#maybe it’s that I feel like I only have one redeeming quality??

[philsmeatylegss]

Whenever I write something that involves strangers to lovers trope, no matter the plot, I always end up making one character who feels like their only worth in a relationship is sex and the other character stops them and is the first partner who wants to get to know them before having sex. I’m an entire virgin. I have never had sex or have been in a relationship. Writing is putting your feelings and experiences into a story. And my stories always end in this trope and I don’t know what it could possibly mean? It’s never in the original plot I just end up at that trope somehow. It’s unconscious. What does that mean????

[zelda-posting]

tears of the kingdom could have been so good if it were built around like, its story or its characters instead of being a clunky shell to show off the mechanic no one asked for that it forces you to use

[ready-to-obeyme]

look my way

Sometimes, Lucifer wishes you weren't so popular as you are. You would think it's the other way around.

Lucifer x Reader, gender-neutral, pre-relationship, fluff

Word Count: <1k

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Diavolo would be rather pleased to know you are making friends outside of the seven demon brothers. His vision of peace among the three realms seems more of a reality when a human can play among common angels and lesser demons without fear of retribution or danger. Lucifer would commend you as well, for Diavolo's goals are his own and you are technically under his care-- but he finds you a tad too trusting for your own good, even if it is one of the redeeming qualities that make you popular in the Devildom.

And you are-- popular, despite your modest denials and deflections of "you're much more popular, Lucifer."

Lucifer sees you the way others do. Your friendliness is what makes you well-liked, your indiscriminatory manner of treating others endearing. But it is that soul of yours and a heart that does not falter that makes you popular. Desireable-- though he doubts any demon would dare present themselves in that way to you, not with how closely you stay next to him.

Lucifer can't say he isn't pleased with this, both with your evident affection for him and the wide berth other demons give you when they see him approach. He has no qualms in fighting to get what he wants, but it feeds on his pride that no one would dare challenge him.

But still... it is only a testament on how much he has grown attached to you that he sees you-- eyes fond, smile wide in the direction of others-- and feels a hot flare of jealousy despite himself. Though, if he were truly being honest with himself, he had never been one to share, even when he was an angel.

"You're quite the popular one," Lucifer tells you as he walks you home, and he wants to bite his cheek for voicing his feelings outloud to you, the only source of his bittersweet uncertainty.

.

"There's no one else," you say, and you turn your head quickly away, eyes determinedly forward even though you spot Lucifer look at you curiously.

"Pardon?" He asks, amusement in his tone.

"You're the popular one between the two of us," you blurt out. "I haven't been with anyone for the past few years or so, some years from choice but others... it just hadn't worked out."

You look down at your feet, wondering if there exists a plane below even the Devildom to swallow you whole. But still, it seemed important now to tell Lucifer in the moment, so you speak; it does well for you most of the time. "So you're the only one. The only one that matters."

Lucifer scoffs. "You are popular." You hear his tone soften, and it makes the tendrils of your heart curl in pleasure. "They'd be a fool not to notice how sweetly you treat others."

"I guess when you compare me to a demon, of course," you tease. "And even then, it isn't romantic."

And then you begin to wonder: how many lovers must Lucifer have taken? For how long? Any history of yours would pale in comparison, but especially so, because it is Lucifer. You are certain that even pride and arrogance cannot be strong enough of a deterrent for others to pursue someone as beautiful and talented as Lucifer.

"I see," Lucifer says, and you look at him, confused. You see the tell-tale smirk on his face before you hear his teasing comment. "So you wish to be fawned over as a romantic interest? Coveted as a lover by many?" He takes your hand into his, and before you can instinctively pull away, Lucifer presses a kiss onto your hand.

Your face prickles with how quickly it warms.

"Well," you mumble, looking away, "maybe just by one demon." You let your hand be manipulated until his palm is flat against yours. His fingers are much longer than yours-- his entire hand is, really-- that they envelope yours in its entirety. It's the only coherent thought at the moment; you can only think about how Lucifer is the one holding your hand.

"Good," he tells you, and his smile is pleased, a little smug if you know him well enough. "No other demon could compare, so there is no use in trying."

You let out a laugh, the comment so representative of the Avatar of Pride. It should be off-putting, his arrogance, but you can only admire it, and even at the worst of times, agree with it. And at the best of times, you adore it, especially when you know how little pride matters when it comes to his brothers.

"You're right," you say before Lucifer thinks your laughter means you believe otherwise. "Even if there was, you're still the only one that matters to me, Lucifer."

"Naturally," he says, but you see his ears pink at your words. He grips your hand tighter when you pass by a triad of demons, pulling you subtly closer to him. You hear a titter of laughter trailing after the two of you, and you wonder if they are talking about the two of you-- demon of pride and human-- walking hand in hand. You wonder if Lucifer is proud to have you at his side.

(Perhaps one day he will tell you himself.)

[katshelluvacritic]

Charlie Morningstar is probably one of the worst written characters I’ve seen in the series.

(This one’s gonna be a long one…)

Ok…. So I watched all six episodes and to be honest I’m pretty much pissed off by this character specifically. This might be more of a rant rather than a critique, so I do understand that not everything I say in this will end up being as constructive exactly but I genuinely need to get this off my chest, especially since she is a character I’ve specifically and recently been hyper fixating on before the show released…

(Side note: I realized the post was very long so, to have it be easier to read I added titles for each section! Hope this helps)

!!WARNING FOR SPOILERS FOR THE SERIES BTW!!

> Charlie lacks the qualities of being a main character.

Now besides the piss poor excuse of an introduction for her (and the rest of the cast) in the main series, I honestly question why exactly Charlie specifically is the “protagonist” in the first place (and I say protagonist with the biggest of quotes here, you’ll see why).

In the first episode of the series “overture”, we don’t really see much of her character, most of the time we’re shown screen time of Vicky (a nickname I made for v*ggie since I’m not gonna call her by her genitalia thank you) trying to make an ad for the hotel and even when we do get the screen time of her, she’s barely doing anything other than hearing viv’s self insert- I mean- Adam just go on and on about whatever he’s talking about.

And when Charlie does go on to explain her plan to redeem sinners she’s just interrupted and then stands there when they start singing hell is forever, she doesn’t “go off” like the hazbin Twitter says, she just stands there and then tries to say something only to get interrupted again and again and then gets pushed out of the meeting room before going back to the hotel to see it’s spread across in the news that the next extermination happens in 6 months.

Now although one might argue “Well didn’t Charlie at one point said in the show that giving orders is so mean?” Well yes but again, Charlie is literally the princess of pride ring, you would think that since her parents are literally rulers of pride, they would’ve probably teach her how to stand on her two feat, especially if your RUNNING A HOTEL. And the thing is, she has stood up and did so in episode 6 and the goddamn pilot (which is at this point is probably canon due to Charlie calling it the hazbin hotel instead of happy hotel), even going as far as to fight Katie Killjoy because she thought it was stupid.

Not only that but the episodes after overture, her screen time lessens until somewhat in 5 and 6. She doesn’t really appear that much in the between these episodes to the point where she feels like a supporting character rather than a protagonist. And when she does get screen time, she’s either forgettable at best and infuriating at worst.

> Charlie’s character is poorly written and just dumb.

In the episodes past overture, she’s literally rock solid stupid that I literally screamed in real life multiple times “you’re a fucking idiot” because of how frustrated I was from what she was doing, In episode 2 she literally trusted sir pentious to go to her hotel even though he almost destroyed her place and in episode 6 thought it was a hunky dory idea to let a person who literally exploded buildings to take charge of giving her employees a “good time”. Yes it could be played off as her being naive but if she’s that naive of a person then maybe she shouldn’t be a boss of a hotel to rehabilitate sinners.

Heck, in episode 4, Charlie gets pissed off and turns into her demon form because val literally started hurting Angel when he followed him into the room (and rightfully so) but when angel tells her to leave and drags her out of the studio, she’s just in her normal form and fucks off??? Reminder she’s literally the princess of hell! She could beat the shit out of val if she wants to, why did she just fucked off after angel had her leave?

“But Kat, what if something bad happens to angel if valentino dies?” Like what? If it was explained that if an overlord dies then the sinners that made a deal with them die too or something like that then yeah, that would make sense but we don’t know that whether or not that’s the case, if anything angel could be just fine after Valentino dies but we don’t know that.

And even when Charlie had the opportunity to go out there and apologize to him herself after he stormed out of the hotel, she and Vicky just send Husk to do it. And I have to ask, WHY? HUSK didn’t know what was happening to Angel earlier. HUSK wasn’t at the porn studio that Angel was working at. CHARLIE WAS….

“Well Kat, what if Charlie was scared about making things worse?” Fair enough, but again sending Husk is a stupid idea, I feel like it would’ve AT LEAST made sense if she sent Vicky out there. Because Charlie didn’t know if husk could fight (if you could even call it that, all he did was throw cards at people), BUT SHE KNEW VICKY COULD THOUGH. But nah we gotta do it for the ship right?

And then Charlie had the gull to be crying that angel forgave her after she fucked up, like shut the fuck up… it’s like if viv looked at a bunch of chars that had the optimistic care-free ‘ish personality and thought that meant making her as pathetic as a baby crying that they didn’t get a lollipop from their mommy.

Like I’m gonna be honest with you, it’s literally gone to a point where I think Orel Puppington (aka the 11 yo Christian kid who worships Jesus and gets harmful lessons from other Christians) makes a better Charlie Morningstar than the Charlie Morningstar herself!

And that thought is justified when he tried to go help people in Sinville, “Kat he ended up turning into a pimp at the end of the episode” yeah but AT LEAST HE TRIED TO ACTUALLY DO SOMETHING! Which leads me to another question….

> How is Charlie gonna redeem sinners exactly???

Like honestly, I’m serous with this one. How is Charlie gonna redeem these guys?

I ask this because in the series, she barely does ANYTHING to help these guys, she and the rest of the characters just sit around and then do an activity that is the equivalent of something you would do in kindergarten except it’s with ADULTS.

I don’t know about you but If your idea of helping people is doing just that and nothing else, then the only thing the people around you are gonna get is them being annoyed at first and eventually walking out with thinking your not helping them but rather just treating them like a baby who doesn’t know anything, and the only thing your gonna get personally is nothing because you did dick all.

Like other than that she pretty much just whines about sinners not going to her hotel and oh gee I wonder why, it’s not like your not doing anything to help these sinners not committing sins anymore, oh definitely not, your absolutely being helpful.

“Oh but Kat! Charlie was born in hell, how can she know how to help people? She’s not from the human world so, she wouldn’t exactly know how to help these people!” I would tell you to look at the world building for the series and it’s spin off but that’s a whole other can of beans that I don’t wanna cover today and this is already getting to long, so y’know what? We’ll go with that.

If Charlie didn’t know how to help people and was trying to figure out what she can do to help sinners get better, then why didn’t she just ask her employees for suggestions? Y’know, the other sinners who were from the human world and had experiences while they were alive and such?

Yeah, I get that not all of their advice would be exactly good or healthy (since they’re sinners who’ve done many bad things after all) BUT ITS AT LEAST SOMETHING FOR FUCKS SAKE!!!

She literally does nothing, she just expects you to immediately get better after some improvisations or whatever other activities she does and once you’ve done one nice thing then boom you’re close to redemption.

> Conclusion.

Charlie Morningstar is (like I said in the beginning) probably one of the worst characters in the hazbin hotel series, she at best a stereotype of the “everything is sunshines and rainbows” character tropes and at worst is a pathetic excuse of a main character and is nothing but a rotten shell of her character from the pilot.

I would go on about how her design’s also bad but I’m sure millions of people have already said the same issues and I’ve already posted my redesign of her before the show dropped.

I might plan on posting a rewrite of her or maybe explain my problems with another character or episode but I don’t know.

But until then, I’ll see y’all later!

[kennarose1108]

My World (Negan Smith x Reader !DAUGHTER OF RICK) !PART 3!

PART 1 PART 2

*WARNING! THIS PART HAS GOES INTO DETAIL OF SEXUAL ASSAULT*

"I don't need an escort." You say with your arms wrapped firmly around your chest in anger. "It's a bodyguard and yes you do. I'm not arguing about this anymore." Negan says with a small roll of his eyes as he walks around the room, getting himself ready to leave.

"I'm a big girl Negan, I can handle myself." You say. Negan sighs in frustration, "Two people were killed on the premises. I'm not taking any chances." He says while throwing on his leather jacket. "Didn't the person who did that escape?" You ask. Negan sighed and held the bridge of his nose in annoyance before turning to you. "Enough Y/N. When my mind is set it is damn set and you know that." Negan says. You groan and throw yourself back down onto the bed so you are lying down. "...Can I at least pick who's going to be hovering over my shoulder all day?" You say while staring up at the ceiling. "No," Negan says without hesitation. You groan again. Negan sighs, "Listen, Arat is going to be with you as much as she can and you like Arat." Negan says while sitting down on the bed next to you.

