#i know the read more probably won't work on mobile

[addledmongoose]

Best of 2023 Good Omens Fanfiction

This is my list of the 20 best Good Omens fanfiction works I've read in 2023.

A few notes:

These are all complete works; there are no WIPs in the list.

Please feel free to let me know if a link stops working

It's not an ordered list. That would be far too difficult.

You'll probably recognize some of the most popular ones. They're popular for a reason, after all, but I hope you find something you haven't yet read.

The majority are full-length works, but there are definitely some shorter pieces.

These are certainly not the only good works I've read, but they are the ones I'm most likely to read more than once

Click the Keep Reading to see the list

If you're the author of one of these, first off, thank you! But second, if you want me to add your tumblr name to your story, let me know, and I'll edit.

This first section, all the stories are canon-compliant or canon-adjacent. In other words, it's at least somewhat set in the Good Omens universe.

a lighthouse (burning) (108K; Rated M)

This one is canon-adjacent and set in the 19th century. Aziraphale goes to a lighthouse to figure out where all the lighthouse keepers disappeared to, and Crowley follows along. This one is a bit of a spooky mystery along with the romance, and the writing style is simply beautiful. You really get a sense of being trapped in this lighthouse in the middle of nowhere.

***

The Grindr Logo Doesn't Even Have a 'G' In It (79K; Rated E)

It's honestly hard to remember that this one isn't human AU, but they're still just as angelic/demonic as ever. Aziraphale joins Grindr and starts texting (and then sexting) with a charming young man. It's no secret to the reader who this new hookup is. This story is genuinely funny at times. I like the funny ones.

***

The Whole Damned World Seemed Upside Down (103K; Rated M)

This is one of the best reverse omens stories I've read that isn't technically a reverse omens. Crowley wishes things were different after leaving the bookshop, and the universe gives him his wish. He finds himself in a world where Aziraphale hates him, Death has trouble taking lives, and basically everything you knew about the world of Good Omens is upside down. It's very funny. It uses inline footnotes (which is good, because it has a LOT of footnotes), and Death is hilarious.

***

it's a new craze (5K; Rated T)

Another one that seems like it should be human AU but isn't. Crowley and Aziraphale start up a podcast after the Notpocalypse and gain a loyal fanbase who can't figure out if they're a couple or not. They often forget who their audience is and often reference events in their shared history that make no sense to the humans listening.

***

It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a demon in possession of a mobile phone, must be in want of attention (6K; Rated G)

And yes, that is the entire title. Another funny short story where a couple of podcast hosts receive a call from a certain angel whose demon trapped himself in his phone and won't leave.

***

In Mixed Company, or the Corporate Retreat of Heaven and Hell (52K; Rated M)

I've read this one at least three times, and it's probably my favorite of all. Every 300 years, Heaven and Hell share a company retreat on Earth during which angels and demons surrender their celestial powers and hold retreats. It has a great new angel friend of Aziraphale's; Hellish Powerpoint presentations; Gabriel being annoyingly chipper; and Aziraphale and Crowley sneaking around like teenagers trying to find some alone time.

***

How To Woo A Demon (24K; Rated T)

Aziraphale researches demonic courtship rituals and starts implementing them in order to convince Crowley he wants to take their relationship to the next level. Crowley is very confused by Aziraphale's actions. Another cute, funny one.

***

Factory Settings (107K; Rated T)

This one is famous for coming out practically as S2 dropped, making people think whoever wrote it (the author is anonymous) had something to do with the production of the show.

This is the only one I'm going to say anything negative about. There are a lot of spelling errors and typos in it. It needs a hard editing pass. Despite that complaint, I devoured this story as fast as I could scroll. It's that good, and even knowing all the errors are there, I'll probably still re-read it. I'm usually pretty picky about errors like that, so for me to overlook it and even recommend it, means I really liked it.

Crowley gets reinstated as the angel, Raphael, with no memory of his time as Crowley, and Aziraphale struggles to return him to his demonic self. It's heart-breaking and wonderful and I absolutely loved it.

***

One Night In Bangor (And the World's Your Oyster) (17K: Rated E)

Much like In Mixed Company, Heaven and Hell come together for a corporate retreat on Earth. In this one, some totally random demon who's name definitely doesn't rhyme with Bowley created a wager in Hell to see which demon could bed an angel first.

Another funny one. This time, a lot of the humor comes from the demons doing their best to pick up the angels with really bad pickup lines.

***

We Only Said Goodbye with Words, I Died A Hundred Times (9K; Rated E)

If I could learn to write even half as good as this, I'd be ecstatic. The emotions the author packs into this story are mind-blowing.

Crowley receives a cursed amulet that creates an ever-increasing need for the person he wants the most and goes to see Aziraphale.

***

To reveal my heart in ink (29K; Rated E)

Aziraphale starts writing letters to Crowley by mail. The letters they exchange slowly get more and more explicit.

***

Pray For Us, Icarus (66K; Rated G/T)

The author wrote this one as a series, so each one varies in chapter count and rating, but they tell a single, contiguous story.

This was the first long-form GO fanfiction I read, and it was way too close to the ending of S2. I really should've waited a while, because holy cow, is this one heartbreaking.

For three hundred years, Crowley has been reincarnated over and over as a human with no memory of his past. Aziraphale has spent those three hundred years trying to restore him to his true self.

The author, Atalan, is probably one of the best writers on the site. This story is stunning in the quality of its writing, in the pacing of the story, and in the emotions evoked. I normally don't like being sad (like I said, I like the funny ones), but I've saved this story off to make sure I always have it.

***

Pretend For Me (53K; Rated E)

In a panic, Aziraphale tells the archangels that he survived hellfire due to his soul mixing with Crowley's because they're in a romantic and sexual relationship, but now they want them to prove it.

I'm a sucker for fake relationship stories, and there aren't a whole lot of them where the characters are still angel/demon, but this one is. It's another fun one, though a bit more angsty than some of those I listed above.

***

The following are all human AU. Good chance you'll recognize all or most of these.

Married At First Sight (147K; Rated T)

One of the most recently completed stories in the list, this is a fake relationship story where Aziraphale and Crowley join a reality show that marries complete strangers off to each other. Their new marriage starts off on a less than idyllic foot and they decide to fake it for the show. The author is a master of making you want to scream "for fuck's sake, just talk to each other, you walnuts!"

Probably one of my favorite fake relationship stories.

***

Postcards From Paris (12K; Rated G)

The author, ghostrat (@mrghostrat), is a fantastic writer of human AU, and it's worth going through his entire backlist (and read his current WIPs, too).

Crowley moves into his Mayfair flat and starts receiving postcards addressed to the previous tenant from one A.Z.F., who is in Europe hunting for bizarre bibles and rating wine. Sweet and fluffy and the perfect antidote if you've just been on an angst binge.

***

Or Be Nice (151K; Rated E)

I stayed up until 6:30 in the morning reading this one, crashed for three hours, then read until I finished it. Then that night, I started it again.

This is, without hesitation, my all-time favorite human AU. It's funny. I love the author's version of the characters, and I will probably end up reading it again in just a few months. I probably already would have if it wasn't for the length of my Mark For Later and Subscription lists.

Crowley and Aziraphale are neighbors who get into a noise war. They both have their reasons for their actions, though to be honest, Crowley is a bit of an ass at first. Once they really start talking, though, they are absolutely wonderful together.

Even if you've never read a human AU, I recommend at least giving this one a try.

***

What We Make Of It (Shotgun Wedding) (213K; Rated E)

This is the third charlottemadison work on this list. 15% of this list is just this one author. That's how good they are.

Aziraphale works as an English teacher. Crowley is the guardian for his nephew, Adam, and works for a school testing company. Crowley can't risk his job dating his nephew's gorgeous and charming teacher. Unless...

Crowley comes up with a crazy plan. Now he just has to convince Aziraphale to go along with it.

Again, another very popular human AU. One thing I love about this story is how there's a lot less angst between the two characters, and how they both really care for Adam.

***

Slow Show (95K; Rated E)

The very first human AU I read. Didn't even think I'd like that specific genre until I read it. Now, as you can see, it's about half of my reading list.

This is an actor AU. Aziraphale (named Avery here) and Crowley are actors working together on a new show. Avery is an award-winning, straight-laced, well-respected actor; Crowley is a mess who immediately falls head-over-heels for him and somehow has to get through the show without letting his (apparently straight) costar realize that.

***

South Downs (76K; Rated E)

Another actor AU. This time, Aziraphale is an openly-gay actor, well-respected for his period drama work. Crowley is a once-blackballed actor who jumps at the chance to star in a gay Regency romance with Aziraphale in the hopes it can restart his career. The trouble is, Crowley is struggling to play the romantic lead opposite a man.

I love the growing friendship between these two as much as the romance. I love how comfortable and confident Aziraphale is here; and how caring he is toward Crowley's growing awareness of his sexuality.

***

This one doesn't really fit either category, so I'm putting it here.

The Rose and the Serpent (56K; Rated M)

By the same author as Pray For Us, Icarus comes a GO retelling of Beauty and the Beast. Aziraphale is sent off by his older brother, Gabriel, into the forest to be held hostage by a giant snake in a cursed castle. Turns out, neither the snake nor the castle are what he was expecting.

Light-hearted and with very memorable characters, the relationship between Crowley and Aziraphale is simply stunning. I love how Newt and Anathema are used here. The quality of this one is as good as Icarus, and I loved this one so much I could easily have read 300K more words.

***

And bonus: mine!

The Beginning of the End (Again) (79K; Rated M)

The first fanfiction I've ever written and the first book I've written in a decade. I had the first two chapters in mind after finishing S2, and the story grew from there. I actually have a sequel in mind after I finish another, separate fake relationship story.

Crowley spends months drowning his sorrows after Aziraphale accepts the Supreme Archangel position, until a group of demons shows up one day and tells him the Second Coming is nearly upon them, and they want him to stop it. Turns out being a demon isn't much fun if there are no humans left to tempt.

Aziraphale has spent these last months in Heaven looking for ways to stop the Second Coming while mourning the way he and Crowley left things. After discovering that Hell's minions have been tasked by the Metatron to escort the son of God on a tour of Earth in preparation for his Second Coming, he hurries down to see what's going on, fearing the worst.

Instead he discovers Crowley escorting the Messiah around Earth. Is his demon taking the son of God on dates?

[giantkillerjack]

You shouldn't get a wheelchair, walker, cane, shower chair, or any kind of assistive technology mobility aid because then you might become dependent on them. Just like how you also shouldn't get glasses if you have bad eyesight because then you might become dependent on those.

For instance, if you end up stuck using corrective eyewear, you could actually lose your ability to tell what things are even when they are extremely blurry! You need to get used to having migraines from seeing unclearly because if you wear glasses all the time, you are basically giving up!! You don't need to see things coming at you from far away! You just need to get good at dodging, and if you can't, then you have no one to blame but yourself!!

For example, I read a really heart-worming article recently about a girl who was stuck using glasses - just absolutely, tragically trapped in her eyewear from dawn to dusk, even though she was good and never ever complained; and I heard she trained herself to discern the blurry faces of her loved ones with 60% accuracy! - she was even able to walk down the aisle at her wedding WITHOUT forcing the discomfort of seeing a woman in glasses on all her guests!!

Sure, she had to give her vows with a splitting headache, and she couldn't see her husband's expression when he said "I do," but overall, SO inspi-ration-al!!! So up-lifting!!

(She didn't even have to use a seeing eye cane, which would have been the worst-case scenario, obviously, because she worked hard to make sure she looked LESS disabled, not MORE disabled!!! Everyone knows blind people exist solely to be a cautionary tale to sighted people!!)

Also, did you know some people get glasses when they only need them a little bit?? How selfish of them! Sure, there's not a shortage, and an increase in demand would result in overall increased accessibility to glasses--but emotionally it's like taking glasses away from someone who needs them more! After all, if everyone who needed glasses got them, then...... um...... more people would have glasses! Which is probably bad!!!!

I also had a friend who was trapped in glasses who saved up all her money for laser eye surgery, and I don't know why everyone doesn't just do that! Sure, some doctors say some people don't "qualify" and it "won't help" those people, but that's why you can't give up!! You don't want to be one of those people!

After all, what's the worse thing that could happen with an unnecessary laser surgery to the face that comes with crippling debt??? It's worth the risk to gain your FREEDOM back, and I'm so proud of my friend!!

Tragically, she did die later that year while driving Uber and squinting at street signs, but at least now I know my friend is finally free from the shackles of her terrible eyesight. #ripAshley #rippedAshley #justripit 😌😌😌❤😇😇😇

And that's why you shouldn't get used to using a mobility aid!! Because, like glasses, they are inherently embarrassing to be seen with; and - like glasses - it is more noble to silently suffer than to depend on unnatural technologies that force you to rely on them!!! (Besides, everyone else will be SO much more comfortable if you look normal!)

