#im officially done yapping

[fangtasticlol]

hi hello as someone who regularly goes through the columbina tag and does not trust hoyo with her writing at All but is simultaneously so insanely incredibly hopeful for the Possibilities the Potential. i am so insanely curious about your columbina thoughts. the themes... the narratives........ what are they to you what are you hoping to see. what is your perfect columbina vision. <- sorry i know i am literally a stranger in your inbox im just extremely intrigued and i trust The Vibes your blog is giving off

hello!! thank you i tried to make my blog look decent lol, the amount of thoughts i have on columbina… i cannot even explain. to me at least,shes everything, shes poetry, shes the winter solstice, she is death, she is an eldritch horror beyond our comprehension, but shes also the concept beauty and fragility. shes been around since the dawn of time in teyvat and simply exists, she watched evolution happen while sitting on a beach. it might be ooc too and im okay with that too but i like to think of her as a mother figure to the children of the hearth to some extent, shes like those old beatrice potter animations or the aristocats, she sits in a small log cabin singing songs to the children with her harp so they get a good nights sleep. she is apathetic and silly she enjoys life but does not take it too seriously as shes seen how the world works better than anyone. she should be depicted in the same way a skin walker is, a white beautiful doe in the middle of an old overgrown corn field at night. she enjoys caring for things like plants and animals but is completely un-bothered by death, its just another milestone in something or someones life or story. or. something like that lol sorry honestly i cannot describe how much i love her with words something about her design and potential just scratches my brain and i could make like a million page essay about it. and whatever they decide to do with her I hope it is treated with the care you’d give a dying flower. oh also shes totes a cannibal girlie i forgot to write that but i feel like it goes without saying idk why lol

[soooooretro]

𝑩𝑨𝑳𝑳𝑶𝑹𝑨 𝑴𝑼𝑺𝑰𝑪 𝑩𝑶𝑿 𝒑.𝟏

While ago i got a music box and decided to make it Ballora themed !! It plays swan lake which isnt her song but it IS in fnaf 3 at least.

[the-judicial-assistants-notebook]

bring iris back rn.

[dzozef]

i got offered the promotion at work.... why am i every business owners wettest dream damn....

[nerdykorgi]

QUICK YAP SESH: Location of Gravesfield from The Owl House

so uhm, while I am finishing the rest other art things I did decide at like 3 am to find the supposed "actual" location of Gravesfield. At least, what town would most likely be Gravesfield if it were real.

I used a lot of info from the wiki and that cool official Gravesfield Website Mock-Up that John Bailey Owen posted. (this thing in case no one knows what im talking about)

Anyways to get started, here's this poorly done thing i made in google draw lol, hopefully you can actually read some of it oof. Its color coded to the info below:

Firstly, I do find it interesting how Conneticut was actually the FIRST colony with a relatively large witch panic in the American colonies, happening 40 years before the infamous Salem Witch Trials.

To start off I think the most poorly backed-up possibility is Hamden.

The reason im suggesting Hamden is because it is Dana's hometown and she said she has taken a lot of major inspiration from it. Like churches and graveyards.

However, the reason I'm not drawn to it is because not only was it founded 1786, way over a decade Gravesfield was said to be founded, I also couldn't find too much about Hamden having Witch trials, but if they did it definitely wasn't as big as Wethersfield's or Hartford.

Now I'm basically stuck between Litchfield and Wethersfield.

Litchfield:

Litchfield I was drawn to because of its name really. It means Field of Corpses and that's basically the same thing as Gravesfield lol. On top of that, it also holds the county seat of Litchfield County, something Gravesfield supposedly is as well. (In modern day context of course.)

Also Gravesfield was said to be along Conneticut Route 109, putting right along either Washington pr Litchfield (which J. B. Owen said was probably false on the Washington part but at the same time he uses an image of Washington's river as stated below)

The thing is though, like Hamden it wasnt founded until the 18th century, and there was no witch trial things that i could find. :/

Which then led me to Wethersfield:

Now Wethersfield is WAY more appropriate in both time, setting, and history. Wethersfield was one of the first colonies to be pop-up around the correct time for the Wittebane brothers to arrive in Connecticut. Wethersfield was founded in 1633-34 and Gravesfield in 1635 (Mind the brothers were said to arrive in 1613 I think it was, either this was a continuity error or they were among the very first settlers in Gravesfield.)

Random but it was also called Watertowne before it was changed to Wethersfield.

Anyways, In the Mock-up website we can see at the top, a banner picture of a winding river. Now i did google search this image and it is actually Washington Ct, womp womp, but I think it could actually be pointing to another more prominent river in Connecticut and that's the actual Connecticut River, which Wethersfield is conveniently placed right next to.

Now lets look at a map of Wethersfield:

river, check check, and HOLY SHIT THAT COULD BE THE FLOODED GRAVEYARD LOL (where i circled) Sadly, Its not actually, but it shows how similiar the geography possibly is.

I think last and most importantly however is the fact that Wethersfield is known to have some of the earliest of the witch trials in Connecticut at the time. (There were 9 documented accusations and only 3 executions, one of which was a woman who openly admitted to using to witch craft, Mary Johnson, and a married couple name Joan and John Carrington.) This goes very well with the whole Witch Hunting thing.

Lastly I think the cherry on top would be that they both just look incredibly similar lol:

Also fun fact, If the Wittebane brothers did actually arrive in 1613~ they would have been among the Dutch settlers rather than the British, whom were the ones to found Wethersfield. Take that information how you will but I am certainly going to make some kind of headcannon out of it lol

Anyways more art soon once i actually finish it, but please, Let me know your guy's thoughts :D !

[hainethehero]

The energy in the 9-1-1 fandom space as of ep.8x06 has been off.

The 9-1-1 official page not posting much about any of this episode (specifically the disingenuous ending of an anticipated queer r/ship) is weird... especially considering how much traction the show got when they introduced AND MARKETED the Bisexual Buck-GayTommy relationship for even more traction.

Oliver just posting some random photos from bts (i know he's had no electricity due to fires) -but then posting & deleting a story of his bizarre response to fans criticism of his latest comments on Buck's sexual habits....

I personally think the main criticism for me is how poorly both he and Tim handled this plot, and the character of Tommy. They yapped so much about being respectful about queer relationships and bisexual representation and then just ended it with a lame, disingenuous conflict after NEVER making a genuine attempt to develop said relationship after season 7. The fact that they never included Buck & Tommy's relationship as a main plot for a single episode tells me that they were NEVER going to treat this queer relationship with genuine care or respect.

