#he used the mystery meat anyways

[franpun]

Peppino: "Ok, now pass the meat."

F. Peppino:

Peppino: "W-where did you get this meat from? (And why is it hairy???)"

F. Peppino: "..."

[a-flickering-soul]

Since we're here already with the insane SPG/other media parallel posts I'd like to draw your attention to the parallels between Delilah Morreo and Alecto, and the natural progression that is the parallels between Thaddeus Becile and Emperor John Gaius.

[twizzie-lairs]

My Darling, My Honey

Alastor X Fem!Reader (Part 5)

Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5

Quick Notes:

This is when both reader/you and Alastor are both alive. (... we'll probably end up in hell later on btw so stay tuned...)

Reader is an artist/painter.

Part 5:

It was almost pure bliss.

Except many months later, you found out a secret of his one day.

He was an exceptional chef, you were always in awe of how he cooked such magnificent dishes every day.

But one day, you peeked out into the forest through the window in the living room and saw Alastor standing alone, covered in blood. Your first instinct was to run outside, so you did just that.

You rush to his side and ask if he's okay, and what had happened to make him covered in such copious amounts of blood.

He blinks a few times before oddly turning his head to you, breaking out of his stupor, "Oh my dearest (y/n), do not fret so. For I am only acquiring our dinner for tonight!"

You look down at what he is holding in his hands. Your hand shot up to cover your mouth. A leg. A human leg. Your eyes then trail to the ground where you see a bloody human body, mangled beyond recognition. "This is.. dinner?"

A large grin appears on Alastor's face, "Quite right! This one should be enough to last us through the week!"

He looks at your face with an almost vicious look to his eyes, awaiting your response anxiously, not that he would let that show, anyways.

All you can manage is "Oh. Okay." Before you walk back inside the house without another word.

It's no exaggeration to say that your brain chemistry was permanently altered from that moment onward.

The situation felt so strange and bizarre, you didn't know what to think. Part of you knew that was he's been doing is extremely horrible and corrupt. It almost made you empty the contents of your stomach, it didn't feel real.

It didn't feel real, but suddenly some of Alastor's behaviors started to make sense. His picky taste for food...He never let you help with cooking, you had chalked it up to him being more of a perfectionist, but now... you know its more than that. He was hiding the fact that he was butchering and preparing human flesh, right in your very home, all this time.

But.. for some reason... all you could think about was how dedicated he was to providing a comfortable life for you, because he truly loved you. Everything he did every day showed you that you mattered and that you deserved only the best.

"But I still love him with all my heart... maybe I'm just as messed up..." Was a sentence your mind kept repeating to itself for quite some time.

Your appetite shrinks after the initial shock for a few days, but you were never one to skip meals or have your appetite be gone completely, even if you were sick. In this instance, you weren't sure if it was a blessing or a curse in this case.

The meals he made for you had never made you sick in the past, so your body was already used to eating his cooking, and he made such amazing food, carefully crafted with such love and attention to detail, you couldn't help but keep eating his delicious cooking, no matter how bizarre and immoral it was.

"I think I really am just as messed up..." The thought crossed your mind again, but thoughts were interrupted by a rare occurrence, a kiss on the cheek from Alastor as he set your plate down in front of you.

The fact that you never stopped eating his cooking and always thanked him for his food and hard work, even after knowing where the main ingredient comes from, solidified the fact that you were the one. You loved him even after seeing him all bloody, holding a dismembered corpse, and telling you it was dinner. It was this pivotal moment that he knew, that you were the one to be his beloved forever.

In the coming weeks, things went back to "normal". You were settling into the new normal, as Alastor didn't hide the meal prep like he used to, and seeing him bloody and bringing in mysterious cuts of meat into the house became a normal sight to you.

One night when you were going to see Mimzy, Alastor informed you that he was unable to escort you that night. You were a little disappointed, but he assured you it was okay for you to go, it was just that he had plans that he wouldn't divulge any information on, no matter how much you pressed him.

Little did you know, but that night, Alastor was out on the town shopping for the perfect ring to propose to you with.

-> Part 6

[thearcherstankatsuki]

please please please. - jo togame.

***

my first post! this is just small drabble! based off please please please by sabrina carpenter aksksjsks. hope u like this!

warnings: fluffy, reader is a nerd lolol, me pushing the nerd x scary jock/delinquent agenda because!!, protective togame <3

ps this is kinda ooc i think…let me daydream pls. walk with me

***

no because. imagine being jo togame’s girlfriend. you’re sweet and smart and logical, and it’s an actual mystery as to how you two got together.

he’s the second in command of shishitoren and you’re scoring near-perfect averages at the end of every semester. he kicks ass with his fists and you do it using cue cards and super cute pens.

so just imagine trying to get his ass to behave. your boyfriend is laid-back, practically careless (that isn’t to say he doesn’t love you or care about you; no one should EVER doubt him on such a thing) but he can be possessive. so much so that it becomes a theatrical production every time he finds himself needing to defend your honour.

you’re following him around the house after he makes a casual remark about one of the guys who likes to hit on you being dead meat the next time he sees him, and you’ve got your head in your hands begging him not to interfere.

he just shrugs, kisses your forehead, and walks past you. “ain’t my fault that asshole don’t know my girl’s taken. lemme handle it, princess.”

and you fold. because. HOW COULD YOU NOT.

or or or your teacher is being annoying. you’ve worked harder than anyone else but she won’t give you full marks under stupid excuses like “your paragraph wasn’t detailed enough.” and your boyfriend doesn’t even need to be TOLD that you were looking slightly gloomy at lunch before you get a call back up to your class, and your teacher reluctantly grumbles that she gave you your credit where credit is due.

cue a smiling togame in the back as he waves at your teacher teasingly, then scratches his nose with his middle finger and wraps an extremely muscular arm around your shoulder as he walks you back to lunch.

anyways. give me a togame PLEASEEE PLEASEEE PLEASEEE

***

[halfagone]

Is it Canon or Fanon?

A little over a week ago, I received a very thought-provoking ask that wondered whether the Fenton parents could be considered good parents after everything they've done throughout the show. I did leave a response to that ask, and you can find the original answer here. But even afterwards, it had me thinking:

Why did we start depicting Jack and Maddie as Bad Parents to begin with?

I aim to answer this question through canon evidence to see where this argument might have come from. Now, something to keep in mind is that we still tend to ignore canon a lot of the time, so there may be some people who won't take this meta to mean all that much anyways. But for the purpose of fanfiction, we have to acknowledge that there needs to be an in-universe explanation to these events and sadly, the 'it's a Butch Hartman show' or 'it's an early 2000s cartoon' excuses don't really cut it.

So let's start with some basic stats. There are 49 episodes to the Danny Phantom cartoon (we will not be using the Graphic Novel, A Glitch in Time, for examples); 20 for the first season, 17 for the second, and 12 for the third. If you looked this up on Google, you might notice that these numbers don't line up with the episode list provided. This is because I counted any two-part episodes as one for convenience's sake. Season 2 has three two-parters: "Reign Storm", "The Ultimate Enemy", and "Reality Trip". Season 3 has "Phantom Planet".

Jack appears for 43 of those episodes, although he does not have any speaking lines in the episode, "Frightmare". Maddie, on the other hand, appears in 40 episodes. The three episodes that Maddie does not appear in, but Jack does, are as follows: "Memory Blank", "Flirting With Disaster", and "Double Cross My Heart".

Let's Start with Season 1:

"Mystery Meat": Jack is shown as dismissive to Danny and his friends' preferences, telling them, "True, I've never seen a ghost, but when I do, I'll be prepared. And so will you, whether you want to be or not." Later on, when Sam and Tucker are visibly shaking and Danny is panting from exhaustion, he doesn't realize something is off about this. When Jazz offers to drive Danny to school, the Fenton parents quickly assume that she's a ghost and go off to track them down... even despite her previous argument that she was mentally an adult (should I be concerned that Jazz called Danny an 'abused, unwanted wretch' to make a point to their parents?) A POINT TO MADDIE, she worried about hurting Jazz if she really wasn't a ghost but Jack quickly dismisses that, as their ghost-hunting device only hurts when gets into human hair (spoiler alert, it gets into Jazz's hair). She also insists that Danny is not a ghost, but unfortunately she ultimately doesn't try to stop Jack when he insist Jazz is a ghost. Standing aside and letting abuse play out does not mean Maddie is innocent of hurting her daughter too.

"Fanning the Flames": When Jazz and Danny are struggling to study for an upcoming test, Jack decides that they should put their kids into the 'Fenton Stockades' which is basically an iron maiden. And yes, the Fentons have an entire floor that is meant to torture people. I feel like that should probably be addressed at some point. A POINT TO MADDIE, she stood her ground and refused to let him put their children inside, and even locks him inside instead.

"Teacher of the Year": After hearing displeasing news about the state of Danny's grades in a parent-teacher conference, Maddie lectures Danny by saying, "Get this straight Danny. You're a Fenton. Fentons get As. Or in your father's case, B minuses." Before this, when Danny tried to explain himself, Jack shuts him up with, "Now that's enough of your sass talk mister." Do a lot of parents act like this? Yes. Does that make this a good, conductive way to help your child improve their grades? No, it does not. In fact, Maddie's response in particular probably reinforces the idea that Danny doesn't fit in with the rest of his family and further proves that Jazz is the favorite child. Not a great parenting moment.

"Fright Knight": In this episode, Jack tells Danny, "If I didn't consider it a sign of weakness, I'd weep with joy!" Not a very promising sign when a parent tells their child that it's wrong to show emotion. It's especially telling, however, when it's crying from joy and not even sadness. Yikes.

"13": This is the episode where Jazz 'dates' Johnny briefly, and we see Danny stalking them on their dates. I've seen people give Danny a decent amount of flack for that as well, so this would be a good time to say that the Fenton parents were there too and even encouraged him to keep stalking his sister. Danny was wrong to ignore Jazz's privacy like that, but he definitely learned it somewhere.

"Public Enemies": Here we see more of the Fenton parents' aggression towards ghosts. We get a line from Jack: "I'm gonna tear that ghost kid apart into a million different-" Notice something here? He recognizes that Phantom is a ghost 'kid' and yet still fully intends to shoot at him with the intent to hurt if not straight-up kill him. The only time Maddie disagrees with him is to insist that she does the dirty work because she has better aim than him. These are not the type of people you should let children stay with.

"Maternal Instincts": Okay, I gotta say it, this is a really cute episode. We get to see Maddie reminiscing over how close she and Danny used to be and wishing they had that bond again. Unfortunately she does get some points docked off for deciding what they should do as a bonding activity instesd of asking what Danny wanted to do and maybe learning more about his interests and who he is as a person now that he's a teenager. But there is this really sweet moment where Maddie tells Danny 'I love you' at the campsite which absolutely melted my heart and then later on when she saves Danny from the ghosts, Danny tells her she's awesome and gives her a hug. So sweet. But then she kinda ruins it by asking her son to act as a distraction and- Please do not ask your teenage children to keep skeevy old guys 'entertained' when you know he's a creep. A POINT TO JACK, while all this is going on he's defending his daughter and even shouts, "Back off, she's a minor!" That's some Dr. Doofenshmirtz energy right there, I respect it. He also talks about making Jazz an action figure, which was a really cute moment amidst the chaos.