"But Arat is one of my best, if not the best, solider I got. So I'll have to trade her out with other people." Negan explains. "Dwight?" You ask while turning your head to look at him. Negan chuckles, "No. Douchebag got himself into a hole for letting my puppy out." Negan says with a shit-eating grin. "Well, who does that leave? ...Oh god no don't say Simon, Jesus no." You say with a cringe. Negan chuckles at your words. "No. David will." He says. You groan loudly, "Ohhhh god! That's even worse!" You put your face into your hands and continue to groan. Negan smirks and leans his head back, "What's wrong with David?" Negan asks. "Jesus- what's not wrong with David? He's a creep, annoying, a weirdo, and he's loud and obnoxious." You say while looking back at him.

"Well, I'm loud and obnoxious too and you seem to like me." He says with a grin. "That's because you have a charm. David has no redeeming qualities." You say. Negan leans closer to you, his grin widening. "I have a charm?" He asks. You roll your eyes, "Ugh... Of course, that's the only thing you heard in that sentence. You totally missed the whole 'I hate David' part." You say. "Oh! How about Laura? I like Laura." You say with a hopeful look on your face. Negan slowly shakes his head, "Nope. She's gotta watch over Mr. Smartypants." Negan says. You groan again, "Goddd... I'll just lock myself in here forever." You say with a sigh. "Great. Problem solved then." Negan says while standing on his feet.

You glare a him, "That was supposed to make you feel bad." Negan chuckles. "I know." He says with a smirk before he bent down to kiss you on your lips. You turned your cheek to him and tried to suppress the smile that wanted to form on your lips. Negan chuckles, "Is that how it's gonna be?" He asks, just barely a few inches away from your face.

A smirk formed on your lips. Negan bent down further, his lips now barely above the skin under your ear as he whispered, "If you keep acting like a brat I'll have to punish you y'know..." As he spoke you could feel his lips brushing along your sensitive skin. A chill went down your spine and you suck in a shaky breath. "Maybe I want to be punished..." You whispered. Negan's grin somehow widened and he let out a low and dark chuckle, "Hm... Darlin'... I don't think you understand what you do to me." He whispers.

Negan then grabs your jaw and forces your face to look back at him. Before you could even react he slammed his lips onto yours, pulling you into a hungry kiss. The kiss was sloppy and rough. He kissed you like he was starving. Like he hadn't eaten in days and you were a four-course meal. But he couldn't do this forever, he had business to attend to.

Before he pulled away he bit down harshly on your bottom lip. You groaned in surprise and a bit of pain. When he pulled away a line of spit kept you two together until it broke when he was far enough away. You reached your hand up and touched your swollen and throbbing lip.

"Don't worry. I didn't break the skin." He says with a smug grin. "I'll see you later." He says with a wink while rubbing your cheek with his fingers. He straightened himself up, giving you one last good look before walking to the door and leaving.

"Douchebag..." You mumble under your breath.

After about an hour you were getting hungry. So you got dressed and walked out of the room. When you walked out you were met with David. He stepped in front of you with a smirk on his face, "Where you goin'?" He asks. You furrowed your eyebrows, "Really? He's having you guarding the door? Jesus..." You say in annoyance. "I'm getting something to eat. Move." You hissed while pushing him aside and walking down the hall. David followed closely behind and you tried to keep your annoyance suppressed but it was difficult.

You were walking fast, trying to keep your distance between you and David. "Slow down," David ordered from behind you. You rolled your eyes and ignored him. Then David forcefully grabbed your elbow and yanked you back. You spun your head around and snatched your arm out of his grip. "Don't touch me." You hissed.

"Or what?" He asks with a chuckle. You glare at him, "Don't. Touch. Me." You repeat in a more threatening tone of voice. "I wouldn't have to touch you if you listened," David says while stepping close to you and getting in your face. You glared daggers at him and you shook your head gently.

"Whatever..." You mumble before turning around and continuing to walk.

When you finished eating your breakfast you decided you wanted to walk outside to get some fresh air. This day was stressful for you and you wanted to get a breather. "Where are you going?" David asks with an annoyed huff. "Outside. Is that a crime now?" You ask. "Why the fuck are you going outside?" David asks. You stopped walking and turned to glare at him, "Isn't your job just to follow me around? Why the hell are you asking me questions? Just do whatever job Negan assigned you and stop talking to me." You say before turning back around and walking outside.

David glared at you before following you. As you walked around slowly outside around the gate you sighed in relaxation and enjoyed the feeling of the hot sun on your skin. It would be perfect if there weren't hoards of dead people walking around outside of the gate.

But your peaceful was so interrupted, "So... Y/N, I have a few questions." David says. You sighed in annoyance, "What?" David smirks. "Are you happy with Negan?" David asks. This question made you stop in your tracks. "Excuse me?" You ask while turning around. "Does he satisfy you?" David asks with a grin. You squinted your eyes and gave him a look of disgust. "None of your goddamn business." You say while turning around so you can continue walking... But David stopped you.

He grabbed your arms and shoved you against one of the sanctuary walls. "The fu- LET GO!" You yelled. "Oh c'mon... We don't gotta hate each other..." David says with a smirk. His hands squeezed tightly on your arms and you winced, "STOP!" You shouted. "I can make you feel good. Better than he can." David says while trailing his fingers along your side. "Fuck off!" You yelled while shoving him away. You turned to run off but he grabbed you again.

One of his hands grabbed one of your wrists and pinned them to the side of your head while his other hand forcefully grabbed your jaw and slammed your head back into the wall. You let out a small cry on impact as the wind was knocked out of you.

"Listen here you little bitch. The more you fight, the more I enjoy myself. So if I were you, I'd just do what you're told." He says angrily while squeezing your jaw tightly. His touch was so much different than Negan's... When Negan had his hand on your jaw earlier it was gentle and full of love... David's touch was harsh, cold, and full of anger.

"Just stop fighting and I'll give you the time of your life," David says in a low tone of voice. "Stop! I-I'll tell Negan what you're doing!" You say with fear in your eyes. "Hm... Who do you think he'll believe? The one who hates the other one and will do anything to get that person off their back or the one who's just trying to do their job?" David says with a chuckle. "He'll believe me." You hissed. "Mm... I doubt it." David mumbled. "You see, Negan has known me a lot longer than you sweetheart. Plus, when I'm done with you you'll be begging for more." David says with a smirk.

The hand that was on your jaw went down your body and he began to undo your belt. You took this opportunity to swing your head forward and smash your head against his nose. He yelled out loud and held his nose in pain as he stumbled back. You turned and ran back into the sanctuary. "FUCKING BITCH!" David screamed while storming back into the sanctuary behind you.

You ran through the sanctuary, David close behind you. You wanted to run to Negan, but you had no idea where he was. He could be anywhere or even not at the sanctuary at all. So, you ran to the only other place that made you feel safe...

The bedroom.

You were far away from the bedroom... You just had to make sure he didn't catch you before you made it there and he was catching up to you quickly. Adrenaline pumped into your veins which helped you run faster.

David yelled at you, telling you to come back. When you heard him right on your trail you finally saw the door to your bedroom. Your eyes widen with hope... But then David grabbed you again. He grabbed your upper arm and yanked you back. You screamed and reached back, scratching your nails across his face. He yelled in pain and stumbled back again. You quickly ran to the door and opened it before slamming it shut, locking it behind you.

David banged against the door and your breath was shaky as you slowly backed away from the door. He kicked the door one last time before giving up and grumbling to himself. Your body trembled in fear as you slowly sat down at the end of your bed. The only thought that went through your mind was;

'...How the hell am I going to explain this to Negan?'

As you waited for Negan you paced around the room, biting your nails nervously. This wasn't going to end well and you knew it...

The door knob jiggled and you froze and stared at it in fear. You thought David was trying to make his way back in again. "Darlin'?" Negan's voice says through the door. You sigh in relief and walk over to the door. You unlocked it and walked back to where you were previously standing. Negan opens the door and scans your body over. He saw how tense you were and how nervous you looked. "What's going on?" He asks curiosity and concern in his voice. "Um... Can... Can you sit down?" You ask while motioning to the edge of the bed. He squints his eyes and looks at you up and down, "Okay... Why?" He asks while leaning Lucille against the wall next to the door and slowly moving to the end of the bed.

"Um... Because this will be easier to explain when you're not looming over me." You say with a nervous chuckle. Negan continues to stare at you before he slowly sits down. You stared at him for a moment before pacing back and forth again nervously. You bit the nail on your thumb and tried thinking of the best way to say this to him without him getting all murdery...

He watched you walk back and forth for a moment before getting annoyed, "Y/N. Tell me. Now." He ordered, his eyes getting darker. You stopped in your tracks and looked at him nervously, "Promise me you won't get mad... Please." You begged, your eyes glazing over with tears. He squinted his eyes again. "Don't give me a reason to get mad then." He says. You give him a pleading look and he sighs deeply, "I promise..." He mutters.

You take in a shaky breath and lower your hand from your lips. "U-Um... Okay well... It started this morning," You say. "I got up to get some breakfast and David was guarding the door... When I left he was telling me to slow down and I ignored him. It made him upset and he forcefully grabbed my elbow and yanked me back..." You explain.

You couldn't make full eye contact with Negan, you just gave his eyes some glances before looking around the room nervously. But even in those glances you already noticed him getting pissed off.

You shift around nervously, "But... I held my ground and everything went okay until we went outside..." Your body began to tremble in fear. Fear of how Negan would react... Stupidly part of your brain worried about David's words... You were worried that Negan wouldn't believe you and take David's side. But the other side of your brain was scared that he would believe you... You knew he would raise hell upon David and everybody in his path.

"He started asking me these... Questions. Like if I was happy with you and if you," You swallowed the lump in your throat before continuing. "Satisfied me." You say with disgust and a cringe on your face. "What?" Negan hisses in a low tone of voice while standing to his feet. You take a step back and look around the room nervously, "This is where this issue ends right?" He asks, anger laced into his voice. You open your mouth to say something but nothing comes out... Negan's eyes widened and his eyebrows rose, "...What else happened?" His voice was low and menacing... Like he was ready to pounce at any second.

Your breath was shaky and you stood there nervously, "Y/N-" "He pushed me against the wall." You say while interrupting him. You had to get this out quickly. "He started saying things like he could make me feel better than you could. I tried fighting him off but he grabbed me by the jaw and slammed the back of my head into the wall." You say with your voice cracking with emotion.

"He said 'The more you fight the more I enjoy it'. I then told him I'd tell you and he said you wouldn't believe me and you'd believe him..." Your body trembled as you spoke, your gaze was to the floor and you didn't know what Negan's reaction was at the moment, and in all honesty... You didn't want to know.

"The hand that was on my jaw lowered down and he tried undoing my belt..." You say before pausing as your voice cracks while you fight back tears. You cleared your throat before continuing, "I was able to get out of his hold and run off. He caught me once before I made it here but I scratched him across the face. He banged against the door before giving up..." You felt a weight off your shoulders after you finished telling him your story.

As you sighed in relief after finally getting this over with a tear fell from your eye. The room fell into a deep, threatening, and slightly awkward silence. You finally built up the courage to slowly move your eyes up to meet his gaze. When your eyes met his gaze you were a bit startled to see him staring back at you with a blank look on his face. You two stared at each other for a moment before you decided to speak up... But he beat you to it.

"So... He tried to rape you?" Negan asks, the blank stare still on his face. You slowly nodded. He continued to stare at you for a moment before taking a deep breath and looking off to the side. He was thinking for a moment, about what you didn't know...

He then broke the silence again,

"I'm gonna kill him."

He turned to the door and grabbed the Lucille. "Wait! Please don't!" You begged while grabbing his wrist. He spun around with a look of fury on his face, "Don't? DON'T?!" He yelled. "The hell you mean don't?!" He shouted. Him yelling at you made you jump but you tried your best to keep up your confidence. "It's not worth killing him over!" Negan scoffs, "The hell it isn't." As he spoke the grip he had on Lucille grew tighter, making his knuckles white. "Rape is against the rules here, and he was stupid enough to try it on you?" He then lets out a sinister chuckle.

He shakes his head, "No. This shit ain't flying." He says while turning back to the door. Your grip on his arm tightened, "No! Wait, please! Please don't leave me alone again! I don't want to be alone." You begged. The tears that you were holding back came falling and you sniffled. Negan looked back at you and his face softened. He turned his head to the side and closed his eyes for a moment. He was in a deep thought.

