#but i wasnt around when that happened so i can’t speak to it much

[baekwin]

hi there I'm genuinely curious - why do we need to block the bots? I'm just curious because I'm new with tumblr but most of the people I follow are bringing up the bots so in just curious at why they're dangerous?

hi hi! gonna link you to a couple posts that can explain this in detail better than i can :)) here is a tutorial on how, and here is a link inside that post that is kind of easy to miss but explains why

tldr: block and report them as spam, they’re setting up to try and trick people into following links to malware or scams or other bad stuff

[gicosmo]

When They Neglect You Pt.2

One Piece Men(Luffy, Shanks, Mihawk, Corazon)

Warnings: Mentions of cheating(In Shanks part), Doflamingo(we all despise him), Just overall angst in Corazon’s part(i’m so sorry)

Part 1: When They Neglect You Pt.1

Luffy

It’s been a few hours since the battle and now the crew was resting on the ship. You sighed, staring off into the crashing waves. You knew Luffy had his reasons… But it still hurt.

Not being able to stay silent anymore, you walk over to the straw hat captain. He turns around with a small smile, “Hey! Woah– You look upset. What’s up?”

You paused. You already gathered enough courage to go up to him, where was your courage to speak? Luffy blinked a few times before tilting his head, “Uhhh… Are we having a staring contest?” He laughed that adorable laugh you loved.

“Luffy.” You gently get a hold of his hands, which he gladly gives you a small squeeze. You look up at him, finally finding that courage to speak, “Can I be honest about something?”

He nodded quickly, keeping eye contact with you. He gave your hands another gentle squeeze, a sign of reassurance. You smiled before speaking to him,

“I know I might be overreacting… But i’m honestly hurt at the fact we haven’t been spending as much time together. You’ve barely spoken to me, spared me glances, you don’t even eat next to be anymore.” You let out your feelings, looking down at the ground after.

Luffy was silent for a moment. For a second you thought he was upset but that wasn’t the case, “I’m sorry for making you feel that way. Just know that I wasn’t purposely ignoring you. But that doesn’t matter, you’re still hurt.”

He pulled you into a hug, lifting you up and spinning you around with a big smile, “I promise I’ll make it up to you! Just tell me what you want and i’ll make it happen!” Luffy chuckles before planting a soft yet sloppy kiss on your cheek.

“Your love is all I want, Luffy.”

Shanks

Beckman let out a frustrated sigh. Of course it was up to him to keep his dumb captain in check for yet another stupid decision he had made. Beckman would be lying to himself if he said he wasnt agitated about this whole thing. He signed up to be a pirate, not a couples therapist.

He strolled over to Shanks, pulling him by his shirt and dragging him to the corner, “Woah woah! You putting me in time out?” The red haired pirate laughed, obviously drunk. Beckman clicked his tongue before speaking, “You need to stop being an idiot, Captain.”

Shanks was a bit taken aback by his first mate’s firm tone, “Woah! Someone’s angry! Take a load off, have a drink—”

“Quit being an idiot and start prioritizing your relationship. You’re gonna lose someone great because you can’t act right.” Beckman cut him off, his grip on Shanks’ shoulder tightening a bit. Shanks raised a brow before his eyes widen in realization.

Man. He screwed up… Again.

“Where…?” Shanks’ eyes darted around the room, trying to find you. Beckman rolled his eyes before speaking, “Ran out of the bar when they say you chatting it up with somebody. Seriously, Captain, you’re too grown for that.”

Shanks shook his head, “It wasn’t like that at all! Ahh, shit.” Shanks immediately ran out of the bar, his only goal was to find you.

You weren’t far from the bar. You sat near the deck where the ship was, looking at the stars that brightened the midnight sky.

Shanks let out a sigh of relief when he found you, “Hey, love—” “What do you want, Shanks.” Oh no. You had that ‘Im not taking your bullshit’ tone now. He was in for it for sure.

The red haired man sighed before taking a seat next to you. He looked up at the night sky with you before speaking gently, “Listen. I’m sorry. I know i’ve been—“

“You always do this.” You cut him off, “This isn’t the first time. I doubt it’ll be the last. But damnit can you atleast make me feel like i’m the only one you love?” You glared at him, your gaze intense that it sent shivers down the Yonko’s spine.

Shanks took in your words before nodding, “You are the only one I love—” “Liar. You’re a damn cheater. I saw the way you were looking at them. The way you’re supposed to look at me.” You scoffed, getting ready to get up before his hand gently grabbed yours,

“It isn’t like that at all.” Shanks spoke, his tone almost pleading, begging you to stay. “I promise you, no matter how distant i’ve become I would never ever entertain someone else. I have so much respect and love for you to ever do that.”

You were about to retort, but he immediately cut you off, “Before you chew my ear off, which I rightfully deserve, I just want to say i’m sorry. Believe me when I say I love you with my entire being. I will love you even when you hate me. I’ll beg for your forgiveness, kill someone if need be.”

“Shanks.” You sighed, making the red haired man smile weakly at you. “Listen. I can’t forgive you just yet. Believe me, I want to. But until I see some effort from you, you won’t be getting my forgiveness anytime soon.”

Shanks chuckled, pulling you close and placing a kiss on top of your forehead,

“I don’t care how long it takes. Anything for the one I love.”

Mihawk

A few hours after your argument, Mihawk felt guilty and took the initiative to apologize. His mood quickly soured once he realized you weren’t in the castle. He checked around the castle two more times, even calling your name to see if you’d answer.

Worry began to set in. You surely couldn’t have went into the forest? Those baboons surely would’ve torn you to pieces by now. He grabbed his sword, hurrying out his home.

A few Humandrills were nearby, making Mihawk stop and speak, “You. Have you seen my lover.” The Humandrills were frozen in place. Of course they wouldn’t be of help, they were terrified of him.

Mihawk rolled his eyes, “Can’t believe I wasted my time talking to a monkey.” He scoffed before walking off, getting on his boat. That when it dawned on him. Your boat was gone.

He gritted his teeth, his mood becoming worse and worse. He had already felt guilty for even letting the argument happen. He felt even worse now that you felt the need to not only leave your home, but to leave the island as well.

It’s been days since he set sail. Where could you have possibly gone? It was driving him mad. His mind wondered every second of the passing days, were you okay? Were you somewhere safe? Did you know how much he truly loved you?

He landed on an island to rest, thoughts of you clouding his mind. He looked around, the island seeming familiar to him. Then it dawned on him. This was your home island. Memories from when you were both starting out your relationship rushed in, making him long for you even more.

After a few moments of silence, it finally clicked that you had a small cottage here. He quickly made his way to your home, wanting nothing more but to see your face.

He made it to your home, seeing the lights were on. He let out a sigh of relief, knowing that you were in there. He knocked on the front door gently, your voice calling from inside. His heartbeat quickened, the sound of your voice bring comfort to him.

The door opened, “Hello! What can I— Oh.” The polite smile you had on your face quickly dropped when you saw him.

There was a moment of silence before you attempted to shut the door, Mihawk immediately stopping the door with his foot, “Please, Love, let me speak with you…”

“Why? So you can tell me i’m nagging again?” You spat, trying to shut the door again. You didn’t even know why you attempted to do that, knowing Mihawk’s strength.

Mihawk gently shook his head, “No. Not at all. I want to apologize. Please…” His voice was soft, almost pleading.

“Just… Let me speak. And you can make your judgement.” Mihawk spoke, a pleading look on his eyes. You sighed, leaving the door alone and giving him the sign to speak.

Mihawk’s gaze was glued to the ground as he spoke, “I’m so sorry. What I did was wrong. Saying that to you was unacceptable, let alone thinking it. Just know that I love you so much, I never want to cause that much hurt again to you. I never want to hurt you at all. I’ll do anything to earn your forgiveness.”

Dracule Mihawk. The man notorious for his hawk like eye contact, couldn’t even maintain eye contact with his lover. His lover was the only one to be able to make him feel intimidated. Not out of fear, but out of love and respect. The judgement of his lover was the only judgement he cared for.

There was a long silence before you smiled, going up to him and wrapping your arms around him in a tight embrace. He immediately hugged you back, planting a gentle kiss on top of your head.

“If you want me to forgive you… You’ll have to spoil me for the next two years. To make up for lost time.” You laughed as you relaxed against him, missing the familiar warmth.

Mihawk smiled softly, “For you? I’ll spoil you even during my final breaths.”

Corazon

It’s been six months since you all left the Donquixote family to find a cure for Law. Luck sadly hasn’t been on your sides. Every hospital that you all went to, you all were treated like monsters with no feelings.

It was hard on everyone, especially Law. You took it upon yourself to comfort him. You let him cry into your shirt, nothing but tear stains on it when he tired himself out. You let him sob into you, cursing the world for making him like this. Your heart ached that a child had to go through this much pain.

After you put Law down to sleep for the night, your gaze fell on to Corazon. He sat at the edge of a cliff, downing his beer as he threw various maps to the water below. You sighed, wanting nothing more than to speak with him, but you knew it’ll be useless to even attempt that.

You make your way near the fireplace, laying down and covering yourself with a small blanket you brought for the trip. You closed your eyes, trying your best to fall asleep. Yet you couldn’t.

Footsteps could be heard approaching you followed along with mumbling. You keep your eyes closed, listening carefully.

“You may have stabbed me… But it didn’t hurt at all…” Corazon’s voice cracked, making your eyes snap open. You didn’t move, listening to him.

“You were the one who was suffering… I just want to make things better for you, Law.” Corazon wept, his breathing ridged as tears fell from his eyes.

Your heart shattered at his words. You closed your eyes again as you heard his footsteps get closer to you. You felt a hand on your shoulder, little tears falling onto you,

“Please don’t think i’ve forgotten about you, my love… I’m so sorry that I haven’t been the best boyfriend. Just know that I do care about you. I care about your feelings, your worries, your sorrows. This is just as hard on you as it is on us. You’re not alone, you’ll never be alone as long as i’m here.” Corazon cried, pouring his heart out to you.

Your lip quivered. Corazon rested his forehead on your shoulder, “I’m such a shitty lover. I’m so sorry for neglecting you.” That. That’s what made you sit up and hold him close.

“Shut up.” Your voice cracked, Corazon crying into your shoulder. “These past few months have been hard for all of us. But it also made me realize something.”

Corazon hummed, looking at you with his head tilted, “And what was that…?” You smiled as tears fell from your eyes, “You and Law are my family. Once we find a cure for Law… Let’s live as one big happy family.”

Corazon had the brightest smile you’ve ever seen on his face. He gently cupped your face, gently pressing a soft kiss on your lips, “And you both are my family. I love you both. I promise to always be here with you.”

Corazon held his promise. Even as you both were shot down by Doflamingo, lying motionless in the red stained snow. He held you close to him, even as he took his last breath.

Both you and Corazon didn’t know, but Law heard that conversation that night. Even after years have past as he stands before Doflamingo, his sole goal to kill him.

Law remembers how Doflamingo ripped away the family that he could’ve had.

[httpsdana]

84 Jude bellingham with a Brazilian reader PLEEASE

Sal o Azúcar ?~Jude Bellingham

*GIF isn't mine. credits to the owner*

I PUBLISHED THIS AND REALIZED THE REQUEST SAID BRAZILIAN READER. IWROTE THIS AS SPANISH IM SO SORRY. EITHER WAYS I HOPE YOU ENJOY <3

you can request from my prompt list

this is my master list

players/drivers I write for

84-“as much as I love listening to your native language, you know I can’t understand shit.”

warning: this is google translated spanish

"why wouldn't you let me help you" Jude whined, following y/n around in the kitchen

"Jude. I've told you this a million times before. I cannot fuck up tonights dinner. this is the first time your parents are coming over here to Madrid and you helping me isn't gonna be the best choice" y/n repeated, sighing at the boy who was following her around

"that's really offensive" Jude mumbled, sitting down on the countertop

y/n knew he wasnt actually sad, but she was right about everything she said. Jude wasn't the best help in the kitchen

"you can help me by bringing me the ingredients when I want them" she suggested making Jude's face lit up

he nodded excitedly, jumping off the counter and standing next to her.

