#anyway yeah don't get me started on the rest of the ships (even the obvious ones like malec) - though these are two of the worst offenders

[after-nine-at-the-oasis]

I've been considering making a playlist with one song for each of the ships I love, which I think is a great idea and all (as long as I made a code for what song means which ship in case I forgot), but I ran into an problem.

For ships without a canon song to relate them to I could just pick a song that makes me think of them, which was the original intention anyway (it's just that for several the main song is one in canon), but here is where the issue lies: I thought of too many.

So now I have to decide between several songs for each ship lol. It's the main reason I haven't made the playlist yet xd. Help :').

[dragon-kazansky]

Spirit of the sea

Izzy Hands x Reader (GN)

SEASON 2 CONTENT AHEAD!!!

Blackbeard rules the sea. Despite wanting his captain back, Izzy realises his mistake. Protecting the crew is his concern. Protecting you is his life mission. Stede's return brings hope, but there's a lot of work to be done before this crew becomes a family.

{Masterlist}

{Previous Chapter} - {Next Chapter}

Warnings: Spoilers. Izzy's depression spiral. No real unicorns were harmed in the making of Izzy's new leg. Things get a little steamy at the end.

Chapter Thirteen - Loving touch

♡♡♡

Stede had gathered the crew, minus Izzy, to talk to them all. Turns out Ed woke up. You swore under your breath when you heard that. No way is that man going to be happy with any of you.

"What happened to your face?" Pete asked Stede who was standing to a bruise on his cheek.

"Bet Blackbeard did that, didn't he?" Wee John asks.

"It was an accident. Okay? I think Ed just sat up too quickly," Stede says.

"That's what they all say," Roach states.

"As you know, he's gone through quite the ordeal and he does need to regain his strength," Stede explains.

"Yeah. He'll probably get around to killing you after he's rested," Jim says, looking Stede in the eye.

"Yeah, I'd say it's a pretty obvious mistake letting him get strong again," Lucius points out. You nod.

"Kick him off the ship already!" Jim yells.

"We just don't banish people, do we?" Stede says. "That's not us. Let's give him some time, perhaps to rebound a bit."

"Medically speaking, the man can't speak, and his brain is maybe couscous." Roach points out. "Also, gonna need that steak back. It's dinner."

"Right. Yes, aye."

"Maybe we should put it to the vote," Fang suggests.

"Do we have to do this now?" Stede asks.

The crew start yelling.

♡♡♡

Stede got his answers from the crew, that much was clear enough. As you head out, Stede catches up to you.

"You were awfully quiet in there."

"Don't get me wrong. I agree with them, Ed has to go."

Stede's expression falls.

"I know you like him, but that man... he did things. He hurt people like I've never seen before. He hurt Izzy..."

"Ah yes, Izzy. How is he?" Stede asks.

"He's been better."

"Where is he anyway? I didn't see him in there."

"Drinking probably. He, uh, he's stopped talking to me at the moment. He won't talk to anyone."

Stede frowns again. "He's stopped talking to you?"

"I think it's the constant drinking... It's making him... upset. Like, more than before."

"I see..."

You shrug lightly and sigh. "Look, I'm not looking for sympathy. You're the captain, sort this out."

You walk off. Stede watches you go, his heart feeling heavy. Maybe he could have a word with Izzy for you.

♡♡♡

You sit on deck with the wooden sparrow in your hands. After everything that happened it had survived. Izzy had kept it in his cabin. You had found it when you had gone in there to find him. Izzy was nowhere to be seen, but the sparrow was sitting on his desk. There was a slight chip in the wood, right on the wing, but for the most part it looked good.

You sigh as you run your finger carefully over it's little head. Did Izzy even notice it was gone? Probably not.

"The atmosphere around here sucks," Lucius sighs, sitting down next to you. You notice the cigarette between his fingers, but you don't ask. "What's that?" He nods toward the wooden bird.

"Marietta."

"Marietta?" He looks at you with a funny expression.

"That's what I called it. It was a gift for Izzy from me. I dropped the first one in the sea while I was angry at him... so I remade her." You hold the sparrow up. "She's a little beaten, but still in nest condition."

"You carved him a bird?"

"Look, I can't draw like you can. I can't make sew like Frenchie, or knit like Wee John. I can, however, whittle."

Lucius smiles a little. "I like it."

A moment of silence passes while you play with the bird in your hands a little more.

"So, you and Izzy?"

"So, you and Pete?" You reply, sarcastically.

"We're fine," he says defensively. "What's going on with your boyfriend?"

You raise your eyes to Lucius. "Blackbeard abused him. Punished him. Took his leg. He's a little upset at the moment. Rightfully so."

Lucius stands up a little defensively. "We've all been through shit," he says.

You narrow your eyes at him. "I'm not saying you haven't. We thought you were dead!"

"Well, I wasn't." He puts out his cigarette. "I've suffered too and it's all his fault!" He points to where Blackbeard is tied up on the deck.

"He's fucked everyone over, Lucius. Just need Stede to get his ass in gear and do something about it."

Lucius sighs. "Do you think anything will ever go back to how it was?"

"No," you admit honestly. "But I do believe things can get better. In time."

Lucius says nothing. He glares at Blackbeard and then leaves. You sigh and return to holding the bird, caressing it again gently.

"Oh, Izzy..."

♡♡♡

Stede found Izzy at the front of the ship. He was leaning on some of the rope rigging, his wooden leg propped up on the railing. In his other hand was a bottle of rum, of which he was drinking merrily.

He looked a mess.

Stede offered him a smile as he joined him, ignoring the look Izzy was throwing his way. He means over and notices the unicorn is missing it's head.

"He's seen better days, hasn't he?" Stede asks in a lighthearted manner.

"At least he's still got both legs!" Izzy yells.

"Yes!" Stede joins in. "He can't hear you, he's go no head. You've got a head, though, which you should look after."

Izzy down his rum. Stede sighs.

"What do you want, Bonnet?" Izzy asks, not really in the mood for conversation.

"Well, here's the thing. The crew, they're in a bit of a deadlock over the whole banishment of Ed thing and I just thought, seeing as, well, you were the one who kept his body aboard, maybe you should weigh in. You've already murdered him once. Seems like a pretty good payback." He chuckles softly. "So, what do you think?"

"My vote?" Izzy leans in a little closer to Stede. "A rotten let's got to come off."

"Right. Just to confirm, was that a nay or yay on the banishment?"

Izzy just drinks some more.

"Right... I suppose I just mention that our Spirit of the sea is worried about you. You've stopped talking to them apparently..."

Izzy says nothing.

"Don't push them out, Izzy."

Izzy just drinks from his bottle again. Stede sighs and takes his leave.

♡♡♡

"So! We, the crew of The Revenge, have voted and we've chosen banishment, unfortunately." Frenchie states, announcing the result. "So, yeah. Effective immediately. Your complimentary dinghy awaits you portside. Now leave, please."

"Fuck off," Ed hisses, walking past him. You watch him closely.

"Alright, rude."

"Fuck you," Ed laughs softly, walking past Olu.

"First time I've been on this side of a walk of shame," Wee John comments.

"Way to make this awkward, bruh," Archie says.

"Shitty sailing with you." Jim chimes in.

"You're making it really hard to look up to you, man," Pete sighs.

"Hey, made you this sandwich for the trip," Roach says, holding it out to him. Ed slaps it out of his hand and Stede catches it

"You don't want your sammie?" Stede looks sad.

Ed slaps it out of Stede's hand and it hits Lucius in the face. You have to cover your mouth to stop from laughing. Lucius bites back his laughter too. It really isn't a funny moment, throwing someone off the ship, but at least you can find something to laugh about, you supposed.

"Ed, say something at least."

Ed turns his head and looks at Stede.

"You're not a fuckin' mermaid."

You knit your brows together in confusion by that statement. Stede looked equally confused.

"What?"

Ed climbs off the ship and into the dinghy. Stede looks down and watches him, you and Lucius part with the rest if the crew, not hanging about to watch any longer.

Ed was gone. That was that.

♡♡♡

"Is it me or does the energy around here seem off?" Wee John asked.

"By 'the energy,' do we mean him?" Roach nods over to Lucius who was smiling and freaking out a little. "Or him?" He gestures over to where Izzy is still standing at the front of the ship yelling at the unicorn.

"Well, mythical creature?" Izzy yells. You sigh as you watch him from where you stand. He still wasn't talking to you much. "Anything to say to yourself? Fuck you!"

"Or them?" Roach asks, looking at Jim, Archie, Frenchie, and Fang scrubbing the deck of any "possible" bloodstains left over from where Edward had bled out.

"Do you still see blood?"

"Yeah. We'll get it. Just keep scrubbing."

"They're lookin' this way." Fang says.

You tune out the rest of their conversation to watch your stupid drunk pirate curse at the unicorn some more. If only you could talk to him. He would surely listen to you.

It was breaking your heart to see him fall apart like this. Izzy hadn't held you since you got back onto The Revenge. He was shutting you out, suffering on his own.

You hated it.

You try not to let the tears fall as you walk away, letting Izzy do whatever the fuck he wanted.

♡♡♡

Olu had invited you to join the crew for a surprise. Jim had speculated they were planning to kill you all off for being disturbed after sailing with Blackbeard. You thought it was a bit of a stretch, but you wouldn't put it last them either.

You were all guided below deck where the surprise was.

"You gotta close your 'cause it's a surprise." Olu says.

No one does that, everyone sceptical. Frenchie leads you all behind Olu. You find Pete and Wee John waiting.

"Ta da!"

Wee John moves to reveal the surprise.

The crew all jump and startle, hiding the knives they were all carrying behind their backs incase of an attack.

"Fuck!" Lucius sighs, jumpy enough already.

"Guys, it's called a pine-ata." Pete says.

"Yeah. So, you just pull this string and then--" Olu tries to explain.

"And then you hit it with a stick!" Pete demonstrates.

Everyone is triggered. PTSD from the storm, from Blackbeard.

"Time for blindfolding." Wee John tries.

"Stay the fuck sway from me!" Jim yells.

"You won't want to stay the fuck away from this came!" Roach says, brining the cake in.

You feel your stomach churn at the sight of it. It looks like the wedding cake...

"God's sake, take it away!" Fang screams.

You all draw your weapons. Yeah, even you. This is too much, too soon. This how it ends up at a stand off.

"One-half of this room has some serious emotional damage," Jim explains, holding Wee John in a choke hold. "And it's not us."

"Well, it's not us!" Wee John says back.

You have your knife pointing at Olu.

"Right, so, is everybody else's arms and various limbs getting tired?" Frenchie asks.

"Alright, look, look, look, look. I think there's actually an easier way to resolve this." Olu days, eyeing your knife. "Yes? Right. So you all think that we're plottin' against you?"

"Yeah," you nod.

"Which, in hindsight, maybe was inaccurate." Frenchie says. "I don't know, you tell me."

"Okay. So, can we all agree to just not jump the other crew and solve this as fuckin' adults?" Olu asks.

"You're saying this is like a space that is safe?" Jim asks him.

"Yeah, babe." Olu looks at them.

"I love that."

"A safe space."

"Yeah, okay."

You all lower your knives. You take a deep breath. Nearly lost your cool there.

"A lot has gone unsaid," Roach speaks. "I think now is a great time to discuss lingering issues."

"Yeah, yeah, absolutely." Archie nods. "Can we talk about the fucked-up sleeping arrangements?"

"Excuse me, do you even have a name, new guy?" Wee John asks her.

"Yeah, fuck you is her name." Jim starts, drawing their knife again.

"Hey, stupid name for a person," Roach draw his knife on Jim.

"You know my name is Archie," she point her weapon at Roach.

Everyone draws their weapons again. You sigh and point your knife at Olu again, but he doesn't sense any actual malice from you.

The sound of something thudding against the floor draws everyone's attention to the door. You turn and your heart skips a beat at the sight of Izzy. Two wooden legs at his feet.

"There! It's done!" He yells. "Maybe next time he'll think twice about not doing his fucking--" Izzy's peg leg breaks from under him as he raises his crutch and he falls harshly to the ground.

You gasp and drop your knife, hurrying over to him. He shrugs you off.

"Get off me! Fuck off!"

You sit there on your knees as he rolls over and starts crawling down the hall. Your heart breaks watching him.

"Leave me alone! I'm already gone." He mutters. He starts repeating a phrase over and over again. "You're born alone, you die alone. You're born alone, you die alone."

You can feel tears building up again. God, only Izzy could ever make you cry so much.

"Yeah, he's definitely more disturbed than any of us," Lucius says, watching Izzy go.

You try to hide your teary eyes as you get up and leave.

♡♡♡

You're sat up on deck with yours curled up wiping away the tears that were falling. If only you could get that stupid man to talk to you. You just wound to heal his internal wounds, and soothe his external wounds.

You don't hear the door open, but you do hear footsteps coming over. You turn your face away, but you know it's Fang who is now sitting beside you. He has one of the unicorn legs in his hand.

"You okay?" He asks softly. Fang was a soothing presence.

"Spectacular," you mutter.

He look down at the wooden leg and then back at you.

"We, uh, we had an idea for Izzy."

You wipe your eyes again. "Yeah?"

"We're gonna make him a new leg. You wanna help? It would sure mean a lot if you gave it to him after." Fang smiles.

"You want me to help?"

"I think Izzy would like that, don't you?"

You shrug quietly. "I don't know. He's not exactly talking to me right now."

"Aw, listen. He still loves you. He's just hurting, but maybe we can help. Let's do something good for him."

Fang offers you a small smile.

You find yourself smiling back. You reach over and take the leg from him. "Okay. Let me see what we can do."

Less than 30 minutes later the leg is being constructed, the crew are gathered to help. Fang constructs the leg into a strong, comfortable, and practical leg. Lucius had got some gold paint to add something that little bit extra.

You smile as you paint the leg.

"The gold was a gold touch."

Lucius smiles, happy he could help.

You leave the leg to dry and then Fang returns to your side with it. You sigh as you take it, looking it over.

"We sure it will do?" You ask.