Ryan just posted stuff about Eddie (kudos to him, love me some Ryan content)

Aisha posting absolutely NOTHING

Kenny hasn't posted either

Lou just saying it was an honour & dipping. (I DO NOT blame him with the bullying he's faced from buddie stans)

It could very well be the elections & how absolutely insane the world is right now. And it could be stuff that went down bts (we'llneverknow). And trust me, this isnt sour grapes, if they were going to break up eventually, im fine with it. But all I know is, it was made clear that the Buck & Tommy queer relationship would be handled with genuine care & class (Tim) and that they'd "work through their hurdles" & "working out if their relationship [barely developed by the writers/show] was worth fighting to stay together for" (Oliver) and NONE OF THAT HAPPENED.

While the Eddie scenes were amazing & I love that Ryan's getting to explore more of his character, the Buck & Tommy scenes were made to look hopeful & promising, then they lazily scraped a "It's not you it's me" bs plotline &ended it abruptly.

It's NOT queerbaiting, but it's giving, "Yes we know we sold y'all a promising queer r/ship, here it is for 2 episodes, & now, it's done. Gone. Vanished into nothing. Thanks for your invested interest in s7&8a." [Maybe it's like an advanced level queer-stringing-along- ALQSA💀😭🤣]

[grif-hawaiian-rolls]

Red VS Blue, but make it Guild Wars 2

ok so i'm going to try and make this au make sense if you look at it from either side without prior knowledge of the other but theyre both so entrenched in my brain im not sure how well it'll work if you get lost im sorry in advance- or you can just enjoy the group piece and ignore the insane rambles below the cut! fair warning: its a lot! my red team yapping showing up in full force!

Don't say I didn't warn you :3

Context:

GW2 is a fantasy setting MMORPG, set in the world of Tyria. There are 5 playable races with their own unique cultures and such. I'm using the wikis for the races bc im lazy- the names are links to the proper wiki, but i've VERY ROUGHLY summarized for ease-

ASURA: The smallest playable race, Asura are highly intelligent and have a cultural focus on Academia and Research- furthering the reach of their magi-tech, sometimes at the cost of morals. Asura tend to be characterized as cocky intellectuals, who know more than everyone else in the room at any given time and they know it- but they're going to have a solution to a problem before you've finished explaining it.

CHARR: Giant anthropomorphic cats, the Charr are a militaristic race with a culturally cynical look on the world and a stubborn streak to match, and a general distrust of magic due to some Prior Circumstances. Charr tend to be characterized as gruff, fuck-around-and-find-out types, due to the military culture, and have more focus on their squad (warband) over individual relations.

HUMAN: On the surface, pretty par for the course here, but humans aren't actually native to Tyria- not that this stops them from being a cultural and territorial powerhouse in the setting. There is a fair bit of tension between humans and charr, and humans and some of the non-playable races in the game. Humans tend to be characterized as stubborn, tenacious and resourceful in a Tyrian context.

NORN: visually speaking, Norn appear to be giant humans, native to Tyria. Culturally speaking, Norn value honor and nature in equal measure- you should make a Legend for yourself, but you need to respect the Spirits of the Wild. Typically, norn are characterized as loud and boisterous, but reliable in a fight and always down to celebrate an impressive victory and share a story.

SYLVARI: The youngest race in Tyria, having only existed for about 25 years or so at the start of the game, Sylvari are plantfolk who Awaken from their mutually shared Dream as grown adults. The Dream gives sylvari the knowledge they need to function right out the gate, although the actual extent of said knowledge varies slightly by individuals, and is tended to by The Pale Tree (or the Pale Mother/Mother Tree, as sylvari know her)- sylvari follow a set of tenants given to them in the Dream that encourage compassion, kindness, and a drive to do what must be done called a Wyld Hunt.

__--__

RvB is a Halo machinima set in an appropriately sci-fi setting that is, above all else, fucking ridiculous. The plot, when it manages to exists in a semi-coherent fashion, focuses almost entirely on a band of absolute asshole idiots who cheat death as a hobby, swear a lot, and generally just would be unpleasant people to know but it is incredibly entertaining to put them into situations so that sums up the general vibe of the show. RvB is slightly less relevant to this au as the characters are what I'm yoinking and theyre all getting explained in their gw2 contexts here, but the main point is: the show is silly, and everyone in it is some brand of annoying, rude, mean, stupid or any combination there of. Also? Probably traumatized by war, whether or not they realize it. __--__

BORING STUFF OUT OF THE WAY ITS CHARACTER TIME __--__

THE GULCH KREWE - An Asura research team focused on making self sustaining golems. Technically Vic is the krewe lead, but he never seems to show up at their lab situated in the middle of no where for.... safety reasons. The official, documented by the asuran governement Gulch krewe is really incredibly small, at four asura strong, counting Vic even though there is quite a bit of debate on whether he actually counts since he's never around, but they have a reputation for being the worst krewe to work with. Ever. Of all time. Between reports of "unsafe necromantic practices" and general "workplace threats and harrassment", the only people who stay in the Gulch krewe have no where else to go. The "rank" nickname theme started mostly as a joke, but once it was started it was basically impossible to stop.

"Captain" Bucch Flowers - Asuran Necromancer - Asura, typically, do not have last names. Bucch, is not known for being the typical sort of asura. Eccentric and regarded as "morally questionable" by previous krewes, Bucch is a friendly individual who finds other people fascinating, both in terms of their psychology and physiology. He always has a smile on his face and a warm, cheerful demeanor that some people have claimed to be "unsettling", but I mean, really, he's just being nice. Right?

"Sarge" REDACTED - Asuran Engineer - Sarge took to his nickname with a brand of enthusiasm that really was just a warning to the kind of person he is, going so far as to have his previous name removed or changed on all documents he could. Loud, brash and unapologetic in everything he does, Sarge is the main "threat" of the Gulch Krewe between his wild experimental inventions, with their tendency to either go rogue against their creator or just plain blow up, his complete and utter lack of patience, and his habit of gesturing with his loaded shotgun during a conversation. His volume never drops below LOUD, but he's a very.. unique brand of genius who excels at making things that really shouldn't be physically possible work.

"Doc" Dufresne - Asuran Mesmer - Doc is, by all counts, the odd one out of the official Gulch krewe. Meek and empathetic in nature, Doc tends to be the moral voice of the krewe- one that often gets ignored. He is still annoyed by his ridiculous nickname, even if it is nice to have the affirmation that he really is part of the krewe. He's not even really a doctor! He's not great with medical care or technology. Or fighting. Or much of anything, if he lets himself be a little too honest. But he's part of the krewe, for better or for worse, and if that just means he uses his magic to pull his krewmates away from whatever is trying to murder them this week, then so be it.