"The Million Dollar Ghost": This episode is filled with some great Danny-Jack bonding moments and goes to show how much Danny cares about his father that he's willing to get caught to make Jack feel better about himself. We also get to see how much Jack cares about how Danny views him and he wants to be someone in Danny's eyes. Unfortunately, this is the episode where Danny gets lectured for not doing all his lab chores, such as cleaning the beakers and changing the ecto-filtrator- despite knowing that the portal could blow up if they don't change in time and knowing that Danny is bad at cleaning his own room. And we literally get a scene where Jack knocks something over and tells Danny to clean it up because he was too busy running around to do it himself. Is it important to give children chores? Yes, it teaches them responsibility. You should not be asking them to deal with hazardous, dangerous chemicals that can literally cause an explosion capable of killing people. Something to keep in mind.

Now let's look at Season 2:

"Doctor's Disorders": In this lovely (sarcasm) episode, we have Jack saying to Danny's face: "Poor Jazz. She's always been my favorite." I don't feel like this one needs much more explanation for how horrible this is. Also, this isn't really too relevant to the bad-parent-thing and more to the "they wouldn't take Danny's reveal well under other circumstances" thing, because Maddie literally says to Tucker: "Everybody knows humans can't have ghost powers." Which would technically, probably, dehumanize Danny in their eyes.

"Identity Crisis": There's one line in particular in this episode I wanted to point out, which is from Jack where he says, "Safety features? Why, safety features are for punks." ...I know this is probably supposed to be a joke, but when you think about it, it's even worse than you might think. In fanon we do tend to stress how forgetful the Fentons are when it comes to lab safety, but it's one thing to forget and it's a whole other thing to purposefully dismiss it. I could even argue that we're doing the Fentons a service by characterizing them as simply forgetful.

"The Fenton Menace": This is one of the episodes I referenced in the original ask as well, for its... plethora of concerning material. There are lines such as, "Whether it's air land or sea I won't stop until we capture a ghost and tear it apart. Molecule by molecule." A POINT TO MADDIE, she told her family she loved them by saying, "Nothing like spending quality family time with the people you love." However she immediately loses those points when she and Jack attempt to 'spin the crazy' out of Danny. The episode transcript reveals Danny's reaction to this, which is described by, "Danny screaming, his face and hair flying around. Zoom out to show him strapped to a table, which is attached to a metal arm. Zoom out to show the metal arm connected to a centrifuge-like device on the ceiling." As well as, "Danny is shaking, hair sticking up with bags under his eyes." Is this supposed to be a joke? I wouldn't know because quite frankly, I'm not laughing.

"The Fright Before Christmas": So in this episode we learn why Danny hates Christmas! Which is because he got peed on by a dog. As a baby. What kind of parent lets their baby get peed on by a dog? Again, child neglect is a criminally punishable offense, and if they had left him out, in the cold, with dog piss on him, we could have had a lot bigger problems here. They also ignore both their children for most of this episode due to their arguing, although they go back later on and tell Danny that he shouldn't be alone for Christmas and where was all this concern before?

"Secret Weapons": Ah... This is the episode where it happens. Here we get the infamous interaction. Please note how a ghost is referred to as an 'it'. Not a person, not even a kid. But an 'it' that can feel pain that will go ignored.

Jazz: "Does it hurt the ghost?" Maddie: [laughs] "Oh, Jazz! You know your father and I don't care about that. Jack: "Yeah! If we hear it scream, then we know it's working."

"Micro-Management": At the very end of this episode, Jack makes a comment to Danny, "I'm so proud. Our boy finally has the physical prowess of a 60 year old president. Here's to you son." Clearly it's meant to be a compliment, but I don't know about you guys, but I wouldn't take this as a compliment.

"Masters of All Time": This one takes a more distressing turn, because after Maddie catches Danny for snooping around, she has his strapped down to a table and fires a laser at him to interrogate him, thinking he's a ghost (though the laser doesn't hit him, just threatens him, which... isn't much better). And this is after he's already insisted that he's her son. He is still very clearly a child, and even if she doesn't believe that he's her son (for admittedly understandable reasons, people usually remember when they bear children), the fact that she strapped him to a table at all does not look favorably on her. Especially when he very clearly believed that she was his mother, and he was her son. And she still did this to him. Yes, there were time shenanigans involved, but that doesn't make this any easier on Danny just because he knows the truth.

"Reality Trip": This episode showcases that the Fenton parents can actually be decent parents. While they have a hard time believing the truth at first, they do eventually accept it. However, it is still important to remember that Danny could have never known what their reaction would be, so his fear is understandable and rooted in real concern for his life. Here are some of the best points from this transcript:

Jack: "Imagine, our own son has had ghost powers all this time and has kept them a secret from us. [confused] But we love him! [turning to Maddie] I wonder why he didn't trust us enough to tell us." Jazz: "[sarcastically] Hmm, let me guess. [mimicking Jack] "Hey, Maddie, let's destroy the ghost!" [mimicking Maddie] "No, Jack, let's dissect the ghost." [mimicking Jack again] "I know, let's catch the ghost and rip it apart molecule by molecule!" [normal voice, sarcastic again] You guys are so understanding." [Jack and Maddie drop their gazes, ashamed.]

Moving onto Season 3:

"Eye for an Eye": This is more a passing mention, but Jack seems to be a little obsessed with the GIW and huge fans of their work, and you do see it some more in "Livin' Large" later on in the season as well.

"Girls' Night Out": We see Jack trying to make an effort with Danny in this episode again. I did point out in the original ask reply that Jack was obviously trying to be a good father for Danny, which definitely deserves some points. However, it is still important to point out how generally uninterested Danny was in the bonding activity. It goes back to how Maddie ignored the chance to give Danny a choice, and how dismissive they tend to be towards him. I still want to award Jack a point for looking for advice from 'Father/Son Relationships For Stupids!' but I do so half-heartedly. Their interactions in this episode definitely reek with discomfort, but considering everything that has gone down in between now and "The Million Dollar Ghost", that does make sense.

"Torrent of Terror": This is another instance of extreme lack of safety precautions- the airbags don't deploy? In the GAV??? Somewhere out there, OSHA is crying.

"Forever Phantom": Maddie and Jack show a lot of anti-Phantom rhetoric in this episode. So this tracks how uncomfortable and/or threatened Danny might feel at home. Some examples include:

Jack: "He keeps this up he's liable to make people forget he's nothing but a putrid rancid ball of self-aware protoplasm."

Maddie: "Don't be fooled sweetie. He's up to something. Remember that time he attacked the mayor? Or stole everyone's Christmas presents? Once a filthy ghost always a filthy ghost."

"Livin' Large": Something to remember, the GIW intend to fire a missile into the Ghost Zone after gaining access to the Fentons' portal. While they didn't have the password right away, it cannot be understated that the Fentons basically gave away their house in exchange for wealth. Thankfully the missile was just a fake and not a real weapon of mass destruction, but do not mistake this to mean that- had it been real- the GIW wouldn't have gone through with it. And the Fenton parents would have been just as responsible.

And that concludes our canon research for this argument! Let's wrap things up with some stats. Of the 49 episodes in the show, we have evidence in 21 episodes. That is roughly 43% of the show, and this does not include comments that Danny has made about his parents and how they treat him. Obviously, at the end of the day, human error is possible. There is always a chance that I could have missed another piece of information, or perhaps another thoughtful addition to this list. However, 43% is no laughing matter.

Yes, the Fenton parents had their shining moments, but with all the other evidence presented that overshadows those little gems, can you confidently say that they are good parents? And most of all, if you were in Danny's shoes, would you say the same thing?

It's easy to excuse this as a cartoon. When you're writing in this world, playing with these characters, that excuse instantly evaporates.

Thank you for reading, I hope you all learned something about the Fenton parents like I did.

[squerlly]

Fair Exchange Chapter 1

------"whatever you cant receive on a spoon you'll lick off a knife"------

Alastor x (F! doe wife reader)

The Doe ----------------------------------------------------

knocking on the door to Alastors office I walk in, holding a tray with a plate of venison and utensils "I made sure to cut off all of the parts you don't like" Setting it on his desk I take the tray "Thank you my dear" people have always asked me if it bothered me that my husband was a cannibal. although it can be a bit disturbing to most, after a while of living with Alastor and preparing his meals I have gotten quite used to seeing him eat meat like a wild animal.

turning I start to make my way out the door "Before you go...I have something I think you would be interested in" I turn to face him once more "Yes?" "on my outing yesterday I happened to stumble upon an advertisement for a hotel on the far side of the Pentagram, it was hosted by none other than Princess Morningstar" Princess Charlie Morningstar the king of hell's only daughter and heir to the throne. Alastor forbade any form of technology in his manor but occasionally when I make trips to cannibal town, there are always newspapers that tell what's going on in the pride ring. it did not take long for word to spread that the princess of hell made a hotel to redeem sinners.

"it has been the recent talk around the townspeople, what about it?" he sets his fork down, whipping the blood off his mouth with a napkin "Well I have decided to pay a visit and offer some.... assistance~" I raise an eyebrow in suspicion, Alastor never offers "assistance" to anyone unless he gets something in return ten fold, I out of all people should know that. "I know you don't really get out much unless it's for errand's so I was thinking you could accompany me, if you want that is" "I would like that.." he stands up walking towards me handing me his empty plate "wonderful, pack your bag with any necessities and well be off in an hour"

he walks out of the office leaving me standing, Alastor never takes me anywhere with him. I have always stayed at the house tending to it until he gets back from his outings, it would be a nice change to stay someplace new. I head down to the kitchen, whipping it down and washing any dishes before walking upstairs to my bedroom. I packed lightly I didn't have many belongings, not that I needed to anyway, just the normal clothes and toiletry items and maybe a book or two.

I walk back downstairs, Alastor waiting for me at the door. "ready?" I nod and he snaps his fingers teleporting both of our bags to who knows where, he opens the door for me and we begin to walk down the streets of hell. demons make way scattering like roaches when they see Alastor and I can't blame them, Alastor was terrifying, his never-ending toothy smile, mysterious persona, and merciless reputation made him feared by all, its why he's the most powerful overlord.

However... no matter how scary and bad he can be he has his moments where he can be calm and charming, it's why so many women adore him and also the reason why I get so many nasty looks when I stand beside him. not many people know that the radio demon has a wife and its for the safety of me and the sake of him, even if people found out Alastor had a wife and kidnapped me to get to him I doubt it would benefit them.

