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myosotisa · 1 year

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i'm starvin, darlin - e.m.

Eddie Munson x Reader

ǁ summary: Since coming back from the Upside Down, Eddie has slowly been changing. Each week seems to bring something different and he finds himself doing things he never thought he would.

ǁ tags: gender neutral reader, no pronouns, no y/n. nickname used (sweetheart). mentions of season 4 final episode and what occurred. canon divergent (every one lived). it's not smut, but smut adjacent. it's sexy

ǁ word count: 2k

ǁ notes: i sat down and wrote an entire one shot in one sitting again. and i am also not going to edit this one. and i do not feel bad for lowercase hozier title, so don't even try me like that. if y'all really like it, i can add a part 2 with smut, but this is it for now

There are still a lot of things Eddie is having to come to terms with since the night his heart stopped.

That night in the Upside Down, laying in Dustin’s arms, he had died. Without a doubt. Dustin had felt his pulse and there was nothing there. And though he didn’t know CPR, had no idea what he was doing, Dustin had laid him down on the ground and started to beat against his chest. Like maybe if he hit hard enough and in the right place, his friend would come back to life.

Somehow it worked. No one bothered to ask why.

But they all knew something was wrong two days later. Eddie, barely breathing and with a weak heartbeat, had been dragged back to the surface and hidden away in the RV they had stolen. Someone watched him round the clock as they debated what to do. If they should try to get him to a hospital, how they’d be able to explain it. But then something miraculous began to happen:

Eddie started healing. All on his own. Way faster than any person should have been able to.

His skin stitched itself back together faster than should be possible, leaving less scar tissue than it should have behind. His chest began to rise and fall in more steady breaths, his heart beat getting stronger, bones resetting themselves with slow and quiet creaks as he laid in that RV bed and slept. He’d been asleep since they brought him back.

The day he woke up, his body had almost entirely healed itself. From the brink of death, having even stepped over to the other side, and now he was almost back to before it ever happened. It had only been a week.

Everyone rejoiced, refusing to question anything weird that may have happened in the Upside Down and just thinking they finally won for once. Max had casts on both her arms but was otherwise unharmed, Steve had recovered from his own injuries at the rate of a normal human and now sported a scar around his throat that he sometimes felt self conscious about. Dustin was on crutches with his broken leg for another month at least. Eddie was alive and whole and back to himself. They’d made it, everyone had made it.

He began to notice more and more things that were different as the days went on.

The first thing he caught on to was that he had the capability to be strong. Way stronger than someone who had recently been bed ridden should be. It was like in the comic books with the Hulk – if he wasn’t paying attention or if he got too emotional, he could easily break anything. A walkman destroyed, a ceramic bowl reduced to shards, a metal pipe bent beyond fixing, the wooden handle of a hammer shattered in his grip. The boys were all present for the hammer incident and sighted it as one of the coolest things they had ever seen. They swarmed him, asking him how he did it, what else he could do, how strong he really was.

Only the other teens, Steve, Nancy, Robin, you, started to look a little bit closer.

When the next few changes became apparent, it was clear something unnatural had happened to Eddie that night in the Upside Down. He could feel other people's feelings. They brushed against his consciousness like ghosts whenever he looked at someone. Happiness like warm rays of sunshine, fear like a shuddering gust of wind, anger like hot coals pressed to his skin. It wasn’t a conscious effort – in fact, there were a lot of times he wished he could turn it off. Whenever he looked too hard at someone, it’s like his brain adjusted to a different frequency and their emotions reached out to him, no matter what they were. And he didn’t struggle to make sense of the sensations like he thought he might, his brain completed the dots easily at first, but then he began to recognize them consciously. It was certainly useful sometimes, especially when it came to you, but it still felt a bit invasive. When he’d explained it to a few people, he assured he tried to ignore it whenever he could, but sometimes he couldn’t help but react. The icey spike of terror he felt when you woke up next to him from a nightmare. The velvet comfort that enveloped you and him when he held you after.

The first time he spoke into someone’s mind it was an accident. Steve had whipped toward him, breath catching in his chest, eyes wide and mouth open in a gasp. Eddie felt it like ice down his spine. “Did you… You did that?” He’d asked breathlessly. It had been so shocking, Eddie wasn’t even sure what’d he said, or projected, or whatever it was.

“I - I don’t know.”

Steve stepped closer, suddenly looking determined. “Try to do it again.”

It was a slithering feeling when he dipped back into Steve’s mind. Like sliding his way in between cracks to a place he didn’t belong, seeping into the forefront of his thoughts to plant one of his own. It made him feel dirty, uncomfortable, and wrong. But it worked. Steve explained it as having a thought like his own but it came out in Eddie’s voice instead. An intrusive thought but not an uncomfortable one.

As with all of the other discoveries, a meeting was called. Dustin, Mike, Lucas, Max, Will, El, Robin, Jonathan, Nancy, Steve, and you. Steve did most of the talking while Eddie sat and looked at his hands. These meetings, while he acknowledged were important for everyone to keep track of his progression into… something, it still made him feel a bit like a zoo animal in a cage. A magician with a magic trick. All the boys immediately begged him to do it to them, they wanted to see what it felt like, wanted to see how easy it was for him to do it.

Nancy and Jonathan had shooed them, catching on to how overwhelmed Eddie was, their excitement and curiosity battering against him like a whipping wind of too much. Once it was just the older people in the room, you crossed over to where he was, kneeled down in front of him, reached out to hold his hand.

Pity felt like someone was pissing in his pants.

“Are you okay?”

How could he say no? How could he admit that he was scared, confused, and feeling more and more like a monster with the passing days? “It’s just a lot. To deal with.”

Your smile was pained as you pushed yourself up onto your calves and wrapped your arms around his shoulders. His came around your waist on instinct, the breath feeling like a wheeze in his lungs as he held tight. Face pressed into your hair with his eyes squeezed shut, he inhaled deep in relief.

That was when the next thing changed.

It was a desire. A need. One he couldn’t place a name to. Like he was desperately missing something, desperately craving something and he didn’t know it was. It crawled under his skin like ants and sent him scratching for a feeling that couldn’t be satiated. No matter what he tried: eating, drinking, masturbating, exercising. The feeling wouldn’t go away. It got stronger day after day, his mind focusing more and more on the void it left behind until it was all he could think about.

Steve threw a little get together at his house once a month or so. Just time for everyone to get together, eat some food, listen to music, play board games, maybe watch a movie. This was the first get together since his hunger began.

He was sitting on the couch on his own, decompressing. While normally he was right in the middle of everything, today it was a lot to handle when he was hyperfocused on the crawling beneath his skin. He had his legs spread wide, hands resting on them, leaning deep into the cushions of the couch in Steve’s basement. While he had initially tried to close his eyes, hang his head back, maybe stare at the ceiling – he couldn’t stop his attention from drifting back to you.

You and Eddie had been friends for a long time. Understandably, you’d gotten much closer after the events in March. The two of you had helped each other through hard nights of nightmares, panic attacks in parking lots, flashbacks in public. You’d been a great comfort to him since he came back. But today your laugh sounded like music. The smell of your perfume hit him even across the room. Each emotion crashed over him in waves, pushing and receding like the tide as he tried to get off your frequency, unentangle himself from you before he did something he didn’t mean to do.

I’m starving.

Your back stiffened, the grip on your plastic cup getting just a bit tighter. A moment of fear quickly shifted to mellowed surprise, curiosity. He’d never spoken into your mind before, hadn’t meant to do so now. But you still shifted, your eyes slowly coasting across the room until you caught sight of him on the couch.

A shock of electricity shot down his spine as you made eye contact, his hands tightening over his thighs in reaction. Unsure exactly what to do, he settled for projecting again. Slithered his way into your ears and settled a respectful distance from the area he’d never been brave enough to venture. Sorry, he offered with a wince, didn’t mean to.

What he didn’t expect was the utter flood of feeling that hit him next. Like a drip of warm honey settling into the space between his hips, pooling there in a subtle swirl as the warmth from it started to diffuse outward. You realized you’d been staring and your eyes flit away, but the feeling didn’t cease. In fact, it only got stronger. Your lower lip caught on your teeth as you shifted between your feet. Things that would be completely normal to see, wouldn’t have anyone looking twice, but Eddie could. Your desire. The want that poured from you like water when your eyes first met his.

Was this the first time? Had something changed between you and him? Or had he just never caught on before?

The ants beneath his skin began to vibrate as he narrowed in on the feeling, on you. Like the part of him that had slithered into your thoughts was now bearing down, digging in for purchase, wanting to stay awhile and feed on this new feeling, what you were offering. It didn’t even occur to him what he was doing, how invasive it might be, how wrong he normally would have felt. All he knew is that it felt like licking at the thing he’d been craving for so long and he was helpless to chase after it.

Sweetheart. It came easy as breathing now, teeth sunk into your consciousness from where you stood across the room. You whirled on him again, another flood of warmth hitting him deep as you leaned your hip against the counter you were standing next to and focused on him. What’s got you so worked up?

He couldn’t even consider how bold he was suddenly being, the fear that he might ruin this friendship well out of his grasp. Especially when your embarrassment spiked along with the want, the pool of warmth now suddenly coming to life to have a heartbeat of its own. Your eyes widened, shifting on your feet again as you broke eye contact. It only took a few moments before you couldn’t help but look back at him again. The buzzing settled further, now like a purr beneath his skin. It was bearable as long as you kept your eyes on him.

You wanna do something about it?

thanks for reading, please reblog and leave a comment if you liked it!

#eddie munson x you #eddie munson x reader #eddie munson smut #eddie munson fluff #eddie munson hurt/comfort #eddie munson fanfic #eddie munson fanfiction #eddie munson imagine #eddie munson imagines #eddie munson blurb #eddie munson blurbs #stranger things fanfic #stranger things fanfiction #myos ideas #vampire!Eddie munson #kas!eddie munson #myo4munson

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goldenempyrean · 3 months

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An Icy Plunge

〚 Notes - Life's been busy! New job, exams, writers block (only for sickfics too which is beyond annoying) but here's a little something which I thought of while rewatching BlackWidow an hour or so ago - I did sob at the end credits of course.. 〛

〚 Pairing - Natasha Romanoff x Reader 〛

〚 Summary - As a result of falling into the icy Norwegian waters, Nat ends up getting sick as you two make your way to Budapest. 〛

〚 Wordcount - 1400 〛

〘 Check Out My Masterlist! 〙

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“I told you we should’ve tried to get you warmed up properly.” You sighed quietly, more to yourself then anything as Nat sniffled softly. Her head resting on your shoulder as the pair of you sat at the back of a crowded train carriage.

It had been almost 2 days since both you and Natasha were ambushed by an unknown person on your drive into town. Nat had taken the brunt of their attack, in turn, getting herself kicked off a bridge, plunging down into the icy Nordic waters below.

She was fine for the most part, only a handful of bruises which all things considered, she got away pretty lucky. But there’d been a picture attached to the glowing band of red vials that she’d stashed in her pockets and by the time you had made your way down to the riverside to help her out of the water, Nat had already come up with a plan.

You were going to Budapest.

You hadn’t wanted to pry too much; she had told you it had something to do with her sister, but you didn’t know all the exact details – you still had some questions. All you knew was that Budapest was the place Nat thought she’d get the answers to her own questions, so that was where you were going.

With both yourself and Natasha being global fugitives, getting to Budapest wasn’t as simple as hopping on board the first commercial plane. You were going to have to do this the hard way. It had taken almost half an hour to walk your way to the nearest town from the river, by the time you arrived, Nat was shivering helplessly beside you.

The temperate was already in the low minuses as it was, but that icy water must’ve been excruciatingly cold. Even with your jacket draped over her, it was clear to see she was freezing.

“Do you think we should stay in a hostel or something for the night? You’ll get hypothermia if you stay in those clothes. We can leave at first light.” You had offered as the two of you made your way deeper into the town, passing by a small convenience store.

Natasha seemed to debate your offer, nodding her head after a moment as she fought back another shiver, “Yeah, that’s probably best.” She agreed, before looking around and pointing to a charity shop in the distance, “They’ll sell clothes in there, can you go get us a bed?” She asked, nodding back at an inn you’d walked past earlier.

You agreed with Natasha's plan, and she headed towards the shop while you made your way to the inn. The place seemed quaint from the outside, but you couldn't shake the feeling that it might be a little too rustic for comfort. However, beggars couldn't be choosers, and you hoped it would at least provide a warm bed for the night.

The innkeeper was a gruff-looking man who eyed you suspiciously as you inquired about a room for the night. "We got a room, but don't expect any luxury here. No hot water tonight, and the heating is barely working," he warned.

Well, you had a bed atleast.

The innkeeper handed you a key, and you made your way up the creaky staircase to find your room. The space was small and dimly lit, with a single window covered by thin curtains that did little to keep out the harsh cold.

You had a double bed so that was a positive you’d supposed. It was honestly comical the amount of times you and Nat had to share a small single bed together, but it wasn’t like you minded that anyway. Talking of Nat, she’d only been 10 minutes or so behind. Shuffling into the room with some rough but warmer looking clothes bundled under her arm.

“Get what you needed love?” You asked, as she began to strip out of her soaked clothes.

“The pants aren't exactly my style, but they’ll be better than these,” She sighed, taking her new clothes and heading into the tiny attached bathroom, “I’ll try hang these wet ones to dry.”

When she came out, she looked more like herself, although the lingering chill was still evident in her eyes. "I could really use a hot shower right about now." she mumbled, rubbing her pale hands together in an attempt to generate some warmth.

"Sorry about that," you apologised sympathetically, "The guy at the desk mentioned there's no hot water tonight. I can go check out town a little to see if there’s anywhere, you’d be able to get one, clothes can only do so much to warm you up."

She shook her head, “You don’t need to do that. I’ll be fine.” Natasha sighed, but she didn't complain. Instead, she walked over to the bed and crawled under the covers, fully dressed. You joined her, wrapping your arms around her to share body heat. The cold from the room made the close contact comforting rather than stifling.

The night passed with the two of you huddled together for warmth. The room, despite its lack of amenities, did provide some respite from the biting cold outside. The next morning, you awoke to the soft light filtering through the thin curtains and the sound of Natasha stirring beside you.

"Morning," you greeted, rubbing the sleep from your eyes.

