#and also it really didn't need a sequel series

[dragonwysper]

Thinking about media that I love out of nostalgia but that ideologically I hate and agree with every criticism ever made about it

[fromtheseventhhell]

Zutaras are really the original self-insert, "we understand the story soooooo much better than everybody else" girlies and they just never moved on

[twilightprince101]

Procrastinating on my work bc I'm obsessing over the Layton content in the year of our lord 2023

So this image came out as a preview thing and it got me real excited, obvs

But then I looked closer and I was like "hang on. That's weird, what's going on here? Why is Luke so young again, and does he look kinda different?

(His eyes look a bit longer, hair slightly different color?? it could just be me having slight face blindness but idk.)

Then I got to thinking. The end of Unwound Future has Luke mailing the professor about some "strange things going on," and you can see in the image that he's still young Luke as we knew him.

But also, in the Katrielle anime, Luke was shown there as well as a full on adult.

So this got me thinking of two different possibilities here:

This is a direct sequel to Unwound Future, but a prequel to the Katrielle games. AKA, "Layton the Pre-Sequel"

2. You get to explore with Luke's son. Grandpappy Layton

Both are amazing and I don't know which one I love more

[insertdisc5]

TIMELOOP GAMES REAL!??!??!!

hi i made a timeloop game called In Stars and Time and this is a whole post about other timeloop games you can also play.

some i liked. some i loved. some i didnt like. all are worth playing and like also listen the second friends and family heard i was making a timeloop game, i got bombarded with timeloop media recs. so here is a sampler in no particular order! NOTE: knowing some of those games are timeloop games is a spoiler. but. you are here. for timeloop games. so timeloop games you shall have

Outer Wilds

If you need to play one timeloop game, it's this one. Please play it blind. I swear to god you won't regret it. it's timeloops in space!!! it makes you think!!! there are so many "HOLY SHIT WAIT I GET IT NOW" moments!!! please just go play it please please please. some of the best environmental storytelling in a game. so many hints in plain sight. JUST PLAY IT

[way more timeloop games under the cut]

Oxenfree

I didn't actually like Oxenfree very much. But also it stayed in my mind for weeks after I finished playing it. that's how you know it's a good game. I really enjoyed the dialogue system in this, and how much the loop affected the characters. and it got so spooky!!!

Hikeback

i'm in the credits for this one because i was one of the inspirations heehee <3 i loved playing it… short little game about trust, self-sabotage, and never-ending cycles. highly recommend it

The Stanley Parable

Listen babes it absolutely counts. I replayed it a bunch while making ISAT, and I got immensely inspired by the dialogue, and how it catches you off guard sometimes? You get SO SO used to the narrator's "All of his coworkers were gone. What could it mean?" at the start of every game, and then for no reason instead it says "A soft wind blew outside and perhaps rain started, and if it did it stopped shortly after. Stanley hoped that he would one day see weather." like WHAT THE FUUUUCK IM GETTING CHILLS JUST THINKING ABOUT IT

12 minutes

ok i know we all made fun of this game when it came out because the story is batshit insane HOWEVER!!!!!!!! i REALLY REALLY LOVED how doing the same actions multiple times would have slightly different outcomes. If you battle someone, the first time you get knocked out in one hit and the loop restarts. the second time you try, you evade the first hit, but get knocked out. the third time, you last a little bit longer, and a little bit longer, until you can pretty much hold your own against your enemy. And it applies to so many things in this. Retrying different things to see how they would change was a delight.

this game is also so bad its almost good, and if you're interested you HAVE to play it with friends so you can yell about how bad it is together.

Zero Escape

it's just a good series ok. escape rooms, and also time loops! the 3rd game in particular goes deep into The Math of how timeloops would work, which i think is interesting. sometimes timeloop games just go "yeah you can timeloop dont worry about it" and others go "OK HERE'S THE HOW AND WHY IT WORKS" and both are interesting!

START AGAIN: a prologue

this game has almost everything i could wish for in a timeloop game. depression. lines repeating. dying brings you back. you get new levels and skills because you're aware of the loops but your party members don't. so you get overpowered next to them and they Notice. just. party members who dont know about the loops still noticing something is wrong. you are acting differently than yesterday. you look sad. you are acting weird. you know too much. how did you know where the keys were? how did you know this would happen? what's wrong? talk to us. and oh my god this game has a sequel? which will probably have Actually Everything i could wish for in a timeloop game? i can't wait. who made this? (its me i made this)

Ghost Trick

ok its not really time loops and more time travel and only for 4 minutes HOWEVER!!!! you should play it. you know you should play it because everyone says so. so go play it

Elsinore

im sure its a great game but ive never seen/read hamlet. so thats a failing on my part. because. you absolutely need to know hamlet to understand this game lol i did like the whole "make sure to find out which events are Important and which ones aren't so you can have The Perfect Loop"! very fun. or it would be. if i. knew. hamlet

The Forgotten City

a friend kept recommending it to me and i didn't like it. its good! just not for me. but if you like to think a lot you should play it. another "make sure to find out which events are Important and which ones aren't so you can have The Perfect Loop" game

Gnosia

Gonna be real. I didn't like the story very much, in part because the game lets you choose your gender but still acts like youre a straight dude. HOWEVER the gameplay was very inspiring to me. Every loop is pretty much just an among us meeting, and you have to find out who the imposters are or everyone dies and you loop again. and sometimes you ARE the imposter, so you need to make sure no one finds out. or you loop again. rules get added as time goes on too. i REALLY loved how quickly the loops stacked up. seeing "loop 100" was such a nice moment. ive been here so long! i tried to recreate that somewhat for my own game…

Loop Hero

Technically not a timeloop game, but a loop game. It still absolutely counts because it's about loops and memories, and what are loops and memories together if not a timeloop. You have your little guy going through a closed loop, battling enemies, getting cards, and making the world whole again by using those cards to make forests, towns, lakes come to life. I am famously a Story First Gameplay Second kinda player, but I did play this 45h for the gameplay alone. I learned a lot about battle balancing and randomness by playing this!

You and Me and Her: A Love Story

you know doki doki litterature club? this came before. and one might say. it's. better. in some parts (and i say that as someone who LOVED ddlc!) i won't say much except it's a dating sim but with timeloops. with a lot of what it implies. why are you dating this girl a second time? a third time? a fourth time? choose another one already! it was such a fascinating game to play, and is incredibly meta in the way it talks about dating sims and visual novels. had a lot of very impactful moments however, i played the hentai version. some of the worst, most cringy sex ive ever read and heard. however, one might say the sex is an integral part of the game and its deconstruction of hentai/dating sims…? no. just play the steam version which doesnt have the horrible sex scenes and you will have a great time i think (or play the hentai version. if you like. to watch. horrible sex scenes???)

Higurashi

knowing this is a timeloop game is a massive spoiler. however, this game is more than a decade old, so,,, honestly if you havent played higurashi what are you doing. i know i just spoiled you on it but i was also spoiled on it and i can GUARANTEE YOU that you will still have an amazing time. one more thing. you gotta play with the original sprites or you're a fake fan

I Was a Teenage Exocolonist

starts as a visual novel/management sim/dating sim kinda thing, until you realize that every replay is a new timeline. so the main character can save people, because they remembered about them dying in a previous one. i wish the timeloop would affect the game/story more (let me find a certain character quicker once ive found them in a previous playthrough!!!), but timeloop aside, it's a very fun game to play!!!

that's it! hope you will find a nice timeloop game you like

[getitoutofmymindwrites]

The crushing | joel miller x f!reader, 5.2k

Summary: This is the story of a man who had everything in the palm of his hand and traded it all for an empty space in the hollow of his heart. Or This story follows Joel, two to three years after he cheated on his wife.

Warnings: 18+ MDNI, ANGST, cheater!Joel, Joel's POV, this is NOT “The Falling” from Joel's POV, brief mention of smut (p i v) but nothing too graphic (I think), self-loathing, depression, therapy, flashbacks and memories from the past, alcohol consumption, Tommy being a supportive brother (eventually), as always let me know if I missed anything!

A/N: Ok, so, Joel gave me a whiplash on this one, he was either staring at me through the screen giving me nothing, or he was mumbling unintelligibly in my ear while I was trying to keep up with him. It started out as a final chapter, but I really think that this part should be Joel's POV and the next and -probably- final one should be the resolving, however that may come. I guess it can be read as a standalone, but if you're interested, it's a sequel to “The Falling”. I edited it seven thousand times because I kept adding things along the way, so I hope it all makes some sense and there are not too many mistakes.. Thank you for taking the time to read anything I write! Love you all! 🥰😘

P.S.: I just wanted to take a moment and let you know that I really appreciate everyone who has read, liked, commented, reblogged and asked about “The Falling”. I honestly didn't think a single soul would take the time to read that kind of story. It means more than you know and I didn’t take lightly how close to home this fic hit for some people; yet you’ve given it a chance, sharing some of your own experiences with me. I love you all, take care and I'll see you -hopefully- in the comments! 🥹🫂

Dividers by @cafekitsune & @saradika-graphics

Main Masterlist | Series Masterlist

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...need your reassurance...

...your only focus…

...for the foreseeable future...

He did make it his sole focus. Because of course, he closed the deal, even after he left that damn table like a madman. He still found a way to get what he wanted. That's the man he was. And he wasn't sure if he hated himself for it or not. But self-loathing was a daily occurrence now, so one more reason added to the list was nothing he couldn't handle.

For two years he would wake up every day, is it called waking up if he doesn’t sleep at all?, he would work his ass off, he would go home, he would sink into despair and then he would start all over again the next day. A vicious cycle consisting of 730 days in a row. The deafening silence within the walls of the house was excruciating, the loneliness was unbearable. Even the light penetrating through the windows seemed different than when you were there with him, a dullness surrounding every corner of the now barely lived in space.

You. He hadn’t seen your face in 730 days. He hadn’t smelled your scent or touched your soft skin. He barely listened to your voice anymore, any form of unavoidable communication, you preferred to be conducted by the lawyers, or via text messages, at the most. At the 731st one, he finally knew, something had to change. He couldn’t repeat another day, like all the others that came and went. He simply couldn’t.

Tommy suggested that therapy might help Joel, a few times, but he refused every one of them. Maria was keeping her distance, her place was delicate, being his brother’s wife but also his wife’s best friend. Surprisingly, she was the one who finally got through to him.

“Are you gonna stay a recluse for the rest of your miserable life, then?” Maria wonders, switching her gaze between Joel and the dining room. Everything was untouched, as you left them when you moved out, but the place felt empty, depressing, probably mirroring Joel’s existence.

Joel sighs, closing his eyes briefly. “I’m not a recluse..”, he snarls through his teeth, rolling his eyes at her. He was more than eager to be done with the dinner his sister-in-law insisted on having in his house and be left alone, in his natural state. Alone. Infuriating woman.

“What do you call that?”, Maria persists, goddamn lawyer to the bone.

“What?!” Joel spits back pissed off, looking at his brother next, for support.

“That!” she gestures around his body and his surroundings. “The way you go on for the past two years! Either get over it or do something about it!”, she doesn’t hold back, even when Tommy proposes a gentler approach. Yeah, look where it got you, is the paid answer, so Tommy steps back, shaking his head and raising his hands up in surrender.

“You’ve got him on a leash, hm?”, Joel jokes absentmindedly, “Can you breathe alright, Tommy boy?”, earning himself a hard glare from Maria.

“Maybe the wrong Miller is on a leash..” Maria mutters, causing Tommy’s eyes to widen in horror.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”, Joel retorts doing a double back at her.

“Means that freedom is for those who can bear it.”, Maria throws her napkin on her plate and leaves the room. Joel remains silent, pondering the meaning of her words. It would be a long time before he understood what she meant.

Therapy was hard.

Therapy was hard because he had to do it for himself. He had to concentrate on himself. He thought, being the contractor that he was, that he would walk into the room, get the answers he needed and fix his marriage, just as he rearranged the bricks and the wood and the steel on the construction sites.

But this wasn’t about his marriage. His marriage and the way it crumbled down was the aftermath, he came to learn. It was the outcome of insecurities, selfishness, lack of communication, ungratefulness.

He got it all wrong. Everything. Every little thing. He had to rewire his brain and change every point of view he was holding onto. Honesty. Honesty was the key.

“Why didn’t you reach out to your wife after that night?”, his therapist insists.

“I respected her boundaries.”, Joel was quick to respond.

“And what were those?”

“She didn’t want to see me.”

“Did she say that?”

“No-, I mean-, the way she left that night, she didn’t say much in general. But she blocked my number, so.”, he shrugs in defence.

“So, how can you be so sure that she didn't want to see you? Even if you're right, it doesn't mean that she didn't expect a reaction from you, or that you weren't allowed to try, if that’s what you wanted.”

“Why would she? I upset her, she needed time to think, work things out.”, Joel explains.

The therapist swipes her fingers over her lips, contemplating her approach. “Joel, you walk into your bedroom, into what is supposed to be a safe place and you see your partner with another person in an intimate moment. How does that make you feel? Just say the first words that come to mind.”, his therapist changes the point of view.

