#COLOR CREW FANDOM PLEASE FIND ME...

[iceecreamcakex]

kier and dev as GECKOS!!

[okay-j-hannah]

The Kickstart | Smosh 💛

Smosh : Multishot

Spencer Agnew x Reader

Word Count: 10k

Warnings: slow burn, strangers to friends, friends to lovers, Spencer pining, reader is struggling in LA, not a lot of money, multiple jobs, poor studio apartment, inconsiderate boyfriend, lots of musical theatre talk, reader insert but a few things are already decided (last name is Bennett, favorite drink is Diet Coke, love the colors blue and green, artist, theatre nerd, etc.)

Request: This just came from my own head 😊  

A/N: I haven't written for Smosh in years... but the current cast and crew has me sucked back into the fandom. And I am sorely in need of more Spencer content 😭

I was initially inspired by this incredibly well done fic "Late Night" by @simpingsavant Please give it a read because it's a masterpiece.

Part 1: The Kickstart {You Are Here}

Part 2: Mama Bear

It was nearly three in the morning. The witching hour, you think with a smile. There was a light flickering near the fountain drinks. You lean against the checkout counter, thumbing through an aged script.

You memorize the cue lines that signal when quick changes are supposed to happen between scenes. The current musical you are working on is Hairspray.

Going through the script and your production notes really help pass the time.

The small rinky-dink gas station you manage is your reluctant home most nights. It wasn’t your favorite place, but it helped with the bills. Trying to make a living on production design for musicals isn’t the money maker you hoped it would be in LA.

You barely made anything doing hair and makeup for the community theatre. But it was something you loved.

And wouldn’t you rather be doing something you love than being miserable in a high paying corporate job?

Sure, you think.

It had been nearly eight months since you started working at this gas station. The owner was as rinky-dink as the store itself, speaking in short, to the point sentences and avoiding eye contact. There were only two gas pumps out front that rarely attracted customers.

The biggest commodity are the cheap drinks and snacks inside. Many stop by for something quick on their way to and from work.

Normally working the night shifts from 10pm to 6am, you are quick to notice any regulars. Not many people are awake at this time of night, let alone on their way to the gas station for a drink.

The bell sounds above the door as a familiar face enters. It was Glasses.

That’s what you called him after seeing him for the third time in a week, back when you first started working here.

He usually came in late like this, looking exhausted. He has curly dark hair, gold rimmed glasses, and some scruff. Today he’s dressed in jeans rolled up at the cuffs, brown boots, and a gray sweatshirt.

He gives you an awkward, close-lipped smile as he passes. You watch him go for the drink fridges. Energy drinks are his specialty, maybe the occasional coffee or breakfast sandwich. He always bought them two at a time, taking the slight discount for buying a duo instead of a single.

About every other week he’s there three to four of those days. You’ve always wondered why – especially when he always looked so tired when he came in.

But you’ve never had a conversation that’s lasted longer than the cordial exchanges.

“Hello,” you say.

“Hello,” he replies with his awkward smile.

You scan his drinks, Mountain Dew Kickstarts like always. “Find everything you need?”

“Yep.”

The computer beeps. “That’ll be $8.56.”

“All right.” He taps his card on the machine in front of him.

“Would you like your receipt?”

“No thanks.” He grabs his two cans.

“Have a nice night.”

“You too.”

It had been like that for maybe six of those eight months. After that, your curiosity began to plague you. The next time he came in, you watch him browse for a Kickstart and a breakfast muffin.

Saying hello to him had felt routine. But it was clear that you both recognized each other. So you decide to say something a little more than usual.

“Getting breakfast a little early?” you joke in your quiet voice.

He smiles, pulling out his wallet. “I just haven’t eaten anything all night.”

“Sounds like a rough night. That’s $9.34.”

He scans his card. “It has been.”

With him looking down at the keypad, you take the time to look at the circles under his eyes. “You should try the croissant sandwiches. Much better than stale muffins.”

He nods his head, “Next time. Thanks.”

You watch him walk away, still at a loss as to why he’s always in there this late at night.

A couple days later he’s walking in and giving you a wave. You smile at him as he makes for the drinks again.

He’s dressed in those same jeans and combat boots. Now he wears a t-shirt with a denim jacket. If you had friends to talk to, you’d want to tell them how Glasses loves to wear the same jeans and jackets all the time.

He comes to the counter and clears his throat.

You scan his drinks and a breakfast sandwich. A croissant sandwich.

You chuckle, “You won’t be disappointed.”

“I’m counting on it,” he says, tapping his card against his hand while he waits.

“Haven’t eaten anything all night again?”

He hums, shrugging his shoulders, “Felt peckish.”

“Do you want your receipt?”

“No, that’s fine. Have a good night.”

You throw the balled up receipt into the garbage bin beside you. “You too.”

You’d love to tell a friend that Glasses seems shy. He seems nice.

A few weeks later, you’re drawing sketches for costume designs. You were doing Shrek The Musical at the community theatre. Papers were full of drawings depicting a white rabbit, a wicked witch, a wolf in granny clothes, and fairies with colorful makeup.

You were humming one of the songs when Glasses came in with a yawn. His eyes search for you and he waves, “Good evening.”

“Good night,” you say sarcastically.

He grabs his drinks and comes to the counter with wandering eyes. You try to move your sketches and pencils out of the way.

“Sorry,” you say, “That’ll be $8.56.”

He scans his card, but keeps looking at your art. “You draw those?”

“Yeah,” you say, abashedly. “Little project.”

“They’re really good,” he pops open one of the drinks and takes a sip. “Are they just for fun, or…?”

You shyly pull out a drawing of a person in a dragon scale costume. “They’re for the musical I’m a part of. Down at the local theatre.”

“That’s cool,” his face lights up.

Something warm tickles your stomach. You were actually having a normal conversation with Glasses.

“Are you the costume designer?”

“Assistant,” you bow your head. “I’m head of hair and makeup.”

He nods, clearly interested. “Have you been a part of production teams much?”

“For years,” you smile, “I love theatre. I’ve done almost everything. Acting, costumes, set design, lighting – you name it.”

He pockets the other energy drink in his jacket pocket. “Sounds like fun. Have a nice rest of your night.”

“Thank you, you too.”

If you had friends, maybe you’d tell them that Glasses might become a friend. The only person you have to text is your new boyfriend Aaron. But he wasn’t a fan of nonsense texts – texts that were unnecessary.

A few weeks go by, now seven months into your job at the gas station. Glasses was still making his almost daily visits. You caught him standing outside the window for a minute before coming in.

You have confusion in your face, but a smile on your lips. “You okay there?”

He raises his eyebrows and talks as he walks to the fridges. “What do you mean?”

“Was there something on that window or were you just making sure you weren’t a vampire?” At his knitted brows, you continue, “You know… checking that you still had a reflection.”

Heat floods your face at the poor attempt at a joke, but Glasses laughs, nonetheless. “I might be nocturnal, but no, I’m not a vampire.”

You smile, admiring him walking towards you. His fluffy curls were sticking out from beneath a green hat. In white embroidery it says, Smosh.

“How were auditions?” he asks, getting his card ready.

You bite the inside of your cheek. “Good. I think we’ll have a good cast.” Earlier that week he asked about the latest Hairspray script that was on your counter. “The quick changes will be fun.”

He clears his throat, having paid but still standing at the register.

“I’m sorry, did you want your receipt?” you ask suddenly. “Normally you don’t so I stopped asking.”

“No, no – sorry. I’ve been trying to find some clever segway to introduce myself. But we’ve been seeing each other for months and it feels strange to do it now.” He rubs his forehead, struggling to maintain eye contact with you while he talks. “I mean, it’s not like I have a nametag like you.”

You look down at your chest to see (Y/N) printed on the laminated tag. “That’s true.”

He takes a deep breath and extends his hand. “I’m Spencer.”

You take his hand. It was very warm. “(Y/N).”

He smiles, “Nice to officially meet you.”

Maybe you’ll tell Aaron that Glasses has a new name now. Spencer.

One night at two in the morning, you were asked to do inventory while another employee managed the registers. It was strange to have a coworker with you on night shifts, but when things need to be restocked, it took a team.

You use a box cutter to break through packages, pulling out chip bags and candies. You roll them out on a dolly. Plastic wrappers crinkling as you restock shelves, you don’t notice who Eric at the counter is talking to.

But then a pair of glasses peek around the corner. “Hey!”

You smile wide, “Spencer!”

He smiles back, “I was worried when I didn’t see you at the registers.”

“Yeah, they need two of us here when we do inventory,” you shake a bag of doritos before putting it on the shelf. “How was your day?”

He sighs, opening his drink, “Long. Shooting weeks always are.” He tells you about the online comedy group he’s a part of. It was called Smosh.

“Oh, you’ve worn some merch that has that logo on it,” you say, moving a box out of the way.

Spencer nods, “Gotta promote whenever we can.”

“How large is the group?”

“Well, it’s more of an entertainment company. We have a huge production team and a cast. We film content for four different channels.”

“That’s impressive.”

He suddenly dips down to help hand you boxes of candy. “I guess. I think most of LA are internet personalities in one way or another.”

“I’m not,” you say quietly. “It is impressive.”

You learn about his directorial position on one of the channels. Being a head producer, he has a lot of sway on that content. You commend him on the responsibility, and he seems pleased, if not a little embarrassed.

He excuses himself not long after that.

You head towards the registers to restock the candy on the counters. Eric is there giving you a telling smile.

“What are you looking at?” you ask.

The middle-aged man scoffs, “That guy came in with the biggest smile on his face, but then he realized I was the one standing at the counter and he looked so disappointed.”

“I’m sure he was just in need of an energy drink.”

Eric shakes his head, “It wasn’t me that he wanted to see.”

Now in the present, you stand at the counter while Spencer leans against the other side. You had just revealed the fact that you have a boyfriend.

“H-How long have you been together?” he asks with much more nervousness than before.

You scrunch your nose in thought, “About two months. It’s been great though. He gives me rides to work and everything.”

“You don’t have a car?” Spencer asks, paying for his snacks.

You throw the receipt away, “No. I was taking the bus before I met him.” Noticing the awkwardness enter Spencer’s face, you say, “Rough I know. But I manage.”

“It’s nice of him.”

“Yeah, especially because I don’t really make enough to get a car right now.”

“Isn’t that why you have this job on top of the musical theatre stuff?” he offers you a package of your favorite candy.

It makes you smile, “Sure. But rent isn’t helping with my savings. Living paycheck to paycheck.”

“Does Aaron drive you to theatre too?”

Your gaze falls from Spencer’s, eating a piece of candy to give you some time before answering. “No, he’s not a big fan of musicals.”

Spencer scrunches his brow. Unsure of what was stepping over the line with this new friend of his, he tiptoes. “He won’t drive you because he doesn’t like theatre?”

“It’s kind of inconvenient asking him to come get me late after rehearsals. I shouldn’t ask for so much, he’ll think I’m dating him just to have a cab driver.” You snicker at your joke, but Spencer doesn’t seem to think it’s very funny.

He drinks from his can when another customer enters the store. That always meant he would excuse himself so you could get back to your job.

You start to expect Spencer each week. You wait for when you know a filming week was at Smosh. During that time, Spencer would visit for his necessary caffeine. He always stops to talk to you for a few minutes before leaving.

You always feel bad since he normally came in exhausted from work. He denies himself sleep just to spend a few more minutes with you.

It takes a couple more weeks, but he starts to stay even when more customers come in. He just steps to the side and waits for you to ring the customer up.

Then he comes back to continue your conversation.

“So do you prefer acting or production?”

You share the snacks that he’s purchased. “Production, for sure. I kind of developed stage fright a couple years ago. But I do miss being on stage sometimes.”

He looks at you while you talk. He’s an active listener. He zeros in on your face while you speak, ensuring he doesn’t miss anything.

But when he speaks, he tends to look elsewhere. “Did something happen?”

You shrug, “I just get nervous being in the spotlight now. I don’t like the attention much.”

“I get that. I haven’t always loved being on camera. It’s taken finding the right company to do it.”

You nod, “That sounds nice. To be so comfortable in the workplace. And to have everyone there as friends.”

He agrees, “Though a lot of them like to crack jokes about not seeing each other outside of work.” He chuckles as he remembers something. “It’s great being a part of a company where the goal is comedy content. You get to have fun with your friends every day.”

“And you’ve been there for so long,” you say, “You’ve definitely earned your place.”

“Thank you,” he feels warm around the collar, “It’s been hard at times, but well worth it now.”

You suddenly feel a warmth in your cheeks. “You know, um… my show opens next week. If – If you’re interested in seeing it. I’ll be there every night.”

“Helping Edna quick change into her fancy 60s outfit,” he smiles kindly. His eyes are soft and considerate as he watches your nervous gesture. “I wouldn’t miss it.”

You brighten, “Great!”

A week later you’re in the wings of the stage, sweaty with the heat the spotlights generate. A headset adorns your head, microphone near your mouth. You’re readjusting a costume onto a rack from the last quick change.

The last number of the show was currently playing: You Can’t Stop the Beat. You whisper the lyrics and subtly follow along with the choreography.

It was safe to do so with the curtains hiding you from the audience.

You listen to the applause as the cast bows. You imagine them gesturing to the tech booth, acknowledging the production team behind the scenes. You give a little imaginary bow to the audience.

Waiting in the dressing rooms, you help organize the costumes and clean up the makeup counters. Cast members thank you for your help, carrying massive bouquets and presents from the crowd.

You compliment the flowers and give your praise to their performances. It’s forty minutes later, having put the makeup and hairspray away, preening the wigs, and spraying down the character shoes, that you find your purse and head towards the front doors.

Outside on the sidewalk you’re met with an unexpected surprise.

Spencer.

He stands under the white lights of the theatre logo. He adorns his usual rolled up jeans and band t-shirt, denim jacket over it. His curls look extra defined tonight and in his hand are three colorful carnation flowers.

“Spencer? What are you…? I didn’t know you were coming tonight!” You walk towards him and for the first time since meeting him – you hug him.

Arms around his shoulders, smelling his clean, fresh scent. He seems timid to hug you back.

“Well… I did say I would come see the show.”

You shake your head. “I would have come out sooner if I knew you’d be here. I’m so sorry to keep you so long.”

“It’s no problem,” he offers the flowers. “Worth the wait.”

You give a smile, but your face is still regretful, “You shouldn’t have. I wasn’t even on stage.”

“Of course you were,” he says, “Your costumes and wigs and makeup were there.”

You hold the few flowers, completely endeared by him. “Thank you. This is really kind of you. You didn’t have to.”

He shrugs, shoving his empty hands into his pockets. “It’s kind of weird seeing you out of uniform. I’ve never seen you out of that polo and black pants.”

“Well, stage crew attire isn’t much different,” you laugh, gesturing to the long sleeve black shirt and leggings. “What did you think of the show?”

“It was excellent,” he says, “It’s such a fun show. I bet you loved teasing those wigs and picking out costumes with those crazy patterns.”

“And the quick changes?”

“I counted like 38 seconds,” he laughs, “That’s super impressive.”

You smile warmly, though the night air had a chill to it. “Thank you for coming, Spencer. It means a lot.”

“Of course,” he steps away, “I’ll see you later.”

You start to walk down the sidewalk, opposite the parking lot. Spencer suddenly has a thought. He runs up to you.

“Wait, how are you getting home?”

“Oh, I walk to the bus stop and take that.”

He looks down at your crossed arms trying to keep you warm. “Aaron really won’t come get you?”

“I don’t want to inconvenience him.” You wave away the look of worry in his face. “I do this every night, it’s nothing I can’t handle.”

“Yeah, but… you shouldn’t have to.”

“Have a good night, Spence.”

You’ve never used a nickname with him before. He huffs a little before following your retreating figure, “Then let me give you a ride.”

You keep walking, “Really, Spence – I’ll be okay.”

“I know,” he says, “But let me help. I want to give you a ride. It’s cold.”

Your fingers feel like ice against your arms. You look in the direction of the bus stop before looking at the pleading in Spencer’s face.

“Okay,” you say quietly. “Thank you.”

Relief floods his expression, “Great, this way.”

He guides you to his car and even opens the passenger door for you. It’s a kind gesture that you aren’t used to. He turns on the heater and your seat warmer before exiting the parking lot.

You direct him to your poor excuse of a studio apartment. The pair of you speak pleasantries the entire way. The lighting design of the musical, the strategic sets that move quickly, the realistic prop hairspray, and things like that.

He didn’t notice how you cower in the seat. He thinks it’s just because you’re still cold.

“Is the gas station good about changing your schedule so you can be there on show nights?”

“Yes, they’re so kind about it,” you say, playing with your fingers. It was a nervous habit of yours – pinching, rubbing, and picking at them. “I switch with a usual day shifter.”

Spencer nods, “I – I’ve missed seeing you at our usual time.”

“Our usual time?” you laugh, like your gas station hangouts were scheduled playdates.

He smiles, embarrassed, “Yeah, I mean… your customer service is so excellent. How am I supposed to get a Kickstart when you’re not there?”

“You know there are dozens of other gas stations and convenience stores around here.”

“Yeah, but they don’t have you.”

Something beats loudly in your chest. It sends a waterfall of warm, fizzing fireworks into your stomach.

Your apartment building is in a scary part of LA – but it’s what you can afford. Aaron was hinting at moving in together just for the ease of splitting the rent. It did sound appealing when you could actually save a little for a car.

“Thanks again for the ride,” you say, unbuckling your seatbelt.

He looks nervous again, “Anytime. And… maybe we could exchange numbers – in case you need another ride from the theatre?”

You look at him warmly, “I’m not going to ask you to come grab me when you could be in a filming week.”

He shrugs his shoulders, “I would still come.”

With a small smile, you take out your phone and open a new contact. In the name slot you put ‘Glasses.’ Spencer switches your phones and puts his number in.

You smile wider as you put your name in the contact and put a little theatre emoji after it.

“Glasses?” he asks, handing you back your phone.

“Yeah, that’s…” you brush warm fingers with him as you accept your phone. “That’s what I called you when I noticed you as a regular at the gas station. I didn’t know your name, so I gave you one in my head.”

He seems overly please about that. He has to look away from you and smile. “That’s funny, I like it. What would you do if you saw me without glasses? It would be a whole new identify to you.”

“Very Clark Kent of you,” you laugh.

He suddenly removes his gold rimmed glasses and looks at you all serious. “You’re right, during the day I’m fighting crime with the Justice League and at night I refuel at the gas station.”

“Superman refuels with energy drinks?” you laugh, causally reaching over to snatch his glasses. “I don’t know if Krypton would approve.”

“No, no – Kryptonians thrive off extra energy. Sun energy and now caffeine energy.”

His eyes are a dark green-gray color. Maybe that’s just because it’s dark outside. But you can’t decide what color they actually are. They’re definitely not brown.

You raise the glasses to your eyes and look at him. “I didn’t realize Superman was so blind.”

“It’s not that bad,” Spencer laughs, looking at you fondly.

You return the glasses, “Drive safe. Thanks again for the ride. Text me when you get home safely.”

He waves you off, waiting until you’re able to unlock your door before driving away.

Inside your apartment, you look at the chipped walls and cracked ceiling. The musty, uncomfortable couch in front of the small tv atop a table you got free off a lawn. To the right is the tiny kitchen with only one counter and no dining table.

Rummaging through a cabinet, you find a tall plastic cup to put your carnation flowers into.

The bathroom is straight ahead, where you go into to get ready for bed.

The porcelain of the tub and sink have rust stains around the handles. The tile of the floor is broken in places and the dim light above is giving off an ugly yellow glow.

You open the mirror cabinet to grab what you need to brush your teeth. Brand names are all obscure as you did get the supplies from a dollar store down the street.

If you had a little more money, you would buy a face wash and face towels. But the essentials were good enough.

You cross the hall to get to your bed. Being a studio apartment, there isn’t a separate room for your bed. It lies on the floor behind the tv stand and in front of the only window in the whole place.

The queen mattress was the one thing you spent a little more money on. It doesn’t have a headboard or support to keep it off the ground, but it was comfortable and had nice periwinkle blue sheets.

You change into sage green pajamas with little daisies on them, climbing into your bed and fumbling for the phone charger next to the mattress.

As you plug your phone in, a text message comes in from Glasses.

“Just got home. You did amazing tonight! See you later this week.”

