#editing stuff like this always makes me wanna do one of those “(show) as vines” videos LMAOO

[a-big-chicken-nerd]

Four words: Rick Astley Ice Emperor

(idk I just thought of this)

SO TRUE ricky emperrorrr

[octoagentmiles]

do you have any hcs for barnacles and dashi ? I'm rewatching it and many episodes start with the two of them in the main area , oftentimes there's a third person involved but it's always the two of them so they must spend alot of time around each other :O 10 / 10 bonding

Had to think hard about this since Dashi's role in the main series is so small—but you're actually so right 👀 10/10 buddies 👍

You'll get my headcanons I promise but first you gotta listen to me infodump, okay? Deal:

I personally headcanon that Dashi was one of the first Octonauts, she hasn't been around a super long time- but at least long enough that she was probably around for the first Octopod, and that would give her and Barnacles (and the other OGs) plenty of time to get close.

We know Inkling canonically founded the Octonauts, but I imagine that it was actually Barnacles who picked out the crew—over various fateful encounters (Kwazii, Peso), or already knowing them (Tweak)—with the two exceptions of Dashi and Shellington.

Shellington heard about them through the kelp vine by pure chance, and got himself a job via determination. Then, at some point—he recommended Dashi to Barnacles or Inkling, and got her a position as an intern. (He knew her through her photography; she took pictures for him once or something like that.)

I also headcanon they weren't called The Octonauts yet at that point. I headcanon that Dashi came up with the "Octonauts" name during her first few days, and they kept it. (Coincidentally, the first Octopod crashed during those first few days. T'was completely unrelated, I promise 😅)

Fast forward: I've been thinking about Dashi in AnB a lot lately, and the one question that keeps coming up is: "Why did Barnacles make her the Captain of the Octoray?"

They haven't addressed it in the show yet, and it felt a little bit like the writers just wanted her to Do Something, y'know? So I went back to rewatch some of her main series episodes, and this scene from The Surfing Snails stuck out:

This scene shows how much he trusts her. He trusts her to make the right calls, and to be careful. He shows this trust in her again in the Wild Windstorms:

"...I'm ready for this!"

"I know you are, Dashi."

I REALLY wish they had spent more time giving her some kind of arc, showing this trust being built. She absolutely deserved an arc like Peso's, where we could've seen her growth and her bond with Barnacles getting stronger. It would've made the Octoray thing make much more sense, and I would've loved to actually SEE her evolution from "getting stuck in a whale shark" to "inventing stuff with Tweak" to the level of respect that Barnacles clearly has for her in S4 and Beyond, but instead it feels like all that stuff happened off-screen.

I also wanna point out real quick; that Dashi is one of the select few characters to ever call Barnacles by his first name only. This is something that the writers frequently use to emphasize closeness between Barnacles and someone else (Kwazii, Natquik, etc), and Dashi has done it twice. I'll admit I thought it was an error the first time, but then I caught her doing it again in Sac Actun. SO CLEARLY THEY ARE CLOSE. YES? WE AGREE. YES.

ok I'm done. pleasure doing business with you 🤝

*slams hands down on table* MISC. HEADCANON TIME ‼️ (which technically, could all totally be canon until the writers finally decide to give us real information ✨)

She has 100% read ALL of his books and journals, at least twice. Sometimes he gives them to her so she can beta read them, and she's also helped edit a few.

She has written her own journals, mostly in the form of scrapbooks, that she shares with him too. He has a first edition signed copy of one of them.

She made friendship bracelets for everyone on the ship after the Octopod was rebuilt, and he keeps his on his desk. It's still in mint condition.

I feel like at least ONE of the cameras in her collection was a gift from him.

She is trained on how to steer the Octopod manually. Considering the only two on board at the time who knew how to do it were Barnacles and Tweak—her showing slight interest was the only convincing he needed to teach her.

Sadly, she's never needed to use this skill. Yet.

She learned how to play harmonica when he decided to learn accordion, so they could duet together, but she got the hang of it much faster than he did.

They work out together sometimes. She's much stronger than she looks—and has won an arm wrestling match against him at LEAST once. She's also beat him in a foot race; it was almost a very close tie, and she needed to lay down for an hour after—but she did it. He will never live either of these down.

They definitely gossip in HQ sometimes, when it's just the two of them.

[irkenheretic]

(How I Learned) How To Read Irken: A Guide

(Pictured: Us....) (From @zimgay​ ‘s lovely animatic!)

Okay, I’m finally making this post. 

If you’ve been following me for a while, you might have caught on that I can read Irken. When I started, I was completely confused over wether or not I was teaching myself correctly, how long it’d take, et cetera. But I’ve finally hashed it out for myself, and I thought:

Why not make a guide for anyone else who wants to learn but has no idea where to start? 

So that’s what I’m doing. Some disclaimers, though:

- This is what worked for me. It may or may not work for you, I’m not sure. I think it’s a pretty good method, though.

- Reading Irken and Writing Irken are two different skillsets. I’m gonna show you how to do both, but don’t worry if you’re better at one than the other. 

- This will probably take a while of daily (or near-daily) practice to learn. It’s not impossible, it’s not super challenging, but it’s not super easy, especially if you have memory problems like I do. (For context: I started in September. But I also have a really shitty memory so, like. It might take less time for you.)

Okay! Let’s do this!

First off, you’d probably do well downloading the Irken font for practice purposes. Messing around with it and typing in it is fun, and can help!

You’ll also need a notebook. It’s not required, but having it all in one place is super convenient. (And, if it’s tiny enough, you can carry it around whenever, and also have it on hand to whip out at cons.)

The first thing I did was write each individual letter over and over and over again. This is what’s at the start of my notebook, and writing the letters over and over helped me remember which were which. I also had to focus pretty hard on what letter this actually was, this is tedious as hell but it’s not something you can do mindlessly.

(Pictured: Normal levels of interest in a show.)

This is what my notebook looks like. Don’t worry about those simplified versions of the letters yet, but you’re gonna wanna leave room for them. Don’t worry about learning simplified/handwritten until later, it helps recognition if you really have to focus on actually drawing the letters, at first.

(And yes, I know my pen is really smudgy. And that my H’s suck.)

After this, three letter words are your friend. Pick just, common three letter words you know, and write them down a lot. I have just, the Irken for “THE” written in the margins of my class notebooks a TON. Once you feel like you can remember that word well, go onto another 3 letter word with a different set of letters. Recognition = good, so pick something you like, use all the time. 

While I was doing this, I tried to string together Irken letters I knew into like, coherent phrases. I was very bad at this at first. Acronyms are your friend here, lmao. (I don’t think I can count the number of times I’ve written ‘u r a qt pie’ in my notebooks.) It doesn’t matter what you write, just that it makes coherent sense. 

There are gonna be some uncommon letters that are gonna be hard to practice, like W and Z, off the top of my head. For Z, that was easy. I just wrote ZIM over and over and over. For W... I used UWU. You laugh now, but the absurdity of it cements that I will always recognize those two letters. 

Four letter words are also good. (Please, absolutely write “FUCK” over and over in order to remember letters. I encourage it.)

There is also the absolute cuntwaffles. Y’know how in English, b, p, d, g, all look kinda the same? Yeah, Irken has that too. 

(Pictured: Head hurting juice.)

The I and Z don’t look that similar now, but good luck without a translation guide. By this point, you should have memorized a good chunk of the Irken alphabet, and be able to recognize some others when you see them. If you’ve been writing common three- or four-letter words, it’s likely you’ve been using letters very common in the English language. Which brings us to our next stage, and the actual fun part: 

READING! 

You’re gonna want a translation guide on hand in these early stages, you will need it. The main goal of this stage is to read anything in Irken you can get your hands on- but start small! Fanart with Irken in it was a godsend to me. It’s not that long, so it’s not overwhelming. I did need to look up some letters at the beginning, and I read really slowly, but that’ll change quickly if you keep up with it! The specific fanarts I used are:

@inimoose​ ‘s The Last Irken comic, specifically chapter one: part one, and chapter two: part two have a lot of Irken. But I’d recommend reading the whole comic; it’s good!

@paketdimensioncomic​ ‘s page of lore for their comic! Spoilers, though. Again, I’d recommend reading through the whole comic, because it’s just that good. 

@xryn-art​ ‘s Linguistic Au’s first comic has a good chunk of Irken! The other comics do have some, but it’s all translated. Still good practice, though, if you wanna... read them......... ;) ;) ;) 

Yes, this segment was partially a way for me to plug my favorite fan-artists, (or at least the ones that use Irken,) sue me. It’s my guide and I make the rules here.

(I am very sorry if I bothered any of you by @’ing you.)

But just some sources isn’t enough, so I introduce you to browser fonts. And changing yours to Irken. 

It will not effect everything in your browser, and it can be toggled on and off, so don’t worry. If you really want, you can download a separate browser to change the font of, and leave your normal one be. It’d be convenient if you could, since having your browser font be Irken is inconvenient if you need to use Wikipedia, like, ever. 

Here’s a guide for that, for Chrome, Firefox, Opera, and Internet Explorer for some reason. You’ll see four options to change, I just changed all of them. Not every page is going to have Irken on it, though. For me, Wikipedia is all in Irken, and so is TV Tropes. And some Tumblr blogs (PAKet Dimension’s is one, just in case you need a reason to go back there ;)) But it might be different for you. 

Whatever it is, now you have a nice way to practice. I read Wikipedia articles on stuff I already knew about (so I wasn’t completely lost and could figure out what letters I didn’t know were from context clues,) but not a page I’ve read before in recent memory- you might just be recalling what the page said, instead of actually reading it.

And about the absolute cuntwaffle letters: yes, this will help you in recognizing which are which. Seeing the letters in context is always going to be much more helpful than just, a bunch of meaningless squiggles floating in the void.

At this point, I personally am much better at reading than writing Irken. It’s one thing to know a letter when you see it, and another to recall it and write it down from memory. Right now, I’m trying to write song lyrics and dumb little phrases in Irken, to improve my writing skills. Again, nothing too long, don’t overwhelm yourself. This sounds stupid, but Vines are good. When I don’t remember a letter, I just leave it blank and look it up after I’m done. 

Another thing that helps is having a friend to practice with, or someone to just give you Irken phrases for you to translate. 

Once you’re around this stage, you can try to learn simplified/handwritten Irken. You can also try to learn it before this, I started it around when I started reading fanart for practice, it’s up to you. This guide is a good starting point, but you don’t have to follow it exactly. This is your handwriting, do what feels natural for you!

(Also, don’t even worry about speedwrite Irken. That has no place in this holy land and frankly I am scared of it.)

And that’s... pretty much it! Most of the process is just... practicing a lot. 

If this post does well, I might make a server for people who wanna learn Irken to practice together and stuff. It all depends if anyone even wants to learn Irken. 

EDIT: Well, guess what I ended up making just the next day. Here’s the post for the server, and please read the joining rules.

Also, if you wanna learn Irken numbers, here you go. But start with letters first, worry about numbers later. These are never used, aren’t even in the Irken font, and three of them look a lot like those cuntwaffle Irken letters. 

Anyway I just really hope this guide helps someone out. If you do use it, tell me! And have fun learning Irken!! It really is just, a blast to do honestly.

[theheavenlymoon]

I totally did this out of order, so let’s try this again!

I would like you to meet Uzuki Hanako! (うづき- Uzuki はなこ- Hanako)

(My first introduction was a hot mess, so I wanted re edit that one and put up this one instead!)

(I can’t draw for crap so I’m using picrew.)

This will basically be me talking about her rather than all the fandoms she’s in. I’m gonna be making post about her and the fandoms later, but for now it’s all about her!

First Name: Hanako

Last Name: Uzuki

Gender: Female

Race: Demigod

Age: ??? (Depending on the fandom, her age changes)

Birthday: December 27

Zodiac: Capricorn

Height: 6’3.3

Sexuality: Bisexual

JP CV: Ami Koshimizu

ENG CV: Amanda Céline Miller

FRENCH CV: Indila

(Couldn’t find a Greek CV 😔)

Nicknames: Shachi-chan (Floyd), Child of Hearth (Malleus), Ms.Herbivore (Leona), Princess, Wifey (Gojo)

Favorite food: Cheesecake, literally anything sweet

Least favorite food: Hummus, mushrooms, candy, and beans

Likes: family/friends, cooking, singing really loud to her music, working out, making clothes, nail polish, memes/vines, rain/cloudy weather, animals, purple, doing anything around the house, video games, anime, fictional books, roughhousing, and day dreaming about her crush/significant other

Dislikes: Fights between friends and family, Candy, crying in front of people, and bookshelves

Since I can’t draw I have to use picrew, but sadly some of the makers that I find have limited options so allow me to go into detail about her looks. (I’ll probably make another post about her abilities later)

Hanako has bright gold eyes and long lavender hair that goes all the way down to her mid thigh. She has two beauty marks, one under her right eye and one on the left side of her lip. Her signature hair style is space buns with the rest of her hair down in the back. Like I’ve said before, I can’t draw so I’m using characters I know as reference! This is what her body looks like.

(^ This is Flare, a character from fairy tail! I recommend watching it if you have time. Fairy tail is a very long series, but it’s really good!)

(I’m pretty sure you can look at almost all the women in Fairy tail and get the idea.)

Obviously I know that Hestia doesn’t have any demigod kids but demigods don’t have to be born the normal way. Hanako was born from fire and was given to her father. With that being said, when Hana was first claimed she was given a fire place poker but traded it in for a sword so she it could help control her pyrokinesis. (Her sword is disguised as a charm bracelet!)

