#they're all safe in my inbox and I'll get to them

[rootspiral]

I’m sure you’ve already done this but what do you imagine Agatha and rios first time meeting was like

I've talked about something similar here. But I like to think that their first meeting was very brief, and that Agatha was the one who started pursuing Rio, it took them a long time to fall in love because I love slow burns ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[hawnks]

Logging out for a while, love you miss you <3

[nyarumie]

hey axia ｡⁠◕⁠‿⁠◕⁠｡

enjoy the start of your semester, before uni gets crazy!! I loved your previous works, so I'll just slip into your inbox while the requests are open:3

What do you think would make Hoshina blush, or like, properly flustered?!

(be it headcanon, scenario, or whatever else you feel like, if anything:))

have a great day 🔆

Heart in Your Hands

hoshina soshiro x reader — fluff, comfort, they're both deeply in love, (god me when), short and sweet, established relationship

Author's Reply: Hi, thank you anon! I hope this work caters well to your request; finally got the time to work on something (which hopefully helps with my writer's block)

Reblogs and likes are appreciated! Please view my pinned and masterlist too (⁠◡⁠ ⁠ω⁠ ⁠◡⁠)

Trying to get Soshiro to blush is definitely rarer than a blue moon. Trust me, even his own platoon of talented rookies tried catching him off-guard — it's just near impossible!

Keyword: Near impossible. That's where you enter the picture.

As a Platoon Leader, you do your best to be a figure of inspiration to your officers, thus keeping up your facade of a strict mentor; but honestly—you’re not fooling anyone, you're totally a softie! Despite your personal ‘no-distractions-during-work’ policy, obvious signs of your feelings for the Vice Captain naturally slip out occasionally. Still, you refuse to get your relationship in the way of your work.

Behind closed doors lie the reserved intimacy and affection you held for him. He won't ever admit it, but he sometimes pushes himself too hard, hard enough to have scars and calluses all over his hands from his intense training, and you can only imagine how tight and desperate his grip is on his personalized close combat weapon.

He’s always desperate to prove his worth, desperate to keep the only thing that gives meaning to his existence, and you know that your words are not enough to quell the distress behind each swing and slash of his blades.

That's why you do what you know will calm him best—love him just as fierce as he swings those blades of his.

You caught him training again one night, exhaustion evident on his form. The adrenaline coursing through his body has yet to be quenched, and you know you have to do your magic to get him to rest.

“Soshiro. You're here again. One more night of this and you’ll really strain your body.” you softly said, concern evident in your voice.

He stopped midway his slash, breath heaving as he turned to face you. “Can't rest easy when the rookie officers are a whole ‘nother level, dear. If I don't do this, I doubt I’ll be able to get even the slightest hit on No. 9.”

Sighing, you made your way to him. “Put your weapon down for a while, please? Let me at least do something for you.”

Doing as you asked, he kept them somewhere safe and curiously stood in front of you again. He gave you an inquisitive look, patiently waiting for what you're planning to do.

You took his hands and caressed them, slowly feeling the roughness and evidence of all the nights he's spent bruising himself up just to get even stronger. You move his hands so that his palms are facing you, his eyes widening at your next move.

He felt a soft, careful kiss touch each of his palms, followed by a kiss to each of his fingertips.

He thinks his ears are on fire with how hot it's burning.

“W-what are ya doing, dear? I haven't cleaned my hands up!”

You entwined your hands with his before he could even pull them away, thinking that he didn't like what you just did. “I’m sorry, did I make you uncomf— Oh.”

Oh, indeed. The sight that greeted you when you turned your face up to see him is… remarkable. You can't believe the Third Division’s Vice Captain would be blushing over his significant other tenderly kissing his rough, tired hands.

“Ya didn't have to do that… I know you love me plenty! And please stop gripping on my hands harder, ya aren't letting me turn away!”

You snort. “Of course I won't let you. This is a rare sight. Still, I didn't know something like that could get you severely flustered.” you said, a hint of pride in your tone.

“Told ya I haven't cleaned ‘em up. I was holdin’ those nasty blades moments ago.”

“Ah, excuses. Just say you liked the kisses more than you expected. I’ll let you off this one time and say it's just out of exhaustion.” you giggled.

Your expression turned soft and serious again, now hugging him. His arms wrapped around you, a tired sigh coming from him. “You do so much for me, ya know that? I thought I was gonna explode earlier. Don't know what I did to deserve ya.”

“Mhm, ‘Shiro. You have no idea how at a loss I am sometimes to do something for you. I want to shoulder at least a piece of your burden, want you to share your pain with me without worrying about whether I can take it. Because I will, just for you. I’ll hold your hand whatever happens and stand side by side with you. All I ask is that you take care of yourself.”

He let out a soft laugh of relief. “I should be sayin’ these things to you. I hope ya know how amazing you are to me.”

You both pulled away from the hug, him taking a hand of yours in his. “Let's get some rest. Don't wanna worry my princess over here.”

Smiling in content, you nod your head at him. “Thank you, Soshiro.”

[vampireimiko]

omg! could you make a miguel fic were like him and reader are like mom and dad to hobie pav miles and gwen. miguel being the like strict dad n reader being the mom that defends her kids with her life n yells at him when he’s being to mean😭

protective mom mode: activate!

warnings, none !! just the reader being protective over her kids 🦭

note, AGHHH i actually love this request sm but it's been sitting in my inbox for a while so i wanted to get it out, HOWEVER. i might add on more to this scenario and make it sillier :3

If there was one thing everybody around Spider-Society knew, it's that Miguel was super strict and almost always being serious. He was known for being harder on younger spider people. While you were the polar opposite, you were nice and understanding, and loved to joke around from time to time. You were known for being someone younger spider people could come too.

So with that being said, the younger spider people, as in Miles, Pav, Hobie, and Gwen could always come to you for safety whenever Miguel was about to scold them. For example, just yesterday Miguel was about to get on all four of them for almost jeopardizing a mission.

"Miguel we understand what you're saying but-" Gwen started only get cutoff by Miguel who has his hands on his hips and a frustrated look on his face.

"No! You clearly don't understand! You 4 show me time after time again that you can't be trusted going on a mission together because all you do is-!" Miguel is then interrupted by YOU this time. Except this time, he goes quiet by himself. Your presence was enough to shut him up whenever he got to talking crazy. Cause if there was one thing about you, you did not play about those kids.

"Miguel, leave them babies alone! They ain't did nothing wrong!" You intervened, not letting him get in another word of scolding in. Miles and Hobie couldn't help but stifile a laugh at your intrusion which caused Gwen and Pav to bump shoulders with the two while also trying to stop themselves from laughing.

Miguel's eyes narrowed at your interruption, a mix of frustration and resignation evident in his expression. He knew better than to argue with you when you adopted that protective stance towards the 4 younger spider kids.

You stepped forward, placing a hand on Miguel's arm in a gesture of both reassurance and defiance. "Look, I get it, Miguel. You want to keep them safe, and that's admirable. But they're still learning, and they need room to make mistakes and grow. We were all in their shoes once."

Miguel let out a sigh, his initial frustration giving way to a more measured contemplation. He glanced at the group of 4 once more before finally nodding, acknowledging the truth in your words.

"You're right," he admitted, his tone softer now. "They do need both sides of the coin. I'll work on finding a better balance."

A collective sigh of relief escaped from the younger spider people as they realized they had been spared from a severe scolding. They exchanged grateful glances and offered you appreciative smiles.

"I know I'm right, now watch your mouth when you speaking my kids like that." You playfully said rolling your eyes. You then turned towards the group of four, "How about we go get some ice cream? My treat!"

𝐚𝐝𝐝𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐞; FINALLY GOT ALL FIVE OF MY REQUESTS DONE 🫶🏾 opening requests up tonight methinks

𝐝𝐨𝐧'𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐦𝐲 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐬 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐦𝐲 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐭 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧

[sunkiss3dlily]

to you, i'm just a man (to me, you're all i am) part four | joel miller x reader

Joel Miller x Fem!Reader Word Count: 5916

Summary: Time is running out for you in the fight against David. Joel comes to your rescue.

Note(s): Okay, so now it's become five parts. I should just never set a goal for how many chapters I'm writing because I always exceed it hahahaha but at least Joel and reader are reunited!! I'm not gonna lie this took so long to write because I hated writing for David. He is so creepy and I felt so gross. Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed, and I promise this time, the next chapter will be the last haha! Thank you for all the love I'm so grateful! And as always feedback is appreciated, but please be respectful! Please give me any (detailed, please!) requests in my inbox or comments if you have any, I would love to hear them! Thank you so much for reading! ♡

Taglist: @wonwoosthetic @paleidiot @orcasoul @slut4mascss @paqerings @missladym1981 @oscarisaac2099 @stilllivindue2spite @aspecialgreenie @amyispxnk @caitlynsixxx

✮˚. ᵎᵎ 𖦹彡⋆｡˚,

The bitter cold stole your every sense of direction in the relentless blizzard, pushing you to stumble aimlessly through the thick snow, much like you had the day before, only this time you were no longer the hunter but the prey.

All around, the storm howled, and your every step was one of desperation in the search for any sign of David and James' group.

"Stay alert, everybody; if this man's not already dead, he's dangerous." David's voice calling out from the other end of the street had you bolting to hide behind a fence, your rifle clutched steadily in your hand. "And the woman too; she can’t be fully trusted, either."

Clutching your rifle, you took a shaky breath, straining your hearing to catch the next set of orders.

“What about the little girl?” James' voice cut through the harsh wind, and a surge of protectiveness swelled within you at the mention of Ellie. You silently vowed not to let any of them get near her—not one step.

