gave him a deadpan stare.

“Yes I knew that Atraxeus, I’m human, and a majority of us are naturally born with two legs.”

He laughed again, his smile bright as a thrill ran through him at hearing you say his name for the first time, and you cracked a small grin yourself. “Seriously though,” you wiggled a bit once more “there’s no need to chain me up-”

He cocked his head questioningly. “Is my webbing so rough against your skin?” He ran his fingers across the blanket at your shoulder.

“No, it’s, well, really quite soft, but-”

His hand came back across to gently tug at the material wrapped around your chest. “You can breathe alright?”

“Well, yeah, it’s just-”

“Then let us rest, just for a little while my love. Our conversation will keep ‘til morning.” He tucked his head back to nuzzle once more against your neck, an arm and three arachnid legs looping around you. Maybe it didn’t bother you the way you thought it should because you were so tired. Maybe he had a point, that you would be better prepared to argue your points with him once you were more well rested yourself.

Maybe in the morning you’d find he had some valid points himself.

Maybe. We’ll see.

Omake:

You cradled the swaddled egg; being only about half the size of a large watermelon she fit perfectly in your arms. Atrax had said time and the right set of humidity was all she needed to grow, but you were too eager to meet your soon-to-be-hatched daughter and were constantly swathing her in different baby blankets, rocking her and humming lullabies. Between the two of you, she had enough mini afghans of both yarn and spider-silk to make her own proper little nest and you almost always scooped her up upon the final stitch to see what she looked like in your latest creation.

Atrax could roll his eyes and playfully mock you all he wanted- he knew damn well he did the same exact thing more often than he let on.

The Arachnae in question had just entered your shared room, and upon seeing you awake and alert, tried unsuccessfully to hide his newest baby blanket behind his back, but aborted the attempt upon your pointed, playful look.

He sighed with a soft smile. “Ok, I know we keep saying she has enough blankies, but in my defense, I was scrolling on your phone and found the most adorable Halloween patterns, and really! How could I resist? Look at this!!! It is too cute to be legal I tell you!” A flick of his wrists had the silken square presented so you could clearly see the design. A ring of dancing jumping spiders holding hands spiraled out of the center to fill the entire block. It was a highly intricate design and probably took him longer than normal with the amount of smaller chains, but you had to admit he was right. You probably would have done the same thing.

Conveniently forgetting all the other times you in fact did do the exact same thing.

You tried to hold in your laugh but it sputtered out anyways. “I’m not complaining one bit. You’re right, it is too cute to be legal.” You passed her over to her daddy, who swept her up and swaddled her in the soft white blanket, her tiny shadowed form barely seen through the light greenish gray of the membrane.

He cradled her in the crook of his arm, cooing at her. “Oh, you’re going to be so beautiful when you hatch. Mommy and Daddy can’t wait to meet you little one. You’re going to be just as gorgeous as Mommy- you’re going to have to bite the heads off of all the other little ones to stop them from flirting with you.”

“Atraxeus no! We are not going to encourage our little girl to be a cannibal!” You were both horrified and sputtering with laughter as you gave him a playful poke to his ribs, then reached out to retrieve her but he spun around and put his abdomen between you two.

“Lucindae, yes! You’re going to be our innocent little spiderling for ever and ever and you’re going to nom on all the other little spiderlings that try to date you! Nom nom nom nom nom.”

You were crying with laughter as he waxed on and on, and when you clambered up onto his abdomen he merely turned and swept you up in his other arm to hold the both of you close.

You sighed happily. Nobody would ever try to claim it was the most conventional of pairings, Atraxeus and you, but for you, it was perfect.

*This was a half remembered prompt from somewhere, all I can recall is the blog author received some requests they loved but didn't have time for? I think? There was a reason they didn't fulfill it so posted for others so they could. I will credit you when I find you!

#writing prompt #monster lover #yandere x you #yandere drider #soft yandere #nanayoungishere

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noodyl-blasstal · 11 months

Text

Super-ish

It's day 9 of @taznovembercelebration and I drew "superhero AU". Taako's speed dating to save the puppy orphans!

Read below or on Ao3 and find yesterday's prompt here.

The bell clangs loudly and it can't come soon enough. It's a melody, a sweet symphony of horrible bell janglies because it means Taako gets to move on.

When Magnus told him there was a speed dating event to raise money for the puppy orphanage Taako definitely, 100%, absolutely told him it was a fucking stupid idea. He knows those words came out of his face, near certainly followed by 'what nerd's gonna show up to that?' Apparently him? Apparently he's the nerd that's gonna show up to it. He doesn't know how it happened, it's like he blacked out and woke up with at least twenty of the worst men in the city taking turns to talk at him.

