#Days Gone By-Strangers In The Tombs

[fandomficsnstuff]

Strangers In The Tombs

(Warnings: Angst, angst, blood and shootings and some more angst with a little fluff at the end<3)

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Daisy hurried out of the prison as they were getting ready to leave, Daryl turning around just in time to see the ball of auburn hair and outstretched arms running towards him, practically pushing Oscar aside “don’t go! Please, don’t go!”

“Whatchu talkin’ ‘bout?” he asked with annoyance in his tone but Daisy just shook her head “please don’t go…” she begged, Daryl looking at Oscar who quickly returned to packing the car as Daryl kneeled down to Daisy’s level. “Why not?”

“What if you don’t come back?...”

“Ya want me to come back?” he asked and she nodded, making him nod as well “then I’ll come back, ain’t nothin’ that’s gonna stop me, a’ight? Be a good girl ‘n watch out for lil’ ass-kicker. And remember; don’t-”

“Pussy out” Daisy finished as she sniffled a little, Daryl nodding as he studied her “you good?” he finally asked and she hesitated but nodded, making Daryl nod again as well “a’ight. Don’ worry, we’ll get ‘em back” he stated as he stood up and ruffled her hair, making her pout a little but she hugged him tightly “bring back uncle Glenn and auntie Maggie…” she pleaded, Daryl studying her before nodding, grabbing his kutte from the car before putting it on her, smirking a little “you look badass as shit, now go on, get” he ordered softly and she grinned before running off with the kutte on, passing Carl as she did who grinned at her, Oscar smiling at the little girl, which Daryl noticed “what the hell’re you smiling at?!”

“Nothing-”

“It ain’t nothin’. Don’t look at ‘er” he growled, Oscar studying him before nodding, yet with a tiny smirk “she’s a brave girl, that’s all. I see who she got it from” he stated, Daryl frowning “she ain’t mine, she’s my niece” he clarified defensively and Oscar just scoffed lightly “doesn’t make her not yours. You’re here, you might not be her father, but you’re as close to a dad as she can get from what I can see.”

“Yeah, well, ya can’t see very well then” he grumbled, Oscar chuckling lightly “oh I see just fine, ain’t nothing to be ashamed of. I’d be proud as hell if that was my little girl, niece or not” he stated casually, Daryl studying him with narrowed eyes before forcing himself to scoff like he didn’t care.

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Daisy caught up with Carl as he was about to go to the tombs, Daisy catching him, making him stop and she panted heavily before nodding, Carl smirking a little “you don’t have to come, you know.”

“Yes I do. Your dad would’ve gone, which is why you’re going. And my uncle would’ve gone with him” she rationalized, Carl shaking his head with amusement “you don’t have to just because your uncle would.”

“Then why are you down here?” she asked cheekily with a smirk, turning on her flashlight and raising it with her gun as Carl led her through the tombs towards the screams and cries of pain and fear, something they should have been running from, but then again, the men who raised them weren’t exactly the ‘running away’ type. As they walked, Daisy suddenly realized that Carl had stopped, turning and looking at him as he stared at a metal door that was slightly ajar, her eyes studying it before she walked over to him, carefully and quietly pushing the door shut before turning to him “which way?” she asked, snapping him out of whatever he was in, forgetting about the door in order to lead once more, Daisy casting a final glance at the door before following after Carl, firing a muffled shot at a walker that walked around the corner towards them, the body landing with a thud and she caught back up with Carl. They both got around the corner to see a group. A woman was crying, bleeding into the arms of someone with someone else guarding over them, two other people fighting the walkers and both Daisy and Carl raised their guns, each firing a shot, two walkers dropping dead and when the people turned to look at them, Daisy looked at Carl who looked at her, hesitating before giving a nod, agreeing on what he wanted to do with them, and so Carl turned to face them “come on! Hurry!” he yelled, beginning to back up to lead them back to safety with Daisy watching them closely, following alongside him.

Daisy fired a shot at a walker that came towards her, turning around as the woman began to slow down the group, walkers closing in and Daisy fired another shot “you have to leave her!”

“No! No way!” The tallest one yelled at Carl, Daisy frowning at them as she kept leading them with Carl, until a walker popped up around another corner. It reached for the woman with the curly hair and Daisy squeezed her gun’s trigger, except her gun was empty. Her eyes widening and without thinking she charged at the walker, kicking it’s knees, her knife in her hand as she buried it into the walker’s skull, Carl running over after firing a shot at a walker near her, grabbing her and leading her with the others to safety.

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Rick hesitantly approached the cell, peeking inside, finding her laying on her side, facing the wall in front of her, Daryl’s kutte clutched tightly in between her hands and when she heard someone, she sat up straight, standing up so fast it was a miracle that she didn’t bump her head on the bunk above her, eyes wide with hope, until she saw who it was. Or rather, who it wasn’t. “Oh…”

“It’s good to see you too” Rick joked teasingly, stepping closer, sitting down on the bed with her, his eyes on the kutte she was still holding close “your uncle let you borrow that?” he asked, Daisy nodding, the two of them sitting in silence before Daisy looked up at him. “Where’s uncle Daryl?” she asked as she leaned away from him, looking past him in an attempt to find the person in question, Rick hesitating before kneeling down, Daisy’s expression softening, tears already in her eyes and Rick shook his head “Daisy-”

“Where is he?”

“He-...” he hesitated, he made a promise. It was wrong. But it was a promise. “He-... fell behind…” Rick lied hesitantly, straining himself to not crumble when he saw the tears in the little girl’s eyes. “He fell behind, I’m sorry… we tried to get to him but we had to get Glenn and Maggie back to safety… I’m sorry, Daisy-”

“Don’t!” she snapped, pushing him away with tears running down her cheeks “don’t call me that!” she yelled, pushing him, Rick allowing her to do so, letting her push him out of the cell, flinching a little as the cell door was slammed shut and locked from the inside. Rick closed his eyes in regret and sighed heavily, looking down, jaw clenched and when he turned to walk away, he saw Carl, Carl frowning at him with confusion. “Carl-”

“Why-” Rick stopped him and gently took his arm, leading him a little further away from Daisy’s cell, kneeling down hesitantly “I want you to keep an eye on her, alright?...” he asked softly, watching Carl intently as the boy nodded hesitantly, Rick nodding in return, standing up and walking off, running a hand over his face in frustration, Carl watching him before moving over to Daisy’s cell, peeking inside to see her sit in the small corner between the bed and the wall, right by the cell door, knees tucked up to her chest as she cried.

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Maggie hesitantly approached the closed cell, leaning against the wall before knocking on the iron, the clanging making Daisy lift up her head to look at who had disturbed her, her eyes red and puffy from crying and Maggie gave her a sad smile “mind if I come in?” she asked, Daisy hesitating, a hand touching her leg where the scratches were covered by her jeans and Maggie smiled affectionately “I’m not scared of you, I promise. I know you won’t turn” she whispered softly, Daisy hesitantly nodding, leaning up to turn the key in the lock before sitting back down and Maggie walked in, sitting down on the bed, looking at Daisy as she continued to sit in the corner, knees tucked to her chest. Maggie studied her a while longer before smiling “it’s kinda cool” she started with a smirk “you being immune-”

“I’m not immune…”

“You feel like bitin’ anyone?” she asked jokingly, Daisy shaking her head once more and Maggie nodded “then why’re you worried? You got those scratches before winter, that was months ago now, almost half a year… listen, I wanted to talk to you about something…” she began, opening her mouth to continue when she stopped herself, sighing heavily. “Is it about my uncle?...” she asked, Maggie looking at her, nodding ever so slightly and Daisy looked down “Rick said he-... that he fell behind… Do you think he’s dead?”

“Do you?”

“I don’t know…” she muttered, Maggie studying her before looking away, deciding to keep the promise that Daryl made them all make. “I’m sure he’s just fine, I’m sure he’s trying to get back to you” she stated softly, Daisy just shaking her head, a tear rolling down her cheek “no, he’s dead… like my mom… like my dad…” she muttered, Maggie’s compassionate smile fading into a look of sadness, Maggie studying her a while longer before getting up, walking over and kneeling down in front of her, placing a comforting hand on her knee, forcing a smile “you’re not alone. You have me and Glenn and Rick, you have Carl and Beth and Hershel and-”

“Little Ass-Kicker?”

“And little Ass-Kicker, yes” Maggie nodded with a grin, feeling a sense of joy seeing Daisy smile a little. “Why don’t you come on outta there, hm? It’s gotta be a bit glum, sitting in the dark.”

“You’ve been laying in the dark almost since you got back…” Daisy pointed out, Maggie studying her before nodding “I have, yeah… and I don’t wanna do that anymore… I could really use your help, getting out of that dark hole…” Maggie trailed off, Daisy studying her before nodding, Maggie helping her up to stand. “How about we take a walk?” she asked, Daisy nodding with a small smile when the gunfire began, both of them instinctively dodging down even though it came from outside. “What’s going on? Is it the Governor?” she asked, Maggie looking at her with wide eyes, shocked that she knew and Daisy shrugged shyly “you weren’t whispering when you talked about him…” Daisy admitted, Maggie sighing heavily, briefly cupping her cheek in her hand before the two of them ran out, getting as many guns as they could before running outside to disperse them. She hid behind some file cabinets with Maggie, peeking out every now and then to fire her gun, fitting better behind the metal than Maggie, Carol running for cover as Daisy and Maggie both fired at the man in the tower. “How did they get into the tower?” Daisy called over the gunfire, Maggie shaking her head as she reloaded her automatic rifle “I don’t know. Listen, I’m gonna cover you and you’re going to run over to Carl-”

“No!”

“Daisy-”

“I can fit better here than you can!” she rationalized, the distant sound of a roaring engine cutting off their small argument. As the truck broke through, the two of them watched with wide eyes as it just stood still… until the small gate at the back of it fell open, walkers spilling out and Daisy looked at Maggie, the gunfire picking back up and they both made themselves even smaller behind the cover before Daisy peeked out and fired a few shots, Maggie doing the same. Maggie looked Daisy’s way when she heard a grunt and the sound of something hitting flesh, looking over at Daisy to see her clutching her left upper arm, towards the ball of her shoulder, blood pouring out between her fingers “Daisy!”