He then sighed deeply and placed Lucille back against the wall. He turned back to you and put his hands to the side of your head and placed a kiss on your forehead. "Listen to me..." He says in a low tone of voice while resting his forehead against yours.

"I need to take care of this. I will come back to you... And I promise I won't do anything to him today. But I at least need to get him under control... He knows something is coming and I need to get it under control." Negan says.

You look at him with wide pleading eyes that are filled with tears, "Please..." You mutter. Negan sighs and droops his head for a moment. "I gotta take care of this darlin'... I can't let this go for the moment." You shake your head. "No... Please..." You say with more tears falling from your eyes. "Baby... Lay down, relax yourself... I'll be back in less than twenty minutes I promise. Okay?" Negan says while gently grabbing your shoulders and making you sit on the bed.

You sigh in defeat and sit on the bed with your head low. "Be quick... Please." You say in a sad tone of voice. Negan leans down, cups your cheeks, and kisses your forehead. "I'll be quick." He says with a soft smile before pulling away and grabbing Lucille. "Twenty minutes max. Okay?" He says. You nod with a frown. He gives you a small nod before leaving the room.

About five minutes later Negan was sitting in the meeting room wiping down Lucille when there was a knock on the door. The person entered and it was Simon, "He's here." Simon says. Negan doesn't reply, his eyes are just fixated on Lucille. David then stepped in and Simon stepped out, making sure to shut the door.

Negan finished wiping down Lucille before turning to David with a smirk. "I assume you know why you're here?" Negan asks. David lets out a small chuckle, "I have an idea." David says with a smug smirk. Negan stands to his feet with a sinister smile. "Oh? Enlighten me then." Negan says while taking a step forward. "Your little girlfriend told a lie," David says. Negan's eyes widened, "Hmm... A lie? How was it a lie?" Negan says while stepping a few inches away from David while holding Lucille with both his hands in front of him.

"She hates me. That's obvious. I was a little mean... A little pushy. She threatened to tell you something that'll piss you off just to get me in trouble." David says with a wide smirk. "A little pushy?" Negan repeats with a small chuckle. "A little pushy means trying to shove your hands down her pants?" Negan asks, he is now an inch away from David's face. David scoffs, "Negan. You know me." David says with a confident and smug smirk.

Negan nods, "That's right. I do know you." Negan says. Negan pauses, his gaze neutral before it went into a fury. He took Lucille and shoved the top of the baseball bat into David's stomach painfully and harshly. David hunches over and groans loudly. Negan grips David's hair and pulls his head up to look at Negan.

"Did you seriously think I was going to believe you?" Negan says in a low and angry tone of voice with a glare that could kill. "I'm going to kill you. Slowly. Painfully." Negan hisses into David's ear. David stared up at him in fear.

"Rape isn't allowed here and you knew that and yet you thought it was a good idea to try and rape my woman," Negan says before chuckling sinisterly. "I don't know if you have a death wish or if you're just stupid..." Negan says with a grin.

"P-Please I-" "Shut up." Negan hisses, his smile wiped off his face and a furious glare replaced. Negan then shoved David towards the table and bashed his head into the edge of the table. David sits on the floor, yells in pain, and holds his bloody nose.

"Now. Simon is going to take you to the hole. I'll deal with you tomorrow." Negan says. "I'm going to enjoy killing you," Negan says with a small smirk before leaving the room and stopping next to Simon who's leaning against the wall outside of the room. "Bring him to the hole. No food. No water. No light. Nothing. That prick needs to suffer for the night." Negan orders and Simon nods. Negan walks off and heads back to his room.

When he enters the room he sees you lying on the bed on your side and facing away from the door. The sound of the door opening caused you to turn your head and look at him over your shoulder. Your face was smudged with tears. You quickly sit up and Negan walks over to you and sits next to you. He wraps one arm around your shoulders and the other goes around your head, his hand cradling the back of your head as he holds your head to his chest.

You begin to cry again before hugging him tightly.

"It's okay... I got you." Negan whispers. "You're safe... I won't let anyone hurt you again." Negan says while stroking your hair.

"You're safe..." He repeats.

PART 4

*JUST SO YOU GUYS KNOW I HAVE PLANS FOR THIS STORY ALL THE WAY TO SEASON 9 SO THIS WILL BE A LONG SERIES. ALSO I APOLOGIZE FOR TAKING SO LONG WITH THIS PART AND THE NEXT PARTS MIGHT NOT BE OUT FOR AWHILE AS WELL BUT THEY WILL COME OUT I PROMISE!*

[fishsticksloser]

Crush Pt 2

Donnie x gn!reader

Warnings: angst (once again just Donnie's feelings), comfort, fluff, human!reader inferred, swearing, NO TCEST

A/N: The requested part 2. I have so many Donnie requests right now, trying to space them out... I'm gonna go watch the FNAF movie today!!!

Previous | Next

Donnie sits in his lab, fingers strumming against the desk. He stares at the pile of parts you'd managed to find for him. The newest one made his head spin, it could only be found in the Hidden City, this meant you went down to find it for him. You probably had to go to a bunch of places to get one in such good condition.

But you couldn't possibly have a crush on him. His brothers were imagining it.

Leo pointed out that you started wearing purple. Which of course Donnie noticed, but he tried to say that maybe you just liked it. Raph followed up with saying that you hardly ever wore purple before now.

"Its a sign" So Mikey and Leo said.

Donnie wasn't buying it.

Mikey pointed out that you were wearing lighter purples which are associated with with light-hearted, romantic feelings. He also brought attention to the fact that Donnie also started wearing lighter purples. Which Donnie quickly turned attention away from.

⋆｡ ﾟ｡☁︎👾｡ ﾟ｡⋆

"Why won't you even consider that they might actually have a crush on you?" Leo asks as he lounges in Donnie's lab while he works.

"It's simply out of the question." Donnie answers, as it that was a good enough answer. He looked at his twin for a moment, seeing the look on Leo's face. "I have hardly any redeeming qualities. The ones I do... Probably shouldn't be considered."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" Leo sits up and frowns at Donnie. He rolls his chair over to Donnie, ready to give him a talking to. "You realize that you're actually likeable, right? We just joke around about each other."

"Sure, sure." Donnie rolls his eyes and turns back to his work. Unfortunately, Leo managed to keep him from turning, making Donnie face him. Donnie huffs and glares at Leo. "Just like the time you made sure I was taken by bats so I 'didn't ruin another mission'? Or reprogramming Shelldon to prove that my inventions suck?"

"Okay, that last one I admit was a bit far..." Leo sighs, looking at his twin with pleading eyes. "But you're my best friend, my twin. I wouldn't be sitting silently in your lab if I didn't like you, you know how hard it is for me to sit still and be quiet." Donnie smiles a little at Leo's last statement, letting out a weak snort, which makes Leo continue more passionately. "You're the opposite of me. In almost every way, but that's what makes us work. Sure I'm charismatic and insanely attractive... But you're mysterious, stoic, and fucking genius."

"And those are redeeming qualities?" Donnie asks, genuinely wanting to know. Did those things pull you to be attracted to him? Were those qualities really attractive?

"Absolutely!" Leo says, shaking Donnie a little. But then Leo stops to think for a second. "Well... They might think you hate them now."

"What?" Donnie replies, eyes wide. "Why? Did I do something?" He's panicking now. He had to fix this. He had to finally admit that you might maybe have a crush on him.

"You have been pretty... Guarded lately. You've been kind of blunt and mean to them, we've-"

Donnie stands up and rushes out of the lab quickly to resolve the issue. He quickly went to your place, not even knocking. He slipped in through the window, seeing you cooking dinner.

"You think I hate you?" Donnie asks softly, making you jump.

"I should really put a lock on the window..." You laugh anxiously. Donnie frowns at you for avoiding his question. "I didn't think it was out of the question."

"I'm sorry, that was never my intention." He murmurs, moving closer to you. You stare at him, a little shocked. He's apologizing? And sounds sincere? "I've been... Fighting my emotions. I guess I didn't realize I was taking it out on you."

"I don't understand..." You reply, brows furrowed as you look up at him. The look in his eyes is much different, softer than they had been recently.

"My brothers say you have a crush on me?" Donnie asks like he's wanting reassurance, wanting confirmation that these rumors where in fact true. You nod, even more confused. "I've been... Fighting with believing that... And with understanding how I feel about you."

You stare at him still, finally the pieces click. "Oh..." You whisper in realization, adverting your gaze for a moment to collect yourself. "So that's what Leo's text meant..." Donnie cocked his head a little before you showed the text.

Mayday! Donnie is about to explode emotionally!

Donnie rolls his eyes at his brother's text, but then looks at you. "So... What does this mean for us?" He questions quietly.

"I would like to... Figure this out with you, if that's something you'd be interested in."

"Sounds intriguing... I'm in."

[starhvney]

BRO. NEW FAN!!! I LOVE LOVE LOVE YOUR GENE FICS!!!!!

So much, that I come requesting 🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼

Bully!Gene(if you do that, if not then teenager Gene) x smart or very intelligent reader :)) can be romantic or platonic!!

𝐔𝐍𝐋𝐈𝐊𝐄𝐋𝐘 𝐏𝐑𝐎𝐓𝐄𝐂𝐓𝐎𝐑

𝐏𝐀𝐈𝐑𝐈𝐍𝐆: pdh gene x fem!reader

𝐒𝐔𝐌𝐌𝐀𝐑𝐘: how ironic is it, when you have to run to someone you’re scared of for protection. maybe, though, you don’t need to be as scared as you are.

𝐓𝐀𝐆𝐒: hurt/comfort, slight angst, unsaid feelings from gene but could also be seen as platonic, “i bully her but only i can bully her” ahh trope, i had to give high school gene some masked redeeming qualities because i said so, gene still being gene in high school (so cussing and delinquent behavior, but not towards reader), he scares you a lil but doesn’t actually bully you

𝐂𝐖: reader is bullied by other students, mentions of violence

𝐀/𝐍: i took offff with this trope bro i lowkey wanna write a whole fic rather than a oneshot about this. i relate so much to the goody two shoes smarty pants reader because that’s still me out of high school tbh hahaha thank you for the prompt anon! (also, the scenario was inspired by a clip of a cdrama i saw one time)

𝐌𝐀𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐋𝐈𝐒𝐓

you’re not sure why it started. you’re not even sure when.

was it because you were friends with aphmau? or garroth? because you followed the rules and made good grades? or were you just an easy target?

at first, she had only sent glares your way, cerise hair framing that ugly grimace she’d reserved for you when no one was looking. sometimes she’d spit a snide comment or two, aiming to berate you and take you down from the core. but then it got worse. you were “bumped into”. then shoved outright. threatening notes were tucked in your locker when you weren’t looking.

she must have realized people would believe you if you told someone. you had a good standing, kept to yourself, didn’t go out of your way for attention. and she had a reputation to keep, too.

you were shocked, when one day she had stopped. she didn’t speak to you, didn’t hit you. hell, she didn’t even go near you. but it wasn’t because she was done with you, it was because it was going to get worse.

students you didn’t even know started approaching you, accusing you of things you’d never done, berating you, and if no one was looking…

you had wondered every possibility of why and when.

but now, you don’t think of any of that, as a group of boys chased you through the empty halls, spatting unrepeatable insults and threats of violence that you sure weren’t just empty promises. you could barely think—barely breathe and stay ahead—as you sprinted through the side of the school that somehow no teacher nor student could be seen to help.

you still kept your destination set on one spot, a place that would either save you or make your situation a thousand times worse. it was your only option, though, ironically as it was.

bursting through the doors of the school’s outdoor shed, you nearly collapsed in relief at the sight of him—your bleak sliver of hope for survival.

hooded eyes meet yours curiously from under thick lashes and messy black hair, before snapping to the group of boys racing in behind you like a pack of hyenas. his jaw snaps in place, nearly squishing the half burned cigarette that hung from his lips. he sits up from his spot on some stacked gym mats, his purposefully disheveled uniform even messier than usual. they freeze at the doorway, nearly tumbling over the other as their eyes widen at the sight.

“get the fuck out.” is all he has to say, lifting a scabbed-over hand to flick ash in their direction as they scramble back out of sight.

your relief is short lived, you realize, as you’re now left alone with him. you anxiously shy away from his dark blue gaze, your legs wobbling as they try to take you towards the door. you nearly jump out of your own skin when his tall build quickly intercepts your path, his arm lazily reaching out to shut the door and seclude the two of you inside.

“not you.”

you back up as he begins to pace toward you, every two steps you take one of his before you’re finally stopped by the shelf behind you. the scent of a musky cologne and cigarette smoke invades your senses as he also stops, face merely inches away from yours as he looks down at you.

