#engine god? i could be talked into it... i kinda wanna be talked into it

[mean-scarlet-deceiver]

i've written quite a few nobby scenes this week... and somehow they keep devolving into religion?

I think because the subject lends itself to the quintessential Bird-at-Barrow-Central-ish mood, right between heartbreaking and funny.

47 sighed, and then looked at Coppernob very steadily. "To tell truth, Nobby? I always liked listening to those old yarns from the Joint Lines—they were some of the best stories I ever heard—but they were just... stories."

" 'Stories'," repeated Coppernob. But he said it very neutrally.

"I don't mean any disrespect! But they are just tales, ain't they? I don't think there is an engine god. There's only the men's God... and He has no truck with us."

"To be sure. But He didn't give us souls, and the men didn't give us souls—so they came from somewhere."

"Why shouldn't He have given us souls? Perhaps He does. He's given souls to men who have had a far worse life than me—and who went to their end with less hope. Perhaps our souls are His work, and he just doesn't care for us. That makes better sense than the Lady stories. Coz then there should have to be a god for the ships, shouldn't there? An' the autos, and the submarines—and the aeroplanes!" 47 rolled his eyes at the last, this being a self-evidently absurd notion.

Coppernob was unmoved. "Perhaps they have. The ships do worship something, though they're very secretive about it—as they ought to be. I shouldn't blab to them, about our mysteries."

"But the aeroplanes, Nobby? Come now!"

[holdmytesseract]

Drabble request Daryl x fem!reader: i don't want to watch the world end with someone else 🫶🏽 don't know if that's kinda challenging or easy going, I'm excited 🤭

Life and Death

Daryl Dixon x fem!Reader

Warning: the usual Walking Dead stuff? walkers, weapons, fluff

Word Count: drabble

a/n: I can't describe how much I enjoyed writing this. Gods, I missed writing for Daryl. 🥹 Thank you SO much for this, friend! 🧡

You were driving down the muddy forest path on your motorbike; crossbow slung over your back. Being the girlfriend of a certain archer had it's perks. Especially in a apocalypse.

The air smelled fresh and clean. Slightly cold, but not freezing. It had just rained; causing the scent of water and earth to fill your nose. Waterdrops fell from the trees which lined the path; hitting the skin of your face from time to time. Closing your eyes for just a moment, you relished in the scent and feel of the nature around you. It was beautiful. And dangerous. But that was nothing new.

The neigh of horses from some distance, ripped you out of your thoughts. You focused; seeing a carriage quite a few yards ahead. You immediately had a guess who it could be and slowed down, carefully approaching. But you could already tell that it was a friend and not an enemy.

When the carriage stopped and you beside it, you knew you were right.

With a bright smile you got off your motorbike and went to hug your friend. "Hey, Maggie. Long time no see. How are you? And Hershel? And Hilltop?" The brown haired woman wrapped you in her arms tightly. "Way too long, Y/N," she started. You could hear the smile in her voice. "'M good, thanks and so's Hershel. Hilltop as well. How are you?" "Never been better, thank ya."

She stepped back from the embrace with her signature smile. "Already the second archer I met today." Your eyes shone bright. "You saw Daryl?" Maggie nodded. "Indeed. Was off huntin'." "I know, yeah. I wanted to look for him and help. Been busy this morning; training some kids in fighting off walkers, but now I've got time. Do you know where he went?"

"He didn't tell me, but I'd say he went south-east," she answered; pointed into the direction. "Thanks."

You actually wanted to talk longer to your dear friend - bound together by the end of the world, but Jesus's words about a small herd of walkers approaching through Maggie's walkie-talkie unfortunately brought an early end to the reunion. Of course, neither you nor Maggie wanted to end up in a herd of walkers. Small or not.

Therefore, you quickly bid your goodbyes and moved on. Maggie back towards Hilltop and you (hopefully) into Daryl's direction.

Luckily, your boyfriend had taught you well over the years and so you were able to make out his wheel tracks in the muddy earth and could track him down.

You found him near a quite big cliff on the edge of the forest; standing near the edge. His motorcycle was parked a few meters behind him; a handful of dead rabbits and squirrels draped over the saddle. Daryl's crossbow was slung over his shoulders as he was gazing into the far distance; on the valley to his feet.

You had turned off the engine of your motorcycle already a while ago and had been wheeling it instead; unable to drive over the uneven and steep forest ground.

You clapped down the pedestal of your vehicle and parked it beside Daryl's, before you sneaked your way over to Daryl; a mischievous smirk on your lips. Perhaps you could catch him off- "Ya might wanna work on yer sneaking up technique."

You hadn't even made three steps when those words left his lips. Damn it. You pouted and slumped up to stand beside him. "Oh come on, was I this obvious?" The archer looked over to you, a soft smile on his face. "Nah, but I recognised yer steps." You blinked in disbelief. "My steps?" "Yeah. Should know that by now after all those years 'n nights ya creepin' around the places we called home, eh?"

"Well... I suppose you're right." He gave you another soft smile and redirected his gaze.

"What you're looking- Oh my gosh..." Your eyes almost popped out of your head as you followed your boyfriend's gaze. The valley below the hills surrounding it was flooded with walkers. Hundreds. Thousands. Maybe even more.

Your jaw dropped in shock and... You couldn't even describe it. It was a picture of horror in an almost idyllic piece of land. Decay and rotting; flourishing nature and rebirth. Life and death. Light and darkness. Old life and new life. It was the definition of this world and all that happened to it all those years ago in one frame. It was unbelievable and rather difficult to grasp.

"Kinda frightening, right?" Daryl's voice urged to your ears. You swallowed; nodding. "Yeah, but also... I don't know..." You needed a moment to find the right words. "A blessing and a curse. A blessing for the earth. The recovery of nature and all its aspects. A curse for all human beings. Sad to see what became of the people - of the world we used to know." Daryl nodded in agreement. "Couldn't have put it better." He had never been a man of many words, but you could tell that he understood. He felt the same.

Like automatically, you reached for his hand and slipped your fingers through his; needing his comforting touch. Daryl's head shortly turned to look at your now intertwined hands. He squeezed your smaller hand and gently pulled you closer, until your shoulder was brushing his; the both of you still staring down on the horrific scenes below you in silence.

The only reassuring thing about it was the fact that they were very far from the place you called home.

"Daryl?" You spoke up again; voice merely above a whisper. "Yeah?" "I'm happy you're here. With me. In this. I'm grateful I found you. I couldn't imagine this world - neither my life without you. I wouldn't want to watch this world end with somebody that isn't you. Or our friends."

Again, Daryl wasn't a master of words, so instead of answering something, he let go of your hand in order to wrap you up in a tight hug - and you gladly let him.

Nevertheless found four little words their way into your ear. "I love ya, Y/N."

Tags: @suniloli @stitchintimefan @in-this-minute @loz-3 @fictive-sl0th @fuseburner @mandywholock1980 @lou12346789 @mischief-dream @km-ffluv @crimson25 @buttercupcookies-blog @salvinaa @javagirl328 @sweetz1919

[dr-spectre]

Talking about Side Order and... Marina. (SPOILERS AHEAD!!!!)

You know, i really enjoyed Side Order, like it wasn't perfect or anything but i had such a blast with it and if they continue to expand on it we could have something REALLY amazing. My reaction to the GOD DAMN TUTORIAL BOSS GOT ME HYPERVENTILATING! IM NOT JOKING! IT WAS SO EXCITING AND SHOCKING!!! THE FINAL BOSS WAS INCREDIBLE TOO! I was singing along to Spectrum Obligato and WHEN THEY BROUGHT IN THE STUFF FROM THE LIVE CONCERT VERSION OF EBB AND FLOW MY JAW DROPPED!!!

However i gotta admit, the story could have been better, what was the deal with the Octoling engineers Marina was talking about? That goes completely nowhere and i thought it was gonna build to something with the repeat playthroughs of the final boss.

And of course, the biggest missed opportunity in my opinion, Marina Agitando.

Now look, i wanna say right off the bat, the design is excellent, it was so smart to bring back her Order outfit and make her into a giant abomination that moves in such a weird way that makes you feel uncomfortable. When i saw her for the very first time when you enter the room, i stood there for at least a solid minute in complete disbelief and shock seeing a giant Marina in some octopus tentacle heart thingy that beats and pumps with the music. The song that plays too "Unconscience" is such a BANGER and honestly it rivals Octo Callie's Bomb Rush Blush remix in my opinion.

The build up for this was pretty good too, seeing Marina say "help me" before she was knocked unconscious and then possessed by Overlorder BROKE ME! I was like "OH NO! ITS HAPPENING AGAIN! NOT MARINA!!" The build up to the 10th floor was so anxiety inducing because you know in the back of your mind that Marina is gonna fight you but you don't know what it's gonna look like, if you were there since Splatoon 2 and have watched Pearl and Marina since the beginning then this build up is even more anxiety inducing and its pretty damn good. And once you free Marina she feels so sorry about what happened and helps you out to put things right, heck she goes through a small character arc of embracing chaos.... but... i have to say...

It is unfortunately not executed that well or with any depth in my opinion because they repeated the whole thing of "oh no a character we know is evil because of (quote on quote) mind control!!!! oh noooo!!" Which is a tired trope in this series that needs to stop or else I'm gonna get REALLYYYYYY pissed off.

I've done enough ranting about Callie's villain arc and how that has been misinterpreted and stuff, but for Marina, i really wish they didn't do the whole "oh no a character is evil because of an evil character oh nooo!! we gotta save them!!" thing again and i wish Marina was more of a villain with a sad motivation for her actions. As much as its cute to see Pearl and Marina act all flirty with each other in Side Order, it kinda ruins the mysterious and dark tone of the story that was teased from the trailers and the tutorial in my opinion. Everything is also explained so quickly early on which really sucks. I really wish Marina was actually conscious throughout her time as Marina Agitando and most of it should have been her fault. She does blame herself for creating Overlorder but it's kinda brushed aside quickly and Marina ends up being totally fine and free of guilt. There isn't enough depth to it which is so lame and a missed opportunity.

Marina is flawed, she makes mistakes and acts emotional and angry sometimes. We have seen a side of Marina where she snaps at Pearl when she loses Splatfests and has shown signs that she still hasn't recovered from her time before she met Pearl.

She picked team Order because she was genuinely scared that her new life would fall apart and she doesn't wanna lose the people (especially Pearl) that she's met and grown to love. Marina is also heavily theorized to be on the autism spectrum and as someone who is autistic, i can see myself in Marina, they could have really explored Marina's psyche and mental health in Side Order but they just... didn't. Instead she's put to sleep and controlled by her ai child and all of the focus is put on stopping it like a traditional "oh no we gotta stop an evil ai!! oh noo!!" story... ugh... I mean Smollusk is cute i guess but there's not a ton to them and they come off as yet another "evil ai that wants order and control!! roarrr!!!"

From reading the most recent interview on Side Order and seeing the concept art, they said that they wanted to tell a story about Marina losing herself to a machine that she created. Could you imagine how tragic it would have been to learn more about Marina and how she's so wrapped up in anxiety that she decides to make this replica of Inkopolis Square and make the Memverse? Maybe at first she makes it to help Sanitized Octolings just like in the dlc, but then maybe due to overwork and burnout (which Pearl mentions in the tutorial by the way), her emotions and anxiety become so strong that she becomes consumed by it, this obsession of order and trying to achieve happiness takes over her and then she gets the idea to spread this order to the real world, where her friends can be "happy" and "safe." Maybe Overlorder is still there but they just whisper to Marina, manipulate and point her in the right direction to continue to her mission of order instead of just fucking knocking her out and using her as a meat puppet for 5 minutes.

