#and now i'm wondering whether I would let my family think I'm dead or if I'd have their memories erased...

[bookwyrminspiration]

Relating to your last ask on how Sophie handled your parents, I'm always interested as to what alternatives could have been. Could they have done a fake boarding school esque situation, possibly having to use Beguiling or the like to convince her parents to let her go? Could they have erased only Sophie but kept the rest of their memories intact (but they might still have to remove them from their location)? If that's beyond an average telepath's capabilities, is that something Sophie might be able to do (likely with the training she didn't have at the time)? Could she have brought them to the elven world with her and in doing so become the beginning of rebuilding the bridge between humans and elves? What do you think would be best for all parties, if the situation had been approached differently and with more care than the elves showed in canon? Would it inevitably be a tradeoff between keeping Sophie in her parents' lives and keeping her parents safe?

Oo okay alright alright! Very interesting. I'm going to go through these and assess them based on what problems may be encountered and whether they'd be a plausible alternative--but! this is just for fun and my opinion, please don't take it against you, I'm doing this enthusiastically not critically :)

Fake boarding school: I feel like this is close to an idea Sophie wondered about, and the main obstacle here would be getting them to agree--hence the beguiler thing. But then we also encounter the problem of how long would the beguiling last? Would they need to be continuously beguiled, and would the council approve using a beguiler for that when they could use an alternative? Probably not. This also requires Sophie to continue constantly lying to her parents--even more so than before--which was something she didn't think she could keep up much longer. It's not impossible, but the technicals of this seem difficult and strenuous

Erasing only Sophie: Possibly! But like you said, that level of skill is probably beyond the average telepath, making it significantly more difficult. And given what we learned from Damel, until he worked alongside Sophie, he'd never washed memories without risk of triggering them back. There would be so many things that could trigger those memories. Another question would be: how many memories are left after that? Sophie has been integral to their lives for over a decade, how are they going to fill that gap? What's Sophie-free? I think it's a plausible solution, but would be very very difficult and time consuming, and have a good risk of triggered memories (since Sophie wasn't able to help yet).

Bringing them to the elven world: At the time, the council was involved and overseeing things. I can't imagine any situation where they'd knowingly allow three humans to live in the elven world just because Sophie didn't want to leave them. There's also the fact that they are human. Sophie moves to the Lost Cities for many reason, but one of them being that she's an elf who doesn't belong in the Forbidden Cities. Her family would be just as out of place if not more so in the Lost Cities, and I don't think Sophie could do that to them. They don't speak the language (although it can be given, as we saw with Amy), they can't light leap without help, they're not going to be treated kindly by anyone else if anyone else even knows of their presence. Amy said in Nightfall that as amazing as the Lost Cities were, she could tell that she didn't belong and wanted to go back home.

I've said this before, but honestly? I don't think there is a better option than what we saw in canon, or at least I haven't encountered it yet. There's no good option, it's inherently an immoral and unethical situation, and I just can't envision one where everything works out best for everyone and could actually be implemented. Your second suggestion about erasing only Sophie could be an improvement, but I worry that retaining the rest of their memories would inevitably lead to triggered memories of Sophie, and that can only happen so many times before they'd just erase their memories fully because it wasn't working.

If everyone was super super agreeable and realism disregarded, the closest I get is if Sophie's human parents are made fully aware of the situation and then knowingly allow her to attend Foxfire and engage in the elven world while still living with her. But the elves won't let that happen and that puts a huge target on her family, who are human and can't defend themselves against the Neverseen once they enter the story more fully. It can't last

So for now (and my opinion may change) it does seem like an inevitable trade off. I don't think they're good, but the two options presented in canon (fake death or erased) are the best of a bunch of shitty options. I'm not sure what I would've picked between the two if I were in that situation, but I think Sophie picking what she did was in character, and therefore the better option for the story.

But again, these are all just my thoughts and opinions and how I've engaged with the story. There's no right answer here, and I say this all as part of an enthusiastic analytical conversation, not as critical judgement of anything :)

[donutz]

Yandere Sebastian x reader if you okay with it?

Yandere alphabet Sebastian Solace headcanons

When Sebastian gets TOO attached

— Credits to @dear-yandere for the prompt!! I probably won't do this again because I don't enjoy yanderes all that much. But don't feel bad for requesting this, I enjoyed this and had many laughs ^_^

Warnings: There's gonna be a lot, but there's no acting it out I swear; Mentions of abduction, fighting back, lashing out, escaping, punishment(NOT IN A 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝓪𝓴𝔂 WAY), dying(You don't die), isolation, crying, screaming, exploition, hurting Reader, revere/worship, breaking, manipulation, and drugging Reader!!; Remember they're just mentions, so it doesn't happen; This turns out to be bad at the end, I think, I'm just tired

Affection(How do they show their love and affection? How intense would it get)?

Sebastian would get the urge to just hug you, specifically hugging you really tight just so you can’t leave

He wouldn’t do it himself, because he doesn’t want to get too close to humans

You’d have to act out most of the affection, physical affection especially

He doesn’t mind doing acts of service, and loves quality time

Spending time with you is just so simple for him, and really builds trust between you two

That’s what he thinks

You’d have to be near dead or just really emotional in a moment for him to say he loves you

It’s not like he doesn’t! No way! Who wouldn’t?!

But maybe it’s better that others don’t love you.. Romantically of course

Family is important

It wouldn’t get too intense, just hugging you pretty tight to the point you can’t go anywhere

Or just keeping you in his shop for a long amount of time, he already took care of that radar thing, don’t worry

He really likes to stitch up any injuries or help you with them, even the smallest cuts can make him want to heal you

One time you were hanging around for a large amount of time, taking in all of the time you two spent together

You realized that you needed to go, standing up to go to the vent

He stopped you, holding your whole arm with just one of his hands, yelling for you to wait

You looked back at him shocked and confused

“... Sebastian”?

“Could you.. Just stay a little longer”?

Let’s say in this moment you had a crush on him

“Uhm. Yeah, sure, I don’t mind”.

That interaction was the start of it, of him clinging to you, wanting you to stay here

Here with him

He wondered why he felt this way

Blood(How messy are they willing to get when it comes to their darling)?

Not too bloody, he finds human blood disgusting… Well– it depends on the human

Not really, I mean he’ll admit that your blood smells gross, whether he loves you or not

He might even feel a little bit guilty after

Minus the monsters, if anybody else really touches you, he’ll just scowl but leave it alone

He’ll most likely act out on somebody who was making you uncomfortable

Maybe even kill them? But not in his shop, somebody else may smell it and allege that he had done it

He doesn’t want to hurt them… In front of you, he’d just scare them off

If they didn’t get scared off then he’d break their arm

Then you’re just in the back watching it all, looking at the prisoner and then Sebastian

“.... Oh my”.

The prisoner would yell out for help, then they’d pass out

Sebastian would try to explain to you that he was just— Removing a bad.. Prisoner?

“No it’s fine, I— I understand”…

Maybe he loves you even more after that?

Maybe you love him even more now?

Cruelty(How would they treat their darling once abducted? Would they mock them)?

Uhm.. I’m not sure!

I wouldn’t think Sebastian would abduct Reader, mainly because he wants to focus on getting out of the Hadal Blacksite

But hypothetically, if he were to…

I think he wouldn’t try to smile at you every time he saw you, to show you that he wouldn’t want to be messed with

“Sebastian, you didn’t need to abduct me”.

“Uh— What”...?

He isn’t very good at the abducting thing… Maybe that’s why those ropes are so loose…

While that’s true, it’s mainly because he doesn’t know how to tie a rope

It’s embarrassinggg… Don’t tease him too much about it

He would TRY to tease you, make it SEEM like you miss the outside

Yet in this universe, you don’t mind, at all

But that doesn’t mean you enjoy just being by yourself down here

He would never mock you! Seriously anyways

Minus me not really enjoying yandere things, I actually would think that Sebastian isn’t really good at yandere stuff

Other than just having those feelings for you, breaking your legs is… Crazy

Ugh, don’t even SPEAK about isolating you from the world, that’s somewhat worse

He knows what it’s like, and if you’re not working for Urbanshade, he wouldn’t want to put you through that

Not the person he loves!

Why would someone do that…?

Darling(Aside from abduction, would they do anything against their darling’s will)?

No, I mean if turning off that detonation system counts then yeah

Why would he abduct you just for you to die in thirty minutes?

That’s dumb.

He wouldn’t do anything romantic to you without your consent

If he did then that would mean he’d be just like those Urbanshade ‘people’

Eventually he’d just let you go

Disappointed in himself for even thinking of doing this

Sorry if you’re into abduction☹️

Exposed(How much of their heart do they bare to their darling? How vulnerable are they when it comes to their darling)?

Since he feels this way already, he might as well spill out his feelings? Right?

He’d let you read his document for free, after knowing and loving each other of course!

Randomly he’d just reveal bits and bits of his past, of Urbanshade, that stupid company…

In those emotional moments, he would talk about what had happened

Possibly even how he feels? Like everyday I mean, not about you

Actually it’s both

“How— How I FEEL ABOUT YOU IT— IT EATS AT ME EVERYDAY”!!!

Yeah

He’d turn his back to you, which is very important for a scared creature

Like a cat, I’m not saying he’s like a cat

He might like cats, or hate them, I’m not sure, just a random headcanon

He’d LOVE to open up to you, he swears!

He trusts you too, a lot

But in order for him to do that, please, don’t joke about his past

Sebastian can be very vulnerable, one time he was resting his head in your lap

Somehow

A huge creature on your lap, his head the size of your torso, it was nice

Fight(How would they feel if their darling fought back)?

There’s no point, he can crush your head with his hand

He would regret not drugging you

He’d slap you so you can pass out, but he doesn't want to hurt you! At all!

Please don’t fight back, you’re making it harder than it needs to be

You’re hanging up by the back of your shirt, with his claw, flailing

“Oh my god!! Sebastian I’m choking”.

“Oh, sorry”.

That wasn’t serious

He just might yell at you to stop fighting

Game(Is this a game to them? How much would they enjoy watching their darling try to escape)?

No, he’d be very annoyed every time you’d escape, it just shows how sane you are

The more times you try to escape, the more days you stay down here

Because if you escape then you might tell Urbanshade about him, they’re the only ones who know he’s alive so they might believe you

It’s better to just play into it, so you can leave earlier and be mentally okay

He doesn’t enjoy cat and mouse, not with you

I mean if he was hunting somebody down at that dumb company, he would LOVE it, temporarily

It’d get annoying after some time

He doesn’t enjoy watching you struggle and squirm in those barely tight ropes

He’d tell you to just give up, he’s not going to let you go

After many attempts of escaping, he’ll give you a HUGE tip

“If you want to escape so badly, then START loving me”.

If you’re smart enough, you’ll get that pretending that you love him will get you out of here

If you aren’t and keep escaping, it’s not going to go good for you

He may not be good at ropes, but he may be good with certain drugs

To keep you down here of course

He wouldn’t want to manipulate you into loving him

… He might have to though

Hell(What would be their darling’s worst experience with them)?

I would guess him giving you your ‘every-other-day’ drugs  so you can stay with him

Being convinced that you’ll stay down here with him forever is a bad one

Uhm… Him yelling at you?

God, he really doesn’t want to make it hard for you! Just LOVE HIM ALREADY!!!

IT ISN’T THAT HARD.

Or maybe it is

Abducting you wasn’t the best option so you can love him

He doesn’t enjoy isolating you from the world, but he can’t just have you getting with anybody else!!

No he—... He could never let you with anybody else

😈😈

Ideals(What kind of future do they have in mind for/with their darling)?

He’d hope you’d love him back

So he could let you go

He doesn’t want you to stay down here

He doesn’t want to drug you

It hurts

He doesn’t want for you to go through the same thing he did

Minus the experiments

Maybe not marriage, but being together romantically is a dream for him

He imagines being more happier

Happier with you

You’re so important to him :(

Imagining being at the surface, being Solace again

Oh what a dream.

He’d marry you if he was human

He is NOT HAVING KIDS!!!

It’s not just the sex part, it’s having to deal with kids

Don’t tell anybody I said this but… I think Sebastian is asexual...

Shh shhh…

Jealousy(Do they get jealous? Do they lash out or find a way to cope)?

He can get really jealous, only if he sees anybody else being friendly with you

Unless it’s the other monsters, he’d be surprised but also proud

Of the monster, but it also depends on the monster

If it was Eyefestation or The p.AI.nter he’d feel very proud

Getting along with a human is… Strange down here

To realize they’re all not bad

Some of them are good

Anyways, if you start to talk about your (possible)friends at the surface then his face expression would change

From a restful expression to slightly stressed and furious

He immediately wipes that expression off his face

Sebastian doesn’t want you to realize he’s jealous

Too bad you already noticed

“What? You jealous or something?” You tease

“No I’m just.. Surprised you have friends”.

“Ouch, oh wow you hurt me”!

He tries to not lash out, but maybe a distraction can work or something

“Heyyy! Y’know I think that I wouldn’t mind ONE person leaving MY shop RIGHT NOW”.

You two look at him with confusion

“AN INDIVIDUAL WHO I DON’T KNOW?” He hints

Your friend flashes him with a flash beacon

“WH—” Sebastian wipes his hands over his face

You look at your friend and get close to them while looking at Sebastian, “Alright I think you should—” 

“GET OUT”!!!

After they leave, you talk with Sebastian, trying to figure out what was going on before he got beamed

Apparently he was, ‘tired of intruders’

Kisses(How do they act around or with their darling)?

He can act kind of bashful when it’s just the two of you

He seems annoyed when you tease him but he doesn’t mind all that much

He jokes or flirts at times

Whenever he’s flustered he looks away, and you can tell by the lean of his head

He doesn’t try to act nonchalant or extremely confident, he’s just himself

He gets more on edge around others, but they get softer and less rigid around you

 You guys would seem like really good friends from a different point of view

Not really with the back-and-forth flirts you two do

If you say something that’ll REALLY get to him, he’ll go silent

And if he could, he would blush

Love letters(How would they go about courting or approaching their darling)?

I would think you’d confess first

He really doesn’t want to ruin the relationship between you two

But if he ends up confessing first then it would be on accident

He’d be rambling and then all of the sudden,

“And that’s because I love you and—”

Something like that

He didn’t even catch what he said so you’d have to call him out on it

“Wait what did you just say”?

“Huh”?

“Like— What was that last part”?

“Oh you mean ____”?

“No I mean before that”.

Then he’d look all confused until he realized what he said

Silence…

“Don’t worry I love you too I just wouldn’t think you’d say it so suddenly.” You laugh

Maybe if he was corny and back in college or something(If he was even in college) and HUMAN, he’d give you a love letter

I would think Sebastian would be good with poetry

Perchance

Mask(Are their true colors drastically different from the way they act around everyone else)?

Yeah, but he wouldn’t make it too obvious that he likes you

Unless he was around somebody who’s emotionally intelligent, or intelligent in love

Then they’d definitely get the hint

He sounds more stern and angry around others, but with you he sounds more soft and calm

His voice is more lowered, not in a alpha🐺🐺 way but I mean more comfortable

Maybe even some voice cracks? If that’s possible

Make fun of him afterwards, it’s worth it even after he looks mad

Letting you hang around in the shop is diabolical, he just really hopes somebody doesn’t come across you two

Seeing him with his guard down and chilling with a human is his worst nightmare

Minus Urbanshade

It gets worse if they start to make fun of him for being around a human

He’s just more… Serene.

Around you

Naughty(How would they punish their darling)?

Oh uhm

We’re not getting 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝓪𝓴𝔂 but, he would just make the days longer for you and give you MORE drugs

If you insult him he tries to not act out on it, he thinks it makes him weak

Letting insults get to you is weak

In his opinion

So the insults don’t have much consequences minus an annoyed stare

Oppression(How many rights would they take away from their darling)?

Maybe screaming?

I’m sorry I’m not too good with this yandere stuff

It’s uhh… Interesting to me😁

Patience(How patient are they with their darling)?

I mean unless you’re screaming for hours on end he can be pretty patient

But if you scream too much he’ll just have to put duct tape over your mouth

He’ll wait, and wait for you to just accept him

He really doesn’t want to keep you trapped down here

I know I’ve already said it but he REALLY doesn’t want you down here

If you’re obedient then he’ll just let you out early

If you’re obedient AND love him that is

He doesn’t want you to go telling others about what happens

Unless you make a deal

Likeeee

“If you let me go and we can spend more time together then maybe I could fall for you. Instead of drugging me and keeping me down here, I could actually love you”.

He’ll think about it then agree to it

And guess what!

You ended up loving him

Possibly…

Quit(If their darling dies, leaves, or successfully escapes, would they ever be able to move on)?

He’d just give up after some time, expecting this

Expecting for people to leave him again

Humans

Let me split this up

— Dying

Holy MOLY.

He’s grieving forever

Your death would be the last thing he thinks of before crying to sleep

He HATES being reminded of your death every single day

Sometimes he thinks of not even meeting you in the first place

Then he wouldn’t feel this way, about a human

I mean seriously, if you couldn’t come back and I’m talking about realistically, he would be super duper sad!!

— Leaving

He knows it’s better for you, but he wants you with himmm

Unless you can get him out of here

Please get him out of here

He’s going to miss you, a lot

It’s been a year daddy

Sorry☹️

— Escaping

Oh my god!! How did you do that with those ‘tight’ ropes on your wrists!!

He’d be PISSED.

Searching for you, EVERYWHERE

It’s not like you’d go that far, or find those endless rooms

Right?

