#he raises some interesting questions that he himself can never fully answer

[theajaheira]

your tags on that fandom post got me thinking of how... defensive fandom is of the status quo kinda? like I'm white so this might come off like I'm absolving myself which I'm not, but so often I see "fandom is a queer run space that fixes canon! buuuut we're going to focus on the white men because they're the only ones with depth :) and we're going to make actually good female characters cookie cutter. and we're going to ignore black men and especially black women. but queer run safe space!!"

the minute i got this ask i knew i had to wait until i was at home with my laptop because my fingers cannot fly as fast on my phone as they can on the computer keys. this is literally so much of what is happening in the buffy fandom. the whole thing is built on intrinsic systemic racism n misogyny that's reinforced within the show and that many in the fandom do not critically engage with in the slightest. it is absolutely objectively insane to me that i can make a post going, for example, "hey, isn't it fucked up as hell that the show treats the romani people as evil for wanting angel to suffer?" and then people will come into my inbox or land in my reblogs and go "well, actually, the show treats the romani people as shortsighted and bad at long-term planning, and i choose to read them that way too :)" and fully not see that there is a hell of a problem with THAT statement as well (real thing that happened). OR that kennedy hate is still hugely in vogue because she's mean and bratty and terrible and doesn't know her place!!! OR kendra's death & how easily she is forgotten by the fandom!!!!! OR the entire trend of handing buffy to a person's favorite character like a little trophy they've earned for being tortured and sad, reducing her to a facet of a romantic relationship & implying that this is what she needs to feel and be complete!

OR OH MY GOD THE ENTIRETY OF EVERYTHING SURROUNDING SPIKE. where do i even start with spike. completely serious, i am honestly endlessly impressed by the people who can still handle being fans of spike, because being a fan of spike means having to wade through 20 million fics where That Bitch Buffy must be narratively punished for abusing poor baby spike who only ever wanted to love her and was totally out of character every time he hurt her (and also drusilla is a vapid whore who didn't love spike, ever.) like i am not at this point in time always strong enough to engage with spike content simply because there is so much spike content that is SOAKED in violent misogyny repackaged as Deep, Torrid Romance. it's exhausting to try and find the good stuff when sometimes even the good stuff will throw you a curveball in chapter five or shy uncomfortably away from the racist realities of spike's character. the fact that robin wood has been hated for so long because he had the Nerve and the Audacity to want retribution for his mom, and that he is framed as in the wrong for wanting that, is in and of itself so fucking upsetting to me.

AN Y WAY. i agree with you. and i get what you're saying. i think an awareness of the pattern and a willingness to feel uncomfortable within your own mistakes is always a good place to start. i try so hard never to dig my heels in if i can avoid it.

[charlottecutepie]

₊˚⊹ᰔ Deal (Mathew Lillard!William Afton x fem!reader)

tags: public sex, m receiving, praise, riding, unprotected sex, threatening??

my notes: not really sure about this one, I might delete it later, idk yet :,) also eng isn’t my first language

“Hello? Mr. "I can't work nights?” Steve's hoarse voice asks, a beaming smile on his face as he talks to his potential victim.

It's always that fucking phone with wires. He'll never get off it. Most, if not all, questions are resolved through this damn phone.

Every time you enter this office, you see Raglan chatting sweetly on the phone, talking about jobs, vacancies, answering customer questions. And then his dark eyes rest on you, briefly studying your face before settling on your body. It's unpleasant feeling, as if you're exposed in front of him like meat on a plate when he already has a fork and a knife in his hands. There Steve lets out a laugh, takes the phone away from his ear and whispers softly to you: "you know what to do, honey." Embarrassment merges with arousal, which you can’t calm down in any way.

It always happens, it has already become a little tradition that at first you hated and denied. You were sick of yourself. But what happened? What made you like it? You started asking for more, you started coming to this damn office yourself, staring at the floor, obediently waiting for the cherished words.

"Yes, it absolutely is. Why? Have you had a change of heart?" Raglan asks with undisguised interest, clarifying Mike's intentions. He didn't even expect him to call back. This is just pure luck, Mike himself fell into his hands, so it's even better.

Every day, the same office, the same time, the same desk, the same Steve Raglan.

You're praying that sloppy sounds of you taking Steve's cock in your mouth don't reach Mike on the other end of the line, you're already ashamed enough. You try to be careful not to get his pants and floor dirty, but Steve doesn't care. His hand rests on your hair, stroking you like a little pet, an obedient pet.

Of course, you'll be obedient. You have made a deal after all.

"Let me give you a little backstory." he lowers his gaze to take a good look at you and spreads his legs wider. His cock penetrates deeper, he presses on your head, which causes an unpleasant feeling of tickling in your throat. You look at him, fluttering your eyelashes quickly as a sign that you're short of air. Fingers dig into his pants, crumpling the fabric. Steve raises his eyebrows, faking surprise, oh, what a pity. He's too rude, and you're too gentle, how cute. "Breathe through your nose or you forgotten you have one?" Steve lowered his voice.

"Can you repeat it again? I didn't hear you." Schmidt clarifies on the phone. You stop moving your head, afraid that Mike will hear something.

Steve sighs and adjusts his glasses, looking away from you. He starts explaining something again and you almost calm down, but he jerks his hips, allowing his dick to fully penetrate your throat, which makes you moan softly.

"This place was huge in the 80s with the kids." he smirks. Fortunately, Mike cannot see the face of his career counselor right now, because it’s definitely distorted by sarcasm and mockery. "This place been shut down for years. The only reason they haven’t given it the old wrecking ball treatment is the owners a bit of a… well, he’s kind of a sentimental guy, I guess. Just can’t bring himself to let it go yet." he chuckles. "Yeah…"

Steve's cock throbs in your mouth as you try to inhale through your nose. It's too much, you're slowly suffocating as now the whole situation is controlled by Raglan's hand, which is holding you by the hair. It hurts so bad, but then why you feel the warmth between your legs?

"Had some trouble with break-ins over the years. Drunks and vagrants, mostly. Not ideal…" it's surprising the way he do it, so calmly talking to someone on the phone while roughly fucking your throat. Although at times his tone is interrupted by quiet sighs. "Security systems dated, but fully functional. Floodlights on the outside, cameras inside and outside. Fair warning: the electricity is a bit… iffy." he’s all shining with joy while telling Mike about the pizzeria.

When you pull on his pants, tears come to your eyes and your throat hurts unbearably, Steve removes his hand from your hair. You release his shaft from your mouth with a popping sound that sounds very loud in such silence. Raglan smiles, looking at you contentedly, your chin is covered with saliva, cum on your lips, youre so beautiful, sweet. You’re lucky he's in a good mood today.

"Anything happens, there is a breaker in the main office, just flip it." he continues, but now looking at you, which makes it feel like he’s having a conversation with you. You exhale, wrapping your hand around his cock, moving up and down, he slowly pumps into your fist. His hand caresses your cheek, finger runs over your lips, smearing his cum, and it makes you smile a little. There's nothing to smile about, though. But you can't hold back the slight feeling of euphoria from such a gentle Steve, feeling yourself… Special? His touch is tender and his gaze has softened, he smiles while you continue to work with your hand. "Uhm, I guess that’s about it. You know, the rest is pretty easy. Just keep your eyes on the monitors and keep people out. Piece of cake." you lean closer, tucking your hair behind ear and running your tongue over his leaking tip. "Fuck, baby." he exhales, slightly squeezing the receiver of the old phone.

"Mr. Raglan?" Mike's puzzled voice. Your heart skipped a beat, like Schmidt's, but not Steve’s. Mike frowned, holding the phone closer to his ear. Did he hear correctly or….? From the very beginning of the conversation, he suspected something was wrong. Yeah, Steve's really weird.

Your innocent lick on his cock brought man to an instant orgasm. He was already on the verge from face fucking you, but the feeling of your tongue on his sensitive tip brought him to the limit. Putting the phone away a little further, he covered his cock with his hand until the spurts of cum laid on your face. He let out a barely heard groan, his glasses fogged up.

"I said it’s a piece of cake." Steve repeats, clearly not interested in continuing dialogue with Mike. "So, I'll catch you on the flip side… hopefully." not waiting for an answer, he hangs up.

What a good day, what an easy prey, how fortunate.

He’s in such a wonderful mood, light idea of rewarding you appears in his head. Why not?

"Come here, baby," he points to his knees with his finger, and you get up like a zombie, immediately pressing your legs together because of the uncomfortable feeling of soaked panties. Of course you're wet, this isn't the first time you are. But this will be the first time your problem will be taken care of. "you've been such a good girl, why don't I return the favor?"

Steve spreads your legs and sits you on his knee, hands holding you in place when you try move. It's not that you don't like it, you're actually losing your mind, but you feel too awkward knowing that you're in a public place. And the fact that he can feel your throbbing pussy against his knee doesn’t make situation better.

"What would you like, honey? My tongue or fingers?" he looks up at you, moving you so that your wet underwear rubs against the fabric of his pants. Your clit is stimulated, but in the most painful and torturous way, causing shallow sighs. You put both hands on his shoulders and squeeze his shirt as you throw head back.

"Please…" you're almost crying. "please, your… oh…" one more move and you'll cum. "cock, your cock, Steve, please!"

"Hush," he squeezes your thigh. "you know our little rule, don't you? Or should i remind you?"

"William," you're correcting your mistake. "William." He grunts with satisfaction.

"That's it." Afton's hands wander over your body, caressing you in right places. "Tell me honestly, you’re going to scream?" at first you don't even understand what he's asking.

He kisses your neck, continuing to slowly bounce you up and down on his knee. Thanks to you, a dark wet spot already appeared on his pants. His beard tickles your skin and his tongue leaves a wet trail on it.

"Yeah," you come to your senses, finally understanding what he meant.

William breaks into a smile. Of course, you'll scream, not just scream, but break your voice and cry, he knows that. His cock is hardening again. Afton loosens his tie, leaving it hanging around his neck. He'll definitely find a good use for it, already did. He makes you get off his lap and you look down, blushing. God, you couldn't be that wet?.. It's humiliating, so embarrassing.

William pulls your panties down to your ankles, and you step over them, remaining only in a skirt and shirt. You don't know what to do. This is the first time something as it happens, you've never gone far than just a blowjob. He pulls off your skirt as well, causing it to fall along with your underwear. He pushes the clothes aside with his foot, then sits you on top of him again. William’s eyes don’t leave yours, his hand reaches down, you feel a finger at your wet entrance.

Your lips part to let out a loud moan and William steals it with a kiss. You can't make any noise. He pushes his hips up, pressing the head of his cock against your pussy. He mumbles something into your mouth, holds you tightly in one position, you’re unable to move. His tongue roughly explores your mouth. William feels your breath on him and smiles. Then his hands grope your butt and he pushes you down, slowly lowering you onto his cock.

He moans in unison with you, but quietly, working hours aren’t over yet. However, you can't hold back the loud whimpering, feeling full. It doesn't seem very pleasant at first. Afton closes his eyes, thrusting fully.

"Be quiet." another warning. "You're taking my cock so well," he praises. "don't try to pull away," his hands go up to your back. "you have no right to do that, you know that." a careful but extremely unnecessary reminder. At least, definitely not at the moment when you're having sex with him, you don't want to think about a deal. About consequences if you’ll break it.

Every touch gives you a pleasant tingling sensation and you start to enjoy it more with every second. You move on top of him, trying to find the right angle, pressing your chest against his. You don't want to look at his face, into his eyes, because even through the glasses you can see that he's devouring you with his eyes. It's embarrassing. But it gets worse when he runs his tongue over your nipple through your shirt, leaving a wet spot on your clothes. William lightly bites the sensitive skin, while squeezing your other nipple with his fingers, a hiss leaves your lips. It hurts, but it turns you on even more. His chest heaves, he tries to restrain himself from jerking his hips up and ruin your cunt the way you deserve. Your warm walls squeeze his cock too tightly as you tremble from too much attention to your nipples.

