#its gonna go back & forth a lot probably

[opens-up-4-nobody]

...

[peachesofteal]

Through Me (The Flood) - secret baby fic Simon Riley / female reader - warnings: postpartum depression, 18+ brief sexual content

"Okay, Ry ry, come on. Work with me. You're alright, baby, it's okay."

You're pacing back and forth across the living room in only a nursing bra and Simon's favorite pair of your shorts, the ones that barely cover the soft pleat where the tops of your thighs meet your cheeks. The coverage of your ass is just barely there, crescent moons creased in invitation for his tongue- willing him, tempting him to lick long lines from outside to inside until you’re spread wide over his face.

Now is not the time, however.

He watches you carefully, analyzing, cataloging, categorizing. Looking for a sign, a symptom, a warning that you might not be feeling as good as you let on. Tough little kitten. Stronger than you think.

The doctor told you to get better rest, eat more nutritionally dense foods, and hydrate. If the dizziness and fainting doesn’t improve, you’ll have to see a specialist.

He’s been breathing through his nose a lot, since you told him. Willing his heart rate to slow, urging himself to be calm.

Still-

His nightmares are no longer made up of his past, but his future. Sequences of you, unconscious on the floor, baby screaming in his crib. Simon nowhere to be found, hundreds of miles away with his finger on a trigger.

You slump in defeat. Orion screams at the top of his lungs, angry at what, you’re not sure. He's tried not to hover, opting to cook dinner instead, but when your voice cracks on your next plea for Orion to stop crying, he breaks away from the kitchen and settles behind you, firm hand rubbing circles into your hip. "Let's give you a break, mama."

You sniffle. "I don't know what's up with him tonight. He won't latch, but he has to be hungry. I don't know what to do." Simon slides a forearm under yours, supporting the baby’s weight, the other one palming your belly. Your head tips back against his chest, heat radiating from your body like a furnace, and he sways you side to side, careful and slow, rocking the two of you in a gentle rhythm. You're both overheated, and you've long stripped Ry down to a diaper, hoping it would alleviate some of his misery.

"Let me take over. You're exhausted." He kisses your neck, using the light shiver shuddering over your skin to his advantage. His touch gentles you, reins in the stubborn streak that keeps surfacing, and he carries no weight of regret when he twists you up with it a little bit. He’s been standing at the bottom of the well, waiting to catch you when you break. "Go get in the shower, and I'll try a bottle in a bit. See if I can't get him calmed down." He presses his lips to your shoulder.

"But... dinner..."

"It can wait. Go on." He lifts Orion, sitting him upright on his chest, and then gives you a gentle swat on your ass.

It doesn't take much convincing after that.

He tries to get Orion to take the plastic nipple of the bottle, tries rubbing on his cheek to trigger the rooting reflex, like you've taught him, to no avail. "Alright, little man. Let's give it a try, c'mon." He doesn't, but the vibration in Simon's chest when he speaks seems to distract him momentarily, enough that his crying stops for a split second, before returning to its high pitched wail. It’s a shocking sentiment. A startling discovery, one that burrows deep, slides under his skin, slicing him open. Could his son really be soothed by his own voice?

“I wasn’t there when you were born.” He smoothes a hand over the top of Orion’s head. “I didn’t know about you, but that’s not mama’s fault, daddy kind of… disappeared, and she didn’t deserve that. I should’ve been there. I know it was probably scary, for both of you.” The wailing and shrieking turns into a mewl. “I’m gonna make it up to you, and her, everyday, I swear. ‘m gonna keep you safe, you and mama, watch you grow, go to school, lose your first tooth. I’m gonna be there for your birthday parties and holidays, as much as I can.” Orion stares at him with wet, tearful eyes, cries turned to quiet whimpers. “Daddy doesn’t have a… normal job, but we’ll make it work, won’t we? You’ll see. I’ll always be here for you, bub.” The broken cries and whimpers almost stop all together, and Simon’s heart glows with pride. He did that. “That’s better, huh? Let’s go see if we can get you to eat something before bed, alright?” He keeps up a steady murmur, pushing open the door to your room, expecting to see- hoping, to see you just out of the shower, but instead-

he finds you in an oversized t shirt and panties, curled up on top of your blankets in bed. A wet towel sits crumpled on the floor, a pair of pajama pants lying on the bed frame by your feet. It looks like you did plan on making it out of the bedroom, but succumbed to your exhaustion instead, and he doesn’t blame you. Today was hard.

“Sweetheart.” He rubs your shoulder, mattress dipping with his weight. Your eyes open, bleary and confused, a question etched across your brow. “Hey, you fell asleep.” You nod, still not with it, lashes fluttering.

“‘m sorry. Baby?”

“He’s right here. Got him calmed down, think he’s ready to eat though.” You yawn, pawing at your shirt, trying to tug it up over your head, eyes closed again. “Alright, I’ve got it, here-“

“Did I miss dinner?”

“No honey. I put it in the oven to keep warm. When you’re ready I’ll bring a plate in f’you, alright?” You sigh, sleep drenched like your lungs are wet, ponderosity sunken in across your body. He thumbs your temple, trying to rouse you a bit more, urging you to roll onto your side, tucking Orion in next to your breast. It must be instinct, the way he finds you in the dark, and you breathe deep once he settles.

“Sorry I fell asleep.”

“You’re exhausted, mama.” Ry makes a little ‘k-ahh’ sound, like a soft puff of air, and you tug at your shirt half heartedly, trying to shuck it upward again. “Do you want this off?” He fingers the hem, and you nod, lifting an arm as he maneuvers around you and the baby.

Bloody hell. You’re a sight, only in your underwear, Orion at your chest. The hall light dips and drags over your body, painting you in yellows and shadow, broad brushstrokes of a goddess splayed out in front of him, feeding his baby.

He can’t tear his eyes away.

“What is it?” You croak, his fingers tracing the valley of your hip and stomach in an answer.

“You’re stunning.” He cradles the back of Ry’s head, leaning close, brushing his nose against yours before kissing you slow, letting it linger, losing himself in the moment.

“You’re not so bad yourself.” You hum into his mouth, still dewy from the shower, fresh spring rain falling from your lips. You’re more awake now, unhurried and sweet, and he slips to his knees at the edge of the bed, smoothing his hand over your shoulder and down your waist. The rolling meadow of goosebumps chasing his fingertips heats his blood-

Until your stomach rumbles. He chuckles. “Hungry?”

“A little.” You cup the back of Ry’s head and nod sheepishly.

“Okay.” He kisses you again because he can’t help it, can’t stop himself or hold back, the physical ache of being so close, yet so far away drives him to touch you, feel you, as much as he can. Before he’s gone. “Sit tight. I’ll get your dinner.”

Later, after he’s fed you (by hand, lifting a fork to your lips over and over as you sat like a perfect little kitten, propped up on a pile of pillows) while Ry nursed, and then put him down, cleaned up the dishes, and placed the baby monitor in its usual spot, he leans over you in bed, where you’re nestled under the blankets, sleepy and sweet. “Hey sleepy girl.”

“Hi.” You whisper, snuggling farther into the covers. “He go down okay?”

“Like a champ. Think he tired himself out with all the yelling earlier.” He presses a thumb to your bottom lip, sliding it back and forth before cupping your cheek. “Get some rest, I’ll get him when he gets up in a few hours.” He jerks his head towards the living room, where he usually takes his post before heading back, a block over, and then anxiously tosses and turns in bed until he hears from you in the morning.

He shifts closer to press his lips to your forehead, but you grab his wrist, grip tight, and there’s a hitch in your breath, a reedy, fragile thing that strikes his heart with bullets. “It’s supposed to get easier.” A tear tracks down your cheek, and he wipes it with his thumb.

“Oh sweetheart, it will. I promise it will.” He tries to soothe you, taking the hand that’s cemented to his wrist and interlacing his fingers with yours. “Postpartum is hard. You have to give yourself a break.”

“I know, it’s just… sometimes I feel like someone else should have been his mum,” your voice breaks, his stomach pitches, heart pounding in his ears. He could drown in the guilt, slip beneath the swell and fill his lungs with it, sink to the bottom with its weight. “Like he was meant for someone else, like someone else would be better. I was so sick when I was pregnant, and when he was born it was… traumatic…” you trail off, desperate, glassy look falling over your eyes before you close them, hand shaking in Simon’s grasp. He wants to wipe it all away, wipe it clean and fix it, patch the gaping wound he left. “Sometimes all he does is look at me and scream, like I’m a stranger. Like he doesn’t… love me, know me. Why aren’t I good at this?” Your chest is stuttering now, short breaths being choked off with sobs, and pulls you into his chest.

“You are good at this, mama.” He kisses your temple. “It doesn’t feel like it, because your head is a little… messed up with all the hormones and changes, but our son is healthy, and happy. He’s safe. You did that. You took care of him all on your own.” You’re still crying, tears spilling over your cheeks, and Simon cradles your face. “I’m so, so sorry I wasn’t here sweet girl. I’ll never forgive myself.”

“It’s not your fault.”

“It is. I’m the one who left you like a… like a ghost. I’m the one who didn’t care about the consequences and left you to face it on your own. You didn’t deserve that, and I don’t deserve you or that boy… but I’m going to try to do everything I can to make it up to you. I’m here, okay? You’re not doing this alone anymore. I’m here.” And you’re never getting rid of me. He doesn’t say it, not willing to disrupt the clearly fragile equilibrium of your emotions, but he feels it all the same. “Orion was meant to be yours, ours. No one else’s. You understand?” You nod, lower lip trembling. “Tell me, mama. Tell me you know our baby loves you like you hung the moon in the sky.”

“I- I know.”

“Come here.” He keeps you in his arms, settling back on your mountain of pillows, keeping a palm at the back of your head, other one rubbing up and down your spine. “That’s what you are. The moon. You and Orion, moon and stars. My moon and stars.” You manage a watery sigh, and then burrow your face into his chest, finally calm enough to take some long breaths, seconds turning to minutes as he holds you in the dark.

“Stay.” You whisper against him, nearly asleep again, and he answers with a kiss to the top of your head.

“I will. I promise.”

[devotedlystrangewizard]

i fuckjgng love au ra idk what it is i would never change my masc viera for the WORLD but the au ra are so cool

[jasperxkuromi]

Regressors that are (bodily) older, please interact!

Later 20s, 30s, maybe even older? I would love to hear from you and maybe even your stories if you don't mind sharing!

I want to meet more people like me and also show others that age regression doesn't just suddenly "stop" at a certain age

Some of us:

Didn't discover regressing/didn't understand their involuntary regression until they were older

Wasn't in a safe space mentally and/or physically to be able to regress the way we want to

Didnt "grow out" of regressing. I think a lot of people outside the community assume we will all grow out of wanting to regress at some point. Maybe some of us will, but some of us won't. Regressing can be a safe and healthy coping mechanism, no matter your bodily age!

And probably many other reasons I can't think of at the moment lol

I would love to get to talk to older regressors, or if there are any groups/discords, I would like to know those too :3

I'm gonna talk about my story a little under the cut, but I don't exactly recommend reading it if you are little right now! I am going to be talking about s3xualization of agere and children's media unfortunately.

I started age dreamer/involuntarily regressing when I was in high school without really knowing what it was. I was really into MLP FiM during its height popularity. I watched the show, collected and played with the toys, did coloring books, took my MLP blanket to school ever day. You get the idea.

I discovered regression here in Tumblr, but this was yeeeeaaars ago, like back when nsfw was still allowed. The line between ddlg and agere wasn't as solid as it is now. Or maybe it was just because I was a kid and couldn't understand better? Either way ... i ended up getting wrong ideas of what agere had to be and ended up scaring myself off. I also had adult roleplayers leaving really inappropriate comments on my posts that made me feel icky. I thought agere had to be s3xual and scared myself off.

We also unfortunately probably know the uhhh .. types of fan art that was popular of MLP. And it just ended up making me lose interest in the series. The stuff was everywhere and it was hard to avoid even if you were vigilant.

I never got a real chance to understand what healthy, voluntary regression was. I still was an age dreamer, but most times when I involuntarily regress it is out of extreme stress and it isn't fun or pretty.

I had a lot of bad things that happened to me last year and in turn I am having more health issues. Chronic conditions I already had getting worse, and new ones popping up. My mom (the one who birthed me) has been helping me a bit, but it has still been a lot of playing adult. Making phone calls back and forth, filling out paperwork, figuring out disability leave, paying bills, etc etc. I started age dreaming more and more often to cope with the stress. Like I randomly one day bought a DVD player and sets of Winnie the Pooh and Scooby Doo DVDs lmfao.