The UNOFFICIAL Gulch krewe is a bit more.. diverse. Technically, non-asura don't get listed as krewe on the paperwork. They're hired help, not technically part of the team that gets credited for the work done in the published papers. Generally, this is because most hired hands don't have that much to do with the actual invention or research process- they're just there to be damage control when things go wrong. However with the Gulch krewe... a lot of things tend to go wrong. Technically speaking, there is no reason for a krewe of four three to have separate research teams. There is barely a reason for bigger krewes to do it. However... Captain Flowers and Sarge rarely seem to work on the 'technical' level of anything, and all it took was one offhanded comment from Vic (over comm, no less! couldn't even cause problems in person) for the pair of them to escalate and devolve into a rivalry that would ruin Doc's life, and the lives of pretty much everyone else who inevitably get swept up into it as well.

RED TEAM: Sarge claimed RED as his team color well before the idea of having color-coordination even occurred to Captain Flowers. Sarge claims he hired only the best to staff Red Team, with one exception for canon fodder.

Richard "Dick" Simmons - Human Elementalist - Born and raised in the upper ranks of human nobility, Simmons is a bit of a fish out of water when he's not in the human capital of Divinity's Reach. Of course, being an anxious individual with poor social skills, he didn't really fit in there either. He's got enough of the "I'm rich, you know," attitude held over from his upbringing that combined with a desire for praise, awkward conversation skills and the urge to prove his worth through his own intelligence, makes for a really obnoxious, know-it-all kissass of a man. But he's really good with technology, given his magic tends to prefer the buzz of electricity so that counts for something. Usually. He's not that bad once you get past the defensive nature and whiny voice. Probably?

Dexter Grif - Norn Warrior - With a hard earned feeling of "fuck it, fuck that, fuck this, I'm going to bed" that he trained into himself, Dex would have been perfectly content to spend his entire life lazing around his home city, Lion's Arch, scamming tourists and generally just kind of doing his own lazy thing. Or, at least, that's what he tells himself, as he has to look for actual work on the docks. It sucks. So when some loud mouth asura rocks up, shouting something Dex didn't really listen to beyond being a job, and a supposedly low effort one? Sign him the fuck up. But when the job is evidently not all naps and bored asura-watching, Dexter Grif will make his complaints known. Just... maybe not in range of Sarge's shotgun.

Donut - Sylvari Mesmer - Freshly Awakened, bright eyed, curious and endlessly talkative, Donut (Grif swears that can't be his real name, right?) is the Red team's resident socialite, sharpshooter, grenadier, portal expert and color coordinator. If you need something done, Donut is your man, or he can find you your man. While some people find his chipper attitude and love of 'dressing up' his friends with illusions annoying, and his tendency to veer into innuendos a bit awkward, everyone agrees it's hard to genuinely dislike Donut as a person. Maybe it's a mesmer thing, maybe it's a sylvari thing, maybe it's just Donut being Donut, it's hard to say. Despite his impeccable aim and frankly impressive throwing arm, Donut tends to be a little oblivious to the things right in front of him, but he's trying his best so most people tend to let it slide.

BLUE TEAM: Captain Flowers accepted BLUE as his team's color in good humor, as he tends to accept most things. He was not nearly as intense on his "requirements" for his team as Sarge- truthfully, most of Blue team were picked because Captain Flowers thought they were interesting more than anything to do with their actual skills.

Kaikaina Grif - Norn Elementalist - Kai has been called a lot of things, and not all of them flattering. Her personal favorites include sexy, wild, bodacious and "absolutely insane". She's a diverse gal. When her brother left Lion's Arch to go work for some mysterious asura in the middle of no where, Kai swore she didn't care. That lasted for all of a week, before she decided Dex was clearly up to something else and the asura job was a cover. Upon hunting her brother down and discovering, no really, it's literally what he said it was, she was disappointed. At least, until Captain Flowers offered her a position on Blue team. Being paid to stand around, look pretty, and bother her brother? Fuck. Yes.

Lavernius Tucker - Human Guardian - Growing up an orphan in Divinity's Reach makes a guy either really cruel or really clever. Tucker's never been the cruel type, so he went for clever instead. Though that quickly turned around to bite him in the ass, because being clever, and maybe a little bit of a smartass, means people notice you, and being noticed does not go well for him. Between at least one cult insisting he was some kind of savior from a forgotten bloodline, a jerk or three who didn't like Tucker outsmarting them or standing up for the people they were bullying, and whatever the hell is going on with his kid (courtesy of aforementioned cult), Tucker has more than had his fill of being noticed for being clever thank you very much. He just wants to find a quiet place to lay low and figure out this whole being a dad to a dragon thing. He's done being a hero and honestly he's done being helpful. Tucker's here to get paid, maybe get laid, and not get attached to anyone else that might screw him (or his kid) over.

Junior - Saltspray Dragon - Sort of a package deal with his dad, Junior is still figuring out the quirks and details of being a dragon in a society where 'dragon' is usually associated with the end of times, even for a "lesser" dragon like him. Fortunately, they're pretty solidly hidden in the middle of nowhere, so the only people around are friends of his dad's. Sort of. Junior is shy, generally, and tries to be careful with his size and his magic, but he's still a hatchling and sometimes it's real easy to get carried away when he's excited. Good news though! The Gulch krewe are well versed in shit breaking every other day, so no one gets too mad if something gets knocked off the shelf by his wings.

Church - Sylvari Thief - Some sylvari chose to cut themselves off from the Dream, in an effort to obtain either a sense of freedom from expectations, spite, or just a general desire for peace, quiet and solitude. While Church can certainly guess at his own, personal, reasons for becoming one of the Soundless, he sure as hell doesn't remember making the decision. Or much of anything, really, before about a week before he got hired onto Blue team. Just the name Church, which he can only assume is his name. He tells himself, amongst his internal tirades about his woes and his miseries, that Flowers hired him because he's smart and clearly the asura could see that. Not pity or anything like that. Still, it would be nice to actually remember literally anything. But Church doesn't complain about that- he's got more than enough things to bitch about from being part of the Blue team to distract his ego, his temper and his generally whiny attitude towards life in general. Who needs a past when you're surrounded by idiots?

Michael J Caboose - Norn Ranger- Never without his trusty arctodus companion, Freckles, Caboose is a joyful wall of muscle and hugs that frequently forgets that most people cannot, in fact, support the weight of him and his wolf-bear. Young and with no legend to speak of, Caboose is on a journey of his own making, to find friends that are just... so cool, everyone is going to want to hear stories about them! He just has the very very tricky job of remembering those stories. But hey, what are friends for, if not to help him when he forget a detail or twelve? And honestly, he thinks he found a GREAT group of friends here on Blue team. Sure they can be a little bit mean, but, Caboose has the heart of a skald according to the nice old ladies back home in Hoelbrak, and his heart knows when there's neat things

THE GOLEMS: The Gulch Krewe, official and unofficial, developed two more-or-less completely self-sustaining golems after splitting into their respective teams. They're not perfect, by any means, but they're certainly impressive to behold. Especially given that they both seem to be... well, people. That.. wasn't intentional.