Could you imagine how much better the build up would have been to not see Marina until you get to the 30th floor for the first time and you got to unlock her diary entries beforehand? Seeing her thought process and her slow descent into becoming an antagonist. I'm not sure how they would have changed the permanent upgrades but they could have thought of something man. I get that they wanted to subvert expectations but, i think they should have gone WAY further with Marina Agitando.

I was waiting for Pearl and Marina to have their "Tidal Rush" moment where it's this emotional battle between the two, could you imagine how DEVISTATING a remix of Ebb and Flow would have been if it had gotten that "Tidal Rush" type of remix? Pearl singing her parts in this chaotic and emotional way, on the brink of tears trying to get Marina back and calm her down, and Marina trying to fight back against her words, not wanting to believe her because she's so wrapped up trying to make them both happy in her way. She's so caught up in order that she has forgotten what Pearl wants, that Pearl wants to be with her and go against any obstacle that stands in their way together. God i would have cried seeing that I'm not gonna lie. Maybe once Marina starts to think rationally, she breaks free from the machine and then leaps into Pearl's arms, and then we have to go back up the 30 floors to fight Overlorder and we slowly see Marina learn to embrace chaos throughout the floors instead of it just being at the final boss.

I really do feel like Splatoon has this issue of trying to appeal way too hard to kids and being really scared to dive into the flaws of these characters. They are so avoidant of being more serious and they hide it away in optional collectables and obscure posts on social media that creates misinformation and stories that feel way too undeveloped. They just say "oh this character has been brainwashed!!" which is such a lazy and bullshit trope they slap on these characters to avoid getting into their flaws for some stupid reason. (Hell that word has lost all meaning to me now to be honest. Like no, Callie wasn't "brainwashed" per say, hypnosis is not brainwashing or mind control I've said that a trillion times in other blog posts but whatever. Agent 3 was knocked out and had no clue on what was happening. They weren't "brainwashed" they were used as a puppet from a fucking goopy telephone for five minutes while they were asleep. Maybe its poor translation i don't know.)

I know that Splatoon is made for all ages and primarily for children but, i find that to be a stupid excuse for bad storytelling, a good story with depth that's explored and set up properly can be applied to all kinds of age groups not just adults. And the adults that say that shit too, why do you think like that? Why do you wish to dismiss that sort of thing in media? So what if it's made for kids? Adults write these stories and plant themes and arcs into them. Why do you think people cried over the Rosalina storybook in Mario Galaxy and think its the best part of that game? You don't want that kind of stuff in games because "they are made for kids"? Why do you think there are so many adults in the Splatoon community hmm?

I am so worried for Deep Cut in the next game because i really don't want this to happen again, i want an actual proper villain arc for either Frye or Shiver. No hypnosis, no brainwashing, no mind control. Just a pure fucking villain arc caused by the flaws of the characters and without the involvement of a third party. Please, i wanna see growth in these characters that is explored way more clearly and better. Or maybe don't do a villain arc again and just have Deep Cut be fully happy with each other and develop their relationship more with lore and backstory. PLEASE!

Anyways ramble over, thank you for reading!

[lowkeyrobin]

can you pretty please try doing reader who is a certified yapper 🗣‼️ but also has moments where they just get tired of talking and are dead silent for like 20 minutes straight and then go straight back to yapping 😼 sorry if its super specific lmao but i do this all the time

also could i maybe be 🦋 anon??

hello!! welcome to the family 🦋 anon! and yes ofc :) sorry if I misunderstood, kinda autopiloted to mcyt so sorry if you meant this for another fandom LMAO ; struggled to think of new thoughts so sorry for small cast of people 💀🙏

MCYT ; certified yapper

includes ; tommyinnit, ranboo, badlinu, quackity, & nihachu

warnings ; language

masterlist

TOMMYINNIT

he does the same thing

will rant about anything and everything especially if you're talking about the same thing

but if it's out of the blue like "omg look at this tik tok drama blah blah blah" he just blinks before he's like "oh shit. here we go again"

then you just stop talking after a moment and gets weirdly uneasy with the silence

"can you talk more?"

"about what??"

he just shrugs "I like when you yap away, you're nice background noise"

you dramatically scoff "Okay, asshole"

you're silent for a while and just start revving up the engine again "Holy shit here's another thing, this girl-"

RANBOO

nods along and actually listens

dude doesn't care, they're listening to you no matter what

whether it be about serious topics or some silly internet stuff you like, he'll always listen and make sure to note it down that way he can start a conversation with you about something you like or are passionate about

"yknow what I like about the nether?"

"what?" he smiles

"how pretty and diverse it is. yeah you can say the overworld is just as if not more diverse with biomes and stuff, but they could've just left it boring red netherrack everywhere you go and stuff, it adds so much more life-"

they love how passionate about things you can be

if for a very extended period of time, they'll check up on you like "you good?"

you just nod like "I'm tired of talking L"

BADLINU

nods along with you

he doesn't see it as yapping, he sees it as a genuine conversation no matter what you're talking about

adds some stuff in when you like pause to breathe

once you go quiet he can just sit in silence with you forever

this is basically his opportunity to talk to you about like tik tok drama lmao

if you don't know about it at all, all ears open and you're focused

your dynamic 🔛🔝

QUACKITY

you're both yappers let's be honest

constantly talking over each other and play fighting for the most attention out of other people 💀💀

"SHUT THE HELL UP I'M TALKING"

"I WAS TALKING FIRST, LET ME TELL THEM ABOUT MY NEW FAVORITE MOVIE"

then you just get tired of talking and wanna strip mine or something LMFAO

he always checks to make sure he didn't upset you after every time you go silent

it's just by reflex lmao

he does listen to you when you yap about a fixation don't worry

gift inspo goes crazy

NIHACHU

loves when you talk or yap about something you like or some drama you found

she's like your safe person to talk about everything to, she loves having that kind of title for you

"and then xyz"

"Oh my God, really??"

she'll whole ass put everything down just to listen to you talk about dumb shit I swear

she encourages it, like just speak your mind dude

also uses what you talk about as gift inspiration for anything, birthday, valentines day, anytime she wants to get you stuff

half the time you forget what you just said and she recaps you

"Oh, thank you! anyways-"

[bluginkgo]

Just what in the fack did I watch... I'm gonna go watch it again just for funsies and to cry again (Rambles/Thoughts)

This post will mostly contain random rambles and thoughts I had while watching and rewatching the episode. And a lot of this is just going to be me ranting about scenes (the rants will most likely make you wanna go "Ginkgo, that's common sense we can see it smh." XD Just roll with it. Oh and NUzi scenes

Spoilers, duh and lots of words. Oh and gore warning? Kinda?

I mean... that scary *ss mother facking thing towards the end- you know what I'm talking about if you watched the ep 😅

First thing I found interesting, is how the Solver behaves in this scene. It's mere shadows, not even fully manifested. Further proves that the Solver transcends simple time and space, and is on a different plane of existence- a 4th dimension if you will.

The humans did, in fact, learn how to control the Solver. The pentagram like projections act as gravity enforcers and lights that subdue the solver for a period of time. Buuuut it seems that it's not full proof. It seems that this occurance is fairly common, seeing as the workers nearby were not very concerned that an eldrich being was about to break loose.

Alright another slow moment here. But I had to google wtf "MacGuffin" meant (English isn't my first language, so take it easy on me ;w;). And taking this straight from the google search "an object or device in a movie or a book that serves merely as a trigger for the plot." So most likely, the Absolute Solver is referring to the fact that Mitchell the intern set things in motion simply because he was mistaken for the real Dr. Chambers... Classic- CLASSIC human mistake XD

So... Heart/Nori. Something interesting is going on with her. I believe Nori WAS injured by the DDs and had to be finished off by Khan. I'll touch on Khan a bit later. But, just as seen with Eldrich J... I'm not sure why I've never thought of this before! It makes sense for Nori's corrupted core: Heart, to still function properly. Meaning, she could have snuck away when she was killed and returned to the cathedral to search for the crucifix. Uzi gets most of her style from Nori 🥹. Seems like Uzi got her mom's style and Khan's engineering abilities.

I had it all wrong- and I am ALL FOR IT! N wasn't afraid of something he saw ahead. He was upset with what they left BEHIND! V! And THIS ENTIRE SCENE

You cannot believe how surprised I was. This scene was so much better than I could have imagined it. Yes, it was painful to watch, but sweet robo-god this was executed SO DAM WELL TwT It was delicious angst. And Tessa was not in fact drawing her sword on Uzi, but instead protecting her... kinda... with an ulterior motive of course.

The gut wrenching betrayal right there. The animation team did a wonderful job at animating the betrayal and how it manifested in Uzi. Disbelief and then anger.

Not to mention her stumble. I hyper fixated on that stumble a bit too much on my first 2 watches. (Yes, I've rewatched the episode 8 times now, hush I love it XD). Her stumble shows weakness. And in that moment, she wishes to be anything BUT weak. The suspicion of betrayal is settling in, and she needs to be able to fight back. But her body is giving out. The events are taking a toll on her. And makes me appreciate the animation detail that much more.

This scene N is definitely angry. He's trying his best to keep it together and Tessa's pressure to injure and kill Uzi is not helping. So for him to be talking to Uzi, while glaring at Tessa is just him driving the point home. He is NOT going to hurt Uzi, no matter what they might find down in the labs.

But a poor choice of words that was. It gives Uzi a glimpse of what was actually happening and what has been bothering N. The trust vaporizes, and with it, any attempts with communication.

And what I believe, gives a nod back to ep2. As N steps in to try to help Uzi up, she retreats. Same happens in this episode. And the kicker? "Falling... for you" song starts lightly playing in the background.

This is far too comical after he says he deserves to have his limbs cut off. The whiplash I got from that is ridiculous... in a sad and funny way.

What an amazing shot. But it does paint a picture of what the DDs have done. Perhaps the blood also acted as cooling agents, and this is why the trend continued with robots- except this time around as oil. And this is what the Administration CYN most likely blocked out. Not only the manor time, but also the bloodbath that followed as Earth collapsed.

THE DOG MADE IT IN AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

It's interesting on how the solver manifests in the drones. It seems that Uzi's wings and tail, do not make the solver go insane, and she can continue to use it. However, later in the episode the same wings and tail go berserk. So it seems that once the transformation has set in- like with Uzi- it becomes part of the drone rather something that is manifested by the Absolute Solver's control.

SO MUCH TO UNPACK HERE XD Part 2A that Khan refers to is on the bottom left corner, the green core that Uzi got a hold of back in pilot episode- also titled as "I think this is a robot liver or something lol."

Plan B: Uzi could have had a normal gun if railgun didn't work. Bottom right corner

Top left corner under Uzi's railgun title: "30 min recharge time. That'll be fine." Famous last words ever XD

Top right corner: "Other things it can do: Not judge me, force prom dance, I can say I had friends but fricken murdered them with sci fi weaponry."

I love how sassy he is here XD His character development and arc is something that I will never forget. He has definitely come a great ways. Khan also seems adamant about his wife being completely dead. Which proves that he didn't know a single thing about the Absolute Solver and what it can do. He could only reference Nori's insane drawings and deduce that the planet was going to eat them all soon.

Idk if this is just my tired brain, but this comment felt like a joke to me. (Remember, I don't know anything about computers and the language ;w;) But the physical patch to save herself... as in, the same patches that are sent out for games/programs to fix bugs? That's the joke I got out of that one 😅

This entire sequence was something out of my nightmares XD The heel tapping that KEPT GETTING QUICKER definitely had me reeling back from the screen XD

The Nori and Yeva scene was so wholesome 🥹. I loved the way the animators showed their interaction. Despite the hellish events, they were still close.

