#because i really don't want to spoil this volume

[hotwaterandmilk]

This is just me posting in the middle of the night that I would die for Hina in Oshi ni Amagami. I finally checked out the first volume (another one of those recent releases I'd ordered) and it was a lot of fun!

Hina is an otaku vampre who moves to Japan to live her otaku dream. She just wants to get merch and visit events, but things take a turn when she meets her neighbour Amanatsu, who happens to look like her favourite character from a vampire anime (much to his own chagrin). Although Amanatsu doesn't want anything to do with Hina and her obsessions at first, he might actually need her more than he realises...

When the rest of my store exclusive papers arrive I'll have to scan them in a batch, the art is super cute! I hope Suzuki can keep up the energy and heart in this one, because it has a lot of potential. I would also like to see Amanatsu become worthy of THE otaku vampire queen because Hina as a heroine truly has my heart.

[fma03envy]

Hm having thoughts about Reze

[mirohlayo]

hello lynaa!!

could you do (any driver) x reader where they just spoil em rotten with all these never ending very expensive gifts and reader gets emotional and he comforts her?

i love ur work btw <3

hello !! i literally LOVE this one, thanks for requesting it :)) i really struggle to choose between charles and oscar but i decided to go with oscar yeah (also thank u so much it's so sweet 🫶) hope it's okay !!

YOU'RE MY BEST GIFT | OP81

( despite the fact you don't like it, oscar can't stop spoiling you because you deserve everything )

warning : none just reader getting emotional, fluff and fluff

word count : 2.8k

!! english is not my first language !!

you are for sure the most precious person ever for oscar. being his partner means that he constantly makes sure you're always happy. he literally puts all his being into your relationship, he tries his best to keep everything perfect. if you're not satisfied enough then he's not either, and he always manage to do his best to make you feel fulfilled by his love and affection.

it also means that he obviously likes to spoil you. it's kind of his love language. he needs to buy you something, whether an object that reminded him of you or tons of expensive stuffs like perfumes, clothes, shoes... money doesn't matter for him, as long as he makes you happy with his little gifts then everything is good. plus he earns a pretty good amount of money, so he doesn't wait a single to waste it into gifting you lots of things.

so of course he notices the little stuff you were always looking at, whether on your phone in your shopping cart or when you would stare a bit too much at some storefronts during your dates. he often catches you looking at this pair of shoes that you really want for a while now, this oversized hoodie which reminds you of your boyfriend because there's literally the number 81 on the back, or also those cute pastries you always talk about how good they look.

but you know you'll never buy these things, maybe later in months but they're just too expensive for you. you can afford them but you can't all buy them in one seat, you also need to save money because you share your apartment's spending with oscar. you agreed at the start of your relationship that both of you will take part in renting, shopping and getting all the stuff and furniture you need to live together.

and your job pays you very much less than oscar's job so obviously you don't have the same income and money to spend it on extra expensive things you like. but it's okay, you actually like earning money little by little and when you finally have the good amount of money you're always happy to buy these little gifts you dreamed about.

now you are sitting comfortably on the couch, your laptop on your laps. your favorite playlist is playing on the loudspeaker in a low volume and you just have finished a schedule for your next week of work. "are you okay love ? do you want something to drink ? or a snack ?"

your boyfriend's voice comes from behind you, where the kitchen is. you turn your head and smile to him "a glass of water then please" you gently ask "no problem" he replies and opens one of the kitchen closet to grab a glass. you move again to go back to your laptop, and while you delete open pages on google, there's your shopping cart that appears. you forget to delete it last time.

you hesitate to delete the page, but your eyes gaze at the pretty things you put in your cart. you really want these cute shoes and this hoodie for a while now, and you'll be lying if you said you didn't dream about them everyday. you're so envious of those people who own them, sometimes you bump into some girls who are wearing them and it makes you even more excited about getting the shoes and the hoodie.

oscar soundlessly comes behind you, a tray with your glass of water and some fruits on it. just for you, because he's simply the most caring and sweet boyfriend you ever had. he approaches you in silence and you don't hear his steps, too occupied by the clothes on your laptop screen. but obviously he notices that you are once again staring at the same shopping cart. the same one as months ago.

he knows how much you want these items. maybe you're a bit desperate now and oscar doesn't like that. if you really want something then you'll have it. he likes to spoil you. he likes to buy you things because it makes you happy and he just needs to see your smile. but you're aware of the importance of money.

money is something very important for you and you know its value. so despite the fact you like receiving gifts, when oscar would spoil you too much with so many expensive things you can't help but get a bit angry. because you don't want him to spend all his salary for you. you're actually very reasonable and rational. you're humble and expensive gifts are like very precious to you because you value things

and oscar loves you for that. he thinks you're just so respectful and you never ask for anything, he don't even think you ever ask him to buy you something over your relationship. you always try to afford things by yourself and your hard work. and your boyfriend admire this. so when people or his "fans" would call you a scrounger, a girl who is here just for oscar's money, he get so annoyed. because if there's one person who doesn't count and don't care on his money at all, it's you.

he sighs and sit down next to you. "here's your water, princess" he says and he hands you the glass. you quickly change the shopping page to an other one with a youtube video, you panicked a bit because you don't want oscar to see you looking at these things. because you know he'll tell you that he can buy you it, and you always end up by scolding him gently, saying that if he dares do it you'll be mad for weeks.

"thanks love" you smile and take a sip of your water. he wraps one of his arms around your shoulders and pull you closer to him. "you finished your work ?" he asks against your hair, planting a soft kiss on it. "yes, i can finally take a break" you nod. "good then. i can have your attention" he hums and he's quick to move your laptop from your laps to place it on the table.

"cuddle me for a while" he says and he lay down on the couch. he makes you shift and you lay down too, your head on his chest and your legs crossed together. he wraps his arms around your back, rubbing it softly. "you work hard y/n. i'm so proud of my pretty girl" he smiles wide as his looks fall on you. you giggle and he can feel your laugh vibrates against his body, making him smile even wider. "i know. i'm such an amazing woman" you state with a tone of irony. "of course you are babe" he genuine knows it, he's proud to be boyfriend.

he starts placing lazy kisses on your head, sometimes on the back of your hand, still stroking your back. he run his hand under your hoodie, and his fingers rubs your soft skin softly, like you're a piece of porcelain. he's just too caring and he doesn't want to make you uncomfortable. but his soft touch makes you feel sleepy, and it doesn't take too long before you start to sleep.

he notices it because your breathing is slower and more regular. he places an other kiss on your hair. his eyes shift to your laptop screen. there are still your google searches on it, and he can't help himself but stretches his arm to move the touch mouse. he clicks on the page of your shopping cart, and knows he has a good look of the products you genuinely want.

he grabs his phone out of his pocket and he quickly takes a picture of the screen. he smiles to himself, proud of what he's going to do later this evening. now he knows what he needs to do.

-

"and i'll take the strawberry one too please" oscar says as he waits for the seller to wrap the ten pastries he just finished to order. the seller hands him the little red box with the white ribbon around it. the blonde grabs his credit card and pays without looking at the price. he's not even bothered, because a silly smile is playing on his lips.

he bought you these pastries which you talk about every time you found a tiktok about it, rambling about how sweet and delicious they look, and oscar was listening to you. he finally bought plenty of them today for you, ten pastries to be sure you'll have enough. and if not then he'll go back again at the bakery to buy more. until you're satisfied.

now he's going back home, already excited to see you and your expression when you'll discover all the things he bought today. he told you earlier that he needs to get some groceries, which was a lie because he used this time to purchase all the stuff you so want. he literally went to all the different stores of the mall : perfumery, bakery, jewelry store, plushies store and more.

he knows he has spent a huge amount of money just for you but he absolutely doesn't care at all. you're his princess and you must receive princess treatment. so that's why he bought this cute plushie you genuinely adore, and also your favorite set of perfumes even though you already have an extra double at home. buying you jewelry was inevitable, he chose two bracelets and two necklaces, also several pairs of earrings. and the cherry on top is the matching bracelet he carefully chose for you and him.

but nevertheless he got some groceries, most of them just being your favorite food and snacks. he totally spent a lot of money, he may not even have a penny left in his bank account but it's absolutely fine, as long as it's for you he doesn't pay attention to it. he's simply happy to treat you well. to treat you like you deserve it.

he parks his car and run to the door. he's carrying all the gifts and bags in his hands. he's completely full. he rings the doorbell and seconds later he's meeting with your pretty face. "i'm back" he simply says and you let him go into the house.

first you didn't notice all the bags he was carrying, because there are two packages which were delivered during oscar's absence and which are lying around the door. you are sure you didn't ordered anything, and oscar didn't tell you either that he ordered something so why these two packages are lying on the floor ?

"oscar, what are these packages ? i didn't ordered anything and you didn't too" you start and frown looking at the boxes. your boyfriend take off his shoes and he was going to speak when you finally notice all the bags in his hands. "and why are you carrying so many bags? there are around ten of them !" you say shocked, your eyes dart out.

he only smiles to you and hands you all the bags "surprise princess ! the packages are for you and these bags too". you don't realize, you just blink. is this real ? you look at him completely lost and he laughs seeing your confused expression. "you ordered the packages ? you really bought me all of these gifts ?" you ask still not realizing what he did.

your boyfriend nods rapidly like a child, a wide smile stuck on his face. "i wanted to please you because you deserve it love" he replies. "but oscar..." you start and he knows you're going to get mad at him because maybe he did too much. but he doesn't want to hear that so he doesn't wait and guides you to the couch. he makes you sit on it and he brings all the gifts around you. "now open them. it's all for you".

you sigh and look him in the eyes. "baby i appreciate it but do you realize you bought too much ? like it's an incredible amount of things" "of course i am aware of it and i don't care at all." he shrug and sit down next to you. you look like you're going to refuse all the presents and oscar doesn't want that. he places a kiss on your cheek and put one the package on your laps. "open now. i know you'll thanks me later for that"

you can't do anything but open all the boxes and bags in front of you. you cut the cardboard and open it. the beautiful pair of shoes you so wanted is meticulously wrap in the box. you don't realize. you're clearly shocked. you pick up them carefully and admire them. they're so pretty. and oscar knows he wins everything when a big smile come up on your face. "i don't even know what to say. i wanted them for so long. they're so pretty oscar"

"they'll look perfect on you" he states and a second later he feels your lips on his cheek. he giggles at the sudden touch "next gift baby !!" he says and either him can't hide his excitement. you can't help it too, you forgot for a while your dissatisfaction towards him because you're like a kid at christmas in front of all of the gifts. you open the second package and your look fall on the white and orange hoodie which reminds you of oscar.

it looks perfect. perfect like your boyfriend. the hoodie is clearly making you smile wider, though you were already getting cheek cramps. "how it looks ?" he asks in a nervous tone. "just incredibly beautiful and perfect" you says as you touch the soft fabric. "good. but we are not done. they're still the bags here" he points out the remaining bags on the floor.

and you open them all. the perfumes, the jewelry, the plushie, the snacks and even the pastries. you don't know how much they all cost but you're sure it's very very expensive. but you can't hide your happiness, you're so grateful for that. all the gifts are just more than enough. and your dissatisfaction turned into thankfulness.

all of these gifts, the way he bought you everything you wanted because he wanted to please you, all of that makes you emotional. and you can't help but let some tears fall down on your face. oscar notices it and he starts to panic. "wait- are you okay love ?" he asks cautiously. you wipe a tear and nod to reassure him. "yes don't worry i'm okay. it's just... it's just..."

you let a sob and he can't take it anymore. he pulls you into his arms, pressing soft kisses on your face. "tell me y/n" he says softly. he don't want to push you, just so caring. "it's just that i don't want you to spend all your money and buy extra expensive things to me. i'm okay with what i already have, i don't care if i can't afford what i want. i just don't want you to waste all your money only for me"

oscar smiles softly and pulls you closer. oh how his heart pang from love. from affection and adoration. he's so in love with you. he rubs your cheek with his thumb and place a soft kiss on your lips. "but you know that i don't care princess. i want the best for you and i want to treat you well like how you deserve to be treated. i like to spoil you. i like to buy you gifts" he explains to you. "but you're already my best gift oscar"

his brain stopped to work just as his heart skipped a beat. he can't hide his smile. "and you are too. that's why i genuinely want to pleasure you, because you're a princess that deserves all the love in the world. money doesn't matter. i know you don't like that but i'll never stop myself to spend money for you. you are the only person I would do anything for and all you have to do is ask me what you need, i'll give it to you right away"

you let another snob out of your mouth. the boy starts to peck all your face. "i don't deserve you oscar. i'm so lucky to have you." "no, i'm the lucky one. i don't even know how i managed to pull someone like you" he laughs and you giggle. "i love you oscar. so much"

he smiles and leans in to kiss you tenderly. his lips move perfectly on yours. he pulls back and look at you with heart eyes. "i love you too my girl". you hide your face in the crook of his neck and you stay like that for a while. until he gets up. "now i'm gonna make some coffee for you to drink with the pastries"

and he'll put on the table a tray of pastries, a cup of hot coffee next to them. you'll share the strawberry cake with your boyfriend, and you'll remains him of how perfect he is. because after all he's clearly the best boyfriend in the world...