She started preparing the dinner with Jude standing next to her. The soup she was preparing needed salt and needed to be stirred well and she shouldn't stop the stirring

"Jude. salt please" she said, urging him to rush

He grabbed the jar of 'salt' and gave it to her. y/n, without looking, grabbed a big amount of it and put it over the soup, and continued her stirring

"thanks babe" she said, smiling at Jude. He pressed a kiss on the top of her head, and stood beside her until she finished everything for the dinner

"Denise. Mark. its so good to see you guys again" y/n said, hugging the couple in front of her

"come on in. Jude is just getting dressed" she led them to the living room

"of course he's still late. I wonder if you're the one who waits for him when getting reafy for a date" his dad joked, making the three of them laugh

"I heard that"Jude said from behind, annoyance evident in his voice, but a smile was plastered on his face because of seeing his parents after a few months

He gave them both a hug, and they sat down for a chat

"I actually helped y/n with dinner" Jude said proudly, making his parents laugh

"oh no. how did that go?" Denise asked, making Jude put an offended hand on his chest

"it was alright. I didn't let him do anything beside bringing me the ingredients" y/n said, making his mother laugh

"that was a good choice. when he was young I had to beg him to leave me cook alone" she said, making her husband and y/n laugh

"that's not true" Jude gasped, making them laugh harder

"enough talking about how bad Jude is in cooking, how about I serve you guys dinner?" y/n got up, leading them to the dining room

She went to the kitchen, with Jude following her

"that wasn't nice" he pouted, making her chuckle

"well...we were only speaking the truth" she shrugged, placing her hands on his chest, his hands placing themselves on her hips

He just laughed, and leaned down, pressing his lips on hers. Before he had the chance to deepen the kiss, y/n moved back and pushed him away

"stop your parents are waiting for the food" she turned, grabbing the pot of soup

"take this. and I'll bring the rest" she gave it to Jude

They all sat down for dinner. y/n filling up the bowls of soup for the parents

Denise had the first sip of her soup, before she started coughing hard

"everything okay?" y/n asked, worried something might had happened to her

"honey. I think you're mistaken between the salt and sugar" she said, making y/n turn to look at Jude. He had an awkward look on his face when his girlfriend glared at him

"you gave me the sugar instead of the salt?" y/n asked, making Mark laugh out loud at his son

"how was I supposed to know its sugar instead of salt?" Jude said defensively

"Joder, Jude, ponemos la sal en el tarro azul y el azúcar en el tarro rosa." y/n said in an angry tone. before realizing she was speaking spanish instead on english (fucking hell Jude. we put the salt in the blue jar and the sugar in the pink jar)

Jude looked at her dumbfounded, before speaking up

“as much as I love listening to your native language, you know I can’t understand shit.” he said, making his parents chuckle

y/n let out a sigh, rubbing her temple before turning to his parents

"I'm really sorry guys. I promise he won't be entering the kitchen again" she glared at Jude

Denise shook her head and said everything was fine

"I think the rest of the food has sugar instead of salt too, how about we order some pizza?" Jude said with an awkward smile

They all laughed, before nodding

"let me do the talking. I don't think your spanish is good enough to order a normal pizza" y/n joked, grabbing the phone from Jude's hand

[maryannecrimsworth]

Angst Pure Angst is my favorite genre besides Pure unfiltered Fluff

Wednesday x Reader

Singer!Reader and Wednesday has an established relationship but Wednesday got shipped to Nevermore, she tries to get out of Nevermore to return to Reader but the murders from the hyde intrigued her and kept busy so much that she neglects to send letters to Reader who keeps sending her letters every week just to keep in touch. For months have Reader hoped for Wednesday to send a response but alas it wasnt meant to be. They thought if they scheduled a concert at Jericho that they could spend time with Wednesday for atleast a month, oh just how wrong they were.. They arrived at Jericho, staying at a local hotel for the rest of your stay and the second thing they do after checking in is to visit Nevermore and ask around for Wednesday and lo and behold she avoids them like they were sunshine personified (you can choose Reader's personality) for 2 weeks and they were heartbroken. Now it's time for the concert, they sing several songs and interact with the crowd but for the last song, not knowing if Wednesday is in the crowd or not but they sang it anyway and you can go off from there (could be any heartbreaking songs but i suggest this)

Good luck! and i hope you have fun with this lil request of mine <3

Honestly...I LOVE YOU

Sequel: Version 1 / Version 2

Pairing: Wednesday Addams x Singer! Gn! Reader

Warning: Angst? betray; heartbreak;

Only Silence(Without You)

You said that we would always be

Without you I feel lost at sea

“Hey, hello!” You leaned over the balcony, your feet shifting, slipping on the floor while your fingers rhythmically tapped the wood. “Can you help me a little bit?” The lobbyist was not in a good mood: you could tell by the way she shook her head and sighed before turning to you. 

Her face changed completely when she saw you.

“Y-Y/N.” She stammered. “H-Hi.”

“Hi.” You smiled — and the woman blushed even more. “Can you do me a favor?”

“O-of course!” She basically hugged the balcony, stepping closer to you. “What do you need? I can help you with anything!”

“So, I was hoping to stop by that said school…” You pretended to forget its name. “Evenmore? Something like that. I’ve been told it’s a terrifying place.” Your lips twisted in a scared, exaggerated expression. “Do you happen to know where that is?”

“I do! The Nevermore Academy is only a short walk from here. Unfortunately.” The woman mumbled as she started to look for something on the balcony. “I have a map but…Why would you even wish to know that place?” The map was already in her hands, but she kept it away from you purposely. “These outcasts are wicked. They almost destroyed the town last month. It’s dangerous.”

“Well, but what can I do?” You leaned back with a sigh, pulling your hair as you smirked. “I live for the thrill.”

“Well, but I won’t let you meet these freaks.”

I beg your pardon? You didn’t allow your smile to drop. 

“God forbid anything happens to Y/N L/N during your stay here in Jericho!” She curses teenagers then speaks about God. Yeah, makes perfect sense. “Please, stay away from them.”

“I can’t, unfortunately,” How she didn't notice your sarcasm was a mystery. “Many of them bought tickets to the show, so…” You tapped your fingers on the balcony one last time before stepping back. “Thanks for the help!” 

“But—”

“Have a good day!” You walked away. You left the hotel lounge with quick steps — you are going to find Nevermore, no matter how. 

You’re going to meet Wednesday Addams. You had to — you were here because of her, because of how your hands have been twisting and of how your chest has been aching since she left.

You’ve been sending her letters every single week since she left her home but you’ve got no reply — no note, no message, no riddle or threat, nothing. Then you heard about the mysterious murders in Jericho and you could feel your insides turning upside down. She was in danger — she was sent to Nevermore, taken away from you, to fit in, to belong somewhere, just like her parents did. You could understand that — not agree, but you understood. And she said she would write to you — and Wednesday’s words were like promises. At least you thought they were. You trusted her completely — you wrote to her all the time, your manager scolded you for that, but what else could you do? You love her — and she loves you too, in her own way.

You were sure of it until she entered Nevermore. 

Now, you knew nothing — and the ache, tightness in your chest made you walk faster to the outcast school. You were not supposed to go there by yourself — the teenagers would surround you like a pack of wolves — but you had to see her. You had to talk to her. You needed something — anything. 

Through the darkness you'd hide with me

Like the wind we'd be wild and free

There were so many girls and boys around you that you swore they had emerged from the ground.  It was impossible that the news had spread so fast — you had barely stepped through the gate and they were already surrounding you. Purple uniforms and colorful hairs everywhere — but nothing black. Not even a shadow of the phantasmagorical figure you were looking for. 

You chuckled at all the pleads and compliments — your smile made some teens gasp and scream, and you took your chance to move through the crowd. After taking dozens of photos with your stunning smile and autographing varied and indefinable objects, the crowd stepped back, amazed, contemplating your pictures and signatures and giving you time and space to wander through the school. It truly was a spooky and odd place, and it was no surprise why Morticia and Gomez loved it so much. No normie would endure studying in such an exquisite place — and you were sure Wednesday loved that place. There were references and homages of Edgar Allan Poe everywhere, and the statues and paintings made you hear her voice — made you remember all the nights Wednesday spent reading his tales and poems to you. 

Some parts of the building had been newly renovated — rebuilt after the huge riot at the school. The riot you had to learn about from the news, not from Wednesday. A crazy teacher, a murderer monster and a dead-pilgrim. As long as you were concerned, one of the kids from Nevermore was wrongly arrested, and Wednesday was the one who figured out who the real monsters was. Still, you discovered these things from the news and from a gossip blog ruled by a werewolf from Nevermore. That’s it.

You had to find Enid Sinclair — or then the boy who got mistakenly arrested. You were sure the she-wolf was somewhere between the crowd you had just escaped from, and you would not come back. No, you had to find that Thorpe boy. 

You said you'd follow me anywhere

After asking a few questions, you finally discovered where the artist was. He was popular at school, known for his living-drawings, and he should be in his dorm or in his shed. 

You went to his room, you knocked and you got no reply — then you went to the shed. A small building made of wood — a perfect place for hiding, or torturing someone. Wednesday would like it. 

You knocked and, this time, the door was open for you. 

“Hello.” You held out your hand for him, but he didn’t shake it. His fingers were soaked in paint, so were his clothes. “Nice to meet you, I’m Y/N.”

“I know who you are.” He said, a frown of confusion between his eyebrows. “I’m Xavier Thorpe. Why are you here?”

“I’m looking for someone and…I was wondering if you could help me.” You smiled. “Her name is Wednesday Addams. Do you have any idea where I can find her?”

His expression of confusion became one of anger. “If she didn't tell you, it’s because she doesn't want you to find her.”

“Do you know her?”

“Yes.”

“Funny.” You smirked. “I never imagined she'd be friends with someone like you.”

“Like me?”

“An elitist snob.” Your words made him step back, revealing some of the paints inside the shed. Among all the frames and canvas, there was a painting of a girl with her cello. Wednesday with her cello. The tightness in your chest grew harder. “Now, will you tell me where she is or not?”

The door of the shed was shut in your face. You could hear Xavier cursing on the other side of the wooden wall. 

Who was he to be painting Wednesday? Who was he to be protecting Wednesday?

Wednesday was the last person in the world who needed protection, and behavior like his would make her furious immediately. 

How could they even be friends?

You tried to shake your anger away and walked back to the quad of Nevermore. 

Before the turmoil of teenagers could reemerge around you, you hid in the corner of the hallway and took a deep breath. The tambour your heart had become an artillery of noises in your ears: your own breathing was too loud, and you would've sworn you could hear the blood rushing in your veins if not for a whisper.

A low, worried, gentle whisper. Unlike any you had ever heard before.

“Yeah, but I’m worried about her, Yoko.” You followed the voice with careful steps. “Tyler and Wednesday dated…They kissed. They had something, no matter how much she denies it.”

“But she isn't going to talk about it with you, is she?”

“I dunno…That’s why I’m so worried. She can’t pretend it didn’t happen. I mean, she shouldn't.”

“Do you think she was in love with him?”

You tripped. You tripped and your body hit the wall, revealing to everyone your position. Including to the two whispering girls.

Your mind could not bear the answer of this question, nor could your knees: your whole being was shaking by the idea that Wednesday would have betrayed you. No.

Wednesday Addams would never.

But she also said she would never leave you. 

