#it's been a journey guys and I won't have changed any of it thank you for joining me on it :)

[brokenstar-s]

Chapters: 12/12 Fandom: The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms, Linked Universe - Fandom Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence Relationships: Four & Hyrule & Legend & Sky & Time & Twilight & Warriors & Wild & Wind (Linked Universe), Warriors & Wind (Linked Universe), Legend & Wind (Linked Universe), Time & Twilight (Linked Universe), Twilight & Wild (Linked Universe) Characters: Wind (Linked Universe), Wild (Linked Universe), Legend (Linked Universe), Time (Linked Universe), Twilight (Linked Universe), Hyrule (Linked Universe), Four (Linked Universe), Sky (Linked Universe), Wolfie (Linked Universe) Additional Tags: Blood and Violence, Implied/Referenced Character Death, Fights, Angst with a Happy Ending, Eventual Happy Ending, everything is fine, The Author Regrets Nothing, Wind (Linked Universe)-centric, Medium Wind (Linked Universe), Wind (Linked Universe) Angst, Vio smart, Chain is just trying to get along, Linked Universe (Legend of Zelda), Morally Ambiguous Character, Angst Series: Part 2 of Storm covered Waters Summary:

“Where did you come from?” They asked.

“Nowhere,” Link answered.

“Why are you a hero?” They would ask, hoping for a story.

“I’m not anymore,” He would answer somberly, “I live in chains of promises and vengeances long gone cold.”

“Why are you here?” They would ask again.

“To protect my brothers,” Link would answer honestly.

-

The chain gets another member, it’s not who they think it is. 

(Sequel to Tempest)

[mugeesworld]

Sanji with a chubby partner head cannons!

Omg guys. I'm getting way more likes and followers then I thought I would! I'm so thankful😭♥︎. Y'all are so kind tysm! Writing is a big outlet for me so to see other people enjoying it makes me so happy!

I also have a wattpad if you're interested! It's called heeheemugee. And I have a few stories there. Tysm once again. On with the head cannons.

NSFW (you've been warned) female y/n (as always if you want a Male y/n version or gender fluid version let me know!) ♥︎♥︎♥︎

Sanji is my all time favorite character so I will most likely be adding to this whenever I have a idea😍 he's sooo baby girl

And ik sanji goes for "skinny" girls but I'm here to tell you. He would love, worship, praise, the ground you walk on hunny. Theirs not good plus size representation in one piece and that's what you're gonna be. You're gonna be the goddess that walked in and changed that! As you fuckin should??!

Imagine. You recently moved to a small island to get away from your troubles for a while. You got to relax everyday. Taking in the beautiful sights of nature while there and living peacefully in your small hut.

Like any other day you decide to go for a walk and pick a few apples from a apple tree that was near your house. You grab your basket and cute little hat and skip along the streets making your way to your favorite tree.

The straw hats recently made it to this island while exploring the grand line. As per usual sanji was making his rounds to buy more food for their long journey.

While walking around the island in search of different food stands he comes across a single apple tree. I'm sure the owner won't mind if I take a few! He thinks to himself, walking towards the tree.

He starts to pick a few apples putting them in his basket when he hears a sigh coming from the other side of the tree. He looks around to see a gorgeous lady trying to grab a apple that was just a little to high for her to reach.

He stares for a moment taking in the gorgeous sight in front of him before shaking his head and helping the lady. "Here! Let me!" he says grabbing the apple and reaching his hand out to give it to her. "Oh! Thank you!" you say happily excepting the apple from his hand.

You take a closer look at him since he doesn't look familiar. He feels his cheeks starting to get warm as you scan him. "You're not from here are you?" you finally ask. "No- No I'm not. Im here picking up food for my crew!" he says anxiously.

You give him a warm welcoming smile. "I see! I hope you enjoy your stay! This tree isn't owned by anyone so you're free to take as many as you would like! Need help?" you ask putting down your basket.

Sanji feels his heart race seeing your beautiful smile. As if your face could get any prettier. That smile proved him to be wrong. It most certainly can.

"Sure! I would appreciate that..." he says scratching his neck. (You're making bro nervous 😟) you nod and start picking apples and putting them in his basket. While doing so you both finally exchange names.

"So Sanji..." you say making his spine shiver hearing his name roll of your tongue. Something he wish he could hear 1,000 more times.

"Are you the chef?" you ask. "Yeah I am. Why?" he asks. "Well I'm guessing you're a pirate then right? Taking these apples like this on sea. They will go bad very quickly. I can show you how to make them into apple sauce and then how to can them. They will last way longer. Plus it's delicious!" you explain.

Sanji thinks for a moment. She's right. These apples won't last long. And I get to see her longer.... "Ok! Sure!" he says excited to learn.

You smile and grab your basket. "Great! I'll show you the way to my house and we can start!" you say grabbing his hand to show him the way.

Sanji nearly jumps out of his skin feeling you grab him like that. You're hand is so soft and small against his. (I got big hands😞) He never wanted you to let go. He wants to stay like this forever.

As y'all walk down the street y'all talking more about canning sorta going over how it will happen. You see sanjis forehead sweating in result of the sun beating down on y'all. You suddenly stop catching sanji off guard as he turns around to see why you place your hat on his head.

"You need it more then I do!" you say before continuing down the path. Sanjis cheeks go red at your sudden act. How sweet he thinks. Y'all arrive at your house and you start to show him how it works.

Once y'all are finished he tastes the apple sauce. To his surprise it was amazing. "Holy crap! This is amazing y/n!" he nearly yells. You laugh at his reaction. "Oh stop it's just a simple apple sauce nothing crazy. But now that you know how to make it. It should help your crews food last longer!" you respond.

You put the apple sauce into jars so they are easier to store. As you turn around to hand him the case of jars you notice he has apple sauce on his upper lip. You put the jars down while laughing and quickly wet a rag.

Sanji turns his head. Confused at what you're doing. "What is it?" he asks. You continue laughing while making your way back towards him with the wet rag. "You have some apple sauce on your face. Here." you say before grabbing his face with one hand and wiping it with the other.

Sanji starts to have a overload while you do this. Blushing like crazy until his nose starts bleeding. "Oh no. Are you ok???" you ask scared as the blood starts pooling out of his nose he take the rag from your hand and nods embarrassed. "Y-yeah! This happens sometimes haha!" he yells trying to play it off.

You quickly grab a first aid kit. "At least let me patch your nose." you say taking out some supplies. You try to walk over to him but he quickly jumps back. "No no. Don't come any closer y/n." he says panicking.

Y/n gives him a confused look. "But why I just want to help? Did I do something?" you ask.

"No! Well yes.... But no! It's just.... You're making me flustered y/n and it makes my nose bleed.... Sorry" he admits. You continue to look at him confused. Flustered? But why....

"How do I make you flustered? I haven't done anything..." you ask. Sanji sighs at your cluelessness.

"You... You make me nervous....Cause you're so... Gorgeous." he finally admits. Your eyes widden. Gorgeous? No one's ever called you that before. Could you really make someone that nervous to make their nose bleed just by your beauty??

"Well... Can you close your eyes? Please so I can help you?" you ask still desperately wanting to help him. Sanji thinks for a moment before closing his eyes and removing the rag.

You slowly make you way over to him. Putting two pieces of tissue in his nose and wrapping under it so it stays. You tell him your done and he opens his eyes. Before you can say anything he leans in and kisses you.

Placing his soft lips on yours kissing you passionately like he's been waiting for this moment his whole life. You we're surprised at first but start to kiss back.

Y'all pull away to get air. "Y/n you're the most gorgeous girl I've ever seen. I'm never felt this way about someone in my whole life. I don't want to say goodbye to this. I don't want to see you go...." he admits holding you by your waist.

"Come with me. Join my crew! I'll keep you safe. We can sail the sea together and most importantly be together y/n. I don't want to leave you!" he says. You widden your eyes. Does he really like you that much.

You've only just met this man but he seems so genuine. Like someone you want to spend the rest of your life with. You've only talked to him for a couple's hours but the time you've had together and what you've learned about him means so much to you. You don't want to see him leave either.

"Yes" you whisper. "W-what?" sanji asks not thinking he heard you right."I'll go with you." you say looking up at him smiling. Sanji picks you up and sways around the room as y'all laugh together.

He suddenly puts you down getting serious. "Theirs one more thing I have to know y/n before you come with me..." he says looking at the ground. "Will you be my girlfriend?" he asks smiling at you.

You throw your arms around him and place a kiss on his cheek. "Of course I will!" you nearly yell.

And CUT. AND THEY LIVED HAPPILY EVER AFTER!

Sanji just loves you. Home boy is obsessed with you. Everything about you. He can get enough. Your a addiction he don't want rehab for. It's almost unhealthy how much he loves you.

I can't put it in to words how much he would worship you. He can't believe you're real. He's scared your a dream and he's gonna wake yo with you not there. He treats every day with you like it's his last and saviours you every second.

He is so clingy. He can keep his hands off you. He would try to be respectful about it. But he just wants to tear you apart man. He wants to grope and grab every single inch, cm, mm of your body. Not one spot going uncherished.

Everything you do he finds attractive. Walking? Hot. Pushing hair out of your face. Hot. Sitting still. Hot. Literally doing nothing at all. Hot.

When he first seen you naked he has to get a look from every angle. To just take it the beauty. He had you stand in the middlebof the room. And he just walked around you. Taking it all in. Even getting on the ground or standing on a chair to see it from there. Nothing will go unnoticed.

Making sure to rub his hands up and down your body praising a worshipping every single inch before railing you.

I usually put in what I think the characters favorite part of you would be but lord. I can't pick. Cause he would love all of you. He would shoot himself in the head before answering that.

It's not possible to choose ONE thing that is better then the rest of you cause all of you is perfect to him. He sees no flaw.

He loves holding you. Laying on your stomach in between your legs wrapping his arms under your back. While you play with his hair. Makes him so weak bro. Always a horny mess. Always ready.

He probably love quickies. Just to help him get through the day. Cause with you walking around he won't be able to get anything done with out at least pounding into you once. Very very high stamina.

Position? Don't matter. He will do it from any angle you like. The feeling of you wrapped around him is enough. He gets pussy drunk instantly.

BIG AND I MEAN BIGGGG moaner. He don't care he letting everything out. He can't help it. He whimpers and whines for you. Breathing heavy. Trying to speak but it comes out as mumbles cause he's so overwhelmed by the way you feel.

Oh you're more submissive? He loves taking the lead and teasing/rubbing every inch of your body till you are a pleading mess. Beginning to be fucked. And he does. As a dom he would put everything into making both of y'all feel good. Definitely a service dom.

Any tiny thing you like while having sex he would do just to make it better for you. Whether it's being choked, spanked, kissed. Whatever you want. He's on it. He tries so hard to make you feel so good so he can see your lewd over stimulated face. He loves seeing how his cock makes you all "drunk"

Knowing he fucks you best and no one else can do that. Definitely the type to ask. "Who do you belong to/ who fucks the best?" during sex. Really gets him off knowing your his.

Oh but you're a dom? No problem. He love having a women dominating him. Being told what to do by such a beautiful lady turns him on in ways he can't explain. He wants to fulfill your every need and make you happy.

Anything you say goes. You want on top. Get on. You want to tease him with a vibrator? He's ready on bed. You want him to eat you out he's already laying on his back ready for you to take a seat on your thrown like you deserve.

Even stuff more kinky! Oh you want to peg him? He's down. He probably bi anyways. You can't tell me he's not zesty. I mean look at him! He probably love having you peg him.

The feeling of you driving into him with your strap so aggressively makes him go crazy. Pushing his head into the pillows to avoid screaming. Only thing is he feels bad that you're not getting anything out of it when you really are. So he makes sure to repay you after.

He would call you by whatever name you give him. Mommy? Done. Mistress? Hell yeah. He is down for whatever. He probably even has mommy issues. Look at him. I mean..... Like...

With all of that being said about him wanting to please you. It drives him insane seeing you between his legs sucking him off. He would throw his head back and just whine. He love language might be acts of service but Lord he loves seeing you this.