Joel shudders just at the thought of it. You, naked, flushed, lips parted and swollen, skin sweaty, breaths short and pupils blown wide, coming for anyone other than him. It would utterly destroy him. “Furious, pissed, betrayed, heartbroken.. I think I would lose it, if I’m honest.” he admits instantly, in his haste to throw the abomination of this image from his thoughts.

“I see. But in her case, you think your wife was just upset?”

“No, of course not.” Joel slightly frowns, shaking his head.

“Do you think she felt all those feelings that you just described to me?”

“I believe so, yes.”, god this is so hard.

“You believe so?” the therapist pushes, again.

Joel’s nostrils flare from the sharp inhale, “I know so.”

“So, she wasn’t just upset.” the therapist concludes and Joel agrees without meeting her eyes, “No, she wasn’t.”

Over time, Joel came to realize that his choice of words was a subconscious attempt to diminish the seriousness of his actions.

“You said in a previous session that you gave space to your wife to work things out.”

“Yeah, it was only fair.”, Joel confirms.

“So, it was hard for you to give her that space?”

“Yes, of course, I missed her every day.”

“Was that a constant in your relationship?”, the therapist wonders.

“I’m sorry, I don’t follow.”

“How did you work things out as a couple, before? I assume you had difficult times as partners, no?”

“Nothing major to be honest, my wife was a very calm and reasonable person. If anything occurred she would talk to me about it.”

“And how did you respond to that?”

“Uh, I was there to listen, we always found a solution together as a couple.”

“Hmhm, so, what changed this time?”

“What do you mean?” He knew exactly what she meant.

“Why didn’t you talk to her? Communicate with her? Maybe help her see your side of things, like you did before, find your way out of this together, as partners.” his therapist explains. “And even before the infidelity, did you let her know that something was bothering you, that you felt differently?”

"I didn't feel differently about my wife. My feelings for her never changed.", he immediately corrects her. "My love for her was never the problem," he confesses and it's the first time since his therapy began that he's shared something so personal, so private.

“But there was a problem, something was wrong if you felt the need to be intimate with another woman. So, why did you keep that from her?”

Joel opens his mouth already knowing he does not have an answer. Or that he doesn't want to give one. He shakes his head, raising his brows in a silent admission that he can’t answer that. Or he won't. His gaze is fixed on a loose thread on the fabric of the couch, his fingers keep picking on it.

“Joel?”

“I- I don’t know what you want me to say, I don’t know.” he keeps shaking his head. He can’t answer that. He won't.

He was so angry when he left the session that day. He was so angry at you. He was angry at your honesty, your clarity, your courage to have a mind of your own and to speak it freely, knowing full well that probably no one else shared the same opinions as you did. That's what he loved most about you, but now he hated it.

“Own it, Joel. Own what you have done. At least that way it will be worth something. Otherwise it was all for nothing.”

This was one of the last things you said to him on the phone, while he was trying to persuade you to change your mind about the divorce. You were always so brave about those matters. Matters of the heart, of integrity. He remembers you always talking about things that he found admirable but utopian. Easy in theory, hard in practice.

“I need to be able to sleep at night. I need to own my decisions; not because I’m always right, far from it, but at least I know I’m being honest with myself. And that matters.” he recalls one of your late-night talks.

You usually found it easier to share your most vulnerable thoughts once you were thoroughly fucked and satiated. When Joel held you in his arms, your breaths almost shared over the same pillow, your scents and your fluids mixed together.

“We’re all imperfect beings, flawed; we all feel embarrassed when we fuck up,” you continue, “it’s hard to admit our mistakes to others, I get that. But deep down we always know what we’re doing and why we’re doing it. Admitting it only helps us to be present in our lives.”

“Be present?”, Joel seems fascinated by the way your mind weaves your thoughts together into deeply rooted beliefs.

“Yes, my love, there's no greater freedom than to live your life truthfully.” you smile at him, softly. Your sleepy eyes roam his face affectionately. Your fingertips caress his jawline, your thumb pressing lightly against the bare patch of his beard. He can feel your devotion pouring from your fingers and sinking into his skin at that moment.

“That’s one of my greatest fears, you know. Living my life in ignorance, in a lie.”, you whisper your deepest insecurity against his soft lips. His hold on you tightens as he rolls you onto your back, nestling his hips between your welcoming thighs. You are safe in these arms. His arms. You surrender to him, body and soul. You can feel his growing erection pressing between your folds, already wet from your combined releases. He tenderly brushes his lips against yours and slowly licks his way into your parted mouth, as he intertwines his fingers with yours. He enters you in one fluid, slow thrust, his warm exhale cooling your wet lips. “Then let me give you something real.”

Thinking back to those moments, Joel couldn't reconcile himself to the fact that he was the one who had brought that fear of yours to life. What broke him was that it was not a lie. Your life together had not been a lie. He loved you. In fact, he was burning up for you. He was a man of control, but not with you. Never with you. You consumed his every thought; being around you for too long made his lungs constrict in pain, begging for a deep breath. Sometimes he was worried sick that if he completely let himself love you like he needed to, he would suffocate you. He loved you. And it killed him that his actions suggested otherwise.

But at some point he had to be honest with himself. He was just protecting his ego. He was trying to get the upper hand out of a shitty, compromising situation. He wasn't being thoughtful, he was being selfish. He was biding his time. He thought the longer he left ‘it’ untouched, the less it would hurt when the inevitable time of confrontation came. He was scared out of his mind that he would lose you forever. No second chances, no redemption, no reconciliation.

No lingering scent on his pillow as your hair pools there, under his chin, as you nestle your face between his neck and shoulder, breathing him in. No laughter through the enormous house, damn, why did he build it so big; you never clarified what the disbelief in your eyes meant when he said he built this house for you, while he pulls you up on your feet for a silly cowboy dance.

No more gentle touches, no more noses brushing together as a silent goodbye in the kitchen before you rush off to work. No more turning around just before you open the door to leave, running to him like a little girl, giving him quick, hungry pecks on the lips while he laughs on your mouth, squeezes your butt cheek and slaps it playfully to say goodbye. Later, baby, he would promise you, his teeth nipping at your earlobe and he could feel your skin crawling with anticipation.

No more I love yous, either breathed, either whispered, either panted, as he makes a home for himself inside your warmth.

When did he fuck you last? He used to have you every day. You craved it every day. You craved him. Why did he stop telling you he loved you every chance he got? When was the last time you said it?

A week before that fateful night, when you touched him longingly, aching for him to touch you back and he told you he had work to do, he wasn’t a teenager anymore. Why the hell did he say that? Why did he sit there and watch the light fading from your eyes? I love you, you said with a sigh against his temple and walked out of his office defeated. Why did you say that? Did you know? Did you suspect? Why didn’t you fight him? You should have said something, anything, pushed him, punched him in the chest, woken him up. Would he have woken up? Or did he need that to come to his senses? Does he have to fall? Does this falling ever stop? Does he have to let you go? Will you come back to him? Does he deserve you?

Days blurred seamlessly into one another. Joel drifted further and further away from everyone. The house haunted him, all the progress he was making within the therapy walls was dissipating once he stepped inside the cold space of his empty house. Leaving the confines of it was his first thought in the morning, while he hurriedly dressed to go to his office far earlier than necessary and his last when he closed his eyes, as he laid his weary limbs on the couch, chasing still your now long gone scent on its fabric, knowing another sleepless night was his only companion until the first rays of sunlight hit the floor-to-ceiling windows to announce the beginning of another day.

People at work tiptoed around him, not knowing how to act. It was as if he was there, but not really. He was focused solely on the Marks project, mechanically going through board meetings, paperwork and supervising the construction site. He. Just. Wasn’t. There.

Joel, will you please sign the papers?

He simply stares at the text message for a good full minute, his thumbs hovering over the screen of his phone. This was one of the rare occasions you had initiated communication with him, always about the progress of the divorce.

No, no, I won’t, the little toddler in him screams, stamping his little feet on the ground.

The papers are not ready.

Joel texts back. He keeps it simple, frightened he might not get an answer back.

Joel, we both know they are. I don’t want any of your assets or your money; this is an easy signature, please.

An easy signature? You think he cares about the houses, or the cars, or the money?

You know I can’t accept that. The house is yours and so is a good part of the money.

The point was to share this house together, Joel, don’t you think us splitting up kind of defeats the purpose? And what on earth makes you think I would ever want to go back in there?

So, there’s nothing I can do to make this easier for you?

Easier? You think money or property can make up for what you’ve done?

Of course not, I wasn’t implying anything like that. Just wanna do something for you, anything.

Can you turn back time?

Of course, he can't. So, he doesn't know what to say to that. He just keeps staring at the screen, lost in thought. After 2 minutes another text follows.

?

You know I can’t..

Sign the papers. Please.

“Is there anything in particular you want to talk about today, or should I take the lead?”

“Actually I’ve been thinking a lot about that night.”, Joel suggests for the first time. He usually lets the therapist decide where to steer the conversation, then simply refuses to elaborate until he feels ready to talk.

“What about it?”, he shifts his gaze from the window to the direction of her voice.

“I should probably rephrase that. I’m always thinking about that night, repeating it in my head again and again and I’m troubled by something I realized.”

His therapist nods to signal that she's listening.

“Why did she just leave? The more I think about it, the more it doesn’t make sense to me. She just left. No shouting, no breaking things, no attacking either me or-”, her. “Why she didn’t stay? Why she didn’t insist that I leave? She was just- so quiet.”

The therapist smiles in recognition of Joel's near breakthrough. They were beginning to get somewhere, his empathy nudging him under the surface.

“I'm really glad you mentioned that, Joel, so I'd like to take you back to that night and try to understand what might have been going through your wife's mind at that moment," she explains.

“So, she walks into the house, finds her safe space violated by her husband, and she chooses to handle the situation calmly and quietly-” Joel tries to stop her, but she already knows what he's going to ask. “I can't tell you why she chose that path, that's for her to answer, only she knows why.” His therapist continues, “She is making one request of you and one request only, can you tell me what it is?”

“She asked me to leave the house.”

“Hmhm.” the therapist looks at him expectantly.

“I just wanted to talk to her.”, Joel elaborates, “I thought that if I refused to leave, she would accept to listen to me.”

“So you forced your needs on her, while she was in a particularly fragile state of mind.”

“I should have made my intentions clearer, you mean?”

“I mean, that maybe you shouldn’t have had any expectations in the first place. Why do you think was so important to you, to explain yourself right at that moment?”

“Because I knew it was probably the last time I would see her for a while, I just wanted to ease her pain, why is that so wrong? Should I be indifferent? Would that be better?”

“Did it ever occur to you that you might be depriving her of her right to choose?” Come on, Joel, break some eggs.

Joel now begins to make connections. He rubs his hand over his face, the realization of what has really happened crushing him. “Oh, god, I-” He's been so selfish from the start. He hasn't shown you any respect, not even at this delicate moment. He didn't give you a choice as to whether you wanted to listen to him or not. He didn't even let you choose where you wanted to stay. He just made you leave the house. Did he make you believe he wanted you to leave? That he wanted her to stay? Because he didn’t. Fuck. “-I never thought about it like that.”

Fuck.

How could he be so blind? Why was he so blind?

His therapist insisted on it. Because no matter how much progress Joel made over the course of a year, he never revealed the true reason behind his infidelity.

“Joel, we’ve talked about a lot of things; you’ve tried really hard to make this all about your wife and about understanding what she was feeling and how your actions have affected her, but as I keep reminding you”, she smiles understandingly, “you’re the one in therapy, you need to heal your wounds before you even attempt to heal hers. And although it is in fact a really noble thought, this” she gestures between them, “can only work if you do it for yourself. I know it may sound selfish, but I promise you, it is not. It is the exact opposite.”

Fuck.

“Yeah?”, his voice hoarse from sleep as he answers the door after the insistent knock at it. Tommy looks at him surprised once he opens it, “You’re sleeping, already?”. No, he wasn’t. He wouldn’t call it that. But when he goes almost a week without any proper rest, passing out is the right word for what he’s doing. “Yeah, I guess I dosed off..” Joel lies. “What are you doing here?”

“I came to see you.” Tommy responds as he squeezes himself through the door to enter the house. “Yeah, sure, come on in.”, Joel mutters under his breath. “You just saw me at work this morning, is everything all right?”

“I just came to check on you.” Tommy confesses uncomfortably.

“You could have called.”

“Would you have answered?” Tommy deadpans.

Touché.

“Tell Maria I’m fine, Tommy, no need to worry about me; go spend the night where it counts.”, Joel replies in an attempt to push him away, as he walks farther into the house, rounding the kitchen island.

“Hey, brother, I’m here, I am here for you.” Tommy’s eyes narrow in pain and concern as he stares at his sibling's back, following behind him.

Joel exhales hard through his nose, his grip tight as he grabs the edges of the counter, his head lowering between his shoulder blades.