Natasha groaned in response, her voice sounding hoarse and congested. "Morning,"

Your brow creased in worry at the sound of her voice, “You don’t sound too good honey, I knew we should’ve gotten you into a hot shower.” Your hand came to cup her face, your thumb drawing soft circles on her subtly flushed cheeks.

Natasha shifted uncomfortably, her hand reaching up to touch her forehead. "I'll be fine," She tried to offer a weak smile but was quickly replaced by a damp sneeze. It’s probably just a little cold. Besides, we can't afford to stay here too long anyway. We need to get to Budapest," she insisted

Despite Natasha's insistence that she would be fine, it was clear that she wasn't in the best shape. She sniffled and shivered under the covers; her body temperature higher than it should be. Still, she pushed herself to get up.

"I'll be alright," she reassured you, her voice wavering slightly. "Let's get going. We can't afford to waste any more time."

You reluctantly agreed, helping her gather her things and head downstairs. The innkeeper gave you both a sceptical look as you settled the bill, and you couldn't help but feel a pang of guilt for not being able to pay for a more comfortable stay. Nevertheless, you and Natasha made your way to the bus station, where you boarded a bus bound for the nearest train station.

The bus had dropped you off at a larger town where you had to transfer to a train. The train station was bustling with people all rushing about, and you held Nat’s hand as the pair of you navigated through the crowds before coming to a ticket stand where you both bought tickets to take you to the border, from there you’d have to take a ferry to get into mainland Europe then another 2 or 3 trains to finally arrive in Budapest. It wasn’t a direct journey by any means, the several stops, long distances and changes meant it was going to take a few days to get there at the minimum.

This had led you to where you were now. A couple hours or so into your long journey to the border with Nat resting on your shoulder, small stuffy breaths coming from her parted lips.

She sneezed suddenly, a sharp sound that seemed to startle even herself. She looked at you with a mix of surprise and irritation, as if the sneeze had betrayed her.

You couldn't help but chuckle softly. "Bless you," you said, leaning down to press a gentle kiss on her forehead. The skin felt warm against your lips, and you couldn't ignore the worry gnawing at you. Natasha sighed, leaning into your touch for a moment.

"Thanks," she mumbled, her voice still raspy. "I hate being sick."

"I know, love," you replied, brushing a strand of hair away from her face. "Once we get to the border, we'll find a pharmacy or something but for now just try to catch up on some sleep, okay?”

“We’ve got a long journey ahead of us.”

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#natasha romanoff x reader #natasha romanoff x fem!reader #natasha romanoff #natasha romanoff x y/n #natasha romanoff x you #natasha romanoff fanfic #sickfic #fluff #whump #comfort #marvel #mcu #natasha romanoff sickfic #natasha romanoff fluff #natasha x reader #natasha romanoff comfort

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mewtwoandme · 2 months

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Well, it's now March. I think it's safe to say I've officially come back from my art hiatus, considering I've been working on Part 3 of the baby arc for the last few days now lol. I've been making decent progress, still far from being completely sketched out, but I'm getting closer to the end. I've been debating on outlining and finishing up Part 2 and some Siv shenanigan wips I've left sitting around before the hiatus, just to move the arc along quicker. I might still do that, but as of now, my main focus is to see how much progress I can make with Part 3.

...I do feel the need to apologize. I know that due to IRL life stuff and other things, my plans to have this arc done have been heavily interfered with. But it's refreshing to know that yall are still hype for it and still ask about it now and then ^^ Though some of it is my fault too, Part 3 is turning out to be very LENGTHY, with currently 13 pages and 75+ panels in total....I did this to myself ^^; It's a bit too late to reconsider my life choices though. I'm already too deep into the thick of it to turn back now XD Due to how long this comic is, I may need to find a place to split it. So instead of the Baby Arc being only 4 chapters like I originally intended, it may end up being 5 but we'll see.

Also, going forward, as far as posting other art like shitposts or ask related works, that stuff still might be far and few in between while I'm working on the arc. Buuuuut, if there are certain days I get tired of sketching for the arc, I may shift my attention to short shitposts/ask art here and there to mix it up a little XD

She's not having a good time :(

#mod speaks #update #wip #comic wip #sneak peek

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theribbonmarkedroom · 10 months

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11 quick(ish) things I learned from my first read-through of the ATSV art book:

1) Jeff was promoted to police chief because of his “cordial relationship” with Spider-Man (which makes things so much worse)

2) the creative team from the movie were directly inspired by the spidersonas people made when Into the Spider-Verse came out (especially when creating new Spider Heroes)

3) the immediate colors of Gwen’s world are based on her mood “She’s kind of like a mood ring, and whatever she’s experiencing is expressed in the color of that scene” (I say immediate because it’s mentioned that anything she’s not directly focused on gets pushed to the back in terms of colors, so the backgrounds are more muted at times while the main part of the scenes are more vibrant)

4) idk if this was in the comics because I don't follow any of the comics, but Pavitir got his powers “from a mystical shaman” and was not bitten by a radioactive spider

5) the book refers to Earth-42 Miles as Miles G. Morales (like Peter B. Parker) & “We wanted to create a world where it felt like Aaron and Miles G. Morales of Earth-42 [this reality’s counterpart to Miles] are the only heroes”

6) Peter B. is “a stay at home dad” (besides the spider society stuff of course)

7) LYLA is an acronym for “Lyrate Lifeform Approximation” (and she is also “Miguel’s closest friend” and maybe even his only friend)

8) Miguel has a personal journal that LYLA helps record entries for

9) Kemp Powers (the director) describes Hobie as “much older” than Miles. I bring this up since there’s been some debate about his age in the film for a while but the art book doesn't give anything more specific than that

10) Spider-Byte “thinks Miles is kind of cute” (which is obvious from the film but I think it’s funny how it’s brought up in relation to the reasons why she helped Miles escape Miguel)

11) There’s a deleted scene from the film where Spot goes to The Bar With No Name and has some interactions with some familiar villains and the bartender (won’t say too much about it since I’m assuming the scene will show up in the blu ray)

#across the spiderverse #atsv #miles morales #gwen stacy #hobie brown #spider punk #pavitr prabhakar #spider man india #miles g morales #peter b parker #miguel o'hara #lyla across the spiderverse #lyla atsv #the spot #spider man across the spider verse #love learning more about this movie #can't wait for it to come on dvd so I can learn even more lol #there’s def more but I’m gonna limit myself because I could go on and on 💀

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comicaurora · 5 months

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Out of curiosity, how far ahead are you on the comic? I mean, you must have it all planned and written out, but I imagine that you are drawing the future of Aurora even while we're reading it.

So is Arc 2 already illustrated and ready for upload while you're on like Arc 5 or something? I'm by no means undermining your need for a break; I'm shocked that you've been uploading continuously for over 4 years at this point. I'm just interested to know how long it takes a person to make something this great. And also if you change any details in the final edit?

Basically: what's the workflow like?

Also I think you low-key inspired me to pick up painting as a hobby. I'm ready to pour so much money into creating things that I know I'll hate. :)

God, arc 5? That's a very generous assessment of how fast I can draw!

Typically, when the comic is updating regularly, I keep a buffer of 10 to 20 completed pages. Right now, in the interest of taking a break, the buffer is 0 completed pages.

Chapter 1 of Arc 2 is completely storyboarded, meaning it's sketched out, the dialog is all mostly finalized barring last-minute rephrasements, etc. It can be read in its current form, it just looks unpretty. In fact, just for fun, here's a sneak peek!

In the next month I'll go through and finalize as many pages from this chapter as possible - which means locking down the panel borders, fleshing out the backgrounds, lining, shading, coloring, polish, etc. - which will be the process of building up a new buffer for when the comic starts back up again in January. During that time, I'll also be storyboarding Chapter 2 and as much of the following parts as I can manage.

I have the next several chapters and sub-arcs planned out in loose timelines - event A happens at location B leading to consequences C and D, stuff like that. Chapter 2, being the closest, is a little more fleshed-out, with a more detailed bullet-pointed timeline and various character ideas I've had that might or might not make it into the final version.

What exactly the chapter breakdown is going to look like is a little more complicated. Initially I'd planned for Chapter 1 to be low-stakes downtime and Chapter 2 to quickly kick off the high-octane adventure again, but when I started bullet-pointing out the stuff I wanted to do in Chapter 2, I ended up with a big pile of slower-paced character moments I thought were well worth exploring, so the runtimes might stretch a little.

Translating those brainstormed notes into storyboards and dialog is what I would classify as the "writing" part of this process. It happens at an erratic pace largely determined by the whims of whatever muse decides to get me in a headlock that day; sometimes I go weeks with no storyboarding progress, sometimes I hammer out fifteen pages in one day.

It's kinda like weaving, to me. The soon-to-be-arriving parts of the story are the most finalized, the most densely woven. A little ways beyond that, things get looser - some patterns may be locked down, but the actual work that'll hold it together hasn't been done yet. And in the far-flung future arcs, it's just the basic bones of the story and a pile of the threads I've planned to use. I know the shape of it, but in order for it to be fun and engaging for me to make it, I need to give myself room to be creative when I'm putting the whole thing together.

I actually have a file called the "Toolbox" that contains every random character or subplot idea I've had, and sometimes when I'm debating where to go with a chunk of story, I'll crack it open and scan through to see if anything jumps out begging to be used. Lotta fun stuff in there that may or may not ever see the light of day. Dropping stuff in the Toolbox is one of the most fun and freeing parts of the process for me!

#asks #behind the curtain #writing stuff

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thenightling · 2 years

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How Morpheus’s imprisonment worked

I know that there are people watching The Sandman who aren’t well versed in things arcane so I’ll provide a little explanation on how Morpheus’s captivity worked.

1. Morpheus was weak. Morpheus was badly weakened from the events of The Sandman: Overture. That’s why the summoning spell was able to grab him when it probably should have fizzled out and failed. Imagine being very dizzy after spinning around and someone gives you a light push. Usually you can stay up right from that light push but he fell because of his weakened state.

2. The binding circle. A magical binding circle is how you hold a supernatural entity. In the TV show Supernatural the concept is used in their “Devil’s snare.” Sometimes the lore is you have to concentrate for the circle to work (See: The Dresden Files by Jim Butcher). Sometimes that’s not needed. In any event once you have a magical entity in the circle they cannot use their powers or leave until the circle is broken and only a mortal (or the one who made the circle) can break it.

This means Morpheus’s usual psychic link with his subjects (Example: Matthew feeling him in the back of his mind) is severed. He cannot use his powers, he cannot reach into people’s dreams, and he cannot psychically call to his subjects.

3. The glass cage. This is sort of a redundancy but not really. While the circle holds back his powers, the cage is an extra precaution in case the circle breaks because it physically contains him. Part of the reason the glass cage works is it is made of quartz crystal (not mentioned in the show). Quartz crystal can contain magick and is used a lot in occult rituals. Quartz is also made from silica (which is what sand is made of) that has been transformed into something else. Yes, The Sandman is being held by sand. There’s an irony to this. It’s also very thick glass and difficult to break even if he jumped up and down or bashed his fists against it (as you can see from Roderick banging his cane against it).

4. This part is potentially debatable. Roderick states that he captured him and bound him “by the laws of Magick.” (This is said in the show). According to traditional folk belief that means Roderick technically “owned” Morpheus (Yes, like a slave) and that only he or his rightful heir or anyone he gives Morpheus to can free him (like Calliope). Yes, Alex inherited him like property (as far as magical beings are concerned and how they see it). This is why it was a good thing that it was Alex’s wheelchair wheel that breached the circle in both the show and comic. Also, in the comic, it was Paul who opened the cage after Morpheus stole some sand from the guard’s dream and pretended to collapse in his cage. As Alex had given Paul that key, that meant that Paul was also his captor, besides Alex.

For Morpheus to escape both the binding circle and cage had to be opened by a mortal (And probably specifically his owners). When the circle was broken he could again use his powers, that’s how he entered the guard’s dream to pilfer some sand. He did this psychically while his body was still stuck in place because of the glass cage. Once the cage was destroyed that’s when he could leave.

Disclaimer: This is not a list of tips on how to best contain your captive Dreamlord.

#The Sandman #Sandman #Neil Gaiman

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mpekamitzii · 1 year

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Hi! Just saw your shapeshifter friend comic and I Love Them <3 do you have any more stories of them? :D

They're part of a bigger story callled Death Strands!! Let me give u some general info about them

This is Michelle!!

When she was a teenager she summoned something that should Not have been summoned.She ran away from home and lived in a stolen van for 2 years,going from library to library searching for any kind of information on the entity she awakened and how to put it back where it came from because she may or may not be the harbinger of the apocalypse.very cursed

Also likes to cause troubles on purpose.A rat,if you may

This is Ryan!!first seen.i am still debating on his design

He is a shapeshifter! He was born an owl in a very unfortunate family,as all his siblings had passed away and he was very sick too.His mom begged the spirits to save him.They deemed her an unworthy mother,and agreed to give him a chance,as long as she gave him away.Ryan was gifted the ability to shapeshift,so that he would be able to adapt to any environment/family he would be given to.A couple of witches near the mountains adopted him and raised him as a human,while also teaching him how to use his powers .

He first encountered michelle "borrowing" books from his local library, interested in her magic studies he decided to join her without really telling her about his magic nature until further down the story.shenanigans ensue.he hisses at cats and michelle is always like this is my friend ryan dont mind him he does that sometimes while every witch in a relative radius k n o w s that is not a human.at least not fully

Ryan never had any trouble shapeshifting until he met michelle, shifting back to human always came natural to him but now it felt forced,heavy,painful.It may or may not be because of Michelle's curse rubbing off everyone around her.maybe not

If you made it this far, here's some owls for you!

#death strands #original character #art #drawing #btw yes.they are platonic besties

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kerrtesy · 6 months

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A Heads Up

Hello everyone, I hope you all are having a great day or night, whatever time it is for y'all.

Making this post to explain and elaborate on some parts of the recent AU (Bowser's Bodyguard AU, which I'm thinking of renaming) I've been working on. This is going to cover the general story idea, overall vibe, and the games I'm covering with this along with questions I think people may have about the general au.

Don't worry I'll always have this AU tagged, so if you don't like it you can block it easily.

So as stated above this is more of a clarification post and just generally covering my plans for this AU just so people know what to expect.