I hope you learned something today. 💖

[2btheanswertothequestion]

(The final part of November Paramedic; part 6 is here and the AO3 version is here. If you want to avoid the smut, you should read on AO3.)

Eddie's apartment is full of song, but for probably the first time since he moved in it's not metal.

Max sings This Old Heart of Mine with gusto, her attention glued to her fingers as they move on the fretboard. She's in an awkward position, sitting slumped and with her leg propped onto five pillows on the coffee table. An elastic bandage is wrapped around her knee. Steve was right – she did exacerbate the injury by walking on it, and had to spend the next three days on bed rest. The knee already looks a lot better, less swollen but likely still tender, not that she's uttered a peep about it. Today is the first day she's been up and running, though not without support. Since crutches is the uncoolest kind of mobility aid Eddie took it upon himself to dig out a cane from his closet for her to use. When he asked if she liked it, she said it was great for thwacking people; he assumes that means 'yes'.

On the other end of the couch, Gareth taps along on a handheld drum. Max felt like she kept losing the rhythm and wanted extra help. Eddie is certain she was doing fine, but hey, if it calms her last-minute nerves, so be it.

The song ends, the last note lingering in the otherwise silent room. Max heaves a sigh, guitar slipping from her grip as she relaxes into her seat.

Gareth is beaming with pride; Eddie feels it too. Approximately two months of practice led to this. Just two months! He knows that she's been diligent, but still – it's impressive. Damn, he has the raddest little neighbor.

He rests his elbows on the couch's backrest and pokes Max's shoulder.

"It sounds great. You'll do amazing tomorrow."

She nods, lips tugging into a sweetly pleased smile.

"I'm ready," she says. Craning her neck, she locks their gazes. "Are you performing too?"

"No. The stage will be only yours. Although," he pats the acoustic in her lap, "I will of course be there and make sure you treat DragonSlayer with the respect she deserves."

Max's eyes crinkle with mischief.

"She won't react to you ever again after I show her what real talented fingers can do," she says, wiggling said fingers at him, and giggles when he gasps like a Victorian lady at the implied vulgarity. Turning to Gareth, she asks, "Are you gonna be there?"

Gareth's expression crumbles.

"I can't. Something is going around at work and we're short-staffed, so I'm no longer free," he says miserably. "I'll come next time. You'll do it again, right?"

She smiles wryly. "Unless I crash and burn."

Eddie pushes off the backrest and rounds the couch. He hates to spoil the mood any more, but…

"Before I forget," he says, piercing them with an unamused look. He also tries standing with his hands on his hips, but there's no way he can convey the same bitchy determination Steve can with the stance, so it feels hollow. He crosses his arms instead. "You two need to stop conspiring against me."

They blink at him, baffled.

"What?" Gareth says.

"You've been trying to set me up with Steve!"

"Well, yeah," Max says. "But not with him."

"Yeah, not with her."

It's Eddie's turn to blink. Releasing a breath that shudders with emotion, he closes his eyes and rubs circles on his temples.

"You're telling me you've worked independently of each other this entire time?"

"Seems like it!" Gareth laughs, though the mirth dims quickly. "But… who's done the best job?"

They whip toward each other. Their postures are tense, bow strings drawn and ready to shoot. Flames of competitiveness engulf them. Weirdos.

Gareth points at Max. "I made them go on a date!"

"I made them go on two dates!"

"I'm the reason they got to know each other!"

Max scoffs. "Oh, please. As if I wouldn't have eventually introduced them."

"Would you?"

"Sure. They're both older brother figures I can't get rid of who're hopelessly single and into men." She shrugs. "Why not?"

Eddie gasps again, this time more like a grandmother who's been presented with an incomprehensibly scribbled drawing from her toddler grandchild.

"I'm an older brother figure to you?" he asks, bending down to Max's level, his tone patronizingly light.

She sends him a withering look and reaches for her cane.

"Well, they almost kissed on my date!" Gareth shouts.

Max’s jaw drops. She loses her grip on the cane but gains a terrifying intensity in her eyes. A chill runs through Eddie, the tips of his appendages tingling. This is the closest he's ever gotten to catching frostbite.

"What," she says flatly.

Eddie scrambles away, metaphorically and physically, in case she decides to smack him anyway.

"N-no, we- It wasn't- Our faces just- But we didn't!"

"But it was so close," Gareth says, fingers pinched and with maybe the fraction of a fraction of an inch of air between his thumb and forefinger.

"Huh." Max continues staring Eddie down like she's plotting his murder for keeping secrets. He's about to point out that he can't be set up with Steve if he's dead when she swivels back to Gareth. "I'm making them go on a third date."

"Wait, what? When?"

"Open mic tomorrow night," she says, like he's an idiot. The scrunch of Gareth's mouth indicates that he agrees with her.

"Shit." He pats himself down, in search of something. "What time is it? Where's my phone? If I text him now I can schedule a spontaneous hang-out for tonight!"

Eddie's eyes double in size.

"Woah, woah, woah!" he exclaims, hands raised and palms facing out, as if he's warding off wild animals. "You have Steve's number?"

Gareth pauses his search to tilt his head at Eddie, like he's a puzzle he can't figure out how to solve. Or maybe just like he's a huge fucking moron. "You're telling me you don't?"

Eddie clamps his lips together; fights the urge to fidget beneath their judgmental stares. Max slowly shakes her head.

"Dumbass. You need us."

Eddie makes an ugly face at her. "Shut up."

She tuts. "So aggressive. That's a symptom of sexual frustration."

"I'm not-"

"Remember: thin walls."

"They're not that thin! I never hear you!"

"Because I know how to keep my business to myself. And you've heard me practicing the guitar, haven't you?"

He has. Shit. He buries his face in his hands.

"Shit."

"That's right," Max says snippily. "I hear everything. Every. Thing."

"Oh," Gareth says. He squeezes her good knee, oozing empathy from every pore. "Oh, you poor, innocent girl."

She soaks it up, lamenting, "It's been awful."

"Yeah… But, um. You realize that if they get together, then… "

Gareth trails off as Max nods miserably.

"Yeah, I know. I'm resigned to my fate."

Eddie pushes the heels of his hands into his eye sockets until he sees stars. He needs friends who are less invested in his sex life.

Max leaves soon after, cane clacking louder than necessary against the floor. (Eddie suspects he might not get it back once she's healed.) She stops in the doorway on her way out. While smiling in a manner that makes him break out in a cold sweat, she tells him not to take his car to the open mic and to dress nicely.

And then she's gone.

Gareth harrumphs.

"She's planning something for tomorrow. Damnit. This is unfair, you know. She's known him longer; she can talk to and influence both of you in ways I can't. I'm at a disadvantage here."

Eddie, without replying, twirls on the spot and faceplants on the couch.

Gareth groans above him. "Oh, what is it now?"

'Same as always' is what he'd like to say. Instead, he saves his breath by rolling onto his side, curling up his legs, and giving Gareth a look. It must convey how he feels, because Gareth's irritation melts off, replaced with something gentle. He squats by the couch and brushes a stray lock from Eddie's forehead. A bit like how Uncle Wayne would when he still lived at home.

"Eddie, man, you don't have to be nervous. He likes you."

"That makes it worse," Eddie says, voice raspy and thick, and fuck, he's not going to cry over this, is he? Bawl when a boy doesn't like him is normal, not when they do. "He likes me now, but if he finds out I'm his obsessive quasi-stalker? Then what?"

"I think you're blowing this out of proportion," Gareth says. He starts scratching at Eddie's scalp; it's good enough to dry his tears and slow his pulse. "Max knows about the calendar and she doesn't mind!"

Eddie snorts derisively. "Because she's nineteen and doesn't yet understand how some actions can have terrible consequences."

Gareth frowns at that with obvious disapproval. "She's still an adult. For that matter, so are you and Steve? Just talk to him about it." He sighs. "Look, I don't think he'll mind so much that he'll never get over it. And if he does… it sucks. But you'll live. There are dozens of hot guys out there, waiting to be swept off their hot… feet." He pauses to snicker.

"You're so bad at this," Eddie whispers; Gareth snickers even more.

"You know why I've stuck by you all these years?" he asks once done laughing. "Why I even started hanging with you in the first place?"

"You had stoner aspirations and I zero qualms selling weed to fourteen-year-olds?"

Gareth flicks his forehead. "Because you're cool. And likable. And you make people happy when you're around. So go out there tomorrow night and sweep those hot feet!"

Eddie snorts. Then again. His diaphragm tightens, air forces past his pursed lips, and then his body shakes with laughter. Gareth is grinning proudly, of himself and possibly Eddie as well. He snakes his arms around Eddie's waist and pulls him so close the mirth rattles through them both. It takes an eon, but at last, the laughter abates. Eddie’s lungs are sore and his eyes are wet with happiness, and he's still got an armful of best friend clinging to him.

"I'll call you the day after tomorrow." Gareth punctuates the promise with a squeeze, before pulling back. "Lunchtime. And I'll expect progress. Okay?"

Eddie nods. "Okay."

Gareth beams, ruffles Eddie's hair, and then he too leaves the apartment.

Eddie turns onto his back and stares at the ceiling. He doesn’t sigh as much as make noise while gravity pushes the air from his lungs. He could fall asleep here, on this uncomfortable couch. Turns out guitar lessons, worrying, and funny friends deplete your energy.

Before his eyelids slide shut for good he drags himself up to brush his teeth and go lie in his real bed. He needs a proper night's sleep if he'll survive tomorrow.

He wakes up on Saturday having dreamt of Steve. He eats his breakfast while thinking of Steve. He replaces brake pads, rotates tires, and talks to clients while thinking of Steve. He returns home and showers off the sweat and oil while really thinking of Steve.

He also spends a lot longer than usual contemplating how thoroughly he ought to wash himself. Fate dictates that if he cleans as if he might get laid, he won't be. However, if he's perfunctory about it, he's more likely to score. Ultimately, he does an extensive scrub. Rather be presumptuous and get nothing than be unhygienic and get lucky.

Then comes the worst part: picking an outfit.

Max told him to wear something 'nice'. Jesus. 'Wear something nice', what did that even mean? Dress less like himself? Dress more like himself? Something skimpy? Or snug? He has those leather pants that make his legs look divine, but they might be too much. He doesn't want to look like he's trying as hard as he is. Also, he's going to an open mic in a coffee shop at seven in the evening. There will be high schoolers, retirees, families with children, and others present who do not need to see his dick imprint. 'No' to the leather pants.

But maybe…

The hangers clatter and screech as he pushes them aside. Sticking his arm far into his wardrobe, he then pulls it out grasping his other battle vest.

The one in leather.

He hasn't worn it out yet. It's only recently finished, and almost ended up looking too nice, too pristine. It's not really him, not the way his frayed and trusty denim vest is. But it's still a thing of beauty: band logos immaculately painted onto the leather and spikes adorning the shoulders, collar, and lapels.

It's fucking badass. Him, though a little nicer.

He pairs the vest with his tightest Metallica tee – the one with the sleeves shorn off and the neckline cut into a v deep enough to show both tattoos – and distressed, black jeans, rips over the knees and a big hole along the inside of one thigh. The retirees will just have to fucking deal with some exposed skin.

A crowd is thronging inside Connie's when he arrives ten minutes to seven. They've built a makeshift stage on one short side, crammed between the cream'n'sugar station and a huge monstera. Microphones, stools, and a keyboard stand upon it. All the café's tables are pushed to one half of the floor, letting people mill between them and the stage. None of them seem to be his people, though.

Eddie weaves through the crowd, scanning it for short redheads and tall hunks. Nothing… nothing… not-

"Eddie!"

He turns, coming nose to nose, like tip to tip, with Steve, who's… wow. Call him the moon and Eddie a wolf, because he's about to start howling.

He's wearing pants, not jeans, that hug his hips without being obscenely tight and a fitted, teal dress shirt. The sleeves are rolled up and the top two buttons left undone, allowing yet another tantalizing peek of the sculpted pecs beneath. Nice but not too formal, if you ask anyone. Positively edible, if you ask Eddie. His mouth is actually watering a little, which is a sign he's been staring for too long.

Lifting his gaze from Steve's chest to his face, he realizes he could've taken his time because Steve is also staring. At Eddie.

Steve's breaths are slow but deep as he bites his lip hard enough to dent it, tongue flicking out to soothe the mark. Eyes glowing like embers, he trails them over Eddie's body, threatening to set him ablaze.

Eddie's jeans are too fucking tight for this.