[venusbby]

haiii idk if ur doing rq but-

can u pls do bllk bois with their kids and wife🙏maybe them attending a game or going out and the public/media recognises them or something and blah blah blah they become the talk of the town cuz of their resemblance or something like that🤷‍♀️idk just a suggestion, it's entirely up to u. i just want some fluffy family moments😭

do whoever u want and can, and it's a-okay if u can't or don't wanna do it😭👍

p.s if u end up doing it can u pls give the kids names🥹

ok i'll stfu now🫶

family time !!

🍂 characters/pairings: itoshi sae, mikage reo, itoshi rin x reader (seperate ofc)

🍂 warnings: ages of the kids are not specified (sorry idk how kids work sorry), nicknames like "ma" and "mommy" and "mom" used for reader, sae is the best hubby ever, reo is spoiling his daughter left and right, rin almost curses (almost!!), mention of paparazzi in rin's part, reader tears up a little at the end of rin's part (not angst, don't worry)

🍁 note: here u go anon!!!! im so so so sorry for making you wait for so long. your idea was adorable!!! i hope this makes up for it <3333 thank you for requesting. also i don't know the first thing about kids. like i genuinely don't know what 7 year olds are like. its so funny. pls help anyways enjoy

🍁 what would it be like to have a family with.... ITOSHI SAE?

"kenji, let's stay quiet."

"but... why? it's morning."

"because your mom is sleeping, and we shouldn't disturb others when they're sleeping."

oh, how difficult it was to keep your lips pressed in a straight line and keep your breath steady— when you could clearly feel two pairs of eyes on your sleeping form. sleeping on your side while facing these two was such a challenge.

sae's voice was incredibly low as he spoke to your son, words coming out raspy from how hard he tried to avoid waking you up. the constant shuffling of your son in the middle of the bed made your hands itch with the urge to ruffle his hair, even when your eyes were closed.

you felt another shift, this time a gentle finger pushing away a strand of your hair behind your ear. you'd recognise the touch anywhere, anyhow.

"ma is really pretty." you heard kenji mumble quietly. (that too at the softest volume ever, because he listens to his father and definitely wouldn't want to interrupt your sleep.)

"she is very pretty," sae sighed, staring at your relaxed face, eyes trailing from your eyelashes to your slightly parted lips as you breathed out. "she works hard for us every day, you know?"

your eyes slightly shifted once he said that, and you hoped he didn't notice.

you heard kenji whisper to his dad. "she's not really sleeping, is she?"

he whispered back to him. "nope, we will just wait until she gives up."

you fluttered your eyes open right after. your son giggled loudly and flung himself in your embrace, dragging the sheets underneath his body along with him. sae usually made the bed afterwards, anyway. "i knew it!"

"good morning, ken." you softly kissed the top of his head, flattening down the wild strands of red hair that became messy due to his weird sleeping positions. while your son gave you a very cheerful 'good morning' back, your gaze shifted towards your husband, who was already staring at you with his lips pressed in a line which almost looked like a small smile. "good morning, sae."

"good morning. we are too smart to fall for your tricks, just so you know." sae took your hand, pressing his lips against your soft skin. "did you sleep well?"

you nodded with a sleepy smile on your face. kenji whipped up his head from your chest to look as well, and he smiled too when he realised that you had gotten the rest you deserved after your long family trip yesterday.

sae calmly shifted out of the bed. he stretched, muscles still sore from how long he had to drive the previous day. he looked back at the cute sight of the two most important people in his life, eyes softening. "hey, ken. why don't you help me cook something for ma? you know what she likes for breakfast."

"i know, let's go!"

you watched sae quietly leave the bedroom with your excited son running after him, right on his footsteps, your heart swelling with love and your face bright with a smile.

for you, this is the best way to wake up.

🍁 what would it be like to have a family with... MIKAGE REO?

"baby, are you ready yet?" reo asked.

"almost! are you both already done?"

once you wore your earrings, you swiftly turned to look at reo standing in the bedroom's doorway along with your daughter.

as expected, they were completely ready, with reo in his casual (yet obviously expensive) clothes, your lovely daughter wearing a dress which reached below her knees.

a dress that you certainly don't remember buying for her.

your eyes shifted towards the culprit.

"sora, baby, who got you this dress?" your voice was soft, yet your eyes still stayed on the male who didn't show an ounce of guilt on his pretty face.

she noticed your behaviour and sheepishly pointed to her father, her giggles barely contained.

"okay, i did.. just an hour ago." reo admitted, then looked down at sora, a pout on his face. "you promised you wouldn't say anything!"

she shook her head, running towards you. with heels on, you felt so much taller, and your little kid felt so much tinier. you lifted your hand up for a high five, which was returned by sora immediately. "that's my girl."

reo's pout deepened. he walked towards you too. "hey, i deserve a high five too, sora. didn't i play with you while your mommy was busy getting ready?"

you rolled your eyes playfully, making sure your daughter didn't see. she was in her mimicking age at the moment, you would regret it if she rolled her eyes at any and everything you or your husband said.

reo leaned in for a quick kiss that you granted him, "you look beautiful. both of you do."

"you don't look too bad yourself," you mumbled, sending him a wink, which made his heartbeat speed up. even after all these years.

reo snapped his fingers as you all left the bedroom, gaining the attention of your daughter who was focused on fiddling with the material of your jeans. he asked her in hopes that she'd remember, "what are we going to do today?"

"the ball game!"

"it's... it's called football." reo chuckled at her cuteness, letting her tiny hand slip into his as he bent down slightly to carefully walk down the stairs with her. you followed after them, making sure to check that all the lights on the top floor were off before making it downstairs.

"yeah, football! you play that, right?"

"yes, i do! my sora is so smart!"

you smiled unknowingly behind them, noticing your husband's wide grin. you knew how much it meant to him when your daughter showed interest in football. although he wanted her to decide her own likes and dislikes, he wasn't going to let her inherit a company if she didn't want to— and yes, those thoughts are pretty early on since she's still a toddler, but you know that your husband overthinks. he just wants her to like football so she can have a hobby that she likes.

reo and sora continued to walk outside hand in hand, towards the parking lot.

you called out to your husband while checking the house once more, mentally going through the things you carried in your purse just in case you missed anything. "reo, you better not let her choose one of the cars by saying eenie meenie minie mo or else—"

"too late, our ride has already been chosen!" your husband yelled happily from outside, his laugh echoing loudly as you came outside to find your daughter already seated in her favorite car of the day.

"you are so in trouble," you shook your head as you made your way to the car together. your husband shrugged, "let her have some fun, babe. and i'm absolutely fine with being in trouble." he gave you one of those smiles, earning another eyeroll.

🍁 what would it be like to have a family with... ITOSHI RIN?

"why can't they just leave us the fu- leave us alone when we're with 'kio?" rin huffed, setting down his car keys on the coffee table as you entered the house. your son was already running up the stairs and into your shared bedroom to play with his toys while you and your husband lingered behind him.

"it's alright, rin. calm down." you spoke softly, patting him on the back as you went into the kitchen for a glass of water. he followed. "i just don't get it. we deserve privacy too."

"they weren't bothering us, you know that."

"...i know." he sighed.

"in fact, i just saw an article on the way home. people are going crazy because akio has your eyes, it's so funny." you tried to lighten the mood, succeeding when rin leaned in to look at the article on your phone that you showed him.

he sighed once again, eyeing the picture of the both of you walking on the street with your son in the middle, who had an excited smile on his face while he was looking at you. "he really does have my eyes. and your hair."

you hummed and caressed rin's cheek, soothing him with your quiet voice. "it's no big deal, baby. we can handle the paparazzi."

just then, your son was rushing down the stairs again, blooming with energy from the wonderful lunch you guys had half an hour ago. "i wanna go out again!"

you watched as rin made his way over to akio, seeing him bend down to come eye to eye with the child.

rin observed akio's eyes, finding the resemblance that the public was talking about. a feeling of pride took over his heart. he ruffled the boy's hair. "we will go out again tomorrow. wanna play in the pool for now?"

"only if mom comes too!!"

rin turned his head to look at you, raising his eyebrows in question. he smiled slightly when you nodded and walked towards them.

"of course i'll come! i just need to change. why don't you and your dad go ahead?" you cooed, admiring the two sets of teal eyes that stared at you with admiration and love, akio's being much rounder and bigger than rin's. your husband hummed in agreement.

"let's go, 'kio. i'll give you your favourite floatie."

your son followed after rin as they made their way towards the pool in the backyard, rin sliding the huge glass doors aside to let more of the warm sunlight in.

you knew the pool would calm both of the boys down. it had been a long time since you enjoyed some sun as well. you grinned to yourself as you made your way upstairs to change into some swimming-appropriate clothes, making sure to take some time in order to let akio have some son and father bonding time with his dad.

they were so identical. it was as if a piece of rin was present in akio, and a piece of akio was present in rin. both of them reminded you of each other.

once you came back downstairs, you quietly sneaked a glance towards the boys outside, hearing their muffled voices.

"oh, so you want to play like this?" rin said. the grin on his face made your eyes sting ever so slightly. he splashed some water towards your laughing son who waved his hands around to protect himself from the water.

this is exactly how you imagined rin to be a few years ago, and even though he didn't believe in himself much as a soon-to-be father that time— you knew he had found his safe place now.

[phntmeii]

♡ Dating Miguel O’Hara Headcanons:

❝ “Spider-Verse”. That’s… stupid. It’s called the Arachnoid Humanoid Poly-Multiverse. Which sounds...stupid, too, I guess. ❝

[SFW+NSFW + Mention of Gendered Term]

NSFW Section Warnings: Explicit Language, Dom/Sub Dynamics, Slight Overstimulation, Primal Play, Praise+Degredation, Marking

A/N: Miguel has my heart and soul ever since I saw him so here’s his list <3 Also there is one mention of a fem pet name but all others are gender neutral or have both masc and fem translations!! So this is able to be read by anyone still!!

SFW Headcanons:

🕷 Miguel is known for his temper and aggressiveness and it's something he acknowledges in himself as well. He tries to resist lashing out, especially towards you.

🕷 Miguel finds you to be soothing in a way and that's because he knows he shouldn't be upset at you for his own stresses. So subconsciously, the moment he sees you, he calms himself down.

🕷 Peter will definitely encourage you to be around Miguel more often because he sees how you relax him. Cue Peter bringing you in and trying to have you and Mayday tag-team to calm Miguel down.

🕷 Miguel is very private about his love life because he doesn't see why anyone needs to know about that information even if people pry about it.

🕷 The only signs of PDA is really when Miguel feels jealous or overprotective and starts looming over you from behind, staring into whoever you're talking to until they leave.

🕷 Miguel's overprotectiveness can get out of hand sometimes but who can really blame him? He doesn't want to lose anyone else in his life and certainly not now that he had received a second chance to be happy.

🕷 If you're a spiderperson, he's the first to rush up to you and check you entirely for injuries. Even after you say you're fine, he's immediately asking Lyla to check for injuries as well. Lyla will be confused and say you're fine as well and he sighs in satisfaction. But, don't expect to be out of his arms for the next couple hours.

🕷 When in private, he tries to maintain the gentleman-like way he was taught to treat his partner. A real Casanova if you will. It's all flowers, chocolates and pure affection.

🕷 It isn't even because he feels like he needs to since you two are dating but because he wants to shower you with affection, especially knowing how focused he can be in his work. So the moment you two have time alone, he relishes in it.