My only issue with this image is, on what is Doll moving? Not like the floor. The core is gone from her body, what the heck is still driving her forward? Perhaps just on the sheer will to warn Uzi to "fight back." And I suppose I can see how she could still move without her main core. Almost acting like chickens do, when you cut their heads off. One was able to live for 18 months after the head was cut. So I suppose I can get behind the idea that Doll's final wish was to warn Uzi, at the very least, and thus forced the body to move until it did so.

But then, Tessa shows up. Which makes me wonder if she was the one that simply lead Doll's body to come to Uzi. How? Uhhh... Absolute Solver! Let's just go with that sweat face. The con in that theory is a simple: why? Why bother leading Doll to Uzi? To spook her? To give a false reason to attack Uzi? Given that N was still very much behind them all, I don't see why the Absolute Solver would try to make up some odd reason to attack Uzi. It could just simply... go ahead. There was no one there to fool, and could incapacitate Uzi easily. Buuuut I could also be looking too deep into this, as per usual.

Hey guess what.

I found the answer. XD Just as I'm typing this up, a frame popped up.

Yup, the core was still inside and thus running Doll and thus Doll could move, ok carry on. XD

Emotions spike the Absolute Solver, something that I love seeing and appears to be less headcanon and more canon at this point for me. Through the entire episode, the Solver keeps glitching out and forcing Uzi to lose control because in this situation, she's very stressed. A betrayal, a misunderstanding, learning about the past, everything becomes too much. This makes keeping the solver at bay that much harder.

He did NOT give her any chance. Yes or no, Tessa. That suddenness surprised me- in a good way. This shows how much N has grown. He's willing to stand up for his beliefs that much better. If he suspects something, he now acts on it, and does not wait for the other side to perhaps change his mind.

This scene. This scene shall live in my head rent free for a long while... Actually, the entire episode is gonna live rent free for a while. XD Not to mention the "Falling... for you" song plays in the background yet again. Ugh, pulling on heart strings there ;w;

They had us all fooled XD The hand lights were on just to trick us, and in fact were meant to be off this entire time! Oh you sneaky sneaky people. >w<

ALL OF THESE SCENES, they're all so cruel but SO GOOD TwT So cruel in context of how tortured N must be to fight Uzi, but so good in context that this fight sequence and animation is executed SO WELL. All of Nori's slaps were so personal XD Mama Nori educating NUzi

When I saw this scene, I couldn't help but think of ep3 and their dance. This entire episode is so bittersweet ;w;

She's still there TwT And she sees this entire fight. Of what she has become and done to N and omg I'm crying again. Moving on.

OMG YOU SILLY GOOBER BAHAHAHAHAHAHAH XD I love Nori/Heart's reaction, but the Absolute Solver also gets me laughing a bit too hard. "WHAT." That's so simple yet so effective. "What. Why. You are a DD I sent to kill the hosts, why are you hanging out."

The entire scene with NUzi screaming. Just. YES. What better way of gettin rid of stress than screaming! ^_^

Oh you sneaky, sneaky people. Well, all I can say, you got me. You got me good. This is something I didn't think of, but should have. It's simple to get these shots with certain rigs missing. And it was done seamlessly. Well done, well done. I begrudgingly applaud you. XD

HE'S PATTING HER HEAD AAAAHHHHH *proceeds to ascend to another realm*

They did not... omg they did XD Ah, yes, welcome a new horror oh and by the way here- :3 a cute face

Omg they look so cool- KHAN WTF XD

LOL J THE PRIOR HAZARD WARNING AHAHAHAHAHA

The way she shook his hand trying to snap him back to himself and wake up 😭. And the entire sequence following this... I'm just now slowly starting to process it, oh and great I'm sobbing again. Alright, moving on.

Well, I have some thoughts in this. This is personal thoughts, thus this is where you are more than free to yeet this section into the void that Uzi was dragged into... sorry that was a bad joke- anyways. "Die mad." I feel like this is her way of telling N to not give up. To go out there and FIGHT. But if he can't win, then to die like she is. To die in a way that he will be proud of and to go batsh*t crazy. Because by now, Uzi must know that all of their chances of survival are slim. So you might as well go out with a bang and "die mad."

Something I noticed and was further solidified when @bloodywolfwings also mentioned it. Uzi looks at peace here and very accepting of death. And I say, yes, she very much is. I think this was a way of her asking N for forgiveness. For getting mad at him in the beginning of the episode, for failing to be useful/protecting N, and for fighting against him- despite being possessed. And perhaps even, as an incredibly insane and radical thought, for loving him. This entire episode has put the characters and us through the wringer, and that "sacrifice" was just the cherry on top.

Something I have seen already mentioned once at very least (by @/rebecca-babe) and something that also put me on edge was the ending credits... or the lack of. Of course, all the credits roll, but it's not the usual type. Instead of an upbeat music that is either "Uzi the drone killer" or a theme that was seen in the episode... its SILENCE. Being a musician myself, I love how much love has been put into Murder Drones. The sound effects and the main music are always top-notch. But that ending unsettled me the most. The lack of all noise is something that is terrifying and unsettling in that ending. Almost like all the music and sound left with the "sacrifice" of the main character, Uzi. The entire episode was filled with sounds, silence only being present when something incredibly WRONG was happening - like at the beginning when intern Mitchell re-entered the cathedral. And as much as I love how well executed this entire scene was, I hated it. Because that scene does the job that it was set out to do. Put you on edge, and make you feel like all hope is lost. That this is it. This is the end.

This is the end of my rambles and thoughts that I had while watching ep7. I may have more later on as I keep rewatching this episode for the rest of the week ;w;

Want to hear more of my stupid rambles? This has 3 other parts!

[linkedspirit-fanartfunart]

Look out its a Linkblr Dashboard Simulator!

3 notes

🪶 redwingskies Follow

So who was gonna tell me the Surface is Real, huh? Who.

🎶 ocarina-macarina Follow

Where are you from?? What....what are you??? ....God?

🪶 redwingskies Follow

Nah turns out she's my best friend though.

🪶 redwingskies Follow

Hey btw, If I kill a god does that make me one? Is there like. Rules for this? Asking for a friend. (Like seriously. I don't care. He does.)

1,680 notes

🚋 train-life Follow

Today's Fact: Did you know Trains are the reason New Hyrule has Standardized Time Zones? As citizens needed to know when to get to a train station, the council lobbied for standardized time that could be applied precisely for travel by train! The entire modern perception of time is because of the Train!

⌛️ forestchild Follow

Thanks, I hate it. Lets go back to living by the sun rise and set.

🌸 dont-look-at-me Follow

??? We've always had standard time zones??? What are you talking about. Trains didn't invent that.

🚋 train-life Follow

...they literally did. I re-researched this to double check. What are YOU talking about?

🌸 dont-look-at-me Follow

Time zones? Like. The era of Legend, the Golden era, bullfish like that?

🚋 train-life Follow

... you can swear you know? I'm 12 not a baby.

🌊 kingoftheseagull Follow

you're HOW OLD? I thought you were a Royal Engineer???

🚋 train-life Follow

12? It's in my bio?

🌊 kingoftheseagull Follow

I love you but get the hell off of this website why are you here

🌟 excuuuse-me Follow

Can we go back to the weirdo who thinks Time Zones are HISTORICAL PERIODS?

🌸 dont-look-at-me Follow

Haha yea total weirdo, what, are they like 400 years old or something? Lol

🐴 goatman4life Follow

Actually I wanna get back to why a 12 year old has a job

1,203 notes

🐟 indigo-gos-official Follow

Hey anybody willing to lend me bail money? I'm short like 10 rupees and it's really annoying.

⌛️ forestchild Follow

Wait shit wrong account! Wrong account!!

🐴 goatman4life Follow

Why do you have access to a hyper-famous Zora Band's account??

⌛️ forestchild Follow

Their lead guitarist died in front of me and I am very nice. Now get me out of jail goatman.

23,045 notes

🌳 wildflowerwastaken Follow

.

#hi #i saw a cool bird today #the camera was left on selfie mode so it only got a picture of me squinting at it #the bird noticed the flash and it pecked me until I fell out of the tree #straight into a malice puddle #the bird was pretty tho #so I say my day went great!

2 notes

🌟 excuuuse-me Follow

Hey apparently I need to update people on my boundaries. So. Here is a list of what's okay:

Hugging

Kissing me

Kissing me directly on the lips

👀

Parasocial relationships where you praise me constantly <3

And this is NOT okay

Hunting me for my blood to revive the prince of darkness

Ignoring me

Thank you, that's really all, I'm kinda sad that this has to be said but clarity is wisdom and all.

👑 princess-of-hyrule Follow

Link. This is not what I told you to post.

🌟 excuuuse-me Follow

Well EXUSe ME if my boundaries look different than yours!!

25,690 notes

⚒️ smol-smithy Follow

Hey pulled the Four Sword again so we need help figuring out who gets to run the blog lol.

Thanks everybody

⏳️ forestchild Follow

Lol this loser doesn't know how to make sideblogs

🎶 ocarina-macarina Follow

The poll says "Who gets to be Link on MAIN" though, so maybe they do? They just wanna have one person in charge of the first blog?

⏳️ forestchild Follow

The path to truth is unity. Many voices can be heard within one "main".

-The Diety

⏳️ forestchild Follow

...ignore him, I've made him a sideblog and he refuses to use it.

⚒️ smol-smithy Follow

Hey wait no let him come back, he's the only smart person I've ever heard

-Green (?)

⚒️ smol-smithy Follow

I am going to kill you.

#we have all agreed to not utilize this blog until the poll is complete #so shut up green

10 notes

[yongislong]

holidate.

genre: fluff with nonidol!jaemin

note: happy holidays! love you all, not proofread! i kinda hate this im sorry, ty for requesting though anon :"(

"so what do you say... wanna be my holi-date?!"

you peer up at jaemin with hopeful eyes as you attempt not to cringe at your poor joke. waving your jazz hands cutely in an effort to convince him to meet your parents for the first time this winter season.

he grimaces. you know how worried he's been about meeting your parents. you both haven't been dating that long but he was completely taken with you. he couldn't bare messing up in front of your family, not when he finally had you.

you pout and whine and coo until he gives in.

"if you weren't an absolute angel i would not be going... you're trouble, you know that? fuck... "

you haven't seen jaemin this nervous since he confessed.

"oh god, oh god... do i look okay... is this dumb... oh my GOD jaemin brown and orange what are you thinking??"

jaemin shuffles and paces around your shared apartment, frantically searching for an outfit for the event ahead. his voice was pitched up a couple octaves due to his worries.

sure he's been to a couple of holiday parties with you in college, but this was a big deal.

"babe relax- c'mere just-just sit, c'mon, here..." patting the space next to you, he shuffles over. head low in embarrassment, the mattress dipping under his weight. you graze your fingers over his wrist once he settles to look towards you.

giving him your best doe eyes. you see his gaze visibly soften. he lets out a breath he didn't know he was holding.

"its going to be okay, okay? hm? i love you and that's all that matters! i've bragged to them a thousand times about you! they're dying to meet you. there's no reason to be worried. you're na jaemin!!! the na jaemin!" he breaks out into laughs, "see! don't try and hide your blush from me now... you look great. put on the cute knitted sweater you love and let's go, okay?"

kissing his forehead you let him slip away to the closet, playfully smacking his butt as he cut in front of you.

you could still feel his hand shaking as he gripped your thigh to ground himself. you'd been comforting him since you both left. spritzing a bit of your perfume on his sweater, holding his bicep, putting on his favorite playlist and now lightly scraping your fingernails up and down his forearm.