“how did you know i was in here?”

you quickly turn to try and run around him, but his hand connects against the shelf to your right. as you flinch and try to turn the other way his other arm has already pinned you in, leaving you completely trapped.

“i’m sorry.” you finally muster, head ducked as you stare at the ground in front of you. “i didn’t know.”

“so you just happened to run into me here in a place no one has caught me in, yet, huh?” he tilts his head. “you thought it would be smart to run in a secluded area with no escape while a group of boys was after you, is that it?”

you stay silent, fighting away the tears of exhaustion and anxiety biting at your eyes. gene looks away from you towards the door again, plucking the cigarette from his lips and exhaling more smoke from his lungs.

his eyes flick back down to you, watching as your features flinch in displeasure and nausea as some of the smoke catches in your face. a second passes before he drops it to the concrete flooring, putting out the lit paper and nicotine under his shoe.

“you may be smarter than me when it comes to academics but i’m not falling for that. you think i haven’t noticed you watching me? somehow always “running into me” when you’re in trouble?”

the blood drains from your face as you realize you’ve been caught, your teary eyes dreadfully trained at the wall.

“it’s kind of rude to take advantage of me like that and not pay me back…” he trails, calculating eyes trained on every reaction and expression you give. “maybe i’ll make you join my group and do my dirty work for me.”

you curse internally at the tears that fall from your eyes, unable to contain themselves in your eyes as they spill over. an embarrassed moment passed before a busted up hand brushes against your cheek, catching the delicate and salty liquid on his fingers. you flinch, finally facing him as your reddened eyes meet his. his expression is unreadable, making a face you hadn’t seen on him before.

“nah. you wouldn’t be able to handle it.” he finally says, his voice nearly startling you.

a couple seconds more pass as he stares at your silent tears, eyebrows furrowing before he makes a noise somewhere between a scoff and a sigh. he straightens his posture, lifting his arms away and releasing you from his trap.

“they should be gone now.” he waves his hand, motioning towards the shed door for you to leave when you don’t move as if his intentions had been obvious in the first place. 

“go.”

“what? you don’t want anything?” you ask, voice wobbling.

“i don’t care for ivy’s style. and people like you aren’t any fun to mess with, anyways...” he says, his eyes finally leaving yours for once as he stares off at the wall behind you, rolling his tongue against the inside of his cheek.

you hesitate a second more, but you don’t have time to dissect his body language or choice of words, so you quickly head towards the door. you pause one last time before running out, turning to him again.

“thank you.”

and then you’re gone. gene groans, cursing under his breath and running his hand through his hair as he trails to the doorway to watch you disappear back into the school again. you weren’t sure how to feel when your aggressors stopped approaching you so much, their presence replaced by a distant glimpse you’d catch of messy black hair in your peripheral. sometimes you’d even notice sasha or zenix quietly trailing after you in the hall, but you knew better than to question it, gratefully keeping your head down.

©starhvney, 2024. please do not steal or repost my works as your own.

[verysium]

some hcs abt the bllk boys doing modeling shoots as pro-players? (like what they’d model for and the ways they captivate their audiences and stuff)? ty and love ur works btw 💞💞🫡

idk why but this ask made my brain freeze up and refuse to write anything for 3 days, so apologies if this is late anon:

sae would be so done. i mean....he walked out on a literal interview, so what makes you think he won't walk out on a photoshoot? he probably hates the very idea of plastering his face all over billboards and magazines. but his manager said that he was in desperate need of good publicity, especially after that stunt he pulled with the last commercial endorsement. if sae was forced to model though, he'd definitely be as stiff as a board. no facial expressions whatsoever and always sticks to one pose. oftentimes, this involves him facing the wall and only showing half his face. if the photographer wants a full frontal, he's going to have to deal with sae's "i don't want to be here and i'm being held hostage" face. even if sae does try smiling, it looks more like a grimace. the only redeeming quality here is that he is good-looking. if you look at the official art, he doesn't even have to try to get all of you drooling over him. that face card does not decline. like ever. so the shoots usually wrap up pretty quickly because out of the 100 images taken, at least half are going to be usable. he's photogenic from any angle.

kaiser would strike a pose for everything, even his own mugshot. i picture him as that one johnny depp advertisement for dior sauvage. blue lighting. a silk blouse with the top button open to show off a sliver of his sculpted chest. his hair is slicked back with gel, and his knuckles are decorated with silver rings. the tattoo just pulls everything together. if not a perfume commercial, then i think he'd model for adidas or some other german brand (maybe even a beer company if he's old enough). i don't think he has any trouble with the actual modeling part of process. he knows how to flaunt himself. the only issue is that kaiser is a lazy perfectionist. he would show up late to the shoots and then stays even later just looking through the shots and choosing which ones to include. puts a lot of time and effort into things like this. after all, his image and his brand are important to him.

shidou would be sponsored by an energy drink brand. like red bull or monster. if not that, then axe body spray lol. as for modeling, i feel like he wouldn't be able to sit still. probably pulls out crazy poses that piss the photographers off on purpose. it always cracks me up how one of his first appearances in the manga is him being muzzled and restrained in a straitjacket inside blue lock's time-out zone. he's so chaotic. you would have to hold him down and shove the camera into his face to actually get a good shot. i also picture him wearing lots of black leather, maybe even silver jewelry (eg. studs, piercings). and of course, you can't forget the hot pink accents.

isagi would model for family-friendly brands. if not that, then just japanese brands in general. i imagine him doing skincare commercials for shiseido or maybe even participating in a campaign for UNIQLO. as for modeling, he would be awkward at first but then gradually get the hang of it. always thanks the team afterwards and is very mindful of the photographer's suggestions. everyone says he is a pleasure to work with.

rin would model for luxury watch brands like TAG heuer or IWC. maybe when he grows older and further develops his career, he might even become an ambassador for louis vuitton or bulgari. overall, his advertisements are very elegant and professional. only endorses high quality products. never looks at the shots afterwards because he hates looking at his own face. gets somewhat embarrassed when his mama points out his billboards and makes clippings of his magazine covers. he absolutely flipped when a brand suggested that he do a collaboration with his brother. so when this collaboration actually did take place, it was like a repeat of the whole messi-ronaldo photoshoot. they didn't actually meet on set. they were just photoshopped together into the same frame.

barou models for calvin klein. lots of denim and shirtless photos. all of the staff got nosebleeds, and his fanbase went wild when the issue was finally released. there's this one image his fans worship religiously where he's posing in his boxers and there's a clear shot of his abs and happy trail. (he's so hot wtf) there's also another shot that wasn't used cus a million people would've been deceased. he's standing there with his thumbs in the belt loops of his jeans and wearing nothing underneath his denim jacket. his hair is also down, and his skin is all sun-kissed and golden.

reo models streetwear, and this is canon because he has the drip. honestly, his duality needs to be studied because he can go from high class gentleman to bad boy who wears chains and knuckle rings. he'd try all different sorts of styles, and he'd look good doing it. out of all the bllk boys, i feel like reo gets the most sponsorship deals because of his versatility. he does the styling, hair, makeup, posing, editing, etc. honestly, they need to hire him as a creative director already. nagi would tag along behind the scenes, but he'd end up scrolling on his phone the entire day.

[moonstruckme]

Camping

summary: the wilderness favors James over you, but it does have some redeeming qualities

cw: mentions of blood, minor injury

James Potter x fem!reader ♡ 1.6k words

Camping hadn’t sounded like such a bad idea last weekend, when James had suggested it. You aren’t a naturally outdoorsy person, but you loved the idea of getting him all to yourself for a couple of days, and what could be more romantic than frolicking through the forest together, the soft light of a campfire, and sleeping under the stars? 

Frolicking, you think sardonically, slapping your cheek in yet another attempt to nail the mosquito that has been trailing you for the past hour, slowly sucking you dry. You could not possibly have been more naive in your imaginings of what camping would entail. Your legs hurt, your supposedly practical shoes are starting to chafe on your ankles, and you’re unsure if the back of your neck is itching from bug bites (completely undeterred by the bug spray you’d applied at the car, by the way) or your ceaseless sweating. You feel tired, and sticky, and sore. 

“Oh, look!” James calls from a few paces ahead of you. “There’s a river up here.” 

You try not to resent him in times like this, but there’s something seriously unjust about how easily your boyfriend has taken to the wilderness. You suppose it simply boils down to one fact: James loves the world, and it loves him right back. A light sheen of sweat has him glistening in the sunlight, his muscled legs effortlessly navigating the landscape, and the breeze has tousled his curls just so as to make hair stylists worldwide mad with envy. He even seems to be getting a tan, whereas you’re strapped into what he calls your “sexy hat”—a beige, floppy thing with vents and a chin fastening—to avoid a sunburn. 

You push ahead on shaky legs until you’re beside James, looking at what appears to you to be more of a creek, or a stream maybe, than a river. 

“Nice,” you say, smiling with all the enthusiasm you can muster. “Wanna go for a swim?”

“Uh, absolutely,” James says, and you suspect he was only waiting for you to ask so it’d be your idea. He sets off for the water, discarding his backpack a few feet away and all but diving in. You follow more warily, not loving the idea of a fish or some other mysterious river dweller brushing up against you, but the prospect of cool, flowing water washing the dirt and sweat from your legs has you stepping out of your shoes and wading in. 

James grasps your hands to keep you from stumbling as you approach him in the middle of the stream. The water here comes up almost to the hems of your shorts, and you’re considering tossing your clothes to the shore if it means you can experience this icy relief all over your body. 

“This is fun, yeah?” James grins, and your heart contracts guiltily as you realize you may not have been as covert with your dissatisfaction as you’d thought. It’s not James’ fault the outdoors doesn’t treat you as kindly as it seems to treat him, and you have no intention of ruining what should be a perfect trip for him. 

“Yeah, it is.” You return his smile, bracing your hands on his shoulders and standing on tiptoe to kiss him. 

He returns your efforts with gusto, pressing his mouth to yours so ardently you have to take a tiny step back to keep your balance, and a sharp pain goes through your heel. 

You gasp, almost biting James’ lip as you rear back. 

“What?” he asks, instantly concerned, and you grip his shoulders tightly, hopping around awkwardly on one foot. 

“I don’t know.” Your foot stings, the water ripping at it even as you do your best to keep it motionless. “I think I stepped on something.”

James curses. “You aren’t wearing water shoes?”

“I don’t own water shoes,” you cry. 

“Okay, sorry,” he says, both of you speaking more sharply than you’d prefer. “Alright, let’s get out.” He picks you up with strong arms under your knees and shoulders, and you can easily blame it on the pain if you swoon a bit as he carries you to the rocky shore, setting you down gingerly. 

You curl your wounded foot close to you, a puddle of watery red already forming on the rock beneath you. There’s a piece of glass stuck in the skin of your heel, soft and already slightly wrinkled from the water, and it’s panic more than hurt that has invisible fingers closing in a suffocating grip around your throat. 

“You’re okay,” James says, watching you with his own barely-leashed panic swimming in his eyes. “Can I have a look?”

You nod, letting him take your ankle cautiously and bring your tender foot onto his lap. You make a small sound of protest at the blood you’re getting on his shorts, but he shushes you, gripping the protruding piece of glass between his fingernails. 

“I’m gonna take it out, okay? Then we can clean it.” He looks at you for approval, and all you can do is nod again before he’s removed the intruder from your heel and your blood is flowing even faster. You hiss at the pain and in mourning for the stain that will certainly never come out of James’ poor shorts. “Aw, I’m sorry, angel,” James coos, grabbing antiseptic spray you had no idea he’d brought from his backpack. He makes short work of cleaning and covering your wound, and even kisses your gross, river-scented foot when he’s done, though the comically small band-aid covering the cut really puts things into perspective for you. 

You’re doing your best to rally the gung-ho attitude you’ll need to get through the rest of this trip when James says, “I know it’s early, but you probably won’t be able to walk much on that for a little while. Want to go ahead and set up camp at that clearing we passed earlier?” and frankly, the idea of this ordeal being over with for the night is too good to pass up. 

“Sure,” you say, trying to feign some reluctance, and he kisses you on the forehead before hauling you up. 

You’re grateful for James’ selfless character (and his sturdy frame) as he lets you lean some of your weight on him, in addition to the not-insignificant weight of his backpack, while you limp the fifteen minutes to the clearing. He takes the tent from his pack as soon as he’s set everything down, unrolling it and placing the first stake at a corner. 

“Here,” you crawl over, taking the mallet from him. “I can do that.” 

James gives you a look like you’ve sprouted a second head. “No,” he says, taking the mallet back from you and starting to hammer in the stake himself, “you’re hurt.”