🕷 And yes, his pet names are in Spanish regardless of if you speak it or not. (EX: Querida/Querido, Mami, Corazón, Princesa/Príncipe. If he’s having a telenovela moment, he’s saying “mi vida” or “mi amor”.)

🕷 After a long day, there's nothing more that he wants then to slump into your body to cuddle. His arms wrapped around you and buried into your chest silently muttering in Spanish about how soft your body is.

🕷 Also, absolutely 100% sleeps and wakes up like a dad. Snoring max volume and then yawning as if he were yelling. (He also sneezes like a dad so warning).

🕷 Miguel’s main Love Languages to give are: Physical Touch and Gift Giving.

🕷 Miguel just LOVES to feel your body. Does not matter body size or type, he’s grabbing onto you because you feel soft and warm in his hands.

🕷 It’s like he can’t get enough of you. In private, there isn’t a moment this he isn’t touching you in some way. Whether it’s small, lazy kisses across your face, holding your hips as you work or just walking with you as his hand is on the small of your back.

🕷 Like I said, not much of a PDA person. You’d have to be the one to initiate it to which in response he’d frown and say you two shouldn’t be doing it so publicly. What he really means is to not do it because he’s gotten slightly red at the gesture.

🕷 He likes to spoil you with different gifts. Usually, these are apology gifts if he’s overworked himself, missed out on a date because of missions, or he said something wrong.

🕷 And it’s usually a few different things he’ll get. He can’t resist limiting himself, especially if he’s pissed you off and needs to make up for it.

🕷 Chocolates, flowers, plushies, jewelry, that one sweater you wanted two weeks ago, your favorite book. It doesn’t matter. He’s getting all of it, making a cute little display and standing by with it at the door for you to have as soon as you get home.

🕷 Miguel’s favorite Love Languages to receive are: Acts of Service and Physical Touch.

🕷 Mans is always STRESSED. Hundreds of Spider-people who can be idiots sometimes gets to him so there’s nothing better for him than to take some chores off his plate.

🕷 This can be household chores like cleaning, laundry or something or it can be things specifically for Miguel.

🕷 Cooking him his favorite meal when he gets home or packing him lunch. Drawing him a bath and massaging his muscles so he isn’t as tense (he’s always tensing for some reason). Dressing his wounds even if he says he’s a man and can handle it. (He can’t).

🕷 And he’ll never admit it unless he’s half asleep, but he’s needy for your touch. There is nothing better than your hands, your lips, everything.

🕷 He isn’t great at communicating this so it’s just him nudging his hand to yours or staring at your lips for a while. If you don’t catch it, he’ll slightly pout and be upset that he hasn’t received your touch.

🕷 He’s especially sensitive at his neck btw. If he’s ranting on about something, the moment he feels you lightly kissing and nibbling at his neck, his words start to drift off and slow until he’s sighing and closing his eyes, accepting his fate.

NSFW Headcanons:

🕷 Remember all that stress from working? Guess who he’s taking it out on. This doesn’t mean he’ll be aggressive and hurt you (unless you want that) but more so, the moment he gets his hands on you, it’s clear what he wants as he’s pressing into you from behind.

🕷 Miguel can’t help but leave pretty little marks all across your body, especially on your inner thighs. If they are fading by the next time he’s between them, he’s taking his time to mark them back up as you squirm.

🕷 He’s such a WHORE for eye contact. Doesn’t matter the position, he NEEDS to see your reactions and have you feel his eyes on you.

🕷 “Don’t look away from me. You wanted this. Hell, you were begging for it. So look me in my eyes and take it.”

🕷 Even then, he can’t help being loving/romantic. His hands are holding yours, fingers interlocked as your being fucked to oblivion.

🕷 And being a gentleman does not go away here. He is actively resisting finishing until you do 2-3 times before him even if he was ready to cum everywhere the moment he saw you.

🕷 He’s an absolute animal in bed, I’m sorry. He’s tearing up your clothing with his talons, flipping you into different positions without warning, leaving scratch marks on your sides and legs, along with grunting and growling in your ears.

🕷 It’s never in a “meant to be scary” way but he can’t help himself but pounce onto you and hold you down. His fangs are out and talons slightly digging into you as he’s caught you and now you’re all his.

🕷 And it is way too easy for him to become obsessed between your legs. He can start slow and patient but the moment he tastes your cum/wetness, it’s time to see stars because he’s not stopping until you finally pull him off.

🕷 Speaking of giving head, if you aren’t gagging on his cock, he isn’t satisfied. He’s always nice, don’t get me wrong. He’ll hold your hair up, give you praise/degradation depending on your preference, and let you go at your own pace. But if you wanna see him cum, try to go as far as you can and gag and he’s rolling his eyes back, reveling in the sounds you make while he fills your mouth.

🕷 He can easily switch between praise and degradation or giving you a sweet mix of both. He’ll say things like “my pretty little whore” just to satisfy both areas.

🕷 He also is one to claim. That’s what all the marks are for anyhow but more so he does a kind of call and response during sex?? Like every-time he says “You’re all mine” he expects to hear “All yours” or “Just yours”. If he doesn’t, he’s going teasingly slow until you respond back to him just to fuck with you.

🕷 His favorite though is morning sex. Like, he loves to wake up already pressed into your back and have his hands trail up your belly. He’s whispering into your ear in his half-asleep state, tongue grazing the shell of your ear.

🕷 It’s sweet. It’s romantic. It’s slow and he can’t help himself when you’re just laying beside him so close and warm. He needed to feel you. He may not even fuck you and just let you cockwarm in the morning.

🕷 Also he def has a breeding kink. Regardless of if you are able to get pregnant or not, it’s all about seeing you filled to the brim with his cum. It’s mesmerizing to see it pour out of you that he’s nearly ready for another round immediately.

⤷ divider credits: @cafekitsune

[jade-len]

so today i tricked my very straight male friend into reading svsss.

okay look, i wasn't planning to at first and it's not like it was completely my fault. he wanted to read it!

i was showing him how badly they fucked up mu qingfang in the donghua by comparing it to the english novel design (he said that mu qingfang went from looking like a soft dilf to a predator registered on the epstein island list). and then, i showed him how different some of the other character designs were like gongyi xiao's ("he looks like he'd be a genshin character" -friend, to eng novel design) and luo binghe's ("lowkey, he kinda gives airbender vibes" -friend, to bunhe eng novel design)

so that was all i was gonna show him, nothing else. but after seeing them, he goes, "these designs actually look hella cool. what's the book called?"

now, do i:

A. tell him the name, eventually revealing that it's a danmei when he looks it up?

B. just straight up tell him that it's a danmei?

C: don't tell him the name just yet, spill the summary, get him interested, and tell him to not search anything up about it because there's heavy spoilers and it will reveal them the moment he types it up on the search bar

i go with C, obviously.

me: so, basically, some guy named shen yuan transmigrates into an incel harem male power fantasy novel where the protagonist, luo binghe, has hundreds of wives. thing is though, the guy pretty much took over the body of binghe's teacher he had when he was a teenager, who turns out to be a really scummy dude. and now he has to be nice to him so that the protagonist doesn't rip off his limbs and put him into a pickle pot in the future to suffer for eternity.

friend: that sounds hilarious and horrifying at the same time.

me: yes it is, and you should read it. it's like. my favorite novel at the moment. but don't search up anything about it because people spoil that shit. i'll let you borrow my novel

friend: nah don't worry, i'll just pirate it

friend: wait. does it have pictures?

me, my plan coming together: yeah, it has pictures. buuut, when you pirate it, it doesn't. trust me dude, i tried and was severely disappointed. plus, the physical copy is so much better

friend: fuck yeah ok thanks

me: hold on though. i'll text you later to see if my friend who's borrowing it rn is done reading it

he's hyped. he's excited. he craves a good book and a good transmigration interpretation. he's especially happy about the fact that it takes place in a chinese setting with cool powers and an actual good main character. "this sounds so good, god i wanna read it so bad."

i tell him that binghe is actually adorable, too. that it's pretty much found family! my friend then asks if shen yuan adopts him and becomes a father figure or something.

and i said "yes". you know, like a liar. (the father figure part probably isn't a lie though)

now i'm gonna give him the novel tomorrow! of course, i'm gonna cover the chapter 2 bunhe sexual awakening scene with washi tape and say that my baby cousin (sorry baby cousin, you would never <\3) scribbled all over that paragraph with her markers, and since i'm a neat book freak, i put washi tape and just wrote the scene! i don't know if that's really all too believable, but he didn't seem to care that much. just a simple "if my baby cousin did that to my book i would punt them into the sun"

i think what'll be more hilarious is the fact that you can't really tell that svsss is a BL. especially not volume 1. there's like, only a few lines indicating, but if you remove the baby binghe sexual awakening scene then you probably won't be able to know (...if you don't really read romance or anything. idk he's kinda dense anyways). so let's hope he gets attached and has a slow descent into the homo before i drop svsss vol 2 on him!

ok anyways i'll update you guys later with a reblog. maybe in about two or three days lol

(also don't worry, we already fuck around with each other on a daily basis like this. he's already tricked me into reading some manga i was unprepared for, and i thought that it'd be funny to mess around with him using svsss this time lol)

[apomaro-mellow]

Every Baby Needs a Daddy 11

Part 10

The tour moved on, sometimes Steve went to shows, sometimes he didn't. They were still figuring out just how much in the public eye he should be. Eddie was more than willing to flaunt the man for all to see. But he also wanted to keep him all for himself. Steve was very easily able to occupy himself, whether it was going out on the town with Eddie's card or spending it in the hotel.

More than once, he thought back to the den Eddie had made during his rut. He felt silly for getting so worked up about it and at the same time it made him hope. Eddie had already announced to the world that they were together. Was it so far fetched that more could be on the horizon?

The tour had landed in Washington DC and one morning Steve woke up to something fluttering against his nose. It scrunched up and he batted it away before they quickly returned. He let out a whine and finally opened his eyes. It was so close to his face it was hard to identify it as anything more than a piece of paper.

Then his eyes focused.

"Is that-?" Steve shot up and Eddie pulled them out of his reach, teasing before handing them over.

"I know you're big on basketball. I don't know if the Wizards are your team, but maybe the other guys are, or maybe not, but I thought you and that kid could have fun today."

Steve's eyes were shining. Since they were in D.C., he had mentioned meeting up with one of the kids he used to babysit. Lucas definitely wasn't a kid anymore, fully in college now, but Steve was still close with them. And he was sitting here with two tickets to a game.

"What's the occasion?", Steve asked, still feeling like he needed to justify being spoiled sometimes.

Eddie kissed his shoulder. “To thank you for helping me out with my rut.”

“You didn’t have to do that”, Steve beamed at the tickets. “I would’ve helped anyway. You weren’t exactly forcing my hand.”

“Still, think of it as annnnnn apertif, to when I help you out with your heat?”

Eddie’s voice had a questioning lilt to it and he tilted his head, as if there was a world where Steve wouldn’t let him do that. Only problem was…

“You won’t really need to worry about that”, Steve said. “My birth control stops those.”

And then Eddie put on the biggest, saddest, wettest eyes and Steve’s heart broke a little but he also found it endearing. “So, no heat?”

Steve set the tickets down and leaned in, cupping Eddie's cheek as he kissed him. "Trust me, it's for the better."

Eddie had a dreamy look in his eyes as he recovered from the kiss. "How so?"

Steve traced one of the tats on his chest. "Because you definitely would have triggered it by now if I wasn't."

"Hmm, not hearing a negative so far."

Steve chuckled and pushed Eddie onto his back as he climbed on top of him. "If you think I'm clingy now..."

"Sweet thing, I was ready to change my address to 123 Stevie's Perfect Pussy Lane. Take a right at Angelic Thighs Avenue."

Steve's cheeks warmed. It was too early in the morning for this. He'd just woken up.

"Yeah? Daddy likes my thighs?" Steve swung one over Eddie so that he was sitting on his hips.

Eddie nodded hurriedly.

Steve hid his smile in Eddie's neck, loving how eager he always was. "And you think my pussy's perfect?", he whispered in his ear.

They weren't done having their previous conversation. And it would have to be more than one talk. Still, the fact that Steve wanted to talk about it at all spoke volumes about Eddie.

