#this was long

[very-feral-lesbian]

eddie may not have been buddy-buddy with steve in high school, but as most nerds are, he was observant. despite the attention he got from the jocks, he generally managed to stay in the background, watching the reality show that was the jocks of hawkins high.

because of that, he knew that steve was complimented on any and everything physical.

"steve, your hair is so amazing, what do you use?" "you're so handsome, steve" "steve has such a good body, nancy is so lucky"

he knew that non-skin-deep compliments were a rarity for steve.

within their group, steve was often made fun of for being stupid or airhead. eddie knows that it mostly comes from love, often dustin or robin being the root of it. he knows they mean no actual harm by their comments but eddie could see its impact on steve.

after the vecna situation, the impact of the past few years on steve became increasingly physically apparent. there were scars covering his body now more than ever, snaking around up arms, torso and legs, and the most obvious being the one around his neck.

eddie shared many of these scars with steve. the suspiciously matching ones across their chests and arms a bonding point between the two of them. dating post-vecna and bat bites wasn't that easy.

unless your partner shared nearly identical scars (emotional and physical) with you.

to eddie, the scars were badass. he thought his own scar just proved to be physical memoirs of his near-death experience. generally, he didn't think much of them.

but steve didn't have nearly as easy of a time with his scars. everything that steve had ever been congratulated for, had changed.

the base of his neck has been impacted by throat scar, the hair there obliterated by the scar tissue. his chest had deep gashes, thick scars that would never heal. he wasn't even able to play sports anymore, his body worn down from internal damage courtesy of vecna.

steve thought this made him a failure, it made him feel like a shell of himself.

but god damn if eddie wasn't set out to shut steve's shit down.

he tried to do a lot of the obvious things to make steve be less self-deprecating. lots of physical affection between the two of them; eddie often intimately tracing scars or pressing kisses to the base of steve's neck or the scars on his arms.

or sometimes it meant brushing their teeth at the same time so steve didn't spend the entire two minutes staring at his shirtless chest and working himself into an unhealthy headspace. eddie would spend the entire time clumsily talking around the toothbrush in his mouth, usually rating about a gig or his newest campaign.

but eddie also made a conscious effort to compliment steve on things outside of his appearance. because steve was hot, obviously, but he was a catch in many other ways.

steve had taken up cooking recently, finding joy in cooking for their group. and he was good at it, so eddie wasn't lying when he said, "fuck this is good babe" or "damn if i wasn't already sleeping with you, this pie would make me want to"

eddie knew that nothing he did could heal steve's physical scars, but he was doing what he could to remedy the emotional ones

[tonkatsubowl]

flowers for you, my love.

wriothesley x fem!reader

✦ modern au.

⚠️mentions of violence & strong language. dark themes. kidnapping. stalking.

you've always admired wriothesley in the distance, and now... he's protecting you from the dangers of the world.

you own a small business.

well, it wasn't yours to begin with. it was your grandmother's.

your grandmother owned a local flower shop right next to a café, and you were well known within this small town for providing the best, high quality plants. you often sold out during holidays, especially valentine's day... but with the fall season coming up, you were quite busy preparing for halloween.

you were getting ready to sell pumpkins and just preparing the festive season for your customers... especially your regulars, too.

you fancied a regular named wriothesley, whom you call "rio" for short. how you both met was quite a wonder, really.

from down the street of your flower shop, there is a local gym. in order to get home, you take a short cut past the gym to reach to your apartments. during your closing period, you'd leave, and you'd always spot the same man who can be seen using the punching bag as a practice for his boxing skills. you would stop, stare from the large windows, before leaving quickly to remain unnoticed. shortly enough, you had a small crush on him despite not really speaking to him at all... until one day, he came to your flower shop looking for some flowers to decorate his home for the season. he was never really the type to decorate his home with flowers, but with the amount of stray cats that he was attracting... he really wanted to have them visit more and use the flowers outside his home as an attraction and toy for them.

ever since you both had met, wriothesley frequents your shop. he either comes to say hello, to buy flowers, but sometimes he doesn't show up at all. but you see him at the gym all the time, boxing and lifting weights. you admired how much he would sweat, how strong he was, how beautiful he looked...

...that was when you sighed dreamily to yourself, then you'd snap back to reality. right, what were you thinking right now? you were in the middle of closing up the shop. you were in your head again, thinking too much about wriothesley. you wish you had his number so you can speak to him more, but granted, you were a little shy.

flipping your sign to "closed", you adjust your bag before walking down the street again, taking your typical route home. you past the restaurant, the café, and finally... the gym.

your eyes wander towards the window, spotting the familiar man you admired in the distance, deadlifting what appeared to be about six-hundred pounds. he was absolutely strong, and god, you admired him for it...

...but he does sweat a lot, doesn't he?

around this time at the gym, there wasn't really anyone around but him. you look around, digging your hands into your bag before approaching the window, knocking onto it as an attempt to catch his attention... which was a success.

wriothesley looks over, blinking before smiling, waving at you. picking up his phone from the floor, he wanders towards you, motioning you to come inside through the window. you nod, making your way inside.

"hey, y/n." wriothesley said, smiling faintly at you. "closed up your shop for tonight?"

you nodded, returning the faint smile. "yeah. i come by through here every night since it's the route i take home."

wriothesley blinked. "...huh. by yourself? isn't that a little dangerous?" he tilted his head, furrowing his brows a bit at you.

"not really!" you shake your head. he wasn't wrong... it was entirely dangerous to walk around as a woman alone, especially last sunset. but you were accustomed to the town's safety, "i've been living here for almost my entire life, so i'll be okay."

wriothesley pursed his lips, his shoulders slumping. "i don't believe that."

that was when you can read the soft worried expression painting across his features. you felt a little bad, but you didn't want him to worry about you... especially when the both of you didn't exactly know each other too well. so, to soothe him, you lift the handkerchief that you had hidden in your bag, before gently wiping the sweat away from his forehead... and his jawline.

he blinked, his worried expression seizing entirely, though he was still worried about you. "you don't gotta..." he began, but he fell silent immediately. "...thanks." he enjoyed it.

being this close... you could see every feature of his body. his protruding veins at his biceps, the well sculpt figure he bestowed. the faint scars found across his body and arms... and you were probably caught staring at wriothesley a bit too long... so you look away, shoving the fabric back into your bag.

"s-sorry."

wriothesley chuckled, shaking his head. "don't be. i appreciate the effort." he said, before placing a hand into his pocket.

"..say. if you're on your way back, i want you to text me to make sure i know you got home safe."

you blinked, looking back towards wriothesley, watching as he pulled out his phone from his pocket. "ah? w-wait, you don't need—" oh, this was a good opportunity to get his number though...but maybe it was just he cared about your safety.

you internally sigh with your anxious thoughts, taking his phone before inputting your contact information and sending yourself a text. wriothesley smiled, "appreciate it. now, it's getting dark. and i got a few sets to finish up, then i have something to do later. text me when you're home, alright?"

you nodded slowly, watching as he turned his back towards you, returning to his workout. that was when you left, exiting the building of the gym...— "wait."

you stop, retracting your hand from pulling the doors of the exit, wriothesley's voice catching your attention.

"i'll walk you home instead, if that's alright with you."

you turn your head towards the man, seeing that he was putting o his shirt and he was picking up his gym bag and his shaker bottle. "i gotta get going soon, anyway. i didn't realize the time."

"a-ah, rio... you don't need to walk me home. really, i don't need you to be late to... wherever you need to be." you protest.

"nah," he shook his head, "it's fine. i'd rather you be safe first than me going somewhere without guaranteeing your safety."

you feel warmth creeping at your cheeks as you nod slowly, letting wriothesley move past you as he opened the door for you, "is that alright with you?"

you nodded, "ye-.. yes. i'm okay with that."

the two of you eventually left the gym together. the night was peaceful, the crickets were chirping, and the night sky was a splendid view to behold for all to see. each star greeted you both with its twinkle, almost distracting you from the current conversation you had with wriothesley.

"so," he began, "the flower shop. you own that?"

you nodded, "now i do. it was initially my grandmother's, actually. but when she passed, she gave it to me as a parting gift. now i run it."

"i see. sorry to hear about your grandmother." wriothesley said, glancing towards you. "i mean, do you enjoy having it? the shop, i mean."

"it's nice, i mean. i enjoy it, but i don't know if it's actually for me." you gave a sheepish smile. "the customers can be a little frustrating to deal with, but i'm there for the flowers."

wriothesley nod, he smiles at your direction. "i see. i always try to tell people that they should do what they enjoy. but follow your heart, you know?"

you nodded, stopping at the steps of your apartment. "well, here it is. home sweet home," you turn your head to wriothesley, "thank you for walking me home, rio. i appreciate it. i told you it wasn't a long walk."

wriothesley shook his head, shrugging his shoulders a bit. "hey, short walk or not, i just wanted to make sure you were safe. but uh, i'll see you later, alright? thank you for earlier, y/n. i gotta go now." with a small smile, the man lifts a hand to wave you goodbye before leaving.

watching as he left, you sigh, entering your apartment. you were safe and sound, finally home and welcoming the arms of your dog that was always so happy to see you.

... but you were completely oblivious to someone who was happy to see you too, stalking you from the shadows of the neighborhood.

and it wasn't your beloved wriothesley.

after taking a shower, you were getting ready to go to bed for the night. however, you couldn't stop thinking about wriothesley... so you decided to shoot him a text.

you wouldn't be surprised if he didn't respond back—he was probably asleep, or busy with whatever.

➽ y/n: hello! i just wanted to thank you for walking me home. i appreciate it.

➽ rio: no problem. go get some rest. glad you're safe and sound.

oh, he texted back rather fast. you wanted to text him more, but exhaustion was finally hitting you...

➽ y/n: you too! goodnight!

the next day, you woke up early to take your dog out, to prepare breakfast, and to practically get ready for the day. a part of you was expecting some sort of good morning text from wriothesley, but... you didn't get anything. maybe he gave you his contact information solely to make sure you were safe.

you were overthinking it, now. maybe he didn't find any interest in you. maybe you made him feel uncomfortable? no, no—stop overthinking it. you'll be fine. just... think about work, now. work. it's time to work.

...you had a big sale that was happening at your flower shop today, so you knew your shift would be extremely busy. so you had to slap the anxiety out of you. literally.

entering your shop, you began the day by watering your flowers and plants before proceeding to creating small bouquets. you always had fun making these bouquets, decorating each one with color schemes and other themes, and it was your favorite part of the day. it was even better whenever wriothesley came by to visit.

as though the devil himself was listening to your wishes, your phone buzzes, catching your attention while you were in the middle of work.

➽ rio: morning. just woke up. you alright?

ah, your heart was racing. you tried to contain your excitement as he texted you! so he wakes up later in the day? you weren't surprised...

➽ y/n: good morning. i'm okay. did you sleep well?

➽ rio: i'm glad you're okay. i slept well. are you at work?

➽ y/n: yeah it's a little busy atm

➽ rio: i see. i'll come by whenever i get the chance.

➽ y/n: okay! ( ; ω ; )

containing your excitement, you began to work as fast as possible and efficiently as possible to get ready for the rush. you wanted to see wriothesley, so you were basically playing the waiting game all day—despite working through the rush. luckily for you, the little special you had going on ended in the afternoon, so today you'd close your shop early.

eventually, because of the rush, you even forgot about wriothesley for a moment. you were helping many, many customers and getting ready to send out orders, and from the distance... your secret admirer was watching you, adoring the visual of flowers being taken care of by your hands, the smiles on customers' faces when they leave your shop with an abundance of flowers in their hands...

dang, you really did forget about wriothesley for a moment, but when he had shown up to your shop, it was definitely a huge reminder to yourself that he said he'd come by! when he had entered, he caught the eyes of the elderly women in your shop as he approached you. although you didn't notice him yet, you were occupied setting a flower into a small child's ear before sending them off to their parent, smiling as they jumped and skipped away with joy.

the scene itself sent flutters to his heart, chuckling as he watched the child skip away joyously. you nearly jump yourself when you hear wriothesley's voice behind you, "ah—" you turned, facing the men you caught feelings for.

