#ask: freebird

[rockybloo]

God damn Freebird is such a creep. Cant wait to see his reaction to Sweetheart marrying Bitterbat 🤣 Maybe then he’ll finally get the hint.

That man is def gonna go MIA for a month or two...or twelve just to recover from the blow to his heart and ego from losing the love of his life to a villain.

[saucy-mesothelioma]

The folks on Timber Hearth: Stars, I wonder what happened to Feldspar. They've been gone for so long now....I'm afraid they might be gone forever

Feldspar in Dark Bramble:

[anotherbloodiedbonesaw]

The fans would love if you lacked a shirt (I am fans)

[Rips open Lab coat]

FREEDOM! HAHAHAAHA!

[captainspaulding]

do you know how fucking insane it is that for years i was saying otis and spaulding are henry lee lucas and ottis toole purely based on my own perception and then it turns out ROB ZOMBIE PLAGIRZED THEIR ENTIRE BIOS FROM A BIOGRAPHY SITE OF LUCAS AND TOOLE !!!!!!!!

[nitw]

thinking about impostor factory and how it’s probably my favorite game of the series despite how different it was. it just left such a lasting impression on me

LIKE..HEAR ME OUT. all the hype leading up to the release day was a big part of it. a new installment in the sigcorp/to-the-moon series 4 years after finding paradise. i’ve been following these games pretty much since TTM in 2011, but impostor factory was the first one i actively waited for in suspense.

and at first we had, like, no info?? barely enough hints to theorize ANYTHING???? just that vague ass title and vague ass silhouette poster revealed at the end of yet another joke trailer where multiple dancing neils held a concert in space. then we finally get the Real trailer for it and it punches us in the nuts with 1) seemingly new protagonist, 2) MURDER, 3) ROSAWATTS WEDDING THEN AND THERE, 4) TENTACLE MONSTER COMING OUT OF A BLACK HOLE TO DESTROY EARTH

AND WE STILL KNEW FUCKING NOTHING ABOUT THE PLOT

and to make it worse, so many of us just like. Immediately Assumed that neil was gonna die in this one, based on the context of sigcorp minisode 2 and roxie’s mysterious phonecall to eva at the end of the joke trailer. but they also left it intentionally unclear whether IF was gonna be a sequel, prequel, or something completely different. it almost made me uncomfortable how little room for speculation there was, even when the pre-release steam page came out (BECAUSE IT STILL BASICALLY TOLD US NOTHING).

then it’s finally time, and i remember how i kept refreshing the storepage over and over while keeping an eye on kan gao’s twitter, as he apologized for a few minutes of delay. i’ve never bought a game that fast in my life

then i boot it up PRACTICALLY SWEATING AT THIS POINT, and i just hear that slow, echoing, almost distorted-sounding piano as the letters “IF” light up on a black background. and as the full name of the title is revealed, the synth and jazzy drums join in on the piano, speeding up and forming a full melody now, while the “I” of the logo aligns with the markings on a road that suddenly faded into view, scrolling upwards.

like i just immediately felt it. this game wasn’t just gonna break the status quo of the series, it was gonna be something VERY SPECIAL and VERY OFFPUTTING IN THE BEST WAY.

[tiffray]

also and Captain spaulding and otis dont like each other or friends. and they had a fight in the devil rejects, they were going to shoot each other i think...

if spotis isnt real explain this

[piers-official]

WHADDYA MEAN "NO WONDERWALL"? DONT YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW FUNNY IT IS TO "ANYWAY HERE'S WONDERWALL" SOMEBODY WITH GOOD TIMING

I was gonna send my wonderwall falafel meme but now i cant >:(

[*sIGHS*] Aright, just this once.

Send the meme...

[ferromagnetiic]

FREEBIRD!!!!

          【 UNPROMPTED ASK. 】       « Modern verse. »      « Continued. »                     【 ANONYMOUS. 】

          ❝ Do I look like a jukebox at some shitty bar?! ❞

Becoming a musician was a mistake. He's had more than enough of his audience, now.

Besides, they're asking the wrong man. Kid isn't going to suggest this himself, but they might have a better chance with wrangling a performance of Freebird out of Killer; he's just slightly more into that faux-cowboy energy, so if they catch him in a really good mood, there's a possibility he might be more amenable. There's also a decent possibility he'll be equally as irritable, however.

[blood-falling]

[ DIP ]:     sender guides the receiver into an elegant, graceful dip, lowering them down while keeping a steady hand supporting them against their lower back.