--------------------------------

corrodedcoffinsightings: Steve spotted at a Wizards game

good&grate: no way Eddie is dating a prep AND a jock

lacorbinbleucheese: this means anyone who got into edgy style thanks to cc literally had no chance

-------------------------------

"I can't go off them before your tour's done", Steve said one afternoon they had free while the others set up. They were sitting in a private restaurant in South Carolina. It was honestly one of the better Thanksgivings Steve ever had. They weren't calling it that, but it was happening this week.

Eddie wasn't expecting that. He hadn't brought it up since the first time they talked about it. But if anyone was going to re-start it, it would have to be Steve. Eddie wasn't going to ask him to mess up his cycle or change his medication just because he wanted to fuck a wanton omega.

"So, you want to do it?", he asked.

"I don't know", Steve answered. "I'm just kind of, talking through it. And the first rule is that you can't have any obligations like a whole tour to get through. I'm not going to keep you from that."

"Understandable", Eddie nodded. "What else?"

Steve thought about the impermanence of the hotels they had been sleeping in. Even if he had to take down his nest right after, he wanted to illusion of having a permanent one. He wanted to feel completely safe and at home.

"It has to be somewhere one of us actually lives. Either my place or yours. I don't want it to be in a hotel or the tour bus or any place like that."

Eddie smiled and grabbed Steve's hand. He kissed each of his fingertips. "My baby wants a good place to nest", he said, reading him like a book. And he would do what any good alpha did and give him that place.

----------------------------

They were getting close to the end of the tour. The weather had technically cooled, but as they were traveling down south, Steve hardly noticed a change. Tonight the band was playing in Georgia and the show was supposed to be over but Steve knew the guys were going out for drinks before coming back. It was a bit after midnight when Gareth texted him.

Gareth: If you've got something to fix Eddie's mood, please do it.

Steve had just the thing, but he wondered what happened. He was able to get his answer as he heard Eddie come in, grumbling. Steve was in the bathroom, the door cracked just a bit to help his voice carry.

"Rough night?"

"Some bastard at the bar thought he could chime in on what I do in my private life." Eddie kicked his shoes off and crashed onto the couch, letting his head fall back. "Just so fucking annoying, I wanted to bash his fucking head in."

Steve checked himself over in the bathroom mirror, fluffing his hair a little. He considered makeup but decided against it. "Well, Gareth knew you'd be in a mood and asked me to help fix it."

Eddie lifted his head and realized Steve was taking his time in the bathroom. "Oh yeah?"

"Yeah", Steve said, finally coming out and leaning against the doorway, soaking in Eddie's reaction. Right before they'd left for the tour, he'd taken Eddie's card to do a little shopping in a costume shop. What he'd got felt a little daring, as he'd never worn anything like this before, but he got the feeling Eddie would appreciate it.

He had on one of those stereotypical tavern maid dresses. One that had such a low shoulder that everything was pretty much visible until about halfway down his chest.

"I think I might have the right fix for you." Steve sauntered over, relishing Eddie's dropped jaw. "Every knight deserves as good drink, doesn't he?"

Eddie nodded speechlessly.

Emboldened, Steve pulled the skirt up to just above his knee. "Would you like to partake, brave warrior?"

Considered Eddie's mood lifted.

-----------------------

Florida was the last leg of the tour, so Steve made sure to actually go to these shows. And true to the band's word, they had breakfast before the first show in New York and afterward had dinner after the last show here.

They settled at a table in a diner that had probably seen better days but it had its own charm. It was late so there weren't many other patrons. And Steve was feeling really touchy after seeing a whole crowd scream for Eddie, reaching out to touch him, some even doing so when the band signed autographs afterwards.

He had started off innocently leaning against him but was sitting completely in Eddie's lap by the time their food came. So Steve fed them both. The other guys didn't look put off at all, having gotten used to their closeness.

It was mid-December now and when the calendar changed, Steve worried over Christmas. He already knew he'd need to return to Indiana for the holiday party with the Sinclairs, which was where everyone else was gathering. But Steve was also thinking about how after that, he might be ready to spend his heat with Eddie.

Steve had already looked into a different brand of birth control, one that would still do the job but allow him to have heats. But he didn't know how to ask Eddie about his plans. For so long the plan was the tour and Eddie had brought them up himself. Steve wasn't so blind to think he'd be invited to meet Eddie's family during the holidays but if he knew anything, he might be able to coordinate-

"So you celebrating with Wayne this year?", Grant asked.

"Yeah", Eddie answered, patting Steve's hip absentmindedly. "Old man's been wantin' to go ice fishing and I think this year I'll finally take him."

"What about New Years?", Steve asked.

Eddie smiled at him. "CC's got an event we're performing. But after that, it's vacation time."

"A well needed one", Jeff sighed.

"What do you normally do on vacation?", Steve asked.

"Sleep, game, sleep, eat, movies, game. Basically become a shut in until Chrissy tells me we need new music", Eddie said.

"Time for hibernation", Gareth yawned. "See ya in spring."

Steve hummed a little, giving Eddie his full attention as he leaned his head in. "Well I was thinking you could spend winter somewhere a little bit...warmer?"

Eddie brushed his thumb against Steve's lips. "How warm?"

"Warm", Steve said. "Warmer", he said as Eddie's hand dragged from his lips down his neck. "Warmer, warmer, warm-", he let out a small gasp once Eddie's hand cupped him through his pants.

"This warm?"

Steve nodded, biting his lip as Eddie gave him slow, short strokes.

"After New Year's, I can be all yours." He was almost fully ready to let Eddie finger him right here in front of his friends in what seemed like the last diner on Earth, but Eddie pulled his hand away.

"Other way around baby, I'll be all yours."

I am getting very close to writing exhibitionist Steve solely for Corroded Coffin and I might be okay with that.

Next part: Crimmas? Heat? Stay tuned!

Part 12

Tag Team CLOSED

@awkotaco24 @lingeringmirth @littlewildflowerkitten @estrellami-1 @tartarusknight @velocitytimes2 @mrsjellymunson @trashcanniballecter @paintsplatteredandimperfect @a-little-unsteddie  @sllooney  @starman-jpg  @oxidantdreamboat  @xxbottlecapx   @newtstabber @tiny-enthusiast  @desidrarry-wolfstarshipper @y4r3luv @hello-fellow-nerds  @anonymousbandgirl @alyelf @potato-of-the-lord  @beckkthewreck  @croatoan-like-its-hot @pluto-pepsi @abstractnaturaldisaster @ellietheasexylibrarian @eyesofshinigami @dragonmama76 @greatwerewolfbeliever @chaosgremlinmunson @blackpanzy @millseyes-world @batxsignalsx @lilpomelito @goosesister @libraryofgage @aresthelostboy @royjaimie4eva @silenzioperso @she-collects-smut @lost-wondering-souls @eddielives1986 @marklee-blackmore

[robsterskellington]

Thanks, everyone. I just get really curious about stuff like this. Okay, so:

If you'd like to explain why, please do!

Edit: Fuck, I forgot about the Untamed, I'm so sorry!! If I remember to do another poll later down the line, I'll add it. If you wanted to vote for that, I'm sincerely sorry.

(My personal rambling answer down below.)

I can't believe so many people voted lol.

At the time of making this poll, I have just finished reading Volume 3 of Grandmaster of Demonic Cultivation, and I can personally say that I already prefer the novels. Granted, the donghua had a fantastic depiction of what happened at the Lotus Pier, but Wen Chao's fate was far more brutal in the novel and I lived for it. I do love the manhua as well, my cousin's been showing me bits and pieces to make me laugh. I also know an official manga is coming soon, and I can't wait for that!

I still need the last two volumes and to read them, then I'll start reading The Scum Villain's Self-Saving System, especially since it's rare for me to go into something completely blind. I'm unfortunately the kind of person who seeks spoilers when possible- whenever a new chapter of Bungou Stray Dogs comes out, I will hardly get off my phone or focus on anything else, just wanting to know what happens in that moment.

Even with Heaven Official's Blessing, I would get an inkling about something and spoil myself. It never ruined the story for me, I just don't like being surprised. However, even then, I was almost always caught off guard and would get incredibly emotional about certain things.

I'm grateful to those who voted. There's absolutely no reason to this, I just like knowing people's opinions about things that I happen to like because everyone's views are so vastly different and it fascinates me. Thank you all again!!

[from-the-clouds]

texas sun - joel miller x f!reader - vol. xii

series masterlist | series playlist | writing masterlist | previous chapter |

chapter summary: Things with Joel come to a head when you're forced on a patrol together. pairing: joel miller x f!reader words: 5k chapter warnings: CANON TYPICAL CONTENT/VIOLENCE/SUFFERING. Angst/arguments. Discussions of death, descriptions of being ambushed, blood and injuries. Keeping these vague so as not to spoil but if for whatever reason the show was 'too much' for you, this might be a good chapter to skip. If you want a TLDR I can give you one in the DMs. a/n: I didn't really proofread this chapter because I fought with it a bunch and just wanted to get it out to ya'll. Please enjoy!

**I DO NOT HAVE A TAGLIST. Please follow @ftcwriting and turn on notifs if you would like to be notified when I update my works :) **

-April 30, 2024-

It’s an uncharacteristically chilly day, but something heavy still hangs in the air as you walk downtown with Ethan. Well really, – Ethan is walking, you aren’t. At least, not quite. He’s so tall, and his strides are so long, that every couple steps you have to jog a pace or two just to keep up with him. Years ago, when it had just been the two of you on your own, he had been a lot better at waiting up for you. But this is the new norm. There’s no imminent danger, so it’s not necessary to watch each other’s backs. Even so, you find that you’re still always looking out for him out of habit.

A group of younger women pass by you, arms looped through one anothers as they giggle and talk – you can’t help but feel a little bitter at the sight, nostalgic for what that sort of camaraderie felt like. But before you can dwell on it too much, one of the girls’ face lights up and she waves to your nephew. 

“Hey Ethan,” she grins. 

Ethan does a double-take, pace faltering as he looks over his shoulder to give her a smile. “Hey.” 

The moment is over as quick as it began. For the most part, you know most of Ethan’s friends, and most of the people in the community. But you don't recognize this girl. 

“Who was that?” you ask. 

“No one,” he answers quickly. 

“Really? You don’t know her name?”

“Shhh!” He pushes you forward to put more distance between you and the group that has already passed, and it’s funny how you always seem to forget he’s a grown man whose strength far outweighs your own. “Can you just be cool?”

You roll your eyes and shake your head. “Can I not ask a question?” 

“You can….at a lower volume.”

You snort, but continue on, whispering. “Okay, fine. She’s cute. Is she new here?”

“I don’t know,” he says, tone bordering on defensive. “Why do you care so much? Isn’t she a little young for you?” 

“Oh my god, Ethan,” you’re slightly offended by the insinuation. “All I was going to say was she seemed happy to see you.” 

“Yeah, well…” he shoves his hands in his pockets and looks over his shoulder. “Cool, whatever.”

“You are just like your dad,” you say. “He was always so bad at playing it cool.” 

This softens Ethan a bit, and you watch his shoulders sag. After Vincent died, you had made it a point to tell Ethan everything you could about his father. Even though it hurt, and reminded you of how much you missed him everyday, surprisingly, it ended up feeling like a good way to mourn him, and work through everything you had been through. 

"Oh, yeah?" he teases. "And you are?"

You have a feeling you know what he's going to bring up, so instead of questioning him further, you change the subject.

“God, it’s kind of cold,” you comment, wrapping your jacket closer around you as a breeze whirls past you. 

“What, can’t you handle it?” Ethan teases. “It might even rain. That’ll be a long day.” 

You’d walked into town with him to begin with because he was going to eat breakfast in the mess hall, and you had a patrol shift. “I’ll be fine.” you say, even as your stomach flips. Every shift comes with its own set of nerves. For as much as you don’t like the feeling, you know that the apprehension keeps you sharp. 

And really, you like being outside the walls. Years spent in the wilderness have made the remote area feel like home – you love the feeling of the breeze rustling through your hair, the ever present smell of the pines. Plus, you're usually partnered up with good company, even if things get stressful. 

Still, today….something feels off. Maybe it’s the low barometric pressure. 

“I oughta go, I’ll see you tonight, okay?” you turn to look at Ethan, and he gives you a nod and salute before ducking into the mess hall.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

“Tommy, no,” you put your hands on your hips. “Me and Joel? That's a terrible idea.”

“I don’t have any other options,” he says. “Eugene is out sick. There’s no one else available for me to pair you with.” 

