#i know this episode was so long ago but i just finished a bunch of uni work so im treating myself to photoshop lol

[laureala]

GREY’S ANATOMY — 19.03

amelia she’s giving me that half smile, she knows something about me i do not know. and behind her, you can see the sun reaching its long fingers into a chokehold

[jirsungs]

ep 13: my wonderwall, at least i hope so

word count: 1.5k words

It's already been two months and three weeks since you and Jisung started hanging out. That's also how long the overthinking thoughts of whether you really want to pursue this relationship or not have been torturing you as they're kept in a locked folder in the back of your mind. 

You knew you and Jisung had to have the talk at some point, but every time you tried, the timing was always a bit… off.

The first time you tried was two weeks ago, at another Rockway gig. It was getting on your nerves that a bunch of screaming girls came to that particular performance of theirs, especially when some of them were eyeing Jisung and losing their minds every time he looked over in their direction to play his typical drummer role of pleasing the audience correctly. Even though he caught their attention the whole night, you caught his, which is how you succeeded in pulling him aside after Rockway finished their performance.

“Jisung, can I talk to you for a moment?”

It wasn't the right time or place, sure, but you had to get this off your chest because your heart felt like it was on a ticking time bomb.

Jisung joins you in the corner after he frees himself away from the girls around him once Chenle gets his signal that he’s desperate for a way out. “What’s up? Are you feeling okay?”

“Yeah, I'm fine. I just need to talk to you. I know this isn't a good time right now but I seriously need to say this.”

He only raises his brow, “Okay.” He's anxious, but he doesn't have time to dwell on how he's feeling when he's worried about you. The way you’re visibly stressing out has him putting the pieces together on why you called him over, but as Chenle and Jeno said, he was going to wait for your lead.

“I like—” 

You. I like you. That's what you were supposed to say, and so much more. Until some dumb overly excited girls came over and interrupted your private conversation. 

The squeals of “Jisung, you did soooo well tonight!”, “You were so hot up there!” and “Can I get your number?” sounded blurry in your head with how irritated you were getting.

Yeah… You ended up leaving Jisung and the party in general despite the sad protests from your friends on how “you needed to cheer yourself up.” But, you brushed them off by telling them that it was impossible to do that right now. 

So, you ended your night in your apartment alone with the accompaniment of a big bucket of cookie dough ice cream, multiple episodes of How I Met Your Mother, and no friends or Jisung by your side. 

You tried again the week after, but just like last time, it did not turn out so well.

You should've known that it wouldn't work because it was during a hangout with both of your friend groups, specifically hosted at Jisung and Jeno's apartment.

Jaemin, Haechan, Chenle, and Yeonjun were busy being loud as they screamed over one another during a game of Mario Kart 8 in the living room while Jeno helped Ning finish a two-thousand-piece puzzle downstairs. And, Mark and Renjun were nowhere to be found due to them both having different plans set for that day.

Which left you and Jisung in his room. Alone. He originally brought you up here to show off his new collectibles, so you weren't sure how you ended up watching a movie with him on his bed.

It seemed like the perfect time to tell him, it really did. But just as you were about to open your mouth, your phone rang, leaving you on the phone with Renjun for three whole hours while he ranted about someone who pissed him off at his group study session. And by the time your conversation with Renjun ended and you hung up, Jisung was already occupied by a game of Super Smash Bros with your friends in the living room. 

You're still mad at Renjun for ruining the moment.

And now, you're here, a few days after, in Jeno and Jisung’s apartment once again, but this time, sitting on their living room couch with him right next to you. 

Neither of you spoke during the movie you were currently watching, probably because you both wanted to ignore the awkward tension that's been spiraling around the two of you for the past few weeks. But to you, now seemed like the perfect time to break that. It was dark out and you were both left alone as Jeno had to leave to run errands. 

“Ji, can you pause the movie?”

Without asking, Jisung mutters “Sure.” before grabbing the remote control and pausing the movie.

With his attention on you, you sit up and fix your posture on the couch, which he mirrors. You thought fixing your appearance would help balance yourself from the overcoming emotions you knew you were going to have at this very moment. 

“Okay, well—”

But then, you get interrupted again. Not by Jeno walking in, or a random phone call from one of your friends, but by him.

“Wait! Before you tell me your thing, there’s something I’ve been wanting to tell you.”

Despite the small annoyance that was creeping on you, you dismissed it and instead, anticipated what he was going to say. Most times, you didn’t mind how oblivious Jisung was, but right now, you really wish he could read the room and let you say what’s on your mind. You hope he’s going to say the same thing you were going to say, but he didn’t need to interrupt you for it…

Your silence cues him to continue, “You remember Oasis? You know, the band I told you about?” You nod. “Okay, um, there’s this one song by them, it’s actually one of my favorites. It’s called Wonderwall, it’s kinda like a love song but uh—I’m not saying we’re in love ‘cause obviously we’re not—”

“We’re not?”

Shit. That’s not what Jisung meant.

He panics, “No! I mean–yes? Fuck, I dunno, Y/N.” 

“Oh. Okay.”

The thing is, you know that he didn’t mean anything bad out of it, then how come you felt your heart break into two hearing how unsure he felt about you? Should you even confess right now? No, this doesn’t feel right.

The room is full of complete and uncomfortable silence with no other words said, and it annoys the hell out of you. You can tell it bothers Jisung just as much because you watch him mentally stress out in front of you, his face in his hands as he lets out an exasperated sigh. Both of your minds were pushing you to fix the problem, but you can’t. You don’t know how to. This is new for you both, and that’s the problem. 

Just as Jisung grasps a new idea in his head, he sees you physically pull farther away from him before you grab your bag from the side and stand up from your place on the couch. 

You swallow the lump in your throat, your voice coming out quavered, “I–um, I gotta go.”

Scared to see his reaction or hear his voice, you thought what was best. You escape. You rush out of his apartment, giving him no time to react at all. The last sounds Jisung heard were the slam of the door and the words Chase after her, don’t her go from the little voice in his head.

Jisung knew you were hiding yourself away from him again. He noticed it the first night you hung out and some moments after that, but he felt that it was insensitive to bring it up out of nowhere. Right now was one of those moments. 

When you’re outside of the apartment, you’re met with Jeno who’s looking at you, puzzled and worried. Even though it felt like your world was crashing down on you, the way he almost resembled a Samoyed dog and how you could imagine the cogs in his brain turning lightened your mood a little bit. But just like Jisung, you gave him no time to say anything. 

“Y/N!” You hear Jeno call after you after you quickly walk away. 

Just like he expected you to, you ignore him and he watches you rush down the stairs. Many scenarios were circling in his head right now, but he didn’t want to assume the worst before he asked Jisung himself.

Jeno inserts his assigned key into the key slot before turning it, the door unlocking right after. He walks in and sees no Jisung in the living room or kitchen. 

There’s no way that kid escaped. He thinks.

He’s about to let it pass him by until he notices Jisung’s door slightly cracked open. He walks over and gently pushes it to reveal the younger one sprawled on his bed. Though he knows it’s not the best moment, he snickers at the sight. Oh, Jisung's in love. 

Then, he hears a pouty “You know, I can hear you, Jeno.” come from Jisung before he watches him switch positions on his bed. His disheveled hair and the I fucked up expression he’s wearing tell Jeno all he needs to know. 

Already knowing he’s going to be here for a while, the said man opens the door more to give himself space to get comfortable. He rests his body against the doorframe, folds his arms then sighs, “Alright, what’d you do, kid?”