“You shouldn’t, nobody should.” Joel sighs, rubbing the pads of his fingers across his forehead.

“Ok, that’s enough.” Tommy snaps at him. “Enough self-loathing, enough resignation. Enough. You’ve punished yourself enough.”

Joel laughs at that. “Is that right? Is it enough for you? What about her?” he asks, his head turned to the side, looking at his brother over his shoulder.

“What?” Tommy is genuinely confused.

Joel turns his back, resting his waist on the edge of the counter, now looking straight at Tommy. “I should have what? Just get on with my life? Let it all be water under the bridge? Disrespect her even more?”

“Jesus..” Tommy mutters, pinching the bridge of his nose with one hand, the other resting on his hip, his eyes shut in frustration.

“Are you doing this for her? Does she even know that?”

“It doesn’t matter, Tommy!” Joel raises his voice, exasperated. “I’m not doing this for her, I’m not doing anything for her, apparently and that’s the problem.”, his voice breaks, the lump in his throat too big to push down. “She’s not here anymore, Tommy.” he’s standing fully on his feet now, pushing himself away from the counter, leaning slightly forward, like he’s trying to make his brother understand; his eyes are glazed, Tommy had never seen him so devastated before. “She’s gone. I’ve lost her.”, his palms clenched in fists in front of his chest, resisting the urge to wrap them around his shirt and rip it to shreds, as he wants to do with his heart.

“I thought therapy was working..” Tommy whispers, his eyes dropping to the floor beneath him.

“Oh, it’s working, all right!” Joel chuckles in irony, sniffing his nose. “I’m getting a front-row seat, witnessing what a piece of shit I am-”

“Hey!” Tommy tries to cut him off.

“-what on earth was she doing with me to begin with, is beyond me.”

“HEY!” Tommy's eyes bulge out of his sockets, angry at his brother's self-deprecating words. Joel bends his waist forward, puts his elbows on the island in front of him and lets his head sink in again.

“Ok.” Tommy breathes deeply to ground himself, his hands in a position of a prayer in front of his mouth, “Ok, we could both use a drink.” he realizes, as he moves to open the cupboard to grab two tumblers and the whiskey from the shelf with the drinks. “..or five.”

The two brothers drink their first round in silence, both calming their nerves down. Tommy refills their glasses without asking; he knows this is going to be a long night.

“I’m sorry I wasn’t there for you.” Tommy begins, pushing Joel’s drink back towards him. Joel wringles his brows in confusion, “What are you talking about? You’re always there for me.”

“No, I haven’t, not really.” Tommy admits, “I let Maria take over when all this happened and I’m sorry.”

“There was nothing you could do, Tommy, don’t sweat it.”

“Let me say this, please.” Tommy raises his hand, his palm facing his brother. “I was just- fuck, we all knew how much you loved her, how much you loved each other, so when it all went down, I just didn’t know how to deal with it. What to say to you, how to comfort you. I didn't know how to deal with you.”

“You blamed me.” Joel says matter-of-factly.

“No-”, Tommy weakly refuses but Joel shakes his head dismissively, interrupting him. “It’s ok, Tommy, you should.”

Tommy looks embarrassed, his cheeks slightly pinkish, not only from the whiskey. “It’s just that I- I couldn’t reconcile the image of the man you were with her, with.. you know..”, he stutters.

“..the image of a cheater. Say it.” Joel adds.

Tommy shakes his head, like he still can't believe what's happened. “Besides, while she was staying with us those first few weeks I saw how devastated she was, man- she was a shell of a woman, so I was confused, I didn’t know how-”

“Tommy. Tommy, it’s fine.” Joel feels his skin crawl visualizing you like that in his head, cutting his brother off once again; he deserves every ounce of mistrust and he knows it.

“No, it’s not.” Tommy insists. “Yes, you fucked up. Brother, you really did. You did a number on her-”, Joel’s body tenses instantly at his brother’s words, his jaw clenching as his eyes darken, moving down to his hands, his grip on the tumbler tightening, his knuckles turning white and Tommy stops abruptly, “shit, sorry, I didn’t mean-”, his face twitches with regret.

“It’s the truth. That’s exactly what I did.” Joel’s gaze seems detached as if he's somewhere else right now.

“What I meant to say, is that I should have been there for you in spite of what has happened. I can see you're suffering, it's taking its toll on you, it has been for some time now; tell me what I can do. How can I help you?” Tommy seems almost desperate, like he’s the one in need of redemption.

Your text flashes through his mind, can you turn back time?, making him smile bitterly.

“Can you turn back time?” Joel's repeating your question and as the words leave his mouth he can feel your presence next to him. That's the most he felt of you for the last three years. He's almost blissful.

“You know I can't.” Tommy sighs. Joel laughs earnestly, the irony of the moment too good not to appreciate.

“Joel, brother, please, just talk to me. Help me understand. You act like you’re the one who’s been cheated on. So, what happened? Why did you do it?” Tommy is pleading with him to give him anything.

Silence fills the room for much longer than either of them would like. Joel feels torn between telling his brother everything or keeping his mouth shut. He wants to tell him, he hasn’t told a soul, but he’s not sure he can get the words out. He’s not sure he can bear to hear the words coming out of his mouth. He’s not sure he can substantiate it, make it real. Because that’s how it feels. He talks about it and it becomes real.

But maybe this is the right thing to do. That’s what needs to be done. He needs to talk about it. He needs to tell the truth and admit the pain he’s caused. Make it real for you, too. Perhaps it is time for him to give you what is rightfully yours. Acknowledgment.

Joel’s made up his mind. He’s gonna talk to Tommy. He lifts his glass to down his drink for some liquid courage, freezing his hand in mid-air as the next words fall from his brother’s mouth. “First of all, who was it?”

“What?” Joel's eyes search Tommy’s through his glass for an explanation.

“Who did you do?”, Tommy clarifies.

Joel feels like he’s been struck by lightning. “What the hell are you talking about?”

“Who did you fuck, Joel?”, Tommy begins to feel confused, are they not on the same page here?

“You don’t know?”, Joel can barely speak now, his voice low in shock.

“No one does, not even Maria; she never told anyone.”

You told nobody? Not even your best friend? Why on earth would you do that? Did you feel ashamed? Was it just too much to talk about?

But his brain takes pity on him, helping him for once to understand. He’s connecting the dots while your voice fills the corners of his mind through his memories. His head is swarming with images of you standing in that walk-in closet, remembering what you said the last time he saw you. You’re the one I married, not her. I expected better from you, Joel, not her.

You were right.

It didn’t matter who it was. That is why. He was the one making the choice. He was the one breaking his promises, breaking your trust, breaking your heart; breaking you. He was the one who should have known better. He was the one who should have been honest. Easy in theory, hard in practice.

He feels a fresh wave of pain scattering through his body. He welcomes it. Damn, he’s craving it. He’s glad you chose to withhold the identity of the woman. Not because somehow it’s making it easier for him to defend himself, on the contrary.

There’s no one else to blame. Nobody. Just him. All of the anger, the resentment, the disappointment, all of them on him. He embraces them all. Everything. He will take it all, swallow it down and let it rot inside of him.

Joel tells Tommy everything. Everything, but her name.

previous | next

Taglist: @southernbe, @orcasoul, @auteurdelabre

[directdogman]

Dogman, how do you write SO WELL!?!? I love all your characters and I need to know what/where you find inspo from...

Ha. Every writer is just someone who apes the creative processes of their inspirations. For video game writing specifically, there's two answers for me.

Toby Fox is always gonna be a huge inspiration for me. I've written plots and characters before and had to abandon ideas after realizing I'd accidentally written part of UT again. Even some of the ideas I used were undeniably inspired by UT in a subconscious way and ofc, I included several explicit references to UT in my last series. Toby's a very clever guy who likely pays very close attention to the art he consumes and tries to figure out how to maximize how much his work connects with his audience. Whatever his process is, it works.

The other answer is a lil funnier: Scott Cawthon, but specifically the legend, not the man. For context: Back in the earlier days of the FNaF fandom, people had a hyper-inflated view of Scott Cawthon's writing skills that largely came from how little of a presence he had back in those days. In the vacuum of Scott actually explaining his own process in detail, people got caught up in his genuinely creative way of hiding exposition in his games using cryptid and (then) unexpected methods, and a narrative formed (one that he's since refuted.)

While he never implied it tmk, fans broadly believed that he constructed these sweeping and complex narratives with tons of cohesive moving parts, with the games essentially acting like the mere tip of his lore iceberg. People even thought he wrote so much that he had whole games worth of lore outlined from the beginning! In the first Dawko interview he gave, he clarified that this wasn't the case and explained roughly what his process was (basically just outlining rough theme ideas + aesthetics for future titles.)

However, that legend made younger-me's mind run wild and any time I wrote a story, it became very difficult for me to not keep writing down ideas while completing the grunt work that followed me finishing my scripts. When I finished DSaF 1, I already had DSaF 2's draft written and by the time 2 was done, I had enough lore for a 3rd game on paper (and a lot more stuff that I didn't use.) By the time three was out, I had pages upon pages of unused concepts/story ideas and more or less just had to decide to call it quits or else I'd be pumping out entries forever!

That's why if you go back to those older games, there's references that directly refer to future plot-points in pretty casual/easy to miss ways. (Like Henry's mention in DSaF 1, Dave being heartless in DSaF 2, Jack being soulless in 1, and even Blackjack being Jack's soul in 2. Most of 3's major plotpoints are implied somewhere in 2 and some of 2's in 1.)

DT is much the same. By the time I finished writing it, I had fairly detailed drafts for arcs for each of the characters, some early material ended up getting completely recontextualized (and even modified in small ways to not conflict with the wider ideas I came up with.)

I get really into writing my stories/characters and I always wonder exactly how things ended up where they are, what characters think about but don't say, etc etc. This is why I have an obscene amount of Crown lore that I have very little to do with rn (since he impacted the whole world so deeply.)

This extra stuff also includes plenty of sequel material ideas, though I didn't think I'd even get a chance to use them since DT performed pretty meagerly before the big release and I was expecting to have to move onto something new. Though it turned out that Scott didn't actually write his games this way (by his own admission), it's the correct answer for what my core writing inspiration for writing game narratives is.

Hope this helps!

[curlycow01]

Only you: The Chase

Pairing: Bucky Barnes x Reader

Summary: After escaping hydra, you and bucky move to Romania to live your lives in peace, but the universe has other plans

Warnings: None really

a/n: I didn't originally think of making a series, but I had a couple ideas so why not write them down? hope you enjoy my attempt at writing a sequel. thank you to everyone who liked and reblogged the first one. Special thanks to @wintrsoldrluvr and @lanabuckybarnes

Series Masterlist

Only you part 1:

Your breathing was ragged as you willed your legs to go faster in the dark. You were running into darkness, but you didn't care, as long as you got away from them.

Scorching red hands grabbed you from behind, their touch burning deep impressions in your skin as they yanked you back. The hands wrapped around your head to keep it still.

Your gaze landed on a familiar chair and your eyes widened with fear as Bucky was brought in, his shoulder length hair barely covering his eyes, which were so empty, completely devoid of any emotion.

They threw him in the chair and machines tortured him, his screams booming in your ears. You cried out for him, you wanted to move, to do anything to help him but the hands firmly gripped you, forcing you to watch as tears pooled in your eyes. The hands slowly suffocated you, breathing was getting harder-

You woke up with a start, gripping the mattress beneath you as you tried to steady your breathing. "Doll?" You shifted to see Bucky, sitting on a chair, with his elbow on the table.

''I'm okay" you replied in a low voice. "Another nightmare?" he asked quietly. You nodded. You both were getting nightmares since moving to Bucky's tiny apartment in Romania 2 years ago. Sleeping beside each other helped, but Bucky often stayed up at night, watching over you while you slept.

Bucky gets up and walks over to you. He lowers himself beside you and takes your hand, gently rubbing the inside of your wrist. You shift closer to him, needing his warmth. He pulls you to his chest, his light blue shirt matching the color of his eyes. You inhale his scent, which instantly calms you. Bucky senses this. "Better?" he murmurs softly. "Loads" you whisper, already feeling a bit drowsy.

"Take a nap" he suggests, his voice low and soothing. "I'll hold you" he tightens his grip slightly and you're encased in his arms as you slowly drift asleep.

You wake up a few hours later, with Bucky still holding you as he slept. You stayed in the same position, listening to his breathing and the rhythmic beating of his heart. He stirred a few minutes, his arms around you loosening.

"Hey" you whisper "sleep well?" "No nightmares" he confirms, his voice raspy. "Same" you smile. Bucky leans back a bit, but his arms are still around you. "I was thinking" he starts. You hum to let him know that you were listening.

"I read somewhere that plums help in remembering things, makes memories last longer." He takes a pause before continuing "Maybe we could go and buy some?" "Sure" you answer "I've never had plums before" He kisses the top of your head "You and me both doll"

After escaping Hydra together, Bucky started remembering parts of his life from the 1940s. He wrote them down in a notebook so he could piece them together and wouldn't forget again. You both visited the Smithsonian, which had information about Bucky during the war. He also read about Steve, who was close to him in the past.