"hey, sorry, y/n," wriothesley said with a sheepish smile, "i didn't mean to scare you. you seem busy though, i can come back later, and—"

"n-no!" you shake your head, "no, you can... stay." you felt a little awkward and shy, especially when you had risen your voice just a teeny tiny bit to disagree. "i-i mean. if you have somewhere to be, i won't stop you."

"i don't, which is why i came here... and to ask and see if you'd like to... uh," he sheepishly rubbed the back of his head, "...want me to treat you for lunch?"

you froze, staring at wriothesley for a brief moment... before you felt red creep towards your cheeks, smiling faintly. timidly, you tuck your hair behind your ear as you looked to the side, trying to hide your embarrassment to fixate on the flowers. "i... i would love to, rio. um, today? tomorrow...? when? what time?"

wriothesley's eyes soften, you could see his broad shoulders easing up, as though tense from the question he had asked you. "...today, after work. if that's okay with you. i saw your sign out there that you'd be closing the shop early or something, so i figured, maybe..."

"i don't mind at all," you shake your head, "i'd love to."

"alright, perfect. um, it's a date then." wriothesley nodded, flashing a faint smile at you.

ah... a date? you felt your heart flutter, you wanted to just faint right here and now. "alright! i'll see you later then."

wriothesley nodded, "good luck at work. i'll swing by to pick you up."

after wriothesley's visit, work went by surprisingly fast. you were expecting the day to be a little slower after the rush, especially when you kept looking at the clock. eventually when the last customer had left, you finally took the time to close up your shop, and eventually, you were waiting for wriothesley... who arrived rather quickly.

he was standing outside your shop, swiping through his phone. he hadn't notice you yet, but this gave you time to practically admire the man in all his glory. you could see his chiseled muscles, his jawline, how slick his hair was moved back... you can tell wriothesley took some time to get ready to look nice for you, although it wasn't much, you could see every detail of it. however, you were still wearing your cute little apron. and you smelled like flowers.

...you were sure he wouldn't mind you showing up to your date in this outfit, just being... yourself. he found out cute, truthfully. he didn't care about seeing you in a fancy dress or something wealthy to look nice. as long as you were there, being yourself, that's all that mattered to him.

"rio!" you called out to him as you approached him, holding something behind your back. yes, you had a gift for him. it was the norm for the man to give the woman a flower, but you really broke the norm and had a carnation for him. a white one, and it had reminded you of him.

wriothesley looked towards you, putting away his phone as he greeted you with a smile. "y/n." he says, his left hand also hiding behind his back. but you didn't seem to notice it, until the both of you extended your hidden hands towards each other, gifting each other a flower.

he gave you a rose, which was typical, and you... well, the carnation.

"i have this for you—"

"this is for you, rio—"

the both of you said in unison, before awkwardness silenced the both of you. then, the two of you would laugh together, exchanging the gifts you have for each other to their respective owners.

"great minds think alike, huh?" rio said with a slight grin. "i don't really know much about flowers, but... that's a nice looking flower you have there for me. what is it, a carnation?"

you blink, your eyes brightening as you gave wriothesley a smile. "yeah! a carnation, actually. it.. um," you glanced away, timid, "reminded me of you. so i..."

"huh," he chuckled, "i see! i'm glad. this rose reminded me of you, too. not thorny, but... beautiful to the eye."

that was when you felt like your whole world had been reincarnated to a land of fantasy. your heart had fluttered, your cheeks turned red, and this was practically confirmation—besides the fact you both were going on a date now.

"a-ah... stop it," you murmur, embarrassed, "i could say the same thing to you, you know. i mean... i... i took these carnations because i thought of you, too."

wriothesley smiled, giving you a soft chuckle. he seemed shy from that statement. taking offering to take your hand, he puts the carnation in the pocket of his shirt and the rose behind your ear (after trimming it). he then leads you to the café just down the street, where you were greeted with the sight of fresh delicacies and the delightful scent of coffee beans and bread.

it wasn't that long of a walk, and during the whole walk there, the two of you were holding hands, admiring the view of the town in silence. it wasn't awkward silence, either. it was comforting silence. stray kittens asleep near porches, children laughing as they chased each other down the road, elderly couples walking together... it was peaceful. and you enjoyed every bit of the town.

"welcome in!" you can hear the baristas greet you with joy, accompanied by the sound of glass clinking together. you and wriothesley take a seat at an empty table, looking down at a menu that listed many delicacies and various types of drinks.

you eyed at a white mocha latte, and given the weather, an iced one. "think i'll take a black coffee." you hear wriothesley say as he looks up at you, his hands digging into his pocket for his wallet, "you?"

"a white mocha latte... iced." you say, doing the same thing.

"ah, ah," he motioned towards you with a tune playing through his lips, denying your actions as he observed you, "date etiquette, miss y/n," a smile tugs at his lips, "the gentleman pays for the food."

"ah— no, let me! etiquette or not." you frown, furrowing your brows a bit.

but he was quick to get up with his wallet, approaching the baristas before ordering for you. with a defeated sigh, you watched him as he left your side momentarily, giving you a bit of time to admire the windowed view next to you.

the sky was beautiful, it was nice out. life was peaceful here in this small town, but... from the corner of your eye, you spot a hooded figure sitting on a bench, waiting for a bus to come. you can't help but seem to feel that the figure was looking at you for a bit, but you played it off, shaking your head. some people like to look just to look.

...but it was unnerving, now.

now the hooded figure was staring at you, and you could see the distraught eyes the man had. he seemed... so unkept. just when you were thinking you weren't being looked at, you were beginning to feel uncomfortable. eventually, your discomfort turned into safety when wriothesley returned to your side with the drinks.

"i'm back. sorry for the wait." wriothesley said, before immediately spotting the hint of discomfort on your face and your gaze that was directed out towards the window. he glanced back, not really seeing anything—considering the man in the hoodie was gone now.

"what is it? did you see something?" he asked, looking back at you.

you shake your head. "no, nothing. i just saw some weird man is all."

wriothesley canted his head, "people will always be weird in some aspects here. especially in the corner of the streets here... but, erm, here's your latte."

handing you your drink, he takes a sip of his black coffee as he sat back down, looking towards you with a very faint smile. you do the same, a smile tugging at your lips as you enjoyed the taste of the freshly brewed espresso and milk combined.

"this is really good," you murmur, taking another sip.

"i'm glad to hear that. the black coffee they got here is good, too. this is actually my first time being here, and i've been meaning to come here for a while."

"ah, really?" you blinked, tilting your head to the side. "me too, actually. even though it's down the street from where the flower shop, i'm surprised that i haven't gotten the chance to actually visit it."

wriothesley chuckled. "well, here we are."

"yeah! i'm glad you enjoy it so far." you beam.

"the date? i am." wriothesley takes another sip. "are you?"

"yeah! i really am enjoying myself so for. but, um..." your fingers tap against the glass. "your... um... right. we should get to know each other..."

setting down his mug, he folds his arms over his chest, leaning back against the seat. "how about twenty one questions?"

"ah, twenty one questions?" you blink. "just ask each other questions?"

he nodded, "yep. i can start off, if you'd like."

"yeah, i wouldn't mind that." you nod slowly, taking one last sip of the white mocha.

"so," wriothesley began, "do you always see me working out?"

oh, he really did catch you there. red handed, even. you furiously turn red, covering your face with both hands. "i—" you stammered. "i-i mean... you always... i... i take the same route home! so i happen to watch you sometimes..."

there was a sly grin on wriothesley's face as he chuckled. "ah, you know, i guess i can admit to the same thing. before you and i actually met and exchanged names, i'd always admire you working and watering the flowers while i'm on my way to the gym. it was love at first sight, so... i was a little shy, yeah, i know, to approach you."

ah, you felt your body relax a bit. yeah, you definitely felt the same, but you had no idea that wriothesley was actually admiring you from the distance! you had a smile on your face as you basically had confirmation the two of you were on the same boat. "ah... well, me too, though. i'm just glad i, um, thought my reasonings of seeing you would be discomforting to you or... well, weird."

wriothesley shook his head, "naw. i think you're totally fine." oh, he certainly meant that you were absolutely fine, too.

"so," he spoke, his eyes brightening, his eyes glancing to the time on his phone for a moment, "there's a perfect view of the lake right down at the park down the street. especially around this time. you can see the line of the milky-way, despite the light pollution and all... would you like to come and check it out with me? after i get done with the gym, i always visit the lake."

you immediately stand, taking your bag with a bright look, "yes! i'd love to see that with you. i have never really seen that side of the lake before, given i only really... well, go to work and go straight home, but... i'd love to."

wriothesley grinned, taking your hand gently. "alright. let's go, then."

as the two of you left, your eyes linger towards the left side of the street... wondering if that hooded man was there at all. but he wasn't, to your relief. now, you would be able to focus on the date and wriothesley until the date ends!

...what you didn't realize he was on the other end of the street, still watching you.

"ah, home sweet home," wriothesley said as he brought you to the foot of your door, smiling. "i really had fun today, y/n. i hope you did, too." wriothesley was already occupied on one knee, greeting your dog that joyously came running over to say welcome home to you. now, it was excited to see your date, wagging its tail and all slobbery.

you stood inside after opening the door, giggling as you watched your dog greet the both of you with excitement. "ah, i really did! did you... um... want to schedule another date? i-its okay if you don't want to, i-i mean i understa—"

"hey."

you stop, your eyes peeled towards the taller man as he placed a hand on your shoulder, giving you a reassuring squeeze. "of course. don't get all self-deprecating, now. i'd love to go on another date with you. how about..." he paused. "...tomorrow? or just... whenever you're free."

you felt warmth creep towards your cheeks as you felt his hand on your shoulder. you nod slowly, admiring the closer details of his forearm, seeing the faint scars and protruding veins of his chiseled muscles... god, you could just melt right here and now.

"i would love to! tomorrow is actually my day off, so...! you had that time perfectly, actually." you smile.

wriothesley chuckled, "alright, cool. i'll see you tomorrow then."

"a-ah, wait... text me when you get home, please, rio!"

wriothesley chuckles, "i will, y/n."

although he was more than capable of handling himself, you worried about his safety too.

if anything, you should be worried about yours right now, since wriothesley isn't at your apartment anymore.

when night fell, you had already showered and began to cook dinner for yourself. you had already received a text from your date that he was home, immediately easing you of your anxieties and thoughts. your dog was cozied up on your couch as you were quietly listening to music. you eventually finished making dinner, then you would eat... then you would get ready for bed after spending some time on your phone and whatnot.

you eventually lay back down on the softness of your mattress and cushions, closing your eyes... but the moment you had tried to fall asleep, you felt... tense. anxious. something was wrong. and you had felt like you were being watched.

your dog was asleep, seemingly unalert by your surroundings... but for your comfort, you call out to your dog, who came trotting by your side. it would rest on the ground, its ears suddenly perked as it stared out your window. you freeze, watching the body language of your dog. reading it, observing it...

your instincts weren't wrong. especially when you heard footsteps going around your building a bit, especially at this time of night.

you then text wriothesley, your fingers shaking a bit.

