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#living through a real life apocalypse lol
happilyfeatherafter · 2 months
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Happilyfeatherafter’s ficrec Fridays
Happy Dean Winchester's 45th birthday week, and happy Friday! I was absolutely blown away by everyone's incredible posts for Dean this week, you guys. It made me all emotional.
Back with my fourth week of fics I've read and loved recently. If you missed last week’s you can find my previous rec lists here for more!
26 January 2024
american oracle by @handsliketruth and whiskeyjuniper (@satinsolace) I spent all last Sunday reading this one and it was such an immersive experience! An earthquake shakes something loose in the bunker, seemingly trapping Dean, Cas and Sam inside with it as they attempt to fix what's gone wrong, only the bunker isn't going to make it easy for them! Super creepy, twisty, reality bending and really beautifully, unsettlingly written. Whatever's happened is messing with their minds, and the creeping horror of real or not real persists, but even through that the Dean and Cas of it are really fascinating in how they navigate their intense feelings for each other. I was also incredibly impressed with how the effects of canon wrapping up were woven into the plot in such a powerfully potent way, exploring fate, free will, and the future. Really a stand out (and I know a lot of you have been reading it because I found this fic open in no less than three separate tabs in my bookmarks when I came to read it myself. So adding one more rec to the pile!)
Slouching Towards Bethlehem by @norahastuff (art by @logsdrawsthings) is a brilliant and seamlessly written missing conversations DCBB fic set in seasons 4 and 5. The dialogue is so on point for that era Dean and Cas, at times I had to remind myself what came from the show and what was brand new. As they navigate their way towards the apocalypse, and Cas watches over Dean in reality and in dreams, it seems hard to find solace. But in getting to know one another better, they both question their parts in the grand plan, and also find peace, connection, and company in their deepening bond.
A Fic About Dean’s 45th Birthday by @scoobydoodean both does exactly what it says on the tin AND made me cry lol. After Mrs Butters plants the seed in his head that he's too old to celebrate his birthday, Dean gets a little upset, but he doesn't let on to anyone. The poor man just wants to be appreciated and celebrated on his birthday! But he feels guilty about causing a fuss, and anyway, he can still show his love through making sure everyone else's days are marked for the occasion. But on his 45th, his family is acting a little suspicious, and they seem to want him to stay away. Angsty, sweet, give that man his krispy treats!!!! Check out Dean with Scoobies.
found it here in your love by nevernevergirl (@yorkesteins) is another Dean's birthday ficlet, but taking a 180 spin on it. Cas has plans. LOTS of plans. Dean deserves to be celebrated. But some pesky snow has derailed Cas' thoughtfulness, and despite his best intentions he's awfully upset about letting Dean down. "In which learning to live your life after nearly two decades of saving the actual world is a process. They're doing it together, though." Sweet, domestic, heartwarming love (even when there's a tantrum involved.)
Plus shout out to @angelsdean's I spy Dean's birthday game, @dean-isms's birthday party watchlist, and ALL of the incredible fic, art, AMVs and edits you made. TALENT.
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patronofmonsters · 3 months
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About the Fear of Extinction in The Magnus Archives
What absolutely fascinates me about the Magnus Archives isn’t just it’s a huge critique of capitalism but it’s also unintentionally showing the gap in the fears between White Western society and those of people of color, particularly indigenous people.
First I must stress THIS IS NOT A PUT-DOWN OF THE AUTHORS. I love the story and it’s absolutely fantastic. I am simply pointing out that some aspects of the story make sense when you consider that both Jonny Sims and Alex Newall are white men.
Now that being said, I firmly believe that if the writers had been indigenous people or from any country that had been colonized then The Extinction would have not only been a fully realized entity but also the most prolific one. Like all the other entities there are multiple names for each of the Fears since they encompass a variety of related phobias and this one is also known as The Terrible Change, The Future Without Us and The World Is Always Ending and summed up as the fear of Catastrophic Change. Can you see where I’m going with this? Almost the entire planet was colonized and invaded by Europe. They literally wiped out entire ways of life and catastrophically changed the future of these countries and even today indigenous peoples across the planet struggle to even be recognized and also constantly fight to keep their way of life alive. This is literally the fear of The Future Without Us but the story directly states that it’s a “new fear” and even after The Change Jon confirmed that it exists but just not on the same level as the other 14 Fears.
An argument could then be made that the Fears concentrate on the people/countries that benefit the most on top of the capitalism chain which are the European countries and the USA and Canada but it speaks volumes that a type of fear shared by colonized peoples only appears in the story as sort of a vague afterthought by the story’s characters who are primarily British. For them the fear of a human caused apocalypse is only just becoming real while so many people around the world have actually lived it through colonization.
It was just something interesting I wanted to point out. For people who headcanon the main characters to be people of color (especially Jon) I’d personally love to see takes/characters’ perspectives on the Terrible Change in fanfics. Anyway it’s 3 am where I am so sorry if this isn’t very readable. I’m not good at articulating my thoughts into words on a good day lol
AFTER SLEEP EDIT: I also believe that if the main characters were in fact canonically people of color then their ties to the Eye would have been significantly more lax. People all over the world are literally fighting to be known since colonizers have tried to wipe away even the memory of them. The irony of the Fear of Catastrophic Change being almost nonexistent in the story while Whales, Scotland, and Ireland are right there isnt lost on me and yet the fears that eventually doom the world are those of Jonah Magnus, a white upper class supernatural Accelerationist. (Jonah/Elias is absolutely white and is the only character I will fight over that fact with)
And one last thought. If the Institute staff were all/mostly people of color or from another country colonized by the British then the story would have been more of a hopepunk horror. The global majority are still here BECAUSE they do not succumb to fear and never give up hope.
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pixeljade · 4 months
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Had a dream that they came out with another Distant Lands episode of Adventure Time which actually explained all the cosmic entities, framed through an explanation of where Prismo's sleeping old man came from. In the dream, the old man's name was just Paul and he was a guy on earth during the days leading up to the mushroom war who slept through everything. His family made jokes about how he would probably sleep through the apocalypse, and he couldnt hold down any jobs because he was always so sleepy. He had a wish to someday make the perfect pickle, but nobody took him seriously. He also had a small dog who always got jnto mischief. Meanwhile, in his dreams, he was communing with various gods, especially the cosmic owl. At some point the cosmic owl just casually says to him "Oh actually the apocalypse IS coming lol" and he just freaks out, and cosmic owl just says something about seeing if he can get him a job with his boss, changing the subject awkwardly. Paul says "yeah sure, whatever", and then wakes up to an air raid as bombs are dropping in his neighborhood. He runs, and falls down into a sewer, which somehow lets him survive the initial blast, but he get irradiated. From then on out we see Paul moving from refugee camp to refugee camp, surviving the final days of humanity, while his dreams seem empty, and he laments that even what he thinks are his imaginary friends have given up on him. Meanwhile, we're shown Cosmic Owl going to their boss, who we only ever see as a ball of pulsing light which changes color constantly, and speaks through a monotonous drone. The Cosmic Owl then gathers all the cosmic entities to discuss Paul, and all of them agree that Paul is worth saving--of interest is that Scarab is amongst those saying this. But that direct interference just to save one guy isnt okay. But what they CAN do is pull out his inner cosmic essence and ascend him to godhood, something Cosmic Owl laments as not being ideal. So then Cosmic Owl comes to Paul, as he's ain a group of survivors, the children of which have animal hats, and Paul is about to turn into one of the goo monsters that result from radiation. Cosmic Owl says he has a way out of his horrible fate, but its kinda a monkey's paw type deal. Paul simply says sure, and Cosmic Owl tells him to shut his eyes, and focus on what his inner cosmic essence tells him he should do. Paul just smiles sadly and says, he's met so many people who never got to see their wishes to fruition, he just kinda wants to be able to bring their wishes to life. Suddenly, Paul's shadow starts turning pink, and Cosmic Owl whisks him away from earth, knowing that he cannot be there any longer, pulling him to one of the many random floating rocks in space. And then boom, suddenly, reality unfolds into the cube Prismo lives in, right above Paul, and Paul heals up and falls into a deep sleep. Prismo and Cosmic Owl have a quick conversation, where its clear Prismo has no memory of Paul's life, but Cosmic Owl makes some comment about pickles, and Prismo lights up talking about making pickles. Cosmic Owl smiles gently, appreciating that there's still a little bit of Paul in there, even if Prismo isnt him. Cosmic Owl explains his job as wishmaster real quick, and goes on his way to report back to the others. Prismo starts flipping through channels, fast forwarding through ones, and ends up seeing Jake making bacon pancakes and smiles. Then we cut away to Cosmic Owl with the other entities from earlier, explaining Prismo, and Scarab gets pissed. Scarab apparently really loved talking to Paul, and now Paul was forbidden to ever awaken, so long as Prismo was free to be himself. He swore vengeance on Prismo then and there, saying that if he made even the slightest mistake, he would take him down and bring Paul back. And thats when the episode ended.
And yes, i do dream entire episodes of things sometimes with complete plot points. My brains just like this.
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tommymillerdump · 1 year
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you got it wrong. - tommy miller x f!reader
summary: tommy overhears a conversation between two familiar people.
word count: 8.5k lol sorry
disclaimers/tags: minors dni. age gap (reader is in her mid-twenties). miscommunication. detailed smut. lots of 'good girl's. one instance of spanish. just horny, tbh.
read my pinned post! | cross-posted on ao3
"He's an old man, Tabby. You can't flirt with him like you would a guy our age and expect it to have an effect."
Boredom leads you to rearrange the boxes under the bar while your friend finishes sweeping the room. Julian will likely have another breakdown when he sees that you moved 'his' stuff for the third time in two months. How hard can it be to find the three bottles of Rosé left in the world?
She groans, leaning her weight against the broom and miserably blinking up at the ceiling.
"C'mon, what was your plan? To bat your lashes at him as much as possible, then flirt with someone else in front of him in hopes that his jealousy muscle hasn't atrophied since his early twenties so he ends up at your door in one, maybe two nights? Never gonna happen. You can throw yourself at him and still, when he sits down on that comfortable armchair at night, crackling knees and sore back, he is forgetting all about you."
Tabitha's mouth hangs open, defiance and stubbornness reigning over her soft features.
"He's not that old!"
You tsk at her, narrowing your eyes. "He kind of is."
Both of you end up giggling so hard you have to bend over the counter, trying to alleviate the pain in your abdomen. Tabby has her back to you, trying to continue sweeping through her laughter, and you take the opportunity to really think about this situation.