I am nothing but another soul on his leash, being his wife is just a mere title. the only exception is that Alastor doesn't treat me like any ordinary soul he possesses. he never hurt me, touched me, or treated me with disrespect but as his wife, we never had anything romantic for each other. not that I wouldn't be opposed to the idea of anything romantic, after all, I don't hate Alastor but... I don't think he likes me very much at least not in that way.

we walk up a stone Path leading to a door with apples on painted glass, Alastor knocks on the door it opening before a girl with pale white skin and long blond hair peeks outside "Why hel-" the door closes interrupting him. She finally opens the door again "May I speak now?" she nods "You may" Alastor shakes her hand and with a cheery voice introduces himself walking inside while I follow shortly behind him. I looked around the hotel was not in the best condition but it was something.

A woman with a spear in her hand points it at Alastor stopping him in his tracks "I won't let you hurt anyone in this hotel you pompous cheesy talk show shit lord!" Alastor moves her spear giving her a threat before moving on, I'm surprised she's still alive.

the girl introduces herself as vaggie and the girl with blonde hair being Princess Charlie, although I have heard of her I wouldn't have imagined her to be so bright, her being almost doll-like and innocent. "so where is your hotel staff?" Charlie gives a nervous look before she points at vaggie "Uh huh ho, we're going to need more than that" he walks over to the fireplace lighting it aflame before summoning a little girl covered in ashes who turned out to be nifty.

she runs around and immediately starts cleaning before Alastor summons Husker who was in a game of poker, I haven't seen Husker in a long while I feel bad that he has been dragged into this. everyone introduces each other before Angel Dust the tall spider demon notices me "Hey who is this cutie ya brought with ya" I turn and wave before Alastor steps in "That is my wonderful... friend y/n"

Charlie walks over to me shaking my hand "Nice to meet you!!! I'm so glad you are joining us" "It's nice to meet you too princess" "Please just call me Charlie!" introductions were cut short when the wall got blown open revealing a blimp outside and a demon inside calling out for Alastor. he revealed himself as sir pentious and pulled out a death ray? Alastor made quick work of him before everyone went back inside to get settled in.

Charlie gave me a room across from Alastor, Alastor teleporting my bag in my room I started unpacking putting my clothes in their drawers, and hopping on my bed. thankfully the floor had a carpet otherwise I would have been slipping all over the floor. hooves and hardwood don't mix, I learned that the hard way when I first landed down here.

I changed into a short comfy nightgown, brushed my teeth, and slid under the covers of my bed. it wasn't as cozy as the ones back at home but if it meant I got to stay and do something other than housework, how could I complain. and with that I drifted off, until the next morning...

chapter one YAYYY!!!! sorry for taking so long but I have bright ideas for this series and cant wait to publish them. chapter 2 is in the making so stay tuned and have a wonderful day/night love you guys!!!

-squerlly

@pooplyface1423 @strippezzz

for more content and chapter please click this masterlist

[narrativelysignificantturtleduck]

something that makes sokka extremely adhd relatable is that he's constantly looking for his Thing, the one Thing he's good at or useful for that makes up for any failings or flaws or ways he just can't measure up to others. at the beginning of the show he defines himself by being the oldest boy in the village & best warrior, but then he gets his ass kicked by zuko and suki and sees aang's raw power and he can't exactly think fighting is his special skill anymore. but he still thinks he has to be defined by fighting ('man of the house' daddy issues) so he calls himself the guy with the boomerang bc that's turned out to be his most useful and versatile and unique weapon, the one that other people can't outclass him at (after all, it's his most successful attack in his fight with zuko). when he loses it in "avatar day" he explicitly says it's like losing a key part of his identity and the moment katara goes "hey you're good at solving mysteries" he's like "yeah! i'm a detective! that's my new thing! and gets a new set of objects to signify it ("i believe in the power of stuff"). but detective sokka doesn't last bc throughout the entire episode he and katara are pretty equally matched in detective skills and he gets his boomerang back anyway. failed experiment.

and throughout all of this, he's figured out that people find his insistance on getting them fed & his grumpy comments funny and so he begins defining himself as the meat and sarcasm guy, and when he's a tough spot in "bitter work", bargaining with the universe to get him help, he offers that up as all he's got to give. it's obviously a Joke that he immediately asks for meat after telling the universe he'll give it up but it's also pretty indicative of how much he clings to these identities. it's all he's got (he thinks), of COURSE he can't actually give it up. they stuck that boy in a hole for 22 minutes and it revealed so much about how he sees himself.

at some point (likely around "the library" when he takes initiative to come up with a fire nation invasion plan) he also becomes the plan guy, the idea guy, and the gaang find themselves looking to him for leadership. this is perhaps the closest to fully encompassing sokka that any of his "[blank] guy" labels get, since coming up with plans involves planning when and how to fight (boomerang guy) & how to get everyone fed (meat), and people not following his plans is a major source of frustration (sarcasm).

this all culminates in "sokka's master", where the show finally names the underlying insecurity driving this quest - that he's a nonbender. katara being the last waterbender meant she was in danger and that keeping her safe was top priority, and even though hakoda and kya wouldn't have played favorites sokka probably felt a little like the unfavorite child for not being special like her. he lacks an ability, and believes his life has less value bc of it. almost like somebody with a disability and internalized ableism

(interesting, one of the people who most consistently mocks sokka for being a nonbender is toph, early on. toph has a lot of internalized ableism herself, a fear of vulnerability bc she doesn't want to perceived as weak like her parents thought she was. her bending is her disability aid, the thing that allows her to be stronger than people think, so she dismisses a nonbender until she learns better.)

piandao's response to sokka's lack of self-worth is not to train him to be great at one thing, but to introduce him to a variety of different arts, show him that his value lies not in having any one skill but in his capacity to learn and grow. there's no single thing that makes him worthy. it isn't even the combination of all of them that makes him worthy. he simply is worthy.

and i don't know if this is a unique narrative in fiction or anything but it really means a lot to me that sokka doesn't have One Thing that "makes up" for him not being a bender. he's of course extremely skilled and prodigious at many things he does in the show but there's no one savant talent that "justifies" him being in the group and i feel like so many disability narratives - especially for kids - go that route and i really appreciate that atla doesn't and simply says people are valuable because they are valuable, not because of their special abilities

[snivyartjpeg]

Yuma Month Day 26 - Role Swap

god i was excited for this one. it first started off as a joke, but the more i thought about it, the more interesting this swap became. so here's my massive lore dump of changes that'd happen in the story beneath the cut (spoiler warning):

i think, fundamentally, yuma and yakou are very similar characters. they're both very protective and kindhearted, with a strong sense of justice and a penchant for attracting terrible luck. because of this, some things would remain the same, such as the NDA's dynamics with their doormat chief as well amnesia!yakou's massive unpaid intern energy. i think yakou would be pretty similar to how he behaved in the light novel- a bit more optimistic and naive, like yuma. but there are two key differences between them that'd make this a different story, especially in ch 4: yuma has a forte, and yakou is very selfish. so here's some changes:

yakou's wife is his shinigami now, as you can see, while shinigami is yuma's dead wife. i think mrs furio would act cooler than shinigami. she'd still be playful, but she takes her job more seriously. also she hands yakou the solution keys normally without throwing up. they still have to do the dance and mouth sword thing tho. and the other stuff. that's just death god protocol

shinigami (or in this case the unnamed Mrs. Kokohead but i will still be calling her shinigami for convenience sake) was a scientist at amaterasu who studied forensics and thanatology instead of regenerative medicine. this also means that the pill she gives zombie yuma is not going to bring him back, but instead grant the zombie homunculi a peaceful, painless, but permanent death

speaking of zombie yuma, he's the homunculus now! yakou is 100% human and also doesnt have a forte. he's still number one, but instead of having a forte he's just that good at solving mysteries

yes this means makoto looks like yakou now. sorry makotoheads. i think he'd have really long, shaggy hair dyed to be like. idk. black or something. also he's more clean shaven bc stubble with a mask on is a sensory nightmare

yuma still cant cook. he subsists entirely on takeout, meat buns, black coffee, and beer. he's still in a lot of debt and under a lot of stress and his personality is essentially "what if canon number one just gave up"

he doesn't smoke though. he tried once and got into the worst coughing fit

imma say it right now. kurumi is not a love interest. yakou likely disguises himself as a faculty member instead (also i think one of the teachers gets a crush on fem yakou bc i just know she'd be hot)

ANYWAY what about chapter 4? im SO glad you asked! because here's where things get spicy!

so, lets start with the dead wife. shinigami catches onto huesca's inhumane research and she's just as adamant about bringing the truth to light as she always is. she blows the whistle, so he blows her up. yuma investigates, but they dont let him look any further, yada yada, yuma stews in his misery for five years

yomi sends in the evidence to motivate yuma to kill huesca, and makoto lets it happen because a dead huesca would be convenient. he even introduces the hitman, fully expecting yuma to make use of him

yuma doesnt. in fact, he wants to kill huesca with his own hands. and now that these detectives are here, he can do it and even return alive. the thing is, he doesn't want to put them in danger, so he chooses to do almost everything alone (sound familiar?)

his plan is simple:

ask desuhiko for a peacekeeper uniform. desuhiko trusts him enough to take "i want to investigate kanai ward's ultimate secret by infiltrating their ranks" as an answer. he does, however, let yakou know about this as an offhand comment before the mystery ever begins

hold fubuki's hand. it doesnt really matter how. she'll gladly allow it because she's fubuki. he stores her time powers and heads out the sub. yakou also learns this as an offhand comment played off as a joke (maybe fubuki affectionately comments about how she never expected the chief's hands to be so soft... idk. there has to be some way for yakou to have this as a future clue)

use his peacekeeper status to sneak into amaterasu HQ and demand a functioning ama-pal from that one creepy researcher

use ama-pal + fubuki's borrowed powers to bypass huesca's security. sneak the bot past the hard-of-hearing doctor and press the button to shut off security

this would probably alert huesca, but since the doctor never received a warning, yuma has enough time to rush in and stab him before he realizes what's going on

leave HQ while still in uniform, dispose of the disguise once he's safe, and return to the NDA like nothing happened. success!

soooo.... yakou, on that same day, decides to investigate amaterasu HQ with makoto

all the while, vivia has his suspicions about yuma's actions and keeps an eye on him in spectral mode. he... basically witnessed the whole thing, so he gets up off his ass and decides to follow yakou to the lab because he has a Very Bad Feeling about this

just like canon, he senses the death god and deduces that our protag has been killing off murderers, and so he wants to protect his chief as well as his peace and quiet (his dynamic with yuma would be the same as his dynamic with yakou, since it's entirely believable for yuma to treat vivia with the same kindness yakou did)

yakou tries to speak to huesca, but surprise! security is disabled and he's dead in the lab! no one else at amaterasu liked huesca enough to check on him, so yakou and makoto are the first ones at the scene of the crime. yakou, of course, decides to start investigating this murder

vivia somehow sneaks into the lab (dont ask me how) and confronts yakou, threatening him with his boxcutter and adamantly imploring him to stop pursuing this particular mystery in the same way he did yuma in canon. unfortunately, this attracts attention, and now they're in trouble (maybe even yomi's there to fetch his files). at this point, yakou has enough solution keys, so he panics and goes right into the labyrinth (and maybe others can enter for another reason that isnt coalescence idk)

so... they go in the labyrinth... vivia tries to stop him every step of the way, until the answer is right in front of them

yakou kills yuma with his own hands. there's no stab wounds or toxic gas to leave any doubt. yakou begins to question what good his justice really does. it doesnt even save them from their predicament, just like the other deaths. instead, makoto ex machina comes in to save them, and hands yakou a small black box

when they return to the agency, everyone is heartbroken over their chief, who seemingly died out of nowhere. fubuki tried rewinding time, but to no avail. halara tried everything to wake him up, knowing it's futile. desuhiko stood aside, feeling completely helpless. and yakou and vivia return looking like they just came back from hell

they barely get the chance for a funeral before the knockout gas trap activates... you know the rest

AAAAND SCENE! so that's my extremely long winded lore dump about this au. i thought about it Way Too Much but god it's so interesting to me. i love these characters and swapping them was immensely fun

[meowmeowmeowmeow4x]

Supersons +1 prompt answer Parte Dos

Parte Uno

Original Prompt

Jon couldn't help but take a peek at the large metal ring constructed behind the massive form of Dr Fenton, its size and shape dwarfing man and son. He couldn't watch for much longer, however, as their encounter with Daniel was expedited by Damian's impatience. Maybe he was just itching for a fight, or a supervillain to beat down. Either way, as Superboy, it was his job to make sure Daniel walked out with all his limbs intact!