"Its been measured and made just for Izzy. It will more than do. Oh don't forget the note." Fang holds out the parchment.

You take the leg and take the note.

"Right..."

"Just leave it outside his door if he doesn't want to talk. I can assure you he'll talk to you again soon."

You nod and make your way to Izzy's cabin.

♡♡♡

As you approach Izzy's door, you don't hear much. It's almost too quiet for your liking. You hover outside the door, the leg in hand. That's when you hear his voice. He's talking to someone.

"And you? What's your excuse?" You hear him say. You lean a little closer to listen, worried about him. "I mean, what even are you?"

You knock on the door hoping he'll answer.

"Fuck off." You hear him shout. You knock again firmly. "Fuck off!" He yells again.

You sigh. Telling him it was you probably wouldn't make a difference. You prop the leg up but the door, tucking the note and Marietta, Izzy's carved sparrow that you still had, into it.

You knock again and hurry away, disappearing down the hall.

"You are harassing a cripple! Fucking twats!" Izzy yells, no longer realising the person has gone from behind his door. He limps his way over and opens it, looking down the hall.

He sees no one.

His gaze drops down to the item waiting for him. He sees the note and the bird. He reads the note first, all emotion clogging up in his throat.

Those little shits.

He cries. Izzy covers his mouth as tears overwhelm him. He looks up down the hall, trying not to break down.

"Fucking cocksuckers."

He sees the sparrow and picks it up. It's then he realises you had been the one knocking. His finger close around the bird and the tears fall freely.

Shit. He's been really shit to you.

Izzy hold the sparrow against his chest and takes a few deep breaths. He grabs the leg and hobbles back inside his room.

♡♡♡

It's the early hours of the morning.

Izzy stands on deck with his new leg on. It's a good fit. Made really well. His hair is slicked back against his scalp, out of his face. His face is a little cleaner. No rum in sight.

In one hand he's clutching the ring he wears under his clothes, hanging from a string of twine. He smiles as he looks down at it.

In his other hand is the note. His eyes drift over to the words written on it. His heart feels full.

'For the new unicorn.'

Izzy smiles.

With the dawn of a new day comes a new Izzy. A healing Izzy.

He's going to be okay.

No. He'll be more than okay.

He just needs to talk to you first.

♡♡♡

The sun hasn't even risen yet when Izzy wakes you. You've been sleeping with the rest of the crew since Izzy stopped talking to you, so he had to be quiet when waking you. You're startled awake by something hitting your face again and again.

You wake up to find little balls of paper being thrown at you. You look up to see Izzy waving you over. You look at him confused. He wasn't talking to you befkre, and now he wants to?

That's when you notice the leg and your heart begins to race.

You climb out of bed and make your way out of the room, not waking a single person. You follow Izzy into his cabin and enter cautiously. He looks tidier, cleaner, more content.

"Izzy?"

He stands there and looks at you. There are several emotions flickering in his eyes, but he finds his words in no time.

"Thank you."

You stand there awkwardly. "I didn't do anything."

Izzy inhales loud enough for you to hear as he looks down at his leg, his hand resting over his thigh. "You did this."

"It was the crew's idea."

Izzy holds up the sparrow. "I noticed it was gone, but there was only one place it could be."

You nod your head softly.

Izzy puts the sparrow down and walks over to you, closing the distance between you both. You find your heart rate picking up as you look into those beautiful eyes of him.

"I love you," he whispers.

Just like that he's reaching out and kissing you. You're in his arms again. You return his kiss, having missed his lips. Having missed him. You reach out and take hold of him.

The kiss is hot, passionate, desperate. It's significance lies with the fact that you two spend all your time wanting each other, but when you're hurting, you don't reach out for one another.

You remove his scarf, taking the ring around it and carefully placing it down. It belonged to his mother and you know he would definitely curse you if you lost it. You begin to undress him, and he, you.

Clothes land on the floor. The soft thud of his wooden foot taps lightly on the floor as he moves you over to his bed.

Doing this right after the emotional rollercoaster you both has been through probably wasn't the best idea, but this time no one could stop you both, and this was long overdue.

You push Izzy down on the bed and take care of him, admiring him. You notice the other ring around his neck. You had seen it before, but it's origins you hadn't known. He was wearing it last time you did this too.

Still, your mind was focused on other things.

Safe to say, both of you are going to be a little late getting up tomorrow.

♡♡♡

@grippleback-galaxy - @askmarinaandothers - @godlikegallagher - @for-fuck-sake-im-alive - @whiskeyswriting - @lxsm2 - @bloody-bunni666 - @the-chocoholic-writer - @bugbugboy - @callmemana - @the-shenny-of-azkaban - @cool-ontherun-world - @outer-space-beech - @ahewi24 - @grace585 - @innertimemachinegirl - @dmitrytherat - @emilynissangtr -

[sinningtamer]

Not sure if you’ve answered this before but what are your favourite fics and ships?

Love all your art btw! <3 Thx for all the food!

i might've years ago, so let's go again! i'm gonna answer this question as only NSFW/kink related, otherwise the list would be way too long haha

alright let's start with the obvious: ParviII is and always will be my #1 one ship, even when I dip in and out of the fandom a lot (i feel the term OTP is super outdated these days? but if there was one ship i could use it with it's them...)

so obviously i'm gonna say Talking Body and Payment and Payback by @sparxwrites. because. you know. how can i not. oh yeah, Good Vibrations is also a classic. hiii sparx, i'm sorry for picking your older fics, i just have such a bias. they've written a ton of great stuff over the years though, so go give the account a peak! there's something for everyone, especially if you like darker stuff.

...speaking of accounts with a lot of content who lurk around here, shoutout to @pawpunkao3. lmpᴇarI is one of my favorite ships, and they're still such a rarepair somehow?? anyways I think about Between Bedrock and a Hard Place at least once a week tbh. A New Religion That'll Bring You To Your Knees is fantastic, and i have a soft spot for I Spy (even tho i didn't watch too much empires). again, another author with a whole arsenal under their belt, so don't just take my word for it and check the rest of his fics!

back to lmpᴇarI being a rarepair... @thatstoomuchsoup has Chicken Soup for the Soulbounds (okay it's more pearI-centric but they're both there) and is another blog that specializes in some of my kinks and these fandoms. same with @anon-teddy's content, gotta give a shoutout to full. this is also making me realize i haven't sought out enough poly S0up Group or GᴇmpuIse/PᴇarIgem fics...maybe i'll get back to you on that...

there's a bunch of good explicit trᴇᴇbark fics, but i said i was gonna keep this list concise, so the only one i'll specifically point to is how to deal with your supernatural lust for blood (and other things) in a completely normal and god-honoring fashion. for...reasons. also because it's good!

edit: oh my GOD i realized two seconds after posting this i completely forget to mention @also-an-art. go read (this is) hungry work and honey don't feed it right fucking now. i've read both of these in full (pun intended) multiple times they're that amazing. it's rare that the plot is just as good as the horniness, when i tell you i lost my mind at some of the development in these. also hot and dirty (like the la air) is a guilty pleasure. AND it introduced me to a song that ended up being #20 on my spotify wrapped LOL (RPF warning on that one! trust me tho)

let's get to my other bias, shall we? RᴛSpiff and RᴛS00t don't....have any explicit fics. nor does poly lᴀds. CMRᴛ does, though! I'm kinda picky about how people characterize them, but play it cool and Every Stumble and Each Misfire are lovely (note that the second one is also blatant RPF! don't say i didn't warn you o7)

speaking of lᴀds, if you follow me on main, you know i got into Bᴀnᴀna Bᴜs Sqᴜᴀd just last year (I'M SORRY, OKAY, DON'T @ ME-) you'd think getting into an old fandom late would mean a ton of great smut fics, right? to be honest, i haven't found many that i care for, but maybe i'm just picky... however, i remember your lips, they're the ones i miss, and smoke in your lungs, your lips on mine are SO GODDAMN GOOD i'm not even mad it's only those two i like because i could reread them 20 times. god. such fun characterization. shame the author orphaned them because i badly wanna read more of their stuff.

this is the part where you go, spirit, do you read anything besides (mᴄ)yt fandoms??? and i go, not really.............well, sort of. i like 0verwatch! and M0icy!! Reciprocity is a delightful PWP long fic. i'm also not really an omegaverse guy, but Water Me has such a good take on it i fell in looove.

okay, i'm gonna cut myself off here, enough though i could probably name dozens of more fics if i sat and thought about it. if anyone i tagged wants to be untagged, feel free to reply here or shoot me an ask/dm!!

[screechthemighty]

As promised, the second update! Work on the next chapter is going pretty well, but I don't want to make any promises about when it will be out. Just...soon. Hopefully. Anyways, here's chapter ten!

the unknowable tomorrow | a tristamp fanfic part ten: meryl

cw: dehumanization via the use of "it", gun violence

citations: "i've got the world on a string" (songwriter ted koehler)

.

Meryl emerged to the golden light of sunset and the sound of raised voices.

“I know, I understand, but just listen…” Something about the voice’s tone set her teeth on edge. She couldn’t say what, but she’d be making a quick exit if someone talked to her like that. “It’s an emergency. And it’s not far. Two days, tops…”

“I can’t, I told you.” Meryl took off running at the sound of that voice. “I’m sorry, but there’s nothing I can do for you.”

“There has to be something…”

“I should really go. Brad’s probably looking for me – “

“Vash!” Meryl blurted as she rounded the corner.

Three sets of eyes locked onto her. Two adult men, tall, dirty, defensive, and Vash’s wide blue eyes. He looked like he might start crying from relief at the sight of her. “Claudia!”

It was obvious: whatever the conversation had been about, Vash wanted no part of it. Meryl had enough experience getting people away from creepy older men that she knew exactly what to do: walk over as if nothing were wrong, wrap an arm around him, big smile. “I’ve been looking everywhere for you!” she said. “C’mon, we’re almost ready.”

One of the men stepped in their way as Meryl started guiding Vash off. There was a desperate spark in his eyes that she really didn’t like. “Please,” he said, “we don’t know what’s wrong and we don’t have a Plant engineer – “

“He already said ‘no,’” Meryl said, firmly but politely. No sense in escalating too much. She could feel the weight of the Derringer against her hip. Would she have to use it? “Sorry, but we really have to go.”

The man’s face changed, going from desperate to furious. “It’s not fair,” he snapped. He didn’t try to stop them, but Meryl kept bracing herself for him to make a grab for them as she speed-walked past. “You get the only operational ship, all those Plants, now you’re going to hog it, too? You’re not the only one who could use its help…”

Vash flinched. Meryl felt her blood go cold. It. Had he really just called Vash that? Twice? Self-preservation was the only thing that kept her from stopping and demanding the man apologize. “Ignore him,” she whispered to Vash. “Just keep walking.”

“The rest of us need help out here, too!” the man continued. Meryl could sense him stepping closer. Her hand flew towards the Derringer. “You can’t just…!”

“HEY!”

Meryl’s gaze snapped back forward. Luida was pushing her way through a nearby crowd, and she looked furious. Brad was close behind, and he looked even more terrifying. “What did I tell you about bothering him?!” Luida snapped. “Huh?! I told you to leave him alone!”

“I…” The anger was gone from the man’s voice, replaced by nervousness. “We were just…”

“Just nothing. Come on, Vash.” Luida circled around to Vash’s other side and grabbed his hand. Suddenly and much more calmly, she added, “Hi, Claudia.”

“Hi.” Meryl glanced over her shoulder. The two men didn’t look like they’d moved; the fact that Brad had but himself between Vash and them probably had something to do with that. “Who are those guys?”

“Doesn’t matter. We won’t be seeing them again. Were you taking the caravan, too?”

Vash gripped her hand more tightly, his eyes sliding to her with a panicked look. “Yeah, I was,” Meryl said without hesitation. “You don’t mind if I hang around, do you?”

“Not at all! I’m glad to see you’re doing all right.”

Vash relaxed immediately, but not entirely. She could still see some tension in his body as they walked to a waiting cluster of vehicles and thoma. It wasn’t until they were all in the back of one of the cleaner trucks and had put a good amount of distance between themselves and the encampment that Vash finally relaxed fully. “They didn’t hurt you, did they?” Luid fretted as she checked Vash’s face.

“No, they were just pushy. One of them called me an it when he got mad, but…” Vash flinched suddenly. “Ow.”

“What’s the matter?” Brad asked. “Is it pinching again?”

“Yeah, it’s been doing that a lot today…can I take it off now?”

“Sure, kid.” Meryl had to let go of Vash’s hand so he could peel off the worn tan coat he was wearing. “I’m sorry. I really thought I had that figured out.”

The left sleeve came off, and Meryl’s heart jumped into her throat. “What happened?!” he said.

His arm stopped being flesh above the elbow. The rest had been replaced by a prosthetic. The material was similar to what she remembered, but with a duller look to it. He had lost his arm after all, and she hadn’t been there to help when it happened.

“It was an accident,” Vash said quietly. “I…I don’t want to talk about it.”

He looked so tired, suddenly. Meryl could only guess it had been bad, whatever it was, so she shoved her curiosity down. “You don’t have to if you don’t want to,” she reassured him quickly. “I’m just…I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be.” Vash sat still as Brad carefully popped the prosthetic off, replacing it with a cap to cover the connecting parts. “Not your fault.” He went to itch at the arm, then snatched his hand away and stood up to walk to a cluster of luggage in the corner. “We’re going back home, right?”

“We’re definitely going back home,” Luida said reassuringly. “I think we’ve done all we can out here, and I want to check up on the Geoplant again.”

“Good.” Vash pulled something free from one of the bags. There was a flash of red as he shrugged on a long coat with one pinned-up sleeve.

Meryl knew that jacket. She could still remember it dangling from Vash’s upside-down body, framing his face with a crimson curtain.

He’d lost his arm. He had the coat. How much had she missed?

“Won’t be much I can do for this out here, I don’t think,” Brad said without looking up from Vash’s arm. “We might have to get you back into medical to mess with it some more. Will that be okay?”

“Can we wait a few days?” Vash asked as he sat back down next to Meryl.