I'll add more later probably but I'm busy but wanted to get this out! ♥︎

[omgkatherine01]

Between Your Wings - Chapter 3: Back to the City

Series Masterlist

Chapter 2, Chapter 4

Pairing: Daryl Dixon x female reader x Rick Grimes (slow burn)

Please comment, like and share

That night, you sat around the campfire with the members of the camp. Rick was recounting his journey here, "I felt like I'd been ripped out of my life and put somewhere else. For a while I thought I was trapped in some coma dream, something I might not wake up from ever."

"Mom said you died," Carl said softly, and you tilted your head sadly.

Rick nodded, his voice soft, "She had every reason to believe that. Don't you ever doubt that."

"When things started getting really bad, they told us at the hospital that they were going to medevac you and other patients to Atlanta, but it never happened," Lori spoke up.

"Well, I'm not surprised after Atlanta fell," Rick said, "From the look of that hospital, it got overrun."

"Yeah, looks don't deceive," Shane finally spoke up, "I barely got them out, you know?"

Rick's eyes shifted to Shane, a small smile forming across his face, "I can't tell you how grateful I am to you, Shane. I can't begin to express it."

Dale smiled, leaning back in his seat, "There go those words falling short again. Paltry things."

The sound of a log being dropped into a nearby fire caught your attention. You glanced over at the Peletiers, Ed sitting back down in his seat. Every night since you'd all arrived here, he had insisted that his family have their own fire. He wanted to keep Carol and their daughter Sophia as far away from the rest of you as possible.

"Hey, Ed, you want to rethink that log?" Shane asked.

"It's cold, man," Ed told him.

"The cold don't change the rules, does it?" Shane asked. "Keep our fires low, just embers so we can't be seen from a distance, right?"

"I said it's cold," Ed told him, "You should mind your own business for once."

Shane stood up, walking toward the Peletier family, standing in front of Ed, "Hey, Ed... are you sure you want to have this conversation, man?"

Ed looked at his wife, "Go on. Pull the damn thing out." Carol didn't move. "Go on!"

Carol stood up, walking around.

Shane shook his head, "Christ."

Carol pulled the log out of the fire, walking back to sit between Ed and Sophia.

Shane stomped the flames out, looking at Carol and Sophia, kneeling in front of them, "Hey, Carol, Sophia, how are y'all this evening?"

"Fine," Carol told him, "We're just fine."

"Okay," Shane told them.

"I'm sorry about the fire," Carol told him.

"No, no, no," Shane told her, "No apology needed. Y'all have a good night, okay?"

"Thank you," Carol told him.

Shane stood up, looking at Ed, "I appreciate the cooperation." He walked away, walking back toward the others, sitting back between T-Dog and Amy.

Dale cleared his throat, everyone having clearly been watching the situation as intensely as you had, "Have you all given any more thought to Daryl Dixon? He won't be happy to hear his brother was left behind."

"I'll tell him," T-Dog said, "I dropped the key. It's on me."

"I cuffed him," Rick said, "That makes it mine."

"Guys, it's not a competition," Glenn said, "I don't mean to bring race into this, but it might sound better coming from a white guy... maybe... someone like Audery?"

You frowned and looked at your closes friend, "What?"

Glenn shrugged, "I'm just saying... you are the safest person to tell him. Because he won't beat you up."

You shook your head, "Nah, nope. I'm not telling shit. Wasn't there, didn't see what happened exactly." Glenn nudged your shoulder with his while some of the group smiled with amusement. "Don't drag me into this."

"I did what I did." You looked at T-Dog, who looked down in slight shame. "Hell if I'm gonna hide from it."

"We could lie," Amy suggested.

"Or we tell the truth," Andrea said, "Merle was out of control. Something had to be done or he'd have gotten us killed." She looked at Lori, "Your husband did what was necessary. And if Merle got left behind, it is nobody's fault but Merle's."

"And that's what we tell Daryl?" Dale asked, "I don't see a rational discussion to be had from that, do you? Word to the wise--We're gonna have our hands full when he gets back from his hunt."

"I was scared, and I ran," T-Dog said softly, "I'm not ashamed of it."

"We were all scared," Andrea told him, "We all ran. What's your point?"

"I stopped long enough to chain that door," T-Dog said, "Staircase is narrow. Maybe half a dozen geeks can squeeze against it at any one time. It's not enough to break through that--Not that chain, not that padlock. My point--Dixon's alive and he's still up there, handcuffed on that roof. That's on us."

The camp went silent, everyone reflecting on the conversation. Nobody really wanted to tell Daryl anything; You knew Daryl was a hot headed like Merle, but he wasn't nearly as bad as his big brother.

You wouldn't lie, ever since you've met the Dixon brothers, you thought the youngest Dixon was quite attractive. You were shy at first to approach him--not to mention you pulled your father's gun to his face when you first met him when he and Merle stepped into your and your father's hiding place--but as time went on, he got used to you been around him.

You knew you developed a crush on him, but you kept it to yourself. Or well used to, until you and Amy had a heart-to-heart talk, and she found out you had a crush on him, she teased you a couple of times when it was just the two of you, but she definitely kept it a secret.

You sighed softly and looked down at Max who was lying on your feet. You would have to be the one to talk to Daryl about Merle.

Slowly everyone started to turn in, heading to their tents. You picked Max into your arms and walked to your tent. You walked inside and placed Max on the tent's floor. He walked to his small bed, and you put your boots outside before zipping your tent up.

You petted Max before stepping to your bed and lying down.

Tomorrow will be hard; you just knew it.

****

You woke up to a lick on your hand and opened your eyes slowly to see Max was awake and he whimpered. You groaned softly and slowly got out of the bed. Max jumped to the entrance of the tent, and you unzipped it.

He jumped out and ran off, wiggling his tail and you rubbed the sleep from your eyes and brushed your fingers through your hair. You put your boots on and stepped out completely.

You looked around at the camp and spotted only a few people around while the others still sleeping, which meant it was pretty early in the morning. "Morning, Audrey!" You looked up at top of the RV to see Jim.

You smiled as you stepped up to the RV. "Morning, Jim."

"Slept well?"

You shrugged, "Guess so. And so did Max, since he hasn't woken me up in the middle of the night." Jim smiled as he let out a chuckle. "Did you sleep?"

"Yeah, don't worry, just took the shift from Shane," Jim said and frowned, "Dale said he was up all night." You frowned at that; Shane was supposed to be on shift night but during the night Dale was supposed to take over.

"Huh," you said softly and glanced around before spotting Max running toward you, with his tongue out. You kneeled down and petted your puppy with affection. "Who's a good boy?"

"Son of a bitch!"

You looked to the direction the shouting came from and saw Ed throwing his shoe on the ground. You looked down at Max who just tilted his head up at you. You glanced slowly to Ed's direction... which was where Max was before running to you.

"Oh, you really are a good boy," you praised your dog quietly and rubbed him on the head. "Yes, you are." Max gave a small bark and fell on his back, and you giggled as you rubbed his belly. "Yes, you are!"

"Hey!" You looked over to Ed as he stormed toward you, and you froze.

Carol ran after him worried, "Ed--"

"Shut it," he said as he glared over at her and then turned back to you as you stood up with Max in your arms. He pointed in your face, and you took a step back while he glared at you, "Your stupid dog ruined my shoe!"

"Is there a problem, Ed?" you looked over your shoulder at Shane as he approached to your side.

"That little bitch's dog peed in my shoe," Ed hissed.

Shane's eyes darkened and his jaw clenched before he spoke in a calm tone which sounded scary, "First of all, don't call her that. Second, your shoe must have fell on the side, should watch how to put your shoes outside the tent." He stepped forward and faced Ed closer, "Now, anything else?"

Ed didn't answer and just glared between the two of you for another second before turning and storming back toward his tent. Shane and you watched him and Carol before you looked at Shane as he stepped around and stood in front of you.

"You okay?" he asked, and you nodded. He nodded and looked at Max for a moment before he smirked lightly and petted his head, speaking softly, "Good boy."

You let out a chuckle as he praised him for the nasty trick, and Max barked, wiggling his tail happily.

****

Everyone were now up and around. The kids had asked you if it was all right to take Max and play with him near the camp, which you happily agreed for them to do so. But your happy mood changed when Dale had told you the men would have to take parts out from the sports car you stole yesterday. 

You stood on the side with your arms crossed over your chest, watching in complete sadness as Dale, Jim and Morales worked on the car. "It's not fair," you said, while the three amused men ignored your complains, "Taking my new car apart is just cruelty."

You felt someone next to you and you glanced over to see Rick, who was staring at the men and the car. "Look at 'em," you said as you looked at them, "They took my dream car."

You heard Rick letting out a soft chuckle. Dale stepped closer with part of the car, which made you sad even more. "Generators need every drop of fuel they can get," he said, "Got no power without it. I'm sorry, sweetheart."

He rubbed your arm and walked away. You looked over at Rick, "Thought I'd get to drive it at least a few more days."

Rick petted your back with a nod, "Maybe we'll get to steal another one someday."

"Hope so," you muttered and glanced back at him as he walked toward Lori. You looked back at your ruined car in disappointment before letting a soft sigh.

You heard a honk and looked behind the car at Shane's jeep driving closer. Shane parked and leaned up, "Water's here, y'all. Just a reminder to boil before use." You watched the men approaching the jeep to help carry the water tanks.

You walked up to Shane who noticed your expression, "Oh no, what happened while I was away?" he asked with a frown.

"Stolen car has been torn apart," you answered.

"Oh boy, that's sucks," he said as he leaned to the passenger side and grabbed his rifle. "Look like one hell of a car. Don't worry, you get another one day."

"Can you go this time to the city and get me another one?" you asked with a small smirk.

He laughed, "Just because I care about you, that does not mean I'll go to the city just to get you the same looking car you stole." 

You pouted jokingly, "You mean." Your friendly conversation was cut off by screaming in the distance, and you tensed up and turned to where the screams came from.

"Mom!"

You watched as half the campers ran toward the direction the screaming came from. You followed them and immediately spotted Carl embracing his mother with Max in his arms. "What happened?" she asked, "Are you okay?!"

"Yeah," Carl answered as you watched the men running to where Jacqui was pointing.

You followed the men to the path and paused when you saw a walker kneeling down and eating an already dead deer. You leaned forward and saw the animal had a few arrows stuck in him.

You heard footsteps behind you and glanced over to see Andrea and Amy stopping near you. You turned back your attention to the men, the walker stopped and turned to them. He slowly got up and then Rick hit him with the pole, and he fell to the ground.

You watched the men beating the walker until Dale finished the walker off by chopping his head off with an axe. There was a moment of silent after that until Dale spoke, "It's the first one we've had up here. They never come this far up the mountain."

You heard small growling and looked down to see Max had left Carl's side and now was standing next to you and the sisters. His tail wiggled and he was staring at the dead walker.

You picked Max up and held him in your arms before turning your attention back to the men. "They're running out of food in the city, that's what," Jim said.

You heard branch snapping from behind him and you all looked tensed up. Andrea pulled you and Amy near her sides as you watched the men holding their weapons up.

Then after a moment of only hearing the footsteps approaching, you were relief to see it was only Daryl stepping into view. He paused and stared at the men, and they lowered their weapons down when they realized it was only Daryl.

"Oh, Jesus."

Max gave one bark in your arms when he saw Daryl, his tail wiggling.

"Son of a bitch," Daryl snapped as he looked at the deer. "That's my deer!" He walked closer. "Look at it. All gnawed on by this--" He kicked the Walker. "Filthy, disease-bearing, motherless poxy bastard."

"Calm down, son," Dale told him, "That's not helping."

Daryl walked around the Walker, standing in front of Dale, and you took a few steps forward toward them. "What do you know about it, old man?" he snapped, "Why don't you take that stupid hat and go back to 'On Golden Pond'?" He walked back to the deer, taking out the arrows. "I've been tracking this deer for miles. Gonna drag it back to camp, cook us up some venison. What do you think? Do you think we can cut around this chewed up part right here?"

As much as venison sounded good, you had to disagree because of the walker, "I would not risk that," you spoke up and glanced around at the men to see Shane nodding in agreement, before at Daryl.