So I want this AU to be around 6 to 8 main chapters, where I will see if I can combine the Paper and Mario & Luigi universes into one. The first chapter will be on the Mario Movie.

What games will you be covering?

So below are games I definitely want to cover, please note the games are listed in no particular order at the moment.

Super Paper Mario

Paper Mario Thousand Year

Mario and Luigi Superstar Saga

Bowser's Inside Story

Dream Team

All games are going to be rewritten within mind of the character/setup changes. I'm not a huge fan of just writing something that is a paint-by-numbers retelling of the original story; if that's your cup of tea more power too you this is not to throw any shade on that!

For both Superstar Sage and Inside Story I do want to include the side stories the remakes added.

I will say Bowser's Inside Story will be heavily rewritten and I plan on calling it "Fawful's Revenge." The two main reasons are that I'm having Luigi prevent Bowser from eating the vacuum shroom which prevents a lot of the original plot, and I just don't want to draw the inside of Bowser. I don't know what else to say here. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Games that will either be short stories or I'm torn on covering:

Super Mario 2

Mario Galaxy (combining 1 and 2)

Mario RPG

Mario Odyssey

Origami King

Mario Sunshine

Luigi's Mansion 1 & 2

Rabbids Spark of Hope

Paper Mario 64

Super Mario 2 is going to cover Luigi's history with the Shy Guys, particularly with him usurping King Wart. This one might become a full/long chapter.

Mario Galaxy is one that might become a full chapter. It depends on what I end up covering. For instance, at the moment I'm debating on whether to have a semi-character death in it. It's weird because on one hand I don't fully consider this a character death, but it also kind of is because they leave the comic at this point and this does heavily impact the cast. So I'm unsure how to fully label this yet.

Mario RPG is a game I am very intrigued by and I would like to incorporate it into the story, but I do not know the plot of the story so it is on the fence right now. I do have at least a few short comics planned for it.

Mario Odyssey is just going to be a few short comics.

Origami King is where I don't know the full plot, but I'd like to do a comic about Shroom City just for some fun world building.

Mario Sunshine I am so torn on whether it would be a full chapter or just a short. I'm going to have to see where I go with it. Whatever it becomes I do plan on calling the chapter/comic "Obligatory Beach Episode."

Luigi's Mansion I'm going to be combining the first two games. I really want this to be a full chapter, I have just been struggling to plan out a full story for it along with fitting it into the rest of the games. I do want to try, but just in case I can't I'm slapping it into this category.

I need to give Rabbids a Spark of Hope a comic or two as Luigi and Bowser have a mission in there that is solely tied to their characters called "The Brains and the Brawn" which helped me think of their setup in this.

Paper Mario 64 will be another backstory one where Luigi attempts to use the Star Rod to send him home, to mixed results.

Games I am not covering:

Please note the games listed below are NOT because I think they are bad games, it's more because I haven't played them and/or I just don't have good ideas for how to fit them into the story.

Color Splash

Sticker Star

Paper Jam

Partners in Time

For Color Splash and Sticker Star, I just don't know the full plots of these games. Though I might do the train scene that occurs in Color Splash when Mario talks to that one Shy Guy.

Paper Jam is similar to the two listed above where I just don't know the plot and I don't want to deal with the multiverse. As in this I'm trying to combine the Paper universe with the Mario and Luigi universe into one.

Partners in Time could change, but at the moment I'm counting it as not covering as I'm just using the concept and the machine E Gadd builds. It won't deal with time travel, but instead the concept of looking into someone's memories. I don't like covering time travel so I'm just skipping it. Like I said I might cover the Cobalt Star and Princess Shroob, but I don't have a lot of ideas going for this so it might just be skipped entirely with her and her sister as villains.

Will there be shipping?

No, I'm sorry if you were hoping for anything. The most there will be is probably implied Peach x Mario, but that's it for the moment. If any of this changes I'll give a heads up just so no one is caught off guard. But romance isn't really the focus of this comic nor do I want to write romance. Listen just trust me on this you don't want me writing romance, I'm not good at it, this is for the best.

Just in case I am also just going to flat out say this so no one gets mad or feels misled when reading these comics. There will be no Bowser x Luigi in this story. Listen it's a funny and shockingly mostly wholesome ship, but it's not happening here. So I'm sorry if you were hoping for it, but I'm not doing it.

There might be some one-sided Luigi x Daisy (honestly thinking about doing Daisy x Waluigi because their Mario Party team name is Awkward Date and that is hilarious), and/or one-sided Luigi x Peasley, but in this Bowser will be majorly crushing on Peach. Bowser and Luigi are just platonic co-parenting the koopalings (think the Dungeons and Dragon movie with Sofina and Edgin). I just wanted to state this here so everyone is on the same page.

Quick side note: This isn't about shipping, but character-wise Donkey Kong and anything related to his games will only be in the first chapter. I struggle to write him and I don't know how to involve him in the other storylines so I'm just gonna have him chill in his kingdom. He will probably be making a reappearance in Dream Team as that is where I plan to end the comic.

What is the overall story/vibe of the comic?

The main story is going to focus on adventure and learning to love yourself. That's really the main premise. The story itself is going to focus on Luigi learning how to like himself for who he is and reconnecting with Mario and others while going on adventures. The big overall conflict will be the Chaos Heart itself. In this I really want to play around with the concept of the Chaos Heart and what if it didn't just go away after Super Paper Mario. I don't want to say too much about it at the moment as I don't want to spoil that part of the plot.

I feel bad because with the initial comic/sketches of this au, I made it seem a lot more dramatic/angsty than it will be. Sure there's going to be some drama but it really is more focused on the fun of the world, the adventures the characters go on, and the friendships that form out of them. I swear it's not as angsty (or I guess edgy, not sure if it was or not??) as the original comic made it seem so I apologize if that is what you were looking for.

Why I am calling Luigi Mr. L in this?

So in this, I am having Mr. L be more of his 'work mode.' It is designed to be more of a persona he puts on so he can do his job more effectively, but it is also still a part of his personality. I want to include more of his temper which is often portrayed through animations in Mario & Luigi (you know his stomping tantrum animations). Along with a few other notes, like how in the first Luigi's Mansion you kind of find some pretty sassy/sarcastic remarks through the pictures he takes with the Game Boy Horror, along with some of his dialogue in the Paper Mario games. I also want to play into him having a bit of an ego as well (playing more into the Mr. L in Super Paper Mario).

However, at the core, I do want to keep him a more socially awkward, easily frightened, and a very kind person outside of the mask/persona. At the end of the day he really just wants what is best for his friends and family. And that he is always ready to help someone even if he is scared out of his mind (though he might complain about not getting paid, or take a bit of convincing when it comes to dealing with ghosts.) I am also keeping the self-esteem issues, more so dealing with the fact he feels like all he has done is stumble through life making one mistake after another, and never being enough for the people he cares about in his life.

What are the inspirations for this?

Ghibli movies, particularly Howl's Moving Castle, Princess Mononoke, and Spirited Away. I love their world building and how they handle character stories.

Magical Girl animes, I cannot stress enough how much the masks and his powers/setup are based on the magical girl shows I grew up on.

Majora's Mask, I want to do quite a bit with the masks themselves in this setup. I'm not going to elaborate much on them yet, because I prefer to reveal how they function in the comics than through this ramble.

Funnily enough, the character design that kicked off this au, or at least Mr. L's design was Death from Puss in Boots the Last Wish. I can explain, it was his cloak and his whistle. I've been playing through Super Paper Mario and I kept wondering what if they incorporated references to Luigi's Mansion more like maybe putting in his whistling, or going with a more horror aesthetic for him. Or even goes more into the concept of shadows as well, playing not only his ties with ghosts but also how Luigi feels like he is constantly in Mario's shadow. And when I saw the Mario Movie and that he was captured by the Shy Guys I was like hey wait a minute, I can do something with that.

So this story is just me playing around with those thoughts. Don't get me wrong though, him building robots to fight you along with the absolute banger of a jazz theme, and his cocky/petty attitude I have no notes and I like how he is done in the game.

So yeah this pretty much covers everything, if you read all of this kudos, I know this was long, but I hope I clarified what this comic is going to be like. Though please note that I have a job and I'm going through school, so this is going to take a bit to get going. I'm still writing out the base story, and I like to have one or two chapters fully drawn before I start posting it. I do plan on posting some of the short comics and doodles while working on the main writing.

Thank you for reading my rambles. I hope you all have a good one! : D

#bowsers bodyguard au #mario and the phantom #i think that might be the new name i call this au #im gonna test it out

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genericpuff · 6 months

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The Mishandling of LO’s S3 Mi(n)season Hiatus - Part 3 2/2

ALRIGHT. THIS IS THE LAST PART. I MEAN IT THIS TIME.

I had completely forgotten how long the mi(n)season finale for S3 was, but I suppose it makes sense considering it was operating as the true cliffhanger before the 4 month break.

If you haven't read the first 3 parts of this episodic breakdown, please go check these ones out first:

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3 1/2

Alright, let's get this show on the road!

CAUTION: THIS IS PART 2 OF THE THIRD PART OF A 3 + 1 PART SERIES IN WHICH I WILL BE SPOILING MUCH OF EPISODES 251-253. THIS EPISODE CONTAINS TOPICS SURROUNDING SEXUAL ASSAULT. THIS WILL BE A LONG POST. BRACE YOURSELF.

We've gotten delusional Leuce. We've gotten erasure of the SA. We've gotten a complete bastardization of the original myths that this story got its claim to fame on. The dread has set in, and all I want to do is get off Mr Bones' Wild Ride. But we have one more stretch of mind-numbing track to go, because the reveal of Persephone starting winter was not the end, oh no. The true cliffhanger of this episode - upon which the fans and critics alike have sat on for 4 months - proves that when we think Rachel has gotten crazy enough in this circus she calls a "retelling", she manages to prove that yes, she can make things even crazier, and no, you will not have a good time.

Ironically, despite that opening, I actually have a lot less to say about this last part of Episode 253 than I did about the first part. Obviously there's no feasible way to top "Persephone causes winter", but this episode does come rather close in its absurdity. Ultimately, if these essays have proven anything, it's just how much Rachel retcons things, to such an extent now that she seems to be retconning or outright forgetting information that she established just a handful of episodes prior. You'll see what I mean here as we go along in this.

As soon as it's hinted at that Persephone has started winter, we cut away to Apollo. Because, as per LO tradition, we can't spend longer than 10-15 panels on a single scene.

Already this seems like... really odd framing.

This is Apollo. A character who has been a villain since basically the beginning of the comic, when he sexually assaulted Persephone. This is not something that's up for debate. This is not something that can be refuted, as much as the comic may try to erase it or twist it into something else.

And yet, the vibe I get from this is, "Misled but good-deep-down character being taken advantage of by a sinister being." This isn't the type of framing we should be seeing around a character like Apollo.

I mentioned it ages ago in my post about the SA erasure that it really feels like Rachel is slyly trying to make Apollo empathetic, from giving us an entire episode in his perspective to adding extra panels into the books to making Persephone weirdly reminiscent of feelings for Apollo that she never had.

One thing I also touch on in that post is how Apollo is framed against Zeus. Zeus is also a villain character for much of the series, and even after he's "redeemed", the fanbase still considers him largely to be an antagonistic force. So to have Apollo be trying to take down Zeus comes across as very "the enemy of my enemy is my friend" and I really don't like seeing that framing when it's regarding a rapist.

And this scene largely feels the same. It feels like Rachel's trying to sway the audience into believing Apollo is like Draco Malfoy - a misled boy who "didn't know any better" and was being manipulated by a greater evil. If you haven't guessed by now, that "greater evil" is Ouranos.

Why is it Ouranos? In my opinion (so take this with grains of salt) this is because they need to somehow "one up" Kronos and give Persephone and Hades a tangible force to fight against, to draw a clean line in the sand between "good" and "evil" so that we, the audience, will be forced to categorize Persephone and Hades as "good" and someone else as "evil".

But really, why Ouranos? We're told that he manipulated Gaia to use her powers in an attempt to create "hierarchy" (whatever the FUCK that means, I don't think Rachel really understands how societal hierarchies are created) but there's NOTHING to imply that he was tyrannical or "evil" in the same way that Kronos has been depicted. Rachel's basically submitting this whole plotline to "well it's in the prophecy" but there was NOTHING dictating that she had to try and write a "prophecy" storyline to begin with. So as a result, it feels very tacked on and it's hard to tell what the point is, it really just seems like Rachel watched too much Marvel one week and decided that Lore Olympus - a fantasy romance - needed a big bad.

And by extension it feels like Apollo is being used as a pawn in this dynamic. By making him subservient to an "evil" force, it means he can labelled as definitively "evil", and thus it gives Rachel a vehicle to have Apollo taken down - or even perhaps empathized with much like in the Draco Malfoy sense - without having to touch the SA plot that she set up and never resolved.

He was evil before, but he wasn't the kind of evil that Rachel could write around. Because she doesn't know how to write SA or give her female characters any sense of retribution or agency. We've seen that already with her robbing Demeter of winter and Persephone of her feelings regarding the SA. There was never going to be a chance in hell she was going to be able to write herself out of a plotline she's been procrastinating for 4+ years.

That said, this is just a vibe I get, so I'm not gonna speak on it much more. This is one of those "we're really not gonna know until the comic returns" situations.

Once again, Rachel's trying to make Apollo seem like a "master manipulator", but she's also trying to make him seem like he's the one being manipulated, but she's ALSO trying to write him as a big dumb idiot who literally can't grasp consent. Apollo has to be one of the most inconsistently written characters in the entire comic, and yes, that includes Persephone. Again, it just goes to show she hasn't been able to fully commit to the SA plotline because Apollo's motivations and intelligence levels change with each passing episode. Sometimes he's being nefarious and plotting to overthrow the King, other times he's literally asking a nymph if she'd be willing to cut her hair to look like Persephone. The comic can't choose and so we, the audience, can't tell why Apollo is even still here.

Again, this is SUCH bizarre framing. If we're to believe that Persephone has been "cursed" by no longer being able to create Spring, only Winter, then does that make Ouranos and Apollo the heroes here? Because Ouranos is right, if Persephone is causing winter, that's going to kill the mortals, which is the complete OPPOSITE of what she's trying to do. So what are we left with? A plotline where Apollo and Ouranos might actually have a point about how she rushed into a marriage with the King of the Underworld and sacrificed everything that gave her agency and power - both metaphorically and literally - in the process?