"Daniel Fenton." But Damian was interrupted just as fast as he had started.

"Ew, no, it's Danny thank you very much. Only my parents when they're angry, and- bleh- Vlad, call me Daniel."

Damian scowled (he was doing that a lot today). "Daniel Fenton, we have some questions for you."

"Guess that's not gonna happen."

Time to intervene. Jon stepped between Damian and Danny, arms outstretched, with a friendly but diplomatic smile. "What Damian here means is we're suuuuper curious about your dad's research, aren't you Damian?"

"...Yes."

"If you wanna know more about my Dad's research, why don't you uhh." Danny bobbed his head at Mr Fenton's direction, the man in the midst of grabbing onto an unfortunate bystander and extolling the virtues of his next invention.

"Your father has proven lacking in his ability to explain his own work, which is why the responsibility now falls on to you, Daniel Fenton, if that's even your real name."

Wow, laying it on real thick, aren't you Damian.

Danny very pointedly ignores the death stare (hehe, death stare) from Dami to look to Jon. "And you are...?"

"Jon, I'm here with my dad too! He's a reporter, but some of this stuff's got me bored out of my mind. I mean, a flying toilet? Really??"

This manages to get a chuckle out of Danny. "You saw that too? And here I thought I'd get to see some normal inventions around here."

"I know right! I feel subconscious even with bathroom stalls and stuff. What are you gonna do, bring a flying curtain?"

"Honestly I know some folks back home who could find it handy." Danny said, a mysterious smirk on his lip. What could be so mysterious about a bunch of streakers back home? Or...

"Would you like to elaborate on that statement, Fenton?" Damian cut in. "Or the function of the garish-looking gateway erected by your Father?"

"Oh that? That's the Fenton PortaPortal."

"Porta what?" Jon asked.

"The Porta Portal. Portable Portal. It's like the one back home, 'cept it's light enough to move around."

"Portal to where exactly?"

Danny shrugs. "The Ghost Zone, where else?"

"You mean to say your parents have breached the afterlife using science?"

"Hah!" Danny laughs. "But it won't work, trust me." There was that knowing grin again.

"You seem pretty sure, Danny. Also wait, you have one of these back home?"

"Yeah, and it let in the raging hordes of the undead on my town. Overshadowing (that's possession btw), taking over the school with meat, box-based assault, replacing people like changelings, that one time a ghost tried to blow up my sister with a laser, that one time the Ghost King kidnapped the entire town and transported it to the Realms..." Danny listed out various dangerous situations like it was Tuesday, ignorant of the dawning horror upon his audience's faces. Jon himself was starting to feel a little green. Ghosts? Hundreds of ghosts? Each of them capable of possession, and according to Danny, much more?!

"How has the Justice League not heard of this kind of thing?" Jon tried, but failed to hide the slight shiver in his voice.

Danny shrugged. "Guess they dismissed our calls as pranks or something."

"Your father wishes to unleash the legions of undead upon Gotham?!" Damian stepped forward, getting up in Danny's face.

"Woah woah woah, chill out man. Mom and Dad actually learned from the last time and built like eight layers of shielding around the portal, not that it'll be necessary since it won't work anyway."

"And why are you so sure? Did you sabotage it? For whwat purpose would you tamper with your own parents' inventions?"

"Dami, maybe we shouldn't jump to conclusions." Jon said, trying to pull Damian away without any obvious use of super strength.

"Yeah Dami, I'm just a kid, like you. You see an engineering degree anywhere that can be used to sAboTAgE anything? 'Cause I don't."

Damian glared at the other boy for just a second longer, before Jon was finally able to pry him off the poor kid. "I'm so sorry, Damian's just kinda intense sometimes, he really means well I-"

"It's fine. Besides, I'm bored as hell over here too. Since we're about sixty-nine million years below the average age of this place. what say we hang and laugh?" Danny got up and stretched his legs.

"Sure! Hey you seen the oven that's supposed to bake pizza in under ten seconds? Come on, Damian spotted this amazing design flaw, you just have to come with."

