#i usually have no fear but red is scary because like what if its too red what if its not red enough what if the roots still look bad

[biteofcherry]

Sweet and stained

Sweet and stained

soft dark Nick Fowler x female reader

a Hades/Persephone inspired AU set in modern times, with an implied mafia background

summary: You live in the sun and blooms, under your mother's protective wing (or is it cage?). When Nick Fowler strolls into your life, he brings a wave of thrilling fresh with the darkness that follows him.

warnings: soft!dark Nick Fowler; sort of dub-con; kidnapping; manipulation; light corruption kink; mentioned breeding kink; a bit of smutty scenes included;

Author's Note: This is a trope that won the poll for my birthday celebration story. Honestly, the way I imagined this fic at first is completely different from how it turned out. Less sharp than my usual style and more of a gloomy, start-of-the-autumn poetics. Still, I hope you'll enjoy!

You never knew black could shimmer so brilliantly, even though you saw its various shades in petals of unique flowers. The night sky’s ink was dotted with sparkling dust, too, after all. Yet it was only now that you noticed the luminosity of dark, as your head tilted back on the softest pillows and your gaze roamed the supple garlands of the black canopy.

Dark interior, which scared you the first time you took a step inside, now engulfed you in heady warmth. Like a sip of spicy hot chocolate, so rich and thick it coats your tongue and fills your belly with a bitter bite to its general sweetness.

There’s more spice than sweetness to your captor, but you began realizing he remained the only one to treat you with softness. As if he truly cared.

Perhaps he did? 

Maybe the charm and patience he showed you at the beginning were as true as the ruthless possessiveness with which he bound you to him. 

You had years to find that out. Decades at his side, to unravel the scary mystery that was Nick Fowler.

Your husband.

His face above you, as he sat beside your sweaty, spent body, shone a serene glow. His eyes a shade of clear lake, with monsters luring in the depths. 

You still feared him, but Nick gave you enough proof that he wouldn’t hurt you. 

Even if his plan for you was weaved out of nefarious intentions. 

He set aside the glass of water which he brought to your lips a moment ago, soothing your throat that dried out from how much you screamed for him. 

It’s for the best that you couldn’t speak at the moment, your breath still ragged; since you didn’t know what you’d say to him after all the debauched things he did to you. Post sex pillow talk was never your forte, but it was even more awkward after willingly spreading your legs for a man who ripped you from your life as one plucked a flower from the ground.  

Silently, you watched Nick once again pick a crystal bowl from the nightstand, a shiny barrow of pomegranate seeds peeking above the rim. 

He devoured some moments before he indulged in your dripping pussy.  

Seeds glistened ruby richness on Nick’s fingers as he brought them to your lips; his own mouth stained with the juice. He left traces of the red sweetness on your thighs and mound, mixing pomegranate flavor with your combined spend. 

Your lips wrapped around his digits as he spilled fruity grains on your tongue. One of your hands rested on your belly, just below your navel. 

Nick has repeatedly filled you with seeds that night, not only those of a pomegranate. 

It made you tremble. His intent was clear; not only shown in relentless, deep thrusts, but dark and dirty words whispered into your ear. 

Your body shouldn’t react so eagerly to his plans, arching and spasming in whorish acceptance as he ordered you to take it; as he fucked you through one climax into another, telling you of his heir swelling in your womb. 

Disgust should have filled you, instead of arousal. Because as much as you believed Nick was going to dote on you, his owning of your body in every sense was driven by revenge. 

~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~

With the wide rim of the sunhat on your head limiting your view and your focus on the pots dancing away from you (the wind that day was wickedly playful, knocking over the smaller pots every time you righted them), you weren’t paying much attention to your surroundings. 

People walked past, some gleefully talking about plants, others arguing on what was or wasn’t needed in their garden. On a sunny day like that, Demeter Gardens had as many customers as a fun fair on weekends. 

The staff was really busy on days like this, doubling their efforts, because it was usually when your mother chose to grace the place with her radiant presence - radiant to the customers, an absolute harpy to her workers. 

There were many traits you admired about your mother. The most inspiring was the fact she was a barely out of teens single mother who managed to raise you and start a business that flourished into a state known brand. 

She had her faults, too. Like the high expectations and harsh tongue when someone didn’t meet her standards.

It went both for her employees and her daughter. 

Working with plants soothed you, so at least your future as the heiress to the empire your mother wanted you to take over didn’t look as grim. Even if some evenings you cried into a pillow, because it wasn’t what you dreamt of at all.

Growing under her wing, you didn’t get much of a chance to explore what exactly you could dream of, what called out to you, but you simply knew that running a gardening business wasn’t it. 

You never dared to tell your mother that. Enough times have you suffered her cruel words, snide remarks regarding anything that strayed even a step away from her grand plans. Demeter had ambition rivaling many moguls and she poured it onto you as well. The only praise you got was when you won any sort of competition, or mentioned business plans. 

Your mother may have only spiteful words to say about your absent father, but she possessed the same self-centered core as him. Rotten and unkind. 

How plants flourished under her hands, you had no idea. 

Though she didn’t spend much time with them anymore, leaving it to people who really liked working with plants. You liked the peace and quiet it offered, which is why you spent almost every day at the gardening center. 

“Excuse me?” A smooth male voice startled you.

Not only with how sudden and close it was, but also because it was so unusual in a place mostly filled with cheery, loudly speaking families or couples. 

You turned your head, pulling the rim of your sunhat up with your dirty fingers, so you could see the person better. 

Your gaze met a pair of blue eyes, with a silvery gray swirl in them, that chilled you like an autumn rain pattering on your skin. A shadow of stubble along a chiseled jaw, which would feel under your fingertips like frosty needles of the first hoarse coating November leaves. Subtle, pink lips curved in a smile, but its charm didn’t fully cover the sharp threat of teeth that could sink in ‘till blood spilled like in spooky nightmares of autumnal season.

This man looked like the stillness of dying nature, engulfed in fog and chilling to the bones. A dark spirit amongst the lush greenery and blooming life that stretched all around. 

And yet he was more beautiful than any man you ever laid eyes on. 

“Yes?” You swallowed nervously, mostly to wet your suddenly dry throat. “Can I help you?”

“I’m sure you can,” he said softly, his voice a brush of cool silk. 

“See, I usually hire garden designers to take care of any greenery around my business buildings, but the one at my actual home? I wanted to work on it myself.”

“Understandable.” You smiled at him. “Having your own garden is a personal thing. Working on it helps you connect with the place that will be your oasis.”

“The problem is, I quickly realized I have zero idea what I’m doing. But I’m a stubborn bastard, who’s still adamant on chasing what he set his eyes on.” He sighed dramatically, making you laugh.

“Anyway-” he shook his head- “I’m Nick. Please, help me out?” 

You gave him your name, taking his hand when he outstretched it. His fingers were calloused, though it’s the cool brush of metal of his rings that sent tiny spikes of sensation through you. 

“What exactly do you need my help with, Nick?” You took off your sunhat and squinted slightly as the sunlight soaked your vision. 

“My tastes are… unique.” You knew he spoke about aesthetic preferences, but couldn’t help hearing the double meaning behind it. Especially with the sensual flick of his tongue over his bottom lip.

“I’m mostly out the whole day,” Nick continued explaining, “coming home only in the evening. Which is when I wish to spend most time in the garden. To relax and enjoy its secret beauty.”

“You want night bloomers.” You guessed, grinning ear to ear.

Flowers blooming in the evening and through the night were one of your favorites. There was something about them that called out to you. Perhaps the fact they were overlooked under the radiant sun, hiding their secret beauty to flourish in shadows, when no one could judge them. 

There was also the aura of mystery about them, pairing so well with your fondness for gloomy and gothic stories. 

“See? I knew I was asking the right person for help.” Nick mirrored your smile; his made you a little weak in the knees. 

“You have to get the Moonflower, of course.” You moved and gestured for Nick to follow you, as you led him to the far end of the center. 

“I have to?” Nick chuckled, matching your step to walk beside you rather than behind you. 

Shoulder to shoulder with him, you suddenly realized he was taller than at first sight. Much warmer than what his dark aura suggested, too. And his scent was a toe-curling reminder of spicy mulled wine sipped by the fireplace.

“Yes!” You nodded, brushing your fingertips along the plants you passed on your way. “Moonflower is my favorite. It’s similar to the morning glory. You won’t see its full beauty now, but I assure you it never disappoints.”

When you finally reached the corner with potted plants - from smallest to those quite grown already - Nick bent over to examine it closely. He gently trailed the heart-shaped leaves, then plucked the yellow card attached to one of the thin stems. 

“Moonflower, or moon vine,” he read aloud, “is a night-blooming morning glory that opens in the evening and stays full until morning.”

Nick straightened and turned to you, gaze slowly dragging up your body. When his eyes met yours, there was a glint of something cold and dangerous in them. As if for a split of a second you saw a flash of instrumental triumph.

“Opens in the evening and stays full until morning,” he repeated the words, his voice dropping an octave and filling your belly with unexpected heat. “I like it already.” 

“Uh, well-” you squeezed the rim of the sunhat in your grasp- “Yes, see, I told you. You’ll like it even more when it blooms in your garden.”

“I know I will.” Nick affirmed solemnly. 

Something about his gaze, or perhaps it was the set of his jaw, quickened your pulse with a warning that his intent was more than just a harmless flirting. There was this tinge of danger about him, fizzing on the tip of your tongue with a spicy aftertaste. 

If you licked his skin, the cold darkness may swallow you, but everything inside you would set aflame. 

Apprehension tingled inside your chest, like wind chimes’ pearly tune that lured with their woeful longing. Reason whispered to take a step back, but feet moved forward on their own, drawn to the inner flame that may as well be straight from hell. 

It was hard to break eye contact with Nick, but you feared if you didn’t look away he’d mesmerize you into selling your soul. And your body. Body which awoke with yearning to have his fingertips trail along your skin the same way he touched the plants.

Somehow you managed to turn away. The sun’s warmth returned to your cheeks, caressing your face with soothing lightness the second you stepped away from Nick’s gloomy aura.

“You should also get night blooming Jasmine. It smells so sweet.” You rambled about plants, clutching onto the topic like it was a lifebuoy keeping you afloat from sinking into fascinating, but scary depths that were Nick’s eyes. 

“And Angel’s Trumpets!” With your presentation, excitement returned. 

You were helping create something personal, something so very unique. However Nick chose to use your advice, you had a blissful sense of creating something yourself. A garden that may as well be yours, since it catered to your aesthetic and needs as well. 

Nick ordered so many of the plants you listed that not only did you run out of stock, but had to set up a delivery from another center. You weren’t sure how big Nick’s garden was, but considering the amount of plants it had to be a king-sized land. 

The thought of roaming it in the late evening, with dusk hiding hues of purple and gold in a shroud of ink black, and moonlit petals opening up for the life of creatures of the night; it made your heart yearn.

You’d love to wander through that garden. 

For someone who ran a gardening empire, your mother kept you both locked in a metal and glass skyscraper, in a two-floor penthouse with (amazing, but contained) view of the city. 

It was a cage. 

As you watched Nick walk away after he paid in advance for the order, though he took with him some chilling sense of danger, you envied his freedom to simply walk away from the sun and the blooms. 

Many would be jealous of you, you were aware of that. Living among lush greenery and constant sun seemed wonderful. It was to an extent. But this pristine, spring and summer only land, didn’t allow difference. There was no real room for unusual, dark undertones of wicked hearts that would love to have wild mushrooms spread over their lawn instead of snobby hydrangeas. 

When a cooling cloud shielded you from the scorching sun, coming along with Nick as he returned the next week, you felt like breathing freely for the first time since he walked away. 

This time he asked for fruit trees which he wanted to scatter among other types. The idea immediately struck you as unique, making your heart jump. 

Most of the time people divided their gardens - strict lines and areas for vegetables, separating them from decorative flowers. Mixing them up seemed chaotic, but so wonderful. What a surprise to walk through gemstone garlands of wisteria to find juicy peaches at arm’s reach. Or to tread through ferns and moonflowers to discover gooseberry bushes hidden amongst them. 

When Nick came on a third week, your excitement at his presence and news of his garden overpowered any sense of reason that kept you at a certain distance with him. 

And when he mentioned that keeping a routine and being at the center on the same day, same hour every week could be dangerous. 

“Someone could watch you, learn your schedule and plan how to steal you, Moonflower.” 

Having Nick call you Moonflower - the word rolling out on his tongue in a hum of wind, chilling to the bone, but igniting that deep-soul yearning - stirred feelings that overpowered the warning. 

Or maybe you started living for that rush of thrill Nick’s shadow elicited. The only spot of darkness allowed in your life. Enriching it thus. 

Still, fear resurfaced with tentacles of cold wrapping around you and plucking you from the sunny spot in broad daylight as you trotted to work the week after. On the same day as usual, with a bounce to your step as thirst for Nick’s brand of addictive flavor parched your throat. 

The car was black; a polished, obsidian arrowhead spearing the sheet of morning light. The engine’s sound more the growl of a prowling beast than the roar of an unhinged monster. 

Despite the speed, it stopped gracefully at the curb, cutting off your route. Nick’s silhouette stunned you as he exited the car; the blue-green depth of his eyes darker than when he walked along with you through blooming alleys. 

A smile didn’t have a chance to spread on your lips when his hand covered your mouth, the other arm wrapping around you. 

You screamed when he dragged you inside the car, but calloused fingers stifled the sound effectively. Wet tinkle of your cries reverberated against the metal of the rings adorning Nick’s fingers. 

Pleading eyes, so full of unanswered questions and fear, didn’t cut through the veil of composure. One had no chance begging their life out of death’s grip and Nick’s hold on you was a finality set in stone, as if the grim reaper came to harvest your soul to lead it to undying gardens for the rest of eternity. 

“No need for tears, Moonflower.” Nick took his hand from your mouth as the car sped away.

His touch traveled down your shaking arm, harsh fingers delivering surprisingly comforting caress. He took your hand in his and brough your palm to his mouth, kissing softly each knuckle. 

“I’ll make you a queen and treat you as such. No harm will ever be done to you.” 

“You kidnapped me,” you pointed out, voice quiet and quivering, though you bravely held his gaze. “That’s quite harmful.” 

“It’s only a means to avoid meddling of forces that would otherwise keep you away from me.” Nick rested his head back against the seat. “From what I found out about you, they’ve quashed you enough.”