Lopez - "Human" Engineer - Inspired by the dolls made by Tixx in the Infinirarium, Sarge chose to build a golem that looks almost human. His official logic claims that the more flexible build and increased intelligence allows for Lopez (Officially: L-0-PEZ - Lab-OH-Personalized Engineering Zoner. Sarge swears it makes sense. Red team is pretty sure he just made it up because he liked the name Lopez) to handle his own maintenance and upkeep, with improved head to body communication and modular independencies. The side effect of Lopez's "self repairing" abilities (read: his ability to take himself apart to put himself back together) is the fact that his body have very distinct seams, and he's prone to falling apart at them. His head coming off his neck is the worst and most common offender of this problem. Like most of Sarge's intelligent creations, Lopez has a sour attitude and very little respect for his creator. If you asked him, the only reason he sticks around is because it's easier to get his hands on the tools he needs to fix himself. That and no one else speaks Orrian since the continent and kingdom sank over 250 years ago. Well, no one besides Sheila.

Sheila - "Charr" Necromancer - Captain Flowers took a slightly more.. macabre approach to his golem creation. Made from the ethically and responsibly sourced bones of an anonymous charr donor (Captain Flowers's words), Sheila is a feat of magi-tech engineering and necromancy. Due to her... organic internal base, Sheila is much sturdier than your average golem for her size, and the necrotic magic that keeps her together and functioning needs almost no supervision, as it naturally drains minute fractions of life force from things around her, like non-sentient plants and insects. Though there are some... quirks, to be certain, but that's to be expected with such experimental magic! The days where she almost seems like a different person are most likely just her getting used to a shift in the magic, that's all. Nothing to worry about. Usually though, on her good days, Sheila is calm and patient, with a friendly attitude she seemed to pick up from Flowers, although somehow she's a bit better at reading a room than he is. She tends to be the most responsible and level head in the lab, which is fortunate considering she's also the biggest one there, excluding Freckles.

__--__

THE LANCER WARBAND: A tight knit charr warband, working outside of the charr legions mostly for decent pay and interesting jobs, the Lancer warband are skilled fighters, excellent hunters and all around impressive soldiers. Their one weakness? Their inability to get anything done without either a fight or fair bit of chatter (and the occasional argument leading to the fights) first. But once they've settled on an objective, they're nigh unstoppable.

York - Charr Engineer - By far the most laid back and easy going of the Lancer warband, York is the resident gunsmith, philosopher, mechanic and lockpick. If it requires nimble fingers (or claws, rather), York's got it covered. While he tends to be the chattiest of the bunch and that makes him seem distractable, York is often laser focused on his task- he just doesn't feel the need to act like he's focused. He's curious and honest in nature, and is always quick to come up with a joke to lighten a heavy mood.

Maine - Charr Warrior - Silent and deadly are the words most commonly used to describe Maine- not that they would ever come from him. Massive even by charr standards, Maine is brutal and efficient in a fight. By the time an enemy has seen his white fur, they're already screwed. Outside of combat, when it's just the warband, Maine still isn't a talkative sort of guy. He prefers to stand back and let the rest of them talk for him, with a few exceptions.

Washington - Charr 'Thief' (unrealized revenant) - Originally the 'cub' and rookie of the Lancer warband, Wash has earned his stripes as it were for his cunning adaptability on the field and his almost ridiculous good luck when it comes to survival. While he tries to be kind and compassionate when he can, he's more on the pragmatic side than he used to be, and he can't always balance being nice with being realistic. Still, Wash has a sarcastic streak big enough to give York a run for his money, and enough sharp wit and sharper knives to keep just about anyone else on their toes.

Texas - Charr Warrior - A bit of a badass, Tex is the Lancer warband legionnaire and easily the best fighter of them all. She's harsh, even to her own warband, but she cares more than she likes to let on. However, her temper tends to get the best of her, and she frequently works alone to blow off steam. The last time she left... she didn't come back.

South - Charr Necromancer - One of the twins, South is aggressive, impatient and vicious just as much as she is efficient with her magic. She's a survivor and despite her bitchy attitude and general disregard for the rest of her warband, she gets shit done. Maybe a little meaner about it than she needs to be but hey, it's done right? Who cares if a little more blood was spilled or if a few more punches were thrown than were strictly necessary.

North - Charr Guardian - The other twin, North couldn’t be more different from his sister. He’s gentle, understanding and tries to be a shoulder to lean on for anyone who needs it, not just their bandmates. Granted, sometimes this does get him punched, but his kind nature doesn’t stop him from giving as good as he gets. He’s a skilled marksman with a longbow, and his calm nature helps him keep a level head in a fight- useful, when you specialize in placing traps.

'Honorary' warband: When their Legionnaire, Tex, mysteriously vanishes, the Lancer warband is left fumbling in the wake. Fortunately, they have friends they can trust to help them get their bearings.

Carolina - Human 'Warrior' (unrealized Revenant) - not the step dad but the dad who stepped up Carolina has been a fighter and a soldier her whole life, or very damn near it. While not raised to quite the same degree of military as the average charr, her mother ran a tight ship of their home and after her passing, her father ran it even tighter. Her friendship with the Lancer warband started with a night of mildly drunken chaos with York, after which she kept in close contact with the charr. Intense in every factor, loyal, and more than a little competitive, Carolina thrives in combat situations that demand the most of her, which makes her a fast friend for the rowdy warband. Without Tex, the Lancer warband needed a leader, and Carolina stepped into the role of unofficial legionnaire as easily as donning her helmet. While comparisons between herself and Texas make her uneasy, she does admit she likes the feeling of being 'Boss' with the charr.

Reggi "Wyoming" - Asuran Mesmer - Reggi is a bit of an odd ball and a loner before he begins spending time with the Lancer warband. He enjoys a good pun and a bad knock-knock joke, but his disinterest in most scientific endeavors left him with little opportunities within asura society. So he left, took his humor and not much else with him, and has been something of a drifter ever since, more interested in taking care of himself above all else. While the Lancer warband may groan and scoff at him from time to time, they do work well with him, and even a selfish bastard like him needs back up from time to time.