Unlike Bucky, you didn't remember anything about your past, Hydra brainwashed you too hard and broke your mind. You didn't even know your name. Bucky offered to help, but you declined, saying that it would just be a reminder of what Hydra took from you. Your life was with Bucky now, and you were more than happy with it.

A few hours later, you both went to the Street Market to buy some plums. Bucky wore a black cap and a jacket with a brown hoodie. He was wearing a red henley underneath. He always hid his metal arm in public, other than it drawing unwanted attention, he was a little insecure about it. You were the only one who got to see his metal arm, he was comfortable and trusted you with his life.

A sea of deep purple plums were before you. Bucky was beside you, already picking a few. You reached out and grabbed one, feeling the smooth exterior and handing it to Bucky's gloved hand.

"It has spots on it" he observed. "Oh" you frowned, picking another one and inspecting it before showing it to him. "perfect" he smiles. You paid for the plums and both of you stepped on the street. Bucky took a bite out of a plum.

"How is it?" you ask curiously as he finishes eating it. "It's good." he states hesitantly. "But you taste better" he says teasingly, his eyes having a glint of mischievousness as he pulls you closer to him. A blush creeps on your cheeks "Now I'm thinking you had an ulterior motive to buying plums" you mutter.

He suddenly stills beside you, and you gave his arm a slight squeeze. "Everything okay?" "That guy across the street" he whispers "I- I think he recognized us" Your heat skipped a beat. "Should we go and check?" you ask nervously. Bucky moves forward, you following closely behind him.

Before you both could cross the street and reach the guy's shop, the guy bolted from the back. Bucky reached first and glanced at the newspaper on the counter.

You took the newspaper in your hands. The headline in Romanian said: Bombing in Vienna kills 12, including the Ruler of Wakanda, King T'chaka. A suspect was observed at the scene. A blurry shot of Bucky was under it, his face barely visible.

"This isn't true." you say firmly as you slam the paper on the counter "You were here with me this whole time! In Romania!" "You weren't in Germany!" Bucky stayed silent as you defended him. "We should head back to the apartment" you say in a low voice. He gives you a small nod. You both rush back to the apartment, but just as you were about to enter, Bucky steps infront of you. "Somebody's inside" he whispers, his face darkening. "Stay behind me"

He goes inside, his footsteps completely silent. You follow behind and see someone standing near the fridge. Captain America. you realize, the dark blue helmet reminding you of the picture Bucky kept in his notebook.

He turns around and faces you and Bucky, who was still standing infront of you. "Do you know me?" Captain America asks. "You're Steve" Bucky answers, "I read about you in a museum" The Captain places Bucky's notebook on the table. "You're lying" his gaze falls on you. "Who's she?"

Bucky glances at you, his eyes softening before he turns to answer. "Hydra brainwashed her too, but we escaped from them" Steve waits for a moment before speaking "Was that you in Vienna?"

"He wasn't" you answer before Bucky could, and you step beside him. "He was with here with me the whole time." "We don't do that anymore" Bucky finishes. Steve seems convinced. "Well, the people who think that he bombed the Conference are coming here, and they don't plan on taking either of you alive."

Bucky takes off his glove covering his metal hand. "Good strategy" he states in an emotionless voice. "This doesn't have to end in a fight Buck" Steve says. You hear multiple sets of footsteps climbing the floor. "It always ends in a fight" Bucky replies. "You pulled me from the river" Steve says urgently "Why?" "I don't know" Bucky answers "Yes you do" Steve presses firmly.

A grenade is thrown through the window, but Bucky is quick to kick it to Steve, who covers it with his shield, absorbing the impact. Armed Special Forces Soldiers break in through the window with a loud crash. They don't get the chance to fire their weapons as you and Bucky swiftly disarm them and knock them out with a couple of well-placed punches.

"We have to get out of here" Bucky murmurs to you, his breathing slightly heavy. You nod and cross the room and punch through the wooden floor to grab a bag with supplies and few notebooks containing Bucky's writings about his past.

"Let's go" you say, handing him the bag. He straps it to his chest. The door breaks down and more soldiers enter, but you and Bucky leap out the back door and land on the roof of another building. You both start sprinting away from your apartment building.

"SO MUCH FOR LIVING IN PEACE!" you yell while running. Bucky suddenly stumbles forward, causing you to stop running. "What the-" In front of you stood a man covered head to toe in a black suit, his helmet resembling a cat. He lunges forward at Bucky, but you tackle him away, causing you both to fall through the entrance of the tunnel-road.

You fall on your stomach onto the hard concrete, you aren't hurt badly, thanks to the serum. A pair of familiar hands grab you by your waist and help you up. "You okay?" asks Bucky. You nod. "They're still after us". Wasting no time, you both sprinted through the tunnel as cars sped by. A motorcycle was heading your way, threating to collide, but in one swift motion, Bucky grabs it, causing its rider to fall off and replacing himself as its driver. You quickly sat behind Bucky, wrapping your arms around him for support.

The engine roared as you both sped through the dim tunnel. "You know, this isn't how I imagined taking you on a drive" Bucky says with a hint of amusement in his voice as he takes a turn. "We're literally getting chased by a man in a cat suit and this is what you've got to say?"

Your eyes widen as you glance at the rear-view mirror to see the man in the black suit jumping from car to car like a panther, and leaps to your motorcycle, just barely managing to slash the back tire with his claws, sending you and Bucky tumbling to the ground.

The man hovers over Bucky, about to strike, but Captain America jumps forward and throws him back. You and Bucky get up as SUVs pull up and German Police surround you four, pointing guns at your heads.

Captain America stands beside you and Bucky protectively as Iron Patriot flies down, aiming a machine gun at Bucky. "Stand down" he commands "Now" He turns to Steve "Congratulations Cap. You're a criminal"

One of the cops pushes Bucky to the ground to cuff him, and you try to stop him but realize fighting isn't the play here. More chances of getting hurt and therefore reducing the likelihood of escaping. Bucky knows this. 2 cops cuff your hands behind your back and pin you to the ground alongside Bucky.

You shift your head slightly to look at him, your cheek against the cool cement as you gazed into Bucky's eyes. "I made you a promise doll" he whispers so only you could hear. "I'll get us out of here" his eyes burning with fury.

"And I'll tear apart any person who'll try to take you away from me"

[homelessmeowmeow]

my (future) fic recs for future me (and if interested, others who come across this) (with reviews!!)

a = angst

f = fluff

s = smut

hc = hurt/comfort (aka my personal fav)

stray kids

s,f -> minho hard thoughts by @milkteabinniechan omg the switch from sickly sweet to sickly sexy HELLO???? overall 10/10

s -> kidnapped by paboracha by @bandgie honestly kinda cute. but the smut is *chef's kiss*. we love being kidnapped on accident, don't we?

s -> lip ring leeknow by @withleeknow i really needed a fic to indulge in this lee know look specifically, and this gave!!! like this take was just amazing.

f,hc -> 📱skz texts — they find out you fainted from another member by @giddyfatherchris very sweet T_T. i guess i have a soft spot for fics that take care of a tired reader (probably bc i wish someone talked some sense into me LOL) but the fluff is 10/10. v fulfilling!!!

f -> hyunjin x photographer!reader (friends to lovers) by @astraystayyh this writer specifically delivers. AND I GOBBLE IT UP ALL THE TIMEEE. this one specifically feels like an actual painting yk? i love her tendency to articulate emotions so gorgeously. i mean who doesn't is the real question. REALLY RECOMMEND THIS WRITER.

a,hc,s -> ice on whiskey ─── hwang hyunjin by @starlostseungmin i will never ever hate on an enemies2lovers fic. and this one specifically!! and the ending was so fulfilling and gave me such a huge sense of belonging. really made me feel relieved for the protagonist.

s -> bangchan (not)shy by @brainddeadd two words. so dirty OMDS. but we love it! 10/10

f,s -> first time with han jisung by @straykeedz ADORABLE. it's so cute i could pass away. i did not see the day i would call smut cute, but here we are! it's so cuteee

s -> [ never enough ] hwang hyunjin by @hwajin VERY descriptive and I mean it in the best way possible! and it gave me a butterflies (im shy.) but WE LOVE! 10/10 a piece of literature for the books, might i add!!

f,a,s -> cat and mouse - lee know by @hyunnie04 we love an enemies2lovers with a little workplace exploitation T_T. but i lovee the transition into lovers and MISUNDERSTANDINGSS. and it's so lee know LMAO. loved the confession, but wow. the parts after it was so *chef's kiss*. I LOVED IT.

a,s -> horror house with lee know by @tasteleeknow-remade did i mention i loved enemies2lovers? didn't think so. I LOVE THIS TROPE SO MUCH. the angst was also just, so yummy. he's so annoying and i love it. 100/10. I could read this for the rest of my life and never get bored. GUYS! THIS IS MY FAVOURITE.

s -> sharing a bed series with skz by @skzdarlings -> bang chan ; friends2lovers -> lee know ; friends2lovers -> seo changbin ; friends2lovers -> hwang hyunjin ; friends2lovers -> han jisung ; enemies2lovers -> lee felix ; enemies2lovers -> kim seungmin ; enemies2lovers ; sequel -> yang jeongin ; enemies2lovers this entire series is so worth it! please give it a readdd.

s -> one little lie | hyung line by @candylix -> part 1 -> part 2 -> part 3 the concept O_o. but pls, this was so good. like kinda dirty, but still so good, what the heck! i wish i knew how to write bro.

Home - bang chan | f version | s version by @aeliuss guys. the fluffy version felt like i was on a cloud, but a very comfy warm one. like a warm hug. a warm cup of hot chocolate in the winter. maybe with a few marshmallows on top? THE SMUTTY VERSION?! HELLO? MY SANITY? and the ending was so cute aww

nct

s -> alpha!soulmate!jeno by @starryhyuck also very hot! why does jeno suit this trope so well compared to all the other nct members?? but yeah. i loved it. that's it.

a,s -> mad at you | l.mk by @sincerelyneo we love a little pre-angst. nah but this one was also so good. and also so mark?? you'll get what i mean when you read it. but yeah. love!

s -> Spot! (challengers!johnjae x afab!reader) by @starryhyuck omds. absolutely love love love!! i didn't even watch the movie and this was so fun. and of course the iconic due, johnjae. highly recommend!! such a hot girl read.

my favorite masterlists

stray kids masterlist by @baby-yongbok

masterlist by @2chopsticks2eyes

Lee Know Fic Recommendations by @littlemisshyperfixation

Master-masterlist by @writingforstraykids

[sissylittlefeather]

Kinktober Day 31: Biting

Happy Halloween! 🎃

Bonded Pt 2: Can't Help Falling In Love

A/N: SURPRISE!!! The last Kinktober fic is a sequel to my Halloween vampire fic from last year! AND I'm turning it into a series called Bonded! I hope you all enjoy it!

Quick reminders: you are a vampire at the Moulin Rouge in 1959 when Elvis Presley walks in. Things transpire and afterwards he asks you to turn him into a vampire... Will you?

Need to read the first part? Find it HERE.

Warnings: 18+ MInors DNI, kissing, oral sex, penetrative sex, unprotected sex, creampie, also mentions of blood (duh)

Word Count: ~2.5k

Kinktober Masterlist

"Elvis, I said no."

"Listen, honey, I told you. If you won't do it, I'll find someone who will." He's pacing back and forth across the floor of your small apartment. You brought him back here when you both woke up in the middle of the night still on that small couch. Now it's morning and he's insisting he wants you to make him like you. 

"Good luck. There aren't many of us. I only know of a couple others." He stops and turns to you. 

"I'm Elvis Presley. I can find anyone I want." You purse your lips and shake your head. 

"You sound like a petulant child." 

"Don't do that. Don't act like you're so much older than me."

"Elvis, I was born in 1832." He stops pacing and drops down on the bed next to you. 

"Oh." It comes out breathlessly and he turns towards you, brushing your hair out of your face. "You don't look a day over 25. I want that." 

"Why? Why do you want this so bad?" He sighs deeply and takes your hand in his, kissing your palm. 

"My mother died." 

"Yeah, Elvis if-"

"If I'm a vampire, I can make the important people in my life vampires and then I never have to lose anyone ever again." 

"That's really not how it works."

"Why not?" You're sure there must be a reason but you can't think of it. 

"Elvis, I'm not doing this if that's your reason. I'm not even sure I know how to do it." He drops your hand and looks at you hard. 

"Fine. I want to be immortal. I want to never be forgotten. I want to exist forever. Is that better?"

"Elvis..." He puts his hand on the side of your face and makes you look at him. 

"I trust you. Please. Help me." His blue eyes are so round and pleading that it's impossible for you to say no. If you didn't know any better you'd think he was already a vampire compelling you. 

"I'm not sure I know how." He scoffs. 

"Yes you do. Come on." You shrug. 

"I think you have to drink my blood or something." He laughs. 