“You know nothing about me, or my life!” You huffed, squirming back into the corner, your back against the side door.

You were never a physical fighter and Nick made no move to grip or hurt you other than pulling you into the car, so you didn’t attack him. You also doubted you had much of a chance of earning anything beside exhaustion and bruises. 

It was pitiful to admit, but you never fought anything or anyone beside the dragons in your head. The rebellion and storm were caged within your chest, mind full of words you wanted to scream at your mother, your father, the whole world. But you never did it. Never felt secure enough in your strength to cut those ties. 

“I know you’re dedicated and smart, finished on top of your class, gaining a degree that you never wanted to have in the first place.” Nick replied calmly.

His unperturbed composure was as much soothing as resonating with your usual behavior. Though you sensed that his limits weren’t pushable. If it came to it, his retaliation to being crossed would be severe. Lethal even. 

You envied that power. 

You wanted that power.

“You have passion for creativity and you are a fucking brilliant survivor.” Those words were spoken with admiration; a brilliant foam lighting up the sea storm of Nick’s irises. 

“You don’t love gardening as a business. I doubt you’re even interested in actual gardening work. But you see and love plants, their uniqueness, the details of them. You like their beauty, even the unusual ones. You’re an artist, Moonflower.”

Your heart burst with an intermixture of colorful emotion - a hail of fireworks against the black depth that is your caged life. 

“Artists should never be shackled into expectations.” 

“Yet you took me, because you expect something from it,” you retorted bitterly. 

“I expect nothing beyond you being by my side.” Nick’s fingers circled one of your wrists, thumb pressing against your pulse. “And strengthening the power of my empire.” 

“And how am I supposed to do that?” There was nothing of value that you could give him. Did he hope for a dowry and connections from your father? 

“Just by being with me.” He shifted, crowding you against your little safety corner. “Coming home to you would sweeten every hard day, knowing that I ripped something most precious from the one who took everything from my family.”

Comforting spices of his scent conflicted with the shadows he shrouded you in, painting a picture of a fairy tale that’s twisted enough that it shouldn’t be enjoyable. Yet struggling against the thorny veins of Nick’s plan seemed to have the opposite effect, pushing you further into forests of unknown thrills. 

“So I’m a vengeance plan?” You’d prefer it if your voice didn’t betray the disappointment, but it was too late to take back that undertone now. 

“Vengeance doesn’t mean burning the world down. That’s too simple and holds no ongoing effect.” Nick’s mouth curved in a scythe of dangerously alluring smirk, his eyes darkening. “Phoenixes rise from the ashes of burnt kingdoms. I rose from it.”

“My type of vengeance is to flourish on the fertile fields of my enemy’s broken ambitions.”

You believed Nick’s every word - that he had the resilience and endurance to build himself from whatever ruin his opponents left him with. It honed him, like hell fire does an indestructible blade. 

Many would use that lethal edge to cut the throats of all enemies. But Nick’s revenge wasn’t to bring short term pain and wipe out the others, he wanted them to drown in their suffering, to stretch it out plucking petal after petal of their lush empires. 

“You, Moonflower-” he skimmed his fingers along your arm and up the column of your throat- “are my prosperity. My core to thrive.”

“Binding you to me and allowing you to bloom into a woman you always wished to be, whatever form that may take,” Nick loosely curled his fingers around your neck, “will make me happy for I know you’re a brilliant gem. But I won’t hide that it will also crush the rotten heart of my enemy.”

“Seeing you at my side, growing along me and with me-” something about that particular choice of words unfurled heat in your core, like the time he mentioned flowers staying full-

“-will keep the flame of anger and pain consuming her daily.”

“Her?” you suddenly blinked, moving your legs slightly to alleviate the pressure that uncomfortably grazed your folds. 

“My mother?” You stared at Nick in bewilderment. “She’s your enemy?” 

Nick chuckled, though you weren’t sure if it was at your astonishment or the squirmy movement of your body which he noticed. He leaned closer still, knees brushing against yours. Where the fabric of your summer dress rolled up on your thighs, the fine fabric of his suit pants grazed your skin. 

“Your mother may present herself as the survivor against all odds and she is very determined, I’ll give her that. She also became heartless in her need to improve her life and show the world she doesn’t need help, ripping the fortune of others to build herself.” 

“She stole from you?” There wasn’t much shock in your response. After all, you knew the backstage face of the gardening queen; the truth behind the sunny smile of the nature-loving new age goddess. 

“From my family.” Nick gritted his teeth at the mention. “They took her pregnant under their roof, taught her family secrets of maintaining lush flowers. I was barely four when you were growing in her belly, but I remember her always slapping my hand away when I wanted to touch it, to feel a tiny baby miracle kicking.”

He didn’t say it, but you began to understand the part of possessiveness. The touch he didn’t withdraw an inch once he was able to reach for you freely. Something he was denied, now he ripped it away for himself. 

“First she stole the knowledge, then farms and fields.” Nick continued, his voice heavy with ice cold anger. “Came with fancy lawyers and bulldozers, chasing my family away from the scrap of land and the mounds of soil that my grandparents brought from Romania.”

You remembered one time your mother mentioned something about the secret being in the soil, a harpy reflection to her smile when she did. 

“My mother’s heart couldn’t take it. My father fled to Romania, finding the only solace in a small square of land where he grew a new hybrid of flowers. Named it after my mother.” 

Nick paused for a moment, his eyes boring into yours. A few breaths and the rage surpassed, leaving the lull of oceanic waves in his eyes. They rocked you as you held his gaze; your body attuning to the pulse of crackling fireplace on a dead cold autumn night that was Nick’s aura. 

“I’m not a gardener myself,” Nick shrugged, easing his free hand up your leg. “But I know how to plow through hard and high grounds. I’ve made myself a different kind of empire, though I always remained respectful of nature and plants, as my parents did.” 

You didn’t even feel him grip you any harder, yet somehow Nick managed to switch your positions in a blink of an eye - pulling you onto his lap. 

One of his hands remained at your throat, thumb gently stroking up and down along your pulsing vein. 

“You’ll be my queen. You’ll give me heirs.” It wasn’t a proposition, but a declaration of decision set in stone. “I’ll give you the freedom and power you so desperately crave.”

“What do you know of my cravings?” You hoped to challenge his confidence, to fight against the tendrils of magnetic pull that weaved around your limbs. 

“I know you turned my way like a plant does seeking the sun,” Nick’s hand slid beneath your dress. “Keeping so close, coming even closer each time, like an addict hopes to lick a single fleck of whatever gets him high.” 

Cool rings pressed into your skin, spiking your heart rate into a paradoxical pasodoble between desire and trepidation. Just like the nights you used your own fingers to the image of Nick fucking you in the night garden. 

“I know each time you thought I was coming to visit, you wore a shorter dress.” His fingers on your thigh inched further up. “This one today? If I met you inside the gardening center and you’d bend over to show me moss arrangements, I’d get a peek of your ass.” 

He did get that peek. 

When he bent you over his bed that night. After having you sign your name on all the legally (illegally too, undoubtedly) binding documents as a paid, stoic-faced registrar officiated your wedding. The ink was deep red, as blood that one spills for the devil. 

Red was also the wine Nick brought to your lips in a crystal glass. The rich, thick taste of it was a bland mist compared to the burning magma of Nick’s lips against yours, molting away the taste of your previous life as he sealed your contract. 

One hand on the nape of your neck, holding you in place as he fed you his sinful tongue, the other buried beneath your sundress. Firm, relentless fingers eliciting tangy, warm rain from between your thighs; watering the soil of the garden filled with plants that you picked. That you loved and Nick provided for you. 

He made you mark the land as yours, as he marked you as his. Your voice an enchanted cry of spell that was Nick’s name. 

Then he took you to the bedroom - the heart of the underworld kingdom. 

Though the dark interior sent a ripple of unease down your spine at first; it was like stepping into a cold, mountain stream after days of hiking in blinding sun. Then the jewel undertones of onyx and cuprite engulfed you. Shimmering black curtains of the canopy parted its wings for you, as Nick led you to the bed. 

You never strayed from dirt, but it only stained your hands and clothes as you worked with soil. The dirt spilling from Nick’s mouth as he took you seemed to twist your body into inhuman arches of pleasure, reshaping your mind so it became greedy for the sizzling impulses his filthy words elicited.

Tightest cunt.

Delicious hole. 

Breedable pussy.

Mine.

Tears trickled down your cheeks - a salty passage from a girly life of obedient silence into empowered if dark womanhood. Briny dew altered into shy sweetness as your moans stretched, tears turning into those of overwhelming pleasure. 

Nick showered you with it. With his tongue and fingers; with his cock that filled you with girth and the precious spent he cursed to take root in your womb. 

He led you like a queen, just like he promised, once you were able to stand on your trembling legs after hours of being both worshiped and owned. A silk robe in a color of a red so dark it might as well be woven from arterial blood floated around your frame as Nick took you into the garden. 

His fingers intertwined with yours. His pace adjusted to yours, not once rushing or slowing you down. 

Focused on admiring the beauty of silvery moonflowers and creamy bells of Angel’s Trumpets, you didn’t notice Nick’s eyes were only on you. 

#biteofcherry's birthday banquet #nick fowler x reader #nick fowler x female reader #nick fowler x you #nick fowler imagine #nick fowler fic #hades x persephone AU #my writing #sweet and stained

[justmeinadaze]

Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites (Steddie X You)

A/N: This is that idea I told y'all about when my PTSD was really bad last week. I actually liked writing some of this out <3. It did help a bit. I wish I had them and a Red to help me through those rough days.

I did set this after the events of Season 4 so slight spoilers involving Max mostly. Im kind of excited to explore a bit more of Steve's PTSD involving the show. I did it a bit here. I also chose to utilize my own trauma as the readers trauma. I'll delve a bit more in the warnings.

Anyone struggling with their mental health, you are not alone <3. You're feelings are valid and we just have to take things one day at a time. I love you :)

Warnings: Steddie X Fem Reader, No smut yet, Fluff with the reader trying to make them feel better and vice versa. Angst, trauma involving the show is mentioned especially with Steve's feelings of what happened to Max, mentions of Eddie being blamed and the town treating him like trash, he does talk about his abuse as a child very briefly as does the reader. No details are mentioned just that it happened. Reader has a panic attack that the boys help her through.

I do expand on symptoms of PTSD and how the reader feels. Symptoms of mental health can be different for everyone so I focused more on what I experience with my own PTSD. As I progress in the chapters and she becomes more open with them I will most likely talk about things that happened to me. I didn't want to generalize what she was going through mostly because its hard. PTSD and trauma are complicated in it of its self so...

Word Count: 5314

You had been coming to this group for years because of your mental health. Your doctor suggested it stating that it might help you to hear from other people going through the same thing you were. Truth be told it never worked. The other people in this post traumatic stress support group were mostly military vets or officers who had just moved to Hawkins to “get away from the chaos.” You imagined it was a quite a shock for them when the earthquake hit…

While a lot of their symptoms and aftermath stories were similar to yours, you struggled to connect. If anything, you felt more alone. So why did you keep coming back?

Routine, maybe. Or the need to have any kind of human contact since you spend the bulk of your time by yourself at home. Hell, you even worked from home so the only living thing you interacted with on a daily basis was your service dog, Ren. You rarely ever spoke in group, choosing to sit there and listen to the other people speak. 

Since the earthquake, however, more people had joined to your dismay. Most of the citizens that came in took up most of the time talking about the event and how scared they were about what happened. You tried not to let the disgust show on your face when they spoke, understanding that everyone experiences things differently but they didn’t really know. 

They didn’t know what it was like to spend years replaying an event in your head even when you’re asleep. To have those moments where something that would be random to someone else meant something significant to you triggering a panic attack that knocked you on your ass for the rest of the day. They didn’t know what it was like to be so scared to even go to the fucking grocery store to get essentials without the fear that everyone is talking about you and judging you because you’ve been standing in front of the canned goods for a little bit too long wondering if you buy this will you actually eat it or will it just sit there for months at a time because some days you don’t feel like eating. 

Your PTSD consumed a lot of your life for most of your life whereas these people were just now stepping into it and were most likely going to step right back out. After a few months, you were correct. All those citizens gradually stopped coming in till it was just the regular survivors once again. 

After grabbing some coffee, you and Ren sat in your usual spot, waiting for the meeting to start. The dog grabbed your attention when he whined and without warning placed his head on the stranger beside you. 

“Oh. Hey, buddy.”, he coos as his big hand reaches down to pet his head. 

“I’m sorry. He probably senses your anxiety.”

“Well shit. He’s not wrong. I’m not really good at any of this.”, he gestures around the room. “But some of my friends insisted we come so…”

“We?”

“Yeah, um…” The boy’s eyes glance up towards someone headed for the seat next to him and it takes you a moment to realize everyone else’s eyes on him as well. 

You recognized his face immediately, Edward Munson. The metalhead had been accused of being a satanic worshipper who murdered a bunch of teens a few months ago. He had been cleared of those charges thanks to the help of the old police chief, some detective journalism by Nancy Wheeler, and his friend… “Steve Harrington?”

“That’s me. Do I know you? My memory isn’t what it used to be.”

“She had school with us and graduated along with you, Harrington.”, Eddie sighed as he folded his arms.

“Oh. I’m sorry. What was your name?”

“You look different.”, you blurted before turning away from him and closing your eyes. “I’m…I’m sorry. Sometimes…my mouth moves before…before my brain catches up.”

Ren senses your heightened anxiety and places himself between your legs so you can pet his head, down his back. 

“Alright everyone, let’s get started.”, the overly cheery coordinator grins as he sits down and crosses his legs. While glancing at his clipboard, he addresses the circle. “Does anyone have anything they’d like to share before we get going?”

“Why is he here?”, someone sneers as they point towards the metalhead. 

“He should be in a cell not in group therapy.”, says another.

“Hey now. Mr. Munson is entitled to care just like everyone else and I expect you guys to treat him with the same respect we do everyone else. If that’s going to be a problem, I completely understand, feel free to leave and meet us at our other scheduled time on Thursday.”

Half the people in the room stood up and walked out, the last person slamming the door of the room for emphasis. Out of the corner of your eye, you see Steve pat his back comfortingly as Eddie lets out a deep, heartbroken sigh.

“Would either of you like to introduce yourself to the rest of the group?” 

The metalhead continued to glare forward as Steve spoke up. “As some of you may know, I’m Steve Harrington and this is my friend Eddie. Our other friend Robin suggested we try this since we, uh, we’ve been having some trouble lately.”