Daryl looked back at you and then at the deer with a sigh, "That's a damn shame. I got some squirrel--about a dozen or so. That'll have to do."

The head of the Walker started to move his teeth. "Oh, God," Amy said behind you and you glanced back to see the sisters leaving.

"Come on, people," Daryl said and you turned back. "What the hell?" He shot the Walker's head with his crossbow. The arrow hit him in the eye, killing the walker. Daryl pulled the arrow out. "It's gotta be the brain. Don't y'all know nothing?"

Daryl walked past Shane and Rick. He petted Max on the head as he walked past you. You turned to the men and saw Rick watching Daryl leaving. "Yeah..." you trailed off and he looked at you, "That's Daryl."

You turned and took a step to leave but then Glenn spoke, "So... Audrey, you will... right?" You turned and gave Glenn a look as you raised your eyebrow. You didn't say anything and just turned and walked after Daryl to the camp.

"Merle! Merle! Get your ugly ass out here! I got us some squirrel! Let's stew 'em up."

You gently placed Max on the ground, and he ran up to the RV to where Lori was. You cleared your throat, "Hey Daryl?" Daryl stopped and turned to you as you walked close to him. "I, uh, I need to talk to you."

"'Bout what?" Daryl asked.

"About Merle," you answered, "There was a--there was a problem in Atlanta."

Daryl looked around, then he looked at you, "He dead?"

"No, I mean, we don't think so--" you started as Shane stepped to your side.

"We're not sure."

"He either is or he ain't!" Daryl yelled at him.

Rick walked closer, "No easy way to say this, so I'll just say it."

"Who are you?"

"Rick Grimes."

"Rick Grimes," Daryl huffed, "You got something you want to tell me?"

"Your brother was a danger to us all, so I handcuffed him on a roof, hooked him to a piece of metal. He's still there."

"Hold on, let me process this," Daryl said as he stepped back, facing away from everyone as he wiped his eyes. It took a moment before he turned back to Rick, "You're saying you handcuffed my brother to a roof, and you left him there?"

"Yeah."

Without missing a beat, Daryl flung the rope of squirrels at Rick before rushing to tackle him. Shane jumped into action, body slamming him to the ground as you stepped back. Daryl then pulled out a knife, swinging it back and forth at the two men. "Daryl, stop!" you called.

Rick was able to sneak in a gut punch, allowing for Shane to get Daryl into a choke hold. "You'd best let me go!" Daryl yelled, thrashing his body.

Shane shook his head, "I think it's better if I don't."

"Choke hold's illegal," Daryl snapped. 

"You can file a complaint," Shane said as Daryl continuing to thrash in his arms, "Come on, man. We can do this all day."

Rick knelt in front of Daryl, looking him in the eyes, "I'd like to have a calm discussion on this topic. Do you think we can manage that?"

Daryl thought for a moment, before choking out a quiet 'Yeah'. Shane looked at Rick for reassurance before letting the man go.

"What I did was not on a whim," Rick told him, "Your brother does not work and play well with others."

"It's not Rick's fault," T-Dog told him, "I had the key. I dropped it."

"You couldn't pick it up?" Daryl asked. 

"I dropped it in a drain."

Rick stood up as Daryl looked down at the ground, breathing heavily, standing up, looking at T-Dog, "If it's supposed to make me feel better, it don't."

"Well, maybe this will," T-Dog told him, "Look, I chained the door to the roof--So the geeks couldn't get at him--with a padlock."

Rick looked at Daryl, "It's gotta count for something."

Daryl looked away, shaking his head, "Hell with all y'all!" He looked at Rick. "Just tell me where he is so that I can go get him."

"He'll show you," Lori told him, and everyone looked at her, "Isn't that right?"

Rick looked around, nodding, "I'm going back." Lori shook her head slightly and she turned and walked into the RV. You looked at Rick and watched him walking to the tents and Shane followed him clearly pissed off with the idea.

You stepped to your ruined car and leaned against the side of it as you crossed your arms across your chest. Daryl glanced to your way before quickly he sat down on one of the rocks and started to clean his arrows.

There was a couple of minutes of silent, full of tension in the air until you saw Rick and Shane walking back to the main camp, with Rick in his uniform.

"Well, look, I--I don't, okay, Rick?" Shane asked, "So could you just--Could you throw me a bone here, man? Could you just tell me why? Why would you risk your life for a douche bag like Merle Dixon?"

"Hey, choose your words more carefully," Daryl snapped at him.

"No, I did," Shane told him. "Douche bag's what I meant." He looked at Rick. "Merle Dixon--The guy wouldn't give you a glass of water if you were dying of thirst."

"What he would or wouldn't do doesn't interest me," Rick told him, "I can't let a man die of thirst--me. Thirst and exposure. We left him like an animal caught in a trap. That's no way for anything to die, let alone a human being."

Lori was sitting on logs with Carl and Max, "So you and Daryl, that's your big plan?"

Rick turned around, before his eyes landed on you. Oh no, he was staring at me you thought. You pointed at yourself, "Me?"

"You know the way," Rick pleaded as he stepped closer to you, "You've been there before. In and out, no problem. You said so yourself. It's not fair of me to ask, I know that, but I'd feel a lot better with you there. I know she would too." His eyes landed on Lori, and you looked over at her for a moment. You sighed and nodded lightly.

"That's just great," Shane told him sarcastically. "Now you're gonna risk three people, huh?"

"Four," T-Dog said.

"My day just gets better and better, don't it?" Daryl huffed.

"You see anybody else here stepping up to save your brother's cracker ass?" T-Dog asked.

"Why you?"

"You wouldn't even begin to understand. You don't speak my language."

Dale let out a heavy sigh, "That's four then."

"It's not just four," Shane said, looking at Rick, "You're putting every single one of us at risk. Just know that, Rick. Come on, you saw that Walker. It was here. It was in camp. They're moving out of the cities. They come back, we need every able body we've got. We need 'em here. We need 'em to protect camp."

"Sounds to me like what you really need are more guns," Rick said.

"What guns?" Shane asked.

"Six shotguns, two high-powered rifles, over a dozen handguns," Rick explained, "I cleaned out the cage back at the station before I left. I dropped the bag in Atlanta when I got swarmed. It's just sitting there on the street, waiting to be picked up."

"Ammo?" Shane asked. 

"700 rounds, assorted," Rick answered. 

"You went through hell to find us," Lori told him, "You just got here and you're gonna turn around and leave?"

Carl stepped forward, looking up at Rick, "Dad, I don't want you to go."

"To hell with the guns," Lori told him. "Shane is right. Merle Dixon? He's not worth one of your lives, even with guns thrown in." Rick walked closer to them. Lori stood up. "Tell me. Make me understand."

"I owe a debt to a man I met and his little boy," Rick told her, "Lori, if they hadn't taken me in, I'd have died. It's because of them that I made it back to you at all. They said they'd follow me to Atlanta. They'll walk into the same trap I did if I don't warn him."

"What's stopping you?" Lori asked.

"The walkie-talkie, the one in the bag I dropped," Rick answered. "He's got the other one. Our plan was to connect when they got closer."

"These are our walkies?" Shane asked. 

"Yeah," Rick answered. 

"So use the CB," Andrea told him. "What's wrong with that?"

"The CB's fine," Shane said, "It's the walkies that suck to crap--Date back to the '70s, don't match any other bandwidth--Not even the scanners in our cars."

Rick looked at Lori, "I need that bag. Okay?"

Lori looked away, "All right."

As the men began loading the van for the trip, you approached Lori who stared longingly at her husband. "Hey, I'll watch over him, don't worry," you assured.

Lori looked at you and smiled a small smile, nodding. She wrapped her arms around you, bringing you into a hug. You hugged her back as she spoke quietly, "I didn't get the chance to thank you for saving him."

"What, he told you?" you asked, and you both pulled out from the embrace.

"Yes."

"You're welcome," you said, "I got his back, don't worry."

Lori nodded and then said, "Be careful out there."

"Always am."

Daryl beeped on the horn of the van with his feet, "Come on, let's go!"

Carl ran closer and you hugged him gently, "Alright, bud, remember what happens when I'm out?"

"Keep Max close," he said as he pulled away.

You smirked and nodded, "See you soon."

He waved to you goodbye as you headed to the van. You got into the passenger seat and closed the door. Rick got into the driver seat and closed his door. After a moment of waiting, you glanced over and saw Daryl sliding the back door close and sat in front of T-Dog.

"All right let's get going," you muttered, and Rick started the van and drove off.

****

"He'd better be okay." You glanced up from the map and over your shoulder to Daryl when he spoke, you saw him looking at T-Dog, "It's my only word on the matter."

"I told you the geeks can't get at him," T-Dog told him, "The only thing that's gonna get through that door is us."

You turned back your attention to the road and when you saw you reached just outside the city and on the railroad tracks, you looked at Rick, "Stop here."

Rick did as you said and slowly stopped and parked the van. "We walk from here," you said as you glanced at the men before opening the door and getting out. They followed your move and you glanced at T-Dog and saw him holding his side for a brief second before letting his arm fall. "You okay?" you asked.

"Yeah," he answered as you all ran to the gates, and walked through the cut fence of the highway.

Rick looked at you, "Merle first or guns?"

"Merle," Daryl snapped, "We ain't even having this conversation."

"We are," Rick warned him and then turned his attention back to you, "You know the geography. It's your call."

"Merle's closest," you answered, "The guns would mean doubling back." You glanced at Daryl, "Merle first."

Daryl gave a small nod to you, and you all ran all the way to the building of the clothing store, and you all paused. There were no longer herd of walkers around the area but that didn't mean there was no walkers inside. Rick walked in first, and looked around before nodding for all of you to follow in.

Rick stopped you all suddenly, seeing a Walker inside, looking at Daryl, signaling him. Daryl walked past you, walking toward the Walker, holding his crossbow, "Damn. You are one ugly skank."

The Walker noticed him, taking a step closer but then Daryl shot an arrow to the Walker's head, killing it, walking toward it. He pulled the arrow out, cleaning it from blood with his pants. "Let's go," he said, and you all ran to the stairs that lead to the roof.

At the top of the stairs, T-Dog cut the chain to the door. Daryl pushed past him, throwing the door open and running onto the roof.

"Merle! Merle!" Daryl called out, looking around.

You followed the men who came to an abrupt stop.

"Oh, my God," you whispered, covering your mouth with your hand.

Daryl rushed over, "No!" You looked at him, and he began pacing back and forth, tears welling in his eyes as he continued to scream out.

Everyone remained silent, not knowing exactly what to say; if there was anything to say.

Your eyes lingered on the ground, Merle's severed hand sitting next to a hacksaw. Semi-dried blood was pooled around it, droplets leading away from the scene. Yet, there was no sign of Merle at all.

That crazy son of a bitch.

[cutecurly-hair]

Hearts Unleashed (Part 3)

Pairing: Nick Nelson x Black!fem!reader

Warning: Fluff, Smut in later chapters, Body Shaming

Words: 3,106

During Mr. Ajayi's art lesson, the classroom buzzed with the sounds of brushes sweeping across canvases, pencils sketching on paper, and the potter's wheel humming away. I eagerly joined in, excited to dive into the creative process.

Throughout the lesson, Elle and I exchanged glances here and there, silently sharing our thoughts on the techniques Mr. Ajayi was imparting. It felt like we were quickly becoming art buddies.

As the class continued, Mr. Ajayi came over to my easel to check out my work. His encouraging smile and helpful feedback inspired me to push my artistic boundaries further. I could now see why Charlie had praised him as one of the great teachers.

The class passed quickly, and I found it pretty interesting overall. When the bell rang, everyone jumped out of their seats, excited for lunch. I, on the other hand, wasn't exactly thrilled about it because I still hadn't gotten used to the foreign food.

"Hey, have you seen Charlie?" Ellie asked, pulling me out of my thoughts. I realized then that I hadn't spotted Charlie in class, which started to make me worry.

"You know, now that you mention it, I didn't see him in class at all, and he was even late for his first class today," I replied. Ellie's expression turned from curiosity to concern, and she frowned.

"Never mind," Ellie quickly changed the subject, her frown disappearing, replaced by a smile. "Anyway, let's hurry up and grab some lunch before it gets too crowded." She linked arms with me, and we walked past the cafeteria, heading for the courtyard.