[clannfearrunt]

might as well fucking post the fursonas  the monster forms I whipped up for Yugi and Kaiba for this crossover also

ok im gonna go back to my cave bye

thats right. my favorite cardgame anime is not yugioh, the one I've been posting about for approximately a year straight. *i pause as if waiting for the crowd to gasp but there is no one in the audience to begin with*

[kkpaaw]

So I've been getting back into Ninjago after years. It's been fun! Dragons Rising is so good n I can't wait for what the future brings for Ninjago

However, I have FINALLY started watching Lego Monkie Kid. The shows good! Like really good! Theme song stays a bop. I'm 4 seasons in, got the current 5th season still to go and I have been loving it so far

Minds been on both So I made this weird fusion au combining both Ninjago and LMK into one universe

I basically had Kai n Jay take the place of MK and Mei respectively. Theoretically this au would take place after the 15th season of Ninjago, Crystallized

Where after the events the ninja decide to go their seperate ways (at least until they r reunited for Dragons Rising) and Kai n Jay end up in Megapolis. They reunited shortly before the events of LMK.

I'll go into more detail later, cuz i plan on doing some fun screenshot redraws so I'll elaborate more about the plot n changes n whatnot in those!

Here's what they look like in lmk style that I didn't draw, but traced the base from the official lmk renders. Made it easy for me. I just pretty much added the hair n outfits

Eventually I wanna get used to their style to do it myself, but that's future me's problem shshs

Also yes I am one of those Og Ninjago fans who think that Jay shoulda kept his snake attributes from OBTS, at least some of them. So he has them ahsha

Please behave btw? If u don't like that I fused the two than just block me? I'm doing this for me and me only. It's something I thought about and thought would be fun. If u don't like it fine, but don't be petty or send any hate. Just block me n move on. Have some level of maturity lol

Alright im done yapping ahsh

[megumi-fm]

⏰this week in a glance🏃‍♂️

may 13th - 19th ; week 21/52

this week was all about transitions and the concerns regarding things to come, as well as a need to re-allocate my time and energy. i also realized recently that amidst trying to maximize my productivity i have been subconsciously neglecting my thoughts and feelings... these are issues i have faced before and will face again as an unmedicated adhd kid adult in a world that prioritizes productivity and academic/economic success over all else. knowing that doesn't make it any easier to accept though, and it gets tiring to fight the same battles you thought you had once overcome. but i guess that fits perfectly in the spirit of this challenge and the anime it is inspired by, which is all about building the strength and patience to break the same loops over and over. and the first step to that is recognizing these loops

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stuff that happened this week!

🧹 I was home alone for the most part which meant that most of the time i was just cleaning and doing chores...

🎓 I'm officially done with my undergrad!!!! yay!!!!

📚 completed reading a book! it's been a while

💌 met a lot of my friends <3 we yapped a lot xD

🎧 I'm trying to arrange the songs in my playlist according to the same scale of music and it's taking years off my life T-T idk why im doing it but i can't stop

🎵 Soundtrack of the week: Go Find Less by Riley Roth

💻 7 weeks until internship ends!

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tracking

key: ◆ - completed / ◇ - not done

📅 Daily-s: 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 + 19

👟 Movement: ◆◇◇◇◆◆◇ // expected, given that i was unwell

💧 1.5L+ Water: ◆◆◆◇◆◇◇

🔋 i think im pushing myself too much and as a result my energy drains too quickly... trying to find new ways to stay motivated while also getting the rest i need

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[stardustmuncher]

get to know me!!

okay, wow. guess who has not expected their art to get any attention at all, let alone even incoming requests for art. i apologize if i haven't done ur request yet btw, i've been awfully busy!

however, since i am getting traction and my bday is today (yippi to me, even tho my age is now much too serious) i think its appropriate for me to do a bit of an introduction post..

so without further ado, i present t you...

ME!

hello!! my name is aj, aka stardustmuncher we're being all official with name tags and stuff

i'm bi and use any pronouns! like, fr, any pronouns. get creative guys.

i like to think of myself as somewhat of an artist. i wanna study animation one day, so that's pretty cool i guess.

i'm american, not proudly but i'm still surviving.

also, i'm a total band kid. i'm apart of my school's percussion ensemble, which is neat. it's pretty cool, i suppose.

some of my other hobbies include:

attending drama club like the nerd i am

writing for my school paper

listening to music

sleeping a bunch

hanging out with my friends and being idiots

baking

fashion. (i'm a huge fashion nerd..)

i'm an artist, sure. which means i'm in a lot of communities, i guess. my fandoms consist of:

the owl house (proudly a goldric shipper)

gravity falls

five nights at freddy's

mouthwashing

sally face

don't hug me i'm scared

hamilton

heathers the musical

mean girls

class of 09

helluva boss/hazbin hotel

the spiderverse series

nimona

miraculous

tim burton films

the amazing digital circus

i also LOVE my music, like a bunch.

some of my favorite artists are:

tv girl

chappell roan

olivia rodrigo

mitski

the moldy peaches

tyler the creator

lil peep

dazey and the scouts

laufey

adrienne lenker

pinkpanthersss

madilyn mei

now... my favorite songs.

anyone else but you by the moldy peaches

do the act like you've never met me by tv girl

nuts by lil peep

prom queen by beach bunny

kiss her you fool by kids that fly

break it off by pinkpanthersss

before he cheats by carrie underwood

good luck babe by chappell roan

hot to go by chappell roan

not allowed by tv girl

hate yourself by tv girl

now.. just some fun facts abt me!!

for no particular reason, i am cross-eyed. like i js came out this way idk??

i wear the same barbie pants like every other week. i love these pants.

honestly i prefer chocolate over fruity flavors, they're js better

always looking for more music recommendations, hmu if you got smth good

dms are always open if you need to vent :D or if you just want someone to yap ur interests to, either way

also art requests r always open. i will draw it like one day or smth but ive been busy.. maybe this next week ill draw again

big stuffed animal fan, i sleep with the same three everynight

i have a guinea pig named amity, yes after the toh character

i also have a fish named mr blubs

and two dogs and two cats, i love my pets so much

also i love queer stuff, im way too easy to queerbait i fear

always open to friends and mutuals, just ask!! <3

some of my fav youtubers r louis mcclung, chadchad, drama mama/benoftheweek, drama kween and heather grayce

thanks for reading this total yap session, hopes this helps the people of the tumblr site to know who i am!!

much love,

aj (stardustmuncher) !!