You can’t help it; you laugh. “Jamie, a cut in my foot hardly keeps me from using my arms.”

He only shakes his head at you. “You just rest, sweetheart. I’ve got it.” 

You consider protesting further, but he seems serious, and eventually you simply shrug, scooting into a patch of shade to watch him work. If your boyfriend wants to do all the hard work, far be it for you to prevent him.

And as the evening goes on, James actually does insist on doing everything for you. He sets up the tent, builds the fire, heats your dinner, and even fashions a little cushion for you to sit on out of a spare blanket. You argue that you’re not all of a sudden made of glass when he won’t let you roast your own marshmallow, but James won’t hear it, and soon you’re lying on the cool ground, using your blanket cushion to pillow your head and looking at the stars. 

“We can start back to the car as soon as we wake up tomorrow,” James says over the chirping of crickets and croaking of frogs, his head just a few inches from yours. “I’m sure you want to be in your own bed.”

“What?” You push up onto your elbow, looking down at him in disbelief. “No, I’ll be okay to walk tomorrow.” You’re fairly sure you were okay to walk today. “Don’t cut the trip short on my account.” 

James only looks at you glumly. “Sweetheart, you weren’t having any fun today. You were miserable, and then you got hurt.” His brows scrunch like even the memory is agonizing for him. “I don’t want to make it worse by having you walk on it all day tomorrow.”

You’re officially the worst girlfriend in the world. James had been looking forward to this all week, and as soon as you’d gotten here, you’d made no secret of how little you were enjoying yourself. “James, I’ll be fine,” you promise. “I was being a wimp today, and now I know what to do to make it easier for myself.” More bug spray, to start with. You sigh, laying your head on his shoulder. “I didn’t mean to spoil your good time. Let me try again tomorrow, okay?” 

“You’re sure?” You can’t see James’ face, but there’s no mistaking the hope in his voice. 

“Positive. You’re so sweet for offering to go home, though.” You tilt your head up until your lips find his, the kiss short and sweet. “Thank you.” 

“Don’t want my girl to have a bad time,” James says, sitting up and pulling you with him so he can kiss you more fully. He casts a forlorn look at your foot. “My poor, injured girl.” 

You grin, bringing your unscathed leg around to straddle his lap. “Not so injured I can’t do anything,” you remind him.

James’ eyebrows rise, his lips slowly curving upward. “Oh, yeah?” he croons, pulling you closer by your waist. “I mean, if you’re sure, sweetheart. But the sexy hat is going to have to stay on."

[ettelenethelien]

The thing about the Valar paroling Morgoth is that it's easier to judge in hindsight.

Basically, the reader always knows their trust will be betrayed. Even if you don't know the Silm yet, heck, even if you don't know LotR, you're familiar with the Dark Lord archetype and this right here is Tolkien creating it. This is how Palpatine, this is how Voldemort, this is how Sauron Expy №14 would have acted.

And furthermore, I don't know if it's that obvious to everyone, but to someone familiar with Christian beliefs, it's very visible from the start that Morgoth pretty much represents the devil. Yeah, it's Tolkien, it's never 1:1 - but it's as close to 1:1 as it gets in the Legendarium, and it's pretty darn close. Of course the devil is a liar, that's pretty much in the definition, you don't trust him, how well did you think that could end?

And even if one was to be somehow unfamiliar with both Christianity and three fourths of pop-culture, it's a story, and I think the rules of story in the majority of cultures imply that if someone's been evil without any redeeming qualities for three chapters straight, they're not going to suddenly change allegiance in the fourth. (Also, let's not kid ourselves, we're straight up told he feigned it.)

That said - from the perspective of the Valar? We like to talk - or at least I like to talk - about how many of the mistakes that the Noldor (and the Fëanorians in particular) make are much more understandable in the light of them living at the very beginning of history. Fëanor doesn't know any better than to leave half his army behind, because he really cannot know any better. It's a moral betrayal, sure, yet as a tactical blunder it feels foolish, but can be explained. (And of course, despite ample historical evidence to the contrary, even we, every time there's a war, believe we'll be home by Christmas). They don't have any historical examples of overcharging leading to failure, they don't have any cautionary stories about rash oaths; they're only going to become one for future generations. And the Valar pardoning Morgoth is even farther back.

This is the first instance of treachery within the count of time! Heck, I doubt the Valar even know one of their number can lie at this point! Maybe they understand the concept as something Elvish children do before they know any better; maybe not even that. This is Paradise, and treason intruding into Paradise, and they cannot see into his heart, and he's always been very open about his goals before.

Does the situation scream "this is going to end very, very badly", even without the additional in-text explanations of Morgoth's purposes? Very much so. But is there an easy explanation that does not assume incompetence on the part of the Valar? Also yes.

[anonymous-yandere-writer]

Yandere Reiji Headcanons

TW: Blood, Objectification, Dehumanization

When you two first met, he thought you were just going to be another loud nuisance in the house. Shrieking and screaming in fear constantly.

I mean who wouldn't? In a house full of 6 sadistic vampires. Of course you'd have to let out the occasional scream.

Your only redeeming quality to him was that your blood smelled good.

He thought he'd might as well have a taste before letting the triplets have their way with you.

Buuut, unfortunately for both of you, the moment he got a single hit he got addicted.

It would be such a waste to let such tasty thing like you go to waste, so he decided that he might as well just keep you for himself. Why not?

"Hmm, you're not horrible tasting, and you're not too ugly either. Mm~ why don't you come with me? I can make sure that those three don't try to drain you of your precious blood immediately. Unless, maybe you want to be bitten by them?"

Obviously you agree, seeing Reiji to be atleast a little bit more reasonable than the triplets.

Worst mistake you've ever made in your life.

The moment you agree you're now almost always followed by Reiji. You and him become attached at the hip.

You'd think a guy like Reiji would let you get use to it.

You're Reiji's property now, and he can be pretty fucking possessive over the stuff he owns.

He's especially possessive over you because of your blood.

Drinking your blood is like almost like drinking the finest, most expensive wine money can get you. A little slice of heaven that he's unwilling to share.

You get use to his weird stalking habits after awhile, just putting it off as yet another Vampiric quirk.

Yet another mistake.

Also, Reiji does poison your food a lot, not everytime. But whenever he feels like you weren't doing enough or you let your gaurd down he does so.

And he relishes in that pain-filled look in your eyes.

With you, he's a pure sadist through and through.

You only have your own room for like a month after you become Reiji's new toy, until he decides that you should move to his room.

He gets extremely jealous and frustrated at the thought that during the trek to his room one of his brothers will come snatch you up and take you for himself.

Reiji isn't taking any chances when it comes to you, you're too sweet for your own good.

But if you try to argue and demand your own privacy, he'll have to start "Knocking some sense into you".

"Hush! You did this to yourself, all you have to do is just listen, do as your told, and behave like a proper lady should. But you can't even comprehend something so simple. Absolutely pathetic, if it wasn't for the fact your blood is such a delicacy I would've killed you already. Now quit your incessant crying and stand up."

[kerubimcrepin]

Liveblog - Dofus, livre 1 : Julith [PART 23]

I think after this it's kinda natural that Joris will never ever put his trust into anyone that isn't Kerubim or Atcham ever again.

I am once again asking why Kerubim has these books and what was he doing at devil's sacrament.

He's never beating those necromancy allegations.

There's a canonical name for the evil-ass looking huppermages.

Once again, this is Them in Dofus 2 when they reveal to Joris that they framed Julith or something. (source: my beautiful mind)

The Dessous comic implies that Marline bought this stuff from Kerubim which is so funny. It's beautiful how little of a shit the man gives for the safety of others.

I may not like Khan in his present form, as a macho gobbowler, but I like the idea of him. Joris, and his little "ghnhnn I have to do what's right, I have sacrifice my happinesss for other people" complex needs someone like that in his life who will buy him alcohol and help him run away from home when he's 14-16.

I'm sure if given another movie, or a show, Ankama's plan would have been to make Khan more likeable. He seems like a ride-or-die friend.

A scene ago he was in Julith's arms. So, she found it important to get him into the arms of this dofus-powered doll. Personally, I like to think that he started thrashing and maybe even bit her.

What did she lie about though? Liking him? Not wanting the Dofus? Being a competent person and not a fuck-up? (I love Bakara and say all of this with affection)

Once again, I empathize, that Julith was gloating about this to Bakara. That she doesn't really care about Joris (and by extension, Joris's feelings.)

She is killing a thousand people, who did nothing to her. These are civilians who came to watch a sports match. How many mothers are here with their sons and daughters who just wanted to look at their idols? If Joris never had Grougalorasalar's soul, if he and Kerubim never learned of her plan, THEY would have been among these viewers.

Julith is a very interesting character because she's ruthless, she has no morals, absolutely no understanding or compassion for others, — even Bakara or her own son, — and yet she is driven by love almost entirely. And that's her one redeeming quality.

But also — does it really change things, when you're driven by love to kill a thousand innocent people? To ruin your son's life? Because it doesn't really change much, to me...

I think there's a tragedy in that. She does love the idea of Joris. She loves what she sees of him, his voice, his face, and eyes. If she learned more about him, she'd probably love the parts he didn't show too. She'd love to see how he grew up.

She'd love how committed he is to those he loves. She'd love his ruthless march towards what he thinks is right that will allow him to close his eyes as he does unforgivable things. The only thing she would dislike is his loyalty to Bonta.

But the reverse will never be true. Joris can become a warmonger, a dictator, and a war criminal, but he would loathe to place his needs above those of others. He wouldn't do horrible things if he didn't think it was for the greater good of mankind.

As a 600yo man, Joris has lived through two apocalypses, — and yet people like Nox and Julith will lose 1-4 loved ones and go insane, killing people. I doubt he feels much for her, except for disgust.

Their friendship is so important to me. But also, somewhere out there, Tatak is crying.

I think one of the great tragedies of Joris's character is that he is doomed to break his own moral code, slowly but surely.

One must imagine Joris Jurgen living happily with the blood of innocents on his hands, because the alternative is more haunting.

One of her main issues is that she projects the actions of a few onto literally everyone in Bonta. Which is a very crazy fucking reach.

But I understand how she arrived at this reach to begin with: I don't think she was ever happy, before Jahash, and when she finally was happy, for once in her entire life, they took even that away from her.

You wanna know who else in this scene is going to have only 2 people who give meaning to his life? Jo—— [I am forcefully restrained by the police]

I just really like pointing out the similarities between Joris and Julith, — and the way these similarities underline their differences.

Once again: she doesn't give a shit about anyone's opinion. She is betting everything onto a nebulous future where Joris and Jahash and Bakara forgive and forget everything she did, and they live as a happy Fambly (in Brakmar, because that's a GOOD city and they will LOVE to move there, after being no longer welcome in Bonta due to the 1000 dead people.)

(Guy whose very emotional and Julith and Joris voice) guys I think she's starting to realize that their familial relationship is going to be unfixable.

Joris and everyone present here are quite aware that stopping this will kill one of them.

They are also very aware that one dead person is better than a thousand.

[bakudekublogblog]

Katsuki is so fucking sick of hospital rooms. He hates the heavy scent of antiseptic, the too-starchy pillows, the way the bed crackles every time he moves. He hates the white-popcorn walls that he’s forced to stare at through the haze of heavy medication. And he fucking despises the plastic tube shoved up his nose with the quiet, but constant, beeping of several machines keeping tabs on his vitals. Everything about it sucks. The only slightly redeeming quality about this particular hospital stay is that he and Izuku are sharing the same room. Apparently, after Katsuki’s tantrum the last time they both nearly died, the nurses figured it was best for everyone if Izuku was put directly in Katsuki’s line of vision. And so there he is, still knocked out in his hospital bed opposite Katsuki’s. Half his head wrapped in gauze, face swollen with purple bruises, he’s bandaged just about everywhere, but he’s alive. Katsuki is too riddled with pain meds to do much other than stare at him across the room. But at least Izuku is there, hooked up to a heart-monitor, softly proving that he’s still breathing. Which gives Katsuki’s battered heart some much needed relief. 

Izuku still hasn’t woken up, though. Stupid, sleepy bastard. Always fucking sleeping when Katsuki is awake. How the fuck has Katsuki had three surgeries, one of them open-heart surgery, and he’s managing to flit in and out of consciousness, but Izuku is still out like a light? Katsuki thought Izuku swore to surpass him. Why the fuck does he think he can fall behind now? Katsuki scowls at Izuku’s tuft of fluffy green hair. 

Wake up or I’ll kill you , Katsuki vows.