As Jon dragged them away, Damian muttered under his breath, deviously. "Good job, Kent, escorting Fenton to a secondary location for further questioning."

~~~~~ They spent the next hour roaming the convention centre, laughing and snorting their lungs out at the inventions, and the rich suckers lapping them up. Although Damian was initially as frosty as Superman's ice breath, Danny's mention of a glowing green ghost dog managed to gain his attention, if veiled behind suspicion and accusation. Looks like no squeezing was necessary, but the idea of a whole town of magical beings that possessed as easily as they breathed still made Jon nauseous.

"My parents actually get me keep him, without the threat of dissection, it's amazing!"

"Your parents dissect animals?" Damian spat out with all the hatred of a thousand dying suns.

"Ghosts, and they never have. Kept getting away. For some reason. Nowadays they're more into non-invasive study. and by non-invasive I mean totally invasive of things like privacy, and alone time." Danny grumbled.

"I feel you, man." Imagine having a dad with super hearing. Or growing up with the world's greatest stalkers.

"Privacy is an illusion." Damian being normal challenge IMPOSSIBLE

They had no more time to banter before Dr Fenton's booming voice echoed across the centre.

"AND NOW FOR THE MOMENT YOU'VE ALL BEEN WAITING FOR, THE SHOWCASE OF THE FENTON PORTAPORTAL AND THE LATEST IN FENTON SURVEILLANCE TECHNOLOGY, BEHOLD!"

"Just watch." Danny said.

Jack slammed his fist upon the on button, which was thankfully on the outside this time. The circular rings around the portal spun and spun, creating an electric whirring sound building up to a crescendo...

Only for the portal to fizzle out, as the crowd's jeers reached a fever pitch.

"Told you so."

Danny's triumph lasted not for another minute, however, when his body shivered and a cold mist broke through his lips. "Shit." He muttered. At least Jon and Damian were looking away. Danny's eyes scanned the crowd. Jack Fenton's sorrow was wiped away as the sensors in his suit came to life. He whipped out a comically large ecto-gun, shouting. "I KNEW IT! WE'RE UNDER ATTACK FROM GHOSTS!!!"

Danny needed look no longer as piercing laughter filled the auditorium. A swarm of green bats descended upon the centre, causing chaos and confusion. Those among the crowd sensible enough to run for the exits found themselves halted by bars locking them shut. Jack opened fire, but was overwhelmed by dozens of ghost bats.

Danny looked for anywhere he could silp away and transform. Damian and Jon did the same. None of them could an opportunity, as two pairs of hands swept them off their feet, and bindings tied them together. Their eyes widened as they gazed upon their captors. Two men adorned with white face paint. One in a gothic waistcoat, the other with green hair and a purple suit.

The infamous Joker, and the not as infamous Freakshow, both in hysterical laughter.

"I really gotta give it to you Danny-boy, that sabotage act you pulled really put us for a loop!" The Joker gasped out between laughs. He pulled out a remote with a large red button. "But I, the Joker, have out-sabotaged your sabotage! AHAHAHAH"

The Joker pressed the buttom, causing the portal to roar back to life.

"Damian!" Bruce Wayne yelled.

"Jon!" Clark Kent shouted.

"DANNY BOY!" Jack cried out, but they were too late to stop the swarm of bats carrying all three boys through the newly reactivated portal, and were too late to follow before the whole thing blew to pieces in a fiery halo.

To be continued....

[1-800-moondust]

Bob Velseb x GN Reader Headcanon

Here's some Bob Velseb content to feed ya'll cause I know ya'll are starving (me included 💀)

He likes to give you his sweater when you get cold

He loves to cook for people so expect to wake up in the dead of night to him cooking you something 

Just make sure it isn't human meat tho

Cuddling? um yes please!

He's more of a big spoon but if you ask him he would let you spoon him instead 

He's on the run so he isn't able to spend much time with you

But when he is there he makes sure to spend his time wisely

When he's around you he's basically tied at the hip to you

He refuses to leave you alone (unless you need to use the restroom)

He is hesitant to give affection at first but quickly warms up to it

Doesn't matter if you're skinny, muscular, or cubby he'll try to pick you up

Sometimes when ya'll are watching TV together he'll slide you onto his lap and put his head on top of yours

Bob is a switch in the way that one minute he'll be brutally eating and killing people then the next he's cuddling up to you

Despite how violent he can be he refuses to take it out on you

He'd just storm off and come back home a few hours later all bloody and tired

He doesn't take off his costume very often around you but when he does kiss him on the cheek and watch his face turn red 

His top 3 love languages are physical touch, quality time, and acts of service

He doesn't talk much but loves to listen to you talk about your day 

If you have any candy around your house expect it to go 'mysteriously' missing

He doesn't seem like he sleeps very often (have you seen the bags under his eyes) 

So lead him to your bed and play with his hair until he relaxes enough to fall asleep 

He's basically always slightly on edge due to the police being after him so you often have to remind him that he's safe with you

BIG BOOBS (huh who said that 🤨)

He likes having you lay on top of him and no your weight doesn't matter to him so doesn't think that you'll crush him or anything (he'd probably like it anyways)

Despite him being a serial killer and all that you still love him and he feels happy and secure with you

It's a weird relationship yeah but the two of ya'll love each other so it's fine

I'm thinking about making some nsfw hc's but idk if yall would like that

[sane-omblog]

Delicious? (Part1?)

Aka story of Raphael and his mysterious taste bud

I don't know what I did, I just wanna try my hand on writing and this is an.. fever idea ig

I already wrote more but ermm yea will need some more time to finish it

Raphael was always an easy child, you told him to sit there, he sat, you told him to go to bed, he went. Even with food, he was also easy, he doesn't have any preference or hatred towards food. He eat veggies, fruits, any meats with no complaints.

The little angel was in the middle of flying lesson when the most easy and/or awkward question for a kid. He stared at two pots of soups, they smelled a little different from each other. "Which soup would you like?"

“It would be all the same to me, you can let the other choose first” he said, sure enough smell wouldn't change taste

“Awww what a kind little angel you are, Raphael” the older angel reached and pet him on his head. He liked it.

.

.

.

Raphael took a bite of the soup that was left for him, it's plain, bland, and didn't make any difference from other soup he had tried for all his life. The angel, his age, letting him try the other soup, seemed like she didn't like it and wanted to know if he liked this more and traded it.

It's the same, he couldn't tell what was different.

He agreed to trade it anyway.

.

Evening came, Raphael told his attendant what he did that day. Simeon, as always, smiled back at him and said “That's so nice of you, Raph.”

He paused, Raphael thought it wasn't bad to get compliments from such easy action.

“But I guess, I should find what your favorite food is, huh?” with chuckles, Simeon started to name random dishes while going to the kitchen and made them dinner. His wings moved while walking, always brought his attention away. "Oh I should make that today, what do you think about.."

He sure he would liked everything Simeon made for him.

"that's sounds nice" but maybe not as that sandwich the other day

But again, it's too bland on his tongue

“How is it?” Simeon asked him half of the meal

Raphael couldn't remember the name of what he'd just eaten.

He swallowed. “It's good”

.

Simeon said he misread the recipes and asked if he wanted him to make something real quick for his lunch today. "I should have wondered how all those ingredients never went well together, I'm so sorry Raph"

As a young angel at that time, he said "it's fine and I should get going to the training, I will take it, thanks"

Raphael ate it, the bread, the mistake of fruit jam, the strong spiced meat and some vegetables. He liked it. Everyone there knew Simeon was his guardian, and always wanted to try his food.

Of course he didn't mind, even though it's the first time he thought this is what delicious tasted like and wanted to have it all to himself.

The other angels took a bite with so much hope, especially after seeing him with such sparkly eyes.

But then they made a weird noise and said it wasn't any good as the rumor said.

“This is too salty!” they wailed

“Ugh the bad taste still on my tongue”

“Is the fruit he used rotten?!”

They whimpered about how bad it was, asking if he misunderstood the word delicious. Raphael didn’t think so, because if it's not delicious that means he wouldn't like it.

But he likes his food this way, so it's delicious. That's what he thought.

He felt some rage bubbling inside him, he didn't have any preference about other Simeon’s food but he knew that he's a great chef.

“Don't say that, you shouldn't judge it by just one time” he paused, didn't know how to describe what Simeon's food usually taste like, not even what he ate for breakfast. “He just busy and misread the ingredients this time”

It's true that's why he accepted this mistake of food in the first place, he didn't want to put any more loads of work onto archangel.

And it worked. They backed down, went back to enjoy their own lunch.

.

.

The next day they asked him to share again and agree that the food from his guardian was delicious after just one bite.

Leaving him missed that unique taste of jam with yet another bland taste.

[bonesxbows]

The Other Line (Hancock x Reader)

Masterlist

There's not enough food in your stash for the both of you so you try to give what you have left to Hancock instead of yourself. He isn't having any of it though and insists you at least share, and no isn't an option with him when it comes to your wellbeing.

(WARNINGS) - choosing to starve - past body image issues mentioned

I wrote this within a few hours and idk if I'm really satisfied with it but I figured I'd publish it anyway. I swear I'm working on longer fics I just always get sidetracked lol. Shout out though to all the people leaving comments on here and on Ao3, you guys keep my motivation sky high, you have no idea how much I appreciate each and every one of them :)

-

A blown-out house, still sort of standing. Four walls and a roof with minor damage was considered the peak of shelters nowadays, so neither of you complained as you walked inside. You had made the executive decision to stay here for the night, although Hancock wouldn’t have argued with you either way. It was small inside, destroyed wooden planks blocked the path upstairs, leaving the two of you to what once was a modest kitchen, dining room, and living room amalgamation. You placed your gear on the table while Hancock scoped the place out. It was a ritual of his by now, double-checking every square inch to make sure it was safe. 

“Grub and then bed? I’m beat, and we’ve still got a long ways to go,” you told him, checking your pip-boy to see the progress you had made on your journey. It was going well so far, but it would still be at least another day’s hike before you reached where you needed to go. He hummed to himself, satisfied that the place was now confirmed empty except for the two of you. 

“You know I ain’t picky. I’ll get the blankets set up while you sort that out, okay?” he spoke it like a question but he didn’t wait for your reply before he made his way over to the couch, grabbing your bedrolls and quickly placing a soft kiss on your forehead as he passed by. As soon as he was occupied with his task he had assigned himself you checked your food supplies. The results were what you had been fearing; you were running dangerously low. You knew you should have double-checked the stores the two of you had passed on your way here. It would have delayed you a little, sure, but it was worth it over traveling on an empty stomach. It was too little too late now, it was way too dangerous to travel in the dark to scavenge more supplies. You would have to make do with what you had and then hope you could find more food on the way tomorrow. 

You checked around the kitchen, not finding much. The place had already been picked mostly clean, probably by other travelers and scavvers. You were lucky to find a bottle of nuka-cola tucked in the back of the refrigerator, but that was where your luck ended. You shook it to see if bubbles still formed against the glass, checking for discoloration and mold as the liquid sloshed around. It looked okay, so you mentally added it to your stash of goods. 

“Need any help?” Hancock called from behind the back of the sofa. His voice pulled you out of your head. 

“No I’ve got it just…give me a second,” you told him, making up your mind and grabbing the last canned item you had in your pack along with one of the forks you always brought along with you. 

“No worries sunshine, take your time,” he replied so nonchalantly, oblivious to your current supply struggles. You watched as he kicked his feet over the arm of the sofa, the toes of his boots pointing towards the ceiling. You sighed and walked over to him, canned food and bottle of nuka-cola in hand. He shifted to make room for you on the couch when he saw you round the corner.

“Here’s what we have.” you handed him the can and the fork, plopping down next to him and using the wooden part of the couch’s arm to pop the bottle cap off of your soda. He used his knife to pry the lid off of the can, digging the fork into the mystery meat inside and taking a bite. He passed the can to you once he started chewing but you just shook your head. 

“Whaddaya mean ‘no’? You gotta eat sunshine.” his words were slurred from the food in his mouth but you still refused to take the can from his hands. His scarred forehead furrowed when you kept refusing. 

“Hancock it’s okay, really. I’m not that hungry anyway. You go ahead and eat.” you tried to dissuade him. But he wasn’t buying it, not when he knew you too well. 

“Is it another one of those days again? I’ve told you before sugar your body is perfect just the way it is. Nothin’s ever gonna change that in my mind. I’d rather ya eat and keep your strength up than-” 