“I messed up.”

previous ☆ masterlist ☆ next

note: i had my considered "sad songs" on repeat the whole time i was writing this and i think i memorized every single song by the time i was done with it ☠️ also, new twt pfps 😱 (they made me feel better) but i am wishing our dms couple all the happiness in the world ☹️

🎫: @idkwhatursayinh @sunghoonsgfreal @multifandomania @nanaxwi @odxrilove @sourrpatched @hancafe @chaellaa @dojaejunging @jising-jisang-jisung @heheheeral @haechansbbg @renjunsversion @seunghancore @woshixinqgiu @jiiieun @pinknjm @mrshwang-park @neozon3nha @joyzluvr @aerivrs @nosungluv @haechology

[husbandograveyard]

🕱 Lovebites Masterlist 🕱 this is a VAMPIRE AU event 🕱 ☽☽ Character: Ace (One Piece) x Gn Reader ☾☾ ✩ Requested by: anon ✩ [Fluff/humor]✩ Warnings: none ✩

Ace was pouting on the couch. A full-on pout, eyebrows furrowed and lips turned downwards. His knees were pulled up, and he was resting his elbows on them, looking straight ahead. You would almost be feeling bad for him, if it weren’t so exasperated about the reason for his pout: the delicious meal that you had been eating up until a few minutes ago.

You had been preparing for an evening in alone: your boyfriend was supposed to be away with his brothers -that’s what he called two of the vampires that were turned around the same time as him, they always hung out together doing what they called ‘mischief’. You never asked, since you were about ninety percent sure their mischief consisted of at least a handful of illegal activities. But they stayed out of trouble enough to never bother you with it, and Ace truly seemed to cherish the time spent with his brothers, so you always let him go and listened to all the stories he told when returned after such a day, while you just enjoyed some precious alone time.

So you had taken a long shower, put on your comfiest sleepwear, and ordered some takeout while looking through your streaming services for something to binge this evening. You had finally made a decision when the takeout arrived, and you were only halfway through when the doorbell rang.

You were a little annoyed: your episode was just getting good, and the doorbell took you straight out of the immersion. Furthermore, you weren’t expecting anyone, so whoever it was, better had a good reason for making you get up from your comfy spot. You put your food on the coffee table and wrapped a blanket around yourself on the way to the door, very surprised to see your boyfriend standing there.

You stepped to the side to let him in, too baffled to even say something about his presence, and he came in with a sigh, starting a whole story about how Luffy had gotten into some trouble, but instead of asking him and Sabo for help, he had enlisted the help of some of his own friends. You didn't know these people, but from Ace's stories, you had been able to conclude they were a pretty eccentric bunch with a fierce loyalty to each other and a tendency to make more problems before they got around to fixing them.

The plans they originally had though, were canceled because of Luffy's trouble, and thus Ace had returned home, to you, ready for an evening of snuggles on the couch instead. You were not going to lie, you were a little miffed about the whole situation. You loved Ace, more than anything in the world, but you liked your alone time as well. Nevertheless, he could never be a true bother, and you turned off your show in favor of some background music that you both liked.

"I still need to finish my food though, if you don't mind." You sat down on the couch again with your takeout, taking another bite, happy to notice it was still warm.

"Of course, no worries, I will go get changed into something more comfortable", Ace said as he made his way to your bedroom, undoubtedly just to take off his pants and join you on the couch in his favorite leisure clothing: just his boxers. You chuckled and let him go, finishing you dinner in the meantime.

Ace joined you on the couch a few minutes later, jumping over the back of the couch and literally plopping down next to you, grabbing a fluffy blanket and snuggling close. He made you laugh with his antics and his smoothness, and you leaned onto him a little, turning to kiss him when he suddenly backed off.

"Y/n.... really?" 

He sounded disappointed? angry? you weren't exactly sure what he sounded like, but you were sure it was not positive. You were super confused as to why he was reacting like this too. You didn't say or do anything weird or sudden, and he seemed eager to snuggle just a few seconds ago.

"What's up, Ace?" you asked, an eyebrow raised in confusion as you saw him look at you with something you could only describe as mild disgust.

"You ate something with garlic in it?"

"Oh"

You didn't eat garlic around Ace, a sacrifice you had to make the minute you found out he was a vampire. Unlike in stories where garlic was deadly to vampires, Ace's reaction was more akin to a bad allergy. Nothing too bad, definitely inconvenient enough for him to completely give up on it, and to ask you don't consume any on days you were together. It was not a super big sacrifice, although you sometimes missed certain dishes that used it, and you made a habit of only ordering such dishes on days when Ace was out of the house, like today. You didn't know he'd be back earlier.

Which led to Ace as he was now. It was quite a sight to behold: a fully grown man sulking on the couch like a toddler. You had to do your best not to chuckle at the sight. Ace was a pretty affectionate person, and not being able to kiss and cuddle you on an evening together without being in severe discomfort was akin to torture for him. It was a little funny -the sight- but you did feel kind of bad for him.

"Would it help if I drank some and brushed my teeth really well?"

"Probably not", he sighed, "even if you use mouthwash... it always lingers a while."

You sighed as well.

"Well, it'll be distant cuddles tonight then. And I'll make up for it tomorrow."

"How?"

"Well, we both have another day off... so maybe we could have a cosy date day, and we can spend the whole day enjoying each other's presence?"

His face changed immediately, a twinkle of happiness immediately appearing in his eyes, no matter how much he tried to act as if he was thinking it over.

"I suppose I could live with that."

You chuckled.

"Then that is a plan"

[afanofmanyth1ngs]

Yellowjackets/IWTV Fanfic

So, about a week ago I put out a poll about doing a weird IWTV fanfic that's basically set in the Yellowjackets verse... And now I'm doing it... YAY!! but I do just want to come on here to basically throw around some things I'm going to do :P So this is going to be where I update people and just basically talk about how I'm going to do this, what my schedule is going to look like, things I need opinions on. This is more so a motivation thing so IF YOU ARE INTERESTED, please please please comment and follow along. I lose motivation quickly, but this is something I'm pretty dedicated to. but either way THIS IS HAPPENING.

______________________________________________________________

First things first. YES I have started working on it. Im not even close to finished with the first chapter because each chapter is going to be LONG. This is not going to be everything that happens in Yellowjackets happens in here, and not even close. Even as I started it... I will sometimes use direct quotes, but thats only if im stuck and cant figure out what im doing.

NEXT as I said this is not going to be yellowjackets word for word, but I will be using each episode as a starting point. scenes might mirror each other, and I will cut between scenes as they do in the show.

Some things that are automatically going to be different from Yellowjackets:

They will not be on a Sports team of any sorts. The one thing each character has in common, is that they all are passionate about one or more forms of art (ex: Louis: Photography - Lestat: Acting - Madeleine - Sewing and dress making and altering (not the right words sorry lol)) SO im having them go to an art school :P little bit of a long shot but not only is it just convinent for me because of all the art forms they like, but also I think it would be kind of cool for just normal (LMAO) IWTV kids who have never touched a sport in their lives to now have to like hunt and stuff... kind of Lord of the Flies with half of the kids being CHOIR KIDS core.

Theyre all gonna be in High school. i was like well im not aging them up cause what fun would that be, so lets just age them down and keep a whole bunch of that trauma and see what happens... and im not super far into the writing process but its working rn!!

Theyre crashing in the Alps. I have zero knowlege of the Alps whatso ever BUT i know i went over them when i flew to Italy so Im having them go to the Uffizi Galleries!!! and then BAM Alps. so get ready for some major inaccuratcies about that cause im gonna make them how they are in Yellowjackets... just in like Italy. Maybe I'll reasearch a bit more... dw about it its ok :D

As I said before each chapter is going to be LONG. so rn I have around 4ish scenes (ones not finished yet) and by the time I'm finished with those and edit it's going to be close to around 4,000 words I'm estimating... that's 4,000 words for not even a quarter of THE KIDS STORY LINE. on that topic, because each chapter is going to be so incredibly long, I've decided to split each chapter in about half. I was originally planning to do one chapter = one episode of yellowjackets but again it's going to be WAY too long, so kids' storyline, adult story line. I like that a lot too because a big pet peeve of mine is in stories where it keeps switching through times and then i get so lost and have to reread like 10 times to understand... LIKE PLEASE JUST SPLIT IT INTO A FEW CHAPTERS SO IM NOT CONFUSED

Last thing! Most of each character's backstory IS WORKED IN... so for example (A HUGE example) is for at least the first few chapters Armand will be called and referred to as Amadeo. Marius is his adoptive father who rescued him from some sex trafficking scandal or something and renamed him, before he eventually changes his name to Armand while out in the mountains. So, like obviously he's not going to get the name Armand from Santino, but you know... working in what I can :P

OK ACTUALLY LAST LAST THING: I don't know when this will come out... I have a deadline for myself and I'm certain I will get to it, HOWEVER I do not have access to the other Yellowjackets episodes, which is pretty crucial if I want to get into a schedule of posting each week regularly. As of right now I am hoping to get the first chapter out on October 3rd... Yellowjackets will be accessible to me AND then I'll be able to post a chapter on Halloween... YAY!! if that does not work out because the following chapters are taking too long and I release before I can make sure the Schedule is set, it will most likely be one of the Thursdays in October because I REALLY want to get one out on Halloween!!