A chill ran through your body as the outcasts surrounded you again — including Enid and Yoko. They were smiling, gasping, worshiping you, and all you could think about was Wednesday. 

Where was she?

Then you found her. A black shadow who stood in the middle of the purple: a blank, serious face among all the blushed and passionate expressions.

She wasn’t trying to meet you, she wasn’t trying to be near you, she was simply trying to walk down the corridor. The corridor that now is filled with your fans — and her.

Her gaze landed on you for less than a second: the dark orbs you have grown to love and cherish so much; the look that scared everyone else, but not you, it enamored you. And that same look now showed you — and made you feel — nothing but coldness. 

Completely coldness. 

But your eyes Tell me you won't be there

You left Nevermore as soon as possible. 

Now I'm running away, my dear

From myself and the truth I fear

One night. One night and you will leave the hotel with your band to set up in the town square. The stage and bleachers had already been built, and in less than 24 hours the green grass would be filled with young people, normies, and outcasts from all over the region. Hundreds, thousands of people, and there was still only one person you could think about — Wednesday.

You couldn’t forget her look. Her gaze. The way her eyes moved away from you, so coldly — like never before. Something’s changed, something’s happened, and now you know what. Who.

Tyler Galpin — the Hyde, happened. He was the reason behind your dozen unanswered letters; the reason behind her coldness; the reason behind the fire that crawled over your skin until you screamed at the top of your lungs. The pillow isn’t enough to muffle your shouts, your anger, your pain — you had to do something. 

You had to talk to her.

My heart is beating, I can't see clear

How I'm wishing that you were here

You were risking everything. You were risking your career, your band, your reputation, your life, because of her. For her. You were committing a crime, breaking into Nevermore surroundings after curfew, only to see her.

It was not the first you broke the law and any type of common sense for her, but this time was different. This time, it felt wrong.

“Wednesday.” You breathed her name after reaching the balcony of her room. The ledge was quickly climbed over by you, an insignificant climb to reach her — but you did not expect she would be there, on the other side.

As if she was waiting for you. As if your steps, now resounding briefly in the middle of the night, were the beginning of the end; the introduction of your last show; the last concert you both would listen to together. 

“Hi.” You stepped closer. She didn’t move. “I...I've been trying to talk to you.”

Not a word. Not a reaction. Not even a single blink.

Your posture then changed. Your gaze grew wider, firmer, and your shoulders stiffened as you stuck your hands in your pockets. “I've met some of your friends.” You smirked, but the twist on your lips wasn’t one Wednesday knew. This one held anger. “Xavier, Enid…And I've heard about this Tyler guy too.” The twist on your lips became larger: you were smiling. You smiled while trying to not scream again, your whole body burning and your throat itching for relief. For an answer. For a fucking reaction. “Is there anything you want to tell me, Nessie?” Your voice changed again, for a brief moment, it sounded normal, familiar, warm — it sounded sad. Hurt. But you only allowed your pain to show for this briefest moment. “If not, I'll leave. I will leave and you will have only silence from me.” Nothing. Nothing. She did nothing. “No letters, no crystal ball calls, no serenades. Only silence.”

Only silence. That’s what she was already giving you — that’s what she wanted since the very first moment she went to Jericho. Since she met Tyler. Since she forgot you.

You snorted. You snorted so loudly and scornfully that the sound of your laughter made her stomach churn. You were not the only one holding yourself back — you were not the only one trembling, scared, hurt. Wednesday felt frozen as you felt about to burst, she couldn’t move as you couldn’t stay still. You could not wait for her, wait for a reaction, wait for scraps of  her love — not anymore.

“Your wish is an order.” You turned away and climbed the ledge once again. Your head was shaking, so were your hands and so were your eyes; every part of you was shivering in an uncontrollable turmoil, your chest beating so loud that its sound made you dizzy, made you mind pulse with its hectic pace.

It made you feel a pain that you did not even know was possible — it made you suffer like never before, like you’ve never even imagined. It made you blind and dazed, it made you angry and sad, it made you heartbroken. 

And it also made you relieved. Relieved and frayed enough to not notice the look on her eyes. 

To not notice the tear falling down her cheek.

To not notice that she could not bear your silence. That she could not be without you.

I got to learn how to love without you

I got to carry my cross without you

“Ladies and gentlemen, weirdos and freaks, beloved and hatered!” You spoke on the mic, your throat faltering due to the effort, your face covered in sweat as the guitar weighed on your shoulders, your blood rushing through your veins even quicker because of the crowd's screams. Your concert was packed, a complete success — and about to end. “Today, we finish in a different way. Today, the last song is for someone I know.” The crowd screamed even louder. “For someone I loved. For someone that might even be here…” You smirked and took a deep breath, waiting for the crowd to calm down before speaking again. “This song is for you, Nessie.”

Stuck in the middle and I'm just about to

Figure it out without you

You sang your heart out:

And I'm done sitting home without you

Fuck, I'm going out without you

@tundra1029 (what an amazing request) Gif belongs to @thesoldiersminute

[awweshuuks]

EXPLAINING MY KNY OUTSIDERS AU BC SOMEONE EXPLAINED THERES AND I JUST REALLY LIKE MINE.

Yay :3

so basically it doesn’t really follow the exact plot of actual demon slayer but it’s okay I think 😞

Scout(from the series) and Ponyboy have the the tanjiro and nezuko type relationship and mark(that was then this is now) and curly are ponyboys two best friends :3 Bryon ofc is marks best friend but u get it.

Basically when pony,Soda, and Darry were younger, about 4 year before their cannon age, they ofc were very poor and in order to get money, Darry trained and trained and became a demon slayer after passing final selection, becoming a Hashira after 5 months bc of killing a lower moon, though he “lost”his best friend (Paul) because of this. Tho Soda became a demon slayer 2-3 years after leaving his home to train with Darry. Both leaving their home and only being able to speak to pony through letters. Though most were between ponyboy and Soda but Darry always sent letters when he wasnt busy with whatever hashiras were doing, as well as sending much money.

Fast forward a year after Soda leaving, pony became very close friends with a girl named scout, and when she slept over one night in their home in the mountains, he left to the village at night and stayed out longer by accident and when he came back he found his parents and scout covered in blood. And in a panic feeling for pulses and found one in scout. Then trying to run to the village and the getting his scar on his head from scout hitting him into the tree to defend HIM when (you’ll never guess) DALLY came to kill her cause Yk demon stuff. Then the whole thing happens that happens with tanjiro and giyuu with them and instead of sending pony going to a separate trainer he gets sent to Soda and Darry. With scout ofc. And that’s kinda how the whole thing starts.

The Hashira in this are

Darry

Dally

Two bit

Tim

Sylvia

Johnny

Buck

Billie (oc 🧍 to be cringe is to be free trust)

Steve and Soda are both not yet Hashira, tho they are close!

Curly and Angela are also not yet Hashira level. And Tim REFUSES to let them be his tsugukos (basically refusing to be their mentor) .

tho sandy and evie are also techinically slayers, they refuse to go out and fight bc of fear, so they work as nurses, along with Cathy, and m&m helps around. My oc Marilyn is the head nurse there :3 my other OC Diane helps around with the cooking and whatnot since she’s the most experienced.

When Darry and Soda found out about their parents death they were absolutely devastated, even more so when they realize they couldn’t hold a funeral bc Hashira can’t exactly take a day off, esp multiple since it’s about a 4 day walk from where they are to where they live. Bc of this pony and Soda (and scout) lived in Darry’s home. Soda already lived there but whatever.

While pony lives there that’s where he meets mark, Bryon, and curly and became close friends with mark and curly, Bryon wasn’t his biggest fan but didn’t hate him 🙏 mark and Bryon going to final selection with pony.

IF U WANT ANYMORE ABOUT THIS PLEASE LET ME KNOW (prolly not buts it’s otay) AND SORRY IF ANYTHING IS CONFUSING ITS LATE

[blissfullyabsurd]

ATSV SPOILERS AHEAD !!!

ok listen. i love miguel. his character is absolutely phenomenal. but he is so incredibly wrong with his theory.

there are like… so many things that just don’t make sense going after his logic. IF we assumed that miles was the ‚original anomaly‘ then:

wouldn’t the whole universe of earth-42 be collapsing as we speak??? because aside from the fact that there is no spiderman, it seems to be fine. no holes. no glitching. no nothing. the spider was supposed to bite someone there. but it didn’t. canon disrupted right? NOTHING HAPPENED.

mayday wouldn’t be allowed to exist. which like… this makes so much sense why miguel is trying so hard to ignore her here:

according to his theory, she would disappear just like his daughter (i bet the fact that shes alive and well is eating him up inside) and i really doubt he has told any of this to peter b. bc he would definitely lose his support then.

miles universe wouldn’t be unaffected right? like all of the universal disturbances happening (including what’s happening in pav‘s universe) are caused by spot. or more generally: by people messing around with this stuff in the first place. WHAT CAUSED ALL THIS MESS WAS KINGPIN TRYING TO BRING BACK HIS FAMILY. HE WAS TRYING TO PERMANENTLY BRING THEM INTO HIS UNIVERSE. now correct me if i’m wrong but that is VASTLY different from just… saving someone that was „supposed to die“. AND MIGUEL DID SOMETHING EXTREMELY SIMILAR BY TRYING TO PERMANENTLY PLACE HIMSELF IN A UNIVERSE THAT WASNT HIS.

THAT is what made the universe collapse. THAT is what miles and the others prevented from happening when they stopped kingpin. SPEAKING OF: wasn’t penny losing her robot like a canon event? now how could a canon event be triggered in a fight that, considering that miles is an ‚anomaly‘ in the first place, shouldn’t have happened that way?

it’s such incredibly flawed logic and i can’t wait to see miguel realise that in btsv. it hurts sm knowing that he’ll have to come to terms with the fact that… what he is doing won’t prevent any of this from happening again. this whole ‚protecting the multiverse‘ thing is him trying to repent in a way for what happened to his family. but he’ll have to face the fact at some point: he simply fucked up. it is in fact his fault. it’s so tragic that he insists on being the good guys, but it blinds him to reality.

what i think makes way more sense is the original notion of parallel universes miles learns about in the first movie. the whole point of the existence of parallel universes is that they are NON-LINEAR. they’re this web of possible events. POSSIBLE. NOT NON-NEGOTIABLE!!!!! with the existence of parallel universes there’s agency. there’s freedom. because you aren’t disrupting any set future. ITS YOUR CHOICE. THERE ARE A MILLION POSSIBILITIES.

and here we’ve arrived at the whole core message in these movies: DO IT LIKE YOU. NO EXPECTATIONS. JUST KEEP GOING. what both uncle aaron and peter b. tell miles in itsv and what miles repeats before absolutely obliterating miguel. everyone telling him how his story in supposed to go. as spiderman and as miles. him wanting to spread his wings. FREEDOM TO DO THINGS YOUR WAY. YOU GUYS I LOVE THIS MOVIE SM.

[lunarifie]

Hi can we remember that characters are Multi-faceted

Rant based on the atsv fandom. I promise I’m not seething. This is very dramatized and my mood will change the next day. Don’t take this seriously.

Edit: I was right, its been 5 minutes and the agony is over. I have found fun funny people.

(VERY minor spoilers. More under cut)

- I am soooo disappointed in the early fandom of spider-verse right now. Maybe its because Ive been hanging around Tiktok when I really shouldnt, because its MOSTLY them with the bad takes but WHY are they SO bad.

- Im just going to start with the controversy with Gwen. Because thats happening for some reason.

- All over tiktok people are treating her as irredeemable and undeserving of Miles, as if she hadn’t gone out of her way to see him even though she wasnt allowed to. Even though the writers gave her a conflict with her father that was supposed to pull the audiences heart strings.

- Its as if people can’t see characters as anything more than one-dimensional. I appreciated every character in spider-verse because they were all so multi-faceted with their own flaws, positives, and motives.