➽ y/n: was that you?

you didn't get a response immediately, but you remained on the bed... still frozen. that was when you mustered up the courage to get up slowly, peeking through the blindfolds of your window. you were silent, and all rooms were dark. you knew your apartment was locked and tightly secured, and your dog would alert you of any intruder. but you were still terrified.

something was wrong.

and it didn't help that you saw a figure, a man wearing a hoodie, hood up and everything, surveying your building. the same one that you saw on the date with wriothesley today... did he follow you home?

you text wriothesley again. he might be asleep. maybe it's better to call him.

➽ y/n: rio??

➽ y/n: is that you outside?

➽ y/n: if it's you, you're scaring me

then you tried to call him, but to no avail. everything was going straight to voicemail. he was most likely asleep at this time, or is incredibly busy... but you breathed, trying to calm yourself.

calm, girl. calm.

maybe this guy was just... y'know. a weird neighbor. don't overthink it, but you also didn't want to actually be wrong.

taking you and your dog to your kitchen, you retrieve your kitchen knife before returning back to bed, locking your bedroom door and hiding the knife within the cabinet of your nightstand. you were unable to sleep that night, considering you stayed up all night, trying to get your thoughts together, trying to ease yourself of your anxiety.

but when you had gotten a text, you scramble to your phone, assuming it was wriothesley but...

this message is from an unsaved contact number. please block to avoid unwanted messages.

➽ unknown: you're cute. ever since you sold flowers to me that day, i fell in love with you.

➽ unknown: do you have a boyfriend? was that man with you your boyfriend earlier? i could do better than him.

➽ unknown: disregard that last message. you're mine.

you were frozen, time and space around you didn't budge, either. did you obtain... a stalker of some sort? you stared at your phone screen, unsure what was actually going on.

but you immediately alerted the police by dialing the emergency button, and it wasn't long until the cops had arrived. you escape the comfort of your home, speaking to the officers who arrived at the scene. they investigate and they looked around, to no avail. they approached you after, telling you that if you noticed any more suspicious activity, they'd be here immediately. but of course, the policemen didn't do anything until your stalker was actually there, leaving you to go back home.

the next morning, you barely had any hours of sleep, keeping your eyes wide awake and dozing off a few times due to your immense anxiety. even before the bird was awake enough to catch its worm, you decided to take you and your dog to the café to avoid your home for a while. you ordered your white mocha, sitting in silence. you cautiously looked around to see if you noticed anyone out of place, but... you didn't. at least not yet.

wriothesley hadn't answered his phone either, so you were hoping nothing had truly happened to him and he was just dead asleep or something. you sigh, not even wanting to send another text to wriothesley. if he wasn't answering, then... he wasn't answering. that was it.

after drinking your white mocha, you decided to go back home with your dog. you just decided to cancel the date for the sake of your mentality and your health.

you walked down the street with your dog, and you finally reached home. letting your dog enter first, you let go of the leash, reaching into your phone as your dog wandered off to the other room...

...but before you could send a text to wriothesley that you wanted to cancel it, you felt a hand over your mouth. your dog immediately realized what had happened, and ran towards you while barking aggressively. but your kidnapper was faster, slamming the door shut and dragging you away after drugging you through the infamous scent of chloroform on a piece of fabric. your body was limp, and your phone fell out of your hands. through the blur of your vision as you faded away, you see a text from wriothesley...

➽ rio: ??? y/n?

➽ rio: hey why aren't you answering?

➽ rio: i just woke up, my ringer was off. fuck

➽ rio: hey, where are you???? answer me now

➽ rio: i'm coming to your place right now

but, you were unable to respond, as you felt your consciousness slip away from you, succeeding in a kidnapping.

it wasn't long when wriothesley had arrived at your apartment. the first thing he saw was your phone that was dropped right in front of the door, and the aggressive barking that was taking place behind the door. he picks up your phone, and to his surprise, he finds another set of numbers that was texting you... he reads the stalker's messages, feeling rage and worry rush through his veins. were you kidnapped? were you hurt? he could see you had contacted the police too from your contact history...

god, now he was even more worried.

wriothesley opened the door of your apartment, even feeling worse when he realized your home was unlocked. greeted by your dog, he wanders in, trying to find anything... any trace of you. "y/n?" he calls out to your name before cursing underneath his breath. looking to your dog, he places your phone at its muzzle, encouraging it to try to find you through your scent.

your dog, to his surprise, begins to paw at the door. it seemed like it wanted to leave, and it had wanted him to follow. picking up the leash that slipped out of your hand earlier, he latches it to the collar of your dog before following your dog out—not until he had to lock your apartment, just in case.

your dog basically dragged and lead wriothesley to the quiet areas of the town, and it wasn't long until he had stopped in front of an old, worn out apartment complex. it was a few minutes away from where you had lived, and... given that your dog lead wriothesley to this place, he could assume you had been most likely kidnapped.

your dog even lead him to a door on the second floor building, sniffing at the door, wagging its tail. wriothesley felt himself getting more angry by the second. he faulted himself—and if he had his ringer on, he would have been awake and you'd be in much more safer hands than you are now.

"hey, open up!" wriothesley banged on the door with his fists, expecting some sort of response... but to no avail. "i said open up! i know you're in there, asshole!"

he banged his fists on the door again, but again, no response. but he wouldn't doubt the senses of your dog.

gritting his teeth, he hurled his leg back before ramming his foot onto the side of the knob. one fell swoop, and he had already knocked the door down. there, he saw you, unconscious on the floor with a fabric over your mouth. and the kidnapper was nowhere to be seen, but you were at least there.

from where wriothesley was standing, he could see you were still breathing... which was the biggest relief to him. but the bigger question for him was where was the man who laid his hands on you?

immediately rushing to your side, he was ready to scoop you into his arms... but that was when he was initiated onto a fight by your kidnapper. "you fucking—*

wriothesley avoided a hook to the head from behind, given he has experienced and history of being a fighter, this wasn't the first time he was in hand to hand combat.

the kidnapper, however, was not well experienced enough in fighting... thus became nothing but a pure punching bag for wriothesley. he was given blows to the face, over and over, blood and punishment filled the room as he practically learned his lesson of "fuck around and find out", but with the wrong woman and her significant other.

soon eventually, wriothesley had won the fight, where he immediately called law enforcement and pulled you into his arms. you were safely escorted to the hospital, and the police had taken your phone as evidence due to the text messages, and had arrested your kidnapper.

luckily enough, you were resting peacefully, making a full recovery. you weren't hurt, and luckily nothing bad had truly happened to you... otherwise wriothesley would have murder on his record.

you were in the hospital bed, deep asleep, and next to you was wriothesley who never left your side. he had answered questions to law enforcement, provided information to the nurses like your birthday and what had happened... but luckily, you had woken up later on that day. from there, you had provided information to wriothesley, letting him know what happened and such... but terribly so, he felt incredibly bad.

you shake your head, placing a hand on his arm, "no, no. don't blame yourself. really. please don't, rio."

wriothesley gritted his teeth, but he had calmed down when you had touched his arm. he sighed, taking your hand into his own. "...fuck. this is just... ugh."

you fell silent.

"...i'm just glad you aren't too hurt. i would've actually done something horrible if you were." wriothesley said, looking towards you with seriousness in his eyes.

"...but i'm okay, alive and awake. you saved me regardless. and i want to thank you for it."

wriothesley sighed again. "...yeah. as long as you're fine and well. that's all that truly matters to me."

it wasn't long until you were finally admitted from hospital, and of course... wriothesley took you home. he made sure you were tightly secured in your home, too. but the moment he was ready to leave... he paused.

"... actually." he turns to you. "if you let me. i want to stay the night over here... i need to make sure you're fully safe."

you pause.

you knew if you tried to protest, he would try to fight it. but you smiled. you felt incredibly safe with wriothesley anyway, so... why not? you trust him, after all.

"of course. i have extra tooth brushes and everything but um... my couch isn't big enough... so you'd have to sleep on the same bed as me."

wriothesley shook his head. "that's fine with me."

as you got comfortable in your bed, wriothesley immediately joined you, but the both of you had respectful spaces. of course, wriothesley had no ill or disgusting intentions to bed you here and then, considering he was moreso concerned about your safety than anything else. but... the both of you couldn't sleep, and even with your backs turned to each other, the both of you assumed that you both were... well, asleep.

but, he was thinking about you.

as you were with him.

"...rio?" you finally spoke up. "are you awake?"

"...yeah."

he hears you shuffle as you turned over, tapping him on the shoulder. he turns to you, letting you admire him this close. he was... beautiful.

"...thank you." you say again, boldly leaning in towards his body, burying your face into his chest.

he was taken by surprise for a moment, but... he returned the affection, wrapping his arms around you as he placed his chin on top of your head. "just want you to be safe." he murmured.

you look up slowly, your eyes meeting. silence fell, and you had intuitively leaned in... brushing your lips against wriothesley's. he immediately returned your affection, grazing your lips with his own, brushing your hair back gently behind your ear.

"...safe and sound in my arms, y/n."

[notallangelsaregood]

My thoughts on Spy x Family Chapter 80

New chapter, new review, yeehaa! Everybody, calm down, calm down! This is not a drill! My heart is still beating fast from the excitement of this new chapter. I need to breathe in order to organize my thoughts and start here! Needless to say, manga spoilers ahead.

Firstly, thank you for all the support on my last review, I definitely was not expecting it, and I'm glad some of you (many!) enjoyed it, thank you, truly. I will keep uploading my thoughts here, since it's really pleasing to write about something I absolutely adore. Now, let's start! (well, I spent 10 unexpected minutes trying to find this chapter online in English, this was quite frustrating, but oh well, that's life. Thanks to the discord server, you saved my ass).

I'm surely glad Endo and his team choose to not time skip this, I mean, genuinely glad. Honestly, I was afraid of that, many important subjects of the manga (specially TwiYor related) has been time skipped or not given the right amount of attention immediately. Have you guys noticed that too? It's not exactly a complaint, I understand some matters need to be addressed later. But, yeah, I'm thrilled they went right into the next day, It shows that this matter is really relevant for some sort of change in their dynamics, at least, I believe that.

Loid is such a great husband and father material, I mean, look at him! His slightly messy hair, not combed back, gives him such a carefree look. And little miss Anya is as adorable as ever.

Becky is a whole mood! Martha covering her mouth had me rolling. Our girl is totally amazed by her crush. And so are we, I mean, can we judge? Look. At. Him! His tiny smile when he says 'good morning'.

Our poor assassin is shaking with nervousness. Again, can we judge her? LOOK AT HIM. Okay, sorry, overreacting is my coping mechanism. By the way, I love Yor's hair down, she looks lovely.

All right, Loid is charming, asking if she rested well and worried about her drinking. I don't believe this is a façade, he is truly worried about her, he always is, but unable to admit it is not solely for the mission. And Yor thinking her coworkers being right, our girl is so confused.

Her face, look at her face. Her train of thought is not at all well oriented. For me, appearing normal to her equals being accepted by others, but mainly by her family she doesn't yet realize she loves. Besides, being normal to her also means covering up her job, which means protecting and being able to provide a better country for the ones she loves. I think that's quite honorable, and it mirrors a lot of Twilight's principles.

She is so hesitant, simply because she doesn't know. She doesn't have any gripes, but by believing that having them equals normality, she is totally pushed to find something, besides, she is worried about Loid having gripes about her and that's lovely.

We all know Yor has problems with her self-esteem when she is not in her Thorn Princess mode, and she worries a lot about being a good wife and mother to Anya. So, this is something recurrent on her mind, which leaves her insecure and I believe Loid gives her confidence to speak up and try to be better for them. Again, she is honorable and so is he. Moving on!

The PANIC™ on his face. Our poor spy was not expecting this at all. And WORSE, he is a highly trained spy on human expressions, but still, he can't tell she is lying, his train of thought is not oriented as well. I wonder, what is blurring it? What is provoking his lack of discernment? I wonder.