Someone had decided to throw a party at the Studio for one reason or another. Whatever it was, Pitch didn't really care, they were only there to make sure everyone behaved.

Not paying too much attention to anyone or anything particular as they sipped their wine, they were caught off guard by Yancy's approach. He seemed excited to pull Pitch into a dance, perhaps noticing their quiet lurking.

They did their best to follow, unaccustomed to anything but leading a dance, gripping Yancy's sleeves tight enough to rip as he dipped them, their back bending further than most would, to a genuinely uncanny degree.

"Yancy-!" They cried out in surprise. It wasn't genuine distress, mind you, but it was certainly unexpected.

[freebirdyance]

"Guess what."

Wilford brings a hand up to Yancys ear, and whispers.

"I love you."

@wilfywarfy

Yancy's face breaks out in a grin as he listens, one hand automatically coming up to rest on Wilford's waist.

"Oh? Hmm... well, I need to tell you somethin', too." He tries to sound serious, but there's a playful lilt in his voice as his lips brush against Wilford's ear. "I love you more, gorgeous." He whispers back.

[fuyupersimmons]

Do you listen to leonard squidward

Lynyrd skynyrd? not really

[rockybloo]

the craziest part about freebird to me is that he’s not even in love with sweetheart, he’s in love with the idealized version of her in his mind.

if that old piece of lore about heroes not being allowed to know each other’s real identity is still canon, then he doesn’t even know her civilian name… or anything about her really. just goes to show how utterly delusional he is thinking she’s the “love of his life”

It's a very common practice in the hero world to keep secret identities under wraps unless you were SUPER close to another hero.

So Freebird has no idea who Amara is. He only knows Sweetheart and her "wholesome magical girl" act.

He is a very fun character to write because of how it's his complete unawareness that he ain't the main character of this story that makes him such a pest. Nothing he is doing is purposely out of malice. He genuinely thinks what he is doing is the best way to sweep Sweetheart off her feet. He just is so blunt with his approach because he's never dealt with someone who wasn't into him like she is.

The guy truly thinks she is playing hard to get.

Eventually she lets him know shits not a game.

[magma-queen]

Ooo! Are you still doing requests? Do you ship Tomoe and Maria together? Can I request something with them? :3

Omg I’m so sorry I’m late answering this, but here you go, sweetie! I hope you enjoy! ❤️

“So, is it a date?”

The endoscopic surgeon rolls her eyes and smiles at her wife. “Yes, Maria. It’s a date. You’re acting like we’re still in our dating years.” She joked.

“Oh come on, babe! I can take my gorgeous wife out to a fancy restaurant any time I can!” She leans in, pecking a kiss at Tomoe’s cheek. “And I will~ because she deserves the world~”

“Oh stop it!” She giggles, kissing Maria back. “You’re making me blush.”

“Good~”

Suddenly, Maria’s phone starts chiming. She groaned and picked it up from her pocket.

“Ah, hang on.. Darnell is paging me.” She holds the phone up to her ear. “Dr. Torres speaking. What’s up, Darnell?”

The nurse immediately sounded like he was in a state of panic. “D-Dr. Torres! Where is your current location? We have an emergency!”

“Whoa- Calm down, Darnell. Tell me what’s going on.”

“There’s been an accident in Oakdale!” He explained. “One of the theme park’s roller coasters has collapsed and there are several injured parties!”

“Oh my god! Isn’t that the same theme park where the Ferris wheel broke down too?! They need to shut that damn park down! Alright, Darnell! Meet me at the chopper in 5 minutes, and we’ll head down there!”

“Yes, doctor!”

She hung up the phone, then groaned once more. “Damn it! It was almost time for us to leave, too!”

“Don’t worry about it, Maria. I’ll be here waiting for you..” Tomoe smiled. “Just make sure everyone there is okay.”

“Okay. I will.” She gave her a kiss on the cheek before taking off. “I’ll be back soon!”

“Please be careful, Maria!”

She ran as fast as she could down to where the helicopter was. She saw Darnell and hopped into the driver’s seat. “Are we ready to go?!”

“Yes, Dr. Torres! Ready whenever you are!”

“Alright! Take her up!”

They flew the helicopter over a couple towns to see where the accident was. They could see within a good amount of distance that the roller coaster was coming apart. Maria landed the chopper and ran to the injured.

“Alright, I’m beginning treatment! Darnell, let me know if they find anyone else in the rubble!”

“Yes, doctor!”