“Yeah right,” you roll your eyes, crossing your arms. “I know how much you love to meddle.”

“Who, me?” he asks, incredulous, but there’s a grin on his face.

Being in Jackson has domesticated you, because a different version of yourself would’ve probably slapped the grin off of Tommy’s face, turned in your cowboy boots and stomped out of the barn. But you feel such aggressive retaliation will only betray your feelings for Joel. 

It’s only been a few weeks since dinner at Tommy and Maria’s and despite the small moment you shared with Joel on their back porch, nothing much has changed. You’re not sure why you desperately want things to. You’re not even sure what you’re hoping for anymore – kindness seems unlikely, but even his cruelty would be preferable to being ignored.

“I can go by myself,” you offer. “I know the area. No one needs to take Eugene’s spot.” 

Tommy scoffs. “If I did allow that – which I won’t, because it’s rule number one – and Maria found out, I’d never hear the end of it.”

“Tommy, it…” you sigh. “He wants nothing to do with me. It’ll be horrible, and awkward. For the sake of everyone, it’s better we keep our distance.”

“He’ll come around,” Tommy says. “I promise.”

“I don’t need him to,” you say, and it’s convincing enough that you believe it, even if only for a second.

“Come on. What’s the worst that can happen?” Tommy asks. “It might be awkward, but you’ll scout some places out, find a couple cans of food, and it’ll be over before you know it.”

You set your jaw, tilt your head. “Fine. But you know I’m not going to be the easy one to convince.”

“Oh, I’m well aware,” he says. 

Almost as if on cue, you turn at the sound of footsteps, and find Joel standing in the doorway to the empty stall you were arguing with Tommy in. 

Great. 

“Joel,” Tommy says. “I’ve paired the two of you up today. Two of our other rangers are out sick.” 

Joel looks at you. “Absolutely not.” 

“There it is,” you purse your lips, and glance knowingly at Tommy. 

“Well, I don’t have any other options.” Tommy begins. “Plus, we usually pair newbies up with our more experienced rangers to help them."

Joel lets out a barking laugh. “I don’t need a babysitter.”

For a second, he meets your eyes, and you avert your own to the floor. Hearing him be so vehemently against interacting with you, even though you’d expected it, isn't exactly a pleasant experience.

“It’s not babysitting,” Tommy says. “She’s been in the community longer, so she knows the terrain better than you do.”

“Who else is there?” 

“Joel,” Tommy says. “This is not a negotiation. It’s an order.”

Turns out it is a negotiation, because there’s quite a bit more back and forth between the two of them – so much so that you end up brushing past Joel to go saddle up your horse, Neptune. You catch snippets of the conversation, whispered in hushed tones, but you’re too annoyed to piece them into anything coherent. 

Eventually, though, Tommy mutters something about looking after Ellie and Joel gives in, the barn falling silent as he goes off to prep for his shift.

You had seen Ellie several times at Tommy and Maria’s over the past few weeks, and she even approached you once when she found you eating alone at the mess hall. The two of you don’t really talk much about Joel, but she did give you a bit of an explanation about how they ended up together. According to her, he was tasked with bringing her out to some Fireflies base camp because her family was there, but when they arrived the camp was overrun. The story begs more questions than it does answers, in your opinion, but you don’t bother trying to poke holes in it. There’s certainly parts of your past you wouldn’t want to explain to anyone if questioned. 

In some ways, she does remind you of Sarah…it sort of makes sense they ended up together, even if they’re quite the odd pair. Like Sarah, Ellie is smart and clever – but where they differ is where she reminds you more of yourself at her age. Very passionate with a bit of a mean streak. It was a defense mechanism that, as you got older, you had gotten better at channeling, but only when you needed to. 

Tommy sends you and Joel both north to scout an area you’re pretty familiar with. Joel keeps his horse several paces up ahead of you, which becomes frustrating, especially since you know where you’re going and he doesn’t, and you have to keep calling out and instructing him to change the course. He does so wordlessly, but refuses to let his horse fall into step beside yours, keeping his shoulders hunched and his head hung low. 

You think back to the beginning of the outbreak, and all the things you had lost. At that point, you still had Vincent, but even your brother couldn’t offer the support you had needed. You had wanted Joel, had craved the feeling of comfort and safety that only he had ever been able to give you. And even though you’d been forced to give up looking for him, you had always hoped he could feel you. Even now, it’s all you want. But he seems oblivious. And as your patience wears thin, you know something between you is bound to snap. 

In some areas of the mountains, the terrain is so rough you have to dismount to lead your horses through it. This area isn’t frequented often, mostly because the loose and large rocks you tread over is a natural repellent to both humans and Infected. But it’s not impossible to traverse, so you still have to keep an eye out. 

You don’t find much, but the farther into the woods you get, the darker the sky becomes. Thunder rumbles in the distance, and you hope the storm skips over you, even though it seems unlikely. Despite dressing for the occasion, you’re still cold as the wind picks up, and when you feel the first drops of rain, you pull up alongside Joel. 

“Might want to keep an eye out for shelter in case this gets any worse,” you say to him. Joel turns to look at you, and you catch, for a minute, a forlorn expression in his eyes. It disappears as he nods wordlessly, and you’re surprised he doesn’t argue with you. 

The storm grows more intense, the drops of rain turning into a full-on downpour, and lightning illuminates the sky. A spring thunderstorm. If you were at home today, you might’ve been curled up on the couch with a good book and a window cracked. But instead, you’re out in the middle of nowhere, forced into the company of your former lover who now hates you, torrential downpour soaking through your water-resistant jacket and making you shiver. 

Joel crests over a ridge, and pauses to point to a cabin maybe a quarter mile away. You’re in unfamiliar territory at this point, and it’ll probably need to be cleared out, but you’re desperate for a place to wait out the poor weather. 

As you near the cabin, you see it’s clearly abandoned. Inside, it’s been picked over. Furniture is strewn about, drawers and cabinets hanging open, but other than that…it’s in pretty decent shape. Good enough to be fixed up for an outpost, and you draw a rudimentary map to take back to Tommy, should any other rangers be sent to the area. 

Once the house is secured and you get the horses settled in the garage, you do your obligatory sweep of any drawers, cabinets, and closets. It’s mostly picked over, and nature has begun to take over in some of the rooms, the tree roots peaking through cracks in the wooden floor. 

Letting another cabinet fall closed, you sigh. 

“Find anything?” you’re surprised to hear Joel ask, as he comes down the stairs. 

“No,” you say. “You?” 

“Nothing,” Joel says, and sits onto an ancient couch. For a split second, you admire him, as he runs his fingers through his damp hair to push it off his forehead. You’re ashamed that you’re still attracted to him, potentially even moreso than you used to be. Maybe you always imagined growing old with him, and it was nice to see, even if the context was different. You knew that daydreaming about what could’ve been wasn’t the healthiest coping mechanism, but thinking about your time with Joel, and the future you’d never have with him had gotten you through some of your darkest days. You wonder if he had ever thought about it, just to feel something other than sorrow. But with the way he’s been acting, you question if he ever even cared about you at all. 

With no other distractions to keep you occupied, all you can do now is sit across from him, and wait out the storm. 

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

Joel picks up a well-worn book with broken binding off the shelf next to where he sits, and spares a glance your direction. You’re on a chair across from him, staring out the window. He can’t tell if you’re trying to keep watch or avoid talking to him. Either way, he doesn’t care. 

The book in his hands is a self-help book written by man who had lived in the wilderness for an entire year, and so generously detailed all the things he learned from the experience. Joel almost laughs at how ridiculous the description sounds. When he places the book back where he found it, you pipe up. 

“No good?” you ask. 

Joel shakes his head wordlessly. He’s been doing a pretty decent job of keeping you at arm's length. He tries to avoid the hurt he notices in your eyes whenever he brushes you aside, which is why he tends to keep his back to you, so he doesn't have to see it over and over again. It’s just the right thing to do. Letting Ellie into his life had been hard enough. He isn’t willing to make himself even more vulnerable. 

“Shit,” you say, looking disappointed. “Well if there’s nothing else to do, we might actually have to talk to each other.” 

Joel puts his arm over the back of the sofa, and looks out the window. “No?” you prompt. “Well then, can I at least ask you something?” 

“Depends.” 

“I guess I just have been thinking…” you trail off. “After everything….the fact that the two of us are together. Feels like��.I don’t know. Do you think it means something?”

Joel looks over at you, finds you leaning forward in your chair. You discarded your jacket to dry on the railing of the staircase, and your flannel shirt hangs open as you lean onto your elbows, an expectant look on your face. 

Joel had learned long ago that it was senseless to look for meaning in this world. There was no rhyme or reason for why things happened the way they did – they just happened. All the good, and all the terrible. There was only so much he could do to control them, as much as he tried. And it made him feel helpless.

“It’s a coincidence.”

“Right,” you say, enunciating the T pointedly. He’s thankful when your jaw sets, and your expression gives nothing else away. “So what, then? We should just act like we’re strangers? Just pretend like…we never knew each other?”

“It was over twenty years ago. I’ve moved on,” Joel says. The more he can deflect, push you away, the more angry you’ll likely get, and the faster this conversation will end. 

But you surprise him. 

“Okay,” you say, looking at the floor. “I mean, I get it. I did too, because I thought you were dead. But you aren’t, so maybe we could just talk-”

“What is there to talk about?” Joel asks. 

You’re incredulous. “So many things, Joel. But you’ve been…so….” you struggle to find the words. “I don’t think this is a coincidence. And you’re right. It was a long time ago, so maybe it’s foolish to think that we could maybe-” you cut yourself off, shake your head. “I feel like I at least deserve to know why you want nothing to do with me now.” 

Joel notices how your knuckles are white from how tightly you have your hands clasped in one another’s. You’re probably angry. That’s what he wants. But you’re trying so hard to control yourself, to connect with him, and he’s shocked that you find him worthy of that energy no matter how many times he pushes you away. 

“I’m not the man you knew. You’re wasting your time.” 

You blink once. “Yeah. Okay. So that’s it?”

Joel remains stone faced.

“Well that’s,” you sigh, put your head in your hands for a split second, let out a choked sounding laugh, and look back over at him. “That’s so fucking stupid.” 

“How do you think I got here? How do you think I survived for as long as I did? I’m not the same woman that I was, either. But that’s just how it fucking works. You’re gonna spend the rest of your life using that as an excuse to push people away – a friend, your own fucking brother-”

Joel flinches at the confirmation you might be just as bad as he is. 

“Don’t bring Tommy into-”

“I’m not going to walk on eggshells whenever we’re together because you can’t deal with your own shit,” you raise your voice again.  

Joel feels his lip curl, wondering why you won’t just give up, why you won’t just accept the rejection. But your hypocrisy is what frustrates him the most. He thinks back to when you’d been together. You were the reason he never told you he loved you. You were like quicksilver, sitting in the palm of his hand, but you’d run the second he tried to hold you. He never really got you, all of you, like he had wanted. “That’s great advice from someone who was always so good at being vulnerable.” 

That one seems to hurt you enough, and you recoil slightly, sit up straighter. “Sure, yeah. I was young, and I was fucking….I was scared. But I-I’m trying to be better.” 

He can’t stand the broken look on your face, would rather keep you angry. “Do you think I owe you something? None of that stuff matters anymore.” 

“Really? None of it matters? Even Sarah knew–” 

That slices through the thread of restraint he has left. “Enough.” 

“I loved her, Joel,” you plead with him. “I loved her, too.”

Joel rises to his feet, his hands clench into fists, and you stand too. “Don’t-” 

“-And you won’t even,” you swallow hard to compose yourself as Joel paces to look out the window. The rain has died down considerably, like it knows there’s only so much energy allowed to exist in one place. “You pretend like we didn’t know each other, I knew you Joel. I know you. And I knew her, and-”

“I said that’s enough!” Joel grabs the closest thing he can find, a lamp sitting on the side table, and hurls it across the room. It shatters upon impact, glass shards spraying in the air. He’s desperate to scare you off, willing to do anything to get you to stop poking holes in his resolve, it feels like you can see right through him, and he has no place to hide. 

But you don’t even recoil from the outburst. In fact, you seem almost satisfied. In letting his emotions get the best of him, he's shown you how much he still cares. It doesn’t stop him from continuing on.

“You don’t know me, and she wasn’t your daughter. You will never understand what it is like to lose your own child.”