“It’s nothing like that Hancock.” you stopped him before he went on another rant about how much he loved you just as you are. You couldn’t help the small smile that crept onto your face though. “I’m okay, thank you though,” you told him. You could see relief flood across his face. 

“So then what’s wrong?” he asked again. 

“We don’t have enough supplies to be feeding two people. So I had to make a choice and fortunately for you, you fall higher up on the list of my priorities than myself. Go ahead and eat, I’ll be okay for one night.” you explained the situation to him but it looked like he had stopped listening halfway through because as soon as you finished your sentence he had a forkful of the canned meat right by your lips. 

“I just said we-” 

“ ‘Don’t have enough food for two people.’ Yeah, I heard ya. Tough shit, I ain’t gonna let you go hungry, even if it is for just one night. So open up.” he twirled the fork in small circles to emphasize his words. You opened your mouth to rebuttal him again but he used that opportunity to get the fork into your mouth. You scowled but obediently began chewing. He smiled, satisfied with his task accomplished. “You won’t go to bed hungry, not while I’m around and can do somethin’ about it.” he stabbed the meat again, helping himself to another forkful. You were caught speechless, even when you were done chewing, you had run out of words. You had been prepared to go to bed with an empty stomach in order to keep him happy and healthy, but at the same time, he was willing to do the same for you. 

The two of you spend the rest of the night splitting the contents of the can, and at some point, you shared the nuka-cola you had found with him too. Neither of your tummies were full, but your hearts were with a new realization of just how much you cared about one another. The couch wasn’t big enough for the two of you to lay side by side, but Hancock didn’t seem to mind because as soon as the two of you had finished eating he scooped you up on top of him, lacing his arms around you to hold you close. You spent the rest of the night curled up against him, listening to his heartbeat beneath you as the two of you fell asleep. Maybe you'd be able to find more supplies tomorrow, or maybe you wouldn’t. Either way, Hancock was determined to take care of you in any way he could. 

[barrenclan]

I don't know if this song has been suggested yet but 15 Step by Radiohead for Rainhaze? Not just for the "one by one / it comes to us all / it's as soft as your pillow" (in reference to how he perceived death) but if you're willing to skew the optimism in the first verse, I see it as the line where he finally 'realizes' what Defiance is all about - when he finally sheds the Old Rainhaze for the new one by killing Asphodelpaw ("first you reel me out and then you cut the string"). Plus, there's a very on the nose reference that I see Ranger making to him in relation to finding out about Barrenclan ("you used to be alright, what happened? / did the cat get your tongue? / did your string come undone?") which is conveniently immediately before the Death lines.

And with recent developments (I had this ask planned for a while lol) now the "You used to be alright, what happened?" ...Ohhhh that hits. The difference between the mocking tone of Ranger the first time around, and then the second time the verse is repeated, it being cut off with "etcetera, etcetera..." which I either interpret as Rainhaze being unable to finish 'convincing' the rest of Barrenclan because he got interrupted then Tigerstar'd... Much to think about.

Anyway love this comic, been following it (and TDS!) since day 1, can't believe it's been so many years of it. At least one. You have a talent for storytelling!! I can't wait to see what you have planned for the future, big fan!

Haven't heard this one yet! But I'm always happy to get some Radiohead. I'm very flattered you've been enjoying the comic, and following my stories for so long.

Ooh, I always like getting instrumental music recommendations! I've never seen LOST, but both my parents watched it while it was airing. PATFW is definitely a mystery story, although I like to think I got to my resolutions better than JJ did. Giacchino is a great scorer of course, I like how this song is sad, sweet, and a little ominous. Reminds me of Twin Peaks.

Haha yes, it's definitely a popular suggestion for a popular song. But it is very pretty, and I do like the themes of burial and fighting to try and restrain someone who won't be restrained.

You can't keep them all caged They will fight and run away Mother, tell me so I say

Barren curtains that you're weaving Like the stories that you keep inside your head She can't keep them all safe They will die and be afraid

Oh... yeah. Anything with scary angel imagery fits very well for her, because I heavily associate Asphodelpaw with Laura Palmer.

Carry me in your teeth with tender jaws of sympathy (Arrow deep inside the meat Impossible for us to reach)

Shattered in a mist of crippled, angel silhouettes Lift the dirt, and cover me Lay at my side until I'm finally sleeping Until I'm finally sleeping

I like it! Comorantpaw has a strong streak of self-hatred and lately, is very much feeling like he's permanently stained with evil because of his past. But he still wants to be there for Pinepaw, maybe thinking it's all he's good for.

Bitterness is thick like blood and cold as a wind sea breeze If you must drink of me, take of me what you please I am loathed to say it's the devil's taste I've been with the devil in the devil's resting place

Come up here to speak to me and hold your face to mine Any man can hold my gaze has done his job just fine You just sold your life away to be with me tonight Hold your head against my chest, I think you'll be just fine

Classic Glass Animals! I think it captures the feeling of Issue 38 well.

Everything, waiting, shaking as it drops I tried for you and I, for too hard, for too long Gave it all and everything for more time, but I lost

… Ooh, I'm breaking down Whispers would deafen me now You don't make a sound Heartbreak was never so loud

Hahah! Yeah, this fits them well.

What did I do to deserve you? How did you find me? I was already halfway gone You were a bright light You were a fistfight, oh

Our love is older than the Great Wall Our love spins a gun around its finger Our love has found its way into our mouths before Cut our teeth until we swallow it whole

Great Rainhaze song! It gets at that fatalistic, manic energy he has that's especially evident in Issue 37.

Losing my mind It never felt so good to be alive Crucify my name I never felt more famous than today, where I am no one To nothing

Lose your mind baby You'll never feel so good to be alive, I say again I say erase your name, sweet honey You'll never feel more famous than today, where you are no one (no one)

I believe it was suggested a couple years ago with Hush Puppy and Thrasher, but not Rainhaze! It's an interesting angle to make it about him and Ranger.

One last kiss I love you like a broken pot One last kiss I love you like a pack of dogs One last kiss I need you like I need a gaping head wound

[gaslightgatekeepgirlbosscombat]

Group H, Round 3, Poll 4:

Propaganda under the cut

Nadja of Antipaxos

Gaslights her fellow vampires when she knows she's wrong, gatekeeps info from familiar Guillermo, girlbosses by running her own doomed nightclub

She is the Girlboss, but also Girlloser of the show. Turned her own husband into a vampire (taking charge in a male-dominated field!) And further, in Season 3 she came out on top when her and Nandor were fighting over who would truly lead the Vampiric Council. Opened her own Vampire Nightclub! (Which she embezzled to death but shhh!) As for Gatekeep, she definitely gatekeeps both vampirism (Guillermo) and her friendship (The Guide). Does hypnosis count as Gaslight? I'm gonna count it in because she does hypnotize a lot of people. I could go on and on, but anyways Nadja is an icon and a queen and I love her.

Ianthe Tridentarius

She is trying so hard to be the main character by lying and manipulating her sister, her cavalier, her mentor, her ?love interests? (Spoiler???) And also god. Not sure how it's working out for her but she does love to lie and manipulate

Worstie Ianthe is the DEFINITION of gaslight, gatekeep, girlboss. She is one of a set of necromancer twins that are the heirs to their houses rule. Except wait, only she is a necromancer and she has spent their entire lives doing necromancy for the both of them. She is constantly mean to their cavalier, Naberius, who she occasionally nibbles on like a chew toy, before eventually killing and eating him to ascend to sainthood. She goes to gods spaceship with another woman who ascended to sainthood who she has a crush on, this other woman is like…. Both incredibly mentally unwell and also haunted by at least 211 ghosts. Ianthes method of flirting with her? Gaslighting her about the corpse that keeps moving around and hiding under her bed. For no real reason tbh. She is clearly plotting to overthrow god, and at the moment that consists of her manipulating him while he’s too sad about his long term partners betraying him and subsequently exploding to really care. She dresses in terrible outfits and makes soup by burning onions to the bottom of a pot, putting meat in and some vegetables and then it doesn’t taste like anything so she puts in a few teaspoons of salt so it tastes like a few teaspoons of salt. She had her crush amputate her arm and regrow her a new one out of bone and it’s one of the horniest things I’ve read in my life.

"Gaslight = told her lobotomized (she helped), schizophrenic girlobsession that there was no corpse under their bed, even tho there totally was. Gatekeep = girl did NOT share the secret to god-like ascension. She kept that shit to herself until it was time to eat her boytoy, and by then everyone knew already. Girlboss = she has a non-necromancer twin sister, and literally Everyone thinks they r both necromancers because Ianthe is so good at it. She reverse engineered ascending to the aforementioned ascension without even completing any of the supplementary tasks. She held her own in a fight against a 10k year old lyctor. She becomes the figurehead of her entire empire. "

She uses a man as a chewtoy in the first book, literally gaslights the protagonist of the second book about a corpse, and elder-abuses God when he gets depressed in the third book. Nobody is doing it like her.

Dives headfirst with no regrets while basically laughing and covered in blood into murdering her cavalier once she realizes what the gothic locked room mystery/competition leads to while everyone else is questioning it, helps perform lobotomy on harrow so she doesn't remember the person she loves, manipulates everyone to get to the top

idk just everything about her

her relationship with her sister is incredibly Bad, she fosters codependency and views Corona(the sister) as an extension of herself. This does not stop her from keeping up the con that Corona actually has magic (She doesn't, it was always just Ianthe) for 22ish years and every single person who interacts with them falls for it. She killed a man against his will (most dying for this purpose specifically go willingly) and she consumed him and she will be burning his soul for eternity. She's completely repulsive and still somehow incredibly hot.

she takes advantage of the fact that the main character is prone to hallucinations. at one point she gaslights the mc into believing that the corpse under her bed isn't real just because she can. she reverse engineered a set of very complex trials on her own without anyone realizing she had the skills to complete them normally. she's also babysat god through his drunk and pathetic era.

Artist: @starcanist

[fuumiku]

Selkie AU

Ok so on discord we went off. A lot of this is just paraphrasing or copy pasted from buddies hii guys. It’s honestly a fun concept to play with no matter how you turn it around~ I’ll start off with the version I drew these doodles for but it’s all under the cut because it got so long... There’s also always place for different flavors like if they realize the other’s a selkie immediately or over time, etc etc so this is all just food for thought. Marcille is always the instigator though lol, obsessed with him no matter the universe. As a selkie wants to learn more about this human and as a researcher is chasing after this secretive mysterious sea-guy while he very much tries to escape everyone’s attention.

Fisherman Chil & selkie Marcille

Old sad fisherman Chilchuck… He drinks out at sea even. Divorcee dad who’s got nothing waiting for him on land anymore. He’s on the sea every day to get fish to sell at the wet market or to the butcher, the sky and sea’s grey and everything’s dull and tedious. Seals are nothing special either. The only stuff he knows about selkies really could have some selkie storybooks he reads to his daughters. Meanwhile selkie Marcille… You could go a lot of different routes I feel. You know I feel like being a selkie fits with Marcille and her mom, with that interaction of "you’ll have to let others go and deal with that", like in this AU she’ll always be different and will have to leave people behind for the sea eventually here and there and whatnot…

Chilchuck and worksongs... Fisherman Chilchuck singing sea shanties while selkie Marcille sings her songs of the sea and then she hears him and gets curious and follows him back on land or something…… Tries to blend in with humans just so she’s like. What’s his deal. But them only meeting out at sea is very cute as well. Eventually she gets on his boat and they hang out. Melancholic psychological horror sea tragedy-romance would be fun idk. Maybe he starts hearing a woman sing out at sea randomly and thinks it’s the alcohol. But he’d be a goner already lmao. Like don’t get me wrong it’d take a while of actual interactions for him to actually fall in love, but also ~~he’s lonely~~ pretty blonde woman waaaa. Siren imagery hehe. "Hmmm I didn't know selkies had hypnotic voices as well" (they don't. he's down outrageous and he knows it.) Mr "in denial so bad maybe magic is the answer yep for sure". I want her to hear him singing something he used to for his daughters/wife etc and shes like 👁️👁️ who hurt this man........... (Could also work for selkie Chil) What’s his tragic backstory…..