"this it?"

"mhhmm, park just right there..."

his arms flex as he pulls up to the curb in front of your childhood home.

he turns the engine off and stills. his lashes flutter as he closes his eyes, letting in a big breath and exhaling slowly. he clearly needed a minute and you were more than willing to give it to him.

"okay, hmph, lets go," he says with a peck to your lips, smiling as he pulls away. it's as if this kiss alone gave him the strength to get over his fears.

he races over to your side of the car to let you out, holding your hand to make sure you didn't trip over the uneven pavement.

you snake your arm around his right bicep and make the short walk to the red front door a couple feet away.

ringing the doorbell, jaemin exhales and shakes his head. muttering mantras under his breath about being polite and that everything is okay.

your parents swing the door open.

"OH MY GOD YOU'RE GORGEOUS," your mother says excitedly, pulling him inside by the wrist.

you all laugh loudly as you step into the warmth of the house. jaemin immediately takes off his shoes, your mother shoots you a look of approval and you nod and mouth excitedly "i know!"

throughout the duration of the night, jaemin has put on his charm to 100. talking to your family about his education, his swimming scholarship and how lucky he is to have you. he even admits how nervous he was which has everyone in a fit of giggles again. he helped set the table, complimented your mom on her skin, played with the kittens that waltzed around his legs yet, never failed to check up to see how you were doing.

he'd caught you staring in awe a couple times, the smile on your face growing as he grins back at you in accomplishment, nodding towards your mother with wide eyes, like a little boy in kindergarten who made a new friend.

your family wasn't keen on letting the both of you leave once it got too late.

"i know im sorry mr. and ms. y/l/n, they hate me driving late at night so we really should go..." that doesn't fail to leave your mom cooing.

as soon as the door shuts behind you both, jaemin squeals and regains composure, "see y/n, i don't know why you were so worried, i told you they'd love me... im the na jaemin!" he screams that last bit.

you lightly punch him in the chest, "yeah yeah you nailed it tiger, just get in the car..." he laughs loudly, the arm draped over your shoulders pulls you in tighter and forces you to grab on to his waist to avoid toppling over.

"i can't believe my own mother ignored me for a pretty face... tsk"

the last thing you heard before jaemin shut your car door was a loud cackle.

[i-love-oldermen]

|The Winchester|

A/n: Angsty so im kinda just writing, should I make a part 2?? Trust big plot twist

Summary: It’s been years since you’ve seen Dean, you left him but he was the love of your life.

Warnings: Some Language also not edited yet.

You didn’t know what you were getting yourself into, you were on a hunt by yourself. You left your family of hunters due to the fact they were to overbearing and thought you would get hurt all the time. You left 5 years ago and you hadn’t seen them since the big argument. No one has seen you, you made sure you never ran into someone that may have known you. Still finding cases in towns and making sure to change your name with every case although now you needed help so you went to one of the best hunters you know. Bobby Singer.

You had been hunting the nest for what felt like eternity

Contemplating your decisions you pull up to Bobby’s house. Parking your cherry red 1968 Chevelle, you turn off the roaring engine. That’s when you see Bobby coming out with a shotgun. You get out of your car, shutting the door behind you, you put your hands up and stand right next to your car while holding your side.

“Who the hell are you” Bobby doesn’t put down his shotgun. He looks you over noticing the blood on your shirt.

“Please I need your help Bobby, I’m a hunter too” he puts his gun down but puts it back up once you take a step towards him. “You know my father Bobby”

“What’s your name kid”

“Y/n. Y/n Harvelle”

Bobby lowers his gun. He has a sad look on his face, you don’t know why though. Yes your father did die a year after you left but you’re more careful then he was hunting.

“I know Bobby”

“You went MIA you had everyone looking for you” He gives you a look of disbelief.

“I’m good at hiding plus I didn’t wanna be found” you shrug it off as you follow Bobby inside his house.

————————————————————————

After a while you tell Bobby about the hunt you’re on basic vamp nest but you can’t seem to find the nests location. You both start going over the lore just double checking anything you could have missed. Your thinking is cut silent by a knocking at the door.

“You just stay here okay kiddo” you shake your head and stay in your spot at Bobby’s desk.

He opens the door calling whoever is on the other side idjits. You continue reading the book you have opened on the desk, when you hear his voice. Dean Winchester. You saw him a year after you left your family, the day your father passed. You were crying in his arms while he held you tell you fell asleep. When he finally woke up the morning after you were gone, you found out he had called your mother, Hellen while you were asleep so you disappeared and never talked to him again. Now though he was here at Bobby’s it was to late to run out the back door as Bobby led him and Sam to the living room where you were sitting.

Dean is speaking to Bobby “we just need some books for-“ when his eyes land on you he stops talking, as if he was frozen in place.

Bobby calls out to you “Y/n the Winchester boys are here”

You quickly get up from your spot standing up, biting the inside of your cheek. You look into Deans eyes hes just as beautiful as the day you left him.

Dean speaks first his eyes cold at first “I saw that Chevelle and prayed to god i didńt have to see you”

Bobby looks at Dean with a disappointed look “What is the matter with you Dean”

Dean looks at you again with nothing but rage “She knows what she did Bobby”

You feel your eyes begin to water, so you turn to Sam instead.

“Hey Sammy” you look at him with a sweet melancholy smile, before he slowly starts walking over to you and hugging you tightly. You can hear Sam’s voice begin to quiver “I thought you died”

You pull away from him holding his face in your hands “I can take care of my self Sam”

Bobby interrupts “Im guessing you guys were close”

“Yeah not anymore” Dean says full of anger or sadness you cant tell. He starts to storm out of Bobbys house so you follow him as he goes to the impala. He gets in his car before starting it and driving away so you do the same racing after him. You grab your phone, trying to call him but he doesn’t answer at all sending you straight to voicemail every time. He starts going faster taking turns to try to lose you but you stay close on his tail. He pulls over when he gets to a motel probably where him and Sam were staying. You pull up right next to him jumping out of your car as he does. Before he can make it to his room, you yell his name. You grab him by his hand as he yanks it away before turning to you.

“Please Dean wait” you look in his eyes to see anger layered on his face.

“No so stop acting like you care y/n”

“I do care”

“You dont get to say you care you left Y/n and you didnt come back, I didnt know if you were dead or alive” he took a step closer to you.

“You don’t get it Dean” you practically whispered.

He yelled back “I dont get what, you didnt want to be with me or the fact you couldn’t love me how i loved you”

As tears threaten to spill you yelled back “I did love you Dean that’s why I had to leave, I couldn’t lose you too”

Truth was on the day you cried in his arms you told him how much your father truly meant to you. You hadn’t told anyone. You told Dean you loved him that night right before he called Helen.

“I told you i loved you the day I left you in that motel room and you said nothing and called my fucking mother” tears slipped from your eyes as you kept eye contact with him.

“I was trying to help you y/n and you wouldn’t let me”

Just like before you were back in his arms as held you close. Not ever wanting to let go you wrap your arms around him as you let the tears spill. You hear his uneven breathing as he lets some tears slip from his eyes. You pull away as hes still holding and grab both the sides of his face, you close your eyes as each others lips crash into one another. His warm lips move in sync with yours, as if you guys never parted to being with. For the first time in a long time, you felt whole again.

You pulled away trying to catch your breathe “Listen Dean I love you more than you could ever know”

Dean wipes the drying tears off your face cradling your face in his hands. He has the smirk on his lips that you’ve loved forever “You love me more than your Chevelle”

You laugh a little “Without a doubt Dean Winchester”

“Good cause I love you more than baby” he pulls you back into a kiss, stepping on your tippy toes you pull him deeper.

You wake up from your dream you’re still at Bobbys. You fell asleep on his desk so he wrapped a blanket around you. You look at your phone to see the time read 3:15 a.m. You went to dial in the love of your life’s number memorizing the numbers. As you listen to the phone ring on the second ring he answers.

“Hello this is Dean”

[cairavende]

Worm Arc 16 second half thoughts (after Defiant interlude, 16.7 to end):

I'm very glad I split this arc where I did cause WHAT THE FUCK

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!

WHAT THE FUCK WHAT THE FUCK WHAT THE FUCK

Tattletale . . . the entire time . . . in secret!

And Coil's whole crazy plan at the town hall debate!

And and and Rachel held Taylor's hand and it was gay BUT IT WAS SAD GAY!

AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

And the bug box (I'm sorry, "The Famine Engine") what the fuck

And Taylor was shot and almost lit on fire and she become a fucking terror demon scary bug monster and got away from all the people and set off some grenades and and

passes out

...

ALSO MY DAUGHTER KILLED COIL! SHOT HIM RIGHT IN THE HEAD!

Taylor sees her dad and argues with his friends a little and realizes that things aren't as clear as she thought they were maybe but whatever I just want to get to know Lacey better. For reasons.

I knew something would happen at the town hall. Once Dragon was taken care of I figured it would be Coil but I wasn't sure what he would do and I didn't expect this. I thought he would mostly be trying to take out Skitter or something.

Happy to see Uber and Leet again, even if they are working for the asshole. They are fun.

Getting more info on Leet's power and I'm even more fascinated then I was before. He couldn't make the teleporter work if it was putting the target into instant danger, like a bomb or a vat of acid. Wild. I wanna know more.

ALSO COIL LEGIT CONSIDERED DROPPING SKITTER INTO A VAT OF ACID!

He really did go full supervillain right at the end. Monologuing, using cheesy lines, stopping the execution of his enemies when one of them yells "Wait!" and letting them talk. Crazy elaborate plans. Good for him I guess.

The Wards new "teleport without swapping matter" tech is quite fancy and it can apparently do a heck of a lot of people at once! Which I could see becoming a big deal. I had initially assumed it was Kid Win who made it (since he did the same with is guns before) but with how stuff has bounced around I'm legit not sure.

OH AND I KNEW I LOVED CIRCUS FOR A REASON, WHAT A WONDERFUL LITTLE GENDERQUEER! THEY GET A PASS FOR STABBING SOME PEOPLE CAUSE THEY DESERVE TO GET TO STAB A FEW PEOPLE.

I had fully called Coil being Thomas Calvert by now, so that itself wasn't a surprise. But I hadn't expected Thomas to have gotten back to working with the PRT. Makes sense if he can make it work, that is a wonderful source of power.

Too bad Tattletale pulled the fucking rug out from under you Thomas!

Taylor leaving her dad at the hospital without stopping to see him is unfortunate I guess, but not really unexpected. I've kinda given up on their relationship getting repaired. Besides who needs Danny when shes got me!?

Oh and I guess Taylor can't really see now. Cool. I'm sure that will just get better right away with no issues! /s

I mean it isn't really a huge deal for her vs most people. But still.

OH AND SKITTER'S DEAL WITH COIL WHEN HE WAS GOING TO KILL THEM ALL INCLUDED "Ta

Oh and Skitter's deal with Coil to turn off the dead man's switch included "Take care of Bitch's dogs!" GAAAAAAAAAAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!

And "Tattletale gets to live!" like ya ok sure it was all so she could get Tattletale here and such I get that but whatever, it is also GAY! GAY GAY GAY GAY GAY GAY GAY!!!!!!!!!!