“I’m okay!” she lifted her hand, showing Maggie that it was just a graze. It’d have to get sewed up, that’s for damn sure, but it was still just a graze, Maggie letting out a deep sigh of relief “don’t you scare me like that!” she hissed even though she knew it wasn’t Daisy’s fault, Daisy managing to smile a little “sorry” she muttered, Maggie chuckling, still relieved at the safety of the little girl. As the truck left and the man in the watchtower fell limp with a bullet through his head, Maggie and Daisy hurried to the gate, Beth, Carol and Carl meeting up with them, helping pull the gate open, each of them taking a position, killing as many walkers as possible while Glenn picked up Hershel and the new person who showed up back when Glenn and Maggie was taken, Michonne, driving over. Once they were inside the gates, Daisy rushed to Glenn, tears running down her cheeks “uncle Glenn” she sobbed and Glenn kneeled down to hug her “I’m okay, I’m okay” he whispered, pecking the side of her head “what happened to your arm?” he asked with worry, Maggie sighing heavily “got shot” she muttered, Glenn staring at her before hurriedly pulling her hand away from the wound, using some of his shirt to wipe away the blood as carefully as possible. “Sorry” he whispered when she winced, his eyes scanning the wound and he sighed, Hershel limping over “how bad is it?”

“It’s just a graze, she’s fine” he stated, hugging her tightly before she left to hug Hershel, who couldn’t kneel down but he still hugged her back as much as possible. “I’m alright, sweetie, better get that wound sewed up, we’ll do it as soon as possible” he promised, Daisy turning to Michonne, eyeing her before affording the woman a quick and shy smile “thank you for helping my uncle Glenn and Hershel” she muttered, barely sticking around to see Michonne’s eyes softening, watching the girl run over to Carl, hugging him tightly, the boy hugging her even tighter in return, though while being careful with her arm. “Are you okay? Is your arm okay?” he asked with worry, Daisy nodding with a smile as Carl fussed over her bleeding arm, tearing off some of his shirt and using it to wipe the blood away carefully and then bandage around it, nodding to himself “we’ll get some proper bandages soon” he promised, Daisy blushing a little as she nodded before turning to Beth, hugging her before hugging Carol “we’re okay” Carol whispered, Daisy nodding as she parted from them, turning to look out over the yard, the walkers piling it, stumbling around, and Carl stepped closer, both of them looking at the yard, his hand taking hers as they both stared at it with frowns.

[ryuzakemo128]

Grim Reaper Part Two

Pairing: Poly? Team 141 x Female reader / Female reader x her mental health

Content Warning: breaking and entering, kidnapping, pregnancy, mental health issues may be touched on, returning home, tear-jerking levels of nostalgia for possibly wrong reasons. Certain implication of a certain Austrian.

Words: 797

Masterlist - Prequel - Part One - Part Two - Part Three - Part Four - Part Five - Part Six - Part Seven - Part Eight

Supernatural AU - Poem

Credit for Dividers: @cafekitsune + @strangergraphics

Summary: “Welcome home, Maus.”

You were sent home on mandatory leave, the empty house feeling colder than when you left it the first time. It felt like you were always on edge, waiting for a lecture. Even though your parents are long gone now and you're thirty now. You go to leave a few times. Though, you liked it better when you avoided having to go back home. Preferring back to back missions than facing the thought of going back home. The doctor forced you to, shaking his head and hands on his hips as he told you it was good for your long term health. Tapping into your fear of failure.

You anticipate your mother coming to the front door, but you know she never will, never again. The clock still at 3 o'clock in the morning when your mother passed from a heart attack in her sleep. You remember your father waking to her lifeless form, a form that used to be so full of love for life. Gone. Long before she reached fifty years old. Your father went on without her, turning to alcohol for comfort of the loss. It was to no one's surprise, he had passed from a broken heart two weeks after.

You sat on your old bed, dust flicking upwards as your legs pressed into the covers. In a twisted sense you still loved them, cared for them and wish they were there. Even though they were toxic parents. You loved them. The neglect, the threats of abandonment, everything about it. You know you shouldn't. Yet you still do.

It wasn't your fault you looked so much like your mother, her hair, her eyes, her smile and her mannerisms. They were hers, just as much as they were yours. The older you grew, the uncannier it became and the uncannier it became. The more your father seemed to hold disdain towards you.  

You were a constant reminder of the woman he lost. You often wondered if he blamed you for her death. If he thought, you were the reason she had a heart attack. You had been sixteen at the time, a rebellious teenager who had been out past curfew. Your father had found you drunk, stumbling home, and had yelled at you, your mother trying to intervene. The next morning, she was gone.

A stupid thought, you know. A thought you can't hope to let go of, no matter how much you push forward. The guilt had gnawed at you for years, and it had only worsened when your father had died. You had felt like a failure, a burden, a constant reminder of the pain they had endured.

It was like most of it never changed from when you were young. Frozen. In stasis. Paused during a time. A moment in your life when things in your life started, spiralling into something so wrong. As you cleaned out the home, windows open, airing the entire house out. Like it was holding its breath for the past few years or more.

It was after the furniture was taken out, after the walls and floors were sanded, that the house felt emptier and less like a home. More of a tomb of what was. You were hand painting images your parent's wouldn't have let you do. Though, they weren't here anymore to tell you off.

Starting off small with small birds, flowers and animals in corners, after a one-night stand you found out you were pregnant. You debated telling them for a while, you knew you couldn't put it off forever. You called your mother's phone just to hear her voicemail message. As the days marched forward like sand dripping inside an hourglass.

The phone snatched from your fingers, a cold hand closing around your wrist. You pulled your hand away from the stranger, or at least you tried to. "Let go of me." you shouted. "Whoever you're looking for isn't alive anymore. My mother and my father are dead. If you're here for them. Then you are fourteen years too late. They have been cremated, and their ashes are buried with the redwood trees."

You assumed he was there to rob you. "I have nothing of value. Nothing." you told him.

The man laughed, a low, guttural sound that sent chills down your spine. "I'm not here for your parents," he said, his voice thick with a foreign accent. "I'm here for you."

In any other circumstance, those words would be a delight to hear. Given the situation now. It just sent chills up your spine and made your palms sweaty. Fear gnawed at you, gripped your throat and stolen the breath from your lungs.

He learned over, whispered into your ear, his hot breath against your neck and face, “Welcome home, Maus.”

[undercoveravenger]

Motivators

Pairing: Isaac Lahey x Scientist!Male!Reader

Requested: Yes

Request: “okay for the spooky request could you write Isaac lahey x scientist reader who doesn’t believe in the supernatural but they are hunting a ghost and reader and Isaac make a bet where if they do find the ghost reader owes Isaac a kiss or something”

A/N: This is the third fic in the 2023 Spooky Month event! The next post will release on Tuesday, October 24th. Hope you enjoy!

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While your best friend Scott McCall and his pack were no strangers to your lab, you still found yourself a bit on edge with Scott’s beta, Isaac. You had known of him before he was turned, and he had seemed nice enough the few times you had interacted with him, but there had always seemed to be something off, even after Scott had told you the truth about his friends. You weren’t sure exactly why Isaac made you so uneasy, but the weight of his eyes, whether glowing their infamous werewolf gold or his pretty every-day blue, was ever present and unreadable. 

Even now, with the rest of the pack off investigating the most recent victim of a vengeful spirit, Isaac lingered, perched on one of the spare lab tables pushed against the wall and watching you intently. 

“You didn’t have to wait here,” you say, ardently refusing to look at him, studying the strange glowing sample they’d brought you through the viewing lens of your microscope. “You heard Scott- He thinks he’s got a lead. You could’ve gone with him to check it out.”

A soft huff escapes Isaac and you can hear him shift behind you, moving from his seat on the opposite table to come lean against the one you’re working at. “No,” he says quietly, “I needed to be here.” He’s silent for a minute and you almost think to press him further when he continues, “I know you don’t need me to be here, but I need to be.” He clears his throat awkwardly when you look up at him, but he presses on, in spite of the thick blush clouding his cheeks. “I worry about you a lot when I’m not around you, y’know? Not just that you’re just a human, but that you’re you.”

You studied Isaac for a long moment, a sort of self-satisfied amusement creeping through you as he fidgets under your gaze, clearly having said more than he meant to and exposing his emotions in the process. 

“You really think that you’re going to catch this ghost?” You asked, crossing your arms over your chest as you watched him. 

He nodded, grinning shyly, “Yeah. With you and Scott working together to find it? No way we don’t.”

Whenever you’d caught Isaac looking at you in the past, the look in his eyes was always intense, but he was unreadable in the same way that the old Latin tombs that Allison had swiped from her family’s archives for you had been. But in the same way you had learned to decipher those ancient books, you were starting to see the meaning behind those lingering stares and Isaac’s looming presence. He’d never seemed malicious to you, not even before he’d joined Scott’s pack, but now you could see that determined distance for what it was.

You rolled your eyes and turned back to your sample, but couldn’t stop the edge of your lips from quirking up as you spoke. “You find it and I owe you a kiss.”

While you were no longer looking at him, you could pick out the exact moment Isaac realized what you’d said since you could hear his sneakers squeak against the floor as he struggled to catch himself from falling. “I- I, uh, I-” he stammered and you could practically hear how flustered he was. “I’m- I’m gonna go call Scott and see if his lead panned out. Y’know, we uh, we really need to get rid of this ghost thing before it hurts someone else. We should- We should really do everything we can to catch it as soon as possible, right?”

You couldn’t help but laugh as he hurried out of the room, and you laughed even harder when you were able to pick up the excited whoops echoing in from outside of your lab from Isaac and Scott over the phone line.

[disturbingstar]

TV/Comic Death Comparisons

Otis

• In “Save the Last One” Otis is left to be devoured by walkers after being shot in the leg by Shane Walsh.

• In the comics, Otis is devoured by walkers in the Prison. He is put down by Rick Grimes after reanimation.

Sophia Peletier

• In “Pretty Much Dead Already”, Sophia is revealed to have been bitten by a zombie and reanimated, and is later shot in the head by Rick Grimes after reanimation.

• In the comics, Sophia is still alive.

Dale Horvath

• In “Judge, Jury, Executioner”, Dale is disemboweled by a walker on Hershel's farm and mercifully shot in the head by Daryl Dixon.

• In the comics, Dale dies much later during the group's conflict with the Hunters, after being sustaining a bite from a walker. He is shot in the head by Andrea before reanimation. His death is similar to that of Bob Stookey from the TV Series.