Magnus looks so pleased with himself, he and Julia are holding hands, even when Magnus rings the bell. They keep looking at him expectantly every time too. He has to keep giving them a small head shake and destroying their dreams of finally pairing him off and getting to go on double dates. Taako's the perma third wheel baby, get used to it.

Honestly, Taako was sick of his single status, and maybe that was how Magnus wore him down. He tried at first, he did, but there were only so many times he could be talked at tonight. His most promising match so far seemed to be the spider magician. If he wasn't in a fucking cult he'd probably be a great bet, but the guy's deep in the sauce. Also, Taako and Brian?? Terrible. There's no mystery in it. What are they gonna portmanteau to? Taian? Braako? Bad. No way. Taako needs sophistication, he needs...

"Kravitz." Says the, admittedly handsome, dude he plunks himself down opposite. Something's gotta be wrong with him. He's wearing a three piece suit, a nice one, his tie has a tasteful skull pattern and Taako wanted to inspect his raven collar pin. He wanted to inspect a lot of things about Kravitz. Corporate goth with flair, most other people were in jeans and a t-shirt... or their spider magic uniform.

"So, what're you in for?" Taako asks. He's long given up on the suggested questions on the sheet. He doesn't know if he cares about this guy's job yet, or if he wants kids or likes sports.

"I'm here to find true love, obviously... Taako?" Kravitz glances at Taako's name badge and actually pronounces it right, suspect behaviour, if you ask him, along with taking this seriously.

Kravitz manages to hold his face in a sappy smile for a few moments before he cracks and laughs. "My friend bullied me into it. Bought me a ticket, drove me here with her wife. I've actually possibly been kidnapped - do you think I need to tell anyone?"

"Hmmm, are you having a bad time? I think it's only kidnap of you're not enjoying yourself."

"Then it's partial kidnap. I wasn't having a good time before , but I am now."

Okay, so he was funny too, funny and handsome, Taako likes funny and handsome. Taako can work with funny and handsome, especially if he keeps flirting.

"How about you? Why are you here?" Kravitz asks and leans in like he's interested in the answer.

"I have no idea. Not in a 'they knocked me out and put me in a trunk and now I'm here' way, more a 'my friend turned every ounce of his enthusiasm on me and I got caught in the tractor beam and now I'm here' way."

Kravitz nods sympathetically, like he understands, like the same thing could happen to anyone.

"That's him, over there, staring intently at us right now." Taako waggles his fingers at Magnus, who raises his eyebrows questioningly. "He's the most married man I know who isn't my brother in law."

"Gross." Says Kravitz happily and waves at Magnus too, probably giving him false hope. Magnus looks delighted.

"Anyway..." says Kravitz, "...down to business, if you could fly to the moon via any object and have one cheese as a snack, what would you choose?" Kravitz picks up his pen to take notes like he's taking this seriously, like he's considering Taako as a life partner. Wild.

But... the thing is, Taako likes to win.

"Unicorn." He replies immediately. "With two horns. If Taako's going to the moon he's gonna go in style."

"What's the unicor... Binicorn? called?" Okay, Kravitz is operating near his level, he knows how to play.

"Binicorn, thank you for respecting Garyl's identity. Now, cheesewise, cheesewise you got me because there's options, see, there's manchego because it's smooth and it's got the fun texture; but could cha'boy whip up a baked camembert with hot honey and garlic?"

Kravitz considers for a moment, then nods. "I'll allow it." He jots some things down on his black notepad with his silver ink pen. It was covered in tiny bats.

Taako admires the commitment to aesthetic theme. Taako also desperately, passionately, needs to know what he's writing. It'd better be "hottest man alive, great cheese opinions, 69/10"

"But the problem is, the problem is, that cave aged cheddar exists. It's got the bits."

"The mineral chunks!" Kravitz adds with enthusiasm.

"A man of taste I see!"

"I like to think so."

Kravitz sounds like he's flirting. Taako was probably flirting? He oozed it apparently, had no idea it was happening most of the time. People got angry about it sometimes, but you can't lead someone on if you don't know you're doing it.

"How about you, cheese and object?"

"Giant raven, mozzarella shreds straight out of the bag." Kravitz doesn't even look ashamed.

He's disgusting, he's perfect.

The bell rings, loud and unwelcome. It's far too soon, Magnus clearly fucked up the timings, but some guy is walking over here like he's planning to sit down?