It sucks to discourage your friend. But you have seen Joel. You have hunted with him, helped him pick a book for the kid from the limited library you started in one of the rooms in your cabin, let him help you with your aim. He's alright, but also a severely guarded man not looking for someone to break down his walls.
Unless he's prepared to surprise you, which doesn't really sound like him, Tabby is probably not his type. Bless her gorgeous face, but you don't understand how someone who saw her childhood get ripped away by the apocalypse could stay so chirpy and bright.
Although, you have to wonder how much of your advice derives from a genuine desire to protect your friend from getting rejected by a tactless older man and not your own selfish reassuring. 
Except it isn't Joel who caught your eye. His goddamn brother, with the shiny dark curls and the breathtaking dimples. Delicious accent that makes him sound equally intimidating and enticing contrasting with how kindly his gaze falls on everyone in Jackson.
He is temptation wrapped in a fur-collared denim jacket and you feel like a weakened, doubt-filled young religious whose resolve threatens to shatter every time he walks by.
Shame creeps up your spine as you regretfully imagine what he would think if he knew. Would he make fun of you to his brother? This girl who barely got a taste of the real world before it went to shit when he had spent the better part of his life in it, he probably thinks of you as primitive. 
The women you picture him with before the outbreak were elegant and intelligent, attractive. You learned the bare minimum in FEDRA's school before joining and subsequently fleeing the Fireflies. You can hunt. You have killed. You're a fighter, not quite a poet or a lover.
Just as importantly, their sexual lives had not yet been stunted by the outbreak. You lost your virginity to an officer in the QZ in exchange for rations. There were some other inexperienced boys in the Fireflies. You stopped looking for sex after arriving in Jackson, feeling like there was simply no space for seduction in the apocalypse. And if it wasn't sexy, it was not enjoyable. What was the point?
So now you feel like a sexless, unattractive, uneducated thing disguised as a woman.
"Okay, my wise friend, what do you suggest then?" You look up from your hands and she rolls her eyes at your puzzled expression. "I'm not giving up so easily, this is the most exciting thing to happen around here in a while."
Tommy walks in at the right time. He knew it was cleaning and restocking day for the Tipsy Bison, and it had not escaped his mind exactly which duo never failed to volunteer for the task. So when he heard Tabitha's suggestive tone, he couldn't help but linger behind the kitchen door.
"Tabby, what-"
"No, c'mon, I wanna know. Let's say you couldn't stand another day without putting your hands on Miller," Tommy nearly drops everything. "What would you do?"
His fingers are turning red, intertwined with the holes in the heavy plastic boxes, holding his breath as if he doesn't want to scare a tauntingly innocent prey.
And then you sigh, a laugh coasting your tone.
"My best guess is to just take it, right? Like I said, can't expect him to play the game at his age, probably doesn't have enough stamina to keep it going." At this point, you're just pushing your friend's buttons, but Tommy can't see that across the door, feeling his grip tighten. "He might entertain it but then again, at the end of the day, all he wants is that comfy couch to lay his aching back on. If you want anything to happen, you quite literally have to go ahead and rob that old man blind of his dignity."
The other young woman bursts into laughter. He doesn't know whether to be offended or incentivized by the way you took him for a debilitated senior. 
If you only knew the sinful amount of times he thought of you under the enveloping pressure of the shower, the image of your concentrated furrow in the early morning light as you waited at the gates for Joel, completely unaware that he was watching you, fueling the rapid strokes as he tugs at his own cock. Maybe if you knew about the juvenile shame that washes over him when he passes by and greets you like he hadn't just jerked off thinking about what you looked like under the thick winter clothes, guilt shooting through his body when you smile at him so sweetly and unsuspecting. Would you mock his awkwardness when he asks Joel how hunting went and his brother gives him a reprimanding look?
He's not proud of it. In your own words, he's an old man. And you had the right idea, even if a little misguided, that he wouldn't do anything about it. It's not a matter of virility, it's that he didn't want you to be put off by his interest. He didn't want to make you feel too uncomfortable to hunt with his brother again or lend Ellie books. He had accepted you would be nothing but a terrible late-night habit.
Except now he heard you share these urges, he might have to show you he can offer a lot more than you think. Out of spite.
"Holy shit, you fucking minx. Where have you been hiding all that spirit?"
Tommy can picture your nonchalant shrug. "That is between me and my showerhead."
He hears you break into giggles but it's not enough to cover the sound of the glass bottles knocking against each other as the heavy boxes almost slip from his sweaty hands. The laughter stops abruptly and he knows he can't just hide anymore, so he takes a deep breath and kicks the swinging door open.
Color drains from both faces, spines snapping up and eyes widening. 
"Girls." 
For the sake of your friend, you recover quickly, sharing a polite smile at the unexpected visitor and redirecting your gaze strategically to what he's holding.
"Hey, Tommy." In the background, he sees Tabitha wave awkwardly and try to spit out his name, but her mouth is likely too dry and it comes out more like a scratchy noise. "Let me take those off you."
He freezes. "What?"
Your hands extend in front of him. "The boxes."
"Oh," No, not your clothes, pervert. "I got it, sweetheart, thank you."
He's not gonna miss the chance to demonstrate he's not as worn and weathered as you think, easily bending down to set the crates on the floor by your feet. When he comes up again, he makes sure to roll up his sleeves before heading back outside to get the rest. Something an old girlfriend said was infallible and for some reason, over twenty years later, he's actually putting it to the test.
"That's all of 'em." You're crouched under the bar, pushing the boxes into the restricted space and somehow making them fit, when he sets the last one down. "While I'm here, d'you need anythin' else?"
"Uhm," Tapping over the bottles, his fingers squeeze his buckle as he watches what are delicate hands for someone as capable as you. And then you smile up at him. "I think we're okay, thanks."
It's much stronger than him, which is embarrassing to admit, but his eyes travel down your neck to your cleavage. All you did was take advantage of the fact you were inside and shed a layer and he used it to leer at you. Feeling bad, Tommy smacks his lips and nods to both women, stopping to take a much-needed breath as soon as he is back behind the door, massaging his forehead when he really actually wanted to slap himself.
"Do you think he heard us?"
Your heart is nearly beating out of your chest.
"Sure hope not, I don't want trouble with Miller of all people."
He practically sprints outside.
"Call me crazy but I'm pretty sure Tommy Miller was checking you out." Her hands come up when you glare at her. "Just saying he was enjoying the view from above."
"You know we're taking three hours to clean a very tiny space, right? C'mon, we don't have all day."
Touching the back of your neck, you know the hair standing up is a terrible sign that you actually entertained what Tabby said, despite what rationale tried to convince you of. But you truly don't want trouble, refusing to waste time dreaming about things that were likely not there. So you pick up the abandoned rag and return to wiping down the counter, dreading the moment you'll see him again.
-----------
You're barely done drying your hair when you hear a knock on your door.
"Coming, just a second!" You yell from the top of the stairs hoping they hear it. Still wrapped in your towel, you run back to the bedroom and push your head out of the window to see Tommy in his signature jacket. "Shit."
Quickly dressing up in jeans and a T-shirt, you're descending the stairs when you realize you forgot to put a bra on. Fuck it, who knows, he might not notice.
You have to hide shaky hands behind the door when you greet him.
He's shivering and the tip of his nose is pinkish, so you step forward and nudge him inside. "Jesus, Tommy, come in."
"I'm sorry-"
"Sorry, I was getting dressed." His eyes swiftly move down and then back up over your figure and you feel the air in the room become thinner. "What do you need?"
He lifts a hard-cover novel. 
"Joel asked me to return this." He had volunteered. "Ellie wants to know if you have anything funnier."
The rare instance of Tommy sort of joking pulls an earnest grin from you, which quickly turns into a frown. Do you have anything remotely comical?
You take the book from his hands, already mechanically inspecting its state while walking to the room you've turned into a modest library. Child or not, you've made rules for everyone who wants to borrow from you, and the example being returned in the same condition is a crucial one.
He follows you feeling pathetically shy, strings of his heart pulled as you become lost in trying to find the kid something she might like. That concentrated furrow steals the oxygen from his lungs.
He's not shy about watching you, however, and your dextrous fingers placing the old book in its spot while running over engraved titles that could satisfy Ellie's request.
"What the fuck in here is funny?"
"Funnier. Just has to be funny-er."
He notes, trying to help, but you mostly ignore him. So he lays back, leaning his hips against a desk in the corner, and watches your profile as you take your time choosing the right book.
Your jeans are a little baggier than he's used to seeing you in, but he can still trace the shape of your ass. He thinks about having caught you fresh off a shower. Your hair looks fluffy and smells of some sweet fruit he can't think of right now. And then your breasts, which he immediately noticed were not restricted beyond your T-shirt, perfectly pronounced by the fabric clinging to them.
"Ah, duh."
You tap the side of the shelf with ringed fingers - did you put them on for whoever was at the door or did you shower with them? When you touch yourself, do you keep them on? God, he needs to stop - moving to the other side of the room and getting on your tiptoes to reach a book at the top. 
Tommy crosses the room slowly, stopping right in front of you and looking at the cover.
You had never noticed he towered over you, he seemed so much shorter next to Joel. To be fair, you had never been this close to him. Tabby saying he enjoyed the high view he had of you earlier echoes through your mind and you clear your throat, hand coming to your neck to mindlessly scratch at it while you give him a brief rundown of the example.
"It's, uhm, kind of a challenging read so you can tell her she can take as long as she wants with it."
"Is it funny?"
He's joking with you again, so close the air out of his nose pushes the hair away from your face, velvety tone sounding especially provocative. 
"In that layered, twisted sense of humour style, yes. Honestly, I think it's right up her alley."
"Sounds like you know your literature."
Such a simple word shouldn't sound so sensual just because he's saying it, in his accent.
"Sometimes I feel so deficient because of FEDRA's shitty education, I'm just trying to catch up on the off chance the world goes back to normal and I have to offer it something again." His eyes raise from the book and it takes everything in you not to look away, kind smile making you feel queasy. You actually feel horrible for admitting you think you're a little bit stupid, so you move on fast. "Believe it or not, most of them came with annotations, so it's not really me. It's whoever was studying them first."
"That's kind of how it goes, though, right? I mean, you read someone else's thoughts and then come up with your own. Plus, stupid people don't know the word deficient." Despite the nerve-wracking eye contact, you find enough strength in yourself to give him an appreciative smile. "Anyways, it's nice to see this other side 'f you."
You take a step back. "Other side?"
"Well, you know, I practically only see you hunting, on patrol or helpin' my brother skin a deer. This is nicer."
It's like a bucket of cold water. It's your fault for even giving a shit that you're so unappealing it surprises him you read.