Ellie led me to a table where two guys were sitting. One was engrossed in a book, and the other seemed lost in thought, staring into the distance. As we approached, the guy lost in thought finally looked up and let out a sigh of relief.

"Finally, you're here. I just grabbed your apple juice," he said but then stopped in his tracks, looking surprised when he saw me. Ellie couldn't help but laugh at his reaction.

"Thanks, Tao. I was really thirsty in class this morning," Ellie said as she opened her apple juice and took a sip. For a moment, unsure whether to introduce myself or remain quiet. The guy who had been immersed in his book looked up at me with a friendly grin and introduced himself, saying, "Hey, I'm Isaac."

I returned his smile somewhat bashfully, relieved that someone had broken the ice. I nodded toward the familiar book in his hand and asked, "Is that by any chance 'Dune' by Frank Herbert? I read almost half of the series back in middle school, but life got in the way, and I never got around to finishing it in my free time."

Isaac's face lit up at the mention of the book, and he eagerly confirmed, "Yes, it is! I started it about a week ago, and I'm really enjoying it so far. But it feels like I've only scratched the surface, and I've got a long way to go."

His excitement was palpable, from the sparkle in his eyes to the way he cradled the book delicately, ensuring he didn't damage the spine. It was clear he was a true bookworm. I chuckled and replied, "Well, you're ahead of me. I barely finished the second book."

Isaac laughed, saying, "I hope I can keep going. I've got a mountain of books to get through," as he glanced helplessly at the pages he had left. I chimed in, "You've got quite a journey ahead of you. Just wait until they get to the part where they—"

Before I could continue, Isaac hastily covered his ears, shaking his head vigorously to avoid any spoilers. Ellie joined in the laughter and assured him, "Don't worry, Isaac, Y/N won't spoil anything."

Then, a guy in a beanie chimed in, saying, "So, you're the American girl everyone's been talking about," giving me an inquisitive once-over. It seemed like news of my presence had spread throughout the entire school.

I scratched my ear nervously and said, "Yeah, I just moved here about a week ago. It's pretty surprising how the news has spread so quickly."

The guy I figured was Tao responded, "Gossip tends to travel fast these days, especially since we merged schools."

That raised my eyebrows, and I asked, "Merged schools? Are you saying this used to be an all-boys school?"

Isaac chimed in, nodding, "Yup, we recently merged with Harvey Greene because the school had a bad fire over the summer."

I nodded in understanding, saying, "Ah, I see. That explains why all the guys were giving me those curious looks when I first walked in."

Ellie glanced at me knowingly and added, "I'm sure that's not the only reason they were looking at you." I waved her off, not quite catching her drift. I was about to respond when I finally spotted Charlie entering the courtyard. He scanned the field until his eyes settled on our table, and he started walking over.

He smiled at us while he put his backpack down, Ellie quickly intervened “Where have you been, I feel like I haven't seen you all day” Charlie smiled sheepishly “Sorry, I had some stuff to do before class started,” he simply explained but we can tell that we were not buying it, I especially was not buying it. Being late and missing a class on the first day of school definitely doesn't add up. But seeing Charlie’s presence he definitely looks a lot happier than before I saw him this morning. So, something most definitely has happened. 

“Where have you been, I hear that you missed two classes,” Tao explained looking for an explanation. But Charlie couldn’t help but laugh “I only missed one class for you information, and I talked with Mr. Ajayi a few minutes ago so everything is fine now,” Charlie explained as he gave us reassuring eyes. 

His cheeks were a little flushed as well as his rosy lips, and he does seem to be in better spirits, so I decided to let it go, for now. “Well, that is settled, can we please talk about Mr. Farouk unibrow grown more over the summer,” Charlie announced.

There was a pause for a moment until we busted out giggling.  “I am so glad someone else said it” Ellie joined, covering her hand over her mouth. Tao busted down laughing, almost falling off the bench.

I could help but ask “Wait, he has a unibrow for so long?” you question everyone said in unison.

 “Yes!” 

I laughed right then and there.

___________

As the days went on, I became closer and closer to Charlie and his little friend group. My mom was definitely shocked that I had a friend group so fast, but I can tell that she was kind of glad that I found a group. And even for myself I am happy that I found a group that I have in common with. Ellie has been giving me some major fashion tips that I didn't even know I needed. Since we have the same hair texture, she’s even been teaching me some new hair styles. She is even teaching me how to braid my own since I can't braid for my life.

Issac even got me back to reading, surprisingly enough he made me read this book called ‘Pride and Prejudice’ which I am a couple chapters in, and I already love it so far. But with Tao…I can tell he doesn't like me very much, even at school whenever he sees me down the hall, he just avoids me like the plague, even his energy just gives off “stay away from me” vibes. I asked Charlie about this, but he just said Tao just takes a while to get used to new people, which I believe is total bullshit, but I decided to drop it.

It was a new day, and things were off to a rocky start. I finally found a student who could point me in the direction of the film department, which is located on the other side of the school in a dimly lit classroom. But just my luck, I discovered a notice on the door, explaining that it was temporarily closed due to the teacher being on maternity leave, and they needed time to find a replacement.

Feeling frustrated, I knew I couldn't share this news with my mom; she'd likely force me to join a sports team. I'd given running with Charlie a try in the morning, and let's just say it didn't go well. As I navigated the crowded hallways filled with students in their Truham uniforms, my day took an unexpected turn when I spotted a familiar face. His charming smile lit up his face, and his blue eyes sparkled in the sunlight.

"Hi," he greeted with warmth.

"Hi," I replied, a smile forming on my lips. Feeling a bit better despite my initial frustration.

We found ourselves just standing in the hallway, exchanging uncertain glances. Then, Nick broke the silence with a stammer, "Are you going that way?"

I replied with a touch of disappointment, "I'm heading to Math, unfortunately."

He smiled sheepishly, "Same," and we started walking together down the hall.

As I glanced at his notepad, I couldn't believe my eyes. "Are you actually doing homework while walking to class?"

Nick chuckled, seemingly surprised at himself, "I might be." He marked an answer that was clearly incorrect. I couldn't help but be amazed and teased him, "Well, that's certainly a choice."

He laughed, "It makes me sound way cooler than I actually am," he looked at the paper confusingly and scribbled another wrong answer. I couldn't resist poking fun, "You know what would be even cooler? Getting the answers right."

Nick did a double-take, "Huh? Are you saying that I got it wrong? I could have sworn I picked the right one." He scrutinized his paper closely.

Shaking my head, I confirmed, "Yeah, no, you completely butchered the last two problems, and if I let you continue, there will be no coming back."

Nick seemed taken aback, "No way. I double-checked the last one, even went over it with a classmate."

I offered to help, "Do you want me to do it for you?" It was practically insisting at this point.

He declined firmly, "No, I'm good. I got it from here."

I persisted, "Are you sure? I can just tell you the answers."

Nick looked at me knowingly, a smirk forming on his lips, "Then I won't learn. I can't take shortcuts like some people.” 

He was one of the most stubborn guys I'd ever met, and normally, I would have just let it go. But something inside me made me want to keep trying, and I couldn't help but be charmed by his determination. It made me admire him some type of way.

Without thinking, my hand inched towards Nick's notebook. "If you're stuck, I can just..." I started, attempting to seize the notebook, but he resisted, a playful smile tugging at his lips.

"Let me just..." he said, struggling to hold back a laugh, all the while my fingers grasped onto the pages.

Nick couldn't help but chuckle, "Get off," he gasped, and inadvertently left a small, blue ink scribble on my hand. I was taken aback, staring at the ink mark. "Did you really just—"

Before I could finish my sentence, Nick swiftly took my hand and, with a deft motion, turned the ink blot into a smiling face. "Better."

I tried to ignore the warmth of his hand enveloping my cold one. His touch was both rough and gentle, creating a unique sensation. I couldn't help but smile at the little drawing he'd made. "Maybe."

We gazed at each other for a brief moment, and then we carried on walking. I can't quite put my finger on it, but something about these small moments with him always gives me that warm, fuzzy feeling that seems to settle in the pit of my stomach. I decided to block it out for now.

Walking down the hallway I see a familiar face; they gave me and Nick a smile and I waved back, while passing each other in the hall. Nick seemed to notice the interaction. "Oh, you finally meet Ben?" he asked.

You furrowed your brow, "Is that his name? He seems nice, he helped me out this morning, with finally finding the Film department,"

Nick nodded "Sorry I couldn't be much help, but I am glad you finally found it!" he said.

"Yeah, but the department is temporarily closed since they can't find a teacher," you responded sadly. Nick noticed, my demeaner changed so quickly.

"Well, you can always join the rugby team to keep you occupied" he teased. You gaped at him; you can obviously tell that he was joking but you appreciate him on trying to lift you spirts.

I let out a mock gasp, feigning disbelief. "Rugby? Seriously? I'd be flattened within the first five minutes!" I chuckled, shaking my head. "But hey, maybe I could be the secret weapon. No one would see me coming!"

Nick joined in the laughter, and his smile was like a ray of sunshine. "True, true. You'd be the ultimate underdog. Surprise attack all the way!"

I couldn't help but smile back. These moments with Nick had a way of brightening my day.

-ˋˏ✄┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈ +

I sat down at the bench, letting out a sigh of relief, glad to have a break from my never-ending classes. "Sorry, I'm a bit late. What's the topic?" I asked.

Charlie's face turned sad as he responded, "We were just talking about how much Mr. Reed is a transphobe," The frustration in his voice was pretty clear.

Tao joined in, looking a bit annoyed as he held onto the table's edge. "Mr. Reed is still refusing to call her Elle." he grumbled, with a deep frown. "I can tell that it has been affecting Elle a little bit, but I can tell that she doesn't want to talk about it."

Elle approached the table, her smile as bright as ever, and grabbed an apple juice. "Hey, guys, what's going on?" she asked, excited to catch up. We exchanged looks, not quite sure where to begin.

Isaac decided to start the conversation. "We were chatting about this year's prom and what the theme might be," he mentioned, sounding a bit hesitant. Elle's eyes lit up with excitement. "Funny, I was thinking about that too!"

The talk at the table picked up pace as we shared ideas about the possible prom themes and what to wear. I'd never been to a prom before and didn't fully get why people were so into it, but my friends' enthusiasm made me curious. Amidst all the chatting, I found my attention wandering to the distant sounds coming from the field.

My gaze couldn't help but gravitate toward none other than Nick Nelson. I couldn't quite fathom why I kept running into him at school. Sure, we share a class, but there was something intriguing about him that I struggled to put into words.

As I watched him dash around the field, fully immersed in a game, I couldn't help but find it rather endearing. A soft smile crept onto my face, and I instinctively reached into my backpack to retrieve my camera. I snapped a quick photo; there was something so precious about witnessing someone carefree and joyful.

Tao, who caught me in the act, looked in my direction and remarked, "Isn't that Nick Nelson?" The entire table fell silent, hanging on my response.

Charlie chimed in confidently, "He sits next to her in our form." He seemed to wonder if that piece of information was helpful at all.

I decided to play dumb, asking innocently, "Who?"

"He looks like a golden retriever." Charlie said breathlessly, looking out into the field, he was clearly impressed by Nick's athleticism. As I watched Nick skillfully handle the soccer ball, that warm, fuzzy feeling swelled in my stomach, and my heart raced.

"Yeah, he really does," I responded breathlessly, my emotions getting the best of me. Tao raised an eyebrow and turned to me, teasing, "I can't believe you've been sitting next to the rugby king, Nick Nelson."

"He plays rugby?" I blurted out, my shock evident as all the hints from our past conversations fell into place. The image of his broad shoulders and strong arms suddenly made sense. I shook my head, refusing to let my thoughts dive too deeply into that rabbit hole.

"Yeah, he's been on the team since freshman year. What do you guys' even chat about every morning?" Tao asked, his tone betraying his surprise.

"We talk," I responded defensively, sensing Tao's skepticism. Feeling the need to justify our interactions.

He arched an eyebrow, clearly unconvinced. "About what?"