“We bring her back with us." David responds. "Her, and the woman.”

"Try it, motherfucker," you muttered, biding your time as they started advancing down your end of the street, where you remained safely hidden, at least for the moment. There was no need to risk wasting bullets and missing a shot; you had to be smart about this.

A loud scoff cuts through the air, and a voice that you haven't heard before rings out: "That woman will kill us all in our goddamn sleep if we let her stay with us."

"Yeah, I agree," James cuts in soon after. "I don't mean to question your sense of mercy, David, but we can kill the man and the woman and just let the little girl go. If we bring that little girl back with us, she's just another mouth to feed."

You peek out, taking your aim and squeezing one eye shut.

"If we leave either of them out here, they'll die," David chastises, still seemingly set on having you and Ellie come back with him.

As if you'd let that happen.

James scoffed, and as the group approached, you could now count their numbers.

Five.

You watched as James bitterly shook his head, and almost instinctively, you raised your rifle, focusing on the moving target. "Maybe that's God's will."

David's head snapped to look at his taller friend, but before he could speak, your first shot rang out.

James practically folded in on himself, the bullet finding its mark right between his eyes. Genuine shock registered on David's face before a darker expression replaced it just as swiftly. The other four members of the group looked around in utter bewilderment, raising their weapons and expressing a mix of fear, anger, and shock.

"Holy shit!"

"What the fuck do we do, David?!"

"They killed James!"

Too preoccupied reloading your rifle, you didn't notice David's eyes settling on the neck of your gun, which was slightly peeking out from behind the fence.

"Split up. Find the house they're staying in and get that little girl back to me alive. I'll take care of the woman."

As the three scatter in different directions, you finally look up, and that's when you notice David approaching the fence, his own gun at the ready, aimed and dangerous.

You feel it before you hear it—the burning sensation as the bullet rips through your coat and shirt, sinking into the skin of your shoulder. The sickening whoosh of the bullet through the air is only heard after. Had your senses been more in tune, perhaps you would have dodged it. Instead, a muffled cry of pain escapes your lips as you slam them together, forcing yourself into a standing yet crouched position. Running along the back of the fence, you do your best to ignore both the pain and the sensation of your blood coating your fingers, compressing the wound as you move, the rifle held limply in the hand of your injured arm.

"Get back here!"

Your legs turn to jelly as you sprint through the snow, heading straight for one of the houses. Despite the intensifying pain in your shoulder, you strive to keep your cool. Bullets whiz dangerously close to your tattered boots, narrowly missing as you move just a fraction too quickly for David's shooting ability.

“It doesn’t have to be this hard!”

Gasping for breath, you reach cover at the side of a nearby house, pressing your back against the cold exterior. The bitter wind bites at your exposed skin as you take a moment to assess the wound on your shoulder, your fingers coming away stained with blood. You reach back, whimpering to yourself as you feel the unmistakable hole in your shirt and coat, realising that, for one small mercy, the bullet has gone straight through.

"I didn't want to hurt you." David's voice echoes chillingly close, urging you to retreat to the back of the house. As you hastily assess for an entry point, he adds with a sinister tone, "You forced my hand."

Despite the searing pain in your shoulder and the fear gnawing at your senses, a twisted sense of relief settles in as you reach the back of the house. The knowledge that it's you who David is pursuing, and not Joel or Ellie, somehow grants you a twisted comfort.

“There’s no need to keep fighting me like this. It’s pointless.”

With trembling hands, you fumble to open the door, your mind racing faster than your jittery heartbeat.

The wooden door creaks open, revealing the dim interior of the house. Staggering under the weight of pain and panic, you stumble inside, the world spinning as you navigate the all-too-familiar surroundings from when you were desperately searching for any first aid for Joel the day prior, so you already know there is nothing here that is going to help you. The urgency of your situation intensifies, and you quickly slam the door behind you closed.

The house offers a brief respite from the relentless blizzard and the immediate threat of David's pursuit. As you move deeper into the residence, your unsteady footsteps echo against the worn floorboards. The muted sounds of the storm outside contrast with the thunderous beating of your heart.

A narrow staircase comes into view, and with each step, your legs feel heavier, like lead. The ascent is a gruelling task, with your battered body protesting with every movement. As you reach the top, you catch your breath, realising the vulnerability of your situation. You're wounded and isolated, and you're at the mercy of your surroundings and David.

Summoning the last reserves of your strength, you push forward, weaving through the upper floor. The pain in your shoulder becomes an unbearable companion, gnawing at your resolve, and your vision blurs. A distant bedroom beckons, and you stumble towards it, guided more by instinct than conscious thought.

With each step, the world becomes more of a blurry haze. You push the bedroom door open with a light swing, revealing your final refuge from the chaos. Collapsing against the far wall, behind a double bed, you sink to the floor, your breaths ragged and laboured. The room spins around you as you succumb to the exhaustion, your body finally finding a momentary sanctuary amid the turmoil.

✮˚. ᵎᵎ 𖦹彡⋆｡˚,

The unmistakable echo of a gunshot reached Joel's ears, shattering the relative silence of the basement and snapping him out of the uneasy rest he had slipped into.

It felt like just moments ago that he had watched you leave, resolute in facing danger to protect him and Ellie. The mental image of you willingly sacrificing yourself for their safety wound around his heart like barbed wire, each beat accentuating his feelings of pain and helplessness. Staring at the closed door, he had been consumed by profound desperation, silently yearning for you to turn around and come back to them, to him. But, as the seconds ticked away, it became clear you weren't coming back.

Ellie's eyes had met his, her dark pools of pleading tears watching him as the weight of sleep threatened to pull him under.

"Joel! Wake the fuck up! We have to go!"

Suddenly, Ellie was gripping his shirt, the surge of adrenaline from the shock of it all combatting the heaviness of his slumber. The gunshot's resonance wasn't just a haunting echo of his nightmares about Sarah; it was the stark reality now centred around you. Whether you were the shooter or the one being shot at, Joel couldn't allow himself to stand, or rather lay, by while you faced danger, even in his weakened state.

"Joel!" Ellie repeated, shaking him just as furiously as before. "Fuck, wait a second."

She disappeared from his sight for a moment, peripherals included, and for some twisted reason inside of him, the thought of her leaving too made him even more scared. He couldn't lose both of you.

"Ellie," he called hoarsely.

She was back within a few moments, seemingly fueled by the sound of his voice as she kneeled beside him, syringe and medicine bottle in hand. "Yeah, I'm here. Just give me a minute. I've never done this before."

He held still, barely breathing as the needle pricked his wound once more, not wanting to freak the kid out any more than she already was.

"Ellie," he repeated. Her eyes fell to his as she continued to plunge the syringe slowly, just as she had watched you do so many times. Her dark eyes were still watery and held so much fear that she attempted to hide with her otherwise stoic expression, barring the slight trembling of her lips. "It's...it's gonna be okay."

"Yeah," she nodded, though her gaze fell away from him as if she didn't believe him. "I know."

Silence settled between them, a void that you typically filled. As Ellie withdrew the syringe, returning it along with the medicine to her bag, the echo of a second gunshot pierced the air, prompting them to exchange uneasy glances.

The heavy footsteps from above spurred Joel into action, breaking the inertia that had held him for days. He staggered to his feet, his unsteady legs protesting disuse, and gently guided Ellie into the corner beneath the stairs. Pressing his rifle into her hands, he saw the horror in her eyes. A shake of his head preceded his retrieval of her knife from the bag.

"If anything goes wrong, you shoot and run, alright?" Her mouth opened, but he silenced any objections, his tone unwavering. "No. No questions, no smart remarks. You run."

Joel's voice carried a resolute authority, his eyes revealing a blend of concern and determination. Ellie nodded, her grip tightening on the rifle as she comprehended the gravity of the situation.

The clamour above intensified, muffled voices now accompanied by the crash of furniture in front of the basement door. 

Time seemed to stretch as they waited, breaths suspended in anticipation. As the footsteps finally seemed to reach the top of the stairs and the door opened, Joel whispered one final directive, his voice barely audible. 

"Face the wall."

✮˚. ᵎᵎ 𖦹彡⋆｡˚,

A tender touch, brushing hair away from your forehead, coaxes you back to awareness. Initially feeling numb, the haze lifts as you blink away blurriness, and the searing pain in your wound snaps into focus. A cry escapes your lips, and instinctively, you reach to cover the injury, as if the pressure could quell the pain. Surprisingly, a make-shift bandage is wrapped around the bare skin of your shoulder, and as you withdraw your hand, you find no fresh blood, only the remnants of dried staining from before.

A fleeting sense of relief washes over you when you suddenly realise someone is taking care of you; you've been saved.

"You were lucky; I'll give you that."

Anticipating Joel's deep, somewhat soothing tone, the sudden and chilling sound of David's higher voice jolted you. Startled, you looked up and blinked rapidly, only to find the devil himself kneeling in front of you, his hand resting on your cheek.

"Getting the jump on us like that. It was smart." He chuckled slightly, unsettling you further, prompting an instinctive flex of your fingers to search for your rifle. It must have been moved, and you think you can see the handle just behind him on the bed. The sheet on top of the mattress appears to be torn, evidently being what was used to conceal your wound. "I won't say it'll earn you many brownie points with the folks back home, but I understand. I understand why you did it."

You draw in a shaky breath, attempting to breathe through the pain and panic, while desperately searching your mind for any semblance of a plan.

David withdraws his hand from your cheek, replacing it with two fingers on your neck's pulse point, holding them there for a moment. "You know, I was worried you weren't going to wake up at all."

You make your best attempt to shrug him off, disliking the sensation of his cold fingertips on your skin. Despite your weakness, you glare up at him and retort, "You should be more worried than I was."