Damn, Yuri, what a great timing. Again, look at Loid's expression. He is devastated. Poor man. I'm still perplexed at his lack of insight, he is the best Spy of Westalis, a legend, but still, Yor disarmed him. And that means a LOT about their dynamic.

Needless to say that I burst out laughing. I love Yuri's intensity.

Yor defending Loid is so charming. And Yuri is a mood, we can't say he is a bad brother. He tries to be present, but I believe he is trying even more now that Yor is married, it's funny to see. Also, he just goes in? Like, does he have the key or something? Haha.

'I just wanted to make our marriage look normal too' again with this concept of ideal normality. She is constantly trying, for her own reasons, but for them.

Loid is so done, haha. And Yor stuttering when she said they are not getting divorce, our girl is nervous, she wants this family so bad.

Twilight mode: ON. Still, he is so nervous, deep down, this is not the best spy of Westalis. This is a man, a father, and a husband wanting for this to be fixed, for his wife to feel better. It's not for the mission, Loid, sorry to break it to you. Not sorry. He isn't even real. I'll be better when my medication kicks in, sorry.

'No, just since yesterday'. She is so... I don't even have the words. I guess, random? Look at her face. She is basically telling him 'Nah, I love you, I'm just confused about this very same topic'. She says he didn't do anything, be coherent, Yor! She can't, she is in love

And Loi Loi trying to calm down himself in the process of almost panicking over not being good enough for his wife is everything to me. There has to be a reason, he said. Yeah, duh, she wanted to kissy kiss you. Very much so.

'Inadvertent oversight', phew, am I really bilingual? Truly? Damn. Look at those dorks' faces when they are side to side, so cute, talking to each other before saying goodbye.

He is quite worried about her finding out about his true identity. I wonder if it is because he is, deep down, afraid she will leave him once she founds out. He doesn't want to be alone again. Almost lifeless, like Sylvia's life is now, without her family. Damn, I'm going to cry.

All I see is a Twilight trying to justify his genuine will to apologize, using “the mission” and spy protocols to cover it. Nothing can convince me otherwise, am I delusional? Probably, girl, go take your meds.

Poor Loid, he is so confused. It reminds me of one of the last chapters where he is like 'real marriage sure sounds difficult'. Oh, well, it hits close to home, huh? I see what you did here, Endo.

This is not Twilight. Maybe, like, some percentage, but not all.

He is SO confused, I'm dying. She is basically telling him 'that's the problem, you are too perfect, I need to complain about something, make me suffer for the sake of normality in marriage (?)', I mean, Loid, ma boi, I would also be confused. And her blushing, so adorable.

Preach, girl! I mean, can we acknowledge how important is it that Yor said that? 'This is a marital issue between me and my husband!', no stuttering, no hesitation, to her own brother. This is HUGE.

I absolutely hate this phone. I could tear it down to pieces.

I love Yuri realizing Yor said that she is Mrs. Forger, he is so shocked it's funny to see. Also, she is getting used to it, to saying it, It's a huge improvement since the beginning of the manga. I already told you guys I absolutely hated this phone call?

Look at her blushing face when she comes out with a huge act. Loid's face is hilarious. And Yuri? Yes, boy, she is that eager to spend time with her husband. Kinda.

He is really sorry! Poor Loid. And Yor is cute, her reasoning gets me rolling every. single. time. She is a special girl, I love her.

BOND MA BOI, you lost the huge gossip going around your house like that? For a nap? I mean, It sure seems like a really good nap, but we kinda need you to see the future right now, If you wouldn't mind. And Yuri is wild, I love him, but he is totally wild. His mind is as... peculiar, as his sister's is.

'Even Yor?' Oh boy, you don't even know half of it, Loi-Loi.

Look at Yuri running. I'm so done. This chapter has served us a lot.

Yor is herself again! Loid's mind note: Never offer alcohol to Yor, ever.

No more images are allowed on my post, so I wanted to end it here with my view on the next pages. I'm surely worried. I mean, this is getting really serious. It is a whole new arc coming, and I'm worried about our cherished fake family. Yuri is on Ostania's side, receiving orders to not let WISE interfere, and Loid is defending Westalis and the peace between the countries at all costs. I'm wondering what could happen next. What are your guesses?

I'm sincerely worried about the documents being decoded and the positions of the agents being undiscovered, but mainly about Operation Strix, of course, they are my everything. My guess is that the documents will be recovered, however, so many things can happen in order for this to happen.

I thought a little bit about Yuri finding out about Twillight being Loid (in combat), but I believe that's unlikely, since our famous spy is a master in disguises. Yet, him finding out due to these documents being leaked does not sound pleasant. Can you tell I'm worried? I'm EXTREMELY worried, there are so many possibilities and I have no idea what will happen. I'm counting the days till the next chapter.

Hope you guys enjoyed my ultralonghowareyoustillhereandalive? Review. Feel free to comment what you think here. I'm posting this as I wrote, so if I find some grammar or spelling mistakes later on, I will fix it. 1731 words, more than 30 screenshots and a few hours later, phew, I'm tired. Thank you!

[blaze5681]

ATLAS PARADOX RAMBLING

dude this book. i need to talk. about it. im going insane.

everyone who hasn't read it, PLEASE DO!!! it's a dark academia book about a bunch of gay silly magic people that join a society and try to kill each other. there's time travel, a big ass polycule, aesthetic scenes, the prettiest writing style in the world, science, philosophy, and fucked family. (opposite of found family).

(extremely chaotic unorganized long rant below, with spoilers. click at your own risk)

FIRST OF ALL WHY WAS THIS SO MUCH BETTER THAN THE FIRST ONE?!!?!?

i had to power through the first one, it felt long, and unnecessary and like trekking through a JUNGLE with the thickest and most intricate ecosystem that i had to peel back and unravel for hours and hours. only to like move the plot by an inch.

BUT THIS. olivie blake found her footing because this was so good. i am aware the reviews hate on this book and some people don't like it, but personally i adore it and it's really well written.

CHARACTERS

bro they all had such wonderful voices, like they were distinct and unique from each other but not drastically, noticeably different I NEED TO LEARN FROM THIS. six of crows and the atlas six do multi povs so well <3 its like this book was made for me, each character was perfect and incredible and gay and silly and-

reina. love of my life. i look forward to all her povs because the plants are so silly and she's the best character. i said it. she's canon asexual now too YEES. i needed more of her because she was barely in the first one, and they DELIVERED. the juicy plot with her 'god complex' (ily callum) and her feelings getting hurt and learning she actually is lonely and wants friends? she's so wanda maximoff. next book better have her opening up and learning to love people or i riot (and also her killing people and being the badass she is)

parisa always my fave too, i do wish her character wasn't always talking about sex or romance, there were some great moments in this book where she showed off her telepathy powers (the prince in the tower!!) it was awesome. i'm glad they acknowledged that side of her with reina, (oh my god i ship them so much wait till i rant about them-) but dude i still HATE DALTON. SO MUCH. OH MY GOD. every time it's her pov i dread seeing dalton, i wish she could give that up. generic white men should die.

CALLUM. whatever turned him from complex, daunting, and a psychopath last book to janus from sanders sides this book- beautiful choice. he's literally the one sassy wine-sipping gay aunt that feels nothing and everything at once, also extremely mentally ill and depressed. he's SO FUNNY. his povs are fucking hilarious to read, and he quickly became one of my faves bc of how complex he is. i'm not smart enough to decipher and psychoanalyze him but god i LOVE CHARACTERS LIKE THIS.

i don't know what happened but nico is literally one of my faves now too, he's so silly and sweet and kind and i loved his relationships with everyone this book. like him trying to murder tristan in multiple different ways oml. he's my bbg. tristan was hit or miss for me, i did find him interesting but he's not my favourite. doesn't mean i hate him, he's so very british, i feel it radiating off the page. libby my queen my icon, her dream povs were so trippy i loved it- so so realistic to a real dream, that was the most surprising and unique part. also my bisexual queen seducing belen??

i did not like ezra and atlas was a little iffy here and there but tbh the cast was so well rounded and interesting and unique but paralleled each other so well?? THE RELATIONSHIPS. I DONT THINK ANY BOOK HAS THIS INTRICATE WEB-LIKE RELATIONSHIPS WITH EACH OTHER. they're one big polycule.

RELATIONSHIPS

nico and libby <3 i love them so much as siblings/queerplatonic partners. i don't ship them romantically, because i LOVE how they subverted the eye-rolling predictable ' YA academic rivals enemies to lovers' trope. when i started TAS, i immediately thought they were gonna get together and assumed the worst. but no, they still had the banter and importance in their relationship but without the romance? instead both of them were gay af. it's beautiful. i love subverting tropes so much. they're each other's 'other half' and they're hilarious together.

NICO AND TRISTAN. they were such a highlight this book, it was unexpected but so funny. nico trying to murder tristan and their little talks because 'they're not friends...just coworkers' yeah right, the best friendships start with creatively murdering each other. tristan being droll and chill af, and then nico bouncing off the walls my adhd king.

reina and nico broke me?? like that one chapter where they sparred and caught up with each other and reina was guarding her hurt feelings. DUDE THAT KILLED ME. made me stare at the ceiling for a good minute. their friendship is everything to me, they contrast each other so well. she deserves to be treated better- when they had that projection chapter and she saw that nico downplayed her skills...like she was good, but not good enough for him to care about her. AGGHGH.

REINA AND PARISA. NOW THIS. THIS HOOKED ME INTO THE BOOK. i ship them so bad guys. they parallel each other and are both hot and enemies to lovers and wlw slow burn and- look. reina is asexual, therefore the only person to truly see and understand parisa for who she is, and not be influenced by her body. like that one projection. she can help parisa understand HERSELF and who she is past her sexual desirability. how to love someone again. romantically. then, on the flip side, parisa can help reina see and understand OTHERS. reina only sees people as one trait, cut and dry- without any of the complex feelings. parisa is a telepath, she knows how to read others. THEY CAN BOTH HELP EACH OTHER AND LOVE EACH OTHER IN WAYS THEY NEVER COULD HAVE OMFDADJFLSKJADFL- also reina pinned her against a wall and they want to kill each other and every time they interact i scream into my pillow-

-

'You can't love anyone right?"

"I've met very few people worth loving."