You exhale sharply, like he’s punched you in the gut, the color draining from your face. Eyes still red-rimmed, but the fire inside them is now gone. 

“Okay,” you say, voice trembling and you look out the window. “It’s not raining anymore, so I’m gonna head back.”

“We’re supposed to finish the-”

“I don’t want to be anywhere near you,” you say, swiping at the corners of your eyes. “I don’t want to see you again, honestly. So just fuck off.” 

Within seconds, you’re gone, the garage door slamming behind you. Joel stays in place, even after he hears the measured beat of your horse running off into the woods. He’s done terrible things to a lot of people that didn’t deserve them – and he did them without a second thought. This had been exactly what he wanted, but this time, he’s filled with regret. 

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

You can’t remember the last time you were this angry. 

Every nerve inside you is thrumming with electricity, and you are glad you’re alone, because you’re pretty sure the next person who touches you will get shocked. But even though you’re angry with Joel, you’re more angry with yourself. He had tried to warn you – and you just kept pushing. Why’d you allow yourself to grow so soft? To believe that you could both find a way to heal together? Bea had been wrong. Love was just another means to control someone else. Joel was no exception to the rule. 

Sure, there were things about you he didn’t understand. But you aren’t willing to give him any grace, not after the way he’d humiliated you, over and over….and you just let it happen. Maybe it was irresponsible to leave him there alone, but you didn’t care. He could find his way back, and even if he didn’t, it no longer mattered. 

The rage gives you tunnel vision, you can only see what’s directly in front of you, and even then, none of it registers. You’re not even sure how long you’ve been riding when you hear the gunfire rain down on you. 

It snaps you out of it – the sound of the bullets whizzing past your ears hitting the trees, ricocheting off the rocks at your feet. Almost immediately you leap off your horse and take cover behind a tree, drawing your pistol and listening closely to see where the attack came from. 

You hear voices – men’s voices, and the sound of leaves crunching underfoot. You pinpoint three distinct voices, but there could be more. 

“Where the fuck did she go?”

“Doesn’t matter, we should go after the horse.” 

“What if she has friends? She looked too put together to be alone.” 

“Even better. Come on, she couldn’t have gone far.” 

Truth be told, it’d been awhile since you’d had to navigate an ambush like this all alone. If you’d been paying closer attention, maybe you would’ve seen it coming. You’re already at a disadvantage, outnumbered, but it helps that you at least know their intentions. 

The footsteps grow closer, to your right, so quietly, you shuffle to the left of the tree you’re huddled up against, so you’re out of view when two of them pass you. You imagine the third one is scoping out a different section of the forest. Idiots, you think to yourself.

The adrenaline kicks in, and you pounce. One of the men is wearing a scarf, and that makes things easy, when you yank him backwards, hiding behind his broad shoulders, you use the fabric to cut off his airflow, staying clear of his arms flailing about while the man he was walking with turns, hesitating, gun raised, but he doesn’t fire – he can’t, or he’ll risk hitting his friend.

“Hey, hey, we just want to talk!” the man in front of you pleads as you catch his eyes over the shoulder of his friend, whose attempts at freeing himself become weaker and weaker as he fights to breathe. 

“No you don’t,” when the man goes limp in your arms, you shove him forward towards the man whose gun is now trained on you. He fires twice, but it’s you who delivers the final blow, so you don’t see where his bullets go. The two of them collapse together on the ground. 

Your heart starts to beat faster, suddenly increasing your ability to focus. Warmth blooms in the pit of your belly, and you whirl around towards the sound of footsteps in the snow, the third man appearing in front of you – his gun also raised. His eyes flicker nervously between you and the two others – who are dead, if not incapacitated, but you can’t worry about that now.

He’s hesitating with his gun raised – why, you aren’t sure. But you are, too. There’s something about the fear in his eyes that makes you feel almost guilty. It’s me, or him, you remind yourself, a mantra you have had to repeat far too many times trying to survive. When his eyes shift behind you, you pull the trigger, and a second gunshot echoes your own. You brace yourself, thinking he fired too, but instead, his body jolts two times with the impact of two bullets before he goes down. They were inexperienced, clearly, but it was still a close call. 

You look over your shoulder to find Joel behind you, gun still smoking, something dark and feral in his eyes. He lowers his weapon as you turn to face him fully. 

“I had it handled,” you say, briskly. But Joel doesn’t answer you. In fact, the insult doesn't seem to register at all - his eyes are wide. You follow his gaze down, towards your stomach. 

That’s when see it. 

Blood, and a lot of it, blooming at your stomach, dripping down under the waistband of your pants. When you go to press your hand against the wound, you realize you can’t feel your right arm – your shoulder is bleeding too. 

“Oh,” you suddenly feel lightheaded, cold. Your teeth chatter. “Shit.” 

You slump against a tree, expecting to feel the bark scratching your skin through your jacket, but you feel nothing at all as you slide to the ground. Above you, the sun shines brightly – like it had never stormed at all. 

Life goes on. 

You look towards the light, but it’s quickly obstructed by Joel, hovering over you. 

“We gotta-” he stutters, “We’ve gotta get out of here.” He says it like it’s a real possibility, looking down at your wounds. You can see it on his face. It’s not. 

“That bad?” you say, when he meets your gaze again. He doesn’t answer, opens his mouth and shakes his head no, but you can tell he’s lying. You take in a ragged breath. “Just tell Ethan that-”

“It’s not that bad. Stop it. Will you?” Joel says, like he’s suddenly remembered how to talk. “You’re fine. You’ll be fine.” 

“I don’t know,” you manage, and it’s hard to speak without feeling like you’re choking. “I-I don’t think so.” 

Joel’s hands find your shoulders, and despite the last thing he said to you before you left him, the gesture does give you some sense of comfort. “I’m so….I’m so fucking tired. Ethan’s alright. He doesn’t need me-”

“No, no,” Joel cuts you off. “He does, he does need you. Lots of people need you.”

None of his words even register, you can only think about your imminent future. The fight you’d got in seems suddenly inconsequential. “I don’t want to be alone, will you just stay until-”

“We’re leaving,” Joel drags you to your feet, presses a hand to your middle to stop the bleeding, and you feel the pain for the first time. It’s such a shock – so intense and all-consuming that you cry out. “I know, I know, I know…” he says, and his voice breaks into panic. 

“I should’ve never fucking let you go,” you’re not sure if he’s talking about you walking away from him earlier, or something else. Joel is half-carrying, half-dragging you along – so dizzy and disoriented you can’t move your legs, vision fading in and out. Joel stumbles over the uneven terrain towards his horse. 

“Please-” just let me be, you want to croak, but the words don’t come out. You think of everyone you’ve lost – Sarah. Vincent. Bea. All the others. What had it felt like for them, before it happened? 

“No, no, don’t close your eyes,” you feel Joel’s  hand on the side of your face, and you blink them open – you actually didn’t remember nodding off. “Stay with me, now….please. Please.” 

The more he begs, the less you understand what’s making him so frustrated. The less you understand anything at all. You wish you could answer, but you can’t. You can feel your body going limp. “Come on, girl, don’t fucking do this to me,” you hear his voice, harsh and desperate, your body being shaken. 

Your vision comes in snippets– blood on your hands, on the slope of his neck, the canopy of trees above you, Joel’s eyes, wet with tears. 

You can’t understand why he’s crying, and you don’t get to figure it out. 

-

-

-

[austinslounge]

I honestly tried to like Kaia, I truly did, but I can’t stand this shit anymore. Her desperate attempts to be popular, seem interesting and ”deep” are driving me insane at this point. I know it’s probably not her fault, but her parents’, they made her this cringy attention-seeker after all. I can’t understand what Austin sees in her other than her family’s connections or just a plain PR agreement. She has no personality, she always tries to gain popularity by copying her mother(or people she’s dating). It’s funny how she doesn’t even look that much like Cindy, sure, she’s beautiful, but Presley literally stole Cindy’s face. Her attempts to seem intelligent are also miserable. I’ve never seen any of her book club readings, because for me, most of her book recommendations are just airplane reads, but I’ve seen many people say that even when she’s talking about books, it seems scripted and staged. Like someone just gave her a summary and she retells what happened in the book, that’s it. I mean, what intelligence? She never even bothered to take basic acting classes. Her comments about nepotism speak volumes too. During the pandemic she bragged about having dinner reservations and partying with her friends. Her merch is awful. With all her money and resources, she could have made some really good stuff, but why would she?Her small insane fan base will pay 50$ for an ugly white shirt with a caption either way. She’s desperately clinging to anyone who can give her even the smallest amount of fame, her following people and then unfollowing them if they don’t follow back. The way she was clinging to Austin hardcore in July, dragging him away from his fans, when he wanted to interact with them. Her stupid cake for his birthday. Don’t even get me started on how she makes out with her female friends constantly or throws herself on her male costars or short SNL guys. I don’t know why I feel so annoyed and disgusted by her all the time. I swear, this girl spoils my excitement for Austin and his work every fucking time. Nepotism is not always a bad thing, there are talented nepo babies, but she’s like the epitome of everything I hate about nepotism. I don’t know how she can rub shoulders with people who actually have talent, get invited to all these awards and red carpets. Kaia had plenty of time to prove that she’s worth something, she’s been in the industry since she was a child, but no. Why would she prove anything? Her mother is Cindy Crawford, her father is a millionaire worth 400 million, her boyfriend is Austin Butler. I just wish she will go away finally. No matter how hard I try, I can’t warm up to her. Sadly, looking at the state she is now, you can clearly tell that the girl has issues, but sadly,having no brain,she can’t understand that she’s a tragedy about to happen.

💯

Girl! I wish I could give you an award for this post. You basically hit the nail squarely on the head with the many various reasons why a lot of us in Austin's fandom don't like this girl! I'd be saying the exact same thing if Austin were dating another woman just like this. I'm actually verrry surprised that people haven't called Kaia out on her very obvious clout-chasing by now.

I'll be honest, I never really cared for her even when she was dating Elordi. I don't hate her, she's just meh to me. Always has been. So my thoughts and feelings about her are not about Austin. It's more so about what I've observed about her over the years.

Her dating Austin just makes things even more unbearable though -- especially when you know that he could do so much better. 😩 But hey, it's his life, not mine!

When I realized they were dating however, I really did try to like her too, or at least give her a chance. I saw that Austin was with her, so I was trying to be a "good fan"and see what he may see in her. But last year, I started seeing more and more negative things that I just didn't like about her.

I really don't have much to add to this wonderful post, because you basically touched on the many various reasons why a lot of AB fans don't really care for her. I also think she makes Austin look cheap with her weird behavior and interests. 👀 She really cheapens his brand imo. But that's a topic for another day lol.

[gavillain]

Agatha All Along episode 4 discusion and theories!

Episode 4 spoilers ahoy! Also, I'm going to discuss the FunkoPop leaked spoilers as well, so if you want to remain in the dark, turn back now!

This was SUCH a good episode! I really had fun with it, and we learned a LOT and had a lot of development this go-round.

So they summon Rio Verde to fill Sharon's place as the resident Green Witch in this episode, and already I am LOVING what she adds to the group. The way she's just so casually bloodthirsty and dangerous is genuinely really fun, and I really like how this episode confirms that she and Agatha were lovers in the past and still seem to have feelings for each other. I am mad that the FunkoPop leak spoiled that Rio is Death because this episode did some GREAT foreshadowing regarding that revelation that I'm sure would have thrown us all for a loop if we didn't already know her identity. But her being "in the neighborhood" after Sharon dies, her wanting "more bodies" during her talk with Agatha, Agatha saying "don't" directly at her when Teen was dying, and her hurting Agatha fulfilling her duty. That last one makes me think that she was responsible for taking Nicholas Scratch's life, and that's why she and Agatha had their falling out. I'm thinking maybe Agatha did something to obtain the Darkhold that inadvertently traded Nicholas's life, and maybe she thought whatever she did WOULDN'T kill him because she and Death were lovers (but of course was mistaken). I'm very excited to learn more about Death and Agatha's history.

Although, I am curious about two things with regards to Rio being Death: 1. She's a Green Witch and in fact says she is THE Green Witch. Why is Death of all beings considered a Green Witch? What's the lore there? 2. Were all the signs indicating that she might be Blackheart intentionally misdirections, or is there something else going on here that pertains to Blackheart? Keeping these questions in mind going forward, and I want to marinate on them.