[imgdreaming]

hello coming back to yap about the rainworld youtooz figures beccaauusseee im insane :-) and have had these thoughts about youtooz products for a long time and would like to hear what others think ^_^

long post ahead sorry i have normal thoughts and feelings about this /lh

i was very excited when i heard about these and i still am (for other reasons than probably intended lol) but i have issues with them specifically the signature youtooz happy eyes.. they have bothered me for what has to be YEARS now like its cute for a few things but once its on seemingly EVERYTHING they produce no matter what.. it starts to tick me off sometimes they just DONT FIT and thats okay.. you dont need them for brand recognizably ive heard youtooz products are relatively high quality and thats GREAT i am will to spend my money on a high quality product !!

but like when im interested in a product based off an already existing media property i want something accurate !! and to youtooz' credit, i love how these two models look outside of the eyes and survivors spear being grey i think theyre very well done. but for stuff like rainworld with a more serious tone it just does not fit :-(

i have two solutions to my issues with this specifically that does not include simply opening their eyes that both focus on survivor..

1) change survivor to monk: yes i get it survivor is Mr. Rain World but if we want to keep the happy eyes monk is your best bet. not only is he depicted with those eyes a few times in official stuff (see: slugpup plush and selection screen art) but he is also frequently considered a friend to lizards so you can also keep the pink lizard's expression !! they can be a cute little set :-)

option 2) change survivors pose: if we need to keep survivor then at least change their pose to a cuter one maybe of them eating a bluefruit ?? with how action focused their current pose is the eyes are especially out of place even if it is a very iconic pose for them. (also why isnt the spear black ????????)

video cult hire me :-)

anyway even if i wont be buying these for my own personal issues with them im still happy theyre being made not only for others who will most likely love them but also because if these sell well they might actually make a monk who i may actually buy.. PLUS this means they might make other figures in the future with other companies ? :-) i can hope at least hehe

let me know your thoughts if youve read this far i would love to hear them since this has been something lowkey eating at me for a few years now haha apologies if any of this is hard to read btw its 1:21 am annndd im tired and dont feel the greatest lol

[melkor-did-nothing-wrong]

hi!! i read your tags on your latest rb (the one about the angbang child) and idk if you posted about it in the past but i would love to hear more!! i also have my own hcs and im always interested in hearing other peoples ideas <3

(from what i read in your tags, if you dont feel comfortable talking about this, i understand, or if youd prefer, my dms are always open if you dont wanna reply publicly to this)

Ok I am going to start by apologizing for taking a long time to answer, as well as thanking you for sending the ask in the first place. I still don't know if I should answer this publicly, but after years of either being told off for it being "boring" or "not canon" or "ooc" or even seeing people leaving the conversations on read every time I mention angbang with a baby of their own, I really really do want to yap while having the opportunity of saying: "well, as you can see, someone asked, so I'm just answering! clearly that's for the asker!". So thanks for the opportunity and the encouragement. I'm going to put these events/developments in a numbered list, so you'll have an easier time asking me to elaborate on anything specific later on if you so choose. They're not perfectly coherent but it is what it is, you know?

(Also: People who think the whole concept is bad or cringe, don't interact with this post. I've been hearing this for years but if y'all are allowed to make your own fankids for literally every other ship ever, then so am I!)

First of all, I'm gonna be using terms like "having a baby" but I want to clarify it's actually weirder (and arguably sillier, depending on who you ask) than that. I am not talking about developing another person's body to birth here. I am talking about developing another spirit or soul, which will only get a body when the whole process is done. I am just using terms that will be familiar to us as people even if the process isn't identical (the same way people would sometimes talk about birds or reptiles being "born" even when everyone collectively knows they just hatch from an egg).

So obviously at the end of the WoW, the army of valinor comes over to arrest Melkor and drag him through the doors of night

Melkor immediately throws his hands up like "Nope, you guys really shouldn't kill me. I'm going to have a baby and it'd be incredibly rude of you to kill me given the circumstance"

Exhausted collective sighs. Obviously that's typical Melkor BS so we're not gonna believe that, but I suppose disproving it publicly back at home and putting an end to the bs will not be a huge amount of time wasted. whatever.

Yeah sure ok Melkor whatever you say. we can drag you back west to officially call the bluff and get rid of you there.

Drag Melkor back. Whatever. just end this farce please.

Wait. Wait what the fuck. What the fuck do you mean there actually IS a baby??? HUH???????? How come???? WHY?????

Ok fine whatever UGH you are SO annoying. Fine. you can stay in jail until you have it and we'll kill you AFTER. Whatever.

Manwe is just. Trying to ask Melkor wtf is going on. Melkor, who is having a very very bad time in prison, predictably tells his brother to flock off.

Meanwhile, Mairon, who has just learned of that development, sighs and makes an effort to get to Valinor to drag his annoying (but beloved) hubby out of there.

Shortly after Melkor has the baby and manages to configure a physical form for him, Mairon commits a few acts of terrorism around as a distraction, then shows up in front of Melkor in dragon form like "Get on, we're leaving".

They make it east, and have to start living on the run from place to place out of fear of being pursued, as well as trying to find any remaining allies.

Eventually when they realize there are most likely no immediate plans of attack or attempts to retrieve them, Melkor and Mairon decide to temporarily settle near a settlement of humans who were on Melkor's side in the war, partially because they won't be kicked out by allies and partially in hopes of discouraging Manwe from ordering any attacks due to the fear of human casualties.

What follows is a lot of trial and error in raising what is essentially an immortal Ainu who is both completely new to this world but is simultaneously technically an ancient spirit who has partial knowledge of all things but can't make sense of them.

Another part of the life they build raising a kid is Melkor having to deal with the personal trauma of basically everything and everyone else being gone- it's a significant struggle for him to go from doing whatever he wanted pretty much consequence free, while having the support of his entire court, to just sitting here with Mairon and the baby, just the three of them. He genuinely thought it would happen sooner, that their son would grow up a prince, safe as can be, surrounded by friends and be as adored by all as he himself was. Unfortunately that was not the case, and now he has to raise him very differently while knowing he'll never meet any of the people Melkor had called friends or had any sort of fondness for. You know. Because they're all dead and it's mostly his own fault.

Mairon on the other hand is less affected by it all that much. He always liked being alone just fine, he isn't exactly a huge fan of big crowds. It's difficult for him too, starting over somewhere new and knowing all the people he knew are dead, and also having to keep in mind that he might have to hop around every so often to evade his weird immortal ex-employers, but if there's anything that mf can do is dodge taxes. You're never gonna Al-Capone him. Ever. Can't put him in jail if you can't find him etc. And he's very good at not being found. He's also mostly okay with not being bothered as much. He has his own thoughts on the matter but he doesn't have the time to be an angstlord because now he's got to watch out for double the troublemaking chaotic Ainur and has to make an effort to prevent them from getting into too much trouble. Honestly it's not that different from runing a fortress, in terms of how busy he gets, if you ask him. Anyway he is very fascinated by the baby because unlike Valar (Melkor and Manwe, Yavanna and Vana, Nienna Namo and Irmo, Nessa and Orome…) Maiar are not created in sets of siblings, so Mairon is familiar in theory, but not familiar in practice, with the idea of a family unit. He doesn't entirely understand what it's like to have a connection with someone that runs this deep but he's absolutely fascinated by this little family of his.