“Good, very good. Nice to meet you both. This is a safe space so please feel free to be open here.”

“Thank you.”

“Let’s, uh, let’s continue down the line here. Y/N? Do you feel like talking? I see Ren is on duty today. Something you’re anxious about?”

“Everything.” The man chuckles as people around the room nod in agreement. “I’m ok today, thanks.” 

The remainder of the meeting goes by smoothly without any incident and as it ends everyone rises to leave except the two people next to you. They expect you to leave as well but when you stand, instead of heading for the door you place yourself next to Eddie. He doesn’t move or make any gestures to acknowledge your presence and you’re ok with that. You aren’t really one for small talk or anything like that but something about his demeanor gave you a gut feeling that you decided to expand on. 

Your therapist was always preaching about learning to trust your gut and positive self-talk making your eyes roll every time. 

“Um, this is Ren. He’s a service lab for me because I, uh, I get shaky and anxious really easily. He can sense when I’m nervous or about to have an attack so he helps ground me. I can just pet him or he’ll let me hold him. At home, he’s trained to bring me my medication.”

Steve watches you speak, seemingly trying to get a read on you while Eddie continues to stare straight ahead. You can tell he’s listening though because his head tilted ever so slightly towards you as you began explaining things. Personally, he was so ecstatic to hear a stranger talk calmly with him but he couldn’t display that for fear of ruining the moment or worse, it being a lie.

“Do…do you want to pet him?” 

His head finally whips around to look at you as his eyes scan yours. Swallowing nervously, he sat up straighter, rolling his eyes in faux frustration as his palm reached out to pet the dog’s head. 

“Why Ren? How did you come up with that?”, Steve asked.

“The morning before I got him, I saw Footloose at the cinema. I like Kevin Bacon’s character and his name was Ren. Do you want to see something cute?” Without waiting for an answer, you stood in front of them and motioned for the lab to stand in front of you. Holding out your hands, you sang the Footloose theme song and he jumped up to place his paws in your hands to dance with you.

Both men smiled and you knew you’d never be able to explain why but it comforted you. 

“I, um, I know this town can be full of assholes but I hope you do come back next week. Craig, the coordinator, will take care of you. He’s a little quirky but he’s nice.”

Again, you don’t wait for an answer as you gather your things and Ren before heading out the door. 

****

When Steve got home that night, he immediately went on the hunt for his yearbook. 

“What are you doing, man?”, Eddie whined as he threw himself on the bed. 

“Looking for my yearbook. I’m surprised I don’t remember her. The guy said Y/N, do you remember her last name?”

Of course, he did. When you were in school together, he had a few classes with you especially English. Junior year you wrote a story that the teacher made you read in front of the class about a girl who was hiding in a forest behind a tree as she watched two monsters argue about how they were going to eat her when they found her. The other kids thought you were weird but he identified with it; picturing his parents fighting as you read.

Eddie never found the courage to speak to you but he was always your hidden knight, watching over you. One of the party boys had talked about how they fucked you and how much of a freak you were so he slashed the kids tires and spray painted “Asshole” in big, bold letters on his car. You probably didn’t remember but on valentine’s day he had slipped a note in your locker that was a drawing of you battling your monsters you had written about. 

“No. Come on, Harrington. It doesn’t matter. It’s not like we’re going back anyway.”

Steve paused his search as he sat down and crossed his legs. “Why wouldn’t we go back?”

“I don’t know if you noticed but people weren’t exactly excited I was there.”

“Fuck those people. At least one person was excited. Two if you count the dog.”

“Yeah sure. Let ruin that by bringing her into our shit. Plus, it’s not like we can tell anyone or talk about what really happened.”

Steve sighed as he got up to sit beside him. “Ed, first off, there isn’t shit to bring her into. Vecna’s dead; we killed him. Secondly, we don’t have to talk about what happened…just what happens after.”

“Really? You want to play that game, Steven? He may be dead but we still got shit. Max is still in a coma, Dustin is still struggling, the town is quite literally cut in half, and ALL of us still have fucking nightmares with all that other fun post traumatic shit. Things are still so out of whack we haven’t even told our friends about us yet.”

“They have enough on their plates.”

“Exactly. So, I reiterate, why do you want to bring this girl into our chaos?”

The man sighs again as he hangs his head making Eddie feel a little guilty as he leans his head on his shoulder while reaching for his hand.

“I don’t know. There’s just something about her that makes me feel comfortable and safe.”

###########

“You came back.”

“Yeah, it took some convincing but…”, Steve grinned. “Hey Ren. May I?”, he asked before petting the lab when you nodded. 

“How are you feeling today, Eddie?”

The metalhead softly smiles at you as he tilts his head in your direction. When the meeting begins you can already feel that the energy is different. One of the regulars is extremely agitated today as his leg bounces and he folds his arms. As soon as Craig reaches him, he shouts his problem as he struggles to control the volume of his voice. Your eyes close as you try to stay present and remind yourself that your safe.

No, no, no. Please. I can’t have a panic attack here in front of all these people. Everyone will look at me. They’ll think I’m weak. No, no, no.

“Y/N?”, the coordinator calls your name and you fold into yourself. “Y/N, you’re ok. You’re safe.”

Ren places his front paws on your knees as he rests his head on your shoulder. You couldn’t do this, pushing him back as you stumbled out the door into the hallway before sinking to the floor.

Your service dog continued to do what it was trained to do as he ran after you and laid beside you in your arms. The sound of your bag and a bottle of water being placed beside you startled you but you couldn’t move to acknowledge it.

You felt your head being lifted and placed on something relatively soft as you continued to try and calm down. It took a few moments but once you felt like you could breathe you opened your teary eyes to see Eddie looking towards the window.

“Hey, hey, take your time.”, Steve soothed in a soft tone when you tried to sit up. “I grabbed your bag and some water. Do you need your meds or anything?”

“C-C-Can you help me?”, you asked as you reached your arms back to try and push yourself to a sitting position. He leaned over to help you adjust as you laid against the wall with your head on the metalhead’s shoulder. “I’m sorry.”

“Nothing to be sorry for.”

“I didn’t want you laying your head on the hard floor. I hope that was ok.”, Eddie tenderly grinned. 

You nodded, watching heavily as Ren dug his snout in your purse before producing your medicine and placing it on your lap. 

“Good boy. Steve, in there is his treats. Can you give him one?”

He smiled as he did what you asked and your dog wagged his tail happily. 

“Do you need help?”, Eddie whispered.

“I don’t want to be any trouble.”

Without saying a word, he grabbed the meds from you lap and opened the bottle, shaking one into his hand and popping it closed. He placed the pill near your mouth and your eyes met his as you slowly opened, allowing him to place it on your tongue before holding the edge of the water to your lips and tipping it back. 

“You’re not any trouble. I…we…appreciate you being as kind as you have been to us.”

As he extended his arm to place everything back in its proper place, his jacket sleeve slid up and you noticed some slight scaring around his wrist. When he felt your eyes on him, he followed your glance, quickly covering it up as he leaned back. 

“Thank you for coming out here. You didn’t have to. I struggle with aggressiveness like what Jeremy did in there.”

“Is that not normal for him?”

“Usually, no but I imagine this earthquake and the aftermath hasn’t helped him with his flashbacks.”

“How has it been for you?”, Steve asked.

“Um, not to chaotic. I had a harder time a few months prior when this town was going crazy and playing police officers like they were the law or something. Oh shit. Eddie, I’m so sorry. I didn’t even—”

“No worries, sweetheart. I’m used to it now; the stares, gossip, and questions.”

“Should you be?”

His eyes met yours again before quickly looking away as the door to the group area opened and people filed out. The man who had been yelling came over to where you were sitting and apologized in a much more gentle tone then he had previously. After accepting it and smiling towards him, you slowly wobbled to your feet with Steve helping to guide you.

“Are you ok to drive? We can take you home if you’d like.”

“No, I’m alright. I just need to eat something and get a little energy back.”

“Would you like to have dinner with us?”, Eddie offered carefully.

“Sure.”

***

As the three of you entered the restaurant, your eyes darted around as your brain did its regular anxiety check. You made sure to clock where all the exits were and how to get to them, scanned the current patrons to make sure no one was someone who would hurt you, and marked which seat you would prefer to be in just in case you needed to run. 

When you glanced towards Steve, you blinked back surprise when you realized he was doing the same thing. 

“I have to leave, Harrington, but get it to go and we can eat in my van. If that’s ok with you.”

You nodded, panicking slightly as he walked back out the door, unsure of what he was hiding from. To avoid another episode, you did the same leaving the other man to order. When you made it outside you found Eddie in the driver’s seat smoking a cigarette, his eyes darting to you when you climbed into the passenger’s side. 

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine. I saw Jason’s parent’s eating at a table so…”

“I never thought you killed those kids.” As soon as the words blurted out, your eyes squeezed shut. “I’m sorry. I’m so fucking sorry.”

Finger reached out to touch your arm causing your eyes to open again, meeting his kind chocolate-colored ones. 

“You don’t have to keep apologizing.”

When you apologize again, both of you let out a breathy, genuine laugh. 

“When I saw on the news what happened to Chrissy, I knew you couldn’t have done it. Yeah, you were always loud in school but you were also really sweet… at least from what I remember.”

You two jumped when Steve opened the back of the van and threw himself in. “Eddie, go.”

Without any hesitation, he started to put the vehicle in gear but he wasn’t fast enough as Jason’s father appeared by his window and aggressively knocked on the glass. 

“Where do you think you’re going, freak?! You’re the reason my son and his girlfriend are dead!”

“Go, Eddie!”, Steve commanded.

The metalhead slammed his foot on the gas and sped off with the man shouting behind him. The rest of the ride was silent until he parked near the hill that surveyed the town. You watched as he continued to grip the wheel like a lifeline as his chest rose and fell. You wanted to help but you didn’t know exactly how. They only thing you could think of was to grab his palm and place it on Ren’s head. The dog was used to limp pets as Eddie’s hand lazily fell down his back but he promptly rested his head on his lap as you praised him. 

Steve leaned over the seat and placed his arms around him as he whispered things in his ear furthest from you. After a few moments his hand began to move against Ren’s fur making the dog’s tail wag as the other boy released him from his hold. 

“Come on. Let’s eat.”

############

It was actually the perfect evening for eating outside. The van doors remained open as the three of you munched on your meals in the back. From this spot Hawkins looked different; less chaotic than it was.

While you guys ate you casually talked about yourself. They told you some general things about themselves and you did the same. Even though you felt safe with them you didn’t want to bombard them too much with the mess that was your life. You felt like they were holding back as well, omitting certain information they were afraid to tell.

“You can work from home, you know?”, you mentioned after Eddie brought up how hard it was to find a job because of who he was. “That’s what I do.”

“I could do that.”

“Wouldn’t that be hard for you, Ed? You’re very talkative and outgoing. Don’t you like thrive off of people or some shit.”

“Thrive off of people… No, Harrington. I’m not a vampire.” They grinned at each other when you giggled. “I mean it wouldn’t be much different. Everyone already thought I was a freak beforehand. Now I’m just a murdering freak.”

Everyone went silent as the metalhead turned away to glare outside. 

“You should stop saying things like that.”, you murmur. 

“It’s how they feel.”, he shrugs.

“Who cares how they feel. What matters is how you feel and the truth. You didn’t do it so stop saying it.” Eddie’s eyes jerked towards you as your tone got more agitated.

“Yeah, well, what would you know?”

“Eddie, stop it.”, Steve warned.

“It’s ok, Steve. I can handle this. I’m mentally ill not weak.”

“No one said you were weak, Y/N.”

“What makes you so confident I didn’t do it, hm? You weren’t there. Maybe I did.”

“Eddie…”

“No, Harrington. I’m curious. What makes her so confident? I have to know because besides my friends and my uncle you are the only person in this town who believes I didn’t do some satanic ritual to murder Chrissy, Fred, Patrick, and Jason. That I didn’t hurt Max to cause that fucking earthquake. Why?”

Steve angerly threw the water bottle he was drinking from hard against the inside of the van making you jump.

“Jesus Christ. Are you fucking kidding me, Ed?! We finally find one person who believes the truth and you have to fucking question it! Who gives a fuck why she believes you! Just embrace it.”

He crawls out of the vehicle and begins to pace as he lets off steam. Ren puts his head on your lap and you pet him as you watch Eddie climb out as well and hug the boy from behind, resting his cheek on his back. 

“I’m sorry if I startled you.”, Steve apologized without looking your way. 

“You didn’t. I…I feel safe with you, both of you. That’s why I believe you. I can’t explain it, Eddie. I wish I could. My therapist says that because of my trauma I had to learn how to read people so I could protect myself and prepare just in case. You two…I just don’t get this vibe that I need to be afraid of you.”

“Like a superpower?”, the metalhead grins softly as he comes to sit back beside you. 

“You could say that.”, you giggle and his heart melts. Abruptly, you lean over and wrap your arms around his shoulders, feeling his body stiffen only for a moment before fully accepting it. “You’re a good person Edward Munson.”

Steve watches you both as he stands in front of you, also taken aback when you turn your love towards him by hugging him to, circling your arms around his lower back.

“You to, Steve Harrington.”

****

The following week you were happy to see they attended group again and seemed so much lighter than they had the other times they had come. As the meeting started, once again you felt that shift in energy. 

“Y/N, I know you don’t talk much here and that’s absolutely fine. I was hoping maybe we could talk about what happened last week.”

“Oh, um, I don’t want to make Jeremy feel bad.”

“I’m ok. I want you to talk about it. It helps me understand…”

You gnaw on your bottom lip at his answer as Craig looks at you with earnest eyes. “I, um, he got aggressive and I panicked.”

“He did get verbally confrontational. Was it the yelling or what he was saying that triggered you?”

“The…yelling doesn’t…doesn’t really bother me or what is said. It…how it was being said.”

“Huh. Interesting. Please, go on.”

“My mom…was always kind of…forceful with her words…”

You don’t see it but both the boy’s protective modes had kicked in beside you especially Steve’s. It takes all his energy not to comfort you in some way. Yesterday, you had hugged him and Eddie but you three had been alone. Right now, you were in room full of people and he didn’t want to make you uncomfortable. He settled for casually extending his legs a bit so his knee was just barely touching your own. 

“I don’t want to talk anymore if that’s ok.”