The memory of Nick's pen exploding, leaving him with ink-stained hands and a desperate look for help, flashed through my mind. I couldn't help but laugh at him as he tried to scrub the stubborn blue ink away. "It's not coming off!" he had panicked, and I had playfully teased, "So, does this mean you're going to be blue forever?" We both shared a laugh, and he looked at his comically stained hands, saying, "It looks like I'm wearing blue gloves!" I couldn't resist adding, "Hey, I think it looks good on you. It brings out your eyes," though I wasn't entirely joking. Our shared laughter continued as we reminisced about that amusing incident.

I chuckled at the memory.

"Well, all I'm saying is, be careful," Tao advised.

I frowned, not quite getting it. "What? Why?"

Tao widened his eyes in disbelief. "Why? Just look at them," he exclaimed, nodding in the direction of Nick on the field. "He's the star player of the rugby team and hangs out with those rowdy, obnoxious Year 11 guys," he continued, a touch of disgust in his voice.

"Those are similar to the guys who bullied Charlie last year," he added, lowering his voice as he glanced at Charlie with a sympathetic look. The shock rippled across my face, leaving me momentarily speechless.

Charlie, noticing my reaction, reassured Tao, "I'm over that now, and from what I've seen, Nick is nothing like those bullies," he said, seeking confirmation from me.

I nodded. "Nick... He's different, he's nice," I said, pausing, unsure of what more to say.

Tao rolled his eyes, adopting a mocking tone, "I bet he's a completely different person when he's with his bro-dude friends," eliciting a laugh from Isaac. Sensing the shift in the mood, Ellie wisely decided to change the subject.

The day flew by, and before I knew it, I had finished all my classes. I was pleasantly surprised that I'd managed to get some homework done. Charlie and I walked out of the classroom together, and the air was getting colder by the second, even though the sun was still shining.

"I don't know how you're not freezing. I've got goosebumps," I commented, hugging my coat tightly around my body. Charlie chuckled in response.

"I'm not the one wearing a skirt. And just because I don't show it doesn't mean I'm not cold," he teased, strolling along. I rolled my eyes, thinking I might need to switch to pants for a few days until the weather improved.

"Hey, did you happen to get the answer sheet for math class today?" I asked, realizing that I had forgotten to complete the last set of problems.

We walked out of the school, and I waited for Charlie's response. However, he suddenly stopped walking, a look of surprise and confusion on his face. Concerned, I stopped alongside him, trying to figure out what had caught his attention.

His expression was a mix of shock and confusion. As I followed his gaze, I saw Nick Nelson, the familiar blond boy, laughing outside the school gates. I couldn't help but notice how his smile seemed to brighten in the sunlight, and I found myself getting lost in the sight. I scolded myself mentally; I needed to stop doing this to myself. But there was something about Nick that drew my attention.

Regrettably, my view of him was blocked by a couple more interested in their makeout session than their surroundings. I couldn't quite understand why Nick had this effect on me, and it bothered me. I let out an internal sigh, ready to move on.

"You ready to go, Charlie?" I asked, feeling defeated as I looked up at my friend. His expression had changed from shock to one of sadness, with a hard line forming across his lips.

Charlie simply replied, "Let's go."

Part 4 Link: https://www.tumblr.com/cutecurly-hair/735988308863221760/hearts-unleashed-part-3?source=share

[bridgertonandchocolate]

Now that Bridgerton has been released for over a week and I've had it on repeat since then it's time to process through some thoughts.

Overall this is my favorite season of Bridgerton. It's not surprising because Polin has always been my favorite pairing since season 1 and friends to lovers is one of my all time favorite romance tropes.

While I am loving the season there are still a few beefs I had while watching it that still irk me, but don't bother me as much as they did in the beginning which will be discussed at the end of the post.

Prepare for a long post and if you read it all thank you! Also SPOILERS ABOUND! Let's start with everything I have loved so far:

Mirrors. There are mirrors freaking everywhere in the season and we all know why. A lot of the side characters have mirrors in their scenes. We see Kate has a bunch of mirrors in her study, the Mondriches have mirrors. Mirrors everywhere to be found. Not only is a mirror going to play a major part in the second part, but it's so symbolic of Colin and Pen's journey of really finding themselves and subsequently each other. But Bridgerton is not subtle this season. There's mirrors everywhere you look.

Colin Bridgerton is a cinnamon roll and must be protected at all costs. My previous post already addressed a lot of the Colin hate floating around out there and I won't hear it. Our man is out there fully falling harder for Pen and not realizing how much he's affected by her. Until he does and then he's properly torturing himself.

The main characters this season are so relatable. Being a mid/plus size late bloomer female who has never received any romantic attention I relate to Penelope so much. I nearly cried in the second episode because I've had the same feelings she was having in that moment of believing you'll never have that in your life. At least she had Colin. But besides my personal connection to Pen compared to the previous two couples I think Colin and Pen are the most realistic and relatable characters.

The book references. I was a little nervous about changing the storyline to Colin having lessons with Penelope and helping her find a husband and Pen having another suitor, but I enjoyed it. It allowed them to bring a lot of humor to the show where we haven't really seen that in this show before. But they also incorporated very key aspects of the Polin relationship. The first kiss was nearly verbatim from the book and the very end of the carriage scene was also straight from the book just some dialogue switched characters. More on the carriage later.

Colin realizes he loves Pen much earlier than in the book. So glad for this change since we already knew Colin was the biggest dummy for not realizing what was right in front of his face. I'm glad we saw sparks of it from him before the first kiss. The garden confession? Please. It was practically a love confession as he was talking about all of the things he likes about her. The boy just couldn't put two and two together. And I'm really glad Pen tried to move on from her feelings it really put Colin into a place where he had to imagine his life without her and the man couldn't handle it.

Here are some beefs I have with the season but again they're pretty minimal and honestly I'm somewhat okay with it now except for one of them:

Lady Danbury not being involved with Polin whatsoever. They name their first born Agatha for heaven's sake. I really anticipated Lady D to be involved with Pen being a wallflower and practically just like her, but .... whatever. They gave Lady D other things to do this season instead.

Pen never asked Colin to help her find a husband. Okay this one still actually bothers me still. In episode 4 Penelope mentions to Colin when they're finished dancing that it was a mistake asking for his help and then in the carriage she says again that when she asked him for his help in finding a husband she didn't know he'd also deny her one (I told you guys I have watched this literally nonstop for a week). But she literally NEVER asked him to help her. In episode 1 he says, "if a husband is what you seek let me help you." At no point was she like "Please Colin will you help me?" I couldn't stand this. The only thing Pen asked of Colin was if he'd kiss her and I stand by this. That's sloppy continuity in the writing.

The brothels. Both scenes were completely unnecessary to me. The first one I've come around on slightly, but I will never get over the second brothel scene. I get what they were trying to do, but with the awkward flirting with all the ladies in the ton that was already accomplished for me that Colin was trying to act like someone he definitely wasn't. I didn't need to see Slut Colin for that. And I get it for the first brothel scene they made sure to hit that home, but the second one? The second one comes after he realizes he's fallen in love with Penelope and I don't fully understand his motivation for going there. I also am just sick of the rake storyline and since we know that's not how Colin is I was upset they tried to turn him into that. But characters must grow. To me it could've been done differently or even better yet not at all.

No flashback to baby Polin. I really was hoping for a flashback. There was a flashback episode for season 1 and 2 but none for 3. I really thought they would have done a flashback of some kind. At least Colin remembers and talks about how they met. "Do you remember when we first met?" Bro please. You don't need to ask Penelope if she remembers it's the moment she fell in love with you, bro. I'm hoping for a callback to this in the second part when she hopefully tells Colin she's loved him for years.

Last beef. That the carriage scene and love realization happened with no LW reveal. I get it. They're pushing this off to the second part. Makes sense for the drama of it all, but it fundamentally goes against season 1 Pen when she was trying to convince Marina to tell Colin that she was pregnant. Like hello. Now she's just doing what Marina did by keeping this from him. And I'm sure that's what part 2 will be about, but I don't like it. In the book he proposed to her fully knowing who she was and now in the show there's this huge chunk of who she is now missing and I DON'T LIKE IT!

This is way too long. Stay tuned for thoughts on the carriage scene, other favorite Polin moments and all my hopes and dreams for part 2.

[themotherofallthings]

Someone give Louis Tomlinson his flowers already!

I woke up early this morning, as I often do, thanks to years of working and horrible insomnia. And like most mornings these last few years, I grab my phone and begin to scroll my twitter feed. Louis had a show last night and I wanted to catch up on anything I might've missed once the show had ended and I headed to bed. Per usual, there is a lot of beautiful pics and tweets from concert attendees, waxing poetic about how good the show was and how proud of Louis they are. Typical fare for this fandom, nothing new to add.

I keep scrolling and I land an account, tweet sharing what looks like snippets from an "article" or "blog piece" (not sure which) from the "Medium". I stop dead in my tracks and read the multiple tweet thread of the most biased, vile drivel I've come across in a long time. And I've been here a while.

Firstly, opinions are just that, opinions. And this person's opinions are theirs and theirs alone but sadly, speak to a larger issue within music, the industry and the fandom experience itself.

This writer attended a Louis show with a friend who was a fan. Their only "knowledge" of him coming from this friend & any indirect knowledge because of his time in One Direction. But from the outset, the writing and pov, comes off immediately biased and judge-y.

"a sea of teeth in braces, puffy cheeks and pigtail buns" - commenting on the appearances of the young fans - note - very young fans "Most attendees are too young to drink legally". Because that's what matters about attending a show. Moving on.

"There are no dancers, there is no set piece, there is no stage show, no performance, no outfit changes"

Every artist curates their live show for themselves & their fans. To achieve the best possible experience and set expectations of how the night is going to go.

Louis has no illusions here. He is not "the greatest showman that ever lived" and HAS NEVER PRETENDED to be. He is a straightforward musician who's job it is to sing and engage with the fans. Which he does. For anyone paying attention, he's definitely come a very long way from those 1st early shows and is far more relaxed than he was back then. BUT and this is a huge but, to see and understand this, you have to know his journey and his story, which this person does not (though she does allude to knowledge of AOTV).

She even comments on it by calling him "the least memorable person in a lineup of five" the very criticism he levelled at himself. It's a gut punch to read a rando say something like this, which, we as his fans know, is something he had always been made to feel like while he was in the band, despite most of the 1D fans acknowleding the loved Louis, as did all the guys. Niall, calling him "the glue; the guy who made sure they didn't lose the plot". This is all surface, she doesn't know really know or see him or his lost potential. Nor is she likley to care.

The other thing that I find troubling, aside from her personal views of his singing talent and lacklustre show and personality, is the comments levelled at fans and their enjoyoment/appreciation of 'good music'.

I won't get into the 3 "types of fans" that she describes present at the show she attended because it doesn't matter to the point of my rant (though is it pretty basic & lacking nuisance but I digress). The one label that did stick out was the "cheerleader fan" and her opinion that these fans are only here to support Louis - who by her own opinion and pov, stated was the least successful/memorable and "is forever defined against his more popular former band mate" for unknown reasons. I'm assuming she thinks they are here because they find him cute? Not sure.

"For the Underdog Cheerleaders, it’s not about music so much as it is about identifying with... the least memorable person in a lineup of five" because identifying with an artist is problematic? Dumb? Unimportant? Allow me to show you the stadiums filled with Taylor's fans, who all identify with her and her music.

That is sort of the fan's job. To support and champion their fave, especially when they are not given their proper due. Now I'm not mentioning TS and comparing her to Louis or vice versa, that woman has GOTTEN ALL HER FLOWERS and good for her, but she goes on to claim that "his lines are almost comically generic" speaking about his songwriting. This clearly tells me she wasn't paying attention or was at the bar or bathroom & must've been absent when Copy of a Copy of a Copy was performed. Or when he sang All this Time or Holding on to Heartache. Because you would have to be dead inside to not have had a reaction to the bridge of HOTH & not hear the emotion in his voice as exhales those words, "Nothing's ever easy, to be honest, I'm not easy on myself". Those lines cut me and left me bleeding on the side of the road when I first heard them. But you know, comicially generic. Whatever.