Shane Walsh

• In “Better Angels”, Shane is stabbed to death by Rick Grimes, and is shot in the head by Carl Grimes after he reanimates.

• In the comics, Shane's death happens much sooner, roughly a day after the attack on the Atlanta camp. Instead of being premeditated like in the show, Shane's attempt on Rick's life is a “spur of the moment” event, brought on by Shane losing his mind due to several factors. Unlike the show, Shane is shot in the neck by Carl Grimes. After discovering that people reanimate regardless of the circumstances of their deaths, Rick travels to the Atlanta campsite to put Shane down, shooting him in the head.

Lori Grimes

• In “Killer Within”, Lori dies during a C-Section giving birth to Judith Grimes. She is shot by Carl Grimes before reanimation.

• In the comics, Lori survives giving birth to Judith, and isn't killed until the Governor's second assault on the prison, when she is shot and killed by Lilly Caul. This also results in the death of Judith, who is crushed by Lori's corpse, unlike the show where Judith is still alive.

Andrea Harrison

• In “Welcome to the Tombs”, Andrea is bitten by an undead Milton Mamet, whom Philip Blake stabbed and left in a room with a tied-up Andrea. Rather than die from infection, Andrea chooses to take her own life by shooting herself in the head.

• In the comics, Andrea dies much later during the war with the Whisperers. While leading a giant heard away from Alexandria, she is bitten on the neck while saving Eugene. She eventually dies from infection and is stabbed in the head by Rick Grimes after she reanimates.

Hershel Greene

• In “Too Far Gone”, Hershel is decapitated by Philip Blake after Rick refuses to vacate the prison. In “After”, he is put down by Michonne, who stabs him in the head.

• In the comics, Hershel gives up on life after his son Billy is killed during the second prison assault. He is executed by Brian Blake, who shoots him in the head.

Philip Blake

• In “Too Far Gone”, Philip is stabbed through the back by Michonne Hawthorne, and is later shot in the head by Lilly Chambler as he lay dying.

• In the comics, Brian Blake is killed by Lilly Caul, who shoots him in the head and kicks his body into a group of zombies.

Gareth

• In “Four Walls and a Roof”, Gareth is hacked to death by Rick Grimes.

• In the comics Chris, Gareth's comic counterpart, is brutally slaughtered by Rick Grimes, Andrea, Abraham Ford, and Michonne Hawthorne.

Bob Stookey

• In “Strangers”, Bob is bitten on the shoulder by a walker. To spare Sasha from watching his slowly die, he decides to walk out into the woods, where he is knocked out by one of the Terminus remnants. He wakes up, only to discover his leg has been eaten by the Termites. When Bob reveals he's been bitten, Gareth decides to return him to the church. He eventually succumbs to infection in “Four Walls and a Roof”, and is put down by Tyreese Williams before reanimation.

• In the comics, Bob is a former army medic living in Woodbury, who patched up the Governor after the latter endured brutal torture at the hands of Michonne Hawthorne. In the novel series, Bob continues to serve as the town's doctor following the second prison assault until his death of a heart attack. He is then put down by Lilly Caul before reanimation.

Tyreese Williams

• In “What Happened and What's Going On”, Tyreese is bitten on the arm by Noah's zombified brother. His arm is sliced off by Michonne to stop the infection from spreading, but Tyreese dies due to blood loss anyway. He is stabbed in the head by Michonne before reanimation.

• In the comics, Tyreese dies sooner, during the second prison assault. He is decapitated by Brian Blake after Rick refuses to vacate the prison. His zombified head is later stabbed by Michonne Hawthorne. His death is similar to that of Hershel Greene from the TV Series.

Ron Anderson

• In “No Way Out”, Ron holds Rick at gunpoint after witnessing Rick hack off Jessie's hand to save Carl. He is stabbed through the chest by Michonne, which causes him to reflexively fire his gun and shoot Carl's eye out.

• In the comics, Ron is devoured by zombies when he starts panicking and making too much noise. Carl's eye is accidentally shot out by Douglas instead. His death is similar to that of Sam Anderson.

Abraham Ford

• In “Last Day on Earth”, Abraham is picked by Negan Smith to be executed. Negan smashes Abraham's head with his baseball bat, Lucille, off-screen.

• In the comics, Abraham is shot in the back of the head and through the eye with a crossbow bolt fired by Dwight. His death is similar to that of Denise Cloyd.

Glenn Rhee

• In “The Day Will Come When You Won't Be”, Negan Smith smashes Glenn's head with Lucille after Daryl attacks him.

• In the comics, Glenn's death is similar, but happens under slightly different circumstances, as Glenn is the one who is chosen by Negan to be executed.

Olivia

• In “Hearts Still Beating”, Olivia is shot in the face by Arat as retribution for Rosita trying to kill Negan.

• In the comics, Olivia dies much later during the conflict with the Whisperers, when she is decapitated by Alpha.

Carl Grimes

• In “The King, the Widow, and Rick”, Carl is bitten by a walker while taking Siddiq back to Alexandria. In “Honour,” Carl shoots himself in the head after saying goodbye to his friends and family.

• In the comics, Carl survives the entire duration of the series.

Paul “Jesus” Rovia

• In “Evolution”, Paul is stabbed through the heart by an unnamed Whisperer.

• In the comics, Paul Monroe is still alive.

Alpha

• In “Walk With Us”, Alpha has her throat slit by Negan, who then decapitates her and brings her head to Carol. Her head is later recovered and put down by Beta.

• In the comics, Alpha's death is pretty much identical, although the circumstances of her death are slightly different. Negan doesn't lure Alpha away by claiming to have captured Lydia, but she instead approaches him after banishing him to sleep outside the Whisperers' camp. He also brings Alpha's head to Rick instead of Carol. In addition, Alpha's head is not known to have been put down afterwards.

Rosita Espinosa

• In “Rest in Peace”, Rosita is bitten on the shoulder and succumbs to the infection. She is then put down by Eugene before reanimation.

• In the comics, Rosita is one of the pike victims.

[questionablequeeries]

Free Space (Too Far Gone? by Metallica)

Day 0

“Absolutely not. We need to put it outta its misery.” Hopper insisted as they recovered in the Harrington home. He grimaced when the sound of screeching and thrashing sounded from the basement, and Steve would have found the expression almost humorous any other day.

“He’s not an it!” Dustin protested, “And we didn’t abandon Will! We don’t leave party members if they can be saved!”

Nancy sighed, taking a gulp of water to gather her thoughts before she spoke, “Will was savable. Eddie is…Is he even Eddie anymore? He didn’t drop when the other democreatures did, but that doesn’t mean anything.”

“It means everything!” Dustin’s voice got a little louder, “I don’t know what final boss battle you guys were watching, but Eddie, El, and Will did most of the heavy lifting!” While tentacles (vines? Whatever, either way Steve wanted to pretend that hadn’t happened) pinned them down, Eddie had turned on Vecna. He’d bared his fangs and lunged, catching the monster offguard enough for Eleven to mindblast the vines (vines aren’t slimy. Definitely tentacles) off of herself. He had even caught a tentacle (but tentacles imply they’re attached to something and the majority weren’t. So…vines?) through the chest for his trouble. Apparently whatever had been done to him made him heal faster, so yay for small miracles.

“He’s staying.” Steve finally spoke up, “Hop, with all due respect I won’t hesitate to do what it takes to protect him.” His voice was even, the ‘from you’ left unsaid but still understood.

Hopper paused before he sighed, “We do this, you aren’t taking care of him alone. The second he becomes too much of a danger…”

“He won’t.” Steve said firmly. They would make it through the night and pull his heart into the day.

Day 1

“Wow, you look bad.” Robin grimaced at the sight of her platonic soulmate absolutely drenched from head to toe.

Steve sighed as he wrung out his shirt, “I had El restrain Eddie so I could chain him up.”

“And that required you to take a swim first?” Robin arched an eyebrow as she walked into Steve’s bathroom and gathered a few towels.

“It was for a bath. He hasn’t had one since at least three days before he died.” Steve grumbled, drying himself off, “I know he’s not exactly Eddie right now but the moment he remembered he had wings was the most Eddie thing I’ve ever seen.” He’d watched as Eddie had gone from thrashing in the plastic pool they’d brought down to flapping a tidal wave in Steve’s general direction, making an almost pleased sort of chirp. The bastard had even looked smug, and it was annoying, but it was all the proof he needed that Eddie still lived, was more than an attack dog. It was progress.

Day 10

“So, um, the party’s gonna deal with Acererak, but the twist is that he’s the DMNPC that’s been traveling with them.” Will explained his next campaign, glancing over to Eddie. The man had to be restrained when people were with him, and the kids needed an adult by their side, but he couldn’t help thinking that maybe the vampire wasn’t so bad. After all, being changed by the Upside Down didn’t mean you were automatically evil, just…different.

Steve smiled softly. He was pretending to read a magazine to give them some privacy, but he heard the curious chirps Eddie was making, the inquisitiveness spoken in a language Steve was starting to learn, and he couldn’t help speaking up, “I think he wants to know more.”

Will’s eyes lit up, “Okay, the big reveal’s gonna be at the end of the tomb…”

Night 35

Steve was woken up by screeching, mournful and terrified. He booked it downstairs so fast he nearly fell down the last steps. He saw Eddie in his little nest of sweatshirts he’d taken from Steve, wings wrapped around himself and brows furrowed, fighting some horrors his own mind had created. Without hesitation, Steve climbed into the nest and laid there, pulling Eddie into his arms and brushing his hair back, “It’s okay,” He whispered, “You’re not alone.”

Day 63

Dustin was sat right next to Eddie, reading from The Hobbit, when he felt a wing wrap around him, startling him out of the paragraph, “You okay? Do you need something?”

Steve grinned, “I think that’s mostly because he can’t do it with his arm.”

Eddie let out a confirming chitter.

“Let’s let him out!” Dustin undid the chains before he could be stopped though, considering it was just he and Steve, there wasn’t really a voice of reason there.

Eddie froze when he was freed, looking around the room as if this was a trap, a trick, and a soft whine pulled from his throat.

“No, it’s okay. Like this, see?” Dustin demonstrated by wrapping an arm around Eddie’s stomach.

Eddie hesitated before he rested a clawed hand on Dustin’s curls and ruffled them. What startled both Steve and his semi-child was the purr that rumbled from the vampire’s chest.