OK!! hope you guys liked my little rant!! I'll keep everyone who's interested updated on here so if you want to be in the loop follow me (or don't! if you don't you can just check my page!) and again comments motivate me, so if you have any questions or just think it's a cool idea let me know!

[sskim-milkk]

Alright The Bad Batch is over and I have some THOUGHTS

Warning: spoilers (kinda) for the finale!

Wow, wow, wow! I watched the bad batch finale a few hours ago and have since been lost in thought about how CRAZY that finale was and what this show has come to mean to me over the past 3 or so years.

First of all, the finale was amazing. My friend and I had to pause multiple times to say WHAT THE HELL! I could not have imagined a better ending to it. The epilogue with older Hunter and Omega especially had me feeling emotional. I’m just so happy they got their happy ending.

And while I am still sad we didn’t see Tech alive again, I knew the ending they got was exactly what Tech sacrificed himself for. And someone pointed this out in a different post, but Tech lives on with his brothers and especially with Omega. She learned so much from him throughout the show and we can see that through her actions and brains. They loved each other so much.

I’m interested to see what may happen with the remaining plot points that didn’t get resolved. What happened with Cody? What about Omega and her force sensitivity? But I’m honestly also fine if we don’t see Omega or the batch again. The ending was just so perfect, and sometimes it’s nice to just leave things as is.

Anyway, I’m really going to miss experiencing the pending excitement of a new episode or season. I hope the fandom remains alive. I know we’ll all eventually move on and get invested into other shows and characters, but I hope the batch remains in our heads and hearts for a long time and we interact in the fandom from time to time.

This show came out at such a monumental point in my life. Finishing high school, beginning college, and a bunch of other crazy stuff happening around and amidst that. I have loved nothing more than interacting with other fans via Instagram, tumblr and ao3. This show reignited a love for writing in me, and I’ve loved being able to write stories for them. I hope to continue to do so. And the friends I’ve made through the fandom are absolutely amazing and I’m so grateful to know them all 🩷

This show was handled with such care and love. Was it perfect? No, but pretty damn close. It taught me a lot about learning and discovering who you are, family, friends, and love. I appreciate the creators and everyone who worked on the bad batch so much for how well they handled the show and its characters.

I know I’m probably blabbering on here. And sure, at the end of the day it is “just a show” I guess, but what’s come from that show for me has become such an important part of my life. I know I will always look back fondly on this show, remembering it was a constant in my life during many changes and new adventures.

To The Bad Batch, from the bottom of my heart, thank you ❤️

[yourpalmickeymouse]

Do you have a favorite cartoon?

Hiya hatred-n-hav0c,

Oh gosh, I don't know if I can think of just one. I used to watch a lot of cartoons when I was younger. It's actually what inspired me to get into sketchin'. But my favorite cartoon... Hm...

Well the ones ones I would watch the most when I was younger were these classic funny cartoon shorts. I actually had a DVD set full of 'em. Whether it was a mouse being chased by a cat, a duck and a rabbit outwitting a hunter, a super strong sailor, or just a group of friends placed in fun situations, I couldn't get enough of 'em. I would watch those cartoons over and over, until I knew 'em by heart. Though that was a long time ago. Maybe I should check 'em out to see if they still hold up.

Oh! I can't believe I forgot. But I'm actually watchin' a cartoon show right now that Goofy recommended me. I admit, I was a bit confused on why he wanted me to check it out since it seemed like it was for kids. But we watched a couple of episodes together and I was instantly hooked. It's actually really well written with a lot of drama, action, and mystery. Ya know, despite bein' a show for kids, it doesn't really talk down to it's audience, makin' it fun for anyone who watches it.

I actually ended up really got involved with the core mystery of the show and created a bunch of theories on how I think things gonna play out. I would tell you all, but we would probably be here forever and it wouldn't make much sense without seein' the show ha ha. Maybe if you're interested you can check out the billion of forum posts I've made. Just keep in mind they may be a bit long.

It's incredible how much cartoons have changed. I was so used to them bein' short with simple premises that I didn't realize they could have on-going plots and characters arcs like this. Maybe after I finish this one, I'll check out a couple more.

- M.M.

[bunniefaery]

The Fandom Wiki is lying 💀

Under Moon Spell Control it says this... But... That never happened 😭 Lewis never told her that! He only told her that the full moon, which happened to be her first, "is gonna be stronger than anything we've ever experienced and you need to be ready for it. Stay inside tonight for your own good, believe me." And then he left. So where and when did her tell her that she can control it? That's right, nowhere! Even the wiki is anti-charlotte! 💀

I feel like I should mention that I literally just finished rewatching the series not that long ago, especially the episodes when Charlotte got turned into a mermaid (because I am making a video about her), and that's how I know this is all a bunch of lies 😅

[ltwharfy]

Long Post of Random Thoughts on Finishing "Gravity Falls"

Are you interested in reading a really long post where a middle-aged guy talks about a children’s cartoon that ended seven years ago? If so, you are in luck! I just finished watching “Gravity Falls” y’all! And here are a bunch of totally random thoughts about it:

-“I’ll have you know Duck-tective has a big mystery element! And a lot of humor that goes over kids’ heads!”- it was nice that the kids show that I became obsessed with over the past two months or so acknowledged the reasons adults might get obsessed with it. Also, Duck-tective has to be one of my favorite show-within-a-show premises. I’d definitely check it out!

-While I do love the humor of the show so much, it is really the mystery element- the ongoing story arc- that took me by surprise and eventually led to me bingeing the last eight episodes or so in one day. I just don’t remember animated kids comedies- or really, many kids shows of any type-when I was growing up that had ongoing story arcs like that. Kids shows where the episodes could be watched in any order and everything was always “back to normal” at the beginning of the next episode was the norm.

-I’ve been a fan of Kristen Schaal since she was on The Daily Show and eventually end up watching everything she’s in. So, the main thing I knew about Gravity Falls going into it was “Kristen Schaal does the voice of that girl”. As Louise Belcher is one of my favorite TV characters, I was worried- would I be able to forget about Louise while hearing Mabel? Yes, quite easily. Their personalities are so different! It was basically never an issue. I actually tried to listen for Mabel lines that sounded like Louise might say them and really only ended up with two that stuck out to me (“I high-five hard.” and “I AM THE GOD OF DESTRUCTION!”)

-Oh, but Louise would also want a grappling hook. And, honestly, she’d get as much or more use of it than Mabel did. Like I can think of a few episodes (and the movie…) where it could’ve been helpful. But I digress.

-One final Bob’s Burgers related point, there were a few things in season two that I just couldn’t help but wonder if they were references to Bob’s Burgers. First, the Jersey Shore hometown of Stan and Ford definitely made me think of Seymour’s Bay. And the Pines briefly have a burger phone in “The Stan-Churian Candidate”! On the other hand, both Jersey Shore towns and burger phones are real things that existed well before Bob’s Burgers and not every appearance of them is a reference to it. (But when you’ve also got Kristen Schaal involved…)

-And speaking of cast members who I remembered from other things, both Dipper and Wendy were voiced by actors from short-lived early 00s shows that I loved: Joan of Arcadia’s Jason Ritter and Freaks and Geeks’s Linda Cardellini. The fact that I will associate them with those shows is another indication that I am not in the target demographic of Gravity Falls! But, honestly, if I had known Linda Cardellini was also in this show, I might have checked it out sooner.