As for her sword...

Hana’s sword helps her control her pyrokinesis a little better and it’s fun to try and see who can pick it up. Her sword can reach up to about 2000°F (1093°C). She has a few special moves but those are for another time.

Although Hana acts like her mom in some moments, she met Apollo and Hermes when she was quite young and those two have had a big impression on her personality. One moment she giving motherly advice, and the next moment she screaming vines across the room.

Random facts about Hanako 🌸✨

Since Hana means flower I use cherry blossoms and lavender to represent her.

Has a huge soft spot for children!

Hanako is super understanding and open. Wanna try something new? She’ll come with you, so you aren’t lonely and scared. Skydiving? What time are we leaving? Want to be left alone? Call her if you need something! Wanna try working out? She’ll be your personal trainer! Feeling down? She’s coming over with movies and snacks! Can’t make it to game night? It’s alright just be safe with whatever your doing!

Once Hanako falls, she falls hard.(Romantically speaking) She is a SIMP. She’ll wear the most giddiest smile after talking with them. Probably screamed in her pillows at least a few times. “They make my heart beat so fast, and they make me feel like the happiest girl in the world!!” - Hanako.

Attempts her best not to be obvious about her crush, and for the most part it works. Until anything other than platonic stuff comes up. Her face is gonna turn crimson if ANYONE mentions her crush in not so platonic ways, gods forbid anything even more intimate. Children of Hestia are so shy when the idea of sexual things is even bought up that they blush deeply and cannot articulate any coherent words, and any fire nearby also turns crimson as if it were blushing like the child of Hestia. This shyness is amplified if they are around their crush.

Gets kind of anxious when she’s beside a bookshelf.

She’s a smart ass. It’s gotten to the point where she does it automatically. It doesn’t even have time to process, it just comes out.

Hana is actually really good at acting and singing. She was in a few commercials and videos when she was younger but only as background characters.

Hana is amazing with kids. She grew up with 3 little brothers before she was moved into the orphanage, which meant even more kids to watch over. (she takes her big sister role very seriously)

Since she was born from fire, she can raise her body temperature up if she wanted too, and she rarely gets hot or cold. Heat based attack have no effect on her. Hana’s hugs feel like a warm blanket wrapped around you while sitting next to a fireplace, all in all just really comforting

Hana grew up around a lot of guys and so she calls everyone ‘bro’ and ‘dude’ a lot. She has a few friends who are girls but most of them are guys. That being said, she grew up rough housing and yelling.

Hana also comes from a very affectionate family. (Hugs, kisses, feeding food to each other, smashing food into someone’s face, etc.) So it’s not uncommon to see Hana tackle all of her friends into hugs and kisses.(platonically)

Hana also likes to tease a lot (curtsy of Hermes) so don’t be surprised when she tease about you burning food.

Is super flexible. I’m talking like, Mitsuri flexible. Her friends have at least saw her in the scorpion pose a few times. The more flexible she is, the easier it is to move in battle.

The woman is a tree. I’m pretty sure all of her lovers (with the exception of Gojo) are shorter than her.

She can not, for the life of her, wear heels. Anything above a 3 inch that isn’t thick, would make her snap an ankle. Besides she’s already tall enough

In terms of anger, Hana has the patience of a saint. She still gets annoyed here and there, but very rarely does she get genuinely angry. On the rare occasion that she is angry, she gets pretty violent. Veins showing from her forehead, her body temperature spikes, and she wears one of the most nastiest glare ever. (from what she’s been told) Only a select few have seen her mad.

When thrown into a new situation (or a new world-) that isn’t familiar, Hana will come off a bit sarcastic (more than usual) and aloof. She wants to get a feel for her surroundings before she can actually be herself. Give her some time to come around and she’ll be back to hyper and happy.

Hana has a bunch of hobbies. She plays volleyball and is known as the queen of the court. She loves to paint her fingernails and her toes as well. Her cooking is top tier! As a Hestia child obviously she would excel at anything that has to do with domestic and home type things.

She 100% would/will make her own dress. Once made a huge ball gown dress because none of the place had what she was looking for.

When she isn’t doing any of her hobbies she’s working out and practicing her pyrokinesis. Hana trained a lot back where she was from, so she could master her pyrokinesis and her sword. She’s gotten to the point where she can lift a car. Just because she’s in a different place doesn’t give her the excuse to slack off!!

Ironically her mother is a virginal goddess and isn’t married to anyone. Hana on the other hand, wants to get married and have kids. She shooting for 4 but it all depends on what her partner wants. (2,6,8 it just depends)

Hestia children can induce serenity and make tense situations a lot more calmer. Hanako has defeated a lot of enemies and monsters this way.

Hanako knows 4 different languages. English, Japanese, Greek, and French. She was taught Japanese by her father and Greek by her mother. She learned French and English herself

Even though Hana loves to do girly things, makeup is not one of them. She always thought it was pretty cool but she never had the time to sit down and practice it.

Thank you for reading✨ I had a lot of fun making this and I can’t wait to write more stuff about her! I’ll probably have to learn how to make a master post so her stuff is easier to access. If you have any questions about Hana my inbox is open, or you can message me in private, either way works!

I hope you stick around for more content with Hanako! 🌸🔥✨

[sophiexteresa]

Thomas Sanders Instagram Q&A Transcript

From @thatsthat24’s Instagram story, 25/8/2020. Questions in bold. Text added to the story in (parenthesis/brackets), and descriptive info in *italics*. I tried uploading the video(s) too, but Tumblr is having issues, so here’s the transcript only! 

Thomas: I had some time this evening so I figured, hey, why not? Another lil’ Q an’ A, so if you want to ask a question *posh French voice* be my guest!

When approximately will the next sanders sides be out? Very good question! Uh, we are aiming this for a late September release, that’s what we’re all working towards.

Favourite musical you have been in or just favourite musical in general? This is really tough, I can’t decide. I’m between Rent where I was in the ensemble, Peter Pan where I played Slightly Soiled, which was just one of the lost boyos — boyos? Boys — and, uh, Into The Woods where I played Cinderella’s prince and that’s where Roman’s first costume came from.

Are you ever gonna due your hair purple again? I loved it! Yes! I miss the purple hair too.

Do you love me? *laughing* Yes of course! I do love me.

What would each of the sides’ reaction be to seeing the Grand Canyon? *speaking very quickly* Roman would be revelling that we made the journey, Patton would be marvelling at the memories being made, Logan would be telling you to look at these fascinating signs for important information, Virgil would be telling you to ‘get back from those cliffs!’, Janus would be telling you to take pictures to make it look like you’re next to the cliff, ‘for clout’, and Remus would be like *Remus voice* ‘you could push somebody and get away with it’.

Also when will we get more Picani, I miss him? You and me both, Bri, and honestly with the amount of amazing cartoons that have come out recently *sighs while smiling* yeah, I am a-hankering (?) to get back to Emile!

How have you been doing, like really? Mental health is important as you teach us: I feel like everybody’s kinda struggling with mental health right now, especially people in the USA with COVID. Uhm *clears throat* for me I continuously struggle with the balance between work and leisure time, um, social media makes that difficult, blurs the lines, and I’m working on it.

Do you have any tattoos? Umm, I don’t, uh, I struggle with the permanence of tattoos. And like do I, can I, make a decision that I like? But! There are tattoos that I might like. Where I’d put them, I have no idea, umm, but I think like, maybe like, little stars!

What rank of “Gay” are you? Big gay? What rank? *speechless pause* uh... General. You know? I wanna do my duty. Come back a hero. An all-American Queero *gets an idea* *roughly quoting Hamilton* Queer comes the General!

Can you please make Logan day something Patton would say? *Logan’s voice* Something Patton would say? Umm... please, I request more baked goods from the kitchen so that I can fill Thomas’s body with more trans-fats at 3 am. I don’t know, I don’t like this game.

Have you ever dated a girl? *awkward silence* I have. It was pretty uneventful.

Do you miss your friends? *laughs* Oh... *face crumples as if he’s about to cry*

What are you voice acting in or are you now allowed to say? Not until tomorrow.

When did you know you were gay? I think I answered this one on the last Q&A, but it was early. I was like, 9 or 10 at least.

When will we see Gavin? Gavin has started school! He’s back in his hometown, so I don’t know when I’m gonna see him. He’s still getting taller — I can actually include a picture of him that his mom sent me after he got a new little hairdo *insert photo of an awesome Gavin here*

Do you miss vine? For like, sentimental reasons, yes. Uh, I mean, technically it had its issues and I don’t miss being restricted to 6 seconds anymore *laughs*

What has been your favourite part of the day? My favourite part of today was actually... I came up with this last minute short video, and I got it done and I sent it to some friends and they really liked it. I have to save it until Thursday thought, but it’s just nice to come up with stuff that makes your friends laugh.

Janus acting like Remus? *Remus’ voice* Remus here! Looks like the Dukey just dropped in! *Remus’ laugh* *Takes a breath and snaps into Janus’ character* I spend a lot of time with him so I’ve had a lot of practise.

Why do I feel like we’re gonna have another angsty Virgil moment? When is Virgil not being angsty...?

Please can you say trans rights? Uh, heck yah trans rights! I, uh, this one was very simple but I wanted to say it!

Do you think Virgil would be into anime? Actually, if you remember from, uh, Accepting Anxiety, uh, part 2, there’s actually a Death Note poster in his room, so he definitely likes some anime.

Hi! Can you say hola to the Hispanic fanders in el vecindario fander? Please? We love you! Oh my gosh, *a very naturally american pronunciation* hola! that’s very kind of you guys. I appreciate all of the support you guys give, and I love all of you guys. 

STORYTIME! I love you: *upbeat voice* Storytime! I love you back.

How gay are you? Like, 15 gay! I rank General! 

How did you end up meeting and babysitting Gavin? Gavin is actually Leo’s nephew, so he would come up here, uh, during the holidays or during the summer, and alternate being baby-sat between me and Leo’s mom - his grandma.

What was the inspo for Janus’ outfit? Ooh, that’s a really good question, uh... Joan had a vision in their mind for almost kind of like this early 20th century or late 19th century kinda Jack the Ripper vibe.

Any advice for gaybies to fit in with society? Don’t apologise for being yourself. If people have an issue, that’s their issue that they have to work through. Do not apologise for being yourself. 

What type of gay are you? (Math gay, plant gay, caffine gay, etc): Wait, there’s such thing as a math gay? I am absolutely that, and I feel like I’m just gonna be naming traits about myself but I’m a trivia gay, a driving gay, apparently a math gay, a Disney gay *laughs* and a theatre gay.

Not a question but I’m glad to be alive at the same time as someone as great as you: Dude, this stuff is really sweet. *laughs* That’s really sweet, umm, trust me, I feel the same way about all of you. Honestly.

Why don’t you own a doggo yet? I... went to Petsmart today - I didn’t get an animal, but like... I’m thinking about it and this question is like... hmmm...

I’ve run out of cartoons to watch, any recommendations? Owl house! Owl house, owl house. I just tried it, and I immediately got hooked. Infinity train’s also a really good one, duck tales is amazing, and I’m getting ready to start Tangled: the animated series, so *shrugs*.

What is Patton’s opinion on rats? *adorable Patton voice, slowly zooming in on his face* They are tiny little squishy precious babies!!!

How do I ask people for their pronouns? I don’t know, I mean, I don’t think it’s like a big deal? I hope we could get to the point where we could just be like ‘what are your pronouns?’ and then they would tell you, and then you’d just, you know, carry on the rest of your conversation. 

A circle has no bounds and it’s the same with your beauty: This is really precious, and it of course came from Nash (?) who is a poet, he published a lot of wonderful, wonderful poems on twitter, they are are amazing, and you are once again far too sweet, Nash. 

Dream role? This is a pretty broad question, so maybe dream theatrical role would be Sweeny Todd, dream movie role would be anything in the marvel universe, uh, really just give me anything in any voice acting role, *smiling mischievously* egg rolls are also really good.

Can Remus please say ‘I am the sand guardian, guardian of the sand’? *Remus voice* I am the sand guardian, guardian of the sand! (love that vine)

Are there still plans for the Roman series? *nods* Oh, yeah, yeah, it was definitely hindered by COVID, uh, as was this Sanders Asides episode that’s coming up, which is why it’s taking longer in the editing stage, it is our, uh... strategy, for circumventing the obstacle, and we hope you like it.

Are we still getting an August playlist? Uh, heck yah you are! But honestly, actually, if you guys have any suggestions I should include in the playlist, lemme know! I’d be happy to get some suggestions - but yes. You will be definitely getting one.

May I please see your feet? *confused, slightly disgusted expression* *begins to move the camera away from his face* *holds up a tape measure, extended to 1 foot long* *grins*

Any shows on Netflix to recommend? Umbrella Academy is really good, Dragon Prince, uh, She-Ra, of course, umm The Hollow (?) is really cool, there’s a documentary about video games called High Score, that was really fun.

Roman, who would you say the gayest side is? *Roman’s voice* Oh, we’re all equally gay, okay? *chuckles* it’s a sexuality, not a personality trait. *takes a breath and speaks quickly* I’m just kidding it’s *sings* meeeeee!

If you were not a YouTuber, what would you see yourself doing and why? Uh, maybe putting my chemical engineering degree to some use. *laughs awkwardly* Uh, I went to school for 5 years for that one.