I also never stopped collecting stuffed animals and came back to collecting dolls again last year. It helps that I have friends IRL who I don't think are regressors, but still enjoy collecting with me. (my friends don't know yet, but I think they would be accepting if I told them, or they might already assume I regress tbh)

I have kinda had age regression on the back of my mind for several months, but was scared to look back into it. I was scared of going through the same thing I did back in high school. But also denying I am a regressor and that I still need to heal my childhood wounds was getting heavier and heavier on me. I am sooooo thankful I finally felt safe to begin exploring regression again ♥️😁

Side note: while I absolutely don't care if people do ddlg and similar stuff as a kink/fetish, I am thankful that the distinction between that and agere is more distinct now. It is important we protect minors and other vulnerable people from having the same sorts of things that happened to me (or worse) from happening to them.

[thefreakandthehair]

@steddiemas day 1: deck the halls | wc: 1.2k | rated: m

Robin Buckley loves Christmas.

Like, really loves Christmas. If she could convince Steve to put the tree up in their little shitbox apartment the day after Halloween, she would. In fact, she'd tried last year but Steve reminded her that a live tree would be a needleless fire hazard by Christmas Day and she refuses to entertain the idea of a fake tree.

Absolutely not. Live tree or bust.

And this is how Steve ends up at the Christmas Tree Farm the day after Thanksgiving, dragged around with a fond if not tired smile as she checks tree after tree, pulling their branches, checking their strength and health.

"It has to be a Blue Spruce to hold those heavy ornaments from my parents, and none of these are Blue Spruces!" She bemoans, whipping her head around to glare at Steve. "Are you even helping?"

He rolls his eyes and sips the hot chocolate that warms him from the inside. "I'm here as moral support and to cut the thing down when you find it." Steve wiggles the little saw he'd been handed and nods her on.

Robin scoffs and marches back towards him. "I think there are some Blue Spruces in the lot towards the back."

Without a question, he turns on his heel and follows her. This isn't their first Christmas Tree Hunt so he knows the drill. No matter how much he actually hates Blue Spruces because the needles are sharp and stick him when they hang the lights, he'll never say a word. Not when it makes his best friend this happy.

Eventually, they make the trek through muddy grass and Robin does, in fact, find a Blue Spruce that makes her eyes light up in the hidden away lot.

"This is it," she beams. "This is the one."

"Perfect, here, hold this--" Steve hands her his mug and starts to lean down, only for the tree to start shaking.

A man in ripped jeans and Reeboks lies beneath the tree, his own saw just beginning to make its mark in the stump of the spiky, healthy Spruce.

"Hey! Hey, what are you doing? This is our tree." Robin says, reaching through branches to hold it steady. "We were just about to cut it down, back off."

Steve sighs and pinches the bridge of his nose. It's not that he won't defend Robin's honor and get into a fight in a Christmas Tree Farm for her, he'd just really rather not.

The mystery man pokes his head out from under the tree with furrowed brows and two needles sticking out from the top of his head, dirt on his denim jacket that protects what looks like a red and black flannel. Steve's definitely been watching way too many Hallmark movies with Robin lately because holy shit, he's cute.

"Listen, my best friend wants this tree, and I don't even wanna be under here but if she doesn't get this Blue Whatever-The-Fuck, someone's halls are getting decked and it'll probably be mine. So, sorry." He shrugs and returns to his place under the tree. 

Robin looks at Steve, bewildered and frazzled simultaneously. Do something, she mouths. 

Like what? He mouths back, scrunching his face and contorting his mouth. 

She widens her eyes and jerks her head to the side, desperate. 

He should’ve known Robin would be responsible for his demise. 

“C’mon, man, we’ve been here for two hours looking for a tree.” Steve gets no response, just a few grunts that shouldn’t go straight to his crotch but what can he say? It’s been awhile.

He steps forward and lies down beneath the tree with the Tree Thief. “Is she here with you? Your best friend who seems as fucking rabid as mine is here about these trees?” 

Steve watches as the man focuses on the tree stump, rhythmic back and forth motions of the saw moving his torso along the ground with his tongue poking out between his lips. “Maybe I can talk to her? Or send Robin? She’s… convincing?” 

“Chrissy wants this one, dude. Hate to break it to you.” 

“Ah, okay. Robin and Chrissy. Well, I’m Steve, and you’re…?” 

The sawing stops as he catches his breath. “Eddie. I’m Eddie. And unless you’re gonna help under here, you might wanna move. I don’t wanna drop this on you.” 

Steve pulls his bottom lip between his teeth and takes a chance. Reaching out, he places one hand on top of Eddie’s. “Can I make you a deal?” 

Eddie startles, eyes flickering back and forth from the space where their hands touch on the rough bark of the tree up to Steve’s gaze. 

“Depends on the deal, I suppose.” Maybe Steve imagines the flush to his cheeks and the playful grin that blossoms across his lips. All he knows about Eddie is that his best friend’s name is Chrissy and that he has the most beautiful brown eyes Steve’s maybe ever seen. 

Not maybe. Definitely. 

“Uh,” he shakes his head, trying to pull himself out of whatever Christmas romcom he thinks he’s living in. “What if we help you and Chrissy find another tree and I help you cut it down? I’ll even carry it to the car for you.” 

“What are you, some sort of lumberjack?”

“Nope,” he lowers his voice conspiratorially, joking as he leans closer, like an idiot. “Just desperate not to get my halls decked.” It earns him a genuine smile and surprised laugh punched from Eddie’s lungs. 

“Alright,” he taps the saw on the trunk and smirks over at Steve, mere inches apart beneath a Christmas tree. Close enough for the faint scent of Eddie’s cigarettes and Old Spice cologne to permeate the strength of the resinous spruce. “You help us find another tree, lug it to the car, and then meet me for coffee after? Seems like the least you can do, all things considered.” 

Trading numbers with the guy he met while bargaining for Robin’s dream Christmas tree isn’t the weirdest moment of his life, but it’s certainly on the shortlist. As is plucking rogue needles out of his hair when they come up from beneath the tree.

He ends up lugging two Blue Spruces to the parking lot an hour later in two trips— Robin chatting with Chrissy in front of them and Eddie at his side, gravitating closer and closer until their arms nearly touch. 

“You know, you didn’t actually have to do this,” Eddie says, moving away from Steve and to the other side of Chrissy's sedan to help tie the tree to the roof. “You’re not like, actually obligated or whatever.” 

Steve finishes tying his end of the knot and looks across at Eddie, finding him standing with hopeful eyes and a piece of hair drawn in front of his face. 

“Oh, I know.” He smiles and shrugs. “But I want to. Especially the coffee-with-you-after part.” 

“Not until we get this thing up and decked, Munson!” Chrissy pops up next to Eddie at the same time Robin appears next to Steve, both of them practically bouncing on their heels and grinning ear to ear. 

Robin nudges Steve in the side and he looks down to see her phone held out, Chrissy’s number typed into her contacts with a tiny pink heart to it. He gives her a subtle, excited thumbs up from below Eddie and Chrissy’s view beneath the car. 

Eddie slings an arm across Chrissy’s shoulders and ruffles her hair before she fixes her ponytail, indignant. 

“Alright, alright,” Steve laughs. “I’ll uh, I’ll text you?” 

Eddie nods and turns himself and Chrissy towards the front of the car. As he gets in the passenger seat, he looks back at Steve with a mischievous wink most likely emboldened by Steve’s brash flirtation. 

“The sooner, the better.”

[teeny-tiny-revenge]

It's home cinema manufacturing time! 🏴‍☠️ Gonna put my pirate show on my shelf! (I'm doing an Arts and Crafts Project and I'm making it everyone's problem.)

After seeing how much they cost, I abandoned the idea of getting a Blu-ray writer for now. For the time being, good old DVDs is what it's going to be! My TV is old and not very big, so DVD resolution is gonna be fine.

It's been ages since I last burned a DVD. For the full experience, I'm gonna create nice menus and pretty sleeves for the boxes. Graphic design is my passion! Um.

Well. First needed to find a program to do stuff with. I'm a Linux guy, so I'm using Devede. (Which is free, btw. In case someone else wants to do a low cost spot of putting pirate show on the shelf.)

DVDs fit a maximum of 120 minutes of video. So, four episodes, I thought. But after a quick attempt, the program refused to do more than three (maybe because of the menu also taking up space, and four episodes cutting pretty close to the 120 min mark?). Anyway, three episodes per disc it is. It's a pretty nice runtime for watching the entire disc, IMO. An hour and a half, and then you can return to reality to realise you should probably eat something, or go to bed because it's midnight.

OFMD with its current two seasons has a total of eighteen episodes, which is divisible by three. You get the following setup:

Disc 1: Pilot, A Damned Man, The Gentleman Pirate - That's pretty good, Stede's introduction to piracy all on one disc!

Disc 2: Discomfort in a Married State, The Best Revenge is Dressing Well, The Art of Fuckery - All bangers. Great to watch together, our boys meet and shenanigans happen!

Disc 3: This is Happening, We Gull Way Back, Act of Grace - Many romantic moments, lots of great scenes, shit hits the fan at the end there. Alright!

Disc 4: Wherever you go, there you are, Impossible Birds, Red Flags - ... Pain and angst! What have I done!?! The disc of horrors. Gotta make sure to have tissues at hand when I watch this. But hey, it also has messy bun Ed! Small mercies.

Disc 5: The Innkeeper, Fun and Games, The Curse of the Seafaring Life. - Another disc with all winners. I love all these episodes so much! (You can watch this disc to recover from the trauma of the previous one!) But seriously, this one slaps.

Disc 6: Calypso's Birthday, Man on Fire, Mermen - Great combination again. Season finale! Love and excitement!

... Honestly, except for the psychological damage of putting all the most painful episodes together, this is coming out pretty cool. Says a lot about how good the show is. I actually really love all the episodes (yes even the painful angsty episodes of massive depression). Thinking about this little project really reminded me how much I love this entire show.

So, we got a tracklist, now menus, then we can burn this stuff!

I did the menu backgrounds in GIMP. Realised I have a big folder full of screenshots I took myself, screenshots someone else took and posted on Tumblr, official promo pics for the show, and I have no idea anymore where most of them are from, because I named the files according to what's on them. Which is useful for when you want to find pics (Need a picture of cursed suit Stede? I have files named that, easy peasy!), but not so great if you wanted to give credit to whoever took a given pic you used. (It's probably @sherlockig or @ofmd-ann or @blakbonnet. Please feel credited, your beautiful screens and gifs brighten my day, and some of them are now probably part of my DVD menus. Shrunk down and cropped, but, yeah.)

I originally wanted to structure my menus as having the title of an episode, then some pics from it, then the next episode, then pics from that, and so forth, but I couldn't convince the program to give me the necessary padding between the menu items, so I ended up just putting the episode images below the menu. Still like it.

Anyway, DVD menus can also play sound! Behold a crappy video of my beautiful creation (provided entirely for sound):

It plays Gnossienne N°5!

More crappy pics of my other disc menus:

Gonna make them some nice sleeves next. Some day. Gotta make sure they all work properly first. So. I'll be on my sofa, watching my DVDs. With menus! (Edit: here are!)

[sanjisboyfie]

to help me sleep at night just random individual headcanons from various places of my brain (did it on my phone if typo ignore or u eill explode)

m!reader

if suguru is smoking and you come up to him:

option a: you smoke too, he lights your cigarette up w his lighter, cupping his hand over the flame to make sure it doesnt go out before your end is properly lit, OR he makes sure you have yours in your mouth, before leaning in towards you (his is in his mouth) and pressing the two ends together to make yours light off of his end, OR, he just insists on you two sharing the one hes already smoking, smirking as hes got infinite amount of indirect kisses lined up for him now

option b: you don't smoke, so he immediately stomps it out on the ground and blows the last hit he took into thr opposite direction of you so you dont ahve to smell it/smell like it.

satoru really loves embarassing you two in public, especially in his teen days. out of nowhere, really erotic noises would come from him - obviously unprompted and unprovoked - and he'd just start obnoxiously moaning your name...so fucking embarrassing. its like hes got the humor of a middle schooler. like youre in the arcade playing games w each other, he loses, and then he starts shaking the poor machine and jolting his hips back and forth AS IF hes getting railed when obviously hes FUCKING NOT and screaming "eugh!! uAgh!! HARDER [NAME]!! FUCK" and youre just trying very hard to get him to shut the fuck up

another satoru headcanon, loves gushing to u abt his lil nerd findings. when you were in highschool tgt, he would have you sit in front of him on his bed as he pointed to all the different mechanjcs his gundam figurine (bc he deffo collected them bye its ltr canon) has and going all nerdy by making silly noises like "pshhh! pfooo! baam!" as he makes them dance around in front of you. you just let him indulge you because hes honestly adorable whenever he does get rlly into it and not at all an annoying piece of shit, like he usually is. he might even rock ur bodies back and forth as hes doing all the sound effects too before setting the toy down and jus peppering kisses all over your face and neck. awww the little shit is being cute.

erm erm guys lemme cook w the one piece boys rq.