It took a little while, but Maria managed to treat all of the injured people.

“Alright, treatment complete! Take this guy out, and watch out for the blood transfusion! Whew.. it’s over.”

“Look!!!” Someone screamed. “There’s a little boy stuck up there!!”

Maria turned to see that was was a kid stuck up at the coaster’s highest ramp. He was stuck in the car he was riding in.

“Help me!!” He screams. “I can’t get my seatbelt off!!!”

“Shit… everyone, move!” Maria yelled, running at full speed to the damaged ride.

“Doctor!! Be careful!!!”

She jumped up each platform and eventually made it up to the top. She grabbed the kid’s seatbelt and tugged at it.

“I’m scared!!”

“Don’t worry, kid. I’m gonna get you out of here!” Maria promised, tugging her hardest at the belt. Finally, it snapped off. The boy jumped into her arms. “Heh, see? Told ya! Now, let’s get down from here!”

However, the frame was about to bust once more, and once Maria made a sudden move, the platform she was standing on suddenly broke down. Everyone watched as she and the kid fell from the railing.

“Shit!!” She yelled. “Kid, hang on!”

“Dr. Torres!!!”

Maria saw that there was no where she could grab to hold on to the framing, so she positioned herself to fall so the child was protected. She hit the ground, but the child was unharmed.

“D-Doctor!! Are you okay?!”

She was unresponsive. The kid came up and ran away to the other paramedics.

“Sh-she saved me! Is she going to be okay?!”

“Dr. Torres!! Dr. Torres!!”

Meanwhile, Resurgam’s emergency department was being paged. Tomoe and Gabe were in the chief’s office while this was happening.

“Hm? One moment.” Eisha answers her phone. “Chief Patel. Huh? Doctor Torres is hurt?!”

“What?!”

“Maria?!”

“Tomoe, request an OR!”

“R-Right away!”

They soon brought Maria to the emergency room. Eisha brought Gabe Maria’s charts.

“Gabe, they’re not sure exactly what bones she’s broken or if any of her organs are damaged. I need you to examine her and see if you can find out what’s going on with her. Then, Hank can get prepped for surgery.”

“Yeah. Leave it to me.” He answers, taking the charts. That idiot… what was she thinking, being so reckless?!”

Tomoe angrily turns to him. “She was trying to save a little boy, Gabe! She risked her life to save that child!”

“But there were far less risky ways to ensure the safety of that kid.. Her performing acrobatics for a rescue nearly killed her.”

“…”

“Don’t worry, Tomoe.. I’m going to make sure she’s okay. She’s still our finest paramedic, and she’s still a good friend and colleague of mine. I’ll take care of her.”

The black haired women bursted into tears, in which Gabe opened his arms up and hugged her.

“Please.. make sure she lives.”

“Don’t worry. I will.”

They brought the diagnostician to Maria’s room, she was sprawled on the bed, barely conscious.

“Maria. Can you hear me?” He asked.

“Nnng.. T-Tomoe??”

Gabe shook his head. “No, it’s me, Gabe. I’m sorry, but I’m going to need to fully examine you. Can you tell me where it hurts?”

The RONI system suddenly spoke. “Doctor Cunningham.. You weren’t planning on starting the diagnosis without me, were you?”

He rolled his eyes. “No, RONI. Let’s begin. Now.. Maria.. Can you tell me where it hurts?”

“My.. Nnng… my right leg.. that’s where I landed.”

“Does it hurt anywhere else?”

“Pretty much the entire right side of my body.” She answers, groaning in pain. “I can’t believe I’m being examined by YOU.”

“I’ll take that as a compliment.” He chuckled. “Any symptoms you’re experiencing?”

“It’s hard to breathe.. and I’ve got a massive stabbing pain in my chest and back.”

“Hm.. RONI. Jot down that the patient has a mild case of Dyspnea, back pain, and chest pain.”

“Understood, doctor. New symptoms observed: Dyspnea, back pain, and chest pain.”

Gave looked closer. “Mmm… RONI, send in a request for an X-ray. I need to see the bones that got broken, and report to Hank.

“Yes doctor, sending in the request now.”

Maria writhed in agony on the exam table. She twisted and turned in both directions.

“Son of a BITCH!! It hurts!!”

“Maria, don’t move around too much.” Gabe told her. “There’s a good chance that your ribs may be broken. Here, try to sit up, and let me take a look.”

She slowly sat up, wincing at the pain. Gabe walks to her and applies a small amount of pressure to her torso.