- It just irks me to see people put down Gwen simply because she was slightly stand-offish with Miles. She had so much going on and it made SENSE for her to not want to risk everything she was given. The gift of traveling dimensions, of being safe from her father and to make friends that understand.

- Branching from Gwen, MIGUEL. I love him, he’s great, his backstory is so unique and explains his motive and character perfectly. Again, he’s multi-faceted, and I appreciate that SO much.

- But why is every fanart on tiktok I see JUST him and how hot he is. I understand, hes hot, and thats fine! Its also great because it gives fans something to talk about other than spoilers. But its the ONLY thing I see. Gwen was practically the second main character other than Miles in this movie. We were introduced to her conflict and then her resolution.

- Why not talk about Peter B. and how he must be feeling with Miles in danger?

- Why is Miguels hotness talked and drawn more than that, more than the PLOT. On tiktok AND tumblr. And I can bet that if I check instagram it’d be the same.

- Secondly, the love triangle. I think I can speak for everyone when I say that there was relief at how there was no true love triangle. The spiderverse characters did so well in making romance a component but not the main focus. So why are some fans trying to FORCE a love triangle?

- Examples are: People hating on Gwen, saying she was playing with Mile’s heart by fooling around with Hobie.

- People saying Miles had 100 times more chemistry with Morgo/spider-byte than he ever did with Gwen.

- I love ships, im very big on the fact that people can ship whoever they like as long as its not incest or pedophilia. Im not even the biggest Miles x Gwen shipper. But putting down ANOTHER ship just doesnt sit right with me, especially since its false? The writers are amazing, and they DID amazing at giving Miles and Gwen cute subtle chemistry. All these ship wars just seem like another play at hating Gwen.

- Spiderverse is amazing, and I love that the first movie was a great hit. But it was praised for its story-telling, art, and worldbuilding. The second movie just, isn’t, and I wish it was. Of course, with show and movie fandoms expanding, theres gonna be toxicity introduced. Like this one person who was revulsed by the idea of Gwen being trans, even with her trans pin on her backpack, her protect trans kid flag, and her signature colors.

- Its expected, I just wish it wasn’t.

- Maybe im just on the wrong side of social media, maybe I should wait until I can wedge my way into a spider-verse sub-community fandom I wanna see. Or maybe I just have to wait until this all blows over and then the fandom will revert to character and plot loving. Who knows.

- Im usually not the type of person to be hung over something like this, and I truly don’t think this beginning view of the movie will stick. I promise I don’t hate when people have fun in fandoms.

- Thoughts just needed to be put down and perhaps heard. Soooo if you read all of this, congrats! You have been hit with my very temporary negativity. Don’t let it drag you down! Enjoy the good parts of the fandom as I try to wiggle into those sections!

[cloudninetonine]

I think I mentioned it before but I wanted to do a series of the chains reactions to Scout (who I was calling reader/player before) having a seizure because www I have them and it’s whatever

Well I also have a HC that Four deals with some- similar stuff when he merges back after a long time… so he was one of the only ones who knew what to do… anyway

Here’s that- Wanrnign for… seizure ✌️😊

______

Scout let out a whine, stumbling over a root that Four had easily avoided. The redhead was sent with the smallest of the group to check the area- that seemed easy enough, but of course the world had other plans. “ Watch your step, it's a bit dodgy here-” he realized the comment was probably unnecessary after it had come out of his mouth. Scout responded, voice mumbled and slurred “I …I think I need to stop. For a moment.” that didn't sound too good. Four turned around to find the answer to his next unspoken question as Scout fell to the ground- hard. Not Okay. Their hands braced around the back of their head as they started to shake. That's not good- Four quickly rushed to their side as they tried to speak. It was incomprehensible, just stuttered messy syllables. Four moved closer, taking a seat on the ground next to them. Gently he placed his hands under their neck, and rested their head in his lap. “ You're okay-” they reached for his hand, and he took it lightly. Their grip was tight but shaking. “ Don't try to talk if you can’t, has…” he stopped to think about his words for a second. “Does this happen often?” Scout closed their eyes tight, the rapid movement making them feel dizzy. But they found the ability to nod a rough ‘yes’ to the hero's question. Attempting to stutter out more words- it didn't work and it was clear by the way they furrowed their brow and squeezed his hand that the lack of speech was irritating them greatly. He offered a comforting squeeze back. “ You don't have to talk, You're okay.” Four gently brushed his fingers through their hair with his free hand as tears started to run down their face. They tried once again to vocalize their thoughts “s-s-s-s…” the involuntary jolt of their shoulders cut off the attempt and they let out a groan.

There wasnt much He could do about the situation other than wait with them. He had been trying to keep track of the time. Even though it felt like an eternity- it was only a few minutes before the tension released from Scout's body. “s-s-s-so..orry .” they finally choked out- it was choppy and sounded pained but the relief of hearing a full word made their shoulders relax. “ You don't need to apologize- It's okay, really.” Four tried to reassure them- but it was clear they were uncomfortable still. He understood-

“...its- s-somthing I cant cont-t-t-trole.” They used their sleeve to wipe the tears from their cheeks, and went to sit up. Link grabbed them gently, just incase. “Careful, go slow-....”

“You-you-You sound like y-y-you’ve done this be-before.” Scout laughed lightly, it was airy and forced.

“ I have some experience…” He wasn't sure how much he should say, the look on their face was curious, through a cloud of discomfort- Their body ached. “ I've been in your position a few times. I know it can be disorienting…and scary if youre alone.” Four pulled a potion out of his bag- offering it to his companion. “ You’re joints are probably gonna hurt if you dont drink something. We still have a little way till were back at camp, can you make it?” They nodded and groaned slightly, wobbling as they stood up.

“I’ll be okay. Just… give me a second.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

That must be a terrifying experience, I'm sorry

You best believe Four is becoming overprotective from that experience alone

[antvnger]

Soooooooo since I was only around in the movie for like 30 minutes or so, I missed loads of like actual important information that would’ve been nice to know beforehand.

The short answer rant is this: What. A. Shit show.

Like…like hell, I don’t even know where to start with all of this. It gave me a headache.

Brace yourselves, gang, I’m not holding back.

First of all, apparently sitting down and having an actual conversation about the Accords was a little too much to do for them? Like they started to but nothing came out of it. A stand still. I would think something that big would make them sort through it all until they came to some kind of collective agreement, but I guess not? 🤷🏻‍♂️

Secondly, both sides made mistakes. Big time. Both thought they were doing right, and I definitely get that, but both sides could’ve done better at what they were doing. I guess retrospect’s 20/20 but yeah.

Also, I really can’t stand Ross. Not the clean shaven Ross but the one with the mustache and the high and mighty, sourpuss attitude. Like what a creep.

The real bad guys here? The government.

How the hell did the Avengers just learn about the Accords 3 days before they’re supposed to be ratified? Shouldn’t that have been like breaking news from the moment somebody breathed about it?

And Ross being like “you’ll retire” if the Avengers decide to go against the Accords? As if he could actually do anything about it. I mean, who the hell does this guy think he is? Thanos?

Also what is it with baseball caps and sunglasses as disguises? I know I pulled the same stunt but it wasn’t my idea. I said no and got outvoted.

And look, I think Wanda’s great, but she wasn’t a kid at the time this all went down. I appreciate Cap wanting to protect her since she was like the newbie, but she messed up. That was really bad. I don’t know what she could’ve done to fix it, but maybe at the very least the Avengers could have issued a public apology.

I think Steve has serious Bucky issues and I genuinely don’t understand.

And Vision saying the whole world started having more enhanced since/because Tony said he’s Iron Man is bullshit. Last I checked, and Ant Mun backed me up here, all the big bads that have shown up in our world happened because of things NOT related to Tony! What, just because they called the move Captain America Civil War, they’re gonna make Tony the bad guy or something? Bullshit.

ALSO! When T’Challa was fighting Bucky and the UN chopper just started shooting at them both, thank goodness T’Challa was wearing Vibranium or that would have caused a plethora of other problems. Funny how the Avengers get fingers pointed at them over collateral damage for the sake of the mission when that chopper was literally doing THE SAME THING.

WHY DIDNT STEVE JUST EXPLAIN TO TONY TEN MINUTES INTO THE MOVIE THAT BUCKY WASNT BUCKY AND HAD NO CONTROL WHEN THE WINTER SOLDIER SHIT HAPPENED?!

Oh don’t worry. I’m getting to Siberia, hold your horses.

I’m not really sure on the timeframe here, but I’m think the Accords weren’t actually ratified yet when the whole airport fight happened soooooooo I don’t think Creepy Ross had any real power yet to tell Tony what to do.

I’m not going to touch on the lady who lost her son because I can’t even fathom that kind of grief. And I don’t want to. Ever. And I know grief makes you do things so I don’t know. My heart just hurts for her. I hate Tony got the brunt of that but still.

Speaking of grief making you do things? Zemo. I know who he is now, and I really can’t stand the guy. I hate he lost loved ones, and I hurt for him in that department. But when he decided to go all batshit psycho over it, some sympathy’s lost. Like he went through some hella trouble to make the Avengers unravel.

Siberia…*sigh* Siberia was really hard to watch. Like it was painful. It was…frightening. I almost wish I didn’t watch it. I had an idea what was going to happen because of what Tony shared but to see it for myself…

*sigh* This whole movie is a testament to honesty, trust, and open communication. Or rather what could happen with a lack there of. Ya know, me hearing about the Avengers before I joined them and seeing them on tv for interviews and stuff, I thought they were tight. An actual, close knit team. Maybe a found-family. But sooooooo much could’ve been avoided if they had just acted like that.

If they’d just sat down and talked it over. They could have an arguing match over it all if necessary, hell friends and families do that. If they had really trusted each other and let each other in on things instead of keeping each other out and building up secrets and agendas. Too many bosses and not enough coworkers.

It hurt, Iron Mun. It hurt to watch. Those are my friends and…there were times it felt like I didn’t even recognize them.

And then watching me show up felt so surreal. They got that whole interaction with the rest of “Team Cap” down to a T. I remember being so excited to be called up by one of the OG Avengers, one of my heroes, feeling honored and ready to do more and help people and do what’s right. Make a bigger difference than I already was. But God, I had no idea. I had no fricking clue.

In the end, Civil War was just like any other war. A mess. Both sides made mistakes, everything could’ve been done better, and nobody came out unscathed. In fact, everything ended up worse because of it.