"Thats it?! We could do that right now!" You shake your head and stand up out of the bed. 

"No. No Elvis. What if that's not how you do it?" 

"Then I stay human and drink a little of your blood. It's weird, but I'll survive." You look at him on the bed, a puppy, so young and eager. You're not even sure he knows what he's asking for: the long and lonely life of immortality when everyone around you ages and dies. 

"You don't want this." 

"Look. Here's the deal. I'm doing this with or without you. So you can decide if you want to help me or leave me at the mercy of some other vampire. And he may not be as-"

"She." 

"What?" 

"I've never met a male vampire. They're very rare." He raises his eyebrows. Even better. You pinch the bridge of your nose and then look at him. There's a determined look on his face and you know that if you say no, someone out there will say yes. 

"If I do this, you have to listen to me about what you need to do." He nods excitedly. 

"Yes. I'll do anything you say." 

"Okay. God, I don't even really know what I'm doing." You wring your hands and whimper. 

"I think I read in a book once that we have to have sex first."

"Wait, really?" He shakes his head with a mischievous glint in his eye. 

"Nah, but I figured if I might die I should try to fuck you one last time." 

"Elvis! You're not going to die. Just... I think I need to bite you again. And then I'll bite myself and let you drink from me." He nods seriously, all hints of mischief gone. Your stomach flip flops as he leans his head over to give you access to his neck. You crawl into his lap straddling him and he hands go to your hips to hold you in place. It's hard to ignore the fact that he does have a massive erection, but you try to and lean forward, licking the spot on his neck where you bit him last night. He whimpers a little and you feel your fangs descend. If nothing else, you are hungry and he's here and willing. 

He yelps a little as your fangs sink into his neck and he squeezes your hips a little harder. You revel in the sweet taste of his blood on your tongue. He tastes abnormally good and if you were a younger vampire you might completely drain him by accident, but after a bit you know you've had enough. You pull back and he looks at you in a daze. Good, the venom in your fangs is working. You lean down and bite your own arm, jumping a bit at how bad it hurts. 

"Here, drink." You hold your arm up for him and he presses his lips, his perfectly heart-shaped pillow lips, to the place where your blood is flowing. He moans a little, trying to get used to the taste. eventually he backs off of you and waves his hand. 

"I can't do any more. That has to be enough, right?" You're genuinely not sure, so you shrug and nod. "Fuck, I'm... I think... woah..." 

You catch him as he seems to fall backwards on the bed in slow motion and help him lay down. 

"Elvis? Elvis!" You pat his cheek and try to shake him but he's out cold. He's still breathing, though, so you tell yourself that's a good sign. You rearrange him so that he's laying correctly in the bed and lie down next to you, snuggling into his arm. 

"God, I really hope I haven't killed Elvis Presley." You mumble quietly as you let sleep take you as well. 

******

He wakes up first, so when you finally stir and open your eyes, he's staring at you. 

"Hi baby. I'm glad you're awake. Are you hungry? Do you eat food or do you want... me?" 

"Woah, Elvis, slow down. Aren't you hungry? Oh God, you didn't feed already did you?" You look around the apartment, afraid you'll see a dead girl in there somewhere, but there's nothing. He kisses your cheek and then mumbles into your neck sheepishly. 

"I'm hungry, but I still want regular food. And you. I want you." You raise one eyebrow. He should be consumed with bloodlust right now. The only thing you remember about being turned is waking up so hungry for blood that you felt like you might die. But the way his hands are all over your body right now and you feel him rubbing himself on your thigh, it seems the only thing he's consumed with is actual lust. 

"Elvis, you don't want blood?" He shakes his head, climbing on top of you and kissing down into the valley between your breasts. 

"No. But God, I need to fuck you. Please." He keeps kissing down your abdomen to the place just below your bellybutton and above your panty line. You whimper as he starts to press soft kitten licks there and slips his thumbs under the lace. "I need it. I need you so bad." 

"O-okay..." You moan softly as he pulls your panties down, his fingers immediately going to your center as he kisses up your legs. 

"So pretty... I love you..." He mumbles just before his mouth settles on your clit. 

"What? OH...." You know you need to question him about what he just said, but it feels so good you can't. "Fuck, Elvis."

You moan loudly and grab the front of his hair as he fucks you with his tongue, licking and sucking you with a fervor you've never experienced. He looks up at you with those blue eyes, face buried in your pussy, and it's a look of pure adoration. Something has gone terribly wrong. But you can't work it out right now while his tongue slides over and around your clit. 

The pleasure builds to a fever pitch in your hips and then snaps, washing over you like a tidal wave as you shudder and pulse in his mouth. He sits up on his knees eagerly as soon as you're finished and pushes his underwear down, one hand on his hard cock. 

"Was that good? Baby can I please?" You look up at him and try to figure out what's happened, but the way he begs you to let him have you makes it impossible to say no. You nod your head and he smiles, putting your ankles on his shoulders and pushing into you. Your eyes almost cross at the sensation. He's big in just the right way and, more than that, he knows how to use his size. 

"Feels... so good..." He groans as he slides in and out of you with increasing speed. You whimper as he really starts to pound you. "Not gonna last long."

"That's okay, baby." You try to reassure him, but he looks like he might cry. He bites his bottom lip and grunts. 

"Fuck... hafta.. oh!" He moans and leans over on top of you as his hips stutter into you, cock throbbing as he fills you with his cum. You try to figure out what's going on as he peppers you with kisses, but when you hear what he's whispering as he kisses you, you freeze. “I love you… I love you… I love you…” 

“Elvis, stop.” You grab his face and push him back to look him in the eyes. He's not a vampire, but something dramatic has happened. Now he's in love with you? This can't be right. 

“What? I just… I can't get enough of you. Please don't ever leave me. I'll do anything.” You shake your head. 

“It didn't work. You're not a vampire.”

“No, but that's okay. I need to be human so you can feed from me.” Your eyebrows shoot straight up. Is he volunteering to be your consistent source of food? 

“Okay. Get up. We need to find another vampire and figure out what went wrong.”

“Wrong? Honey, I-I-I love you. That's not wrong?” You look up at him and his puppy dog eyes almost break you. But this is Elvis Presley. There's no way he just fell in love with you in a matter of hours. 

“Come on.” You get out of bed and get dressed and he follows suit, eager to do anything you ask of him. 

******

You stand on the porch of the big, old house nervously, with Elvis wrapped around you from behind. He hasn't let go of you since you left the apartment, always having to have at least one hand on you. It's sweet, but it's getting a little old. 

“Just knock, honey.”

“I'm scared.” 

“Why?” He kisses your cheek. Okay, maybe it is nice to have him so devoted to you. 

“What if I really messed you up? I'm scared of what she's going to say.” 

“I don't feel messed up. I feel happier than I've been in a long time.” He nuzzles your hair and you have to remind yourself: this isn't real. You sigh and then knock on the door loudly. It slowly creaks open and you stand there frozen on the doorstep. 

“Come on, let's go in.” He whispers in your ear. 

“I can't. I have to be invited.” You whisper back. 

“Come in! Please!” You hear a woman yell from the back of the house. He moves to hold your hand as you cross the threshold. 

As you stand in the foyer, a beautiful woman of about 60 enters the room. She's unimaginably gorgeous with her white hair and green eyes and you're both a little in awe of her. 

“I am Mary. Who told you about me?” She stares intensely and you're not sure if you should be afraid or not. 

“My friend Anya.”

“Ah, yes, I know Anya. How long have you been one of us dear?” You do the math in your head quickly. 

“Just shy of a hundred years.” Elvis looks at you, amazed. 

“A young one.” 

“She's young?!” Elvis speaks for the first time and her eyes dart over to him coldly. She seems to get taller as she speaks to him. 

“I am over a thousand years old. She is a child. We won't even begin to discuss what you are.” You feel Elvis bristle and move him behind you. He doesn't object, but instead obeys you happily, reminding you of why you're there. 

“Mary, we need your help.”

“I assumed as much. What have you done?” You have a sneaking suspicion that she knows, but you say it out loud anyway. You explain to her how you tried to turn him, how he passed out and then woke up like this. She erupts in laughter. 

“Oh, you sweet young thing, you.” You're a little annoyed by her tone and her laughter. This doesn't seem like a time to be laughing. She senses your irritation and stops. “You've created a blood bond with him.” 

“A what?!” Your knees go weak and Elvis holds you up. 

“A blood bond. You didn't go far enough to turn him, just far enough to make him your familiar. He is blood bonded to you for life.”

“Oh, God.” You sink onto a bench and he sits next to you. 

“No, honey, that's bullshit. I love you. There's no blood bond or whatever.” He pats you reassuringly, but it has the opposite effect. 

“Tell me, child. How long have you known her?” He looks up at the older woman. 

“W-we met last night.” She raises her eyebrows and doesn't have to say anything else. Elvis looks back at you and shakes his head. “No. No, I feel it. It's real. No…” 

His eyes get glossy and wet like he's about to cry and you feel a lump form in your throat. Before either of you can get too emotional, though, Mary cuts in. 

“Would you like to know how to break it?” 

“Yes.” You answer without hesitation and Elvis looks like you've slapped him in the face. His mouth hangs open a bit and he blinks to get rid of the tears. The thought of going back to being without you is devastating. You take his face in your hands. “I need you to remember who you are. This will not work. You cannot give up your life and your career to follow me around like a puppy. I won't let you.”

You turn back to Mary. 

“How do we break it?” She gives you a wicked smile. 

“It's easy. You kill him.” 

******

To Be Continued

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Taglist:

@ccab @atleastpleasetelephone @deltafalax @msamarican @angschrof @lustnhim @jhoneybees @polksaladava @searchingforgravity @librababe99 @hooked-on-elvis @theelvisprincess @makethemorning @your-nanas-house @peaceloveelvis @mrspresley69

[tenpintsof-sundrop]

I really really hate to be that person - especially because I know a lot of people are under the impression that fanfic authors are greedy and we should be grateful for any comments we get, even if those comments are full of unauthorized concrit, even if they're kind of rude, even if they're weirdly self-shaming (sometimes insinuating that people should feel bad over reading the dark or smutty content in the fics or that we should feel bad for writing it in the first place even though you're also reading it??).

But like, lately, I have been getting so many comments along the lines of "this fic should be longer!!" "I wish this was a series!!" "please turn this into a series!" "I would read endless sequels of this!!!" - today someone literally commented on one of my fics saying that it was a war crime that the fic was 30k instead of being 'a whole series'. And I totally understand the mindset that if something is good, you want more of it. If you enjoy something, you want more of it. But these comments are definitely not as flattering as people think they are.

When reading those comments - it doesn't always come off as a compliment. Most of my fics range from 5k to 30k on average, and they are usually oneshots or oneshots that I have split into multiple parts in order to be more readable - most of my longer, ongoing series are abandoned because I didn't have the steam to maintain them. (Most people don't know at all how hard it is to write a good, coherent, well-plotted 100k fic and actually keep up with it.) After I post the fic I have written later this week, I will have written over 400k this year alone, with my entire AO3 having over one million words split between 79 different fics.

So often, having people look at my fics and having their only comment be to 'write more' - feels like an insult. Because I do write more. I have written more. I write consistently. (It just sucks that people have almost nothing to say about what I have already written.)

Having people look at my fics - usually very long fics - and go "hey, this would be better if it was longer!!" or "hey, that was good, but the only productive thing I have to say about it is: make it longer" - it always feels very discouraging.

It doesn't make me want to rush to write more of that fic. In fact, most of the time, I actively avoid working on sequels to fics where the only comments are 'more please' because I know the only thing people will say about the sequel is 'when are you gonna make more?' - and oftentimes, I don't intend to make more.

I have said this in another post, but the ending to my fics are always intentional. I don't write fics with the mindset of turning them into a 100 part series. I write fics with the mindset of making them like a film or a short TV series - telling a capsule of a story with a very intentional beginning, middle, and end. And if I write a sequel, it's because I feel there is more to be told - but I will also cap off that sequel with a very intentional ending.

(Also, don't get me started on the complex of - if fics don't have the classic 'happy ending' people feel like every single thread needs to be resolved until it gets to a more classic happy ending, when I love writing intentional melancholic and thoughtful endings.)

Also - in general, I feel like people don't understand how much work goes into a fic. It might take you about 2 hours to read a fic that's 30k (and a lot of people who are avid readers probably read faster than that, reading it in an hour or less) - but concepting that fic, writing that fic, and meticulously editing that fic so that it can be readable and pleasant for people takes upwards of 20 hours of work. I would say realistically, upwards of 30 hours. And those are just working hours - hours sitting at the computer actively working. That doesn't include the time spent in between workshopping the ideas in my head while I am doing other mundane tasks in life.

It's very, very easy to consume a 30k oneshot in one sitting and then hold out your plate and go "more please!!" without putting any thought into how much work went into the original fic.

