#that doesn't mean half of my heart isn't on the other of an ocean

[mecdidikmen]

heart & mind, hope you forget not.

[pigcowboys]

Hi I hope you're having a wonderful day <3

I was wondering if you could maybe do percy jackson with a daughter of nyx where they are basically the same person personality wise and have a lot of common interests ( sorry self indulging here🤭). They basically both kin each other lmao

THANK YOU <3

pairing: ꒰percy jackson x nyx! female! reader꒱⋆·˚

summary: general hcs for percy with a nyx! s/o

warning(s): mutual pining, nonsensical bickering, mentions of injuries & kisses

a/n: HIII OMG THIS REQUEST IS SO CUTE :)) i tried my best to do what you requested!! i hope you like it!!

request are closed!

literally off the bat i can see the two of you at each other's throats all the time.

you're just too alike there's no way there's not gonna be bickering man.

"i think we should use a different design."

"who put you in charge?"

"the voices in my head, actually"

"literally what."

i imagine percy kind of being put off by you when he'd first get to camp half-blood like

who are you.

i mean it isn't like he's TRYING to be mean, you're just so annoying sometimes yk.

then i feel like one night he'd sneak out of camp to go stargazing and find you near the shore in his spot.

lowkey annoyed by your presence at first but still proceeds to gaze with you silently. you'd strike up a conversation with him and it'd actually go a lot better than he expected it to go.

okay, maybe you're not that bad.

he'd start to approach you more at camp but like not for any reason at all yk. he just enjoys talking to you, i guess.

probably would be overjoyed when he finds out you have similar interests as him.

you two probably stay up all night talking about the most random stuff.

honestly, those talks are probably the moment when he realizes he..like likes you.

you're just chilling and talking about random shit and he laughs at one of your jokes and has to take a moment because he realized that you're honestly just the best person ever.

and then from that point on he's honestly kind of a mess.

you're so cool to him for some reason?? you'd just be living life and he'd probably just be in the background observing you with big ass heart eyes.

"is there something on my face, perce?"

"huh? uh no, what?"

he knows he likes you but just doesn't know how to say it?? i mean, do YOU even like him back..??

aghhhh it's honestly so draining to him.

he's not shy. just kind of stupid when it comes to feelings.

probably tried to "woo" you somehow by buying you ocean related stuff whenever you go out together.

played it off as him just having some change.

he is willing to go bankrupt for you.

i feel like one day he just got tired of dropping hits and just decided to go for it cause like, you've known each other for a minute.

he'd meet you at that star gazing spot and literally just spill all his feelings for you.

"don't say anything but what if i told you you're an amazing person and probably the coolest person i've ever met in my life and that i'm literally head over heels for you because you're smart and funny and pretty and you're just the best?"

"what?"

and you start dating!! woo!!

HES SO SWEET!!!

once you start dating he def gets a bit more of a confidence boost.

always boasting about the fact he's dating you like everyone else doesn't already now from the way he's always clinging to you.

and if you're not into physical touch no worries!! he's completely and totally fine with it!! probably asks permission to give you hugs and hold your hand.

beach dates.

you'd be that one sappy couple who interlocking hands and walks down the beach together UGHH

he would def be the type of guy to go to you after every quest so you can patch him up. do you even know how to patch him up?? probably not! can't he just use some ambrosia?? yes.

doesn't mean he won't stop.

"percy, what the fuck happened!?"

"what do you mean?? :)"

kind of scared of your mother but would never admit it to your face.

i feel like he'd make some kind of big plan to try and kiss you but it'd ultimately fail.

he'd pull up to you with some beautiful ass flowers with a big grin on his face.

would take you to some really secluded spot that he'd decorated with a bunch of different things and homemade food!! (sally helped him.)

things would be going good till it starts to rain.

not that it's a problem for him at all but it kills the freaking mood.

"i'm so sorry.."

"for what?"

"how this turned out, it was supposed to be this big and..romantic thing."

"it's okay, we can have other dates."

"no like..i wanted us to kiss."

"..."

"..."

"who says we can't right now..?"

"oh."

he's in heaven when you finally kiss for the first time!! you're literally so amazing like wtf he got so lucky.

from that point on you two are locked in for life.

he's everywhere you are, you're everywhere he is NO MATTER WHAT.

he's so in love.

[mintmatcha]

cw: implied mental illness/substance abuse references

Denki jams his tongue into his cheek as he types, folding his gum in half before popping it between his teeth. The action is repeated: squish, snap, squish, snap-- unmuted by his open mouth. The waves and all their static do nothing to cover the sound of it; the sand was abandoned long before sunset, but the ocean is never quiet.

Suddenly, Denki sits up, looking to you as if he just remembered you exist.

"Shit, you hate that sound, don't you?" He swallows hard and you know the piece of gum is gone, "My bad."

"It's okay."

"I'm just really trying to quit smoking."

"I know."

He stares at you for a long while, then sighs. He drags his finger through the sand, peeling away layers of dry to reveal the darker, wet below. Weight has filled out his cheeks and middle in ways that you know he hates, but it looks so much healthier than he's even been.

"Everyone hated when I smelled like cigarettes apparently," Denki says, trying to laugh, "It sucks that no one told me that I stunk all the time."

Everyone is code for the girl he keeps texting, one one that lights his screen up with pretty pink hearts and messages that make his eyes glimmer. She texts again, a soft yet unrelenting force.

"I liked it." The horizon is dotted with lights, blinking against the surf. They follow their own pattern, blinking arrhythmically with each other against the surf, "It just smelled like you to me."

"Do you..." Denki rubs the back of his neck, "I dunno, do you really miss all that?"

All that includes too much. The peaks, the lows. Before his medications were balanced and before he quit partying, when neither of you had any control over your lives.

"No," you say, and you mean it, "But I miss knowing things about you."

"You know me." Denki's phone buzzes again, "I'm still me."

"I know."

"I'm still your Kaminari."

"I know."

He isn't. He no longer stops for a pack of cigarettes and a row of Hi-Chew every night. He no longer responds to your texts or reaches out first. It's been months since he last passed out on your bathroom floor, months since he asked you if you were alright.

His hair is shorter than he's ever liked it.

A horn goes off in the distance: a ship rolling into port.

"I don't know what to do with you," Denki sighs, "Did you not want me to get better? Because it feels like you didn't want me to."

He waits only a second for you before sighing again.

"Why did you ask me to come here?"

Because you missed him. Because you need a friend. Because you've always come when he's called.

All you even wanted was for him to be okay.

"I just didn't think getting better would mean I'd lose you."

"You didn't-" His phone goes off again, humming and buzzing harder. He scrambles to pick it up, pushing on to his feet. "Fuck, I really gotta take this."

"It's fine."

"I'll be right back."

"It's fine."

He answers and calls her baby with all the warmth and welcome he used to have for you. She's the one he goes to when the waters are calm and life is easy. You are the port in a storm, the one holding an umbrella until the rain passes.

You leave your sneakers there and walk the shore, the lace foam clinging to your socks and salt licking at your jeans. After fifteen minutes, he calls you once. You wait for a text or second try, but it doesn't come.

When you cry, it's from the bottom of the gut, ripping up like bile. The sound is swallowed by the sea.

[shygirl4991]

A shout out to @cody-the-cat enjoy seeing the idea come to life! All art is by @b-r-i-n-g-x do not repost! A Four Chapter special as thank you for all the support you guys have given me! Next Chapter

Summary: SMG3 just wanted to make himself a nice cup of coffee before the work day began, but when he takes a sip from his freshly brewed coffee and passes out he will wake up to a huge surprise. Three other versions of himself now run wild in the mushroom kingdom and he has to stop them before the world learns all his secrets. 

Tags: Love Confessions, Enemies to friends to lovers, Romantic comedy, fluff and angst,

Bob was running for his life as he hears the crowd of angry mob members after him, he looks at the vial he stole from them. He knew it would sell for a lot on the dark web but he wouldn't be able to sell it if he ended up in the bottom of the ocean. Looking around for a place to hide it he sees Three’s coffee and Bomb, he nods dashing in the cafe. A victory for Bob no one was around, he dumps the vile into the coffee machine then runs out “I'M TELLING YOU I DON'T HAVE IT!” he dashes off hoping no one will find his money maker.

Unknown to him by tossing the vial in the coffee machine it cracked, the liquid spilling in the machine getting mixed with coffee beans and gunpowder creating something new. SMG3 walks out of the elevator still waking up as he ties his hair up ready for another day, he turns on the coffee maker ready for his morning brew. He hums looking outside noticing SMG4 was hanging out with the crew, seeing the man's smile made his heart flutter. He rolls his eyes at the dumb emotion, sometimes he misses the days he would plot against Four trying to kill him and take over his channel. Hearing the coffee making go quiet he walks over picking up his cup of coffee, still being half asleep the man didn't notice the drink was glowing a strange color.