RIGHT???

Pretty please don’t escape, he just might catch you

Then he’s not letting you go, since it’s OBVIOUS you don’t love him AND you’re not obedient

Regret(Would they ever feel guilty about abducting their darling? Would they ever let their darling go)?

ONE HUNDRED PERCENT

He would regret it everyday that you’re down here!

Sebastian doesn’t want to!! He just needs you!!!

He feels pretty bad for capturing you down here

Constantly worrying about if your head will pop from the pressure

Sometimes he thinks that he abducted the wrong person

He’d let you go if you loved him back, possibly even on the first day!

You’d be really lucky if he did that

Butttt, you’d HAVE to promise you won’t tell anybody about this

That he’s down here, other than the prisoners and monsters

A weight would be carried off his back when he would let you go

Stigma(What brought about this side of them [childhood, curiosity, etc])?

Loving you?... Or a sprinkle of no good human interaction?

He’s never gotten so close with somebody, except for family or having friends at school

Feeling this way about a human after the experiments hit him pretty hard

So I would think that the reason he feels this way could be because of the experiments

It’s affected him a lot, especially how he feels about the human species

He’s forgot some things, so he can’t really recall a good human action that’s happened to him

Him loving you and negative human interaction mixed together is the factor on why he feels this way

Tears(How do they feel about seeing their darling scream, cry, and/or isolate themselves)?

I wouldn’t say he’s a sadist, to you

If it were somebody bad dying then he’d smile

Heh… When I smile, RUN😈

I would love for Gianni to say that

Anywho, he wouldn’t enjoy seeing you suffer like that

It reminds him of the experiments he went through

Hearing your scream scares him in a way, to realize that he’s doing that type of stuff to you

To hear you screaming out of fear and pain

It makes him sad

He’s either going to let you go or just keep you forever

Depends on how he feels

Don’t scream, it makes him feel bad :C

Crying makes it worse

Are you really that scared?

Did he really do that to you?

The ‘person’ who loves you?

Is it really love if he’s torturing you?

If you were to isolate yourself then he’d think you broke

Just seeing you this way reminds him of lying on that cold table

Nearly alive and awake being poked and prodded at

Ughh, just shut up already and leave

That’s something he would say

Unique(Would they do anything different from the classic yandere)?

Letting you go and actually feeling bad for you

Not being fully insane

Feeling guilty

Actually being somewhat sane

Just feeling the way a good person would feel

Even after turning into that ‘monster’

He is definitely one in a million when it comes to yanderes

Vice(What weakness can their darling exploit in order to escape)?

His feelings

And his trauma

Definitely his trauma

Not making fun of it, but more like speaking about it emotionally

“Did those experiments turn you this way”?

“The negative human interaction just— Impacting you when you realized that not all humans are bad”?

Yeah, make sure to use that against him

To make it seem like you know what he went through

Make it seem like his feelings are recognized

Manipulation 101

Wit’s end(Would they ever hurt their darling)?

NO!!

I TOLD YOU NO!!!

NOOOOO!!!!

That was a reference by the way

Aren’t I just so funny?

Xoanon(How much would they revere or worship their darling? To what length would they go to win their darling over)?

His respect for you is just average I would say

Before he met you it would be pretty small, then it would raise if you didn’t flash him with the flash beacon

If you show him genuine respect then he’ll do it back

Even if he loves you

He’s not going to worship you! Ughh, ew that’s… Nasty!!

He thinks it, not me!

Doing acts of service, like healing you, opening a door for you, things like that

He’d compliment you at times but it’s rare

He’d ask The p.AI.nter what are ways humans currently show affection

“HAH. LOSER.” It generates

Yearn(How long do they pine after their darling before they snap)?

If he gets hints that you love someone else

I’m getting tired it’s 11 pm

Zenith(Would they ever break their darling)?

He would think he did if you acted a certain way

But I don’t think he would on purpose

I apologize if I've annoyed you in anyway from mentioning how I feel about yandere stuff. I just find it kind of insane to even think of those type of actions, especially romanticizing it.

[angelwings-crossbowstrings]

Since you said you were looking at requests could you please do something with Dom Daryl with overstimulation, breeding, and cockwarming? Maybe after the savior war trying to get pregnant or any later seasons Daryl? It’s almost 6:30 in the morning so those are just the prompts that came to me first, anything you write with them will be wonderful, thank you 🩷

If I get a Little Prettier, Can I be Your Baby?

Pairing: Daryl Dixon x Fem!Reader

Setting: Alexandria (post Savior's War)

Warnings: Poorly written smut; p in v; cockwarming; forced orgasms; overstimulation; a hint of breeding, I guess? A/N: This request has been sitting in my inbox for weeks. Gods, I am so sorry for making you wait! I'm even more sorry that I was all over the place with this so I hope it's just good at all. I tried, Anon! I promise!

“S’the matter? Thought ya wanted this?” 

Daryl was sitting against the headboard, just as bare as you. You straddled his hips, stretched around his cock and had been for—well, you weren’t sure. He had kept you there, softening slightly every once in a while only to press a thumb against your swollen clit to quickly bring you to orgasm. Your convulsing walls brought him to fully hard within seconds. You’d lost count of how many times he’d done it, sometimes not even needing the stimulation. He would be throbbing with just as much need inside of you and still worked at you until you came, shuddering and whimpering his name like a mantra. 

“Please, Daryl, I need—”

“Ya need to sit there ‘til I say diff’rent.” His voice was low, gravelly. Stern, even. You felt your cunt clench and his hips jerk. You were so sensitive, yet still craving him. He could work miracles with those fingers but being so full and stretched without feeling him drag along your inner walls was torture. He wasn’t cruel, never. There was a safe word in place, always, no matter who held the reins. Whether out of sheer stubbornness or overwhelming desire, neither of you had ever used it.

“Yes, sir.” You breathed. Your fingers were splayed over his stomach, his muscles twitching with each miniscule movement you made, though you tried to sit stone still. 

The battle with the Saviors had been won. Negan was imprisoned. Alexandria was being rebuilt. Everyone was working together and there was, for at least the time being, a feeling of relative peace and safety. While you had never officially married, you had become Mrs. Dixon in every way except on paper, and that didn’t seem to matter much in those days. You and Daryl had talked about a family before, but always seemed to find some reason to deny yourselves. His worries of becoming his father, Wolves, Saviors, and of course, the dead. There was always something. 

It wasn’t until Daryl had been locked in Negan’s cell that he came to realize that waiting was futile. The world would never be safe. If you wanted to have children with him, he loved you enough to travel that road with you. He’d love his children because they were a part of both of you.

This? This was the first session in what would be many “practice runs.” Or maybe one time would be all it would take. 

“You’re bein’ such a good girl. Wanna cum for me again?” He smirked, tucking your hair behind your ear and letting that finger carve a trail down over your collarbone, circling your left breast before he pinched and rolled your nipple. You gasped and arched your chest toward him, making him hiss when your hips shifted. 

“S—sorry, sir.” You gasped, breathing heavily from just that slight stimulation. If he fucked you now, you feared you’d cum so quickly that it’d be embarrassing. From the twinkle in his eye, it didn’t seem like you were going to have a choice. You let out a squeak as he flipped you to your back, never separating from you but punching a moan from you both with the slight friction. 

“Think I’ve had enough’a toyin’ around. How ‘bout we get to work on puttin’ a baby in that belly?” Pressing his mouth to yours in a sloppy kiss, a dance of tongues and teeth, he hooked the back of your right knee over the crook of his elbow and rolled his hips. You pulled back from him, lest you bite his lip, which he’d honestly probably rather enjoy. Another deep thrust saw your hips rising to meet his. He didn’t stop you or reprimand you, so it was safe to say this was all about the endgame.

“Fuck, you feel good.” You whined with your nails scratching over his shoulders, red marks all the way to where you settled your hands on his ribs.

“Yeah?” He knew the answer, even if he did make the next snap of his hips a little rougher. Raising your head, you nuzzled your cheek against his and placed your mouth against his ear.

“Don’t hold back.” You whispered, licking the lobe and then the spot where his pulse raced. Daryl growled, letting your leg drop. When he reached up to grab the top of the headboard with one hand and then the other, you knew you were about to get absolutely ruined.

And couldn’t have been more turned on by the thought.

With a smirk of your own, you chose to let your legs fall open as wide as they could, almost to the point of painful. You were soon digging your nails right into his buttocks. It started with a cadence of rough snaps, his pelvic bone and the coarse hair above his cock slapping against your oversensitive clit. He chuckled above you, knowing exactly why you were making those sinful little noises. Your humiliatingly slick cunt squelched with each push and pull of his cock, only adding to the debauchery that could potentially be heard by the others in the house.

You only dug your fingers in harder, drawing up your knees but keeping your legs wide open. “Come on, Dixon.” You panted, biting back a cry when the next thrust made you see stars. “I thought you wanted to fuck a baby into me. Put in a little effort.”

It was that moment, you knew you had fucked up. 

Daryl went motionless, looking down at you through that curtain of sweaty, dark hair. He had one brow arched. He never let go of the headboard but leaned down between his arms until he was nose to nose with you, the most deliciously wicked smirk lifting one corner of his mouth. 

“Ya better hold on tight, Sunshine.”

The first thrust shunted you straight up to the headboard, one hand releasing its hold on his ass to slap palm down against the wood and protect the top of your head. And then he was absolutely ruthless. Fucking feral. He used his hold on the headboard as leverage and fucked you at a pace you’d never experienced. Soon, you had let go of him altogether, both palms planted firmly against the smooth surface above you. You couldn’t stop shouting long enough to even let him know you were cumming. Once, twice. A third sparking to life low in your belly. His grunts and groans above you were just fucking delectable and you distantly wished you could focus on the sounds your pussy was coaxing out of him but the feeling of him just absolutely splitting you in two took precedence. 

“‘Nough effort for ya?” He panted, slowing only slightly, just enough for you to see him scanning you for any signs that you wanted to stop, that you needed to use the safeword. You scoffed at him. However, you couldn’t seem to speak, so close to yet another orgasm. You saw his grip loosen, knew he was getting concerned, so you communicated your consent by flattening your feet on the mattress and rolling your hips up to take him deeper, both of you groaning. He worked his way back to the same brutal pace, his cock swelling and twitching inside of you. He was close.

You were closer.

Drawing in enough breath, somehow assembling enough presence of mind, you moaned out “I’m—I’m close—Please—”

Daryl grunted, dropping down from the headboard with a hand on either side of your head. “Let go, Sunshine.” He commanded through gritted teeth. “Fuck, m’gonna cum.” You had just felt the first tendrils of pleasure rip from your core when he thrust twice more, stilling against you and holding himself deep with a guttural moan, his muscles spasming and body trembling. “Fuck!” You were too lost on whatever cloud he’d sent you to, your eyes rolled back and mouth agape. Your chest was arched into him until you felt the burn in your muscles suddenly dissipate and you collapsed to the mattress, his name falling from your lips like a mantra. 

Daryl was still thrusting into you lazily, dragging out both of your orgasms until you just couldn’t take anymore and twisted your hips to the side with a whine. He let you lie down flat again before gently, slowly pulling out of you, barely moving himself over before he collapsed into a trembling heap. You could feel his cum leaking out of you, burning as it slid across the flesh of your abused cunt.

It never failed that no matter how fucked out he was himself, your well-being came first. Rolling his head toward you, he gave you a once over. “Y’alright? Did I hurtcha? Ya didn’t say—”

“I’m so good that I don’t think I’m ever coming back down to earth, thanks.” You blinked lazily at the ceiling before turning your head, letting it lull toward him to meet his eyes with a lopsided smile. “My god, Daryl Dixon, you just rocked my world.” 

God, you loved it when he blushed. He could be an absolute beast in bed—as he had just proven—and then go red as a tomato—as he currently was. Licking his lips slowly, he turned to admire the ceiling at the same time you did. 

“I’ll get up in a minute an’ get us cleaned up.” He was finally starting to sound like he had found his lungs and put them back in their rightful place. You lazily waved a hand. “Are ya really alright?”

You nodded, smiling stupidly once again. “I may not walk right for a few days.” You moved with a wince. “In fact, when you get up to get that towel, can you grab me a wheelchair? I think you dislocated my vagina.”

Daryl, of course, looked mortified. “Oh, come on. I’m fine. Just a little sore.” Propping up on your elbows, you grinned at him. “Besides, payback’s a bitch and next time, it’s my turn.” He mumbled christ under his breath and rolled off the bed, staggering toward the bathroom while you stared intently at the perfect round of his ass. “I’ll find the blindfold and handcuffs tomorrow!”

[rosesloveletters]

all is fair in love.

Pairing: 1971 Willy Wonka x Fem. Reader

Word Count: 10,261

Warnings: sexual content / smut.

Summary: The holidays are Wonka's busiest season and his work keeps him away from reader much more than either of them would like. After hours, the two spend a passionate night together as they both make the necessary arrangements to be attentive to each other's needs and empathetic of the complexity of maintaining a healthy romantic relationship that neither reader nor Wonka are accustomed to.

Author's Note: my smut fics are always between 6-10k haha so enjoy. I edited this the best I could, but for some reason I kept switching between first person and second person pov for reader (I don't know why since I always write in second person pov.) I think I fixed most of it, so if there's any parts I missed, I'm sorry. Also, I'd like to mention that Christmas isn't inherently important to the events in this story. It is used as an element only to convey why Wonka is so busy during this time of year, because most people like to buy chocolate and candy as gifts. I know Gene was Jewish, even though I believe he said he wasn't exactly religious. I have no intention of trying to be offensive/belittle/make light of anyone's religion or beliefs and I apologize if it comes across that way because it is without a doubt not my intention. 

Edited.

divider created by @/saradika on Tumblr.

You’ve always believed that if you truly love someone, then you keep it a secret. 

You would let that feeling freeze me down to the core – to love the way a person is meant to, but it is that same love that, inevitably and irrevocably, suffocates. 

You cannot satisfy that craving the same way one might satisfy a sweet tooth. Once given a taste, it seeps down into your skin, infecting both body and mind, pierces the heart and tears it wide open. 

The thundering beat inside your chest cannot be silenced. The fingertips of fate trace the spider-like, lightning-strike veins that split your heart right down the middle. 

A broken heart takes love like a beating.

It all comes boiling to the surface, bubbling up and out in the breath of a second.

The truth always comes out, one way or another. 

Because if you don’t let the heart have its’ way, then it will tear itself right out of your chest.

***

The days were short, but the hours were long. 

You spent much of your time by yourself, as this season kept Willy preoccupied. Time marched onward and the weeks themselves seemed to drag; it was nearing Christmastime and that meant very little to you in the grand scheme of things, except that you’d be seeing less and less of your lover. 

Traditionally, the holidays were a time of celebration and joy, gifts and laughter shared between friends and families alike. 

However, you lived a nontraditional life now, and Willy had unwittingly shown you that the life of a chocolatier was a solitary one. You knew that the busy holiday season was what pulled him away, but his lack of attentiveness made you wonder…

The only thing that kept these thoughts at bay was the way in which he looked at you when he was around. 

Willy was a difficult man to read. Whether that was intentional or not, were you still trying to determine. The only dead giveaway were his eyes – startlingly intense and piercingly blue – that bore no resemblance to subtlety. 

The vastness of the heavens, it seemed, were contained within those swirling galaxies. On dark nights when the cloud cover was too thick, you traced the constellations in his eyes to guide you into his morning light. 

You could see yourself peeling back the layers of his heart to get to the source of how he truly felt.

Deflect from it all he might – “I’m a trifle deaf in this ear. Speak a little louder next time–” you saw right through him and sometimes that only made him steer clear of you for longer. 

It wasn’t that he did not care for you; it was quite the opposite. Perhaps the extent to which he cared was a bit overwhelming for him at times. He immersed himself in his work during these times, else his mind inevitably carried him to places he would rather not visit. 

Willy Wonka’s mind was not a place any person, sometimes even himself, should ever go without a guide or a distinct way back. 

Though anyone with half a brain could tell that the amazing chocolatier was a troubled man on occasion, his true nature shone through in his creations. Something about this season’s batch of chocolate was a touch sweeter than ones previous. It would go undetected by those who did not have a refined palate, but like the saying goes, a true artist would put their blood, sweat and tears into their work and Willy Wonka was a mastermind. 

He knew exactly what he was doing and what he meant to convey, if only between himself and one other: the world’s most famous chocolatier was in love.

***

You sat on the plush sofa in the personal wing of the factory, a book in one hand and a mug of hot chocolate in the other. You were nestled beneath a thick-knit, purple blanket as you read and waited on Willy to return to your den for the night. 

You saw less and less of him the closer it got to the holidays, but such was the nature of his business. Christmastime was one of the busiest seasons and the one in which he made most of his money (the second being Valentine’s Day.) People bought exorbitant amounts of candies and chocolate during the holidays and so Willy was forced to expedite production (though never sacrificing quality) and work long, difficult hours preparing new and exciting treats for the public. In fact, it was no well-kept secret that Willy Wonka unveiled his newest creations around this time of year and that very news was plastered in every newspaper, magazine and bulletin across the world as people anticipated the exciting, brand-new sweets there would be to try. 

You knew the excitement and rush of the season fed into Willy’s own excitement over his work. He was thrilled to be working on new ideas and expressing himself through his creativity and imagination. It meant the world to him and so you did your best to stay out of the way. You did not want to make the situation about you and, after all, he always made it up to you.