This entire article reads like a hit piece bought and paid for by some industry insider. She literally lists every critiques antis, toxic Harries and Swifties and even Simon himself have levelled at Louis over the years. But this article doesn't require a conspiracy theory to explain. She doesn't like Louis. Or his music. She finds him boring, and apparently isn't a "deep enough lyricist" for her cold, cerebal mind to engage with.

"I’m left wondering what all these thousands of young fans really care about...it doesn’t really seem to be about the music...at its innermost core, this fandom is about itself."

Let me first say this, music, like most are is subjective. It's personal taste. Some fans love country. Some love rock. Some love Classic metal punk with a side of Beethoven. It's music and because it is one of the most uniquie artforms, its enthusiasts will engage and appreciate it for different reasons. And one of the most amazing things about being a fan of music in this day and age, is fandom.

I am old as fuck. And I can genuinely say that being a fan of music since I was 8 years old and first discovered what the radio did in my parent's living room, I have been a fucking fan. But I grew up in a time where there were no online fandoms. No one to scream about Simon's cute outfit or Billy's snarling at an interviewer that one time, or dying with when Jon BonJovi cut his hair. It was a different fan experience back then. There was no online community. No fandom family to go through it with you when Wham broke up.

Fandom has always been controversial because it has always mostly been made up of young women. And young women have had their taste in music disrespected and vilified for decades (starting with the Beetles). Research it. So I find it kind of sad this writer questions why these fans love Louis and his music so much. Because the reasons don't matter. There are many or none. They just are. That's sort of how art works. You feel it. You don't really see it with your eyes but your mind. Your skins senses it before your heart does. And that is how music is or should be. It should not just be about catchy pop one liners or streams or charting. It's about how it makes you feel. The memories it in invokes when you hear a song many years later. It's the way we still remember the words to that one song from the summer during our 3rd year of high school. How do you quantify that? You can't.

I grew up during a very rich and varied musical landscape, so when I tell you that I have loved almost every genre of music, I have loved it for many, many different reasons. Sometimes (when I was younger) because the lead singer was cute and dressed nice and other times because the beat/bop was too good to ignore to not want to sing from the top of my lungs. NEVER ONCE DID I CARE IF THE LYRICS WERE "GENERIC" or that it wasn't popular among my friends or that it didn't fill my head with mythical imagery. If it made me happy and it entertained me, then it was enough for me. Not every artist is going to be Bob fucking Dylan or Taylor Swift. And that's okay. But Louis IS a great song writer and he himself has said he's not big on writing metaphors and cares more about conveying an emotion and a moment in time and we find that engaging. We are still moved when he sings "Saved by Stranger" or Paradise or Change. Because they are good songs that convey a particular moment, sentiment or emotion we can all connect with.

Look, I respect that not everyone is going to 'get' everyone's fave. I don't get Taylor Swift, but I can acknowledge that she has talent but I don't fucking need a show to enjoy her music. But she does that because SHE enjoys that and it definitely helps justify the cost of her tickets. No disrespect, I blame TM for that, mostly.

"To his credit, he really doesn’t pretend to be more than he is — that’s all other people‘s doing"

And that is sort of the point of him. He is not pretending to be something he is not. He is geniune and down to earth and not full of himself like so many other successful artists are and can be. He earned the right to put on airs coming out of 1D and their success. But he doesn't. He says, "this is who I am, take it or leave it" and for his fans, they take it, in spades.

So go read the article for context (or don't - it's probably better for you blood pressure & mental health) but understand that this one person's pov, is not going change who we are as a fandom. We see something in Louis that resonants with us. Maybe it's the "underdog" mentality. Maybe it's the 'cute lad from the north of England' vibe. Maybe it's his no nonsense approach to song writing and performing, but there is no denying there is something about Louis Tomlinson that draws you to him. You want to engage with him. You want to sing his songs. And you do. We all do.

So please, someone give this man his flowers. They are long fucking over due.

[unsoundedcomic]

Some curiosity about Duane personality ; you mentioned in some QA that it would be much healthier if he managed to let go of his past, but even if he managed to change enough to accept he won't ever be Rector Duane Adelier again, is he the kind of guy that could just give up on the ones he love ? Obviously he can't ever be with them, but completely abandoning his familly sound like against what he is at his core. And would it even be healthy ? Your kids are your kids, even if you can't see them. Sorry if it's a spoilery question ! Just discovered the comics and devoured it in like 5 days, absolutly loving it (thanks for your work btw !) so questions are burning my brain.

Well, Duane did abandon his family, didn't he? Before the Frummagems wrested him from his copy shop in Sharteshane he was six years alone, with the Adeliers well in his wake. Of course he wasn't happy with it and he hadn't made any kind of peace with the fact, but he had abandoned them. He lived with the assumption that Mikaila was dead, Leysa hated him, Simon had forgotten him, and Lemuel? Well, Lemuel had never really needed his wretched older brother, had he?

But now, today, all of that has been turned on its head. Mikaila is NOT dead, Lemuel DOES seem to be in some terrible turmoil. Duane knows (or thinks he knows) that the Silver is threatening Alderode. Everything is serving to call out Duane's selfishness; the knot he tied himself into and stuffed deep inside his old bones.

So at the end of last chapter he told Sette he was going back to Alderode, and invited Quigley to come. Doesn't sound like he'll be abandoning anyone anymore.

But... is this the right thing to do? From a certain perspective it looks like a fat dangled carrot, and he's sinking his teeth into it. From the very start of this journey, the fates have been trying to pull him back west, first towards Cresce and now towards... frigging Alderode. But they don't even have to pull now! He's volunteering to go!

To do what though? What can he do for Mikaila and Lemuel? He can't even keep his legs or head on, or his eyeballs in his head. He's saddled with a needy little street rat who doesn't know what in the hell she wants. And every time he indulges in his past, it seems to get someone hurt. He was not his best self in the shrine.

Duane's on a journey. He's come a long way. But it wouldn't be much of a trip if he winds up back where he started. I don't think this will end with his wife and children in his arms and Lemuel's hand clasped in his. It cannot. But maybe it will end at a different sort of peace for all of them, and Duane able to shelter his wandering soul in a different sort of home.

[letmetellyouaboutmyfeels]

Hiiii.

So, not one but two jobs just fell through. I'm currently visiting friends (because of course I get this news while on vacation) but as soon as I get back home I'll start applying places, but let's be honest, even if I succeed in getting a second job (yes, I already have a job, no it doesn't pay all my bills, welcome to hell) I don't know if that'll be enough to cover everything. I was really depending on these jobs, I was promised them for months. Ask any of my close friends, they've been hearing me chant "I just have to make it until July" since January.

And yet, here we are. So.

A couple months ago I decided to take the plunge and start up a Patreon to share my original work and help support my writing career as I begin the journey of self publishing my novels. But I know that some people only want to read my fanfic (and that's okay!) so I made a special $3-a-month-tier just for you guys.

(I do also have a ko-fi, but honestly, a steady income on Patreon would benefit me a lot more.)

If ten percent of the average reader count on my fics were to sign up for the $3, I could pay half my bills every month and I wouldn't have to find a second job. Obviously I don't expect that many people to sign up, but I hope that expresses just how much every little bit helps me.

If you sign up for $3 you get no notifications, no emails, nothing, you do not get bothered by me. You would, however, probably get those fanfics you've all been waiting on because I would actually have time to write them (I'm seriously worried I won't get even my Halloween fics done in time because I've had no time or energy to write them, and I started working on these fics in January). You can sign up for a higher tier if you want of course, but if you're not interested in my original work or pictures of my cats you probably want to stick to $3.

(For free updates on my novels and such you can follow me @lincolnchristie - my A Masque of Shadows Ao3 updates will be posted there, for example).

I've had to ask for help from the tumblr community before, and I hated it, and I hate it now, but this time I do feel a little better about it because I'm not asking while giving nothing back. I truly do hate self-promotion but every little bit helps. The appreciation and enthusiasm I've gotten from people on tumblr and on Ao3 in response to my writing the last few years has been truly amazing, and so I hope that I've created stories you love enough that, if you have the spare change, you'll consider helping to support me as I embark on my professional writing career and try to keep the lights on.

It's been a tough year and a tough few months for me and I'm sure it has for everyone reading this, too. Please stay safe and take care of yourself, and thank you for taking the time to read this. Even if you can't sign on, reblogging also really helps. Thank you.

[buddiebeginz]

I just want to say if you're following me for 911/Buddie I don't plan on posting much Buck/Tommy stuff. This isn't anything against Buck or what's going on with his story right now. I've wrote posts myself talking about how I know that Buck having this journey and this relationship with Tommy before Eddie is important. Still I'm not a multishipper I'm here for Buddie first and foremost and I want to see the guys end up together eventually.

The issues I have with Buck/Tommy and the reason I plan on avoiding them isn't even really a shipping one so much as it's how parts of fandom are responding to them. It's literally only been a few days and already I've seen tons of posts, comments, tweets, fanfiction, tiktoks, etc being anti Buddie. I just came across a fic last night that was about how Eddie treated Buck awful (used him for sex) and then Tommy came along to be the best boyfriend ever.

I'm just not here for the way people are treating Buddie and Eddie. I also don't like how people keep saying Buck's story is more important than Buddie. All of it is important. Buck, Eddie, Buddie, Buddie and Chris (as a family) all of their stories and what they mean for incredibly needed lgbtq represention are important.

I'm so thankful that 911 is doing a bi storyline with a character like Buck (one I relate to a lot) but the fact that I still want to see them follow through and extend that to Eddie and Buddie doesn't mean I'm trying to take anything away from Buck's journey.

We've never really had a same sex slow burn story like this and especially not with characters like Buck and Eddie. Older queer characters who are figuring out their sexuality later in life. Who are also raising a son together. Who don't fit into some preconceived mold of what it means to be queer. Having Buddie be canon would be groundbreaking it’s own way and if they follow through on this story I believe it has the power to really change media in some ways. I think them doing Buck's coming out storyline is already doing that. It is basically unheard of for a primetime show like 911, with a character like Buck who was basically written to appeal to straight men and women to now come out so late in the shows run. The show is taking a risk and will be taking an even bigger one to make Buddie happen but that's why they need to follow through on it.

I'm not going to apologize for wanting all of the stuff we've been hoping and begging the show runners and networks to give us for 6 seasons. It is possible to care about more than one thing. I can wholeheartedly love and relate to and support Buck's journey while still wanting to see Buck and Eddie together and definitely still want to see Eddie's coming out story too.

I'm also tired of seeing people outside of the Buddie fandom say Buck and Eddie are too good of friends to "ruin" with making into a couple. That Buck and Tommy should be endgame so Buck and Eddie can stay friends. Fact is Buck and Eddie have never been just friends. If you look at how Hen and Chim and Athena and Hen and any other friendship on the show is they're not written the same at all. They don't have the same kind of depth and definitely don't have the same romantic and sometimes sexual overtones that Buddie's does. We obviously need more male friendships in media but Buddie isn't about two guys who are just friends, it's about two men who have loved and supported one another for six years and we're about to watch that love turn into something even more profound in the coming seasons.

So yeah I probably won't post much about Tommy but if I do I'll try and tag anything as b*ck t*mmy for bl. The other reason I probably won't post about them is that it feels like every space in our fandom is getting swallowed up by this ship. It's just frustrating when all of the tags are full of Buck/Tommy.

I'm not trying to hate on people who ship them. I think everyone should be able to multi ship if they want or just ship whatever ships they like. I've been hated on many times for ships I like. But I do think those of us who just love Buddie shouldn't have to see Buck/Tommy 24/7 and definitely shouldn't have to see anti Buddie stuff.

I also want to say don't let anyone make you feel like shit if you're not super into Buck/Tommy. You can still love Buck and support him without gushing over him in a relationship with someone else. I hate when fandoms get this crowd mentality where if you think any differently you're told you’re a bad person. Just remember that the story the show is telling is leading towards Buddie canon eventually. So people can be excited over Buck and Tommy for now if they want but it’ll be Buddie in the end.

Also if you have Buddie or Eddie gif requests please let me know. I really want to see Buddie and Eddie back in the tags.