All of this just to say - please think about these things next time you are commenting on a fic (or even closing a fic without commenting at all), or doing something stupid like generating a fic with AI - which steals from everyday hard working fanfic writers. Fanfiction is hard work - it's a labour of love, and it shouldn't be about blind consumerism where you finish one and then rapidly start looking for the next one. You should appreciate each one like a good, hand pulled taffy instead of gobbling them all down like cheap candy mass made by factory machines.

Yeah - I think that's it.

-your local over worked (but still passionate) fanfic writer

[starreyblueberry]

A user in one of my posts went on a small ramble about how if the OG show was aired now it would have been in the same vein as Amphibia/TOH with it having an emotional and compelling story with bits of comedy in there, and I agree so heavily?? Like truly back in the 2000s we had shown more focus on the comedy/Gag aspect of cartoons, which makes sense since their target audiences were kids of all ages, and at the time, cartoons were seen as just "kids media". It didn't need to be compelling or have a heavy emotional dialogue to it, it just needed to have some slapstick comedy, make a bunch of kids laugh, and one on their way. While today's shows have been so heavily focused on the actual character aspect, the attachment, and the environment (for good reason), it's why the sequel is so good. Yes, it's comedic but we also see so much more of why Hazel is the way she is outside of the comedy, and we see Cosmo and Wanda being proper godparents rather than pseudo-adopted parents to Timmy.

If the show had been made and created today, it would have ended up totally different. What makes Timmy a fascinating main character is the cause of how many flaws he has, and if he stuck to his character development we could really see him actually becoming happier. It's also heavily dependent on how they write Timmy's parents. Will they still write them as neglectful but actually serious, and take the whole fairy godparents adopting Timmy seriously? Showing how family is chosen and how even if you have shitty parents one day you'll find people? Or would they go the hazel route and show them still loving but distant? Im trying to think of the core values of the OG show and tbh one of them is just Timmy and his godparents being closer than his actual parents, and idk how well that would fly in a kid's show if taken seriously.

But I think it would be worth it. There could also be a bittersweet lesson about growing up, or something about Timmy still seeing his Godparents after everything, or hell him becoming a fairy could work out. Im so glad we have Hazel and I think the new show has some of the best writing compared to the OG, especially with Hazel and Dev, I just also think about how Timmy had the misfortune of having horrible writers. He was run dry and the series heavily overstayed its welcome, but if it didn't, if it had actual serious writing, if it was something more analyzing the magic system, and family dynamics, if it was just like the new show, I really think Timmy would have been done amazing, and got the proper ending he deserved :]

[byunpum]

Experiment 56 [part 5]

Neteyam x Human reader ( like a mix of human and Navi )

and sullyFAM x human reader, spider x reader , and quaritch x reader (dont blame me )

Tw: mmm neteyam baby, reader being mutant, neytiri being a sweetheart-mother, jealousy, spider being spider, Watch out for quaritch, 18+ light smut, net and spider fighting like baby girls, all the characters are aged up 20's.

POV: Y/N is surprised that it is an indispensable piece for the human race. Her family will do everything possible to keep her hidden and safe…

Experiment 56 masterlist | Experiment 56 sequel Masterlist

PART 1 | PART 2 | PART 3 | PART 4 | PART 5 | PART 6 | PART 7

Note: I loved this part, it's a bit long. So please enjoy it. I think there are only two or three parts left to finish the series, but I don't know yet. And remember that if you want me to do more stuff about other characters, go ahead, the request is open. From now on I warn you that I am not very expert in this Navi culture, but I did my best. And I'll be using events that happened in the movie, but they won't be exactly the same. And sorry for the spelling. English is not my mother tongue.

You were already on your way to marui that you shared with your family, you were so upset. How dare he say that to you, wasn't Neteyam his friend. You were not his friend?, you thought it was all clear. You and spider never worked out and decided to be friends. But now, he's saying that you and neteyam aren't compatible. But maybe spider is right… you might have some physical characteristics of a navi, but you were still a human. You were nothing… well, maybe he was right. Neteyam needed to be with someone just like him. And you well… there was only one, you. So you would have to stay alone. You would really like to know what was the purpose of your creation.

You enter the marui, everyone was there except neteyam. Tuk and kiri were in a corner playing. And neytiri, jake and loak were sitting together preparing dinner. You walk in and go straight to where neytiri is. "Here are the snails, I picked up quite a few" you affirm and hand the bag to neytiri, while changing your gaze to go sit somewhere else. "Thank you sweetheart." Said neytiri surprised by your behavior, you were never this cold to her. Everyone was silent and looked at each other. "What could be happening to her?" said jake, while looking at neytiri. "what did you do to her?" jake gives loak a punch on his arm." Ouch, I didn't do anything… she was alone on the beach" loak complains. "She won't be at it…dad what does she get y/n every month" loak looks at his father, "period?, I don't think so" jake looks at neytiri for her to confirm it.

Neytiri didn't know about the "period" thing until one day when you were 10 years old, loak came to tell her that you were dying and that she had to say goodbye to you. Neytiri ran to where you were, and saw blood coming down from your legs. She took you in her arms and ran to Norm and max's lab. She wasn't a big fan of humans, but she trusted Norm enough. He was practically her children's uncle. "What's happening to her?" asks neytiri in panic. While you are crying, loak is also crying because he thinks his sister is going to die. Norm laughs a little and explains that periods are normal for the human female body. After that, Jake helps Neytiri understand how it all works. Two months later, Neytiri was an expert. She even prepared a special kind of reusable pad for you. Mo'at was in charge of preparing some drinks to ease the pains and loak was no longer crying for his sister.

"no, it's not her period yet. She's upset." Neytiri looks at loak, and pushes him a little." Go and talk to your sister and then come and tell us what she told you" neytiri orders loak, " but mom, they are literally sending me alive to a thanator" loak complains again. "Go, listen to your mother" jake pushes loak a little bit. He gets up and walks over to you, looks back and sees his parents waving for him to keep walking. "They're such old gossips" thinks loak, arriving to where you were and sitting down next to you. There was a long silence… too long for his taste. You were ignoring him, loak saw how you were organizing your snail collection. He had to admit, you have a talent for that. But that wasn't his mission. "Hey, how nice your snails look" loak spoke, making you look at him with a murderous look," tell mom and dad I'm not going to say anything" you speak. "Please!!! They forced me to ask you" loak pushes you a little with his arm. Again there was silence…

"Loak, I had a little argument with spider, but it's nothing serious. " you said to your annoying brother, you were hoping he would stop bothering you." you said to your annoying brother, you were hoping he would stop bothering you. "ahhhh I see, it's because of that" Loak says, while trying to understand the situation. "What are you talking about? You know something" now it's loak's turn to answer. "Well, since you're my sister aka best friend, I'll tell you… Spider told me he had feelings for you. I told him to stay out of it. Because I know and we all know that you and neteyam are fucking everywhere" you roll your eyes while loak keeps talking. "he insisted… and he told me that he was happy for you, but that he still loved you and blah blah blah. I of course, am always by your side. So I told him he was an idiot and missed his chance." Loak finishes speaking, this one sitting up straight and with a goofy grin. "Thanks for being faithful, battle buddy," you say as you tap him on the back.

"you know… I don't want this to affect my friendship with spider, I love him. But… neteyam is the love of life" loak makes a disgusted face. "I don't know what you see….but if you say so. Look, then talk to spider and set the things clear, And that's it" loak strokes your hair. You go over to him and hug him. They stayed like that for a moment, until you felt the stares of your parents." Go tell those gossips, I lost a precious snail and that's it." You say to loak, "Understood, ma'am" loak stands up. You know it's true, you must go talk to spider. But that will be tomorrow.

Meanwhile on the beach, neteyam is walking straight towards spider. Spider waves to neteyam, until neteyam walks up and pushes him into the sand. "What the fuck is your problem with y/n?" neteyam asks him, while his taller figure looks up and threatens spider from above. "I don't know what you're talking about? What's wrong with you, bro?" spider stands up from the sand. "You know what I'm talking about, you and y/n. Why do you keep hurting her." Neteyam is noticeably pissed off, pupils dilated, breaths heavy and the fingers on his hand tightening with every second. "I didn't do anything to her. I was just talking to her." Spider defends himself. "Well stop talking to her." Neteyam said, as he moved closer to the boy's face. "you have to understand that she is mine now." Neteyam looks spider in the eyes, spider is not quick to be intimidated. "i know it's yours…but that doesn't take away my privilege to speak my opinion." Spider spat, neteyam was about to hit spider, he controlled himself because he knew it would be an unfair fight.

"Well you should swallow your options for yourself. Because the last opinion you're going to have will be your ass back in the shelter with the other humans." Said neteyam, as he turned around and walked to the marui. Spider stayed there in silence, like it or not neteyam was right, he didn't have any power over you. Besides, he didn't want to go back, he liked it here…after all you guys were the only family he had. He would miss you guys a lot, even neteyam, he knows neteyam threatened him because he was upset, but they were still friends. And he didn't want to walk away from Kiri, she was special to him.

Spider swallowed hard, and followed neteyam who was already farther away. When they reached Marui, everyone noticed the tension between the two men. Jake looked at loak, and loak made a face at his father that he didn't know what had happened. Meanwhile you were at neytiri's side, dinner was already served. "Come and eat, everyone. And take off those long faces," Neytiri scolded. Everyone sat down. Kiri sat next to spider. Loak on spider's left side. Tuk in the middle of jake and neytiri. And right in front of kiri and spider, there was you and neteyam. Neteyam settled close to you, and curled his tail around your waist, a very territorial action of omaticaya males. They used to do this to mark their female, as a mating signal, it was something like "she belongs to me". Neytiri noticed the action of her eldest son, and this confirmed to her that something was going on with you. Literally, neteyam was saying that you were a couple and to stay away from you. Jake looked quickly at neytiri, and she gave him a smile. They scoffed silently.

Spider was looking at neteyam serious, he saw how his tail curled more around your waist, how close you were to each other. How you and neteyam were sharing bits of food. He had to admit it bothered him, because he knew neteyam had won. Meanwhile the others at the table were enjoying the view, it was funny. Dinner was over, some of you were already going to rest, others were cleaning up. Neteyam came up to your ear. "Hey, let's go to our place, shall we?" you smile a little and nod your head. "Dad, y/n and I are going for a ride with the ikran. We'll come back later" said neteyam, while taking your hand and they go out of the marui, " watch out" said neytiri, looking at both of you. You say goodbye and leave.

"You have to get over it, you'll find someone else" said Kiri to Spider, these two were already settling in to go to sleep." I know, I should apologize to y/n tomorrow,” Spider speaks, as she settles down. “Your plan failed” Kiri mocks. Spider pushes Kiri around a bit, as the two settle down, ready to sleep.

Neteyam and you arrive at your place, you jump down from the ikran. "hey!!!, ¡Careful, you're going to hurt yourself" shouts neteyam, as he follows you. Careful, you're going to hurt yourself" shouts neteyam, as he follows you. You settle into your favorite spot, this place was beautiful. You could tell that no one was going to this place, there were bright plants and the little light that came in, so the atmosphere was perfect, quiet, cozy. Neteyam sat next to you, making you sit between his legs. "I talked to spider" said neteyam, turning to look at him. "I noticed, you guys looked annoyed". Neteyam bends down to leave several kisses on the back of your neck, he loved your scent, it was one of his favorite things. "I think he understood what I meant" neteyam speaks, between kisses. He was already kissing the side of your neck, tickling you. "Neteyam stop…". "but why?" he places his big hands on the sides of your body, lifting you up to turn you over. He lifts you up a little, and your face is right in front of his. "mmm what do you want my big boy?" you ask him as you cross your arms around his neck, neteyam moves his arms to your thighs causing you to place them around his waist, you were already sitting on top of him. "I want a kiss." You giggle a little and give him a small kiss. Neteyam moans, and you give him another. "another one." One kiss after another. "you know… you look beautiful today. I like this top you have on" neteyam points, as he slides his index finger from your chest slowly… across your breasts to your belly button. You take a deep breath… you were very faint to his touch. "I prepared it myself" you say as you watch him continue to move down, to where you needed him most." By yourself?" neteyam asks, " yes…by myself" you breathe, until you feel neteyam playing with the garter of your loincloth. "neteyam…" you moan, as you start to lift your hips, looking to release some tension. "mmm you have to take it easy, there is no rush" as he slides his hand slowly to your wetness. You move in for a kiss, neteyam already started playing with your center, as you moved your hips back and forth, trying to seek your release. "love, you are so wet…and we are just getting started" he kept moving his hand. "I need you so much…" Neteyam kissed your forehead, as he removed his hand, to lift you up and get you settled closer. You can already feel his growing bump. "me too y/n, me too." Neteyam says placing his free hand on your hips ,helping you to grind in his lap. The rest is history…

It was morning, you and neteyam had returned to the marui late at night. Neytiri saw when they arrived, how they were playing around. She even saw when you kissed before you lay down to sleep. She didn't want to say anything, until you two felt comfortable. Inside she felt something… she didn't want to interrupt in your relationship. She knew it was strange too, because of your physical naturalness. But also, she was not uncomfortable with the idea, because you could unite with him before eywa. She wanted to get this feeling off her chest. She knew how much you loved each other. She just hoped you knew what you were doing.