"Now move up and down," William points out. "and don't forget about hips."

He knows you've never tried this pose. Of course, he knows everything about you. He likes to be closer to his prey.

Your fingers on his shoulders tighten, you begin to move according to his words. You don't forget about your hips, as he demanded. And then something pleasant begins to spread through the body. An enveloping feeling that radiates to every nerve. His cock feels much different than it did a few minutes ago. Everything inside is burning and throbbing, your body needs more. You want to move faster, you can barely contain your moans. William puts his shoulder up, which is what you're using to shut yourself. You mumble, unable to make a sound, whine, but you continue to bounce on him.

"Good girl," his words break you. "such a tight pussy." your teeth are digging into him painfully, soaking the man's shirt with saliva.

Afton starts moving with you, now holding you tightly. It's like you're nothing more than a rag doll in his hands. Your body becomes so weak and sluggish, eyes roll back in bliss. His cock goes in and out of your pussy with an incredibly perverted sound that echoes throughout the office. Drops of sweat run down his forehead and down your back, but it feels like lava that burns to the bone.

"I-… I feel so good…" your speaking so slurred, because it's hard to talk with his clothes in your mouth, but you're so pleased that you can't control yourself. "William!"

You can't help but moan in surprise when he gets up from his chair, holding your ass, his cock still inside. It even hurts. William lays you on his desk, takes off his glasses and puts them next to a sign with his fake name on it. You dare to look at his face. He's just as horny as you are. Without glasses, he looks a little different, grey strands stuck to his sweaty forehead, hair slightly messy.

William puts his tie in your mouth, you almost choke. Afton leans down, brushes his lips against your collarbone, so sensually. In response, you wiggle your hips, trying to get him to move. William is grinning at you, at your pleading eyes. He begins to hammer in your pussy. You cry out as loud as you can, but fortunately, the tie shuts you up, leaving only indistinct "please." His hands squeeze your ass until it bruise as he thrusts into you.

William stretches you out just fine, thrusting into your cunt fast, which makes it seem like desk under you is about to break. You're afraid of accidentally hitting his glasses, you don't want unnecessary sounds. William is so damn tensed up, you realize that in all this time he has never broken eye contact with you. His cock reaches deeper when you just thought it was impossible and tears flow from your eyes. William smears two fingers with his saliva and lays them to your clit, your pussy clench around him. His fingers move sweetly and slowly, pressing on your bundle of nerves that it drives you crazy. Your legs are wobbly, blood is boiling.

"Do you want me to cum inside you, baby?" the question isnt scary at all, because your brain doesn't work. Your red, tear-stained face responds him. You just nod frantically, trying to say yes, but tie doesn't let. William smiles, runs the pad of his thumb over your clit. "Your cunt clenching around me like that, begging me to fill you up. Damn perfect."

He leans closer to your face. Poor thing, he wants to end your sweet torments, to give you what you crave. Clenching your tie between your teeth, you arch and cry, unconsciously moving your pelvis towards him. William's legs bend slightly as his thrusts become more chaotic. He keeps fucking into you, groaning softly. William wants to say so much dirty things to you, but he can't. He can't be loud, he can't be heard, no need to ruin his reputation. Let others continue to think that he's a good father, an amazing career counselor, an ideal person who helps others. And you… and you're just his little assistant, who brings coffee to his office. Let everyone think so.

Warm liquid filling you, and at first you don't even realize what it is as you cum. His fingers caress your clit with gentle circle movements while you try to bring your legs together, but eventually wrap them around him, only driving him deeper into yourself. William is unable to hold back heavy sighs, still continuing to thrust, until he sees that his cum is already flowing out of you down to the floor. Your tired eyes and his tie in your mouth, all covered with your saliva, cause him an evil smile. This day couldn't be better, today everything is going too well.

"You did so well, Y/n," he breathes with relief, running his fingers over your face and taking the tie out of your mouth. "you extended your little sister's life by one more day. By the way, tell her hi from mr. Raglan."

[shirefantasies]

the fellowship and how they would comfort you after a nightmare

Sure thing! This is such a cute idea I love it 🥺 no detail is given about the nature of the nightmare, so it’s pretty fluffy & open to interpretation 🥰

How The Fellowship Comforts You After a Nightmare

Aragorn

A pair of hands catch you about the waist. “Careful, beloved, you almost fell,” a deep voice whispers. Aragorn. You start despite the comforting voice, and he notices. Fixing you with a look of concern, he nods encouragingly, letting you speak; you tell him it was a nightmare. “What happened?” He asks, and he listens with great interest as you describe what you saw, what your mind forced you to experience. “The night can be false,” he tells you, moving so close you can feel his breath upon your ear, “bringing forth our greatest fears. But I am here with you in its darkness.” Nodding, you give a small smile as he takes your hands. “Come here,” he beckons, and acquiescing he tucks you into him, your back against his chest and his arm draped over you protectively.

Legolas

“Come." You hear Legolas before you see him, feel the way he reaches for you. Fingers intertwine with yours and shakily you reciprocate the grip. He raises you gently to a seated position, holding you lightly about the waist as you rotate in tandem. You’re facing the window, you realize, looking out into the night. “The stars,” Legolas breathes, “ever have they provided us with hope and comfort. They are looking out for us.” Mystic as his words are, you cannot help but admit that focusing on the distant, twinkling lights is calming, especially in Legolas’s arms. Silently, you nod. Legolas peers down at you thoughtfully before speaking again, pointing out stars and constellations until you are lulled into a much more peaceful sleep.

Boromir

A tear slides down your cheek, but before the lines to reality are fully crossed you feel a hand caress you, wipe the droplet gently. “What ever is the matter?” A voice you would recognize anywhere: Boromir. Before you can speak you’re latching onto him. Stroking the crown of your head, he questions again, this time asking if you are all right. “I will be,” you answer shakily. His lips fall to yours, firmly but with a sense of care, of loving. “Good. You have me until then, and, I’m afraid, long after that, too,” he jokes, pulling you closer. “That means more than you could ever know,” you mutter, nuzzling into his neck and giving in when he shifts to his back, your body draped over his like a warm blanket.

Gimli

Gasping and shooting upward, you are met with a shout that has you exclaiming as well, heart thundering in your chest. Suddenly, looking as though he’s been slapped, Gimli reaches for your hand, taking it in both of his. “Whatever is the matter, my jewel?” You cannot help cracking a feeble smile at his words of endearment even through the involuntary terror you’d awoken to. You apologize, tell him a nightmare had taken you. “Not if I have anything to say about it!” Gimli retorts. “Does it realize who it is up against?” Cue your beloved dwarf highlighting every amazing thing about you, from your beauty to your fighting spirit to simply poetry, all the wonderful things in this world you remind him of. “So if some dream thinks it can take you, it is sorely mistaken,” he concludes, looking satisfied at the upward tug of your lips, the bashful way your head falls against his chest.

Frodo

Stirs with immediate knowledge and understanding of what you are going through, having experienced it many times himself. No words are necessary, only the small, sad nod you share. Frodo's hand immediately trails up and down your arm, spreading grounding warmth across your skin. Your head falls back against his chest in defeat and with a deep breath, he pulls you flush against him, lips pressing against the crown of your head. Frodo never demands words, but listens with deep thoughtfulness if you wish to volunteer them and even shares any similarities in his so you know you are not alone. Especially if any of them embody your worst intrusive thoughts, the hardest things to share aloud. He only feels comfortable sharing the events of his own nightmares because of this dark bond you share, but seeing your face and feeling the caress of your hand upon his cheek is all it takes to cast a light back into his eyes, one that sparks the same for you.

Sam

Sam’s hold upon you is the first awareness you achieve as you are thrust back into reality, your eyelashes fluttering as you make out his form. The moment tension fades from your body, he’s pulling you into him, rocking you gently and running his hand through or over your hair. “Sam, I’m sorry -” “Shhh,” he soothes, smiling gently, almost tearfully, “there’s no need. There’s no need at all. Let’s just stay here.” At your nod, he rests his chin atop your head and tucks your bodies as close into each other as possible, limbs fitting together like puzzle pieces. The last sensation you remember before drifting off to sleep is Sam’s lips lightly pressed against your cheek.

Merry

A gasp alerts Merry to your plight, sending him shooting up into a seated position, looking around the room with concern before his eyes fall sympathetically to you. “Bad dream?” His voice is quiet, hoarse from lack of use. You just nod. “Well that won’t do,” he shoots back, sitting up further and extending a hand. Shakily you take it and are pulled up at his side, an arm slung around your shoulders. “In the Brandybuck household, bad dreams mean storytime,” he tells you with a growing smile, “so your choice. Family legend or embarrassing Pippin story?” You feel your lips curling upward, visions of your nightmare already fading. “Embarrassing Pippin story.” “Great choice! So this one time…well, we’d had one too many tankards, I’ll confess, but I was well until Pippin…”

Pippin

Does not wake up at your first stirring, but as you shift you feel his body move alongside you, turning to face your way. “Are you all right?" He whispers when you fall into his gaze, distress clear upon your face that you both feel and see mirrored in his. “Nightmare,” is all you have to whisper before you’re wrapped up completely in Pippin’s embrace, his legs tangling with yours as his arms wind around you. A smile breaks through on your face when you feel him nuzzle into you with his nose, leading you to snuggle in closer against his soft curls. “I’m always going to be here for you,” you hear him whisper, feel his warm breath as he speaks, “always.”

Taglist: @lokilover476 @fuckyoumakeart @kilibaggins @mossthebogwitch @ibabblealot @joonies-word @stormchaser819 @pirate-lord-of-narnia | Reply/Ask/Message to join!

[mrsshabana]

𝐇𝐢𝐬 𝐏𝐫𝐞𝐲 - 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟐

꒦꒷‧₊ Summary You meet the mantis' sister, learn more about his past, and get to see a completely different side to him. You get to witness how affectionate he can be but also get a front-row seat to his violent nature. And you take on a task that will change your life, and his, forever. ꒦꒷‧₊ Content Mantis!Gyutaro x female!reader, insects, blood, gore, violence, death ꒦꒷‧₊ Note 3k words

✧:･ﾟ→ Chapter 1

“What?! The mantis is your brother?!” you say in disbelief. Taking a step back to get a good look at the woman that claims to be related to the creature that almost killed you.

She sighs, “Yes, that’s my brother. How do you know of him?”

“He attacked me and tried to kill me a few nights ago.”

“Yeah, he’ll do that,” she scoffs, “I’m surprised that you’re still alive. As far as I know, I’m the only human he hasn’t tried to kill.”

As you follow her through the thicket she goes on to tell you that she comes to check on her brother every weekend. She’s a university student so she’s only available to see him once a week. He doesn’t need her to visit him, she knows that he can take care of himself. But he always gets so happy to see her.

The moment that the two of you enter the familiar clearing, the mantis jumps down from a tree, pouncing on his sister. She’s pushed to the ground with a huff, “Dammit Onii-chan, you’re gonna ruin my clothes!”

Completely ignoring her comment, he purrs and holds her close to his chest, affectionately rubbing his face in her hair. The mantis then begins to aggressively sniff through her hair and down to her face. 

“No… Don’t you dare,” she says sternly.

The mantis smirks and unfurls his long black tongue, swiping it across her cheeks, spreading his saliva all over her face.

“Stop Onii-chan, stop!” she giggles, “You’re ruining my makeup!”

This is a stark contrast from the behavior you’ve seen him exhibit when you first met him. Before this, you only saw him as a vicious predator. But seeing how affectionate and playful he is with his sister is making your heart swell up in your chest.

After a few minutes of her struggling, he finally calms down. Laying his head on her lap as she pets his wings.

“Sorry about that, he gets really excited when I come to visit,” she laughs nervously. Hoping you won’t judge her for the strange relationship she has with the mantis, “I never got to introduce myself. I’m Ume.”

You introduce yourself in return. Maybe Ume will be able to answer some of your questions about the mantis. “Does he have a name?”