Like you literally make me so flipping happy: I’m glad! I don’t know what I’m doing to do that, but the feeling is absolutely mutual. 

Can we have Virgil saying “Falsehood”? *hair already over one eye, in Virgil’s voice* Uh, c’mon, okay, sure. *very quietly and unenthusiastically* falsehood. Is that good? Is that? I don’t know, I don’t wanna steal his bit.

Which Sanders Side do you feel you embody most? Ah, I would probably say it’s either Patton or Roman because Patton can be definitely me, all the time, just really enthusiastic about things and finding things cute, but Roman... Roman’s sensitivity, oh. That’s me. 

What was the first job you had? I actually worked as a page in a library! A- pages basically just kinda like, shelve books, check books out; it’s one of the chillest jobs I’ve ever had, one of my favourites, and my dad always had a lovely dad joke for it: ‘you’re working as a page, when do you get promoted to a book?’

How tall are you? I usually say 5ft 10, but I think I’m trying to be a little more realistic with myself. And I’m probably 5ft 9 and a half. *zooms in on his face, staring into the camera* I’m holding onto that half a foot for all dear life. 

DROP THE SKIN ROUTINE PLEASE! This is very sweet, uh, I, *laughs nervously*, uh, I use Curology? They’re very nice. Umm, just... different kinds of lotion, I guess. (I suppose I should write down what I do lol)

Can we get a FALSEHOOD? *is standing* *clears throat* *points upwards from his eyeline* FALSEHOOD! 

Do you have a boyfriend if not are you planning on dating soon? I do not, uh, dating is kinda difficult right now midst COVID, you know, kinda tough... love... in the time of Corona... umm, but, you know, option’s open.

When was your first kiss? I’m sure I’ve answered this somewhere, it was in high school, I might have been 15 or 16. It was with a girl. *Shakes head* And all I can remember is hitting teeth. A lot.

Can we get a super super vague hint about the new Asides episode?  Alright, I’m getting ready to end the Q&A, so this, you know, if you’ve made it so far you deserve this super vague answer, umm... it includes a side that was not in the last episode. (This isn’t much, I apologise lol)

Thomas: And that is it for this evening! Thank you so much, you guys, for watching. I know some of you are still over in Europe watching and it’s like 4 in the morning, and I need to go to bed so thank you all so much for your questions - I gotta do this more often ‘cause I really enjoy it. Love you guys, gals, and non-binary pals. Peace out!

[surveys-at-your-service]

Survey #326

“life by life  /  waste to waste  /  i'm the harbinger: the master of decay”

When you get married what do you think you’ll put most of your focus and money into? Do you mean like, for the wedding? Probably the venue. Or possibly the photographer. Have you ever had a teacher that also taught your parents? No. What’s something you complain about frequently? My legs. Are you afraid of falling in love? Very. Are you close to any of your aunts/uncles? Not very. Do you hate it when people smoke around you? Very much so. Do you own anything that is special edition? Yeah, things like DVDs. Do you have any funky bookmarks? I have this one meerkat bookmark where the image moves when you tilt it. Did you ever watch Pokemon? Hell yeah I did. Are there more females or males in your family? Females. Does anyone in your family snore loudly? My mom does due to having gerd. Dad did too when I actually lived with him. I wouldn't know nowadays. Do you own a camera tripod? Yes. Did you ever believe in mermaids? No. Have you ever purchased alcohol? Yes. Any essential quirks/interests/other you look for in a boyfriend/girlfriend/partner? Similar interests, like being a metal fan and gamer especially, as well as a serious animal lover for sure. Any romantic gestures you really like? Okay if someone did that little bow thing while reaching out for my hand to dance, I'd melt, lol. I also appreciate love interests holding open doors, SHOWING INTEREST IN HOW I FCKN FEEL, asking permission before doing anything in sexual exploration, stuff like that. Any sexual fantasies? Are you daring enough to share one? Yep, not sharing those lmfao. Have you ever been in love? Twice. What is your favorite/least favorite word? My favorite is "serendipity/serendipitous," and my least favorite is "retarded." Have you ever been skinny dipping? No. If I actually had a body I was confident in, I probably would in privacy tho at night lmao. Have you ever had a crush on a fictional character? Oh yeah. What is your favorite thing to do? Probably RPing with my favorite OCs when I'm in a really creative mood and during a great scene. Did you go to your senior prom? Yeah, I did. Prom's honestly pretty damn overrated, but I did it and his senior prom anyway. It's the picking out a beautiful dress and taking pictures that I loved. What did you do after graduation? I don't remember. We probably went out to eat or something. Favorite home cooked meal growing up? Spaghetti. What item most embarrasses you to purchase? Nothing, really. Do you give cards to people for holidays or events? No. Name the coolest thing about one of your grandparents. Uhhhhh idk. Name two things you put whipped cream on? I hate the texture of whipped cream. Do you ever eat peanut butter straight from the jar? Sometimes if I want a snack but am trying to be healthy-ish, I'll eat just a scoop. What was the last pill you took for? Pain. Do you prefer your clothes loose or close fitting? Loose, 100%. Favorite thing you’ve ever painted? Meerkats grooming. I did it in high school on a large piece of burlap. Are there any songs that remind you of your mother? "Take It Like a Woman" by Alice Cooper, for one. How did your elementary school teachers describe you? Very smart, sweet, friendly, and nice. Game you were best at in PE/gym? Pf, none. Obsession from childhood? Dinosaurs and Pokemon. Best way for someone to bond with you? Let's talk about deep stuff regarding the world or about how awesome animals are. Top 5 favorite Vines? Oh boy. There are just way too many. I'll try to name a few: 1.) the "I can't find my berries" saga guy; 2.) *in drive-thru, asked what he would like to order* "I wanna FUCKIN DIE"; 2.) "i cOUldA DROPpeD my CroISSAnt"; 3.) "it's Wednesday, m'dudes"; 4.) "a d a m"; 5.) "I WON'T HESITATE, BITCH." God, I miss Vine. What is the first meme you remember seeing? Holy cow, I have no idea. Sci-fi, fantasy, or superheroes? Fantasy. Favorite tradition? Dressing up for Halloween, even though I don't do it anymore... Talent you’re proud of having? Writing. Favorite website from your childhood? Webkinz was unbeatable. I was obsessed. Any good luck charms? I don't believe in those. Favorite potato food? French fries. Tell me the color of your eyes, without using the name of a color: Uhhhh a cloudy sky right before rain? Ever been through a goth phase? Goth is my fucking AESTHETIC. I wish I could afford a truly gothic wardrobe, because you bet your sweet ass it's all I'd wear out. Can you remember your first phone? If so, what kind was it? I think so? It was a Blueberry, I believe. Who is your favourite character from Alice in Wonderland? Obviously the Cheshire cat. What is your favorite type of YouTube video to watch? Lately, it's been tarantula and snake channels/pet YouTubers. I still think my overall favorites are let's plays, but right now it's just stepping back a bit. What’s the next project you are excited to start? I have this pretty cool drawing I wanna do of a morbid meerkat doing a big toothy smile, doing a peace sign (but his fingers are syringes) with a crown blinking over his head. Inspired by the "Professional Griefers" lyric of "lab rat king." I just really wanna make it perfect and am procrastinating in fear of failing... Have you ever experienced a miracle? I don't think I believe in miracles. What are your top three names you like for a daughter? Alessandra, Justine, and Chloe, to name a few. Which did you like better: high school or college? High school, at least in most ways. What is the theme of your bedroom? It doesn't have a theme. My interests just kinda threw up everywhere, haha. Have you ever lived in a dorm? No. Were you raised religious? Yes. Do you do your own taxes, or do you hire a professional? I don't have to do taxes yet. What was the very first thing you ever saved up to buy with your own money? Venus was the first big thing, I think. Describe your favorite Christmas ornament: I don't know what that would be, honestly. We have so very many. What jobs did your parents have when you were growing up? Dad's always been a mailman, and he also had a second job as a carpenter for a while. Mom worked with special needs children at my elementary school as a teacher assistant. She also worked at the hospital at one point, doing some computer work. I don't remember her actual position. Are you taller than your mom? We're the same height. Would you marry someone if they were unable to have sex? Sure, that's not a big deal to me. Last reason you went to the ER? For myself, a suicide attempt/overdose. What was the last word document you typed? This survey, actually, so I could save progress as I combine them. What’s something you don’t think people take seriously enough? Global warming. Have you ever dated someone who had a child from a previous relationship? No. Is there any drama currently going on with your family? No. What was the last fruit or vegetable you chopped/sliced up? An apple. I wanted apple slices with peanut butter. What is your favorite Hostess/Little Debbie snack? Holy SHIT that is impossible. Maybe the devil cakes, but I really don't know. I love most of them. Do you/your family buy loaf from the bakery or bagged on the shelf? Bagged. White, wheat or other? Mom buys white bread, but my favorite is pumpernickel. What was the last non-fiction book you’ve read? (Not a school textbook!): I ain't got a clue. I don't really read non-fiction. What color are your headphones/earbuds? These are blue. Would you be embarrassed to find out you snored loudly in public? Yep. Thankfully, I don't snore. Do you feel guilty about killing bugs? Yep. How do you feel about coconut? Not a fan. ^ Ever cracked one open? Ha, I've always wanted to. Who did you last worry about and why? My mom. She's getting a CT scan ASAP due to chronic headaches and stomach pain, so I'm worried her cancer might be re-emerging. When was the last time you ate/drank something gross just to be polite? I don't know; I struggle to do this. If I don't like something, my face shows it. I can't help it. When did you last make up a baby’s bottle? Never. Do you have any framed black & white photos in your home? Who are they of? No. What’s the most expensive thing your car needed to get done? N/A If you had a thousand dollars to spend on a pricey brand you like but can’t really afford (until now of course), which ONE brand would you chose? I don't know. Real talk, I find most luxury brands to sell pretty ugly stuff... Do you like candy canes? Yeah. Do you still talk to any of your old teachers? Yes; one is my landlord. What color was the dress you wore to your senior prom? It was black. Ever go to another school’s prom? No. Do you like burning candles or incense? I love incense. Do you ever venture into the woods? What do you normally do in there? When I used to live in the woods, I did every now and then to take pictures. Does your significant other ever make you mix CDs? Single, but that would be so romantic. /swoons How did you dress your freshman year of high school? I was this emo/metalhead/goth creature. What is the best present you have ever received? My dog Teddy. <3 What is the best present you have ever given? I put the most effort into a scrapbook thing of well over a hundred reasons I loved my then-boyfriend Jason. Even though we're done, I honestly hope he still has it, just to remember. What is the best surprise you have ever had? Sara's parents paying for a flight up there to be with Sara for her birthday. Have you ever been robbed? No, thankfully. Ever kiss someone on the first date? No. Ever sleep with someone on the first date? Definitely a nope. Ever give someone a wrong phone number on purpose? No. What’s the strangest thing you have ever witnessed firsthand? I have no idea. It's... very morbid, but possibly dogs twitching after being euthanized. Seeing Teddy do it was such a strange, painful experience. Like there was still life in there... even though I know it was just his nerves doing their final hoorah and he was already dead. Ever seen a psychiatric ward? I've been in a mental hospital five or six times, so I'm uncomfortably familiar with them. What is the last thing you did that you didn’t want to do? Group therapy. I'm really burning out on it. Thankfully, I don't have it on the weekends. What is the last thing you convinced someone else to do? I dunno. If you could live in a different time, would you? When? Nah. Do you prefer to sleep alone or with someone else? Sleeping alone is more comfortably physically, but I usually prefer sleeping with a partner because there's this amazing feeling of safety, love, and companionship. How many pillows do you sleep with? Two. Do you prefer cold air and blankets, or warm air and no blankets? Cold air and blankets by ten miles. I can't sleep if I'm even remotely hot. How often do you dust? Sigh, not as much as I need to. What is the most "extreme" activity you have ever done? I haven't done very much that fits that description... so idk. Dr. Pepper or root beer? Dr. Pepper. I hate root beer. Last room you cleaned? Mine. Last thing you did that made you feel like an adult? Checked into the doctor's office by myself, haha... Talk about sad. What’s your favorite picture of your mom? Dad? It's not my business to actually share those pictures, but I can describe them. I fucking ADORE this candid photograph I took of my mom laughing; I will forever cherish it. It's morbid to think about, but it's absolutely a picture I'll frame of her once she's passed away. I don't have many pictures of Dad, but I do really like this picture we took together at Red Lobster once. Are you subscribed to anything (Magazines, monthly boxes, streaming sites, etc.)? Mom pays an Adobe Creative Cloud photography bundle subscription for me, but that's it. Last TV show series you finished? Fullmetal Alchemist with Sara. It was a rewatch for me, but she'd never seen it. What’s something exciting that’s happened to one of your friends recently? A childhood friend got engaged a few days back. Do you have any board games? If so, where do you keep them? We have a few somewhere. What were the last things you glued together? I don’t recall. What are your friends’ pets’ names? I'll just use Sara here since she's my best friend. She has two family dogs, Buster and Beesly, a cat named Winter, four ball pythons named Martha, Crowley, Little Dot, and Jane Marie, and Doris, a bearded dragon that I personally adore most. :') What all did you do today? I played World of Warcraft early this morning, but not for very long. I've been in a phase of being very uninterested in it lately. I've mostly just done surveys... lots of surveys. I'm just in the mood to. I've also been listening to music and watching John Wolfe play Amnesia: Rebirth periodically. If you live in a house, how many floors does it have? If you live in an apartment building, how many units does it have? It's just one floor. Would you like to live in a world with mythical creatures, even if they turned out to be evil or dangerous? Honestly... I probably would, haha. Are you scared of heights? Yes. When was the last time you lost something of great sentimental value? Did you ever end up finding it again? Never, I think and hope. What food do you find to be the most filling? Is this something you eat a lot of? Eggs or oatmeal. Not really. What do you think of people who purposefully train their dogs to fight or to be aggressive? They're fucking garbage human beings. If you suffer/have suffered with acne, do you squeeze your spots or do your best to just leave them be? Ugh, I was so bad (and still am if something pops up) about picking at it. Does your father have any hobbies? What are they? Sure. He loves sports, fishing, idk if he still plays video games, fantasy football... and I can't forget playing with his grandkids. It's hard for me to know all of them when I don't live with him and see him rarely. What did the last face mask you wore look like? It was just a white cotton one. Is there a specific song that you always request at parties? What is it? I don't go to parties. Would you rather read poetry or write poetry? Write it. Have you ever had any really infected injuries? I've had infected piercings as well as a badly infected pilonidal cyst. Is there any band out there that you like every song by them? No. Are you popular on any websites? No. What was the last song you listened to? Aaaaand now I'm hooked on "NIHIL" by 3TEETH. Are you currently texting anyone right now? No. When was the last time you played jump rope? Yikes, probably not since I was a kid. I used to love it. Who was the last person you offended? I dunno. What’s the earliest you’ve ever had to wake up for work? Not early. Do you know anyone who has changed their first name? I know trans people who have, yes. Do you know anyone who has been on life support and survived? No. At least, I don't believe so. Do your parents have a strong relationship together? They're divorced, and Mom at least can't stand him. Dad doesn't really care. Do you ever feel like you’re sharing too much about yourself online? Oh, I absolutely used to. I still might, idk. I've tried to reel it back some. How many windows are in the room you’re in? Eight, but they're just small, vertical rectangles stacked together, so it's not as revealing as it sounds. What was the last necklace you wore? My spiked choker, I think, for pictures. Or maybe the one I have with a bunch of big silver skulls. Do you think there are more dimensions than what we’re able to perceive? I don't think so, no. Does anyone in your family have schizophrenia? My half-sister on Dad's side that I've never met. Have you ever been in an abandoned house? A shack, yeah. Do you like art? I positively adore it. I could NOT imagine life without it. How about theatre? I don't care for it. Have you ever made breakfast for someone? Yes, for Sara. Do you talk to your crush? If you have one. Yeah, she's my best fren. If yes, what do you usually talk about? Nowadays I ask her almost daily how she's doing in regards to her progress of recovering from both serious physical and mental stressors. I try to always be an available ear if she ever wants to vent. Would you rather read or watch a video about something? Watch a video. In what ways have you fulfilled some of the hopes and dreams you had as a teenager? I've fulfilled none of those. What’s one stressful thing you’ve been trying to deal with lately? How have you been dealing with it? Inexplicable, chronic boredom/serious anhedonia. I've just... put up with it. I get pleasure out of essentially nothing most days, and it sucks big time. I just try to distract myself and force myself to do things I usually love, though I've been bad about actually succeeding in making me do said stuff... Is there a regional chain of store/restaurant/etc. in your area that you feel very loyal to? MOTHERFUCKIN BOJANGLE'S, BITCH. You think YOU have good fries somewhere? Oh hunny, sit down. Oftentimes, people warn us against getting tattoos or body modifications or dying our hair unnatural colors because we could be judged poorly for them. But has a more “alternative” look ever worked out in your favor? Well, I like myself better with my piercings and tattoos, and that's all that really matters to me. Do you have any daily routine/habit of that you’re really proud of keeping up? No. .-. Pick one of the following activities to do in a forest (assume you would be equally good at each one of these): Foraging for mushrooms, identifying trees, searching for specific types of bugs, trying to build something out of fallen branches and logs. Searching for bugs w/ my camera!!! But that all sounds fun. What’s the hardest class you’ve ever taken? My most recent math course that I failed horribly.