You heart his message and give him a thank you in reply.

~~~

The end of the week is approaching and you’re at the theatre again. Headset on, you hang in the tech booth, grabbing a few more safety pins, mic tape, and alcohol wipes.

The oversized fanny pack you love to wear across your chest is open and full of supplies. You stuff the microphone items inside, watching the stage from the view of the booth.

Tracy was beginning the song Welcome to the 60s. You turn on the microphone by your mouth.

“Head to the wings for quick change pretty please.”

A muffled reply comes through the headset, “On the way, (Y/N).”

You leave the tech booth and walk out of the audience room to the side entrance of the wings. Waiting on stage right, you hold Edna’s new dress for the song. Two stage crew members help by holding accessories and waiting to take off Edna’s current costume.

“Go mama, go, go go!”

Edna comes running off to stage right, tossing their purse to the stage crew member. They wiggle out of their simple purple plaid dress and step right into the sparkly pink dress you have waiting open on the floor.

You pull up the fabric as you hear the lyrics continue on stage.

“Don’t let nobody try to steal your fun, ‘cause a little touch of lipstick never hurt no one.

The future’s got a million roads for you to choose, but you’ll walk a little taller in some high-heeled shoes.”

You zip up the dress and readjust the mic pack on the suit strap beneath. Stage crew throws a new necklace on and a sparkle to the lip makeup. The other stage crew snugs a fuller wig onto the actor, starting to pin it down onto the wig cap. You hand a feather boa to the actor and help pin the new wig in.

“Come on out, hear us shout. Mama, that’s your cue!”

Just in time, you think, sending the actor back onto stage. It always felt like a close call, but the audience shouting their surprise and praise always felt like a reward.

You smile at the stage crew members and wave them off to help with set pieces. You then take the old purple plaid costume to the rack to keep it from wrinkling on the floor.

While in the dressing rooms you meet the actress playing Penny Pingleton, “Hey, sis – I noticed your mic tape not sitting so good on your cheek.”

She smiles worriedly, the action making the mic tape unstick from her face and the microphone dangle from her ear. “Just a little.”

You pull out an alcohol wipe and roll of tape from your pack. “There might just be too much makeup in the way.” You wipe the spot where the microphone sits on her cheek, fanning your hand to make the alcohol dry.

Cutting two pieces of tape, you line the microphone and stick it in place. The actress keeps her face straight, letting it adhere.

“Thanks, (Y/N).”

“Anytime.” You leave the dressing room to find the man playing Seaweed. His mic belt kept twisting beneath his costume.

You track him down and use safety pins to secure the mic belt to his undershirt. Now as he dances and changes, the mic pack will stay in place. He shares his gratitude and runs off to the next scene.

The rest of the show goes without a hitch. The audience claps during the bows, and you give your imaginary bow to the curtains.

You begin to clean the dressing rooms when you get a text. From Glasses.

“Hey, I’m at the entrance by the concessions when you’re done in the back.”

A smile creeps onto your face. He saw the show a second time? You text back, “I’ll be there in five minutes.”

You’re quick to clean up and organize the costumes before heading out. The front was still packed with audience members trying to talk and take pictures with the cast members. You push your way towards the concessions table to see Spencer there.

He was wearing a black Creed t-shirt, arms full of silly tattoos on total display. Instead of holding flowers, he’s holding a Diet Coke from the concessions. You grin, falling out of the crowd and into him for a hug.

He catches you and hugs you back. You feel the cold soda against your shirt.

“I can’t believe you came again!” You pull away, eyes shining. You’ve never had someone to meet outside the theatre after a show before.

He extends the drink he got for you. “I told you it was an excellent show. And I wanted to bring a friend to see it too.”

A woman stands beside him, “And he misses seeing you at the gas station every day.”

You miss how Spencer nudges the woman with his elbow. You were too busy recognizing her face.

“Oh my god – oh my fucking god,” you accidentally shake the soda as you wave your hands. “You’re Angela Giarratana!”

Her brown eyes widen ridiculously, “Um… yeah, I am.”

“You were on Nerdy Prudes Must Die!”

A smile replaces the surprise on her face, “Oh, yes! I was in that show last year. You really scared me there for a second.”

Spencer licks his lips, watching the excitement on your face. “I wondered if you’d seen anything from StarKid.”

“Well, I’m a theatre kid, aren’t I?” you say, “I literally have a Hatchetfield Nighthawks letterman jacket. It’s so nice to meet you, Angela. I’m (Y/N).” You lean into a hug and Angela returns it kindly.

“I know, Spencer’s talked about you.” She steps away and compliments the show, “You did a great job with the costume design. Spencer and I were timing the quick changes.”

“I am very proud of those,” you say excitedly. “I’m sorry, I can’t stop smiling. Thank you for coming to our show. How do you know Spencer?”

Angela smacks Spencer’s arm, “We work together. He’s more behind the scenes and I’m more on camera.”

“At Smosh? That’s awesome!”

“Yeah, it’s all right,” she says, looking to Spencer and then laughing. “I gotta be careful or Spencer won’t put me in any of the videos on Games.”

You open your soda, drinking it like you were parched all night. “Are you working on any more theatre projects?”

“Eh, not at the moment,” Angela says, folding her arms. “I’m spending most of my time on Smosh sets.” She eyes you for a second before saying, “Do you have a portfolio by chance?”

“A portfolio?” you ask, wiping your lip of soda. “Of what?”

Angela rubs at her chin, “Sketches of your costume designs or makeup aesthetics. Maybe a performing arts resume. Pictures of your work on stage.”

“Um…” you pull awkwardly on the edge of your shirt. “No, not formally. But I could pull something together.”

“That’d be great. I’d love to see more of your work.”

Spencer looks incredibly pleased with himself, biting on his lips. “Would you let me give you a ride home?”

Your eyes are still shining, flitting your gaze between the two friends. “Um… yeah – that’d be great.”

All of you walk outside the theatre and towards the parking lot. Spencer is quick to open the passenger door for you and you give an awkward thank you.

Angela rolls her eyes and climbs into the back. “He’s such a doofus.” You watch Spencer walk around the hood of the car to get into the drivers side.

“A what?” you laugh.

“Just watch him – you’ll notice sooner or later.”

He climbs in and uses the seatbelt, “Watch who?”

You clear your throat, “Joey Richter. He’s another actor on StarKid Productions. He’s super talented.”

Angela snickers in the back. “What was the first thing you watched on StarKid?”

“A Very Potter Musical,” you laugh, “Way back in the day.”

“Classic,” Angela says, folding her arms and slumping into the seat. “What brought you to LA?”

You play with your fingers. “I wanted to move out of my home state. And I wanted to get more into the arts. But it’s been hard to find stable work.”

“You’re telling me. That’s the life of an actor – just jumping from one gig to another.”

“It would be the dream,” you sigh, “To do this full time. I just wish I had a little more security with it. A stable income. Not to be afraid with how I’ll afford food every month.” You awkwardly laugh as you realize you might’ve said too much. “But I’m doing all right.”

Angela agrees, “It’s hard to do well in the arts.”

“Hard to be recognized,” Spencer says. “(Y/N) already does well in the arts.”

You smile, your cheeks warm. “When is your next filming week?”

“Next week,” Angela sighs, yawning big. “Which reminds me – I gotta pick up that new pair of glasses for the office.”

“Angela is super blind and never wears her glasses during shoots,” Spencer explains. “Especially on the games channel. She’s always squinting super bad at the tv whenever we’re playing a game.”

“And I’ve been doing just fine!” Angela says loudly, “I’ve been training my eyes to see that far.”

Spencer scoffs, “Yeah, and the compilations of you squinting are growing at an exponential rate because of it.”

“Shut up!” Angela yells.

You laugh at their antics. “Are you allowed to yell at your boss like that?”

Spencer looks in the rearview mirror, “Yeah, Angela. As your superior you need to treat me with a high level of respect. I expect a full written apology and a certain amount of groveling before you’re allowed back on the Games set.” His tone was serious, but by the wide comical look in his eye, you know he’s using hyperbole as a joke.

“The heads of Smosh are actually Ian and Anthony, so don’t you even pull that superiority card!”

You keep giggling at this funnier, more outspoken Spencer. Proof that he was very comfortable with this coworker and their workplace.

It sounds nice.

~~~

Angela sits in the passenger seat now, slumped into the door and leaning her forehead against the window.

“She’s really nice.”

“Yeah,” Spencer says quietly, thoughts still lingering on you.

Angela looks over at him and smirks. “You like her so fucking much. I knew you did when you wouldn’t shut up about her at the office, but damn – seeing you with her was nearly painful.”

“What are you talking about? I’m so subtle about it.”

“So you don’t deny it!” she sits up stick straight, so fast that the seatbelt locks into place and stops her from moving anymore.

Spencer flounders, “I – what – no, that’s not what I said!”

“You totally did you little fucker! You like her so much it hurts. You like her so much your cheeks are going to burst into flames. You like her so much you can’t get a full sentence out.”

“Angela, shut the fuck up – you don’t know what you’re talking about!”

She bounces in her seat, “I’m so subtle about it. I can’t believe you. You’ve been talking about this girl for almost a year. Of course you have a crush on her!”

“Angela, I swear to god, don’t ruin this for me.”

“How would I ruin this? I want my little Spencey to have true love. You have to ask her out.”

“Yeah, genius – you’re forgetting about a teensy little detail. She has a fucking boyfriend.”

Angela freezes, sitting back. “Right.” She bites her lip, “Should have made your shot earlier.”

“And risk looking like a creep asking a girl out at a gas station? No thank you.”

“Is you considering her for the production team on Smosh an elaborate way to play the long game with her?”

“No!” Spencer grips the steering wheel, sounding like a bickering sibling. “She has real talent, and I think she deserves the position.”

Angela holds up her hands, “All right, okay.” She side eyes him with raised brows, “… but you wouldn’t be upset if she suddenly became available and you could ask her out?”

He refuses to meet Angela’s eyes. “I’m not giving you the satisfaction by answering that question.”

“You basically just answered it,” she folds her arms, “You know… I can’t promise I can keep this from Amanda. Or Shayne.”

Spencer puts his elbow against the window and holds his temple.

“Or Chanse.”

“I figured.”

Angela gave him a sympathetic smile. “For what it’s worth – I think she has a real shot. We should get her portfolio to Ian and Anthony asap.”

~~~

You’re cleaning the counters at the gas station. It’s nearing the end of your shift, almost 6am. And Spencer hadn’t visited you like he usually did. It was actually making you worried.

You had spent the last few days collecting every piece of art and experience you had to compile a portfolio. It didn’t feel like a very thick folder, but it had every ounce of hard work from the last few years.

It sits within a blue cover under the registers, waiting for Spencer to come.

“Hey!” there he comes through the door. “I’m so sorry, we had an overnight shoot, and I forgot to tell you.”

You look confused, “Spence, you didn’t have any obligation to be here. We didn’t make any plans.”

“I know, but I usually…” he looks flustered and upset. “You know, you’re right. I’m sorry.”

You smile kindly, “It’s okay. I’m not angry.”

He runs a hand through his curly hair, his eyes considering you as you clean. “This early in the morning, we both look exhausted now.”

“Aw, we have matching dark circles under our eyes!” You go under the counter to grab the blue folder. “Here’s that portfolio Angela was asking about. I wasn’t sure how to get it to her, so maybe you could take it to work?”

“Um… yeah, for sure. Thanks.”

The bell above the door rings, signaling the appearance of a new customer. Usually at this point in the mornings, customers would come in for their sustenance before work. You’re focused on Spencer, unaware of the person walking towards you.

“(Y/N), let’s go.”

You turn your eyes around and see Aaron beelining for your counter.

“Oh, hey,” you say quietly, “You’re twenty minutes early.”

“And?”

This man was over six foot, broad shouldered, and unkempt. His eyes are lazy and hard pressed, his jaw tense as you contradict him.

You wring your hands, “I’m not allowed to leave until six.”

“Well, I’m here now. Let’s go.”

“That’s…” you suck in a breath. He smells like stale beer. “Let me clock out and tell my boss.” You round the counter and are quick to enter the back rooms.

Spencer stays where he is, holding the blue portfolio, and looking at Aaron with an air of disdain. It was not the first impression he was expecting when picturing your boyfriend.

“You waiting to buy something?” Aaron asks, frowning at the way Spencer’s looking at him.

“No, I was just…” he swallows. “I was just talking with (Y/N).”

Aaron squints his eyes, hands moving to his hips. “And you know her because?”

“Because we’re friends.”

“(Y/N) doesn’t have any friends.”

“Untrue, because I’m standing right here.”

Aaron flexes his jaw, “She hasn’t mentioned you before.”

“Yes, I have,” you reappear without your nametag and your purse now around your shoulder. “I’ve talked about him a couple times.” You stand beside Spencer and instantly feel the tension.

Aaron extends his hand like he wants to take yours. “If you did talk about him, I would have remembered. We’re leaving.”

You go to hold his hand, but he moves his to grab your arm, pulling you towards the door. You turn your head to mouth, “Sorry,” towards Spencer.

Spencer waves at you, his face placid and upset. He watches out the windows to see Aaron let you go on the sidewalk to get into the car yourself. He slams the car shut, neglecting his seatbelt, and squealing out of the parking lot.

Still upset, Spencer gets into his car and contemplates his next move. His instincts told him that you weren’t completely safe. He wonders if you and Aaron have moved in together yet – he was trying to pull the ‘cheaper rent’ card on that account.

It was blatantly clear that Aaron was gaslighting you. Within three minutes, he was pegged as an asshole.

Spencer pulls out his phone and sends you a text. “Nice seeing you today, hope you get some good sleep.”

He rubs hard at his face before driving off. He plans to show your portfolio to Ian and Anthony tomorrow.

~~~

You’re sitting on the couch, playing on your PlayStation, when someone knocks on the door. Enjoying the day off, you wonder what door-to-door salesman is at your house.

You open the door and a giant smile envelopes your face, “Spencer! You didn’t tell me you were going to visit.”

He take a breath, “Um… yeah, I wanted to ask you something and I couldn’t wait until you were on shift.”

You lean against the doorframe, biting your lip. “Well, I would invite you inside, but I have to warn you… it’s not very nice.”

“I don’t care,” he says matter-of-factly. “I just want to talk.”

“All right,” you say shyly, opening the door wide. You watch his reaction, already feeling embarrassment brewing in your stomach.

Spencer looks around for a second, taking in the minimal furniture and all around lackluster state of the structure. He zeros in on the old tv displaying your video game.

“Are you playing Red Dead Redemption 2?”

“Uh… yeah,” you say quietly, holding yourself and you walk into the living room. “It’s one of my favorites.”

Spencer smiles, finding it amazing to learn something new about you that he loves. “Nice horse.”

You laugh, sitting on the couch and grabbing your controller. Your cowboy character was riding a white horse in the middle of a river. “It’s the White Arabian you have to tame by Lake Isabella.”

“Is that… like the best horse or something?” Spencer comes to sit beside you, sinking into the musty couch.

“It’s the only elite Arabian horse that you can find in the wild.”

Spencer leans against the couch arm, resting his face in one hand. “I didn’t realize you were a gamer.”

“The more you know me, the more of a nerd I become.”

“Nothing wrong with that, you big nerd.”

You giggle, “What did you want to talk about?’

Spencer clears his throat. “I uh… I took your portfolio to work.”

“What did Angela think?”

“She thought it was all great. But um… a few others got a look at it too.” He shifts uncomfortably on the couch. “There’s this job opening on the production team, specifically on the Smosh main channel. But they would help with all the channels.”

You pause the game again and really look at him. “What is the position?”

“An assistant art coordinator. They help the art directors with creating sets, costumes, and character looks.”

“And what are the responsibilities?”

“They’re looking for someone to manage hair and makeup for Smosh skits and any character work on other channels. Most of the cast do it themselves, but we do need someone who specializes in prosthetics makeup. And you seem to have done that a lot in theatre. We also need someone to manage costume work – the upkeep of them.”

You swallow hard, arms slowly moving to hold yourself. “Do you know what the salary is?”

“I think it’s around 50k-60k. You’ll make between $24 - $28 an hour.”

You bite your cheek. “That’s great.” You look at your surroundings. This new job would be paying you over $10 more than you’re getting now. “Are you saying Smosh is interested in interviewing me for assistant art coordinator?”

Spencer nods his head. “That is basically what I’m saying.”

“Did you show your bosses my portfolio on purpose?” You lower your eyes but look at him through your lashes.

He takes a deep breath, stretching out on the couch. “Maybe. Maybe I thought you deserved a chance.” He looks at you seriously, “I think you’ve got some real talent, (Y/N). You should go for an interview.”

“I… I don’t know what to say.”

“Say you’ll do it.”

You look at him, “I’m suddenly super nervous.” A laugh escapes you, “I… I have to talk to Aaron about it.”

“Okay,” Spencer says with an edge. He tries to be respectful. “Have you two…”

“We’ve moved in together,” you say softly. “To make bills a little easier. And… and as a trial run, I guess. I’ll be able to save up for a car now.”

Spencer has a finger on the corner of his mouth. “Do you think you could make an interview this Thursday?”

You think for a second, “I’m sure Aaron would be okay with that. I’ll just talk to him about it tonight.”

He doesn’t seem happy about that statement. But instead of saying something he might regret, he points to the PlayStation. “Have you completed this game before?”

“Oh, yeah – maybe three times,” you pick up the controller again. “This time I’m trying to complete all of the side quests before finishing the main story.”

“You should be wearing a cowboy hat while playing.”

“That would be awesome,” you laugh. You look at him with sincerity, “Thank you for looking out for me, Spence. I appreciate the chance.”