“That’s fine, Y/N. How about you Steve? I noticed you and Eddie got up pretty quickly to make sure she was okay. I’m sure she appreciates that. Are you usually the protector of your friend group?”

He smirks slightly. “They would probably say I’m more like the babysitter.”

“That’s funny.”, the coordinator laughs. “I have seen you around town with some of the younger kids like Dustin Henderson and Mike Wheeler. You and Mr. Munson there.”

“How’s Max Mayfield doing?” Both their heads shot up to look towards the member that asked the question. “Is she doing any better? I heard her mom is wreck.”

“Jackie, you know the rules. We don’t gossip in here.”, Craig scolds. 

“I’m not gossiping! Max was dating that Sinclair boy, right? Who hangs out with Michael and Dustin who apparently hang out with them so…I just want to know.”

Ren, who had been laying on the floor by your feet, suddenly sat up and waddled between Steve’s legs before lifting himself up so his head was on the man’s shoulder.

“Hug him.”, you whisper as you reach out to rub the boy’s back.

Slowly, he wraps his arms around him and pets the dog’s head. “Good boy.”

“Let’s, uh, Let’s move on to someone else.”

As the coordinator began talking to another person, Steve got up to leave as you and Eddie followed behind. Unlike you, instead of sitting in the hall, he continued to the parking lot towards his BMW. 

“Steve, wait. Wait a second!”, the metalhead called to him trying to keep up.

“I’m fine. Let’s just go home.”

“If you’re fine then why are we leaving?”

“Because I know they are going to ask about her again and I don’t want to hear it so…”, he aggressively gestures towards the car. 

“Isn’t that the point of this therapy group bullshit? To talk or whatever the fuck you said. This was your idea. You can’t just drag us here and then leave when it gets hard.”

“Ok, well, you know what? You were right, okay? We can’t talk about what happened so—”

“But they aren’t asking what happened. They are asking how she is. They already think they know what happened.”

“Fine! Fine, Eddie! Let’s go back in there and answer her question! ‘Oh yeah, Jackie, Max is fine. Just all of her limbs are broken and she’s in a fucking coma but hey the doctors say she’s not brain dead! Always a silver lining!’”

“Steve…what happened to her wasn’t your fault.”

“Fuck this. I’ll walk home.”

The metalhead ran in front of him, trying to block him with his body. “What happened to her, me, Dustin, and Lucas wasn’t your fault. You killed him. You, Nancy, and Robin saved us all but you’re not fucking superman, babe. You can’t be everywhere at once and can’t protect everyone.”

Steve’s head hung and they clung to each other as Eddie embraced him. When they disconnected, they were almost startled by your presence, forgetting you were there entirely. 

“Hey, um, before my brain glitches, I drew you something last night.” Eddie digs in his pocket and hands you a folded piece of paper. 

When you open it fully, you softly smile at the image of you in boots and a superhero style outfit with your palm in the air as a zig-zag force field surrounded you. Next to you was Ren with his tongue hanging out and mask over his eyes. At the top was bold 3D lettering that read “LADY EMPATHY” with smaller print underneath; “Senses Emotions and helps heal the innocent with her trustee four-legged side kick Anti-Depressant.”

You didn’t know whether to laugh or cry but you loved it. No one had ever done something nice like this for you except that one time someone slide a drawing into your locker.

Your eyes met his as a light bulb went off in your head. 

“Do you two want to come over to my house? We can hang out and eat some food. I would like to show you something.”

Eddie glanced at Steve who nodded his approval. 

“Ok. Sounds like fun.”

****

“Wow, this place is really nice.”, Steve muses as he looks around. 

“Thank you. I don’t have much but I don’t need too much so…”, you shrug as you watch them move around. 

“You seem to like a lot of movies, huh?” Eddie walks around looking at your posters hanging on the wall. 

“I do especially the fantasy ones. It’s nice to hide from reality in movies like The Never Ending Story or Dragon Slayer. I can’t wait for Labyrinth to come out. You know that new Bowie movie?”

The metalhead chuckles when Steve shrugs. “He doesn’t know who that is, sweetheart. Steve isn’t exactly well versed in most media.”

Your eyes widen as you head towards your sound system and push in a cassette. “Let’s Dance” flows through the speakers and he bobs his head he listens. “Pretty cool.”

Eddie laughs harder when you playfully sigh as his musical ignorance. “Yeah. Welcome to my world. What did you want to show us?”

After disappearing into your room, you come back with a frame in your arms, the image facing your body. 

“When I was in high school, I was pretty good at being invisible but sometimes I wasn’t so lucky. The jocks would pick on me a lot and pretty girls like Tammy Thompson would make my life hell.” Steve sighed praying that he wasn’t one of the people who hurt you. “That was nothing compared to what I was dealing with at home. My parents…they, um, they weren’t nice with each other and sometimes…my mother would take that out on me.”

“I always loved English class because I could write about what I was feeling. One day a teacher had asked me to read something I wrote in front of everyone. I told him no but he insisted and as I stood there, I could hear people snickering. It was awful; I hate talking in front of people. But anyway, a few days later, I found this in my locker.”

You turned the frame around to display the image Eddie had drawn for you as you slowly moved toward him. 

“You have no idea what this did for me. In a world full of people where I felt like no one cared, this showed me someone was listening. Someone out there did care…at least enough to take the time to draw this and give it to me.”

Eddie’s eyes met yours as he spoke. “I related to it, your story about the monsters and the kid hiding. My father used to scream at my mother until it escalated. I would always hide in my room hoping I wasn’t next.” Steve came over to stand next to him and rub his back comfortingly. “Turns out I can’t fight any monsters, can I, Stevie?”

The boy growled under his breath as his hand fell. 

“You were always amazing to me. You seemed so smart and strong; I was so afraid to talk to you. I couldn’t stop thinking about your story so I drew that and slid it into your locker.”

“So…my superpower works? I was right about you. You are a good person.” You smile when he smirks in your direction. “You guys can talk to me…about anything. I won’t judge you or hurt you or anything. I trust you and I hope that you can trust me.”

They glance at each other and you see the hesitation in their look. They a definitely holding something back but you pray that one day they’ll feel comfortable enough to let you in. Little did you know, the massive secrets they could tell.

#steddie x reader #steddie fluff #steddie smut #steddie fanfiction #steddie #eddie munson #steve harrington #eddie munson fluff #eddie munson smut #eddie fanfic #eddie stranger things #steve fanfic #steve smut #steve stranger things #joe keery #joseph quinn #stranger things #fan fiction #mental health #ptsd #steve harrington fluff #steve harrington smut #steve harrington angst #eddie munson fanfic #protective eddie munson #protect Steve Harrington

[italiansteebie]

Anger issues Steve? It’s never towards the kids or in front of the kids but any negative emotion is usually only translated to anger because it’s the only way he knows how to cope with what he’s feeling?

Maybe newly established steddie? Like eddie gets to see Steve’s anger up close, like maybe he hits the wall or break something? Something that’s not rlly considered healthy way to deal with anger and eddie freaks out bcuz woah red flag??? But they make up cuz I’m a sucker for it

Feel free to ignore this if it’s too much!! Love ur work, definitely my favorite to read ❤️

omg thank u so much, im absolutely loving this prompt and the influx of asks im getting its great!

---

anger is not steve's friend.

it makes him violent in a way that reminds him of his father and he is anything but that.

but there are things that make him tick, and he just...

explodes.

he knows it's not healthy, and he knows he needs to work on it, and he is! but these things take time and unfortunately for him, that's taking longer than it is for eddie to experience steve when hes angry.

realistically, eddie knows that steve has some... violent tendencies when it comes to anger. hell, he chewed on a bat from hell and ripped it in half, and that was from fear.

there was an inkling in eddie's mind that these violent tendencies weren't just reserved for times of life or death.

so when steve got off of what sounded like a particularly bad phone call with his father, eddie was only partially expecting the action that came next.

"fuck!"

and the next thing they knew, the phone and it's receiver was in pieces on the tile floor of the kitchen. "oh... steve..." steve's head whipped around to face eddie's from where he was in the doorway.

steve looked at him for a moment longer before picking up the majority of the receiver and chucking at the wall, both of them watching in curious fascination as the plastic and wires shattered like glass.

"steve?"

"what?!"

"woah, dude." eddie said, hands up in a non threatening way. he tried his best to hide the fear, he knows steve would never hurt him, but seeing this reaction in real time did throw him for a loop for a second.

and steve caught the hesitant apprehension on his boyfriends face. "oh, no. oh. eddie. im- im so sorry," his voice became thick with tears. he told himself he wouldn't let his anger get the best of him, but here he was with a broken house phone and his boyfriend looking at him in a way he hoped would never be directed to him.

"steve, it's okay..." eddie said placatingly, taking a few steps towards him. "no. it's not. im not him, i- i swear." steve said, backing away as eddie came closer, "eds. i don't ever want to hurt you." the tears were streaming with no signs of stopping now, and eddie sighed.

"i know, steve. it was just a little... different to see you like that."

"i tried! i try to hold it in and the he calls and fucks it all up! im working on it! i am, i swear. please eddie. i- i would never hurt you."

eddie could see the panic attack from a mile away. "steve, sweetheart. take a deep breath for me, please."

steve was breathing heavy and quick. "no. no. no." he was muttering under his breath, "i'm so sorry," he whispered, looking up at eddie with tears in his eyes.

and eddie's heart broke.

"stevie... baby. it's okay. it's okay, we'll work on it together, okay?"

"but im- im scary," it came out hoarse and terrified.

"stevie, you're more scared than scary. i promise. we can work on it together. we'll figure out a better way, so you don't feel like you have to hold everything in. that's not good for you baby."

steve let out a shuddering sigh, breathing finally slowing down, "okay. im still sorry though." he breathed.

"and i forgive you."

and so yeah, maybe steve has some issues with anger... but they're going to work it out.

together.

#steve harrington #eddie munson #anon <3 #steddie fic #established steddie #steddie ficlet #soft steddie #soft eddie #steve harrington has anger issues #steve's parents #steve's father #steddie #stranger things #stranger things fic #stranger things ficlet #anger issues

[poopyballz28]

Doysumi hc's and such for the mentally unwell

• While it may seem like the clingier one out of the two would be Katsumi, it's actually quite the opposite. Hector absolutely hates the idea of anything bad happening to Katsumi, this fear causing Hector to be practically glued to his side at all times. Something in his blood just tells him he needs to be...protected. Kept away from any danger or even just things that might upset him. But on certain occasions, Hector's overall clinginess can be somewhat selfish, like keeping Katsumi from meeting with people out of jealousy. What do you get when you give a murderer psychopath who knows no love at all a nice guy who understands him and makes his heart pound in mysterious ways? A very clingy and protective murderer psychopath.

• I don't wanna make this seem like Katsumi's doesn't realize that Hector can't stay away from him and sometimes does things just to keep him by his side because Katsumi does know this. In fact, he's very aware of Hector's quite clingy feelings towards him. Despite what you may say about...Katsumi's way of thinking, he's actually quite attentive! He can realize when Hector is doing things to keep him from somewhere or someone, and tries to assure him that he really loves him, but he can take care of himself. The "love you" part usually gets him.

• Before meeting Katsumi, Hector had no concept of love or any sort of affection. The tight feeling in his chest and overall flustered feeling whenever he was around him completely and utterly confused him. Up until that point, he hadn't received any kind of affection or even kindness from anyone around him, so it suddenly overwhelming him was certainly jarring. He didn't recognize the feeling as love at all, at first. He considered whether or not Katsumi was using some sort of psychological karate technique on him (lol)

• While Hector isn't particularly one for baking or cooking, he does seem to enjoy (attempting) to make certain sugary foods for Katsumi and his very concerning sweet tooth. Oven almost exploded once but its fine. It should be fine. It's ironic though how Katsumi always makes a deal about not wanting to eat too many sugary things for health reasons but whenever he's faced with double chocolate chip cookies he...loses himself. I mean, have you seen how much sugar this guy puts in his tea? It's scary. But Hector really finds a kind of happiness in the sight of Katsumi enjoying the food he worked hard to make for him. He's often learning new recipes and consulting Retsu on cooking tips.

• Hector wasn't exactly...treated too nicely by his peers when he was younger, and it wasn't just because he was always alone. That red hue of his hair made him an easy target in particular. He was often called some pretty abhorrent names during his time in school. Katsumi, though, really likes Hectors hair and tends to compliment it quite often. He thinks the color is vivid and fitting for Hector. It's beautiful. He is beautiful. Katsumi really makes sure he knows this.

• Before Hector became as clingy as he is towards Katsumi, he originally was quite hesitant to get closer to him. He's never really gotten to know anyone, but at the same time he knows he's never really tried either. But even still, he closed himself off and attempted to distance himself from Katsumi. After all, he's just your typical cold-blooded killer. Why should he need to "open up" to someone? And not just anybody, someone who was so...different from him. "Why would this prodigy with an incredible future ahead of him want to be around...me of all people?" He couldn't help but laugh, taking a drag of his cigarette. He couldn't wrap his head around it at all. But that warm feeling when Katsumi was around. It was almost addicting. It was to die for.

• One of Katsumi's love languages is gift giving. Excessive gift giving. He sees a beautiful pair of expensive earrings while shopping? He buys them and gives them to Hector. A beautiful red dress that compliments Hector's style? He buys it and gives it to Hector. Blooming bouquet of roses? He buys them and gives them to Hector. I think you see the theme here. Hector does tend to worry about how much money he spends, but Katsumi always reassures him that it's really no big deal. (He has spent 100,000 yen on Hector in the last week.)

#hector doyle #katsumi orochi #baki the grappler #baki hanma #baki son of ogre #baki dou #baki headcanons #doysumi

[isa-ghost]

WTCHR Thoughts & Incentives

After watching the video 4 consecutive times in a row to REALLY take it all in, the following are my thoughts about the video and suggestions to fellow theorists who may be more skilled than myself!

Anti is probably a virus made of Antimatter, or hijacked the system because whatever he is has influence on technology.

Anti IS the WTCHR or something, or maybe powers it.

IRIS = Antimatter, which powers the WTCHR

Always There Always Watching. All his constant nods at the concept of being watched, lurking around us all the time, us “just sitting there,” in KJSE, “we just watched as [Say Goodbye] happened.” Overnight Watch. ALL OF IT. SOMETHING IS HERE AND I LACK THE DOTS TO CONNECT IT COHERENTLY.