“His name is Gyutaro,” looking down at her brother resting in her lap, she smiles.

“Gyutaro…” you say to yourself. An interesting name, fitting for a unique creature like him. “Does Gyutaro speak? I’ve tried to talk to him, but he only makes strange sounds.”

Ume sighs, “Yeah he can speak. Very rarely though, and he only knows a few words. Sometimes he will just repeat what you say even if he doesn’t fully understand what it means.”

“Oh… I see. Sorry I have so many questions, I’ve never seen anything like him before.”

“It’s ok. You’re the first person that I’ve been able to talk about him to, so I’m happy to share… you’re probably wondering what he is.”

You nod eagerly. She read your mind.

Ume shrugs, “Sorry to disappoint but I don’t know what he is either. Hell, I don’t even know if we are actually related.”

She goes on to explain to you how she came to know this creature as her brother. 

Ume never met her parents. Her earliest memories are from when she was a toddler, and all she remembers is living in the forest with Gyutaro. Her memories are spotty, but she vaguely remembers when Gyutaro gave her away to a human family. She only knows about this because there were newspaper articles about a little girl found on a family's doorstep in the woods. No one was ever able to figure out who she was or where she came from. But the family ended up keeping her and raising her as their own. Since they lived in the woods, she could sneak out at night to visit her brother anytime. And that’s how they maintained their strong bond.

When she tried to ask Gyutaro why he gave her away, he tried his best to explain. Ume has a difficult time understanding her brother but she interpreted it as he thought that she wasn’t fit to live in the forest. He thought she was too weak and could get hurt. So he thought it best that she be raised by other humans instead. That way, she’d be safer and in an environment she could thrive in. Ume wasn’t built for the forest like Gyutaro was. She accepted his response and never held it against him. She’s actually happy that he made that decision, because if he hadn’t who knows what kind of life she’d be living.

And that’s how she got here. She’s a young college student but she still loves her brother and makes sure to visit him every weekend. It has been hard on her though, and she wishes that she could live closer to him but that isn’t an option for her.

“I worry about him a lot… I know he’s strong enough to protect himself but what if a human finds him? What if he were to get taken away and put in a cage somewhere!” Ume wipes a tear from her eye before continuing, “That’s why I think it’d be best if I drop out so I can look after him… If something bad were to happen to him I’d never forgive myself.”

“What if I took care of him?”

“What?” she gasps, “I could never ask you to do something like that.”

“I’m an entomologist, it’s my job to study insects. So I’d be more than happy to do it! I can keep an eye on him, make sure he’s safe, and give you updates whenever you want! You can still visit too, but whenever is convenient for you. You’re so young and you deserve to live your own life… so please, let me do this for you.”

Ume stands up and runs over to you, embracing you in a tight hug, “Thank you so much. This means so much to me. You’d be the perfect person to watch over him too.”

Gyutaro slowly stands up from his spot on the ground, curiously watching you embrace his sister. He doesn’t quite understand what is going on, and usually anyone that lays a finger on Ume would be dead, but he can sense that his sister is happy.

Ume turns around to see the curiosity in her brother’s eyes, she chuckles.

“Onii-chan, I want you to be nice to Miss Y/N from now on, ok?” 

Gyutaro cocks his head to the side, wide eyes staring at you.

Ume continues, “She’s a friend. So, no killing her!”

“Fr…frie-nd?” the word travels unnaturally from his mouth. Raspy and drawn out. His voice is quite unusual, the sound of it gives you goosebumps.

“Yes! Exactly, she’s our friend,” Ume stands on her tip-toes and reaches towards her brother’s face. He leans forward into her touch. Ume tenderly holds her brother’s cheeks in her palms and kisses his forehead, “I love you brother, please be good while I’m away.”

Gyutaro chirps and rubs his face against his sister’s palm, “Love… y-ou.”

Ume thanks you again and leaves you her phone number before she departs. A huge weight was lifted off her shoulders tonight. She can rest easy knowing that someone more qualified than her will be able to give her brother a more comfortable life.

The atmosphere changes when Ume leaves. Now that she’s gone, you are completely at Gyutaro’s mercy. Will he obey his sister’s words? You hope that he will as you watch him walk towards you, antennae twitching rapidly. You stay completely still as he prods at your face with his antennae, his face mere inches away from yours. The scent of blood wafting from his mouth as he pants in your face.

With a swift movement, Gyutaro forces you to the ground, trapping your body beneath him.

“H-hey! What’re you-”

He cuts you off with a sharp hiss. Ripping the backpack off your shoulder and scurrying off of you. You watch as he tears through the thin fabric to get to the bag of snacks that you brought for him. Shoving the bugs into his mouth, effortlessly crunching them with his mandibles.

With a sigh, you walk over to him and pick up your ripped backpack.

“I guess I’ll leave you be then,” you pat his head, “Goodnight Gyutaro.”

He pays you no mind, attention focused solely on his food. That is, until he finishes and notices that you have already left.

His sister said that you are a friend, so why did you leave already? His tummy begins to rumble, hungry for more food. Gyutaro is feeling lazy tonight, and you are an easy source of food. So he decides to follow you through the forest. Silently stalking you from afar, you never notice him. He’s confused as to why you have been feeding him, but he doesn’t really care about the reason. He only cares about the source, figuring that if he follows you then he may find where you are getting such tasty snacks from.

︶ ︶꒷ ₊˚ ︶ ︶꒷ ₊˚

You thought that you’d have a peaceful night, that is, until you heard scratching at the door. 

Opening the door reveals the 7-foot-tall mantis, staring at you with a lazy expression.

“Gyutaro?!” you whisper, “You can’t be here! Why did you follow me?” you start to panic, grabbing him by the arm and pulling him inside your camper. He has to hunch over in order to fit into the small space.

Gyutaro mumbles, “Food…” looking around curiously.

Hearing his voice directed towards you makes your breath hitch. This is the first time that he’s answered one of your questions.

“You want food?” you sigh, “I don’t have any more food for you. You need to go hunting outside.”

This is a bold faced lie, and Gyutaro knows it. He can smell the insects that you are hiding. With a growl, he begins rummaging through your cabinets, finding the specimens that you have tucked away for research purposes.

“Hey! No!” you yell, and attempt to take the specimens away from him, but his grip is strong. He starts hissing and thrashing around, fluttering his wings, knocking things out of place and shaking the entire camper.

“Bad!” you take a rolled up newspaper, swatting him on the head with it.

He doesn’t let up and the struggle continues until the sound of someone knocking on your door makes both of you freeze.

Oh no, this isn’t good. One of your colleagues must’ve heard all of the commotion. “H-hold on!” You yell to the person outside the door.

You can’t risk Gyutaro being seen so you need to act fast. You still have a small jar of honey in your backpack, so you decide to use that to coax him. “Gyutaro, look here. I have some honey for you,” you whisper, holding the jar in front of him, he follows. Moving the jar down beside you, he sits on the ground next to you, licking the sweet nectar from the jar. Hoping that he’ll behave himself and stay distracted, you open the door.

You stand right in front of the doorway to block the view of your wrecked camper, and Gyutaro is just out of view. 

“Hey, everything alright? I heard some commotion,” your colleague says.

“Oh haha, yeah. Um, everything’s fine. Some of my specimens got loose, I was just trying to catch them,” laughing nervously, you pray that Gyutaro will stay distracted. Because you can only imagine what he does to humans, and it’s not something that you want to see any time soon.

“Oh, ok. Do you need any help?” he tries to look past you, leaning slightly into the doorway.

“No! I’m ok!” you move abruptly, stopping him from coming closer, but moving the jar in the process.

Gyutaro growls in annoyance and his attention is diverted to the male human getting too close for comfort. 

It’s over the moment Gyutaro makes eye contact with your colleague. In the blink of an eye you find yourself knocked to the floor, watching helplessly as Gyutaro lunges at him. Impaling him with his tibial spines, holding him down. Wasting no time as he begins to chew at the man’s neck with his mandibles, quickly decapitating him.

You’ve seen how mantids attack their prey, but seeing it done on a human is a whole different thing. It’s gory enough with bugs, but this makes your stomach churn. Enough so, that the sight and the smell of blood spewing about makes you vomit. On all fours, you barely manage to crawl out of the camper enough to vomit on the grass.

The crunching sound of Gyutaro’s mandibles tearing through the man’s flesh and cartilage momentarily stops. Your other colleague, the only other person you came on this expedition with, was coming back from gathering specimens. She drops the crickets she had collected when she lays her eyes on Gyutaro.

“Run!” you yell in a fruitless attempt to save her. The word ends up coming out as a desperate whimper, and it doesn’t even matter if she heard you or not. Because Gyutaro is quick to put her to an end as well.

You watch helplessly as Gyutaro bites through her skull, eating her alive.

After throwing up a few more times, until you’re left gasping for air with nothing left in your stomach, you crawl back into the safety of your camper.

That could’ve been me… You think to yourself, recalling the first time you met Gyutaro. 

Your body starts to tremble. Unable to watch the horrific sight outside, you lock the door and close the blinds. There are no more members left on your team, he killed the only two other entomologists that were sent here with you.

How will you explain this to your organization? You have no idea, but it's too late for them. They’re already dead, corpses half eaten. All you can do is curl up on yourself and cry. The sounds of the approaching thunderstorm drowning out the carnage taking place outside your door.

︶ ︶꒷ ₊˚ ︶ ︶꒷ ₊˚

After a couple of hours, you are awoken by scratching at your door. You try to ignore it but it gets louder, more desperate, accompanied by faint whimpers.

You open the door, standing in front of you is a soaked Gyutaro. Most of the blood from his feast has been washed away by the ongoing storm.

“You’re a very bad boy. I should leave you outside,” you cross your arms and look at him sternly. You’re very upset with him, but even though he just brutally murdered two people, you still decide to let him in. His sister did trust you to take care of him after all.

He’s shivering when he enters your camper, skin ice cold when you touch him. It reminds you that mantids are cold blooded, so it makes sense that he would be too. With a sigh, you guide him to sit on the floor, grabbing a towel to dry him off. He behaves for you as you wipe away the water droplets from his skin and ruffle his hair until it’s fluffy.

Gyutaro doesn’t understand that what he did was wrong, and he doesn’t realize that you are upset with him. You try not to be because you understand that it's in his nature to kill, but you can’t help but feel angry with him.

His pants are still wet even after you try your best to dry them. Though you don’t feel like trying to undress him as he’ll probably give you a difficult time. Whatever, it’s fine. You crawl into your small bed, and watch him as he remains sitting on the floor. Licking his tibial spines in a cat like manner. He uses his long tongue to clean himself, the sound of his slurping is loud as he licks all over his arms, hands, and even his feet. You’d be lying if you said it wasn’t kind of cute…

Watching him clean himself is strangely soothing. You decide to take some notes in your journal, while the sounds of thunder echo in the distance.

Day 2

I searched for the mantis man, and came across his sister. She is unlike him, seeming pure human. Who knows if or how they are siblings. But the mantis man, who I learned is named Gyutaro, has a strong emotional bond with his sister, Ume. He shows his human side when it comes to his sister. Maybe he is more human than I thought?

She entrusted me with his care, and he followed me to camp. Killing and devouring all of my colleagues. His bloodlust is too strong. He has no reason. I need to be careful with him in the future. 

I took him into my trailer for the night, until the storm passes. He lays here licking himself like a cat. How peculiar. I will figure out what to do with him in the morning.

The feeling of something crawling into bed with you disturbs your note taking. Your bed is a twin size, far too small to fit you and a large man at the same time. You’re squished against the wall as Gyutaro crawls underneath the blankets, pressing his body against you for warmth.

“What’re you doing?” you whine, lifting up the blanket to see Gyutaro’s face snuggled against your chest.

With an annoyed expression he looks up at you, “Warm…”

You sigh and bring the blanket back over his head. He’s still shivering and you are the only source of warmth for this cold blooded creature. That’s how you rationalize letting him stay in bed with you. 