"Starting to worry you wouldn't make it," Steve says, low and gravelly.

"No, I just, uh, running a bit late…" Eddie says, faltering as Steve drags a finger along the lapel of his vest.

"Haven't seen you in this before," he murmurs.

"It's new. First time wearing it."

"Where'd you get it?"

"I made it."

Steve's brows jump. "You made it?"

"Make like one-third of my clothes and heavily alter the rest. Metal's all about DIY, baby."

Chuckling, Steve grabs both ends of the attached leather belt and opens the vest for a better look at the Metallica shirt underneath. He doesn't ask any questions about the band, thank God, because Eddie's brain is too liquid to answer. If Steve opened the vest a bit more he'd be undressing him. Or if he tugged at the belt Eddie would stumble into him, he's so off balance.

But Steve does neither; he closes it and lets go.

"I left the others at the table. C'mon."

The rest of them also look nice, Robin in suspenders again, this time paired with shorts, and Lucas in a black sweater-red jacket combo that reminds Eddie of all the cool boys he pined over in high school. Both of them gush compliments at the sight of his vest; their childlike enthusiasm is a pretty effective boner killer, phew. The only one not mentioning his outfit is Max – she's silently staring at the tablecloth, hands in her lap and head bowed.

"Hey, Red," he says.

She looks at him, eyes like clear ponds and her freckles stark against her white skin. It might be his personal bias, but she's the prettiest of them all tonight. Canary yellow t-shirt dress and oversized jean jacket, one shoulder artfully slipping down. Loose, wavy locks cascading past her shoulders. Barely chipped nail polish and glossy lips, but no other makeup. She's radiant.

And she's shaking.

He slides into the chair next to her.

"You're still ready?"

Max nods.

"You know, I still feel like puking every time I perform."

"Yeah?" she breathes.

"Yup." His fingers encircle her wrist, squeezing. "You're gonna crush it."

She smiles tightly.

"Do you want us to film it?" Robin asks. "To show your mom?"

Max's first reaction is a frown, which evaporates at the mention of her mom; then she nods so hard she's indistinguishable from a bobblehead.

"Yes!" she says, and that's the last bit of conversation between them, for the next second the lights dim and Connie ascends the stage to announce the start of the open mic.

It's three hours long, with fifteen performers given ten minutes each, plus a few for getting on and off the stage. Max is number eight, which means she'll have about an hour and a half to sweat before it's her turn. And maybe she does manage to sweat it out and dry off, because when her time comes she strides up with the poise of a seasoned veteran.

A café worker helps her up and adjusts the mic for her. She hooks the cane on the stool and situates the guitar across her lap – one of the younger audience members shouts "Dragon!" to everyone's amusement. Once the laughter stops, she puts her mouth to the mic and emits one stuttering breath.

"Hi," she says. "My name is Max, and I'll be playing two covers and one song I wrote." She giggles as some onlookers whoop their approval. "All three are dedicated to one person here tonight. He knows who he is."

Then she plays. It's the best fucking thing Eddie has heard, not just tonight, but ever.

Her voice is strong, her rhythm is perfect. When she pauses for breath her expression defaults into a blinding smile. She breezes through The Isley Brothers and Stevie Wonder as the crowd claps along. Eddie manages to tear his eyes from her only once, to view the others' reactions. Robin tries to hold her phone steady as she sways in her seat, Steve is misty-eyed like a proud dad, and Lucas…

Lucas sits slumped forward, chin pillowed on his hands, pupils huge and dark. Lovestruck.

After You Are the Sunshine of My Life she takes a breather, sipping from her bottle of water. There's a shift in the air; the audience settles, mood sobering. When she resumes playing, the notes are softer, slower. A melancholy made bearable by her warm tones.

Max's song is about a happy then and an uncertain now. It's a song about guilt and regret. About apologizing and vowing to improve. About past loss and about future hope.

Above all, it's a promise.

It strikes like a blade through Eddie's chest. He shouldn't be hearing this. None but three, or maybe just one, of the people in here should. It's not for their ears, because they can't ever truly understand. It's too personal. Yet, she plays it for them. Tearing open her flesh and breaking her bones to show them. Listening to this is a privilege.

Her last note is a tattoo – covering up those before her, impossible to erase by those following her.

Max smiles and bows, again like a pro. As the café erupts into deafening applause, Lucas shoots from his seat. Appearing by the stage, he extends his arms to her. She hooks hers around his neck and lets him lift her down. Smiling at each other, they rest their foreheads together like they're the only ones in the room. Shit, perhaps they are.

They walk back to the table with Max's cane underneath Lucas' arm, she using him as her crutch. Arriving, the first thing she does is ask Eddie:

"How was it?"

He schools his expression.

"Red. I'm ditching my band. From now on, you and me – duo."

She boxes him in the shoulder, the shine of her smile rivaling a star.

The rest of the open mic is nice, even though the highlight is over. Still, live music is live music (and leaving in the middle would've been unacceptably rude), so they stay until Connie closes the night by thanking everyone present and encouraging them to come back next time.

Outside, they stretch their unused limbs until their joints pop, then walk a few blocks to Steve's car. It makes sense for Eddie not to have taken his van, he tells himself. The BMW is big enough for all five to sit comfortably, and he'll save on gas. Still, there's a disappointment pooling in his gut, because this means Steve will drop off Lucas, Max, and Eddie at their places before driving himself and Robin home. It's not a bad thing! He has yet to figure out how to breach the subject of the calendar. But… getting some more time to talk to Steve without amateur musicians drowning out the words would've been nice.

(This is what he gets for being so thorough in the shower.)

"Well," Robin says, hands clasped behind her head, as the BMW beeps unlocked. "I'll see you guys later."

"Where are you going?" Eddie asks.

"Steve and I live just past that building," she says, pointing. "So, I'll walk while he drives you guys."

Oh.

The disappointed pool freezes. Eddie swallows thickly. This is fine. It means nothing. Steve will drop everyone off and then go home, as planned.

He gets shotgun. Really, it's given to him because Max and Lucas commandeer the backseat, snuggling up on one-and-a-half seats while DragonSlayer claims the third. Eddie doesn't mind in the slightest – not when the kids are so close they're basically on top of each other, slotting together like a pair of puzzle pieces. Watching them separate when they arrive at the apartment complex will be devastating.

Except.

They do not go to the apartment complex. They go to a neighborhood Eddie's never been to before, parking outside a two-story house. So, they're dropping off Lucas first, then Eddie and Max, and then Steve will go home. Just as planned.

"I'm staying with Lucas tonight," Max says. "The DragonSlayer is all yours, Eddie."

She slams the door shut, the two of them walking up the shingled pathway hand in hand.

Steve hums pleasantly. "I think that did the trick – they're an item again. About time, don't you think?"

"Uh, yeah, yep, sure took them long enough, yeppers," Eddie's mouth says with negative input or permission from his brain.

Steve grins before pulling out, shirt straining against his arm as he turns the wheel and holy shit, Eddie is alone in a car with Steve!

Is everyone conspiring against him?!

Steve makes small talk during the drive, recounting which songs he recognized, sharing his favorite performances, asking for Eddie's more knowledgeable opinion. Eddie responds to the best of his abilities, which is to say 'poorly'.

When they stop by a red light and Steve absent-mindedly undoes the third button on his shirt, Eddie’s mouth dries up and he stops responding altogether, fearing his tongue will crumble to dust if he tries. If Steve is put out by Eddie's conversational skills reducing to various affirmative noises, he doesn't show it.

Finally reaching the complex, Eddie resolves to at least croak a 'thank you for the ride'. But when he turns to do just that, Steve is already looking earnestly at him with his large, honeyed eyes.

"It's really nice of you, teaching Max to play. Thank you."

"Oh, 'twas nothing." Eddie clears his throat. "She's a good student."

"I'm curious: is there a difference between acoustic and electric?"

"Not really. Electric is a little easier, 'cause they're smaller and the strings are lighter."

"Acoustic sounds better, though," Steve says and laughs at Eddie's answering grimace. "All right, maybe not to the metal master," (Eddie stifles a gigglesnort; what an adorable dork), "but to a common listener, such as myself, acoustic is nicer. You can try to change my mind if you want, though."

"By… playing both for you?"

"Yeah."

Eddie gulps audibly. "N-now?"

Steve's smile is almost too wide for his face. He cocks his head, a lock of hair falling into his eyes, who are gleaming like gold in the light of the nearby street lamp.

"I'm not busy."

Eddie leads them up the stairs to his fourth-floor apartment. Their steps echo in time with the drumming of Eddie's heart. His grip on the DragonSlayer is unyieldingly stiff, lest it slides from his clammy palm.

This is fine. Steve is going to listen to him play and then go home, just as planned.

Like the building, the locks are old; his key jams and needs to be rattled before the door opens. He lets Steve in first, then closes the door behind them. Steve waits patiently, back to the wall and chest inches from Eddie's. Has the hallway always been this cramped?

Eddie turns to fumble around for the light switch, breath hitching when Steve touches his shoulders. Grasping the vest's spiked lapels, he pulls it off Eddie's frame and hangs it on the coat rack. Next, he grabs the guitar – warm, dry skin brushing Eddie's – and props it by the doorpost. Last, he looks at Eddie, his eyes searching, searching, searching…

Disregarding his sensibilities, Eddie nods.

Steve kisses him.

The force of it sends them stumbling, Eddie's back slamming into the wall. Their mouths smush together and their noses bump; for a moment it's too hard, too much. But then Steve angles his head, their lips melding, and it's perfect. Like silk sheets and rose petals, like champagne and chocolate truffles, like summer nights and meteor showers.

Steve mumbles something about waiting, about wishing, about finally. He's touching Eddie everywhere, chest pinning him against the wall, hands running up and down his arms, thigh pushing between his legs. His hard cock pokes against Eddie's groin, and it feels so thick.

All of Eddie's nerve endings are lighting up, sending tingles to converge in his belly before shooting back out to his limbs. He has no regrets. Everything he's done or that's been done to him was worth it, because it led to the best fucking kiss of his life. Steve will have to keep him after this – exposing him to this kind of touch only once would be cruel.

It's gentle, is the thing, but with the passion of a thousand lovers. Steve cups his face, tipping it, thumb caressing his cheek and fingers rubbing circles in his hair. His lips, soft but determined, parts Eddie's for a quick taste that leaves him wanting.

Eddie tries chasing, but Steve withholds – fucking teases – and goes back to nipping and licking. Rolling his hips until Eddie gasps, then slipping in his tongue to stroke the roof of Eddie's mouth. Then he starts over again, repeating the cycle until Eddie is whining, his knees so weak he slumps onto Steve's thigh.

Grabbing hold of his ass, Steve hoists him up. Eddie squawks, legs automatically wrapping around Steve's waist. Steve grins, juuuust on the wrong side of smug, and steps away from the wall, carrying Eddie like it's nothing. It would be infuriating if Eddie wasn't too busy wondering if, and if so for how long, Steve could fuck him like this.

"Bedroom?" Steve asks.

"Yeah, it's, uh, through there," Eddie says, pointing in what might be the right direction.

Then he yanks Steve's head back by his pretty hair and swallows his moan. Because with Steve's hands occupied, it means Eddie can do whatever he wants. And what he wants is shove his tongue as far down Steve's throat as he can.

It takes them a while, but they reach the bedroom. Steve deposits them on the bed, bringing them from vertical to horizontal in a smooth slide without breaking the kiss.

Eddie wraps tighter around him, wanting to feel him everywhere and always. Alas, Steve disentangles them with a chuckle. He sits up so he's kneeling, legs spread, Eddie's thighs resting on top of his. A hungry glint in his eyes, he undoes one more of his buttons, then forgoes the rest by pulling the shirt off like a sweater and flinging it aside.

Eddie wastes no time touching him, groping the firm pecs and caressing the soft belly. The coarse hair tickles his palms.

"Fuck me, you're perfect," he murmurs.

Steve giggles, pink blooming on his face. Coaxing Eddie's hands off him, he arranges his limbs on the bed, and Eddie lets him – he can do anything as long as he does it shirtless. He smooths his hand over the Metallica logo, pretty much petting his chest, before rucking the shirt up to Eddie's chin. Steve's eyes are black, more pupil than iris; he thumbs at the tattoo on Eddie's ribs.

"I was hoping you'd have more," he says. His other hand slides across Eddie's leg, fingers ghosting the edge of the large hole before one slips inside, tucking between the denim and the skin of Eddie's thigh. Eddie gasps; Steve smiles. "How much do I need to take off to see all of them?"

"Why don't you find out, big boy?" Eddie says, breathless but grinning, scooting closer to rub his ass on Steve's dick.