Day 86

Steve walked downstairs with breakfast. They’d found that Eddie could eat normal things but that most of his nutrients came from blood, so the adults had been donating when they could. Thankfully, he only seemed to need to be fed once a day, with Steve giving him human food the rest of the time. He frowned when he heard what sounded like hissing, an incessant ‘s’ sound, “What is it? You okay?” He asked in concern, setting down the cup and approaching his vampire.

Eddie let out an annoyed sort of grunt then continued hissing, shaking his head.

Steve crouched down in front of Eddie, resting a hand against his cheek, “What’s wrong? Do we need El?” Because Eleven was the only one who could communicate with Eddie better than Steve through her static blindfold mind powers (and Steve totally wasn’t jealous, no, why would he be? Totally fine with someone else speaking to his Eddie, totally chill and cool)

Eddie growled, hissing louder, until he stopped and took a deep breath. Robin had been teaching him how to control his emotions, though hers were mostly panic attack related. He leaned into the touch, closing his eyes, “SSSSSStevie.” He whispered.

Steve felt tears spill out, instantly throwing himself at Eddie, “Yeah, Baby, it’s me.” He murmured into a cold neck that still felt so familiar, “Welcome home.”

@steddie-week You can read the entire week here!

[bizarrebazaar13]

FL-inspired book recs, part 2!

part 1 here

Locations

The Shuttered Palace: Did You Hear About Kitty Karr? by Crystal Smith Paul. when Kitty Karr, a white film star, dies and leaves her estate to the Black St. John sisters, everyone wants to know why. Elise, the oldest of the three sisters, takes on the responsibility of getting Kitty’s affairs in order, and stumbles on a secret that could change everything. told in both Elise’s words and Kitty’s own, the book examines wealth, fame, race, gender, family, and the inner workings of Hollywood. I’m not usually very into the palace, but I think the themes here of family ties, facades, and who exactly gets to be rich and famous could be a nice parallel.

The Stacks: Ink and Bone by Rachel Caine. an alternate history where the library of Alexandria was never destroyed, and now controls all the world’s knowledge. Jess Brightwell, a book smuggler, passes the entrance exam to join the Library’s ranks. but nothing about the Library is quite what it seems, and Jess and his fellow postulants are about to learn just how powerful- and dangerous- knowledge can be. this is the first book in what is honestly one of my favorite series that I’ve ever read.

The Brass Embassy: The Chosen and the Beautiful by Nghi Vo. a retelling of The Great Gatsby from Jordan Baker’s point of view, set in a version of the Jazz Age with demons, magic, and the possibility of losing your soul. Vo’s version of Jordan is a queer Vietnamese woman adopted by the wealthy Baker family as a child, and I loved her narration. I don’t really care for the original great gatsby, but this version hooked me immediately.

Exceptional Stories

Caveat Emptor: Carmilla by Sheridan Le Fanu. isolated but wealthy households, mysterious characters that you know are vampires but the protagonist doesn’t, be careful what you wish for, something oddly romantic about what the narrator and the antagonist have going on… sound familiar? I think Carmilla is technically a novella, so it’s a shorter read than some of these other books.

Factions

The Masters: The Bartimaeus Sequence by Johnathan Stroud. a series of four books (a main trilogy and a prequel) that takes place in an alternate London where the government is controlled by magicians who get their powers from summoning spirits. the first book, The Amulet of Samarkand, is narrated alternatively by Bartimaeus, a djinni summoned to help a young apprentice get revenge on a powerful rival, and Nathaniel, an ambitious magician’s apprentice whose revenge plot soon spirals out of control. Stroud’s magicians parallel FBG’s masters in many ways, and one that jumps out immediately is Nathaniel’s later role as the information minister, and how closely it resembles Pages’s ministry of public decency.

The University: The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson. it’s about an experiment gone awry, and the truths that might be better left unfaced. another novella, this classic horror story may have been inspired by a friend of Stevenson’s, a french teacher who appeared to be a perfectly normal academic, but turned out to have murdered his wife and possibly several other people by poisoning them. this, along with the focus on Jekyll’s previous high status in the academic community, puts me in mind of the investigations in the university storyline, and the Summerset vs Benthic rivalry.

The Tomb-Colonies: Whichwood by Taherah Mafi. when Laylee’s mother dies, and her father abandons her, she is left as the only mordeshoor in the village of Whichwood. she spends her days washing the bodies of the dead and preparing their souls for the afterlife. rejected by the townspeople and slowly dying as her magic is drained away, her only company is the dozens of ghosts in her shed, awaiting burial. one day, she meets Alice and Oliver, two strangers on a mission to save her. this is technically a companion to one of Mafi’s earlier books, Furthermore, but I read Whichwood before I knew there was another book, and I understood it perfectly fine.

[unreliablenarratorpoll]

and here's the long awaited match-ups! for the sake of readability, here it is in text form:

Left Side:

1: The Narrator (Fight Club) VS Richard Papen (The Secret History)

2: Belgarath the Sorcerer (The Belgariad) VS Lain Iwakura (Serial Experiments Lain)

3: Kim Dokja (Omniscient Reader's Viewpoint) VS Greg Heffley (Diary of a Wimpy Kid)

4: Patrick Bateman (American Psycho) VS Drosselmeyer (Princess Tutu)

5: Kuruto Ryuki (AI: The Somnium Files – Nirvana Initiative) VS Ishmael (Moby Dick)

6: Amy Elliot-Dunne (Gone Girl) VS Victor Frankenstein (Frankenstein)

7: Mary Katherine Blackwood (We Have Always Lived in the Castle) VS Odysseus (The Odysseus)

8: Pi Patel (Life of Pi) VS Alice Liddel (Alice: Madness Returns)

9: Jamie Taylor (The Haunting of Bly Manor) VS Jonny d'Ville (The Mechanisms)

10: Harrowhark Nonagesimus (The Locked Tomb) VS Elena Gilbert (The Vampire Diaries)

11: Wei Wuxian (Mo Dao Zu Shi/Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation) VS The Batter (OFF)

12: Charlotte Wiltshire (Hello Charlotte) VS Yuki Takeya (School-Live!)

13: Eleanor Vance (The Haunting of Hill House) VS Cloud Strife (Final Fantasy VII)

14: Louis de Point du Lac (Interview With The Vampire) VS Harrier Du Bois (Disco Elysium)

15: Katniss Everdeen (The Hunger Games) VS Will Navidson (House of Leaves)

16: Maebara Keiichi (Higurashi: When They Cry) VS Emperor Kuzco (The Emperor's New Groove)

Right Side:

17: Holden Caulfield (Catcher in the Rye) VS Ethan Frome (Ethan Frome)

18: Kayleigh (We Had To Remove This Post) VS Attolis Eugenides (Queen's Thief)

19: Percy Jackson (Percy Jackson and the Olympians) VS Mapleshade (Warriors)

20: The Narrator (Bobobo-bo Bo-bobo) VS Offred (The Handmaid's Tale)

21: Nick Carraway (The Great Gatsby) VS Zampanò (House of Leaves)

22: Steven Crain (The Haunting of Hill House) vs David Wong (John Dies At The End)

23: Renata Ghali (Planetfall) VS Johnny Truant (House of Leaves)

24: Mfer From Telltale Heart (The Tell-Tale Heart) VS Meursault (The Stranger)

25: Ted (I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream) VS The Narrator (The Stanley Parable)

26: Genly Ai (The Left Hand of Darkness) VS Hiroshi Odokawa (Odd Taxi)

27: Frankenstein's Monster (Frankenstein) VS Varric Tethras (Dragon Age 2)

28: Cadi My Friend Cadi (Real Life) VS John The Apostle (The Bible)

29: Pelafina Heather Lièvre (House of Leaves) VS Johnny Silverhand (Cyberpunk 2077)

30: Rodion Raskolnikov (Crime and Punishment) VS Marco (Animorphs)

31: Flannery Culp (The Basic Eight) VS Daniil Dankovsky (Pathologic)

32: Cecil Palmer (Welcome To Night Vale) VS Mr. Stevens (The Remains of the Day)

[dp-time-police]

“While in truth, we had shared the same economics course and had one or two idle conversations, I place the moment of significant contact to be a week after my... incident. I knew her by a different name, back then. She had been my first, and only, visitor.

Her presence there had brought both confusion and comfort. A stranger had deigned to see me when my own family and friends could not be bothered to even send a heartfelt letter, much less show their faces. The unexpected gesture left me feeling numb. I could not muster the energy to be angry with her there, not when she was blameless. The true wrongdoers had been conveniently absent until then and, much to my increasing bitterness, would continue to remain so for the duration of my stay in the hospital. It wouldn't be until much later that I'd realize what a boon that would prove to be.”

“Hikari's visits would start off brief, but meaningful. A tape recorder here and there with the day's lesson, written notes or books other times, home-cooked food always... With my speech hindered by the wraps covering my face, I was certain my unexpected guest would grow tired of the one-sided conversations and eventually cease coming. But I was wrong. Instead of deterring her, this hurdle only seemed to embolden her, and soon Hikari would come up with ways for me to contribute as well. A notebook for penning down thoughts. A whiteboard for more creative endeavors and quick messages. And other... out of the box methods.”

“Years later, those notebooks are still dearly kept in the drawer of my desk.

Nothing could satisfy the inherent need to speak, however, which is why I was tremendously happy when the bandages got removed, a mere month into my imprisonment in that sterile tomb. And yet, neither of us were prepared for the sight that accompanied my regained liberty.”

“There was... nothing.

The doctors had warned me that my ailment would leave me permanently disfigured. No one with the kind of angry, sensitive eruptions I had sported until then would have any chance of coming out unscathed. I hadn't needed a medical professional telling me that for me to know. But my skin was pristine and looked somehow healthier than when I first landed in that forsaken hellscape. I was, decidedly, wary. Hikari, while also hesitant, erred more on the side of overjoyed. I could finally leave! The discomfort was gone for the most part, and medical diagnostics would clear me of any serious issues. With a mild prescription and orders of bed rest, I was finally out of the woods.”

“I should have known better... “

“I did know better. “

“But knowing did not lessen the utter torture that would follow.”

“It was at this point where I had come to realize just how dire my situation truly was. Maybe I was in denial until then. The hospital was far from equipped to handle interdimensional materials. It was at this moment, with the sun setting on my life, that I realized I would be confined to that suffocating prison. That bed was my cell. My coffin. My tomb.”