He smiles with a glint of amusement in his eyes, and you despise the gut-wrenching feeling of vulnerability blooming in your chest at the notion of being stuck in this man's presence. A chuckle escapes him, and he sucks his teeth before raising his hand, causing your head to snap to the side as the back of his hand connects with your cheek, a ring on his finger slashing your cheek upon impact.

Stunned to silence, you manage only a few heavy breaths as blood dribbles down your cheek. Eventually, you compose yourself enough to meet his gaze once more.

David releases a heavy sigh, observing you with a gaze that combines pity and satisfaction as he sits back on his knees.

“I like you. I do."

You glare back at him, biting back a snide comment.

He smiles, releasing a soft chuckle. “You’re so much different from the women back in my village. They’re so docile, complacent, and scared of their own shadows. You, on the other hand, are feral. Violent. A murderer.”

You swallow uncomfortably, unsettled by the excited glint in his eyes as he gazes at you.

“I like that. It’s realistic. A woman who does what she has to do to get what she wants. It’s the only way to survive, right?” David smiles, reaching out to clasp your limp hand that sits on your lap. “We’re very similar in that way. We do what we have to do to provide for the people who rely on us. No matter what, right?”

You fight the urge to snap his fingers in your palm, feeling his thumb stroking roughly over your skin, a poor imitation of Joel's comforting touch from only hours ago.

“You see, I’m not your enemy here.” He whispers in an attempt at a soothing tone. “I never have been. In fact, I am your equal, and in being that, I believe you would make the perfect addition to stand by my side in leading our people through the darkness that this winter has brought.”

You shake your head, but he raises a hand and emits a shushing noise.

“I know. It’s a hard concept to grasp when you’re in this fight-or-flight headspace. I’m sure you feel you won’t be accepted by them for all your sins and for all the heartache you’ve brought to our community, but they, as well as you, will come to understand, in good time, that reformation is indeed possible.” He squeezes your hand tight—so tight that it becomes uncomfortable very quickly. You breathe your way through the pain. “And if you can’t, then you can provide for our community in another way.” He lifts his other hand to lift your chin, forcing you to meet his eyes. “My people are hungry, you see. I wouldn’t be a good leader if I didn't do what I needed to provide for them, despite sacrificing what would be the closest thing I have to my equal. You understand the necessity of that, right?”

A sickening feeling churns in your stomach. Whatever he has in mind for you is likely nothing you want to endure. You bite your tongue, resolved to maintain composure and conceal your fear.

“And then, I suppose, your daughter will be the one to take your place beside me.”

Your entire body tenses, and he seems to notice the fire blazing in your eyes at the mention of Ellie, a light smirk settling on his lips.

Quick to wipe it off, you wrap your palm around his middle finger and tug it back with all the strength you can muster, causing a sickening crack as it breaks, ricocheting around you. He lets out an anguished cry of pain, filling you with relentless satisfaction. As he releases your hand entirely, you shove him backward and use the wall to guide you to your feet.

Rushing for your rifle, your movements are short-lived as you feel his hand wrap around your ankle, grabbing hold of you. Swinging your arm around to hit him, he tugs you forcefully via your arm, causing you to flop face down on the floor beside him.

Releasing angry pants, he flips you over onto your back and uses his free hand to press down on your wound, keeping you down and eliciting a cry of unbearable pain from your lips.

“There it is. There’s that fight in you I like so much.”

You spit at him, aiming directly for his face, and raise your knee to strike him in the crotch. He releases your wound, and you take a sharp intake of breath, readying your hand to deliver a strike to his face. But he's too quick, grabbing your wrist and yanking it hard, exerting so much force that you feel your arm being ripped out of its socket.

A blinding wave of pain overwhelms you, bringing all your struggles to an instant halt. Your pain threshold has been entirely depleted. You're done fighting. It's all too much.

He clears his throat as he shifts to hold himself above you, his gaze a mix of satisfaction and disappointment as he looks down at you.

“Is that all you’ve got in you?” He laughed breathlessly. “I’m disappointed. Underneath all that strong facade, you’re just the same as every other woman. Weak. I should’ve known you’d end up just the same: under my mercy."

Your strength waned, unable to conceal the overwhelming fear as his weight bore down on you, and instead, you opened your mouth, releasing a gut-wrenching scream.

✮˚. ᵎᵎ 𖦹彡⋆｡˚,

It was guttural—the scream that tore through the streets—and it sent a shiver down Joel's spine. Ellie was huddled at his side, his arm protectively encircling her, marking the first substantial contact between them. The moment he tensed, he felt her reaction mirror his own.

Joel held tight to Callus' reins in his other hand. Although logic dictated that he and Ellie should be riding towards your safety, the events in the basement lingered in Joel's mind. Forcing two out of three men to reveal your whereabouts, even with Ellie upstairs and out of direct earshot, it had been a traumatic ordeal for the both of them. Joel couldn't deny Ellie the comfort of being close to him after such a harrowing experience. Contrary to his initial fears, it became evident that Ellie wasn't terrified of him; in fact, the very opposite seemed true.

'"That's her," Ellie said through chattering teeth as the biting winds whipped around them. "We have to help her."

Joel nodded, his gaze firm and determined, tugging Callus along once more. "We will. We'll get to her."

Once again, your scream, fraught with fear and desperation, reverberated through the desolate streets. The chilling sound momentarily froze time, leaving Joel feeling utterly helpless about where to go or how to reach you. The haunting silence that followed became almost unbearable, casting an oppressive weight on Joel's chest, which he tried to ignore with every stride he took, Ellie in tow.

Abruptly, just as it had ceased, your screaming resumed, and Joel couldn't summon the strength to look down, yet he could feel Ellie's tears soaking his shirt. Each agonising note sliced through the air, and this time, it seemed to pierce Joel even more deeply than before. The raw, visceral sound of your distress clawed at his heart, dismantling any remaining walls that held back his emotions towards you. He despised that sound—the sound of you in pain, the sound of you scared, the sound of you broken—and silently vowed to do whatever it took to never hear it again.

However, amidst the torment, there existed a perverse sense of gratitude. Your screams served as a guiding force, leading Joel, Ellie, and Callus through the relentless blizzard in pursuit of you. A steely resolve tightened Joel's jaw, determination etched across his weathered face as you fell silent once more, only to start screaming again seconds later. The idea of you enduring suffering was unbearable, and an urgency to reach you surged through Joel's veins, propelling their movements forward through the biting cold.

Reaching the front of the house from which your screams echoed, Joel gently pulled away from Ellie's trembling frame. He tried to ignore the way she instinctively sought to move closer, holding her by the shoulders. "I need you to listen to me, Ellie."

Her face was pale, tear-stricken, and concerned, lacking the strength to argue. She nodded in response.

"I need you to ride Callus to the furthest house away, to the very last one in this neighbourhood, okay? Not one sooner. The very last one."

Her lips parted, wobbling, but your scream from above tore every word from the tip of her tongue. She made her way to Callus, placing one foot in the stirrup before Joel helped launch her onto the horse completely. He held back a wince as his wound ached with every movement, and raised his rifle for her to take.

"I'll come and find you as soon as we're out. You don't leave for anything. You stay right there, hidden, until we come back. Got it?"

Ellie took the rifle, slugging it onto shoulder, before gripping Callus' reins and nodding. "Got it."

"Good." He hummed, stroking Callus' side before meeting Ellie's eyes. "Go on."

She simply sniffled, murmuring, "Let's go," to the horse before she and Callus thundered off down the street.

Joel watched as Ellie rode away, his rifle slung over her shoulder, and as he turned back towards the house, it took him about a second to realise you were no longer making any noise, and it only took half of that time to send him into utter panic.

✮˚. ᵎᵎ 𖦹彡⋆｡˚,

The carpet beneath your fingernails was the only sensation you registered as David's hand coiled around your throat, tightening its grip and stifling any more attempts at screaming.

You weren't fighting back anymore. You couldn't. You'd lost it all the moment David had you pinned down and injured. The likelihood of Joel succumbing to the brutality of David's men gnawed at your conscience. Imagining Ellie, now alone and convinced you were lost too, fighting desperately to escape their clutches added another layer of anguish to your already shattered resolve. You didn't want to risk that becoming a truth, and so you just lay there.

Time seemed to stretch with each agonising blink, your eyes lingering shut for longer intervals. As David's suffocating grip on your throat gradually released, you struggled to focus through the haze. His lips moved, likely weaving a twisted soliloquy, but the only sound that reached you was the persistent thud of blood coursing through your veins. Each breath you managed to draw felt like a desperate attempt to refill your lungs, your chest heaving with the effort.

His vice-like grip on your neck finally released, and as you dared to steal a glance downward, all you saw was his hand moving towards his zipper.

You clutched at the carpet, fingers digging in, and drew in a wheezy breath, steeling yourself for whatever might come next.

David's face and body loomed over you, paralysing you with fear. Just as you thought it was all over, the sudden impact of your rifle against the side of his head sent his looming figure crashing to the floor beside you. Through the haze of your vision, you could vaguely make out a blurry figure in a brown coat gripping your rifle and ruthlessly slamming it down repeatedly onto what appeared to be David's body.

Unable to discern many words, you could only catch snippets of angry and pained sounds. Fear gripped you, but in a moment of reprieve, you managed to turn on your side. For perhaps the first time since you woke up, you felt a semblance of relief, as if you could finally afford to breathe again.

Your body ached, and your lungs burned with each precious breath of fresh air, reminiscent of a dog lapping up water on a scorching day. Curled into a foetal position, the only sounds that reached your ears were the haunting echoes of sniffles and whimpering. It didn't take long for you to grasp the painful realisation that those anguished sounds were escaping your own lips.