Katsuki knows he’s in love with him. He should have known a long time ago really, but having his heart burst put everything into stark clarity. He can’t deny it now. Not even if he wanted to. The next time Katsuki greets death, he will do so without regrets. There’s so much he needs to make up for; he still has so much atoning left to do. He has to show Izuku he will be better and do right by him. Izuku can’t fucking die before Katsuki has the chance to prove himself. Even if Izuku never loves him back, Katsuki must at least prove that he can be good. That he is worthy of standing at Izuku’s side. 

Days pass and Izuku still doesn’t wake. Katsuki’s pleadings only get more desperate. Usually it’s just in his head, but sometimes, when it’s late at night and no one else is around, Katsuki will murmur to him aloud. 

“You don’t have to forgive me,” Katsuki whispers into the oppressive quiet of their hospital room. Only the soft chime of Izuku’s heart-monitor answers him. “You don’t have to be mine. Just wake up. Don’t make me live in a world without you.” 

Shadows dance as headlights stream through the curtains shading their window, and for a moment Katsuki thinks maybe--- but no. The car passes and Izuku hasn’t stirred. God fucking dammit. Katsuki doesn’t know why he’s surprised: of course Izuku can’t actually hear him. Tears prick at the corners of Katsuki’s eyes anyway. 

It becomes a nightly ritual. Katsuki’s mind is too muddled with medication to make sense most of the time, but at least it gives him something to do. God, he can’t wait until he’s off all this shit and actually, you know, move and whatever. His arm was so bent and twisted when he was admitted that they had to implant metal poles to strengthen it, and fuck if it doesn’t feel weird. Recovery Girl comes by every day to heal him, bit by bit so as not to exhaust his limited energy, and there’s a quirk specialist flying out from the states to repair Katsuki’s damaged muscle. They have assured him that with time and physical therapy he should get all his mobility back, but it gives Katsuki little comfort. He would cut the whole damn limb off if it meant Izuku would just wake up . 

“Please, for me,” Katsuki whispers, one night after a particularly exhausting round of visits from his parents, Izuku’s mom, and All Might. “Just this one thing. Just wake up. I won’t ask for anything else, just be okay.” 

Katsuki must drift off. The concoction of sleep-aids and pain medications dragging him into unconsciousness against his will. He thinks he might be dreaming when he hears ragged breathing and a soft croaky voice. 

“Ka— K’ch’n… Kach—” 

Katsuki jolts awake, his heart-rate spiking and his head spinning. He can’t have— it couldn’t be—

 “ Kacchan… ” 

[READ MORE]

[sebwritesstories]

SALLY STARLET NAME-GIVING OBSERVATIONS

Okay, this is just a small theory, but I've noticed how Sally interacts with her fellow neighbors, and I have guesses on how she addresses them, and whether that shows her respect for them (which may change as the Welcome Home timeline becomes clearer to navigate).

To do so, I will list the characters based on whether they are the most or least respected, to make the tier list clear.

SALLY STARLET🌈⭐️: Mainly tiering her first for the ENORMOUS amount of self-respect she has. From that, we can see that she isn't one to lengthen, fancify, or change her moniker in any sort of way or form. She is, of course, Sally Starlet! The kind of pride and integrity that she has for herself is one of her more redeemable qualities, at least in my opinion.

POPPY PARTRIDGE🥧🧶: Sally's home-bodied galpal may be second on the list, but she is the only other neighbor that she constantly calls by her own name. Not to mention the fact that Poppy is the only neighbor that Sally will constantly praise for her talents, try to break out of her isolating lifestyle, and admit her mistakes and goof-ups to (which is something Sally has too much pride to do with any other neighbor)! From that, I can safely say that Sally holds Poppy in the highest regard (maybe even higher than platonically expected, we shall see), which shows through the lack of name fancification.

BARNABY B. BEAGLE🌭🎉: I am mainly putting Barnaby here for now, as he is the only other neighbor yet to be called a fancy moniker, but tends to get Sally riled up for the sake of it. It has often been stated how segments with Sally's plays will often be changed in some silly shape or form, mainly by Barnaby wanting to mess with her (similar to the Fractured Fairytales segment from Rocky and Bullwinkle). She could respect him as a fellow lover of theater and show-biz (as they play around a bit, like in Eddie's Big Lift), but I will hold off on speculations until the update next week.

JULIE JOYFUL💐🎳: This colorful character will be called both "Juliet" and her own name when Sally is exasperated with her. From their interactions, Sally seems to be patient enough around Julie and will be tolerant of the changes to stories and plays that she comes up with.

WALLY DARLING🎨🍎: Our gracious host will be called "Walliford" or his own name for similar reasons. Like any other neighbor, Sally has a fondness for Wally, despite his lack in acting skills, and will ask him for help with prop creation and directing assistance.

HOWDY PILLAR🐛🍓: The neighborhood grocer has only been called "Howardson". Sally seems to have no ill will toward Howdy, and will often call upon him for plays due to his acting skills (which unfortunately lead to advertising his store). Sally seemed to a jab at Howdy from time to time, but can easily be swayed by his scam tactics.

HOME🏡🥞: Has only been called by her own name, and we have yet to see any direct interactions between them and Sally.

FRANK FRANKLY🦋🍮: I have only heard Sally call Frank "Fred" while introducing him, so take that as you will (at least until there is a clearer timeline).

EDDIE DEAR✉️🥖: Poor, poor Eddie. He doesn't even get the privilege of being called a proper name. Sally will often refer to Mr. Dear as the "mailman", and will expect him to wait on her like a servant. To be clear, she isn't the only one to overwork or demean him because nearly every neighbor does so (with the exceptions of Wally, Poppy, and maybe Frank). But at least most neighbors have the decency to call Eddie by his name in any form (though this may show my bias, cause I kin Eddie in many respects).

Anywho, thats all I have to say for Sally, till the update! This is mainly just a drabble of sorts, but feel free to say your piece! Constructively, of course.

[ofthecaravel]

Heaven In Time

Chapter 1: Thoroughfare

Danny Wagner x Sam Kiszka

Summary: Danny, en route to California to find love, picked up small town runaway Sam on a Texas thoroughfare and has been on the road ever since. While Sam adjusts to life as himself, Danny's wondering if he's found love without even leaving the South.

Tags: Religious trauma, mentions of homophobia, Anxiety, very sweet little crushes, idk all very soft when its not Tense

Words: 5.4k

A/N: HEAVILYYYYYY inspired by Thoroughfare by Ethel Cain, even borrowed a lyric here and there. Any and all credit to my beloved Hayden. First chapter of ??? maybe 4?? but I haven't decided. There's going to be more mention of Sam's questionable Southern Baptist Christian upbringing in those and I understand that may not be everyone's cup of tea so feel free to scroll if that may be upsetting for you.

~~

“Do you think we’re gonna get arrested?”

Over the gentle splash of the thin, chlorinated water, Sam heard Danny’s long sigh. Usually he laughed at all of Sam’s misplaced little comments and queries, but sometimes he just sighed. Sam knew he didn’t mean anything harsh by it, but it definitely didn’t feel good. 

“Not if you don’t say anything,” Danny answered plainly. A smile ghosted his tired face as he rotated to face Sam, who stared back as he awkwardly bobbed with his long hair trailing behind him like a veil. After however many dusty miles and state lines they’d crossed, it always felt good when they had a motel to crash at instead of the cramped cabin of Danny’s pickup. And it felt twice as good when the motel had a pool, especially when it was nice and late at night and there was no one else around. Sam wasn’t much of a swimmer, but he was happy to tread water and watch Danny float. His broad chest would peek just over the surface of the water and his eyes would close while his dark curls moved like the fingers of lazy clouds. 

Yeah, Sam was happy to watch that. 

“It doesn’t feel right,” Sam murmured, watching his fingers flex anxiously under the water in the refracted view the harsh fluorescents provided. With the country sky full of nothing but mosquitoes and the occasional whistling breeze, the yellowing pool lights were the only thing illuminating them. Sam felt suddenly self conscious thinking of how washed out he must look in this rare moment where he was the one being watched. He turned to the side, only offering Danny his profile. 

“They won’t know the credit card ain’t mine until we’re in Arizona,” Danny insisted in a hushed voice. “And even then, I didn’t give the desk my real name. We’re golden if you can keep that mouth of yours shut. Can you do that for me, cowboy?”

“Sure I can.” Sam bristled, but knew Danny’s request was justified. Ever since Danny had taken pity on him and picked him up on that thoroughfare back in Texas, Sam never seemed to be able to do the right thing. He had gotten as far as he had in an attempt to remove himself from the suppressing influence of his uber religious hometown, but so far it seemed like he was still dragging it along with him. It was an embarrassing first impression to leave on someone as great as Danny was turning out to be, but he hadn’t left Sam behind yet, so Sam figured he must have some redeeming qualities that kept him around.

“Atta boy,” Danny smiled, his eyes closing as he lolled his head back and drew in a deep breath of the cool night air. “Christ alive, I needed this. How long do you think we drove today?”

“5 hours?” Sam guessed, thinking back on the day. “Felt longer ‘cause of the sun.”

“Damn that sun,” Danny cursed. “Burned the hell out of my nose, too.”

“We can get lotion or something at the next gas station,” Sam offered. Truthfully, he found the ruddy blush on Danny’s nose and freckled cheeks extremely flattering, but he knew it had to hurt. Growing up in Alabama, Sam knew a thing or two about sunburn.

“With what money?” Danny laughed humorlessly, sighing again and running a hand over his face. “Although at this point, I’d be willing to skip a dinner to get my hands on some lotion. Mm. Not that I don’t appreciate your presence, but...” 

Sam blinked blankly, feeling an implication pass him by like they often did. He didn’t say anything in return and sank a little further into the pool, trying not to feel even more stupid than he already did. Being tired certainly wasn’t helping, but he was really starting to feel the weight of all of his graceless actions from the past week pile on him as they swam in silence. Hopefully Danny would want to head up to their room soon and Sam could just try again the next day.  

Danny noticed Sam’s silence and opened his heavy eyes to observe him with a worried look. Sam’s neck was craned and the sharp point of his nose grazed the water as he continued to stare into the palms of his submerged hands. He was halfway to prayer by the looks of it, and Danny guessed that probably wasn’t too far from the truth. It was a state of mind Sam never really seemed to leave. Danny remembered the scandalized look on Sam’s face when they’d shared their first diner meal together and Danny had picked his fork right up and gotten to work when the waitress had brought their plates. Now he knew to wait and let Sam save them with a quick round of grace before eating. Sam had never asked for his hand to hold when doing it, but somewhere between the Texas border and New Mexico, Danny had offered it up and they’d been doing it that way ever since. It sure made it a hell of a lot more tolerable for Danny to wait for Sam’s long winded recitations with his slender hand in Danny’s. He really didn’t mind too much, especially after he’d begun collecting little glimpses of the seemingly excruciating evangelical life that Sam had left behind in Alabama. Danny didn’t pry, but there was a lot about Sam that he didn’t know. He watched Sam lit up in the pale, shifting luminance coming from the pool and realized with a strange, absent pang that he wanted to know. Maybe all of it, actually.

“Not a star in the sky,” Danny commented dreamily, tilting his neck back to stare at the pitch black sky after another long minute of staring at Sam left him feeling flushed. “It was always easy to pick ‘em out when I was on the farm, but I really have to squint when I’m in cities sometimes. It’s a crying shame.”

“We had to have all the lights out in town at a certain time so I always got to see the stars,” Sam replied in a small voice. “My brothers were always looking for Castor and Pollux, but we got lost after finding Orion every single time. Always forgot whether to look up or down or west or what.”

Sam smiled at the memory, remembering watching his older brothers bicker in whispers in front of the window while pressing fingers to the glass and eventually calling Sam in for help. Their parents fell asleep fast and heavy, so nights were usually when he and his siblings really got to be themselves. Sam found himself tired during the days almost all the time, but he’d carried his drooping eyelids with a bounce in his step. Even on the rare instances when he dozed off during study or services, he’d take a ruler to the knuckles with a smile. 

“I’ve always been partial to Orion,” Danny agreed, searching it out as he said it. “Probably because it’s easy to find and I’m a simple man when it comes to stuff like that.”

“You’re plenty smart,” Sam complimented. He finally lifted his head from his gloomy stance, his ear resting on his shoulder as he turned his smile on Danny. “Especially with maps. We’d be halfway to Argentina if I were the one navigating.”

“I wouldn’t mind that at all,” Danny laughed. “We can go there after we find love in California, how about that?”

“Perfect,” Sam complied, feeling a familiar sour rush of adrenaline when reminded of their end goal. It was ignorant to feel shocked over and over when he thought about it, especially considering that talk of Danny’s unknown Californian love were some of the first words Danny had ever said to him. Danny had pulled up next to Sam on the side of the road in his beat up pick up truck, told him not to run, and asked if he wanted to go see the West with him.