“For better or worse, she stayed. Even through the mounting pain, the dizzy spells, my body betraying me... She had been brave all throughout. My dear wisteria, the love of my life. I could see the fear and concern in her eyes even with the optimistic front she put on. Even when an inferno fiercer than anything I could ever imagine burned me from the inside out, boiled and melted my insides and forged me anew, seared my mind until I couldn't think past the agony, she stayed with me. When my eyes glowed with a bloodthirsty crimson and claws gripped and ripped through the bedding.”

“When the staff had to strap me down to keep me from hurting myself or others --thankfully without witnessing the inhuman features…”

“She continued distracting me with tales and inane topics.”

“Even when I lashed out at her and hurt her like the wounded, mindless animal that I was becoming...

Even in those days when I wished I could just... If only it would all just... 

…..

Even then, she would not give up on me. She had steadily become the only one to believe in my harshly dwindling chances of recovery, as the months passed and I only ever got worse, not better.

I wouldn't be able to take this merciless treatment for much longer, of course. Try as I might, I was still at least half human at that point, and there is only so much the human body could withstand before it draws the line and shuts down. I'm only thankful that that threshold was crossed before my psyche would fail me more than it did, and with an accidental parting gift from my beloved, no less.

She bestowed upon me her true, self-chosen name and from then on had been known in my heart and soul as Hikari Kondo instead of the name she was born with."

"Yet, as blissful darkness finally took me, a year into this nightmarish ordeal, I was still not spared… and neither was she. But I shall spare you the following year of near close calls and uncertainty. It wouldn't be my story to tell, after all. I was in a coma and as such wouldn't prove a very accurate source of information on that front.”

. . .

“… And I do believe I have divulged enough, on this particular topic. After all, it satisfies the question. I met my wife after a certain buffoon and his oblivious girlfriend caused the very accident that mercilessly and ruthlessly set me down on the path I now walk. I suppose I… could be a little grateful for the situation, as I would not have my wife now if not for them.”

“...”

“You know what? No! They not only caused me years of pain and suffering, but they also left me to perish alone. And I did, in fact, die in that horrendous cot. I owe them nothing.

Now, I believe we are done her- Miso? Miso whatdoyouhaveinyourmouth–”

Part 2 coming soon

HUUUUUGE THANKS to @feralsrock !! For the lovely ask and the infinite patience!

[theconstellationprincess]

so i've gone and gotten myself attached to a character from a game I've never played so heres some words about Astarion from Baldurs Gate 3

-

He is. Baby. Just absolute, little guy. You'd never know it, looking at him. Yeah he can be fussy, but he's just another traveler, someone without a place to head back too, and a little bit off. No reason to suspect anything at all.

Except... Except. Well. He was only 39 when he turned, he was a child. And he's 239 now, which is still young compared to the average Elf life span. And it's not like he was gaining survival skills or learning to be a functional member of society during his 200 years of a vampire, in fact he was being traumatized and tortured.

Oh yes he has a silver tongue, and manipulation skills, and a rather impressive ability to slip away from himself and still function, but all of that was dependent on his being able to speak. And sometimes. Sometimes, he finds himself as tongue tied and quiet as he was during the earlier times he spent with Cazador. When things were... worse. When most of his punishments involved, at the very least, his voice being taken. He was... smaller. Younger, but not really. Just less able to deal with things. It was an annoyance, and inconvenience, but one he learned to deal with the longer he spent with Cazador.

Then he got his lovely tadpole and everything changed. He was around people, people who behaved like people and not... well he doesn't want to say monsters. Point is, they weren't like his Master. And he was... well not safe. But safer-ish. Unfortunately, that nasty little smallness stuck around. He almost thought he'd left it behind the same way he left Cazador, for it hadn't reared it's head for quite some time during their adventures. And then there was a day that was just Bad.

The Shadowlands were not great to deal with in the first place, he was so very hungry, having grown spoiled while drinking from wild boars and rabbits. But on this day, his other companions seemed to share in his bad mood, but were far less subtle about it than he. There were several cruel words shared between the group, barbs swapped and refuted, and of course they get attacked and several of them get injured, and when they settle at camp the mood is just as foul as it had been earlier.

And Astarion finds himself unsure. He had been feeling ill, between starvation and several memories popping up at random points, triggered by the cruel sentences swapped between the others. He felt off-kilter. He retired early, waiting until he heard everyone's hearts and lungs settle into now familiar rhythms. He crept out of his tent and into the surrounding area. He listened, but found he could hear very few things over the sound of his own thoughts. He swallowed, feeling tears well up in his eyes, without his permission. He really didn't need the extra fluid loss.

He drops to the ground, pushing himself against a tree, and stopping his breathing. He didn't need to at all, but the others would likely find him even stranger if he didn't. Right now it was noise, and he needed to be quiet. Quiet and good.

He sat there for a long time. Waiting for the awful smallness to fade away. But it stayed. Eventually he had to make his way back to camp, and found his limbs uncooperative. He tripped a few times. It reminded him of shortly after he came out of the tomb.

Ah. Perhaps that is what his body is recalling? How annoying.

Wyll was sitting by the fire when Astarion finally stumbled his way back into camp. He looked over, surprised. "Astarion," He greeted quietly. "Are you quite alright?" Astarion swallowed around his tongue and nodded. Wyll narrowed his eyes. Crap. He would really love his silver tongue right about now.

"Mm-hmm," Astarion hummed. He opened his mouth to continue but quickly closed it. Curse this stupid affliction.

"Are you becoming ill?" Wyll asked, but there was suspicion in his voice. Astarion shook his head, and then nodded a second later. He settled on a final shrug. "Say something."

"Something," Astarion quickly said, complying. His voice was hoarse. He tensed in preparation for a punishment before he could stop himself. Wyll was not Cazador, far from him.

Wyll was looking at him, concerned. Astarion wanted to look annoyed, but his brain was having a fun time pasting Cazadors face onto Wylls, so he kept himself pleasantly neutral. Astarion looked towards his tent, perhaps he could get there and escape the conversation Wyll seemed eager to have. "Don't you dare," Wyll said, narrowing his eyes. "Come over here, what's gotten into you?" Astarion was quick to follow the orders yet again, hating himself as he sat next to Wyll. Why was his stupid body like this?

"Tell me what's wrong, please?"

"I am not myself, M-" Astarion just barely managed to cut himself off and save him from more embarrassment.

"Why?"

"I am afflicted with an awful head condition that convinces my brain and body to forcibly behave as if it's the past."

"Ah," Wyll said midly. "Regression. How interesting, I never would have assumed you the type."

Regression. That was a word unfamiliar to him, at least in this context. How fascinating, he'd have to find out more after he escaped this awful conversation.

[the-lady-amphitrite]

— DREAMS OF FOREVER | chapter 2

a world so full of broken hearts

pairing: Avenger!Loki / f!Avenger!Reader word count: 2,395 summary: The "You found me and gave me your hand" chapter in this chapter: this chapter opens with anxiety and some crying, mentions of The Blip and trying to return to a normal life after The Blip, a moment of Loki being soft and reassuring, i think this chapter technically makes this a strangers to lovers fanfic author notes: @sarahscribbles's didn't believe me when i said i could post another chapter of one of my fics today. unfortunately for her, this one has been sitting around finished while i work on future chapters and A Fairytale Beginning. naturally, i had to (lovingly) spite her and prove her wrong. so, enjoy the new chapter! also, if any of you were waiting patiently for the proposal… i'm gonna tell you now that you'll have to wait more. welcome to the flashback era of this fic! you all will hate me before we return to the proposal era (warning)

( previous chapter | read on ao3 | series masterlist )

THEN, AUGUST 5TH, 2023; AVENGERS TOWER, NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK

The door to the bathroom swings shut behind you, the sounds of the gala immediately dimming to a whisper of noise. It’s quiet in here. The quick clack of your shoes against the tile are thunderous in comparison.

You need a few minutes away from all of that. A few minutes of quiet to pull yourself back together.

You lay your hands against the sink counter, leaning into it. Closing your eyes, you take deep, slow breaths to calm your shaking hands and sprinting heartbeat. Words spoken so blithely near you echo in your ears. It’s a struggle to push them down, to not let the hungry maw of haunting loss that nips at your heels so relentlessly swallow you like a minnow.

Try as you might though, the tears come.

One by one, they splatter on the counter. You refuse to wipe your eyes. No matter how much you want to rid yourself of the evidence of these cracks you can’t. The chance of smearing your makeup, of making it obvious how hard you broke while in this bathroom, is too great for you to even consider it for more than a second.

You’ve held yourself together so well since joining with the branch of Avengers based in New York City. Three months and ten days — or something close to that. You honestly lost count of the days during your first month. All you’ve known since you joined this team is how to keep yourself busy. It's made falling asleep easier. Kept you from turning too many thoughts over when you could barely do more than fall into your bed and pass out each night.

Vines of your power slither and tighten through your whole body. Squeezing and puncturing, just like the thorny vines you favour in combat. Your fingers curl harshly against the counter's edge. Gripping it desperately as you try to swallow back the tears and the heavy ache in your chest.

In the five years you were Blipped, so many things changed. Friends, acquaintances, a situationship; practically all of it was gone in the blink of an eye for you. Your situationship moved on with her life the best she could after you were dusted. The friends and acquaintances who remained left to chase whatever life they could cling to in the aftermath of the Blip. Your room at Xavier’s school even became a tomb to the person everyone chose to remember you as — a shadow, a far cry from who you truly are.

Losing each bit of your life left you with too many questions, and too many what if?’s. You’ve become haunted by those five years in a way those who remained weren’t.

A piece of you hopes desperately you aren’t the only one who is.

There’s a brief swell of sound from the bathroom door opening. Panic surges through you in that exact moment. Your head whips up, and you catch sight of your eyes. Wide, glassy, and tinged red from tears. It’s a sight that locks you in place, preventing you from hiding in one of the stalls before a woman in a dark green suit walks around the corner.

Her suit is cut well to her figure, and there’s a flash of a black shirt beneath the jacket. Her black hair is pulled into a high, sleek ponytail, showing off the dangling golden earrings that flash against the bathroom lights. She’s looking down at her phone with a scowl though, thumbs flying across the keyboard as she hammers out some message. For a split second, you think she might bypass you entirely without noticing. Then, her eyes flick up from her phone mid-typing and briefly lock with yours in the mirror.