A hand gripping your ankle jolts you into immediate action, fearing the worst. A distressed wail escapes your lips as you kick out, refusing to glance at the person who has a hold of you. Slowly crawling away, you use your uninjured arm to support yourself, doing your best to fight the searing pain flowing through you.

The hand lets up, and then it moves to land delicately on your back. Gentle and light, it hovers, assuring you of his presence.

Everything seems to move once more in slow motion as you continue to kick out, eventually flipping onto your side and meeting your would-be assailant's eyes once more.

Except it's not David.

It's Joel.

His lips are parted, and he is speaking to you softly. His face is taut with concern, distress, and fear.

"..'s me; it's just me. It's me."

The sound of relief escaping you doesn't come close to the immense relief flooding your insides.

As Joel senses the realisation dawning in your eyes, his expression eases slightly, a fraction of his concern dissipating.

You can't help but avert your gaze, your eyes falling upon David's battered body lying a short distance away. The butt of your rifle, stained with his blood, rests by his side. It's evident that Joel has discarded it and hurried to your aid.

His touch on your cheek is gentle, coaxing you to meet his gaze once more.

"Look at me," he urges, his voice a comforting murmur. "You're okay. You're with me. Just keep your eyes on me. Keep focusing on me."

Your lip trembles. "J-Joel...he…he…”

"I know," he murmurs softly, his face etched with pain as he gently covers your hand with his own on the floor. The gesture makes you flinch involuntarily, and memories of David flood your mind. "I know, honey. I know."

Honey.

The term is uttered with such tenderness, so delicately, that it catches you off guard. His eyes glisten with unshed tears as he regards you with the utmost care, as if he can hardly believe he's reached you in time.

Tears stream down your cheeks, unnoticed, until you feel his arms enveloping you. It's surprising the sheer gentleness emanating from a man hardened by years of violence, his fists having shed blood from countless adversaries. Yet here he is, cradling you as though you're the most precious gift, as if it's the most natural thing for him to do, as though he was born to love and protect you, no matter the time it took for him to realise it.

His hand finds solace in your matted hair, anchoring you to him as you weep against his chest. For a long while, he remains silent, allowing your sorrow to seep into him as if, by some miracle, it might alleviate your pain. You feel a shift in his posture, and then his chapped lips brush gently against your forehead.

Drawing back slightly from the comfort of his embrace, you meet his gaze.

"You're... you're alive," you breathe out softly.

The corners of his lips twitch up a little, and he nods gently down at you. "Your stubborn ass saved me, remember?"

"I... I had to. I couldn't... couldn't lose you," you respond, still teary-eyed. Your gaze darts around frantically for a moment. "E—Ellie? Where's Ellie? Did they get Ellie?"

Joel shakes his head quickly. "We... I got 'em, I swear. They didn't touch her. She's safe."

"They... they were really bad people, Joel," you whisper, a slight desperation in your voice, as if you need him to believe you, though you have no idea why you feel the need to justify it. "Really bad. They... they... the things he wanted to do."

Your gaze starts to drift back to David's body, but Joel gently redirects your focus to him with a tender touch on your cheek, his thumb wiping away the blood from where David's ring had cut your skin. "No, no. Don't look at him, alright? Just keep looking at me and listening, okay? Focus right here on me and me only."

You nod, your attention fixed on him.

“You did good, sweetheart. You did so good. You saved me and Ellie, and…and you’re still here with us. It was always going to be your life over any of theirs. You did what you had to do.”

Weakly, you nod and rest your trembling hand on his arm.

He glances down at your hand, resting his own atop it, and takes a breath. Using the next few moments to assess your condition, he notices the blood-soaked sheet wrapped around your shoulder, his face paling considerably. Then, his gaze falls on the swollen part of your arm where David has torn it from its socket.

He releases your hand and rises to his feet, prompting a soft cry of his name from you, as if he might leave you in that state.

"I'm right here. You're okay," he assures you, reaching down to cup your cheek. "I just need to... I need to help you. You're hurt, sweetheart. Just keep your eyes on me. I'm not going anywhere; I just need to..."

Glancing over to the bed, where the ripped sheet lies, he reluctantly lets go of you and strides over to retrieve it. Returning to your side, he offers reassurance. "See? I'm still here."

You watch him carefully as he tears the fabric apart with his bare hands, studying his every move.

"Joel," you say softly at first, catching his attention only when you repeat his name with a bit more urgency.

"Yeah, what's up?" He responds, turning to you.

"I'm... I'm glad you're here."

His worried expression softens, though concern still lingers in his gentle brown eyes. After a moment's pause, he replies, "Me too, honey." Taking a breath, he continues, "Now, I'm gonna ask you to do something for me, okay?"

You weakly nod your agreement.

"Just stay still while I see what I can do about your arm, alright?" he instructs.

He shakily reaches over to lightly press your swollen, deformed-looking arm, retracting his hand almost immediately when you cry out in pain. The anguish in his eyes mirrors your own hurt, and once the wave of pain has passed, you grasp his coat with your uninjured hand, murmuring your apologies.

"It's okay, it's okay," he reassures you softly, cupping your cheek and meeting your gaze with his intense one. "I need you to trust me for a second, okay? This is going to hurt, but you are going to be just fine, I promise. Everything's going to be okay."

Tears brim in your eyes, but you nod. "I trust you, Joel."

He smiles softly at you, leaning forward to press a kiss on your head before he reaches out and takes your injured arm's hand in his own. With a shaky breath, he asks, "Can you feel that?"

You nod with a sniffle.

"Good. That's good." He squeezes your hand gently. "And you feel that?"

Again, you nod.

He squeezes once more, meeting your eyes. "Still with me?"

Another nod.

Taking a breath, he squeezes for the third time, a nervous expression clouding his face.

It takes you a moment to process his confession as pain overwhelms you. But when you realise what he has said, everything stops hurting for a moment, and a relieved tear slips down your cheek.

He smiles weakly back at you.

And then he tugs.

✮˚. ᵎᵎ 𖦹彡⋆｡˚,

"Almost there, sweetheart," Joel murmurs, his hand light on your back as he guides you through the blizzard, mindful of your delicate state. "I've got you."

Your injured arm is cradled in a makeshift sling, and a fresh bandage, fashioned from the same sheet, is carefully tied over your bullet wound. Despite the lingering pain, being with Joel feels like a balm to your soul, as if you're walking on air. The thought of being reunited with Ellie soon fills you with hope, giving you the strength to keep moving forward, despite the weariness weighing down your legs.

Every little noise puts you on edge, whether it's the howl of the wind or the thud of snow against a roof. But Joel is there, a reassuring presence, whispering words of comfort each time you tense up, trying to reach for a weapon and inadvertently causing yourself more pain.

"Hey, hey, it’s okay," Joel assures as you come to reach the last few houses on the road, the sight of horse prints visible in the snow-covered ground. "Look behind us; look around. There is no one here but us. No one is going to hurt you, I promise."

You look around nervously, seeing that he is right. You are simply overwhelmed by paranoia right now.

“No one is going to hurt you,” Joel repeats gently, a change from his usual tone but a welcome one. You've never felt safer.

You nod, scooting closer to him all the same.

The horse tracks lead up to the final house on the road, and Joel is grateful that Ellie followed his instructions this time.

He shuffles as slowly as you need up the short distance of the porch steps, and when you both reach the top and you begin to lose your ability to keep moving forward, he wraps your uninjured arm around his neck and keeps you moving. “I’ve got you. You’re okay, sweetheart. You’re just tired, that’s all. You’re going to rest as soon as we get inside, alright? Talk to me; let me know you’re still in there.”

“Still here..." you assure quietly, though your vision is beginning to blur and darkness is beginning to form in your peripherals.

“Atta girl, stay with me.” He presses a gentle hand over your ear and pushes the other to rest against his chest. He raises his voice, though muffled to you, as he kicks the front door as he has no hands free. “Ellie! Open up! It’s us!”

By the time the door opens, you are halfway through succumbing to the darkness.

©️sunkiss3dlily, 2024.

[olderthannetfic]

I hope you don't mind a long story in your inbox.

Reading through the fic deletion wank and then the commenting not-so-wank left me in a bad bad BAD place. The consensus on comments seem to be "comment anyways, even if you come across as a psychopath!". But there are differing opinions on whether or not deleting fics from an archive is in bad taste.

I'm the person right in between. An author (possibly a BNF?) doesn't allow comments on any of their works. They also link no socials so I can't leave them anon asks or follow them and cozy up to them like a true freak and hopefully gain some scraps or excerpts.

So they wrote an absolute masterpiece of a short fic for a rare rare RARE pair with like 10 fics for it. I think about it daily. This <500 words of a fic is practically my religion.

Due to no socials and comments, we can't know for sure if they've gotten any hate about it. However, it's safe to say that they don't want comments. So I left a bookmark that sounds like "This is my holy grail. If the author reads this note, know that you are my lifesaver" and weeks later... The author deleted the work. And all of their works for this fandom (not just the rarepair).

Naturally, I was upset. I have this one fic downloaded, but I didn't download their other fics (which are all masterpieces), so they're gone forever. However, the feeling of guilt is worse. Am I the reason the fic was deleted? Was I trespassing? Should I have not left the bookmark note as a poor replacement for a comment? Was the note not good enough? Should I have added "i'll match the love of 1000 people for this one rarepair so plz never delete this is my life support"? If I hadn't left the comment, would the fic still be up today?