[flxwxr-bxy]

—Forget Me Not ☆

☆ Gender: really tiny bit of angst and fluff

☾ Characters: Childe, Kazuha, Aether, Thoma x GN! Reader

☆ Warning: i think none

(Guys I don't know why it says gender instead of genre but it doesn't let me change it so my apologies lmao 😭)

☾ I am not a native English speaker so I apologize if you find any spelling mistakes.☆

☆ Description: Returning home after a long time without them knowing it ☾

☆ Childe

You had to travel to liyue and mondstadt for four months for a fatui mission, but unfortunately everything took longer than expected, and you still haven't returned to snezhnaya after a year.

At first, when you didn't arrive at the right date, childe was ready to go looking for you everywhere if it wasn't for the letter you sent him telling him that you would stay there much longer and reminding him that you could manage on your own. It's not that he didn't trust your abilities, but the fact that he didn't have the date of your arrival left him quite uneasy.

So imagine his face when he saw you at the door one morning when he was ready to go to work.

He really felt like fainting, was this a dream? You had to tell him to sit down for a while so he could relax and after assuring him that you were fine and that the mission had been a success he couldn't contain himself and gave you a hug (you couldn't breathe lmao).

He missed you a lot and you scared the hell out of him by showing up out of nowhere so rest assured he won't let you go for a while

"y/nn I've missed you so much! Are you okay? I was so scared for a second, let's sit down, I want to hear what you've been doing all this time. Oh? That I should go to work? Forget it, this is more important."

☾ Kazuha

Dating Kazuha meant that there would be long times without seeing each other, but after a while you both came to an agreement, most of the time you would explore teyvat together but you would also explore on your own some other times.

This time it was the second option, Kazuha opted to stay for a while in mondstadt and you wanted to return to inazuma to visit your family and friends before continuing your journey with Kazuha.

When the day to leave came you both decided to meet in liyue in two months, it wasn't a long time and you two had definitely spent more time without each other but that didn't make it any easier.

And thanks to the short time you would be apart he definitely didn't expect you to come back after only a month of being gone. It was a quiet afternoon and he was walking near mondstadt not wanting to explore much that day when he suddenly saw you walking a bit away from where he was.

He smiled softly and stretched out his arms to catch you as you hugged him tightly. It wasn't many sunsets without having you around but nevertheless he couldn't express how happy he was to have you back in his arms.

"Did you really miss me so much that you came back early? It's okay, I missed you so much too, ready to continue our adventure?"

☆Aether

Aether was willing to go explore Sumeru but you had other plans wanting to stay in Liyue for a while and besides he wasn't entirely sure that the current situation in Sumeru was a safe place so you both came to an agreement that you would wait a while in Liyue until he found a place for you both to stay for a while.

Months passed and apart from a few letters telling you that he was fine but that things had gotten complicated and he still hadn't found any clues about his sister you decided to go help him, after all you wanted to explore Sumeru and see Aether again.

You arrived at gandharva ville after a few days of travel and to your surprise you found Aether there, he looked tired and wasn't really paying much attention to his surroundings so the first to notice your presence was no doubt paimon ready to announce your arrival but with a signal to be quiet you tried to walk quietly, finally you found yourself in front of aether and decided to talk.

This boy I swear, he had all kinds of emotions in a second. Are you okay? what are you doing here? He had missed you so much and was so frustrated about everything that he couldn't help but cry a little, but he quickly pulled himself together again and gave you a tight hug happy that you were there.

"You really took me by surprise, were you so excited to explore Sumeru that you forgot to tell me you were coming or something? It's okay, all that matters is that you're here."

☾ Thoma

You had a vision that was almost taken by the shogun's decree so you decided to escape just like Kazuha, unfortunately this meant that you would leave everything behind including your boyfriend.

The first week Thoma felt heartbroken knowing that he couldn't help you in any way but as time passed he decided to hold on to the hope that you would be safer outside of Inazuma and that someday the decree would no longer exist and you would return.

For you it wasn't any easier, having nowhere to go and not knowing anyone in the other nations made you feel completely out of place but luckily you survived, so when one day the news came that inazuma was finally a safe place you couldn't express the happiness and anxiety that went through your body, what if everything was too different and you still felt out of place? What if no one remembered you or worse, something bad had happened to them? You hadn't heard from anyone all this time so your worries were reasonable. You immediately decided to pack a small suitcase and go to inazuma.

Although you were very sure of your decision to return to the island you were not prepared to see Thoma again, that's why you were so nervous right now at the entrance of the kamisato clan, but with the same confidence as the day you left you decided to enter.

The first one to notice your presence was Ayato smiling at you gently indicated where Thoma was, thanking him you headed to the place and immediately crossed glances with your boyfriend who was leaving the place.

He took his time to process what was happening before hugging you and almost crying his eyes out. How long had it been since you left? he didn't know, so long without knowing if you were safe or even alive, so many sleepless nights because you weren't there with him finally ended.

"thank you archons you are safe, I missed you so much you don't even know, not even a letter, did you know how worried I was all this time? Thank you so much for coming back and being safe, please don't go away again or at least let me hold you longer. I love you so much y/n."

☾ Author's note: this is my first post so I hope I didn't do too bad lol I hope you have a nice day or night. ☆

All works belong to @ flxwxr-bxy don't copy, translate or repost in other sites without my permission. Thanks ♡

[yuurivoice]

Just wanted to say that even though I do avoid exploring any tags related to me, I do absolutely recognize and appreciate a ton of you who regularly post awesome art, headcanons, and memes.

A lot of that is thanks to people sharing those fun, awesome things! Reblogs where I end up seeing them on mutuals blogs and stuff helps, so share and gas each other up!

There are people in this community that have been here for years, who have seen this entire corner of the internet shift and grow for better or worse. The OGs who have been around before I ever made this blog know how far the community has come, how much it's stayed the same, and how much it has changed. And I've grown along with it. My aspirations and hopes and creativity has evolved so much from just doing silly little posts as an anime twink to having a full blown web series.

Despite that growth, I am still just a guy trying to tell his stories and make some voices while doing it. I have a small team around me, and without them this would be even more difficult than it already is. We're not corporate, we're independent artists and freelancers and creatives just trying to do cool stuff, and are lucky enough that something worked.

I've failed so much over the course of my life. You see the results of things, and for the most part are incredibly kind and supportive. Thousands upon thousands have appreciated my work in one way or another, and that's a dream come true for me. I never bothered wanting anything more in my life than to share stories with people. I didn't have a bucket list, or many aspirations. I was at a dead end and ready to just give up. That mentality and the time spent going in circles did a lot of damage over time.

But you found me, whether it was 6 years ago or a week ago, and whatever support and vibes you've sent my way have mattered. I won't ever lose sight of that.

I wanted to say that because I know I am not as ingrained into my own community as an active participant and that may make me seem distant, or stuck up, or something. It's not for any sort of disdain or lack of appreciation though, it's just me, and trying to keep my head clear.

You don't get an instruction manual when you're suddenly a niche internet micro celebrity. They don't tell you about scrolling through fan art at 3am and then seeing the nastiest, most mean spirited, bad faith takes about your work you've ever seen. Shit is weird, man. And it's not for me, because I give way too much of a shit about my art, and that's a flaw. My skin has gotten thicker over the years, but what happens on days when your mental health is in the shitter? Weeks where I've been fighting my demons and losing can't afford me the grace to step on a weird internet landmine brought on by the symptoms of being a creative trying and failing and succeeding all at once in a world where everyone on the internet has an opinion they want to shout into the void.

And people can do that! It's my responsibility to look after myself and set those boundaries for my own comfort, not anyone's fault for just doing their thing on the internet, ya know? Once you put yourself out there, you have to accept that people are gonna people. Same irl, shit, I've been a fat kid my whole life, I'm certainly no stranger to people being obscenely rude for no reason other than they like the sound of their own voice.

I just wanted y'all to know that even though we're well beyond the "little internet family" vibes that some creators foster, I'm not up in some ivory tower (ha, said the thing) looking down like a curmudgeon. I am rooting especially hard for all the fellow creatives out there on their own journeys, wanting to share their passion and dreams with the world as well. I want you to win, and succeed, and find fulfillment with whatever drives you to make things.

Guess I was in my feelings a little bit and just wanted to say that I do see many of you and am thankful you've allowed me to play some kind of role in entertaining, comforting, or inspiring you. That means the world to me.

[ask-the-wishmaster]

Farewell

Figured I'd make a post to say I am officially retiring from ask blogging for good, and probably from Pokemon in general. This has been a special interest of mine for over a decade, and it's been fun, truly. I made great friends, had some fun memories and my creative brain was stimulated in ways that I never thought possible. I only have you guys to thank for it.

Thank you for entertaining my stories and characters, for being there through my OCs' journeys, and for helping me grow as a person. I've learned a lot about myself through Dimitri, and have expanded on him and other characters I made in the process.

I've lost friends, but made new ones along the way, and to those who stuck with me for years, thank you from the bottom of my heart. Because my special interests and hyperfixations have changed, I cannot in good conscience keep this blog running, or any of my other blogs for that matter. That's not to say they'll be deleted, they won't be, they'll still be up for the world to see, but I will be closing asks on them indefinitely. The characters will all still remain, but what I do with them will depend on how I feel, but I will not be doing anything Pokemon related anymore.

Anyway, if you made it this far, thank you for reading my little tangent, I love you all dearly, and farewell. May 2024 bring you all joy and better memories. Goodbye, до свидания 🖤

[glass--beach]

Live reacting to plastic death!

Just heard coelacanth for the first time, holy shit those time signatures?

Just heard motions for the first time, what the fuck the variation! (Teared up)

Just heard slip under the door for the first time, omg it's this one! Oh it's different! Holy shit.

Just heard guitar song for the first time, what is happening! It's so cool!

Oh my god! It's rare animal! Lovely transition for a lovely song :)

THINKING ABOUT YOU!!!

Just heard cul-de-sac for the first time, I LOVE STEREO USAGE I LOVE THIS ALBUM OH MY

I love hearing the snippets we've already heard on the website its so fun

Just heard whalefall for the first time, I've been hypnotised into sleep in the depths and I'm enjoying it

I'm free here

I fucking love these clashes!!!!!!

Just heard puppy for the first time, I'm crawling back and forth!! I WANT TO SCREAM BUT THAT WOULD ANNOY PEOPLE!!!!!

Just listened to the killer for the first time, this seems chill for a song called the killer. I'm sure it won't change. I can't believe I got caught in the teeth of a hunters trap. THE FIDDLE?? IS THAT A FIDDLE??? NO IDEA????

Hey!! It's the CIA!! Wiretap my head!!! You have succeeded in that!!!! IN YOUR TEETH; ON YOUR MIND; YOUR SYMPATHY'S A WASTE OF TIME; LITTLE BLINKING LIGHT YOU LEFT BEHIND!! I CAN'T HELP IT I KEEP COMING BACK TO YOU!!!

Just listened to 200 for the first time, OH THOSE CHORDS AND VOICE TOGETHER ARE SO GOOD. ... What the fuck is happening

My mouth is fucking doing the shocked emoji holy shit. What the fuck OH IT'S THIS SNIPPET. HOLY FUCKING SHIT HOW DOES IT KEEP GETTING BETTER I'M WHAT. what. I think I'm short circuiting

Just listened to commatose for the first time, thank you for this album so much guys. This feels like the time to say that literally every song so far has fucking destroyed me this is such a good album and fuck. Oh! It's speeding up! I am jamming!! So hard!! Nothing left! Nothing left! Oh. OH. OHHH! the FUCKING CHANGE ONCE AGAIN IM BEING PUMMELED TO DEATH!!!1

NOTHING LEFT! NOTHING LEFT!! I'm bleeding out to death on the floor with a smile on my face. How is there like half of this left. How can it get any better. oh. a sense of calm washes over me as I wake up. I'm a bloodied mess but somehow still alive. I stare up in the sky dreading the future but living in the now. I recall everything that i must do and what's left for me. I close my eyes, right now i want to lie down and rest with my cuts and bruises. And maybe get pummeled again. The sun rises. I open my eyes. The stars are still there? I watch the sun and stars intermingled, something I didn't think possible until now. I promptly collapse on the ground due to blood loss but in a good way. The noises die down around me as I am once again trapped in my own mind.