You tear your gaze away instantly. Barely more than a few horrific seconds pass before she's at your side. You tense, and then you see a handkerchief extended to you.

"They really are quite nasty, are they not?" You don't take the handkerchief, but you do look at her, not understanding what she means. A small, gentle smile decorates lips painted charcoal and ink before she elaborates. "The ones here who did none of the fighting to save the universe. They believe money and influence will save them by throwing it at us, but many of them wouldn't even consider lifting a finger to truly help. The rest would balk at the first true sign of danger to their lives.”

“How did you…?”

She lifts the handkerchief a tad and brings her other hand up towards your chin. A silent question, one that you nod your answer to.

Her fingers are gentle as she grips your chin, her green eyes focused as she slowly dabs away the tears on your face.

“Know you helped save the universe?” Her eyes lock onto yours again for just a brief second, then look down. “For one, you wear one of those ridiculous pins Anthony insisted we all wear for this event.”

Ah. You’d looped yours onto a necklace chain, unable to come up with an idea of where to put it on your dress. You take the pin between your fingers, feeling the solid weight of it and the barely-there way the chain digs at the sides of your neck.

“And… for two?”

“Don’t take this the wrong way, darling, but you don’t look like you belong out there.” Her hand disappears from your chin, and she draws back, placing her handkerchief on the counter. Before the feelings inside you can burn and churn for too many seconds, she continues speaking.

“I don’t mean outwardly. Your dress, your hair, your makeup, your jewellery; it all fits the part of appearing to be one of them. I mean here.” She gestures to her mouth. “You do not speak as they do.”

Your not sure what compels you to raise an eyebrow and ask her in a sharp tone, “And you do?”

She flashes a razor-sharp smile at you in return, one that sends goosebumps racing up your arms. “I’ve played their game of tongues far longer than I care to recall.”

When she doesn’t elaborate, you let it drop. Though you search your memories desperately to remember what her name might be, you can’t recall it. You can’t even remember what all the different pins mean, though you know they were designed to indicate what branch of the Avengers everyone operates from.

Yours is silver, and features the Tower’s windows etched in the A’s left side — one of the few that has a more obvious connotation for its branch. Her pin isn’t silver, it’s black. And where the etched point of an arrow on the A is for yours, hers has an hourglass instead. You can’t recall seeing such a design worn by anyone else, and it makes you wonder how far she travelled to come to tonight’s event.

“Were you Blipped?” The question falls from suddenly your lips, unbidden. The heaviness of what drove you in here still lingers and chokes your limbs. It’s quieter than before, but you can still feel it slipping through your veins and shaking your fingers.

Her face falls, and her eyes focus on nothing. She looks away and stares at the mirror, but you can tell she’s not seeing anything in it.

“No.” There’s a melancholic ache to the woman’s words. “But my brother was.”

“I’m sorry,” you say, your response almost reflexive. You know from others that being left behind, being left with nothing more than dust and memories, was horrific. In many, different ways, it’s just like being dusted has left you feeling. “Is he safe now?”

“Yes,” is her quick, obviously relieved reply. She turns back to you, all sharp green eyes and a pleasant smile — though there’s a tightness to it now. A wall meant to shut you out, erected right before your eyes. It hurts in a way; you think it shouldn’t. The two of you are strangers to the other, after all. “We’re all safer, now that the Mad Titan and his allies are vanquished. It will not be the last cosmic threat this planet faces, but none have quite the… ambitions that he did.”

It clicks then — she must be one of the aliens you’ve heard helped the Avengers during the Blip. The ones who come and go in that orange spaceship that you’ve seen on the Tower’s helipad before. You’d seen a few members of the group itself from afar earlier, as the various branches of Avengers trickled in. With all the mingling you’ve had to do since you arrived, you hadn’t managed to make it around enough of the room to be formally introduced yet.

“What’s it like? Up there I mean?”

“It’s different. Quite different, really.” When you respond with only a tilt of your head, her eyebrows raise. Like she wasn’t expecting for you to let her explain. Her lips quirk up even more for a brief moment, and then she extends her arm for you to take.

You do so without any hesitation, letting her lead you out of the bathroom and back to the gala. She steers you past everyone else, headed straight for the wall of windows that overlook the blazing skyline of New York City at night. Only then does she unloop her arm from yours. She presses her fingertips together and then spreads her hands in a way you understand is meant as a gesture at everything beyond the window. “Think of what you know about how your realm works, and then simply imagine it on a galactic scale. Much of it translates across species, though not always a simple one-to-one.”

You listen as she explains (in very basic terms) what she means by this. Most of it goes over your head, but listening to her is a welcome distraction. Even without understanding everything she’s saying, you understand that she’s seen so much more of the universe than you ever thought exists.

The gala behind you continues on, but the two of you are left alone in peace as the beautiful stranger speaks. She pantomimes with elegant sweeps of her hands to emphasise different points, drawing your eyes to them again and again as they move. Her mouth moves in dancing lines, folding letters together to help you understand everything she speaks of. Those soft green eyes of hers move between you, the world outside, and back, again and again throughout. And she stills whenever you ask something before answering.

You are captivated by her.

It’s in the middle of explaining something about flying cat mounts on a planet called Vanaheimr that she suddenly stops speaking. Your eyes were on her hands again, and though they jump back to her face quickly, they jump right back when you see her reach into her suit pocket. She pulls out her phone, looking at the screen with something akin to annoyance. It morphs into an apologetic smile as she looks up at you. You know without her telling you that this conversation has come to an abrupt end.

“It’s my brother.”

You want to linger. Something in you longs to stay here, in this moment. But you can't. So you smile at her in return, stepping away towards the bustling floor where everyone is laughing and speaking.

“I should go mingle with the others for a bit. It was nice meeting you.”

“And you as well.”

You turn away, moving through the crowd until you find the familiar face of Nathaniel Richards. He’s one of the Avengers who has permanent residency here in the Tower, just as you and a few others do. He also happens to be the one who invited you to become a member in the first place.

It's only as Nathaniel's asking where you wandered off to that you realise you never got the beautiful strangers name. Something in you deflates at the realisation, turns to yearning as you wish you'd remembered to ask her for it.

You don't remember ever giving her your name either.

“Thorn?” Nathaniel’s voice draws you from the yearning that’s scratching at the corners of your heart.

You raise an eyebrow at him, only somewhat surprised he’s calling you by your hero identity rather than your civilian one. “Yeah, Iron Lad?”

“You alright?”

Your index finger taps against your drink, giving him a smile as you nod. “I’m fine. Just… thinking about something someone said to me once.”

Nathaniel doesn’t look entirely convinced, but he nods, returning to the conversation with the others. He’s not one to pry unnecessarily with you; it’s one of the things you like about him.

You think he doesn’t pry not because he doesn’t care, but because he trusts that you (and the others as well) will come to him, Kate, or Elijah if there was something serious you need to discuss. It’s nice, having them trust you like this. It’s been this way ever since the day you showed up at the Tower looking for an escape from the tomb of Xavier’s School.

When finally you peel yourself away from Nathaniel and the others close to an hour later, you turn to seeking out the beautiful stranger. Moving around the room to chat with a few other Avengers and mingle with guests, you try your best to find her. Every time you excuse yourself from a conversation, you look around, trying to find her. You even spend half an hour sitting at the open bar while you people-watch everyone.

There’s no sign of her the rest of the night.

When you finally leave the gala to head upstairs to your room, it’s sometime past two in the morning. All your attempts to find the beautiful stranger failed. It leaves you with an ache in your chest, a sense that you’ve missed something quite unlike what you’ve felt since the Blip’s abrupt end. Something that, if you’d had the chance or the time, might have bloomed beautifully.

You collapse into bed not long after the clock ticks past 3am. Exhaustion fills every bit of your body, but even now that beautiful stranger lingers at the forefront of your thoughts.

Somehow you don’t dream of eyes the colour of spring grass, or hair dark as a raven’s wing. At least for that night.

@ladydracona @huntress-artemiss @sarahscribbles @mischief2sarawr @pbs-theundeadmaggot @loki-cees-all @infinitystoner

Join the taglist for this fic (and other works) here!

[klausinamarink]

writers 20 questions

1. How many works do you have on AO3?

45 at the moment! I have a few more wips to post on the way so the number is going to go higher

2. What's your total AO3 word count?

130,657

3. What fandoms do you write for?

Stranger Things. I’m looking to branch to other fandoms though like The Locked Tomb in the future

4. What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

Standup, You’re Never Too Much, Recapturing the Sunset, Just Another Flesh Wound, One Kid Gone, Another Up and Vanished

5. Do you respond to comments?

Yes!! But not always as sometimes I immediately forget to reply and when I do, it’s a few weeks or a month later skkshdk forgive me

6. What is the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?

Biting Back in Anger. It’s Eddie having a bad day and blowing up at Steve, who leaves trying not to cry :)

7. What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?

uhhh most of my fics have happy endings but I think I can nominate The Tinsel Tradition. It has Steve, Eddie, and Robin building a home together in NYC, healed and happy in every queer way!

8. Do you get hate on fics?

nope, thank god

9. Do you write smut? If so, what kind?

I’ve been writing more smut recently and exploring some areas. I’m honestly gotten more comfortable though it’s still a challenge to get the right words without coming off as awkward lmao. but that’s Phil’s (@theheadlessphilosopher) job 🫶💜

10. Do you write crossovers?

I’m more of a fusion au writer who borrows the setting and elements and places my blorbos in there than a straight-up crossover. Unless that counts as a crossover? Those two terms are kinds confusing sometimes..

11. Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Not that I’m aware of.

12. Have you ever had a fic translated?

No

13. Have you ever co-written a fic before?

There are a couple folks who played around this idea with me but nothing concrete. Though I guess Phil’s beta work can count because he writes better lines and scenarios than me

14. What's your all-time favorite ship?

You’re asking me, a Steddie blog—

15. What's a WIP you want to finish but doubt you will?

oof. I have a TLOU steddie wip based on resande’s sketches, but it’s looking unlikely to be done because the person looking it as my beta reader over got busy with other things and I’ve lost the writing juice 😔

16. What are your writing strengths?

Many people tell me that I am very visceral with my descriptions, esp with horror, and setting the tension is top-notch 🥰 (I am a freak who loves gore and blood tehehehehe)

17. What are your writing weaknesses?

I have too many ideas and a problem to actually write what I want that it comes off as juvenile to me. I also have a tendency to gloss over the editing of my fic which I’m trying to break out of.

18. Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language in fic?

I honestly don’t mind it at all. However, I do get taken right out of the story if the language is written literally (like kanji for Japanese, Cyrillic for Russian, etc.) and not romanized when the character is speaking because that’s not how it works

19. First fandom you wrote for?

Warrior Cats. We all started our writing careers from that series at some point in middle school lol

20. Favorite fic you've written?

Noooo, I can’t pick favourites- I love them all equally. But FINE, I’ll say it would be When Life Gives You Pickles, Make It Into Soup. I wrote this as mostly self-indulgent because I LOVE pickle soup and is the best comfort food of all time. I think anyone making soup in general for their significant other if PEAK relationship goals because who doesn’t love soup?? Of course I had to Steddie-ify it

thanks to Devon for tagging me! Tagging others with no pressure: @thefreakandthehair @pearynice @3minsover @penny00dreadful @chaosgremlinmunson

@cranberrymoons @dies-somniator

[sapphicwizards]

The Grave Robber's Burial

If you kill someone, they execute you. Simple. If you desecrate a grave, they banish you. I never understood that. Should it not be a greater crime to jeopardize someone's immortal soul than to end their life on earth? It should be if you truly believe in the afterlife.

I found myself under several feet of stone. The blizzard outside was silent except when the wind blew at exactly the right angle to shoot a jet of ice and snow through a crack in the ceiling. The inside of the black pyramid was completely hollow except for the casket at the center. At least, that's what we thought based on the echo. We only had one lantern left.

Under the occasional wailing wind was the clank clank clank of my partner's pickax. Where the casket had been out in the open the last time I was here, it was now buried under a dome of clear ice. The pyramid had flooded at some point since then. That was probably my fault too.

The cold kills you by stripping away your will to live. It makes you forget all the reasons you have to keep going. It makes living hard and dying as easy as falling asleep. My partner, Bobby wasn't going to die easy, and he wasn't going to forget what it was he had to live for. He wouldn't let me forget. He was a good kid. Ambitious, angry, loyal to a fault. He stayed loyal no matter what.

Me, I hadn't had anything to live for in a long time. After I was banished, I came to this wild country where everything is different. The people here worship the evil sun and burn their dead. According to my people, none of them will ever see Paradise. Still, there are enough older graves to make my living. These lands were not always ruled by the sun god. I wandered, and plundered, and drank, and went through companions over the years. As an old man, I became tired and yearned for the homeland I could never return to.

I think that's what brought me to the Oracle. I climbed the steep steps of the cave, torchlight animating the shadows on the walls. She told me one thing: you will die on the twentieth day of April. The priestesses told me the message likely meant more than I knew, but they were wrong. I understood perfectly. I was going to die, and there would be no one to bury me. After that, I traveled from village to village, begging anyone who would listen to bury me according to the customs of my people. The answer was always the same.

You are a stranger. We will not waste the labor of ten men for your foreigner's superstition.

My people believe in the journey that souls undertake upon their death. We bury our dead with their belongings and we pray for their safe passage into Paradise. When you die, you are no longer protected from the wrath of the evil sun. That's why we put our dead under a foot of stone. So he cannot see them.

It was in Sunset, a town that was half in the sun's country, and half in my native land. On the sun's side is where I met Bobby. I noticed him at a laundromat. He had the dark curly hair of my countrymen and it was cut short - a sign of disgrace. I'd cut my hair when they banished me. Bobby hadn't broken the law though, he'd just broken a promise.

On cold nights by the campfire, it was difficult to avoid getting to know each other. I knew I only had a few weeks to live, so even if I was betraying him, I wanted to save him as much grief as I could. He would play his harmonica and tell me stories of our homeland. His ex-wife was also a musician, and it was obvious that he was deeply in love with her.

The day we caught sight of the pyramid is the day I told him the truth. I reassured him that the tomb was so old that we weren't really doing anything wrong. The soul inside was long gone by now - although this I knew for a fact because I'd plundered it myself a decade ago. I worried that night, but when I woke to find him tending the horses in the morning light, I knew he would come. We drank our coffee and hiked up through the wind and the cold.

This time, the black pyramid was covered in ice. The first few days were clear with the evil sun's light glinting off the white snow and falling into the black stone. On the 19th, a blizzard covered the sky, and that night is when we finally broke in. The sun would have risen on my death-day, but I'd never see it again.

Clank clank clank PLUNK.

Bobby's pickax made contact with the obsidian cover on the casket. I'd gone to sit down with the pretense of taking a quick break, but I knew what was in store for me on this day and what would happen if I stopped moving. My feet and legs ached, but slowly the sensation faded. A warm numbness overtook my whole body little by little. I felt like I was being tucked into bed, with sleep just a blink away.

"Hey boss get over here!" Bobby looked over at me and his face dropped. "Hey boss?" The young man carefully walked over the ice to my side. He took his blanket out of his pack and wrapped it around me. He tried getting me up. I'm a small old man and he is young and strong, but my legs were already far gone. "Hey man you don't want me to get all the treasure for myself do you?"

His concerned words faded into the blackness of the tomb. My tomb. My consciousness slipped away. I no longer felt cold. I felt nothing at all. Even on death's door I couldn't bring myself to believe in the afterlife. I just wanted someone to bury me.

[fandomficsnstuff]

Days Gone By Masterlist

The Beginning

Frog Season

Sickness Within

Wounded

Pride And Joy

Family

The Prisoner

Marco, Polo

The Prison

A New Addition

Strangers In The Tombs

Dead Ghosts

Family And Others

Abandoned

30 Days Without An Incident

Under The Weather

"A Sad Soul Can Kill Quicker Than A Germ"

Help

Fate Of The Human Race

Terminus

Those Who Arrive, Survive

Plagues And Blessings

Lies

Like Everyone Else

Paranoid

[wolfish-nightmares]

Game of Survival

Pairings: The Group x fem!reader

Era: Season 1-11

Warnings: TWD gore and violence. Bad language. 18+

Category: Fluff. Angst.

Word Count:

Summary: With no other choice, you must learn to play this new game of survival. 

Prologue

Season 1: 

1x1 - Days Gone Bye 1x3 - Tell It to the Frogs 1x4 - Vatos 1x5 - Wildfire 1x6 - TS-19

Season 2:

2x1 - What Lies Ahead 2x2 - Bloodletting  2x3 - Save the Last One 2x4 - Cherokee Rose 2x5 - Chupacabra  2x6 - Secrets 2x7 - Pretty Much 2x8 - Nebraska 2x9 - Triggerfinger  2x10 - 18 Miles Out 2x11 - Judge, Jury, Executioner  2x12 - Better Angels 2x13 - Beside the Dying Fire 

Season 3: 

3x1 - Seed 3x2 - Sick 3x3 - Walk With Me 3x4 - Killer Within 3x5 - Say the Word  3x6 - Hounded  3x7 - When the Dead Come Knocking 3x8 - Made to Suffer  3x9 - The Suicide King 3x10 - Home 3x11 - I Ain’t Judas 3x12 - Clear 3x13 - Arrow on the Doorpost 3x14 - Prey 3x15 - This Sorrowful Life 3x16 - Welcome to the Tombs

Season: 4

4x1 - 30 Days Without an Accident 4x2 - Infected 4x3 - Isolation 4x4 - Indifference  4x5 - Internment 4x6 - Live Bait 4x7 - Dead Weight 4x8 - Too Far Gone 4x9 - After 4x10 - Inmates 4x11 - Claimed 4x12 - Still 4x13 - Alone 4x14 - The Grove 4x15 - Us 4x16 - A

Season 5: 

5x1 - No Sanctuary  5x2 - Strangers 5x3 - Four Walls and a Roof 5x4 - Slabtown 5x6 - Self Help 5x7 - Consumed 5x8 - Coda 5x9 - What Happened and What’s Going On 5x10 - Them 5x11 - The Distance  5x12 - Remember  5x13 - Forget 5x14 - Spend 5x15 - Try 5x16 - Conquer 

Season 6: 

6x1 - First Time Again  6x2 - JSS 6x3 - Thank You 6x4 - Here’s Not Here 6x5 - Now 6x6 - Always Accountable  6x7 - Heads Up 6x8 - Start to FInish 6x9 - No Way Out 6x10 - The Next World 6x11 - Knots Untie 6x12 - Not Tomorrow Yet 6x13- The Same Boat 6x14 - Twice As Far 6x15 - East  6x16 - Last Day on Earth 

Season 7: 

7x1 - The Day Will Come When You Won’t Be 7x2 - The Well 7x3 - The Cell 7x4 - Service 7x5 - Go Getter  7x6 - Swear 7x7 - Sing Me a Song 7x8 - Hearts Still Beating 7x9 - Rock in the Road 7x10 - New Best Friends 7x11 - Hostiles and Calamities  7x12 - Say Yes 7x13 - Bury Me Here 7x14 - The Other Side  7x15 - Something They Need 7x16 - The First Day of the Rest of Your Life 

Season 8: 

8x1 - Mercy 8x2 - The Damned  8x3 - Monsters 8x4 - Some Guy  8x5 - The Big Scary U 8x6 - The King, the Widow, and Rick 8x7 - Time for After  8x8 - How It’s Gotta Be 8x9 - Honor 8x10 - The Lost and the Plunderers  8x11 - Dead or Alive Or 8x12 - The Key 8x13 - Do Not Send Us Astray  8x14 - Still Gotta Mean Something 8x15 - Worth  8x16 - Wrath

Season 9: 

9x1 - A New Beginning 9x2 - The Bridge 9x3 - Warning Signs 9x4 - The Obliged 9x5 - What Comes After 9x6 - Who Are You Now? 9x7 - Stradivarius 9x8 - Evolution 9x9 - Adaptation 9x10 - Omega 9x11 - Bounty 9x12 - Guardians 9x13 - Chokepoint 9x14 - Scars 9x15 - The Calm Before 9x16 - The Storm

Season 10: 

10x0 - Holiday Special 10x1 - Lines We Cross 10x2 - We Are the End of the World 10x3 - Ghost 10x4 - Silence the Whisperers 10x5 - What It Always Is 10x6 - Bonds 10x7 - Open Your Eyes 10x8 - The World Before 10x9 - Squeeze 10x10 - Stalker 10x11 - Morning Star 10x12 - Walk with Us 10x13 - What We Become 10x14 - Look at the Flowers 10x15 - The Tower 10x16 - A Certain Doom 10x17 - Home Sweet Home 10x18 - Find Me 10x19 - One More 10x20 - Splinter 10x21 - Diverged 10x22 - Here's Negan

Season 11: 

11x1 - Acheron: Part 1 11x2 - Acheron: Part 2 11x3 - Hunted 11x4 - Rendition 11x5 - Out of the Ashes 11x6 - On the Inside 11x7 - Promises Broken 11x8 - For Blood 11x9 - No Other Way 11x10 - New Haunts 11x11 - Rogue Element 11x12 - The Lucky Ones 11x13 - Warlords 11x14 - The Rotten Core 11x15 - Trust 11x16 - Acts of God 11x17 - Lockdown 11x18 - A New Deal 11x19 - Variant 11x20 - What's Been Lost 11x21 - Outpost 22

[dungeonbent]

DAY 3, SIDE 2

clarity alone

You don't know how you got here. One second, you were with Feferi and her friend- Euri?- and the next, there is a hopeless mass of catacombs stretching endlessly before you.