Steve rips off Eddie's shirt, tosses it where he tossed his own, and crashes their lips together as he unbuckles Eddie's belt.

Eddie hums into the kiss. It's perfect. Steve is perfect. The whole thing is as if out of a dream. Jesus Christ, it is straight out of one of his fantasies. The only thing missing is… is…

The uniform.

Fuck. He can't do this. Not like this. Fuck.

Eddie breaks the kiss, gently pushing Steve away.

"Eddie?"

He shakes his head, eyes screwed shut. Looking at Steve right now is impossible – the shame will consume him. He shouldn't have let it go this far.

"Eddie? What's wrong?" Steve asks. "Please, I-"

"There's something you gotta know." Eddie forces his eyes open. The least Steve deserves is to be looked at while given the truth. Also, this is the first and possibly last time Eddie will see Steve on top of him. He should savor it. "I haven't been completely honest."

Steve's eyes dim. "You're married."

Eddie goggles. "What? No! Shit, I've never had a relationship go past the three-month mark. No, it's… Um…"

He sighs. Here comes the music; time to face it.

"You know that calendar you did? Gareth told you his mom had it?"

"Yes?"

"He lied. It's mine. I have the calendar." He inhales deeply, then lets it all out in one fast gust. "I recognized you the first time we met and I thought you were so hot and Gareth thought we should try finding you at the university and we did and then we hung out and now, uh, now we're here."

Steve blinks owlishly. "Oh."

"Yeah. I've jerked off to your picture for two and a half years and I thought you should know." Eddie rubs his eyes; they're burning, and his nose is clogging. Shit, not now… "So, um. If you want to stop, if you never want to see me again, I understand. I'm sorry."

"It's fine."

"It- Huh?"

Eddie's jaw slackens. He gawks up at Steve, who calmly meets his gaze. But it can't be this easy. It's never this easy, not for Eddie.

"S'fine." Steve shrugs. "Was that all?"

"Uh. Yeah."

"Good."

He dives back to resume the kiss, except this time it's hotter, dirtier, Steve licking behind his teeth and sucking on his tongue so Eddie's toes curl. He yanks Eddie's jeans and boxers down to his thighs, Eddie's cock springing out. Steve grips it, but doesn't stroke or squeeze – just holds. Eddie starts rocking into his fist and oh, oh, it's so good but not enough. He's so hard his head is spinning and he needs Steve's hands and his cock and he needs he needs he needs-

"Eddie," Steve says into Eddie's mouth. "What d'you want me to do? Tell me."

"Mmm, I want… Fuck, I needed you inside me two years ago."

Steve licks a wet stripe along his throat. "Whatever you want."

Then he sits up and flips Eddie over. Eddie grunts at the sudden movement, but his cock between his stomach and the mattress feels heavenly, and Steve parting his ass cheeks is even better, so he's not complaining.

He's especially not complaining when Steve leans down, rubbing his nose against Eddie's tailbone.

"You're okay with any part of me inside you?" he asks, breath warm on Eddie's skin.

Eddie groans. "Yes. Anything! Just touch me!"

Steve does, dragging the flat of his tongue from Eddie's taint up to his hole.

Eddie keens, burying it in the pillow due to those damn thin walls. It probably doesn't help, because he's being loud. He usually is, but not like this. Turns out Steve's tongue is amazing no matter where he puts it. He swirls it around the hole, laps heavily against the rim, slowly loosening Eddie up.

He writhes and moans, cock leaking precum on the sheets. Jerking forward, he humps the mattress for two sweet, relieving seconds before Steve grabs him by the hips and holds him in place. He would've griped about it if Steve hadn't immediately plunged his tongue into Eddie's hole. But Steve does, so Eddie screams instead.

Fuck the walls, he's having the time of his life.

He has been rimmed before, two or three times, but not this intensely. He hasn't been fucked by another man's tongue. Because that's what Steve's doing, lips on Eddie's ass and saliva dripping down his taint. He's as far in as it can go, tongue thrusting and stroking and… oh. Oh! Oh, fuck-

Eddie jolts, despite being held down, because Steve just flicked his tongue tip against someplace sensitive. He whines, begging Steve to do it again. Steve laughs, the sound reverberating through Eddie's ass, and does as told. And again. And again.

He flicks. Eddie screams.

He flicks. Screams.

Flicks. Screams.

And Eddie's on fire. His legs are shaking, his insides are thrumming, the pleasure courses and courses in electric waves and shit, did he just come?

"Holy shit, I think I just came," he says, fingers cramping where they've clutched the covers.

Steve pulls out with a slurp.

"Oh, cool," he pants. He crawls up the bed, his hard cock dragging a wet trail on Eddie's leg. "D'you wanna take a break or keep going?"

Eddie groans. What kind of a fucking question is that? His cock is still hard, and Steve's cock is hard, and Eddie is reeling from the best orgasm he's ever had, and does he want to keep going?

"Steve…" he says. "If you don't fuck me now, then I'll… I'll… " He trails off, slurring.

"Yes," Steve says, catching on anyway. "Okay. Yes."

He sounds wrecked. Glancing over his shoulder, Eddie is met by perfect hair in disarray, cheeks flushed and blotchy, a chin glistening with drool, and Steve's wild, ember eyes. Assured he's not the only one losing his mind, Eddie thumps his head back on the pillow. Bending his knees, he pushes his ass into the air and reaches back to spread his cheeks with his own fingers.

"Then hurry up, big boy," he croons, index finger circling the spitslick rim. "Before I do it myself."

Steve laughs, high-pitched like he's drunk. He fumbles for Eddie's lube and a condom he brought, thank fuck, because Eddie only has expired ones.

Lying on top of Eddie, Steve aligns their arms and interlocks their fingers, and pushes in. Eddie whimpers, because as loose and cock-starved as he is, Steve is huge, the tip alone wrecking his already sore ass. Steve shushes him gently, brushing away sweat-damp curls to plant a soft kiss at his nape. He rocks slowly, squeezing Eddie's hand and rubbing his hip, until the stretch gets better and the pain eases.

And then they fuck. Or maybe 'make love' is a more fitting term, because they hold hands during most of it. And sometimes, Steve will ease off, going so slow and sweet it borders on edging, drawing high-pitched noises from far down Eddie's chest. Then, once satisfied, he speeds up again, fucking harder while whispering compliments into Eddie's skin.

He makes Eddie come two more times, by fucking him and by jerking him off. At least, Eddie thinks that's what happened when he wakes up some hours later. He got a little delirious with pleasure at the end, though, so he's not a hundred percent sure.

He yawns and stretches. It's dark out, but the blinds are open and light pours in from the street lamp that for some reason had to be positioned right by his window.

"That light is the worst," Steve mumbles, burrowing into the pillow.

"Hmm, yeah. But I don't have to have my own lamp on. I save on electricity."

"Economical." Steve laughs, peeking up from the bedding. He's beautifully rumpled, bathed in shadows and light. "How d'you feel?"

"Awesome… did you clean me up?"

"Kinda had to – you passed out. I'm not letting you sleep with come crusting all over you," Steve says, nose scrunching.

"Not my fault. Blame your cock!"

They laugh again, together. It's nice. But it would've been nicer if there wasn't still one tiny thing nagging in the back of Eddie's head.

"Hey," he mumbles. "When you said… that the stuff with the calendar was fine, did you mean it? Or was your judgment clouded by horniness?"

Steve snorts. "'Course I meant it. I don't mind."

"Jesus."

"Do you want me to mind?"

"No. It's just that I've been putting off telling you about it because I was afraid you'd be upset. It's pretty creepy."

"Yeah, but…" Steve props his head onto his fist and shrugs one shoulder. "I guess it would be creepier if it were someone else. But it's you, and I like you, so… it's just flattering."

A grin stretches across Eddie's face. "You like me?"

"Uh, yeah." Steve rolls his eyes, but his face is also splitting in half. "Don't you like me?"

"I do."

Eddie winds his arms around Steve's waist, pulling him in for a kiss.

"I thought so," Steve says after their lips part. "I just didn't know how much – if you wanted to just fuck or if you wanted something more. Max was hinting you wanted more. And your friends seemed too invested for you not to want more. Then Robin told me 'he definitely wants more'. So I knew it was safe to go."

"Christ, dude, I like you so much I've given myself ulcers worrying you didn't like me back!"

"Sorry," Steve says unapologetically. "You can stop worrying."

They embrace, trading chaste kisses as they snuggle. Alternating between whispering nonsense and drawing patterns on each other and simply looking, unabashed and unhurried.

Then, Steve pulls away with a mischievous glint in his eyes.

He asks, "So where do you keep that calendar?"

Eddie's heart and stomach leap, trading places and knocking every other organ off course. He lunges at Steve, coiling around him like an octopus and trapping him to the bed.

"Nooooo!"

Steve guffaws. "I'm not gonna look for it! You'll have to tell me where it is."

He cocks his head at Eddie, sweet, innocent, evil. Eddie groans with the vigor of an annoyed pre-teen. Releasing Steve, he points at his desk.

"Top drawer."

Steve flies up, rummaging through the drawer before Eddie can blink. Whooping in triumph, he holds the calendar in front of himself and begins flipping through it. Eddie pulls the comforter up to his nose to hide his blush.

"April is missing?" Steve asks.

"The model was a cop."

"Ah."

Steve reclaims his spot on the bed. He's reached November and is scanning the photo with an approving smile.

Eddie grunts. "Are you admiring your own photo?"

"So? It's a good picture." Steve smirks at him. "I know you agree."

Grumbling, Eddie hides completely beneath the cover. This is what he gets for being honest. He's never telling the truth again.

"What do you say about me fucking you while wearing the uniform?" Steve asks.

Eddie throws off the comforter and catapults into sitting.

"We can do that?"

"Sure," Steve says easily, like he didn't just turn Eddie's world upside down. "Unless…" He leans in, lips hovering over Eddie's. "Unless you want to fuck me while I wear it?"

They don't fall back asleep until hours later.

(In fact, they sleep in until 11 am, when Eddie's alarm goes off. Gareth calls by lunchtime as promised, but Eddie misses it. He's too busy getting fucked against the shower wall.)

"You're not allowed to break up," Max says later that day, during their guitar lesson. The open mic might've passed, but she needs to learn more if they'll perform together. "It'll be awkward if you're exes. I won't be able to hang out with Steve if you're next door – I'll have to move."

Eddie smiles. He should point out they're not really together yet; that they've only barely started dating. Instead, he says:

"We won't."

And he can't explain how, but it's as if some higher power whispered all the answers to him while he slept in Steve's arms and he knows, he just knows, that he's telling the truth.

------------------------------

Thank you for reading. You're the best.

Oh, and I realize that I introduced things that excited a ton of people (such as Eddie meeting everyone else), so I might have to write a mini-sequel where that actually happens. Not now, though. Later.

Tag list: @rougenancy, @raisedbylibrarians, @yourebuckingkiddingme, @swimmingbirdrunningrock, @emma77645, @goodolefashionedloverboi, @eddielives1986, @stevesbipanic, @the-redthread, @fandemonium-takes-its-toll, @henderdads, @gay-little-bitch, @lenore1232, @zerokrox-blog, @eddiemunsonswife, @cherrycolas-things, @ediewentmissing, @princess-eddie, @atombombbibunny, @ajamlessbaby, @dogswithforks, @grimmfitzz, @cutiecusp, @cuips-not-cute, @manicallydepressedrobot, @messrs-weasley, @madaboutmunson, @mightbeasleep, @suikatto, @brassreign, @snapshotmaestro, @courtjestermunson, @csinnamon-fox, @spectrum-spectre, @spinmewriteround, @just-super-fucking-gay, @escapingthereality, @oneweirdcryptid, @deehellcat, @misticageri, @lovelyscot, @linkydinky06, @rynnytintin, @anything-thats-rock-and-roll, @theysherobinbuckley, @freddykicksasses, @winterbuckwild, @sideblogofthcentury, @subparbrainfunction, @pemsha

[14dayswithyou]

MINORS: DO NOT INTERACT ! Welcome to the official "14 Days With You" Tumblr! The FAQ, post masterlist, and general rules can be found below! Also, this is a side blog — meaning all replies and follows will come from @cutiesigh! ^^

PLEASE KEEP IN MIND ! 💖 Put your age in your profile, or you'll be blocked. 💖 Reblogs/replies are appreciated and welcomed!! 💖 Read the F.A.Q to learn the secret phrase for asks.

itch | discord | twitter | main | #14dwy tag

▋MASTERLIST !