 He was aware that his absence bothered you and he tried not to think about the fact that he may or may not be doing irreparable damage to your relationship. 

Not every difficult time or situation was an attack against you. It wasn’t personal, nor was it anyone’s explicit fault. Willy had a factory to run, Oompa-Loompas to manage and ideas to manifest into reality. Sometimes, your relationship would take a backseat and if you were serious about being with him, then you would have to be alright with that and you were, although that did not mean that it didn’t hurt from time to time. 

It would have been nice to relax and enjoy the season with your lover without his work getting in the way. You would have loved to curl up with him, sitting at opposite ends of the couch and enjoying lots of hot chocolate and hours of warm conversation. If you had your pick, you’d gladly have him here with you now, trading the book in your hands for his warm body, his fingers linked perfectly into the spaces between yours. 

You reasoned that this was just how things would have to be for now. No sense in adding more pressure on him by complaining. He was aware of how you felt, but sadly there was nothing to be done about it. You never would have dreamed of asking him to pick between his work and you. That would not have been fair or right. You could handle this, for now, but deep down you missed him terribly. 

Even if you chose to spend time with him inside the factory part of the building, he would be working the whole time. There simply was no time for much of anything else. He did like when you would drop by because you were his faithful little taste-tester. Better to try it out on you before selling it to the masses – that would seem cruel, knowing that his candies have had certain negative effects on people in the past, but rest assured, Willy had never given you anything that might harm you. 

Any candy which made its way to you had been tested and re-tested to perfection before it ever passed between your lips. 

He wanted feedback on his candy before it left the factory and you were more than happy to offer it to him, to which he was enthusiastically grateful. The only problem was, true to inventor fashion, he asked for feedback on everything. He wanted your opinion and was asking for it increasingly often these days. When you didn’t show up to the inventing room on certain days, he’d bring a whole box back to your shared living space and eagerly watch you with anticipation of your positive remarks as you were asked to try every piece. 

He was always so grateful to you for that and, honestly, you didn’t mind. You liked candy and chocolate, so there was no reason you couldn’t afford him this act of kindness.

The only thing you really felt like you were missing was him and it plagued your mind most often while you were alone, which was of course very often. You kept yourself busy and occupied your thoughts with other things as much as you were able, but when you settled in for the night, your loneliness crept in and took up the space beside you that would have otherwise been occupied by your beloved chocolatier.

You didn’t mind your alone time, but too much of it was not ideal. 

Too much of a good thing came with a price and now it seemed you were paying it with interest. 

The sound of a door opening and shutting pulled you from your thoughts. You glanced down at your book to realize you’d just had it propped open against your knees this whole time and hadn’t read a bit. You marked your place and closed it with a huff, setting it down on the end table beside you, your mug of half-drank cocoa with it. 

A quick glance at the clock hanging on the wall – thank God he hadn’t cut that one in half – showed that it was ten minutes after midnight. 

It did not come as a surprise that Willy was so late. It was only your wildest guess as to what he had been working on, but that point was moot. You did not really care what he was working on. 

That thought seemed harsh and you frowned; no, you were adamantly against resenting him for his work. That path was one you would not let yourself go down, a trap of codependence, you told yourself, but why couldn’t he just be a little more present with you? Surely it wasn’t too much to ask. 

Perhaps you would ask. 

It would make the most sense to be upfront with him about how you were feeling and to be as direct as possible. 

You did not move from the couch. You waited on Willy to come and find you, unlike the many days and nights when you might have greeted him at the door. 

Several quiet moments passed between yourself and your thoughts before Willy entered the room. He had shed his purple coat at the door, as well as his hat and cane, “there you are, my dear,” his gentle tone made your stomach clench as warmth pooled in your abdomen. Even troubled with doubts, you were still delighted to see him.

You watched as he approached and dropped himself on the opposite end of the couch. He nudged your knee with his, silently asking for a bit more space which you politely gave, “I would have been back sooner, but I’ve been so busy, as I’m sure you’re aware.”

“Yes, it is that time of year,” you replied coolly. You didn’t want to jump into the meat of the discussion too soon, otherwise he might take offense where there was none. 

He seemed in a good enough mood that perhaps this would be the perfect time to strike. 

“Yes, my dear, it’s the holiday season which does wonders for my business and I couldn’t be happier.”

His pride in the work he was doing warmed your heart. You listened to him for a while as he recounted what he had been working on that day. 

He cared so much and spoke so passionately, yet your mind began to wander.

“Is everything alright, my dear?”

His tender voice captured your attention and you blinked slowly, “yes, I’m fine. But, there is something I would like to talk to you about.” 

His lips hitched into a faint smile, then flattened into a serious line. It bothered you, not being able to read his face.

“There is? Well, you know that you can always talk to me about anything on your mind.”

You didn’t want to overwhelm him, not when he was already so fully immersed within his work. He needed time and space to focus. He did not need you hindering his creative flow by hanging all over him and demanding more attention. He already gave so much; how could you even dare to think that he owed you more?

“I know you’re busy this time of year, but do you think it would be possible for us to spend a little more time together?” My voice cracked as I added, “I…really miss you, Willy.” 

You hadn’t meant to speak with words that were laced with such pain, but in fairness you did miss him terribly. By the time he made his way to you most nights, you were already in bed or heading there and in the mornings before you’d woken up, he would be gone. It bothered you to not see him and you wanted him to hear it. He needed to know the truth if you meant to be honest with him, you only hoped he’d be able to understand that you didn’t blame him. 

Conversations like this always made you second guess yourself. 

By this point, you realized that he had not responded. He was probably just thinking about what he would say, but usually it didn’t take him this long to reply. 

“Willy?” you gently urged him, reaching out to place your hand on his arm. 

Whenever he felt the gentle graze of your fingertips against the fabric of his shirt, he glanced down, admiring the tender touch with a wistful smile on his face before he looked up at you and the emotion held inside of those ice-blue eyes was almost enough to send you over the edge and into uncontrollable sobs of relief. 

You felt the tension in your shoulders beginning to dissipate. Good, he felt the same way. 

He was still staring at you like there was something more on his mind. That was the way things were with Wonka and you’d be lying to yourself if you hadn’t thought on more than one occasion that it’s a good thing you weren’t a mind reader because there were things that went on inside his head that should stay there. It was better that you didn’t try to trace his Machiavellian ways or make sense of the enigmatic man who so frequently surprised you with small glimpses into how he really thought and viewed the world. It was fun getting to know who he was, but the true wonderment was in not knowing him at all. 

He tested your mind and all your senses, but never pushed your boundaries. He could knock you off your stride in seconds, then act as if nothing had happened. You were playing his little chess game and he was already three or more moves ahead. It had only been a matter of time before you had fallen into his hands like this. 

Things were as they were because Wonka wanted them to be. His quips and wisecracks often went over people’s heads, especially because of how well-versed he was in literature and culture. He could make the whole world fall in love with him at once, then forget him as soon as they were no longer in his presence, but you believed the world adored him much more than he liked to think it did. 

“I didn’t say anything sooner because I didn’t want it to seem like I was being insensitive, since I know you’re not intentionally ignoring me.” 

This statement made him smile for some reason, “where love is great, the littlest doubts are fear; where little fears grow great, great love grows there.” (William Shakespeare, Hamlet.)

At first, you didn’t know what to say. You had a bit of trouble discerning what he meant sometimes, missing the larger picture for deciding why he chose a specific quote at a specific time. 

Seeming to read your thoughts, he let out a polite chuckle, “This is to say, even in love do the smallest doubts scare you, but when you are afraid of such little things, you are still in love, too.”

His explanation seemed to help, if only for a second. 

It was true that you had your doubts, but those doubts only stemmed from love. That fear which grew inside of you had taken root, but when enough time had passed, it was the love which had bloomed from it. 

Both the fear and love would come with a connection as strong as this one.

In the beginning, Willy had never dreamed of having a romantic partner. His solitary lifestyle simply lacked the means necessary to cultivate a long-term relationship. He had never desired romance or human connection of any kind. He had his factory and the Oompa-Loompas to look after; he was stretched thin as it was.

It was with sickening rapture that he sought the reason for why his heart seemed so content within your hands. He had to know the true meaning behind what he felt, even if he had to wade out in to the wild, dark depths up to his neck. He was barely treading water, sinking still, feet kicking desperately and hands reaching, clawing for purchase but there was nothing for him to grab onto. No way to steady himself as his soul careened toward what he had been running from for so long, a runaway train on the track towards trust and away from self-preservation. 

At first, you wanted to be the one in control. You had your fair share of demons and setting the pace for the relationship yourself was very important to you, but neither of you wanted to go too far too fast. 

You became acclimated to his world quite quickly. 

You just seemed to fit right in and, with time, Wonka found himself closer to you than he had ever been with another person. 

The two of you had been together for quite some time now and the red string of fate binding your hearts together was pulled taut. 

It seemed that you both knew you were in the right hands and the love that grew here was stronger than any fears or doubts which gripped you. 

“What scares me the most is that you’re pulling away from me,” you confessed to him, and that revelation made his eyes widen perceptibly, “sometimes I think you don’t even realize that you’re doing it.”

The conversation had shifted and Wonka realized that you were no longer just discussing his absence in light of the holidays. There was deeper emotion and meaning laced within what you were saying to him now. 

He was used to being alone, as were you. The only difference was that while you had never lost hope that the right person might come along, he had done everything he could to close himself off. His heart was a precious thing and that was what the world had been after. Yes, he had closed his factory because of theft, but he put his whole heart into his work and, if anyone were to steal his heart, then there would be nothing left for the one whom it belonged to. 

He made sure he guarded his heart all these years, even if he didn’t know the reason for it. It was easier to deny the very fact that love was something every person desires, even ones who have become so layered and complex that it would be difficult to imagine what a true love might look like for them. 

Wonka was not afraid of anything. 

However, if one thing made him apprehensive it was the idea of anyone finding him out. 

Not that there was any chance of that; no one was able to think quite like him. But if anyone came close, that meant he’d cling to them forever, holding on for dear love. 

His gaze shifted down to your hands that were folded in your lap and reached for one. Long, delicate fingers gently wrapping around your right hand as he brought it to his mouth. 

A kiss for each finger, you counted, one two three four five…

Then, his lips made contact with your inner wrist. The sudden and unexpected brush of lips against your sensitive skin made your breath hitch.

“I promise to be more attentive,” he whispered on your skin, his hot breath tickling the inner area of your wrist, “the only one pulling me anywhere is you and I am only moving forward.” 

“You’ve got to go forwards to go back.”

He had believed that, in more ways than just one, in relation to his factory and to people, but there was no going back now. Even if that were an opinion, he wouldn’t have wanted to.

Within half a second, he dropped your hand and tilted his head, leaned in close and pressed his warm lips to yours in the most sensual, tender kiss your lips had ever known.

Your heart fluttered in your chest like butterfly wings beating against your ribcage, desperate to free itself and get to his. Your soul sought the kind of connection that your mouths were getting and jealousy was an understatement. 

If this was his way of making it up to you, then let it be known that you wanted nothing else for Christmas this year than a clear mind and the taste of your lover left over on your cupid’s bow. 

It was all electric, body and soul alight, glistening brighter than fairy lights strung up for the season. 

He tasted sweeter than his own candy and you smiled into the kiss at the very thought. He ate a lot of his own sweets, if only to test the taste, and you couldn’t help but enjoy the sugared kisses, your sweet tooth craving satisfied only by his honeyed lips. 

Somewhere in the haze you found the opportunity to grip handfuls of his tawny tresses, fingers digging into the soft curls that drove your heart mad with desire. You loved his hair and so infrequently did he let you touch or comb it. It was about as unruly as he was, wild, untamed and free, just like the man it belonged to. 

Your gentle tugging on his hair elicited a soft grunt from him and his lips attacked yours more feverishly, taking on a more aggressive quality now that you had accepted and encouraged him. 

There was no rhyme or reason for anything that occurred while you were with him, except what was happening now.

Wonka did everything on a whim. Sleeping, eating, working…no schedule, no routine, no nonsense. 

“A little nonsense now and then is relished by the wisest men.”

Perhaps the most nonsensical thing that had ever happened in Wonka’s factory was your fear that he might leave you. 

Strike that. Don’t reverse it. 

You didn’t want anything to change. There were more twists and turns in this man’s head than there were in his factory and you had lost yourself trying to find your way out. You never left his mind, not once. Even while he worked or spent time alone, you were in his thoughts, whether it was subconscious or not. 

Your own mind didn’t register your movement as you crawled closer and sought out more of his sugary sweetness which was more potent than any nectar of the gods. Your lips devoured his, tasting every inch of the same mouth that poured prose and poetry into your ear each night that you laid with him.

He hummed pleasantly against your lips. His gentle sounds teased you; so rare was it that he ever made a sound during these moments of intimacy. Oh, how you tried, and your futile attempts filled him with great satisfaction. He had more discipline than you ever imagined; living alone for so many years without the warmth of another had taught him to go without, but desperation clung to his bones and manifested through each fervent, heated kiss. 

Willy wouldn’t have described himself as needy, but he appreciated physical intimacy when it occurred and sometimes it was as necessary as any other proper communication. He wanted more than a quick romp; he craved human connection. It was completely unfounded for someone like him to want to share a connection with anyone, but here he was asking for it with his mouth on yours and your reciprocation of that same need meant everything to him. 

You tested the waters, grazing your teeth along his bottom lip to determine how far he might be willing to go. He didn’t stop you. His lips simply parted, allowing entry of your tongue. 

The only sound he made was a little gasp, which you swallowed as your tongue delved in to taste the inside of his mouth. Your hands were still holding the sides of his head, fingers buried deep within his unruly curls. 

He helped maneuver your body closer to his, unabashedly bringing you to sit on his lap. As you settled on top of him, one of his large hands moved down to the small of your back and held you firmly in place. 

You could feel the heat of his hand through your shirt. You had no grasp of how long the two of you continued to kiss like that. The passage of time, though a precious thing, was unimportant in the current moment. The only thing you demanded more of was him and you would greedily take all that he had to offer you. 

You were enchanted by him. He surprised you at every turn and, if it had been anyone else, you’d have questioned where you stood with them, but wasn’t that the point? The less anyone knew about Willy Wonka, the more exciting it felt to be in his presence. 

It was impossible to know whether the things he revealed about himself were true or not and there was beauty in that alone. If beauty was in the eye of the beholder, then he had the upper hand here.

You did not stop to see why his hand had suddenly been removed from your back, but any questions you might’ve wished to voice were answered when you noticed him reaching for one of the top buttons on his vest. 

The steady progression of events had led you here and you were too immersed within the moment to stop him, but you wouldn’t have wanted to anyway. You were entranced, enthralled, enraptured by the whole of him and his heart belonged to yours. 

The wet graze of your tongue against his cupid’s bow spurred him further, lips tangled tantalizingly with yours as his fingers worked open the buttons on his vest. 

The threshold had been breached. 

The moment was yours for the taking, if you wanted it and you knew that you did. 

Lost somewhere between drunk on lust and in love, you began to help him unbutton, starting at the bottom of his vest and continuing until your hands met in the middle of his chest. You followed this same pattern for both rows of buttons.

Coincidentally, this journey ended right above his heart, but another one was merely beginning. 

Your hands were shaking with anticipation as you looked up to notice him already gazing at you lovingly. A tender smile curved his lips like a crescent moon and the sunlight bleeding out through the cracks in your soul made the stars in his eyes sparkle. 

You cupped his cheek and pressed a gentle kiss onto the bridge of his nose. His arms encircled you, holding you flush against him and his shirtsleeves rode up on his forearms, exposing just a fraction of skin with a fine dusting of sand-colored hair. 

You let him hold you to him as his lips attached to your neck. You imagined when he pulled back that there would be an imprint of lips, a tattoo of his love painted across your collarbone, signifying that you belonged to him alone. 

You tilted your head to give him better access and he thanked you by delivering a loving nip to the column of your neck. 

You hadn’t forgotten your intention. 

With hands still shaking, you reached for his vest and pulled it open. His lips detached from your neck in an instant and long, elegant fingers wrapped around your wrist, effectively stopping you from undressing him. 

His eyes were crystalline pools of skylight, airy and substantially quantified by the depths within them. They had a mirror-like quality and you could see yourself reflected in them as you held his gaze for a heartbeat too long. 

“Only if…this is something that we both want…”

Willy’s words of brevity filled you with wonder. 

“If I’m being honest with you, Willy…I don’t think I’ve ever wanted something more than I want you now.” 

That single sentence melded with and fused into his soul. In a breath-to-breath admission of consent, your words had tied his tongue with cursive letters. 

He breathed a sigh of relief and held within that exhale was his own consent. You had granted him permission, assuring him that you were not offering yourself out of obligation or for complacency’s sake and that thrilled him perhaps as much as the act itself would. He felt the blood rush to his groin and he moved beneath you, shifting your body weight more onto his thigh. 

Willy nuzzled your cheek, dragging his nose along your soft skin. His arms had yet to unravel themselves from around you; he wanted to take his time. However, he was increasingly aware of his own sense of desperation. It had been some time since he had last gotten into bed with a lover. 

Actually, the last time he had gotten into bed with anyone was with you. 

Willy had a low sex drive, but on occasion it would crop up and remind him that he was, in fact, human and had needs, whether it was simple biology or heightened by the desire to connect with the one he loved. 

Whenever he thought of a lover and what had previously been just some nameless face at the forefront of his mind, that vision was now you. Yours was the love he sought; your hands were the ones meant to hold his heart. 