Sitting down he sips his coffee as he opens his journal and starts writing, he pauses and stares at the drink “The hell? I don't have cherry coffee here…” his eyes went wide, finally noticing the strange color the drink was. He leaves the cup on the table shaking, he gets up feeling strange as he looks at the strange color drink “What…the..fuck did i?” he falls to the floor feeling weak. He coughs as his vision starts to get blurry, as he blinks he starts to see colors. Three shadows, Pink, orange and lastly dark blue.

He passes out hearing a soft giggle from a voice that sounds similar to his own.

He doesn't know how much time has passed as he gets up rubbing his head, looking around an orange blur catches his attention. He turns his head staring at the person in the cafe “Oh…i'm dreaming!” The person in the cafe with him was himself. The orange SMG3 looks up from his journal fixing his glasses as he smiles at him “Ah original your awake finally!”

He slowly stands up staring at the other him, getting a closer look while they do look the same. The other version of him had subtle differences, the man's violet eyes look into his ruby eyes before they close as he sighs “I apologize, you have awoken and i haven't told you who i am. Ahem I am Supermemeguardian3 in charge of your logical thinking, a pleasure to finally meet you.” He fixes his glasses as he walks over to Three to shake his hand, he slowly reaches grabbing his hand “Oh god this isn't a dream…”

Now that the other him was closer he noticed the skull on the hat was different and had an appearance of a book, his hair was loose free from any restraint not to mention his hair was more wavy then his was. Taking a step back, the orange version of himself let out a soft chuckle “Yes this isn't a dream, we don't know how we got here. I have been waiting for you to awaken in order to work together to get to the bottom of this!”

SMG3 shakes his head feeling himself ready to scream “What…what do you mean your my logical side?

With a hum he starts to twirl his hair thinking “Whatever happened caused a split, your three strongest personalities at the moment in time turn into us?” SMG3 slowly nods as he turns and takes the elevator down to his room, Orange Three stood there confused until he heard loud screaming “Ah i had a feeling original would react like that.”

After a few moments Three comes out of the elevator looking drain “We need to name you, no way in hell we are going to call each other three it will get confusing.” His orange version nods watching Three checking him out. As he examines the outfit the one thing that stood out the most was the skull shaped book logo on the hat and shoes, with a nod he has decided “Given your logo looks like a book, how about we call you book3?” Book nods and smiles at him “Perfect i accept the name.”

Now that the name part of the conversation was over SMG3 had one thing that was bothering him “You have mentioned three of you guys got out…where are the other two?” Book opens his mouth then frowns awkwardly looking to the side “uh well those two ran out of the cafe so fast…i couldn't stop them and they are currently outside in the mushroom kingdom,” he lets out a sheepish smile as SMG3 glares at him.

“Oh my fucking ugh come on book we need to find the other two!” he grabs books and as he storms out of the cafe. Currently his logical side is out in the open, he takes a deep breath trying to remember what emotion he could have been feeling at the moment this happened. He was drawing blanks as he walked around holding Books hand, this was strange he stopped looking at their hands. Holding hands with Book made his mind buzz, he closed his eyes to focus on the feeling. His mind became more clear, Book became worried that SMG3 stopped walking. He let's go out of his hand “Original are you okay?”

SMG3 opens his eyes seeing a concern Book “Yeah…holding hands felt odd not like with Four this was different,” Book nods “It must be due to the fact I'm you, maybe it's our meme power trying to take me back but something is preventing the fusion from happening?”

They both hum thinking over it, suddenly a huge explosion happens catching their attention. They exchange looks before running to the sound of the explosion, there they see a dark blue SMG3 on a roof of a restaurant “LISTEN UP FUCKERS I RULE THIS PLACE!” Three stares in shock at his other personality. He was dressed similarly to his old design, looking at the hat the logo was a skull in the shape of a spade.

Spade looks down, noticing SMG3 and Book “Well look who it is! Sup loser finally picking to be fun, also saw you brought original with you what up!” he smirks showing off his spikey teeth. SMG3 climbs the ladder nearby to get closer to his other personality “Alright, mind explaining why the hell are you throwing bombs around?” Now that he was closer he noticed the small difference that was on Spade also, the personality had brown eyes and it turns out his hair was in a spiky ponytail. How the hell can someone just scream edge lord this hard core “Uh duh Original we are a villain, come on we rule the graveyard why not rule over this fucking place that would teach that loser SMG4.”

Three sighs walking over and lifting up Spade “What the fuck?!” without a second thought he throws Spade off the roof making Book run and catch Spade “You have some learning to do scrub, but before we can learn we need to figure out where the last one of you guys are!” Spade pouts making Book laugh. Noticing he is in Books arms Spade blushes “HEY PUT ME DOWN!” Book keeps laughing as he puts Spade down. SMG3 climbs down “Alright Book, Spade let's go!”

Spade looks at him confused “Wait.. am i Spade?” Book nods before following Three, Spade rolls his eyes and walks after them.

As they walked down the road he started to think about the last personality, he was drinking coffee before it all happened “I bet the last one of you guys has to be a coffee mix with bomb!” Spade lets out an evil cackle “More like a bowl of fruit loops!” Three looks at Spade confused, before he could ask Spade gasp running up to a store his eyes sparkling. Three follows and sees a paintball competition happening, Book sighs as he now has both Spade and Three glued to the window of a paintball store “Guy’s we are looking for the last personality remember?” Spade waves his hand “Yeah yeah but one game couldn't hurt!”

SMG3 agrees as they both giggle running into the shop, Book awkwardly looks around before stepping into the store. Shroomy turns smiling at them “Oh hey SMG3! Uh, who are your friends?” he blinks noticing how they looked similar to three “Oh they are my er twins?”

Shroomy gasp “Oh gosh i didn't know you had brothers Three!” SMG3 nods, acting annoyed “Why do you think my name is SMG3?”

Spade stomps to the counter smacking the table “Listen we are here to shoot shit, and all I'm hearing is talking so shut it and let me shoot shit!” Shroomy nods, handing Spade and Three paintball guns, Book takes a step back not interested in the distraction “No point in being scared of yourself,” hearing this Three turns rolling his eyes “Scared? Please im SMG3 why would i be scared of myself?”

Book walks up to Three “Because you know deep down who the last one is don't you?”

Three glares at Book, how would he know who the last one is? Spade was about ready to knock out Book for getting in the middle till he catches a pink blur, he chuckles “So that's where you went.” He slips out of the store while the other two are fighting. They hear the bell of the shop and turn to see Spade leave, in a panic Three runs out catching the attention of the last personality. His eyes go wide as they look into pink SMG3 teal green eyes, nervously he looks at the hat getting his answer on who this personality may be. He swallows as he stares at the Skull in the shape of a heart, he gets a huge smile from the personality and shakes the bags in his hands “Hey guys! I was just shopping for our Blue!”

SMG3 slowly takes a step forward “Blue?” Heart giggles at his confusion “SMG4 duh, i mean how can you not have a nickname for our future boyfriend!” Heart smiles as Book chimes in “Logic, Evil, and Romance guess we are now all here right original?” Three felt panic grow as he hurried to grab the personalities hands, he attempted to focus on the buzzing feeling. But nothing happens, he lets them go and stares at his hands confused. Book frowns seeing how upset Three looked. “If I may, I think the reason it didn't work is because you won't let us in.” Slowly he looks up and stares at heart. His hair looked so fluffy and had his bangs heart shaped, this man screams valentines days. Heart gives a soft smile to him “Don't worry we will figure it out! Now who wants cookies, I made them in the shape of our love!”

Seeing the cookies and the loving eyes was enough for SMG3 to take a step back and scream. The worst thing to ever exist is standing in front of him and its Romance.