“‘Cause love’s out there,” Daniel had explained after Sam had hopped right in. “And I can’t leave it be.”

And Sam had agreed. Out of luck to spend and no more energy in his body to spend on walking, it was the perfect escape. It still was. It’s just that the more time he shared with Danny, the more he disliked the thought of Danny sharing time with anyone other than him. Sam was suddenly very sure he was greedy and selfish and wicked, and he made plans to pray on it after Danny had gone to sleep.

“Smart,” Danny echoed with an airy laugh, finally lifting his hair from the water and shaking his head slightly. “I don’t know about all that. If this were a movie, I’m pretty sure I’d be the muscle of the operation.”

“I guess that’d make sense. How much can you lift?” 

Danny gave Sam a mischievous look and shrugged, hoping the smirk creeping onto his face didn’t give away his plans for what he’d do next.

“Not sure,” Danny answered coolly. “How much do you weigh?”

Before Sam could respond, Danny rushed forward as fast as the water allowed and grabbed Sam around the waist, boosting him up with a noisy splash. Sam shrieked initially, but it gave way to a surprised laugh, every nerve alight with buzzing heat as Danny lifted him up. Danny could only manage to keep him up for another few moments before buckling at the knee from the close contact, allowing Sam a little time to plug his nose before Danny dunked him under.

Sam met the shifting blur of the pale water and felt a jarring, overwhelming peace as the water swallowed all sound and sensation and he began to sink to the bottom. For a second, he thought he might like to stay there forever, just floating and free from everything he didn’t understand about what was happening to him, what had already happened. What he wanted to happen. 

Sam didn’t even feel the sizzle of his lungs begging for air until he opened his eyes best he could and saw the blur of what was waiting for him up above.        

Now, Sam had obviously been far too young for him to remember his baptism, but as he brought himself back to consciousness and pushed himself out of the water and into Danny’s arms, he imagined it was a similar experience. Without really thinking, his arms went around Danny’s neck and he breathed in a great, shuddering gasp, desperately filling his chest with air as Danny’s arms reflexively wrapped around him and kept Sam pinned to his chest as he coughed.

“Fuck, Sam, did you forget to breathe?” Danny whispered urgently, resisting the urge to shout and wake the other motel patrons. “I mean, pardon my French, but you scared the shit out of me for a second there!”

“Sorry,” Sam choked out as he began to control his breathing and let it give way to an embarrassed laugh. “I got distracted for a minute.”

“Yeah, I’d definitely say you were coming up on a minute!” Danny sputtered, patting Sam’s back in a last ditch effort to knock any water loose. “I’ve never seen anyone go that long underwater. Good lord. You sure you’re okay?”

“I’m okay, I promise,” Sam insisted, leaning back to flash Danny a sincere look of assurance. Curiously, he didn’t feel the need to unlock his arms from behind Danny’s neck when doing so. In the same way, Danny didn’t feel the need to release his grip on Sam, keeping their bare chests flush as Sam comically mimicked drawing in deep breaths and releasing them to demonstrate his capability.

“Fine, fine, I believe you,” Danny relented, despite the anxiety still fluttering in his chest. “Just don’t scare me like that again. I get nervous enough when you’re out of my sight, and now you’re telling me I gotta worry about you when you’re right in front of me? Phew.” 

“What do you mean you get nervous when I’m out of your sight?” Sam laughed, his dark brow crinkling inquisitively as his stomach gave a little flip. 

“Just worried you’ll get to wandering,” Danny replied with faux nonchalance. “Don’t want some lawless vagabond picking you off the street.”

“Ain’t that what you did?” 

Danny tossed his head back and let out a loud laugh, knowing he needed to be much quieter than he was but doing nothing to rectify it. Sam burst into a round of hushed giggles and attempted to put his hands over Danny’s mouth as he shushed him theatrically. They goodnaturedly tussled  for a minute before Danny finally let Sam go, pushing him back and looking away with a nervous laugh still running its course in his chest.

“I got enough law in me to keep an eye on you,” Danny continued on, flicking his wrist lightly to splash Sam. “Can’t have you leaving me to drive the rest of the way on my own.”

“Well, I only ever leave if there’s not much worth staying for,” Sam muttered. It wasn’t entirely true when considering the importance of what he’d left behind in favor of hitchhiking aimlessly in pressing Texan heat, namely his family. He felt guilty saying it, but Danny took his words with pillow softness. His laugh melted into a shy smile that fell on Sam like a kiss on the forehead. 

“Lucky me, I suppose,” Danny smiled, punching Sam gently on the shoulder. “I’ll do my best to make the rest of the trip worth staying for.”

“You won’t have to try too hard,” Sam replied sincerely. “I’m having a lot of fun so far.”

“Yeah?” Danny questioned with an amused arch of his eyebrow. “You’re having fun coughing up dust in the passenger seat of a beat up truck that doesn’t work half the time? You’re having fun having to share flat, suspiciously stained motel beds with some sorry hick you met two weeks ago?”

“Well, when you put it that way, it sounds terrible,” Sam laughed. “But it is fun. It’s the in-between stuff that’s fun.” 

“Like what?” Danny prodded, giving Sam another playful little splash. 

He asked without any real pressure, but there was a big part of Danny that really needed to know if he was making this spontaneous road trip a good time for Sam. It seemed a little ridiculous to some extent considering that when Danny set off, he wasn’t expecting any kind of lingering company in the slightest. At the end of the day, Sam was a borderline neurotic runaway that Danny had taken a chance on after some strange gut feeling had told him to take a left and not a right while driving aimlessly. But at the same time, Danny was really starting to like him. It both confused and warmed him.

“I don’t know!” Sam sputtered. “It’s always fun to look through gas stations for stupid knick knacks. That mood ring keychain was pretty cool, you have to admit.” 

Danny only laughed in response. The tacky keychain had pretty obviously been for kids, but with the way Sam’s eyes had lit up when he pressed his thumb to the heat reactive surface, Danny had found that fact the least important part of the equation.

“It’s fun when the diner menus have stupid names for the sandwiches,” Sam continued, feeling increasingly more embarrassed talking about himself. “And I definitely have fun when I get to listen to my station on the radio.”

“And you can continue to have that fun in half hour intervals,” Danny asserted, trying not to roll his eyes while recalling Sam’s beloved church music station. “Anything else?”

“Hmm. This is pretty fun,” Sam answered with a quick, impish shrug. “Even though you tried to drown me.”

“Hey!” Danny scoffed while Sam sailed into another round of delighted giggles. “I’ll show you drowning!”

Danny reached out and they wrassled again, a flurry of arms and bickering laughter as Danny pretended to try and dunk Sam under the water. Once again, Sam’s arms went around Danny’s neck as they struggled, and once again he made no move to remove them when Danny slowed. However, this time around, when Sam felt the careless adrenaline fueling him with a whisper of unknown courage, he seized it and gave Danny a quick kiss on the cheek. It was no more than 2 seconds of his lips on Danny’s slightly stubbled skin, but it struck Danny like a slap to the face. Sam released his grip on him and gave him a good natured smile. 

“Seriously, this is so fun,” Sam insisted. “But we’ll never sleep if we keep being rowdy. Bed?”

“Good thinking,” Danny replied a little too quickly, successfully fighting a quiver in his voice and letting out a silent, choked sigh when Sam turned his back on him and started making his way to the edge of the pool. Facing away from Danny allowed Sam a moment to let his innocent, grateful gesture sink in. He began to panic slightly, rushing out a hurried mental prayer that Danny hadn’t taken it the wrong way. Sam almost turned to apologize, but decided it would be more awkward if he did, instead electing to haul himself out of the pool and grab his towel as if nothing out of the ordinary was raging inside his head.

Meanwhile, Danny definitely wasn’t taking it the wrong way. But he was taking it in a very surprising way. Feeling sudden and immense guilt, he realized that he was really going to have to book it to the hook where his towel hung in order to cover the “reaction” he was having to Sam’s little kiss. Thankfully, he was able to make it without Sam seeing. Danny felt grateful for his Southern charm when Sam finally did turn his doe eyed smile back on him and Danny was able to steer their conversation in a new direction as they walked to their room and he kept his towel tightly wound around his waist.

-

But neither one of them really recovered from it. Something so small and instantaneous weighed heavily in the back of their minds as they went about their separate nighttime routines and turned away from each other when Danny turned the light off. 

After an infuriating hour of staring up at the flaking ceiling and listening to the muffled whistle of a keening wind outside the window, Sam finally heard Danny begin to snuffle and sigh, signifying sleep. He released a pent up sigh and rubbed a hand over his eyes as he tried to manifest sleep. A few hours prior he had been nearly nodding off at dinner, but now that he was alone in the inviting dark with Danny, it was hard to keep his eyes closed. Usually he whispered himself to sleep with psalms that lulled him into a fuzzy, dreamless void, but it felt wrong to do so with the imagery pervading his mind. None of it was graphic, simply a replay of how it felt to float in Danny’s arms. And how safe he felt with Danny’s hand on his back. How the feeling of his mouth on Danny’s cheek made him wonder how it would feel if it were the other way. How it would’ve felt if Danny had picked that moment to turn slightly, causing Sam to catch his lips instead of his stubble. 

It was shameful, but Sam felt himself tensing and carefully guiding each muscle so that he could turn over to lay on his side facing Danny’s back. Unable to lay alone with his thoughts any longer, he decided that the sight of the body next to him would be enough to quell the uncomfortable desire in his chest that was beginning to frighten him slightly. However, he was startled to find that Danny had turned over at some point as well. Sam’s heart flitted and jabbed at him from his ribcage as he took in the sight of Danny’s cheek pressed to the pillow, his mouth ever so slightly ajar as he drew in deep breaths. He was laying on his chest, and Sam fought the urge to trace the swells of muscles in his arms as they came to cross underneath the pillow beneath his head. There was a needling, demanding pull in Sam’s stomach now, one that yanked and strained the longer Sam took in the sight of Danny’s placid, perfect face in the spectral moonlight. It puppeteered him to slide a trembling hand up and delicately cup Danny’s freckled cheek. Sam felt as though he was doing something exceedingly terrible when his thumb traced a gentle journey over Danny’s skin that still buzzed with heat from his light burn. Danny drew in a big breath and released it through his nose, stern eyebrows knitting slightly in a dream as Sam screamed at himself in his head to move his hand, flip back over, and just go to sleep. Yet it seemed like such an insurmountable task now that he’d felt Danny’s breath on his wrist. Worse, it reminded Sam of the proximity of Danny’s lips to his own, only inches away and closer even to his fingers. Sam’s mind raced as he became obsessed with possibility. 

His dreams were quickly dashed in a moment of blinding, white hot panic as Danny sniffed and stirred, stretching his arms slightly as his eyelids fluttered. Even with Danny rousing, Sam couldn’t find the strength to move his hand. He kept it resting with soft pressure on Danny’s cheek as he panicked about whether or not to feign sleep. All the while, Danny blinked fully and his eyes came into focus. Sam settled for a fake, heavy lidded gaze, doing his own round of “half asleep” blinking as Danny studied his expression. Danny let out an amused huff through his nose and his arm facing Sam loudly disturbed the sheets as it lifted from under the pillow and his hand clumsily tapped against Sam’s own on his face. 

“You’re dreaming, Sam,” Danny mumbled, his voice low and grumbling as he fought to speak without falling asleep again. “Go to sleep.”

“Not dreaming,” Sam whispered tiredly. He watched as Danny’s hand stretched and rested fully over his own, Danny’s fingers curling a little as his eyes closed again and he began to doze. 

It was such a little thing, but that pull inside of Sam snapped. There was something overwhelming him, and in his exhausted, newly freed state of mind, he saw no other option but to succumb. For the first time, when he felt the compulsion to pray for his salvation, he ignored it outright.  

Shifting forward, Sam used his hand on Danny’s face as leverage to gently pull himself forward and press his lips to Danny’s. He did so with no real pressure, simply lingering as long as Danny would allow him to and trapping a shivering breath inside his lungs as his eyes closed at the relief. He fully expected Danny to spit and push him off the bed, leaving him right then and there to hop in his truck and find California all on his own like he was supposed to. His fingers pressed into Danny’s skin at the thought, holding on to him as long as he could before this impulse came back to bite him in what he was sure would be seconds.  

Instead, he was met with the ginger push of Danny’s lips meeting him halfway. It only lasted for a couple of seconds, and Sam could taste the lingering whisper of mint toothpaste on his breath behind the numbing warmth of his tongue, which did no more but tap momentarily at Sam’s closed lips. When Danny’s lips unstuck from his, Danny barely pulled away to speak, giving Sam the luxury of their close proximity for longer than he ever could have dreamed of. 