He let go of you and shrugged off his vest. 

Your lips captured his once again and he imagined this was what dreams tasted like. 

He went to stand up and you quickly took the hint and moved off his lap. He got up and began unbuttoning his white undershirt while you watched. He could see the fire burning in your irises, your pupils dilated with desire as you watched his delicate fingers pop open each button. 

You knew better than to rush him; a treat as sweet as him was meant to be savored. 

You took this opportunity to slip your own shirt off your body. With your skin exposed, his eyes traveled across your midsection and his fingers hesitated, fumbling the button he was on. His breath hitched and you swore you heard him whisper the word “beautiful” as he gazed upon you. 

Once he had recovered, the swiftness with which he finished removing his undershirt made your head spin. In his haste, he had forgotten to remove his bow tie and unbutton his sleeve cuffs, which made you giggle. He seemed flustered, his cheeks reddening once he realized, and perhaps this was the first time you had ever witnessed him with a blush on his cheeks. 

You reached out to help him and a soft chuckle dripped from his lips like maple syrup, “It would appear I’ve gotten a bit ahead of myself, my dear.”

You chuckled as well as his bow tie and undershirt were removed, “well, I’ll take it as a compliment…that you seem so eager to have me.”

Your words were spoken as if in jest, but his response was anything but. 

“Doubt truth to be a liar; but never doubt that I love,” he quoted, his smooth baritone steeping you in the tea of his desire. (William Shakespeare, Hamlet.)

It was enough to quiet your mind and when he said it, you felt your entire world get a little smaller. Your heightened senses had inflated your soul and carried you to the clouds. You were a runaway balloon stuck in a tree and his words were the hand that enclosed around your string. You had seen vast lands and known love in its many forms, but never until this moment had you felt so much in the presence of one. 

His heart knew yours better than it knew itself and the cracks left by heartbreak were filled in by your endless love for each other. 

You moved in to kiss him again and his hands cupped your warm cheeks. His breath tasted as sweet as the chocolate he made, which only made sense because of how often you saw him sampling it. He kept a bit in his coat that he’d pull out and nibble upon and often would you go sifting through his pockets for little treasures and treats that he had left over. Sometimes you found such delights that it had to have been no accident that they had been left behind. No, he knew your guilty pleasure was his chocolate and he made sure to satisfy your cravings, both for chocolate and for him, as often as possible.

Your tongue slipped inside his mouth and he finally graced your ears with a very delicate moan. 

His hands moved down the length of your arms to finally grab your hips. He pulled you in, your pelvis against his, and you could feel the hard press of his bulge against your thigh. 

While you kissed, he began to walk you backwards toward your shared bedroom. 

You could not have torn your lips apart to look where you were going even if you wanted to. 

You trusted him to get you there safely, perhaps more than you had ever trusted another person or at least you hadn’t trusted anyone this deeply in a very long time. Too many others had taken a hammer to your jawbreaker heart and smashed it to more manageably sized pieces, but once broken, it could never be put back together without its’ once-pristine surface now marred with jagged cracks. 

At least the breakage let the light of your soul pour out into his hands…

Willy was stained by your brokenness, his heart bruised the color of your trauma. 

He had been burned before, broken in a very real way, and therefore it was never a question of if you would trust him, but how much and when. He knew how long it could take a person to truly open up if they wanted to, but for you, he was willing to wait an eternity and then some. 

Time stood still and Willy had the presence of mind to remember how it felt to cradle your body to his when the only things that cemented your souls was an equal share of trust and love for one another and the mutual decision to take just one more chance. 

You sighed with relief when the backs of your knees connected with the mattress. 

Willy didn’t push you or press for more. His lips left yours in favor of your neck and several chaste yet sweet kisses were left along your collar bone as if his lips were asking for permission without the accompaniment of words. 

 In between you, you reached for his belt. 

He felt your fingers wrap around the waistband of his trousers and a gentle smirk crossed his features, “after something, are we?” 

His coy response made the tips of your ears get hot and you huffed, “well, it isn’t my fault that I’ve gone and gotten all excited…”

“I hope you’re not implying that it’s mine,” he replied as his smirk widened. 

“I wasn’t implying anything,” your time spent with him had sharpened your wit, “I’m saying it.”

His eyes shared in your mirth, twinkling with laughter at your response. He wrapped an arm around your lower back and pulled you in. With his cheek to yours, lips near your ear, he whispered, “shall we make use of your excitement, then, dear?”

You felt a shudder run down your spine as he spoke to you, the dulcet undertones of his honeyed voice pierced you like a knife through the delicate flesh of an orange. You wanted to sink your fingers into his heart and peel it apart to devour the pieces, sustaining yourself on his love. 

You nodded and he deemed it appropriate to continue. He gently pushed your hands from his belt and took on the task himself. He pulled it from the loops and laid it on the chair nearest to him. 

When he turned back to you, you were already removing your pants. He smiled to himself, stopping in his tracks to admire you as you undressed. He almost wanted to help you, but held himself back. Mutual trust came at a price and he would not want to overstep any unspoken boundaries. You had not explicitly told him not to help, but you hadn’t told him to do it either and so he decided it was best to let you indicate what you wanted from him and how comfortable you were with the situation. 

Neither you nor he were particularly trusting individuals. Your experiences with people who took advantage of others made you wary and skeptical, through no fault of your own. Maturity and wisdom came with age and while you had both grown and learned, you had built walls around yourselves both figuratively and literally, in Wonka’s case, to guard your hearts and protect them. 

Now, you were bearing your souls to each other.

It was an unlikely thing, but you were both ready. You had known Wonka for a long time now and you had no doubt that you and he were meant to be in each other’s lives. There was a reason that you were here. Even though you might have needed a bit of reassurance from time to time, it was never because you truly thought he might leave you. Giving word to that unreasonable fear set you free, because in your heart of hearts you realized that you were not afraid at all. 

You were lonely.

You had forced it down for years, but acknowledging it now was cathartic, because never again would you find yourself isolated like you had so many years before. 

Willy was no stranger to isolation either. Though he had reasons other than your own, he empathized. 

It was difficult, at times, for the two of you to find a rhythm. Both of you had been alone for so long that it took time to become acclimated to sharing your lives with each other, but in this moment you both knew that there was no person you would each rather share a life with than each other. 

Willy was never at risk of pulling away. He was simply learning how to love you. 

As soon as you pushed off your pants and stepped out of them, he was kissing you again. In a flourish of limbs and bare skin, you fell backwards onto the mattress with him. His hot lips descended over yours as his fingers linked into the spaces between your own. In all ways except for one, your two bodies were unified and, if either of you could help it, that would soon be remedied. 

The mattress dipped and shifted beneath your shared weight as Willy crawled on top of you. You held his hands for as long as you were capable of doing before you needed to feel him more solidly at your fingertips. You dropped his hand, grabbed his shoulder and dug in your nails to hear him hiss into your ear and nip at your neck. 

He couldn’t even finish undressing because you demanded every ounce of his attention. 

Your spirits were engaged in this battle of carnality and you had consumed him, corrupted his mind and possessed him body and soul, but all’s fair in love and war, both of which you had waged fervently on his senses. 

At risk of ruining the moment, he pulled away and got up to finish removing his trousers. Your chest heaved as you took a moment to catch your breath, propping yourself up on one arm. 

“And here I thought…we were just getting to the good part,” I quipped. A teasing smile bloomed on my face as he turned to look down at me. 

“And I thought you liked my kisses,” He replied without missing a beat. 

His lopsided grin made you giggle, but the sound of his zipper being pulled down tore your attention away from the witty banter. The fire of fierce need had begun to burn bright inside your belly once again after being extinguished to mere embers only seconds ago. 

You watched him kick off his trousers and make no move to pick them up.

He moved back down onto the bed and leaned into you. You met him halfway and pecked a chaste kiss onto his lips. Your bodies fit together like two immaculately chiseled sculptures whose delicate features appeared to be made of something much softer than stone. 

You knew what he wanted from you now and you felt goosebumps rising on your flesh as you anticipated his caress. 

He cupped your head, holding you to him as he lowered you back against the pillows. He liked to take charge of this part himself and you let him, despite the anxiety you felt at relinquishing control over yourself. You didn’t like feeling out of control, especially of your body and Willy knew this. He tried his best to make you feel comfortable and safe, never moving forward without verbal consent. 

“Shall I touch you, dear?” 

You reflected on his question before you nodded, swallowing thickly before you could make a sound, “yes.” 

You knew that he would check in with you frequently to make certain you still wished to continue. 

With your consent, his fingertips grazed the length of your arms. His warm touch sent pleasant shivers through you and you fought the urge to arch into him. He had a way of making you feel everything he wanted you to feel with just one touch. It was like magic, the control he had over your body and sometimes you wondered if his creative abilities branched into other realms as well. 

His hands slid down your sides, massaging your warm skin and admiring your supple curves, the angles and indentations of your hips. Before he traveled lower, Willy wanted to devote some appreciation to the rest of your body first. His hands moved to your back, working underneath you to swiftly unclip your bra. He had a way of doing things so fast that you barely had time to register what he was doing before it was done. Perhaps it didn’t seem possible, but impossibility did not exist where Willy Wonka came from; if there was a way to do the impossible, he had already figured it out and told no one. 

With your unclasped bra no longer pulled taut, he delicately pushed the straps off your shoulders and plucked the hindersome piece of fabric away from your chest. It dropped unceremoniously to the floor and his blue eyes glittered with mischief when he looked upon your exposed breasts. 

You wanted to cover them, but he held your arms at your sides. True to the creative genius he was, he had to admire beauty where and when he saw it and you were a masterpiece. His tight smile had relaxed as he gazed down at you beneath him and he practically cooed with appreciation for your form. 

“You’re very beautiful,” he whispered heatedly, like it was almost difficult for him to get the words out. He was overwhelmed with all his attention focused on the body before him. 

You wanted to thank him for the compliment, but all that came out was a soft squeak. 

He chuckled at your little sound and bent his head. He placed a firm kiss on your left breast and you sighed in pleasure at the gentle touch of his plush lips on your pillowy skin. His lips traced the curves of your breasts before encircling one of your nipples, suckling lightly as if it were a piece of candy. 

You mewled and arched into his mouth, desiring more from him and as quickly as possible, but Willy liked to take his time with you. He never left you unsatisfied, but you could expect nothing to be fast paced. 

His fingers wrapped around your hips to hold you in place as he moved to your other breast and did the same thing. His hot tongue teased your candy pieces to hardness and he hummed his appreciation, sending waves of pleasure down to your core. 

You squirmed in his grasp and whimpered pathetically, “please, Willy,” you begged him, “I want you now.”

“Don’t worry, you’ll have me, dear,” he reassured you, his thumbs rubbing placatingly against your hips, “when I’m ready for you to.” 

His teasing remark made you huff in irritation until his fingers dipped beneath the waistband of your cotton panties and paused you in your tracks. 

You whined as his fingers barely breached the fabric barrier before he removed them. His hands moved to your inner thighs and spread your legs apart for him to nestle in between them. 

All you could do was watch as he leaned closer and pressed a kiss to your navel, just below your belly button. His kisses traveled lower and lower down your pelvis to your pubic bone and finally to your core. You writhed in pleasure when his mouth found its way to where you wanted it, but your panties were still in the way and you groaned with frustration. 

Heat emanated from your core due to your arousal and the crotch of your panties were damp with your wetness. 

Your head dropped back against the pillow as he used the tip of his nose to brush lightly against your clit through your panties. 

You were so pliant to his will and responsive to his touch that he almost felt powerful. If it had been anyone other than him, he would have, but all he felt in this moment was an overwhelming feeling of love. The fact that he could give you a comfortable experience of vulnerability and pleasure perhaps did enflame his ego a bit, but he loved you even more for it. To see you enjoying yourself because of him was almost too much for him to handle and he could feel his cock swell to attention. 

He placed a couple of open-mouthed kisses to the crotch of your panties before he dragged them down your legs. He would have liked to tease you more, but he was already beginning to lose patience and he didn’t want to rush through too quickly. 

With your panties removed, he could admire your glistening folds and the sweet juices that had dribbled out of you. His mouth watered as he delved in for a taste, his tongue tentatively flickering against your opening. 

You let out a cry and bucked your hips, desperate for him to fill you. You needed friction and fullness to achieve release and Willy knew you couldn’t get either of those things without his compliance. He smirked at that and lowered his head between your thighs. 

Your hot core pulsed as more of your honey leaked onto his tongue. He moaned in satisfaction, savoring the taste of your sweetness and the delicious sounds you were making for him. He had never tasted anything this sweet except for his chocolate and if he could have only one of those two things right now he would have picked you without a second thought. 

It was almost too much for him to pull his mouth away, but he knew that he must if he were to indulge in the ultimate act of pleasure with you. You both wanted that more than you wanted air to breathe. A greater craving than candy, your existing love and soul connection a stronger aphrodisiac than chocolate. 

With a final flick of his tongue against your clit, he dragged his mouth off you. You whimpered at the loss, but in the back of your lust-flavored cotton candy mind you knew that your shared night of pleasure was just beginning. 

He got off the bed again and opened the nightstand drawer. He withdrew a small tinfoil packet and a small clear bottle of lubricant. 

You were still sprawled out on the mattress, your hair a halo around your head. The darkened room made it difficult to see what he was doing, but your eyes had adjusted enough for you to see movement.  

You felt eyes on you and before you glanced up from the object he was holding, his voice broke the silence, “are you comfortable continuing?”

Driven by lust and lover’s greed, you nodded your consent. Willy did not respond at first, waiting on your actual acknowledgement and proper agreement. Your voice was shaky as you replied to him, but you knew what you wanted and were certain in your response, “yes. I want this. I want you, Willy.”

The sincerity in your voice convinced him and he tore open the condom wrapper. 

Excitement thrilled you and coursed through your veins, carried into your heart by blood. Your body was singing with sensation as you wanted nothing more than his solid body atop you, his hard length buried in your tight heat. 

You watched him with barely-concealed enthusiasm – well, perhaps the only concealment was from the darkness in the bedroom – as he took off his underwear and rolled the condom on. He then squirted a generous amount of lube onto his fingers and coated his cock. 

You could hear him jerking himself off and the obscenely slick sounds from the generous amount of lube. He had yet to give himself any physical stimulation up until this point and you were eager to repay the favor. 

In the dark, your reached for him and he came to you, ready to meld together and fill you full of himself. 

He positioned himself on top and guided your legs around his hips. He propped himself up with one forearm flat against the mattress so that he wouldn’t rest his entire body weight on you and the other guided his condom-covered tip to your entrance. 

He gave your forehead a tender kiss as he pressed in. Your lips parted at your sharp intake of breath and your muscles tightened and seized around him. Willy kissed your face, calming you and keeping you still and relaxed until he bottomed out. 

He nuzzled against your cheek and moved his free arm behind you to cradle your head. 

You tilted your head back and captured his lips. The two of you kissed lazily for several moments as your bodies adjusted to one another. Your walls twitched around his cock, sending jolts of electricity down to his toes, into the pit of his stomach and behind his eyes. Everything felt fuzzy and seemed out of focus except for you. 

The one thing that was clear to him was his love for you and the appreciation he had for you being a part of his life. If he could not trust a single soul with his legacy, he knew that he could trust you with himself and that was more than enough. 

For once, nothing made you question Willy Wonka; his intentions were clear.

Your fears were just that: fear. It was irrational and based on nothing of consequence. However, the very fact that you were afraid let you and he both know how much you cared. 

You would never take Willy, and he would never take you, for granted. 

He would reassure you that though he was not used to sharing his world with another, that you were his world now and you would share in every aspect with him and reap the rewards of a unique and whimsical life with perhaps the greatest chocolatier who ever lived. 

Take out all the fantasy and spectacle and you were left with only love and imagination. 

All these people thought the most fantastical thing about Willy Wonka were his creations, but what took your breath away, and had since the beginning, was the man behind those creations.

 You had fallen in love with him as much as you had with his brain and his intellect, his body, his soul. You wanted to dip your fingers into him like if he were made of melted chocolate. You would lick the essence of his existence off your fingertips to taste his candy-coated soul and sugared thoughts. There were not many candies or chocolates of the Wonka brand that you hadn’t tried, but none were sweeter than the man himself. 

If he existed only in your mind, then your mind was alive with the thought of him. 

All too soon, your thoughts abandoned you as you felt him begin to move. 

He slowly pulled out, angled his hips and pushed back in. 

The sudden movement jarred your body and you clung to him tighter. 

As he began to set a pace, you rolled your hips down onto him each time that he pushed in. This seemed to please him, witnessing you thrusting with him, your bodies moving in unison toward a shared release and reciprocation of pleasure. 

He grunted softly in your ear with the effort of thrusting into you. His soft curls tickled your cheek and you bit back a giggle. A particularly rough thrust ripped the sound from your throat and you laughed aloud. 

His brows furrowed in amusement at your laughter, but he grinned with you nonetheless. 

His thrusts became harsher, deepening as you adjusted and conformed to the rhythm and pace he set that was creating a delicious friction between your legs. You moaned shamelessly into his ear and he thrusted harder, encouraged by the sinful sounds you were making. 

Willy kissed you, his lips feverishly moved against yours as he held you in his embrace and your skin blazed with red hot fervor. A thin sheen of sweat clung to your bodies and you could feel the heat rolled off him in waves. Sweat beaded on his upper lip, but it didn’t bother you as you kissed him harder, demanding more intensity out of your shared intimacy. Your core pulsed, muscles gripping and clenching tightly around his cock. 