[athousandbyeol]

discussion #7 (only friends): mew's loneliness— isolation of mew's hidden madness (light versus dark)

mew is a very interesting character to me because he's so layered and mysterious. everyone thinks he's A when he's definitely not only A but B, C, D, etc.

i've mentioned this in my previous posts, we don't really know mew's intention and his thought process. even when top is crying while hugging him, mew doesn't shed a tear despite being the victim of top's lies.

it's so fascinating that mew has so many walls surrounding him and they don't break. people don't break him— well, probably top will— but mew isn't one to lament his sadness. instead of spiralling in despair, mew will rise and seek revenge.

this will be a very short post. i just want to emphasise mew's facial expression which i find eerie and bone-chilling (again, kudos to p'book for this excellent portrayal of mew).

is it loneliness or madness?

there's this scene in the trailer that catches my attention from the first watch. it's the scene when top says, "mew might have many friends, but he has only one boyfriend." afterwards, he takes mew away from (seemingly) ray's house (i guess he's throwing a party or something).

my speculation is mew might've been the one driving. so mew will drive back to his place and top sees him off like in this bts picture;

and top (adorably) waves goodbye at mew (i can't find that post to link this with... i'm sorry...)

however, i wonder if top calls boston or it's the other way around because this shirt top is wearing—

—is what he wears when he meets boston.

top is sitting on the passenger's seat which somehow strengthens the idea that boston is the one seeking top that (rainy and cold) night. and the rest... well, the car broke.

however, something else catches my interest.

this.

when i saw it for the first time, my heart truly shattered. he looked so lonely. mew seemed so hopeless and isolated, helplessly staring at the fishes in the aquarium, probably contemplating the promises top made or the i love you top said before they parted.

but then it hit me— mew is crazy. in a good way (?). he's downright insane that it gave me tingles (and still do).

i think there are so many ways to perceive this shot of mew. but i believe there's a reason why there's more emphasis on the light from the aquarium and the darkness of mew's room.

light (what people think of mew)

many of us collectively agree that mew is kind. in the intro post, p'book explained mew is helpful and honest. he's willing to do anything for his friends if they're in need of help.

the light that rains on half of his face indicates mew still has that in him— kindness. empathy. if nothing triggers the ugly side of him, this is what we'll get from mew— his unrelenting kindness.

dark (what we don't see)

it's ironic how the room isn't entirely black. there are tinges of dark blue— somehow parallel to the aquarium or the ocean— blue, deep and vast.

the darkness that covers the other half of mew's face signifies the monster mew hides (or he never knows of its existence until top turns his world downside up). it's blue, seemingly a positive colour. but blue can also mean passiveness and sadness.

i guess, at this point in their relationship, mew is starting to get hints of top's dishonesty. but he's still unsure because as if he's drowning, he only sees top as a saviour and not a betrayer. he can't wrap the possibilities of top cheating on him because how can top still say he loves mew even when he's seeing someone else? that doesn't make sense, yes?

additionally, it's also ironic (and heartbreaking) how this scene might be shown in between the topboston scene (or before/after). it adds so much to the depth of mew's sadness and isolation because mew might believe top is already at home or somewhere else but fucking his best friend in a damn car. i believe mew's light will fade the more top lies to him.

there's madness in those eyes that hides the surging anger so well. behind those glasses and that aloof expression, mew is somewhat already sensing the doom of his relationship with top. but he can't point fingers at top yet— not when pieces of evidence aren't enough to back him up. but this is the headstart for mew. this is when his light begins to disappear.

conclusion

mew is seriously playing with my sanity and morality because i'm team mew of all people but this guy... wow. just what on earth is going on in that pretty head of yours, mew?

i'm taking this chance to applaud p'book's acting again. he's amazing. there's so much to mew that is still yet to explore and i'm so thrilled to unravel and witness the changes mew will show throughout the series. i hope whatever the directors/scriptwriters and p'book have built up for mew won't go to waste. if mew is everything we thought he is and isn't, this will be p'book's best craft to date (but cher will always be my number one <3)

anyway, it's tomorrow.

are we ready to give only friends a try?

[1 | 2 | 3 | 4 (i) | 4 (ii) | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12]

[pizzaqueen]

Thank you so much for the enthusiasm for my Buckingham A League Of Their Own AU so far! Here’s part two :D It’s Robin’s POV and half platonic Steve & Robin and half Buckingham meeting/getting to know each other (it overlaps with part one)

1.4k / no warnings (but vague mentions of war)

Part one

Oh, and if you haven’t already seen it @yendts did some AMAZING art for this AU

Okay, now, the fic:

Sweat drips down Robin's forehead, stings her eyes, but she’s grinning when she pulls her mask off. They won. They won! And it was down to Robin.

"Nice catch, Buckley," Stan, the shortstop, says, slapping her on the back.

She grins wider. "Thanks." She looks around, the joy of victory slowly becoming tinged with concern. She can’t see Steve.

It's not like he can't look after himself, or anything, but he's their coach. And he's been different since he got back. God, Robin, of course he's different—his major league career was cut short and who knows what he saw, fighting out there—but he's been so down that sometimes (most of the time) she worries.

And then she sees him. He’s talking to a guy about a head shorter and twenty years older than him, more animated than she's seen him in a while.

With a bounce in her step, she goes over, punching him in the arm. "Hey, coach," she says, "see me win?"

Steve turns to her, smiling. A proper, actual smile. "Yep. And so did..." His brow furrows and he turns back to the guy he was talking to. "Sorry, I forgot your name."

“Ernie Capadino,” the guy says. "Look, I'm not going to beat around the bush, but do you want to play ball?"

He's looking at Robin; her brow furrows. "I already do?” She points back at the field.

"Proper ball. Professionally. Mr. Wrigley and some others are setting up a women’s league. I've been sent to find talent for the tryouts. I think you've got what it takes."

The world stops and everything seems distant. This must be a dream. She makes the winning catch and then there’s this guy here telling her there’s going to be a women’s league and she’s got what it takes. All she can manage to say is, “You're a scout?"

"I'm glad you're quicker at catching balls than catching on."

"Hey," Steve says, "you're kind of talking in riddles."

"Sorry." Mr. Capadino mops his brow. "It's been a long day." He turns to Robin. "Are you interested?"

She hesitates, biting her lip. ”This isn't a prank is it?" Some of the guys are prone to pranking, and she’s not sure they’re clever enough for this, but…a women’s league? An actual real women’s professional baseball league?

"Not a prank."

"Then, yes, I—" Robin looks at Steve, and he gives her an encouraging look and a thumbs up. She lets out a relieved breath. She would've still gone, but it would have been with a heavier heart. She smiles and says, "I'm definitely interested."

—

"I still can't believe this is happening," Robin says, curled up in the projection booth with Steve. "In less than a week, I could be a professional ball player."

"Could be?"

"I might not make a team."

"You will."

Robin smiles, then she bites her lip. The projector flickers away, whirring between her and Steve. The theatre gave him back his old job the moment he got back, and Robin's glad he has this, but she can't stand the thought of leaving him. "Come with me."

"Yeah, sure."

"I mean it."

"What as? Your batboy."

"No. Just to get out of Hawkins."

"Yeah, I got out of Hawkins, pretty recently, remember? Didn't work out too well for me."

Robin looks at Steve's knee, doesn't think about the other scars. She wants to say At least you're still alive, but she doesn't. It wouldn't be fair. But she spent months and months imagining Steve, dead in some ocean somewhere, blown to pieces in the Pacific, and she's still so relieved he's alive that some days it's hard to remember his life has been torn apart. But she decides to try a different tack, just like she did when she convinced Steve to coach the Tigers. "I don't want to go alone," she says softly.

"Robin."

"Please, Steve. I've never left Hawkins for longer than a week." She presses her hands together. "Please come with me."

And that does it. She sees Steve's resolve crumble.

"Just for the tryouts," Steve says. "And then I'm coming home."

"Of course. Wouldn't want to miss out on any of the incredibly interesting things that happen here."

Steve rolls his eyes, but he seems a little lighter as he changes the movie reels over, and Robin smiles easily. She's going to play ball. For real!

Holy shit.

—

"I'm standing outside Baker Field!" Robin bites her lip, bouncing on her toes. "Baker Field! Do you know how many games I listened to being played here?”

"Yeah." There's a strangeness in Steve's voice, but it's gone when he adds, "I'll meet you back here after." He pauses. "Or, should I say, I'll meet the new Robin Buckley, hotshot pro ball player." He nudges her shoulder.

"This is really happening, isn't it?"

"Yeah," Steve says, "it is."

Robin claps her hands to her face. "I think I might pee myself."

Steve snorts. He shoves her lightly in the direction of the gates. "Go on, go prove what I already know. And lay off the high ones."

"I like the high ones," she says.

Steve shakes his head and gives her a wave.

Robin steels herself and finally goes inside and then she stops dead. There are so many women here. So many women like her. She wants to cry but she's too excited. This is what she's been waiting for, her whole life, even if she never knew it.

A stray ball comes her way and she picks it up, throwing it back the way it came.

And that’s when she nearly hits the most beautiful woman she's seen in her life.

—

Robin has been babbling for the past ten minutes while she and Chrissy throw the ball back and forth to each other, unable to stop the nervous stream of words falling from her lips. Chrissy doesn't seem to mind, though. She's smiling and she laughs whenever Robin says something funny (not always on purpose). Her laugh is like cool water on a hot day or the sound of the crowd cheering when Robin makes the winning catch.

"Is Steve your fella?"

"Huh?"

"You've mentioned him a lot and you said he came with you, so I figured he's your guy."

"Oh. No. Definitely not. Steve is..." How to explain Steve? "Steve's my friend. My best friend. But just a friend." Was that too forceful? She doesn't want to seem too obvious. No, it was fine. "Do you... Do you have a...fella?"

A pained look flits over Chrissy's face, but it could just be the clouds moving across the sun, casting dancing shadows. "Yeah. Jason. He's overseas, right now."

"Oh, I'm sorry."

"It's fine. He'll be home soon."