TRAFALGAR LAW...thats the headcanon.

ok obvs jk. but just imagine laws hands (gigglegiggle) and how theyre always in conract w u. mans cannottt keep his hands to himself. but nooo his hands needs to touch skin or else its not even worth it???? his fingers will slither beneath your shirt and grip onto your pelvis, or they'll go below your waistband and just run up and down your hipbone. if hes coming up from behind you his personal favorite is grabbing the back of your neck with his COLD ASS hands and watching you jump in genuine UNCOMFORTABLENESS and him jus laugh at u. then he kisses the spot he touched, covering the cold sensation w his warm lips. orrrr how about how he literally tugs you around w his hands. idk smth like pulling you inby yourbelt loops and forcing you to sit on his lap, no matter whos w u guys. or how hes always got his hand in yours so hes guiding you places/forcing you to stick near him

luffy gulp. luffy gulp gulp. the absolute sweetest sweetheart. probably loves kissing a lot. when u guys first started dating the only kisses hed accept were if u guys both looked like ducks and your lips were pursed to heaven and beyond. he thought it was rlly cute and liked how it felt. a very smiley teethy kisser if ykwim. 99.9% of ur kisses end up with him grinning ear to ear so youre basically kissing teeth stp but its ok hes babygirl it ok. luffy wants kissed for every single little thing. you gusy woke up? kiss. you guys r gonna eat breakfast? kiss. you guys r about to take a bath? kisses in the bath r fun!!!!! luffy is a kissing enthusiast. give him kisses wtfffff

tbh zoros a biter. like bro definitely bit kids when he was little. but MOVING ON FROM THAT. i mean: hes the type to bite as a form of affection. ABS IF U CANT SEE THE VISION IDC he definitely does. he sees your arms and thinks hmm i shd try eatin that in a very unserious way so he bites it when its in front of him and u genuinely look st him as if he has rabies. then he jus shrugs and ignores it??? which hello why is ur teeth imprinted in my skin rn ur jus gonna ignore it. if you guys r cuddling, he bites your bicep lightly to wake u up because hes too lazy to speak words. zoro rlly is "i no energy word bite yes" like dawg it does NOT work like that. bites your fingers sometimes when u hold hands....then licks it better when youre abiut to dcold him. the thing is this is all v nonchalantly done. like he rlly doesnt see how odd this is so he just does it and then cotninues on as if it isnt lowk v odd and abnormal. bites a lot. (he a freakazoid) dont let him rest his hesd between your legs for nap time he will definitely bite the inside of your thighs and that hurts like a bitch. next thing yk hes biting too close and taking off ur dick. do not risk it w this man.

[oftenwantedafton]

ransom | steve raglan x female reader

rating | explicit

part 4/4

words | 5k

cw | sexual content

ao3 link

Steve steps out into the pouring rain, car keys in hand and at the ready. This is going to be a quick errand, just a short drive to a location with better cellular reception for check in. Then he’s going straight back to the cabin, where the receipt for his payout is sequestered. That’s how he should be thinking about you; in dispassionate terms, not fondly lingering over how nice it is to have your hands on him now that they’re unbound, free to roam, your body pressed beneath his and then…

He slams the car door shut with more force than necessary and it creaks in protest. The thing really was on its last legs—or wheels, rather—and he should make an exchange his first priority once he gets paid. He hastily swipes at his face to clear the rainwater dripping down it, then slots the key in the ignition and turns it. The engine rumbles to life and the kidnapper finds a decent signal ten minutes away. He doesn’t even bother turning the car off, knowing no one else will be using this road, reaching for the open flip phone on the passenger seat beside him.

One of his associates answers on the second ring. “Yeah?”

“It’s me. We’re secure. What’s the situation?”

“Good news. He’s finally caved. Meeting set up in forty eight hours at noon. That good?”

The place where he’s pulled the car over is largely sheltered by the spreading branches of a nearby tree, but the rain still spills from those leaves and lands on the windshield. The wipers thump back and forth, slow and even. He’s trying to keep his breathing like that, as well as his pulse, but he doesn’t quite manage it.

“Boss? Did you hear me? I know you said the signal was poor there.”

“Yeah. I heard you. Good work.”

“Hey, thanks. So we’re set then?”

“Yeah. We’ll be there.”

“Drinks after, right? First round on me. Then I’m gonna go out and buy—”

The bearded man snaps the cell phone shut before the other man can finish outlining his plans and drops it back onto the passenger seat. “Fuck.” His palm slams down against the steering wheel. Two more days. Two more and then he finally gets paid. He should be celebrating right now. He should feel triumphant, victorious.

Instead he’s nauseous. He’d skipped breakfast and now he thinks he’s going to avoid lunch, too. His fingers close over the gear shift but remain frozen, the vehicle still parked.

What, are you getting sentimental in your old age? This is why there are rules. You don’t get attached. Don’t get involved. She’s just a time card, waiting for you to clock out and turn in for your pay. That’s all. So you hooked up. No big deal. Doesn’t need to happen again. Keep your distance. Two more days. That’s all. No more chaperoning. You’ll be free. Take some time off after this. That’s probably what you need the most right now.

The return trip seems to take twice as long, the walk back to the cabin even more so. He’s drenched by the time he thumbs the code for the door, ignoring his condition while he automatically begins making you something for lunch. He knows, even before he enters the next code to enter the basement, that he’s not going to do what he should. He won’t just leave the tray. You’re going to want to talk, spend time together. And he won’t be able to deny you.

How did I lose control this quickly?

***

In some ways, being in the cabin is better, and in other ways, worse.

You love having freedom of movement of course; that’s an obvious advantage. And the room was certainly nicer than that cheap, rundown motel.

But there’s a lot of quiet time, and you kind of miss Steve when he’s not around. You’re very firmly trying not to get attached, something that shouldn’t be difficult given your circumstances. But you honestly like him. And you know he likes you, too.

Your head snaps immediately to the stairs when you realize your captor has returned, your attention from the movie you’d put on already wavering. You don’t quite recognize the grim look on his features, only certain that something has once again happened without your knowledge, and you’re willing to bet the equivalent of your ransom he’s not going to be forthcoming with the reason for it, either.

He sets the tray he’s carrying down on the table, making no move to sit. Only food for one person, you notice.

“Hey.”

“Hi,” he greets quietly.

“You’ve been outside. You’re soaked. Hang on.” You disappear into the bathroom to retrieve a towel, then hand it to him.

“Thanks.”

“Pouring out?”

“Yeah.”

“I love the rain.” You hesitate, watching him rub the towel over his hair. “How come you left? Check in?”

“Yeah. No reception here.” He finishes drying his hair and hangs the towel over the back of the chair nearby.

“So? News?”

“No.” His eyes slide to meet yours. You don’t buy it, even for a minute. Something’s happened. He has that guilty look again, the pale eyes wounded.

“Is my dad okay?”

“Yes. He’s fine.” He frowns over this question until he realizes what you’re implying. “He’s unharmed,” he emphasizes, and you relax a little. “Asked for more time.”

“And you said okay?”

“Yeah.”

“Well, you still look like a drowned rat.” You reach out to straighten his tousled hair and something very like a flinch makes you pause. “Steve. Come on. Talk to me. You know I’m going to find out whatever it is anyway.”

“It’s nothing. Business stuff. Wouldn’t interest you. You should go eat your lunch.”

“You’re not gonna eat with me?”

“No. I already did.”

“Will you stay with me for a bit? It gets lonely, you know.”

“If you want me to,” his voice rasps.

“Yeah, I want you to.”

“Alright.” He turns away, dragging one of the chairs out from under the table while you do the same on the opposite side, surveying the contents he’s brought you. Sandwich, looks like turkey, scoop of hummus, some baby carrots, a handful of grapes, a little bag of pretzels, a bottle of water and a can of orange soda. You crack the top of the soft drink and take a sip, then lift one half of the sandwich to sample a bite. Swiss cheese. Tomato, mayo, and oh, how had you missed the bacon? You hum appreciatively and something almost like a smile ghosts over Steve’s lips.

“Good?”

“Mmm-hmm.” You drag the end of a carrot into the hummus and crunch thoughtfully. “So what do you do upstairs while I’m languishing down here in the basement?”

“Languishing,” he repeats dryly.

“Well, you know what I mean.”

“Not much. A lot of waiting.”

“See? So you should be spending more time with me anyway.” You nudge his shin with your foot. “Better question: what do you do when you’re not loaning money and kidnapping?” You munch on a grape and pretzel in rapid succession, enjoying the combined taste of sweet and salty. “What do you do for fun?”

He hesitates. “Nothing, really. I was thinking of taking a vacation after this.”

“Aww, jealous. Where you gonna go?”

“I don’t know yet.”

“Go someplace warm. Get a tan. Go score some bikini clad chick.”

“Maybe.”

“I knew you were a perv. Already looking for someone new,” you tease, nudging his leg again, this time dragging your toes up and down.

“I’m not.” The wounded expression is back.

“I’m just teasing. I know you’re not.” The contents of your tray steadily dwindle and the silence between you lengthens until you decide to interrupt it. “Steve?”

“Yes?”

“Do you want to stay and watch a movie with me? And yes, before you ask, I want you to. My question is do you want to?”

“Okay.”

You take a swallow of water then lean back in your chair. “I’m full. But that was good. Only thing that would make it better is some chocolate for dessert. I’ve been craving it. Just a candy bar would do wonders.”

“What’s your favorite kind?”

“Oh, I’m a Reese’s peanut butter cup kind of girl.”

“Noted.”

“What about you?”

“Hmmm…I’ve always been partial to Kit Kats.”

“Also a solid choice.” You stand and stretch, then make your way to the couch. He does sit directly next to you, so at least there’s that. You can still feel the nervous disquiet, the distinctly tense feeling emanating from the other man, though. You lift the hand resting in his lap and bring it overhead, letting it settle around your shoulders. “Better,” you murmur, hitting a few buttons on the remote until the movie begins again. You really hadn’t absorbed much of the plot, so you figure you’ll just start over. Besides, this wasn’t really about watching a movie together, and you both know it.

“You’re so wet,” you mumble as you nuzzle against his shoulder.

“That’s my line.”

You gasp in surprise, giving him a little shove and craning your face up to regard him. “Are you cracking sex jokes now?”

“You kind of walked into that.”

“Yeah, I guess I did.” There’s a definite smile trying to break free and you reach up to assist, your thumb tugging at one corner of his bearded mouth until he surrenders, revealing a flash of teeth. “You have a nice smile.”

Perhaps the wrong thing to say. Maybe he just wasn’t good at taking a compliment. His features are solemn once again.

“You should do it more often.” You gently underline his bottom lip with your thumb.

“You want me to?”

“Yes. And I want you to kiss me.”

His traps your hand, letting his lips brush against your fingers before he leans and briefly captures your mouth. A whimper escapes you when the contact ends. The remote slips from your thighs as you shift, climbing over into Steve’s lap, your legs straddling his. His hands cup your buttocks as you frame his face with yours, bending down to kiss him again. It lasts longer this time, and you feel the beginning red marks left behind from the scrape of his facial hair.

“Scratchy,” you observe, rubbing back and forth over one cheek.

“It needs a proper trim.”

You hum thoughtfully, dragging your fingers through the layers of his damp hair.

“Does that meet with your satisfaction?”

There’s a smirk on his face and you’re glad to see it. It seems as if his mood is gradually improving in your presence.

“It’s adequate,” you tease.

“Adequate? Is that how you describe it?” Keeping his hands locked on your hips, he shifts until his roll up against your crotch.

A nervous titter escapes you, even as you feel his arousal pressing against the junction of your thighs. “Okay, more than adequate. A lot more,” you add, sucking air through your teeth when he repeats the gesture more forcefully.

“Thought so,” he replies a little smugly, his hands kneading the curves of your buttocks. “Come here.” His hand curls around the back of your neck, pulling your face back down. The kisses are rougher this time. Hungrier. Now you’re both grinding against each other. “Hold on tight,” he whispers beside your ear, your wrists crossing behind his neck and your knees digging into his hips as he stands, bringing you with him. It’s a short distance to the bed. You cling to him even after he’s set you down, moving over your body, planting kisses on your neck.

“You’re going to mark me up some more?” You’ve got two love bites now, one staining your neck and the other your collarbone.

Steve’s face lifts to regard you. “You want that, sweetheart?”

You nod, biting your bottom lip.

“I think the next one should be a little better hidden, don’t you?”

You nod again, gasping when you feel his hands drag down your torso, jerking on the button of your jeans and tugging down the zipper. You think he might dip his fingers inside your panties right then, and God, do you want him to, but that smirk is back as he hooks them around the waistband of your pants instead and tugs, your entire body sliding with the force of that movement. You lift your hips to assist and he finishes peeling them down, fumbling a bit where they taper at the ankles before the clinging denim is finally removed.