Bringing your hand up to his head, he lets you pet him. Purring and leaning into your touch. How can a man-eating mantis hybrid be so sweet and adorable? 

“Goodnight, Gyutaro,” you say, eyelids getting heavy.

He chirps softly in response, letting you know that he’s just as sleepy as you are.

Gyutaro warms up quickly from your body heat. This is the most comfortable he’s been in a very long time. A big meal and a warm place to sleep. What else could he ask for?

Maybe sparing you was a good idea after all. He might just decide to stick by your side for a bit longer.

[elysianymph]

🔥 anything about sirius because i am being a little hater towards some characterisations too

i've already talked your ears off about this on discord but i'm happy to talk to about it again bc i fucking HATE new sirius black with a burning passion. i hate him as much as i love my sirius black that marauderstok can pry from my cold dead hands bc i'm not letting him go. i don't know when it happened and why but marauders fans are particularly persistent on taking away any interesting traits sirius had and leaving behind a whimpering pathetic twink that cries when someone looks at him the wrong way. sirius has been scrubbed clean of any morally grey traits he might've had (he's not allowed to care for his family (unless it's regulus) or long for them bc they are bad, he's not allowed to have any prejudices even though he was literally raised with pureblood mentality and taught he was superior to everyone else from the day he was born, he's not allowed to be an asshole bc he's not like his family guys!! and when he is an asshole it's always used to victimize the character he's being an asshole to and sirius is painted as the villain with mommy issues that can only be fixed by getting dicked down apparently)

i cannot stress this enough: LET THIS MAN BE A COMPLEX CHARACTER!! and no, giving him mental illnesses that miraculously disappear when he gets together with remus and making him attempt to kill himself post prank because he feels bad is NOT making him complex! you're just weird. you're just romanticizing mental illnesses and i can't believe you don't see anything wrong with it. giving him bipolar to justify his actions is?? not??? representation??? it's offensive to people who actually have to deal with these issues in their day to day lives and yet here you are using something that will impact their life forever as a plot device for your uwu sadboy mlm fanfic.

and that's what new sirius boils down to. he's a plot device, an accessory to everyone else's story that's never given much depth other than "oh his mom used the cruciatus on him and now he's traumatized". no hate to jegulus but hate to specific jegulus fics that turn sirius into an overdramatic caricature of his former self for the sake of drama and angst.

also, some of these wolfstar shippers... wtf are you guys on?? idk when and why (that's a lie i do but i'm not gonna say it) remus became sirius black in a werewolf costume but here we are. oh sirius was cool and effortlessly smart and handsome and girls wanted him? well guess what? snatches all of those character traits and throws them onto remus they're his character traits now. ignore how it doesn't make any sense for the werewolf child who was isolated from the rest of the world to be a smooth talking alpha casanova who plays basketball actually. while we're at it, ignore how unrealistic it is for a boy who was raised in a family that believed they were superior to everyone else based on blood status, who was raised to be the perfect heir and checked off all the traits needed to be one to be insecure?? and unsure of himself?? and stupid??? and a loser??? i don't understand what the point of flipping the wolfstar dynamic was when you're left with a shallow copy of the original but ok. you do you ig.

to summarize, my sirius is cool and effortlessly smart and egotistical and a complete asshole who thinks he's the best thing ever. is it an act to cover up how damaged he thinks he is because of his family? possibly. but i also fully believe sirius thought he was a god amongst men and everyone should be glad to be in his presence. he talked down to other people because he considered himself smarter, he rolled his eyes when students asked stupid questions and made fun of them when they got an answer wrong. he's a teenage boy let him be a dick with no excuses.

(also i find it funny when people write about sirius getting into a fight with james or remus and crying because they said something mean. as if sirius wouldn't throw hands the moment someone started criticizing him. he's toxic and that's what makes him interesting. that's his purpose! characters exist to make stories interesting, to start drama, not to be your moral guide on how to act. stories become so much more fun once you let go of the need to make every character a good person. also liking a character doesn't equal liking them as a person. i love sirius but i would hate his guts irl)

[the-s1lly-corner]

HELLO HI HI

dlfkwkfowowo im secretly staking ur blog

if this is okay with you…

could there perhaps be a tadc x reader who smiles… but like all the time

like no matter what happens, reader always has a smile on their face to never show weakness!

this can come off as creepy because the only thing fhat you always see is their smile, they never frown, or anything like that

feel free to ignore this though if you aren’t interested! take care! <3

TADC cast x reader who always smiles!

gm everyone its 6 in the morning and the admin woke up at around 2am, unable to go back to sleep.... sooooooooooooo.... yeah! gonna answer a few requests then imma make breakfast, work on art, and hopefully work on more requests! might make cookies again today.... we'll see!

CAINE:

completely unphased by any creepiness of your perma smile, in fact he would go on to compliment it anytime he sees it... which is... all the time.... whether your smile is permanent due to your digital body, or you willingly choose to smile all the time.. doesnt matter to him, hes going to let you know that he loves how you look! doesnt raise a brow when it doesnt falter in the phase of danger or stress, probably thinks thats... only slightly strange, but not anything to raise any questions... you know? pretty much ai not fully understanding humans deal with that one

POMNI:

genuinely freaked out by it because it can get.. unnerving at times especially if youre quiet. like can you imagine you just slink into the room and youre just. smiling. god she would probably jump a few feet into the air when she finally notices you.... not cool, reader!/lh

nervously smiles back, though she does relax a little when she gets to know you better and why you smile all the time, eventually getting over her fear for the most part! though, i think she would gently push for you to let the smile drop every now and then

RAGATHA:

assuming she knows you do it to not be vulnerable you can bet your ass shes going to try to get you to let your walls down around her, lets you have alone time with her and reassures you that theres nothing wrong in having a moment of weakness. things like that. though, she may come off as pushy just know that she means no harm. like pomni, when first getting used to you/getting to know you i think she would be a little put off by your perma-smile but soon grows used to it. much faster than pomni does, i think

JAX:

probably teases you about it and gives you nicknames for it/being perceived as happy and cheerful... perhaps keeps it up even after he finds out why you do it/puts the pieces together himself. though, he doesnt try to get you to open up, since thats a you issue and jax doesnt seem like the type to have you take a step towards that since it seems to be working for you. sooooo... honestly i think he would still smile too, only because he knows it unnerves some of the other circus members. not at all for the same reason you do it so take that as you will

KINGER:

honestly depending on how the smile looks (normal, or perhaps stretched wide) it might dip into a sort of uncanny valley for him... actually, even if it looked normal, seeing someone just smiling all the time can put anyone off, i think. especially someone like kinger whos always paranoid about something terrible happening... definitely going to have to either drop the smile around him or fill him in on everything. do i think he would be rude and/or run away at the mere sight of you? definitely not, especially if you guys are friends/partners, but hes definitely going to be a little anxious on bad days the first few weeks he knows you, you know?

ZOOBLE:

doesnt really care either way. does think the smile is a little creepy, though. but that doesnt exactly mean its a bad thing, in fact they think its cool. interesting. different. admin likes to headcannon that zooble was into horror/disturbing stuff so something like this might be up their alley, reasoning for the smile aside. though, i do think they would have a little pause if they find out your reasoning... mostly only if you guys are close since otherwise they brush it off as its not their business. buuuuuut... if you are close, they probably tell you theres nothing wrong in being vulnerable, at least in their own way which may come off as sarcastic.. so !

GANGLE:

i was about to say that she would be put off by it, but honestly? she gets it. i saw somewhere/someone said that gangles masks are like metaphors/comedy mask is a false thing and shes not ACTUALLY happy or confident with it on.. if i had the post id link it but </3

out of all of them i think... with her, youre the most likely to drop your own mask and open up to her, at least with the most ease because you guys can relate to one another. sure, gangle has her masks for a different reason (as well as them simply being a part of her digital body), but you guys can still relate and find solidarity in one another

[kagoutiss]

You call ganondorf a girl a lot and now I'm wondering if you actually see him as a girl in some way? I can't see him like that but I am actually really curious how you interpret his gender now

!!! so i’ve written a more in depth summary about how i interpret his gender but the short(er) version is basically like…the gerudo don’t actually have an inherent concept of gender or gender binarism, and ganondorf doesn’t really even think of himself as being a Man. but as a result of him being raised for this role that is, by hyrulean standards, contingent upon Maleness, he’s also learned to despise having to navigate hylian society in this very constrained way that is completely arbitrary in his own culture. all in order to be perceived as a proper king, or be seen by hylians as an authority figure at all, or else be called effeminate or whatever. or be constantly othered from the rest of his people in the eyes of hylians, all on the basis of his biological subtype, which just happens to be extremely rare in gerudo people

and anyway i just feel like if he had to actually tick one of the 2 boxes on some hyrulean administrative form and didn’t have to stoop to anyone’s expectations of him, then he would mark F instead of M, partly because he’s so so sick of Having To Be A Man, and partly because all of his loved ones would be boxed into the F box by default, and i like the idea that the gerudo don’t really perceive themselves as being separate from ganondorf in the same way that hylians perceive Men & Woman to be separate, if that makes sense? and he also thinks that those designations are silly in general, so he’ll kind of just do whatever he wants when he doesn’t have to stoop to those constraints. like he fully enjoys having the title of King, and he uses he/him pronouns in the hylian language and is fine with them, and he’s not particularly dysphoric about anything physically, but in his mind he just isn’t a Man. gender is a silly contrived thing to him, but he’s had to study the nuances of it for his entire life, he could literally teach Hylian Gender Studies courses if he had to. and he’ll adopt certain aspects of gender stuff that he finds funny or interesting, or that feel more fitting to him, or that just confuse/enrage people, because he enjoys doing that too. but anyway to answer your question yes he is genuinely a girl to me sometimes agskfhakfjsksk, i’m not saying it as a joke. like he’s not always a girl but he’s often a girl and he’s almost never actually a man, and every other time, he just isn’t really assigning a gender to himself at all because ultimately it’s all made up anyway

that being said tho i like reading different headcanons for him :-) like the gerudo just ending up with one trans man every century who becomes king. there’s a lot of different ways you can interpret him gender-wise, which is part of what makes him fun lol

[batsarebetterthanpeople]

@wearfinethingsalltoowell I made a second post because I need to talk about this and I wish to keep disc horse and monster penis in separate categories.

Let's talk about whether Adam is able to ejaculate, far be it from me to not jump at the opportunity to discuss any monsters genitals, the book gives no indication either way. Whether he's capable of becoming erect depends entirely on whether he has blood pumping through his veins as a human would. The book also gives no indication of this one way or another to my recollection, although I could be misremembering. He speaks of wounds he has but never of blood one way or the other. Victor says he gave him veins and his brain and nervous system are fully operational and he breaths which would seem to imply the presence of a circulatory system of some kind, however his skin is described as mummified when Walton sees him for the first time, so theres no circulation to the skin. Whether that's because he has opaque human leather for skin which the blood does not reach or because his circulatory system functions by some means other than blood. He feels the sensation of cold and warmth but seems to be unnaffected by being at the north pole in any manner other than discomfort which to me implies his blood cannot freeze. Whether he bleeds when injured is a question only Adam can answer given that he's the only one who has ever seen himself bleed.

So there is evidence for and evidence against Mr. Adam Frankenstein being able to raise his little monster from the grave. To me this says that Mary Shelley did not think that hard about the logistics and was more interested in telling a story than in how the monster was made, or perhaps, owing to the time in which she was born, did not have the knowledge of human anatomy required to give these things consideration and just gave her monster traits of "a person but more".

But anyway, back to Adam's little creature. We can infer by Victor's fear that they will have children that he gave Adam balls a dick a urethra a prostate a vas deferens. The whole nine yards. Whether those balls can produce semen is anyone's guess but Adam seems to be capable of digestive, circulatory, and nervous function all of which requires the body to produce it's own fluids in theory so why not sexual function.