Robin throws the ball back. "You didn't want to wait for him at home?" God. Why is she still talking?"

The ball comes whizzing toward Robin and she catches it—of course she does—but she feels the force of Chrissy's pitch through her glove. She takes her glove off, shaking out her hand. "Wow. You've got... A great arm."

"Shoot, I'm sorry! I just—" Chrissy pauses a moment, and then she shrugs. "Got carried away."

"We're here to play our best," Robin says. "Right?"

"Right." Chrissy bites her lip. "So, you said you're from Indiana?"

"Yeah. Hawkins. You've probably never heard of it."

"No. I'm from Indiana, too, though," Chrissy says. "South Bend."

"Oh, one of the teams is going to be in South Bend, isn't it?"

“It is.” Chrissy shifts her weight, then mutters, “I hope I make one of the others."

Robin lets out a soft breath. “I know what you mean.” When Chrissy’s brow furrows, Robin adds, “I mean, I’m glad they don’t have a team in Hawkins.”

There’s a quiet moment and Robin isn’t sure what it means but then Chrissy nods, a smile growing on her face, and throws the ball back. She almost catches Robin off guard.

They play until someone calls out over a megaphone that tryouts will be starting in five minutes; Robin had almost forgotten about them. She goes to pick the ball up at the same time Chrissy does. Their hands touch over the stitching—well, no, their pinkie fingers touch—and Robin’s pulse leaps, but, even though Chrissy has paused, Robin’s sure she isn’t feeling what Robin is feeling.

And then Chrissy finally moves, saying, “We better go,” pushing herself to her feet and holding out a hand for Robin.

Robin takes it, letting Chrissy pull her to her feet, still too turned around to say anything, watching as Chrissy walks away.

God, she hopes they make the same team.

—

Tagging some people (please let me know if you don’t want to be tagged again or if you’d like to be added):

@stevethehairington @ladydorian05 @ravnlinn @eerielake @grey-edges @thebridgetonarnia

Sorry if I missed anyone

[demonsonthemoon]

Here As I Am

Fandom: Our Flag Means Death Pairing: Israel Hands & Edward Teach Word Count: 1610 Rating: Gen Summary: “It's not even that bad,” Ed says. “Stop,” Izzy protests weakly. “Stop! Stop it. Eddie, just-” Ed feels tears gather in his eyes, but he listens. For once in his life, he listens and stills his scurrying hands, waiting to hear whatever it is Izzy has to say to him. “Stop trying to save me. Stop pretending you care." Notes: Hello, hi. Mmmmmh........ so that ending, right? I didn't like it. I felt like it wasn't earned. So I wrote the set-up for a more tragic version of an ending that would lead to an entire arc of heart-wrenching internal conflict. I'm so much fun at parties. Title from "Because the Night" by Patti Smith

Read it on AO3.

There's so much blood on his fingers as Edwards calls out for help. He's not used to that anymore. He's gotten with his persona as someone that's above getting his own hands dirty.

Stede gets up to grab bandages and Ed can tell from his tone that even he doesn't believe that it will do any good. But Edward pretends he hasn't noticed. He can't let himself notice. Because if even Stede, blindly optimistic Stede who raced the oceans after Blackbeard after he had stranded his crew, if even the Gentleman Pirate cannot believe anymore...then there really isn't any hope left.

“Great, Bonnet's in charge. I'm definitely fucked,” Izzy says. Snarking still even as he bleeds out under Ed's hands.

The joke should be reassuring. Izzy is still Izzy. Can't be anything too wrong with him if he's still capable of sarcasm.

But Ed knows better these days. Izzy might have kept barking at the crew half the time, but the rest of his days were spent nursing a bottle. And there wasn't any shouting whenever Edward was on deck. The truth is, Ed already knows that Izzy isn't the same man he used to be. Edward made sure of that, butchering his body as he saw fit.

The toe hadn't been the first time Ed had marked easy. But all his other marks had been gifts. Those news scars... They weren't anything like that.

Izzy might be acting sarcastic, but there's no warmth in his eyes to let Edward know that he's in on the joke. There's just pain. So much pain. And Ed might not have ever seen that face before, but the Kraken has.

There's a certain tiredness there as well that pulls at Ed's heart.

“It's not even that bad,” Ed says. It's a lie. It's just another lie, the umpteenth one in his long career as a pirate. He knows it and Izzy knows it. His first mate has always been able to read right through him.

“Stop,” he protests weakly. “Stop! Stop it. Eddie, just-”

Ed feels tears gather in his eyes, but he listens. For once in his life, he listens and stills his scurrying hands, waiting to hear whatever it is Izzy has to say to him.

Fuck. He has so much to say to his First Mate. So much to explain, so many things to apologize for. He's been such a dick for the past few months and, sure, Izzy's been a dick all of his life, but he's always been there.

And now he might not-

And Ed can't-

And-

“Stop trying to save me. Stop pretending you care. We both know the choices that have led me here, and if you must take everything from me, at least leave me with the dignity of dying a pirate's death. It's the least you can fucking do.”

“Izzy, what are you-”

“I love you.”

Ed feels the tears run down his cheek. There's a finality to Izzy's tone that brooks no argument.

“Izzy, I'm sorry-”

“No. Don't. Don't you dare say that. I love you, and I hate that I still want to fucking say it when I'm about to fucking die because of you. This is because of you, Edward. All of this. Because of my love for you, and don't you dare apologize because you fucking wanted it.”

The hand that he had slipped behind Izzy's neck to keep his head from the deck suddenly grips into a fist. Izzy smiles through gritted teeth, and it feels like he's biting into Ed's skin.

“We called it loyalty, but we both knew what it was and you let it grow, and I won't let you apologize. Reap the fucking fruits you've sown. It's about damn time you face the music for your actions, captain Blackbeard.”

“No, Izzy, no. I'm sorry.”

“What are you even sorry for? Do you know?” The smile is softer this time, but it doesn't matter. Edward is already flayed open.

“I fed your darkness, Blackbeard. It was supposed to protect us. But you decided you'd outgrown it. Did you even think about what it left me with?”

Ed doesn't want to hear this. Not now. Not like this. Izzy is his best friend. He can't die like this, words of hate in his mouth and reason enough for them to be justified. He can't die with the name Blackbeard on his tongue, Edward's name another thing that got stolen by the greatest pirate of the Caribbean.

It's not fair.

“I need him. Blackbeard... It was us. I needed you. And you left me.”

Ed thinks of Stede. It's the worst moment. The man still isn't back with the clean bandages and Izzy is dying in his arms and Ed is still thinking about Stede anyway.

About waiting for him on the docks.

About waiting for him on the ship.

He thinks about the moment he realized that Stede wasn't coming back, that he had left.

He thinks about how he closed the door to his own feelings, put on the skin of the Kraken, how he stopped seein anyone around him because his gaze was entirely consumed by absence.

“Now I'm leaving you,” Izzy adds. He manages to sound triumphant even as his body is wracked by a cough that ends in a pained gasp.

“Izzy, you can't go. You can't leave me.”

“I wanna go,” Izzy responds.

It's like the ground is opening under Edward's feet. Like their ship is falling directly to the bottom of the ocean, not a drop of water in sight. And then it keeps falling, through layers and layers of earth and rocks.

Edward did this. He took the best thing that had been given to him – true friendship, loyalty that ran deeper than blood – and he twisted it. Made it devotion, made it worship, until – like all proper gods – he stopped even talking to the man he calls his greatest friend.

And now Izzy wants to leave. And now Izzy is leaving.

“No, please,” Edward cries out. “You're my only family.”

Izzy dies with a smile on his lips and Ed gripping his jacket and his hair.

Edward calls out his name. Once, twice. And then he crumbles into the other man's chest and screams.

The ship inside of him doesn't stop falling and he doesn't stop screaming. Everything he has kept trapped inside his chest for the past decade is coming out. All of the emotions he repressed, because Blackbeard doesn't show any emotions. All of the love he never managed to allow past his lips because he thought that it would only be met with scorn.

All of the words that he never said, and now it's too late. Now his best friend is dead.

He feels hands on his back, trying to comfort him. He doesn't move, even when his scream turns into sobs.

He hears Stede's voice, some shouting, and he notices movement around him, the crew getting to work to get the ship moving. He doesn't look at what's happening. He doesn't check whether they're doing things correctly. Those kinds of things are Izzy's job.

Let them strand the ship, let them capsize for all he cares.

He shudders as that thought registers. He recognizes the impulse for destruction, the one that powered him for those months he spent without Stede, running the crew ragged and sailing them directly into storms.

It had been some sort of drive then, something that could get him out of the blankness of his mind, out of the deep hole that was taking over it. It doesn't seem to build up the same kind of energy now. He's so tired.

Hands push at his shoulders. He resists. He keeps his face against Izzy's shirt, doesn't care if he gets blood all over his cheeks, doesn't care if it gets in his mouth.