“Yeah, no rush.”

Vash pulled his hood up and leaned against Meryl. He was so tall now that he couldn’t rest his head on her shoulder.  “Thanks, Brad.”

He seemed a lot more relaxed now, and Meryl was happy for that, but there was a weariness to him that she’d only seen when he was an adult. Whatever the accident had been, it must have done more than take his arm.

Oh, Vash. I’m so sorry.

“I’m glad we found you again,” Vash whispered.

Meryl took his hand and squeezed it gently. “Glad to be back,” she replied.

Even if she was too late to help with his arm, maybe she could help with the fallout. She’d certainly try.

Vash fell asleep not too long into the ride, which gave Meryl the chance to get a few answers from Brad and Luida. She didn’t ask about Vash’s accident—it would be cruel to go behind his back to find out what had happened—but she did learn a little about how things had been going since she had last seen them. Apparently, between Vash taking it easier after her visit and a multi-month break after his limb loss, he was in high demand. It had been his idea to try leaving the ship again, but from the sounds of things, none of them had realized how high the demand, or how bad things were getting on the outside. Several settlements who had reached out previously were gone. People were getting more and more aggressive about protecting any resources they had…or taking them from other people. “No one’s tried anything with Vash, have they?” Meryl asked.

“We’ve had some people get pushy about him staying. That’s part of the reason we cut the trip short. We didn’t want to risk things escalating.” Luida’ shoulders drooped. “We never should’ve left him alone back there.”

“Don’t blame yourself,” Brad said. He’d kept tinkering with Vash’s arm throughout the conversation, as if he could somehow fix it out here anyway. “I think they had more help than we thought.”

Luida frowned. “You really think so?”

“Hell of a coincidence that they urgently needed both of us in two different places just as we were about to leave.” Brad shrugged. “Don’t think I’m being paranoid this time.”

Luida’s mouth set into a grim line. “Well, lucky you showed up when you did,” she said to Meryl. “Do you need anywhere to stay? We should still have room on the ship.”

Good question. “I’ll let you know,” she said. Meryl didn’t want to make any promises; for all she knew, she’d be leaving as soon as the truck stopped somewhere safer.

That wasn’t what happened, though. They kept on driving, even as the sun went down and the moons rose. Vash woke up from his nap with a lengthy, almost catlike yawn. “Are we there yet?” he mumbled.

“We’re almost to the charge camp,” Luida said. “We’ll see when we can leave from there.”

“Okay.” Vash’s still-intact fingers picked at the hem of his coat sleeve. “This is one of ours, right?”

“Yes, this is one of ours. We’ll be in good company.”

Vash’s fingers stilled at first. Arriving at the encampment and seeing people with guns set him right back on edge, and Meryl along with him. “Has it really been that bad?” she asked as they got out of the truck.

Brad tilted his chin towards the center of the encampment. The ribcage of a ruined ship sat among a cluster of tents and transports, with a rough building built into the structure. Judging from the amount of charging cables running from it, there had to be a Plant inside. “High-value target,” he said. “We haven’t been able to get her out of the ship housing, but that hasn’t stopped people from trying to run off with her.”

“At least she’s got company,” Vash said. “Can I go say ‘hi’ to her?”

Meryl noticed how wary Brad and Luida looked. “I’ll go with him,” she volunteered.

Luida put her hands on her hips. “This is just a social visit?” she said.

“It is. I promise.”

“Okay…if Claudia doesn’t mind.”

“It’s no problem.” Meryl held out her hand to Vash. “We’ll be safe with me.”

Vash flashed her a small smile as he took her hand. “Thank you.”

There was a strange energy to the encampment. Everyone was jumpy, only calming down when they saw and recognized Vash. The guards at the Plant structure let them in, but still gave Meryl a distrustful look. She had a feeling Vash’s presence was the only reason she was allowed in. “You’ve been here before?” she asked.

“We stop here a lot. It wasn’t always so…” Vash hesitated. “They’ll probably try to move her again if people keep trying to take her.”

They had to duck to get through the entryway. The main room wasn’t what Meryl expected. It didn’t have the same clinical, utilitarian feeling she remembered from other Plant storage facilities. There was art drawn on the walls and mobiles hanging from the ceiling. They were made of glass, metal, and other things that reflected what moonlight seeped through the cracks in the walls. A song started playing as they stepped in: I’ve got the world on a string, sitting on a rainbow…

“Hi, Doctor Carol,” Vash called.

A dark-skinned woman in a white ship uniform with a blue sweater thrown on top looked up from the radio. “Oh! Vash, hi!” Her curly, dark hair was streaked through with gray. Her face looked too young for that; either she’d aged well or the stress of life since the Big Fall had taken its toll. “I heard about your arm. I’m so sorry, honey.”

“Thanks. I’m okay, though, really.” There was his brave face again. Meryl wondered if Doctor Carol bought it, or if she knew better. “This is Claudia. We’ve just come to say ‘hi.’”

“I’m glad to hear it. Stay as long as you want. You know she likes the company.” Doctor Carol beamed at Meryl before picking up a tablet. “I’m going to keep working on this. Just holler if you need anything.”

“Thanks.” Vash lowered his voice as they approached the tank. “She’s been seeing what kind of music Plants like and if it increases energy output without adding extra stress.”

“Oh. Interesting.” Meryl examined the Plant’s housing. Normally, the tanks containing them could be swapped out, but the connector was visibly damaged. She wondered how much of that damage was from the crash and how much was from later attempts to move the tank. “Wow, she’s really stuck.”

Vash hummed quietly. He was standing in front of the tank, one arm wrapped around himself, staring up at the Plant bulb. His eye markings glowed faintly in her light.

He looked so tired.

“Vash?”

He wouldn’t look at her and his eyes were slowly growing distant. Meryl wasn’t sure what to say. She didn’t even know what was wrong. She rested a hand on the Plant’s tank and looked up at her. Any advice? she thought.

Nothing. Of course not, but she couldn’t help feeling a little disappointed. “Hi…ma’am,” Meryl said awkwardly. How did you address a Plant, anyway? “It’s good to see you’re doing okay…am I doing this right?” Meryl glanced at Vash, then back at the Plant. Two of the petals had parted slightly, revealing one large eye. “Oh!” Meryl smiled. “I didn’t think that would work.”

The light in the room shifted suddenly, becoming softer, dimmer but not too dark. Meryl felt the glass under her hand start to vibrate. The Plant unfolded more, her hands reaching out to touch the glass near Vash. The vibrations were rhythmic, fading in and out almost like a heartbeat. Vash kept his eyes on his feet at first, but eventually stepped forward. He rested his intact hand on one Plant’s hand and his forehead on the others. His shoulder rested against Meryl.

A sense of calm settled over the room. Meryl couldn’t even hear the music anymore, just the heartbeat. She leaned against Vash slightly and closed her eyes. She thought she could hear new music mixing in with it. It sounded like Vash’s song.

Everything is different now and I’m scared.

The confession was so soft that Meryl thought she’d imagined it at first. When she opened her eyes, Vash had turned his head to look at her. He’d grown so much, but he looked so young again. Just a child who needed reassurance.

“Change is always scary,” Meryl whispered back, “but you can find a way to make it through. Not giving up is the most important thing, and you’ve got people who can help you. Have you talked to Brad and Luida about this?”

“Kind of.” Vash looked away again. “It’s…complicated.”

“Like when you got sick?”

“Yeah. Like that.”

“Do you want me to help you talk to them again?”

Vash pulled his head away from the tank, enough to see where Doctor Carol was. The woman was staring at her tablet; Meryl couldn’t tell if she was really so wrapped up in her work that she wasn’t paying attention, or if she was faking to be polite. Vash didn’t seem comfortable, either way. “I’ll tell you later,” he whispered. “It’s a long story.”

Meryl felt the thrill of reporter nosiness at the prospect of getting some answers. It was quickly followed by worry at how serious this seemed. “Whenever you’re ready.”

Vash nodded and let his head rest against the tank again. The Plant’s face was almost right up against the glass, and the lights on her body pulsed in time with the heartbeat vibrations. Meryl had never seen a Plant so close before. Even the one from before had been an arm’s length away. This close, she could see the different shades of blue in her eyes, the mottled lighter patches along her wings that almost looked like scarring. Her markings were a different pattern than what she remembered on Vash’s face, but the longer Meryl looked at her, the more she started to believe the two of them were related.

“Hey, Vash,” Luida called. Meryl glanced over her shoulder in time to see Luida ducking in to enter the room. “Bad news, we’ll have to stay into tomorrow. The queue for the charger is backed up.” She joined them at the tank and smiled sheepishly. “Sorry we’re putting you to work so much.”

“She’s okay,” Vash said. “She’s still doing strong.” He met the Plant’s gaze one more time before backing away. “She feels safe.”

Meryl wasn’t sure how to describe what she saw as Vash’s markings faded. There were no other physical changes to him that she could see, but it felt like there was. Like with every step backwards, Vash settled back into his skin, becoming less Plant and more human…or humanoid, at least. Meryl rubbed her eyes, which seemed to chase that feeling away. Vash was just Vash, as usual.

And yet…

“Are you guys hungry?” Luida asked. “We can have a snack before we get some sleep.”

“A little bit. Claudia?”

The Plant had folded herself back up. Visually, the world had set itself back to what Meryl had known at the start of her journey.

But she knew now, what truth lay just out of sight.

“Sure,” she said, keeping her voice as clam as she could. “I could eat.”

Vash took her hand hesitantly as they left; Meryl gave it a squeeze in response.

There may have been more than met the eye in this world, but some things wouldn’t change. And Vash really was still Vash, no matter what.

.

They had to wait until after everyone had a light meal and set up some tents to talk in private. They met up in the back of the truck and sat with their backs wedged against some supplies. It was dark, but Vash seemed more comfortable that way. “So…what happened?” Meryl asked.

There was a pause. Meryl felt fingertips brush against her upper arm, in the place where the burn wound was. She braced herself for Vash to ask about it, but instead his hand just hovered there for a moment before falling away. “I know who caused the Big Fall,” he said quietly. “I know why it happened.”

And then he told her everything.

About how he was born a twin, discovered one day on Ship Five with his brother, Nai. About Rem, the woman who loved them and raised them but kept secrets. About how he and Nai had gone looking for answers.

About Telsa, the sister he never got to know, because humans had torn her apart in the name of research. His voice cracked when he spoke about her, and Meryl could tell there were details he was skipping over. She couldn’t blame him. What he told her was bad enough.

He told her that he had, eventually, decided to give humans another chance. Nai never could. He told her that Nai taken the passcode Vash had used to uncover the truth and used it to access the flight terminal and crash the Seeds fleet. He’d been running from a confrontation with Nai when Meryl found him and carried him from the wreckage. “He called me his accomplice,” Vash whispered, “since he knew the access code because of me. And I…”

Meryl remembered how Vash had apologized to her, how he’d tried to make her leave him behind out there to disappear.

Oh, Vash.

“That’s not true,” Meryl said. She’d planned on keeping her mouth shut and listening, but she couldn’t just let that be. “What happened wasn’t your fault. He never should’ve said that to you, Vash.”

Vash looked taken aback by how suddenly and fiercely she’d spoke. “I know,” he said. “I mean…I know that now. Most of the time. I didn’t back then, though. For a long time, I tried really hard to be helpful, to make up for it, but when Brad was able to…”

Vash hesitated again. “He found out?” Meryl guessed. She could just barely see Vash nod. “Was he…angry?”

Vash’s form seemed to shrink as he pulled his knees up to a chest. “I overheard him and Luida listening to the recording. They thought I’d given it to Nai on purpose, that I’d lied to them. And…I did lie to them. I’d told them Nai was probably dead even though I wasn’t sure. I didn’t want him to get hurt like Tesla had. I was scared, but Nico tried to help me escape -“

That name was almost as shocking to her as the part about Tesla. “Who?”

“Oh. I forgot. He’s a friend. He was staying on the ship when this happened. He said he’d keep me safe, but he had to stay behind so I could sneak off the ship. Once I was alone, I kept thinking about how angry everyone was and how if I hadn’t shown Nai the passcode everyone would still be alive and Rem would…” Vash sniffed, his voice suddenly thick with tears. “So I went to find him. To see if I could stop him.”

There was a lot to take in there. The name Nico was still echoing in Meryl’s mind, the implications exploding there, but all of that was overshadowed by a sudden realization. “Vash, did your brother cut your arm off?”

“It wasn’t because of the argument,” Vash said immediately. “Luida had followed me to him. He was angry at her, I was upset and scared, I didn’t want her to get hurt, and my Gate just…reacted. This hole opened up on my arm and I couldn’t close it. I didn’t even know I could do something like that. Nai cut off my arm to make it go away before I sucked everything up.”

“…that’s…not that much of an improvement.” Meryl didn’t like how quick to hurt Vash Knives was. Cutting off his arm probably would’ve been her last resort if it were her. Knives only seemed to jump to extremes. “I’m surprised he let Luida take you.”

“He wasn’t going to, but…I pointed a gun at him,” Vash admitted. “He looked upset at first, but then he…laughed and started taking about some stupid plan taking a hundred years, I don’t know…” Anger trickled into his voice. “And then he left.”

“He…cut off your arm. And then just left you there?”

Vash laughed bitterly. “Yeah. It was just like with that stupid chess board again.” He huffed. “Sorry. That’s a whole other thing.”

“Seems like there’s a lot of whole other things with him.”

“…yeah. I guess there are.”

He said that like it was an idea he was still getting used to. One of those changes he was so scared of, maybe. Meryl tried to think back (well, forward) to how Vash had talked about Knives when they were traveling together. He…hadn’t, not really. Knives had only come up in the vaguest terms of something Vash had to face, and he always sounded so resigned whenever he came up. So tired.

Here, now, he sounded frustrated, even a little angry. Interesting. When had that changed?

“Brad and Luida aren’t still upset with you, are they?” Meryl asked.

Vash shook his head. “No. They actually both apologized for how they reacted. We talked about everything that happened. They said I could leave if I didn’t feel safe with them anymore. I thought about it for a little while.”