The one last hurdle to the creature and the bride being able to produce little creatures (aside from the fact that the brides mummified skin would not stretch to accommodate pregnancy like a humans would but let's gloss over that) is that both the Creature and the Bride are working with human cellular makeup, so even if one of his sperm combined with one of her eggs the DNA would still be coming from a Scottish woman and a German man who's balls and ovaries old Vicky nabbed for his experiments so presumably the baby would be human.

[calypsolemon]

not sure if you’ve answered on this in the past, but do you have any thoughts regarding steven’s future/development/what he does following him leaving at the end of steven universe future? i find your analysis posts about steven incredibly interesting. sorry if somebody’s asked you this question already!

It hasn't been asked before! A question of this nature is going to really involve less analysis and more just... speculation/ headcanon, but thats fine too! I'm down to indulge lol

I think the thing that would near for sure happen post-future at some point is Steven moving into his own house or apt. His road trip basically intends as much (he states the goal is to try to find a place to settle down), and furthermore I think a place of his own is something Steven needs even more than distance from his family/ gem stuff. The one thing Steven really lacked growing up was any sense of privacy, and a consistently safe home environment. It would do wonders for his mental health to have a home that he has complete control over, that is unlikely to be in any immediate danger of being wrecked.

After that is more nebulous, as throughout most of the series all of Steven's ambition hinged on gem stuff, and then once he started actually doing gem stuff, it took over his life. It's hard to say what actually interests him outside of that. Quite possibly, he doesn't even know. I can say with near certainty that I think he would avoid any career to do with music (he likes making it but I think it would be too close to his dad's rockstar lifestyle), and he would probably avoid stuff with plants too (both due to risk of bringing them to life, and because plant care was one of Rose's main hobbies). However he is a creative soul at his core, so he might end up pouring himself into other hobbies that eventually become careers. I can see him doing something like pottery or glassblowing, something that can't really be shortcut by his powers and requires a sort of controlled strength. I think it would be therapeutic to him. I can also see him doing a lot of volunteer work in his spare time; I don't think he'll ever fully rid himself of the desire to help people, but if he doesn't have to become personally involved in someone's mental health, it could be healthier output for that "need to be needed."

Despite separating himself from it for his own mental health, I'm pretty sure he would still intermittently get re-involved with little homeschool and gem politics and whatnot. I think after some time healing he would find that he missed aspects of it, and also there's likely the occasional thing that require "pink diamond's" attention no matter what (unfortunately). But thats why the physical separation is important. At the end of the day, he's not the one soley responsible for these things, and he isn't even the primary person responsible. He can just be the guy they call in once in a while. Which, I think over time, would also help assuage any potential guilt he would feel over "dropping responsibilities." He may have left, but he isn't running away from his problems like Rose. He's simply taking an equal and fair part of the work that must be done.

Also, I didn't know where to fit this, but I think the one thing Steven will never do in the future is have children. And not just because of the passing of the gem issue, but also because I think he would genuinely not feel right about doing so. He likes kids and probably ends up adoptive-uncle-ing a few kids in whatever neighborhood he lives in, but I dont think he would ever actually raise kids of his own. This is just pure headcanon tho lol.

[florsial]

💌🕊️

What are your thoughts on the popular trend of "do you think we'll be [insert dynamic] in every/other universe/s?" but this time it's Sirius asking Regulus.

What would Reg say? How would Sirius ask it? Why would he ask it?

I’m so mad at myself I had like a whole essay and it WAS DELETED 😭😭 also sorry for the messy format!!

Anyways, I don’t think this type of interaction would ever occur face to face. I think this would only happen post Regulus death. Like Book 5 of Harry Potter when Sirius is stuck in Grimmauld. When Sirius would inevitably stumble upon a portrait of Regulus and finds himself asking “Do you think we would be brothers in every universe?” But in a way more so asking if there is a universe where they are both alive, happy, and together. I don’t think Sirius would ever doubt him and Regulus being family in every universe, it’s jsut a matter of can they be the family they choose in any universe. (Which I have a whole other thought about lol)

He’s asking because if Regulus can’t be in the family Sirius chose for himself in this universe, is there another Regulus can be?

I can’t see this type of interaction happening directly for some reason. Maybe because the question would be meant differently if Sirius directly asked Regulus? But Regulus being dead is such a vital part of why Sirius is asking the question in the first place in my head.

For Regulus’ answer (not like he would ever actually be able to answer it if I’m going along prev paragraphs), either way, is going to be yes.

Regulus will always hold out hope that he can be by Sirius side. Even in the canon universe. I’ve always believed that Regulus retains this possessiveness over Sirius that never fully went away. I mean, that’s his older brother, the person who probably raised him in an environment as hostile as Grimmauld, and the one person Regulus probably felt as if was the only person who truly loved him!! I don’t think Regulus ever fully made peace with not having Sirius in his life! Even after Sirius runs away, they still would’ve seen each in school! In the great hall, hallways, and probably in the quidditch pitch. Regulus had the knowledge that his brother was on the same campus him at all times.

Which makes it even more interesting when you remember he dies at around 17-18 years old, the age he would’ve been in his last year of Hogwarts after Sirius graduates!! Hogwarts is their last connection!! I don’t think Regulus ever fully processed not having Sirius in his life! So yes! He would always answer yes, they would be brothers in every universe, BECAUSE THEY ARE IN HIS HEARTTT!!!!

IM STILL MAD ABOUT THE FACT THAT TUMBLR DELETED MY PREVIOUS ANSWER UGHHHHHH

[itsaash]

O'Knutzy Week! Prompt: gardening, smile

I'll be posting parts of the same story each day this week! It's a cubs au where Finn's spending the summer at his parent's house in the Hamptons and Leo is their private chef. Established LeLo. Characters by @lumosinlove, for @oknutzyweek2023

Part 1

Part 2

and now, Part 3

Finn looked up from his laptop, he had been sitting under the big umbrella at the side of the yard going over his latest edits. He noticed the sun had well crested through the sky since he last looked up. But it felt good to finish up those edits and send them back to the author. He took a breath and leaned back in his chair, stretching his back and arms overhead, looking around at the house in the distance and the green of the property all around him.

His eye caught movement straight across the lawn from him, a sunshine yellow hat at the raised garden beds. The soft yellow, wide brimmed hat sat on top Leo’s head, giving him the illusion of even more inches of height. He was wearing overalls, it looked like cotton ones. And thank god for that, a person was liable to melt in denim today. He had a big basket beside him, filling up with produce from the garden. But also a spade? Was he digging something? Finn watched as Leo stood up and used the spade to turn the earth in the garden bed, his arms flexing strongly even from this distance. He bent over to reach for something and Finn jumped up. He couldn’t admire Leo from over here like some sort of creep. Just go talk to him. And get out of the line of sight that makes staring far too easy.

He had found himself doing that, staring. Just gazing at Leo as he moved around the kitchen with such a graceful confidence that it could almost be a dance. Across the dinner table, Leo’s hand around a cup, damp with condensation, how he closed his eyes to fully enjoy the perfect bite of food. And, okaaay, that was enough of that train of thought, he reprimanded himself. He crossed the lawn in easy strides, hands in his pockets.

“Hey, Leo. Whatcha doin?”

Leo looked up from patting down the dirt with his gloved hands. He ran the back of one of his wrists over his cheek, smudging a bit of dirt there. Why did Finn want to reach out and brush it away? He clenched his hands tighter in his pockets.

“Oh hey, Finn. Just getting some stuff for dinner, doing some planting. How’s your work going?”

“Oh, great! Thanks! Ya, I've done what I need to for today.”

“That’s good to hear. You were sitting out here a long time.”

Finn laughed self consciously. He knew he tended to lose track of time.

“Yeah, it was an interesting project and I wanted to get the edits to them for Monday, you know? So I just kept going.”

“Well I’m sure glad you’re done. I was going to bring you a drink, but now you can come in and get one.”

Finn stared as Leo turned back to the garden, seemingly digging shallow rows in nice straight lines. Leo had noticed him? Was thinking about if he was drinking enough? How could he be so sweet? He coughed slightly.

“Whatcha planting there? Isn’t it kind of late in the season for planting?”

Leo kept working as he answered, shaking tiny seeds from a packet and placing them carefully. “For a lot of things it is, but there’s some things that you want to have consecutive crops of, every few weeks. So I’m doing a few more rows of beets and other greens, like arugula, spinach. This is probably the last row of carrots for the season too.”

Finn had never thought about gardening for two minutes straight in his life before, but there was a first time for everything.

“Beets and other greens?” Finn questioned, “how are beets green?”

Leo laughed, covering up the latest tiny seeds with a layer of dirt and patting them lovingly.

“You’re right, I said that in a confusing way. I just meant how you can eat beet greens - the leaves of beets - just like they’re lettuce. There were some in the mixed salad last night.”

“Those were beet greens in the salad last night? Who knew!” Finn reached out a hand to pluck a long, leafy stem from the neat row of beets in front of him. He could see the round curve of the beet starting to appear up through the dirt. Leo looked up from his planting, almost in time, “No! Not that –”

But, Finn had already brushed the leaf off and popped it in his mouth, chewing slowly. His relaxed face rapidly morphed into horror.

“–one,” Leo finished lamely. A smile quirked at the corner of his mouth and he scrunched his eyes shut, whether in laughter or distress … Finn couldn’t tell, given the rather large distraction of one of the worst tasting things he had ever put in his mouth and that was saying something ohmygod.

Finn coughed, spluttered, and looked around frantically, searching for salvation. He dashed to the tree line and spat out the bite as fully as he could.

“Leo, what in the fuck…” Finn said as he walked back, wiping his mouth, eyes wide.

Leo couldn’t help the burst of laughter that escaped his chest at the horrified look on Finn’s face. “It’s only the little ones we eat, Finn. Oh my God, your face.”

“That was so gross!”

“Yes, I imagine it was,” Leo chuckled, reaching for a plant at least a quarter of the size of the one Finn had chosen. “Try this one, maybe it will get rid of the taste.”

Finn reached out his hand, taking the small leaf. He paused, “Promise?”

Leo’s blue eyes locked onto Finn’s soft brown ones and the moment stretched.

“Promise.”

Finn popped the leaf into his mouth, a little relief softening his features.

“How the fuck can the same plant have two so different tastes?”

“Well I don’t know the chemistry of it, but yes, you only eat very new beet greens. Like I said, that’s why I’m planting more. The big ones are left to grow to eat the actual beet, but it’s nice to have another crop of fresh greens too.”

Finn nodded sagely, he wouldn’t forget that lesson any time soon. Rather effective learning technique.

“Do I even like beets?” Finn asked, and cringed, as if Leo would know.

“Well I know a lot of folks don’t, but I’ll try to make something good for you. I like them roasted and served cold with balsamic vinegar and feta cheese. Maybe we’ll do that as a side dish tomorrow. They make such a goddamn mess though, you won’t believe it.”

Finn laughed, “You must hate that.”

Leo looked up at him, and rose from his planting, clapping his hands together to brush off the dirt. “Yeah, I do. You caught onto that, did you? I’ll peel them outside with about a roll of paper towel handy.”

Finn shrugged, “I’ll help you. I don’t mind a mess.”

Leo paused in his gathering of gardening tools and looked at Finn, saw him full to the brim of sincerity.

“You don’t have to, Finn. You’re so sweet to offer, but it is my job. You’re supposed to be able to work, and relax … and not worry about cooking on the weekend.”

Finn cocked his head to the side, not loving the reminder of their power imbalance. He needed to fix that. Somehow. “I appreciate the amazing food you make so much, Leo. It’s more than a job, or like … a service. It’s been a gift. I’ll help you. If you want.”

Leo smiled his sunshine smile and the bitter taste still coating his mouth was worth that smile, that laugh. Being in Leo’s orbit only brought him joy. Finn helped gather up the last of the gardening tools and they walked back to the house across the soft grass.

Leo turned to FInn, “You need a good glass of water to get rid of that taste, and then a strong tasting drink. Maybe sweet tea to cut the bitter? Or maybe cover it up with a strong taste, like a mojito?”