Your moans began to take on a higher pitch the closer you got to your release. Willy could tell that you were close now and he was eager to send you over the edge. Sex was, at least for him, about mutual enjoyment and gratification, not domination, exploitation or manipulation. It was about individuals who loved each other enough to put aside their individuality and become one, just for a moment of bliss. 

His forehead pressed against yours as he thrusted into you harder than before, his pace becoming erratic the closer he came to his own release. 

As he panted, you felt his breath fan across your face and he smelled of chocolate.

You balanced on the edge of oblivion as your feverish coupling would soon send you into orgasm. 

After a few more hard thrusts, Willy slipped a hand between your legs and gently rubbed your clit. Your release seized you, your body shaking violently with hurricane force winds of equal parts pleasure and zest. It was as if the air had been knocked out of you and you were falling down into his waiting arms. Ecstasy radiated from your core, carried in waves throughout your body. 

You were alone with your pleasure, waiting on your lover to join you in the afterglow. 

You cried out his name as he thrusted into you through your orgasm. He lasted several moments after you came before he released, filling the condom with several hot bursts of his seed. 

He had just enough strength left in his body to pull out and collapse beside you. His harsh panting soon turned to gentle sighs as his heartrate decreased and his body cooled. His strawberry blonde curls were plastered to his forehead with sweat and were sticking out at wild angles except for the top which was always a bit flattened from the way he wore his hat. 

You reached out and petted his frizzy hair, your fingers delicately massaging his scalp. He let out a quiet little moan and you smiled at him. 

With a deep inhale, he sat up and peeled the sticky condom off his softening prick. He tied it up and tossed it in the wastebin, then snatched his underwear off the ground. He picked yours up as well and handed them to you for you to slip on. 

You got off the bed and put your panties back on, then crossed the room to the bathroom. A few moments later, when you returned after you had cleaned yourself up, you found him lying in bed waiting for you. 

He smiled at you as you approached and extended an arm out to let you curl into his side as you got back on the bed with him. He already had a blanket laid out to pull across your nude bodies so that you could cuddle in modesty and without getting a chill. 

He looked down to watch you settle in and you met his gaze for a moment, appreciating his features. His gorgeous blue eyes were like pools of galaxy speckled with stars. His aquiline nose, which most people thought was too big for his face, looked proportionate in your opinion and beautiful just the same. He had the softest features of any man you had ever seen, slightly chubby cheeks, a round face and curved jawline. He was exquisite in every sense of the word and just looking at him made you fall more deeply in love. 

As attractive as he was to you, his personality spoke to yours in a language only the two of you spoke fluently. 

His appreciation for literature and culture was unique and inspiring and, because it tied in with your own, you learned a lot from each other. His quick wit and casual snide remarks that often passed over other people’s heads made you laugh as though you were enjoying your own little joke with each other.  

During your private appreciation for this man, you concluded that you had no reason to ever think he might be pulling away from you. 

In surreal Willy Wonka fashion, he seemed to read your thoughts as he finally spoke, “I’d like to see you in the Inventing Room with me tomorrow. I want you to be as involved with the holiday busy season as I am.” 

He addressed your insecurities by offering a solution to the problem and your heart felt a bit lighter. He wanted you to be involved in his work so that you didn’t feel so isolated or lonely. He had promised to be more attentive and he intended to do just that, but you could offer him aid and visit him while he worked. True love was buoyed by compromise; you’d see to it that you did your part to keep your relationship strong. 

“Forgive me for not being as attentive as I should be,” he continued, “I’ve been so busy, not to excuse myself.”

“I understand,” you replied. 

He seemed surprised for a moment, as if he half-expected you to still be upset, “and it isn’t entirely your fault. I should come around more if I’m missing you. We’ll find a solution. We have time.” Willy put his arm around your shoulder and pulled you close so he could kiss your head, “time is a precious thing, my dear. Never waste it.”

Between his words, you heard what he was not saying. 

And while he had a point, what you did have was now. 

You could agree just to exist for a moment, sharing in the silence of the universe and listening to nothing but your dreams and the sounds of your hearts. 

You would fall into each other the same way that you fell in love: accidentally and achingly slow. 

One day you would both look up and see how far you had come, but for now, you still had a way to go. 

You knew his heart belonged to yours and that was enough to keep trying. Once the busy season calmed down and you had more time to focus on the two of you, you would ease into it like lovers were meant to, but right now you had an obligation to yourselves not to let the fear of failure drive you apart. 

It might seem fatalistic to ruin a relationship before it had run its course, but you’d seen it happen and the��last thing you wanted was for that to be yours. 

You knew deep down that it wouldn’t happen. 

Your love was as strong as your imaginations were wild and no mind would ever dare dream the two of you apart. 

[nubisaureus]

when they get jealous and needy

how the genshin men show their jealousy over you

character(s): Cyno, Xiao, Kaeya

pairings(s): fem!reader x Cyno, Xiao, Kaeya (separately)

contents: uncertainty of feelings, smut, found family, angst, comfort

not proofread! im swamped with uni work so i might post less till next week, sorry <3

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Cyno

he's absolutely chill most of the time, but there are some times he just gets jealous and insecure

you bet he's going to mark his territory: whether it is by putting his hand around your waist, pulling you close, whispering something in your ear while looking the other person dead in the eyes, his golden irises sending a silent warning

«And who's this, angel?» he asks, as he gets to your side

you better believe he's gonna get extra needy/rough when you two get in bed later

as he's balls deep in your pussy, he groans «you're mine, aren't you, angel?»

you struggle to answer. not because you don't know what to answer, but because you can't think properly, as he's relentlessly pounding into you, making you lose any semblance of rational thought

he stops, still inside of you.

«answer.» he commands now, making you squirm and whine for more.

«C-cyno..» you plead, incapable of uttering any other word than his name.

«yes?» his pupils dark and wide, much like the ones of a predator

«i am Cyno. that guy was just flirting with me because he can't stand you. he wants to make you angry because the matra once apprehended him due to his illegal schemes, and so he wants to take it out on you..» you utter those words, remembering the case that had shaken your Darshan from the inside out, before Cyno was even the general Mahamatra

as you finish speaking, he starts to pound into you again, making you scream his name, finally getting the release you were aching for

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Xiao

poor thing is still new to this having feelings for someone, so when he gets angry when another guy talks with you in a more friendly way, he doesn't know what to do with his feelings

so he goes to Zhongli, asking for advice (a/n yes, i believe in Zhongli as Xiao's found family, idc)

«Rex L-» «Just Zhongli.»

he looks down, biting his lip at the correction. it doesn't feel fair to him to call Rex Lapis as simply Zhongli, but he carries on, explaining his problem

«What you are experiencing is what mortals call "jealousy". While it is normal to have such a feeling when someone you don't like might be talking to her in a little too friendly manner, you must learn not to get overwhelmed by this feeling, as it only brings people apart and destroys relationships.»

he thinks long and hard about what Zhongli told him, and as you return to Wangshu Inn, you find him on the rooftop, deep in thought.

«I'm back, Xiao.» you say, catching his attention.

you are met by a dry reply, that makes you wonder what might be up with him

after a bit, he decides to confess, and you look at him, endearment in your eyes

«aw, love. you have no need to be jealous. i'm sorry you felt this way. whether adeptus or human, jealousy is a terrible feeling that no one wants to experience. but i can assure you that the only one i love is you, and no one else.»

he's got tears in his eyes

«are you sure?» you nod. «but..my karmic debt..» he averts his eyes, turning his back to you

you hug him from behind, resting your head on his shoulder

«my Vision protects me.»

he makes you promise to run away if he ever loses control over himself, and you reluctantly agree, even though you know that if that ever happened, you would fight for him until the bitter end.

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Kaeya

oh boi, you're in for a ride

he's literally the smoothest talker ever, he doesn't even need to get jealous

he's more of a showoff really, basically showing off his wonderful girlfriend

so it's more him making other people jealous, whether men or women, because, let's be honest, it's not like women are not jealous of you

«all alone here, kitten?» he comes up at you at Angel's Share, while Diluc rolls his eyes at his cheesiness

you flirt right back, twirling a strand of loose hair in your fingers, catching his attention

your hair and neck are his weak points, so you know exactly what you're doing

his eyes are fixated on you, as you let go of your hair, and go back to your drink, ignoring him

he comes up to you, whispering something in your ear

«let's put on a show» are the words that come to your ears, and you smile wickedly

you turn your head towards him, staring at his lips intensively

he's too close for comfort, and you can feel his cold breath on your skin, shivers appearing in response

as you're about to kiss, your lips inches from each other, a suave melody starts playing

you see one of the most renowned bard of Mondstadt, Venti, playing his lyre for the tavern

you get all excited, and stand up, your dress flitting around your figure

Kaeya gives you a puzzled look, but it soon transforms into an amused smile, as he joins you in dancing

you two dance together, the entire tavern mesmerized at the sight of you two

might also be because Kaeya was using his vision to create small snowflakes around both of you, those same snowflakes catching the light of the tavern, creating a reflective spectacle

you decide to tease him, grabbing him by the ring that holds his collar in place

he smiles smugly, as if to ask "what now?"

your faces get too close for comfort, both of you lost in the each other's eyes

suddenly a whiff of wind swirls around you, diffusing an irresistible aroma around you

who's gonna give in first? it's a battle of wits at this point

Kaeya does.

you don't even have the time to process it, that his lips are on yours, and his hands are on your waist, pulling you closer

that was one memorable night

what you didn't know is that your ex was standing in a corner of the tavern, a bewildered look in his eyes as he witnessed the whole scene

Kaeya is a fucking menace

[ordinaryschmuck]

Full Family AU Part 38

Manny awoke slowly and groggily, the lack of sleep already hitting him. But his body decided it was time to be awake, and he couldn't refuse no matter how much he wanted to. At the very least, he could reach over and hold his wonderful wife tightly so they can suffer through this together.

Sadly, for him, Camila was nowhere to be found on this bed, no matter where Manny reached or how far. He peeked his eye open to confirm said suspicions. With a groan, Manny slowly got out of bed and went to search for Camila, already having a suspicion of where to find her.

Groggily, he left their room to make his way to the computer room, where Camila was already sat at the desk, typing away search after search in a mad rush for answers.

"Please tell me you got some sleep," Manny begged.

"Of course I did," Camila said numbly. "I passed out in the woods, remember? You helped carry me in."

"I meant after." Manny made his way over and put his hands on Camila's shoulders.

"Don't think you can use your magic fingers on me right now," Camila told him, slapping his hands away. "I'm too focused on my work."

"And what's your work?"

"Figuring out there's a way we can fake Vee's birth records legally."

"...You're trying to figure out a way to legally break the law?"

"Yes."

"And how's that going?"

"TERRIBLY!" Camila yanked out the keyboard and chucked it at the wall. "I hate this!"

"Camila--"

"No! I hate it!" She got out of her chair and started stomping around the room. "I can't believe that I have to break the law for this to work! The most we had to worry about was whether or not you would survive treatment. At first, when you got better, I thought that was the last of our problems, but then the universe said, 'NOPE! Here's a little girl who needs a home and can't be legally adoopted into yours! HAVE FUN DEALING WITH THAT!'"

"Camila!" Manny grabbed Camila by the shoulders, this time making sure his grip is tight so she can't push him away this time. "Take. A. Breath."

"I can't!" Camila shrieked, which was quickly followed up with a sob. "I can't...It's all too much...Too much to do with no clear idea of how to do it right..."

"I know." Manny pulled her in for a hug, letting Camila cry into his shoulder. "I know..."

"Why...?" Camila sobbed. "Why does it feel like our family is cursed...?"

"It's not cursed."

"You got sick and almost died, we're unable to give a poor girl a home, and there's a witch sleeping on our couch! An actual witch! Seems pretty cursed to me!"

"That isn't a curse. It's...character," Manny tried to explain. "It's what makes us more of a unique family than we already are. And when it's all finally over, which it will be, we'll all look back at this and laugh."

"How can you be so sure?" Camila asked, pulling away just enough to look at his face.

"Because you're freaking out," Manny confessed. "And I'm just trying to help you feel better. Even if it means painting a pleasant picture to get your mind off the insanity. Just for a bit."

"...When you think we'll start laughing at it?"

"I'm guessing...at a barbecue."

"A barbecue?"

"Yeah, I'm teaching Vee how to work the grill, and she's being super grateful for this nice, bonding moment. I tell her, 'That's good. Your mother and I worked very hard to get you something like this.' She'll asked how bad was it, I'll tell her there was a freak out or two, and we'll all just chuckle over how we blew a small issue out of proportion."

"It's not really a small issue."

"Well, right now, it isn't. But in the future, when this is all solved, it'll definitely seem like it. As do most things that feel huge in the moment."

Camila hummed in thought. "By any chance, do you think that witch will be there?"

"Probably," Manny said with a shrug. "Most likely so she can steal a burger or two."

"Over my dead body."

Manny chuckled. "You see? We're laughing already?"

"I...guess we are." Camila breathed out a sigh. "Thank you..."

"Don't mention it. Now, how about you call in work for work today. Even if it means asking someone to cover for you. You clearly need more time to rest."

"Yeah...I do. I'm so tired, it's making me loopy to the point where I swear I'm smelling eggs for...whatever reason."

"Huh..." Manny sniffed the air. "That's weird. So do...I..."

Both his and Camila's eyes widen at a horrible thought. Someone's cooking in their home, and it's neither of them.

In a flash, they both rush out of the room to investigate.

[1moreff-creator]

FF, considering that the end of Chapter 2 seems to be setting up the already prevalent theme of Fate and Choice to take centre stage in Chapter 3 (like how the theme of Trust was the focus of CH1, and the theme of Change was the focus of CH2), I wonder Do you have any predictions for Chapter 3? Where you think most of the characters will go from here, who you think might be the next to kick the bucket, and how you think it will tie into Teruko's own story (the next step of which, I predict, will be her making a decision on whether she's going to allow herself to make friendships with the rest of the cast even with the fear that they will abandon or die on her always in the back of her mind, or to let her fears control her and make her isolate herself further out of fear that she will result in them getting hurt because of her fated bad luck. But I'd also love to hear your thoughts on that :D)

Hey! Predictions, huh? Well, I'm not the best when it comes to guesswork, so this isn't going to be, like, my deepest post or anything, but it's still interesting to think about!

Spoilers for DRDT CH2

So now that we've made it past Read More: Yeah I have no idea.

You see, there's literally infinite ways for the story to progress past this point, and there comes a point where "what I think will happen" would be completely indistinguishable from "how I would write the rest of the story." And while that in itself is interesting to explore, I'm not the dev, so I'll save both your and my time by avoiding any completely unfounded predictions. That means that the fate of most characters, the arcs they will go through, the themes which will be explored, among many other things, are things that I have almost no genuine strong predictions, at least in regards to CH4 and beyond.

In terms of CH3, though, I do agree that the theme of fate is the most likely to be the centerpiece, though like with CH2 and CH1 there will probably be a whole lot of themes that get explored. Not to mention that what someone considers the "main theme" of a chapter is highly subjective; I'd argue the themes of belief ("all that glitters is not gold") and morality ("a good person") are just as important to CH2 as the theme of change. I can't tell which themes will actually be explored, though, because again, no idea where the story could go.

To give some ideas, though, some themes that are already on the table apart from fate and trust and change are memory (Elliot, Rose's photographic memory, Whit forgetting her mom is dead for a moment when Rose says it, etc), family (Elliot again, Rose's family, J's mom, Levi's situation, the hypothetical Diana Chiem, Teruko's brother, Whit's mom again, why does half this cast has family issues, etc), idolization (David->Xander, Hu->Nico, Whit->His mom ("We tend to idolize the dead" in his quote), everyone->Mai (once we actually start talking about her), etc), past and future (Xander & Min (check pinned comments in Bonus Episodes), Hu and Veronika moving on from their past, Charles forgetting his, Rose feeling hopeless in the future due to mistakes in her past, Levi not caring about his past, Arturo not being able to fully move on from his past, etc), and everything else under the Sun. You see why making predictions is hard? There's too much shit going on, the writing's just too good.

What I can theorize on a bit more comfortably is who's gonna die in CH3.

It's Charles.

Honestly I don't even feel comfortable predicting a double murder in CH3; other than "it's a trope," there's no reason for me to believe it atm. And "it's a trope" isn't evidence.

With Charles, though, we do have "Charles pronounced dead at 3" from the prologue, and given Whit's track record, yeah it's curtains for chemist boy. I know some people think Charles dying is "too obvious" because of this line, but it only feels obvious to freaks like me who spend way too much time looking at these guys and who've rewatched the series several times. In particular, I believe he'll be poisoned by strychnine, given it was omitted from the custom weapons list, meaning only him and Teruko know about it, which could lead to interesting developments in the trial. This also means that the Elliot mystery would be explored in more depth in CH3, which could also be inferred from Yoidore Shirazu... existing already.

Other things which will likely get brought up are Whit's secret, Teruko's secret (then again, I have zero fucking clue what David's gonna do next), Hu's treatment of Nico, Hu and Vero's secrets, Veronika's reactions to Levi almost dying and Ace's execution, the Nico-Rose situation, Arturo (just, like, in general), etc. I feel like J's family and Eden's guilty feelings about Arei and Min might still have to wait, though it could come up. Look these chapters are long we could genuinely cover all of that and still bring up new threads for CH4 to explore.