He gives a close-lipped smile. “Always.”

~~~

You step off the bus and begin to walk down the street. Using your phone, you follow the directions that Spencer gave you.

The Smosh office was right around the corner.

You enter the building, pulling on the only pair of dress pants you own. You readjust the simple blouse to show off the single diamond necklace you wear around your neck. You hope it gives you a professional first impression.

The main entrance of the building shows a little receptionist desk and plush chairs to wait in. You advance the desk while noticing behind it are many tables and folding chairs – probably for lunches.

“Hello, how are you?” a nice lady at the desk says.

You wave shakily, “I’m good. I’m here for an interview with Mr. Hecox and Mr. Padilla.”

She seems to find you saying their surnames comical judging by the little smile on her face. But she gestures to the plush armchairs behind you. “Sure, just wait there and I’ll call them.”

You turn around and notice that behind the chairs is a large window showing a large kitchen. The lunch tables and folding chairs makes more sense.

“Thank you,” you say, looking down at the name plate, “Selina.” You sit down and holding your famously large fanny pack in your lap. It gives you something to hold with your fidgeting hands.

Now sitting, you can see the wide windows behind Selina’s desk. There’s a long conference table in there with a television and speakers on a stand. There’s a phone speaker in the middle of the table for any people that are being called in remotely.

Behind the conference table is a little sitting area with a couch and armchair. A couple tables and folding chairs are in the rest of the open space. It’s probably a big room for any meetings with teams or big groups of people.

“(Y/N) Bennett?” someone asks. You jump and stand to see two men coming around the corner.

One is taller with dark, wavy styled hair, a nose ring, and cool tattoos spidering up his neck. He has a great smile and just radiates a natural energy you like.

The other is slightly shorter with brown hair in a classic cut. He has a scruffy beard and black square glasses. He gives very much dad energy with how he’s dressed.

“Yes,” you say rather breathlessly. “I’m (Y/N) Bennett.”

“I’m Anthony,” the taller says, “And this is Ian.”

You shake hands with them, Ian gesturing to the conference room. “We’ll meet in here.”

The three of you walk into the room and take seats around the long table. “It’s nice to meet you,” you say quietly, “Thank you for offering me an interview.”

“For sure,” Anthony says, leaning forward in his chair. Ian sits and immediately starts spinning back and forth. “We saw your portfolio and were really impressed with your work.”

“Thank you,” you say eagerly.

Ian clears his throat, “Could you tell us a little bit about yourself?”

“Well, I’m living here with my boyfriend. I’ve lived here for about two years. Before that I was in Nevada, just outside of Vegas. My family is still there,” you say quietly. “I’ve been a theatre and fine arts student all my life. I’ve been doing community and school productions since second grade. I have experience in both stage acting and in tech behind the scenes.”

“Which do you prefer?” Anthony asks.

You hold onto your fanny pack, “Right now, probably tech. I really enjoy designing costumes and putting characters together. Sometimes I do miss acting though.”

“What do you enjoy about art design?” Ian questions.

You focus on his chair spinning back and forth. “I’m a fan of storytelling. I think one of the greatest talents a person can have is in telling a story, no matter the platform. If I can be a part of that process, I’d enjoy every second. I want to show the story in costumes, hair, and makeup. It’s the most expressive way to describe a person or character.”

“Well said,” Anthony nods. “How would you manage a set when coordinating those things?”

“I would need to see the costume closet to know how to care for it. Organization is key, ensuring you don’t lose any pieces. You’d need a costume rack on set and some essentials, like safety pins, apparel tape, a lint roller, things like that. Makeup vanities will need to be disinfected and cleaned after use, brushes clean and organized. Prosthetics and stage makeup would need to be cared for to make sure we don’t share any germs and possible infections. The same goes for any hair and wig essentials.”

Ian seems a little lost in your explanation, just impressed that you were on top of it. “You have a fine arts degree, is that right?”

You nod, voice still quiet with the nerves. “That’s right. I got a bachelor’s in fine arts at Utah Tech University in St. George, Utah.”

“Is that close to where you’re from in Nevada?” Anthony asks.

You smile, “Yeah, it’s just over an hour away. It has a well known outdoor theatre called the Tuacahn Amphitheatre. I helped with a few tech things during summer shows. And then I acted at the college.”

“What shows did you act in?” Anthony asks further.

You play with your fingers. “We did Footloose, Addams Family, The Drowsy Chaperone, Elf: The Musical, Measure for Measure, and Much Ado About Nothing.”

Anthony whistles, “You did Shakespeare?”

“I love Shakespeare,” you say. “Much Ado About Nothing is my favorite play.”

“You are a major theatre kid,” Ian says, “Why don’t you act anymore?”

You squeeze your fanny pack, “I’ve gotten a little camera shy the last couple years. I prefer helping with quick changes and fixing any mic tape mishaps.”

You take a turn asking some questions about their art department and typical filming schedule. You learn about their expectations for the job and what the salary would be. It was exactly as Spencer had said.

Ian and Anthony share a look with each other before leaning forward. Anthony looks at you kindly, “Would you mind if we conference for a minute? We want to give you an answer today.”

You widen your eyes, “Yeah, of course. Thank you.”

The pair stand and excuse themselves to discuss things outside the room. You’re left in the swivel chair, picking at your fingers and praying that the interview went well. It would be incredible to be given a job that grants you the security and stable income you wanted.

There was a chance to have friends here. Spencer and Angela would be here. You would be storytelling in little comedy sketches. You’d be a part of a team that designed characters. You’d be in charge of ensuring faces weren’t shiny on camera, hair was in place, and clothes looked good.

This could be a home for you.

It takes almost ten minutes for Ian and Anthony to return. They come back with two others that are introduced as Cassie and Erin. They are art director and assistant art director for all productions.

You would be working beneath them should you be offered the position.

More questions are asked by the newcomers, and you find them to be very kind and artistic like yourself. You agree on many fronts, having many things in common. You would be happy to be working in their department.

Ian and Anthony both have smiles on their faces when they say:

“(Y/N), we want to formally offer you the position of assistant art coordinator. Responsible for hair and makeup, and the costumes of the cast. You’ll be our main reference for any special effects makeup and prosthetics. And you’ll help coordinate for all four channels.”

Tears start to form in your eyes. “Really?”

Cassie and Erin had faces full of sympathy. Cassie was covering her face with her hands. Erin was folding their arms and smiling.

Ian was standing their awkwardly, looking at your emotional reaction, but Anthony was quicker to ask. “Is that a yes?”

You laugh tearily, “Yes! Yes, I’d love to take the position. Thank you guys so much. I’m so excited – I don’t know what to say other than thank you.”

They all clap momentarily, Ian announcing, “Then we should call everyone to the lunchroom and make introductions.”

“We’ll have Selina bring up contracts to sign,” Anthony says, gesturing to the door. “You want to follow us?”

You nod enthusiastically, shaking hands with everyone on the way out. There are lots of thank yous and congratulations.

Cassie, Erin, and Ian go to round up cast and crew to the lunch tables you spotted earlier. Anthony goes to speak with Selina at the receptionist desk.

You exit the conference room, wiping tears away and clutching your fanny pack.

Spencer was there, pacing by the plush armchairs you sat in earlier. He has his arms crossed, one hand at his mouth, tracing his lips in a nervous gesture.

At your arrival, his head whips to you, eyes wide at the tears running down your face. He looks so afraid, unsure of how the interview went. But he might’ve misinterpreted your tears.

“(Y/N),” he says softly, “What… what did they say?”

He didn’t even notice the other people gathering at the lunch tables.

You walk towards him, still trying to wipe at your face, “Spence.”

He wants to hug you desperately then. He wants to comfort you. And he wants to hurt whoever decided to make you cry.

You throw your arms around his neck, burying your face there. He holds you back, still at a loss as to what the final verdict was.

“(Y/N)!” you hear Anthony, “Get over here!”

Spencer still holds you as you whisper to him, “I got the job.”

He pulls away and holds your waist, “What?”

“I got the job,” you whisper more excitedly. “They’re about to announce it to everyone.” You flounce away to stand at a counter with a few mini fridges, addressing a group of cast and crew. You notice Angela standing in the crowd.

She gives you two thumbs up and you wave back.

Spencer walks over just as Ian begins to talk.

“Hey, guys! We wanted to introduce our newest member of Smosh. This is (Y/N) Bennett!”

Anthony continues, “She will be working in the art department as an assistant art coordinator. She’ll be our head of character design and management of costumes, hair, and makeup.”

The crowd begins clapping and shouting their congratulations. Spencer joins them, standing next to Angela and a few others.

Unbeknownst to the pair of you, some cast and crew were sharing looks. People you hadn’t met yet were winking at each other. They knew full well how much Spencer wanted you to get this job.

You wave at everyone, “Hello! I’m so excited to meet you all and start working on these projects.”

Everyone breaks apart to introduce themselves.

Angela brings over a number of people, “Hey, (Y/N).” She says, “Here are some of our castmates.”

A tall woman in a beautiful jumpsuit says, “I’m Amanda, welcome to the Smosh family.”

“I’m Shayne,” a fit blonde man shakes your hand, “And this is Courtney.”

“Hi,” a blonde woman then shakes your hand, “It’s nice to meet you.”

Angela sticks her head in, “Those two are married.”

You nod, giggling, “Wonderful.”

“I’m Chanse,” a curly haired man says, giving you a hug, “Welcome to the team.”

A tall man with a great mustache waves, “I’m Tommy!”

“Hi!” you say, “It might take me a while to remember all your names. Thank you for being so welcoming. I’m so excited to start.”

“Spencer’s told us a lot about you,” Amanda says with a cheeky smile.

You look toward Spencer’s rosy face. “All good things, I hope.”

“Oh, definitely,” Shayne laughs, “He has nothing but praise for you.”

Spencer ignores the immediate retort that the single worst thing about you is your boyfriend. “You guys need to calm down.”

“Can we give you a tour?” Amanda asks, taking your arm, “The office has a lot of sets and rooms.”

Courtney appears on your other side, “We can show you the art department and the costumes closet!”

“And the makeup vanities,” Chanse says, already leading the way, “There are a couple by the sets, but there is one in the green room where Angela takes her naps.”

“Hey!” Angela instantly retorts, “Hey, hey, hey… uncalled for!”

Amanda scoffs, “But true.”

Angela snorts, “Yeah, sure.”

You are dragged away by Amanda and Courtney, Chanse and Angela still bickering along the way.

Spencer stays where he is with Shayne. The latter having a very knowing smirk on his face. Spencer ignores him as long as he can.

“Have you ever been told that you shouldn’t make faces because you’ll be stuck that way?”

Shayne chortles, “I’m just curious how you feel about this.”

“Clearly you already have a theory.”

“I do, based purely on the last eleven months of you pining over this girl.”

“I am incapable of pining.”

Shayne wheezes, “Yeah, sure. What do you call bringing up (Y/N) whenever possible, talking through ways to introduce yourself to her, workshopping conversations with me to get to know her…”

“All of those things were in confidence.”

“And all blatant examples of pining over a woman you’ve grown attached to!”

Spencer licks his lips, watching you being dragged by Angela towards the pods of employee desks. “I don’t… I can’t do anything about it now.”

“I’ve never seen you like this, man,” Shayne chortles. “It’s kind of throwing me off right now. You don’t talk about girls much.”

“The dating apps have been seriously lacking the last year.”

“Because you’ve been talking up some chick at the gas station,” Shayne laughs again. “I have to commend you for playing the long game.”

Spencer shakes his head, “I have to be fine with being just friends.”

But that didn’t mean he couldn’t try to be your best friend.

[mellowquint]

Fanbinding Masters of Mayhem - a Ninjago and Lego Monkie kid crossover!!!

FINALLY after weeks of putting the project on the shelf i finally have the (motivation) free time to complete this amazing bookbind!!! Shoutout to my best friend who came to me and ask if i could bind it. So what better birthday gift than to bind her current favourite crossover story? At the time of this post i have not given the gift to her yet so fingers crossed that she likes this 🤞😖

Thank you FictionForLife_NZ for creating this absolute hilarious masterpiece!! I have been wanting to read an LMK crossover fic for the longest time and low and behold, the ao3 algorithm has answered my prayers lol. Me and best friend really love the character interaction that the Ninja’s have with the LMK crew 😂. Also the shipping!! Best friend absolutely LOVES dragonfruit but was sad that they didn’t have as much of a fandom dedication as opposed to spicynoodles. So imagine her suprised (and scream) that dragonfruit is the main pairing in the story and their many iconic moments together!! Also the climax truly had me at the edge of my seat!! And that ending?? Gosh couldn’t have asked it better myself Ninjago writers really should take notes ✍️!!! Anyways enough rambling here’s the fic if you would like to give a read, absolute 10/10

Flip through

Some close ups

also yes excuse me and my terrible phone and room lighting it did not do this book justice.

Unfortunately I couldn’t find any fanart that was related/tagged so there was no illustrations for the book. However thats when i had the idea of making the chapter title in the same font as the Ninjago font! To make it seem like every new chapter is an episode!

Also unfortunately couldn’t tag the author since i can’t find their tumblr. If any of you know if said author does have tumblr please let me know!

If you’re all curious on how i make this, i recommend going to the first bookbinding project that i did, its all the same process except with some new improvements that im gonna talk about under the cut

I definitely learned a lot from my mistakes from the last time that i did this, and of course gain new mistakes as well 🥲.

The edges aren’t trimmed

The cover isn’t aligned

The printing for the covers are garbage

Book would not lay flat, instead forever stuck at a weird 120 degree angle

Overall a lot of stuff

This was a given by the fact that i have no experience and was impatient. But since this is a gift for Best Friend ofc this has to actually look good, so here are the improvements that i made

Signature printing— i will admit it took some time and effort but after the old cannon printer finally died permanently jammed, managed to convince parents to buy a more advanced and better printer that can now do double sided printing!! No more wasted signatures from here on out 😮‍💨

Cover printing — not wanting a repeat of the last time that i did it i went to my local Officeworks to get it printed by them. Here i discovered the beauty that is known as ✨Poster Prints✨. Now all of my yellow lines and elements actually do show an pop against the darker background!! Unfortunately this does have a drawback because the prints are sensitive to any type of scratching. Not the scratch and all the colors come off way, more like the scratch it and lines will show up kind of way as you can really see in the front cover :') . Will work on improving this is future projects.

Trimming the edges — originally in book one i trimmed the edges using your typical box cutter and cut it myself. Bad BAD idea i was doomed at that moment. So imagine my surprise the Officeworks ALSO do CUTTING service!!! My jaw dropped and i immediately went back the next day with my text block and asked them if they could trim all edges. After some inspection they put it through the guillotine and all of my edges are perfectly trimmed. Saved me all the time, money, and storage.

Laying book flat — this was definitely the biggest pet peeve that I have with my first book. The way i do it now is i now put a one cm gap between the front cover, side cover and back cover. And also using the right paper (cardstock) to connect the text block with the covers. Now the book can actually fully open!!!

Cover alignment — I printed out the front and back in regular paper and use that as a template on where i wanna fold the prints to find the cover. Worked like a charm

once again shoutout to best friend for giving me the brilliant idea when making the covers!! had it not been for her to point out about clause's book of spells i would have never made the coolest cover page that I've made in my entire binding experience!! all in all im pretty dang proud of myself for being able to improve on my bookbinding skill.

[captainsophiestark]

Guest Appearance

Dick Grayson x Reader

Masterlist - Join My Taglist!

Written for my personal fic writing challenge for 2024, Sophie's Year of Fic! Featuring a new fic being posted every Friday, all year long :)

Fandom: DC

Summary: As a PA on a nightly talk show with all kinds of celebrity guests, the job always comes with some level of unexpected chaos. But when Dick Grayson's interview is interrupted by a New York supervillain, the events of the night might reach a whole new level of wild adventure

Word Count: 2,967

Category: Fluff, Humor, maybe a little bit of Angst

Putting work into an AI program without permission is illegal. You do not have my permission. Do not do it.

"Can you believe he's really here?"

"No. How is it possible that he's somehow hotter in person?"

I stifled a laugh behind my hand and turned to look at my coworker, Tara, who had an absolutely shameless grin on her face. I shook my head, but I couldn't stop a similar smile from spreading across my own face, too.

We'd become work besties since we got hired and added to the crew of the same talk show together at the same time. We'd worked with a laundry list of truly incredible guests (and some truly terrible ones), but today was officially the record best for the both of us.

Richard Grayson, the famous, charming philanthropist and eldest son of Bruce Wayne was our guest for today's show. My job was making sure talent knew where to go and that they got there on time, so even better, I'd actually been able to interact with him a bit.

"Was he nice?" asked Tara, keeping her voice low as we watched our host go through the interview as planned. "Please tell me he was nice. I don't think I could handle it if he was an asshole."

"Oh, Tara, he was so sweet. You should've seen the smile he gave me when we were introduced. And he remembered my name, he said thank you specifically to me when I got him to the stage earlier!"

Tara sighed. "I'm in love."

"Honestly? Same."

The two of us fell into comfortable silence as we returned our attention to the shoot before us. The host was asking about some charity work Dick Grayson and his dad had gotten behind recently, and every time the host tried to give him accolades, Dick deflected and turned all the attention back to the volunteers and the people they were trying to help.

I was quite literally melting. Next to me, Tara seemed to be having the same reaction.

"I wish he could come on every week," she muttered, shaking her head. "They're about to wrap this part though, I need to get in position to set up for the game they're gonna play. Continue this after the show?"

"You're on."

She shot me a wink, then headed over to where all the props were resting for the game our host was going to play with Grayson. I turned my attention back to the interview, then frowned. Something weird was going on with the backdrop of the set. The color was changing to an icier white, as if frost was spreading across it. I squinted, trying to get a closer look, when everything around me exploded.

Cold wind swept through the studio as the lights went out. Members of the audience screamed, and I whirled around a moment later to see exactly why. Killer Frost, one of the supervillains who sometimes operated here in New York, was at the top of the audience seats, sending ice and freezing wind through the entire studio.

I shook my head, taking a few steps backwards before I thought better of it. I turned to the main stage where our host, guest, and a few others had been, searching for anybody I could help out of here, only to find it empty. A moment later Tara rushed up to me, a panicked look in her eye.

"Tara! You have to get out of here!" I said, trying to be heard over the increasing commotion as Killer Frost slowly but surely made her way down the stairs and towards the main stage, moving as if she had all the time in the world. "Get anybody you can to follow you, go down the stairs and get the hell out of here as fast as you can! And call somebody for help on your way out!"

Tara nodded, her grip on my forearm still like iron.

"Are you coming with me?"

I glanced over her shoulder at Killer Frost with a grimace, then turned back to Tara and shook my head.

"I want to see if I can help anybody else get out of here, especially Grayson. Talent's supposed to be my responsibility, and it seems like she's probably after him for a ransom or something. Since he's not familiar with the studio, I don't want him getting lost or stuck somewhere if there's something I can do to help."

Tara shook her head, but I started pushing her towards the exit and moving in the opposite direction before she could stop me.

"Go! I'll meet you outside!"

With that, I turned on my heel and ran.

Thankfully, I'd gotten to know this place well enough in the time since I'd started working here that I was able to navigate quickly through the back hallways. Everything back here was deserted now, which hopefully meant that everyone else had already gotten out. I threw open every door I passed anyway, looking for stragglers trying to hide that I might be able to send out the back stairs instead, getting them further out of harm's way.

The temperature in the hallway dropped with every extra second I spent here, and I knew I was running out of time, but I was determined to finish checking this space. Every room so far had been empty, but the last door at the end of the hall was our guest dressing room. Once I cleared it, I could get the hell out of here myself. With one quick glance over my shoulder to make sure Killer Frost hadn't reached this place yet, I threw open the last door on my list.

I froze in the doorway, but not because of a supervillain. Basically the opposite, actually. Before me, in the middle of the room, was Dick Grayson. He was shirtless, but more notably, he was halfway into the very recognizable superhero costume of Nightwing.

We locked eyes, just staring at each other for a few long moments while my brain tried to compute what I was seeing. I blinked, thinking this had to be a prank or an illusion or something, but then the temperature dropped another few degrees and Dick Grayson—Nightwing—started moving.

"What are you doing in here?" he asked as he quickly pulled on the top half of his suit. I just shook my head, trying to get my brain engaged again.

"I... I was checking if anybody was still here, I wanted to make sure you got out the back stairs since Killer Frost is probably here for you... are you seriously Nightwing?"

Dick grimaced as he slipped on a domino mask, giving me all the confirmation I needed.

"I'd appreciate it if you didn't tell anybody. But right now, you need to get out of here."

"Right. Right, yeah, you're right."

Dick nodded, crossing the room to gently take my arm and lead me out of it. I turned to the door at the end of the hallway that would lead to the stairs and out of the building, but before I could take so much as a step towards it, a blast of ice exploded against the wall, sealing the door completely shut.

I heard Dick swear under his breath as he yanked me back against his chest, moving me out of harm's way just in time.

"Get in the dressing room and keep your head down," he muttered to me before gently pushing me in that direction. I paused in the doorway to watch as he slowly turned to face Killer Frost, who'd finally caught up to us.

Nightwing shot me a wink and a confident smile before stepping forward, past where I could see his face. I knew I needed to take cover; I couldn't do much against Killer Frost, and neither could Nightwing if he was worried about protecting me. But before I shut the door, I figured there was one last thing I could do to try to help him.

"Dick, take cover back there," I said, faking pushing someone just beyond sight of the doorway from the hallway. "Nightwing's here, he's going to take care of it. It's going to be okay."

I wasn't sure if that would convince Killer Frost, or if Nightwing's secret identity was even something I should be concerned about right now, but I figured it at least couldn't hurt to try to help him out. I chanced one last glance behind me, but couldn't see more than a blinding flash of light as the two supers collided and I shut the door.

I took a deep breath, trying to gather myself. It still didn't seem completely real—it felt like a mistake. Richard Grayson, the famous son of Bruce Wayne, was one of the last people I'd expect to be a vigilante. Yet the proof was pretty irrefutable.

I crossed the room, shakily easing down into the nearest chair. Hopefully Dick, or Nightwing, or whoever the hell he was would be able to beat Killer Frost. If he wasn't, this room would surely be her next stop, and she'd probably be pretty disappointed to just find me, without the billionaire's son she'd been looking for.

The clashing and shouting sounds of fighting continued outside, setting my nerves on edge with every second that passed. Finally, they came to a stop, and that was honestly worse. I perched on the edge of my seat, ready to jump up at a moment's notice, and watched the door like a hawk. I shot halfway to the ceiling when it came flying open, then collapsed back onto the couch when I saw it was just Nightwing.

"You scared the hell out of me," I breathed, putting a hand to my chest. He shot me a grin as he slammed the door shut behind him.

"Sorry about that. I don't have a lot of time to spare, here."

"You... won, right? You beat Killer Frost?"

He nodded before ducking behind a rack of clothes to one side of the room. I could still see his face as he slipped off the domino mask, revealing the kind but non-super guest of the show that I'd met earlier today.

"She's unconscious, and I made sure she was subdued for whichever authorities get here first. But I couldn't stay out there to wait for them, since it might make my identity a little obvious. Especially when they checked this room and found you alone in here."

I huffed a laugh. "Yeah, people might have a few questions about that, my boss included."

He shot me a smile that made me melt, then stepped out from behind the rack of clothes a moment later, his nice suit for the talk show looking as good as when he'd first come in this morning. I frowned.

"What?" he asked. I shook my head, gesturing to his overall appearance.

"You look too put together. You were almost kidnapped by Killer Frost, you got shoved into this room by a vigilante and me... I don't know, I think you're supposed to look a little more rumpled."

He laughed. "You know, that's a good point. Hold on."

He ran his hands through his hair a few times to mess it up, then ripped at his nice white button up shirt until it looked sufficiently messy. Once he'd finished, he turned back to me with a smile, arms out to his sides.