[marmolady]

Valentine’s Day (spoiler-free version)

Edited version for the benefit of friend who is dragging his damn heels reading Book 3. 

Book/Series: Endless Summer

Main Pairings: Predominantly Estela x MC/Taylor (f), but a little bit of Aleister x Grace, Diego x Varyyn, Craig x Zahra, Quinn x Michelle

Summary: Post-ending (Endless ending). Basically fluff. So. Much. Fluff. 

Warnings: A little bit of coarse language. And it does get a little bit fruity near the end, but no worse than you’d get in a diamond scene. Do not read if you are allergic to sentimental, sappy crap.

Yawning, Taylor pushed open the door into the Celestial’s kitchen, drawn in by the sweet scents of fresh baking. She’d intended to help Quinn out with the early morning Valentine’s Day preparation but dragging herself out of bed- and away from Estela- had been rather more difficult than anticipated.

Seeing her rumpled hair, Quinn giggled. “Sleep in? …Or something else?”

“You’ve got me! I’m sorry, Quinn, I really was gonna give you a hand…”

“Don’t be silly! I’m doing this for fun, you shouldn’t feel any pressure to help. Besides, you should spend Valentine’s morning snuggling with someone you love. That’s what today is all about, isn’t it?”

Taylor smiled. “You may have a point.”

She approached the tabletop, where Quinn was putting the finishing touches on a wide spread of cupcakes. Delicately decorated in reds and pinks, the cakes were topped with intricate, swirling designs, edible flower petals and sculped hearts.

“Ohmygod-Quinn, these are gorgeous!” Taylor gushed. “What are they, strawberry?”

The slight redhead beamed. “Just the frosting- half are vanilla, half are chocolate. I thought they’d be something everyone can enjoy; not just you lovebirds.” She gave Taylor a wink. “I haven’t finished cleaning out the frosting bowl… you’re welcome to grab a spoon.”

Taylor needed no more encouragement. She vaulted up onto the counter and started digging in. “What about you? Do you have anything planned with someone special today?”

Responding to her friend’s suggestive eyebrow wiggle, Quinn blushed a deep pink which clashed violently with her hair. “Oh, I don’t know… you know Kele and I have been flirting a little while…”

“Babe, you and Kele have been flirting for forever.”

With a giggle, Quinn finished. “All right, for more than a little while. But even though we have our fun, I think it’s just a crush. Nothing serious. Recently… I’ve been having feelings for someone else. Someone who I love very deeply… I just don’t know if that person sees me… that way.”

“Meech?”

The bowl clattered to the floor as Quinn startled. “What? No. No! What would make you think?” she stammered unconvincingly. “It’s not… obvious?”

“Just a guess, that’s all. I mean- how many suspects are there around here? I just noticed you’ve been very close since we realised we’d be here for good. And it’s always been clear she cares about you a whole lot.”

Quinn shook her head as she hastily picked up the frosting bowl. “You won’t say anything, will you? I’ve always tried to live in the moment, to not waste a single day but… she’s still really caught up on Sean. And you know she’s taken all this especially hard. Michelle needs a friend right now, and I want to be that friend. She always took care of me… even when I didn’t want it.”

“You’re a good friend. The sweetest, most generous friend anyone could ask for.” Taylor pulled Quinn into a one-armed hug, getting frosting on her cheek. “My lips are sealed. But if anything happens, you let me know, okay? You know I’m soft for romance. Especially where my La Huerta girls are involved.”

“All right. If anything happens, you’ll be the first to know. I want to do something… just to show I care, but I don’t want to be too… forward? I don’t want her to feel like I’ve ever had an ulterior motive for being her friend.”

Taylor gently scraped off the frosting from Quinn’s cheek. “Well, between you and me, we’ll think of something. But you should know, no one could ever mistake you for someone with ulterior motives. You’re an angel, and you know it!” She licked off her finger and high-fived her buddy.

Together they distributed woven vine baskets of cupcakes to the doors of each of their friends’ rooms. The friends with rooms on the end of the route were left with one or two fewer cakes, but Taylor was sure no one would notice. She picked off all the crumbs from her shirt all the same.

In the quiet of the elevator, she cautiously broached a subject that had been on her mind for a little while. “Hey, we never really spoke about it… back when we first arrived on the island… those times when we kissed. It wasn’t… weird… for you when I got together with Estela?”

Quinn linked her arm through Taylor’s. “No! No, of course not! Those moments we shared, they’re still real, and they were special. You’re special. I’m so grateful to have been close to you so quickly; everything was so much less scary because I had someone I could trust. You saved my life, remember? Obviously, I’ve wondered what might have happened… but you found your person, and I’m so happy for both of you. You and Estela… you fit together.”

“I’m so grateful we were close then too. It was weird, it was like… it was like I’d always known you, even though we’d just met. You’re such a warm, beautiful person; when everyone else was dealing out their crap, being friends with you was just… easy.”

A bright smile lit Quinn’s delicate features. “It means a lot to hear that; thank you. So… what do you have planned for your Valentine?”

“Well, we’re going to the dinner. We don’t dress up very often, so it’ll be kinda nice. We’re gonna go out hiking and take a lunch with us. Estela’s got it all planned out, so I guess I’ll just see where she takes me. And I’ve got a couple of little things lined up. I’m… I’m pretty excited. Hey- I’ve had a brainwave! Why don’t you collect some flowers from the forest for Meech? There were some really sweet-smelling ones near the waterfall.”

“You’re a genius! Michelle would love that; it would be perfect for using in the lotions she’s been making.”

With deliveries finished off, Taylor returned to her room. She was bouncing on the balls of her feet, giddy with anticipation for the day ahead. In the short time they’d known one another, she and Estela had been through hell and back… but today there would be none of that. She was ready to love on her wife with every ounce of her being.

“Hey,” Taylor poked her head through the door and glanced around. “I come with cupcakes!”

“Hey,” Estela was sitting on the bed, cross-legged, a book in her lap. Forsaking her usual clothes, she’d dressed herself in Taylor’s crop top and sarong. Her long, dark hair hung loose, her handfasting flower woven in by her ear.

Taylor grinned helplessly as she took in the sight of her wife. “You take my breath away, you know that?”

A deep red blush rose up on Estela’s cheeks, which she well knew was Taylor’s intention. “I hoped you wouldn’t mind… I mean, you practically live in my hoodie these days.”

“No, no… the opposite! It’s kinda cute seeing you in my clothes.”

“I always thought they looked really great on you. I mean, you always look…, but…ah, crap… I…”

Taylor ran forward and put her arms around Estela’s shoulders. “God, I love it when you get all flustered.” She pressed a quick kiss to her lips. “Just let me get changed quickly, and then I’m completely, totally yours.”

“Good.”

__________________________________

A lunch packed, along with several cupcakes, the two lovers set off hiking. Their walks always left Taylor with a slight suspicion that the pace was being slowed for her benefit, but today, Estela surged ahead, seemingly on a mission. On and on, at a blistering pace, and uphill over terrain that was thick with rainforest plants, it was a strenuous trek, and there seemed to be no let-up.

“Are you trying to kill me?” Taylor groaned, as Estela effortlessly scaled a lichen-covered rockface. “I don’t know how you do Valentine’s in San Trobida, but I’m pretty sure leading your wife to an embarrassing death is outta line with the usual traditions.”

Estela shook her head, mocking. “I married a wimp.”

Taking the bait, Taylor paused to catch her breath and then retreated to make a run-up. She jumped at the slope, scrambling a little, but pulled herself up into Estela’s arms, pinning her on her back. “You,” she said, triumphant, and she caught her in a fiery kiss, “married a badass, and don’t you forget it.”

Her heart thundering, Estela returned the kiss. She came away just a little, so that Taylor’s sweet, smug face was just a breath from her own. I never want to be without you. Then she felt the questioning gaze on her scar… the one across her eye and down her cheek. Taylor lovingly traced her thumb down the line, following behind the tender stroke with tiny kisses.

“That one I… I don’t like to talk about.” Estela shifted uncomfortably, sitting up, but didn’t break eye contact. “It’s not something I’m keeping from you, it’s just… it happened at a very painful time for me. I don’t want to think about that today. I want to think about you.”

“I’m sorry- I didn’t mean to…” Taylor stammered, knowing that she’d completely ballsed up the moment, but then realised that an apology was unnecessary. Estela didn’t want an apology, just understanding. “A conversation for another day, yeah? If you’re okay with it, obviously. I don’t wanna bring up stuff that’s gonna hurt you.”

Estela leant forward a little, so her forehead bumped gently against Taylor’s. “I want to share with you. I want you to know everything about me. I… I hope you know that. I’ve never trusted anyone like this; it feels… nice.”

Taylor felt her heart swell. She wasn’t sure she was worthy of the implicit trust she was given, but it meant the world to her, and she’d never, ever break it. “I want that too. There’s not much of me to share- you were there for most of it- but everything I am is yours.”

“Come on, cariña.” Estela swept Taylor onto her feet. “It’s not far now.”

They carried on until the thick foliage finally broke into a clearing. Taylor gasped audibly at the view that opened up before them.

“Holy…” she breathed. “Estela… this is… ohmygod…wow!”

Standing at the edge of a steep valley, the sheer and thundering waterfall across the divide sent a misty spray into the surrounding air, creating rainbows that appear to shimmer in the late morning sun. The ancient Vaanti temples in the valley below were shrouded in mist, broken up by the glowing flowers of the encroaching jungle. The effect was ethereal, and utterly breathtaking.