💖 14DWY Lore updates & blog post retcons (check reblogs for current versions) 💖 Official character relationship chart 💖 Official character sheets + blank template (outdated) 💖 "Understand my ship in 5 minutes" sheet (outdated) 💖 NSFW Alphabet: Ren | [REDACTED] | Teo 💖 All of the 14DWY fics I've written 💖 All of the 14DWY art I've made 💖 Frequently Asked Questions

▋F.A.Q !

What is Ren's real name? Try and guess it!

Are Ren and [REDACTED] the same person? Yes, they are the same person. "[REDACTED]" is his real self and "Ren" is a persona he created specifically for Angel.

Will we get to see/learn more about [REDACTED]? You'll learn more about [REDACTED] in Day 7, but getting Ren to remain as his real self will all depend on the choices you make in the game.

How old is Ren? Ren is one year younger than you, but at least 18! However if you are 18, then he’d be one month/day/hour younger than you instead.

What is Ren's ___? Ren is non-binary (AMAB + prefers masculine and gender-neutral titles), uses he/they pronouns, born on February 14th, around ~6'5", half Japanese and American, and pan/demisexual.

Does Ren have a Spotify playlist? Yes! Here's a playlist full of songs that make me think of him, and here's a playlist full of songs that I personally think he'd listen to. Please look at my Spotify profile for the rest of the cast.

What are the cast's sexualities? Pronouns? etc. Here are their birthdays, here are their sexualities, and here are their pronouns.

What does the “canon” / “blog canon” / etc. tag mean? Posts tagged with "canon" means it complies with the official 14DWY universe set for the game, "blog canon" means it only applies to the universe set for this blog, "AU canon" means it's set in an entirely separate universe with its own lore, and "non canon" means the post is just for fun and shouldn't be taken seriously.

When will Day ___ come out? Whenever I feel like it. Please understand that I am a full-time university student who also works a part-time job, so it's difficult for me to make time to work on 14DWY.

Where is the best place to find updates? The 14DWY Discord would be the best place to receive game/development updates (as well as interacting with the community), though I do crosspost major updates on Tumblr and Twitter after a week or so.

Will there be a mobile version? No. My main priority is releasing builds for PC/Mac for now.

How many love interests are there? Just Ren. And although you can get a romantic ending with some of the other cast members, they won't have a dedicated "route" like Ren.

Do you have a Patreon / KoFi / Kickstarter / etc? I have a Ko-Fi now (purely for art commissions), but please continue to keep your money! Just knowing that you enjoy 14DWY is more than enough support for me!

Do you have an F.A.Q tag? Yes! Here's a masterlist of other frequently asked questions, and here's the general #FAQ tag for even more questions I get asked on a regular basis. Please check them out before asking something!

Is there anything you won't write about? I don't write about scat/piss, incest, noncon, self harm/suicide, major character death (Angel, Ren, Violet, etc. to avoid spoilers), pedophilia, or anything else of that nature.

Why haven't you answered my question yet? It probably made me uncomfortable, you didn't put your age in your bio, you didn't read this entire post properly, or I've answered it before.

How do I ask a question? To ensure you've read the rules: please include any of the following secret phrases in your message. Otherwise, I won't answer it.

Meowdy Saint! ^^

Say hi to renren for me

The 14DWY brainrot is real... >_<

This angel has another question! \o

I'm here to Redeem my kiss from [14DWY character] for reading the pinned post.

hehe >:3... hehesmirk, even 😼

Once you've selected a phrase, you can submit your question here (or use the ask button above!!) I'll occasionally update these phrases, so make sure to check before you send an ask!

▋TAGLIST !

Use the tags below for easier navigation!

[shuttershocky]

hi shutters. im gonna start arknights. do you have any guide/tips for new players? what to do, what to not do, what to save, what to discard, where to find community resources(if they exist). stuff like that. thanks in advance!

Most new player guides will tell you all you need to know about getting started in the game, so I'll list down 5 things about the experience of /learning/ the game instead.

You don't have to play - Before we start, it must be said that Arknights is still a gacha game, an inherently predatory monetization scheme no matter how generous the in-game system is. If you feel like you may be vulnerable to FOMO and spending real money, I don't recommend you play at all. If you're here for the world and characters, Arknights has excellent comics available for free on their website, while players upload most event stories on Youtube for you to read through without having to touch the game. With that said, let's continue.

Take your time - Raising units and generally progressing in Arknights takes a lot longer than in other mobage. Don't worry about things like "catching up". Limited time events that have already had their rerun get added as a part of the main menu permanently, and eventually they even include the free units you get per event. You're generally not going to be missing out on any content (except for 3rd party collabs like the upcoming Monster Hunter event, but that's because they don't own Monster Hunter), so don't feel like you have to rush through the game. It won't work, and you'll get easily frustrated. Think of it more like a puzzle game with updates. You don't rush through puzzle games, the point is to enjoy the puzzle.

Don't spend - This goes for all mobile games in general, but especially Arknights. The money to in-game currency conversion rate is godawful, but the actual flow of the gacha currency (called Orundrum) given to you by just playing the game normally is rather generous. Combined with a few other features that don't need to be discussed here and even a F2P player's account looks like a whale after enough time, because you eventually just get most of the units from how often you're given free rolls. Take it from me, you don't need to buy anything to get gigastacked, it will happen to you over time.

Ask for Help - Arknights is a puzzle game, and that means even with some of the best units in the game, you can find yourself stuck on stages if you have no idea how to approach strategy. If you're ever stuck, Youtube is filled with various clear guides made by the community, targeting everything from lazy clears (often called AFK) by super strong Doctors that don't want to think, to low rarity clears targeted towards new players who are mostly using the 3 star characters (as they are much quicker to raise). Just take a look at the codename of the stage you are stuck on (for example: "WD-EX-8"), and type that into the Youtube search bar. You'll find a ton of different guides from various creators. You can even shoot an Ask to this blog if you want more personalized help, though of course I can only answer those in my free time.

Take reviews with a grain of salt - Probably the biggest source of FOMO pressure in Arknights is the community itself, what with how much content creators love to use clickbait videos telling you a certain unit is a godtier must-have and if you don't have them you WILL be unable to keep up so roll for them NOW or a certain unit is fucking dogshit unusable and if you have them they're a waste of space. No in-betweens. Of course, when you actually get to try these characters for yourself you're going to realize even the absurdly powerful units aren't going to be autowinning stages by themselves (usually), nor are even the most despised, godawful units completely worthless strategically. It's a puzzle game, ultimately a lot more is going to depend on your ability to problem solve. My general rule of thumb when it comes to seeing community reactions to new operators is if everyone says they're good, they're almost certainly very good, but if everyone says a new unit is trash, it's a cointoss as to how bad they actually are. Probably the best recent example is the 6 star Mystic Caster Ebenholz, who was derided as being awkward to use and generally awful in most stages. His stock eventually rose and rose as people discovered that while Ebenholz struggled in most stages, he was incredibly good at taking on stages with very difficult, powerful enemies, flattening most of these elite enemies and bosses in an instant and trivializing the stages meant to be challenging. If you look up Ebenholz online you're mostly going to find people reacting to his initial appearance and calling him bad, but you're not going to see how he's carved out an extremely valuable strategic niche for himself. You never know who's going to end up useful, so don't be afraid to play around with your favorite units.

[ariesqueencobra]

what we used to be | Vl

Pairing: Eli Moskowitz x Fem!Reader

Summary: You're going on a first date! Queue training montage, you make Eli a get well soon card, and you're at the movies!

Warnings: kissing, dangerous activties, mentions of rabies, shots, and hospitals, injury

Word Count: 1.7k

A/N: I'm gonna hop on here and post this real quick. It's a cute chapter and I like it! I already know what direction I want this series to go, but the storyline I have in my head might change if this would be considered an insert fic. I'll probably ask for opinions in the future cause I really don't want it to not be an insert fic so be on the look out for that! I also want to stress the importance of reblogging fics, on mobile you can hold down the two arrows button and quick reblog this post so that other people can see my work! Just liking this story won't do anything to help me as a writer, if you really enjoyed reading it, just do the simple thing and reblog! It would also be appreciated if you commented! Doing those things tell me people want to read this story and want more, which will encourage me to keep writing!

Thank you to those who already reblog and comment, I see you and I love you all for it!

I don't consent to this work being copied, translated or reposted.

“Eli, where are we going?” You chuckled, holding onto his hand as he led you through the forest.

The leaves crunched under your feet and the breeze made you shiver so you were grateful you listened to him when he told you to bring a sweater for your first date. Though, you still weren’t sure where that would be or what it was. 

You hoped it was romantic, this being your first-ever date after all, but when you almost slipped on some mud, you weren’t too sure about it anymore.

“Trust me, you’re gonna love it,” he grinned, holding you tighter and closer. 

You smiled, watching him as he kept his eyes ahead until you turned to see what he was staring at, that’s when you noticed as well. The gasp you let out as you made it onto a dock, the beautiful lake expanding outward, and the trees with orange and yellow leaves made such a breathtaking view.

“You like it?” He asked.

“It��s beautiful,” you shook your head in disbelief, sitting on the edge and letting your feet dangle over the water. “We used to come here all the time, I forgot how amazing the view was.”

“I figured it’d be the perfect spot for our first date,” he smiled, sitting down next to you. “Like old times, but now we can make new memories.”

“So we’re having a picnic?” You beamed, realizing the plastic bag in his hand did hold some purpose.

He handed you the bag and you set it in your lap, rifling through the numerous snacks you loved.

“All your favorites. And your art supplies, I knew you would love to recreate that painting you have in your room,” he suggested.

The scenery was a notable piece in your room, a small collection you had of various locations in the Valley. It was the first collection you ever painted so it was sweet that Eli knew you’d appreciate an opportunity to update a piece.

“Did I ever tell you you’re the best boyfriend ever?” You reached over to kiss his cheek. You were about to reach for your art supplies in your bag when he stopped you, moving your head to kiss you on the lips. It was a long, heartfelt kiss, making you giddy. “Eli,” you giggled pulling away, unable to help your laughter.

“You know you can call me Hawk, right?” He pinched your chin lightly. 

You nodded. “But you’re Eli to me,” you explained, gaze softening. 

“Yeah but Hawk’s way more badass,” he shrugged. 

“I think Eli is just as badass,” you smirked, leaning into his space. 

“I guess just you then,” he gave in. “You can call me whatever you want, babe,” he chuckled, pecking your lips one more time.

You both stayed on that dock for hours until your dad was calling for you to come home. The date was simple and small but it was the most memorable night you’ve had with Eli, your boyfriend.

~

You were standing in the middle of a junkyard, unsure what the purpose of your being here was. But you stood next to Eli and Aisha as you watched as Sensei opened a beer can, chugging it before he wiped his mouth, glancing down at all of you. 

“You’ve trained hard. You’ve gotten stronger, tougher, faster. You’ve done your best. You’re ready for this tournament, am I right?”

“Yes, Sensei!” You shouted.

“Wrong!” He slammed the beer on the ground at your feet.

You flinched when the beverage splashed onto you.

“Your best ain’t shit, if you wanna win the tournament, you gotta give me better than your best, which is why from now on, you’re gonna get my worst. Do you understand?” He shouted.

“Yes, Sensei!”

You felt empowered at his pep talk, ready for whatever he was going to throw at you. While part of your mind was sounding alarms that this was dangerous, you ignored it.

“Are you losers?” 

“No, Sensei!”

“Are you nerds?”

“No, Sensei!”

“Are you sure?”

“No, Sensei!”

You caught your mistake, biting down on your lip to suppress your laugh. And you saw the way Sensei groaned in response before he commanded the group.

“Move those feet! Go!”

He pointed to where there were a bunch of tires lined up. 

Miguel led the way, moving his feet through the holes. Eli was next and you followed behind Eli, weaving your feet through the tires as fast as you could.

“Your enemies are all around you. Destroy them!” Sensei barked.

You began wreaking havoc, smashing the end of the wood plank into the car doors, it was fun and funneling so much anger and hate out of you.

After the short-lived destruction, you were led to a container filled with scrap metal and glass, something that uneased you. The feeling of fear bubbled in your stomach but you swallowed it, knowing fear did not exist.

Miguel made it without a scratch. Then it was Eli’s turn to walk the plank and your breath hitched when his foot slipped. Thankfully he made it and you were able to say you still had a boyfriend. When it was your turn, your legs shook, arms held at either side of you. You crossed, a smile on your face and your boyfriend waiting on the other side with a victory kiss.

Going back to the tires, you were already out of breath, the exhaustion coursing through you and it showed with the rest of the team when Aisha tripped, causing Miguel to fall, then you, then Eli—all on top of each other.

Groaning in pain, Eli’s elbow dug into your back and you tried to get off Miguel without hurting him as well. 

“Sorry,” you winced, pushing off your friend’s back once Eli was off you. “You alright?”