“Really?”

“I know, I know, I was just…tired. I didn’t even know I was until we talked. I thought I’d go with Nico and no one would look at me like I was a freak or a monster again. No more trips and people trying to talk to me when I didn’t want to and no more feeling like I didn’t belong…” His voice broke again. “…and that all felt good. But I realized I’d be giving up if I didn’t that, and I didn’t want to give up. I still cared about that place. I didn’t want to run away. I wanted to make it better. So I stayed and…it has been better. It’s been a lot better.”

Meryl thought about her interactions with everyone over the past few hours—the fierce protectiveness in Ludia’s voice, the way Brad didn’t seem so grumpy and guarded, how Vash had asked them for a break without fear or hesitation. There was something about them that she hadn’t noticed before.

They almost looked like a family.

“I’m glad,” Meryl said. “Does that mean they weren’t the ones who suggested you come out here?”

“No, that was my idea. They actually tried to talk me out of it, but I wanted to, for the Plants. Nai was wrong about…a lot, but not all humans treat them well. He wasn’t wrong about that part. Even the ones who do need extra help, and I’m the only one who can do it. But it’s been so bad out here. It gets worse and worse every time. I don’t know what to do.”

Meryl had to think about that one. “I know you want to help,” she said finally, “and that’s very kind of you. But sometimes…a problem can’t really be fixed, you know? Especially by just one person.” If it could, she would’ve dragged Vash out of that tank in July herself. “You just do what you can, and what’s safe. That’s all anyone can ask of you and all you should expect of yourself.” Meryl wrapped her arm around Vash’s shoulders. “You don’t have to fix the whole world on your own, Vash.”

“…I know.”

She hoped he meant that.

They sat in silence for a little while. Meryl mulled over everything Vash had told her. She hadn’t expected so many answers in one night—or so many new questions.

Nico.

Had the white-haired assassin from the sand steamer called Wolfwood that, or was she misremembering?

Nico could be a shortened version of Nicholas. And he had been in the room when the portal had opened up. But why would he care about helping Vash now? What would he gain from it?

Why pretend to be his friend again?

“Hey, Vash? What does Nico look like?”

No reply. When Meryl looked at Vash, his eyes were closed, his breathing slow. His posture had become a lot more relaxed. He was fast asleep.

Oh, well.

“Goodnight,” Meryl whispered.

She could wait until tomorrow to get some answers about the Undertaker.

.

In hindsight, the strange sleep patterns caused by her time travel really worked out. Meryl already wasn’t that tired since, by her reckoning, she’d just woken up. The answers Vash had given her left her with a lot to think about. Combine those two things, and she was still wide awake when she heard movement outside.

At first, she thought that maybe one of the charging cables had opened up and Brad or Luida was getting them hooked up. But when she heard muffled voices—“No, it’s in here, I saw it”—she knew it wasn’t that simple.

Especially when a second voice chimed in—“Should we just take the whole truck?”—and she realized she knew it. It was the man from before, the one who’d wanted Vash to come with him. He’d found them somehow.

Meryl reached for her Derringer. Her heart pounded in her chest as the movement got closer. “…won’t get very far in it. Anyway, I think that girl was with it.”

“So? She’s five foot at best. What’s she going to do?”

It was petty of her and she knew it, but hearing that comment made drawing the Derringer a lot easier.

“I know, I know. I just don’t want to deal with any…”

The door to the back opened wider. The two men standing outside were backlit by the moons, but close enough that Meryl could see the stunned looks on their faces when they found themselves staring down the barrel of a gun.

That’s what I’m going to do about it, asshole.

“Turn around,” Meryl said. “Leave him alone.”

One of the men recovered more quickly than the other. “Put that thing down,” he said with the same voice you used on a spooked thomas. “Nobody has to get hurt.”

“You’re right. You don’t.” The man leaned further into the truck, prompting Meryl to turn off the safety. She was a little surprised by how easily the switch flipped. That was the only thing standing between those men and a bullet, and she’d removed that with casual movement of her thumb. “Get back.”

“We’re not leaving without the Plant,” hissed the man from before. “You can move or we can move you.”

“I’m not the one with a gun pointed at me, am I?” Meryl drew back the hammer of the Derringer. One more fragile barrier removed. “Vash isn’t going anywhere. That’s not happening. So, I want you to ask yourself one thing: is this worth your life?”

Silence hung heavy in the air. Slowly, the new man reached for something in his coat.

Vash screamed.

The sound was so loud and sudden that Meryl almost flinched. The only thing that kept her focus was the glint of something metallic in the new man’s coat, and the fact that he was moving further into the car.

The decision had already been made. She’d made it when she turned off the safety, when she pulled back the hammer, when she’d pointed the gun in the first place. Never point a gun at anything you aren’t willing to shoot.

Vash had taught her that.

Even pressure on the trigger.

He’d taught her that, too.

The pop of the Derringer came just as Vash paused to inhale. Meryl smelled blood, heard a thump as the man collapsed. Vash’s screaming resumed. It all happened so fast.

Shit. Shit, did I kill him?

People ran over, ones she recognized, and again her body reacted. Finger off the trigger, both hands where they could be clearly seen. Roberto had taught her that one, just in case military police ever showed up. She didn’t need it her; security was chasing after the man from before, and Brad was the one making a run for the truck. His face was pale as he scrambled inside, but his voice was calm, steady. “What happened? Who was shot?”

“Him, that man, he…” Meryl’s hand shook as she clicked the safety back. This time it took her two tries, like her body didn’t believe it was time for that. “Is he dead?”

The figure slumped in the truck’s entryway groaned. The action earned him a swift kick right back out from Brad. A barrage of curses answered Meryl’s question. He’s not dead.

She hadn’t killed anyone tonight.

“Easy, easy, you’re okay.” Brad scooped up Vash into a tight hug. “Easy.”

Vash’s screaming had cut off, replaced by quiet whimpers. It was chaos outside—security grabbing and dragging the man Meryl had shot away, more distant shouting, Luida calling Vash’s name—but it all sounded strangely muffled. Meryl lowered her hands, making sure not to point the Derringer towards anyone. She took a deep breath.

She’d shot someone.

But she hadn’t killed anyone. And Vash’s grip on her jacket let her know he was okay.

Slowly, Meryl started to feel like she could breathe again.

.

Both of the men were caught. Saying they were arrested felt like a stretch, since they were just hog tied and thrown into the back of someone else’s truck, but at least they couldn’t try to kidnap Vash again. Meryl’s bullet had caused a “nasty flesh wound” according to the person who’d looked at it, but he’d definitely live. Vash calmed down, but Brad was still visibly on edge, pacing back and forth as they waited for the truck to charge. Someone had generously given up their cable to let them charge faster, and everyone awake was on alert for any potential issues, but it would still be some time before they could leave.

“You’re really okay?” Vash asked again. It was amazing: he was the one who’d nearly been kidnapped, but he seemed more worried about Meryl. “You’re sure?”

“I’m okay,” Meryl repeated. She was a lot better than she had been, now that she’d gotten the chance to breathe. “I’m not hurt. That was scary, but…I’ve had scary before.” The Bad Lads had been pretty scary. Jeneora Rock had been terrifying. This, at least, had a happy outcome. “What about you?”

“Uhm.” Vash looked down at his hands. They were still shaking. “I just want to go home. I’ll be better then.”

“I feel you.” Meryl took both his hands and squeezed them gently. “You were really brave, though. And you’re safe now. Everything’s going to be…”

The hairs on the back of her neck stood up as a familiar feeling settled into her skin. Meryl glanced over her shoulder. The portal was just out of sight, partially obscured by the ship ruins. “…everything’s going to be okay,” she finished.

At least she could be pretty sure of that now.

When she looked back at Vash, he was staring over her shoulder. Had he seen it? Meryl braced herself for a barrage of questions that she might not have the answers to, but they never came. Instead. Vash met her eyes with a look of soft understanding. He pulled his hands away and hugged her tightly. “Thank you,” he said.

Did he know? How, and how much? Brad appeared before she had the chance to ask. “We’re charged up enough to get back,” he said. “Claudia, you coming?”

“Oh, I…I appreciate the offer, but something’s come up. I have to go. Another group is giving me a ride.” She hoped that didn’t sound too dismissive or suspicious.

Thankfully, Brad seemed to distracted by the need to get them out of there to notice. “Best of luck to you, then.” He rested a hand on Vash’s shoulders. “C’mon, kid. We’ve got to go.”

Vash was slow to let go of her, but there was a calmness to his eyes that hadn’t been there last time. “I’ll see you later,” he said.

Not calmness, she realized. Certainty.

Meryl didn’t know how he knew, but she was almost grateful. It made leaving him a little easier. “I’ll see you,” she echoed.

He was safe now. He must have been if she was able to leave. But Meryl still waited until the truck was a speck on the horizon before darting to the portal.

It occurred to her as she stepped through that she’d never gotten the chance to ask about “Nico.” Oh, well, she thought before the darkness pulled her down. Next time.

If it was Wolfwood, she just hoped he didn’t cause too much damage.

[sunnyyyyyyyynnus]

Ok so I finished Wednesday on wednesdaay (very funny ik) but it took me till now to fully process everything that happened so now Imma rant about it

Tyler Galpin to be specific

HE IS SO FREAKING HOT AND FOR WHATTT

Okay okay from the beginning

So after that first scene with Tyler, I honestly couldn't tell if Hunter wasn't a great actor or if Tyler was just shy

of course after like 2 episodes it was obvious he was a good actor buuuuutt i still wasn't entirely convinced

tiiiillll the last 2 episodes

ESPECIALLY THAT SCENE

YEAH THAT SCENE AND IF YOU'VE WATCHED IT THEN YOU KNOW WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT

HOLY SH!T

SERIOUSLY THO I WAS JUST SITTING THERE HANDS OVER MY MOUTH AND THE ONLY THING ACTUALLY STOPPING MY FROM SCREAMING WAS THAT I DIDN'T WANT THE NEIGHBORS KNOCKING DOWN OUR DOOR (again)

AND USUALLY I HATE THE CHARACTERS AFTER THAT OR I'M JUST REALLY UPSET THAT THEY TURNED OUT LIKE THAT

BUT I JUST CAN'T HATE HIM

IN FACT I'M SO GONE FOR HIM IT'S NOT EVEN FUNNY AT THIS POINT

ok ok gotta calm down

been screaming in caps for a while

alright change of topic

now about the rest of the show cus I don't have the energy to write two seperate posts

honestly what i love about the show is how every time I'm so sure about something it's like "haha you thought you was smart bish well guess what"

but I did have some predictions that turned out true

like about Thornhill

from 2nd episode i knew she was gonna try and kill Wednesday or something

she just seemed too nice and there to be a good character

and when they wanted us to think that Weems was the killer? no way i didn't believe it for a second

and i had a feeling that tyler was the monster around 6th-7th episode

still didn't lessen the shock

but I did think that Xavier was behind it for a while

i thought that maybe he drew the monster and brought it to life but i had doubts cus when he brought the spider to life and Wednesday smushed it it disappeared into smoke

so after coming to that conclusion i was positive it wasn't him

okie then now about the ships:

now i know everyone is shipping Wednesday and Enid

but i just don't

there's this feeling i have when i think a couple would be great together and i just don't have it with them

but i do ship Enid and Ajax i just think they're really cute together

i also shipped Wyler really hard until the final episode

don't get me wrong i still ship them but i also have this feeling that i won't anymore

still waiting for s2 to decide on that ship

i also think Bianca and Lucas i think his name was would make a cute couple

(sorry for my terrible transitions from topic to topic)

but there are a few scenes i keep replaying

like when Enid hugged Wednesday and Wednesday pushed her away a bit before hugging her back tightly? MAH HARRT CAN'T HANDLE EEETTT

and when Tyler was all like "What does it feel like...to lose?" HUNTER IS SUCH AN AMAZING ACTOR THAT JUST THE TINIEST CHANGE IN HIS FACIAL EXPRESSION AND POSTURE HAD THAT EFFECT

and when Wednesday started crying cus she thought that Thing died

I STARTED CRYING CUS I THOUGHT THING DIED HOW DID THEY MANAGE TO MAKE A HAND ONE OF MY FAVORITE CHARACTERS

anyway that's all i think thank you for bearing with me love y'all have a great rest of your day

AND IF YOU HAVE NETFLIX BUT HAVEN'T WATCHED WEDNESDAY YET THEN WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FORR

[cheesy-poofs]

Okay so morning after and I'm still thinking about that episode so I still think its pretty good. Some notes about it that I thought yesterday but needed to sit with for a little:

It actually made me laugh a lot. I laugh really easily though, especially since I was excited for a new season lol

I'm not a shipper (with an exception of one ship, I just can't focus on more than one thing at a time) but props to the people who got shipping fuel for some of the other characters. There's even some Kyman undertones, especially if you consider the synopsis

I did kind of think the Kyle and Tolkien friendship right off the bat was weird, and so was Stan not talking to Tolkien for most of the episode, but it doesn't ruin it for me. Besides, they're still 10 and the idea of Kyle and Tolkien spontaneously becoming friends over TikTok is kinda funny

Cartman was actually able to realize he was taking it to far on his own agency is interesting. In retrospect, I doubt he's actually on meds, I see it more as just poking at you-know-who. But we can agree to disagree on that.

Them poking at Ye didn't feel too forced or anything, like it was obvious but it also didn't feel too out of place in the episode, the play on words with "Cupid Ye" is funny

We knew this day was coming (South Park mentioning TikTok). Considering everything? The TikTok parts could've been wayyy worse lmao, I actually laughed at those segments and they didn't run for too long, plus it was somewhat relevant to the story. Somewhat.

Kyle's back to his gay little speeches

I don't really have anything profound or analytical to say about it, most other people have expressed their thoughts better than I ever could, but yeah not a bad start to the season, I definitely have better hopes for the rest of s26 but I'm still going to keep my expectations at a realistic level.

edit: and also the rules of Cupid Me just doesn't really make any sense to me. Unless Cartman is just so insane that his delusions became reality or something. It directly conflicts with "Cartman Finds Love" where Kyle couldn't see Cupid Me, and that no one could...until now. That really annoyed me actually.