"Right." Your insecurity instantly shows in your voice, so you cough and turn away from him, pretending to dust off the shelves. "I get it."
Tommy doesn't move. His mind is whirring trying to figure out what your sudden removal from his personal space meant. You're reserved, sure, but he's never seen you embarrassed.
"What? What did I say wrong?"
Even with the uncomfortable chuckle underlining his words he sounds so fucking sincere it heats your skin. What would Tabby do if this was her and Joel? How would she graciously come back from this? 
"Nothing." Your hands are tucked away in your back pockets and you smile at him. It's fake and empty, but it's the best you can do. "Do you need any-"
"I just thought-" You speak over each other again, which makes him laugh. But you look away from him. He feels an overwhelming need to explain himself. "I overheard you and Tabitha talking the other day."
"OhmyGod." Your hand comes up to cover your eyes in shame and he feels worse, rushing out an apology. "You didn't tell him, did you?"
Tommy changes his footing, a deep frown taking over his face. "Tell who?"
You're hugging yourself by this point, gesturing nervously at the man in front of you, ready to make a plea in your messy friend's name.
"Joel. You didn't tell him?"
His stomach sinks. 
"You were talking about Joel?"
"Well, yeah." Now you're chewing on your fingernail, bugged-out eyes crashing him into reality. "Fuck, this is so- I don't know how much you heard but I didn't really mean it."
Tommy is three years younger than Joel, who you basically called a dusty sack of bones, so hearing your words must have put any consideration he had for you under the ground.
He's stuck furrowing his brow at the book.
"I really am sorry you heard that. But you won't tell him, right?"
"It's fine. Secret's safe with me."
He finally comes back to himself, shaking the book in his hand and leaving you in the improvised library. When the sound of the front door shutting hits your ears, you allow a guttural groan to leave your chest.
How did it get so much more embarrassing than it already was?
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No, he doesn't tell Joel that the young woman he had a secret pining for was actually pining for his own brother.
But he watches both of you more closely when you leave for the day. You act pretty composed next to someone you wanted to do undignified things to. He shudders.
His annoyance quickly turns into comical tragedy, bitterly laughing at the whole thing.
It's just he really doesn't think Joel aged that well. Maybe for someone in their age range whose options were scarce in Jackson, but for a gorgeous woman like you, it was such a waste.
Then it dawns on him that, fuck, that's probably what you think of him. He laughs so loud it attracts the eyes of the people passing by him. You made him crazy.
He spends the rest of his day buried in construction work.
The thing is Joel's so...rugged. The man snarls more than he speaks. He is either in the woods, from where he comes back sweaty and dirty, or blending in with the furniture in the house with Ellie. Bless him, but he's unsalvageable.
Maybe that's it. You like the lonely, borderline non-verbal, oblivious ones. He can actually see it now. You were great hunting partners, quiet and objective, maybe that's all you want in a man.
He's so lost in his thoughts that he doesn't hear one of the other men working by his side calling his name. "It's getting dark out. Aren't you going to trivia night? Shannon asked about you, you know."
There's a goofy smile on the man's face that he immediately writes off. He didn't talk about women like that before, he's not gonna start now. That's something his brother taught him. If you run your mouth about women, the less likely you are to get any. It worked wonders for him. But apparently, he's completely lost it.
"Right behind you, Earl."
He wasn't gonna go, but then, of course, trivia night is when you're usually behind the bar helping Julian. He was just gonna drink and watch.
He's surprised to see Joel is there, in a team with Tabitha and Ellie. You're right where he thought you'd be, hands on your hips as you listen to the man most likely complaining that you fucked up his crate system.
Before he can get a drink, Shannon and Earl pull him to their table.
An hour consisting of getting every answer wrong is more than polite enough, so he excuses himself to the bar.
"Hi!"
You greet him with such a beautiful wide grin that he instantly resents Joel. Is your good mood due to spending most of your day with his brother or the realization that he in fact did not spill your secret? 
He asks for a drink so that he can linger around for a minute.
Your eyes are moving through the crates under the bar when the man next to you sighs.
"Right in front of the Rosé, which you shoved into the fucking pits of hell down there."
"I think, Julian, that if someone living through the end of the world orders a glass of Rosé it is your duty as a self-proclaimed expert to suggest they order anything else."
Tommy chuckles, seemingly happy to watch your incessant bickering as you make his drink, and you are happy to make it for him. 
It's a relief to see he didn't get completely pushed away by the odd conversation you shared and, even better, he stuck to his word. Joel seemed none the wiser during your hunting trip. Of course, he doesn't seem like the kind of man who would betray your trust over something so trivial. You have to suppress a ridiculous dreamy sigh.
Still, you can't pretend you didn't stay up that night thinking about what he said. Not that it hadn't already crossed your mind that you weren't the most desirable woman in Jackson, but it stung to hear it said so clearly.
When you hand him the finished drink, you can feel your smile falter.
"Maybe you should go back, the next round is about to start."
Tommy glances behind his shoulder to the table where they didn't seem too bothered by his absence.
"Think they're doomed with or without me."
Your hands find the back pockets of your jeans and it reminds him of the tragic scene at your cabin.
"Shannon's smart. Went to a university and everything, didn't she?"
It comes out a lot more biting than you had intended and you have to physically resist the urge to cringe at your insecurity rearing its ugly head again.
He doesn't seem to pick up on it, instead timidly shaking his head and smiling behind his glass. "Yeah, think so, 'm not sure."
You don't know where else to look as he sips his drink, feeling the awkwardness of that previous moment returning.
"Your brother's team is doing well."
Pointing your chin to the score kept on a tiny chalkboard, they are indeed in second place.
"Mostly Ellie, I'd say." The burn of the alcohol washes down his throat and he can't resist the dig at his own blood. "I doubt Joel retained any academic knowledge, he could barely do it then."
A hand slides through his locks to hide the shiver jealousy causes in him. But you don't seem to care, snorting at his words.
"Oh, I'm sure. But Tabby's wits are unmatched, alright? Even if she is stupidly reckless at times." You give a quick glance around you to make sure Julian is out of earshot. "And I know she wouldn't pass up the opportunity to impress your brother." 
Albeit at the expense of your best friend, it was kind of rewarding to have an inside joke with Tommy. Possibly bolder than you should risk being, you lean closer to him, supported by your forearms. Not bold enough to look him in the eyes this close yet.
"Thank you, by the way, for not selling her out. I told her she was out of her depth since Joel is so closed off - and I promise what I said was just to try and spook her out of it - but I guess she's not letting up."
Tommy follows your eye line to where his brother sits in between the young girl and your friend, who's not at all subtle about smiling and batting her lashes in Joel's direction.
Holy fuck.
"Wait a goddamn second." 
His voice gets significantly rougher and his eyes narrow. You want to move back but you're frozen in place. His finger comes up, pointing between you and the other side of the room.
"You were talking about Joel. And Tabitha. Your friend is the one fantasizin' about my brother?"
You shush him, desperately clinging to his gesturing hand and pinning it to the counter.
"Why do you look so happy right now? Yes, we've been through this already!"
The way his smile grows three sizes makes you question his processing abilities but also if your friend might have a chance with the man.
"For fuck's sake, woman, I thought-" His eyes are quickly flicking between yours, and you feel him softly hold your hands. "I thought..."
It takes you a minute and then it comes crashing down. You sober up quickly, standing straight and letting your hands slip from his.
You take a deep breath, suddenly capable of maintaining eye contact.
"What did you think, Tommy?"
While his absurdly lovely eyes look up at you, Julian sneaks beside you with two bottles in hand.
"Can you put these in the freezer for me?"
"Sure."
You barely register the alcohol being shoved into your hands and swinging the door into the kitchen. The icy breeze of the freezer is what brings you back.
It's truly ridiculous that your legs are shaking this bad and puking in the trash can seems like a real threat right now. 
So, yes, you're acting like a teenager. But is it your fault you haven't been this attracted to another human being since your school days? As far as you knew, you weren't even capable of these feelings anymore.
And isn't it equally horrible and wonderful that there's a chance he feels the same way? For you, of all people. You're lucky to even experience that past teenagehood, let alone well into an apocalypse.
When you return, chugging half of a beer, he's gone. You spot him back at Shannon and Earl's table. 
You've never seen him more casual, back against the wall and big boot propped up on the spindle of the woman's chair, and yet you can pinpoint one vein in his neck that's pulsing like crazy.
At that moment, he catches you staring. Both of you quickly look away and you hand Julian the second beer you had grabbed, clinking the bottles in the name of a long night.
Tommy has to ask Shannon what time fucking trivia is scheduled to end. She says eleven. So he would probably have to wait until one, one-thirty for the Tipsy Bison to clear out. He could always make up a white lie - you were assigned to patrol in the morning or something. Anything to get you out of there.
While he waits, he has to endure conversations he can't be bothered to pay attention to, even entertaining his brother for a while. He truly hates himself for feeling vindicated, hiding his petty smile behind his fist while they talk.
To be fair, you didn't say anything about how you felt toward him. He just knew you weren't after his brother. But if the big hopeful eyes you gave him tonight - paired with the nervous way you acted in your library - mean anything it's that he isn't allowing room for any more misunderstandings. 
Every five minutes or so he looks at the clock, legs bouncing in anticipation like he's a damn teen.
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Julian and you make a good team, so by the time there's only a handful of people left at the bar, you have basically already finished cleaning the place.
He's entertaining the group of young men at his end while you set the last glass on the drying rack. With the corner of your eye, you can see Tommy - back in his glorious denim jacket - saying goodnight to Earl outside.
Your heart is very close to pumping out of your chest, and that familiar cold shock shoots up your spine, neck hair standing up. All at the prospect of this much older man waiting for you, for undisclosed reasons.
He walks back inside as you're drying your hands, unrelenting in his eye contact. Can he tell you're close to taking a chunk out of the inside of your cheek?
"Can I trouble ya for a last one, Julian?"
Tommy takes his seat at the opposite end of the bar. You have no choice but to stand there and pretend to wipe down dry surfaces.
A few minutes later, the young men are turning in and waving their goodbyes.  Still four fingers left of beer in his bottle.
Your assigned co-worker stops next to you and leans almost all of his body weight against your side, his tattoed arm around your shoulder, yawning.
"Jules, you can go, I'm almost done. Plus..." Hopefully, his half-asleep state covers your audible anxiousness. "Tommy can help me lock things up."
His head turns back to look at the single man sitting at the bar, and for a moment you think he might be suspicious of something. But if there's something you like about Julian is that he's got a mean face and always sticks to his own business, no one else's. 