“Nnngh!! Watch it, Gabe!” She yelled, wincing in pain. “That hurts!”

“I see.. it doesn’t feel normal here… like the bones could be broken. But I’m going to wait on the X-Ray results.. okay?”

“Okay… but please hurry it up.. Ngh.. Tomoe and I have a date tonight..”

Gabe sighs. “Maria, you’re not going to be able to go anywhere but a hospital bed tonight. You realize that you hurt yourself pretty badly, right? You’re not going anywhere.”

“But… T-Tomoe…”

She then fell unconscious once again.

“Maria?? Maria?! Dammit! RONI, have the results of the X-ray come back yet?! We need to send Maria in for emergency surgery now!”

“Yes, doctor. Putting results on screen now.”

He saw Maria’s X-rays and sighed heavily. “Just as I thought.. her right arm is broken and her right femur is chipped.. her ribs are broken too.. it’s worse than I thought.. RONI, page Hank and tell him to get ready for surgery! We need to operate ASAP!”

“Yes Doctor Cunningham. I will send the message to Doctor Freebird right away.”

“Alright.” Gabe replied. “And let him know that I’ll assist him. Tomoe is in no shape to do it.”

He ran down to Hank’s office in a hurry. Once he saw him, he called out to him.

“Hey! Hank!”

He turns around from his sink after washing his hands and putting gloves on. “I got the message about Maria. I’m prepping for surgery now. Where’s Tomoe?”

“Tomoe is in no condition to assist you, so I’ll assist you in this operation.”

“Hmm. I thought as much. Are you ready?”

Tomoe suddenly burst through the doors, Eisha was right behind her, trying to stop her.

“Gabriel Cunningham! How dare you take over this operation for me!!” She yelled. “This is my wife we’re talking about! Now let me in there!”

“Tomoe, stop! He’s just trying to look out for you! You need to control your emotions!” Eisha told her. “Maria will be fine!”

Gabe, after washing his hands and gloving up, turned to face her. “You are in no condition whatsoever to handle this operation, Dr. Tachibana. Solely because she’s your wife. We understand that you’re worried about her.. but she’s in good hands.. you know that.”

“But-“

“There are no buts, Tomoe.” The chief put her hand on her shoulder and led her to the waiting room. “Let’s go wait in there. Maria will be just fine.”

As she was drug away by Eisha, Tomoe stared at the doors, then to Hank and Gabe. She knew that Maria would be in good hands.. but..

After a few hours passed, Hank came through the doors, and once he did, Tomoe flew to him.

“How is she, Dr. Freebird??”

He smiles at her. “The operation was a success, Dr. Tachibana. Your wife is going to be just fine. We’ve repaired her ribs, replaced the chip in her right femur with synthetic bone, and used screws to hold together her right arm. She’s heading to recovery as we speak.”

Tomoe immediately hugged Hank. “Thank you. Thank you so much, Dr. Freebird..” She sobbed. “For saving Maria..”

He chuckled, holding her. “Of course, Dr. Tachibana. It was no problem at all.”

“Hey, um.. Y’know, I helped.” Gabe teases, coming behind Hank. “In all seriousness, it’s safe to say that Maria will have a steady and painless recovery.”

She released Hank and then went to hug Gabe next. To which, he was very surprised at the friendly gesture.

“Thank you for saving Maria, Dr. Cunningham.. and thank you for looking out for me.. *sniffle* I.. I-I-“

“Hey, now.. don’t cry, kid.” He hugs her back. “C’mere.” He pulls her close to his arms. “No need for tears, Tomoe.. it’s going to be ok now.

Later, they were notified that Maria was awake. Upon hearing this news, they all sprinted to her room immediately.

“Ugh.. S-Sup’?” She weakly smiled.

“You scared us near to death, Dr. Torres!” Eisha gently scolded. “How’re you feeling?”

“Ngh.. I feel kinda numb.. but otherwise, I’m ok. I feel like I can’t move my arm..”

Hank warned her. “You don’t want to move around too much, Maria. After all, you just went through surgery.. try to take it easy.”

She looked around the room. “W-where’s Tomoe? I bet she’s worried as hell..”

“She was.” Gabe told her. “However.. I thought she was right behind us..”

“She is approaching the door now, Doctor.” RONI exclaimed, right before Tomoe swung the door open.

“M-Maria!”

She smiles at her, and uses her left hand to wave at her. “Hey, babe.. you miss me?”