Others being able to see him kind of soured the episode to me...I dunno, it could've been better. Now, I'll be honest my standards are pretty low lol like I love South Park so much that I'm going to like anything they put out anyway unless its truly really bad. And don't get me wrong, this isn't my favorite episode or anything, but I had fun watching it so that's really all I can ask.

[wardsbackpoet]

Okay heres the rest;

Thank you!!! Goodbye! Hope you have an amazing day night evening uh yeah!!! Hope you have a great wonderful [uh]!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Static: Yes, definitely a part of one of the playlists I’ve built myself for Tweek. I may be mistaken, but I think the first time I heard it was on recommendation of butterwholesomesurfer, who also has drawn amazing art of the fic.

No way out: I love T.S.O.L. who doesn’t, right? Okay, a bunch of people who don’t know who they are, but who needs ‘em? Also, heck yeah, it fits. Tweek feeling he’s surrounded by danger and running out of places to hide from it? Yeah, it fits.

Constantly in between: I did not know this song, but yes, I can see it fitting, especially with the way you described, and with the ‘long way away always’ part and him feeling like maybe he doesn’t have a home so much anymore and he’s so far from what he’s known.

Scratch: That definitely makes sense and would be perfect for yeah, exactly that, him feeling the best he’d ever felt, and then losing everything all at once and getting shipped off to some town he doesn’t know and where he’s alone to just like, rebuild and literally start over from scratch.

Can’t decide: Oh, fuck yes. Just that. Yeah, nailed it.

Miserable failure: Oh yeah, definitely with his internal monologue of him just always fucking everything up, and also him just wanting to live life by rules that make sense to him—like, in the way he’s a bit of an anarchist/rule-breaker but he also strictly follows his own moral code—and he gets hate for it from some kids in South Park, especially. That makes a bunch of sense.

Can’t cheat karma: Holy Fuck I love Zounds and no one ever knows who they are gndkgbfdgbdqg fuck I like you. Also yes, this is definitely a Tweek song. I think it’s in that songs for later playlist, maybe. I dunno. I also considered Fear, for obvious (I think) reasons. Personal fave has gotta be Did He Jump or Was He Pushed/The Unfree Child/My Mummy’s Gone, or, or, Dirty Squatters. That one’s just a fun song.

Space ooze: Pretty self-explanatory, & I didn’t know this song by I added it in the songs for later playlist and in another one ‘cause the first is getting way too long & I don’t wanna ‘lose’ this song.

Conform: Oh, for sure, totally his (and my) jam.

Eyes in the back of your head: Oooh I haven’t listened to the adicts in a whiiiiile. So like, just yes, obviously.

I feel bad bein’ me: You know what? Like, yeah, he doesn’t like feeling sorry for himself, but a part of him still does. Like, sure, he stays sorta positive, or he gets angry instead of sad, but he still knows he missed out and it wasn’t fair and he should’ve had it easier. So like, yeah, I think it still fits.

Ghost: Yeah, I can see that, for like, all those times he feels like no one gets him and the only person who ever really saw him is gone, right?

Oh, as a bonus, 'cause I think I asked you before if you like Pete Bernhard, his song Orphan, right? I've never been much for followin' rules -yes, Tweek I always go out and act a fool -yes, Tweek, in his past And somethin' bad would happen by and by - Duh Can't say I'm always proud of myself -Yes, Tweek But I don't wish I was somebody else - Yes, Tweek In fact, I'd rather be me than you -Yes, Tweek But a lot of people don't like me - Yup, Tweek Not my music, I mean personally - Again, just yeah They wanna tell how to act and what to say - Yes, Tweek Would you rather be an orphan or a slave? - Well come on, he was basically a slave and now he's an orphan, pretty much. Would you rather be an orphan or a slave? - And also the fact it's in question form because he's sometimes missed his old life but really, when it all boils down to it, he'd rather be an orphan than a slave so like, yeah. Right?

Anyways, I'm planning to fit that one in at some point, hopefully.

[mentalisttraceur-software]

Huge histdir-in-Emacs UX responsiveness optimization yesterday.

I was hoping I could kick this can down the road a while longer, but soon as I stopped fiddling with Emacs and got back to other work, my CLI history ballooned within a few days from ~500 unique entries to a couple thousand, with many of them having tens of calls (repetitive build commands, vi invocations, etc).

This meant that on a high-end Android phone, Emacs in Termux would freeze for a few seconds loading history. On every new shell or REPL instance.

(I'm pretty sure this is Android's fault. I don't know how or why, but a modern high-end ARMv8 CPU on a modern Linux kernel, with modern fast busses for I/O with disk and memory.... shouldn't be having these significant of delays. I have very little empirical evidence for this slander, besides just the fact that it doesn't happen on my laptops and I've seen Android introduce perceptible delayes in some cases with its safeties, but I am over-confidently asserting it anyway.)

I could probably have done a quick hack to get each new instance of the same shell/REPL instance to share already-loaded history, but for a couple reasons, I wasn't super motivated to tackle that by itself.

Plus, initial startup time matters to me a lot too. Several seconds waiting for Emacs to become responsive just wasn't really my kind of thing - especially not if those seconds were added by just a few days of serious work on a couple software projects.

(Oh, I also added deduplication support into the "histdir add" command of my minimal viable histdir shell script, so that would've cleaned up the most repetitive commands passively in the background.)

Anyway, I wasn't ready to make it a priority - but then I realized Emacs has cooperative multitasking, and I could yield before every file read and before the initial directory read. Boom. That alone brought the responsiveness up a LOT. Time to... let's say "first paint" (of the Eshell buffer, which I have start as my default buffer at the end of my Emacs init) went from several seconds to basically instant.

(Funny story: Emacs calls its cooperative multitasking primitive which has to explicitly yield... threads.)

But it was still annoyingly slow to load. Yeah I could now move my cursor around with only minor lags as it loaded. I could do other things. Even run commands in the shell as it loaded its history. But it was still a few seconds before I had my shell history ready to use.

So I finally brought in that dlist and ordered hash table stuff. I coded it for exactly this after all. But I had just left it sitting once I had it for a bit. Lack of time, wasn't a priority, and... more on the problems in the next paragraph. But now the priority was higher because history loads were rapidly getting slower and I was encouraged by the success with yielding to the rest of Emacs' event loop between all the histdir loading blocking I/O (really, Emacs, why do you still not ship with a way to dispatch async file reads to an event loop in some pool of OS worker threads? If I didn't know how thoroughly I search, I would have to believe I just missed it. Just... just basic FS read+write. Why not? What possible reason... anyway).

So there were two main problems with bringing in the dlist and ordered table stuff:

One - the "full" switch would involve an extensive refactor of Eshell history (I'd have to basically replace Eshell's history mechanism from the outside, whereas I currently get by with minimal monkeypatching - 20 or so lines, most just fixing a couple bugs in Eshell's history mechanism, not the stuff to pave over history read/write with histdir) and my wrap-any-REPL stuff. And it wasn't immediately obvious how all the details needed to look. I needed to just let that cook in my brain, and maybe build up the willpower/motive/stamina for the frustration with the inadequacies I could see I'd have to work around.

Two - the minimal change would be to just use the ordered hash table in the history load - it would purely optimize the deduplication. Instead of loading directly into a ring, with it's O(n) search and O(n) delete on every entry to throw away duplicates - I could use my ordered hash table, getting amortized O(1) duplicate checks and removals. Yay. Then copy history into a ring for interoperability with all the existing code which uses rings. Well, I tried that right after writing the dlist-based ordered hash table. It didn't seem to make anything perceptibly faster, so I put it aside. In retrospect, my history didn't have enough duplicates, and the blocking I/O was masking the benefit.

But now I was encouraged. After all, just yielding to the Emacs event loop at every opportunity got me so much closer to a great experience again. And sure enough, with the blocking I/O out of the way, just switching to my ordered hash table made a huge difference.

Back to a UI that even on the phone is fairly acceptably responsive and fast to load history. Not perfect, there's a bit of perceptible latency, but unless I've queued up muscle memory or a pre-computed finger movement plan it doesn't get in my way. It still would only scale linearly with histdir size, which won't be good enough as my history grows, but it's definitely back to good enough for ongoing use right now.

[gourde]

1, 4 and 7!!!!! 💥💥💥💥💥💥💥💥💥💥💥

Oooo I like these! Okay there's a lot so here's some funny blue words

1. The character everyone gets wrong: SONIC!!!! I know things can be read differently by different people but I really feel like Sonic's aroaceness is a HUGE part of his character. Like it's so fucking obvious but he's the mAiN ChaRAcTer so we gotta pair him up with fucking someone. The only Sonics that don't fit this is Boom Sonic who is obviously divorced and Archie Sonic who gets WAY too many bitches. And I chose to ignore that one fucking line in Frontiers. It just... is there. It came out of no where. Sonic since when did you... anyways. OKAY SO. Sonic has really never been interested in anyone, ever. He is clearly uncomfortable/disinterested in Amy's advancements and their relationship really shines when he's FRIENDS with her. BECAUSE HE'S AROACE. HE DOESN'T HAVE ROMANTIC FEELINGS. I MEAN. LOOK AT HIM. LOOK AT HOW HE ACTS. THAT MAN IS AROACE. He's a guy who loves adventure and doesn't stick around. Guy's ALWAYS on the move. He is NOT the "Settle down" with someone type. He has so many friends because not only does he manage to help all those around him but. It's what he wants! He has friends everywhere and that's all he needs! Like come on people I will EXPLODE someone who GIVES A SHIT about who he's gonna be with. And then the people who DO ship him with someone tear down his character to "Soft cuddly guy!" WHICH IS NOT HOW HE IS. THESE PEOPLE HAVE NEVER SEEN ANY SONIC GAME. Like I know I'm aroace and a lot of Sonic I see in myself, but I really don't think I'm projecting here. I feel like I'm at least SOMEWHAT good enough at reading characters. 4. What was the last straw that finally made you block that annoying person?: I actually can't think of any instance. Generally once someone starts bothering me I just block them right away. And most of the time someone I've been following for a while shows their true colours. Like this one blog I followed for YEARS, reblogged something saying fictional incest is okay because it's fictional! Lol! Lmao! Blocked right away. Piss off with that. Explode. Or those "Fiction doesn't effect reality" types. It does... no matter how little you think it doesn't it still does man. But this is more general instead of one instance. 7. What character did you begin to hate not because of canon but because of how the fandom acts about them?: I'm so sorry but Sally. I can't fucking stand Sally's name because I hate how it sounds (The autism) so I already was just okay with her. I watched Satam and like... she's fine I guess. Generic girl character who keeps the wild boy in check and makes all the plans. I also didn't like her design and that's a huge part of a character to me. So I had a slightly negative opinion about her. I kept on seeing posts about how Sally should come back in IDW or the games and first off, how would they do that in a natural way and second off WHAT DOES SHE BRING TO THE TABLE. NOTHING!!! SHE HAS NO UNIQUE CHARACTER TRAITS. Amy is a very good leader and people person, Whisper is patient and has that mysterious past (Not royalty but still), and Tangle has that energy and incredible fighting skill. Oh and Tails has the tech savvy. Like you could change her character but then it's not Sally coming back anymore, so what's the point there. She's just boring. I'm sorry Sally enjoyers but I really can't see her appeal. Even in Archie she was overshadowed (First comes to mind is Charmy was the hidden royalty, Rotor is good with electronics), which isn't her fault but she's a character supposed to be entertaining, nothing about her was. I guess the appeal is what can you can add to her character? But I'm not a big fan of those types. So yeah I saw her too much when I already didn't like her and most of it was wanting her back. Which wouldn't make any fucking sense. And like let them rest, they've had like 20 years to shine. Let the IDW characters shine. (TANGLE I LOVE YOU TANGLE!!!!!)

[fandomspov]

･ ﾟ𖡼 ︎ִֶָ⁀➷

OUR LITTLE SECRET | punz

「 sᴜᴍᴍᴀʀʏ 」 ଽ you and luke having a secret relationship.

「 ᴡᴀʀɴɪɴɢs 」 ଽ fluff ; swearing ; gn! reader ; y/s/n - your ship name.

「 ᴡᴏʀᴅ ᴄᴏᴜɴᴛ 」 ଽ 1k .

➪ ᴀᴜᴛʜᴏʀ's ɴᴏᴛᴇs ❝ hi loves, please don't steal my work and if you repost it make sure to give credits. interacting with the post means A LOT to me so if you liked it yk what to do <3 requests are always open ❞

AT first you didn't think much of it, just glances here and there, you didn't know him that well after all. it all started with sapnap inviting you over to his house, his reason was that he will be streaming with nolan, karl and luke. you weren't doing anything special that day besides binge-watching avengers so why not?

"y/n you're finally here" sap welcomed you at the door, pulling you into his arms "of course i am" the smile never leaving your faces, he has been your best friend for ages, even though people shipped you two together. it was never like that.

"guys! y/n's here" he exclaimed through the house, soon footsteps could be heard running down the stairs "y/n/n" karl grinned letting you hug him "you act like we haven't seen each other for ages" "it's literally been ages" he complained making you chuckle "so 2 days ago is ages, got it"

you also pulled nolan into a small hug before getting to luke "hi" you smiled, he only gave you a small smirk with a "hey". you went in to hug him so it wouldn't be strange while the others spread around the house. you giggled taking him by surprise "what's funny?"