-And speaking of Dipper and Wendy, I really loved how they handled Dipper’s crush on her in season two. Their scene together at the end of “Into the Bunker” is so sweet, it just made me feel so much affection for both the characters and the folks who make the show. It would’ve been so easy to never really make any effort to resolve that plotline and instead just always have Dipper pathetically crushing on her for the whole show. Or make it a nerdy boy wish-fulfillment thing and have her actually return his feelings (which just wouldn’t’ve been realistic given their ages). Instead, I feel like they addressed it in a realistic and sensitive way, which was nice.

-Another thing I really appreciated was how they developed some of the supporting characters in season 2, particularly Old Man McGucket and Pacifica Northwest. I enjoyed those characters in season one, but pretty much assumed they would always stay in their stock character roles- crazy old man and mean rich girl, respectively. Instead, McGucket gets what I found to be some of the most moving scenes in the show- when he gets his memories back and when he reunites with Ford.

-And Pacifica! She’s honestly the character I find myself wondering the most about what happens to them after the show. She’s realized her family has been pretty horrible for generations. She stood up to her parents. Her family lost some of their money and had to sell their mansion (her dad pledging allegiance to Bill and investing in weirdness bonds is probably one of my favorite details from the finale). She’s becoming a teenager. And she lives in Gravity Falls full time. I just think her post-series finale life is gonna be pretty fascinating!

-And maybe that life will involve her getting romantically involved with Dipper? Yeah, I started shipping that after “Northwest Mansion Mystery”, and even though the show really didn’t give them any scenes together (which is understandable, there was a lot of other stuff going on) I still like it. I checked to see if there was fic about it on AO3 and immediately got freaked out because there is so dang much of it! Seriously, the number of Dipper/Pacifica fics on there is literally ten times the number of fics for my favorite Bob’s Burgers ship! What am I supposed to do with that?!

-So if the statement, “I’m looking for the ‘Be My Thrill’/’heaven help the fool who falls in love’ of Dipper/Pacifica fics” means something to you, and you have a recommendation, let me know.

-One supporting character I wish had been introduced earlier: Tad Strange, the most normal person in town. The name, the character design, the voice, all just amused me. It would’ve been fun if there was more of him.

-Speaking of supporting character designs that I loved: Toby Determined and his hat, with the press card that says “hat” instead of “press”. That literally always made me smile. I love it so much. It is one of my favorite cartoon character design details ever.

-Possibly the most random of observations: I can now think of four fictional characters named Mabel off the top of my head, but don’t think I’ve ever met anyone with that name in real life.

-I don’t have any kids of my own, but I do have a nephew, and now I am pretty excited about the possibility that I could be a Grunkle a few decades down the road. Hopefully, I’ll have my own Mystery Shack by then.

-Even though I know how the storyline ends now, I feel like this show has a high level of rewatchability for some point in the future. I’m sure there will be tons of details that I didn’t notice the first time around, and there are definitely more layers of it to peel back (I never paid attention to the codes/puzzles in the credits. Although, had I been watching this show when I was 10 I probably would’ve obsessed about them.)

-I can probably think of more things to say about this show and probably will, but this seems like enough for now. Thanks to Alex Hirsch and everyone involved in making the show for creating such wonderfully weird, hilarious, entertaining world! And thanks to you, person who actually read to the end of this post!

[kunikinnie]

Hi!

I love your writing, they are so sweet and in character.

Could I request a fic with Poe where the reader (not neceserally in a realationship yet) reads one of his books, and after finishing it he gives it back and inside there are a bunch of pieces of papers full of illustrations/fanarts of the book?

If you don't want to write it or you don't have time, that's okay too. Don't owerwork yourself. Have a nice day!

a/n: thIS IS SO SWEET omg I remember when @amenemisa drew a Kunikida based on one of my drabbles adfjaldfkja anw here's some pure fluff!!

note: GN!reader is NOT in a relationship yet

There was nothing special about a nervous and restless Poe pacing around his room for God knows how long. Anything and everything that could potentially trouble him could trigger such a reaction, although lately the list has been significantly reduced to only two topics - namely, his writings and his crush.

That is why in this current episode, his anxiety has unfortunately doubled in magnitude.

A few weeks ago, you had shown interest in reading one of his very own works (not that it was a rare occurrence - in fact you've repeated yourself dozens of times) and were about to return his book and share your thoughts on it.

Both the panic and excitement were so intense that Poe thought he'd literally split into two different people: the serious writer and the hopeless romantic. The former was ready to brood over possible criticism while the other was simply happy to see you in person again. The only thing the two halves could agree on was the stress from receiving anything, let alone a review on his work from you.

A servant knocked on his door and announced that a guest had arrived, but before he could mention the identity of the person Poe had already scurried to the receiving room.

"Can't believe you had your decor changed just for Y/N..."

Instead of you, a nonchalant young man surveying the room was comfortably lying on the couch.

"It's good to see you, Ranpo-kun," Poe genuinely gladly greeted him. "But what are you doing here now, of all times?"

"Yeah, about that..." He sat up and handed over a familiar leather-bound hardcover book. "Something came up so Y/N asked me to bring this to you. The review's inside."

All the fire from until that moment's fervor had been dampened with a mere few words. Still, just holding the physical manifestation of your thoughts prevented from the disappointment from setting in completely.

He opened the book to where not one, but a few sheets of loose paper were stuck in between. Upon noticing that some of the papers did not contain words, he frantically looked for the one that did explain or summarize whatever you wanted to say. It was a small sticky note at the back of the front cover.

I really enjoyed this! Couldn't help myself so I hope you don't mind :)

That alone tugged a small but stupid smile on his face. However, further examination of the other papers nearly made his heart burst.

The characters, key moments were familiar... was this fanart of his work...? Drawings? For his work? No one has ever done this before...

"Looks like you'll need more that a moment so I'll just go straight to your game- wait, don't cry on my cape! I just washed it!"

tagging: @stygianoir

[bluravenite]

Do you think, based on this concept, drummers could wear noise-canceling headphones to reduce the impact on their ears? And ghouls who are already deaf, wear hearing aids, unless of course the ministry would allocate a budget for this

Damn, now thinking about hearing aids, it would be funny if from time to time, when other ghouls swore at them, the earthlings just turned them off, and then smiled maliciously :)

By the way, what's up with the Swiss?

Haha!! I do think drummers absolutely take precautions, they all (entire band) try to wear ear protection! But mountain also really likes to wear those noise reducing ear buds that are great for noise sensitivity when he's reading or gardening or just going about his practice and chilling.

Deaf siblings of sin (the congregation itself) as well as deaf ghouls do get health benefit allocations ordained by the clergy, anyone above deacon to a bishop can ordain these benefits, usually brought to by an abess or ministress (like a mother superior, or sister imperator) who will be the one to ensure the sibling or ghoul gets their necessary treatments and support.

They DEFINITELY have interpreters for Sign and other means of nonverbal communication! So siblings and ghouls may often have their aids off, usually they will let people know so that they can use different colored flashing lights 🚨 to alert them of different things happening (they also keep a chart in every room for the color of the lights and what it means) as well as making sure there are accomodations for siblings or ghouls who may be deaf-blind or deaf-mute!

Not too long ago I was asked to draw a deaf sister of sin and papa emeritus interaction (and I actually wrote a small comic about it which I have not had the time to finish, but it remains in the back of my mind still, I'll post it eventually!!)

As for swiss... Haha poor boy is alright, I may have just traumatized him a little too much, I gave him all the complex backstory and made him the avoidant type who pretends everything is fine, so he has a bunch of unresolved unprocessed trauma and is prone to breaking down into really bad episodes, but everyone tries their best to help him and care for him as best they can !!! 💗💗💗 He'll be ok I prommy loll

[meddow]

Fic Author Q&A

Thank you for tagging me @curator-on-ao3!

1. Why do you write fanfic?

It’s a bit of a combination firstly wanting to share a plot idea I have with others, secondly, wanting to see something happen which I know won’t happen in the original source, and thirdly, it can be a bit of a fun puzzle – I don’t like this canon, how do I fix it.

2. Which of your posted stories do you think about the most, even though the story is “finished”?

Lately, First Solitary Separate Singular Complete. It was the first fic I wrote after a long break and I was a very rusty when writing it, so mostly what I would have do differently.