But for real Tats has been coming in with the fucking long con OH MY GOD. I legit didn't see it coming. Coil losing this arc? Sure, maybe not likely but possible. Coil dying? Again, was surprising but not shocking. But Tattletale having payed off have the mercs in a carefully planned coup in the works since Arc 3 at a minimum? Blindsided me. Just hit by a bus. HOLY SHIT!!!

Fake Skitter shot Bitch!!!! AHHHHH!!! But she was ok. And the speed of her accepting that real Skitter didn't do it and not staying mad at her!!!! GAAAAAAAAAAAY!!!

Seriously though Skitter breaking out of the house she was teleported into and getting past all those troops? God. Using the swarm speech for physiological warfare? Chef's kiss

I wonder how Cauldron is feeling with Coil dead? I don't know exactly what they needed him for but he sure ain't doing it now.

And Dinah at the end!! Just me sobbing.

I'm sure the whole thing with Noelle (or should I use my cape name for her when she's on a rampage - Traveler in a Vault, or TiaV) will just blow over and won't be a bigger deal than arc 8 in the end. Everything is fine.

Marquis interlude thoughts:

TINY PRISON! I love tiny prison.

Look I'm sorry I don't make the rules but Marquis and Lung are totally gay for each other. They are both terrible people. I don't ship them because I want to, I ship them because there is no other option. I do what I have to do.

Glaistig Uaine is my new favorite. She is terrifying and I love her. Forget Bonesaw's passangers or Coil's agents, they're called head fairies now.

I'm sure Amy and Glaistig Uaine working together in the future won't be bad at all.

[captainlilyuniverseworld]

Let's Play Pretend

A/N: Karlach really wanted to make her thoughts known and this was the result. Full length on AO3 and as always happy reading

A/N2: If you ever wanna see specific scenarios feel free to poke my inbox :) im enjoying seeing where this goes

Let's Play Pretend

Gale tugged at the sleeve of his robe once more. He used to enjoy going to parties, granted it was often because he was performing feats of magic most people could only dream of doing. But the conversation was also stimulating. 

He wasn't meant to rub elbows with Lords and Ladies. Or rather, he didn't want to. And he was really only there because-

“Gale!” 

Gale let out a soft oof and chuckled as he was enveloped in Karlach’s arms. He hugged her back. She smelled less of sulfur and the hells this time around. More like oranges and sandalwood. It’s warm, but not a burning type that might sear his skin if he’s not careful. It’s comfortable. 

Familial. 

She was happy as they let go of each other. And he admired her choice of attire. Simple, elegant and entirely her. Her dress, Gale notes, is in the Ravengard house colors. Form fitting, sleeveless but with thin straps over her shoulders and a slit up the left side to show off her toned legs. 

“Do you like it?” She does a small twist this way and that. “It was the least god-awful thing I could get them to make me. No movement in anything else ya know? What happens if we have to go into battle?”

“And what would we be fighting?” Gale asked. 

“These stuffed up tarts,” she answered. “Minus Wyll and his father.” 

“If I’d known we’d be doing that, I would have brought my quarterstaff,” Gale joked. She smiled and leaned against the wall next to him with her arms crossed over her chest.

“How ya been Gale? Feels like ages since we’ve seen each other,” she nudged his shoulder. 

“Just about a year I think,” he nodded and sipped his wine. “How have you been?” 

“Oh you know, fighting imps, killing demons…found a forge master fixed my engine right up,” she grinned and tapped her chest. “Part of the reason we're here. Wyll’s been a real friend, keeping up with me in Avernus and first thing I told him once my engine got fixed and could survive out here, we'll take a break so he can spend time with his dad.”

They both looked over and saw Wyll talking with his father. Both Ravengard’s enjoying each other's company. 

“I ain't complaining about the break either. Even got my own little private villa,” Karlach grinned. “And his dad really knows his cigars.” 

Gale smiled. “I'm glad. You deserve it Karlach. You both do.”

“So where's Fangs?” She asked. “Figured he'd be all up for a chance to rub elbows with all these stiffs.”

“He had some business to take care of. We agreed to meet here,” Gale answered. He drank more wine and scanned the room for one of the servers with another tray of glasses. 

“And things are good with you two?” She asked. 

He doesn’t miss the inquiring tone of her voice, borderline skeptical. 

“Of course, why wouldn't they be?” He asked. 

“Just, two of you, kinda sudden ya know? We all go our separate ways then Withers gets us all together and you and Astarion are living together, engaged. I mean fucking hell, am I gonna come back after another year to find out you two adopted or something?” 

Gale snorts into his wine and coughs. He quickly sets the glass on the table to keep from spilling the remainder all over himself and a few people are looking their way. Karlach usher’s him outside to one of the emptier balconies patting his back. 

She’s joking. He knows she’s joking but god’s does that still make him squirm. Marriage, even one of willing convenience is one thing. But a child? He wouldn’t even subject Tara to this kind of life let alone a child. 

She winced and checked over her shoulder to make sure they weren’t being watched by prying eyes. 

“Sorry, sorry,” she apologized. “Bad joke?” 

He coughed and took the napkin she offered to wipe his mouth, and let out a potentially strangled laugh. “Just a bit Karlach.” He patted her shoulder. “And...it just sort of happened.” He wanted his wine. 

“Alright well, how?” She asked. 

“What do you mean?” He frowned. 

“You say it just sort of happened, but you've never actually answered the question. Even then, ‘oh ya know, just one of those whirlwind things’,” she tried to imitate his voice. “‘You know Astarion, he’s never one to do things half-assed.’ ‘Just swept me off my feet…’”

“My voice is not that high,” he crossed his arms over his chest and caught the engagement ring in question on his finger. 

Gold band with ruby center. Diamond’s set on either side. It’d been enchanted, so the only way it was coming off was if Astarion wanted it off or Gale cut off his own finger. He just didn’t have the nerve. 

“It kinda is,” she replied. 

He ran a hand through his hair. “There isn’t much to tell Karlach. It really sort of just…happened. I was surprised as you were but, when he looked at, when he asked me, when he…when he told me, I suppose I got caught up in it all. Isn’t that what they say love is supposed to feel like? Like your hearts caught in a vice?”

“Are you asking me or telling me?” Karlach put her hand on his shoulder. 

“There you are!” 

They parted as if burned. Astarion stood in the open doorway with his hands on his hips. Red eyes flitting between Karlach and Gale. Her hand still hovered in the air from where it’d been on Gale’s shoulder.

Continue

[the-s1lly-corner]

spot that meets a autistic reader, that is talkative to themselves, but has poor social skills because (lack of good parenting + bullys, but is very smart and loves art and engineering, and dreams to be a scientist one day.. it could began as the reader first feared him over an awkward moment? to opening up about themselves and the reader's obsessive fascination over him. two very talented ppl that only wants to be appreciated, respected and loved...💔

idk is it to much?? bruh I'm trying to be creative😭 I'd be happy with whatever happens!. aNd TaKe yO tiME!! On irl things and beloved spotty <3

Spot w/ an autistic reader!

Rubs my autistic little hands

Feeling a lil drowsy but I wanna chuck this out before I fall asleep for (possibly) the next 7 hours :3

Not proof read we die like Peter Parker <\\3 we are sleepy and tumblr wont let me save drafts for asks <\3

Obligatory "I like this character so I'm hcing him to be ND like me" touch

He gets it

Anyways

I think to help make the whole thing less jarring, or whatever, is that you may have known each other vaguely before the collider incident

You weren't a scientist at alchemax, more like.

Well shoot I just forgot the term but like, you work there, but you dont do hands on experiments, not experienced enough yet

Intern?

Maybe, idk

Obviously you don't work there anymore after the collider blowing up, so... you're looking for a new job

You knew about Jonathan, but you weren't friends

You had also heard rumors about what happened to him but you kinda dismissed it as cruel rumors surrounding his death.. I mean no one could've survived that explosion.. right?

So imagine your surprise when you end up almost getting robbed by spot

Can you blame him? He hasnt found another job since the accident and hes probably living off of pity handouts; likely homeless

Now hand over the wallet!!/j

No but on the semi likely chance that you manage to defuse the situation, given Spot sucks as a criminal, you just bluntly ask if the whole

Rumor thing is true

I mean obviously it is but confirmation is important

After a few more chance encounters, you guys both finally decide to properly sit down and talk

Its tense and awkward at first since 1. How does one even act around someone like spot? He's vulnerable but also trying to do the whole. Revenge thing... And 2. Hes desperate for human interaction and it SHOWS, it's almost uncomfortable actually

But you both trudge past it and make it work

One meet up turns into two then three; then you discover how much hes struggling and

Now you're roomates

Oh my god they were roommates/ref

Anyways, that's the set up!! It kinda felt wrong to just. Jump into it without some explanation on how yall end up in the same area consistently

Doesnt mind that you mumble to yourself, he probably does the same thing. From muttering things to keep his train of thought to having a personal monologue, I wholeheartedly believe he does the same thing

Hs understands how it feels to be. Not treated very good, he likely wasnt the most respected in alchemax so it's not uncommon for the two of you to have vent sessions where you both let it all out

You ask him about his journey to becoming a scientist and not so subtly ask for advice on how to get into the field; and touching onto the whole human interaction thing, hes more than willing to talk your ear off about his entire career history

On the chance you dont want to do physics stuff, and you wanna do another branch of science he's all ears on listening to you ramble, may even lend a hand in getting you to where you need to be career wise

Yall do at home experiments as bonding stuff

Look if spot can make a mini collider in some building then I can only imagine the type of shit yall get up to at home

Oh? You're still curious about.. him? Of all things, him?

He never thought anyone would look at him with interest; usually its disgust or fear, or both

Hes hesitant at first because what if you discover something that'll totally change your view of him?

Takes (some, a little) coaxing

Bro caves fast, he misses physical touch

"So like, these holes-" you proceed to just. Dip your entire fist into a hole and watch said fist pop out from another hole

The demons are telling me to make reader like

Make it a game to try to throw stuff through his holes but I feel like that would be really mean, no one likes stuff getting thrown at them

Please dont throw stuff through his holes :(

Random but like

Idk if this happens with yall but

If someone stims do yall. Like stim back

Like I have vocal stims and mess with my hands; and sometimes my friend will be prompted to stim if I stim??

Idk but yall do that

OHOH before I post this if you're both comfy with physical touch please please please hold him, it's been so so long since someone has hugged him and he really really needs it :(

[mikailys]

F: Am I disturbing you, by any chance?

i see this goddamn man and i lose it istg i want to punch him so bad.

i was trying to catch up with hsl on my other acc where i'm following nath's route and i saw the devil. i just hoped to never see him again in-game and yet here we are.

and oh my. wasn't i lucky enough to meet him again not once, but twice in the same episode, in the span of 5 minutes.

i'll just do a rant about this part of the episode because it's unbelivable that this is the only part i got covered before my ap brutally finished i only wanted the illus :(

also sorry if i'm being inaccurate in certain parts but i got back into the game recently and probably forgot some background info/context.

F: Nathaniel has always wanted to study Engineering at University.

N: *not very amused by it – comprehensibly*

i had no idea that during hsl ep40 he would attend the graduation ceremony – or maybe he did and nvm i don't remember it i mean it's been 5 years since i've last played it – and he had the guts to still impose himself and talk about nath like that. after everything that happened and with all the parents, kids and professors around?

god. like haven't you learned anything, have you, dumb fuck?

N: I have to stop by my parents' house because I need to take some stuff. But seeing how the wind is blowing, I don't really want to go there alone.

another thing i wouldn't have imagined is that we would actually go back to this old house. i can only predict where this is heading.

N: This house holds only bad memories.

C: Don't worry. I'm with you.