The endoscopic surgeon practically leaped over to her wife, making sure to be gentle, but gave her a huge hug from her left side.

“T-Tomoe-!”

“Calm down, Maria’s left side is fine.” Gabe said.

Maria put her arm around Tomoe and kissed her cheek. “Did I scare you? I’m so sorry, Tomoe.. I didn’t think-“

“Hush.” She shushed her. “You have nothing to apologize for, Maria. I was so worried…”

“I know..” She purrs, feeling Tomoe nuzzle her shoulder. “Next time I perform a rescue… I’ll try to be more careful.. I promise.”

“Yeah, it’s going to be a while before you can get back to work.” The chief told her. “Right now, your only focus should be relaxing and recovering.”

Maria nods. “Of course, chief. Thank you.” She turns to Hank and Gabe. “You guys saved me, thank you, so much.”

“Wow, Maria.. this is the nicest you’ve ever been to me!” Gabe laughs.

She glares at him. “Watch it, Cunningham.. that’s probably the most you’re gonna get.” Her face’s expression changed to a more soft look. “But really.. thank you.”

“Of course, Maria. You’re our friend, and one of our most talented doctors.” Hank replied.

The comment made her face turn pink with embarrassment. “Oh- come on.. I’m not THAT talented..”

“You sure are.” Tomoe whispered. “My Maria~” She hugs Maria gently and kisses her neck.

“Hey- T-Tomoe!” She almost jerked back in reflex. “What’re you- ahahahah! That tickles!”

Tomoe only giggled in response, continuing to give her affection.

“Babe- Seheheheriously! That tihihihickles! Come ohohohn-! Nahahat in front of them!!”

The others watched with smiles on their faces. Eventually, Tomoe stopped her kissing, leaving her wife in an uncharacteristically giggly state.

“Didn’t know you were ticklish, Maria.” Gabe smirks. “I guess I’ll have to be careful next time I examine you. Or maybe I won’t!”

“Ah, shut up. You try anything, and your ass is grass.” She barked out, making the others laugh.

“Yes ma’am.” Gabe laughed, putting his hands up in defense. “Just playing around and lightening the mood, Maria!”

“Hmph.” She looks at Tomoe’s tear stained face. “I’m so sorry, Tomoe.. if I wasn’t so reckless, I would’ve-“

She shushed her. “Stop apologizing, Maria… you did your best.. and you saved that child. You’re a hero, and you should be proud of that.”

“A.. A hero..?”

“That’s right.” Eisha replied. “You handled the situation the best you could, Dr. Torres..”

She smiles, holding her wife close. “A hero, huh.. it’s got a nice ring to it.”

“Same old Maria.” Gabe laughed. “At least your spirit wasn’t broken.”

[siglai]

looks at u like this

rotates at you while maintaining eye contct

[thesiltverses]

Adding my voice to the mob talking about the quality of 38 but also to add that (spoilers for episode 38 of the silt verses) when Faulkner shoves his head under the water at the butt to hear the music I was convinced in my heart and soul that vefore he was inevitably pulled up and out from tge water the music we would hear, that enchanting strain that drove so many to self sacrifice, that dirge of the trawler man would be the opening bit to freebird. Don't ask me why but I felt convinced

I'm afraid that canonically, the haunting, death-inducing dirge of the Drowning Song as heard by Faulkner and his brother is Put Your Hands Up For Detroit.

[ceilingfan5]

🎻you keep asking if your practicing is bothering me but honestly I'm so swept away. play something for me. haha I mean freebird not a like, romantic song, that would be, wild

They smack into each other, literally, like some kind of Hallmark movie. Taako’s got his enormous fluffy cat with the face like a broken human man on a harness leash, and Kravitz was looking at his phone and not the stairs, and luckily they fall off the bottom two and not the top two, because the sun has boiled the pavement and it’s hot enough to fry whatever viscera could’ve erupted from such an impact like sausage and hash at a greasy diner with a stupid name. Waffle Lot of Love. Achin for Bacon. Maybe Kravitz should be worried about how to extricate himself from this situation unscathed, socially or physically, and not thinking of bad diner names. 

Passion for Hashin. No one give him a predatory fried egg loan. 

“Taako!” He manages, after the shit- fuck- sorry he couldn’t hold onto. 

“Kravitz!” Taako gives him a big grimace. There’s a gap between his front teeth, and Kravitz notices it anew every time they run into each other. He’s so pretty. He’s so pretty, and he’s got a cat on a leash, and he’s wearing a purple paisley blouse with billowing wizard sleeves, and booty shorts that Kravitz can assume from experience say something obnoxious on the ass. And flip flops. Okay, maybe one flip flop. The other is on the ground, and his weird cat is sniffing it. “Shit, are you okay, man?”