Again, this is why Rachel fundamentally misunderstands the original purpose of The Hymn to Demeter and how she's, by and large, made her retelling worse in an attempt to be "subversive". It puts the plot and character motivations in a place where it's hard to tell what the story is trying to say, I can understand if maybe Rachel's trying to write a conflict where Apollo uses this information to manipulate her, but it doesn't help that knowing EVERYTHING we know about the H x P relationship within the context of this comic, Ouranos has a point that Persephone's union with the King of the Dead is problematic. It might not be the same "problematic" that we're all thinking of, but it really just reinforces the criticisms of this relationship. Is the comic really asking us to say "fuck the human race, they're in love" ??? Because that's NOT what the point of the original myth was in the slightest and it's just a really weird place to put your audience in.

It's 4:45 AM right now as I'm typing this so my thoughts are a little scattered, but all this really feels like is an attempt on Rachel's part to create a new "big bad" for her to use as a distraction from the SA plot and to give Persephone a "flaw", but that "flaw" really only takes away the strength of another character.

Oh, and by the way? This whole "you need the fertility goddess" thing? THE COMIC HAS ALREADY TOLD US THIS WON'T WORK BECAUSE SHE HAS TO BE IN LOVE WITH APOLLO FOR HIM TO BE ABLE TO USE HER POWERS. SO RACHEL'S ALREADY WRITTEN HERSELF INTO A CORNER THAT SHE'LL EITHER HAVE TO SOLVE OR RETCON ENTIRELY. DO YOU SEE WHY THIS IS SO ABSURD???

This line is kind of jarring because we had the Kassandra prophecy at the beginning that talked about the herb, but the prophecy Ouranos is talking about is the one about the sons of kings overthrowing their fathers. I definitely forgot about that one for a hot second reading this, I didn't get how this sequence related to the poisonous plant thing because they're framed as completely separate prophecies. It's not like Kassandra said in her initial prophecy that this plant would be used to overthrow a King again, she just said that the plant still existed and Psyche figured it out on her own that Apollo was gonna use it on Zeus. IDK that's just something that bugged me (also again, why are they believing her prophecies when we literally just had it established an episode ago that no one believes her prophecies LMAO)

Because if it wasn't enough for LO to have one Evil Robot Jeff Bridges villain, it had to throw in another one for good measure. It's just a line of dads and grandpas going back centuries waiting for their turn in the ring with Persephone.

lmao I love this 'hint' at Apollo being the one to write the note from Hebe and leave the cupcake for Zeus. Like... duh? We already put that together as SOON as Psyche said gasp "Zeus!" and then it showed Zeus eating the cupcake while Psyche called him on the phone telling him Apollo was gonna try and harm him. This sequence of 'revealing what really happened' doesn't work here because we've already been told what happened.

Except we know he won't. There's no tension to this whatsoever.

That's Hebe by the way.

It's odd that Apollo is embracing this prophecy when he has a kid himself. He literally has a fully grown son in this comic. I guess Apollo forgot about that, just like Rachel.

And that's it. That's the midseason finale. Ouranos is the new twist villain and Apollo is... whatever the fuck Rachel plans on doing with him.

Now, this leads me to my original motivation to create this series of reviews. It spawned from a conversation we were having in the Discord, discussing what it must be like to be a free reader who hasn't paid for the FP episodes that are still behind a paywall. This is not standard for LO, it hasn't kept FP episodes behind paywalls in the past during long hiatuses like this. I can even prove this with screenshots from the Wayback Machine, during the last midseason hiatus:

(whoof, that rating has dropped. I know it doesn't seem like much but for a series with millions of readers, by law of averages it takes a LOT of poor ratings to pull that number down compared to a series that only has a few readers)

Point is, this is the first time Rachel/WT have done this. Now, I will make this perfectly clear, I don't think this was a decision that was purely on Rachel. WT controls much of the backend like paywall costs, release dates, etc. so I'm not gonna go pinning this on her.

However, I do think this is a completely bungled attempt at trying to get people to pay up. LO has been dropping in views steadily but surely since the midseason break for S2. It's not pulling in the peak numbers that it used to, while it does still pull in a lot more views and money than other series on the platform, it's nowhere near the juggernaut that it once was in terms of record-breaking numbers, and I think WT knows that. So this really comes across as a stunt to get readers to FP, assuming that people will HAVE to pay if they're left waiting for 4 months.

But here's the flaw in that logic - people are still going to have to wait 4 months anyways. Reading those 3 locked episodes, especially all at once, will still leave you in the same place as you were beforehand.

And it shows in the numbers that people aren't falling for the bait.

Again, 17k likes still isn't anything to sneeze at for a FP episode, but it's still just barely above the new average that LO has gained over the past two years. I remember a time when those like counts would be 30k+. And now, despite being on break 4 months with these episodes still locked behind a wall, it's barely able to scrap by its new average of roughly 14-15k, and that average is when episodes are actually updating.

Obviously like counts = / = viewcounts but when they fluctuate, we know that the views have to be as well by extension, at least to some extent, and that's still engagement that's dropped of in and of itself. And we can also see a rough look at how the views have dropped off through the comic's landing page. Now, it's hard to compare data because there was a time when WT actually didn't give follower/view counts on the landing page (this was also when the like count capped at 99k) but we can still see a downslide in growth very visibly in the view count, sub count, and most of all, the rating, which has been steadily dropping for years now.

August 2020:

May 2021:

November 2021:

March 2022 (don't get confused by the 995 million, this is where view count comes in):

September 2022:

March 2023:

Today (October 24th, 2023):

Again, there's no way to get a true clear picture of LO's stats beyond this surface level data, but it does show that LO is just not getting the rapid growth it used to. People are moving on from it. And while its view and sub count are steadily increasing (albeit slowly for a webtoon that gets as much marketing as it does) the average rating is going down. It's clear that the majority of LO's growth happened between 2018 and 2020, which would make sense as the series was still relatively new compared to how it's become old news today, and Webtoons experienced a boom in 2020 due to the COVID-19 lockdowns - a boom that they think still applies in the year 2023, judging by their attempts to import as many series onto the platform as possible and capitalize on an audience that just isn't there anymore.

All of this leads me to wonder - what's in it for free readers after all this? Because if you recall from where we started, the cliffhanger they started on was Hades - possessed by Kronos - attempting to strangle Persephone, a cliffhanger that was resolved within seconds for FastPass readers. If they don't FastPass after that, they'll be met with numerous reveals that don't even make sense for the plot as a whole (such as Leuce making up the text messages).

Again, I don't want to claim that this was a decision on Rachel's part, but it really seems like either she didn't plan this hiatus, or her inability to write naturally without the need for addictive-style formatting as a crutch made it so that the free readers would be given the worst midseason premiere ever.

And what are we, the FastPass readers, going to return to? There are still so many plot threads that have been left unresolved, multiple villains being setup, and as far as Webtoons and Rachel have revealed during NYCC, LO is supposed to end by the spring. That's 20-30 weeks TOPS, which isn't exactly a whole lot of wiggle room for a writer like Rachel who's chronically bad at pacing and getting to the point of the plots she's established.

I know there are so many readers right now anticipating the return of this comic, some of whom genuinely believe this comic is "better than ever" and others who are critical of it but hope that the comic will come back in a better state after the hiatus. But right now there's so much evidence to support the contrary - that LO is about to come back in as bad, if not worse, condition than it was in when it left.

And through all this, for a comic that's finally ending after 5 years, I have to ask - where is the hype? Why are Webtoons and Rachel keeping the finale of this comic behind closed doors? Where's the promotional art, the hinting at what's to come, the attempts to generate any semblance of excitement for the readers who are still left after clinging onto this ride for 5 years? Why were the fans themselves barred out of their own communities during the majority of the hiatus?

And that just leads me to an even more discouraging thought. This is not meant to accuse Rachel or make assumptions. It's simply a thought that I had while thinking about what the series could possibly pull upon its return, so please, take this with MOUNTAINS of salt. It's one thing I hadn't considered with the knowledge that LO will be returning with 3 episodes still behind a paywall, a 'buffer' in and of itself for Rachel to work off of.

Rachel only technically needs one episode ready for the release. Not three as she normally would if the episodes had been unlocked like in previous hiatuses. That's not including whatever buffer episodes she would need beyond the upload schedule, but she's proven to be chronically bad at maintaining a buffer as well since day one.

We haven't seen any promotional art. No hinting. No hyping beyond what's been seen for her "Rachel Smythe Presents" series.

With all that in mind, I have one question to leave this on:

Has Rachel even started working on Episode 254 yet?

#thank you for reading this very long essay series #it's 530 AM and i have to work at 2 PM #i've been listening to drakengard music on loop for 2 hours #these are troubling times #deadass i think the comic is gonna come back even worse than before #and i WILL be here to talk about it if and when it does #lore olympus critical #lo critical #anti lore olympus

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wing-ed-thing · 10 months

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Marriage Pact (Erwin x Reader) Part I

Synopsis: To the surprise of the cadets, Commander Erwin is married to more than just his work. Their curiosity brings up fond memories of your and Erwin’s early days in the scouts.

Word Count: 5K

Tags/Warnings: Language, Mild Sexualization, Drinking Alcohol, Gender Neutral Reader, Non-Binary Hange, Fluff

Notes: My favorite part of writing for AoT is that most fics take place in this nebulous part of the timeline due to the years between the season releases (especially between 1-2). Ah, it makes it all the much simpler to be self-indulgent.

Song Pairing: Rumors are Flying - Frankie Carle

“Commander Erwin is married?”

“Don’t talk with your mouth full.”

Mikasa delivered a swift swat to the back of Eren’s head, causing him to nearly choke on his rations. Sitting around the wooden table, the group quickly dismissed his complaints, a chorus of playful snickers and jabs drowning him out. After a long day of adrenaline-filled work, the members of the 104th readily accepted any entertainment, no matter how low-hanging.

“He wears a ring on his finger. How could you not notice?” Jean scoffed, pausing with his mug halfway to his lips. His brows furrowed in judgment as he leaned with his elbows on the table. “With your level of observational skill, I wouldn’t be surprised if you got chomped off your horse the moment you stepped outside the wall.” Eren followed suit, leaning forward and circumventing Mikasa’s presence entirely to shoot a pointed glare at Jean. Jean sipped his beverage, pretending not to notice.

“Oh, shut up,” Eren gritted through clenched teeth and an exaggerated roll of his eyes. “Why would I be looking at Commander Erwin’s hands in the first place—” Sasha nodded a few times into her bread.

“Yeah! I always just look at his ass!” Sasha’s admission made any words die on Jean’s lips, his face contorting from self-assured condescension to acutely horrified confusion. Connie let out a bombastic cackle as the table turned their attention to Sasha. She quirked a brow as she stuffed more food into her mouth. “What? Good looking man, good looking ass….”

“That’s a married man you’re talking about, Sasha!” Connie scolded, his tone laced with a comical bite.

“If he’s even married!” She jabbed her pointer finger out in front of her, gesturing wildly to her group of friends. She shrugged, finally swallowing her mouthful of food as she stroked her chin. Sasha cast her eyes downward in thought. “We don’t know that for sure….”

“Like hell we do!” Jean sputtered, finally pulling himself together. He glanced around at the others in hopes that someone else would be on his side. “He is. He literally wears a wedding ring.” He waved his palms in circles in front of himself, growing frantic as no one appeared to back him.

“That doesn’t mean he’s married.” Connie mirrored Sasha, the two taking greater joy in their posing than the conversation itself. Jean threw up his hands, letting his palms slap against his lap.

“What the hell else could it mean? What else could wearing a ring on his ring finger mean?” He locked eyes with Armin, who quickly tore his gaze away. Apparently, it was a tough recruitment day for the Coalition of Reason.

“Well… It’s just that…” Eren trailed off. Jean’s eyes shot up at him, almost daring him to side with Sasha and Connie’s comically stupid reasoning. Eren quirked the side of his lips almost indifferently. “He just doesn’t seem like the type for that kinda thing, you know?” Connie shook his head, tearing the crust off his bread as he did so.

“I disagree; Commander Handsome is hot.”

“No, no, now you’re talking about two different things,” Reiner interjected, apparently having reached the threshold to have skin in the debate about Erwin’s marital status. His arms coiled across his chest as he sat up a bit straighter. “Someone can be hot and not be married or vice-versa. I rest my case.” He nodded to himself confidently.

“He’s literally wearing a wedding ring!” Jean exclaimed with exasperation, accenting each of his words as he pounded his fist on the table. No one seemed to notice.

“It would have to be someone who isn’t in the military,” Ymir told Christa. The pair were having a separate conversation near the end of the table. Reiner leaned forward to catch Ymir’s eye. She narrowed her gaze before he even spoke.

“Why d’ya think that?”

Ymir rolled her eyes, shifting in her seat to face the rest of the table. She rested one elbow on the table and the other on her bent knee.

“You know that the only kind of person stupid enough to marry Erwin Smith would be a civilian who doesn’t know about all the fucked up shit that goes on around here.” Ymir cocked her head, her bangs sliding across her forehead. She played with the rim of her empty cup. “Besides, can’t you see that smarmy bastard with a little homemaker to rub his shoulders when he gets home?” The lines around Reiner’s nose wrinkled as a smile broke out across his lips.

“Hey, what’s wrong with that?”

“Guys, you’re all missing what’s right in front of you.” Eren crossed his ankles under the table. He brought his fist down into the open palm of his opposite hand. “Commander Erwin is clearly married to the Survey Corps.”

“I guess your options would be limited if you’re going into the scouts,” Armin considered aloud, eyes as haunting as usual. A few glances were shared across the table, and with the mention of senseless murder, the conversation quickly moved along.

***

Jean would almost forget the debate completely by the next day. Whether or not the Scout’s commander had a spouse or not ultimately didn’t hold much weight to Jean in the grand scheme of things.

He rapped on the large wooden door to your office, only waiting a moment to hear your muffled permission before letting himself in. You stood by the window, still looking out the glass when Jean took his first step in. You turned to him with a smile.

“Ah, Jean! It’s good to see you. How have you been?”