“Afternoon mojitos?!” Finn practically bounced when he was excited, and was even bouncier to see that it made Leo smile.

“Mojitos it is.”

Finn tried to tamp down the silly grin he knew was all over his face, but he couldn’t stop the feeling of bubbles in his chest at the idea of spending the rest of the late afternoon with Leo. And, honestly, he was also quite looking forwards to getting this goddamn horrible taste out of his mouth. Beet greens, indeed. The things he’s do to see that sunshine smile.

[blackjackkent]

what do you think wouldve happened in an alternate universe where hector let karlach become a mind flayer?

(A/N after writing this whole answer: whoops, this got out of hand, hope you're okay with an Unexpected Fic. XD Also maybe a smidge weird/dark at the end, although not a ton I hope? Certainly no more than the whole game is weird/dark. XD Anyway I hope you enjoy. <3 )

Ohhhhhhhhh.

Anon, I love you for asking me this question. <3 A very intriguing one!

And it is because I love you for asking me this question that I have braved looking up a video of Karlach actually becoming a mind flayer, which I had put off doing because I am a softheart and I knew it would hurt and also make Hector yell in my head. XD And when Hector yells in my head it's a whole thing because he does double Flurry of Blows against the inside of my skull for 140damage and it's rough enough in there already.

However! I have now watched it and done some thinks. (Hot damn, Lae'zel is MAD too, at least in the version of the scene I watched. The whole thing is very upsetting.)

Fundamentally it would be a tragedy, and not just for Karlach. Watching the way the scenes play out - there is just enough of Karlach in her speech that Hector would not want to disconnect from her. I think perhaps it touches on the same hope that kept him expecting a miracle for her heart right up until the end of the game - somehow, somehow we can make this work, somehow we will find a way...

But there is no way. This is who she is now, a creature of the Astral Sea with his love's voice and an empty place where her soul should be. And unlike the engine situation he can't even kiss her to make himself feel better because she looks like a squid.

-----

The one saving grace is, I suppose, she does seem happy enough. In the epilogue, she states that she has found a way to get brains to eat by consuming from terminally ill patients at a clinic in Baldur's Gate, people who have volunteered for the process because they are about to die anyway. And she talks about helping all of them live on by absorbing their memories and carrying them with her.

It's... sweet, in a way, Hector supposes.

He tries to keep busy. There's no battle in Avernus to occupy him in this timeline, so he primarily works with Jaheira and her kids on rebuilding. It's hard, physical work; it keeps his mind occupied. At first he sleeps at the Elfsong; later, after some nudging from Rion, Jaheira offers him lodging at her home, where he takes a hand in raising the latest crop of orphan children she is protecting. He sees Baldur's Gate start to bandage its wounds and begins to believe there was some purpose to all his struggle.

But his own wounds do not heal so easily.

He visits the clinic often. He and Karlach talk. Her voice is a slow near-monotone in her accent, unlike anything he ever heard from her before. Sometimes he can hear a twinge of her humor or a turn or phrase, and his heart leaps... but other times she speaks of things like destiny and infinite time in a way that reminds him more of the Emperor than the woman he loves.

She never laughs. She doesn't curse. There is never even the slightest mention of sex; though she still fully understands a double entendre when he makes one experimentally, she seems to take no interest in it. She seems to exist slightly beyond him, with a view of the world that is no longer of the Material Plane.

And yet... she does know him. She remembers everything - stories he told her of his childhood in the monastery, details of Selunite rituals she learned from him, quiet moments in camp he half-forgot himself. She still calls him Soldier, and sometimes Hec. She remembers her own parents; she remembers the city. There is just enough of her still in there... just enough for it to squeeze his heart.

----

One day she walks (well, floats) with him to the Singing Lute; she sits with him while he eats. They talk about the rebuilding; he points out from the balcony some of the new homes he has worked on. She is quiet for a long time. "It is good to see the place begin to live again," she says, in that strange cool slow voice that has replaced the old jocular drawl. "It's what it was all for."

He nods. "Do you regret it? Any of it?" Do you remember what we had? What we've lost?

"How could I, Soldier? The city still lives. You still live." A long pause. The old Karlach might have laughed sardonically, but there is no humor. "Even I still live, and I have grown beyond myself. What is there to regret?"

It sits like a rock in his stomach. If she is content, what more can he ask for? And yet it hurts... it hurts...

-----

Jaheira notices that he begins to withdraw back into himself, that he is quieter and more serious. She mentions it to Gale, on one of his visits to the city from Waterdeep.

"You're not wrong there," Gale agrees. "You weren't around yet, when we knew him fresh off the nautiloid. He was much more careful, then. Very controlled. The very picture of monastic stoicism - in between the panicked realization that we were all undergoing a supreme nightmare that never ended, of course. He lightened up, over the months - certainly by the time you knew him."

Jaheira purses her lips. "And this... he is returning to his old ways, you believe?"

"I don't think it would be unreasonable to assume," Gale says, with a sort of bleak humor, "that Karlach is no longer providing the same amount of compensatory levity that she used to."

-----

In the end, almost two years later, Lae'zel is the only one who speaks to him of it directly, and she is brutal - but effective.

"You have been hollowed out, she'lak," she says bluntly, on one of her rare visits from the Astral Plane. "It is a lessening of you. Do you still trail after your ghaik as if bound to her by a lead?"

"I have done much in the city since you left," Hector says, somewhat defensively.

"Chk. I do not speak of your body's business, k'chakhi. I speak of your mind. Your heart. You have lost yourself. You live only for others."

"As I was raised to do. As I have always done."

"Hector." She rarely speaks his name directly, but she does now, and it makes him jump. "You know of what I speak, and I will not have you ignore it. Your work in the city is admirable. You have cause for pride and contentment. Yet you pine after Karlach as if you hope to find her in the shell wearing her voice."

"She's still in there, Lae'zel."

"You mislead yourself," she spits. "Was it not you who taught me the strength to look beyond mindless devotion?"

That stings, and unconsciously he stands up a little straighter. "This is not mindless. It has been earned," he objects.

"Tas'ki. She is ghaik," Lae'zel says flatly. "What remains of her will dwindle, day by day. You know this as well as I." A pause. Then her eyes soften, and her voice with it. "You do not honor her sacrifice by this emptiness, Hector. Nor do you honor yourself."

He says nothing. His lips draw into a tight line. He hears her, and he does not want to.

"Think on what I tell you," she says - for all the world, now, as if she is the wise mentor and he the student in need of guidance. "You are no fool. You know I speak truth. Do not discount it."

-----

It takes a long time, but he does eventually start to come back to himself. Ten years. Twenty years. He grows old, though he loses none of his strength, his training too ingrained to allow him to weaken with age. The city reforms, stronger than ever, and he slowly begins to learn what life is, outside of both monastery and war.

He teaches self-defense to the children Jaheira rescues and others in the Lower City. He learns to (very badly) play a lute at Alfira's school. He tries his hand as a woodworker after so much carpentry work in the rebuilding of the Gate; one day, with some pride, he gifts Halsin a raggedly carved owl in return for the duck. He travels with Shadowheart several times to the House of the Moon in Waterdeep, reaffirming his faith in the light that has guided him through so much darkness.

And he reads voraciously. Everything he can get his hands on, from every library in the city. There is far more knowledge in the world, he comes to learn, than the particular cache with which he grew up.

He visits Karlach less, over time. And Lae'zel was right - there is less and less left of her each time he sees her. She is drifting away from him. And slowly he comes to terms with that - that what they had was a wonderful thing and a fleeting thing that will never come back to him. He learns to live for them both, for the life she would have had with him, had there been time.

He does not love again, though. He lived his whole life devoid of romance before he knew her, and he has little interest in trying to find it again in the years that remain to him.

For the most part, he moves on, and eventually finds himself relatively happy. But there is one last concession to sentimentality and to everything he has lost.

-----

On one bright, cold afternoon in mid-autumn, many years after the Netherbrain has faded into a bleak memory, he goes to the clinic. She is there, much as she always is; she has not seemed to age much in all these years, though the tentacles are slightly longer, a bit more nuanced in their movement.

He, though, is old; the grey dappling in his hair and beard has faded to white. His body acts as strong as ever, but time is implacable; he knows, as she once did, that he has very little left. It is a strange thing - a weakness of spirit rather than flesh, old age's deeper destruction that even the most disciplined monk cannot stave off forever. He is not dying, but he would be dead soon, likely within a few tendays.

"Hector," she says, flat and cool and almost unrecognizable, and inclines her head at him slightly. "You have settled everything?"

"Everything," he says quietly.

"You are still certain it is time?"

"Yes."

"Then we will begin." She gestures him to a secluded corner of the clinic, with a comfortable chair set up for the purpose. He settles himself there and looks up at the clinic's cracked stone ceiling and waits.

"It has been a good life," he comments, as much to himself as to her, as he waits for her to approach. "Lae'zel was right, that I had to move on. I have done much, seen much. I am proud of what we achieved - all of us."

There's a long, expectant silence. Then he leans his head back, closes his eyes. "I never stopped loving you, you know," he adds softly.

"I know," she answers, and her jaws sink into his skull.

[zuleyhasposts]

Stand By Your Man (Negan/You)

We're fully of stories about this hot man, but I think they are never enough. I posted already on AO3, but I want to give a try here on Tumblr too. If anything, please let me know what you think about the story and if you would change something. Sadly, I know that the first chapter is always "boring" because it's an introduction, but I promise you it'll be more interesting as soon as we get into it. You have my word!

I'll post the first chapter - even if I wrote and published the second one - and see people actually enjoy it. I'll give the AO3 link too, because you never know.

Enjoy!

Chapter One - Meeting

You both looked at each other, probably waiting for one to speak first. It wasn’t a matter of shyness, it was more about studying the person you have in front of you.

He found you in an abandoned house, full of walkers dead on the floor - even if they’re already dead - and he didn’t ask you anything. He was simply staring with a smirk on this face. It made you wonder what was so enjoyable to have that expression.

He lowered himself to be at the same height as you, directly staring into your eyes now. Before the apocalypse you would have called this behavior anormal, but now you wondered what was actually normal and what now.

“Look what we have here.” His smile grew bigger and you started questioning yourself if you should fear for your life.

“Look what? You never saw a person?” You tilted your head to the side and put your hands on your hips.

He started to laugh, as if he didn’t hear a good joke like that in a while. Problem was it wasn’t actually a joke and you were serious. “So, you do speak, doll.”

“Why wouldn’t I?”

“Put your fucking attitude aside and tell me your name.” He said, pointing at you with the bloody bat he carried. If he wasn’t scary, for sure that bat was.

“(Y/N).”

“Full name, doll.”

You rolled your eyes at his wanting to know this much, forgetting for a second that there was a full bat pointed at you. You were lucky he could still handle your attitude; if he was someone else, there would probably be more blood on the floor.

“(Y/N) (L/N). What’s your name?”

You were expecting a bad answer to your question, something like “shut the fuck up, it isn’t your business”, but it didn’t happen. He actually told you his name and smiled after saying it.

“I’m Negan.”

You could hear different voices outside and you could understand that he was probably the leader of some group. It was for the best to play cool and avoid the risk of being kidnapped - and probably be tortured too - if you could. Let’s be clear: you could defend yourself, but you were too tired. You killed who knows how many walkers and there was no more strength in your body.

“So, Negan,” you started to walk closer to him, “how can I help you?”

“I don’t think you can actually help me, doll.” He smiled again, knowing he was actually right. “But I can help you if you accept my offer.”

You raised your eyebrow at what he stated and you already knew he wouldn’t have accepted a “no” as an answer. Crossing your arms, you answered. “What do you offer?”

“Come with me and be my wife.” He opened his arms as an invitation. “I can give you food, new clothes and protection. You couldn’t ask for more.”

Your mind was quite shocked by the request, but not that surprised. You were about to answer, if it wasn’t for your stomach that started to grumble. The fact that it made him laugh was enough to make the situation embarrassing.