I know it's just me overthinking and that the deletion probably doesn't have anything to do with me (or does it?). But still... All the wank have left me so conflicted. A part of me regrets leaving that bookmark note/comment. The whole of me regrets not downloading all of their other deleted fics.

While we're at this, what's my best shot at getting a copy of their other deleted fics? Contacting them on their other (can be commented on) fics under another pseud (sounds rude)? Rarepair community (nonexistent)? Reddit (which subreddit)? Or is this in poor taste?

If this author sounds like you, reader of OTNF, then can I get your number haha ha jk i'm shy

--

LOL. I doubt it was about your bookmark.

The main place I see people ask is on r/Fanfiction, though they don't always have any luck.

[seismologically-silly]

Puzzlemaster Week 2 Recap

paltry progress on the puzzles, but a plethora of plot proceedings!

oh my god has it really been a week since the last update? not quite, sorry. i've got prescheduled Life Stuff tomorrow making me busy, so i want to do this today. do describe developments without delay if a LOT goes down tomorrow!

some corrections from last week-- apparently 5 August is something that happened in the Puzzlemaster's past (thanks for the correction @art-thou-a-man-or-a-muppet!), but i'll still be holding onto my hat if/when things pick up then. wouldn't be surprised if that's why this week has been quiet-- the calm before the storm.

@the-1t also wanted it to be known that they're still here, don't worry (i'm worrying).

new stuff this week: the Them had some more interactions with the community this week. They have been harrassing the Puzzlemaster. i said i'd do this so here goes: They are cowards. There, i've said it again.

new player on the board as well: everyone welcome @h1y1p1n101s. i think that's how to spell their name. they've sent a few of us some messages trying to make us fall asleep. they've got nothing to do with the Them, so who knows what's going on here. some advice for dealing with all of these eldritch entities in the tags and inboxes: don't take deals. if you have to (or are just really pressing your luck), make a deal but do it carefully. watch your wording. a little mnemonic i've been living by for a few years: make 'em, don't take 'em, and above all else never break 'em.

i also want to note that there's quite a few books being shuffled around somehow. i think there's one that's disappointingly not cursed, one which is, and one the Puzzlemaster is trying to get to @potato-lord-but-not from way back at the start of the game. or whatever this is.

again, there's still this evening and tomorrow for things to Happen, so stay safe, have fun, and good luck!

OH YEAH THANK YOU TO POTATO LORD FOR REMINDING ME: CONGRATS @the-r4t-man ON YOUR DATE WITH THE PUZZLEMASTER! 🎉🎉🎉 🐀🐀🐀🐀🐀 hope it went well!

[iguana-braces]

Heyo it’s your favorite anon back again! Struck the other day with first times. Like of course Jayce’s first time having magic used on him is life changing. But MANNNNNNN thinking about the blood rush that Mel and Vik get from watching Jayce writhe for the first time is sending me. Also! I’ve decided I’m assigning myself an emoji for simplicity’s sake 🌀🌀🌀 MWAH

I was going to save this until tomorrow but I had a half-baked idea before bed so here we are

I feel like there would definitely be a momentary blood rush of panic the first time that happens because Mel and Vik aren't entirely sure how Jayce will react to it. Like, they're all super down for it and excited to try, but in the back of their minds there is the actual risk of Jayce getting hurt or maybe even one of them triggered (I'm obsessed with the idea of a polycule having to recover from those few months (?) one of them tried to become god and they all had to physically fight each other about it, anyway--).

But then they do get down to business and Jayce is SO into it, maybe even more than he expected to be 🤭, but it doesn't exactly come across that way and Mel and Vik immediately stop and are like "Omg are you okay? Are you in pain? Was that too much????" but Jayce is like "That was NOT enough! I know the safe-word, I'll use it when I damn well need to. Keep. Going."

And Mel and Viktor just--

--and keep going. Once they're sure that Jayce will stop them if need be, they're all in on enjoying it for themselves too. It could definitely be a power trip for them, maybe for Viktor more, knowing that it's their powers that are making Jayce feel that good. It's something no one else can do to him, and it's something unique that they share with each other.

Okay, actually I've been in an Arcane slump lately but I have really missed rotating these three around my brain, thank you for that and for gracing my inbox with your presence again 🌀 (it took me so long to find that emoji because it's different in my keyboard vs tumblr text???)

❤️❤️❤️❤️

[alacants]

Okay feel free to leave this in the depths of your ask box haha but I had to get it out. I don't think Sincaraz have a compelling dynamic at all? IDK the whole "Fedal 2.0" thing just feels manufactured a bit by ATP marketing. I simply feel there is a lack of matching each other's freak therefore I am obviously going to dump some rarepair discourse in your inbox sorry

Jannik seems like someone who's only really comfortable with the few people he's really close to & so in Fic Land I think that translates most compellingly to a friends to lovers thing with Matteo or Jack. Alternatively I think Janholger enemies to lovers is so fun. Angst/sexual tension of your rightful "destiny" on tour being "stolen" etc etc. Great hate sex potential.

I know Carlos pining over Jannik is a popular take but to be honest I think Carlos acts around Jannik the same way he acts around every man he meets (cuddly golden retriever) & people only notice it with Jannik because they're direct rivals. I honestly think the most fun Carlos ships are the more unexplored ones. Carlos & Grigor could be good (how are there no fics for them yet?). Or Ben? They vibe on the same silly level

dying, poor anon, based on the back-to-back asks you've been holding this in for a while, huh. re: your first ask, this is a safe space in the sense that i'm not going to respond with "but ACTUALLY it's REAL." at the same time you did just come to a known yapper with a prompt that is implicitly about metanarratives in sports fandoms.

because, i mean, that's the thing. this is a sports fandom. full of sports fans. the narratives on the court aren't just a vehicle for the personalities off the court—they're why we're here. and love it or hate it sincaraz is one of THE narratives. partly because, yeah, tennisworld is desperate for the next fedal.¹ but also partly because they play insane and unbelievable tennis against each other. we are always talking about miami and indian wells because no matter how many times you watch those points they never get more normal. 

like, the "carlos pining" take—you're coming at it from the perspective of how they interact backstage, so to speak. others are coming at it from the perspective of carlos talking up jannik as his biggest rival for two straight years, when he was the youngest no. 1 in history and jannik was Just Some Guy. "because they're direct rivals" IS the answer. (i know it wasn't actually a question.)

this is obviously not everyone's reason for shipping it or the only reason they ship it.² (and beloved mutuals please do NOT start an indirect back-and-forth through my inbox of "but actually carlos DOES treat jannik differently here's 39841038490 specific pieces of evidence" because i have a real job to do today.) just, it's not incidental to the appeal. it is the appeal.

just cut a gazillion words about early fedal and the future of tennis. ok your real message here is that the things you find most compelling have been underaddressed by fandom. this is fair. as someone who enjoys several ships that have nothing to do with rivalry or metanarratives and everything to do with They Just Really Like Each Other, i get where you're coming from. honest. i think with jannik/matteo in particularly you're looking at a promising future, like, we're in a shipping boom right now! whether that will translate to fic is an open question. (i feel like the jannik/jack miniboom didn't result in that much fic but i also didn't go looking because i am not compelled by jack draper. sorry beloved mutuals.) i believe in the power of matteo's face to deliver but i think maybe promptfest could be an early bellwether—there were quite a few jannik/matteo prompts.

(i'll also take this opportunity to note that i doooo hope that promptfest will produce some rarepair fills and prompt amnesty is ongoing. once again please don't flood the form with 20 prompts but if you want to drop one or two for a ship you can't believe is missing from the table…)

size is a challenge here. if the current iteration of tennis fandom were bigger sincaraz would still be the main course but at least you'd have other things to eat as well. rarepair would mean "ugh there's only a dozen fics in the tag" instead of "ugh there are zero fics in the tag." however that is somewhat out of our hands.

so the real, actual solution is… be the change you wish to see. this is not a very satisfying answer. believe me. beLIEVE me. i understand. but after MONTHS OF LABOR³ i'm starting to see the fruits of my rareishpair efforts and i believe you can too. take your character insights and flesh them out a bit, string a couple anecdotes into a narrative (optional), add some illustrative visuals, boom. mayafritzes' janholger post totally sold me and i think a lot of other people! (would loooove to read jannik/holger/invisible presence of carlos alcaraz fic.) of the ships you mention i would particularly enjoy seeing you or someone else do this for ben/carlos. :D if you can seed the ground with a fic that also helps. 

sorryyyyy i realize you're just venting and not asking for either deep analysis or action items. this is the risk of coming to my askbox though. 😔 best of luck finding food that is better suited to your palate, i hope you don't have to cook it ALL for yourself. :(

--

¹ this is a strategy that is destined to fail btw. which makes it especially appealing (meta)narratively. they built a statue of us / and they put it on a mountaintop…

² re: jannik: i am actually totally on the same page with you in that i think he VERY much wouldn't be comfortable around carlos. the difference is that i think that just makes the fic potential more interesting. SORRYYYYYYYY.

³ obviously this is exaggeration for comedic effect… to a point. people here were shipping it already and it's the fact that i did see a brief discussion in the ferru tag that finally pushed me get on tumblr instead of just pour all my thoughts directly into bff texts. but the discussion had yet to produce fic. so, rolls up sleeves. hasn't escaped me that fic #5 is yet to appear tho.