-

*throws myself off a building*

now we just gotta play the familiar game "IS IT DELUSION OR IS IT JUST SLOW BURN" and find out whether their insane chemistry pays off in book 3.

the nico parisa scene was actually sweet ngl, even though i don't ship them. the whole callum and tristan thing was so bitter exes situationship coded and i ate every second up. especially that last conversation. AND OFC. GIDEON AND NICO?!!! AAAAA THEY WERE SO CUTE THEY'RE ENDGAME I SCREAMED WHEN THEY KISSED DUDE THEYRE SO-

PLOT

now for the actual plot. this book has so many interesting subjects and philosophies and debates i'm not smart enough for this. but past all the aesthetic glamour, it's science, time travel, dreams, multiverses, fate, reality, and the complexities of the human mind. and my god it's fascinating as fuck.

do i have any idea what they do in this society?? NO. am i entertained? YES. especially that whole explosion paradox to bring libby back to the future. the whole powering the connections via aurora borealis? the whole debate about being gods? i love it. i love it.

alright im so sorry for that rant, i gotta go now but DUDE I LOVE THIS BOOK NO MATTER HOW WEIRD IT WAS

[frizzle-mcshizzle]

the rest of the kotlc books i read summarized in the most unhinged way possible

part one

Lodestar: Sir Mommy Issues™️ is apart of the neverseen and blows. up. his. SCHOOL. the council make everyone go to prison school lesssons, btw y’all can blow up flesh and bone, what?!, oh nothing, girl blows up rock with mind, ✨Slumber Party✨ MARRIED PEOPLE 💕KISS💕 BECAUSE THEY LOVE AND FORGIVE EACH OTHER, daily check-in with double agent friend, he makes a poem about his bootie!!, they meet on a island?? and talk about stuff??? young man gets kidnapped and 🔥tortured🔥, the mirror that the girl was allergic to is actually a ✨secret portal✨, and it leads to another ✨secret portal✨,it takes them to a evil bad gut hideout (it’s empty btw), (they accidentally trap their friend in the secret wall hole), 13 year old is asked to attend peace talks because that’s where a child should be, this just in: having a peace talks on top of a underground prison is a horrible idea™️ who would have thought, the building collapses on top of everyone because foreshadowing, man who murdered his fiancé gets smooshed by a R O C K, the mentor guy gets stabbed and slowly bleeds out as his creation watches helplessly (this will definitely not effect her forever) oh no the bad guys have another bad guy!! oh know the girls human parents get kidnapped!! but her sister is ok!! she suddenly remembers who her sister is! THE END so much happens in this book what the hell

Nightfall: Human girl thinks elves names are weird, man drugs a group of children and takes them to a second location (his ex best friends apartment), the ex best friend fosters the human girl along with his “not legally” ex-wife, main character goes into zombie mode because her human parents are being tortured, strange lady takes children on a field trip with a man who’s just a blurry blob and not any character we knows older brother, 🎶young man, fight the ogre king, i say young man, rip that jewel, off, his, ear🎶 a princess becomes a body gaurd and immediately booby traps her charges bed, he’s supposed to be on bed rest because he got almost gutted by the Ogre king aka her dad, surprise girl can control 🔥FIRE🔥, secret message decoding, and technically not cousin kissing,they find the evil big brother™️ and he gets slammed into the walls by his sister, there’s a secret torture chamber under the under water city, parents are stuck inside fake 🔥fire🔥, they get the parents out, dad mid controls a psychopath AND a genetically modified murder creature that shouldn’t even exist (kinda like the main character but with less murder), girl decides to take on a murderer, without emotions, who’s been in jail for a millennia on her own and gets TOSSED THROUGH A MIRROR (A+ for effort baby girl), she’s completely shredded and to this day i don’t understand how they even found her body or how she found the evil lady, the human parents gets their minds wiped AGAIN (you will cry at what the mother says), evil big brother completely forgot who he is THE END

Flashback: Evil big brother who had his mind completely wiped is living at home again, because the council and his parents don’t think he’s evil anymore because he forgot all his memories, the younger siblings are NOT happy™️, the younger brother AKA the Burnette hot guy is EXTRA not happy™️, he works out in the desert doing hand stand push up that the main character definitely doesn’t find hot, OH NO! the bad guys attack with shadow powers!!!, the two guys the series keeps forgetting about save the day with a 🌈rainbow sword🌈 (and Explosives!!!🔥local children almost die for the eleventeth time, their in comas, their poor parents, girl wakes up, her arm is goopy and there’s a monster in her brain that is not a metaphor for PTSD, the boy is still in a coma, 🩷😊✨happy shadow thoughts✨😊🩷, girl says she misses the boy and he wakes up through the power of 💕love💕 (probably), they’re hospitalized for two months aka half the book, the blonde hot boy walks in on the Burnett hot guy had feeding the main character candy, he leaves like a sad puppy in the rain, they get out of the hospital, but the Burnett guy is still on crutches, ❤️boy x chandelier the love story for the ages❤️, main character gets not 1 not 2 but 4 new body guards, one is married to the princess, they hate each other, self-defense training and bodyguards shenanigans, the ballad of Bo and Ro is written, local horse girl almost gets kissed by a guy who’s basically royalty, the horse girls horse goes into labor and the horse girl teleports to her rescue, the bald girl from book one helps save the horse’s life with her mom and dad, a troll takes advantage of the fact that the baby horses need to be incubated and gets the horse girl make an alliance with the entire horse species without any other adult input, they take the babies to some hidden tower and create an illusion that will definitely protect them, surprise Evil brother is still evil, he release secret gmo murder troll newborns who wreck havoc, EVIL LADY GETS CRUSHED BY D O O R, little brother almost kills his brother not once but twice, one of those times he trapped him in a baby troll capsule, when it started to fill with goop. he. stopped. pressing. buttons. evil brother escapes definitely won’t be relevant later, evil mom lady threatens to kill the baby horses if he doesn’t get to steal a child, he agrees to be stolen, she knocks him out anyway, the baby horses are born and they are ok, then the horse girl goes to get her eugenics lists because that’s what you do when your friend is kidnapped.

[sailor-aviator]

I’m so glad you’re calling this out! People don’t respect boundaries and were made to look like the villains.

Tbh, I deleted the post you’re talking about after some confusion. I don’t think I worded some of it correctly, so I’ll rewrite it here.

I love supporting my friends and their fics. I love chatting with the fellow content creators one on one about their fics. I love talking about new ideas about the fics they want to write. When I reblog a fic with something along the lines of “Ah!! I’m so excited you’ve finally posted this! I’ve been waiting!!” It’s not because they mentioned it once on their blog, it’s literally because I have been talking to them in private chats about the work.

When someone I don’t really talk to or have never had a conversation with apart from the occasional one sentence reblog or comment starts tagging me in things? That’s where I have an issue. My blog is not a bulletin board or ad space for people to put their fics on. I try to reblog fics that don’t have very many notes, I really do (I’ve also been going through a bit of a reader’s block lately). I remember what it was like first starting out on this site as a first time fic author and being so excited to get ten notes on my fic. Now I’m nearing a milestone! I did that by tagging my fics with the proper hashtags and interacting with people who chose to read them. I never in a million years thought so many of you would want to read my silly little stories.

So believe me when I say, I totally get feeling wanting more people to see your fics. I wish more people saw mine too, but I’m very grateful for the people who stumble upon them and take the time to read them.

I also think it’s very interesting that when authors and other content creators on here set boundaries, we get such immense flashback from readers. We’re people, y’all, and the fact that we have to keep reminding everyone about that fact is, quite frankly, worrisome. We are not machines. We do not do this for a living. I do this for fun, and when I get push back for trying to set a boundary, whatever that boundary may be, it makes this less fun.

Again, I can’t speak for the other writers on there (but believe me when I say several conversations have been had), but for me personally? It all goes back to the fact that content creators are being stripped of their humanity. I remember how fun and interactive fandom used to be before everything started being monetized. I used to get asks left and right without even having written fanfic! Fandom used to be a huge community filled with laughter and debates like “did these two characters bang?” “That character is asexual and here’s why” “I wrote a fic that I think you might like and here’s the link. No pressure to read it though!”, not “here’s another update. Here’s another update.” “You haven’t posted in a couple of days, when are we getting an update?” “Will you read this and reblog it?”

Idk, I had this conversation the other day, and maybe I just need to accept the fact that fandom as I knew it is dead and gone. In another life, I would have really loved giggling about fics and headcanons with you all.

Anyway, can we please stop making content creators out to be the villains when they ask to be treated like human beings and not soulless machines?

[thoughtfulchaos773]

Sydney & Carmy-Certain Of Nothing-

I'm still inspired by this thread on Syd and Carmy's(yet to be revealed) shoulder tattoos.

I know Carmy's tattoo is inspired by Anthony Bourdain's certain-of-nothing. The CON inside of the snake- and this is so fitting for what Carmy and Syd experience in their everyday lives.

I'll leave the interview of Anthony Bourdain getting the tattoo here. But I'll also leave a quote as he discusses the meaning of the tattoo.

"Epoche: I suspend judgment. I hold back; it conquers all enemies, it undoes them so they disintegrate into atoms before your eye," Anthony reads from his iPad. He adds more commentary,

"Basically, if you live according to this notion of epoche- uncertainty, you reach ataraxia, which is to be unperturbed, happy in your life"

There's more info on the state of ataraxia here-

Carmy's tattoo- The Snake and The Rope

I experienced a small sense of dread today and decided to do some meditation. I reached a state of ataraxia halfway through it? Now that I can reflect, I can see another reason why I love the Bear and it's fun, cool theories.

Today, I take lessons in Carmy and Syd's need to live in the past or future - the lessons of anxiety. But what does this mean with judgment and uncertainty? Typically that sense of dread is worrying about the future- something that's so uncertain. It's hard to understand the notion that it does not exist- this is like the snake & rope analogy from Indian philosophy- in a nutshell.

"Our perception of reality can be clouded by darkness, which is ignorance of reality. This ignorance sometimes manifests as rapid judgment or fear, and we react solely based on senses or emotions... Expecting the worst is seeing the snake." -link

Carmy always sees a snake instead of the rope. He sees the worst in things, and dreads the future, and that could be one of the triggers for his panic attacks.

Carmy's panic attacks in 2x09 and 2x10 showed that he dwells in the past and the future(Claire). We see he reaches this state of ataraxia when he thinks of Sydney- he lets go of judgment of what was before or what could be after and focuses on what is now- which is Sydney being in his life. It does not matter if he or she may stay or leave- what matters is that she's bringing him peace because he's free of judging his thoughts.

I tend to go over Carmy's feelings for Sydney a lot, but Sydney feels the same thing for Carmy, and he returns the favor in Sydney staying present.

Sydney- Future Perfect.

There was an interview with Ayo, and she mentions a conversation she had with Storer on worrying about the future, and she has a hard time staying present; it's funny that the song for her character in 2x03 sings-"Don't Live in the Future, tell me your story."

To me, this song represents getting out of our heads and being vulnerable with someone- telling them our past and future- our story- our worries, and being free from the fear of being judged. Instead of worrying about a past and future filled with heartbreak- we can use our past as a way to connect rather than staying in pain and avoiding it- tell me your story.

Wasn't this something Carmy was trying to do in 2x02 Pasta? He asked her questions about her dad, and he was on the verge of hearing about her mother. But Sydney dodges the question until it hits her again in 2x09 Omelette- though she's clearly dismissive of Carmy's compassion- she still opens herself up to her biggest fear- vulnerability and heartbreak.

Sydney avoids talking about past heartbreaks because she fears it's going to come back- the failure of business- death. She's waiting for the other shoe to drop. In spite of that dread- Sydney still expresses her need for Carmy because he helps her feel in the moment. Carmy gets closer to opening Sydney's heart completely, and she's no longer dwelling on the uncertainty of the future; instead, her fears are a source to connect with Carmy- he pulls the swords from her heart and helps mend it so she can be vulnerable and open to life's possibilities. Carmy teaches Syd to be present in the healing, he teaches Sydney patience and to no longer rush in making up for the past that's no longer there.

But like Carmy, at times, Sydney is not ready to embrace and let go of what was before or what's after, but for a moment, we see she experiences that state of ataraxia with Carmy in the 2x09 Omelette. Sydney tells her dad she doesn't know if she can take another one (dread of possible heartbreak in the future). Another way to confront that dread is to live in the moment and expose herself to her fears. Sydney avoids doing this with her dad, but with Carmy, she sits with the feeling and nervousness of failing, and such vulnerability brings her closer to Carmy.

So the tattoos could represent Syd and Carmy always looking over their shoulder, dreading what the future entails. The fear of uncertainty. Of life itself.

But if Carmy and Syd stick together - living in the - they experience ataraxia and live fully. Because nothing is certain - not even heartbreak, even though it's always over our shoulders and could be a possibility. It's a rule I can take in life - Submit to the uncertainty - submit to the person who opens you up to the feeling of being present. Submit to that someone who makes you feel ataraxia.

If that's not the most beautiful love story- I don't know what is- really, I don't, for I'm certain of nothing.