“Yeah, Aisha, you good?” Miguel asked to which she nodded, face contorted in pain.

Sensei ordered you all to stand in the middle of the scrap yard, something in his hand.

“If you wanna win, you gotta be hungry. Are you guys hungry?” He handed each of you a piece of jerky.

You grimaced at the smell, wondering if you had to eat it. 

“Yes, Sensei!”

“Good, 'cause so are they,” he smirked before blowing a whistle, barks following through.

Your eyes widened and you immediately bolted, jumping onto a car and finding the highest place. Your heart raced as you searched for your friends but as you scanned over the yard, all you could find was a terrified Eli as he attempted to escape a starving dog. 

~

“Are you sure you’ll be okay?” You asked, hand tracing over the bandages. 

It was hours later now and you came over to see your boyfriend after he had to go to the hospital for a rabies shot. You wished you could go, but it was agreed among both your parents that you’d visit him after.

“Yeah, I got pain meds for the bite, the shot didn’t even hurt,” he smirked, lying in his bed. 

“I was scared to death,” you blew out a breath. “I’m so glad you’re okay,” you couldn’t help it and threw your arms around him.

He hugged you back, squeezing you tight as you held on. “I’ll live, nothing to worry about, babe,” he reassured.

“I know,” you pulled away, face down. “I spoke to my parents when you were in the hospital, this whole incident made them less happy about me being in Cobra Kai,” you admitted.

“My parents agree,” he sighed, glancing out into the hall where his mom and dad were downstairs. “But they don’t know how much better it’s made us,” he grabbed your hand, squeezing it. 

“I know,” you squeezed back. “I’m really glad you’re okay.”

“Me too,” he met your gaze, smiling. 

“I made you this, by the way,” you reached behind you and grabbed the card you made him.

It read: “Damn, got bit by a dog? That’s ruff, hope you get better soon!” with a drawing of a dog with a mohawk.

“That’s amazing,” he laughed. “Thanks, you’re the best,” he reached over to kiss you on the cheek.

Warmth radiated before you spoke. “I’ll see you tomorrow then, goodnight,” you hugged him again, pulling away and giving him a generous peck on the lips. 

He watched as you left his room, hearing you go down the stairs, say bye to his parents, and shut the door.

~

Your gaze was on the movie but Eli’s constant flicking of candy at other moviegoers was distracting. On top of Aisha asking what was wrong with Miguel. Their conversation was anything but whispering. You began droning in on their conversation, Miguel saying why Sam’s dad would hate him and whatnot. 

You were eating some popcorn, taking a sip of your drink, and trying to watch the movie but the side conversation and Eli’s distracting movements were well, distracting.

“Jesus Christ, you’re such a nerd,” he insulted Miguel, stepping into the conversation.

You furrowed your brows, reaching for his hand, sending him a look he brushed off. You rolled your eyes, leaning to the side to rest your head on his shoulder. You smiled when you noticed he paused, staring at you with awe.

Aisha went on to comfort Miguel and you were enjoying the movie again but Eli still managed to throw the candy, pissing you off. 

You straightened, leaning on the other side of your seat, and rested your head on your arm, staring bored at the screen. 

“Dude, just go over there. It’s an alpha move,” your boyfriend responded to what Miguel was talking about. With another flick of his wrist, a candy hit the back of someone’s head, instantly, a built dude stood up asking who did that, you had to hide your smile at the look on Eli’s face.

After the movie finished, you and Aisha departed from the boys, deciding to go shopping.

“You seemed pretty pissed at Hawk, something going on?” She asked when you entered a store. 

“He was being annoying, like why throw candy? It’s wasteful, just watch the movie!” You scolded, rolling your eyes. “I love the dude, but, ugh, sometimes he’s just,” you huffed, unable to find the words.

“A boy?” She finished for you.

“Exactly,” you shook your head, a smile coming on your face.

“This is one of those moments where the saying “boys will be boys” is actually justified,” she raised a brow. 

“You get me,” you sighed. “I’m so glad I have a girl friend,” you wrapped your arm around her, walking further into the store.

“Tell me about it,” she agreed.

[c00kietin]

Oopsies I almost forgot about this I drew today-

Stacy!! She has appeared on this blog before (and @kraang5 drew her hee hee) but I honestly kinda wanna talk about her more- sooo here ya go! :D

STACY

16y.o.

She/they/most other pronouns, pretty much anything but he/him-I generally will refer to Stacy with she/her the most :D

If (or perhaps WHEN dun dun dunnn) I ever have an "ask my ocs" blog, Stacy will be in charge of it. As in, like, talking and having control of it and all.

Stacy is a human(??) who has been trapped in the chaotic world that is the internet since she was around 12.

Her body is strange in the way that it is made up of pixels, yet can touch physical objects no problem.

She is able to come in and out of technology, for instance she could jump out of your phone and climb back in again if she wanted to.

But she won't do that. She just wants to be your friend! :D

she just wants to have friends-

Stacy can surf the internet and pretty much find anything in a matter of seconds, whether that's an article, a video, or your online shopping list.

She can see and have access to pretty much anything.

However, she doesn't use this ability much and just spends her time watching videos and reading fanfiction.

Imagine the fandoms you're in? She likes them too.

Even those little niche ones you don't think anyone knows about. She does.

She has all the time in the world! She has spent countless hours simply discovering new media to consume just so she can interact with more people and cure her boredom.

She sometimes disguises herself as fictional characters just so she can talk to others, but these can be faulty and don't work in the real world.

Speaking of, she's a lot weaker out of technology. She always needs a good source of mobile data or wifi connection, otherwise all her actions will be significantly slower, and she can't go anywhere near water.

BONUS INFO:

she is another old oc of mine, and nothing much has changed since I first made her :]

Stacy is self aware that I exist, as well as everyone here. She's looking forward to saying hello! :D Once I draw her more often-

But, uh, yeah- she's probably more aware of the fourth wall than any of my other ocs are so that's why I talk about her like this if that makes sense-

thank you for reading this far (if u did)!! I might post more info about her someday since she has quite a bit more but ya know-

[weebstranglerkiwi]

DELTARUNE: The Chess Theory v2.0

A popular theory in DELTARUNE is the "Chess Theory", the concept being that the main Dark World villains chapters 1-6 are based off of chess pieces and how they work, from highest to lowest value:

1. The Chess Theory

Infinite Value - King (Chapter 1) - Sits isolated in his castle and only attacks when provoked, has very slow movement.

9 Pawns Value - Queen (Chapter 2) - Is very mobile and goes wherever she wants. Combines the movement of a rook and a bishop, but can't imitate a Knight piece.

These are the confirmed villains, now we move on to theory territory:

3. 5 Pawns Value - Rook (Chapter 3) - Usually appears halfway through. Needs a pawn to move so it can move.

4. 3.5 Pawns Value - Bishop (Chapter 4) - Very mobile and versatile. Usually gets moved right at the start.

5. 3 Pawns Value - Knight (Chapter 5) - Very mobile and can straight-up ignore and jump over other pieces.

6. 1 Pawns Value - Pawn (Chapter 6) - Follows commands, presumably the Vessel(?)

This is the general outline of the chess theory. From here, I will expand on what it started.

First of all, something that absolutely nobody brings up, and it ticks me a lot, is that in chess, there is 1 King and Queen. But there are 2 Rooks, Bishops and Knights. I believe that Chapters 3-5 (which are releasing alongside each other) will have 2 main villains, 2 Rooks, Bishops and most importantly... Knights.

2. The Rooks

Let's start with Chapter 3. I believe that Tenna will be the main villain alongside either Mike, or someone new. A Rookie is a new recruit, an apprentice if you will. Also, "to rook" means to defraud or swindle someone. Therefore, I believe that Tenna will be a former apprentice of Mike, that has defrauded them and took their place as the star of the TV Dark World, a sort of darker version of "the apprentice bests the master". Alongside Tenna, I believe there will be another main villain, another one of Mike's Rookies, possibly a sort of "movie director/writer" character, working behind the scenes while Tenna is the public star. Mike will most probably be hiding somewhere, I believe he will be an ally to the Delta Warriors, and will help to defeat the two Rooks that defrauded him.

3. The Bishops

Continuing, Chapter 4 (which I suspect to be located in the Church) will have 2 Bishops. Now, Chapter 4 is the biggest shot in the dark here, the only information we have on it are the Light World and Castle Town sections from the Status Update. However, we KNOW that it won't be a purely Light World Chapter, because in the most recent newsletter, Toby Fox stated that Chapter 4 will be a much more normal experience gameplay-wise than Chapter 3. We have no idea what 2 Bishops could entail, possibly one being a genuine, righteous, religious Bishop that wants to stop us due to their beliefs, while the other is a lying, evil preacher. Who knows?

4. The Knights - Pawn Promotion

The most interesting part of this theory is the idea of two Knights. I will refer to these 2 Knights as the Roaring Knight, and the New Knight. What is another important thing in chess? Pawn Promotion. In the Snowgrave/Weird Route, Spamton is a pawn that gets promoted to become the Queen, taking over her mansion. I believe, that the same thing will happen in Chapter 5, the main villain will be the Roaring Knight, however, at the very end of the chapter, a New Knight will rise up, Kris Dreemurr.

Chapter 5 will conclude with Kris escaping our (the Player's) grasp, no longer being our Pawn, they will become powerful enough to be the Knight. Chapter 5 will end with us being separated from Kris, and Chapter 6 will begin with us reconnecting with the Vessel.

If you want to learn more about HOW Kris will get stronger and become the Knight, go read my Knight Theory, it should be up now!

5. The Pawn, our Vessel

With Kris breaking free, we are able to finally control our Vessel, taken away from us by an unknown interloper. This theory can branch in two ways: 1. The main villain of this chapter will be either another of many Pawns, maybe December Holiday, trapped wherever the Vessel is situated, a Bunker Dark World I presume. 2. Alternatively, WE could be the main villain of Chapter 6, the 6th Chess Piece, I lean into this more.

Both branches entail that Chapter 7 will reconnect or even reconcile us with Kris!

6. Behavior of the Villains

Both King and Queen behave very similar to their respective chess piece's movement. What would the future villains' behavior be?

The Rooks are most probably going to be preceded by a Lightner, a Pawn that is influenced/controlled by them, most probably Toriel. Rooks only start playing a major role halfway through the chess match, but are the most important pieces when it comes to the end of the match, the Checkmate. They will pack a punch I bet.

The Bishops will appear as soon as the Dark World adventure begins, and will play a vital role throughout the entirety of the Chapter, however they will probably appear less than Queen, and in more serious, noteworthy situations as well.

The Roaring Knight would most probably be very erratic, appearing at unexpected moments, ignoring what blocks their path through force of will. I believe that the Delta Warriors will confront the Knight by cornering them, much like a Knight in chess must be cornered to stop jumping around.

The Pawn will mindlessly follow orders.

5. End

This is it! Sorry if I messed something up, this is my first post on Tumblr! I'm not sure how things work around here, but if you have anything to add to the table or your own interpretation to discuss, feel free to leave a note! Alright that's it. You can scram now.

[syn4k]

oh ok this is going to be an entire essay. Oh fuck. Okay yall buckle up i have a lot of thoughts on this topic let's go

Inventory Headcanons in the MCYT Universe, specifically relating to Fanworks and Common Interperetations of the Minecraft Inventory in art and writing

+ my personal ideas for how it works because yippee autism

Part 1: How the Minecraft Inventory Works Inside the Game

Okay, starting off simple here. If you are reading this, then you probably know how the Minecraft inventory system works. I do not care. I am covering all of the bases here.

This is a screenshot of the Minecraft inventory! (I am aware that it was taken before the update that added the offhand slot, but bear with me here.)

All of the slots that are shown here except for the armor slots can hold any 64 items or blocks, with exceptions for containers of liquids, tools, armor, and weapons (nonstackable). Exceptions are also made for snowballs, eyes of ender, ender pearls, and buckets, which stack up to 16. The crafting grid can contain any 64 items as well, but these don't stay in place after you exit the inventory screen.

All of these slots are carried physically on the player itself, which has caused a LOT of discussion amongst the Minecraft community on how the fuck this 6-foot-tall square man is able to hold uhhhh [checks notes] 4 billion pounds of gold. Damn.

The answer, naturally, is that this is a very simplistic video game not meant to be realistic at all (it's cubes, goddamnit) and Steve can just do that. Moving on.

For the purposes of this essay, we are going to be completely ignoring the physical feats of this inventory and focus specifically on the mechanics of it.