"Thanks, kiddo." He lays a kiss on the top of your head and turns when he's halfway out the door. "I'm trusting you, Miller. What am I saying, you pretty much run this place, do whatever you want."
A nervous chuckle passes your lips but you can't help but cringe at the nickname. Julian is older than you, so 'kiddo' is perfectly appropriate. But he's a good ten years younger than Tommy.
There's an inevitable awkwardness when you turn around. He's already looking at you.
"What can I help ya with?"
You notice the change. He's not drunk, not completely sober, he's flirting.
"Maybe put these in the freezer while I clean those last few glasses?"
"Yes, ma'am."
He circles behind the bar - and like a coward, you immediately turn your back to him - and picks up the box with ease, disappearing into the kitchen.
Comfortable three minutes pass by as you finish putting everything in place and he returns to the bar with no more bottles to carry. He actually comes across as totally innocent when he looks up, waiting for another order from you.
Terrified to disappoint him, you point out the buckets of dirty ice, rag water and spilled alcohol. "Need to throw those out back."
Tommy promptly picks up both buckets and you know the reason for his giggling is because of the way you rushed to hold the door for him.
You open the back door so he can throw the water out in the snow, whispering an earnest 'careful' as he stamps down the two steps so sincerely his heart truly flutters.
He perches the empty buckets on two nails on the wall and turns back to you, who's leaning on the doorframe, one foot planted firmly on the last step and the other on the second.
The weak lamp outside shades his thighs - and most importantly, his nose - so perfectly that you have to stop yourself from whining.
"So you thought we were talking about Joel. But you only figured out it was for Tabitha tonight. Which means that for the past few days, you've been thinking I wanted to fuck your brother?"
Tommy can't suppress the chuckle that explodes out of him from honest shock at your crudeness, especially mixed with how ridiculously serious you look.
"To put it bluntly, yes." He speaks slowly, savoring the moment. "But, initially, I didn't even know it was Joel you two were talking about."
He delights in the way your whole expression shifts into genuine hesitation.
"Well, then-"
Your arms are crossed, brow adorably caved in as you look into the sky trying to figure it out on your own, as if he isn't right there with confessing eyes and a thirsty mouth.
"Can't tell you how hard it was to hear you thought I was a frail old man, sweetheart. But somethin' about 'rob him blind of his dignity' was promising."
Just as he hoped, he managed to catch the exact moment realization flashes across your beautiful eyes, lips leisurely pulling up into a grin. He comes close to losing it when you bite them to hide your embarrassment.
"I am surprised you're up this late." His turn to blush and look away from your teasing. "But frail is not what my thoughts call you."
"No?" Tommy purrs, licking his lips and coming up to the last step before you. You're still slightly above him, but he wouldn't have to stretch much. "So you're not put off by the age gap?"
He's on the brink of giving in but he needs to make sure you understand and are okay with this first.
Your eyes soften and then quickly sharpen again when you lean forward. "Put off? No. Curious? So bad."
Just that easy, your lips brush and Tommy closes the distance. A large hand envelops the side of your face, his thumb caressing up your cheekbone. Without much thought, you take a step back while grabbing a fistful of his collar, bringing him up with you.
A shiver runs down your spine when you can feel the switch in the height difference, Tommy now towering over you and pulling you flush to him by the back of your neck. His warm touch is enough to pull the first whimper from your lips.
Quickly, he disconnects your mouths and leans back on his heels, still cradling your face. As if his looks weren't enough, he smells woodsy, like vintage expensive furniture.
When the depression in between his brows doesn't give, you start feeling nervous again, realizing that you might've not thought this through. This is Joel's brother, Maria's second hand, the closest thing Ellie has to an uncle. It could end really badly for you.
A joke slips out before you can stop it. "Kinda hoped you would last longer than this."
He laughs, sliding his hand under your hair and bunching up the locks in his fist, short fingernails scratching your scalp. The way your sweet eyes flutter closed and delicate fingers cling to his jacket tightens the feeling in his stomach. How does he tell you that you almost feel too good to take? That the sound you made was the stuff of dreams and he's scared of what you can do to his reality.
It's insane that he spent all this time craving you, thinking about showing you what he could do, and now he's hesitant.
"Tommy," It's barely a whisper. "What's wrong?"
His heart breaks a little from the audible insecurity in your voice, despite how meekly you spoke.
"Just wanna make sure I don't ruin somethin' precious."
The laugh comes from your lips now, your eyes opening to invade his. "Fuck, I was counting on you doing just that. You have something to prove to me, old man."
As if you read his mind, that wanton admission was the exact switch Tommy needed flipping. 
His fingers slide from your neck and curl around your wrist at the same time as he turns around to shut the door. When he turns back, he wastes no time forcefully pulling you to him.
Lips clashing, you whimper again when you feel his tongue pushing against yours. Tommy tastes like bitter whisky and cinnamon sticks.
With unapologetic hands around your ass, you're picked up without a struggle and set down on a cold steel surface. He's already doing so much better than you had experienced before.
"Tommy, your jacket." You whisper in between sinful sloppy kisses. His hands come up to try and help you with the buttons, but you quickly shove them away and redirect his touch to your thighs. "No, that's mine."
You were very serious about it, the commanding tone not helping the painful growing stiffness in his jeans. He has to hold back from humping the fucking table when your calves wrap around him.
The higher his hands travel up your legs, the hotter the need in your core grows, and the seam of your pants isn't going to help much when what you desire is probably a lot more girthy and satisfying.
When you slide the jacket down his arms, you take advantage of the moment to cup his bulge, and he immediately buckles. His hands fly to your waist and the squeeze is both painful and delicious.
"Fuck, angel-" He practically growls in your ear. If this was another one of his shower thoughts he wouldn't have bothered stalling, but he's dedicated to proving himself to you. "Do ya think you can hold on a little longer? I need to see my good girl's pretty tits."
Your halted movements don't go unnoticed by him, soothing hands back over your thighs. No one's ever been that filthy, needy and thoughtful with you before.
Doing your best to keep eye contact, you curl his fingers around the hem of your shirt and let him pull it over your head, revealing the strawberry-red bra. 
You might actually kill him.
Before he can attach his lips to your chest, you push him back, gripping the remaining fabric on his upper body and rushedly pulling it off. His torso is taut and tanned, fine dark hair painting the muscles and highlighting his sturdy build. The sound of your scoff surprises him.
"Of course you look this good in your fifties. Seriously, Tommy?"
"I'm tellin' you, I'm a very active man, princess."
With that, he pulls you by the waist of your jeans, biting into your neck at last. As his teeth trail down to your breasts, his hands sneakily unbutton your jeans. If he did plan it he's fucking evil, because the same moment his lips attach to your left nipple, his hand slips under your panties.
Your gasp is loud, pulling on his pristine curls as revenge. His tongue swirls devotedly over your breast, fingers curling torturously slow inside.
"Holy fuck, Miller." Your nails scratch as low on his back as you can reach, feeling his muscles tense up. "We're wrong for doing this on top of the fucking table."
Maybe childishly, the thought of there being a 'we' between you and Tommy fucking around is enough to make your walls clench on his fingers, but then he circles your clit lazily and you have to bury your head on his neck to muffle your moan.
You can't help but grind down on his hands, brain completely fogged by your urgent need, and when you do you end up knocking your hips into him and he groans.
"Lift." He almost rips the jeans down your legs, taking your shoes off in record time. "That's far from the worst thing I'm gon' do to you, sweetheart."
All of these pet names are leading you down an irreversible path. But Tommy doesn't give you enough time to think about that, pulling your underwear to the side and getting on his knees.
Your hands are white-knuckling the edge of the table in anticipation, the shiny buckle of his belt drawing your attention first. Watching the youngest Miller lock his hands under your thighs and pull you as near as possible to his mouth, gently setting your bare feet on those same dirty jeans you had seen him wear all the time, was probably the closest you'd ever get to experiencing immersive art in this world.
Tommy hooks his index and middle finger under the cotton piece, yanking it as much as he can without actually ripping it, but you definitely hear a tear. Then his beautiful mustache is burning against your clit as he sucks on as much of you as his mouth can take.
When his tongue comes into play, you know it won't take much longer. Unlike him, you have nothing to prove, you're only here to enjoy yourself.
"Tommy, baby, please. I don't think I can-" It's a pathetic plea, more similar to a whine. "I'm-"
The knot deep below is on the verge of breaking when Tommy reinserts his fingers, arching them perfectly into the most important spot, and your hand desperately grips his curls.
Before you can scream, Tommy comes up and silences it with his own lips, tongue pushing your noise down your own throat. Your body shakes and he helps you ride his fingers with his free hand on your waist, your arms wrapped around his neck for support.
When he finally lets you breathe, noses bumping, you catch the obnoxious smirk on his face.
His hands soothe your back. "Did I hear that right, princess, you called me 'baby'?"
As if you weren't already in a dire state, he's decided to use it against you, while purposefully intensifying his maddening accent. Blanking completely for good answers, you swallow roughly. "I- I didn't mean to."
"Don't stop for me, I don't mind."
The sight of his long dimples when he grins pisses you off to the point of pulling him for a rough kiss with a plan, enjoying his incredulous laugh when you bite into his lip.
"Now, how the hell am I supposed to hide that, hm?"
"Not my problem."
For the first time tonight, you see his lovely dark eyes turn cloudy, tongue poking the wound you just gave him. 
"Scared me for a sec, angel, thought I might not see that wild side of yours tonight. I'm not done with you yet."
He takes your mouth again, feeling rewardingly comfortable doing it, and snakes up to unclasp your bra. As soon as it falls, his hands are unashamedly grabby.
Despite how spent you feel, it's remarkably easy for him to pull more whimpers from you. Something about the way his touch just fits. When he locks your legs around him and picks you up again, your sore muscles feel grateful.
He only puts you down when you recognize the scratchy feeling of the back door against your shoulders.
You wait patiently and quietly, still catching your breath, as his calloused hard-working fingers take their time sliding your underwear down your legs and then shoving them in the back pocket of his jeans.
Without taking his eyes off your body, Tommy starts undoing his pants, buckle first. The sound of the metal sets your core on fire again and you subconsciously rub your thighs together. Of course he sees it, smiling with his eyes and holding your chin with his thumb.
"Good girl."
He lets you get away with an eye roll and a half-hearted huff, aware you're just a little embarrassed. After all, it's a sight he never imagined he would be privileged enough to see - your naked, worked body waiting to take more of him.
When he finally frees himself, you can hear your breath hitching, and he probably can too. Before you can stare at the sculptural veins for too long, your eyes close in humorous dejection. You're never gonna find another man like this.