You still have your panties on, watching as Steve hooks his thumbs in the leg bands, tugging upwards so the fabric tightens against your pussy. They’re just plain cotton, nothing fancy, a pale pink many shades lighter than that heated flesh they conceal, the material drawn taut between your folds, the seam pressing against your clit. He rubs one thumb in a circle over your nub through your underwear and you groan a little, squirming beneath his touch. The noise grows louder when his face lowers to that same spot, the flat of his tongue pressed firmly, his eyes still locked with yours, watching your reactions. You don’t even know what you want just then. It’s good even with that barrier in the way, but to be exposed, with that tongue…

The decision is made for you, calloused fingers now removing that last article of clothing. He hooks his arms around your spread thighs and kisses the inside of one, sucking hard, leaving his next brand on your body.

The feel of his beard is different here; something about that chafing heightens the sensation. Or maybe you’re just really horny. You’re certainly drenched. His tongue starts at your entrance, nudging into the leaking fluids, just lightly pressing for now, before slipping up through the petals. The tip curves and swipes at your bud and you moan loudly, your head rocking back and grinding against the pillows. The assault that follows is nothing short of perfection. Side to side, up and down, circles with the top and sides and underside of his tongue, that muscle occasionally giving your clit a break when he explores more of your pussy, peppering kisses along your thighs and groin, lower abdomen and mound. You don’t think it can get much better, but it does when he spits a wad of saliva down the center, completely unnecessary given how soaked you are but hot nonetheless, middle fingers gliding down through that added moisture and driving the slick right back inside of you, curving around the muscles, making your hips snap forward, driving him in deeper. He fucks you like that for awhile, still doling attention on your sensitive bud, then adds another finger, thrusting the pair in and out, alternating with firm licks and suckles.

“Steve, fuck…” You thread your fingers through his hair, pulling him against you even tighter and he hums, sounding pleased, even that vibration sending more waves of pleasure through you. You grind against his face, your own craned forward, your neck burning but you don’t care, you want to see it all, feel it as much as you can, your legs aching at how flat and far they’re spread. He makes another noise like one savoring a meal, mouth working in a frenzy over your sex while that facial hair scrapes so deliciously. Past the phases of teasing, no longer drawing things out, you feel yourself succumbing to his assault, the raw sounds of pleasure tearing from your throat. You cum hard against his tongue, around his fingers, feeling it from the top of your scalp to the tips of your toes. It’s a wrung out, exhausting kind of orgasm, deep and hard and satisfying. And he absolutely knows it. That smirk is back; that smug look, too, when he finally relents, the fingers digging into your skin easing up, sliding free, mouth lifted, saliva and arousal smeared over it.

“Jesus,” you gasp, still struggling to remember how to breathe. You can feel your heart knocking frantically against your ribs, the aftershocks sending a throbbing pins and needles sensation throughout your limbs and down your spine.

“Steve, actually,” he quips, planting a final damp kiss on the inside of one quivering thigh before he climbs back up the bed.

“Steve,” you agree, tasting yourself on his tongue.

“You need a break?”

“I’m good.”

“I’ll take it easy on you. For now, anyway.” True to his word, your captor takes his time opening his pants, lining up and sliding his cock into your still tingling cunt. His thrusts are slow, languid, mouth tucked against the side of your neck. He slots his fingers through yours, pushing your joined hands down into the mattress. “You like it, sweetheart?”

“Yes.”

“Mmm…me too.”

His pumping steadily grows more purposeful, the thrusts no longer shallow. He fucks into you hard and deep and fast, dragging more sounds of pleasure from you, his own joining yours. You don’t think you can’t quite manage another climax so soon after the intense one you’d just experienced, but it feels amazing all the same. You feel the muscles in his shoulder tighten, tensing, and you recognize that he’s nearly there.

“Steve, yes, cum.” And he does. A wracked shudder, that steady rhythm he’d been maintaining stuttering, and the feel of hot liquid spilling inside you follows.

He’s quiet afterwards when he cradles you against his chest. His fingers are linked with yours again. You want him to say you’re his. That’s why he’d marked you, isn’t it? Not a farewell. A promise. You belong to him.

“You want to go outside for a bit?” His voice is so low. So soft.

“Yes,” you say, wondering if it’s still raining.

***

It is still raining when Steve leads you through the front door.

You rest your hands on the porch railing, staring out at the damp earth, the leaves and pine needles from previous seasons that wallow in shallow puddles. He moves behind you, arms forming a kind of barrier as he braces them adjacent to yours, lips nuzzling the side of your neck. You close your eyes and inhale deeply. You can smell the forest, the fresh scent heightened by the downpour. You reach out one hand to let the weeping sky douse you, droplets pattering first on the reverse side and then on your palm as you turn it. You’ve always enjoyed the rain, especially thunderstorms. You love the overcast skies and deep rumbles, finding it soothing rather than frightening. There is no thunder today but it is pleasant nonetheless, the scenery tranquil and almost otherworldly. You like this place Steve has chosen to seclude himself away in.

“There’s a deer to your left. Doe. Move slowly to look.” His breath ghosts across your ear. You obey, turning your neck, your eyes taking a moment to adjust. It’s well camouflaged, but you eventually spot it, dark eyes and snout, tawny brown coat. The animal watches you for a time, and then it takes a cautious step back, then another, finally turning and trotting away.

The older man’s hand joins yours in the gentle deluge, stroking over the damp crease of every joint. The sudden urge to experience more of that shower overpowers you, making you push back against the man behind you, startling him. You grab his hand as you go, tugging him down the pair of wide steps, tipping your face back to let the rain wash over it. It sinks into your hair and lightly pelts your skin. You twine your wrists behind Steve’s neck, his hands settling on your waist.

“What even are you, you wild thing…” he murmurs, bending his face to kiss you.

“I’m yours,” you reply, hoping he’ll agree, that this time he won’t deny you.

A flurry of emotions plays over his features, and for a moment, you think maybe you’ll get your wish after all. “We should go back inside. Don’t want you getting sick.”

It’s not what you wanted to hear. And you don’t think it’s what he truly wanted to say, either. You let yourself be led back inside, back downstairs, into the shower and then dry clothes and then he leaves you, climbing the stairs slowly like a condemned man heading reluctantly to the gallows, turning to look back once, eyes full of want, wounded once again before he locks the door behind him.

***

Steve hadn’t planned on heading back into town again.

But that request for chocolate kept nagging at the back of his mind, so he’d found himself making the trek back to civilization, topping off the fuel in the car while he was there just so the trip didn’t seem quite so foolish.

The guilt of lying to you gnaws at him.

He doesn’t know how to tell you; knows he has no choice but to do so. He’d allowed himself to enjoy his time with you yesterday, but today was once step closer to tomorrow, the day he has to return you to your father. He has to tell you. He resolves to do it as soon as he returns, the expression on your features when he descends the stairs making him curse himself again, because you look so happy.

“There you are. Was wondering when you’d come back. Check in again?”

He shakes his head. “Errands. Got you something.” He withdraws the orange package from his shirt pocket and holds it out to you. Your eyes light up, recognizing the candy, and you grin as you tear the edge of the wrapper open.

“You went out just to get this for me.” It’s a statement that he can’t argue with and he shrugs and nods, tucking his hands into his pants pockets. He watches you peel the wrapper and take a bite of the first peanut butter cup, sighing rapturously. “I can’t even remember the last time I had these. Too long. Want the other one?”

“No, it’s for you.”

You lick at a stray bit of melted chocolate on your index finger, about to retrieve the remaining treat when his voice halts you.

“I have to tell you something.”

“Okay,” you reply. “What’s up?”

He inhales deeply, bracing himself. “Your father came through with the money.”

Your jaw drops a little. “He…he did?” Steve nods. “When did he…”

“Yesterday.”

You set the half eaten package on the nearby counter, frowning. “What do you mean? You didn’t say anything.”

“I didn’t want to.”

“Well…what….when…” you sputter helplessly.

“Tomorrow. We have to be at the meeting spot at noon.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I couldn’t.”

“I knew something was wrong. I knew you were lying. I can always tell…” Your voice shakes. “And then what happens? You just drop me off and go sailing off into the sunset? With your fucking money…”

Steve steps towards you and you strike out, slapping his cheek. He could easily have blocked it but he doesn’t, letting your hand make contact. There’s a burning sensation at the back of his throat, a rough, dry heat that’s pressing uncomfortably against his airway.

“You have to go back. Regain your freedom. You know that. It’s what you want.”

“You don’t even know what I want. Selfish, stupid…” Your hand lifts again and this time he stops the movement, fingers curling around your wrist. “Let me go. Let me go…” You tug against the prison he’s created and then abruptly stop, the extremity suddenly weak and wilting until he drags you tightly against his chest.

“That’s exactly what I have to do. Let you go,” he murmurs softly into your hair.

“No. I didn’t mean it. I don’t want that.”

“You do.”

“Stop telling me how to feel.” You knot a fist in his shirt. “You’re so lucky you don’t feel anything. You have no idea how bad this hurts.”

He gently pries your face free so he can see your features. “I know exactly how it feels. That’s why I couldn’t bring myself to tell you. Don’t you get it? Oh, sweetheart, you’re killing me,” he whispers, one thumb dragging across the tear that spills across your cheek.

“Stay with me tonight,” you plea. “If it’s our last night together. If this really is the end of us…”

He draws you back against him.

***

In the morning, there is little talk.

You pack your things and follow Steve to the car. You keep staring at him, memorizing all of the little details you’ve grown so fond of in such a short amount of time. His eyes stray from the road, his fingers abandon the wheel, and he looks and touches you with a kind of reverence, as if he’s committing the same detailed image to memory.

Your surroundings are growing familiar again. Closer to home. One break at a gas station to use the restroom, and then you’re back on the road. Steve’s attention is more focused now. You don’t reach for his fingers again.

You’re surprised when he pulls the car over seemingly in the middle of nowhere. He kills the engine and turns to you. “I have to tie your wrists again. For appearances. Otherwise…”

You nod your understanding, presenting them to him. He takes one hand and raises it while his head drops down, lips grazing your wrist. Your pulse quickens and you gasp. His head lifts, the image of the wolf flashing in your mind again, wide eyes blinking slowly, focused on his prey.

“Oh,” he breathes, dragging a thumb over your bottom lip before he captures it. You feel something wrench in your chest. For just a moment, you think he will change his mind. He will steal you away again, bring you to the cabin or even further, to the very ends of the Earth. And you will go. His willing creature.

Instead he binds your wrists for the final time. Turns the key in the ignition. The balding tires dig into the gravel of this forgotten road. Then you’re on your way.

***

Steve sees his fellow associates in position when he arrives in the abandoned warehouse, some in plain sight and others concealed. He can see your father has brought an entourage as well, and likely has his own men hidden. The middle aged man’s features soften when he catches sight of you, then grow stern as he glowers at your captor. The kidnapper keeps a hand on your elbow, gently but firmly guiding you forward.

He halts when he’s still several feet away, his eyes flicking to the briefcase your father is carrying. A barely perceptible nod, then you’re given a little shove forward and you stumble before regaining your footing and making your way towards your father, a soft Dad issuing from your lips in greeting. He grabs your arm, checking to see how you appear, asking if you’ve been hurt, but you shake your head, and he finally nods, having one of his companions deliver the case to Steve.

He hands it to the man beside him, the one who’d been his check in contact, and asks him quietly to count it. Almost absently his hand reaches for the gun tucked in his waistband, there just in case things didn’t go according to plan, but everything seems to be accurate and he lets his empty hand drop back to his side.

He allows himself to meet your gaze one final time, willing you to know everything he couldn’t quite bring himself to say, and then he turns and walks away.

***

There’s a new coffee shop in the area that you’ve been wanting to try for months now.

Today seems like a good a day as any, so you venture out, somewhat overwhelmed by the extensive menu and opting for something basic, adding a chocolate chip cookie to your coffee order before you choose a seat by the window. It’s late morning, the breakfast rush gone and the lunch rush not yet on the way, so you enjoy the quieter atmosphere, flipping through a magazine you’d purchased from the kiosk nearby.

You feel you’re being watched, and your head lifts, eyes darting about the cafe’s interior, but each patron seems occupied. Perhaps you are still a bit paranoid, still wary of being snatched up again.

Perhaps hoping for it even more.

You return your attention to your magazine but the feeling lingers and you look up again, scanning the room, this time letting that gaze encompass the street. He’s there. Steve. Right on the other side of the glass.