"it's just so fucking awkward, i'm sorry" you pointed out, pulling away from his arms "you're right" luke chuckled resting his hands into the pocket of the hoodie.

there was a long pause of comfortable silence, it took a minute for you to realise the situation you were in: standing in front of the door staring at each other. "yeah, i'm gonna go" you declared making him step from your way "yeah, me too" you only nodded your head and went separate ways

"you're so crushing on him" sap laughed before taking a sip from his drink "no i'm not, what are you talking about" apparently playing it off with a laugh wasn't enough to convince him "come on y/n you both like each other, so why not just go for it" "he likes me?"

sap only nodded his head "you didn't know?" he was in shock, i mean, it was obvious luke liked you. you shook your head 'no' with an unpuzzled look on your face "then you're both clearly blind, anyways let's go we should start streaming" sap informed making his way to his room leaving you standing in utter shock

"oh shut up, it's not like that" punz chuckled at noah who just made a comment about him and you getting clingy "we're just friends" that made noah laugh

of course you weren't just friends it was so obvious there was something more, at least to others. "yeah sure, like i'm gonna believe that bullshit" luke just moaned in frustration, running a hand through his hair.

they were playing minecraft while reacting to media share and so that's where the whole conversation started. someone sent in an edit of the two of you together "believe what you want; me and y/n are just friends, hear that everybody?" punz pointed to the screen in front of him

"you're such a simp it's embarrassing" foolish giggled at luke's attempt to convince people, it was not working. no one believed it but he liked to pretend that they did.

after some time passed they decided that was it for the day and end the stream, luke went straight for the bed, wanting nothing but sleep. he opened his closet and quickly changed into a comfortable shirt and went under the covers.

"you didn't have to wait for me, you know that right?" he smiled "you know i always do" you spoke with a soft tone letting him wrap his arms around you. his head fell onto your chest allowing you to play with his hair

it's been some time since your relationship has been a secret, because of all the people shipping you with sap you couldn't risk anyone getting hate so you decided to keep it a secret till you're both ready to come out and people chilled with the shipping, the only people knowing of you are the ones in your life like family and friends.

his hair was really soft, he loved when you played with it because it made him relax and loosen up a little. "i could stay like this forever" punz remarked making you grin "yeah, me too" you snuggled closer into him letting your eyes close to the sound of his soft snores.

and with that a few days passed, days turned into weeks, weeks turned into months and you finally felt like you could tell everyone that you were together. the day you told luke about your decision was the day that you told your fans.

punz couldn't be happier that he could finally hold and kiss you in public or praise you on the internet, you both announced it by posting pictures together on instagram with a cute caption revealing the truth.

it was the first stream after coming out about your relationship, the first stream you could be together and not hide the fact that you did love each other "guys stop spamming y/s/n"

you and luke giggled at the chat. you were happy they were supportive of it. it could've gotten worse. you could've gotten hated on for it and you would lose your fans, but none of that happened thankfully.

[callsign-joyride]

Gimme A Kiss - B.R.B

Summary: After returning from his mission, you and Bradley decide to get married right away.

Pairing: Bradley "Rooster" Bradshaw x fem!reader

Content warnings: Minor spoilers for Top Gun: Maverick, drinking, fluff :)

My inbox is open :)

This is the wedding song

You anxiously sat at the bar at The Hard Deck. Bradley should've called you by now. You knew that men in uniform probably would've found you and told you if he was dead, but that wasn't really something that you wanted to think about. Penny noticed you spin the engagement ring around your finger as you obsessively checked your phone. You thought that it was somehow broken, until you felt it vibrate from under your leg. Bradley's name and a picture of him popped up, and you ran outside to answer it.

"Hey, babe," he said. You chuckled through the tears and sat down.

"Hey yourself."

"We'll be back in about a half hour. I really missed you."

"I was so worried about you."

"I know. We'll be back sooner than you know it, though. Okay?"

"Okay."

"Listen, I gotta go. Mav wants to talk to me. I love you."

"Love you, too."

The two of you hung up and you ran into the bar to tell Penny the good news. Your excitement made her giggle before she told you to meet the guys at the docks. You still had time to make it. The weather was nice, so it wasn't much of a surprise to see a bunch of people at the docks anyways. It took a while for the carrier ship to fully dock, and you practically ran out of the car when crew members started to walk off of the ship.

"There she is! The future Mrs. Bradshaw," Payback yelled as he walked up to you. You smiled and gave him a hug before catching up for a few minutes. The conversation came to a grinding halt when you saw Bradley and Maverick out of the corner of your eye. You immediately ran over to them and jumped into Bradley's arms.

You smiled as you looked lovingly into each other's eyes before Bradley moved in to kiss you. People around were cheering for you, and you pulled away with a smile on your face.

"What do you say we get married?" He asked as he put you down.

"Well, we're already engaged."

"No, I meant tonight. Have the ceremony and all that."

"Yeah, but do we even know anyone who can officiate a wedding at the last minute?"

"I can!" Maverick exclaimed. You glanced at Maverick before looking back at Bradley.

"Let's do it," you said. Bradley kissed you once more before grabbing his bag and walking over to the rest of the group.

"Hey, can you guys meet us at our place in like two hours?" He asked.

"Yeah, what's up?" Pheonix asked.

"Our wedding. I know it's a spur of the moment thing, but we're getting married tonight and we want you there," you explained.

"Congratulations!" Everyone yelled. The conversation after that was fairly short, and you and Bradley were headed home sooner than you thought.

It didn't take you long to pick out a nice dress and do your hair. Bradley walked out of your shared bathroom and put his chin on your shoulder for a few minutes. The doorbell rang and he quickly got dressed before going downstairs to answer it. He left the door to your bedroom open, so it was easy to figure out that it was Penny and Maverick. The rest of the group wasn't supposed to be there for another half hour, so you finished doing your makeup and walked down the stairs with a white pair of heels in hand. As you looked at the kitchen island that held bottles of champagne, it suddenly dawned on you that you didn't have enough food for a cookout. This was not planned through.

"We don't have food," you loudly expressed. Bradley and Maverick locked eyes before turning to you.

"We can order some pizzas?" Bradley said, but it sounded more like a question.

"Whatever, just as long as we have enough food for everyone."

Once everyone had arrived, you put your shoes on and went outside. Maverick made the ceremony go by quick because it was obvious that everyone was more excited about the reception. Everyone cheered when you and Bradley kissed for the first time as a married couple. Penny announced that champagne was available, along with ice cream. Pheonix and Payback were the first ones to go back inside to make their champagne floats.

Music started to play, and you started to cry as you and Bradley had your first dance. Bradley picked you up and carried you bridal style inside so that the two of you could get your drinks.

"Get it, Bradshaw!" Hangman yelled. It was so unexpected that you couldn't help but laugh.

The night continued, and you were both partying until it started getting really late. After everyone went home, the two of you were finally able to go to bed.

Although the wedding wasn't entirely ideal, you were the happiest that you had ever been.

[kingdoms-and-empires]

Can I just say your MC is one the best MC's I've ever read in COG and HG. As a female reader the mc doesn't feel too masculine nor feminine. They feel neutral enough that I can play without having to change them. I also love the realistic choices and reactions, too often I see other HG's (cough- I won't say which-) quip and give that marvel like family friendly dialogue. I love that if I was in this setting, I would react the way (at least my mc) acts. Oh and the female characters Muah! Perfect. They feel genuine without being a stereotype of what means to be a girl and the fact you still give them their femininity without demonizing it! Many male authors seem to write female characters underneath Pixie wild, shy motherly or badass sexual. Anyway, sorry for gushing- its honestly hard to find a versatile, all the round good WIP.

Have a good one Ser Flame R. R Martin.

"As a female reader the mc doesn't feel too masculine nor feminine."

I try, but im sure to fuck up in the future haha. Ill be hoping for people such as yourself to help me steer the ship back on course!

"I also love the realistic choices and reactions, too often I see other HG's (cough- I won't say which-) quip and give that marvel like family friendly dialogue."

Dude, i hate that so much! But what do you expect when we've had Marvel be the juggernaut of cinema for the last 20 years? That means their form of telling stories has influenced so much styles of writing, storytelling, and direction to the point it's saturating media and people are getting tired of it. Personally, I haven't even seen the new Disney shows about Wanda, Loki, Moon Knight or the rest since I'm so fatigued watching superhero stuff. Like I could care less.

"I love that if I was in this setting, I would react the way (at least my mc) acts."

This is something I really wanted to hammer home. Most people, including some of my readers, expect to be a cold-blooded ruthless OP MC straight from the gate. But that's not possible! Our Goddess chose you in the end because of your good nature, your humanity, and your empathy. You are canon to start off as a good person with modern sensibilities! A person of today raised in relative comfort would be shocked if they had gone through anything the MC has gone through. But how the MC will end up becoming will be up to the player.

"Oh and the female characters Muah! Perfect. They feel genuine without being a stereotype of what means to be a girl and the fact you still give them their femininity without demonizing it! Many male authors seem to write female characters underneath Pixie wild, shy motherly or badass sexual."

Tbh i wanna avoid that bullshit that makes me roll my eyes. Oh great, a female character who is strong and independent and needs no man whatsoever because she thinks men are baggage so she always has to demean them while doing everything perfectly. Eyerolls. ONLY FOR HER TO FALL IN LOVE WITH A DUDE AND REALIZE THAT SHE WAS WRONG! Like they not only ruined her whole character, they then turned it on its head and made it so a man could be the only thing that could help her grow as a person...Bruhhhhhhh

Anyways. Yeah, ima try to avoid that, but like I said before i may fuck it up without realizing it because I consume media that unfortunately has that bullshit and may influence me somewhat. Doesn't mean I'm a piece of shit lmao, just means I'm being influenced by my surroundings because quality writing isn't being promoted because of writing that instead checks off boxes is what gets the love from corporations and investors instead. I don't believe in the whole "Go woke go broke" shit, I rather believe in consumer fatigue. Consumers don't wanna get preached or lectured at anymore. People don't wanna see obvious boxes getting checked with token minorities or plot points. People are tired of corporate wokeness.

I think a woman can have strength by being a mother. She doesn't have to be single and scorn the affections of others. I think a woman can show fortitude by being a knitter or dancer in the ballrooms. She doesn't have to give speeches all the time and be a general to command respect from others. I think a woman can show initiative by using their charisma without needing it to be sexual to get shit done. A woman doesn't only have her sexuality to use as a weapon, she has her wits.

Inversely, you can flip what i just said and it would be true. Because a woman isn't bound by tropes.

Same goes for the men.

Anyways, my point to all this is that i wanna create something that can give female characters their femininity without demonizing it.

Bruh i talked alot lmaooooo

[spookymultimedia]

The many hues of affection [18+]

A Michael Scott X David Wallace ship one shot fic

CW: foreplay, brief grinding, mild implications of past emotional abuse [Jan], and mild themes of Christmas

David Wallace's arms rested on Micheal's shoulders as he kissed him, David's body over his while they laid in Micheal's bed. Micheal's hands were planted on his lover's hips. It was a cool February evening and the covers were much warmer than the blanket of snow outside.

        David broke the kiss and looked down at Micheal, whose face was flushed pink. He smiled up at him. It was obvious he was aroused by the make out session. David looked him over, "So I guess you want to. . . " 

       "Oh!" His eyes widened. "Huh, I never thought I'd get this far." His eyes darted around. "Um. . .I don't know how ass stuff works to be honest."

     David blinked and cocked. "Hmm." 

"What do you feel like?" Michael petted his waist gently.  "Maybe just lap stuff. .?" 

"Yeah, yeah that sounds ok with me." He nodded and smiled. David sat himself up and looked around. 

          "Do you want me to be on top or?"

"No, I can." 

             "Okie dokie. ." He bit his lip and shut his eyes. "Sorry."

 David giggled, "No it's fine." 

                 "Jan hated when I did that."

"I think it's cute." He positioned himself on his lap. "Is this comfortable?" Michael nodded and placed a gentle hand on his back. He grinded himself against Michael for a minute before freezing up.

                        "You okay?"

He shook his head with tense shoulders. "Can we stop?"

             "Yeah." He nodded and smiled. David got off and sat on the edge of the bed by Michael. "I'm sorry." He looked at the floor. 

       "It's fine I wasn't that horny anyways."

"I don't know I just- I'm not."

            Michael sat by him and pet his back. His shoulders relaxed. "What is it?"

"I don't know, I just- I don't think. I'm just really don't enjoy sex. I thought it was just something wrong between me and Rachel- I mean there is but- I just. I don't think I like sex."

         "Okay." He nodded." We don't have to do any of that."

                   "I'm sorry." 

       "No no don't be. It's okay. I love you." He pressed a kiss on his forehead before David hugged him. 

   "Hey, I have an idea." He smiled at David. "We should make hot chocolate. I have these rainbow marshmallows I've been waiting to use."

       "How long have you been waiting?" David rubbed his eyes and smiled.

   "I only got them a month ago. I swear." He smirked. David giggled and kissed his cheek. "That would be just swell."

          They both stood up and headed for his kitchen. It was dark in the kitchen now that the sun was almost gone from the sky so David switched on a light. Michael hummed unintelligible to himself and pulled out a box of hot chocolate packets and took out two.

     "Pick yourself a mug chief." 

David opened up cabinets until he found one with coffee mugs inside. "It really doesn't bother you?"

       "What? Well. . a little but I'll be fine. Besides I'm starting to realize sex isn't my biggest need in a relationship. Like it's there but I think cuddling and talking about whatever is something I've longed for even more."

         "Yeah?" David pulled out an old Thunder Mifflin mug and looked at it before putting it far back in the cabinet. His face made a slight grimace.

    "Yeah. . .Jan could never really fulfill that need. I don't think she really saw me as an actual-. . ." Michael trailed off as he poured his package into a grinch shaped mug. 

           "Wow." David stared at him. "I'm sorry about that."

   "Ahh. . .I need to think of something else um." He furrowed his eyebrows. 

"Do you like Dark Chocolate?"

          "Oh god no." Michael winced but smiled. "Tastes like dirt. If I want chocolate I want something sweet. I want sugar. Give me the sugar!" He sang and giggled. 

 "Silly goose." David played his hair and pulled out a grey round mug. Michael poured milk in both of their mugs 

     "I'm happy you're fine with no sex"   

                 "David there's more to a relationship than sex. There's talking about your day and making pancakes in the morning and dancing to Billy Joel. Making cakes. Petting cats at those pet stores. Going on road trips. Watching scary movies and hugging up close at those scary parts."