“Edward.” It's Stede's voice, right next to his ear. Edward shudders again, hides deeper in his best friend's dead body. He doesn't want to face the other man, not right now. He knows that all he will see in Stede's face is the details that Izzy hates. Hated. Stede's wavy hair, the softness that is still in his eyes even when it has mostly disappeared from his body, the unconscious mannerisms leftover from his upbringing that he never quite managed to do away with.

“Edward, we need to move him. We need to clean the- to clean him. And you. You can't just stay like this.”

Edward whines. He's not Blackbeard in this moment. He's a pitiful little boy who only wants to hide in his mother's skirts, but he has already learned that it's not safe there.

Stede's gentle hands pull at him once more. He's too tired to resist. He gives up. That's the story of his life, lately. He lets himself be pulled away until he's sitting on his butt. Stede crouches in front of him and pulls him to his chest, and Edward keeps crying.

Out of the corner of his eye, he sees Jim and Oluwande drag away Izzy's corpse.

“I'm sorry, Ed” Stede says.

Ed suddenly wants to move away. He can't hear this. Not coming from Stede. Not when Izzy refused his own apologies.

He hates himself for the part of him that longs to hear Izzy say the same words. To hear Izzy acknowledge the role he's played in Edwards own suffering.

But the man lost several toes, he lost his leg, and he still stayed with Ed until it got him killed. No matter what he wishes, Edward cannot ask for more. He realizes that now.

[rowanmuppet]

To go with the penny and mischa headcanons could you do some for noel? I love your other ones smmm

Absolutely I can noel is literally my number one fav and he is rotating around my brain at all times like a microwave

- as a kid he ABSOLUTELY wore his mother's high heels/fancy dresses and had a little tea party on a regular basis with all his stuffed animals bc DUH. He would force his mom to participate but she loved it

- she would paint his nails as often as he asked her to and in whatever color he picked. She'd have a giant collection of colors/glitter/etc and some of his earliest/favorite memories would be of him sitting on her bed getting his nails done and watching reality tv or a devastating french film he's DEFINITELY too young to be seeing

- he is also a giant theater kid and is only in the choir because he was banned from being in the school's plays after the waiting for godot incident

- everyone loves "nischa where Mischa is oblivious to Noel's flirting" but in my heart and soul it's the other way around

- bro is clueless fr Mischa could literally walk up to him and say "I am in love with you noel gruber and I want to marry you" and he'd be like ha imagine. Obviously you'd never mean that though

- was definitely given makeup from his mother for a birthday or something and it's all subtle enough that he can wear it places without people REALLY noticing but he knows it's there (it's like, clear mascara and tinted chapstick but he definitely cried when he opened it)

- side note he definitely has one of the nicest moms out of everyone in the choir??? People hc that she's an alcoholic for some reason and it's like. Nah she's his number one biggest fan fr !!!! We would know if she was 💀

- she doesn't KNOW about Monique per se but she's definitely seen the outfit in his laundry and just never brought it up

- because I know for a fact he's had it in his closet for YEARS and wore it for funsies when he knew nobody was home. Definitely has the entire choreography of cell block tango PERFECTED

- even before he worked at taco bell he high key hated it and that was just amplified with all the shit he had to deal with at that job

- everyone else in the choir literally loves it and it annoys him to no end

- half of his texts with ocean are "hello!! How is my favorite member of the choir today 😄😄" "what do you want ocean" "Baja blast please" "okay."

- he loves ocean like a sibling your honor. They're literally mlm wlw hostility but in a best friends way

- ESPECIALLY AS KIDS when they were kids they were just best friends it was him ocean and constance. But then she beat him at duck duck goose and their relationship was never the same (this is canon to me)

- my favorite thing is making them all best friends with Constance even before the accident because of course they were

- she was the nicest girl in town!! I know her yearbook was signed with a bunch of meaningless "I never met you but you seemed nice" crap

- but my personal theory is that noel, ocean and constance were a lil trio in elementary school and then ocean and noel became mortal enemies (/hj) so they grew apart

- and that's why they're allowed to bully each other relentlessly bc they're basically siblings at this point

- titanic was one of his fav movies before he discovered french new wave cinema but he didn't cry much when he watched it (and if he did, it's because he was wishing a stranger he met on a cruise in the 20s would die for him the way jack did for rose)

[I don't know why I have titanic headcanons for basically every member of the choir I don't even like it THAT much???]

- also he insists there was no room for Jack on the door (he's right)

- he has a black cat named Lola. There isn't much to this hc but I just think it's objectively true.

- On the rare occasion the choir would hang out before the accident and the rarer occasion it was at Noel's house, Ricky would ignore everyone completely and make a beeline to the cat

- the first time Ricky came over he said "you have a cat, don't you?" And noel just kinda looked at him like ???? Before eventually saying "yes... But how did you know that?"

- he loves rain and thunderstorms from the comfort of his home but will literally not be caught DEAD stepping foot outside in it without an umbrella + rain boots + jacket because he doesn't want his clothes to get wet. And he's real for this

- speaking of noel and being dead (I am a god of segues), before he left for school the day of the accident he said these exact words to his mom: "farewell mother. I'm off to die in a tragic accident, don't wait up for me, for I will not return to you in this lifetime"

- this would have been a common way for him to say goodbye to her, and she would always roll her eyes and say "oh how will I go on without you! Surely the grief would be too much for me to bear! I shall stay up at night, clutching an article of your clothing as a single limpid tear rolls down my cheek" And then laugh and tell him to be safe

- and then he actually dies in a tragic accident

- oops #rip

- I don't know why, but imagining Noel's mother after the accident always made me so much sadder than the rest of the choir 😭 I just imagine that they were super duper close for basically his whole life

- also, despite yearning for this whole tragic life I feel like he's super squeamish?? He cannot stand the sight of blood or vomit

- maybe in his fantasy part of that is he can actually handle the things that end up happening in the movies he likes

- also I refuse to believe that their favorite rides aren't somewhat related to something that happened the day of the fair itself

- what I'm saying is basically he rode the ferris wheel with Mischa and almost lost his god damn mind

- it would have been so romantic if he knew his crush was probably mutual

- and finally. Nischa holding onto each other for dear life when things started going wrong and having to be pulled apart post mortem

Thank you for your time this is literally so long and I could come up with so many more

[narrators-journal]

How about creepy child Pharos with Minato? Not Ship-wise, more Platonic/Brotherly.

Like theres Minato and then theres Minato’s Creepy Little brother that most think is actually a Demon but Mint loves his Cute baby bro.

This is a tad rough, but I went for a kinda unclear misunderstood kinda 'brother' vibe. So, pharos isn't really his brother, but Minato assumes he is.

After...the crash, Minato Arisato truly only had his little brother in his life. Sure, Pharos was insanely odd, being almost phobic of even the few aunts, uncles, or older cousins who bothered to take them in over the ten years they bounced around homes and wards, but his odd, clingy behavior didn't mean he wasn't the only forms of substantial connection Minato had left. So, the seventeen-year-old wasn't about to abandon him.

Of course, that didn't mean they didn't make for a mismatched pair. Looking to the seat beside him on the train, the midnight-haired teen was reminded of that fact. Because, while Pharos was small for his age in both weight and height, he also had short, inky black hair, permanently pale skin, and impossibly blue eyes. In contrast, Minato's hair was blue, and his eyes were the color of storm clouds instead of the sunny ocean or anything like that.

Maybe we're not brothers? Some part of Minato whispered in the back of his head while he sat in the near-empty car train watching the little boy hum along with the song that played through his half of the headphones. But, the suggestion had the teen shaking his head and chiding himself, Don't be stupid. He's been around since I can remember. What else would he be? With that thought, their train hissed to a halt, so the teen got up and picked up his younger sibling so they didn't get lost on the walk to his new school.

Of course, Pharos wasn't technically supposed to go with him to Goukkuken, he was far too young, but when the seventeen-year-old had left him with one of their aunts, he'd still somehow managed to show up on the train when he'd boarded. So, he decided to smuggle him into the dorms for the night and enroll him in class. But, for now, Minato had to worry about seeing the simplified map on the school brochure in the shockingly dark train station, not the scrawny child he carried on one arm.           "Mina, does this place feel like a ghost town to you?" Pharos asked as they made their way through the dark, green-tinged, silent station.             "Why? Are you scared?"             "No." The reply was so sure, that it would've been weird coming from any other child. The same likely to be said about the addition he gave. "This place just has ghosts in it." But, Minato just gave a hum of acknowledgment and readjusted the child on his arm so he didn't fall as he walked. Content to let that small interaction be the only acknowledgment of the oddly empty, green-skied environment.

At least, until Pharos spoke once again,           "Do you think you're so unphased by these coffins because you're broken on some psychological level?" Though, that question made the teen blink a bit. Pausing his music as if that would help him see his baby brother better in the watery light from the too-big moon.           "Excuse me?"           "Do you not get scared of the coffins because of how broken you are?"