Your eyes widen, a smile automatically blossoming on your features. He returns a more conservative one. You rest your palm against the window and he matches his to yours. Your eyes meet again and then you both move at the same time. You leave everything behind, rushing to the exit, pushing past a startled woman just entering the shop and flinging yourself into the bearded man’s arms. Your face burrows against his shoulder and your arms lock tightly around him.

“Hi, sweetheart. What an amazing coincidence.”

You chuckle softly, breathing his scent in deeply. “Hi. How have you been?” You draw back to study his face, those feelings from all those months ago rushing back.

“Alright.”

“Just alright? No vacation? You don’t look tan.” You frown, letting your hands slide down his shirtfront. There are other pedestrians on the sidewalk but they move smoothly around your reunited embrace.

“I decided not to go. Missed you,” he admits in a gruff voice. “Still miss you.”

“Yeah, well, you know where to find me.” You try to keep your voice light.

“I was thinking, if I did see you again. If I happened to run into you. Then it had to be fate, really. A second chance. For us,” he adds, sounding hopeful.

“You mean it?”

“Yeah. If you want that.”

A grin splits your mouth wide open. “I want it.”

Steve returns your grin. “Good. Maybe we could start off easy. You know, like go to a coffee shop.”

“I think I know a place.” Your hand slips into his and he holds it tightly, letting you lead him forward.

[luffyvace]

Kurapika fluffy relationship headcanons :)

i felt like doing some for him so here i am

finding fluffy ones for him isn’t hard but i just wanted to add to the ratio

gn reader! :)

so before i start i want to say that i’m going to do this in a scenario where you met at the boat taking you to dolle harbor

(if you don’t remember it’s the island that leads the entrance exam—aka the island where the old woman asks the main four if you’d rather save your mother or you lover. look it up-)

anyway

you two met on that boat

he looked pretty friendly to you

so you struck a conversation

even if your not the most social- the other guys sure didn’t look friendly

plus you were interested in the book he was reading

which is what you talked about

eventually you got each other’s names and some small introductory facts about each other

so you guys became friends :)

he saw how strong you were during the yellow wolf thing’s test (forgot they name- not gonna look it up)

or if your not strong you were smart enough to figure out that this was a test

or not- again. then maybe he helped you out/protected you

”hey thanks!”

”it’s nothing, just watch your back next time :)”

you travel with kurapika, leorio and gon for some time and get to know the 4 of them decently by the time you make it to the actual exam

fast forward to around the time your getting closer to finishing the exam

leorio has picked up on the fact that kurapika has a crush on you by now

he offers him advice but kurapika decides to do things on his own

fast forward again to after he courts you

(if you want hcs that go more in depth on him crushing or trying to court you just ask)

relationship time!!

i’ll clear this up right here and now-

no he wouldn’t involve you in his spider killing business

ik everyone says that 😭

but it’s true we all just kinda collectively agree he wouldn’t for your safety

especially since your his s/o

now your the closest person he has to family besides friends

and he definitely wouldn’t want to risk that

so no, he wouldn’t involve you the same way he wouldn’t involve killua, gon and leorio

if you get held hostage along with gon and killua he would internally panic

this is kurtapika tho so of course he still stays calm and rational

they’d better not hurt you

but just like gon and killua they left you go :)

he gives you a very very tight hug after that.

he loves reading and would love to bond with you over books if you do too

recommending authors to each other

reading in silence next to each other

sharing your thoughts after finishing the same book

its comforting

kurapika is a pretty good cook

even though he doesn’t do it often he was taught from a young age by his mom

so he’s real good with seasoning

kurapika likes savory foods, a little bit of sweet too

occasionally salty

but he won’t mess with spicer ones

if he does the shopping he won’t come home with spices

you’ll have to buy that

his first instinct wouldn’t be to give massages

but if you ever asked for one he’d realize loves to give and receive them

if your not strong he’d teach you how to defend yourself

probably some basic nen too

he likes cuddles more than he’d like to admit

if you ask he’d blush a little then lay down and wait for you to snuggle up next to him

hes also real good at keep the place clean

he wouldn’t bring up dates since he’s busy a lot but if you suggest one when he has some time he’d be more than happy to go on one with you

he’s a very loyal, honest and communicative lover

on the last one though he’ll shut down and walk away before coming to talk it out later

it kinda sucks but it’s a habit of his so you’ll have to talk to him about it if you want him to put forth effort to stop

he respects and supports most decisions you make as long as they’re safe

he probably told you about his family back when you were friends

like how he did with gon killua and leorio

you can try to comfort him about it but he kinda reacts how he did when he told gon and the others

”only killing all the spiders would be able to put me at ease”

even then as we saw when he heard they “died” he’d still be drowning in a indespicable emptiness 🤓

on a brighter note

if you compliment him his reaction is kinda cute

”oh..! thanks y/n :)”

continue to do it frequently and he’ll do it back to you

it becomes you guys’ thing.

his love languages are quality time (as much as he can) and acts of service

overall he’s a 9/10 lover <3

[miumura]

💭 — SUNOO AS YOUR BOYFRIEND !

for my pooks @bearseulgs , thank you dear 🥹🫶

warnings : none?

— obviously sunoo is always cheerful and energetic around others, but when he’s with you, he’s the same just more calmer. you are basically his social battery charger since he knows you wouldn’t judge him if he acted “differently”.

— would get into those silly playful arguments where you go “you’re pretty” and then he goes, “you’re prettier.”

— “you know, you’re so cute.” “you’re cuter.” “sunoo we are not doing this again—” “oh yes we are.” someone stop him

— sure, sunoo seems cute and stuff, but he sure knows how to make you flustered. any time he manages to make you blush, he’s already got the notes app open on his phone and typing it down. so that’s why you keep getting butterflies around him!

— loves cute matching stuff. you can’t tell me he wouldn’t get excited over the cute matching pjs you got for a sleepover </3

— honestly your enabler. you could be trying to stop online shopping and just “browsing” through the website, and sunoo would suddenly appear. “that would look great on you” “you think so? yeah i thought so too—” and you easily added it to your cart. be more responsible!!!

— but honestly, you’re probably his enabler too. no wonder you both get along, temptations take over 🫶

— you two are stuck to the HIP. everywhere he is, you have to be there. everywhere you are, he’s already following you from behind. others wonder how you guys do that. they need some advice too for their partners

— pouts / scoffs when jealous or “angry” at you. however when you just shower him w/ love, suddenly the sour expression on his face turns into a happy one :) keep him happy please

— bear hugs with him!! i feel like he gives such warm hugs

— sudden hugs throughout the day is his thing. he just loves randomly opening his arms and trapping you in his embrace. not that you have anything to complain about though.

— when you’re tired, he’d happily help you with whatever you need, whether it’s removing makeup or helping you put away your clothes, he’s there to help you. he does it even though he’s tired, he likes looking out for you first.

— if he notices you’re feeling down, he’d cling onto you to try to make you feel better. it doesn’t matter if you won’t tell him what’s wrong, he’s sure his touch would help you, even if it would just a little bit.

— the type to swing your hands back and forth as you hold hands.

— lets you squish his cheeks whenever you want. he likes it whenever you do it, just not by the others as much. this leads to lot of complaints and sulking from the others, but sunoo couldn’t care less!! only you and that’s final!

— you two have days where you two just lay down comfortably to talk bs about other people. its like your own gossip nights, exclaiming whenever the other person speaks. definitely your favorite days. and so is it his

— you both are talk and listen people. no rushing, just allowing the person speak and then saying any input. this is why you guys can talk for hours

— tries to use his cute looks to bribe you into doing something for him. and trust me, it works most of the time. almost all the time. no self control, as said before

— also caves into your wants, he just wants to get everything you want. oh you want something? he’s gonna think about it for the whole day, soon buying it just for you.

— what is sunoo as a bf if i don’t mention skincare nights? you’d do each other’s skincare for the fun of it…it usually ends up with wet shirts and chaotic screaming. lovely, isnt it <3

— gift giving is the way to go for the both of you!

— he could drive, but he rather be a passenger princess because he feels like it would be much safer. not him doubting himself. but he will sit next to you, giving you directions and taking care of the music.

— nose kisses. i dont know why, he’d just leave a small peck on your nose or both of your noses would just touch.

— loves playing with your hair

— loves you too much that he would brag you to his friends <3

💭 — one more to go 🫶 also summer break finally starts so hopefully i can post daily…maybe…

ENHA PERM TAGLIST — @flwoie @ixomiyu @yenavrse @shinsou-rii @bearseulgs @ilovewonyo @yenqa @dimplewonie @bubblytaetae @wtfhyuck @ineedaherosavemeenow @starcubes @starikizs @wonioml @chirokookie @xiaoderrrr @neozon3nha @en-chantedtomeetyou @millksea @enhaz1 @eundiarys @woon2u @ja4hyvn @judeduartewannabe @j-wyoung @thia-aep @vampcharxter @softpia @officiallyjaehyuns @itsactuallylina @hsheart @sweetjaemss @ahnneyong @hanienie @jwnghyuns @kpoplover718 @jiawji @rikizm @haknom @yeokii @wvnkoi @tnyhees @teddywonss @shinunoga-iie-wa @flwrshee

[jjwho]

♤What will Your Love Life be like within the Next 3 Months♤

Pile1. Pile2.

Pile3. Pile4.

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Pile 1

Cards pulled out: Death reversed, six of pentacles reversed, seven of swords, knight of wands

Okay pile 1 so what im getting is that within the next 3 months of your love life you probably haven't moved on from your ex or like bad habits or like changing your perspective on something or you haven't changed your toxic type and you are probably going back to your ex or ex fling over and over again and just can't wake up from it.

Or you have this toxic love fanatsyin your head and you like these men or woman that abuse their power and give you something and want something in return like they give you some attention cause they wanna bang bang you, yk yk? Whoever this ex or toxic type is, they just gonna keep lying to you and trick you and continue to cheat and cheat and cheat and they won't stop and you can't fix them, cause hoes like that don't change. Just saying. This person might "sweep you off your feet" and make you feel so so special but ja it's just not like that. A shameless flirt, that's what this person is. They're rebellious, fearless, confident and hot tempered. The next three months is just going back and forth with this person and its taking you nowhere but wasting your time only.

Advice cards from the wheel from "Iconic JJ advices": "The bee gets honey taken away and nothing give back"

Yeah so you needa stop letting these men/woman/hoes keep using you and taking advantage of you, like have some self worth in you and move on, it's not gonna work. You're gonna look back from 2 years ahead and you're gonna be like "I was so embarrassing" cause honestly girl maybe it's his face or maybe it's the way he makes you feel special, but no one else would date him, you dated him or fucked around with him, now he thinks he's so hot and can fuck around with multiple people at once. You gotta leave him. Don't build up his ego. Leave and build up your self love, self respect. Got that Pile 1!

Okay bye byeee love yalll

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Pile 2

Cards pulled out: Two of cups, King of cups, the tower reversed, ace of swords reversed

Ace of cups back of the deck

Okay so Pile 2222

Okay so Pile 2 idk if yall already in a relationship or you guys met someone or are going to meet someone you'll feel quite a attraction too. Like you guys have mutual respect for each other And you guys are just equal, maybe unlike your past relationships. This person's super sweet the masculine but sweet and compassionate masculine. They're romantic, friendly, wise and just calm and has his shit straight.

But maybe you've been heartbroken so much in the past you're just avoiding the whole thing even though there's attraction and just everything perfect, it might seem too perfect in your eyes and you'll just back up and just avoid the feeling of loss and everything like that.

Because of all of this there's gonna be confusion between you two, misinformation being passed around and making people make the wrong decision because of miscommunication.

I believe you guys both like each other, but then you closing off makes them think stuff and do stuff (not like kiss other chick's or things) just stuff that you thought meant smt else and just a whole lot of confusion.

But you shouldn't let your fear of love take away something good the universe gave you

Advice from wheel from JJs iconic advices": "Life does not life around shitty people"

Okay I have a good feeling the people who will give you guys misinformation or make you think the wrong shit about each ither are the shitty people in your life. Ik when you like someone you'll try find out about them as much as possible, so you might believe any bullshit you hear, but don't. He doesn't have anything to hide so just ask him he won't leave you. He's sweet and compassionate and wants you. Leave this shitty hoes in your life okay. They're just shit and you're good and can't let shit smear on you.

Okay that's I have byeeee

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Pile 3

Cards pulled out:Page of pentacles, the wheel of fortune, three of wands, five of swords reversed

Back of the deck: Four of wands

So Pile 333

What im getting is that you'll be at a point qhere you're setting goals for yourself and going for what you want and maybe a person as well, this person could be a grounded young person who's loyal, faithful and makes sure they live a healthy lifestyle and stay consistent, they might even still seek education. Not saying they're really young they might be the same age as you, but just has a bigger thirst for knowledge.