“I was about to answer that…” you stopped for a second wondering if he could be offended by what you were about to say, “I don’t want to be your wife and I clearly don’t need protection, but I’ll gladly take the food.”

“And do you think it’s fair for you to eat without thanking me?” There was a bit of dislike in what he said, but still not offended enough to hurt you. You thought he was right though, you had to do something to make you useful enough to be taken. “I think you have people that work for you, right? Let me be one of them!”

He seemed to actually think about it. “And why should I trust you and your capacity doll?”

“I mean, look around! I killed all these walkers alone.” You didn’t want to sound like you were begging him, but you needed to eat something. “Give me a chance.”

He licked his lower lip and you could tell he was enjoying the image of you being desperate for his help. A shiver was felt in your bones, and it wasn’t because you felt cold.

“I’ll give you a chance, doll.” He cupped your left cheek, gently pulling it. “Just because I don’t want to say no to this pretty face of yours.”

You moved away his hand and went to grab your things, even if there wasn’t much to take. The most important thing you always carried with you was the two daggers that saved your ass until now.

“You should be fucking grateful to have my attention, doll.” He said while going out of the house. “You could have caught the attention of my beautiful Lucille here,” the grip of the bat was way more tense now and you understood that “Lucille” was the name of his weapon, “and I can fucking assure that you wouldn’t have liked it.”

You followed him outside, and you could see the sun was about to set and the air was becoming colder. You consider yourself lucky that Negan “found” you, it would have been a very dangerous night to experience again. You wanted to rest your eyes and your body just for one night.

“I can agree that I wouldn’t have liked it.” You said, trying to wash off the anger he was probably building in his body. First impressions are always important and you knew you had to put a grip on your attitude, at least for now.

He let out a laugh and you could feel your body lighter now. It worked, you thought.

You both walked for a bit until you weren’t in front of a few trucks and some men.

“Finally you are here, boss” a man spoke and he caught your attention because of his burned face. You hoped it wasn’t because of Negan. “Who is she?”

“We have a new guest with us!” He put an arm behind your back, guiding you to be in front of him. “Why don’t you introduce yourself, doll?”

He wanted to make you feel embarrassed and you knew it. It felt like when the professor made you introduce yourself in front of the class, you had all eyes on you and you didn’t like it.

“I’m (Y/N).” You tried to not raise your hand like you were greeting them, you didn’t want to be even more embarrassed. “Negan found me in an abandoned house and offered me to be one of you.”

“One of us?” Another man spoke and this one had a funny mustache, you better avoid pointing that out. “How do we know if she’s actually useful?”

“Simon, I didn’t ask for your opinion.” Negan said and you could see Simon actually backing out. I could see that all of them were actually scared of him. How much you wanted to yell to all of them that they were a bunch of pussies, but you shushed the thought to the back of your mind.

“When we’ll have the occasion, I’ll show you how useful I am, Simon.” You said moving out of the way and entering a random truck. At this point you didn’t care anymore, you only wanted to eat and sleep.

“Now I see why you picked her up.” Simon said, putting his hand on Negan’s shoulder. You could hear that they both laughed at the stupid comment that the mustache man made and it made you want to throw something at their heads. It was the worst mistake to accept this offer.

The drive wasn’t very long and you could wish it was more quiet, but the curiosity was enough to question you stuff. You couldn’t deny the desire to tell everybody to shut the fuck up for five minutes, but the least thing you wanted was to make Negan and his men angry.

When you all finally reached the place, it surprised you. You didn’t expect something this big and you neither expected Negan to be the leader of something this huge. You looked around and you felt like a kid entering a luna park.

“Do you like it?” Negan asked, proud same as a king proud of his kingdom.

“You actually surprised me, I didn’t expect something like this.”

You entered inside the Sanctuary and it made you even more impressed than before. While you looked around, Negan was explaining everything as rules, assignments and these types of stuff. As you understood: his wives didn’t work for any points, while others had to work to have them. It was fair for Negan, but not fair for the others, but you still didn’t say anything about it.

You both stopped walking when you reached what was your new room. You couldn’t believe you had a room for yourself only. You didn’t care if the room itself was overall a bare room, it was perfect.

“Well, doll, this is your room.”

“It’s perfect, thank you so much!”

He liked the fact that you were happy and grateful for a simple room like that. Negan almost made it a habit to hear people complaining at the beginning because they wanted something more. Who could imagine that people were still spoiled during an apocalypse?

He left you in your room, giving you the time to make yourself comfortable. He told you that in a few days you would have started to work with them, so it was important for you to feel good if you wanted to be one of them. You thanked him again like it wasn’t never enough.

[just-sp-in-inginthevoid]

So I was thinking how so many girls in the fandom love and fawn over Shinichiro but in the Tokyorev universe it’s the complete opposite. Even with basically everyone saying how a perfect old brother and leader he is, he still got rejected 20 times.

This also goes on why Shin wants to be in a romantic relationship so bad? It is him just a romantic at hear or is this somehow related to his parents relationship and he just wants to prove himself that he can be different than them (more in how he can be different than his father and by that proving that it is possible to have a fulling relationship without cheating).

Ah, the infinite amount of answers to those questions... I mean, for why he is so unpopular it's probably cuz he sucks at flirting and since we as the audience never saw that part of him, we focus on what we know of him which.. for the most part is far more noble and cool (even if some questionable actions of his remain - but we love him and his flaws anyway). The girls he was after probably never saw these other sides of him (if they did, he'd have had experienced smth similar to Takemichi (w/ Hinata, Yuzuha & Senju). Altho I guess we know so little about him back in BD that we can't say for certain if that didn't happen)

The 'why Shinichiro wanted a relationship so bad'-question is even more difficult to figure out. I've got my own headcanon about it, but that's only speculations ofc and pretty much baseless.

Shinichiro wants a relationship very very much. But he doesn't actually catch the concept of falling in love and being interested in someone beforehand. He'd 'fall' for girls but he'd actually not know much about them. Being rejected hurt still, because his intents were genuine and not deceitful but even if his heart gets hurt, he recovers pretty quickly and steadily: because he's craving the relationship, not the girl. He only knows them on surface level, and god knows if they are even aware of his existence

He's raising Mikey and Emma, right? He's their father figure, but they've got no mother figure. they need one. and we know how japan works, nuclear 'traditional' family all the way, how else do you want the kids to grow up 'normally'? and he has to raise them good. thats his job

Shinichiro also looks up to his father (not for the cheating part, let's hope really hard--) so he probably tried to (consciously or not) act like him when he tries to flirt. except he's likely awfully bad at it. And Shinichiro is a momma boy to me so ain't no way he's in favor of hurting women emotionally (and physically ofc ofc), he's far to attached to his mom for that (I will not. have any thoughts about how Shinichiro may feel about his father. I do not have the time for that. No. Nope. nopety nopes.... Heloveshimlotsbutthere'sstillthebitterresentmentanddisappointmentthatlotsofpplfeeltowardstheirparentsforfairjustifiedreasons)

Once he manages to - actually, fully - fall in love he's 100% head over heels, hopeless romantic all the way. He's corny. He's pathetic. He's a loser. We love that for him. But I don't think he falls that easily, I think he tries (as a teen at least) to trigger his falls (and fails. which girls may have picked up on, too). He has a very specific idea of romantic relationships, too so if it doesn't look like what he imagines, he may be a bit lost

[20001541]

Very interesting idea about dfo kunieda - could you share your thoughts on it please?

alright so...

afo never planned on ever having a kid so when he finds out his partner is pregnant he's oh....! (he forgot things like pregnancy can happen with unprotected sex, but he defends himself by saying he was having too much fun at the time to think properly!)

but despite this unexpected development he's interested to see what being a father is like and offers a big sum to the other parent if they proceed with this and give all custody to him, which they agree to if course. said baby comes and afo is very doting and loving and all he talks about is this baby..... for about a week. he was hoping to feel some sort of spark? some fatherly affection that people always talk about. he didn't though, he feels apathetic and he's getting bored and restless being at home when there's a quirk with a rebellious brother within it to catch.

of course this is his flesh and blood and by extension a part of him, so he's not going to abandon it, it's going to stay with a nanny who works for him that has experience taking care of children. he'll provide resources to allow it to grow and thrive, but he is not going to play an active role in its life. maybe someday after he succeeds in getting ofa and taking power he will try to attempt to bond with his son again and see if he feels any affection then, but for now it'll be fine without him.

so little kunieda spends the first four years of his life being raised by a nanny and with limited access to the outside world. he's told his father provides everything and keep an close eye on his progress, but any further questions he may have about said father are never answered. he hopes as a young child that his father may visit him in person some day.

well afo's plans of being the absent father change when kunieda gets his quirk at the tender age of four, when he's notified by henchmen, who were sent to check in as the nanny didn't send her report to him, that she's dead and her body is some sort of plant... along with a distraught child who won't come out of his room.

afo decides to handle this himself in person and is intrigued, this must be the child's quirk. he's at that ripe age where children develop them, and what an interesting quirk too. he manages to coax the child into coming out and introduces himself as his father. he soothes him and finds out what happened between the child's sobs, it was an accident apparently. but afo assures him that it's nothing to be worried about and it was actually quite impressive, he takes him in where he starts playing more of an active role in his development.

kunieda's childhood with afo is essentially afo encouraging him to give into his more darker urges and not to be afraid to use his quirk on people (after all look how beautiful and big those plants bloom when using human flesh as nutrients). a lot of what afo believes in he passes down to his own son who learns eagerly from his father. he fully buys into believing his father is some type of savior for this world, doesn't help he was educated by some of afo's own cultists. affection is something to be earned not something freely given. so kunieda often goes out of his own way to please his father which afo enjoys. as he grows up he's given his own place in afo's organization as an personal assassin of afo's. it doesn't earn him any special privileges, in fact he has to work harder than the average minion for approval as afo is a lot harsher towards him as he expects nothing less than perfection and unwavering loyalty from his own offspring.

later he ends up in tartarus because he got caught up in all mights crusade in capturing all those closest to afo, though heroes don't find out that's his son. afo is too busy to bother breaking him out and everything that's in canon happens and he doesn't get freed until afo's own breakout in prison and we'll you know the rest.

might be kind of vague at points, but thats my idea on how this au would go.

[linasofia]

A Shooting Star

Part 3

Fandom: The Hobbit

Relationship: Thorin Oakenshield x OC Vega

Summary: Lady Vega loves to sneak out to Erebor’s rampart to study the night sky, but one night, an unexpected visitor joins her. It is the beginning of a story whose end only the stars can tell.

Warnings: none

A/N: This is the third part of this fic. You can find the previous parts here.

Balin read the edict in his hand and then met Thorin’s steadfast gaze.

”Thorin, are you certain of this? I agree with you, the ancient books are in need of restoration, but not many dwarves care for old tales about the stars these days.”

”They should, Balin,” Thorin growled. ”The tales are fascinating. Some of them actually tell our history—our legacy—both the good and the bad. And it’s done in a less heavy way than any of the dusty books I read with my tutor as a young boy.” He pointed at the thickest of them all; a book with a leather cover adorned with seven stars. ”Have you ever read this one, Balin?”

The prudent white-haired dwarf in front of him shook his head, and his long beard swayed.

”You—who have read more books than anyone I know—are not familiar with the true gems in the Royal Library?” A small mocking lingered in Thorin’s voice, but Balin chose to ignore it. Instead, he shifted tactics.

”Why are you suddenly so interested in our conservators’ works? Not only do you interfere with the planning, you interrupt their current work too. Master Kvasir will most certainly question your personal interest in these books.”

”Then let him come with his questions,” Thorin muttered, and the thought of the unpleasant—but highly skilled—Master Kvasir made his mood sour. ”I do not think I need to explain my motives to him, or anyone else.”

Balin raised a hand in defense. ”I do not mean to question your motives, I am merely asking out of curiosity.” Thorin glared at him, and Balin knew better than to keep pushing his old friend for a reason he was certain he would find out sooner or later anyway. ”Very well,” he stretched his back and folded the edict, ”we shall see it done.”