And its worth noting that the glitches in the video footage follow the same pattern as always. Static, RGB (red, blue, green), or chromatic aberration (usually red/teal). These have been symbolic of Anti’s presence since the beginning.

ALSO

I think this “without charging or messy cables” can be connected to the way Anti seemingly doesn’t need any source of power? We previously thought it was attention or something, but what if its not? Or maybe it is since we don’t know who’s watching who. This also skirts around the whole watching theme too. Again, I SWEAR something is hidden in all of this but I’m lacking the brainpower to make sense of it all yet.

“Who watches the WTCHR?” This whole time we’ve been mostly unsure if WE’RE watching Anti or if Anti is watching us.

OR MAYBE Anti hijacked WTCHR the same way he hijacked Jack’s body during KJSE, and now he’s doing THIS as suggested by @tracobuttons​?

I may make a list of every instance of watching/attention being brought up from 2016 to present day. Screenshots, old posts, and more obscure examples sent to my ask box or DMs (obscure as in something from a 3 Scary Games video or something. I already have Say Goodbye, the KJSE monologue, Overnight Watch & Quit the Game to Win in mind).

WTCHR detects emotion, monitors health, deals in MIND DECRYPTION??

Perfect set up for coma monitoring, am I right? It can detect Jack’s fear in the coma, monitors how he’s doing health-wise, and.... Perhaps is capable of decrypting a... virus he’s infected with, maybe?

Not only that but...

Is this how Chase communicated with Jack in Mayhem 2018? (”Jack, this is Chase, you need to wake up”). Can Henrik, or anyone else communicate with him in his coma through this?

Alternatively, if Anti is the WTCHR, this implies he’s monitoring Jack. He knows when he’s afraid, he knows how he’s doing (which might even give him a clue on when to stop hurting him to prevent it from being fatal, assuming he’s been doing anything like that all this time). Maybe that’s how he’s had control this whole time.

And something something Dark Silence, Chase’s Encounter With Anti, Chase Being Watched Recently [image below], We Think He’s Being Stalked By Anti Ever Since DS Happened *slaps theorist corkboard of red string and screenshots* UGH. THERE IS SOMETHING HERE I’M CONVINCED.

Or is having WTCHR in your home the norm in this universe? Is WTCHR in his home so Henrik, his friend who saved his life in 2017, can monitor him? If that’s so, then maybe Henrik was told Chase encountered Anti- which Henrik is definitely aware exists after KJSE -and as a precaution and concern for his friend, he installed WTCHR in his home so he can keep an eye on him?

IMAGINE THE ANGST OF HENRIK SEEING ANTI COME AFTER CHASE IN HIS HOME VIA THE WTCHR CAMERAS AND SPEAKING TO CHASE THROUGH HIS DEVICE AND TELLING CHASE ANTI IS BEHIND HIM OR TO RUN OR SOMETHING. LIKE. YO, HOLY SHIT.

Its been the best security service for 5 years in a row.

Assuming the in-canon year is 2022, that’d be since 2017. Since the year of KJSE. Did Henrik maybe create WTCHR after he failed Jack so brutally in KJSE? Is this another step towards our theory that Henrik created Anti?

Is this something Anti or maybe Henrik (to monitor Jack) or Marvin (because magic??) done?

And what exactly IS a Control Zone? How do they work? Is this something we’ll learn or need to know for future reference?

To Do List for Fellow Theorists:

Check each frame/moment the footage glitches. Look for hidden messages and images. I went frame-by-frame at the very end and saw nothing, but I didn’t look through the ones that happen during the duration of the actual infomercial.

Go back in time (using @isas-theory-wall​, past videos, @fear-is-nameless‘s impeccable ability to find ancient JSE Fire-related posts, whatever you can think of!). Connect these things to details in the video. See if there’s pieces of the past we can fit or relate to the present.

I personally would like to know if there’s any significance to the city we see at the beginning. Is it just stock footage or is it a detail we should pay attention to? I’m assuming its simply stock, but you can never be too careful.

I want to know if this anomaly is something. We’ve had Anti’s face and such hidden in thumbnails before. Is that something or am I grasping at straws?

#jacksepticeye #antisepticeye #IRIS #JSE IRIS #jse theory

[emotionallychargedtowel]

Utsukushii Kare S2E2

The two big headlines from this episode are:

Progress!

Setup setup setup

It makes sense that the previous episode was so self-contained while this one spent a good bit of its time setting up arcs that look like they’ll take the rest of the (four-episode) season to resolve, since the first episode is based on a story at the end of the first novel and now, with episode 2, we’re just starting out with the first part of the second novel. The setup parts meant that this episode wasn’t as dense as the prior one, but it still delivered on a lot of good moments and, most importantly for my morale as a viewer, it started to show some real progress in Hira and Kiyoi’s relationship.

I’m going to circle back to some of the relationship stuff I’ve been posting about and what it looked like in this episode in another post, but for now, here are some overall thoughts.

We got a continuation of the scene from the end of episode 1, so we learned that at least Hira did attempt to comfort Kiyoi after that exchange, he just did it in an incredibly goofy Hira way (stroking his hair with one finger that he...cleaned first in some way?).

The high school flashback really gave some useful context. We knew from season 1 that Kiyoi was hoping for Hira to make some kind of declaration because of his thoughts before the graduation day kiss. But this scene suggests he was waiting even longer, had more of a sense of urgency than was shown before. When his voiceover said, “Hurry, Hurry,” I really felt for Kiyoi.

I love that Koyama replaced that ugly plaid jacket...with a new ugly plaid jacket. He’s being a deus ex machina again as he tells Hira about the Young Photo Graphica contest, and he’s not finished yet.

The other fans shaming Hira for behaving almost exactly like them really bothered me. It seems like the only thing that makes everyone think he’s “suspicious” is the fact that he’s a dude. Well, and the disguise. But I guess I don’t get the big deal about that either.

Red scarf guy, Anna’s fan, is clearly being set up as serious trouble. He’s making a furious face when Kiyoi is just walking beside her in a totally normal manner. And he has a red ribbon he keeps playing with. I assume the symbolism there isn’t a coincidence and this is implying that he thinks he and Anna are fated to be together. If he turns out to be even half as scary as he seems right now, he’s going to make a good foil for Hira, and could deliver a wake-up call. I just hope the cost of that isn’t too great.

When Kiyoi tells Anna about how he likes the “rush” of live theater, he says it’s “an excitement that borders on fear.” I swear I’ve heard that somewhere before. Was it in season 1 somewhere?

I find Anna really likeable so far. My fantasy is that she turns out to be queer too and she’s going to bat for Kiyoi because he immediately pinged her gaydar. Probably not likely but I feel like it’d be fun. As long as red scarf guy doesn’t get too out of hand.

Seeing Kiyoi be affectionate with Hira when he gets home was priceless. When he came close and put his arms around him, it really did seem like he was showing some growth. He’s initiating affection, he’s using humor in a gentle way, and he still called him “baka” but he did it in a much gentler way than usual. Of course, he couldn’t keep this up once Koyama was on the phone. It can’t have helped that Koyama is cock-blocking him yet again. But his irritation that Koyama is involved in parts of Hira’s life he doesn’t know about is justifiable. Though maybe that magnitude of pouty lip face could be considered excessive.

When Kiyoi is stewing about Koyama the next day, he shows more self-awareness than usual. He says, “I can’t be mature about this,” with regard to Koyama’s presence in Hira’s life. But there was a time when he would have struggled to acknowledge that it bothered him at all, much less to acknowledge that a more mature response is possible (and preferable).

When Koyama actually appears, he handles it...well, better than before. He stays pretty polite and thanks Koyama for helping Hira. He reins himself in even when he’s accused of “freeloading.” He’s still suspicous as hell, but you know, he might be right to be.

I’m not entirely sure what to make of Koyama here. He sure seems to like to butt in between them. It sounds pretty absurd when Kiyoi wonders if Koyama is “asserting dominance,” but, like, I think he kind of is? At the same time, he could have been petty or sneaky about this stuff but instead he’s forthright and tries to be helpful--he even seems to succeed.

That kitchen scene was excruciating. I had to look away more than once. Not to mention Hira praising the botched dish and fighting over his serving with Kiyoi. (As usual, his deference isn’t even internally consistent. Kiyoi is this divine being who has made “the hot pot of the Gods” but Hira doesn’t seem to think he’s so godlike that he has to listen to him when he tells him to stop eating.)

It’s pretty notable that they switch their usual positions for the conversation after the disgusting hot pot full of sake situation. Hira sits on the floor in front of the couch, lower than Kiyoi, and Kiyoi is on the left. It makes sense as this scene is a kind of reversal of their usual habits. Kiyoi is pursuing Hira more emotionally, including praising him. It’s particularly notable that he was able to tell Hira it bothers him that he talks to Koyama about these things and not him. That would have been pretty much impossible for season 1 Kiyoi. It’ll be interesting to see if he can keep this sort of thing up when he hasn’t just downed a bunch of hot sake.

I loved the exchange after Kiyoi ordered Hira to enter the photography contest. In the past, if Hira badmouthed himself, Kiyoi would get angry and contradict him, but he would also undercut it in other ways, like being rude or insulting to Hira himself. He was mildly reproachful but he didn’t do anything to negate the good he did by telling Hira he’s not a “pebble.” Telling Hira that he’s “[his] man” and therefore he can’t be that bad or insignificant is a good strategy--I don’t think Hira has a great comeback for that. And of course, hearing Kiyoi call him that had an effect. But the best bit, to my mind, was “I look best when I’m in your photos.” So danged sweet. And I bet he’s right.

I’ve noticed some folks who seem to have watched the episode on GaGa quoting Kiyoi as saying, “Take photos of me. In the same world.” Viki translates this as “Take photos of me. In the same industry.” The latter seems more likely to me. It’s more specific and on-topic. I’ll have to see what more detailed fansubs have to say on the subject. If Hira could become a professional photographer, their work stuff could overlap in some ways, and of course Kiyoi would like that. Though one thing he hasn’t talked about is the fact that Hira still refuses to photograph any person other than Kiyoi. If he wants to go into that field, then unless he gets into a specific area like landscape photography or, I don’t know, taking pictures of food, he’ll have to be willing to photograph non-Kiyoi human beings.

Hira didn’t get a lot of chances to show growth in this episode, but I think he was more receptive to Kiyoi’s changes in behavior than he would have been at one point in their relationship. And he agreed to enter the contest, which was a big stretch for him.

The setup factor notwithstanding, this was a good episode. I was excited to see the progress the characters are making. The prospect of a season 2 was a bit scary. If the characters had just regressed back to season 1 behavior completely, it would have been demoralizing. If they had resolved all of their problems and were being all mature and perfect all the time, it would have been dull. But I think the story is walking a good line between those extremes. 

#utsukushii kare #utsukushii kare 2 #hira x kiyoi #hira kazunari #kiyoi sou

[kenzi-koffee]

Color Theory Basics

Color Theory Basics for Beginners

A growing artist's understanding of color theory

Introduction

     I don’t know about you, but the understanding of color and more so learning how to apply it to art feels intimidating and perhaps even scary. I’m going to try and avoid overwhelming your brain with technical facts about color theory and focus more on applying it to your artwork, because if you’re anything like me…you’ve been avoiding this topic in fear that it’s too linear and technical for us creatives to grasp. Color theory shows us how colors mix and contrast with one another, so I believe it’s essential to have some idea of how to implement it in your work. 

  The Color Wheel

     The color wheel is based on red, blue, and yellow. Sir Isaac Newton developed the first circular diagram of colors in 1666. There are a lot of opinions regarding the color wheel and how to use it, but I’ll just give you the basics so you know what terms to use when discussing your art and some ideas on how to implement them into your work. 

Categories of the colors based on the color wheel: 

Primary colors: These colors are used as the base for the color wheel, Red, Blue, and Yellow. All other colors are derived from these three colors.

Secondary colors: Green, Orange, and Purple. These colors are formed by mixing the primary colors.

Tertiary colors: Yellow-Orange, Red-Orange, Red-Purple, Blue-Purple, Blue-Green, and Yellow-Green. These colors are formed by mixing a primary and a secondary color.

Properties of Color:

Value: Describes the lightness or darkness of the color. 

Hue: Refers to color in its pure state, it also determines a color's position on the color wheel.

Intensity: The brightness or dullness of a color based on its saturation. A color is most intense in its purest form, (or hue). Intensity becomes lower when a pure hue is mixed with a complementary or neutral color. 

Complementary Colors

     A complimentary color is a color that is the opposite of a color on a color wheel. If you choose any color on the wheel, you’ll be able to find its complement by just dragging your finger straight through the center until you reach a new color. The complimentary color for red is green, the complimentary color for blue is orange, and so on. 

Color Temperature:

     Color temperature can greatly impact the mood of a piece, it can be

used to create contrast between subjects or separate pieces. Warmer colors are usually deemed striking, energetic, or happy. Cooler-themed pieces are often considered peaceful, sad, or moody. 

    If you draw a line across a color wheel, half of it will be considered ‘cool’ and the other half will fall into the ‘warm’ category. 

Examples of cool colors are Purples, blues, and deep greens.

Examples of warm colors are Reds, Yellows, and Oranges.

     Warm and Cold are not limited to bright colors, greys can even have a warm or cool tone to them. 

                Shadows and highlights in art:

    A common way to use color theory is in how you apply it to shadows and highlights in your artwork. For example, it’s common that in an environment that has warm highlights (like a bright sun), then the shadows will actually reflect the complementary color of the highlight. If the sun is your highlight source, then your highlight color is probably yellow. The complementary color to yellow is purple and blue, so you can use this knowledge to find the color that best suits the mood of your scene. -show some examples-

     You can also swap this around if your highlight color is a cool icy light in the blueish-grey range, then sprinkling some deep yellows and oranges throughout the piece will help it pop. 

     You’ve reached the point in color theory where it’s up to opinion and preferences. If you want a really ‘cold’ and ‘dreary’ feeling, then only using cool colors might benefit you more than attempting to use a blue-complimentary color. Rules in art only exist so we know the fundamental structure of how they work, once you have that understanding, breaking the rules can be beneficial to your art. Don’t be afraid to get creative and try something new once you’ve figured out the basics. 

How Color changes based on the environment

    Colors will obviously look different depending on the setting of the subject. Human skin is a fascinating topic when it comes to this logic. For example, it is redder in areas where the skin is thin. It picks up the blood and veins underneath it, or the warm glow of the sun behind it depending on its transparency. 