[my-unorthodox-life]

okay can i vent for a minute? get real personal with all y'all?

i've been a tumblr user since i got my first tablet at age 12, over a decade of having at least one active blog (usually more) so it's safe to say i've both gotten my fair share of hate and found ways of using this app to benefit me and keep me detached from this hate

currently i have 4 active blogs, my main where i do the typical reblogging and updates on my fanfics, this one where i post like a proper blog and reblog jewish things that matter to me, my mental health recovery blog where i talk about my eating disorder and ptsd, and my adult one where i reblog fun sexy stuff and chat about the struggles of dating as sex positive people with trauma.

all very important to me and all have various levels of anonymity when it comes to knowing about me as a person. some have my name, some a nickname, one just my age. plus various tidbits so people know what to expect from my posts and what we can chat about, basic blog rules essentially

in the past few months as antisemitism has gotten more and more common place i of course get more anon hate, i don't turn of inboxes since i do get nice stuff from time to time, and that's kind of the territory of running a blog (i had a trans rights one in the age of kalvin garrah, i think i'll live)

out of those four blogs the one that gets the most antisemitic messages, i mean full paragraphs of truly vile ramblings that read like a nazi fever dream, is the one for my mental health recovery. a blog that i block all but mutuals on, meaning either a stranger or someone i've interacted with is sending these messages

i've started replying to them, cause i feel if they want to be mean and make a fool of themselves i might as well let everyone see (poor guy keeps sending me weird reviews of "my" wattpad fics. i've never had a wattpad account but this doesn't seem to stop him), but what gets me is that blog has the least personal information on it. no name or nickname, no hobbies or interests listed, nothing about what i do for work beyond "pet care", and the only mention of my religion or politics was one post that joking about how my mental health often gets worse around the high holy days (very demure, very mindful)

and yet that's the blog that gets straight up death threats, not even disguised as anything else, just straight up calling me a pig who deserves to burn. not the personal blog where i've posted about israel and palestine, or about dating while religious, or hell even this one that might as well be a "i'm a sensitive jewish minded person! thoughts?" blog.

no the one blog that people feel safe harassing is the nondescript recovery and relapse blog. that's where people feel comfortable.

and it makes me sad, not because of what was said, but because it *was* said. that there's people out there comfortable enough in their bigotry to go up to someone and spew vile hate like it's nothing, but only of course if they can't put a name or face to the person they're talking to

what this reminds me of is when i was in high school i had an art teacher who didn't stand for antisemitic jokes, and there were a lot in my school. one day a kid just asked him "Mr.Dexter, are you a jew?" and his response really stuck with me. he said "It doesn't matter, maybe I am, maybe I used to be, maybe my wife is. But you shouldn't not say mean things just because you don't want to get in trouble, you shouldn't say them because you know it's wrong. If you didn't know, you wouldn't ask."

and i think that really sums up all these trolls i've seen running through jewish blogs or even ones that casually mention it, they know it's wrong but the aren't saying it to a jewish face, they're just saying it to the idea of judaism

these people wouldn't walk up to you on the street and look you up and down and say half of what they feel comfortable typing, but here where they can not only hide their face, but seek out a target that has hidden their own they've found a way to give themselves free reign to say and do whatever they want. to them it's not a person on the other side of the screen, it's the strawman caricature of a jewish person, out here just for them to yell at to get whatever anger they have out of their system

of course there are some people who would say truly despicable things to a random person on the street, but cmon is that person really on tumblr hunting through buzz words to send hate?

anyways i know the compassionate thing to do would be to pray for them to heal what's hurting them so bad, but yanno what, they can suffer a bit first

[homecomingvn]

Hey everyone! It's, uh, it's certainly been a minute.

If my brief return a few months ago and then radio silence yet again is any indicator, I'm sure most of y'all probably know where this is going.

HOMECOMING, as of now (and for the indefinite future) is going to be on hiatus, and maybe discontinued.

This project initially started out as a silly idea, a culmination of my love for the yandere vn community and the wonderful games it has created, and my original plot and cast of characters. In the beginning, I was trucking along, working on scripts, planning out routes, spending hours of research on coding and how to get this thing up and running. Not to mention, the attention my silly lil project garnered was a lot. At least to me. I've had a semi popular writing blog before, and was no stranger to inbox asks, and how they pile up, or the notes that popular posts can get.

I was far too ambitious in all honesty, and once the glitz and glamor of a new project wore off, I hit a massive wall. Hard. It seemed that to actually work on HOCO was much like pulling teeth - whether it was writing, drawing, or even *thinking* about it, I found myself sinking further and further into a imposter syndrome of sorts.

And well, I guess making this announcement is sort of proving it right.

Even so, I've always known when to take a step back, when to settle down -- and now, I'm just making it official. I owe you all at least that much.

The blog will be staying up - I have no plans to delete it in the slightest. I'll just log out of it most likely - I'll still be around on my personal tumblr, where I'll hopefully start being more active there again.

Nothing could have prepared me for just how much care, how much love you guys have shown HOCO - so much so, it's still hard to believe. All the fanart, the fanfic, the memes - they're all saved to my phone, in their own album. Thank you to all who have made amazing creations for my silly characters, as well as the countless asks y'all have sent - maybe one day I'll be able to answer all of them.

I really hope one day I can return to this project with fresh eyes -- I'm hoping real, substantial time away from it will help that process. There are other, personal projects that I've been doing that have helped that creative spark again, as well as indulging in traditional fandom activities, mostly fanart. Unfortunately, I think it's safe to say that my time in the Yan VN community is over for the time being, at least until/if I start working on HOCO again. (Or whenever I play the latest updates of 14DWY - I am the Leon Fan Club President after all ^^).

I've been rambling too long, and I think it's time to close this chapter for now. Thank you all again - and one last Henry for the road. They were there since the beginning of HOCO in 2019, so it feels right for them to be here at the end.

[luthnethril]

📓

Put "📓" or some other version of a book emojii into my inbox and i'll explain the plot of a fanfiction that I haven't written but I daydream about

one that's recurring and lives rent-free in my head even though it has barely any plot is a setting where the elves go to Valinor, but the Valar do not wage war on Melkor and imprison him into the Void, so he's just kind of. free out there because he ran off to hide and create Angband. Which is worse for the elves who remain in Beleriand and the Girdle of Melian is probably put up earlier. Anyway.

The main part of this fic idea is that we have Fëanor in Valinor with Nerdanel and his (so far) three kids with another one on the way living in the equivalent of an one-family caravan moving around every so often to explore more of Valinor's lands. They don't check in too often with Finwë and the palace due to a lack of a postal service in the middle of nowhere and anyway at some point in the early noontide of Valinor baby Maedhros is like. 40 years old, baby Maglor is like 20 while Celegorm is the equivalent of a very excited toddler and Caranthir is still an idea in the womb.

They've settled just outside this forest up North and one day Maedhros and Maglor are out playing/exploring the forest (bc, yk, this was the land where they were all going to be perfectly safe forever) when Maedhros picks up that there's something Wrong™; like perhaps a chill, or some more darkness than is usual in the North so far away from the Two Trees.

Now, at this point they do live in a Melkor-free Valinor, but because Melkor hasn't been imprisoned there are more thoughts spared for the elves who remained in Beleriand (and thought to be all dead) and Fëanor as well as Maedhros and Maglor have grown up with stories of the Dark Rider and the Journey West from Cuiviénen, so Maedhros feels the air shift and thinks. I've heard of this happening before.

So, he makes Maglor hide inside a tree trunk and tells him they're going to 'play a game' where he has to stay hidden in the tree humming the "don't notice me" song enchantment he's perfected for hiding from Nerdanel when she wants to make them do chores and make no sound at all or get out no matter what until Maedhros tells him it's okay to come out.

(Maglor has not picked up that anything's wrong with the forest, but he's picked up that his brother is worried and he's getting more scared every time Maedhros refuses to tell him what's going on).

Anyway, point is, Maglor does as he's told and hides and Maedhros goes as far away from the tree as he can trying to make sense of what's going on and then. Melkor shows up. He appears as an extension of the darkness, more solid and bottomless eating up the forest that existed behind him before he showed up, with sharp, visible teeth and glowing red eyes. No body, just solid clouds of light-blocking darkness surrounding small Maedhros.

Small Maedhros, with all the bravery that knowing Maglor is hiding behind him gives him, looks up at Melkor and lies. He plays dumb, he asks to know who he is, why he's here and lets Melkor underestimate him to make sure the Vala never suspects Maglor is also there and as vulnerable as Maedhros himself is. He tells Melkor that he has to get back to his father because he promised his brother he's take him out to play in the forest. That he's alone here and he needs to get back.

Melkor finds baby Maedhros very entertaining and does not suspect that he's being lied to by a child of Valinor and tries to trick/convince Maedhros to go with him, that he'll take him back to his family when 'we'll play a game' does not work. Maedhros insists that he knows the way back and doesn't need any help, thank you. Eventually Melkor runs out of patience and when Maedhros runs away from him reaches out with more darkness and shrouds Maedhros with it, taking him away.

The darkness goes away and the forest returns to normal. Fëanor, pregnant Nerdanel and baby Celegorm go out to find Maedhros and Maglor; they only find Maglor inside the tree when he passes out and stops singing the enchantment. They don't find Maedhros.

They pack up everything and ride back to Valinor to tell Finwë what's going on. Maglor wakes up on the way but he's in no state to say anything; his eyes are wide and he's shaking and he starts crying silently and humming the enchantment again and it takes Nerdanel hours to convince him he's safe now, at which point Maglor slumps against her, catatonic, and does not say anything else.

(Needless to say that Fëanor, scared shitless, is having an absolutely horrible time).

Finwë sends an army of search parties out North with Fëanor, but they never find a trace of Maedhros except the little copper eight-pointed star brooch with the red ruby in the middle Fëanor made for Maedhros when he was born and Maedhros dropped on the ground on purpose. They send people to Mahanaxar to ask the Valar for help. Maglor, scared and not talking, barely moving, tells Celegorm enough about the 'darkness' that took Maedhros that when Celegorm relays it to his parents and Finwë and Indis, everyone knows what exactly it was that took Maedhros.