Jean’s shoulders relaxed at the sound of your voice. He hadn’t even realized how tense they had been. Between expeditions, responsibilities among the Scouts comprised mostly of administrative work and training, the administrative part being more significant than Jean expected. Being a new recruit meant he would spend his fair share of days as a gopher for clerical work. But out of all the offices he could have been sent to, the errand runners in the scouts fought over visiting your office the most.

“Things are going as well as they can,” Jean sighed, the sides of his lips curling up into a boyish half-smile. You let out a puff of amused air, shaking your head as you motioned for him to come farther into your spacious office. You didn’t even feel like an officer most of the time, let alone a captain.

“You talk like a Scout already,” you chuckled, “Come have tea and show me what you’ve brought me.”

Jean pushed the door behind him as he entered the room, the latch bolt not quite catching in the strike, leaving the door slightly ajar. He sat in one of the chairs in front of your desk, shifting the legs across the modest carpet as you poured two cups of tea. The tea set sat on a metal cart to the left of your desk. Jean tossed the bundle of files he brought on a wooden rack, dwarfing the other papers that required your review.

You handed Jean a dainty, rose-patterned teacup on an equally delicate saucer. The intricate design complimented the similar pattern on your uniform insignia, or at least Jean had always thought so. He held the cup up to his lips and welcomed the sweet flavor. You always knew how to make a good cup of tea. A large enough salary to afford a modest sugar supply didn’t hurt either.

“Well, I’ll be damned,” you mused, grabbing the stack that Jean had just put in your paper basket with one hand. The papers must have amounted to three inches in thickness at least. You let them fall in the space in front of you, causing an audible slap on the desk’s surface. The liquid in your teacup trembled. You locked eyes with Jean, amused. “I can only imagine what’s been going on in your neck of the woods to require this much… debriefing.” You thumbed through the file pages, unwrapping rubber bands when warranted. “If I didn’t know any better, I’d think Erwin was trying to get rid of me with all… this. He thinks he’s being cheeky.”

That should have been Jean’s first clue, but his eyes and attention wandered around your office. Frankly, a new recruit remaining in the room while a superior officer reviewed documentation wasn’t common. But with recent internal shifts in the military, you often asked your errand-runners to stay due to the high volume of administrative mistakes. You found it easier to ask a soldier sitting in front of you to return with a needed but missing document rather than putting a formal request in and waiting. Jean didn’t mind the break, and you knew as much.

His attention settled on a wardrobe to his right. Above the three polished wooden drawers sat a pair of glass doors. Jean peered in, studying the display inside. On one side of the wardrobe hung a crisp Scout cloak. Its presentation made it appear like it hadn’t been used in years. The other side of the glass display was lined with three shelves. A horizontal picture frame sat on the second of the three. Jean leaned forward to get a better look.

“Captain.” You looked up at the sound of his voice. He turned to meet your gaze. “You were in the Scouts?” You hummed with a nod of your head, crossing your legs underneath your desk. Your other hand held your place within the stacks of pages. Jean stood slowly, placing his cup and saucer down as he approached the wardrobe curiously. He looked back at you. “May I?” You gave him another nod.

“I was in the Scouts from your age to maybe around four years or so ago.” You shrugged as you continued to review your generous stack of paperwork. Jean tugged open the glass doors, which gave him the slightest bit of resistance. He picked up the picture.

Sure enough, he found you among the cadets in the middle of the group. You looked younger, almost unrecognizable, but something about your face made Jean immediately know it was you. The few familiar faces almost made him chuckle. Hanji hadn’t aged a day. And right beside you stood Erwin.

Jean closed the wardrobe, returning to his chair as he studied the picture. He slouched against the back cushion.

“Not a lot of people in that drawing are here today.” You stared at the back of the frame. Something struck Jean about the quiet sorrow in your eyes. “I try to keep all of them close.”

A light knock sounded at your doorway. With the entrance already ajar, a Garrison cadet stood at the door of your office. She let out a surprised hum upon seeing your company.

“I’m sorry to interrupt, Captain. You have a delivery.” You motioned for the cadet to enter with a knowing smile. The flowers in the vase she carried covered half her face, and as she set them down at the corner of your desk, they covered half of Jean’s too. “From your husband.” You thanked her, and the cadet saw herself out, closing the door behind her.

“Sorry, Jean,” you said sheepishly, sliding the vase across your desk to reveal your guest. “I’ll get you out of here soon.” He shook his head, fingers tracing the edge of the picture frame.

“I’m fine where I am. Take your time.”

You offered him a content nod as you continued your work. Jean continued to stare at the flowers that were just brought in. The ornate bouquet of mixed wildflowers was arranged neatly in a modest glass vase. A red ribbon wrapped neatly around the neck, tied into a crisp bow. A little cardholder jutted out from among the petals clutching a small note.

His attention flickered to your wedding ring.

“I didn’t know you were married,” Jean said, more wondering aloud as he recalled the cadet’s last words. It wasn’t exactly true. He had seen your wedding ring the many times he came to deliver papers to you. Jean supposed he had never thought too much about your marital status, just as his friends said about Erwin the night before. Perhaps last night’s conversation sat too prevalently in his mind.

“When you’re in this line of work, you have to live while you can.” You shut the large collection of files with a thump. You looked at Jean with a sentiment he had never seen before. “Find what makes you feel warm and never let it go until death. At least that’s what I think.” You leaned over the file with a sigh, face suddenly turning exasperated. “It looks like everything is here. Thank you for bringing the monster over.”

“No problem,” Jean nodded. He returned the frame to your desk as he stood. He offered you a salute, and with your dismissal, he was on his way.

You plucked the note from the bouquet as he made his way across the room, taking a second to read it.

“Cheeky…” you smiled with a shake of your head.

Jean glanced back at you just as he closed your office door, wondering if he saw the initials “ES” on the back of your note.

***

It was the night before an expedition when you proposed it.

Practically the entire regiment stayed up late after one of you raided a locked-off Military Police closet for booze. Even for the Scouts, morale had been lower than usual. That was probably why Erwin agreed to your little scheme in the first place. You had a way of relating to the squads in a way that was uniquely your own. And while Erwin could give the calm command of a natural leader, only you could organize a night of carefree games and stories as doom and uncertainty loomed over everyone.

As sleeping bodies lay strewn out across the room, you met Erwin’s blue eyes with a tired sigh. You caught the semblance of a snicker as he leaned back against the stone wall. He shifted on the random cushion you and your squad collected from around headquarters. If Erwin didn’t know any better, he would have thought it was a pew cushion from a church. He shook his head, the corners of his lips causing dimples to appear on his cheeks. You glanced down at Hange, who had fallen asleep in your lap, and back to Erwin with a shrug. Their usual hair tie wrapped around your wrist as you ran your fingers through their hair. The fourth squad leader curled up on a dining table somewhere in the room.

“That was a good thing you did here,” Erwin said, sipping his drink. He had started feeling a rare buzz from the alcohol a while ago, even as carefully as he nursed his drink. Hange kept pouring him more throughout the night despite gentle declines.

“Thank you, but I mean, all I did was rob a storage closet.” You let out a gentle laugh. Erwin’s attention remained on you even as you looked off. The fireplace flicker between the two of you cast a warm glow onto your face. “Actually, you’re the one who broke the lock, so I didn’t really do anything.” You met eyes with him again. He held you in the stark, baby-blue of his irises. Intimate and wordless. Erwin cocked his head to the side in a silent challenge. You let out a snicker with a playful roll of your eyes, and he smiled behind the rim of his mug.

“I think everyone really enjoyed themselves.” Erwin glanced out into the dark room of sleeping soldiers, each sprawled across your random, borrowed cushions with their cloaks draped over them. Empty bottles of alcohol lay strewn across the floor.

“Did you?” you asked softly, slowly running your fingers through Hange’s hair. Erwin rolled his cup between his palms, shifting his legs to bend at the knee as he sat back.

“Yes, I did.” He gave a single nod. He rolled his cup again before coming to hold it by the handle. “It hasn’t been easy to keep everyone’s hopes up. You’re far better at it than me, that’s for sure.” You hesitated.

“I’m glad you had a good time,” you said, downing about half of what remained in your cup. The alcohol made you feel warm and light in the head. But even so, thoughts of the next day’s expedition haunted you. You felt the same about the previous failed missions that everyone else felt, but as a Squad Leader, you pushed yourself to put on a brave face. “I’m glad I could give everyone a little peace of mind before we leave tomorrow. It’s about all I feel I can do.” Erwin frowned.

“Don’t discount yourself.”

“I’m not,” you answered too quickly. The hall's silence took up the space between the two of you. The crackle of the fire popped softly as Erwin studied you closely. He tilted his head as you bowed yours. You braided a random portion of Hange’s hair. “It’s just the truth. If anyone’s going to give them real hope, it’ll be the one making a difference out there. You’re the one the commander keeps in his back pocket.”

“I don’t connect with the soldiers like this.” Something about his tone made you glance up. Erwin’s face grew serious, not quite angry or upset, but grave. His gaze pierced your spirit, and you hummed complacently. “You know that. I know you do.”

“If anything, all this was for me.” you sighed and shook your head. You took another sip of your drink before returning to your little, random braids. You let out another deep sigh. “They say exactly what I’m trying not to think. And what are you supposed to say?... It fucks with me. Especially when they’re kids.”

“I know.”

You moved on to another section of Hange’s head, the movements of your fingers growing faster.

“It’s hard not to get attached. I want them all to be okay, and I just know they won’t all be okay.”

“I know.”

As you finished your second braid, you reached for your drink. Without a second thought, you downed the rest of it. The burn of the ethanol had long gone away.

“Have you ever thought about marriage and kids and shit?” you mused, perhaps a bit too loud. Erwin’s thick eyebrows shot up, startled but amused by your sudden outburst. Your words echoed through the room, but no one stirred. They stayed suspended in the thick atmosphere as the emotions in your chest darted across your heart. Erwin leaned forward with his elbows on his bent knee, his cup still gripped in one hand.

“Have I ever thought about marriage and kids and shit?” He repeated, the undertone of a laugh lacing his voice. It almost sounded crass coming from him, and hearing your words over again made you suddenly self-conscious.

“I, uh, I mean—”

“Yeah, I have,” Erwin answered, much to your surprise. He also downed the rest of his beverage, placing his mug on the wooden floor. “With a woman, I knew in my cadet years.”

Your heart flipped in your chest, caught off guard by Erwin’s sudden vulnerability. The feeling seared like a spear driven straight through you. You knew, logically, that Erwin had to have had a romantic interest in others in the past. Not that it mattered to you in the slightest. Besides, what stake did you have to your fellow Squad Leader? Surely, it was the alcohol.

“Oh,” was about all you could answer. You scrambled to find some other commentary to share that didn’t make it sound like you were too personally invested in Erwin’s romantic affairs. You continued to fidget in an attempt to avoid Erwin’s gaze. A bit of drool poured from Hange’s mouth onto your thigh. Unfortunately, you were not very convincing.

“She’s long been married to my good friend. They’re expecting a second child.” Erwin shrugged. You weren’t sure if the new information made you feel better or worse.

“I’m sorry,” you offered, unsure what else to say. Erwin shifted on his cushion in your peripheral, his back audibly cracking as he did. The noise made you snort.

“No need to be sorry. It’s in the past.”

“Is it?” You observed the orange light that illuminated his strong features. His jaw locked with Erwin’s usual certainty as he nodded. Still, you knew him well enough to pick up the slightest hint of hesitation. “I mean, what happened?” you asked, the alcohol doing away with your filter. Erwin let out a deep sigh, attention somewhat wandering as he debated whether he wanted to say.

“She wanted a family.” He almost sounded resigned with a hint of indifference mixed into his tone. He shook his head as if giving in to a fight he had had many times before. You wondered whose face came to his mind.

“And… you didn’t?” You pushed, your brow raising as you repositioned yourself. Hange’s head had become heavy, but they didn’t notice as you assumed another sitting position. “It’s not that I didn’t,” Erwin said in a tone resembling playful defensiveness. You glanced up at him briefly, curiosity pushing you to keep digging at him. Erwin stared upward in thought before another slow shake of his head. “You know very well the significance of our role here.”

“And yours is?” He met your eye, and his face scrunched into confusion— something not seen often on Erwin Smith’s face. It was small. It was the slightest crease in his brow and the soft purse of his lip as he tilted his head to the side.

“And mine is what?”

“Your role? What’s the endgame?” You snorted, finding yourself melted into the conversation. The focus wasn’t on you. Between your liquid courage and your fatigue, you let your intrigue guide you. “What’s so important that you’ve sworn off love or whatever—” You gestured dramatically with your hands.

“Okay, I never said I swore off love.” He waved you off as if to physically dismiss the thought from the conversation. Erwin leaned forward to rest his elbow on the knee of one of his crossed legs. He rested his cheek in his hand, officially invested. “You make me sound like a jaded old man.”

“Aren’t you?” Your retort was quick. Erwin’s lip curled in a mock pout. He balled up his cloak, and you shielded yourself with your arm as it hit your cheek. The fabric smelled like him. “Hey!” You laughed, catching the bundle with one hand as you gestured to Hange. Erwin held his hands up in defeat and a playfully exaggerated eye roll.

You unfurled the cloak. It took a second to orient it correctly before draping it over your shoulders. Erwin’s cloak was slightly longer than yours. You covered Hange’s torso with it as they continued to sleep soundly. Hange could sleep through an earthquake.

When you turned back to Erwin, he was already staring, a softness in his eyes. You took a quick look behind you, and upon seeing nothing, you turned back to him again.

“So what is it? What’s your role?” You pushed again. Erwin snickered to himself, a silent puff of air escaping his nose, allowing his head to bow as he recovered.

“To carry out my duties,” he answered, almost unsure. He held himself like you had never seen before. Never had you seen Erwin so relaxed, raw, and playful. You shot back a similar look he had given you earlier in the night: one of skepticism and challenge. Erwin took in a deep breath. “I want to understand what humanity has never understood before. I need to witness truth for myself, I suppose.” He scrunched his forehead, part of him unsure if his words were as diplomatic as he liked.

“And you can’t do that with a family?”

“Well, you were the one who just said stuff about kids and feeling guilty. You said it fucks with you if we’re using your words.” Erwin sat back against the wall, arms crossed over his broad chest. He stretched his long legs out in front of him.

“Who said a family means children?” You mirrored him, leaning back on your palms. Hange remained curled on your lap. Erwin bobbed his head from side to side in consideration.