     Color and light bounce off of different objects in different ways, so that’s where photo reference comes in. If you can find images of your subject in the environment you’re wanting to paint, you’ll have a better understanding of how color interacts with itself. If something is sitting outside in the grass, for example, it will have the warm yellow highlight of the sun. However, it may also have green gently bouncing up from the grass and onto your subject. It may also have blues from the sky reflecting off of the grass and onto your subject. Color is truly fascinating when you start observing it from an artist's perspective. 

    A lot of this isn’t directly linked to color theory, but rather lighting, ambient occlusion, and so on. I just thought it would be good to hint at it here as well. I plan to write more on the topic of lighting and ambient occlusion in the future so be on the lookout for that if this subject interests you. 

Using other Artists as a reference

     I always recommend beginners, and even non-beginners, to look at their favorite artists to better understand their process. Color is no different when it comes to that. Look at your favorite artists with the knowledge you’ve taken from this article and see how they’ve applied it to their works. Did they use primarily cool colors, with just a patch of warm colors to emphasize a point as they did here? Did they use saturation or desaturation to help draw the eye into where they want your attention? There are many different ways to use color to your benefit, and the more you expand your visual library by looking at other artists' work, the more you’ll be able to imagine unique color combinations and set-ups to benefit your work and growth as an artist. 

Summary

    Color is an extensive topic that could span across many many articles and fills multiple encyclopedias, however, the basics are pretty simple to grasp and I feel that unless the topic calls to you–are all you need to get started with color in your art. Your eye for color will develop over time as you look at the work of artists you admire and challenge yourself to try new things. 

#art #artists on tumblr #digital art #drawing #painting #color theory #tutorial #art tutorial #art tumblr #art tips #art reference #artwork #commissionsopen #refs #reference #save for later #art reflection #art hacks #art blog #small artist #artists of tumblr #beginner artist #illustration #art style #character design #creative writing

[canineical]

[Image Description: A zine in an 8-page layout.

The first page has “Oh, the HORRORS!” written near the top of the page with a subtitle underneath it saying “a zine on horror (wow) & all its forms” with the word ‘wow’ in parentheses. To the side of the title, there’s a drawing of a cat with its head twisted around and backward in a way it should not be able to move. The cat is edited to sit on a photo of a bookshelf filled with horror movie VHS tapes.

The second page reads “Everyone's image of horror is a little bit different, and usually informed by what they fear (especially for people who don't particularly like horror). Some people think of carnivorous bugs, some think of monsters, and some think of killers.” Along the right side of the page, there is a drawing of a wasp whose body is red, an alien head that shimmers green, blue, and purple, with a big forehead and eyes and a small mouth, and a scarab beetle that is colored teal.

The third page reads “This is why so much horror media is incredibly fucked up! Species are inherently dangerous and evil, and are out to get you. Murderers are often portrayed as queer-- proposed as confused about how they embody their sexuality and gender.” Across the middle of the page, there are two images that separate this first part of the text from the second. One photo is from a poster of the Rocky Horror Picture Show and depicts Frank-n-Furter and Riff Raff. The second is the title ‘Her Body and Other Parties,’ each word cut and pasted from the cover of the book. The text then continues: “Some media, like the Rocky Horror Picture Show, fights back a these narratives by allowing queerness to be simply powerful, and murder to be just part of the fun (fictionally, of course). Even more modern horror like Her Body and Other Parties, which does even more work to allow space for fear, dreamlike yet utterly real feelings of being lost, and casual queerness.”

The fourth page reads “American horror (in the past, though patterns have changed with 21st century horror) often takes the shape of slasher films, sci-fi/horror fusions, and the ill-defined creature feature. Let's zoom in a little on slasher films, because to me, this is a prime example of regional fears deciding how horror is formed. Usually focusing on suburban white America, these movies tend to follow the narrative of a small town being terrorized by a killer. Of course, this is not the fear of all America. In reality, POC (and especially Black) experience constant violence and countless murders from within their own communities and from the very people who are oathbound to protect them. But this is the fear of White America-- that they could ever experience targeted violence, too, however less severe.” Along the bottom of the page, there is a drawing in superhero comic style of a white man in a suit seemingly dashing away from some sort of monster chasing him.

The fifth page reads “In other regions, horror looks very different. Under the Shadow, for example, was made in Iran, and details the horrors of war and the evil & the ghosts that come with it. In many Indigenous cultures, horror stories take the shape of scary fucking forest monsters. I believe & fear those most, personally.” Near the top of the page is a screenshot from the movie Under the Shadow of a young girl, Dorsa, holding her doll and looking to the camera with a fearful or worried look. Along the right side of the page is a poster for the same movie in black and beige, depicting Dorsa and her mother, Shideh, cowering in a corner of a room, away from a window with a big ‘X’ taped across it.

The sixth page reads “These sorts of stories, about the wilderness and what it hides, are obviously most common in rural areas, with not many people there to incite fear. These always scare me most, mostly because stories are so consistent through generations and across all  the world (though most cultures have their own unique creatures, too).” The text is evenly split between the top left and bottom right corners. In the top right corner, there is a gothic black and white sketch of a man in a tricorne hat & cloak on a horse pulling to a stop and looking down at a man who is cowering over his own seemingly dead horse. The ground is snowy, they are directly in front of a forest, and there are two winged creatures in the background. In the bottom left corner, there is a gothic black and white sketch of a man in a top hat riding his horse through a forest and cowering away from some sort of ghost hovering near and above him.

The seventh page reads “In recent years, with the rise of the internet, horror has began to take even more forms. Creations like Creepypasta, The Magnus Archives, and more-- while different-- all embody a new approach to horror, where people get attached to characters and concepts just like they would with any fiction! Scary creatures are lovable and interesting,and even cute at times! Whether this reflects a change in approach to fear as a whole is debatable, but an interesting discussion nonetheless.” In the bottom right corner, there is a simple drawing of a black humanoid creature with wings, a round head with a beak, hands with claws, and big eyes. It is facing and creeping toward the left side of the page, and we can only see its profile.

The eighth page reads “Horror can look a million different ways, and all of them are fascinating-- at least to me, and hopefully to you, since I assume you read this whole zine if you're reading this right now. Thank you for that, by the way! I hope you enjoyed it, and that you enjoy whatever horror media you consume next.” Below the text, there is a dashed line, and below that line is the text “by Xalli, may 9 2023.” Under that, there is the Instagram logo next to "desertfirelight," the Substack logo next to "palmlungs," and the Tumblr logo next to "baringteeth." Along the entire right side of the page is a drawing of a long, grey-yellow colored squid-shaped creature with bright, narrow yellow eyes. Instead of tentacles, it’s body fades into wispy sort of strings. Below that creature is a drawing of three magenta ants crawling around. /End ID]

zine about horror for y’all !

feel free to print & share or distribute or whatever it-- just don’t remove credit

#coyo yips #mine #zine #art #also do rb if you like it ! i make zines to share #it's meant to be for others! #not just for myself like how i write poetry

[zombiejette]

BIG THREE TIME!! 🌙🔮✨

Hey there Non/Disney peeps! I know how much we all love to choose beloved characters that represent ourselves, whether its for personal or roleplay reasons, so I think it's time we expand this trend even further. I thought why not shake things up and combine this side of tumblr with my favorite form of self-insert...

Astrology!!

you know y'all want to. So what are your Big Three signs represented by animated characters?? I will start with mine:

☀️ SUN: Aries ♈️ 🐏

I know it's a bit on the nose, but I can't think of anyone more like the Ram than Merida. Stubborn, impulsive, firey, playful, passionate... it's all her baby. Even has the red-ass wildwoman hair. For me, she is most like how I behave on the surface, especially when I'm having a good time. She loves fiercely, plays recklessly, and isn't afraid of a bit of danger in the pursuit of living fully. Everything about her is loud, proud, and in your face- and just like the sun, you can't tone her down even for a second. Especially when she's angry. But that anger is a good thing too- it reminds us to stand up for ourselves, for the injustices we see, and to fight wholeheartedly for what's right. She shows us that our emotions are our greatest allies, and if you befriend them, they will help guide you towards your truest path. All this boldness and authenticity allows her to be a truly fearless leader, and one who isn't afraid of breaking traditions to do so.

🌙 MOON: Virgo ♍️🏺

Helga, for me, is the epitome of my Moon sign. She's no-nonsense, likes things to be efficient and effective, and is constantly scanning for problems to fix. She can also be intimidatingly scary and judgmental when she's pushed into a corner, and then all of those analytical skills can easily turn into weapons of mass destruction. But the more healed way it usually manifests for me is through her tough-love Mommy energy. She has a "right way" in mind, and knows what works and what doesn't. It's not that she's trying to be cruel, or too abrasive, but she sees when someone needs that push and won't hesitate to give them it. She's often the best person for advice if you don't mind being torn to shreds in the process lol.

↗️ RISING: Cancer ♋️ 🦀

Now if you were scared at all by the hard-headedness of my first two signs- fear not! My rising sign is here to make me less of a dick lol. Might be a controversial choice, but Genie is definitely a cancer rising. "You've never had a friend like me" is sort of an inside joke of mine, and it's because I truly seek to be the most authentic and loyal friend you've ever had. I'm not just here for a good time- I'm here to change your life! Emotional intimacy is the hallmark of this goal, and I love to really "see" someone, to bear witness to all their ugly and do away with the surface barriers society imposes upon us. I know how crushingly lonely it can be to feel like no one really understands you, or even tries to, and so my bleeding heart takes up arms against this strongly. The way Genie bends over backwards and selflessly grants wishes- even ones he didn't have to- and genuinely wants the best for Aladdin despite the sacrifices it costs him, is the heart and soul of what this sign is for me. Not that this is always a good thing- I've definitely given away way too much without proper boundaries and gotten burned by it- but the way I feel for someone's situation, and want to do everything in my power to make it all better for them, is what Genie and I have in common. The shackles around him often feel how this type of empathy feels too- knowing you care so much and so deeply about someone, trying your best to "poof" their problems away, but having to free yourself from helping them or else it will drag you down as well. It's a big lesson this sign often has to learn the hard way, and boy have I learned it. But still, when it's used correctly and for the right person- nothing feels better than knowing you helped someone feel a lot less alone in this crazy world, and made a positive impact on their soul.

So those are mine! Please reblog with yours, and let me know why you chose your characters! I love pop-psychology through animation, and just in general lol, but either way, it was super fun to do. 🥰✨

#disney #pixar #non/disney #disney psychology #characterization #self-insert #self-indentification #self-analysis #animated characters #gifs #crossover disney #crossover non/disney #astrology #big three #aries sun #virgo moon #cancer rising #merida #helga sinclair #genie aladdin #brave #atlantis the lost empire #aladdin #personal #for fun

[pixeljade]

Okay i've tried like 20 times to word this in a way that'll go as gently as possible but I dont think im gonna be 100% successful bc autism, so im just gonna post this and hope yall dont take it in bad faith:

Theres a lot of younger queers (especially AFAB ones) who still hold TERF ideology and the main reason I see them failing to let it go is because they cant embrace sex positivity.

Which like. I kinda get. I mean if I was AFAB and I grew up with creepy toxic masculine dudes constantly sexualizing me while i was still a child, and the pressures of family to reproduce, and all that shit that comes with being AFAB, i'd probably be scared as shit of sex. Heck I'm a *little* scared of it myself since I was sexually assaulted twice before I was 18! But I feel like thats something to fight against, because like...sex is healthy! Sex is good! Sex is the cause of literally all of our lives!!!!

And I'm not saying you have to have sex or anything, god no, I'm on the ace spectrum. I'm saying you have to be normal about sex, because sex is a part of life! Its ESPECIALLY a part of the queer community! And as much as it should be more welcoming to ace people, I also think demanding it be entirely chaste in order to welcome ace people is stupid and selfish and unhealthy.

"So whats this have to do with TERF ideology though?" Well, reader, I'm glad you asked, because "sex is scary" is the first step in the TERF ideology road! It usually goes "sex is scary" -> "men are scary" -> "anything with a penis is scary". And basically every queer person, at least on the surface, is against this. But under the surface, I find it all falls apart, especially amongst AFAB people. AMAB queers are expected to perform femininity to fit in, and almost always if it is the sort of space where femininity is scrutinized, it is expected that the feminine must also be chaste. I feel like thats no accident. It feels like any mention of sexuality from an AMAB person has them thinking about how we have a penis, such a lewd horrible thing, and then its like...instantly we become less womanly to them. They've let their fear tie femininity to a lack of sexuality, which is a TERF idea!

This also is what leads to more censorship of transfem people. As the recent bannings of transfem people on this site continue, I see a lot of posts saying stuff like "You wouldnt have this problem if youd just stop posting sexual content", even being reblogged by supposed allies.

And you might be thinking "well I'm AFAB but I'm trans, so, this doesnt apply to me. Theyre talking about actual TERFs!" And no, you're wrong. I see transmasc people who pull this shit ALL THE TIME. I recently had a transmasc friend cringe and tell me that the fact that I liked Asumi-chan Is Interested In Lesbian Brothels was a red flag because it was "clearly for the male gaze" which is absolutely TERF behavior. I also see a lot of transmasc people being dismissive of transfem fears in the current trans political situation. Its seemingly almost always a specific brand of UwU cottagecore transmasc that does it too, and a few of them I've even caught admitting they "used to be a TERF" which, I'm glad you no longer associate with them, but I'm telling you you still have shit to unlearn. Dont tell me this is out of my lane, either, its no different from if someone pointed out I still had toxic masculinity to unlearn! Which has happened, and I've examined mine. Why do you find it so unreasonable to examine yours?

Anyways thats all for now. Please do better. I shouldnt have to deal with this shit while the government is trying to kill me.

#watch someone take this in bad faith anyways

[firebuug]

13, 14 and 31 for the uncommon oc questions? for whatever ocs come to mind first

(also A and B for the creator questions for whoever comes to mind too :> )

before i look at the questions UHHH ill choose eva and centi because theyre bouncing in my head (eva bc brainrot centi bc hes my icon).