“Never better,” Kravitz says, struggling deeply. He wasn’t ready for a conversation, let alone one with his hot neighbor with the gap in his teeth and the freckles like a starfield and the long messy hair and the dangly, flashy earrings and the glitter in his dark eyes. “You?”

Taako laughs. 

“I’m here,” Taako says, like it’s kind of a private joke. “Garyl, knock it off.” And he steps down, past Kravitz, to get the other flop. And he leans on the bottom of the stairwell to put it back on. Garyl levels his laser eyes at Kravitz instead, and doesn’t blink for a very, very long moment. Kravitz is sweating, and not just because it is Satan’s Asscrack degrees. 

“I’m glad you’re here.” 

“What, runnin’ into you and shit?” Taako snorts. “I wasn’t looking where I was going, my bad. And Garyl, I mean, look at him. Little man needs his walkies.” 

Garyl sniffs, and curls his tail around himself. 

“I wish I had some cat treats,” Kravitz admits, and not just because he wants Taako to fall in love with him. “It’s not every day you see a cat on a leash.”

“Guess you should open your blinds more often, dude.” Taako snickers. “Or your balcony, even. Taste the sizzling grill of modern day life.”

”Oh, I don’t want to bother people with my practicing!” Kravitz laughs awkwardly. This interaction has gone on much, much longer than he expected, but also now he’s not sure how to leave, and also he’s not sure how to talk to Taako again. He’s run out of excuses a long, long time ago. “I hope it doesn’t annoy you. I got those sound proofing panels, but they’re not cheap, and I think the vents-”

“It’s fine, Krav,” Taako says, leaning on the stairwell again. Garyl yawns so widely Kravitz has to wonder if that many teeth belong in a cat, even a big one. “I like it.” 

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.” Taako nods, slow, chill, easy,. Kravitz imagines ever having any of that kind of energy, and has to come to terms right then and there with the theory that he would not know how to handle it. “You should play something for me. Not like, romantic, like uh, Freebird.”

“Romantic?” Kravitz says, instead of fucking Freebird, are you serious? Maybe he shouldn’t have. He’s stupid though. 

“Not romantic, I said!” Taako looks hot, all flushed in the sun. 

“Oh,” he says, instead of, but why did you bring up romance anyway?

“Cause that would be wild,” Taako adds, looking harried. “Playing me- romance songs through the walls.”

“Yeah, wild,”  Kravitz laughs, so, so incredibly sweaty. “I mean I know a lot of romantic songs, for weddings and stuff, but, I don’t think they’re your style.”

“Yeah?” Taako bends down and picks Garyl up. Garyl seems completely fine with this injustice, and only makes a gentle mrrrp about it. “What is? My style, I mean?”

“Uh,” Kravitz, who will not admit to having a motherfucking Romance My Hot Neighbor Playlist, scrambles. “Yankee Doodle.”

“Fucking Yankee Doodle, dog??” Taako is startled into raucous laughter. “For why?”

“You’d rock a feathered cap,” Kravitz says, dying on the goddamn spot. 

“Fair,” Taako snickers. “Maybe I’ll have to come over and hear you play that shit on your cello sometime. Not have to experience it through the vents.” 

“Yeah?”

“Yeah.” Taako winks. “If you like.”

“I can play better things-” Kravitz starts, desperately undigging this hole. 

“Nah,” Taako says. “I wanna hear it.” 

“Yankee Doodle and Freebird?” Kravitz isn’t here. He’s gotten heat stroke and passed out and died or something. 

“That’s the mix,” Taako says, voice pitched up trying to hold more giggles in. “Add in that Lazy Town song about baking a cake, and you’ve got a hit on your hands.”

“Only the remix version,” Kravitz says gravely, resigning himself to this fate. 

“Obviously.” 

Both of them nod. Garyl yowls. 

“Gotta take my mans potty,” Taako says, as an exit strategy. 

“For sure,” Kravitz says. “I gotta go, find sheet music for Freebird. And make a blood sacrifice to my printer.” 

“I’ll let you go then.” Taako grins at him. Kravitz is melting, just knowing Taako’s looking at him. “Until our concert?” 

“It’s a date?” Kravitz!! No! What have you done!

“Yeah,” Taako decides. “It’s a date.”