Considering how Melkor is "No longer counted among the Valar" specifically, and considering the original plan was 15 Valar, I like to think of the kid as the Vala who will eventually gain the role of replacing Melkor. To that end, I needed an aspect for him to embody that is at least slightly similar to how I view Melkor (as an aspect of change and transformation), as something that can be associated with the creative process like Mairon, and as a bonus, something that Tolkien himself would consider at least a little bit negative. In the end I have decided to settle on that thing being Technology. It can be used creatively to innovate and streamline tedious or difficult processes, but can also be used for evil/selfish ends (especially these days…)

Last but not least, because I can't stress this enough - just because I prefer Melkor and Mairon to be loving partners to eachother and loving parents to their son, that does NOT mean they're suddenly "good" or "kind" or "redeemed" or any of the thousand other words used to describe either post first age Mairon or post fourth/whichever age Melkor. I am not opposed to the idea in general, in fact not only do I get the appeal, I even love it because I love reading about these evil little feral creatures being happy together. but to me personally just because they love their own boy and are cordial to allies who were dying for their cause during the recent war in this specific AU, it doesn't mean they're suddenly going to be good and nice and friendly towards any and every person they come across in the rest of it. In other AUs, sure, in other projects written by other people, absolutely, in other nonsense written by me, even, yeah absolutely I'll allow them to be nice. But here specifically they're still annoying evil disaster creatures who might kill any mortal for the heck of it just to see what happens. They just do it less often because they don't have a thousand Umaiar, ten thousand Orcs and a hundred dragons to back them up this time. So if they do the killing they'll have to face consequences this time, and they really wouldn't like that, so they play nice for the sake of, you know, not being murdered in their outnumbered, outmatched current state lmao.

[sunfloo-wers]

OK! (This is all about fanfics) I’m an essay commenter, and I’ve seen a bunch of posts talking about sample sentences for smaller comments and what you can do to step into commenting if you’re shy or don’t know what to say, and those are great, those are wonderful, and if I could easily find them I would put a link to one or more here. But, I’ve not seen that many dissecting how to write longer comments, and I know that it would’ve been helpful for me when I was in between the “I do comment, but it’s only a sentence, I want to do more” and the “I must write every thought I had during this fic and take an hour on one comment for one chapter” (both are extremes, obviously you can do as much or as little in commenting as you want, I want to make this clear, this is not a “you need to write longer comments” this is a “this is how I personally write longer comments to be used as a resource if anyone wants it”)

@callmerose0 (you said you’d want to see this when I mentioned doing it so tag for you)

Everything is under the cut because I get rant-ey

Alrighty! Let’s go!

Beginning:

I always start with a keysmash. Every time, with little fail. (Genuinely, I know what my first ao3 comment was and it started with a keysmash, if you take anything out of this, take keysmashes) It helps me get the AAAAAAA that I feel when reading and the nerves of writing a comment out. It also shows how insane I feel about the fanfic while allowing me to write in understandable language for some other parts of the comment.

Next, I give an overall thought sentence or two. It can be the first thing that comes to mind or just more screaming about how wonderful the fic is. It can be a favorite part or a little detail you go crazy about.

Middle part 1:

Trying to start at the beginning of the fic or chapter, I take note of an event that gave me a clear reaction. If it’s a shorter fic or chapter this may be something as small as the characters saying a goofy line or something larger with more events it could be an action or event.

Write out what event it was, and what your reaction or thoughts were. This can be done is one or multiple sentences and can look like anything from screaming for <20 words to yapping about it for 200+

Do this again and again until you run out of memorable events.

you have officially gotten through the main portion of an essay comment, congrats!

Middle part 2:

Go back and skim through the fic/chapter, making sure that nothing slipped your mind and there wasn’t anything else you wanted to talk about.

I’m not a live commenting person and prefer to describe rather than copy paste quotes, but I hear that style of commenting works for some people, try it out!

If there are other comments, read those too! Build off the other people in the community have been saying, it may spark something in you!

End:

I always end my comments with: “(sometimes blah blah blah) thank you so much for [writing and sharing, this wonderful fic, etc]! <3 <3 <3”

You can do something similar (or feel free to copy paste that, I’m not here for gatekeeping, spread the love to the wonderful authors we all adore) but I personably think a thank you is a nice thing to end on :)

General / other stuffs:

this is more idiosyncrasies that I wanted to expand on

I describe this in a very play by play way, but these middle steps can look really loose in practice and just end up with “AGGHHSIDHAKHDOSH I LOVE WHAT YOU DID WITH [insert event or character here] I AM GOING CRAZY ABOUT THEM IM SO NORMAL I PROMISE” or “[insert character] I love you but please, [insert character] please

I am a worrier, take note of this and continue. I tend to not say things like “can’t wait for another chapter!” I am not a fan of saying “can’t wait” because i think of it a little as a little impatient, and in my head I know it’s probably a me thing because I don’t see people complaining about that phrase but y’know, worrier. I tend to go with “I loved this so much, super exited to see whatever you do next!” It shows the same effect and tells the author you’ll be back if they continue the fic, but doesn’t say “can’t wait”. (I just don’t like that phrase)

Italics! I love love love italics, but ao3’s italic system isn’t the most intuitive for new readers. Here is the link to the Archive’s FAQ page about how to format HTML.

You can also theorize! Or yap about their world building if that’s more your style!

Add personal voice! I have so much more fun writing like how I talk, and if you’re having fun writing the comment, isn’t that a massive plus?

Describe what you’re doing while reading!

I can’t think of more at the moment, but may be back, hope it was at least an interesting read!

[dontsinkinmewithyourdogteeth]

IM BACK AGAIN XP

emijeckole hcs (or like, scenarios u cud see them in)??

I literally only though of this bc she said in ur jeckily HCS that Nicole wants them both lololol

now THATS a ship i can get behind ( even though i typically don't ship throuples lmao )

this is more of a oneshot / me yapping than headcannons, but it's good to try something new !!

- emily and nicole were dating first, after nicole was trip sitting emily and everything came out about her feelings for her

- nicole said yes but honestly only half because she thought emily would do something dumb if she said no

- after a while nicole began to genuinely develop feelings for emily, even though she was alot to deal with emotionally

- nicole is upset about these emotions - she already had feelings for jecka, and she had since she first met her. but for some reason jecka seemed unattainable.

- during a party, jecka and nicole get drunk, and make out, except this time it's different than the hundreds of other times this has happened.

- jecka begins to cry, telling nicole all about her jealously of emily, how she has feelings for nicole, and that she feels that emily is affecting her negatively.