It had been Eridan to suggest visiting a bar on the first floor of the Dungeon. The most that were supposed to have been there were slimes or the odd walking mushroom; even in the quiet cheer of the tomb, ghosts weren't supposed to wander too far near the sun.

Yet the longer you stare, the more discordant the heights of the pillars. They seem to stretch higher into the ceiling, never coming to an end despite the very obvious flat surface of the roof at a tangible distance above you. It's as though the pillars pierce through and into the void beyond; the devilish architecture proof of the hollowness of the damned stars.

But beyond the pillars- beyond those damned spears into the unknown- there is still yet a stranger sight. A woman. You think it is a woman.

It was a woman. You know her words all too well.

You suspect it must be the drink but you don't blame it entirely. She stands at the end of the hall, still as the grave, with her eyes two white spotlights into your soul. Your breath puffs out of you in clouds of frost as her footsteps echo on the stone, the curl of her hair catching in a wind that should not be.

She asks you, "You read my warning. Have you any wits?"

Those must have been drowned with the drink, you want to say. That must have been how you wandered here, after all- after Feferi had been sure to reassure you that she'd protect you from the Dungeon's dangers and after her friend had gone through the trouble of procuring such good wine. You wandered away, enchanted by a bauble or a song or the two white pearls staring you down.

You try to open your mouth but ice sticks your tongue to the floor of your mouth. Your breaths gasp out in whiter puffs, so dense that you can see the snow being made within the farther she advances.

"Or is it simply that you need greater incentive?" She asks.

You can barely wring the voice from your neck when she is upon you.

It is not the usual spectre that grasps your arms; it is not a normal ghost which scrabbles for purchase on your shoulders. There is an abominable whisper seeping through her breath in tongues you can scarcely make out, syllables needlepoint sharp on the tip of your tongue as she drives ice into your veins with the mere touch of her fingers on your jaw.

Your muscles lock up with the force of dozens of spiders under your skin, your still white-hot nerves twitching wildly under flesh freezing over as she whispers curses. Whispers horrors. Whispers things that make you want to bang your head against the stone floor so that the rush of blood from the wound can drown out the words in your ear

Her fingers hook into your mouth as she forces you to your knees, frost crackling in a thin layer over your eyes as she whispers, "It would do you well to remember this. No matter how hard you look,"

Snow binds your throat before you can even cough it up.

"You cannot find me here."

The light that shines from above slams into you with a force that tears a gargled cry from your snow slick neck.

There is no more ice and there are no more strange pillars and there is no woman. There is a sound in the distance- voices you can make out, like maybe Feferi or her friend- but they mean nothing to you.

Frostbite claims your first death in the dungeon.

[thegayhimbo]

Stranger Things Tomb of Ybwen Review

If you haven't yet, be sure to check out my reviews for other Stranger Things tie-ins. Like, reblog, and let me know what your thoughts are:

Stranger Things Six

Stranger Things Halloween Special

Stranger Things The Other Side

Stranger Things Zombie Boys

Stranger Things The Bully

Stranger Things Winter Special

Synopsis: It's January 1985, two months after the group's battle with the Mind Flayer. Still reeling from the death of Bob Newby, Will becomes intrigued one day when he and Mr. Clarke discover a map containing clues from Bob to an ancient Viking treasure buried in Hawkins. Against the wishes of his friends, Will ventures into Mirkwood to look for the treasure just as a blizzard hits. Fearing for his safety, Will's friends go after him as they also begin to wonder if the treasure is real..........

Observations:

I said this before in my Halloween Special Review, but this is a personal favorite. Comics and tie-ins that focus on the Party hanging out, being friends, and having adventures (even if said adventures aren't tied to the Upside Down) are fun to read. This comic in particular takes heavily after The Goonies, a 1985 movie (which is exactly the same year this comic takes place in) written by Steven Spielberg and Chris Columbus, centering around a group of misfits who discover a map leading to a 17th century pirate treasure. It also stars a younger Sean Astin 30+ years before he played the role of Bob Newby on Stranger Things. Even the artwork for this comic pays homage to that movie:

The big differences between the movie and this comic are:

1.) The Party isn't getting chased around by a greedy family who wants the treasure for themselves. The only threat the group encounters is a nasty blizzard that leaves them trapped in the cold, forcing Mr. Clarke to come looking for them midway through.

2.) Unlike the movie, the treasure isn't given as much as importance as the reason for why Will wants to find it.

One of the things I've appreciated about the comics and tie-in materials is how they've given more focus to Will and enhanced aspects of his character that the show briefly touched upon. The Other Side did a great job demonstrating what Will's time was like in the Upside Down and what he had to do to survive. Zombie Boys helped illustrate the trauma and PTSD Will went through following the events of season 1, as well as his friends attempts to help him recover from it. This comic by comparison puts more focus on how Will reacted to Bob's death in season 2 and how he's coming to terms with that.

Will didn't just see Bob as a friend, but as a father-figure. Someone he could look up to and get advice from. Someone who could have been a part of his family had he not died. Now that Bob's gone, there's a mix of both grief and anger in Will, as well as the idea that locating this treasure could give him closure.

I don't want to spoil what the treasure is, but if you remember what Bob was like on the show, with his love of puzzles and mysteries, then you can probably guess that the treasure hunt he left clues for was more about the journey for him than about the destination.

And I would argue that's what Will learns by the end of it. He's initially bitter about the reveal regarding the treasure, but deep down, it was never really about the treasure. It was about him getting to know Bob better and connecting with him one last time through the treasure hunt Bob set up 20 years ago. It was about Will getting to say a final goodbye to someone he cared about.

It's nice seeing the other characters in this comic supporting Will through this. Mr. Clarke introduces Will to the history of how Bob formed the AV Club, and even gives him the map that kickstarts the plot. Mike, Dustin, and Lucas struggle with how to best approach Will's situation (sometimes they handle it with tact, other times they don't) and even join him on his quest despite how bad the weather gets because they recognize this is important to Will.

There's also Dustin who (despite having gotten his feet wet in the blizzard) becomes intrigued by the treasure when he sees the X on the tree and starts digging for it because he realizes there are actual clues pointing in a certain direction.

Furthermore, while the comic borrows heavily from The Goonies, it also contains a lot of references to Lord of the Rings: Will going into Mirkwood to find the treasure. The Party climbing a wintry hill just like the Fellowship climbs Caradhras in the books. Them arriving at an actual mine where the treasure is located, which Dustin is quick to name The Mines of Moria:

On a slightly related note, since Stranger Things heavily borrows references from LOTR, I have started looking at the books as one means of predicting the direction the Duffer Brothers might go in season 5. I also see many of the characters on the show paralleling characters from The Fellowship of the Ring:

Mike, Will, Dustin, and Lucas for instance all have characteristics that resemble Frodo, Sam, Merry, and Pippin. If I were to say which ones are a direct parallel to whom, I'd probably argue that Dustin has a lot of Pippin's qualities, with his natural curiosity and fun-loving nature. Lucas is Merry with his pragmatism and being the more sensible one in the group. People might disagree with me on this, but I see Mike resembling Sam with his unwavering loyalty to those he cares about while Will resembles Frodo with his kind nature and being the one established as having a connection to the main villain of the series (Sauron/Vecna). Even the comic itself has Lucas referring to Will as Frodo.

There are other parallels as well, which I may do a separate post about later if I choose to. Hopper's fake death in season 3 and battle with the Demogorgon in season 4 reminds me of Gandalf's supposed death at Khazad-Dum and the fight he and the Balrog have later on a snow-covered peak.

Back in June, I made a prediction about the possibility of the show killing off Mike, and even drew parallels between that and the way Boromir's death broke the Fellowship, and how Frodo's decision to sail to the Grey Havens at the end of the series was officially the end for the core four (Frodo, Sam, Merry, Pippin). Regardless of what fans have said, I could see a scenario where the Duffer Brothers kill off one of the main characters if they think it'll either drive the plot forward or impact the other characters in a way that affects future decisions for them moving forward. Since Mike is described on the show as being "The Heart" of the Party, and since both Will and El (two characters who have personal history with Vecna) are closest to Mike, I could see Vecna targeting Mike as a way of hurting both of them and demoralizing the group.

Finally, this is something I discussed with @spaghettificationandpretzels in one of my reviews, but since they've established on the show that the hive mind in the Upside Down connects all the way to Vecna, killing him once and for all would be similar to Sauron's downfall in the books where his defeat would decimate whatever armies he controls and the land he inhabits.

But I digress.

Some final aspects to note from this comic:

Scott Clarke is still dating Jen Woo from season 1, and they seem to have a happy relationship. I hope they both appear in the final season. I wouldn't even mind if the next comic or graphic novel centers around Mr. Clarke. People have joked online about how they wish they could know more about his personal life, and I would fully support a story focusing on that.

Also, Dustin briefly talks with Will at the beginning about signing up for Camp Know Where over the Summer. The events surrounding his time there (and how he meets Suzie) are covered in the comic Stranger Things Science Camp.

Overall, this is a fun comic and a must-read. I want to be careful about saying what is or isn't canon, especially when it comes to supplementary tie-ins, but this particular story is something I could see being part of the canon, especially because it doesn't contradict anything from the show and it helps build on a meaningful relationship from the show (Will and Bob). Check it out when you get the chance! :)