Your salivating mouth doesn't go unnoticed by him, large palm raising your head again.
"Listen to me. I promised I'd show you what I can do, so we're not doing that tonight, alright?"
Picking apart his words, your eyes lift slowly, challenging. "Not tonight? Don't promise more than you got, Miller."
Expert hands extend and open your neck for his lips, as he spins you around and helps you lean against the door. 
"One night ain't enough for everythin' I wanna do to you, princess." Your hair is swept over to your front, caring touch sliding down your back and guiding your hips back into him. You can feel his length grazing your swollen clit, inhaling sharply. "Now, just nod for me if my good, perfect girl is ready to take my cock."
Resting your forehead on the door, you take another deep breath and nod.
He slides all the way inside, completely stretching you out, and you have to bite your hand to keep from screaming, tears already pricking at your waterline.
"Is this okay?"
Your hand also muffles the whine you release at how shaky his voice comes out, dripping lust for you. When your lips detach from your blemished skin, you answer him.
"Shit, Tommy, you're perfect."
His forehead bumps your shoulder as he chuckles and you're trying really hard not to think about how cute that is. "I'm gon' move, yeah?"
Nodding seals your fate once more. 
Tommy removes himself halfway, slowly putting himself back in, and the sticky noises live up to scenarios you only ever dreamed of. Pleasure like this existing was something you had completely lost hope in.
"Need you to keep talkin' to me, princess."
"Yes, Tommy, please just-" His left hand snakes around your waist and slides down your front to apply pressure to your clit. "Fucking move, please."
He can barely call what's left of your voice a whine, it's a needy little croak. And it drives him fucking crazy.
Pulling and pushing again, he starts with a slower pace, delighting in the constrained noises you let out with the smallest thrusts. What he's keeping from you is that he is simply setting you up to really start fucking you, framing your figure snugly against his strong thighs so that you can feel everything without having to make any effort. He was not bluffing about showing you how good he is.
Picking up his rhythm, he can hear you struggle to breathe a little.
"I don't wanna hurt you, sweetheart."
You have the nerve to laugh.
"Getting my expectations dangerously high."
Just like that, Tommy thrusts into you so hard you slip from your elbows to your hands, almost crushed against the door. The sadist in him really enjoys your first full moan.
"You want it rough, baby?"
Honestly, your throbbing clit could answer for you. "Yes, I do. Fuck me as hard as you can, Tommy."
With nothing holding him back, he pushes himself into you until his balls are clapping against your ass, and then plain rails you. 
His strokes are so massively powerful you're pushed to your tiptoes, body completely wrapped by him, feeling the tip sliding inside and hitting your cervix over and over.
You're rendered speechless, uncontrollable moans not even registering to your ears muffled by the absurd sound of flesh hitting flesh and your own juices being fucked into you, coating his cock.
"God, you're so fucking good, ángel." He's whimpering in between short breaths, movements never faltering, and you can feel his belly caving in and out against your back. "Perfect fucking pussy, ya lo sabia."
You grab onto his arm, nails digging into his skin, and he knows you're close. So he slows down again, cock fucking up into you, while the pressure he had on your clit becomes a rubbing.
"Tommy-"
You can't manage more than that right now.
"I know, I know, you can finish, baby. It's okay." Walls clenched around him, your body shudders a couple of times, nails leaving marks on his arm. "That's it, my good girl."
It's only when you're done squirming and your grip on him loosens that he picks up the pace again. Almost instantly, you're whimpering and blabbering complete nonsense.
He's so close, but he doesn't want to stop until he has proven to you that not only he can make you come, he can overstimulate you until you're mewling. 
It doesn't take long and you're scratching up his skin once more, this time orgasming with his name ringing out from your throat repeatedly. Then he stops.
The act of trying to pull out after he stopped, your walls letting go, is so excruciating that he ends up thrusting again and you whine in exhaustion. He laughs against your neck. 
"That's your fault."
You're so used up you actually mutter I'm sorry.
He takes mercy on his pretty baby and removes himself completely, not wasting any time before catching your slumping body and turning you around. His hand keeps a careful pace around his painfully pulsing cock until your eyes open.
You watch him tug on himself, one arm extended to the door, large biceps flexing while white fluid spurts from the head. He tries to look at you for as long as he can, but his eyebrows almost knot together and his eyes screw shut, groans breaking through gritted teeth.
He looks gorgeous when he finishes, weight leaning on you as he tries to recover, moaning and panting deliciously into your ear.
Your hands are running up and down his back soothingly when he steps back, pulling your legs around his waist and picking you up. You could spend eternity embraced with him, but he sets you back on the floor next to your discarded clothes.
Once you're both dressed, turning off the lights, you lock the back door and he waits in comfortable silence. He's in his denim jacket and worn boots, blushing nose and visible breath in the snow, same as always but also prettier than ever.
Before you can return to reality and say goodnight, Tommy grabs your hand and leads you all the way to his cabin without uttering a word.
He helps you into the shower and you pick some snowflakes off his hair and mustache.
When you're in his bed, changed into one of his flannels, he speaks.
"It doesn't have to happen again if you don't want to."
You scoff. "What are you, the Mary Poppins of fucking? Finding miserable women and thrusting happiness back into their lives, then leaving?"
He laughs at your terrible offhanded joke. "I'm not goin' anywhere."
"Good, I don't want you to."
Tommy sees your big hopeful eyes again and doesn't fight the urge to cradle your face and kiss you, long and sweet. 
"You know all I learned is that I should call you old more often, right?"
He pecks you again, laughing into your lips and grabbing your ass so he can pull you flush to him.
"Such a smart girl."
144 notes · View notes
cassandralie · 7 months
Text
What if Maggie and Nina are memory wiped Sister Theresa and Sister Mary?
Good morning/afternoon/night, everyone! It's Crack Theory O'Clock!
I was thinking about @amuseoffyre's post regarding Greasy Johnson as Jesus, and at 3:45am remembered this:
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as far as we know, Crowley isn't aware how the baby swap went wrong, just that it did. Not even the nuns are/were aware it went wrong.
But if anyone could figure out what happened, and where each baby ended up, it would be Sister Mary and Sister Theresa (who also miscommunicated).
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Now, sure, Sister Theresa is dead. But since zombies are now a thing in the Good Omens universe, does that even matter?
This is also a death that would be easily retconned as knocked unconscious or even faking (one of the ways to tell if someone faked fainting is they catch their head with their arms).
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So, maybe the only two people who--if they rubbed their respective single braincells together (that's what we're calling it these days) and talked beyond winking--could figure out they messed up the baby swap, had their memories wiped in order to keep that information hidden? Perhaps by God Herself?
Maybe they were given new lives in Soho, near the two people who could be trusted with that information? With new fake memories and personalities and backstories?
And maybe Maggie knew everything would be better as long as she was near one particular person, Nina, because Nina is the one person she knew from her old life. And that feeling turned to love (which Sister Theresa would hate if she ever gets her memories back lol).
So then, in Season 3, they finally get together and kiss (which they notably didn't do in Season 2), and the kiss triggers their real memories to return.
They figure out the location of Greasy Johnson/Jesus the 2nd, and provide it to Crowley and Aziraphale, who might have gone on a wild goose chase road trip through America looking for Warlock, as they were not aware of a third baby and thought he was Jesus.
Then they all go to Tadfield to find Greasy. And end up back at the airbase*, with Adam, Dog, the Them, Anathema and Newt (also it would be hilarious if both Tracy and Shax were there at the same time) and stop the apocalypse again, bringing everything full circle.
*Also, the fact that Tadfield has an airbase and that Jesus was meant to return on an airplane is something, right? Is this anything?
Anyway, that's my crack theory for the day. If anyone needs me, I'll be over here smoking it :)
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miqomischief · 2 months
Note
Here's a fun one for a horror writer!
👻 - How does your muse handle feeling scared? Do they enjoy horror? Do they believe in the paranormal? What calms your muse down? Do they have any scary stories?
Thanks! This one will be fun! I appreciate all the amazing asks today @elfie-kitten even though I've been writing all day now and my brain is starting to be mad about it.
Many alts below!
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Alastair - doesn't handle being scared well at all. He will find someone or something to hide behind, preferably something big and mean like his brothers. He tends to abandon ship and lets Riat have the body to deal with it (which is something they're working on lol). He does not enjoy horror, he hopes the paranormal isn't real. He doesn't have scary stories. As for calming him down, usually someone he respects like his father or Sephyrn using a firm voice to tell him to calm down and it's all right is then only thing that works. Or Riatsala telling him works sometimes.
Riatsala - doesn't get scared. He IS the horror. Paranormal things are afraid of HIM. Sephyrn is the only one that can get him to calm down, sometimes Talia can try if he's not too far into it. Scary stories? Probably, he's done a lot of bad things...
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This poor Lalafell is just staring at you with wide eyes behind a cookie and looking horrified. That'd be a no to all of that. Being afraid? Why would he ever want to be? That sounds HORRIBLE! (Yes he's a little sheltered still..)
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Bram only likes it as an excuse to cling to people. Like OOH scary story...let me grab my strong knight to protect me! He believes in the paranormal. He doesn't have scary stories, he's been kind of protected from horror stuff (RP Bram...book Bram lives in an apocalypse so..). Usually Bram only gets scared by things like losing people or getting hurt, not horror like ghosts or monsters.
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Nope. You can get out of here with all of that. He's seen enough horror of his own he doesn't want to use it for entertainment. If he's scared he's diving behind cover or the nearest raging protective demon lover..or his giant protective wolf friend.
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You couldn't scare this one if you tried, except threatening to kill Bram maybe and then good luck doing that before he killed you first. Paranormal? Sure, he's paranormal. Scary stories, don't ask him. You'll regret it.
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You wouldn't believe the things he's seen. Paranormal? Yes. Scary stories, yes but he won't tell them. Horror as entertainment? If you'd lived through horror you wouldn't want that..would you? Well he doesn't. He's quite done with all of that, thank you. What calms him down? Myth usually.
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He's....no. Not into any of that. (Hey maybe I found why he doesn't like to cooperate with his writer! He has it easy though he lives in the healing apocalyptic world not the apocalypse)
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Fabian is a scardey cat. He does believe in the paranormal and if anything makes him think of it he's going to be jumping at every shadow, and probably shooting. He's very trigger happy too. Scary stories? Sure, the knights tell those around the campfires sometimes. Sadek or Eryk can get him to calm down usually.