3. If you could give yourself fic advice from when you first started writing fic, what would that advice be?

There will be times when you feel you’ve lost the ability to write. It will come back. It never strays that far away.

4. What’s your relationship to fic stats?

I do check them and quite often, but just for hits. I like seeing the hit count on my WIP steadily head up and like to interpret that as it has found an audience.

5. Is there a pairing or scenario or friendship you miss writing? If so, why? If not, why not?

I wouldn’t mind revisiting Lix/Randall (The Hour) a bit more. I still occasionally find myself coming up with AUs for them. I had half a Victorian detectives AU plotted out in my head back in the day and I wish I'd had the energy to write it. Anyway, it was six episodes over a decade ago and yet they still reside in my head.

6. What motivates you to write?

Partly it’s a race against time to get things down before my inspiration runs out. Partly is that writing for me is like cooking. It’s lovely cooking for myself, but its extra special getting to share what I’ve created with the world and seeing other people enjoy it

7. Why do you write for the fandom(s) that you write for?

My muse is very much motivated by newspaper articles and non-fiction and basically shit I see in the world which pisses me off, and Star Trek remains the ultimate franchise for being able to discuss contemporary issues with a shielding layer of fiction over the top.

For example (spoilers for the next chapter of The Endurance of Light) the villains I’m writing at the moment have an ideology which is based of a whole bunch of anti-master, anti-vaxxer and anti-science rhetoric I’ve seen around – and I’m getting to show how the ruling class of that planet use that ideology to oppress the masses and keep themselves in power, while finding and exploiting loopholes that benefit themselves. I don't know if I'm weird, but writing that kind of stuff for me is oddly fun.

Strange New Worlds in particular hits that sweet spot as it has a great set up and characters I adore, but never seems to have enough time/a high enough episode order to really explore the characters and I want to fix that.  

8. If you’re stuck writing a WIP, what do you do?

Go for a walk. I get all my best ideas either wandering around the local park, or in the shower.

9. What do you wish people knew about comments?

I can’t speak for any author but myself, but I’m happy to answer questions about future developments (or the general direction at least, I won’t give a blow by blow) if someone asks me in a comment. I don’t like tagging my fics with whether it’s a happy ending or not or whether a pairing is endgame or not because I feel that ruins any tension and/or mystery I want to build for everyone, but in the comments, I can put details below a spoiler cut.

10. Maybe there’s a question you wish had been on here. What’s that question (and answer)?

As a person who has aphantasia (the inability to picture things in my mind), I’d love to know what other people see when they’re writing, and how much detail. For me, I feel like for a scene I get enough in my mind to create one blurry film still per scene. There's no movement though. I can’t picture things like facial expressions changing or what characters are doing with their hands. Often I feel like I’m just writing off vibes.

I've seen a lot of people I follow tagged already, is there anyone who has missed out that wants to be?

[duhragonball]

Super Dragon Ball Heroes 25-28

Hey, Janemba’s back in black.  Let’s see if I can knock this one out before I go to work.

Last time, “Dr. W” lured Xeno Goku and Xeno Vegeta to Hell, where he fought them both to a standstill, then sent all the data he collected to Janemba, who is now somehow back and ready to kick some ass.  I don’t understand why this was even necessary, since Dr. W was doing just fine on his own.

I feel like a pair of Super Saiyan 4′s ought to have an easier time against Janemba than this, but his color scheme is different, and he does have all of that data to warn him about things like “Goku punches a lot” and “watch out for Vegeta’s rapid fire attack that never works.”

Then all the other good guys teleport in, and I guess this was Fu’s plan?  He used Bojack and Turles to keep them busy while he birdnapped Tokitoki, then he sent them all to Hell, where Janemba would be ready to finish them off.

Oh, and Xeno Trunks can do Super Saiyan 3.  You know, they could let Xeno Pan do all sorts of crazy transformations, just like everyone else in this show, but they don’t, because Toei’s a bunch of assholes.

Then these two show up.  Their names are Putine (left) and Salsa (right).  it is impossible for me to take Salsa seriously, because his dour expression is a little too dour, to the point of self-parody.  Also, his edgy hood has cute ears on top, like he took some Pikachu merchandise and dyed it black to complete his aesthetic. 

Putine and Salsa are demons who fought against the Time Patrol some time ago, but this time they offer a way to destroy the Universe Tree that’s currently threatening the multiverse, so they all join forces to defeat Janemba.  But Janemba won’t go down so easily, even in a six-on-one affair.

Then Salsa suggests that Xeno Goku use the same trick he used to defeat “the dark dragon”, and I finally realized he was referring to the Shadow Dragons from GT.  Which trick, though?  Fusion?  The bullshit spirit bomb?  Swallowing a Dragon Ball?  A lot of those things only worked because of GT Logic, but this isn’t GT, so we have to be careful.  Eating a Dragon Ball might actually kill a person here.

Turns out they were referring to the dumb bit where everyone lends their energy to Goku to charge up his Super Saiyan 4 form.  This is one of the stupidest bits from GT and the only consolation I have is that Vegeta Blue hates this crap even more than I do.  Xeno Vegeta seems to have no strong feelings about it, as he just stands beside Xeno Goku and accepts the same power-up. 

I guess I should talk about the worlds these characters come from.  Obviously, the concept here is that we have a set of Time Patrol characters who look like they’re from Dragon Ball GT, and a set of “main” characters who look like they’re from Dragon Ball Super.   But it doesn’t quite line up that way.  Xeno Goku remembers fighting the Shadow Dragons, but he clearly never vanished for 100 years with Shenron like Goku did in the finale of GT.  This partnership with Xeno Vegeta doesn’t work in the GT continuity, because they were only both SSJ4 for a handful of episodes.  After that, Vegeta powered down, and then Goku didn’t return to Earth until long after Vegeta’s death. 

On the Super side of things, the Goku and Vegeta in SDBH have different clothes on than what they wore in Super.  They remember the Tournament of Power, but they also remember the movie villains like Cooler, Bojack, and Turles.  Curiously, none of these characters seems to remember Janemba, so I don’t know what to make of this.

Anyway, the charge-up works, and Xeno Goku and Xeno Vegeta work over Janemba, then finish him off with a double Super Dragon Fist.  Does Xeno Vegeta have no pride at all? 

Wh-what if we intertwined our ki dragons together in the same villain?  Ha ha, just kidding... 

...Unless...

So with that nonsense out of the way, Putine teleports everyone to the Universe Tree.  No one questions how she knows where to go or what to do.  Then again, I guess this is the only lead they have.

Meanwhile, in a different part of Hell, we see a prisoner...

And it’s Hearts.  And he’s pretty happy, apparently.  Sheesh, does anything bother this guy?

At the Universe Tree, Vegeta tries to blow it up with a ki blast, but the tree just soaks it up like everything else.  Then Fu shows up and mocks their attempts to stop it.

Towa is also here, and she arranges for most of the good guys, and Putine and Salsa, to be teleported away.  She leaves Goku and Vegeta to fight Fu by themselves, although Fu doesn’t understand the purpose of this.

Fu seems to be more than a match for them, in part because he’s infused himself with Cumber’s dark ki, which corrupts the minds of those who come into contact with it.  You know, except for all the times fighters would hit Cumber and that didn’t happen. 

We see Cumber trussed up in a machine that presumably siphons off his power and sends it to Fu, or the tree, or whatever.  I’m starting to see why people ship Cumber and Fu.  All they ever do is get into these kinky situations.

So Fu uses Cumber’s power to make Goku and Vegeta go feral, but instead of turning on one another, they both go after Fu anyay.  Fu hits them with a big attack and that snaps them out of it, so what’s even the point?

So Goku convinces Vegeta to fuse with him, since Vegito can protect himself from the Cumber effect.  Apparently Salsa left them a pair of Potara Earrings to use.   Uh-huh....

Meanwhile, Towa explains her plan to the other good guys, whom she has trapped in a field of Cumbers’ energy.  Is Cumber that powerful?  Cooler defeated him, after all.