"How's this?"

I smiled. "So good you might need to start worrying about the threat our hair and wardrobe people might pose to your safety when they see you instead of Killer Frost."

"I'll take it," he said, still beaming. A moment later though, the smile melted off his face and he took a step towards me. "Look... I appreciate your help covering my identity with Killer Frost... can I trust you to keep doing that? Nobody knows this secret."

I stared at Dick, one of the nicest guests we'd ever had on this show and apparently secretly the superhero Nightwing, as he came to a stop just a few inches from me. His wide, sparkling blue eyes and messy black hair made my heart melt and race all at the same time. I still didn't really know him, although I now knew something pretty major about him, but nevertheless, I couldn't help feeling that my sense about him—that he was a good, kind person—was right on.

I took a deep breath to give him an answer when the door to the room came flying open. On instinct, I shoved Dick backwards and behind the couch, and stepped forward. My producer, the show's host, and someone I assumed was a detective here for Killer Frost stared back at me.

"What happened?" I demanded, trying to look scared and wary as I shifted slightly backwards towards Dick. "Where is... is she gone?"

Everyone in the room relaxed a little at my question, the detective nodding as Dick stepped up to stand next to me.

"Killer Frost has been neutralized," she said. "What happened to the two of you?"

I glanced at Dick, still making a show of being rattled, and he did the same. I took a deep breath and turned back to the trio before us.

"I ran down here to try to make sure everyone got out, but Killer Frost showed up before Dick and I could make a run for it. She would've..." I paused, letting my gaze go a little unfocused as I swallowed hard, doing my best to sell the fear of the experience, which really wasn't all that hard. "I think we would've been in some serious trouble, but Nightwing showed up in the nick of time. He told us to wait in here while he took care of Killer Frost. Is he... is he okay?"

The three people before us shared a look, before the detective's eyes slid over me and Dick standing beside me. I very intentionally didn't look at him, instead focusing on keeping my eyes wide and worried. After a moment, the detective sighed and shrugged.

"He's not here and Killer Frost is subdued on the floor, so I'd say it's safe to assume he's fine," she said. I sighed, letting my shoulders relax and leaning slightly into Dick. He slumped a little too, putting a hand on my shoulder, like the both of us were incredibly relieved. We sat down on the couch together while the detective made sure we were both alright, and then my producer and the show's host checked in as well. They'd obviously decided not to finish filming today, and Dick was kind enough and thankfully in town long enough that we were able to schedule an alternate filming day.

Once we'd finished going through plans and questions and being checked on, we were told to head outside and go home. Dick and I didn't say much to each other throughout the process, until we stepped outside the building together, the sun shining down on the both of us. I took a deep breath then turned to Dick, only to find him already watching me with a smile.

"Thanks for that," he said. I returned his smile.

"Thanks for saving the day," I replied. "And I know it wasn't really your choice to share... you know... with me, but I promise your secret's safe."

Dick met my eyes, the smile off his face and replaced by a much more serious expression. He took a breath, then slolwy nodded.

"I believe you. Thank you."

The corner of my mouth quirked up, and we just stayed there for a moment together, letting the new reality wash over us. Even though we'd only met today, and neither of us knew the other well, things felt different, and closer, than they had before, now that we'd shared such a wild experience today.

"So... I know tonight, you probably just want to go home and get some breathing room from everything," Dick started, his eyes drifting to the city around us as he spoke. I watched him carefully, one eyebrow raised. "But I was thinking... after I come back for our replacement shoot, maybe I could take you out to dinner once we're done? I at least owe you a drink for everything we just went through together."

I laughed. "You owe me a drink? I'm pretty sure Nightwing is the only reason I'm not a frozen popsicle in that studio right now."

Dick smiled, and I couldn't help mirroring his expression as my heart pounded in my chest.

"But... I'd love to take you up on dinner," I continued, ignoring the rush of blood and nerves in my ears. "As long as you know the first round of drinks is on me."

Dick absolutely beamed back at me.

"Deal. Here, let me get your number and we can coordinate the best place for dinner and drinks."

"Perfect," I said, somehow keeping my hand from shaking as I held out my phone to him and took his in return. We exchanged numbers, then shared another smile as we handed back each other's phones. "Well... I guess I'll see you soon, then?"

"Can't wait." He flashed a grin that made me melt, then took a step closer to me and lowered his voice. "And thanks again for all your help today. I really, really appreciate it."

I nodded. "Likewise. Happy I could help."

He shot me a wink and another smile, then backed away, heading down the street and away from the building that housed our studio. He waved over his head at me as he went.

"See you soon!" he called. I grinned and waved after him.

"See you soon!"

I watched him go until he turned a corner, then finally started making my own way home. I didn't expect to end the day with a date scheduled with Dick (no matter how many times Tara and I had joked about it), but I was certainly happy with the unexpected outcome, despite what it took to get here.

****************

Everything Taglist: @rosecentury @kmc1989 @space-helen

[n0vatsu]

HELLOOZZ

✧I AM SILAS (Originally Amacha/Tsutsuji but idrc if my old moots call be by those names)✧

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[curvydave]

Hey, I went through some of your fics, and they are so good! The Frost and Torbek affection headcanons are one of my favorites. It was very in character while also being well written, making me feel immersed while reading it. Seeing that your requests are open, I couldn't resist making a request. Can you please do blind monk reader ( their blindness causes them to only see basic colorful blobs of things. Heavily relying on magically sensing their surroundings. Bonus points if the others don't know about their condition ) with the OUAW gang? Be it a headcanon, or a one shot doesn't matter much. Go crazy with it. I never had the best eye sight, so reading about a blind reader would make my day. Plus, we need more disabled readers within the Loa x reader fandom. If you can't do this request, please ignore it. Anyways, have a very lovely day!

Absolutely!! Sorry this took so dang long -- I hope this is okay! I very much wanted to do this justice -- I really love this concept. I thought of a lot on how this would actually work, and while not all of my thoughts made it in, I had a lot of fun with it. Might play with this idea more later! No specified relationships, its all pretty platonic... but Frost being Frost can be read as a little flirty, if you squint. Enjoy!

Everything has its own hum -- not an audible sound, but a resonance that dances between the gaps of the synapses of those willing to attune to it. Protons bouncing in the water that rushes through the tissues of towering trees create deep feelings of intuition in the mind, filling in the gaps of depth that the eye can't quite detect. Each and every living being has a vibration, and every movement is a waterfall of understanding… and Gods, its tiring to keep track of.

You sigh, finally letting your magic drop for the night as you lean back against the log behind you. In an instant, the strong thrums of chaotic energy dissipate, leaving you with a feeling of peace, and the familiar, amorphous streaks of green and black as the campfire flickers in the open air. The monastery you call home -- however far away it may be now, as you traipse through the Feywild -- taught you to sense that which lies beyond; although, such magic isn't without its own drawbacks. It was a bit more tolerable in the overworld, but the chaotic and at times overwhelming energy of the Feywild has been leaving you with a headache at the end of the day more often than not. You breathe in, and then out, reveling in the cool night air as the tension seeps out of your body. After the day you've had, you'd be happy to fall asleep right here, right now… but, the scent of Kremy's cooking on the fire keeps you awake just that extra bit longer.

The scent of Agwé twists its way through the clearing, notes of garlic and expertly browned meats bringing memories of your home away from home, and you feel a smile rise to your face. No matter how tough the road ahead is, its little comforts like these that remind you that you'll get through it together. You close your eyes, mulling over your potential choices for tomorrow, but before you can get too deep into your thoughts, you're snapped back to reality by the soft footfall of Frost. You find it harder than you thought to open your eyes again, although you perk up much faster at the scent of dinner -- this time, much closer than before. Frost bends down, extending the bowl towards you silently, and you murmur out a quiet "thank you" as you take it from him. Your fingertips lightly brush against his the backs of his hands as you do, providing a guide to take the warmed bowl.

You've never talked about how you view the world to the rest of the Crew, and they've never asked. You navigate just fine through the world, and so really, you've never felt the pressure to divulge such information.

You feel Frost settle down next to you, eating in silence for a few moments. The cold night air, combined with the fire at your back, provides a pleasant, soothing sensation, coaxing your body into a more physical sense of peace. The tension leaving your body is the culmination of more than the mental strain of constant magical innervation -- its exhaustion not just from the mind, but from the body. Every step further into the Feywild has brought new challenges to you all -- the journey has always carried an undertone of weight, with the threat of Remy Garou hanging over all of your heads like a collective axe -- but after your collective experience with the beast beyond the veil, it seems like everything has been tinged with an extra element of danger. More combat, more scrapes and bruises, and--

"May I see your hands?" Frosts voice breaks you out of your thoughts. It takes a moment to process the request, but once you do you place the bowl onto the ground, and hold your hands out. His hands envelop your own, soft fur and just-as-soft paw pads brushing against your skin as he brushes his fingertips along the surface. He turns them this way and that, and you realize he's searching for injury when he drags his thumb over a particularly bad scratch.

"Do you have any other wounds?" He asks, and thankfully, you don't have to lie.

"Nope! Not this time," you grin.

The last fight wasn't easy, but thankfully, you all got out mostly unscathed. A blessing, considering how tapped-out of magic Gricko is tonight. You're sure he'd heal you if you asked, but you'd like to let the poor goblin rest tonight -- you know your hands will just get banged up again tomorrow, anyways. And it seems the Tabaxi is in agreement, as he slowly releases your hands, allowing you to return to your meal. His gentle hum and the clinking of silverware signal to you that he's resumed eating as well.

"How much time do you think has passed?" You ask, tone light, "Back home, I mean."

He takes a moment, thinking. You can practically hear the gears turning in his mind, before he speaks again. "Perhaps only a few seconds, if the timeline with Torbek is accurate. I don't know why everyone is under the impression that years have passed. Why do you ask?"

You sigh, over-exaggerated and playful. "I think I left the fireplace on at home."

He laughs quietly. "I should hope not. We were at a bar the night before we left, you never went home. I fear your house would have been gone before even getting to the Carnival."

"Were we?" You blink, almost owlishly. Frost's memory never ceases to amaze you. Despite only having spent a few days in the Feywild… "It feels like a lifetime ago." But there's no time to reminisce, as the heavy footfall of Gideon coming behind you snaps you out of your thoughts.

"We sure fucking were," he says, plopping down next to the two of you with a heavy thud. The rest of your friends follow soon after, and you feel Hootsie's head land in your lap as she snuggles up with you. "I will never forget that night. I'm telling you, if Pierre didn't fuck with our drinks, we 'woulda won that whole pot. And we wouldn't have to do none of this Feywild nonsense."

"No point in checking on my house when we get back, then," You run your hand over Hootsie's feathers, placing your bowl to the side for the time being. She hoots happily from your lap, clearly enjoying the attention.

Kremy's voice pipes up from somewhere on your right. "Well when we get back, you won't need that house, beacuse Madryck's fortune is gonna net us all a new one. Hell, two houses! Gonna pay off Garou, and then we're all gonna live as comfortably as we want, no questions asked."

And it's that keyword: When. When you get back, not if. You look around at your group of friends, familiar rainbows of color blurring together as the light from the campfire bounces off their forms, and feel a warm wave of confidence flow through you. The road ahead is long and hard -- there's no guarantee of survival, of success, of anything. And yet, its the casual statement that you'll all be okay, said so confidently, that makes you believe.

"Can Torbek live with you guys too?"

A throat clears. "We'll cross that bridge when we get to it, Torbek."

You grin, aiming a playful kick in the direction of Kremy's voice. It connects, and after the brief grunt of surprise -- or maybe pain -- the gator speaks again. "I mean, sure, yeah, you can live with one of us."

"Can I come too?" Twig asks, barely heard over Torbek's cheer of excitement, and Gideon is quick to reassure her that she'll always have a place with the lot of you. Conversation flows easily for the rest of the night -- exhausted, but grateful for the company of one another. You'll be okay -- all of you will be okay.

And you think the first thing you'll buy when you get home is a nice, new bed.

[alazulite]

Blue-Green Amongst the Stars, with a Dash of Pink (36194 words) by MunTheOddity Chapters: 6/? Fandom: Steven Universe (Cartoon) Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Lapis Lazuli & Peridot (Steven Universe), Lars Barriga & Off Colors, Peridot & Steven Universe, Lapis Lazuli & Peridot & Pumpkin (Steven Universe), Peridot & Pumpkin (Steven Universe), Lars Barriga & Lapis Lazuli, Lapis Lazuli/Peridot (Steven Universe) Characters: Lapis Lazuli (Steven Universe), Lars Barriga, Peridot (Steven Universe), Rhodonite (Steven Universe), Fluorite (Steven Universe), Rutile Twins (Steven Universe), Padparadscha (Steven Universe), Steven Universe Additional Tags: Angst and Feels, Outer Space, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canon Compliant, Pink Lars Barriga, Action/Adventure, Queerplatonic Relationships Summary:

Amidst the vastness of the galaxy, Lapis drifted. She had flown into the vacuum, desperate to escape the Diamond's wrath, yet weighed down by the sum of all she left behind. No matter what she did, or how far she flew, nothing of the past really escaped her mind, and for the moment, she had no one but herself to turn to in the confines of outer space itself.

All the while, Lars and the Off-Colors kept themselves together as best as they could. Having dodged everything from Elite Citrines to Emerald and her associate's fleets, they finally find themselves in the Milky Way, closer than ever to Earth. Despite the hope of this moment, the fear of an imperial ship standing in their way lingers in their mind, as their flight from Homeworld has taken its toll on the Sun Incinerator, and it's residents.

Despite the vastness of the galaxy, and against all odds, these two would come across each other. Whether or not they would band together was a matter of their own design.

Chapter Summary:

Lars and the Off-Colors take stock of the damage done to the Sun Incinerator, following their daring escape from the Galactic Center. They also find themselves in the company of Lapis Lazuli once more, who initially declines to join their band.

---

Surprise! Yet another chapter's out!

Despite sacrificing my sleep for it, I feel..pretty good actually. This chapter especially takes a bit of a breather from all of the action of the last three chapters.

(This is totally me fr)

In terms of what's there: In essence, I was especially glad to get to the part where Lapis and the Off-Colors would more substantively interact, though it's still brief at this point. Lapis isn't known for sticking around so easily, unfortunately.

I also had to ask others about their take/what they think Lapis would do in this situation, as I was at a bit of an impasse. From there though, the words flowed (hahahahaha).

Also, it's a pleasure to write the interactions of the Off-Colors in general- I truly imagine them to be a capable crew, who have especially grown to trust each other as time goes on.

This chapter's got more of the dialogue and the characters this time, I hope I nailed that down. Of course, this calm is probably not to last, but you'll see how that's the case.

Oh, and as for the Lapidot tag? That hasn't been as relevant aside from the angsty crumbs I'm laying (It's from Lapis's side, of course there's angst at this point). But rest assured…I have plans for those two. Big plans….

(It isn't anything evil, I swear.)

So, there you guys have it! Enjoy- and please do leave me your thoughts, they're most appreciated!

[vintagevixyxol]

An alphabet of old language in the “Dark rise” by C.S.Pacat

Or something like this…

Disclaimer: I am new in this fandom, so I will be really sorry if the same work already exists. I did not want to duplicate someone`s work. Also, please, correct me if I miss something or make mistakes!

And remember: it`s just a theory.

"There is no sense in strange inscriptions", I thought, when I saw it in books for the first time. However, last evening I decided to compare translations with pictures in the book and found out that this language was not as hard for reading as I considered. I`d like to share my ideas about this topic and, if it would be interesting, to discuss some moments, which I can`t explain right now.

Some rules:

The main axiom is that one letter in English is one letter in this language.

“Tails” of vowels are pointing upward in every case.

“Tails” of consonants are pointing downward in most situations. (not always)

All letters add up in a line. (Part of the ship, part of the crew).

A dash line helps with selecting letters and words, but not always.

Full analysis will be only about the first example.

The key: “Rassalon the First Lion”. (Chapter 10)

This phrase is the best start for a work, because there are a plenty of repeating letters in words. Аll what I need is to find similar elements and to highlight them different colors.

Step 1 — selecting similar letters

"Rassalon..." and other words

We have double S in “RaSSalon”, so it is easy to notice similar details in the beginning. S also in the “FirSt”.

Double S are between two A, so they might stand in the edges.

R is left alone in the beginning, but it will be in “FiRst”.

L — "Lion"

O—"LiOn"

N — “LioN”

"...the First Lion"

T — in “The” and “FirsT”

i — in “First” and “Lion”

!(why “i” is small I will explain later)!

Step 2 — non-repeating letters

New letters: H, e (!!) and F.

An analysis of other phrases

“He is coming” (Chapter 11)

New letters: C, M and G.

And "e", but I will tell about it later.

“I cannot return when I am called to fight So I will have a child” (Chapter 2)

New letters: U, W, D, V and I(!)

I and i are different. Why? In my opinion, it might be because “I” is a pronoun in this case.

“Enter only those who can” (Chapter 15)

New letters: Y, E, e.

E and e are different. Perhaps, it is because “E” in the beginning?

“The horn all seek and never find” (Chapter 15)

New letter: K.

The conclusion

the illustration of the alphabet

I`m very grateful to my sister, who painted all illustrations for my article.

The investigation amused me a lot even if the alphabet is incomplete. Information isn`t enough at this moment, so I hope the second part of book will give new letters and new rules of old language. This is the new reason why I am exited of waiting for the “Dark heir”. I hope, dear reader, you share my delight of this discover.

For enthusiasts I`ll leave examples, which I created myself, below.

For others — thanks a lot for your attention!

My examples for translations :)

The first example for practice

The second example for practice

The third example for practice

One hilarious fact, before I end

English is not my native language, so I read “Dark rise” in the first time in my language. And I have two different paper editions 2021 and 2022 years.

I decided to compare pictures in books and…

There are SAME ILLUSTRATIONS every time, when there must be inscriptions in old language. If there is a short phrase, they cut THIS ILLUSTRATION and left only the begining of it. In other words, it is one illustration throughout two books.

I could understand if they did it only in the edition by 2021 year, but they did not! As well it doesn`t fit in my theory, because most of letters are different than previous ones.

Now I have some questions for other fans:

Was this illustration in the first edition?

Do you meet it in other translations? (or is it the joke of my translation?)

What is the key, if somebody know?

I tried to translate it as I did it before, but it was the mess. Therefore, I am open to new ideas.

(it is a scan from my paper book)

Thanks for reading! P.S. If you decide to share my work, please specify my authorship.

[deskgirl]

Fandom: Our Flag Means Death Rating: General Main Characters: Ivan, Izzy Hands, Edward Teach Setting: Pre-series, during the rise of Blackbeard

I am oh so very late for Ivan's week of the Izzy and Crew Event, but please enjoy this one-shot of how Ivan joined Blackbeard's crew.

Excerpt:

“You’re ready then?” the man asked.

Ivan gave a humorless smile. “Actually, I left my good axe stowed with my hammock, if you’ll let me—”

The man in black crossed the deck in three quick strides and attacked.

~

Interview with a Pirate

~

It was a funny thing, Ivan reflected as he struck a man upside the head with a round shot and sent his teeth flying—the career of piracy, that is. It wasn’t something most people set out to do. There wasn’t a proper brick-and-mortar school for it, and there weren’t any formal applications or interviews, save for the odd fellow in the back of a bar looking for any warm body willing to put their mark on a piece of paper. 

Piracy was something you fell into, more or less.

Ivan hadn’t set out to be a pirate. His dad had passed when Ivan was young so he had no connections or learning, and he didn’t have a touch delicate enough to help his mum craft the combs she sold. That left him to pick up any odd, miserable job he could find. When your choices were spinning cat-gut, sifting through trash heaps, or working sails on a ship of ill repute, it wasn’t much of a choice. Sure, sailing with pirates meant you had to kill a guy every now and then, but Ivan was pretty good at that. 

Ivan hit the other fellow a couple more times just to make sure he wouldn’t get back up, then took stock of his situation. He was the only person left on the gun deck to defend the stairs down to the powder magazine. Everyone else had gone up top to fight. Ivan supposed he could load up a cannon himself and try putting a hole through the enemy ship, but it was much harder without someone else to help. Plus, he didn’t feel particularly motivated to put in the extra effort. If he were being honest with himself, he’d been dissatisfied with the workplace environment for a while now. If he didn’t die today, he might go about finding employment elsewhere.

Captain Afzal wasn’t the worst boss, but he was careless, presumptuous, and thought too much of himself all around. Any captain was bound to have their faults. Usually, though, they had the brains or skills to make up for it. Afzal had neither. He expected other people to clean up his messes, didn’t give half a thought to the daily running of his ship, never took the advice of his sailing master, and, most notably and recently, thought it was a good idea to open fire on a ship with no flag flying. 

Ivan could’ve told Afzal that proper European ships loved two things above all else: a good keg of wine and showing off their country’s colors. Which meant the unmarked ship could only be bootleggers or other pirates.

Turns out they’d been pirates.

Ivan stooped to check the dead man for anything useful. He had a couple of boarding axes on him that he’d kept in good condition. Ivan could appreciate a well-maintained blade. 

“So that’s what was taking Matthews so long,” a thin voice said. 

Ivan looked up from where he was crouched. 

On the stairs, one arm braced casually against the frame, was a man all in black, his hair slicked back and blood flecking his face, a saber held loosely in his other hand. He wasn’t looking at Ivan but rather at the body. Ivan expected anger, but the man only seemed disappointed. 

The man in black sighed and gave Ivan a thoughtful look before he stepped down onto the deck. Ivan surged to his feet, hatchets in hand. He was immediately struck by how small the other man was. If not for the sword in his hand, Ivan might’ve discounted him as a threat entirely. He wasn’t sure the man even had the range to stab him. 

“You’re in my way,” the man in black said casually. He swept his blade in a quick, fluid circle. Flashy. Overconfident. Dismissive. And in a few seconds? A dead man.

Then his stance shifted, and alarm bells sounded in Ivan's head. He knew what an untrained fighter looked like. This man knew how to hold a sword. He had the form of a man who'd had it drilled into him, but rather than the stiff, uniform posture of a naval officer, his stance was loose and comfortable. Familiar.

Ivan brought his axes up just in time. Blades clashed, then the saber swung away, twisted, and came in again for another strike. Ivan deflected with intent this time, pushing the saber away and breaking his opponent’s stance. 

Going on the attack, Ivan menaced the smaller man, trying to bait him into lifting his sword to defend. He thought he had it for a moment, but just as he dove in, the other man sidestepped and brought his sword down overhand like an executioner.

Ivan leapt clear in the nick of time. The other man followed, taking the ground he’d surrendered. 

The man in black lunged for Ivan’s face—a risky move, but between a seasoned fighter and a rookie, it was guaranteed to end a fight fast. It wasn’t meant as a killing blow, but it might blind an opponent on a lucky hit, and an amateur was sure to cower or flail wildly and drop their defense. Death tended to follow in short order.

Ivan wasn’t going to fall for something like that. He knocked the sword off-course, then slipped his axe blade around and hooked it. With his opponent wide open, Ivan swung with his other axe, aiming for the man’s exposed middle, but he managed to pull free.

The man relented and gave up ground as he readjusted his grip. He hummed thoughtfully. “Neat little trick there. Where’d you learn that?”

“Learned it from none of your business.”

“Fair enough.” 

Ivan leapt forward, looking to cleave open his opponent’s arm or the muscle of his chest near the shoulder. The other man barely repelled his attack. Ivan found the pinch of his brows and the tight press of his lips immensely satisfying. 

Ivan kept pushing. He couldn’t risk being put on the defensive. He followed as the man in black retreated. When the other man attempted to circle to Ivan’s flank, he lunged to the side to cut him off. He tried again, and Ivan responded in kind. The rarely-indulged, fanciful part of his mind likened it to a dance. 

Despite holding his own well, Ivan knew he was getting winded faster than his opponent. He had to end this.