N: Yeah, thanks God. *cutely smiles*

bambolottino che sei ti abbraccio patatino cucciolino :(

and then we enter into his house and meet – again, unfortunately – that amazing person his dad is, who is never, ever satisfied and he can kindly go fuck off for as far as i'm concerned.

F: What was that foolish act you delight us with during the ceremony? (...) You understood very well. I'm talking about your speech. We have come to expect the best from you.

C: (Nathaniel takes a deep breath, to handle his increasing anger)

F: I wonder if you have anything left of what we taught you to make such a scene.

N: Dad, you really want to talk about what you taught me?

exactly f-word, do we wanna talk about what you and your lovely wife taught him? to always achieve perfection? to be scared to walk through the front door and spend the evening at the dining table with his family? cause, believe me, i wouldn't be so proud.

i guess we have different ideas about these so-called "teachings" you two gave him then.

anyway we leave with nath and then the most incredible thing happens. our soon-to-be father-in-law – omg bless candy's soul – calls us thieves. lol.

it's pure comedy at this point.

F: Don't play the innocent. I caught you in the act, you're peeking around. It's a hobby, right? For you to just stick your nose where you shouldn't.

well first i'm pissed you're thinking i'm a thief and second, i'm even more pissed because you're kinda right, snooping in people's business is actually candy's job so can't really argue on that.

C: I wonder what could I even stole in this house.

F: I don't know. You tell me. *damn chill bro*

C: Maybe your house is very big, but it lacks of the most important things.

anyway it's so funny that in italian - the language i'm playing the game in - he just keeps using the formal pronouns and i say it's funny because it seems like that behind his serious tone he's constantly trying to mock us in a kinda patronizing way.

but we're the bigger person and, even if i'm seething we can't be too unpolite to him, so we just tell him that his house sucks because there's no love within its walls.

politest person ever.

but spoiler he doesn't take it very well.

anyway to sum it up, he just says candy is responsible for nath's sudden change and for making himself look ridiculous in front of the whole school.

obviously we don't support any nathaniel's slander, for now, and we are ready to take over this insane situation by praising our bf who was right down the hallway, listening to this all madness.

N: None of this will make me look better in my father's eyes.

damn. that kinda hit close to my home too

after this argument we leave since we're good to go. but on the doorstep we're blocked by the best of wives and best of women (derogatory) who, unexpectedly, wants us to stop by and celebrate the graduation with the family – oh my.

okay i'm not gonna lie but for a millisecond i felt bad for adelaide. only a millisecond 'cause then i quickly regained consciousness.

i appreciate she's understanding the situation and that she still cares about her son wellbeing – in some twisted way – but i cannot excuse she was an accomplice to her husband's mistreating and beating and the fact she wouldn't report any of it if it wasn't for candy it's gutwrenching.

regardless, nath doesn't want to spend another minute in that house – understandably. when they're about to leave, adelaide takes candy by her arm and tells her to please keep an eye on his son and we, taken by an unusual kindness, accept, encouraging her to pay him a visit.

how sweet candy is.

just like a candy i'm so sorry but it was served on a silver plate

and after that we're done. nath takes us back to our home and asks us if the day after we want to go to his place, since we have never been there before – which it takes me by surprise cause i can't believe you two have been together for almost 14 episodes and you have never found a moment to go to his house before.

candy tells him that first she has to ask to his parents – but we already know she will go cause they have to do the deed – and that's all cause i finished my ap right after this dialogue :|

this ep with the new – not very new now but for me it still is – ap mechanic is exhausting. 550 ap just to fight with nath's parents really did the thing and i still couldn't finish the ep.

to think i still have to continue university life and start love life haha...

anyway to conclude: fuck nath's parents 🖕🏻

[boyakishantriage]

Space, wearing a clunky suit and a mana restrainer. Really was stupid, hand on the railing as I made my way towards the sparking engine. Aliens snapping instruction as I waved my hand. No energy of any sort passed out, mostly residual light based heatwaves. Low energy kinda engine.

"lower the mana guard."

"... Pardon?"

"lower. The mana guard, I wanna try something."

"I will not."

I sighed loudly. Into the mic.

"alright. I'll just take this helmet off."

"you're gonna what??"

"I have a hunch, if I'm right I'm taking this helmet off and die faster, if I'm wrong. Eh, I'm gonna bash this engine anyways since I have no idea what the fuck I'm doing unless I can use my magic."

"..."

I could hear the alien talking to the others, debating his choices, finally he returned.

"fine. You have five minutes."

His mistake. Focusing on the energy, winding the mana before shattering the collar.

"ait. Fuck it."

She declared, tying the collar and other gear to herself as she stood against the ship, not wearing any protective gear. Like. At all.

"what-"

"the engine's unstable. Looks like someone wanted to strand ya here and make you a recurring customer."

"... Rewa..."

He sounded angry, as I magically began holding the engine together. Hundreds of tiny hands, all vibrating and moving to my will as I pulled wires, merged pieces.

" how long until you're finished."

Something clicked.

"huh. I just realised. I could stop here. But your engine's been modified to basically blow up-"

"improve it."

"... Huh. So you're mad at someone... Ooh. I just had an idea. I can probably mod your ship, but. It'll cost ya."

"name it."

"drop me at the centre of the coalition."

"... We don't have-"

"I'll amp your ship up. Give me three coordinates."

"why three?"

"I can stack up three, one for first. Second and emergency. Last one is on your notes, coords for the federation then the place ya wanna go?"

"[I'm not getting killed for this.]"

She jammed her fist into the engine, iron molding like liquid as magic covered the ship, defences magically frozen, as they jumped.

"you're insane." Stated the alien, centaur like shapeshift looking down at the human.

"I thought that was obvious, now can you let me home or do I need to Jerry rig a ship?"

"... I refuse to believe that you can 'jerry rig' one of our ships. But considering the recent events with humans, and th reports and unassailable evidence supporting them. Sure. Why not. First trip to earth." He turned, pointing at a nearby ship. Tossing me a badge before he walked off to do god knows what.

[thewordworrier]

A Shot In The Darkest Dark

Word Count: 4,467 words. Notes: ~ Title is from - 'Say Don’t Go' (Taylor's Version) [From The Vault] - from 1989 [Taylor's Version].

It took a little longer, but here's the sort of 'tradition' piece inspired by Taylor's new music! And it so happens to involve her for once. [We'll be back to semi regular Gerard/Shelly content soon XD]

~#~#~#~ Shelly pulled up outside Taylor’s residence, killed the engine and leant back in her seat for a moment.

It wasn’t her first time here, so she wasn’t sure why she felt nervous. She was actually pretty good friends with the singer. All because she had been incredibly fortunate that an opportunity to work with Taylor had fallen into Shelly’s lap. It had been nothing short of a miracle really. And then, more to the point, Taylor had been impressed by her and kept in contact, choosing to use Shelly when she needed someone with her skill set as and when she could, instead of working with someone else. That kinda loyalty? That kinda… Almost endorsement? From someone of Taylor’s status and talent? That was worth its weight in platinum.

But that wasn’t all. The two had become pretty close friends pretty quickly. Which had been a little bizarre for Shelly but also incredibly welcome.

Quite early on in their… Relationship, so to speak. Work relationship and early friendship. Taylor had been the one to notice how ‘un Shelly-like’ she was acting during a job once, had immediately called for a break and pulled Shelly aside to check in on her. Shelly had not been okay that day. Not in the slightest. But she’d been attempting to put on a brave face to get through her work. She thought she’d been doing alright, and for the most part she had been! But she’d accidentally discounted the perceptiveness of Taylor Swift.

Taylor had pulled her aside to somewhere a little more out of the way of everyone else there that day. Once she was sure they were a little more alone, or it was a little more quiet, she’d gently squeezed Shelly’s shoulder.

“Are you okay?”

Shelly glanced at the hand on her shoulder, at the top of her arm, only able to see the perfectly manicured thumbnail. The polish had been a metallic colour that day. Copper maybe? Or some kinda rose gold. Shelly couldn’t really remember that bit; all she could remember was that it was shiny and pretty. Shelly remembered that it wasn’t red, not even a metallic red.

“Yeah, I’m alright.”

Taylor had just given her A Look. “Shelly. You’re not being your usual sunshine self. What’s wrong?” She paused and looked worried for a moment, nibbling her bottom lip. “Have I done something to upset you?”

“You?” Shelly shook her head. “No, god no.”

“That’s good,” she squeezed Shelly’s shoulder again. “If you tell me you don’t want to talk about it, I’ll drop it. I’ll worry, but I’ll drop it. But don’t tell me that you’re okay, because I really don’t believe that you are.”

“No,” Shelly swallowed. “No, I’m not okay. I'm actually really not okay.”

“And that’s okay. You wanna tell me about it?”

She’d be allowed to cry against the singer, leaving dark, bruise-like make-up smudges on Taylor’s collarbones. Not on her shirt - Shelly couldn’t remember at that moment what Taylor had been wearing that day, but she did remember that she didn’t get make-up on it. What she remembered more was the feeling of Taylor hugging her, stroking her hair a little bit and humming soothingly to her.

Shelly sighed and shook her head, still sitting in her car in the driveway. That had been a difficult day. But Taylor had seen that she’d been hiding something and coaxed it right out of her. She’d comforted and looked after her for the rest of the day like a true friend would, not just a… Client? Even though they were a little friendlier than that at the time. But that moment had… Unlocked something. A deeper level of closeness between the two women. It had been a long time since that day and their relationships - business and personal - had just gone from strength to strength.

Her cellphone chimed, making her jump before she rummaged through her purse on the passenger seat to find it. On the screen was a text message alert:

From: 💜 Taylor 💜 Hey, you are still coming today, right? x

Shelly hummed a little and checked her face in the rearview mirror. She frowned, dug around in her bag again before re-applying some lip gloss; pink because red was Taylor’s colour, not hers, no matter how many times Taylor kept telling her that there was a red for everyone. Shelly wasn’t entirely convinced about that, but if one day Taylor sat her down with a stack of red lipsticks and made her try them all - she didn’t think she’d be entirely mad about it. Of course she wouldn’t be mad about it. She was never mad when she was on the receiving end of high levels of personal attention from the singer. Shelly kinda loved all the personal attention, but that was because she had a massive crush on the vocalist, and had done for some time. She just had to keep it very, very quiet because it just wasn’t… It wasn’t professional in one aspect, and she didn’t want to ruin this friendship.

Once she decided that she looked presentable enough (even though she could turn up in loungewear or her pyjamas and Taylor wouldn’t care AND still say that she looked pretty), Shelly grabbed her bag and got out of her car, locking it and walking up the driveway.

The door opened before Shelly even finished making her way up the front steps and she was greeted with the warmest, tightest of hugs.

“Sorry I didn’t reply to your text,” Shelly followed her inside, stepping out of her shoes as she normally did. “I was outside when I got it so I didn’t see the point.”

“That’s okay, I’ll forgive you,” Taylor smiled at her. “But just because you’re so pretty though.”

Shelly chuckled and followed her through the home, quickly being ushered into the cosy main room.

“I figured that I could show you those videos we were talking about and I could paint your nails later?”

Shelly took a second to bite her tongue before deciding ‘screw it.’

“Any excuse to hold my hand Taylor.”

Taylor hoped that Shelly couldn’t see the slight blush that she knew had raced to her cheeks. She cleared her throat. “Go and sit down, I’ll get you something to drink.”

“Yes ma’am.”

Taylor tutted at her playfully before grinning and heading off to the kitchen. Shelly went and settled in her spot on the sofa. Before she had even settled comfortably, she was being investigated by the cats.