“You’re right on that point,” he conceded. “Ideally—” You groaned.

“All or nothing is so like you.” You rolled your eyes as you nestled deeper into Erwin’s cloak. He gaped for a second, not knowing how to respond to your casually spoken criticism.

He sputtered. It was cute.

“I feel like I should take offense to that.” He blinked, taken aback.

“You’re depriving yourself of happiness you know you want because you think there are only two options? Please. Just date someone in the military. Another truth-seeker, if you will.” You let your head lull to the left, resting on your own shoulder as you stared out into the dark room. Two soldiers sat slumped over each other a few feet away. They sat with their cloaks draped over one another, illuminated by the fire. “You know, I heard Owens and Murray have a marriage pact. The two of them say if they get through tomorrow’s expedition alive, they’re going to go straight to the courthouse to get married.”

You almost zoned out, lost in the dim outline of the Wings of Freedom. Perhaps you were getting tired after all. With any luck, you could get at least some sleep in before the expedition.

“Was that a proposal?” You snapped back to reality. Erwin stared as you blinked a few times, lips pursed together mischievously as he held back an amused smile. His leather shoulder straps had fallen the slightest bit off his shoulders.

“What? Of course not!” A warm heat spread under your skin. “I was just telling you something I heard.”

“Well, you were the one telling me to date my comrades and form a marriage pact. I just assumed you were insinuating that you meant with you.” You stammered in disbelief, watching Erwin struggle to hold back his Cheshire grin. “That’s what it sounded like.” His brows rose on his forehead, painting his face with self-assurance akin to cockiness.

“You! In your dreams!” You searched your immediate vicinity for something to throw at him. Finding nothing, you took Hange’s hair tie off your wrist and shot it at Erwin with unmatched speed and dexterity. He dodged it, ducking off to the side as it hit the wall behind him. “You’re full of yourself!” Hange hardly stirred. “I wasn’t suggesting anything. In fact, I was thinking of asking Fletcher.” You crossed your arms with a severe pout.

“Fletcher,” Erwin repeated, the name forming in his mouth like a foreign object. Erwin shook his head in disbelief, blinking his eyes a few times as he did. He stuck out a hand towards you in a forward-slicing motion. “Who puts his ODM gear on backward half the time.”

“Which means he gets it right the other half,” you quickly retorted. Erwin pinched the bridge of his nose.

“You could do so much better,” he groaned. He ran a hand through his neat, blond hair.

“Fletcher is a perfectly suitable partner, thank you very much.” You glanced off into the dark room, lowering your voice. “I was thinking about it, and I… you know, I don’t think it’s such a bad idea. You have to take a chance and live a little.” Erwin rubbed his chin, still in disbelief. He yawned.

“I still think you could do better.”

“Well, it’s like you said; it’s not like you have a lot of options when you join the Scouts,” you huffed. Sure, your companion from your cadet years wasn’t the brightest, but at least you were trying to pursue a life while you still could. “If I gamble with heartbreak and lose, I can at least know I achieved something.” Erwin scoffed.

“A gamble, huh?” He rolled his head from shoulder to shoulder, another tense crack popping from his bones. He stretched his arm to the side. Before you could say a word, he let out a concentrated breath. “Okay.” Erwin shrugged, resuming his earlier position leaning against the wall. Even as he closed his eyes, you didn’t like the smug look on his face.

“Okay… what?” You asked suspiciously.

“I’ll throw my hat into the ring.” He shrugged again, and you nearly threw your hands up in defeat.

“What ring?” You nearly exclaimed.

Erwin’s eyes fluttered open. You stared into them with a frown. The fire had since grown smaller, darkening the already dim room. His irises shone brightly, even in the waning glow of the fire. You watched each other in silence and with bated breath. He leaned forward.

“I’d say, if we make it out of the next three expeditions alive, we marry each other.”

His proposition hit you like a frying pan over the head.

You gaped, your mouth opening before closing again. You stumbled over what to say, the semblance of words tripping incoherently out of your mouth until you found it in you to ask a single question,

“Why three?” Erwin actually chuckled at that one. Sheepishness and acute embarrassment burned harder in your cheeks. Considering how long you had known each other, you had no idea what made you so nervous.

“We can gamble and make it five if you’d like.” Erwin crossed one arm over his chest and held his chin with the opposite hand. An excitement, a certain mischief, continued to blaze in his expression.

“You do like a good gamble,” you noticed with hesitancy. You glanced at Owens and Murray, who still slept curled against one another. You eyed Erwin out of your peripheral. “I like three, though,” you mused. “And if you die, I marry Fletcher.” He hummed.

“I don’t think I’m going to die, though. I don’t think you will either.”

“Yeah… I don’t think so either.”

Thank you to all who liked, reblogged, followed and otherwise supported. Your support means so much and is greatly appreciated.

Notes: I HAVE HAD SO MUCH ERWIN BRAINROT IT’S NOT EVEN FUNNY THIS WAS GOING TO BE 1/5 THE SIZE OF THIS FIC PLEASE I NEED TO TALK ABOUT THIS MAN

Notes: this oneshot will get another part at 50 reblogs!

Part I Part II Part III

#erwin smith x reader #erwin x reader #erwin smith #attack on titan x reader #attack on titan fanfic #attack on titan fanfiction #erwin #shingeki no kyoujin x reader #shingeki no kyoujin #x you #x reader #attack on titan #reader insert

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ghostingcrows · 9 months

Text

Okay because generally I’ve been seeing a lot of fighting a weirdness I wanted to talk about this for a second

Hobie Brown is not an adult

Please stop being weird about him!!

More explanations under the cut

I’ve been complaining about this a lot and for people that don’t understand this situation essentially in an interview one of the directors said that an early concept of Hobie design was that he was supposed to be like the cooler older kid and as the example used for this he stated the ages 19/20

Because of this many people took it as still being canon which has led to a large bit of debate in the community between people about his age

The people who have taken this reference to the early concept as canon have started bashing people who ship Hobie with others in the group (mainly Miles and Pav which is important and which I will come back to later) as well as used this as an excuse to sexualize Hobie because hes an adult

A barely legal one which even if this was true is its own separate issue

However the issue with this specific take is that its wrong

For a variety of reasons

1) For starters people say that since the director said he was 19/20 it must be true however another director/creator of the film has stated that Hobies age is up for interpretation meaning he doesn’t have a specific set age

However, it is very clear based off of everything else that Hobie was still meant to be in the teenager range in terms of age

For starters the actual movie

Throughout the first half of the movie Hobie is referred to a couple times by both Gwen and Pav and later Miles

Every time he is talked about in this context it is always with the undertoned implication of him and Gwen supposedly having a romantic relationship with both Pav and Gwen treating it as a sort of thing that could potentially cause friction or other issues in regards to Miles and Gwens relationship

If Hobie really were 19/20 this would be, cannot stress this enough, incredibly weird and creepy on the writers part

Unlike Hobie Gwen does have a confirmed age and she IS a minor and the movie imply that she had a relationship with Hobie whether she actual did or not and treating it as a joke would be weird and out of place if he was an adult

Not to mention that a lot of people referred to Gwen, Hobie and Miles dynamic as a love triangle which again weird and gross and uncalled for if Hobie was an adult

2) The art books both in the english and Japanese translation refer to Hobie in a way that either implies hes a kid or outright uses terms that mean hes a child

In the English translation of the book Hobie is referred to as the cool slightly older boy the girls want to date

Meanwhile the Japanese translation literally spells it out

3) I’ve heard a variety of different deflect in regards to all the above mentioned stuff

“Hobie doesn’t look like a kid” people age differently. I’ve met kids in high school who were the same age as or younger than me with full ass beards and mustaches as well as people who are well into there 20 who look like they’re still 15 he simply just has a structured face

“He was bit at 16 in the comics and said he was spider-man for 3 years in the movie” We aren’t in the comics universe though and in this iteration Miles was bit at like 13 and Gwen at like 14 meaning that in actuality the kids are usually bitten really damn early and the actual facts are that we don’t know how old he was when he was bitten and since we very clearly aren’t in the comic universe as these movies are significantly different from the comics you can’t just go off of that

“Just because it was a concept doesn’t mean it was changed it could still have been kept” While it is true that yes sometimes things from first draft concepts are kept a lot of times they aren’t such as Hobies best friend Pavitr who was supposed to be 13 in his concept but very clearly isn’t in the movie (I don’t actually have solid evidence for that claim I just think it would be weird that they make comments about Pavs body and show him shirtless if he was still 13 in the final-) both Pav and Hobie had a shit ton of changes done to them alongside basically all of the main 4 (Hobie, Pavitr, Gwen and Miles), except for maybe Miles but he was already an established character, so using his concept as hard and fast evidence when he very clearly was changed a lot and everything else points toward him being a kid just doesn’t work

“He mentions going to a pub so he has to be at least 21” first Hobie is British and the legal age in Britain is 18 also you don’t have to be of legal drinking age to go into a pub you just have to be old enough to actual order drinks which doesn’t even account for the fact that this is also Hobie we’re talking about who would not give the slightest fucks about the legal drinking age “But they show him with a beer in his montage and they wouldn’t encourage that in an underage character” Hobies montage is so fast paced and colorful that I genuinely don’t even know if thats true because you can barely comprehend the stuff that happens in that scene the first time you see it and not to mention that he also flips off the cops in that montage so I don’t really think they were too concerned about encouraging certain behaviors or not since half of Hobies speech in that scene was about overthrowing governments saying ACAB

So in conclusion

Hobie doesn’t have a confirmed age but based off off all the information we are given he is probably actually closer to 16/17 as his age

Now as a side tangent something else I want to address is the inherent homophobia and racism undertones that came with the initial spreading of his false age

Because when people initially heard that age they’re first instinct wasn’t to jump at the actual movie for imply a ship with Hobie and Gwen or even on the people make jokes about but was instead to jump on the people shipping Hobie with Pav and Miles

Both other male characters who are also characters of color

Odd that the first though was the (honestly at that time) relatively new and unpopular gay poc ships (Yes I know the ships are more popular now they had BARELY any content at the time of the interview)

Like genuinely the absolute giddy JOY I saw some people have at the idea that people who were minding their own business would have had a ship they liked ruined for them was insane and still is to me

#Imma be honest I'm fairly confident that age estimate is right and its gonna be really awkward if the next movie fucks me by saying hes old #spider-man across the spider-verse #ATSV #hobie brown #pavitr prabhakar #miles morales #gwen stacy #punkflower #chaipunk #this debate gives me a headache and I hate it

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andsoigotabutterfly · 9 months

Text

-Save me from Her - chapter 2

Tara Carpenter x fem!reader

Summary: Continues where the last part ended, delicious dinners and some more action. The canon-kind.

a/n: Heyyy. I'm sorry this took so long to write, but I had some family and friends issues I had to take care off, whilst also finally leaving hospital! I'm still not a native-english speaker, so keep keeping that in mind. Hope you enjoy! (This got a bit long, but at least it's out right?)

warnings: amature writing, wounds, blood, canon-typical violance, cursing-swearing, multiple POV's, mixed POV's, mutilation, Sam getting bullied

tell me if I left something out please!

“I’ll have nightmares after this” Mindy said jokingly after you finished the story. “How do you come up with stuff like this?”

“Milk, genetics and a little imagination” you said, shrugging.

“You mean you can do this as well?” she asked, looking at Anika.

“No, I’m not crazy like her…” she huffed and stood up, to go help Tara out. The young brunette has been cutting, brewing, and running up and down in the kitchen for fifteen minutes now and the smells radiating from her position were delicious. It smelt like something familiar, but you couldn’t quite put your finger around it.

You stayed with the Meeks’ and debated what movie you would watch after dinner. Mindy, the horror lover she is, naturally wanted to watch something nightmarish, but her idea was quickly tossed aside, with a loud ‘no’ coming from you, Chad, and the Carpenter’s voice from the kitchen.

Not long later, Tara called out ‘dinner’ and all three of you got up from your seats to gather at the dining table. Anika appeared from the kitchen, holding a basket of croutons. When realisation hit you, your eyes widened. Your sister smiled at your reaction, and settled next to Mindy, putting the basket on the table. Your eyes darted to the kitchen door, anticipation coursing through you. Tara emerged from the kitchen, holding a metal pot in her hands. Your stare made her blush, but you didn’t notice, as your eyes were fixated on the covered saucepan. She gently put it down and then raised the cloth that was concealing her creation.

Onion soup. She made onion soup.

As the others started reaching and pouring their own portions, you just stared at Tara in awe. Her sweaty face, her small smile, and her watchful gaze all reciting in your brain. She was gauging your reaction, waiting for you to say something. Instead, when you opened your mouth to speak nothing came out. You were comically similar to a fish. This food could have only been meant for you, as every one of your friends suffered from your constant whining that you couldn’t make one for yourself in ages.

After a few hellish moments, you remembered how to talk. “You…” is all that came out though.

Tara’s smile widened, and she let out a chuckle. “You were always complaining that you couldn’t even remember the time you last ate onion soup, so I made one” she said and sat down next to you.

You were still frozen, mouth agape at the surprise. “Stop dramatizing and start eating, you oversized tuna” you heard Anika say. Finally, you got a hold of yourself, and poured a portion. Slowly some croutons made their way to your plate too, then you grabbed your spoon and delicately tasted it.

Tara was eyeing your every movement, trying to figure out if you like it, but your face wouldn’t tell a thing. Her heart started pounding as she thought you didn’t, ignoring every other compliment that came from the others. You finally smiled and let out a chuckle, at the taste, like it has been weeks since you last ate anything. You looked at her, to which her heart started pounding even faster, face heating up rapidly. The only thing that kept her conscious was your gleaming smile.

“This is witchcraft” you finally said, letting out one last chuckle. Tara let out a quiet breath, that she didn’t know was holding and her chest swelled with pride.

“So, you like it?” she asked, voice full of hope.

“Like it?” you asked back, voice high. “I love it! This is better than anything I could have cooked and even rivals that of our nan!” you exclaimed and gestured between you and your sister. She laughed and smiled again, reaching for the food herself.

Mindy started gagging and rolled her eyes. “Jesus get a room already” she huffed and smiled at you two. Tara reddened even more, whilst you just looked away, embarrassed.