13. What color do they think they look best in? Do they actually look best in that color?

eva was raised as a little nestie boy and in my mind very fancy rich colors are always light and pastel like marble and stuff and my brain always sees him dressed in white. i think he thinks he looks most dapper in white. maybe even gray. monochromes mostly because its hard to coordinate an outfit when your hair is fuckin Blue and you don't want to look like a stupid clown.

i however am in the impression that eva would look nice in red. and golds. and pale greens. and black. i just like eva

centi does NOT CARE in fact he HATES UNNECESSARY HUMAN CONSTRUCTS. what do you MEAN i cant go out to the supermarket in the human's PAJAMAS eva you are an IDIOT a FOOL a DOG to abiding to such STUPID human standards i am CONSERVING MY ENERGY . he doesn't care....but i guess he'd like colors that help him stealth or that he's had on him as a centipede bug

14. What animal do they fear most?

i . have never thought of this. UH. man i feel like animals are weird in PMworld. do they have zoos. obviously they have animals bc a lot of abnos are animal based but like. are they frequent. do people go to the zoos and see lions anymore. man. anyways i think if Eva met a chimp he would be scared. i feel like if he saw a hippo he'd be kinda scared. i dont think he'd be scared of horses he'd think theyre beautiful. i think, to a city dweller, animals arent as scary as the Daily Horrors you face, but at the same time, eva is a nestie what animals is he seeing? birds?? white eye crust dogs??????? lizards????? i think he'd be scared of snakes. oh my god he'd be scared of snakes. OH MY GOD HIS BOYFRIEND DISTORTS INTO A GIANT SNAKE BUG i think he'd be scared of snakes. i don't think he'd like bugs but he is fine with taking bugs out in a cup or throwing a newspaper at them but i think his parents kept his childhood house as bug-free as possible

centi is scared of anything that is scarier than him because it usually means it is a stronger devil than him. he is a predator bug outside of his fiend form and eats other bugs that are weaker and is very scary but he'd know his fucking place in front of Spider Devil or some shit. also he would probably not like dogs and cats. anything that poses a threat to a little centipede. however. as a human somehting like a bird? he laughs at now. dogs and cats? those can still fuck him up and put him in his place (owww scratches)

31. Who are they the most glad to have met? 

theres very obvious answers here. but genuinely even if they annoy him sometimes or make his work harder eva does appreciate meeting his friends and his future bf at lobcorp because, if he had worked here for this long without making friends with ANYONE. no matter what he tells himself he would have been so much more miserable. having friends isnt what he came here for but its what happened and hes grateful that his friends somehow didnt get tired of him and put up with his rocky beginnings because he doesn't know if he wouldve ever found joy in this work without them

he is also, as expected, very glad to have met julian because otherwise after the wing fell he probably would have no other reason to be on this earth other than "maybe make weird art until you run out of money and starve". jules kind of rocked his mindset too and helped him realize the people around him at the corp Arent just dumb npcs who are expendable, they are Human and Mortal and Will Die. they experience emotion just like him. and even if they ar einsufferable they are human and you will ifnd yourself crying when they die even if you only knew them as the guy from info team who made your life worse. he cant fester in hatred and hope someone innocent eats shit because one day theyll die and he'll be stuck with those emotions, and not everyone comes back like jules did

centi.... well. this is mostly just inner oc stuff with my friend and i's ocs hehe. but he is happy to meet another bug devil like him. because well...i like to think theres SOme sort of solidarity in being a scary bug. maybe hes a bit jealous. but then theyre just..homies. he doesnt have to face the isolation of feeling like an eldrich monstrosity living in some dudes apartment and getting yelled at for being an eldritch monstrosity and being Different and being Caged in a Stupid Inferior Human Body God FUcking Damn It alone. he has another bug guy going thru the same. we must imagine the bug fiends happy

also despite how much he despises eva at first he eventually realizes this weird as fuck THing is actually. not killing him. this is a devil hunter yet he's making me a grilled cheese. whats wrong with hinm. i can throw his stuff around and he can get upset but he will still let me sleep in his house and stand up for me. whats wrong with him. eventually he will slowly warm up to him...but he'll still bother him. thats what fiends do

A) Why are you excited about this character?

for eva? I DONT KNOW . I DONT KNOW!!!!!!!! HES JUST SOME DUDE!!!! BUT I GAVE HIM MY LOVE FOR MUSIC MY LOVE FOR FISH AND GAVE HIM MULTIPLE NEUROSES AND NOW I LOVE HIM . THE FUCK. i also really love his distortion. just. grips heart. a lot of my ocs and stories have this theme of isolation, i guess it's something i like to explore a lot, and considering eva is a (count with me) autistic transgender mentally ill born-rich kid who was raised kind of sheltered from the full extent of horrors and Forced to go down a pre-determined path from birth . and not only that but he becomes even more of a fish out of water post-lobcorp and literally experiences the isolation of not even having a true god reach him through the metal walls of the corporation. idk. i think he's pretty isolationcore and neurosispilled and his distortion is fun because YES WE CAN FINALLY GO APESHIT!!!!!!!!!!!!! CATHARSIS!!! BUT PAIN AND GRIEF MANIFESTED INTO A PHYSICAL BLIND RAMPAGED BEING!!!!!

centi because he is a fucking BUG!!!!!! AND HES EVIL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! AND HES SILLY!!!!!!!!!!! CARTOONISHLY EVIL FREAK WHO USED TO BE A LEGIT THREAT!!!!!! I LOVE THOSE FUCKERS!!!!!! and not only that HE SHARES A BODY WITH THE POLAR OPPOSITE AND IS A HORRIBLE MONSTER BEING FORCED TO LIVE AMONG HUMA---god damn it its another isolation and not fitting in story. BUG DYSPHORIA

B) What inspired you to create them?

nothing crazy here- eva was randomly generated employee number 2 in my lobcorp facility, i grew attached to him thru keeping him alive and also i liked his grumpy little face. survived to the very end of my playthrough, and juleva started as a crackship but i did like their dynamic a lot..................... things just escalated from there

centi because ummm i made a csm au of my ocs and i wanted julian to be the Centipede Fiend to reference his distortion but i created a whole new personality for the Centipede Devil inside of him and went oh my god i love them, i need them to be a new person, i love them, oh my god

thanks so much for the opportunity to ramble! if you made it this far im marrying you.

#ask #anon #rambles #ocs #eva #centi

[bitegore]

ETA: local area lizard dumbass forgets to ping the person who tagged nem in this lmfao. thank you @disir-ex-machina

Rules: Answer the questions and tag nine people you want to know better.

Favorite Color: i don't like colors, i like high contrast, so i guess "black" or "red" but with a side of any contrasting colors are cooler than any color on its own. I like bright teal and red-orange.

Currently Reading: does fanfiction count? i'm reading Bibliotecaria-D's complete backlog. A little while ago I read through everything Ultharkitty ever posted. Being a filthy completionist about fic writers is easier than about published ones, at least, since they're all just there.

Last Song: The Night They Moved The House by Ten Strings and A Goat Skin. This song is so fucking funny. Imagine being Mr Joe Labelle, whose name lives on in legend because he was the guy what stole the house from the widow Victoria and betrayed her dead husband to steal her home. i want to be remembered long after I die too but like, lmao, no like that

Last Series: this is about tv? i think Transformers Generation One on the youtube. I don't really know, I haven't watched tv in literally two months. Probably longer. I don't care for tv.

Last Movie: Event Horizon (1997); latest victim of my extremely high bar for horror. Good movie! Great character cast; i liked it a lot. Not even a little bit scary though, but the director actually managed to earn their jumps-cares in my opinion (i am also a jump-scare disliker; they don't work on me so largely they just feel cheap lol) so i have to say i think the director was pretty fucking good even if they couldn't successfully knock any fear into me.

Sweet/Savory/Spicy: i am what you may term "a fucking idiot" and therefore i totally thought that this was asking for a recipe first and which i liked second. so like yes? i like them all? preferably together? and if i had to pick one it'd be spicy but they're best together. but for a sweet savory and spicy meal i recommend poke sauce on chicken with rice. it tastes good. the poke sauce i use is Kikkoman's because i can't cook to save my life and they sell it at my local stop and shop; you put it on a chicken cutlet and stick that in an air fryer and then you flip it and put more on the other side and put it back in the air fryer and then you take it out and you put it on your rice and you add more sauce and then you eat it.

Currently Working On: eehhhhhhhhhh i'm less "working on things" and more "existing and things are happening". I guess technically my docket includes- a long running short story series i'm working on for a writing group (not posted anywhere), a buncha short fanfictions, and two separate texaid drawings i owe people. also like making money. i started doing adopts to make money, i want money, but i'm lazy so i'm just kind of vibing in the direction of quick cash, as you do

i don't usually do tags but these questions are fun so! @quetzalpapalotl @honestlyvan @mx-plugs @cleverthylacine @megatronismegagone @thisisfrenchhouse ...eh, i think that's enough tags. feel free to not answer OR to tap yourself in, i don't mind one way or another. also you don't have to give a recipe i am just a little bit silly

#red rambles #tag game

[tunabesimpin]

Thank you for the tag @kalu-luwa !!! I separated my post cause I can see this becoming very long TvT sorry if i shouldnt have!

ORIGINAL POST/ TAG! ^v^

Oc asks! : for Tuna!

😍 What's the most attractive personality trait a partner can have to them?

Being super playful or fun to be around! Basically a good sense of humor and always inviting you to do stuff! This can range from just playing video games together or watching youtube to actually going out to do stuff. Tuna just likes to be included and enjoys light-hearted joking!

🤣 What makes them crack up?

Potty humor, dad jokes, and cut-off jokes. They have old man humor. You show them a video with fart with reverb over someone tripping and they will very likely laugh. The man who got his free tacos only to drop them and video cuts off? HILARIOUS, COMEDY GOLD. Anything with a goofy sound replaced overtop the og noise? PURE GENIUS.

😡 What's one surefire way to make them angry?

Yell at them. Tell them their opinion is wrong, that they don't get a say in things, or they are absolutely gonna do something only because you know they will. This is 100% the most annoying thing for Tuna and they will just isolate/ stop talking to you LOL. If you push more they might snap at you with your most sensitive topics soooo watch your step.

😄 When are they at their happiest?

Listening to their fav music and playing around ^v^! Literally put on any song from their likes playlist while they want to play and they're on cloud 9. No thought only random flips and pacing to the song!

😭 What makes them sad?

Being the second choice/ left out completely- TvT The amount of times this has happened hurts, and usually Tuna finds out just on their own by chance. They'll pretend it doesn't change the friendship/ crush, but they usually just try to back off and not be clingy. This mostly applies when its one of their fav persons.

💋 What are kisses with them like?

Their kisses are either goofy and playful or quick and shy. Tuna loves to show affection, but never knows what's too much, so they play it safe bein a goof ball about it! But in some tender moments and after a lot of reassurance, Tuna will have the courage to give a sweet quick peck and then act like nothing happened behind a tomato red blush.

👻 What scares them?

Invasion of privacy and fear of depth (mostly at cliffs and deep ocean). Tuna can be paranoid on if they're being watched or if someone they don't trust/ know is too close. Cliffs are scary cause Tuna has a problem with depth perception. They still like hiking, but just nothing too steep. As for the ocean, they just really suck at swimming LOLOL. They never learned how to hold their breathe properly and are weak swimming. Also deep water is just really dark and has creatures yet to be discovered and as cool as that is it's also terrifying because Tuna is just a smol lil guy.

❤️‍🔥 What sets their heart aflame?

Include them in things and be physically affectionate. They're a hopeless romantic and will swoon at most acts of kindness. Head pats, back hugs, inviting them to hangout, Tuna is easy to please. Though surprisingly they don't fall often and even when they do you may never know.

🧠 What type of intelligence do they excell at? (Booksmarts, emotional intelligence, etc.)

They don't excel at anything LOL. If anything probably booksmarts? But it's more like jack of all trades, they just sorta logic their way through things and most times it works out for them. Just a lot of luck honestly.

🎂 How do they usually celebrate their birthday?

They get themselves a cake and their fav dinner! They don't really have a party or invite anyone since the incident (no one but their bestie came to their birthday despite inviting all their friends).

👗 What's their fashion sense?

They like comfy clothes! Tuna enjoys many styles and it really just depends if they feel in a certain mood! ^v^ But their most go to is big shorts and big shirt. Oversized clothes are great! Easy to move in and cozy.

❄️ How do they handle the cold?

They are a natural heater! Cold isn't too much a problem except for their piercings... Those metals get really cold so their ears tend to freeze the most! Otherwise Tuna just runs around a bit to warm up. Though they've never experienced weather below 4 Celsius.

and voila! the list is done LOLOL thank you again for the tag! Now no pressure tags! : @moomoomooing @oseathepebble @comingyourlugubriousness and anyone who wants to join in too! ^v^

#thank you for the tag! #ngl i wasn't sure if this was supposed to be asks or just answer #but im assuming just answers and i like to talk anyways soooo LOLOL #twisted wonderland #twst #twst oc #twst tuna #tuna be talkin

[casspurrjoybell-22]

Master - Chapter 26b

*Warning: Adult Content*  

"I do not want to fight you Kalem," Arias says with his words full of sadness as he looks down at me. 

"You don't have to fight me," he adds.

‘I don't want that either. I promise you, Arias, I-I don't’

Instead of the words I was screaming inside, a growl bubbles from my throat as I sit up and glare at Arias with hatred I didn't feel inside.

I didn't hate Arias, never could and never would no matter what.  

Arias sighs softly, his eyes becoming strained as he looks at me.

"I suppose I was right," he mutters mournfully as he stretches his hand out beside him and takes a step towards me.

"There's no more denying it."

In the palm of his hand, a long, thin sword began to form itself with each step he took, building until it was it's full length and glowed with power.

I could feel it pouring from him but I could see it too, the air around him becoming something formidable while his body began to grow bigger, taller.

His lean body now fitted more visible muscles and the tips of his ears extended themselves to slip through his hair.

As a rush of air circled around him, the Arias I knew slipped away from him like a snake shedding its skin in favour of a newer, stronger one.

This one had lighter skin that looked creamy and too perfect to touch.

Arias' usual straight, icy blonde hair turned a gentle silver that matched the pointed sword in his hands.

The Arias that stood before me was all the things I imagined an Angel to be, the only thing that was missing was the wings.

The image of what he was, what I never knew he could be, pushed the darkness that'd rose inside of me into submission.

The need to fight withering away to make room for the initial need to escape, to get away from Arias.

It was like it knew, that part of me, knew what hid beneath the image of Arias I knew.

But I didn't want to run.

Not from Arias because no matter what form he took, no matter how scary he looked with a sword in his hands, Arias was my friend.

Arias was the one who told me stories on the darkest nights when we were locked together.