- nicole explains to jecka that she loves them both, but emily is who she is officially dating, and she doesn't want that to change.

- after explaining the situation in tears to emily later that night, nicole is surprised to find out that not only does emily not care that she has feelings for someone else but also that emily wouldn't be opposed to nicole bringing her over.

- "wait are you being serious rn??"

"i mean, sure..? she's cute i don't blame you"

- jecka comes over to meet emily at nicoles, her mom is out and her stupid brother is too busy messaging some 14 year old to know anyone is home.

- annnndddd ill let you imagine the rest

ive never done anything like this before, but hopefully it didn't suck to bad lol

[joanofexys]

now that youre done with school, im setting up camp here (your inbox), hope you dont mind.

soooo

i need you to yap about merrrick and jude's relationship

okay okay so,

firstly i'm so sorry i took so long to get to this i had to vist with like a million people and people kept dropping by the house for some reason to give me money

you are also so so welcome to set up camp in my inbox, you can even build a little house here if you want

anywayyyyyy Jude and Merrick

So Jude's a golden child and Merrick becomes a media darling partly because oh my god a fox went pro and they're not a complete disaster and also partly cause he's an attention whore and he ate it up once he went pro

So yeah they meet officially when Merr's 25 and Jude's 26. Jude makes court and they're eyeing Merr but ultimately decide to pass on him. He's a good player and he's good in front of a camera but any of his coaches past or present would tell them they don't think he's a good fit cause of the shit he's carrying and the pressure being court would put on his shoulders.

They had of course met in the past for college exy events but really had no reason to interact and didn't pay much attention to each other at the time

So yeah they meet when team USA is sort of eyeing Merr/scouting his still unnamed pro team and somehow ended up striking up a conversation (Jude saw Merr's tattoos and decided to compliment them and start rambling about/showing off his own). Jude asks for his number for completely professional reasons, obviously, and it largely starts with Jude texting him random shit at the weirdest times and Merrick either not responding or giving odd as shit answers because he doesn't know how to text. So Merr gets passed up on being court and Jude teTchnically has zero reason to keep in touch with him because they're actually not going to be teammates but now he's going a little bonkers. He's watching games, he's watching interviews, he's watching that one thirst trap edit that has a clip of Merr pouring water over himself after a game. He pulls back on the random texting a bit but still tells him good game and checks in regularly and well when they end up in the same area for an event it only makes sense to ask him to get coffee.

At the end of the night they end up in Jude's hotel room just sitting on the bed. Merr asks about Jude's scars, at the end of the day he's a fox, he's used to it but still curious, and Jude answers honestly. Merrick thanks him and offers nothing in return. And it's okay. A Fox and Trojan is an odd combination and for the moment they're content with what they have. Merr's glad to have finally made a friend after the foxes and well he doesn't know what Jude gets out of it but he's glad that it seems to be enough.

They go their separate ways, keep in touch sporadically, and keep a close eye on each other's careers. Team USA takes gold that year and Merr's team does well enough to keep him going and stop him from falling back into bad habits. They both tell each other good job, Jude's hand hovers over the call button, and Merr types a million sentences unsure of what he wants to say.

After that Jude has to sign with another pro team and he signs with Merr's. They're not the best team or the biggest but they're consist players, solid, and slowly working their way up the ranks. Jude has his pick of the litter and no one really knows why he chose that team when all his court teammates went on to one's with much better chances of winning but he seems happy with his choice so they don't push it.

Seeing Merrick on the court this way and how he interacts with his team is completely different from the Merrick he's seen in their brief moments of existing together. Merr's aggressive on the court, he hits hard, and in practices he doesn't tend to care much for the fact that he's often pissing off his own teammates. Off the court, in locker rooms and at team meetings he's not outright rude but he's not making any active effort to make friends and it's obvious his teammates aren't either and they've likely never tried. So Jude pushes. It starts with press duty together and they develop a good banter, a strong back and forth, and if the press adored them separately then they love them together.

It's furthered by Jude joining him for his workouts and for drills. They start running together in the morning. Jude never asks him what's wrong enough with him to have made him a fox. Merrick never brings up his scars again. They talk about movies and music and local places that Merrick has never visited and Jude is excited to see. Jude stops bringing up local bars and the club the team loves to frequent after the third time Merr goes oddly silent in the middle of a conversation.

Then Jude starts complaining about how his dog is across the country staying with his family cause the only apartment he could find at the time doesn't allow pets. Merr mentions his place does. Jude doesn't push. A few weeks later Merrick comes up to him in the locker room after practice and tells him if he wants his dog out here and can find a way out of his lease that Merr has a spare room.

So they become roommates. And they have to set ground rules. Merrick's rule number one is no substances in the house. Merr doesn't even keep over the counter pain killers, he'll call a team nurse if he needs them. Jude tells him he takes prescription medication for his adhd and depression. Merrick asks him to keep them in his room and expects that to be the end of it. This time Jude pushes. He figures he's given and Merr owes him nothing but he might as well ask if he can take a little in return. Merrick doesn't give him everything, doesn't give him much at all, but he admits he's struggled with addiction in the past. That he's been in rehab, he's clean, but he prefers not to take the risk of having anything around. That even if he's not tempted he doesn't like the reminders. Especially since he was living alone.

They fall into a routine and Jude asks for a little bit more over time. They have the same nights off so now they have movie nights. Stevie (Jude's dog) starts to join them on morning runs. She learns she likes Merrick's bed more and Merr learns that too when he's woken up by her nudging his arm one night waiting to be pet. He walks her back to Jude's room every night for a few weeks before he gives up. They switch off cooking and eventually start to cook together. Merrick will ask Jude questions. How has therapy worked for him? What does he do to cope? Has talking about things really helped? Jude answers and asks questions in return. Do you have someone to talk to? Do you need me to listen? Tell me something about you?

They become friends long before they're lovers. They like to exist together before they choose to be together. And something odd about them just works. I can't really articulate it well myself.

I don't know when they cross that line quite yet. I only have bits and pieces of what Jude learns about Merrick and when. But it all comes together, slowly but surely. Merr introduces Jude to Wymack instead of introducing him to his dad. Introduces him to Bee instead of his mom. Jude brings him home to California, they roadtrip so they can take Stevie with them and have a great time. Their team makes it to semifinals and they end up kissing on camera and falling down on the court holding each other, kissing each other over and over again. They hold hands in public and let the paparazzi take photos, they answer all the questions after games, and they make their own posts addressing it all. And it's truly time to wrap this shit up though there's much I could delve into I think and if there's any specific questions I will happily answer them but they end up as two very content dog dads to one very spoiled Stevie