This mightve been something that was meant to happen and around this time you might have a lot of luck. You'll be more happy with yourself and your self confidence will be higher. You might be traveling during this time maybe you'll meet him there or you guys will be traveling together around. But your hard works will be paying off and that might be a reason you'll be traveling but you guys mightve been in a long distance relationship or you guys gonna be one of those traveling romance things. Cutee. You guys mightve had some conflicts but are peacefully resolving them. Someone might make a huge sacrifice but ja. But it resolving peacefully.

Advice from wheel from Iconic advices from JJ: "You're a clean Diamond, he isn't and doesn't want to be"

Okay damn so the sacrifice part I'm not sure if something happens but ja maybe they're talking about someone in the last you need to stop trying go after. Leave the past and look into the present. Like if they've moved on then move. Okay? I'm sorry but ja that's the way it is. Just feel, cry. Accept. Then move on. Sounds super easy but is hard I know. Just go out more as well and be open Okay?Don't hold onto someone who doesn't want you, there's millions of people who could want you if you give them the opportunity to let them know you and they could also treat you better.

Okay byeeee

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Pile 4

Cards pulled out:Knight of cups, nine of pentacles, nine of swords reversed, six of cups

Back of the deck: The empress

Okay so what im getting is that someone within the next 3 months will yk offer they're cup of love for you. Theyre gonna take action and just follow their heart, you might even be swept off you're feet, you could find them charming and super gentlemanly. Super warm and gentle, at this time you might be getting more serious about your independence and success and just really focused on that, or yalls relationship that you guys are setting off is gonna become more successful and stable. Could be both but ja. This might make you happy and have faith, cause this is like your "Light at the end of the tunnel" and you'll accept the help from them cause that's all they want to do.

This relationship has a nostalgic vibe to it, like a lot of innocence and "I'll protect you" energy. This could help you connect more to your creative side and feminine side. But a lot of harmony between you guys. This is sweet.

Advice cards: "One life, one chance, a world that doesn't care"

So just go for it, I feel like you're scared to go after your dream or something your heart yearn for, but I believe its time you should. Don't be scared. Failure is normal in life, success is part of understanding failure is okay, success is going after your dream 100 times no matter how much you fall. Don't be scared and go for it. Okay.

Byeee

Okay guys I hope you enjoyed the readings have a lovely dayyy

[thatonebipotato]

gonna ramble about MAWS season 3 predictions and stuff under the cut, its gonna be pretty long and also mostly about conner

ok so first off, MAWS season 3 and conner in s3 are both CONFIRMED LETS GOOO

so i have some thoughts about what i think will happen, at least very specifically with conner

alright so first off, its possible that they could go the standard clone route. thats what im hoping for, as it seems pretty fun and has so much angst potential, especially in this iteration

first off there's the half kryptonian half human thing. thats probably gonna be luthors main draw to why superboy is better. however, thats also gonna be the thing that drives him to isolation, as it tends to do. hes too human to be kryptonian and too kryptonian to be human

luthor and slade, who are fairly good at manipulation, can use this against him and keep him feeling isolated so that he stays with them. knowing them and what they can do, i also believe that they might use kryptonite against him to keep him in line

i believe it could be some kind of sick back and forth, where conner keeps one upping clark and kara and being used as proof that aliens arent needed or wanted, and then clark and kara catching back up and him feeling like hes failing his only purpose

this leads up to a culmination of superboy going against superman and supergirl. ive mentioned the line "i never asked/wanted to be made" coming up before, and i think it could be here that its used

the first season was about clark learning and accepting who he is, then the second was about him and kara learning and accepting who they are, so it does make sense for the third season to also throw in a third kryptonian so they learn who they are together

however, the conner teaser we got shows him looking fairly tan. both luthor and clark are fairly pale in this iteration, so its possible that it could be a clone between lois and clark instead, as ive seen some people point out.

the alternative, which i think is a little bit more likely, is that it will be a conner from an alternate dimension.

alternate dimensions have already been played around with in the first season of MAWS, and as seen in this photo (the second one of the post) from the panel showing off what might be the s3 opening or possibly a promotional poster or smth, it looks like they're not only going to be bringing back the other dimensions, but it seems like that might be the main focus of the season

what i think could happen with this is that they either get to a dimension with conner in it and he helps them with whatever they need, or hes the one/is also traveling dimensions and they just happen to run into each other and they help each other out.

from there, i think we can learn that conner doesnt exist in the main dimension yet, so conner gives clark tips on how to handle him when he finally gets made. that, or because of weird dimension stuff he has to be super tight lipped about everything and can only give him vague hints.

near the end of the season, we also get a teaser for the main universes superboy, who gets to actually star in a potential 4th season

idk, these are just my thoughts that i wanna share. we dont have a lot to go off of as far as i know, but im so hyped for the next season its insane. if anyone wants to add PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE go for it, id love to hear other thoughts and perspectives and discuss this with people!!

[suniloli]

BOILING POINT p1

12 Dec 2023

Pairing: Daryl Dixon x fem!reader (and a bit of Rick Grimes x fem!reader if you so interpret it that way)

Word Count: 1.76K

Warnings: Swearing, sexual innuendo

Setting: Prison

Summary: Your tumultuous relationship with Daryl has come to a head. You try to internalise why things have changed between you two. Will things go back to the way they were?

Author Note: This one sort of came to me out of the blue. Wanted to change it up a bit and challenge myself…was also thinking of starting a series, but I’m pretty sure I won't be able to keep up with regular posting etc because I procrastinate a fair bit. Anyways, there’s a lot of dialogue, and not a lot of Daryl x reader interaction yet. Hope the progression of things makes sense!  - Sól

“What the fuck’s wrong with you?”

“Nothin’! You’re just a good fer nothin’ bitch!” 

“How DARE you!” You screamed back at Daryl. “Get the FUCK out of my face!”

“FINE!” He spat as he stalked towards the prison’s gates. 

“What a prick…” you angrily rumbled. You could feel your blood reaching its boiling point. Your body felt like a furnace.

Clenching your fists, you resorted to murmuring not-so-nice things while pacing the prison yard. “He’s such a fuckin’ asshole…always like this…what the fuck….”

In the distance, you could hear Daryl’s motorbike roaring to life, a bit of a venomous back and forth between Daryl and whoever had to cop his attitude at the gate, and he was off on the run without you. Hearing his bike only fuelled your anger. 

“Why’s it always like this?” Glen asked Maggie with a hint of annoyance. “I mean, they’re assholes to each other all the time now…”

Maggie furrowed her brow, pondering the situation. “What happened between them? Y/N hasn’t shared anything about it…”

Putting his arm around her shoulders and squeezing them, Glenn gently kissed her cheek. 

“She probably doesn’t even know what’s going on herself…I mean, they used to get on like a house on fire!” Glenn exclaimed. Adjusting his rifle against the watch tower’s railing, he waved his arm in the air and pointed at you in the distance. “And look at her now…a literal walking ball of flames.”

Maggie sighed. Grasping the hand on her shoulder, she leaned her head against her husband. 

“I just hate seeing her in pain like this….she’s hurting…” Maggie said sadly. “I always thought there was something between them...makes me want to smack some sense into Daryl”.

“Yeah, same” Glenn commented, his gaze following you walking towards the prison. “Guess she’s cooled off a bit…wonder when Mr Cranky's gonna be back...”

All eyes were on you as you stalked back through the courtyard and prison. You knew they all probably heard your public spat, but you ignored their judgment and made a beeline for your cell. 

Once there, you threw your bag into the corner with a loud, muffled bang and sat on the edge of the bed with your head in your hands. 

Realising how bad the state of your relationship with Daryl had become, the waterworks opened and you started to sob. 

So many thoughts were running through your mind. The argument itself was so ridiculous! You accidentally knocked his crossbow off the bike seat and the string snapped. It was easily fixable! You were going to apologise, but you turned around only to be faced with Daryl's expression twisted in anger and something else unreadable. 

“Are you fuckin’ stupid?” Daryl growled. Taken aback, you were immediately riled up. 

“Uh, excuse me?” 

He dropped his eyes to the crossbow on the ground. As he bent down to snatch it up, you took a step towards him, gesticulating wildly. 

“Did you wake up on the wrong side of the bed? You on your period or something?” You snarked. 

“Always screwin’ around ain’t ya!” He yelled back. 

“What’s that supposed to mean?” You retorted. There was something else in his eyes at that moment.

“Jus’ shut up woman!” Daryl gnashed. The rest is history.

He was callous with you regularly now. The two of you were constantly in some sort of argument. If not, he was staring you down from across the way. Everything he said was cutting you into two, and you felt ashamed that you were affected by it. 

Admittedly, you weren’t being so nice back, but who was Daryl to speak to you like that? How dare he! 

You wanted it to go back to the way it was. The tension between the both of you had reached its peak. On multiple occasions, you tried talking with Daryl about his unreasonableness, but every time he would cut you off, leave, or divert the conversation altogether. 

You hated his stubbornness. You hated his unwillingness to listen. It seemed as if Daryl was content with having things never go back to how they were. And that is what made you feel upset. 

It was unknown why he was treating you with such disdain. It was wanting to know why he never smiled that little smile at you, brushed your hands with his anymore, or why he never gave your waist a friendly little pinch. He was being so unfair. 

What was wrong with him? You were starting to think that there was something wrong with you…

You could feel tears pooling in your hands and snot in your sinuses. Giving a couple of rich, flavourful sniffles, you lay down on the bed with your legs hanging off. Somehow, even with the crying-induced headache that you now bore, sleep found you. 

You woke abruptly to the early evening sunlight filtering into your cell. Headache much worse than before, you carefully brought yourself up onto your elbows and realised that you had gone to bed with your gear on. Moving to your side and dragging your leg up onto the mattress, you wiped your swollen eyes of any sleep and yawned. 

This wasn’t how today was supposed to go. 

You wondered if they’d give you shit for not going on that supply run. 

You wondered if Daryl had gone to retrieve what you needed from it. 

You wondered if he was back yet. 

Trying not to let any thoughts of him bubble to the surface, you slowly got up from the bed and noticed a small plate of something on your makeshift bedside table. You were so discombobulated that you didn't even notice that someone had left you dinner. 

Carefully balancing the plate on your left hand, you fully pulled the curtain across the doorway and decided to eat in the beautiful evening sun. 

Settling into the grass and watching the sun set below the horizon, a blanket of peace wrapped around your shoulders. Savouring the rich gamey flavour of what tasted like freshly prepared venison, you observed the oranges and yellows mingle with each other in the sky. The soft chill of the breeze helped soothe the puffiness of your face. You looked around and saw some of the  kids kicking around a soccer ball. Their laughter and boisterousness made you smile. 

“Mind if I join you?”

You turned around to find Rick smiling at you. 

“Yeah, of course,” You grinned back. He settled in the space next to you and leaned back. It was quiet for a few minutes. It seemed Rick was observing the beauty around him at that moment too. 

“You know, I never thought we’d be this lucky…” Rick started. He was still looking towards the open field and the activity there. “It still amazes me. After everything we’ve been through”. 

“I know…it’s so beautiful to see kids be kids again” you replied. “Speaking of, where’s Judith, that little cutie?” 

“Beth’s with her now. You know, Daryl’s very good with her — ”

“Seriously?” You sassed. “Are you trying to talk him up?”

Rick laughed. “Nah, ‘course not…” Rick looked away from you sheepishly and picked at his gun holster. “Just tryna’ see if you're still mad at him…”

“Well, now that you’ve reminded me, yeah. I am” you stated. He puffed some air from his nose, placed his hand on your knee, and squeezed it gently. 

“You know, it’s not only affecting you two. Everyone feels uneasy. I think it would be better for both of you if you trusted someone enough to share what’s going on. If you trusted me enough…” 

You paused to look at him. There was pure concern in his eyes. Feeling the weight of his gaze, you looked down at the hand on your knee. You gently placed your hand atop his and pondered for a moment. 

“You know, back at the farm, I remember this one time Daryl and I came across a stash of alcohol from the main house...”

Rick hummed. 

“And…that night we probably had one too many…”

Rick gave you a quizzical look. “And?”

“Uh…” You tapped your other finger against your lap. “We ended up behind the barn somehow, and then he kissed me…” you murmured. The memory confuses you. “But then he pulled back abruptly and left…I don’t remember much else. I’ve never told anyone about it.” You looked away. It was embarrassing to say out loud. 

Rick removed his hand from yours. Stretching his legs out, he leaned on one of his hands and turned to fully face you. 

“Y/N…”

“And I don’t even know if he remembers because he’s never said anything about it…I mean, who cares now right? We treat each other like shit.”

“Hey,” Rick said. He placed his other hand on your shoulder to attract your attention. “I remember how it used to be between you two, even at the quarry. If he decided to pussy out, then he’s the one who messed up, not you” he smirked. 