He asked it so simply. As if asking why Minato's hair was blue. At times like that, where the blue-eyed little boy asked or said such insanely blunt things, that Minato couldn't help but contemplate their connection again.           "Pharos, I don't care about the coffins because..." Well shit, why doesn't this stuff freak me out? It's not like it's normal. He acknowledged, but even then, his stomach didn't churn and his heart didn't race at all. The most unnerving thing about the still, windless night in that moment was Pharos' vibrant cerulean eyes dissecting him as he thought. "...Look, it's just none of my business, alright? If I don't fuck with them, nothing will fuck with me. Easy." Minato explained, but the boy simply continued to stare at him with eyes that knew too damned much until he just had to look back to his map and push on down the road.

Pharos was his brother, but that didn't mean he was entirely immune to his eerie behavior.

[loominggaia]

I love Mr. Ocean because he seems so chilled out no matter what. Does he ever get mad? What does it take to make him rage?

He's super chill! Actually in my original character notes for him, I wrote something like "Mr. Ocean must never use curse words or yell at anyone." That was a hard rule I wanted to stick to when writing him for the LG series.

He doesn't yell, curse, or call people names. He doesn't lash out with violence unless he has no other choice, and even then he will often hesitate. He never talks shit about people. Whatever anger he feels tends to manifest as sadness instead.

He raises his voice at Solveig after she killed his half-brother in "Ocean Returns to the Sea". Although I should mention he wasn't really angry at her, he was just overwhelmed with grief. He understood that she had no other choice and never held the murder against her. He also "killed" Roach to protect Alaine from him, but he did this knowing that Roach would just resurrect anyway, so no real harm done. In "Supply and Demand", he decapitates Roach for the same reason; not out of anger, but simply to protect people he loves from him.

When Disgrace attacked Drifter's Hollow, Mr. Ocean just calmly summoned rains, blasted a few bonewalkers, and buried dead villagers after the battle. He didn't scream at anyone or curse his enemies at any point. He never expressed anger towards Disgrace himself, just sadness that the event happened and concern for his friends.

And then there's "A Mage in the Making"...Itchy treated Mr. Ocean like absolute shit in this story for no good reason. He cussed him out, yelled at him, called him slurs, framed him, even physically assaulted him several times, and not once did Mr. Ocean retaliate with insults or violence. He didn't even raise his voice back at Itchy. In fact, he tried to calm him down and help him with his problems, and referred to him as "my friend" the entire time.

I mean, we're talking about a guy who can't even dredge up malice for a piece of trash like Sovereign. You know, the guy who bullied him, attempted to murder him, and medically tortured him for centuries? Mr. Ocean's not even mad. He loves his brother and continues to make excuses for all those terrible things he did.

So...I'm going to say no, Mr. Ocean doesn't really get angry. This is a very unusual trait, but then again, he's a very unusual person. His extreme docility is actually a major problem which has led to many people taking advantage of him in the past. Luckily, he has the Freelance Good Guys looking out for him now and they all have his best interest at heart.

If Mr. Ocean's loved ones are in peril, make no mistake, he will fight and even kill to protect them. But he's not the type to sit there and dwell on how much he hates his enemies or how the world has wronged him. He's really quick to forgive and forget.

So what could make him rage? Well, maybe a generous dose of zyrup...but that's about it. Anger just isn't in his nature. He's basically perma-stoned.

...Although I gotta admit, seeing him lose it on someone would be hilarious. I'm tempted to let him rage out once--and only once--in the entire series. Like, maybe Itchy pushes him on the wrong day and Mr. Ocean just lets loose with curses, slurs, assault, you name it. Everything shitty Itchy ever did to him, Ocean does it back twice as hard. The reaction is totally out of character, it comes out of nowhere, it ends abruptly, and it never gets mentioned again.

Or better yet, maybe he should unleash that fury on Sovereign...hmmmm...

*

Questions/Comments?

Lore Masterpost

[stormyoceans]

have you ever thought of parallel in vice versa which is that talay was the one wanted to return in their universe the most but he was the one who said 'i miss our time together. can we go back to that universe?' or are you normal. and have you ever thought about that day they went to a cafe for dinner (when talay was hired again at his dream company) and he expected a FUCKING ENGAGEMENT RING from puen? can we talk about how much he really loves puen even though they've known each other for like two and a half years?

I ACTIVELY TRY /NOT/ TO THINK ABOUT IT ACTUALLY BECAUSE IF I DO I GET FILLED WITH SO MUCH UNHINGED EUPHORIC RABID ENERGY THAT IT MAKES ME WANT TO HURL MYSELF INTO A CONCRETE WALL AT THE SPEED OF LIGHT

anon i need you to know that for the past 24 hours i've been trying so hard to reply to your message with something vaguely coherent but my brain seems to completely shut down in front of the sheer immensity of talay's feelings for puen. LIKE!!!!!! he was willing to dive into the ocean if it meant being able to go back to puen!!!!! when just two episodes before that we see him almost having a panic attack while standing in shallow water because that's how he died!!!!! talay DROWNED and yet he was ready to face that again because his love for puen was bigger than his fear!!!!!

and i remember that some people used to say that it was out of character for talay to say he wanted to go back to the alternate universe BUT IT'S NOT!!!!!! like yes, talay missed his life and his family and his friends and his dream job, and knew that they couldn't just steal tess and tun's lives. talay also always does the right thing and puts the feelings of the people he cares about in front of his own, even if it means he's gonna be miserable. however that doesn't mean that deep in his heart he doesn't want to be selfish sometimes: he won't ever act on those selfish feelings, and the proof of it is that he was willing to be miserable for the rest of his life because he didn't want puen to give up on his career for him, but TALAY LOVES HIM!!!!!! SO MUCH!!!!!! AND HE MISSED BEING WITH PUEN IN A MUCH SIMPLER WAY!!!!!! so it's normal that for a moment he wanted to go back!!!!!

and it's so telling that the other time talay says he misses the alternate universe is in the lay's special in episode 12 right after they talk about same sex marriage being legalized in that other thailand!!!!! BECAUSE HERE'S THE THING THAT MAKES ME WANT TO SKYDIVE INTO THE HIMALAYAS WITHOUT PARACHUTE THE MOST: TALAY WANTS TO MARRY PUEN SO BADLY!!!!!!!! usually im so embarrassed at how obvious puen is but this is the one time im actually embarrassed for talay. HE THOUGHT PUEN WAS GONNA GIVE HIM A RING!!!!!! HE GENUINELY WANTED PUEN TO PROPOSE TO HIM AND LOOKED A BIT DISAPPOINTED WHEN THAT WASN'T IT!!!!!! AND IN THE LAY'S SPECIAL HE GETS SO SAD WHEN IT LOOKS LIKE PUEN ISN'T TAKING THE MATTER SERIOUSLY!!!!!!

talay went from being annoyed at the married couple holding up traffic in episode 1 to desperately wanting to marry puen in episode 12. from not believing in love to loving someone so much he wants to spend the rest of his life with them. AND I ABSOLUTELY WILL NEVER BE NORMAL ABOUT IT.

[talysalankil]

nanowrimo prep: in which i once again attempt world building

i forget if i posted about this on here yet, but last month while reading Nona the Ninth I had a moment of going "wait a minute. if tamsyn muir can make her homestuck/bible fanfiction into a science fantasy series what's stopping me from doing that with my kingdom hearts fanfiction"

(this is a joke btw. or, well, an exaggeration. it's not literally fanfiction)

anyway i dusted off a vague idea i'd had for a, quote, "vanven novel", i.e. a novel that isn't going to be vanven fanfiction, just a novel that draws on what draws me to that pairing. and that's the plan for nanowrimo. by which i mean i spent zero amount of time until now, october 29th (technically 30th it's past midnight).

but hey, i do have a few ideas. including the setting

so the idea is to have it be science fantasy, like i mention, and to have it take place on, essentially, alternate earth. but since part of vanven is the duality of it all, well, gotta work that into the setting. hence, also feature an alternate, mirror image earth.

now, inverted earth is a thing that exists but also one that I do not care for. earth is like, 30% land. if you make a world where you flip land and sea, you'd get 30% oceans, and then if you want to think about it in terms of real climates that's just a recipe for nothing but deserts.

enter: me wasting a good chunk of my days then finding a quick shortcut.

the objective: instead of flipping land and sea wholesale, flip the altitude of everything. deep oceans become tall mountains, vice versa. but then instead of setting the coastlines where they are now, essentially dump a roughly equivalent amount of water in the new relief until I get back to Earth-like conditions.

the onset: i trolled some world building communities (including, ugh, reddit. i even made a post there. i feel dirty) looking for some tools that might help. It doesn't appear anyone's done what I have, which is neat, but means I don't have a straight up template to follow

I do find elevation maps of land and oceans on earth from nasa (here and here) so I at least have a high-res and presumably highly accurate data source to start from.

my initial thought was use blender to simulate the water. so I find a tutorial for how to use my elevation map as a texture. I don't even need to really do the final stage of the rendering (turning it into a sphere) and in fact it's probably easier to simulate gravity on a flat plane. At first I use the two maps separately and it's a disaster because I haven't used blender in a decade but I don't think there's an easy way to merge the two halves.