Ivan feinted. The man in black moved to block as expected. But as Ivan swung for the opening he’d made, he realized the block had been a feint as well. Ivan tried to recover, but he’d overextended and he knew it. 

The man in black moved like a viper. He caught one of Ivan’s axes with his saber blade, snuck out his free hand to push the other aside before catching hold of his shirt, then twisted his sword and slid it along the axe, the blades singing against each other as the sword snaked towards Ivan’s neck. 

Ivan forced their locked blades up at the last second. Steel bit into his cheek. Then he wrenched himself free and stumbled back. 

Ivan struggled to catch his breath as he put distance between himself and his opponent. Warm, tacky blood trickled down the side of his face into his beard. The cut burned like fire. That’d been too close.

The other man didn’t follow, instead allowing the short reprieve. He ran a hand through his hair, which had begun to fall into his eyes. For the first time, Ivan noticed the stark black ink of new tattoos on his neck and upper cheekbone. “You’re good. How long’ve you been doing this?” he asked.

“Long enough,” Ivan said.

“This your first ship?”

Ivan wasn’t sure why they were chatting all of a sudden, but he’d take the breather while he could. “No. It’s my third.”

“Axes your specialty?”

“Wouldn’t say it’s a specialty. Just what I had on hand.” Ivan glanced pointedly at the corpse of the late Matthews. 

“Good to be versatile in our line of work. Tell me, do you like working for your captain?”

“I like getting paid.”

“That's all? That’s what it takes to earn your loyalty?”

“Everyone likes getting paid.”

“But you don’t like your captain.”

“I don’t need to like my captain.”

The other man’s eyes narrowed. “Do you respect him, though?”

“Don’t need to respect him.”

“Don’t you?”

Ivan chose not to respond, instead lifting his axes. 

“You’re ready then?” the man asked.

Ivan gave a humorless smile. “Actually, I left my good axe stowed with my hammock, if you’ll let me—”

The man in black crossed the deck in three quick strides and attacked. 

Immediately, Ivan knew something was wrong, the same way he knew when the dice in his hand felt loaded or a game of shells was rigged. The other man’s blade lashed out left and right, striking off of Ivan’s axes in a discordant, staccato rhythm, refusing to let up even for a moment. It was all Ivan could do to avoid being struck. His feints and blocks were deftly answered, every gap in his defense menaced so that he could only retreat. Whenever he managed a decent swing, his axes caught on nothing but loose fabric or were easily batted aside. 

Ivan barely caught himself when he felt the back of his boot meet open air. He’d been pushed all the way to the lower stairs. 

Desperate to regain ground, Ivan surged forward, hoping to startle his opponent back. 

Instead of defending or retreating, the other man stepped into Ivan’s space. It was a nonsensical move that gave him no room to maneuver while exposing his sides to Ivan’s axes. At the last moment, though, he tipped his sword up and lashed out with the hilt instead. 

Ivan registered the axes leaving his suddenly throbbing hands a split second before the sword hilt connected with his chin.

Ivan stumbled back with a shout. Too late, he remembered the stairs as the floor vanished from beneath his feet. He flailed, trying to catch hold of anything to stop himself from tumbling backwards and breaking his neck. 

A hand caught his wrist. Ivan grabbed hold, letting himself be pulled back to safety. He gasped for breath even as he felt the weight of a blade come to rest on his collarbone. 

“I’d say we’re done here, don’t you?” the man in black asked. 

Ivan fought to school his features even as his heart tried to pound its way out of his ribs. So this was how he was going to die. He supposed he’d lived his life as best he could, all things considered. At least he hadn’t gone out undignified, ass over kettle down the stairs.

The blade tapped his chest before withdrawing. “Come on, then.” The man in black gestured with his sword for Ivan to move.

“What?”

The man pointed up towards the deck. Ivan could hear shouting and pistols firing, but now that he listened, it sounded more like… cheering?

“That’ll be your captain surrendering,” the man in black explained. “Let’s head on up.”

“Could be your captain surrendered,” Ivan countered.

The man laughed. It was a thin, raspy sound like the way he spoke, the noise coming short and sharp on the inhale. He shook his head, flashing Ivan a smile that was all teeth. “Not likely.” He turned his back to Ivan and headed for the upper stairs without even a glance back, sheathing his sword as he went.

Stunned by the turn of events, Ivan could only follow. 

Halfway up the stairs, the man paused and nonchalantly asked, “How would you like a job?”

Ivan wasn’t sure he’d heard right. “You serious?” 

The man looked over his shoulder. Ivan was close enough to see the afternoon stubble on his jaw and the hazel of his eyes. His face was schooled into a stern expression, but there was a hint of mischief in the corner of his mouth. “Why wouldn’t I be? You’re wasted here. And I can guarantee you we pay better than your boss. You said you like to be paid, right?”

“I did,” Ivan relented. 

The man gestured with a nod of his head for them to keep moving.

Out on deck, Ivan saw everyone who was still alive being rounded up. A couple of his fellow crewmates looked at him curiously, but they were mainly concerned with the enemy pirates forcing them to the front of the ship. 

It didn’t escape Ivan’s notice that the whole of the enemy crew were dressed in varying amounts of leather. He supposed there was something to be said for having a consistent aesthetic. 

“Iz, there you are, mate!” someone crowed from the quarterdeck. Ivan turned to watch another man bound down the stairs and jump the last few steps, hair flying behind him like a black flag. He sported an ink-dark beard just starting to get some proper length to it and a smattering of tattoos that peeked out from under a leather jacket missing its right sleeve. 

The man held his arms out triumphantly. “The plan worked!”

“I knew it would,” the man who was apparently named Iz responded.

“Oh yeah? Cuz you’re the one who insisted on securing the magazine, in case ‘everything goes to shit and we have to blow them up’.” The taller man emphasized his words with his hands.

The other man sniffed. “It’s good to have a backup plan. Speaking of which, I want you to meet…” He turned to Ivan.

“Ivan,” he answered. He made an aborted gesture as if to shake hands before thinking better of it, but the taller man jumped at the opportunity, reaching over to take Ivan’s hand in his.

“Nice to meet ya, mate,” he said brightly. 

“He’s a new hire I’m considering,” the man named Iz explained. He caught Ivan’s eye meaningfully. “Ivan, meet Blackbeard.”

Ivan felt a thrill up his spine. He knew that name. Word had been going round about him in the ports. Smoke and moonless nights, ghost ships and glowing eyes, cannons loaded with chain shot and iron bolts and broken glass—Blackbeard was a legend in the making.

Blackbeard turned his attention back to Ivan, and it was like a different person was looking at him all of a sudden. Gone was the bright, boyish grin. Ivan tried not to fidget as dark, thoughtful eyes took him in anew, studying his face. Ivan wasn’t sure he’d ever met anyone with such intense eyes before. He was acutely aware of the blood drying uncomfortably along his jaw and the tang of it fresh in his mouth from being struck in the face. He crossed his arms and tilted his head back, trying to act unaffected.

The man’s face split into a grin, the tension dissipating in an instant. “I like him.”

“I thought you would.”

“New hire, you said?” He looked at his crewmate. “You interviewed him? He did alright?”

“He’s alive, isn’t he?”

“Interviewed?” Ivan interrupted.

“Yeah, he asked you some questions, tried to stab you up, you survived. Means you passed the interview. Good job, mate!” Then Blackbeard’s brow furrowed as he turned back to his companion. “Thought you said we were good on crew, though? Don’t need a new guy. Not that I don’t like your whole thing,” he said, gesturing at Ivan with a charming smile.

“Matthews is dead,” the other man, Iz, stated bluntly.

“Yeah? How’d that happen? I saw him just a bit ago.”

Iz nodded towards Ivan.

“Ah.” Blackbeard settled back on his heels, hands on his hips. “Well, no big loss there. You were just telling me the other day that he was getting uppity.”

“I said he was planning a mutiny.”

“Same diff. So, Ivan! You in? We’ve got competitive pay, a decent surgeon, and the work’s steady.”

Ivan licked his lips thoughtfully. Pushing too much could cost him the job, but his mates had been telling him that he ought to advocate for himself more. “Religious days?”

Iz responded dutifully, “Work shifts are scheduled around prayer and days of rest, if you partake. Just don’t give me any shit about Calypso.”

Blackbeard laughed, his voice a rich, rolling chuckle. “Iz here’s been Calypso’d a couple times. You know what they say about tricking someone twice.” He squeezed his crewmate’s shoulder good-naturedly. “So, is that a yes then?”

“Suppose so, considering the alternative.” Ivan glanced over his shoulder at his old crew. 

“Hm? Oh, those guys. Don’t worry about them, they’re fine. I just need the captain to tell me where he stashed all the good stuff.”

“I know where,” Ivan offered.

“Yeah?” Blackbeard lit up. He slapped Ivan on the shoulders. “Look at that, you’re already earning your keep. Captain’s cabin, right? I’ll go on ahead.”

Blackbeard swept past with an energy that left Ivan on his back foot. Ivan let out a sigh as his shoulders slumped. Everything was changing so quickly. He needed to get his things. Did he even really have things? He could barely think.

“Go on, then. Don’t keep him waiting.”

“Oh!” Ivan had forgotten he wasn’t alone. “Uh, Iz, was it?”

The man’s lip curled in distaste. “That’s Mr. Hands or First Mate Hands to you.”

For the second time in one day, Ivan felt a shock run through his body. He knew that name, too. Everyone in the Republic of Pirates knew Izzy Hands. Half of them owed him a favor, while the other half had good reason to stay out of his way. Of course he was Blackbeard’s first mate. Why wouldn’t a man who once took a prize galleon without firing a single shot have one of the most infamous swordsmen in the Caribbean serving under him? 

Mr. Hands gave him a crooked smile. “Recognize that name, do you? Don’t you worry. You’re one of my lads now. You do your job and I’ll look after you.” He laid a hand on Ivan’s upper arm, gently turning him towards the door to the captain’s cabin. “Now off with you. You don’t want to keep Blackbeard waiting.”

“Short temper?”

“Short attention span. The man’s a genius, but his mind’s constantly in motion. Best to not let him sit idle too long.” Mr. Hands gave a small shake of his head. “You’ll get used to it.”

“Right.” Ivan headed for the door. 

“And Ivan?”

“Yeah?”

“Welcome aboard the Queen Anne’s Revenge.”

[corvuserpens]

A Girl, An Ocean {A Black Sails fanfic} - Ch. 13 (Part 2)

Fandom: Black Sails Rating: Teen and up audiences Warnings: Characters: Billy Bones, James Flint, Hal Gates, protagonist OC, supporting OCs Relationships: Billy Bones/OC, Hal Gates/OC (paternal), Max/OC (friends), James Flint/OC (mentor) Additional tags: Original character-centric, first person POV, canon character x original character romance, self-discovery journey, kinda alternative prequel to canon, canon compliant, slow burn, mutual pining, friends to lovers, tooth-rotting sweetness, cute but also sexy, angst galore, found family, Hal Gates has two children now, canon typical violence Series: Part One of Six of A Girl, An Ocean Chapters: 13/13 Summary: It was meant to be a raid like any other - spot the target, approach, subdue. Constance has participated in them dozens of times, by now, collecting scars along the way. But this time, she discovers that the past will always catch up to you, sooner or later.

Author's note: A bit of a sadder chapter, but I needed to plant a few seeds for later........

Chapter xiii. Part ii.

Our first hunt of that trip came one late afternoon, just before sundown. We were right in the middle of the trade route from the Americas to Bristol when Sayeed spotted a ship from the crow's nest. British colors, a sizable brig of thirty to forty guns.

Flint and Gates peeked from their spyglasses and guessed it was a merchant vessel, likely hauling spices, tobacco or sugar from the plantations in North America. A profitable plunder, no doubt. Even so, when Billy addressed the crew to lay out the plan of attack, he stressed the high likelihood of us encountering resistance.

"As we all well know, a ship that size and carrying such a prize is going to be well guarded and very well defended. If Mr. Sayeed's calculations are accurate, thirty or forty guns will be a challenge to overtake, even for us.”

A pause to let the men chuckle amongst themselves.

“So, we need be smart and play safe. In roughly one hour, night will fall. Fortunately for us, as the weather is particularly fine today and we are positioned west from them, the sun might act as a cover for us, conceal us from their view. This, we will use to our advantage. Mr. de Groot, can you set a course to intercept her from that position?”

De Groot, who stood a few feet from Billy's right, glanced up at the sails. "If the winds remain cooperative, yes." He replied in his usual grumpy fashion.

"Set it then, if you please. Captain wants us to approach as soon as it's dark. Obviously, to retain the element of surprise, no lanterns will be lit on the weather deck, yards or anywhere else exposed to the sky. Once we are close enough, a team of ten men will take the launch, climb aboard and disable as many sentries as they can in order to open a path for the Walrus to come in and bombard them. By the time the alarm is sound, we will be right alongside her and we will overwhelm her so quickly and unexpectedly, they will have no choice but to stand down and surrender. This is the plan. Any questions?"

Silence. It was a good plan. We would hardly have anything to do aboard the Walrus, it ensured minimum casualties (apart from the poor sentries, that is) and it was simple. Come in undetected, unleash total hell, profit. We liked it.

"In that case, I need nine volunteers to come with me on the launch. You have three hours to prepare for the attack, make sure the cannons are properly cleaned and set, load every pistol you can find, sharpen your cutlasses and make your peace with whatever deity you worship. Just in case."

Another wave of laughter went through us.

"Alright, dismissed. Get the fuck out of here."

Everyone split up to their posts to ready the ship for combat: riggers up the shrouds, gunners bellow decks, every one else to clean, oil and load their favorite flintlock, musket or blunderbuss. Quite a few ran up to Billy to volunteer for the launch team. Meanwhile, Flint and de Groot disappeared into the great cabin to plot a course. As for me, I seemed to have made an impression on my first few raids; Dooley, Joshua and a few others in the vanguard had been insistent on my participation lately, and I had to admit... It bothered me less and less with each time. I practiced the advice Gates had given me, about killing quickly and with the minimum of cruelty, and also Billy's, of not letting the guilt consume me afterwards, and it helped. Fortunately, it was more often than not that our prey chose to surrender rather than fight, but when they didn't surrender, then I would show no mercy until they did.

I assumed they would want me with the vanguard once more and followed them downstairs to also get ready. Two hours later, I had finished preparations: two flintlocks crossed at my front, secured by my belt and the scarf Billy had gifted me; extra bullets and shot on my left hip, should I find the opportunity to reload; a cutlass hanging from my right hip, as I was better with my left hand; and one dagger stored in my boot, for emergencies. I tied my hair into a braid to keep it out of my face and was just about done covering half my face from the nose up with black war paint when Billy approached me. Like always, his face and bared chest were smeared in tar, which made him look fierce, savage and utterly irresistible to my eyes.

I lapped up the vision before me with hungry eyes and smirked. "Good thing we are on the same side, or else you would strike me dead from mesmerizing me with such a visual treat."

"Good thing our prey are invariably men, or else I would worry I would be seducing them instead of scaring them," he chuckled.

"Strong words for someone who's turning as red as a ripe tomato,"

In response, Billy pulled me in by the waist, harshly, so that my front clashed with his and knocked my breath away.

"Have you forgotten about your punishment, last time you were this insubordinate?" He purred, his nose almost touching mine.

I grinned wider. "Oh, believe me, I have not. In fact... I seem to recall you thoroughly enjoyed the experience. Who would I be to deny you the chance to repeat it?"

"You are temptation in human form," he hummed right before he planted an all too brief kiss on my lips. Then, his expression grew serious. "I will lead the launch party in the first wave. Keep your eyes open and stand ready. If we get into trouble out there..."

"We have your back." I set my palm on his chest, right on his heart. "I will look out for you. Promise."

He nodded, brought up his free hand to brush his knuckles on my cheek. "Take care when you board. Don't let yourself get cornered. Stay behind cover. Remember it's kill or be killed until they surrender. Understood?"

"Yes, Sir. And Billy?"

"Yeah?"

"Don't forget to look after yourself, as well. If anything happens to you before I get the chance to make love to you, I will be extremely pissed."

He laughed, all bashful (God, he looked so cute), pulled me in for a longer, more passionate kiss, then rested his forehead on mine. "I'll be careful. You have my word."

"Good..."

Billy pulled away from me and was about to turn to leave, but I stepped in, brought my hand to his jaw and made him come back for one more kiss. It was quick, just a simple 'see you soon', but our crew mates had had enough.

"Ugh, alright you two, we get it!" Joshua bent over and retched. "You care for each other, spare us some pity!"

Dooley joined the protest. "Like it's not enough we get to hear you pant and moan every night while the rest of us are trying to get some fucking sleep! Y'all are disgusting."

"Get a room!" Muldoon shouted from across the deck.

Billy rolled his eyes and squeezed my hand. "See you on the other side."

"Break a leg," I told him as he climbed the stairs to the main deck and disappeared from sight.

***

When I ascended to the surface, the launch had already gone. I leaned over the bulwark just in time to see it and our men be swallowed by the void that was the ocean and sky that night. The moon was a thin fingernail hung in the black, too weak to denounce them, constantly disappearing and reappearing by passing clouds. Even so, I prayed silently for their safety.

Our target was a tenuous silhouette some five hundred yards from us, only distinguishable by the lanterns lit along the deck, the three masts and the portholes. Part of the success of our mission depended heavily on those ten men currently rowing towards it, their ability to stay under cover and disable her first line of defense.

I looked over to the highcastle, where our captain stood with his spyglass to try and monitor the launch's progress. When they had traversed half of the way, he would give Mr. de Groot the order to turn the Walrus and begin our approach. The other part of our success also depended on the precision of their calculations. All it took was one mistake - an angle too wide or too narrow, slower or faster speed on approach, the slightest noise - and we would all be in danger. Boarding a ship was difficult enough in daylight. At night...

"Siren."

I tore my eyes away from the blackness ahead of me to face whoever called, and frowned. "Mr. Beauclerc. How can I help?"

He held two rifles in each hand and passed me one, which I took with wide eyes. I had shot them a couple of times before during practice and my aim was decent, but I had never used them in battle.

"Time to put your marksmanship to the test," he rasped, then turned around and started to climb the main mast's starboard shroud. Unprompted, I slung the gun's strap across my shoulders and followed him.

Another thing that was much harder to do in the dark was to climb. None of our lanterns were lit, so I was moving mostly by touch. Everything around me was black; a thorough, suffocating, absolute black. It was much more difficult to keep that monster called panic quelled because I couldn't tell whether I was ten centimeters from the floor or ten meters high. More than once I had to stop, hold tight to the rat lines and get my breathing under control before I could proceed. Eventually, the moon emerged from behind the clouds, and though the light was barely enough to see my own hands, I could at least see Beauclerc's shape moving in the dark and used him as my guide up.

After what seemed like an eternity, we reached the first platform and sat on it. I couldn't see the marksman's face, only the gleam of his barrel and the white of his shirt.

"A quick review," he started. "The rifle is nothing like a pistol. It's heavier, but has a longer range, between a hundred to three hundred yards. You hold the stock to your shoulder and lean into it to absorb the kick. You remember how hard it gets, right?"

I recalled my first time shooting a rifle and how I had nearly rolled over my back. Hopefully, that wouldn't happen here, because if it did, I would tumble straight out of the platform. "I do."

"If it makes you feel better, get in front of the mast," he suggested without judgement, just stating a fact. "Which is your dominant eye?"

I wrinkled my nose. "Huh?"

"When you close one eye, which one sees best?"

I shut my left eye first and looked for our prey in the horizon, barely managing to make out her light. Then I switched to my right eye and realized her silhouette in the darkness was much clearer. I could even see the reflections of her lights on the water.

"My left," I replied.

"That's the one you use to aim. Get into position.”

I did so and let him adjust my hold, here and there. “Look down the barrel. Remember that the longer the distance, the wider the downward arch the bullet will make as it flies. Take that into account. The sway of our ship as it cuts the water, the sway of their ship, the wind, all these will determine a hit or miss. Now, I already loaded your rifle. Reloading takes time and we don't have light up here, so make every – shot - count. If you have any doubts about whether or not the bullet will find its mark, then don't pull the trigger. Wait for the best opportunity you can. Any questions?"

"No, Mr. Beauclerc."

"Then I'm going to the foremast." He stood up and hung from the edge of the platform. How he could see anything in that darkness was beyond me. "Good luck."

"You too. Stay safe."

I listened as he shuffled down the shroud, then sat back against the mast to wait. I kept in mind what Billy had said to me, right before he left. If they got into trouble, if things went wrong while they were on that ship, it was up to me, Mr. Beauclerc and the other gunners to make sure they got out of it alive. No pressure.

My hands gripped the rifle tight. My lover, my friends, they were out there risking their necks for this mission. I couldn't miss. They couldn't afford it. If a single one of them died as a consequence of my failings, I would never be able to live with it. Especially if it was Billy.

When the direction of the wind shifted, I knew we were making our approach. No one shouted the order, not that I could hear. Below, nary a sound was made except for the top sails being furled into the yards so we would slow down. This way, the faint glow of our canvases wouldn't be detected too soon, either.

Little by little, our target got closer, until I could see the shape of her sails, part of the rigging. Soon enough, I could hear voices speaking as her crew conversed calmly, without any idea of what was coming.

No alarm was sounded. When I was able to see her sailors move about, I got into a crouching position with my back to the mast and held the stock into my left shoulder. I scoured the ship looking for our men, but didn't see them until the first of them snuck up to a loner and slit his throat.

I watched them vault over the railing, one after the other like over sized spiders, and take out everyone in their path. I kept my rifle at the ready but my finger off the trigger. I had to wait until the alarm, or else I would reveal our position.

I recognized Billy without a problem. He was the largest shadow, gliding silently across the deck, sword at the ready and black with blood. In a matter of minutes, they had cleared the main deck without detection, but just as Billy was driving his blade into the back of another seaman, a voice wailed from the mizzen mast:

"We're under attack! We're under attack! Sound the alarm!"

"The bell!!" Someone shouted from the hatch at the bow of the ship. "Someone sound the bell--"

The voice was cut off by a wet choke as one of our men stabbed him in the neck. Just then, two more crewmen surged from below decks and called out the rest.

"Pirates! Sound the alarm!"

The bell tolled loudly at last. From our helm, I heard Flint shout: "Fire!"

"Fire the cannons!" Gates roared into the belly of the Walrus.

A volley blasted from our starboard side from bow to stern, so powerful that our ship rattled and the dark was momentarily illuminated. The attack was now in full sway.

We were positioned exactly side-by-side with our prey and splinters flew from her hull as the cannon balls tore into her. The smoke produced and the weak light made it hard to see, but I could tell reinforcements were arriving from the upper and lower decks. From the foremast, Beauclerc shot his rifle and hit the first in the line, which effectively threw the others off as they hunched to avoid getting hit next.

I aimed, took a deep breath, waited until the Walrus stabilized upon hitting the waves and pulled the trigger on another sailor in the front, hit him right in his gut. The stock pushed against my shoulder, but I held firm thanks to the extra support from the mast.

As fast as I could, I reloaded, brought up the rifle and searched the ship for my men. They were putting up quite the fight and I was tempted to count them to make sure they were all alive, but preferred to be watchful in case they needed help, instead. I noticed one of ours had engaged in combat, his cutlass clashing with his opponent's, while another of theirs ran up to my crewmate from behind a knife in hand.

Heart pounding in my ears, I pointed the barrel a few meters ahead of him, followed the sway of the ship and waited until he was just about in my aim to fire. My bullet found his temple and he tumbled to the floorboards, dead. I bulged my eyes at the body, then at my rifle, surprised that I had hit the target, and while it was moving, too! God forgive me, but... What a good fucking shot.

The second volley came, further throwing the scene into chaos. I winced as I thought about the number of men who would die on that ship. No matter how many times we did this, I would never enjoy the act of killing indiscriminately.

Again, I reloaded. Focus on keeping your men alive. Forget the rest. I prayed our target would surrender soon.

The prey-ship responded to our attack with a volley of their own and I had to grab onto the mast to avoid falling as the iron balls rammed into us. We fired back immediately and opened significant holes into their side; I could see their men moving about in there. Beauclerc had shot his gun at least four times already, and from what I could tell, he hadn't missed a single mark.

Again, I saw Billy rush past the main mast, toward the stern. Something sparked in his hand - a grenade.

He dropped it into the hatch and shot a sailor who came at him with a cutlass. The grenade went off with a flash of light and a loud blast, followed by screams. From my perch, all I could hear were swords hitting swords, shots firing, men yelling orders or calling for help. Still, there were too many of them and too few of us. Soon, they would be overwhelmed. I shot my rifle at an official, hitting him in the arm. Wounded, but not dead. Damn.