      Michael smiled wide and looked at him with ease. "Affection comes in a lot of different ways." He put the mugs in the microwave and smiled.

     "Yeah, I guess it does." David leaned on the counter and watched it snow outside. "Do you want to watch How The Grinch Stole Christmas?" 

       "Oh my god we should." Michael said as he took out their mugs from the microwave. "Did you know that's like, one of my favorite movies?"

          "I had a hunch." David looked directly at his grinch mug and took his own. He walked to the living room and sat on the couch as Michael fetched the movie.

    "We need to watch the one with Jim Carry. Oh and that  Martha May girl. Aw man."

         "Hmm I thought the mom was more attractive honestly."

            "Oh so you do like milfs!" Michael teased and smirked from the DVD shelf. 

     "Don't you dare tell me you don't think she's hot." He giggled

            "Well. . .hmm, yeah. She's cute. And honestly . . . .the Mayor."

"THE mayor?? No. .no did you see that guy's hair." 

     "Shut up, that guy had a great ass." He said and slipped in the movie.

David shook his head at him and snorted out a laugh. "Oh my god." 

       Michael sat by him and David put an arm around him as the movie started. 

[dreamersscape]

In Which I Attempt to Wreak Havoc Upon Panharmonium's Heart. Or Something.

Because I am an awesome friend, clearly, and possibly making people sad/verklempt is definitely an excellent way to (belatedly 😔 but I did start before the 15th!) celebrate Kakashi's birthday, right? ;)

I will admit up front that this is nowhere near as deftly structured and compiled as your Kakashi fanmix, @panharmonium, but that is precisely why I'm not even going to try to organize all these songs into individual playlists. Yet. Plus, I have a tendency to over-explain so this way I can better expound on why certain songs remind me of certain characters. Sorry that I sorta went a little... overboard?

Everything--except a few that aren't available on spotify, I'll link to them directly--can be listened to HERE.

What I'm Looking For - Brendan Benson | Kakashi → I may be a little biased with this one because it fits SO many of my favorite characters so well, somehow, but there's just something about the upbeat/tongue-in-cheek musical cues/delivery of lines such as 'I visit hell on a daily basis, and I see the sadness in all your faces' that just feels so Kakashi to me.

Happy Ending - MIKA | Kakashi → This is presumably a breakup song, but I enjoy it so much more in a non-romantic context (and the song itself isn't really boxed in with overtly romantic framing, so I appreciate that!). Anyway, some very important instructions IMO for listening to this with Kakashi in mind: everything before the bridge is about Kakashi up through his ANBU years, but when you get to the 'little bit of love' refrain, picture Kakashi meeting Tenzo, and then becoming Team 7's sensei, opening back up to Gai, adopting all the other leaf genin, assimilating Sai and Yamato into Team 7, and it keeps building with Kakashi gaining more and more loved ones to fill the hole in his heart, and then cry tears of joy with me! Just my personal suggestion. :D

Light - Sleeping At Last | Kakashi & Team 7 (/all his kids)

with every heartbeat I have left I will defend your every breath

→ I've seen this song used for ship vids and I'm all ????? about that because this is clearly a song about the love you have for your child! But I suppose if one of my favorite pastimes is aggressively re-interpreting love songs in non-romantic ways, I can't begrudge the opposite process... too much, lol.

Heroes - MIKA | Team Minato

your blood on me/and my blood on you/but to make you bleed/the only thing I wouldn't do/.../I wish there was a way/to give you a hand to hold/'cause you don't have to die in your glory/die, to never grow old

Long Lost Friends - Transit | Kakashi & Obito

how long/do you have to say that/this is not the person I used to know/you are not the person I used to know/.../because lately, you've been looking at me like you've seen a ghost/and isn't it obvious who's been missing who the most

→ What the heck! What the heck! What the heck! What the heck! What the heck!

Against the Voices - Switchfoot | Kakashi

'cause everybody knows/the hardest war to fight/is the fight to be yourself/when the voices try to turn you into someone else

Out of the Darkness - Matthew and the Atlas | Obito? Yamato? Kakashi? Itachi & Sasuke? Naruto & Kurama? → I'm a bit undecided about this one, or if I should just not worry about choosing one character and just let myself feel all the "inner darkness is not an innate characteristic, Danzo! They're just grieving/in a lot of pain, and they can find their way out of that dark place!" feels.

Save A Place - 1969 | Kakashi & Sasuke

so I'll keep away and save a place for you/and I'll only make the same mistakes as you/.../when all the blood all over your fingers is dried up/the pain will still linger

→ I'm not uber-confident in picking out really fitting Kakashi & Sasuke songs yet, but I hope this hits a lot of the right notes for you. :)

Thrive - Switchfoot | Kakashi

I'm always close, but I'm never enough/I'm always in line, but I'm never in love/I get so down, but I won't give up/I get so down, but I won't give up

→ See, it says right there that he's never in love! Not the crux of the song, and he's not always 'in line' either, but still! :)

Disarm - The Civil Wars | Kakashi & Obito

the years burn, burn, burn

→ I don't know how I keep collecting fictional relationships that work so well for this song, but literally every single line of this song hits so hard for these two?? Will never recover from this. (Also, I usually disregard when 'my love' pops up in the last line of the chorus, as the mood dictates. :) It's pretty incidental as is IMO.)

Renaissance - Paolo Buonvino & Skin | Sakumo & Obito & Kakashi & Naruto

let me show you one last time/let me show you one last sign/you can find it/I can't say that I can change the world/but if you let me, I can make another world for us/let me suffer all for you/make this vision all brand new/we can fight them/I can't say that I can win it all, [but] come with me and I will make my words stand tall

→ Okay, this is a very odd choice given that it's actually the theme song for a different show about the Italian renaissance (if you happen to see this, Mirjam, don't hate me!), but this could be IT! The "those who break the rules are scum, but those who would abandon their friends are worse than scum" anthem that's all about building a better world based on these principles! I really hope our sharing-a-brain talent translates to listening to this song in this way because I am feeling SOME KIND of way about this!

The Lament of Eustace Scrubb - The Oh Hellos | Kakashi → I really liked the song you chose from this album for your fanmix, so now I've feeling a tiny bit too on-the-nose with my choice, but I guess this is just a Kakashi album all around. 😆

Glass Heart Hymn - Paper Route | Kakashi(+ Obito) & Sasuke(+ Itachi)

memories as heavy as a stone/ I am empty, in my end you are my beginning

This Is Home - Switchfoot | Yamato & Kakashi (+ Team 7)

and now, after all my searching/after all my questions/I'm gonna call it home

→ All finding-where-you-belong songs are actually Yamato songs. True story!

Faust, Midas, & Myself - Switchfoot | Obito

you have one life left to leave/you have one life left to lead

→ Could this be any more perfect for Obito? It even has creepy-old-man!Madara!

Pluto - Sleeping At Last | Kakashi

Always Gold - Radical Face | Kakashi & Obito/Sasuke & Itachi/Naruto & Sasuke

all my life, I've never known where you've been/there were holes in you, the kind that I could not mend/and I heard you say, right when you left that day/does everything go away?/yeah, everything goes away/but I'm going to be here till forever/so just call when you're around

→ ...but mostly Kakashi & Obito because 'there were holes in you' 😭😭😭

Lemon Boy - Cavetown | Yamato & Kakashi → You already know the delights of this song of course, but I gots to be comprehensive. :)

Everywhere I Go - Lissie/cover by Sleeping At Last | Kakashi & Team Minato

danger will follow me now everywhere I go/angels will call on me and take me to my home/well, these tired eyes just want to remain closed

→ I chose the Sleeping At Last cover for maximum angst, 'cause sometimes it be like that.

Uneven Odds - Sleeping At Last | Kakashi

maybe your light is a seed, and the darkness the dirt, in spite of the uneven odds, beauty lifts from the earth

→ ...just like an earth style: mud wall :') Okay, okay, bad jokes aside, the seed metaphor of course makes me want to associate it with Tenzo, but this is clearly a Kakashi song!

Twenty-four - Switchfoot | Kakashi & Obito

life is not what I thought it was twenty-four hours ago/and I'm not who I thought I was twenty-four hours ago/still I'm singing spirit, take me up in arms with you/you're raising the dead in me/I wanna see miracles/to see the world change/wrestled the angel for more than a name/for more than a feeling, for more than a cause/I'm singing spirit, take me up in arms with you/and you're raising the dead in me

I'm Still Here (Jim's Theme) - John Rzeznik | Kakashi

and how can they say I never change?/they're the ones that stay the same/.../they can't tell me who to be/'cause I'm not what they see/.../and their words are just whispers/and lies that I'll never believe

→ Yeah, I might've accidentally imprinted on Treasure Planet as a 14 year old, and then someone made sure this song would forever live in my heart by making a fanvid of it with my favorite character from my robin hood show, but! He's still here!

See You Again - Wiz Khalifa (feat. Charlie Puth) | Kakashi & Obito/Team Minato

how can we not talk about family when family's all that we got?/everything I went through, you were standing there by my side/and now you gon' be with me for the last ride

→ I am being very unoriginal here, and there are in fact already fanvids made for these relationships set to this song (along with many others featuring different Naruto relationships), but I don't think I'll be able to rest until I translate the movie playing in my head whenever I hear this song now into an actually watchable format. After all, they have come a long way from where they began, and I intend to make that both as touching and ironically hilarious as possible!

Goodnight, Travel Well - The Killers | Kakashi → Admittedly, I got this idea from a magnificently crafted fanvid done for my robin hood show, but I genuinely think it would be really interesting to make something similar for Kakashi centered around the time he technically died but got better? I don't know how to explain it, but I think it fits quite well.

30 Lives - Imagine Dragons | Kakashi & all the people he's loved and lost → can be listened to here.

A Pound of Flesh - Radical Face | Kakashi

then today I wake up feeling easy/and find I'm on more familiar roads/I got a darkness wrapped inside me/but now it ain't so hard to let it go/so keep a candle burning in the window/I'm almost home

Hold Back The River - James Bay | Kakashi & life getting in the way of him being with his precious people (you may be sensing a pattern here) → @the road of life: Let! Kakashi! And his People! Hold! Each! Other!!! Also, 'tried to square not being there, but think that I should have been' is absolutely about Sasuke's defection and Kakashi adding it to his long list of undeserving self-recriminations.

The Fall - Imagine Dragons | Yamato & Kakashi → 😊😊😊😊😊😊😊

Shadowman - K's Choice | could work equally well for Kakashi or Obito, I think

any time tomorrow a part of me will die/and a new one will be born/any time tomorrow/I'll get sick of asking why/sick of all the darkness I have worn/any time tomorrow/I will try to do what's right/making sense of all I can/any time tomorrow I'll pretend to see the light/I just might/.../and doesn't it make you sad?/to see so much love denied/see nothing but a shadowman inside

Paint - The Paper Kites | Kakashi & Team 7

still there's a wound and I'm moving slow/though it don't show, though it don't show/I've got a hole where nothing grows,/how little you know, how little you know

→ A song for just how much Team 7 doesn't know about their sensei.

Always Find Me Here - Transit | Kakashi → ...most likely at the memorial stone. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ (why am I like this)

Taste - Sleeping At Last | Kakashi

it’s bittersweet, it’s poetry/a careful pruning of my dead leaves/it’s holy ground, a treasure chest/I'm on my knees and only scratch the surface/like fists unraveling, like glass unshattering/we’re breaking all the rules, we’re breaking bread again/we’re swallowing light ’til we’re fixed from the inside

Help - Hurts | Yamato & Kakashi

take my hand and lead the way/out of the darkness and into the light of the day/.../'cause I know what I've been missing/and I know that I should try/but there's hope in this admission/and there's freedom in your eyes/.../I can feel the darkness coming/and I'm afraid of myself/call my name and I'll come running/'cause I just need some help

→ NO ONE TOUCHE ME.

Your Soul - RHODES | A mish-mash of Kakashi & Tenzo and Rin & Obito & Kakashi and Gai & Kakashi vibes? → So like, 'oh you know when you're alone/I'm holding on and on and on and on/to your soul' reminded me of your 'when you're all alone...the only thing you really think about is dying' 'but when there are two of you...the only thing you can think about is surviving.' and now kakashi - who just saved his life - is asking him 'did you want to die' and yamato is saying 'no' there are two of them and yamato wants to SURVIVE. tags as well as Gai's steadfastness as a friend, and 'I just wanna hold your hand' made me think of Rin's "Well then, I'm just going to have to connect the two of you." while holding their hands, and the sunlight/'soul shine'/'your light' motif is just A Lot in this song!!

7 Years - Lukas Graham | Kakashi → Alright, yeah, there are already approximately a gazillion pre-existing Naruto AMVs for this song and even one or two focusing on Kakashi, but they don't capitalize on all the angst possibilities in many of the lyrics or reach the fluff potential of 'will I think the world is cold or will I have a lot of children who can warm me [when I'm old]' and I cannot abide that!

Putting The Dog To Sleep - The Antlers | Kakashi & Sasuke → Okay, on one hand, this song is One Big Oof. But I do like the (potentially odd) way I've conceptualized it for Kakashi & Sasuke? Like, the first half is Kakashi going through all the tragedies in his life and getting lost in ANBU, but then in the second half it transitions to him wanting to prevent Sasuke from having to be as alone as Kakashi once was and they can face life together? It makes me emotional!

Trust Me - The Fray | Kakashi & Obito

I found a friend, or should I say a foe?/said there's a few things you should know/we don't want you to see/we come, and we go/here today, gone tomorrow

→ There are a few lines that call Tenzo & Kakashi to mind, but mostly it's Obito & Kakashi.

The Lightning Strike (What If This Storm Ends?) - Snow Patrol | Kakashi → I had to, right? My mindscape is a little murky/scattered about what specifically I want to think about when I listen to this, but obviously it has to do with Kakashi in one way or another.

Kettering - The Antlers | Team Minato(???) → Honestly not sure if this will make any sense, but yeah, vague team minato vibes?

Swans - Unkle Bob | Kakashi & Obito/Rin/Minato/Kushina/Sakumo → They should be by his side always!!!