So I open affinity photos (which is my go-to photoshop substitute) to merge the two maps into one. adjust the levels so one map uses half of the grayscale spectrum and the other map uses the other half, load it into blender, realize that the highest point and lowest point on earth aren't at opposite altitudes, go back to affinity, adjust the levels, go back to bender, and voilà, a single object.

(this is already inverted at this point)

but then i realize that that was the easy part. i have never actually used blender's physics engine, and y'know what, it is either a nightmare to use well, or it is going to make my computer catch fire, or both, but while i manage to get an object made of water with the right volume (i got an add-on to compute volume of the ocean in this to-scale version of earth!) i cannot get it to animate. and like. i don't intend to spend ages on this.

this is where a stroke of genius hits me. namely, go "hey. you already have this map in affinity. wouldn't it be easier to work with that."

This obviously wouldn't allow me to make sure the same volume of water is present, but, y'know, I wasn't even sure that would yield decent results, so I choose to do the next best thing and work with the land:ocean ratio. which, affinity also doesn't let me measure areas, especially since my source file is a raster. BUT my map is already separated between land and sea, so what i can do is threshold all the land to white and all the sea to black, use the average tool, and whatever shade of gray results from that should, in some way, represent that ratio

so my height map becomes

and our average shade is…this

#5B5B5B. Earth Gray. i'm naming it.

Anyway i go back to my detailed map, invert it, then it's time to play with thresholds. 50/50 is the grayscale threshold between sea and land on our earth, but that yields an inverted earth with 70% land which as mentioned i don't want. so I try a few values, set a threshold to turn the new land white and the new ocean black, average out. After some tests I land at a 73% threshold which magically lands on the exact same average gray. I would have content with a close enough but hey. if it's identical, all the better.

this is the resulting map, and it more or less gets me a world ocean separating continents, which is what I wanted. moving forward i decided to flip the poles around just for extra inversion and because i like the shapes better. plus, it makes sense, earth has a larger proportion on land on its northern hemisphere, so keep that true in the switch.

then i waste some extra time trying to generate a decent maps using only levels because I forgot that gradient maps are a thing. once i do remember those (by which i mean i googled it and went "oh my god i'm so stupid when i found the first result) i took the color scheme i used last spring when working on the FTEITS map, made some adjustments to flatten the land a little, and voilà. a map.

(my actual map is a much higher resolution btw i had to lower it for tumblr)

anyway i imagine if i really wanted to do realistic climates i'd probably need to add ice caps or something but i'm unlikely to go there in my story anyway so i'm happy with this result. tomorrow i'll try to come up with names for this.

I've seen people who do inverted earths reuse our names, so stuff like Atlantica/Atlantis/Atlanta for the continent where the Atlantic Ocean is, et cetera. I do and don't like the idea; on one hand it makes it clear to the reader which places corresponds to what. on the other hand it feels kinda lazy. so i don't know. i mean I still don't quite know what the story is about so i guess i should focus on that. for now what matters is i've got a world map now, yay!

one thing does irk me and it's that there isn't one large east-wet ocean like we have the Pacific, which would be a convenient place to put the 180° meridian at so that there isn't a landmass wrapping around the edge of my map. Oh well. I'll figure it out at some point.

[nerice]

for the playlist meme, pick as you please or for what's Most Delicious: 1, 3, 4, 19

gonna try to hit ur vibes with these!! ( • ̀ω•́ )ᕤ✧

an ironic song that isn't really that ironic

gfhghjfghj okay so.......... break the ice / britney spears is a song that goes extremely hard for reina/azra showdowns........ the spoken parts r hot & the melody is perfect for battle flow send tweet

am fully blaming it on that music video & what it did to my easily influenceable teen brain lmfao. animation sexy gay

a song that 🥺 ouchie hurts angst

aaaaaaaa gbggghhhh. h. collecting myself to share: deathbed / there for tomorrow, aka sky/jack (extreme platonic hours) long road towards the inevitable end. :')

dream game. the final hours they both knew wld come when sky's bloodrot gets terminal,, the promise they made abt it. m*rcy k*ll...

saying you're going to kill your best friend & actually going through with it are two entirely different calibers. i am not okay & never able to even think directly abt this. i know it happens no it doesn't. <3

a song with really spot on lyrics

genuinely impossible to pick a fav here it's the night by disturbed but we're not doing that. i bring u instead: l'assasymphonie (i don't speak french. in translations we trust) i had it on kizuna vibes for a while but got absolutely floored when i found out what the lyrics mean >:) pin pointed @ post-oqm madness spiral & academy takedown :3

villain arc song

kind of an odd pick but since you asked abt noah last time, here's his conflicting 'villain arc' anthem >> hand of sorrow / within temptation

^the crucial problem here. he abandoned damia (his other half, true ruler-wise) at the bottom of the ocean to fight azra alongside reina & it tears his loyal heart to shreds & he digs himself into a hole he can never get out of again. bc he cannot return to damia (face what he did to them) but the longer he stays away the worse the situation gets & when he returns in dream game he finds himself beholden to damia's every whim out of a terrible instinct/loyalty, to the point of attacking his own friends when they threaten damia,,

genuinely most of this song plays into th very specific dilemma he's in, mostly in ways the lyrics don't actually intend but i'm taking it >:3

"i did this for you," he says to the person whom he has hurt the most.

[swashbucklcr]

1, 3, 10, 93, 94, 95, 100, 105 (dont have to answer all these, just want the world to know!)

@iron-hearts-ablaze | Questions for my Tav

This is super fucking long so it's under a read more:

1. What is their backstory and why did you choose it?

Well, I wrote up a bit on his backstory on the carrd but essentially he's a classic story of a good lad being forced into a criminal lifestyle cause of family and left events.

Finn's moral compass for most of his life is constantly spinning around, not sure which way to point. His mother raised him until just before his teens and she tried her best to nurture a kind hearted nature, a boy who loved music and arts and just wanted to play the lute and sing.

After her passing and his father returns to his life to take him "under his wing", Finn's life of music and art is torn to shreds as his father toughens him up for the life of a pirate. At first Finn resents his father, but over time begins to see it as his father trying his best to make sure Finn survives and thrives in this lifestyle. And by his late teens he certainly thrives. He earned the name Finn "The Fury" Locke for his rage during raids but mostly his constant simmering anger even out of fights.

He's fiercely loyal to his father, the captain, and the crew, having taken many injuries and killed for them throughout his life. Out of the crew, his closest friend and mentor was a half wood-elf named Jon. Jon was the chef and took wee Finn under his care when Finn was still a child grieving the loss of his mother and the life he once knew. Jon was much calmer than most of the other pirates, more patient and open-minded. The kitchen was always a space for Finn to be himself and funnily enough, the one spot on the ship where he never simmered to anger.

As for WHY I went with Finn? I've always been fond of the sea, I've sailed, dived, surfed, etc. I spend so much of my free time at the beach. I wanted to write a character that also shared the same love for the ocean and with all the plotting we've done Vix, Finn as a pirate just fell into place for me. I wanted to write someone who's maIn obstacle isn't anything or anyone but just finding himself again. For the story of the fight against the Dead Three, Finn doesn't have his own personal battles per say, just the slow crawl to self discovery and finally feeling happiness with himself. The fact he has also met Osian, the man who makes him finally believe soulmates just makes his journey all the better.

3. Do they multiclass? Why (not)?

Yes! With our playthrough we're going up to level 20 (😎) and so my current plan for Finn is:

Level 12 Rogue Pirate

Level 5 Fighter Battle Master

Level 3 Bard College of Swords ( only happens near the end of Act 3 as he begins to embrace his Bardic nature )

10. What was your Tav like as a child?

Near unrecognisable to the man now. Young lad, not well off by any means but rarely knew hunger. Carefree, happy, excitable child that had a small group of friends where he loved being the jokester with. He would sneak to watch street performers play songs and tried to set up a terrible band with his friends.

Academically he was perfectly average in most classes, with exception to music and writings where he excelled. His mother worked hard to save up to buy him a lute that he treasured until his father took it from him and cast it into the ocean.

93. What do you think happens to the party, afterwards? Do they go for drinks? Do they go their separate ways?

Finn would certainly suggest drinks, a well earned rest. He'd also be very glad the Elfsong is still standing.

Now, the question is would Finn join Karlach in Avernus? I'm between two minds on this cause Finn would adore Karlach so much, she's a very dear friend to him but he'd also know that Wyll (or Gale of we're throwing in our HeatWeave plot) would join her too.