As for future killer predictions... again, zero clue. But, you know that theory/observation that's been going around about the objects that show up at the end of CH1 and CH2 and Mai? That Mai has a jacket kinda sorta like Min and gloves like Ace?

Although this is an insane metric and I fully expect it to go wrong probably as soon as CH3, it is practically the only semi-theory we have that could point to future culprits. And since I'm an evidence-based theorist at heart, here's who I believe the killers might be based on the only (and craziest) metric we have. Feel free to ignore the Hail Mary guesses, I have no reasoning for them beyond Vibes.

Arturo - Ribbon (Hail Mary guess - CH4 killer)

Hu: Flowers (Note: Her secret quote plays into why I believe she may be a killer. I fully expect to be wrong on her particularly, and even if she is a killer, I expect her to kill on accident, which is sort of possible with strychnine. I doubt Hu would kill someone on purpose). Hail Mary guess - CH3 killer, no double murder?

Veronika: Hair tie. Hail Mary guess - CH5 killer, double murder?

It could also be Vero's shoes btw, they look similar enough to Mai's.

Rose's stockings are actually also similar to Mai's, but I can't imagine the object for her being stockings instead of, like, her hat or apron.

In fact, that's sort of a counterargument to this entire theory. Even if Vero or Hu are killers, I would expect their objects to be the triangle earring and the butterfly hair accessory respectively. In fact, I see Vero in particular as a victim more than a killer, so that should tell you how confident I am in these things.

Keeping in mind my survivor predictions (Teruko - J - Whit - Levi - Rose), which haven't really changed other than me now considering Levi a more likely survivor than Rose, that would leave the victims as Charles (genuine prediction: CH3), Eden (Hail Mary - CH5), David (Hail Mary - CH5 or CH4), and Nico (Hail Mary - CH4 or CH3). Again, the Hail Marys are purely vibes only and have no attached reasoning.

Finally, for mastermind, there's three people in particular that I find genuine contenders for MM spot, but that will have to wait for a separate, more in-depth post, since this thing does actually have evidence attached.

I hope that was enough to satisfy you! Thanks for the ask, it was fun to think about!

[7nessasaryevils]

We are back, my beloveds!!! Ep 8 what fresh hell awaits me??

- WE COMING OUT SWINGING SON OF A BITCH: yak's little smile and the immediate way he goes to take off the necklace cause he knows... his heart is someone else's now 😭😭

- bolster light effect my beloved... how I have missed you 🥺🥺🥹

- "if you take it back again, you're a dead man": tell me you're married without telling me you're married

- this boxer is yours.... FUCKING LET ME BREATHE ITS NOT EVEN A MINUTE INTO THE SHOW

- Dee taking accountability for how his words hurt Yak... ohhh emotional growth how wondrous you are

- man said "you broke up with me" SIR YOU WEREN'T EVEN DATING

- Dee leading Yak back home (count one of I'm so fucking fine)

- the Phadetsuk family is under my protection and if someone breathes on them wrong I'll sit on them NO ONE TOUCHES MY BABIES

- Yak's stomach growled and my dumbass thought it was my stomach growling....

- awwww family dinner time!

- Cher being fucking awesome as always

- Taem... darling... the sad glow in your eyes is hurting me 🥺 you had your chance with Yak...

- of course Yak didn't answer; he was too busy cuddling his Mho Dee ♥️

- Yak, sir... I see you... whatchu thinking in that pervy head of yours hmmmm? 🤨🤨🤨

- never mind... I know exactly what is going on in that PERVY head of yours 🤣🤣🤣

- OIL MASSAGES MY SEXY BELOVED

- gentlemen!!! Avert your gazes!!! 🤣

- awww Dee trying to understand more about Yak's world

- the most fashionable Grim Reaper is back.... and continues to scare the shit out of me

- Dee knows something's wrong!!! Yeah baby, get ready to call out your man!

- the fact that Dee knows about the hallucinations Yak saw... that means Yak told him!

- Ter... you lowlife dried up dog shit human turd crap being... may your scrubs always have a rip in them! May your phone never charge! MAY YOU ALWAYS HAVE AN IN GROWN TOE NAIL!!!

- LIKE FUCK DEE IS GONNA GO WITH YOU YOU FLOPPY DICK

- hehehehehegegege jealousy my beloved how wonderful you look upon Yoryak Phadetsuk 🥰🥰

- I don't know whether to be endeared about how excited Yak is to eat Dee's cooking... or fucking terrified because Yak is about to eat Dee's cooking

- the food is edible???

- COSTUME FASHION SHOW (although Yak being unsure about the whole thing but still trying for Dee's sake 🥺🥺🥺 count two of I'm fucking fine)

- GRANDMAMAMMAAMMAAMAMAMAMAMA QUEEN I HAVE MISSED YOU GUYS SHES BACK

- the irony of Yak being able to coordinate fights but unable to dance in rhythm 🤣🤣🤣

- wha- wait- what do- WHAT DO YOU MEAN FAKE BOYFRIENDS!!! YOU KISSED!!! ON THE LIPS!!! YOU'RE MARRIED NOW!!! WHAT NONSENSE AM I LISTENING TO

- disappear comp- ARE YOU FUCKING STUPID?!?

- I'm about to commit violence... pretty sure Kao and Granmama would help me

- product placement... my goodness I forgot what you looked like 😅🤣

- nooooooooo cute product placement!! 🥹🥹🥹🥹 I'm suddenly violently thrown back to the Miscellar water scene from BBS

- THE MARRIAGE EQUALITY BILL IM GONNA FUCKING THROW UP IM SO FUCKING GWENCHANA RIGHT NOW

- "let's register for marriage" NO ONE FUCKING TOUCH ME (this show better end with Yei and Cher having rings on their fingers, that's all I'm saying)

- you've never pro- oh gods oh gods is this happening is it it?!?!?

- ITS HAPPENING IT IS FUCKING FUCKING FUCK (COUNT 3 OF IM SO FUCKING GODDAMN FINE)

- speaking very honestly and seriously though: something in me breaks in the very best way watching Oyei ask Cher to marry him because they can. This is a thing that is very real for them. And it's beautiful.

- I love you Taem but girl.... you doing me a heckin annoyance- what is with that face???

- we're faking dat- sir when you start blow drying a dude's hair with that look in your eye YOU'RE FUCKING MARRIED!

- THAT'S A WEDDING GROOM OUTFIT YOU DUMB FUCKS WHY AM I SURROUNDED BY STUPID GAYS (all except Cher and Kao... they have all the brain cells)

- oh no... oh no no no no (remembers the scene from the trailer last week with Taem and Ohm) I do not like this nope nope no

- GET YOUR FUCKING HAND OFF HER IM GOING TO STAB A TWIN

- oh gods... the need in me to tell Yak to help Taem but also Dee's heartbroken face!!!

- THE DESI IN ME REJOICES!!!! I SEE YOU MY SARI WEARING BESTIE!!!!

- fuck no fuck no fuck no go away Ter curses upon you you flip floppy cock

- just one word- here's TWO words: fuck you

- also, Ter is an absolute asshole because Kwan is the one he's here's with and yet he goes to Dee to essentially say "oh I'll drop her for you in a heartbeat"... tell me you're an asshole without telling me you're an asshole

- Ter and Ohm sitting in a tree, both being A S S H O L E!

- GET YOUR HAND- YAK THROW HANDS NOW!!!

- fuck yeah report his fucking ass!!!!

- WHY ARE THESE ASSHOLES TOUCHING PEOPLE- where's my machete I need to chop appendages

- push him away push him away push him away for fucks sake Dee push him away

- oh thank fuck (could have shoved him harder is all I'm saying)

- THROWING HIS WORDS BACK AT HIM FUCK YEAH DEE THAT'S MY BOY

- Dee says it wasn't out of sarcasm... I don't care, I'm going to my grave with that broken look on Ter's face (honestly Dee, sweetheart, I'm so proud of you though; you know your worth)

- calling Ter pichai is perfect because Dee is finally distancing himself from this man; breaking the ties of familiarity and putting him where he belongs: in the trash as a fellow doctor

- if I had a quarter for every time I wanted to chuck my phone at a wall because a dickhead is touching one of my babies... I'd have a whole ass dollar... WHICH IS FAR TOO MANY QUARTERS!!!!

- Vivi.... remind me to erect temples for you too, my sweet desi wearing queen ♥️

- Kwan, you deserve better. The entire fucking hospital deserves better than that piece of shit quack doctor.

- wait is he.. he is... please let that be...

- FUCK YEAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH

- look at my princes dancing!!! My kings!!!

- do I take extra joy in watching Ter shoved off to the side? YOU FUCKING BET I DO

- ohhhhhh sir... sir are you gonna ask him to da- oh

- SJNWHEENJDNWJSSNS FUCK YEAH I LOVE YOUS

- say it back Dee SAY IT BACK!!!!

- WHAT DO YOU MEAN END CREDIT?!?

- HPV info my beloved 🥰🥰♥️

- you're going all out to win him over: WHAT THE FUCK WAS HAPPENING BEFORE?!

- oh no oh no no no no that makes me scared...

Well, this episode had me wanting to bang my head into a wall thanks to two assholes but on the whole, a lovely episode!!! I cannot wait to see how next week fucks me up!

[orcinus-veterinarius]

I'm so sick of the cetacean community right now. A Bigg's orca (I believe T109A3 Spong) stranded & passed away yesterday, leaving her two year old calf behind. I got into an argument with the Orca Behavior Institute over whether the calf should be rescued & rehabbed by humans, but they said that it could risk permanently spending the rest of its life "in captivity." Frustrated, I called them out on preferring to let a baby whale starve to death than live in human care & I literally got harassed by their followers. One even called me a troll. The point is that I'm fed up with them & I was wondering if there are other organizations out there that I can support who work to protect & study wild orcas without having such a radical bias against captivity?

I hear you. I have not commented on this situation yet because it truly appalls me. To be clear, I don't think there's a need yet for human intervention beyond getting the calf into open water so it can reunite with its mother's pod. At two years old, this isn't a Toa situation, and the little one should theoretically be able to survive if extended family members adopt it. If worst comes to worst, a temporary sea pen (as was done with A73 Springer) would be a better solution than permanent captivity, since this calf is healthy and is from a known pod (unlike Morgan, who was neither).

Keeping wild animals wild is everyone's priority, and marine parks aren't just sitting around greedily rubbing their hands together waiting to swoop in and make a quick buck. In fact, taking the calf into human care would be the opposite of a quick buck, but that's not the conversation here. If the calf fails to reunite with its pod in time or its condition deteriorates, more extreme human intervention may be necessary for its survival. Again, I don't think that will happen, but if it did... certain groups will advocate for the calf to be left to starve. Because any whale is "better dead than fed" (yes, people unironically say this). And they're proud of that belief.

My favorite Salish Sea organization is SR3 (Sealife Response + Rehab + Research), and I highly recommend checking them out. Another good one is the SeaDoc Society, which is actually affiliated with the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine.

[kastlenetwork]

Hi! So I'm pretty new to the kastle fandom and wanted to know if there are any like- classic fics or interviews or memorable moments in panels and cons (with the actors) that I should know about? I know about the interviews that are on the kastle wikifandom page but only because I've read them.

helloooo! welcome to the family! it's been quite quiet lately, but frank and karen are always in our hearts lolol and every now and then there's a little resurgence, so that's nice. umm first up interviews. there's a lot of little quotes here and there that were a big deal. we didn't get many interviews of the two of them together, if i remember correctly. i think two comic cons were pretty exciting.

here are some interviews from comic con 2017 yup

this is a cute clip from last year, where deborah talked about how jon's intense but really uplifted her. and that they want to work together again.

(i'm looking at kastle's wikifandom and, really, the big interview quotes all seem to be there.)

“ … just in terms of whether this is Jon’s story to tell or my story to tell, you just want to kind of be respectful of everybody’s contributions. Jon and I have certainly felt that there is room for a romantic story in there. And there were certainly scenes where we took it farther in some takes than we did in other takes. We’ll have to sort of wait and see what the editors chose, and how far they decided to push it. But we as actors allowed for that possibility.” -deb cinemablend

deborah and jon were both supporters, but deborah was always including frank into karen's romantic potentials:

“But all of the romance I’ve gotten to play, with any of the characters in the series, whether that’s Frank or Matt, they all come from a need. From a lonely person, a person who doubts whether she is deserving of love.” -deb collider

**

“I like that Karen can say, ‘How far down this road of violence of revenge do you go before you’re ripped apart?’ and he can look at her and go, ‘I’m already ripped apart. And you are, too.‘” -deb 92.1 bobfm

**

“When professor [Jeph] Loeb [Marvel TV head] told me we were gonna do a series on The Punisher,” Bernthal continued, “first thing i asked him is would I have the pleasure and the honor to work again with one of the most honest, the most kind, and the most talented actors I’ve ever had the privilege to work with.” --jon ew

oh! karen page being announced for the punisher. very cute.

"i just want to say, you guys don't love him as much as i do" was very exciting when it happened lmaoooo. the hope for kastle was high.

*****

i'll be honest up front and say, i tend to forget a lot of stuff? so, basically, i can read a fic and then read it again months later and it's like a brand new experience. which is both a blessing and a curse. so, i basically just zoomed through my bookmarks to try and find some things?? 😩😩

(i'm scanning my bookmarks and.............a lot of them are basically just smutfdjklgsdfjglkdfjglkdfjg)

ballads for a dead man ❤❤ [three parts, unfinished] Safe up in the mountains with Frank following a bloody showdown in Hell's Kitchen, Karen wonders just how much more complicated things between them can get. She's about to find out.

these heavy words, your open heart 😘😘 (this was a kastlechristmas gift to me from @carry-the-sky 😊❤) “You told me once that I was honest. That I don’t lie to you. But the hospital—you asked me to start over, and I said I didn’t want that.” Karen sucks in a breath. Frank’s eyes are still on her, wide and bright. It’s the most vulnerable she’s ever seen him look. “I lied,” he says.

The Reporter  [kinda iconic ❤👀] Force Recon missions keep Marines isolated, entrenched for long periods in covert locations. They rarely received visitors, and in Frank’s long experience, the visitors were almost never civilians, let alone gorgeous blondes with mile long legs and sky blue eyes. Frank was trying not to stare. They all were. Well, everyone except Bill, who’s face had just split into a shit-eating grin.

The Flower Cam [oh god, the flower cam! i just remembered!! ❤] It had been a long time since there had actually been any flowers in the window. She must have trashed the white roses after his latest bullshit at the hospital with Madani and the kid. Good. Good for her. She should forget about him. But still… Frank couldn’t help but check every once in a while.

actually just, everything in their ao3. i have all this bookmarked.

(..................god, my bookmarks are really all smut. this says a lot about me.)

Castle’s Auto Shop ❤❤ yes. yep. Karen Page is in need of a car mechanic. Castle’s Auto Body Shop seems a reasonable choice. There’s just one problem: This little auto shop has become a well-known spot where less than honorable people to go get their car fixed…only to have justice find them at the next stop light. Having her brother’s truck fixed there means Karen will have to own up to a few secrets in her past.