1a: The Boring Stuff (Mechanics of How it Actually Works)

The inventory can be accessed by pressing a button on your keyboard, Switch joycon, phone, Samsung Smart Fridge, VR controller, or whatever the fuck you guys are playing Minecraft on these days. Here's a list of the default settings used to open the Minecraft inventory.

PC or anything with a keyboard: E

Xbox 360, Xbox One controller: Y

PlayStation 3, 4, and Vita controllers: The green triangle

Nintendo Switch and Wii U (wait WHAT): X

Mobile Devices: The … on the right hand side of the hotbar

Items go into the hotbar first when picked up and into the top-right corner of the inventory first if the inventory is empty and the hotbar is full.

You can close the inventory by pressing more buttons on the keyboard which I won't include here. Just look it up.

1b: Shulker Boxes and +NBT Chests

The shulker box is a placeable item in game that is obtained by visiting the End. It has 27 item slots, which is 9 less than the full player inventory, and unlike chests and barrels it does not drop all of its contents onto the floor upon being broken. You cannot access the contents of shulker boxes while they are inside of your inventory.

If you placed 27 stacks of gold blocks into 36 shulker boxes and placed all of those inside of your inventory, that would be a fuck ton of gold in there. This is a well-known fact.

Also in Creative mode you can middle-click a filled chest and get the entire chest plus its contents right in your inventory which will be there which I wanted to mention. Oh right. Creative mode. I should pr

1c: The Creative Mode Inventory

You can access the entirety of the game's materials in Creative mode except for a select few of them, which players have naturally figured out how to get anyways.

1d: INFORGOT TO MENTION THIS BUT YOU CAN MAKE ACTUAL MODIFICATIONS TO THE IN-GAME INVENTORY.

With resource and data packs, you can change the color and opacity of your inventory. You can also hover over shulker boxes to view their contents without having to actually place them on the ground and open them.

Modifications to the game (colloquially shortened to "mods") can also increase the inventory size. I will not be focusing on these because the possibilities are literally endless here and I am tired.

Part 2: A Slightly Unhinged Analysis on Fanworks and Fanart on General that I have Pulled Straight Out my Ass.

Okay. So we have an inventory. How the hell does this translate to fanart, fanfiction, etc?

For the answer to this, we are going to have to take a look at how people actually take the universe of Minecraft and translate it to a semi-realistic or realistic style. You thought it was going to be a straightforward post about interperetations of inventory in Minecraft but it was me, Dio! I should really turn this post into a video essay.

2a: Canon Compliance, Canon Complicity, and This Is Only Technically Minecraft but I Have To Add It Here Anyways for the Sake Of My Autism

Generally in fanworks, there is a scale on how strict the work keeps to the actual canon interperetation of the universe. This also applies to the stories being told within the universe but don't worry about it I'm not poking that lion today.

The points I have labeled on the scale (really oversimplified) are:

Type 1 (Hold very strict to the game mechanics and how the inventory works within the game.)

Type 2 (Still within the universe of Minecraft, or in a setting that at least resembles Minecraft, but with some creative liberties taken with how game mechanics and inventories work- sometimes completely ignoring them for the sake of whatever the creator chooses.)

Type 3 (Not even in Minecraft at all. I'm only including this here for the amount of characters from roleplays that are placed in other video game settings or just fuckin' into real life.)

I think those explain themselves and if they don't then I have failed as a writer.

Part 3: The Part People Actually Clicked On The Readmore For (Types of Inventory Descriptions and Depictions in Fanworks)

3a: Text-Based Works (Fanfiction and Meta-Posting)

Generally in Minecraft-based or Minecraft-adjacent settings (type 1 and 2 works), authors either do not mention the inventory at all, bring it up in passing but do not explain how it works, forego the inventory entirely in favor of real-world storage solutions like pockets, bags, and boxes (almost entirely restricted to Type 2 works), or come up with creative in-universe ways to explain the inventory, some of which use the Minecraft enchantment system.

Authors who do not mention the inventory or mention it but don't explain how it works in the universe can't really be expanded on due to its meaning meant to be interpreted by the reader.

Of the authors who do elaborate on their inventory systems, there are a couple ways I have seen this done:

Real-world solutions (pockets, bags, etc), sometimes used in conjunction with fantasy solutions.

Edited real-world solutions, such as infinite pockets or small bags always on the player's person.

Sigils, magical objects, enchantments, and things of that sort that allow the player to access their inventory via gestures or tactile movements. This also includes the use of holographic displays and in-game commands.

Straight-up summoning or storing the relevant items at will.

This gets an honorable mention because it's fucking hilarious but there was this one tumblr post like "the player says e and teleports into a pure white room"

I KNOW there's more out there but these are the examples I've seen around Tumblr and ao3.

3b: Visuals-Based Works (Fanart, including comics, animatics, and posters)

Most visual interperetations of the Minecraft inventory are type 1 or just use the "real-world solutions" option. You don't see a lot of these in the wild in my experience, but from the things I've seen, some popular visualizations of the Minecraft inventory include:

Holograms and command screens, often used in conjunction with the in-game chat as a multitool

Straight-up summoning at will

Backpacks! People draw them to look SO COOL on a character-by character basis.

all of these designs fucking slap so hard by the way i dont make the rules. mcyt artists are out here doing the work of renaissance painters for zero dollars and next to zero credit

3c: Other Forms of Media (Live-Action Adaptions and Plays, I Guess?)

I have ZERO idea how someone would translate the Minecraft inventory to a real-life setting but I assume the result would be a Type 3 real-world solution, due to real life not having magic and also not being in the Minecraft universe.

If anyone ever figures out how to carry 162 million pounds of gold on their person without instantly eating shit and dying, firstly I respect and fear you secondly hit me up my back fucking sucks and I have too many books in my backpack at any given time.

3d: Customization Within Universes and Cross-World Universal Items

Many artists in the MCYT fandom, whether their wheelhouse be writing or visual art, have been in several subsections of the fandom or are actively in several at once. Due to the overlap in creator circles and the fact that Minecraft is over ten years old at this point, this is quite normal and the same creator behind a character may be on several different servers or have several different characters currently being played at the same time.

Due to this, many artists and writers have developed different designs for several iterations of the same character, for lack of a better way to explain it. This can be expressed in clothing changes, nonhuman characteristics, and, a common one that popped up alongside the rise of the DSMP, universal communicators.

Communicators are not in the game as a physical object. Rather, they are an entire fan-made concept that allows the characters to chat universally across a server they're in, no matter how far away. (Hermitcraft is an interesting case here. I'm looking at you, Solar. I saw that radio range comment in DATD.)

Since inventories do not share their contents across multiple worlds, the same is also true for most fanworks including them. Nevertheless, there are some exclusions and more permanent items on some characters, varying between artist and character. Some of these include:

Emotionally significant items (i.e ones that remind them of friends, family, lovers, etc)

Little trinkets hung from belts or keychains

Items that aren't really affixed to the character but are either shown in the character's Minecraft skin or are prominent in fanon (i.e, Slimecicle's glasses, Xisuma's helmet having admin-y properties, Pixlriffs' Empires SMP Season 2's character having glasses and sometimes a knee brace)

These items and how they may apply across some servers but not all could be an entire post of their own. Fanon is huge and I'd love to document that but that is Not the point of this essay. Maybe later.

On the subject of different designs for different characters, I'd like to bring up:

Sort of relevant to section 3d: different inventories depending on characters

Basically, some characters could have bags. Some have holograms. Some have magical tattoos or sigils that let them access it. Some defy all known laws of God or man and do some crazy shit with their inventories just because they can. It all depends on the artist or author's preferences, baby!

This often is related to headcanons and character designs. It can also vary for server, universe, etc.

Which NOW brings me to,

Section 4: Thoughts? You have thoughts on this? Share your thoughts maybe?

yeah i have no consistent anything for anything. really it just depends on the setting and what i'm in the mood for.

for example, in our Type Two fics like Ashes AU and Twice, generally the characters use real-world solutions with modifications (enchanted bags, etc). But for quicker oneshots and crackfics, we tend to elaborate on inventory space and let the game mechanics do all the work.

The Summary:

Fandom is huge and theres so much layers to this shit its legitimately unreal. I could write an entire thesis paper on the MCYTblr side of things alone and I might just do that when I hit college, if I ever do. For now, though, I'm just gonna sit here wondering why the fuck I dedicated an entire section to how the minecraft inventory works like what the fuck dude. why did i do that.

thanks for reading. i write words. follow perhaps if you would like to see more?

[a-dragons-journal]

hi im politely asking for you to take down your response to my post, i do not want the kind of attention i am receiving. thank you

*sigh* I was going to draft a response to your first response to my reblog yesterday, but it's been a weird and stressful couple of days for me and I didn't want to accidentally snap at you because I didn't have the brain space to give the conversation the respect and attention it deserves, so I delayed it to today, and it appears that may have come off as me being rude and ignoring you. For that I apologize; that was not my intent.

I'm sorry that a couple of people have been rude to you in the tags on that post. I also apologize if my response came off as harsh or hostile in any way; as I noted in that initial reblog, I've been seeing a lot of people saying with their whole chest that alterhuman just means nonhuman, and the frequency is getting frustrating, but that's not your fault and the frustration might have unfairly spilled over into my tone. It seems from some of your more recent reblogs like it might've just been a misphrase, but it's hard to tell, so I didn't want to assume it was - and in any case, the explanation and example list was for anon as much as it was for you. I wasn't trying to attack or "rag on" you at all, and I don't think most of the people leaving tags agreeing with me were either, though obviously I can't speak for them. I was just trying to prevent misinformation from spreading - because even if you didn't mean "alterhuman = nonhuman," if that's how it read to me, it's probably how it read to an anon who has no way of knowing better, and that's how people come away actually thinking that's what the word means.

With that being said, I'm going to politely decline to delete my reblog of that post. I won't answer in further reblogs (unless you address me directly, of course) and thus won't bump it any further up my blog, but the existing reblog has already been up for two days and reblogged by multiple people; anyone who was going to see it on their dashboard from my blog has probably already seen it, so deleting it won't actually accomplish decreasing the people responding in your notes. All it will do is get rid of the clarification of potential misunderstanding, which I honestly don't really want to do when it won't do any good. If the post keeps causing you problems, turning off reblogs would probably do more to get rid of that problem than my deleting my response would; you should be able to do that in the edit interface on any post, at least on desktop (I'm never sure how mobile works exactly lol). (And that's a reversible change where deletions are not, to boot.)

[uroboros-if]

hello, if its okay with you, could you explain how you achieved the following in twine: when you select an eye color, having the text change according to your choice. It seems simple but I can't seem to figure out. Any help would be appreciated!

You probably mean you want to do it in the same passage. I would be ecstatic to help!! I'll be putting it into a read-more because of pictures!

Also note, this tutorial assumes you're using SugarCube. I have very little knowledge of other Twine languages.

First of all, credit to HiEv because I got the base code from them! I just can't find what thread I found it in.

Code?

First—I've uploaded the EXACT passage for eye colors from the IF (even the writing is included...) to itch.io. I've made it restricted to avoid it clogging up my list of projects + notifying all my followers. However, you can play + download it there!

Link / Password: edelle008

Feel free to copy the code exactly, but in this post, I'll be explaining every single thing if you're still confused looking at the code.

Your Passage

Make a passage for where you want the radio buttons to appear. On that passage, have this code:

Red - Make sure to have a ((silently)) macro to not create unnecessary white space. I recommend to end ((silently)) immediately before your writing.

Orange - copy the code exactly (again, I highly recommend downloading the code off itch.io if you just want to copy and paste it!)

Yellow (no yellow on mobile editor...) - This is jQuery. It detects for any "changes" in a ((radiobutton)) macro in that passage. Make sure you don't have multiple radiobutton macros in the same passage.

Green - Replace #summary with the ID you're going to enclose your radio buttons in. If you don't know what I mean, this'll make more sense later.

Blue - When jQuery detects a change in the radio buttons in the passage, it's going to execute this widget called ((eye_color)), which I made solely to check and display different text for eye_color depending on what radio button is selected. Again, if this doesn't make sense, it will later.

So this where the actual radio buttons come. Please disregard the black strikethroughs, that's the code I used to organize the radio buttons into side by side columns.

I'm not covering how you do that here because the way I do it is incredibly scuffed, and only supports three radio buttons side by side. It also only looks good if the number of choices are the same on both sides. I don't want to teach you whatever won't work flexibly.

Above the red line, make a div and assign it an ID. I called my ID #summary, which is why in the previous screenshot, I made it so that the code updates whatever is inside a (span) or (div) with an ID of #summary. Hence, please change #summary into whatever you'd like!

Now you can also style any text within the (div) to anything you want in your Stylesheet.