Alice, her mother, and her family's curse was at the forefront of this episode, and I really enjoyed having some additional development for Alice. She was by far the most "normal" of the main cast, so it was nice that we got answers about her first so that she didn't fade into the background. Last episode, I deduced that Alice was cursed by some malevolent entity that plagues her family bloodline and would be after her now that the mother is dead, and on that I was correct. I thought the entity would be Dark Tonji from the comics, but the curse demon was given no name. I'm just gonna call it Dark Tonji since it never got another name XD I loved the reveal that Alice's mother's cover of The Ballade is a protection spell that has been keeping Alice safe for years because of how prolific it is played. I thought that was a really fun touch, and I LOVED the performance of the cover. It was very emotionally powerful watchiing the demon be destroyed by it. I am curious if we'll learn more about where the Dark Tonji curse came from and what that entity was. I'm inclined to say probably not since this episode tied a neat bow on top of everything, but we very well might! I'd love to know more if they have more story to tell.

I also liked the reveal that Alice's mother died "on the road" but not the Witches' Road, she died "on the road" because she was on tour. I like the wordplay there, and I thought it made for a nice subversion to expectations.

We got more of Agatha having a genuine affection for "Teen" in this episode, and seeing how much she cared when Teen got hurt and was close to dying in contrast to how she basically used Sharon as a meat shield to die for her and then never bothered to learn her name speaks VOLUMES regarding how much Agatha cares about Teen. This episode basically spells out that Agatha thought Teen WAS Nicholas Scratch, but Rio confirms at the end that he is not. It also seems to suggest that Teen doesn't even know who put the sigil on him at all. I'm still very much of the opinion that it's Wanda's magic, and that he's Billy Kaplan (the latter seemingly confirmed by FunkoPop spoilers - thanks a lot guys). But I'm interested in if Agatha might suspect that about him, and I wanna see how their relationship changes now that Rio has confirmed that he's not Nicholas.

Jen talks about a man without magic binding her, and I'm fairly certain the man she talks about is the same one she saw in her hallucination. She states specifically that he did NOT have magic though he did bait her into trap. I'm calling it right now that he DIDN'T bind her, she bound HERSELF unknowingly as a trauma response to his attack. I'm pretty sure about that one.

We see more of Lilia having visions and then saying things without remembering that she says them. I almost wonder if the mysterious dead woman she saw in her hallucination last episode is somehow literally inside of her. Two souls trapped in one. I also just want to note that I enjoy the consistency in her characterization as being the one who takes the most umbrage with witch stereotypes like she did in the previous episodes. It's a small thing, but I like characterization bits like that that help set her aside from the others.

Aaaaaaaand now I really don't want to wait until next week for the new episode. These continue to be SO good, and I NEED more.

[zoe-oneesama]

Hi Zoe, I saw a few asks before about a physical edition of Scarlet Lady, I'm curious how you are planning to go about it? For now I saw you talk about volume one, are you planning to make one season = one volume? Will there be any changes to the current comics? (Like color, bonuses etc.) thank you in advance!

Yes, the plan is 1 Volume = 1 Season, with Volume 5 having the finale episodes, so, extra thiccccc.

I have edited the pages to fix spelling errors and made a few changes so subtle that I can't even remember them, as well as trying to make old pages more legible. And there are bonus images and commentary to fill in the blank spots left by page bonuses.

^Here's an example bonus pictures I made for "The Pharaoh". It's the picture Alix joked about sharing with the class of Marinette dressed as Scarlet Lady, and Plagg dressed as the Black Cat statues that the group walks past at the end of the episode.

Because mixam (the ones who'll be making these books) needs pages divisible by 4, I do have some full color pages for the Volumes that happened to not fit that number nicely (so far it's just Volume 2), so look forward to that. I think I'll share those pages later this week.

Additionally, the chapters got new "headers" since they're in a new format:

^Ivan finally got his moment!

So, it's not as easy as just throwing it into a PDF and giving it out like that. I want this to be a special gift for anyone who's willing to put down money for my content - they deserve something extra for their interest, which is also why I'm not trying to spoil everything.

As for the status of everything: - Volume 1: Final Walk-through. I've gone through one draft and added a few things to match changes I made to other volumes, so after I complete a few commissions I'll be ordering in another (hopefully final!) draft. One book costs me about $60 to order, but that's because I'm not ordering in bulk. But it does mean I take plenty of time between ordering draft. - Volume 2: 2nd Draft. Volume 1 had very few errors in its first draft but Volume 2 had quite a lot, starting with the cover being so dark it was basically a black blob with green eyes (the covers are the different heroes). So I've been editing saturation on the cover and need to print just the cover locally to find the right balance. Additionally, there were a handful that accidentally got cut off, so I needed to fix those. The cover is really the biggest thing holding things up. - Volume 3: Ready for it's 1st Draft. Again, these are expensive, and after the debacle with Volume 2 I want to test print Volume 3's cover to make sure it doesn't have the same problem since it also has a lot of black. - Volume 4: Only the pages have been edited. That means I need to do chapter covers, extras, chibis, and page fillers, as well as the cover. - Volume 5: Same as Volume 4, as well as not being done with the season.

Additionally, I'm not out here trying to get sued, so I need an original product to sell with the book being a "freebie". I don't do a lot of original content, so any suggestions would be appreciated. A print? Charm? Bookmark? Stickers?...pencil?

Then there's obviously the store to use, launching a page, creating marketing materials~ All super fun -_-

[hell-drabbles]

Embittered Companion idea

While Ra-On is Solomon's descendant

Companion is God

Hear me out

God left Heaven after Solomon's death and either split himself up or reincarnated

So while in current timeline Ra-On represents Solomon

Companion represents God or at least a fragment or incarnation of him

Which is why Companion's angelification goes horribly wrong and why angels are so taken to Companion

I had this idea a while ago and thought it would be funny to play with

Especially since PB might go under so I wanna write my own lore

I know PB isn't ever gonna do this

But I enjoy the idea that later in game rather then Ra-On being both the demons and angels object of affection and the solution to everything

Ra-On meets someone or someone he knows (Minhyeok) who is the incarnation/fragment of God and thus this is what stops the whole war

PB won't ever do that though since Ra-On has to be the horny main focus in everything

Dante Anon

Strap yourself in, tis a long one!

In the end, the main focus is just to be horny, and I'm honestly okay with it that if it weren't for the narrative trying to be super uber serious. It wants to be comedic, but it always wants to try and do gut wrenching emotion, but you can't do that when the MC has barely known these devils for more than a month at most.

Would've done the horny aspect justice if the writers just leaned in hard on the comedy and basically have it be a dark humor comedy from start to finish. Angels slaughtering devils and suddenly there's a holiday and the devils and angels are celebrating and fucking one another.

Hmm? Oh yeah, I know this angel killed my brother but we patched him up fine! Besides, I wanted to see what he tastes like, don't ruin it for me.

In that dark comedy version, I probably would've had it where the war was only started for the sake of a promise. Solomon made the devils and angels promise to spoil their descendants rotten, so the angels and devils come together to craft this bitch huge scenario that's basically, "angel/devil war, descendants come and stop the war, huuuuge celebration!" the whole war was crafted to make the descendants feel special and they're pretty upfront about it too. "Yeah we know you humans like to feel really special, so you get to stop a whole war!" That kind of thing.

You know, that kind of humor.

Anyways, let's seeeee, how would I go about an AU where the Companion is somehow connected to God.

I'll go with the fragmentation portion and say that the Companion has that in them. An insignificant fragment that subconsciously always seeks out Solomon no matter where they are.

Both Ra-on and the Companion are in the realm of "special," but the difference between them is that, narrative wise, Ra-on is eventually going to lose what makes him special, as in Solomon is finally going to rest. Ra-on's special status is highly situational, only awakening as soon as he was in Hell or near an angel. And as for the Companion, well...

I would imagine that having a fragment of God in you is going to mess with you from birth until death. The Companion has always heard low whispers, prayers that sometimes spike in volume depending if a tragedy or a violent storm happened. Suffering from both visual and auditory hallucinations. They avoid churches like the plague because the whispering always gets louder near those places, and they constantly have an umbrella over their head because the clouds simply bother them.

I'd like to imagine that the fragment the Companion got ended up containing all of God's grief inside of it. Grief, regrets, all those things. Sleeping becomes an incredibly hard thing for them, because if they don't take their sleep medication, they always wake up feeling like someone else. For just a few minutes, the Companion doesn't remember their name. All they remember is someone named Solomon. And then they forget just a few moments later.

Minhyeok is such a sweetheart and you know he helps the Companion through those rough episodes when the prayers become too much, or when they're too enraged and need to let off some steam. Rage and bitterness, the Companion has a lot of it, but that's just the usual. And Ra-on... well, he used to help, but he's retreated into that shell of his.

Nothing really changes when Gabriel comes barging in and killing Minhyeok. If anything, the Companion was even more enraged so not only do they clock him in the eyes with glass and plates, they stomp on his nose and broke the damn thing.

So anyways, no the angels don't sense anything in the Companion, they're just a regular human.

Now, as for the angelification process... I would imagine that when they're reborn, Heaven began to shake. Clouds parted, houses crumbled and the sun shined with a ferocity like never before. For a moment, the angels believed that finally, finally their God is returning home to them.

And then everything goes back to normal. There is no God, and now they've got a damaged Heaven to repair. And oh, would you look at that, Gabriel brought home this... abomination. Isn't that the Companion that was with Solomon son? By this point, only Gabriel has a suspicion, everyone else is none the wiser.

The Companion has always had the fear that one day, these prayers would overtake their head and they would be unable to think. Now they're being pelted by hymns, prayers and vicious sermons of devotion as angels slaughter more and more devils. One can only imagine the absolute nightmare existence the Companion is living.

Now, a human looking like this messy Companion is entirely expected. The difference between the Companion and a regular human, though, is that a regular human would usually die within a matter of days. The Companion survives for weeks, months on end. And, in fact, their body is changing. Taking on a new form, adapting even, becoming more and more beautiful in Gabriel's eyes until finally he's one step away from confirming that yes, this is God.

The ability to make an angel.

Now, the Companion only has a fragment of God in them, as such the ability to make something out of nothing is wholly out of their realm of possibility. So, they can't make an angel out of thing air.

They can, however, make an angel out of the many wings they have on their back. The Companion's body is constantly changing, almost violently so. So much so that entire sections of wings fall off and regrow like nothing. And when the first set finally fell, a new angel was born from them.

The Companion can make new angels unconsciously, just by having a set of their own wings fall off.

Alright, I ran out of steam, that's about all that's in my head at the moment. Hope that was fun to read.

Obviously I would want these angels born from the Companions fallen wings to be... different from the average angel. Though I have no clue how to go about it. I really do like the thought though. Sounds like fun.

What kind of angels would you make for the Companion? How do they act, and how do they feel about their existence, about being crafted by a Companion who is... Not completely themselves? I'm really curious.

[shinyzango]

So, about that "A Steampunk Carol" graphic novel...

I totally did not forget to make the post about it like I promised I am so sorry.

For those who are not familiar with it, long story short a while ago I came across a Kickstarter project for what seemed to be a steampunk adaptation of the Nutcracker story and was bummed that I missed out on it and wasn't able to support and secure a copy for myself, but a fella made me aware that it did actually get published in Italy a few years ago, and that it was sold on Amazon. And after discovering that there was literally only one copy left, I bought it on a whim to both read it and to hopefully attract more attention to it for reasons I'll discuss in just a bit.

I'm just going to say that I'm very back at writing reviews so apologies if this doesn't say anything at the end or if you didn't get the answers to your questions dkfjgn

Alright, now for the book itself.

First things first, the story. I won't go into details right now as I do not want to spoil folks in case this does get released in english to a wider public, but I can add a Spoilers section in the future where I explain in detail what happens if I get asked about it.

The story, like I said, is an adaptation of the Nutcracker And The Mouse King, but it is quite different in many elements, and spices things up quite a bit, especially after the introduction.

Sadly it feels quite rushed in its execution imo, I assume it's because they had to fit everything in a single volume. Which is a shame because there are many concepts and ideas that are very fascinating and interesting, both for the plot and for the characters themselves.

Speaking of the characters, they are quite unique and interesting.

The main kid, Caitlin, who is the Clara/Marie of the story, can be a little sassy, but she still feels grounded and has a good balance between putting down her foot and being nervous about the situation. I don't mind her character.