I think marcille also deserves to go silly and catch a carp between her teeth, giving it to chilchuck batting her eyelashes like teehee... I'm such a good assistant right... He needs them undamaged if he wants to sell them but he still makes use of her gift anyway... Puts it in a stew and shares it with her... Something we made together..… Marcille being able to taste human food with actual spices and actual heat and actual cooked meat... His home is the warmest place on the surface. His hugs are more comforting than even the water’s. AGH and how long hasn’t he eaten a real homecooked meal you’d bet 😭 Marcille notices he’s underweight and is like "he’s always fishing though??? Does he just need like, a lot??" and takes it upon herself to bring him more fish to feed him. "He NEEDS to blubber up. I know it." Do you think when his wife was still there he'd come home to the smell of cooking.... but now there's nothing......... He’s on his own, he sleeps in the boat… It just smell like fish all day. The stench gets to him and even the burn of alcohol in his nostrils is a kinder hell. NOW he comes back to the stench of roting flesh and he's like :))) ahh.... my gi rl firned 💖 /j

Selkie Marcille getting onto his boat out of nowhere and slapping the beer bottle out of his hand. It’d go hard if he’s so drunk once that he’s leaning over the railing with his bottle hanging down from his grip and the beer goes into the sea and she tastes it and is like. Now what the fuck is this. Ew. He doesn’t look so good maybe I should splash him with water. She could save him from drowning... Girl who puts him on a rock somewhere until he wakes up and hides in the water as soon as he comes to… Peekinh at him from the surface of the water because, oh dear we're shy now because it's face to face… Drawing parallels between swaying (drunk) and swaying (motion of boat on the sea). She sways his world…… Makes him feel dizzy in a nice, light airy way…… He crashes into his bed in his home and still feels the rocking of the waves under him, and he falls asleep thinking of her…

Go out to the sea in a storm because you can’t stand feeling useless. The sea is your livelihood, it's where you're good and useful. On land you never know what to do with your hands. Maybe he should just let the sea pull him under. let it sweep him away.  Marcille does exactly that, but it's not something that erases him. It's not something that swallows him whole. It's something that shows him a whole other world- The coral reefs, the schools of fish that exist below, the lush seaweed forests that Marcille treasures so much. It's all been there for him to see, theres so much beneath his feet. And all he had to do was let her take his hand. This world full of fish and creatures he's caught and gutted... that he gets to see in a different light…… The idea of him trusting her enough to let her lead him underwater... I think the time that Marcille leads him into the water should be on one beautiful evening, with the water shimmering, and the sun casting rays onto the waters surface- enough that it's still scary at first, enough that Chilchuck still struggles against the salty grasp of the waves, but when marcille takes him under he can see just how the light of the sun casts its spotlight on the seafloor- and how even in the shallows therein lies a thousand wonders, ones he's stepped right over before. I'm just obsessed with chilchuck experiencing a whole nother world in there. Give me childlike wonder. Give me a Marcille who wants to show her grump fucking fisherman boyfriend the cute fishies and the minnows, the pretty hermit crabs. Something about the sea looking different from beneath the waves... The parallels of him on the beach stepping over shells and urchins in the shallows with his boots and just crush them right over, not even noticing he did from force of habit and routine having dulled everything… Him working on the sea all the time but never really seeing it because he’s so absorbed in his own shit and he always just uses the harbor so there’s never real contact with it anyways. When the sea water laps at his forearms when he reels the net in but they feel like lashes of frost against his skin. She'd look really pretty with her hair flowy in the waves............ Marcille’s hair should get used for creepy compositions more… In the water she takes him under and her hair tangles and latch onto him against his skin. Her hair is long, underwater it could engulf him probably, he likes blonde hair he'd be happy with that… Not the lowkey suicidal ideation of letting the sea take him and how he’d be happy suffocating in her hair when doing a dive wow ok

I keep thinking about the Dredge AU… The video game yes yes. It’d be a mess but ohhh ohh the sea and its wonderful world but also its dark secrets, Marcille researching the depths and finding dark powers and idk the tragedy of a man at sea who can’t forget what he’s lost and the mythical gf he made that was never meant to be and it’ll destroy them both idk idk. Bc of Marcille helping him fish from below as a selkie, Senshi like YOU ARE OVERFISHING YOU ARE DESTROYING THE ECOSYSTEMMM @ them lmao You are feeding the whole town and making big bucks but you’re fishing so much that some fish are starting to get stale without being bought, the sea is bleeding and the leviathan is hungry

Maybe one time, one of them gets upset at the other and holds the seal fur hostage, its sooo mean but it also feels very them. When I think selkie I think of the movie Song of the Sea and in that movie the father of the protags loved a selkie, the mother, but she had to leave at one point for the sea because that’s her nature etc etc, but he didn’t want her to leave so he hid her skin which like. Ruined everything and hurt her. And ohhh the parallels… Leaving him… Just food for thought.

Selkie Chil & marine researcher Marcille

The reverse of that where Chil’s the selkie, Marcille’s fascination for him has the reverse angle, almost like admiration too. Crying she’d be like "who’s this mysterious guy, why’s he look kinda ethereal(selkie fairy blablabla)?" and investigates meanwhile he doesn’t want anyone to see him transforming and such so he’s like "leave me aloneeeeeee!!" Selkie chil? secretive man who just wants to chill gets grabbed by the most enthusiastic fairytale-obsessed girl out there. She WILL almost drown trying to say hi. C’mon mister mythical let’s have a storybook romance <3 Jumping in da water and he has to rescue her and immediately gains 100 grey hairs. She gets her storybook ‘saved by the merman’ moment but at what cost. "WHAT ARE YOU DOINGGG" screaming, she gets scolded very much but it all goes in one ear out the other tbh. Selkie Chilchuck is even better with his secretiveness... How do you get around the fact you’re a seal? Iunno I’ve never been a seal Obsessed with the implications of his family in this. Except if his wife and daughters were humans and so his work travels are instead selkie shenanigans going out at sea for months on ends, I imagine they’d be selkies too… Did they get separated? Die? Is Chilchuck’s cowl in this one Flertom’s fur? :(   Once more mentioning sea shanties Chilchuck btw, Roll the Old Chariot comes to mind… Ooough Song of the Sea from the movie that he sung to his daughters <33 I’m fine

With the researcher angle actually being pushed there are interesting plots and scenes you could think of obvi, but uh we kind of went off on the fisherman Chil Marcille selkie AU instead haha. It’d be cute if she ends up teaching him how to live on land in the end. Dresses him up like a funky lil guy. I went with tallman Chil when drawing it and selkie Marcille’s more elf-like, and for selkie Chil I’d imagine it’s the reverse where she’s tallman-like and he still looks like a halfling… Sea-related AUs are my weak spot <33

No matter how you turn it, Marcille is the instigator lol. Selkie Marcille: this little man… I want to know more about this human! Selkie Chilchuck = tries to avoid everything but this Marcille keeps chasing him! It’s her job to, Chilchuck minds his business!! He sees a sliver of something weird out at night? Not his job nope keep your nose out of that it’ll only bring you trouble. It’d have to really itch him at him for him to crack I think… Honestly he’d make a great lovecraftian horror protagonist lol. We love a girl with no chill and her nose in everyone’s business

Shout to to @dayundying, @cabinette, @soappox and @lucky-fydraws!! These people were there for the brainstorming and the writing of the scripture…

[galaxyedging]

Ted Garcia x f!reader

WC: just shy of 4k

Warnings: smut, violence, horror elements, mentions of killing children.

Summery: Ted saves you when a mysterious madness claims his town.

The Cabin

The banging synchronised perfectly with the throbbing in your head. Memories faded in and out in time with the beat. Running through the desert. Someone chasing you. Fear and betrayal swirl in your gut and fuel the pumping of your legs.

The exposed light bulb swings on its pendulum in time with the pounding. That sparks another memory. Pleasure blooming from between your legs. His deep breathing in your ear. Promises whispered as you lay on the soft pillow, your body feeling just as soft and pliable as you come down from your high. 

With a groan you try to sit up, the room spins but the pounding stops. Large hands find your back as the sparsely decorated room comes back into focus.

“Hey, you. You're awake. How are you? I was so worried.” Relief floods his voice as he wraps his arms around you. His moustache brushes your temple before he places a kiss there. Like he had a thousand times before. Ted. His name is Ted.

“I…I can't remember. What’s happening?” Your voice sounds far away to you. The rest of your mind is searching inwards. 

You remember your name, you prefer dogs over cats, tea over coffee. You remember Ted. The Mayor. Your Ted. He brings you flowers every date night. The pretty pink roses on the table between the takeaway he brought. The best tacos in town. You remember screaming. Someone attacking you. You, fighting for your life. Not just your life, someone else's. It's all there but it's not. It fractured, some parts missing completely, others a mere outline.

“What's the last thing you remember?” His broad frame is wrapped around you as he cradles you. His thumb gently rubs back and forth on your cheek. 

His presence brings you comfort. You know how you feel about him. “I love you.”

A sigh leaves his lips and blows through your hair. “I love you, too. What else do you remember?”

“Someone attacked me. I was fighting to protect myself and someone else…you?” His lips twitch into a smile against your skin as the words leave your mouth.

“Yes. That's good, you remember some of it. I'm glad because if I had to explain it, I don't think I could make you believe it. It's just…insanity. That's the only way to describe it.” He holds you even closer. “The people…our people…they started to attack each other. I don't know why. It's like a madness that spreads. Those that don't die in the attacks become mad too. I was bringing you here, to protect you when we were attacked. You're right, you fought for me, saved me, but you took the brunt of the attack before I could…I had to put them down.” His voice is choked up now.

It's your turn to comfort him. “Ssshh, Ted. You did what you had to. I remember the attack. It was dark. We were walking then they grabbed me by my hair, kicked me, choked me…”

“Hey. Don't think about that now. We're safe.” He kisses away tears you didn't know you had shed. “We have food and water. We can wait until things are safe then get out of here. You were only passing through anyway. We'll go buy that beach house you wanted. Alright?” His lips find yours. The kiss is easy, familiar, your lips move against his with ease. 

“Yeah. That sounds perfect. Do you have any idea what's causing it? The madness?” You can't help but think of your neighbours. A sweet old couple. Hopefully they are safe too. 

“The doctor had a few theories. Animal virus in our meat. Fungal infection. Natural gases. I tried to get us help. I really did. It happened so fast. The army should be on their way to help…survivors.” His shoulders slump. He loves his town. He loves being Mayor. That's part of what attracted you to him.

Your coffee was lukewarm as you planned the next part of your trip. Ted walked past the diner talking passionately about his town to the camera. He speaks with ease, his words are honest, straight forward. Later, he speaks the same with you. His marriage is a sham. His wife is already half moved in with her lover. She's staying until after the election, on his campaign manager's insistence. He likes you but he doesn't want to make you uncomfortable. It's you that does the chasing. He's almost shy when you touch him. He looks down at you through his lashes when you drop to your knees for him. You bring his hand to your head it lays there passively until he lets out a stifled groan and his fingers clench in the stands of your hair. It takes a while for him to take charge, to be as comfortable with you as he is in his role. When he does though, he has your sobbing, near folded in half, your cervix bruising, you and your body screaming. When you lay in his arms afterwards you spill your secret desires and hopes. You want a home on the beach, a career in nature photography. He wants a family, a bigger political career. You lay both your bodies and souls bare in your stolen time together. Quickly, you fall head over heels for him.

The water is hot and inviting as Ted helps you into the tub. “Here. This should help. Nice and hot. I have some whiskey here somewhere too. As my Abuela would say, a couple of shots won't solve everything but they won't hurt either.” 

Ted had taken stock of your injuries, while he helped undress you. Your sides were bruised. You remember them kicking you while you were curled on the dry ground. The scrub cut your face and bare arms as you tried to roll away from your attacker. The water stung the tiny scratches at first. Then it began to relax you.

“There, all cleaned up.” Ted wrung out the wash cloth he cleaned you up with.

“Thank you.” You sigh.

“No problem. I'm a public servant.” He laughs lightly. “You relax. I'll go heat up some food. Then you can go to bed early. I boarded up the windows and barricaded the door but I'll stay up to watch over you, just in case.”

The tinned soup is pretty damn good. It warms as it fills you. Ted washes the dishes in the tiny sink in the corner of the room, next to a small counter top with a camping stove and some utensils on it, while you rest on the bed. 

Once he's done, he fills a glass of water and hands it to you with a couple of round, white pills. “I found a few painkillers. Have these for now.” It still hurts to swallow but it'll be worth it for the painkillers to kick in.