Looking Too Closely - Fink | Kakashi → I honestly feel rather ambivalent about this one too, but I can't deny 'truth is like blood underneath your fingernails/and you don't wanna hurt yourself, hurt yourself/looking too closely' always destroys me because... well, you know. I love suffering. :(

Souvenirs - Switchfoot | Kakashi & Obito & Rin

wolves - Switchfoot | Kakashi

snowfall for the battlefield/roses for the father's sons/see them red on the ground:/bleeding/when the revolution came/we were more than hungry men/we were hoping for more:/bleeding/end. begin again./all of my world is collision and spin/hope is a world that has yet to begin/awaken, oh sleeper/awaken, oh sleeper/a new day begins

→ I wanted a wolf-related song too. :)

PRODIGAL SOUL - Switchfoot | Obito, Itachi, & Sasuke; just all them wayward Uchiha boys

Coming Down - Dear Euphoria | kid!Kakashi & his relationships

the shell/that I wore/it wasn't for fun/it wasn't to make you/stick around/it was for survival/it was what I've learnt/it was for the sun/.../our love has grown/our love has flown

→ Another one I'm a little unsure of whether it makes sense outside of my head or not, but I like the vibes?

Ghosts That We Knew - Mumford & Sons | Kakashi & Yamato? → Hmm, can I maybe submit this as a Kakashi-&-Yamato-just-need-to-mske-it-through-this-war-so-they-can-have-a-bright-bright-future song?

All Is Well (It's Only Blood) - Radical Face | Kakashi → ...he said as he's bleeding out or after he's thrown himself in the line of fire protecting someone he thinks is a better person than himself...

Bleeding Out - Imagine Dragons | Kakashi

when the hour is nigh/and hopelessness is sinking in/and the wolves all cry/to fill the night with hollering/when your eyes are red/and emptiness is all you know/with the darkness fed/I will be your scarecrow/you tell me to hold on/oh, you tell me to hold on/but innocence is gone/and what was right is wrong

→ In a similar vein to the previous song. But goodness gracious! Were they NOT straight up describing Kakashi here?

Amaryllis - Shinedown | Yamato & Kakashi → Just tossing this one out there, not sure if it will make sense or if it's a reach... but I like it?

lost 'cause - Switchfoot | Kakashi & Sasuke

are we a lost cause?/or are we just lost 'cause/we won't be the future we refuse to see?/and if I'm your lost cause/it'll be your lost 'cause/you won't see me as I am, the possibility/that I'm not the enemy

→ 214 feels. (And before and after that, but yeah.)

Through the Ghost - Shinedown | Kakashi & Obito

so many silent sorrows/you never hear from again/and now that you've lost tomorrow/is yesterday still a friend?/.../everything that mattered is just/a city of dust/covering both of us/did you hide yourself away?/I can't see you anymore/.../did you hide yourself away?/are you living through the ghost?/did you finally find a place/above the shadows so the world will never know?/the world will never know you like I do ... like I still do

Little Talks - Of Monsters and Men | Kakashi → Just Kakashi having little chats with his ghosts, totally the most heartwarming way to conclude this section. 😅

Sleepyhead - Passion Pit | Kakashi → Just kidding! Here's a slightly less morbid song for the Most Tired Boy Of Them All.™ (Random aside: this was my customary song to listen to on my walks to 8AM organic chemistry classes; I found it strangely soothing! On a different occasion, after a particularly long day for her, one of my roommates didn't have the energy to make it to her bed but nevertheless requested a lullaby from us. So I obliged by playing this song for her, but she didn't seem to gain the same peace of mind from it as I did. 😄 I know it's not my place to propose anything like this, but it does amuse me to imagine bookends!Kakashi in these situations, even though it's not OChem classes he has to go to.)

General/Miscellaneous:

Rise Above It - Switchfoot | Ensemble

don't care what they're telling me/we can be what we want to be/.../just because it's law doesn't mean that it's fair/.../don't believe the system's on your side/.../the curse is spoken/the system's broken; rise above it

→ I mean, how could I not think about Naruto when this song also has the lines 'hear us sing tonight like the last night on earth/we will rise like the tide/like dead men coming back to life/we are rising, rising'? It's fun to be literal sometimes!

Doorways - Radical Face | Allllll the traumatized children → Someone has to put all those tragic childhood flashbacks to good use, after all.

Ghost Towns - Radical Face | take your pick of Itachi, Sasuke, or Post-Kannabi-Bridge!Obito

there's no comin' home/with a name like mine/I still think of you/but everyone knows/yeah everyone knows/if you care, let it go

Blinding Light - Switchfoot | Hey, Hiruzen? You may have coined the phrase, "children are the king" but I don't think you truly understand it... (insert Princess Bride joke here)

hey boy, don't believe them/we're the nation that eats our youth/.../still looking for the blinding light/still looking for the reason why/still looking for the sun to shine/all my life I've been living in the darkest night/still looking for the blinding light/to take me higher and higher

Brother's Blood - Kevin Devine | EVERYONE → ...but certainly so much you could do with Itachi & Sasuke, Obito & Kakashi, Shisui & Itachi, even Hashirama & Madara! Sakumo's teammates turning their backs on him and saying 'I don't know one thing about my brother's blood'?!?! There are SO MANY ideas I have for this song! It gives me chills and makes my brain scream.

We Need Each Other - Sanctus Real | Ensemble → Already mentioned this one to you, but I have to include it here for thoroughness' sake!

Whispering - Alex Clare | the Hidden Leaf's lost/ostracized children/orphans

who will care for the falling?/who will care for the falling leaves?

So this is probably a strange concept to come up with and apply to this song, but the 'whispering, whispering, whispering' parts brought Konaha's virulent gossiping/passing judgement about others and often kids they don't even know problem to mind, too, and yeah?

The World You Want - Switchfoot | Ensemble → If I were to make a fanvid set to this song, I would definitely keep a broad focus, but I can't deny that the lines 'you start to look like what you believe, you float through time like a stream, if the waters of time are made up by you and I, I could change the world for you, you change it for me' FOR SURE has strong Obito & Kakashi/Kakashi & Tenzo vibes.

Red Eyes - Switchfoot | Ensemble, but definitely many dashes of Uchihas 😄 → I would like to thank Masashi Kishimoto for creating a world where red eyes are a Thing of Importance so I can one day make a fanvid using this song in not just the tired or teary bloodshot-red eyes way, but in a very literal sense too.

TAKE MY FIRE - Switchfoot | The Will of Fire → 'Cause I think I'm sooooo clever. 😄

Above The Clouds Of Pompeii - Bear's Den | various parent & child relationships → This obviously derives from the not-caring-about-your-female-characters problem, but it always gets me that all the single parents in the Naruto universe are almost invariably the fathers! I guess sometimes you can safely guess that the mothers are still alive/exist, but either way we hardly ever get to see them. :/ The one exception I can think of right now is Kurenai, but maybe I'm forgetting another conspicuous single mother. Anyway, I don't know if this helps or hinders more a potential Naruto fanvid for this song, but regardless, it still gives me feelings?

Who We Are - Switchfoot | Ensemble → It just makes me inordinately happy that the chorus for this song starts with 'who we are (in the fever of our youth)', you know? :D

Brother - Kodaline | all the friendships we can stuff in here and then some → Quite a well known song I'm pretty sure, but I love how many dynamics one could showcase in a potential fanvid of this. And, not gonna lie, 'oh brother, we go deeper than the ink beneath the skin of our tattoos' deserves to be used in some sort of Tenzo 'n' Kakashi or Team Ro fan creation!

Special Bonus:

Shake It Out - Florence + The Machine | Kakashi & Obito → I'm not sure whether I would have realized how well this works for Kakashi & Obito on my own, funnily enough, but then I found this fanvid of it (containing only scenes you've seen naturally!) and it hit me like a ton of bricks. It's so well done!

[thatsgay-writes]

Catra x Neko!Reader

Summary: A headcannon of your growing up with Catra

Warnings: Some cursing

-You've known Catra and Adora since you were babies.

-You were 3 years older than them and in a higher age group for training.

-You would always hang out with them during lunch though.

-You had very different relationships with them.

-Adora was always very happy and excited and would talk your ear off, luckily she was a good training partner and that's how you bonded.

-With Catra it was different.

-It was obvious that you both were part of the same species.

-After some digging, you found that your fur matched that of a tiger, a dominant type of feline.

-After learning that info, you made sure to tease Catra about it.

"Awww look at the cute little house cat purring." "Fuck off y/n." "Is that anyway to talk to a tiger?" Catra would just roll her eyes and turn away from you.

-You were a force captain before Adora and Catra as well, one of the youngest force captains as well.

"Why are you up so damn early?" "Some of us have Force Captain duty, kitty." Catra flips you off before rolling over to fall back asleep.

-Unlike Adora, you knew about the obvious abuse Catra was being put through by Shadow Weaver.

-Some days it was obvious it took a toll on Catra and you would leave her alone.

-Other days you would "accidentally" interrupt Shadow Weaver.

"Shadow Weaver, I wanted to make sure that... Oh you're busy. I apologize." You say as you look up from the papers in front of you. "It's fine... we just finished our conversation." You give a nod and shoot Catra a knowing look, who just lowers her head in response.

-You didn't know Adora left until like a week after she did.

"Catra?" You ask as you walk up to her. You crouch down and let your hand rest on her knee. You look to the wall and see that she scratched out Adora's face drawing.

-When Catra tells you what happened, you feel bad for her.

"She just turned into a Princess and left with another Princess. How could she just leave me like that!? Her life long best friend for some princess she met less than 24 hours ago!"

-Catra completely breaks down and surprisingly lets you hold her

-You stick by Catra's side when she starts having trouble with Shadow Weaver and Hordak.

-Catra was a little possessive but it was because she was afraid you would leave her like Adora did.

"Why were you talking to Lonnie?" "I just wanted to make sure we were still on for training later." You responded, completely honest, and pulled Catra into a hug to help calm her down.

-You didn't always agree with Catra and the two of you would get into heated arguments.

"Catra! What are you doing!? Don't open that portal!" "Who's side are you even on Y/n!?"

-You didn't get stuck in space with Catra but you joined Adora, Bow, and Entrapta on their rescue mission for Glimmer. Even though it was very awkward.

"How are you going to get Catra to come back with you?" Adora asks as you sit on a bed in the ship. "I just have to hope she comes back." Adora stares at you for a few seconds before sitting next to you. "You love her don't you." Adora states more than asks. You just nod your head in response.

-You don't see the fight happen between Catra and Adora and are in tears when you see Adora carry Catra's, hopefully, unconscious body onto the ship.

"Oh my spirits..." You say as you kneel down next to Adora and Catra. "You can help her right?"

-Your basically Melog's other parent.

"You two can understand him!?" Adora asks in shock as you and Catra pet Melog. "Yeah, you can't?" You respond nonchalantly.

-After the final battle with the Horde you finally confess your feelings for Catra.

"Look I know we've been friends for a long time but I think I need to come clean." You get cut off by Catra pulling you into a kiss. When the kiss ends you stare at her in shock. "You can continue now, I just have been wanting to do that for a while." You roll your eyes at Catra's bluntness before pulling her into another kiss.

-You both join the Best Friend Squad and make amends with the Princess Alliance members

[anxietycheesecake]

Not tagging this for obvious reasons (I'm not an agent of chaos, sorry), but I'm still reluctantly 50/50.

Like, I don't see it as clearly as other people do. I still see the potential for backpedaling or even it not being the intention at all. Don't get me wrong, I can't imagine this going any other way without it being bad writing™ or at least disappointing, but we don't live in the logical world.

It might seem obvious but I also see how it might be "haha vampirism got them acting like boyfriends" jokes. Kind of no-homo expect yes-homo just not towards each other. I mean, not mean-spiritted or anything, just playing with the idea.

I remember watching it for the first time without fandom influences and going "yeah, they do make a joke about vampire crush every now and then/lol waiting to get turned is a bit like waiting for the guy you like to notice you". Then I started reading essays on tumblr and I got the brainrot.

It'd make the most sense if there was something romantic under the surface, I agree. It'd be weird if it weren't. But I totally see the possibility of it just being one-off jokes that never come to a canon relationship. It's obvious they deeply care about each other, but I wouldn't count on an explicit romance just yet. Because this other explanation is clearly what resonates the most with the casual audience (we're the 1%, regardless of how loud we are) and the actual, explicit will-they-won't-they of the show: is Gigi becoming a vampire or not?

That's the hook. Anything else might or might not be there, but that's been the hook from day one. And even if they didn't expect us to read into it, all those signs that the ship might happen can also be interpreted as jokes related to THE ACTUAL LITERAL AND TEXTUAL QUESTION THE PLOT WANTS US TO ASK.

Actors are not writers. I love them, but they're not. Most times, they know as much as we do. And writers have said some 😬 stuff in the past. Even recently, I've heard them said things in the line of "if people want to interpret it as that, it's cool, maybe someday", which most times means most likely not but we're not homophobic pieces of shit /gen. This is post s3.

So just for the record I'm not worried in the slightlest about favorite wife. My unknown girl Marwa isn't part of the reason behind this post, same way I know Freddie is not here to be the man of anyone's life. They're going to serve a purpose, provide some chuckles and character development and leave forever, one way or another. A piano will fall on that zombie's head before she can even say "I do." Trust me on this, but also know it doesn't erase everything I just said.

I'm calling it now (feel free to save the post to rub it on my face in a few months. My pessimistic ass loves being wrong), s4 won't bring anything that significantly points to canon endgame. Much like s3. It might happen just like it might not. We will have gay shit, just not the specific brand of gay shit we want. Maybe (MAYBE) if the response is overwhelmingly possitive, they'll start seriously considering it for later seasons (remember 3 and 4 were written together). But don't expect love confessions here.

Also I'm begging you, when someone asks if the ship is in fact canon, no matter how close it seems, just answer honestly as for the current state of the series. I would have watched it anyway, but I would have managed my expectations better. Now I'm stuck here with the rest of you. /hj