Just listened to abyss angel for the first time. I'm burning, with the blood in the trees. I think I'm about to cry. There's definitely tears here. It feels like the end of a journey, every single step a delight. I sit. A new day is ahead. The sun has indeed risen again. For real this time. I lean back and smile, tears welling up, and feel prepared for the future ahead of me. Thank you.

10/10, every song.

*beep* this recording has ended. Thank you for listening.

dont even know what to say to this this is like a whole ass review and incredibly positive and kind so thank you so much! i’m glad you’re enjoying it!

[summercreolefanfictioner]

Well, I can understand how's that Jigokuraku anime-only watchers jump into the assumption that Gabimaru and Sagiri would end up together. I mean, their dynamics are strongly exposed episodes to episodes. In the current episode, they seems already understanding each other. Meanwhile Yui only appears in Gabi's memory. Although Gabimaru still mentioning his wife like always, it gave the "okay, something isn't right with our MC that he's overly obsessed to his wife, there must be something fishy about his wife" vibes. Moreover, in the opening theme we saw a scene where Yui is bowing and multiple doors slam right before her. Also that scene where Yui and Gabimaru are standing face to face, then suddenly Yui is replaced with Sagiri. That's dragging people to conclusion "so the wife is going to disappear?" "Ohhh sure they will get seperated". It must be spend years to get all the episodes animated. I hope people would take their time to read the manga since it worth reading (and remove their bad thought about Yui's existence).

(tbh I agree with you on the last part since I would love if people would just read the manga but alas some of them have no patience)

in my honest opinion, I like both ships (gabiyui and gabisagi). it's just that I don't ship sagiri and gabimaru romantically and I know well they won't develop any romantic feelings for one another (I have canon evidence for this). and even if I didn't read the manga, I would be aware that gabimaru is fixated on being with yui as soon as possible and this is evidenced by episode 1 up until episode 6 (I am writing this in a time where episode 6 is the latest ep)

episode 1 already hinted abt yui being closed off from the public after gabimaru was arrested. she doesn't talk to anyone. she doesn't eat the meals prepared for her. she is basically locked up in the house she shared with gabimaru in iwagakure, waiting for his return bcos she knows he will return to her. remember, they already had this one convo that if ever he wanted to leave the village and stop killing, she will stay and follow him.

and gabimaru, realizing that she was still out there waiting for him (as per sagiri in episode 1), decided to embark on this whole shinsenkyo journey. hence why this toasted marshmallow of a guy (huhu I am sorry) is like "let's go find the elixir" "I can't waste more time" "I need to return to my wife" to the point of almost killing sagiri bcos he has to get the elixir before the other iwagakure ninjas make landfall. in short, as much as possible, gabimaru wanted this shinsenkyo trip to end quickly (as evidenced in episode 6). the only time he made a stop on rushing their journey is when sagiri fainted due to her injuries and inhaling poison (w/c was gabimaru's fault so yeah nothing romantic there)

and I don't think there's anything suspicious abt gabimaru thinking or mentioning his wife or something. dude has nothing after all other than yui. remember, the only good thing in iwagakure that gabimaru has is his wife and with her, he learned a lot of things (like saying thanks, praying to gods, cooking like a normal couple, emotions called love and hatred and weakness).

as for sagiri, well she has a lot on her plate given how men always look down on her being a samurai and that she should just be a woman and go home and bear children from the next yamada head. hence why she was always in a constant "I am a samurai and I will not back down just bcos you see me as a woman" thing. but hey episode 6 has highlighted her in a new light so yeah I am glad people are now changing their opinions abt sagiri bcos she ain't weak as what they deemed her to be. plus given how she's has not been sent off to the battlefield before shinsenkyo, it makes sense why some people look down on her.

I know there's a lot of emotional development and learnings gabimaru and sagiri have with each other throughout the series, but I don't think it's something that will turn romantic (even Mappa emphasized in the ending song abt sagiri's wish for gabimaru and yui to be reunited and this also speaks abt the song). one thing abt Hell's Paradise that I like is that they make all romantic ships SO OBVIOUS AND STRAIGHTFORWARD. like viewers won't have to think "I think this person will fall for this person" or "there's sexual tension" bcos the show will let you know if there is romance blooming.

besides, just bcos two people develop emotionally together, doesn't mean there has to be something romantic between them. you can grow emotionally through a reliable mentor, a close friend, a stranger, a scene from a movie or drama. in short: NOT EVERYTHING HAS TO DO WITH ROMANCE.

plus I take Hell's Paradise as gabimaru's redemption arc but also sagiri's new beginning arc. bcos after this trip, gabimaru will finally have his happy ending while sagiri will embark on her own journey (they just met in the middle to teach each other an important lesson)

and I didn't know people take the opening like that hehe. tbh yui bowing with the doors closing kinda signifies gabi's journey in kotaku tho. like there are 3 sliding doors and kotaku has like 3 areas??? that they all need to bypass before getting the elixir. and getting the elixir means getting the pardon which is equal to being free and being with yui. that also seems to be the case with yui being replaced by sagiri like he has to face this trip first before meeting her. again this is MY TAKE on the opening.

maybe we should just ask Mappa why they animated it that way so we won't have further assumptions.

bottom line: while I do get annoyed at gabisagi shippers who think of the pair romantically, I get uhh 'sadder' than 'annoyed' bcos some of them tend to romanticize stuff just bcos a guy saved a girl or they comforted each other. the thing is, if people always romanticize every interaction between gabimaru and sagiri, then they are missing the whole point of these two characters' self journey.

(but if you still ship gabimaru and sagiri romantically without accepting canon evidence and basing everything on all your delusional beliefs, then uhh idk bout that)

[lains-reality]

hi lain! i love your blog and the way you answer questions! Thank you for taking out the time to do all this work. I sort of wanted to share my journey and ask a manifestation (SORRY I KNOW) related question.

Where i am at+ backstory:

i find it easy to reduce my thoughts to nothing. I won't say that i have no thoughts at all time but I have honestly stopped suffering on a daily basis, coming from a background of chronic robotic affirming. My mind would run wild with the amount of thoughts/affirmations i had everyday.

And guess what? sometimes i was only able to manifest certain things but like the things that would change my life drastically, i didn't. (I realised that any kind of change scares me, even if it is for my highest self) Strict parents never raised me to be independent, i struggled a lot as an adult.

I realise that was Vanessa's doing as i let fear control me, to the point that i find making big life decisions SO scary, i don't take them at all. I think there's a term for it. "perfection paralysis" I am still holding on to vanessa at some point and i realise that. I see her but i don't identify with it. I am leaving poor vanessa alone.

I am still learning and practicing everyday. But i love that i am able to do this with your and sophie's help. I even love 4Dkelly's input! So thank you!! You guys taught me what living with bliss looks like. It's so peaceful and i am eternally grateful.

Coming to my "manifestation question"+ Vanessa's belief:

Before the void was a thing on here, i knew about it cause a family member of mine is into meditating and had described the void without calling it the void of course. I found it super fascinating and then i came across the void on tumblr and i think vanessa just found it to be scary considering she could be exactly what she wants to be. (That would mean giving up where she is now, even though it serves "I" my highest self NOTHING) Also i do realise that desires are never ending, i see it and i let it go.

(whatever i might be attached to (still), i try to let go)

Anyway i see a lot of people choosing the dreams that they want to see. I have been able to do the same with things here and there like how i want people to treat me. How i want my day to go. I feel utmost bliss as with no effort, i am aware of the dream i want to dream.

Anons come back and share their dreams, they don't think of their desires as desires. They simply become aware of it, like the anon that changed her face twice in minutes, the anon that healed their skin/got rid scars. I find Vanessa butting in and thinking I want to apply what i know and be able to do something "big" (if you know what i mean).

when it comes to people, Vanessa doesn't bother me at all, cause like sophie, I find it extremely easy, becoming aware of how i want people to show up for me and they do. No ego, nothing.

ACTUAL QUESTION:

how do i apply the knowledge i know to enter a meditative state which is nicknamed the void on here? like when it comes to people or my day, i know what to do. And i also know, the process is the same for everything but i find myself stuck here. I know i am never stuck. I know i can never lack and everything is mine/me. I realise, i am that i am. I just don't know what to do.

My highest self wants to experience/be aware of this meditative state. I had this inkling even when i didn't know people used it to manifest stuff.

I remember an anon wanting to go the void and they did; they had asked barbie for advice, they even mentioned how they'll be going back in time now that they had entered the void. (My dream is very similar to theirs)

I'd appreciate your advice so SO much.

I AM EXTREMELY SORRY FOR MAKING THIS SO LONG. I very much appreciate your time and advice. I hope i can come out of this loop (stop dreaming the dream i don't want to dream anymore) and tell you ALL about it!!!!!

Hope you are having a great day!! Sending so much love your way and so much gratitude cause the progress i have made already wouldn't be without your, sophie's and barbie's hard work. So thank you, thank you, thank you!!!!!

i already have answered a question on void state.

for dreaming another dream, here's a post on how to stop.

the highest self you speak of is just ego. Self doesn't desire. why would Self need to experience some special effects (the void) to know it's Self??

thanks for sharing your experience! you're lovely anon! but use the search function and follow the only rule this blog has!

[real-sun-wukong-fan01]

Hi there! I hope your week is alright to you. Say, in your Time Swap AU, what happens in s4 and its special? Why and how would the Camel Ridge Trio mess with MK and his tudi, or do you already have that answer in another post? Does Azure still die in that AU?

I can't help but snort at imagining that if the JTTW fam of this AU see Canon Macaque anywhere near their Wukong without knowing any better, that shadow monkey is gonna get dropkicked by four demon kids and piled under them, ala Red Son in s1 special.

How does SWK feel about his monkey form after being confronted by his Ink self in the scroll? Does he confront MK about it? Does he get called the Harbinger of Chaos?

How does the meeting between the monk, the demon kids and their past lives in the scroll go?

How would the canon cast of Monkie Crew consisting of Mei, Sandy, Tang, and Pigsy react to meeting with their counterparts of the JTTW fam of Time Swap AU, specifically just them, excluding the monkey related dudes. What would they talk about? Would they gripe about their respective SWK to each other?

What is Erlang's role in Time Swap AU?

Have a great month! Treat yourself to something nice once in a while!

I actually haven't been working on S4 much, but that's probably because I'm in other three fandoms at the moment and I have other aus there too, or maybe didn't have motivation, but I'll answer anyway!

Though not everything I say here might stay as it is, so count it as a maybe.

- I was planning on changing who the trio is, but I can't figure out who. But I'm assuming it's going to be for revenge or some sort.

- yes azure will die here too, by the hands of sun wukong. (Or anyone who will replace azure.)

- he's not so happy, since he's literally given an identity crisis. He's been living thinking his biological family died in a fire, and that he was simply a human adopted by Tripitaka, but knowing that it was all a lie, and that he's a monkey now from a rock,,is not the best thing. Especially his ink self, he's not helping.

His name is now a lie too, since it's a foreshadowing that he's a monkey. As sun wukong literally means "monkey awakened by the emptiness.”"

- he'll be called that, even though I wanted him to be called something similar to the great sage equal to heaven.

- I don't think he can confront mk about it, since the guy didn't know either. (Not like ink wukong can blame mk or call him a monster, since mk from the start was NEVER threat or dangerous like wukong is in the original story during jttw, or before.)

- we get to see tang, pigsy, sandy and mei! Luckily mk won't be there, or he would have cried.

But it remains pretty similar to the original, just role reversed.

- tang would go crazy seeing them, but would also need to be reminded a LOT that they aren't the actual gang, but a different version of them (meaning they didn't went on the journey), Tripitaka would be kinda weirded out, but would also be curious about the journey tang keeps talking about.

Pigsy and bajie..like a dad disciplining their kid.

Sandy and Sha wujing would just vibe with the cats!

Mei and ao lie would want to know about their ancestors, and about each other.

they would ask about wukong yes, but mainly from the swap au.

- Erlang takes nezha's place!

Thank you!!