@stxrksarc

[winderlylandchime]

Hello. We are now officially in the cheating phase. And a lot happened over few days: 1/2 2x18: ‘oh look, Blondie is back..are we finally done with the dramatics? Brian..i mean it’s not like this isn’t a new thing but damn this isn’t gonna help, is it? Boys, come on just kiss and make up.’ He just sighed and flopped back on the couch because Ben and Mikey came up but he is a little worried about Ben. ‘YOU HOPED HE WOULD SURPRISE YOU BUT YOU DIDNT EVEN TELL HIM YOURE GOING?! JUSTIN COME ON COMMON SENSE!!! Daphne knock some sense into him! WHY IS THERE VIOLIN MUSIC WHY?!?! NO NO NO NO NOOOO. GET FUCKED MY DUDE! Justin come on!! This is pure bullshit, wipe that fucking smile off your face, this shit isn’t even impressive, blah blah blah blah how do you not puke when you say these things’ Ethan says his “pretty good, I’m a genius” line to which my brother scoffed and went ‘my man, your IQ wouldn’t even register as an earthquake so humble yourself..oh they’ve been telling you that since you were 6? WELL GET FUCKED because I am here to deliver some news for you, you ain’t shit!’ He just paused the tv and is hysterically laughing ‘First off my man, back the fuck up, nobody needs to feel your breath while you talk and second of all *in a mocking voice* it comes through you? Justin come the fuck on, you can’t seriously fall for this bullshit. (Ethan points to the garbage truck) oh look, your ride is here, now hop on and fuck off.’ He is currently livid about George and Emmett but he is also angry at Ethan and he can’t decide which one to focus on. ‘Ben, no offense but I don’t have the time for you. I gotta knock some sense into Justin…He has a tummy ach- oh there goes Ben, fuck!’ ‘HE MADE HIM CARRY A GARBAGE COUCH TO THE TOP FLOOR? Justin, push him down the stairs. Where the fuck is Brian because i am sick of this shit. Justin, i know a way cooler place..one that doesn’t have a couch infested by bugs..i hate his accent when he pronounces fancy shit. Like we get it dude you jerk off to your violin, NOW GET OFF MY TV!..Justin stop talking shit about Brian. This isn’t cute, he NEVER speaks badly about you. That’s right fucker! They LIVE TOGETHER!…oh this goatee fucker is jealous of Brian’s job and loft and everything else. Good. Eat shit. *mocks Ethan again* how about you practice practice practice fucking off because I’m tired tired tired *pauses the tv and looks at me* just so you know, i wanted to tell him to jump off a bridge but decided not to cause that might be a bit much for now. NO JUSTIN YOU WILL NOT SEE HIM AROUND BECAUSE WE HAVE RULES AND BRIAN AND RULES THAT YOU MADE. Did he invite Brian to that art thingy? He better! I need Brian to see him and laugh in his face!’ ‘AHHH BRIAN AND JUSTIN! Justin, baby, clearly his work is stressful right now and you can tell. Stop being insulted cause your grown man with a job has a job to worry about. Also your day was full of that fucker so maybe shush! Justin…did you think about Brian when you were carrying that ugly couch? *another pause* What’s with the moping? I get that he was sad cause of Vermont which btw, he acted dumb on that one so that is fully his own fault. But this *waves his hand at Justin on tv* is bullshit. I raised you better than that. OH I WONDER WHY YOUR TRIP WASNT FUN WITHOUT HIM? You are so dumb, i love you so much Blondie but you’re so dumb. SO YOU DIDNT THINK HED CARE THAT YOU LEFT BUT YOU TOLD DAPHNE THAT YOU WAITED FOR HIM?! HOW ABOUT TALKING? You are running in circles and I am LOSING MY FUCKING MIND. Of course he missed you, stop being a little bitch. OH DAMN..WHILE THEY STAND?! OH COME ON BEN WHAT A FUCKING COCKBLOCK’ He now paused the tv and went outside for a cigarette. This man is about to hit midlife crisis and we aren’t even 20 minutes in. ‘Okay Michael, what are we measuring here? Everyone needs someone. Oh look its the art thingy!! Where is Brian? OH FOR FUCKS SAKE WHY IN THE HELL ARE YOU HERE?! I take it back, go jump off a bridge IM EXHAUSTED-Daphne, my girl! Please, I am begging you, please don’t like him! Pleaseeeee!’

Oh dear sweet anon, we're really in it now. Thoughts and prayers to you and your brother.

(Ethan points to the garbage truck) oh look, your ride is here, now hop on and fuck off. HA! Your brother is right.

how about you practice practice practice fucking off because I’m tired tired tired *pauses the tv and looks at me* just so you know, i wanted to tell him to jump off a bridge but decided not to cause that might be a bit much for now I LOVE how careful your brother is with his insults.

HOW ABOUT TALKING? <- every fan of this show ever

Oh boy oh boy. I know it only goes downhill from here...

[mariatesstruther]

OK! So asking here because I can't on the other and I am too old to wonder why.

BUT. I would love to hear your thoughts about Maria on the anniversaries of Kevin's birthday and passing? <3

no worries broski, i think i have asks turned off on my main blog! i prefer getting any tlou related stuff over here anyway. you’ve come to the perfect place please step into my maria-themed office ✏️👩🏾‍💼☕️

okay so i made a post about this recently asking this question to myself—how would maria react to reminders of kevin, especially heavy days like his birthday or the date of his passing? would she still be able to work??? would the rest of jackson be aware of it? would she let tommy mourn with her, or prefer to go at it alone??? many things to consider. so lets consider them all

i appreciate u asking about both those days because i feel like she’d have extremely different reactions to them. first i feel like i need to delve into maria’s relationship with kevin/motherhood before all this shit went down because it has a lot to do with how she now operates, being childless but still a mother at heart

first off, i imagine that maria definitely loved kevin and was a good mother to him. it’s just very obvious to me from the way she speaks about the town she’s raised and the way she immediately provides for ellie that she has strong parental instincts. i bet she had a relatively easy time adjusting to motherhood—i say easy not trying to imply that any formmotherhood is easy, but that her transition to it wasnt difficult. i also like to think she had her dad and kevin’s father around to support, so she wasn’t doing everything herself, and that helped immensely

on the other hand, i do think she wouldve had a hard time letting go of work, especially because we see and know how important progress and duty and productivity are to her. i imagine she would’ve hated having to miss out on meetings and case details and court dates because she’s dealing with being pregnant, then because she’s busy being a mother. she also probably a young parent, like joel (luckily @two-birds-alone-together has arlready done this maria math for me. tysm friend ily) if she’s around 27-28 when the outbreak happens, then she was quite a young mother, too, which i think has a lot to do with her still wanting her independence and career. maria definitely would’ve taken the shortest maternity leave possible, with her dad taking care of kevin a majority of the time. she maybe would’ve felt some guilt because of this, but she also knew at that time that going to work was keeping her sane. she told herself she probably wouldve been a worse mother to kevin had she always been home, thinking about being at work

in terms of kevin’s birthdays, it’s always been a personal headcanon of mine that maria would’ve missed at least one of kev’s three birthdays because she had opted to be at work instead. maybe something super important was happening, or maybe nothing especially important was happening at all: work in general is just important to maria. so i don’t know exactly which one (i’ll probably make a concrete choice in an upcoming kev-centric fic i got planned wink wink nudge nudge), but she definitely would’ve been okay with letting kevin celebrate with her father and his father without her. maybe she would’ve missed his first birthday, because she knows babies don’t remember it and it would’ve been important for her to show up for work as much as possible the first year after her maternity leave to prove she was still just as valuable of an employee as anyone else. or maybe she misses his third birthday, his last, because by that time she’s an assistant to the DA and can’t really take off work for personal stuff—as guilty as it makes her feel, she convinces herself it’ll be worth it, because she’s building a life for herself and her son to thrive in

but then september 2003 hits. and maria learns all that working wasn’t worth it at all.

i think about kevin’s death a lot. it’s interesting to me that it’s the 29th, three days after outbreak day, because that means there were three days where maria or someone close to maria must’ve been with him, trying to keep him safe. before, it was my personal hc that maria wasn’t actually there to actually witness kev’s death or know what happened for sure, because she was at work—but it wouldn’t make much sense, considering she knows he died exactly three days after the outbreak, a detail that she could’ve only known had either her or maybe her dad been there the day of. outbreak day was a normal day where everyone started off going to school and work like normal, so i imagine maria would’ve been working while kevin was maybe at daycare or with his father (who im now thinking maybe couldve chosen to separate from maria at this time???? maybe he doesnt love that she’s working so much and is thinking about divorce by the time outbreak day hits, so it’s on a day when kevin is with him) or her father. either way, three days in, he’s gone and she’s not

i do think, considering how differently maria and joel handle the death’s of their respective children, that the nature of them dying probably was extremely different circumstantially. one, we know that sarah died suddenly and brutally, in joel’s arms, not because of the cordyceps but because of some dumbfuck fucking soldier too cowardly to make a different choice. these circumstances provide a lot for joel to be mad at, are just a lot for joel to handle, and sarah was his entire life. so i understand how it consumes him the way it does

for maria, things are clearly different. she had a life outside of parenthood in a way that joel clearly didn’t, spent less years of her life devoted to parents than joel did, and i’d judge from the way she can still hold her composure when ellie mentions kevin that his death wasn’t as nearly as traumatic. maybe it wasn’t even anything violent—maybe he just got sick or got lost or what have you. or maybe it was violent, but she was able to get revenge and make peace with it??? (loveeee this idea and her “the only people that can betray us are the ones we trust” line having to do with kevin. like imagine he died because of someone she had decided to trust, and so she kills that person to finally make peace with herself and her guilt. imagine murder mommy maria 🤩). either way, to me it’s clear that maria was able to process and make peace with kev’s passing in a way that joel never could with sarah

so now onto actually answering your question 😭😭😭😭😭 finally omg

for kevin’s birthday, i imagine that maria would try to completely ignore it tbh. maybe she’d take an extra second to pause and breathe in front of their memorial the morning, or she’d maybe light a candle and blow it out for kevin late at night after tommy is too deep asleep to hear her do it. but that’s the absolute most she could bring herself to do. what’s the point of celebrating a birthday kevin doesn’t get to have? what good would it do her, to think about him turning older and living a life that doesn’t exist? maria chooses to work instead, because working is something she knows she can do without stopping to think or reflect. for jackson and it’s people, she is a machine. grief cannot consume a machine. april is prime time to start planting time for most crops in wyoming, anyway, so april 3rd is always busy, every single year. she is greatful for it. she refuses to think of the one birthday of kevin’s she’d missed working, because she knows that would break her. even without letting herself think about why, maria always feels guilty on april 3rd.

tommy and talia know kevin’s birthday too, and are maybe the only two people in jackson that have the day memorized. they know maria is usually okay to talk about kevin casually on most days, but both are especially careful to mention him around and on his birthday. one year, when maria is especially quiet on the days leaving up to april 3rd, talia brings them all breakfast and they try to subtly talk her out of going to work—after this conversation, in which maria is mostly silent besides saying “no, i’d like to work,” maria doesn’t speak to talia nor tommy for the rest of the day, dead set on avoiding even making eye contact with them. it is the last time they try anything like that

september 29th is different. first off, the entirety of jackson spends outbreak week mostly in a state of collectively mourning, everyone consumed by the memories of the people they’ve lost and how they’ve lost them. maria spends september 25th to the 28th doing everything she can for her community: comforting friends who need it, bringing plates to those who can’t manage to leave their homes, distracting naive children from the grief of their parents’. she spends the 26th, every year, taking care of tommy, who usually is stuck bedridden, crying and talking with her about sarah and joel, trying to hold him back from drinking himself sick

the day of the 29th, she shuts down. usually she spends the few days before barely eating and ignoring her body’s chronic pain signals, so by kev’s death date, her body is extremely fatigued and basically ready to give out. she always sleeps poorly the night before, tossing and turning and anxious that she’ll have nightmares—some years, she wakes up and nothing seems real. she’ll go through her whole morning routine like a zombie, vision blurry and thoughts foggy as she lifelessly space out. tommy has days like those, too, sometimes, so he knows how to deal with them. he brings out their good candles for her to smell, guides her through breathing and sings to her while she keeps a hand on the body of his guitar, letting the vibrations ground her back to what’s real. emotions wise, when she’s not derealized, she’s commonly overcome with extreme guilt over not being with him and forgetting small details of his life (“how can i do this, tommy? how can i keep living, keep working for jackson when he’s never gonna see it? i’m not even sure i remember his favorite cartoon, anymore, tommy. i know he loved cartoons, but i can’t remember which ones. how could i forget that? how could i do that to him?”) that tommy or talia have to talk her away from

outside of the sadness and the guilt, i think she’d mostly just be numb. she wouldn’t be able to take comfort in the fact that kevin was at least free from seeing all the gore and violence, because she herself has built up a place where kids can grow and thrive. i think kevin’s death date would just be an extremely overwhelming reminder that she failed to get him here, and that guilt would crush her. she would want to stay inside and away from seeing anyone, too, especially children. seeing any kid, especially a younger one, happy and thriving in jackson on september 29th would probably make her want to scream and cry and punch that kid’s parents in the face, so. she stays to herself. tommy and talia bring her food that she doesn’t eat. she sleeps fitfully sometimes, but always wakes up to the sound of kevin crying distantly in her dreams. if she can manage it, so goes out to the back patio tommy built and pets the stray cats

the next day, like always, she goes back to work. she’s got a town to run

[shitpostsfromtheinvisiblelibrary]

From a prompt list that I posted at some point

Irene dropped her book to one side as soon as the first drop of rain hit the windows. It hadn’t been sunny but they hadnt been expecting the sudden downffall of rain that arrived with a clap of thunder shortly after noon. She peered around the curtains and watched the skies for a moment before turning her eyes to the street, waiting.