She informs them that she “created” Fu.  I’m pretty sure she just had a baby with Mira, but she created Mira as well, so you can never be too sure with Towa.  Fu represents the data Towa has collected from a multitude of powerful figthers.  Mira had a similar deal, so I’m pretty sure she just means Fu inherited the same chimera DNA Mira had. 

Towa then pulls some sort of dark energy out of her captives and explains that this is the “Dark Factor”, a power that once inhabited Mechikabura before his death at the hands of Trunks.  When he was defeated, Mechikabura released the Dark Factor and it went into the Time Patrollers who were there at the time.  Towa apparently arranged this so she could retrieve the Dark Factor when the time was right.  Her aim is to put the Dark Factor into Fu, which will allow him to become the new Dark Emperor, Mechikabura’s successor. 

Well, now it makes more sense why they did the special in Episode 20.  They were doing more than reintroducing Fu and the Time Patrol after all.

Xeno Goku briefly escapes from his bonds, but then Mira shows up and cuts him off.  He also brings Xeno Goten and Xeno Gohan to this place, since they had to pull the Dark Factor out of their bodies as well. 

Then they all get sucked into a time hole or something.

Back at the Universe Tree, Vegito and Fu continue to fight.  Fu is impressed with Vegito’s power, but Vegito says that Fu never knew how strong Vegito was, because all he ever did was observe him from the shadows.   Fighting Vegito directly is a whole other story.

Then Fu says the Universe Tree is finally ready, but when he goes to check on it, he’s horrified to discover that it’s withered and dead.  What could have happened?

Super Shenron happened, that’s what.  While Fu was screwing around, Beerus, Champa, Whis and Vados arranged for the Super Dragon Balls to be collected, so they could wish for the Universe Tree to be destroyed.  Well, I guess that wraps up this caper... or does it?

[confused-pyramid]

Maybe I'm Not Scared

pairing: frank castle x karen page

summary: A few moments in time following the events of 1x10 of The Punisher.

word count: 3.2k

warnings: angst, yearning, canon!typical violence, drinking

a/n: This is my first fic that isn't 'x reader' and I'm a bit nervous but very excited:) The title comes from the song "Bare" by Wildes. Fic mentions events and episodes for Daredevil season 2 and The Punisher season 1.

The door to her apartment shuts behind her and Karen Page collapses to the ground. It's been an especially long day and after Madani finally finished with her questions, Karen needed to get out of there.

Her apartment has always felt like her safe place. It shouldn't, and she knows this, but it helps her fall asleep with all of the things that go bump in the night hiding right under her bed. It was less than a year ago that her old apartment was shot up, and that itself should have been her first sign to get out of the city, but for some godforsaken reason she stuck around.

If she forces herself to remember, she knows that Frank had been there that night. When bullets were flying over her head, puncturing her walls with holes that never got patched up, Frank had been laying on top of her, covering her body with his own. He always managed to show up, right when she needed him.

So maybe it's not her apartment. Maybe she has no safe place at all. No where to turn to when she feels the walls closing in on her.

Nowhere maybe, but not no one.

Frank, who had been there at every turn, right when she was starting to think that all hope was lost. Just like today.

Karen picks herself up, pressing her hands against the wall for a moment to steady herself. Her ears still ring from the bomb that went off in the congressman's hotel room, but it's nothing that a gulp of whiskey won't fix. Nothing ever is.

She floats into her kitchen, unsure of how her legs are still working, and pours herself a glass, before her eyes land on the bouquet of flowers still sitting out on her counter. A large bunch of white roses that now just looks like a few wilted stems. They have long since passed their prime and probably should be let go (there's a metaphor in there somewhere), but she can't bring herself to throw them out. Not if they may be the last thing of Frank's she will ever have.

Her hand reaches for the glass of whiskey, but she misses and her body presses up against the cool countertop. She closes her eyes and his words from earlier flash across her eyelids.

"I will come for you."

Karen had believed him completely. There had been no doubt in her mind that he would have torn the building apart if it meant getting her back from Lewis. But what does that mean?

What does it mean for them that she is so certain he would stake his life down for her in a heartbeat, but she has no clue whether he would answer the phone if she called right now?

She tries to remember what Frank said to Lewis when they were in the hotel. Something about pretending that what they were doing was noble. He has to know he isn't like Lewis. That what he did may not have been noble but at least it wasn't cowardly.

The memory of the cold metal of the barrel of her gun stings her skin and she gulps the contents of her glass in one go. The clink of her cup hitting the counter sounds loud in the silence surrounding her, and she stumbles over to the window, flinging it open.

Traffic and chatter filter up and the nausea rising within her calms down momentarily. That was part of the reason she moved to New York. The noise.

The city was never silent, and that helped to quiet the demons always clawing at her heels. Even when she was lonely, she was never by herself, and with no family left - at least none that would speak to her - she couldn't handle being completely alone.

Maybe that's what drew her to Frank. They both look around and all they see are the threats hiding in the dark corners of the city. Matt and Foggy never understood that part of her. They had never held a pistol in their hand and known exactly what it could do to whoever it was pointed at. They didn't have to live every single day knowing exactly what it felt like to hold someone's life in their hands and choosing to end it.

The shrill sound of her phone ringing jolts her from her thoughts and she scrambles to her bag, ripping it open when the zipper doesn't come undone.

"Hello?" she gasps, pressing the device against her ear like it's a lifeline.

"You home?" Frank asks, his voice tinny over the receiver. “Did you make it back okay?”

“Yes,” she sighs, nodding even though he can’t see her. “I’m in my apartment. I actually just got back, Madani had a lot of questions.”

He chuckles lightly, but it’s hollow. “Sounds about right.”

He’s silent for a few moments and she wants him to speak so badly, but she doesn’t know what he would say if he did.

I’m done? I’ll stop?

He would never say either of those things, and in her heart, she knows she would never ask him to. At least not again.

“So what do you want? Should I let it go?”

She had almost said yes. Yes, yes, please yes. But she didn’t.

Instead she blinked away the tears that she convinced herself were just from the wind and shook her head.

“I want there to be an after. For you.”

That was all she had ever wanted. All she still wanted for him. She knew what his family’s death had done to him, and she knew what killing the people who had wronged him meant, but there had to be an end.

“Are you safe?” she asks him, her hand still pressed over her phone like it will disappear at any moment. “Did you get out?”

“Yeah,” he says simply, not giving anything away. She knows this is to protect her, and that’s also why she holds back from asking the one question that is sitting on the tip of her tongue. Will I see you again?

He must hear it in her mind - he always was able to sense exactly what she was thinking - because his breathing gets uneven. She can imagine him pacing around, his hand bringing his burner phone down for a second as he collects his thoughts.

“I’ll try to come by,” he states gruffly, his voice somehow going even lower. “Before I leave, I’ll try.”

The weight pressing on her chest lifts ever so slightly, and she can hardly believe this is the same man who said “You want to?” the first time she had asked when she would see him again.

“Get some sleep,” he instructs right before the line goes dead. He never did say “goodbye”. She finds it somewhat comforting. Like maybe if he doesn’t say it, then she will see him again.

It’s the small things that she holds onto that keep her going. Day by day. Minute by Minute. Second by second.

Before today, the last time Karen had seen him was when he asked for help finding a man named Micro, and even then she had been afraid of what he was going to use that information for. She was scared that her two hands would lead to more bloodshed, but more than that, she was scared for him.

He had come to her apartment and brought her flowers and made a joke about being a hippie, and to an outsider, it might have seemed normal. Like two old friends (with a bit of inexplicable history) catching up.

He had asked for help and she had agreed, but as he was leaving, she hadn’t been able to help herself. He was so strong and sturdy and when his arms came up around her too, the waves crashing onto her started to let up. She didn’t feel like she was drowning anymore, but then he had let go, and it had all come rushing back.

She asked him then, before he could escape into the night, what his end game was. What he was going to do when he could finally stop killing.

He hadn’t needed to think for a moment. "I didn't go into this life with a plan. I didn't have an end in mind when I set off down this road."

She knew what he was saying. That he didn’t expect to survive this…and even though that thought likely brought comfort to most of the city, she could feel bile rising in her throat.