"Prepared to board!" Flint howled.

Lined hooks flew across the gap between the two ships and joined them, while planks were brought out and placed over the railings so we could cross. The cavalry was coming.

Despite the inferior number, it was clear our ten men had done a lot of damage. As soon as the rest of our crew got on the planks and rushed across guns blazing, the sailors broke lines, ran aimlessly, got careless in their rush to escape. They were scared; panic was spreading through them like a wild fire. Heaven's sake, why weren't their superiors giving the order to stand down? No amount of precious cargo was worth all this bloodshed. Neither their nor ours. When I saw a couple of our men get gunned down and drop into the water, my heart sank with them. There would be a funeral in the morning. Even so, the vanguard pushed through and practically ran over their crew, piling on the bodies.

That was when I saw one of them drop their sword and fall on his knees with his hands up. Another soon followed. Then another. Their captain ordered them to stand and fight, but they didn't listen. Fear of death had prevailed over fear of repercussions. In seconds, they were all on their knees, mates and boatswain included. A roar of hurrahs from my crew sounded across the deck. Victory was ours, at last.

With a sigh of relief, I shouldered my rifle and began my descent. Minutes later, I joined my mates aboard our prize while they rounded up the prisoners into the well, tied their hands behind their backs and sat them wherever they could. I pulled out a pistol to aim it at any seaman being brought down, in case they tried something silly and very deadly. On the way, I passed by Dobbs, who had been among the men in the launch, and greeted him with a nod.

"Thanks for save earlier," he said as he dragged another sailor by the scruff and sat him down to tie his hands. "The fucker coming at me from behind while I was distracted. I would be dead if it weren't for you."

"How did you know it was me?" I asked.

"Beauclerc. I went to thank him first and he told me it was you.”

“I'll be honest with you, I was shocked that I hit him. Could barely believe it had been me.”

“Well, you should take the rifle more often, in that case. You're not too shabby with it."

"I have to admit... it kind of feels good to shoot it. I don't know, there's this odd satisfaction in doing all the calculations in your mind and realizing they were right the second the bullet finds its target."

The man Dobbs was restraining stared at me with horror, face pale up and mouth gone lax. Dobbs cackled and hit him up the head.

"Don't mess with this lady, mate. Trust me. Anyway, I owe you one, Siren."

"You owe me nothing, brother." I shrugged with a smile. "You would have done the same for me."

Dobbs grinned and scratched his curly head, all timid but clearly satisfied. "Aye, I would, but... Thanks, anyway.”

It always amazed me, the way these hardened men with years of experience in doing violence would often become sheepish and soft whenever I paid them a compliment or showed them how much I trusted them. It was one of the reasons why I loved them so much. I had never expected this much comradery from so many of them, not towards me. I certainly appreciated that openness about them.

“Well--” He patted down his vest. “I better go and find some more stragglers. Will you keep this lot under watch?"

"I would love to." And just to show I was not fooling around, I cocked the hammer on my pistol and pointed it at the nearest prisoner, who quickly lowered his gaze from mine.

Again, Dobbs laughed. "Take care, and see you later."

Then he disappeared in the crowd.

As more sailors were brought up from below decks and the rigging, I prowled around my little group and studied them for any suspicious movement or a sign of misbehavior. One of them was giving me a dirty look, which I returned with a couple of smooches thrown his way. He turned as red as budding rose and looked away. I moved on, greeted my mates as they passed me by with new captives held at gunpoint. I glanced briefly at one of my prisoners, kept walking – then stopped and did a double take on him.

He was sitting right under a lamp light, so I was able to see his face clearly. He had dark brown hair cut short and the light shadow of a precocious beard growing out of his jaw, but there was something in him that rung bells in my head. I realized it was the shape of his nose. Straight, ending on a little button, dotted with freckles. I had seen that nose many times before - on my Father, on Marianne and Judith, on my Grandfather... on my own reflection.

A cold chill ran down my spine and raised the hairs on the back of my neck as I approached. He raised his eyes from my boots to my face and gave me a glare I had never seen before on my cousin's features, but there was no doubt it was him. My heart stopped in my chest, then kicked into full speed as I lowered my barrel.

"Bernie...?" I whispered.

"Who the fuck are you?" He spat. "How do you know me?"

I crouched down so he could see me better in the warm lamp light. He examined me with irritation in his expression, but also some curiosity. Slowly, those emotions washed away to be replaced by shock, incredulity, and finally, unabashed joy. "Constance...?"

I nodded. "Aye... It's me."

A tremulous and all too familiar smile opened his features. "Oh, my God, Constance...! Constance, you're alive!"

He shuffled forward awkwardly and tugged at his binds as if he meant to embrace me, but of course he couldn't, so I put down my pistol and wrapped my arms tight around his shoulders. My cousin, my beloved cousin with whom I had spent hours in the gardens, with whom I had plotted the greatest mischief, with whom I had competed on horse back and swam in the pond and climbed trees with, regardless of my torn dresses and muddied petticoats. My cousin who I considered a brother and who I had thought I would never see again, was right there in front of me.

"Thank God," he choked when I finally released him. I hadn't seen Bernie in almost two years, yet apart from the beard he was growing, he looked exactly the same. His eyes, green like mine, ran over my face like he could hardly believe them. "Everyone back home thinks you're dead!"

My grin died down on my lips. "What...? Why? What news did you receive?"

"The captain of the Delilah sent a letter from the Carolina colony saying you had been taken by pirates! That you had simply disappeared, so they must have captured you when no one was looking. Your parents waited for a ransom letter or some indication you might have been traded or worse! When no news arrived, you were presumed dead."

I felt my heart wither in my chest. That was it? No search party? No inquiries? No rescue attempt...? Just like that, they had given up?

"So... So they never even tried to find me...?" I supposed I shouldn't be surprised. With two more daughters left to barter away, what did it matter if one of them died? Even so... I was hurt by their utter lack of regard for my safety, or even my existence.

Bernie leaned forward to find my gaze as it welled up and blurred with tears. "I looked for you. I petitioned a leave from the military and sailed here as soon as we received the news. I have been on this side of the Atlantic for almost a month and tried to find any trace of you, any clue that might lead me to your whereabouts, but found nothing. They told me if the pirates hadn't ransomed you or sold you off, then you were either in New Providence Island or dead. I had no way to get there to search for myself and was getting ready to tell Uncle and Aunt that you were dead... Yet here you are."

I shook my head and rubbed my eyes. "No... Not dead. But... I wasn't abducted, either."

He frowned at that, confused. "What do you mean?"

"I escaped on my own. I joined the crew who attacked us. This crew." I squeezed my eyes shut and ran a hand over my head. There was no easy way to say it, so I just spelled it out plain and clear: "Bernie, I'm a pirate."

"Siren!"

I looked up behind me to see Luca walk toward me. "All hands are accounted for and restrained, Billy said to keep an eye on this lot." He stopped by my side and narrowed his black eyes at Bernie. "This one bothering you?"

"No, Luca." I returned my gaze to my cousin, who was staring at me with eyes as wide as plates from seeing me interact so casually with Luca. His nostrils flared up and flames danced in his gaze. "He's... He's my cousin, actually."

Oh..." Luca winced, scratched at his head. "Oh, shit. Uh, do you want a moment to...?"

"Please? I just need a minute. Will you cover for me?"

"Sure, but what should I say if Mr. Gates or Billy ask questions?"

"Tell them the truth." I smiled to let him know I was being sincere. "I shouldn't want you to lie for me."

Luca nodded and made a face, but raised no argument. "Alright. I'll buy you as much time as I can."

"Thank you."

He winked and kept walking. Once he was out of earshot, Bernie pinned me with an angry look. "A pirate? Constance, I-- Are you out of your mind??"

I stared right back at him, mouth pressed into a tight line. "I didn't have much of a choice."

"Of course you did! You could have not joined a band of ruthless, blood thirsty criminals!" He shook his head and truly looked at me, taking in my painted face, my guns, my trousers, the tattoo peeking out from behind the low hanging neckline of my blouse. "How could you...?"

"By refusing to accept what awaited me in America!" I retorted. "We've known each other since we were children, Bernie. Do you really think I could marry some arrogant son of a wealthy sugar planter and have his children until I died? Restrained to a household and forbidden from ever venturing outside for the rest of my life? I saw a chance to free myself and I took it! Yes, I have to steal and sometimes kill to survive. Yes, I live with thirty-something men in a cramped ship and consort with swindlers, murderers and prostitutes. Yes, I have laid with a man who wasn't my husband and spoiled my honor and betrayed my country. But I wouldn't hesitate to do it all again, so judge me all you like. In a world without possibilities, I found a path out of it and I have no regrets."

"You killed my companions tonight," he accused with a note of disgust that twisted my stomach into a painful knot. "My friends. You could have killed me, all it would take was for you not to recognize me."

I refused to think about that. If he had been killed in this attack... I don't know what I would have done. "You could have killed me, too. You hardly recognized me until you really looked at me. I'm sorry about your friends, I truly am. Believe me, if they perished at my hand, it was without any joy in it. That's all I can offer as consolation."

He scowled at me and tilted his chin down. "What about your sisters? What about their reputation, and your family's? They will be disgraced when this comes to public!"

"You said it yourself, everyone believes I'm dead. So let them go on believing so." I stared him down from the top of my nose. "When you return, tell them it's true. Nobody needs to know I live. They will endure and I so will I."

"You can't possibly expect me to do that."

"Why not? What good will it do? Will it give my family peace? Will it save them from society's scrutiny? Will it make them happy?" I didn't like the idea of letting my sisters think I had died, but neither did I want them to suffer the consequences of my choices. "Trust me, it's better this way. For everyone."

"You mean for you. Do you realize how selfish this is?"

I sighed, let my shoulders slump. "I do. I don't want my Father coming after me. I don't want to go back to England and I don't want to go to America. Besides, at this point, if you reveal me I will most likely hang for piracy. Is that what you want?"

Bernie looked to the side, unable to meet my gaze anymore. His expression softened into something sad. "No... of course not. But Constance... This is... This isn't fair. They love you and deserve to know you're safe."

"Is it any more fair to force me into a loveless marriage for politics? Or them to destitution?"

"It's... it's the way things are."

Jesus, he was like one of those parrots people kept as pets in Nassau: repeating only that which has been taught to them over and over, without understanding what any of it means. "But it doesn't have to be. Therein lies the difference. As long as people believe things are the way they are and that will never change, then they will always stay the same. Now that's unfair."

I shifted on my feet and knelt on the floorboards when my thighs started to complain.

"Think about it: the poor are crushed by the rich, doing all the labor to keep England standing while the ruling class, like our parents, does fuck all. Women are treated like animals. Children are forcefully conscripted into the navy. People from continents away are bought, sold and whipped and killed because it keeps the price of cotton and sugar low. Good soldiers like you are sent to die for a miserable wage and an ungrateful country. Is any of that fair? Why, because it's the way things are?" I tilted my head. "My world isn't perfect, but from where I stand it's a hell of a lot better than the one I left behind. I get to go where I want, when I want. I get to dress however I please. My wage probably exceeds yours and I have protection and respect from my crew. And perhaps most important of all, I'm happy. Tell me, cousin: why the fuck should I give any of that up?"

Bernie glanced back at me while thinking on my words. I could see the conflict raging in his mind: that which he has always been told was right and truthful, against the reality of my experience (and perhaps his own).

Heavy footsteps approached and halted behind me. Even before he spoke, I knew who it was. "Constance."

I stood up and turned to face Billy, who regarded me with a not-so-pleased look. Covered in blood and gunpowder, he appeared particularly threatening, even to me.

"Billy, I... I can explain," I began to stammer.

But all he did was raise a hand to silence me. "Later. I came to warn you that Gates and Flint are about to come aboard." He nodded to my cousin. "You might want to say goodbye soon."

Relieved, I touched his arm and offered him an apologetic look. "Thank you."

He gave my own arm a squeeze and leaned down for a quick peck on the crown of my head before he moved on. I crouched down in front of Bernie again.

"Look... I never imagined this would be how we would reunite, and I truly am sorry. I hope one day you can understand why I did what I did."

Bernie let out a huff and closed his eyes for a second or two, then faced me again. "I do understand, cousin. I don't condone it, I could never. But I understand. And I forgive you, even if you are too stubborn to ask for forgiveness." He smirked at me briefly before going serious once more. His stare wandered to Billy, who tried not to listen to our conversation as he kept tabs on the situation on deck, in case there was trouble.

"Are you really happy?" Bernie asked me.

I smiled and reached out to hold his shoulders.

"I am. This life I've chosen, it's everything I could want. I don't enjoy every part of it, especially the killing, but I'm a free woman. And these men, they are thieves and sinners of the worst kind, but they are my brothers. They would die for me and I for them. I couldn't ask for much more. I was meant for this, Bernie. Even if it is harsh, brutal and ugly, some times."

Behind me, I heard Billy snort, causing me to smile a little wider.

Bernie didn't catch the drift; instead, he looked into my eyes and declared: "That's good. It's all I ever wished for you: happiness. This wasn't how I imagined it... but I can accept it."

"Thank you, Bernie." I gave his shoulders a very slight shake. "I wish you a safe return home. And no more pirate attacks, until then."

Billy tapped my shoulder. "They're coming. We have to go."

I leaned over and kissed my cousin on the cheek. "Until we meet again."

"Are you sure you don't want anyone to know you're alive?" He insisted as I rose up to my full height. "Not even Marianne...?"

I let my eyes drift into the distance as I remembered my strong-willed, bossy and loving older sister. "One day, she will know. I'll make sure of it myself. But not now, not while the survival of our unmarried sisters depends on it. Tell them that I've been dead a while. And don't waste a single second worrying about me."

Disappointment colored his features, but Bernie nodded with finality all the same. "As you wish. But listen... If you ever have need of aid, send a letter to the garrison in Port Royal. I will be posted there for the next three years. Y'know, since I was headed here anyway...”

I bit my lip and knitted my brow. “You realize you could be at grave risk, if they find out you're associated with me, don't you?”

“I do. I don't care. We're family, Constance. If this is your choice, then I would rather you have support should you find yourself in trouble.”

See? This was why he was my favorite playmate growing up, not to mention my best friend. “Alright... Goodbye, Bernie. May God grant you prosperity and safety, always."

“Goodbye, my cousin. Stay safe out there.”

With that, I picked up my flintlock, turned around to follow Billy and left my past life well and truly behind me, along with my cousin.

I stood watchful with my crew as Flint and Gates brought up the captain, clapped in irons, and sat him with the rest of his men. Next, Gates divided us into two groups: one to guard the captives and another to pillage. I was put into the second group and Billy was charged with leading the operation. We were to take all valuables, any building supplies we might need and provisions. We would leave behind only enough for the crew to fix their ship and reach the nearest port safely.

Having our orders, we were dismissed and got to work. I followed my group down the hatch as Billy dispatched the men into pairs to search the entire ship, and reminded them to remain watchful in case of hidden crew members. I was about to go with them, doing my best to push what had just happened out of my mind, when I felt Billy's hand hook around my arm.

"Wait." He tugged me along to a corner between two cannons, so we were isolated from the rest of our party to talk. "Luca told me one of the soldiers was your relative. Are you alright? You look like you've seen a ghost."

I never could hide anything from him, could I? With a huff through my nose, I rubbed my eyes and looked up at him. "I was caught off guard, that's all. The moment I recognized him, I... It was like all my memories from my past life rushed into my mind all at once. It completely disoriented me... I'm sorry."

When he spoke, Billy's tone was calm but assertive as he observed me from beneath furrowed brows. "As your boatswain, I'm compelled to scold you for getting distracted. It was careless and dangerous. One of them could have been loose and killed you or someone else."

But then he raised a hand to cradle my cheek. "As your lover, I say I can't imagine what it must have been like to see him again, especially like this. I understand why you were thrown off."

I leaned into his touch and felt my bottom lip stick out and begin to tremble. I had expected the scolding, soft as it was. It was his job to keep us in line and make sure we were all doing our part, and I tried to never forget that included me. It was the only way our new relationship would survive.

He had every right to see me as his subordinate in that moment and leave the comforting and the intimacy for later. That he chose to so smoothly consolidate both positions in relation to me - the boatswain and the lover - instead of sticking to one or the other, was overwhelming.

It was also risky, for he never would be so forgiving and supportive about a blunder like mine were it anyone else, yet I was so very grateful for his kindness, as well as teetering on the edge of an emotional breakdown, that I sighed miserably and stepped into his arms regardless of who might be watching. I hid my frown on his bloodied chest as he held me firmly to him, cheek pressed on my hair.

"Was he angry at you?"

"At first.” I crowed. “But he knows me better than anyone else with the exception of my older sister and you. He knows what kind of person I am." I brought both hands up to wipe the stray tears from my face. "He understood why I did what I did."

"Did you get news from them? From your sisters?"

"They're all fine..." I paused while I adjusted my position until my forehead was tucked under his chin and let my hands rest on his chest. "They think I died and I asked Bernie to tell them I am."

“Aye, heard that part...” I could feel how incredulous he was from the way he hesitated before asking: "Why did you do that?"

"Because if it got out in society that I had forsaken every rule and law under British sovereignty to become a pirate, they would be ruined. Marianne, Celeste and Judith are married and settled, but Liliana and Maggie's future would be in jeopardy. My parents would be exiled in shame, and as much as I hate them and think they would deserve such humiliation, I can't stand the thought of my little sisters never being free from them." Another sigh. "This way... This way they still stand a chance."

Billy hummed in understanding and rubbed gentle circles on my back with one hand. Instantly, my troubled heart calmed and I was able to breathe a little easier.

"But you can never see them again," he pointed out with a note of sadness.

"I know..." I pulled away to dry my eyes on the sleeves of my blouse. "It's funny... I have left months ago, yet only now am I truly realizing what I had to give up for this life. I didn't anticipate it would hurt so much... Especially now that there is really no chance for me to ever be with my family one last time. It feels so... lonely."

My breath hitched in my throat and I bit down hard on my lip to stop the fresh wave of tears from spilling over. Not that it did any good, they rolled down my cheeks anyway.

I felt Billy's hands carefully hold my face and prompting me to look up, thumbs rubbing away the salty drops that fell copiously from my lashes. "No one gets to have absolutely everything they want. That's a fact of life. You know this is something I'm intimately aware of."

I nodded to show him I remembered his story, of how he felt he could never face his Mother and Father after having killed so many and caused so much harm as a pirate. We were well and truly on the same boat now, figuratively speaking.

"I'm sorry that you have to go through this." He pushed a stray piece of hair that had slipped out of my braid behind my ear. "I can only hope that you find that it was worth it. That I... we are enough for you."

With a smile that didn't quite reach my eyes, though I was thoroughly convinced of the veracity of my next statement, I too lifted a hand to rest my palm upon his cheek.

"You will always be worth every sacrifice, Billy Bones. You, our men, my crew. You're all my family now. It's like you told me, once..." My fingers fell and played around with one of his necklaces. "We can't change the past and we can't go home anymore. I would rather focus on the here and now, going forth."

He leaned down and placed a lasting kiss on my forehead. "Even so. If you ever need to talk about it, you know I'm always here to lend an ear."

With closed eyes, I put my hands around his shoulders and mumbled: "I know, Billy... I know."

We stood like that for another minute soaking up the comfort we offered each other, knowing that being vulnerable like this without fear was a blessing few got to experienced and how lucky we were to have such a bond. At least, I thought I was lucky. Never in my life I would have imagined falling in love would be quite like this.

At last, Billy released me and stepped back, though his hands still found mine and held fast. "And now, we should really get back to work before Gates finds us again and decides to start locking one of us in the sick bay at night as punishment."

I let out a light chuckle and felt some of my sorrow lift away from my heart. "He would have to barricade it. Folsom taught me how to pick locks."

He laughed as well. "Good thing Gates is already bald, or else between you and Flint, his hair would start to fall off."

"He has plenty of facial hair to shed, still. Don't threaten me with a good time."

Billy smirked, bit on his cheek like was pondering on whether or not to do something, then bent down to whisper in my ear: "Hurry up bringing the plunder to the Walrus and I'll show you a good time."

My mouth dropped into a fat "O" shape as I stared at him wide eyed.

"Billy Bones!!" I gasped loud enough to draw curious glances from our men whilst we rejoined them. "You're certainly coming out of your shell!"

"And I'm just getting started." Then he winked at me and departed into the lower deck, leaving me appalled, but thrilled to find out what he had in mind.

I rolled up my sleeves and dove into the task of finding as many valuables and essentials as I could to bring into our ship. The sooner we were finished, the sooner I could catch Billy alone.

For the next hour, I didn't think about Bernie or my sisters again. However, after we were finished loading all our stolen cargo and detached from our prize to be on our way, I ran toward the highcastle and climbed halfway up the mizzen mast to look back one last time.

I searched and searched, hoping... Praying...

On the other ship's forecastle, a figure with dark hair hopped onto the bulwark and grasped onto the stay rope at the bowsprit. The lantern light was weak, but I knew it was Bernie.

I raised an arm and waved to catch his attention. As soon as he saw me, he waved back in wide arches while I sailed farther and farther away. With a heart that weighted as much an an iron ball, I pressed my palm to my mouth, kissed it, and threw it out toward my cousin in a final farewell, for I knew, without a shadow of a doubt, that I would never see him again. I would never see any of them again. Yet a piece of my heart would forever remain with them, and all that would remain was an aching hole that would never close, never stop hurting, never let me forget what I had thrown away in the pursuit of freedom.

That was the sole regret I would allow to linger in my soul for the rest of my days.

[jetsteeleyourheart]

Circle Interrupted Chapter 6 (With Excerpt)

Fandoms: Bloodlines & Vampire Academy Longfic: 53,000+ Words so far Rated T - Hurt/Comfort, Heavy Situations, Mental Health, PTSD, violence, (see tags on Fic) Sydney & Adrian Alternating POV Canon Divergent Fix It Fic - Post Silver Shadows Sydney/Adrian, Jill/Eddie, Trey/Angeline, incidental Lissa/Christian, Incidental Rose/Dimitri

Chapter Summary:

Adrian makes several rather impressive discoveries, plays with his food, and has another really bad day.

Circle Interrupted Chapter 6 Link

Chapter 6 Excerpt:

“Out late again, aren’t you?” said the familiar voice from under the wide brim of a sunhat. It took me a minute for the spirit muddling Lissa’s features to melt away as I recognized her past her disguise. Perfect! If not Sonya, Lissa was basically the next best thing.

“Au contraire, cousin,” I said, assuming the low profile would mean she wouldn’t want me spouting her name off in public. “I’m playing hooky from work right now. Day shift, remember?” 

“Liss is finally coming down to our level. Though I have to ask, is it more efficient if you two slack off together?” Came the quip from Lissa’s table-mate. I wasn’t surprised to see Rose’s disguise melt away either. It would be actually unhinged to let the Queen out completely unprotected. 

“I’m hardly slacking, Rose. Between summer session midterms and the council meeting this week I deserve chill time.” Lissa looked at me endearingly. “We haven’t had much time in ages to goof off together recently –”  

“Who said I was goofing off,” I said, emphasizing the haughtiness in my voice as I examined my fingernails. The last of the nail polish I’d let Jill try on me before she was kidnapped was flaking off. “I’ll have you know I just discovered a major breakthrough.”

The startled looks on their faces caused my facade to crumble and I cracked the cheekiest grin I could manage. 

“You got a dream through to Jill?” Lissa said, eyes lit up and bright in the glow of the morning sky. My grin faltered. A part of me wanted to tell Lissa that Eddie and Sage were mid-rescue opp, but I didn’t want Lissa to go off on me for keeping secrets. Or undermining her authority. Or letting Sydney traipse around off court grounds after begging her for asylum. Suddenly I was very nervous about how all of this was going to shake down once the rescue crew got back. Jill being found would earn us all a few bonus points, I told myself. We’d be fine. 