They never find him. The Valar are all very sorry, but they can't do anything about it. Melkor shouldn't have been able to come into Valinor, just don't go up so far from the Trees again. It should be fine. It will never happen again.

Not really much plot after that actually. I've been thinking a lot about Fëanor's sons and their cousins growing up and Maglor being the only one who remembers Maedhros because he was the only one old enough to, Celegorm remembers him vaguely. None of their cousins have met Maedhros; Caranthir and the rest of the brothers are born and grow up with the knowledge that they have a brother Maedhros who's gone which their parents don't talk about (Nerdanel starts crying even as she tries to tell them about Maedhros so they'll know and Fëanor's face goes terrifyingly blank and the air sizzles around him so they never dare to ask). Maglor is always sad and melancholy and prone to shouting when people choose to forget Maedhros ever existed and his brothers minus Celegorm don't really connect with him because Maglor is making minimal effort to communicate in turn.

Eventually Maglor puts up a play/musical that's just what happened that day when Maedhros disappeared and that's the first time anyone really finds out how that went down and why Maglor feels so guilty and responsible about it in a way everyone thought up to then that made no sense/was just the trauma of meeting the Dark Rider. Maglor makes sure the costume for Melkor does justice to the terrifying embodiment of darkness with teeth and glowing eyes he saw as a child, which disturbs everyone greatly.

It makes the Valar very uncomfortable.

I had an idea of Fëanor obsessing over the idea of saving his son, never letting go or admitting that Maedhros is probably dead like Míriel and holding on to his grief and anger like it's the only thing keeping him from fading. Perhaps even going to Angband in secret to rescue Maedhros.

Another idea involves Maedhros being Melkor's personal favourite prisoner and being kept alive, meeting some of Mahtan's of Finwë's relatives in Angband, perhaps even escaping by himself when Melkor and Sauron are not there? Like I said, there's not much concrete plot besides the main idea here.

[yan-randomfandom]

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

I wish you guys nothing but the best! Please take care of yourself (⁠っ⁠˘⁠з⁠(⁠˘⁠⌣⁠˘⁠ ⁠)♡ Let's go thru more & more years!!

Also, I decided to do a summary post for every end of a year! I'll be talking about the fandoms I've written for, my experience with them & list of anons!! (our own personal wrapped lol)

If you don't remember me, I write yandere, or not, stories for a bunch of characters!! :D

2024 — This one is special because it's the first year -4°

You just gotta Keep Reading 😺

[If you don't wanna be tagged, please tell me!]

— ⚠️

Gravity Falls!!!

STANLEY PINES.

Remember that name. If not, then I will. He's my very first muse to write for, who eventually gets posted on Tumblr. I owe this man my life, so thank goodness he's not real 😭

The GF fandom... gosh... my first tumblr fandom interaction, and I love you guys. So much. You're all so engaging, encouraging, endearing, and every other positive 'E' adjective that can describe you all!! 💛

I had so much fun writing the characters, geez.... Stan, Ford, the twins... AAARRGHH I MISS THEM

But you guys also made me realize how much I struggle at writing part 2s for one-shots LOL Having said that... there's a lot of requests I haven't answered, and ones that I was going to, but unfortunately lost motivation. And I rlly wish I could 😮‍💨 I'm sorry guys! but they're still safe in my inbox!

You're all so supportive and active, it makes me wanna cry 😭 My fics received so much wonderful arts and I just love how creative you all are 💕💕 [Godling!Reader was so loved!!]

ARTIST LIST:

@tyrannastar

@ctghost

@thebrokenmechanicalpencil

@thewaywardwanderer

ANON LIST:

Ikan anon

™️ anon

🐲 anon

🪴 anon

PLEASE TELL ME IF I MISSED YOU 😭 I DONT MEAN TO 😭 i fr just realized how messy my navigation is .. still, thank you all for stopping by my blog!! omg!!

TOTAL FICS: 18

— 🧚

Fairly Oddparents: A New Wish

PERI FAIRYWINKLE-COSMA.

I searched for "yandere peri x reader" and i remember seeing nothing 😩 that was lowk a surprise—so I had to do a traditional method of 'write what u want to read' LOL

This might be the most chill fandom ever and it's so endearing (⁠´⁠ε⁠｀⁠ ⁠) I loved writing for you guys, genuinely!!

My first ever request came from you guys too, specifically saying "More yandere peri" WHAHHAHAH REAL— LET'S BE VERY HOPEFUL AND PRAY FOR SEASON TWO OKAY GUYS???

We only have one named anon for this fandom— 💘ficto anon !! You're also my very first named anon ... heheh (⁠ʃ⁠ƪ⁠＾⁠3⁠＾)♥️

TOTAL FICS: 10

— ✨

Arcane

EKKO.

I love this guy, but I didn't expect to write and post him as my first arcane fic 😭 THE BOY SAVIOR FR!! MY INSPIRATION

This is the most miserable fandom I've been active in 😭 Arcane show is leaving us in pieces and its showing by y'alls comments LMAOOOO

But this is also. the hardest fandom i wrote for. ngl. the characters.... the world building... I had to wait for the whole season to come out just because,,, pulls my hair out in a very demure way

I wish I could have written more for you guys but I had a specifically busy month with Arcane rippp ｡⁠:ﾟ⁠(⁠;⁠´⁠∩⁠`⁠;⁠)ﾟ⁠:⁠｡

I CANT BELIEVE I FORGOT BUT—— THAT ONE ANON WHO I RECOMMENDED @reareaotaku TO OMG!! that was lowkey amazing and even better that u actually did it rea !! lets goooooo

There are no named anons unfortunately, but I did name some myself!

ANON LIST:

Mage anon

Age Gap anon

Jinx anon

I think Age Gap anon is the same one as some of my other reqs, hi anon XD u keep coming back wahahah—so sorry i couldn't fulfill all your requests tho 😭 ESPECIALLY your Viktor requests. I had to stop because idk,, it felt like i was doing something wrong w Vik's character every time I tried 😔

— HOWEVER, i have a bunch of drafts. kinda long tbh, you can personally message me if u want to read them :)

And Jinx anon, I'll hopefully get back to your request someday.... I wanna take it more seriously this time ⊙⁠.⁠☉

TOTAL FICS: 10

— ⛏️

Minecraft Story Mode

ROMEO, THE ADMIN.

Bruh this guy LMAOOOO He was just so pathetic in the game that I had to write for him (⁠.⁠ ⁠❛⁠ ⁠ᴗ⁠ ⁠❛⁠.⁠)

This is the smallest fandom I wrote for, but it did get four requests! By 💘ficto anon following me from FOPANW,

and @skykaykay !! had 2 more additional parts with Romeo 🛐 glad u liked it enough to request for more 😭

For the yandere!Aiden, we got fanart from @sumthinganarchy ! Here's the link, and gosh... I'm pretty sure you're 💘ficto anon (tell me if you want me to not mention it!) and I just want you to know that,, thank you for sticking around 🙂‍↕️

AND LASTLY, an unreleased request—Isa, the founder. It's written, but incomplete still!! i'll post it this january 2025 🫡 btw anon yes i love your energy too WHAHAHAHA

TOTAL FICS: 4 (+1)

— 🥠

Independent

We got two requests for fandoms I'm not exactly in, but did see!

That would be...

Tinkerbell

Cars

The Amazing Digital Circus

By these two anons...

Nyx anon, who requested for, well, Nyx and another for Ada Wong! It sucks that idk resident evil so I'm not confident enough to do it😭 AND,,, SCOUTFAIRY READER X NYX,,, IM SORRRRYYYYYY but if you're still interested you can remind me !! i might be able to.... yesss....

Anon that did not name themself, but I'm naming them to 👑 anon. Hilariously requested for Finn McMissile and I don't know why I didn't question WHO it would be 😭 (i know her irl. sigh)

Now for TADC, I'm actually in the fandom but only made one work for it. Absolutely spontaneous after hearing the music video of "Happy Place" it's a fun listen and watch btw, I recommend it if you like TADC!! the actual voice actors are there!

And after allat,

Thank you so much for reading my writing, everyone :D Made a lot of good memories this year, and hopefully my work did the same for you!

I have a lot more to say but my brain suddenly forgot everything I wanted to say, so now I'm speechless.

But, I'm also planning to become a bit more,,, inactive? hiatus-ish? in this account to focus on my bigger projects. only getting to post spontaneous writing rn

However, requests are still sort of open, and you can see my active fandoms in my sideblog, @pokepokee !!

I'm so much more active there!!! I reblog all of the fandoms I'm in.

Although for requests, it's going to be more rare for me to answer now. Just keep them coming though, who knows, I might suddenly have an idea.

Thanks for your support! Happy new year!!

[steventhusiast]

Take your pick:

+ Heist AU

+ Fantasy AU

+ Soulmates AU

Look, I really like AUs.

Thank you if you do one!! ❤️❤️

hi! i'll dooooo soulmates au :D take this rambly lil mess. also sorry this took so long, i forgot about the prompts in my inbox oops

-

The scariest thing about finding your soulmate is the possibility of being wrong. Or, it's been the scariest thing for Eddie, anyway.

For some people, it's easy; Gareth's soulmark is on his forearm, so it's visible all the time, and it's also so unique and specific- Eddie's certainly never seen anyone else with something as specific as a lobster holding a scythe for a soulmark. Maybe Gareth's soulmate is super into fishing and also is a goth? Or a farmer? He hasn't met them yet, but when he does! He'll at least know for sure that they're his soulmate.