You considered his words. “I just don’t understand how we went from being so close to being at each other’s throats. He hates me now…”

“He doesn’t hate you…I think he’s just going through a lot with Merle being gone, and dealing with all the change that’s happenin’…”

“That’s such bullshit…” you muttered. 

Rick moved closer to you and wrapped his arm around yours. You leaned your head on his shoulder. 

“Well, luckily I’ve got this handsome cowboy to distract me” you snickered. Rick gave you a hearty laugh and kissed the top of your head. 

“Don’t think your boyfriend would appreciate that…you know, you don’t see the way he looks at you sometimes.”

“I don’t know who you’re looking at Rick, but that’s not Daryl at all…definitely not now.”

“I think there’s more goin’ on than you think…just trust me. If it never works out, this handsome cowboy’s a couple of cells away” he joked. 

“Cute, Rick” you smirked. You hugged his side and thanked him. The sky was now littered with stars, and moonlight shone across the courtyard. It was beautiful. 

As you bid each other farewell, the peace was disrupted by the resounding slam of the prison door, the harsh sound of metal reverberating across the field. Squinting for just a couple of seconds, you accepted the fact that the night sky didn’t offer a clear view that far away. Sharing a glance, you both brushed it off and parted ways. 

However, you couldn’t shake the feeling that you saw something orange glowing on the ground before it snuffed out.

Part 2 / Part 3

*I DO NOT give permission for my work to be used/adapted/copied in any way.*

[blabberoo]

Saw the first ep of Dead Cells Imortalis

Honestly i easily get excited with things. Especially this one. But oh man do i have a lot of things to say and im trying to hold it back 😭

So its blabbin' time.. (spoilers first ep)

Yknow, this feels like those game trailers that does exposition of the introduction of the plot of it... But slightly extended. And it just leaves it underwhelming.

The pace is very quick (possibly budget issue who knows). I dont think i got enough time for Laure's character introduction. She felt like shes just.. there?? (I guess shes literally lore expositor 😭)

I'm kind of ok with Bobby, because they left him as he is, or how i always thought of him. Still an apathetic jerk who has a death wish (WOOO LOVE THAT IN IMMORTAL CHARACTERS MY FAVORITE SOUP ✨✨)

The part where Bobby and Laure started to work as a team only got told through a narration voice over. (Ig with background visuals) So not much back and forth between characters :( Till the end..

Love Bobby's little dialogue at the end (i love how much of a jerk he is screw me), but it felt like its too early for that. Well, knowing how short these series would be i guess they would cut a few things. And i guess that was needed for Laure to strike a deal with him.

And honestly, with how bare and simple the story is so far, it is still possible to have Bobby mute. There are other shows that had already done that. The game itself did. And with the first episode, I could still see it work with him not saying a word.

Laure tells him the deal. Bobby nods and gives a thumbs up.

Laure witnessed him walking away when guard said she'd kill her if he leaves.

Laure calls him out. He turns to her smirking, and continues to walk away. Laure calls him a liar.

YKNOW HOW FUN THAT WOULD BE??!?! JUST HIM MAKING SILLY GUESTURES?!?!??

(i swear i am so tempted to rewrite the whole ep with him mute)

I guess except for that whole Bobby dialogue at the end (and maybe the lead up to the death deal)?? But perhaps the show can express that more in later episodes??

All in all, i guess im a bit frustrated. Because I really do see the potential, and the potential makes me very excited over it. But thats just that: potential. I love Laure's conflict with her own religion and i love how she weighs on what's important to her in the moment. I love how Bobby doesnt care about anything much, because all he sees is that familiar hell and wanting to see a way out. But almost half of it seemed to be resolved in the first ep.

I'd honestly take those short, whimsical silly nature of the game trailers. If they've kept the old artstyle, i woudnt have mind if it was shorter or lesser episodes. But if theyre gonna keep this new style and make a lore heavy story out of it, at least maybe commit to it?

Perhaps im just jumping to conclusions right now since it's just the first episode, and im just fresh out of it. I've only seen it twice. So my only hope was they expand on these characters rather than just plot tools to keep the show going,.. or maybe im asking too much lol.

TL;DR.

First ep impression:

Pace way too quick. Not much character build. Guessing on budget issue. Love the idea, but a bit poorly executed.

Anyways thats probably it... Some thoughts i might keep for later.

And i just wanna say i screamed giddily at this image...

[fiapartridge]

we need to talk about their first kiss 🤭 now i’m intrigued

OMG OKAY

i feel like their first kiss was definitely on a date

like she’s read so many YA books and watched so many romcoms that she wanted it to be like super special

and she’s definitely had her first kiss before but it was stupid and icky and gross and at a high school party during seven minutes in heaven with the dumb ass 6 foot 2 guy on the football team (and while that sounded like an amazing set up for a romcom, it was an absolute nightmare). he tried to do way more than kissing and provided way more tongue than needed. so it’s safe to say that she didn’t kiss anyone for a while after that one

and she really really likes beckett and if she were ever going to have her perfect romcom kissing in the rain kiss, she wanted it with him

and while their first kiss wasn’t in the rain (timing is not in her favor), it was still special nonetheless <3 i feel like it was at a fair (cliche, i know! but she’s all about the cliche shit) — but it was on the ferris wheel

and she’s terrified of heights

beckett had to drag her on there

“please please please, do you know how many deaths have occurred on a ferris wheel?” she asked, her hand pulling him in the opposite direction, but being a 6’3” hockey player, he doesn’t budge easily.

he laughed. “how many?”

she paled. “oh, i didn’t think you’d actually ask…a lot! probably.”

“oh, probably,” he nodded. with a sigh, he threw her over his shoulder. “c’mon.”

she’s protesting the entire time, threatening to sue him for “unwarranted entry of ferris wheel” — beckett didn’t understand her either.

she was closing her eyes the entire time, a death grip on beckett’s arm. “you know, if you squeeze any harder, you might get charged for aggravated assault.”

“oh, very funny,” she scoffed, eyes still shut tight.

he sighed, his hand finding its way on her cheek, just as she had done the day he was freaking out at the arena. her joints calmed just a bit, her eyes still wired shut, and her hands still glued to beckett’s arm, but calmer nonetheless.

“hey,” he spoke gently. “can you open your eyes? you’re gonna miss the view.” at this point, you were at the top of the ferris wheel, stopped at the best part, overlooking the entire city.

“can’t,” she shook her head. “freaking out.”

he grinned, his thumb rolling back and forth on her cheek. she leaned against his soft, gentle palm, her eyes opening just a bit.

“better?” he smiled.

she let out an exhale, looking right into his eyes—nowhere else. she nodded. “better.”

his eyes hovered over her face, looking between her lips and her nervous eyes. “trust me?”

she gulped. “more than anyone else.” which was a lot to say right now. she met him only a couple weeks ago, but for some reason, she felt closer to him than anyone else she’s met in this city. they were both homesick, they understood each other. it felt nice.

and slowly, he ducked his head, kissed her lips, and it was like everything faded away. like she wasn’t on a ferris wheel, like she wasn’t sitting at the highest point she’s ever been, like she wasn’t facing her biggest fear without a care in the world.

it was perfect

it was her perfect romcom kiss

[fireflysummers]

Final Thoughts on GO S2

I'm probably gonna pull back on discussing S2, at least publicly, after this. I did actually like a lot of the season, but it's triggering some of my religious trauma and also the fandom is already stressing me out. So here, let's have some final thoughts.

First and foremost: I am not a Gaiman simp. I've read a decent amount of his work: comics, short stories, essays, and novels. Aside from Good Omens, I've liked Coraline and The Graveyard Book the best by far, whereas American Gods just. Did Not Connect with me, even though it's should have, given the stuff I tend to enjoy.

However. Regardless of whether I like a given work (or even like how he adapted it, a la parts of The Sandman TV series), he is a veteran writer who has proven that he does, actually, know how to write a story with consistent characters.

Beyond that, I do actually believe that he's trying to do right by Pratchett, and loves and respects the story and characters they created together. He's generally shown up as an ally to a variety of social causes, and directly and respectfully responds to fans on Tumblr. While no saint, I feel that there is cause to give the benefit of the doubt that things will resolve satisfyingly in S3, and that there is Intention about some of the things in S2.

This, of course, does not absolve it of being "bad," but even here I think we need to articulate better the different types of "bad" that people are reacting to. There seems to roughly be three camps here: 1) People who thought it was "bad" because of how it ended, with the breakup and a lot of unresolved plot threads; 2) People who thought it was "bad" because it struggled on a technical level with its set, lighting, directorial choices, editing, etc; 3) People who thought it was "bad" because they felt the characterization was significantly off and that the internal logic of the series had been violated.

With regards to Point One, the only solution is to Wait and See. Judgement should be reserved until the story is properly finished--easier said than done, especially considering the current media landscape, and the number of series or franchises that fail to live up to their promises.

Point Two isn't something I understand well enough to contribute meaningfully, except that I suspect the pandemic affected this aspect the most and am willing to give it a bit more mercy. That aside, I for the most part I don't find it bad so much as not as good as S1. Except for the parts with epilepsy warnings, surely there could've been a better way to do that.

Point Three... that's the stumbling block for me, and I find it interesting that most of the folks who struggle with this point in particular are long time fans of the book.

I trust that instinct.

There are two different directions to go from here. The first is the assumption that these problems are a result of ego, carelessness, or lack of skill from the showrunners/writers/director. It's cynical but not unjustified. The second is the belief that the breaks in lore or characterization were intentional, building towards a much grander conspiracy. Of course, even in this case I don't think it forgives the lack of signposting that would indicate that this is a choice rather than an accident. It just makes it feel clumsy and poorly constructed, a major risk on a show that hasn't had its third season confirmed.*

However, regardless, it still feels salvageable. I've enjoyed reading a lot of meta on all this, and I've pulled some things from others (particularly That Theory by @ariaste), but I don't really want to put forth a single, defined theory myself. Instead, here's some questions I've got, why those questions are important (to me, at least). Actual theorizing comes after, and anybody who snidely mentions Sherlock in the comments or tags is going to get auto-blocked. Like seriously, I'm aware that some stuff is a stretch, but it's fun??? To theorize????? And I'm here for me and my peace of mind rather than trying to argue a point.

*I have some suspicions here, particularly with Gaiman stating that the decision from Amazon would come much faster than The Sandman's second season (which was four months). I don't know enough though to say if that's actually significant.

Questions

Who the fuck is telling this story?

This is the most important piece, in my opinion. There's this assumption when reading books (or research papers, newspapers, etc...) that the narrator who is writing the words is a non-presence, Neutral and objective. That's not the case, and an important part of literature critique is figuring out who the narrator is, and what their goals are. Oftentimes, the narrator and the author are the same person, but with Pratchett's work, particularly on Good Omens and Discworld, the Narrator was its own unique character.

This is why people struggle adapting Discworld to live action--that medium requires a Reason for having a Narrator, and especially in the age of method acting that's often considered immersion-breaking. Good Omens worked so well because they not only kept the Narrator, but they made Her God.

This added some really interesting new dimensions, such as the scene where Crowley speaks to God about his fall and the destruction of humanity. He doesn't receive an answer, but we're watching from God's perspective, so we as the audience know that She's listening.

Another advantage of making God the Narrator is that it justifies all the goofy little asides we get into the lives of minor characters (i.e. Leslie the Mailman), without losing focus. It helps the world feel like it’s full of people, rather than characters and plot contrivances, and the theme that individual people and their choices are important. The Narrator is such a central character of Good Omens that without it, the story struggles to stay focused.

It also highlights a key difference in the writing styles of the two authors. Pratchett’s work tends to introduce four or five totally unique plot threads that feel completely disjointed until the last act (if not even later), when it turns into a Chekhov’s Firing Squad. Plot twists around secret identities and backstabbing and schemes are relatively rare, as the omniscient Narrator doesn’t lie about the intentions of people or their actions.

Gaiman’s writing is typically not like that, to my knowledge. He buries characters in misdirection and hints, and you never know the true identity or motives until all the chips are down. It’s a perfectly valid way to approach storytelling, but it makes it jarring to see it in S2. The lack of a Narrator is a huge reason why S2 doesn’t feel like Good Omens to some folks.

My gut feeling is that the decision to shift from the original Narrator was highly intentional. It helps to obscure the thoughts and intentions of people, and it also muddles the insights that we’re supposed to take away. (I would have loved hearing God monologue about what’s going on in Jim’s head. I think it’d do a lot to make him seem less.... obnoxiously stupid.)

More than that, it brings up a reasonable potential plot point of: Where did God go? Why isn’t She present in the story? Even in her early appearance in the Job flashback, she doesn’t sound like the narrator for last season. After the first part of her speech (which Gabriel later quotes), her tone turns casual and condescending, which might line up with her being a bit of an asshole, it doesn’t line up with the whole “dealer of a mysterious card game who is always smiling”).