Estela entwined her fingers with Taylor’s and sat her down with her on the grass. “Worth the hike?”

“A thousand times worth it!” Taylor gushed, and she huddled in against Estela’s side. She looked out, awestruck. “This has gotta be the most beautiful spot on the whole island…”

“Now that you’re here, it’s paradise. Perfect.”

Taylor gave a happy murmur. “The perfect paradise is wherever you are… all this, it’s just the icing on the cake. But it’s beautiful… it’s so, so beautiful. Like you.”

Estela laughed affectionately. “We’re getting heavy on the sappy now…”

“You started it! If I can’t lay on the cheese on Valentine’s Day, what the hell’s the point?”

In the shadow of the towering waterfall, the two lovers shared in a relaxed lunch, drinking beers, laughing together, kissing and cuddling, and watching the sun’s movement across the sky create colourful streaks in the water spray.

Early afternoon saw Taylor massaging a luxurious lotion into Estela’s exposed back as she lay, utterly contented, beneath the sun.

“That feels… so good…”

Taylor leant down to kiss between her wife’s shoulder blades before continuing on, moving down her scarred torso towards her hips. “I hope so; you always feel so tense. I’m gonna make it my personal mission to keep all those knots out of your shoulders.”

“Mmmmm… I wouldn’t mind getting used to this…” Estela sighed happily as she felt all her muscles relax beneath her love’s heavenly touch. Though she imagined she could just go on lapping up Taylor’s attentive pampering for ever, she had her own plans for the day. Reluctantly, she sat up, twisted around to face her.

“Taylor…” She bit her lip, suddenly inexplicably bashful.

“Hmmm...? You don’t have to look so worried; I’m not gonna charge you for the massage.” Taylor giggled and helped Estela back into her top.

“It’s… I, um, had an idea,” Estela avoided eye contact as she spoke. “I thought… I’d like to get a tattoo… your Hadean zodiac symbol,” she tapped over her heart, just beside her breast, “…here.” She looked into Taylor’s face, allowing the warmth and devotion in her gaze to calm her jitters. “I wondered if… if you might…?”

Instinctively, Taylor reached up, touching her fingers to her own chest. A tear welled in her eye, and her face seemed to glow with affection. She slipped Estela’s free hand into her own. “Estela, I…” She shook her head, overwhelmed. “Of course, of course, I…” Her voice caught in her throat, emotion taking over. “I don’t deserve you.”

“I think that’s for me to decide.” Estela gave a happy jiggle and leant forward to kiss Taylor on the nose.

Taylor blanched. It was something she still struggled to get past. If she hadn’t been such a coward, Estela would still have her tio. Even with this path being the one Estela had wanted her to take, it was impossible to shake the guilt of taking away the home and family that her wife had fought for. That Estela wanted to be permanently marked with the one who could have spared her that loss… it was almost unfathomable.

Estela firmly took Taylor’s face in her hands and looked her square in the eye. “Stop that. I know what you’re thinking, but I will tell you you’re wrong until you get it through your head. You. Deserve. To be. Happy. Got it?”

“I’m sorry… it just… creeps up on me sometimes.” Collecting herself, Taylor put her hand to Estela’s chest, feeling her steady heartbeat. Seeing that her wife was still not satisfied, she relented. “Okay, okay, I guess I deserve to be happy. And you deserve to be loved to the stars and back. And I do… love you that much. More.”

“So… do you want to?”

Taylor nodded enthusiastically. “So much. I’m gonna get that dumb coat hanger on my chest. For you.”

“It’s a dragon, idiota!” Estela laughed, giving Taylor a loving shove. “There’s a guy in the Vaanti village down there… he does all of them. Recommended by Varyyn.” She nodded her head to a small string of huts beyond the temple ruins. “Shall we?”

Estela took Taylor’s hand, guiding her down the steep, leafy terrain. “Taylor…” she said, pausing to ease her down a slippery patch. “I love you too. More than I could say. More than I could show you. I just… I hope you know how much.”

Sliding down the slope and into Estela’s arms, Taylor could feel the truth in every word, enveloped by the sincerest love she could imagine. Whether she deserved it or not, being happy seemed pretty damned hard to avoid.

__________________________________

The late afternoon breeze was pleasantly cool. Lying on her back on the pristine sandy beach outside Elyys’tel, Taylor appreciated the refreshment it gave. Going back down Estela’s secret trail had been, if anything, even more strenuous than the path up. The ‘relaxation time’ that followed had been nothing of the sort, involving being poked and prodded with sharp needles for over an hour. The end result, though, the dragon sigil over her heart, was absolutely perfect. Taylor couldn’t stop herself from glancing down at it again, and again, and again, and then smiling until her face hurt.

Estela smiled coyly. “I have something for you. This time it doesn’t involve you getting stabbed repeatedly with needles… or with anything else.” She put the basket in Taylor’s arms. “It’s something for our future. Our life together, our family together… it’s got to start somewhere. And I thought you’d like…”

The lid lifted on the basket, and a small pink cat with blue spots poked her head out. The kitten’s eyes were a blazing yellow, and her ears ended with long tufts of silky fur.

Taylor gasped, her hands flying to her mouth. “Are you serious? I mean, we’ve really, like… got a cat now?”

“It looks that way. One of Seraxa’s had kittens a little while back. She said this one would like you. I don’t know how she knew that, but I guess she’s the island cat whisperer, so…”

“I’m gonna call her ‘Madam’,” Taylor declared, scooping the small cat into her lap. The kitten purred, and her fur faded into purple. “I mean, look at that snooty face. She knows she’s the shit.”

Estela’s face remained straight, a picture of bemusement. “If that’s the best you can do, there is no way in hell I’m letting you name our children.”

“We’ll see…” Taylor scooted over so that she could snuggle up. She knew exactly what this cat meant; a promise of a future, of years ahead to be spent in love, together. The two of them… and now, the two of them and a colour-changing kitten. “But I absolutely love her. Cats are the best. All reserved and aloof; they make you earn their love, but once you’ve got it, there’s a whole heap of wonderful that no one else is ever fully allowed to see. I love the mystery of them.” She turned her head so that her face was barely an inch from Estela’s. “People like that… I find they tend to be worth the effort.”

“Are we still talking about the cat?”

Taylor cupped Estela’s face and felt a familiar rush of affection as her blue eyes met with her wife’s soft, dark ones. “I think you know…”

The two women lost themselves in a heated kiss, which was cut all too short by the yowling kitten who had latched onto Estela’s hair and was swinging around by her teeth. Taylor collapsed into giggles as she tried to detach the furry menace.

“Aw, Estela, she loves you!”

“I should have got a receipt…”

“No! No take-backs. She’s part of our family now. We’ll train her up right and sic her on our enemies.”

“Taylor, this isn’t T’kaal, this is a lap-warmer.”

“Maybe with that attitude…” Taylor made a show of rolling her eyes. She watched as Estela tickled the fidgeting kitten under her chin, met with face rubs and a cacophony of purrs. It seemed pretty clear to her that the lap-warming menace was a gift for them both. “Welcome to the family, Madam; we love you already.”

Estela sat up, beaming. “I’m so happy you like her.” She took Taylor’s hand in her own, their fingers entwining. “It’s been hard keeping the secret for weeks.”

“Hey,” said Taylor, putting her free hand on Estela’s knee, “I’ve got something for you too.” She reached into her small backpack and brought out a long, wooden box. Estela’s initials were etched in beautiful lettering on the lid.

Taking the box carefully in her hands, Estela quietly ran a finger over the carved top. She couldn’t recall the last time she’d been given a gift. Probably, she thought, the last birthday before her mother died. Her tio had shown affection in different ways, marking occasions by setting her new challenges, and, of course, with many drinks. But to receive a present… that was something rare and precious. She popped open the lid, and gazed upon the most exquisite blade she had ever seen. The dagger was short and strong, the blade cut from gleaming mahogany obsidian, the edge painstakingly crafted into serrated points. The handle was both sturdy and ornate, the form of a dragon carved into shining amber and polished bone. Stunned, at a loss for words, Estela could only gape.

“Do you… do you like it?” Taylor ventured, a little nervous. “I really don’t know much about these things. I talked to Varyyn, Seraxa… they said these were their most prized.”

Estela sniffed and wiped her eyes. “Taylor, it’s… it’s…” Giving up on expressing her gratitude verbally, she gestured for her lover to come closer. The second Taylor edged nearer, she wrapped her in a tight hug that carried on until the sun kissed the horizon. Little Mewsli flopped down in the sand beside them, her furry body vibrating with purrs.

“Come on,” said Estela finally, “everyone’s gonna be waiting on us.”

____________________________________

Back in their room in the Celestial, Taylor was reviewing her outfit in the bathroom mirror. The resort’s shop held an array of glamorous outfits, but by now many had already been claimed. She was pleased with her find; a rose red gown, embellished with floral lace on the bodice, giving way to a floaty skirt of the softest organza. With a satisfied twirl, she gave the dress her final approval.

“Taylor?”

“Hmm…?”

“You don’t mind helping me out with the zipper, do you? I swear they design these things with contortionists in mind…”

As Taylor emerged from the bathroom, Estela’s cheeks flushed. “Wow.”

“Wow? What do you mean, ‘wow’? Have you seen you?”

Estela’s blush deepened. She turned her back to Taylor. Gentle fingers lovingly brushed her dark hair out of the way and eased the zip upwards. Each small touch sent a pleasurable jolt of electricity down her spine.

“There you go,” said Taylor quietly. She stepped back to admire her. The charcoal dress shimmered with sequins, perfectly complimenting Estela’s dark, shining eyes. It hugged her figure, embracing every curve, a long slit up the side showing her legs. “Estela, you… you are stunning.”

Self-consciously tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, Estela glowed with happiness. “As are you.”

She suddenly burst out laughing. “I don’t know if you noticed, but there’s a cat hanging off your dress…”

“Wha-? Hey!” Taylor plucking the kitten from the bottom of her skirt. “No more of that, little one. It’s past your bedtime. I reckon if we just leave her with the lights out, she’ll go to sleep. I mean, there’s not too much in here she could make into a toy, right?”

“We’ll find out…”

With a smile, Taylor took Estela’s arm in her own. “Are you ready?”

Estela pecked her cheek. “Ready.” She rubbed the kitten’s chin as Taylor set her down on the bed. “Goodnight, Mierdita…”

“Hey! You don’t get to name my cat- I get to name my cat.”

“You named her ‘Madam’…”

“Well, what does it mean, what you called her?”

“Eh, don’t worry about that.”

__________________________________

The rooftop garden had been decorated for the occasion; glowing flowers hung down all around the candlelit tables that had been brought up from the restaurant. Set against the dark night, the effect was magical. Tender love songs piped out over the speakers just topped off the mood.

“You did all this?” Taylor gasped, suddenly feeling rather guilty for not being more useful. “It’s amazing!”

Raj beamed. “I do it all for the smiles on your faces, dudettes. I hope you’re hungry.”

It wasn’t just the couples who’d turned out for the Valentine’s feast; everyone was already milling around the garden, spirits high.

“Chyeeaah, boi! Taylor’s got ink!” Craig slapped her on the back, almost spilling her drink. He then noticed Estela’s matching tattoo. “Niiiiice.”

Zahra smirked. “They’re better than yours, meathead.”

“Yeah, well they probably weren’t hammered when they got them. Being drunk is all part of the experience!”

Grace bounced over, pulling Aleister behind her. She pulled both Taylor and Estela into a hug. “Oh, you two!” She cried, admiring their tattoos. “That’s so romantic…”

Aleister suddenly appeared very nervous, as if fearful Grace might get an unfortunate idea in her head.

As if to confirm his worries, she started quizzing Taylor and Estela. “So, how much did it hurt?”

“Pfft, it was nothing,” said Estela with a smirk. “But I think Taylor nearly cried. Aleister wouldn’t be able to take it.”

His mouth contorting, Aleister wasn’t sure whether to angrily retort or be grateful for the discouragement. And then Grace gave him a swift kiss on the cheek.

“Don’t worry, I wouldn’t underestimate you… and we’ll think of our own special things to do.” She laughed at the astonished look on his face. “You goose!”

A sprawling buffet was laid out, and within seconds, the aroma had brought everyone gathered around. Taylor piled up her plate, rubbing elbows with Michelle, who was dressed up in a shining turquoise gown.

“Taylor- I haven’t seen you all day.”

Taylor grinned. “You know… very busy.” She noticed Michelle’s outfit. “Wow, that looks gorgeous on you!”

A radiant smile lit Michelle’s features. “Thanks… you came up all right yourself.” She placed a hand on Taylor’s arm. “So… how was your first Valentine’s Day as a married woman?”

Automatically, Taylor glanced to the other end of the table, where Estela was caught up in banter with Jake. Her heart beat a little faster. “Is it possible for a day to be perfect?”

“You deserve it; you both do.”

“Aw, Meech! How about you? Has today been okay?” Knowing that it was her first since her traumatic split with Sean, she imagined Valentine’s had not been a totally happy occasion.

Michelle paused, but then nodded. “Honestly? I was dreading it. Being around Sean and…” She sighed. “Seeing everyone else… happy, in love. But actually, today’s been really special. I spent all afternoon making lotions with Quinn. She found me some flowers to use… the scents are divine. And she’s just been, well, Quinn. I don’t think I could ever meet a kinder, more good-hearted person. For so long I’ve driven people away… but with her I don’t think it would even be possible.” Her gaze wandered up the table, her lips curving upwards once more has her eyes met with the beautiful redhead’s. “I’ve never had friends like you. That kind of love… it’s new to me. I think that’s what I’m celebrating today.”