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These two are VERY superstitious. Their tribe believed in all sorts of superstitions (the main one being if you tread where someone died you'd be cursed the rest of your life). They have lots of scary stories but I don't know if any of them would make sense to outsiders. They're very hard to scare though. They've seen a lot. They don't enjoy horror though either.
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Considering he's the villain in horror novel...yeah...
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Inxli's not affected by most horror. He's killed and seen worse probably. Except ghosts. He HATES ghosts they scare the daylights out of him because he can't hurt them and that freaks him out. If he gets scared he usually goes to Reckless or Thorne for comfort and calms pretty fast near either of them. He's had a hard life they're good at calming him down from being terrified.
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Scary stories? Sure they lived through the Dragonsong War. Supernatural? Does Halone count? Rafe surprisingly doesn't believe in much paranormal which makes him a more balanced Inquisitor than most. They're both trained to remain calm but they soothe each other if it's too much. They're not usually too far away from each other if they can help it.
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Supernatural? They are supernatural. Scary stories? Oh definitely, they're the cause of half of them probably. They enjoy MAKING horror for those that bother them. Niyx is mostly trying to undo that reputation for his people though so only if necessary. They're both very calm and hard to ruffle. You're more likely to get them angry than ever see them scared.
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Persis is only scared by two things. Sharks (because I thought that was hilarious) and..for some reason heights scare him. No one's figured that one out yet. Other than that he'd be the wide eyed one watching in fascination as the horror movie unfolded on the screen, cuddled up to whoever was there, and slowly eating popcorn. Scary stories? Not really. He's heard a few but not enough to retell them. Hmm..he hasn't ever really needed 'calmed down' but I also think if he was with Bram and Bram got scared Persis would also react in a panic, which would be really funny..I should write that.
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He's the one laughing when everyone else jumps at scary stories and horror. He doesn't mind horror, it doesn't get to him. Supernatural? He hunts voidsent, he's seen a LOT. So yeah. Plus some tribe superstitions still make him nervous whether he remembers them or not. Scary stories? Oh yeah, he's got scary stories..
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Rulian is not, in fact, a very big fan of horror. Can you believe that? Nothing much scares him either though. He'd be mostly confused and maybe even a critic of a horror play or something. Scary stories? He lived through a horrible war, his stories would horrify some people.
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He'd just roll his eyes at all of it probably. He doesn't get scared really so doesn't need calmed down. He IS the one calming Fabian down all the time. If Sadek gets scared you all better be running.
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Supernatural *coughcough* whyever would he believe in that? Yes, he does. He's seen too much not to. He's fascinated by all of it really, and the only thing he finds horrifying or scary is losing Lyle. Or..someone abusing a good book. How dare you break that spine?!
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She thinks that's all a bit silly really.
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He doesn't really get scared. And he's not a big fan of horror. But he was a ghost for a long time so he has to believe in those at least.
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He doesn't care one way or another. Scary stories don't bother him. He doesn't really get scared by much so he doesn't need calmed down.
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HE IS THE HORROR AND THE SUPERNATURAL. *brandishes knife* I mean he is a tonberry. Does he like horror? No. Not as fun when you're living it. Scary stories? Well sure but he'll let Thorne tell you.
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He doesn't like horror. It makes him really jumpy. Especially after all he's seen as an adventurer. Supernatural? You bet, and he wants nothing to do with it. If he's scared he's running away and not calming down until he's what feels is a safe distance. Scary stories! He certainly thinks he has some!
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Really? Does she look like Inxli to you? Don't answer that. Because she grew up with the horrors that haunted Inxli she's pretty immune to most horrific things. She doesn't really scare either. Supernatural things? Yes she believes in them. If she were to get scared she's the kill the source of the scary thing..strike first ask questions later sort.
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AH! What was that? Is it dead? Smacks it again. Is it dead now? Whew. Okay. If it's dead he's calm now. He doesn't really like horror or scary stories and only distance or violence will cure him of fear. Fight or flight!
(And I think that's all for today my friends, my brain is getting a little silly as you can see I need sleep. That was a lot of writing today. Thank you again @elfie-kitten for the asks! )
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pleuvoire · 3 months
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2023 books i liked recap because why not
top faves, new entries on the all-timers shelf:
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piranesi is like a sweet spot of novels made for me i swear. aesthetically beautiful (as far as mental images go), themes of wonder at the beauty of the world, a slowly unfurling mystery, a simple plot but with vibrant beauty and meaning layered on top. It's Good
giovanni's room also has a very simple plot that is so overlaid with soaring passionate emotion i swear it feels like an opera in book form. timeless classic. it's good idk what to tell you
oh man ancillary justice is such good sci-fi. when you start out reading it you're like this is rather dry but it pulls you in so hard. the worldbuilding! the themes of identity! breq is such a good character!
not quite all-timer shelf but still really good
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fish swimming in dappled sunlight is ultimately a story about stories and memory and constructed narratives and the reliability thereof. it takes place over a single night and mostly just consists of characters sitting around talking, but manages to pull some crazy twists on you regardless. love the prose style too
i'm glad my mom died lives up to the acclaim. mccurdy has a real talent for narrative voice, effortlessly inhabiting the viewpoint of her younger self at various ages. balances humor and tragedy with frank candor. i sound like a review pull quote here so i'll stop
infect your friends and loved ones is actually a novella so pretty short! it's by the author of detransition baby and has definitely gotten me interested in reading that. really vivid meditation on trans womanhood and transmisogyny that bounces between post-apocalypse and pre-apocalypse settings. pdf here
less stand-out but i still liked it
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what are you are looking for is in the library is a nice little series of loosely connected vignettes about people who are stuck at some point in their life and find inspiration at the library. all the staff at my library job wanted to read it so the hold list was a mile long lol. has inspiring themes about always being able to find a way forward when you're in a rut and the power of community and stuff
a people's history of heaven is about the life and times of a group of girls living in a slum in bangalore, india. i liked how it interwove different people's life stories together and used lots of vivid detail and i like how the trans girl's story was written. some aspects were hit or miss for me but it was still nice
temple alley summer is a kids' book but i like kids' books so that's fine. it's about a boy who sees a ghost and the next day she's a student at his school and everyone seems to already know her but him and it turns out this is because his house was built on top of a mystical temple. i like the meditations on life and death and the simple heartwarmingness. it takes a long unexpected detour in the second half which threw me for a loop but ended up working for the story
stuff i started reading but didn't finish and i swear i'm going to try to get to it this year
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to shape a dragon's breath is pretty long so i didn't get that far in before i had to return it to the library but i really liked what i read. the worldbuilding is really interesting and the narrative voice feels fresh and unique and deftly avoids the samey YA mold that tends to grate on me. and it's got commentary on colonialism! definitely check this one out
i got halfway through radium girls which is an accomplishment for me since it's long. rare nonfiction entry on this list. goes into insanely meticulous historical detail complete with fiction-style descriptions and embellishments of the girls' lives which just makes it more tragic
i own a copy of the haunting of hajji hotak but it's seriously harrowing stuff so i had to take breaks. it's good man. but whew it does not shy away from the realities of living under war and occupation. death to america
ok that's everything i think seeya next year
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fandoms-writings · 6 months
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Let's spread some positivity! Tag some of your fellow content creators here and let them know why they are absolutely amazing!❤️
i've been meaning to answer this, i've just been so busy with work and then i got sick and just aghhhh life, but here we go!!
@sweetdreamsbuck - mir has such a way with words, her works live rent free in my head all the fucking time and it just feels like my heart is being wrapped up in a knitted blanket and squeezed real tight 💜
@bucksangel - i don't know where to start with her works, i love her stories so so much and the fact that i get to beta them before anyone else gets to see them makes me feel so so special 💙 yall aint ready for what's coming next from her i promise you
@foreverindreamlandd - although col hasn't posted much this year, i still admire her works so so much and i think about her zombie apocalypse au literally every day and i miss her so much, col if you see this - i hope you're doing well baby 💚
@heli0s-writes - i quite literally am obsessed with your work, it's so so captivating and i always go back to read it again and again and again 🧡
there are so so so many more, you can go through my fic recs if you'd like to see them all lol, but i'm currently at work so i can't write much more than that, but i want you all to know i love you so so much and i love all of your writing and hold you all very dear to my heart, you all should know who you are ❤️
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chans-ethereal · 2 years
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take my hand | kim mingyu
synopsis: who would've thought that you would be living the kdrama life? running hand-in-hand with the popular guy at school with a crowd of people -- well maybe not exactly people -- chasing you two.
pairing: kim mingyu x gn!reader
word count: 1.1k
warnings: zombie apocalypse au, mentions of blood/violence, swearing, weapons, fighting, biting, and yelling.
author note: i actually have a part two planned for this one!! stay tuned lol
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it had been a day. a day since that happened. a day since your entire school got infected with some sort of zombie virus. who knew you would be actually living in a train to busan/all of us are dead/world war z type situation? the idea that the entire school could be overrun by zombies never crossed your mind because, well, it simply did not feel real enough.
but running away from your best friend-turned-zombie definitely felt real. the fear after seeing those... creatures felt real. the pain you felt in your legs after running for so long absolutely felt real.
what didn't feel real was that now you were trapped in a room with THE kim mingyu. one of the thirteen most popular guys at school. you didn't have a crush on them or anything, but they were so popular so how could you not have known about them?
you had been chased by a bunch of zombies following you, and luckily mingyu had spotted you. he quickly led you to an empty classroom where you two barricaded yourselves. you two stayed there overnight, and talked to each other about yourselves. turns out he went to your middle school, and you didn't even realize.
though meeting him was nice, you two were in the middle of a zombie apocalypse and especially from the sounds of this morning, the barrier wasn't going to hold itself up for much longer.
"[name]," mingyu called to you.
"yeah? what's up?" you responded, walking to where he was crouched on the floor. he stared intensely at the barrier of chairs and desks you two piled up to prevent the zombies from getting into the room.
"i think we should leave. like right now." mingyu said, his voice stone cold.
you could feel the fear starting to creep up to you, heart beginning to pound furiously. you tried to keep calm. "oh yeah? what's wrong?" you tried to say, throat feeling dry.
he looked at you with wide eyes. "they're starting to break through the barricade."
"fuck!" you frantically started looking for something in the room to protect yourself with and for potential weapons.
"we can get out through the backdoor," mingyu said. "but there are a couple zombies at that door too. three, last time i counted. we're gonna have to fight them if we go that way."
"and there's two of us. it's not like we'll be alone. plus, it's only three. i'd rather fight three than a whole bunch. quick -- find something to fight with."