[cinematicnomad]

What made you really like interested in the Terror?

the terror is a show that i remember being vaguely aware of existing when it came out, but i had no real idea of how or where to watch it. i knew it starred jared harris, who i'd loved in mad men and chernobyl, so i definitely WANTED to watch it. i had a vague understanding that it had some sort of eldritch horror thing going on, which appealed to me since i was into the magnus archives at the time. but it was just one of those shows that like, i'd occasionally see a gifset for on tumblr or see mentioned on twitter and would go, "oh yeah, i still want to watch that."

anyway, then last like, august 2022?? i was in a weird mood, was watching a bunch of different videos about mysterious histories, and watched a video about the dyatlov pass incident. it happened in russia so i rewatched chernobyl, but it ALSO happened in winter and the combination of the story taking place in winter, the unknown horror elements that people grip onto, and my own rewatch of chernobyl which put jared harris at the forefront of my mind, reminded me of the existence of the terror and i googled where to stream it and lucked out that i happened to look when it was on hulu. i decided to give it a shot, put on the first episode, and then promptly binged the entire season in a single night.

as for why it gripped me so much and why i'm here giffing it daily 1.5 years later? definitely the inherent tragedy of it all. the what-if's that live rent free in my mind. the tuunbaq aspect of it is probably the least interesting to me—i like the added horror elements, but really i'm more preoccupied/interested in the human horror.

i tried reading the book but gave up about halfway through—around the point when fitzjames died? but really i think i gave up on it when i decided that i preferred the show's version of carnivale—the inherent horror of stanley setting himself and the tent on fire as this act of murder/suicide, this demented attempt at saving them all from a fate much worse, the guilt that fitzjames feels for it all...so much more interesting to me than the book's version of tuunbaq showing up to fuck shit up.

fitzier is definitely appealing to me and i've read a good number of amazing fics about them. the fandom itself is wonderful, and i LOVE reading the tags on all the gifsets i post and the ones i reblog from others. i'm not sure if i would have gone out of my way to gif the terror myself if a RL friend hadn't found out i was recently obsessed with it and offered to send me his copies, but i'm v glad he did. it's been fun v slowly re-watching the show while giffing almost every single frame of the season. i also just really appreciate that this is a finite story told in a single season.

✨anonymously ask me one thing you want to know about me✨

[lovable-bastard]

I have a few songs that think belong to Merlin characters/duos/ships/friendships

For example:

This reminds me of Merlin & Arthur, one is not ready to open up (Arthur) and the other is softer and "needs to have a stronger shell to survive" (lyrics from the song) & will wait for the other to open up on their own accord (Merlin)

This one reminds me of 3 characters:

Ygraine/Igraine

I imagine her acting like a fusion of Morgana and Merlin with a bit of Arthur. Strong, stands up for servants, sassy, energetic and sometimes reckless.

Merlin

As I said that Ygraine/Igraine reminds me of Merlin (at least when she was young). I feel like this also applies for kid!Merlin, we saw that he was rash and confident at the start (of course he is confident and can be some times rash in s4/s5, but we see that he is less confident then at the start and thinks about what he will do next, so that no one gets hurt). I feel like kid!Merlin was energetic, loud and loved exploring.

Arthur

This is again more about kid!Arthur. I see kid!Arthur as being more friendly, outwardly kind and lovingthe outdoors and horse riding. This can also fit canon era Arthur, but just a little (at least for me).

This is Morgana and Arthur. You can't tell me otherwise

At the end ir could be Ygraine/Igraine or Morgana

This screams Merlin.

The line "running is a victory" is most definitely something he believes.

A bit like how I see Modern!Merlin. I see him as being numb to everything. Not caring as much as he used to.

This one is a obvious one. Gwaine (soldier), Merlin (poet), Arthur (king). But I also have a scenario of the dads of Gwaine, Merlin & Arthur meeting the same way they did. Gwaine's dad being the soldier, Balinor is poet and Uther is (no shit) king.

(you can skip this, this is just the scenario that I think of when this song plays!!!

Uther goes on his "special" quest (like Arthur did, y'know the one where he had to sit in the grand hall,) and Uthers dad sends Balinor to keep him safe. Uther is pissed off when he finds out, Balinor just makes fun of him and after a while they meet Gwaine's dad in a bar fight. They (uther and balinor) need more help (though only balinor will say it) and Gwaine's dad goes with them. After they completed the quest they go their separate ways.)

Just the same thing as "Run Boy Run"

I don't think I need to say anything more. Arthur Pendragon in the modern era.

This reminds me of the druids before the purge. Happy, carefree. But I also think it fits with the canon era druids

Again its a no brainer if you've listed to it. This is the Merthur anthem

(thank you for reading my ramblings about a series that has me in a chokehold)

[yellow-faerie]

Houses on Berk

OK so I've been wanting to do a series of posts, of sorts, that outlines what we canonically know about each house of Berk, and then go into my own headcanons for how houses and families work.

This is basically going to be an overview post, going over various rites of passage within Berk and what houses there canonically are. This is really for anyone who wants to use it as I'll be adding links to all these posts to the fanwiki.

I'll be putting everything under the cut to make sure it doesn't clog up anyone's dash :)

What known houses are there?

Stated as houses we have:

House Haddock - Wiki Link - Post Link

House Hofferson - Wiki Link - Post Link

House Ingerman - Wiki Link - Post Link

House Jorgenson - Wiki Link - Post Link

House Thorston - Wiki Link - Post Link

House Larson - Wiki Link - Post Link

To my understanding, house names are surnames and you would might move houses if you got married when you changed your name. The only other mentioned surname I can find for a character placed on Berk is Hardacre which is in reference to a character who appears once in the comics. Because of this, I like to include House Hardacre as another house when I want to and sometimes put some other named characters in it [Wiki Link - Post Link].

I do have a few other houses that are entirely headcanon:

House Witchwood - Gothi's House - Post Link

House Broksen - Gobber's House - Post Link

House Eretson - Eret's House - Post Link

House Hartwell - Valka's House Pre-Marriage - Post Link

And then some honorary, non-Berk houses, as I am a firm believer in the house system being widely used throughout the archipelago:

House Grimborn - Wiki Link - Post Link

House Beserk - Dagur and Heather's House - Post Link

Why do some people use their house as a surname and some people don't?

There are going to be Doylist explanations for why, I'm sure, but here's my Watsonian one (with a healthy dose of headcanon):

So in the case of a lot of minor characters, they do have surnames, we just don't ever hear about them because the characters are so minor it doesn't matter.

I'd say the most likely explanation is that epithets are considered more important than surnames. Surnames (or house names) are sort of a placeholder for a future epithet [think Phlegma the Fierce] or title [think Silent Sven]. I imagine that if someone overlapped with names and epithets/titles, you would stick of House X on the end.

I don't necessarily think that this House system is a Berk only system, mostly because my idea of the History of Berk (and my film variants of Hiccup I and II).

What is the purpose of a House?

Politics, mostly. The heads of each of the houses will have a say at Berk's meetings - such as the one we saw in the Great Hall in the first film, discussing the search for the nest - and would have priority to speak over the rest of the people at the meeting.

If your house is better beloved and more powerful (have control over resources, land, etc.) then you are going to be able to speak more freely at these sorts of things as no-one wants to be the person who spoke over you.

It's also a way for the chief to maintain order. It's far easier for them to have about thirty/forty people (I haven't yet decided what number of houses is reasonable) to keep order within their own house and the different branches.

Inter-house marriages would probably not be entirely weird either as houses are like very widely spread. After four hundred years, you're going to end up with a house that has a lot of branches that are really not so genetically similar anymore (the exception to this is probably the Thorston's which I'll get into in that post).

I don't like to think about it too much because it is a little bit weird but there doesn't seem to be much immigration and emmigration on Berk, so I'm just imagining that this is just a thing that happened and felt it was probably worth mentioning.

Houses also tend to have traditional roles within them beyond being a warrior (you would have the warriors of the house and also those going for a more traditional role) - for example, the Hoffersons are traditionally tailors and work with fabric; the Jorgensons are hunters; the Ingermans are historians and bookkeepers; the Thorstons are devotees (devote themselves to the gods, although it tends to be different for each Thorston); etc, etc.

Rites of Passage

This is just a general section on Rites of Passage that may change between houses or may be consistent. I can think of four that have been mentioned in canon:

Naming

Coming of Age

Marriage

Funeral

My headcanons for this is that all rites of passage (apart from coming of age) can be done by the Chief, the Village Wise Woman and the Head of the house (or a proxy) of whoever is doing the rite of passage. There also appears to be a need for witnesses, since Gobber accompanied Agnut when she went to do the twins' coming of age.

Naming

Naming in the films and shows is shown to have been done by the chief (as in A Viking For Hire) and chosen by the parents (I believe it's mentioned throughout the show that parents had chosen names). A Viking For Hire also shows that the name the parents chose is more like a consideration for the person doing the Naming as Gobber decides to use a different name - not sure how appreciated that was.

This is so that there are options - if you are Stoick, you can't ask either the Chief or the Head of your house to do the naming as you are both, so you can then either have a proxy or have Gothi do it (my headcanon here is that Gothi named Hiccup using Prophecy because Stoick and Valka were struggling with a name).

It also means that you can have the ceremony as big or as small as you want - if the chief does the naming, it's probably going to happen in the Great Hall so there would be large crowds, but if the Village Wise Woman did it, it would be in her poky little hut up on the mountain so barely any people at all.

Coming of Age

I think there are two mentions of coming of age ceremonies in the shows - there's the Thorston Induction and there's Snotlout's own coming of age.

The Coming of Age is the one that is really house dependent and so my headcanon is that it can only be done by the head of the house or a proxy (but needs to be witnessed by the chief or the wise woman or another member assigned by them, hence Gobber coming with Agnut for the twins' initiation test).

I think it needs not be said that killing a bear at nine months is nigh on impossible for even the greatest of the Jorgensons, although their initiation is something similar (due to their whole hunting thing going on) but it's more like hunting a bear at thirteen which is a much more reasonable age to go bear hunting.

Each coming of age ceremony/rite of initiation really depends upon the historical context of their trade, and some houses are more about doing tasks to prove yourself and some are more symbolical welcoming you into the house once you turn into an adult in their eyes.

Weddings/Union Ceremonies

Weddings!! We all love them.

There are only two that we really see/hear about in any detail (that I can remember anyway) - the Hofferson/Jorgenson marriage that fell through, and the Hiccstrid marriage in the third film. Here is what I can gather from those:

There are ceremonial items for each house that are somehow used (think, the Jorgenson Axe) - I imagine that these are probably used in coming of age ceremonies as well as they're symbols of the house

Weddings can be political as there are things exchanged (think the hundreds of boars (???) Spitelout had) - possibly just a bride price but I like to believe that the Vikings exchange resources both ways and often the gifts are more from each house to the newly weds as they set up their new life

There are three parts to the actual ceremony - the Feast, the Vows/Union Words and the Dance. The Feast appears to be before the vows (or, at least, Fishlegs did it before the vow for shits and giggles) but I'm putting it after because it's Vikings, they probably feast well into the night. The Union words probably change between couples, the ones Fishlegs chose being very very old and traditional and newer ones involving a bit more participation from people in the Union. And the dance is just kinda some fun, I don't have much for that other than that Vikings are always up for a good party.

The Bride and Groom traditionally wear white or creams (at least pale colours, possibly using undyed fabric - I like the idea of undyed fabric as if it's to signify the start of something new)

There is a Berk Officiator - this one I take with a pinch of salt. I much prefer the idea of it being the chief, the wise woman or the head of the house that the married couple is joining that does the ceremony just because of stuff I've previously established, but I did create a Berk Officiator for the sole purpose of the Hiccstrid Accidental Marriage AU

Other marriage traditions change depending on what I'm writing but I usually take historical or quasi-historical influences for marriage headcanons here.