The Nutcracker, who is only called Schiaccia (just a shortened "Schiaccianoci" which is nutcracker in italian. I assume he's called Cracker in english if they kept that logic), feels solid. He's a loyal soldier, skilled but does show hints of insecurities. A good lad.

The mice are great as well, I'm really intrigued by the lore they cooked up for them, and the Mouse King is actually not bad, and I like what they did with his character.

There's also another supporting character, a tin soldier who goes by Sergeant Idle. He is basically a companion to the Nutcracker. He is basically a plot tool, helping with the backstory and moving the story forward, but not in a bad way. He's very enjoyable.

I would have loved to see them all explored further, but like I said it all feels rushed probably because it had to stick all in a single volume. I don't know if the authors ever considered this to become a series or if it's just a one-shot story, but I would honestly love to see this evolve into a series, if only because I love the characters and I would love to know more about the lore they cooked up for it more in detail, letting all the elements have the time to shine.

Moving on to the graphic...

I love Lorenza's art style. It looks very sketchy, with a clean roughness to it if that makes sense. And I really like all the designs of the characters.

(Apologies for the glares, I tried my hardest to limit them as much as possible. also ngl I'm giggling a little seeing how Schiaccia looks similar to my Hans skdfkjhn)

All in all, I really like this adaptation. It's unique and enjoyable, if only a little rushed.

Like I mentioned before, this was Kickstarted a while ago to get properly published in english. It was successfully funded and as far as I know, they're currently in the process of printing copies if not even shipping them for the backers. I still don't know if the folks at Last Ember Press are planning in making it available to purchase outsite the Kickstart, but I really hope so because I do think this deserves to be available to everyone.

[ririban]

Hi, your comment about Seigi and Richard "but they did kinda become “canon” only in the latest update. In the sense that they finally decided to officially make their relationship a romantic one." Can you tell me how does it happen?

Sorry for the late reply! I don't get a lot of asks so I'm not in the habit of checking my inbox 😅

For anyone else reading this, there are a bunch of spoilers under this. So don't read on if you don't want to be spoiled.

It wasn't anything super dramatic or something along those lines, if that's what you were hoping for, but a very Etra like moment where they just... talked. They've both definitely been aware of each other's feelings for a couple of volumes now, but they weren't in an official romantic relationship until volume 13. It's also mentioned that they were both considering taking their relationship in that direction prior to the events of volume 11, and Richard had even asked Seigi “If we keep work and personal life separate, would you like to continue this relationship with me?” (this translation might not be accurate as my Japanese isn't very good so I relied on MTL quite a bit). It's also mentioned that Seigi knew what Richard was talking about here, but Jeff called at that moment and interrupted them. After this Seigi just... didn't respond. In volume 11 there was a scene where Seigi asked Richard to wait a bit longer and Richard responded that he's ready to wait a hundred years.

Back to volume 13, they had a conversation where Richard said that while they may have had a student-teacher like relationship in the past, they were equals at the present moment so Seigi shouldn't hesitate no matter how he wants to respond. So Seigi told him that he was scared. He'd been constantly improving himself during his time with Richard and had been showing his best self, all to make Richard happy. But he wasn't sure if he could continue growing at this pace. He feared he wouldn't be able to provide Richard with as much enjoyment as he had up to that point. Basically, he was worried about what comes after they get together. He was worried that a day would come where Richard is no longer able to see a future with him.

But Richard said that he's growing at the same pace as Seigi and that the future isn't infinite. And I'll just post a rough translation of the following bit (again, I don't actually know Japanese, so this may be incorrect):

“Seigi, life itself has no ‘second chance.’ There is no ‘future.’ Every living thing that is born will one day live out its life and leave this world. It’s not strange to be afraid of that—it’s a natural feeling. But trying to include my relationship with you in that fear doesn’t make sense. To be blunt, everything that begins will eventually end. Nothing lasts forever.” “…Not even diamonds?” “No, not even diamonds. Because their brilliance exists only in the gaze of those who behold them.” Thinking of the world’s most famous diamond tagline, Seigi smiled stiffly. Richard returned his smile, a gentle, soft expression. “And that’s precisely why I want to stay by your side. Even if the word ‘beauty’ one day belongs to someone or something else, I still want you to call me beautiful. I want to see what I look like in your eyes—eyes with gray hairs and wrinkles—when that day comes.” “…” "Even if, one day, diamonds were to turn to ash, or the powerful flames that flowed within molten lava cooled and hardened into fragile gray rock, I know you would cherish them still. I am certain of it. Because I, too, am confident that I will keep the brilliance of the diamond that is you within my eyes forever." "...I might turn into a boring guy really soon, you know." "Don’t worry. You’ve already entertained me more than a lifetime’s worth. Everything from here on is bonus time." "...Haha." This time, it was Seigi’s turn to laugh. He laughed quietly at first—haha, haha—then, just like Richard moments ago, crouched down and continued laughing. Richard gently placed a hand on Seigi’s trembling back and stroked it. "Seigi. The reason I find you so endearing is not because you constantly cherish me or make me happy. Nor is it because you are a living being who grows at a remarkable pace. I love you because you are you." "..." "Now and always." "...Me too." "I know." "...Yeah." Seigi let out a deep sigh and stood up. The groan of resignation that escaped his lips carried a faint sweetness, as though something was caught in his throat. Richard sensed it just as Seigi sniffled softly. With a composed expression, Richard tilted his head. "Is something the matter?" "Nah, just got something in my eye. Don’t mind me. Ah… you’re still as beautiful as ever. The most beautiful in the world. Sometimes it makes me want to cry." Seigi took a step closer to Richard and touched his cheek. Then, pressing his forehead against Richard’s collar, he let out another sigh. "You’re beautiful. Just your existence feels like the sun, shining down and lighting up my life." "It may be time to consider installing solar panels. This is the third or fourth time you’ve said that to me." "Sorry." "There’s no need to apologize. The sun always feels pleased when you praise it." Richard shrugged. Seigi raised his head, his expression somewhere between troubled and amused. "I’m truly happy to be able to share the same time with you. Even if the invisible amount of time we have left keeps shrinking, I’m so happy to be spending it with you. So happy it scares me sometimes, and I feel like running away. But… there aren’t many places left for me to run to anymore." "It seems that way." Seigi removed his hand from Richard’s cheek, took a step back, straightened his posture, and looked directly at the beautiful face in front of him. Then he spoke. "I want to stay by your side. Always. So… stay with me. Even if I turn into a wreck, promise you’ll stay. Even if it’s a lie." "Unfortunately, I’m all out of lies to tell you." Without either of them signaling the other, they wrapped their arms around each other, embracing tightly.

After this the scene moved to more plot relevant stuff which I'm not including here.

[katarh-mest]

7th time loop vol 5 thoughts

Just finished volume 5 of 7th Time Loop. I don't want to wait until September for the next book! Can't believe I inhaled them all already....

Anyway, stuck some heavy spoilerific thoughts below a line here.

The reveal that the current Emperor has a massive bloodlust presence and he doesn't even try to hide it... He really is being built up to be a monster, no?

What I suspect is that in every timeline, he's been the instigator of the war, and even Arnold killing him has never been enough to stop it once the gears are in motion.

He's priming the rest of the world for a takeover - doing stuff like pouring poison into Dietrich's ears to create a failed coup attempt in that kingdom as a way to knock them out of the picture, weakening Domana by killing off their last remaining priestess (not caring that she's the cousin of his oldest son, since he views his own children as political tools.) The whole counterfeit coin business too.

Every plot has been a long con designed to provoke all the other nations into either being weakened, or into holding a massive grudge against Galkhein, all for the sake of creating a world war that can't he stopped, not even by his death, and leaving the mess for his son Arnold to clean up.

Canon vs Fanon stuff

There's a bunch of things floating around in fanfics that seemed plausible considering the series has supernatural elements, but I was slightly disappointed to find weren't in Vol 5. Maybe they'll be in volume 6????? (Spoil me in comments, go ahead.)

Arnold can take off Riche's clothes with his mind (now wouldn't that be amusing!)

Arnold has super healing powers inherited from his mom (TOTALLY believable) - this one pops up and seems to definitely be in volume 6th so I'm saying this one is probably canon, but I don't know 100% for sure

Arnold is stuck in his own time loop (I'm seriously leaning toward this, it's just his loops have been stuck as a personal hell where he can't stop his dad no matter what he does.)

Wacky things that absolutely are canon:

Arnold's eyes glow sometimes

Rishe and Arnold both have super senses. Love the way the anime depicted her picking out Count Lavinne in the crowd. They're practically Force sensitive.

Rishe is a quick study and has an eidetic memory. In modern day terms, we'd call her gifted. She doesn't forget names or faces that easily. That's it's own super power.

Rishe did study a lot of her interests as a kid, so if Arnold sent Oliver to do homework on her asking "wtf how is my future wife so amazing" the mundane answer was "she actually did do stuff like archery, horseback riding, sword training, etc., but the prince of Hermity told her to stop every one of those activities because she was better than he was."

Fan Theories I've seen

Arnold in a Loop: The reason I tend to agree with the fan hypothesis that Arnold is in his own time loop is because 1. He seemed to be under the impression that she was slightly afraid of him up until the last chapter of volume 5 (I mean, he did stab her in the chest last go round) and 2. He's way too brilliant for even a determined, workaholic 19 year old. Like Rishe, he acts like got an extra few lifetimes of learning under his belt.

He's also several steps ahead of Rishe at every turn. He already knows what's happening, and he seems genuinely delighted at how fast she catches on. And he grabs her suggestions with two hands and runs with them because they're good and valid and often present the solution to the problems he himself wasn't able to find, like a way to make Coyelles an equal partner instead of his first target for invasion.

Was her 5th loop really the first time that he encountered her? He made the gesture toward his heart that she interpreted as "Shoot me if you can" but what if in a prior loop, say the 2nd or 3rd, he saw a cute scholar in Coyelles and wanted to try to encounter her again in later loops but didn't again until the 5th? What he he's bumped into her in every life before, but she only developed her own hunter's sense in the 5th life so never realized it? What it he's been crushing on a girl for 30 years and only by chance in the 7th loop did she choose a different escape route and bump into him?

Dream Vision Arnold: Another fan theory I've seen is Arnold having dream visions of all the wars started in all of Rishe's lives in the future. And that, too, would jive with him having inherited the blood of the goddess and having majority and some notion of events that haven't come to pass yet. (And also why he insists on calling Rishe his wife even though they aren't married yet. Probably saw enough visions of her that the moment he saw her jump off the balcony, he went "oh. That's the girl from my dreams I'm gonna marry. okay. get her. GET HER NOW.")

My own pet theories:

Arnold's mother and the Crusade Church - Fan theories center around the idea of Arnold getting his super powers from his mother's side. (Although his dad is a monster too.) What if the Goddess picked Arnold as her champion of revenge against his dad and that's why he's stuck in a loop (and Rishe is the one getting dragged along with him cuz she's a soulmate?)

Opposing forces: Arnold's father works for another god/goddess (maybe a war god or something) and believes it is his mission in life to bring the world war about, and that's why Arnold feels like he has to stop him

Possible prophesies: The fact that Arnold's father committed straight up infanticide and eventually killed or had all his concubines killed makes me wonder if there was some sort of oracle that told him that his death would come at the hands of his own child with hair of a different color. (Arnold kills him anyway in the six loops so far.) This opens the door for RISHE (daughter in law) being the one to get to murder him in loop 7, which frees Arnold of the sin of patricide but has her committing regicide instead.... Not that she'd care, she's already killed plenty in all of her loops, especially the last two. But since Arnold seems to be getting ideas of involving the Crusade Church, maybe having her take on the role of the champion of the goddess might absolve her of that crime. Especially if the new Emperor Arnold Hein forgives her.

Rishe actually is one of the chosen of the goddess, and Arnold is the only one that knows.

Final Thoughts

Rishe so worried about the public kiss during the wedding ceremony that she hasn't stopped to think about what comes after is kind of amusing. Granted, she trusts Arnold not to hurt her and that he won't do anything she doesn't want him to. But still.

(Also, getting kissed senseless is a pretty nice birthday present.)

Even if it's his first loop or his seventh too, Arnold is absolutely besotted with her. He's a lovesick fool and he's trying so hard to keep it together in public.

SEPTEMBER CAN'T COME FAST ENOUGH!