Neytiri stepped forward and began to lift tuk, and kiri. Spider got up a little at a time." Good morning…neytiri" he said shyly." Good morning spider" smiles neytiri, it was the first time she smiled at him. Jake was already up and on his way to where you and Neteyam were lying down. You are lying on spoons, neteyam's hand was literally hugging you completely. "ahhhh no respect anymore!!!" complains jake, " leave them alone." Neytiri scolded jake, "yeah, they were very very very very late" scoffed loak. Neytiri smiled a little, jake walked up to her and gave her a kiss on the cheek. "The family is growing…don't you think so?" he whispers in her ear, neytiri blushes a little." Yes, but don't bother them. They will know when to tell us" she received another kiss from jake. She loved this man so much.

You started to get up, you took neteyam's hand and take it away from you as you sit down. "mmm it's too early, my head hurts" you complain a little, while wiping your eyes." Sure…with the things you must have done" loak says, you blush quickly and punch her on the arm." Leave her alone…. Why are you like this?" kiri scolds loak. "Where's mom and dad?" you ask." They went out with tuk for a walk" loak said, as he reached over to his brother to pick him up. "oh, I wanted to talk to mom." You say as you sit down next to kiri, "they'll be back soon I'm sure…y/n do you want me to fix your hair?" asks kiri, you settle towards her, kiri starts to arrange some pieces of your hair. Neteyam slowly got up, while loak kept bothering him. "let me your skxáwng" says neteyam, pushing loak. " hey, tell me where were you with y/n last night?" asks loak, to his brother, he was trying to speak softly so you wouldn't hear him." Come here…come closer…. I'm not going to tell you anything" neteyam yells a little to his brother, as he gets up to go to where you were with kiri. Loak gives him a dirty look and follows him.

Spider was quiet, settling some things. He wanted to apologize to you, he knew what he had said was out of line. But he didn't know how. Meanwhile neteyam sat in front of you, enjoying the view of watching her sister fix your hair. Love this view…loak was talking to you, kiri helping you. He feels grateful…he feels like he grew up with his future partner. "hey, ma neteyam…have some water" you offer him from your cup, he takes it and swallows some. Spider takes this moment to approach you. "hey, y/n we could talk in private" says spider, neteyam looks up." Well…when kiri is done. It's okay" you accept his invitation, after all you guys are like family. You hated being on bad terms with him. Neteyam looks at you and you give him a calming smile. "Come here, sit down skxáwng" said neteyam to spider while pulling his arm. Spider sat down, he felt comfortable again. Neteyam played with his hair, while loak and he started talking. It didn't take long, until kiri finished. "Spider… aren't we going?" you say to him, as you stand up. Spider follows you. "hey, remember not to take too long… we will prepare breakfast soon" said kiri, you told him that you will be home, in less than half an hour. You and spider walked to the shore. Neteyam watched you from afar as you walked away. "hey bro, relax… y/n is your girl" said loak to him. Neteyam looks at him and then catches him by the neck to throw him to the ground. "ahh get a hold of yourselves I'm trying to find something" the two brothers ignore kiri and continue to play around.

"How about we take a ride in my ilu, while we talk" you comment, spider saw that you were in a good mood. He agreed, since spider couldn't have an ilu, he got in with you on your ilu and they set off. You rode away beyond Reef. You weren't worried, you had been here many times before. "and well…" you begin to speak, spider settles back and takes a deep breath." I'm sorry… I was out of line, I shouldn't have had an opinion about you and neteyam's relationship. I know you are perfect for each other. I just feel…jealousy. Forgive me please" Spider looked down, he was waiting for you to turn him down. In return you gave him a big hug." I forgive you idiot. I…I can't change how you feel, but I appreciate you recognizing that you were wrong." You say as you and spider share a quality smile. After all…you were friends.

It doesn't take long, until spider notices a boat in the distance." What's that?" spider points, as you look off into the distance. And yes, it was a boat speeding towards you. You and spider panicked and started to swim with your ilu, as far away as possible. But it was almost impossible, your ilu was still too young to reach very fast speeds, and that boat was approaching fast." Come on, let's go!!!" shouted spider, he looked back and could see a recognizable figure. It was the same avatar from the forest, the one that had captured them several weeks ago. The boat got close enough to drift the two of you into the water. You couldn't see who they are, because I was so focused on guiding your ilu.

When you fell into the water, you saw your ilu spinning in the water… he had hit it. Spider was a bit far away from you. As you were about to reach for him, a large hand grabbed your braid pulling you to the surface. "ahhhh let me go" you cried out in pain, the braid was a very sensitive thing. When you made eye contact with the person who had dragged you into that boat. To your surprise it was one of the avatar soldiers from the forest and the famous intimidating man. "here's the girl miles!!!! We got her!" said Lyle as he sat you down on one of the seats in the boat, while tying you up with some kind of red handcuff." Well, well… we just caught a beautiful little mermaid. hello, gorgeous do you remember me?" Quaritch came up to your face, and grabbed your chin. You spit in his face. Quaritch straightens up and wipes his face." Mmm you're lucky I like that stuff" he looks at you with a mocking look. "ok, let's go…we got our prize, straight to base" Quaritch yells to one of his soldiers who was driving.

"Spider…SPIDER!!!" you shout, but it's already useless. You see how there is no one on the surface… your tears come out of your eyes. Quaritch makes eye contact with you, and wow…. You were beautiful.

p.s: This is getting good… I've already started part 6, but I'm exhausted. It's already 3:00 am here. I've had a lot of work lately, but I still hope you like this part. Let me know what you think. I hope to have part 6 ready by tomorrow. <3

Neytiri babies: @st4rrry @valeriinee @inutheangel @gielrmn @sloppierjewel @purple7theparty @itscheybaby @ssc7514 @namorslit @ducks118 @tpwkstiles @elli-aesthetics @nao-cchi @uselessbutinteresting @msjae @austynparksandpizza @gamorxa @andyyy4444 @itssomeonereading @meivap @barbii04 @mm-nope @dorck26 @nessrin @purple7theparty @ssc7514 @sloppierjewel @yeosxxx @legendleopard100 @pandoragalora @jayzes-blog @ducks118 @laylasbunbunny @kyriekurokami @heesoftiefreak @teamanime @d4rno @dumb-fawkin-bitch-bitch @burdeningbitch @allsouls-emma @aceofheartzzz @famousbagelhandspurse @fanficblogs @lilyofthetigers @mjnij

@cherrywinesab @sloppierjewel @bubbleguppy0315 @ellielovesrobinarellano @mrs-sullys-blog @lovekeeho @vectoriscommitingcrimes @kimtaehussy @bimbotinkerbell  @aceofheartzzz @d4rno @3okutos-3ig-toe

If there is any problem with the tags, let me know. I have had many people asking me to be on the tag list, if you are not on the list yet you can send me a message.

[ot3]

Have you ever played the AA: Investigations spin-offs? If so, did you like them? I know they're kind of rough around the edges, but AAI2 is definitely my second favorite game in the entire franchise, so I'm curious to hear your opinion.

yes, i've played them both! i think they're definitely REALLY solid overall and add a ton to the series. aai2 is absolutely a huge step up for the duology but i do think people are a little bit too hard on aai1. i feel it exists in the sort of same niche as dgs1 where it maybe needed and editing pass it didn't get but is redeemed by its sequel's ability to stick the landing.

my biggest problem with aai doesn't have anything to do with any of the rough pacing or any specific case, however. i just don't fully buy yamazaki's edgeworth. there's nothing i see as egregious enough that i just won't accept it like i do with phoenix's characterization in aa6, but i feel like there's a certain degree of flanderization that happened in to his character. i feel like he gets a little bit watered down in his behaviors and actions - particularly in aai1's flashback case, where i think he's acting entirely too reasonable and helpful compared to the kind of person we knew him to be in aa1. i also think overall his dialogue was made a bit too stuffy and formal, whereas in the trilogy a strong part of what appealed to him about me was that he seemed like he should be that kind of guy but was mostly just kind of a pompous jackass, and as soon as he got pissed off most of that refinement completely drops off

it's hard to say how much of the difference in edgeworth's characterization was motivated by writing him as the protagonist rather than the antagonist or deuteragonist, and how much was a difference in approach to localization, and how much was actually yamazki's Vision. but given the state of aa5 and 6 i'm not inclined to give the man much benefit of the doubt.

with that said, though, i do think what aai2 actually did with edgeworth's arc was fantastic. 'why would edgeworth keep being a prosecutor' is a question that deserved an answer and i really appreciate they took the time to give us that answer in a satisfying way. inherited turnabout might be the strongest middle case in the franchise. it is genuinely difficult for me to wrap my mind around how you go from making aai2 to making dual destinies.

but the single most important thing the aai games had to give us was this screenshot

[dg-outlaw]

Why No Love for Red Hood: The Hill?

I think it's all in the marketing and about what's being delivered versus what readers expected.

So I almost made this post on a reblog, but I didn't want to overwhelm that thread. Plus, I'm not sure if people get mad when someone does a long reblog on their short OG post? Anyway, the point of that post was that Issue 3 of 'Red Hood: The Hill' came out and no one's really talking about it, especially Jason/Red Hood fans.

I think the biggest problem (IMO) with this series is that someone wanted to write a story about The Hill and some new characters (which is fine), but like the 'Batman: The Hill' comic (which I think this series is sort of a sequel to), it's banking off a known character, Red Hood, to be it's selling point. "Come for the Red Hood, but stay for these other characters and their story." All fine and good, but a little deceptive when the marketing leans more toward it being a Red Hood (and new 'Outlaw' friends) story rather than one where Jason is a random guest star.

Series description:

In Gotham City’s early days, The Hill was one of Gotham City’s most dangerous neighborhoods, one that required the residents to band together to keep themselves safe when the police – and sometimes even Batman – wouldn’t. Now, as the Hill finds itself gentrifying, old habits die hard as the vigilante known only as Strike works with her team to keep the town safe—but she’s not alone. Jason Todd, one of the Hill’s newest residents, is more than happy to don the visage of Red Hood to help Strike keep his new home safe. But a new villain is emerging from the shadows. Will Red Hood, Strike and the Hill’s small militia of vigilantes be able to keep their home safe?

And this brings me back to the marketing and advertising of this series, especially versus the Batman: The Hill comic.

Obviously we can see the artistic parallels between these two covers (above). Overall, good job and nice throwback, but... there's a major difference. These two are not similar.

The first cover has "THE HILL" in bold, prominent text and Batman is in the background. This says that Batman is part of the story, but he seems secondary to whatever's going on in the foreground, which is mostly true to the story.

The second cover has "RED HOOD" prominent in the title with "The Hill" as secondary and smaller. Jason is also front and center with Batman looming behind him (who only just showed up at the end of issue 3. There's only two more issues left). The character of Strike, our new protagonist and The Hill's main hero, is down at the bottom and barely in-frame, further suggesting it's more about Jason (and maybe Batman) than The Hill or other characters. Again, clever marketing and nice design nod to the original cover, but deceptive when it comes to the series content. I don't necessarily blame the cover artist here as they might've been given a different brief on what the story was about and I get the fun throwback to the old Hill cover, but these covers are almost reversed in terms of Bat-character prominence.

In the original, Batman was more intertwined in that comic's story than Jason is in his series, which further adds to the audience letdown. If anything, this series needed to go with the coffee shop musician strategy: play a bunch of cover songs to win over the crowd and then slip in your original music (OCs) here and there. Once you have your audience hooked, go all out with your original stuff and then throw in 'Wonderwall' just for kicks and to keep them invested.

Ultimately, I think the biggest problem of this series is pacing and balance. The series needs more Jason to allow readers time to invest in the new characters, but as those new characters develop through their interactions with him THEN Jason can fade back as a partner character or just random character who comes in to help out. As it is, he's a guest star in series called, 'RED HOOD: the hill' with most of Jason's actions being 'day-in-the-life' stuff or a random action panel or two.

If anything, I think Red Hood #51 and #52 did a better job of establishing Jason as a main player, but also working alongside a new hero (Strike) and citizens of The Hill in solving a case. The covers above also display a more balanced composition and preview of what you're getting. Yes, you're reading a Red Hood comic, but there will be some other significant characters playing in this sandbox that you should care about and watch out for.

Sadly, I think the untrue message DC will take away from this series if it doesn't do well is that: (1) Jason is NOT an instant seller so let's shelf him because he couldn't carry this series (that he's barely in), and (2) readers don't like these new characters (most of which are BIPOC and/or LGBTQ), so let's ditch them and do more Batman stuff. 🤦‍♂️

And that's unfortunate because I think there's potential here had this series been executed in a better way. I see where the writer wanted to go with these new characters and they actually seem like an interesting and cozy bunch, but I feel like I'm stepping into an already established found family/friend group, but I don't really know them and I'm the outsider. So eventually I'll find a random distracted moment to quietly say bye to my friend Jason and slip out before anyone notices... like the socially awkward introvert that I am.