***

A paper scroll with the king’s wax seal was open and on full display on the dining table when Vega returned from her visit to the seamstress. Neither her father nor mother seemed to be home, and therefore she dared to read the letter without permission. Her father’s post was clearly not for her eyes, but she could not resist when she saw the royal blue ribbon next to the roll. Only members of the royal family were allowed to use that specific shade of blue, and it was easily recognizable. The letter contained an invitation to the welcome banquet upon Lord Dain’s arrival, something Vega had never attended before. Usually, the king’s cousin stayed for a couple of weeks at the time, and several feasts were held in the meantime—all meant to entertain the large entourage traveling with him. The invitation was for the whole family, and Vega wondered what her father would say of such an event. Especially now, when the news about the delayed building start for the new giant furnace was fresh in his mind. He had worked so long for this—an opportunity to double Erebor’s capacity—and due to a single error in the agreement, King Thorin refused to sign it. She stroked the letter, fully aware that the king did not write it himself, but her heart made a flip at the thought of potentially seeing him soon again. Thorin. She closed her eyes and summoned the picture of him from their last meeting on the rampart. A sigh fell from her trembling lips—he was so distracting.

Vega did not have to wait long for an answer to her question; her father brought up the topic during their family dinner the following evening. He was pleased to finally receive an invitation to the prestigious welcome banquet, a night reserved only for the kings’s closest circle. It was considered a great honor to be invited and it was said the king used to redraw that circle every year, depending on the performance of his advisors and negotiators. Vega’s father had always worked hard and finally, he was rewarded in a way he thought was fitting for an advisor with his reputation. He admitted the invitation arrived at the very last minute, but it was clear that he could overlook this minor mistake from the royal administration. As she listened to her father’s too-long explanation of his important work, her mind drifted, as it did so often recently, to the alluring sound of the king’s deep voice. She longed to hear him speak again, and a small seed of envy grew in her heart as she thought of how her father often spent hours in the king’s presence. Vega wished it was her. She knew her father sacrificed a lot for his work, but her silly heart kept whispering about another—more unrealistic—reason for the invitation. Ashamed of her ungrateful thought, she lowered her gaze and finished her meal in silence.

King Thorin’s cousin, Lord Dain of the Iron Hills, arrived at the front gate of Erebor on a misty afternoon when the grass was damp and the air smelled of wet soil. The red-bearded lord instantly pulled attention to himself by refusing to wait for the welcome committee; he simply marched directly to the royal wing and demanded to see his kin. Dain was not a man of small words or gestures; he was big, loud and with a fiery temper—just as his cousin. Nobody who saw Dain that afternoon doubted what he longed for the most after his journey; amber-colored ale, strong Dorwinion wine, and smoked meat in large portions.

The welcome banquet would be held the following evening, not in the main hall where a very large number of people could fit, but in a smaller hall, closer to the royal wing. As Vega stood by her mirror and watched the maid tie her corset on her back, she felt nervous. The thought of the king—Thorin—had kept her awake far longer than she intended, and when she woke in the morning, she had dark shadows under her eyes. But her mother discreetly slipped her a small jar and told her to put the smooth content on the skin. Whatever miracle her mother had hidden in her drawer worked, and Vega now looked as if she had never slept better. Her hair was arranged in a festive creation, with only a few locks framing her face. The maid held up her gown and Vega easily slipped into it and patiently waited while the maid finished her work. Vega’s mother was a modest woman, despite their increasing status, but when it came to clothing on gatherings of this dignity, she was very specific in her demands. Lady Vanadis would never accept anything less than the best for her family. Vega had accepted it for evenings like this, as part of their new lifestyle, but she was not really comfortable with having someone else dress her.

When Vega entered the banquet hall, she tried to focus on her conversation with her mother, but her gaze expectantly searched among the many faces in the hall, and it did not take long before she spotted the real reason for the excitement she felt in her chest. The king was in deep conversation with his cousin, and among the guests next to him, she noticed both his nephews and the captain of the royal guards. King Thorin had not seen her, and it gave her the possibility to admire him from a distance. Vega put on a kind smile, mingled with advisors and their families, was greeted by people she dreaded she would never be able to remember the name of, and gave polite hugs to a few daughters in her father’s small circle of friends.

Massive tables stood head to head, creating long aisles between them and at the end—the table of honor—reserved for King Thorin, members of the royal family, and a large number of the king’s legendary company. Food and beverages were carried from the kitchen by an endless stream of servants, and no plates remained empty for long. The wealth of Erebor was flaunted—a reminder of the enormous treasure safely secured deep in the Mountain. Vega secured a good seat for herself, far from the king, obviously, but she could spot him if she leaned back a little. She was accompanied by a merry group of women, who—unlike her—found banquets and balls a perfect opportunity to see what was on the exclusive market, as they unashamedly called it.

Dinner lasted—as always, under the Mountain—for many hours. Vega’s mother was seated next to her father at another table and Lady Vanadis had insisted on Vega being allowed to choose her own place instead of the awful suggestion her father had; next to the son of one of King Thorin’s top negotiators. The son went in his father’s footsteps and had already made a name for himself. Privately, his reputation was far from pleasant; he was an unpredictable snake; he would always smile but hide a dagger behind his back, ready to threaten or even stab if he found it necessary. Vega assumed her father had no knowledge of the rumors surrounding the young lord, but she was relieved she did not have to endure yet another dinner in the company of a potential suitor. Even though she was a grown woman, her father still tried to steer her in the direction he thought was suitable.

As the endless servings finally ebbed, dwarves from all tables rose to stretch their full bellies, exchange words with new acquaintances, or just refill their pints from the large barrels waiting along one of the walls. Even though her company was far more enjoyable than she first expected, Vega still felt the need to be alone for a short while. A break, a chance to breathe without the constant chatter in her ears, would do her good. She excused herself and walked, without even a glance over her shoulder, out from the banquet hall.

The huge corridor held a more pleasant temperature, and the air was not filled with the heavy smell of roasted meat and ale. She took a deep breath and let her shoulders relax. A few moments were all she needed; nobody would know or miss her. Especially not her parents—or the very occupied king. She was not even sure he had seen her. But what had she been expecting? That he would come and sweep her off her feet, like the hero in that book she loved to read as a young girl? Or ask her to join him at his table, in front of his kin and friends? Vega sighed—it was ridiculous.

Dain was just telling Thorin about some recent raid of orcs near the Iron Hills when Thorin suddenly witnessed Vega rising from her table and walking out of the hall. It took him only a blink of an eye to decide, but he quickly got on his feet, muttering a few words to Dain about his needs after the many pints they had been drinking. His cousin let out a rumbling laugh and turned his drunken focus to Fili, seated on his other side. Thorin had seen Vega the moment she entered the hall together with Lord Vimar and his wife, but since his advisor was seated separately from his daughter, Thorin found no excuse good enough to approach her. Now, however, he saw an opportunity too good to miss.

He used the side door—the shortcut to the royal wing—but it gave him the possibility to leave the room without raising questions. If he hurried, he could make it to the other side, catch a glimpse of where she was going and eventually make her aware of his presence. He hastened, in a very unkingly manner, down the corridor, and just as he predicted, he saw her as soon as he turned around the corner. Thorin had to force himself to slow down; it would not make a good impression if he came storming after her. Vega had stopped by the large tapestry hanging to the left of the entrance to the hall. It was a beautiful piece—created to impress—and welcome guests to his kingdom. She must have heard him, because she turned when he came closer and the expression on her face made his heart sing. Thorin stopped at a respectable distance, suddenly uncertain if his presence would make her uncomfortable. They were alone for the moment, but a large group of dwarves were laughing and singing on the other side of the colossal stone wall. He tried to make up a reason for his sudden appearance, but as her beautiful emerald eyes widened in surprise, he found none. At least not one he could tell her. Not here. Maybe never.

Vega did not believe her eyes when she saw who was approaching her from an unexpected direction. As the king stopped in front of her, she curtsied gracefully—deeply affected by the powerful aura surrounding him. His dark hair resembled the night sky, with the light from a hundred tiny shooting stars creating the silver strands in his thick mane. His temple braids were recently braided, and his beard was trimmed to perfection. The black tunic was generously embroidered with thick golden threads, and a sharp line of gorgeous dark chest hair peeked up from the open collar. Vega swallowed hard at the sight and forced herself to meet the king’s azure gaze. The raven crown rested on his head, and Vega could not remember seeing Thorin more regal than at this moment.

“Lady Vega.” His deep voice made her shiver. “Thank you for accepting my invitation.” A small smile danced over his lips, and Vega noticed how his upper lip twitched as he waited for her reply. Confused thoughts crossed her mind. Was it possible that she was right in her silly imagination; had the letter been sent to her father with the intention of bringing her to the banquet? Surely her mind was playing tricks on her again, just as it had done on the cold rampart.

“My father was very honored, My King. Thank you.”

“And how are you faring this evening? Would you rather be watching the stars?” The twinkle in his eyes brought a smile to Vega’s face.

“There will be other nights to study the sky.”

“And other full moons,” he added. Then he lowered his voice and leaned in ever so slightly, but it was enough to make Vega’s heart beat faster. “Together, I hope.”

“I hope so too,” she whispered, but as soon as the words fell from her lips, she realized she had allowed him to see too much of her feelings. But he smiled back at her, the same warm smile that kept her awake the previous night. And she could not help thinking that he was a thief—dressed like a king—for he had truly stolen her heart.

Thorin watched Vega as her eyes glimmered, and when the sweetest blush spread on her smooth cheeks, he wondered what path her thoughts took. Could it be him—did his presence affect her in any way? He could not ask her; it would be highly unseemly, but deep down, he hoped he was the reason for her delicious reaction. He knew he was older than her—maybe even too old—but she awoke a longing in him, a feeling he accepted years ago was never meant for him. His obligations to his people and the safety of his family had always been his highest priority, and he fulfilled both duties without even thinking of his own sacrifice. Vega, however, was shaking the pillars he was standing on. His inner vault was trembling.

“I bring news which I hope you will find interesting.” He grasped a sensible reason to stay with her for a little while longer.

“My King?”

”Please, Thorin for now.”

Vega smiled apologetically but nodded. It was easier to try to think of him as only Thorin when he was not wearing the legendary crown on his head.

“I made inquiries regarding the books in the Royal Library. There is a fine collection of old books with star maps and they are all to be restored. We cannot allow them to be neglected any longer, they are simply too valuable for future generations.”

“This is fantastic news!” He could hear the amazement in her voice. ”Thank you, for letting me know of this important work.”

Vega’s face lit up in the most beautiful smile, and Thorin wanted nothing more than to wrap his arms around her. The exquisite gown she was wearing made him slightly dizzy, as it offered him a delightful glimpse of her body's curves. She wore her hair up and it brought his attention to her exposed, delicate neck. Her skin appeared to shimmer, and it made Thorin think that Vega truly was a rare gem. One of a kind. If anyone could match the raw beauty of the Arkenstone, it was her.

”I am glad it brings you joy, Vega.”

He really meant it; Thorin thought as he stored the memory of her warm exclamation in his heart. She had reacted exactly how he wanted, and his satisfaction mingled with her joy, until he suddenly came to think of the reason behind their possibility to meet tonight. His cousin was probably already questioning everybody at their table where the King Under the Mountain was. Thorin would have preferred to stay in Vega’s company for a while longer, but he knew far too well what would happen if Dain spotted him with a beautiful, unmarried lady. He would never hear the end of it.

”Now, if you will please excuse me, I need to see if my cousin is still reasonable,” Thorin declared with a smirk. Dain’s drinking games were well–known, and he often challenged Dwalin to follow him. ”If I do not have the pleasure of speaking with you in private again, I wish you a good night.” He allowed himself to linger in her warm gaze one final time, but when he turned to leave, his boots felt unusually heavy. ”I will see you beneath the full moon, Vega.”

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