Blood and Bone ❤❤❤! this is the fic that has seared itself into my brain. i've never once forgotten this. iconic. Frank Castle is a boxer at the top of his game. Laconic and anti-social, he has a reputation for being an incredibly-tough interview. Karen Page is a sports reporter trying to prove herself in a male-dominated field. She's done playing games--trying to be the "Cool Girl" who caters to the male fantasy--and now she's on a mission to take no shit. "For a while, the fact that an interview with Castle lasting longer than 5 minutes even existed was big news. Splashed all over the message boards—circulated among boxing and Castle fans alike. The very concept that someone actually got the man to sit down for more than a breath of time and give multiple-sentence answers to a question—it was huge. Massive. It was the only thing Castle fans could talk about. Until three months later, when Frank Castle disappeared. Then that was the news. It was the only news."

this is hard lmaoo how ludicrious. i have about seven collections from some of our events, as well. there's loads of good stuff in there:

kastlesmutweek 2018

kastlesmutweek 2019

kastlechristmas 2018

kastlechristmas 2019

kastlechristmas 2020

kastlechristmas 2021

kastlechristmas parent collection

[clovermarigold]

Daggers & Daffodils Chap. 27

Dagur x Reader I'm back!!! And better yet. I am done with my schooling (until I seek higher education). I was stuck writing in-between my equivalent of finals and study sessions, and on top of that I had a last second surgery that basically put me out of commission for a week and kind of out of it, but I have had absolute brain rot over this fictional man. Someone over on my Tumblr said he should be named Dagur the delusional and I've been rolling in my grave ever since. Thank you all for the wait and your support, you all sent wonderful messages and I read every one of them, enjoy the chapter <3

~~~~~~~~~

You stepped back from Dagur's iron grip as he cackled uncontrollably "It took you long enough. And here I was thinking Hiccup tempered you". "You've gone mad" you wheeze out when Dagur's arms squeeze the air out of your lungs in a gripping side hug.  "Couldn't have. Always have been" with a dramatic flop the two of you fell to the bed, his arms still wrapped around you. 

You laid uncomfortably, staring at the ceiling while Dagur was content to bury his face into your hair. "You know you can yell at me, right?" you caught off guard by Dagur's sudden speech. You huff out your nose, "If I were to start now, then I'd never stop".

"If it means I would get to listen to you for the rest of my life, so be it" his fingers began to play with your hair, twisting it in loops around his index. 

"...My father is going to kill you" The bed began to shake as Dagur let out wheezing laughter, different from his usual obnoxious and loud deranged laughter. No. This was unnerving, he was actually trying to reel himself in. Tears brimmed the edges of his eyes as his body shook violently, hissing laughter escaping through gritted teeth. Pupils narrowed, eyes watery, and red, trained on you left you feeling terrified for both your father and brother, "He'd try".

 "Where is my Dragon, Dagur?" Suddenly you needed to know where your dragon was. It was clear that whatever was going on with Dagur was getting worse, looks like he isn't one for long distance relationships. Dagur didn't respond, wiping the tears from his eyes and clearing his throat, "You know, the lizard could be a bit more comfortable if you were to answer a few questions. Say... How many riders are at that base of yours". Riders? The edge didn't have any riders. At least not any that were manning the helm in your absence. You certainly weren't going to tell him that. "Drop dead" Dagur's eye twitched, though whether it was from irritation or excitement both confused and terrified you, and you were not curious enough to go through all the trouble that question would certainly entail. 

"What did you do to her?" You of course meant Heather, while Silver Tongue was no doubt your priority, you needed to know. While you understood that she was in a vulnerable situation and Dagur was the only family she had left, you would at least think she would come to you first. "It's not dead if that's what you're asking" Dagur rolled his eyes.

"What? No. Heather. Silver Tongue is a boy" Dagur propped himself up with an elbow. "Ha! Silver Tongue? You know if you wanted a silver tongue, I've got one right here" Dagur began to laugh hysterically as you shoved him off the bed glaring at him, "You're disgusting!".

He gave a small shrug, smiling lazily, "eh, a no is a no. But it's always here when you need it". "Well, that's never going to happen" you cross your arms looking down at him. "I have other options too-", "Stop talking!" Dagur entered a coughing fit, laughing and nearly crying at the redness overtaking your features. 

"You are the most immature and selfish person I have ever met" you shake your head in disbelief, "I thought we all had it bad with Snotlout but you're something else entirely. Not only are you the absolute maniac I thought you were, who gets off to violence, you're an absolute sadist who enjoys making a fool out of me".

"Hey, I get off to many things about you. Making a fool of you is not one of them" Dagur said slyly. "Unbelievable. And to top things off you can't take anything seriously!" Dagur looked at you, having fully caught his breath "I take you very seriously, love. I just also see that you have a habit of taking things too seriously".

"Being upset at being kidnaped and having my boundaries repeatedly violated is too serious?" you look at him, sarcasm and irritation evident. "First of all, kidnapping is a bit dramatic. And second, if it makes you upset, I'll be more respectful of your boundaries. No more.... risky jokes" He looks over at you and wiggles his eyebrows like a wierdo.

"Want to respect my boundaries? Here's the big one. Don't kidnap me!" Dagur flopped back on the bed, ignoring your attempts to shove him off and away from you. "Y/N, when was the last time you got to make a decision for yourself?" what, what did that have to do with anything.

"Because, from where I'm standing, you were dragged away from Berk to 'catch' me the second I got out of that prison. When was the last time you got a break?" You stayed quiet, "Knowing my brother he's had you jumping from one heroic act to the next".

"Thats our job-" Dagur cut you off, "Not yours! I found you barely able to breathe with your brother no less than an arm's length away. If you don't see what's wrong with that than you need to be away from him much more than I thought". 

"Heather was going to kill you. What? Did you want him to let her?" Dagur grew more agitated. "I think I've made it pretty clear that I'm going to kill Hiccup. If he prioritizes saving his murderer over his own sister, then I'm going to have to make it a lot more painful than I first thought".

"He was doing it for Heather, not for you" Dagur though sour, strained to keep himself from screaming. "My sister. Not his. Mine. You can argue all you want about her being your friend. That was a family matter. And he neglected his own in favor of mine.... Then again, I suppose it will be his too soon enough".

"Thats unfair" you felt backed into a corner, you didn't know how you felt about that moment. You had gone so long without having a panic attack and here you were being confronted about it a second time. "What' unfair is that you were put in this situation at all", Dagur's hand wrapped around your forearm, "You don't need to see what happens to your 'friends' when Viggo gets them".

"Viggo?" that was a new name, "You'll meet him soon enough, he's big man Rykee's older brother. Poor thing seems scared of him. Couldn't imagine. Then again, I have a good relationship with my siblings" he laughed making you wonder how serious he was.

"My point is, this is not 'kidnapping'. Hiccup just made you think that it is" you rolled your eyes. "What did you do to Heather?" you gave up on this new conversation Dagur had steered you toward in favor of asking your original question.

"Honestly, nothing" you gave his a look at his obvious lie. "Really. She found me. Told me she had thought it over and realized we were the only family we had left. And blood trumps all, isn't that right?" that didn't sound like Heather. 

A loud bell rang from outside, no doubt an alarm system of some sort. "Come on. It seems your friends are a bit over excited" Dagur pulled you up off the bed, "Come? Me too?". "Respectfully, leaving you alone doesn't tend to go well", His hand intertwined with your as he dragged you out the door right behind him. 

Well, there went your plan to break out through the window

~~~~~~

End chapter notes:

Sorry this chapter is a little shorter than usual. I realized it had been almost half a year since my last update and really wanted to get something out.

Dagur would choose the bear..... so, he could wrestle it. But he'd choose the bear none the less

@demogorgon-master1

@mj-jabami

@alicee-carter

@amearla

[asterlark]

we learn so little details about benoit blanc's history or personal life that that little moment in knives out 1 fascinates me... let's look at it.

marta: did you know harlan?

blanc: he knew my father who was a police detective. years ago. my father respected harlan. that says quite a lot.

1. we learn that blanc's father was a police detective years ago, which means that

2. blanc is partially following in his father's footsteps, becoming a detective of sorts himself

3. blanc's father respected harlan and "that says quite a lot"- which i take to mean, it was respect not easily earned. blanc sr. gave his respect to people he deemed good enough, worthy enough.

now i'm just thinking and extrapolating, but from this wording and tone, i gather that blanc's father is dead. and i wonder if we'll find out in future movies whether that's true, and if blanc's father lived to see blanc become a famous private investigator, was he proud of him? did he respect his son? (unrelated but kind of related: did he know his son is gay?)

it's also a fascinating moment, in a movie partially about a family's relationship to a father figure, to have blanc briefly mention following in his father's footsteps. in baiting linda to talk about how she truly feels about the other members of the family, blanc says:

"...as a self-made man myself i have to express my admiration for how you've followed in your father's footsteps. ...just marvelous. the whole family too. joni with her things, walt with his publishing empire."

this movie has a subtle nod to legacy. what do we want to leave behind? who do we want our children to become? how will we care for future generations? harlan cuts his family off to force them to become "self-made" and self-sufficient. then there is blanc: if we take him at his word (and don't presume he's lying to bait joni), he is a self-made man.

we can only guess at how he feels about his father and his original motivations for his career choice, but it makes sense that blanc would want to become an investigator because of his father. it makes me wonder- did he try to be a police detective first or did he go a different way from the start? (i personally get from the "self-made" vibe that he's always been a private investigator, but that's just imo.) what guided his ethos in choosing clients, honoring his father or unlearning his father's worldview?

there's no real end to this post i'm just fascinated by benoit blanc as a character, partially because we know so little about his personal life. he's a man of mystery, he's gay, he's either a daddy's boy or has daddy issues, he's a fashion icon, he's a feminist, and he's my best friend ❤️

[oh-no-its-dragons]

Dead Dove

So over on the RQ server we were talking about dead!Xaden fics and @sarcasticmothwrites mentioned that you can't write a dead!Violet fic from Xaden's POV because of the chain reaction.

And the plotbunnies apparently decided to take that as a personal challenge.

Warning: Dead Dove, Do Not Eat

I feel it when Sgaeyl's life spills out, soaking back into the Source.

It begins with a pounding in my chest, and the sensation of claws around my heart. The daylight turns solid black around me, shadows forming a wall without even needing a command. For a moment I think it's one of those fucking Sages trying to teach me respect again, and I start to throw up my shields.

That's when I realize where it's coming from. The navy blue night sky of Sgaeyl's presence on my hill as if she'd never left, as if I'm not standing on barren earth here now where I used to let her power and her love wash through me.

She'd banished me, but she'd never completely severed our bond.

I wonder what could make her reach out now and when I see the stars falling in her sky I know. She's dying.

The wrench in my gut when I realize she's dying and I won't die with her is harsher than would have expected. It's been years, years of loneliness, of dragging myself up through the venin ranks, learning their secrets and leaving them for the rebellion to find-

For Violet to find-

Oh gods, Violet. If Sgaeyl is dying, then Tairn is going with her to whomeever takes the souls of dragons, and Violet…

There's no way for me to know which part of their bond was reason for it, whether Violet's already gone or taking her last breaths against Tairn's bloodblack scales. The scar on my chest burns, my scarred and faded relic burns, my own breath burns in my chest.

I should be dying with them, Violet in my arms or my hands on Sgaeyl's side. If I was a better man, I would be dying with them, or maybe if I was there I would have saved them.

Instead I'm alone here, wrapping myself in layer after layer of shadow like the blankets I hid in when my mother left, as if I have any right to be upset. As if I have any right to grief or regret after everything I've done.

In my mind, on my hill, the stars have gone out of the night sky now. The dark blue fades lighter and lighter until it's gone, replaced with the parched, bone-white sky that's all I ever see now. Dead sky and dead earth, and me standing here wondering if maybe I've been dead the whole time.

I am realizing just how much the knowledge that Violet was out there, still fighting, kept me tethered to my sanity. I haven't let myself think about it, but now my walls are broken and every feeling I put away in the last three years rushes in. Has Bodhi forgiven me for leaving the burden of the rebellion to him? Have Garrick and Imogen finally gotten around to talking to each other? Has Sloane been able to come out of her brother's shadow?

Are they still alive?

Do I deserve to know if they are?

No, not yet. I've played at this, but I haven't done enough. I stand up and the shadows around me retreat.

I stare at the back of my hand, where black veins snake under my skin and disappear into the whorls of my rebellion relic. My heart never let go of Violet or Sgaeyl, but the rebellion had been my family. It's time to take this fucking seriously.

Back on my hill, I plant my feet on the dead ground and send myself as deep as I can go into the ground. Sgaeyl returned to the Source. Tairn went with her, and a part of Violet would have stayed with him, I'm sure, no matter what Malek tried to make her do. Fallen stars. The inkpot sky on Winter Solstice the first year after Threshing when Sgaeyl took me back to Aretia, hours on her back feeling her breathing and the cycle of energy between us. I know this. I know her. And she reached out to me at the end, so maybe I can even believe she wanted me to do this.

I pull, and I hear her clear as the last words she said to me, "I chose you!" She did. She chose me. She told me I was ruthless, and relentless, and she liked that. She had given me such a gift.

That gift is still mine, the last lifeline. I feel her warmth in my veins, flowing upward. I can almost, almost feel her breath on me as it reaches my heart and mixes with everything else I've taken, everything I've carried, and begins to flow into the rest of me.

I pull and there's more, there's so much, there was always so much and I'm no longer afraid of burning out. I can carry all of her, because that's all that's left, and I feel the burn that Tairn's energy had always felt like at the corner of my hill, like when I snuck into my father's good liquor cabinet as a kid. When I recognize it I drink it in like a drowning man because I know, I know-

Ozone and hope flash through me and I can feel her hands in my hair. Her lips on my neck. I can hold Sgaeyl and I can hold Tairn but somehow my Violence is the one who's always been too much. I shatter, my awareness ghosting through what feels like every shadow on the continent.

Every venin I can find is torn apart by their own shadow. We're hard to kill but not immortal, not when reduced to shredded, rotten meat. I feel the shadows of running feet, of dragons wheeling mid-air to change tactics, the obliteration of shadows that disappear in fire.

I come back to myself choking for air, and somehow, impossibly, Violet is holding me. I only feel the fever when her hands are cool on my cheeks, and I wait for something awful, something I know I deserve.

"Say something," I manage to get out.

"Come home."

So I do.

[galvanizedfriend]

I’m about to be cheeky and ask whether we could have a sneak peek of the next chapter of the Wolf????? Or am I being too rude in asking that 😂.

Hi, nonnie! No, it's not rude at all!

I got this part out of the opening scene of the chapter, but I have to warn you that I am yet to review or edit anything, so it might change a little bit yet.

It's Caroline and Kol having a rather spiky heart to heart. I hope you like it! 🥲

---

"I was wondering when you'd come out."

Caroline sighs. Of course, Kol would know she was there. She wonders what it means that he didn't tell the others. Maybe he was trying to spare her, or maybe he just didn't want her presence to overshadow a moment that should be entirely about Davina. Either way, she's grateful.

"I almost didn't. Wasn't sure I should even be here, to be honest."

"Where are your loyal wardens?" he asks flatly. "Don't tell me they're so overcome with guilt after condemning an innocent girl to hell that they couldn't indulge in a bit of gloom. It's their favorite kind of party."

"Klaus wanted to come," Caroline admits. "But I told him not to. Didn't think it would be wise."

Kol huffs out a weak snort. "Since when does he care about being wise?"

"He doesn't," she replies. "But I do."

"Right. And he always listens to you." He pauses. "It must be nice to have family who gives a damn about what you think."

Caroline's jaw sets. She lets her eyes focus on the elegantly carved letters of Davina's name on the headstone. It's beautiful, but rough. Not a lot of details, no quotes or messages about her being a good friend, a loving girlfriend. Feels hurried. Unfinished. Less than she deserved.

"I hated Davina when she tried to Klaus," she says after a moment, words tumbling out of her mouth without consent before she can give them a second thought. "I didn't hate, hate her. Not really. But in that moment, while she was there screaming her spell from the top of her lungs, saying that he'd lived long enough… I hated her then. She didn't really care whether he survived that whole thing or not. She wanted to get you back and she was willing to sacrifice whatever it took to do it."

"What are you on about?" Kol turns to her, a sharp edge to his voice. "Nik didn't die."

"Because Marcel betrayed her, and Stefan and I let an unstoppable huntress with a magic stone loose in the city to create enough diversion that could have backfired in so many ways, just so we could stop it. And then I killed Aya with my bare hands before she could have the chance to try again, and took back the white oak bullet she was going to use to test the effectiveness of Davina's de-linking spell,” she lists. “If that sounds like a too long and complicated combination, it's because it was. It took a village for Klaus to get out of that place alive, and if any of those things had failed, he wouldn't be here right now. And even then, Davina still managed to break his sire line, which made him vulnerable, including to Lucien, who was then free to threaten him and everyone else at will, because his life was no longer tethered to Klaus'." Kol's expression darkens. If looks could kill, Caroline would probably drop dead right there and then. But still, she keeps going. "She knew what she was doing, she knew the consequences, and she didn't care because getting you back meant more to her than Klaus' life."

"I wonder why," Kol hisses. "You talk as if Nik hadn't given her extraordinarily strong reasons to have such disregard for his well-being."

"I'm not questioning that, Kol. Klaus is… Klaus. Whenever someone tells me they hate him, I just assume they have a good reason. It's usually the case. She did, too. But that's beside the point. What I'm saying is that she made a choice that night, and I’m sure it wasn’t an easy one, if not for Klaus, then for everyone else who stood to lose if she failed, including Marcel. We're all put in impossible positions sometimes, and we have to make choices that we might regret for the rest of eternity."

"That's brilliant," he says, lips twisted into an awful smile. "I expected that kind of bollocks from Elijah, but I thought you, of all people, would not try to defend the indefensible."

"I'm not defending it. And I understand your anger, Kol. I really do. Better than I wish, actually. I never wanted Davina to get hurt or to pay for what she did. I don't think she deserved what happened to her. You trusted your family, and… They let you down," she says, her voice fraying around the edges. "You're right. You should hate us. You, Marcel, Vincent. I would hate us, too. But what I can't stop thinking is that I hope I'm never put in the same position as Elijah and Freya. I hope I never have to find out who I would be willing to sacrifice for my daughter, or for Klaus. I wish I could say that I would do the right thing, but the truth is… I don't know. And I would hate to find out. Because there is no right answer. There's only a guilt that eats away at you, and then living with the consequences of your choice. I mean, yesterday would’ve ended in a funeral either way. If not Davina's, then mine and Klaus'. I'm sure you'd be happy to have her back, and regardless of your feelings for us, you'd feel sorry for your niece. But because of what Elijah and Freya did, I'm here today, and Davina is not. I'm grateful to be alive, but I'm not happy. No one is. I wish it didn't have to be like that."

Caroline swallows around the tight lump in her throat, forcing back the tears threatening to escape. Somehow, she doesn't think she gets to cry over this. Not here. Not in front of Kol.

Kol's jaw clenches, his face scrunched up with an emotion she can't really define.

Caroline hesitates, considers telling him that he will always have a home with them, but decides not to. He doesn't want to hear that right now. Not from her, anyway.

"I'm sorry for your loss, Kol," she says instead, and means it. "I really am."

Then she turns away and leaves him to mourn Davina in peace.

[yellow-faerie]

Prompt List 5

I have made another prompt list! As always, feel free to reblog for your own use, and please send in prompts for any of the fandoms I write for!

"Don't try it. Don't you dare."

"Does this shirt look OK?"

"No-one here compares to you."

"If you were performing on the roadside, I would take money away from you."

"If you keep looking at me like that, I might have to kiss you."

"Was that a threat? Were you threatening me?"