[nihilnovisubsole]

something i've been thinking about as GDC comes around again: it's amazing to sit in the same room with Real Industry People and hear the truth of why certain story decisions happened the way they did. studio games are odd group projects that take a really long time to make, and there are many irons in the fire and many interests at play. sometimes the stars align and a team gets a laser vision, creative freedom, and the budget they need, and they ship the thing they meant to ship.

but not always. if a character you love got killed off, it's entirely possible that their original writer left or they couldn't bring the voice actor back. or leadership wanted to close down old story arcs and tie up loose ends, or someone felt new characters would bring in a new audience. if a series seemed to drop a plot thread in a sequel, it's possible that the narrative team wanted to include it and it got cut for scope. or shareholders wanted to appeal to a different part of the playerbase. or the team had internal creative conflict, or any number of reasons as simple as "it got lost in the shuffle because we did so many rewrites". [important disclosure: i'm not vagueposting about specific games here. i'm just rattling possibilities off. resemblance, unintentional, etc.]

and of course that's not a phenomenon unique to video games. tv shows make snap decisions when they get canceled before the planned end of the story or a cast member wants to leave. movies' plots can change when a new director comes on board, or they bring in a script doctor, or an actor's problems interfere with the shoot. even louisa may alcott changed little women's ending over concerns that if jo remained unmarried, the book wouldn't sell. i'm not sure whether it was her publisher or she worried about it herself, but the point is, something got altered, and it can happen anywhere.

as a fan, i found these developers' stories both comforting and vindicating. for a long time, i've felt like someone riding two horses at once: the fanfic-and-OC girl playing on other writers' playgrounds, and now also the staff writer who sees how the sausage gets made. i've been affected - probably overmuch - by a character's sad end, only to learn that some third party or outside motive influenced it. i've met writers who also didn't like where a plot was going, but didn't have enough seniority on the team to protest it. i've heard stories along the lines of, "we were trying to make lemonade, man," and what shocked me more than the revelation is the peace i gained from it. it's a miracle the games shipped at all. the things that got made, got made. between professionals, it's neither heretical nor some wild flight of irrationality to ask, "what if things had gone a different way?"

and, i mean, it would be both cynical and incorrect to wave it all off and say that no storytelling motives are ever wholesome. some characters die because it's the logical conclusion to their arc. some universes with complicated worldbuilding benefit from narrowing their focus and shaving off a few subplots. i'm just saying many things are possible. when you only sit on the fan side, it's easy to feel like Canon™ looms above you, inviolable, when you're really in conversation with it. there's a lot of power in saying "i respect the team's accomplishments, but i would've made different choices." you'd be surprised how often the team agrees with you.

[itsgrimeytime]

The Lover (Part Two) || Rick Grimes (TWD) x gn!reader

1, 2...

series taglist: @catlalice

rick grimes taglist: @golden-hoax @mgparker @zomb-1-egutzz

AVAILABLE ON AO3

The Sequel to The Nurse (my series masterlist)

Summary: A long time ago, you were Rick Grimes's nurse. Now, you loved him, and he loved you. Or at least that's where you left it off. With Judith safe in your arms and Rick distinctly not by your side, you could only hope his feelings stayed the same because they sure as hell did for you.

TWs: threatening someone's life, vague mention of murder, blades, and all things TWD.

[[A/N: Takes place right after part 1. Also, I know literally nothing about Aaron and Eric so like sorry if their characterization is off. Enjoy :))) ]]

"Where is Alexandria?"

"What?" The man asked, incredulously.

"Alexandria," you restated -voice low, hand unwavering, "-I know you come from there. I've been tailing you for hours-"

"We can't just," the man paused, eyeing the axe, "-Why do you want to go? How did you even hear about it?"

You pursed your lips, replying vaguely, "It's safe, isn't it?"

The man just skimmed over you a second, almost like he was judging you, "We can't just-"

"Is it safe?" You repeated.

He took a breath in, "Yes, yeah, it's safe, but there's a system. We can't just let anyone in. I'm sorry-"

Sirens were going off in your head, as your knuckles turned white against the handle of your axe. Your eyes twitched, and your jaw set. All you could hear was Judith, Judith, Judith-

"I need to go there," you said -simply.

The man looked at you a little like you'd explode, and he was probably right, "Why?"

"I'm a nurse, or... or I was," you deflected, voice a little softer, shakier, "-I can help. Help your people."

He seemed to think on it a moment, eyeing you. There was something else, particularly tied to your chest at the current moment, but your instincts were screaming. You needed to protect, you couldn't just let them know. But he wasn't going to budge, not until you did.

Taking in a shaky breath, you pulled the axe back and hoisted it onto your belt. Walking a few steps back, you rolled your lips in-between your teeth. It felt so heavy on your tongue, in your shoulders, almost like you couldn't do it.

"I need to be safe," you repeated, weakly.

Judith was hidden but the fabric that tied her to you like one of those slings you put babies in. It's an extra layer really, to protect her, but right now it was blocking her off from lingering eyes; from an outsider's perspective, it looked like you just had supplies there. And she was fast asleep, so she didn't move an inch.

Both men were looking at you now, and you felt your footing sway. Something in your breath catching, you really didn't want to risk her. But, she needed to be safe in the long term, cared for properly, fed, sheltered-

You inhaled, eyes darting over the two of them, and carefully pulled down the fabric over her head -revealing her head and the little hair she had. Both men stalled in place.

You mindlessly repeated, "I need to be safe."

"You..."

"That's a-" one of them swallowed, "-a baby. How long have you...?"

"Few days," you replied, shortly, "-lost our shelter, escaped."

Their eyes both swam along you for a second, as you gently pulled the fabric over her head again -she was fidgeting a little (you brushed a hand down her back, instinctively). Both men seemed to process a moment, eyes hinging on her tight to your chest. You couldn't decide whether or not to tell them more, like maybe on the off chance they'd seen anybody-

"I'm Aaron," one of the men spoke, carefully, before pointing to the other one, "-and this is my husband, Eric."

The man, Eric, smiled at you; you stood decidedly still and expressionless.

"Y/N," you responded, plainly. Something in your stomach biting up (protect, protect, protect).

"And the baby?"

You gnawed on your lip, fingers tightening into a fist -back and forth, back and forth. Your tongue felt like lead in your mouth, and you just kept darting between the men, waiting for one of them to do or say something (on guard). They both did nothing, and it made you feel a lot of things at once.

"We won't-" Aaron started, "-We're not going to hurt you, or... or the baby."

Your eyes flickered along the both of them, staring. Trying to really see what they were saying, to see if they were lying or not. Even still, you felt part of you relax. It had been a long time since someone came in peace and an even longer time since you'd allowed yourself to think that they actually were.

Taking the two of them in, you decided.

With a shaky breath, you spoke -gently, "Judith."

"Judith," Eric repeated, smiling a little -maybe trying to make you feel at ease (it did just a little), "-that's a nice name."

I didn't give it, your mind chimed.

"You said," you started, cautiously, "-You said there's a system, are you... are you a part of that system?"

"We're recruiters," Aaron clarified, "-we watch groups, and see if they're a good match for Alexandria."

"Is that-" you blinked, "-Is that what you're doing now?"

"Yes, we just spotted them, not really seen much, but yeah," Eric answered -softly, "-Why? Are you looking for someone?"

You bit your lip a second, eyeing the two of them. If anyone would know, it would be them. Anybody being around here, they were supposed to find them, watch them; if they were alive, they'd seen them or would see them.

"Her Dad," you echoed out, "-and, and her brother. His name's Rick and her brother's name is Carl. He... He wears a sheriff's hat, or... he used to-"

"Rick," Aaron spoke to himself, as if he was remembering, "-Carl, and a sheriff's hat. Okay."

You took a deep breath, something in you shaking, "Do you think you'll find them?"

Eric paused, "We can't promise anything, but we'll try our best."

You nodded, succinctly. Hands shaking a little, you clenched them into fists by your side.

"Have you eaten?"

You rolled your lip through your teeth, answering shortly (you hadn't really been speaking a lot), "Yesterday... a little."

"And Judith?" Aaron followed up.

"She has formula," you answered -briskly, "-I feed her pretty regularly."

"Good, that's-" he cleared his throat, "-that's good."

You bit at your lip, taking a deep breath in. Your eyes smoothing along the two of them, you tapped your foot, and brought one hand up to smooth along Judith's back, "So?"

Aaron sighed, looking at Eric (they shared a gentle sort of glance), "Yeah, yeah, we can... we can take you."

You let out a breath, eyes foggy up a little (your lip trembling). God, she was going to be safe. You had been working so hard-

Safe, safe, safe. She was going to be safe.

You tried to school the sob that climbed up your throat, Judith was going to be fine. Cared for, sheltered. She might be the last of the Grimes (bile twisted in your stomach) and she would live. You'd do everything in your power to make sure she did. Everything.

The men looked at you a little with pity, eyes darting to your eyes -you knew them to be shiny at this point. You wouldn't cry then, though, you'd gone so far without crying-

"Thank you," you whispered, and maybe it was a little shaky but they didn't say anything (gratefully).

"Let's figure this out," Aaron started, offering you a spot to sit and seemingly some food that was cooking on the fire. They both sat on the opposite side, probably understanding your hesitance to be near anyone. It had been a few days (as far as you knew), yeah, but you'd been running on adrenaline totally and completely.

You carefully took the food, eyeing them both extensively. If they rose a hand-

"I think," Eric interrupted the thought process, "-I think it's best if I take them back to Alexandria."

"What?" Aaron asked, seemingly concerned.

"Look," he soothed, gently touching his hand (something in your mind chimed Rick), "-you need to keep watch of the group, see if they're worth entry. And-"

His eyes darted over you and Judith, particularly your eyebags.

"-I think both of them need to be safe. As soon as possible."

"Yeah, but alone?"

"They seem to handle themselves well," Eric offered, and you slowly nodded (you were used to it all at this point), "-With the both of us, we're bound to get there in one piece."

Aaron pursed his lips, eyes skimming over his husband and then you. He seemed to look at you critically. It made you conscious of the blood staining your face and the symbolic stain of blood on your hands. You'd done a lot that you would one day regret, but with Judith? All you wanted was her safe.

"And you-" he started, "-you'll keep him safe?"

"I don't know you both, but-" you licked along your teeth, trying to find the right words, "-if Judith will be safe and he can bring me there, I'll do whatever I have to."

"So," he tsked, "-you will?"

"I'd do anything for her to be safe," you confirmed, one hand gently cupping her head, "-and that includes keeping your husband safe."

He nodded succinctly before Eric questioned, "You said you were a nurse before, right?"

Your mind flashed with bloody hands, unhinged jaws, hospital beds, bordered up doors and windows. And then, you saw the same things behind prison bars.

"Yes," you answered, shortly, "-I was the medic at my last shelter."

"And when it all started?"

You swallowed, picturing locked rooms and one last patient (Rick, Rick, Rick), "I was at work. I saw the beginning of it all."

"The frontlines," Aaron remarked, slowly.

"They kept us in the hospital," you picked at the food, absentmindedly, "-I slept in an on-call room. Saw the first few where I was, rooms became cells, walkers clawed against the glass. They would tell us about vaccines, I watched them all fail."

"Jesus Christ," Eric hissed.

"But you left, eventually?" Aaron asked, carefully.

"Eventually," you put the food into your mouth, stomach screaming out. You didn't want to remind yourself of more, it made everything in you twist and pull. It made you think of Rick and Carl now, not just the death and your coworkers. You felt a little like you might throw up.

"You'll tell me if you find them, right?"

"Rick? And-" Aaron paused a moment, "-uh, Carl?"

"Yeah," you responded, quietly.

"Hopefully," Eric eyed you (maybe deciding on what you should hear in your current state), before gently saying, "-Aaron will find them and bring them to Alexandria."

"Would you?" you asked, and they looked at you confused, so you clarified, "-Bring them to Alexandria?"

Aaron looked at Eric a second, before rolling his teeth along his lips, "Yeah, yeah... If I find them, I'll bring them."

"Rick, he might," you paused, thinking of eyepatches and sacrifices, "-he might be hesitant, he doesn't... The wrong people have made communities-"

They both looked at you attentively.

"-and without... without me and Judith, I-" you cleared your throat, eyes a little foggy, "-I don't know what he'll be like. But he's a good man, a good man. You have to bring him back to me, to... to us."

Aaron nodded, eyes flickering over you, "You have any ideas on how to get him to trust me? If I find him?"

You pursed your lips, carefully thinking. You remembered him when he lost Lori, he was barely living, the only thing that kept him sane was Carl. Judith was too much for him then. He stayed sane, kept living because of who he loved.

You'd like to say that you helped, but Carl... Carl was the reason he came back at all, and maybe, at his core, Judith. And eventually, eventually, you were on that list.

"I'd never stop... I'd never stop lookin' for ya."

"Tell him," you started, hope a flame in your chest (they're alive, they're alive), "-Tell him that you found us."