"but they're stronger than us! what if something happens to y- to us?"
you patted mingyu on his back. "don't worry! you're big and tall and strong! i'm sure you're of equal strength with them. look at these guns!" you gave mingyu's right bicep a playful slap. "look at it!"
mingyu blushed and rubbed his bicep. "ow..."
you gave mingyu and affectionate look. "i know it's only been like a day since we became i guess friends, but i trust you. you've got my back and i've got yours. we can make it, alright? i'm sure we'll get out of the school soon and eat out together one day."
"alright... don't break your promise!"
"never." and with that, the two of you took your weapons and braced yourselves to face the zombies outside.
"remember, try not to fight them. focus on escaping, alright?" you told mingyu. he nodded. "alright then. three... two... one!"
you opened the door and was faced with the sight of your former schoolmates. their once clean uniforms were now smudged with blood. their voices you heard laughing with friends were now animalistic screeches. but most of all, their once human eyes were now grey and their sclera clouded. they weren't who you had remembered them to be.
"go go go!" you told him. you pushed him ahead and began running. you could hear the zombies running close behind you. when you reached the staircase, you felt your foot slip and you fell on the staircase.
"[name]!" mingyu yelled. one of the zombies had caught up to you and you felt one grab onto your foot, trying to bite at it. mingyu swung his bat at the zombie, and you tried to pry the zombie's grip off your ankle. mingyu hit the zombie's head multiple times, and finally knocked it back before the others would catch up. in no time, mingyu quickly laced your hands together and started running up the stairs.
you two reached the third floor ran through the hallway. "where are they?" you muttered. "it's so empty. it's almost like no one's here."
but you spoke too soon because right then, you heard their screeching. looking at the classroom to your right, you saw a whole class filled with zombies, looking right at you.
"run!" mingyu yelled. he led you to an empty classroom and immediately locked the door. the two of you stated to created another barrier with the desks. after you two deemed the barrier to be sufficient enough, the two of you sat on the floor against the wall.
“is your ankle okay?" mingyu asked. "did you hurt yourself? did the zombie do anything to you? did he bite you? do you fe-“
“mingyu,” you whined. “i’m fine, don’t worry. im really grateful that you were there. you really saved my ass back there. i would've died if you weren't there.” you felt yourself blush as you continued. “… and thanks for holding my hand. it made me feel a lot better too. knowing that you were with me.”
mingyu’s face flushed immediately and he cleared his throat. “mhm. yeah. no worries. i got your back.”
“you know, it’s kind of funny.” you said.
“what is?”
“me and the most popular guy in school ran hand-in-hand though a hallway chased by a crowd of people. doesn’t that sound like something out of a drama?”
“me? the most popular guy at school?”
“well, one of the most popular guys at school.”
“yeah, sure. and also, that wasn’t just a crowd of people. that was a crowd of zombified people. i’m pretty sure that’s not out of any drama you’d like to be in.”
you playfully hit his arm. “shut up,” you said with a smile. “regardless, that was my kdrama main character moment. don’t ruin it for me.”
“well, i’m sure that's not your most kdrama-main-character-moment yet."
you gave him a look. "what do you mean? i'm not sure what else would top that."
"hmm... i know something you don't..." he gave you a teasing smile.
"what is it?" you huffed. "tell me already!"
"nope. i'll tell you when we everything calms down, alright?"
"... fine. but you better tell me what it is by the end of this month!"
"alright then. i promise. and i won't break it."
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justagalwhowrites · 4 months
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Bestie! You outdid yourself again with "Yearling's" new chapter, breaking my heart even more, if that's possible. Joel's POV was too much. He loves Bambi so much. His despair and his hurt knowing she doesn't want him near when he only wants to take care of her, felt the knife in my heart. When he tells her he won't come closer when she woke up... and if that wasn't enough, Ellie implying she sees her as a mother figure or hoped for it... felt like you were twisting the knife. I love how Joel and Ellie are so similar in how much they love and care when they decide you're part of the family even if you cannot always see it, and when they express it come up a bit grumpy and pushy but sweet because they don't like exposing themselves.
I know it cannot always be rainbows and sunshine if you want a story of this length and depth to be engaging and realistic while the plot happens. No one is perfect, and relationships and life are messy, even more in the apocalypse. It amazes me the capacity to write it, because you're taking your time with it, and it doesn't feel rushed or forced. And it's painful to read, but also it makes me cherish this story even more. I don't know if I'm making much sense, lol! Anyways, you probably have been asked before, but do you have a number of chapters set until they start mending their relationship? I am too hopeful thinking that Joel's offer to look for Savvy will force them to spend time together and start the process. Thanks for the chapter! It was brutal but beautiful! Love you!❤️❤️❤️
PS: I've been wondering about something I saw in one of your answers about Bambi getting closer to someone. I'm scared to think how Joel will feel about that.
AHHH HI BESTIE!
I know, I'm sorry, this chapter was more relationship fracturing and kind of setting up where things stand for now and it's just rough, it's a rough time all around and I feel so bad for all of them. Like obviously poor Joel is going THROUGH IT. That poor man, he loves her so much but he knows the pain she's in and he is going to take as much blame for that as he can because it's some masochistic way of trying to help her in his mind? And poor Bambi is reeling and having her entire world rocked and is trying to rebuild her reality with basically no foundation now while her fight or flight is just going batshit. Then there's poor Ellie who is stuck in the middle even though neither Joel nor Bambi tried to put her there.
They are going to have some forced proximity in the next chapter or two that's going to shift their relationship a bit? But I think we're 5ish off from the real healing moment. It's not going to be TERRIBLY long? But there are a few plot things I need to have happen for them while they're apart. When I know exactly what chapter they're coming back together, I'll put a countdown out for that, too, like I did the angstening and the fuckening. But yeah, there's a lot of angst and pain here! I think it's something that drives character growth well but it also I think is a reflection of the world they live in. It's the apocalypse, it's harsh and cruel. That means they have to deal with the fallout from that, it doesn't really just stay contained. Even though I'm sure they wish it would!
And yeah... Joel is... he's gonna Joel. I don't want to give much away but he's going to be very Joel about it all lol
Thank you for writing, Bestie!!! I always love getting your asks, they make me so happy. I appreciate you doing them!!
Love you!!!
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rowark · 3 months
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15 and 34
Thank you!!!
15. What’s the best dream you’ve had?
This one is actually kind of tricky, because I remember my dreams almost every night, so like... there's a lot of them lol
When OUAT was still on and I was spending all my free time immersed in the fandom, I had a lot of SQ dreams, and some of those were really good (I don't remember most of them now, but I know I used to post about them on here frequently lol... a few have inspired my fics, even)
But weirdly, my most memorable dream was this one from a few years ago, where I dreamed I went through this door at my house and discovered that there were like 4 more levels to my house, and they were all just full of stuff... like, literal disasters that were super hard to even get through, but I was like treasure hunting because it was all the most wild, random things in these rooms and it was super exciting to search through them. When I woke up, I was a little sad that it wasn't real, because it was like an adventure. I still think about that dream from time to time, because it was super vivid and I can still remember where this secret door was... I just wish it was real lol
34. What would you do in the event of an apocolypse?
I would literally kill myself. Like, not even joking. When people talk about what they would do to survive an apocalypse, I'm always just like... why??
I don't want to live in a post-apocalyptic dystopian world, so I would have zero motivation to live through the apocalypse itself.
I can barely tolerate mild inconveniences in my daily life lol
~*~ I'm so bored, send me asks!~*~
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theteasetwrites · 1 year
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So in your beginning series what do you think Daryl wished he could’ve done with Reader but the apocalypse took the chance away from him
Oh that's such a great question!
Well I think Daryl would've wanted to do so much with her. I do think they both actually think a lot about how their lives might've been different if the apocalypse never happened and they could've been together in the old world.
The first thing I could think of is that Daryl would've loved to take her out on a real date. I think he would've loved to go through the process of "courting" lol and taking her out on dates and stuff. Like going to the movies, going out to eat, going for a walk in the park... I mean, they kind of do these things in the Commonwealth, but it's not the same.
And I think he would've liked to meet her parents. I hint at that a few times in the series, but Daryl would've especially liked to meet her dad. He would've wanted to ask him for his blessing when he's thinking about asking her to marry him (awww). I mean, I know he wouldn't have to do that because it's kind of old school, but I headcanon that Daryl is a little bit traditional in some ways (he's a Capricorn. Enough said). He might be a redneck biker but he's still got some southern gentleman in him!
Luckily, they found Alexandria and were able to kind of have a semblance of a normal life (house, kids, pets, etc.), so I think overall Daryl is happy with how his life with her has turned out. I mean he loves his life. I don't think he would want it any other way. The way it turned out is exactly how he wants it because he ended up with his favorite person in the world and two adorable babies and a sweet little doggy. That's pretty good for an apocalypse!
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notasapleasure · 5 months
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OTP meme: Jerott/Danny bandverse?
Yay, thanks! Tried not to base my answers on yours lol, but in general I agree XD
Which one is more fond of scary movies: Danny! Popcorn crunches through the tensest/grossest scenes with a feral grin.
Which one gets the most excited about Halloween: Also Danny – costumes! Parties! Getting to make Jerott dress up as some kind of sexy ghoul!
Which one would be more likely to survive the apocalypse: I think both of them could kick the apocalypse’s arse, frankly.
Which one would literally kill for the other: Both, if need be – but I think Jerott would be surprised at how quickly Danny would commit if it came down to that. Danny knows without a doubt that if GRM escaped from jail, they would be ready and willing to take that fucker out if he came anywhere near Jerott again.
Which one likes to scare or startle the other: I think Jerott has a silly side that likes to sneak up on Danny while they’re cooking or something, because Danny’s usually so unflappable, but Jerott has opportunities to cause flapping that no one else does. And Danny’s so cute when they squeak and jump in Jerott’s arms >:3
Which one is more likely to need comforting when they get spooked: Well, per the previous question, I think Danny. Jerott claims not to get 'spooked' - the rats in the Paris metro are legitimately gross, Danny, not cute!
Which one always puts on a brave face: Both, in different ways. Both are used to hiding things about themselves/negotiating society’s assumptions, and they can both do a resting bitch face that would turn you to stone.
Which one would be more dangerous if they suddenly became violent: Depends, but unarmed, out of nowhere, probably Jerott, who’s a seasoned brawler – Danny is more a ‘hide behind my seven-foot drag queen friends and yell taunts’ kind of fighter. (shooting GRM in the face is a different matter, should it be necessary)
Which one would be more likely to commit a crime: I think both have committed a fair few in the various countries they’ve lived/travelled in. Danny would be most level-headed about it, whether it was something minor or a body needed hiding; Jerott would act in a rash way and then freak out.