“I’ve gotten my fill of seeing you like this, Castle,” she had sputtered, trying in vain to keep her voice steady. “I don’t want to have to see you covered in bruises and cuts anymore.”

He had finally met her eyes then, his expression turning somber. “I won’t come here anym-”

“You know that’s not what I meant, Frank.”

Her tone was harsh and agitated, but his name sounded soft on her lips. It took his breath away, how easily she could cut through his bullshit.

For one single, self-serving moment, he wishes he could see himself the way she seemed to. “I know. I know what you want me to say…but I don’t want to lie to you either.”

He never did lie to her. In a world where she couldn’t trust anyone, he was the one person she had come to rely on. His honesty, no matter how blunt or harsh. But not cruel. Never cruel.

Karen thinks back to the hotel and the look on Frank’s face when they finally made it into the elevator. She had convinced him to hold her own gun against her, so that he could escape without being caught. She could see the uncertainty in his eyes, even after taking the clip out, but she had worn him down.

Even if the clip had stayed in, she wouldn’t have feared for her life. Not with him right there behind her, his heart beating frantically against her spine.

For a man whose resting heart rate was probably in the teens, she had been surprised to feel the sudden uptick when the barrel of her gun pushed up against her chin.

But it had worked, and they had both gotten away. That was all that mattered. Not that she can still hear the ticking of Lewis’ bomb whenever she’s alone, or how she sees his splattered corpse whenever she shuts her eyes. She has lived for years with ghosts haunting her every waking moment, and a few more wouldn’t hurt.

She makes the executive decision to take a shower before heading to bed, and as she peels her clothes off in her bathroom, she tries not to think about how vulnerable she is making herself. Dark corners. All she sees is dark corners.

When she steps into the shower, the water washes away what it can, but after she’s dried off and in her pajamas, the silence is louder than usual.

“You have championed the common hero before, Miss Page.”

Sleep stopped coming easily the day her brother died. When her mom succumbed to cancer, the pain was unimaginable, but at least she had a support system. Other people to share the pain and make it manageable. After Kevin’s death, she was hurt and guilty and shunned by her town, and never again did she underestimate just how much more painful grief is when you have to bear it alone.

"But awful things happen to people everyday, and they don't murder people because of it."

She could practically hear Frank's voice in her head as she said those words over the radio. Don't goad him, Karen. Ease up.

She never did know when to ease up. If she had, maybe she wouldn't have been in that hotel at all today.