“No, unfortunately…” It was technically the truth. “But you’re looking at vaccine genius 2.0!” I said, still very pleased with my own findings. I didn’t even have to fake my shit eating grin as I unfurled the painting of Sydney and my color chart. 

At first they both just looked confused and, if I wasn’t mistaking it, concerned. 

“Um, not that its a bad likeness, but is that supposed to be Sydney?” asked Lissa. 

“I think he might have made it out of Sydney,” Rose said, peering closer at one of the clumps. “Though I don’t know what the blue shit is…”

“It's blood,” I said impatiently. They were missing the point completely. 

“You didn’t make it out of Sydney, right?” Rose said, leaning away to get a better look at me. “‘Cause I was joking before.”

Start from the beginning on AO3!

[justsomeoneintoomanyfandoms]

hello, i notice that your request were open and was wondering you could do a matchup for me? preferably for demon slayer, jujutsu kaisen, and one piece.

i'm 20 years old, hispanic, a virgo, and use she/her pronouns.

appearance: 4'11. pear body shape. shoulder length hair. dark brown eyes. sometimes wears glasses.

personality: i'm a little awkward and distant at first. mostly wanting to know if your intentions are good or not. but once i get to know you and feel comfortable around you... i can be quite sarcastic, honest (to the point where it has gotten me in trouble), very curious, mischievous, stubborn, a little odd, calm, and patient. talking is depending, i guess? i mostly talk out of necessity or, if asked, unless i wholeheartedly love and trust you so much. i also tend to ramble a lot when a subject that i know and/or love is brought up. i can be prideful to the point where i don't want to apologize, but i am learning that it's okay to make mistakes and that i am not always right or know all.

hobbies: listening to music. playing games. reading. stargazing. watching [anime, documentaries, movies, series, etc].

likes: art, cats & dogs, dr. pepper, fashion, music, reading, stargazing, webtoon/manhwas.

dislikes: coffee, heights, hot temperature/weather, insects, overcrowded places, when people make fun of me for being a picky eater

love language(s): gift giving and acts of service.

extra: i really want to have tattoos. my favorite colors are pink and green. physical touch kind of scares me. and i always want to look good even if i'm just going grocery shopping.

sorry for the request being so long ^^' and i hope you have a wonderful day!

Hi Anon! Thank you for your request! Sorry it took so long.

You didn't specify whether you would prefer a male or female matchup (or if you didn't have a preference) so I've given you a male and female matchup for each fandom. As a result, the headcanons for each character are a bit shorter than normal. If you'd like more headcanons for any of the characters, please let me know and I'll happily write some up for you.

I hope you like your matchups!

In Demon Slayer, I match you with...

Modern au Tanjiro is definitely a fan of webtoons. I can’t explain that, it’s just a feeling. He’d love to get some suggestions from you so you can talk about your favourite comics together.

More than willing to get rid of bugs for you. He’ll move them so they’re not bothering you and let them go somewhere they’ll be happy so they don’t come back.

You and Kanao are certainly a quiet couple but you get each other in ways others can’t. She might not say much but she’s very empathetic and understands you well.

She’s not a big fan of crowded places either so is more than happy to avoid those with you. If you do have to go somewhere crowded, Kanao will stay as close to you as possible without touching you so you’re both comfortable.

In Jujutsu Kaisen, I match you with...

I don’t see Megumi as a huge fan of physical touch himself so he’s more than happy to have his personal space. If you’re comfortable with linking pinkies while you walk or even just occasionally touching ankles while sitting together, he’s happy with that as well.

Enjoys watching documentaries with you. He finds them interesting and enjoys hearing you add any extra facts throughout. He’s always paying really close attention too so expect him to remember those details even months down the track.

Nobara is the outgoing sass to your quiet mischief. You’re actually a super chaotic and unstoppable due when put together so it’s great for you two and terrible for everyone else.

Oh, she’s so happy you like fashion. She might not be the most girly-girl out there but she’s still a teenage girl and can appreciate some good outfits when the mood strikes her.

In One Piece, I match you with...

You and Usopp would definitely be the art due of the crew. You’ve both got that creative spark in you and are more than happy to give each other feedback and advice when the other is stuck on something.

Since you’re both mischievous as well, I can see the two of you being the pranksters of the crew. No one is safe from your pranks. Hopefully you can run fast though, otherwise you might not always escape scott-free…

Vivi loves stargazing with you. She finds it super relaxing. Bonus points if you’re rambling about the stars. Vivi loves listening to you talk about your passions so it’s a win-win in her book.

Definitely not someone to tease you for being a picky eater. In fact, since she’s got access to private chefs, she’ll be able to ensure all of your meals are designed so you enjoy every bite.

[kewpiekind]

Hello! Your art seems pretty interesting. I saw you’re list of fandoms and the Persona series was listed. I just recently got Persons 5 and am loving it. (I haven’t quite finished it yet, so no spoilers please.) But now I’m interested in the other Persona games. How do they compare to 5?

Hewoo!!! Thanks for the compliment~

My answer turned out really long so m read more

personal lore background: One of my biggest tattoos I have is a character from Persona 5 so I am a HUGE HUGE fan of the game.

Regardless of my tatt tho, I do certainly have some hot takes on P5. It was also my first journey into the Persona series and think it's a great starting point to see if you'd enjoy the other games (which I am so glad to hear you are!!!)

There are a few quality of life changes in Persona 5 that may not be present in some of the older titles in the series but Persona 3 is the first one that 'feels' like P5 if that makes sense? With that in mind, I would pick either 3 or 4 to start after 5. I can give you a short vibe check for them & you can see which sounds cooler to you!

Persona 4: Think Scooby Doo. You have recently move to a small town in the Japanese countryside and it is up to you to solve a string of murders with a colorful crew of characters. Plus they're all extremely gay for eachother.

The only drawback from interacting with Persona 4 is within the fandom is there are moments that transphobes & homophobes will latch onto to dispel any LGBTQ+ headcanons & it has personally caused me dysphoria in the past. Interacting with the right people can mitigate this from happening though.

Persona 3: Depressed orphan gets randomly assigned some of the weirdest dormmates. They must learn to work together in order to overcome the numerous life or death situations thrown at them. Major themes center around gray morality within humanity and finding ones purpose in life. Also there is a talking dog.

[spncreations]

Welcome to spn creations!

A new blog to share GRAPHICS, and other creative supernatural edits like picspams, posters, icons, fanmixes, gifs, etc. Our mission is to build a fun supportive community, where all spn fans feel welcome and encouraged to create and participate. Let's set our differences aside and share some love! We host a year-round creation challenge with biweekly fresh prompts to get your creative juices flowing.

PROMPT #3 will run from JUNE 6 to JUNE 20 and is:

"FATHER, I AM WHAT YOU MADE ME"

Father’s day, our favorite holiday, is around the corner. Time to bring an ode to our most beloved and beloathed fathers (biological or otherwise) in Supernatural and to the ways their children are shaped by them.

To participate: simply make a graphic (or other visually creative edit) that fits the prompt, and tag it with #spncreations. The quote is by Holly Black©️, but feel inspired by it any way you like. A new prompt will be shared after the mentioned deadline.

Under the read more you will find a short faq and some guidelines. More questions? See our faq or drop us a dm or ask. Need inspiration? Make sure to follow us! We have 5000+ spn creations from the past 15 years queued to be shared with you. Happy creating!❤️

FAQ: Are there any limits to what I can create?

NO AI, your work must be your own

All edits must be about Supernatural and its characters. This includes extended material like the prequel, the novels, comics, etc, but excludes the real-world like actors or the crew. You don't have to limit yourself to canon events: be inspired by songs, fics, headcanons, ships, au's or any visions you have.

Sporadically we also share fanart, please acknowledge this is an exception to the rule and not what the prompts are for.

NO HATE. This includes show/character/fandom bashing. A bit of criticism is fine, but try to twist it into something positive (e.g. create something based on what you would rather have seen)

Don't post hole unless its dean's deep dark nothing he cant fill. Visual implications of horizontal tangos are fine, but keep it tasteful.

⚠️ Be aware: standard gifsets/caps/edits, scenes of the show with realistic coloring and subtitles, or with little to no editing, will NOT be reblogged. Your skill level is not important, but creativity & style are. You do not have to make it complicated (often, less is more!), but do give your edit a creative twist in terms of composition, coloring, cropping, text, etc, to make it look artsy.

Do you accept late/multiple entries? Yes, and yes!

What if I don't want to see [x]? We will tag all posts so you can blacklist and filter as you please. Click here for mobile navigation. We are a fandom wide archive and will therefore host a wide variety of prompts, posts, preferences, ships, headcanons and ideas. If you see a post you don't like, please ignore it. If you can't be respectful towards others, we do not want you here.

Where do I find screencaps? Supernaturalarchive.com has everything you need. Homeofthenutty and kissthemgoodbye.net also have a large collection of unedited screencaps ready to use. Feel free to drop in our DM's if you're looking for something specific you can't find. Please do not get your pictures from pinterest, as these are often uncredited edits by someone else.

Anything else? Have fun!

[kaythefloppa]

Part 2 of the review is under the cut! Beware of spoilers!

Again, I will re-iterate: This specific animation feels on par with an actual theatrical release (or hell, even some of those polished Disney direct-to-DVD movies in the 2000s like Lion King 3 or Bambi II). It is beautiful to look at.

The only animals that can take down a blue whale are Orcas, but beyond that, yes size does matter when it comes to a blue whale's low mortality rate.

I really find it sweet how this show casually has Chris naming animal friends. The show initially set it up as being Martin's "thing" and presenting Chris doing it as a rarity, but now they just have it as the "new normal" where he can name animals without Martin's influence. The very next episode does a juxtaposition of this where the entire crew goes around naming animals as the plot, but it's not a bad juxtaposition at all.

Also, I really like the idea of them naming baby animals in the language of their region. Maybe it's because I've spent too much time in the Lion King fandom but I find that really unique. (And context: Mambiky means "Jump" in Malgasy).

Since he didn't name the mom, I will: Mihira (meaning "Sing" in Malagasy)

Maybe it's because I hyper fixate on the flash games too much which resulted in me caring way more about the disc colors than I should, but it is so aesthetically pleasing that these discs are blue and green to match their animals' colors and users (I forgot to mention this in Part 1 but the Anaconda Disc should've been green dammit)

I am slowly warming up to these new suits. I'm not even kidding. I like how goofy they are. And once again, this is the same episode where the fucking Wild Pony Suit was in a callback, so of course I'm going to praise these suits.

She plottin'

Those Zachbots get mangled by the enemy literally once a week and yet they're strong enough to chuck this big-ass turtle into the beach?? Also, what happened to that Tortuga disruptor blast, that would be very useful right now.

Also also, the Tortuga can swim. This is the equivalent of throwing a crocodile into the river with the intent to kill it, hoping it won't bite you or swim away to safety.

I did the math. They spent a full minute and 10 seconds focusing on this model of the Earth completely deteriorating. When I first asked, I kept asking myself "What is the point?" I've seen this episode almost four times - Knowing how it ends, I think this episode would have shot itself in the foot if they didn't include this scene. More on that later, but yeah, it is a good scene.

Fun fact: This is the exact reason why Indris are endangered. And for a species that literally cannot evolve anywhere else that, is a keystone species of the very habitat they have gone to evolve in, that is the last thing they need. I'm surprised the episode didn't mention that, but that's just me.

Legitimate question here: Where the fuck is Rex?

No really, where the fuck is he? He's usually the one who mans the pavers while Paisley overviews. We saw him literally just 2 episodes ago. In a vacuum, it makes little sense, but is equally as minute of an issue. But once again, if you know how this episode ends, it becomes a major plot-hole. If they resolve this in a future episode, ideally in the next batch of episodes, fine I'll lay off but there is no reason for him to not be here.

Notice Zach and Paisley's differing reactions to the Kratts telling them to fuck off. This will come into play later, but it is a decent example of a set-up to a pay-off, (again, can only be noticed from a retrospective view). And I think it does help said pay-off.

I know that Zach has tried to kill the bros before multiple times, as with all the other villains but I can't be the only one who was shocked at how the Zachbots almost SLICED CHRIS IN HALF on a kids' show. I actually yelled "oh shit!" a this!

God this is such an asspull it's not even funny...

1. SINCE F**KING WHEN?!?!?!

2. "Theoretically"

BULLSHIT!!!

ZACH HAS LITERALLY DONE THE EXACT SAME THING BECAUSE IT WAS A FLAW. A BUG. NOT A FEATURE. A BUG. THAT HE FOUND OUT. AND EXPLOITED. THAT YOU NEVER FIXED. I REPEAT. BULL. FUCKING. SHIT.

3. If you could do this now, what stopped you from doing it at ANY point in the series??

4. What the fuck happened to the Creature Souvenir collection? All Chris could've done was tell Jimmy to reverse teleport shed anaconda skin back to the HQ and save it for later.

5. What are the point of the gloves if you can hit the rewind button on the suit? Since the animal's DNA apparently doesn't mean jackshit here???

6. Did it not occur to you that maybe Zach, who has done this countless of times before for years on end, would probably be able to undo what you plan on doing, because that's EXACTLY what he does!

7. WHY IS THIS EVEN POSSIBLE??? THE ENTIRE EXISTENCE OF THE RING CHIP WAS TO PREVENT THIS. THERE ARE SO MANY THINGS THAT CAN GO WRONG WHICH THIS DOES.

This is the woman who invented time travel, I'm being selfish by expecting basic fucking logic to dictate this situation.

So there's a Blue Crab Power Suit now?? Don't you think that would've been more effective, especially since this is the beach?? Will we ever get a blue crab episode?? Does anything mean anything anymore????

Still better than the Mountain Goat Suit.

We stan a self-aware queen (also, replace this image with Dr. Frankenstein and his monster with the same dialogue, you will get the EXACT same effect).

S7 please stop giving me reasons to slander Aviva, it hurts me more than it hurts you.

Petition to have Chris be the new villain in Kung Fu Panda 5, the Chameleon ain't got shit on him.

THis show can be hilariously badass when it needs to be.

And here is a huge contender for the best scene in the entire damn show. These 2 octopuses go out of their way to save Chris from the Zachbot. It's one of those things that is so random that it you wind up liking it so much because of what it does.

Also, I think there was a missed opportunity for Chris to activate Octopus Power here.

I like how polite she was in asking them to leave. At first glance, it's odd and funny, but just wait. We're reaching the home stretch here.

Once again, this is another juxtaposition and one that is so cleverly written. Paisley is obsessed with order, believing nature to be messy and in need of "correction" through building. Her entire belief system being deconstructed by seeing the coral reef being built naturally and seeing its beauty is an amazing bit of dramatic irony that surprises me even for this show. It's an interesting study on the character.. (though the fact that up until this point she's been painfully underutilized, makes previous episodes.. feel kinda downy).

This is another interesting step. Most villain redemptions (well written ones at least) focus on the villain regretting their past actions and acknowledging them to be in the wrong. Whilst that step is (unfortunately) kinda missing in this episode, it showcases something equally enthralling. They change for the better out of a specific concern for the future. As in, "If I stop doing X, then this bad thing will not happen because it should not happen." I don't often see that enough in most shows, so once again, this is a very ingenuitive take on the character. If I sound like a parrot, it's only because this particular moment of the episode is the beginning of the trajectory change for the entire fucking show, so I have to focus on it and how it's written specifically so we can get to the elephant in the room.

There is nothing - Absolutely nothing that prepared me for this moment. I was in sheer denial the whole time, waiting for the catch. I thought it was going to be a fake-out like the one in the Christmas special, or just the villain surrendering for the episode. I was fully ready for a twist. Only to realize that this WAS the twist. They pushed themselves into a corner they can't back out of.

Paisly Paver, is one of the good guys now.

Now, here's the question on everybody's minds? Is this change permanent? I mean, despite Wild Kratts's strong continuity, they do hit the reset button a lot when it comes to some things. Well, in an article by Martin Kratt, he says in a non-spoilery way,

“There is a surprise at the end of the special. I can't tell you too much. But there's a really interesting twist that happens with one of the show's villains in Our Blue and Green World that will change that villain’s arc for the rest of the series.”

....which means that this isn't a fluke or an April Fools' joke (which a few people, myself included initially thought). This is an honest to god change for the show.

How do I feel about it? Well... on one level, I think it could've been done really better. Like, give Paisley more appearances of her as a villain. That way we get used to her being one of the status quo villains. I took count. She has only appeared in 6 episodes of the show, half of which were solo appearances, the other half were team-ups with the villains. That's... weirdly enough far too few appearances for us to treat her as one of our main villains. The writers do seem to understand that making a villain too villainous for too long has the risk of their character crossing the moral event horizon which would shoot themselves in the foot if they ever thought about redeeming such a character. However, on the other side of things, we at least need to recognize our villain as a villain for a redemption to not be jarring, so the underutilization of Paisley brings this down.

Additionally, there's the absence of Rex and the implication it has. He's for some reason not there during Paisley's redemption and has very little to do with the creation of "Blue and Green World" at the end. Does that imply that he is still a villain? That he's not gonna get redeemed? Beyond Dabio, he’s the only villain I would’ve actually expected to get a redemption arc. Paisley and Rex have some of the healthiest relationships out of all the villains, arguably all of the characters. I don’t like the idea that Paisley will just abandon Rex and their entire business in favor of the enemy and this resulting in him them having to fight or worse - him potentially being written off the show. In a future episode that continues to delve into Paisley’s heel-face, turn, they need to resolve the loose ends in regards to that dynamic.

Also, still bummed that my Donita x Paisley ship has gone down the drain along with any chance of them teaming up. Again, if they were going to redeem her, they could’ve at least done that as one final hurrah for the character before doing it. At best, we’ll probably see an episode of them facing off which will remedy the blow a little bit.

But, with all things said and done, the execution is still okay. The way they give Paisley a heel-face turn doesn’t seem all that forced and her first incentive is to do the exact opposite of what she set out to do. Build, to help animals, not harm them. And the set-up they do is pretty clever. She’s less outwardly shitty about it as Zach is, she grills him sometimes, and the purpose of the “rock” scene comes very much into play, tying the plot together in a neat little bow.

And again, the fact that they had the balls to do this and to follow through on it, earns a lot of my respect.

I get that it’s standard for villain redemptions to come with a wardrobe change but this is ridiculous. The colors do not match AT. ALL. I really hope they don’t make this her permanent look, or make Rex’s new wardrobe change anything like this (if he gets one).

Wait... so are they narrating or talking directly to the audience? It feels like I'm watching an episode of Go Diego Go lmao.

I was going to question how the fuck Blue and Green World was allowed to be authorized and made, especially with Paisley's track record, but then I remembered that the Kratts own a goddamn flying turtle and other inventory and shit. Getting the funds for this must have been the equivalent of purchasing glasses for the eclipse!

Tumblr will not let me upload anymore images so some notes:

Some Wild Kratts kids from the earlier seasons! Obviously we can't hear them speak because their VAs are grown up now but it's still nice seeing them again.

Ignoring how allowing a bunch of kids to fully interact with wildlife without major adult supervision can go hilariously wrong here, (gotta suspend my disbelief), this is such a great way of showing how construction can be done without going at the expense of wildlife or sacred places in general. It's a message that I think should be pushed way more!

An instrumental reprise of the musical number without any singing!! Glory be!!!

The closer involves whale tagging. Very exciting.

CONCLUSION:

CONS:

Paisley's redemption missing a few fundamental details (INCLUDING REX BEING THERE WHAT THE FUCK).

The lack of a climax. Like, the trailers hyped it up as this big special and the climax is not a big battle but just one villain saying "nope, no more" and another just fucking off. Maybe it's to subvert our expectations but you could've worked around this!

Paisley's wardrobe change.

Aviva once again having to be dumbed down for the sake of the plot... *sigh.*

PROS:

It still felt big. It felt like a bigger episode with bigger stakes [sorta] and bigger characterization than your regular episode. I'm of the opinion that S7 is the most experimental of the lot so far, because they spent 2 years working out their scripts and animations, and they knew that a section of the fanbase would be waiting so they decided to play by their strengths, but take more risks with it, do things outside of the show's comfort zone to lead it to new heights. It's "out there." This episode is a perfect example of that and for as many times as it misses, it also hits too. I like the animals, I like the suits, the animation, the themes, the morals, the writing, the characters, the settings, the education. On some level, it's everything I've been expecting for in S7.

They definitely raised the bar this season with this special. I'd argue that it's one of the best episodes of the season so far, one of the best two-parters and arguably the best episode of the series. Now that isn't a final verdict, there are several others I like far more, but I would call this the most respectable well-conceived story of the show, and it raised my expectations here. Initially I was worried this episode would potentially lead to the show's downfall but after analyzing it, I think I see good things for Wild Kratts from here on out.

Final Ranking: 8.9/10.

Wild Kratts - Our Blue and Green World: Part 1: Review [Spoilers]

Welp, here it is, the Wild Kratts TV movie (not to be confused with the feature film they've been teasing us with since 2021). There's been a lot of hype around this special and season, especially with how much the latter was being hyped up during the hiatus. Let's see if the blue and green bros were able to deliver: Spoilers under the cut

Well, this is certainly an attention grabber!

This entire live action intro is shot and edited like an animated Wild Kratts episode, it's glorious.

Woah, intro change!

They said the thing! They said the thing!

HELP THIS IS SO RELATABLE. Also, THE BOYS ARE FIGHTING

Lmao I don't think they do it very often, but using animals/nature in their insults is very creative.

Also, whooping crane episode when?

This entire song is mercifully short. Like most character sung songs in Wild Kratts, it's not good, but this at least is clever in its lyrics and its visuals. It feels like a Disney reference at best and I am content with that. I also ADORED seeing the Draco and Walrus Suit return again. It's arguably the best musical number in the series. No, that is not saying a lot.

MARTIN WHY ARE YOU THE ONE WHO'S MIFFED YOU NEARLY MUFASA'D YOUR LITTLE BROTHER

CHRIS WHY ARE YOU MILDLY INCONVENIENCED YOU GOT ACRAPHOBIA FALLING FROM THAT HEIGHT

When I first saw the clip, I thought that they were going somewhere with this, like they'd activate Peacock Powers at the end when they recognized the compatibility and blue and green. But nope. Wasted potential is an understatement.

Also, where the fuck are they right now? In a previous shot there was Target the Chameleon, implying that they've been to Madagascar, but that is an Indian peafowl, and as far as I'm concerned, they don't live in Madagascar. Were they just having an off-day? These animals have little to nothing to do with the plot when they really shouldn't have, so I don't see why they couldn't have just shown a projector image or something.

Remember when I joked about the Wild Pony Power Suit returning in S7.... fuck you Apollo.

Man, they are eating it up with the animation here. It's hard to tell with screengrabs but man, is it fluid.

The first half of this episode is mixed. While it feels like the brothers are incredibly stubborn, it also does make sense for them to be this fixated on their favorites. So I can totally buy this. It could've been insufferable to watch, but it wasn't.

As if YOU haven't spied on them since the first time your dorito-headed ass showed up on screen

Did you find that funny? Because not only do they do a similar joke like that later on, but they follow through on that joke in the most unexpected way you will shit your pants when you first ingest it.

Oh my god if they make a Creature Power Suit off of that bird, I will take back any diss I've made, that is so beautiful.

Good to know that Aviva put the button near the chest and not near the back.

Maybe it's just me but this is kinda pushing it. Chris is literally getting his organs crushed, I think that should matter more than A) being right or B) trying to get 2 people to stop fighting.

I'm loving the callback and what this leads up to but ew, all this does is remind me about how ugly bright the color pallatte in S6. Really glad they fixed it in S7.

HELL FUCKING YES