She was stood waiting for nearly twenty minutes before the cab that she was waiting for turned down the corner and pulled up outside of the house. Three people got out and her heart sank as Shan Yuan turned his face to the window and caught her eye, Kai half a step behind him before both stepped back and their father joined them.

So much for a private reunion.

Kai let his family into the house as Irene jogged down the stairs to meet them in the hallway, curtseying to the dragon king who looked down at her.

‘Miss Winters.’

‘A pleasure to see you again your majesty,’ She looked at Kai from underneath her eyelashes. He cringed. ‘I was unaware that we would be receiving yourself today, my apologies for not being better prepared,’ They did keep things on hand for when they had high profile visitors, fine china and expensive wine but Irene couldn’t think of much excpet the ladder in her stockings.

‘I wasnt planning on accompanying my son in returning here,’ He gestured for her to rise. ‘However, I was reminded that it had been some time since I had come to inspect his work.’

Fucking Shan Yuan sticking his nose in and ruining her night, She thought, rather unkindly, Kai could very well have reminded his father as part of his own duties toward his father. It was unlikely, he had been away at a family celebration for three weeks and was likely as keen for privacy with her as she had been.

‘I will leave you to it then, I would not want to be in your way,’ She said before hesitating. ‘It is the housekeepers day off, I shall bring up tea for you all.’

‘Nonesense,’ Ao Guang said, taking her by the elbow. ‘Kai, you can handle refreshments, miss Winters, I have a few questions for you about his work,’ Kai looked a little more sorry as Irene allowed herself to be guided back up the stairs and into the study.

‘You will have to forgive me for being paranoid,’ Irene said. ‘But is there an issue that I should be aware of?’ Ao Guang looked her from head to toe and she thought that he was about to laugh as she clasped her hands together behind her back to stop herself from fidgeting.

‘I noticed my son was a little distractable and less himself than usual, almost melancholy,’ Irene frowned. That didn’t sound like Kai at all. He was prone to bouts of strong emotion, but melancholy wasnt one that she had witnessed. Even when stressed and fighting for their lives, depression without reason was not something Kai was prone to.

‘Has something happened?’

‘No,’ Ao Guang shook his head. ‘He just woke up the other day and was not himself. I think he has been missing you.’

‘Me?’ Irene smiled. A part of that made him feel warm inside, knowing that she was needed in the same way that she needed Kai. ‘I don’t think he would allow a friendship to distract him from his work.’

‘May I be entirely honest with you, miss Winters?’

‘Yes?’

‘You and my son are atrocious at hiding the way that you feel about each other,’ Irene could feel her cheeks burning. ‘I do not care, and you may need to work on not blushing quite so much when people mention him to you, it is a give away.’

Irene stammered.

‘It doesn’t matter, your work speaks for yourself,’ Ao Guang said, he sat behind Kai’s desk. ‘Kai has been missing you. There was no hiding that, he can’t hide his feelings in the slightest, he never has been able to and I do doubt that he will learn eventually.’

Irene doubted that too but was unwilling to admit that she hoped that he would never learn to hide his heart, she liked that he held his heart on his sleeve. It was endearing that she always knew what he was feeling, he couldn’t hide from her. She knew exactly where she stood with him, she always had done and she always would do.

‘I-’ She swallowed. ‘Am going to see where those drinks are,’ She brushed past Shan Yuan, who had lurked in the doorway and definitely hadn't been listening.

The kitchen door clicked behind Irene and Kai startled and turned to her, it was hardly a good thing when she managed to take him by surprise. He blinked and shook himself before smiling.

‘Irene…’ She crossed the room, slid her arms around the back of his neck, wound her fingers into his hair, and pulled him down to her, kissing him. His hands settled on her hips, gentle for a moment before he gripped the fabric of her skirt and pulled her to him just as tightly as she held him.

‘I have missed you,’ Irene was breathless when she finally let herself pull away, she didn’t want to but her lungs burnt for air. ‘So much,’ Kai smiled, it was a smile that she had only seen a few times and was entirely reserved for her. It melted her heart whenever he smiled at her like that, like she was everything that he needed, like she was more important to him than oxygen was.

He touched her cheek.

‘I’m glad you are home.’

‘We should…’ Kai swallowed and looked at the kettle and then back to her. Take the tea up to his family or kiss her again… It was an incredibly hard decision to make, Irene was right there, warm and soft and incredibly easy to kiss.

‘They can wait for a few minutes longer,’ Irene stroked her fingers against the nape of his neck. ‘Your father was worried about you. Is something wrong?’ He shook his head. ‘Kai. Please, tell me if there is something wrong.’

‘I am fine,’ He said.

‘Kai.’

‘I haven’t been sleeping well,’ He said after a moment ‘That’s all,’ Irene sighed and gently kissed him again. ‘I’m sure that I will sleep well again now that I am home.’

‘I like when you say that,’ She said. ‘Home.’

[bisluthq]

the it wasnt sexy until it wasnt forbidden is from mattys pov dumbass anon 😭 like he dipped once she was all in on them being together….

if we wanna label people as cheaters based off of song lyrics tho then mr joe alwyn is a big big cheater according to the lyrics on hoax because how do you explain “your faithless love is the only hoax i believe in”? 🤠

taylor mentioning a ��her” in the great war and sll…i could go on and on

either label both as cheaters or accept the fact that we will probably never know what exactly happened them and stop making assumptions

?? How is it from Matty’s POV??? “And I'll say, "Good riddance" / 'Cause it wasn't sexy once it wasn't forbidden” when does it change from I back to him speaking and why would you think that??? She says she doesn’t know why he dipped (she offers a lot of theories up) and then she says when he finally tells her in fifty years time she’ll answer good riddance because it wasn’t sexy once it wasn’t forbidden. Pretty straightforward lyric dude. Also why would it be forbidden for Matty lmao like he was single/fucking around. He could fuck or talk to whoever tf he wanted to. SHE was the one who wasn’t supposed to be with him.

hoax is a very complicated songs about multiple situations all interwoven together and she’s said this verbatim. It’s a pretty song and it was her trying to do something different and just write lyrically and beautifully about many different things to that track so idk that I’d take any of it literally. It’s giving that one anon who keeps saying she “confesses” to being a functional alcoholic in Fortnight (she does probably drink too much but she absolutely confessed no such thing - the whole song is very very very metaphorical and set in a fantasy tbh).

The Great War quite clearly says she accused him of shit he didn’t do (which she’s said lyrically repeatedly - that’s also the premise of Afterglow). Now, maybe he’s the best most ninja cheater ever and very good at gaslighting but I struggle to believe that she spent YEARS trying to catch him and never did and no one ever stepped forward to be like “yeah I at minimum talked to him here are the screenshots” either while they were together or after the breakup. We KNOW who Taylor cheated with. Joe cheated with… figments of people’s imagination. (And I HAVE SAID many, many times that evidently there’s something he was doing wrong because she wasn’t able to get over her insecurities and jealousies for sooo many years so clearly he either has poor boundaries with female friends, or he’s just got a very flirtatious manner, or something but that shit’s def on him - doesn’t mean he ever did anything but it’s fucked that she spent that many years worried about it).

In SLL she talks about how he’s with her in HIS DREAMS dude loooool like idk man. She was emotionally cheating on him and had been worried about many girls since the beginning. It sounds more like projection than something she figured out. (And she acknowledges that because it’s “you’ll find someone” not “you’ve found someone” whereas SHE HAD found someone). Also what’s so trippy about emotional cheating (which is what she accuses him of there) is you can’t possibly know unless they get together with the other person or they tell you (and there’s no way Joe told her). So like… how could she know who is with him in his dreams? 😩 It’s probably like young Marion Cotillard lmao but that doesn’t mean he’s a time traveler fucking young Marion Cotillard 😩😩😭😭

We won’t ever know exactly what happened but here’s what we do know with zero assumptions: Taylor at least emotionally cheated and dumped Joe to be with Matty. Joe is willing to go on record to say from his end it was a fully committed relationship for six and a half years (sure, he could be lying but like why lol?) Taylor previously accused him of things he didn’t do and was irrationally jealous (per her lyrics - or as I said earlier he’s the best gaslighter in the world lol). Some assumption but really minimal: something about how Joe behaves made her super insecure and act a bit psycho and yes that’s also on him.

Also humor me - why would it be better from Taylor’s end if he was also cheating? Let’s say he was and she could prove it. Why didn’t she just… leave lol. Why did she get her own side piece? How are you defending her by being like “well maybe he was cheating too because the voices in her walls told her so” - maybe he was lol idk, why didn’t she just leave then? I’m reminded of that anon who tried to defend Joe by saying “maybe he never even proposed” like okay maybe so that makes him a worse person. Maybe Joe did cheat first but Taylor’s cheating still makes her a shitty person and if she stayed while he was cheating and got her own side piece it makes her kinda stupid to boot and also idk why she wouldn’t just flat out say it and tell us what he did and how she caught him.

[livinlavidavili]

After the harrowing week on Naboo and Tatooine, Obi-Wan sits me down for my weekly letter to my father to update him on what’s happened, the letter arriving to Mandalore later in the day as it’s such a short flight for the delivery droid ship.

Dear Daddy,

Hello!!! I miss you!!! And Cole. And Uncle Cander. And Uncle Cassie. And JJ and Rass. And Aunt V!

So much has happened this week!!! Most of it really good. Some of it so sad.

Master Qui took Obi and I to Naboo for a dipplmatic diplomatic mission. But then! There was poison! And Obi made a Force shield around me ‘cause I can’t hold my breath like they can. THEN we landed on the planet and got all wet and ran from tank thingies into the water and then there was this fish person- Jar Jar. He was very ugly, Daddy. Very. And annoying. I do not like him.

Then he took us to his underwater palace and it was SUPER cool. I would love to live there and be a mermaid. And swim so much. Anyway. Then the king fish person said jar jar was a criminal so we took him away ‘cause Master Qui said to.

AND THEN we saw the QUEEN only she WASNT the queen she was a dikoy decoy. Then we took the ship only the ship was damaged so we emerjency emergency landed on Tatooine.

AND THEN WE MET ANI!!!!!!! He’s so cool!! He’s MY age!!! Three months older. He won the pod race that we went to. It was awesome. He was a slave but he won his freedom with the race. His mommy is still a slave :( the queen would not free her??? I think the queen is a bad person. Her name is Shmi Skywalker.

Ani is a Jedi! I feel like I’ve maybe known him forever. Master Qui said it was weird how fast our Force bond snapped into place. I like him a lot. He likes to build thingies with machines.

Obi has taken BOTH of us to be his Padawans now. I know it was only supposed to be me when he graduated but he graduated early. The Council didn’t want to keep Ani ‘cause they said he’s too old but we don’t think so. He is so smart. Smarter than me maybe?? He speaks four languages!