Light chatter filled the room as the group ate. You weren’t over exaggerating; Tara’s soup was as if it was from a five-star restaurant. You didn’t seem to be able to stop complimenting it, which made butterflies erupt in the young Carpenter’s stomach. She was proud and happy you enjoyed it this much. Time flew by and before you knew it, the clock hit nine. As the other’s put on a movie, you helped Tara clean the table.

“Thank you” you said softly, so that only she could hear your voice. “This soup was fabulous.”

“You are going to make me believe I can actually cook” she laughed. “Stop!”

“The truth always comes to the surface, whether you like it or not” you told her as you reached for the plates. Looks like she had the exact same thing in mind, as your hands collided, sending a pleasurable jolt through your hand. You both retracted it, like if touching live wire. “Sorry, take it.”

“No, no you. If you want to take the dishes out this much, who am I to stop you?” you were positive her smile could melt even stone.

“I insist” you said, smiling back.

She huffed, and reached for the plate, picking it up and the other ones as well. “If the lady insists.”

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

You watched her as she left for the kitchen, your gaze lingering on the spot you saw her last for a second before finishing cleaning up. You then joined the others in the living room, listening to the debate going on. Mindy was still keen on watching ‘Nightmare on Elm Street’, whilst Tara tried to sell her idea of ‘Oppenheimer’. You sat down next to Anika, clinging your wine glasses together as you both watched the show unfold. “I bet Mindy's going to cave” you whispered to her. “She had way too much wine to be able to reason properly.”

“Five dollars Tara’s going to propose a new movie as she sees he can’t win” she held out her for you to shake. You shook it without a second thought, as you had so many times before, smirking at her. You have never lost a bet against your sister, not once.

Not five minutes later you took the five dollars from Anika and placed a soft kiss on her cheek, smirking at her. Tara victoriously searched up the film and pressed the play button. She slumped down next to you and breathed out slowly whilst grinning like a madman. “Good thing Quinn or Ethan isn’t here” she whispered to you. “They would have made us watch ‘Signs’ again. I swear to God, one more movie with Mel Gibson in it, and I’ll gauge my eyes out.”

“What’s wrong with Gibby?”

“It's not him I just had enough of him. I can’t get my head around why they both love him so much” she answered.

“Quinn is obsessed” you correct her. “Ethan just likes her, so he tries to look appealing.”

“Ethan likes everybody.”

“My point still stands darling.”

“Touché” she said holding her hands up, then focused back on the film.

As the movie progressed, you made snarky comments here and there, making her laugh or smile. Your heart swelled and enjoyed her reactions way more than the movie itself. Her laugh was like music, her gleam could make even the coldest, frozen hearts beat again. Soon, you couldn’t focus on the movie anymore as all you were watching was her.

She found herself in similar boots, as she tried to ignore your gravitating face and focus on the film. Even though Tara tried her best, she still glanced at you from time to time, only to blush under the stare you were trying to hide. She unconsciously leaned into you, her head finding home in your lap. Her heart was pounding like crazy at your closeness, yet she wouldn’t trade it for anything. Maybe your lips on hers. She thought about how you would taste, how you would feel, while touching her own at the thought without even realizing it. She was deep in thought, when she heard the main door swing open and crash into the wall.

“Who’s the-“ you started, snapping your head in the direction, but were cut off by the newly emerged, older Carpenter.

“Get away from the window Chad!” Sam all but screamed, her eyes full of fear. She didn’t stop and rushed towards the curtains. Chad did as ordered, not daring question it and got behind Sam. The girl used her momentum and kicked the cloth fabric with full force. A crack could be heard, as her boots went through the window like knife through butter. She squealed from the surprise and fell.

Everyone was up on their feet by that point, watching the scene. You blinked once in confusion, then twice, looking around you to see if the others were just as confused as you, and to your relief all of them looked clueless. Though they looked way more worried than you were. Silence filled the room, the movie blaring in the background.

“Sam” Mindy started slowly. “Everything okay?” she asked, in the most worried voice, you have ever heard from her.

The woman on the ground pulled her leg back from the window, examining it. Her trousers were cut open, and there were a few small cuts on her skin. She cursed under her nose, then looked at the group. “Do I look okay?”

“Why did you kick in the window?” Anika blurted out before she could stop herself.

Sam was pretty annoyed. She huffed and got up from the floor leaning against the wall and breathed in deeply, before starting. “I got a prank call. Everything felt real, their voice modulator, the way they spoke… They even knew what you were doing and who was here!”

Tara left your side to hug her sister tightly. Sam couldn’t hide her surprise but hugged her back. “I was so scared for you…” she spoke again, voice low but you knew it wasn’t just meant for Tara, even if she felt the most worry for her sister. “I’m sorry I ruined the movie.”

Now you had a better view of the young woman. She looked dishevelled and frightened. Not frightened but hurt you corrected yourself. Water was dripping out of her wet hair from the never ending rain in the streets. She was gripping to Tara for dear life, as if she almost lost her.

“Guys” Anika said, looking at her phone, which then she quickly showed to the rest of the group. “I can’t believe this…”

The device was playing a video of Sam barging into the building, laughing emojis placed everywhere on the screen. After a few seconds one of the windows of the building broke, a leg flying out of it. The camera shook from the holder's laughter. The video looked like it was going viral, the title being ‘Crazy mass murderer lady kicks in a window’.

“You have got to be fuckin’ joking” you said and took the phone away from your sister, shutting the screen off. When you looked back at the Carpenters, Sam was holding her head with both hands, hurt and fury raging in her eyes.

She mumbled something under her nose and left the room Tara quick after her, while the rest of you didn’t quite know what to do. Few moments passed, then Anika and Mindy slumped back down on the couch and Chad paused the movie. After a little consideration you went after the sisters, but stopped before the bathroom’s door, not sure if you would be welcome there. You decided against it and leant on the wall next to it. The noises of quiet conversation came from the restroom as time passed. Sam’s voice seemed calmer and calmer under the never-ending soothing voice of Tara.

After successfully cooling Sam off, Tara took in a deep breath and looked at her sister’s clumsy work on her own leg. “I could have done it way more delicately” she said and stood up.

Sam chuckled and shook her head. “It doesn’t matter how it looks if it works does it?”

“Your leg looks like an oversized mummy’s leg. Next time accept my help please.”

“Okay, mom” Sam said, still chuckling.

“Will you join us? The film is about halfway through.”

“No” her voice was dry, her tiredness showing. “I’m exhausted and tomorrow I’ll need to find someone to fix the damn window. I’m gonna wash up a little, then head of to bed. And tell y/n that I’m okay” she gestured under the door to show Tara your shadow. “She has been standing out the door for god know how long we've been talking.”

“Will do. Good night, Sam” Tara told her and closed the door behind her.

Her eyes immediately found yours, as you leaned away from the wall. She saw your concern in them, your eyebrows shuffled, little crinkles appeared on your forehead. You looked cute this way; concerned, was her first thought.

“Is she alright?” came the question and even though Tara was expecting it, your soft and careful voice still took her off guard.

“I wouldn’t say alright, but she'll survive” the younger Carpenter replied.

“She doesn’t deserve this.”

“She really doesn’t” Tara started. “Sam will head off to bed, so let’s keep the voice of the movie low.”

You nodded and went back to the others with Tara at your side. You didn’t even notice that you put your hand on her lower back. She did though, your closeness having the same effect on her as it always did. She felt her pulse in her palm and her breathing sped up.

You finished the movie in silence, Tara’s head on your shoulder her full body weighing on yours. Her smell, of roses and coconut, filled your nostrils intoxicating your every cell. Your breathing synchronized with hers, chests heaving and slumping together in a calm and peaceful dance.

----------

“This film still hits like a truck” Anika told you.

“That doesn't mean you must act like a truck hit you!” you panted as you tried to push her out the door. Your shoulders were against her back, thrusting her out. “Come on! At least help me a little here please!”

She groaned out and stood on her feet, letting you breathe out. Mindy stretched her arm out for Anika to take, which she did, delicately intertwining their fingers. “We’ll wait for you downstairs!” she said with a smirk on her face, waving hastily.

As you turned around to say your goodbyes to Tara, you saw her already standing in front of you, way closer than what you expected. Her eyes were intently searching you her unwavering gaze making you feel vulnerable. “See you tomorrow then?” you asked with a hopeful voice.

“See you tomorrow y/n” she said. Her lips looked so red, so full, so soft. They captured your eyes and didn’t let go. She leaned forward and pressed a gentle kiss to your cheek. Before you could think of anything, she pushed you out and shut the door, not letting herself do anything more.

She has known you since Anika and Mindy got together almost three months ago. Before that, she had noticed you in classes, but didn't pay much attention. You always made jokes, references or snarky comments that made many laugh including her, yet she didn't draw close to you. Whenever an opportunity rose to get closer to you, you either evaded it, or got silent, which made her think you weren't fond of her.

When Anika joined the friend group, she dragged you with herself, and Tara couldn't be more grateful for her. You quickly loosened up around her and as it turned out, you were a very nice and kind person. Whenever she needed someone to talk to, you were there for her, whenever she had a panic-attack you soothed her and calmed her down. Where others treated her like porcelain, as if she could crack any time, you treated her like a normal person. You knew her better than anyone else and this quickly became very clear to her. Somewhere along the line, she realized she had fallen for you and this scared her.

Her fear of losing you were greater than anything. This is why she didn’t confess her feelings for you. What if you didn’t reciprocate them and so she would ruin everything? No. She just couldn’t risk that. You were her only cornerstone, her anchor, her lifebelt. She wasn't sure how she would live without you guiding her.

But what if you did like her back?

You were still stunned on the other side of the closed door. After your brain processed what happened, a wide smile took place on your face. You couldn’t wash it off even when you reached your sister, the Meeks' already half a street ahead of you. Anika noticed your mood immediately, her smirk from earlier reappearing and growing. “What’s gotten you so pumped up?”

“What are you talking about? I am always this pumped!” you say with too much enthusiasm.

“Riiiiight, and I'm the pope. Out with it!"

"Nothing! It was nothing."

Anika rolled her eyes and pushed it further. "What was nothing?"

"Well, Tara kissed me-"

"No way!" she interrupted and punched your right shoulder.

"-on the cheek." you finally finished. "She kissed me on the cheek" you said again, believing yourself finally this time. Your shoulder hurt like hell from her punch, since she managed to hit one of your bruises. "What the hell was that for?!"

"Sorry, I'm just thrilled!" she all but screamed, her excitement gleaming out of her. "How was it? What happened? What did you-"

"I'll stop you right here, because if you keep going, I won't remember half your questions" you cut in, placing a hand on her shoulder to calm her down.

"I'm listening."

As you started your walk home, you told her about it. Just as you said before, it wasn't anything big, but you couldn't help but feel that it was something special. After you finished, she teased you like never before, about anything and everything but it didn't even register in your blissful brain. After a while of walking, the rain washed this state out of you, and your sister's giddiness spread to you too. You were laughing as you entered the building of your apartment. When you closed the elevator's door and pressed the sixth floor, you were swallowed by your thoughts though.

Tara was perfect. From her smooth black hair and deep brown eyes to her last toe, you found her stunning and captivating. From the first moment you saw her across the hallway she had made your heart find a new rhythm to beat to. You were surprised when Anika told you about her past, why she didn't trust anyone and about what exactly happened in Woodsboro. Gale Weathers' book helped in understanding her, as you dug yourself into the subject.

In classes, she was smart, sharp minded and active. In projects, she didn't take the leading role, yet her views and suggestions were always great and helpful. When you were assigned together on something, your nervousness got the better of you, afraid that you would scare her away with your personality. So you did what you did best for half high school and all primary school; staying silent and invisible. This all changed when Anika forced you to go with her to Mindy's place so that you would meet her and her friends. You found the courage to talk to her and after a while, you let yourself show. Fortunately, she didn't shy away.

This is when you realised, how deeply scarred she was, even the slightest sudden movement making her freeze or horrifying her. You made it your mission to spend time with her and help her in her struggle. She became a constant part in your imaginary timetable stuffed between your drum practises and taekwondo sessions. Your feelings only grew for her every time she fell apart as you adored her for how great she was doing after what she has been through. You could never imagine, that someone as perfect as she was could like you, so you kept your feelings to yourself. Yet that small kiss made you feel otherwise.

"Penny for your thoughts?" you heard your sister ask.

"Just… Tara" you admitted.

"Last time I saw you down bad like this was before…" she didn't finish, and just gulped down the sentence as she saw your eyes flinch. "Anyway, I remember you coming in my room and sit on my bed to talk my ears of about a girl you met in high school" she chuckled lightly at the memory.

"Yeah, I remember too."

"It was 3 am, and you just wouldn't stop endorsing her eyebrows" she laughed.

"Hey! Her eyebrows were pretty!" you defended as you pouted and threw your hands in the air for good measure.

Her burst filled the small elevator as she held her arm to clear the forming tears of joy in her eyes. "If you say so" she managed to say. "What was her name again?"

"Olivia." You crossed your hands looking at her. "How can you not remember your classmate?"

"She left the school in half a year! You can't expect me to remember her."

You smiled at her. "She's coming over tomorrow."

"Who, Olivia?" she asked with a doubtful voice.

"Not her. Tara" you said sheepishly.

Anika blinked once, then twice. She then opened her mouth, but not a sound left it. Her eyes were wide and happy. "You look like Remy when he finds out he's going to get fed" you told her, which made her compose herself.

"She… You… I mean… Is it a date?"

"We… didn't define it."

"But is it? You asked her in hopes of one no?"

"I'm not going to ask her on a date!"

"Why not?!" she asked, annoyance clear in her voice. "She is just as heads over heals for you as you are for her!" You blinked at her statement in sync with the elevators loud beep, signing that you have arrived. "Oh my god you really don't see it. You are so useless" she muttered, raising a hand to her face as she left the elevator. You thought about what she said and how Tara acted around you for a moment, then followed her.

"Even if she is, which she is not, I am not going to initiate!" your voice a little less certain than before.

She took out her keys a little too forcefully, selecting the right one. "Oh, please put your pride aside just this once! You guys are killing me!"

"Everything is killing you! In mornings, it’s the uncomfortable pillow, in the afternoon it's the lack of sleep because the uncomfortable pillow."