“I’m really happy to hear that.” Taylor put down her plate and pulled Michelle into a hug. “You deserve it too.”

She made her way towards the table, making a stop to catch up with Diego and Varyyn. “Hey lovebirds! I guess this is another one of our weird holidays crossed off your list, Varyyn- how do you rate it?”

Varyyn looked fondly at Diego. “There is nothing worthier of celebration than love. Diego has been showing me ‘rom coms’. It has been very insightful.”

“Turns out there’s some good ones in the DVD stash… we should double date sometime and all cry over 10 Things I Hate About You together…”

“I’ll have you know that my hard-ass wife does not cry in movies.”

Diego laughed. “What? You know, no one believes that…”

“Ugh, fine, maybe there’s like… four or five that will get the waterworks going, but that’s all I’m saying, and you didn’t hear it from me.”

“The Lion King! It’s got to be The Lion King!”

“Shhhh!” Taylor hissed. “I will see you two later- and we’re definitely gonna hold you to double-date movie night.” With a high-five to her bestie, she finally found her way to the table, where Estela was watching her, eyes shining in the flickering light of a candle.

Famished from their long trek down from the waterfall, Estela and Taylor practically inhaled their food for a couple of minutes, before slowing to savour the experience. Their eyes met across the candlelight, and for a long while they just gazed into one another in sweet, meaningful silence.

Estela reached out to take Taylor’s hand, and slowly, tenderly, she caressed it with her thumb. The feeling of those fingers in her own… it was what being home felt like. “Thank you, Taylor,” she whispered. “For today. For everything.”

“Thank you.” Taylor leaned in and kissed her, at first soft and gentle, then growing stronger, more heated.

A little while and several kisses later, Estela noticed in the corner of her eye that they were being observed. As she turned to look at them, Craig and Zahra quickly averted their gaze, sniggering into their glasses. Noticing Taylor’s questioning look, she said. “They’re acting weird.”

Taylor laughed. “Pretty sure they’re drunk already. Like, ninety percent of the reason they’re at this shindig is the booze.” She reached over for another kiss, from which Estela pulled away almost instantly. “Hey, what’s up?’

Estela glared pointedly at Zahra and Craig, who simultaneously double over laughing before each throwing down two shots. She watched for a little while, and they seemed to turn their attention over to Aleister and Grace at a nearby table.

“Jeez, you’re distracted…”

“Shhh!”

At their table, Grace leaned in close to Aleister, talking to him with a look of great intensity in her eyes. His cheeks suddenly became flushed with pink, and flustered, he sent his fork flying across the room. Craig took a swig of beer and Zahra followed suit.

“So… what are you two up to?” asked Taylor, standing over them with an eyebrow raised. “You’re kinda ruining the mood…”

Zahra leaned back in her chair, rocking it precariously. “One shot every time someone starts making out. A drink for… uh… that guy…blonde baby Rourke… making an awkward ass of himself. And an Estela death glare is a shot too… you should try it… you would be like never, ever, ever, ever be sober again. Ever. And Drunk Taylor is Fun Taylor.”

In spite of herself, Estela glowered at them, at which Craig attempted to leap up to retrieve another drink and instead fell flat on his back.

Taylor just laughed. “So how much is that worth?”

“One sip. Thaaaaat’s all.” Zahra said, slurring her words. “If I skulled every time he was a dipshit, I’d be dead… for real, though… and poor Craiggers would be all sad…”

“Well, you’re gonna have to pick new targets… we’ve got plans. Upstairs.”

“Noooo!” Craig cried from the ground. “That would be… I dunno… ten shots worth if you do it here.”

Zahra gave them both an apologetic look and clapped Estela on the back. “Go get it! …I don’t think he can run after you…”

Estela gratefully took Taylor’s hand. “You’re ready to go get some privacy?”

Taking Estela’s fingers to her lips for a quick kiss, Taylor’s eyes gleamed. “You have no idea…”

________________________________

“Wait- when did you do this?” Estela asked, taking in a room full of glowing flowers that gave the effect of soft, multi-coloured starlight. Many more petals were strewn on and around the bed.

Taylor tapped the side of her nose with a mischievous grin. “A magician never reveals her secrets… but I may have had a little help from a friend. Who offered, by the way, because she was going flower-picking anyhow. I wasn’t expecting as much as this, though… Quinn’s good.”

Hand in hand, they crossed the room. Taylor eagerly undressed, and then turned to see Estela in a hopeless tangle.

Inching across the bed, Taylor smirked. “She’s faced down San Trobidan dictators, taken out a giant demon crab, and handed countless Arachnid creeps’ asses to them, but the mighty Estela Montoya is finally defeated by… an evening dress. Shit, it’s tragic. I think I’m actually gonna cry.”

Estela reached out to give her wife a little shove. “Give me a hand? Maybe I can retain my dignity and you get a little something out of it yourself. If you’re lucky.”

Taylor clicked her tongue. “You can pretend all you want, but you and I both know you’ve been thinking about this…” She unzipped the dress just a little, kissing Estela’s exposed neck and shoulders. “…all day.”

Estela trembled under the heat of Taylor’s breath on her skin. “Yes…” she murmured. The dress slowly fell away, and soft hands caressed her back, her sides, her breasts, while the urgency of the kisses intensified. She allowed herself to be pulled back into the bed, collapsing into a sea of blankets and petals. As Taylor came in over the top of her head for another kiss, she moved first, taking her in her arms and effortlessly flinging her onto her back. “I want you…”

Her hand reaching out to tangle into Estela’s hair, Taylor pulled her face close so that their lips brushed teasingly as she spoke. “I’m not about to put up a fight…”

And then they were lost in a searing kiss, tongues dancing together, arms and legs tangling… caressing, heat rippling between their hopelessly entwined bodies as they moved as one, closer and closer.

“I love you… ohmygod, I love you…” Estela gasped, as the world apart from Taylor fell away. There was nothing but her blissful touch… the look in her eyes as pure euphoria overcame her.

Unable to talk, Taylor gripped tighter into Estela’s back as an unbridled moan escaped her. She shuddered, seeing stars, and then relaxed into a tender embrace. Loving fingers traced along her back, her stomach, her thighs, then reached up to cradle her face. Taylor exhaled, and gently trailed her fingers over Estela’s body, running over scars that were now so familiar, so beautiful to her. “I love you too,” she murmured.

They retreated beneath the covers, hearts still thumping, faces still flushed. Taylor playfully blew a flower petal from her face and snuggled down into the bed, and into Estela’s chest. Face to face, foreheads touching, they continued to stroke, to caress, to love, both utterly entranced.

“I guess,” Taylor said a long while later, “now it’s definitely been a perfect day.”

Estela mumbled incoherently, playing with Taylor’s hair. The soft lights of the flowers made her look radiant, and the whole room felt like a heavenly world that was for them and them alone.  It was beyond a dream. A dream belonging to someone else. Someone who felt these things. Perfect? That word just didn’t seem big enough. “I still wake up sometimes and I… I can’t quite believe it. This person… who I am with you, she happened so fast. It feels like a dream or a fantasy. Nothing could have prepared me for you… for what you’ve done to me. I don’t know how I got so lucky.”

Taylor gave her head a little shake and looked at Estela with the deepest affection burning in her eyes. “It’s not lucky. In all the hundreds of timelines the Endless saw, with all the variations, twists and turns, everything that might have happened… no matter what, it was always me and you. Loving you is etched into the deepest part of my being. That’s not luck… it’s just not possible for you and me to not love each other.”

Somehow, Estela thought, somehow it made sense. That kind of inevitability, there was something… reassuring about it. Taylor was so certain of it. She wrapped her arms tighter around Taylor’s middle, hugging her to her chest, and gave a light kiss to the tip of her nose. They fitted together perfectly, as if it really were the way they’d always been meant to be. “Of all the people I could be destined to love, I still think I’m lucky.”

Her eyelids heavy, Taylor found herself lulled into deep, quiet serenity by the steady beating of Estela’s heart. She closed her eyes with a happy, wordless murmur. “I guess I can’t argue with that,” she whispered. “Sweet dreams, my starlight.”

[thehyperkraken]

EDIT: yall idk why the actual fic isnt showing up in the tags but this shit is, bc thats literally the opposite of what i wanted, but for the love of god read the fic first and/or instead, that’s the thing i spent more than 20 minutes on: [link]

Hey random idea dump for that one fic i done did yeehaw... it’s almost longer than the fic itself but jesus christ i need to get these ideas out of my head and throw them into the internet ether, seriously don’t read this its a goddamn mess

So ghjkdf the actual plotty part of that fic came from that one b99 bit... the Bone one.....u kno

Arthur: Come on, Dutch. The O'Driscolls thing isn't the problem. You're in a bad mood because you've been so busy planning this heist that it's keeping you and Hosea apart. You two just need to bone. John: Oh no... Dutch: ...What did you say? John: Don't say it again! Arthur: I said you two need to bone. John: Oh my god... Dutch: (with barely contained fury) Hhhhhow Dare you Arthur Morgan, I am thIS GANG'S LEADER!!! You have NO RIGHT to comment on my sex life— (5 minutes later) Dutch, standing on top of a table screaming: BONE?!?!?! (10 minutes later) Dutch: What happens in my bedroom, son, is NONE of your business— (20 minutes later) Dutch, jumping up and down on the table: BOOOOOOONE!!!!!!!!! (40 minutes later) Dutch: And don't EVER speak to me like that AGAIN! (storms off) John, sunken down in his chair in horror: Why the hell did you do that? Arthur: (shrugs) They need to bone. John: Gross, Arthur! That's our dads!

And then like a day later gfdhkg

John: Oh hey Dutch! I know you don't want to talk about Hosea, BUT, I had an idea— Dutch: No need, John, it's all good. John: So... your fight with Hosea is over? Dutch: Yep. John: Because you finally figured out a plan for the heist...? Dutch: Nope! Arthur, excitedly: Because you guys—? Dutch: Yyyyep! Arthur, looking smug: Knew it. John: Ugh... Arthur: (leans down close to him) See, what happened is, our dads had sex— John: UGH, SHUT UP!

Another inspiration I had was John Mulaney’s bit about zoning out for John with adhd,,,,, the part where he’s like “the doctor was reading me the results of a blood test, it was IMPORTANT that I LISTENED, but NO, I zoned out, I was like, I’m just gonna stare at the wall and think m’thoughts” that’s why I wrote the part where John was like “ehhh attention deficient something something disease” bc it made me laugh gjhggdjh

Dutch: so the doctor says you have ADHD John: (thinking about minecraft) what?

Also unrelated but blease consider Arthur teaching John to drive like

Arthur: are you watching the road? John: ........I am looking through the windshield Arthur: John: .......and I’m not gonna hit anyone...... Arthur: John: ....but no. I’m thinkin’ about minecraft

(Also I don’t know anything about ssb I’ve played it once and hated it, minecraft is my og video game love, but Abigail beating John at ssb is funnier, I’m a fake gamer boy :^( rip)

ONE MORE INSPIRATION THAT ONE VINE ITS MY FAVORITE VINE

Arthur: are you drinking coke for breakfast? John: yeah, what did you have for breakfast? Arthur: ........nothing John: (sipping his drink) I’m doing better than you, then

Anyway onto ACTUAL IDEA STUFF HOORAY

So when Dutch and Hosea decided to adopt, they agreed they wanted to take in kids who needed good homes the most, so they were specifically looking for older kids who would probably age out of the system and wind up on the streets

They met Arthur who was a clearly depressed and gender non conforming thirteen year old who hated everyone and everything and wasn’t getting the Love he Deserved, and Dutch was like “I want THAT ONE, with the SAD EYES”

Arthur tried to push them away at first, cuz he absolutely didn’t trust anyone, and some part of him believed they’d just give him right back up for adoption if he disappointed them in any way. But he eventually learned that they were good guys who really just wanted to help him, and they weren’t gonna abandon him if he wasn’t the perfect kid they always wanted

(he probably told them about this fear eventually and Hosea just snorted and was like “if we wanted a perfect kid we woulda got a cabbage patch doll. something that wouldn’t scream or make a mess” and Dutch was like “yeah! or like a 27 year old with a job and their own house and kids of their own. pre-made grandkids” and Hosea was like “or a cat” and Arthur was like “...okay”)

Anyway it took a loooong time but Arthur eventually trusted them enough to come out to them as trans, without really knowing the proper words for everything, just knowing that He Is A Boy And That’s That. As much as Hosea is the one the lads go to to talk about stuff and get comfort and Wise Dad Advice, he probably told Dutch first bc he was more uncertain how he’d respond and he wanted to get it over with in the worst way possible.... like, if they were gonna react badly, heap all the bullshit on in one fell swoop

I imagine he did it off the cuff too, in response to something Dutch said, like Dutch was like “u get back here right now young lady” and Arthur was like “first of all I’m not a lady, I’m a BOY, and second of all FUCK you, I do what I WANT” and Dutch was like “groovy. you’re grounded.” Arthur was like (offended) “don’t say groovy... don’t try to be hip” and Dutch was like “no it’s totally tubular that ur a boy. It’s absolutely funky. You’re fucking grounded though”