Obi Master Obi has to take us both because a mean Sith hurt Master Qui bad. Obi says he’s with Mommy and Master Tahl. I hope they make friends and have picnics. I miss him. I still feel him around me in the Force. When Master Qui was fighting the evil Sith Ani and I hid in a ship and it TURNED ON and Ani PILOTED IT and we shot the big ship in space! And won!!! There is a droid on Naboo named Mr. R2D2 and I was wondering if maybe you could find it???? And bring it home??? So we could have it??? Maybe???? Please????? It’s the best astromek astromech ever. Pls respond.

I am happy to see you so soon and I miss you bunches. Master Fee says he will take me to Mandalore instead of Master Qui but we will still go just as much :))))

Okay I have to go ‘cause Ani and I have school in the morning.

Bye!!!!

Love you!!!!

-Rina

P.S. Chernan, Lili has improved immensely with her spelling! Only three corrections this paper. Please feel free to call me, I know this letter may be concerning. Until our call or the letter next week, Obi-Wan.

Once he receives the letter, Chernan opens it among the privacy of his home, laughing quietly throughout your writing despite his slight panic during some of the news.

Flying around with a new friend? Unsupervised? Shooting things and possibly risking being shot down? Interacting with slaves and possibly slavers?

Ben's note at the bottom makes him laugh even harder. For some reason, it's just really funny to think this man may be sitting somewhere, shitting his pants over the possibility of an angry phone call from Chernan himself.

Rather than calling, writes two different letters, one for you and one for Ben.

It truly is so sad to hear about the passing of his Master. Qui-Gon Jinn seemed like a wonderful man.

Czarina,

How wonderful it is to hear from you this month. Your recent adventures sound so exciting! I'm glad you're safe. I can't imagine how scary it must have been, but I'm also glad you had a new friend to endure it with. Ani. He sounds like a nice boy. I am sure he will love having you by his side, especially during the adjustment period of living in the Temple after having a life elsewhere. You of all people will know what that's like, my darling!

As for R2D2... I will go to Naboo and see what I can do. If he is someone else's droid and they don't want to give him up, please understand I might not be able to bring him. But I promise I will try my best.

For your sake, I hope you never encounter that Jar Jar man again. I can sense your annoyance through the page- and it's adorable, but I also don't wish anger upon you, my sweet girl.

Things have been fairly uneventful here at home... Cole is doing well in school and will be advancing in his jetpack training very soon! Cassius is very proud of him and also says he misses you. He and Cole are sitting with me right now, in fact. They walked in as I'm writing to you. Cole says the next time you come up, we need to go camping! I told him you might like that. Something fun to do in our beautiful forests. Let me know what you think, ner ad'ika.

I've got several fairly big and important political meetings coming up that I hope to secure for the future of Ordo. It will involve partnerships and trade route exchanges that would be excellent for us. More money and travel which will also attract more tourists.

I can't wait to hear from you again, darling. Miss you and love you so much. Thank you for never giving up on these letters! Tell your new friend Ani I said hello. Also, give your Master Obi-Wan a hug. He may need it during his time of grief.

And then, to Obi-Wan.

Dear Obi-Wan,

Thank you for your concern over my possible panic at my daughter's letter- though I assure you my appreciation lies more deeply in the way you looked out for her and kept her safe while on that mission. It is an admiral quality of a Jedi to always be prepared for anything, especially with other lives at stake. Not a day goes by where I doubt your abilities to care for, protect, and nurture my daughter. She is doing very well under your trainings and teachings and I couldn't be more proud. And grateful.

I heard about the passing of your Master, Qui-Gon Jinn, and I express my deepest and most sincere sympathies. He was a wonderful man and I'm sure the loss must be very tough for you. Please know that if there is ever a day you need to... separate from the detached emotions of the Jedi lifestyle... I am one call away. I'm an excellent listener and I won't hesitate to pick up. Also, I won't tattle if feelings are being had.

You are a wonderful man, Obi-Wan Kenobi. Never let any dark days dim your light. Always remember your purpose and your strength, even if it feels like no one else can see it but you.

I will keep you in my thoughts as you proceed through this time of grief.

Chernan Ordo

--

Several days later, when Obi-Wan receives the envelope, he moves into the quarters to try and find you. "Lili?" he calls, "Are you home?"

The envelope is thicker this time. Perhaps your father sent you something else along with the letter.

[ludwigplayingthetrombone]

OFMD Fix-it Part 2

Ayyy here’s part 2! Thank you so much for the incredible response to part 1! I read the tags and comments often y’all are too nice ;v; Enjoy all 69 pages! tw for blood and injury

Part one

kofi

Wee john: Fuck yeah! Roach: We took over Blackbeard’s ship!! Frenchie: Oh no! You dastardly pirates are too scary for me! I surrender!!

Stede: All good everyone! Crew: IS IT?? Stede: [gasp] Did you guys take back the ship?? Ed: You’re shitting me Stede: Excellent job, everyone!

Ed: Hey! Stede: Oh, sorry! I look forward to hearing about it! Ed: Please don’t crack your face again Buttons: Were yee crying? Both: WHAT?! No! Ed: I physically cant cry Stede: Why so you keep asking that? Crew: Captain! Stede: WAIT I’m not discouraging this energy, but please be careful of-

Ivan: What do you want us to do with Izzy, captain? Frenchie: OH FUCK THE KNIFE! Swede: PULL IT OUT! Roach and jim: NO!! [schluck] Pete: FUCK PUT IT BACK IN!! Roach and jim: NO!! Ed: Why disturb him? Sleeping so peacefully. I’ll deal with him later [schluck]

Pete: Where’s lucius? Stede: Yes, we’re missing lucius. Ed! Is the boy below deck? Pete: Did something happen? Frenchie: Oh yeah almost forgot! [knocking on the deck] Stede: What’s this, frenchie? Ed: Lucius is dea-

Lucius: OH THANK GOD! I was going mad in that wa-

Pete: Where have you been? Stede: Lucius! Good to see you, my boy! wee john: Cap’n... Lucius: I was hiding in a secret wall I’d found. Frenchie thought I was a ghost for about a week. Luckily the ship was a barnacled mess Frenchie: Still not convinced if I’m bein’ honest. Couldnt believe you’d survived, Stede: Survived? Pete: Why would you be a ghost, babe? Lucius: Because Blackbeard threw me overboard

Ed: A momentary laspe of judgement  Olu: Oh shit

Stede: [knocks] Ed? [door unlocks]

Ed: Ship’s yours again. I can be gone- Stede: you’re leaving? Ed: I nearly killed lucius. Aren’t you upset? Stede: Absolutely livid, but you didnt succeed, thankfully! The atmosphere is tense, things are a little unclear, but they’re open to speaking. I’ve forgiven them for planning to kill me! Blows over quite fast, I’m sure- Ed: I’m a terrible person, stede. You don’t even-

Ed: Crew needed me. Wanted to help me. And I chose Blackbeard. All ‘cuz Izzy opened his FUCKING mouth ‘n backed me into a corner! Lucius would see right through it. I didn’t know what else to d- [flinch] Stede: It’s ok

Stede: Blackbeard is how you’ve been surviving. I understand that now. The only reason you were put in that position was because of my poor decisions. I promise I’ll be here no matter what to help us all get through this. Ed: Pull up the chair, I want my knife back Stede: Oh good finally...

Ed: So a big cat, a carriage accident, and a dropped piano? All at once? Fuckin’ hell, mate, you let ‘em have it. Though, I’d go as far to say the cat was too much. Stede: Whaaat? How could you say that about Ned? He did great. Ed: Just BITTER I wasnt there to see it

Stede: I’m sorry you had to do this again. I know you’re still angry...Ed: Wasn’t about being angry... not at first at least. Just felt.... sad. Really fucking sad, Stede. Didn’t know what to do without you here. None of us did. Felt... Like I just wanted to lay down and die Stede: I...I didnt think my absence would be felt this deeply

Ed: Oh shut- You’re not serious Stede: No, I’m serious. Mary and the kids were much happier when we were planning my departure fuckery. I genuinely can’t think of a time where someone missed my presence

Ed: Well fuck everyone else. Was the crew pissed when you said why you left? Stede: Very much so Ed: Then they missed you, cheers [mumble] I sure as fuck missed you Stede: You did? Sorry, Impulse. Ed: Lean up a bit Stede: I hop I can earn your trust back one day

Ed: Well, knowing about that Chauncey fuck makes me less pissed at you. Least you didn’t ditch me ‘cuz you didn’t want me around anymore. Stede: Oh no, I’ve liked you since the day we met. Ed: You did look hot bleedin’ out on the deck of that spanish ship. Stede: I’m choosing not to unpack that at this moment. Ed: All done up you go! [loud closed-mouthed scream] [ed repressing laughter] You good? Guts still in? Stede: [strained]I think so Ed: Lean on me til it passes

Thanks, did you sew me up the first time? Ed: Nah, that was fang Stede: That fang, beautiful work Ed: Go lay down. I gotta clean up your blood Stede: Again, sorry

Ed: If you apologize one more time for being stabbed, I’ll stab you again Stede: But it led to so much character development last ti- I’ll leave you to it then

Stede: Ah, is this my-? What’s it doing under th-

Stede: Forget I- Ed: No, that’s- I mean, it is yours... It doesnt even smell like y- JUST PUT IT ON

S: May I ask you-? E: shoot S: Why did you let me board the ship? E: I was tired of izzy nagging to blast you with the cannons. Kept talkin’ in my ear about you ‘n it just made me angrier and angrier. Got me so amped up to just fucking kill you the moment I saw you again. Thought I'd just be furious, but I felt... giddy?  /hated/ that my chest was pounding, that just made me angrier

E: Then you show up with your tits out looking handsome as shit. S: hmmm [olu: One last thing, captain Stede: What is it, olu- RIP] E: I thought of it too. Leaving. Thought I’d get ahead before I disappointed you. Wasn’t itching for adventure, I knew I was in too deep with you S: I always thought I was disappointing /you/. I’m not the most exciting person E: Me?

E: Stede, you’re the boldest bugger i’ve ever met. Ever since i’ve known about you, you’ve made the most batshit ballsy moves. You took those English hostage, you swindled iz to get them back. you told blackbeard to go suck eggs in hell You stood up to the weird twins, to the English navy, to those richies at that party, to izzy, to jack, to ME. You’re the coolest, kindest person I know, Stede. I’m nuts about you. S: … guess I've never seen myself from that perspective E: If anyone else told me that story, i’d have them tied to the anchor for such a bullshit lie, but it’s you, so i believe it. Its as ridiculous as you are.

E: do you think I’ve ever gotten this upset over some quick drunk fuck parting ways? Only you.

S: Why only me, though?

E: You’re the only person that makes me feel… safe? Like I don’t have to be blackbeard 24/7. Most of my old mates were just dickheads who showed up when they wanted something the buggered off

Dont’ gotta worry about you stabbin’ me in my sleep cause i pissed you off.  You don’t laugh when I talk about a fine fabric or a pretty looking teacup. I’ve told you things I thought I’d take to my grave because anyone else would throw it back in my face... But not you. I like your fire hazard, secret passage ship, your crew, when you talk about clothes ‘n book ‘n flowers. You don’t act like anyone else but you... And I envy that

Ed: Because it’s you

Stede: No one’s ever thought that about me... I’m sorry. Hah, I feel a bit dizzy. Ed: Hey, hey, what’s wrong? Lay down if you need [stede crying] Stede?