"You chose the wrong pillow and you know it" her voice was plane and accusative. "But seriously, if you two don't get together in rapid time I am going to be so intolerable you wish you had a pack of hyenas as flatmates." The door opened and she entered. Remy was at the door, ready to greet you and as you entered as well, he rubbed against your leg, making it impossible to get further inside the apartment. You leant down and rubbed his throat gently telling him a small 'Hey there King', then took your shoes of. His light purring filled the dark room. "Would you switch the lights on please?" she asked of you.

You kicked your shoes off, being careful not to hit the cat, and started searching for the switch at the location it should have been. After you found it you switched it, but nothing happened, so you did it again and again. "That isn't gonna work, dingus" she said, with an unimpressed look on her face that you could make out even in the dark.

"Oh really?" you asked and started switching it faster, whilst looking at her challengingly. It, didn't work. She groaned out and shut the door.

"You are insufferable" she headed inwards with her head thrown back. You followed after her, leaving the switch in a lit up state, for when the power comes back up it would light up. "What will you two do tomorrow?"

"I've invited her so that she may try my onion pie, but beside that I think we'll watch something and that’s it."

"If you are afraid to express your feelings, you could maybe do it subtly? I know it's not one of your strong suites but if you really don't believe that she likes you this is the only way!"

"I am not going to accept relationship advice from someone that wanted to date Frankie" you said his name with so much disgust, that it even surprised you. You headed towards the kitchen to feed Remy, switching the light on. To your surprise, the lamp lit up the room in bright yellow light. Great, now you have to change the lightbulb at the entrance.

"I was in a rough spot!"

"He threw up in my lap! In front of you! If that wasn't enough there were so many red flags around him, I am actually impressed he can see other colours."

You didn't hear her reply from the other room as you opened a new can of cat food. Remy was waiting on the counter, watching intently at his usual spot. You spooned the minced meat into his bowl and put it before him then watched him for a while as he eagerly began eating it.

When you got back to the living room, Anika was already half asleep on the couch, head slumped on her stretched out arm. You smiled, and went over to her. "Sleepyhead, do you wanna sleep here or in your own bed?"

She mumbled something inaudible as a response. You sighed, and got up from the couch leaving her there. You were very tired, so you made your way to your bed. Your mind was orbiting around Tara, and how tomorrow would go. You drifted off to sleep with her at the front of your brain.

--------

The next day you got up early, full of energy. You laughed at Anika when you saw her still half asleep on the couch. When she got up she was grumpy and messy, her hair dangling in every direction except where it should have. She excused herself for a bath with a raspy voice and left you in the kitchen with Remy. You petted him whilst drinking your coffee and making a small mental list of what you needed to do today before Tara arrives.

The day flew by faster than you remember it going, yet you didn't mind it one bit. You changed the lightbulb at the main entrance, went to a shop to buy the ingredients for the pie and tidied the house up. Tara messaged you about when she should drop in, and what started as a minute-long text exchange max, ended in a half hour long talk on the phone. Her voice was alluring even through the microphone, so you didn't mind at all. When you hang up, you cooked a small lunch for yourself, since Anika has already left the house for a date with Mindy and continued your work. You called your nan and went over the recipe way more times than it was actually needed. She laughed at your enthusiasm, yet didn't question what it was for. She knew it without you needing to say anything about it.

Just as quickly as the sun came in the morning, it went away and Tara found herself before your apartments building, trying to find the courage to enter. She was early and she didn't want to intrude on you just because she couldn't wait anymore doing nothing at home. She then sighed, and forced herself to enter.

She followed your recommendation and used the lift, even though it wasn't in the best shape. It was small and slow, but it did the trick. As the cabin climbed level after level heroically, her heartbeat got faster and faster, filling her ears. Only the sharp beep snapped her out of her trance. She left the elevator, and searched for your door. When she found it, she reached to knock, but stopped herself again. She just stood there, her hand raised halfway to the door.

A loud bang came from the staircase, so she went to investigate.

"Jesus, I am never choosing the stairs again. Fuck…" you mumbled to yourself as you tried to get up to your feet. One of the stone slabs was displaced and you managed to fall when you kicked your feet in its outstanding corner.

"Y/n?"

You snapped your head to the sounds source, seeing Tara above. You tried compose yourself quickly and look sly, as if you didn't just get off the ground after falling on your nose. "Tara! Hey! How are you… What are you…" She chuckled, which made you smile too.

"I came up with the elevator."

"That makes sense. I was just down at Mrs. Kim to ask for some parsley. She grows it in her window, and it's better than anything that can be bought!" you said, holding up a small amount of freshly cut parsley.

"Are you okay?"

"Other than my pride, nothing got hurt, so I would say I'm devastated" you said as you climbed the rest of the stairs. When you reached her, she hugged you gently as to not press into last night's bruises, or any new ones that you got from the cold floor. A pleasant feeling washed over her as she breathed you in. You didn't dare brake the hug, so she needed to after a while. You smiled at her again, and took out your keys to open the door of your apartment.

She followed after you inside and started peeling of her shoes whilst you were fiddling with the lights switch. White light filled the room in a few moments, and Tara heard your soft sigh of relief. "Can you close the door please?" her voice was soft, almost pleading. It broke your heart.

After you closed it, you started leading her inside. "Welcome to my humble home Miss Carpenter! In here we have a few rules of our own, so please follow them!"

"You? Rules? Really?" she asked in disbelief, a slight smirk forming on her face.

"I take laws and rules very seriously dear, I don't know why you would think otherwise" you told her, mimicking her smile. "Rule number one; if you feel that the host isn't being a good host, you tell them that with utmost cruelty. Rule number two; if you are hungry, nag the host until she caves and gives you something to eat."

"What kind of rules are these?" she laughed.

You shrugged, looking confused. "Remy made them. Any criticism can be guided towards him from nine till ten."

"The cat?"

"Indeed he did. Complaints?"

"No, none here. I'm starving" she said and smiled.

"Good. I will put the pie in the oven and while it bakes, we eat dinner."

"What's for dinner? This smell is delicious!" to prove her point she breathed in deeply.

"Secret" you told her with a mischievous smile on your face.

She sighed and went inside. The place screamed of your presence, everything placed loosely without a real spot, yet connected in a working system of chaos. The furniture's colours complimented each other, a few plants placed near the windows here and there. The brown, leather couch faced the television on a small desk near the one of the windows. An orange-ginger cat laid out on the couch, eyeing her, his green eyes flashing in the dark room.

"That's Remy. He doesn't really like strangers, so don't expect much… Aaand he allowed you to pet him." You rolled your eyes and smiled at them. Tara was beside him, gently caressing his back, whilst he was looking at you with narrowed eyes. You stack your tongue at him and went to the kitchen to put the parsley on the pie and put it in the oven. The you took the food to the table. She followed you there and sat in front of you as you made the table. You then raised the pan's top revealing the still sizzling paella underneath. Her eyes widened as she looked up at you.

"How did you-" she started but you cut in.

"Mindy snitched on you. I hope you like it."

She let you take out a portion for her, and greedily tasted it. Somehow it tasted more than any other version she has ever tried. She moaned out, letting you know it was heavenly, and with a still full mouth asked. "What's in this?"

"Well, only what all other paellas. Oh, and a splash of love. I forgot about that part" you said smiling.

Her laugh filled the room, and filled your ears. "Well, that splash of love really is something because I've never tasted anything this good!"

"No need to over exaggerate" you said even when you felt your chest swell with pride.

"I'm not!" she raised her voice. "Have you tried this?!"

"Well, a few times whilst making it, but not the complete product" you admitted.

"Here, taste it!" she said and raised the spoon to your face. You raised an eyebrow, but tasted your food. It really was great, and you had a similar reaction to Tara's. She laughed and pulled her spoon back.

"I don't want to sound smug, but this is a damn good paella" you smiled.

"You don't. I love it."

When you finished eating, you took the cleared the table, and brought in new plates for the pie. "I'm sorry but I am full" she said, looking apologetically at you. "Maybe after a movie I can try it?"

"Thought so. You more than what I saw you eat in the last two days" you joked.

"Not my fault it was better than what gods eat!"

"Stop it!" you laughed and hit her shoulder gently. She laughed with you. You held your hand out to her to help her up, which she carefully took. You then lead her back to the living room, where she turned to face you.

"What do you want to watch?"

You, you thought and didn't realize you said it out loud.

"Me?" she asked laughing against you, leaning just a little closer. "Why is that?"

"Wha-" you started, but as you comprehended what happened, you stopped. "I… Because… Because you are beautiful Tara" you said, and swallowed. You just realized how close she was, her breathing hitting your nose, her arms around you, yours around her. She was staring into your eyes, her heartbeat faster than ever. Her eyes snapped to your lips, then back. Yours did the same. She was leaning closer, and closer, until her lips reached yours. As she pressed them together she felt how soft they were, how warm and oh so much better than what she imagined. Her eyes shut close letting the feeling encompass her whole body, mind in a blissful state as she deepened the kiss hungrily, pulling you impossibly closer. You felt in heaven, her lips being better than any drug. They tasted like sweet strawberries, you could feel yourself become addicted to the sensation.

You separated for air and pressed your foreheads together. She put her hands on your scalp, gently keeping you close so that if you wanted to, you could break the contact. You tucked a lock of hair behind her ear, and held your hand on her cheek. She chuckled against you and looked up in your eyes. "So you think I'm beautiful?"

"I do. I did from the very start. You are gorgeous" your voice was pure and filled with softness and love. "If I knew what would happen when I call you that I would have done it years ago."

"You didn't even know me back then."

"Well, kissing a random beautiful girl would have still been a great accomplishment."

"Then shut up and do it again" she said, leaning up.

You obliged happily, pressing yourself against her as you guided her to the couch. She span you around and pushed you at the couch, making you fall on it with your back. Then she climbed after you and kissed you eagerly, pressing your body into the pillows. You lost yourself in her, keeping your hands on her hips pulling her closer. Heaven and hell be damned, she was your religion, and praying at her altar felt better than anything in this whole world.

Then her phone rang. Of course something needed to ruin the moment. You groaned out and tried to get up, but she pressed you back, not letting you leave. In moments you forgot about the phone, Tara filling your every sense, but then it rang again. When you didn't answer it there was a small silence until your phone rang too. The Carpenter huffed out and pushed herself off you, letting you grab your phone. It was from an unknown number. You rolled your eyes and picked up.

"Hi, no I don't want to change to a better subscription and no, I don't care what the package contains because as I said before, I am not interested."

"What about a package that lets you keep your lives, Y/N?" a voice asked, that you were far too familiar with. The Stab movies were one of your favourite horror movies, but since you befriended Tara and the others, you felt like it was inappropriate to watch any of them ever again. Your racing heart skipped a few beats as the blood in your arms froze. You blinked towards Tara, trying to keep calm as to avoid her having a panic attack. The last one she had was far too dangerous to happen again.

You stood up and glanced around the room, trying to find any hiding place, but it was dark. Why was it dark? The lights should be on; you didn't shut anything off! "Now you are dying to hang on the line don't you? I'll be honest with you, first I called Tara to play a little game with her for your life, but now? It sounds way more fun to do the exact opposite…"

"You want to play a game to save your own life? That's fucked up man."

You heard light chuckling coming from the other line. You looked at Tara, whose expression said it all. She knew exactly who you were speaking to, her face horrified and fearful. She started looking around the room too. "Have you not seen this movie? I know for a fact you did. Poor little Tara doesn't even know that her love is just as fucked up in the head as her other love, that also tried to kill her…"

"Having a favourite film in a specific genre is way different than trying to cut someone open because of it."

"Is it though?" he was laughing again. "Well, if you are so smart, why don't you play a little game with me."

"When I find you, you are as good as dead freak."

"Freddy, Michael, Jason Voorhees. Learn from those who came before me! You can't kill the boogeyman."

"Billy, Mickey, Roman, Jill and I could go on. They are all dead. You really want to find out when your movie ends?" as you kept him talking, you signalled Tara to start moving towards the exit.

"I don't really care until I did what I wanted. Make her suffer. Either way, you won't be there to witness it" when he finished his sentence, the previously locked main door flew open and there was Ghostface standing, dramatically hanging up the phone and waving at you with his knife.

You pulled Tara behind and grabbed her hand as you darted towards your room. You heard the intruder running after you, but didn't look back until you were both inside and shut the door on his face. Tara quickly pulled the lock, waiting for a force on the other side to force it open, but it never came. Instead, you saw the white steel of his knife enter at the edge of the door.

"Fire escape" you ushered Tara. "Now!"

You didn't need to tell her twice. She was at your window in a second as she pried it open as you heard the same thing happening to your door. Tara's eyes widened, and climbed out the window with haste, screaming for you to do the same. You ran towards the window and jumped out. Your chest hit the railing hard but you recovered in seconds. You glanced back just in time to see him swinging the deadly weapon. You tried to duck away, but he changed the direction in the last second. You screamed out in pain as you felt it cut in your neck. With an adrenaline rush you knocked him over with the full weight of your body and span around to go down the metal stairs.

You heard his heavy boots run after you. He was about two levels behind as all three of you were running down. The six floors were way longer than what you remembered. It looked like they just wouldn't stop coming. You heart was beating in your throat, your neck pulsing and stinging. Neither of you looked back up, but you both knew he was getting closer. Then the stairs finally ended.

You both burst out in the sprint of your lives. Tara was ahead of you, but with your hand you guided her. She glanced back, and slowly stopped in her tracks. You looked back too, halting next to her. People in the street were looking at you confused and scared at the sight of your wound but you couldn't care less about them.

The fire escape's street was a dead end on one side, and you were standing on the other. There were no objects he could have hid behind no windows he could have climbed through. The only thing in the alley was a beggar, at the end of it, slumping his head down on his knees. You slowly approached him, looking around for every little dark spot you could find, but He was nowhere to be found.

When you reached the man, you gasped. His shirt was bloodied, his hands effortlessly laying by his sides. He was familiar, but you didn't know from where. His gray hair was covering his face, the end of it soaked in his own blood. A knife stood out from his chest, pinning a small note to him. You swiped the hair out of his face and you immediately recognized him. He was the drunk man, who insulted Tara last night.

You felt nauseated but your curiosity got the better of you as you flipped the note in a way you could read it. The blood froze in your veins, your head started spinning and you felt breathless. You snapped when you felt a hand on your shoulder, but quickly calmed down when you saw Tara. Yet the note was all you head on your mind right now, repeating the six words written on it; "I remember what you did, Lolly."

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