Sleep takes its time, but when it finally comes, she welcomes it with open arms.

~~~

A few more days pass and Karen slowly gives up on the hope that Frank will come by before leaving the city. She has a couple of days left on her week-long leave from work that Ellison mandated, but she’s already going stir-crazy. She wasn’t built for this. For rest and relaxation.

Another way that she and Frank are the same. They share that burn for the truth, for the answers to the questions that have been hidden from them.

One thing she doesn’t do is watch the news. She already knows what happened that day. She doesn’t need the world telling her she’s a victim or a perpetrator or something in between.

There’s a rustle on her fire escape and she jumps in her chair, before realizing who it is. She can’t remember if she locked her window, but it doesn’t matter, because a few moments later, Frank is standing in her kitchen.

“Hi Karen,” he greets her, his demeanor more guarded than usual.

“I’m glad you came,” she whispers, her hands itching to reach forward and hold him. “Thank you…for coming.”

He nods slightly, but there’s a sadness there too. “You shouldn’t thank me. I’m putting you in danger just by being here.”

Danger. That word has meant a lot of things to her, but right now, she can’t bring herself to feel it. He’s here - he’s actually here - and she wants to soak it in for what she anticipates will be the last time.

“What’s next for you?” she asks gingerly, her eyes scanning him as she tucks her hair behind her ear.

He follows the movement of her hand with his eyes as he ponders what to tell her. Any information in this world paints a target on your back, and he has gotten quite enough of putting her in danger.

She is one of the strongest people he has ever met, but she is the last person left in this world that he will do anything to protect.

But she knows that. What she doesn’t know is that she’s also his biggest weakness. That he has been fighting this battle for months, but every time he looks at her, he wonders what it would feel like to simply live. To put down his weapons and cease.

But that’s not who they are.

He doesn't have to think about what it could’ve been like if they had met before. Before that day at the park; before Kandahar; hell, before he'd even enlisted in the military.

Because that isn't who they are. They're not in a secret forbidden love story that will begin once the bad guys have been defeated. They are two people who found each other because they had to. Because it was the only thing that managed to keep them alive.

What’s next for him? Whose blood will be on his hands now?

“I have to find Billy,” he says, his eyes dark under the hood of his jacket, “so I can finish this.”

Finish. Neutralize. Eliminate. There have been a lot of different words he has used but they all mean the same thing. She doesn’t know if she has it in her to fight with him anymore. Anyway, the further in she has been dragged, the more she understands.

Besides, her supposed moral ground isn’t much higher than his.

Karen can remember that day in the prison like it was yesterday. Frank can too, no matter how much he would like to forget.

“Look Frank, I can’t judge you.”

He didn’t know how much she had meant that. The pretty little journalist who everyone expected to just stand back and write about the action instead of being in the thick of it.

She remembers how Matt had told her to stop acting like a kid, and how it had felt like a slap to the face, because she was many things, but she was not naïve. But she didn’t fight back, because his black and white view of who everyone was would never go in her favor.

So when Frank had said “maybe it’s not your first rodeo”, her life had exploded into color again. He saw her immediately for who she was. Not as a villain but as someone who had hurt and been hurt and who knew what it meant for there to be shades of gray in a world that always seemed so black and white.

She sees him now. Sees the pain written into his features, the weariness etched into the cracks and lines of his face. He sees the pain and apprehension outlining each of her movements, and he wants her to know that he would take it all way if he could. But that was always their problem.

He can’t.

He’s going to leave and nothing feels like it will be the same so when she steps forward, he doesn’t step back. And when her fingers reach up to brush his cheek, he doesn’t pull away.

She runs her thumb lightly over the cut on the edge of his mouth, and he doesn’t flinch, even if it hurts.

She takes another step forward and this time they’re chest to chest, face to face. She has pushed farther than she ever has before, but if not now, when?

But Karen doesn’t want to take more than he is willing to give, so instead of doing what her body is begging her to, she reaches up and wraps her arms around his shoulders, pulling him down for a lumbering hug.

He feels familiar in her arms, like maybe in some other life, this was natural. Like they would get to do this every day.

Just when she thinks he may pull away, he squeezes her tighter, and all of the broken pieces of her find their way back together again. They press together and the echoing loneliness between them feels just a bit smaller.

When she finally pulls back, she does it slowly, and just as she starts to turn her head, his lips find hers. He is so strong and solid, but his lips feel soft and warm against hers.

This moment feels too real and she half-expects her phone to ring or some other interruption to present itself, because there’s no way she’s finally getting what she has wanted for so long.

Her body feels malleable in his arms, like she’s molding herself into every crack and crevice of him. To fit into all of the places where he has lost a piece of himself. It’s like she’s saying I’m here. I’m in this with you. Whatever you don’t have, I’ll fill in. Whatever you can’t do, I will.

Eventually they both come to the same understanding and they pull back, but not all the way. He still holds her in his arms and she still runs her fingers down his jaw.

She can’t bring herself to let go just yet, but when the sound of a car honking filters up through her window, they spring apart.

This is it. She can feel it. It’s all about to end.

“I need you to be safe, Karen,” he tells her as he adjusts his jacket around his shoulders. “Don’t go instigating any more fights with terrorists over the radio or in your newspaper.”

He says the last part like it’s supposed to be a joke, but his heart isn’t in it. It’s just too real.

The "I love you" she’s been holding onto sits thickly in her throat, hanging on for dear life as she swallows it down. It’s not the time, but the longer she holds it in, the more she realizes it may never be.

He makes his way towards her window and she expects him to leave without another word, but then he pauses.

“Goodbye.”

[kuramirocket]

I came across posts you wrote a long time ago about Piper Halliwell and had to reach out to thank you. It seems like literally everyone LOVES Piper Halliwell, praising her as not just their favorite Charmed one but one of the best TV characters ever, and finding someone else who dislikes her was honestly the most validating experience I've had on this site! I recently rewatched a bunch of episodes and couldn't get over just how awful Piper is past the very first season. Fans are like 'all hail our sass queen!' like it's somehow a good thing that she goes out of her way to be ridiculously mean and bitter. She never, ever, ever stops complaining about everyone and everything, and it's not just that she's always in a terrible mood---it's that she directly takes that mood out on Leo and her sisters constantly, insulting and criticizing them nonstop. (Can you believe some people here think Piper was "too good" for Leo?! The man is a saint for patiently putting up with that shrew!) And she's always praised for her heart, but while the other three actually care about innocents, Piper is always the one whining about just wanting a "normal life" and throwing literal tantrums over things like wanting a better wedding or which of two great guys she should choose while there are literal LIVES at stake lol. Speaking of which, on a show about women destined to be witches, who thought it was a good idea to have one of the three main characters whine about how much she hates being a witch in Every. Single. Episode?! She's just such a completely unpleasant character with literally the worst attitude I've ever seen, and I can honestly say she ruins the show for me. (Disliking the turn they took with Phoebe's character didn't help either!) She was unapologetically terrible even before Prue's death, and it blows my mind that fans hate Prue for being too "harsh" when Piper is like a million times worse! Thank you for bravely speaking out so that all three of us who dislike her know we're not alone!!

Hello :)

Wow, I cannot believe it's been 5 years since I watched Charmed when I made those posts. And I never did finish watching the rest of the series 😭 So, naturally it's on my to rewatch and actually finish it this time around watch list. Lol

And I'm glad I could make you feel validated. When you, unfortunately, hate or dislike a character for whatever reason, especially one a majority of fans like, it's always nice to find like minded people. It's why I'm not quiet in my opinions. I want people to have a fun and safe space in fandoms even if that's just to discuss dislike for a fan favorite! Which is why if I am anti a specific character I try to tag properly so fans who do like the character can avoid my personal thoughts. And ofc, this means also never directing said dislike towards the fans who like specific characters. I just let people enjoy what they enjoy even if I do not.

Anyways, I'm surprised people view Piper as sassy. From what I remember, I never saw her as sassy, just annoying her complaints and plotline. And yeah! Prue maybe was 'harsh,' but she's the eldest and had that responsibility of caring for her younger sisters. She had a lot of weight on her shoulders. It's why she was serious a lot of the times and seemed to be hit the hardest by their mother's death from what I recall.

I wish I could comment more, but since it's been years don't remember a lot of details.

This ask made me smile, tbh. Again, glad you were happy to find my rants validating xD

[angelosearch]

Here's a long mushy post because today is a special date.

Way back in the early oughts, I was talking to this guy on AIM (blast from the past, I know). We started talking in November of 2008 and from the first time we chatted, I felt like there was something special about him. We became fast friends and would chat into the early hours as we put off doing our homework. He was funny and smart and would help me with my physics homework and occasionally Rick Roll me.

One time, we worked together to try and figure out if every person in the world moonwalked against the earth's rotation on the equator, could they get the planet to stop spinning (inconclusive, but probably no).

The first time we spoke on the phone (the first time we heard each other's voices) it was the day that Obama was inaugurated. I remember this because I felt overwhelmed and awkward. I didn't know what to talk about, so I brought that up.

I got the sense that he liked me - or at least I hope he did, because I liked him. A super nerd, captain of the fencing team, loved his dog - I DEFINITELY had a crush.

But I wasn't certain that he liked me until February 10th, when he messaged me on AIM and quoted Newton's third law. He said something to the effect of "Newton's Third Law states that reactions are equal and opposite. I really like you - does the law apply here?"

Well, that guy and I have been together 15 years now. After a long distance relationship through the rest of highschool and college, we moved in together in 2014. We got married in 2016. His sister Rick Rolled us at our wedding. We got a congratulations card from Obama (someone mailed him our wedding invite, to this day I don't know who).

It's been an eventful couple of years. We've had jobs and apartments and dogs and roommates. We've gone on amazing adventures, engaged in so many hobbies together, and played through a bunch of videogames side-by-side. There's been hundreds of hours of audiobooks and probably months worth of television. Oh, and A LOT of BeatSaber.

He has been very excited about my return to fanfiction and my renewed love of FFVIII. He has never played the game but he will let me talk about it endlessly and bounce fanfiction ideas off him. Everytime I finish a chapter of something, I send it to him and he gives me feedback. If that's not love, I don't know what love is!

He was there to help me into the car when I was loopy from having my wisdom teeth removed. Before I learned to drive, he took me anywhere I couldn't reach from walking/transit without question. He has seen me through my career ups and downs and is now my biggest cheerleader as I apply to grad school.

Once I hosted an event for a job I had. Doing that always pushed my mental health to the brink. I was staying at a friend's place in the city after the meeting with the plan to metro home in the morning, but the wave of a manic episode that had manifested over the week crashed into my mind and I was caught in the riptide of a panic attack. He drove out during a blizzard in the middle of the night to bring me home and rubbed my back as I laid on the floor of our apartment, sobbing.

Our relationship survived a whole pandemic. When I had struggles with my birth family, we became each other's family, and his family welcomed me too. Then he saw me through my darkest timeline and has supported me through every step of my mental health journey. Just a few hours ago, I was stuck in some memories and he talked me through it. I am tremendously grateful everyday to have such an amazing person in my life.

In October of last year, we moved into our home. For the first time in my life, I feel safe and comfortable in the place I live and waking up to be with him, here, everyday brings me so much joy. I recently heard this song, which really captures how we feel in this moment of our lives:

So happy anniversary to "my Rinoa" - @tharinock (funnily enough the same handle I first got to know you by). Here's to the next 15 years of fun and love.

[dragonsinthedarkness]

Lately I went rewatching ep.I. It was the third time, but the first one being as obsessed with this show (and having the full picture of it) as I am now. And, wow, it really could be called an “introduction”. I mean, besides all the main characters' introduction, in those 60 minutes there are hints to all of the main themes treated in the show.

They give a sketch of the pirate figure they are going to deepen throughout the seasons (free men who keep what they want) and also of the way they are seen and conceived by the civilized world (as fearsome monsters).

They also start to give some hints about the nature of that “civilized world”.

They even introduce the concept of shame! I didn't remember that.

Captain Hume says: ”gossip is what holds civilization together. It reinforces shame. And without shame the world is a very dangerous place.”

Which, wow, is pretty ominous considering what we are going to discover in season two.

They also start to make it pretty clear how things work in Nassau, how important it is to have allies and at the same time how easily those alliances may change, with poor Gates trying to gain votes for Flint (and I'm going to say it once again: he didn't deserve to die. Like, I love Flint, but this I can't forgive him.)

And speaking about Flint, they already give very important informations about him.

Sure, we see him being the bossiest and the strongest of the bunch, all determined with his actions and plans and all, but what I'm really talking about are the hints to his personality.

Of course we don't know him yet at episode one (and I'm sure the first impressions of him must have been the most disparate. I can't even remember my very first impression of him, but considering my actual tastes in characters I think that if I had first known him now I would have loved him at once) but they drop things which are very important considering what we are going to discover about his character.

Like, we know at first that he doesn't trust his men at all (“I don't trust them with the truth”+ the various lies lol), and we see that he definitely is not “one of them”, because they find him too different from them to be considered such and probably this is where all those mistrust in him come from (“I know they've always found me aloof, too educated” which really, really, tells a lot about him).

And I just thought: how strong must he have been to gain and hold the power over those men in a world where there are no rules, no indisputable ranks, where trust and submission is granted (and only barely promised) to the stronger ones or to the ones who are considered the most fitted to receive it only basing on one's subjective judgment and advantage, without even being liked by those men?

And also, Dufresne says that “he loves his books” which is another one of the things that in my opinion are so beautiful about his character for the deep links those books have with his story and his development (I could write a whole essay about Flint's books lol).

Anyway, I just finished rewatching season 4 some weeks ago and since I can't stay for long without BS anymore I thought: why not starting it again? And so. Btw, I really needed to rewatch the first season since I feel like I still haven't appreciated it enough.