Then he went and told Hosea like “congrats! it’s a boy” and they helped him transition and they didn’t tolerate a single person misgendering him the whole time. Like before he’s even begun transitioning, they’re literally at the doctors office to discuss it w/ their doc for the first time, and a nurse is like “ms. morgan?” And Dutch is like “INCORRECT” and the doctor is like “what seems to be the problem (deadname)?” and Dutch is like “FOOL! THIS CHILD WAS LABELED INACCURATELY, WE REQUIRE A GENDER RETRACTION” and Hosea’s like “please stop yelling”

Anyway probably about a year later they got John when he was ten and Arthur was fifteen. Arthur was a little bit jealous like, wow, am I not enough kid for u, but Dutch and Hosea always planned on getting at least two bc they wanted them to have siblings, and they know John came from a pretty abusive situation, so Arthur can’t be too mad at him. At least until he met John and realized what a fucking brat he is

Since John was younger and way more desperate for affection, he immediately loved Dutch and Hosea just bc they were nice to him, he was ready to call them his dads within the month but he was nervous that it was too soon and they’d be weirded out. But I imagine he got triggered by something and had a meltdown and they got to see just a glimpse of what he’d been through, and Dutch and Hosea were falling over themselves trying to comfort him and tell him they love him and now I’m making myself cry :’^(

Anyway... from that point on John was like “these are the only dads I’ve ever had and I would kill a man for them.” He gets in trouble quite a bit bc he’s Naughty, but Dutch and Hosea always make sure to punish him fairly and never yell or be physically intimidating with him or permanently take away his stuff, like they make him do chores to earn back the right to use the xbox or something. And they always explain to him exactly what he did wrong and why he’s being punished and talk to him about how he can make it better or what he can do next time, or if there’s a root problem, like he’s acting out bc he’s overwhelmed with school work or smthn, how they can help him. Especially after he gets diagnosed with ADHD

And of course they do all this with Arthur too, but they make a special concerted effort with John bc he’s The Baby :^) and Dutch somehow maintains an attitude of “idk what ur talking about, John has never done anything wrong ever in his life” every time he gets in trouble meanwhile Hosea is like “what do you MEAN, he’s a GREMLIN” fjfjfhhf

Arthur was probably diagnosed with depression and anxiety at some point... it was probably a long process to get him to even admit he had a problem bc he didnt wanna bother anyone... Arthur also probably came from an abusive situation from the way canon Arthur talks about his dad, but Arthur is much more the type to be like “i’m gonna keep all my feelings inside, and then one day, i’ll die” whereas John is like “i will SCREAM if i get a papercut”

[EDIT: i woke up in a cold sweat at 4 AM with this in my head so now i’m putting it here

Charles: So, Arthur... Do you wanna talk about your feelings? Arthur: No. John: I do! :) Charles: ...I know, John. John: I’m sad! :) Charles: I know, John.

i’m sure it’s been done before but it’s so good. ok now back to our regularly scheduled programming]

In regards to Arthur being trans, John doesn’t really Get It, Arthur tried to explain it to him once and John couldn’t care less, all he knows is Arthur used to be a girl or something, there’s tea involved probably, and John is thinking about minecraft again... he has 2 am thoughts about it sometimes and comes to Arthur like “what IS gender” and Arthur’s just like “hm. big mood”

Dutch is “Dad” and Hosea is “Papa” or “Pa” or “Pops” or “Dad, No Not You, The Other One” or “Other Dad.” Hosea really doesn’t mind at all, he wouldn’t care if the kids called him Hosea or mom or anything else, it truly isnt important to him. But Dutch Loves being Dad. Every time they call Dutch Dad he grows three times stronger and 10 years are added to his lifespan. Dutch is an Alpha Parent, he 100% goes to every parent teacher conference and bake sale, he’d go to every game and concert too if either of his kids had a single athletic or musical bone in their dumb little bodies. I guess the school probably hosts art galleries sometimes to display art the kids make, Arthur always has a drawing in one of those, and Dutch will absolutely go just to brag about his cool son.

Dutch is the Fun Energetic Dad who embarrasses the boys in front of their friends but can always be talked into taking them out to get ice cream. Hosea is the more quietly anxious dad, he makes sure they do their homework and keep their rooms clean and shit, and he's the one the kids always go to talk to when they’re having problems... like Arthur will rant for an hour and a half about high school drama and Hosea will patiently listen to all of it and when he's done he’ll offer to kick the other kids’ asses for him, and Arthur’s like lmao but Hosea Means It.

Hosea is also the one the kids go to for help on their homework because Hosea and Dutch have five brain cells between them, and four of them belong to Hosea. Dutch is like “suddenly I don’t remember basic math, time to make shit up” and Hosea is like “I must become an expert on 1820s Chinese history in two days for my beautiful sons”

I have NO idea what either of their jobs are, I wanna say Hosea is a lawyer or smthn but idk, Dutch is probably like......................a used car salesman LMAO...... they clearly make a lot of money (or maybe STOLE SOME) bc I gave them a huge house w/ a pool gjhkdhg

Anyway more about THE KIDS

They go to a school that is a combination middle school and high school, bc that’s what my school was like

Mrs. Grimshaw is the strict and irritable principal with a secret soft spot for kids, Mr. Pearson is the cafeteria cook, Strauss works in the office, I wanna say Rev. Swanson is a weird but friendly janitor or something lmao. Uncle is Dutch & Hosea’s annoying forever-drunk neighbor who everyone barely tolerates fjfjhfh

Micah is The School Bully but like bc this is a cutesy high school au and I can do what I want, he’s not actually like a violent racist or anything he’s just a bad mad sad kid who is a huge dick

Bill is Micah’s Bully Henchman, he’s generally not as much of a dick as Micah is, but he punches whoever Micah asks him to bc they are the closest thing to friends that either of them have

Trelawny is a new student who just moved from another school and he’s that fucking Weird Magician Kid who can’t hold a conversation longer than five seconds without saying “wanna see a magic trick,” tried to do some unimpressive card tricks for the school talent show, unironically wears a cape, etc.... Arthur stood up for him when he was getting pushed around by Micah and Bill so now Arthur has +1 more weird friend

Karen is the Popular Girl who somehow knows everyone, is probably a cheerleader, everyone is either extremely intimidated by her or thinks she’s gonna be a stuck up bitch, but she’s actually just super fucking chill and nice, WILL stab a man for her friends, she won’t hesitate bitch

Tilly is Karen’s bff who was getting bullied by *shakes fist* those dang foreman brothers.... Karen stood up for her and Tilly was like “no don’t u will get hurt!!” and Karen was like “ha... fool... cheerleaders cannot die” and whooped ass with her gymnastics skills and somehow got the foreman brothers expelled. So now Tilly is like “I owe u one (1) Life Debt” but Karen is like “nah it’s chill just come to target w/ me & we’ll call it even.” Tilly is just tryna get shit done and do her damn homework but everybody else is going on adventures and being nuisances so of course Tilly has to go too bc come on....... who do you take her for, some kinda two-bit GEEK? NO WAY

Mary Beth is a quiet nerdy girl who’s always reading or writing and never talks in class or anything. Karen and Tilly became her friends thru sheer brute force, Karen just sat by her one day n was like “sup” and Mary Beth was too shy to ask her to leave. They were surprised to discover Mary Beth is actually pretty nice and funny when you get to know her and also the Biggest Lesbian Alive

Sadie is a BAD BITCH... NOBODY fucks with Sadie, not even Micah, Sadie is the girl who when some dipshit boy spreads a rumor that he had sex with her, she agrees and tells everyone she pegged him and he cried after, she hasn’t given a fuck since 2007. she climbs on the roof to get lost frisbees. one time she got the gym coach to agree to give her an automatic A in the class if she did 100 push ups in 5 minutes. Then she Did That. She might have pulled several muscles in both of her arms but She Did That. Karen, Tilly, and Mary Beth (but mostly Karen) approached her like “damn that was sick” and Sadie was like “yea i know” and then they were friends

I literally don’t know anything about Sean I’m sorry...... maybe he’s a transfer student who becomes friends with John, they play Minecraft together and Sean boobytraps the houses John builds. Sean is the only living human being who understands how redstone works and he uses his powers for evil

Molly is going to a nearby community college and is working at the high school part time as a TA and she is like 19-20 or smthn so the kids all think she’s The Hottest Shit,,,, like they think she’s just the coolest hippest person alive, but also she is Very Attractive so fuckin everybody has a crush on her, most specifically Javier and Mary Beth. She ineptly tries to flirt with Dutch every time he comes to a parent teacher conference bc she’s dummy thicc and thinks it’s friendship goals that Dutch lives with and has adopted children with his Best Bud Hosea

The teacher Molly is TA for is Charles Chatenay, an all-grades art teacher who takes his job WAY too seriously, like dude chill they’re high schoolers. His class is where Arthur met Albert, bc Arthur loves drawing and obviously Albert loves photography. They were both like “wow he’s cute” but were too shy to talk to each other for more than basic pleasantries, until one day Albert’s Big Project was ruined a day or two before he was gonna turn it in, and Arthur helped him fix it.

They’re so sweet on each other it’s unbearable, they’re both Soft Boys so they fuckin blush if they make eye contact...... the most bold either of them get is when Arthur is feeling insecure about his body and Albert gladly tells him how perfect and handsome he is in every way, and he wishes he was half as gorgeous as Arthur is, and Arthur is like (offended) um, excuse me, how dare u insult my beautiful boyfriend in this way?? They both wanna grow beards so while they’re still going thru Changes they excitedly bond over their facial hair......... they run up to each other at school like LOOK AT MY NEW CHIN HAIR and the other one is like WOW!!! GOOD JOB

Javier has a big lovely family who spoil him rotten and tbh love to spoil his friends when they come over too, his parents are in a constant and devastating game of dish-gifting with Dutch & Hosea, Arthur and John have eaten more of Mr. & Mrs. Escuella’s tamales than any other food, neither Dutch nor Hosea are very good cooks but luckily Javier has plenty of aunts and uncles and cousins who are happy to occasionally take one of their unimpressive lasagnas or cakes from a box mix

Lenny’s cool dad in canon is the high school au dad of Charles and Lenny, he and Charles’s mom amicably divorced and he got remarried to Lenny’s mom, who is a Cool Stepmom to Charles. Charles and Lenny go stay with Charles’s mom all the time, in fact she was around so much when they were younger that she practically helped raise them both. maybe she gets a gf and Charles and Lenny have so many moms and are so loved & cherished like they fuCKIN DESERVE

Kieran is the weird horse girl at school, he’s Lenny’s age, they become friends when they’re forced to sit next to each other and they’re both too awkward and shy to say anything until they’re paired up on a project together bc everyone else in the class already paired up and they were the only ones left gjkhfd.... John wants to dislike Kieran bc Lenny is HIS friend now, but Kieran is a sweet lad with a mean dad.... His dad is Colm O’Driscoll, Dutch & Hosea’s other neighbor and Dutch’s sworn enemy

Dutch expects Kieran to be as shitty as his dad, but he is a SWEET BOY, and as soon as they realize his situation, they tell Kieran he can come over whenever he wants and spend the night any time, he doesn’t have to ask or anything, but Kieran is super respectful and always asks permission and always tries to come over when John or Arthur are there so he can go under the pretense of hanging out with them, bc he doesn’t wanna intrude...

Once he came over when Hosea was the only one home and he was like “hi Mr. Matthews are John and Arthur home” and Hosea was like “no sorry they’re out” and Kieran was like “oh... ok sorry I’ll just go then” and Hosea was like “absolutely not” and brought Kieran in and made him snacks and wrapped him in many blankets and watched a kids movie with him until he fell asleep on the couch... when Dutch came home he was like “??? new son ???” and Hosea was like “yea I guess. oops”

When Kieran gets older they help him become an emancipated minor and get a job and his own place (even tho he knows they’d let him stay with them if he wanted) and he changes his last name to his mom’s maiden name Duffy... Colm and Dutch glare at each other over their fences and Colm is like “enjoying stealing my son?” and Dutch is like “my son now” but Colm really doesn’t care bc he’s an asshole... and even tho they don’t legally adopt him, Kieran’s like “I’m more of a Van der Linde than an O’Driscoll” and oops i’m making myself cry again :’)

And yes Abigail does eventually teach John how to play stupid super smash bros. She’s Pro Gamer level of competent at nearly all video games and John has the biggest heart eyes for her, the end thank u for listening

[blissfully-queen]

Myrika, Queen Of Our Hearts ❤️

pink = dena

purple = janhe

Hi Myrika! I know you’ve been having a bit of a hard time lately and so I wanted to do something to cheer you up so I messaged J and asked her if we could collaborate on a project for you to show you how much we love and care about you. She of course said yes cause she’s a sweetie and loves you so much too!!! ❤️ We are so lucky to have someone as amazing as you as our best friend. You are an amazing, beautiful person who deserves the world and every good and pure thing in it. I hope one day I get the honor and joy of meeting you. I’m gonna give you the biggest hug I can and I’ll make sure to bring you Chick-Fil-A cause that place awesome and you’ll love it!! You’ll love it almost as much as I love you (; And this is J now! Dena called me a sweetie and she’s so lovely for asking me to do this for you. You really have good taste in friends, sis! And she told me you were in a rough time right now and she wanted to cheer you up! And I was like hECK YES. Because you deserve it, sis! You are a wonderful person who deserves every good thing in the world. I want to meet you someday so much and be able to give you a big hug. I love you so, so, so much. Thank you for making me laugh and smile. I appreciate you a lot. I’m gonna stop because I won’t have anything to say in the next part of this project lmao. Good luck with your ships, I’m sending you one in a bit and I probably had sent it already by the time you read this. Love you!