Which one believes in ghosts: Both, in certain ways. Jerott’s are powered by guilt, while Danny has a fairly open approach to spiritual matters, like you described for r63 Danny, Kay.
Which one likes to watch spooky shows on television: I think they probably start watching ‘real life’ hauntings/ghost hunters with a huge amount of scepticism, expecting to make fun, but then they each get drawn in by how ‘realistic’ it is and end up clinging to each other with the jump scares. If they watch TXF together it always ends with Jerott saying how sensible Scully is and Danny doing the whole mocking thing about how can she not Believe when she’s seen so much spooky shit? In reality, they're both Mulders anyway, Jerott just feels he needs to defence Science because of his dad/alternative career option.
Which one would propose the idea of holding a seance: Danny, for the aesthetic/because a friend who’s a medium needs a venue. Like the TV shows, they might start off sceptical but end up impressed by the experience.
Which one has nightmares more often: Jerott’s are more…narrative. And memorable. Danny probably has lingering unease that surfaces in their dreams, but not like the kind of wake-up-sweating-I-thought-Gabriel-was-sitting-on-my-face kind of dreams Jerott has.
Which one would want to explore a real haunted house: Jerott, to prove Danny wrong. He ends up shrieking, Shaggy from Scooby-doo style, and jumping into Danny’s arms. Danny never ever lets him live it down.
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rollercoasterwords · 1 year
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I LOVE ZOMBIES TOO
I have this zombie hyperfixation that comes back every few years and at least one tri-yearly zombie apocalypse dream.
I have this podcast where I talk about spooky stuff I find interesting and the zombie episode was at least twice as long as all the other ones.
Ok so what I find rlly interesting is ancient Hatian zombies, which were real. It wasn't like an actual zombie but basically somebody was tricked into thinking they were dead with drugs and herbs and medicine or smth, then actually buried, then dug up again to be used for slavery. And theyre actually called zombies too. And it's just. wow.
LOOK https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2015/10/how-america-erased-the-tragic-history-of-the-zombie/412264/
lol love the enthusiasm!! i am definitely the same way about zombies as previously stated they are probably my favorite monster <3 and this response got very long so i am putting it under a cut lol
personally i have not studied actual ritual practices enough to really talk about how much truth there is to the notion of "real-life zombies," what that practice might have looked like, or how widespread it was. i've read a bit of ethnography + anthropological writing about zombi rituals, but my understanding is that the extent to which there may have been "real" zombies has been largely exagerrated and exoticized in a way that is...not great. so while it's definitely super interesting to research what sort of historical practices + rituals were/are attached to cultural understandings of zombiism, i'd just caution against any portrayal that inaccurately exagerrates the history or seems to be mysticizing "real-life zombies."
if u (or anyone) are interested in some reading that adds a bit more nuance to cultural conceptions + origins of the zombie, some recs!
haitian zombie, myth, and modern identity by kette thomas
new narratives of haiti; or, how to empathize with a zombie by kaima l. glover
zombi narratives: transatlantic circulations by gudrun rath
figures of terror: the "zombie" and the haitian revolution by raphael hoermann
not all of these scholars are in complete agreement with each other, but all of them are doing really interesting things re: questioning the way the zombi has historically been tied to Haiti + Africa in scholarship + pop culture, and how oftentimes those ties have been examined or portrayed largely through a neocolonial + racialized lens
anyway--thank u for sharing that article (here's a link minus the paywall for anyone interested)! another great jumping-off point for anyone interested in zombie history. i definitely appreciate the point he's getting at--the idea that zombie media has become so immersed in consumer culture that it no longer contains any meaningful critique of such a culture, and instead functions largely as a mechanism for escapist fantasies. this echoes some other interesting research i came across in undergrad about the idea that the "dystopian" genre has really become the new "utopian" genre, though i can't remember where specifically i first encountered the idea (i think it was somewhere in my zombie research, but i'd have to go hunt for the specific article/book/etc).
personally, though, i think it's a bit of a reach to imply that the zombie used to contain a significant critique of "societal ills." specifically, where he writes:
For a brief period, the living dead served as a handy Rorschach test for America’s social ills. At various times, they represented capitalism, the Vietnam War, nuclear fear, even the tension surrounding the civil-rights movement. Today zombies are almost always linked with the end of the world via the “zombie apocalypse,” a global pandemic that turns most of the human population into beasts ravenous for the flesh of their own kind. But there’s no longer any clear metaphor. While America may still suffer major social ills—economic inequality, policy brutality, systemic racism, mass murder—zombies have been absorbed as entertainment that’s completely independent from these dilemmas.
what i think he's perhaps overlooking here is that--yes, zombies have historically represented different "social ills," that doesn't necessarily mean that representation has been somehow more radical or liberatory than the zombie media of his time (2010s--article was written in 2015). even in the earlier 20th century when "zombie" media stuck more closely to the original lore of the zombi, the zombie was still typically represented in a way meant to reinforce existing systems of power rather than call them into question, and this has been a theme of much zombie media throughout the 20th and early 21st centuries. i also think to suggest that there was no longer any clear metaphor by the time 2015 rolled around is a bit facetious; i can think of two zombie movies from 2015 specifically where zombies are being used as a clear cultural critique in different ways, and multiple other zombie movies from the 2010s where this was also the case. so while i appreciate what he's trying to do here re: making a point about dystopia-as-utopia and how western reimaginings of the zombie have fundamentally altered it, i think he's detracting from his own argument a bit when he suggests that using zombies as a tool for valorizing western individualism rather than exploring oppressive power dynamics that result in dehumanization is reflective of some sort of deterioration in modern media, and not part of the way zombies have pretty much always been used in western media since their co-option
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cynthplop · 1 year
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Hhmm, if you like talking about your Robin and Tardif, pls don't hold back! What do they like about each other? What do they dislike in one another? What is their dynamic, which roles get filled by who? Will they stick together? Are there any crisises or huge arguments between the two? Maybe I'm negative, buut I personally find the abundance of pure love/sympathy-at-first-sight-till-the-grave scenario representations a bit frustrating and unrealistic as in real life that's a minority, right?
Yea I really do like talking about them :'''') been thinking of commissioning someone to draw them for me as of late bc school's really shredding me a new one it's not cute 😭😭😭😭😭😭 it makes me really happy to know that there's interest in them that's not just me, they're my everything my sugar candy apples :'D You'll have to pardon me if my descriptive skill is not entirely up to par today, been doing homework all day and now I'm gettin reddy for beddy. Join me, dear traveller, in the read more..... (again, minor DD2 spoilies)
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Now what they like in one another: abridged, Robin really loves how Tardif makes him feel very human. He likes that Tardif comes from and to him represents a normal, human world he never got to experience; life and joy and flowers and fields, marketplaces and inns, travelling by river. To Robin, Tardif is proof that a normal (as normal as it gets with DD but bear with me) life is possible and that it's not out of his reach.
Tardif likes that Robin notices the beauty in everything about the world that a lifetime of looking out for himself has blinded him to. And despite everything he's gone through, Robin is still annoyingly hopeful, patient, kind, everything that he didn't know was possible in a man anymore, no less nobility. He hated it all at first, hated it violently, but against his better judgement it grew on him :)
This kiiiinda ties in with what they dislike about one another, but I think one of the more major crises that happens between them is that Tardif repeatedly does NOT let Robin engage in any sort of violence once they start to develop feelings for one another, a reckless act of way too much protectiveness on Tardif's end. Basically the moment he notices he's catching feelings he doesn't really know how to reel it all back in after spilling. This prompts Robin to get really angry at him, obvs, because he feels like he's being treated like a child or fragile glass, a feeling which he despises. They figure it out eventually tho, lol. Tardif also hates how self-sacrificial Robin can be, regularly martyring himself because he thinks he deserves it for the crimes of his family. Tardif doesn't hate ROBIN for it, but he hates that he feels that way and that someone ultimately undeserving of suffering has to go through that when so many others who actually do deserve it live cushy lives.
In regards to them sticking together, that was the plan. Tardif promising to take Robin away from the Hamlet once everything is over and setting up a bakery somewhere nice... something he doesn't know if he can truly do after everything, but something he wants to try for the sake of someone else, for once, as he's long learned that Robin is the only exception to all of his lifelong rules. But, as per DD2, that may not have worked out, and I'm still waiting on some info before getting to work on that ;) a tragic divorce arc (literally, bc they got Actually Married in DD1) where "Robin has ulterior motives of tracking down his husband during the apocalypse" might be in the works, tho 👀
I can't lie and say I'm Not a fan of pure love kind of scenarios, I'm a romantic at heart and I like to see all sorts of different types of relationships play out. But you're right, for my dark dungeon, I like to see some drama more >:) These two can get a little bit codependent and fucked up, and be so very selfish and possessive, but that's what makes it juicy hehe
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wyn-n-tonic · 1 year
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Hello! It's me again, first things first, thank you for including that tag in the last ask, its been real helpful, I read through a couple of posts already lol. Secondly, this isn't one of my questions I want to ask but I just finished reading days of you & me and... does the apocalypse really need to happen? Like does it really? Like can't we just continue with them getting their happy ending and get married and grow old together 🥺🥺🥺 (obviously this is a joke, kinda 😭)
I'm honestly scared of the next chapter for obvious reasons and I was wondering if you intend to continue with Alison & Joel's story after September? Like their lives after the apocalypse starts? (Also again sorry if you've been asked this already)
hi, friend!! oh god, this is so nice and i've gotten so many nice things about them already and i am so grateful for all the love that has been shown for them.
you caught me at kind of a really really vulnerable time because i finished September on Friday and have been editing and tweaking it and getting feedback from the loves of my life about it. i'm going to be so so so honest, i have been sobbing my eyes out since Friday. the moment i typed 'the end' i became inconsolable. it's very tough to say goodbye to characters you've spent over a hundred thousand words with, especially when there's already this reaction of so much love from others for their story.
i've said it a few times on ao3 and i will say it here - i have been crying because i am saying goodbye and because the story i wanted to tell is finished but please please please believe me that it's not because i've decided to be a horrible sadist and i'm just waiting for the other shoe to drop on you guys so i can get some sick pleasure out of it. without giving away too much of the last chapter, i want you to take a deep breath and rest assured knowing that I am not killing our girly. there will be no major character deaths written by me, it's not something i could handle doing to either myself or y'all.
as for how it all ends, i'm kind of playing with the idea of dropping September early but i also have been told by people that they look forward to the updates every Monday and i don't want to take that away from them, you know? but i am definitely open for opinions on that lol.
we still have 24,000 words left on this ride, bestie. i just hope i don't let you down.
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