Inside the div, I put the widget ((eye_color)). You can change this into any text you want to display initially, and it will be updated/written over once someone selects a radio button. The reason I let this stay as ((eye_color)) is so that it first shows the text for the first option, brown eye color (I do this by initializing $eye_color to "brown" in StoryInit, or else it might not show anything when you first look at it.)

Red - Below the red line, please add your radio buttons as normal. Again, disregard the black strikethroughs.

Widget

The reason I made a widget is so that it automatically checks and updates the text depending on the $eye_color variable, or any variable your radiobutton is changing. A widget is essentially a custom macro you make.

Make a separate passage (I called mine "eye_color" for consistency), tag it with "widget". You may copy the code below exactly as base (available for download on itch.io):

Here I made a widget called eye_color. You will enclose all the code inside this passage within the ((widget)) macro.

Yellow - I would use ((nobr)) macro from the beginning of the widget to the end to avoid unnecessary whitespace. This will put everything in one line unless you use (br) to force a line break.

Orange - I made a div for the entire text. The style="(code for transition)" is how there's going to be that transition between texts so it doesn't change it immediately, but gives it that slight fade in effect as it changes. Feel free to change the transition if you know how to. I assign it an ID of #text1 because I'm uncreative, but remember what ID you assign it.

Also, maybe you could test using (span) instead of (div). I don't know why I didn't, and haven't tried it.

Pink - In between the pink dashes, you will write your if statements. This is straightforward -- write an if statement for all the eye colors you want. The (div) for Orange ends when you use your closing ((if)).

Brown - The Orange makes the text have 0 opacity. What this does is make it have 1 opacity. In English, this means the text is originally invisible and this turns it visible.

Purple - Enclose Brown in a ((timed 0s))((/timed)). Usually, Orange and Brown are executed almost simultaneously; that leaves your text invisible. What Purple does is make Orange execute before Brown, so that Brown is able to make the text visible.

Test it

I hope it works for you! Let me know if you still have any questions.

[goldensunset]

ok ok khml beta spoilers (part one of whatever this is going to be idk i'm just gonna ramble about my thoughts and observations)

waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhh wah awa wahhhhhh i want this game now i won't lie to you this looks really cool i can't believe it's real. or a mobile game for that matter. imagine this as a full console game. imagine khux and khdr as this. insane

remus... nice!!! can we like. see him in full lighting though so i could get a good sense of his color scheme. ok i like this guy already i like his casual/rude vibes and the way he talks

i hope he has a brother named romulus and i hope romulus kills him it needs to happen sorry. idc whether it's shock value or something very narratively heavy i need fratricide in this game idc

so they're doing the good old 'every other character in the cutscene is gonna be voiced except the protagonist whose dialogue just shows up silently but their mouth still moves' thing huh. can't wait to see how this plays out. looks like player is still gonna have limited dialogue overall so that works. but like man i kinda wish they'd just give player a canon voice or two or three. imagine that being something you could choose

i'm gonna read too deeply into player's amnesia including their name but not including their fighting ability. like they could've had you type in a name during the character creation screen and had player respond to the question later but nope we specifically establish that they don't remember and have to make one up on the spot. you know what they do remember though? combat. weapons. carrying out their missions as a keyblade wielder, all they were ever meant to do. gonna be normal about this for sure

the scala world card... DUDE...

so after multiple joke posts we finally have a real freya... i don't know why i'm surprised. dunno if i vibe with her full outfit yet (i think the red jacket uniform is kinda overbearing and might get old fast if both she and remus and probably at least 20 other characters will have it but in a cleaner or more stylized render i'd love it probably) but like dude the cat ear accessories... were those there last time? did i not notice them last time? those are perfect

literally ALL of this music is so cheerful... the dearly beloved is super upbeat, the new field theme for scala and the astral plane and combat and the tutorial menus etc etc... it's so strange. i KNOW they're hiding the absolute tragedy from us. goth aesthetic combined with whimsical peaceful tunes. what's happening here

the. the pit... that's their portal?? when you wanna go to the astral plane you jump in The Machinery Hell Pit? absolutely not you would never convince me to do that

so begins the gacha/microtransaction hell. i sure hope it's easy enough to get whatever ingame currency there is through other means

i'm actually loving the amount of customization options dude that's so cool

[stormblessed95]

How to search some specific genre fics on ao3 ? Like do we put the genre on Google or should put that on ao3 and we'll get? I mean idk exactly what are the things we should use to describe or find specific genre fics on ao3, idk how it works sorry, so if you can just tell me how to search that wil be helpful..

I'm okay with doing a quick little AO3 tags lesson! I'm on mobile for now though, so that's what you are getting.

So idk if there are better ways, but I normally start with the fandom (unless you are searching more specifically off the bat, but I like browsing and seeing what catches my eye.) So for this example, let's say the MDZS fandom is what we are searching in as that's the fandom sandbox that has been the subject of my hyper fixation for a while now! So either find while already in AO3 or just type "x fandom AO3" into Google too, that would work just fine lol. Than once in the fandom tag, click "filters"

Once in filters, you'll see a bunch of options, the ones you probably want to use first for "genre" type stuff is the relationships, other tags and sort by. Those are the ones I use most anyway

Under relationships click the pairing you want to read about (if you are searching under BTS, you'd click "Jeon Jungkook/Park Jimin" if you want Jikook fics) and then you could also type in under other tags which type of story you are looking for. And then I always sort by kudos to get the highest rated fics at the top....

So let's do wangxian as my pairing....

Then I can figure out what type of vibe of story I might want.... Like if I wanted an AU, it would give suggestions as I type too....

Or a fix it....

Or time travel....

Plus the additional tags gives some of the most popular tags in the fandom we are under currently that get used.... You can check off any of those....

You can also check the other filters to narrow things down further, like if you want completed fics only. The type of relationship (m/m, m/f, f/f, etc), the rating (explicit to general), you can also check off if you want to exclude anything. So if you really don't want to read about a certain tag or relationship, exclude it and any fics with that in it won't show up in your search.

So if I just said I want a Wangxian fic that's in a modern university setting... I can put that into the filters, sort by kudos.... And it'll just give me pages of fics I can scroll through till I find a description/summary that appeals to me lol

(and in case anyone was wondering, the first two fics are hilarious and adorable and I plan to read ride a socialist now lol)

If this was NOT helpful, tell me and I'll try to do better. Lmao or if you need help finding something specific let me know and I'll do my best!

Thanks for asking!

[sim-berry]

Welcome to my simblr!

I feel like I should've made this post a long time ago but hey, better late than never✌

My name is Coco. I'm 21 years old, a college student, and from New York, USA. I'm getting my degree in Early Childhood Education, specifically teaching students who are learning English as a second language. I speak English, intermediate Spanish/Español and beginner Korean/한국어. I practice these languages in my free time and try and play all my favorite video games in Spanish or Korean.

I started playing Sims at 11 years old when I downloaded the mobile app Sims FreePlay, but I didn't play my first main Sims game, TS4, until I was 14!

I play Sims 4, 3, and sometimes 2. I've been writing fiction stories since I was 6 and I've also always loved playing with dolls, so Sims is kind of like my virtual dollhouse where I can make any story I want for my characters. My writing and dialogue skills definitely need work, but lately I've been dabbling in storytelling when posting my gameplay. Keep in mind that I try and play more realistically, which means my posts may contain adult themes. Please read content warnings before viewing any of my gameplays.

This blog is for Sims 4 content only. I post my Sims 3 gameplays on @luckypalmz.

Also, many of my sims are LGBT, specifically wlw, as I also am. Homophobia is NOT tolerated here and I won't hesitate to block you if you're hateful.🏳‍🌈

In addition to the Sims I also love the games Smite, Omori, and the entire Legend of Zelda series. I love life simulator games and psychological horror games (I know, big difference between the two!). If I'm not gaming on my computer, you'll probably find me playing on my Nintendo Switch😂

I enjoy putting my sims up for download, so if you'd like to download them, head over to my Patreon. (ALWAYS free!)

Thanks for visiting my page and I hope you enjoy your stay!

[toomanyclans]

Welcome to Too Many Clans!

This is a fanclan project heavily inspired by the Better Bones AU. You can read more about that here! I heavily suggest you check it out! The writer adds some more fantasy into their rewrite of the Warriors series and it's fun, inclusive and creative. They put a huge amount of thought and consideration into their project and I promise you'll enjoy reading about it.

Some elements we will be borrowing:

The decision to give the cats fire for multiple reasons (to allow them to cook their food, which purges it of diseases, makes their caloric intake and general diet make more sense, and also it's just fun!)

Giving the cats the ability to make more elaborate crafts such as makeshift mobility devices, dyes, accessories, traps, weapons and so on.

Adding some new jobs to Clan roles (though some will be renamed and tinkered with)

The law of Queen's Rights, giving cats the right to refuse to speak on the origin of their kits (though this will be renamed to Kitter's Rights)

Having the several Clans trade with one another for products

Giving the cats a glyphic writing system (though I likely won't delve into this much, it just exists)

Probably more that I don't remember right now

"So is this just a story?"

Eh.. kind of?

I'm also taking some inspiration from ClanGen, however I have created my own system of random happenings that are decided by dice rolling at the start of every moon, because CHAOS! Will your favorite cat suddenly die? Will someone get murdered randomly? Will a Clan face a mass-extinction event? WHO KNOWS! BLOOD FOR THE BLOOD GOD!

Oh, this'll be fun.

Before we get started, I have some kinks to work out. Currently this blog is ⋆｡°✩BRAND SPANKIN' NEW⋆｡°✩ but here's some of the things I plan to post about before progressing!

The Clans and their environment and culture The new roles and their purpose, objectives and how they are seen The Allegiances The family tree The changes to StarClan, Gatherings and the code The map of their territories

FINALLY, if you'd like to follow me on my main blog where I mostly post about my World of Warcraft OCs, you can find me here!

Thank you for reading, and enjoy the ride! <3

[astratic]

Thinking about post manga canon (sad)

I basically think that like. Vash probably has at least a few decades with consistent medical care but once his hair turns completely black it's like a slow decline of his body starting to break down & his organs failing. He still doesn't age like a human would really but he definitely starts to read as older anyway when he like. Becomes less physically fit and starts to have mobility problems. I ultimately think he's really happy about 'aging' and content with the life he has left cuz he's tired of outliving everyone around him especially now that, for the first time really, he's let himself really become close to the people in his life. He does not want to leave Meryl alone but she has Milly so she won't be alone, actually, and anyway she's so tough. She will move on.

The decline of his body is probably a kind of relief for him because he is not dangerous anymore—he's finally able to stay out of trouble. Meryl probably still has flashbacks occasionally and it makes him sad but it's easier to deal with knowing she doesn't have anything to fear from him anymore...

I don't really know how him still being a wanted criminal ends up resolving in this context. I kinda think he must just be able to work it out with the terran folks, maybe with Chronica vouching for him, so he doesn't have to keep running forever. I really want him to get a break. I kind of imagine there is a real movement in Octovern to draw on plants sustainably and stop abusing them and he probably works with the engineers & Chronica to set this up... I have seen people complaining about the ambiguity of the ending in regard to how plants are treated and I get this like I also wish there was more of like. An intention to change indicated but I do like how open it is in not providing a clear solution. My personal onion is that the reduced population & the fused mass of plants in Octovern together make it so they are not drawn on in such excess and individual plants are strained less. There probably get passed some like, population limiting laws which is potentially its own issue but overall I would like to think that the situation is better. I also think that the fact that the Terrans know a lot about plants that was presumably lost to the people of no man's land provides an avenue for change... Maybe they convince earth to send more ships to either evacuate the planet or help terraform it also but I kind of think they would be reluctant to send anyone else out there after having the entire fleet get destroyed like that. Honestly thinking they might be inclined to nuke the whole planet to ensure that whatever's there doesn't make it back to earth just based on. How the first fleet acted but maybe they're able to talk them out of it, convince them the threat is neutralized

I think Vash and Chronica would have a weird kind of fraught relationship. I don't think she likes him much to be honest; she associates him too heavily with Knives and what he did to Domina but she also. Sifted through the memories of all the fused plants and Saw how he befriended every last one of them, how he was the key to saving the planet in the end... His compassion and idealism remind her of Domina more than she wants to admit, so she goes to bat for him. Probably a lot. I think he still manages to get himself in, like, diplomatic trouble working with the Terrans, so she has to do a lot of mediating.

I think it takes Vash and Meryl a while to actually like. Acknowledge their feelings for each other. Maybe she has to realize he's slowly dying, even, before she acts on it. I think it's definitely Meryl first. Vash would never presume that he deserves anything good, let alone anything that implicates another person in the tragedy of his life. I think they settle down, though, together. Once they work it out.