“Hey guys,” Shelly hummed at them.

When Taylor returned from gathering drinks and snacks, Shelly was surrounded by her cats. Meredith was settled on the back of the couch near Shelly’s shoulders - ever the aloof loaf but still wanting to be close to the girl. Olivia was resting up against Shelly’s legs and Benjamin was curled up in Shelly’s lap.

“I see you’re trying to steal my cats from me again,” she put the tray down on the table before taking a seat on the other half of the couch Shelly was on.

Olivia looked up at the sound of Taylor’s voice before slowly standing, stretching and padding across the cushions to her. Taylor smiled and fussed the feline.

“It’s not intentional,” Shelly beamed down at the ragdoll in her lap who was purring like a jet engine as he was scratched behind the ears. “Though I might very well run away with this snuggly baby if you’re not careful.”

“He’s a charmer,” Taylor noticed Meredith watching her. “Even Meredith wants to be close to you when you come around Shell. That’s pretty special.”

Shelly looked up from fussing Benjamin, first at Taylor, then over her shoulder slightly to the cat on the back of the sofa. She hummed at Meredith whose ears relaxed at the noise.

“I think it’s because you don’t force her to do anything,” Taylor continued. “You don’t force her to accept affection or anything, you just let her be, so she’s quite happy to just be around you.”

“Cats are so independent,” Shelly said softly. “It’s wrong to treat them like dogs - they’re two completely different species even if humans have domesticated these versions of them.”

“You’re just so pleasant to be around Shell, but I tell you this all of the time.”

“You do,” Shelly almost melted as Benjamin looked up at her with his big blue eyes and mewed. “Oh little man, you can have my whole heart.”

Taylor giggled. “Well, you know he’ll look after it.”

“Mm,” Shelly let the cat in her lap curl his paw around her fingers to drag them back to him - clearly not happy with the fact that she’d stopped petting him. “He doesn’t even use his claws when he does that. He’s such a little gentleman.”

“He’s a good boy. I think his sisters have taught him well.”

“His mom has too I think,” Shelly glanced up at Taylor and flashed her a smile.

“Now who’s the charming one?”

Shelly giggled and the women settled to watch something that Taylor had been saving to show her. She wasn’t sure, but, to Shelly, it felt like Taylor kept getting closer, even with the cats in the way.

Eventually, Taylor got up to either feed the cats or top up their water or… Something. Shelly wasn’t sure - she only half heard the explanation before Taylor stood up and was quite promptly followed by the three felines. The sight of that made Shelly giggle a little bit.

It didn’t take Taylor long to deal with the cats, and Shelly could hear her talking to them before she started to make her way back to where the singer had left her guest, but she made a quick stop first, having had a thought.

Shelly looked up from sipping her drink and tilted her head as Taylor sat back on the sofa - just closer to Shelly than before.

“I also wanted to show you these,” Taylor said, offering Shelly some papers. “I trust you, and I wanted to get your opinion?”

The fact that that last bit actually sounded more like a question, wasn’t lost on Shelly because it was unusual for Taylor to sound that uncertain. In Shelly’s opinion anyway. She gave the singer a small, hopefully reassuring smile before carefully taking the papers from her.

“Sure, I can look these over for you.”

Taylor tried not to watch Shelly as she read the sheets, really she did, but… It was just so difficult. Shelly was so pretty, so sweet, so kind, so genuine. So honest. She genuinely believed that the Brit didn’t give a damn about her fame and fortune. Sure, her fame had caused them to meet, and that was great, but apart from that, Shelly didn’t seem to care? She treated Taylor like a regular, normal, girl next door type. And for that, Taylor was thankful.

Shelly flicked through the papers, holding each one so carefully. And Taylor noticed that. She noticed so much about the way Shelly did things. She used to think that she was just good at observing people but she didn’t think that she’d ever observed anyone to this extent. It was almost like she was obsessed with the blonde. Although that word made it sound almost creepy. Infatuated? Enchanted. Yes. Of course, one of her own titles was perfect for this.

She was just so enchanted with the girl. Shelly was just so, so down to earth, so open and friendly. It was impossible not to like her - Taylor had immediately felt at ease when they’d been introduced the first time. Shelly radiated this aura of… Trust. Of safety. Security. And god, wasn’t that something that Taylor wanted in her life. She had been such an incredible friend to her since they met; she was Taylor’s favourite person to spend time with because Taylor felt like… She didn’t have to hide, she didn’t have to pretend to be someone or something she wasn’t. She didn’t have to live up to whatever reputation the press was giving her that day. She could open the door to Shelly dressed in sweatpants and a huge cardigan with minimal make-up on (because Taylor would always put something on if Shelly was coming over), and Shelly just wouldn’t mind.

Actually, last time she’d done that, Shelly had been so enamoured with the cardigan Taylor’d been wearing, Taylor had tried to take it off to give it to her. But Shelly, bless her, hadn’t taken it. She’d just taken the details so she could look up where to maybe get her own. Though, Taylor had suspected that Shelly would never buy her own, as it had been a little expensive and Shelly would never spend that kind of money on one item like that. She was... Practical? That way. Which is why Taylor had purchased one for her, in a different colour to her own that she knew Shelly would like. She had been thoroughly scolded for that though; you don’t need to buy me things Taylor. You know I’m not like that. But, ultimately, she’d taken the gift with some gentle coaxing; unfolding it carefully and stroking the material as she’d done so before trying it on. And the colour had looked better on her than Taylor had imagined.

“That looks great on you Shell,” Taylor had taken her hand and pulled her over to a full length mirror, standing next to her so they could look at themselves in their almost matching cardigans. “Lavender is perfect on you.”

Shelly had gone a pretty shade of pink, turned away from the mirror and hugged Taylor quite tightly.

“You’re terrible,” she’d said, affectionately. “But thank you.”

She couldn’t help but want to buy her things - she wanted to look after the shorter woman, she wanted to treat her right. Even if Shelly was a little bit against Taylor spending her money on her. But, again, that was such a point in Shelly’s favour - she really wasn’t in this relationship for the financial benefits. She wasn’t even in it for a link for fame - she was quite shy, even in a professional capacity. Taylor remembered when they’d been introduced. Shelly had been so, so shy then. She’d been introduced with a compliment about her work and she’d said; “oh, I’m not sure about that personally, but thank you,” before extending her hand for a handshake. Sweet, shy, humble and professional.

Taylor had been smitten from the start.

“Shelly.”

She looked up to see Taylor looking at her, pretty intently, which was a little strange. It took another moment for Shelly to notice that Taylor had moved closer. “Mm?”

“I…” She paused and then sighed. “I want to say something, and I hope it doesn’t make you hate me.”

Shelly frowned and when she spoke, her voice was soft and gentle. “I doubt there’s anything you could do that would cause me to hate you, Taylor.”

“Oh my god,” it was more a soft whisper than an angry exclamation or anything. “Why are you…” Taylor shook her head. “Why is this so hard? I’ve been trying to figure out the best way to say this for… I think weeks.”

“Weeks?” Shelly’s eyebrows rose, she moved the papers to the coffee table, and she leant forward to rest her hands over Taylor’s. “Is everything alright? Whatever it is, you can tell me, you know. You don’t have to use a metaphor or anything. Sometimes plain and simple is best in the moment.”

Taylor looked up at her and Shelly grinned.

“We can always workshop it later into something more elaborate,” Shelly said.

Taylor giggled and shook her head slowly with a smile. “Are you ever just… Not amazing?”

“All the time,” Shelly squeezed Taylor's hand and sat up properly.

“I don’t believe that.”

“You should.”

They fell quiet for a moment.

“Do you ever just…”

Shelly tilted her head as Taylor started speaking and then trailed off. She waited, choosing not to push the other woman.

“You know that you should do - or say - something because it’ll probably be good for you, but it’s a brand new thing and you’re just really nervous about it?” Taylor continued. “Like, you know it might not end well, but you know it won’t be too terrible but you’re still…”

“Scared?” Shelly offered, watching Taylor nod. “Yeah, all the time. That’s pretty normal.”

“Mm,” Taylor nodded again, slowly before swallowing.

“You don’t need to be scared of me, or around me Taylor,” Shelly almost whispered. “I’m not gonna judge you for anything - you know that. And I’m not gonna tell anyone. I’ll take it to my grave if you need me to.”

“Oh, I know!” She said hurriedly. “I just…”

Shelly looked up at her with those big, blue eyes and she smiled - though Taylor swore there was a hint of shyness in it this time. Her eyes sparkled, they always sparkled like she knew more than she was letting on and most of the time Taylor believed that really was true. She also hoped that this was a similar case - she hoped that Shelly knew what she was trying to say. Maybe if Taylor willed it hard enough, Shelly could just… Finish the sentence for her?

That didn’t happen, much to Taylor’s disappointment. Though, Taylor was never that disappointed wherever Shelly was involved.

“No pressure,” Shelly said softly, reaching over to pat Taylor’s knee affectionately and encouragingly. “If you can’t find the words now, that’s okay too. Just blurt it out whenever you can, yeah?”

Taylor just nodded, almost dumbly, getting another of Shelly’s cute smiles in response before the other woman turned back to the papers, reaching for them to start flicking through them again.

“Taylor,” Shelly started quietly as she continued looking through everything. “These are so…”

Taylor nibbled her bottom lip, curious about what she was going to say.

“You’re so talented,” Shelly finished, just as quietly, letting out a soft sigh. “These are so beautiful.”

“Not as beautiful as you are.”

Shelly blinked rapidly at her before giggling. She felt a little nervous for some reason, and she was sure that she was blushing. And if she wasn’t blushing then she was starting to; she could feel it.

Taylor could see it - a delightful dusting of pink was now covering the blonde’s face.

“Seriously,” Taylor continued. “You are so beautiful. You’re just so cute.”

Shelly ducked her head a little bit and shook it. “Nuh.”

“Mm hm!”

“I disagree, quite a lot,” Shelly mumbled, shuffling the papers again, attempting to go back to those.

“And you’re allowed to disagree with me,” Taylor said. “But, that would also mean that you’re gonna be wrong. And that’s okay! We’re all wrong at some point.”

Shelly glanced up at the singer, raising an eyebrow slightly. “Oh, really?”

Taylor just smiled at Shelly. “I mean, you’re not wrong a lot, really. So that makes it extra okay if you’re wrong about this.”

“Taylor,” Shelly sighed. “I say this with all the affection, but, you’re a dork.”

Taylor laughed and shuffled closer, leaning her chin against Shelly’s shoulder, wrapping her arms around the other woman. “Maybe I am!”

“Hey, I never said that I’d change you,” Shelly gently (oh so gently!) hit her forehead against Taylor’s and smiled as she felt the singer squeeze her. “I wouldn’t change a thing.”

Taylor squeezed her again and sat up straighter. “Are you sure about that? You don’t think I’m problematic?”

Shelly snorted and shook her head. “No, you’re not problematic. We both know the media loves to drag women for doing the same shit men do.”

“Double standards,” Taylor agreed with a nod and a roll of her eyes.

“But I don’t think you’re problematic. And I definitely wouldn’t change a thing.”

Taylor felt herself melt. “I wouldn’t change a thing about you, either. Shell, you’re perfect.”

Shelly went from pink to red and shook her head slowly. “I really don’t agree with you, but…”

She paused and Taylor tilted her head as she waited.

“But,” Shelly whispered. “It really is a massive honour that you think that.”

“Oh Shelly… My opinion isn’t that special.”

“It is!” Shelly started, a little louder than normal. She winced a little at that volume and cleared her throat softly before she continued but much more quietly. “Um. At least, it is to me.”