“Thank you. You're doing all this for me but how are you?” You pat the bed next to you and he takes a seat.

“Honestly? Terrified. I don't know what's going on. I couldn't help my town. I feel like I could have done more but I saw the opportunity to save you and I had to. What kind of person does that make me?” He hangs his head in his hands.

“I'm sure you did whatever you could. Then you saved who you could. I would have done the same.” You replace his hands with your own. Drawing him to you, you place a gentle kiss on his lips, he returns it, then you do, then the back and forth rhythm dissolves into a hungry clash of tongues. Using his flannel shirt as leverage you pull him close until a pain shoots through your abdomen. The hiss that leaves you stops Ted in his tracks. 

“Honey! I'm sorry. Are you alright?” He checks you over as if he can fix it all. Ever the practical man.

“I'm okay.” The pain subsides and you feel even more tired.

“Come on. I'll lay with you until you fall asleep.” Once again he is cradling you like he can protect you from the world.

Sleep comes quickly. It's fitful and filled with nightmares. Nightmares about the madness that Ted told you about. The sweet old couple you were worried about tearing out the throats of the children across the street. Their terror filled eyes glazing over as their blood spills over their colorful chalk drawings on the sidewalk. Sweat cools on your skin as you jump awake. Ted flips on the light and is by your side in seconds. His shotgun is abandoned on the cupboard that is serving as a barricade and the high stool he was perched on to keep watch is tipped over in his haste.

His hands find you to comfort you. “I'm here. I've got you. Oh, shit!” 

Following his eyeline you see the heavy blood stain on the white sheet between your legs. “What?! What. I…” 

“Shhh. Shhh. It's okay. You took some kicks to the stomach, maybe something was damaged. Let's stay calm. If we need to I'll get you to a hospital. The army should be here now. I'll get you help, I swear. I love you. I love you.” Fear creeps into Ted's voice as he begins to ramble while he rocks you in his arms.

A week passes, each day much the same. You rest. Ted cares for you. Thankfully, the bleeding stopped before that first morning. Each day you get stronger. With each day the hope of survival rises. Each day Ted reminds you why you fell in love with him. He's your gentle protector. 

When your need for him grows too strong, he's still gentle, he kisses and caresses you until you are dripping for him. His thick fingers dip inside you to spread your slick before teasing your clit until you gush and relax for him. Even though his girthy length fills you with ease, he still takes his time with you. He works himself in slowly until your hips start to chase him. When he picks up speed he constantly checks in with you, whispering in your ear. After you come around him pulling him deeper, he asks if you can keep taking him until he comes. When he does finally spill inside you it's with a whimper.

Another week passes. This one is like a honeymoon. The worry of the world outside is almost forgotten with the two of you exploring each other's bodies like never before. Before you had stolen moments between meetings and appearances. Now you can take your time. 

“Ted, I can't!” you can't help but giggle as you push him away. His moustache is soaked with your cum. You've lost count of how many times you've come against it while Ted spent the morning pleasuring you. “Here, let me take care of you.” You reach for the massive bulge in his underwear.

Catching your hand, he brings it to his lips. “Actually, I have an idea.”

Letting go of your hand, he tucks his thumbs into the waistband of his underwear to slip them down his firm thighs until his cock springs free. Running his fingers through your slick, he uses it to coat himself until his fist pumps up and down freely. His eyes are laser focused on your wet cunt until they roll back and close. His hand slaps against his balls as he openly pleasures himself to your body. He looks beautiful, free and unashamed. A delicious look of pure ecstasy crossed his face when he hunches over grabbing your bare breast as he comes in hot ropes over your stomach. The one room cabin smells of sex every night that you fall asleep together.

The sun is setting as you finish dinner. The bare light bulb is off in favour of the small bedside lamp. Its warm light makes your new home feel cosy. Ted kisses your head as he collects your empty bowl. What you see next is so unexpected in your new little world that it takes a second for you to realise what you are seeing. A beam of white light flashes through the gaps in the boards of the window.

“Ted?” Ted turns to your voice and sees it too. 

Quickly and quietly, he crossed to the door frame, squeezing himself between the window on the cabin door and the one on the wall next to it. He tries to see out without being seen.

“Get down!” He orders as the light gets brighter.

The sound of approaching footsteps fill the small space. Your heart is in your mouth. Beating harder with each nearing step. The bang on the door almost caused your heart to explode. Another bang has you nearly choking on it.

“Mayor Garcia?!” A voice calls out. 

The name escapes you but the voice is familiar. It's one of the Sheriff's deputies. Relief floods you. “We're saved!” You sob at Ted stumbling towards him on shaking legs.

“Hello?” The voice calls, clearly having heard you.

“Ted? Open the door.” You try for the handle and Ted stiffens. “He's here to help.” Ted still doesn't move to open the door. “Ted?” 

When you look at him in the low light his face is cold for a second before he opens the door. “Of course.” He gives you a fleeting smile.

“Sir, are you okay? Sheriff Vasquez came to look for you but she never came back. I found her car a little up the road there in a ditch. Ma'am.” He added in politeness with a nod.

“We were fine.” Ted responds coolly before taking his shotgun and blowing away the Deputy.

Shock rips through you like the pelts through the Deputy's flesh. “Ted!”

Fear claws at your throat as he turns to you. His warm, soft eyes are cold as steel. 

“They couldn't just leave well alone. After all I've done for this town!” His raised voice raises the hairs on your neck. “I had a plan. I always have a plan. The ones I did for this town always work. But the one time I do one for me and it all goes to shit.” The stool by the door is flung across the room. “It was simple. Bring you here. Kill you. Bury you. No one would know. You were just passing through. No one would care.” As his words swarm you you cower back against the wall, using it to hold your broken pieces up. “Then you had to go and dig yourself out of your grave. I was going to just shoot you, seeing as choking you didn't work but then I thought ‘How did you manage to survive?’ a weak little woman. A whore, who sucks down married men's cocks. Maybe you had potential. Or maybe my seed made you stronger. Of course, I had to fix you back up. I had to make sure you lost that bastard child first. I can have an heir out of wedlock. How would that look? A hot bath, some whiskey, some pills that you didn't look too closely at. That was that. Thankfully, you didn't even remember that night.”

The pretty pink roses rest on the table. The same pink appears in two lines on the pregnancy test next to it.

“You're pregnant?” Ted is expressionless as he repeats his question. 

“Yes and I want to keep it.” You reach for his hand, only for him to snatch it away. 

“What? You think I'd have a baby with you? How would that look? Having a baby with a whore?” His words hit you like a slap in the face. 

“A whore? You said you loved me.”

“I do but you're not Mayor's Wife material. You threw yourself at me. Bounced on my bare cock after only knowing me for a few weeks. Begged me to fuck your ass. Came all over my suit from rubbing your hungry pussy over my thigh. I mean, it was all good. I've never shot my load down a woman's throat that quickly before. Even when I hold my wife's head and force my cock down her throat it takes me a while to get there. I mean, I married her for her standing, not her skills in the bedroom but to have a child with you? You must be crazy.”

You're up on your trembling legs while you try to process. The words come out before you realise. “Ted. I…I love you.” As if saying it could make him the man you fell for again, not this horrible stranger in front of you.

“Then you'll get rid of that kid and we'll go back to what we had.” He rises slowly to gently take your hand.

“No! I can't.” Your fingers are shaking in his palm. You're not sure I'd it's from fear or anger.

“You can. Or I can make you.” His free hand shoots up to grab your throat.

“Fuck you!” You manage to spit before kicking him in his knee.

Howling in pain, he releases you. “You little slut!” 

You are soon outside, running as fast as you can. The thought of your unborn baby pushing you on. Until Ted yanks you back by your hair. The sudden momentum sends you hurling to the ground. Ted manages to get a few kicks in to subdue you before he pulls you to your feet. Terror grips you as he wraps his large hands around your throat and you become light headed. The fight in you starts to fade as your lungs begin to burn.

“That's it. Let go. It'll all be over soon. Shhh. Let me take care of you.” The bastard has the audacity to kiss your temple as you go slack in his arms.

Ted feels relieved while he carries you to the shallow grave he’d dug. It would keep you hidden long enough for the animals to find you and pick you clean. No body, no crime. This is what he had to do. For the town. He couldn't have a scandal keeping him from being reelected. It was only when he lay you gently in the ground that his heart betrayed him. It clenched at the thought of you all alone out here. The two of you, without his protection. He brushed the thought away when he threw the first shovel load of dirt on your body.

Back at the cabin, he sat to get his story straight. He told his campaign manager that he was taking a day. He made sure enough people saw him leave town alone. He'd stop by the store tomorrow and make sure everyone saw him coming back. He had a few weeks before he needed to pile on the pressure with his constitutes. He could lay low for a while. If the police found you before the animals could do their job he could spin it. He could be saddened at the death of the poor woman, who he had taken under his wing. The poor woman who he'd allow to use his cabin for a while to take some nature photographs for her portfolio. She'd confessed that she had a baby on the way from her abusive ex so Ted felt compelled to help her. All his plans went sideways when you stumbled back into the cabin and passed out on the bed.

Fighting the urge to throw up, you push past Ted and out into the night. 

“Come on, Honey. You know this goes one of two ways for you. You die or you stay with me. I knew I couldn't go back to town when you came back, so I've set my sights on bigger and better things. You could be a part of that. I'll make an honest woman of you. You can have a few kids. I look after all of you. We'll be picture perfect for my new campaign.” His voices get quieter to your ears as you edge your way in the dirt towards the Deputy’s car that he rolled to a stop down the dirt track. It's only a few feet away. The door is open and the keys are in the ignition. You're sure you can make it. 

“Come on. What do you say?” His voice seems closer. 

The light from the car obscures your view. There's no way for you to know where he is without giving yourself away. 

‘Fuck it!’ you think and prepare to launch yourself at the car.

Just as you do the window of the open door bursts like an overripe watermelon above you. Glass rains down on you. You hear the distinct sound of a shotgun being snapped open. You have time to get to the car. Filled with renewed hope, you haul yourself up. Only for Ted to kick the door shut inches from your face. 

“Hey, you. Let's just talk about this.” His best trustworthy smile is plastered on his face. It's eerily lit by the car’s lights. It gives his beautiful profile a harshness. His profile becomes even more harsh when you punch him squarely in the crotch. 

Even as he crumbles, he laughs. “See, maybe that fire can come in handy. The world is changing. People expect more from politician’s wives.”

You are off running again. The same way you ran that night. Unfortunately, you take exactly the same route you took that night and end up back in your shallow grave. This time with even more company. The Sheriff is stone cold. Her face is bloody and puffy. Her glazed over eyes are bloodshot. 

“Thankfully, you didn't check those pills too closely. Sleeping pills kept you out for most of that first week so I could go back to town and sort some things out. Unfortunately, I must have made her suspicious. I should have known. She got too close last time.” It felt like Ted was just treating you like the crowd at one of his rallies now, giving one of his long speeches. “We used to have a problem with homeless people. People can only run so far from their past. A lot of them ended up here, hoping to disappear over the border. I couldn't have that. Not on my streets. The first couple were tough. They were big men. The women were easier. They followed me out here willingly. Any-who, I slipped you another dose a couple of nights ago to go back to town. The Sheriff was waiting up the road there. She knew I had property out here and was trying to catch me in the act. Dumb bitch. Like I would drive around with evidence. I disposed of everything…”

It was your turn to laugh. “Not everything.”

The beautiful smile, the one that he gave you on that first day, the one that made you feel special after years of heartache, spread across his face as his brow furrowed in confusion. His confusion increased as pain ripped through his chest and his gut. He sank to his knees, suddenly weak and cold. “You forgot to dispose of her gun.”

The day was cooling down. The sun was low. The breeze picks up as you pull the blanket around you. For a second you debate going into your home, the house that you bought with the money Ted had stashed at the cabin on one of his trips into town while you were drugged. Instead you sat to watch your daughter run around on the sand, your faithful dog hot on her heels. For the past three years of her life, you've been asked over and over again about her unusual name ‘Tesha’. With a smile you tell people it means ‘survivor’. 

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