Stede: You’re the first person who doesnt think I’m a burden. My father, Mary, peers- My whole life- That I was selfish for being born [crying] Ed: Again, Stede, Feck ‘em

Stede: Meeting you was the best day of my life. I was so relieved when you- on the beach- Yuo looked so happy, and I destroyed that Ed: shhh

ed: It’ll be ok

Ed: Look at me. You came back

Ed: And that made Ed happ- IZ: EDWARD, WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON?! [IZZY YELLING]

Ed:[calm] I’m sorry, Will you excuse me for one moment? Stede: Feel free! Ed: Thank-you [Izzy still yelling] [door slam] rapid steps]

[clattering above] [Izzy screaming] [crew cheering] foot falls approaching]

Ed: Now, where were we? Stede: ....Actually I do wanna know Ed: Let’s say, Bit too tied up to bother us again

[stede huffs a laugh] Ed: You look exhausted, you should rest. Pincushion gets the mattress Stede: oh no, I couldn’t. where are you sleeping? Ed: Perfectly comfortable desk right here. [pained moan] Stede: Right... Ed: Night, Stede

ed: I’ll steal a couch soon. ‘M too old to sleep on desks now Stede: I have no qualms [ed sighs]

Ed: Hey, stede Stede: Mm Ed: Can we.... Can we just forget about the beach and start over?

Stede: I don’t think I can this time, Ed. Ed: Slightly concerned you can forget me almost killing you but not a kiss Stede: I’ve decided to be done with running away from my problems and pretending they never happened. But beyond that, My whole world shifted with that kiss. I can’t ever forget that. The memory alone kept me rowing to get to you again

Stede: We’ve hurt eachother, but I’m more than willing to put in the work to mend it... Which is something I never did with mary. Ed: I wont stab you in the earhole by the way. Got mine out of he way. Stede: Only fair! We’re even now. Ed: But mine was funny [swat] [giggle]

Ed: Last thing, then you can sleep off the stab wound Stede: Oh good... Ed: If Blackbeard was gone for good, would you stay? Lotta folks want the novelty y’ know. ‘S been gnashing at the back of my skull. Stede: I met Ed first not Blackbeard

Stede: ‘M staying forever now. Best friends at first sight. From my point of view at least

Ed:...Olivia... How ya doin’, Iz? Iz: Are you fucking joking? Just tell me what’s going on

Ed: Stede won. Crew took the ship back. I’m staying.  Oh and lucius is alive, as you saw. Kid said the ship was so mucked up, he was able to hang on to sneak onto the ship. Thought you handled that way back when? Iz: that fookin- Ed: So i’m giving you a choice.

Iz: Just cut my foot off at this point anything but this. Ed: why can’t you ever just relax, izzy? It doesnt have to go this way, yet you stomp your feet Every. Single. Time. How many years have we known eachother; do you even like my company? Iz: How could you even say that to me? I’ve given my life to you time and time again. And You’re going to let some tart waltz back in and uproot everything we built.  Ed: Built what? We’re fucking pirates, mate!

Powertrip’s over. This is it. It was a good ride. Fang: Lucius! You’re missing this shit!! Ed: You may love waiting to end up like... another leather clad, middle aged sad sack dying alone in a puddle of his own piss, but you’re not dragging me there with you. So make a choice Iz: You’d really let me walk? Ed: Truthfully, i’d prefer you play nice and enjoy yourself for once. but I’ll give you three options.

Ed: Old way is gone. Either one, accept that and keep it pushin’. Two, I would just let you fuck off, but you’ve proven to be a liability out of my sight, so i’ll have fang cut your talk box, so you never speak stede’s name ever again THEN you can fuck off. And three, more of a clause to one,

Ed: If you go rogue, I’ll make you beg for hell. Threaten anyone on this ship again, You’ll never feel the warmth of the sun ever again

Ed: I’ll let you down if you behave

Iz: [despair sigh] just leave me up here a while longer. ‘S quiet for once. Ed: well alright, take some time to process. let fang know when you gotta piss Lucius: Bad morning? Iz: Yeah, keep staring, twat Lucius: That sounded threatening, right fang? Fang: He’s not above pissin’ on you, kid

Ed: [muffled] breakfast? [smack] Didn’t remember blackbeard snuck into your bed? Stede: No, I remember. Had to make sure I wasn’t hallucinating again. Also, once again, you’ve processed this very quickly

Ed: Were yee seein’ phantoms? Stede: No more guilt phantoms thank goodness. Was getting sick of those buggers. Ed: Love a good phantom. You seem less tightly wound. Glad you’re phantom free

Stede: Took awhile to realize, but This is where I belong. Ed: No fucking shit

Ed: Speaking of, Y’ know, I’ve thought on it, and I’ve decided I’m tired of being angry and sad and lonely. Fucking sick of it. Already stabbed you, no sense in wasting time acting mad when I know what I want S: And what is that? E: Wanna be liked and kissed and happy.

Stede: Perfectly reasonable things to- Ed: I also want to be co-captains with the gentleman pirate. [choke] I’m lying in your bed with you, stede. Who do you think’ll be kissing me? The swede? Stede: I didn’t want to PRESUME. Is this a new job role for co-captains? Ed: Is now! ‘S why I promoted you. But you’re still on thin fucking ice. Stede: Poor jim. Promoted in less than a day. Ed: Don’t actually tell jim. They’re super pissed at me Stede: oH Ed: Now, onto couch theft, I’m thinkin’-

Stede: You’ve got some- Ed: I get it? Stede: Not quite, just- Oh- fuck it

Ed: Dastardly man. Diabolical. Definitely not gentlemenly

Ed: Fuckin’ missed you!

End

[theotheristhedoctor]

Why You NEED To Read Wintersmith

The Big Snow W hen the storm came, it hit the hills like a hammer. No sky should hold as much snow as this, and because no sky could, the snow fell, fell in a wall of white. There was a small hill of snow where there had been, a few hours ago, a little cluster of thorn trees on an ancient mound. This time last year there had been a few early primroses; now there was just snow.

It had to be the Wintersmith, Tiffany Aching told herself, standing in front of her father in the freezing farmhouse. She could feel it out there. This wasn't normal weather even for midwinter, and this was springtime. It was a challenge. Or perhaps it was just a game. Only it can't be a game because the lambs are dying. I'm only just thirteen, and my father, and a lot of other people older than me, want me to do something.  

 It would be easier if they were bullying me, but no, they're begging. My father's face is gray with worry and he's begging. My father is begging me. Oh no, he's taking his hat off. He's taking off his hat to speak to me! They think magic comes free when I snap my fingers. But if I can't do this for them, now, what good am I? I can't let them see I'm afraid. Witches aren't allowed to be afraid.

"You'll have to make a big fire, up by the sheds," she said aloud. "I mean a big fire, do you understand? Make it out of anything that will burn, and you must keep it going. It'll keep trying to go out, but you must keep it going. Keep piling on the fuel, whatever happens. The fire must not go out!"

Her father's hand caught her chin and gently turned her head around. How soft his hands are, Tiffany thought. Big man's hands but soft as a baby's, because of the grease on the sheep's fleeces. "We shouldn't have asked you, should we…" he said. Yes, you should have asked me, Tiffany thought. The lambs are dying under the dreadful snow.

"I can do it," she said. Her father held her chin and stared into her eyes. "Are you sure, jiggit?" he asked. It was the nickname her grandmother had had for her—Granny Aching, who never lost a lamb to the dreadful snow. He'd never used it before. Why had it risen up in his mind now? "Yes!" She pushed his hand away, and broke his gaze before she could burst into tears. 

Tiffany extended her numb hands to the fire, to draw out the warmth. "Remember, don't let the fire go out," she said. "I've got men bringing up wood from all over," said her father. "I told 'em to bring all the coal from the forge, too. It won't run out of feeding, I promise you!"

She stepped forward until she was only a few inches away from the snowbank. She could feel its coldness already pulling the heat out of her. Well, so be it. She took a few deep breaths. This I choose to do…. "Frost to fire," she whispered. In the yard, the fire went white and roared like a furnace. The snow wall spluttered and then exploded into steam, sending chunks of snow into the air. Tiffany walked forward slowly.  

Now ewes and lambs appeared, steaming and bewildered as the snow melted around them, as if they were sculptures left behind. Tiffany moved on, staring straight ahead of her, only just aware of the excited cries of the men behind her. They were following her, pulling the ewes free, cradling the lambs. 

Her father yelled at the other men. Some of them were hacking at a farm cart, throwing the wood down into the white-hot flames. Others were dragging furniture up from the house. Wheels, tables, straw bales, chairs—the fire took everything, gulped it down, and roared for more. And there wasnt any more.

Her fathers coat landed on the starving flames, glowed for a moment, then fell into gray ashes. The other men were ready; they grabbed the man as he went to jump after it and pulled him back, kicking and shouting. The flint cobbles had melted like butter.

“Wintersmith” - a Discworld Novel for Children, by Terry Pratchett (extracts from Chapter 1)

Listen, I know that Discworld fans can be a bit intense about the series. If you’ve come across any of our content, it often sounds a bit insane, as though Chandler Bing had been asked to read Tolkein and Sherlock Holmes at the same time.

But this right here? This is what Terry Pratchett got right when he told stories. Because yes, it’s about magic and power and fire flying out of your hands. But more importantly, it’s about family, and community, and responsibility, and choice. 

First, look at how this starts. Yes, it’s a big magical snowstorm that needs to be beaten with more magic. But it’s killing the Lambs. Lambs aren’t important really, not to a world of Gods and Wizards and high fantasy. But they are important to Tiffany Aching, Witch. They matter. They matter because they matter to her family. They matter because of tradition and pride. But they matter in and of themselves, because Tiffany simply believes they do. 

People often comment on Tolkein, that he took too much time describing trees and songs and too little time describing battles. The defence of this is normally that Tolkein cared about the little bits - Sam’s preparations for food mattered more than Aragon’s skill with a sword. Pratchett carries this legacy - the way the power works doesn’t matter, what matters is the sheep are dying. Little people’s little lives are worth something; anything that forgets that is evil. This is not a game. 

Next, look at TIffany Aching. She is thirteen, and she is the Powerful Chosen One. Her family, her community, come to her. And it hurts. She isn’t striding around the place, angry but ready to strike. Instead, we’re shown how much she hates the fact her father, and her community, only have her to turn to. The burden of leadership, of power, and the price that will come with failure, is what is focused on. And importantly, she doesn’t turn away. She chooses to do what she can, not because she gets to be the hero but because of her family. 

Importantly, her family also recognise that this is a burden. They don’t look to her to solve all their problems, and they are dismayed at doing so now. Her father sees her for what she is: thirteen, overburdened, and still his only option. Sometimes, particularly in children’s literature, authors can become complacent about how other characters expect the Chosen One to save them. Here, it is explicitly acknowledged that this is too much, and that at the same time there is no other option.

Finally, and for me the most harrowing part of all of this: Mr Aching. He’s a Big Man, and he’s had to turn to his 13-year-old daughter for help. And she tells him, “don’t let the fire go out.” So what does he do? He burns everything he can. And when that isn’t enough?

The other men were ready; they grabbed the man as he went to jump after it and pulled him back, kicking and shouting

Firstly, this is horrifying on its own. This is a man ready to be burnt to death to keep a promise to his daughter, to not fail her, or to die trying - and die in agony.

 But more poignantly than that, THE OTHER MEN WERE READY. Mr Aching’s character is defined in that sentence, that his whole community knew what he would do to keep his promise. Every time I read that line, I well up. This is what love is, that it could never be questioned that he would burn for her.

This, by the way, is basically the only scene with Mr Aching in it in the entire book. He’s not a main character. He’s not someone who we ever get to see the inner thoughts of, or follow around. He exists in the entire series only as Tiffany sees him, only based on their interactions. And yet here, we are painted one of the clearest pictures of who he is, in a line that is seared into my brain forever. 

Terry Pratchett didn’t just believe that the little people were worth saving as some abstract idea. He believed they were people, and his books are full of Mr Achings of all descriptions - brave ones, cowardly ones, stupid ones, mean ones - all of them worth saving, and all of them given scenes like this where we get to see who they are.

In Conclusion: READ TERRY PRATCHETT