hi bby you cute thing you!! j and i wanted to do this for you to remind you of just how much we love and appreciate you. you are the most amazing friend i’ve ever had in my life and i can’t believe it’s been almost 2 years i’ve known you. i’m so jealous and sad i haven’t known you for longer but i’m so, so, so happy i met you because you’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me. you’ve been there through me through everything. making me feel safe when stuff was happening with my dad, boy problems, scary lab results, hospitals visits, anxiety attacks, boosting my confidence when i hated myself, and so much more. i still remember that one time i went to the er for chest pains in the middle of the night and you stayed up the whole time calming me down and checking in on me and didn’t go to bed until you knew i was safe and was on my way home. thank you for being there for me through the big and little problems. thank you for always being there listen and give me advice even if we know our advice to each other is so terrible. (lmho queens of bad decisions) you are the sweetest, most considerate person i know. you always try to make sure i’m okay even when you’re not. you are such a beautiful soul and i love you so freaking much.

things i love about you and being best friends with you:

~ you are so sweet

~ you’re funny and always make me laugh even when i’m in the worst of moods

~ you’re caring and supportive and loving and just have a big heart

~ you have this really beautiful and calming presence and i knew it and felt it from the second i met you

~ you always listen to my problems (mentor myrika ayyyyy)

~ your sass kills me but i love it sjsjsjsjjsjsjsjs you the sass quEEN

~ you’re creative and sis you’re such an amazing writer like wow one of these days you’re actually gonna kill me with feels i stg but like pop off girl you gonna replace jk rowling one day

~ you love vine just as much as i do if not more

~ d i s n e y & greenhouse academy

~ your taste in music is amazing and i love like every song you recommend me

~ our strange humor and the fact we can be so stupid and weird and not care

~ we rage over video games together

~ chicken nuggets

~ when i’ll bring someone up to you and you’re like “... who?” and like it makes me laugh every time

~ us roasting aiden, jon and travis

~ you were always the queen of ttr fashion shows like hello? a legend in the fashion show world wow

~ us being so confused and making fun of each others countries sjsjsjjssj

girl you’re the most amazing person i know and i have no idea what i’d do without you. you are my sunshine. you cheer me up and make me happy when i’m having a rough time. i love you. thank you for everything you’ve done for me over these past 2 years. you have no idea how much you mean to me. you’re the best. you’re loved, you’re wanted, you’re gorgeous inside and out, you’re gonna have an amazing future and do amazing things. i’m so proud of you and the person you are. i’ve seen you blossom so much and it’s amazing. i hope you’re always in my life and we stay best friends and have our own island one day and are roommates (and they were ROOMATES). i love you my wife, my life. you’re my chicken, my chica, my sister, my mentor, my cohort/partner in crime, my ride or die, my best friend.

j’s part:

Okay sis, I’m sending you Roger Taylor pics while I write you this so if I stop sending them, it’s because of this. And now I stopped bc it’s another day and it will probably look out of context so I’m sorry. And you know my english isn’t perfect and you aren’t here to edit this okay, so I maybe ask Dena to help me correcting this sorry. Dena asked me if I wanted to join to this idea of hers to remind you of the wonderful human being you are. She said you talked to her about me wHAT DID YOU SAY HFIEUHF sorry. And of course I agreed, how couldn’t I? I just wanna tell you how grateful I am because I can consider you my friend, probably my closest friend even! I never had an internet friend before, like ever. I had talked to some people before, but it never lasted. Our friendship did, thank God it did. Because you are a beautiful person, and I mean it. You are always there for me. You don’t know how many times I came from a bad day to my room, feeling like shit, until you would tell me: “Wanna write something tonight?”. I swear my face would light up! And those writing sessions always made me feel better. I felt happy again. You helped me to get through a lot, and maybe you didn’t even realise! And we’ve been friends for what? Three months? And I already feel like you’re one of my closest friends, including my irl friends! Because you deserve it, you are great. I can’t even express myself in how much I love you, how much I enjoy talking to you, how many times you made me laugh even if you couldn’t see it. I know that here on the internet, when somebody says “I love you” or “You are beautiful” you could feel like they don’t mean it actually. But I really do, I need you to know that. You are a beautiful person, who’s full of life and came to make my life a little bit brighter. Lmao I sounded so poetic there, are you proud of me? I’m so excited to be your friend and see where does this friendship takes us. And I hope we last a lot of time being friends! (wE WON’T IF YOU KEEP EXPOSING MY IRONICAL FICS ON TUMBLR OK jk I loved you exposing me <33). I really hope you know how much you are loved. You are a great girl who deserves the world and I can’t wait for us to meet each other everyday a little more. I’m so happy you found me, I’ve been blessed with your friendship. And don’t forget how good of a friend you are, how much of a great person you are, and how beautiful you are. Please don’t forget it. I love you with all my heart. PS: btw, I sounded pretty emotional a few times but I’m listening to Foreign Sand by Roger while writing this like can you blame me? (listen to it if you haven’t yet).

My list of my fav things about you, myr <333

~ Your sense of humor

~ It’s a cliché but we botH LOVE QUEEN you don’t understand how much that means to me. I can tell you how much I need a roger taylor without feeling embarrassed.

~ The fact that Misfire comes up to every conversation of ours at least once.

~ You’re such a funny person liKE I CAN’T HANDLE IT

~ The fact that you love my fics like how can you like that rubbish.

~ You always support me on writing.

~ The fact that we both agree on that Man On Fire’s video is a threat to humanity.

~ The fact that we both agree on “Deacy”.

~ You being so supportive with me in a lot of senses, not only the writing thing

~ The fact that even if we are miles away from each other and in two extremes of the world (wTF), you still get to make me smile.

~ I LAUGH EVERY TIME I TALK TO YOU IT’S NOT EVEN FUNNY.

~ We are both sad potatoes and we can relate on each other in a lot of things.

~ You’re so kind, so nice, so compassionate. Maybe too nice. And I love you for that.

~ The fact that we had each other to scream over Rami’s winning on the Oscars like really thank God I could scream with you.

~ The fact that yOU WROTE ME A FIC WITH ROGER YOU TOOK YOUR TIME TO MAKE ME A GOOD PRESENT it’s the cutest thing someone ever gave me for my birthday, even if you didn’t have to. I read it all the time!

~ You say “I love you” a lot to me. It makes me smile every time.

I love you, you’re loved, by Dena, by me. You’re a lucky girl for having us as friends. I love you so much, you better smile at least once today, because I don’t doubt your smile must be so beautiful. And I’m so lucky for getting to know you as well <3

WE LOVE YOU,

Dena & Janhe

[sassycassie-s-writing]

Better Already

By: SassyShoulderAngel319

Fandom/Character(s): Vine/YouTube + Avengers - Thomas Sanders

Rating: PG

Original Idea: My own post on my main blog about how Thomas is basically Tumblr’s older brother that everyone loves and looks up to.

Notes: (Masterlist)(By Character)(About Me) I never had a brother, which is why this MC has female pronouns---because it’s most familiar to me, like it usually is, and I want a brother like Thomas. No disrespect for other genders or non-binary readers.

^^^^^

A weight dropped onto the stair next to me. “Whatcha thinkin’ about, kiddo?” Thomas asked.

I snorted. “You don’t have to call me that,” I retorted. “I'm not that much younger than you.”

“I know.”

“Channeling Patton to make me smile?”

Thomas chuckled and leaned back against the stair behind us. “Yeah I guess so. I miss playing him. The others too. But that… that was a long time ago.”

“A couple months isn’t a long time, Thomas.”

He gave me a smirk and a nudge. “Yes it is. Especially when you’ve abandoned what you love doing in order to keep yourself and those you love safe.” He paused. “But now’s not the time to talk about me giving up YouTube to be an Avenger. Now is the time where I point out that you never answered my question. Whatcha thinkin’ about?”

I sighed. “I'm probably going to die soon, Thomas,” I admitted.

“What? Why?”

There was a pause while I stared at my hands. “I was challenged—in front of half the city. Told me to meet him Friday at the power plant or he would destroy at least half the city. So I can stay here, let innocent people die, and lose the public’s trust forever; or I can meet up with him, fight, die, and then innocent people will still die and I won’t be there to do anything about it.” I looked my friend square in the face. “I can’t beat him, Thomas! I've tried so hard. I'm not strong enough on my own and I can’t bring someone else with me or he’ll rampage.” I leaned my head against his shoulder and started to cry. “I made a huge mistake, taking up a mask and a suit when I got my powers young. I should have waited.”

“Kid, you’re twenty.”

I squished up my nose. “I know that. But I've been under that mask for a little over two years. I just… I wasn’t ready. And I'm still not.” I clenched my hands into fists in my jeans. “Thomas, I don’t know what to do!”

“Do whatever you think is right.” He patted my knee. “Remember that one time we watched Rogue One and you started crying because you didn’t know if you could ever believe in a cause enough to lay down your life for it?” he inquired gently. I nodded. “This is your moment. Do you believe in that mask enough to die for innocent people? Sure you could back out of this fight and do more good in the future, but that guilt would weigh on your consciousness forever. I know you. And you know what? I believe in you. I believe in that mask. You put it on and become unstoppable. You can beat him.”

I took my head off his shoulder to bury it in my hands. “I've tried to beat him, Elixir, and it never works!” I exclaimed.

He sighed. “Look, sweetheart—” The endearment was condescending and sarcastic. “—you’re a lot stronger than you think. The only person who ever doubts your power and your strength is you. You're the only one holding you back.” He ran his fingers comfortingly through my hair, smoothing it out. “I know you can defeat him. You just have to accept and embrace everything you can do. Be everything you are—and be brave.”

“But civilians—”

“Remember what Cap told us when we first joined? With this life, we save as many people as we can, and sometimes that doesn’t mean everyone. But if we can’t accept that, then next time, maybe no one gets saved.”

“How very utilitarian, Spock,” I retorted sarcastically. “The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few, and all that.”

“Hey, between you and me, sista, you are Spock, not me,” he snapped playfully.

I smiled, feeling the tension of anxiety and nerves in my chest ease away. I sighed and looked over at Thomas. “You always know how to make everyone feel better,” I observed. He gave me a little smirk and a shrug.

“I think it’s a side-effect of my powers. Pain is pain—and I'm a healer. I heal pain.”

“No. It’s more than that. You really care and want us all to be okay. You have a good heart and a kind personality.” I paused, searching for my next words. “My older sister doesn’t like Captain America because she doesn’t believe that people can be all good all the time. But Cap isn’t. She just doesn’t know that. You're the closest I've ever seen someone come to that ideal, and I've seen your dark side. And it scared me. You're terrifying when you're angry. It’s impressive, to be honest.”

Thomas slapped his knees, stood up, and offered me his hand. “You're cute, kiddo. Now c’mon. Let’s go cheer you up more and make sure you're ready to face him when the time comes. You're going to come out on top. And, with any luck, no one will die.” I took his hand and let him haul me to my feet. His grin was so cute. “See? You’ve taken the first step to victory already!”

“Okay Roman,” I teased.

He laughed. “Hey, they're all still up here somewhere.” He tapped his forehead with one finger. “One day they may even make a return to YouTube.”

“Imagine if your powers weren’t healing, but instead you could make them manifest in the real world.”

Thomas’ eyes widened. “Oh my goodness. Can you imagine though? Without a script to follow, they could be insufferable! All talking over each other all the time without the magic of editing to rein them in. That would be simultaneously interesting and overwhelming.”

“Really? Pretty sure that without being bound to a script or a set they’d all just do their own thing. Roman would be singing Disney and show-tunes somewhere, Logan would be reading, Patton would be browsing pictures of puppies, and Virgil would be sulking either in a corner or on a swing in a park somewhere, just waiting until you need him.”

“Fair point, I suppose. But now is still not the time to be talking about all that! It’s in the past for now, and that’s where it’s going to stay until I can return to YouTube safely. Now we need to be focusing on you. Because you have a big day ahead of you on Friday and I want to make sure you know that you can win.” He offered me his elbow. I took it and let him stroll down the stairs with me. “See, the thing is, I gotta be your big brother right now and make sure you know your worth and stuff. I never had a little sister so I'm claiming you. And yeah I tease, but you do too, and at the end of the day, I'm going to make sure you know I love and support you—and I’ll always believe in you.”

“Gee, your codename should be SuperBrother instead of Elixir,” I teased to prove his point.

He laughed. “Yup. So what do you say, little sis, you gonna let me help you beat your big-bad?”

“You… wanna help me?”

“Of course. It’s not like he can kill me. I’ll stay out of the way, for the most part, but when you need me, I’ll be there. We’re a team.”

I nodded. “Yeah. Yeah we are,” I decided.

He grinned. “There we go. That’s the feisty hero I know. You're going to be fine. A little bruised at the end, maybe, but that’s nothing I can’t fix.”

“And you know I'm not gonna let you.”

Thomas snorted. “Ah, yes. You're a stickler for your pain tolerance.”

“Well I've spent years building it up. I'm not losing it now because my surrogate big brother can just zap away my boo-boos.” I ended my sentence with a baby-talk voice. Thomas rolled his eyes as we reached the bottom of the stairs and went for a walk around the building.

“Don’t worry, you know. ‘Cause it’ll all be okay in the end. You’ll see this through.”

“Thanks Thomas. I feel better already.”

“Good.”