But for Eddie? He has a simple cartoon-ish sunshine on his upper abdomen within a larger circle. So he's always wondered, how will he know? For certain, he means. Surely anyone can be associated with sunshine.

Then he meets Steve. Sunshine personified.

And he spends the first few months of knowing him uncertain. They have chemistry, sure, and Steve is... bright. Like, lights up a room as soon as he enters, perfect smile, eyes sparkling no matter how he's feeling, can cheer anyone up with a little shoulder nudge and a soft 'you okay?' kind of bright.

Eddie just can't be wrong about this. Because his parents were wrong, and look where they ended up. Unhappy, unloved, and dead. (Maybe not directly, but still). They weren't right for each other and they realised too late that the angel wings on his dad's shoulder weren't for his mom, and the devil horns on his mom's shoulder weren't for his dad. But by then Eddie had already been born, so they stayed together, and everyone suffered for it.

He can't go through that. Not again. Not first-hand.

Even when he and Steve first start dating, Eddie finds himself holding back. It's like his heart is inside a safe with a padlock keeping it shut, and that safe is in a locked cage, and that locked cage is hidden at the back of his ribcage.

Obviously, because Steve is so lovely and the embodiment of light, he manages to find it. He gets past each layer of Eddie's defences until his heart is there on a platter for him, vulnerable and beating oh-so-fast.

But it's slow going.

When Steve reveals the soulmark on his upper abdomen, a simple crescent moon with a slightly larger icosagon behind it, it chips away at Eddie's defences a little. But only a little, because his parents thought their marks matched too.

When Eddie can't stop smiling around Steve, and finds himself gushing about him to his friends, they're chipped away at a little more. Little moments like that do most of the work.

But the final, final thing that unlocks that safe protecting his heart, is accepting that uncertainty. Maybe Eddie will never truly find out.

They're not his parents, though. They talk to each other when things are wrong, and neither of them leave unannounced for days at a time, and neither of them are addicted to hard drugs, and they're actually happy with each other. Like, truly happy in a way Wayne promises Eddie's parents never were.

Maybe Steve's not the universe-approved sunshine to Eddie's moonlight. But he's okay with that.

He'll love him anyway. Because when has Eddie Munson ever been about conforming to societal norms?

-

Got a prompt? Send it to me

[wolfjackle-creates]

1000 Follower Celebration!

I'm blown away, honestly. The last time I had any notoriety in a fandom was back in, like 2007 or 2008 when I was on the Dibbuns Against Bedtime fan forums for Redwall. I was made the head of my dorm as the site started dying because I was the most active member in said dorm.

But you all? You're here because you like something I'm making? It's so wild to me. I appreciate every single one of you. Every like, every reblog, every comment. They warm me up.

I've been thinking over the last few days what I want to do. The obvious answers—prompt fills, polls to determine what I write, story snippets—I do all that with too much regularity. And I'm trying to avoid taking on more fics as I focus on the ones I've already got going.

So we're gonna do something a bit different this week.

Over the next week (From Wed 2/21 to Wed 2/28) send me the title of one of my WIPs (listed below) and I will respond with a few paragraphs. Not my usual 1.2-1.6k that I like to do for WIP Wednesday, but a few paragraphs. At the end of the week, I'll compile them all and post everything in a single post.

I won't be adding all the links like I usually do with each addition to a story until I post that final draft, but I'll tag everything with "[story name] 1000" so you can click that and follow along with the fic in some sort of order.

There are six WIPs eligible for the game! Please limit yourself to one fic per ask, but you may send in multiple asks. I will request that, for now, you limit yourself to one request per fic (aka a max of 6 requests per person). If I find that I'm able to keep up, I may waive that request in the upcoming days. But it will depend on how busy my inbox (and life) get.

Bring Me Home

Ghost!Robin

Answer My Call

I'll Carry Your Heart (Until I Find You Again)

Want to Hold On and Feel I Belong/Bad Reveal AU

Empathy!Verse

I totally forgot about the Empathy!Verse when I did my last ask game. Mostly because that has been entirely written on Tumblr and I...kinda forgot to transfer it to a Scrivener document. Ooops. 😅

Something to Feel isn't on this list because I want to dedicate my time to it today. I'm close to the end, I think, and already have one ask in my inbox about it that I totally meant to get to before now (if it's your ask, I promise I haven't forgotten you!).

Brief Story Summaries

Bring Me Home: Tim and Danny are online friends and know each other's secrets. Currently in the arc where the Young Justice and Team Phantom help Danny escape after a reveal gone wrong.

Ghost!Robin: Jason is haunted by the ghost of the Robin he used to be. Danny finds out when Jazz introduces him to Jason over a meet-the-in-laws dinner. Currently, Jason and Robin are meeting with Frostbite to learn what may have happened.

Answer My Call: Jazz is sending texts to Danny after he escaped a GIW facility and they can't talk. But it turns out Jason is the one who's actually been getting them.

Carry Your Heart: Jason and Danny meet in the Ghost Zone while Jason is dead. They become friends. But Jason runs to Desiree to wish for his life back. A wish she fulfills. Danny goes to visit him, only to find his core left behind in a lair that's in ruin.

Bad Reveal AU: Danny is living with the Waynes when he finds out they're also the Bats. He freaks out because he believes the bats are working with the government (aka the GIW). So he shoots Bruce and runs away. The bats are now trying to convince him it's safe to come home.

Empathy!Verse: Liminal!Jazz is studying in Gotham and feeling the lack of other liminals to interact with. After getting used to the undercurrent of emotion that follows all interactions with ghosts/liminals, humans just feel...flat. Then one day, she literally runs into another liminal as she's going to the library. Jason Todd. Only... he doesn't know what it means to be liminal. So Jazz is there to show him.

[fangdokja]

Gonna use this poll to decide if I'll open Anonymous Requests. I doubt I'll open it, but let's see...

And, announcement, yes, I'll keep Anonymous Asks open for now. To be honest, I've gotten both positive comments and hate mail from people in general, both in Tumblr and Ao3. And, I was like, "It's starting." hahahaah

But I'm keeping my Anon Asks inbox open, because I want you all to be comfortable and welcome here. To have a safe space and not have to deal with annoyances of people reprimanding you or something.

I honestly aim to create a community where you can be yourself without fear of judgment as much as possible, to have a place that can comfort you and help you grow better. To process emotions, traumas, hardships, or even just having reading as a form of relaxation, in a safe environment. That's what I aim for.

I'm telling this now, because hate mail is starting already. Ofc automatic delete and block. But for me, what makes me mad (and I rarely get mad) is when people are put down, or their feelings are invalidated; just because you don't understand who they are, and what they're going through. I could care less what happens to me. But for all you Readers, to protect you all; I put my foot down, when it comes to people invalidating others, just because you don't understand them.

I never planned to do this at all. But, comments like this:

I wanted to say, that this is genuinely such a good description of emotions, abuse, and especially on the side with parent and child. This definitely had me relating to my past trauma's, but in a good way that I can recognize it. I never comment, but I genuinely wanted to let you know this and you as a creator are definitely one of my new favorites. Please keep this book up, it's giving me the courage to want to write yandere original character x reader fics. Which is very niche but this helps, also I'm just going to gush that I love your writing style. It's so descriptive without being overly wordy. It's clean and cut like a polished diamond. Clear, concise, with depth.

Or this:

This shit had me almost crying half way through lmao. Had to take a damn break to recover n then I cry in my dream😭I was nvr that mad at a character. This woman is an excuse of a mom. I usually don't comment often but this shit got me heeeated

Such comments give me new perspectives on this blog and my writing. It's not flattery, but a sense of responsibility and empathy for others.

I don't talk about what I've gone through; but I do understand what it means to go through darkness everyday of your life. To walk with death everyday of your life. (yes, Chrollo is extremely relatable to me)

And, I want you guys to know, whatever you're going through. Yes, as cliche as it sounds, you're not alone. Most may not understand, but dark content can be really therapeutic for certain people. To process things in a safe environment without fearing judgment.

And, I refuse to let people who do not understand that, who devalue and discriminate the hardships of others, to fester toxicity in this blog. I know everyone is going through something. I'm not mad at them either, and I pray that every one of you will see God one day. He's the only One worth living for anyway.

But, that doesn't mean I will allow toxic behavior here, actions and words meant to undermine another human's dignity.

Fiction and reality is different. Just because I write about it doesn't mean I condone it. It's like how thriller authors write about murder, but it doesn't mean they killed someone. Or how certain literatures like Shakespeare are read in schools, but that doesn't mean people want you to commit double suicide or incest.

Anyways, these haters don't read my content anyway, at least in actual context or maturely. And, I'm also non-confrontational in nature. I don't like fights nor arguments.

So I'd also appreciate a lot if you Readers also focus on just enjoying this blog without having to deal with toxic stuff. I'll handle it. Don't worry. :)) Just be the bigger fish as they say. No need to stoop down to their level, because these prideful people just crave attention and drama in reality. So, best to not engage them.

I'm telling this now for future preparations and references. I do not want any fighting in my blog, whether you're a long-time reader or a new reader. Those who disobey rules will be automatically blocked without question.

Ok, I'm saying this now, as a new promise to you all.

I hope you and I will stick together for a long time, to grow and develop to become better people. And, for all of us, together, to create a community where Readers can enjoy their stories without fear of judgment and toxicity.

New vision statement? haha, maybe.

Kind of a somewhat heavy real topic; but you know me, I want to be transparent about my intentions with this blog, writing, and community.

I hope you all understand. And, thank you all for the support thus far, this community wouldn't have grown without each of you pitching in to help. So, thank you, and God bless everyone. :))