Funerals

And then, Funerals. We have a few examples of funerals - Stoick's being a big example, but also a few others. This is the only rite that I could find a wiki page for (as seen here).

Between each, the eulogies slightly differ which I imagine is due to each house having their own slightly different words. I also can't work out if the vikings of the HTTYD world only believe in Valhalla (and maybe Hel), or if we only see the funerals of people they consider fallen warriors.

Again, under normal circumstances, it's probably done by head of the house, chief, wise woman, etc - it's probably done by Gobber for Stoick because it's such a small funeral and Hiccup has literally just lost him.

Final Thoughts

So, this is the first post in what I'm hoping is going to be a series, we shall see if I manage to keep the momentum up. I have all the thoughts but getting them onto paper takes Time.

I'll be adding the links to posts when I make the posts and hopefully because this is under the readmore it should update even with reblogs.

And yeah! That's pretty much it - I might also make some history posts at some time in the future about Hiccup I and Hiccup II, and the Wilderwest and the Dragon Eye (and the tribe before the dragon hunters). If I do that I'll probably add some links for them down here.

[velvets-stuff]

Uhhh… I promised to bring F.B!Martin's lore a while ago, didn't I?

Martin's original universe was quite similar to the canon show, if not almost the same, Martin was still an adventurer who traveled to help and care for animal life, he was accompanied by his team, although currently he no longer remembers much about them, use the creature power suits and dealt with the villains we already know, so what changes in their universe? Chris Chris is not part of the Kratt team due to an illness, Martin does not remember what it was, he does not remember if it was terminal, chronic or degenerative, but he remembers that it was not easy for him, yes, Chris still had a personality similar to the canon, stubborn but charismatic and kind, but that could never overshadow how sick he was, and that hurt Martin. It hurt him to see how Chris seemed sicker every time, like every time, how he felt like he was losing more and more, to see his health relapses, he simply couldn't stand seeing him like that, too sick, too tired.

One day he had left the Tortuga to walk and get some air, not for nothing, his mother had told him that Chris was hospitalized, they already knew the reason, but this had been the hardest relapse he had, and they didn't know if he was going to make it. This clearly distressed Martin, so he had gone out to clear his mind, but he walked a lot, too much, he was so lost in his thoughts that when he put his feet back on the ground he was already too far from Tortuga, or well , he didn't even know where he was. "Maybe I dissociated during the walk", was the first thing he thought, trying to justify how he got so far just walking, although he was still a little nervous, since he had never reached that area of the savannah. Everything looked so… empty, there were no animals in sight, there were no birds in the sky, he couldn't even hear the annoying mosquitoes, nothing, totally inhabited, there weren't even that many trees, it was like a meadow. But Martin was an adventurer, and he was not going to be intimidated by the place, so he continued walking, and each time everything became more empty and strange, the trees stopped appearing, the grass became lower, the clouds They cleared it, it was as if everything became a simple drawing, as if he were the only character in that drawing, in that scenario. When he reached the emptiest area, he hit rock bottom… literally. When Martin tried to continue walking, it seemed like he had reached the "end" of his universe, as if a large wall marked the limit of a virtual map for example, it was so strange, Martin felt like his head was going to explode from everything he did. was happening, he started touching the wall, trying to understand what it was, and at one point he would look for something in his backpack, he used to keep all kinds of nonsense there, so it wasn't difficult for him to find a rock, not big, maybe a little smaller. than his hand, so he was able to throw it at the wall, and when it began to fragment a little, Martin discovered something that would change his life… The codes

Martin's memories are vague and unspecific during this period, but he practically kept going to that site with the intention of learning more, and he ended up learning a little about how the codes work, especially their ability to modify universes, and perhaps Martin wanted that… Martin took Chris to that place using one of the vehicles they used on their adventures, because in addition to wanting to show him the codes, he wanted to use the possibility of modifying his universe and thus cure Chris. Clearly Chris was alarmed, all of this was crazy, everything could go perfectly wrong and who knows what else, Chris tried to stop Martin, tried to reason with him, but he said that he knew what he was doing, he was going to change all this, He was going to help Chris. He didn't know what he was doing. One bad move, just one misuse of the codes, and that cost him his entire world. The place began to empty, at first both brothers did not understand, but everything seemed to become clear when they noticed how Chris's hands began to glitch and disappear, the place also began to glitch and disappear… Martin messed up… There was panic, too much, Martin was trying to calm Chris down while at the same time looking for a solution, but he didn't know what to do, he was going to lose everything and it was going to be his fault. It didn't seem like there was any solution, his friends were going to disappear, his world was going to disappear, his brother was going to disappear, and there was nothing Martin could do, and in a desperate act, searching through the codes of his universe, he found something which seemed to be a search engine or a blank text bar, where he was given the option to type numbers, Martin had no idea what that was, but he subconsciously put in a random sequence of numbers, waiting for it to do something, and before he was blinded For a light, he hugged tightly what was left of his brother.

He was still alive, Martin didn't know how, but he was still alive, and he wasn't anywhere he knew, he didn't recognize the place, the people, anything, but when he saw his hands he realized that he had what looked like a piece of code, it was smaller than his hands and green.

It seemed like he took something from his original universe, a character code, the character code of his Chris. Martin began to study the codes more, hiding in what seemed to be an alternate universe, looking for a way to fix what he ruined, but guilt, the knowledge of other universes and versions of them and the fact that he had no results slowly drove him to madness, eventually taking questionable "solutions"…

His idea was: "If all the other versions have a character code, it would be enough to use another Chris, take away his character code and put this one on him, it should give him all the memories and information…"

And he had to make it work. He no longer cared what means he used or who he hurt along the way. He had to fix a part of what he broke, or at least try to, he had already learned more than enough, he already had a "solution", he just had to look for some physical replacement for his Chris.

And there are many versions of Chris.

[chaotictarlos]

WIP Wednesday

I have finally made it over my writers block with this fic and I am so excited about that. It might get done faster than I had originally planned which just makes me so so excited. To my TK BreakUp Anon, I hope you see this. It's a long one. This is not beta'd so there will be mistakes. I'm not asking for those to be pointed out.

Spicy breakup fic sneak peak:

The silence was loud as Carlos drove.

Not a single word was spoken and the radio remained silent as Carlos drove them back to what TK assumed was his place. He briefly wondered if Carlos was living in the loft he had bought or if he was staying somewhere else. TK knew he would find out soon enough.

He stole little glances at Carlos, trying to read his face and find out how he felt about what was about to happen. TK wondered if Carlos would come to his sense, would pull over on the side of the road, and tell him to get out of his car. TK wouldn’t blame him, he was surprised that any of this was happening and that he had made it as far as Carlos’ car.

It never happens, though, and soon they’re parking in the parking lot outside of the loft. TK’s stomach did a slight twist and he almost decided that this was a bad idea but the look Carlos was giving him had the no dying on his lips. 

The elevator ride up to the loft - to the last place TK and Carlos really talked and resulted in TK running out - was quiet but filled with nervous energy. They exchanged looks, stealing glances at each other but didn’t say anything. TK was too afraid that saying anything would break the spell and Carlos would realize that they were about to make a mistake.

TK watched as Carlos’ hands shook as he fumbled with the keys, failing to get the key into the lock a few times. It brought a ghost of a smile to TK’s lips and he had to hold himself back from laughing and taking the keys and unlocking the door himself. He found it adorable that Carlos was nervous but also wanted to tell him that he had no reason to be.

Finally, Carlos got the key into the door, slid it open, and allowed TK to step in behind him. TK shut the door behind him and followed Carlos’ lead in taking off his shoes. He took a quick look around, not enough to really commit anything to memory but enough to know that Carlos had seemingly worked to make the loft a home.

Oh, how TK ached to make it his home too.

TK didn’t allow himself to linger on the thought, instead, he stepped into Carlos’ space and grabbed his face to pull him into a kiss. Kissing meant they didn’t have to talk and TK’s eyes didn’t have to sweep over the rooms to see what Carlos had made of the space. Kissing was safe.

TK let out a soft gasp as Carlos pushed him back against the door. He had missed Carlos’ hands on his body and the way he handled him and pulled him closer so that he could deepen the kiss. Their lips moved together easily as if no time has passed and they spent each day kissing each other. TK allowed himself to lean into that feeling, to pretend for just a moment that he hadn’t broken Carlos’ and his own heart.

“TK, fuck,” Carlos gasped when TK pulled away. TK looked at him, panting and wanting to say so much but he doesn’t. Instead, he dipped his head and leaned forward, finding that perfect spot where Carlos’ neck and shoulder met to suck on softly. He knew that he shouldn’t leave marks behind but he was going to, a little reminder that he had been there and had been with Carlos again.

“Let’s, um, let’s move to the bedroom,” Carlos managed to gasp out as TK slipped a hand under his shirt and brushed his fingers across his stomach. TK sucked on his neck for a little longer before he pulled back.

Carlos looked wrecked already and they hadn’t done anything. TK knew that they were both going to be thinking about this for days.

When Carlos looked at him for a moment to long without saying anything, TK opened his mouth to ask if he was okay, but Carlos grabbed his hand and pulled him through the loft and to his bedroom before he could.

TK allowed Carlos to push him down onto the bed, a brief thought of wondering if Carlos had had anyone else in the bed flickered through TK’s mind but he pushed it away as Carlos straddled his waist and started to push up TK’s shirt. TK reached down and grabbed the hem of it, pulling it the rest of the way off his body and tossing it onto the ground. 

“Carlos…” TK said, and he meant for it to be a whine but it comes out heavy, as if a full sentence should follow it. Carlos looked at him for a moment, allowing him space to say something if he wanted, before he started to kiss down the length of TK’s chest. TK sighed contently and reached down, tangling his fingers in Carlos’ curls the way he knew that he liked it.

Carlos stopped kissing just above TK’s pants and looked up at him, locking eyes immediately. Carlos looked so good where he was at TK could cry.

“Do you want this?” Carlos asked as he dipped his fingers beneath TK’s pants. 

“Yes, yes I do. Please.” He said, nodding his head. He wanted this more than he wanted anything else at the moment.

Carlos, thankfully, didn’t have to be told twice and made quick work of ridding TK of his pants and boxers. TK almost wanted him to tease him a bit, to take his time, but Carlos seemed to be as desperate as he was and wrapped his lips around TK’s cock as soon as he could.

TK maned the moment Carlos’ mouth was wrapped around his cock, hips jerking up into the wet, warm heat. Nodboyd had ever sucked his cock with as much care as Carlos did. He always took his time, moving his mouth over his length and wrapping his tongue around him in a way that always drove TK crazy.

Carlos wrapped his hand around the base of TK’s cock and pulled off so that just the head of TK’s cock was in his mouth. TK loved when Carlos did this. He stroked the part that wasn’t in his mouth and paid special attention to the head of TK’s cock, tongue sliding over his most sensitive spots gently. 

“Carlos, I- fuck, like that. Always so fucking good with your mouth,” TK moaned when Carlos ran his tongue along the underside of his cock. TK couldn’t resist pulling on his curls and rolling his hips upward to push his cock further down Carlos’ throat. “Gonna make me come if you keep that up…”

TK whined when Carlos pulled off of his cock after he said that. He looked down to be met with Carlos looking at him with desperate, pleading eyes.

“I need you,” Carlos moaned as he dropped TK’s cock and crawled up his body. Carlos kissed him hard, pressing his hips against TK’s, and TK could feel how hard he was. “I need you to fuck me, Tyler.”

TK paused, holding his breath as Carlos asked him to fuck him. That wasn’t something that Carlos wanted often, that he said he needed and it had been a very long time since Carlos had begged TK to fuck him. He usually only asked TK to fuck him on the nights when he needed to feel taken by TK, needed to feel owned, and be as close to TK as possible. It was something that had so many emotions tied up into it TK knew just how much this meant to Carlos, how badly he needed it to ask for it.