“Now you’re just getting my hopes up,” Danny breathed with a laugh that lasted only a fraction of a second and seemed more like a punch of air from his chest.

Not really understanding what Danny meant, Sam flew into another panic. He could no longer feign a sleepy stare and blinked rapidly with restless nerves waking him up all the way. His heart pounded in his ears and he prayed his hand wouldn’t prickle with sweat from the dread beginning to course through him. All at once, he could hear a chorus of a hundred voices from back home reminding him of the great, divine consequence of what he was doing. 

“Sorry,” Sam apologized, his eyes immediately prickling with anxious tears. “I just…”

“I just don’t want you waking up tomorrow and feeling all…you know, guilty or whatever ‘cause of something you did half asleep,” Danny murmured. He cursed his moral compass pointing him to true north, even in this miraculous circumstance when the dial seemed to be spun on its axis entirely.  

“I’m awake,” Sam argued in a whisper. “That’s why I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have done that with you sleeping, that’s-”

“I was awake, too,” Danny replied simply. “I mean, when...”

An infuriating, tense minute passed between the two of them. There was much to be said, and also nothing at all. Too little time had passed in each other’s company to have any kind of profound feeling to confess, and yet there was a confounding magnetism that left them staring into the other’s eyes with heavy breath and rattling hearts. Danny’s hand eventually fell from where it had lain over Sam’s, but before Sam’s heart could sting with hurt at the loss, he felt Danny’s arm adjust to wrap around his waist and pull him closer. With this motion, their lips connected again, and Sam breathed in sharply through his nose as he attempted to fall into the rhythm of this disarming, second ever kiss. The matchbox capacity of the motel room and the sleeping world beyond its cracked windows were swallowed up by the fervor of Danny’s shuddering breath and the heat rolling off his skin. Sam heard the chastising chorus in the back of his conscience begin to sing again when Danny’s hand on his lower back tightened its grip. His heart hammered thinking about roaring hellfire and scores of taunting devils, but when Danny carefully rolled Sam onto his back and Sam opened his eyes, he saw only an angel.

“This sure is a step up from your little gesture in the pool,” Danny acknowledged, caging Sam in with an arm at his side and another by his head. 

“I was only saying thank you,” Sam muttered sheepishly, struggling to speak with his throat so dry and his muscles so alive with flickering reactions he fought to suppress.

“What are you saying now?”

Sam fell silent. He had no experiences to draw on or words in his vocabulary to place what he felt about Danny. Kind, gracious, handsome Danny, hovering over him with the patience he doled out time and time again when lesser men would have rolled their eyes and drove off.

“I think…” Sam started, fighting to sort his scattered, uninformed feelings. “I’m still saying thank you.”

Unexpectedly, Danny’s eyes flickered with apprehension. Sam’s eyebrows knit with confusion when Danny leaned back to straddle Sam’s hips, suddenly wearing a somber expression. Sam’s bottom lip quaked and pouted as he hurriedly propped himself up on his elbows.

“What?” Sam blurted. “I’m sorry. I’m really sorry, fuck, I fucked it all up, didn’t I?”

“I just really hope you don’t feel like you have to…do anything for me just ‘cause I’m giving you a ride,” Danny said earnestly. “I’d be really sore if you thought of me that way. I don’t expect a single thing from you.”

Sam’s heart gave a deep, aching clench as Danny’s words sank in. He felt his eyes nearly welling with tears again as he watched Danny look down at his hands in his lap before flicking his eyes up to Sam, probing him for a response. 

“No,” Sam replied firmly, pushing off the bed to sit straight and stare up properly into Danny’s eyes. “No, no, that’s not it at all. I would never. Never ever. You should know that, Danny, come on. I, it’s just…”

He trailed off again, blushing with embarrassment as the words finally came to him, plain and true. 

“I just like you is all,” Sam admitted, thankful for the shade of night to conceal the flush he knew was painting his face pink. “I’m sorry.”

“You keep apologizing when you got nothing to apologize for,” Danny accused quietly. His hands were close to shaking as he tried to calm himself down, but it was hard not to shiver at Sam’s confession.

“Sorry. Product of my upbringing, I guess.”

“Well, I got a bone to pick with a lot of things about your upbringing, if I’m being perfectly honest.”

“Me too,” Sam whispered truthfully. 

Danny studied Sam’s face with that familiar worried look he found himself sporting every day now, taking a minute to smooth Sam’s hair back and get lost in his dark, doll-like gaze. 

“I know it wasn’t part of the plan,” Sam went on with a small, shameful voice. 

Danny let out an airy, one note laugh through his nose and rolled his eyes, finally plucking up the courage to cup Sam’s cheek as Sam had done to him. 

“I’m not even sure what ‘the plan’ is anymore,” Danny sighed, finding it difficult to look anywhere but Sam’s rosy frown. “I know what I said, but I think deep down all I really wanted to do was go. California just seemed like the best place to start.”

“So…” Sam coaxed, unable to stop himself from tilting his chin into Danny’s grip. “When will you know where you’re going?”

“Now that I’ve met you, Sam? I think I know where I’m headed.”

Before Sam could bring up any matters of direction, of Danny’s supposed destined Californian love, or of what was to become of them as a them, Danny kissed Sam for a third time. Nothing special, nothing mind blowing. Yet with it, Sam felt every saying about the magic number, three strikes, and the Holy Trinity itself fade in comparison. And when Danny laid him down again, Sam swore he could see the stars.

 -

The next morning, Sam sat in the passenger seat of the truck with his head hanging out the window, chestnut hair spilling behind him in the wind as the bare fields and pale blue sky rolled on by. With his shirt unbuttoned to remedy the heatwave, anyone would’ve been able to see the small, tender bruises lining his collarbone and marching down his chest. Beside him, Danny kept one eye firmly on the empty road and the other on his passenger. On a whim, he took a hand off the wheel to fiddle with the radio, adept fingers spinning the knob until a choral worship song came crackling over the waves. Sam turned his head at the music and made a fond sound, shoving Danny’s shoulder with a light push and settling back into his seat. However, after a minute of listening, Sam found himself reaching to change the station. He settled on a rock station blasting a song dripping with bass and drums, nodding his head along to it curiously as Danny shot him an incredulous smile. 

“I fear I’ve corrupted you,” Danny laughed, reaching out to muss Sam’s hair.

“Good,” Sam hummed. “I needed it.”

“Yeah, you did. Just remember you promised not to go running off on me. And no bar fights. And before you ask, tattoos are a solid maybe.”

Sam laughed, pressing up against the headrest as he kicked his boots up on the dashboard and allowed himself to recline. For a moment, it crossed his mind that this might be one of the first times in his life he felt truly comfortable. It also crossed his mind that Danny’s persistent worry of Sam running off into the night was becoming increasingly more ridiculous. As he looked at the man driving next to him, who was miraculously unaware of the midday sun setting his curls and perfect side profile alight, Sam knew with confidence there was nowhere else he’d rather be. 

~~

Chapter 2!

[casmick-consequences]

Black Pete, my beloved

This is just gonna be a post where I talk about Black Pete from 'Our Flag Means Death' and his arc on the show (so far!!!!), as well as what he means to me. (And by post, I mean essay, lol. I'm passionate.)

So right from the get-go, you immediately see the kind of character Pete is set up to be. Stereotypical rugged pirate, very much "I live to loot and plunder and I eat danger and bloodshed for breakfast". He's immediately set up to be someone who is very unlikeable, and someone who you would get annoyed with fast. An overly confident macho character that thinks he's better than everyone else, yet has nothing to prove it. Think characters like Nelson Muntz from 'The Simpsons' or Eric Cartman from 'South Park'.

In episode 1, you see him being the character to effectively try to start a mutiny because he thinks the captain, Stede Bonnet, is incompetent and unfit to be a captain, even confidently stating that he'd take over in his stead because 'he's the most experienced'.

If there was one character trait to shadow all of this, though, it is undoubtedly his idolization and admiration for the dreaded and feared pirate; Captain Blackbeard. He makes up stories of him having been on his crew, and this being the reason as to why he is so skilled and great. Whether these stories are true is never mentioned, but nonetheless not a single person (except the quite gullible captain Stede) believes a word he says.

What is SO interesting about his character, however, is that all of this is just a first look into his character. It's a first impression. Yes, throughout the show he shall always have his little moments of "being a dick", but the further you get into the show, the more you see the layers of him.

We've established he's kind of a dick, he's self-centered, delusional... but under all this there's actually the sweetest core you could imagine. Whenever he does something wrong, or he offends someone, he's the first to apologize as soon as he can.

Accidentally stab Frenchie's flag during an ambitious attempt to start a mutiny? Show remorse and say I'm sorry immediately. Your captain makes someone cry? Tell him that that wasn't okay and console the crying person as soon as possible. Your captain wants to put a cursed suit onto other innocent people, just to lift the curse from themselves? Question it because it makes you feel like a horrible person.

And even to Stede himself. In Season 1, it was pretty clear that Pete did not think anything of Stede. He thought he was dumb, incompetent etc etc and loved NOTHING more than the idea to get rid of him. But then in Season 2, where a very offensive comment is made towards Stede by the newly-back-from-the-sorta-dead scribe, Lucius Spriggs, who now holds a vendetta against Stede because he's indirectly the reason Lucius had to come sorta back from the dead in the first place, you see him like this:

He is visibly uncomfortable here, while in season 1, he would've jumped on the Anti-Stede train in a SECOND. But here, he just sits and tries to kind of get rid of the thick tension of that moment, and get the negative attention away from Stede. GROWTH.

Not only that, but (and this is gonna be an insanely weird opinion of mine but hear me out): out of all the crewmembers on Stede's ship, I might say that none of them are as much like Stede than Pete is. Stede is quite dumb, quite gullible, obsessed with Blackbeard, very much wants to be a "big, strong pirate" and despite all of this still manages to be kind to the people around him and makes sure to take care of others just like he takes care of himself. To me, that sounds just like Pete.

And, maybe one of his most redeeming qualities:

He is the sweetest, most loving and most caring partner on the ship.

Lucius is pretty much what you think of when you hear the words "sassy gay sidekick". He's sassy, he's queer, he's confident, he's very flirtatious and basically the LAST person you'd think to pair with Pete. He's also immediately portrayed as likeable, and is understandably one of the absolute favorites in the entire fandom.

They sound like the crackiest pair of them all. And yet somehow, they work perfectly together. They balance eachother out like two sides of the same coin. What Pete lacks in self-awareness, Lucius got enough for the both of them. What Lucius lacks in pirate skills, Pete has heaps to keep them both safe. And so on and so forth.

Throughout the show, Pete has learned to put someone else before him for once. It used to always be him as number one, but it becomes very clear that he now has a new number one. His number one.

There are lots of reasons why this relationship in particular means a lot to me. The main one being the way that they are perceived in the show.

Pete has a cleft lip, a bit of a lisp, a bald head, and overall just isn't what you'd normally expect from a TV show that depicts gay characters. He's average-looking. He's just some guy. And despite all of this, he gets to be in a sweet and loving relationship with his cute boyfriend who loves him, adores him, and looks at Pete like he's the most beautiful thing in the world.

Lucius himself isn't really that conventionally attractive either, but this fandom definitely perceives him better than they do Pete. Which is apparent in the way they pair him up with other, more conventionally attractive people, which is upsetting but hey. That's how the world works, I guess.

But it's the way these two are not perfect in any way, they're just two dudes on a ship who happen to be in the most beautiful relationship imaginable. Their relationship isn't perfect either, but it's perfect enough. They're just like a regular couple you'd see anywhere in real life. Nothing too fabricated, and it all just feels so real. Which is also why they remind me so much of my personal relationship with my beautiful, amazing partner whom I love more than anything in the world. The Lucius to my Pete.

Pete means a lot to me because, aside from having the best oneliners in the show and making me want to study him in a lab, in a way I see a lot of myself in him. I like to think I'm not nearly as delusional or self-centered as him, but the way he engages with the world around him feels just so familiar to me.

He's a bit dumb most of the time, and he's prone to make mistakes, but he always means well. He keeps up a hard, rough exterior to be able to protect his loved ones and look tough to others, yet in his core he is so incredibly sensitive and caring He found love in a place and time where it pretty much could've been impossible, and he spreads that love as far as his bare, sleeveless arms can reach.

He's a dick, but he's my dick. He whittled his boyfriend a damn finger, he deserves to be a little obnoxious every now and again as a treat.

So yeah. Black Pete does not NEARLY get the appreciation and recognition he deserves. And neither does his relationship with Lucius. And I wanna thank Matthew Maher for his incredible performance of this incredible character. Thank you!

(Also he's trans because I'm trans and I said so <3 ok bye)