Arias was the one who took beatings to take any attention away from me and anyone else he could.

Arias told me about his realm and about the sky.

Arias taught me how to make his favourite dish.

So I force myself not to move, gather all the strength I could to stop my instincts from making me pop away to something new.

I do all I can to stop myself from moving as I stare up at Arias who now stood in front of me, his feet only one step away from my body.

Fear shoots itself into my veins when my scaling eyes finally reach the top to find Arias' gold ones, the colour no longer the gold I knew but a new version of it I hadn't seen anywhere before.

Arias raises his sword in the air, his arm crossed across his chest as he pins me with those foreign eyes that shimmer for a moment.  

I close my eyes.

The sound of Arias' sword slashing through the ear fills my ears, the warm energy in me bursting to pop away but I stay and wait for my fate.

‘Arias wouldn't hurt me. No matter what I was or who I turned out to be.’

‘Arias was my friend. Arias loved me and I loved him.’"

Ow," I scream when I open my eyes, to find the small cut that was in my leg.

But red blood wasn't what came out, instead a silver liquid came out and ran the path down my leg.

With a shaking hand, I reach down as swipe my finger across the sizzling cut, the pain something I barely registered with the silver blood that was coming from me.

Arias lowers himself to my level, closing the distance between us as he raises the tip of the sword to his hand to make a familiar cut to his hand.

My eyes grow wider as the same silver liquid pouring out of me, slips form the open fold of his skin.

"A-Arias?" I call shakily and the sword disappears as if it never existed for Arias to pull me into his arms.

"I-I don't know w-what's happening?"

"I know," Arias says sadly, clinging on to me with all his strength that should've hurt me but it didn't.

"But I'm going to help you," he adds.

"I-I didn't want to.... f-fight you.."

A chocked sob pulls from my lips as I hug Arias back and sob into him.

"Y-You're my friend."

"I know, I know little one," Arias soothes gently as he releases a shaky breath.

"I thought that it wasn't you... not fully but you wouldn't stop."

"I know you are," Arias replies kindly, his body still opposing as ever but not scary.

"I wanted to try another way but when I came to you, you attacked me. I knew then that I wasn't mistaken anymore."

"I-I'm sorry."

"W-What am I Arias?" I ask fearfully, not sure if I even wanted the answer.

"You're Elven Kalem," Arias says through clenched teeth,

"Just a... different type, a dangerous type," he adds.

Happiness wanted to explode inside of me, happiness to celebrate that I finally knew what I was and that it was something great.

‘Elven.’

Arias was an Elf and Arias was wonderful... but there was no room for the happiness because this didn't sound like a good thing.

This sounded like a very bad thing.

"A d-dangerous type?" I ask and Arias pulls back from me to meet his eyes, they were wet.

"Dangerous and kind," Arias says quickly, trying to push hope into a space that wanted none of it.

"Peace-bringer and Death's keeper. Legends said it could be good and bad, evil or virtuous. Ythene's creation of balance that they strayed from generations ago but still Ythene's creation."

I didn't understand what Arias was saying.

He was using words I didn't recognise and others I didn't want to.

It was more than I knew or wanted to and it was scaring me the same way it scared him.

I could see the slight fear in his eyes.

"Amongst the Elven kind, you're an Angel, Kalem," he says with eyes full of hope.

“One meant to bring love and peace but...."

Arias' hesitates to fill in the rest, his lips trembling as he stares at me as if begging me to be different, to not be whatever he feared so much.

The words wouldn't come out until he forced them from his tongue.

"But you're also a demon, Kalem."

[homosexuality-at-its-finest]

You guessed, it's me again

How would the lords react to a very knowledgeable S/O who loves to learn whatever they can put their hands on no matter if it is a language or to wielding or dancing, THEY'RE READY. Oh and also they're really honest and have a booming laughter (Headcanons of course)

A/n: Welcome back my child, we're all back on our bullshit tbh. Thank you for the request, I fuggin love writing anything Resident evil

@rabid-d0g

Plot: Requested

Warnings: Chaotic Y/n, cussing, violence, that’s about it tbh

LADY DIMITRESCU

· She loves how knowledgeable you are, even if she can get envious that your knowledge surpasses her own

· She will buy you any book you could ever imagine, feeding into your curiosity and need to learn

· Alcina is often amazed by how quickly you learn languages, she watched you learn French in 3 days because there was a book you wanted to read

· When it comes to wielding weapons, Mother Miranda save her she’s terrified

· You’re so small and fragile and she doesn’t want you to end up hurting yourself

· That fear was ended in a rather ridiculous predicament of a Morticia attacking you, which caused you to scream while repeatedly whacking it with a sword

· You had tried to play it off smoothly, grinning up at your lover, but she’d seen everything and was cackling

· She’s the one that teaches you to dance, pleased by how quickly you picked up on it.

· You two now dance together almost nightly, the girls think it’s disgustingly sweet

· The first time she encountered your naive honesty was when you had anciently broken one of her favorite vases.

· She was used to the girls and maids alike lying to stay clear of her fury, but you looked up at her with red puffy eyes and a trembling bottom lip and admitted to breaking it

· She’s tried and failed in getting you to lie, you’re just so honest, and at times it can be infuriating when it’s a situation when the truth is best kept a secret

· Alcina adores your laugh

· She could be in the foulest mood, but as soon as she hears the booming, boisterous laughter the mood seemingly disappears.

· She will do anything to see you smile and hear your laughter, it makes her feel alive and full of love.

· Alcina overall loves you unconditionally, flaws and all.

SALVATORE MOREAU

· Salvatore loves how intelligent you are, the two of you constantly bouncing ideas off each other

· He may not be the same man he was before the Cadou, but he’s still a doctor and therefor is super smart

· He has a plethora of books for you to read, and if your eyes or head hurt from reading, he’ll read to you

· The fact that you can learn languages so fast baffles him, he’s asked you about it before, but only got a sly smirk and ‘a magician never reveals their secret’ in return

· He never doubted your ability to wield a weapon, the way you two had met was him finding you on his land violently bashing in a Lycan’s skull

· Though the idea of you having a gun did make him a bit wary, you wielded it like you were born with a gun in your hand, so he had no reason for concern

· So, the thing about dancing is Salvatore has two left feet, mans is awful at dancing

· You’ve seen him eat shit while he was walking on flat ground, let alone dancing

· When you taught yourself how to dance it was a solo thing, but he adores getting to watch

· He’s fascinated by your beauty, the way your body moves. Everything about you is entrancing to our favorite fish man

· When it comes to your honesty, it’s never bothered him

· He’s also naively honest, so if anyone wants to know info they immediately go to the reservoir

· Karl has asked jokingly what Salvatore’s nether regions looked like and you told him point blank much to his horror (he no longer asks joking questions)

· Salvatore at first was startled by your laughter

· It was so loud and sudden that it had taken him off guard

· Now it’s his favorite sound, your laugh is infectious and makes him laugh

· His favorite kind of laugh is when its booming laughter mixed with snorts, because those are reserved for his jokes alone, it makes his chest feel warm and full

· He’s a shyer lover to have, but once you’ve gotten through his shell you two are a match made in heaven

DONNA BENEVIENTO

· So, Donna knew you were smart from the start, so your intelligence has never caught her off guard.

· She’s the one that will never doubt your abilities and is almost never caught by surprise by the things you can do.

· You’ve recited an entire book from memory to her before and she didn’t even bat an eyelash, she knows her partner is smart

· When it comes to languages, she’s more curious than anything, asking how you can remember so many or how you can learn them so fast

· You explain to her that they just come easily to you and they just make sense, she takes it

· Her favorite language you’ve learned is ASL, you two use it when she doesn’t have energy to talk or use Angie to talk

· She will buy you as many books as you want, and will listen to you read them (Even if they make no sense to her) while she sews or works on her dolls

· She loves your voice and could listen to it for hours, it’s soothing for her to listen to you, especially if she’s having a bad day

· Donna supports you wanting to learn how to wield a bo staff

· She loves watching you train, even if it means getting up early to see you work out before you begin your training

· You protect the house itself now, no one has gotten into the house and survived after you taught yourself how to fight

· Donna loves dancing, but is shy when it comes to dancing when it’s in front of others, gently encourage her and she’ll teach you

· She’s a wonderful teacher, and you two could dance for hours, moving perfectly in sync. It’s hypnotizing to watch honestly.

· She likes that you’re honest, it’s nice to have someone in her life who doesn’t lie or who isn’t cryptic

· It’s like a breath of fresh air for her

· Your laughter? My god she blushes every time she hears it

· She loves your laughter, and can’t help but laugh along any time she hears it

· You’re the only person alive who’s heard her laugh, or can make her laugh

· Usually, she’s wary of loud sounds but you bring her out of her shell

· Donna is the most supportive lord, she’s never once doubted you

KARL HEISENBERG

· You two are a chaotic fucking duo who will bring the end

· Both of you are intelligent, bordering genius

· Karl lets you read all his books, which means you know just as much about metal, war and more

· He recruits you in his fight against Miranda

· You two speak in different languages all the time, mostly so other people can’t understand the confidential conversations you’re having, you can never be too safe.

· With your combined intelligence things at the factory go a lot smoother, and things aren’t as horrendous as they are in the games

· You guys still do some fucked up stuff, but all is fair in war, I guess?

· Karl is 1000% behind you in learning how defend yourself

· He even teaches you how to, and is offended and pouting when in your second session you knock him on his ass

· Even the Lycans are scared of you after seeing you beat one to death with your bare hands for destroying your blueprints.

· None of the other lords fuck with you, you and Karl give off a terrifying energy when you’re together

· You two don’t have much down time, but when you mentioned wanting to learn how to dance, Karl had taught you.

· He’d been quite the dancer in his day, and found that it was nice to have a dancing partner again

· It’s a rare thing, but when you two dance it’s very intimate, full of love and unspoken promises

· I think Karl would like your laughter the most

· Because you two live in a very scary and bland world where a war is building, so happiness is far and in between

· So when he hears your laughter it’s like a gift from the universe

· Any time he hears your laughter he tries his best to engrave it in his brain, eyes full of love and chest full of warmth

· I think overall you and Karl have the hardest relationship to maintain, but by pure love and respect for each other, it all works out

#resident evil #resident evil village #re8 #resident evil village x male reader #resident evil village x reader #resident evil x male reader #resident evil x reader #re8 x male reader #re8 x reader #karl heisenburg x reader #lady dimitrescu x reader #donna Benevento x reader #salvatore moreau x reader #karl heisenberg x male reader #karl heisenberg #lady dimitrescu #donna beneviento #salvatore moreau #salvatore moreau x male reader

[mvrderer]

cracks knuckles.

so for a couple req ideas: headcanons of Brahms with a male!s/o who is very hard to startle (YOOOO OR BRAHMS WIRH A ROCKER MALE S/O)

and maybe even.. bo with an s/o that has tattoos.... and is very "free spirited" aka fucking bonkers

ok ty love u /p bye

YO LOVE U TOO TUNA /P there's multiple ideas in this i hope u dont mind me just doing it all/mashing some together

Brahms Heelshire with a Rocker Male!S/O That's Hard to Startle!

&

Bo with a GN!S/O That Has Tattoos and Is Free-Spirited !

Brahms Heelshire

when he first saw you he was interested right away, he's always had female nannies. this was a change, and it caught him off guard, so it must be different.

he also might give you a harder time. i mean, you're a guy? he can go all out right?

will probably stop when you scold him bc oo scary

but also you seem so cool, your outfit choices are one he hasn't seen before! possibly a reason why he's a little intimidated

your music choice is weird to him. “ this isn't real music! ” he thought, at first

until he saw you playing your instrument (if you brought it with you) he's amazed. he doesn't mind it being loud when his usual music has always been turned up loudly

he is now a rockstar fan (of only one rockstar <3) bops his head to the tune in the walls and smiling so hard underneath his mask

but also ends up frowning as he yearns for you more

he only becomes more infatuated as you show no sign of fear or shock when the doll started “ behaving differently ” he thought you were odd at first; but... is there a chance you accept him?

when he revealed himself to you he expected you to have a reaction, he was absolutely ready to beg you to stay

but you confronted it so calmly? what? WHAT ARE YOU

but he's so happy when you show no signs of leaving him, although he might still have trust issues over that, he will ask often

he will ask you to play your instrument often because he loves adoring you while you do something you love

he'd want to wear your clothes. oh? its too small? expect it to be stretched out or ripped trying to fit him, he will get what he wants one way or another

also on the hard to startle part, he tries to playfully sneak up on you and startle you. only to be met with “ hm, what's up, brahms? ”

until he gets annoyed with how there's little to no reaction out of you. oh so you're challenging him? bring it on, y/n!

tries so hard to startle you and ends up angrily cuddling you when you still give the same barely any emotion reaction every time

you're a comfort when you watch scary movies together though, he might flinch and scream and you're there to comfort him. <3

Bo Sinclair

oh wow, you catched his eye alright!

it's not like he hasn't seen tattoos before but you just seem cool, cooler than him.

yep, you're cooler than him. the way you act like you don't give a care in the world? that's so admirable

and adorable

he tries his best to charm and impress you, a very smooth fucker that wants you to get all red in the cheeks when he's flirting

though it seems like he has another person to take care of when you're absolutely bonkers, he doesn't want you hurting yourself accidentally

ends up being by your side 24/7

“ just makin sure you stay out of trouble ” he secretly just wants to be with you often, but also that. because he's incredibly concerned.

when you start acting up it's immediately “ okay let's go home ” for him

carries you out of whatever place it is you're being silly goofy at in bridal style

it grabs people's attention but he doesn't care, plus, they'd know you're his with how he carries you and has said “ alright, that's enough, hun ” right before he picked you up

yeah you guys aint dating yet before but you two already are in his head

you're a change. he likes how fun you are, even though you're a bit stupid /lh (HIS stupid though) (he means it with affection)

when you're together, he traces your tattoos with his fingers as you both cuddle

they're interesting... he'd like to get tattoos with you too, matching ones, preferably

just likes looking at your tattoos to see all the details, might ask what each and every one means

he likes hearing the stories you have too bc he assumed you have a lot with the way you act

you're really his idiot (affectionately)

#house of wax #the boy #brahms the boy #bo sinclair #brahms heelshire #brahms #slasher x reader #bo sinclair x reader #brahms heelshire x reader #slasher headcanons #male reader #gender neutral reader #headcanons #brahms x reader