If he doesn't join her, he'll be dashing after Astarion and using his cloak to cover him up enough until Osian can join them and help with some magic. After that, he will insist on serving all those who remain a pint or two in the Elfsong but he wouldn't feel much joy to celebrate. His best friend(s) is(are) fighting for her life and freedom in the Hells. If anything he's just grateful it's all over and he can focus on the next stage of his life.

Otherwise, he's diving right into Avenrus and smoking that fat cigar before chopping up as many demons as possible while the smarter lads work on a way to fix her engine for good.

94. Years after the game, what do you think your Tav is up to?

Most of his adventuring, and rogue lifestyle has been put away. Finn has now focused his energy on being a simple bard and author. He's trying to write the story of the journey of their adventure with the tadpoles and how a group with little in common banded together to crush the plan of the Dead Three and later the Netherbrain.

Finn has no ties to anywhere on land, his home in Waterdeep is long gone and so he will happily go wherever Osian needs to be. He will ensure to visit his favourite niece Calise as often as he can, and has regular correspondence with Osian's family who have taken him in as his own. He's far happier and more relaxed now with the love of his life and the life he always wanted to live.

One day he also meets Jon, who's left the pirate life to set up an inn in Baldur's Gate and Finn makes sure to be as much of a regular customer as possible.

95. What do you think of your Tav's development throughout the game? If you compared them to who they were at the start, what would be different?

Like chalk and cheese, Finn in Act 1 wouldn't recognise Finn in Act 3, from physical appearance to his entire personality. Finn slowly gets calmer and open to new ideas, plus Finn in Act 1 would have never expected to fall in love with a wood elf wizard and yet by Act 3 Finn can't imagine his life without him.

Yet, Finn post game finally understands how it is to be truly happy with himself. He's finding peace.

100. Did Karlach get upgraded? Did she turn Illithid? Did she return to Avernus? If so, did Tav join her, or Wyll, or both?

Mostly answered this in question 93!

No fucking way would be agree with illithid Karlach.

105. Anything you want to say about your Tav! Give a random headcanon, answer a random question, say whatever you want!

Pigeon is the real hero of the story.

[cocomuffy]

i found the book i wrote when i was in 6th grade. i think it was trying to be fantasy (?)

warning, this is some bottom of the barrel writing. but luckily you don't have to read the actual text. maybe if this gets enough notes i'll do the "Second" book that I wrote that continues the story. but I don't know.

here's the plot:

a girl named stephanie (i can't find her last name but i have a feeling it was bailey) is going to lady school™ and reminiscing on when this old lady used to tell her fairy tales

and then there's a boulder that absolutely WRECKS her building so she gets the old lady (who's still alive?) and the kids in the back ( i guess some of the ladies were already mothers?) and takes them to a safe location while her town gets absolutely destroyed.

she runs into this chick named Annalise (i swear i was bi before i knew it these two were definitely lesbians for each other but i have stephanie a boyfriend) and then the girl is like "your aura.... come with me"

and so the story goes that there are three branches, life/plants, ocean, and ice. why? i don't know. why aren't ice and ocean the same thing? i don't know. why isn't there fire or rock? i don't know. why is the first one only plants? no idea.

but apparently some bad guys are at it again or whatever so Annalise and Stephanie run into the forest and stephanie rips off half of her dress because she wears jeans under it because she doesn't like dresses. i never use the phrase "not like other girls" though so i'm proud of myself.

so then they set out for "Tehen", which means "happy" in the elf language that is never named or brought up again other than our third character's name: Kinnteir (Kin-tear) (I don't know if it's tear as in tear in clothing or tear of an eye, only 6th grade me does).

But they all bond for a while and there's this red dust that paralyzes Annalise but apparently the old lady and children from the beginning survive and stephanie goes to them for help because the old woman is like my ultimate plot saver in this book. This lasts two paragraphs.

they find the ice branch, which I distinctly remember used to be two characters but then I got tired of trying to juggle them so I rewrote them to just be one character so i bet that Elle's gonna be a delight.

Then they get attacked by giants(?) and like they get wiped? Stephanie passes out. Typical.

Wolves attack that night for GOD KNOWS WHY.

They meet a monster I don't remember the name of that makes them fall asleep, we get some poorly written angst and then Stephanie starts getting premonition visions (which is what Annalise was so concerned about).

She sees them fighting a big shadowy bad guy and watching someone kill Kinnteir

Elle then goes all spooky and evil. i mean look at how tense this scene is:

" I see a cloaked person fighting with him, he didn’t look like anything I’d seen. I join him. 'What are you?' 'One of you' she says as she pulls out the ice staff and freezes my feet in place on the dirt. 'Elle?' 'Correct.' My heart breaks."

Chills.

Then Anna goes hunting, I guess we're supposed to find more tension with Kinnteir and Steph but nothing really happens? Steph has another vision and they go try and help the already injured Anna.

Just found the name of the sleepy monster. "ShiinSlump". I kid you not. Shiinslump. Who names these things. Me, apparently.

But some true love's kiss stuff happens and then they're all fine again

Stephanie has a vision that Anna becomes one of the cloak monsters. Spooky. The premonition, action, and crying all takes up about one and a half paragraphs.

Wow you can tell I have ADHD.

Then Kinnteir just drops this TRUTH BOMB:

"Hey, I was doing research, it turns out the fourth one is a mystic powerful person that comes around every 5,000 years."

So yeah, Stephanie has mystic ancient powers. Guess she isn't like other girls after all.

After Kinntier and Stephanie meet the newly evil Anna, they go to a hospital and get Stephanie treated I guess

Then I randomly introduced the fact that Anna can produce sedatives that spray out of her flowers like the Joker but okay go off.

The book ends with the vision from the beginning happening, and then ELLE DIES

JUST STRAIGHT UP... DEAD. STRANGLED BY ANNALISE

wow.

so that was fun, right?

if you got down here i think that your determination far exceeds anything i've ever felt. good job.

[maryisveryonline]

tagged by proxy by @rabdoidal for a music shuffle meme, and I just got my ye olde ipod classic working again, so let's slap it on

Till Death - Japanese Breakfast "Soft Sounds from Another Planet" is a no-skip album for me. Till Death has such a lovely key change towards the end, a lower shift, and just lovely brass. Your voice in the night, sing me to sleep, soothe this insomnia

Green Light - Lorde A song I played a LOT when I was a junior in college. All of "Melodrama", really. This one has a really good build to it, though I feel like I've outgrown it. Oh honey, I'll come get my things, but I can't let go

Sorry - dodie What you have to understand about the second half of "Build A Problem" is that it's meant to be listened to in one fell swoop. The songs intentionally lead into and out of each other. It always jars me when I hit Sorry without it being followed by When. It is a beautiful little song, though. Let me go back, show me the eyes, so I'd really know just what it looks like, there was the end I couldn't find, found too late

Wrecking Ball - Mother Mother With the exception of Body, I wasn't on the Mother Mother train until a few years ago (Body I jammed to in high school). The lyrics are fine, but what really makes this one for me is the instrumentation. It takes a dedicated hand to put it through the wall

Never Let Me Go (Live) [MTV Unplugged] - Florence + the Machine While I've been on board with everything FATM has done since, and including, "Ceremonials", this song especially holds my heart in its watery grip. The live version, stripped down, lets the vocals shine. And the crashes are heaven for a sinner like me, but the arms of the ocean delivered me

Everything Will Be Alright - The Killers For personal reasons, I have a hard time listening to this album as a whole (and what an album to have to miss out on!) but, of all of the songs that could come up from this album, I'm glad it's this one for the lyrics. That said, I don't really love this song anyway? And I won't forget you, at least I'll try and run and run tonight

Symphony - Maggie Rogers I really like the way Maggie has stepped into herself with her second full album. Symphony is, I think, a slept-on song from the album that opens with so many bangers. The lyrics are fine, but this song really shines with the instrumentals. Can you live like nothing's left? Forget your emptiness, take a breath

Between the Lines - Sara Bareilles I have loved this song since middle school. I tried to learn it on piano, back in my "I want to learn piano" days. Sara Bareilles has such a wonderful command of melody, and a killer voice. And I could have sworn I'd heard him say it ten thousand times, oh, if only I'd been listening

Moon Song - Phoebe Bridgers My favorite song off of "Punisher". I love how Phoebe will build a metaphor and bring the words back around to it in the end of the song. When you saw the dead little bird, you started crying, but you know the killer doesn't understand.

Runaway - Penelope Scott From one of her newest releases, it's a slightly mean-spirited, self-demeaning, delightfully-accompanied romp about putting yourself aside to love someone else. It's all fucked until it isn't, it's all bullshit til you miss them

anyway, anyone who sees this and wants to, go for it! ten songs, shuffled, from your music library/liked songs/whatever. tag me if you do? I want to read it.