"Keep it moving, kemosabe, this seat's taken."

Maybe he should have checked with Kravitz before engaging this plan, but he hasn't objected, so Taako's going to assume he's on board.

Magnus looks confused and gives the bell another jangle while looking straight at Taako - which means he misses the chaos it causes as everyone else stands up and rotates again. Julia tugs their conjoined hands and gently guides him away from ringing a third time.

"Nope." Taako doesn't even look round at the second guy. He's absolutely not budging, this is the first conversation even vaguely worth his time. Goth boy is his now, actually.

"Thank you." Kravitz looks relieved enough that Taako doesn't feel any guilt. "You're stuck with me now, you can't throw me back into the man pit."

"If you insist, but the man pit sounds intriguing."

"The man mines?"

"Yeah, okay, Taako doesn't do heavy labour."

"I bet you did while you were carrying all those prior conversations." Kravitz wiggles his eyebrows, dork.

"Speaking of which what's your shit superpower?" Taako asks. "I mean, you can tell Taako if you can stop time or whatever too, cha'boy isn't a snitch, but this is about the day to day powers." Taako kind of hopes he can stop time, honestly, then he doesn't have to worry about Magnus' bell ringing.

"I run the perfect bath every time." Kravitz barely hesitates, just has it ready to go.

"You know how you like your bath?" Taako's not convinced Kravitz understands the question.

"Oh, no, you misunderstand me, anyone, no matter who, I can run them the perfect bath." Kravitz looks totally confident. It's weirdly sexy. Maybe it has been too long since Taako dated...

"Run many baths for strangers, have you?"

Kravitz winces slightly, oh, now Taako's intrigued.

"There was this whole thing in college." Kravitz begins.

This sounds like it's going to get unhinged. Taako needs to know this story right now immediately. He rests his chin on his hand and may or may not flutter his eyelashes a little, no one can prove anything one way or another.

Kravitz looks like he's running sums in his head, big ones, difficult ones, with scary number teeth.

"You can't dangle something like that and then stop!" Taako needs to hear.

"It... well... when I..." Kravitz starts, then seems to find his feet. "Sloane, my married friend, off of kidnapping me fame."

Taako nods to show he follows.

"We went to college together, in Goldcliff."

Taako winces.

"Yeah, exactly. We were full ride scholarships, but most people were so posh and so rich and so unaware. The cost of everything there was ridiculous - so we needed money."

It's a shame Kravitz isn't loaded, but at least he's not saddled with college debt and was smart enough for someone to give him money about it.

"I ran Sloane a bath one time after she had a hellish shift at the roller skate diner and I guess she mentioned offhand that I ran the perfect bath because Johann asked if I'd do one for him and he was a friend so I did and he loved it." There's definitely pride in his tone. This is incredible, Taako wants to study him. Lup's gonna get a kick out of this.

"Sloane thought it was the perfect rich people nonsense magnet - pay 40 quid for the perfect bath. Pocket change to them, a week of food for us."

Taako nods as if this is a reasonable plan, a completely normal thing to do with one's time. "Bath consultant, right, of course."

"Oh, no, no no Taako, there's no consultation, I just do it. Wham, bam, perfect bath every time. It was weird enough that they'd pay it to test it out, and then they'd tell their friends and their friends would test it out. Snowballing. Bathballing." Kravitz looks so earnest, so keen for Taako to understand the magnitude of his powers.

"You bathballed your way through college?" Taako adores this man. He's going to pick him up so carefully, take him home and put him in a special box and just look at him.

Kravitz nods. "What can I say? I'm talented."

He looks so self confident, so pleased with himself, Taako's probably being goaded right now... But, but...

"What kind of bath do I like?"

"I can't tell you."

"Is it illegal?"

"I can't describe the perfect bath, and if I tried you might do something that gives me an indication of what you like which is cheating. I don't need to cheat. I have to just do it."

Okay, Taako's in. "What're you doing after this, handsome?"

"Running you a bath?"

"You can run us both a bath, if you'd like."

Kravitz's smile is wide, but he pretends to take a second to consider anyway. "Hmmm... What's your shit power? You'll need to show me yours if I show you mine."

Taako laughs lightly. "You're never going to believe this, Kraveroo, but cha'boy makes the perfect breakfast. Whatever you're craving in the morning will be what Taako already decided to make."

"I can't wait."

I hope you enjoyed! Want to read more? Find the next prompt here.

#taz balance #noodyl writes #taz november celebration #taz nc #taz fic #taakitz #taako #Kravitz

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