Also, I don’t think it’s safe to assume that nobody is telling the story either. Just because they’re not making their presence known doesn’t mean they aren’t there, and in a story like Good Omens, that’s concerning.

Wait, where's Satan?

Another person I saw while scrolling the tags pointed out that Satan is nowhere to be seen this season. He's really only mentioned in reference to a bet God made in Job, but then Crowley is the one on the ground causing mischief. There's no Hail Satan among demons (like Hastur and Ligur did at the start of S1).

That's might be because the writers didn't want us to think it was important (a la Hastur), but that feels off. Given that Satan speaks directly through the radio to Crowley in S1, complimenting him on his work, it's safe to say that he was at least aware of and involved in the goings-on in Hell. The fact that he wasn't even an worry for Beelzebub in abandoning their post? Feels weird.

(Also if you know where that post is, I'll happy credit + link)

What is Maggie?

Look, I love cute lesbians in love as much as the next queer, but I don't like Maggie. I don’t think she’s a person. Contextually, she’s a plot device, but I agree with That Essay that she might be an actual Plot Device.

Her characterization is simple and relatively shallow—a bit of an airhead, ray of sunshine that’s supposed to remind you of Aziraphale. When she describes her past to Nina, it’s almost robotic (also, her story implies it was Mr. Fell who first rented to her ancestor, not Mr. Fell’s great-grandfather like Nina implied). Her emotions are over-dramatic and seem to be turned on and off at random (scenes with her crying to Aziraphale about her woes had my “manipulator” senses going off for some reason).

When asked about a song, she not only IDs the song, its singer, and its year, but how and on what it was distributed. (Honestly thought this would’ve been something interesting, because she’s been pretty ditzy so far, it’d be interesting if she had like... an insane memory for music history.) And then she’s the one that sets Aziraphale on his little investigation by giving him the transformed records, while also planting the seed about her love troubles with Nina. Later, her advice to Crowley is... not awful, but feels insincere and a bit too forward, given her own self-proclaimed lack of relationship experience.

I don’t know what she is (a demon, hastur with amnesia in disguise, a literal plot device inserted by the current storyteller, etc...), but there’s something not right with her.

(Also the joke of “who listens to records anymore, it’s so old fashioned” just doesn’t land, lots of people buy records, and I’m saying this as somebody who has worked at a record store before.)

What's going on with Aziraphale?

There’s something Off about Aziraphale, and it’s not his choices at the end of the season. That makes total sense if you read him as somebody with severe religious trauma getting dragged back into the abusive system because other people need him and he’s been promised the ability to change things.

But I do think something is happening to his memory. Nearly all the flashbacks are from Aziraphale’s point of view and retelling, which means that they’re less reliable than God’s version of events in the previous season. Many of them don’t make logistical sense (post-church scene in 1941), depict Crowley as meaner or more sinister than we know he is, or frame events... weirdly. The scene with him trying food for the first time feels Really Bad, especially when the series has previously established that he’s a) prim and proper and b) his interest in food is one of the beautiful things that connect him to humanity, not some kind of gluttonous sin. Also he turns down alcohol.

Their meet-cute at the  start of the universe also doesn’t line up with their reactions to each other in Eden, or the fact that knowing each other Before has never come up or been hinted at anywhere ever. I don’t know what’s causing this to happen, only that Aziraphale repeatedly looks pensive when coming out of flashbacks, and Crowley is never there afterwards to corroborate said memories.

His actions also seem pretty inconsistent with what we know of him—i.e. I refuse to believe he would ever mistreat his books, even if they’re just old encyclopedias. Also, he feels a bit too...forceful in trying to get Nina and Maggie to fall in love? I mean, he didn’t exert that much direct influence on even Warlock, when he was actively hoping that the boy would turn out angelic rather than neutral.

I don’t think this removes his agency in that last decision, so much as explains how he was in such a vulnerable place at all. He still needs to apologize and fix things, because he messed up, and even if he hadn’t he still seriously hurt Crowley.

What's going on with Crowley?

There’s something Off about Crowley. The most obvious thing, of course, is his memories. At multiple points in the present day, characters state that they remember him or have met him before, only to be met with confusion. This is especially concerning given that he has a nigh photographic memory for faces (something mentioned in the book when he immediately IDs Mary Loquacious, 11 years after a 30 second conversation).

Overall, he seems to be better known by other supernatural entities this season, in ways that often tie him back to his angelic identity (i.e. saying they fought together in the war, Aziraphale stating he knew the angel he used to be, etc...). This doesn’t feel right, because S1 we see that Hell is largely apathetic towards his schemes, and definitely does not defer to him at any point in any capacity.

Then there’s the issue of his power level. It’s always been speculated that Crowley was a powerful angel prior to falling, when he mentions in S1 his involvement with star making, his seemingly unique ability to freeze time, and creating a pocket universe for Adam before the confrontation with Satan. He also has a tendency of breathing life into inanimate objects, like his plants or car. He also has the regular demonic skillset: miracles that can adjust physical appearance; the ability to change inanimate objects (like paintball guns into real guns); the ability to manifest clothing and similar items; and summon hellfire to his fingertips. This, plus the way he monologues to God with a degree of familiarity rather than reverence seems to indicate that he was Somebody Powerful and Important Before.

But in S2, his skills are significantly expanded upon. The miracle he and Aziraphale summon sets off alarms in heaven and hell, and it’s powerful enough to mask Gabriel from the Archangels. He summons a miniature sun to rain fire on Job, which is way bigger and flashier than anything we’ve seen him summon in S1. (If he needs fire, he alters the course of a dropping bomb, without creating one himself.)

Yet he’s able to cloak his presence so well he goes wholly unnoticed in heaven, or in front of heavenly agents on earth (i.e. the Job flashback). Muriel can’t clock him as a demon, or even as another supernatural being, despite their auras usually being pretty significant, such Aziraphale immediately sensing the archangels when they arrive.  He’s able to interfere with files that Muriel claimed required clearance (although I feel like that might just be a snark about Obeying Without Thinking? I would really need a Narrator to know.)

I might be misremembering, but I don’t think we’ve seen angels or demons transmogrify living beings before either. In the book, Crowley brings Aziraphale’s dove back to life after the failed magic show, and occasionally sinks ducks, but he doesn’t alter them? Not even Adam demonstrates that skill in S1. But he has no trouble turning Job’s children into lizards, however temporarily. Boy that would’ve been convenient during the flood. Or when the guard stopped then from getting to the air strip.

I might be misremembering, but I don’t think we’ve seen angels or demons transmogrify living beings before either. In the book, Crowley brings Aziraphale’s dove back to life after the failed magic show, and occasionally sinks ducks, but he doesn’t alter them? Not even Adam demonstrates that skill in S1. But he has no trouble turning Job’s children into lizards, however temporarily. Boy that would’ve been convenient during the flood. Or when the guard stopped then from getting to the air strip.

I don’t have any real issues with his characterization in the present day parts of S2, but there’s something weird happening with Crowley.

Where's all the people?

I really like a lot of the new characters, but how were there only like, 2.5 new humans named in the present day? Flashbacks don’t count bc the humans are all dead and can’t affect the story.

As much as I like Nina, she and Maggie don’t drive the story beyond being an occasional and awkwardly inserted plot contrivance? Both are actively robbed of their agency at several points, forced into situations that they could not have avoided or escaped. I’m not really sure what growth they’re expected to experience other than deciding not to date each other after everything. I literally can’t tell you anything about Nina other than that she remembers her regular’s orders, runs a coffee shop, and has a textbook abusive partner we never see. The only meaningful interactions they have are between those two, or in conversation with Aziraphale and Crowley.

Compare that to S1, where Anathema gets hit by Aziraphale and Crowley, but her primary relationships are with Newt, Adam, and Agnes Nutter (I think that counts as a relationship). We know that she’s got a wealthy family back in Puerto Rico, and that she was literally raised to save the world, and that she isn’t happy under all that pressure. Newt on the other hand is connected to not just Anathema, but Shadwell and Madame Tracy. He never even directly interacts with Aziraphale and Crowley. We know about his hobbies, his struggle to hold down a job, and his almost supernatural ability to destroy any electronics he touches. I don’t necessarily like how their relationship came together, but they were both very, very well fleshed out characters with unique backstories and goals. They weren’t just... waiting around to give Aziraphale and Crowley a new questline.

And while there’s no requirement to include a large cast of human characters that are exerting influence over the story, the lack of it is another aspect that makes this season feel not like Good Omens.

Also, it's just. Really weird to me that the events of S1 aren't really referenced at all? Like, Adam isn't mentioned, nor is Warlock. I don't expect them to keep track of the humans they met on the airfield for 20 minutes, but none of it is ever specifically referenced as far as I can tell, beyond Crowley threatening Gabriel. Like, I get that it's been a few years, but the pair caused a big enough disturbance that you'd expect some kind of ripples in their supernatural communities.

Promised by the Narrative (Obvious Chekhov's guns that I will be legitimately upset over if they do not go off)

A sincere apology from Aziraphale to Crowley that doesn't come with the expectation that Crowley will come back to him, but because he deserves an apology, even if the choices Aziraphale made were done with good intentions. Aziraphale does not expect forgiveness, and is shocked when Crowley grants it without hesitation.

A clear declaration of love from Aziraphale, which can't be rationalized away by either of them.

An "I'm Sorry" dance between Aziraphale and Crowley, but with greater sincerity and gravity. The most important piece is that they end up dancing together, which signifies a mutual apology and dedication to come together.

Since kissing is on the table, I expect an actual joyful, mutual kiss between these two assholes.

A shared cottage in South Downs.

Predictions/Theories (just some fun thoughts I've had)

When Adam declared that Satan was not his father, he didn't make himself not the antichrist, but accidentally crowned his human dad the King of Hell. Nobody knows this, because Adam doesn't have a good measure for "normal" supernatural situations, and Mr. Young because he's so "normal" that he explains away all the magical bullshit that's started going down.

When Adam declared that Satan was not his father, he erased Satan altogether. However, this left a vacuum in both power and reality. The defection of both Gabriel and Beelzebub only widens that crack. In an attempt to Fix things, reality is warping the story. Crowley has become leagues more powerful between S1 and S2, as the narrative is trying to force him into the role of his previous boss. Aziraphale is unknowingly being pulled into a similar version on the Other Side, perhaps to replace Gabriel or perhaps to replace God herself, who has been fairly absent in all this. The alterations to their memories or past have come about to keep the narrative running smoothly.

When the Metatron asks Nina whether anybody has ever asked for death, he was actually referring to Death, the sole remaining rider of the apocalypse.

If Maggie is indeed a Plot Device, it would be a fascinating exploration of Free Will to see her become aware of this (cue existential crisis), and then fall in love with Nina on her own terms, rather than because she was written that way.

Hastur will be back. Somehow.

The reason why S2 focuses so much on the supernatural characters is because S3 will be about how the events in S1 have changed the political landscape of heaven and hell. Angels are questioning their roles, demons are yearning for something more. It's scaring upper administration, and then the two most reliable folks in employment run away to alpha centauri. Recruiting Aziraphale and getting him back in line prevents him from becoming a martyr, control the range of his influence. The series reasserts its theme of choice and agency by highlighting that Aziraphale and Crowley aren't that special, they've just had the chance to live and grow, and that the others have free will too, if they want it.

The reason why they wanted to separate Aziraphale and Crowley, is not to get Aziraphale on his own, but to get Crowley on his own. He literally stopped time and made a pocket universe in front of Satan last season. He's powerful and dangerous and somebody wants to see that reigned in.

Wishlist (stuff I desperately want to see)

Crowley getting an audience with God and an opportunity to ask his questions, only to refuse to do so because he's found his own Answers and he no longer needs hers

Aziraphale and Crowley growing more into their book incarnations. Aziraphale becomes confident in his sense of morality, which he developed the hard way through millennia on earth besides humanity. He slowly learns what it means to be loved, unconditionally, but also is better at asserting and maintaining his boundaries. Crowley, still anxious and unwinding, works through his fear of abandonment, providing him opportunities to be kind and gentle and nurturing--all traits that he's aggressively hid since being a demon.

Hand holding. I know that Gaiman was referring to Ineffable Bureaucracy, but I still feel like we'd benefit from meaningful hand holding, especially since that got cut from the adaptation of the book.

Shifted focus away from the supernatural shenanigans, and back onto the humans that actually drive the story.

Cameos from S1 characters (if not a more substantial appearance).

The Four Other Riders of the Apocalypse.

Cursed Thoughts (why I shouldn't be allowed a social platform)

Ineffable Bureaucracy turns up in season 3 because Beelzebub got Gabriel pregnant somehow.