"No! It's my wedding day, you're not allowed to die on my wedding day!"

"Isn't it funny? [He/She/They] actually made me feel loved."

"Well, it seems like you misunderstood."

"Did you know? Did you?"

"Take it, I don't need it anymore."

"This world sometimes feels like it's slowly dragging me down, but when I'm with you..."

"You let me cry. I don't think I've ever had that before."

"You're ridiculous; you know that, right?"

"Let's go get ice cream and take a walk through the park - pretend we're a proper sappy couple, like the ones you see in movies."

"You are my home and my heart and there is no-one else I would rather have at my side."

"That is not safe, please tell me you didn't do that."

"First of all, we're not dead, so jot that down."

"I'm pathetically in love with my best friend and I don't know what to do about it."

"That is...a really big spider. Hey, [name], come and deal with this spider!"

"Sometimes I wonder if maybe everyone would be happier if I'd never been born."

"Oh please be alive, please be alive, please - oh thank fuck."

"Oh no. I'm fucked."

"Regretting coming to work yet?"

"Look - and I mean this in the nicest way - but you look like shit. Get back into bed and I'll bring you something warm to drink."

"If that film is still on the TV, I'm going to kill you."

"Come here. Let me do your hair."

"[He/She/They] are literally the most perfect person on this planet. So no, I will not be asking them out."

"You have no idea how much I want to deck you right now."

"How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine, stop worrying so - ow, ow, ow! OK, yeah, maybe I need a little help."

"Stop right there!"

"How do you feel about discussing the divorce over a nice, candlelit dinner?"

"Come on, there's a family barbecue, we can't be late!"

"You know something? There's nothing that beats the feeling of waking up next to you each morning."

"You're the best [brother/sister/sibling] I could have ever asked for."

"Remember when our parents used to do that?"

"I want you to walk me down the aisle. Not anybody else."

"You don't get to tell me what to do. Not anymore."

"Kiss me. Kiss me until I forget my name."

"How many times have I died already?"

"Time travel? Really?"

"Take one look at me and decide for yourself whether I believe you."

"I woke up this morning and forgot you were dead."

"[My parents] are arguing again. Can I stay with you tonight?"

"Autumn's nearly over. You ready?"

"Come on, you need to pack. Quietly. We're running away."

"I missed you. Why did you leave?"

"Of course I didn't forget you. How could I ever forget you?"

"Love me. Please, please, love me."

[duhragonball]

JoJolion Ch. 109-110

Maybe the real JoJo Lion was the GUARDRAIL FROM 1941.

So, this is the "Radio Gaga Incident" a two-part arc that closes out Part 8. Like the mad lad he is, Hirohiko Araki ends the longest Jojo part ever by flashing back seventy years before the story's setting. What can we possibly gain from this? Well, it pissed off a lot of fans, and it kind of annoyed me too at the time, but I've made peace with it. Let's see if we can find the meaning together.

So it's 1941, and Lucy Steel from Part 7 has just arrived in Morioh. She was 14 in Steel Ball Run, which would make her 65 here. She's looking good, but not too good. Araki keeps introducing these older women in his stories and forgetting to make them look old, like Holly Kira and Caato Higashikata. That might be because Araki himself is getting up there in years, so maybe he's developed a blind spot with this sort of thing. But with Lucy, he seemed to get it right. She's got that Angela Lansbury face going on. She doesn't turn as many heads these days, but that guy at the train station who's here to pick her up? Yeah, he's checking her out. He won't carry her luggage to the car, so he's not that interested, but he's checking her out.

Some guy offers to carry her stuff, but he actually steals it instead, and no one will help. But the thief bumps into a young man as he runs, and then...

Coming through, coming through, coming through now

Coming through, coming through, coming through now

Coming through, coming through, coming through

Shake it like it's heat, Overdrive!

Yeah, it's Joseph Joestar. This doesn't quite get revealed until Chapter 110, but come on. It's 1941, and we all saw his name on the family tree. From the beginning of Part 8, I wondered if we'd get a flashback to other Joestars besides Johnny, and since Holly's already in the story and George was seen in Johnny's dead scene, that just leaves the one option. So as soon as a young man appeared in this flashback, I was wondering if it could be Joseph, and this bit where he foils a thief with his shoe basically clinched it.

And you know, Part 2's my favorite, so I can't get too mad at Part 8 for ending on a flashback to some Part Two-y goodness. Just the setting it nice. Battle Tendency never went anywhere near Japan, but the late 30's/early 40's aesthetic is still there.

Joseph carries her luggage to the car too, because he's such a nice young man, but he balks when Lucy offers him a part time job assisting her with her research. She wants to check out this orchard because she learned about some weird new fruit and she thinks people are bringing it to Japan. But Joseph is here to pick up his date from the train station, and besides, that place is the site of the "Radio Gaga incident". He doesn't think she needs to be snooping around there, regardless of whether he helps her or not.

But when he goes to meet his date, he suddenly realizes his wallet is missing. That thief grabbed it when he bumped into Joseph earlier, and Joseph was so focused on saving Lucy's stuff that he didn't bother to stop the thief from getting away. So now he wants the job. I'm not sure if his date canceled on him or if he's still got time to make enough money to make it up to her, but he's all in on Lucy's offer now. What confuses him, though, is that she's not with the police or any other authorities. She's with the Speedwagon Foundation, and she's here to study the land the orchard is growing on. Joseph is amazed that she didn't come here to investigate a crime, since the Radio Gaga incident might as well be a crime.

I like this bit here, where she explains that as you get older, you find a purpose for yourself in life. Not a job, but something chosen for you by heaven, or the universe, or fate, or whatever you want to call it. "Something you do for the world at large or for the sake of one particular person". That captures the spirit of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure pretty well, and Part 8 in particular.

So what was the Radio Gaga Incident? On the way to the site in the photograph, Joseph explains that there was a young couple on this road, near that guardrail, and the woman thought she heard someone calling out to her. Then she approached the guardrail, apparently took off all her clothes, and vanished. I don't think Lucy particularly cares much about this story, since she only came her to investigate the land, and this just happens to offer a great view of the orchard for photography, but as she starts setting up her equipment, the chauffeur starts hearing things and he approaches the guardrail, just like the woman in the story.

Then he loses his clothes, and vanishes. A truck drove by, so they couldn't see what happened to him, but it just doesn't make sense.

Joseph wants to leave immediately, but Lucy is fascinated. She came here looking for the Locacaca plant, but finding something else weird in this place is familiar to her. But as she ponders this mystery, she hears a strange voice calling to her, and it leads her closer to the guardrail. At first she thinks it's Joseph, but he's calling her to the car, so they can leave. Also, there seems to be some sort of siren song aspect to the voice, where Lucy can't resist its call.

Turns out, the guardrail itself is the culprit behind all this. It lures its victims toward it, then it sucks them into the thin gap where one section of rail is bolded to another. The victims lose their clothes first because this suction is powerful enough to rip the clothes right off a person. Then they get pulled in themselves, as we see in this page with the interior view of the driver's mangled body inside the guardrail.

So yeah, it's another bullshit Rock Animal. Well, this one's probably a Rock Insect, like the ones Toru used against Josuke. I mean, there's nothing insect-like about this thing, but that goes for the other Rock Insects as well. They just seem to disguise themselves as other objects and completely fuck up their prey with mind powers and other crazy powers.

Joseph pulls Lucy to safety before it's too late, but then something comes out of the guardrail to try to pull her back in. To their horror, they realize it's the driver.

Somehow, against all reason, the Guardrail creature is keeping the driver's body alive, and even using him as a proxy to recapture Lucy. That seems pretty far-fetched, even for Rock Insects, but then again, I'm still trying to figure out if Josuke ever pulled out a big wad of asbestos from his butt.

Somehow, Lucy gets clear, but Joseph is getting pulled in, and as his clothes are shredded, she notices a star-shaped birthmark on him. That gives her a clue, so she tells Joseph to use the car to save himself. She doesn't know how he can start the car from so far away, but she's sure he can do it, and she knows he knows it too.

So he flings his shoe at the car's trunk, which causes a bunch of stuff to spill out of it, and then...

HERMIT PURPLE FUCK YEAH!

Lucy can't even see it, but she's still making out for this. As far as I can tell, Part 8 Joseph needs a physical cable to make Hermit Purple work. Part 3 Joseph would have just sent the thorny vines to the car, but here it's like he had to pop the trunk first, get that power cord and channel Hermit Purple through it in order to reach the car with it. Maybe this is just how Hermit Purple works when you're just starting out. Part 3 Joseph might have had the same issues with it until he learned how to extend his range without a rope.

The end result is classic Joseph, though. Guardrail monster got you down? Just hit it with an entire car! That's how we do things in Part Two, you silicon-based motherfucker!

But Joseph's not done yet. It's called "Overdrive" not "A regular amount of drive". We achieved that with the car, of course, but Joseph needs to put an exclamation point on this. He briefly spots a pair of balls on a string? Like, this is supposed to be a reference to his Clacker Volley technique from Part 2, and that's awesome, but I have no idea what that would be here in Lucy's luggage. Joseph doesn't know either so he tosses 'em away and attacks the guardrail with some Part 2 beef. Also, Hermit Purple has a face in Part 8. Well good for him. I'm glad Hermit Purple is trying new things.

But we're still not done, because there's one more technique Joseph needs to employ...

Nigerundayo! Lucy!

As they flee, Lucy asks Joseph his name again, since he introduced himself as "Fumi-kun" earlier, but the birthmark identifies him as a relative of Johnny Joestar. Joseph explains that he's Johnny's grandson, and his grandmother Rina named him "Joseph", which in Japanese is "Josefu", and so people call him "Fumi-kun".

Lucy gets wistful over this, since the last time she saw Johnny was when she followed him here in 1901 to retrieve the Saint Corpse, and he was already dead by that point.

Actually, now that I think of it, this starts to add up. I thought it was Lucy who chased after Johnny in 1901, but the scanlation I read at the time left me thinking she was working for the government. But now we know she was with Speedwagon, and that makes more sense. At the end of Part 7, there was this big vault that the Saint Corpse was supposed to be hidden in, but Lucy stopped Dio from using it, and it was unclear what happened to it afterward. But maybe in the aftermath, Lucy searched for someone to help her decide how to deal with the Saint Corpse, and ended up getting to know the Speedwagon Foundation. It makes more sense for them to be the ones keeping the Saint Corpse, since leaving it in the hands of the U.S. government was Funny Valentine's plan from the beginning.

Anyway, as Lucy rides Joseph to safety, she catches a glimpse of Toru planting Locacaca plants in the orchard. Well, sure, it makes sense that he was around back then, but if he was bringing Locacaca fruit into Japan for seventy years straight...

I mean, the smuggling ring seemed like a recent operation. They needed Jobin to launder their profits, and that didn't happen until 2009 or so. And the research at TGU Hospital probably didn't start until 2001, when Toru began posing as Dr. Akefu.

I guess what confuses me is that he was at this for decades, but why did it take so long for him to execute this plan? Maybe he got sidetracked with some other project? Anyway, it's possible that Toru put the Radio Gaga creature out there on the highway to keep people away from his work, but it also might have been living their naturally. And Lucy does start bleeding from the mouth after she sees Toru, but she already had a lung disease leading into this story, so I'm not sure if she experienced a calamity.

Joseph leaves his sandals behind, and he was so worried about Holly that he accompanied her back home to New York. Then World War II happened, so they couldn't return to Japan. Holly died in 1944, and Joseph got a job in America and eventually became a naturalized citizen. Years later, Joseph would marry Suzie Q and have a daughter, Holly, who would become a doctor in Morioh, etc. etc.

Then we return to the present. Josuke and Yasuho are leaving the hospital after visiting Holly. Now that Kei is dead, Josuke is the only family she has left. Yasuho asks Josuke if there's any hope for Holly now that the Locacaca branch is gone. Josuke doesn't think so. Maybe someone could find a Locacaca plant in New Guinea, but there's no one left who would know where to look.

And this bothered me a lot, because it seemed like the whole point of JoJolion was Josuke's mission to save Holly, and it looks like he's failed. I think fans held out some hope that this would get picked up in Part 9, except JoJoLands is set about a decade later, and there's no way Holly could have survived that long in her 2011 condition.

I think it might have been easier to take if Holly simply died in this story. That would have provided some closure, but instead she's still in a coma. And maybe the hospital will have to move her to palliative care, like they tried to do after Kira's payments stopped, but her only chance was the Locacaca and that's gone now. Part 8 ends with her no better off than when she started, and it's implied that she'll just continue to deteriorate until she finally dies.

In the parking lot, they notice Josefumi Kujo's mother, and Yasuho points her own. Josuke knows her name and face by now, because he learned about her from Karera. But he no longer cares about connecting with her, or anyone else Kira or Josefumi may have known. He's spent this whole story trying to recover their memories, but there are none. That's because he's not Kira or Josefumi, no matter how badly he might wish it were otherwise.

And this is the true conclusion of Josuke's character arc. He only took up the quest to save Holly because he wanted to continue the mission Kira and Josefumi had begun before they got merged together. If he couldn't have their memories, he could at least take up their cause. It's like Lucy said earlier, as you live, you find a mission for yourself, something you do for a person or the whole world. The other JoJo's each found their own cause, and had to give up parts of their former lives to take up those causes. But Josuke had no former life. For him, the cause was all he had. He used it to try to define his identity.

And now that quest is over. Yes, he failed to save Holly, but he still saw it through. The truth is that the Locacaca fruit never would have saved Holly. It was the cause of her illness, not the cure, so I think that's one reason Josuke isn't sorry that it's lost forever. Maybe he would have sacrificed himself to save Holly with the New Locacaca's power, but I don't think Holly would have wanted that. In the end, all Josuke could do was avenge Holly, and Yoshikage, and Josefumi, and everyone else who died in opposition to the Rock Humans. That'll have to be enough.

But in pursuing that quest, even if Josuke didn't accomplish what he set out to do, he discovered himself. He has a past now, even if its only a few weeks' worth. He has friends and family, and dead to mourn. That's what this is really all about. Instead of trying to learn more about the men he used to be, he can focus on the man he is today, and live that life with people like Yasuho.

Speaking of Yasuho, she uses her power to go through Josefumi's mother's phone, and finds old baby photos of Josefumi. So even though it seems like she never cared about her son, it looks like she did have some feelings for him, and that must mean something, right?

Also, Yasuho discovers that Josefumi was named for a sandal his grandfather found by the side of the road, and it had "Josefu" carved into the wood. I know what Araki's going for here, but it sounds really awkward for Yasuho to bring this up to Josuke when even she doesn't know what it means.

Finally, Josuke and Yasuho arrive at the Higashikata Fruit Parlor, where the surviving Higashikata family are trying to pick out a cake for when Norisuke gets out of the hospital. He's going to be okay, although you have to imagine he'll never be quite the same after this. I mean, Jobin attacked him, and that's bad enough, but Jobin and Caato are dead now, and that has to be tough on him.

Anyway, there's plenty of cakes to choose from, but they're all too emotional to decide, so Tsurugi asks Josuke to choose. I'm not sure why Tsurugi is still dressing up like a girl if the curse is broken, but maybe Araki didn't feel like redesigning the character so late in the final chapter.

Josuke is surprised that they want him to make the decision, but they all agree, even Joshuu, who usually would be licking every person in the room and talking about his mom's boobs. I guess losing that arm did him some good after all. So Josuke goes to join them, and Yasuho sheds a tear as she leaves him with his family.

And that's the end. I was disappointed with this scene in 2021, mainly because I've resented the Higashikata family all along. They're all dipshits, and it just so happens that some of them are creepier and dipshittier than others. The idea of Josuke hanging out with them instead of Yasuho irked me. I think it irked a lot of people.

But the Higashikata Family was a throughline for this Part, and again, Josuke's character arc was about him finding a new identity for himself. Part of that is his integration into the Higashikata family. At first, it seemed like they only took him in as a means to an end, but then they became allies, and then friends. Now, after all they've been through, they begin to see one another as family.

The thought occurred to me that Josuke might just have taken Jobin's place in the family. Think about it. Jobin was set to inherit the Fruit Parlor, and now he's dead. Tsurugi can still take over one day. Notice how he was the one who asked Josuke to choose the cake. The little guy is already exerting a certain authority over his aunts and uncle.

But Norisuke's 59, and he's probably not going to be quite as exuberant after this whole ordeal. He'll need someone like Jobin to run things, and he can't wait for Tsurugi to grow up. And as I keep pointing out, Joshuu, Hato, and Daiya are completely unqualified to handle such responsibility. Josuke's the only option.

Early on, Tsurugi told Yasuho about the curse, and how the Higashikata family would sometimes adopt people to continue the family line. I think that's what Norisuke just did with Josuke, although he didn't realize it at the time. Josuke can become Norisuke Higashikata V, run the fruit parlor for a few decades, and then pass it on to Tsurugi once he's ready to become Norisuke VI.

That's why Yasuho left the parlor on the final page. She's Josuke's girlfriend, no doubt, and she's definitely part of his life, but she's not part of Josuke, and that's what this final scene is about. At long last, he has a place to belong, and a life to live, and a home of his own, just like Yasuho has. Going forward, they can have a relationship on equal footing. That's what this is all about.

So yeah... that's it. Part 8 is done. I gotta say, I'm pleased to finally wrap up a complete liveblog of this one, but I didn't expect to have this much fun with it. Maybe I should do another Part one of these days...

Not Part 4, though, because I am sick of typing out "Higashikata".