This episode finds really unique ways of showing how the two different biomes are interconnected. It's like Rainforest Stew's (very brilliantly handled) message only to a larger degree. Kids can learn a lot from this.

I fucking love this episode, man.

Honestly, the way they write Paisley in the first half of the episode is very in-line with her character. Most shows that do what this episode does has them be out-of-character as a set-up, but here, she's just roasting the fuck out of Zach. Once again, recontextualized entirely in the climax.

HOW THE FUCK DID HE GET TO MADAGASCAR FROM THE GODDAMN AMAZON IN ONE AFTERNOON THAT IS LIKE MORE THAN 1,000 MILES AWAY?? ARE ANACONDAS THAT FAST?????

Also, INDRIS!!!!! :D

I was frankly expecting this to horribly backfire but spoilers, it doesn't. This actually winds up working. Common Aviva W.

To be continued.... will the blue and green rivalry end? Will one prove superior over another? And will they be able to stop Zach and Paisley and save the planet earth? And will this change the adventures of the Wild Kratts team forever? Stay tuned for part 2!

Pros:

The live action segments.

The animation of the earth's model.

The musical number not being ass.

Paisely's catty behavior.

The Anaconda Suit.

The inventive ways they show how the stability of the Earth is complex. There are a lot of ways it functions and thus a lot of ways it needs to survive

The comedy.

Cons:

The villains do not do anything until the second half of this episode. In fact, they're left completely in the backdrop. I expected them to make their prescence known and for Aviva to invent the discs to get them together for the SAKE of fighting the villains. But no. It makes the stakes feel hollow, which is the opposite of what they should be gunning for in an hour long special that they hype the shit out of.

CONCLUSION:

It was an "okay" set-up. It did live up to some of the hype it had, but not all of it. Honestly if it wasn't for the second half of this episode, this movie would be mediocre or slightly above average, but no. They do pick themselves off the ground and... they do jump the shark. But we'll get to that next time

[crazytogether4l]

"Will they?" "Won't They?" Don't Worry My Loves, They Will ;)

Scroll down to see an analysis of who the heck the duffers could be calling a "will they" "won't they" couple. The first section is basically just context with some of my thoughts so feel free to read that as well! <3

On November 5th, a day before Stranger Things Day, the official Stranger Things twitter posted a thread of tweets replacing Steve's iconic 'boobies' quote (I have no idea how else to describe it lol) with various fandom inside jokes and comments like that. Here is the order/content of the tweets!

Okay so, the ships/people mentioned in the previous tweets were Steve Harrington, Lumax (WE LOVE LUMAX, Lucas + Max), Erica, Will Byers, The Byers, JOPPER (WE LOOOVVVVEEEEE, Joyce + Hopper), Murray, Dustin (DUSTYBUUUUNNN), AN ANONYMOUS COUPLE WHICH I WILL TALK ABOUT, and then El.

I find it very interesting that they put the mystery couple directly before el, it's kind of like establishing Els independence for the upcoming season!

Now, what in the world is a "Will they" "Wont they" couple, and who could the duffers be describing?

So this is my understanding of the basic characteristics of a "will they" "wont they" couple;

Romantic chemistry shared by both people

Relationship is threatened by all of the following;

Uncertainty

External obstacles

Internal strife

Romantic tension that remains unbroken or unresolved

Now let's compare this list to different st couples the duffers could be referring to, I'll try and remember all of them but there are a lot so lmk if I miss any! To check the criteria I will name a couple or ship, say their status and go through the criteria as it relates to each! Each couple must meet all the requirements of a "will they" "won't they" ship to be considered as such.

Which ships will I be counting? I mean, the criteria are automatically biased based on my perception of the show, so I'm trying to use solid canon evidence that the couple either is romantically involved or at least one person in the ship is romantically interested in the other. Both characters also have to be a part of the main teams of s4 like either the California (mike will el Johnathan argyle), Hawkins (Dustin steve robin Lucas max nancy erica), or Russia crew (joyce hopper neil murray). (I'm excluding Eddie because he's... well... not a contender anymore). For example, Milkvan would count as a valid ship to consider because , they are dating, but a ship like Dustin and Lucas wouldn't count (only for what I'm trying to do here, ofc I think every ship is valid as long as its respectful, everyone has their own headcanons and I support all of your perceptions of the show ofc <3) because there is no canonical evidence to support this being a possible romantic pairing in the show. Anyway, let's get started, if you have any questions on how I determined if a ship could be considered or not please feel free to message me, I love talking to all of you! Oh also I should clarify as well that I'm only counting ships that have both parties alive (with the exception of max who we aren't sure is alive or not)

Couples I'm choosing not to include (but still meet criteria to be considered): Duzie, dustin and max, robin and vickie (because vickie isn't a part of the main groups and I don't think that their relationship has built up long enough to be considered a wtwtc, however, if you disagree id love to talk about it!)

Color code: True False Is a wtwtc is not a wtwtc

COUPLE Jancy (Johnathan Byers and Nancy Wheeler)

STATUS Dating; They have been dating since season 2 when they got together after an interrogation from Murray. In season 4 they struggled with maintaining the relationship due to the long distance, but when they reunited this was mostly resolved, still some stuff was left up in the air with stancy and all.

CRITERIA (1) Yes there is romantic chemistry (2.1) No, there is no uncertainty with the validity of their relationship. While they may be struggling to figure out how to maintain their relationship, there is no uncertainty about whether or not they are in a romantic relationship. (2.2) Yes, there were external obstacles such as stancy but those obstacles have been resolved and are no longer affecting the couple. For example, will going missing and steve and nancys relationship count, but both of those obstacles have been resolved (2.3) No, there was no notable internal conflict besides shared trauma and anxiety about approaching their feelings for each other. (3) While there is romantic tension between them, the tension was resolved by them getting together and becoming a couple officially

While there is romantic chemistry, the ship did not fulfill all requirements to be considered a "will they" "wont they" couple

COUPLE Stancy (Steve Harrington and Nancy Wheeler)

STATUS Ex's; In season one, Nancy and Steve were in a relationship. They broke up after Nancy called their love bull shit at a high school party. There is some romantic tension again in s4, though it doesn't really go anywhere, at least directly.

CRITERIA (1) Yes, there is romantic tension. Especially in season 4, there are numerous moments of sexual tension. (2.1) Yes, there is uncertainty with the validity of the relationship. However Steve wants to have his "six little nuggets" with Nancy, but we as an audience can visually see how that future doesn't excite her. Steve still loves nancy but nancy does not love steve, no matter how much she hopes she does. (2.2) Yes, there is an external obstacle, Nancy and Johnathan are a couple so that is an obstacle that would get between them from being together. (2.3) No, there are not a ton of moments of internal conflict. Steve potentially likes Nancy again and Nancy doesn't feel the same IMO but even considering that, there is no internal conflict that is a barrier between a platonic or a romantic relationship. (3) No, there is no unresolved sexual tension, as they have already been in a relationship

Jancy does not qualify as a will they won't they couple, they have already been in a relationship, and the romantic tension was already broken so there's nothing new romantically to build up that hasn't already been done.

COUPLE Lumax (Lucas Sinclair and Max Mayfield)

STATUS Ex's, Romantic interests, kinda unclear lol; Max and Lucas got together at the end of season 2, when they kissed at the Snowball. They were dating throughout season 3, however, in the beginning of season 4, we see max isolating herself from the party, and therefore we as an audience understand that Lucas and Max were not together romantically anymore. It wasn't until we see them at billys grave and we also see Max and Lucas together at the Creel house (Lucas asking Max on a movie date) when we finally see them express romantic interest in each other again Not super related but this is a parallel to Jopper with Enzos and the fact that they couldn't go on their date because of multiple obstacles (like Joyce standing hop up to figure out why her magnets weren't working, and hop going to Russia causing everyone to think he was not alive anymore)

CRITERIA (1) Yes, there is romantic tension between Lucas and Max (2.1) While there is uncertainty with what Lumax's future will look like, there is no uncertainty with whether the romantic feelings they have are requited or if they have the potential to be in a romantic relationship because they already have been in a romantic relationship. (2.2) Yes, there is one big external obstacle which is max literally being in a coma lmaooo (2.3) Yes, there are internal obstacles Lucas and Max struggle with regarding their romantic feelings towards each other, especially Max. Max isolates herself after she experiences the trauma of witnessing what happened to billy and she experiences symptoms of vecna's curse, basically she's being vecna'd and that causes her to suffer mentally and therefore she isolates herself from the party, especially Lucas. (3) While there is unbroken romantic tension that came up in s4, Max and Lucas already dated so there is no new romantic tension that could be potentially broken here. "will they" or "won't they" couples are typically built up over numerous seasons, so the previous romantic history between them would disqualify them from being considered a "will they" "won't they" couple.

Lumax can not be considered a "will they" "won't they" couple because they do not fulfill all of the criteria to be considered a wtwtc, and even if they did I don't think that lumax would be the wtwtc they were talking about because they were already mentioned in Stranger Writers' thread as an official ship

COUPLE Mileven (Mike Wheeler and El Hopper)

We already know that Mileven is not a "will they" "wont they" couple because they are already in a romantic relationship, but I'm going to pretend like I don't already know that because its good practice for me to be able to be more open to other perspectives of the show and also I think its important in general to analyze the dynamics of their relationship anyway :)

STATUS Dating; (I am a passionate byler shipper so I will try and be as factual as I possibly can) Mike and El kissed towards the end of season one but didn't get together again until the end of season two when they finally went to the snowball together. El dumped his ass in season 3, Mike said "I love her and I can't lose her again" in a heated fight with the group, and they got back together at the end of the season when El said she loved him too and kissed him. In season 4 we see them struggle with managing the distance as well as discovering their own identities. Mike has trouble saying 'I love you' to el (he is discovering his sexuality simultaneously... regarding his feelings for will), and El is not receiving the type of love she wants and needs from mike. At the end of the season, we see mike and will stand together and El stands alone, which foreshadows an independent El for season 5.

CRITERIA (1) This is something that is super controversial in the fandom, and as a byler supporter I personally don't think that there is any romantic tension between mike and eleven, but I will try and look at it from multiple perspectives.

As a byler supporter, what I see is a longing for romantic feelings, especially from mike. Mike wants to fit in and his role models are nancy and his parents, both of which have been in toxic relationships and fake love (stancy) and that is all mike knows about romantic feelings. In season one people continue to accuse mike of having romantic feelings for el. When Mike first meets el, he treats her kind of how he would treat any other peer, like showing her his toys and being nice and letting her sleep in his basement. The romantic implications of that don't even cross his mind until Lucas and Dustin point them out. There is a huge difference between the was Lucas and Dustin interact with el, and the way mike does. Lucas and Dustin think, oh this is a girl, omg a girl in mikes basement. But mike is focused on finding will, and El could lead him closer to finding him. Mike claims that he has always loved el, but he literally tried to get her to go back to where she came from in their first few moments together. Like we don't see Mike actually push for El to stay until she recognizes will in that photo. Lucas, dustin, even his older sister Nancy all ask him if he likes el romantically. I think this gets in his head a lot, which causes him to kiss her at the end of the season. In season two at the end of the season we see mike sulking at the snow ball. I think mainly this kind of had to do with the fact that will was out dancing with a girl and he felt jealous feelings but didn't understand why or what that meant. That is my perception because of the headcanons I have of byler but if I'm looking at it from a mileven perspective then it was because he assumed she wasn't coming. Personally, I don't think this is why because he knew she was back in town and she was okay and there must have been some communication about whether or not eleven was actually going to the snow ball but either way she showed up and we see his face change. Then right after we see El walk in and I think he uses the shame from his jealousy to motivate him to do romantic things with el, but that could just be my opinion because thats what I believe in my head lol. For el, she only really starts expressing romantic interest in mike after she starts watching soap operas. Mike kissed her in s1, and when she sees couples kissing on the tv in s2, she has a realization that maybe that was something couples do so that means that she likes mike... right? Or does she have this thought because she doesn't have any other exposure to what romance actually looks like? Its an interesting question to dive into, and I'll go in more detail in a future post if anyone would be interested in that. I think something that is very telling is the mileven breakup in s3. This scene has been analyzed over and over again, but in general, the way she says "i dump your ass" so easily and then laughs about it on the bus with max is very telling. Like idk about you but if I was supposedly in love with someone it wouldn't be that easy to just dump them and then giggle about it a few minutes later. In s4 we see el being very inauthentic, like for example she looks at the note on the flowers that says "from mike" and then puts on a fake smile. And over the season we kind of see this fake smile start to break down until she stops talking to mike altogether at the end of the season. At the end of the season El knows that Mike can't give her the love she needs. The fact that he says I love you, which is what El wanted to hear, but she still gives mike the silent treatment after his confession and we don't see them talk for the rest of the season? Like I love you is what she thought she needed but it didn't fix anything because she knew they were just empty words said in the heat of the moment, just like how he said "I love her" in the heat of the moment in season 3. There is soooooo much to talk about, especially in season 4 and season 3, so let me know if you want more of this because I have a lot to say but I should get back to the topic of this post <3

(2.1) No, there is no current uncertainty regarding the validity of their relationship. As an audience, no matter if there is a deeper meaning or not, we know that el has said I love you to mike and mike has said I love you to el. No matter if those words are true or not, we as an audience are expected to believe this as canon and therefore their romantic feelings for each other are not uncertain after Mike said I love you to el. (2.2) Yes there have been external obstacles, however, at the end of season 4 these are all resolved to our knowledge. El is back in hawkins with mike. The only other obstacle I can think of is will, but neither el nor mike are aware of his feelings for mike, so I would save this for a potential season 5 obstacle. (2.3) Yes, there are internal obstacles. Mike is having a hard time saying I love you to el because of internal hardships regarding his sexuality, and el is not receiving the love that she wants or deserves from mike. This is the opposite of a will they won't they couple, this is incompatibility and its obvious. (3) No, there is no unresolved tension. Mike and el have both said I love you, kissed, and had a relationship, there is no tension that needs resolving anymore, if anything their relationship is getting boring at this point IMO (no hate to milevens at all you all are totally allowed to love your ship <3)

No, Mileven is not a "will they" "wont they" couple because they have already broken the tension that is needed to be considered one and they are already in a relationship

COUPLE Jopper (Joyce Byers and Jim Hopper)

STATUS Dating; I think Jopper has always been a will they wont they couple. There has been romantic tension with them since the beginning. Joyce has always been comfortable just walking over to hopper, speaking her mind. We see them start to form an emotional bond over season one. Then throughout the seasons, they get closer which leads up to hopper asking Joyce out on a date and they plan to go to Enzo’s but the plan changes when hopper disappears to Russia at the end of season 3. Season 4 they reunite in Russia and release all the sexual tension by making out in the warehouse thing. It’s a lot more beautiful than that but I have a migraine and can’t think of a poetic way to write that lol.

CRITERIA (1) Yes, there is soooo much sexual and romantic tension between joyce and hopper!!! Literally in every single season, especially season 3 and the end of season 4! Theres no other explanation needed :) (2.1) No, there is no uncertenty with whether Joyce and Hopper like each other romantically or not. We know that both of them like each other and they both have expressed romantic interest in each other. (2.2) I mean besides bob in season 2, and basically the entire world ending, there arent too many outside obstacles currently at the end of s4. Hopper was like kinda gone in another continent for most of the last season though so that counts. (2.3) Yes, there are internal struggles. Hopper struggles with grief and for most of season one and two joyce was emotionally unavailable due to the trauma of losing her son and people telling her she was crazy. Both of these characters love each other, but they are both so scared of losing the ones they love that they love, they cant bare to give all of their love to each other just to have It ripped from them all over again.

This is off topic but this inspired me to talk about loss throughout the show, which is centered around loss. Thats what its all about. The first ten minutes show a a family, a friendgroup, even a whole town that is greatly affected by the loss of a boy. Especially in season 4, I think that the major theme throughout the show was the fear of loss, especially around the idea of love whether it be platonic love or something more. Max distanced herself from the group, partially because she was afraid of causing even more pain and loss than she felt she already had. El was so scared of losing mike, like we can see her desperately trying to be worthy of his love. She wrote to him like every day, she lied to seem cooler than she was, she faked smiles to make sure everything was perfect. Mike is probably the one most affected by the fear of loss in my opinion. His best friend went missing and he thought he was dead, then el went missing, then will almost died again in season 2, then el almost died in season 4, like the amount of times mike has had to deal with the idea of his friends leaving him is very sad. I think a lot of this stems from his childhood. Will is also scared of losing others, especially his sister and brother and mike

(3) No, the tension was broken when they kissed in season 4 lmao. Also when they kept talking about their date. This was a hard couple to debate on, especially since they were a will they wont they couple in the past, but I think because they already broke that tension, and its canon that they have romantic feelings for each other and they have done romantic things together, there is no uncertainty if they like each other more than platonically. I think that jopper is like the original "will they" "wont they" couple, and then that romantic tension was broken and now they're just a slow burn romance! Ugh I love them so much I could talk about them for hours :) If anyone wants to talk about them id love to!

This was a difficult one to determine but since there is no uncertainty with whether their romantic attraction is requited, and the romantic attraction has been acted on, I do not think that they can be considered a "will they" "wont they" because like, they already DID if that makes sense!

COUPLE BYLERRR! (Mike Wheeler and Will Byers)

STATUS Best friends, potential love intrests, gay as hell; Its currently canon that Will is in love with Mike (confirmed by noah schnapp), however it is not yet canon if mike is romantically interested in will (even though it couldn't be more obvious). There is sooooooooo much romantic tension between the two, not to mention the COUNTLESS parallels between them and other couples from the show. Not only just from stranger things, but actual canon gay couples from OTHER SHOWS! Like the duffers put a lot of thought into their parallels. Its truly beautiful, like they are the best slow burn gay romance in all of tv history. Its undeniable.

CRITERIA (1) YES OH MY GOD! There is soooooo much romantic chemistry between the two! Like especially from mike.

BEST FRIENDS DONT LOOK AT EACH OTHER LIKE THAT! tHEY JUST DONT! THEY ARE BLUSHING LIKE NO BODIES BUISSNESS AND THEY ARE LOOKING AT EACH OTHERS LIPS AND THIS INTIMATE MOMENT IS BROKEN SUDDENLY, JUST LIKE SO MANY INTIMATE MOMENTS IN THE SHOW!

Like, come on... theres just so much evidence that they are in love, not to mention all of the "intimate moments" and parallels to other couples. I could go on and on! (2.1) Yesssss there is uncertainty and loooaadddssss of it! The beautiful thing about byler is its up to interpretation. Neither of them just comes out and says out front they are in love, will uses el as a cover for his own feelings, and mike just is scared to be vulnerable about how he feels because of external and internal homophobia. Both of their romantic feelings for each other are shown not only through just words and physical communication, but also through symbols, set, lighting, music, etc. Their story is left up to interpretation because that's just accurate to the time. We are unsure if both of them love each other canonically, but we can feel it, that's the beauty of the show. We know that will is in love with mike. Thats canon. But mike, mike's story is so accurate to the struggle of growing up as a gay kid, and many adults who have grown up in the 80s have said that they identify themselves with mike and wills story! Like as a queer person who grew up with similar feelings to mike and will, its just beautiful to watch their love story unfold despite all of the obstacles they face. (2.2) EXTERNAL OBSTACLES! SO. MANY. EXTERNAL. OBSTACLES. I mean, this is a gay love story about two gay boys in the 1980's, a time when homophobia was experiencing a spike due to the HIV crisis and hate crimes and everything of that sort. And not to mention that mike is in a relationship with wills sister, so even if mike broke up with el, will getting together with his sisters ex boyfriend is kind of a betrayal to her so there's a sense of guilt or shame that's added on top of the feelings he is already having. And for mike, he has to navigate the fact that he cant say I love you to his girlfriend because he already loves will. Also he doesn't know will loves him so he assumes that he has no shot with him anyway. Not to mention all of the supernatural struggles that come with their feelings for each other. Like in season three and two, a lot of the times mike and will have an intimate moment he then feels vecna. Also the fact that will is literally being brainwashed by vecna for like half the season. Also the bullying in seasons one and two when the boys, especially will, have been called homophobic slurs their whole life. This causes shame and guilt for who they are, which makes them hesitant to acknowledge their feelings for each other.

(2.3) INTERNAL OBSTICLESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS! SOOOOO MANY! First of all internalized homophobia, which mike sufferers from a lot! Its shown throughout the show in so many ways. First of all, mikes relationship with el is kind of an avoidance tactic for mike, as well as a safety tactic. He uses his relationship with el to convince himself that he is in fact straight and he does everything he can to be perceived as straight, even by himself. For will, there is so much shame that has been thrown at him his whole life. Not only from his father but his peers. He has been bullied his entire life and so has mike, they have experienced homophobia their whole lives, which has caused them to believe that they themselves are the problem. And there's a whole other struggle that especially affects mike, which is heteronormativity. The minute he showed el any kindness at all, everyone started asking him if he liked el and were calling her his bf and stuff like that. Hes lived in this headspace that in order to be seen as 'normal', he has to be straight. Like he thinks that getting a girlfriend and giving up on the 'childish' things he enjoyed as a kid like dnd is all a part of growing up. There's just so many internal struggles with both of them, especially in regard to their romantic feelings for each other. (3) No, the romantic tension has not been broken yet! There is sooooo much tension and so many scenes where they seem like they are about to kiss or about to confess their feelings, but they are interrupted by a person, a noise, etc. They are so in love I love them so muchhhh! Like for example the bedroom scene when they're like "I didn't say that" and mike is like "you didn't have to". Like that scene is a direct parallel to another gay ship that KISS after they exchange their little "cool", "cool". But for byler that tension is interrupted by the van arriving, like there are so many examples of this throughout the show! I could go on and on about byler so let me know if you want me to discuss this more :)

Yes, Byler is a "will they" "wont they" couple! While many of the st couples have fit under the "will they" "wont they" umbrella at some point in the show, the unknown romantic aspect of their relationships have all been resolved except for byler! And even if jopper counted as a "will they" "'wont they" couple, the st twt still mentioned them in the thread before they mentioned the will they wont they couple, so it wouldn't make sense for jopper to be referred to twice in the same way.

So to kind of summarize all of those words, byler is the only "will they" "wont they" couple in present-day stranger things canon, which therefore is EVEN MORE evidence that byler will be end game. Especially because the way the line is used in the first place, like steve saying that Vickie obviously likes women, and then that being true in the end, it shows how byler is also true and it will happen! I hope all of this made sense! Sorry this is pretty delayed after the thread came out, I've been so busy and also trying to add to this post as much as I could over the past few weeks haha. If you have any fun things to add or stuff you want to discuss please do! I always love talking to you all. As always, much love to everyone <3