TK almost said no because he doesn’t want to add to the pain that Carlos is already feeling from him. But when TK pulled back enough to search Carlos’ face he saw how much this was a need. In the same way, TK wanted to feel wanted by Carlos, and Carlos wanted that too. TK didn’t know if it was a want driven by feelings that Carlos still had or a need that came with being broken up and not having that secure connection anymore.

Either way, TK could see how desperate Carlos was for it and how much he needed TK to be the one to take him that night. 

TK decided that he had to do this for Carlos. He had to do it because it might be the last time they were ever together in this way and because he had hurt Carlos so much. Maybe it could be a way to make it up to him -- and perhaps show Carlos how much he still wanted and loved him.

He gripped Carlos’ hips hard and flipped them over.

“Okay,” he said simply as he said to undress Carlos. “Finally I get to see you. Too many fucking clothes on, as always. You always make getting you naked hard.”

“You love undressing me,” Carlos replied quickly. TK’s heart stuttered at the word “love.”

TK smirked in response because he can’t reply with what he wanted to - that he loves everything about Carlos. He dipped his head and started to pepper kisses and soft bites along Carlos’ collarbone. He rolled his hips, dragging his wet cock against Carlos’ with a soft moan. He continued to roll his hips, thrusting against Carlos as he worked himself up to open Carlos up and fuck him.

TK desperately wanted to do a good job. He didn’t want to do a bad job and disappoint Carlos.

He started to kiss down Carlos’ body, taking care in how he handled him. His touches were gentle, some just barely there ghost-like touches that he knew would linger on Carlos’ skin far longer than the rougher ones. He kissed every inch, nipping at a few of his favorite spots and leaving marks behind. He decorated as much of Carlos’ skin as possible, wanting to leave his mark just one last time.

He whispered sweet nothings against Carlos’ skin. Telling him that he loved him, that he was sorry, that if he could take it all back and not break Carlos’ heart he would. He didn’t say them loud enough for Carlos to hear but he hoped that his soul could hear them and take them know that TK meant them. 

He spread Carlos’ legs gently, running his hands up his thighs as he settled between them and looked up at Carlos. He stared deep in his eyes, trying to show him with his eyes that he still cared. He didn’t know if it came across very well.

TK watched as Carlos reached into his bedside table and handed him a full bottle of lube. TK raised his eyebrow, a silent tease at how full it was and Carlos just shrugged at him in response. 

He clicked the cap open and slicked up his fingers, ducking his head to hide how happy he was at the full bottle. It was the same bottle that they had when they broke up, TK knew it was because the label on the back is peeled halfway off. He dropped his slick fingers down and circled his finger around Carlos’ hole. 

A shiver ran down his spine as Carlos whined, he loved that sound. He loved every sound that Carlos made for him. 

TK felt overwhelmed, emotions bubbling up from where he had tried to bury them deep inside. He tried not to think of them, focusing on Carlos with all his might as he teased his hole and then pressed a finger deep inside of him. 

TK wanted to pretend like this was just sex between them, that it was meaningless and wouldn’t mean a thing but he knew that would be a lie.

They would always be more, no matter what was happening between them. They would never be just friends - they had long passed missed that chance.

It broke TK’s heart to think that no matter what, they would never be able to be friends, and TK had to live with the fact that he would have to live without Carlos in his life.

TK pushed a finger into Carlos, moaning at how tight he was. He knew that it had been months since Carlos had bottomed and knew that he would have to take his time. He was gentle and slow, only adding fingers when he was sure that Carlos was ready for more and was ready to be stretched. 

“So beautiful,” TK muttered as he pressed a soft kiss to Carlos’ inner thigh. He was aware that the move was probably more intimate than it should be, but he couldn’t find it in him to care. “Are you ready for me?”

“Always,” Carlos muttered, and that one word made TK’s heart skip a beat. “I mean, yes. Yes, I’m ready for you.”

TK moved to his knees, eyes flickering over to the nightstand before back at Carlos.

“Condom?” He forced himself to ask, he had to know if Carlos had been with anyone else. A full bottle of lube didn’t mean that Carlos hadn’t fucked someone.

The word hung in the air for a moment and TK’s heart began to sink.

“No need, there hasn’t been anyone else…unless?” Carlos looked at him with the same feelings that TK was feeling.

“Me either.” He wrapped his hand around his cock and guided himself to Carlos’ hole. He paused for just a moment, locking eyes with Carlos again, and then pushed inside of Carlos easily.

“Tyler.”

Carlos calling him by his full name had never sounded so good. TK couldn’t help the moan that rolled off his tongue or the shiver that ran down his spine at it. He paused, again, when he was fully inside of Carlos so that they could both adjust to the feeling of TK being inside. 

TK felt Carlos’ hands on his hips, fingers digging in as if he was afraid if he didn’t hold him close then TK would disappear. TK had no plans to do that at that moment. Instead, he lowered himself, his body covering Carlos’ so that they were closer together.

He kissed Carlos hard as he pulled his hips all the way back, leaving the tip of his cock inside of Carlos, and then pushed forward again. He was slow in his movements, settling into an almost lazy thrust of his hips. 

He knew that Carlos enjoyed it when TK went slowly and took his time, Carlos never wanted to rush through the times that he bottomed because it wasn’t a lot. TK never minded, he enjoyed savoring the moment.

In that moment, everything outside of their tangled limbs stopped existing. Nothing else mattered. The breakup didn’t matter. The hurt that TK had fault, had caused didn’t matter. The days that he had spent without Carlos didn’t matter.

All that faded away and was replaced with focus on Carlos and making him feel good. TK memorized the feeling of Carlos beneath his hands again, locking away the feeling of his soft skin and how he felt wrapped around his cock. He kissed him over and over again, so that he wouldn’t forget the feel of his lips against his or the taste of him on his tongue.

It all made TK want more - more than he would ever be allowed to have from Carlos again. He moaned when he felt Carlos’ blunt nails rack down his back, pushing into the touch and wanting Carlos to mark him up too. 

He swallowed down tears, bit back words of love as he made love to him - because that’s what he was doing, it wasn’t fucking, it was love and always would be with them. Nothing could ever be casual between them, there was just too much there. Too many feelings. Too many memories of what it meant to be loved truly.

TK held onto Carlos tightly, and when they came shouting each other's name he allowed himself to kiss Carlos harder, to swallow his moans and bask in the pleasure for as long as it tingled through his body. It was all he wanted, but knew couldn’t last.

[catboyrichardkarinsky]

literally every single question for fuckin zombie saga and/or &j idk if it's meant to be specific to a fandom but whatever

for &j

list 3 positive things about your current fandom(s)

clever writing, great characters, banger music

a headcanon you weren't sure about at first but have come to like!

yeah trans Romeo as well

a character that fandom has helped you appreciate

Romeo, i liked him before too but i mean i think we really made him more better

say something nice about a ship you don't ship (it can be another ship in your fandom, a mutual's OTP, etc)

hmm tough. i guess Anne and Angelique could work. like in another universe. love gay people.

something you see in fics a lot and love

i mostly read your fics and you write maycois dialogue so arorably

something you see in art a lot and love

shapes. &j fanart always has fun shapes somehow

your favorite tropes to read/write/draw

this is going into zombie saga territory but if focused specifically on &j uhh i love to write Frankie being soscared because i mean he always is

you hope more people will come to appreciate ___ (a ship, a trope, an episode, etc)

hmm idk. just like the show in general. if i were to say something specific i guess Anne, she's kind of the hidden main character to me this has nothing to do with my Betsy bias /hj

a ship that isn't your OTP but that you enjoy

langelique. I'm very casual about them

a blog (mutual or one you follow) that has made your fandom experience brighter

well. yours. also just like the rp blogs

if you're a writer or artist, what fic or piece of art are you proud of making?

all of it, duh. for non saga because I'll get to saga after these, the one where i drew Juliet and May in those them coded clothes

compliment someone else in your fandom

you! you're the amperstan ever

the ship that always makes you smile

maycois and jumeo, they cute

the character that always makes you smile

like all of them? but i guess I'll day Frankie rn

a tiny detail in canon that you want more people to appreciate

okay not to be negative in the positivity asks but i want more people to do the opposite of appreciate for the ue ue ue ue you KNOW what I'm talking about. no one else talks about it.

the thing in canon that everyone loves and that you also love

the "it's super dope" quote let's be real we all say it all the time now

the fandom friend you've known the longest

of &j definitely you

how has fandom positively impacted your life?

honestly it's seeing it live that did most. it was lifechanging

and now for saga in general:

list 3 positive things about your current fandom(s)

it keeps my creative thinking active at all times, it's deliciously angsty and it's so self indulgent

a headcanon you weren't sure about at first but have come to like!

like saga related? i guess in brighter timeline Del's whole arc. I'm glad we did that now because the character exploration of it is very fun. also lesbitaly (it really grew on me)

a character that fandom has helped you appreciate

i feel like all of these characters grew so much more on me than ever before. special shoutout to Fletcher for being lifted higher on my list of characters i care about

say something nice about a ship you don't ship (it can be another ship in your fandom, a mutual's OTP, etc)

is there any valid saga ship i don't personally ship? i doubt it

something you see in fics a lot and love

well these are our fics. Caroline's continuous agonies though. love torturing my fave

something you see in art a lot and love

there's barely any saga fanart so the mere existence of it

your favorite tropes to read/write/draw

i love writing conflicts that are not even zombie related it's just people being mad at each other it's fun

you hope more people will come to appreciate ___ (a ship, a trope, an episode, etc)

maroline!! I'm spreading so much maroline propaganda all of you are obligated to like it now

a ship that isn't your OTP but that you enjoy

delbed and lesbitaly. I'm casual about both (still love them)

if you're a writer or artist, what fic or piece of art are you proud of making?

weirdly it's all my most fucked up chapters. the one where zombie Richard killed Frankie. the one where Caroline killed Frank. the latest opposite deaths I wrote

compliment someone else in your fandom

i have to say you, this whole series wouldn't exist if it wasn't for you

the ship that always makes you smile

at the end of the day it'll always come back to richaline in brighter timeline. as much as i love these other ships for them

the character that always makes you smile

Caroline, Mary, Richard, italiAnnie in the timelines they're in. at the end of the day you can always tell I'm biased towards them

a tiny detail in canon that you want more people to appreciate

the fact that I've referenced a Betsy Wolfe character in my last chapter for every timeline. also that I've been putting Harmony references all over the place especially in brighter timeline. you could miss some of them

the thing in canon that everyone loves and that you also love

just. all the angst

how has fandom positively impacted your life?

i feel like I've explored my favorite pieces of media in a unique new way through the saga and it keeps productive and creative which is important to me

[whosectype]

Heya, love your art! As someone whos thinking about starting an askythingy myself i was curious, how do you manage to draw this stuff so fast??? And any art tips?

First of all, thank you sm!! I’m gonna be completely honest, I’m really really new to doing this and just kinda making it up as I go heheh

but there are a few reasons I’ve been able to pump out asks so fast

one, it’s the end of the quarter at my school so I’ve had little to no homework so I’ve had extra time to draw

two, this is literally all I’ve been drawing (hyperfixation go brrrr)

and three, I’ve been drawing these characters frequently for a while now, (long before I started this blog) so I’ve had practice!

Now for some art tips! I personally recommend doing art for askblogs digitally if you can cause it tends to be faster! Practice drawing the most common characters A LOT and have a consistent color palate. Reuse backgrounds, or just don’t have them. Don’t make every ask a perfect masterpiece, I literally just color in my sketch and call it good

BUT JUST TAKE IT AT YOUR OWN PACE! this is supposed to be fun, so have fun drawing!

also, when u start the blog, make sure to tag me ;]