“And you’re that special. To me.”

Shelly blinked rapidly for a second and tilted her head in that cute way she did. She reminded Taylor very much of one of her cats. Which was also quite fitting, as Taylor knew that Shelly was a Leo. And god, she really looked like one.

Well, she didn’t look… Horrified or anything. She looked more curious than anything. That was… Good.

“You are,” Taylor continued, swallowing quickly. “You really are. You are so special, and I hate that you can’t see how wonderful you are.”

Shelly’s expression softened and she looked away shyly.

“I mean,” Taylor moved closer; their thighs were touching now. “Of course you are. All of my cats like you! Meredith always ends up sitting near you and pretty much always has done. It didn’t take her long to warm up to being around you. You just have that kinda effect on people Shell. It’s like magic.”

Something about that, about all of Taylor’s words, really softened Shelly. Maybe it wasn’t the words, per say, maybe it was more to do with who was saying them. It was pretty much impossible to feel bad about yourself when Taylor was in your circle of friends. Hell, it was pretty much impossible to feel bad about yourself when Taylor was around - she didn’t even have to be your friend.

Taylor watched Shelly avoid making eye contact at that - she had never been good at taking compliments, but at least nowadays she rebutted them less. She just stayed quiet instead, which was a step. And, most of the time, Taylor had noticed that when she was the one giving out the compliment, Shelly would go a little bit shy and end up with a small, sweet smile on her pretty face. That was an expression Taylor wanted to see much more often.

“I have feelings for you, Shelly.”

That made the shorter woman sit up a bit straighter and when she looked at the singer, it was with wide eyes. It took her a little longer than she would’ve liked to remember that there were more feelings in the world than romantic ones. She needed to not read too much into this.

“Well,” Shelly said, her tone clearly cautious. “We’re good friends. There’s gonna be those kinda feelings there.”

“That’s… Not quite what I meant,” Taylor smiled kindly at her. She could almost see her brain working, actually.

“Um…” Shelly nipped her bottom lip. “I… I don’t…”

Taylor almost held her breath.

“I don’t want to assume,” Shelly finished, noticing the singer’s shoulders relax. “I don’t want to put words in your mouth.”

“Shelly…” Taylor sighed softly and shook her head. “C’mere.”

She gently grasped Shelly’s chin just to hold her still for a moment before she leant forward and pressed her red lipstick covered lips against Shelly’s pink lipgloss covered ones. It was just one kiss, just to get her point across. When Taylor moved back Shelly looked quite surprised.

“I… Oh!”

Taylor giggled and hummed for a moment. “I mean, if I’ve read you wrong, then we can pretend that this never happened.”

“No!” Shelly answered before going pink at the speed of her reply. “Um. I mean… Are you sure?”

This time it was Taylor’s turn to tilt her head in question.

“I mean, this might blow up in your incredibly pretty face when the press gets a hold of it?” Shelly bit her bottom lip. “I don’t want to cause problems for you.”

“How?”

“I mean…” Shelly shifted a little in her spot. “When it gets out, because it will, it’ll not only be a case of ‘oh look another relationship’ but also a sort of ‘oh she plays for both teams’ kinda thing?”

“I’m not… I’m not worried about that,” Taylor shook her head. “Unless… Would it bother you, being in the press like that?”

Shelly waved that off. “I don’t mind. I really am more worried about you.”

“You’re so good Shell,” Taylor tucked some of Shelly’s hair behind her ear and cupped her cheek. “You’re so considerate.”

Shelly’s eyes flickered down to the slightly less perfect lipstick. “I try to be.”

“And I’d really like to try… Well, us? If that’s okay with you. If I have been reading you right, I don’t think you’re totally against the idea.”

“If that’s -?” Shelly giggled. “Yes, yes that’s very okay with me. I’m not against the idea in the slightest.”

Taylor let out the biggest sigh of relief ever, which found itself accompanied by a soft laugh. That little noise made Shelly smile and sort of nestle against the hand still cupping her cheek. A moment of braveness overtook her and she hooked her finger in the neckline of Taylor’s t-shirt, gently pulling her forward so Shelly could kiss her this time.

That took Taylor a little by surprise, but she leant into it very quickly, sliding her hand around to tangle her fingers in Shelly’s hair, while Shelly’s fingers gripped the front of her t-shirt, having unhooked from the neckline as soon as their lips had touched. And as soon as that happened, as soon as their lips touched, Taylor sighed happily and slid her other arm around Shelly’s waist so she could pull her closer. Not that pulling her closer took much effort because Shelly more than happily shuffled as close to Taylor as she could. She let go of Taylor’s t-shirt and wrapped both of her arms around the singer instead.

Every time one of them tried to pull away for a moment, the other would stop them, either by gently tugging on their clothes to bring them back closer, or by ‘chasing’ after them. It was after Taylor had done this, again, that Shelly giggled softly against Taylor’s lips, making the singer smile. She pulled away as Shelly’s giggling got a little louder and just beamed at the shorter blonde.

“Now, what’s got you making such a pretty noise?”

Shelly nibbled her bottom lip, trying not to grin too widely. “No, I can’t, you’ll hate me.”

Taylor snorted. “Hate you? Never.”

“It’s awful.”

“I doubt it,” she took Shelly’s hands and squeezed them. “Go on.”

Shelly hesitated for a moment before letting out a soft sigh. “Okay, okay.”

Taylor tilted her head, waiting.

“My brain just said,” Shelly paused again. “Well, I guess... That’s how you get the girl.”

[verxn]

Guilty

Description: you guys go on the trip to Italy but it doesn’t end very well

Pairing: Peter Parker x black fem reader

It’s been a while , I didn’t know what to write about please don’t get me 😭 - v

-

They were everywhere…literally everywhere, i couldn’t even turn the corner without seeing them smooching off of each other

We are currently in Italy for a school trip and I kinda regret coming, there’s so much couples everywhere and I cannot seem to escape

Plus looks like Peter is hopping in the bandwagon right behind ned with trying to get with MJ

“What happened to being American bachelors in Europe” I heard peter say to ned

“Dude I’ve changed those were words of a little boy, I’m a man” Ned said to peter

“Jesus Christ Ned you just get a girlfriend now your acting like your some kinda of saint” I said flipping through my engineering book

“Y/n- you weren’t even in this conversation” Ned replied frowning a bit “she’s kinda right through” Peter said to Ned

“Peter you still trying to do that plan?” I looked at him “yeah hopefully I can go through with this without any problems ahead” he said

“When is there never not a problem Peter? Guarantee you might have to pull out the suit” I whispered to him “but anyways enough with the couple talk I can’t stand it” i put my book back in my tote bag

I wore a green tan and brown striped shirt , black slacks with checkered print vans, I put my dreads in a lazy ponytail and I had glasses on even though I could see perfectly fine I just wanted to wear them with my outfit

“Y/n your style is weird” Ned said, I looked up at him “whaddya mean?” He thinks for a moment “I don’t know it’s lazy yet so professional” he added

“Lazy yet so professional? Hm I’ll take it” I said smiling at him “how did you even come up with this style anyway?” Peter said I looked up at him “oh I just had inspiration from certain people” I nodded to myself

“That’s cool, who are those people?” He said curiously “uh- favorite artist like people I listen to” I said to him it was a bit awkward probably because I confessed to him 5 months ago and he sadly turned me down but I moved on …..kinda?

“oh nice nice” he said to me I nodded and folded my arms “well long trip ahead I better go get some snacks” I said to the two and walked away

While I was walking away to one of the random stores I heard “WAIT” I turned around and saw peter running towards me “what the..” I mumbled confused on why he was running towards me

He stopped right in front of me out of breath “are you good?” I said to him “y-yeah I’m fine you just walk really fast” he said to me still out of breath

“yeah I get that a lot” I chuckled to myself “but why did you run over here for ?” “I needed your advice about my plan-” I shucked my teeth and walked away “nope I don’t wanna hear about couples”

-

We arrived at the hotel and everyone else left but, I didn’t feel like going out so I stayed in, plus all that lovey dovey would rub off on me

I sighed and pulled out my phone and started scrolling through social media, but it was filled up with couple posts and pictures of our classmates on the trip

I groaned and turned off my phone “let’s just take a nap” I said to myself, I laid down and got comfortable and drifted off to sleep

-

Knocking woke me up from my nap, I sat up rubbing my eyes “just a moment” I said getting off the bed “what the hell” I said to myself

I opened the door and found peter and Ned standing there “what?” I said clearly tired Ned opened his mouth to speak but I cut him off “wait wait wait, before you start if it has to do with anything couple related I will shut this goddamn door on your face” I said now fully awake

“We got attacked” Ned said “attacked how what?” I said confusedly “actually wait come in” I said opening the door wider so they can step in the hotel room

“What happened?” I said with my arms crossed “some big water giant attacked us” Ned said “thank god that guy was there, without him we’ll be toast” he added

“You got Spider-Man right there what you mean?” I said pointing to peter “did you do anything peter ?” I turned to him

He nodded “yeah I webbed up some buildings so they wouldn’t fall and also held up a tower but it fell” I nodded “okay at least nobody is hurt” i said while sitting down

“But what do you want me to do about this? You guys had to come to me for something” I said looking at the pair

They stared at me

“What…?” I said shifting uncomfortably

“Y/n….can you…”

“Don’t tell me you want me to upgrade your suit” I said grabbing my brown coat

“Listen…I know you only do that if it’s necessary but I really need it” Peter said desperately

I looked at peter “look…I’m sorry but, I have no lab to work in and I didn’t bring my materials with me…I’m sorry Peter” I said looking at him sitting on the bed next to ned

Peter nodded and got up while leaving the room , ned slowly looked back at me and mouthed ‘sorry’ and closed the door behind him

I then plopped down on the bed and held my hands to my face “why the hell would I do that”

[baddygab-bi]

Do you think the show had Eddie not remember all of the shooting, because if he did and they talked about it (in the kitchen) it would’ve instantly been seen as too deep/romantic/intimate? Because Eddie would have to say that as he was dying, he saw Buck, which can come off more or less romantic. Plus, it would’ve opened the floodgates for Buck’s death conversations that never really happened, and would’ve made Natalia’s intro even more jarring.

Because I think it could’ve gone something like this:

“You saved my life, Buck. I remember reaching for you. I… I remember you literally lifting me into the engine. I can still see your face covered in blood and not knowing if it was mine, or yours. So, yeah, I remember a few things. No trippy dreams though, just falling… thinking I was dead… you… and waking up in the hospital.

“I just… I don’t know how to feel anymore. Like — like I don’t really know who I am or — or what I’m supposed to feel.”

“You died, Buck. You’re gonna feel a lot of ways about that.”

“Sometimes I wish I could remember dying, like it would make it more real. I — I remember you on the ladder before I went up, then the air shifting. It’s like a gap in my head and I can only… Then I woke up there and honestly I wish I could just forget that dream. I feel like it’s breaking me apart, Eddie.”

“Seems like you do kinda see how you’re feeling.”

Barely a few episodes later:

Buck meets Natalia:

“Yeah, I’m basically friends with death.”

“That’s so cool! You wanna get a coffee?”

Buck and Eddie talk:

“God, Eddie, Natalia is so cool. She’s sees me better than I see myself.”

The kitchen scene where Buck is talking about his death was leading to him having some sort of ~something~ about his death. A big realization, a breakdown, whatever. He was close to it. But instead he got a girlfriend who’s a death doula instead of… I don’t know… someone who understands death and could professionally help him through everything he’s feeling, like, I don’t know, a death doula?!?!